Noodlecat and DeliverMeFood.com

I had been wanting  a bowl of ramen since early this morning.   Specifically, I wanted to try one of the ramens from Noodlecat, but I didn't feel like driving downtown, paying for parking, and waiting at the restaurant.  Enter DeliverMeFood.com.   I went to their website, selected what I wanted from the restaurant, picked a time for delivery, and my food arrived right on time.   It was convenient, and not too pricey considering all I got.

I ordered the Mazemen Ramen, with parmesan, rice, dashi, garlic, tempura egg & spinach.   It arrived with the noodles and spinach in one container and my tempura egg and crispy bits in a smaller container.

Please note that this ramen doesn't have broth in the description.   I liked it.  Cheesy noodle goodness with a yummy tempura egg.  The inside was medium,  so not entirely runny.

I also decided to order the Japanese Chopped Salad.  It has iceberg lettuce, choi, tofu ranch dressing, a soy braised egg, bacon, avocado, smoked tofu, and crispy ramen noodles.  I really liked the soy braised egg.  It was very savory.

I'm having leftovers for lunch tomorrow!  I'm going to call this two meals.

Pier W

I can't believe that it's been a year since I started this blog!   One amazing year of delicious food and superb theatre has gone by so fast!

We went out to Pier W to celebrate our wedding anniversary tonight.  I keep a list of restaurants that I want to visit, and this one had been on there for a while. Our anniversary is a great reason to go someplace new.

The restaurant is located right off of Lake Erie.  The building is actually suspended right from the cliff side.  You should go to the website and check out the pictures.  We drove into the parking lot and were expecting a building.  Instead there was this little glass hallway with a red carpet that leads downstairs to the restaurant.

We started off our meal with some bread.  

 The bread on the right is sweet seeded honey wheat bread.   The bread on the left is a crusty Italian bread.   The butter in the foreground is a sweet honey lavender butter.  In the back of the plate is a more savory basil pesto butter.  We both liked the wheat bread best.  I liked the basil pesto butter, while Steve liked the honey lavender.

My appetizer was the Coquille St. Jacques, truffled diver scallops served with Fuji apples and truffle nage.  They were extremely tender and flavorful.

Steve had the Braised Angus Beef Short Rib Pierogies.   The sauce was tasty, and it was interesting to have something other than cheese or potato in a Pierogi.

Steve had the Almond Crusted Golden Trout.   It's funny that I looked at the menu this afternoon and was able to guess exactly what he would order.  It's served with a lobster bratwurst (yes lobster), vanilla citrus marmalade and fennel slaw.   The fish was flavorful, and the bratwurst was decadent and juicy.  I can't picture serving it on a bun.

Our server suggested the Walleye Tempura.  It was served with asparagus and green beans, fresh ginger aioli and a ponzu sauce.  It wasn't that greasy for a tempura dish.   Very tasty.

Each of us end up packing half of our meal for later, so let's call it four meals.

However, we couldn't leave without dessert.   We split the Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake (pictures at the top of the page), served with raspberry swirl ice cream, hazelnut brittle, and chocolate sauce.  It just melts in your mouth.  The warmth of the cake was a nice contrast to the ice cream.

They also gave us a little vanilla almond cupcake when they found out it was our anniversary.  The "Happy Anniversary" signs were made out of white chocolate.  

We're going to have to go back to try their brunch sometime.

Maggiano's Little Italy

Tonight after the show, we went to Maggiano's for dinner.  They have Italian cuisine with extremely generous portions.  The waiter was not shy at all about suggesting that my husband and I split an entree.  They even have this deal in which if you order one of their classic pastas, they give you another one boxed up to take home.  Apparently, the take out meal is cooked for less time, that way when you reheat it at home it turns out better.

Pictured above was Maggiano's current featured appetizer, Pepperoni Fondue.  It was cheesy with just a hint of spiciness, and the bread was crunchy and delicious. 

Our entree was Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia.  It was served on a bed of rice with spinach, tomatoes, sage, and capers.   It had a nice flavor.  It was almost the right amount of food for the two of us.  There was just a little leftover we could have taken home, but I didn't want it to sit in the car without refrigeration.  Between the appetizer and the entree, we didn't have room for dessert.

Bricco

Tonight my husband and I went for dinner and a show.  Bricco was located directly across from our theater.   It specializes in pizza and pastas.   Everything we ordered tonight seemed to have a spicy kick to it.  Even the butter served with the bread was orange tinted and mildly spicy!  The weather was quite warm today, and we wouldn't have access to our fridge for leftovers.  Splitting an entree and an appetizer was just the right amount of food for the two of us.

This was our appetizer, Parmesan crusted calamari tossed with chorizo, banana peppers, roasted red peppers, and creamy Parmesan dressing.   I enjoyed this, even though spicy food is not my usual pick.  It had a good mix of the squid rings and tentacle pieces.  Yummy!

Bricco's kitchen was kind enough divide our entree into two separate servings when we mentioned we were splitting it.  This is the shrimp and Andouille sausage ravioli with corn, Anaheim peppers, scallions, roasted potatoes, and Cajun cream sauce.   I was expecting the sauce to be more zesty.  However, it was really creamy and balanced out the spice of the ravioli and the peppers.

The next time I visit, I hope to have time to look over the dessert menu.

Homecooked Meal at Joe's with Friends

Today a friend was passing through town on the way to visit family, so we went out to Joe's for a home cooked meal.

I got the chicken noodle soup again, but I should have gotten what everyone else ordered:

This was the German dumpling soup.  It was creamy and cheesy.  

This was my cranberry-orange muffin tonight.  Again, it was warm and delicious.

For my dinner, I had the country fried chicken dinner, shown here with mashed potatoes, green beans, and garlic mayonnaise.  It said in the menu that there would be three pieces, but I actually got four!   This was the first fried chicken I've had in a long time that wasn't from a fast food chain.  It was nicely crispy, and the meat fell right from the bone.  The garlic mayonnaise was a great addition to this dish!

My husband had the baked orange roughy.  He called it tasty.

My leftovers barely fit in the box! (front container).   I'll call this a total of four meals.

But we also ordered dessert:

My dessert was called France.  It was milk chocolate layer cake with white and milk chocolate mousse layers.   Those are chocolate curls on the top.   I had to take the last bit of my cake home.

My husband got Forbidden, a dark chocolate cake made with pudding.  It was really shiny and tasted very fudgey. 

Le Petit Triangle Cafe

We tried a new restaurant today with friends, Le Petit Triangle Cafe in Ohio City.  It's a cute little cafe specializing in French food.  The restaurant's atmosphere is modeled on Parisian cafes.

Escargot, with garlic, butter, parsley - We got to try the snails that our friends ordered.  Very tasty and tender.  They aren't something I would order on a regular basis though.

Pissaldiere, "French Pizza" with caramelized onion, olive, tomato, Parmesan   - This appetizer was also drizzled with a balsamic vinegar. 

Croque Monsieur, ham, Gruyere and bechmel sauce served warm on grilled challah,potatoes - This is technically the Croque Madame because the fried egg on top.  The cheese was nicely chewy and the bechmel sauce was mild and creamy.   I would order this again.

My husband ordered this: Cassoulet, classic casserole of slowly simmered duck, chicken sausage, white beans and vegetables, served with a side salad.  I could definitely taste tomato in this dish.

I had the Bananas Foster crepe for my dessert.  The vanilla bean ice cream was tasty, and complimented the caramel and bananas really well.

My husband had the Orange Trio Crepe, featuring orange honey, orange slices, nutter, and Grand Marnier whipped cream topping.  

 The portion sizes were just about right.   We left the restaurant full, but not painfully so.  With the leftovers, I'm going to call this one 4 meals total.   This place would be fun for just tea, coffee, and dessert.  

Joe's: A Fine Deli & Restaurant

Last night we went out to Joe's Deli, which was highly recommended to me by a couple of friends.  We went of a Friday night, so the place was busy.  The wait time for us was approximately 40 minutes.  The restaurant moved into their new building just last week, and the old one will be torn down for additional parking lot space.  The restaurant also has a dedicated counter for carry out.

We decided to order two different dinner combos.   Each comes with a soup or salad, potato or rice, vegetable, and a roll and butter.   The portion sizes are generous and can easily be shared (for an additional 2 dollar fee if you eat in). Although the wait to be seated was long, once we ordered, the food felt like it just flew out of the kitchen!  The service was speedy and polite.

My husband ordered the matzo ball soup.

 I had the chicken soup.  It was very tasty.  I couldn't finish it all though.  The kitchen didn't skimp on the noodles.  The bowl was swimming with them!

The rolls were warm and firm, but on my friend's suggestion we also ordered muffins.

This one was white chocolate cinnamon my husband picked.

Mine was the butter-rum flavored one.   I think the muffins were one of the best parts of the meal.  They were nice and warm, and I could tell they came right out of the oven.  They are truly a delight and could serve to be dessert.

My husband ordered liver and onions because he never had it before.   That's rice pilaf on the left.

I ordered by fish fry with mashed potatoes and gravy.  It's worth noting that the broccoli florets on the right hand side are about the size of my fist.

Lastly, we ordered dessert to go because we were already so full from all the food!   This is their cassada cake.   We split it for breakfast this morning.  It consists of fresh cream, sliced strawberries, and custard filling.  It's sweet, but not overly sweet.

The food at Joe's Deli isn't that expensive considering the volume you receive.  With two dinners, two breakfasts, and a couple of sets of left overs, I'm going to consider this to be six meals. 

Anniversary Dinner at Georgetown

Last night my husband and I went out to Georgetown to celebrate our anniversary.   The food was wonderful and I was inspired to create this blog (I had been kicking around the idea of blogging for a couple of years).   Two of my great passions are good food and wonderful theatre.   I often take pictures of food and post them to Facebook.  I've had many positive responses, so I figured, why not put them on a blog?  Actually, most of my status updates on Facebook concern either neat shows I have seen or things I've gotten to eat.  I hope to describe the things that I like in a cohesive narrative.

This was the first dish they served us after we had ordered our official appetizer.  It was a radish salad I think.

This was my husband's appetizer.  From the website: Braised Lamb Shank Risotto · English Peas · Lemon Zest · Toasted Pistachios ⋅ Port Reduction

 This was my appetizer.  Pan Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras · Toasted Walnut Bread · Strawberry Relish ⋅ Basil ⋅ Balsamic & Cardamom Syrup ⋅ Rhubarb.   Those are little slivers of dried strawberry decorating the dish.

The bread was nice.  There was herbed butter, that wasn't too salty.   We got three types of bread, two pieces of each type.  There was a salted stick, similar to a pretzel, a traditional crusty French loaf, and the soft multigrain bread pictured in the foreground.

We each had a bowl of the clam chowder.  Manhattan Clam Chowder · Fresh Herbs · Potatoes ⋅ Tomato ⋅ Applewood Smoked Bacon

Chili Grilled Hanger Steak · Crispy Sweet Potato Croquette · Pear Compote · Sautéed Parsnips · Balsamic Reduction.   I thought the potato croquette was particularly interesting.  It was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Parmesan Crusted Lake Erie Walleye · Grilled Asparagus · Parmesan Potato Cobbler · Whole Grain Mustard Beurre Blanc.   I really enjoyed this main course.   The fish was tender, with just a bit of cheesy crispness on the outside.  The asparagus was tender.  Parmesan potato cobbler was just delicious!   I never thought of cobbler as anything but a dessert before.   It was nicely savory.

Almond Cake ∙ Layered Almond Cake · White Chocolate Butter Cream · Raspberry Crush ⋅ Passion Fruit Sorbet ⋅ Almond Brittle.  They put candles on this dessert when they found out about our anniversary!   It reminded me of our wedding cake, with the almond cake with raspberry flavor.   I particularly enjoyed the almond brittle garnishing the top of the confection.  It was salty and sweet.

When I go out to eat, I often estimate how many meals I can get from the leftovers.  I was able to have my soup again today for lunch, and the last of my walleye for dinner tonight.  My husband had his soup and hangar steak for lunch too.  That's a total of five meals for this outing.