shrimp & grits and the return of the wind cocktail at South City Kitchen

shrimp & grits and return of the wind cocktail. South City Kitchen. Atlanta, Georgia. 07.06.14.

red light cocktail at Cafe Mezo

red light cocktail at Cafe Mezo. Atlanta, Georgia. 06.12.14.

seared tuna Napoleon at Poor Calvin’s

Seared tuna Napoleon. Poor Calvin’s. Atlanta, Georgia. 03.07.14.

the Cocktail No. 6 at Stanton Social

Cocktail No. 6 at Stanton Social. Lower East Side. Manhattan, New York. 06.06.14.

Since we were in Jay-Z’s city, I got a cocktail that had D’ussé, which I always associate with Hova’s lyrics.

three cheese platter from Artisan Cheese Gallery

Artisan Cheese Gallery. Studio City, California. 05.09.14.

blood orange sorbet from San Gelato café

San Gelato Café. Destin, Florida. 05.02.14.

boats by The Warehouse Restaurant in Marina del Rey

Marina del Rey, California. 10.30.10.

Throwback Thursday: The Ridiculous eats seafood

The Ridiculous at Inoko. Athens, Georgia. 05.12.07.

Over the years, Shaina and I have helped Andrea expand her culinary horizons. We’ve been successful for the most part. She eats kale and chickpeas on a regular basis now. But there are still certain foods she won’t eat.

It was the week after Andrea’s birthday, so we had a celebratory dinner at Inoko in Athens. While she enjoyed the fried rice and vegetables, she hated the shrimp. I was happy to steal the rest of her shrimp after that.

Eggs Benedict at Paprika in St. Mark’s

Brunch at Paprika in St. Mark’s Place. Manhattan, New York. 10.12.13.

Paprika is an excellent restaurant in St. Mark’s. Prior to NYC’s ban on brunch-time bottomless drinks, Andrea and I had bottomless mimosas to accompany our delicious entrees. It’s a tiny spot, but we didn’t have to wait since we were both running late. The staff didn’t mind that we lingered to catch up (and enjoy too many mimosas) before she had to take the bus back to D.C. and I had to meet up with Ceddy to catch our flight home.

Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant

Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant. Aberdeen, Hong Kong.

After touring Stanley and Aberdeen, I grabbed a late lunch at the Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant.

Stairs leading to the main dining room.

The interior was impressive.

Main dining room.

There weren’t any tables for one, so I had a huge table for four to myself.

Dim sum and hot tea.

I was famished, so I ordered three items from the dim sum menu.

Ham & cheese puff pastries.

The ham & cheese puff pastries were almost too rich, between the buttery pastry and the cheese filling.

Pork dumplings.

The pork dumplings were disappointing. The sauce was too heavy on the vinegar and the actual dumpling wrapper was more like a bun wrapper than a dumpling one.

Shrimp dumplings.

The shrimp dumplings were my favorite. The wrapper was thin and soft. The shrimp filling was seasoned well.

Overall, this restaurant had a lovely ambiance, but the food wasn’t worth the prices they charged. If you go, you should go with a group so you can get your money’s worth.