My first negative post. Do NOT eat at Kitchen and Bar

I love food and really didn't think I would be blogging about NOT going somewhere but nonetheless, here I am blogging away.

This place was a last minute thing. My girlfriend and I were actually looking to go to another place but it was early in the afternoon and they only had a small menu to choose from. Not really what we thought it would be so we headed up the road to this place, Kitchen and Bar. It's right on Hope St in Providence. It's in a nice area with lots of other places to choose from. My girlfriend and I looked the menu up online and decided it was worth a try.

You know when you plan on doing something and those plans change, then bad things happen because it wasn't what you were supposed to be doing to begin with? Yea, that was this place.

We get in there and it looked great. Greeted with smiles at the door. Décor was spot on, really trendy looking, welcoming. Now, we were the only ones in there but this was because it was more of a dinner place and it was only 230pm, I was not alarmed. The menu was Italian so I though, sweet!! I'll get a big pasta dish to cure my hangover I was nursing or my fav, pizza!! Win win.

We started with drinks, hey, the hair of the dog cures all. I had the red sangria, no surprise there. It's my go to. Every place makes it so different and different is not good. They used spiced rum which I do not usually drink and now I now why. Bleck! That's all I could taste through the wine. I always find my own sangria better than most. My girlfriend had the white sangria. It was a pureed peach something or other that she choked down I think only for the simple fact that she didn't want to waste the booze. I did the same.

We ordered the mussels for an appetizer and it came with grilled crusty bread. They were delicious!!! That is until she found a hair in them. We called the waitress over to tell her and she apologized and asked if we wanted more. No, we did not want more hair covered mussels, thanks though. Oh and our meals had already arrived because we were the only two in the place. Do you think the waitress would have held the meal a little, geez. We couldn't even enjoy the few mussels we had.

My girlfriend seemed to enjoy her meal. She ate half of her sandwich but devoured the shoe string fries drizzled with truffle oil that accompanied it. I tried the fries as well and they were pretty freakin' good for fries. Anyway, my meal was terrible. I ordered the veal parmesan and it was a thin dry mess. This being my only real meal of the day since I was not feeling well, I did eat about 2/3 of it. I figured I would just fill up on the penne I had on the side but that didn't pan out. The marinara was way too sweet and had green peppers in it like a cacciatore. Definitely not what I was expecting for veal parm. Maybe that was my mistake for having too high of hopes for this Italian place to have good Italian food.

We didn't stay for dessert. When the check came, we noticed that the waitress did NOT remove the mussels from the bill!!!!! Really!! You F***ed up and we have to pay for it!! I asked my friend if she wanted to get it removed but she said 'no, we'll just blog about this!'

And there you have it. Do not go to Kitchen and Bar unless you want subpar food, mediocre drinks and extra protein in the form of hair.

Cravings....

Ever since my last visit to Ambrosia, I have been craving Indian!! I'm having a quick lunch by myself because I positively could not wait any longer to have it again.  It's just that good. If you haven't tried it yet, you must put it on the top of your list!! 

Sabatino's Trattoria

We had tried this place before and had less than desirable results. None of us cared for our meals and two of my friends even swapped plates. Also, the Parmesan plates didn't come with pasta. You had to pay extra for a side. Things just weren't right here. I chalked it up to being a new place that just opened and would give it time before I went back. 

Supposedly their brick oven pizza was something to talk about so many months later we set out to try it, again.

After convincing our friends to give it a second try, we were off! I was really excited to try this pizza but I'm always excited to have pizza so that's not saying much. There were 4 of us. Three had pizza and one just had a Cesar salad because and I quote 'you can't F*** that up'. (He ate it all and practically licked the bowl, I think it was good)

I had an eggplant Parmesan pizza and would not get it again. I found it very salty and the eggplant was fried like French fries not pan fried like an actual Parmesan. Also, the dough was too chewy. I expected a crunchy crust from the brick oven but no such luck. My husband's pizza had Carmelized onions, bacon and potatoes. It was a 'white' pizza and the bacon was thickly cut.  He said it was good but he wouldn't get it again. Our other friend had the four cheese pizza and he had no complaints. He said it was delicious. So moral of the story, don't get the fancy pizza, keep it simple. 

Being unsatisfied with my meal I was already thinking about dessert. I actually had peaked at dessert first and already knew I wanted a cannoli before I chose which pizza to get. It was a small plate with two Cannolis. One chocolate shell and one vanilla, both with the sweet ricotta cream. All I can say is I may have to go back just for the dessert. They were so good!!! I wanted more right then! My husband got a lemoncello cake which he enjoyed as well. 

I guess I would say keep an open mind and try this place. It's not the best nor the worst. I noticed they changed the menu so they must've known things weren't going well. 

Ambrosia Tavern

Every friday night we go out like clock work. It seems to be our 'thing'. Sometimes there's a big group of us, sometimes there's just a few. Depends who's around but my husband and I are always the constant. I absolutely love going out to eat.

We've been to this place once before and had a great meal so we headed back. The menu is pretty elaborate. There's a few different cuisines on it which I found exciting. (Indian, Italian, American, even a little Mexican). It came in handy since we aren't always in agreement on where to go or what type of food we're in the mood for.

The first time around, I ordered an entrée salad. I don't normally eat salad as a meal but the bread was so good I started filling up on that right away and I wasn't too hungry. They have focaccia and it's served with a bean spread unlike anything I've had before. It was yummy. The guys even liked it and usually if it's not butter they want nothing to do with it.

My salad had spinach, strawberries, grilled shrimp and this walnut crusted goat cheese that was to die for along with the other salad fixings (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions if you want them). It definitely filled me up. I had it with a raspberry vinaigrette which was lite and refreshing. One friend had the chicken parmesan which he said was delicious. Another one had a 'Mexican cheeseburger' which came with guacamole on it. It looked good and he assured me it was. My husband had the prime rib which was as big as the platter it came on. Four very different meals and all equally as good.

We all ended up with dessert too. Bread pudding, ricotta cheesecake, apple crisp and a flourless chocolate cake are just a few of the desserts we had. They have several others and a special of the day. They also were all delicious. I know it seems odd, how could it all be good but it was!!!

On the second trip I was craving curry and really wanted the authentic Indian cuisine. I ordered the Garlic and cilantro Naan which was so good, I could've eaten just that all night.  I was looking up the dishes on google as I sat at the tablet trying to make heads or tails of what was there. Finally the waiter said 'talk to me, ask me anything' so I explained that I wanted a curry with the rice and cooling yogurt sauce. He told me that both chefs were straight from India and they could make whatever I wanted. Just like that, I had my choice made.

My meal came out looking perfect and it totally hit the spot. I'm currently craving it again right now and I can't wait to go back yet again! There are a lot of Indian undertones to the meals obviously but the food really is good. They have a ton of pizza on the menu and it was just as good as any pizza joint.

I recommend this place to anyone adults and children alike. It looks fancy on the outside but it's casual on the inside.

www.ambrosiatavern.com

Not Your Average Joe's

Tuesday night my husband and I went to our local Not Your Average Joe's. Like I said before, I try not to go to chains because it's the same generic food you can get anywhere. However, this time, I had a birthday coupon. Not only did a get a free dessert, but I also got a free entrée!!! That's unheard of! Not only that but I was not limited to a specific dollar amount. I could order the most expensive thing on the menu and it was free for my birthday! I was beyond excited.

I chose a Tuesday night to go because I thought it would be less crowded than a weekend. Boy was I wrong! I used open table to make a reservation for 7:15pm and it's a good thing because there was a huge wait when we got there.  There were people everywhere waiting, inside and out. This is usually a good sign for a restaurant but I was annoyed that it was so busy on a Tuesday of all days.

Anyhow, I was browsing the menu and we were seeing a lot of entrée salads. I guess it's because everyone is trying to be healthier. Well, I'm not nor do I want to order a salad out. You can get that at home. Needless to say there was a limited menu. I was cruising the seafood but there wasn't much to choose from. I originally went there ready to order a pizza, yes pizza. It was my free birthday dinner and it's my favorite!! Then I figured with an unlimited dollar amount I should go straight for the steak as that tends to be more money as opposed to the $10 pizza I was looking at. The waiter recommended the special of the day which was a steak so I went with it.
www.notyouraveragejoes.com
They say you should trust your gut and always go with your first choice. Silly me. The steak was a flank steak which I have never ordered out. Mistake number 1. Usually, I order filet which in my opinion is the best cut. The meal came with Spanish rice which was actually really good and corn on the cobb. The corn was garnished with a chipotle aioli and sprinkled with some Mexican cheese which I still don't know what kind. That was delicious too. I want that aioli on everything, yummy!! It's a good thing that the sides were good because the steak sucked. I ordered it medium rare as I do all my steaks and it didn't seemed cooked. Mistake number 2. It was seared on the grill but not enough to get color and really pink on the inside. I think they flash fried it. Not good. And it had this burnt grill taste but not in a good way. I had that taste in my mouth all night even after my dessert!! Thank goodness for the unlimited supply of raspberry lemonade that is made fresh daily and has free refills. I needed something to wash that awfulness out of my mouth.

I took my leftovers home and they are still in the fridge. My husband didn't even want it and he'll eat anything leftover.

I chose a molten chocolate cake for dessert. At least that couldn't get screwed up. I was right, it was delicious but you can get that on any chain restaurant's menu. No fireworks there.

Aside from the bread which is a focaccia of some sort that they have you dip into parmesan cheese and olive oil, it is not worth going back there again until my next free birthday dinner comes in my email.

Thumbs down.

 

Baker's Corner Pizza

This place is literally a few shorts steps away from my work. This is very, very dangerous for someone who absolutely loves pizza and eating out for that matter. I love to cook but could care less to ever do it again if I could eat out every day. I hate the clean up. I've even gone as far as buying paper goods to use and throw out for easier clean up!

I started coming to this place a few years ago. My husband and I would have dinner there a few times a year. It's local and inexpensive with good food. I didn't really think anything of it. Then the CVS where I work had a new store built practically right on top of the place. I think it's 20 steps from door to door. The new store has the smallest break room in history and if more than 2 people are on lunch at the same time, you don't get a seat!

So I've decided to make this 'my place'. I call in my order and tell them I'd like to eat it there. When I get there, my lunch is on the counter all plated up and ready to eat. They are wonderful to me there. I have plenty of time to sit, relax and eat my lunch. The best part, there's usually no one in there. I know this is counter productive to having a thriving restaurant but I love the peace and quiet. I've been in there for dinner on weekends and it's packed so I know it's a good place but during the week, every one is at work so it's dead. Perfect!!! It's like I have my own private lunch area. Hopefully this blog won't generate too much buzz for my quiet lunch time.

I have gotten different things not always pizza. They have a really good antipasto. It's big and fills you right up even if it is a salad. I've had a buffalo chicken calzone which feeds 2 or you can have left overs for the next day. The pizza is delicious as well. It has a nice crisp to it while still being thick enough to be juicy. My husband has had the fish and chips which is huge!

I have started to include coworker's orders into mine. I feel bad going over there and coming back empty handed while my coworker's need lunch too. Because of the scheduling we can't have more than one person on lunch at one time other wise I'd love to have lunch with my coworkers over there. It's such a nice break from the stress of the pharmacy.

This place is a mom and pop kind of place and is still CASH ONLY!! These places are few and far between but in my experience this means that they are worth the extra gas to the atm. I would recommend this place for an easy going atmosphere, exceptional service and delicious food.

A couple of downfalls in this day and age, they don't deliver or even have a website!! Nonetheless, still worth checking out.

Call 508-761-4340 to place orders.

Day's Crabmeat & Lobster Inc.

So my Godmother was in town for my birthday this year which was the best gift I could every receive. She is so amazing and I love spending time with her. She had wanted to get her fill of seafood while she was here and I was happy to oblige. Being that she lives in Kansas, she rarely gets to eat it.

This place, Day's, is in Yarmouth, Maine. Normally I'd say this is a hike for lunch but my Godmother was visiting an old friend and I was going along to keep her company on the ride. It took about 3 hours to get there from my house in Attleboro. Needless to say, we were starving when we arrived.

We poked through the menu while waiting for our third lunch mate. There wasn't a seafood item that wasn't on there!! All the fried plates (clams, fish, shrimp, clam cakes, crab cakes) as well as the fresh catch items (boiled lobster, lobster roll, steamers, crab salad, coleslaw) They even have a children's menu and believe it or not, I saw a chicken sandwich on there. If I saw someone order this chicken sandwich at the lobster and crabmeat restaurant, I'd smack them upside the head. Anyway, I had my heart set on a lobster roll but still wanted something fried. I settled on the clam cakes, how could I go wrong with a classic. Once we all decided what to get my Godmother and her friend were off to order.

There's a take out window that you order at and you're given a number. Once your number is called you collect the order and head out back to find a picnic table to enjoy your meal on. It's a small place, only about 8 tables or so. The view is beautiful. The tables over look the water. If you took your boat out and followed the channels you'd end up in the Atlantic.

When she came back with the food I couldn't believe all the stuff she got. We had two trays full of seafood. There was a fried clam plate, fried fish plate, 2 lobster rolls, 3 clam cakes, 1 crab cake, a cup of new England chowder and hand cut French fries. We ate like kings! Now I was fortunate enough not to pay thanks to the generosity of my Godmother's friend so I do not know how much it came to. What I do know is that the market price for a lobster roll was only $13!!! The restaurant next door was charging $27, yikes! (we looked up the menu online when we thought day's was closing and we'd have to eat elsewhere) So I think it's safe to say that all that food was not that expensive. The only thing I probably wouldn't order again were the clam cakes. They weren't traditional fried balls of dough. They were flat like the hash browns you get from Mickey D's. Weird I thought. They weren't bad, just different and if you order them thinking they are traditional ones, you'll be disappointed.

I'd go back again if I was in the area. Not sure I'd drive all that way just for lunch again but who knows. I've traveled farther for less.

www.dayscrabmeatandlobster.com

Morin's Diner

Saturday for my birthday get together with family, we went to Morin's Diner.  This place has been around forever and even showed up on the popular TV show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

We had breakfast which is my favorite meal to get there. (actually the only meal I've gotten there) I ordered an omelet with cheese and mushrooms. It comes with home fries and toast. I had a grilled English muffin instead of toast. It was so much food, I couldn't even finish my plate. We all got omelets actually. They are really good.

Keep in mind though, that this is a diner and yes the food will be cheap and greasy but that's the best part. You expect that when you're at a diner. I will say that if your looking for a healthy option you may as well save your cash and stay home. Their hungry man breakfast will put you well over your daily calorie intake at your first meal of the day!

They do have lunch and dinner as well as a full bar. Some day I will go there for those meals but for now, I just love the breakfast. The best part? Breakfast all day!!!!!!!!!!!

www.morins1911.com

four restaurants behind....

I can't see to find the time to blog. Oy vey!

I have all this food in my head and it needs to come out onto the screen!! Soon to come I will write about my local diner and another chain.  I usually don't eat at a lot of chains but I got a free birthday dinner and dessert so I just had to. I have a lot of free dessert coupons from my birthday, but a whole meal, that's unheard of.

to be continued...

Briggs Corner Pizzeria

Every Friday we go out to dinner. My friends and I, whoever is around. Nine times out of ten we end up at Briggs.  Not only because it's the closest restaurant to our house but it is actually one of my favorite places to go. It's right in Attleboro.

When I was a kid, we'd drive by it on the way to La Salette Shrine to see the lights. At the time, it seemed like a far drive as do most car rides when you're that age. It always looked forbidden like we could never eat there because it was too expensive or too busy from the holiday traffic. Fast forward sixteen years later and my husband and I bought a house right down the road. Which for the record is only 15 minutes from my childhood home.

Needless to say we are regular fixtures over there. One of our friends even bartended there for awhile. In short it is a pizza joint but one look at the menu and you'll be blown away. They have pizza, pasta, sandwiches, calzones, salads, steak, seafood and plenty of dessert too. There really is something for every one. They always have specials running too which never disappoint.

I usually get pizza when I go. Mostly because it's my favorite food but when you go once a week you need to try different things. Sometimes I'll have an antipasto with my pizza. I've also had the lobster ravioli which is delicious. It's in a nice tomato cream sauce and comes with 2 sautéed shrimp. They have a section on the menu that lets you build your own pasta dish. I had alfredo and steak tips one time that hit the spot and I had enough for lunch the next day. Their seafood is really good as well. I've gotten steamers and the Portuguese littlenecks. (another fav of mine) Any of the food is good really. I haven't had a bad meal there. Plus all the pasta dishes come with slices of cheesy garlic bread as a garnish. If your plate doesn't have them just ask and they'll bring you a plate of them.

There's a pretty extensive drink menu as well. Mostly martinis which I do not like. I'm not big on vodka but my friends like them. I stick to my sangria. They have a 'super sized' sangria that I always get because it's the most bang for your buck. It's not the best sangria I've had but they won't let me bring my own.

The prices are reasonable as well. It's a family establishment so they're not expensive in my opinion. I probably won't dwell too much on what the food costs in any of these blogs because when you go out as much as I do, it's all relative. I don't mind paying a little more if the food is really good. I also think that if you're worried about money, you should not be out to eat.

The last thing I want to mention that makes this place stand out is there drive thru. That's right. They have a drive thru. It's for pick up only but you can order whatever you want from them and pick it up at the drive thru. It has come in hand on numerous occasions . If you really don't want to leave you house they will deliver also. We usually get delivery on the weekends as our fourth meal after we've been drinking.  I just love Briggs and hopefully you will too. 

Cheescake Factory

Had my birthday lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Now I know this is a chain and usually I'd stick to a mom and pop thing but I really had my heart set on this one dish they have there. I knew what I was going to order several days earlier upon planning my lunch excursion.

We started with bread as most restaurants do now.  They have a brown bread with oats on it. I always eat this one because I think it's better for you. As good as bread can be for someone that is. I know you shouldn't fill up on bread but when you're hungry, you're hungry.

We all got an adult beverage. Two of us the house red sangria and the other got a vodka/ginger/lime concoction that looked delish. It even came with a huge piece of pineapple as decoration! The sangria was delicious as well which I knew it would be having had it before. You know you have good sangria when you get it with fruit and it's been soaking all day. You'll know this because the fruit will almost be unrecognizable as it takes on the color of the wine. It's a good day when you can get a full serving of fruit in your drink.

I had two girlfriends with me and I convinced them to get an appetizer. We ordered avocado egg rolls. They were to die for. I've gotten them before and will probably get them every time if I have my way. They are perfectly crispy without being greasy and they come with a cilantro/lime dipping sauce. It's light and sweet. A perfect combo for the eggrolls.  There were enough pieces for all three of us to have two.

Now, my meal sounds simple and run of the mill. I got the shrimp scampi. I know, boring but its not just any ol' shrimp scampi with garlic and olive oil. The Cheesecake Factory dredges the shrimp in a bread crumb batter and pan fries it. The shrimp are served semi circle around a perfectly sculpted mound of angel hair pasta. The sauce is a little thicker and way more flavorful than any other scampi I've ever had.  It's beautifully plated and equally delectable. I ate all but one shrimp which I shared with my guest to prove how awesome it was. I left some of the pasta to make room for my dessert!!!!

When in Rome......

Of course I got cheesecake for dessert!! I got the banana cream cheesecake. Again, I've had this before and it never disappoints. It's so light and airy. Not heavy as you would imagine cheesecake to be. This also came with a sliced banana as decoration. I think I checked off two servings of fruit today in one meal, score!!

I know it sounds like a lot of food at one meal but it's my birthday after all. Besides, why go out if you don't want to eat.

 

 

intro

Going forward I will be writing about my dining experiences and hopefully relaying useful information to you. Such as where to go and what to order when you are there. I am always eating out. If it were a paying job, I'd be rich. I definitely live to eat. I'm constantly thinking about food and when I will eat next. It takes up a lot of my time actually. Thank goodness for good genes other wise I'd be 1000lbs. I'll be going out for lunch today so be on the look out for my first post.

Until next time...