West Palm Beach: Bar Louie

I went up to West Palm this past weekend to do dinner a movie with some friends. After seeing The Happening (which was such a disappointment), we decided to have dinner at Bar Louie. Bar Louie is a new restaurant that opened in City Place about a month ago, where The Original Steakhouse was located. We walked in and were able to seat ourselves. The decor has dark woods and olive greens, with black & white pictures on the wall. The restaurant area was about half full, but the bar was pretty packed. We sat down in a booth (that was already stained, don't they clean these things?) and were ready to eat.


The menu has a solid offering of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas and burgers. It's a slightly more upscale version of a typical sports bar menu (think Duffy's meets Yard House). They also have a pretty large selection of beers and mixed drinks. The mixed drinks were original and intriguing. I almost got the Strawberry Basil Caipiroska, but settled for a Blue Moon instead. The prices are reasonable here as well, with most entrees ranging from $10 - $15. My dinner was the Luigi Sandwich. It's Bar Louie's version of a cheesesteak, with thinly sliced rib eye, cheddar, and the usual sandwich condiments. The sandwich was good, beef seemed to lack a little flavor but cheddar cheese was sharp and melty. The bread was soft and fresh. The fries were perfectly cooked, with the right amount of seasoning. Our service was good too, but the food came out a little bit too quickly. I will definitely be going back, it's a great place for a casual dinner.

I'm now a Great Cook

I just joined a great site, Great Cooks Blogroll, with lots of other great cooks and food fanatics. Go to Simply Daily Recipes to view all the other delicious blogs out there!

Taste Test Tuesday: Clif Bar

Happy Tuesday! I'm going to be adding another weekly feature to the blog...Taste Test Tuesday. I'll be sampling a product every Tuesday and writing my opinions on it.

My first victim is the Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Clif Bar. Here are some facts. This information is for 1 bar. You can buy these in cases as well, but I bought it individually.
Cost: .99
Calories: 240
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 43g
Fiber: 5g
Sugar: 20g
Protein: 10g
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5



I opened up the wrapper and unveiled the Clif Bar. It was a little smaller than I had hoped, but it looked like it had some substance. I took my first bite and it was good! Every bite has a little bit of the title ingredients, oatmeal, raisins and walnuts. All the ingredients were evenly dispersed. Even though the bar itself is fairly small, it is dense but soft, and fills you up more than you think. It had a great flavor as well, very similar to an oatmeal raisin cookie. This is great for a quick breakfast and will sustain you until lunch. Also, it's all natural and has vitamins and minerals, so eat up!

Miami Spice Sneak Preview

Miami Spice month is a great time of year when some amazing Miami restaurants offer their goods at a discounted price. These specials run from August through September. This year they're having a sneak preview that runs from June 16 - June 30. For lunch, the price is $26.00. For dinner, the price is $36. This includes a 3 course meal, and most restaurants will give you a choice of about 3 of their dishes for each course. Click Here for a list of all the participants.

I'm going to make sure to make it to Miami Beach for the sneak preview. There are so many good restaurants, I'm not sure which to pick! I've heard may great things about Talula , so I'll be excited to try it out. My favorite from last year was Table 8.

Lunch at Publix Greenwise

On Thursday, I went to the Grand Opening of the Publix Greenwise Market in Boca Raton. It was mobbed! I finally found a parking space and walked in. They were handing out recycled cloth bags with samples and coupons inside, that was a nice touch. The layout is pretty good, similar to the one in Palm Beach Gardens. The prepared foods and express lanes are on the left, and then further back they have the deli, cheeses, meats and fish. They had a very impressive selection of everything and were giving out lots of samples. It is VERY similar to Whole Foods, except they don't have a make your own food station (which I really like). But the positive side is they do have alot of the "regular" items that aren't organic or natural so you don't have to go to a regular Publix on a separate trip to buy things like toilet paper. I was really impressed with the produce section! It had fruits and veggies I had never even heard of and everything looked super fresh.



Then it was time to eat. I was debating between the carvery, which had hot items and the salad & wrap station. I decided to go for a salad. They had great options. I opted for the Baja Chicken Salad. It was a little but pricey ($8.29), but worth it. On the salad was peppers, tomatoes, cheddar, black beans, spicy sunflower seeds, and chicken. The chicken had a great spice rub that went well with the dressing, which was a little bit sweet (similar to a white balsamic I've had before). They put alot of chicken on the salad and it was very filling. I couldn't even finish it all. I'll definitely be going back for sure, but I'll wait a week or 2 until the grand opening crowds simmer down.