Clyde's in Chinatown

So, tonight me and my African friend Aminata helped our friend Shaundria celebrate her birthday (for the third time. Lol, she planned a bday extravaganza that included bowling at Lucky Strike on Thursday, $1 drinks at Pure on Friday and, of course, dinner at Clyde's on Saturday) Going in, I expected prices to be sky high (at least for me, I'm a college student you know) but they were pretty reasonable. The most expensive thing I saw was the double crab cakes which was something like $23.95. Anywho, I ordered the bow tie pasta with blackened salmon and I must say, it was pretty damn tasty. So tasty, in fact, I sopped up the sauce with the bread they give you (and I'm not one to sop) It was that tasty. Writing this, I wish I had thought to take a pic but it had scallions, fresh tomatoes and I believe spinach in a garlic based cream sauce. Another girl, Sasha, ordered the beef brisket sandwich. This was particularly intriguing to me since I had just watched a special on barbeque methods across the country and brisket is supposed to be delicious. I didn't order it since I'm cutting red meats but Sasha said it was tasty. Finally, saving the best for last, they had one of the greatest drinks I've ever had. Like, in life. Let me just start by saying the initial plan was to not drink anything but good 'ole h20 because my liver had an extremely tiring night the evening before but based on the drink's description, I wanted to give it a try. It was called "Low Country Tea" and it was made with Firefly Sweet Tea vodka and lemonade. Yes, you read correctly. SWEET TEA flavored vodka! Who doesn't love sweet tea?! I had to try it, NEEDED to try it. And to top that off, the waiter confirmed my suspicions: "It's delicious". I said, "Yeah, lemme get that. Now" It was soooooo good. Taste like a lemonade/tea mix. Absolutely no alcohol aftertaste. And I'm a lightweight.

So, if you're ever in Chinatown or any of Clyde's other locations in the DMV area, check 'em out. If for nothing but the "Low Country Tea". It's a delicious treat! :o)

Shish Kabob Express (Detroit)

So, I'm home for summer vacay and one of my fav places to eat is a Mediterranean/Lebanese restaurant called Shish Kabob Express. They have locations at Twelve Oaks Mall and one at Tel Twelve (Telegraph Rd and Twelve Mile for you non Detroiters) and the food is AMAZING! Seriously. Before I ate here I was nor here or there when it came to Middle Eastern food but now I am definitely a fan. 

Everything is super fresh, even the smoothies they make from fruits and vegetables right there on the spot. I usually get a chicken shawarma sandwich which has grilled chicken, pickles, and garlic sauce wrapped in a toasted pita. First of all, I LOVE GARLIC so that's a plus for me and, like Chipotle, the chicken is grilled and seasoned to perfection. The crispy pita with the slightly sour pickle and chicken is delicious. Trust me. I've also had their chicken fattoush salad which is a chicken salad with their version of croutons,  toasted pita chips. It has fresh spinach or romaine (whatever your choice), tomatoes, purple cabbage, and some other stuff I can't really think of at the moment topped with their house dressing which is basically a balsamic vinegar dressing. It's also served with a pita and garlic sauce. ALSO, since I've recently been restricted to vegetarian life, I tried their falafel sandwich which was tasty. I was scared because I ordered a falafel plate from another popular Middle Eastern restaurant chain in Detroit that shall remain nameless and it was disgusting. My family and I couldn't even finish one falafel, let alone the plate. The waitress had the nerve to ask us if we wanted a carry out box. If looks could kill.... Anywho, there are LOTS of other items on the menu, these are just a few of my favs. If you live in Detroit, I implore you to try them out! Alesyn, if you're reading this, we still have to take the trip out there so you can taste their magnificent glory. Also, if you can't go to this place, try out some Middle Eastern food wherever you are but try to look at customer reviews and start with something simple like the aforementioned items. Everyone can't do good Middle Eastern food just like everybody can't cook greens as well as my dear mother. Yes, I tooted her horn. Happy eating ! 

Couldn't Get It Up...

Brace yourselves....Junior's in Times Square

I know! I know! But I was expecting greatness! I saw the episode on Making The Band just like the next person. My friend Kayla whimsied me with tales from the Junior's in Brooklyn so I'm hoping the disappointment is only with the Times Square location. I got the strawberry cheesecake and I gotta tell ya, I wasn't impressed. I've had better cheesecake from Chik Fil-A. Cheesecake Factory's is waaaaaaayyy better. Junior's wasn't wasn't smooth and creamy or whipped. I couldn't taste the cheese and sugar. It just wasn't up to par. It was like watching Saturday Night Live and expecting to laugh. It wasn't what I expected at all. But again, I'm willing to go to the Brooklyn location and give them a second chance.

NEW YORK CITY!

For my 21st birthday on March 19th, me and some friends went to NYC. It was my first time and I had a great time. We went to the Comedy Cellar in The Village where we met comedians Godfrey and Ben Bailey from Cash Cab where I reminded the latter just how white he really was (but that's another story). Of course, I wouldn't be posting if I didn't have some great food too!                

                                   

First up was a New York hot dog from those cute little carts. Let me go ahead and admit how excited I was to even be purchasing one after I had seen it done so many times on TV. I wanted one with just mustard like Dre got when he was walking through the park with Sidney in Brown Sugar.  My suite-y DeAndra persuaded me to get one with the works (onions, saurkraut, ketchup, mustard, some other sh*t) and it was DEE-LICIOUS! Oh, why is the vendor so close to my face in that second picture, you ask? Because he wanted Andrea candy, that's why. He kept asking me how old I was and if I would give him a kiss. While we were posing for the pic, he thought he'd sneak one in. Yeah. Gross.

Next was some New York pizza, also suggested by DeAndra. She kept going on and on and on (:o) about how NY pizza was the best and didn't come close to any pizza you've ever had before, no matter how good it was. Yeah, it's safe to say she was blowing NY pizza up. Though we didn't find "a hole in the wall where you have to let the grease drip from the pizza", we did find this place in Times Square. I was a little skeptical of this place since hole in the walls usually have the best food but I was pleasantly surprised! It was cheesy and saucy like I like it with a thin, crispy crust. Not too thin, like thin crusts from national chains. Just a little thicker so that it was perfect. Good stuff. But next time I visit NY, I need to find that whole in the wall.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Today's post is on the greatest Mexican Grill chain ever. Chipotle. Why is it the greatest Mexican Grill chain, you ask? One, because I say so and two, because actual Mexicans support it!

They come to this country from their little Mexican towns to mix up the amazing flavors that season your Chipotle burrito ingredients. Seriously. As popular as Chipotle is, I felt the need to write this post because there are still a few scragglers out there who think California Tortilla or Qdoba are better. Please! Don't serve me shit and tell me it's sugar! Both California Tortilla and Qdoba taste like a mouthful of nothing! California Tortilla's cheap ass, watery ass "queso" sauce is what pisses me off the most. Qdoba gets a half nod for its variety but when it comes to flavor, neither come close to Chipotle! The secret is Chipotle seasons each item individually to taste amazing by itself. Then, when you mix all those delicious items in a warm, chewy tortilla--mouthgasm! AND the guacamole is better than I've

tasted at most authentic Mexican restaurants. It's fresh every time and just a little chunky, not thin like I've had at restaurants. Try it out.

I freaking love Chipotle. Last semester, I had an internship near Chipotle that I went to every Tuesday and Thursday and I can count four

times out of the entire semester that I dined somewhere other than Chipotle. It's that good. Living in the city (where most Blacks reside) you'll find that Chipotle isn't that close too you. At all. Unfortunately, you have to go to the boonies to find one but the trip is well worth it. Trust me. For DC residents, don't go to the Chinatown one. I think that because of their location, they've gotten a lot of business and, for some reason, stopped seasoning the food. The last few times I've gone, I left dissatisfied. Go to Dupont Circle, Georgetown, or Silver Spring. Again, longer trip but worth it. That is all. Have a good one.

Couldn't Get It Up...

(CGIU posts are designed to point out the restaurants that failed to satisfy me during my visit, thus, I think the title serves correct)

Bertucci's Italian Restaurant

So, last Saturday, I went out to a birthday dinner designed especially for the kiddies (since I couldn't not go to a night of drunken fun at Pure the night before since I'm STILL not 21, March 19th can't come soon enough) at Bertucci's Italian Restaurant in Dupont Circle. It's on the corner of Connecticut Ave. and Jefferson Place, right across the street from Fuddrucker's. The place was really nice. It was decorated all Italian style (if you can picture what that looks like), cloth napkins, classical music playing, the whole nine. So, as you can imagine, I'm expecting the food to be on point....NOT! NOT! 

        Okay, well not completely. The appetizer, which was FRESH BAKED rolls that tore apart all steamy on the inside and this garlic flavored olive oil dipping sauce, was DEEELICIOUS! Seriously, it was a an avalanche of flavor, in my mouth. Then again, I love garlic so that might be the reason I'm so excited.  But really, my taste buds thanked me. They sent me a card and everything.

Unfortunately, after the appetizer, sh*t started going downhill. When we got our salads (that we paid an extra $3 for), they were subpar. I had more vines that lettuce and most of the leaves weren't even green. It looked like they had went into the trash to get the leftover lettuce from all the quality salads they made earlier, chopped them up, and served it to us with some caesar dressing.  But wait, there's more! When the waitress delivered the Chicken Alfredo with Asparagus, there was no sauce. It was so watery thin that it had sank to the bottom of the plate.When we asked for some extra sauce, she brought out some slightly tinted water. It was as thin as water!  I've had better alfredo at lower restaurants. Burger King makes better alfredo sauce than Bertucci's! Needless to say, I was gravely disappointed (except for that delicious bread). For this reason, this is a partial "Couldn't Get It Up" post. Now I haven't had everything on the menu so please, try it out for yourself, but STAY AWAY from the "alfredo" sauce. That is all.

Ben's Chili Bowl

So....I've been in DC for just over two years and Thursday night, at about 10pm, was my first time eating at Ben's Chili Bowl. If there's anyone one reading this who does not live in DC (or anyone reading at all for that matter), Ben's Chili Bowl is a historic diner in DC's Northwest quadrant. Let me start off by saying, before eating there, I was not moved by the hype. For me, a Michigander, no measly diner could add up to the glory I know as "coney islands".  In Michigan, it's not an amusement park, it's a series of restaurants (not a chain, just a bunch of random people decide to open their own) that sell any and everything. Burgers, gyros, chicken, subs, breakfast. etc. Therefore, when I went into Ben's, it already didn't measure up, that is, until I bit into that chili half smoke. It's a bratwurst-y looking sausage with onions and mustard covered in chili and yes, it is as delicious as it sounds! Have you ever been to an amusement park and there was that one roller coaster you vowed never to ride and your friends make you get on  it anyway? You're scared shitless waiting in that line and you almost want to turn back when you're strapping up your seatbelt but after that first drop, it's amazing and as soon as you get off you want to do it again? Well, this is that, all happening in your mouth. Seriously. It was great. AND, not only did they have chili cheese fries (a Coney Island specialty), they made them with nacho cheese!!! Do you know how hard my heart 

began to flutter when I tasted that nacho cheese deliciousness?! Very hard, I must say. I mean, you go in expecting plain old cheese, and you're happy enough because it's chili cheese fries, for Christ's sake. But when you realize it's nacho cheese instead? It's like the cook knows what you like and he's flirting with you. You just feel so darned special! My friend Alesyn's face and plate says it all---->

Plus, if you're not really a fan of diner food, go for the music, I IMPLORE YOU! They played JAMS! Usher's Confessions, R. Kelly's Step In The Name of Love, Puffy's All About The Benajmin's, and Michael Jackson's Remember The Times!!! Just recalling Michael Jackson zapping himself into a pile of sand made me wish I was in the 90s again.

So, go ahead, stand in the extra long line in the small diner and get groped by more strangers than you care to. Your palettes and your groove thing will thank you :o)