ROC - Eat. Drink. Roam.

My friends Jay and Chris love this place (probably because Chris' uncle owns it!) but because of them I've been dying to try it. What happens is, Rob decides he wants to go out to dinner again and likes to help me out by knocking things off my list so he takes a look and picks Roam Cafe.

Yes. 

LOCATION: 262 PARK AVE., ROCHESTER, NY 14607

We get there and this is a great space. Cosy decor and nice light. The bar is small but for park ave. it works well and the dining area is pretty grand. We get seated and our orders are taken and then they come. 

Turns out a wedding party is taking place there the night we decide to check it out. Three long tables full of people dressed quite nicely. Perfect for people watching. Only I'm kinda dumb and pick the seat that faces the wall. Smooth. 

Regardless, I talk Rob into splitting an arancini with me to start and then for dinner I get the full grilled beet and feta salad (with the addition of steak). After trying the arancini at Aunt Rosie's I'm kind of hooked. This one comes in, super hot, and covered in a red sauce. We cut into it to split and strings of hot cheese just pull everywhere. It's incredible. The rice gets a little crispy and sticky on the outside and I feel bits of it stuck to my teeth but that's something I get live with because this arancini is so good. Really happy for the order. The beet salad however, slightly fails to deliver. It's a dark salad when it comes out. Steak a little chewy for medium rare and not enough sunflower seeds in my opinion. The feta is a nice touch and the red wine tarragon vinaigrette is a nice touch but I'm not feeling it. The beets get kind of buried and it does grow on me a little as I near the end but I suppose my expectations were a little high and Roam kinda failed to deliver. The menu looks great with vegetarian dishes and paleo options but the food itself had minor issues that took away from the whole experience. Rob dislikes the ambiance and finds the place a little loud but what can you do with three tables of wedding party in the room. Would go back if I was asked but not on my list of high recommendations. We walked away giving it a 6.5. The owner was great and super nice, I just couldn't say I fell in love with this place.  

VA - Eden

On our family vacation to Virginia we decided to make a few stops on the way back. We basically splitting the trip into two days and are staying in Philadelphia for the night before trekking back home tomorrow, but on the way to Philly, my parents made sure to take a stop in this little asian shopping center in Virginia. Way too many jewelry stores but restaurant are on point and there was a giant grocery store dad was dying to get in to. 

First, we eat! We wander around and dad swears theres a restaurant his friend recommends that is supposed to be good but we can't find it so we wander into this place called VietRoyale.

LOCATION: 6767 WILSON BLVD., FALLS CHURCH, VA 22044

I was feeling like noodles but I'd had my traditional pho for the trip so I ordered a vermicelli noodles with beef and a fried spring roll. Such good flavors and the noodles hit the spot. The plate was just slightly sweet across the board which I wasn't a huge fan of. The beef was sweet, and once I mixed the noodles with the pickled carrots and radishes it was super sweet. Would've liked the meat to be a little more savory but the plate was still great. Good random find, but then again it always is. 

VA - Lynchburg, Virginia

Our adventure begins on a warm Wednesday morning; 9am.. so really it's a pretty late start for a road trip. My parents have a mutual friend they lost contact with about 15 or so years ago. He found them again after all this time, asked for some help with his new restaurant, and we were on our way. 10 hours later (the estimated time of traveling was 8.5hours...) we finally arrive in Lynchburg, Virginia. Cue the restaurant!

LOCATION: 20722 TIMBERLAKE RD, LYNCHBURG, VA 24502

Saigon Palace has been going pretty strong for about 2 years (or so that's what I've been told). The owner is my mom's 'foster brother' from their childhood days back in Vietnam. He's my late uncle's best friend, sharing the same name and I'm sure the same trouble making history. Turns out this guy is also the reason my parents met. Without him, I literally wouldn't be born. Thanks dude. 

10 hours in a car with my mom who likes to drive 62mph in a 65 zone the whole way, while my dad insists that the gps and lying - all over the sound of Vietnamese music blasting in the background. We arrive to salvation (kind of) and 'Uncle' Hung, as I call him, gives each of us a bowl of Pho Bo, or beef noodle soup. Now I'm more of a chicken soup kinda kid but I'm not one to complain, and pho is good no matter what protein is in it so I'm good to go. 

Obviously, I'm biased - but to me, this is a damn good bowl of pho; and I grew up eating pho quite often. Salvation in a bowl that fills you up every single time. This is home in a bowl.   

ROC - GRAPPA

My list is becoming helpful! Now whenever someone wants to go out to dinner I send them a picture of my list for suggestions and leave the rest to them. The indecisive person's guide to making other people choose for you.

Which leads me to GRAPPA!

LOCATION: 30 CELEBRATION DR., ROCHESTER, NY 14620

I went out to dinner with my friend Rob and he liked the sound of GRAPPA, and thus we were off! GRAPPA is actually attached to the Hilton Hotel and we entered in through the hotel lobby to the restaurant. A bit drafty with extremely high ceilings which make for interesting acoustics. This place was beautiful. Very modern with super clean lines and lots of smooth hard surfaces. There's an outdoor patio where you can sit and a cute little bar in the center of the restaurant. We were seated inside (kind of wish I brought a sweater!) and we could see the kitchen from where we were. Very cool feeling and a great experience.

I ordered the orecchiette bolognese which had an amazing meat sauce topped with fresh parm. Delicious. I almost ate the whole plate but believe me, I was super happy to have the leftovers the next day. Rob ordered the smoked mozzarella ravioli which I had a bite of. Also really great and the mozzarella filling had an incredible smokey flavor. More cheese than I was in the mood for at that time so I'm happy with my decision but I'm pretty sure he was also happy with his. 

Super nice place. Beautiful and pretty classy. I wish I got more dressed up, but that probably would've been better if we went later in the night. Would for sure go back!    

ROC - TRATA

LOCATION: 145 CULVER RD, ROCHESTER, NY 14620

That's right! I finally made it to TRATA! Julia asked me to go out to dinner with her last night and it was beautiful. The architecture there is, of course, incredible and this place is 2 floors of beautiful decor and really cool rustic lighting fixtures with a great rooftop bar. On such a nice night, Julia definitely wanted to have dinner on the roof and I was in. The only thing is that TRATA has a great bar for people in their late 20s, early 30s. We definitely felt too young to be there and ever so slightly, underdressed. 

This place is a little pricier but the menu is good. There were a few things on the large plates section that caught my eye but being outside, on a really warm day, I decided on a dinner salad instead. Keeping it cool and fresh. I ordered the grilled calamari salad which came out and was really good. It was a baby kale salad with grape tomatoes, mandarin oranges, cucumbers, marcona almonds, and asiago in a ginger-peach vinaigrette. The vinagrette-asiago combo was a great surprise with a sweet kick that matched the mandarin oranges very well. The ratio of veggies to calamari was great and the calamari itself was cooked well. Not too chewy and very fresh. It was perfect. 

Of course dinner with Julia wouldn't be a really good time unless we were at least a little weird. And Julia always lives up to it. She looks at the menu and being the picky eater that she is decides the Salmon Salad looks great. If only it weren't made with salmon. Thats right. Julia orders the salmon salad. Without salmon. Instead she asks if she can switch it with chicken, and the waitress says of course, and Julia does her happy dance, and I'm cracking up. Dinner is good. We also have a fun time post dinner trying to figure out what kind of nuts were in my salad because the menu's are gone and we have no idea. We spend the next 15 minutes on our phones searching the all knowing google for tree nuts. Apparently they're marcona almonds. We're smart. Always a fun time with the two of us.