Waffles INCaffeinated- not your average waffle-Pittsburgh

Brunch is tradition when I visit my sister.  She always finds us fantastic places to eat, and they usually have a twist.  This visit she took us to Waffles INCaffeinated, on the South Side of Pittsburgh, on Carson Street.  My kids were super excited, because they love waffles.  I am more of a hotcakes person as you know, but I was very intrigued with the menu.  They have every twist on the waffle you could think of, as well as, all the traditional breakfast items (eggs, bacon, ect.) and they also offer lunch items.  But don't expect your traditional items to be traditional in presentation.  Their breakfast potatoes were made up of white, purple and sweet potatoes.  Yummy!
You can get one of their signature waffles, either sweet (mega berry) or savory (breakfast magic) or create your own concoction from a vast array of items.
My son knew what he wanted right away.  They have a signature waffle called the Funky Monkey:

It is a chocolate chip filled waffle topped with bananas, a peanut butter chiffon and drizzled with chocolate sauce!  He was in heaven!!!  It is not only extremely tasty, but very pretty as well. 

 My husband took a chance on one of their waffle creations in the lunch category.  He ordered the Waffles Gyro:  gyro-lamb, onions, tomatoes, fresh greens and a cucumber-mint sour cream sauce, all presented in a waffle wrappe.  How cool is that!

I chose to try a lunch option and went with their BLT:  Six pieces of applewood smoked bacon, fresh greens, sliced tomatoes, avocado, and tangy mayonnaise served on texas toast, dusted with their PRD, precious ranch dust.  You can add a fried egg to it and, of course, I did!  It was brunch after all!  

This sandwich was amazing!!!  I kept saying "this is so good" over and over!

I was supposed to split it with my son and take half his waffle, but I loved the sandwich so much, I only gave him a bite.

They also have a great kids menu!  Kids can choose a half waffle with toppings of their choosing or simple standard items like grilled cheese.  They have a choice of fruit or potatoes.  One of my daughters, chose a chocolate chip waffle with marshmallow fluff topping and the fruit cup.  That is one of the best child's plates I have ever seen!

My other daughter chose the grilled cheese and side of potatoes.  

All the dishes were delicious and beautifully presented!  This is a wonderful place, and I will definately visit it again and again when we visit Pittsburgh.  I was a very happy girl at WafflesINCaffeinated!  

The Best Spinach, Artichoke dip ever! Dublin Square, East Lansing

When it comes to appetizers, we usually order one of three things, nachos, calamari or spinach artichoke dip.  All five of us enjoy these appetizers (or at least parts of them).  Needless to say, I have had my share of spinach artichoke dips.  By far, the best, I have ever had, is at Dublin Square in East Lansing.  When we ordered it, I expected what we always get, a hot bowl of dip with some hot tortilla chips on the side.  What we got, however, was a hot, toasted, BREAD bowl with the creamiest spinach artichoke dip I have ever tasted!  It was dripping with baked mozzarella and served with crispy pita chips.  I could have eaten the entire thing for my meal!  As it was, I ate most of it, and dipping the toasted bread in the dip was awesome!!

We chose to go to Dublin Square because it was a beautiful day and they have a great out door patio area. Plus, on Thursdays and the weekends, there is usually music on the patio.  They have a great selection of beer and root beer for my daughter.

The menu is a great mix of traditional Irish pub food, and American bar fare.  They kindly put a box around the house specialties. I decided to go with a house specialty, and ordered the Traditional Reuben.

I love that they offer grilled vegetables in place of fries!  The Russian dressing is really tangy and smooth.  I loved that they put it on the side so it didn't smother the taste of the rest of the sandwich.  The rye was perfectly toasted and the coleslaw had just the right amount of mayo to make it slaw, but not soggy. Yummy!!!  

They have a great kids menu which offers fish and chips (my son was actually willing to order off the kid's menu!). 

The standard kids fare of chicken tenders and grilled cheese are very well done! Look at that awesome grilled cheese!  The chicken came with real honey mustard!  My daughter asked why it wasn't bright yellow like all the other honey mustard.

The music, the patio and the  fantastic food made for a wonderful evening!  We were very happy with our visit to Dublin Square!  

Hang 10 Tacos Truck-Los Angeles

We spent the day at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, CA.  Luckily for us they were having a surfing festival that day.  Super fun!!!  That also meant food trucks galore!!!  I remember the days when festivals and fairs meant only hot dogs and funnel cakes.  Now you can get gourmet meals!!!!  Being in SoCal I needed to get tacos for lunch that day, at the Hang 10 Taco Truck!  What a selection! From char boiled steak tacos to shrimp or pulled pork tacos.  They will turn any taco into a burrito and they have quesadillas and taco salad too!
They have a lunch special of 3 tacos for $10 with a drink.  Perfect!  I ordered the 3 taco special with the mini quesadilla for lunch to split with my son.

The quesadilla is filled with cheese, guacamole and lettuce.  It was a perfect addition to the meal.

The tacos are fantastic!!!  They are extremely fresh and so flavorful!!! We got the Huntington (pulled pork, cheese, pico de gallo and guacamole), the Palos Verdes (battered shrimp, cabbage, chipotle sauce and pico de gallo) and the Baja taco (battered fish, cabbage, creamy avocado sauce and pico de gallo).  My son and I were fighting over them.  I should have gotten three for each of us.  I was torn between the Huntington and the Baja.  I wish I could have tried them all.  I was very happy!




So if you are in Southern California keep your eyes out for the Hang 10 Truck!  You will be very happy too!

Greek fusion-Meze, San Diego

We took our kids to the famous Gas Lamp district, when visiting San Diego, because of the good shopping and good eats.  Being so close to the ocean, we figured we would get seafood, but then we stumbled on something different, Meze, a Greek Fusion restaurant, on 6th and J.
We live in Michigan and are privileged to be exposed to largest Middle Eastern population outside of the Middle East and therefore, some of the best Middle Eastern food, so we very rarely eat Middle Eastern food on trips, however, we were intrigued by the idea of Greek fusion.
We sat outside on the patio, on adorable seats that were like love seats.  The inside is very contemporary with wooden furniture, fun paintings and cool lighting.
The appetizer menu is divided into cold and hot Meze.   They have the classic hummus and pita, dolma (grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices), and falafel but you can fuse with a Greek quesadilla (Lavash bread, onion, bell peppers, tomato, cheddar, mozzarella, feta cheese).   
We ordered the hummus and pita and Saganaki (Pan Seared Kassari Greek Cheese Finished with Brandy-they light it right at the table). 

The saganaki was fantastic!   Creamy and gooey on the inside and crisp on outside!   We are pretty much hummus snobs, having eaten some of the best, and I have to say that both my husband and I thought it was really good.   Not to garlicky or lemony.  And the pita was great!  Soft and toasted but not too buttery.  

My son ordered the falafel for his meal.  It was perfect.   Four pieces of falafel with pita, lettuce, tomato and tahini.  You can eat it separately or make a sandwich!  

My husband ordered the special combo kabob.  Lamb, beef, chicken and shrimp with veggies.   Wow!!  Everything was cooked perfectly despite the variation in textures.  

I ordered the Meze Kebob, ground beef and lamb with Italian eggplant.  Wow!  Was this good!   The seasoning was amazing and the eggplant was cooked to perfection (no one likes mushy eggplant). I loved the side of veggies, that included squash, zucchini, mushrooms and onions.  It was a bit Italian a bit Greek, a perfect fusion.  

We truly enjoyed our meals at Meze!  I was a happy girl!  

Pizza and beer by the beach- Pizza Port, San Clemente, CA

The kids wanted pizza, and of course we wouldn't mind a beer, so we took a chance on a place recommended by my husband's friend:  Pizza Port.  We knew nothing about the place except that it served gourmet pizza and had its own brewery.  I thought it was a sit down restaurant, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was an order at the counter, find your own seat type of place.  It is a super cute place!   The tables are picnic style, with the bar on one side and the picnic tables and counter on the other.  There is also seating out on the patio and upstairs.

Their list of beers is impressive, offering Pizza Port original brews and local favorites.  

We were delighted to see a lunch special that included a slice of pizza, salad and a drink.   Plus you could upgrade to a beer!   We were able to substitute a second slice for one of the salads which worked great for us!   You had a choice of pepperoni, cheese or the special of the day.   The day we went it was broccoli, chicken!  That is, of course, what I chose. Yummy!

And the salad that came with ithe meal was huge and  incredibly fresh!   

 

This place is so awesome!   I tried to talk everyone into going back the next night for dinner!   It is the perfect place for a family meal, dinner and drinks with friends, drinks and late night snack with friends or just drinks.  They have take out as well!   I was a happy girl after my meal at Pizza Port.  If you are in San Clemente, make a stop here, you will be very happy too!