Pacifico Cantina for Brunch

            I have eaten at Pacifico Cantina for brunch after seeing the restaurant on OpenTable. I want to try something new so I pick it and the breakfast fajita platter. Big mistake because that dish has so much food that it stretches my stomach. (Granted I know that my stomach is a muscle but sheesh, that’s a lot of food.). I haven’t been this full in a very looong time! The hostess arrives inquiring about my experience. I tell her that I like the platter but it is so much food. I tell her that my Puerto Rican grandfather worked at the Ford auto plant and could had eaten the breakfast platter because he was doing hard labor all day. ‘This food was good if you were painting houses all day but I worked in an office.’ Later, I tell the waiter to pack it and order the flan for dessert.  I leave the waiter a $6 tip, take my food and limp back to Eastern metro.  I leave the restaurant at 12:30pm and haven’t stopped leaning sideways until 1:30pm. It is so much food it requires a siesta.

            Below are my Pacifico Cantina photos:

Pacifico Cantina brunch menu

Restaurant Table

Breakfast Fajita Platter with chips and salsa

Seeking Decadence and Ambiance at J and G Steakhouse

Last night I decided to eat dinner at J and G Steakhouse was I needed the hipster ambiance and the W hotel didn’t disappoint.  Dressed in my Adrienne Landau mixed rabbit fur coat, Stuart Weitzman croc embossed over-the-knee boots and Ann Taylor Loft skinny jeans, I walked down 15^th street NW. Once I hit the lobby, there was a female guitarist named Heather Renee serenading in the lobby.  This was a first for me; but, maybe, it was because I probably hadn’t gone there on Friday. At least in recent memory.  I arrived to the maître d’s desk promptly at 9pm but he told me that ‘there would be a small wait because we are cleaning up tables right now’. Small my butt because I sat in the lobby watching March Madness and listening to Heather Renee until 9:27pm!  

He then got me off of the couch taking me to my table.  I was so happy that he put me near the Pennsylvania Avenue NW exit with a nice view of the Washington Monument. My server introduced himself to me.  I ordered the cheese truffled fritters because I had four entrée options in my head.  The fritters appetizers delicious! I loved their cheesiness and wolfed them all down.  Finally, I decided on the 10-ounce hanger steak.  Throughout the wait, I checked espn.com scoreboard to see how Michigan was doing. Me being an Ohio native, I had a very low opinion of ScuM; but, since they were in the same Big Ten conference I begrudgingly rooted for their advancement.  Trey Burke didn’t disappoint. He hit the game-tying shot sending the game into overtime and was the leading catalyst for the Wolverines beating the Kansas Jayhawks 87-85. Okay so with my beloved Buckeyes ScuM advanced to the Elite Eight. Immediately after the win, my steak arrived.  J and G Steakhouse had its own steak sauce which was sweeter than A1.  Nevertheless, it complemented the steak.  I ate all of the fries and nearly all of the steak before getting my waiter for dessert. I naively asked for ice cream.  I didn’t know the steakhouse made boozy ice cream laden with alcohol.  I worked on the mint and chocolate because I refused to get ‘drunk’ over some dessert!  

Below are all of my photos:

W Hotel Lobby

W Hotel Lobby Chandeliers 

W Hotel Lobby

W Hotel Lobby

10-ounce hanger steak with french fries

Cheese truffled fritters

Ice Cream with raspberries and blueberries

Brick Restuarant Fresno Review

I wore my teal Ann Taylor dress and gold Stuart Weitzman Itstybitsy sandals to Brick restaurant. The Fresno employees talked it up so why not go there?  The restaurant was a 2-block walk from the hotel. The green door greeted me.  I entered seeing the hostess and a waitress. I asked for a table for one. When the hostess asked if I wanted a booth, I agreed.  She seated me in the booth with the Ray Charles photo above my head. TCM played on three different movie screens above the sports TV screens showing MLB, ESPN, GOL and Golf channels. Though the booths had lights, the tables on the floor only had candles. I ordered the grilled chicken satays. It took so long that I asked the hostess about it.  The long wait was the only downside.  My satays were delicious.  There were four plus a salad with spicy peanut butter sauce.  I was so full that I skipped the entrees ordering the vanilla crème brulee for dessert.  After taking  a couple of photos, John, Brick’s manager, came over to my table.  I told him that I was from Washington, DC out here on business and that I truly loved his restaurant.  Brick had a nice ambiance and when I return to Fresno on future business I will dine here again.

Grilled Chicken Satays

Vanilla Creme Brulee

Ray Charles Photo on the Wall

                                                         Brick Restaurant Menu