FamousAshleyGrant

Thanks to being a part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers and the awesomeness of the PR team at Del Frisco’s Grille I had the immense pleasure of getting to dine for lunch at their brand spankin new Tampa location on Wednesday, October 7, 2015! Although they did provide me with loads of free foods to sample and compensated me with a $25 gift card this did not impact my review. All opinions are my own. For my full disclosure policy, please click HERE. Now, onto the review!

Although this was in fact my first time eating lunch at Del Frisco’s Grille Tampa I did visit in August to grab a drink. What struck me then as it did again during lunch was the various lighting structures. I’m a sucker for funky lighting fixtures ya’ll. I want the red ribbon looking one in my dream bedroom, the ice cube like chandelier in my dream foyer and the other two fixtures somewhere in my future dream home! I loved all of them. Still, I know you aren’t here to talk about the lights. You want the scoop on the food. Boy oh boy did we EVER try the food. First, they brought us a bunch of appetizers:

In the top left corner is the Heirloom Tomato & Burrata. I personally didn’t wet my pants over this one, although I must say the tomatoes in it were pretty good. The Balsamic Vinegar and Basil Oil were yummy, but the texture of the cheese on top just didn’t appeal to me.  The top right corner is the Kale & Brussels Sprouts salad featuring Roasted Almonds, Dried Cranberries, Orange Segments, Shaved Manchego and Creole Mustard Vinaigrette- in full disclosure I’m not a big Kale or Brussels Sprouts fan, but I LOVED this salad. Something about the combo of the ingredients left me not wanting it to end. Bottom left corner is their guacamole. This I did enjoy, but the bowl just didn’t make it down to my end of the table quite enough for me to give a thorough enough of a review of it. The bite of it I did have I liked very much. Then, there is the bottom right corner and my favorite appetizer of the meal – the Lollipop Chicken Wings. These buffalo style wings are “mess free” because they are Frenched (i.e. bone sticking out so you have something to hang on to as you dip it in sauce). These yummy nuggets were served with an equally yummy Avocado Ranch Dressing.

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We also tried these:

Ah, the Asian Street Tacos featuring BBQ Pork, Pickled Daikon & Carrot, Cucumber, Cilantro and Chiles. I was crazy excited about them, but only somewhat liked them once they were in my mouth. I was so sad that they didn’t excite me as much as I had hoped they would. Oh well… onto the main course…or should I say courses…

BOOM:

Top left corner is the Chicken Avocado Wrap featuring Smoked Bacon, Crisp Lettuce, Tomato and Chipotle Aioli. This was good, but not my favorite of the four.  To right corner is the Lamb Burger with Roasted Tomato, Arugula and Tzatziki Sauce – Alas, I got too full to even try this bad boy, but some of my dining mates were drooling buckets over it. My favorite was the Grille Prime Cheeseburger pictured in the bottom left corner with its Double Patties, Lettuce, Red Onion, Tomato, Pickle and Sloppy Sauce – I know… all these choices and my favorite was the most simple of them all. Finally, was the BBQ Pork Bahn Mi featuring Pickled Daikon & Carrot, Cucumber, Cilantro, Chiles and like its similar little brother of an appetizer I wasn’t too fond of this.

Then, because our belts needed to be loosened just one more notch, out came dessert. They brought us both a lemon cake and butterscotch pudding topped with salted caramel. I felt mine had too much salt on top, but it was nonetheless quite delicious and I LOVED the presentation in the cute little mason jar. Look at it:

Over all the entire meal left me fully loaded. The staff was friendly and the location was awesome! I would definitely recommend Del Frisco’s Grille Tampa for lunch! Can’t wait to come back for dinner some time soon too.

 

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Thanks to being a part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers and the awesomeness of the management at the all new Little Greek on Gulf to Bay Blvd. in Clearwater I had the pleasure of stuffing my face with dinner on Wednesday, October 14, 2015! Although they did provide me with loads of free foods to sample and compensated me with a $25 gift card this did not impact my review. All opinions are my own. For my full disclosure policy, please click HERE. Now, onto the review!

First, we were presented with the yummy array of appetizers pictured above including spinach pie, falafel and pita bread with hummus and tzatziki sauce. My absolute favorite app was the spinach pie. I swear I think I could have eaten an entire plate of that deliciousness without even breaking a sweat. It was soooooo good!

Next up, we were offered a small sampling of the homemade chicken-lemon rice soup. A few people at our table loved it and one even ordered it as her meal, but personally since I’m not a fan of lemon I didn’t enjoy it. This is nothing against the restaurant, I just don’t care for lemon in any foods for some reason. Which is weird since I love it in mixed drinks and tea, but I digress. While folks were continuing to sip on the soup I slipped another bite of that yummy spinach pie.

Then, it was time for the main course. Each of us were given the chance to order a full meal from the list of dinners, salads, light meals or Pitas & Wraps. I went with the Steak Skewers dinner pictured above which features three char-grilled skewers over rice with a HUGE Greek Salad and pita bread. This meal was so big that I ate the salad while I was there and a few bites of the rice and steak and then had a full meal of steak and rice with pita on the side for lunch the next day. It all tasted so good and I have to say their Greek dressing is by far the best Greek dressing I’ve ever had.

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My husband who got to come with me had the ginormous platter you see pictured above. This is the gyro pita with fresh-cut fries. He told me the tzatziki sauce on it was by far the best he’d had on a gyro and that the meat was super moist and tender. After all the appetizers we had he only got a few bites in before he forfeited leaving him with a dang tasty lunch for the next day too. Oh, and by the way- we learned the best way to reheat fries is to throw them in the oven instead of the microwave. Read how you can do it here. By using the oven instead of the microwave they tasted just as delicious the next day as they did when freshly cooked.

We were given some desserts to try too, but not only was I too full to try any of them, I did a complete blogger fail and forgot to snap a picture of them. I’m sure though, considering how awesome all the foods we did consume were, that the desserts were wonderful. I would definitely recommend the Little Greek for lunch or for dinner. They have locations all over the Tampa Bay area too so you have no excuse to not try them out! In fact, I just recently learned that there is a Little Greek just 15 minutes from my door so next time I’m craving a Gyro or some spinach pie, I know where I’ll be going!

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On September 26, 2015 I got to stay at the Best Western Premier Saratoga Resort Villas for one night. The resort did accommodate me with a complimentary stay, but this did not impact my review and all opinions are my own. For my full disclosure policy please click HERE.

I knew I was going to be visiting the Disney area for the weekend of September 26, 2015 because I wanted to do a bar hop similar to one that some of my pals on facebook have done annually for the past few years. They call it the “Happiest Hour on Earth” and during this bar hop they visit several of the Disney hotels and have an adult beverage at the bars of each location. Knowing that by recreating this for myself and my husband it would mean lots of drinking and being the responsible (sometimes) adult that I am we decided it would be best to stay the night in the Disney area to avoid potential DUIs, accidents or other drinking and then driving issues. Enter Best Western Premier Saratoga Resort Villas!

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Located a short drive from Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Best Western Premier Saratoga Resort Villas offers a complimentary shuttle to the Disney area. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to get on said shuttle which meant that my husband officially became the designated driver for the day and night, but we were grateful for the night’s stay anyway because by the end of our adventure we were so tired that the thought of driving all the way back to Tampa exhausted us even more.

Anywho, onto the pros and cons of the resort:

PROS:

• we got a kick ASH two bedroom townhouse to stay in for the night
• Gated community so you know you’re going to be safe for the night!
• The AC worked great and there were fans in the rooms for awesome circulation
• super comfy beds with amazing mattresses and pillows like clouds!!! I forgot where I was and slept so well! There are also beds available with a twin mattress for any kids.
• The toiletries were Neutrogena products and they smelled good and left us squeaky clean
• The property felt more like homes than a hotel
• Great kitchen complete with stovetop, microwave, dishwasher, full fridge, pots & pans, plateware, glassware, utensils and more that would have made for an awesome long stay away.
• Hairdryer in the bathroom
• Iron and ironing board
• High-speed Internet access included with resort fee
• Non-smoking property- LOVE this because I hate me some cancer sticks ya’ll!
• Friendly staff
• restaurant located on site
• Pool on site
• Coin laundromat on site
• Gym on site
• Check out full list of hotel and room amenities here.

 

CONS

• small bathrooms – we had to close one of the bathroom doors just to comfortably sit on the toilet
• small shower and the water pressure was low, but at least the water was hot! (more than I can say for some of my showers at home)
• the hot tub was under construction, but given that the weekend we visited it was kind of rainy this didn’t affect our stay
• Breakfast is not included with your stay
• We did have a strange thumping that wouldn’t stop in our first room, but the management quickly moved us to another room after discovering we had a problem with the first one and all was well after that!

Overall, our stay at the Best Western Premier Saratoga Resort Villas was exceptionally pleasant. Other than our need to move to another room, I honestly can’t complain about the property. It was nice that it didn’t feel like a hotel and that the staff was so friendly. I would definitely recommend this property if you’re coming to Disney or just to Kissimmee for the weekend or longer. Discounts are available for AAA members, AARP members and government personnel. *Frugal tip- Save money by bringing another couple with you and splitting the nightly fee! There are also three bedroom villas available for larger parties.

The Best Western Premier Saratoga Resort Villas is located at:
4787 W Irlo Bronson Hwy
Kissimmee, Florida
Phone number: (407) 997-3300

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I was sooooooooooo beyond excited when I was chosen by the Tampa Bay Bloggers networking group I very recently joined to be one of the bloggers representing them at the Sushi Battle Tampa. I was a last minute addition so I tried to make sure I did right by them by live tweeting and instagramming my fingers off while at the event. I’m crazy grateful to them and to Big City Events for the tickets and letting me and my husband enjoy an over all wonderful night out. Here’s a little more on my recap of the event:

Upon arriving to the Sushi Battle I was immediately taken aback by the fact that the V.I.P. line was wrapped around The Ritz, the venue hosting the event. I along with several people in line instantly feared that too many VIP tickets had been sold and/or given away because the line was so long. Sure enough, when we all made it inside it was already feeling a little crowded, but of course it was nothing compared to the crowd when the general admission doors opened. At that point you couldn’t step two feet without bumping into someone. Then again, isn’t that always the case with Tampa events? They always feel oversold. Or is it just me? But I digress…back to the fun stuff!!!!

The first thing I did when I made it in was I tried the Takarasa Brands of sake. Thank goodness we stopped here first because when we came back to the room an hour or so later they had already run out of all their samples and left. My favorite sake that they let us sample was their Mio Sparkling Sake. So yummy! I didn’t care for the Nigori with Lychee though because it just tasted too much like flowers to me. The Rei Sake was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as the Mio Sparkling Sake!

Next, I sampled the Ozeki Sake. I had the original and their sparkling and liked them both, but again my preference was the sparkling.

Realizing it was not a good idea to get too much sake in me before eating my husband and I made our way into the sushi battle arena.

Kona Grill- Spicy Citrus Cucumber – White Fish, Crawfish, cilantro, avocado, shrimp, lemon, Hawaiian salt and spicy Ponzu. This was pretty good. I’m not sure I could eat very much of it, but for an appetizer it would be just right.

After the Kona Grill booth we hit the Jackson’s booth which was heavily populated with people. I tried three sushi rolls there and I REALLY liked two of them. The Sexy Ben roll and the Ninja. You guys, seriously! These rolls were soo good!!! I ended up voting for them and so did my husband because after trying all the rolls that were available we settled on them as having the best in the battle. I have to say though I’m a little bummed that I couldn’t find those rolls on their online menu after I got home. What gives Jackson’s?!?

 

My honorable mention was definitely Urban Sushi Burrito’s roll. I regret not getting a picture of this thing, but I did snag this one from their facebook page:

This thing was damn tasty!!!! The roll was a tempura roll featuring tempura shrimp, cream cheese, advocado, and asparagus on the inside. They topped it off with real snow crab mix, scallions, sesame seeds, cilantros and finished it off with spicy mayo and eel sauce. So good!

There were sooooo many rolls to try and I actually tried at least one roll from every vendor to my knowledge. Some restaurants brought their A game (looking at you Carmel Kitchen, Pisces and Ciccio’s). The others either had rolls that were just okay or that tried to go too over the top. Yes, you get points for originality, yet some of them really missed the mark for me in terms of compatible flavors. My husband said that several times to me during the night that he just felt like they were trying so hard to be unique they forgot to deliver the favorites. Anywho, in no particular order, here were all the restaurants that participated in the Sushi Battle:

1. Renaissance Vinoy’s Marcharnd’s Grill
2. RAIN
3. Carmel Kitchen
4. PISCES
5. Kona Grill
6. Ciccio Water
7. Kazoku Sushi
8. Tsunami
9. Hula Bay
10. Urban Sushi Burrito
11. Thai Basil
12. Yo! Sushi
13. Jackson’s Bistro

Look at this sea of people:

After all was said and done I left the event so full it hurt a little. I’m amazed I’m even awake writing this post! I definitely satisfied my sushi craving for at least a good week or two. ha!

Check out my instagram page to see more pictures and while you’re there- FOLLOW ME 🙂 I follow back 😉

Huge thanks again to Tampa Bay Bloggers, Big City Events, The Ritz Ybor, all of the Sake vendors and of course all the sushi vendors. Such a fun night that I won’t forget any time soon. If I get to go back next year I definitely hope I will be V.I.P. again because if tonight taught me anything it’s that I ain’t no general admission girl! LO

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#SushiBattleTampa #TBBheartsSushi #TampaBayBloggers

On Monday, September 21, 2015 I got to try a bunch of yummy fall treats that Dunkin’ Donuts just rolled out for the 2015 fall season.  I tried lattes and sammiches and munchkins, oh my! I can’t complain about a single thing I consumed to be honest. Although, I must say the doughnuts with filling were so rich I could only take a couple of bites. Still, everything was really delicious and I’ll definitely be heading back to Dunkin’ soon to try a few of my favorites from the day once again. My favorites include the all new tailgater sandwich, the Frozen Pumpkin Coolatta® and the glazed pumpkin doughnut. (scroll to the end for the freebie I mentioned in the title of this post)

The tailgater sandwich features juicy Smoked Sausage, Peppers and Onions, and Ancho Chipotle Sauce. It is so good I could scarf done a couple of these bad boys. YUM!

Here are some of the other yummy treats I got to sample at the tasting:

Pumpkin Coffee and Lattes: Dunkin’ Donuts celebrates fall by bringing back the taste of pumpkin to its world-famous coffee and lattes, served hot or iced.

Pumpkin Donut and MUNCHKINS® Donut Hole Treats: Guests can savor the season with the glazed pumpkin cake donut, which can also be enjoyed as MUNCHKINS® donut hole treats.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Square: Dunkin’ Donuts’ new Pumpkin Cheesecake Square is made up of a square donut filled with smooth and creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling and topped with orange icing, crumbled graham crackers and a white icing drizzle.

REESE’S Peanut Butter Square: A creative twist on the classic candy, Dunkin’ Donuts’ new REESE’S Peanut Butter Square is filled with rich and creamy REESE’S peanut butter buttercreme, topped with chocolate icing and finished with an orange icing drizzle to match the colors of the traditional REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups. The Pumpkin Cheesecake Square is filled with smooth and creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling and topped with orange icing, crumbled graham cracker topping and finished with a white icing drizzle.

For National Coffee Day on Tuesday, September 29, Dunkin’ Donuts is celebrating the 1-year anniversary of Dark Roast with a special free offer: guests can walk into any participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant across the country and receive a free medium cup of Dunkin’ Donuts hot or iced Dark Roast Coffee, with a limit of one per guest.

Today I got to have brunch at The Birchwood! I’ve been wanting to check out the hotel, but had not yet had the chance to. Luckily, today I had an event to go to at the hotel and got to finally try some of their food. The options were limited because it was an event, but I settled on the Eggs Benedict. I’m not much for champagne, but since the mimosas were free flowing I figured, hey! When in Rome, right? Oh, and I got to sample the monkey bread. I confess it was much sweeter than the monkey bread I make at home. Still, it was tasty enough to enjoy a couple of bites. (p.s. normally the bread is served with the nuts on it, but a member of the group I was with had a nut allergy so the restaurant served them in a bowl on the side. And, the big bowl of white cream you see in the image below is yogurt. I didn’t try that because I wasn’t in the mood, but several people said it was pretty good with the fruit platter.)

The Eggs Benedict was good, but not great. I must say the bread in the dish was quite rough. It was almost stale and then toasted making it extra rock like. Or so it seemed. Over all though the meal was pretty decent. I would like to try something else the next time I visit and I hope that when I do visit again I get to stay long enough to walk around and see the various parts of the hotel. Today it was pretty rainy and I rode with people so sadly, walking around wasn’t possible.  Next time!

Here are a few other images from the brunch event…drooling yet?

 

I’ve been fooling around on the internet for quite some time now and slowly but surely I’m learning a thing or two. Slowly, but surely, I’m still working to move all of my projects here so that people can see what I’m up to and follow along on my “get internet famous” experiment. My goal? To be a financially independent writer and photographer on my terms. How will this goal play out? Time will tell…stay tuned as I add all the awesomeness I possibly can fit on this website!