Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
While it was nice to sit on the roof, unfortunately the walls were too high to actually see any of the city, and the light pollution limited the view of the stars. Also, the waitress spilled some of my drink. Passable. (Dandelion | Philly
I saw a ton of people carrying takeout bags with a dog dressed in a suit, and so was excited to check out Dandelion for myself. Unfortunately, I soon realized why everyone had takeout boxes from this restaurant; it’s because the food was quite subpar and no one liked it enough to eat all of it. The best part of the restaurant is the decoration – with fireplaces and couches and lots of dog paraphernalia, it’s like your great-aunt’s house more than a restaurant. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end. We made a reservation but still had to wait at the bar; when we got drinks, the bartender asked us to close out rather than transfer our drinks to our table’s bill. Service was slow, we had a long wait between appetizers and entrees. Everyone on Yelp raves about the Chicken and Duck Liver Parfait, but I found it bland and unremarkable. Of the three entrees we got, the salmon was nice, the mac and cheese was mediocre, and the fish and chips were awful, swimming in oil. and chewy Cocktails also mediocre. All of this for $100/3 people – take your money somewhere else. (Yelp; website)
CloverDrinks | Gloria Jean’s Coffees
After Autumn’s pumpkin and cider fades away comes my favorite season of flavors, Holiday flavors! Gloria Jean’s was kind enough to send us a sampler pack of their holiday coffees. My husband the coffee enthusiast looked forward to it, and it was exciting to have all the different flavors. My favorite was the Mocha Merriment, because it had a bit of mint zing that helped brighten up my morning, and I also loved the playful name. I thought it was smooth and silky, with the chocolate and coffee complementing each other in a very nice way. My husband liked the Dulce de Leche, one of his favorite flavors, it was milky and sweet but still very pleasantly coffee overall. Check them out at their website, where they offer sampler packs and gift baskets!
Garden Fresh | Palo Alto, CA
While visiting my friend at Stanford, she took me to a fantastic vegan restaurant that surprisingly was Chinese. Very unusual yet very delicious! I feel that oftentimes fake meat can have a texture that is off or flavor too much like tofu, but this was perfect. I especially liked the orange beef, but the duck was good and even had a good fake duck skin. Yelp; website.
Another bubble tea joint with jenga; this place also offers their own line of teas. It was bustling late at night but everyone was efficient and the line moved quickly. (Elm City Social | New Haven
Absinthe Flip
Mansinthe, eggwhite, lemon, lime
Little Cheeseburgers
house blend chuck & brisket, sharp cheddar, smoked aioli, red onion jam, brioche
Duck Sliders
confit, brie, red onion marmalade, brioche, arugula, demi-glace
Jerk Chicken Tacos
flour tortilla, spicy cabbage slaw, pulled jerk chicken, spicy aioli
Ramos Gin Fizz
Ransom old tom gin, orange blossom, lemon, lime, cream, egg white, sparkling wate
Fully Loaded Sweet Potato
slow roasted, candied whiskey pecans, maple sugar, torched marshmallows & molasses
Here I had the most well-shaken drink I’ve ever encountered, the ramos gin fizz. On other happy hour occasions, I’ve also gone for the Rubber Ducky, which actually comes with a cute little duck that you get to keep. They have a nice rooftop lounge that’s lovely in the summertime.
Pine State Biscuits | Portland OR
Biscuits aren’t really a food I automatically think of when I think of brunch. However, Pine State Biscuits really does an amazing job of taking everything we love about biscuits and breakfast and making it into the most mouthwatering breakfast biscuit I have ever dreamed of. There was a long line out the door but it was totally worth it. There was a nice, cozy outdoor seating area sheltered by a tent and full of space heaters. The biscuits were so fluffy! They also had this great orange hot sauce that had a great vinegar tang to it. Again, I’m surprised at the amount of southern food that’s in Portland, but this was really fantastic. The Alberta Arts district also had tons of interesting murals. I want to move to Portland. Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
Beiler’s Bakery | Philly
We waited in line curling around the corner for these Amish donuts. The donuts were super light and fluffy and fantastic, although I think we overdid it by getting a half dozen of heavily creamy ones. In retrospect, would’ve gone with something simpler like glazed although with one maple bacon masterpiece. (Yelp; website)
T-Swirl Crepe | Philly > Chinatown
Best crepes ever! These crepes are lighter and crispier than your usual flat ones and so can be carried in a paper cone. They are sweet but not too densely sugary. The fruit was fresh and portioned out at a good ratio to the crepe dough. A great snack and portable too! My husband liked them so much he went back twice during the three days we were here. (Yelp; website)
Info:
Exploring restaurants in Ann Arbor, Chicagoland, New Haven, and elsewhere.
LocalEats featured blog
Follow on Bloglovin'
Chicago Food Bloggers
Top Posts & Pages
Clover Eats! 