Can I just rave again about how much I love brunch at Roux? The best part is it hasn't seem to caught on yet in Rochester that they offer brunch and it is amazing. We always get a seat right away while there are twenty people waiting down the block for a table at Jines.
Deviled eggs!
Be still my beating heart - frites.
A spring hash of fingerling potatoes, asparagus and a poached egg.
Maybe it's best this stays our little secret.
Ten long months ago, Jim's Restaurant on Winton closed it's doors. This week they reopened on Main Street at Jim's On Main.
I have been checking and rechecking their Facebook page waiting for this great day!
The old spot has been completely redone and it looks fantastic. There are little shoutouts to their history though... like this little addition to the new menus... the funny drawing that was on the front of their old menus.
Hello eggs over easy and hash browns extra crispy. I've missed you so.
Poor Aaron had Naval Reserves this weekend so I had to call my peeps to go for brunch. I just couldn't wait another week to go! So happy Jim's is back!
Over in the South Wedge neighborhood, there is a very cool new establishment. Within an old building that was once a church then a machine shop then a theater, is now The Playhouse and Swillburger. This includes burgers, a bar and an arcade. How many cool things can you fit in one spot?
Aaron and I went there for a date night. Swillburger offers just what you would think - burgers. Besides the burgers you can get fries, a salad or milkshakes. I noticed that one of the burger toppings was hot jam. I didn't get it but I really need to try it sometime.
I thought the fries were fantastic. Thin and crispy. We also got an order of vampire fries which are covered with garlic. That was a bit overwhelming.
We didn't get anything at the bar but we did enjoy the arcade. My favorite is the zombie shooting game, House of the Dead.
To top it all off, Ugly Duck Coffee was there with their pop up espresso bar. I have been trying to catch up with UDC for awhile so it was nice to try them out.
Turns out one of the owners of The Playhouse is the owner of the Owl House, another favorite spot in Rochester. All in all, The Playhouse and Swillburger make for a great date night!
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Our secret weapon against the cold weather this winter is pho. A big bowl of rice noodles with beef, veggies and broth. We like to add a bit of spice too. Our favorite spot in Rochester for pho is SEA Restaurant. Besides the pho they also have great spring rolls and limeade.
It all started in Seattle when I had a bowl at What the Pho. It was so warm and satisfying.
The beef meatball version is my favorite.
I get a little excited when I hear there is a new coffeeshop in town. You really can't have too many options. Upper Crust Cakery actually a bakery that serves Glen Edith coffee similar to Pour Coffee Parlor. There is some affiliation between the two but I didn't quite catch what it is.
What goes better with baked goods than coffee? Look at the luscious peanut butter cupcake Aaron got.
And take a gander at this winter cupcake I had. It was almost to pretty to eat. Almost.
I'm clearly enjoying myself.
I am constantly on the lookout for new dining opportunities. The Rochester Yelp email has become a good source. Last week they featured some breakfast spots, two of which we haven't tried.
For brunch this weekend we toddled off to Shmeg's Restaurant on the west side. We don't get to the west side often so I was excited to try something new. Aaron got the Mick Toast which is french toast coated in corn flakes and I had a Wafflopolous which is a breakfast sandwich made with waffles. I needed a nap after that.
It's nice to go back to tried and true spots too. The open face breakfast sandwiches are a good standby. That was our second brunch of the weekend and we got a lot of comments about how we are hard core brunchers.
When the weekend hits, all I can think about is brunch. I was pretty excited when I heard Joe Bean was adding brunch to their menu... always happy to have another option to choose from.
Aaron and I stopped in and split what they call Eggs in Purgatory. It's also known as Shakshuka, basically poached eggs in a tomato sauce. It's a breakfast dish that is popular in Israel. Add a chunk of bread on the side for dipping and it's not hard to see how satisfying this dish can be.
I'm looking forward to trying the other items on the Joe Bean brunch menu!
Back in my hometown there is some really good fried chicken. When we moved to Rochester it was noticable that there was a lack of fried chicken. I couldn't figure it out, it's not like I grew up in the deep south.
A few months ago, I was looking through Yelp when I discovered BC's Chicken Coop. A FRIED CHICKEN JOINT!
It's not a large place - best to order ahead and take your chicken home or on a picnic. If you happen to live in Webster, BC's Chicken Coop delivers! As far as fried chicken goes, it's top notch. And they have tasty sides... especially the mashed potatoes and gravy.
I can't wait to pack a picnic basket with some fried chicken from BC's Chicken Coop to take out on the boat this summer!
One of my 2015 to-dos is to cook more Korean dishes. I started with bibimbap. Since memories of eating the dish in Korea is a few months old, I've been doing some research by eating it at local Korean restaurants. This bibimbap was from Sodam Korean Restaurant. The dolsat was hot and sizzling, turning the rice on the bottom nice and crispy. The toppings were good but they has already mixed them ups somewhat. The doenjang tasty and spicy.
We also tried the bibimbap at Young's Korean Restaurant. I was a little nervous about the raw egg on top, but the dosot was so hot, when you mixed in the egg it cooked right away. The doenjang came in a ketchup squirt bottle for you to add yourself, but I didn't like it as much as Sodam. I like the banchan (side dishes) at Young's a lot so that always draws me back.
Research. It's tough work.
Klout and Moe's Southwest Grill sent me a box of goodies for Cinco de Mayo. It's one of the biggest boxes I've got from Klout. Stewie seemed to think it was for him.
Inside were sweatbands, towels, a t-shirt, a camel-back and Moe's gift cards. All for celebrating #cincodemoes on Cinco de Mayo with free samples of their new spicy guacamole.
Hugo really wanted to go to Moe's. He likes burritos.
Instead of Hugo, Tina and Liz joined me to make a real party! Welcome to Mooooooes!
When I think Chicago, I think deep dish pizza. One night we went out to one of the spots that claim to have invented deep dish pizza, Pizzeria Uno's.
We got an "everything" to share. It was pretty good.
Giordano's is the other rival pizzeria. My last day in Chicago, I called ahead and ordered a small sausage pizza to carry home on the airplane. I wanted to get some deep dish pizza home to Aaron.
Guess what? You can take a deep dish pizza through airport security and it will even still be warm when you get to your gate.
I have to say... I like Giorgano's the best. Yum yum.
Opened in 1958, Donuts Delite was a Rochester landmark. The donuts were pretty darn tasty too and Aaron I were frequent customers.
In 2005 - around the time of the Atkins Diet craze - Donuts Delite closed it's doors. This week, thanks to Salvatore's and the man whose grandfather started it all, Donuts Delite is back in business.
We went this morning to check it out. Sure enough they still had their classic banana creme filled and Flying Saucers!
Donuts Delite everybody!
Yum!