This past Friday we checked out Pacific Rim on Hwy 150 in Hoover just behind the Galleria. Pacific Rim is a wonderful sushi restaurant that came highly recommended by my co-workers.
We arrived early enough that we could take advantage of some happy hour specials. Jay had a Love Potion cocktail and Gina had a Pacific Rim Martini (or 2!) Both were $5, quite tasty and nice-sized for the price (i.e. big!) We also shared a spicy tuny roll to start which was also $5.
For dinner we shared two other rolls, one was the Crimson Roll and the other was the Kamakaze Roll. Each roll was wrapped in sashimi and so good. Both were recommended highly by our waitress who was definitely a sushi afficionado. She did not steer us wrong.
We'll definitely be back for the sushi and the happy hour!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Pinches Tacos - May 12th, 2012
This week we used a social coupon (Groupon, Living Social, etc) to have lunch at Pinches Tacos in Homewood. This is a fairly new restaurant in the Hallman Hill development near downtown Homewood. There are a couple of other locations in Southern California.
We each had the grilled chicken tacos and shared an appetizer of chips and salsa. The tacos come with chicken and salsa only on them and are served in a soft corn tortilla. There was a sign that said you could have cheese or sour cream if you insisted. But they were perfect as is... Their theme is authentic Mexican food. I can't say whether it was authentic or not. It was, however, delicious. And relatively inexpensive.
The salsa was incredibly fresh and tasty and their chips were a little different than the usual tortilla chip that you get at a restaurant. They were great and an appetizer portion is more than enough for two people to share.
We'll definitely be dropping by back Pinches on the weekends. Gina may even be back for lunch with her co-workers during the week sometime.
We each had the grilled chicken tacos and shared an appetizer of chips and salsa. The tacos come with chicken and salsa only on them and are served in a soft corn tortilla. There was a sign that said you could have cheese or sour cream if you insisted. But they were perfect as is... Their theme is authentic Mexican food. I can't say whether it was authentic or not. It was, however, delicious. And relatively inexpensive.
The salsa was incredibly fresh and tasty and their chips were a little different than the usual tortilla chip that you get at a restaurant. They were great and an appetizer portion is more than enough for two people to share.
We'll definitely be dropping by back Pinches on the weekends. Gina may even be back for lunch with her co-workers during the week sometime.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Malone's - May 5th, 2012
This week we found ourselves in Atlanta, visiting with some friends that were there. Being near the airport, we chose Malone's for this week. Malone's is on Virginia Ave., just off the Interstate. A very casual atmposhere, we had no trouble getting a seat (it was May 5th, so we figured the busy places would be the local Mexian places). We asked our server if there was anything they recommended. AJ immediately said the Shrimp and Grits. Gina ordered this, and was not dissapointed. Jay had the grilled "catch of the day" which was catfish, shrimp, and scallops sided with some broccoli. It was very good, and a LOT of food.
The quality of the seafood was very nice. We had a good time with our friends, and the staff were all very friendly. Malone's is a very good choice if you find yourself staying near the Atlanta Airport.
The quality of the seafood was very nice. We had a good time with our friends, and the staff were all very friendly. Malone's is a very good choice if you find yourself staying near the Atlanta Airport.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Don Pepe's - April 28th, 2012
This week's restaurant is Don Pepe's at Greystone. It comes recommended to us by a co-worker of Jay's who shares our love for Mexican and Tex-Mex food. It is located at Lee Branch in the Publix shopping center which is definitely off our beaten path though oddly enough, still in Hoover.
Immediately upon sitting down at our comfy booth, Gina noticed that the menu was identical to that of the Iguana Grill on Lorna Rd that we frequent. Another look around at the ceiling and we noticed that the same decorations (glittery stars) hang from the ceiling. This was a good thing for us since we love Iguana. We didn't ask anyone, but would be willing to bet that they are owned/operated by the same folks.
We shared chicken fajitas for dinner. They were great - and identical to what we get at Iguana. There was a ton of chicken, peppers and onions and we only needed more tortillas. Even after we each ate our fill, there was plenty of chicken & veggies left for at least a couple of fajitas. The impressive part is that we didn't share fajitas for two, but fajitas for one....
We highly recommend Don Pepe's (and their cousin across town Iguana!)
Immediately upon sitting down at our comfy booth, Gina noticed that the menu was identical to that of the Iguana Grill on Lorna Rd that we frequent. Another look around at the ceiling and we noticed that the same decorations (glittery stars) hang from the ceiling. This was a good thing for us since we love Iguana. We didn't ask anyone, but would be willing to bet that they are owned/operated by the same folks.
We shared chicken fajitas for dinner. They were great - and identical to what we get at Iguana. There was a ton of chicken, peppers and onions and we only needed more tortillas. Even after we each ate our fill, there was plenty of chicken & veggies left for at least a couple of fajitas. The impressive part is that we didn't share fajitas for two, but fajitas for one....
We highly recommend Don Pepe's (and their cousin across town Iguana!)
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Shonos - April 20th, 2012
Upon recommendation of my friend Susan R, we decided to go to Shonos for dinner Friday evening. For some reason, Gina thought it was going to be sushi but a quick browse of their website indicated it was teppanyaki grill without the show. That works for us since we prefer to dine privately rather than in a group of strangers.
Jay decided on the Eddie's Special (pictured above from their website) which is beef, chicken, vegetables and your choice of steamed or fried rice along with a salad. Gina had the teriyaki shrimp bowl which is a small bowl of grilled shrimp and your choice of steamd or fried rice (pictured below from their website.) The bowl is not huge but it is filling and the right size to fill you up! For reference, we both had steamed rice.
For those of you in Birmingham, Shonos is located in Riverchase in the Hobby Lobby shopping center right next to Dale's. We noticed that they do a brisk take out business. We are already planning our return!
Jay decided on the Eddie's Special (pictured above from their website) which is beef, chicken, vegetables and your choice of steamed or fried rice along with a salad. Gina had the teriyaki shrimp bowl which is a small bowl of grilled shrimp and your choice of steamd or fried rice (pictured below from their website.) The bowl is not huge but it is filling and the right size to fill you up! For reference, we both had steamed rice.
For those of you in Birmingham, Shonos is located in Riverchase in the Hobby Lobby shopping center right next to Dale's. We noticed that they do a brisk take out business. We are already planning our return!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Southern Legacy BBQ & Brew - April 13th, 2012
This week's new restaurant is Southern Legacy BBQ and Brew in Hoover off Hwy 150/John Hawkins Pkwy, just west of the Galleria and Patton Creek Shopping Center. This restaurant has opened within the past year in the former Up the Creek location. (We had never eaten there either.)
The atmosphere is part sports bar and part restaurant. The bar looked huge and had a good following. Jay had a Naked Pig IPA brewed just northeast of here in Gadsden. Alabama has some great microbrews.
For dinner, Gina had the small pulled pork sandwich (It was plenty big - on a regular sized Sesame Seed sandwich roll/bun) with fries. Jay got the half rack of short ribs. The half rack was HUGE and was more than enough for a meal. To go with the ribs, he selected the spicy mac n cheese and onion rings. All of our food was great! The ribs and pork came with their house BBQ red sauce. On the tables, there were additional bottles of that sauce, along with a vinegar based sauce and a spicy sauce. Ultimately, we liked the spicy sauce the best.
We are regulars at Jim n Nicks and enjoy Brother Zeke's BBQ via their drive thru but can foresee choosing Southern Legacy next time we are in the mood for great BBQ.
The atmosphere is part sports bar and part restaurant. The bar looked huge and had a good following. Jay had a Naked Pig IPA brewed just northeast of here in Gadsden. Alabama has some great microbrews.
For dinner, Gina had the small pulled pork sandwich (It was plenty big - on a regular sized Sesame Seed sandwich roll/bun) with fries. Jay got the half rack of short ribs. The half rack was HUGE and was more than enough for a meal. To go with the ribs, he selected the spicy mac n cheese and onion rings. All of our food was great! The ribs and pork came with their house BBQ red sauce. On the tables, there were additional bottles of that sauce, along with a vinegar based sauce and a spicy sauce. Ultimately, we liked the spicy sauce the best.
We are regulars at Jim n Nicks and enjoy Brother Zeke's BBQ via their drive thru but can foresee choosing Southern Legacy next time we are in the mood for great BBQ.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Surin 280 - April 6th, 2012
This week we decided to try Surin 280. We both love Thai, and they bill the food as Authentic Thai Modern Thai? Surin 280 is located on the west side of 280 just south of 459 in an old O'Charley's building. We have tried to eat here before, but their hours are not the most customer friendly (and least for us). We ordered the Crab Angels and Salmon Skin rolls for appetizers. The Crab Angels are similar to a Crab Rangoon but they were a little heavy on the cream cheese, and a little light on the crab. The Salmon Skin rolls were very good. Gina got the Pad Prik with chicken, and Jay got the Masaman Beef Curry. The Pad Prik was supposed to be spicy, and it was not. The Beef Curry had tough pieces of beef, and the curry sauce had more peanut flavor than curry flavor. The food was just "ok." for us. We ate it, and wouldn't refuse to go back if everyone else wanted to go, but it is doubtful we will ever seek out going back on our own. Makes us wish Nahm Thai (see March 10th blog) was local! There aren't a lot of choices that we have found for Thai food in Birmingham - if you know of a place for us to try - let us know!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Jinsei - March 31st, 2012
This week our new restaurant is Jinsei, a sushi restaurant located in SoHo in Homewood. We had a gift certificate (via one of those coupon sites like groupon, living social) for $20 of sushi during lunch at Jinsei. We decided to use it this Saturday before running our errands.
There is some sort of construction going on at SoHo but Jinsei was open for business. I was surprised at how small it was walking in and wondered if there was another room I was missing (I don't think there was.) Even though its a bit small, its very pretty inside.
We ordered 3 rolls to share - the Spring Roll (Salmon), Spicy Tuna and the Jinsei special (yellowtail tuna). The rolls were all fabulous and we couldn't pick a favorite - they were all *that* good. There were other rolls on the menu that looked great as well. Can't wait to get back and try them!
There is some sort of construction going on at SoHo but Jinsei was open for business. I was surprised at how small it was walking in and wondered if there was another room I was missing (I don't think there was.) Even though its a bit small, its very pretty inside.
We ordered 3 rolls to share - the Spring Roll (Salmon), Spicy Tuna and the Jinsei special (yellowtail tuna). The rolls were all fabulous and we couldn't pick a favorite - they were all *that* good. There were other rolls on the menu that looked great as well. Can't wait to get back and try them!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Dave's Deli - March 24th, 2012
This weekend's report is on Dave's Deli in the Hoover Commons shopping center. This had previously been a Schlotzsky's but we had never dined there before last night. We wanted a quick meal and nothing as heavy as all the rich food we'd had the week before in New Orleans.
Gina had the turkey sandwich on jalepeno bun and Jay had the Reuben on whole wheat bun. We didn't get any chips or side items since we were getting this "to-go" and had plenty at home. The sandwiches were reminscent of the Schlotzsky's sandwiches we'd had when we lived in Huntsville and had them near our home and work locations. Gina especially loves a warm sandwich so this was a real treat.
We'll be back to try their other menu items and see if they are as tasty as our sandwiches were.
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Gina had the turkey sandwich on jalepeno bun and Jay had the Reuben on whole wheat bun. We didn't get any chips or side items since we were getting this "to-go" and had plenty at home. The sandwiches were reminscent of the Schlotzsky's sandwiches we'd had when we lived in Huntsville and had them near our home and work locations. Gina especially loves a warm sandwich so this was a real treat.
We'll be back to try their other menu items and see if they are as tasty as our sandwiches were.
.JPG)
Saturday, March 24, 2012
New Orleans Cuisine ~ March 16th, 17th, and 18th
We traveled to New Orleans, LA this weekend, and ate at a wonderful variety of restaurants. Rather than choose just one, Gina wrote up some quick tripadvisor.com reviews for some of the highlights. Look for SunLovers731's reviews. On Friday we arrived just after noon, and headed to Jax Square for lunch at Cafe Pontalba. We saw some sights, and checked in to our hotel at the Omni Royal. Dinner that evening was at NOLA. This was nice as it was less than a block from our hotel. Saturday morning took us to Cafe du Monde for beignets and coffee (part of our package with the hotel). After walking around the French quarter, we settled in for lunch at Napoleon House. There was a buzz in the air because this was St. Patrick's Day and a parade was coming. We decided to take solace back in our hotel until dinner that night at Mr. B's Bistro. If you do go to New Orleans, make reservations and eat here! After dinner we skipped Bourbon St. and enjoyed a quiet evening back at the hotel. Sunday Morning took us to a Jazz Brunch at Muriel's Jackson Square. A highlight was the Jazz trio playing right next to our table. Dinner that night was probably our least favorite of the weekend at Crescent City Brewhouse. The food there was fine, but the kitchen seemed to lose our order, and it took over an hour to be served a burger! Monday was the drive home, and just a quick bite at the Chick-fil-A drive thru! It was a great trip, with great food, and certainly great fun. Highlights were Mr. B's, Muriel's, and NOLA. We may just have to take another trip to try all new great places to eat!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Nahm Thai - Alpharetta, Georgia - March 10th, 2012
This week our new restaurant is Nahm Thai in Alpharetta, Georgia. We were in Alpharetta to see a dear friend of ours who happened to be in town. Knowing that we all enjoy Thai, Open Table guided us to Nahm Thai. We got a 7:30 reservation and hoped for the best. And we got it.
Nahm Thai is in a strip mall but the food is great and the atmosphere is white table cloth elegance. We started with an appetizer sampler which consisted of chicken satay, basil rolls, chicken dumplings, and shrimp rolls. Tasty.
The entrees selected were green curry shrimp, red curry shrimp and crispy duck. Everything was just spectacular and the evening was topped off with Chef Nahm coming to our table to make sure everything was as expected. She recommended the coconut cake but we were all stuffed. We saw it and it did look divine.
If you are in the Windward Parkway area of Alpharetta, do yourself a favor and use Open Table to get a reservation at Nahm Thai and try it out.
Nahm Thai is in a strip mall but the food is great and the atmosphere is white table cloth elegance. We started with an appetizer sampler which consisted of chicken satay, basil rolls, chicken dumplings, and shrimp rolls. Tasty.
The entrees selected were green curry shrimp, red curry shrimp and crispy duck. Everything was just spectacular and the evening was topped off with Chef Nahm coming to our table to make sure everything was as expected. She recommended the coconut cake but we were all stuffed. We saw it and it did look divine.
If you are in the Windward Parkway area of Alpharetta, do yourself a favor and use Open Table to get a reservation at Nahm Thai and try it out.
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Purple Onion - March 4th, 2012
This week's new restaurant is one that we pass by many times but have never dined at - until yesterday! The Purple Onion is a local to Birmingham, Mediterranean/Greek restaurant that has several locations around town. We went through the drive-thru at the location on Hwy 31/Montgomery Hwy in Hoover (near Ellis Piano.)
We searched for an online menu before we went so we wouldn't be at the drive through window too long and make others behind us angry. Jay decided on the Gyro Plate (Lamb with Tzatziki sauce) and Gina selected the Kabob Plate (Chicken with Hummus). The plates come with salad, rice and pita bread for dipping into the hummus or tzatziki sauce.
We had to wait a little while for our food to be ready and were asked to pull ahead and let others through the drive-thru so as not to stop their flow of traffic. We only waited about 5-7 minutes for our food and were on our way back home anxious to try it. The food smelled fabulous in the car and tasted even better once we got home to eat it.
There was a lot of food on each plate and neither of us could finish everything. Jay said that the lamb was served in thinly sliced strips which were well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Gina enjoyed the way the chicken kabob was prepared and particularly enjoyed the hummus dip.
Overall, we were definitely impressed with the quality of the food and fast service of The Purple Onion. When we are in the mood for this kind of food, we'll definitely stop back by for take-out.
We searched for an online menu before we went so we wouldn't be at the drive through window too long and make others behind us angry. Jay decided on the Gyro Plate (Lamb with Tzatziki sauce) and Gina selected the Kabob Plate (Chicken with Hummus). The plates come with salad, rice and pita bread for dipping into the hummus or tzatziki sauce.
We had to wait a little while for our food to be ready and were asked to pull ahead and let others through the drive-thru so as not to stop their flow of traffic. We only waited about 5-7 minutes for our food and were on our way back home anxious to try it. The food smelled fabulous in the car and tasted even better once we got home to eat it.
There was a lot of food on each plate and neither of us could finish everything. Jay said that the lamb was served in thinly sliced strips which were well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Gina enjoyed the way the chicken kabob was prepared and particularly enjoyed the hummus dip.
Overall, we were definitely impressed with the quality of the food and fast service of The Purple Onion. When we are in the mood for this kind of food, we'll definitely stop back by for take-out.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Slice - February 25th, 2012
This week takes us to Slice - a wonderful pizza restaurant in the Lakeview area of Birmingham. Slice takes pride in using local ingredients for their food and also serves up local beer on draft. This restaurant is close to Gina's office but she'd never been there but had heard good things about it and noticed it seemed busy.
We were a little early for dinner but there were plenty of other pre-concert (Jimmy Buffett at the BJCC!) diners at Slice. We opted for the Perfect Pepperoni pizza with Good People IPA (draft) for Jay and Shiner Bock for Gina. They had an extensive beer menu with lots of choices at very reasonable prices. There were some good appetizer and salad options but we thought pizza and beer was the perfect pre-concert meal.
The pizza did not disappoint. It was straight out of the stone oven and cooked to perfection. The sauce was a slightly sweet red sauce with plenty of pepperoni and cheese. The 12 inch pizza was perfect to share. They have a lot of other pizza options that we'd like to try such as the Old School, BBQ, and Super Cheese. We'll definitely make it back to Slice when our plans take us to the downtown area again. Gina is also planning to try Slice at lunch as their website recommends the slice of the day with salad.
We were a little early for dinner but there were plenty of other pre-concert (Jimmy Buffett at the BJCC!) diners at Slice. We opted for the Perfect Pepperoni pizza with Good People IPA (draft) for Jay and Shiner Bock for Gina. They had an extensive beer menu with lots of choices at very reasonable prices. There were some good appetizer and salad options but we thought pizza and beer was the perfect pre-concert meal.
The pizza did not disappoint. It was straight out of the stone oven and cooked to perfection. The sauce was a slightly sweet red sauce with plenty of pepperoni and cheese. The 12 inch pizza was perfect to share. They have a lot of other pizza options that we'd like to try such as the Old School, BBQ, and Super Cheese. We'll definitely make it back to Slice when our plans take us to the downtown area again. Gina is also planning to try Slice at lunch as their website recommends the slice of the day with salad.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Famous Fred - February 18th, 2012
This week we ordered take out from Famous Fred's here in Hoover off Hwy 31 in the Books a Million shopping center just behind Chick Fil A. We got chicken tender baskets to go. The chicken tenders are made fresh for you after you order. Apparently there are some Greek food items like gyros and baklava but we ordered ahead without the benefit of a menu on the recommendation that we'd like the chicken tenders. And we did!
The chicken tender basket has a HUGE portion of chicken tenders. They are larger than nuggets and shorter than fingers. The basket comes with fries, a biscuit and their sauce which seems like a mayo/ketchup mix and is a little zesty. Gina could not finish the fries or the chicken which made Zuma (our Abyssinian cat!) very happy as she has a thing for chicken tenders.
We'll add this to the rotation when we are looking for good takeout chicken. Not sure that they'll top Zaxby's as our favorite, but they are a close second.
The chicken tender basket has a HUGE portion of chicken tenders. They are larger than nuggets and shorter than fingers. The basket comes with fries, a biscuit and their sauce which seems like a mayo/ketchup mix and is a little zesty. Gina could not finish the fries or the chicken which made Zuma (our Abyssinian cat!) very happy as she has a thing for chicken tenders.
We'll add this to the rotation when we are looking for good takeout chicken. Not sure that they'll top Zaxby's as our favorite, but they are a close second.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
GianMarco's - February 11th, 2012
This week we headed out to a nice dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day a few days early. We picked GianMarco's in Homewood due to the rave reviews it gets from absolutely everyone. Jay made reservations about a month ago so that we would be ensured of having a reservation before the Alabama Symphony Orchestra with Windborne and the music of the Eagles concert.
We arrived at 6 and were seated at a nice 4 top table with a great view of the rest of the restaurant. GianMarco's is a fairly small, elegant, white-tablecloth, Italian restaurant in Homewood. It definitely lived up to the hype. We started out with a bottle of Barbera which is our favorite varietal of Italian wine. The menu was quite extensive and we'd peeked at it ahead of time and had a pretty good idea of what we were going to order even before arriving for the meal. However, all of that went out the window when we heard the specials of the evening. Just hearing about the specials was mouth-watering. Gina decided on the Linguine Fradiavlo with seafood (lobster, shrimp, mussels, calamari) and Jay went with the Veal Osso Bucco. We started with pan fried calamari and Jay had the tomato and fresh mozzarella salad. Our entrees were heavenly!
We arrived at 6 and were seated at a nice 4 top table with a great view of the rest of the restaurant. GianMarco's is a fairly small, elegant, white-tablecloth, Italian restaurant in Homewood. It definitely lived up to the hype. We started out with a bottle of Barbera which is our favorite varietal of Italian wine. The menu was quite extensive and we'd peeked at it ahead of time and had a pretty good idea of what we were going to order even before arriving for the meal. However, all of that went out the window when we heard the specials of the evening. Just hearing about the specials was mouth-watering. Gina decided on the Linguine Fradiavlo with seafood (lobster, shrimp, mussels, calamari) and Jay went with the Veal Osso Bucco. We started with pan fried calamari and Jay had the tomato and fresh mozzarella salad. Our entrees were heavenly!
We somehow managed to save a little room for dessert. Jay had New York style cheesecake and Gina had chocolate bread pudding with chocolate gelato. Jay had a tawny port with his dessert while Gina enjoyed a cappuccino. All in all this was a fantastic meal with wonderful service. This is a little fancier (and pricier) than we usually choose but for a special occasion, it was perfect.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Davenport's Pizza Palace - February 4th, 2012
This weekend we decided to go to Davenport's in Mountain Brook village to try their famous pizza. It wins all sorts of local awards and was busy today at lunchtime. This is your classic "pizza joint" with red and white or green and white checkered tablecloths and great pizza. We shared a medium meat lover's (ham-pepperoni-sausage) pizza. The pizza had a thin and tasty crust and lots of red sauce piled high with meat and cheese. One interesting thing that we like is that the pizza is cut into very tiny pieces. This worked out great because Gina prefers crust while Jay prefers the inside pieces.
This was a nice change from our usual takeout from Papa Murphy's - which we love, and we can understand why so many folks love Davenports... However, if we were going "all the way over" to Mountain Brook village, we'd go to Mafiaoza's in Crestline Village for our "Last Request" pizza.
This was a nice change from our usual takeout from Papa Murphy's - which we love, and we can understand why so many folks love Davenports... However, if we were going "all the way over" to Mountain Brook village, we'd go to Mafiaoza's in Crestline Village for our "Last Request" pizza.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Izzo's Illegal Burrito January 27th, 2012
This week's restaurant is a new burrito place at the Summit shopping center. It opened in the fall and always looks busy but never really made it as a final selection for us to try for dinner. This week, however, PricePunch came out with a $20 gift certificate for $10 to Izzo's which made our minds up for us on what restaurant we'd be trying this weekend.
We arrived around 7pm on Friday night and found the restaurant about half full. We were greeted by a pleasant young lady who figured out it was our first time to dine at Izzo's and described it as "Subway style" meaning - you select your burrito type (we had plain but they have cayenne, whole wheat and pesto as well!) and size. Gina had the Misdemeanor (regular) while Jay had the SuperFelony (medium). The Illegal size was HUGE and can't imagine a lot of people order it unless they want to share. It would be approximately 2 SuperFelonys and maybe larger.
Jay had steak, beans, rice, grilled onions, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, and guacamole with the cilantro ranch sauce. Gina had grilled chicken with rice, grilled onions, shredded cheese, pico de gallo and the Illegal (hot!) sauce. We made our burritos into a combo which includes a drink and chips and either queso dip, guacamole or salsa. We both had queso. This came to just over $20. You get your own drinks from the fountain (coke products and Luzianne tea) and seating is either a few booths or tables. Of course, we picked a booth.
We decided this place is a cross between Chipotle and Moe's for those of you familiar with these burrito chains. The food seemed fresher to us at Izzo's. The ingredients looked appetizing as you walked down the assembly line as your burrito was prepared. Both of our burritos were great and it was nice to customize our burritos to our specific tastes without asking them to hold this or that from the way the menu says it should be prepared.
We'll go back here if we're near the Summit and are wanting a quick, but tasty Tex-Mex meal.
We arrived around 7pm on Friday night and found the restaurant about half full. We were greeted by a pleasant young lady who figured out it was our first time to dine at Izzo's and described it as "Subway style" meaning - you select your burrito type (we had plain but they have cayenne, whole wheat and pesto as well!) and size. Gina had the Misdemeanor (regular) while Jay had the SuperFelony (medium). The Illegal size was HUGE and can't imagine a lot of people order it unless they want to share. It would be approximately 2 SuperFelonys and maybe larger.
Jay had steak, beans, rice, grilled onions, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, and guacamole with the cilantro ranch sauce. Gina had grilled chicken with rice, grilled onions, shredded cheese, pico de gallo and the Illegal (hot!) sauce. We made our burritos into a combo which includes a drink and chips and either queso dip, guacamole or salsa. We both had queso. This came to just over $20. You get your own drinks from the fountain (coke products and Luzianne tea) and seating is either a few booths or tables. Of course, we picked a booth.
We decided this place is a cross between Chipotle and Moe's for those of you familiar with these burrito chains. The food seemed fresher to us at Izzo's. The ingredients looked appetizing as you walked down the assembly line as your burrito was prepared. Both of our burritos were great and it was nice to customize our burritos to our specific tastes without asking them to hold this or that from the way the menu says it should be prepared.
We'll go back here if we're near the Summit and are wanting a quick, but tasty Tex-Mex meal.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Mudtown - January 21st, 2012
This week we took the suggestion of one of Jay's twitter friends and a former local news reporter - Chris Pollone - and headed out to Mudtown in Cahaba Heights. This restaurant is just over the hill from the Summit but tucked away from the craziness that can be the Summit. However, at 6 pm on a Saturday night, it was packed. We waited about 10 minutes and a table for two opened up. There were several larger parties ahead of us and all were seated within 20 minutes. We also saw several groups go somewhere else due to the wait.
We had perused the menus ahead of time and were pretty set on what we wanted to order. Jay had the Reuben with onion rings and Gina had the Monte Cristo with fries. Gina also had the Paradise martini which was Absolut Mandarin, Grand Marnier with raspberry and lime flavors - a little sweet, a little sour. The martini was very good. One nice thing was that the water and coke glasses were HUGE. This is good so you don't have to wait for a refill from a server. Jay's Reuben was great with the perfect amount of sauerkraut to bring out the flavor of the corned beef. Gina has had better Monte Cristos -- this one was good but not great. She believes if they left it on the grill for another 3-4 minutes, it would have been much better.
While Jay and Gina both enjoyed their meals, its unlikely that this restaurant will make it into the regular rotation given its distance from their house and the similarities it has to other restaurants nearby. They'll be back - just won't be heading across town and passing up other favorites to dine there regularly.
We had perused the menus ahead of time and were pretty set on what we wanted to order. Jay had the Reuben with onion rings and Gina had the Monte Cristo with fries. Gina also had the Paradise martini which was Absolut Mandarin, Grand Marnier with raspberry and lime flavors - a little sweet, a little sour. The martini was very good. One nice thing was that the water and coke glasses were HUGE. This is good so you don't have to wait for a refill from a server. Jay's Reuben was great with the perfect amount of sauerkraut to bring out the flavor of the corned beef. Gina has had better Monte Cristos -- this one was good but not great. She believes if they left it on the grill for another 3-4 minutes, it would have been much better.
While Jay and Gina both enjoyed their meals, its unlikely that this restaurant will make it into the regular rotation given its distance from their house and the similarities it has to other restaurants nearby. They'll be back - just won't be heading across town and passing up other favorites to dine there regularly.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Black Jack Grille - January 14th, 2012
This week we were somewhat undecided about what sort of food to eat when we remembered that we had a gift certificate from ALBuys.Com (like Groupon or Living Social) to Black Jack Grille. It is just off I-459 on Acton Road in the little plaza near McDonald's and Krystal.
We arrived around 6pm and were seated immediately in a comfy booth. The menu had a good variety of what I'd call pub food and also some interesting pasta and fish entrees. We each ordered a drink (Jay a Magic Hat on draft and Gina a 21 which was a Midori based drink.) A sign on our table indicated that it is happy hour daily from 4-7 so we had a little discount on our drinks. We also started with some potato skins which were great.
Jay ordered a full rack of baby back ribs with a side of mac n cheese. His food came with a dinner salad. He got a honey-lime dressing on the salad which was fantastic. The most impressive thing was the ribs. They literally fell off the bone when you tried to eat them. The sauce had a little kick to it to compliment the flavor of the ribs without being too spicy. Jay said that while the mac n cheese wasn't as good as Jim n Nick's, the baby back ribs were some of the best he's ever eaten.
Gina had a blackened shrimp and spinach salad that came with carmelized onions and a red chili dressing. Unfortunately, the kitchen was out of spinach and asked if a substitution of Romaine was okay. (They offered iceberg too but she wasn't interested.) The salad was good sized but not huge (which is a good thing, no one needs a platter of salad!) and was full of flavor. The salad dressing would remind you of the Thai Chili sauce that you are often served with calamari. The shrimp were nice sized and tasty.
We enjoyed our evening out at Black Jack Grille and will be back to try some of their other offerings!
This week we were somewhat undecided about what sort of food to eat when we remembered that we had a gift certificate from ALBuys.Com (like Groupon or Living Social) to Black Jack Grille. It is just off I-459 on Acton Road in the little plaza near McDonald's and Krystal.
We arrived around 6pm and were seated immediately in a comfy booth. The menu had a good variety of what I'd call pub food and also some interesting pasta and fish entrees. We each ordered a drink (Jay a Magic Hat on draft and Gina a 21 which was a Midori based drink.) A sign on our table indicated that it is happy hour daily from 4-7 so we had a little discount on our drinks. We also started with some potato skins which were great.
Jay ordered a full rack of baby back ribs with a side of mac n cheese. His food came with a dinner salad. He got a honey-lime dressing on the salad which was fantastic. The most impressive thing was the ribs. They literally fell off the bone when you tried to eat them. The sauce had a little kick to it to compliment the flavor of the ribs without being too spicy. Jay said that while the mac n cheese wasn't as good as Jim n Nick's, the baby back ribs were some of the best he's ever eaten.
Gina had a blackened shrimp and spinach salad that came with carmelized onions and a red chili dressing. Unfortunately, the kitchen was out of spinach and asked if a substitution of Romaine was okay. (They offered iceberg too but she wasn't interested.) The salad was good sized but not huge (which is a good thing, no one needs a platter of salad!) and was full of flavor. The salad dressing would remind you of the Thai Chili sauce that you are often served with calamari. The shrimp were nice sized and tasty.
We enjoyed our evening out at Black Jack Grille and will be back to try some of their other offerings!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Frio en La Paz - January 7th, 2012
Today we went to Frio en La Paz in the Vestavia City Center in Vestavia Hills for our first "out of the box" dining experience. We are frequent movie-goers and enjoy the Rave that is in this same shopping center and planned to see a movie after lunch. We are frequent diners at other local favorites, including Cocina Superior, Blue Iguana, Chuy's and Superior Grill. Frio en La Paz is the sister restaurant to La Paz in Mountain Brook which is another local favorite but not very convenient to our "Over the Mountain" residence.
We arrived at noon and were taken with the modern decor. It immediately reminded us of our 2006 vacation to Secrets Excellence in Puerto Morelos (near Cancun, Mexico.) We were escorted to a comfy booth which is always our preference by the host. Our server appeared shortly after we sat down with chips and two kinds of salsa -- the typical red and also green. We also ordered a small bowl of queso to share. Jay had the Burrito Gordo with ground beef and Gina ordered the Chicken Quesadillas. The entrees come with your choice of side items and we both had the La Paz Mexican Rice. All of the food was very good and you could tell it was made with fresh ingredients.
This restaurant will definitely go into the rotation when we are in the mood for Mexican fare for both the great food and excellent location.
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