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Review: Red Red Wine Bar

michelle — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:55:05 +0000

A friend and I have been trying to plan a trip here since the fall…. and with no hockey this weekend due to the All Star break and unusually nice weather for January… we finally went Sunday for Brunch.

On Main Street in Annapolis…. the space is still pretty new. Decent sized dining area… with a mix of tables (and outdoor seating too!) and standard sized bar area… with 2 Tvs. We elected to sit at the bar….

Started with Mimosas……. Cheers!

Currently Red Red Wine Bar is offering a New Orleans themed brunch…. complete with beads on the backs of the bar chairs

I had the Shrimp Creole Omelet………….. So Good…. the creole sauce was the right amount of spice… and the shrimps were decent sized. Served with roasted potatoes.

We also moved onto sampling some wines…. They have a pretty decent selection…. in all kinds of price ranges.
After you partake of some wine you can then walk down to the Annapolis City Dock… especially if its a nice day.

This place is great….. not at all like that pretentious wine bar in DC

Review: B&O Brasserie

michelle — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:10:25 +0000

My girlfriends and always go out for a nice Holiday dinner… in January when the crazyness of the holidays dies down. This year one of my friends saw a deal on Travelzoo where you got to choose 1 Appetizer, 1 Entree, and 1 Dessert from a pre fixe menu….. plus a glass of sparkling wine… all for $29 each……… Sold. It was like a Restaurant Week deal… but better

We rolled up to the Hotel Monaco- Baltimore…. and fancy time went with the Valet service …. Only $5!!

The downstairs area is a large bar/lounge area with couches and a huge TV on 1 wall… and there was quite a crowd watching the 49s/Saints playoff game.

The dining room is upstairs…. pretty fancy… with nice huge banquette style seating for many of the tables.

The pre fixe menu was pretty awesome … we had a horrible time choosing… as everything sounded so good.

To start… I went with the – Roasted Pumpkin Bisque – cranberry / apple / roasted shallot. So awesome.. and they were not skimping on portion size….

For my entree I got Short Rib- fingerling sweet potato / brussels sprouts / bacon. So good… even the brussel sprouts were good!

For dessert we each ordered one of the options to share….

Pecan Cobbler – whipped creme fraiche ; Callebeaut Hot Chocolate – whipped cream / chocolate shavings / chocolate hazelnut biscotti; Butternut Squash Doughnuts – cinnamon glaze / espresso milkshake

The clear winner to me was the doughnuts….but everything was awesome. We also ordered a bottle of wine.

The real total was $190… with our deal…$137….. pretty awesome. If you have an event at 1st Mariner Area… B&O Brasserie is in walking distance and I would totally recommend it.

Review: Acadiana – Restaurant Week

michelle — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:18:38 +0000

Picked Acadiana on the referral of a friend that went last year during Restaurant Week for lunch and raved about it. The great thing about Acadiana for RW is that they allow you to choose any entree off the main menu (most give you only a few limited choices).

First up… Appetizer…. I was torn…. because I like to always try something new during RW…. SO I was looking at the Turtle Soup…. then I googled and saw that it was actually made with turtle meat (I thought they just threw the shell in the pot (like with the rock soup we made in kindergarden)….eh… not so much. So I asked the waiter for his opinion. He said it wasn’t a big draw on the menu…

So I went with Roasted Corn and Crab Soup…YUM

But since we were so curious the waiter said he would bring us a sample. Not bad… I certainly didn’t feel like I was eating turtle…. it just tasted like a spicy vegetable soup to me… but I am glad I went with the Corn and Crab soup.

Next up entree… I was looking at the shrimp and grits… but ultimately went with the -blackened tilapia – sweet corn pudding, collard greens with benton bacon, crawfish lemon tabasco butter. So good. Haven’t had blackened anything in a while… so this was nice for me. Can’t go wrong with corn pudding….

Dessert - Gianduja chocolate crème brulee – chocolate crinkle cookie, hazelnut brittle – I love me some creme brulee… and this was no disappointment.

This is a major benefit of working downtown…. can hit up RW options for lunch… which is about $15 cheaper than the dinner option… The only problem is if you have an afternoon meeting…. you may be in a food coma

Review: Columbia Firehouse

michelle — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:31:33 +0000

Ended up here for Sunday brunch at the recommendation of a friend. We arrived around 1:30… and it was pretty empty. The dining room is pretty large (sectioned into a few different rooms) and there is a bar area. We sat at the bar. I started with a Moscow Mule…. pretty good, but nothing spectacular.

To eat I had the Chicken and Waffles - Belgian Waffle with Fried Chicken, Braised Kale & Giblet Gravy. The waffle was really good. Not a fan of kale… so I didn’t really eat it. The chicken was good, but I wished I had asked for the gravy on the side.

Bar service was kind of slow… not sure if its always like that… I’d go back… and try lunch or dinner.

Review: Cashion’s Eat Place

michelle — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:19:05 +0000

About a year ago I bought a Living Social deal for Cashion’s – the WaPo critic always raves about the place…. So I figured this would be a good way to try it out… and I finally got around to using it this week… Hey! I’ve been busy

Cashion’s has an outdoor patio (too chilly for that now though)… bar area and not too large dining room.

I started with a Moscow Mule – vodka, ginger beer, and lime… it was delish. They also brought out this amazing crusty bread. YUM!!!! Hey…I’m carb loading for all my upcoming races

For my entree I went with Pacific Halibut fillet with Truffle’d Potato Puree, Sauteed Spinach …it was awesome!! I had to refrain from licking the plate clean.

Next up dessert… I went with Chocolate Mousse filled cream puffs on top of some caramel sauce.. and glass of red wine… I believe it was the AVE MALBEC ’09 (the server wanted me to try a dessert wine, but I am really not a fan … she even gave me two wines to sample – the Malbec and the dessert wine and I picked the Malbec!)

Would love to go back here and try brunch…. I hear that is great too….

Review: Zengo

michelle — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:55:54 +0000

Bought a Living Social deal for this place a while ago…. finally used it prior to a Caps game….

Zengo has a small bar/lounge area downstairs… and a large dining area upstairs…

We wents for drinks and pre-game drinks….

I started with a lychee Martini – Stoli / lychee – It was so good I had a second one

For dinner I had Salt and Pepper Shrimp Tacos – tomatillo-avocado puree / pickled cabbage /lemon-sake aioli / flour tortilla – These were pretty good too.

A little pricey…. but there was a decent crown inside Rockin the Red…. so it looks to be a good pre-game spot.

Review: Lucky Strike

michelle — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:58:05 +0000

If you’re like me you may not realize that Lucky Strike has a full bar area with along with tables for extra seating and serves actual food.

I was out and about for a Caps on Tap event (wristband gets you access to $2 beers at select bars in Chinatown). Lucky Strike was one of the bars, and my friend declared that we could eat there, too. Um, news to me….. I figured they were just a bowling alley.

Nope…. full bar and menu, along with huge TVs that were obviously showing college football (it was a Saturday… duh).

I ended ordering Mini-Burgers…you can do 1, 2, or 3 … and they come with fries.

I went with — Buffalo Chicken — grilled chicken breast tossed in buffalo sauce and served on romaine lettuce with ranch dressing and tangy blue cheese crumbles and — Short Rib — boneless, slow roasted short ribs simmered to tomato au jus.

Buffalo chicken was nice and spicy and Short rib was good, but I wished the the buns were a little more toasty.

Definitely a decent place to go before a Caps game (it wasn’t even crowded on the afternoon that we went).

Review: Cuba Libre

michelle — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:33:31 +0000

Caippy Hour.

Cube Libre has some good happy hour deals. $4 Estrella Damm – Cuban beer

Also $4 Small plates.

We tried the Guacamole Cubano
Avocado, golden pineapple, fresh lime juice and extra virgin olive oil. Crispy plantain chips – The planttain chips were awesome. I could have done without the pineapple though.

Mamá Amelia’s Empanadas – Hand chopped chicken, corn, sweet peppers and Jack cheese

and Albondigas Camagüey – Chino glazed beef, pork and pine nut meatballs. Pickled carrot-cilantro slaw – This was really good.

Cuba Libre is also supposed to have a really good brunch. I hope to go back and try it.

Review: Graffiato

michelle — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:33:42 +0000

Graffiato has been the new “must do” in DC…. and I was able 2 get reservations about 3 weeks out from the dining date (for a 6pm table, during the week… not too bad). Met a friend for dinner about a week ago. Walked up amd who was standing in front talking on a cell phone, but the chef himself…. Mike Isabella. Was messing around on my cell while I waited for my friend, and a passerby came up to me and asked me to take his picture with Isabella. Too funny.

My friend arrived and we went inside. Graffiato is 2 stories and the downstairs is all bar. It was packed. And Loud. We went up stairs to be sat. Open kitchen with lots of tables (though I thought they could remove one row of tables… it was a little tight for teh servers trying to get through… and wait until the winter coats come out!

The waiter explained they were small plates to my friend and I each ordered 3 to share… First up – Marinated Olives — citrus, chili, herbs – good but with pitts… avoid if trying to make a good impression on a date

Next up -

Broccolini – spicy pepper relish, feta. This was really good.

Then

Striped Bass – potato, smoked eggplant, pine nut relish. Awesome. Really.

Next up -

Scallops -caramelized parsnip, truffle, pickled apple. WINNER!! Love me some scallops and love me some parsnip!!!

Next -

Roasted Potato Gnocchi - Can’t remember what was in this dish and I don’t think its on the online version of the menu… but it was good.

Finally -

Polenta – spicy pork meatballs – -YUM!

For dessert – Nutella Cannoli – I still don’t get the Nutella craze… but these were good … and afterwards I was stuffed

I also tried the Prosecco……… but switched to Peronoi after a glass.

GO!!!! GO!!!! GO!!! Can’t wait to go back.

Review: Barcode

michelle — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:18:00 +0000

One word sums this place up.

Loud.

I had a Living Social deal that was set to expire…. so a friend and I met up for dinner about 2 weeks ago. It was a Wednesday… around 6:30pm.

They have an outdoor bar area… packed.

Outdoor patio for eating… pretty much packed.

Inside seating for eating and inside bar… with TVs for sports viewing.

Inside was pretty much packed too.

Between all the people and loud music …. my friend and I could barley hear each other.

I started with the Salmon Tartare | Roasted Garlic, Sundried Tomatoes, Olives, Herbs – It was decent, but nothing to write home about.

Then I went with the Mini Crab Cake Sliders | Horseradish Mayonnaise. These were good.

Service was good and fast.

I doubt I go back though…. between the noise level and being on the Red line… it just seems to not be worth the travel time.