Adventures with Ny

Super Chef Me

In honor of Black History Month I wanted to ensure that I supported a Black owned restaurant. Super Chef’s Breakfast & More (http://mysuperchefs.com/) was the choice because I had heard such great things about their food and they have my favorite type of items, brunch food and mimosas!!! My bf and I decided to go and I must say I enjoyed it. The wait time wasn’t as long as I expected but it was busy. The host was very friendly as was the server (always a plus). It was a smaller restaurant than I imagined but it was clean and cozy with a super hero feel, thus the name Super Chef’s. Our server recommended the wings & waffles so that is what I got. My bf the “Juggernaut” which he seemed to enjoy although he thought it was a small portion compared to his large appetite. The wings & waffles was was very filling for me and I even took some home to eat for leftovers. I liked how fluffy the waffles were as well as the tangy taste of the chicken sauce along with the syrup. It had a different taste than the usual chicken and waffles I have had and I would honestly consider it to have been the best version I have tasted thus far. I would order it again.

There were two things I didn’t like. The first thing is that I couldn’t get a mimosa because they aren’t allowed to serve them until 11 a.m. on Sunday. This sucked because ya girl loves mimosas and I knew we would be leaving before that time would come. I was able to get a manmosa which was just moon beer and orange juice, which was the only option I had until 11. It was okay, but I really had my taste-buds set on one of the mimosas I had seen on the drink menu. I am also not a huge beer fan and so it was just “okay”. The other thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the eggs to go along with my chicken and waffles. I just didn’t like the taste of them so I gave them to my boyfriend (bf) since he wanted more food. He seemed to enjoy them.

Overall, I did enjoy the restaurant. I enjoyed the vibe of the establishment and the food that I had was good so I recommend trying it whenever in the Columbus area. I plan to go back but I will make sure that it either isn’t on a Sunday or if it is on a Sunday that it is after 11 a.m. I have a feeling their mimosas are really good and that this time around I missed out. Can’t have that a second time. Until then, check out the pictures below!

Seattle Vibes

After about a year of planning and waiting for cheap tickets, I finally made it to see my best friend in Seattle,WA. Aside from it being a little chilly it was nothing short of amazing and I cannot wait to score another decent deal on flights so that I can see him during a summer season. Here’s how my weekend went…

Friday, I arrived and met my friend at his job where I enjoyed some pretty cool social events. First we enjoyed a trivia after party filled with drinks and good vibes, then we headed over to The Collective Seattle (https://www.collectiveseattle.com/) for the Rhyme and Reason Spoken Word show which showcased talented African-American poets and artists. The event was a private event and it was a great atmosphere. The venue was nice looking and very inviting and for the most part the staff was great. Due to it being a private event they had a select menu and so I just ordered the manchego + papaya empanadas with a queens blessing to drink. I thought the empanadas were good, it was simple and did the job of holding me over until we went out to eat after the event. The drink however was way too strong and I had to share some of it with my friend because I just did not have it in me to finish. I wouldn’t order it again. Another thing that I wasn’t fond of was the fact that they only accept credit/debit cards. Although, the server offered to pay with his own card if I gave him the cash I did not feel comfortable doing that and decided to use my own card to pay. I was a little bummed about it because I didn’t know it was a card only place and neither did my friend. I also had only wanted to use cash during the trip unless for Uber as a way to stay within my budget. Aside from that it was a good time and I would visit again, but would be knowledgeable of it being a card only location.

We concluded Friday night with dinner and drinks at Thomas Street Warehouse where all of their food is $5.95. How awesome is that? I got the wings and fried calamari which was really good, and had the strawberry corona island which was pretty strong. You’d like it if you are a beer drinker, I am not and so it took me a while to drink it. The highlight was taking part in the Inception Bomb challenge which included racing to finish multiple drinks, kinda cool but kinda dangerous. lol

Saturday was super cool, for one it was a lot warmer and dry than it was Friday night when I arrived. My best friend and I spent the morning on his rooftop looking at the Seattle view as well as taking cool selfies. After that we decided to walk toward the station to catch the train however it was closed so we had to catch a Lyft to the brunch spot I found called, Super Six (http://www.supersixseattle.com/). Super Six was super awesome with their amazing $15 bottomless mimosas, great customer service, and yummy Hawaiian inspired cuisine. I ordered pineapple cornbread, Hawaiian toast, and the big blue benny. My best friend had the hangover, and the buttermilk biscuit and gravy. I tried my friend’s hangover and it was super delicious and I was sorta upset that I didn’t get that compared to the Hawaiian toast. The Hawaiian toast wasn’t bad it just wasn’t as good of french toast as I had expected but it did come recommended by one of the staff. Of my meal I enjoyed the pineapple cornbread and the big blue benny the most. I liked the fact that it was good food and drinks and also affordable, I don’t know too many places where you can get all that we had and still be under $40. We left Super Six super full and a little too tipsy ( I blame the altitude level). After brunch I met up with another friend that I knew out there and we did a little shopping for her place and then we went to dinner at Pasta Bella (https://pastabellaseattle.com/). I’ll be honest I am not a huge pasta fan so Italian really isn’t my go to for food, but they did have mussels so I had some of those and they were delicious. This restaurant was a little more pricey ( $$ type) but it had a great atmosphere and the customer service was nice. I would recommend it to someone who enjoys Italian food and who is looking for a nice date spot.

The rest of Saturday was pretty slow, we were still kinda feeling the mimosas (altitude’s fault still)!! We chilled the rest of the night just hanging out and chit chatting and ended up taking a short walk to get beverages to hydrate ourselves. Sunday was spent with me packing up and heading back to the O.H.I.O. Overall, my trip was super amazing and I am so glad that I was able to spend a weekend with my friends. I heard the experience is even greater in the Summer. Seattle is definitely a city of good vibes and great times. I cannot wait until the next time.

Mansfield’s New Burger Joint

Mansfield recently opened a new burger spot called, Horseshoe Burger Company and I was dying to go. The perfect opportunity came for my friend who wanted to do something small for her birthday. We were both excited to try it because we just knew it had to be good since it was always packed. Here is my conclusion…

Cons: The customer service wasn’t the best. I won’t attribute it to anything but it needs some work. For starters, my friend called them in advance to let them know that a party was coming. They placed us smack dab in the middle of the floor in front of the door, which is not the end of the world. However, even though we were in plain sight no one serviced us for at least 30 minutes and when they did the girl stated that she didn’t know we were her table. Great introduction, right? Since we did not have any waters or anything our server did rush to get us waters and place our drink orders. The manager also came to apologize and made up for the inconvenience.

Pros: The margaritas were nice and strong. The food was good as well. I ordered the San Fran Melt which wasn’t bad at all and I would consider ordering again. My favorite items were the appetizers. We had the loaded fries and the onion rings. The onion rings went really well with their special horse sauce and I even took some home to go with the rest of my sandwich. It had a tangy taste to it that made you want more. I would go back just for an order of onion rings with the sauce.

Overall, I would like to see more diversity and better service to ensure that everyone feels comfortable, welcomed, and can have a great experience. Because they are still fairly new I plan to give them another try at a later date. I do like the fact that they are family friendly and the children that were with us had a great time and were taken care of. I would recommend trying it out for yourself and coming back to this post to let me know about your experience. Until then enjoy the pictures provided below.

Favorite New Spot in Atlanta

I am the type to get bored easily especially when it comes to food. That is why I am always looking for new spots to try when I am out of town. This time was no different as my daughter and I traveled to Atlanta, GA for the new year. After searching on Google for awhile for restaurants near our hotel (Best Western Plus Hotel & Suites Airport South), we came across Louisiana Bistreaux (http://www.louisianabistreaux.com/). It had great reviews and it was only a short distance from the hotel so I figured we would try it out…I am glad we did. The outside looks rather regular but the inside gives a nice New Orleans style feel. The staff and owners were very friendly, professional, and helpful when it came to suggestions on what to order. Overall, this place was nice with great food at an affordable price.

I ordered the lamb chops, served on top of spinach and jalapeno-gouda grits, and jumbo shrimp. My daughter had fried shrimp with potatoes. What I enjoyed most was that the food came out fairly quick and although it was hot, it was not too hot. I had a lot of different food on my plate but the dish was still presentable and everything went together perfectly. They provided plenty of lamb chops on the plate which was nice compared to other places I have been to that only provide two. I felt as though I got my monies worth. The jalapeno-gouda grits were pretty spicy but they were still good, so good that I could not stop eating them. Eating the grits with the spinach provided a nice balance and took away some of the spiciness of the grits.

Although my daughter and I completely enjoyed our meals there was only one thing that I did not like about the food that I had. The jumbo shrimp was very delicious however, I wish that it would have been peeled. It was rather difficult trying to unpeel them because of the glaze that was on it. Spitting the shell out in my napkin if I missed a spot was not a flattering look I am sure. But oh well, the food was still delicious and I would order it again.

With that being said, if you are ever in the Atlanta, GA area check out Louisiana Bistreaux East Point location. I am sure the other locations are good too, but East Point was so good that we went back the next day before I left with the rest of the family so that they could enjoy it. The staff remembered my daughter and I from the day before and was excited that we enjoyed and decided to return. My family left the restaurant satisfied and full as well and one of our friends noted that it was a favorite spot of his as well. The next time I am in the area, this will be a go to spot and I plan to try one or more of there drinks that I heard great things about. Stay tuned…

Disney Adventure

In August, my little ones, myself, and good friend along with her daughter finally made it to Disney World. We were there for a total of 5 days and honestly that was enough for us because by the last day we were completely exhausted. Overall it was a great trip and I would go again but I took a lot in during the trip that I would like to share…

Travel Agent: Although I usually plan my own trips from beginning to end I knew that it was best to find a travel agent that could plan this trip for me because unless you have been several times, it is VERY confusing!!! Tickets and other things are constantly changing and you want to make sure you know when to go for a better deal or when to stick with what you have. I hired Mouseketrips (https://www.mouseketrips.com/) to help me with my travels and overall they were great in getting me a resort that accommodated our needs as well as providing great suggestions on meal plans, restaurants, and rides. Our agent also created a daily itinerary for us to use as we navigated throughout the parks. Lastly, she reserved all of our restaurants and was really helpful in breaking down how things work at Disney and things to be conscious of. The only thing I didn’t like about my agent is that sometimes she wasn’t as timely as I would have liked which made me a little agitated and there were times where I would have to remind her to take the payment out as I paid over the course of a year. However, the manager was great at responding to any concerns that I may have had with the agent and overall I would still go with that travel agency if I took another trip.
Food: It is best to get a meal plan because the food is very expensive as to be expected, but that is mainly because of how it is served. It is truly about the experience. Bring plenty of money for gratuity as it is 18-20% . We had the meal plan that was a happy medium for our group which covered mainly lunches, dinner, snacks, and drinks (adult beverages too!). We paid for most of our breakfast meals just because we wanted more of our experiences to be during dinner. On our last day we had so much left over for snacks that we had to stuff some of them in our suitcases. Some of our favorite restaurants include:
- Garden Grill (EPCOT), family style meal with Disney characters as the restaurant turns. It was really cool to notice the restaurant turning as well as getting to see a set up of a safari as the restaurant turned. Don’t worry, the turning should make you sick as you eat because it goes pretty slow.
- Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom), amazing buffet style meal with Disney characters. The food was so good and the kids really enjoyed seeing Tiger, Piglet, and Winnie the Pooh.
- Rain Forest Cafe (Animal Kingdom), good food as you enjoy a rain forest inspired environment. This was one of my major favorites as we had a moving elephant right near our table. The venue is truly amazing!
- Flame Tree Barbecue (Animal Kingdom), the food is great barbecue style food with a great view. The only thing we hated about this area were the large birds that would walk around us as we tried to enjoy our food.
- Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge), buffet style African cuisines with a few American favorites. The best part was having the children try foods from the African culture. It was also great to see another resort, however there were no buses that went from one resort to another so I called an Uber so that we wouldn’t have to go back to the park and board another bus to our resort.
- Wave (Contemporary Resort- Magic Kingdom), buffet style and to order meals with bottomless mimosas!! It was worth the walk from Magic Kingdom to Contemporary Resort
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (Hollywood Studios) to order food with a awesome drive-thru movie vibe playing all of our childhood classics like Tom and Jerry.
Parks: All the parks were pretty fun in their own way. We would have liked to have more time at EPCOT and perhaps less time at Hollywood Studios but it is all about interests. Our two favorites were Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom because of what they had to offer in regards to restaurants and attractions. The one thing we didn’t like about the parks was needing to use both wrist bands and thumbs to enter the park because with children and a crowd it can get pretty frustrating especially if it doesn’t work the first couple times. If we go again our parks of choice would be Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom.
Lodging: We stayed at the Pop Resort which allowed us to get the experience without spending a fortune for rooms we would hardly be in. Pop Resort was honestly a great choice for us and we enjoyed the 70s through 2000s theme. There was plenty of activities for the children to partake in and a bar for adults. There are also little cute lizards the walk around but they are harmless and we never seen them inside our rooms or the building of the resort.

Well that’s all I have for now, I know that was pretty lengthy but I wanted you to get the gist of my Disney experience. Check out the photos below and feel free to leave comments and ask questions.