Restaurants
How can it not be a good day when you wake up to this view out your hotel room window?
After a long day of conferencing, it felt great to walk outside and discover it was warm and beautiful out.
It felt weird taking pictures of somewhere I’d been so many times. 
The roommates and I:
New mom and work-out rockstar Tina; fellow-RD and Fitbloggin’ speaker Katie; and newly accepted culinary student and DC local Amanda.
After our less-than-stellar crab cake dinner, we made sure to find a restaurant that would make up for it. When we saw M&S Grill had tables outside and could sit us fairly quickly {a huge achievement the weekend of Preakness}, we knew we’d found our spot.
M & S Grill is the little sister to seafood powerhouse McCormick and Schmick’s, so it was sure to please.
And it did. I’d had my fill of seafood, so I dug into a fresh strawberry spinach salad that pretty much knocked my socks off.
Spinach topped with strawberries, red onions, and spicy hot pecans, served with a thick and spicy peanut dressing.
Along with a side of parmesan potatoes in case the salad wasn’t big enough.
We must’ve spent a few hours at dinner since it was dark by the time we left.
And with that, Fitbloggin was over just as quickly as it started.
Restaurants
{And not just because Fitbloggin’11 is over!}
If there’s one thing Maryland is known for, it’s crab. Having grown up outside of Baltimore, I’m not stranger to crab- I can’t tell you how many birthdays were celebrated with a bushel of crabs steamed in the kitchen and smothered in Old Bay, with a live crab or two escaping the steam bath and skittering across the kitchen.
So when in Maryland, it only makes sense to eat crab…Especially crab cakes, where the cake is more crab and less, well, cake {aka filler}.
Within minutes of arriving in Baltimore, I headed straight for the crab cakes.
I had the pleasure of participating in both DC and Baltimore’s oh-so-welcoming rush hours. The extra hours in the car followed by both a shuttle ride and a stint on the Light Rail {not to mention a heck of walk} left me more than a little starving upon arrival.
Luckily I found my roommates for the weekend just as they were heading to dinner at Bo Brooks, a waterside seafood restaurant in Canton, not far from the Inner Harbor.
Instead of traditional crab cakes, I opted for something a little more interesting to mix things up a bit: Chesapeake Toast- mini crabcakes on a baguette with chipotle aioli.
They were nothing less than fabulous, despite being a little mayo-y for my liking.
Of course the Chesapeake toast whet my appetite for crab cakes, and I had to get them again the next night.
Unfortunately this time it wasn’t the same pleasant dining experience. Unless crunching down on shell after shell in your crab balls is your thing.
It’s not mine. Dinner at Mo’s was disappointing, and leaves a tarnish on Maryland’s stellar reputation for above-the-bar cakes of crabby goodness.
Though round 2 of the crab craving failed to satisfy, at least the company did!
{Don’t you love when people capture awkward photos of mostly-unsuspecting victims?}
Review
The husband and I spent last night in Concord on a double super secret mission. One that makes me an awesome wife. One that makes him an awesome husband. They’re entirely unrelated.
But it meant an excuse to stop at a restaurant for just one thing. {A very southern thing that I would have gagged at a few years ago.} Fried pickles.
Concord is a super commercialized area outside of Charlotte- known for a giant outlet mall and lots of chain restaurants.
In a struggle to find a non-chain restaurant last time we were in town, we stumbled upon Tavern at the Mills.
To be honest, the food choices aren’t all that fantastic; almost no vegetarian options, let alone vegan options.
But the beer is good…
and the fried pickles are insane.
This coming from the girl that hated dill pickles until a few years ago, and doesn’t particularly like deep fried foods that aren’t of the French fry variety.
But pop those suckers in a deep fryer and serve them with a side of spicy honey mustard, and you’ve got something worth writing home the interwebs about.
And because Blue Moon and pickles don’t a meal make, we got some barbecued nachos on the side.
A giant, face-sized plate of nachos.
Perfect for sharing since the husband can eat all the cheesy-chicken pieces, and I get all the jalapeno-guacamole pieces. Despite our most valiant efforts we only made it half way through the monstrous stack. At least we have lunch for tomorrow!
Do you like pickles? Have you ever had fried pickles or is that just weird?
Review
The husband and I are visiting friends this weekend. Going out of town means lots of eating out at new places. Unfortunately this time it doesn’t mean lots of fabulous food.
So instead I’ve been reminiscing about some of my favorite restaurant discoveries over the past year. Here are my top 3:
#3:
Rioja! Wine Bar
It goes without saying this place has good wine, but who knew the food was simply scrumptious? The tangy spinach artichoke dip stole my heart taste buds.
#2:
Tartine Bakery in San Francisco
I was a little nervous about the food after sitting down with my “salad”:
But I had absolutely no reason to worry. This open faced sandwich ranked up there with one of the best I’ve eaten.
Who knew Tartine wasn’t just a baked-good heaven?
#1
Quartino
By far my favorite restaurant of the year was Quartino in Chicago.
From grilled antipasto to polenta sticks to mouth-watery pizza…
Italian tapas in a beautiful city with great company. What more could a girl ask for? {Besides leftovers!}
One thing I’ve learned? Tapas are the answer to everything.
What’s your favorite restaurant? How do you discover new places to eat when you’re traveling?
Restaurants
I’ve always wanted to eat out during Restaurant Week, but I’m either out of town, forget about it, or find out about it a week too late. This year, thanks to Jackie, it actually happened.
A bunched of us dined at Georges Brasserie, a French-style restaurant in south Charlotte.
Restaurant week means you can order off the regular menu, or you can get 3 courses from a set list for a reduced price. 3 courses meant dessert- you know I was in.
Love the serving dishes for the water and bread. Made me feel like I actually belong in a semi-fancy restaurant.
We were seated next to a giant window with an incredible chandelier above us.
First up, appetizers!
Grilled shrimp served over red pepper risotto. If you think the heads on the shrimp scared the living daylights out of me, you’d be correct. But I was in public and had to pretend to be a mature adult even though I was kicking and screaming inside. Lesson learned.
The main dish: pan seared snapper with lobster & corn basmati topped with herb beurre blanc.
I love eating fish at restaurants because it’s always prepared so much better than I can ever manage at home. This was no exception. The spiciness of the fish was perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the corn.
Last but not least, for the grand finale….
Rustic apple tart with Chantilly cream. The entire dinner was worth it for this. I wasn’t expecting to be blow away, but this was delicious- a sweet, crunchy but chewy crust, filled with a hint of apples and sweet caramel & cream. The best part was the big chunks of sugar on the outside.
It took every ounce of strength I had to wrap some of it up….but it didn’t last long. I miiight have finished it as soon as I got home.
A fabulous dinner was made even better by great company: Brittney, Jaclyn, Caitlin, Kelly, Diana, and Brittany!
Have you ever been to Restaurant Week? What did you think? Apparently Greensboro’s restaurant week was January 6th-16th….but the website still says coming soon. Not really a good sign, I don’t think. 
Thank goodness for Charlotte being nearby {enough}.
