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!