Cheer Up With Food

Last February I travelled to Berkeley , CA for a few days.  I was lucky to arrive on a weekend where it was pouring with rain!  Even though I didn't go to a lot of places due to the weather, I'm still glad I got to eat at these restaurants:  Suya African-Caribbean Grill On my first day, my tour guides, Emily and Tammy, recommended that I try  Suya  for lunch.  There's not much African-Caribbean restaurants from my hometown, so I gladly wanted to check out Suya: We all got a combination meal.  I chose to the Tilapia Fish with flatbread, grilled plantain, and grilled corn.  The fish was lightly flavored to me, yet it was distinct.  The sauce and grilled sides were nice add-ons to the meal: Emily got the Grilled Beef on a skewer with grilled corn and rice: Tammy got the Grilled Chicken on a skewer with the same sides I got: All these meats and fish were seasoned with Suya Pepper, a distinctive custom spice m...

For Las Vegas Restaurant Week '13, my husband and I decided to go eat at  Michael Mina  in the Bellagio . Eating here was a wonderful experience!  Other than the food, the service was exceptional. For example, I liked how our waiter and servers told us the ingredients in each of our dishes.  I also preferred this menu instead of the a la carte menu.  Luckily, our waiter informed us that is menu always available as the  Sunset Menu .  This is a fine dining restaurant that's worth eating at on The Strip! Clockwise: Market Greens- This salad came with goat cheese , hazelnut butter, and pear.  The goat cheese stood out in a good way, it was delish! Heirloom Tomato  Soup- This soup was rich and tasted great with the toasted brioche , which I think had white cheddar cheese and prosciutto  on top of it. Phyllo  Crusted  Sole - This simple-looking dish came with  crab brandade , pea shoots, sauce dijon, and...

For my friend's bachelorette party, we ate at  Bagatelle  in the  Tropicana Casino to start off the festivities: The sexy bride to be at the front of the restaurant.  There were chandeliers all around the place, very classy! Our table Sitting w/ Marilyn Butter lettuce with house dressing to the left and purple (?) macaroni to the right.  This macaroni dish was my favorite side!  I was addicted to it  because of the delicious sauce and the pasta being perfectly al dente. Nicely toasted bread Vegetables and hard boiled eggs to snack on One of the main dishes was truffloa natural roasted chicken with country style potatoes.  This chicken dish was also wonderfully addicting! I wish I could eat more of it!  The spices and it being roasted made it taste great. A very chocolately dessert.  Everything you see here was edible, well except the rectangular plate! Up clos...

On the night of my bachelorette party, my friends and I went to Oracle Mansion , a nightclub near The Strip.  We thought there were only drinks and hookah served here, turns out there was also food!  I was impressed by the small dishes we got.  I think their food is way better than some other Mediterranean restaurants in Las Vegas!  I recommend this dish: Mini Mezza Thanks Oracle Mansion for making part of my bachelorette party memorable! 

Upon entering  Filfila Mediterranean Cafe  I was intrigued by the decoration on the walls because there was cultural art everywhere.  I noticed small banners that had King Tut on them, wall paper that had ancient Egyptian art on them, and this beautiful painting of this lady standing by a river - it had to be the Nile .  At that moment I realized I was going to try Mediterranean food ,  Egyptian style  for the first time, I was excited! Table for hookah .   While we ate, we watched an Egyptian movie from the early 90s(?).  Never had a dinner and a movie at a cafe before, it was nice and relaxing. Delicious hummus , it was smooth and tasted homemade :) The owner made me this huge chicken combo plate! I loooved the spices that were on the chicken.   Turkish Coffee  - This coffee is quite bold. If you want to try it and like your coffee sweeter,  just ask for more sugar! Since I still feel li...

For dinner the fiance and I decided to go to  Sultan's Grill , a small neighborhood restaurant located in  Summerlin .   Upon entering, I heard a customer talking to one of the workers saying how much he loved the food and that he'd come back for sure the next evening for dinner again.  That was a good sign! Then as I was reading the back of the menu, there were rules that this restaurant adhered to such as they don't cook your meal until you order it. I was sold! The food was good as I expected it to be. What I liked about it is that it's spices weren't overpowering like some Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food I've had. In my opinion, the rice was made perfect the evening we went there. I'd come back for the rice everyday if I lived closer to that area! Falafel Combo - A treat for the the vegetarian! Ground chick peas, ground parsley, ground onions and herbs, mixed and fried to a golden brown. Served with tahini sauce (sesame seed oi...

If you're craving Greek/Mediterranean food, come to Stephano's ! I had come here for lunch with my Mom who really wanted to eat this cuisine rather than the usual food she's eats when she's out with my Dad, who's not an adventurous eater. While I was waiting in line to order, I saw huge hunks of meats being slowly cooked on rotating metal rods (?).  I couldn't stop looking at them, you don't see that everyday! Out of the items to choose from the menu, the one that caught my attention was the Rib Eye Steak Kebab .  I missed steak and had to have it!  Don't be deceived by this picture, the food may look small (unless you zoom in), but I was actually stuffed.  This item and others mostly come with basmati rice , hummus , pita bread, and an Israeli salad  (diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice): She wanted me to take a picture of her eating haha:

After spending three and a half hours of intense studying, me, Nessa, & Irene ate lunch at Paymon's Mediterranean Cafe & Lounge next to UNLV. Upon entering the cafe, I smelled the exotic aroma, enjoyed looking at the decor of the place, and fell in love with the cozy atmosphere. This was my Spinach Pie aka Spanakopita with Mediterranean vegetables and vermicelli pilaf. The dish was so big that I saved the rest for Bronsen to eat later on. He said it was like a gourmet lunch! Nessa tried the Pesto Pasta with grilled chicken breast, the sauce was lovely. I think that's the name of it! Irene ordered a gyro with rotisserie beef and lamb and vegetables and Athens Fries. The sauce that accompanied the fries were yummy too, it had a strong distinct taste. The gyro was about the size of Irene's stomach! It was a struggle for her eating it haha