Seaside, CA - How would you like to eat at a restaurant called Pho King? Now say it fast! Yeah, I had to eat there too. It is a Vietnamese restaurant and the only thing I had the opportunity to eat, unfortunately, was their Spring Roll. It is a roll in a steamed noodle wrap, with fresh cucumbers, lettuce, mint (this gives it a great kick), and shrimp. It usually comes with either peanut sauce or some kind of sweet & sour fish sauce. It was actually smaller than other places, but just as good. I heard this place gets pretty popular due to their clever name. They even sell T-Shirts with their name on it, but I went there for the food. They were also very accommodating because I arrived before they were suppose to open and still made the rolls for me. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - Beirut Palace is a very good Lebanese restaurant in downtown Royal Oak. I had their Mango Juice and their Beef over Hummus plate. My favorite fruit are Mangos, so I had to get that. I'm not sure if it is fresh like the other fruit or vegetable drinks, but it was still very good. I had to stop myself from drinking it to quickly. The Beef over Hummus was also excellent. The beef was well seasoned and the hummus complimented the beef very well. They create a wonderful synergy of flavors. The beef is also cooked with a few pine nuts that are grilled, which also give it a slight nutty flavor. However, the potatoes, they were just potatoes. Nothing special, I would stay focused on the beef and hummus.

If you're really adventures, at this restaurant, they have Lamb Brain. If you try it, take a picture for me and let me know how it is. I'm very interested in hearing about it. I made a promise I wouldn't get it, but if I didn't I would have definitely try it out. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - I've gone to Red Coat Tavern several times for their delicious burgers and phenomenal selection of excellent beer. However, we rarely get desert there. Why? We broke the glass ceiling and took the plunge. The first picture is of Hot Fudge Cream Puff, which turned out to be very good. It is an ice cream puff with vanilla ice cream, then smothered in hot fudge. It was very good, but not excellent. It was a little difficult to eat because of the puff part, but otherwise, a good standard dessert. Its a good thing we had chosen a second dessert and had the Ice Cream Burger. Basically a fantastic ice cream cookie sandwich. The cookies were not as soft as I hoped, but once it started to thaw, delicious. It was covered in chocolate and caramel with vanilla ice cream. When you go, get it, you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!

Boston, MA - I'm working around downtown Boston looking for a place to eat with my colleague. More or less wandering around, taking in the place, when we accidently found ourselves in China Town. Alright, we'll find a place to eat here. It was recommended to check out May's Cake House, which was one of the below ground little bakeries. We never would have found it on our own. It was worth it. There's nothing better than Dim Sum for breakfast. I know the pictures are terrible, but bear with me on this. The first picture is a sesame ball, deep fried rice cake with sweet mashed black beans in the middle, which was completely unexpected, but very good. That's right, black beans. I had no idea what it was until my friend in NY told me about it. It complimented the race cake very well.

The next picture is of a Chinese sausage dim sum. It was interesting, but just ok. It was a very doughy type bun with a ordinary sausage in the middle. It was better than the picture, I swear, but I wouldn't get it again.

The last was the best of the three. It was a very large doughy outside, with chicken and egg in the middle. The really nice touch to it was that it had a full shiitake mushroom on top of the chicken and egg in the middle. The only part that wasn't too good was how much dough was used on the outside. Other than that, very good, I would definitely get again. Enjoy!

Boston, MA - I never start an entry with a picture of the place, but this one had to. This is the Union Oyster House in downtown Boston. It is known to be the oldest restaurant in the US. It's surprisingly larger than you think from the outside. No surprise, they are known for their seafood and I had to experience it. To begin, I had to have their homemade fresh claim chowder. It was so full of flavor, I couldn't believe it. It had huge chunks of claims in it. You couldn't miss it. For an entree, I had the Broiled Seafood Platter. Our server recommended I try that to get the full experience of their food. It came with swordfish, salmon, scallops, scrod, and shrimp. I was very satisfied with the salmon and shrimp. They were prepared very well and had excellent flavor. This was the first time I had scrod, so I didn't know what to expect. It was a very soft flavored fish, similar to cod where there's not a whole lot to experience. Therefore, I couldn't say if it was great or not. The swordfish was decent, but not the best. It was prepared probably too well for my taste. Lastly, the scallops were delicious. They were certainly my favorite part of the plate and had only hoped that the plate had more. They were prepared perfectly and seasoned excellently. If you get a chance to go, GO! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the food. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - I thought I would try a new sushi place called Tokyo Sushi. As you can see, I helped myself to their menu and ordered a few things. The first picture is Edamame, soy beans steamed with some salt on them. I can eat a whole bowl of these, it's so good. The next picture is of ginger salad, which I wish they would just give me a bowl of the ginger salad dressing. That's really what I love in that dish, that dressing is so good! Lastly, the sushi tolls are spicy tuna, crab with egg and pickle, and smoked salmon. All three rolls were very good, but my least favorite was the crab one. Not a whole lot of flavor, so I would stick to the rest of them. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - This is no ordinary burger. This is the Piedmontese burger from Red Coat Tavern. Red Coat is, in my opinion, one of the best burger places in the area, and it's a great English pub for fantastic beer. The Piedmontese is advertised on their menu as "...a healthy alternative to our traditional burger. ...the burgers are lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol than either chicken or salmon." I've had both the regular and Piedmontese and you can't taste the difference at all, so go the healthier route! On this burger, I had lettuce, tomato, sauteed mushrooms, either special mayonnaise sauce, and BBQ sauce. You have the selection of 24 different items to get on your burger. It's fantastic! It's a must. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - A day at the English pub. Well this is Caribbean-Style Seafood Chowder and the Cornwallis from the Red Coat Tavern. This is one of the best English Pub like places I've found so far. The seafood chowder was very good with fresh crawfish, shrimp, and clams in a Caribbean jerk style broth. Excellent, definitely try it. The Cornwallis is the "Reuben" if-you-will. It is corn-beef with sauerkraut, on Russian dressing, with cheddar cheese (normally Swiss, but I don't like it), on rye bread. If you're a meat eater, get it, you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - BREAKFAST! The only place I've been able to find belly lox was in New York. However, I finally found a place here in Birmingham MI that sells it, Papa Joes Market. Belly lox is similar to nova, except that it has more flavor and is very salty. Prepare to drink lots of water after a few slices. However, I wasn't completely impressed with Papa Joes' cut. It tasted similar to nova, but I later saw that they butcher labeled my package wrong. So, I'll give them one more shot and see if it really tastes like New York or not. I'll let you know. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - What is that? That's what I asked myself when my cousin served this for the first time to me. It's a delicious ice cream treat. It is called Bubbies, which are Hawaiian and I purchased it at Papa Joes Market. It's basically a rice cake shell and vanilla ice cream inside. It's quite good, but the texture is pretty interesting. The first time I had it, I wasn't expecting the rice cake shell. Definitely try it out! Enjoy!

Philadelphia, PA - This is no ordinary pretzel. I picked this up at a little food stand in the Philly Airport. It's a great tasting pretzel that is cinnamon covered and, the best of all, apple filled. It's a huge pretzel as well. It's served warm and man it was great. Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Armenian festivals, they should have good food there! Birmingham recently had an Armenian festival and one of the food vendors had Armenian food. Top left is hummus (it was a standard flavor, very good), top right is tabouli (standard, very good), bottom left is cheese pie (first time having this. It is a flaky pastry with lots of great cheese inside. Lots of middle eastern restaurants have this as well), and lastly, bottom right is lahmajun (the reason I got the dish. It's similar to a meat pizza, if you will. It has some meat on top of sauce and small crust. It has an interesting flavor, one that I've never had before). Great music at the festival as well! Enjoy!

Lansing, MI - A new place to try Malaysian food. I happen to be passing through Lansing and saw a new restaurant called Suria. If I have an opportunity to check out a new restaurant, I won't pass it up. This is called Hokkien Mee Hoon, which you can see it is vermicelli noodles, veggies, choice of meat (this happens to be with tofu), and it's cooked in a light soy sauce. The flavor is very subtle and not overpowering. It's very good, one of my favorites of the Malaysian menu. Enjoy!

Detroit, MI - What's the perfect sandwich in the middle of the night, a Media Noche! This is a cuban sandwich, Media Noche, from Vicente's Cuban Cuisine. It's a pressed sandwich with ham, pulled pork, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard, with the pineapple on top. It is perfect sandwich after a night out. My friend and I got this sandwich from Vicente's after hearing about it from a co-worker. Not only did we get a great sandwich, but I got to dance salsa and my friend and I got picked up to go out with some swingers! LOL! Needless to say, we settled for the delicious sandwich and the salsa and called it a night! Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Recommended by a friend who shares the same culinary enthusiasm, said his favorite Thai dish is Larb. Surprising enough, I have always been deterred by the name, but because he said he loves the dish, I had to try it. IT WAS WORTH IT! I loved it. It is a layer of ground pork in spices with a salad and veggies underneath. It had a very nice citrus juice over the salad and veggies. Naturally, the dish was a hit and I intend to get it again! Enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Sweet Tooth! These are now my favorite two cupcakes from the Cupcake Station. On the left is a Mudslide and the right is the Cookies N Cream. The Mudslide is for you chocolate lovers and surprising, the Cookies N Cream was not as sweet as I prepared myself for. It was very light and easy on the palette. They compliment each other well and I think I'll get these two every time now, unless they have a new kind to try! Enjoy!

Berkley, MI - Hola, que haces? Well, it's Mexican tonight. This is a Mexican Sandwich (Tres Decks) from Margarita's. It's a three flour tortillas layered with rice, beans, and your choice of meat. I decided to stick with bean and cheese. I never had this before, so I thought I would try it out. I thought it was a good choice and would recommend the dish. It was very filling, so if you're hungry, then it may be the one for you. I would hate to disgrace the dish by using this analogy, but it was similar to Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza. Basically, it's the same concept, but taste is not even in the same category. This dish has all fresh ingredients and was delicious. Enjoy!

Berkley, MI - I'm on a french toast kick I guess. This is Mango and Strawberry French Toast from Berkley Breakfast Club (BBC). From the name and seeing it, you can probably guess that it has fresh mangos, my favorite fruit, and strawberries flowing all over the toast. In addition, it has a very distinct, but not too sweet, mango and strawberry sauce in place of syrup. What really adds to the flavor is a layer of cream cheese in the middle. Put all that together and you have some amazing Mango and Strawberry French Toast. Enjoy!

Seaside, CA - Breakfast is one of the best meals of the day. This was a great breakfast! This is Olallieberry French Toast from the Breakfast Club. I have never had Olallieberries before, so I thought it would be interesting to try this out. Needless to say, everything you see on this plate, was gone. This was delicious! Olallieberries are very similar in color, texture, and taste to blackberries. The only difference is that Olallieberries are not as strong in flavor as blackberries, which is why it works so well in this dish. The light flavored berries compliment the french toast rather over powering it. Delicious. Try if you get a chance. Enjoy!

San Diego, CA - At the same place as the eel, I also got salmon and halibut sashimi with seaweed salad. The salad had a very light dressing on it, not like the usual more powerful dressing. I thought it was good, but not as good as others I've had. However, the seaweed was very fresh, which was much better than what I had at other places. The fish tastes so fresh and delicious. Salmon is one of my favorite fish, so in sashimi style, even better. You get the full flavor of the salmon. This was my first time having halibut sashimi and I was impressed. Very soft fish flavor, not too strong and very lean. Excellent meal. Enjoy!

San Diego, CA - Korean in San Diego. I found this little Korean place way off the beaten path in some little neighborhood. It was worth it! These pictures were taken before I started recording the place's name, sorry. However, I can try to describe the meal so well, that you won't even have to go. The first picture is of Miso soup, a great starter. Get the pallet ready for the explosion of flavor. The second picture is of steamed dumplings. There were filled with pork and seasonings. I'm not sure how I eat all this food, but the dumplings were worth getting and I didn't regret stuffing myself. The last dish is called Bi Bim Bop. It is cucumbers and lettuce, then topped with sauteed beef (Vegetarians - order without the meat), topped with other veggies such as radishes, bean sprouts, spinach, and finally topped with a poached egg. Then all the little side dishes are more radishes, spicy cabbage, sardines (better than I expected), and cucumber. You mix it all together and it also comes with a spicy sauce if you're interested. You can mix it all together at once, or you can grab a little of the side dishes and some of the entree and it eat it that way. Any way you do it, it's fabulous! Enjoy!

San Diego, CA - One of my favorite sushi dishes is Eel. Even though it's on the "Sushi" menu, it's actually not raw. Usually it's BBQ'ed. The way they prepare it, all I have to say is delicious. It's outstanding. It's usually served with some kind of BBQ sauce on top, not soy. You still traditionally dip it into your soy sauce with wasabi. Oh, it's so good. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - This is a Filipino appetizer and soup from Little Tree Sushi Bar. The first picture is called Lumpia, which you could get rolled in a noodle wrap or have it deep fried. I had it in the noodle wrap. It has pork and other veggies in it, which were made very well. It's not similar to the Vietnamese spring rolls that have mint leaves in them. I expected that, but was actually disappointed. The sauce is a very strong peanut flavor and in the end, it over-powers the flavor of the roll. Enjoy!

The second picture is the Sinigang Soup that comes with the dinner. It was very good, but not what I expected. For some reason, I was expecting a miso-like soup. However, it turned out to be much more vinegar'ish and citrus flavor. Different from what I've had before bout what I would be willing to have again. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - Ready for some Filipino food? The Little Tree Sushi Bar serves Thai, Vietnamese, and Filipino. I've only had Filipino once in New York and I didn't like it very much. However, I knew I had to keep trying it. This was very good. I wonder if it's authentic or just prepared differently. Either way, I enjoyed it and that's what matters. The first picture is of a cucumber salad with seaweed and in a vinegar dressing. Very fresh testing and a good starter. The entree is called Ginataang Seafood, which is shrimp, scallops, craw fish, salmon, squid, and eggplant prepared in a garlic curry sauce. The dish has lots of flavor and you have to make sure you eat it slowly to enjoy each individual flavor. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - The Little Three Sushi Bar in Royal Oak was a new place to try out. It advertises that it has Thai, Japanese, and Filipino food. So, of course because of the attraction, I had to try it out. This is Kajiki (Hawaiian Blue Marlin), sushi which turned out to be very good. It's a slight soft flavor, not like tuna or salmon, which have a very distinct strong flavor. This was much more of a delicate flavor. I enjoyed it. Enjoy!

Ferndale, MI - After a good Mexican meal, you need a Mexican desert. How about sopapillas from Margaritas. This was actually a surprise desert. This is a locally owned restaurant and the service shows. They threw in the desert for no reason. Well, probably to make us come back, it works. We keep going back. Anyhow, this is small tortilla shells deep fried, covered in butter, then sprinkled generously with cinnamon. Oh, was it so good. There were only a few of us there, but there was none left. This was the first time I've ever had it, worth getting! Enjoy!

Dearborn, MI - These aren't ordinary truffles. These are truffles from the Ritz Carlton Hotel for my wife's and I third anniversary. We had a theme of threes and this was one of them. The three truffles were chocolate, white chocolate, and hazel nut. Each one was out of this world. The hotel did a phenomenal job on the presentation and the flavor of their food. I recommend it anytime! Enjoy!

Capitola, CA - This would be ordinary Huevos Rancheros, but there was one different between this dish and other places, the locations. The food was good; excellent tortilla shells, beans, potatoes, salsa, and eggs, but at Zeldas, you get to eat right on the beach! That's what also made this even better. Sit out in the sun and enjoy a great dish! Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - These may look like ordinary side dishes, Coleslaw and Onion Rings, until you've had them at the Roadcoat Tavern. This is a fantastic place to eat with food that will satisfy anyone. The Coleslaw is one of the best I've had, with it being very fresh and creamy. It's a perfect dish to split because it is quite large, but you realize that it so good that almost don't want to share it. :) The Onion Rings are in this same category. The batter is made there, hand dipped, and served perfectly. They are probably just as healthy as the Coleslaw, but equally tasty! Enjoy!

Atlanta, GA - There is a Greek restaurant downtown called the Metro Cafe Diner. I thought I would try the Gyro Plate. It was a good choice. The meat was prepared very well, spices were perfect, and the sauce they gave you to put on it, yum. They also had some kind of vinegar dressing for the Texas Fries, which turned out to be very good. I didn't expect it to be good on the fries, but I was surprised. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - Coconut milk Thai dishes are so flavorful. This is Gang Keaw Warn from Thai House Express. The coconut milk enhances, but also masks the flavor of curry. The dish is in a coconut milk base with tofu, green peppers, and peas. The combination of the pepper taste and the curry milk flavor really was quite good. Try it if you've never had it. Enjoy!

Royal Oak, MI - Good old English food tonight. This is fish and chips from the Red Coat Tavern. This is probably one of the best "English" style places that I've been to so far in the metro Detroit area. The batter for the fish and chips is homemade, greasy, and delicious! You'll enjoy every bite. Enjoy!

Farmington Hills, MI - Here's a Thai restaurant not far from work, which is very dangerous. This dish is Chiang Rai Eggplant from Thai Peppers. The sauce, which is the signature Thai brown sauce, was soo good, I could literally drink that stuff. It's so good. This, as you can see has lots of veggies such as red and green peppers, onions, and carrots sauteed with tofu and eggplant. The eggplant is served very soft, which basically melts when you eat it. I highly recommend the eggplant dishes. Enjoy!

East Lansing, MI - On rare occasions, I get fancy food. This is Brazilian Style Beef Kabob from the Kellog Center. I had the meat cooked medium rare, which was served perfectly. It was prepared with black beans, rice, and roasted tomatoes on the top. It was a nice compliment too the flavors of the dish. If they have it again, I would certainly get it again and recommend it. Enjoy!

Detroit, MI - Chocalat! Oh this was soooo good! This is Chocolate Lava Cake from Atlas Bistro. If you're planning on being in Downtown and you have time for desert, don't miss this. It was awesome! The chocolate cake is served hot and the inside was the best part. It was so soft and almost like pudding. It just melts immediately in your mouth. Then it has some vanilla ice cream on top with some delicious vanilla chocolate sauce bordering the desert. Have fun and enjoy!

Birmingham, MI - Desert before dinner? Great idea! How about a Strawberry Mint & Creme Francaise cupcake from Cupcake Station. The the Strawberry Mint cupcake was better than I expected. It had a soft strawberry flavor with only a hint of mint. Also, the cupcake wasn't to sweet like others. The Creme Francaise was so so. I thought the cake part was average/good, but the frosting wasn't up my alley. Hence the name, it had a very strong cream buttery flavor. If you like butter, you'll love it. It was just a little too much for me. Enjoy!