Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe – Birmingham, AL

Ice cream is one of those treats that makes both kids and adults happy. It’s the best dessert for celebrations. That perfect flavor can bring back fond memories from a family vacation. You can be having a bad day and a scoop of ice cream can help you forget your troubles.

I was needing an afternoon pick-me-up, so I headed over to Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe. It is right next door to Mr. P’s Deli that I have previously written about.

It is a really cute shop that is family owned. It has the classic look of a 1950s shop but it is also updated.

  

It’s the perfect place to enjoy ice cream or a milk shake with friends and family.

   

They have so many creative flavors ranging from red velvet, cotton candy, and cake batter. It is a hard decision but they let you have samples of the flavors to help you narrow the choices down.

  

I went for the pistachio nut. I love this flavor of ice cream and I do not always find it. I got a big scoop in a waffle cone.

The ice cream was so creamy and it was loaded with pistachios. It was perfect and made me so happy. It really did pick me up.

If you need a special treat or need to celebrate something special, head over to Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe. You can see all their flavors on the website at http://www.bluffparkicecreamshop.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Carnegie Deli – Las Vegas, NV

There are several famous delis around New York City. Carnegie Deli was on of those. Sadly they closed their doors after 79 years at the end of 2016. I was lucky many years ago to get to visit. For anyone that was not so lucky, fear not, there is a licensed location out in Las Vegas. It is located at The Mirage Hotel and Casino.

Every time I am out in Las Vegas for work or vacation, I always make a stop as soon as I arrive. After a long flight I usually work up an appetite and Carnegie Deli always satisfies.

There are several staples that I have order before. Their homemade matzo ball soup is a classic. It’s chicken soup served with one huge matzo ball. It tends to be on the salty side. You can also get this soup with noodles. I would recommend this soup if you are in Vegas during the winter months, it is just too hot for soup during a Vegas summer.

Another dish I have gotten is their potato knish. It is the perfect blend of mashed potato with garlic wrapped in a pastry. This is a favorite of mine because it is so filling. It is also great to share.

On this visit I got their famous Reuben sandwich. It is an open faced sandwich with pastrami piled high and covered with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese.

This is not a sandwich I can eat with my hands, a knife and fork are necessary. There are so many layers of meat. It’s salty and spicy but also tangy because of the sauerkraut. Then when the melted cheese is mixed in, the flavor all comes together.

Clearly I was hungry when I arrived. This was the perfect way to start the trip. Now it’s necessary to walk the strip in order to work off all those calories.

If you are looking for a classic New York meal when you are out West, head over to Carnegie Deli at The Mirage. Get a sandwich, soup, or even breakfast. Plus don’t forget to pick up a classic black and white cookie to go.

Enjoy!

T

Okinawa – Homewood, AL

There is local Japanese restaurant called Okinawa that I have been to tons of times. I have eaten in and taken sushi to go. I finally decided to write about them because they are one of my favorite go to restaurants. Everything I have ever ordered is delicious.

On this most recent visit I went for lunch. They have a great lunch menu that includes sushi rolls, bento boxes, and hibachi plates. I went for the hibachi chicken. The lunch portion is the perfect size. It comes with teriyaki chicken, vegetables, and fried rice. The chicken is juicy white meat; the vegetables are sautéed perfectly with lots of broccoli that I love. Dipping the veggies in the ginger sauce is the best. Their fried rice is simple but flavorful and loaded with scrambled eggs.

The lunch portion of hibachi also comes with your choice of miso soup or a ginger salad. If you go for dinner you would get both, plus the grilled shrimp. I went for the salad. I love the dressing that they use and they give a very generous portion.

If you have a short lunch hour, Okinawa is the perfect place to get in and out quickly. However, if you have some time and want to enjoy some great food with wonderful company then they offer that too. Check out their menu at http://www.okinawasushiusa.com/

   

I am sure I will see you there!

Enjoy!

T

 

Anthony’s Italian Kitchen – Tuscaloosa, AL

I was visiting Tuscaloosa recently and I asked some local residents where they recommended I get a quick bite to eat. Anthony’s Italian Kitchen came to the top of the list because of their pizza. They are located not far from the University campus on McFarland Blvd.

It is a cute family owned restaurant that you can either eat in or get food to go. I could smell the pizza as soon as I walked in. I got there in between the lunch and dinner rush, so I had no problem getting a table.

The first thing I noticed when I sat down was that they have a huge chalkboard for kids to play on. What a perfect way for instant entertainment so that moms and dads can enjoy a nice meal out. It was cute to see all the drawings.

I started off with their cheese bread. It is their homemade pizza dough covered with pizza cheese. When it came out I was shocked that it was the size of a small pizza. After laughing at myself for ordering so much food, I dove into the ooey-gooey cheese.

The saltiness of the cheese complemented the sweetness of the dough. It came with a side of their homemade sauce. I dipped a few bites; it added a meaty flavor. Since I had ordered a pizza too, I ended up getting a to-go box for the rest of the cheese bread.

They have several pizzas to choose from and four different sizes. I went for an 8” supreme pizza that came loaded with pepperoni, sausage, olives, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and a ton of cheese. Their crust is a think pan crust. It had a sweet taste just like the cheese bread. I love a doughy pizza because it soaks up the sauce, it is easier to pick up when it’s loaded with toppings, and it taste amazing cold the next day.

   

Anthony’s has a lot more on their menu than just pizza. The next time I am in town I would definitely want to go back to try their pastas or their Italian seafood stew. I also would go back because a portion of every purchase goes to a wonderful cause. The owners named the restaurant after their son who does missionary work in Uganda. So every meal that is enjoyed can actually help others around the world.

Head on over to Anthony’s Italian Kitchen for great food and wonderful service. Learn more about Anthony’s mission work and see the complete menu at http://www.anthonysitaliankitchentuscaloosa.com/

Enjoy!

T

Red Pearl Restaurant – Homewood, AL

I love all kinds of food, but Chinese food is one of my favorites. I was excited to learn that there was an authentic Chinese restaurant called Red Pearl in Homewood, Alabama. What surprised me even more is that there is a full size Asian market attached to the restaurant. They had everything from candy and sauces to frozen dumplings that can be made at home.

The restaurant was beautiful inside. It had recently been remodeled. There are wonderful ornate wooden walls that separate different sections and an ornately painted focal wall.

   

I started off with the pork noodle soup. It was a huge bowl that was perfect for sharing with the table. It was a good thing that I brought my sister with me. The broth was flavorful and had a very faint spice in it. The noodles were like what are found in lo mein and it was a generous portion in this soup. They used a minced pork that was very tender and added additional flavor to the soup. The pieces of chopped up cabbage added texture. I could have easily made this my meal if I was alone.

I was told that I had to try their egg rolls, so I made sure to order a few. They were crispy on the outside. The filling on the inside was full of meat and vegetables. The nice part about these egg rolls was they had a lot of meat on the inside rather than just filling of excess cabbage. I was very pleased with how they tasted and would recommend them too.

My favorite aspect about a Chinese meal is the sharing. Several dishes can be ordered for the table and then shared family style. So my sister and I went for two dishes: chicken lo mein and pork fried rice.

The chicken in the lo mein were nice big pieces of breast meat. They were sautéed so the edges were slightly crispy. The sauce was salty but it was not overwhelming. The noodles had a smoky taste – which came from the hot flame that was used to cook it in the wok.

The plate of fried rice was huge. The pork in the fried rice added a ton of flavor. The Jasmine rice they used stuck together really well with the sauce that was used to season everything. This made it easy for me to eat the rice with chopsticks.

Now naturally we could not finish everything because it was a lot of food. However, Chinese leftovers make for a perfect lunch the next day. I enjoyed everything that we ordered but I only scratched the surface of what they have to offer. I can’t wait to go back and try some of the beef or tofu or perhaps one of my favorite dishes – Chow Fun.

If you are hungry for Chinese and don’t want typical take out, then you need to swing by Red Pearl. You will truly enjoy sitting down and sharing a meal. Visit their website at http://www.superorientalmkt.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Homewood Diner – Homewood, AL

Bright and early on a cold morning is the perfect time to get a big, hearty breakfast. Diners are naturally the perfect place for these types of breakfasts. The Homewood Diner can be a little hard to find the first time but it is a wonderful place and well worth looking for.

The diner was crowded when I got there. I was able to get one of the last booths. They have many options and combinations to choose from. I wanted something with pancakes because I had not had them for a while.

   

I went for one of their special breakfast plates. The Patriot Breakfast offered up everything I wanted. Eggs, grits, bacon, and a pancake. Just in case there is interest in this plate, you can have hash browns instead of grits and sausage instead of bacon.

I got my eggs scrambled; these are my favorite way to have eggs. The grits were firm but still creamy. I added some butter to add a little salt. The bacon was amazing. The slices were thick and extra crispy. I love extra crispy bacon, plus they gave a very generous portion. You can never have too much bacon.

The pancake, which was why I ordered this breakfast plate, was huge. It was the actual size of the plate it came on. There is something about restaurant pancakes that I just cannot replicate at home. I love the taste of the batter which is a little sweet and the way it gets salty when cooked on the griddle. A great pancake to me is when it tastes just as good with a little melted butter as it does with a topping of maple syrup.

In addition to breakfast Homewood Diner also offers a great meat and 3 lunch option. Check out their breakfast menu at their Facebook page: Facebook.com/HomewoodDiner

Enjoy!

T

 

 

O Sushi – Hoover, AL

Once again I found myself craving sushi. I started thinking about it at work and decided that was going to be my dinner. It was just going to be me so I was excited that I could make the choice of where to go. I decided to try a little family owned local place called O Sushi.

It is a cute place at the corner of a shopping center. I was greeted by the wonderfully friendly staff as soon as I walked in. They have a beautiful bamboo wall that separates the entrance from the main dining area.

Rather than sit at the sushi bar, I went for a small table so I could spread out a little more and just relax. It felt so private with the ornate screens in the window.

They were running a happy hour special on sake while I was there. I decided to get a small hot sake to start my relaxing evening.

 

Their menu had great options to choose from. There was hot and cold appetizers, classic rolls, specialty rolls, homemade ramen noodle soup, and bento boxes. I was really hungry and everything sounded delicious. However, since I was there by myself I knew I could not order too much.

I started with a bowl of miso soup. It was a classic broth with a few slices of seaweed wrapper and tofu. It acted as a great palate cleanser before my sushi came out.

I ordered the tuna tartare off the cold appetizer menu. This had spicy tuna, avocado, a seaweed salad, and fried wonton chips. The presentation was beautiful. The avocado slices lined the bottom of the plate and the finely chopped tuna was placed on top. Decorating the top of the tuna was the seaweed salad.

The tuna was tender and soft. The avocado added a creamy texture and the seaweed salad added crunch. It was the perfect combination. I really liked the seaweed salad. I was expecting it to be salty but it was not. It had a neutral taste that had great crunch but did not take away from the flavor of the tuna. The fried wontons were a great way to eat this dish. I wish I had gotten more of these because they were a great snack.

For my choice of roll, I went for a specialty one called the Caterpillar Roll. It was an eel roll wrapped on top with avocado and drizzled with eel sauce. This roll also had a beautiful presentation on the plate. I was very excited to take a picture of it. If you love avocado, then this is a roll that will make you happy.

The eel itself was fresh and tender. It was paired with a chunk of avocado and wrapped with seaweed and rice. Tightly rolled around the outside of the rice was more slices of avocado. This was the creamiest roll I have ever had. The eel sauce (which is one of my favorites) added sweet flavor to each bite. There was no reason to use any soy sauce with this roll because it was perfect just how the chef prepared it.

I really enjoyed my meal and I can’t wait to bring some friends and family here. There are so many other rolls I want to try. Plus, I want to try some homemade ramen on a cold day. Check out their menu at http://www.osushihoover.com/

Enjoy!

T