Visit My NEW Blog!

My brand new blog, Will Jog for Food, is finally up and running!

Click here to stop by!

Coming Soon!

Hi Everyone! Sorry I missed Food Fact Friday this week. I've decided to create a brand new blog to meld my interests in food and fitness! It will be up and running by this Friday! I'll be keeping my old features...but adding all sorts of new ones.



In the meantime Follow me on Twitter!

Coconuts Bahama Grill

I've lived in Fort Lauderdale for almost 3 years. I've passed by Coconuts Bahama Grill more times than I can count. Since it's in a tourist area, I assumed it wasn't that great...but I was wrong!

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and Coconuts was packed! But they had a couple tables outside in the shade. The atmosphere was great. We had a very nice view of the fancy yachts and intracoastal waters. We ordered an appetizer of Conch Fritters. For my main dish, I chose the Lobster Roll. I was famished and ready to eat!

The conch fritters came out very quickly. It was a good amount for 2 or 3 people to share for an app. I really liked the texture. It reminded me of a beignet. It wasn't heavy, like many conch fritters I've had. They had really good flavor, but i wished there were more chunks of conch. The sauce was a great complement to the fritters. It was sweet and savory with just a mild hint of spice.

The Lobster Roll was delicious. With it, I ordered a side of macaroni & cheese. I liked the fact they give you about 6 sides to choose from...ranging from coleslaw to deviled eggs (gross as h-e-double hockey sticks to me...but to each his own). The mac & cheese had a nice garlicky kick. There was the perfect amount a cheese, and a nice topping of panko breadcrumbs. The Lobster Roll had huge chunks of Maine Lobster, including tons of claw meat (my personal fav). It was tossed in a very refreshing mayonnaise based sauce and had very small pieces of celery and onion. It was a great complement to the lobster. The roll was buttered and toasty. It was the perfect amount of food.

I can't wait to go back to Coconuts. The food was great. The food at waterfront restaurants can always be a little sketchy, but Coconuts stands above the rest. The service was a little shaky at points...but you get so relaxed by the setting, it hardly even matters.

Food: 4.5 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5

Food Fact Friday: Global Eats at Mickey D's

I love to find out what people are eating all over the world. One chain that has been successful pretty much everywhere is McDonald's. Of course...they can't just serve burgers & fries everywhere. Oh...wait...they do, haha! But at least they have some local influence. Here are some interesting menu items from different McDonald's locations around the world.

HONG KONG:
Rice is a huge part of everyday eating there. Hong Kong fast food junkies get McRice burgers, where the burgers (or chicken) are served between two rice patties rather than on buns.

NORWAY:
In Norway, where fish is king, you can find McLaks, a sandwich made of grilled salmon and dill sauce.

GREECE:
They serve all the burgers here on pita bread. They have a Greek Mac, a burger made of hamburger patties wrapped in pita bread.

JAPAN:
McDonald's has added many items catering to the locals such as Ebi Filet-O (shrimp burger), Koroke Burger (mashed potato, cabbage and katsu sauce), Ebi-Chiki (shrimp nuggets) and a green tea flavored milkshake.

INDIA:
In India, selling of beef is prohibited (Hindus revere cows) so you won't find Big Mac's instead you will find Maharaja Mac, which is similar to Big Mac but made of lamb or chicken meat. They also serve a vegetarian burger not found in the US called the McAloo Tikki burger.

Billions & Billions Served: The busiest international McDonald's restaurant is located on Pushkin Square in Moscow, which serves over 40,000 people every day.

Coffee & Donuts for Dessert!

What goes better together than coffee & donuts? That seemed like a great name for this creation of mine. I entered it into a recipe contest last year but they must have misplaced it, because it didn't win anything! hahaha. This is a very yummy donut-crust cheesecake bar. One of my friends still insists it's the best recipe I've ever come up with. If you can get Krispy Kreme's for this, definitely use them. I tried using store brand donuts once and it did not turn out as well.

Coffee & Donuts

8 - Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Donuts
2 - 8 oz pkgs cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/3 cup - sugar
2 - eggs
1 tsp - vanilla
1 tbsp - instant coffee
2 cups - semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup - heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 9 x 13 baking dish. Cut up doughnuts in large pieces and place in food processor. Pulse until doughnuts resemble very coarse crumbs. Take doughnut crumbs and press firmly into the bottom of the baking dish. In bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, coffee, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Spread mixture evenly on top of doughnut layer. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes (until center starts to rise and look a little dry). Let cool. While bars are cooling, combine chocolate chips & cream in a double boiler. Stir until the chocolate chips have melted and mixture is smooth. Pour chocolate over the cheesecake bars and spread evenly. Put bars in the refrigerator to cool. After 2 hours, cut into 24 squares and then place back in the fridge. Cool for 2 more hours or overnight. Then serve and enjoy!