On Friday, I rolled off a project that had me rotating between Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Dallas. I feel grateful that my job sends me all over the US and exposes me to a lifestyle that I otherwise wouldn't be exposed to - mainly very, very expensive restaurants and beautiful hotels. Oh I'm definitely spoiled here so far.
To commemorate, here's a run-down of memorable eats these past few months, from most to least favorite:
Uchi (Dallas) --> amazing, amazing sushi. I was in umami heaven the whole time, riding the umami wave all night. As you can imagine, portions are small, but you're paying for quality. We ordered everything on the menu, and everything was delicious. I wouldn't come here on a regular basis, but definitely worth the splurge for a special occasion!
RPM Italian (Chicago) --> amazing Italian food and service - our waiter went above and beyond in our eyes when he brought a flight of wines for us to try and choose from. For dessert, I had their pistachio gelato (which is churned to order) and it was the best gelato I ever had (in the states maybe? I don't remember what it was like in Italy).
Aviva by Kameel (Atlanta) --> I really like this place because the ingredients are really fresh and healthier than what you'd get elsewhere. It's in an unassuming cafeteria in downtown and the line is always suuuuuper long. The owner is also very nice - he greets everyone coming in and says goodbye to everyone leaving, and he gives free samples to people waiting in line and keeping them happy :)
DOMODOMO (New York) --> I recommended it because my manager could expense it since she's the one traveling hah. Turns out, prices aren't that horrendous. I was eyeing the omakase but we decided a la carte because there were specific things we wanted to try. My favorites were the uni squid ink pasta (that broth is phenomenal), uni and A5 wagyu handroll (the flavors lingered in my mouth for the longest time...), and negi toro handroll. I'm definitely coming back on my own to try the omakase!
The Shaved Duck (St. Louis) --> who knew that St. Louis is known for it's barbeque? Anyway, their baby back ribs are melt-off-the-bone-good. I also remember having their maple bacon, which was amaze-balls because they were really thick cuts and fatty. That's all I can recommend because I was royally stuffed after 1/2 rack of ribs.
Swan Coach House (Atlanta) --> we were too early for their afternoon tea, which I would have looooved to try, but alas we settled on lunch. Being an all-ladies team, we all ordered some type of salad, which were pretty good, but at the same time... they're salads, 0-calorie lettuce. Anyway, apparently frozen fruit salads are a southern thing - it's basically frozen mixture of fruit, cool whip, cream cheese, and sugar. I thought it was just okay, not really my thing. The venue and demographic was memorable, as well as the drive - beautiful plantation-feel mansions in Buckhead... that's all I can say.
Umi (Atlanta) --> the fish isn't as great as Uchi, but it's on my list of strictest restaurant ever. The host didn't want to add another chair and let us squeeze in another person; he asked our 6' 5" partner to move away from the sushi bar, clearing the view of the sushi chefs for other guests; refused to let our manager leave with our colleague's phone (that she forgot and left on our dinner table) until our manager entered the passcode. These are all reasonable requests in my opinion but heck, we're spending a minimum of $900 for dinner, they can accommodate.
Commerce Club (Atlanta) --> this was a rooftop bar in my office building. The views are fantastic; food and drinks are so-so. It's member-only. We're so fancy.
Gianni's at the Versace Mansion (Miami) --> the mansion was the main attraction because the food wasn't anything to write home about, borderline terrible. I felt like I was in Medellin, Colombia, in one of the drug lord's houses. We took tons of team and individual pictures with the over-the-top decorations and went to the beach across the street after dinner. In all, it was a lovely outing to experience the Miami lifestyle.
Cheers!
To commemorate, here's a run-down of memorable eats these past few months, from most to least favorite:
Uchi (Dallas) --> amazing, amazing sushi. I was in umami heaven the whole time, riding the umami wave all night. As you can imagine, portions are small, but you're paying for quality. We ordered everything on the menu, and everything was delicious. I wouldn't come here on a regular basis, but definitely worth the splurge for a special occasion!
RPM Italian (Chicago) --> amazing Italian food and service - our waiter went above and beyond in our eyes when he brought a flight of wines for us to try and choose from. For dessert, I had their pistachio gelato (which is churned to order) and it was the best gelato I ever had (in the states maybe? I don't remember what it was like in Italy).
Aviva by Kameel (Atlanta) --> I really like this place because the ingredients are really fresh and healthier than what you'd get elsewhere. It's in an unassuming cafeteria in downtown and the line is always suuuuuper long. The owner is also very nice - he greets everyone coming in and says goodbye to everyone leaving, and he gives free samples to people waiting in line and keeping them happy :)
DOMODOMO (New York) --> I recommended it because my manager could expense it since she's the one traveling hah. Turns out, prices aren't that horrendous. I was eyeing the omakase but we decided a la carte because there were specific things we wanted to try. My favorites were the uni squid ink pasta (that broth is phenomenal), uni and A5 wagyu handroll (the flavors lingered in my mouth for the longest time...), and negi toro handroll. I'm definitely coming back on my own to try the omakase!
The Shaved Duck (St. Louis) --> who knew that St. Louis is known for it's barbeque? Anyway, their baby back ribs are melt-off-the-bone-good. I also remember having their maple bacon, which was amaze-balls because they were really thick cuts and fatty. That's all I can recommend because I was royally stuffed after 1/2 rack of ribs.
Swan Coach House (Atlanta) --> we were too early for their afternoon tea, which I would have looooved to try, but alas we settled on lunch. Being an all-ladies team, we all ordered some type of salad, which were pretty good, but at the same time... they're salads, 0-calorie lettuce. Anyway, apparently frozen fruit salads are a southern thing - it's basically frozen mixture of fruit, cool whip, cream cheese, and sugar. I thought it was just okay, not really my thing. The venue and demographic was memorable, as well as the drive - beautiful plantation-feel mansions in Buckhead... that's all I can say.
Umi (Atlanta) --> the fish isn't as great as Uchi, but it's on my list of strictest restaurant ever. The host didn't want to add another chair and let us squeeze in another person; he asked our 6' 5" partner to move away from the sushi bar, clearing the view of the sushi chefs for other guests; refused to let our manager leave with our colleague's phone (that she forgot and left on our dinner table) until our manager entered the passcode. These are all reasonable requests in my opinion but heck, we're spending a minimum of $900 for dinner, they can accommodate.
Commerce Club (Atlanta) --> this was a rooftop bar in my office building. The views are fantastic; food and drinks are so-so. It's member-only. We're so fancy.
Gianni's at the Versace Mansion (Miami) --> the mansion was the main attraction because the food wasn't anything to write home about, borderline terrible. I felt like I was in Medellin, Colombia, in one of the drug lord's houses. We took tons of team and individual pictures with the over-the-top decorations and went to the beach across the street after dinner. In all, it was a lovely outing to experience the Miami lifestyle.
Cheers!