The Lower East Side was really hopping today with New York Magazines Grub Street Food Festival at the Hester Street Fair. This food festival offered up a smorgasbord of some 70-plus-food vendors who were selling everything from lobster rolls to lollipop cupcakes.
Along with all the great food there were some amazing vendors selling their merchandise. Of course my very favorite booth was Pages of My Life Journal , where we were selling our beautiful gratitude journals for women and children.
Running Bear Pancake House in West Yellowstone probably offers some of the best eats in town, with some of the nicest people serving it. This cheery little pancake house located at the West entrance of Yellowstone National Park, serves only breakfast and lunch. It is open from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM everyday. You should be aware that they are not open year round. They are closed Nov.- late Dec. and mid-Mar.-May 1.
Everything at Running Bear is made from scratch. They offer a large variety of the regular breakfast items such as eggs to order, hash browns etc. They make wonderful baked goods such as muffins, pies and so on. Their cinnamon rolls are a must try. At Running Bear it a good idea to pack one of their “to go” picnic lunches which can be savored while enjoying the sights of Yellowstone.
Here is some of what we ate:
|
|
* Restaurant Name |
|---|---|
| Running Bear Pancake House | |
| * Overall | |
| ★★★☆☆ | |
| * Neighborhood / Cuisine | |
| American Traditional | |
| * Street Address | |
| 538 Madison Ave , West Yellowstone, MT 59758 | |
| * Phone | |
| (406) 646-7703 |
Food: ☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$
Dishes not to miss: Buffalo Chicken Wings
The Mammoth Hot Springs have been rated at one of the top five things to see in Yellowstone National Park. These gorgeous colored terraces are made from travertine and steam with hot water that comes up from the limestone beds. The hues of the formations are truly unreal. The landscape is just stunning.
West Yellowstone is a tiny town right by the West entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Good food is really hard to find around here especially at dinnertime. Luckily, our hotel had a pretty good restaurant called The Branch where we could find some decent dishes.
One of my favorite dishes was their Grizzly Bear Salad with Cha-Cha Chicken, which is served with a huckleberry dressing. It was a really nice tangy, crisp salad. Their sandwiches and desserts were rather standard. However do NOT have the breakfast here – it was truly terrible. I don’t know how anyone can mess up breakfast so badly but you are much better of trying The Running Bear Pancake House or The Woodside Bakery.
The servers at the Branch are really friendly. Many of them are visiting students from countries all over the world, who are a part of an exchange program. Chatting with them and sharing experiences was really cool.
Here is some of what we ate:
|
|
* Restaurant Name |
|---|---|
| The Branch Restaurant and Bar | |
| * Overall | |
| ★★☆☆☆ | |
| * Neighborhood / Cuisine | |
| American New / American Traditional | |
| * Street Address | |
| 315 Yellowstone Ave, West Yellowstone, MT 59758 | |
| * Phone | |
| (406) 646-7365 |
Food: ☆☆ ½
Service: ☆☆ ½
Ambiance: ☆☆½
Cost: $$
Dish not to miss: Smoked Red Pepper Soup, Prime Rib
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, is a geological wonder that was created by a volcanic explosion some 640,00 years ago. What resulted from that event is a glorious landscape that includes gushing geysers, multicolored hot springs, canyons, waterfalls, fumaroles, mudspots and wildlife that is beyond compare. Yellowstone National Park is historic as it was the world’s first national park in 1872.
If you are looking for a really great authentic South Indian breakfast spot in Chennai City then Palmgrove Hotel is the place to go. Their restaurant Menaka is a hot spot for Chennaites over the weekends. The place has virtually no décor – it’s a very cafeteria like setting but one really does not go there for ambiance.
Sangeetha Fast Foods is one of my favorite breakfast spots in Chennai city. I love the local feel of the place. At Sangeetha, they serve a good variety of south Indian breakfast fare. My favorites are the vadas, dosas, mini idlis and upma. If you want to try a little bit of everything then order the “meals”. They make really good South Indian coffee too.
Palki Khanna, located inside the City Palace complex in Udaipur, gets its name from the word “palki” or palanquins, which were often used during the Maharajas time. This casual café offers an eclectic mix of foods, with an emphasis on western café food. The food at Palki Khanna was one of the better meals we had outside of the offerings of 5 star hotels in the vicinity.
Natraj is a very popular local dinning spot in Udaipur. The food is all vegetarian – they don’t even serve eggs here.
Natraj is known for its thali meals that offer a filling meal at a great price. This is probably the best thing to eat here.
The place is very bare bones – there is no décor to speak of and the service is really sloppy. The food was all right. I tried their Daal Bhati (a traditional Rajasthani dish), which was pretty good. We tried their Chinese and it was pretty awful. I would stick to the Indian food.
All in all – I really didn’t think Natraj was worth the trek out there. There is no culinary experience that awaits you to make the effort to eat here. There are plenty of places that are more centrally located that offer a better experience.
Devigarh Fort Palace is a beautiful retreat, set in the picturesque Aravalli hills of Rajasthan. It is about 30 kilometers away from Udaipur. Devigarh Fort was built in the 18th century and recently opened as a heritage hotel after years of restoration.
Ambrai restaurant is one of the more popular local restaurants in Udaipur. It is all about location, location, location which makes this a real tourist hotspot. Situated on the banks of Lake Pichola, dinning here provides a spectacular view of both the City Palace and the Lake Palace.
If you have a little extra time in Udaipur and are a hard-core pickle fanatic like I am, then you must visit Tilurams. They have been making all kinds of pickles, jams, sauces and murabbas (a kind of jam) for many decades.
At Tiluram’s they just about pickle anything from seeds to fruits to vegetables. Their pickles are stored in giant vats and you can ask to taste just about anything in the store. Some of my favorites were the jackfruit pickle, the lime murabbas (which they highly recommend) and the garlic chutney.
Ranakpur in Rajasthan, India, houses one of the largest Jain temples in the country. This temple dedicated to Adinatha, is replete with 1444 pillars, each carved from single pieces of stone. The mastery of the elaborate craftsmanship of the sculptures in this temple is beyond belief. In this Jain temple, its beauty lies in the complexity of is simplicity.
The Udaivilas in Udaipur, India; is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever experienced. Rated as the top resort in Asia and the 5th best in the world, the seamlessly gracious service and beautiful environs truly justify these accolades.
In a city that is steeped in Indian history and surrounded by the most beautiful ancient palaces, temples and forts, Udaivilas offers the perfect sanctuary of luxury. It’s stunning setting overlooks the gorgeous blue of Lake Pichola and soothing green of the Aravalli hills. The hotel itself is styled mimicking a traditional Mewari Palace. It houses a wildlife conservatory with rolling landscaped gardens that lead to reflecting pools, open courtyards and many quiet thoughtful spaces of beauty.
Food: ☆
Service: ☆☆½
Ambiance: ☆☆
Cost: $$$
Fit for: Foodies, Family-Friendly Dining, Cheap Gourmet Eats
Dishes not to miss: Blueberry Muffins
Special Features: Bar Dining, Farm to Table, Outdoor Dining, Personal wines welcome (corkage fee applies), Weekend Brunch
Food: ☆☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Fit for: Sushi purists
Dishes not to miss: Flash fried blowfish, White king salmon
Special notes: As of January 2011, Chef Yasuda has moved to Tokyo to open a restaurant there. However the quality of Sushu Yasuda seems to have been unaffected by this move.
The Polynesian is Disney’s island style resort where little adventures lurk in every nook and cranny. The landscapes of this hotel are rather impressive with a volcano style pool, the jungle atmosphere and a little beach to lounge around in.
The lobby is a flurry of activity where you might find a group of residents doing the hula to island beats or others just enjoying the gorgeous waterfall and greenery that adorns this space.
The Polynesian offers a few choices for dinning and thought we missed the popular “Luau” dinner we did have breakfast at the following spots. The food is very average but the wonderful servers more than make up for that.
SEUSS LANDING 1000 Universal Studios Plaza Orlando, FL 32819 (407) 363-8000
Hats off to universal for truly capturing the spirit of Dr Seuss. This cheery land is beyond adorable.
You really feel like you have stepped into anyone of the crazy worlds that he created.
Characters like the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch and Thing 1 and thing 2 are all around doing cute little shows.
With two kids who are obsessed with Harry Potter, we had to hit the brand new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal this past summer. It was a wonder for the kids to see one of their favorite stories come to life. They have done a great job of Hogwarts but I found everything was made a little too small – I think they grossly underestimated the popularity of this world. In any case here are some of the food spots we hit whilst at Harry Potter world.
This might just be my favorite Disney theme park. Animal Kingdom has been fashioned with utmost care. Its Disney brilliance a its best.
They truly have managed to recreate an authentic, nostalgic feeling of Asia and Africa, right here the USA.
I really enjoyed soaking up the great attention to details that every little tea stand and food stall has been done with.
Here are some of my favorites ( more about the aesthetics than the food).
Epcot is my lifeline when it comes to food.With all the countries represented in the World Showcase, you have to figure there are some decent meals to be had.
I always try and schedule Epcot towards the middle of our trip because by that time I’m really hankering for anything ethnic. For me spice is quintessential to my survival. When I reach Epcot, the very first thing I do is head to Mexico to the indoor market place to buy me some kicking habanero sauce. This stuff is seriously potent – I mean a 9 on the Richter scale of heat. Once I’m armed with this sauce – any bad meal can be turned into passable as long as it is doused in this heavenly hot sauce!
My favorite Epcot World Showcase food spots are the Tangerine Café in Morocco, Yakitori House in Japan and a semi decent meal at San Angel Inn. The very worst are in the UK – The Fish and Chips place and Lotus Blossom Café in China ( it really is despicable food). France offers a nice little dessert stop off at its Patisserie and China has a nice little tea stand which offers some interesting teas to cool you off.
Here are some of the restaurant I tried:
