Grill em up-- BBQ

BBQ season is upon us.. Crack open those grilling stations, and let's get some grilling action going...




Marinaded chicken cutlets, fire grilling to perfection, char seduction with a hint of lime for a bit of tan... Welcome summer bbqs





Shrimp on the barbie... Large prawn sized babies with red onion and peppers of color, bathed on olive oil, garlic and thyme... Roast away..




Roasted corn, sweet juicy corn.. Can we say more?




Baby goat and jalepeños! A juicy and spicy combination that should satisfy the hungry carnivores..

Summers abound, BBQ away!

- Posted from my iPhone

Georgia Brown - Washington DC

Southern decadence, move over. Georgia Brown brings you southern, soul and carribean fusion cuisine that packs a hearty meal with all the richness and creamy warmth only the south can offer.

A loud and boisterous place, bring the side of lipitor and prepare to spend the next day at the gym, as the portions are pretty healthy and rich.

Fried green tomatoes, layered and fried, topped with a spicy cilantro dressing:


The devilish Louisiana shrimp... Oversize prawns stuffed with Chesapeake crab, glazed with a fiery red pepper sauce, served with spinach cooked in a brown maple syrup sauce and a mac n' cheese side large enough to feed a small family of four:




The veggie option for the vegetarians is a collection of tomatoes, pepper, corn bread, and a couple of other unidentified veggies, battered and fried to a crispy crunch:



Rich and decadence, savory comfort dishes are what to expect at Georgia browns..

- Posted from my iPhone

Masa 14 - Washington Dc

Lofty interior, dark concrete and dimmed red lighted spotlights await you at Masa 14.

High tables, communal eating style, and small tapas.. A great combination.


Fried shrimp drizzles with a spicy chipotle mayo and hot sauce.. Firecracker indeed.



Bamboo shoot, seaweed and shredded veggie salad. Light vinegar, healthy crunch..


Tuna flatbread! Thinly sliced tuna, crumbled feta cheese and mixed greens on a thin layered flatbread.. fabulous.


A little southern charm served on a plate. Fried okra with a Thai chile vinegar sauce...


Great atmosphere, good bites..

- Posted from my iPhone

Ceiba- Washington DC

Peruvian fusion Latin flare, Ceiba mixes up some great ceviches, comfortable atmosphere and cocktail hours with half off pisco sours, margueritas and mojitos.





Mahi ceviche with lime, popcorn kernels and flakes of red pepper.





Shrimp ceviche in a rich tomato and avocado ..

Tartare taquitos... Small bite size mini tacos stuffed with tuna.. Tiny but great:


Grilled Octopus salad.. Slightly charred, deliciously sealed with lemon and butter, served on top of a cucumber gazpacho:



Cali style baja tacos.. White fish, breaded, corn tortillas and fresh pico de gallo:




Maryland crab cake balls! Bite size, easy to handle... Superb



Peruvian and latin bites, great service and fantastic happy hour, Ceiba is definitely a spot to visit.

- Posted from my iPhone

O-Bar LA

Before there was west elm or Indonesian inspired interiors, O-Bar set a standard for lounge atmosphere, great vibes and comfort food with a touch of iron chef..




Grilled apple and arugula salad, perfectly glazed with a lemony olive oil dressing:


Salt and pepper calamari, lightly breaded with a basil aoili dipping sauce...


Yellowtail seared with a pepper crusted topping, served on top of wasabi smashed potatoes.. Hearty and delicious:


The famous mac and cheese, swirly pasta baked with two different cheeses, fontina and cheddar, spiked with smoked bacon and topped with a Parmesan crunch..carb free versions served daily!


The O-cookie: chocolate chip baked slice of heaven, cooked in a skillet topped with vanilla ice cream:





Brownie a la mode.. Dark chocolate baked to a moist mini cake, also topped with vanilla bean ice cream

Good bites will have to be enjoyed again once O-bar reopens from it's planned renovations..

Naked Pizza -Hillcrest

Naked pizza has launched a new store down the street from fusion pizza in Hillcrest, offering organic farm fresh vegetables, probiotic crusts with 12 grains and a quick pick and and go model that is stealing the neighborhood business.

With a no thrills store front, all touchscreen enabled ordering stations, choices include Mediterranean veggie options with kalamata olives, spinach and feta, to farmvil choices that include sausage and red peppers.

With both regular crust and ultra thin crust, ordering apps for a quick order and pick up and about every kind of social media marketing effort, Naked pizza is quickly going beyond exposed to ultimately desired.


Mediterranean thin crust 14inch:


Kalamata olives, red onions and feta, thin crust perfection, tasty whole grain and fresh ingredients, the entry contender is doing well so far. Keeping it simple, there are no other options available aside from 9 pre-configured pizzas and options to create your own tasty concoction.

With delivery available, prices that are half of pizza fusion, it's no wonder why the doors at pizza fusion are appearing to be shut for good.

- Posted from my iPhone

Agave-old town SD

Tequila tasting extrordinaire.. Agave located in old town SD has hundreds of bottles to sample:


Fresh tomatillo, roasted pepper and black beans start the fire tasting adventure:


The ceviche, served in an oversize martini glass is fantastically fresh:


The camarones tamarindo, grilled prawns in a semi sweet tamarind sauce with a corn base rice was also fantastically delicious:


The roasted salmon with mole covered potatoes:


For a Mexican spice to your day and a tequila house specialty, Agave may just have the happy hour for you..

Current- Coronado

June gloom sparks the fire pits ablaze..Outdoor marina spots in Coronado line the bay, perfect setting for a contemporary California cuisine.

For starters, red pepper dip with rich virgin olive oil, black and green olives and feebly made flatbread:


Blue crab cobb.. Healthy portion of fresh blue crab, avocado, bacon and fresh greens:


The fish of the day, halibut drizzles with a light tarragon and dill sauce, baby asparagus and calorie free mashed potatoes !


Rhubarb cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.. Interesting interpretation of cobbler but good nonetheless:


Good bites, outdoor dining setting, water ways and fire pits make it for a fantastic California dining experience..

- Posted from my iPhone

Aloha sushi and hawaii grille- la jolla

A hawaiian influenced sushi spot, Aloha offers some island flavors, outdoor patio setting and heat lamp action downtown la Jolla.





The crab stack.. A Tower of crab, mango, cucumber and daikon sprouts, refreshingly cool with rice vinegar hints..

The lava lava rolls:



Spicy yellowtail wrapped in rice paper with a dollop of wasabi enhanced sauce..




Tuna fire and avocado rolls, wrapped with a touch of spice..

The avocado and Kobe beef rolls, stuffed with tuna, interesting surf and turf combo:


Freshly topped tobiko yellowtail rolls:


Hawaiian flared up rolls with a California spin on it, Aloha your way onto some happiness..

- Posted from my iPhone

Bin 36 -Chicago

Bin36, nestled inside the hotel sax, is a mixture of an airy lofty space meets Ikea decorators, setting it apart from the trendy renaissance inspired interior of it's parent structure.

But this little design challenged space has a fabulous cheese selections.. Full blown wheels of cheese opened for the viewing and sampling:



The theme of the place is a wide selection of flights, both cheese and wine, the combination of tasting experiences are endless..

With flights titled "sexy red" or opulent portugal, the tasting begins:


Bold, spice and berry filled robust. Fantastic.

A great way to educate yourself on wines, the flights come with handy explanatory notes:


The cheese offerings also come in a flight sampling, cows from
Italy to singing the blues, each with their own unique titled and excellent choices.


With fig jam and sliced apple with cabernet jellie.. Fabulous.

Marinated olives with thyme and orange delicately dances with whole garlic cloves:


The frisee salad with poached egg and just a bit or two of smoked bacon for a fantastic bite:


The blackened swordfish, topped with charred pepper and served on top of wholesome mash potatoes.. A signature dish since the opening:


For dessert, homemade sorbet, blackberry, lemony lime and a pear prosecco!


Bin36 had a perfect blend of comfort environment with fabulous cheese and wine flights. The main dishes are few, but hearty and equally delicious. Wine lovers and cheeseheads can definitely do some damage at Bin36.

- Posted from my iPhone

Vermilion -Chicago

Latin Indian fusion... Where spice meets spicier.. Is the innovative interpretation of flavor at vermilion.

With a modern and trendy interior, lounge and dining space, the curtain partition bring color to the dining area to create unique seclusion that's not entirely secluded:


From Indian inspired tapas to Latin infused cocktail offerings, Vermilion kicks it up several notches.

To start, uniquely blended spicy cocktails. Lychee ginger martini's, mango mint mojito's and coriander pear martini are just some of the options.


The ginger pomegranate martini and mango mint mojito.. Both uniquely delicious with that spicy afterkick.

An amuse bush consider of a red tomatoe gazpacho with chili, a flatbread bite topped with caper paste and a slice of jicam.. Double spice kick extrordanaire :



The chile tamarind shrimp with cilantro and moonbeam/jicama salad was phenemenal: thick spicy tamarind with a zest of lime and cool balanced jicama salad






The duck vindaloo arepa was an interesting twist on this dish. Shredded duck in a pomegranate malasses served on top of a curry lead mango arepa.. Bite size tapas:


The green tomatillo gazpacho with an eggplant fritter was also equally flavorful and fantastic:



The 16 spice fish was a healthy and potent dish of flavor.. Topped with citrus, coriander, cumin, ginger, masala were only a few of the flavors that emanated from the fish:


Bone Licking good:


For dessert, a fennel olive oil cake with pistachio ice cream and goat cheese stuffed dates:


For flavor and spice, it's no wonder this top chef contender has been stirring things up..

- Posted from my iPhone