Tag Archives: restaurant food

Buffalo Brewfest

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Last night was loads of fun. 

I don’t have a hangover this morning, but I definitely was not in shape to blog last night! 

Adam and I had a great time at Brewfest and then we continued the party on the metro to get a late dinner with a group of med school friends.  We came home after midnight, exhausted and happy.

I’m not 100% convinced that Brewfest was worth the admission fee, since the lines were so long we didn’t even have a chance to use all of our tickets.  Additionally, a lot of the breweries had either sold out of, or not brought, the beers listed in the program.  The two brews I was most excited about were unavailable, which sucked.  And most of the replacements were IPAs, which Adam and I both hate.  We had a great time, but I would suggest only going if you want to get indiscriminately wasted and NOT if you are excited about tasting specific things.

I’m not going to do a typical recap beyond that because we were given a 3 oz glass that was filled at each station and my pictures would just be more of the same.

I can tell you that I consumed 20 ounces of beer. 

That’s not a lot (1.5 beers!) but I did get a little bit buzzed.  Thanks to the blog, I can tell you that prior to last night I only drank 14 times in 2011.  And most of those occasions were half a beer or a glass of champagne.  When did I get so tame?!

For us there were two highlights to the festival.  One was McKenzie’s Hard Cider.

I tried the original and green apple flavors and as a cider aficionado I think they were great.  These were the only two pours that I wouldn’t let Adam share.

The best beer of the night though was Brooklyn Brewery’s Concoction.

Adam and I both agreed that this was one of the best beers we’ve ever tasted!  It reminded me of a ginger ale!

After the Brewfest wrapped at 9:30, we hopped back on the train with a group of friends.  (We parked near our old apartment and took the train to the festival)  I’m not sure how Anchor Bar was able to accommodate a group of 8 so quickly but they did a great job.

I was feeling a little queasy – even when I drank a lot more, I’ve never been a big beer drinker – so I ordered off of the kid’s menu.

5 spicy chicken wings,

with a basket of fries.

Ugggggh.  I felt so sick halfway through eating that I excused myself to the bathroom because I thought I was going to cry.  I don’t think there was anything wrong with the food – Adam ate all of his beef on weck and most of my meal – but it was too rich for me and I was not a happy camper.  I ended up eating most of 3 wings and half of the fries.

I went to bed pretty hungry, which means I woke up hungry, which means I’m off to find brunch!

Have you ever attended Brewfest or a similar event?

I’m Like Wolverine

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My first day back to humanity was eased along by a lunch date with a friend from school.  In advance – thank you to anyone who gets me out of the house in the next three weeks!  We met at Starbucks (parking!) since the plan was to find a lunch deal somewhere along Elmwood.  One false start at Cecelias (no lunch hours) and we ended up at Wasabi, which was an excellent choice.

The 2-Roll lunch special came with miso soup.

I’m still too chicken for raw, so I went tasty but tame for my two rolls.

An asparagus roll,

and a spicy, crunchy crab roll.

Smothered with wasabi, of course.  Both rolls were totally delicious.  The asparagus had a great tangy, pickled aftertaste and the crunchy in the crab was light and fresh.  I would have licked my plate clean but dutiful wife that I am, I brought home one piece of each for the husband.

Adam was home at a lunch time hour because today was the last day of his family med rotation.  After a final tomorrow he starts psychology on Monday, whoop.  In the meantime though, we are heading to Brewfest tomorrow night.  I’m so excited; our tickets earn us twenty 3oz tastes!

Back at lunch, Donna and I walked back to Starbucks to say goodbye.  I snagged a grande, iced, black tea for my walk home.

I’ve been craving tea like crazy lately, I think I need to whip out my pitcher so I can make some iced at home.

I actually got home from lunch around 3, but I didn’t blog right away because I sustained a major injury –

Apparently I really had to pee, because in my rush to take off my jeans my thumb nail sliced a chunk out of my finger.  I keep my nails pretty short but this sort of thing still happens to me all the time, it’s so frustrating!

Have you ever injured yourself with your own nails?

Buffalo readers – ever been to Brewfest?  What should I expect?

Birthday Benefits

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There are a lot of benefits to having a birthday.  For one, you exist; yay!  For another, free Starbucks.

I got a tall, iced, skinny caramel macchiato and loved every dollar-free sip of it.

When it’s your birthday your in-laws might drive up to take you and the husband out to lunch.

We chose Cheesecake Factory.  I ate one of the avocado egg rolls, but they were mostly Adam’s reward for putting up with me.

For lunch I got the Fresh Vegetable Salad, my favorite salad of all time.

If you’ve read my how to post, you know that I ordered my salad with dressing on the side and a to-go box.

Once I packed half of my salad away for lunch tomorrow I dressed it with the spicy peanut cilantro vinaigrette I requested on the side.

Delicious.  And nutritious; I checked several sites and I am fairly certain that this salad (before the split) contained less than 300 calories.

After we ate I had to do a lot of blowing.  (<– and wasn’t even a first date; ba dum cha!) 

The CF employees heard it was my birthday and sweetly brought me a sundae.

I made a wish, but passed the ice cream off to Adam.  I had my eye on bigger and better things.

We split the Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake four ways and were all swooning.  I told you I hated cake.

Another birthday benefit is getting to set the day’s agenda, because I totally don’t wear the pants every other day of the week.  Adam walked around the mall with me for hours, cashing in birthday coupons without a complaint.  P.S. Sephora will give you free Philosophy birthday cake body wash – no purchase necessary! – if you create an account online.

Where else could we do a birthday dinner if not Wegman’s hot bar.

I served myself two kinds of Asian chicken, heavy on the veggies.

I kept dinner on the smaller side (about half the weight of usual) because we were heading to a movie and I was looking forward to this –

“This” is the container of pretzel bites I split with Adam and forgot to photograph until after the lights were turned down.

We saw “Friends with Benefits” and looooooved it.  Mila Kunis is hot, Justin Timberlake is hilarious, and it was just raunchy enough to not be a total chick flick.  I declared it my new favorite movie!

Let’s recap – freebies, coconut cream, mall-walking, Wegman’s, pretzels, and a movie.  <– best birthday ever (until next year!)

Teddy Bear Tie Dye

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My last day as a 25-year-old has been a good one; though after yoga our morning got off to an ironic and frustrating start.  I heard a rumor about a Teddy Bear Picnic so I strapped my bears into the car and headed out.

Sidenote – I hate stuffed animals (always have) but I spotted this guy on sale my sophmore year in college and just had to buy him for Adam.  The husband (who also hates stuffed animals) named him Rutherford and fell in love.  Our obsession with bears has bloomed from there.

We did not develop an obsession with Old Falls Street today though, since after 20 fruitless minutes of searching we never located our picnic.  Instead we drove back to the city to cash in a Living Social deal at Tea Leaf Cafe.

I’m so glad we were forced here instead; adorable set-up, cheap prices, and delicious food.  We’ll be back soon.

Our deal was for two drinks and two small plates.  Adam went with an avocado milk tea.

He doesn’t know the joy that is boba.

I, on the other hand, am obsessed with all things tapioca and requested extra bubbles in my taro milk tea.

It can’t quite compare to China Town in Boston where they mash real strawberries into your tea, but this was the best boba I’ve had in recent years!  The tea wasn’t too sweet and the boba were the perfect texture.

Adam and I split the two side plates equally.

Chicken and fresh mushroom pan-seared dumplings.

Vegetarian shiitake spring rolls.

Again, the best version of these foods I’ve had since moving to Buffalo.  Locals – get thee to Tea Leaf Cafe!

Rutherford was stuffed,

but Adam and I decided to round out our meal with some fruits and veggies.

Roasted mushroom, squash, and the world’s bitterist eggplant that I ate only because it was healthy,

blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, and watermelon so juicy I’d eat it even if I was stuffed.

I dropped my boys at home and then headed out to partay.  My friend Mary-Kate actually had her birthday this week too and she hosted a tie dye fest.  It was tons of fun but I wasn’t sure how the guests I didn’t know would feel about their photos on the internet so I don’t have any pictures.  I will show you my shirt when it finishes drying tomorrow.  And I will also show you the amazing rainbow cake that Emily made –

Eeek!  I was seriously impressed.  I don’t actually like the taste of cake that much though (no matter how cute it is) so I ate half of this piece plus a glass of Blueberry Lemonade Stoli and called it a day.

Adam and I took a walk down Elmwood and ran a few errands, and before I knew it dinner time had arrived.  I can’t think of a more fitting way to end my 25th year than this –

See you from 26!

Vacation At Home

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Some people find that having visitors is stressful, but I think it gives you a great opportunity to be a tourist in your own city.  It does help that my visitors are my (funny, easy-going) parents and they pay for everything!  When you have guests it’s like you get to take a vacation at home because they force you to view your city with fresh eyes.

Let me tell you though, vacationing at home can be exhausting! We’ve been falling into bed after 1 am every night and this post is two days in one because I just couldn’t make myself sit down at the computer before bed last night.  Even with double content I’ve got to keep this quick because otherwise it’ll be another post-1 am bedtime and my parents leave early tomorrow.

Tuesday morning started with a very unvacation-like trip to the orthodontist.  But then I took my parents to breakfast at Sweetness 7 Cafe.

S7C is a totally adorable coffee and crepes place; I plan on bringing a good book and camping out for the day eating crepes very soon.

I ordered an iced black tea,

and my parents and I split 2 crepes 3 ways.

Kiss Me I’m Irish – plain crepes with syrup and a cracked fried egg in the center.

Irish Blessing – caramelized fresh apples with melted brie.

Apparently we went Irish for breakfast, and the choice served us well.  I don’t have much experience for comparison but these are the best crepes I’ve ever had; so eggy!

After breakfast we walked a third of the loop around Delaware Park so my parents could see the Buffalos.

I continued to get my sweat on by taking advantage of their hotel gym while they got ready for the day.  30 minutes on the elliptical at random level 6.  It was amazing to have access to a tv at the gym, especially because I was the only one in there and I could control the remote.

Our next activity was a trip to the Albright Knox Gallery.

I wanted to snap a picture of practically everything, but I controlled myself and stuck to a few favorites.

The first day with a new set of retainers is always super painful so I went with a liquid lunch.

A Vega Vanilla-Almonde Shake and Go Smoothie packet that I grabbed from the co-op on a whim.  The flavor was good but not great, and this didn’t do an awesome job of sating my hunger, but I was definitely pleased with this –

And it’s just as well that I was left a bit hungry, because my best meal of the year was coming for dinner.  Don’t let the pictures fool you (why are restaurants always so darn dark?!), Scotch and Sirloin is basically a must-go!  I never would have ventured there if it hadn’t been for Groupon, but I am so glad that I crossed my fingers and bought the deal.

Adam and I split a bowl of crab bisque to start.

I also got a plate from the salad bar.

Romaine with mushrooms, artichokes, cucumber and French dressing.  Plus a slice of the best bread I’ve had since Great Harvest, super duper doughy.

For dinner my dad and I split the two best things on the menu: Fried shrimp,

and the double lobster tail with drawn butter.

Like butter dipped in butter!  We were so impressed with this meal, I can’t even tell you.  I ended up eating three fried shrimp,

most of one lobster tail,

and all of the veggies.

For dessert we ended up at a candy shop on Elmwood with an ice cream counter.

I went with Ciao Bella Gelato, a half scoop each of key lime pie and malted milk ball flavors.

Fashion note – How cute is the back of this shirt?!

I actually bought this years ago in college but it has a strange, unflattering band around the waist so I’d worn it maybe once or twice.  I can’t believe it took me so long to think of pairing it with a high-waisted skirt.

We sat outside of The Spot to eat our ice cream and I also drank a small, non-fat, iced Chai.

– – – Insert time (not enough!) to sleep. – – –

I picked my parents up bright and early this morning for breakfast at Panos.  I got the 2-2-2; french toast, sunny side up eggs, and hash browns.

I ended up eating one egg, 1 piece (1 half slice) of french toast, and all of my potatoes.  The amount of leftover food was a little annoying considering I ate exactly the portion of the 1-1-1 – from the kids’ menu – that they wouldn’t let me order.  However, after taking a bite of my dad’s blueberry pancakes I decided that Pano’s can do no wrong and a little wasted food isn’t a big deal.

Coffee #1 of the day was a tall iced coffee with skim milk from Starbucks.

Did I mention that I’m exhausted?

My parents are sleeping at our apartment tonight so I took advantage of their gym one last time before they checked out.  10 minutes of walking on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the elliptical.  I also carried both of my parents’ suitcases up our three flights of stairs and I’d like to count that as strength training!

Our big activity for the last vacation day was a long walk down Elmwood.  We stopped in to basically every store and I definitely discovered a few hidden gems.

Mid-afternoon we grabbed lunch from the Globe Market.

1/4 lb each peanut noodles and Thai vegetable salad.

Meh.  It wasn’t terrible but I’m honestly not a big fan of Globe.

Whether due to hunger or exhaustion or increased physical activity, hunger hit me hard this afternoon. We ran a bunch of random errands and during that time Adam and I split some new flavors of candy,

and I drank a chocolate milk.

Dinner at Chester’s Cajun Grill was a meal Adam and I had been looking forward to ever since we tried the Smoked Bourbon Chicken Sandwich at the Taste of Buffalo.  Of course we had to get the sandwich.

It wasn’t good!!  I can’t even tell you how said this made us.  It wasn’t terrible, but we could only rate it a 5/10 and the sandwich we tried at the festival was a 9.5/10.  I ate most of my meal but only because I was hungry; even the fries were pretty tasteless.

Thank goodness we had good company.  We ended our evening with a final trip to the Spot to sit and talk; we are going to miss my parents so much when they fly home tomorrow!  Coffee #2 – a grande, iced Americano with skim milk and two sugars – was actually consumed at 11 pm so I could make it through this post.

And I’m done; phew!

Canada to Collapse

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Whew; what a day, what a day!  When we start a vacation in my family we do it right!  My 1 am bedtime and 7 am wake up were enough to make anyone tired, but our walking tour of Canada is what did me in.  It sure was fun though.

My dad and I started our morning with a walk to Starbucks.

Grande iced coffee with skim milk for me.  We stopped at the Farmer’s Market on the way back and made breakfast extra delicious.

A serving of Cinnamon Puffins, a serving of All Bran Bran Buds, ultra-fresh black raspberries and skim milk.

This might be the best bowl of cereal I’ve had in this lifetime.

After the general fun of getting 4 people with 1 bathroom ready, we were on the road to Canada!  3 hours into what should have been a 2 hour drive every in the car was ready to muzzle me, but my cranky pants came off in a hurry when we finally reached our intended destination –

Menchies!  What’s Menchies?  Only the self-serve froyo place that completely stole my heart in Orlando.

I got Canadian maple and original tart froyo, topped with coconut, skor pieces, rainbow sprinkles, and strawberry bobba.

I wish I could remember the exact name of the bobba but it was something like “popping bobba” and it was maybe the most exciting thing I’ve ever eaten.  Sort of like big, soft pop rocks?

Amazing.

I actually got traditional bobba as well, since my next stop was for bubble tea!

Taro milk tea with tapioca.

What else can I say except amazing?

We spent the afternoon walking around Chinatown and the Fashion District and it was, dare I say it, amazing.

So many fun things to look at, I love exploring new cities!  Toronto has beautiful (new?!) architecture and is an amazing spot for people watching.

We ended up at Spring Rolls a Pan Asian spot for dinner.

I ate one fried wonton from our shared appetizer.

And for dinner I ordered the vegetarian Thai Spicy Noodle – extra veggies, extra spicy – which were similar to my beloved Pad See Eiw.

Flat rice noodle stir-fried with basil leaf, eggplant, chili, onion and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Since I ordered extra veggies I ended up with bok choy and lots of broccoli.  And since I ordered Thai spicy I ended up with a completely spice-free dish minus one clump of chili peppers hidden in a bok choy that made me cry and cough until tears were running down my cheeks.

Still good though.

The drive back home was much less painful and before I knew it we were dropping my parents off at their hotel.  I can’t wait to see what we do tomorrow!

Do I have many Canadian readers? Say hi, please!

Tantrum Take Out

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This afternoon I microwaved two mini corn tortillas with 2 slices of sharp cheddar to make a quick quesadilla.

I also made a Coke float.

My decadent snack had just under 500 calories, perfect to make up for missing breakfast.

Plus, so tasty!

When Adam got home this evening we laid down on the bed so he could tel me about his day, and promptly fell asleep.  I woke up disoriented with a headache to boot.  I had a mini tantrum and our planned dinner got scrapped in favor of Chinese food.

I ordered a pint of vegetable Chow Fun,

and a pint of vegetarian General Tso’s chicken.

I hope they’re good!

What’s your go-to take out dinner when you’re having a tantrum?

Buffalo Mini Meet-Up

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Buffalo has finally arrived to hot hot summer weather (ie we hit the high 80’s today) and it was the perfect afternoon for a sundae.

I ate exactly one serving of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and was pleasantly surprised by how large the serving was (when I’m not eating it by the container, ice cream is one of the things I use my food scale for).  My bowl was super bulked up by the additions of chocolate syrup, a tiny crumble of coffee cake, and a nice juicy plucot.

I’m loving the summer produce today, this was the first plucot I didn’t taste and toss this year!

This evening was spent at my first blogger meet up!

L to R – Katy (a reader), me, and Katie (a reader and IRL friend).  A few people had to bail at the last minute so it was a pretty teeny “meet up” but the small group meant we could have a real conversation, yay!  Of course I was lame and akward and I’m sure I could have used the buffer of a crowd, but I had a great time.

We went to Saigon Cafe since they can work with meat-eaters and veggies alike. Katy ordered the summer roll appetizer and shared a piece with me.

And I ordered the Pad See Eiw special – extra veggies, level 5 spicy – for my dinner.

Extra veggies meant tons of squash which was delicous, and this actually had a bit of spice to it (though no where near as much as I’d like).

Good food, good conversation, good meet-up!

Katy and Katie both had long walks home so I went with them.  We stopped at the Co-op like good healthy living blog readers should.  I went home with Katie to try on her Lululemon Ta-Ta Tamer.  I loved it (yay!), but determined that my boobs are ginormous (yay?).