Panera

Panera is one of my go-to spots for comfort food. I went to the one on Rt. 26 by Giant around dinner time so it was a little busy.

When I first walked in, there was a line so I had to wait for 5 minutes or so. I was trying to decide what to get and I noticed they added pasta to their menu. They added three different kinds: tortellini alfredo, rustic penne bolognese, and pesto sachettini. I ordered the "Pick Two" deal and got a small bowl of tortellini alfredo and a small bowl of broccoli cheddar soup with a baguette on the side. I took my order from one of the annoying cashiers, paid for my meal, and went to wait on the other side of the restaurant to pick up my food.

I waited for another 5 minutes and got my food and sat down. The tortellini alfredo was actually pretty good, but a little on the salty side. I like my food salty, but if it was too salty for me, then it must have been really salty for an average person eating it. The soup was really good because it was nice and hot and it was not too watery or too thick. Dipping the baguette in the soup is one of the best ways to eat their soup and that's exactly what I did!

Panera is definitely one of the best places to grab a quick meal. The food tastes good every time, but sometimes the baguettes are too cold and hard. I would not recommend getting their Caesar salads though because their dressing tastes like seafood to me, weird, but true! The food can be rather expensive, but I can't seem to find another place to go to for quick comfort food. Other than that, I would recommend going to Panera.

Buffalo Wild Wings

I went to Buffalo Wild Wings in Urbana this past weekend and it was quite memorable. First off, I went during the UFC Fight so I was expecting the same lousy service I usually get at this place. The service turned out to be the best service I have ever received from any restaurant.

UFC nights are always busy at BWW. There was probably about a five minute wait and we asked for a booth, but we ended up sitting at a table. Not such a big deal, but it kind of confused the host because two different hosts were trying to help our table of five and one host thought there were four people in our group. I just thought it showed some type of miscommunication, but I was not upset. We sat down after putting two tables together and were greeted by our server, John.

When we ordered our food, John was very tentative to our requests. While we waited for our food, we asked if we could play the fight on the big projector screen and about two minutes later, it popped up on the big screen. The food took a while, but it's understandable because of how busy it was. Our food food came out just like how we ordered it and we were even being annoying and asked for ranch, southwest ranch, and salsa after they brought out the food and they were happy to get them for us.

While we were eating, John came back to check on our table every 10 minutes or so. He was very nice and told us to take our time. He did not seem like he tried to rush us or anything. We were there for about three and a half hours and not one time was he rude or forgot about us. The quality of the food was good. It could have been better, but I don't think you can expect much from Buffalo Wild Wings. I ordered "The Sampler," which consists of some nachos, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, but substituted for french fries, and wings (pictured above).

Overall, the service was spectacular. Even when John gave us our checks, he still told us to just ask him if we needed anything. After he took our checks, he said the same thing again. He told us we can stay as long as we wanted to watch the fight until it was over and he would still come over to check on us. The food was good, it filled me up and it was putting me to sleep especially being there around midnight. I would go back to Buffalo Wild Wings if John was my server again! He definitely knows how to treat his customers right, which will definitely bring back business.

Elevation Burger

Elevation Burger is the new burger place around here so I decided to try it one evening because the line at Chipotle was way too long.

Elevation Burger is located in the same shopping center as Wegmans and Chipotle along Route 26. You walk in and order food and they call your name when the order is ready. You could say it is similar to Five Guys, but I honestly think it's better than Five Guys! Elevation Burger is known for their organic beef and veggie burgers. They have about seven different burgers on their menu, two of them being veggie burgers. I have gone two this burger spot twice and each time I got something different. 

The first time I went, I got "The Elevation Burger," which includes two organic beef patties and two slices of cheddar. It was pretty good for just a plain burger and just knowing that it was organic somehow made me feel better about eating it. The second time I went, I got the "Half the Guilt" burger which was one organic beef patty and one veggie patty (pictured above). It sounds like a weird combination, but it was actually pretty good. The veggie patty still had a fire-roasted taste to it which probably makes it different from any other veggie patty. You can also order toppings like how they do it at Five Guys. I also ordered a side of fries which were amazing! They fry their french fries in olive oil; I'm pretty sure they don't do that anywhere else. The taste still tastes kind of the same to me, but some people have said they can taste the difference. Their fries are also different than Five Guys fries where their fries are thick and Elevation Burger's fries are skinny.

I would recommend going to Elevation Burger if you feel like having a burger and you haven't tried it yet. I knew nothing about it when they were first opening up, but I am all for it now. The prices are about the same as Five Guys, but eating organic beef patties sound better than eating non-organic ones for the same price!

Chipotle

Alright, Chipotle is one of my favorite meals after a workout or any other time of day. If you've never had it before, you are missing out. I decided to have lunch at Chipotle by Route 26 on Saturday and of course, it was busy. 

Parking was pretty bad because it was so busy. The parking lot at Chipotle is not always the best, there is always that one idiot that decides to speed while pedestrians are trying to cross the street, and that pedestrian would be me. After almost getting flattened by an SUV, I walked into Chipotle to discover the long line that ended a few feet away from the soda machine. The service at this Chipotle is known to be slow. I waited for about 10 or 15 minutes until it was my turn to order. One of the things I like about this restaurant is that everything is made to order. If you don't want certain things in your burrito or bowl, you can just skip it. You have options of getting a burrito, burrito bowl, tacos, or a salad. I chose to get a burrito. Although the tortilla is an extra 300 calories, I could care less because it is that good. 

My burrito consisted of:

• brown rice
• green bell peppers and red onions (fajita vegetables)
• chicken
• mild salsa
• sour cream
• cheese
• lettuce

I always ask the employees to mix up my burrito because it just tastes better. Everything is mixed up instead of sour cream on one side, chicken clumped together in one area, or a chunk of cheese on one side. The taste of Chipotle is like heaven. Everything just goes together so well. A bite of the warm chipotle chicken plus the cold sour cream and lettuce is mouthwatering. The fresh ingredients are also a plus. Imagine having a burrito with old lettuce or nasty cheese, no thank you. I would never go back to Chipotle if their food was not fresh! Just writing about it makes me hungry! I don't think I've ever met someone that said they dislike Chipotle.

The Filling Station

Over Spring Break, I went to Miami, Florida. While I was down there, I went to a restaurant called The Filling Station which is known for its burgers. I heard some good things about them and I was glad I trusted those reviews because the food was phenomenal!

The location of The Filling Station is near the Bayfront of Miami. It's nestled along a few busy streets and the outside was not as appealing as I thought it would be, but that's how a lot of places were down there. As soon as I got inside, I noticed how busy it was. The host gave my group an option if we wanted to sit downstairs or upstairs. Downstairs was pretty crowded so we decided to go upstairs. It was quiet and dark upstairs, but there were a few other customers that were enjoying their meals up there. At first, the host asked if we wanted to sit in a dark, gloomy area. I pointed to a table that was lit by the natural lighting from the window and she said it was perfectly fine. My group of five was seated in a booth that circled around a table. The decorations of the place were different. The atmosphere seemed pretty relaxed and casual because of the decorations being random things like cars hanging from the ceiling along with tires and bikes. The server was laid back and answered all our questions without seeming like he was in a rush or being pushy. The menu had a bunch of different options and I did not know which item to pick. I decided to play it safe and get a regular cheeseburger which they called the "Caddy Burger."I had a choice of tater tots or fries as my side, but I chose to get french fries because my boyfriend got tater tots.

When the server put my plate in front of me, I could not find the meat on my burger because the fresh toppings were piled on top of it. I took off the onions because I am not a huge fan of them, especially when they're raw. I sadly had to cut my burger into quarters because I could not bite into it. I had my braces tightened before I went to Miami so it was hard to eat anything for a while! When I picked up a piece of my burger, I noticed how thick the meat was. It looked amazing! It tasted just as good as I thought it would be. It did not seem as greasy as a burger is from Five Guys so that was a plus. The bun was not my favorite, but the rest of the burger made up for it. My cousin decided to get chili and cheese on his tater tots and I had to snag one of those off his plate. As soon as I took a bite, the tot basically melted in my mouth. It was like I died and went to heaven! The outside of the tot was crispy, but the inside was soft. Same thing goes with the fries, the outside was crispy, but once I took a bite of them, they just melt in your mouth because the inside is soft. I wish all the fries were like that around here! I am a sucker for fries and those were the best fries ever, it definitely puts all the other fries to shame including Popeyes cajun fries.

If I ever go back to Miami, I will definitely make time to go to The Filling Station to enjoy a burger like a normal person without having to cut it into smaller pieces. The food was great, the atmosphere was chill, and my belly was satisfied! I don't think any burger place I've been to can compare to The Filling Station.

Yuraku

This past Friday, I chose to go to the Yuraku Japanese Restaurant in Germantown, Maryland. I went during lunch time so I can get a chance to eat the well-known sushi buffet they serve. This had to be about my third time coming here, but it's been a while.

When I first got to the restaurant, the parking seemed like it was going to be horrible. The parking lot was really full, but I managed to get a good spot. Before I parked, a driver almost hit me because he was not paying attention so I would highly suggest being extra careful around this parking lot. Each time I went to Yuraku, I would always have to wait because it's a really small restaurant and it's always packed during lunch time. This time, I waited for about two minutes and I was able to get my table. My server asked what I wanted to drink and told me I can go ahead and start eating while pointing to the buffet line.

The buffet is different compared to a chinese buffet. A chinese buffet has a lot of different sections in a big area. Yuraku's lunch buffet has two sections all in one little corner. There's a lot of different choices, but getting the food is just a pain! I chose to get a plate of vermicelli noodles, crab salad, tempura green beans and shrimp, and some sushi. I honestly loved everything. The sushi was good, but I felt that they could be better. I think they could have been more fresh. The rest of the food I got was delicious. I ended up getting more of the regular food compared to the sushi. My whole point of going there was for the sushi and I didn't even really want any after I got some! They had a huge variety of sushi, both raw and cooked. I think I would have enjoyed the sushi more if I was in the mood for it. I was having one of those days where I just didn't really feel like myself so maybe going there wasn't the best idea!

My experience at Yuraku was pretty good. I liked that I didn't have to wait long at all because they are known to have long wait lines. The restaurant is tiny, but the food is good. The cost of the lunch buffet was $12.95 a person which I thought was a little overpriced, but it's a good price for all-you-can-eat sushi plus other delectable foods. I did not try ordering sushi at the bar or ordering anything off the menu because I strictly decided to just eat the buffet food. Why would I wanna pay even more if I already have a ton of choices to choose from?

Staying In

I decided to stay in this weekend. I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat for dinner so my boyfriend suggested we make pizza!

As you can see, we made a "vegetarian" pizza that contains mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, and broccoli. For this post, I will tell you how I made the pizza in the form of a recipe. I did not get this idea from any website, I just made it up because it seemed pretty simple. I shopped for all of my ingredients at Wegmans.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can of the Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough (near the refrigerated yogurt and cookie dough section)
• 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (I chose a Wegmans bag of cheese that was labeled "Pizza Cheese," it is mixed with mozzarella and provolone)
• 1/2 cup of pizza sauce (I used Wegmans Chunky Pizza sauce)
• spinach (I chose to use spinach from the bag because I personally like the taste better than the fresh spinach they put out along the wall)
• sliced portabella mushrooms (you can buy these pre-sliced or not)
• green and red bell peppers
• broccoli

For each topping, I used about 1/2 cup or so, maybe even a little more. I think it really depends on your own preference. Some people like to cook the toppings before they are put on the pizza. It is entirely up to you if you want to sauté or steam your toppings before you put them in the oven. I chose to not cook my ingredients because they will cook a little in the oven.

The one thing you should always do before cooking anything is wash your hands. Washing your hands is the best ways to prevent transferring any illnesses. Next, preheat the oven to 400°F. Take out a dark, non-stick cookie tray. With previous experience, I still choose to spray the cookie sheet with PAM because the dough has stuck onto the tray a few times. After spraying the cookie sheet, pop open the roll of dough and roll it out on the tray. Be patient because the dough is sticky so it takes some time to fully spread out the dough on the cookie sheet.

Once that is done, I like to wash and separate the ingredients if needed. Separating the ingredients in different bowls makes it easier for me when I put the toppings on the dough. When the oven is preheated, put the cookie sheet into the oven for about 5 minutes. Make sure you don't forget to take it out! During these 5 minutes, I like to cut the bell peppers and broccoli. After 5 minutes, take out the cookie tray and set it down, be careful because it is hot!

The dough is not fully cooked within 5 minutes; you have to put the pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings on them for another 10 minutes in the oven. When the dough is taken out after the 5 minutes, use a spoon to spread the pizza sauce. After the sauce is spread, sprinkle the cheese all over the sauce. If you like a lot of cheese on your pizza, I would recommend using more than 1 cup of cheese. It may look like there is a lot on there, but looks can be deceiving! If you don't like a lot of cheese, use 1 cup or less.

Now it's time for the toppings. Place the toppings wherever you want on the pizza. When you're done, place the cookie sheet back into the oven for another 10 or 11 minutes. Be sure to check on the pizza from time to time to make sure the crust isn't too brown. If the crust is golden brown, then you can take it out. If you like a softer crust, take out the pizza a little bit sooner than 10 minutes, maybe around 6 or 7 minutes.

Let the pizza cool down before trying to cut it. Use a pizza cutter and serve it warm. No one wants to eat cold pizza! This usually serves 3-4 people. I like to make my own pizza because I can use all the toppings I want. You can make the pizza in the same amount of time you have to wait for delivered pizza. I know exactly what food is being put into my body and it may be a healthier alternative to the well-known pizza chains. You will be able to make two pizzas for the price of one (compared to Papa John's and Domino's).

If you ever decide to make this, I hope you enjoy it! It's a simple dish and you can make it however you like!

Ristorante Piccolo

The restaurant I decided to go to this time was called Ristorante Piccolo. This Italian restaurant is nestled in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. At first, I was trying to go to different Italian restaurant known for their handmade pasta, but that place did not have any open tables until 9:30pm! I guess this was partly my fault because it was a Sunday evening around 5:00pm. I was walking around Georgetown and decided to go to the next Italian restaurant I walked by.

When I first walked in, the ambiance was incredible. The room was softly lit and the warmth in the air made it even better because I was freezing outside in the windy, 30 degree weather. I was immediately seated by the host and sat at a tiny table for two, perfect for my boyfriend and me. I have never heard of this restaurant and kind of went on a whim, so I was looking through the menu for quite some time. The server came up to our table after about 5-10 minutes or so, but he only introduced himself and told us he would be right back which was fine with me because I was still trying to decide what I wanted to eat. I was kind of shocked with how loud he was talking because the room wasn't loud, but it wasn't quiet either. I watched him walked away and go to another table and say the same thing to them, except I heard him talking just as loud. Why did he talk so loud?! No one will know. He came back after a couple minutes and asked if we wanted bottled water or ice water. We chose ice water and decided to order an appetizer of fried calamari. I wasn't really in the mood for fried calamari since I just had it at the other restaurant, but my boyfriend wanted it so we decided to get it. As it was time to order our main courses, I asked if I could get lasagna, but without ricotta cheese because I am not a fan of it. He responded with, "No, our meals are already pre-made, we don't make meals to the order." This kind of threw me off a bit because it made me wonder if all their food was fresh or not. I ended up going with "Carmelle alla Salvia," which was basically ravioli filled with roast chicken, vegetables, and herbs covered in a butter sage sauce and shredded parmesan cheese. My boyfriend chose the "Ravioli Aragosta," which was ravioli stuffed with lobster meat, served over a lobster bisque. He also asked which wine would go with the lobster ravioli and chose what the server recommended. 

After our server took our order, a man with a basket of bread came over to our table and placed one slice of bread on each of our plates along with a small plate of olive oil. I thought we would get more bread, but I guess not! The server also brought out a glass of white wine for my boyfriend, but I can't remember what it was called. As we were waiting for our food, we kept hearing the server talk to each table. This kind of annoyed me because I did not feel like listening to his overpowering voice and not be able to listen to my boyfriend that was sitting a foot away from me. Our appetizer arrived about five minutes later and it was really good! The lemon that we squeezed over it brought out the freshness of the calamari. The food came out about ten minutes later, the ravioli aragosta pictured at the top and the carmelle alla salvia pictured at the bottom. I thought we would get more food for the price; five pieces of ravioli for $20? I'll pass next time. We both cut up the ravioli into bite-sized pieces and started to dig in. My ravioli only tasted like chicken and nothing else. I could not taste the herbs or the vegetables! The lobster ravioli was pretty good, although it was not as hot as I expected it to be. We didn't want to say anything to the waiter because I get scared that they will take the food back and spit in it and return it to our table. My chicken ravioli was pretty hot, but the lobster ravioli was only hot on one side of the plate. My boyfriend also said the wine did not go well with the lobster. The server never came back to our table until we were done. The manager was the only one that had asked us how everything was doing.After we finished eating, I decided to make a trip to the bathroom. Boy, that thing was tiny! You walk into the bathroom, make a sharp left or right into the two stalls they have, and you can pretty much fall into the toilet once you get in there.

Overall, my experience was less than decent. The fried calamari was the only thing I really liked. The server was too loud, the price was a little too much for the quality of the food, and the bathrooms were basically nonexistent. The ambiance tricked me into thinking the restaurant was going to be superb. I would only recommend coming here if you are cold, starving, and have extra money to spare.

Lucky Corner

 

For my first post, I decided to go to a local favorite of mine, Lucky Corner. Lucky Corner is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant located in the northern section of Downtown in Frederick.

I decided to make a lunch trip to Lucky Corner today, Sunday, February 10, 2013. When you first pull into the parking lot, you will notice how small it is; same thing goes for the restaurant itself! If there are no parking spots then the restaurant is packed. I was lucky enough to get the last open spot along with the last available table. I got there around 1:30pm and was seated right after they cleaned up the table. I only had to wait for about two minutes. The ambiance is okay, it was warm because it was so crowded in such a tiny room. I feel like they could fix up the place a little like change the tiles and repaint the walls, but they do have a flat-screen TV placed above a fireplace. I opened up the menu and my stomach began to grumble even more. The menu contained over thirty or forty different options! Sometimes this can be a good or bad thing because customers might take a while to read over it, but you have a lot of choices to pick from. After about five minutes or so, the server took the orders for drinks and disappeared. I flipped through the menu multiple times because I could not decide what I wanted. I was not sure if I was in the mood for noodles or rice!

The server came back about ten minutes later which felt pretty long to me. I understand that it was busy, but I was hungry! As a regular, I know that the service at Lucky Corner is pretty slow. I think the food is definitely worth the wait, though. I ordered the "Crispy Calamari," as an appetizer and a regular sized bowl of "Pho Bo Vien," as my main course. Pho Bo Vien is a classic in my book; it's rice noodles in a beef broth with beef meat balls.

The appetizer came out first about fifteen minutes later (pictured on the top left). Honestly, I have had better fried calamari because it seemed a bit more creamy than other places that I have had it at. I think the calamari could have tasted more fresh as opposed to pulling the squid out of the freezer and cooking it. The bowl of pho came out about five minutes later, I was still eating my appetizer when it came out so the table got a little crowded. The picture on the bottom left shows how the pho looks like when it is first served. The two pictures on the right show how it looks after I put Sriracha (spicy) sauce and Hoisin (sweet) sauce. The beef broth is very bold and flavorful especially with the two sauces. Eating pho without the sauces is too plain for me! The noodles were a little too soft for me because they fell apart so quickly. Like the noodles, the meat balls were soft too. It usually takes about five or six bites for me to chew the meat balls, but it took only two or three and they were ready to get into my stomach!

I sat at Lucky Corner for about an hour and a half. Overall, my experience was okay. As I stated before, this restaurant is a local favorite, but this time it was not as good as it usually is. The broth was great, but I could not get over how soft the noodles were! The service was slow, but that was expected. My total including tip was $18; the bowl of pho was $7.25 and the calamari was around $7. I probably won't be here for a while unless I want to try something other than pho and if I have time to sit around and wait.

Introduction

Hey everyone!

My name is Akina. My blog is mainly going to talk about different restaurants that I am going to visit throughout the semester. The restaurants will not only be around the Frederick area, but also the Rockville and Washington, D.C. area. I think expanding my horizons beyond Frederick will give different alternatives for my readers in case they want to try something new if they are in any of the areas listed above.

I like any type of food whether it be Italian, Thai, or just a burger! I am going to try and spread out my options with the different types of restaurants as well as different entrees. I will not write about the same thing twice so each post will be unique. I love meat, but I am willing to try any vegetarian or vegan restaurants. Actually, I am just about willing to try anything! I will give a review of my experience at the restaurant such as the food I ordered and the service. Photos will also be posted so you can see what the food looks like.

I find it nice to go out to eat once in a while, but in this case it might be once a week! I know that in this economy, the best bet is to buy groceries and cook your own meals at home. I will try my best to find restaurants with decent prices, but I cannot promise that. Meals tend to add up especially if you order an appetizer and/or a dessert along with the entree! Again, I will try to pick restaurants that won't burn an empty hole in your wallet. If my readers have any recommendations, please send them my way!

- Akina