Thai food at Lemongrass

Lemongrass, located in Annapolis and Crofton, Maryland serves the most superb Thai food that I've experienced. I majority of the times I've dine there, I get the Cashew Chicken. It consists of deep fried white meat chicken covered in a sweet, salty, yet somehow creamy light brown sauce and roasted cashews over rice.

Tonight, I ordered the Shrimp Pik Kur. It is deep fried jumbo shrimp with a delicate batter covered in a spicy garlic sauce. I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied deviating from my norm of Cashew Chicken...

My boyfriend ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice, we expected sweet rice mixed with coconut flakes. To the contrary, the dish was made with egg, chicken, shrimp, pineapple, and various vegetables. The wok the food was cooked with so well seasoned that the food come out with a grilled and savory flavor. Lemongrass offers various types of fried rice and I'll be trying the Ka Pow Fried Rice on my next visit.

Oh, and don't forget to order the Thai Iced Tea, it's refreshing and decadent at the same time.

On another note, you all know how much I rave about Wegman's, well today I tried their pizza for the first time. I don't often say this about pizza but it was amazing! Wegman's serves large slices of New York style pizza with a generous helping of quality cheese and a tangy pizza sauce.

A sports bar with extensive cuisine...

Gordon Beirsch is a sports bar with an extensive menu full food that will surprise you. From Lobster Bisque to Blackened Ahi Tacos to the New York Steak Sandwich, there is something for every palette at this place, while watcing the game.

Gordon Beirsch is also a brewery with high quality beers, my favorite being the Hefeweizen. On my recent trip I tried out the Crispy Artichoke Hearts...

I wasn't expecting to get them deep fried, more hard sauteed, but I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied. No matter what you order at Gordon Beirsch, make sure to get their famous garlic fries. Fresh garlic, Parmesan, and parsley top the fries and they are simply delectable!

But About Wegmans...

Since my maiden blog regarding Wegmans discovered so much more there. There's not many places a gal can go to to get fried catfish everyday. Come to think of it, they have just about everything fried possible, various types of fried chicken wings, fried chicken itself, beer battered fish, potato pancakes, french fries. Needless to say I don't feel to good about myself after leaving Wegmans, but my tongue enjoys it :)-

It's not all fried food either, Wegmans offers more exotic fare such as: eggplant rollatini, lamb samosas, and asiago and artichoke croquettes as well.

There are also stands where an employees can serve you nachos, crab cake sandwiches, or chicken sandwiches as well as a pizza bar and a sub shop. Customers can go to the various counters to buy family size meals. There is a restaurant, in which the employees serve you and comfy seating that spans the entire length of the store, as well as a children's area. Needless to say, I am crazy about this place and with a Wegmans around, you don't ever have to cook again, if you don't want to.

P.S. The affordability of the flowers rivals Trader Joes!

Eat Street

I recently got the Cooking Channel and thoroughly enjoy a program called Eat Street. The show entails visits to various popular food trucks around the country. From a Schnitzel truck in NYC to a trailer in Austin that serves Indian food with an outdoor dining area and BYOB policy. Check it out Tuesdays at 8:00pm EST.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/eat-street/index.html

Fogo de Chou...My new love

For those of you who haven't heard Fogo de Chou, it is a Brazilian steak house located in many major cities. When you are ready (turn your coaster to the green side), servers will come around to your table, offering various cuts of meet including steaks, lamb, ribs, sausage, and chicken. The servers also bring mashed potatoes, rolls, crispy polenta, and plantains to the table.

The lamb chops were my favorite cut of meat. The fliet mignon was quite impressive as well. The rolls were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and very cheesy; beyond belief! I'm embarrassed to say that I ate 5 of them. The fried, crunchy polenta was surprisingly appetizing.

The restaurant also has a gourmet salad bar with foods such as hearts of palm, heirloom tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and a huge wheel of parmesan.

When the meal was over, I was filled to capacity and you could have rolled me out of the place. It is not cheap, but great for a special occasion.

Annapolis International Food, Wine, and Hops Festival!

I participated in Annapolis International Food, Wine, and Hops Festival today. I wasn't sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. The majority of the restaurants on West St. participated in the festivities. It was basically a food and alcohol crawl through 16 restaurants who offered beer, wine, and food samples; and believe me 16 samples add up! Now on the the important part..

The best food of the day was had at Breeze, it offered Gorgonzola grits, topped with a salmon filet and pico de gallo. It was incredible! I hadn't thought much about cheese grits until that moment and have begun looking up various recipes and they are plentiful.

El Torro bravo offered palatable cheese quesadillas and chicken taquitos. Tsunami provided California rolls, Maryland rolls (crab and Old Bay), and a tuna lollipop. Carpacio offered mouthwatering arrancini. Annapolis grill supplied above average chicken tenders. Lemongrass gave out rice with egg, chicken, and vegetables and offered various Thai sauces to top the dish with. Crush, a wine bar, offered amazing tuna tartar.

As far as alcohol goes, I ended up drinking Pino Grigio most of the day and I'm not complaining. El Torro Bravo did have various flavors of Margaritas and a Pina Colada.

Don't forget about this exciting event this time next year!

Ohhh, Bloody Mary's!

Gina's Cantina in Millersville, Maryland has recently become my favorite Sunday bunch spot. The reason for this is that they have a Tex-Mex breakfast menu that comes with.....free...unlimited..... Bloddy Mary's, Mimosas, and Salty Necks!!! The food is tasty and full of fresh ingredients but after a couple of Bloody Mary's, I stop caring.

And what is a Salty Neck, you ask? I had to ask the server becuase I couldn't find it on the internet. It's a Mimosa and Margarita mixed together. The Mimosas are large and taste great and the Bloody Mary's are made by the customers on Bloody Mary bar with an array of ingredients. The breakfast enchilada's, smothered in cheese and filled with eggs and fresh spinach and the "Benny and the Jets" enitlteld dish of cornbread, over easy eggs, and black bean sauce are favorites.

Jimmy John's restaurants are located all over the country, so I may be preaching to the choir with this entry. They make delicious subs with the best bread I have ever tasted. The subs are filled with fresh ingredients, such as sprouts and cucmbers. The only thing missing is a means to toast the sub.

Eat Away!

I Eat Out Too Much!

I go out to eat about once a week. Once in a while I will go out for my extremely short lunch break (that's right, 30min.) in search of food. Today I went to Wegman's, thanks to my co-workers advice. For those of you who have never heard of Wegnam's it is an extremely large grocery store, chock full of gourmet items. Today was my first visit there.

The place was full of hot bars as far as the eye could see, Chinese food, Thai food, Indian food, a wing bar, home style bar, salad bar, sushi. I know some may be put off by buffet style bars, but the bars were clean, well stocked and the food was fresh and didn't have that "sitting out appearance". I also picked up a chocolate chip cookie at the cash register.

Sushi Sono in Columbia is my favorite sushi restaurant. I've been coming here for years and the quality of sushi stays consistently fresh. I reccomend the crunchy spicy tuna roll and the salmon skin roll.

I'm Back!

It's been a while since I've written in the blog but watching Bethanny Ever After has inspired me. Now, on to business...

Lemongrass is a Thai restaurant located on West St. in Annapolis, MD. It is a popular zen eating spot full of green yellow and brown tones. I recommend the Cashew Chicken and Thai Iced Tea. They are simply delectable.

By the way, if you've never had Thai Iced Tea, you are missing out! It is Thai tea mixed with cream and sweetener. It's refreshing and indulgent at the same time.

If you ever make it to New York City, try to make it to Pony Bar on the corner of 44th and 10th. I meandered in there on a recent visit looking for a beer and a dry place to sit. I pleasantly found both at this casual, popular bar blarring with an eclectic mix of music. I recommend trying the New Dogtown Pale Ale. It was a fluid beer that was full of flavor.

A recent interesting Trader Joe's find is seaweed snacks. They are small sheets of lightly salted seaweed. It is a low calorie, low sodium snack.

Happy Eating!

August- Trader Joe's Suggestions

Mandarin Orange Chicken- in the frozen section- delicious and crispy chicken that comes with two orange sauce pouches. Paired with rice and broccoli, it's takeout you can make at home.

Pasta Medley- in the frozen section- bow tie pasta, carrots, red peppers, and spinach, with a little cheese. It is a vegetarian dish that can be used as a side or the main course. I used butter instead of oil to cook it in and added a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, mouthwatering! Next time I'll add chicken.

French Berry Lemonade- sparkling lemonade that tastes much better than soda!

If you have a Houlihans near you, get over there!

Houlihans a is restaurant that serves American style cuisine, sounds boring right? To the contrary, Houlihans serves the best drinks I have ever had, from the liter sized Peach Long Island, to the Key Lime Martini, to the Sex and the City inspired drinks, Houlihans is the leader in original beverages.

Now on to the appetizers. The nachos with ground chicken and cheddar cheese sauce, thai wings, and the spinach and artichoke dip served with pittzeets are to die for. I look forward to trying the deep fried asparagus when I go back.

As far as entrees I haven't tried a lot of them but the French Dip is great and Houlihans has one of the best burgers I've ever had. I also recommend the Tuscan Salad.

June- Trader Joe's Suggestions

Goddess Dressing - Dressing Section
A delicious salad dressing with a slightly Asian flair. It includes hints of sesame and tahini. One of my all time Trader Joe's favorites.

Roasted Potatoes-Frozen Section
Absolutely scrumptious, any time of day! It is a bag of cut up potatoes with a packet of onions and green, red, and yellow peppers. They can be a side for dinner or serve as hash browns for breakfast and already have flavor without adding seasoning.

My favorite thing to do with the potatoes is top them with 2 over medium eggs and sprinkle cheddar cheese over the dish.

Hummus- Refrigerated Section
Trader Joe's has bevy of flavors of hummus. The two that I am most partial to are Edamame hummus and White Bean hummus. The texture and flavor of these two are slightly different than regular hummus. It is refreshing to a seasoned hummus conosier.

*Tip: Trader Joe's has inexpensive fresh and dried herbs.

Maryland Blue Crabs

Any Marylander knows that blue crabs are the highlight of summer cuisine. My Aunt cooks her crabs in crab salt and beer and there's nothing better. My cousin makes a special sauce to dip the crab meat in, I still don't know the recipe to this day.

I have fond memories of being 7 and learning how to eat a crab on my own and comparing the volume of crab meat I fished out to that of my relatives.

MMMM...Happy Picking!

May- Trader Joe's Suggestions

Penne Arrabiatta- Frozen Section

It's a bag of penne pasta and spicy arrabiatta tomato sauce. It is delicious and easy to add to. I recently added kielbasa to it and my boyfriend and I loved it. Next time I'll add chicken and report back on the outcome!

Chimichurri Rice- Frozen Section

I had never heard of chimichurri seasoning until I had this. It's tangy and spicy with hints of Mexican and Indian cuisine, an excellent side dish. 

Trader Joe's Eggs

Check them out, I've found that they are less expensive than grocery store eggs. 

This is why I started this blog...

I find that I'm always telling my friends about new foods and good places to eat. I recently thought to that I should share this with everyone. I love Trader Joe's and trying new foods and dishes. Please enjoy my blog!