The 'Burg Restaurant Reviews

This weekend was filled with many new experiences. This blog is dedicated to the eating portion but there will be a couple more to come that will chronicle the other events. I am behind with my local eatery reviews. I like to eat, therefore I cook. I like to eat, therefore I eat out. Both philosophies apply nicely here. So from Hungry Girl to Out in the 'Burg Girl....

Bowled
Though everything is in a bowl, most of us ate off of square white plates. My friend Pancho used to say everything looks prettier on a white plate and he's right. The food looked amazing. Our after church brunch crew decided to head there based on a recommendation from BKay. Admittedly the server was a little slow to start, a little absent minded about coffee refills and returning credit cards, but we befriend Brian nonetheless. We each had a different item and all of us raved! Each bite got better, the coffee was delicious which is unusual for your average restaurant. I had the Benedict Bowl with Braised Beef (pictured above). The beef was so tender it kept falling off my folk. The hollandaise sauce was rich and spot on. Easily 5 gold stars! Brunchtastic!

Three Birds Tavern
From the Cockney Rebel to Limey's to now Three Birds Tavern it feels as if the food has been on a slow downward spiral. If you are interested in a good beer with a comfortable outdoor atmosphere this is still a nice place to go. If you are going to snack on anything go somewhere else. Friday night after our painting extravaganza we went to grand opening of this reappropriated establishment, and though I like the new logo I woke up in the middle of the night with stomach pains that felt like food poisoning and so did BKay. And though, it is completely possible we both had some random indigestion, it is also possible the soggy zucchini sticks, the overcooked sliders, and greased soaked fries were the culprit. Everything was under seasoned and grease tasting. This is one of my favorite places to have a drink and hang out with friends and I am more than a little disappointed by the new menu. From English fare eat at Moon under Water. For a drink and comfort hang at Three Bird.

Ratachada
Only my second time at this Thai restaurant downtown. The Phad Thai on my first visit was too sweet, on my second visit I stuck to the sushi, which I enjoyed much more. The construction of the rolls was a little loose and on that particular note there are better sushi places in town, but the taste was spot on. The others had mixed reviews. Chadd has a very cool Volcano Prawn dish that was served theatrically in a clay pot and arrived 10 minutes after the rest of the tables' food, but he reported that it was divine. Tre thought here Phad King was way too salty and proceeded to drink many glasses of water in response. It's hit or miss I think. The service is good and the restaurant itself is located in perfect downtown corner. Ratachada is a try again. Both times the company was the best part of the evening.

The CupCake Spot
The one gourmet cupcake place in town. Their hours are insane for anyone that might want a cupcake after 5 o'clock or before 10:30 in the morning. I am not sure how small businesses of this type make it with these slim choices but that being clearly stated I can effervesce about the yummy cupcakes. The website lists the menu. El and I wanted to taste test a couple before sharing them with the birthday girl. The first one, which I think is still my favorite is named The Elvis, a banana cake with peanut butter frosting and rich chocolate kiss on top. El loved the Butterscotch. The birthday girl which must remove all frosting to remain her dairy-free self ate the Lemon cupcake and said it was great. Chadd enjoyed the chocolate with coconut the best, but since they took home the extras he was lucky enough to sample the red velvet as well. Nothing but good things to say except for my s'mores disappointment. A chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting which is crusted with graham crackers did not meet expectations. It tasted like your average chocolate cake. Since I don't really like cake and cupcakes tend to have slightly more moisture this missed the mark for me. My advice is go on a Saturday morning as soon as it opens so you have every cupcake flavor to your disposal by the end of the day, you will have no options.