From a spontaneous wine tasting at Morais Vineyards to a hot air balloon festival, see below for a few photos!
P.S. My friend and I had hours to kill until the festival started, so we spent a good chunk killing that time at the Vineyard, so don't worry, no one was driving buzzed!
Okay, I'll be completely honest with you. I decided to stop by this place because I saw someone post an image of the burger with the Satellite sign in the back on my Instagram feed, so being the typical millennial-foodie I am, I had to stop by. Don't judge me. I wasn't able to try their Boozy Shakes, so I definitely need to stop by again in the near future to try them out!
Let me make your life easy and tell you what you need to order when you come here:
짜장면 (Jjajangmyun): black bean Korean-Chinese noodles.
탕수육 (Tansuyuk): Crispy sweet and sour pork
aka the food you always see people ordering in Korean Dramas.
It's so hard to come across good Korean food in DC, which is unfortunate since I'm always craving Korean food. My mom was in town for a few days and since she had a car, I decided to take advantage of this and requested we go to Annandale, Virginia to get my cravings fixed.
Lighthouse Tofu is known for their Sundubu jjigaes, which is curled tofu stew. I ordered the seafood and my mom ordered the mixed/everything sundubu. I don't believe Lighthouse Tofu has a website, so I'll direct you to their Yelp reviews instead (click here).
I've been meaning to stop by this place for the longest time, so I'm glad I finally got to check it out during DC's Restaurant week!
I'm excited, are you excited?
My friend ordered this dish for her appetizer and wow it was great.
This was my friend's dish and I should've taken a bite when he offered, but I was too focused on my own food, I declined. But it looked and smelled amazing!
I loved the sweet potato and this dish was so aesthetically pleasing, what's not to like?
How delicious does this look & sound: Black beans, chorizo, crispy rice, calamari escabeche.
Wow this was amazing! The short rib was very juicy and tender. Just thinking back to this dish and looking at this photo is making my mouth water.
Out of everything I ate that night, this was probably the least exciting dish. That doesn't mean it wasn't good, it just wasn't as memorable.
Okay, now this is how everyone should end their meal.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Del Campo and it's definitely a restaurant I'm adding to my list. The ambiance is a bit more formal, so I wouldn't go here for a casual everyday outing but I'll be back, Del Campo!
For those who know me/visited my blog before, it should be no surprise that I picked Sushiko as one of my must visits during DC's Restaurant Week. Spoiler alert: it's one of my go-to favorite Japanese restaurants in DC. I haven't been here in a while, so I thought I might as well take advantage of their restaurant week menu and call up a few friends to catchup with.
Alright, here we go. Let's start:
I really liked the pear-kick! Also, warning: I ordered a lot of salmon dishes cause it's my favorite food.
Salmon + tuna = 10/10 obviously.
I ordered the Scottish salmon and the chef surprised me with Tuna, Salmon, Shrimp, and a Yellowtail Nigari.
Okay, I know this sounds a little bizarre but my other option was the green tea ice cream, which was amazing, but because I'm sensitive to caffiene, I decided to go with the Avocado Ice cream. It actually wasn't too bad!
I'm a little very biased when it comes to Sushiko, but... 10/10!
My friend recommended we visit this small BBQ shop for dinner during our weekend trip to Lake Anna. They weren't shy with their portion sizes, customer service was great, this is a very family friendly location, and the food was really good too. This is definitely a must visit if you're ever in this area.
So, my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach, but I haven't had Korean food in over 6 months, so I was incredibly excited to finally get my cravings fixed.
So many options, where to even begin?
So, my mom and I don't eat a lot of food, so this was a lot for us but on the bright side, at least I got to take them home as leftovers? Can't let food go to waste!
My dear good friend.
I used to hate japchae as a kid but as I got older, this food started to grow on me. It's probably now one of my favorite dishes.
Always a must... I need to learn how to make these.
For patiently waiting as I captured our meal before we, more like I, inhaled everything.
Hello, La Madeleine! One of my favorite and go-to spots for a Saturday morning brunch. I love the intimate-quaint ambiance of this place, although some might think it's a little crowded, but I love it because it makes it the perfect spot to catch-up with friends.
This post is a little way overdue but better late than never? This past winter, my family members and I ate at Jung Sik Dang in Korea, although they do have a restaurant in New York, and I fell in love. I've been craving their food ever since, but this also might be because I follow them on Instagram. Hi, Mom, if you're reading this, can we go back?
I'll let the photos do the talking.
This isn't your typical Korean cuisine and I love the spin chef Jung Sik Yim took. 10 out of 10 out of 10.
Photo time!
This was my first time at In-N-Out and I now see why the hype is so big. The quality you get for the price you pay, 10/10!
Pizza, Pizza, Pizza.
Aka one of my favorite junk foods
We ordered the combo pizza, pepperoni, and cheese.
This place has been on my bucket list for far too long, so I finally decided to make a conscious effort this past weekend to visit DBGD Kitchen and Bar in City Center. Okay, are you ready? Time to scroll.
I hadn't eaten anything the whole morning - but then again, I guess that's the point of brunch - so I was starving and excited to fill my way too empty stomach.
With some jalapeño remoulade, watermelon, & avocado. I loved how refreshing this tasted, it was perfect for this way too hot and humid weather we've been having lately.
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I took a bite out of my friend's crepe and the warm chocolate crepe was absolutely delicious. I have the biggest sweet tooth but did feel like this was a little too much to start off my morning.
I was going to get the lemon poppy seed Belgium waffle, but once I read this description. I couldn't resist: 7 oz beef patty, confit pork belly, arugula, tomato-onion compote, morbier cheese. potato bun, cornichon, mustard & fries.
And I'll leave you with this image but wow, seriously, this was amazing. Everyone needs to try this.
10/10 I would go back.
My family and I took the cable car - and yes, we waited for over an hour with the rest of all the tourists - to Fisherman Wharf. We stopped by Franciscan for a quick lunch. We weren't too hungry - we had a huge breakfast - so we decided to order appetizers! We ordered crab, crab fondue with spinach, smoked salmon bellini, and crab and clam chowder soup. We then walked and explored the area to burn off some calories in the beautiful-humid-free-fall-like-weather. See below for photos!
We ordered the pork and chicken sandwich and oh my goodness, they were so heavenly. The chicken was juicy and I loved the navel orange kick. I wish I had enough space in my stomach to try their frozen greek yogurt but maybe one day, I'll get to stop by and try it out. But in the meantime, photos below of my meal and their chic decor!
My family and I decided to take a quick trip to the Bay Area to check out a few colleges around the area for my brother and do touristy activities since my brother and I have never been to this state. After taking a quick trip to the Google Headquarters - we geeked out and wanted to check the place out - we decided it was time for lunch. See below for my photos and what we ate at Cocina Central!
Time to fill my empty stomach with some good food! How did I find out about this place? I literally googled, after visiting google, "best restaurants near Mountain View, CA". True story.
I couldn't decide what I wanted, I also didn't understand 10% of the menu, so I was studying the menu pretty rigorously before making my final decision.
Just look how good looking that food looks. Keeps scrolling down for close ups and what we ordered. Trust me, you won't be sorry.
My brother decided to order enchiladas but accidentally ordered this one instead of the enchiladas de pollo. I say this was still a pretty good choice though.
You can't really go wrong with chicken tacos and I never saw tacos as something special, but oh man, were these good and fresh.
Let me copy and paste the food description to paint you a picture what my taste buds were experiencing: roasted potatoes, crema, avocado-serrano sauce, shredded lettuce.
This was 100% the clear winner out of all three dishes. Yes, this was off the appetizer menu but this filled me up pretty easily. Seriously, this was amazing. The hard taco shell, potatoes, and everything else was such a good combo -- you must order this if you ever get the chance.
Could you tell I was a huge fan of the Tacos Dorados?
Great price, great meal, great dining experience.
10/10
Alize: a french restaurant. Our server was warm, the view was stunning (especially as the sun was setting), and the meal was appetizing and delightful. Even their bread (not pictured below) was amazing - everyone who knows me know I love bread a little too much; hello, carbs. If you're ever in Vegas and you want good food, ambiance, and a quick getaway from the crazy Vegas strip, I highly recommend stopping by this place.
Sautéed Foie Gras: I doubted the caramel peach combination at first but my goodness, this went so well with the Foie Gras.
Potato Gnocchi: I think gnocchi is one of my new favorite dishes. Also, I'm usually not a huge fan of cheese but wow, just everything about this dish. Amazing.
Haricots Verts, Genoa Salami, Pink Peppercorn Vinaigrette, Brown Butter Aioli. Aka, the chicken was very tender and juicy and I liked how this wasn't too rich for my tastebuds.
Smoked Prosciutto, Mushroom Duxelles, Asparagus, Truffle-Shallot Jus. This dish was a little too rich for me but it's also a dish I probably would order for myself if I ever go back.
Falafel, Kefta Sausage, Broccolini, Tzatziki, Apricot-Mustard Jus. Aka, the one thing I cannot eat in this world: Lamb. But my friend who ordered this dish loved it. I was even tempted to take a bite because she made it look so good!
I know this photo is blurry and I'm a little upset about it but I had to upload it anyways to show you how amazing and beautiful our view was. We enjoyed our meal as we watched the sunset. I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to share this meal with.
In conclusion, I usually don't order a chicken dish whenever I come to restaurants like this but because I really didn't want to eat something that would be too rich for my stomach, I thought the chicken would be a good option. The chicken was still extremely delicious and I'm glad I picked that over something else but the next time I go, if I'm up for something more savory, I would probably order the Veal Wellington. Overall, wow, the meal was amazing and I loved the view and ambiance of this restaurants. 10/10 I would recommend!
Okay, so this was actually my last meal in Vegas, but because I got excited - and hungry - all over again while going through my photos, I couldn't resist the urge to post about this meal (I was going to share my Vegas experience in chronological order). Below, you'll find a few snapshots of my time at the Sterling Brunch Buffet hoping you'll get hungry and I would've persuaded you to visit this place by the time you reach the end of this post.
Get ready to drool. Enjoy!
From salads to fruits to parfait to cheese. The options are already starting to feel endless.
From lamb to beef tenderloin to chicken to fillet mignon. Are you hungry yet? No? Keep scrolling down for more.
Do you see all that lobster on our plate? Top that with some king crab legs, caviar, jumbo shrimp, and bottomless champaign. Are you drooling yet? Because I know I am.
There was a good chunk of time when my friends and I sat in silence as we enjoyed our meal.
Fillet Mignon, Lobster Ravioli, and Salmon. The lobster ravioli was probably my favorite dish out of the three.
Our server was very amiable and did not hesitate when having to open a new bottle for us. He was also great at making sure our glasses were never empty.
I seriously have the biggest sweet tooth, so of course I got extremely excited when my stomach was ready for the dessert table.
They had macarons, chocolate peanut butter tart, key lime tart, mousse, that chocolate popsicle/lollypop (the name is slipping me right now-- what in the world are these called?).
The only way anyone should ever finish a meal. With sweets.
Time to be real: You're probably thinking, "$95 for a meal... that's a lot." But if you think about what you're getting and consider the unlimited champaign and mimosa too, I say the price is worth it. Just make sure you go with a very empty stomach. We had impeccable service, ate our hearts out, and hopped on a plane with an overly satisfied stomach as we headed home. I personally highly recommend stopping by this place if you're ever in Vegas. When you do, I hope your experience is as great as mine! You'll have to let me know how it went.
According to my friends, Taqueria Los 3 Reyes is the best place to get Mexican food near the D.C. area. It's a bit of a drive (about 30 minutes) from the city but if you have a car, I do highly recommend checking out this place. This restaurant is a bit hidden, the food is amazing, and because it's a place I wouldn't have been able to find on my own, it made the experience that much better. See below for photos!
I learned today that the greener the sauce, the more spicy it is. I'm so used to the red being the most spicy, so this was an interesting learn.
Oh my goodness, this was amazing. The steak + avocado + everything else on this-combo was absolutely delicious.
According to my friend, this soda emphasized more on the fruity taste than the carbonation.
Beef Tripe Soup: this is a pretty heavy dish. The meat itself is very tender and almost feels like a tougher version of fat.
I'll let the colorful macaron photos speak for itself but I got the red velvet, fruity pebbles, nutella, salted caramel, lady grey tea, blood orange and pistachio. I also might or might not have ate all of them in one sitting... but hey, at least I split them with a friend!
10/10 recommend!
Okay, you had to have seen this post coming, especially with all the recent commotion about Chaia aka DC's new hot vegetarian taco spot.
My friends and I decided to stop by around 2 p.m. hoping to miss the crowd, but was surprised to see that there were still a lot of people lined up. The store is really small, so after my friends and I ordered our food, we decided to sit outside since the weather was extremely beautiful that day.
I got the Butter Squash, Creamy Kale and Potato, and Spring Greens. My favorite? The Creamy Kale and Potato -- yum!
Overall, I had a good experience. Would I go back? If I wanted a nice healthy lunch then absolutely yes!
P.S. Their tacos looks great in photos.
Dolcezza aka my go to gelato spot for the past 3 years and probably one of my favorite sweet spots in DC. I decided to take some photos around City Center after treating myself to some sweets. See below for a few photos!
If you haven't already, Graffiato is an Italian restaurant you must put on your list and here's a few reasons why:
I've heard so many great things about this place, you have no idea how excited my taste buds and stomach was. Let's go!
Mozzarella, taleggio, ricotta, prosciutto, & black pepper honey. I was surprised how sweet all of their dishes were but liked how the sweetness complemented the cheese.
I know I took this photo but, dang, this is a good photo. Doesn't this image just make your mouth water? I also wanted to note that this pizza didn't feel - and taste - greasy.
I have so much to say about this dish but I'll keep it short. Basically, if you come to this restaurant, you must order this dish. If I could, I probably would've (literally) licked the plate clean.
One of the main reasons why I loved this dish so much was probably because the sweetness reminded me a bit of home (the Philippines) and the texture of the gnocchi reminded me of a tteok (Korean rice cake). The pork in this dish is what really hit the home run for me.
My friend and I purposely went early to miss the lunch crowd... and also because we got hungry, and I couldn't hold my excitement.
Overall Grade: A
The quality of the food, the price we paid, the service we received; all in all, I had an incredible experience. The pizza and pasta dish we ordered were a bit on the sweet side, but that's the reason why I enjoyed this meal so much.
I'm already trying to plan when I can stop by this place again because my mouth has been watering just blogging about my experience. Actually, I think I just might put all of Chef Mike Isabella's restaurants on my list of restaurants to tackle.
Everyone always raves about the brunch at Founding Farmers, so of course, this place was on my restaurant list to tackle. Overall, my friends and I had a pretty great experience. They had a wide selection of food, the food was delicious, and we had a great server.
My only criticism would be that, when the servers came to our table with hors d'oeuvres, the food was a little cool, which is understandable, but this ended up lowering my rating. What would I grade this place? Keep scrolling down.
Make sure you come with an empty stomach, because, I mean-- just look at all this food!
The blueberry pancakes won this round. No questions.
I know, I can't believe I'm saying this too (I love bread). But seriously, skip the bread, it's not worth your stomach nor did it taste that good.
In my stomach, salad is salad. But they were fresh and helped balance everything out.
I couldn't stop eating the beef pastrami hash and mac & cheese (not pictured here). They were probably my favorites.
Time to dig in!
Baked bacon coated in brown sugar and cinnamon. Oh. My. Goodness. These were so good.
The food was a little cold by the time it got to our table, so this was a little disappointing.
Oh my, where to even start. The custard in the Jefferson Doughnut was a nice surprise. I loved the Chocolate-Mouse thing (bottom right between the cheesecake & doughnuts). They added in crushed graham crackers, peanut butter, and a bit of caramel. I loved this combo.
The S'mores were extremely fluffy, sweet, and nicely toasted.
I'm getting so full just looking at these photos.
Like I said, overall, great experience. My rating? B.
