Sunday, June 26, 2011

D'Arcy's Pint

D'Arcy's Pint is located in Springfield IL. I heard about this place on Man vs Food, so of course I wanted to go there. Greedy Eater 2 came along for this new food experience. D'Arcy's Pint is known for its horseshoes. I've never had a horseshoe before, but they sounded and looked good. A horseshoe consists of a Texas Toast base, with your choice of meat or vegetable to put on top, then fries are placed on top of that, and then covered with a white homemade cheese sauce.

We got there around 3:00 on Saturday. The hostess told us that it would be 15 minutes for a table, so we decided to sit at the bar instead. I ordered a half pint horseshoe with Italian Sausage and Greedy Eater 2 ordered a half pint horseshoe with Bacon. When I first ate some of the fries with the cheese sauce, I was taken aback. It was shamefully good. The fries were cooked perfectly and matched with the cheese sauce just made it taste really good. The texas toast and italian sausage just adds to the overall experience. Honestly, I would have been as happy with just the fries and cheese sauce. I was not able to finish all of my half pint, but it warmed up nicely for leftovers. We would definitely recommend trying a horseshoe at this restaurant. Apparently there is a place in Normal called Nate's Diner that may also serve horseshoes. Not sure if it would be worth trying. D'Arcy's would be difficult to top.

Italian Sausage:



Bacon:

Friday, June 24, 2011

Taqueria El Merendon - CLOSED

Update: As of June 2014 this business is under new ownership. The new name is Vera Cruz.

We're back at it with a well overdue review of Taqueria El Merendon. We began eating at El Merendon a few months after they opened back in July 2010. It's located in the strip mall across from Cub Foods. There hasn't been a meal we've ordered that we didn't like.  The burritos, quesadillas, and the taquitos are awesome. They have a variety of meat to choose from which is seasoned perfectly. The food is always served fresh and the dishes have the right flavor.

Instead of eating at the restaurant, we decided to do carry-out. We ordered two carne molida (ground beef) tacos, an order of Taquitos dorados, and Alambres. The tacos are like Taqueria El Porton. You have your choice of meat. They ask if you want cilantro and onions on the taco. Also, you have to ask for cheese. As for the Taquitos, you will never eat another box of frozen taquitos from the grocery store again. You get 5 taquitos served with sour cream, salsa, dry cheese, lettuce and pico de gallo on the side. I love El Merendon's taquitos. It was the first time either of us tried Alambres. It's grilled steak, bacon (my favorite), bell peppers, onions, and tri cheese blend mixed together, and served with lettuce, sour cream, pico de gallo, and 5-6 corn tortillas on the side. The combination of the meat with the peppers, onions, and cheese is like pure ecstasy. You need a private moment. I kid you not.


In past visits to Taqueria El Merendon, we've tried their burritos (regular size), quesadillas, tortas, and pupusas. The Horchata is always a good choice to drink with any dish. We definitely recommend this place for good authentic Mexican food.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

New Orleans

My mom and I traveled to New Orleans for a few days the first week in June. It was my first time going to New Orleans. I was looking forward to trying some good food and I was not disappointed.

The first day we got there we ate at Pat O'Brien's on Bourbon St. for dinner. We ordered two Hurricanes (non-alcoholic) and two appetizers, the Catfish Strips and the Alligator Bites. The Hurricane tasted great and was refreshing for the hot and humid weather in N.O. The Catfish Strips had a light breading and was seasoned perfectly with good tartar sauce. The Alligator Bites were seasoned perfectly and the honey mustard sauce was a good pairing for the bites. For dessert we tried the Bread Pudding. The bread itself could have been firmer, but the warm whiskey sauce was unbelievably good. I ate more of the sauce than the bread pudding itself.






The next day for breakfast we ate Commerce Restaurant on Camp St. It's not quite a dive, but a decent place to get a down home breakfast at. I ordered a Bacon and Cheddar Omelet with Grits. My mom ordered Scrambled Eggs with Cheese Grits and Toast. The food tasted like good southern cooking. The service was a little slow since there was only one waitress serving ten tables.

For lunch we ate at Mother's Restaurant on Poydras St. They are known as the place that has the world's best baked ham. Neither one of us tried their baked ham. We had our minds on seafood! I ordered the Fried Shrimp Po'Boy sandwich and my mom ordered the Catfish Platter with Potato Salad and French Fries as the two sides. The Po'Boy sandwich was awesome. The french bread was soft and they pack it with a lot of fried shrimp. The sandwich was dressed in shredded cabbage, pickles, mayo, Creole and yellow mustards. I was stuffed by the time I got done eating the sandwich. The Catfish wasn't too impressive, it was okay. Granted they give you plenty of catfish. The french fries and potato salad was good.




Later on that evening we went back to Pat O'Brien's and ordered Alligator Bites and I tried their Big Chocolate Cake. The size of the slice of cake wasn't really big, but a decent size. The taste was chocolaty and smooth. I love chocolate so this cake ranked as one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had.



To cap off the evening we went to Cafe Du Monde on Decatur St., a place famous for the beignets. One order gives you three beignets. They were warm, soft, and loaded with powdered sugar.



The next day (our last day) before leaving that afternoon, we ate at Welty's Deli on Camp St. for breakfast. We both ordered the Breakfast Platter. This consisted of scrambled eggs, grits, bacon (5 strips) or sausage 2 patties), and toast (2 slices) or a biscuit. The food was hot, especially the grits! They literally just finished cooking the food when they served it to us. Besides a slightly burnt tongue, the food was good.

One food item that is pretty popular in New Orleans is the pralines. I stopped by Southern Candymakers on Decatur St. to get some pralines. As soon as you walk in the door, you smell chocolate and caramel. I was salivating at the mouth when I saw them making the candy right there in front of me. There was so many different types of candy to choose from. I decided to get some pralines and a box of tortues (i.e. turtles).

I would definitely visit New Orleans again, mainly for the food. Two restaurants I would like to visit next time are Landry's Restaurant and the Acme Oyster House.