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

Catching up

Wow.  I'm sorry.  I have not abandoned my post.  Here I am!!! 

In the past two months, we've hit up some great staples, great places to go, not our first time to any of them.  My challenge:  I lost some motivation to blog them - either because we've been permanent fixtures at Consol (Let's go Pens!), that I was too tired to remember the experience clearly, I forgot to take pictures and then felt boring, or simply drank waaaay too much wine during dinner.  Mostly that last option.  Oops.

The Original Fish Market - We went twice during the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show.  Nothing is better after spending 8 hours on your feet, answering the same 6 questions for 3 million people, than a giant sushi boat!  Ha, don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE working the home show - it just requires wine and sushi at the end of the day.  And the Fish Market never disappoints in food, as long as you like seafood.  I wish they would freshen up the decor a bit, it just reminds me of, I dunno, 15 years ago.  They have great appetizers, great wine list, good sushi, and great fish. Bring a flashlight, its dark in there.


Monterey Bay - More seafood!!  I love Chilean Sea Bass.  Again, a great staple, the food is always fab. And not all Monterey Bays are created equal.  The one in Monroeville apparently is running the C-team, in service, in food, in ambiance.  Skip it and head to Mt. Washington.  Oh and just a reminder to those who forgot:  Don't order pasta at the seafood place.  You'll end up coveting your neighbors meal. 



Tamari - This is a great tapas place - all small plates.  I just love eating this way because instead of ordering a meal for each person, you just order a bunch of plates and share.  Wine is good. Food is excellent.  Concept is cool.  I can't wait for it to be warm enough to sit outside and watch Lawrenceville go by.



Now that we got that out of the way, I would like to take this opportunity to air my grievance.  And it has to do with going to dinner.  And I will disclaim before I even start, this is not directed at anyone specifically.  I don't even know if I should do this...  please don't be afraid to go out to dinner with me, I'm not judging, I'm just observing and raising awareness.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who shares this experience.

I love going to dinner.  I love going with a big group of people.  I love going with old friends, new friends, other peoples' friends - whatever.  I do recognize that not everyone wants to share their food with me or try mine.  No worries - I totally get it.  At the same, when the establishment is not willing to split the check, I prefer not to share in the paying of your bill, nor do I expect you, new acquaintance, to share in mine.  This isn't an issue between friends. With many of the friends we go out with, we split the bill evenly, regardless of who ordered what.  It just saves aggravation.  Either that or we trade off - "I got this one, you get the next one."  Its all good.  Appetizers are a conundrum anyway.

For some reason though, when I find myself in a group of people where I don't know everyone, that damn check goes around, and somehow, someway, after everyone pulled out their cell phone calculators and tallied up their damage,  the cash is short.  I'm not sure what the challenge is.  Can someone not add?  Did someone forget the tip or tax?  Did you think you only drank 2 glasses of wine, cause you definitely had 7? Does someone feel no responsibility towards the shared food on the table simply because they didn't order it, because somebody opted to finish it "if no one wants the last piece..."?  Did I screw up and everyone is feeling this way about me? Can I add? How many martinis did I have? And its a big fat wad of cash, so there is no way to figure out whodunit.  And it all reality, to be fair, its probably unintentional, just miscalculating tax & tip.

And it doesn't really matter.  If I'm bellyaching about the extra 10 bucks I threw in, then I probably shouldn't be going out to dinner at cool restaurants in the first place.  And for those of you who treated lately - thanks!  It's my turn next.

Alma's up next. 

~ CDO

Mexican - American Shorty

Last night, BigBrother wanted quesadillas for dinner.  I'm all about it, so we hopped in the car and headed down the road to our local Picante for dinner.  Well, turns out that grumpy waiter that we had at Patron is working at my beloved Picante.  Although, this time, he's pleasant, upbeat, and keeps pinching BabyGray's cheeks...

Where:  Picante
Who:  me, IPA-hole, & the kids
What:  me - Camarones al mojo de ajo
           IPA-hole - Shrimp Fajitas
           The Kids - Quesadilla

I find it funny that they call mine Camarones al mojo de ajo (basically shrimp in a garlic sauce) and IPA-hole's Shrimp fajitas are all English.  All are good; I might eat mine for breakfast.



So that was the Mexican part, this is the American part - its a 2-fer.  The other day, after a GREAT Penguins win, IPA-hole wants to take PickyMIL & FIL to BRGR to eat.  Long story short, he gets on the HOV lane heading north out of the city instead of Bigelow Blvd to go to Penn Circle. We quickly regroup and decide instead of trying to go back into the city, we'll just head to the BRGR in Cranberry.

This one is nice.  Its much bigger than the one in Penn Circle, and open.  So its easier to get a table, but the overall feel isn't quite as cool.  (Don't worry, I'm going to the Penn Circle one soon).

Where: BRGR Cranberry
Who: me, IPA-hole, PickyMIL & FIL, & the kids.
What:  me - Cease & Desist
            IPA-hole - Fire in the Hole
            PickyMIL - King Salmon
            FIL - Average Joe
            The Kids - Mac & Cheese
            Appetizer - BRGR Perogies *winner

I also got a Toasted Almond spiked shake, that I shared with PickyMIL.  Delish! 

Stay tuned for BRGR Pittsburgh!

Those things are HUGE!

Its been quite some time since we've ventured out to Monroeville for anything beyond Miracle Mile.  Its just such a pain to get all the way down 22, especially on a Saturday afteroon.  The kids had a birthday party at Giggles & Smiles - cool place - an indoor playground in the mall.  I learned a great fun fact on this one though, you can drop your kid off if they're 3 & potty trained while you shop and they watch them for up to 3 hours.  Someone should probably put something like this in every mall in the world. 

So after leaving there, I was starving.  I was thinking about Taipei Tokoyo, which is my favorite sushi place in the area, but we're hauling 1 sleeping BabyGray, and 1 wound up BigBrother, and looking out the mall windows seeing whirling snow as we walk past the Saga doors.  That sounds about 100 times easier than going outside, loading the crew in the car, driving 500 yards, and then unloading again.  Saga it is!!

We've been to Saga a few times before for hibachi and sushi.  I've always thought it was good, but like I said, Monroeville Mall has become less and less of a destination for us, so it has been probably well over a year since we've been here.  For lunch,  we decided to share some sushi - because when you want sushi, nothing else will do!!

Who:  Me, IPA-hole, and the kids.
Where:  Saga Hibachi Steakhouse
What:  Fantastic Roll ( yellowtail, salmon, avocado topped with spicy lobster, jalepeno, & tobiko) *winner
            Million Roll (crunchy spicy tuna with 3 different colors of tobiko on top)
            Foxy Lady Roll (salmon, yellowtail, tuna, avocado)
            Crab Rangoons
            Miso Soup for BigBrother

Fantastic Roll was the winner - just enough heat and so yummy!  Million Roll was extra colorful; so interesting that BigBrother wanted a bite of the red one - which he then spit back out.  Foxy Lady Roll wasn't bad, just not as good as the others, but a good choice if you're looking for soy paper instead of seaweed. Not to mention, all three were HUGE.  The slices were big, the rolls were big.  I'm not sure if the sushi chef was living large that day, or if he always makes them that way.  At any rate, we stuffed ourselves.

So the verdict:  If you're at the mall and don't feel like driving over to Taipei Tokoyo, then head on in to Saga!  I do prefer Taipei Tokoyo, but I wasn't disappointed in Saga.  As far as hibachi there, we'll have to try that some other time.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, folks!  Next week, I'll be venturing out with the dining team and maybe IPA-hole will take me somewhere special for Valentine's Day.  I'll keep you posted.

~ CDO