The Shake Shack

While in DC, my mom, sister, and I stumbled upon the Shake Shack. We were actually searching for a different restaurant, but we were hot and tired, so we settled on this instead. I'm so glad we did! For starters, the Shack has free wifi. Then there's the actual food! I had the cheeseburger and a root beer float. My sister got the hamburger and a vanilla malt shake, and my mom got the Chicago-style hot dog.  The line to order was pretty long, but it moved fast. This is obviously a lunch hot spot, and seating was scarce. We were resigned to eating standing up when we spotted a group getting up to leave and managed to snag their table. Score!

The cheeseburger was so good. I mean SO good. The cheese was all melty and the lettuce was crisp. But the best part was the burger itself! The irregular shape revealed it was hand-crafted. The seasoning was really unique and I loved it! The Shack Sauce was amazing! It seemed to be a mayonnaise-based sauce with special shack seasoning. Overall, one of the best burgers I have ever had (sorry Dad! Yours are good, too!).

Now for the shakes. I sampled my sister's (for pure research purposes only, of course) and it was amazing. Really rich, but amazing. The malted flavor was good, but I would like to try an original shake. My root bear float was awesome. The vanilla ice cream was actually custard, so this was the most filling root beer float I have ever had. It was so smooth. A great float!

There is another Shake Shack in NYC, so if you spot either one, it's a MUST! I give this a 9. That is a high rating for a reason, ladies and gentlemen. This is good stuff.

Apologies, Anniversaries, and Asparagus

First off, I just want to apologize for not writing for so long. It sounds like a lame excuse, but I got really busy with school stuff and it just kind of fell by the wayside. Now that it's summer, I'm going to try to keep up with it more. On a happier note, this week is the one-year anniversary of The Underage Food Critic! The whole thing started because of some great food I had on our vacation in DC last summer. Well, guess where I am right now? If you guessed DC, you would be correct. What better time to start this thing up again?

Last night, my family and I went to dinner at the Ristorante Piccolo. We were greeted at the door by a server in a tuxedo and then led to a candlelit table. Fancy, right? I already had my doubts. I, as you know from reading my earlier posts, am more of a burgers-and-fries kind of girl. My taste in food is generally not that refined. We ordered the meat platter of salami and prosciutto, served with parmesan cheese, peppers, and olives. We also had bread with a side of oil and cheese for dipping. I happily ate the bread without the oil/cheese combo after trying it. I also had the salami and prosciutto, which were both very good. The salami was my favorite. This was no deli salami--it was sliced so thin, you could almost see through it!

Our next course of dishes was an asparagus platter and some carpaccio. The asparagus was in a bed of white wine and butter sauce. Yum! Then I decided to try the carpaccio. Like I said, I'm not a very refined eater, so I did not know that carpaccio is RAW. I took a bite and decided I would stick with the asparagus...then my parents told me what I just ate. No thanks! I know it is a delicacy and everything, but I'll stick with cooked meat.

For dessert, my sister and I split the cheesecake with strawberry sauce. That was great! The sauce tasted like jam and the cheesecake was very light. I would definitely eat that again.

The whole experience was wonderful. The fancy atmosphere and food was fun. I would give it a 7 out of 10 because I personally wasn't a fan of a few things, but that's just because I'm picky. My parents, who have more expanded horizons, thought everything was great. I would definitely advise anyone in the Georgetown area to stop by Ristorante Piccolo!

Birthday Bash

Happy birthday to me! To celebrate this most special of days, I hosted a party. But not just any run of the mill, half-decent cake and pizza hut party. Oh no. I had a FRY PARTY. And by this, I mean everything on the menu was fried. Everything but the cake, that is, which was no half-decent cake. It was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and it was pretty fantastic. But back to the main course...

First, Dad brought out onion rings, which he had soaked in milk, dunked in bread crumbs, and fried. They were of course a hit. He also set out a bowl of sweet potato chips, one of his specialties. The sweet potatoes were sliced, fried, and salted. They may sound odd, but I love them (and I'm not even a sweet potato fan).  After these had been mostly devoured, Dad served up his famous fried pickles and fried banana peppers. Since my friends are wimpy when it comes to the spice level of foods, the pickles were more popular than the peppers. I, however, loved them both, along with a few other brave souls. Then came the main event--HOT WINGS! However, because of my wimpy friends, they were pretty mild. That is, until the last batch, where Dad really let the signature spice go up a few notches. After giving us a little while to digest, he brought us our dessert: fried Oreos and huge pieces of the ice cream cake. The fried Oreos were amazing (and so was the cake). 

It was a pretty amazing night and I am very happy to have a new year ahead of me. I had a great birthday with awesome food and even awesome-er people to share it with. I would give it a 9.5, simply keeping to my philosophy that everything can be improved. And, of course I have one more thing to say: a HUGE thanks to my dad for preparing all the food and a huge thanks to my mom for serving it and cleaning up after us. :) 

Stadium Food

Fall is here! For all us underage food critics, it means back to school. It also means that it's football season! My family religiously attends all the JMU football games. Whenever there are evening games, we eat our dinner at the stadium. 

Now, what pops into your head when you think "stadium food"? Probably hot dogs, mediocre pizza, ad greasy burgers, right? Let me introduce you to the heaven of football food. 

JMU recently underwent a huge renovation to their stadium, which included adding a much wider range of concessions. Now they offer, along with the classic hot dog/hamburger route, selections including BBQ, Fair food, cupcake trucks, fried oreos, Italian sausages, baked potatoes, and more. 

Each section includes a different variety of food. The BBQ section has pulled pork sandwiches and chips, and the fair food can be found behind the student section. It offers corn dogs and funnel cakes. There is also a cupcake truck parked nearby which has a different selection of cupcakes each game. There is another cupcake stand behind the opposite side of the stands, replacing the home made donuts and Ben & Jerry's (which I was a little sad about). The top level of the concourse is home to the fried oreos, which are really good, although not quite as good as Jack Brown's. The only downside is that the oreos replaced my favorite food, the hot wings. Luckily, they still set out the hot wing sauce, so I can dunk my chicken tenders in that for the same effect. In "Fan Favorites" you can find the Big Dog, a foot-long hot dog smothered in chili, bacon, and nacho cheese. It is amazing and I ate it all :) . 

I have never ever seen anything that compares to this. I would give it a 10 out of 10, but losing donuts, Ben and Jerry's, and especially my wings forces me down to an 8.5. Still, this is stadium food like I have never seen before. GO DUKES! 

Baconated #1

Everything is better with bacon. It's a fact. Have you ever eaten something and gone "Oh, I wish that didn't have so much bacon flavor." NO. You have not. Bacon is good in anything. I can't think of an instance where bacon would be bad. I am even the proud owner of bacon lip balm! Therefore, every food is best when BACONATED.

OK, hold on. What is "baconated"? This is when a food perfectly ordinary gets a bacon makeover. Take, for example, french fries. You have perfectly nice steak fries. Nice and thick, but just a little crispy. They are fine. You eat them with some ketchup (or, if you are like one of my friends, some mayonnaise). But what would make them better? Bacon, of course. Bacon and cheese (a delectable combo).

Where to find this creation? I stumbled upon it in Outback Steakhouse. They are called "Aussie fries" and they are delicious. They are also HUGE. The full serving was gigantic. More bacon to go around, right? Now, not only was this simply a bacon dish. There were other factors that played into the tastes as well, like the dipping sauce. It was described as a spicy ranch sauce, and I would have to agree on that description. It wasn't overwhelmingly spicy by any means, just a little bit of mild heat to keep your taste buds interested. I give these fries an 8. There was a fair amount of fries underneath the layer of topping that were completely plain. They didn't get the baconated power! That would be my only complaint.

Over time, as I eat more baconated food, I will let you know. The posts will always be labeled accordingly, so you know when you are in for a bacon-y treat! In the meantime, I encourage you to do some homework: eat some bacon!

Disney Dinner

I just had one of the most fun weeks of my life ever. Seriously. I just arrived home from my week in Disney World! The first thing we did when we arrived in the most magical place on earth was eat. Really. But this was no ordinary meal, no on-the-fly burger and fries (although I do like my burgers...). Oh no. This was a Character Dinner!

So, you ask, what is a "Character Dinner"? Our party arrived via monorail at the Contemporary Resort which houses Chef Mickey's, the restaurant we would dine at that night. After having our picture taken at the entrance by the super-happy Disney staff, we were seated at a table with a delectable view of the buffet. Before we could fill our plates, however, Minnie Mouse was at our table!

We took tons of pictures and Minnie signed autographs for everyone. Minnie even complimented (through pantomime, since no characters in the mascot-type costumes speak) my disney-themed fingernails! As soon as Minnie was gone, however, Donald Duck was at our table to autograph and photograph. After his departure, we gobbled some food down.

Honestly, I don't even remember what I ate for the main course. My memories include characters only. And dessert. My brain always makes room for dessert. I ate a "Minnie" cheesecake (it was bite-sized), a  Mickey "Moose" chocolate mousse bite (it had little ears and everything, all made of chocolate), and a bowl of ice cream topped with caramel, chocolate fudge, and sprinkles. I'm not usually a sprinkles type of girl, but the night was just to magical I found myself reaching for them anyway.

By the end of the night, we got to see, take photos with, get autographs of, and meet-and-greet with Pluto, Goofy, and even Mickey Mouse himself! It was an awesome, amazing night. I give it a 10. Yes, that's right, a 10. I know. But what gets more perfect?

Brand New Burger!

Chef Dad has concocted a brand-spankin-new burger: the Potato Chip Buffalo Sauce Onion Awesomeness Burger. OK, he didn't call it that, but I am calling it that. :) You are probably wondering what this burger entails (as if the extensive title didn't tell you enough...), so here goes: 1 bun, toasted lightly on the grill. One meat patty, spiced and doused in Buffalo hot sauce (the kind on wings). Several onion strands (also doused in hot sauce). Several potato chips (he took my advice and made them crispier this time). All of the above is laden in cheese of assorted kinds. Add condiments of your choice; in my case, extra hot sauce and a little tiny bit of Ranch dressing. And there you have it: the Potato Chip Buffalo Sauce Onion Awesomeness Burger.

Does it beat the original potato chip burger? Definitely. Does it beat the Mac n' Cheese burger? Hmmm. That is a very close call. I say it is a tie. And now....I hereby give the Potato Chip Buffalo Sauce Onion Awesomeness Burger a big fat 9. I believe it can be slightly improved over time with practice (what can't?? OK, bacon can't. But other than that). Therefore it does not get a 10. But it is very, very, very good. And I am very very very glad to have a dad that makes Potato Chip Buffalo Sauce Onion Awesomeness Burgers. After all, how many kids can say that?? :)