Ihawan- Woodside, NY

            Waking up in the morning I knew I was craving something Asian so I thought, “oh maybe I’ll have Filipino today”. I’ve been to Ihawan a few times and have always liked their food a lot.  Walking into Ihawan I can see that they were very busy and had to wait a little bit. It was a Friday night so it was understandable. A table for 2 only had a wait for about 5 minutes. Once we sat down we were faced with “what delicious dish should we have today?” I usually stick with the same dishes I always eat because those are always my favorites.

            After a few minutes of deciding we went with mango juice to share, which was very good. It had a very strong taste of mango and good thickness. I did wish it were a little colder. However even with the ice it was still close to room temperature. The rest of the food piled up on the table afterwards. The first thing I took a bite of was the Lumpia Shanghai; it is best described as a skinny spring roll. It was well fried with a good amount of filling along with the sweet and sour sauce it makes a delicious snack to begin. Next I dove into the Bisteak, it is made of beef and onions. It has a type of sour taste that makes you want more. Bisteak is personally my favorite Filipino dish but this time Ihawan has made it a bit too sour for my taste. The onions were stewed well where they were not too mushy or too hard. Next was the Pork adobo, it is a traditional dish that has soy sauce as one of the main ingredients. The adobo was made deliciously where the pork pieces fell right off the bone; the flavor was very good where it was not too salty or too sweet. The sauce is also perfect to pour over your rice to enjoy. Lastly the pork bbq was the favorite of the night. They included two bbq sticks that are grilled well. They included a good amount of lean meat and fat so it is not too chewy or dry. They marinated it so it is a barbeque flavor that seems almost a little sweet.

            Overall this is restaurant is one of my favorite Filipino places to get a bite.  The food is delicious here and the service is reasonable for the amount of people that were there. The price is very reasonable for the amount of food for dine in and take out. Would I go back? Heck yes! I’ve been there a few times and I still constantly go back for more.

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Price: 4.5/5

 Lumpia Shanghai

 Bisteak

Pork Adobo

Pork BBQ

Founding Farmers- Washington D.C.

     A day trip to Washington D.C. led us to go on a Yelp craze looking for something to eat. After a long day of walking we decided we should finally look for a restaurant and Founding Farmers was a good choice. Seeing Founding Farmers from the outside was definitely a surprise, it was very modern looking. As we walked in we were greeted immediately and sat down within 2 minutes around 4 pm. Sitting down and taking a look at the menu the first thing that caught my attention was that they were very for "true foods". They believe in fresh foods and ingredients. The waiter came over in a timely matter ready to answer questions and take orders.
    We began with some drinks, they had a very good variety of beers and cocktails. I opted with The Farmers Brew Lager which was a nice refreshing beer that reminded me of Sam Adam's Boston Lager. After taking a look over the menu we (group of 4) decided to share some "small plates". We decided on the Bacon Lollis which came out on a small plate of 8 Lollis. 1 piece of bacon on each, it was described as "Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Glazed Thick-Cut Bacon" and was exactly that. It had a nice char on it and tasted almost exactly like Chinese beef jerky. Next was the Devil-ish Eggs, I believe this dish could be much better. The eggs seemed very fresh however did not seem seasoned enough so it only tasted of plain eggs and a bit of cilantro. Lastly of the "small plates" was the Skillet Corn Bread, it was delicious! The bread was soft and melted in my mouth with actual pieces of corn. It came in an actual skillet alongside a small cup of butter and honey mix. The corn bread alone was deliciously sweet (but not overly sweet), along with the butter and honey it was even better. After a little break came the main courses. I chose the crab cakes which also came with two sides which I had Double-Whipped Red Bliss Potatoes and Grilled Broccolini. The little detail that made a difference to me was when they grilled a lemon half for the crab cake, it made the squeezing process much easier. The first bite into the crab cake was delectable. It had a good amount of crab meat in each bite. It is made in a grainy mustard sauce that you could definitely taste. The meal came with 2 mounds of crab cakes which I believed was more than enough for myself. Along with the crab cakes was the Double-Whipped Red Bliss Red Potatoes (mashed potatoes), it was doubly whipped alright! It was creamy and seasoned well, each bite was equally buttery and salted. The Grilled Broccolini on the other hand was just okay, I feel as though it is something I can just make at home myself. 
     Overall I believe this restaurant was a wonderful choice for us to go to on a whim for the first time in another state. The food was delicious and the table server was very kind and helpful. The price was not bad at all for the environment and fresh food we got. Would I go back? Of course, if I had a chance to visit Washington D.C. again.  

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5

Bacon Lollis

Devil-ish Eggs

Skillet Corn Bread

 Top: Grilled Broccolini & Double-Whipped Red Bliss Potatoes

Bottom: Crab Cakes

Dinosaur BBQ Brooklyn.

     Dinosaur BBQ has been an experience with ups and downs with their main BBQ dishes. Today was my 1st time dining in at Dinosaur BBQ Brooklyn, however the first time was at the Harlem location. When I first walked in for a late lunch hour the hostess was very kind offering different places for us to sit down of our choice. It was a good choice for us to go around 1:30 pm because there were not too many people so we were sat down immediately.
     When we sat down we were bombarded with a lot of different foods on the menu mostly ranging from BBQ items to sandwiches and different starters. After some deciding we first went with an Abita Purple Haze beer (yes I avidly believe in beer and BBQ). For appetizer we just went with an order of 3 deviled eggs, however it is not 3 full eggs, it is 3 egg halves. However this has to be one of the best deviled eegs I've had in a long time. The yolk is made with a very creamy texture that just melts in your mouth with a little kick from the cayenne pepper mixed in and sprinkled on top. Next we moved onto our main dish of The Combination of Brisket, Ribs, and Pulled Pork and sides of Mac and Cheese, Harlem Potato Salad, and French Fries. Let me begin with the best part, THE SIDES! The mac and cheese was wonderfully seasoned with a little bit of cayenne pepper, it had a amazing creaminess to the melted cheese and not grainy or too  dry, personally my favorite. The Harlem Potato Salad gives great reminder to my best friend of a Jamaican style potato style, a little tangy with a kick of cayenne pepper. It has very creamy texture that reminds of the deviled eggs I had as a starter. Last of the sides were the french fries, thick cuts fries that were fried but did not seem to oily. They give you an abundant amount, more than enough to feed 2-3 people. They were seasoned well with salt but could be dipped in their numerous variety of sauces. Next on the list is the main dishes, first thing we took a bite into was the Pulled Pork. The pulled pork was the biggest mistake of our order. The appearance in the beginning alone was not appetizing at all, it looked like cat food. The first and only bite was mushy and had no taste, almost like canned tuna. After we tried the Brisket, I must say it was very moist and tender. However it lacked the taste of the smokey barbecue i was expecting. Another slight disappointment in my trio we were trying. Lastly of the main dishes we tried the rack of ribs (4 ribs), the best of the trio. It had the smokey taste I was hoping for, it was seasoned well with the barbecue flavors and not too dry either. It fell off the bone very well which I was happy about. Lastly a small cornbread that came with the meal, with the first bite it was grainy and dry. It also did not taste like much of anything but the usual cornbread flavor.
     Overall I believe the Dinosaur BBQ Brooklyn location is average. Their service was good, hostess and server were both very accommodating. Will I come back? Sure, however the next time I'm coming I will only be spending my money on the sides and possibly the ribs. They do however have an ample beer and liquor menu for the adult crowd to enjoy and try.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5

 Deviled Eggs

Top: Brisket, Ribs, Pulled Pork 

Bottom: Harlem Potato Salad, Mac & Cheese, and Cornbread

 French Fries