Posts Tagged "Restaurants"

Inpromptu Dining

Posted on Mar 12, 2012 | 5 comments

I’m home sweet home on this lonely Monday (Matt’s still working at his spring break practicum this week). It’s weird to go from a weekend of people and excitement, to such a quiet apartment. I was able to unpack and get ready for the week though. I was hoping to do laundry, but I can’t find the special card that my apartment requires! Uggg. Anyway, my last night in Baltimore was exciting. My Grandma had tickets to the opera before our visit was planned, so while she was off in downtown Baltimore, my mom and I walked over the the mall and then ducked into PF Chang’s for a cocktail. The spring air inspired me and I went all tropical with a Mai Tai. This was huge, full of sugar, and totally awesome. And they didn’t skimp on the alcohol either! After drinks, we walked over to meet my grandma, as we planned to have a quiet evening at her apartment. But she wasn’t there, so we continued the party by opening a mini bottle of cava from her fridge! When the bus finally arrived, it was too late for dinner in the dining hall. Long story short, I found myself sipping a bourbon sour at a fancy seafood place! Yall know I love eating out, so I was excited to try a new restaurant rather than stay in. The pictures are not so good though:(

The menu was great and I had a hard time deciding. But I was pretty hungry by this point and went with my gut:) Jumbo shrimp stuffed with cheesy crab imperial and sweet potato fries.

You can’t go wrong with this combination. It was heavenly.

And to top it all off, a giant apple pie shared with my mom. This was good too, but I wasn’t a fan of it being served cold:(

Here’s Gram with her new Loehmann’s purse!

I had such a good time this weekend, but I was also pretty excited excited to be reunited with a big bowl of puffins and my couch. Calling it an early night very soon. See ya.

Feels Like Home

Posted on Aug 9, 2011 | 5 comments

Well aside from my blog being all out of sorts (sorry guys!), I had a fabulous weekend. Durham finally feels kinda like home, and not just some strange place I am visiting on an extended vacation.

After running errands all day Saturday, I came home and split this Trippel with Matt. It was strong with a spicy-hop finish and I give it two thumbs up! Hopefully, I can add a few new beers to Beer Love once the blog is back to normal.

I’ve been participating in a lot of group/social events lately, so I decided on Saturday that a one-on-one date was needed. Luckily, Matt and I started keeping an eye on Living Social and Groupon deals long before the move, so we’ve built up quite a collection.

There’s a charming little Italian restaurant in the same building as our apartment, so we bopped right over to use a gift certificate.

I had a ‘super Tuscan’ to start and enjoyed it with large hunks of this fluffy bread dipped in balsamic and oil.

The entrees were about the same price as Boston restaurants, but the portion was probably double! I ordered the scallops with fresh tomato, herbs, lemon, capers, and oilve oil with a polenta cake. There were also unidentifiable greens!

I usually think of scallops as a lighter portion, but six of these guys left me feeling stuffed and happy.

After dinner, we walked off some of our fullness and headed over to the party apartment complex for…a party! We stopped by to see a friend and I was offered a glass of the most wonderful sparking wine. And, it’s only a few bucks at TJ’s. Don’t ya love that?

We spent the rest of the evening mingling in a hot apartment, but it was fun to be with a crowd. The group ventured over to the famous Shooters, but I decided to go to bed when I realized the cover was $10:(

Sunday, I caught up with a good friend at Parker and Otis and had another amazing panini and a spinach salad. I love Durham nooks! Adios.

Toast

Posted on Aug 6, 2011 | 2 comments

Hi Friends,

This weekend has been quite relaxing so far. Honestly, today has been most settled I’ve felt since the move back in June. All our furniture is here and the only thing we have left to do is hang a million pictures. My body also seems to be adjusting to my work schedule because I actually had the energy to go out last night.

Matt and I walked over to Toast, a little cafe on Main St. that pairs imported Italian meats with fresh local ingredients to make amazing sandwiches.

I ordered a panini with portobellos, fontina, tomato and arugula.

And thanks to a giftcard from Matt’s mom, our dinner was free!! Thanks, Candace. We’ll definitely be going back because there are many more combinations I want to try and it’s so close to our apt.

After dinner, we walked over to Central Park to say hi to my dad (he was listening to free blues in the park) and then we met some new friends for drinks at West End wine bar. I obviously went with a German riesling, although my second drink was a Fat Tire because wine was making me too thirsty. Our evening was filled with good conversation and then deep slumber.

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Today has included a treadmill run, a Trader Joe’s visit, and a trip to DSW for new flats for work. Now it’s Saturday night, and you guessed it, I’m about to pop a brew and then go out to dinner. Enjoy the evening.

Anasazi, Marble, Coyote

Posted on Jul 14, 2011 | 5 comments

Seven more hours of driving and we arrived in Santa Fe just in time for lunch on the patio of the famous Inn of the Anasazi.

After a few bland beers in AZ, this nut brown tasted awesome!

Matt and I split buffalo sliders, chili fries, and tuna tacos for a late lunch snack.

Everything tasted really good, but nothing stood out (especially after how spoiled we have been over the past few days.)

Below is a pic of our b & b room: it’s very authentic and quite charming. The staff have also been really nice. After two nice resorts though, the inn felt just a bit too rustic.

I took a quick nap and then ran a mile. My cold from last week seems to have turned into a cough, so I really wasn’t feeling too hot last night. We managed to do a little walking around and then discovered live music on the plaza.

It’s sooooo beautiful here!!! The weather has been cool and breezy and I love the Spanish/European vibe of this city.

The plaza was the happening place to be, especially for dogs.

We settled into a rooftop seat at the Marble Brewery. A couple of people recommended this place, but no one mentioned it has a roof deck that overlooks the plaza!!!

I ordered five oz pours of the red ale, wildflower wheat, and the oatmeal stout. All were great! What a fun tap room.

Dinner!

The main event was prawns over New Mexican fry bread and green rice with a red chili sauce and a watermelon salad. Wow! You never known with non-traditional mexican entrees (not quesadillas, burritos, chimi’s, enchiladas), but this was unique and flavorful. The sauce was hot, but I ordered a milk:)

And once last prickly pear (in frozen form this time), because I know I can’t get these on the east coast.

Long day + margaritas + mexican food = straight to bed:)

Oh, and happy birthday to Lauren today!!!