Birmingham, MI - Rugby Grille; Instead of having breakfast in the dining room, how about breakfast in bed? Rugby Grille serves their food to Townsend guests, so if you don't want to have it in the dinning room, why not in your room?

I tried their eggs benedict with side of bacon and turkey sausage. The english muffins were toasted well and not soggy from the eggs. The eggs were cooked well and perfectly runny to mix well with the hollandaise sauce. The sauce was delicious, creamy, and salty and sweet. Both the bacon and the sausage were very good, salty, charred nicely, and perfect to dip into the hollandaise sauce.

The fruit was nice, fresh, but nothing out of their ordinary. It certainly lightened the dish up a bit since the rest of it is pretty heavy. It was actually nice to have that instead of potatoes, which would have made it a really heavy dish. Enjoy!

Ferndale, MI - Fly Trap; Fly Trap is a unique place, probably in it's own category. Breakfast, lunch, I guess either. They have some unique items on the menu and especially their specials menu. Fly Trap was also featured in Food Channel's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, which attracted me to here.

Get ready to wait in their no waiting area. They have a tiny waiting area right in front of the door. So, when you wait, you're just keep looking at each table hoping they are done. Obviously making the situation awkward for people at the tables. The grill is right in the dinning area as well, so be prepared to smell like lots of dinner food when you leave.

I've tried their green eggs and ham, from the menu, and their Moroccan mole, off the specials menu. I thought both dishes were pretty good, interesting flavors, well developed, and both were unique. I thought the green eggs were going to be eggs with some food coloring, but it turned out to be roasted pablano pesto, giving it a nice sweet flavor. The Moroccan mole was not a traditional mole sauce. It's traditionally made with chocolate, but this was a white mole sauce. I'm not sure how they made it, but it was also a nice combination.

On their standard menu, they do offer multiple vegetarian and vegan options for those with food restrictions. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Chen Chow Brasserie: Are you at Chen Chow for the atmosphere? How about the flavor and caliber of food? How about for the price of the food? The first yes, two maybe, third no.

I started with the Octopus & Soba Noodles. It's a staple on many sushi menus. It was prepared with the same flavors and texture as any other sushi restaurant, just half the cost. However, it was served with a ginger sauce that isn't usually typical and it was a nice addition, complimenting the flavor. However, it also included a small cube of jello and I'm not sure why it was there. The flavor was extremely subtle to where it didn't have any flavor. It didn't add anything to the octopus and I would go as far as saying it had slightly a bad flavor. I was not a fan of that and it had no place on that plate. If it covered it in the ginger sauce, it could eat it, but what's the good in that?

Moving onto the main course, pork three ways. They redeemed themselves almost. It's served with cinnamon brine tenderloin, pulled shoulder with white kimchi, orange hoisen glazed pork belly, with a side of broccoli. Each one was cooked very well and flavored the same. Each one was unique in its own flavor and you'll want to eat take a bite of each one and change up frequently to capture their flavors. Then tenderloin was cooked very well, nice and pink in the middle, and wonderfully tender. The pulled shoulder was very delicious. The sauce complimented the tender shoulder very well and it was my second favorite of the dish. the pork belly however, stole the show. It had the crispy edge it needed while having the fatty inside capturing all the flavor. It was the home run of the dish. Now I want a whole plate of this dish.

Why include the broccoli on this dish? It's steamed broccoli with very little flavor. It's an after thought. Bad choice on the chef's part.

Lastly the dessert. Make sure you get it. It's another amazing dish that the pastry chef did an amazing job. We had the Molten Chocolate Cake with a ctrus sauce, orange, and powdered sugar. When we cut into it, the chocolate just poured out. It was fantastic, make sure you get it.

The only downside is that it's too expensive. I don't think it's worth the cost of the meal though.

Detroit, MI - Neighborhood Noodle; This is a scene out of Chicago or New York, not expected here in Detroit. Neighborhood Noodle is a traveling food business that operates about once per month by special order only. You place your order in advance and show up at the designated time to pick it up. They use another business' kitchen until they complete their purchase of their own food truck. The last month was in May and it was Korean. Particularly, they prepared bibimbap, carrot soup prepared cold, an apple potato salad, and an almond cookie with a mixed citrus marmalade.

The Bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish and I was surprised to see how good it was. It was prepared very well with rice, tofu, spinach, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bulgogi (sauteed marinated beef), and a fried egg on top. It is eaten with a wonderful spice sauce that is perfect to bring all the elements of the dish together.

The carrot soup was a fantastic puree of a carrot and curry soup. I didn't expect the curry flavor, giving it an element of surprise and bold flavor.

The apple potato salad is a three-to-four star dish compared to the others. It was ok, not bad, apple slices with red skin potatoes in a light dressing. I didn't think it was spectacular, a little more bland than I would want it. Especially the bold flavors of the other dishes. It didn't seem to match the others. The apples did elevate the flavor of the dish with it's sweet addition.

Lastly, another home run, the almond cookie. It is two cookies held together by a mixed fruit marmalade. Oh my, how goooooood this is. Each cookie probably has a stick of butter in it and why its so good, but who cares. They are very greasy, but if you like soft, very soft, almond cookies and like marmalade, it's worth seeking this place out for just this. I recommend a store just be opened up for these cookies, yes it's that good. I actually took small bites so it would last longer and I could extend the enjoyment.

I'm looking forward to when they have their food truck and on a regular basis. Its an exciting and fun experience to put in your order days in advance and seek them out to pick it up.

Cash Only****

San Antonio, TX - Liberty Bar; Walk, drive, bike, carpool, hitchhike, crawl, or however you want to get here. I'm not sure about anything on the menu except one dish that you have to try, the Goat Cheese with piloncillo & chile morita sauce. You will want to order this appetizer, maybe for the whole table, or maybe just for you. Just be prepared to place another one to-go for when you're ready to leave. This dish is a home run, wait, it's a grand slam, the ball may even sore into the parking lot. Like I said, I can't speak for any other dish, I literally just ordered this, ate it all, then ordered another to go for my wife to try (but really just so I could eat it again later).

If you ask, they'll give you the ingredients for it, not that I could every duplicate it. It's served with some basic but nice toast, lightly buttered, but really waiting for a huge schmear of the cheese. I do feel bad for the toast since it has to share the plate with the cheese. It has to follow up after an amazing act. The cheese is served warm, and so smooth. It has a smokiness to the flavor, carries just enough sweetness, with just a little bit of heat at the end. It has a chipotle tangy and spiciness with this wonderful creaminess of the goat cheese mixed with heavy cream.

If I had the money, I would fly to San Antonio, just for this. The city couldn't keep my interest, but I would go back for this, hands down.

San Antonio, TX - Biga on the Banks; I believe to receive five stars you have to have, outstanding food and excellent customer service. That's it. If you get these perfect, then five are easy to achieve.

We truly had a wonderful experience here and they deserve every earned star. I made reservations a week in advance and inquired about their vegetarian options for my wife. The lady on the phone indicated that the menu changes each night based on what the executive chef has available for local fresh fare. However, she also included that when we arrive, mention it to your server and they will make anything you want to her liking. Wow, ok, that sounds like good customer service. We arrive for our evening out, seated at our table (a wonderful table along the glass over looking the river), and our server comes over and immediately says to my wife, "I understand you're a vegetarian, please allow me to show and describe our vegetarian options. If any of these don't sound attractive, please describe what you're interested in and I'll speak to the executive chef." My wife and I both paused and were in shock. This means the woman I spoke to regarding the reservation, noted she was a vegetarian and spoke to our server for us. I feel like I'm in the home-run derby right now. We don't even have our food and we're blown away.

I started with the wild mushroom truffle soup. I am a sucker for mushroom soup. What adds an element of elegance and sophistication is that it's assembled at table-side. The bowl came with the mushrooms and truffle oil in the center of the bowl, but the creamy soup wasn't too be found. After the plate was set down, then the server poured the soup on top of it. I was absolutely ready to dig into it. Of course it was delicious. It maintained that wild mushroom flavor, still a little rustic, but the truffle oil blended the creaminess of the soup with the rustic of the mushrooms.

I chose the venison and quail, and she ordered the roasted beat dish. I was so impressed with the complexity and caliber of both dishes favors. They were very well developed, harmonious, and complimentary in flavor and texture. The venison was perfectly cooked medium-rare. The quail was so delicate and had just enough charred flavor on the skin. It also came with a wonderful reduction sauce to compliment both meats very well. The surprise of the dish was the pureed potatoes and the sauteed brussels sprouts. Initially I tried the puree and it had flavor, but needed a bit of salt, however, then I tried the sprouts and they had the salt the puree was lacking. Putting them together was a perfect symphony. The crunchy and saltiness of the sprouts were perfect for the soft and smooth puree. Bravo!

My wife absolutely loved her beat dish, which came along with some kind of wonder cheesy grits-like puree underneath the vegetables. I have to admit, this may have been the only time I've seen her eat the entire vegetable dish. It also had asparagus that were so interesting. The only way I could describe it was that it seems as though it had been cooked in liquid nitrogen because it was fully cooked, but somehow it maintained this crystallized crunchiness to it. Bravo!

Of course the desert was a perfect way to end the meal.

Compliments to the host, server, and chefs!

San Antonio, TX - Boardwalk Bistro; The description of two stars fits perfectly, "I've experienced better." It's perfect. I selected this place because it stood out as a place for vegetarians. Well, I guess they have vegetarian options, but the real question is, are they delicious vegetarian options? My vote goes for eeeehhhh.

The description of their Grilled Tofu Salad sounded much better than it looked or tasted. It's description is: "A large Caesar platter topped with artichoke heart, fresh grated parmesan cheese, roma tomato and strips of grilled tofu". It would have been much better if they did something with the tofu. I don't even know if it was grilled or not. It didn't taste like it. It looked and tasted as though I opened the package of tofu, heated it up and put it on top of the salad. It didn't have any grill charred marks, nor any seasonings to give it flavor.

My wife had the pita works, grilled vegetables on a pita with a side of tabbouleh. The vegetables were ok, but the tabbouleh, huge miss. You can't cut up parsley and call it tabbouleh. It still has to be prepared correctly and once again, the flavor just wasn't there.

BB would receive one star, but I gave it two because at least they do have multiple vegetarian options. Many places have one or two options on the menu, and at least here they had almost a dozen.

I also didn't really care for the inside decor much. It felt like an trip into Threes Company at the Regale Beagle. Kind of funny at the same time.

San Antonio, TX - Rasario's Mexican Cafe Y Cantina; I'm an adventurous eater and always looking for interesting places, but also interesting dishes that are not common. Rosario's accomplished this by offering some traditional Mexican ingredients not found frequently on menus.

The three items on the menu that were calling my name were tongue, tripe, and sweet bread. I've had tongue and tripe lots of times, prepared all different ways, but the sweet bread? First, if it's called sweet bread, you know it really has to be something else and they're afraid of disgusting people out. You certainly have my interest. It turns out, sweet bread can be used for several different organ meats, but in this case, it was thymus. I've never had the opportunity and I can't let this pass me by.

It is breaded and deep fried, similar to country fried steak. Eating it alone, it does have a gamey flavor, which may put some people off. I didn't mind it at all, but if you eat it with some of the rice or beans together, it really complements each other and the flavors work very well. It is very tender and cooked very well. I would certainly get it again without any hesitation.

Also to note, they specifically have a section for vegetarian fare. It has traditional dishes, but also unique entrees that vegetarians will find very interesting.

The place is nice in decor, clean, a large dining area with lots of tables with little wait time.

San Antonio, TX - Guenther House Restaurant; There is a reason when you go to the Guenther House to get there before 9am, there's an hour wait. All the yelpers say to go before 9, and even during the week, it was still an hour wait.

If you decide to wait, go into their cafe to get a coffee and danish. They offer multiple flavor danishes, which are perfect for that hour wait while you sit outside on their quaint tables and grounds. When you're seated, you can choose to sit inside or outside in their covered tent. Outside was so pleasant.

We started with the black cherry strudel. I'm not sure if they make these inhouse, but whom ever made it, it made two very waiting hungry people happy until the table was ready. I moved onto another wonderful carb filled breakfast, one of their specials, almond pancakes. They were wonderfully sized, browned well, and cake with a delightful surprise of thinly sliced almonds cooked in the batter as well as in between each pancake within the stack. The almonds gave it a nice addition to the texture of the syrup soaked pancakes.

They also offer freshly squeezed orange juice that comes with delicious pulp floating in it. Enjoy!

San Antonio, TX; El Mirador Restaurant - I arrived in San Antonio and just about everyone tells me to make sure I get a puffy taco before I leave. El Mirador gave me the first shot at it. Here we go, what I've been waiting for since I arrived.

Lets start by saying that we were able to sit out on their wonderful patio taking in the breeze and fresh air. Ok, margaritas are flowing and all around at almost each table. The puffy taco arrives, one chicken and one beef. I ate the first one, which one was it, not really sure since I don't remember, and on to the second, yeah, the same feeling. The shell had the "puffy"ness to it, but it was still soggy and very greasy. If I'm going to feel guilty in eating something like this, let it knock my socks off so I could care less about how unhealthy it is. Now I just ate an artery clogging dish and didn't even really taste anything. My verdict, not very good and hope to try the puffy taco somewhere else.

Wait, wait, it's not over. They are able to salvage the 1, maybe 1.5 star rating into a 3! All credit goes to the Chamade Vegetarian Enchiladas. Ok, now we're talking about a truly unique dish with a fist full of flavor. These aren't standard enchiladas with bean and cheese, but unique flavors and wonderful ingredients. They are potato filled, but it's the sauce you want. It has this wonderful citrus undertone with fantastic cheeses and assortment of greens to compliment it. I had to give my compliments to the chef on this dish. This could easily turn carnivores into omnivores. Enjoy!

San Antonio, TX; Twin Sisters Bakery and Cafe - The draw to the Twin Sisters was the sweet potato muffins. I have a weak spot for sweet potatoes, so all you have to say is that its used in some unusual fashion and I'll show up. On this case, they didn't disappoint. However, on the other levels, they missed their mark.

This is a nice little place to stop in for a breakfast that's off the regular path downtown. I tried the Huevos Rancheros and overall, not too bad. I would have given the place three stars for it. It was average, I ate the whole thing. They would have also received three, maybe four stars with the muffin because I thought it was pretty tasty. However, where they lost a star was the Huevos Rancheros came with one tortilla shell. I could purchase more, but could I at least get three maybe? There was no way I could extend the life of that poor single tortilla, I'm setup to fail. The other hit against them was that the place wasn't that clean. We sat at a table in the window, nice view, but noticed there was food on the floor, little pieces of scraps. Ya, not what I really wanted to see while I eat. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Le Petite Prince; Le Petite Prince is truly a gem on multiple levels. First and foremost, their pastries. Every level of their showcase has real French pastries with labels also in French. Can this shop get anymore French? No, because there's more to convince you. How about the French daily made bread behind the counter? Want more evidence? Lastly, when the owners come out from the back room speaking French, that should do it.

You can practice your French, which I try to do, but they probably just laugh at my terrible accent, grab some freshly baked bread, but whatever you do, do not leave without an almond croissant. I have tried them at so many places after here and none of them compare. They are perfectly flaky on the outside, has thinly sliced almonds on the outside that have been slightly toasted from the oven, and the inside is heaven. It is soft, moist, wonderful almond paste that isn't strong at all, but has enough flavor to remind you its there. The paste is delicate and the rest of the pastry finishes with that same delicate flavor. Make sure you go early enough because they'll sell out later in the day.

If you go, please save one for me!

***CASH ONLY

Birmingham, MI - How About Lunch; This is a basic little place. Not much to it though. Its only for lunch and plan on taking it to go since that's your only option. It is perfect for a quick lunch on the go and from the name, you can probably guess when you can stop in for, lunch only.

I tried the fruity albacore tuna Pita and I'm not sure why but I did have higher expectations. I was thinking of nice large chunks of tuna and it turned out to be tuna salad. You can see my disappointment. However, they saved it by adding wonderful chunks of apples to it. It gave it some texture, sweetness, and that addition flavor it needed. I should also add that it was not made with too much mayo, just the right amount.

The other downside was the pita bread. It was just regular old pita. I'm not sure if its baked there, but it doesn't seem as it is. It looks, feels, and taste like plain old store bought pita bread.

In the showcase they did have pretty tasty looking salads that I'll go back to try.

With it being a locally owned small business, I'm willing to give it a few more tries.

San Francisco, CA - Contigo; Out of all the restaurants I tried either by walking, trolleys, and/or buses, this is the one place I would happily sit on a train and bus, then have to walk a bit. This was as good as it gets. It was recommended by a friend and I'm so glad we went. It has a wonderful atmosphere, but it comes down to the food, right?

Well, it receives five stars, so you can guess I enjoyed the food. Dish after dish was spectacular. Unfortunately I don't remember the actual names of each dish, sorry, but I'll do my best to describe them. After all, we had nine dishes while we were there. Maybe someone who works there will stumble upon this and tell me the actual names.

Our first tapas was mangos with cheese. It truly was a great way to start. It was fresh, ripe, wonderful combination of the fruit and cheese. (4.5 Stars)

We moved onto toast with tomato bruschetta. The toast was wonderfully crunchy despite the tomato spread on it. This was probably the least favorite of all the dishes, not a home run, but a double or triple. (3 Stars)

I was the only one who wanted to try the monidito (sardines), which worked out well, all three for me. I was expecting a very salty piece of fish, but it was prepared in a way where it wasn't and the toast underneath helped to make the whole bite very mild. (4 Stars)

Next on our palette was the albondigas (meatballs). It is pork meat balls in a tomato sherry sauce. OUT OF THE PARK HOMERUN! Wow, was this one out of two favorite dishes that night. After the meatballs were done, I was still scrapping the tomato sauce. It was slightly spicy, just enough heat, making you want more. (6 out of 5 Stars)

The second favorite dish was the brussels sprouts. Up until this evening, I never ate brussels sprouts. This dish made me do an about-face for brussels sprouts. I now say I eat them. I feel like they blanched them before cooking them because they were cooked, yet still deliciously crunchy. It also had a lemon dressing that made you lick your lips and hoping there were some sauce on them. As a surprise, there was a layer of thinly sliced almonds underneath giving it just an additional flavor, but the right amount of texture. (5 Stars)

I didn't see this one on the menu today, but if it's not, what a loss. The next one was Pimientos de Padron (small peppers sauteed and sprinkled with sea salt). These were yummy and zero were left. I was expecting them to be spicy, but were not. They had just enough charred flavor that was complimented with the salt. (4 Stars)

The crispy potatoes arrived with a tomato dressing. I think I would have enjoyed these more if it wasn't next to my favorite ones. Since it was competing side-by-side, it fell to waste side. We finished them, don't get me wrong, they were tasty, but couldn't compete with the brussels sprouts and meat balls. (3 Stars)

Moving onto dessert, we tried two. The first one was an ice cream dish, but I don't remember what type, once again competing side-by-side with a better dish. (3 Stars)

The dessert that left us wanting more was the chocolate caliente con churros. These were delicious Mexican cinnamon sticks that we could dip into hot molten chocolate. Once the sticks were gone, we were using our spoons to dig out the chocolate. Yummy! (4.5 Stars)

Royal Oak, MI - Falaffel King; I'm going for a stretch, trying beef schwarma at Falaffel King. Verdict...maybe stick with falafel. When I think of schwarma, I always think of the rotating rotisserie. One of the reasons why it's so effective is that it keeps all the flavor and moisture in the meat. When it's thinly sliced and put onto a grill, say goodbye to all the juices.

This is the case for their beef schwarma. The flavor with the spices were fine, but because it's thin and on the grill, it turned out pretty dry and chewy. The rice underneath wasn't bad, spiced well, but also a little dry.

The salad that came with it had a typical "fattoush" dressing and it probably was the best part of the lunch. It also came with hummus which was creamy and pretty good flavor.

Another disappointment, the garlic dressing. Another yelper pointed it out and they were absolutely right. It tastes like ranch dressing mixed with garlic. I usually wipe the garlic sauce clean, in this case, it's going in the trash. Don't worry, I'll recycle the container!

San Antonio, TX - Little Rhein Steakhouse; This definitely wouldn't have been my first choice to try with a vegetarian, and as a omnivore, it isn't mine either. Inside is nice and cozy, while the outside is very nice on the river, it's the food and prices that lose me.

If I'm only going there to have a steak, then maybe I would generous with my stars, but I tend not to only order a steak for dinner. I mean only a steak.

Lets start with the Texas Stew that accompanied our meal. Not bad, similar to an appetizer chili. Okay Little Rhein, you're off to a good start.

Now for the Iceberg Wedge Salad. Okay, you lost me. Doesn't your executive chef know how to prepare a salad? For $9, I get a half of a head of lettuce. Literally! It was a head of lettuce, stem chopped off, then one chop in half, then onto my plate. For $9, I have to do all the work in cutting this piece of lettuce too? There better be someone at my table cutting it up and feeding it to me also, but no. This alone I would have given this place one star.

Time for a little redemption, the Ribeye On the Bone. This is a no joke steak. It's seasoned well, basically salt and pepper, and was prepared the way I requested. I also had the sauteed mushrooms on the side complimenting the steak very well when eating together. My other observation about this steak, observation because you can't miss the thing, it's huge, HUGE! It could really feed two.

Moving onto dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding. During their "presentation" of dessert, they said it was "one of a kind". Not so one of a kind when we saw it also on the menu at another restaurant and I have had better at home at another restaurant. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as original as they said it was.

I forgot to mention what's available for the vegetarian. Don't worry, you don't have to read much longer because it was a baby greens salad. That's it. It was the size of a side salad. Vegetarians stay away!

San Francisco, CA; Boccalone - Plain and simple, the pork shop. AKA, awesome meat shop. The cooler that has hanging pork should be enough to make you walk in. If that isn't enough, how about the hand slicer on the counter and watching the thinnest slices come out. The only next best thing is digging in and eating.

You can purchases sandwiches, but I wish I could buy bread directly there and put together my own. Luckily, there's Acme Bread just down a few shops and you can buy the supplies to put it together.

I asked which ones should I definitely try without leaving, maybe ones that I can't find everywhere, and the gentleman suggested coppa di testa, lonza, and soppressata.

The coppa di testa, I thought was okay, but not my favorite. It was peppery, and most remembering gelatinous. That certainly made it the most interesting. Next was lonza, very delicate and flavorful. I would characterize it as my favorite of the three. It is cut so thin, it is almost transparent. You can hold it up and almost look through it. It means you can taste its distinct flavor with each bite. Lastly, was the soppressata, which he said is spicy, but I didn't think so. When I think spicy, I want it to have some heat, a kick, but I could taste that they were trying to give it something, but it was heat. It was a nice cut of meat, similar to a salami, but not spicy. Enjoy!

San Francisco, CA; Tartine Bakery - Why take the bus on a beautify day from downtown when I can walk there. It's only a few blocks right? My mistake, city blocks, yeah, after walking, what felt like 4.5 miles, I took the bus the remaining way. Well, now I worked up an appetite. Just as many yelpers described, there was a line to the door, but it moves quickly. I had enough time to drool all over their showcase.

I decided on two croissants, the almond (it's a must) and the chocolate (also a must). The almond one was huge, flaky, covered in powdered sugar, and sliced toasted almonds on top with almost paste in the middle. I will admit that it looked better than tasted. It taste was good, just not great. The component that was disappointing was that there was too much powdered sugar. It masks the flavor the beautiful almond paste in side, the main attraction.

The chocolate croissant was also a base-hit, but not a home-run. It also had the same characteristics, large, golden brown, flaky, but when it came to the chocolate, there just wasn't enough.

All in all, the inside is very neat and I could see myself eating, reading a paper or book, eating again, sipping some coffee, etc... I would certainly be willing to try it again, but this time I would take the bus the whole way, it wasn't worth walking. Enjoy!

San Francisco, CA - Miette's Patisserie; You cannot walk by Miette's showcase and not stop, little alone walk by without looking. Then of course since everything looks so good, you cannot purchase just one, I have to try at least two.

I tried the gingerbread cake with cheesecake buttercream and the second one was chocolate cake with coffee buttercream. They both were absolutely delicious with the gingerbread cake being my favorite. The chocolate cupcake was nice and moist, soft, and the frosting had a nice hint of coffee flavor. However, I think the buttercream could have had a stronger coffee experience. With that said, the cupcake could have also had a more chocolate flavor, the cupcake all around needed a more bolder flavor. I still enjoyed it though. The gingerbread cake was a totally different story and experience. It secured the fourth star in the rating. It had all the right qualities of a good cupcake: flavor, moisture, softness, texture, sweetness, spices, complimentary flavors, etc... The frosting was a wonderful match-up with the gingerbread spice. It had balance of flavor and boldness that it needed to wow you.

Enjoy!

San Francisco, CA; Acme Bread Company - Meandering around the Ferry Building, owner of Boccalone, suggested I try Acme Bread Company to put together the sandwiches I was attempting to assemble. I was very glad that he did suggest Acme. They had a selection right on the counter for you to see, smell, and compare to other baguettes and loaves.

I settled on the sourdough baguette that went perfectly with the fromage blanc from the creamery next door and sliced pork from Boccalone. It was wonderfully crispy on the outside giving it that nice sensation and sound of the crunch, while soft on the inside. A perfect baguette. I almost didn't even need to put anything on it, I just wanted the bread it was so delicious.

Enjoy!

Ferndale, MI - Treat Dreams; Finally a local creamery that specializes in unique flavors. You can head to TCBY or Dairy Queen for vanilla or chocolate, but when you want something good, something unique while delicious and flavors you probably never had before, you have to try Treat Dreams.

If you happen to be there on Fat Tuesday, they experimented with blueberry and raspberry paczki. They mentioned they made the filling, then made the batter mixed with the cream and then froze it. Surprising enough, it did taste like paczkis. It had just a small undertone flavor of it, not overwhelming.

You can try as many flavors as they have, but I had to stop before I couldn't eat my scoop. I tried the blueberry paczki, a pint went home with me, breakfast with coffee, salted caramel, and chicken and waffles. The breakfast with coffee was good, but I couldn't really pick out specific flavors on it. Salted caramel was fantastic. It did have a little trouble finishing my whole scoop because the salt can get a little over whelming. It's not a hint of salt, it's definitely there and you get the salty and sweet deliciousness together. Lastly, I didn't know what to expect for the Chicken and Waffles. It is prepared chicken broth, giving it a slight salty flavor in what seemed to be vanilla ice cream. The other nice addition is the soggy waffle pieces giving it texture and a nice addition to the ice cream.

I also tried their bumpy cupcake. It was smaller, but better than I expected. At first I was disappointed that the cupcake wasn't as large as other places, but the flavor made up for the missed expectations. The cake was very moist and the icy wasn't too sweet, letting you feel happy with the choice.

Enjoy!

West Bloomfield, MI - Hong Hua; There are not many places where I can find traditional congee and after seeing it on the menu, I had to try the traditional dish. I have to remind you that have to get the menu off their website because I still haven't seen it in the restaurant.

Congee is a rice porridge, commonly eaten for breakfast. It taste just like a rice soup, not filled with tons of flavor, but it's very distinct and you can choose what type of meat in it. Since this was my first time having it, at the recommendation of the server, I had beef congee. It also contained some sliced scallions and very small vermicelli noodles, not much of it, just a little. I also tried scallop congee, which had a different, but similar flavor. The scallops were cooked in the congee so it was extremely soft and almost melted in your mouth. They're similar because the base flavor is practically the same, however the meat just gives it a little undertone flavor of what it is. So, mine had a slight beef flavor, while the other had a slight seafood taste.

Although my friend didn't like it, I enjoyed both. It definitely has a breakfast feel to it and could easily have it in the morning. I see why it's a breakfast meal.

Enjoy

San Francisco, CA; Cowgirl Creamery - Going through the ferry building, I attempted to put together my own sandwiches with ingredients from different shops. The owner of Baccolone suggested a few places and the creamery was one of them.

I had the fromage blanc, which was recommended by an individual behind the counter. It was creamy, sour cream flavor, a delicate cheese spread and it went perfectly with freshly baked bread and veggies from the market.

They had so many different kinds of cheeses, I wanted to try them all. The only downside was that I couldn't purchase a few slices of different cheeses, I had to purchase by the block. It made the variety of purchasing limited, leading me to the fromage blanc. Since it was delicious, I'm not worried, but I wish I could have had more choices. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - Al's Famous Deli; Al's comes across as a pretty standard Jewish deli. They have all the right items on the menu and in the showcase. Lets see: corned beef, check; Pastrami, check; chicken noodle soup, check; ah, matzo ball soup, check (now we're talking); beef tongue, check (you have my attention), lox, check (smoked salmon for those who don't know what lox is), and new dill pickles (not noodle pickles, if the person behind the counter says "noodle pickles?" you know you're not in a Jewish deli.

So, Al's has all that going for it. It also has Kreplach soup, but when I asked about it, it turns out they don't make it anymore. :( So, how does it stack up to a Jewish deli. I tried their corned beef on rye with coleslaw and russian dressing. Any staple for the deli. I asked for it to be grilled and they said no problem. That's a big plus certainly getting you close to four stars for it. However, the corned beef was more fatty that I usually like it. It had several pieces that were gelatinous, not so pleasant in the sandwich. Even though they did have new dill pickles, they were getting a little old and mushy for my taste.

With this, I would have given it three stars, but there is one thing they do that is near and dear to my heart, bumping it up, almost everything is bought and made locally. Starting from the corned beef, to the pickles (topors), to the chips, and then to the breads and cakes. I love supporting local business and it means even more when those business are supporting our local community. You get a star for that Al! Enjoy!

Ferndale, MI - Chazzano Coffee; Do you consider yourself a coffee expert? How about going to a coffee place that is owned by one? This is a coffee shop, probably borderline coffee snob.

Ask the owner/barista about what's bold, bitter, smooth, strong, dark, light, imported, or what ever you wish your coffee to be and he'll make that cup for you. If your going staight for a cup, it'll be french press.

How about where was the last coffee house you where in where they roasted their own beans? Want to ask about the process, he'll even show and explain it to you.

I would give it four stars, but the downside for me is, its only coffee. I mean only coffee, no scones or muffins or cookies or pastries or anything to mask or alter the flavor and experience of your cup of coffee. I would like something that compliments the flavor and I look to the barista for that guidance and vision. However, if you want to know about Bolivian or Ethiopian or any other coffee, stop in and start learning. Enjoy!