Rainbow, Ft Collins, CO

Posted on September 7, 2018 by melsmosaic

I was introduced to a well-known breakfast place in Ft. Collins recently, Rainbow.

Went after a morning run, which meant refueling was in order.

We sat at an outside table, which was awesome. Good mix of sun and shade. A few of us were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive and as we surveyed the menu we had to order the first round, aka Bloody Mary’s, in a pitcher. When that pitcher came out, oh wow. Not too spicy and great taste. And the glasses that we got to pour them into had great adornments – olives, pickle, celery, lemon.

It took me awhile to decide what to get after going over and over the menu. Finally chose the Avocado Smash (a staff favorite) — Freshly baked wheat toast topped with avocado, smokey chili marash & lime. Served with one egg, any style. $7.95. (With smoked salmon $10.95) — totally went with the salmon option!

When it came out I was drooling.

So much to dig into. Cut into the bread and made sure to get the guac and salmon in the same bite – delicious. The egg was great and the fruit on the plate (unexpected) was nice and fresh – and you don’t get kiwi that often, so I was thrilled.

I see why Rainbow is well known and loved in the community. Check it out if you haven’t been or go back if you’re a regular. I was told a lady eats breakfast there everyday, and I see why.

Founding Farmers

Posted on December 15, 2015 by melsmosaic

After one runs the MCRRC Jingle Bell Jog in shorts & tshirt, because of 60-degree weather in mid-December, why not continue the great day?

My friend and I visited Founding Farmers in Potomac for brunch. I had heard mixed reviews on the restaurant, based on the locations, so was excited to give it a try.

Photo source: wearefoundingfarmers.com

Knowing the popularity of this place I made a reservation a few days ahead of time. So glad I did. It was packed!

When we arrived the #1 priority was coffee. Good stuff. After skimming the menu I opted for a nice basic breakfast; you get to pick eggs, meat, bread, veggie.

I went for scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, wheat bread and a green salad.

Very nicely cooked eggs. The salad was great. There were grapes tomatoes, avocados and almonds in there with a nice light dressing. The price was under $10.

Complaints: they wondered why we wanted jam for our bread and brought us maybe a single serving for the two of us. It frustrated them to bring more.

Then we got the check. It was just over $20 — my friend ordered the sausage, mushroom & spinach pan scramble. We were floored (in a good way)! Then we noticed they didn’t charge us for the coffee (not a major cost to the restaurant). After we gave the waitress the credit card to run, she came back and let us know she forgot to charge us the $3+ each for the coffee and would now need to include it. Seemed like something unnecessary based on the fact that it was her fault and it was only coffee. Not worth the fight.

DC Brunch Spot

Posted on December 13, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last Sunday the weather was bad but that was no reason to avoid heading out for brunch. It had been planned and was going to happen. There is a great restaurant called El Centro on 14th Street with a (food and drink) bottomless weekend brunch on Saturday and Sundays from 10:30-3 for $35.

It’s a great Mexican fare and you order, essentially, small plates. So, you can have a little bite of everything. The drink menu contains everything from Mimosas to Bloody Marias to seasonal mixes. What’s ironic? You HAVE to pay for coffee, tea and juice. Dang!

As soon you get there they bring you great chips and salsa and come on, guac is a requirement!

I tried some of the ceviche, chicken tacos, beans and eggs. Others at the table had beef tongue, jicama, chile relleno and more. Didn’t get pictures of everything. It was delicious. Definitely worth checking out. It was very slow, though. Sort of ironic with things like ceviche that don’t really cook and the restaurant wasn’t that busy. But, there was no rush since it was an ugly weather day out there.

Napa General Store

Posted on October 30, 2013 by melsmosaic

Checked out a great new place recently that in an area I don’t recently — Napa General Store.

(image source: napageneralstore.com)

The first two orders of business from the menu were coffee and mimosas, since I had just come from the other side of the country.

The menu had several great choices and mine came down to the salmon vs. huevos rancheros. I chose the latter.

Farm-fresh eggs sunny-side up with house-made corn tortillas, salsa verde, pico de gallo, black beans & pepperjack cheese (mixed that). Delicious. So fresh and amazing.

My friends did everything from waffles to omelettes to eggs benedict. There was almost silence at the table when the food arrived. So good, pure happiness.

Ding Dong, Ping Pong, Dim Sum

Posted on April 9, 2013 by melsmosaic

I couldn’t resist the title with the tiny bit of catchy-ness it has.

Dim Sum is always a great meal to enjoy over the weekend — no need to order, just stare, point, nod, chew, repeat, progress to food coma.

I checked out a new place (for me) in DC this past weekend for Dim Sum — Ping Pong in Chinatown. Not what I expected. I went in, ready to start chowing down within 5 minutes of sitting. But, I didn’t see any carts. Rather, I see a menu and check lists, just like when you order sushi. ???? — what is that? So, I find out that you have to literally pick what you want from the menu, check the box on the long, skinny piece of paper then wait 5-20 minutes for your food. That’s not Dim Sum!

Now a pro to all this — you can’t just pick anything you want off the cart and therefore constantly eat. You realize what you’ve ordered and have to wait. Eventually you realize you are full and stop ordering. Also, you can reserve a table for Dim Sum’ing via Open Table (score! — it was busy and there was no need to stand outside for 30-60 minutes before they opened to be sure we got a table).

Side note — they have this really cool tea with a ‘bag’ — I don’t know the true term — that blossoms into a flower. Pic below.

To summarize, next time I want this treat, I will go to one of my favorite places with the true tradition. But, I would like to try this place again out for a ‘regular’ meal as their food was good and I’ve heard they have good happy hours.