Churros Anyone?

Have you ever eaten a fresh, homemade churro? Well last night I had that fresh homemade churro. I got to go to one of my favorite restaurants last night, Barcelona. It is a delicious tapas bar.

As usual, I went with my parents and they told me to order whatever I wanted. There were so many choices I didn't know where to start. I ordered: tuna tartare, potato tortilla, papas bravas, warm roasted spiced acorn squash, branzino a la plancha, the diver sea scallop, crispy calamari, and more. The bonus though, was when the host sent me a baked cauliflower dish, on the house. It was delectable and scrumdidilicous. The cauliflower was accompanied by manchego cheese, parmesan cheese, and toasty breadcrumbs. I was in heaven.

Everything else I ordered was delicious as always. My favorite thing about tapas is, it is a great way to get a little bite of everything. Especially at Barcelona where everything is fresh and seasonal. And then came dessert: churros.

I always get them, I don't even look at a dessert menu at this point. A freshly fried piece of dough that is light and airy, covered in cinnamon sugar with chocolate sauce on the side. I don't even eat the chocolate sauce, just the churro happiness. Each bite is bliss-inducing happiness, so much so, that my parents get the smallest morsel of a bite. They are the best churros I have ever had.

Barcelona is a must for anyone near Greenwich, Connecticut. A great atmosphere with wonderful food and personable waitstaff. If you are lucky enough to go on a night when Chef Christian is there, then you are in for a treat. He usually greets you at the door, otherwise he will come out of the kitchen and make sure you meal was good. But even if Chef Christian is off, the other chefs are equally as good. Everyone the restaurant hires has heart and really cares, I even think it is a prerequisite before you can apply for a job. So go, enjoy, and remember, don't share those churros.

If you want check out Barcelona for yourself, go to: http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/index.htm

Until next time,
Little Foodie.

Food Coma

Today I went to Church & Main with some very good friends, all of us on a budget. We had decided to get brunch since it is generally less expensive than dinner, thankfully we were right. I have to say that I am an extremely happy camper, right now.

We sat at the counter facing Main Street and watched people, and animals, wander by while we ate. There was a variety of choices on the menu, I chose the Lobster Benedict. Lobster, poached eggs, and a corn cake made for one delicious combination.

The lobster was unfortunately slightly overcooked, but it had amazing flavor. The eggs were cooked to perfection, which I, personally, know is a hard task. And then there is the corn cake. It had amazing flavor, and everything was perfectly balanced, but it was kinda mushy. It needed more crunch. This could have been fixed if it was seared longer to develop a beautiful golden brown crust, but unfortunately, without that crunchy texture, the dish became muddled.

The restaurant itself is in a small space, but it made for a cozy, intimate atmosphere. The service was slightly lacking though. I did overhear that there was a mix up in the kitchen, but there was a large time lapse in between ordering the food and actually receiving it. The waitress should have communicated to us that there was a mix up.

All in all, I would definitely go back to Church & Main. The food was quite delicious (with some minor tweaking needed), but I will give them the benefit of the doubt because they have only been open a few weeks. I do hope to go back soon and try more delicious, coma inducing food, soon.

And for those curious about Church & Main, go to http://churchandmainvt.com/

Until next time,

Little Foodie

Endless Smiles

This past weekend my parents came up to visit me. I was ecstatic, because not only was I going to get to see them, but I was going to get to go out for good food!! A win, win situation.

Friday night we went to 156 Bistro, my dad had never been. My favorite thing of the night was the tuna tartar. It was delicious! Beautifully colored tuna with a complimentary dressing holding it together made me extremely happy. I only wish the tuna had been uniformly cut; I kept encountering uneven pieces. I also wish that the dressing holding the tartar together was a little lighter. If I could have seen more of the tuna's beautiful red color, the dish would have been even more appealing. But overall I was very happy with the dish.

Saturday night we went to L'Amante, a delicious Italian restaurant. I ordered squash blossom fritters, potato crusted sea bass, and then a creme brulee for dessert. The squash blossoms were delicious with taleggio cheese inside, and a honey sauce drizzled on top. I am still salivating. The sea bass had room for improvement. The potato crust was cooked unevenly, raw potatoes are gross. And then the sea bass was huge. A case of too much food. But the beurre blanc sauce that came with it was perfectly creamy and complimentary. And finally, the creme brulee. Oh my God. First, a beautiful layer of bruleed sugar on top. Nice and crunchy. Followed by a delicious vanilla custard. My only complaint was that the custard was sweeter than I like. Otherwise quite delicious. L'Amante is a great place to go, but beware that the service is slightly lacking.

Finally, Sunday for brunch (before my parents left), we went to Magnolia's. To start, a must order is their banana bread. Quite scrumptious. I actually got a loaf to go; it is sitting in my fridge. I ordered the potato pancakes. They were nicely done, but more like potato patties. I did appreciate the fresh chives, it really lightened the heavy, fried, potato pancakes. I will definitely go back though to try more of the options. Warning, a line does form quickly so get there early!

Stay tuned for more food adventures!

Until then,
Little foodie.

Sorry For The Delay

Sorry fellow foodies for the lack of posting lately. I have now learned that it is hard to be a full time college student with midterms and have a food blog. I have been hauled up in my room writing papers, working on projects, and trying not to go insane. I promise to try and post more often, and this upcoming weekend I will be getting a plentiful amount of yummy foods so maybe get some multiple posts going there. Who knows.

But for today's post I would like to talk about one specific food item. It is delicious, comforting, and I don't know how I could ever live with out it. I, of course, am talking about the grilled cheese. There is nothing better on a stressful day than the ooey-gooey savory grilled cheese.

Today is a rather stressful day for me, with midterm projects, work, and class, so of course for lunch I ate grilled cheese. I am still thinking about the gooey American cheese. It is just so comforting. Of course it would have been better with a side of tomato soup, but I work with what I got.

Now I ask you to imagine this simple warm sandwich. Two pieces of bread, and a few pieces of cheese, cooked on a grill, or in a saute pan--it depends on what you have to work with--that results in a gooey, saliva inducing mess. How happy would that make you? I know it makes me happy. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Of course it can only get better from there. I leave you now to ponder how it can get better. I want you to dream about the gooey comfort food. See, you're smiling now.

Until next time,
Little Foodie

Good things come to those who wait!

Hey foodies, so I am a little late this week, but I had a two day long food adventure! My mom surprised me and came up to take me out to dinner. She ended up staying two nights so I got THREE delicious meals with her.

Sunday night dinner we went to Asiana House, a delicious Japanese fusion restaurant on Pearl Street. We also took out two of my friends. Now this menu was pages long and we decided to get a bunch of food and share. It worked out well. We got some steamed shrimp shumai, agedashi tofu, edamame (of course), and some crispy calamari. Then of course some sushi. Everything was delicious. The shumai was butter and light, the tofu (even though it was fried) was airy and fluffy, and the calamari were like chips, so crispy and delicious. Everything was just so good!

Monday afternoon we went to Handy's, an awesome diner on Maple Street, for lunch. My mom and I shared a chicken parm sandwich and sweet potato tater tots. Now, I don't know if you have ever had sweet potato tater tots but they are little bites of heaven. I kept dipping them in the marinara sauce and I was like ahhhhhhhh....So good! A must eat for anyone in the Burlington area.

That evening we went to 156 Bistro, upscale pub basically on Saint Paul Street, for dinner. It was AMAZING! We had orgasmic mac and cheese (tied for first with one other recipe for the best mac and cheese i have ever had), truffle fries, lobster sliders, and scallop pizza. Of course everything was delicious, but the best part was becoming friends with the GM Ryan Fitzpatrick! Now I know who to call anytime I need some mac and cheese.

Well if the food adventure hadn't been so enormous I would have gone into more detail. But hang in till next week!

Yours truly,
Little Foodie

Welcome one and all!

Hey there! This is my second blog, the more exciting, food blog! A little background, I am an aspiring foodie. I personally have coined the term "food snob." But I am also the typical college kid, I do still eat junk food. Given the choice between a giant bowl of my favorite junk food or freshly prepared food, no contest, the fresh prepared food wins, even as a snack.

I also aspire to one day own my own restaurant, or multiple. The happiness I would feel being a successful restaurateur, is unmatched by anything else, except maybe cooking or baking for family and friends. My first restaurant will definitely be called Fishatarian.

I grew up in a fish loving household, "no meat!" was our motto. This never bothered me. People would always ask, "How can you live without (insert red meat here)?" My response? Well, I never knew what I was missing, I wasn't heart broken. I was also happier with my seafood and wasn't searching for anything. There was no missing link.

So every week I plan to tell you about my eating adventures. Between trying new things in the campus cafeteria (its no 5-star restaurant, but rather edible as college cuisine goes), and new recipes I hope to try soon, this will be a never ending blog. There will be points when I get the best food around, and other times where the best food is what's leftover in my fridge. So join my on my adventure, through college, without a kitchen. You never know where my hungry belly will take us!

-Yours truly!
Little foodie