My mom's pork belly stew with shoyu eggs

Imagine Pork Belly & Hard Boiled Eggs simmering in soy sauce, ginger, sugar, & black pepper. Served with white rice this makes the most ideal comfort food for me. Actually this would be my last meal on earth.

Lamb Shanks

What made this lamb so special was the sauce infused into the lamb. Every bite had a hint of orange, cinnamon, clove, rosemary, in a tomato broth. Oh yeah the lamb was so tender. You didn't need a knife.

Nico's, Honolulu, Hawaii

Loco Moco

2 Scoops White Rice, 2 Grilled Hamburger Patties smothered with homemade gravy, side Mac Salad, Fried Saimin.

I can have a Loco Moco morning, noon, and night with a splash of Tabasco, it so good. This is a Hawaiian Plate from Nico in Honolulu. Pure Protein overload.

Popover Cafe, New York City

A basket of yummy Popovers.



Popovers are huge served warm with butter or strawberry butter.

Pop Burger, New York City

After watching the US Open one late Saturday evening. My friends and I were hungry for some quick and satisfying food. I am grateful to have my sister who works and lives in New York City. I have seen Pop Burger featured on the Travel Channel's television special Hamburger Paradise. But usually I am hesitant to try places that are on T.V. But my sister insisted that this place was the real deal. Ordering is very difficult they have scattered paper menus on the counter. You have sliders (2) in an order for $7.00. And they do serve an invisible burger (vegetarian) to non meat eaters. And they have your typical fries and shakes. Pop is also a nightclub but we opted to dine downstairs in the takeout portions of the establishment. The nightclub also serves burgers but the $20.00 cover charge to get in wasn't making it doable. We settled down for 5 orders of Sliders, 3 orders of Half & Half (Fries & Onion Rings), and Shakes, and Soda. Being in New York City this was an expensive meal for burgers. It came out to almost $80.00 but it's New York your going to pay one way or another. I would go back to Pop again but probably give the nightclub a try and have a slider as an appetizer.



Paul, Clarita, Sue, & yours truly posing in front of the ordering counter.



Each Slider comes in these neat little packages.



Order of Half & Half (Fries & Onion Rings).



A view from above, the beginning of the end.



These little sliders were very fulfilling, the brioche bun and the special sauce made this a memorable burger. I thought I needed to order 2 sliders but 1 order was enough. Each box contains 2 sliders.


4 Sliders in a row.

Meredith's, Berwyn, Pa

*** Stars out of **** Stars

I can now say that there is a brunch worth going to in my hometown. The Philadelphia region has many amazing brunch restaurants. It's a very cozy and intimate restaurant located on the Main Line. It used to be Bistro M but they closed recently. Meredith's has taken this spot to the next level. They are offering seasonal fare at a more reasonable price. The blueberry pancakes were the best I have ever had. The cakes were very dense and the blueberries oozed their warm filling between each bite. The french toast was another home run. If your near the Berwyn area and want to sample a simple brunch give Meredith's a try you won't regret it.




Butter Milk Blueberry Pancakes with a scoop on cinnamon butter



Brioche French Toast



Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Bacon


Eggs Over Easy with a sausage

Cafe Diem, Philadelphia, Pa

**** Stars out of 4

Cafe Diem is located in the Bella Vista section of Philadelphia. If your not familiar with the area it's right around the block from the Italian Market in South Philadelphia. I've been to Cafe Diem almost 13 years ago but that was before I cared anything about food. I was young and my taste buds weren't refined. I happened to be in the area one day and wanted something different for lunch. And I ordered a tasty bowl of Bun Bo Hue. Which is a spicy Vietnamese noodle soup with pig feet, beef tendon, and blood cubes. It's has a very distinct flavor from Pho because it's sour and spicy and the noodles are similar to spaghetti. The added condiments of various herbs and lemon just set this soup apart from it's other counterpart Pho. So if your you want to try something other than Pho stop by and try the best Bun Bo Hue in the area. I believe the small bowl is $5.50 and the Large is $8.50. They also have various rice dishes too and my favorite is the bbq pork chops with a sunny side eggs with pickled daikon and carrots.


Grilled Vietnamese Pork Chop with Sunny Side up Egg



Soy Sauce and Eggs are the perfect combination



Various sauces to accompany your soup, hot chili sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, and hoisin sauce


Thai Holy Basil, Lemon Sawgrass, Bean Sprouts, Jalapenos, and Lime



Small bowl of Bun Bo Hue


I could have this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner everyday in my life. Thank goodness I don't live so close to Cafe Diem.