Florida Trip 2015: Piola

Two weekends ago I went on a trip with some friends to Ft. Lauderdale. We had been talking about doing a trip forever. And all of us wanted to go to the beach. Just lay back, relax and veg out! Cancun was our first choice but we missing the window and the prices went up up up... :( Luckily, I found a pretty great flight deal to go to Ft. Lauderdale. None of us have ever been there. And we thought it would be quieter than Miami, since we just wanted to unwind. The trip couldn't come soon enough, and finally we were on the plane!!

We arrived late on a Thursday night. After we checked into our hotel, we asked the front desk where we can go eat. We didn't rent a car so we just walked around. Most places were already closing at this point but we found a hip little pizza place that is open late. The place was packed! Apparently Thursday night is ladies night and ladies get free wine with the purchase of an entree. Nice! We actually had to wait a while to get a table for our party of 5.

Piola
1703 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
(954) 457-9394
www.piola.it/countries/display/us
Price: $$

Finally, we were seated. Our waiter was pretty cool. Brought us some waters and took our drink orders. My friend and I both got a glass of wine. I don't drink wine but I gave it to another friend. hahaha.

Another friend ordered the Sgroppino Al Limone (lemon gelato and Vodka) $6~ It was definitely not what we expected. All of us thought it would be more like a slushy, but it was creamy. Very thick and rich. It was interesting for sure.

After we ordered , the waiter gave us some Complimentary bread. With olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

It was pretty late, so we got a few things to share.

D'Annunzio Salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, sweet corn, fresh bean sprouts, hearts of palm, mozzarella fior di latte, avocado, boiled eggs, dijon mustard dressing) Regular size $10.95~ 

This was a pretty big salad. Interesting too, with the bean sprouts. I think this is the first time I've had bean sprouts in a Western style salad. It was really good. Everything was fresh. The avocado added a creaminess. And I loved the dijon mustard dressing. It was the perfect size for the 5 of us.

Moderna Pizza (topped with fresh arugula, dice tomatoes, and shaved grana padano cheese) $11.95~ We added prosciutto on top +$3.50~ This was pretty good. But after eating the other pizza, this was pretty normal. haha.

Rio De Janeiro (oven baked pulled chicken breast, catupiry cheese, a dash of parsley) $13.95~ 

 

We decided on this because of the catupiry cheese. I had never heard of it. The waiter explained it was a Brazilian cheese that's like a mix betweem cream cheese and butter? Sounded super decadent and awesome! I took a knife and spread the catupiry all of the pizza. It was just as he described...super rich, super creamy, and super delicious. I loved the flavor with the pulled chicken. Love love loved this pizza. However, it was really heavy, so a slice and half in, I was stuffed! It's always cool to learn a new food. :)

It was a great first meal on our vacation. If I lived there, I'd go back. Service was great and food was delicious. And it had a good vibe.

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Sooo... walking there, we noticed that there's a Ben & Jerry's just a couple stores down and it opens til midnight!!! It's a sign. We're on vacation right? We're allowed to eat ice cream at 11PM. haha.

I always have a hard time choosing a flavor here cuz everything is so good. I ended up with Save Our Swirled (raspberry ice cream with marshmallow and raspberry swirls, white and dark fudge ice cream cones). Oh man... I was so full after this! haha.

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Bin 303

Ah.. Bin 303. One of the shiny gems of Rockwall. We can always count on them to deliver a great meal. Since we finally tried their burgers, we knew we had to go back again, on a Tuesday, for their $10 burger night. In fact... we went back TWO Tuesdays in a row! haha.

Bin 303
105 Olive St.
Rockwall, Texas 75087
(972) 771-5303
http://bin303.com
Price: $$-$$$$

Their burgers are normally $14 each but on Tuesday they have a special $10 deal. Honestly, it's worth the $14, but a special deal just makes the food taste that much better. hehe.

First time back, I decided to try a different burger. (They only have 3 options.) Bin Burger (blue cheese mayo, nueske bacon, arugula, port braised onions; in a brioche bun) $14~ With side of barley salad. 

 

I was a little hesitant on the blue cheese mayo since a little blue cheese goes a longgg way. I don't like too much of it. But honestly, I could barely taste it. The braised onions and bacon were great toppings. And I love the pepperiness and slight bitterness of the arugula to kind of round off the heaviness of the meats. And again, that bun... ohhhh sooo good! It certainly holds everything together well. I think the Texican I had last time still has the edge, but only because it has guac on it. :P

My fiance stuck with the Cheese Burger (aged cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles; in a brioche bun) $14~ With side of sweet potato fries. He really enjoys this one so why mess with a good thing? And OMG, lurrrrrrv those sweet potato fries.

We also decided to try the Apricot & Cranberry Potato Hash $5~ 

It was a side dish. I think they recently updated their menu for the fall? Not sure, but it certainly sounded tasty. It was not what I expected. Usually I think of chunkier potatoes in a hash. This one was pretty much all mashed together and then seemed like it was pan fried? Either way, it was yummy.

The following week we went back with some different friends. I wasn't super hungry that day, and was trying to be good... so I opted for a salad. Gasp! I know... why am I getting a salad when there are $10 burgers?!! haha.

Crispy Avocado Salad (bed of greens, roasted red pepper vinaigrette, seasoned crab meat, jicama, pico) $15~ 

 

The waiter highly recommended this. And as he was describing the crispy avocado to me, I was like, "done, order it, do it." haha. Avocado covered with breadcrumbs and fried. What's not good about that? It was a delicious salad. There was a ton of crab meat and they were so light. The vinaigrette was super flavorful and everything was so fresh. And then you get the creaminess from the avocado. Yum. However... it did not fill me up. I guess my stomach wanted a burger. hahaha. I highly recommend this though.And my fiance got his usual Cheese Burger so I got to have a few bites. :)

It was our friends' first time there. They both loved the burgers.  AND the sides too. :)

Always a good time there. Love the ambiance of being in a cozy home setting. Service is always friendly. And the food yummy.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Uncle Uber's Sammich Shop

We went to this Asian Night Market Festival event at the beginning of October. It was in some office building in downtown Dallas. If you know which event I'm talking about, you'd probably agree it was pretty much an epic fail. I didn't have high expectations for it, but it was so bad that we only stuck around for 20 minutes, despite paying for the admission. Booo... :( Luckily, we had a back up plan for dinner if this were to happen. My friends and I left, and contacted other friends that were on their way to the event to go elsewhere. Don't waste your money! haha. We all went to Uncle Uber's in Deep Ellum instead. We KNOW we'll get some good food there.

Uncle Uber's Sammich Shop
2713 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 653-8237
www.uncleubers.com
Price: $-$$

It took awhile for us to find parking... there was some concert going on that night so it seemed more packed than usual. Finally we were in line at Uncle Uber's. As my friends were trickling in... the power goes out. Not just the restaurant, but basically the whole neighborhood. Geez. Is this the universe telling us we're doomed for food today?!? The rest of my friends JUST parked (and paid parking too) so we decided to stick around the area for awhile to see if the power comes back. We decided to walk around Deep Ellum to see if other areas weren't affected and other food options. We walked around for 15 minutes or so... seemed way longer, but the power came back!! We bee-lined to Uncle Uber's and found the line was shorter. Woohoo!

I got the Blackened Fish (spicy filet, homemade slaw, pickles, on a toasted bun) $6.99~ 

I wanted to try something new this time. The burger sounded amazing, but I wanted something a little lighter. "A little". haha. The sandwich was pretty hefty with 2 giant pieces of blackened fish. Loaded with slaw, and I asked them to add some lettuce. The fish was cooked perfectly. It had so much flavor. It was a pretty messy sandwich though. Juices all over the place. hehe. Loved it!!

My fiance got The Cuban (slow roasted pork, Boar's Head ham, swiss cheese, pickles, Uber sauce; in a hot pressed baguette) $7.99~ He's been craving this forever! We both think Uncle Uber's has one of the best Cubans in Dallas. Granted... I haven't had many in Dallas, haha, but this is legit.

Hand-Cut Fries $1.99~ Some other friends got fries. I loooooove their fries. You can tell it's freshly cut. And fried to perfection. I think I ate at least half of my friend's fries. Ahahaha... well if she's not gonna finish it, why not?! :P

Totally love this place. I'm so glad we stuck around for the power to come back. After a disappointing day like this, the food totally made up for it. Oh yea, the lady that brought the food out to the tables was hilarious!! The whole dining room was having a good time with her. :) We'll be back for sure!!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Snug on the Square

Last month, I had a car appointment in McKinney so I took the opportunity to get some lunch in downtown McKinney beforehand. I called up a friend that works in the area and we met up at Snug on the Square. This place used to be just a small cafe, but it's now taken over the space next door and is now also a restaurant. I'm not so sure when the expansion happened but I love it!

Snug on the Square
109 N. Kentucky St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(972) 548-7684
http://snugonthesquare.com
Price: $

The food pictures I saw online were all pretty amazing looking. The restaurant itself was homey and cozy. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table.

I went with the Any Breakfast Sandwich + Coffee $6.95~ (Build Your Own Egg Sandwich: mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, baby spinach, cheddar cheese, jalapeno, and sausage; green salsa on the side) The lady at the register said I could sub with hot tea.

I got this thing loaded! It was quite tall. And super yummy. The bread was fluffy and held everything together. Layers and layers of egg, sausage and veggies. I'd totally get this again. The hot tea took some effort. Their hot water machine was broken apparently, but the lady at the register didn't know when she said I could sub for hot tea. I waited around for awhile, since the drinks were all self-serve, for someone to help me. Finally, one guy had to go next door to the cafe to get me some hot water. Yeeesh.


My friend got the Pick Any Sandwich + 1 Side $7.95~ Club Melt (roasted turkey, honey ham, bacon, melted swiss, honey dijon, lettuce, tomato; served on butter brioche) $6.50~ With Soup of the Day: Broccoli Cheese (I think?). 

She said the soup was really good. And her sandwich was pretty loaded too. We swapped halfsies and I got to try hers. Yum!

It was a fun lunch. I totally enjoyed the food. I'd like to go again soon!

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And since I'm there, I gotta stop by Emporium Pies! :)

Emporium Pies
107 S. Tennessee St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(214) 491-1577
http://emporiumpies.com
Price: $

Got the Buttercream Gang (buttermilk pie) $5~ I love me some buttermilk pie and theirs is great.

It was a good day. (Despite paying $$$$ for a set of new tires.) hehe.

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~