Raspberry twist on an old-fashioned favorite. $1.99
Cracker Barrel Restaurant, North Charleston SC
This place is a trip! Even though there were kids and families everywhere, I couldn’t help feel like I was at a senior citizen center. The servers are a random crew with differing levels of hospitality. Not really my kinda place.
Three pieces of mussels with house spicy sauce, served with lemon slices. $2.95
Miyabi Japanese Cuisine, San Francisco CA
Mmm, I liked these because there was at least some spice in the sauce. You don’t often see green mussels on menus, mostly black PEI mussels, so I had to try them. You couldn’t taste much of the mussels themselves because of the sauce but they were meaty and tender.
Sunrise from my balcony. It’s mornings like this that I wish nothing more than to be exactly where I’m at.
Fruity red wine sangria garnished with strawberry, lemon, apple, and mint. Happy hour $4.95
Cafe Mystique, San Francisco CA
I’ve often overlooked this restaurant on Castro Street, but I’m SO glad I finally tried it. They have a great happy hour, the food is tasty, and the service is SO friendly! Sometimes, it’s all about the details. Not only were these sangrias delicious, but I love all the large garnishes (that lemon knot is super cute) and they even add a skewer to better retrieve the alcohol soaked fruit.
Burning phoenix graffiti mural, The Mission. I can honestly say that I’d never noticed this artwork before along 24th Street, but it’s frickin’ AMAZING! I love the colors and the positioning of everything. One of my favorites so far!
Blenheim Julep – Makers Mark bourbon, lemon, mint, and spicy Blenheim ginger ale. $7
Classic Champagne Cocktail – Bubbly and bitters, brown sugar cube. $7
The Glass Onion, Charleston SC
Mmm, these cocktails were yummy and pretty cheap as cocktails go. The Blenheim Julep was fruity and refreshing and the Classic Champagne Cocktail was bright and bubbly. Perfect when combined with a delicious meal.
View of Charleston Waterfront Park from Charleston Harbor. I love the row of Sabal Palmetto trees lining the waterfront pathway.
Mojito Enamora’o. A Puertorican classic prepared with Bacardi rum, mint, lemon, sugar, and Bacardi Limon. $8
Sangria Nostalgia Boricua. Red wine cocktail. $6
Restaurante Raices, Old San Juan, PUERTO RICO
These were sad excuses for cocktails, which makes it even more sad because this was the first meal of our Caribbean vacation. The cheap, sheet metal cups were the size of thimbles. I want to say that that is a good thing because you don’t have to force down much of these sugar-water abominations, but because it takes forever to order and even longer to receive them, I wanted more volume to tide me over before we could order replacements. If you’re ever in Old San Juan, DO NOT go to this restaurant unless you want horrible drinks and even worse food. I left feeling like a sucker.
This mural painted on a garage door in the middle of Old San Juan caught my eye.
Fried sage and parsley, lemon wedge. Piccolo $12
Locanda, San Francisco
The batter they used had a very good flavor, but I was disappointed that the whole this was SO salty. I love fried things, but this was also a little greasy. Kinda sad about that.
Project 365: Day 95
Went for another morning workout this Easter Sunday morning. It sucks to be away from San Francisco on a major holiday but I gotta do it for work. I’m gonna treat myself to a tourist/beach day. I plan on driving to Sullivan’s Island and grab lunch at Poe’s Tavern. Then I’ll look around Fort Moultrie before heading back to downtown Charleston to grab an early dinner at Anson Restaurant. I’ve been craving their delicious she crab soup that I had last time I was in Charleston. Mmm, can’t wait!
Slices of fried chicken served with a lemon sauce on the side and lemon slices. $8.50
Grand Palace Restaurant, South San Francisco CA
Ew, this was kinda gross! The chicken was overcooked and the lemon sauce had a really bad chemical aftertaste. I don’t know how they make the sauce, but I doubt it’s made from all natural ingredients.
Shrimp with smoky paprika, sherry and lemon. Tapa $9
Canela, San Francisco
This was a different take on the gambas al ajillo that you normally get at other Spanish tapas restaurants. The smoky paprika added a lot of flavor and gave the broth a beautiful red color. The lemon wedge is also cooked into the sauce and gave the broth a nice citrus-y taste. The shrimp were cooked a little more than I would have liked, but the sauce made up for it. Ask for additional bread to soak it all up!
Project 365: Day 62
Tried out Canela for a pre-birthday celebration for Silverfox. My roommate had already been here and said that it was pretty good. We’re planning to have a nicer dinner in San Juan next week to really celebrate Silverfox’s birthday but it’s nice to go out and have a dinner closer to the actual date of his special day.
With apple, manchego cheese, walnut, flat leaf parsley, lemon, olive oil, egg. $8
Canela, San Francisco
This salad was really refreshing. I loved all the different components but I have to say that the Italian parsley was killer in this salad! In combination with the lemon, it really helped to brighten up the salad and gave it a fanastic flavor. I would definitely order this again!
Red sangria. Bottle $21
I really enjoyed this sangria. It was overly sweet and the wine that they used had a great flavor. It wasn’t too bitter or funky tasting. Noms!
Chef’s beer selection, basil and sundried tomatoes, served with toasted baguette slices and lemon wedge. $12 ($6 for Sunday happy hour)
Hubbard Grille, Columbus OH
I’m glad that these mussels weren’t overcooked. The shellfish was still plump and juicy, yay! I really liked the broth too. Perhaps it was the beer, hehe!
Served with Sriracha garlic aioli and lemon. $11 ($5.50 for Sunday happy hour)
Hubbard Grille, Columbus OH
These were really tasty. I loved the Sriracha garlic aioli. Some of the squid pieces were kinda greasy so I had to leave them in the bowl – I think they were cooked at too low a temperature. Other than that, I enjoyed these and I’m glad that they included plenty of the tentacles.
With pistachio streusel, kaffir lime meringue, citrus wedges, coconut-shiso sorbet, micro Thai basil. New Year four-course tasting menu $80
RN74, San Francisco
I enjoyed this dessert very much. It was very different and fresh tasting. I think my favorite components were the kaffir lime meringues and the cremeaux. It was mostly citrus flavors but the pistachio streusel helped to neutralize the acidity. I’m still on the fence about the coconut-shiso sorbet. Maybe that was a little too out there for me. Perhaps the flavor wasn’t intense enough so it faded into the background.
Coffee. $3.50 per cup. Very cute service.
Vittle Monster 