How else could we spend our weekend but entertaining our latest visitors from VA way?? We've had a pretty steady stream of them, but so far we've hit the mother lode with 5 extra bodies at our place for the week. Matt H., Jenny, John Kincaid came in from Richmond and Big Brett + the German sensation Nicole came in from NY to soak up some of the California sun. With such a large group, we figured we'd play it safe for brunch and hit up a place with the capability to take care of a large group while still dishing up delicious treats. We hit the Gulf Coast Grill for the second time (we'd brought previous RVA'ers there on an earlier trip), and got seated immediately. I was skeptical of this place at first (any place whose main font is Curlz MT definitely loses points with me), but I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. California style meets Lousiana cuisine, with offerings like Muffaletas, fried oysters, grilled veggie quesadillas, beignets, catfish, jambalaya, biscuits and gravy, etc. All egg dishes are served with EXCELLENT rosemary potatoes, and the coffee is dark, fresh, and plentiful.
I went with the Muffaleta sandwich and when I asked for hot sauce they offered me either Tabasco or their home-made habanero pepper spread (which I of course accepted). She warned me that a little goes a long way, and she was NOT kidding. It was a late speading heat, but spread it did. I'm not huge on the actual flavor of the habanero, but if you want heat this is definitely the place to find it.
I envied Matt's selection of the steak n' eggs, especially when he ordered it exactly like I would have (medium rare and over medium) but I've always been hesitant to commit to such a serious meal in the morning. One day I will man up and go for it. Ashton got the Santa Fe eggs benedict with chipotle hollandaise, which looked spectacular and I gladly helped him mop up the leftover egg jizz with my sandwich. All in all, I'd rate it a very solid B+ with excellent service and accomodations, and good (not unbelievable, but consistently GOOD) food. I will definitely go back, and the fact that it's an easy walk from our house definitely helps.
Showing posts with label university heights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label university heights. Show all posts
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Parkhouse Eatery
We've been passing this on our way to El Zarape for weeks now, and every time we go by it catches our eyes. FINALLY we made it over to the Parkhouse Eatery in University Heights, and despite the crowd out front got sat immediately at the bar. Why people dislike the bar, I'll never know (at least for two people). The building is the definition of quaint, and they have a great outside patio area complete with hanging vines and a wonderful atmosphere. I didn't even have a menu before my eye was caught by an amazing looking mimosa-offshot (their Sunrise Mimosa), which turned out to be a glass cascading with an inner rim of raspberry puree, a generous amount of champagne, and a THICK orange juice topped with a pineapple slice. Yes, please, I'll have one.
The menus weren't extensive, but 100% of what they offer looked unbelievable. It was honestly one of the best brunch menus I've come across. I was incredibly torn in a few different directions, but eventually settled on TRES EGG ES SCRAMBLES... served w/house potatoes, french white toast and homemade PH jam. Of the varieties they offered I went with the fresh spinach, artichoke hearts & feta cheese for $9.50, and Ashton got the spicy serrano peppers, cilantro, tomato & house-smoked mozzarella scramble.
Another note, their bread is from local spot Bread and Cie, and was superb. Either way, this was perfection. An A+ rating. The drinks were fantastic (and large), the meal was beyond wonderful, the eggs were cooked perfectly, the jam was tasty, and the potatoes were some of the best I've ever had. And the price was RIGHT! For the 2 of us, our meals (which were large enough for leftovers) and 2 sunrise mimosas (big enough to last the whole meal) it was less than $35. Worth every penny. I also peeked at the dinner menu and it looks like a great place for a date night. Great food, and while most entrees are around $20, it shouldn't be a budget-breaker for an occasion.
The menus weren't extensive, but 100% of what they offer looked unbelievable. It was honestly one of the best brunch menus I've come across. I was incredibly torn in a few different directions, but eventually settled on TRES EGG ES SCRAMBLES... served w/house potatoes, french white toast and homemade PH jam. Of the varieties they offered I went with the fresh spinach, artichoke hearts & feta cheese for $9.50, and Ashton got the spicy serrano peppers, cilantro, tomato & house-smoked mozzarella scramble.
Another note, their bread is from local spot Bread and Cie, and was superb. Either way, this was perfection. An A+ rating. The drinks were fantastic (and large), the meal was beyond wonderful, the eggs were cooked perfectly, the jam was tasty, and the potatoes were some of the best I've ever had. And the price was RIGHT! For the 2 of us, our meals (which were large enough for leftovers) and 2 sunrise mimosas (big enough to last the whole meal) it was less than $35. Worth every penny. I also peeked at the dinner menu and it looks like a great place for a date night. Great food, and while most entrees are around $20, it shouldn't be a budget-breaker for an occasion.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
El Zarape
WOW! And I sang Ranchos Natural Market's praises? Our Richmond-transplanted friend Dennis described the majesty of this magical place a few days ago, and Ashton and I decided to try it out last night before heading to Encinitas for a hangout sesh. Apparently they have fish tacos for $0.99, which of course sold me. Ashton had also sampled their offerings for lunch that day, and told me in so many words that we must make this a go-to-often spot. It's on Park Avenue just north of the University Heights sign on the left, and it's just a small hole-in-the-wall place with minimal seating and a casual atmosphere. They had a pretty extensive menu with a ton of unusual options for very reasonable prices. I opted for the Calamari Burrito, and Ashton went for the Veggie Supreme Burrito.
Let's just say that the Calamari burrito was the best thing I have ever had. I had even noticed that at Ranchos they have calamari strips as an appetizer (random) and verbally wished they could add it as a burrito option. This was above and beyond what I could have expected. Just the right amount of things, and everything tasted FRESH FRESH FRESH. Stuffed full of fried and steamed calamari rings, lettuce, tomato, and a chipotle white sauce. Nothing more, nothing less. I took the liberty of adding some of the thick red saucy salsa from the salsa bar, and was NOT disappointed with the result. They also have an EXCELLENT variety of salsas available at the bar, all of which were superb.
Ashton's veggie burrito was also in the top 10 category. Full of beans, crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, sour cream, potatoes, all rolled into a tortilla of delight. Both came with a small sampling of chips as well, so we were able to even further enjoy the salsa selection. Neither burrito was obscenely big or skimpy either, just the right sizes for the price.
They also offer Coke Zero as a fountain drink! Awesome! El Zarape gets 2 enthusiastic thumbs up. Not only is it right around the corner, it's in a hip neighborhood, it's cheap, fresh, fast, and incredibly tasty. I've read a few reviews online, and the lack of seating does seem to make it more of a take-out spot, but when we went at 6:30 it was no problem grabbing a table. I guess it's a case by case scenario. But I can't recommend this enough. I look forward to eating there again VERY soon!
Let's just say that the Calamari burrito was the best thing I have ever had. I had even noticed that at Ranchos they have calamari strips as an appetizer (random) and verbally wished they could add it as a burrito option. This was above and beyond what I could have expected. Just the right amount of things, and everything tasted FRESH FRESH FRESH. Stuffed full of fried and steamed calamari rings, lettuce, tomato, and a chipotle white sauce. Nothing more, nothing less. I took the liberty of adding some of the thick red saucy salsa from the salsa bar, and was NOT disappointed with the result. They also have an EXCELLENT variety of salsas available at the bar, all of which were superb.
Ashton's veggie burrito was also in the top 10 category. Full of beans, crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, sour cream, potatoes, all rolled into a tortilla of delight. Both came with a small sampling of chips as well, so we were able to even further enjoy the salsa selection. Neither burrito was obscenely big or skimpy either, just the right sizes for the price.
They also offer Coke Zero as a fountain drink! Awesome! El Zarape gets 2 enthusiastic thumbs up. Not only is it right around the corner, it's in a hip neighborhood, it's cheap, fresh, fast, and incredibly tasty. I've read a few reviews online, and the lack of seating does seem to make it more of a take-out spot, but when we went at 6:30 it was no problem grabbing a table. I guess it's a case by case scenario. But I can't recommend this enough. I look forward to eating there again VERY soon!
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