lowery's

Last week I went to Virginia for the first time! Matt's brother was getting married outside of Charlottesville, so we stayed there a few nights and then headed to their family's lake house near Montross. On the way we stopped at Lowery's Restaurant, which is apparently a family favorite and I can see why! We started with 1/2 dozen fresh oysters (only $5!!), then I ordered the lobster tail special with tomato slices and corn on the cob. It was amazing. I finished it all and could not stop smiling the whole time.

Here is a before and after shot of the meal. You're so jealous right now.

phony pho

Last weekend Matt and I on an adventure to Vietnam. Not really at all, but we did go up to Argyle Street, which is sort of the same thing? It's like if the country had a tiny baby and then the baby lived in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. The entire time I was there I pretended I was vacationing in Hanoi. And it was pretty great. We ate pho, shopped in the grocery stores for cheap noodles and exotic tea, and then bought a LOT of baked goods. Do we know how to travel or what?

We took the red line up to Pho 888, sat down and each ordered a bowl of vegetarian pho.  I had never had this mystical meal before, but I had heard Matt sing its praises for months. And now I see why. It was so great. First of all it came in a huge bowl along with a plate of lime wedges, anise leaves, bean sprouts (maybe?), and chili peppers. There was tofu and broccoli and noodles all floating in a yummy broth. Delicious.

On Monday I was already craving it again so I decided to try my hand at it using only things I already had. Basically it was a lazy version, but it turned out pretty yummy. I used some of the soba noodles I'd gotten, and then put them in chicken broth with some basil, red pepper flakes and some Thai chili sauce. It was no pho, but it was alright.