Ive Been slacking!!im sorry!haha

 This post is just to inform who ever takes time to stop by my page that I haven't abandoned it! To be completely honest, I haven't had the opportunity lately to go to any new restaurants, but I should have some new stuff up in the next few weeks hopefully! Once again thanks for your support!

Fox's Den

Location: Annapolis,Maryland

Cuisine: American Gastro

Price Range:$8- $25

Website: www.Foxsden.com

 

Atmosphere: When I think of a Gastro Pub I imagine a some what fancy bar tucked away somewhere with dimmed lighting to set a nice atmosphere, a decent amount of space to move around and mingle with others, great drinks and good food! The Fox's Den owner must have been in my head and took part of my imagination because its all that and above.

  Once you walk into the entrance you begin your decent down to the fox's den. The whole under ground cellar thing is so cool to me, It makes you feel like your entering a secret location that you would need a pass code or invite to get into. There was plenty of space in the pub with a bar area and table seating if you want the restaurant feel. The lighting was dimmed but still bright enough to keep the atmosphere lively and festive which keeps you from feeling like your in a stiff, super fancy restaurant but still manages to be very classy. The bar area has TV's to watch sporting events while you mingle if you want, along with high top tables to dine and drink in the bar area. If you wanted to kinda be away from the bar there is also plenty of table seating to sit down and have a more personal dining experience. Now, I will say this; with this being a Gastropub it still is some what like a bar. So don't be the person upset because of the noise levels and amount of people! Drink, eat, talk, and enjoy the environment! Another cool aspect of Fox's Den is they have real brick ovens to cook there delicious pizzas where there is also a bar top to sit at and watch the pizza being made, kind of like at a pizzeria.

Staff: The staff at Fox's Den compliments the venue very well. The doorman, and hostess were well dressed, polite, and greeted you as soon as you walk in. I didn't have much interaction with the bar tenders because we sat at a table but our server was on point. He was really laid back but tentative and made some great recommendations for the evening. He fell off slightly when we were paying our bills, but we were with a large group so that wasn't a big issue with me at all. A good establishment has to have a good staff in my opinion to succeed, with that being said I can see the Fox's Den hanging around for a very long time.

The Food: The menu at Fox's Den is not a big one and in my opinion it shouldn't be, its a gastropub! People tend to forget that and seem like they're looking for a huge over thought out menu when it should be to the point and good. I liked that about the menu, because to be honest I find it a slight headache when a place has too many options and then you end up getting something that doesn't taste all that great. I feel you should do a few things

and do them well! Fox's Den does just that; they have ten brick oven pizza choices ranging from veggie to seafood, a few appetizers, salads and a chef's creation section that changes daily to insure your getting the freshest products.

Boardwalk

 For entrees we had the Chili Mac and the Boardwalk pizza, both dishes were creative and very tasty.
 The Chili Mac was far from your basic elementary style mac and cheese with chili mixed into it; this creation was like the daddy of that chili mac. This amazing dish was pasta shells cooked to perfection covered in a homemade 4 cheese sauce with tomatillo, jalapeno and duck confit baked in a personal sized cast iron skillet topped with a little cilantro. All The flavors in this little cast iron dish were amazing! The cheesy flavor from the creamy cheese sauce mixed with the with the slight spiciness from the jalapeno and tomatillo was a genius idea. Those components combined with the flavor of the confit and cilantro puts your taste buds on cloud nine! If you like the flavor of chili and a fan of duck, this dish would be right up your alley; Creative but still has that comfort food feel to it.

 The Boardwalk Pizza was also very delicious and packed with flavor. I feel the main components of a good pizza are the crust and toppings; the boardwalk pizza was dead on in both of those categories. The boardwalk is made with a basil arugula pesto sauce; then topped with shrimp, blue crab, mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes. All of these ingredients complimented each other very well; the crust had a nice crunch to it but was still soft on the inside which was a big plus. Then pesto sauce paired with the mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and seafood made this pizza a very memorable one and I would highly recommend it if your a seafood lover. Based off of these two item's im eager to get back to Fox's Den and try some more of the chef's creations.

Chili Mac

Drinks: I usually don't do drink reviews but one, this is a gastropub how could I not comment on the drinks? and two you have to give credit where its due. Over the years I've become a big fan of bourbon's so with fox's Den nice bourbon selection I was very happy! I had a few Manhattan's and I will say the bartender made some good ones! well mixed and a good bite! I would definitely recommend stopping through for a few drinks.

Duck Fat Fries

Recap: The Fox's Den is a lively,classy but still laid back gastropub located in Annapolis Maryland.
 They offer great food and drink selections that would make for a great date night or night out with some friends if you enjoy a bar type atmosphere. They have great brick oven pizza's and some creative dishes that are worth trying, if your ever in Annapolis or live near and looking for a nice place to check out give em a try!

Carnivore

C&B Deli "Italian deli, Good for your belly"

Location: Ellicott City, MD

Cuisine: Italian Deli

Price Range:$6- $12

website: www.candbdeli.com

Atmosphere: As basic as a deli sandwich may sound; it is hard to find one that's full of flavor with fresh, crisp toppings and a friendly, clean environment. No worries! C&B Deli is here to save the day and help out with this dilemma. C&B deli is a little Italian deli located in Ellicott City, MD off of Route 40. C&B has your traditional deli set up with fresh meats,cheeses, salads, and desserts on display along with the lovely aroma of fresh bread permeating the air. As soon as you walk in you can already assume your about to have something good served up just off of the sites and smells! C&B is open Mon.-Fri. 9 AM-6 PM and on Sun. 9 AM-4 PM, this is a great place to stop by and grab some food for lunch or dinner.

Staff: The staff at C&B is very friendly and polite, as soon as you walk in the door you are greeted with a hello and a smile. Another thing that makes this a personable experience is I believe C&B is a family owned business, so if you come often enough there will always be a familiar face greeting you and preparing your order. The staff is very helpful when you have questions or when it comes to the menu and also very clean when preparing your food. I've been here numerous times and the staff is always great!

The Food: C&B has some of the freshest deli meats,cheeses and toppings I've ever tasted at a sandwich shop. With them being an Italian Deli they offer lot's of traditional Italian deli meats such as prosciutto and capicola along with lots of other selections. C&B also has a small import section where you can purchase all kinds of Italian products such as sauces, pastas, and bread ; they also have fresh soups, salads, and dessert's for sale that also look very fresh and delicious.
 I ordered the Italian hoagie, which is their most popular sandwich on the menu. This sandwich was a perfect size and full of flavor! The bread had a nice crunch to the outside but was very soft and fluffy on the inside which made for a great foundation. The meat was very fresh, tasty, and they were not stingy at all! What brought the whole sandwich together was the toppings; as generic as it may sound, " you could taste the freshness". I got the traditional toppings which was lettuce,tomato,hot peppers,onion and their oil & vinegar mixture drizzled on top. All of these simple ingredients came together for an amazing, authentic tasting Italian hoagie that you wouldn't be able to find at your typical chain or carry out. In my opinion no matter what your serving, making sure its fresh and from scratch is the key to putting out a delicious product! For a side I got their "Hot Shots", which are small peppers stuffed with fresh

mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto  and drizzled with Olive Oil. Yes, please believe this small bite is as good as it sounds. All of the flavors marry beautifully when you bite into it and not only are these delicious but they also make for a great snack. If you like peppers this is definitely a must try! I would recommend trying different things upon each visit, I haven't had anything that didn't taste good from here yet!

Italian Hoagie

Hot Shots( peppers stuffed w/prosciutto wrapped mozzarella

Recap: C&B deli is a small Italian deli located in Ellicott City, MD with great tasting traditional style deli meats. They have a very friendly staff that makes you feel welcome and are very helpful at recommending things if your having trouble deciding. They are not your typical chain deli, so all of their products are freshly made or imported insuring that your getting that authentic taste. They sell fresh Meats,cheeses,soups,salads, desserts and also do catering if you are interested. I would strongly recommend going here for lunch or picking up dinner on your way home. If you are ever in the area and looking for a good deli sandwich stop by and check them out, you will never want a bland tasting chain deli sandwich again.

Beasley's Chicken & Honey "Good Ole Southern Comfort"

Location: Raleigh, NC

Cuisine: American ( Southern comfort food)

Price Range: $6-$17

Website: www.ac-restaurants.com/beasleys/

Atmosphere:  Beasley's Chicken & Honey is another great place I stumbled across by going out to eat with my family, that has delicious breakfast,lunch, and dinner food. Beasley's is located in beautiful downtown Raleigh, North Carolina and conveniently sits on a strip with other restaurants and local shops. Beasley's Chicken & Honey screams "Southern Hospitality", As soon as I walked in a was filled with good vibes and a sense of belonging thanks to their polite staff. First thing I noticed was the huge community style table in the center of the restaurant; I liked this idea because it gives patrons the opportunity to meet new people while enjoying good food, but if you come with a party or just want to have your own table, no worries they also have plenty of tables outside of the

community style table. The atmosphere was a very cozy, homey feel that was actually pretty relaxing. It was interesting because if with the restaurant being pretty busy, you still got this laid back relaxed vibe from the atmosphere. The decor was modern and trendy but still gave of the look of an old renovated saloon/ general store which I felt helped add to that southern comfort ambiance I had mentioned before. Personal menus are available upon request, but I thought it was very cool how the menu's were written on big chalk boards on the wall. Once again, this creative idea helped add to the ambiance of the restaurant making my experience a great one.

Staff:  Beasley's staff does an amazing job at making sure your visit is a good one; especially our waitress we had that afternoon. She was very polite, pleasant and knew the menu items extremely well. We never had to look around for her when we had a question or needed assistance, she would just magically pop up with a smile. I've mentioned it before, but i'm a firm believer in your waiting staff really making or breaking a restaurant. Beasley's staff definitely backs their establishment up very well with great service.

The Food:  Beasley's takes southern comfort food to another level with their menu choices in my opinion, they took dishes I grew up loving and made them even more enjoyable! On top of their great food selections, Beasley's also has great bartenders that put out some creative tasty adult beverages.
 We started off with the grit fries, and homemade Churros. These appetizer's were so delicious, that I'm going to need a slight moment of silence... The grits fries were creamy, smooth grits with pimento cheese mixed in; then its cut into a shape of a big french fries and flash fried.  The grit fries were served with an aoili and homemade chow chow that helped bring everything together for a mixture of great flavors. These fries were a delicious and genius creation, you get a nice crunch from the breading on the grit fries; followed by the smooth texture, and cheesy flavor of the grits. These elements mixed with the aoili and chow chow team up to give your taste buds a knock out punch to remember; If you love grits you must try this amazing appetizer, I promise you'll enjoy every bite.

Grit Fries w/ aioli & chow chow

 Beasley's home made Churros somewhat ruined my childhood, but oddly in a good way. I have vivid memories of enjoying the huge churros from trips to the zoo when I was little, but those did not even come close to Beasley's home made churros. Tasting Beasley's churros almost gave me a feeling of being deprived, confused, lied to even. These churros were the truth; point blank. These amazing

Churros

morsels of fried dough were the perfect size, came out piping hot and were coated with just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar that would kill anyone's sweet tooth. The appearance was one thing, but flavor and texture is what made me fully fall in love. The outside had the perfect crunch to it blended with that wonderful cinnamon sugar coating, while the inside was hot, lite, and airy; it almost felt like you were eating a cloud covered in cinnamon in sugar. It was so hard not filling up on these sweet treats but I knew I was going to need room to enjoy the main course so I backed away respectfully.
  My main course was a very memorable one, and pleased me just as much as our starters. I had the pork shoulder meatloaf with Yukon gold mashed potatoes and a side of creamed collard greens. This dish was the epitome of southern comfort food and tasted like something your grandma would make for Sunday dinner. The meatloaf was a 50/50 mix of ground pork shoulder and ground chuck which made the meatloaf very tender and flavorful, surprisingly it was fairly light also. The gravy was the cherry on top for this dish, it was made from the pork shoulder drippings which made the gravy rich and very flavorful. The meatloaf had a perfect char on the outside and was served on top of fluffy, creamy, mashed potatoes that almost melted in your mouth. Our waitress recommended the creamed collard's, which went perfectly with my dish. They were seasoned very well and had just the right amount of crunch to them. Everything complimented each other very well, I would highly recommend this meal selection if your ever stop by Beasley's Chicken & Honey. I also tried a little bit of everyone else's food and it was also very good! I'd say they got southern comfort food covered at Beasley's Chicken & Honey.

Pork Shoulder Meatloaf w/ Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

Biscuits w/ sausage gravy

Chicken and Waffles(Amazing)

Eggs with country ham grits and biscuits

Moscow Mule w/ my twist ( sub Bourbon for vodka)

Recap: Beasley's Chicken & Honey is a spacious but cozy, and trendy restaurant located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina that upholds the phrase, "Southern Hospitality".  They specialize in southern comfort food that is sure to have you leaving pleased and wanting to come back. On top of their amazing breakfast food, they also serve lunch and dinner that is just as delicious. I strongly recommend this restaurant for family's, groups of friends, couples, and anyone else in search of some great food in downtown Raleigh. If you plan on going for breakfast or brunch, I recommend getting there fairly early. With the tasty food they're pumping out it tends to get really busy around brunch time. In search of great food and great hospitality? Treat yourself and check out Beasley's Chicken and Honey!!

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival "THE SHRINE OF SWINE"

  Location: Cary, North Carolina

  Cusine: American BBQ

   So this weekend I went down to Raleigh, North Carolina with my family to visit my little sister, and to attend the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival. All in all this set the table for a great weekend; friends, family,drinks and BBQ cant go wrong!
    The festival is actually a tour that sets up shop in a few different cities along the East coast ranging from Florida to New York sharing great spirits and some great BBQ! The atmosphere was amazing; lots of people holding conversations and trying samples, the aroma of smoked meats floating through the air, and the occasional tipsy person dancing to the live music being played. The the southern hospitality was the icing on the cake, and made this a great environment to be in on a Saturday afternoon.
   As we walked around we sampled beer and bourbons from over 50 different vendors from all over, some local based and some coming from other states. After having a few drinks I felt it was time to start trying some of this good smelling food! My first food highlight of the festival was the sample of the whole hog, which was probably the most moist, juicy, and flavorful pulled pork I've ever had and I'm not that big of a pork fan. They cart the whole hog out that they had been smoking since 12 AM the day before and pull the meat from the bones right it in front of the crowd, this was an experience in its self. The skin of the pig was this beautiful red color which comes from the hours of smoking it low and slow; once they opened the hog up and started to pull the meat from the bones you could just the juices rolling out and slowly your mouth starts to water. The chef told me and my dad all he used was salt, pepper, and good smoke to get the hog so juicy and flavorful. Let's just say we were a little skeptical because something that tasted this amazing had to of had more steps! But we took his word for it and continued to enjoy this amazing meat. The smoky flavor was just enough, not to strong but bold enough for you to taste it through out the pulled pork. The smokiness mixed with the moist,juicy lightly seasoned meat created a nuclear explosion of flavor in my mouth; this was by far the best pulled pork I've ever tasted. The next food highlight of the festival for me was this amazing brisket sandwich from Poor Piggy's BBQ.   Poor Piggy's BBQ & catering is based out of Wilmington, North Carolina and is decorated with awards from lot's of competitions for their ribs and pork. This was the first time I had a pulled brisket sandwich and I enjoyed every single bite! The meat was just as moist, juicy, and flavorful as the pulled pork from earlier in the day but with me loving beef, I fell into a temporary euphoric state. There was just the right amount of smoke used and it was seasoned just right. Surprisingly, the pit master gave us a little more insight than we received from the whole hog tasting. He said that they used hickory for the first part of the smoke and then for the last hour the meat is smoked it with pecan wood, the two different smokes meshed together beautifully to bring out a nice smokey flavor in the meat that screamed "THIS IS REAL BBQ". Now, I'm not a big fan of vinegar based BBQ sauce but their sauce was very tasty and added another note of flavor to the greatness of this brisket sandwich, if you love smoked beef this sandwich would put your taste buds on cloud 9 I promise!
  This event was an all around great experience, I would recommend it to anyone who loves BBQ,beer, and bourbon or anyone who just simply loves BBQ. The festival is held annually, so I recommended checking out what cities they will be stopping in and trying to catch them next year. To my followers who live in the DMV area the last stop of the Tour is in Tyson's Corner,Virginia on September 19th. If you don't have any plans that weekend and looking for a good time go check it out!

Whole smoked hog

Poor Piggy's smoked pulled Brisket Sandwich

Pulled pork from the whole hog

GOOD TIMES!!

Festival website: www.beerandbourbon.com
Poor Piggy's : www.poorpiggys.com

A taste of Cuba with out the plane trip! Cuba de Ayer #Foodie #Cuban #CubaDeAyer

Restaurant:Cuba De Aye

Cuisine: Cuban

Location: Burtonsville, MD

Price Range: $15-$25
Website: www.cubadeayerrestaurant.net

Atmosphere: Cuba de Ayer has a very nice welcoming atmosphere, especially now that they have expanded adding more space for patrons also adding a full bar. In the evening time it  is actually a pretty intimate type setting with low lights and Cuban music playing in the background. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for some good Cuban food!

Staff: The staff is very nice, and help to make sure you have a good experience they are tentative and are lots of knowledge on the menu.If you have trouble choosing what to eat they are very good at giving recommendations.

The Food: The food is bursting with flavors and very enjoyable! Make sure to bring your appetite, they serve some pretty healthy sized portions that are very filling. The entrees consist of beef,chicken,pork, and seafood served with rice a choice of beans and plantains; which they add their Cuban flare to that will wake your taste buds up! Be sure to try the Tostones Rellenos which are fried green plantains stuffed with either ground beef or shredded beef and the Empanadas which are turnovers filled with either beef,chicken, or cheese. They are all made from scratch and will have you coming back for more! If you like drinks they also make very good mojito's made with fresh mint leaves and to add a spin they give you flavor choices like pineapple and mango. Their mojitio martini is very refreshing with a bite, it goes well with a meal or just by itself to sip on while having a good conversation. If room is left over after enjoying your meal, try their Treche Leche cake which is a moist sponge cake soaked in three different kinds of milk that gives the cake a rich sweet flavor. This cake is amazing and if you have a sweet tooth it will knock it right out, and its still pretty light on your stomach. 

Recap: Cuban de Ayer is a lively, friendly, welcoming restaurant that's suitable for families,couples, or a date night if your interested in trying something different from your typical chain restaurant. Their food is decently priced, delicious and bursting with flavors that will have you planning your next trip back! Call up mom and dad, your friends, or you special somebody and check out this little gem In Burtonsville, Maryland. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!

Tostones Rellenos

Carne Con Papa w/ black beans and rice and sweet plantains

Things Ive personally cooked/ experimented with so far..

  If your a friend or family member you may have seen me post pictures of things I've cooked on my social media pages, but since I'm new to this blog thing I'm going to start off by showing a few things I've made in the past few months. If you see something that you may want to try out feel free to drop a message. Most of these dishes came from recipes but some I just threw together.Cooking will always be my passion! ENJOY!

                                                       A spin on paella made with orzo

Foccia Bread

pepper steak sandwhich on foccia

Andouille and pepper omelet w/ roasted cajun potatoes

cilantro lime cod fish

Blackened Salmon

Cod fish gundy(Virgin Islands)

Oreo cheesecake

Chicken breast w/ thai Curry Sauce

Smoked and braised roast

chocolate chip cheesecake w/chocolate genache(before the chocolate set)

Smoked Ribs

Cajun Chicken Pizza

French Toast Cassarole

 Cajun chicken Sandwhich w/ fresh cut fries

Grilled Salmon w/ Pan Asian Sauce

Beef Patties(Prior to baking)

Pasta w/ pesto shrimp and spinach

Baked Salmon w/ creole sauce

Smoked pulled lamb sandwhich w/lamb au jus

Brined Buttermilk fried chicken

Garlic Shrimp

Carne Con Papa(Meat and Potatoes)

 Smoked Jerk Chicken

Slow Roasted Pernil

Pernil w/rice and peas and plantains

Curry Chicken w/ Rice and Peas

Smoked Lamb Roast