Eating and drinking with Franny and Zo!

Fairchild's Oyster Bar

2010-08-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, doing what I hate most... Telling people that a place in a Casino is good. Why do I hate doing this? First of all it is rare I like any food from any casino unless you are in one of their top tier restaurants. Secondly I hate supporting Casinos when their are great local places to eat. Finally I hate doing it because I have such a hard time convincing people that my taste-buds are not broken! But tucked away in the Silver Legacy is a restaurant that I really enjoyed.

Let me tell you what you will not find here; Spicy Cajun seafood that you can only find on the Gulf coast or from kitchens of people from the Gulf Coast. What you will find though is tasty seafood dishes named as if they were Spicy Cajun Seafood from the Gulf Coast. What does that all mean? Simple really, fresh tasting, flavorful seafood that you will enjoy eating until your tummies are bursting! I also have to give a special nod to their bread sticks. They really are great!

I had pan roast, Zo had fish and chips and we shared some crab cakes. All of the food was very tasty and I really enjoyed the location, friendly employees and atmosphere of the Oyster Bar. it really reminded me of a fish-shack on the Gulf, minus being able to look out at the Gulf and smell fresh fish being caught.

If you are looking for a quick seafood fix in Reno, NV you could do far far worse than stopping by this great Casino Restaurant.

What Francis says: In a casino; check, good food; check, wait how did that happen?!? But seriously this place is worth checking out!

What Zo says: My second favorite fish and chips in Reno!

Thai Lotus (Reno, NV)

2010-07-19T12:01:00.003-07:00

Thai Lotus is one of my new favorite places to catch lunch in Reno. You get not only great tasting but beautifully presented food. Your meal comes out on a large ornate platter with a small salad, a rice paddie, your main course and an egg roll each on their own dish. The effect along with the friendly servers makes you think that you should be paying far more than the usual $8 bucks!

It is a great place to have a casual business meeting as well as have a quick romantic bite to eat.

I really need to stop by for dinner soon!

http://www.thailotusreno.com/

What Francis says: Great food, great atmosphere, great presentation, great price, just plain great!

What Zo says: Francis has not taken me yet, he needs to!

Country Garden Restaurant (Reno, NV)

2010-07-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

I finally took Zo to Arlington Gardens or rather my mother finally took us both. I have been telling Zo for 2 years that I would take her for lunch but we have never gone. Why? I do not have a clue! It may be because it was always hard to get into. You had to make reservations sometimes a day in advance. If you have not been there in a while and this was one of the reasons you stopped going you should defiantly rediscover it.

You can still call ahead but in the past 4 months it has not been overly crowded. They've have been able to easily squeeze us in last minute. The food is still as tasty as ever and the environment is great for any type of business meeting or romantic luncheon get together.

What Francis says: Great atmosphere, great service, good food.

What Zo says: Why did Francis take so long to bring me here? It is a fabulous place to have lunch!

Arlington Gardens Mall: Country Garden Restaurant

606 West Plumb Lane, Reno, NV 89509-3689

(775) 825-0213‎

countrygardenrestaurant.com

Santa Fe (Reno, NV)

2010-07-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.themenupage.com/santafebasquemenu.html

Traditional Basque Dining family style dinner at its best! There are a few really good basque family style restaurants around Reno but the Santa Fe has to be my favorite. Even the location feels special in the bottom floor of the old Santa Fe Hotel. the service is always great, the food is always tasty and their is always way more than you could ever eat! If you love basque food and family style dinners make sure to give this place a try!

What Francis Says: I highly suggest ordering the Oxtail as your appetizer it goes great with the lamb, pork or steak!

What Zo says: Really great place to go with small or large groups of friends, nummy food!

Firkin' Wolf Pub

2010-07-06T14:57:00.002-07:00

The Firkin' chain of British Pubs is owned and operated by a British Canadian company. Confusing? YES! Although we usually do not stop in huge corporate chain restaurants we were looking for something we had not had and had burgers and brews.

The atmosphere is defiantly friendly and clean, even the menus are clean, I commented on this and was told they wipe them down every month. We ordered some appetizers, some brews and a burger. The burger was alright, the appetizers were pretty darn good and the brews were great! They have a huge beer and ale selection with just enough home town and microbreweries to fill it out. They even had my dad's favorite Samuel Smith's Out meal stout that I have not seen in 6 years. I ordered one and I have to say it is one of the best beers I have ever had. Zo had a Belgian White from the tap that was crisp, light and fruity.

The servers are super friendly, informative and helpful.

What Francis says: Great place to share a brew and appetizer while watching a game.

What Zo says: Great selection of Beers and Ales, OK burgers.

Bassett Station & Cafe

2010-07-06T14:57:00.001-07:00

Bassett Cafe in Bassett, CA on the road between Downeville and Sierraville is a great place to stop in for a great malt or down home burger! They are super friendly and make you fee as if you grew up stopping in every day.

I had a Peanut Butter cup malt that was so good Zo made me go back the next day to get one for herself. They hamburgers, cheeseburgers and sandwiches remind you of the likes found at an old fashion down home dinner. They are juice, tasty and really hit the spot! If you are on the 49 make sure to stop in and have a bite to eat! (They are also a general store, this came in really helpful because I need some fishing bait and a coat!)

What Francis Says: MAN I WANT ANOTHER MALT!

What Zo says: Super friendly service and great malts and food!

Tha Joint

2010-07-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Tha Joint offers not only great sushi but also great service and a fun environment. Most sushi restaurants in Reno have one of two extreme feels to them. You have the cafeteria places and the intimate get together places. Tha Joint has an almost upbeat club feel to it that is still cozy due to all the employees being so friendly.

The food is really the highlight and it should be at any eatery. Almost every roll you order comes out as beautifully presented as it is tasty.

Polar Bear Frozen Treats

2010-07-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

Polar Bear Frozen Treats in Reno is one of Zo and my favorite places to get frozen treats! Zo is a big fan of the Turtle Sundae (hot fudge, caramel, and salted pecans!) and I like trying the flavor of the day! My favorites have been peanut butter with chocolate peanut butter cups, s'mores, lemon pie and chocolate chocolate with fudge! I am sure there have been others I loved but going their most every Wednesday and Sunday makes it hard to remember what all we have had. That is how much we love it, we go almost every Wednesday and Sunday.

Francis Says: Yummilicious!

Zo Says: NUMMY!

Bi-rite Creamery (San Francisco)

2010-06-22T20:51:00.001-07:00

This place was recommended to us by our innkeeper when we stayed in S.F. for my 25th birthday. We were in the Castro, and Bi-Rite is just a few blocks away in the Mission. The place was jam-packed with people, and it was pretty obvious why: it's super yummy! I got the salted caramel ice cream in a sugar cone, and Francis got...something else that was equally scrumptious and unique, but neither of us can remember what it was. Fact: they make all of their ice cream from Strauss dairy products, which come from happy cows...really! That must be why it's so good.

We both say: DEE-LICIOUS!

Bar Crudo (San Francisco)

2010-06-22T20:49:00.001-07:00

Bar Crudo's lunch specials are as good as their regular menu items, sometimes better! That is what we were told by our waiter and we tested it by ordering lunch items, menu items and a bottle of wine.

First off let me tell you that they have a really great wine menu with good descriptions of the flavors of each wine. It makes it easier to pair your wine with what you have ordered when you have not had every wine on the list.

So were their lunch specials great? YES! The Price and flavor of their lunch specials were great! We had a chorizo and calamari quesadilla that was very scrumptious!

They menu items were also very yummy! We had Salmon, Devil Prawns and a few oysters on the half shell. My only complaint is that the Devil Prawns weren't spicy at all. If you name something devil then you better make it hot! They were very flavorful and I'd order them again.

Dessert was delicious but nothing you haven't seen before.

We both really enjoyed the environment, food and service we received!

What Francis says: Top notch service and food! I highly recommend!

What Zo says: Tasty food and friendly employees, ask to be seated upstairs for a more romantic meal!

http://www.barcrudo.com/

Fudruckers (Reno, NV)

2010-06-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

Why does it cost so much for a burger I have to stand in line and make myself? Are the burgers good? Yes. Are the servers friendly? Yes. Does that make up for having to pay just as much as a normal burger place for the novelty of making the burger my way? Not really. I could make it at home.

I am not saying that Fudruckers is a bad burger place, I just do not get it. You are paying regular restaurant prices to stand in a line waiting to hurriedly throw together your burger with various items, bumping into others also trying to do the same thing. I think that it would work a lot smoother if they would just increase the condiment tables size. Spread it out a little so that you are not bumping into everyone else trying to pick between the hundreds of choices.

The burgers taste pretty much however you want them to because you make them so I will focus on the patties and buns. They are pretty good, not the best not the worst. They remind me of playground grilled burgers at those big family outings.

What Francis says: If you like the novelty of making your own burger, try it out.
What Zo says: Good burgers for a chain, wedge fries are pretty good kind of made her mad they called her ZoHan.

Cheeseburger Island Style (Reno, NV)

2010-06-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

I hate 1000 Island dressing, so you know it is a bad burger when I drown my burger in it. Zo and I have been making fun of how the outside of Cheeseburger Island Style here in Reno looks since it was built. I kept saying it looked like a bad Veags Casino! After months of making fun of it I said, "Hey babe why don't we give it a chance?" So we did.

When you walk in you are greeted by hostesses wearing really bad imitation grass skirts and a friendly "Aloha!" These Alohas get old about the 3rd, 4th one and make you grind your teeth by the 8th or 9th! For being an Island themed burger joint it sure is dark. I do not know about the two girls that opened it after wanting a burger in Hawaii but I've never been to a dark dank beach in bright sunshiny Hawaii. The menus are sticky and grease with way too many items. I shouldn't have to have a waiter tell me to open to page 17 for drinks and page 13 for appetizers... I should be able to easily find them myself.

The menu states all of their burgers come with 1000 island dressing and the onion rings are unforgettable, if my unforgettably plain then they are right about that. The burgers... UGH, the burgers. The first thing Zo noticed when they were brought to us were that they were school cafeteria grey (real bad sign) and the first thing I noticed when biting into them was that they tasted like sausage breakfast patties from a fast food joint. I decided there must be something to the adding 1000 island to the burgers. i had it put on the side because neither of us is a huge fan of it, Zo likes it sometimes. I dipped my burger in... if you dip it in the 1000 island dressing, sprinkle pepper over it, pour ranch on it and pretend you are eating a breakfast sandwich you can kind of enjoy it I suppose.

What was good? The service was pretty darn good (other than they try to up sell you with every sentence when makes Zo and I order less.) The seasoned fries are also pretty good. Nothing to write home about but good enough that you would eat a plate of them!

What Francis says: AVOID!
What Zo says: Avoid!

Cafe Alfresco in the Atlantis Casino (Reno, NV)

2009-05-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

We do not usually frequent casinos but the Atlantis In Reno has Gelato! They also have brick oven pizzas. Those two things combined plus the fact the Atlantis is one of the casinos you do not walk out of smelling like a total ashtray makes this a fun place to stop by now and then.

If you get a pizza be picky. If it looks like something you can get anywhere it is going to taste like a pizza you can get anywhere. If it has an interesting name like; Island Delight, Fire-Roasted Chipotle Chicken, Chef Bob's Favorite, Spicy Meatball, Sonora, ect. It is going to be interesting and good.

When it comes to Gelato there is only really one flavor to avoid. Banana, it tastes like banana laughy taffy not bananas. Other wise they all taste great, some of our favorites are; Wine custard, Amaretto, Carmel, cookies and cream, truffle and vanilla. Everyday they have different flavors so you may have to drop in a few times in a row to get the flavor you are looking for.

We hope to see you there! http://www.atlantiscasino.com/dining/cafe-alfresco-menu.asp

What Francis says: Good gelato and surprisingly good pizza!
What Zo says: Love the gelato, great friendly service, Casino pizza that is good? Who knew!

El Sazon Mexican Restaurant (Reno, NV)

2009-04-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Beef Fajitas, Tacos, Cheese Enchiladas, Salsa, beans, rice, Quesadilla, Carne Asada, Chile Relleno, Margaritas everything I have had here tastes authentic and great!

I have been telling Zo about this place for probably a year and a half and saying we have to go. Then we would end up going somewhere else for one reason or another. We finally popped in Monday night and the food was just as good as I remembered it and I got a, "Everything tastes SO good," from Zo!

We split an order of beef fajitas and a cheese enchilada and it was oh so good.

Being that it has been a while since I have been there, I noticed they have redone the decor and menu's. I remember there being mariachis as well but maybe they are off on Monday nights. Treat yourself to some yummy Mexican at El Sazon II on Oddie Blvd :)

No website so here are some reviews:
http://local.yahoo.com/info-14995488-el-sazon-mexicano-restaurant-alcoa
http://www.menupix.com/reno/restaurants/2800635/El-Sazon-Mexican-Restaurant-Sparks-NV

What Francis says: Love it when the mariachis are there, great place for some authentic Mexican cuisine.
What Zo says: Good place to take your family for Mexican food.

Daruma Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar (Daphne, AL)

2009-04-22T12:45:00.001-07:00

Probably the best sushi Zo or I have ever had together!
Located at 27955 Hwy 98 Suite S-T in Daphne,AL. we found a hard to top sushi bar. The fish is some of the freshest we have ever had, the atmosphere is great for a romantic hideaway and the sushi is inventive, fun and tasty!
Make sure to try some of the crawfish rolls because we have never had sushi that tasted better!

What Francis Says: Some of the most interesting rolls I have ever tried, great service and food!
What Zo says: We have to go there every time we are in town!

Market By the Bay (Daphne, AL)

2009-04-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

At 29145 Us-98 there is a seafood gem. Inside the fish market is a great place to get seafood on the go. There is even a picture of Emeril Lagasse ordering what has to be the best shrimp Po-boy on the planet. Why is it the best? Zo ordered one of these and I got an oyster one. Zo did not think she would like oysters because of a bad childhood experience with them. I told her I would let her try some of mine.

We got them in to-go boxes and headed for my Grandparents house to chow down. When I opened my to-go box the average Po-boy with 8-10 fried oysters was there, it tasted great and the fixes that came with it were tasty. An average meal.

When Zo opened hers?!? There were enough shrimp to feed three people. Shrimp were pouring out of the box! They were fried in a tasty batter warm, soft and juicy! They were for better words perfect.

If you are within 50 miles of this place, stop in and get yourself an amazing Po-boy!

What Francis Says: LOVE IT! Get a shrimp Po-boy!
What Zo says: Great food, love this place.

Tsunami Sushi (Mountain View, CA)

2009-04-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

What a birthday trip last year for Zo! I bought tickets for a Haunted House tour for the wrong weekend we were there. Then we have an exciting trip to the Emergency Room where we found out that stress can cause you to be dizzy and experience nausea (Who knew? other than the docs.)

I did not want Zo's B-day to be a total wash. We needed to relax and have some fun so we found a nice Sushi place in Mountain View to celebrate Zo's birthday. We checked the web reviews and found this place was highly recommend and only a couple of miles away from our hotel.

The fish fresh, the rice sticky and firm, the Nigiri perfect, the Saki tasty, the environment was classy but casual and the service was on the spot fast and friendly!

We tried a more than a few rolls and in our opinion you should make sure to try the, submarine, dragon, crazy, kamikaze, red dragon, soft shell crab and cherry blossom rolls.

Also do your self a favor and get some Karatanba (premium cold sake) it is delicious. Chilled, smooth and warming when it settles. You are going to need a cab because you will want more!

www.tsunamisushi.info/home.html
What Francis says: Fresh and Tasty!
What Zo says: Great rolls and Sake!

Arizmendi Bakery by Zo

2009-04-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

I love this place so much that every time I'm in the Bay Area, I MUST stop here for a little slice of heaven, and anyone who has ever traversed the 80 with me is subjected to my pretty much endless babbling about Arizmendi and how good it is and how we MUST stop there, et cetera. It's fairly annoying but completely out of my control because their pizza really is incredible. In fact, there have been times that I drove to S.F. for no other reason than to stop at Arizmendi for pizza. Seriously.

They have three locations: one in the Lake Merritt neighborhood of Oakland, one in the Inner Sunset in S.F., and one in Emeryville.

This co-op makes one kind of pizza everyday, and everyday the pizza is different. It's always vegetarian, and their toppings range from the semi-odd (shiitake, portobello and button mushrooms with sesame-ginger-garlic vinaigrette) to the traditional (spinach, tomato, and garlic oil.) But here's the amazing thing: even if the pizza of the day sounds less than appetizing, it is always sublime.

The sourdough (!) crust is perfectly golden, chewy, crunchy, and never under baked. They use the absolute best whole-milk mozzarella cheese. Their veggies are always in season and generally locally-grown. I swear, this is the perfect pizza. Francis likes it too...just a little less enthusiastically. They have yummy focaccia too. And sweet rolls, and cookies, and bialys and cheese sticks...

http://arizmendibakery.com/

What Zo says: Best pizza and sourdough!
What Francis says: Like the environment and the pizza is pretty good too!

Eclipse Pizza Co. (Reno, NV)

2009-04-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

Being the pizza lovers we are we scour our local area for good pizzerias. We had seen the sign for Eclipse a few times and decided it was time to try it out.

The menu is full of pizza's with fun names and we settled on the Downieville, an Eclipse House salad and Two Orange blossom beers. You can sit outside on the patio, down stairs or in the loft. We chose the loft as you can look out the windows at the beautiful Reno Valley mountains.

When our order was ready they popped upstairs and dropped us off our food. Pizza is always good but man this pizza is as fun your mouth as they are named. It was flavorful with quality ingredients and best of all the crust was great tasting. Too many places have pizza crust that is as bland as cardboard. The crust could have been eaten on its own it was so good.

We highly recommend this place for its fun food and atmosphere!

http://www.eclipsepizza.net/

What Francis says: Darn good pizza, just eat it there the crust is not as good once it cools.
What Zo says: Tasty pizza and tasty crust, fun environment.

Fresh Mex (Reno, NV)

2009-04-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

A very pleasant surprise! Zo mentioned seeing the commercial for this Fresh Mex on our way home from my parents. We thought it would be fun to stop in and get some quick food to eat as we lounged around at home.

As we opened the door confusion struck. We were spun for a 360 when we were greeted with a, "Hello my friends. Would you like a booth or a table." We both just blankly stared as we looked around at what is a quaint little sit down restaurant.

Finally I spit out, "A table would be nice," we were seated, given menus, chips and salsa.

We both were still flabbergasted looking around at the place when I thoughtlessly put a chip with a dip of Pico de Gallo into my mouth. Instantly I knew we were in for a treat. It was fresh with a great zing of cilantro.

We scanned the menus and we settled on splitting some fish tacos and pork Carnitas. Zo ordered a margarita which was really good. Our food came out steamy hot and we dug in. The fish tacos had large pieces of great tasting fish (cod I believe) and the pork was done perfect to where it just melts in your mouth.

What stole the meal was the amazing salsa. It is sweet and savory with just a touch of heat. The kind of salsa that you want to (and we did) drizzle over every part of your meal. I asked the owner/chief Tooie about it and he proudly told me, "I roast the peppers every morning, fresh, everything here is made fresh daily." It definitely shows and we can not wait to stop in again!

Check this place out!

http://www.freshmexreno.com/

What Francis says: Great salsa and super friendly environment, never trust a skinny chef.
What Zo says: Amazing salsa, friendly servers and owner, great fish tacos!

Beaujolais Bistro (Reno, NV)

2009-04-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

Zo and I wanted to go out to a fancy shmancy dinner, somewhere we could dress up and not look completely out of place. In Reno your selection of this type of restaurant is pretty small.

Deciding to pop into Beaujolais Bistro reservationless we were seated right away. The restaurant has a very nice ambiance, quaint with a touch of regal. This is due to it being a converted cottage.

The first thing I noticed about the menu was the small dinner selection, this usually shows that you will be having a quality meal. This assumption was completely correct! I loved the roasted duck that was the special of the night. Zo's choice was exquisite! The wine selection was also adequate. What was not adequate was the service. Our waiter seemed to hover around the tables with more mature (older) couples and groups. We figured he must feel that due to our youth we would be bad tippers. The bad service continued through dessert. Speaking of dessert every spoonful of our creme brulee was mouthwateringly good.

When it came time to tip we were torn, do we tip poorly to show how upset we were with the service or would that just make the waiter believe he was right in assuming that we would tip poorly. I do not care if I am paying 10 dollars for a meal or over 100 dollars for a meal I expect good service. In the end we settled on 15 percent due to the food being so wonderful. If there was not a lack of service we would have gone with our usual 20-25 percent tip. That waiter really needs to learn that young couples do not equate to poor tipping.

What Francis says: Go for the great food but bear in mind you have the chance of having poor service.
What Zo says: Good food and environment, they must hate young couples because they think they don't tip well.

http://www.beaujolaisbistro.com/history04.html

Krystal's (South East United States)

2009-04-11T12:10:00.001-07:00

MMM MMM GOOD! So I am a big fan of both Krystal's and White Castle burgers. I can not really put my finger on why, but the gressy little burgers. on dinner roll buns, with taste bud sparking grilled onions are one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

Zo thought they were OK tasting and I can understand where she is coming from. They are not the best burger in the world but I just can not resist there bite size yummyness. I love them as an on the road lunch snack or a between class bite.

If you see a Krystal burger restaurant stop in and order a few, maybe you will fall in love with them as I have.

I suggest grabbing some criscross chilly cheese fries as well!

What Francis says: I love these greasy gross burgers!
What Zo says: One or two are OK but then my stomach hurts.

Ed's Seafood Shed (Spanish Fort, AL)

2009-04-11T12:09:00.001-07:00

If you are heading across the Mobile/Daphne Causeway on the Gulf of Mexico I highly suggest getting off at the Battleship Pkwy exit and looking for this great Seafood Shed.

The atmosphere is fun, with fishing memorabilia covering the walls, there is deck seating where you can over look the Mobile bay and the drinks are some of the best I have ever had. The Redneck cocktail is good but you have to have a Key Lime Pie Martini. After having one Zo and I wanted to stop every trip across the Causeway.

They have great shrimp and soft shell crab Po-boys but the show stealer is the Yo Mama's Platter! It is more than enough food to split between two.

http://www.edsshed.com/
What Francis says: Great food if you stay away from the fried items, amazing drinks!
What Zo says: I love their oysters and their drinks!

7-11 Hot dogs! (A corner near you)

2009-04-08T12:33:00.002-07:00

Is that Zo and Francis eating those nasty hot dogs from 7-11??? You are darn right!

Zo and I both now and then get the craving for 7-11 hot dogs.

We both like mustard, onions, jalapenos and sauerkraut (when they have it) but I always like to squirt some of that gross prefabricated nacho cheese on to mine.

What Francis says: Great for a quick stop snack while road tripping!
What Zo says: You just have to have a 7-11 hot dog now and then.

http://www.7-eleven.com/

Cafe Du Monde (New Orleans, LA)

2009-04-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

Every time we mention going to New Orleans we always hear, "Make sure you stop by Cafe Du Monde and get some beignets and coffee?"

So during our spulunk through the French Quarter we made sure to get some beignets and coffee to eat next to the mighty Mississippi. Hmm... Good? Bad? We could not decide because we were eating so much powdered sugar we could taste nothing else. You know how you get a bag of grease at some burger joints? Well here you really get a bag of powdered sugar with some beignets buried within.

We found though that if you dip them in the coffee or knock off a half pound of powder sugar from them they were chewy and edible. We are not sure why everyone suggests this place...

http://www.cafedumonde.com/main.html

What Francis says: I could make better beignets in a bathtub in the desert.
What Zo says: I would rather eat the beignets Francis made in the bathtub.

Flora-Bama Bar and Grill (Perdido Key, FL)

2009-04-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Located next to the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida/Alabama State line is a riot of a place. It is fittingly called The Flora-Bama Bar.

Just looking at this place is fun. It is a Frankenstein of decks and beach huts pieced together over the years and then re-pieced together as storms have ripped chunks away. You could almost say it is a testament of mans unwillingness to bow to mother nature. Is that a good or bad thing? Who cares as long as it has good food, good drinks and is fun!

Seafood PO-boys, beers, cocktails, dancing, bands, shrimp and even shrimp cocktails. You will find them all here depending on the time of day you stop by. This place even has a souvenir booth... Now that I think of it... I think everywhere on the Gulf Coast has a souvenir booth...

Remember to stop in if you are in this area, it is a trip!

http://www.florabama.com/

What Francis says: I just love it for what it is, the drinks and food are average for the coast.
What Zo says: Not the best seafood we had on the Gulf but tasty and entertaining.

Fred's Szechuan Chinese Restaurant (HUH Fred's? Nevada City, CA)

2009-04-08T12:17:00.001-07:00

Fred's? I would expect Fred's Chicken Joint maybe but Fred's Szechuan? That is America for you land of the melting pot!

We were in Nevada City meeting Zo's friend for lunch, only we were starving because her friend was a few hours late (love ya Em.) So we decided to get a quick bite of Chinese food.

I know I did not expect a place named Fred's in Nevada City of all places to be so good but wow. First of all I saw the lunch prices and thought, "Oh man Asian food this is always greasy and gross." Zo and I ordered up some crab cream cheese puffs, sizzling rice shrimp soup and some egg foo yun. The waiter was super nice and we were able to choose whether or not we wanted MSG in the food.

Chit chatting about what we wanted to do next our neighbors got their food. It looked so good. It looked so good I wanted to order everything they had. Plus it smelled so good! our food came out and it was so excellent. I could not believe for this price we were eating such good Asian food, heck for this quality of food we usually paid 2-3 times as much.

We were very pleasantly surprised and will definitely stop in here again our next trip to or through Nevada City.

No web site so here are some sites that have reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/freds-szechuan-chinese-restaurant-nevada-city
http://local.yahoo.com/info-21807937-fred-s-szechuan-chinese-restaurant-nevada-city

What Francis says: Amazing food for the price.
What Zo says: I love this place!

Gulf Shores Steamer (Gulf Shores, AL)

2009-04-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

We were down in Gulf Shores AL. Enjoying the beautiful beach and warm water when we decided we had built up an appetite and wanted some fresh seafood.

We drove all around the Gulf Shores, AL. Perdido Key, Fl. area waiting for something to strike us.

I saw the Gulf Shores Steamer and told Zo I had been there before but it was so long ago that I could not remember if it was any good. We stopped the car outside and gave it the sniff test. It sure smelled good!

On the patio looking out over a gorgeous view of the Gulf of Mexico Zo and I both had a cluster of Alaskan Snow Crab legs, a cup of crawfish corn chowder and some coleslaw.

I had fun teaching Zo how to crack crab legs and get the meat out. The taste of the crab was to die for! I was even impatient to crack the legs properly but took my time because I did not want to miss one bite of melt in your mouth flavor!

The chowder was also great but the crab really stole the show. If you are in the area make sure you stop by, you will not be disappointed!

http://www.gulfshoressteamer.com/

What Francis says: Food so good I ate till I felt i would pop.
What Zo says: The crab was so delicious and butter I could have eaten it for all our meals!

Poor Red's is rich in tastes. (El Dorado, CA.)

2009-04-07T15:23:00.001-07:00

If you are near El Dorado, CA. make sure you Keep and eye out for Poor Red's.

When Zo and I were first dating, I talked about this place called Red's that my Uncle Bobby took me to during my teen years. I told her they had great BBQ and there was this drink call Golden Cadillac that tasted like milkshakes. The best part being when you order one you got two! One in a martini glass and then one in a regular glass. I wished I could remember where it was because it would be fun to go together.

Around rolls my birthday and Zo has a mystery trip planned. We end up at this great bed and breakfast called Albert Shafskys House in Placerville, CA. It was really nice and the two owners were very friendly, polite and boy could they make a delicious breakfast! If you stop by scratch there pup Lily behind the ear for me.

Zo took me driving around the area and says, "So do you know what we are doing here?" I tell her I have no idea, about that time we take a turn and there is Poor Red's! I get over whelmed by how much she must love me and told her how much I adore and love her.

Inside it is just as I remembered it, great smelling BBQ being made in the back room... Wait what is this? The BBQ joint is closed during the week because business has been slow the bartender tells us. What a bummer!

The friendly bartender ask what we will have and we both already know what we want. A Golden Cadillac. We chit chat and enjoy the smooth flavor. The bartenders birthday was the day before mine so he comps my drink. Can life be any better? Only if we would have been able to get some of that BBQ, otherwise life wass pert near perfect!

http://www.poorredsbbq.com/

What Francis says: Great BBQ and drinks!
What Zo says: Golden Cadillacs are amazing!