Went to The Varsity years ago and didn't get a hot dog. The food was bad then, and everyone told me it's because I didn't get the hot dogs. I returned recently and decided to give them another chance by getting hot dogs. I ordered the Slaw Dog Combo with onion rings. The dogs didn't redeem the restaurant. They were edible, but by no means anything great that would make me want to return to The Varsity. I don't understand why people hype up The Varsity so much in a city like Atlanta that has so much to offer when it comes to food.
Talkin Tacos:
I didn't realize this was a chain based out of Florida. Never noticed them around Orlando until I tried this location in Atlanta. Had their Crispy Stack Wrap filled with birria. Basically a better version of a Taco Bell Crunch Wrap. Also had Street Corn in a Cup. Food was pretty good. They did do a decor pet peeve of mine where they had UV black lights shining directly at the tables. Those aren't meat to be actual lighting.
Gino's NY Pizza Bar:
Most pizza I've had in Atlanta has been pretty bad. Gino's NY Pizza Bar broke that trend. They had good NY style pizza sold by the slice.
I had a slice of their white pizza and their lasagna pizza.
Country Inn & Suites Hotel Breakfast:
Above average free breakfast that was included in the price of a relatively cheap hotel.
I went on a trip to Savannah, GA. Here's where I ate:
Franklin's:
When I found out my hotel didn't serve complementary breakfast like their website promised when booking, that meant I had to go out on an adventure. That brought me to a coffee shop called Franklin's. I had the Breakfast Bowl, filled with bacon, grits, egg, potatoes, salsa, and toast. Had a latte to drink. It was good, but the food, coffee, and tip ended up being the most expensive meal on my trip.
Flying Monk Noodle Bar:
Dinner was at Flying Monk Noodle Bar. I had the Drunken Noodles. It was insane how quickly these were prepared and served. Pretty tasty.
Leopold's Ice Cream:
I saw the line for Leopold's Ice Cream and decided there was no way that it was worth the hype. I walked by again after dinner and the line was much more reasonable right before they closed. I had a scoop of Lemon Custard (hidden in the bottom of the cup) and a scoop of Peach, which was one of their specials. It was perfectly fine ice cream, but I'm glad I didn't wait an hour for the dessert.
While on a cruise to Grand Bahamacruise to Grand Bahama, I rented a car in Freeport to explore more of the island. The guy at the car rental place told us to got to a place called Cleveland's Beach Club for lunch. A selling point to go to the restaurant was that they had pigs to swim with. According to the car rental guy, if we told Cleveland's that he sent us, we would be able to swim with the pigs for free. This wasn't the case. One of the people in my group almost paid for the pig swimming experience, but we were running short of time and decided against it.
We did get to see the pigs as they were taken for a walk past our table. Good enough for me. I wasn't there to swim with the pigs, I was there for the food.
I ordered their combo plate which came with lobster tail, fried fish, fried shrimp, and conch fritters. It was a little bit of overload of deep fried seafood. The two standouts was the lobster and the fish. Conch was a little tough.
I recently went on a cruise on the Margaritaville Paradise from Port of Palm Beach to Freeport in The Bahamas. Here's the food I ate on the ship:
There were some issues in the port where boarding the ship took longer than expected. Headed straight to the Port of Indecision Buffet for lunch as soon as I was on board. Unfortunately, they were clearing the buffet by the time I got there. I was able to pick some stragglers that were still there including some sort of vegetable curry, rice, a pig in a blanket, and a hot dog with no bun. Everything tasted like I got the leftovers just before it was thrown out.
Walked around the corner after getting some of the leftover buffet food to find the Cheeseburger in Paradise Burger Bar. They were still serving food. Got a cheeseburger and fries that tasted fresher than the buffet food.
That evening, I ate dinner in the Fins Dining Room. This was the fancy dining room that was included in the cruise. There was also a steakhouse, pizzeria, and coffee shop that were upcharges. My meal started with a bowl of Jamaican Pumpkin Soup:
This was followed by a Caprese Salad. Wasn't my favorite. Hunk of cheese, lots of arugula, and not much flavor.
I had the Antigua Shrimp Skewer for my main course. This was jumbo shrimp with mango salsa over jasmine rice. Broccoli was served as a vegetable. It was fine, but could have used a little more sauce for flavor. Everything on the plate lacked any distinct seasoning.
I ate the Key Lime Sponge Cake for dessert. I liked it, but the consensus among others at the table who ordered this was that they would have preferred regular key lime pie.
For breakfast the next morning, I went back to the Port of Indecision Buffet. They were serving food this time around. Besides the issue with the buffet closing when I boarded, breakfast was consistently the worst food on the ship. It was really bad. Eggs were cold. Certain items were still frozen. Scarfed it down so I'd have energy for the day, but I didn't enjoy it.
Left the ship and explored Freeport. When I got back on board the ship, I won a hula hoop contest where the prize was a free drink. I don't do alcohol, so I had a virgin pina colada.
Also made it back to the Cheeseburger in Paradise Burger Bar for a late afternoon meal to hold me over until dinnertime.
Back to the Fins Dining Room for dinner that night, my meal started with the Cajun Gumbo:
This was followed by a Caesar Salad. Pretty standard, but better than the caprise salad from the night before.
I had Shrimp & Grits as my main course. This was the best food item I had in Fins. It was really tasty.
I tried the Baked Florida for dessert. This was layers of ice cream with marshmallow meringue as an outer coating. Not my favorite.
Later I found myself back in Port of Indecision Buffet for a late night snack. They had Butter Chicken. This was really good. I had the chicken over rice with naan. Good flavors, good spice levels. I really enjoyed this. The desserts from the buffet, not so much...
For my final meal on the cruise, it was back to Port of Indecision Buffet for breakfast. Regular buffet food was just as bad as the previous breakfast, but waiting for the omelet bar was worth it. The omelet was really good. Weird how the ship has a good grasp on semi-decent food, but they can't figure out how to make breakfast well.
I tried a restaurant called Eggholic in Queens, NY. This was an Indian fast food restaurant where most everything was egg based in some form, whether it be actual egg or chicken.
Started with somosas:
I tried the Lachko. This was new to me when it came to Indian food and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The menu described it as shredded green bell pepper cooked with cheese and running eggs. It was served with roti. I enjoyed it. The egg wasn't very identifiable, but the cheese very much was. It reminded me of eating the roti covered in a cheesy dip.
I had a layover in Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. While in New Orleans, regardless of if it is just an hour in the airport between flights, the tourist thing to do is stop at Cafe Du Monde.
I had a Cafe au Lait.
The beignets! As far as beignets go, I was reminded that Cafe du Monde's beignets are better than the beignets that I have occasionally in Florida. These were very fluffy, almost croissant like on the inside.
I took a trip to England in the summer of 2019. I spent the last two days of my trip in London. Here's some of the food I ate:
Leon:
I had a breakfast box from this chain of fast food restaurants. I believe the box I tried was vegetarian, with a poached egg, beans, mushrooms, tomato, avocado slices, and a delicious type of grilled cheese called halloumi.
Bake:
I ended up in Chinatown. I stopped in this bakery on my visit to London in 2016. I think they may have been renamed since my last visit. Last time, they were called Chinatown Bakery. This time, the store was just Bake. I thought the waffle fish stuffed with various fillings were enough of a novelty that I needed to get another fish when I walked by.
Gerrard's Corner:
Another restaurant in Chinatown. I know British food has a bad reputation, but this is the only meal on this trip that really was unenjoyable. I had the sliced pork with seasonal vegetables. Those seasonal vegetables included carrots and broccoli, but the pork was the bad part. Pretty sure it was undercooked. A friend ordered fried rice. The rice was crispy. Most of our food was left uneaten here. It was confusing because the restaurant was packed...
British Library:
Cinnamon roll from the cafe in the lobby of the British Library.
Sushi Daily to Go:
This was a fast food Japanese restaurant. I had a chicken noodle bowl and miso soup.
Pizza Express:
This is a chain that is very prolific in London. Seems like there's a Pizza Express every few blocks. The name is confusing, since it is a sit down restaurant and isn't very express.
I took a trip to England in the summer of 2019. During this trip, I left Newark-on-Trent and proceeded to York.
Betty's Cafe Tea Room:
As I was leaving Newark-on-Trent, a bus driver told me I had to eat at Betty's Cafe in York. Also, to avoid the main location in the city which gets huge waits and visit the location in Stonegate instead. I followed directions and was able to be seated in the restaurant immediately. I walked by their other location a few blocks away afterwards and there was a huge crowd waiting to get in...
It was a tea room, so I started with some tea. Obviously...
I tried their special of the day. It was a breakfast dish what I was unfamiliar with called Kedgeree. This consisted of rice, fish, and dried fruit, topped with a poached egg. It was interesting, and really good. Looks like the dish has it's roots in India and became popular in England during the Victorian era.
29 States:
I was touring Clifford's Tower in York and was distracted by the aromas of delicious smelling Indian food wafting up the hill from a restaurant somewhere below. I decided I was going to find this restaurant and eat there for dinner. Turned out this restaurant was called 29 States. I had a very good chicken dish with some naan.
The view was nice too. It's the only Indian restaurant I've ever visited where I was able to look out the window and see a castle towering above the restaurant...
The York Roast Co.:
Having Yorkshire Pudding in York seemed like an appropriate thing to do. I did this at a fast food restaurant called The York Roast Co. They basically made wraps out of the Yorkshire pudding, rolling the bread around turkey, stuffing, cranberries, assorted vegetables, and gravy. It was a very messy thing to eat and the Yorkshire pudding didn't hold together very well as a vehicle to transport the rest of the fillings...
I took a trip to England in the summer of 2019. While staying in Newark-on-Trent on this trip, I took a train to Nottingham. I saw Robin Hood, then I ate.
This was a restaurant which I did not eat at, but was noteworthy. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem was built into the side of a cliff below Nottingham Castle and claims to be the oldest inn in England.
I had lunch at a restaurant called Pieminster. As the name states, this restaurant specialized in all sorts of pies.
There was some quirky decor in here, such as potato eyes in glass cases.
I had the Saag Pie-neer. This was an Indian inspired pie filled with paneer, peas, spinach, potatos, chilli, and mango. It was served over mashed potatoes. A side of mushy peas and gravy also came on the side. It was pretty good, and the Indian influence was a nice change from the other more traditional meat pies I had on this trip.
