The Fox & The Crow, Fort Collins

Posted on May 19, 2018 by melsmosaic

Since I shop at Sprouts a lot, I see all the other stores in the Scotch Pines Shopping Center at Drake and Lemay. I had already checked out Elevation 5003 Distillery but then saw a ‘new’ place next to them. Well it turns out that it was just a restaurant/deli that moved from the other side of the shopping center so they could expand. This place is The Fox & Crow.

Went for lunch on a nice afternoon. Walked in and grabbed a menu. Overwhelmed! So many choices. After many minutes, I finally went with the Figgy Piggy — Prosciutto di Parma and whipped chevre with mixed greens and fig spread ($9). I also opted for the salad instead of the chips for $2.

This was delicious! The sweetness of the figs paired perfectly with the slight saltiness of the prosciutto. Then the chevre was spread along the bread like mustard. Heaven.

They also have wine on tap there(!!), that rotates (we also offer 5 taps of great rotating local beer, one tap of cider AND 4 taps of premium wine). I went with the Pinot Noir, which was fairly light. Enjoyed all this while sitting outside on a sunny day. Can’t wait to return and try so more stuff on the menu, like one of their meat and cheese boards.

Olney Ale House

Posted on November 22, 2017 by melsmosaic

After after an adventurous morning at the Sandy Spring Adventure Park (just outside DC), my friend and I needed to refuel. Note: if you’re looking for climbing, zipline, and more, check this place out! We found a restaurant a couple miles away that was just perfect — the Olney Ale House, in Olney, MD. It has quite the history.

It was a nice day outside so we were able to sit on their large deck and enjoy the weather. They have quite a selection of brew and good menu. My friend and I both decided on the same thing, the Ginger Shrimp Salad . . . $14.50
Grilled marinated shrimp, field greens, pineapple, mange, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro.

This salad was amazing. So bright, so fresh, and so many flavors. That whole thing was devoured. I enjoyed it with a hard cider, too. Great way to refuel after the morning and enjoy the gorgeous day.

Teton Thai

Posted on November 18, 2017 by melsmosaic

Was in Jackson Hole, WY earlier this year and got to check out a couple places. The first was Teton Thai, which is right at the base of the mountain.

With the beautiful weather and scenery…

had to kick off the meal with a refreshing brew. Opted for the Hoback Hefe(weizen) by Snake River Brewing Company. Perfect for a warm summer day. While a hefe, not overkill on the wheat, hint of banana and just refreshing.

There was a lots of good stuff to pick from on the menu, which made it tough. I finally narrowed it down to the YUM WOON SEN $14. Glassy noodles, chopped chicken & shrimp, tomato, red onions with cilantro, lime & chili dressing. I asked for the dressing on the side because it was apparently hot.

This salad was perfect. Light, fresh and just delicious. So many flavors came together. Could eat something like this everyday. And, enjoying it while sitting outside and taking in the scenery made it even better.

More Lunch on the Road

Posted on June 14, 2017 by melsmosaic

Progressing on the trip in Iceland, you don’t necessarily want to eat PBJ each day. Some food was also brought from home. So one day we enjoyed some great individual packs of Bumble Bee Light Tuna, Trader Joe’s Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Trader Joe’s Marinated Olives, and some of the bread we bought for the PBJs. We also had a bit of wine left to kill that we’d bought a couple days prior. So we had paper coffee cups from a hotel brunch and probably each got half a glass of Trapiche Malbec. Living the high life!

This was also on a day that was sunny. Only reason we had to sit in the car was because of the million mile an hour winds we had (90% of the time we were in Iceland). Enjoyed this while visiting Þingvellir National Park (or Thingvellir in English) and seeing some other beautiful sites.

Lunch on the Road

Posted on June 9, 2017 by melsmosaic

I had heard to just pack lunch every day while in Iceland. So after visiting BÓNUS, I was stocked and ready to go. Pretty much every day around noon or 1, we’d stop (and would see many other cars doing the same at random locations) to chow down. One of the awesome splurges during the trip to Iceland – oh yes, PBJ! Everything was strategically placed in the car. We brought camping utensils to do the appropriate sandwich making and those were cleaned at the hotel at night. So good!

Some of the great stuff we saw before and after lunch while enjoying PBJ for a couple days included geysers and waterfalls, along with some nice local views.

Cugino’s

Posted on December 11, 2016 by melsmosaic

While in Steamboat Springs, was looking for some lunch and came across a sort-of-hidden Italian place, Cugino’s.

Italian food sounded good and their lunch options sounded even better! For under $10 you could get a small pizza and beer (not sure if they have seasonal menus and I was not there during ski season). That was almost too good to be true. And the beer was good stuff, not just some boring macrobrew.

The service was a bit slow but the waiter was very apologetic. And we were sitting outside enjoying the weather so that helped.

When the food came out, well worth the wait! I went for pizza with no cheese (lactard) and some other great toppings, the other pizza at the table did have the nice melted stuff. Perfect crust, perfect size, absolutely delicious.

Will definitely check this place out again next time I’m in the area.

Epicurean

Posted on April 26, 2016 by melsmosaic

While on our wine day, we of course had to eat. In wine land, we found a nice little café, the Epicurean.

They have both a cafe and restaurant. We opted for the former. There was this amazing sandwich that had a black bun. Why black? It was died with squid ink! How cool? On the bun was smoked salmon, lettuce and other great stuff. The reason I couldn’t enjoy this is because all were premade and they also had include some delicious cream cheese. They had a nice salad with fennel and tomatoes and great mix of lettuce. Perfect mid-day refuel before wine continued…

The Pub by Wegmans

Posted on January 23, 2016 by melsmosaic

Wegmans is already heaven on earth. And now they have another element…a full restaurant. I’m not just talking their fancy salad bar or the locations where you sit at the counters and can order and be served. No, it’s The Pub by Wegmans. There are only a few of these in the country. A couple friends and I had to check it out the other day. While doing some research on the website we noticed they use OpenTable. We decided to make a reservation just because we could. It was a good thing we decided to. This place was packed — and we went at noon on a Monday (granted it was a federal holiday)! Had we not done so, we not have gotten a table.

The three of us split a half pitcher of sangria to start while looking over the menu. It wasn’t that exciting of a drink. For the first course we decided to split their White Bean Hummus Platter; Italian Classics Cannellini Beans, roasted garlic, Toscano olive oil, topped with truffle spread; served with roasted baby peppers, mini cucumbers and rosemary fontinella cheese flatbread (and got some non-cheese laden stuff).

These were non-bell peppers and were so good. Since they were roasted they were nice and warm. They also made sticks out of the cukes vs just simple slices. Very tasty!

All of us opted to get the same thing as a main course — Portobello ‘Steak’ — balsamic-marinated roasted portobello mushroom topped with artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella, accompanied by bulgur wheat and arugula salads. I went cheeseless, my friends took it on.

A nice balance of flavors all around. Had to eat every bite.

There were also some Tuscan Fries brought to the table, which were fries accented with rosemary, sage, Italian parsley and garlic. I don’t even like fries and had to help eat them.

We also each had a glass of wine — so nice with the logo on there.

This was such a fun lunch. Delicious all around. Great shopping afterwards, too.

The Daily Dish

Posted on November 16, 2015 by melsmosaic

Visited a restaurant that I park in front of a least once a week for a morning run. I see it when it’s dark out and there is nobody around but my running partner and me. So we had this novel idea to go check this place out during daylight hours when they are actually open.

It’s The Daily Dish in Silver Spring/Chevy Chase, MD. We went at lunch on a Federal Holiday and it got pretty busy, which was good to see.

(image source: thedailydishrestaurant.com)

We started with one of their seasonal special, some pumpkin hummus. Too…good, needed…more. It was served with roasted pumpkin seeds in the middle and roasted cauliflower on the side, as well as the normal pita bread.

After debating the menu for awhile, my friend opted for a salad with pan-seared salmon, on spinach, arugula, fennel, with orange segments, red onion, citrus vinaigrette. I opted for the couscous paella (with shrimp for an extra charge). It was Israeli pearl couscous, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, artichokes, marinara sauce served with quinoa.

My friend’s salad was delicious. My paella was ok. The veggies were nice and crunchy, the shrimp were perfect, but there was far too much couscous to be had. We also each enjoyed a glass of wine. I just remember mine was a Shiraz/Pinotage blend…can never go wrong with Pinotage!

Overall good lunch experience. I’ve heard the restaurant can be hit or miss. They have a wide variety of options on the menu so definitely worth checking out.

Zentan

Posted on February 10, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was treated to a very nice lunch the other day at an Asian restaurant near Thomas Circle in DC. The venue, Zentan. Per their own description, they are a modern Asian restaurant featuring award-winning cuisine, focusing on Japanese-inspired small and shareable plates.

The restaurant is very ‘sharp’ — that’s the best way I can think to describe it. Lunch was at 1 on a Thursday, so it wasn’t packed but busy enough. Nice decor, cool tables, overall good atmosphere. We get the menu. What to order? Too many choices! (sorry for the shadow on the picture, odd light in the restaurant)

I finally opted for the Rainbow Don Bento Box — tuna, salmon and whitefish sashimi, cooked shrimp sashimi (I can’t quite get why it’s sashimi if it’s cooked), sushi rice and seaweed salad.

I don’t really like seaweed and this salad was a knockout! Wow, so good. The whitefish was unreal. The waiter said what it was and I can’t totally remember the Asian name he mentioned. Melt in your mouth. Absolutely amazing lunch. Will totally have to check this place out for dinner, too. Add it to your list if you’re looking for a new restaurant to try in DC.