Dining In: Durham, NC - Scratch Bakery Pizza Night

Long time no blog! However, we have a good excuse. We are eagerly awaiting baby spoonraider and life has been very hectic. I have to admit that this post should have gone up last fall since that's probably the last time we went to Scratch for Pizza Night, but I figured I'd still share. 

Scratch Bakery is an adorable coffee shop/bakery/cafe nestled in a side street of downtown Durham. We went to their Pizza Night with some friends and it was BYOB. Perfect! The beet and greens salad was quite flavorful and so refreshing. The pizza had a doughy crust and yummy toppings. The atmosphere is fun and casual. Perfect for those chill fall nights when you just want to eat a no-frills, all comfort meal. 

Hope you have a great week! 

Dining In: Durham, NC - Daisy Cakes

I can't believe it is almost the end of January. January has been a particularly cold month, which always makes me crave sweets and warm drinks. A friend suggested that we head to Daisy Cakes for an afternoon tea and cupcakes, which I'm always up for. 

Daisy Cakes is located on Foster St. right next to the Durham Farmer's Market. The shop appears to have only been open for a few months, but I recall seeing their cupcake truck, "Sugar,"  making rounds at the Farmer's Market. Unfortunately every time I attempted to get to them early enough on Saturdays, they were always sold out of cupcakes. 

The cafe itself is extremely clean and modern feeling with white on brick. Several choices of cupcakes were offered as well as cookies, marcarons, and a decent savory menu for lunch. 

coconut cupcake with passion fruit frosting

might leaf chamomile and citrus tea

I loved the dishes and mugs used here. They were clean, modern, and adorable. The cupcake itself was somewhat dry although the frosting was interesting and creamy. I think next time I'll try a more classic cupcake like chocolate or vanilla next time to see if it has more moisture. I'd probably also throw in a chocolate chip cookie for kicks. 

Even if you aren't a big fan of sweets, this place is worth checking out for a quiet, casual afternoon of tea and treats with friends. Great atmosphere, drinks, and service! 

Have a great Monday! 

Dining In: NYC 2011 - UWS and St. Mark's

We stayed with our friends, L+C, on the upper west side. So our morning meal was bagel and lox from Barney Greengrass. I have been craving a great bagel and lox since I left Jersey and this totally hit the spot. An onion bagel with scallion cream cheese and lox. Drool.

Ooey gooey chocolate chocolate chip and oatmeal walnut cookies. 

For dinner we headed over to St. Mark's and essentially ate our way through the area. First up, Mamoun's falafels. So cheap! 

Otafuku: Takoyaki. Freshly made before your eyes and super soft and tender squid balls. 

Pomme Frites + a million sauces. Enough said. 

We finished the night at BonChon with watermelon soju. An excellent atmosphere and fun times with good friends. Who doesn't love fried chicken with friends?

Hope you've enjoyed our NYC 2011 food chronicles!! Blogging will need to be on hold for a while.... unfortunately life is quite too busy these days.

Thanks for your support!

Dining In: NYC 2011 - Japanese Food Excursions

The Husband and I had our first amazing bowl of ramen at Samurai Noodle in the International District in Seattle. That was when we realized that similar to our unending search for the perfect pizza, we would be embarking on the unending search for the perfect ramen.

Naturally, we sought to continue this search in NYC. First, we and several (very patient) friends waited almost 2-3 hours for a table at Ippudo, one of the more famous ramen joints in NYC. We figured if we made the trip all the way out here we would need to give this place a try.

 Pork Belly Bun

 Akamaru Modern Ramen

Overall thoughts on Ippudo are that I am very glad we tried it, but I will not be returning again. The ramen is quite over-priced at $15 a bowl and while the flavors are quite amazing, they don't justify the price or the insanely long wait. Further, the pork belly bun is simply what I grew up eating at home with my momma's cooking. So while I am glad we tried it to see what the hype was about, I will likely head over to Totto Ramen on our next trip to NYC. 

The second location for our ramen search was at Mitsua, which is a Japanese supermarket in Fort Lee, NJ. Once entering the store, we saw a long line for a ramen stall in which they claimed to have flown in a ramen chef from Japan for "this weekend only." We of course bought into the marketing and had to try it.

Shio Ramen

Super clean, yet flavorful broth. Chewy noodles and great meat and egg pairings. I actually enjoyed this more than my bowl of ramen at Ippudo. 

Tonkatsu Ramen

From another ramen stall inside Mitsua. Compared to the shio ramen this broth was super enriched with fat and meaty flavor. The pork belly was a plus! 

Finally, The Husband chose over $30 worth of sashimi, which we devoured in less than 30 minutes. It was one of the most satisfying meals that we had on this trip. Fresh sashimi is nearly impossible to find in our area so we had to get our fill. 

Our ramen adventures will continue on as we try new places. I'd love to hear from you about the ramen places that you have enjoyed in different cities so we can start compiling a growing list of places to test out. 

Have a enjoyable Wednesday! 

Dining In: Durham, NC - Broad Street Cafe

I would consider Durham a great place for casual dining. Dotted throughout the city are great little places that you can pop in and have a great meal with friends over beers. I have no idea what took us so long to head over to Broad Street Cafe, especially since it's so close to Duke, but we are definitely regretting not finding this gem earlier.

Assorted wings: Sweet Chili, Buffalo, and BBQ

The Mediterranean Pizza.

Shrimp and Applewood Bacon with Pesto Pizza. 

The wings were decent, but you don't come here for the wings. Rather, pizzas at Broad Street are wonderful. Chewy, light crust and flavorful toppings served piping hot from their brick oven. They have so many pizza options that you can head there several times without exhausting the list. 

The Sister had the star of the show, which is unfortunately not pictured here because we devoured it too quickly. She had the lamb burger, which was super flavorful, tender, and juicy. If you are in search of a good (yet less gamey) lamb burger in the area, I would suggest you try this out. I will definitely be heading back for that dish and the pizzas. 

Which restaurants would you like to try in the Triangle, but just haven't gotten to yet? 

Hope you have a great (hump) day!  

Dining In: Chapel Hill, NC - Medi Deli

Mediterranean Deli is hands down my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in the Triangle area and by the looks of Yelp reviews a lot of people feel the same way. I always get the same thing because it is so freaking satisfying. 

Gyro Platter with Scallion Hummus and Greek Salad. (The Husband got to the plate before I could take a picture).  

Lamb Fatayer.

Lahm Bi Ajeen.

All of the spices, lamb, and veggies are super flavorful. They also have a handy condiment bar that offers tzatziki, feta cheese, olives and more. I find that I start to crave Medi Deli when I just want good simple food with no frills and authentic flavors. This is a place that would give Mediterranean restaurants in large major cities a run for their money!

Hope you have a hurricane-free weekend. Stay safe!

Dining In: Cary, NC - La Farm Bakery

We rarely make the trek to Cary/Raleigh. Although it's really not that far, it just feels far in our minds. For this place though, we would happily make that trek on a weekly basis if possible. La Farm Bakery is a bakery and cafe that specializes in French-inspired foods and baked goods. 

While Chocolate Mini Baguette. (To die for!) 

Beautiful cheesecakes, fruit tarts, and chocolate tortes.

Chicken and Duck Liver Paté with an Old Style French Baguette.

We polished off the paté within 24 hours, which left us craving for more. The Sister, who doesn't usually enjoy paté, actually found it quite delicious. This place is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner... dessert...snack. Pretty much any excuse you can find to eat here is totally worth it. 

What other fabulous bakeries are there in the Triangle area? 

Dining In: Myrtle Beach - Landry's Happy Hour

The last beach trip of the year is always a sad time when you realize that the long summer days and backyard bbqs will end in a few months. Although with the heat wave in NC this year, I have to admit that I'm looking forward to fall. 

Myrtle Beach is a quick 3.5 hour drive and makes for a great weekend getaway. Not only that, it is in SC, which has entirely different happy hour laws (thank goodness). My friend had been talking about the Landry's happy hour for a while so we made a point to head there on Saturday evening. All the food is anywhere from $3-5 per portion and they have a generous list of beers and cocktails that also range from $3-5. 

If there is something to indulge in for an affordable price at the massive Broadwalk on the Beach in Myrtle, it would be this place. Bring some good company and enjoy the food and drinks from 4-7 pm. A three hour HH is what I'm talking about. 

Crawfish Queso (Oh, how I miss texas). 

Crab Stuffed Shrimp with Bacon.

Fish Tacos.

We also ordered Fried Sweet Pickles and several of their drinks, which all were quite good. I would recommend the Mango Mojito. If you are headed to Myrtle Beach any time soon, go take advantage of this gem, but get there early as the bar seating does tend to fill up quickly around HH. 

See ya Landry's until next summer! 

Dining In: Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico provided much-needed R&R before I started the next phase of my professional life (no, the next phase is not full-time food blogging, which The Husband likes to helpfully remind me). The trip had absolutely no itinerary aside from reading on the beach and eating good food.

On our first night, we had dinner at the resort since it was too late to venture out for local food. Not bad for a resort burger - super juicy.

However, we vowed to avoid resort food for the rest of the trip since there were much tastier options available. Such as the local fare at Raices in Old San Juan: Shrimp Medley, Flank Steak Mofongo, Chicken Stew, and the Kan Kan Pork Chop.

  

  

Guava breakfast pastry at Isamar Bakery. 

Guava colada at Guava's in Luquillo, PR. 

Ceviche. This was yummy, but not as good as The Ceviche Hut along a strip of kiosks on Highway 3. 

Fried calamari. 

Conch with rice and beans. 

Octopus with mofongo.

Whole red snapper with mofongo and tangy sauce. 

Fish (chapin) Arepas Rellenos and Crab (jueyes) wrapped in fried plantains. 

Coco Frio! 

Overall, Puerto Rico was a gorgeous, lush island with tasty food and great beaches. I'd highly recommend taking a ferry or flying to Culebra for Flamenco Beach. It was beautiful! 

Hope you have a great Monday!