Food Venture: Sahara Mediterranean Grill

Groupons are great for saving money, they're bad because sometimes they have you eating out more than you probably should. Phuong bought groupons for Saraha Mediterranean Grill and needed to use it before it expired. This called for a food venture!



Fresh oven-baked bread and garlic sauce. Got to love garlic sauce.


Hommous! I've grown to LOVE this stuff. The best hommous I've had yet.


Cream of Broccoli Soup


Fattoush Salad. Refreshing.


Charboiled Lamb Chops


Chicken Sandwich

All the dishes were delicious, I didn't get to taste the soup and sandwich though. The bread was so warm and fresh, we had two baskets full - and a refill on the garlic sauce too! So good. The lamb was cooked perfectly. I'd definitely go back for sure!

Food Venture: Da Nang

Last week a couple of coworkers and I had lunch at Da Nang. It was the closest Vietnamese restaurant in the area and I've been craving Pho for a while so we went to try it out.


Of course, I almost never order Pho ( even though I was craving it) and almost always order Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio (Grilled Pork w/ Rice Vermicelli and Eggroll)


Sonila tried the Com Suon (Grilled Pork w/ Rice)


Cathy had Bun Bo Hue (Hue Style Beef Noodle Soup)
The food was good, the service not so good. Definitely not your typical Vietnamese Restaurant. The atmosphere was nice, but it was missing a little of the authentic vibe. If only Que Huong was closer!

Food Venture: Monterrey Cantina

A few weeks ago, when the weather was extraordinarily nice, some loved ones and I went for a stroll in Downtown Royal Oak, in hopes of eating at What Crepes. When it was closed, we checked into Monterrey Cantina since no one ate there before. After about 15 minutes wait, we were finally seated.

The dishes:



Warm Toasty Chips and Salsa to start.


Mojito, Strawberry Daq, and Water for the Misses.


Grand Chimichanga!


Steak Burritos


Nachos!




Steak Fajita.
The Mojito was okay. The food the pretty good and the servings were hefty! Nice atmosphere too.

Food Venture: Birmingham Sushi Cafe

Lunch with a couple co-workers at Birmingham Sushi Cafe. Introducing Rhonda to sushi, starting off with something not containing raw fish. =)

Shared:


Fried Gyoza


California Roll


Kalbi

Food Venture: Maggiano's Little Italy

Friday night dinner date with siblings, TP, and Brandi. We opted for Family Style - Light.


Italian Mojito for me. 3rd best mojito I've had yet. #1 was in Cancun. #2 was made by Phuong. Yep, Phuong!

Appetizers:

Calamari Fritte. Not as crispy, but not overly battered and very delicious!

Sausage and Peppers


Steamed Mussels


Maggiano's Salad with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto

Main Course Pastas:

Rustic Chicken and Sausage


Chicken and Spinach Manicotti. Cheesy!!

Dessert:

Vera's Lemon Cookies


Long Island Iced Tea for me as well. This and a few lemon cookies did it for me.

My first time here, I would definitely go back. Unlimited refills on family style dinner, great atmosphere, wonderful food and drinks, and fair pricing!

February is coming to an end tomorrow. It wasn't the greatest of a month but we all have our ups and downs. I wish all my fellow Februarians a very Happy Birthday!, most especially a BIG Birthday Shout Out to my wonderfuls, Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat Liz, Si, and Khoa! ! !

Food Venture: Mitchell's Fish Market

Birmingham's 2 week long Restaurant Week (excluding weekends) started Monday. After scanning the fixed menus from all the participating restaurants, Burst of Dori and I decided to try out Mitchell's. I've been there twice before for our holiday luncheons and both times were satisfied, plus their menu seemed the most appetizing =)

Our 3 course lunch for $15


Started off with Bread and Butter
First Course:


We both had the New Orleans Seafood Gumbo (main reason why we chose the place)
Second Course:


Dori chose the Chesapeake Bay Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Roasted Finger Potatoes and a Sweet Corn Saute

I went with the Spicy Tuna Tempura Roll with sweet sticky rice.
Third Course:


Vanilla Bean Creme Brule for the niece. Delish!

Fudge Brownie topped with a scooping of Triple Vanilla Bean Ice Cream for me =) Chewy and not too rich - Yum!

Food Venture: Tom's Oyster Bar

During the summer, some friends and I went to Arts, Beats, and Eats in Royal Oak. One of the food stalls was for Tom's Oyster Bar. We tasted the crab cakes, which were pretty good, so today me and some gal pals went to check it out for dinner.

Started off with soups...


Seafood Chowder


Lobster Bisque


Clam Chowder
We shared...


Oysters Rockefeller


New York Sirloin


Chicken and Shrimp Curry w/ Rice


Crab Cakes (I liked!)

The food wasn't awesome, but it wasn't bad either.

Halloween Weekend Get-a-way: Chicago & Around.

Compared to my first trip to Chicago, the second time around was much more pleasant.

Dinner at Mapo Restaurant in Naperville. A cute little restaurant serving authentic chinese food; you could smell the aroma from the outside walking in.



Beef Rolls


Braised Pork Belly

Combination Rice Noodles

Dessert at H-Mart

Bingsoo! The first time I've ever heard of this Korean dessert dish and I loved it. Shaved ice topped with assorted fresh fruits, fruit cocktail, mochi, milk, red bean, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and chocolate syrup.

Scenery from Chicago Botanical Garden: Beautiful and Tranquil. Can't imagine how beautiful it must be in the spring and summer.

Waterfall Garden


Island of Everlasting Happiness


Arched Bridge


Other side of Island of Everlasting Happiness


Dry/Zen Garden
A few from the Bonsai Collection (my dream garden will have bonsai trees)







From the Greenhouses

Need more get-a-ways. Felt nice to take time off work and relax.