Good Food - (errr elsewhere)

Ok, so yes I am cheating.  I am going to focus this post on a recent trip to Virginia and Georgia.  I know this is a blog about food in Boise, but there IS good food in other places that is worthy of being mentioned. 

So for starters we'll focus on Virginia.  Not many people are aware that Great Harvest is a franchise.  With over two hundred stores nationwide - there is lots of good bread across the country for eating.  I went to Great Harvest in Herndon, VA with my cousin and friend.  It was an absolutely delightful experience.  Friendly people, cute location and some really yummy breads.  I had a carrot raisin walnut muffin, my cousin had a garlic cheese stick, and my friend had a double chocolate chip cookie.  I practically sampled half the breads they had for the day and came out satisfied that I had tried the Apple Scrapple and the Tuscan Herb Cheese Bread.

My other interesting culinary stop was an Asian Fusion restaurant called Big Bowl located in Reston, VA.  The atmosphere was classy yet relaxed.  They offer top notch service, pretty afforable prices for the type of restaurant, plus the food was hot, beautifully presented and delicious.   The cuisine is a blend of Thai and Chinese.  This posed a bit of a challenge for someone who is allergic to peanut products seeing that Thai food contains a lot of that tricky legume. This is a restaurant well worth trying out if you have the chance.

Destination #2: Georgia.  Oh sweet Georgia - how I love thy restaurants! There was a plethora of restaurants to choose from in Atlanta and I regret that there was not enough time to eat at more of them.  My dearest friend (Elysse) was kind enough to chauffer me around to three Great Harvest stores in the Altanta area - one in Marietta, Smyrna and Atlanta.  We enjoyed meeting all the friendly staff members and once again we ate lots of yummy bread.  We had a sandwich at the Smyrna store - the Bleu Ridge Roast Beef at the owner's recommendation. We also sampled the cinnamon roll there - very unique ( I think it should be called the cinnamuffin roll). 

Contrary to what many of you might be thinking - I did not eat at only bread stores on this trip.  I had the pleasure of dining at another Asian Fusion restaurant called Mama Fu's Asian House in Atlanta. This reminded me a bit of an upscale Panda Express or a lower class P.F.Chang's.  I was very impressed.  Not only is the food affordable ($7-9) but it was delivered to our table within minutes of ordering and it was piping hot and extremely fresh.  I got a noodle bowl and split the lettuce wraps wtih Elysse and Jennie.  They were very good but I have to say - nobody has come close to touching P.F. Chang's.

For lunch on Sunday we went to the West Egg Cafe.  This was definitely my favorite eatery that I visited in Atlanta.  I first found out about the place on another blog so I had to go there, naturally.  I had the salmon cakes benedict.  Boy was it delish!  Two perfectly poached eggs on top of two salmon cakes bathed in a tangy hollandaise - not to mention the creamy garlic grits that came along side. They also have an interesting twist on french toast, banana bread french toast with a caramel sauce.  Even though it was noise, I really liked the atomsphere.  It was very open and lively. 

We also hit Fellini's Pizza.  Pretty good pizza and calzones at a good price.  The patio is a nice place to relax with friends.

These are just a few highlights from a wonderful trip to the East.  Who knows, maybe some of these places will even prompt you to venture out of Boise. 

P.S.  Thanks to all my faithful dining companions in the D.C. and Atlanta areas.  You guys are awesome and I appreciate you shuttling me around to all these great places!

AND one last thing - if you have spent any time in one of these two places I would love to hear where you like to eat.