Somehow, this has become a week of indulgence. Good times all around, though my mid section won't agree. To hell with the mid section (especially for you, MZ)... I'm gonna eat first and worry later.
Bandera - lunch on Capitalist Trap Day was excellent. I had a steak sandwich with hand cut freedom fries (oh, how easy we forget about the follies in our government). The steak sandwich was one of the best I've ever had. Having the radish on the side was a good idea too. However, the star of the meal is the Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. A full stomach didn't stop me from devour that thing. Next time I go I will try some chicken - the rotisserie that we could see from the door looked very inviting. Verdict: can do a lot more times since it's so close to home.
The Tasting Room - I skipped dinner on Capitalist Trap Day (sorry, I can't resist; I'm not bitter; I just find it funny that we need one special day to proclaim our love for someone else; nope, I'm not bitter.) and went to The Tasting Room instead. Had a champagne flight - three glasses of reserve champagne - that was too good for me to recognize how good it was. There was also a couple making out on the sofa behind me that kept distracting our table. haha. The final damage was damaging though. Verdict: come with a real date instead of three other single people.
Erwin - after reading La Voyageur's blog, I've had this restaurant on my hit list. They only serve brunch on Sundays, so I've waited my fair share of time before finally being able to go. The place surprised me a little with the ambiance - just feels comfortable and happening, yet I can't really pinpoint what it is. It wasn't packed, which was surprising, but certainly welcoming for a cold Sunday morning. Anyway, the food was of course very good. La Voyageur talked about poached eggs, which I remembered wrongly as eggs benedict, so I ordered one. It was pretty good and the salmon on it was excellent. It got a bit cold towards the end of the meal though. Dessert was yet another ice cream sandwich. Good... but not Oreo. Verdict: I like the place more than the food, and the food was also pretty damn good. Oh, here are some pictures... the eggs benedict, crab cake, and ice cream sandwich. I should take more pictures of food.
Vermilion - 2R's birthday was at this Indian-Latin American fusion place. There were little stalls that they used red curtains to create some privacy. I didn't like them. To the food: the Indian style tapas was an excellent fusion dish. While fusion is generally good, it is not always great. Often the dish ends up in the middle of the two cuisines and some of the original tastes are lost. After ordering a lobster for entree, I said "I usually don't order lobsters outside of Boston because the standards are so high, but this is an award winning dish, so..." I can't remember which award it won, and I should really dig that list out, because I want to be a bit weary of it. The lobster was cooked too much and wasn't really tender. It didn't feel like seafood. The Indian sauce and Latin American condiments were pretty good, but the lobster and the coconut rice didn't really cut it. PP made a blueberry cheesecake that was pretty good. Vermilion's chocolate cake was a bit to much after the meal. Verdict: overrated by a bit, but a tapas based meal could be surprisingly good.
Bandera - lunch on Capitalist Trap Day was excellent. I had a steak sandwich with hand cut freedom fries (oh, how easy we forget about the follies in our government). The steak sandwich was one of the best I've ever had. Having the radish on the side was a good idea too. However, the star of the meal is the Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. A full stomach didn't stop me from devour that thing. Next time I go I will try some chicken - the rotisserie that we could see from the door looked very inviting. Verdict: can do a lot more times since it's so close to home.
The Tasting Room - I skipped dinner on Capitalist Trap Day (sorry, I can't resist; I'm not bitter; I just find it funny that we need one special day to proclaim our love for someone else; nope, I'm not bitter.) and went to The Tasting Room instead. Had a champagne flight - three glasses of reserve champagne - that was too good for me to recognize how good it was. There was also a couple making out on the sofa behind me that kept distracting our table. haha. The final damage was damaging though. Verdict: come with a real date instead of three other single people.
Erwin - after reading La Voyageur's blog, I've had this restaurant on my hit list. They only serve brunch on Sundays, so I've waited my fair share of time before finally being able to go. The place surprised me a little with the ambiance - just feels comfortable and happening, yet I can't really pinpoint what it is. It wasn't packed, which was surprising, but certainly welcoming for a cold Sunday morning. Anyway, the food was of course very good. La Voyageur talked about poached eggs, which I remembered wrongly as eggs benedict, so I ordered one. It was pretty good and the salmon on it was excellent. It got a bit cold towards the end of the meal though. Dessert was yet another ice cream sandwich. Good... but not Oreo. Verdict: I like the place more than the food, and the food was also pretty damn good. Oh, here are some pictures... the eggs benedict, crab cake, and ice cream sandwich. I should take more pictures of food.
Vermilion - 2R's birthday was at this Indian-Latin American fusion place. There were little stalls that they used red curtains to create some privacy. I didn't like them. To the food: the Indian style tapas was an excellent fusion dish. While fusion is generally good, it is not always great. Often the dish ends up in the middle of the two cuisines and some of the original tastes are lost. After ordering a lobster for entree, I said "I usually don't order lobsters outside of Boston because the standards are so high, but this is an award winning dish, so..." I can't remember which award it won, and I should really dig that list out, because I want to be a bit weary of it. The lobster was cooked too much and wasn't really tender. It didn't feel like seafood. The Indian sauce and Latin American condiments were pretty good, but the lobster and the coconut rice didn't really cut it. PP made a blueberry cheesecake that was pretty good. Vermilion's chocolate cake was a bit to much after the meal. Verdict: overrated by a bit, but a tapas based meal could be surprisingly good.
3 comments:
You should try the tandoori steak or the sri lankan whole fish next time. I regret having the lobster dish as well, bad choice.
- R2
That's funny about the lobster. I pretty much never eat crab outside of Maryland for similar reasons (though I did have one tasteless claw on Saturday night).
My estimation of erwin went down half a notch after my 2nd visit (when the poached eggs were not quite as perfect), so its no longer in the excellent category but still in the good place to have a cozy brunch on a cold morning category.
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