ROC - Tapas 177

Graduation is good. 

LOCATION: 177 SAINT PAUL ST., ROCHESTER, NY 14604

For dinner last night my friend Jay decided to take me out! We were thinking of heading to Trata (because I've still never been so maybe one day I'll have a post about going there.. One day) but his cousins and friends couldn't extend their reservation to add two more so instead we walked to Tapas 177. 

He's been excited to take me there and it's on my list so I was completely game! It was worth it too. We ordered three plates - My choice of prosciutto wrapped artichoke hearts on a crostini, His choice of Tuna tartare, and the waitress' choice of Shrimp Naan Pizza.  

(The Pizza came last and it was dark by the time it came so I couldn't get a good shot of it.. ). 

Everything was amazing. I'm a fan of artichokes so I was super happy with my choice. It was creamy and prosciutto is just fancy bacon so how could that not be a win! I'm not a huge fan of raw fish so in my opinion, the tartar was just alright (but don't tell Jay). The Shrimp naan was for sure my favorite. It had amazing fresh tomatoes and just the right amount of shrimp. The Naan was great too - not too chewy. 

I like Tapas 177 a lot. Would go back in a heartbeat! 

As a bonus too for dessert Jay ordered me a Banana Zinga (or something along those lines). Apparently it's a popular dessert there and I understand why completely. I'm not a huge sweets fan but this thing just reminds you of festivals. It's a some sort of banana mixture that is deep fried in some sort of batter with cinnamon sugar feel. (We ordered it straight from the waitress so I honestly can't tell you that I read the description and understood what it was). All that I know is that it was incredible. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. I could eat 3 more scoops of that vanilla ice cream right now it was incredible. 

Tapas is so cute and has such an awesome atmosphere. I loved it. Classic tiny Rochester hole in the wall restaurant that is just wonderful.    

ROC - Ox and Stone

First post grad meal! My friend Karie decided it would be a great idea to change her reservation from just her family of 5 to three families reaching a total of 14 of us. I understand why the restaurant wasn't so happy when we got there.. 

In any case! Ox and Stone is a super cute bar and I've gone for drinks once before and have had the chips and guacamole which was really good. This is exactly what we started off with last night. Honestly the chips are on point. 

As for dinner, it gets mixed reviews. Not completely positive from me. While the menu looked great, in all actuality it was average at best. 

I ordered the deep friend calamari (I've been wanting some so bad since Thursday) and got a whole plate. Very exciting. The guacamole on top was perfect (of course) but the calamari was okay. Super salty and just tasted like breading, there wasn't much there. There was a drizzle of a couple different sauces but They didn't really play a huge impact and in the end the dish was just bland and a little over salted. Disappointing. 

My friend sitting next to me ordered the Spanish Poutine with chorizo which I was contemplating because potatoes, but I tried a piece and I'm not a huge fan of the chorizo so I would've ordered the traditional without. She said hers was also overly salty which makes sense for a bar (more salt = more beer) but we weren't fans for dinner. Our end of the table thought the meal was average at best. The other end seemed a little happier with it but to each his own I suppose. 

I'd go back for drinks and maybe snacks, but as far as a sit down meal goes, Ox and Stone is not high on my list. 

ROC - Graduation Dinners!!

That's right, it's finally time for graduation! Bring on the slew of dinners with family and friends. One of my aunt's and uncles mentioned that they were busy at work this upcoming Saturday and couldn't attend my ceremony. No big deal. Instead they wanted to take me out to dinner. Yes. 

I'm not picky so I let them choose the place and my cousin mentioned he wanted steak so my aunt promptly chose DelMonico's Italian Steakhouse. We've been several times before for various reasons so I was all for it. It's always a good choice. 

We started off with a Tomato & Mozzarella Salad with a Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette as well as a Mozzarella Fritta. Both were delicious. I ended up ordering the Frutti de Mare as my main course and was not disappointed. 

This is a linguini type pasta with a light seafood pomodoro sauce, Throw in clams, shrimp, calamari, and fish and I was on my way to heaven. This dish was so good I can't believe I almost didn't order it. My aunt and uncle tried it and said it was 'too spicy' from the peppers that they throw in but I highly disagree. Slight splurge but compared to a steak it wasn't bad on price and hey, I'm graduating. This dinner is for me. I might as well go all out here and get what I want.   

The Brookie!

That's right! A Brookie! I found this idea online. The half chocolate chip cookie, half brownie hybrid. Boss. I'm not a huge dessert person, nor am I a big fan of chocolate but it's an interesting combo and a pretty looking cookie to boot so I'm down. Well, I finally had time to make them now that finals are over and work hasn't started yet. Beyond excited. 

They came out looking great and being pretty yummy, even for someone who isn't a fan of sweets!

First I preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lined the baking sheets with parchment paper. For the brownie cookie batter I beat 10tbsp of butter, 2/3cups of granulated sugar and 2/3 cup of brown sugar together until it was smooth and creamy. Then I added one egg, one egg yolk and 1tsp vanilla and beat the mixture for a couple minutes. 

In a small separate bowl, I whisked 1 1/4 cup of flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp of salt. I added the dry ingredients to the batter in a couple batches and mixed it all together until it was smooth. Then I covered it in plastic wrap and refrigerated it while making the chocolate chip cookie batter.

For the chocolate chip cookie batter I cream together another 10tbsp butter with 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, and 2/3 cup of brown sugar until it was smooth just like the brownie batter.I blended in an egg, an egg yolk and 1tsp vanilla.

In the same small bowl as the dry ingredients for the brownies I whisked together 2cups of flour, 1tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp of salt. I added the dry ingredients to the batter with 1 1/4 cup of super mini chocolate chips and mixed until the chocolate chips were evenly distributed.

Then I pulled the brownie batter out of the fridge and uncovered it. I took a 1/2 tablespoon and started scooping out little dough balls and setting them aside on a sheet of parchment paper. When I had enough to fill a tray I started scooping the cookie dough and then mushed the two dough balls together to create one cookie! While one batched baked, I scooped and rolled more dough. Let me tell you, I had so many cookies. I set aside 5 of those containers that restaurants give you soup in when you order out for my friends and still had tons of cookies left over for me and my roommates.

I baked each batch for about 10-12 minutes and the whole apartment smelled warm like cookies! My friends loved me. Thus the brookie was crossed off my list of recipes to try!

ROC - Fuego

Being the type A foodie that I am, of course I have a list of coffee shops and restaurants I want to go to. One on the list was Fuego Coffee Roasters. 

Fuego is a cute little coffee shop on a slightly sketchy part of town. Super small but apparently great. Now I'm not a huge coffee fan but I'm always scouting new places that have a good vibe to go back to. For me, Fuego was not that place. It has a super tiny menu so those of use that don't drink coffee have very little else to choose from. Not a big deal, I'll get the tea. Apparently the coffee is bomb though so it's worth a visit. In terms of atmosphere it's super cozy and pretty cute. The problem I found was that the service wasn't super great like I was expecting from a tiny family owned kinda place. Honestly, I walked in with my friend on a Sunday morning and we were the only ones in the place - just the two of us and the barista. Now, I'm a relatively friendly person and I love going to new places like this so I was excited. She was not. She quickly took our orders, and curtly avoided all small talk with us. She took small little comments as insults and tried to get us out of there as quickly as possible. Honestly, I wasn't a fan and as cute as this place is, I probably wouldn't go back. The search continues.