Recent Foodie Finds

Happy Monday! I hope everyone is having a fantastic spring/almost summer! I have officially been on summer break for a month now and needless to say, I've enjoyed every moment of it (well, minus that day I had a mild case of food poisoning). After a semester of saying no to event after event (mostly due to my early hours and long commute), I've spent the last month saying yes to practically every opportunity that came my way. Thus far, I've visited sixteen new restaurants (hence my string of restaurant review posts), took two fab mini trips to Wisconsin and Indiana with my favorite foodie partner (more on this soon!), fell hard for a new steampunk-themed arcade (FTW is seriously awesome!), went on a mini sushi tour of the city with Mario, and discovered my new favorite ice cream flavor (*swoon*). Whew! Summer break sure is exhausting! ;-)

As per usual, I've spent the first part of my break pretending as though I don't actually have any work responsibilities (it's all middle of the week brunches, DVR catch-up sessions, day drinking, and pleasure reading); however, it's officially time to stop pretending that I don't have to do anything over the summer, as I am about to start the first of two grad classes I need to complete before the start of the fall semester (boo!). I have to say that while I do love my job, I have enjoyed my faux life of leisure this summer even more than either of the last two, mainly due to the number of yeses I've thrown out to the universe. 

Here are a few of my recent foodie highlights (follow me on Instagram for even more!)...

Dizzy Pua'a from Three Dots and a Dash James Beard Awards Tiki Time Luau: Appleton VX, scotch, Aperol, passion fruit, lemon & tiki bitters. Wooooooo... this is one intense little drink! If you haven't yet been to Three Dots, what are you waiting for?! It's such a fun little place and the drinks are crazy good. Pro tip: go early (it tends to fill up quickly) and definitely try the Dead Reckoning!

Fried Chicken Nachos with pico de gallo, lime crema & candied jalapeños from Honey Butter Fried Chicken. Diana and I fell in love with HBFC last year (along with the rest of the city!), so we were thrilled to see that they were participating in this year's Avondale Food Crawl. These nachos were the perfect combination of crunchy, spicy, and cool (from the crema) - we both agreed that we would love to see this dish on their regular menu! 

Al Pastor Taco and Potato Flautas from Taqueria Traspasada. This was Diana's and my favorite stop on the Avondale Food Crawl after HBFC - it's one of those no-frills taquerias serving up some damn fine tacos! Everything we sampled was packed with flavor and we loved the low-key atmosphere. We will definitely be heading back soon!

Insomnia Cookies: Insomnia recently opened a new store a few blocks from our apartment (yay! boo!); Mario and I quickly discovered why these tasty little cookies are so popular. Considering there are fresh cookies right outside my door at practically any time of the day (they're open until 3AM), I think I've shown considerable restraint thus far. The Double Chocolate Mint Cookie is a killer though. ;-)

Al Pastor Cemita from Cemitas Puebla. Perfectly seasoned and juicy meat on a crusty/soft sesame seed roll with avocado and Oaxacan cheese... holy deliciousness! This place has a lot of hype for a very good reason: their food is *amazing*. Along with the cemitas, their tacos and chips/guacamole are definitely worth trying - and make sure you don't skip over the three sauces that come with your order!

Macarons (blueberry, strawberry, Nutella, lemon, and chocolate passion) from Alliance Bakery. This tiny European bakery is one of my favorites in the city and I cake never resist their delicate and delicious macarons. While I love all of their flavors, the chocolate passion is my all-time favorite, followed closely by the strawberry and salted caramel.

Passion Fruit Pisco Sour and 1988 at Roy's. Diana and I have a longstanding tradition of celebrating her birthday at Roy's with a big blowout dinner and this year was no different. I decided to step away from my usual drink order and give the 1988 a try (Finlandia Grapefruit, SOHO Lychee & Patron Citronge) - hellllooooo, my tasty little boozy treat!

Seoul Sassy Wings from Crisp. Crisp is another one of those crazy popular restaurants that actually does deserve the hype. These slightly sweet, garlicky wings are perfectly crispy and tender; as you can see, they're also ginormous (Diana said they're more akin to turkey wings). Another definite must-visit!

ETA: Cemitas Peubla has closed.