Bistro Sofia - Dessert

My last course sounded like it may be weird but the orange scented olive
oil cake with mandarin orange compote was moist and sweet. It reminded me
of the Cuban borracho cake but without the alcohol.

Bistro Sofia - Coworker's Main Course

I typically don't comment on other people's food but this puff pastry with
vegetable stew was worth mentioning not only because it was beautiful but
also a nice vegetarian choice that tasted good. Any idiot chef can make a
pasta for vegans but to make a dish a carnivore wants is a skill.

Bistro Sofia Main Course

My entree was a grilled hanger steak with fries, haricot verts, and baby
carrots in a caberbet demi. Usually this type of meat is tough but it was
cooked and marinated in such a way that made it buttery and juicy.
Surprisingly good and the fresh green beans and carrots were great.

Bistro Sofia - Course 1

The 3 course dinner for $25 is an incredible price for the quality of the
options on the menu. I decided to choose roasted beet carpaccio with feta,
haricot verts, and orange vinaigrette. It was a good veggie style version
of a carpaccio. The beets tasted fresh and was a nice start.

Bistro Sofia

In my continued quest to eat in nice places when I travel, we went to
Bistro Sofia in Greensboro. The rumor was that they had a prix fix menu
that is underpriced and overwhelming. It looked good on the reviews and my
friend Carey had recommended it as a local place done good.

Sky Club Interior

Even if the sign is a failure, the club itself is nice. Notice my pet
peeve, outlets at every seat have been addressed.

Welcome to the New Sky Club

In Concourse C they have replaced the title of the Crown Club to Sky Club. In typical Delta fashion, they did it half-ass. How about cleaning up the wallpaper holes before doing the sign. They are a failure.
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Magical Place - Liquor Barn!

We are 1/3 of the way home. We stopped in Lexington, KY and saw this
magical place. Cheryl is standing in the bottom left hand corner to give
you scale. It has a ton of beer and wine along with groceries. We are
making a 9:00 am stop before getting on the road again. FYI - it is exit
108 off 75.

Pot o' Food

We are driving from Columbus, Ohio to Newcastle, Indiana for a family funeral and I am looking for humor where I can. I liked the advertising for this and how straight forward it was. It is like, don't be concerned with the type of food, just eat.
I also loved the huge truck stop adjacent to it. They had almost everything in the world except buckeyes. They did have shirts with wolves and Amish literature. I also enjoyed the announcements that your shower. Futuristic yet disturbing.
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Hillary was with me...

I was ready to get the hell out of Santo Domingo and when I drove up in the
taxi at the airport I saw this plane with "United States of America" on it.
It was much smaller than Air Force One and I remembered that there was some
summit in Mexico with Obama but I did not know she was there. Apparently
she was pushing for the Dominican Republic to have a better relationship
with Haiti or Obama wanted her out of the way. FYI - the pantsuit matches
the plane.

Me and the Dirt People

Here is my view on an American Airlines flight wearing a suit with others
who aren't for the most part. I have to do this to keep in touch with the
real people.

La Carreta!

I finally got to have my Cuban food! I cannot express the sadness I felt
from not being able to access it last night. It was like I was being held
against my will from garlic. I had a croquetta and a pastellito with guava.
Along with my cortadito espresso, I should make it through my long
Dominican day.

Miami Airport Hotel Room View

Welcome to Miami! This is your overnight stop on the way to the Dominican
Republic. Enjoy the view of the roof and chillers. They must have not
noticed by Cubanosity.

T'afia - Course 5

The dessert course was a nice but heavy ending. The strawberry galette with
white chocolate was great. I think galette is french for "butter vehicle".

T'afia - Course 4

OMG. The bison bolognese with nettle raviolis and snow peas is my favorite
yet. I love bison and doing it as a bolognese is brilliant from a flavor
standpoint because the fat from regular meat would change the flavor.
Mmmmm.

T'afia - Course 3

The heirloom tomato salad with red wine mint vinaigrette is a simple but
delicious joy. Speaking from experience, our local farmer Maryann has
gotten me hooked to the taste of a real tomato not found in the local
grocery.

T'afia - Course 2

The beet and carrot soup with sweet onion and garlic is something that
looks like tomato soup at first but has a more complex flavor than I
thought it would. Surprisingly sweet and salty.

T'afia - Course 1

This the first of 5 off the tasting menu. It is a feta from the Pure Luck
people who seem reputable. Along with pickled carrots and upland cress it
is a nice starter especially with my infused wines.

T'afia - Proper Bread & Butter

Not only do they serve their sea salt butter at room temperature but the
fresh bread is incredible. It has tarragon and sea salt in it and is an
amazing combination.

T'afia's Ratafias - Infused Wines

They do an unusual thing with their wine. The "Ratafias Flight" is three
different wines infused with different fruits. They included infusions of
pineapple and white wine, meyer lemon and white wine, and strawberry and
red wine. Very interesting but I think Cheryl would question the purity.

T'afia - Houston

I found this place online and it is in Midtown Houston about 2 miles away
from downtown. They are big on local produce and organics and it looked
right up my alley (and Cheryl's for that matter). It is in an old brick
building with funky furnishings as shown. I got the five course tasting
menu that looks awesome!

Modern Building in the Future of 1983!

I am just kidding but the Pennzoil Plaza building in downtown Houston is a
very nice set of towers with an open atrium difficult to capture in a sad
Blackberry camera.

Petroleum Based Baby Clothes

In Houston as you would imagine there are tons of oil companies. Among
them, Shell (who is not my client) has a big presence downtown. The company
store is open to the public and they sell lots of logo-based merchandise
including bizarre offerings like baby clothes. What baby wouldn't be proud
to wear this. I imagine during company baby showers that this is gifted
enthusiastically just to be nice.

Ballpark Dinner - Brisket

It looks better than it was. They had a Goya Cafe and I passed on it
because a Cuban sandwich in Houston has to suck more than brisket in
Houston. I was wrong. At least the beer was good.

Houston Astros Ballpark - My View

Not bad for $10, huh? I would be upset if I cared more about baseball but
I plan on walking around and enjoying the non-pollen air so who cares. I
will probably stay seated for a few innings and get distracted by shiny
objects.

Minute Maid Park

I decided to take a break from sitting in a hotel room watching TV or
working (or neither) to see a ball game. The stadium was a short walk from
my hotel and since they were playing the Cubs and it was free hat night, I
had to go. My cheapo ticket was bought at half price due to a coupon I
used last week and was a little more than $10!

Leon's and Bacon

There is a new place in Decatur that was converted from a gas station. It
is run by the same guys that run Brickstore Pub nearby. The picture
represents one of the pieces of bacon from the menu item "glass of bacon".
It made me happy.

Crazy Houston Fountain Train

I walked Main Street all the way down until I started seeing prisons and
weirdos but on the way I saw this water sculpture that would do an arch of
water when a train would come by. It was random and between my timing of
catching the train or the water, this is the best I could do.

Houston Night View

The 23rd floor of the hotel has a pool, fitness center, and awesome view.
It was actually dry and windy which was a contrast to the flood plain of
Atlanta.

Voice - Angus Sliders, Truffle Fries, and an IPA

This combo made me happy and it all went well with the hoppy beer. The
sliders weren't overcooked which was a nice feature. I do not like hockey
pucks. Very good place - they have a tasting menu of 7 courses but when you
eat at 9 pm east coast time you hope to get a little to not feel like
you've exploded.

Voice Restaurant Houston

The wife found this place and I was intrigued by their bar menu. The inside
was a lot nicer than I thought but I was wearing pants so I was accepted.

Houston's Home of Easy Credit

I walked by this place on the way back from my jaunt. It is a cool hipster
club made from an old cheesy men's store from the 50's. The guys in there
looked like they were unemployed but still interesting.

Houston Historic District

I walked around this area somewhat by accident but it looked cool. If it
wasn't for the stupid yellow truck it would look like it has been there for
years.

Welcome to Houston

I am not staying at the Embassy Suites in suburbia this time. I am staying
at the Magnolia in downtown Houston. This is the view from my room which I
cannot give you any intelligent information on. I am off to explore.