caitgreenwood

caitgreenwood

Overview:

I was lucky enough to be taken to Avec for my birthday and sit at the Chef's Table- it was incredible!

We are big eaters, and we couldn't decide where to begin on the menu, so we basically ordered most of the small plates. Our sweet-natured server, Erica, was kind enough to suggest we may be ordering too much (she was right), but we laughed her off and went to town....

Chorizo-stuffed Medjool dates with smoked bacon and pequillo pepper and tomato sauce (these dates are HUGE, and delicious. I almost swooned off my stool)

Whipped Brandade with garlic bread (heavy, but decadent and delish. This was the beginning of my end, unfortunately!)

Wood-fired squid with tomatoes guanciale, fideo, and fennel aioli (arguably my favorite of the night. Not at all what I was expecting, but rich and tasty!)

Marinated Hanger Steak with lemon mascarpone leeks, escarole, and charred onion vinaigrette

Burrata with marinated chickpeas, golden raisins, pistachio and lemon vinaigrette (it's burrata, which means it's amazing)

Marinated anchovies on flatbread with cucumber, cilantro, and mustard oil

....phew!

So after all of this and lots of wine, I was ready to throw in the towel, but still waxing poetic on how delicious everything was!

I can't wait to get back to Avec, it's truly incredible!

Special Dishes:

Burrata, Chorizo-stuffed Dates, Wood-fired Squid

caitgreenwood

Overview:

We kind of got out of control here....in a good way...

Because there were four of us, we decided to order a few things and share around the table. After very tough decisions on all of our parts, we settled with:

The Brunch Dog (Slagel farms pork loin breakfast sausage with Cobb smoked bacon, fried egg & drizzled with maple mayo)

The Krazy Kimchi (Spicy beef sausage, braised short rib & turnips, kimchi, wild rice & basil)

A Dawg Flight (3 chef's choice dogs)

The truffle mac-n-cheese, AND the fries (twice fried- and yum).

Everything was amazing, and we had to go for a looong walk after we ate- talk about stuffed to satisfaction!

Special Dishes:

Hot dogs...

caitgreenwood

Overview:

I love this little gem, it's casual, simple, inexpensive, and lets the food speak for itself!

The Asian Meatballs with rice noodles and mint is unbelievable, and talk about a mouthful, there's a LOT of goodness in this sandwich!

The Korean Beef BBQ with kimchi and scallions is my absolute favorite. I love kimchi, and the rich deliciousness of the beef is a perfect match. The flavors here just work perfectly, and make me very, very happy.

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we tried the Vietnamese cinnamon caramel and the bacon chocolate chip soft serve. Both delectable!

Run, ride, bus, drive... do whatever you have to do to get to Belly Shack, immediately!

Special Dishes:

Everything, but my fav was the Korean Beef BBQ

caitgreenwood

Overview:

My first time to GT was already set up to be the perfect storm of perfection. I was with a great friend, I was excited to try GT, and it was perfect patio weather (my first patio night of the year)! We of course sat outside, although the interior of GT is absolutely gorgeous, and I will go back and enjoy that atmosphere soon, and immediately ordered champagne to celebrate the night; we were celebrating nothing in particular, but it just felt right. We started out with oysters, you can't go to a place with "oyster" in the name and not partake in them! We ordered three different kinds from the menu, a sweet, small oyster, a medium, plump oyster, and a meaty, briny oyster. All of them were fresh and delicious. We then went with the Baja shrimp bruschetta and the sunfish ceviche, both my favorite of the evening. They were literally amazing, and unique. For our mains we decided on the lobster roll, which was brimming with sweet lobster, and the PEI mussels, which came as a huge portion with grilled bread and tomatoes with basil. We pondered dessert but decided we just didn't have room for it, all the more reason to go back soon!

Everything was truly amazing. The service was fabulous, the atmosphere gorgeous, and the food impeccable!

Special Dishes:

Everything...

caitgreenwood

Overview:

This place definitely brings meaning to "fare bella figura;" it's certainly the most beautiful Italian restaurant I've been to.

My friend and I had an early dinner and were immediately charmed by our waiter Anthony, who was funny and knowledgeable. He gave us some suggestions, and we decided to take his advice and go with the lobster caprese, the polenta with poached egg, truffle and parm (a favorite, this was so tasty!), the shaved brussels sprout salad, and then a trio of pastas- the strozzapreti with arugula and pignoli, the duck agnolotti with mission figs and brussels, and the spicy king crab with squid ink spaghetti. I think our two oh-my-god-it's-good dishes were the polenta with poached egg and the spicy king crab with squid ink spaghetti. The dessert really stood out, however. We had mission figs with mascarpone, which was shockingly good. We also had some beautiful glasses of wine and our server let us do quite a few tastings, which was fun.

RPM is a great place for upscale Italian and drinks!

Special Dishes:

Polenta with poached eggs, king crab with squid ink spaghetti.