A Meal With the Horses

Eating a meal with horses may not sound very appetizing, but let me explain. Windy Corner Market is a one-of-a-kind restaurant that is surrounded by horse farms on each side. Going there to eat almost feels like your own personal escape from the hectic life (for me, college life) you lead on a daily basis. I guess if you are not a huge horse fan, you may not find the surroundings to be so oasis-like, but you get the point.

Windy Corner Market is a restaurant I am thrilled to have stumbled upon during my search for brunch spots in/near Lexington. Although my friends and I did not make it there in time for brunch, the brunch menu sounds nothing less of amazing. I will definitely be back to try it out.

When my friends and I walked up to the front, the line to order food was out the doors; a good sign that the food was worth waiting for, but a bad sign for us hungry college girls. Reluctantly, we went to the back of the line. To our surprise, the line actually went quite quickly. Within ten minutes (tops), we all ordered our meals and sat down at a table. Since we were so hungry, it felt as though the food took hours to be prepared, but I would say the absolute longest we waited was twenty minutes.

The best feeling after waiting on line to order your meal and then waiting again for the meal to be brought to you, is when you take your first bite and it is better than you even expected. That is what biting into the cheeseburger I ordered was like. I kid you not, the cheeseburger I had at Windy Corner Market was one of the best burgers I have ever tried. My favorite part of the burger is that the meat on it was actually from Kentucky. It does not get more local than that.

My friends both got pulled pork dishes and I could tell by their faces that they were in heaven. Before we left Windy Corner Market, I got a blueberry muffin to go. That was one of the best decisions I had made all day. Not only are the meals at Windy Corner Market out of this world, their pastries are too.

When it is all said and done, Windy Corner Market is a restaurant that you cannot miss out on. They have something on the menu for everyone, especially if you are a breakfast lover who gets there before noon! The scenery does not suck either. You may not actually be eating your meal with the horses, but the horses are your view if you choose to go on the peaceful outdoor seating route. For those of you who do not feel like looking at horses while you eat, don’t you worry, there is plenty of seating inside as well. All of you food lovers out there, be sure to knock this restaurant off the list of places you MUST try while in Lexington, Kentucky.

Mexican Food is Always the Answer

Today for lunch, I went to a Mexican restaurant next door to my parent’s apartment building with my mom and dad. The restaurant is called Pepito and it is located in Arlington, VA. When we first sat down, we were a little worried because about 85% of the menu is drinks. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a great drink menu, but we were there to try the food, so we were in fact concerned.

The waiter settled our nerves when he came over and began to explain almost every item on the menu to us. He was extremely kind and patient as we asked question after question and still needed time to look the menu over again before actually ordering.

We started off with chips and guacamole. The guacamole was out of this world delicious. My parents and I are extremely picky with our chips and guac seeing as how we spend a week each year in Mexico with the best chips and guac in the world (we think). Luckily, this guacamole did not disappoint. My dad and I tried the guacamole at the same time and as soon as we realized how good it was, we both looked at each other wide-eyed and said “oh my, this is amazing.” I feel as though that truly explains how great it was.

For lunch, I got two chicken tacos. The chicken was shredded and had a light sauce mixed into it that was slightly spicy, but not too overwhelming. There was also a slice of avocado and shredded radishes on the taco. I was not expecting anything too crazy because I am not the biggest taco fan, but I was really impressed. The taco was full of flavor and I enjoyed every bite. I would highly suggest them to anyone who goes to Pepita.

Pepita is a great new Mexican spot that definitely needs to be checked out if you are in the DC area. It is a great lunch spot, but makes an even better evening spot to go sip on drinks and have a small meal to go along with the alcohol you will be consuming. Whenever I walk past at night, it is always packed. I know I will definitely be heading back there to take advantage of the other 85% of the menu that I missed out on at lunch time today. I hope you choose to not miss out as well.

Strolling Through London

I made it! I am here in London. My flight was delayed and I did not get in until 10:50 last night and then the immigration line was super long and there was crazy traffic on the way back to Sara’s (my sister) flat. We did not get back here until around 1:50 am. It was rough, but at least I am here now.

Sara woke me up around 10:30 this morning because she said the earlier I get up and get going, the easier it is to beat jet lag. We took the DLR from her flat into central London and then literally walked around all day. It was beautiful. We saw the Tower of London first, but I am not sure why they call it a tower. Next, we walked over to the Tower of London Bridge. If you look at a picture of the bridge, you will notice there is an extra platform high above where the cars drive…Sara and I went up there. It was awesome. There is a section that had a glass floor so we could see all the way down–quite frightening, but still pretty cool to look.

After walking over the bridge, we strolled down (meaning walked on the street next to) the River Thames and eventually found ourselves at a Nando’s for lunch. For those of you who have never been to a Nando’s before, it is a delicious restaurant that serves all different Mozambican/Portuguese themed chicken dishes. I stuck to something simple to be safe and got chicken thighs with a side of coleslaw. It was absolutely delicious! The coleslaw was a bit creamy for my liking, but it still did taste good. I got my chicken plain so that it would not be spicy, but it still had a great flavor. If you are more of a spicy food lover, you can get your chicken mild all the way to super hot. When you are finished with your meal, you have a choice of getting dessert and/or coffee or finishing with your meal. Sara and I chose to skip the dessert today, but it all did sound good.

After lunch, we just walked around some more. We went over a bridge and walked over to the Big Ben, which (fun fact) is actually named Elizabeth Tower! It really is a beautiful clock. That might sound crazy, but you would have to see it to understand. By this time, Sara and I had walked well over 5 miles already so we decided to sit in a park and rest. It was very relaxing and a great choice on our part.

The last eventful thing we did today was we went to a Mexican restaurant called Wahaca for dinner. It is a chain, but it does not have that chain feel. It is a sit down restaurant that looks really cool inside and the food is delicious. I ordered a chicken burrito and it was great. I really enjoyed myself. The best part is that it was not too big so it did not overstuff me. It was the perfect portion and I am really happy about that.

All in all I really enjoyed my first day here in London. Sara and I are heading to Brussels tomorrow, but we will be back for more London adventures in about 10 days. Today was a good preview of what else I have coming. I am very excited for my Europe adventure!

My Last American Adventure (for the next month)

So here I am on this flight to London, England and yet all I can think about is how good my lunch was yesterday as well as my day in general. Crazy, I know, but that just tells you how good it was.

My parents recently purchased lake front property on Lake Anna in Virginia. My mom and dad both really wanted me to see the property before they started to build the house (and I guess I also wanted to see it too). Because of this, my mom drove me out to the lake yesterday. The first thing we did once we got there was go over to the property to check it out. Right now it is literally a miniature forest, but I know that once the house is built and the landscaping is done, it is going to be absolutely breathtaking.

This is all well and good, but let us get to the meat of this post, the lunch. I know that is what you are all truly here for. We went to a restaurant that is about a 12-minute drive from the property. It is called Tim’s. It is a super cute restaurant right on the water with an outdoor deck when the weather is nice enough to sit outside. Luckily, yesterday was perfect “sit outside” weather. It was hot, but not too hot, windy, but not too windy, and sunny instead of rainy. Pretty much a dream day.

My mom and I walk into the adorable restaurant to be greeted by a hostess who happily sat us outside. Our waitress was extremely nice and kept our drink refills coming (much needed on a summer day). My mom and I both ordered the crab cake with a side of hushpuppies because how can you say no to crab when you know it is fresh and hushpuppies…do I even need to explain myself there?

After waiting for a top of 15 minutes, our lunch was ready. Everything about it looked delicious. The first bite of the crab cake sent me straight to heaven. It was amazing. They serve it on a bun, but my mom and I decided to take our cakes off the buns and just appreciate them for what they truly are. I put a bit of tartar sauce on the top of my crab cake and it really brought the flavor out. We got ours broiled (trying to be a bit healthier) and it was just as good if not better than any crab cake I have ever had before.

Now let us take a moment to think about those delicious hushpuppies I got to eat. I kid you not, the best hushpuppies I have ever had. Perfect fried round balls of goodness. For whatever reason, I have been in love with hushpuppies ever since I tried them when I was 10 and we took a drip down to North Carolina for two weeks. Being a New Yorker, hushpuppies were hard to come by until I went off to Kentucky for college so I get super excited whenever I get to try some at a new restaurant. I am going off on a rant now. Basically, the food was delicious and the hushpuppies were to die for.

The moral here? Head out to Lake Anna and spend a day on a beautiful lake and eat some amazing fish (or meat if that suits you better) to truly satisfy yourself. A summer day at a lake is not complete without an outdoor meal on the water!

Teaism

So you are in Washington DC for the day checking out the monuments and stopping into the museums. It hits lunch time and you are starving and do not know where to go to eat. If you are into tea and also do not want too heavy of a meal, you need to go to Teaism.

Talk about a delicious meal. I went there for lunch with my mom and my friend the other day and was blown away. It was very light so it did not leave me feeling like I could not walk. This is a good thing since I proceeded to walk a good (at least) three miles around the monuments after lunch. The tea is also delicious and they have an unbelievable assortment. You want a type of tea, I bet you they have it. Hot, iced, it is yours!

I personally got a salmon bento box and was not disappointed. It was so delicious. It was also probably the first healthy thing I had eaten all week so that made me feel pretty good. My mom and my friend both got different things than me and they both enjoyed their meals.

A great thing about Teaism is that there are several locations throughout Washington DC so if you are not checking out the monuments, there are other places that may be closer to where you are. The atmosphere of the restaurant is laid back, which goes well with the concept that tea is very soothing and relaxing to drink.

After you finish eating, be sure to head next door to the Teaism store and fulfill all of your tea needs. They have the largest tea selection I have ever seen plus every tea essential imaginable. They also have a few other things such as candles and artwork that are absolutely lovely.

Next time you are in DC, do not push this suggestion aside. It was an amazing meal and you cannot pass up the opportunity! 

A Taste of Summer

Last night I finished my last final of the semester, which means today was my first real day of summer vacation. To celebrate, two of my friends and I decided to go out to lunch. We picked this restaurant in downtown Lexington called Limestone Blue. Their menu is full of local food choices. This was my second time eating there and I have yet to be disappointed.

We decided to be a little adventurous with our food today and got some avocado fries to start. After trying them, we decided that pretty much anything is good if it is fried. We all love avocados that are not fried, but I mean come on, who does not like fried food? It just makes everything that much better.

For lunch, I decided to go with this absolutely delicious sandwich. It was on whole wheat bread (toasted) with goat cheese, spinach, avocado, and pesto in it. It was extremely rich, but absolutely worth it. I can honestly say that I do not remember the last time I enjoyed a sandwich so much. I even called my mom this afternoon and told her that I need to take her there for lunch when she comes to visit next week because it is just that good. My sandwich came with a side of macaroni and cheese. It was not any ordinary mac and cheese, it had what tasted like a barbecue twist to it. I am not going to lie, it was not my personal favorite, but I can see why so many people would like it.

I found my entire meal to be extremely enjoyable. The delicious food, the laid-back atmosphere of the restaurant, and the great conversation between my two friends and I really brought the whole dining experience together. I would absolutely suggest Limestone Blue to anyone who is in Lexington and is looking for a local favorite with delicious food. I am almost positive that I could have ordered anything off of the menu and enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed my sandwich. I definitely look forward to going back soon.