Italy: First Meal!

January in Italy proved to be very, very rainy. Super Rainy. Thunder-boomy rainy. But a girl's gotta eat, so we trudged a few blocks from our rental apartment to find a nondescript restaurant with outdoor (covered) seating.

My first dish in Italy was a seafood risotto. This was okay, but not great. It wasn't as creamy and decadent as I remember risotto tasting in this country (or anywhere!) I wondered if maybe I was remembering the food in Italy to be a bit better than it was in reality. This can't be as good as it gets, can it?

Ready to rock it in Rome! 

You can't go wrong with an Italian red wine, though, and I had a glass of house red. Tart, with a gorgeous ruby color, it was probably the worst thing for an overtired, jet-lagged traveler, but it still tasted lovely.

My fellow travelers ordered another risotto (with walnuts and truffles, yum), the lobster special, and a dish that I think was veal, may have been pork? Regardless, everyone cleaned their plates.

I wasn't overwhelmed by this meal (in fact, I can't even remember the name of this place) but it was very welcoming, tourist-friendly (without being tourist TRAPPY), and molto convenient! Don't worry-- my note-taking gets much better as the trip continues!

Italian, French, Russian AND English! #languagenerd

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Ria's Bluebird Cafe (ATL)

Ria's Bluebird Cafe came highly recommended from a former news pal of mine, so LaShauna & I headed over on a sunny Sunday morning to the Grant Park section of Atlanta, expecting a bit of a wait.
Fun fact: Grant Park is one of Atlanta's oldest residential neighborhoods. If you do have to wait for a seat at Ria's, enjoy the bungalows and cottages and Victorian houses in the area, or walk after your brunch later!

We must have arrived at the perfect moment, because we only waited about 15 minutes for an indoor table. The friendly hostess and servers were welcoming and helpful, which was nice, considering I was totally expecting a bit of pretension and hipster attitude. Nope!

I ordered a café au lait to start-- I like a good, strong cup of coffee anytime (before 4pm).

Shrimp & grits 

LaShauna ordered the shrimp & grits, and graciously shared some. This Yankee is coming around to grits-- as long as they've got some cheese in them! What a delicious dish- and not too heavy or clunky.

I'd surveyed the menu the night before (as I often do) and knew exactly what I was getting: brisket with poached eggs.
Our friend and fellow newsie, Brooks, said Ria's pancakes were worth the trip alone. (Confession: we ate it before I took a picture. It was that good). While I need to start the day with something savory, I sure don't mind sharing a pancake with a good friend. These pancakes really were spectacular. Sweet, tangy, and I slathered them with the ruby-red raspberry jam they gave us at the table.

Poached eggs & brisket-- yum!

Rich, ruby, raspberry preserves!

Who needs syrup when you have a gorgeous, jewel-toned condiment like this?

Thanks, Brooks, for the excellent recommendation! Ria's was fantastic-- and it would have been worth waiting for, too.

Ria's Bluebird
421 Memorial Dr SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 521-3737

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London: Dishoom

It's never too late to talk about London, is it? I enjoyed a girls' trip last fall with my good friend LaShauna, a two-woman 'hen do' of sorts (aka mini-bachelorette party). Just the two of us traipsing around one of our favorite cities.

We met up one night with a former news colleague of mine who has lived there for almost a decade (and is on her way to becoming a British citizen)! She suggested meeting on the edge of Covent Garden at Dishoom, a mostly no-reservations restaurant that is one of the last remaining Bombay cafes in London. (They do take them for parties of 6 or more)

That no reservations thing is no joke. However, we didn't wait that long, maybe 40 minutes, and they brought out mini drinks and snacks to keep us from getting too hangry in line.
My drink was a lovely hot mint tea. Just sweet enough, and full of fresh mint.

They took us downstairs to a table in the middle of bustling room, and we started with cocktails. Mine was the Bombay Colada: a pina colada jazzed up with coriander (those seeds on top), chai syrup, lime juice, and rum. WOW. This was one of the best cocktails I've had the pleasure of sipping. The coriander made this drink sing from the tip of my tongue to the soles of my happy feet.

LaShauna ordered the Chaijito, a chai-infused take on the mojito. I tried a sip-- it is a refreshing spin on one of my favorite cocktails, but once LaShauna tasted MY drink, she made that her second cocktail (and so did I-- I had TWO Bombay coladas!)

We decided to share a bunch of dishes, including their sauteed green veggies, their red curry, black daal (lentils) and some naan bread.
Samosas to start-- flaky crust, surreally-spiced filling, YES YES YES.

That Black House daal (pictured above)-- holy shut your mouth richness. The menu says it's a signature dish, and I can understand why. Simmered for more than 24 hours, it is incredibly lush, aromatic, flavored in the most luscious of layers. I could have had just this dish and called it one of the best things I ever ate.

The chicken ruby was a gorgeous curry in what they call a 'makhani' sauce. Tender, juicy chicken pieces floating blissfully in that sacrilicious sauce. We had some naan, thankfully, to scrape up every last drop of this dish.
We ordered the succinctly-titled 'Bowl of Greens,' described as "grilled broccoli, snow peas and spinach tumbled with chilli and lime." This dish could easily have been a throwaway, but it was so incredibly flavorful that we nearly ordered another. Splitting this among three people left us all wanting more, but we were saving room for dessert.

And I doubled DOWN on dessert. I didn't just get the pineapple & black pepper crumble (which was good, but not great, a little dry).

I also ordered a dessert coffee, a Monsooned Cobbler. It is described as Malabar espresso, 'bamboozled' with spices, cognac, and cream. They served with with cream and EXTRA sugar on the side-- it does NOT need any more sweetness, but yeah, I splashed a bit more cream in there. It was super cold and super sweet. Normally I don't care for sweet coffee, but this was excellent. When I go back, I'm having just THIS for dessert!

Dishoom
12 Upper St Martin's Lane
London WC2H 9FB, United Kingdom
+44 20 7420 9320

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British Breakfast (London)

For someone who's not a fan of flying, I sure am learning to suck it up and do it anyway. It helps when something as delicious as a British breakfast is waiting on the other side.

I took a girls' trip last month with my good friend LaShauna-- her fantastic idea, and my absolute delight to join her. We started early on a Thursday morning, looking for a breakfast spot even though it was nearly lunch time. The Gallery Pub was just the spot!

It's a dozen or so steps from the Pimlico tube stop, mere minutes from the place we were staying, and thankfully, was still serving breakfast at nearly noon!

We each got the Light Breakfast (£7.50, or about 12 dollars at the time): 2 eggs (LOOK AT THOSE GORGEOUS YOLKS), Irish back bacon (soooooo good), sausage, the requisite broiled tomato, and toast. It might be the American in me, but I just don't get the mushy tomato. Don't like it, don't get it. If any of you out there are UK citizens, please enlighten me on the appeal of it. I'm also sure there are many American bites that are equally confounding to you!

The breakfast was stomach-filling and heartwarming. The pub was quiet, relaxing, and the perfect start to our stay. You can see why I'm a bit smitten with British eggs, can't you? And a hot cup of tea is always a delight.

English Breakfast, of course!

The Gallery was also a delight-- beautiful interior, helpful staff, a leisurely place to start your day (and a hopping one to end your night, if you're around at that time)! You can get a fantastic, solid British breakfast here for a song!

The Gallery
1 Lupus Street
London SW1V 3AS, United Kingdom
+44 20 7821 7573

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Ristorante le Segrete (Rome, Italy)

On last night in Rome-- a torrentially rainy last night-- 2 of the girls from our group joined me for a late night dinner at Ristorante le Segrete.

The restaurant appears tiny when you first walk in, with only 4 or 5 tables fitting in the front room, but the downstairs is spacious and warm. We had a room all to ourselves for a bit!

I ordered the artichoke bruschetta there-- just your basic garlic and olive oil masterpiece in edible form, topped with the most amazing artichokes I've ever tasted. They really are spectacular in Rome!

I paired my appetizer with a glass of an Italian red (can't remember the specific grape/varietal)-- always an excellent bet in Bella Roma.

One of my friends ordered the garlic & oil bruschetta-- I think she was hoping there would be more to it.

They do look a little underwhelming in retrospect-- but she still ate them! She also got the pizza (first pic in this post), a traditional pizza margarita, with mozzarella, fresh basil, and olive oil, and a perfectly charred crust. It smelled so lovely!

Our other dining companion ordered a dish with fresh zucchini and cream sauce. I want to say these were paccheri noodles, but I'm not sure. She was quite happy with her dish.

My dish is one I try in nearly every Italian restaurant: Cacio e Pepe (cheese & pepper). It's a dish that sounds and looks humble, but packs such a savory punch. This was perfectly al dente, a great chew to them, and expertly seasoned with the perfect amount of cracked black pepper, a spice I'm learning to appreciate more and more. O, Italia-- you are always so delicious!

The food was heavenly, the service was great, and they even take Discover cards!

I loved this spot; it's not touristy, prices were reasonable, and our server always popped up at precisely the right moments without rushing or crowding us. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a more sedate spot for dinner-- get the downstairs seating if you can!

Ristorante le Segrete

Via della Scrofa, 31

00186 Roma, Italy

+39 06 6476 0557

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Schnitzel in Switzerland (Zurich)

We'd planned to have a leisurely day of wandering around Zurich, but our train from Rome got delayed. A four-hour layover in Milan meant we didn't get to our Zurich hotel until 10pm. It was dark, we were tired and hungry, and we had an early wake-up call the next day to head off to Germany. Rough life, but someone's got to live it!

We took a 5 minute walk from our hotel down to a cluster of restaurants. I love the outside-menus that let you do some quick math before walking inside. We selected the Rheinfelder Bierhalle and were quickly seated by an effusively welcoming manager. We are not a small group, but he didn't even blink and quickly found our party a spot all together (and he snapped our group photo!)
I'm not much of a beer drinker, so I ordered a Coca-Cola in a glass bottle. I hadn't had one in a while, and it was just what I needed. Enough caffeine to fuel me until we returned to our hotels and took our 5 hour 'naps!'

I ordered a plate of schnitzel to share with LaShauna. We were surprised that our pork wasn't breaded and fried, but it was still delicious (and easily big enough to share). It came with rosti potatoes, a Swiss take on potato pancakes/hash browns. These were so good-- nice brown, crunchy exterior, fluffy potato inside, and expertly seasoned. Salty, creamy, crunchy and just the best.

It didn't even need any of the interesting seasoning options available at our table!

Another dish--bratwurst and rosti!

We loved the welcoming atmosphere of Reinfelder. I'd go back here in a heartbeat, and while I'd love to try more dishes, I would DEFINITELY get those rosti potatoes again! This restaurant is a short walk from the train station, easy to find, easy to navigate, and above all--delicious! 

Placemats around the world...a new collection to start?

This was our first impression of Zurich, and it was an excellent one. Vielen dank to all of our gracious hosts along the way this night!

Rheinfelder Bierhalle
Niederdorfstrasse 76
8001 Zürich, Switzerland

+41 44 251 54 64

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