Corn 2 go! @ Sawgrass Mills Mall

Corn2go? Fantastic concept. A cup of corn tossed in spices of your choice. A great snack, especially when you are wandering aimlessly through a mall and need something (healthy) to nibble on (other than Aunt Annies' Pretzel).
They have all kinds of products from corn in a cup, corn soups, corn bread and corn smoothies. We got the corn in a cup. It comes in 6oz, 8oz and 12oz sizes and the following flavors - Butter & salt - BBQ - chipotle - garlic - teriyaki - lemon - honey - parmesan - chili - cajun.

We got the 6 oz, chipotle, lemon and cajun tossed in light butter. Very yummy!!

I think every mall needs a Corn2Go!

Red Robin @ Seattle

I always go to RR when ever I crave a burger. I haven't got a chance to review it on my blog. This time, I got my B'Day burger from RR (as always) and they made it a wee bit more special for me.

We were Downtown last weekend and it was bright and sunny. What better way to spend the day than sitting on the deck overlooking puget sound and munching on a juicy burger and scrunch munching the Onion Rings? So, we tottered to RR at Pier 55.

We got a table right away. We ordered the towering Onion Rings - Sweet yellow onions — seasoned, breaded & crisply-fried. Served with tangy Campfire sauce and ranch dressing for dippin’, our standard choice

and split a burning love burger - crispy-fried jalapeño rings, tangy salsa, and spicy Pepper-Jack cheese layered on top of our cayenne-seasoned veggie burger. It’s topped with shredded lettuce and tomato to cool things off and served on a jalapeño-cornmeal Kaiser roll with Chipotle mayo. The jalapeno made the burger a little spicy, just the way we like it.

We finished eating and gestured for the check and were gazing at the beautiful ocean, when suddenly a bunch of the wait staff trooped to our table, clapping and singing aloud "Happy Happy B'day....bla bla....May all you dreams come true!!" That was cute! And they even popped a Sundae on my table, as a treat!

That's very sweet of you, RR. Thanks for making my pre B'day celebrations very special. You will always be our first choice for burgers!

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza @ Miami

I had read the reviews for this restaurant but  was not very keen on visiting. We lost our way while driving to some restaurant (I think it is called The Hummus and is actually closed now) and pulled over to glance through the map. We looked up to see where we were and saw the board Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. Hey, why don't we check this out...'Coal fired' sounds cool, said A. It was already 8:30 pm and we didn't want to go around looking for some place else to eat.

It was warm, dark and cozy inside. A perfect place for a tête-à-tête.

This place makes New York style Pizza. The ones that are thin crusted but loaded with cheese. We went for their speciality pies - Frittata - Pepper, Onion and Egg. It was very interesting to see egg as a topping.  The egg, cheese and the slightly burnt crust that was crispy and easy to chew on, gave it a very rustic taste.

Our only complaint is the amount of cheese on the Pizza. We really regretted not asking them to go easy on the cheese. I usually like to hold the slice in my hand and attack it, rather than using a fork and a knife. But, the Pizza was so greasy that it was impossible to not use the cutlery. We were quite full after stuffing our faces with the cheese loaded slices and boxed the rest for the next day. Yeah, right. We were hibernating for the winter.
 
But, the Pizza was delicious, otherwise. It is a great place to try if you like the slight coal flavor.

http://www.anthonyscoalfiredpizza.com/

Woodlands @ Ft Lauderdale

Sunday afternoon. Getting ready for the day. We were going to spend the rest of the day at Ft. Lauderdale beach.

Me: "Shall we look up Indian restaurants in FL...it's been a while, right?"
A: "Good idea!"

He quickly googled and found Woodlands! Can you believe it? FL has Woodlands! For those of you who haven't heard of it, Woodlands is a very famous pure vegetarian south indian restaurant back home. And we were thrilled to be so close to one, if not home. The last time, we had been to one in Anaheim, CA, and it was a bad experience. We decided to give this a try and am glad we did!

They have a buffet for $9.99, that too, on a weekend! (Hello Mayuri..!!! Are you reading this? Read and learn! ).
And the buffet had Chaat (Indian street food) and Masala Dosa (A masala dosa is made by stuffing a crepe with a lightly cooked filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices. It wraps the crepe around an onion and potato curry.) and Uttappam ( Uttapam is a thick pancake, with ingredients like onions, tomatoes and other veggies, cooked right into the batter.) as part of it.

We had Pav Bhaji (Pav means bread and Bhaji is a potato based curry. The bread is toasted on an iron girdle with lots of butter and is served with the Bhaji.) and Papdi Chaat ( papdi refers to crispy fried dough wafers made from refined white flour and oil. In Papdi Chaat, the papdis are served with boiled potatoes, boiled chick peas, chilis, yoghurt and tamarind chutney and topped with chaat masala and 'sev') to begin with.

And then the parathas, panner butter masala, daal makhni, baingan bartha, utthappam, sambar, vada, coconut chutney and cilantro chutney

And then the Masala Dosa

And then there was tomato rice too. For dessert there was a vermicilli pudding and a custard. Both were fantastic. We had a couple of helpings even though we were stuffed.

And they even had yummy mango juice in the buffet. How cool is that?

The food was as good as what you get back home.The restaurant was packed, no wonder. This restaurant is totally worth going to, to shell a penny and fill your tummy. We then waddled to the beach.

Kabobji @ Miami

Kabobji is a casual, dine-in or take out kind of restaurant, located in a strip mall in Sunny Isles Beach. They have interesting Lebanese and Turskish fair.

We ordered Jhallab - a drink made with dates, rose water and pine nuts floating on top and mint yogurt. Both were very refreshing for the Florida heat.

We ordered the Batata Harra (spicy potato) - Fried potatoes marinated in coriander, chili & garlic. It is a simple appetizer, yet, was very flavorful and fantastic.

For the main course, we asked for the Vegetable Ghallaba - Sautéed vegetables with herbs & spices. It comes with soup or salad and rice or fries.We got the red lentil soup and rice.

It also came with paper thin pita bread. The pita was quite similar to the Rumali roti that you get in India.

The Ghallaba is again something we don't get in Seattle. It is not spicy at all, yet brings out all the flavors of the spices and herbs. It is served on a bed of flavorful long grained rice or fries. We asked for rice.

Like at any other middle estern restaurant, we oohed and aahed at the food and polished our plates clean. It was strange though, that for the first time at a Middle Eastern restaurant, Toom (garlic sauce) or Hummus or Tahini, was not a part of the main course. Anyway, Kabobji, we love you ji!

Rocco's Tacos @ West Palm Beach

On 1st May, we drove to Palm Beach to take in the poshness and take a peek at the million dollar extravangant mansions. We had lunch at Rocco's Tacos. A lovely restaurant, where the food is yummy, the service is great and the outdoor seating is just fab.

Unlike other mexican restaurants, you don't get free chips and salsa here. You pay for everything other than water, of course.

You can choose seasoned chips or the naked chips. They are quite popular for their giant sized pot of Guacamole and Chips. The guacamole is made at your table! $12 ! For chips? and the giant sized....No thank ya.

We ordered the seasoned chips n salsa, instead.

And then, we split the Chili Releno - Charred poblano chile, chi hua hua and goat cheese, salsa rojo, crema, cotija cheese, red rice, black beans. God, it tasted so good! Just thinking about it makes me crave for more. Usually, it is soaked in cheese and is kind of soggy, but here,the poblano pepper was nicely fried and very crisp on the outside. One bite and the cheese just melts in your mouth. The salsa, red rice and beans were all just perfect. And quite, filling too!

Again, we got to eat something different.Something that is not as good in Seattle.

Cafe Del Mar @ Ft Lauderdale

We drove from Cape Canaveral all the way to Ft Lauderdale, after a brief stop at Cocoa Beach. We reached the restaurant at 10 : 30 pm. We had called them much before and made sure that they are open. We were pleasantly suprised to know that they are open till 1:00 am and that their kitchen closes at midnight. Great! We parked our car and sauntered to the restaurant. We loved Cafe Del Mar. Of course, we love CDM and listen to it all the time while driving, but this was a completely different experience. We have always talked about sitting at a restaurant on the beach, with the slightly chilly breeze gently carassing our faces, eating some hot dinner, listening to the waves and many more. And that's exactly how it was here.

There was plenty of outdoor seating.

And this is a picture of the beach, opposite to the restaurant. It was late in the night and very dark.

We were first served bread and butter.

They totally understand the "no meat" concept and offered to make anything without meat!
We asked for Gnocchi - Potato pasta with a creamy cum tomatoee sauce. I don't remember what it was called. It was the Chef''s choice of that day. It was hot and fantastic!

And the Rigatoni & pollo limone - romano cheese, fresh tomatoes, fresh garlic, splash of lemon and touch of cream. This one was very light and super!

The waiter brought us fresh ground red pepper and checked on us often. They have B1G1 coupon in the entertainment book, which they accept on all days except Saturday. A real sweet deal with a stunning view!