We got a new Mexican restaurant, Qdoba, in our area. It's a chain but I still wanted to try it out.
You really can't go wrong with tacos can you?
I like that there were different styles of tacos to choose from so I didn't have to choose my own ingredient by ingredient. I don't know that it is drastically different than any other Mexican chain we currently have but not bad.
This might be hard to believe but there is a diner that we actually have not had brunch at. Several friends had recommended The Original Steve's Diner but everytime we drove by there was a line out the door. (Their Facebook page.)
Today we braved it and got in line. Once inside I understood why there was a line. It's tiny inside! Maybe ten tables and a counter.
Once we were seated and I saw this extensive eggs benedict menu I got excited.
I got the Eggs Blackstone and it was really good.
Always happy to add another brunch spot to our list!
I love it when local restaurants post pictures of their specials. It's also sort of torture too.
I have been dying to get to McCann's for their wednesday ramen special. It's about a twenty minute trip to get there from my office into the city though.
Then they switched the wednesday special from ramen to bibimbap and I had a renewed goal of getting there. Finally today it happened! Totally worth it.
I'm in Toronto for a couple days for work. I love Toronto but there won't be anytime to hit my favorite spots. Even the hotel is by the airport with this lovely view.
They show respect to Smart Cars in Toronto. Look at these reserved parking spots!
I do get to eat some nice meals while I'm here. I especially liked this Italian restaurant called Terroni.
Mmmm pizza.
It's so nice to have a major city so close to Rochester.
Before I even left Rochester, I was checking Yelp to see what restaurants there were in Frederick for our Girls Weekend. I was excited to see there were two Korean restaurants.
Yesterday we went to Gogibop. My sister said it was like Subway for Korean food. You choose rice or noodles and then what you want on top. But they also have Korean faves like kimbop, japchae and kimchi jeon. We were so excited we almost ordered one of everything!
Today Emily asked what we wanted for lunch and we said Korean again! Why not? This time we tried Bonchon. My mom says Bonchon means "my hometown". Bonchon is more of a chain, but the food was still delicious. We practically ordered everything again. Bulgogi bibimbap, mandu and japchae.
I also got an order of their wings... half spicy half sweet. My mom says she doesn't know when chicken wings became so popular with Koreans, but they sure do a good job making them.
What a nom nom nom weekend!
Is it possible to have two fantastic brunches in one weekend? Well, yeah! Keeping with our South Wedge circle of delicousness for the weekend, today's brunch was enjoyed at The Cubroom.
While McCann's Local Meats (where we ate yesterday)only has brunch on Saturdays, The Cubroom only has brunch on Sunday. Starting at 11:30 to be exact. Did we have to drive around for half and hour waiting for them to open? Yes.
The Cubroom opened in the Spring last year and the owners are from NYC. It is said that it is modeled after the Stork Club which explains the environment which is a little more upscale with a Great Gatsby feel but still comfortable. The menu is very experimental and eclectic. They feature a lot of locally sources items like meat from McCann's.
In fact, I don't think I can explain the dishes that Aaron and I got for brunch. I'll just copy and paste them from the menu...
Aaron got Red Wine Baked Eggs - polenta, wild mushrooms, parmesan cheese and I had The Banger - IPA BAners, blue cheese/bacon bread pudding, fried duck egg, Java stout red eye gravy. See what I mean? Not your usual fare.
One of the best parts was the Scotch Egg we split as an appetizer. A Scotch Egg is a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs and baked or deep fried. It starts to make me think of a Turducken. Why stop there? Wrap it in bacon and put it in a pork chop!
The Cubroom's Scotch Egg is soft boiled which I loved. I have toyed with the idea of making them at home but they seem difficult. How do you get the sausage to stick to the egg?!
Maybe I'll just keep going to The Cubroom to get them.
This weekend I vowed to visit two fairly new spots (opened this summer) in the South Wedge. Add in last night's trip to The Playhouse/Swillburger and it's a South Wedge weekend! The two spots are McCann's Local Meats and The Cubroom.
We hit up McCann's Local Meats for brunch this morning. McCann's is primarily a butcher shop that offers some deli items and has a small cafe. It has a very cool open vibe with chalkboards and giant meat coolers. We were impressed with the big chain belts the butchers wore with all their knives attached around their waists.
Aaron's beef, egg and cheese sandwich looked so amazing I had to take a picture of it before my own food. I got a few bites so I can say it tastes as good as it looks.
I got a chorizo and kimchee frittta. Kimchee you say? Yes. The owner's wife, or should I say Yeonmo McCann, is Korean. Besides this surprise ingredient there was bulgogi, japchae and Korean stew available in their display case also.
While chatting with the owner, Kevin McCann, he mentioned "Koreans are very similar to Germans. They both like to ferment cabbage." Boy was he spot on - (we have made our own saurkraut and kimchee at home).
Note that an order of beef fat french fries rounded out this brunch nicely. ALSO note that McCann's only has brunch on Saturdays.
We got a pack of pork chops to try at home. Marinated in a hard cider! UPDATE: THE PORK CHOPS WERE DELICIOUS TOO.
You can follow McCann's Local Meats on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
If I hear about a new Mexican restaurant in Rochester, I am on it. I'm all about the tacos.
These all convey my taco sentiment.
The new spot I heard about is Guacamole Taqueria in East Rochester. I got the tacos and they were delicious.
Aaron got a very interesting sandwich called a Torta. It's a bun filled with meat, cheese and mayo, then smashed on the grill. I had never had one before and I had quite a few bites of his.
The best part? They have churros! The hardest decision of the evening was deciding on caramel or chocolate dipping sauce.
I don't drink much yet I found myself out at local spots twice this weekend.
The first was The Lost Borough Brewing Co. I hand fashioned a gift certificate for Aaron for his birthday and he just now got around to cashing it in. It's a small spot but with lots to offer. He enjoyed a beer flight and fixed his sights on joining their mug brew crew. My favorite part was the electronic dart game they have. Cricket anyone?
They do their brewing on site and you can peek at their production through a window in the back. Notice the R2-D2 container?
You can follow Lost Borough on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
We also checked out the new Muller's Cider House on University Ave. If I had my choice I would go with cider so it was fun to see what they had to offer. It's also a small spot, but nicely dark and cozy. They don't make their own cider but they have a wide variety to choose from and you can get a flight of what is on tap.
They also have a small menu of cheese plates, panini and my favorite - kettle korn!
You can follow Muller's on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
When I am driving around town my eyeballs are constantly scanning the area for new and interesting things. Or at least new to me. I had to run an errand during my lunch hour and as I was driving west on Ridge Road, I spied what looked like a little shack. I bet it used to be a photo hut back in the day. But now it is an Outlaw Potato Shack! U-turn!!!
I went back to check it out and ended up slowly cruising through the drive through window to order my own Outlaw Potato. It is a thing of beauty. The potato is one pound before they even start adding the toppings. And oh, the toppings. Butter, chives, cheese, sour cream and your choice of pulled pork, beef or chicken BBQ. There is enough there for lunch, a snack and dinner. Heaven in a take out box.
There was a little cafe on Park Ave called CiBon that I loved. I almost always got one of the panini which came with a dipping sauce that I could never replicate at home. Last year they closed for renovation and reopened as Roux. I must have been doubtful because we didn't go back all year.
I recently caught wind that they had brunch and that was all it took to lure us back.
It was so good! I would have been happy with the pomme frites but I loved my eggs... AND Aaron's eggs. It's such a cute cozy atmosphere too. Another spot to add to my Rochester Brunch list!
Traveling means finding new food to try. As soon as I got to Seattle I checked Yelp for interesting spots to check out. My first day there I was on my own and I found a restaurant near the hotel called What the Pho. I may have picked it just for the name but the pho with meatballs was delicious!
Just because we are traveling doesn't mean we miss our favorite meal of the weekend. For brunch we went to Sweet Iron for waffles. It's a tiny little place that serves Liège waffles with all sorts of toppings.
Aaron had berries and whipped cream while I had brie, bacon and basil. Pretty amazing.
After some sightseeing we stopped in at Biscuit Bitch right before it closed. It's a kitchy little spot where they serve up biscuits with even more toppings than you could get on a waffle.
I am talking gravy, fried egg and spam. Oooh la la, it was so good and filling. They were super nice there too.
Top Pot seems like the place to get a doughnut in Seattle. We managed to squeeze one in before flying out. I actually found the apple fritters to be the best thing there.
I'm sure there were a lot more restaurants to check out. I'm looking forward to coming back again to try them.
There are two new Italian food options in Rochester. I discovered both of them via Instagram.
Restaurant Fiorella is new spot at the Public Market. We went there for Tina's birthday and enjoyed a cozy celebration with tasty antipasti, pizza and pasta. I loved how they served the appetizers and pizza on top of big tomato cans.
Fiorella on Facebook and Instagram.
There is a spot on Merchant's that has seen several restaurants the past few years - most of which we have tried with lukewarm results.
Now it is the home of Merchant's Wood Fired Pizza and Bistro. We stopped in as a treat after the Makers Faire and I'm happy to report that every dish we had was good. My gnocchi and the many bites of Aaron's mushroom pizza... all good.
Merchant's on Facebook.
In the same Yelp newsletter where we learned about Shmegs, we read about a breakfast spot on the east side of the city. About 15 minutes away, in Webster, we went to check out Mama Lor's.
We were not disapointed. The restaurant is cozy and they have a coffee pot at the door where you can help yourslef as soon as you come in. Look at this breakfast skillet!
The people are super friendly too. Aaron got the apple pie french toast special. I could have eat the sauce with a spoon. We will be back again!
What a crazy busy weekend! Tina and I had a table at the Mayday! Underground Crafts and Arts Market at Village Gate.
It went from 10am to 5pm both Saturday and today so our dogs were barking by the end of it. But it was totally worth it! We still get giggly when we see our little biz names, Janda Made and Sweet & Cute in writing.
I think this was our busiest show yet! There was a constant flow of shoppers stopping by.
Aaron and I had a new lamp design at the show - a large double steampunk lamp. Sold!
And I sold out of all my bird feeders in the first two hours of the first day so I had to make more Saturday night. I ran out of the usual galvanized bottoms and had to use these plastic ones, but I think they look cute with colored pan lids.
In all I sold nine bird feeders, five alien robot lamps and two of the large steampunk lamps!
Tina sold out of her coffee syrup and didn't have too many of her other goodies to pack up either.
Best of all we got to hang out and catch up all weekend. : )
Aaron came tonight to help me pack up the table and then we went to Nox at Village Gate for some comfort food to celebrate. It is the coolest spot. It is decorated in a sort of theme that a book reading, sci fi loving, geekish type might love. There are paintings of Tardis and menu items named Admiral Ackbar’s Last Stand. Nox is the name of the Greek goddess of night which is fitting because it's a great spot to hang out in the evening.