Time to recap the last full day of last week’s Orlando vacation (last Friday). I woke up and went to the hotel gym to do another treadmill 5K. This time I just kept the channel on Live with Kelly! the whole time. I love Kelly Ripa and have been a huge fan of Live since middle school. I remember the highlight of school breaks and summer morning was being able to watch! Of course, the version with Regis will always be my favorite.
I felt way more tired though and ran my 5K in a slower time than the day before. Still pretty good though – 29 minutes. I kept my 1% incline and Kelly and her guest host (I don’t even remember who it was) helped it go by at a pace that wasn’t too excruciatingly slow. Then I did about 30 minutes of upper body weights, one muscle group per song (chest, shoulders, bis, tris, and abs).
Took it easy by the pool the rest day of course, and wore one of my outlet purchases – a new bathing suit! I also brought a solo cup filled with cottage cheese and blueberries with me to the pool for a post-workout snack. I’m sure I got plenty of judgement because of my solo cup…little did people know I was NOT headed to the pool at 10AM with an alcoholic beverage in tow. Though I’m NOT opposed to that either.
After another fabulous poolside day, my parents and I got cleaned up and headed to happy hour! I love eating out on vacations but my parents wanted to stay in and grill since we had a kitchen in our room, so we made a deal – happy hour out, followed by seafood dinner in. Um, fine by me!
While waiting for my parents to get ready, I caught up on work and had a snack – two pieces of rye toast topped with turkey and salsa.
It wouldn’t be vacation without another fam photoshoot.
Another my-mom-is-way-shorter-than-me pic.
I rocked another Black Friday purchase from Kohl’s (and with pleats just like the last one – told you I’m obsessed). The top is by Elle.
For our happy hour destination, I used Yelp to find Emeril’s Tchoup Chop at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando. I wanted a place with deals that didn’t end too early (these ended at 8PM), where we could enjoy our last warm night in Florida (outdoor tiki bar!), and with unique drink options. Done, done, and done!
The tiki bar was empty so we took three seats front and center. I love sitting at the bar and chatting it up with the bartender and other patrons.
We lucked out with a fantastic bartender named Deanna. She was so kind and made amazing drinks!
I inquired about the cucumber vodka I saw behind the bar, and Deanna whipped up a Cucumber Cooler for me of cucumber vodka, cucumber liquer, and ginger beer. I LOVE ginger beer in drinks – another favorite is the Dark n Stormy, which has popped up a coupletimes on the blog.
No, that’s not water. Nor is that a Starbucks straw.
I removed the straw (tip: this slows you down when you’re drinking so that you can savor the beverage and also accurately assess how it is affecting you) and “dug in”. Wow, this drink was perfection. So smooth and perfect for an outdoor happy hour.
My mom got a house margarita and I tried a sip. Yum! Nice and strong, not too sour or sweet. She loved it.
There was a bar bites menu too, but I was waiting til dinner.
I asked Deanna about this Soho Lychee Liquer – I had never seen that before! She let me sample a small pour of the Lychee Martini it goes into. Very yummy, but the sample was enough for me because it was a bit sweet.
And thank goodness for Foursquare – I checked in and got a free Mai Tai – which I shared with my parents, because I was feeling a bit buzzed and was also getting pretty hungry! This beverage was delicious, one of the best Mai Tais I’ve ever had (the one at Drink wins because it was on FIRE).
Gorgeous, no?
Thanks Deanna for being so awesome and making our experience at Tchoup Chop so great! By the way readers, it’s pronounced “chop chop”.
By the time we got home I was hangry. My dad got the grill fired up pretty quickly and prepared the salmon and shrimp burgers I’d gotten the day before at Whole Foods.
Salmon/shrimp burgers with yellow mustard and Russian dressing for dipping. Baked potato skin and innards with salsa.
I was SO hungry, but got full SO fast! I couldn’t even finish any of the innards of my baked potato (on the right). Bummer.
What a great last full day in Orlando – and I still had one more pool day left before we had to hop on our plane in the evening, but with no restaurant and no new workout (just another 5K and abs), I don’t plan to write a full recap of that day.
Do you have a favorite spot to go to in the warm months to have a drink outside?
Have you ever tried a seafood burger?
Did you or do you watch Live with Regis and Kelly (or just Kelly)?
My fifth full day in Orlando (last Thursday) followed my gym-tan-eat-tan-drink-eat-sleep routine (and trust me, I wasn’t getting sick of it) – but with another Connecticut-infused twist.
I woke up still feeling blah in the stomach area, just nauseous, but I was SOOO ready to be back at the intense cardio and decided to run a 5K on the treadmill. I was psyched to see they each had a TV but then saw that neither treadmill had a working one – bah! There was a big TV in the overall gym though, and it was empty in there (I mean, it was about 8am…) so I grabbed the remote and flipped channels while I pounded out 3.1 miles in 27 minutes! Once I started running, my nausea actually disappeared and I felt fantastic and full of energy. I like setting a distance goal as opposed to time because it motivates me to run faster – so I can get off that dreadmill faster! Works every time.
What do you know, another Connecticut friend was in Orlando when I was – Kelly! Her family are big fans of the parks (unlike mine) so most days she was Disney and Universal-ing, but she did have one pool day (well, morning) and I headed over to her hotel to join her and her mom. It was so great to hang out!
After Kelly and her fam left the pool for Epcot, I went to a nearby Whole Foods to grab lunch. Even though I have a location in my town, I love checking out different Whole Foods for the regional differences in the food offered at the hot and cold salad bars in state to state.
Healthy foods photograph the prettiest!
Well OK, that mac n cheese looks pretty golden and beautiful too.
Amazingly fresh Florida seafood salads.
I was a cheap-o and didn’t purchase any of the above ($10.99/lb…) but the seafood lover in me was remorseful later – right Meg? 😉
Hello there!
OK, so we do NOT have fish like that in my Whole Foods. No sir. I was also on a mention for seafood or meat for the next night’s grill-out dinner (the joys of staying at a place with a kitchen and grills!) and found just what I was looking for in the Seafood Department, thanks to a very helpful employee – hello if you are reading! (I gave him my card).
Just what I was looking for! I took home two Spinach & Feta Salmon Burgers, one Wild Salmon Burger, and one Shrimp Burger. I was already looking forward to the meal, and I hadn’t even had THAT night’s dinner yet (or the day’s lunch, for that matter). Story of my life.
Um, Whole Foods has a bar?! Don’t mind if I do! This location is the only one in Florida with a bar that serves beer and wine. The wine section itself was amazing! Need proof?
I snuck in on a tasting of Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover, a red blend (included one of my favorites, petite sirah). This wine was AMAZING, one of the best reds I’ve tried in awhile, and I was shocked at its affordable price tag. Also a fun side note on this International Woman’s Day, Concannon Vineyards hired the first professional female winemaker in 1950!
I was poured the above glass and then some, which I did not finish since I wanted to make it home alive.
Words cannot describe how excited I was to be having dinner that night at Seasons 52, a “blogger hot-spot” that I have seen on Meghann, Gina, Caitlin, and Julie’s blogs. I was rockin’ a new dress from the occasion, a Black Friday purchase (I know, it’s bad news bears when you’re wearing things for the “first time” in March and bought them in November) from Kohl’s LC Lauren Conrad Collection. You can’t see them well, but it has one of my latest obsessions, pleats!
I was blown away by our view! I had no idea Seasons 52 (we were at the ORIGINAL location, by the way!) offered gorgeous outdoor lakeside seating. Pleasant surprise!
After our little photoshoot, we finally took our seats and checked out the drink menu. It was very dark out on the patio, and my mom had to borrow a light from our waiter to read the menu! Silly mom.
I ordered the Organic Sunshine Martini: orange-infused Prairie organic vodka and agave nectar. However, it was not what I was expecting.
I chose this martini because the description made it sound like it would just be vodka made with a bit of agave, but after it arrived I could see that it had also been made with some kind of orange juice, a bummer because anytime drinks are made with juices they taste too sweet for me. Sure enough, it was too sweet, but our amazing waiter Garrett was kind enough to take it off the bill without my even asking – thank you Garrett!
Ugh, flash.
Instead of a martini, I decided to go with red wine and helped my parents out with the bottle they’d already ordered, Gascon Malbec, which was actually quite excellent! I made a joke that Gascon was an appropriate wine to drink when in Orlando, home of the creators of Gaston.
Surprisingly, Garrett had NOT heard that awful pun before!
Thankfully I didn’t have a tough time deciding on a meal because that night, a special was being offered that was made for me.
Mahi? Mediterranean? Shrimp? Tzatziki? SOLD.
Aaaand I DIED. What a fantastic dish. I’m a chronic dish modifier at restaurants and this was made for me – I did not have to order with ANY modifications. The fish was perfect, the shrimp tabouleh was perfect, the tzatziki came on the side without me even asking, and a nice surprise was included that wasn’t mentioned on the menu, olives!
My mom got the same dish and she was a bit bummed that the olives weren’t called out on the menu because she HATES them, but she picked them out and I finished them off for her. Before her meal, she got the Organic Baby Spinach Salad: sliced pears, feta, and toasted pine nuts on spinach. She couldn’t stop raving about it! My dad loved his meal too – despite the fact that it came with lots of veggies. Eat up Dad, they’re good for you!
We were too full for dessert so I did not try any of the famous Mini Indulgences that everyone raves about, but next time I will have to! What a great last dinner out in Florida.
Have you ever been to Seasons 52? If not, have you already heard about it thanks to the “blog world”?
Do you run on treadmills for distance or for time?
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen at a Whole Foods?
Time for another Orlando recap – full day number three of the trip, Tuesday! The next day I awoke feeling a bit less stellar than I had the day before, much to my disappointment. I still went to the hotel gym and did an easy 1.5 miles on the elliptical, taking it slow with higher resistance, and then did abs and body-weight leg work. I wasn’t too satisfied but felt nauseous.
I ordered a Starbucks decaf iced Americano, with barely any milk again, and spent another day by the pool with my parents and grandparents, reading through many magazines. Don’t worry, I wore my sunscreen! I also hydrated like a mad woman and felt better the more I sat on my butt all day – funny how that happens 😉
For dinner that night, we went to one of the chain restaurants I enjoy, Longhorn Steakhouse. It’s my grandpa, George’s, favorite!
I pulled a classic Caitlin and ordered off the “Interesting Reds” section of the wine list. Our waitress was nice enough to let me sample their newest red, the Genesis Meritage of Columbia Valley, before I committed to ordering a full glass.
Yum-my! I was totally impressed by this blend and definitely followed up my sample with a glass! It also paired well with my meal.
I continued the seafood trend and ordered the LongHorn Salmon, a change from my usual Longhorn seafood choice, Grilled Fresh Rainbow Trout. I didn’t change my side choices though – my usual baked potato with salsa and asparagus.
The bourbon marinade was fantastic and the 7oz. portion of salmon was the perfect size, since I knew I’d be finishing George’s chop steak for him. The LongHorn “Chopper”, as my family affectionately calls it, is SO GOOD.
THE CHOPPER (it’s under there somewhere).
My dad’s also continued his dinner trend of seafood soup! And just like me, he was completely satisfied.
It was so great to be hanging out with him again – I missed him while he was away for a couple of weeks before our vacation, on travel for business in Singapore and Japan!
I woke up on the Monday of our vacation feeling good, and I was so excited and grateful! To play it safe, I did my favorite yoga video on Hulu, YogaWorks Body Slim. I was sweating by the end and also felt relaxed and stretched-out. I headed to Starbucks and, continuing the play-it-safe plan, opted for an iced decaf Americano with the teeniest splash of skim to protect my still-sensitive stomach.
The pool wasn’t crowded at all and we scoped out some excellent seats. I sat back and enjoyed the warm weather with my magazines, and also had my beloved Chick-fil-A chargrilled chicken sandwich with extra pickles for lunch, with no stomach issues.
My Grannan and George (grandparents) arrived mid-afternoon too, and I was so excited to see them! We all remained poolside til late afternoon.
I continued to feel better, no doubt thanks to how cautious I was being and all the water I was chugging. I’d found out that one of my former co-workers from UConn, Matt, was staying at a nearby Embassy Suites with his mom – AND they have free happy hour every night! He invited me to be his guest, so I took my grandparents’ car over to see him.
I had a couple nibbles of chips, and that classy plastic mostly-empty cup you see there was formerly filled with red sangria. It was extremely – juicy. But what can I expect during a cheap happy hour?! I planned to have a more unique libation at dinner anyway! Thebest part was meeting up with Matt after not having seen him in so long, and also finally getting to meet his mom, who I heard plenty about while we worked together at UConn Dining Services.
I met my parents and grandparents at a restaurant with a Caitlin-approved food/drink menu – and bonus points, our hotel gave us a coupon for it!
Interesting outdoor seating "booths", complete with space heaters.
The new-ish restaurant, Atlantic Cove, featured a menu of traditional meat and seafood plates, sushi, and unique Asian-fusion dishes. Our waitress, Alexa, was an absolute SWEETHEART. She seemed a bit new and nervous, but was so respectful and accommodating! I was very impressed.
Talk about a drink menu! My choice jumped out at me the second I saw it.
The Basil Martini, made with Belvedere Red, vermouth, and infused basil, was just what I was hoping for and more. It was so amazingly smooth, tasted like spiked pesto, and was certainly worth its money in terms of strength! I have to admit that I sloshed a bit of this beauty on myself at the end there.
Yay Dad!!
We were served some pretty tasty bread with olive oil and herbs, which I definitely prefer to butter.
I knew I wanted to get my fill of seafood on this trip, but I could NOT for the life of me decide on which fish I wanted, and whether or not I wanted it cedar-planked or blackened! I quickly took to Twitter to ask my go-to foodie followers for advice, and though I went with the votes for blackened, I opted for a fish I hadn’t had in a while, snapper.
My dad ordered seafood soup, one of his favorite things to get before our vacation dinners, a Lobster & Crab Bisque, and he loved it. The bowl was cool too!
He also ordered his fish blackened, but chose grouper. Unfortunately the kitchen goofed and served it grilled instead, but he didn’t say anything, because it was still excellent.
My meal was amazing too! I got asparagus on the side and devoured my pineapple mango salsa, as well as my dad’s. I also picked at my grandpa’s crabcakes and my mom’s baked potato skin.
I still had room for dessert once we got back to the hotel, so I savored a tiny treat I’d picked up the night before at TooJay’s, one of their famous mini black and white cookies. I didn’t have one during my December Florida trip, so it was a necessity!
I went to sleep content and grateful to be feeling better. Until the next day’s trip recap!
Which of the fish options on the menu would you have chosen? How about the preparation method?
Have you ever had a classic black and white cookie from a deli? The ones from Starbucks don’t count! 😉
Jeff, Evan, and I have been quite the busy foodies lately. A few weeks before our oyster and white wine adventures at Max Fish, we hit up CW’s Chops ‘n Catch, a Corey Wry restaurant Jeff and I already loved, for their NewCastle Ale Beer Dinner. Don’t worry, fellow winos – there was a wine option for the beer-averse patrons like me! The price was right at just $40/person, and with a Corey Wry meal always guaranteed to be amazing, I pounced and made a reservation the second I found out about this dinner.
Yes, I know I’m super late recapping this. Would you expect anything less from a girl who still has some highlights of my December Florida trip to share? Someday…
Most of the beers being served at this dinner were part of the brand new seasonal line of New Castle and had never been tried in the state before. Good news for Jeff and Evan!
I was quite pleased with the fact that my name was written on our table’s place card (I made the reservation). It may or may not be hanging in my cubicle right now.
We started with passed appetizers: chimichurri beef skewers, which were served on an awesome cutting board with a map of Manchester (the restaurant’s location) carved into it! The beef was cooked very well and not too chewy.
We were also served Cabot Cheddar/New Castle Summer Soup Shooters, which were AMAZING and rich.
Pensive soup tasting.
Jeff and Evan were absolutely in love with these, but I think I liked the beef just a little bit more.
Dainty shooter sipping.
Our first course was a salad of steamed Cherrystone clams, arugula, lemon gremalata, EVOO, and shaved red onion. Unfortunately while eating this I got a chunk of arugula stuck in my throat that would NOT go down, so that kinda ruined my experience with this course. The arugula made a disappearance by the time it was over though.
The greens were delicious, when they weren’t getting stuck in my throat, and the clams were perfect. I LOVED that crunchy bread that came on the side – Jeff was kind enough to trade pieces with me since his bread was way more toasty than mine.
I was (finally – it had been a long day ;-)) served my vino pairing, a Pinot Grigio. Evan smugly guessed from one sip (before we knew what kind of white it was) that it was a Pinot. He was pretty proud of himself.
But the boys were more partial to the beer pairing, the same New Castle Summer IPA that was used as an ingredient in the soup shooters. The New Castle rep present at the dinner explained that this IPA had a citrus bite (I tried a sip and could taste it, but it was WAY too hoppy for me) and wasn’t quite as hoppy as other IPAs (could have fooled me but I have a SUPER low hop tolerance). It was paired with the salad because of the lemon and parsley ingredients, which did actually compliment the citrus in the beer well, I’ve gotta admit!
Oh bros and their beer…
The wine was a bit oddly spaced out during this meal. I arrived and they didn’t give us any drinks until after the salad came. Then, before the second course even came around, I was given my second glass of wine. This resulted in a double fisting situation.
I dealt with it.
Oops, first wine is gone!
The second course was served with Twisted Cabernet (a “good brand” of cheap wine that my parents know well) for wine and New Castle Brown Ale for beer.
This round of food was great! Buffalo style hot wings served with pickled cucumbers. Did somebody say pickles?!
Corey is a pickle god in my eyes – his Catsup and Mustard half-sours are excellent. These were no different.
The wings were perfect – not very spicy at all (a bit of a bummer for Jeff and Evan, who enjoy spicy food) and the bleu cheese sauce was some of the best I’ve ever had. Can you tell?
I actually really liked how the brown ale’s cool caramel undertones paired with the savory taste of the wings. I <3 contrast pairings.
In between this course and the entree, which was taking longer to prepare than the others since each person did not choose what he or she wanted until arrival, we were served CW’s signature garlic knots with garlic butter. OH WOW. This was amazing. The garlic freak in me was very, very pleased.
From left: cheddar brats, chorizo, knockwurst.
For the entree, all three of us passed up the Beef Tenderloin Tip Stew for the Housemade Sausage Mixed Grill with crushed Yukon potatoes, jalapeno jelly, and Cipollini onions. It’s safe to say we made the right choice. The jalapeno jelly was so, so amazing and natural tasting. The potatoes were awesome and every sausage was great, especially the chorizo. I loved how the knockwurst tasted with that mustard – I LOVE MUSTARD. Can’t have a Corey Wry dinner without catsup or mustard present right?
The beer served with the entree was New Castle’s newest, the Winter IPA, with a strong citrus taste that included notes of grapefruit. I was poured the Vina San Esteban Malbec, which was my least favorite wine of the evening. It was just very not-memorable? The sausage stood out and totally overshadowed it – not much of a pairing.
Last but not least…dessert! This one knocked my socks off: Chocolate Espresso Creme Brulee with Biscotti.
The biscotti was only OK – I definitely don’t prefer chocolate varieties – but the homemade whipped cream that topped them was to die for. I did not want the creme brulee to end. Eating the top was like eating a perfectly roasted, espresso-dusted, chocolate coated marshmallow.
I was served a sparkling wine with dessert, but the carbonation hater in me ended up sending it back for another glass of the Twisted Cab. That wine was just TOO sparkling! The boys had a beer called New Castle Werewolf Red Ale, and I really liked how it paired with the dessert. This brew had notes of berries, blood orange, and spice. I had been curious as to how beer would taste with creme brulee, and since it was the most interesting pairing, I think that’s why I liked it. It was designed to cleanse the palate and the spice notes were a nice counter to the sweet dessert. The fruity notes gave the beer a flavor that also made it well suited as a dessert course choice.
Luck was on our side that evening – each attendee got a raffle ticket with entry, and Evan won a New Castle shirt!
I smugly (and wastefully) won the biggest prize of the evening – a Krups BeerTender!
I was pretty psyched. That thing was bigger than me – I could barely hold it! I was more psyched to have won than about the actual prize…a beer device is wasted on me.
So it turned into Evan’s REALLY lucky day…take good care of the BeerTender, Evan!
Jeff was clearly jealous.
We also received traditional New Castle Ale glasses with the check.
Hello, wine.
The event was wonderful and I hope that Corey does another one soon! The food and drinks were well worth the price and I had an amazing time. It was another special way to spend a Monday indeed.
Looking awkward.
The three of us have now established a tradition (OK we’ve only done it twice, but still) of taking a foodie pic after each event. Yay!
Which of the dishes I sampled would you want to try most? Would you have gone with beer or wine?
Happy post-Super Bowl Monday! I definitely have a lost of Super Bowl party photos to share, but don’t want to get too ahead of myself because I’ve got great stuff that happened earlier in the weekend to share too. Good problems to have, yes?
But I just want to say quickly, I am already getting a bit sick of hearing people beat themselves up for indulging last night. I was doing some of that and still kinda am, but it’s the last thing I want to see and hear all over the place this morning. So let’s together try to make this a #mirrorlessmonday and just reflect on the good times. I’m working on it, and I hope you can too!
Saturday was quite an excellent day that started with a trip to the gym for Group Step. I had attended the exact same class the night before (Friday night “happy hour”!), but since the current release is still quite new, I wasn’t bored with the choreography at all. Some of the songs are so awesome! I’m always talking about this exercise program (by Body Training Systems) but have never actually SHOWED you guys what it’s about. Here is a trailer that shows you exactly what moves I’ve been doing in class, and you can hear the music too! I got the video from the BTS website.
I headed home, took a refreshing shower, and hit the road for Boston. It was great sunny driving weather, and I enjoyed some music and, once I lost radio reception to my favorite stations, listened to “The Tiger’s Wife” on audio book. I had big plans for the day. So big in fact, that they warranted a ridiculously-long-titled post like this one! 🙂 I first met up with Greg and Kramer, two good friends that I’ve known for awhile. Greg even spent Thanksgiving with my family (his parents are my godparents and vice versa). We walked to Newbury Street to have lunch at Stephanie’s on Newbury, a place that Kramer (a fellow restaurant fanatic) and I had been wanting to try for awhile. From the way my Twitter followers responded to my check-in there on Foursquare, I can see that many of my readers are already fans!
Each table at Stephanie’s was set with the cute little clipboard above that enables guests to customize their very own Stephanie’s Famous Bloody Mary for $11.50. The ingredients sounded really cool, but I have never been the biggest Bloody Mary fan (but more on that later…soon to be shown that this may have changed) and was going to be having some cocktails later, so we all just ordered food. Boston.com has called these bloody marys some of Boston’s best though, for those who are fans.
The cocktail menu was pretty darn impressive. It was hard for me to resist indulging in one of these! But really, I was hungry and food was at the top of my brain.
A girl at the table next to use ordered the Seared Yellow Fin Tuna Salad, and as soon as I saw the waiter set it down in front of her, all I could think was…I WANT. It wasn’t too hard for me to decide on that, though the menu did have plenty of appetizing options. Kramer and Greg had a way harder time choosing than I did.
Kramer ordered the Oversized Stephi Burger: ground sirloin, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, and french fries. It was definitely oversized! And also over-cheesed and over-fatted – Kramer commented that the cheese was way too much, and the sirloin itself was too fatty. There was definitely a sizable pool of grease that crowded and ruined the last few fries on his plate. He liked the burger, but said next time he’d go light on the cheese or nix it completely.
Greg’s choice was definitely more unique and delicious, though not enough food for him! He has been loving shepherd’s pie that Kramer cooks in their apartment, and ordered Stephanie’s version, which came inside an acorn squash and with a side of deliciously salty sauteed collard greens. Fortunately for Kramer and I, Greg didn’t want the greens. After I snapped this photo, Greg poured gravyover the whipped potatoes on top, and it looked even better. He said it was so delicious, but again, not enough food for him.
My salad was fantastic, with perfectly seared tuna and plenty of yummy ingredients like marinated green beans and olives, just the way I like it. The lemon caper dressing was the star – one of the best salad dressings I’ve ever tasted. I dipped my fork in it lightly before each tuna bite and the combo was out of this world.
After lunch, we walked around Newbury a bit and did some shopping. I finally got some Toms at Urban Outfitters thanks to Christmas gift cards, and also had some luck at Forever 21!
Next on my agenda was a meet-up with my pal Ken of Pete & Gerry’s Heirloom Eggs. Don’t forget, you can still access coupons for their eggshere, and FYI, their eggs are available to buy (and use the coupons on) at Northeast grocery store chains like Shaw’s, Stop and Shop, and Whole Foods!
This small sign was literally the only indication that we had arrived at Drink, Boston’s premier destination for specialty cocktails. The bartenders here are more like mixologists or artists. There is no drink menu – just tell them what you like or what you’re in the mood for, and a special, unique beverage will be made just for you. Each drink takes awhile to make but it’s well worth the wait.
The place runs like a well-oiled machine. That girl in the photo above was preparing citrus fruits for drinks the whole time we were there. Another girl was completely in charge of washing off any tools/shakers/cups used to make the beverages. That way, the mixologists could concentrate on what they did best. Each drink was quite a production! It looked like our bartender, Will, was performing an operation while he made our first beverage.
Luckily the booze was not only flowin’ at Drink, but water was too – served in shot glasses! Very cool, and despite how busy it got not long at all after the place opened at 4pm, the employees were very attentive about keeping the glasses full.
Our first drink was a Mai Tai, but not one you’ve ever seen before.
Yes, the drink is on FIRE! This was amazing. Ken and I informed Will that we wanted something with rum, citrus-y, more tart than sweet…and this is what he came up with. The thing on fire in the lime skin is a brandied cherry, and the cherries in this drink were actually the best I’ve ever tasted. The Mai Tai contained two rums:El Dorado 12 Year and one other that I cannot for the life of me find the name of – bad blogger. Other ingredients included house-made grenadine, freshly squeezed lime juice, orange curacao, and the obvious fresh fruit and crushed ice.
Drink may not have a drink menu, but the food menu was incredible. Ken chose a couple of bar bites for us – warm olives and candied bacon cashews. OH. MY. GOSH. The olives were good, don’t get me wrong. But those cashews? Fantastic, amazing, wonderful, not enough positive words exist to describe these cashews.
It was time for another drink, and Ken had brought along a very special ingredient – his Pete and Gerry’s eggs! Will gladly accepted them and offered to whip us up some cocktails. He and some other Drink employees were definitely admiring the brilliant yellow of those cage-free yolks as he worked.
Yes, that’s a light Will is working with. I’m telling you, each drink was like an operation! An operation that involves lots of heavy drink shaking.
Will made Ken and I two drinks to share, one with egg whites and one that used the egg yolk. First up, was a Good Humor, made with egg yolk, aperol cream, and topped with nutmeg.
Interesting story behind the Good Humor – it was invented by a couple who owned a farm and used to make drinks with egg whites. They had so many leftover yolks that they knew they had to come up with a drink to put those into, and that’s when experimenting was done and the Good Humor was invented.
The next drink, which was the favorite of both Ken and I because it tasted stronger, was the Pink Lady made with egg whites, apple brandy, gin, pomegranate, and lemon. YUM!
Ken and I toasting to Pete and Gerry's egg cocktails!
Ken and I had to cut ourselves off, because we had another destination to hit! Chef Jason Santos of Hell’s Kitchen’s seventh season is the executive chef at Blue Inc. and he has an affinity for Pete and Gerry’s eggs! He uses them in his kitchen and had nothing but good feedback for Ken. That’s right, I got to meet Chef Jason Santos!
The interior of Blue Inc. is gorgeous, with a really cool blue and orange color scheme and a very retro appearance. The restaurant was designed with help from Taniya Nayak, an interior designer and HGTV/Food Network personality!
Jason was kind enough to send out shooters of his celery root and Fuji apple soup. This was creamy and not too rich. The apple taste was extremely subtle – good for someone like me who doesn’t really like apples! What an amazing soup.
The unique foodie fare didn’t stop there. The bartenders were also very generous and gave Ken and I a sample of one of the crazy cocktails from Blue Inc’s Crazy Cocktails menu. Tricia LaCount, the Bar Manager and “Mad Scientist”, has done an amazing job coming up with some really unique concoctions, like a dirty martini made with black sea salt. Oh, and she’s also a sweetheart! The above shot glass is filled with a rum and Coke made with butter-popcorn-infused rum. Yes, that’s right, they literally take rum and let it soak in buttered popcorn! Not exactly my cup of tea (I don’t like soda…) but what an idea. I can always appreciate creativity like that. I had to try a couple sips!
For my next cocktail of the evening, I was daring and selected the Angry Tomato: gazpacho vodka, pickled green beans, and a double-secret bloody recipe.
The rim was garnished with some kind of red-pepper and the green beans were EXCELLENT dunked in the drink. This was a daring choice for me because like I said before, I’m not really a Bloody Mary fan. I could actually only finish about half of this. However it was the best one I’ve ever tried and I’m glad I stepped out of my box!
Not pictured are the Spicy Red Curry Mussels (with Thai crab cakes, scallion salad, and fresh coconut) and Pretzel Rolls that Ken and I shared as well. The broth of the mussels was FANTASTIC when soaked up with the pretzel roll. Mmmm. Unfortunately at this point, it was time to part ways with Ken. I had another meet-up on my agenda, a very special one indeed.
Yes, that’s Heather from For the Love of Kale! She already blogged about our meet-up and had so many nice things to say, and I’m happy to say the feeling is mutual. I feel like I’ve known her for forever and she’s one of my twinnies! We had a great time in the city and I loved meeting her friends too.
We were going to hit up The Other Side Cafe, and I was so psyched for a unique meal, but they were at capacity and showing no signs of emptying out anytime soon. Bummer! A lot of the restaurants in the area were also “full-up” for those with no reservations, so by process of elimination we ended up at Mass Ave Tavern.
Good thing I wasn’t even really hungry at all after all the munching and imbibing I’d been doing the last several hours, but the Bee Keeper cocktail sounded simple and delicious, so I did order one of those. When in Rome?
The drink was definitely excellent, and the four of us shared a Hummus Plate. It was yummy and the perfect light snack for my hunger level, but Heather the hummus-expert confirmed for us that this hummus was not homemade, but Tribe. Still good, but something easily recreated at home!
Our waitress also had an attitude and there weren’t many options at all for a vegan like Heather (what do you expect from a Tavern we ended up at because we didn’t have many other choices…), but we went with the flow and had a blast with each other anyway, of course! How could we not?
It was such an amazing Saturday. I headed home after dinner and was in bed and passed out by 11:15PM. Not too shabby! Still was able to get up the next morning and have a super productive Sunday.
Have you ever met someone you met through blogging in “real life”?
Which of the cocktails I sampled would you most want to try?
I am going to have to split my recap of this event into several posts – that’s how much fun I have to share with you all. Without further ado, please read on to find out what I ATE at Mohegan Sun WineFest 2012!
EDIT: I completed my Sun WineFest recaps, and you can also read about what I drank and the Oyster Open competition.
Oh my goodness. WHAT a day it was at the 2012 Mohegan SunWine Fest. It was totally worth all the build up. This morning I woke up nice and early (went to bed at about 9:30 or 10 last night…it felt so fantastic), went to Step (where I felt like I was going to die, for some reason), and got homework done at Daybreak with some Toasted Butternut coffee. Once home, I laid out all my “equipment” to ensure that I was prepared.
Purse, vendor list, notebook with pen, waters, cam, and IBUPROFEN.
Elliott of Sonoma Wines & Spirits was kind enough to mark up my lists of wine, beer, and spirits vendors to give me hints on where I should concentrate my “tasting efforts”. He highlighted in pink the “must-tries”, but I did end up getting to try everything he marked, even those that weren’t highlighted (and were only starred).
See the pink "must-try" highlighting?
I was SO glad that I brought my own large bag with me – it was so useful during the tasting to hold all of the business cards, fliers, and pamphlets I received, along with my camera case and purse.
This dork is ready to roll.
I arrived, parked seemingly the farthest I could possibly park from the Convention Center, and made a beeline for the food token line once I was through the doors.
I was super hungry for lunch and knew I should get some food in my stomach before I started drinking! The line was a bit long but I had plenty to look at while I waited.
Gorgeous chandelier!
The food tickets were only $1/token and the proceeds were going to charity, so I didn’t mind paying $20 for 20 tokens. I only ended up not using three of them (I know, I was surprised I had any left over too).
Wine glasses, ready for the taking.
The wine glasses were very generously sized and the programs provided for guests were very helpful, with maps of numbered booths for both floors (beers were upstairs). There were also pens free for the taking.
I strolled inside and gravitated to the first food booth I saw! I was pleased to see it was from a local vendor.
Another fantastic relish, like my fave Mariah’s Chow Chow Relish, to add to my grocery list! Webber’s Original Pepper Relish is offered in mild, medium, and hot varieties. I tried the medium on a Tostitos Scoop chip. Looking back, I wish I’d bought a jar! It’d be easy to do so though, since Warren’s Foods is located in West Hartford. The relishes are gluten free, and just fifteen calories per tablespoon, making them a great option for flavoring meats or dipping crackers or chips at parties.
I next sampled extra virgin olive oil on crusty Italian bread at Aralia Olive Oils and was very impressed. The EVOO’s flavor was really something to appreciate and savor. I could definitely tell this was a higher quality EVOO than the stuff in my pantry at home!
The next booth was one of my favoritesof the entire WineFest – Brix Chocolate and their chocolate-and-wine pairings. Yes, that’s right, chocolate and wine! The chocolate was lined up from milk to extra dark, and each was listed with recommended pairings for types of wines. The nice girls at the booth told me that I was supposed to eat the chocolate, swallow it, and then sip the wine. Each pairing was sooo good, but my favorite was the extra dark chocolate.
My favorite cheeses from Cabot were actually those not pictured – Chipotle Cheddar and Hot Habenero. Both had the perfect amount of kick!
igourmet.com also had some delicious cheese offerings! The Aged Cheddar pictured below was fantastic. I also sampled a gentle, young Bleu Cheese. igourmet.com was a big part of the Sun WineFest – they sponsored the special Seminar Series that I mentioned in my lead-up post to the festival.
Even vendors not typically in the business of food were giving out food! A company giving away (and selling) Cayman Islands vacation packages had authentic rum bread. It was quite sweet (just one piece was enough for me) but a delicious new food that I was excited to try!
I used my first three food tokens at Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs of Monroe, NH. Their booth was very well set-up and I loved the addition of cracked eggs in the little bowls below, so that visitors could see just how high-quality the yolks of Pete & Gerry’s heirloom eggs are. The hens are all Certified Humane (the first farm in the country with this status, in fact) and every egg is shipped the morning after it is gathered, and remains chilled at 45 degrees from farm to dairy case. These particular eggs contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, since the hens are fed organic flax seeds as part of their diet. Even the egg cartons are made from 100% recycled materials! Something I didn’t know – the white eggs come from Ameraucana hens and the brown come from Marans hens!
I want those bowls!
Pete & Gerry’s food offering was well worth those three tokens – a raspberry egg custard made from their eggs, topped with homemade whipped cream and a raspberry garnish. This custard was out of this world. Not too sweet, with a pure flavor. I could tell that this custard was made from some pretty special eggs! I wasn’t a big fan of the raspberry jelly on the bottom of the cup, but was glad that it stuck to the bottom so that I could enjoy the custard (and whipped cream…) in its own glory. You can find recipes on the Pete & Gerry’s website, including one for a chocolate version of the custard!
You can tell that whipped cream is homemade!
Jasper White’s Summer Shack had quite an impressive raw bar line-up! I didn’t get anything from this booth because I’m actually attending an event tonight at Max Fish in which oysters are the stars, but the presentation was very nice and perfect for photos!
Oh yum!
I saw many plates in the ballroom filled with oysters – they seemed to be a hit!
Love their motto – "food is love".
One of the Mohegan Sun Summer Shack’s shuckers was multi-tasking by shucking oysters for guests AND practicing for the soon-to-come 8th Annual Oyster Open.
Next I headed over to the booth of Esca Wine Bar of Middletown, where I saw and tasted by far the most unique food offering of the entire WineFest – a lobster cappuccino!
I had a chance to talk with its creator and find out exactly what the lobster cappuccino was made of – a lot of you were curious when I was tweeting about it! It turns out it’s made with fortified lobster stock, lecithin, 2% milk, and heavy cream, among other ingredients. The orange mix above went in the bottom of a little cup, and then was topped with the white foam. The flavor was amazing! I could not believe that the foamy drink I was about to consume would taste like lobster, but then it did – it was EXACTLY the flavor one would expect from a lobster dish. My compliments to the chef for creating such a unique dish!
Posin'!
Esca is really a diamond in the rough, located on the recently-revived Main Street of Middletown, CT. That area continues to impress me with its restaurant and nightlife offerings – first Mondo, and now a sophisticated wine bar with excellent food, an endless wine list, classy cocktails, and Thursday Happy Hour til 10pm! You may have seen me tweeting up a storm about it when I was there this past Thursday. I can’t wait to go back again soon with my mom. I know she’d LOVE it there.
Flavored cheesecakes, and some very classy napkins!
At this point I started sampling beverages…but that’s going to come in Wednesday’s post. For now, I’m skipping to my next food experience, which was much needed as I started feeling the alcohol’s effects! If I was going to drive home safely, I needed to take a break and get some food in my belly. Enter Plan B…
Ah, the Leaning Tower of Burger!
I wasn’t sure what that cornucopia of veggies on the table display was all about. It didn’t really fit well with the burger theme (burger tower, ketchup, mustard…) and when I go to Plan B, veggies are the last thing on my mind. In fact, I know that even if they were the first thing on my mind, I couldn’t get much of them. I’m honestly not a big fan of Plan B, unlike the rest of the CT-burger-enthusiasts out there. I think that for the quality you get, and the options for sides you are given, the food is very overpriced. I do, however, respect their cocktails, spirits, and beer list. I certainly enjoy sipping on some fig-and-vanilla-infused bourbon, don’t get me wrong.
That being said, I did enjoy the cheeseburger slider I purchased for three tokens at Plan B’s booth. My beef with sliders (ha..ha..had to do it) is that the buns are always way too big on them and overpower the meat. These were no different, with a puffy, plain bun that was nothing remarkable. The meat was, however, cooked very well and the cheese was excellent. Still didn’t make me want to go have dinner at Plan B though.
Something that did impress me? The sushi by Feng Asian Bistro. I’ve heard this place has the best sushi in CT, and wanted to try the most creative roll they offered. I’m seriously SO glad I like sushi now!
I thought 6 tokens was a little steep, but the Feng Chef Roll was extremely delicious! If only it had been made with brown rice, which I find to be so much more flavorful AND healthier. The spicy mayo and eel sauce was excellent and I enjoyed my roll with fresh ginger.
Beauty!
Not done with food yet, nope nope nope. After sampling some more beverages and watching the oyster shucking contest (that’ll be another separate post), I ventured back to the food vendors to use the last of my tokens. Unfortunately, it was 4:45pm and most were closing up or out of many offerings! No worries, I managed.
SolToro Tequila Grill had a lovely booth (employees were wearing sombreros with stripes that matched the tablecloth) but only had chicken tacos left. I was hoping for pork, but chicken was my next choice, and I definitely LOVED this taco. First of all, SolToro used a corn tortilla – LOVE it! Corn tortillas are to brown rice as flour tortillas are to white rice for me – so much more hearty and satisfying (and healthier). It may not look like it from the photo, but the portion of shredded chicken was pretty generous and I also loved that it was shredded, as opposed to chunks of grilled chicken, which never work as well in tacos for me. The onions were great too, and at just 2 tokens, this taco was a steal! I want to go and eat at SolToro again!
Next came a porchetta slider from Mohegan’s newest restaurant, Ballo, which I already and now DEFINITELY want to try. The menu offers a full-size version of this oven-roasted sandwich of pork, broccoli rabe, and provolone. I got my pork fix in after all (who needs it on a taco?) and was very impressed! Once again, too much bread on this slider, but its fillings were fresh enough to stand out.
Last but not least for the food…this may not be the prettiest photo in the world, but trust me when I say that this brisket with buttermilk biscuit (it’s under there somewhere) from Esca was out of this world. I am a HUGE biscuit fan, so I ate that first, and it was so delicious soaked in all those brisket-y juices. The brisket itself was cooked perfectly and was very rich. I got such a generous portion from the kind chef there that I didn’t have room to finish it all! I wouldn’t expect awesome brisket-and-biscuits from a wine bar, but it looks like Esca can do it all!
Gonna say oh my goodness again just like I did in the beginning of this post. What a day, and that was JUST the food! I cannot wait to share the beverage portion of my experience with you all on Wednesday. I have to say though, today it feels pretty good to get back into my usual “weekday routine” after a weekend of imbibing. I am so psyched for today’s salad beast at lunch. That’s what happens after an indulgence – I tend to crave more “clean” stuff. But don’t get me wrong – I DEFINITELY enjoyed the food I ate yesterday. Mmmm.
Which of the items I sampled would you have most liked to try?
Make sure you read my preview of the Mohegan SunWine Fest, an epic event that I’ll be attending this Sunday!
TGIF, friends! I finally get to do some cardio after work today a-la Group Step, and I can’t wait. Haven’t done cardio since Step on Sunday and I’m feeling pretty restless. Vent time…
This is me, needing to vent. And sorry about this pic, Lidia.
Already I’m having trouble with my classes starting back up for the semester. I go from work to class on Tuesdays/Thursdays and it’s a very long day, so I’ve taken those two days as rest days this week. I’m honestly not used to that – it’s been a struggle for me the last couple of years to take the rest days I should. Since my last semester ended I’ve honestly been doing SOMETHING (even if it’s just yoga) every single day, so now I’m breaking out of that trend and it’s feeling uncomfortable. I’m going to try to focus on my goals and tell myself that rest does a body good, but any words of wisdom or advice on getting used to a less intense workout schedule would be great! I could wake up at 5AM to hit the gym or be there until 8:30 or 9PM on Tuesday/Thursdays…but I honestly don’t want to. I’d rather hang with a friend after class, and I usually feel like crap working out before 7AM. I know that I could probably get used to it, but I don’t want to force anything – I’ve done that for too long in the past and I really think I should focus on the fitness that I find fun. So, what do you guys think? Any tips or mantras for me to keep in mind on days I don’t have time to work out?
Let’s get back to the food, shall we? I still haven’t finished recapping the restaurants I went to last month in Florida, and I don’t want you guys to miss out on the photos in this post, so without further ado…
Last month while on vacation in Florida, my dad, sister, grandma, and I enjoyed several tasty restaurants on the beach at lunchtime. One of those was Johnny Longboat’s, a place I’d been to before during spring break of my senior year, with my best friend Lidia.
Lidia and I at Johnny Longboat's last year, along with our sunburns.
Our meals were delicious then (I had mahi mahi with black beans and plantains, and Lidia had clams), so I suggested to my dad and sister, who hadn’t tried the place yet, that we should go there for lunch instead of another trip to Two Drunken Goats. I like to experience as much variety as I can while on vacation!
Lidia's clams, and a strawberry daiquiri, which she said made it a "grown-up lunch". Also, this is clearly before my camera upgrade.
Most of the restaurant is “open air”, except if you sit in the back. We sat in a nice portion that wasn’t quite on the deck, but pretty much made us feel like we were outside.
Dad and Hannah hanging out.
The decor was so fun and beachy. It reminded me a bit of Margaritaville, only more authentic.
I noticed this hilarious take on what my grandma likes to call “the rip-off machine” (AKA the claw machines – was anyone else completely obsessed with playing those as a kid?). This machine dispensed LOBSTERS instead of stuffed animals! And then they’d cook your hand-caught lobster! Seeing this tank reminded me of being little and going with my mom to Publix, back when we lived in Florida. I have many memories of grocery store trips, including trips to the bakery for my free kid’s cookie (another reason why Publix is the very best grocery store in the world).
Oops, went off on a bit of a tangent there, but that’s what Publix will do to you. Bethany knows what I’m talking about.
I decided to keep up with my salad-and-seafood lunch trend and get a Greek spinach salad. This time, my seafood topper of choice was the scallop, or shall I say, scallopS. They were grilled and EXCELLENT. This salad was even better than the one I had at Two Drunken Goats with the crabmeat. Crab is good and all, but once seafood gets grilled, it’s a whole other ball game in my opinion.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL!
Grannan kept it classy and had some chardonnay and oysters. I don’t think it’s ever really possible for oysters to have a pretty presentation, because I think ice is ugly. Is that weird?
My dad was so torn over what to order, but opted for the hot dog, which should have been labeled the foot-long hot dog. Holy! This was NOT your typical “8-inch-footlong-hotdog”.
My dad also said it was the best hot dog he’d ever had! And this is coming from a man who’d eaten one a week before on the streets of NYC!
Caught in the act.
No photo, but my sister got a spinach salad with steak and strawberries. It looked excellent, but she said it had way too many greens. She ate all the good stuff (AKA steak and fruit) and some spinach, but left a little pile behind. I on the other hand housed my salad.
Overall we really liked Johnny Longboat’s. In fact, I don’t think we’re sure which we liked more, that or Two Drunken Goats! Good thing we can always go to both 🙂
Did anyone else have a fascination with the “rip-off” machine aka the claw machine?
Like I said yesterday…and the day before…I’ve got an exciting evening to share! So exciting I had to give it a build-up of several days, I suppose. I wasn’t going to let a snowy Saturday get me down this past weekend. I had exciting plans to reunite with college friends at Mohegan Sun Casino, and thankfully by the time I left around 6pm, the highways were pretty much all cleared and it was (fairly) smooth sailing during my trip.
I arrived, found some of our group playing video poker at a bar, and settled in with an Absolut Pear Martini while we waited for more friends to arrive so that we could grab dinner. The martini was delicious, just the pear-flavored vodka with a touch of vermouth, shaken with ice so that it was niiiice and chilly. I love a smooth, strong drink!
We grew to a party of six and set out to find a dining destination. The first two options we stopped at, Sol Toro and 23 Sports Cafe (both Michael Jordan restaurants), had waits. I had been hoping to try something new, but also didn’t want to delay dinner. Luckily, there were plenty of tables for large parties available at Jasper White’s Summer Shack, and old favorite of mine that I’ve visited a couple of times before, most recently during the Winter Storm Alfred power outage.
Specials are written on chalkboards throughout the restaurant.
The Summer Shack has the casual beach vibe of so many of the authentic seafood restaurants back in Florida that I adore. The seafood here is always fresh, and that’s the reason for the chalkboards throughout the restaurant that list the numerous special starters, entrees, and desserts. So much of the menu is always changing, depending on what will taste the best based on availability!
Jeff and I, always foodie partners in crime.
I started off with a Dark & Stormy, or ginger beer with rum. This has become one of my favorite drinks to order whenever I see it on a drink menu when I’m out, ever since sampling it several times at Rooftop120. Their version, the Dark & Stormier, is definitely stromier aka STRONGER! However this Dark & Stormy was still delicious and I savored it throughout my meal…which resulted in me having to chug it so the rest of the party could leave and get-to-gamblin’, oops.
Reunited at the casino, at the end of our evening.
When the hostess was seating us, she informed me that Chef Jasper White himself (yes, it’s Jasper White’s Summer Shack) was actually in the restaurant that very evening! I became a bit of a babbling mess and blurted out that I would love the chance to meet him or talk to him, and tell him how much I enjoy his restaurant. I never ACTUALLY expected that Jasper White would come to our table to meet me!
Celeb chef sighting!
You know you’re a foodie when you’re fangirling over meeting the chef of a great restaurant, much like one would fangirl over meeting the singer of their favorite songs (oh yeah, I’ve done that before too). It was great to have the chance to tell Jasper about my blog, and how my family came to his restaurant during one of our nights without power during Winter Storm Alfred, and that I’d written about the experience and shared it with my readers. I was so excited to give him my card – the idea of Jasper reading my blog was (and is) very exciting!
I was in for an even bigger surprise when Jasper sent over some appetizers for the table to sample! We received the stuffed oysters pictured above, as well as seafood potstickers. Both were beyond amazing, but I’d have to say my favorite of the two were the oysters. The crunchy breading atop the stuffing was so flaky, and the lemon juice squeezed atop each one really made it.
Ever the adventurous foodies, Jeff and I decided to split two of the more unique appetizer specials. First was the baby octopus with crushed tomatoes and white beans. This was fantastic! The octopus had a really nice flavor and the beans and tomatoes tasted SO good served atop that crunchy bread on the side – kinda like a little bruschetta! I squeezed a lot of the lemon wedge’s juice onto the greens too.
Unfortunately, our second choice, grilled sardines with a spicy marinara, were a little bit of a fail due to the bones! The fish that I did taste was good – I have been curious to try sardines ever since reading about them in the blog world, first on Kath Eats. It wasn’t too salty like I’d feared. The issue was the skeleton – the tiny sardine bones were impossible to pick out! This just comes with the territory of eating sardines I guess, but I am not a fan of high-maintenance dishes like that. Jeff and I both kinda gave up eventually, which was unfortunate because the fish was yummy! I guess bone fish just is not for me. The marinara didn’t taste that spicy to us, but I did enjoy its flavor and scooped some onto more of that crunchy bread, and put more lemon juice on this app’s greens as well. I like how each app comes with greens – the maple-glazed scallops I ordered last time did as well!
In contrast to the interesting apps Jeff and I sampled, our friend Charlie, the king of the plainest foods of all time, ordered buffalo wings. He was more than eager to give me his review, declaring that the meat was delicious, but the wings lacked any buffalo flavor (he also wanted me to include that he is, indeed, from the Buffalo area). He also declared the bleu cheese sauce to be excellent. My friend Prasant tried a wing, and gave the same consensus as Charlie. Sounds good to me, since I cannot deal with anything spicy, but these may not be the best choice if you are looking for a spicy wing!
Prasant and my other friend, Alex, ordered the same thing…the cheeseburger. Can’t go wrong with a good old burger every now and then, but as you can see, Jeff’s tastes align more with mine when it comes to what to order at a seafood restaurant! Prasant and Alex both liked their burgers though, and that grilled onion in the photo above looks really good to me!
Clearly I was so psyched about the pickles I received with my food (always gotta order pickles on the side, right Christina?) that I couldn’t sit still enough to let Jeff take a photo that wasn’t blurry.
The service we received at Jasper White’s Summer Shack was also excellent. Our waiter was really nice and, after initially bringing me 2 pickles, brought me a few more after he found out he would have to charge me $1 for them. Thanks, man!
And a huge thanks to Jasper White for being kind enough to check out my blog and send some delicious seafood my way!
While the boys in our crew headed to the craps table (where Jeff went on a heater and proceeded to win the tables’ players amounts ranging from tens to thousands of dollars), my friend Kelly (this is a third Kelly I know, so now I have mentioned all three of them on the blog at somepoint, yay!) and I decided to class it up, pass by the free casino beverages, and spend a little money to enjoy a more unique cocktail at Leffingwell’s Martini Lounge.
Such a gorgeous place! The bar was full, so we settled into some giant red comfy chairs (that were a little too large and seemed to swallow us) and perused the martini menu.
I was worried I’d have a hard time deciding on a drink, but immediately spotted the French Pear martini, remembered the first pear martini I’d had from earlier that evening, and decided that trying a version of it that included eldeflower liqueur and a twist was just what I wanted!
Kelly satisfied her sweet tooth AND grape tooth with a Grape Snow Cone martini.
How cute is her hair? Jealous.
And my awkward photo-posing-with-a-martini, which you saw briefly on Sunday…
Drinks can be so pretty!
After we finished our drinks and had wonderful girl-time, Kelly and I met up with the boys at the craps table. There wasn’t room for me to jump in until Jeff’s heater had ended, but I still managed to leave the casino $20 richer!
Dammit Brookstone, ruining my lighting.
We hung out for a little while longer and I decided to give into a craving that I always get when I go to Mohegan…
Oh Half-Baked Fro Yo from Ben & Jerry’s, how I love you so. And how I LOVE sugar cones. Got a kid’s cone for a nice treat!
Taken by a random man who may or may not have been drunk. Open your eyes, Caitlin.
What a fantastic evening, which went quite well with the rest of my wonderful weekend. It was so great to see so many of my friends together in one place for the first time since graduation – and meet Jasper White!
Have you ever met the head chef of a restaurant? Do you ever visit the casino – and do you ever win?
Hi all! I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s post on the Taste of New Haven: Canal Quarter tour that I did recently. If you haven’t read it, check it out. You’ll be drooling by the end!
She might have my male readers drooling too #cheesy
Yesterday I was finally back to my sweatier workout routine after work. The day I got my wisdom teeth out (Friday), I did a relaxing YogaWorks Core Flow video in the evening, because I was so stiff from sitting around all day. It felt great, especially all the twisting poses. My back REALLY needed that. On Saturday and Sunday, I stuck to high-resistance elliptical sessions with some good magazines, and mat work. But yesterday I got to the gym, and I had HIIT on the brain. I got on the Step Mill for 30 minutes with the above latest issue of “Self” (and some “Entertainment Tonight” Golden Globes coverage) and did speed intervals, levels 15-17. It ended up coming out to just a little over 4 miles and I finished it off with…
Random Total-Body Moves:
90 second forearm plank, 30 second oblique planks each side
Done and done, I was so ready to go home after that. It was 8pm by that time and I was starved. Luckily I came home to roasted Brussels sprouts and chili. Oh, the joys of living at home.
I think it’s so cool when two “separate worlds” combine in unexpected places. An example of this occurred our second night in Florida, when my dad arranged for my godfather AKA his best friend, Joe, and his son AKA one of my best friends, Greg, to join us for dinner at another old favorite spot, Duffy’s Sports Grill!
Greg and his family were also in Florida for the holidays, and I didn’t want the trip to come and go without at least one meet-up. Greg lives in Boston right now (he goes to law school at BU), but his parents live very close to us in CT and he and I both went to UConn, so it felt funny for our two CT-based families to be meeting for dinner in Florida, of all places! We actually have met up in a similar manner on a trip a couple of years ago, and it’s always a good time.
Dad, Joe, and Greg after a Duffy's meet-up in Florida '09.
Duffy’s started out as a little place that only served burgers, hot dogs, and chips – not even fries! It’s certainly expanded since then, with locations all over the east coast of Florida. My parents have adored the place for years and years, since before I was even born.
We arrived to find that the restaurant was, as usual, absolutely packed. My grandma is a Duffy’s MVP, so we did get a little bit of priority on seating, but still had to wait awhile. When you go to Duffy’s, you have to expect a wait if you don’t want to end up disappointed. Eat a snack beforehand – ha!
Sis and I.
Duffy’s also has two-for-one happy hour all day, every day. When you order a drink, they just bring you two of it. That’s Florida for you…never in CT would I see that. Lame.
Go Mom! 2-for-1, 2-for-1!
We were finally seated, though had to switch tables because we were mysteriously split up when there were tables available next to each other that we could have pushed together. There was also a slight incident in which our waiter forgot to take Greg’s dad’s order – but we hunted him down!
Posing with the siblings.
Despite the fact that Duffy’s is a “sports grill”, the menu really has options for everyone thanks to Florida’s abundance of fresh seafood. I always get fish whenever I can when I visit Florida. I consider it a waste not too – it’s so fresh!
I ordered my go-to white fish, the mahi-mahi with a baked potato and black beans. My mom got the exact same thing. We LOVE all three of those components.
I arrived at Duffy’s STARVED, and then ended up getting too full that I could not finish all that. Not like me!
Greg had never had kobe beef before, and Duffy’s is continuously voted Best Burger in FL, so he got a kobe burger. We were all disappointed to see that Duffy’s had gotten rid of their fantastic french fries and replaced them with shoestring fries! These are SO much less satisfying than regular fries, and our waiter agreed. He said it had been only a week, and they’d already had so many complaints that a plan was already being implemented to change them back. Don’t mess with a good thing!
Greg still enjoyed his burger, but he wasn’t blown away.
Duffy’s is a great place with reasonable prices, and I recommend giving their seafood or burgers a try if you’re in eastern FL – after they get their old fries back, of course.
I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!
My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!
Disclaimer
I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.
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