COMING SOON - THAI SKY

 

Wanna Eat Here Before We Do? 

COMING SOON - THE CAZBAH (GREER)

Wanna Try It Before We Do?

JAMAICAN TWIST - "Can I have sum Ting"

So, at the risk of sounding like I am gaining monetarily from continuing to talk about  this......... I used Restaurant.com again, and we tried some Jamaican food this time.

I had always meant to try the Jamaican restaurant on main street, but other than running in several times to grab some "Ting", one of my favorite carbonated beverages in possibly the whole world, I hadn't done so.

When I noticed that they were listed as a location on the Restaurant.com website, I bought a certificate. I also purchased the one for The Cubi-Thai Restaurant (mentioned previously), The Cazbah location in Greer, and for Thai Sky in Greenville. The certificates are good for a year from date of purchase and with them being only $2, my only regret is that I didn't purchase more.

We headed downtown on a rainy Thursday night with plans to enjoy dinner with my best friend and his Fiance.
The place is small, with just a few tables. And the reggae music from the islands we would have expected to hear coming out of the speakers was instead replaced by 90's "baby makin' music". That's what I called the slow jam hip hop from my youth. It was keeping us entertained with the constant "oh my gosh..... do you remember THIS song?"
We ordered a Jamaican Beef Patty and split it as an appetizer, and ordered the Jerk Chicken meal for me and the Curry Pork meal for him. Our friends ordered the Curry Seafood dish and the Jerk Chicken.
The food is served with a generous portion of beans and rice & what was listed as mixed vegetables.
We all agreed, the food was delicious maaan! What was listed as mixed vegetables was a pile of boiled cabbage and carrots on our plates. I didn't think I liked cooked cabbage with the exception of my obsession of egg rolls....... I DO! It was really a lot better than I thought cooked cabbage would be. We all sat there digesting our food and drinking Red Strip & Ting and enjoying each others company. It was a lovely time had by all , at this unassuming little Jamaican restaurant that I had always meant to eat at..... and now I had.

JAMAICA TWIST

28 South Main Street
Greenville, SC  29601

(864) 298-0013 phone

menu |   map

"SOUTH BEACH FOOD SNOB"

In preparation for a more recent trip, I decided to give the website (www.restaurant.com) another try. I was looking for a place to have lunch in South Beach Miami, and found the answer to my dreams (where restaurants are concerned). A Thai & Cuban Cuisine restaurant! Now it's been my experience that restaurants like this are usually trouble, It usually turns out that the person in the kitchen is either one ethnicity or the other, and is making a failed attempt at one of the cuisines. So I cautiously checked the reviews for the restaurant and satisfied with the posted comments..... I proceeded. It aided in my persuasion that, since signing up for the websites email alerts, I was notified of a limited time offer of $2 for the certificates instead of $10, PLUS the minimum purchase was only $35! So that meant that for $12 , we would be eating $35 worth. I was sold! Anyway, for only a $2 investment if we arrived at the restaurant, and it was a dive..... all I lost was 2 bucks.

IZZY'S CUBI THAI was located inside of the Sherry Frontenac hotel on Collins Avenue in the heart of South Beach. The inside of the restaurant was fairly empty for a Friday lunch crowd, this concerned me. It took several minutes for us to "wait to be seated" as the sign requested. There only seemed to be one person working the entire restaurant! Waiting tables, Hosting, answering the phone....... we suspected even doing the cooking?
We went ahead and ordered a feast dispite that!

Papas Rellenas - $3.50
Homemade mashed potatoes stuffed with ground beef, peppers and olives, covered with a light breading
Empanadas $4.25
Three Cuban turnovers filled with either chicken, ground beef or ropa vieja (We chose Ground Beef, Much to my dismay I am only now, while typing this realizing that they had a Ropa Vieja option!)

Those were our appetizer selections..... Oh did I forget to mention....... this certificate only required us to spend $35 to use the $25 gift certificate!........

We also placed our entree order at the same time. Choosing to order that from the Thai menu.

Pad Thai $11.95
Thin rice noodles fried with shrimp, chicken and vegetables sprinkled with chopped peanuts
Seafood Curry $17.95
Shrimp, scallops, squid, crabmeat, in red curry sauce, coconut milk, bell pepper and pineapple


We anxiously waited for our food.... and waited...... and waited..... I though "oh dear, is he holding off bring out the appetizers we ordered to just bring it all out at once?" Apparently not. He brought out the Empenadas & Papa Rellenas (3 of each) each plate included a cup of homemade salsa. It was all delicious! Which only made me concerned for the quality of the impending Thai menu items........ could both come from the same kitchen and be as good?
WELL I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THE ANSWER IS - Si!
Nate declared that it was the best Thai food he may have ever eaten (he had the curry). Mine was also very good, I would probably also have said the best, but I have a devout loyalty to my friends at Thai Basil, here in Greenville. (More on them later, too!)

We pushed away from the table stuffed and ready for a nap. Atleast I did. OH, Now it's location being in a hotel makes sense!
So..... If you find your self in the Miami area, and have 90 minutes to kill..... (yeah , you better bring change to feed the meter!) then go and enjoy a yummy multicultural feast at

IZZY'S CUBI THAI
6565 COLLINS AVENUE
MIAMI BEACH, FL 33141
(305) 865-0012
WWW.IZZYSCUBITHAI.COM

The Most Awesomest Web Site EVER!!!! Trust Me!

Okay, So admittedly I have been slack about keeping up with this blog. For that I am truly sorry. BUT - I think I have a renewed excitement about my mission. And I have a website to thank for it. Don't ask me how I stumbled onto it, because I can't remember (ok maybe I do...) - BUT boy am I glad that my web-surfing brought me to the web address belonging to RESTAURANT.COM. Seems unassuming enough, right? I know what you are thinking ........... "Restaurant.com? Seriously?" OH MY GOODNESS, YES! Seriously! If memory serves me correctly (Cause we're talking way back , a whole 4 months ago......) I was doing some research on local eateries in Savannah Georgia, for an upcoming trip, when I found the website. It offered Gift certificates to local restaurants at a discount. Most often the deal works this way.... You purchase a gift certificate with a face value of $25, for $10. With the stipulation that you spend at least $50, with a gratuity of 18% added to the total of the check. (Restrictions vary for each restaurant)

I found a certificate offered for a restaurant that occupies a famously haunted building that I had already wanted to try, so I purchased it! Let me tell you we ate like royalty that night! We shared the

Down South Chicken Salad -
Chunky homemade chicken salad with pecans, grapes and mayo with a hint of curry. Served on toast with a cup of soup or your choice of side dish. (we got onion rings) $7

as an appetizer and then we both got entrees , I got the

Moon Burger
An 8-oz., grilled, certified Angus beef burger cooked just the way you like it.

served with lettuce, tomato, red onion and
a pickle on the side. All are served with your choice of side dish.
Add any of the following to any sandwich for 50¢:
Cheddar, Provolone, Swiss, Jack, American, bacon, ham, grilled onions,
grilled mushrooms or roasted red peppers. Add barbecue sauce for free! (I added the cheddar & grilled onions) $6 (plus $1 for the toppings)  

He got

Filet Mignon (6-oz.)
Juicy, tender, USDA-choice hand cut filet wrapped in apple-smoked bacon and grilled to your preference. ll entrees served with vegetable du jour and a choice of one side dish. (Add a side salad for $1.49.) $19.99

We both chose the Veggie of the day - potatoes AuGratin with smoked Gouda. These were without a doubt the most delicious potatoes I had eaten in a long while. Each bite we took was better than the next , and we were both stuffed to the gills, but risked making ourselves sick not wanting to leave a single bit on our plates.
I am sad to report that not one single apparition, un-explaned flying dish or otherworldly event of any sort was witnessed. That was our only disapointment at this meal.

Moon River Brewing Company
21 W. Bay St.
Savannah, Ga 31401
Phone: 912.447.0943
www.moonriverbrewing.com

WWW.RESTAURANT.COM

RED LOBSTER - The Fish were the lucky ones.... They were dead.

My Best friend was celebrating a milestone in his life yesterday. So to celebrate we all went out to dinner. When asked where he wanted to go (taking in to consideration his parents were dining with us, and the late hour), he decided on Red Lobster.

Not being a fan of seafood, I was sure that there would be at least one thing that I could order. I was wrong there were 3. Upon arriving, we were greeted by the hosted and seated in an almost empty restaurant. The waitress came about 5 minutes later and gave us menus. She returned shortly thereafter and wanted to take our dinner order we asked her to come back. Keep in mind we still hadn't ordered drinks. We had to prompt her to take our drink order and then waited 10-15 minutes for the drinks. I ordered The Grilled Chicken Entree. When the food came the small scoop of mashed potatoes was cold. By cold I don't mean it wasn't steaming hot. I mean the potatoes were COLD. I know that Red Lobster has been around for ages...... but why? In telling co-workers this morning about dinner last night, everyone was pretty much in agreeance. That the food and service at most locations is far less than acceptable.

The question my co-workers and I posed, and maybe one of you can answer for us....... "Why is Red Lobster always packed?

LAS MERAS TORTAS - "Los An-hell-es" on Wade Hampton

Ok, SO I have never eaten from a taco cart in L.A., but in my dreams..... this is what those tacos would taste like.




When you walk in, be prepared to hear the screaming sounds of a tele-novela on the TV in the corner. We ordered an assortment of tacos from the menu Beef, Pork, Chicken & Chorizo ($1.75 each). The menu was alla carte, non of the combination platters the Gringos will be used to seeing.

The Food was cooked to order and we helped our selves to the freshly made salsa, from the "salsa bar". I must say, My only disappointment was that the salsas were not as hot, as I would have assumed. I was craving the heat on my taco that only a properly placed habanero would have provided. You know, the heat that makes your sinuses open up, and your eyes water. The Tacos were served simply, Just the meat, onions & cilantro. THEY WERE AWESOME! It was like heaven on a corn tortilla. Make sure to get an authentic mexican soda when you are there, I highly recommend the sangria or the orange soda.

3058 Wade Hampton Blvd
Taylors, SC 29687 Map

• (864) 991-8888