I ended up at the Vietnamese Bakery Le Bledo Bakery, in Springfield, after hearing some promising leads online about their food and missing a lunch there I wanted to attend.  My expectations were pleasantly met.

The first good sign was that I actually found the place without getting lost.  I frequently get lost in Springfield, as there is just stuff all over the place.  Walking in there was a small buffett and tables on the left.  There was also a small menu on the wall of noodle soups available.  I got a beef noodle soup and one of the very pleasant staff asked me if I wanted the one similar to Pho.  As I was wearing a white shirt, I thought clear broth over red probably a good idea.  The noodles were thin rice noodles and there were some slices of brisket and some meatballs and scallions in what was a very nice complex broth.  All the normal Pho accompaniments alongside.  As there were torrential downpours outside, it felt quite nice to sit inside watching the rain slurping noodles.

I also ordered a bahn mi to go.  It had a mix with sausage, pate and a few other cured meats.  The bread was soft, warm and crusty, the condiments were very spicy, but had a little sweetness.  There was a good balance of meat, bread, condiments.

The bakery has to go plates of rolls and other Vietnamese dishes for carry out and more can be ordered.  There were all sorts of pastries.  I bought some peanut cookies and pastries with a cashew filling.  They seemed to have some pastries that seem a bit more Chinese to me, as well, but I am not good with those sorts of differentiation at this point, especially with the French influence.  There were also a variety of steamed buns.  There were candies and other sweets and cakes.  The people coming in and out for bags of sandwiches was promising.  This is a neat little spot well worth exploring.  I can’t wait to take Hubby there at some point.

Day Three started with a Mini winding across the Bay Bridge and up through Mill Valley to Muir Woods National Monument.  It reminded me of an old growth forrest on the East Coast that was fed lots of Miracle Grow.  The trees were immense and the earth just smelled good.  It was a nice diversion to be out of the city and among giant trees.  Although there were still lots of people.  And we had to walk as far to parking and back as we did through the national monument.  Many of the side paths were closed during our visit, but the main path was still open; however, I wish more of the side trails would have been open where you could have left the crowds behind and done more serious hiking.  But none-the-less a beautiful thing to see.

We drove back through Saucilito, but it was so crowded we just drove right through and back into San Francisco.  We parked between Golden Gate Park and NOPA where we brunched.  I had Butter Basted Farm Eggs – Roasted Spring Onions, Romesco and Crispy Polenta, with a side of bacon, it was decadent, crunchy, but not overly filling or heavy. MMMMMM. But Hubby really beat me, he got the Chili Braised Pork –Purple Runner Beans, Chard and Buttermilk Biscuit and that was killer good, rich in flavor, but nicely balanced with the beans and greens that weren’t done in a heavy way. I want to try to make this at home.

After our quite filling, but not heavy brunch we explored the portions of Golden Gate Park that we previously hadn’t gotten through.  We visited the conservancy of flowers to look at their orchids and the exhibit on Wicked Plants.  We walked through the dahlia gardens and explored for a bit.  We then went back to the car by way of Osso & Co a fantastic dog store where we picked up some goodies for Max.  We did not get him one of the amazing dog houses they had there, but you never know, he might get one in the future, they were amazingly chic.  We then drove and checked out the shops around Hayes Valley, a very hipster area with great boutique shops.  There is a very good guide here.  I really loved Stark Home Furnishings.

We were so tired from all the walking we crashed at the hotel for a nap.  I had really considered visiting the excellent Nob Hill Spa, and looking back I can’t imagine why I didn’t.  The spa is beautiful with an amazing view from the pool.  And the treatment rooms really pretty.  Next time this will be a done deal.  My sore legs and tired feet could have used some pampering!

That night we had reservations for Boulevard, but neither of us felt like fancy, so we went and had spring rolls at the Slanted Door, which were killer good (we should have just eaten dinner here) and then we had fish tacos a hot dog and fries at Gott’s Roadside, which was good, it was, but not anything as good as the rolls at Slanted Door and the amazing smells emanating from that place. I am still regretting not eating at the Slanted Door right now.

We then wandered our way back up Nob Hill, we stopped in Chinatown to pick up a few goodies before the stores closed.  I got a silk pouch and jewelry roll for travel that pair exceedingly well with my Michael Aram Hartman.  And got some cute gifts for friends and loved ones that you can’t get in our area.

The next morning we wandered Chinatown and I bought some jewelry from an exceptional little jewelry store off the beaten path where you can find nicer things than the junky shops that are mostly visible.  I also drooled over a beautiful gold desk with with cranes for my guest bedroom.

We had a chinese pastries, a mung bean cake for me and a bbq bun for Hubby, and ate an early lunch before the airport at San Sun, which I highly highly recommend. They have some amazing noodle dishes, and that’s what I would order here. The broth, noodles and meat choices were great. You pick the broth-meat, then you pick your noodle type rice noodles, thin or wide, egg noodles, etc, etc, and you can do a combo, they also have some specialty noodle dishes. They have a huge menu so there is other stuff, but most people around us were also slurping up different noodles. Even at 11:00 a.m. people of all ethnicities came wandering in for a meal.  The flavors of the broth were complex, but so comforting.  We then headed off to the airport where I picked up  some dinner at the Napa Farm Market in the airport which had some really nice looking meals- for me roasted chicken, roast potatoes and asparagus.  They even had gluten free cupcakes.  Surprisingly fireworks from a plan are not as cool as you would expect.  Just little poofs of light far far away.

Well Readers, good news from the streets.  I have had more good food, less mediocre meals. Although I have been traveling a lot, so a lot of those meals will be in travel guides.

Minerva Express- Last night I stopped by Minerva Express on Lee Hwy in the A-1Indian Grocery Store to pick up some dinner for Hubby and I.  I ordered Lamb Curry, Shrimp Briyani and Aloo Gobi with Naan.  The order in total was about $30, a great deal for the amount of food, which fed us last night, John who stopped by and will be another dinner or lunch for us too.  The briyani was fantastic spicy and with shrimp that wasn’t at all rubbery, and rice that was tender with crisp bits.  I loved the spice.  The lamb in the curry was really tender and the curry itself wasn’t too spicy, but was really nicely flavored with pepper and tomato.  The Aloo Gobi was a nice mild dish of potatoes and peas that really melded nicely with the other dishes.  If you live in the area, this should be your Indian take out place, it is mine now.

Brunch at Eventide- If you are tired of looking at the same brunch menus and not knowing what to order, get thee to Eventide.  I think brunch might be the best meal I have had there yet.  The Aperol Spritz is refreshing without being cloyingly sweet.  The hash highlights nice chunks of meat and potato that is crisped perfectly and a poached egg runny in the center to put it in the category of perfect hangover cures.  But the real show stopper was the roast beef sandwich.  Every aspect of this sandwich was beautiful- the bread perfectly crunchy on the outside but nice and soft in the center, the beef was tender and juicy with a robust beef flavor, it had a spicy aioli with frisee, roasted tomatoes and pickled onions.  The flavors just worked.

DonRockwell Dinner at Pizzeria Orso- This dinner was an amazing night of food.  We started with roasted vegetables that were so good they made you realize how good plain roasted vegetables are when done right.  You could taste the flavor, the grill, the oil and it just worked.  Bruschetta with calamari was crispy and savory, a perfect bite.  Potato croquettes were creamy and crispy, while not as heavy as arrancini.  The pizzas were charred, not at all soupy, highlighting simple ingredients of the highest quality.  Last but not least homemade cannoli that were light and crispy with dense, but not heavy filling just made the ones at the Italian store just a tease.  The meal was incredible and really showed how good simple comfort foods can be when elevated by amazing quality and care.

3 Bar and Grill- After a real hankering for nachos I tried the bacon and blue chips at 3.  These were an amazing amalgamation of crisp homemade potato chips, rich, chunky blue cheese and big chunks of bacon.  It was a dish that rode that line of being over the top and too much, without tipping over.  They were better than nachos because they stayed crisp, but they gave you that feeling that you had been bad, in a good good way.  I couldn’t make it even halfway through on my own though, so share the goodness.  I also ordered the duck lettuce wraps, which is basically the duck bbq sandwich without the bread.  I love their bbq sauce with cuts through the richness of the duck with a nice acidity, but also has a nice rich, bbq balance to it.  Add to it some crisp slaw and lettuce and it is a perfect bite, without having to deal with all that bread.

Solar Crepes- Has anyone else noticed this little gem outside of the Nature Conservancy in Ballston?  I went one day not knowing if a crepe would keep me satisfied all day and got the market buckwheat crepe special.  It was ratatouille and spinach with gruyere and bacon, and yes it filled me up.  The crepe was a little thick, but it had to be to hold all my toppings.  The bacon was really good bacon, not just ok there is bacon, but wow that is some good bacon, bacon.  The cheese and ratatouille melded well together giving you good veggies that held their texture, but a richness with the cheese that made it a meal.  They have both sweet and savory crepes and serve breakfast and lunch.  And they are nice as can be.

I can’t say enough good things about Punk’s Backyard Grill.  I tried the thai steak salad and it was another winner.  If you live in the Annapolis area and haven’t been there yet, cough cough Warren, you really need to check it out.  It is a surprisingly good little place with nice flavor.

Sweetwater Tavern- say what you want about the GAR restaurants, but they can turn out some good food and are a great place whenever you have picky or unadventurous eaters, or just want some comfort food.  Between the nice entree salads, variety of entrees and good desserts there is something for anyone.  We had a really nice evening out on the patio with friends.

I will say that if you have flights leaving from BWI, do eat before going to the airport, there is nothing there, especially behind security in some of the gates.

And I have a meal coming up at Central soon that I am really looking forward too.

On my list of places I need to get to: Kushi, Eola, Masa 14 and it has been a while since I have had the Lickety Split lunch.  Any other gems you think I am missing?

I am going to more and more places that I either don’t have time or don’t think appropriate for a full blog post quite yet.  So I am now dating my Eating Around posts.  I will add a seaparate category for them too.

The Lounge at Eventide:  I haven’t been back to the formal dining room in a little while now, but I had a lovely meal with company and hubby at the Lounge at Eventide.  Bar Manager Steve mixed us up some lovely cocktails- some on menu, some off.  I suggest telling him what flavors you like and letting him craft something for you.  The soft pretzel with deviled hame spread and stout mustard were perfectly made.  The salty pretzel and ham with spicy rich mustard are a great combo that I just can’t pass up.  I don’t like a lot of mustard, but this mustard is divine, grainy with just enough spice, but no lingering spice.  I then had the locavore salad- which if you are looking for a good entree salad this is it- with chicken, tomatoes, bacon-sherry vinaigrette and a host of other lovely things that make this salad seem much more than a salad.  Bison sliders were soft and tender with a tangy tomato barbecue sauce.  What I love about the lounge at Eventide is the laid back vibe, while being quite perfectionists about the ingredients and food coming out.  They mix it up a lot and while not everything always hits me, there is always something that to euw and aaw over and make you want to come back, and I like that they frequently change the menu (so long as the pretzel stays- do you hear that Eventide?)

Pupatella: Don’t even ask me to compare this to Pizzeria Orso because I can’t.  I recently had lunch at Pupatella and had their sausage pizza with homemade sausage.  The sausage was really out of this world, zoom zoom to the moon good.  I would buy that sausage if they would sell it to me.  The crust was extremely thin.  Not too charred, with a nice chew to it.  I want to go back to try some of the other toppings as everything coming out just smelled phenomenal.  As  a note 1 pizza is enough for two people unless you are extremely hungry.  I also had an eggplant arrancini which was crisp with great flavor.  A little too much cheese inside only because the eggplant itself was so phenomenal I wanted more.  The eggplant really is perfection inside a crisp rice nugget.  And it is great value.

Uncle Julio’s: You know if you go only for fajitas every now and then this place is good.  But don’t stray from fajitas or the butterflied shrimp.  There is nothing else worth ordering.

Sidamo: Please open in Arlington.  I know we have Northside Social, but I want you Iced Chai on a more regular basis.  If you haven’t had a Sidamo iced chai and you like iced chai, well you just haven’t awakened your mouth to what iced chai is really supposed to taste like, possibly what iced chai tastes like in heaven (ok, ok, maybe it could be better in heaven, but I don’t know how).  But peeps, this place is not a one trick pony.  They also have great fruit smoothies, coffee and sandwiches.  The club paninni is particularly good with a nice chewy but soft bread, crunchy bacon, fresh tomato, melted cheese and turkey- it just all comes together in a great way.  But really- go for the iced chai.

Thai Terrace:  This isn’t someplace worth traveling for, but if you happen to be in the Ballston, Courthouse, Clarendon area, especially if you like delivered food now and then, Thai Terrace has some real good stuff.  What I most appreciate is that if you ask for it spicy or if you order a spicy dish, they don’t dumb it down for you.  Oh no, they bring the heat.  I recently had Pad Prik Pao a combination of chicken and shrimp with broccoli, carrot, onion, sweet pepper and thai chili sauce.  This is a growing heat dish, that is pretty spicy and that spice just builds and builds in your mouth.  Best with a Thai iced tea, or some ice cream after.  Hubby gets the Ka Prow and I like to steal some because the ginger, basil and garlicy sauce is just great.  I am happy to have this place in the neighborhood, but again it isn’t a destination, but it does great take out too, they never screw up our order.

Bittersweet Cafe (Old Town Alexandria): ok for a quick lunch, but Firehook down the street is a lot better.

Boru (or whatever Matsutake turned into): I noticed Matsutake was going down hill, this though is really bad.  Avoid.

And ending on a high note had a fabulous Don Rockwell dinner at La Caraquena.  This place is great.  Do get there before Triple D (that’s right Diners, Drive Ins and Dives) makes it impossible to get a seat.  Get anything with the shredded beef and you will be happy, very happy.  And the saltenas here cannot be beat.  Although they are a little more of a cold weather food for me, they are so good here, I couldn’t pass it up.  Soupy, crispy and wonderful with their spicy jalapeno salsa/chutney.  The corn salad was good too, but remember shredded beef.