A taste of home in Prague

After a long day of sightseeing - across the Charles Bridge and back, up and down cobblestone streets, we were really, really tired. We rested (I took naps in Europe...lots of em :) ) and decided to go next door for a taste of home.

Yes, my friends, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Lol. And they let their people (at least the host) drink for I saw him take a shot when we sat down.

It was a bit of muck, as we entered and there was no host. The host/staff all speak great English and he showed us to a table and gave us menus. The typical where are you from etc did fall from his lips but it was alright. We were ready to drink and eat...

First we got the drinks. Barb tried the Hurricane, not so good outside of Nawlins'. And I tried the tropical rock. I loved it. :)

Hurricane

Tropical Rock

The hurricane is a Nawlins' signature drink and it was not really that great here. But my tropical rock was awesome! Sweet and yum.

Pulled chicken

As for food, Barb got the pulled chicken which was decent. I am guessing it tasted just the same as Hard Rock Cafes all over the world. I would say ask her because she's just the appendage to my posts as she doesn't even comment on the food. Ha! "It's ok" is pretty much what she says. 

I got the pulled pork because I found that Prague has good pork. Yes...European pork seems yummier than home. That's what I feel and I'm sticking to that opinion.

The only thing I hate is that they pour the sauce on...I like the sauce on the side, I'm not always into getting the meat so very drenched in sauce. Sometimes you want to taste the meat!

Pulled pork

My meat was decent - quality of the meat is decent and the sauce was the same as a Hard Rock back home. I deconstructed my sammich because it was just chock full of meat and the ratio of meat to bun was too much for me. Oh and the ketchup was a bit tangier than it is in the States.

Purple Haze

Barb switched to Purple Haze. I got another Tropical Rock (told ya I liked it) and after sitting at the table a while, (we got the Lennon hat table) we went back to the hotel - right next door - Hotel Rott - a nice hotel, by the way.

Great host and waiter made this experience way better than you would think. And if you weren't tired tourists, you'd be hard pressed not to go to Old Town Square - just around the corner!

Hard Rock Cafe Prague
Dům U Rotta, Malé náměstí 3,
Praha 1, 110 00, Česká Republika
Tel. +420-224-229-529
Hours:
Restaurant: Daily 12:00PM - 12:00AM
Bar: Daily 12:00PM - 01:00AM
Rock Shop:Daily 10:00AM - Midnight

Barok

The first night we were in Prague was a lovely one. We walked around, admiring all the lovely buildings and passed by very old synagogues and churches. 

Barock is across from the New-Old Jewish Synagogue and an intriguing little building one block over from the synagogue.

They have live music at night and we decided after going away to come back and have dinner there. And boy, was it a bit interesting.

We ordered drinks first and I forgot what Barb had but it's not on the menu on the website - just on the menu we had when we went in. The long task of picking out food was next.

Raspberry Mojito yum.

Another drink

Barb finally picked a pasta dish...Again as she never contributes - I can not attest to how good the food was!

A pasta dish

I believe it was Spaghetti Pomodoro and I remember she enjoyed the tomatoes.

Spaghetti Pomodoro

I opted for the traditional Czech menu and got a lovely pork tenderloin in creamy mushroom sauce with pancakes. The mushroom sauce was too delicious. I dipped everything in it! It was lighter than I thought it would be considering that it is a cream sauce. It reminded me of another sauce but the bites of mushroom really were a treat. The pancakes were light - more like a crepe and paired perfectly with a bit of tenderloin and sauce.

Pork Tenderloin with mushroom sauce and pancakes!

I do recommend getting something from the traditional menu when you go to Prague. It's almost always better than eating other types of food there and usually the flavors are not typical of home so it would be a missed opportunity.

Up close with my food

For dessert, which took a while because of a huge table that came in - all American men, I might add, toasting their brotherly love, we got the three flavors of flan - coconut, passionfruit and vanilla.

Coconut, Vanilla and Passionfruit Flan

Barb ate the vanilla flan - I had to taste all three before figuring out that one. Passionfruit was a bit sour but still enjoyable. I think the natural sweetness of the passionfruit got lost in the real sugar and that's why it was a bit sour. The coconut had delicate taste of coconut in it so the coconut wasn't pronounced enough in the taste. The vanilla was very good. They obviously used a good vanilla flavor in it but I did not see specs of bean so it must have been an extract - possibly even a Madagascar vanilla.

All in all, all three were not overly sweet - they balanced the top crust of sugar with the flan underneath so you are left with a nice tasting but not overly sweet trio.

The music was live and they took requests so someone asked and got a Sinatra song! Otherwise, they sang a bunch of American songs...from at what we heard.

However, it was still quite enjoyable and wait staff was very nice. The restaurant was a nice atmosphere too even if it was catering to the tourist crowd.

Barock
Pařížská 24, 110 00 Praha 1
tel. 420 222 329 221
Opening hours: Mo - Sun 10.00 am - 1.00 am

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

Best Cosmo Ever

After a most lovely facial at Lia Schorr with Lydia, we made our way across and up to East 58th St to Yuva, an Indian oasis of cocktails and yumminess.

Apple Flash does this drink an injustice!

The sauces that are served with the hummus chips are awesome :

I don't know what they are called but the bottommost red one is very refreshing and sweet but the green to its right is extremely spicy!! Proceed with caution!

9 Different Sauces

Crab cakes were super good with lots of crab meat - real crab meat, herbs and a crispy crust. This is not your typical fake crab cake with filler.

Super good crab cakes.

These were some of the best samosas I've ever had. Flaky, crispy dough filled with chickpeas and potatoes, well seasoned with a hint of spice. Very good!!

Awesome Samosa!

This is not on the take out menu but it is one of the best appetizers ever!! The dough seemed like samosa flattened but the sauce and the stuff on top is so delicious!!! I could eat the whole plate!

No Idea what this is.

Garlic naan!! It was good but not as good as Jackson Diner where there's a lot more garlic punch. Here, you get the hint but not the pungent aroma of garlic. Still, it is a nice bread.

Not-so Garlicky Naan

And finally, the rose ice cream which is like eating frozen rose petals! It smelled like roses and tasted of roses. Delicious!!!

Rose Ice Cream

We had 2 cosmo's which I normally do not love but here, it was really good. I would totally come here again for real food!



Yuva
230 E. 58th St (Between 2nd and 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10022
tel. (212) 339-0090
Hours:
7 days a week: 11:30 am - 11:30 pm
Weekend Brunch: 12 pm to 3 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

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

Hamilton in DC

We actually stopped by this other club/restaurant first but it was a toss up as to whether we would get a table so Miss Barb asked the bouncer to recommend a place because we could not wait to eat...at least we could not wait more than 10 minutes to find out if we could get a table just to *eat* food that we are paying for...

So he recommended the Hamilton - all he said was the food was really, really good.  He did not talk about the drinks...

I think we probably chose the wrong drinks. After an hour's wait, we finally got a table to eat. We also realized that the efficiency was just not great. They had many an empty table and we think this was due to the fact that people wanted to go to the main dining room instead which is smaller but closer to the bars.

Complimentary Bread with fresh butter

It was quite slow and the drinks came out quite late. We were served bread which came much later as well. The bread was pretty good, nice and crusty with a soft chewy center and was divine with the very  fresh butter they gave with it. Yes, folks, the butter was super fresh because it didn't come in wrapping and it even had the fresh dairy taste.

Betty's Apple

The drinks - we got this drink called the "Betty's Apple" which was terrible. Not at all palatable. It was a poor version of the Appletini, which is saying a lot about how bad it was. Oh, and did I mention how the drinks arrived when we already were served dinner? Yes, they did.

Braised Beef Shortribs

Anyway, I was feeling quite disappointed until the food came out. Let's start with Barb's food as I don't eat beef [much]. Barb got their braised beef shortribs which came out with farro, kale, butternut squash, and its own juices. It looked tasty. Barb seemed to enjoy it a lot.

Upclose and personal with the beef shortribs

 I opted for my favorite - PEI mussels with beer, fennel, chorizo, french fries, and saffron aioli! And I actually liked the fries...really!

All the deliciousness together...in one shot...

The fries were well seasoned - not just salted, crispy and hot. They were some of the very best fries, I've had and I usually don't eat fries!!

Very delicious fries...surprisingly!

As for the mussels... What can I say? I'm a sucker for crustaceans. And these shellfish were fresh, with a lovely taste and except for all the fennel on top, perfect. The mussels were clean and plump, and the sauce was absolutely yummy with bits of chorizo floating around it. Had I not finished up the bread earlier from my hunger pangs, I would have dipped the bread into it and eaten it that way!

Prince Edward Island Mussels with fennel, saffron aioli and chorizo

This was a very satisfying meal and yes, I ate all but 2-4 mussels! But guess what? We had the nerve to ask for a dessert menu...:) Did I mention that all I had that morning was a piece of whole wheat toast and a bit of peanut butter? Well I did! And that's why I was starving by the time 9:30 pm came around and we got our table!

However, dessert was decidedly uninspired so we went to CVS and our hotel in that order. :)

Hamilton is great for the food alone - drinks not so much and service a dismal *SLOW*. However, I deem it worth it to eat there...at least once. Just make reservations first.

The Hamilton
600 14th Street, N.W. (14th St & F St)
Washington, DC 20005
tel. 202.787.1000
Hours: 24/7