Tag Archive | delicious

Osteria – Philadephia, PA

When I was in Philly visiting some friends, I went to Osteria for dinner one night. We went because we heard that it was good. I am always up for adventure when it comes to trying to find tasty nibbles.

Lamb is one of those things that is rare for me to have at home since the local grocery does not usually stock it. If lamb is on the menu, I ordered it. As you can see in the picture, it was served medium rare. Finger licking good. If you have never had lamb, you should try it. If you order it medium rare, it has less of a gamey taste to it.

The vegetable was fava beans. I never had those before. I almost did not eat them because they look like lima beans. I decided to give them a try and I am so glad I did! They were firm not mushy on the inside, so when I bite down there was a little bit of a crunch. Finally, another bean that I like!

While I was waiting for my food, the waiter brought some crusty bread to the table. Bread is my weakness, but I tried not to eat too much. The breadsticks were crunchy and super tasty.

All in all, Osteria gets 2 thumbs up from me. The dinner was delicious. I did not have room for dessert. Maybe next time. In which case, I will probably have to forgo the bread so that I can eat dessert. This is a Philly restaurant that is definitely worth checking out if you have never been there before.

OMG Krispy Kreme donuts

Jan25

The other day, I mentioned to hubby that I wondered how long it would be before I see some definition in my abs considering I have been exercising very regularly since the beginning of January. He said that I would not see much if I kept sucking down donuts and milkshakes (his exact words).

I had to laugh.

To anyone reading this, you probably think he was not speaking with enough tact. But in his defense, I enlisted his help when I decided to get on the healthy foods band wagon to cut my diet of the fried foods and unnecessary fats to lose those few unwanted pounds. Hubby did not see that I had a weight problem, but if I put him on the job, he takes it seriously.

So when I do a major U-turn across 4 lanes of traffic at 9 at night because I see the HOT sign at Krispy Kreme come on, he tries to be the voice of reason.

Hubby: "How many calories in that donut?"
Me: "Not too many. Plus I exercised yesterday."

Hubby: "Humph. I don’t know why I bother."
Me: "Chill. One donut won’t make a difference."
***cue his glare of disapproval with lips tightly pressed together as if he does not have permission to speak freely***

I don’t have to explain the allure of a HOT Krispy Kreme donut to anyone who lives in the South. The donut is soft like air. The glaze is sweet but not overly so. And in, what seems like two seconds or three bites, it is gone. All that is left is to savor the residual glaze on my fingertips, my memories, and an empty plastic bag.

Hot Krispy Kreme glazed donuts are the only food that I will admit that I think might have actually inhaled. One time I was on my 3rd donut when I realized how many I had already eaten. I put the half of donut down and had to go sit down to think about what just happened (So this is what addiction feels like). And it is only the FRESH glazed donut that has the effect on me. They have other flavors, but none are as enticing as the simple glazed donut. And they say you can put the donut in the microwave for 20 seconds and it tastes the same. I don’t think so. It’s hot off the assembly line through the glaze shower or nothing for me.

Now I only buy one Krispy Kreme donut at a time. It is my form of portion control. Since I am usually finished eating my donut before I have left the parking lot of the Krispy Kreme, I do have to force myself not to turn around and buy another one. But knowing that hubby is already glaring at me is usually deterrent enough.

BBQ chicken pizza

Jan22

There used to be a Schlotzsky’s in Greenwood about 15 years ago. At that time, I did not fully appreciate what they have to offer.
Fast forward to today, I have fallen in love with their BBQ chicken pizza. I always order with extra BBQ sauce and no onions. The crust is soft with a little crunchy exterior bottom. The jalapeno peppers balance the sweetness of the BBQ sauce. And there is enough cheese and chicken in every bite.

It is delicious.

I felt compelled to share this because I recently ordered a BBQ chicken flatbread pizza from Subway. I thought that if Schlotzsky’s could do it, Subway could too. BUZZZZ!!! Wrong.

The BBQ at Subway was sickly sweet. Yuck. The flatbread was not crispy as if it was undercooked. The chicken tasted like pressed meat. I do not think I can fully convey how much I hate pressed chicken. The texture of it turns my stomach. I was totally disappointed. That bad experience almost turned me off of Subway completely. It did make me come to terms their limitations. Stick to ordering Italian combo sandwich and I will not be dissatisfied.

Whenever I am out of town and I see a Schlotzsky’s, I have to stop and order BBQ chicken pizza. Even if I am not hungry. I will take it home and savor every bite (it reheats well in a toaster oven).

Cupcake collection – Nashville TN

Jan8

Cupcake Collection in Nashville TN

I like sweets. I especially like cupcakes. Even though I like sweets, I am still really picky. I don’t like just any type of cupcakes. They have to be done very well. There is two parts to a delicious cupcake. (1) the cake part (2) the frosting. If either part is not done well, it can spell disaster.
Yes. I know this is a first world problem – to have a cupcake you do not like, but that’s the way it is.
My friend told me that the best place for cupcakes in Nashville was Cupcake Collection. Of course, that means I have to go!
When I entered the Cupcake Collection, after inhaling the wonderful fragrances of the bakery, I looked around for any indication of the cost of the cupcakes. I could not find prices listed anywhere so I assumed that these cupcakes were three dollars. At the most $2.50 maybe (if I was optimistic)? So I only ordered two. To my surprise the price was less than $4. My eyes widened as I did the quick mental math. Cheaper than I thought. Instead of doing a dance to celebrate my good fortune, I decided I was going to get more cupcakes. Might as well make it an even six.

In my head, I was dancing.

Coconut cream with key lime frosting – it had a coconut cream custard in the center! I was not expecting that, and I usually do not like cream filled anything, but this cream was so good. It was had a light coconut flavor. It was the consistency of cold vanilla pudding. When I bit into the cupcake the cream did not ooze out and make a mess. The tart sweet key lime frosting complimented the light sweet of the cake and coconut cream.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting – this was good but did not have as much carrot pieces or walnuts as Hey Cupcake. However, it was still a worthy contender for carrot cake.
Yellow cake with buttercream frosting – This was the best yellow plain cake cupcake that I had. So simple and sweet.
Sweet potato with cream cheese frosting – this was good almost like a muffin instead of a cupcake. I could eat this for breakfast everyday if I lived in Nashville.
Coconut cream with cream cheese frosting – More of the coconut cream custard in the center. More yum-yum.
Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting – I could tell this was the REAL deal red velvet cake and not some white cake with red food coloring. The flavors were rich and complex as only a true red velvet cake can be.

And I feel like a little piggy telling you this but I ate all six of them. I could not help myself. They were THAT good. And then I was sad that they were gone and Nashville is 6 hours away.

Nomad dosa – food truck Austin TX

Jan7

If you are like me, you probably never had a dosa before. It is best described as an Indian crepe.
I was in Austin for dinner and I did not know what I wanted to eat. After driving around, I knew that I wanted something light because I did not feel like eating too much. I decided on the food truck Nomad Dosa.

I ordered crispy dosa Kerala Kokonut (butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, cauliflower, avocado). I chose basmati rice and sambar lentil soup as my side items. The lentil soup was good. Usually I don’t like eating beans, but if they are pureed into a smooth milkshake-like consistency, it is palatable.

By accident, I ended up eating a purely vegetarian meal. It was so tasty that it was not until afterwards that I realized, "Hey I did not eat any meat." From the picture of the food, you can see that once I began to eat , the filling is not the most appealing looking food. Trust me when I say it tasted better than it looked. It was just what I needed too- something light, but filling. The feeling of fullness made me start to wonder if I should try to go vegetarian for the health benefits, but then I thought about bacon and nixed that. Mmmmm bacon. But I digress.

Overall, this is a dish that will appeal to meat eaters and vegetarians alike. It has enough depth that you won’t miss the meat. Like most Indian food, it was full of spicy (not heat) flavors that stayed with me after I finished my meal. I had to brush my teeth and rinse with mouthwash to regain feeling in my taste buds.