Italian in the city...

In a city full of restaurants, notably Italian and French restaurants, il Corallo Trattoria shouldn't stand out with its tight and crowded seating and old tiled walls.

And yet it does! It is not just because the new owner has a long history with the restaurant - with his wife having worked there under the previous owner and he is a unique personality.

This little gem is popular with NYU students due to proximity, price and taste.

This restaurant has many dishes! Too many choices makes ordering very hard!

It took us (former and present co-workers) quite some time to decide on the main courses because everything looked that good!!! I thought I made a choice but on the back was pizza!!! We opted out of the pizza because there were just so many pasta dishes.

We split an order of Crostini Pomodoro which is homemade bread toasted topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, pinoli nuts, fresh ricotta cheese and fresh basil. It was very delicious even though we had bread with olive oil and vinegar to start.

Then we split two plates of salad...the same salad but I forgot to note the name of the salad. Sorry!! But it wasn't truly anything special.

The specialty of this place seems to be its ingenious white sauce which is both light and creamy! It seems to be the standard for at least three of their delicious pastas.

Fettuccine Maremonti

This was my dish - Fettuccine Maremonti, fresh green noodles with wild mushrooms and shrimp in a light tomato sauce. The noodles are real noodles - thick noodles - hearty noodles that went well with a slightly tart but light tomato sauce. The shrimps were perfectly cooked - not overdone and there was a lot of fresh mushrooms - but the ratio of mushroom to shrimp to sauce was too much. I could not finish my whole dish at all.

Taglierini Sorrento

 

My co-workers got theTaglierini Sorrento - fresh thin black noodles with shrimp, lobster meat, scallops, clams, fresh chopped tomato, parsley, olive oil, white wine and garlic sauce and this was simply divine - I think should I be in the neighborhood again - I'd get this dish to go - along with others. Squid ink is an ingredient that few people really use well - but here - in Il Corallo's expert hands, it is a lovely way to have your noodles and add a rich rounded flavor to the rest of the seafood in this dish.

Fettuccine Piemontesi

My friend enjoyed her Fettuccine Piemontesi - fresh green noodles with chicken and mushrooms in a cream of truffle sauce. Here again, il Corallo, shined. Their delicious green noodles were absolutely filling - and the white cream sauce is always divine - light and creamy yet a perfect compliment to the hearty noodles. This would be the other dish I'd have to take home.

Fettuccine Buttera

And this was quite enjoyed as well - the Fettuccine Buttera - fresh noodles with italian sausage, spinach and toasted pinoli nuts in an olive oil and garlic sauce. The Italian sausage was delicious in the light sauce. The nuts complimented the dish as well as the sausage did. But the best was yet to come.

Farfalle Di Spiaggia

This was il Corallo Trattoria's crowing achievement. This - Farfalle Di Spiaggia - bow tie pasta with lobster, shrimp, fresh green peas, and avocado bits in a cream sauce with parmigiano and romano cheese. Again, they excelled at making their cream sauces. This bow-tie pasta was tender and held the cream sauce well. The lobster and shrimp was cooked just perfectly and tasted just fantastic with the sauce. I didn't notice too much avocado or green peas so the balance was actually rather perfect. This is my very last dish to take home. In fact, I definitely want to have this dish the next time I come to il Corallo Trattoria - by no means, will I not return!!

The service was pretty attentive but if you get there with more than 2 people, the wait would be 30 to 40 minutes. The turnover might be fast but they don't really rush their customers out the door. At least, not this night. The owner was very nice and the server was patient when explaining their specials of the night as well as some of the dishes/pizzas that weren't being served that night.

All in all, while I wouldn't suggest a date night here - it is a great place to meet a friend for good, cheap Italian pasta and wine.

I almost regret writing this but they don't need my words for their place - they're plenty busy enough!

II Corallo Trattoria

176 Prince St, New York, NY 10012

212.941.7119 

Sunday through Thursday, 12:00 pm–10:30 pm 

Friday & Saturday, 12:00 pm–11:00 pm

The First Meal in Prague - Lunch

After walking around our first day - we were hungry and opted for a meal at a bar that was relatively empty. As all the restaurants were in the same way, empty; we figured that they were open just for people like us - tourists on our own meal schedule.

Of course, not long after we sat down, perusing the menu, a bunch of people - admittedly tourists - came in! It became full quite quickly!

Anyway, the place was just called "U Cerveneho raka" and was full of dark woods and wooden furnishings. 

Just before the storm - ceilings and wooden furnishings - an empty calm space.

Oddly enough, the wooden furnishings were pretty comfortable. Or else, we were just too tired. Anyway, the waitress came by and we asked if we can swap out the appetizer for the dessert and she said yes! Nice!

They gave us the bread basket which was nice and fresh.

Bread basket - a variety of different bread

 

So we ended up eating the same thing - flattened chicken breast which was fried and served with lemon and fries.

Flattened breaded chicken breast with french fries.

The meat was plain fare but the tangy ketchup - heinz but more tangy than homemade ones - made up for it. At least for me. Barb had to add salt and pepper to her portion.

I liked their american french fries which were crispy outside and starchy inside. Yum.

Dessert which was a raspberry jelly donut and whipped cream

Dessert came later and was actually a raspberry jelly donut - warm and fresh whipped cream with chocolate drizzle! Delicious!

I have seen the bad reviews in terms of service but honestly, they were quite nice to us. The only problem was trying to pay. The check was hard to get and we just got up and paid at the bar. We just don't have that issue stateside. But I find in Europe, they let you sit as long as you want. No rushing!

Here I must acknowledge that beer is way cheaper than anything else to drink! Soda, cocktails, etc all cost way more than beer. Had I been a college kid, Prague would have been my city of choice. Ha!

Bar U Cerveneho Raka

Karlova 30
110 00 Prague
Czech Republic

Hours:

Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday: 10 a.m. - midnight

Opera District with Escargots

The last morning of the last full day in Paris, we went to Sainte Chappelle, a gorgeous chapel with the most beautiful stained glass windows.This was on the same island as Notre Dame so we walked north to Hotel de Ville, where you find the city buildings. Somewhere around is Mariage Freres, a tea salon with lots of loose leaf teas. And since I had tasted the lovely white sakura tea at lunch the day before, I wanted to purchase this for myself. 

Well, the map they give you is vague and so we ended up looking for someone to ask. We found a friendly Parisian who along with his friend gave us the directions!

On the way there, we spotted a Savon de Marseille shop and I absolutely had to go in. And it was as dangerous as I thought it would be. I ended up with a good 8 bars of their soap - 2 of the lait (milk), 1 citronelle, 1 lavender, and more that I can't even remember at the moment. The shop smelled great - they had a lot of items and also the lavender sachets were half off so of course, I bought a pack. I also spotted a soap umm in the specific shape of a specific part of the male anatomy in flesh tone... That stayed in the store. ;)

After I got my soaps, we walked on to look for the street where my tea awaited.

Mariage Freres has several storefronts on the same street. One contains an tea museum that you can actually enjoy the history of tea in. All of their folks are knowledgeable in the type of teas they sell and are helpful and polite, regardless of what and how much you buy. I bought the Sakura blend - white and green. Since I was in Paris, I figured I'd just buy my tea here - as there's no real guarantee I'd find it in NY.

So after we walked around, with me having amassed oh, about four bags...of Marseilles soaps, Mariage Freres' Sakura teas, and shoes, looking for food. While I found a place using tripadvisor city guide, Barb went around because there were so many bistros around where we were already - having started in Marais, we ended up going into Opera. :)

At any rate we passed by several bistros and found Grille Montorgueil, with some seating outside and more inside along with a bar. We opted to sit indoors. There were several tables already full inside - they also had a downstairs.

Grille Montogueil -

We perused the menu and of course Barb had questions but our waiter, very nice bald dude, spoke everything *but* English which was evidenced by his broken English phrases. The younger, cute waiter spoke English and was very helpful.

I got the escargot - which traditionally is from Burgundy and sauteed in garlic and butter. Barb refused to try even one and so I ate the lot of six. I found the garlic not too overwhelming and actually quite good. At about $10 USD, not bad. I did not use the gripper because it needed a lot of force and I was able to just hold it with 1 hand and pull out the tasty bits.

Escargot with garlic butter sauce - green sauce you see.

Then we picked some dishes off the menu. I couldn't find the items on the menu they posted at their website...

Beef with potatoes

Barb chose their beef with potatoes dish. She finished quite alot of it but I was not sure she enjoyed it that much.

Some sort of fowl with rice and sauce

I picked the fowl with rice - but see, I forgot to log what they named the dishes but when I looked at the regular menu posted at the website, I did not see this dish.

In any event, the sauce lent the breast a good taste and I did drench each bite I took of both rice and fowl in the sauce. I was able to polish off my entree with a glass of reisling, another drink I forgot, and cuba libre.

Like all restaurants in Paris, service is relaxed and you have ample time to enjoy your food and company. The wait staff was very friendly and we were able to rest our weary feet for a while until we got to a metro to return to our hotel to drop off my packages.

Oh, I must mention Jeff de Bruges - a chocolate shop we found on Rue Mouffetard, where there are lots of places to go get wine, cheeses, and chocolate! Well, this gem of a shop makes all sorts of pralines and chocolate bars with a nice variety of different cocoas in different amounts. I did quite enjoy the Papua chocolate milk blend and the Tanzania milk blend was also great. They also had Peruvian, Tanzania dark, and a few others. I think they are a pretty decent chocolate shop! They had some great chocolate treats for kids and a gelato stand outside. Too bad for the young man working the shop - he was the only one and it was empty as he worked with us but soon got busy! :) But we got to try a free treat for being patient, I guess. Maybe I'll see the shop in Amman when I am in Jordan. ;)

Mariage Freres
30 rue de Bourg - Tibourg
Paris 4me
tel. : +33(0)1 42 72 28 11
Metro Stop: Hotel de Ville
Hours: Check website for all locations and hours

Savon de Marseille Boutique
17 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris, France
tel. 01 42 71 40 21
Metro Stop: Hotel de Ville

Grille Montorgueil
50 Rue Montorgueil, 75002 Paris, France
tel. 01 42 33 21 21

Jeff de Bruges
112-114 rue Mouffetard, 75005 Paris, France
tel. 01 43 36 77 82
Hours:

Monday	Closed
Tuesday	09H30-19H30
Wednesday	09H30-19H30
Thursday	09H30-19H30
Friday	09H30-19H30
Saturday	09H30-19H30
Sunday	09H30-13H30

La Mere Michele

Before we came to Paris, I looked up tripadvisor for food and found this place. La Mere Michele is a lovely tiny restaurant on rue Surcouf...say it with me... It is a small street off Saint-Dominique and do not make the mistake and start on the East side. It made for a long walk.

La Mere Michele Napkin

It is actually closer to the Eiffel Tower or the Rodin Museum and is dead-ended at Saint-Dominique. The one side where the seating is - is made of stone. They even have a kitty carving in a crevice in the wall.

Rawr!

We were greeted by a friendly staff of three. The owner tried her best to translate their seasonal menu, which was super nice of her. Very patient was the staff at our or I should say Barb's questions.

Bread basket and pepper!

In the end we both chose the chicken dish which was made of pieces of chicken with a lovely potato mash. The chicken was seasoned - maybe overly but Barb saw them heat it up in the micro before they plated it all lovely for our consumption.

Very tasty chicken and potato mash

The chicken as I tasted it was very tasty but also very salty. It may be that the sauce heated up was too salty but was perfect when it was fresh? I don't know. It was perfectly cooked though - each piece I tasted was delicious and cooked through.

The best part was the mashed potatoes. The potatoes were deliciously smooth and well seasoned. I believe they did it with olive oil.

At any rate, simply visit La Mere Michele. Their menu depends on the season and they close as most Parisians do in the first two to three weeks of August.

We were both too stuffed to eat anything else but I hope someday to return and try other items!

La mere Michele
26 rue Surcouf
75007 Paris, France
tel. 33.1441897705
Hours: Call to confirm

A little bit of bliss at Nirvana

For lunch, Dave boxed us into Nirvana, a little Indian place on Lexington.We were literally forced to go because he got a craving for Indian food.

From the outside, it did not look very inviting - dark and cavernous. But once you went up the stairs, you were at a lovely open space with a few tables spaced throughout and very friendly staff. There was minimal clutter and the tables actually was well spaced with plenty of space to walk to the buffet table.

High ceilings give this a spacious feel

Fresh baked naan is served at the table. It is served hot, which is like a big plus. I wish I thought to take a photo of the buffet table but I didn't - so next time I will need to remember to do this.

Fresh baked bread

My heaping plate of yums - the buffet is $12, I think. I took some cabbage fritters, potatoes with chickpeas, saag paneer, rice, chicken tikka masala and something else.

Bunch of yums

Delicious! The tikka masala was white meat with a delicious sauce - chicken was not dry and the sauce was awesome. The saag paneer was uber-yummy with a good blend of spinach and spices which is very delicious. The cabbage fritters actually made me want to eat cabbage...which everyone knows I don't really eat.

I loved the chickpeas with the potatoes and the rest of the items were really delicious. The tandoori chicken was not so good for me so I actually didn't really like this chicken tandoori...but everything else was really delicious.

For dessert was just a tiny bit of selection, the rice pudding was very soupy - but very refreshing and lightly sweetened. The bread dipped in was actually tasty.

Rice pudding

I thought it was quite a bargain - for about $15 bucks each, we ate a lot of different Indian food where as normally, you just get one dish for about the same.

If you liked great and friendly service, Indian food and buffets, then this is the place for you!



Nirvana
346 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10016
tel.212.983.0000
Hours:
Sun - Thurs, Lunch 11:30 am - 3 pm, Dinner 5 pm - 10:30 pm
Fri - Sat, Lunch 11:30 am - 3 pm, Dinner 5 pm -11 pm

The Brooklyn Star

After a long day, we finally go to brunch at The Brooklyn Star, a nice spacious place in North Williamsburg.

Set on the corner of a relatively nice street, its no fuss decor of wooden tables, stools, benches and booths was quite nice to look at.

Everyone's just super friendly and super sweet from the bartenders who make a really awesome drink of alcoholic sweet tea to the wait staff and hostesses.

We opted not to sit at the bench tables in the center because, well, they were backless benches! A few sweet teas and you'll likely tumble over.

So I was perusing their brunch menu and lo and behold, at the bottom of it, we were told about how the lovely meat was gotten by the restaurant...as well as the vegetables. Now, don't get me wrong but I'm an omnivore - there is no such thing as a vegan or vegetarian in my house. But I only want to know that the animals were humanely raised and dispatched humanely - but not by a five point exploding heart punch. REALLY!!

menu - look at the bottom

I got the same sweet tea as Barb - just not as sweet - but it was refreshing and delicious...not as good as perhaps a pisco sour or a Sofrito mojito but very very good.

Sweet Alchy Tea - yum

As there is no substitution or anything of the sort - they appear to buy their meat in quarters so the wing and breast come together, the thigh and leg come together - which means if you eat dark meat (I don't), then you're actually getting a hefty serving of fried half chicken over waffle and a large half of a grapefruit! Totally overstuffing the average eater, of course...and not Adam Richman, I think.

We both do not eat dark meat so we opted to leave off the dark meat. This way they can serve that to other folks and we're not wasting food. But waste we did. For this is just too much food for one. I forgot to take an aftermath photo but my plate was devastated - Barb had leftovers for home. I did my best to demolish it all but woefully did not finish off the waffle or grapefruit.

Giant waffle, Grapefruit and Chicken.

So this picture does not do the food justice. It was just as big as anything - the grapefruit was huge! It had a coat of glazed sugar atop and actually I was only eating just a tiny wedge. It was quite delish but my, what a big fruit.

The waffle was plain batter and tasty. I used my butter all over it and poured at least 2 tablespoons of syrup over the thing. I managed to eat about 3/4 of this thing. I actually liked the citrus-infused syrup - at least I hope it was deliberately citrusy but if not...something was wrong. Barb hated it.

The chicken was crispy, moist, and tender. However it was quite fatty. Pies & Thighs still rules for me - crispy without fat.

This is a great place to gather - I would like to try their dinners sometime, however and more than a few of their beers. ;)



The Brooklyn Star
593 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
tel. 718.599.9899
Hours:

Brunch /
Sat & Sun
12 pm to 4 pm
Dinner /
Mon - Fri
5:00 pm to 2 am
Sat & Sun
6:00 pm to 2 am
Reservations accepted 8 or more

Out for lunch with the boys

Hane is atypical of pseudo Japanese joints that dot the midtown landscape.I believe previously I had reviewed their tough grilled meat.

This time, I went and had lunch with Suanstein and Dave at the restaurant. Suanstein actually was willing to eat outside his cubicle!!! Amazing.

Service was fast and friendly. As usual, the tables were pretty much squashed together so be forewarned. However, they were big enough to have room to eat...which most places do not bother with.

The bento lunch specials come with miso soup and shumai If you got the regular bento special - it comes with soup and salad.

The miso was very very bland - like water...and not clean water at that. I didn't bother with a picture because it was just watery, with bits of seaweed and tofu floating in its murkiness.

The salad was typical green lettuce...with ginger dressing over it. Nothing special.

Now...the shumai. Suanstein was right. It tasted just like some pre-frozen stuff from the supermarket aisle, reheated to a tepid warmness and prettily arranged for your visual pleasure. It came with six, generous serving size, but rather tasteless.

Shumai

Suanstein ordered a teriyaki box so I didn't take photos but Dave ordered this beautiful row of lobster tartar, cooked lobster with wasabi aioli sauce. It tasted decent to me but I do prefer a good lobster - whole or chopped as opposed to this.

Lobster Tartar

I went with fried chicken. Basic, and yet, it was very tasty. And I lied - there is the teriyaki bento special in the back with rice. Salmon teriyaki - a basic dish in these restaurants but I hear that this place makes a decent salmon - not crazy fishy tasting.

Teriyaki in the background! My bad! I did get a shot!

Here is the fried chicken, with shredded seaweed. Pretty presentation, I must say but the chicken was very tasty. There was no rice but you do not need it with all the shumai!

Fried Chicken, Yum!

Hane is decently priced for the area but nothing special. As always, I prefer sushi/sashimi in an authentic Japanese joint and that means going further away from work, which is why we always end up at these type of places!



Hane Sushi
581 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10016
tel: 212.682.8388
Hours: Still I haven't remembered to find it.

Refuge from the rain at Sushi Time

Picture this. A gray sky. No hint of rain. You go next door and wait for Victoria to come downstairs. She does. You're outside. A few drops of water hit you. It's still bright gray, not dark. You both decide to trek onwards - undeterred so you could go to the Fresh Market on 46th.

Quite suddenly, the sky's a dark, threatening gray and you feel the rain start dripping down. You flip your umbrella out and up - still determined to carry forth.

That's when the wind starts whipping about and the drops become plops and you're now completely soaked.

And that's how Victoria and I ended up at Sushi Time - a Japanese restaurant on 2nd Ave - our port in the storm.

Like most "sushi" places in the city, this was also a Chinese owned place. I could tell because the wait staff were speaking Chinese, not Japanese.

The place is typical Asian restaurant decor of wooden tables and chairs. The coolest thing is the tiling at the entry way. They also had bags for your wet brollies there.

It was decently packed - not totally packed but it was still early.

We both asked for hot tea and later ordered the beef negimaki and chicken curry bento boxes.

They came with soup and salad - Victoria had to eat my salad because I hate the dressing - she loves it. Miso soup was typical of fake Japanese restaurants.

Our bentos came just after they remembered that we had ordered tea. Very slow and forgetful service.

Beef Negimaki

So the box is: Top Left to right: California roll, shumai, rice
                      Bottom left to right: beef negimaki, wasabi paste and ginger slices, and mystery mochi packet



Victoria got the beef negimaki bento box which was just delicious she claimed. They were hefty rolls and the serving of six was more than enough.

I got the chicken curry bento box which, you can see is the same as the other bento box - only with chicken curry.

Curry Chicken

I can attest to the tastiness of the chicken curry which was a rich curry flavor, with fresh veggies and chicken, perfectly seasoned and cooked.

The shumai was ok but it was not as good as I've had before. The california roll was typical fare.

The mystery mochi which is rice cake for anyone who doesn't know the term was actually green tea ice cream encased in a mochi casing. However, it was brought out at the same time as the bento box and suffered meltiness by the time we were able to eat it. The casing was a bit tough to eat but the ice cream was delicious.

Overall, the service was inefficient and slow - not really standard for busy Midtown. The curry was delicious but they should hold off and giving you the dessert until you are ready.

Tasty fare but would I make a special trek to this restaurant? Not really.

Sushi Time
821 2nd Ave (between 43rd & 44th streets)
New York, NY 100
Tel. 212.883.8983
Hours:
Same as Delivery hours.
Delivery Hours:

Sun

12:00 PM - 10:45 PM

Mon

11:00 AM - 10:45 PM

Tue

11:00 AM - 10:45 PM

Wed

11:00 AM - 10:45 PM

Thu

11:00 AM - 10:45 PM

Fri

11:00 AM - 10:45 PM

Sat
12:00 PM - 10:45 PM

Another dinner at Chimu's!

Once again, I am behind on posts but as I am the only contributor and also free, you get what you paid for. Ha!
So a few weeks back, another trip back to Chimu was in order. So my BFF and I got ourselves back to the familiar intersection of Metropolitan and Union for more.

Pisco Sour, fried corns, and empanadas

As usual, Pisco Sour was the first thing we ordered along with one each of their beef and chicken empanadas. Just like the first time, they were most delicious.

Unlike last time, we did switch out the main courses.

Tallerin Verde

This time, Barb opted for the Tallerin Verde with skirt steak and more minced garlic in oil. It looked tasty and was served with potato. It seems Peruvians eat lots of carbs.

Aji de Gallina

Take for instance my own order of Aji de Gallina, which with the aji sauce over rice is just divine except there were more potatoes and rice than of the shredded chicken.

Tres Leches

Of course there were leftovers for the next day since we saved room for the dulce de leches crepe and tres leches cake. Both were extremely satisfying for my sweet tooth and sends one into sugar highs for the night.

Dulce de leches Crepe

As usual, service is quick and friendly. But I totally would come only when I feel like getting starchy foods.

Chimu Peruvian Cuisine and Steak
482 Union Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tel. 718.349.1208
Hours:
Monday 3:00-11:00 pm
Tuesday 3:00-11:00 pm
Wednesday 3:00-11:00 pm
Thursday 3:00-11:00 pm
Friday 12:00 pm - 12:00 am
Saturday 12:00 pm - 12:00 am
Sunday 12:00-11:00 pm

Ali Baba for lunch

Turkish, anyone? 

In midtown/Murray Hill or just plain Manhattan, you can find a number of decent Turkish restaurants selling the same thing but not quite the same as being in Turkey... But it is indeed decent fare at a semi-decent price for the most part.

As I was craving some Turkish - I decided to order from Ali Baba on 34th St. Usually, I get the chicken adana, which seems to be more flavorful than their kebab. Still nothing beats Istanbul...nothing...for kebabs and bread.

Free but delicious bread

Ali Baba always serves a big - very big serving of bread with their meals. This bread typically is warm, layers of dough and goes very well with babaganoush - an eggplant spread with a garlicky base that is very very good. And I don't like eggplant but I'll eat this...every time!

Babaganoush!

My meal came warm, with salad - and my serving of adana with a big roasted pepper and half a tomato. The tomato goes well with the adana - a nicely spiced piece of white meat chicken. Their rice is most flavorful and delicious !

Chicken Adana with rice and tomato and pepper

Ali Baba
212 East 34th Street 
New York, NY 10016
tel.  (212) 683-9206.
Hours:
Sun - Sat: 11 am - 11 pm

Mio - Hit & Miss

Mio was right by the Westin, where we were staying. It was even on the list of restaurants that the concierge gave us even though I went online to check it out. Then I made OpenTable reservations after learning about the Hamilton...reservations for dinner in DC are a must if you do not want to wait more than an hour or so for food.

The place was very nice and spacious, with a lounge at the front and a bar to the left of the entryway.
Decor was sleek and modern with interesting lighting and a very open atmosphere. I would venture to say that it was quite relaxing and service was superb.

Spicy Machu Pisco

After perusing the menu, we decided on the drinks first, of course - Spicy Machu Pisco, made of Machu Pisco, Aji Amarillo (yes the same peppers in the green sauce), Passion Fruit & Lime Sour for Barb and the Pasion Urbana made of Banana & Pineapple Cruzan rum, Passion Fruit and Guava!

Pasion Urbana

Barb said hers was really really good. That was saying something since she is not much of an alchy. :)  I think she is in love with Pisco. I loved mine and if I didn't have 2 more bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade in the hotel, I would have gone for a 2nd. It had not a huge wallop in the alchy department but I love guava and this drink had alot of it. In fact, if you did not like guava, you might not want this drink. It was sweet and deliciously refreshing.

Complimentary Bread

The bread was awesome. Barb did not take a piece but I did and let me tell you, it was some good bread.  It was quite soft but had good texture and some crunch from the crust on top. They did not have fresh butter but the bread made up for it.

Pollo a la Braza Mio con Yuquitas

After debating between the large and  whole fish and chicken, Barb chose the chicken, roasted with yucca, otherwise known as Pollo a la Braza Mio con Yuquitas. In hindsight, she probably should have gotten the fish... When it came, she was all excited until she took a bite. Apparently, it was not seasoned well or marinated long enough because it was very bland. She had to ask for salt and pepper and the waitress asked her how it was and she said it was bad. So the waitress spoke to the Chef and offered to take away the plate and dish something else up. And so, Barb decided to take her up on it and got the Ceasar Salad with real anchovy and the Filete de Salmón a la Plancha con Salsa de Piña or aka the Plancha Seared Salmon, Pineapple Salsa.

Caesar Salad

This she liked because it had real anchovies in it. Weird. And the croutons were made from Yucca! Yum.  I was just glad she found something else to eat!

Filete de Salmón a la Plancha con Salsa de Piña

Then she got the seared salmon and they forgot to not serve the squid ink rice with it. But she wasn't too happy because she didn't really dig into everything. You could totally tell by her face!!! I digress though because I never tried it since I do not like salmon because it's just too fishy for me. So round 2 was not so much of a success which is why I think she should have just gotten the Chillo Frito con Purée de Batata Dulce y Mojito Isleño which is Fried Whole Red Snapper, Sweet Potato, Island Mojito, and Avocado-Papaya Crudo. The lady next to us seemed to really enjoy it, despite having the head still on it.

Filete de Cerdo con Manchego Frito y Salsa de Guayaba

I however,  had long debated the quail stuffed with foie gras because I never had quail stuffed with foie gras! Uhhhh, liver paste...lol. However, it is a small appetizer. I went opposite. Yep, grilled pork tenderloin with fried manchego cheese in guava/red wine reduction. Do you see a theme here? Guava. Yum.

Up close and personal with pork..delicious pork

Despite having just devoured a whole crepe only 2 hours prior...I tucked into this big juicy slab of meat. Manchego cheese, one of my most favorite cheeses was gloriously melted over the entire slab which was grilled to perfection and had a melt in your mouth quality like a fine steak.

And let me just reiterate that this was one *very* good pork tenderloin. It was finely seasoned, perfectly grilled and had Manchego cheese melted all over it... What is not to like or enjoy?! I just had to mention it again because I did leave a lot left...

Remains of the battle with the huge slab.

This is not because it was not good but because it was too big. You could totally feed 2-3 people on this alone and still be full. Note that the salad and potatoes went virtually untouched. o(*^o^*)o  To quote Adam Richman - Food won this time...food won...

If you enjoy pork, the next time you are in DC - go to Mio and try this. You will not be disappointed by it or the service!

Mio Restaurant
1110 Vermont Ave NW,
Washington DC 20005
Tel. (202) 955-0075
Hours:
Lunch:  Monday – Friday 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner: Monday – Thursday 5:00pm – 10:00pm, Friday and Saturday 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Bar/Lounge: Monday – Thursday 5:00pm – 12:00am, Friday and Saturday 5:00 pm – 1:00 am
Happy Hour: Bar: Monday – Friday 4:00pm – 7:00pm, Selected House Drinks, Wine and Draft Beers
Happy Hour: Lounge: Friday and Saturday 11:00pm – 2:00am, Selected House Drinks and Draft Beers