VINO

So I’m just getting in from the grand opening celebration at VINO in English Village (Mountain Brook), they specialize in Greek/Mediterranean/Italian cuisine. The atmosphere was fresh, funky, and modern, and I enjoyed every minute of my visit. There was a buffet that had a few food items from the menu, and one of my favorites were the Vino Apple Fritters, it tasted like a cinnamon roll with pieces of fresh apple, yummy! (There are also some brownie pieces in this pic covered in powdered sugar)

I also made reservations for dinner, and for my entree I ordered the Prime Ribeye Steak with brussel sprouts & butternut squash and skinny fries tossed in a hot sauce.

The two highlights for me were the Vino Apple Fritters and the skinny fries tossed in a hot sauce; the fries only had a hint of spice, not too much. I highly recommend this restaurant because you get tasty quality food and reasonable prices, considering the facade & location.

http://vinobirmingham.com/

Let’s do brunch at “Over Easy”!

Over Easy is a breakfast/brunch hotspot between Homewood and Mountain Brook (Hollywood area) that screams “retro”. Over Easy is located in a modern retro style shopping center that includes a Beal bank, Mexico Lindo, and a ABC Beverage Store.

I ordered “The Standard” which was supposed to include three buttermilk pancakes, two eggs cooked to order, and a choice of meat. However, I modified it to include one pancake, one scrambled egg, and three pieces of bacon. I’m so glad that I reduced the size because I couldn’t even eat all of what I had. The pancake was fluffy and a little salty; the sweet flavor of the maple syrup kinda covered up the salty taste, it was good. The egg was kinda bland but ok, and the bacon was extra delicious, not greasy. To drink I had a small glass of apple juice. And in total my bill was $8.88, not bad huh!

My friend had “The One Egg Breakfast” which comes with one egg cooked to order, choice of meat, grits or hash browns, toast or biscuit. So she got hash browns, stone ground organic blue cheese grits (the mozzarella cheese was at the bottom of the bowl and sprinkled on top, not stirred in), a biscuit, and a scrambled egg. They forgot to bring the scrambled egg out, so it came a few minutes after the entree. As we ate, she told me that she would have preferred the cheese to be mixed in and melted with the grits. Her drink was a glass of milk and her bill was about $8.00 as well.

Basically the food was quick, delicious, filling, and cheap. However, please keep in mind that some days you might have to wait for a table, but most of the time there is no wait. We definitely enjoyed our visit, to Over Easy, and will return very soon!

Korean Kosher Food

The Knesseth Israel Congregation is located on Overton Road in Mountain Brook.

This year, the synagogue is sponsoring “KI Around the World Monthly Dinners”, which will feature a different country’s cuisine, cooked kosher, once a month. The first dinner took place on January 26, 2011 and I was there to capture every moment.

The theme was “Korean Kosher Food” and there were many types of Korean dishes cooked by Steve Dubrinsky, owner of Max’s Delicatessen. For example:

Korean Salad

Buldak Hot & Spicy Chicken

Japchae Sauteed Korean Vermicelli with Vegetables

Bulgogi Korean BBQ Beef

Fruit & Cookies

Check out the video for the “food scoop”!

 

Stay tuned for next month’s dinner on February 23, 2011; the theme will be Mexican Kosher food.