Confessions of a Foodie

On our way home from Phoenix we decided to go on Route 66 for a bit. So of course we had to try some of the local restaurants. So in Winslow, AZ we turned off to hunt for a local eatery. We found Falcon Family Restaurant and were pleasantly surprised by the various Mexican and American offerings.

It was your standard hole in the wall place, nothing fancy as far as Read the rest of this entry »

So I’m always trying to find reviews before I go to a new restaurant. I don’t know about you but I hate wasting my time and money going to a lousy restaurant. So I thought it was pretty cool when I found this site called boorah.com. It gives restaurant patrons a chance to sound off on their experiences in a unique way. Read the rest of this entry »

David and I just went to the new Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Hibachi restaurant here in Crestview, FL 32539. What a great way to spend an evening with friends! Read the rest of this entry »

So we enjoyed a lovely evening at the Wild Olive in Crestview, FL. We went with a group of friends, and spent the whole evening laughing and eating. And in my opinion, that’s the best way to spend an evening! Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever tried to make reservations to a new restaurant to discover you can’t find their phone number anywhere like on any online service including the yellowpages.com, or Google, or local chamber of commerce. I finally discovered the # at AOL yellowpages by typing in “wild olive 797 crestview, fl 32536″ in my google search. Lucky for me I had already dialed 411 and received the phone number which is 850-682-4455.

My husband and I will be dining their tonight with some friends and I will post a review on The Wild Olive restaurant later. In fact the review is now available here.

The Wild Olive
N. Pearl St.
Crestview, FL 32536
850-682-4455

Last night was my birthday, and my wonderful husband decided to take me to a local restaurant in Pensacola, FL called Jacksons. A friend had recommended it after taking his wife there for their anniversary. We were not disappointed.

Nestled in historic downtown Pensacola, Jacksons’ dining room is Read the rest of this entry »

Living in a small town, it can be pretty difficult trying to find a decent, non-chain restaurant. But there is an amazing hole-in-the-wall taco shop that is out of this world. Now this is actually a franchised restaurant, but only locally. Taco Town started in Fort Walton Beach, FL, but now has restaurants in neighboring towns of Niceville and Crestview. The atmosphere of the place does leave a lot to be desired, but the quality of the food completely makes up for it. My family and I love Taco Town so much that we have instituted Taco Town Thursdays. So every Thursday you can find us eating our dinner from Taco Town.

We first discovered this culinary gold mine about 7 years ago. My husband, David, and I would trek 45 minutes away just to get 45 cent tacos! I’m not claiming any authenticity in the Mexican cuisine arena, but when it comes to good tacos fast, Taco Town stands supreme on the Emerald Coast.

Taco Town’s best selling item is probably the taco salad. Layers of lettuce, seasoned meat, cheese, tomatoes, and their signature avacodo-ranch dressing sitting inside a freshly fried tortilla bowl is heaven on Earth! Being the variety seeker that I am, I always enter those hallowed walls intending to order something new and different. But everytime, the memories of past eaten taco salads, fill my mind, and once again I get that delicious concoction of meat and veggies. About the only other item I get is their nachos supreme. Though not as sophisticated as the taco salad, the nachos supreme is a close second with its double cheese combination of nacho-cheese sauce and shredded cheddar. It’s a deliciously messy meal in itself.

But honestly, no matter what you try the food never fails. So if you ever find yourself in the beautiful Emerald coast, stop by Taco Town. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Husband comment - I always order the 2 hard tacos for 99 cents. Just can’t beat it and the taste destroys Taco Bell. As anyone knows in Crestview our Taco Bell here is worse than any other location.

Tonight David and I had dinner at the River Room in New York. Overall we had a pretty good time there. We had a spectacular view of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River. We went just at sunset, so it was gorgeous.

To our surprise we found that tonight was Salsa night at the restaurant which promised to be quite an adventure. We settled down at our outdoor table and enjoyed the nice, crusty rolls with fresh butter. Along with the rolls were some cornbread muffins, which I’m sure my friend Tamara would have loved. They were sweet and very cake like with whole kernels of corn dotting the insides. Unfortunately for me, I am not a big fan of sweet cornbread. I like it the southern way, more savory, preferably with bacon grease as a lubricant for the pan!

We were somewhat taken aback when we were handed the one page, single sided menu. (We had researched the restaurant on the web, and found a much larger selection on their online menus.) So with only 4 choices for entrees, David went with a New York strip with a red wine sauce and seasonal veggies, and I had a burger with herb fries. And we decided to try fried plantains for an appetizer.

When our dinner came it looked beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. I wish it had tasted as good as it looked. My burger was pretty dry with no apparent seasonings, though the fries were delicious. No frozen things here. David’s steak was quite delicious especially with the red wine sauce, but his veggies weren’t too tasty until I added some salt which brought their flavor to life. The worst dish of the night was the plantains. Their doneness was inconsistent, some were mushy while others were fried within an inch of their lives. Worse still, was the complete lack of flavor, even with the garlic oil they were served with.

So after our entrees we were feeling a little bummed at the mediocracy of our dinner, but we forged on and ordered dessert. A coconut cheese cake with raspberry sauce. Oh my goodness, it was INCREDIBLE. It was so light and delicious, and still warm inside! It didn’t have an overpowering taste of coconut, but instead a subtle flavor that was perfectly suited to the creamy texture. It was pure heaven. So much so that I think I may try my hand at duplicating it in the future.

After dinner was over, we cruised onto the dance floor and got our groove on to the salsa music filling the night air. Though we didn’t have a clue as to what we were doing, we just moved our feet and shook our hips and let the music take us over. It was freeing, and definitely something I need to do more often.

So even though it wasn’t the most amazing meal of my life, it was definitely an unforgettable one. So I think that I will one day return to the River Room, especially if it is Salsa night!

Of my favorite things to do in life, shortly following eating, is traveling! And of course, my favorite vacation past time is finding new and wonderful places to eat.

Living in Florida, we are close to several states, Georgia being one of them. Atlanta is a favorite getaway for my husband and me. There is a fabulous hotel there, the Peachtree Westin, that offers panoramic views of the Atlanta skyline. It may not be New York, but it’s still breathtaking. But anyway, back to food, my absolute favorite place to eat in good ol’ Hotlanta is the Imperial Fez.

This quaint, little Moroccan restaurant boasts of being the best in the city. And trust me, it’s easy to see why. This isn’t just a place to go and eat Moroccan food. No this place transports you to Morocco! With tapestry-draped walls and ceilings, lush couches and pillows, and live belly dancers, every time I enter the dining room I feel like I’ve just stepped into a scene from Arabian Nights.

And that’s just the ambiance, the food completes the picture. The typical dining experience is a five course meal in which you are served a myriad of authentic, Moroccan delights. I would describe them all in detail, but unless you are familiar with Moroccan food, you wouldn’t have any idea what I was talking about.

I will say that their lamb shank is AMAZING! It is so moist and tender. The meat practically falls off the bone. It is slow roasted for several hours! My mouth is beginning to water just thinking about it.

My husband is taking me to Atlanta for my birthday, and I’m hoping that he will once again take me to the Imperial Fez. Especially now that I’ve tortured my taste buds by visiting their website, and viewing all the scrumptious dishes! Check it out for yourself. And if you’re ever in Atlanta, do yourself a favor and visit the Imperial Fez. You won’t be disappointed.

Imperial Fez