Gastro Monkey // 美食家

I love these events that the SPCA has. Sometimes they're "Yappy Hour" but this time it was "A Dog's Night Out!" It's a partnership between local breweries and the SPCA. They bring some dogs (and like Wednesday night, sometimes they bring a feline friend) who are looking for homes. The problem with these events for me is that I can't adopt a dog right now (maybe if I could work from home?) because I wouldn't be able to give him the time I think he deserves, but seeing them there makes me want to take them all home. Honestly, if I could, I would just have a farm filled with stray cats and dogs. Special preference for unwanted chows. Back to Wednesday Night! I actually had never heard of Big Stump before. It's pretty fantastic that so many breweries are popping up over town. Even better when they have good beer and awesome brewmasters. The beer menu is posted outside, but it is also posted next to the register and taps. The space has high c

For my very brief visit to Scottsdale, I ended up going to Roka Akor. It is yet another selection based on Instagram. The boyfriend follows  Kai Torcuato , the executive chef at said restaurant, and said if it's in the area that I'll be staying I should pop by. Looking through his Instagram pictures I could not help but salivate. Wide varieties of fresh fish, incredible knife work - of course I had to give it a try! Located in what looks like a strip mall, the interior of the restaurant looked almost like a night club. The sushi bar is immense compared to what I'm used to. I took a seat in the middle of the bar, and Kai introduced himself. He asked if I had any questions with the menu. I told him I trust him and that I would like to get the omakase. Note to those who are used to more traditional Japanese restaurants - the omakase here is very different. Since Roka Akor is a restaurant that specializes in sushi and steak, you'll get a combination of the two. Had I

While I have a sizable list of my own for places I want to dine at in New Orleans, I am not one to discount suggestions from like minded friends. One of my friends, when I told her I had gone to Shaya , sent me a link to  a YouTube video of another New Orleans chef who ate there. She said that because of this particular video , she wanted to try Shaya. Because of that video, I wanted to try Compère Lapin! It jumped to the top of my list. On the Compère Lapin website, if you have a party over 5, you have to call to make a reservation. We didn't get the exact time we wanted, but it was still at a reasonable dinner hour (6:30pm).  I definitely felt the pressure for my fellow dining companions to also enjoy the meal. I am happy to report that everyone seemed overall happy with dinner though! The majority of my fellow dining companions also tried something new, which is always a plus for me. Am I the only one who has that dilemma when being tasked with picking a place for a me