April 2024: It's been a minute....

 Well... it has been a minute since I've posted.  I was recently chatting with a friend and she reviving her own blog, and has invited friends to join in.  I figure I can revive mine as well, and perhaps we can spur each other on.

So brace yourselves - here it comes.  A reimagined blog capturing my love for food and travel.  It will probably morph shapes overtime as I work on redesign, and channeling energy into this.  If any of my readers (do I even have reader's for my semi-defunct blog?) want to contribute, you can guest post.  Hopfully this will eventually be a useful repository of great, unexpected, and joyous food adventures.

So join in, come along, and let's eat!

A noodle house... in Tallahassee

 Well, it finally happened.  I got COVID.  Getting COVID while living alone, and without a fridge or freezer full of already cooked foods isn't ideal. Luckily, I found Midtown Noodles Bar, and even luckier for me - Uber Eats services it.  So I had plenty of ramen and soup while getting loads of rest -- all without contact or the risk of me spreading COVID.

Today, now that I'm testing negative and doing much better, I decided to visit Midtown Noodles in person.  It is wonderful.  It is in an unassuming strip mall, tucked away in a side building in a Publix plaza.  But once inside, the aroma of wonderful soup and noodles delights.  I had a huge bowl of Tonkotsu and boba tea.

Delicious.  I will definitely be back.

Mapo Tofu... and COVID

 Some food reviews are good, and some are... not.

For the past week or so, I've had what feels like a nasty cold.  My throat is sore.  I cough when I talk.  I have difficulty swallowing because it feels like my throat is swollen shut.  I took 4 home COVID tests over the past week or so, and all came back negative.  But apparently the latest strain that is circulating sometimes does that.  So just to be safe, I had a PCR test yesterday (results take 24-48 hours to come back).  

I also really wanted some comfort food for dinner - preferably, that I didn't have to prepare myself.  I wanted Mapo Tofu.  I've been dying for real, authentic, Chinese food since moving away from Atlanta, and leaving my job that involved multiple business trips to China each year (but not before those perks spoiled me and raised the bar on Chinese food for me!).

I found a Chinese/Asian Fusion place here in Tallahassee, it gets decent reviews, and while not fully authentic, their menu showed Mapo Tofu and indicated that it is spicy (as it should be).  I was excited.  This place, Azu, had promise.

As it was served to me, I noticed that sauce looked more brown than red, but I figured it would be only mildly spicy as they probably needed to cater to the local population here in Tallahassee.  And as I ate my dinner I became more and more concerned.  It wasn't very spicy.  It wasn't even mildly spicy.  It had NO spicy or heat profile.  And yet the menu said it should be spicy.  Link to Menu

I packed up my leftovers, and returned to my apartment alarmed.  I had lost my sense of taste.  Surely I had COVID.  This seemed terrible.  I took the day off of work so as not to impact my colleagues and share my germs.  And then... I got my test results back tonight.  Negative.  Which is great.  For me.  But it also means, I will not return to Azu.  Their spicy dish was so bland I thought I'd lost my taste buds.  Cannot recommend.

Ukraine - right in the middle of St. Petersburg, Florida

 I can't bring back this blog without at least a few words about my favorite spots in St. Petersburg, where we've lived for the past 2 1/2 years.

The first place I want to talk about is O'Bistro/Pierogi Bar.  O'Bistro is a neighborhood spot that I think of as a lunch spot (they probably do dinner too), with a bar.  I'm usually the youngest person in there by several decades, but it is dependably decent (but not exciting) food.  That all changed in the recent past.

O'Bistro changed ownership and a local couple, originally from Ukraine, bought the business.  Prior to that they'd been making pierogis out of their home to sell, and they found an incredible amount of support for their business and for Ukraine in general after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year.  

The invasion is now several months in duration, with no end in sight, and there is a groundswell of support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people all over the US.  The name of this spot is now O'Bistro/Pierogi Bar (I suspect they are easing us into a name change), and they serve pierogis but also other traditional foods from Ukraine.  They have stuffed cabbage (I haven't tried this yet), and borscht.  I tried their borscht (my first borscht ever) and it was AMAZING.  The pierogis are delicious - and they have several varieties.  They even told me that they'll be introducing gluten-free pierogis in the future.  

I highly recommend this little lunch spot.  Its fabulous!

                                   

Post-Covid.... we're back!

Once again, I've stepped away from this blog for longer than I'd even realized.  Life has changed.  My last post was made pre-Covid.  And pre big-move.  I moved to St. Petersburg, Florida in December 2019, and as of June, 2022 am now splitting my time between St. Petersburg and Tallahassee, Florida.

My current job will have me traveling, albeit domestically. And as I get settled in Tallahassee, and continue my explorations of St. Petersburg (and beyond!) it is time to bring back this blog.

So let's start with some of my recent food exploration in Tallahassee.  I've been delighted with the variety of ethnic food options here (more choices than in St. Pete) and I've been exploring and taste-testing my way through the city.

I started my exploration with VeneBites (https://www.venebites.com) a Venezuelan restaurant with amazing homemade arepas.  I loved it and look forward to returning (I didn't manage to snap a picture).

I followed with a meal of jollof at Halisi (https://www.halisiafrica.com).  It was good, though it was described as spicy, and I didn't find it to be so.  Still tasty, and I will certainly return to Halisi again and sample other dishes as well.  This place is a cute little cafe - with food, coffees and teas, and even textiles and other cute items from Africa.

Tonight, I needed to finally bite the bullet and get a desk chair for my apartment, and I stumbled upon a true hole-in-the-wall place.  The windows were frosted preventing a view inside, and the outside said simply "K-BBQ." (https://mykbbq.com)  I decided to take a chance on it, and I'm glad I did.  While the appearance of the restaurant was unassuming, and the menu was very limited it was good.  I got the bi bim bop with a side of kimchi.  The restaurant is only open for carry-out (though there are tables inside, so I assume this is s vestige of Covid).  When I got home and opened my meal, I was really pleased with the variety of vegetables, fried egg, and beef that made up my meal.  (I took a photo of this meal and will try to add it later, but atm the blog app isn't cooperating).

I haven't been able to find any Ethiopian here.  So that is a bummer, but I'm delighted with what I have been able to find.  So for those of you familiar with Tallahassee - where should I eat next?

Homemade noodles, and Xiao Long Bag - I hit the jackpot!

I found an amazing new restaurant near my home today.  It is primarily a noodle shop (the noodles are made in-house), though there are other options too, including homemade Xiao long bao.  I had to try it all!

I highly recommend this restaurant! It is called Xiao's Way Noodle House.  Check it out!

Korea - it is good to be back!

After too long, I've returned to Korea (Seoul to be exact), and am delighted to be here.  I have a favorite optical shop in Seoul (in the Itaewon neighborhood) that I always visit when I'm here, and today, during the 2 hours it took to get 2 new pairs of glasses made, I tried a new coffee shop, and revisited my favorite dumpling spot.

For a little break (and really to cool off, a typhoon came through Korea yesterday, and the humidity and heat today are fierce), I went to Hollys Coffee and ordered based on pictures and Korean text that I am not capable of reading (so really, I ordered by picture).  I wasn't quite sure what I was getting.  But it was delicious!  As it turned out, it was iced coffee, with boba, and a little hot fudge drizzled in. Delicious!

After my coffee break, I walked around Itaewon a bit, and then headed to my old standby, Jonny Dumpling.  No matter how much Itaewon gentrifies and changes, there is something comforting about this little dive restaurant with handmade dumplings remaining exactly the same.

For about $10, I had more lunch than I could possibly eat (by a lot!) - I ordered shrimp/pork dumplings which were half-way pan fried, and half-way steamed.  They were delicious!

And as I was packing up my extra dumplings to snack on a little bit later, I got a text that my glasses were ready for pick-up, so that was the end of my time in Itaewon.  Until next time...