Tag Archive | food

Si si me gusta!! Antojitos Aminta

Antojitos Aminta is a restaurant in a food mall at the corner of Mission Str and 22nd Ave in San Francisco
I wanted some arepas de queso (cheese arepas). Arepas are usually served in Central American restaurants. Antojitos Aminta serves Salvadorian food.

I like it all especially arepas with the vinegary, pickled cabbage slaw.
If you, as a reader, do not know what an arepa is- it is similar to a thick corn tortilla stuffed with cheese (I don’t know what type, but probably a Centroamerican version of mozzarella).

I recommend going here if you are in the Mission area of San Francisco, but not if you are in a hurry. My parking meter was running out time and la señora making my food was taking her sweet time shuffling around the kitchen. Any other time I would not have minded. But since I was in a bit of time crunch, I started to get antsy.
***Looking at the picture for Antojitos Aminta is making my eyes a little misty for arepas SIGHHHHH

Farmer’s Shed – Lexington SC

Feb8

Farmer’s Shed is another triple D (Diners Drive-Ins and Dives) pick located in Lexington, SC

This is a Southern food joint with different meats and sides for each day Monday through Friday. The allure of this place is that it is located next to their farm where a lot of the vegetables are grown. I was fortunate to have a vacation day on a Wednesday and was able to visit. The food was so good!!!!

I ordered the cranberry pork chop because I like all things pork. I was served a thick cut pork chop with cranberry/meat broth drippings. I do not even think that is the proper way to describe it. The cranberries were not too sweet or too tart. In any case, the pork-cranberry flavors worked very well together. After I finished my plate, I wanted more. The collard greens were some of the best that I have tasted in a restaurant. I think they might even have rivaled Daddy Dz (Atlanta, GA) and that is saying a lot. Their cornbread has a little sugar on top before they bake it and so there is a little crunch on the top. It went very well with the collards. The hint of salt from the collards paired with the hint of sweet from the cornbread had my taste buds performing gymnastic flips of

joy in my mouth. At one point, I had to close my eyes to fully enjoy the experience.

If you have read any of my other posts featuring restaurants that have been featured on TV, you know that I hold the restaurants to a higher standard than normal. If a place is rumored to be so good that it is on TV, the food quality has to be perfect. Sometimes Southern food restaurants fall short because the food is not as flavorful as it appears to be on TV. I can say that is NOT the case with Farmer’s Shed. This restaurant is worth all the accolades they have received. I wished that I lived closer so that I could go there every day. I am already trying to figure out how I can get there on a Friday. There Friday menu

looks really good too.

Overall: Farmer’s Shed is definitely worth a trip! Check out their menu beforehand so that you can decide what you want to eat. Otherwise, you
might to order one of everything 😀

Cafe at the Corner – Hapeville, GA

Dec16

Café at the Corner in Hapeville GA is a small French bistro that is open for lunch only. Hapeville is a little town near the Atlanta airport. You know that the food must be good when a small town restaurant on Main street is only open for a few hours each day. When I arrived at the restaurant with my lunch group, the line was snaked around in front of the food counter. There were so many delicious choices that the 10 minutes waiting time was almost not enough for me to make up my mind. And most of that time was spent trying to decide what dessert I wanted.

I decided to order the tomato bisque, spinach quiche, and cheesecake topped with cherries. This was some of the best tomato soup I have ever had. It was creamy. The coarse cracked pepper on top added a little crunch and explosion of pepper flavor that goes well with the tomatoes. The spinach quiche was well put together and the crust was flakey with the right amount of cheese sauce.

All of the meal was leading up to my favorite part: dessert <insert applause and cheers here>. The cheesecake was rich, smooth, with perfect texture. It was not too sweet. There were more cherries than the cherry filling, which was a plus in my favor.

One of my lunch companions ordered the cake topped with frosting and almonds (seen in the picture at the top). I wish I could have tasted her cake because it looked so scrumptious when she was eating it. And it did not help that she was making sound effects like "Mmmmm this is so good". I thought about asking to taste her cake, but I did not want to offer a taste of my cheesecake. I decided to leave that alone and the next visit here I will try the Almond cake (don’t know the name of it but that is what I am calling it).

Overall: I really enjoyed eating at Café at the Corner. I did not expect such delicious food in this small town next to the airport. But now that I know about it, I am glad it exists!

Filippi Pizza Grotto – Napa CA

Dec9

Filippi Pizza Grotto is an Italian food restaurant with 14 locations throughout California. We chose the Napa location because we were going to Oxbow Market across the street but wanted more filling food than a taco. And we did not want something as ordinary as a hamburger. Filippi was across the street and we decided to give it a try after looking at their menu and prices. Their prices are comparable to Olive Garden, but the food tastes way better. The amount of food that they give is also a bargain. They are serving family size dishes here. There is enough food for two especially if you do not want to have a carry out box of leftovers.

We shared the spaghetti with marinara sauce and sausage ($9.45). All the pasta dishes came with Italian rolls. The Italian roll was about the size of a hoagie roll, crusty exterior with soft white bread on the inside. They brought it to the table warm and I ate two slices before I had a chance to butter the bread. It was that good. I am a sucker for good bread.

They make their own sausage and I could taste the effort that was put into it. The casing was a little chewy, but the meat inside was well seasoned and tender. The marinara sauce was thick and chunky with a lot of tomato pieces.

Overall: This was a hearty Italian meal served with friendly service at an affordable price.

Filippi Pizza Grotto 645 First Str Napa CA

707-254-9700

Pascal’s Cafe and Grill – Greenwood SC

Dec9

When I want to treat myself or celebrate a special occasion, one of the places I like to go is Pascal’s This restaurant is considered upscale for Greenwood. They serve French-American style cuisine. Reservations are recommended to make sure you get a table in this small restaurant because they tend to get crowded. Some people have told me that they consider Pascal’s to be pricey, but I have been to other upscale restaurants and their prices are about par for what I expect. That being said, do not try to eat here if you are on a budget because plates average prices are probably about $20.

I am not very adventurous when it comes to trying different plates on their menu because I love the pork osso bucco. The meat is so tender that it falls off the bone. The rosemary demi-glace sauce is a wonderful complement to the mashed potatoes. And the asparagus qualifies as my serving of vegetables for the day because it is served al dente without having the life cooked out of it.

I do not know how many pork osso bucco Pascal cooks each night, but I always try to get there early so that I can get my order before they run out for the night. Pork osso bucco is so delicious that even after I am full, I might try to eat a little more. The only thing that keeps me from stuffing myself is the knowledge that I will be able to eat Crème Brulée for dessert.

Pascal’s Crème Brulée rivals Maggianos. I love the textural differences of the crunch of the burnt, slightly bitter caramelized sugar mixed with the soft, sweet, creamy, vanilla custard. It is like velvet in my mouth.

Overall: The service is good. I have never had a problem with any of the waitstaff. The quality of the pork osso bucco and Crème Brulée has always been top notch for me too.