About time I checked this place out...

About a month ago, a few friends and I went up to this restaurant called Food Shack for drinks and food. I had heard about this place for awhile now and despite having spent time in Jupiter, I had never checked it out. We got up there a little before prime dinner time so we put our names on the wait list and checked out the bar/restaurant next to the main Food Shack. It's all part of the same place but it's more of a cozy up to the bar/limited menu kind of place. They have a small number of craft beers but I told the bartender that I like Blue Moon and she recommended a Tequesta Brewery Chancellor, which was pretty good and would totally recommend it. For an app, we ordered their Blue Crab Guacamole which, although the guacamole itself was pretty good, I wouldn't order again. I know that not everyone would feel the same way, but the 5 of us all felt the same way...the crab didn't gel well (flavor wise) with the guacamole. If you want to be a real stickler, the chips also weren't done right. They had too much air inside the chips which made them a hard vessel for the guacamole, but if you don't care too much about any of these critiques, then order away. Just be ready for a dominating crab taste. (Although I did appreciate the freshness of the crab).

When we went over to the main restaurant, we sat at a table along the wall. It's a cute set up and even though you are pretty close to the people next to you, it's not in an annoying kind of way where you feel a part of their intimate conversations. For an appetizer, we ordered their Tuna and Basil rolls which are served with a pineapple and mango salsa and some wasabi cream. They were done spot on and even though I am not a huge mango fan, I would definitely recommend them as an app or even as an entree. For a main dish, I asked for a recommendation from the server, she said that a lot of people order their Hog Snapper dish that's encrusted with sweet potato, but I'm not a huge Hog Snapper fan so I went with the same dish but with Dolphin instead.











They served the Dolphin over a bed of mixed greens with a nice lime dressing. It was a perfect amount of dressing and didn't overpower the fish or the salad. Food and drinks were great and service was good as well.

If you are in the area, definitely give this place a look.

http://littlemoirs.com/food-shack/

You won't regret it.

Date Night with the Roommie.

Went out to Tryst (a local Gastropub) a few weeks back to use a Living Social coupon I had. It has a good variety to its menu and its specials are ever changing, so you aren't going to be bored too easily if you enjoy it enough to frequent often. The only thing you will want to take into account is that their menu online doesn't match up with the menu they offer, so if you see something you really want, then you will definitely want to call ahead. And also, take it from me, if you are wanting to get an inside table and it's a Fri/Sat night, then call for a reservation.

http://trystdelray.com/

They have a good selection of craft beers and if you tell them what beers you typically fancy, the guys/girls at the bar will help you out with a sample or two of whatever they recommend and you can take it from there. I told the guy I liked Blue Moon and he recommended their Funky Buddha, which is a locally brewed beer...so we both ordered it. They come in a few sizes, and naturally, I ordered the larger one. (No jabs here please). I wanted to order some apps with Pork Belly but sadly Pork Belly wasn't even on the menu at all, so you definitely want to call ahead if you are craving something in particular. So we ordered their Bone Marrow that comes with fig jelly and some toasted baguettes, and we also ordered their Chinese Pork Ribs that came with a sauce of hoisin and toasted sesame and cilantro.

The beer was delicious! The Bone Marrow was good as well, I mean, you can't really go wrong with grease and fat and a bone...if you think you can, then you clearly don't know what life is all about (kind of kidding). I'm not one who enjoys figs but the jam was a good compliment to the heaviness of the marrow. The Pork Ribs...a little tough to be honest. I think somewhere in the early cooking process they were cooked to perfection, but then when dinner service rolled around they were cooked too long. The sauce saved the dish in my opinion, without it, the dish would have been rough to finish.

For main entrees, I ordered their Bolognese and the roommie ordered their Sea Bass. I ordered the Bolognese for the pork and beef mixture and because I enjoy a good Bolognese (usually minus the peas, but in this case, they were done perfect). Next time I go, I will probably avoid the Bolognese...let me explain, it had a little too much cream and I don't handle cream well to begin with. It was extremely heavy and even though I am a big eater, I couldn't even get through half. The Sea Bass was great, it was cooked to perfection and was tender yet firm. The Bass sat on a tomato coulis (which is basically a thin tomato pureed sauce) and some greens.

Overall, food was good, and service was great but we did sit at the bar so I can't speak for the service on the floor or outside for that matter. Would definitely recommend it, but like I said, call ahead to confirm any specials or particular dishes, reservations if you want to sit at a table, and if you have a coupon such as a Groupon or Living Social, then use it...it's not the cheapest place but has good food and beers.

Good place to avoid.

Most of the time, I try to look for the silver lining of things and say 'well there were some good things, such as...' but with Cheddar's...you probably want to just avoid altogether. My roommate and I went to grab a mid to late evening dinner on a Sunday night a few weeks back and wanted to stay semi-local. She had been before and said it was okay, so I wanted to give it a whirl. When we got there, it was pretty busy for a Sunday night so we put our names on the list and she proceeded to the bar to grab a drink. She came back in a way that no one likes to see--empty handed! Said that the bartender didn't even look her way and she just left. So me, being the slightly peeved one, went to the bar to check it out. Sure it was slightly busy but still an acknowledgment was what I was looking for. He looked my way and I asked what was on draft, ordered our drinks and wisely closed out the tab pronto.

In terms of food, it's a pretty standard fare of pastas, burgers, some steaks/seafood options, and salads. The server was a little off to start with, but I was just hoping for decent food. Upon looking over the menu, I can't honestly say anything jumped out at me, so I kept looking and looking. I asked her for some recommendations, she said that the Country Fried Steak was good. (Now, mind you I've had homemade country fried steak South Carolina style and even Key West style, and they are amazing!) So I stayed clear of this option. I asked about the burgers, she said they are good but that the cooks tend to overcook everything so she wouldn't necessarily recommend it...(yes, this should have been my cue) and that they have to cook theirs medium well to well done...major party foul in my opinion. But then she mentioned the Ribeye was good, so I asked for it to be done medium-rare with a side of mashed potatoes and corn and without any of their "spicy" house seasoning on the steak. The roommie ordered their Center Cut Sirloin and Shrimp. We also ordered Edamame which came with a side of their house seasoning and soy sauce.

Her Sirloin came out a perfect medium-rare but my Ribeye came out just shy of well done. I tried to eat it but had to send it back. Our server did not appear to be surprised at this turn of events. The mashed potatoes were okay, but in all honesty, they were very runny and way too creamy. We also ordered drinks and my beer came back super fruity and definitely not a Bud Light, the manager had to pour the beer herself to make sure it came back right.

If you're looking for cheap burgers and are looking to avoid the typical McDonalds/Burger King/Wendy's debate, then give it a try I guess. But I can't bring myself to ordering a burger medium-well to well done. If you try it and aren't happy, I will reserve my "I told you so" for future moments.


http://www.cheddars.com/

Dinner with the girls.

Went to The Living Room with the girls (B, Kirsten, and Nicole). They had never been, so it was great to share the experience. Plus they had some live music so that made it even better.

Appetizers: Duck drummettes and the Brie cheese plate. Both have a plum topping, and the drummettes have a little kick to their plum sauce. Delicious!

Kirsten: Crab mac n cheese with cheese on top and covered with panko bread crumbs.

Nicole: She started out with a Red Velvet flavored wine, and ordered a spinach salad with grilled chicken.

B: Vindaloo curry with chicken.

Me: Mexican salad with tortilla inspired chips, avocado dressing and grilled chicken.

They just switched out their menu and have taken off some items like the Stuffed Chicken, BLT salad, steak items, etc. But they have thrown in some humor and added a name twist to the wine selections...check it out!

Good times. We totally won.

Chili Cookoff '12.

Had a great time with Kirsten, Nicole, and met some cool girls. Totally didn't eat any chili (or see any for that matter).