Lemon Cuisine of India

My lovely date and future mother in law.

Dear Food Diary,

 Today I had two firsts.  I tried Indian food for the first time.  And I tried goat for the first time.  The place I went to was in Richmond.  It honestly didn't look like much from the outside.  But when I walked in I was pleasantly surprised.  Aside from the wonderful atmosphere, the waiters were friendly and attentive and the food was great.

One thing you must try is the naan, which is a type of flat bread.  And Lemon Cuisine has several varieties to choose from.  For my entree, I tried the goat biryani, which is a piquant rice based dish.  It's flavored with saffron, which to me is sharp, earthy, sweet, and hot... all at the same time.  After you taste it, close your eyes for a moment.  You might feel like you're in an outdoor bazaar right in the middle of India.

As the girl who ate Fredericksburg, I take my food seriously.  The first time I try a food, I want it to be special.  A night with candles and romance and imaginary Indian bazaars.  A night I'll always remember.  Mission accomplished Lemon Cuisine of India.

Lunch @ Famous Dave's

Dear Food Diary,

High-Five Famous Dave's

    It's May and that's the unofficial National Barbeque Month.  Even if you don't have a lot of cookouts yet, you must at least have lunch at Famous Dave's.  They have a menu of entrees (entree means meat at Famous Dave's) to choose from for only $7.99 and for just a dollar more you get to choose a second meat.  I had the beer battered cod and the sweetwater catfish fingers.  You just have to try the catfish at Famous Dave's.  Out of this World and it fits a budget.  It comes with a side dish of your choice and both tartar sauce and rémoulade sauce for dipping.  Rémoulade sauce, that's French.  That means it's classy.  And if you get fries as your side dish, you can dip it in your classy rémoulade sauce.  Myself, I opted not to get a potato dish for my side.  Instead I got broccoli.  It was cooked to perfection and also great for dipping.   

Leftovers? Not up here.  Not up in here.

      The Maryland Department of Natural Resources did recently release a statement telling people to eat more catfish.  If you want to keep the catfish overlords from taking over and enslaving the human race, you'll go have lunch at Famous Dave's.  This is the girl who ate Fredericksburg, just doing my part.

Pho Saigon

Dear Food Diary,

Today I went to my favorite Asian restaurant in the Fredericksburg area, Pho Siagon.  No matter how many times I go there it never dissapoints.  If you've never tried Vietnamese food, you're in for a treat when you visit Pho Siagon, located on Courthouse Rd by the Salem Church Library.  The people there are so welcoming and friendly.  I took my brother today for the first time, he said he felt like he was visiting family.  The atmosphere was just that inviting.  All the food is heavenly at Pho Saigon, from the delicious fried won ton to the amazingly inexpensive braised quail they serve as an appetizer.  However, if you go there, and you must go there, you have to try the pho.  Pho is a rice noodle soup and you have a choice between any number of a variety of ingredients with which to fill it.  Personally I prefer to the steak (pho tai) over, lets say the tripe (pho sach).  For those of you that don't know, tripe is stomach.  Yes, if you want authenticity, this restaurant is the real deal.  And there is adventurous eating to be had.  When you get your bowl of pho there's a couple of things you should know.  The first question is "What size should I get?"  The answer is this: If you want to feed yourself get the large, the smallest size they have.  If you want to feed your family, get the saigon.  If you want to feed all of Fredericksburg get the super saigon.  The portions are generous but the soup is so delightful you'll be glad if you have some to take home.  The second question was posed to my by my brother "What do I do with all this extra stuff they gave me?"  My answer was, whatever you want.  Served with your soup will be a plate of ingredients you can use to add flavor to your soup.  This plate will contain sprigs of Thai basil, jalapenos, lime, bean sprouts, and fish sauce among other things.  (Don't let your brothers talk you into eating the whole pile of jalapenos.  I speak from experience.)  These are all condiments for you to use as they suit you.  Taste them, if you like it, add it to the broth.  If you don't, then don't.  If you like it a lot, add more.  It's pretty simple, and very yummy.

Thanks for reading my food blog.  I'm the girl who ate fredericksburg, hoping to bump in to you at Pho Saigon.  Who knows?  I might be there again tomorrow.  Don't judge me.