And I Don't Mean Waffles.

So I took October off from writing, simply because we were too busy eating... And then November came and went.  Thanksgiving was at our house again!!  Now its December. Ugh. If you've ever tried it, the hardest thing about having a blog is actually writing the blog.

Where to begin? Let's go to  Point Brugge in Point Breeze for some Belgian cuisine.  Yes, I said Belgian, and I don't mean waffles.  And apparently, I don't really mean Belgian cuisine either, maybe just beer this time...

What makes Point Brugge so cool is that its tucked away on a residential street in a quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood.  Funny thing, when IPA-hole and I lived in this end of the city so many moons ago, we always talked about going here and never made it.  Now I've been invited by a few friends for a great birthday dinner.  IPA-hole is jealous.


The place is absolutely packed.  We're there early enough and can't move.  The restaurant is small, and people are everywhere.  We saw some local newscasters enjoying a meal while we were there, if that adds any credibility. Its on a residential street, tucked away from the world. If you don't know what you're looking for, I promise you, you won't find the place.  I drove past it before I knew that I had arrived, and I knew where to go.  And that's what makes it so cool.  People are hanging out on the sidewalk on a beautiful October night, chatting with other diners, really bringing that local identity to the joint.  We are all there to eat.  Community, food, beer, dessert - ahh, dessert - what else do you want?  A woman was sitting at the bar and had just ordered her dessert with her son as we enjoyed our pre-dinner cocktails and waited for a table.  OMG - pumpkin cake something or other.  I brought one home for IPA-hole and I am now disappointed with myself for not taking a picture of this divine endeavour.  

There are only three of us, luckily, because there is no way the usual 8 or 9 were going to have any chance at snagging a table.  Vegahimsa, Chickie, and I scored a little mosaic table in the middle of the hustle, and the atmosphere is just buzzing.  It kinda feels like we're hanging out on an awesome patio, and then they're going to bring us food.  And beer.  Great beer selection, Belgian style dominated, of course - my favorite.  I'm not sure how the beer board stacks up during other times of the year, but they had some seasonal greats waiting for us. 

So after staring at the menu and chatting, we came to the conclusion that we were going to need to do small plates and share, and bail out on formal dinner.  You would think that this would be slightly challenging when out with Vegahimsa, but she tends to open us up to things we wouldn't have normally chosen without her.  So here's the lineup:

 ~ Cheese Board
 ~ Mediterranean Platter  *Big Fat Winner
 ~ Crab Cakes
 ~ Chicken Skewers
 ~ Mango & Tofu
 ~ Macaroni Gratin
 ~ Brugge Frites




This, friends, is my favorite way to eat.  You aren't limited to the food on your own plate - everything is there to share and you get to try so much more!  First out was the Cheese Board and the Mediterranean Platter.  Cheese board was good, nice tasting of some different cheeses.  I'm sure the selection changes constantly, and this board's size & variety is a great way to start a meal - a true appetizer to get you started.  The peppers, nuts, and figs in the middle provided perfect balance.  Have to note the figs, they popped up in a couple of places and they added just a perfect sweet to the plate.  At the same time comes the Mediterranean Platter.  Yes, big fat winner.  The red pepper walnut dip was tremendous!  It was a little sweet and a lot of savory. The garlic hummus was delicious, and also on this plate were olives, tomatoes, cucumber, and flatbread, of course, for dipping.  The picture doesn't do justice, it was so fresh and tasty, we probably could have just had this and chatted all night.  But as always, we overindulge, so there was more coming...



Crab cakes & chicken skewers were tasty, but nothing to revisit or even talk about. Vegahimsa ends up including tofu dishes most of the time.  Chickie and I, if left to our own devices, would never even consider ordering such a thing.  So here comes Mango & Tofu - sweet and different.  Well, maybe its normal for tofu, but different for those of us who don't have it very often.

Macaroni Gratin = big kid mac & cheese.  This has a great blend of cheeses:  Gruyere, Parmesan, & Cheddar.  Not gooey cheesy, but cheesy cheesy.  I think we were so happy with the first two plates, we were bored once we got to the rest.  Brugge Frites are french fries.  For some reason, both Chickie and I read the menu to be sweet potato, not regular potato.  No idea how we got there, I've read the menu over and over to try to figure out why it registered that way for both of us with no collaboration.  No clue.  The little gem here was the basil mayonnaise.  Basil gave it a bit of light, fresh flavor that went great with the twice fried frites.

All in all, Point Brugge has got a very cool vibe, that we were definitely in to.  I am kicking myself for hopping over the Belgian food on the main menu.  That was kinda dumb considering we went to the Belgian restaurant.  I think we'll have to go again, skip all the apps (except the Mediterranean), and dive into the meat of the menu.

Thanks again for dinner, ladies.

  

~ CDO

GF: Good Food, Gluten Free, Great Friends, your choice.

Happy Fall!  This is my favorite time of year! 

As we jump into September, all the birthday dinners start lining up.  This should be a busy month for us!  My dear friend, CandyRed, has the honors of having the first dinner this fall of many.  We'll call her CandyRed because, when we growing up I noticed she always had candy around.  Then we decided to be roomates for a while.  Yeah, she always had candy in the house.  Red, well, that's for obvious other reasons...

So SILiac and I want to go to dinner for CandyRed's birthday.  Her request is for the ever popular P.F. Chang's.  I smile at this choice.  First off, Chinese food may be my biggest weakness.  Secondly, location-wise, it makes sense for all involved - no parking issues, easy to get to, no wait on a Tuesday.  And thirdly, I must add, I think its a great value.  You can get yummy food, and a good amount of it, for not-a-lot of money. And lastly, even the pickiest eater can find something that they can get into it.  Who doesn't like lettuce wraps???? 

Now, most people have been to P.F. Chang's, so how is this assessment going to be any different? Well, this is the first attempt a group dinner with a gluten-free necessity.  Seriously, SILiac is so sensitive now, and we were doing our best not to ruin her night.  She would like me to add that the GF menu was impressive for a chain with plenty of options.  So we ended up doing some comparisons - GF vs. regular Lettuce Wraps and Mongolian Beef.  Suprisingly, for both, we preferred the GF versions.  The lettuce wraps, however awesome they are anyway, the GF were a little less saucy and tasted fresher.  The difference here was minor, but noticed. GF Mongolian Beef was tangy and had more flavor than the regular.  Texture was awesome on both accounts, absorbing just the right amount of suace.And a side note, an outside source is telling me that the GF noodles are all better than regular.  Something to consider.

Here's the line-up:

Apps ~ Crab Wontons, Lettuce Wraps (GF & Regular), Egg Drop Soup, Hot & Sour Soup
CDO ~ Crispy Honey Shrimp
IPA-hole ~ Kung Pao Shrimp *winner
SILiac ~ GF Mongolian Beef
Zig ~ Caramel Mango Chicken
CandyRed ~ Chang's Spicy Chicken
Bearded Palate ~ Mongolian Beef

For our line-up, we did the P.F. Chang's for Two.  We decided that if one was going to order the Crispy Honey Shrimp and the Kung Pao with Crab Wontons anyway, then itshould probably just be.  I go back to the great value idea.  Two of the three couples (not Siliac & Zig) jumped on it.  Soups were satisfactory.  Crab Wontons are always a crowd pleaser with tastable crab! GF Lettuce Wraps win on the apps, but not overall.  The winner for the night, by a landslide, was IPA-hole's Kung Pao Shrimp.  Spicy, crispy, flavorful.  It had heat, but not too much, it had flavor, but not overpowering; just right.  Crispy Honey Shrimp is my go-to, being sweet and sticky and crispy, perfect with rice, but I did prefer the Kung Pao. 

The Caramel Mango Chicken and the Chang's Spicy Chicken underdelivered.  Caramel Mango somehow managed to lose the caramel-mango flavor, and Thai basil may have taken over. It was decent, don't get me wrong, but was more like a sweet chicken and maybe would do better as a shrimp??  Chang's Spicy seemed to overdo the spicy just a smidge.  Kung Pao's spice was spot on by comparison. 

And lastly was dessert.  When you do the dinner for two, dessert is part of the deal.  Just to be aware, take a look , that's what they are.  For me, that's the right size for dessert. I don't need the Great Wall of Chocolate that makes my stomach ache just looking at it.  Aching because its huge, and tasty, and so big that you feel like you have to meet the challange and finish it.  SILiac chose the Flourless Chocolate Dome, which was also tasty.  Apparently, it's difficult to find decent GF pastries.  However, this is not marked as GF, and SILiac noticed something was off, so I'm thinking that this bad boy was the culprit. 

I wish I spoke Chinese, I'd say something cool here, like a fortune cookie.  I'm not that clever.  GF stands for what?  Good Food? Gluten Free?  Great Friends?  Your choice.

Mexican Reruns

No, no telemundo today, but we do visit most of these establishments more than once.  Sometimes to give them a second chance (to Rey Azteca:  my coworkers and I will NOT be giving you a third chance), sometimes to ensure that they are as good as we thought they were after we had that 2nd glass of wine, and sometimes, we go just because its that good and we want to go again. 

Let's revisit Picante.  We go here frequently - its very close to our house and the food is always good and Mexicany.  I don't usually bring it up because of how often we grab quesadillas for BigBrother and I don't want you to know how often we're eating here because I'm not cooking, but this time I will because I discovered a new favorite - the California Burrito.  By their own description, its a BIG burrito - and that it is - stuffed with chicken, rice, & beans.  The salsa verde,guacamole, and cheese sauce on top are so tasty.  The whole thing is salty, cheesy, with some tang from the salsa verde.  I just really like this one.  Here's the lineup:

Where:  Picante
Who:  Me, IPA-hole, FrontloaderB, & Learning to Share
What:  Me:  California Burrito
      IPA-hole:  Chicken Fajitas
      FrontloaderB:  Steak Fajita
      Learning to Share:  Taco Salad


I don't feel like fighting the group here for the winner.  Everyone thought their own was.  I think the margaritas were the winner.  We had a few, then went to see Ted for IPA-hole's birthday.  Just a quick heads up to the dads that were in the theater with their 10-year-old sons, and to other dads thinking that they should take their sons:  This is not a kids' movie.  Not even close.  Hilarious, but just NO.  Go with your friends.

And now I feel I must elaborate on Rey Azteca.  We ordered it for lunch at work one time.  They screwed up the order: 4 lunches from the lunch menu.  When we opened the bags, there were 3 lunches from the lunch menu and a bunch of chips.  I wouldn't have been so bitter if it wasn't my lunch that was missing.  So I called them and had to drive all the way back down to the restaurant to pick up the missing food.  Boo.  So let's add insult to injury, no one - especially not my lovely Celiac-managing sister-in-law (who we'll refer to as SILiac from here on) - got out of that meal without reprecussions.  We were all sick to our stomaches for the rest of the day.  That was cool with a full day of public interaction.  Ha!  Well, someone thought it would be a great idea to give them a second chance.  Same problem, only worse this time. No thank you, Rey Azteca, I'll hit up the local Taco Bell if a need frijoles that badly - at least my food has always found its way into the bag before it left the restaurant.

Good Mexican, Bad Mexican,  stay tuned for something new.

~ CDO

This is my Happy Place (Part 2)

The Foodstands.

So, we shake off a couple of Bloody Marys while laying on the beach, and then hang around until our wonderful Enabler prepares a fabulous dinner at home. 

Seaside has an excellent assortment of beach food options.  I'm talking about the airstreams and small beach front joints that you walk up to and take away some great lunches - we've got Meltdown on 30A, Bud & Alley's Taco Bar, Bud & Alley's Pizza Bar, Amavida, the Shrimp Shack, or Pickles and the previously mentioned Barefoot BBQ. 
So this is the best part of the menu at Meltdown on 30A.  Its a little blurry, but it definitely says "Brie and Bacon on Cranberry Walnut Bread."  Yes it does.  And that's all I was interested in eating at this airstream food stand.  We actually had to make a special trip over there on the day we were leaving to make sure that  I got to try this.  Brie is just so creamy, and everything is better with bacon.  So now we have creamy, salty, savory, so what else do we need?  Let's add sweet & nutty - Cranberry Walnut bread.  Yay!  The perfect grilled cheese.  I will try this at home. 

Bud and Alley's is a known name in Seaside.  We spend quite a few nights (less now that the kids are involved) sitting upstairs at their rooftop bar - The Tarpin Club (now called the Roof Deck Bar??) - eating crab claws and smoked tuna dip!  Never disappointing.  Bud & Alley's Taco Bar is down with the shops, so I decided to swing by for lunch because BigBrother wanted his usual quesadillas, while IPA-hole & FrontloaderB headed back to Barefoot BBQ.  We have eaten pretty much everything on this menu.  I'm all about the tacos and will change it up based on the mood.  This time was a shrimp taco and a pollo taco, with a quesadilla for BigBrother.  Good stuff, nice, fresh flavor, great for a quick lunch.  And, inexpensive for Seaside's standards.  You can grab something quick, easy, and light with a margarita.  Yum.  Dumb move on our part: we missed the Cinco de Mayo party. 

So, besides the Taco Bar, Roof Deck Bar, and the original Bud & Alley's, they also have the Pizza Bar.  It used to be some Italian place with a fancy name, and snobby wine selection, but now boasts the Bud & Alley's name, with a much more relaxed atmosphere and some fun pizza.  We didn't stay to eat at the Pizza Bar, but ordered to go to enjoy as a family on our own deck.  Always arguing about which pizzas to order, this time was a Funghi for FrontloaderA, Margherita for Enabler & the kids, and Prosciutto de Parma for the rest of us.  There is something to be said for leaves on a pizza:  Its good!  Weird looking, but good.  Add some prosciutto and we are in business.  This was all followed up by some beers on our  top deck and lively politcal discussions.  Thank you, North Carolina, for your debate-stirring decisions right around vacation. Ain't nothing like debating states' rights, civil rights, and the role of government with a New Yorker, a southern girl, and 3 very opinionated Pittsburghers while sipping Sweetwater & Corona overlooking the beach as the sun goes down...  our neighbors hate us and we came to no solid conclusions.


In the morning, after we'd argued into the wee hours (and by wee hours, I kinda mean 10pm), we roll out of bed, throw on some beach attire, and walk down to Amavida.  All I can say here is, thanks for the coffee, gentlemen. You hit the spot.

The Shrimp Shack is owned by the Dawsons, who provide all of the ice cream in Seaside.  Another joint we'll hit for a quick lunch.  IPA-hole again hit Barefoot BBQ, again, and  I had to have a shrimp roll. Very good. Also good are the lobster rolls.  I usually end up popping in only once on the trip for 2 reasons: 1.  They take FOR-EV-VER.  2.  Its kinda expensive for lunch.  Its good, the atmosphere rocks, don't get me wrong, but not anywhere near the favorite.  I just can't pass up shrimp rolls or lobster rolls anywhere.  Not even at McDonald's in New Hampshire, but that's another story for another day.

And lastly, let's talk about Pickles.  Pickles Beachside Grill is the only fried food & burger stop in the whole town.  BigBrother refers to this as "the dirty restaurant." While he and IPA-hole are up ordering food, the grill master decides to start swatting flies.  I get it, its an outdoor, beachside snack stand, but let's not start batting down those little dirty creatures above the grill where you're cooking our food, please.  That and I had to take my dacquiri back twice because the kid doing the mixing had no idea that she needed to add something like strawberry mix to the rum & ice.  Again, don't get me wrong, I appreciate a stiff drink, but please try not to kick my ass over lunch with the kids.  Fruity is fabulous, rum and ice is for a different venue; I asked for strawberry.  Food comes from a fryer, its basic, and this is always the place to skip relative to everything else around.  Dawsons, you do so much better with your ice cream. 

I guess that'll sum up the Seaside snack shacks.  All together, I just love this place. Unfortunately, I'll leave Seaside alone and head home.

~ CDO

This is my happy place! (Part 1)

So let's do some travelling. 

In all reality, that is how this blog began.  We were in Charleston, SC with my awesome extended family.  My cousin, his wife, IPA-hole, and I managed to get the grandmas to volunteer to watch the kids.  We so needed this night out - I was pregnant with BabyGray, my cousin's wife was still not off the baby wagon, and all 7 of the other 20-something cousins were in vaction-mode.  We wanted to go into Charleston, but had no idea where to go.  I was reading review after review to try to find the perfect spot for us.  That's when my lovely aunt, let's call her BloodyMaryC, mentioned, in passing, that I should start a blog in my "spare time."  Yeah, spare time, that's funny. 

But she was on to something.  I started to think and realized that, not only were friends in Pittsburgh asking me where to go, but I was always looking for where my friends had gone on vacation.  I use "1000 Places to See Before You Die" as my guide, but it doesn't always point in the practical direction for food.  We ended up at The Black Pearl instead of Magnolia or the Rooftop, or any other guide-mentioned joints. Considering it was last year, The Black Pearl was the perfect solution for the evening, but I have no idea what we ate. 

But this is not the point.  Forget Charleston.  Let's head out to my favorite place in the USA - Seaside, FL.  Seaside is perfect.  And I mean that.  Have you seen The Truman Show with Jim Carrey?  That town in the movie is an actual place - yep: Seaside, Fl.  Its a planned community, started by a family in the early 80s, with the input of some great architects and urban planners.  We've spent a week here almost every year for the past 14 years.  This is my happy place.

Its a beach town, a artsy town, a family spot, and a yummy destination. Every house has a name (this year was Wilder-by-the-Sea), porches, towers, and is painted with beach appropriate colors.  IPA-hole and I drove the 19 hours to avoid the fresh hell that is flying with young children.  When we finally arrived and unloaded, the first thing we did was head into town to grab a bite. 

Along the main road, Seaside has old-school airstream trailers as food stands.  IPA-hole's favorite is Barefoot BBQ, which he claims makes the best baked beans ever.  Ever.  He really does wait all year to get there for the baked beans.  He tried to recreate them at home once.  Bad idea.  But they are delicious - they are sweet, tangy, with a little bite, butter, and pulled pork mixed in.  I usually opt for the bucket of ribs.  Its a half rack, perfectly smoked.  They make 4 different bbq sauces and have them out on the tables so you can mix & match your flavors.  BigBrother obviously goes for the mac & cheese.  This one tastes like it has just a touch of the bbq sauce in it, giving it a little bit of bite - and suprisingly, BigBrother likes spicy. 

The gem we discovered this go-round was the BBQ nachos!  Fantastic!!  They're sweet, spicy, cheesy, meaty deliciousness!  They combine the whole menu in one pile of bbq goodness - you have the brisket (or pork or chicken if you so choose), the baked beans, bbq sauce, onions, peppers, cheese, & sour cream.  We always share this with everyone, but I think we had 3 of them over the course of the week.

On another note, Bloody Marys seem to be common practice around here.  IPA-hole goes up to the window to order 2 waters.   The girl behind the counter grabs 2 glasses, fills them with ice, and then starts pouring vodka into them.  I'm not sure how you make your water, but apparently she likes hers to knock her over at lunch.  IPA-hole must have had the strangest look on his face because she realized what she was doing, stopped, laughed, and then explained that most people order Bloody Marys and she was just on autopilot.  So we ordered 2 of those to go with our water - when in Rome...

                                                                           ~ CDO



Three Top Threes

The dining team (short some participants) went to Alma Pan Latin Kitchen to try some Latin fare.  I have driven past Alma so many times and have not noticed it sitting there...  Hello, Alma.

It is small.  We got there early and had a reservation, so our table was ready for us.  We were a smaller group this time, so not as overwhelming as we can be.  I thought the atmosphere was lacking.  There is so much more you can do with the style to capture what the food is expressing.  Its kind of dark and not quite how I expected it to feel.  I guess if you're looking for an intimate date and not to be bothered, Alma is good for that, but not quite what I was thinking for a girls night out.  I started reading other reviews after our visit, and heard about this other Cantina section with wine...  wish we would have seen that before we went.  That'll teach me - I'll read reviews before I go, not after.  I also wish I had some cute anecdote to go with this, but I don't.  So here's the breakdown...

Who: Me & the Dining Team
Where:  Alma

What: Apps - Empanadas del dia *winner, Scallops on a tostada, Papitas rellenas con salsa pimenton, Yuca frita con salsitas de alma, Plantanos maduros con salsa de habichuelas

CDO - Vaca frita con arroz y gandules (brisket),
Nonsense - Torrejitas de frijolios (bean cake)
Vegahimsa -  Vegetales al tagine (rice & veggies) *top 3
Onion-hater - Camarones al caribe con ajo (shrimp)
EasyD - Arepa de vegetales con plantanos maduros (corn cake)
Chickie - Sandwich Cubano con chancho queso y jamon (a Cuban) *top 3

Dessert - Tres Leces, Molten Chocolate cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream, Flan, Cinnamon Ice Cream

<~ I thought for sure I'd be all over my Vaca frita - heavier (not heavy, but heavier when compared) - but I wasn't, I kept bugging Nonsense & Vegahimsa for their vegetarian dishes.  Contrary to what I thought, Onion-hater and EasyD were into it.  I really enjoyed the salad on the side, it was fresh and refreshing; enjoyed the pigeon peas.  And it was a HUGE portion.  We kept picking, but felt like we weren't making a dent in it.  And to that, half of it came home, with full intentions of giving it to IPA-hole for lunch, but I ended up chowing down the next day.  And I think it was better once all the flavors were left to chill out for a day.

Nonsense, Vegahimsa, & EasyD went for the vegetarian dishes.  EasyD's arepa was bland, not for life, but on this particular stage.  All I can think of right now is 9th grade Spanish class and the "Dona Arepa" commercials we had to watch.  The arepa itself is a light corn tortilla, but brought little to the party.  The veggies around it were far more flavorful.  The combination did nothing for me, and I think for EasyD as well.  ~>

<~ Nonsense did the black bean cake, making sense for once. I enjoy black beans, in many forms.  I really enjoyed them in a cake.  It was spicy, lit up the tongue.  It looks super similar to the arepa, but with much, much more flavor.  And the plantains on the side were addicting.

Vegahimsa had the Vegetales al tangine.  This was my favorite of the night, which may have been because she was sitting next to me and I was within fork-destroying reach. This one had major flavor, sweetness in the rice with the dates.  I think the unfamiliar sweetness from the dates & tagine had our attention.  It was a fab mix of sweet with the vegetables, and the winner for me, but the table was debating.

 <~ Next up, Camarones al caribe con ajo was one of the options I was considering.  Onion-hater ordered it, and I have a hard time duplicating an order.  This is a classic case of "it-was-good-but-something-else-was-better" for the table.  The shrimp were well prepared, the lime & garlic showed up, flavor was good, but others were better. 

Now, let's talk about Chickie.  Cubano.  This is generally a crowd pleaser anywhere, at Panera, at that diner, you know it.  Alma kicked some Cuban ass!  Jarlsberg is probably the greatest cheese, then stick it on a crusty bread with slow-roasted pork & ham... delicious, delicious, delish!! If you're one of those people who is not entirely comfortable walking into a restaurant where the entire menu is in Spanish, just say "Cubano" and you're in good shape.  A bit of bitterness from the cheese, sweetness from the meat, texture from the bread, put it all together and you have a winner. ~>

<~ Winner of the apps, and another crowd pleaser - not just with us, but in the buzz around the restaurant - was the empanadas of the day.  I can't tell you what they'll be stuffed with on your day, but go for it!  Empanadas are fabulous, and these do not disappoint.

As far as the rest of the appetizers go:  Scallop tostadas were good but not fabulous. Papitas are the pictures on top - stuffed potato puffs. Traditional and good.  Yuca frita was very tasty.  Fried, the yuca is mild, and with the sauces, had some spark.  Strange to look at, lightly sweet and soft to eat. If you drench these in ketchup, you missed the point.  Plantains are always tasty - banana meets ~> potato.  Nice, crispy outside.

So the next great idea?  Let's order ALL of the desserts! And all were good.  Tres Leces is fabulous.  Onion-hater perks up every time someone mentions this particular dessert.  It was very leche, dense, sweet, yummy.  The cinnamon ice cream truly complimented the  molten chocolate cake. And Flan.  Have you ever had Flan? Its a Spanish custard dessert.  I've always been afraid to try it based on texture (I can't stand jello).  I did take a bite, and I did enjoy it.  Flan definitely reminds me of an inside-out creme brulee.

So what did we learn about Alma tonight?  I like appetizers - surprise, surprise.  Eat empanadas.  Alma could use some ambiance help, in fact, I do know some interior designers.  Dessert takes a backseat to the real food.  It is fabulously fused food!  Everything that we had was tasty and unique.  I'd say that it is worth a try, but don't go out of your way quite yet.  Maybe I need to start on the cantina side next time...

~ CDO

Flavour

I think Greensburg is underrated.  We went out to have the dogs bathed at 2pm, which turned into a day-long ordeal.  Granted, the super-motivated dog-groomer at the big pet box store screwed us all up to begin with.  Well, I'm not sure if he screwed up, or if IPA-hole wasn't listening...again.  What was initally thought to be a 1 hour process turned into 4.  And that's ok.  We rode go-carts, went to the park, drove around in circles 'cause BabyGray was sleeping.  If I'd known it was going to be 4 hours, we probably would have went home.  But that being said, we were getting kinda hungry, with another hour to kill, so we started looking around for something to eat that wasn't fast and full of grease.

This landed us at Pallantia.  I kinda forgot about this place for a bit. Its very new, in a hardly-noticed location.  And I've been dying to try it.  Pallantia claims their mission "is to bring the spirit and flavour of Spain" and do it in true traditional paella and tapas style.  The background stories that are in the menu are worth a read, actually. I love tapas, and like Tamari, its encouraging you to try everything in small plates and to share.  You are probably going to want to order more than one for yourself.  Tapas were traditionally put on top of the wine in the inns.  This was because of a royal decree that the inns were not allowed to serve wine without food to keep the Spanish peasants from just drinking and, well generally being completely drunk and unruly.  I missed the point by not ordering the sangria.

So we walk in and the place is empty, which after I ate, I have no idea why.  Its new, nice, quaint atmosphere. Our server was cool, she even brought BigBrother out some meatballs that the kitchen was trying out.  He kept calling them little meatloaf and thought they were awesome.  We weren't too hungry, so we decided that 3 plates were enough for us.  Remember that this is tapas, so these are small plates!    Here's your breakdown...

Who:  Me, IPA-hole, & the kids
Where: Pallantia
On the table:  Pan con tomate y jamon serrano *winner
Chorizo y pollo pincho moruno con salsa
Gambas al ajillo

First off, we started out with some really great bread and oil.  I had paella on the brain and really wish we would have tried some, but it takes a bit longer than everything else.  So we decided on the three above.  The winner was definitely the pan con tomate y jamon serrano (bread with tomato & serrano ham).  This brought me back to a fantastic week that IPA-hole and I spent in Barcelona before the kids came along. The presentation on this one doesn't do it justice.  Its a nice, thick slice of crusty bread with fresh tomato and serrano ham. Sweetness & freshness of the tomato with the super-thin salty ham was perfect.  Reminded me of that picnic in that Gaudi park with the gypsies and the naked running man... and that's a good thing!

Chorizo and pollo pincho maruno con salsa was good but the weakest of the three we tried.  Its skewers of chicken and chorizo with peppers.  The chorizo half was good - flavorful.  The chicken part was forgettable. 

Lastly was the classic Gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic).  This is a very typical tapa, and something that I think we've ordered every time we've been in an authentic tapas place.  They were very garlicy with some bite!  Really delicious and very authentic.

So after the kitchen made surprise meatballs and delicious papas (potatoes) for BigBrother, and the server kept smiling after BabyGray threw EVERYTHING he touched on the floor, and we didn't order any of the Sangria (that was looking fabulous), I think she felt we may have needed a night out and gave us a card for a free tapa on our next visit.  I will use it. I am struggling with the fact that there was no one else in there during our visit - I mean, it was better for us and the kids, we didn't disrupt somebody's hot date or anything.  Maybe some are unfamiliar with Spanish cuisine? I think this is a great place and a fabulous alternative the the growing string of chain restaurants in our neck of the woods.

Next time, I'm getting sangria, paella, and sangria.

~ CDO