It was a cold winter evening in New York and it was dinner time. I bundled up and headed over to the Bryant Park Hotel. Inside this beautiful hotel is KOI, an upscale Japanese restaurant. This place was packed because they are pretty popular. As always I had a reservation. You really can’t go anywhere in New York without one. The great thing about KOI is all their dishes are small so they are ideal for sharing. This also allows for tasting more things. So first out was the Koi Crispy Rice. This was slices of rice that were deep…
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Well I am back in New York. It was time to try a different restaurant for dinner. This time I checked out a little place called Legasea. If you like seafood, this is the perfect place to visit. I started off with a unique cocktail called The Layover. It sounded good with vodka, lemon, and lillet. Lillet is an aperitif wine, a blend of Bordeaux wine and citrus liqueur. It was very sweet. There was a great lemon taste. It reminded me of a lemon drop martini. It was a nice way to start the evening. The waiter brought out…
Leave a CommentThere is a shopping area on the south side of Lakeland that has several little local restaurants. This is where I found Thai Oishi. They are a fairly small inside, so they fill up quickly. They have an extensive menu that offers Thai dishes as well as sushi options. I started off with two appetizers. They were small so it allowed everyone at the table to enjoy the taste. The coconut shrimp came out first. They were slightly butterflied. They were covered in coconut flakes that fried up very crispy. There was a nice sweet taste to the coconut. The…
Leave a CommentThanks to a flight on Southwest Airlines a few years ago I was introduced to Deep Eddy Vodka. When I was visiting Austin, I was excited to see that they had a huge tasting room for me to check out. They used to make the vodka at this location, but they got too big, so they moved the distillery operation to a different location. But this offered up a huge space for tastings and a place where folks can just hang out. They had several bars where you can order unique cocktails all made with the different flavors of Deep…
Leave a CommentJust outside of Austin, I discovered a local distillery making vodkas, gin, and bourbon, called Dripping Springs. I had arrived at the perfect time for one of their daily tastings. It was a great setting. The weather was perfect to sit out on their porch with picnic tables all set up for the tastings. Our guide was fantastic. He explained everything about the process of making the vodka and gin. He was also funny and entertaining. I am not a gin fan but the gin that Dripping Springs makes had a subtle taste. I had no idea that besides juniper,…
Leave a CommentAustin may be the capital of Texas, but it is a college town at heart. And being a college town, I expected to find a pizza joint. What I did not expect to find was an authentic New York style pizza place. That is exactly what Home Slice Pizza is. This place was packed. They have a main restaurant and a separate building for to-go orders or ordering pizza by the slice. That day I ended up visiting them twice. The first time I went to the take-out building. The line was so long but it was worth it to…
Leave a CommentIf you have ever driven on a major highway in Texas you would surly seen a sign or billboard for Bucee’s. Bucee’s is a truck stop on steroids. They have tons of gas pumps, car washes, and the cleanest bathrooms. And do not think I am making that up about the bathrooms, they even promote it. What I love about Bucee’s is their food and snacks. They offer everything you would need for a long drive from Houston to San Antonio or Austin to Dallas. If you like kolaches they have several to choose from. Both sweet and savory. If…
Leave a Comment20 years ago, when I moved to Texas, I was introduced to a pastry called Kolaches. These became a staple for any breakfast get together. And when I moved away from Texas it because impossible to find these specialties. For those of you that are not familiar with what a kolache is, let me give you a quick history lesson. Back on the early 1800s, Texas welcomed settlers from Central Europe. As they settle the vast land, they introduced a pastry from their homeland called the kolache. This pastry started off as a sweet fruit filling. It later evolved to…
Leave a CommentI love going to New Jersey and having fresh seafood. My last visit I got to go to a 40 year old restaurant called The Crab’s Claw Inn. Inside did feel like an old Inn, one that you might find tucked away in the mountains, not near the beach. They had the fireplace going to help warm everyone up from the cold outside. The table started off with a pitcher of sangrias. We went for the red. We also got it without ice so it would not get watered down. It was still cold when it came out so it…
Leave a CommentI hope everyone has a wonderful day filled with chocolates, flowers, and love. Enjoy! T
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