Let's Eat!

If there is a best part of being on the road it just might be the chance to try some great food. Over the years the Dining Companion and I have had the good fortune to dine all over the country. Today I'm going to run down some of the best places we've tried. Places worth seeking out if you're in the area and some places worth a journey all their own.

I've written about this before but my hands down favorite breakfast place is the Red Eyed Mule in Marietta, GA. A small breakfast and lunch spot run by a great group of people. The food is fresh and imaginative and doesn't disappoint.

Sometimes finding the goods means getting out of the city. One of the best places to find something good to eat is along the Buford Highway that runs from Atlanta to Buford, GA.The Crawfish Shack had some of the best Cajun style seafood we've eaten anywhere. A trip out to the Buford Highway is a must do when in the Atlanta area.

Our vote for the best barbeque is still Franklin Barbeque in Austin, TX. We can't compare this to anything else because it's in a class by itself. All we can say, is that if you love BBQ and want to experience the best, head to Franklin in Austin.

Having eaten at many Brazilian Steakhouses it was a revelation to eat at a restaurant that served other traditional Brazilian food. On the recommendation of our server at Fogo de Chao we tried Sao Paulo's in Austin. The food we had was flavorful and interesting. It brought another ethnic food to our awareness and something else to seek out in our travels.

One of my favorite things to eat has got to be a cheeseburger. Cheeseburgers are pretty ubiquitous and we've eaten them everywhere. The ones that stand out are not necessarily the fanciest or most gourmet. One of my favorite places to get a cheeseburger is the Northgate Soda Shop in Greenville, SC. A nostalgia filled diner that serves up some regional favorites. Specifically the Carolina Slaw Dogs and the Pimento Cheeseburger. Worth seeking out. A local favorite and a fun stop.

An honorable mention here for The Vortex in Atlanta. It served up one of the most memorable burgers for sheer size and ridiculousness. Grilled cheese sandwiches for buns, multiple patties, bacon and cheese. A crazy over the top plate of goodness.

In the last but not least category we have Corea Kalbi in Newport Beach, CA. This was our first encounter with Korean BBQ. All types of meats are grilled at your table and served with a large variety of condiments. We'd never had anything quite like it and haven't really since. If you're lucky enough to have a Korean BBQ restaurant in your area you should give it a try. One of the most fun and interesting dining experiences we've had.

These are just of a few of the places that have stood out for us over the years. Places that I would return to again given the opportunity.We're looking forward to more interesting and exciting dining in the future. When we find the gems, whether hidden or smack in the middle of the tourist districts, you'll read about them here.

Happy dining! 

Of Date Shakes and Goodbyes

One of the last things we did on our visit out to the West Coast was stop at Ruby's Shake Shack for a Date Shake. It was something I just had to try before we headed home. Ruby's is a picturesque place located on the Newport Coast near the Crystal Cove State Park. You literally swing in right off of the PCH and then wait in a line of cars to try and secure one of the scarce parking spaces along the front of the lot. It was not unusual to see a line of cars backed out along the Pacific Coast Highway waiting to park whenever we drove by the area.

Ruby's serves burgers and fries and other typical beach shack fare.

It was definitely worth the stop. The shake was a real ice cream milk shake served at the perfect drinking consistency with a large bore straw that was up to the task, date pieces and all.

So we say farewell to Southern California with its beautiful beaches, sparkling sunshine and perfect blue sky days. It was a great trip. We had a lovely and awesome tour guide in my SIL and can't thank her enough for hauling us around and making sure we had an awesome visit. We will definitely be returning. I was promised a trip to Hollywood and I wouldn't miss that for the world.

Happy travels!

Corea Kalbi - Newport Beach, California

The Dining Companion and I have had all kinds of BBQ in many different areas of the country. There was however one type that neither one of us had tried before, Korean BBQ. When we were visiting my SIL she took us to a Korean BBQ restaurant, Corea Kalbi, for lunch.

Table top grill

When we arrived we were shown to a booth that had a small grill in the center. Lunch consists of several different types of meats to grill at the table and lots of different kimchi and veggie accompaniments.

We ended up ordering the rib-eye steaks, thinly sliced brisket, bulgogi, pork belly and spicy pork over the course of our lunch.

 

Delicious!

The grill attendant/waitress brings out three of your options at a time and loads them on your table top grill. She helped with the slicing and serving of some of the items and also kept the sides coming throughout the meal.

Different sauces for your BBQ, The spicy center sauce was my favorite

Radish wrappers that you use to wrap your grilled meat and veg into a tasty little packet

My SIL explained that the idea is to take a little of your grilled meat, some sauce and kimchi and make a packet out of it using a radish (or in some cases egg roll) wrapper. Then lift the whole thing with your chopsticks and cram it in your face enjoy. So good. The flavors are amazing. I can't imagine how I went so many years and never tried this before. I wonder if there are any Korean BBQ places in Minnesota? On my list of things I need to know.  

Having now had this experience I definitely want to do it again. It was just so much fun and a great way to share a meal. I have to look for a Korean BBQ restaurant in the local area. There surely has to be one somewhere and rest assured if there is one I'm going to find it.

Happy dining!

California here we come!

The Dining Companion and I spent the long holiday weekend in California. We were there visiting the  DC's sister and we all spent the weekend touring around the Newport Beach area.

What a beautiful part of the country. We had perfect weather the entire time we were there and got to enjoy lots of time outside. It's easy to see why so many people love it. Every day that we were there was picture perfect.

I'll cover some of what we did over the next few weeks. There was just so much to do and our time was so limited that we never even made it to LA. (That's definitely on our list for a future trip.)

I don't know why it took us so long to finally make this trip. It was the first time that either of us had been to California but it absolutely won't be the last.

Happy travels!