Thai Surprise...

Siamese Princess

36 Lancaster Avenue

Ardmore, PA 19003

www.siameseprincessrestaurant.com/ 

Its been really difficult for me to find good Thai food in the Philadelphia area. I have been ruined since traveling to Thailand in 2012 because the food was simply incredible. I forgot my lunch one day at work, so I took a walk to grab some Thai takeout at a place near this place by my office. It was a pretty quick walk, and I headed out right after I ordered because they said it would be ready in 15 minutes and when I arrived it was. I took it back to the office and set it up immediately

I ordered the green curry that came with a side salad with peanut dressing and white rice. I dumped all of my rice into the container with the curry and immediately dug it. It was still piping hot, and it had a really nice amount of heat to it. It definitely had some traditional flavors for sure. Thai basil, coconut, chiles, carrots, onion, the balance of flavor was great. The rice soaked up a nice amount of the curry as well, leaving each and every bite flavorful and comforting. The side salad was definitely lack luster. The dressing was not my favorite. In fact, it was one of the worst peanut dressings I have ever had. It was very fatty and the flavor was pretty poor, I would have preferred not to have gotten it at all.

Three pints for Siamese Princess. I will definitely be back to fill my Thai cravings. This is the best I have found yet in the area, and it's definitely affordable and worth the visit. Check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Smoky Treats...

Four Rivers Smokehouse

1600 West Fairbanks Avenue

Winter Park, FL 32789

https://4rsmokehouse.com/ 

I found this place while looking for BBQ restaurants near my family's vacation home in Orlando, and I am super pumped I did. It's not exactly right around the corner from us, but it was worth the drive. It's an awesome setup from the moment you walk up. They have a big outdoor seating area with picnic tables and paper towels on the tables. When you walk in the front door, you see a buffet line and you order your meats by the 1/4 lb. place your order at the front, walk down the line to pick your sides, pay at the end of the line. One thing that wasn't cool was that there was no beer, but the food is good enough that it didn't matter all that much.

One thing really special about this place was the craft soda wall. They had an outstanding amount of choices to choose from in all kinds of flavors. I actually chose a cream soda made by Sprecher Brewing Company, someone I've actually had beer from in the past. It was absolutely fantastic. I am a sucker for cream soda, and this version was perfect. My fiancé had a ginger lime soda that was amazing.
As for the food, I ordered burnt ends because I almost never see them on the menu, and they were really not good, or what I was expecting for that matter. All burnt ends I have had before are chunks of brisket, but this was shredded and so overly smoked, I was really let down.
That was the only issue I had though with any of the food. It was a bad one, but everything else was so good, it really made up for it. I tried the ribs and the pulled pork and they were spectacular. Every single side was on point from the Mac and cheese to the smoked bacon wrapped jalapeños. I could have eaten an entire tray of the smoked bacon wrapped jalapenos. They had plenty of heat to them, tons of smoke and were just plain tasty. Even the biscuits were spot on. 

For dessert we had this brownie that had all kinds of ingredients and toppings to it. It had caramel, and toffee bits, and peanut butter bits, it was incredibly rich, but it was perfect for us to cut into 6 pieces and share between all of us.

Three and a half pints for Four Rivers Smokehouse. If it wasnt for the burnt ends mishap, it could have been even better. I'll be coming back here time and time again when I visit Orlando, I just wont be ordering the burnt ends. This place is amazing other than that. Check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!

An Experience Like No Other...

Bern’s Steakhouse

1208 South Howard Avenue

Tampa, FL 33606

www.bernssteakhouse.com/ 

There arent many experiences out there like Berns Steakhouse. Don't be scared when you drive through dodgy looking neighborhoods on your way to this gem, once you arrive I promise it will be worth it. Yes the inside is very old and it may look a little tacky, but like I said, there really isnt anything else like it. The wine list is enormous. They have the largest wine collection of a private owner on the east coast. They have over 600,000 bottles of wine between the 100,000 in the wine cellar and the 500,000 in the warehouse across the street. My fiances father was geeking out about it because he's in the industry.

I was pretty overwhelmed looking at the menu. It's like an encyclopedia. So many choices. So many options. But it's all part of the experience. You want to choose the thickness of your steak? You can do that. You want to order the temperature almost to the degree? You can do that too. Want your steak medium well on one side and medium rare on the other? Go for it, they can do that too.

My fiancé and I wound up splitting a 14oz strip steak. We also split the French onion soup and the salad that comes with every main course. Everything was delicious! The French onion soup was rich and had a depth of flavor that was fantastic. The cheese over top was thick and chewy and brought in a lot of texture to the soup. I loved that the baked potato came served with a a virtual baked potato bar of toppings. Bacon, chives, sour cream and butter. Boom. The steak was perfectly cooked and incredibly tender. All of their meat is dry aged, so the flavor is intensified. Great wine, great food and very reasonably priced for a steakhouse. Winning.

The experience doesn't stop there though. Pay your bill and make your way to the dessert room to finish off your night in style. Again the menu is huge and has tons of delicious looking options. I opted for the brown sugar trio of a cookie, cheesecake and ice cream. My fiancé ordered the baked Alaska and they put on quite a show for it. Both desserts were fantastic and their coffee was too. All of the desserts were extremely well prepared and went perfectly when paired with a cup of coffee. 

Four and a half pints for Bern's Steakhouse. Even the price point was spot on. It was a hell of an experience. I will be back to this place as often as I can. It was one of the coolest restaurant experiences I've ever had. Check it out when you are in the Tampa area. Cheers!

Disappointing Tacos...

Rocco’s Tacos

7468 West Sandlake Road

Orlando, FL 32819

https://www.roccostacos.com/ 

My fiancé and her family headed out for dinner on a Satuday night to a place where some of my family had talked about for quite some time. Rocco's Tacos was really hyped up to me by my family before I arrived. Overall I thought it was decent, with the drinks being better than the food. The ambiance is great. Its extremely loud, so dont go there and try to have a dinner with lots of conversation. It was jammed when we went on a Saturday night. 

One tip I have after dining there is definitely stick to the margaritas on the rocks. I didnt really enjoy the frozen blood orange margarita I had, but I loved the strawberry basil margarita I had on the rocks. The amount of tequilas they had to choose from was mind-blowing. If you are a tequila fan, you would be in heaven here. We started with the tableside guacamole, which was awesome. It was great to watch it being made, and the flavor was really good. If it were up to me, it could have used a bit more heat, salt and lime, but it was really good nonetheless. The chips were seasoned and delicious as well.

I wouldnt call the food traditional Mexican, but more of a Tex-Mex feel. I dont know if I messed up or not, but the tacos I ordered didnt come on corn tortillas, and they really werent that great. I prefer my tacos to be more traditional. These came served with taco sauce, (really?) pico de gallo and lettuce. I usually just do cilantro and onions, but I actually liked the cotija cheese on these. They were just too busy for me. I did the mixed platter of carne molida, chorizo and cochinitas achiote. Again good, but not great, and definitely lacking in flavor. They definitely were lacking on basic seasoning. I did like the refried beans and the maduros we ordered. The plantains were sweet from their caramelization and salty from the cheese and crema. 

Two pints for Rocco's Tacos, mostly for the margaritas and the tequila selection. We all felt the same way. We found it pricey for what it was, and we all wished it was more authentic. Perhaps we ordered the wrong items. They do have a huge menu, so there was plenty more to try. I would definitely go back for on the rocks margaritas, tequila and guacamole. It's worth a visit, like I said maybe we miss ordered. Check it out and let me know what you think. Cheers!