Tag: fine dining

Las Vegas 101 (The Basics) | Newbie Guide to Sin City

First trip to Las Vegas?  Or, has it been awhile since your last visit?  Here are a few tips and basic suggestions to help ensure your visit is enjoyable and FUN!

When to Visit Las Vegas

Determine what kind of vacation you are looking for before you book your trip.  If you are looking for a wild time to party and are willing to pay top dollar, then New Year’s Eve, any week in March for Spring Break, Fourth of July, Memorial day weekend, and Labor day weekend are the best.  The long-weekend exception is Thanksgiving, since most people want to eat turkey at home with the family, Vegas is less expensive, less crowded, fewer families, and super fun.  

If you are like me, and you would rather a better value for your accommodations & prefer to avoid the crowds and lines, then I suggest weekday visits, off-season (when kids are in school, both college kids and younger kids since some families insist on bringing children to the city of SIN).  Double-check for large conventions in town during your visit.  It is probably better to avoid the Vegas Porn convention if you do want to bring your children, or parents for that matter!

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Barrachina in Old San Juan | Home of the Pina Colada

The entire city of San Juan was a pleasant surprise.  It is not quite modern America, but a blend between downtown Tucson and a historic town that time really does not closely pay attention to.  At 18 degrees north of the equator, the weather is fantastic and warm year round on the beautiful little island.

We arrived at the port in San Juan and explored the old part of town on foot in a few hours.  In old San Juan there are narrow cobblestone streets, historic forts, and gorgeous views of the water.  All of that walking made us hungry, and thirsty.  As a US territory, my smartphone had excellent coverage and thanks to Open Table we found Barrachina for dinner.

Barrachina courtyard

Famous for the origin of the Pina Colada, it was the best Pina Colada that I have ever tasted!  The food was amazing and fresh.  Barrachina is reasonably priced, providing great service, and amazing food.

We started with Grouper Fritters that were fresh, perfectly prepared (not too greasy for breaded & fried fish), and delicious.  Due to all of our walking before dinner, these yummy appetizers did not last long enough for a picture.

Mofongo beef, chicken, and shrimp is a fried green plantain dish, that can only be described as a flavor explosion.  My mouth waters just remembering how good it tasted.  The spices reminded me of Spanish cuisine, complex and mild that would not count as “spicy” compared to any Mexican dish.

Red Snapper dish
Red Snapper dish

 

The ultimate treat was the local caught, grilled whole red snapper fish with shrimp and putanesca sauce.    Yes, it is a 24 ounce entire fish with scales, eyes, tail, and face.  Admittedly, I skipped the eyes and tail.  The fish alone could easily serve 4, then they added shrimp, rice, veggies, beans, and hearty tomato putanesca sauce.  Two of us barely put a dent in this wonderful dish.

Sunset in old San Juan

With so much to see just in San Juan, we did not explored much of Puerto Rico and now I have another must-explore list to my future travel plans.  We will definitely dine at Barrachina on our next visit to Puerto Rico, which I hope will be soon!

Quiessence Restaurant – Phoenix, Arizona Fine Dining

Quiessence is one of my favorite restaurants in the Phoenix area and the choice for my Birthday dinner.  The menu changes daily featuring fresh, local ingredients.  The best dining option is in the Tasting Menu that is a 5 course chef’s choice (you do not order any specific food, but you can specify Vegetarian and/or food allergies).  An optional wine pairing is available, and highly recommended (if you like delicious wine).

My Birthday Tasting dinner included a chilled vegetarian starter, bread (do not eat too much of the bread, pace yourself!),  meat & cheese appetizer (not quite fast enough with the camera), yellow squash salad with yogurt dressing, perfectly fluffy gnocchi pasta, salmon and fingerling potatoes, lamb with stuffed mini bell peppers, and desert course (complete with birthday candle).

Chilled vegetable starter

Yellow squash salad

gnocchi pasta

Salmon

Desert, complete with birthday candle

Quiessence is only open for dinner.  There is limited patio dinning and plenty of window side tables to enjoy the beautiful surrounding area on The Farm.  For a more romantic experience try to plan your dinner before sunset.  Be sure to make reservations.  Open Table is my favorite on-line reservation system and the mobile app is really easy to use.

Arizona Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try a three course meal at a much reduced fixed price to try out the scrumptious food from Quiessence!

Taste of Chicago 2012 | World Famous Annual Food Festival

We attended the famous Taste of Chicago 2012!

2012 Taste of Chicago JenThereDoneThat.comI was told that this year was  smaller than previous years, for both restaurants and crowds.  A lite drizzle of rain really cleared the streets of Grants Park on Friday.  I was glad to avoid the crowds, and I am not sure we really missed out on fewer vendors.  Many smaller or less well-known restaurants were able to make an appearance in “pop-up restaurants” which allowed many delicious food options.  There were MANY pizza places, and a great variety of food from around the world.  Our favorite meal of the day was Jerk Chicken Belize-style from Garifuna Flava.

Tickets were 12 for $8. Eli’s cheesecake offered “taste” size original cheesecake for just 3 tickets ($2).  While most glasses of wine were between 8 to 10 tickets (average $6 each).  3 Ticket items were rare, and most portions were 8 tickets.  Not enough places had true sample or tasting size portions. There were quite a few chain and multiple location restaurants, and only a few unique Mom & Pop places that we could see.

Overall, we left full and happy.  We ate some good food and some amazing food.  The cool weather and a bit of precipitation was an added bonus!