Bacon, chive oil, oyster crackers. Cup $5
Red’s Table, Reston VA
This chowder was great! I loved its thick texture and smoky flavor. I also liked the homemade (?) crackers instead of the typical oyster crackers in a bag.
Rich and creamy chicken soup, pork chashu, duck chashu, menma, kale, burdock, katsuobushi sauce. Double chashu $18
Mensho Tokyo, San Francisco CA
Overall, I thought this place was overrated – especially for the price! I will admit that this tori paitan broth was delicious. I loved how rich and fatty it was, but I’m sure it’s not for everyone. I thought that the topping were mediocre though. Both the chasu pork and duck were bland and boring, and the other toppings were kept to a minimum. You think they’ve give you a bit more for almost 20 bucks for this slightly small bowl. Meh, wouldn’t go back.
Braised tofu with minced pork, hot pepper sauce, scallions. $6.95
China King Restaurant, Herndon VA
This looks messy and gross, but it tasted great. I appreciated that they kept the pork at a sizable mince (it felt more hearty). This dish could have used a bit more heat, but the flavors were solid.
Eggs over medium, wheat toast. $4.95
Dutch Eating Place, Philadelphia PA
I’m still surprised (and alarmed) when I travel to a place that doesn’t ban the use of styrofoam. It’s such a horrible thing!
Anyway, back to the food. I didn’t like this very much, and not because of the styrofoam! The scrapple had an odd texture. Maybe this is how it’s supposed to taste and feel, but the other times I’ve had scrapple were at nice restaurants so maybe they had performed some culinary magic to deceive me into liking it. I love offal and such so I thought that this would be great – not the case. The toast was also lame and barely even toasted. The eggs just looked sad.
Tuna, ogo seaweed, onion, cashew nuts, sushi rice. $11.50
Bonito Poke Truck, San Francisco CA
This was pretty tasty. It sure was small, but I did love the flavors. I just felt sad when I ate the whole thing and was still hungry after spending 12 bucks.
$1.10
Beiler’s Bakery, Philadelphia PA
My donut kinda got smushed in the bag, but oh well, it still tasted great! I just loved their light and fluffy dough. I will say that prices have gone up 15 cents since that last time I was here, lol! Darn inflation! 🙂
Sticky rice, mozzarella, bechamel, marinara. $6
Cherry Blossom Pub, Washington DC
These were good (and different). I liked the sticky rice variation to keep in line with the Super Mario theme on our side of the bar. This had great flavor though. The service was nice enough, but the crowds were just too loud and crazy to really enjoy anything.
Red wine onions, arugula, goat cheese, aioli, pickle, brioche bun. Served with portabello mushroom soup. $21
Barking Frog, Woodinville WA
This was a pretty heavy and rich burger, but I liked the combination of flavors. The lamb patty wasn’t too strong and it had a nice sear on the outside. The soup, also very heavy, was a tasty accompaniment.
Kohlrabi, szechuan lemon oil, dill. Tasting menu $95
Volt, Frederick MD
Mmm, this was delicious! And it wasn’t even on the tasting menu – they just brought it out as an extra. Not that I needed more food, I was getting pretty full at this point in the meal. I’m glad I tried this though. The rockfish was cooked beautifully, but I particularly liked the kohlrabi puree.
Chocolate custard blended with minted marshmallow sauce and chocolate truffle cookie dough. $4.69
Shake Shack, Tysons VA
I don’t usually order shakes or the sort, but I was feeling frisky, lol! This tasted great though and I could have even handled the larger size. Wow, I really need to hit the gym now!
Mustard-fennel aioli, fresh apple and fennel slaw. Happy hour $11.755
Arnies Restaurant, Edmonds WA
This was good, but the crab cake was kinda small and it look pretty lonely on that big plate. (Who would eat that much aioli with a single, tiny crab cake anyway?) The apple fennel slaw was nice and refreshing though.
Dried chili peppers, green peppers, carrots in chef’s spicy sauce. $8.95
China King Restaurant, Herndon VA
This was a decent dish. I liked the flavor of the sauce and the amount of chicken they gave. I just wish the sauce was less runny and that there chicken wasn’t so heavily breaded.
Vittle Monster 