The first segment of
Excited about Eating takes us to downtown
Baltimore and to
Nando’s PERi-PERi.
I have never eaten Portuguese food but I was more than excited to give
it a try.
Dora here. Hmmm…as I recall,
I was the one excited to try it. You were a bit skeptical because of the chicken-heavy
menu, and I dragged you along for the walk. :)
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| Exterior |
I chose their famous ¼ chicken – breast/wing with
flame-grilled corn on the cob and butternut squash medley. You can order their
chicken spiced a multitude of different ways so I chose medium. The chicken was
outstanding, juicy and grilled perfectly. The corn was charred from the flame
grilling, giving it a deep smoky taste and the butternut squash medley packed
in red onion, dried cranberries, cilantro and chili. Just a warning, this side
is spicy!
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| 1/4 Chicken Breast/Wing with Corn & Butternut Squash Medley |
Dora here. Haha. Wasn’t everything spicy? A forehead slicker for
sure! You kept calling for wipes. Lol. I chose the chicken breast sandwich on Portuguese
bread with some lime-heated sauce. Yowza! The white meat was juicy and tender,
and the whole sandwich was delish with eye-popping flavor!
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| Chicken Breast Sandwich |
When you enter the restaurant, you’re given a numbered rooster
which corresponds to a table. You order at the counter, grab your condiments
and drinks, and then sit at your assigned table. I loved the eclectic, exposed
brick interior. Get here early because seating fills up fast and folks were huddled
around the counter waiting to order. But not to worry if you can’t. The meals
were delivered quickly and service was friendly and efficient. I’d definitely eat
at another Nando’s!
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| Eclectic interior |
We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family
friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.
Next, we moved on to the Chinatown area of Washington, DC, to Daikaya, serving Sapporo-style ramen. Ramen restaurants seem to be the rage lately. Dora here. Don’t conceptualize the packaged noodles you’d buy in a grocery store. Not even close.
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| Daikaya - exterior |
As an appetizer, we chose the gyoza dumplings, pan fried, full of flavor and something that you just want more of.
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| Gyoza Dumplings |
Since we were told the serving sizes were huge, we shared the Shoyu Ramen, a hearty sized bowl with roasted pork, noodles, and veggies in a dark rich soy sauce. Now I have never tasted ramen before but this dish has made me into a believer. Deep flavors and full of noodles and vegetables, this dish was outstanding. Also, they were right. Neither of us left the restaurant hungry. Dora here. Great experience, and I’d go here again, but I don’t think I’d like a weekly diet of Ramen unless it was twenty degrees outside. :)
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| Shoyu Ramen |
I would rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.
After several visits to DC and just as many attempts to get a table at Founding Farmers, a farm-to-table restaurant three blocks west of the White House, we finally made it! Reservations are the best way to sample this restaurant unless you have a couple hours to kill waiting.
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| Exterior |
Our waiter explained that Founding Farmers typically purchases from local merchants and farmers’ markets. When they can’t find fresh ingredients locally, they buy carbon offsets to ensure that regardless of distance, Founding Farmers is walking its talk that the planet matters.
We started our meal with the Skillet Corn Bread served with sea salt and honey butter. This corn bread was great, sweet even without the honey, and packed with fresh corn. Unfortunately, we dug in so fast, we forgot to snap a picture. Sorry!
I chose the Signature Chicken Pot Pie, and the waiter practically dared me to finish it. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorites, so I have experienced this dish at many restaurants, but this one was excellent. Bursting with chicken and fresh vegetables and a broth that kept my fork coming back for more, I still couldn’t clean my plate.
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| Signature Chicken Pot Pie |
Dora here. I ordered the Butternut Squash Mascarpone Ravioli. Soft ravioli puffs, smooth and tasty, but loaded with flavor in a delicate, refined way. Delish!
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| Butternut Squash Mascarpone Ravioli |
We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.
What heat level do you prefer? Light your mouth on fire? Sizzling? Warm? Or no heat?
Labels: #foodie, Baltimore, Charlotte food blogger, Daikaya, eateries, Ernie Hiers, Excited about Eating, Founding Farmers, Foursquare, Nando's Peri-Peri, restaurant review, TripAdvisor, Urbanspoon, Washington DC, Yelp
