DipDogs

Style: Fast Food
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Website: http://www.dipdogs.net/ 

Likes: Well established atmosphere of being around since 1953, Cute water bottles that say “God DipDogs?”

Dislikes: It’s definitely not healthy, no special dip for onion rings

For years, my husband has said that when we go to his parents’ house, he is going to take me to The Dip Dog. One time we went, and it was closed because it was the 4th of July. Another time we tried to go and it was closed for renovations.

Then, we gave up for a while. 

This year, I played it smart. I told my husband to call and see if they would be open. Since he talks about The DipDog frequently, I really wanted to experience this part of the younger years I was absent for. 

On this trip his parents’ house, I also brought my grandmother, Gigi. Gigi loves and adventure, so we piled into the car and drove half an hour to The DipDog, which happens to be just off of interstate I-81. 

I thought it was going to be a little roadside stand, and I was wrong. Instead, it is a small complex with a huge parking lot, a building where food is ordered, a building that is a gift shop, and a building that has tables where the greasy food can be enjoyed and consumed.

It also had a really cool retro sign that stood in front, saying that the DipDog was established in 1953. Johnny, my husband’s dad, then told me a story about how he used to bring his dates to eat here. Johnny is now in his 60’s and has been married for over forty years. Clearly, the DipDog is a local, deep routed tradition.

A DipDog is a local, very pink hotdog that is battered in a thin batter and is deep fried. It is similar to a corn dog, but the batter is not as thick. Then, they slather them in yellow mustard and pile them into a pyramid within a classic paper carton. We also ordered onion rings that were piled into a brown paper bag. Clearly, it is super low key. 

But it was one of the tastiest deep fried concoctions I have ever eaten and it made for some great memories with my grandma and my husband's family. 

Sub Rosa Bakery

Style: Bakery

My Rating: 5/5 stars

Website: http://www.subrosabakery.com/

Likes: Rustic feel, sturdy wooden boards and stoneware pottery used to plate items, best coffee I have ever had, wood fired oven

Dislikes: Someone stole the tips out of the jar when we were there

There is nothing better than starting a day off having breakfast with friends. When the breakfast turns out to be a wood fired pastry, the best gets an extreme upgrade.

Two of my fellow vacationing teacher friends gladly helped me cross this excursion off of my bucket list for this summer. We met at Sub Rosa Bakery for brunch, and were charmed by the calming rustic environment and earnest smell of baking bread floating around us.

I ordered the Manchego and Fig Croissant, a sweet treat with savory undertones. Although the pastry had a burnt looking quality to it, the soft and flaky croissant had a buttery taste that I haven’t had since I visited bakeries in New York. The taste is what matters to me.  In addition, I had an amazing cup of dark roasted coffee to compliment my breakfast. They have their own signature Sub Rosa blend, created by Lamplighter coffee down the street, which had nutty and chocolate undertones.

My friends also tried the Chilled Turnip and Dill Soup. The smooth soup had a clean finish with a soft dill taste, which was not overpowering. It was served in these adorable stoneware bowls on top of bread boards.

I was so impressed with our experience that I took two different pastries home with me under the assumption that I would give them to my husband who had been at work. They managed to stay intact until his arrival, but I definitely took a few bites once my husband began his snack. One was a Salami and Gruyere Croissant, savory with the addicting meat and cheese combination.  The other was the Pain au Chbuckocolat, filled with a deep and bitter chocolate. 

This was a most successful summer bucket list excursion, and I look forward to returning to this bakery soon. 

Zucchini Pasta with Dill Pesto

I am growing an apartment porch garden this summer for the first time. This means that I am continuing to learn new things, something I always dedicate my summers to. I am finding that gardening is fun, but a little challenging because there are so many judgment calls. The beautiful thing about my situation, is that I have friends who garden and are gracious to give me tips.

The other day I posted some pictures about my garden growing. My friend and colleague Lindsay mentioned that I should trim my dill because it was beginning to seed. This way, the more I prune, the more it will grow. After watching a video on how to prune dill on Youtube, I went outside to my porch and I pruned. 

Taking my beautiful green dill back to the kitchen, I stared at my trash can and thought that I could not throw it away. After a quick brainstorm and a look at my produce, I decided to make a pesto using dill. This was a risky decision because I have not even made basil pesto before and am saving it for a summer bucket list moment.

Pesto needs a significant amount of at least one herb, nuts, and some liquid. In a rummage through the pantry, I found almonds, a lemon, olive oil, and chicken broth. My inner Italian said, “Bada bing!”

Texture was a big test while I was making my pesto experiment. After my first run with the food processor, I found that the almonds made it too much like putty. So I added more lemon juice, which made it too citrusy. In the end, I used more chicken broth to get the desired balanced texture and taste.

Recipe for Zucchini Pasta with Dill Pesto
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients
1/8 cup whole almonds
1 Tbsp garlic, divided
1 cup fresh dill
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup chicken broth (or more to depending on desired texture)
Juice of one lemon
2 zuchinni, sliced in thin rounds
Parmesan Cheese to taste
4 cups cooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta (I used half a box of Barilla)

Method

1. Using a food processor, grind the almonds to a thick dust.

2. Add 1 teaspoon of garlic, the dill, ground black pepper, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and chicken broth to the mixture. Blend the mixture, adding more chicken broth if needed to achieve desired paste thickness. 

3. When pesto is finished, heat teaspoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini rounds and cook just until soft, about 3-4 minutes. 

4. Place pasta in a large bowl and use a slotted spoon to transfer the zucchini to the pasta. Then, pour the pesto over the pasta mixture and gently mix the ingredients together. If the pasta gets too sticky, add a little olive oil to loosen. 

5. Serve the pasta with parmesan cheese, black pepper, and salt. 

Braised Sweet Red Cabbage

I love it when I have leftover vegetables and I get to play around and make a new dish. I had made some BBQ chicken in the crockpot to eat on with my school closing schedule and my husband’s erratic police schedule. I had some leftover red cabbage in the crisping drawer in the fridge that I needed to use. So I thought about making a side out of the cabbage to go with the BBQ. 

The BBQ sauce is sweet, so I wanted to do a tangy sweet cabbage. Originally, I wanted to use it and make a slaw. I looked up some inspirational recipes online and settled for Red Cabbage Slaw by the Food Network Kitchens. When I tasted the dressing to go on the slaw, I didn’t like it. The vinegar was too heavy for my taste. But, I had this otherwise beautiful dressing and I chose to braise the cabbage with it instead, and rendering the vinegar to a more mild state.

As the cabbage cooked, I snuck pieces from the pan and tasted a tart sweetness, inspiring me to add some fennel seed and craisins. The end result ended up being a warm cabbage, similar to pickled German cabbage, with a touch more sugar and crispy texture.



Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
½ head Red Cabbage, chopped to 1/2 inch thick pieces
1 Tablespoon fennel seed
½ cup Craisins
Salt to taste

Method

1. To make the sauce, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and oil and vinegar no longer separate.

2. Heat 2 Tablespoons of sauce in a skillet on medium high heat.

3. Add the cabbage, then carefully pour the rest of the sauce over the cabbage. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 7-8 minutes.

4. Add the fennel, Craisins, and salt and continue cooking until cabbage reaches the desired tenderness and the sauce has evaporated into the cabbage. 

Buz and Ned's BBQ

Style: Barbeque
My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Website: http://buzandneds.com/ 

Likes: Southern Industrial Décor, Huge cool ceiling fan in the dining room, availability of craft beer, good blues background music

Dislikes: Small portions, availability of sandwiches and ribs only, price is expensive for what is served, only one type of house sauce, sides were dry- including coleslaw and macaroni and cheese!

I went through food withdrawal moving to the South from New York. I missed things like bagels, Italian Rainbow cookies, and knish. However, quality barbeque has always been an easy cure to my ailment. I love to go to Red, Hot, and Blue in Williamsburg, and delve into pulled chicken and choose which sauce I want to put on it. Then, I like picking a different sauce for my brisket, and a third for my sausage. 
I had heard such wonderful things about Buz and Ned’s in Richmond. When they opened a rather large place on Broad st., I became determined to try it out. People around town seemed to adore their BBQ, and I felt like I was missing out. 

When my husband and I pulled up to the restaurant in the middle of the afternoon, I was impressed by the décor. It was chic southern industrial look, with rusted oil can sculptures and a chicken with a Spanish sign. The restaurant continued with an enthusiastic low key feel when we walked through the door and were greeted with same blues and banjo music. 

When we went to order from the chalkboard menu, we were instantly disappointed. Where is the loose meat? Do they have sausage? What about bone-in meat that is not a rack of ribs? There was only a choice of ribs or sandwiches. 

I ordered a sandwich, thinking I could take the meat off of the bun. However, when my chicken and pork combo came out, there was such little meat on the bun that I felt compelled to eat the entire thing so I had something to fill my stomach. They only had one sauce, which I felt tasted fine, but my husband thought had too much vinegar. I will admit that the meat was very tasty as it was, with a nice flavor due to the smoking process. However, the hush puppies were nothing out of the ordinary, and the onion rings had a tasty beer batter, but no dipping sauce to complement. As a result, I felt myself drinking a lot of water because the meal was so dry.

My husband ordered the pork and beef combo with macaroni and cheese and the potato salad. The macaroni was not creamy, but baked dry and chewy. It came with two sandwiches, each with the same amount of meat that mine had. However, the price for the meat and the mediocre sides seemed a few dollars higher than I would have paid for it.

Overall, Buz and Neds is a fun place to go for an overpriced beer and a bbq sandwich. It has a great atmosphere and friendly service. However, if I am truly hungry for bbq, I am going to go elsewhere. 

Lavender Fields Herb Farm

I took my grandmother to Lavender Fields Herb Farm in celebration of Memorial Day today. It was a gorgeous and sunny drive down to the farm. We loved to look at the older houses outside of subdivisions, houses that are created in “cookie cutter” styles. People were sitting on their porches and kids were riding bicycles in their driveways. An elderly couple waved to us as we drove by. It was small town America at its best.

We drove down the dirt road to the farm’s entrance, and I was delighted with the smell of lavender when exiting the car. There was a large bush of dill within view and some landscaping stones. I walked along the sidewalk to the rows of small herb plants. Within view, I saw the herb that I was on a mission to pick up. 

As I walked towards rosemary, and young man asked me if I needed assistance. He had a pleasant accent. I could not place if it was from the UK or Australia because we did not talk at length. However, he pointed me in the direction of the rosemary, and even chuckled when my grandmother tried to make a joke.

After I picked up my two rosemary plants, I continued to walk around the aisles of gorgeous herbs. The aromas, both floral and culinary, perfumed the air and shifted with each step depending on what I walked by.

We also walked into the gift shop to check out. It is easy to admit that my grandmother and I did not head straight to the register. Instead, we looked at comforting lavender pillows, different flavored honey straws, and tasty jams. Although it was tempting, I only checked out with my rosemary, considering that I am just beginning to make my apartment porch garden. However, I expect to have many trips to the Lavender Garden in my future!

Juleps

Style: Southern, Fine Dining
Website: http://juleps.net/ 

My Rating: 5/5 stars

Likes: Extremely professional service, the sophisticated atmosphere, the amazing food, they take reservations, free valet parking, they put out Groupons and LivingSocial deals

Dislikes: It is so expensive (and deservedly so), location is in a sketchy area

When my husband and I go to Juleps, it is a big deal. The place is expensive, so we wait and scope out Groupons and LivingSocial deals so we can eat here without breaking the bank too much. Too much is the key word. 

One of my favorite appetizers here is the pork belly. It is like eating a thick cut of bacon that melts in my mouth because it is so soft and tender.

I also tried a fried oyster. I ate a raw oyster once, and had never eaten one again since it tasted like ocean snot. However, this oyster was crunchy decadence. 

My husband ordered the NY Strip Steak, which was easily one of the best steaks I have had. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare as ordered, with a nice sear to add texture and extra flavor. A celery root mashed potato accompanied the steak, adding an addictive combination of flavors that were new and exciting.

I ordered the duck breast with cherry jus. The duck was tender, with juices running to mix with the cherry jus. It was a huge treat.

But the biggest treat was bananas foster. The waiter wheels a cart out to the table and spends a solid few minutes preparing tableside flaming bananas. It is quite a show, with flames feet in the air laced with the smell of bourbon. Then, the bananas are laid with vanilla pound cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This is currently my fondest dessert memory at a restaurant.