FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - The Atlantic on Pacific

The Atlantic on Pacific (***)

3004 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Since the hubby had the day off, we hit up The Atlantic because we were feeling fishy (or rather, “shelly”). An old friend from high school recommended the spot, and I am so glad that we took her up on her suggestion. The place is awesome because they have a very generous happy hour, which has $1 for all types of oysters and some pretty cool cocktails from $3 to $8. The only drawback to this deal is the restaurant’s happy hour is from 3 to 6 pm. I guess this makes sense because the restaurant is located on Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront, which is very popular with tourists and locals. I guess if you are already in that part of town, you probably have the day off or took an early day. Note: that these pics are just a taste (no pun) of what we had.

Our nibbles from left to right: 1. Fried Oysters 2. Oyster Chesapeake (mushrooms, garlic, and fontina) & Roasted Oysters with chili butter; 3. Oyster Rock (bacon, parmesan, cream cheese, bread crumbs, and spinach); 4. Raw Oysters; 5. Hushpuppies; and 6. A few glasses of white sangria to wash it all down.

Because of the yummy and multiple varieties of oysters, I have a feeling that the Atlantic will definitely go on our favorite restaurants list.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK

Captain Groovy's Grill & Raw Bar (***)

8101 Shore Dr., Norfolk, VA 23518

This will be a quick and simple Food Pics of the Week entry. The husband and I stopped by the place for a quick lunch before I had to drop him off for one of his job interviews. We stopped by this place because it was near the place where the hubby's interview would be conducted.

I gotta say this was the best bread pudding that I've ever had in my life.

No, I did not have only dessert for lunch. For my regular lunch, I had a crab cake sandwich with french fries. Honestly, the crab cake sandwich was a bit mediocre - especially for an area that is known for crab dishes.

It's kind of funny that I did not care for bread pudding growing up, but now it's my crack . . . when done properly.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Oyster Time

We have TWO restaurants for this week's Food Pics of the Week.

The Rustic Spoon (***)

1658 Pleasure House Rd Ste 101, Virginia Beach, VA 23455

The hubby and I hit up this spot for a late breakfast on his birthday. Last year (or was it the year before last?), we visited this place right before driving from Va. Beach to NYC because the restaurant is on the way to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunel (US-13). This visit was a bit better (for me, at least) because I did not have to worry about driving for the next eight hours.

For my dining pleasure, I enjoyed the Fried Oyster Eggs Benedict.

I have a feeling that The Rustic Spoon will be one of my favorite go-to spots for brunch because everything always has been on point . . . at least for the last two visits.

A small LOL moment.

Since it was the hubby's birthday, I secretly asked the waiter to bring out a slice of carrot cake after our breakfast. In the middle of our brunch, the waiter came to the table and told us that the computer "lied", and the restaurant did not have any more carrot cake. UMMM DUDE! It was supposed to be a surprise. Since it was not a big deal, the hubby ordered an apple bread pudding. About 15 minutes later, the waiter came back to the table to tell us that the computer "lied" again, and the restaurant did not have the other dessert. Sounds like the restaurant needs a new computer. ;) All was not lost because the manager gave us two desserts (a strawberry cake and some chocolate Oreo cake) on the house.

Orion's Roof (***)

4201 Atlantic Ave., Va. Beach, VA 23451

After our massages, we hit up Orion's Roof based on a friend's recommendation, and I have to admit that I was quite blown away by this restaurant.

Or course, we started off with a round of oysters for appetizers. Then split quite a few sushi rolls. I wanted to try a few more things from the menu, but I was still kind of full from breakfast.

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Normally, I 'm not a huge fan of rolls with a whole bunch of frills (just give me rice and ONE fish), but I gotta say that I ABSOLUTELY loved the restaurant's Triple Spicy Tuna Roll (spicy tuna, black pepper tataki tuna, red onion, serrano chili, cilantro, and ponzu). Man, I could have eaten six of these.

In addition to the yummy food, the restaurant has amazing views of the Va Beach Oceanfront. . . Well, with the exception of the construction at the hotel next door.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - The Mermaid Inn

The Mermaid Inn (***)

570 Amsterdam Ave New York, NY 10024 (Upper West Side)

The other day, the hubby and I had a craving for raw oysters. Well . . . it was I who mainly had the craving. We came across The Mermaid Inn because it was the closest restaurant to us in Harlem that had raw oysters. The hubby did not want to risk eating raw oysters in any of the restaurants in our section of Harlem. To be perfectly honest, I don't blame him. As your resident hater, I will say that I absolutely LOVED The Mermaid Inn. It's funny how you always find great restaurants when you are about to leave a city.

First, the restaurant had a pretty amazing happy hour menu. Well, pretty amazing for New York City standards.

Oysters and Salmon Tartare

Fried Calamari & Hushpuppies

I have to say that these hushpuppies were the best that I've ever eaten in NYC. From my previous experiences, I find that many restaurants tend to make hushpuppies too dense. I mean, I want to eat a hushpuppy, not a billiard ball.

For sh*ts & giggles, I ordered the mini New England Clam Chowder because I was wondering how much clam chowder can you get in NYC for $3

That's how much. ;)

While the food was pretty delicious, I really enjoyed my Pink Flamingo adult beverage (gin, strawberry puree, lemon, and basil).

Usually, I'm a bit hesitant with bright drinks (unless I'm on a beach) because they tend to be unnecessarily sweet; however, this cocktail had the right amount of tartness for me. Keep in mind I'm the type of guy who orders his mojitos without sugar. Upon hearing this request, some servers will be like "So, you just want rum and muddle limes + mint in a glass?" To which I always respond "YUP!"

Although we're leaving the city in eight days, I know where I want to eat during a future NYC trip. You know what? Maybe this will be the restaurant where I'll have my post-NYC Marathon dinner (it's only about 20 blocks from the finish). Thinking about it, visiting NYC in the future will be interesting because we will not have to do (or will not be interested in doing) all of the touristy things (eg Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Empire State Building, etc.).

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Indian Summer

Indian Summer (***)

239 Lenox Ave New York, NY 10027 (Harlem)

Holey Moley. I realized that I have not made a Food Pic(s) of the Week (FPOTW) since April 1st!!! While I have not been posting on this topic, my expanding waistline and belly definitely confirm that I have been eating.

The other day I walked about 1.5 blocks to the nearest Indian restaurant. Back when I arrived to NYC in 2002, Indian food used to be one of my favorite cuisines. Come to think of it, I do not think that I ever had Indian food before moving to NYC. In those days, I probably had Indian food 5-10 times a month. During my grad school years, my lab and housing were located in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. For folks in the know, Murray Hill used to be known as Curry Hill because of the significant number of Indian restaurants in the area. In fact, my main go-to spot (primarily because of the really cheap lunch specials) was called Curry in a Hurry. I wonder if it is still around. HA! According to Yelp (link: ***), it’s still in existence. Perhaps, I should take a trip to my old stomping grounds.

Ok, back to the topic at hand. Since my mind was all over the place, I decided to go with the:

Indian Summer Mix Grill

Since I was trying to be somewhat health-conscious, I decided to go with a Tandori-style meal. Because I love the eclectic mix of spices and sauces, I tend to go for more of the heavy creamy-based Indian dishes. While I like Tandori dishes, I feel like they miss the mark in terms of spices and general feel-goodness (yeah, I think that I made up the last word). Overall, my dish was very delicious as always is the case with Indian Summer. Since the dish came with pieces of chicken, lamb, shrimp, and salmon, it definitely kept me full for the rest of the evening. Actually, I did consider doing portion control by eating half of the dish and taking the other half home, but my greediness prevented that. Ugh, going forward, I have to start remembering to ask for a takeout container immediately after placing my order.

Weird thing: Although I have not been to Indian Summer for at least five months, the co-owner/hostess remembered me. Hopefully, my last impression was a good one.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Mission Ceviche

Mission Ceviche (***)

1400 2nd Ave, New York, NY (Upper East Side)

It’s time for some FISH. . . . Well, kinda.

The hubby was having a craving for raw fish that was not sushi so we headed to our nearest ceviche spot. We’ve been here a few times and have not had any issues or complaints. However, I feel like the place is becoming more overpriced as time passes. More on that below.

Of course, no excursion to a ceviche spot would be complete without a couple (well, a few) rounds of pisco sours.

Slight rant:

Due to the pandemic, I understand that menu item prices are increasing so I’m not complaining about this issue . . . for the most part. While I get that one should expect ceviche to be a bit up there in price, I kind of feel like this restaurant is doing too much. Actually, I am not complaining about the ceviche prices per se, because no one wants to eat bargain-basement raw seafood. *I learned my lesson after eating at a 2-4-1 sushi place back in the early 2000s.* But, the prices of some of the restaurant’s non-ceviche menu items are a bit outrageous.

For instance, the Aji de Gallina (shredded chicken breast in a yellow chili sauce) was about $35 for a relatively small serving. We also ordered a side of yucca fries (not pictured), which were about $19. You should have seen my face when the small plate came out with five goddman fries (about the same size as your typical steak fries) on it. To be perfectly honest, I was already a bit annoyed that one side was $19 bucks. I guess that restaurants (like any business) have to mark up prices so they will make a profit, but I think there’s a difference between making an honest profit and price gouging. Then again, the restaurant is located on the Upper East Side (UES), which is a pricey part of NYC so I get it . . . I think. Yes, the UES is in a somewhat posh part of town, but it’s not like the restaurant is located in TriBeCa or SoHo. For the most part, I know how the game goes on the UES because I used to work in that area for about 5 years during my 20-year tenure in NYC. Let me stop complaining bc the yucca fries probably would have been $25 bucks had the restaurant been located in TriBeCa or SoHo.

Ranting aside: I will say that the restaurant’s service was pretty on point. No wait, the service was TOO on point. It seemed like the waitresses were constantly trying to take our plates before we finished eating our meager servings. In the restaurant’s defense, it is a popular spot (probably because there are so few ceviche restaurants in the city) so I guess they like to get customers in and out. I was like: Damn, Girl. I was going to order another overpriced pisco sour, but I’ll pass since y’all trying to kick us out.

The next time that either one of us wants ceviche (unless we are in Perú), I’ll just sprinkle lime juice on some sushi or sashimi.

A LOL Moment: A couple of ladies were seated next to us. One kind of sassy lady asked the waitress: so how does this work? Thinking to myself, I was like: what’s so confusing? Take a look at the menu and order what you want. It’s not rocket science or as one of my friends says – it’s not rocket surgery.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Sugar Freak

Sugar Freak (Yelp Link: ***)

37-11 30th Ave Astoria, NY 11103



Boy oh boy. I cannot remember the last time when I’ve brunched in Astoria. So a couple of friends and I hit up this New Orleans-style restaurant. Random: I keep wanting to call it Superfreak because of Ricky James’s song. Walking into this restaurant, was a trip back in time into the deep South. Fortunately, the Klan and/or lynch mobs were not present in the restaurant.

LOL, at the old school toilet where you had to flush it with an overhead chain.

For my dining pleasure, I went with the Oysters Rockefeller Eggs Benedict and a side of grits

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - A TOUR OF NEW ORLEANS

Preface:

Since the hubby and I had quite a few dining excursions in between me running Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon and having fun, New Orleans-based cocktails, I figure that I would mention a couple of spots for this edition of Food Pics of the Week.

Overall, I thought the food for many from many of the spots was in the OK to good range. LOL because during the trip the husband kept asking me which restaurants were the best. I was like Dude, I do not know. I have not lived in New Orleans since I graduated college in 2002. Also as a broke a** college student, restaurants like the Outback were “fancy” spots for us.

Our Tops:

Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar (Yelp Link: ***)

Chargrilled Oysters (left); Turtle Soup (right)

OMG. If I could, I would have these oysters every freaking day. This stop here was more of a snack break, but I wish that we had one of our dinners here . . . primarily to enjoy more of the chargrilled oysters.

NOLA Poboys (Yelp link: ***)

This was my first stop after dropping off my crap at the Inn on Friday. I wanted to get something simple and easy (a shrimp po’boy) to line my belly before getting into some Bourbon St. f*ckery. Note: Since the hubby was meeting me the next day in New Orleans, I had all of my Friday night to myself. As some may know, I love my hole-in-the-wall spots. Good food without any BS.

Oceana Grill (Yelp Link: ***)

While this was an impromptu visit, I’m glad this was our last meal in New Orleans. Look at that Ultimate Bloody Mary!!! C’mom this thing came with a fried crab, and five fried shrimp and oysters. Extra points for the presentation of the Bloody Mary. Also, my shrimp crawfish omelet was on point. A few points in deductions because the cheese was not completely melted.

The Wack:

New Orleans Creole Cookery (Yelp Link: ***)

Taste of New Orleans – Jambalaya, Red Beans & Rice, Shrimp Etouffee, and Crawfish Creole (left), Fish (don’t remember which one) Creole (middle), and Alligator Bites (right)

This probably was one of our least favorite dining experiences during the trip. While the restaurant atmosphere was nice, the food was struggling. Dare I say, this place was a bit of a waste of money. Put it like this, for my Taste of New Orleans sampler, the red beans and rice (probably the easiest New Orleans-based dish to make) were the best part of the “taste” . . . and they were not all that great. Also, my shrimp etouffee was WAY too salty and nasty. The Alligator Bites were tired, through, and delayed. Food aside, I was also disappointed that the restaurant’s bathroom was disgusting. I really hope that the restaurant was having an off night during our visit.

Honorable Mentions:

Café Du Monde (Yelp Link: ***)

While I know this is a must-do in New Orleans, I never got the hype surrounding Café Du Monde (even while living in NOLA). Sometimes, I think some people over-hype Café Du Monde as a means to justify waiting 50+ minutes for french powdered doughnuts (yes, I know they are called beignets) and coffee. Actually, this excursion almost did not happen. I walked past Café Du Monde (Saturday morning) the way to pick my race stuff at the convention center. Let me tell you, that line extended almost two blocks, and I was like hell to the no. When the husband and I visited on Saturday evening (around 7 pm), I was shocked that there was no line. I think a lot of people were at the Chewbacca parade and probably hit up Café Du Monde after the festivities.

I guess that my nearly two-decade grudge with Cafe du Monde is officially over. I don’t remember what caused the grudge back in college, but a table and/or chair might have been turned over.

Daisy Dukes – French Quarter (Yelp Link: ***)

I’m always am going to be Team Biscuits and Gravy, and this place was pretty decent. My only (minor complaint) is that I think my plate was left out for a bit before the waitress bought to my section of the bar. That said, the restaurant was slammed packed, so I will not hold this against them. Also, there was quite a bit of confusion with a table of rowdy guests. But the restaurant gained some points because it has free refills on Bloody Marys (why not call it bottomless). Clearly, I did not read the entire description for the Bloody Marys and missed the part about free refills.

The lack of detail is what caused the confusion with the rowdy table. Four folks at a table ordered about 6+ mimosas each thinking they were bottomless, which they were not. Let’s just say that they were very upset when they received their bill because each mimosa was about $15. Unfortunately, they took this out on the waitress and left her a $4 tip. I mean, it’s not the waitress’s fault that the FOUR of you didn’t properly read the menu. However, I think the waitress should have mentioned that the mimosas were not bottomless especially seeing how many they were ordering and that they looked like they were in their VERY early 20s.

Final Thoughts:

We had a nice time dining (and drinking) on what New Orleans had to offer. However, the hubby mentioned that New York City has spoiled us, and to some extent, I can agree. Not to be like one of those people, but I do recall saying on a few times that I have had better (albeit inauthentic) Creole and Southern food in New York.

FOOD PIC OF THE WEEK - MARSEILLE

MARSEILLE (***)

630 9th Avenue, NY, NY 10036 (Midtown West, Hell’s Kitchen, Theater District)

The hubby and I decided to check out this spot for NYC Restaurant Week 2022. Basically, Restaurant Week gives folks a chance to check out restaurants’ special prix-fixe menus. This year, the price of a three-course meal was about $60 (~$39 for a two-course lunch). My oh my, how times AND prices have changed. I remember doing restaurant week for the first time back in 2003, and I remember the prices being $20.03 and $30.03 for lunch and dinner, respectively.

I will say that walking into this restaurant definitely took me back to Paris, France. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that Paris is in the central region and Marseille is in the southern region of France. However, the vibe and the decor of the restaurant were definitely French.

Let me get to the food. The photos (like always) are kind of struggling because the restaurant was pretty dark, and I did not care to mess with all of the camera settings. Also, I was in true starvation mode.

APPETIZERS

Left to Right: Oysters (not included in the Restaurant Week's menu), Kabocha Squash Gnocchi, and Tuna Tartare (with seaweed salad and roe)

Since I know that the hubby loves his tuna tartare, I let him choose that appetizer while I went with the gnocchi. I've never been a huge fan of gnocchi because many places make it a bit TOO chewy for my liking, but this one had the perfect consistency/texture for me. Also, the crème fraîche really elevated the dish. I wonder if it would be appropriate to order gnocchi at an Italian place, but request that they use crème fraîche to prepare it. ;)

Main Course

Left to Right: Branzino (with parsnip purée, cauliflower, black truffle dashi) and Duck Breast (with Swiss chard, turnip puree, and farro)

I am so glad that I selected the branzino because it was out of this world AMAZING. For me, I love when branzino's "meat" is flaky while the skin is nice and crispy. Very few restaurants (IMO) can acquire that perfect combination. The fish was so delicious that I almost ordered another one for the road. Being that Marseille is a French restaurant (and we were dining there during Restaurant Week), I expected the portions to be on the smaller side, but the portions were pretty generous for my starving a**.

DESSERT

My Sticky Toffee Pudding with pecan ice cream was delicious, but it was not anything out of this world.

RESTAURANT WEEK: FINAL THOUGHTS

Because of Restaurant Week, I definitely could see myself dining at Marseille again. Since the restaurant is right in the Theatre District, it is a perfect spot to grab a bite to eat and/or some drinks before or after hitting up a Broadway show. I have to say that my French 75 cocktail was very yummy. Also, it's good to know that Marseille has oysters on its happy hour menu, and y'all know that I love all things shellfish.

Ok, the point of Restaurant Week is to sample food from restaurants that you would not regularly visit and to help the food services industry. For this year's Restaurant Week, I really wanted to support a Black- or Brown-owned restaurant in my neighborhood of Harlem. However, for the Harlem restaurants that piqued my interest, none of the $60 special menus really made me go: LET'S EAT HERE. Keep in mind $60 is the bare minimum because you have to add in additional cocktails, tax, and tip. Since you are getting more bang for your buck, it's an unwritten rule that you should tip a little more during Restaurant Week. Being raised on Soul Food, I am not going to pay $60 for corn chowder (appetizer), fried chicken with a couple of sides (main), and peach cobbler or banana pudding (dessert). Let me stop being so negative. Since there is a lunch option for Restaurant Week, I'll look into some of the lunch offerings from the Harlem restaurants.

FOOD PIC OF THE WEEK

Casa de Kwablo (aka our place)

New York (Harlem), New York

Hearty Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Apples from Beachbody on Demand

Recipe: Beachbody on Demand

It has taken some time, but I’m slowly getting back to my meal prep and 21 Day Fix routines. I have made this dish before, but this time, I stuck to the recipe and did not add extra veggies to the dish. Last time, adding broccoli removed some of the yummy flavors and made the dish bland and soggy especially for the reheat. I did adapt the recipe a bit by making a chili, ginger & honey glaze.

While I have been team 21-Day Fix, it has been a bit hard for me to get back into actually using the containers for portion control. I have a feeling that this will improve since I have forbidden myself from ordering delivery until after my New Orleans trip. Hopefully, this “punishment” will force me to meal prep more frequently.

The one thing that annoys me regarding Beachbody on Demand’s recipes: For some (errr most) of the dishes, the website does not indicate the serving sizes. For the various dishes, the website will provide the container equivalents (eg this dish is 1.5 red – protein and
1 yellow – carbs). However, this doesn’t really mean anything if I do not know how much of the dish (eg 1 cup or 0.5 cups) equals 1.5 red and 1 yellow.

This week’s meal prep:

I think that I’m going to make a pot roast (Beachbody on Demand) and add an extra helping of veggies by sautéing some kale or spinach (depending on what is available at Whole Foods or ignorant ass Fine Fare).