Nomad Roman Pizza- Margherita Pizza

Nomad Roman Pizza, located at 1305 Locust St., offers personal size pizzas for $5 to $7 during Happy Hour. Of course, my friends and I seized the opportunity to get cheap pizzas. When we arrived around 5:30PM, the restaurant started to fill up and by the time we left it was packed. 

Nomad Roman Happy Hour Menu 

Margherita Pizza

I got the Margherita Pizza. We didn't wait too long for the pizza to come out. The pizza was a good personal size portion. The crust was thin. The texture of the crust was a combination of crispy and chewy. The marina sauce tasted very fresh. The cheese was gooey. Overall, I thought the pizza was good, but I felt like I had better Margherita pizza elsewhere. Even though it was not the best Margherita pizza I ever had, I don't oppose coming here again because it was still good and I love cheap eats. 

Eating Italian at Little Nonna's

Little Nonna's is a cute little restaurant located at 1234 Locust Street. I came here for dinner. Apparently, there were outdoor and indoor seatings; we chose indoor seating so we didn't get to see the decor of outside. Inside was dim and had a romantic feel to it. I would definitely recommend this place for dates. 

Pan Seared Gnocchi

I got the Pan Seared Gnocchi with roasted squash, local wild mushroom, shaved sunchokes, tuscan kale, marsala, and parmesan. Sorry for the picture quality the restaurant was quite dark. The dish was delicious. You can visually see the gnocchi were pan seared. Pan searing the gnocchi added to texture and flavor of the the dough dumplings. The squash, mushroom, and kale were chopped into small pieces and very tender. I wish there were more of the vegetables. The entree was also very garlicky which I liked. I love garlic. Overall, I thought the plate suited my palate. The flavors were well-balanced with a slightly more garlicky seasoning. 

Apple Crostata

For dessert, we got the Apple Crostata with caramel, vanilla ice cream, and pecorino crust. It was basically an open face apple pie. The Apple Crostata was good. It wasn't too sweet and the apples were tender; however, it wasn't the best apple pie or version of apple pie I ever had. I didn't really like the crust because there were little salt crystals on it. I am not sure if the salt was there to bring out the sweetness of the dessert, but I was not fond of it. Overall, this dessert was just okay for me. 

I did have a good experience at this restaurant. I enjoyed the entree very much and would like to come back. I do wish they had more vegetarian options, though.

Fancying it up at Garces Trading Company

My friend and I decided to go to Garces Trading Company (1111 Locust Street) for dinner one evening. That particular week it was the 10 year anniversary of one of its sister restaurant, Amada, so  the restaurant was offering a special tasting menu for the week. Of course, we took up the opportunity and got the tasting menu. I think the tasting menu was based on the chef preferences because I saw tables around us who ordered the tasting menu but got some different things (eg. the table next to us go macaroon for dessert and we got creme brulee). Below are the foods we got.

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper

For appetizers, they served us Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper. The mozzarella was fresh and tender. The olive oil as well as the salt and pepper that accompanied the mozzarella bought out its fresh taste. The red peppers were sweet and tendered but they had some kind of salty pickled fish on top of them which I did not like ( I think the fish might have been anchovy or sardine, but I really don't know). Out of the two, the mozzarella tasted the best. 

Fig with Cheese, Bacon Bits, and Pistachio

Next, one of waitresses bought this very small glass cup of what I recall her saying was some kind of cheese with fig, bacon bits, and crush pistachios. Since it had bacon bits, I did not taste it. Per my friend, it tasted weird. The fig was good but it didn't really go well with the other components in the cup.

Pizza

On the tasting menu, it said margarita pizza would be served, but like I mentioned earlier I don't think the chef went by the menu. Margarita pizza as I know comes with red sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves. Well, this pizza came with some other cheese, pepperonis, and some kind of green herb. I had to pick out the pepperonis.  The crust was thick and somewhat chewy and the cheese in some parts was crispy. I usually like my crust crispy and thick and my cheese gooey so this pizza was just okay for me.

Steak and Frites

Steak and frites were next. Of course, I didn't eat the steak but my friend ordered medium done and it appears to cook that way. Per my friend, the steak was good. The fries were made of duck fat. I ate some of it and I thought it was okay. I think some of fries got burned. And just thinking the fries were made of duck fat didn't really make it appetizing for me. Usually, when I eat fries, I get additive to them but just the thought of duck fat turned me off.

Mini Creme Brulee

The last picture I have are the mini Creme Brulee for dessert. They were delicious. They were creamy and not too salt. It was topped with what I think are diced pouched pears and dried cranberries. The topping complemented and added another layer texture to the creamy creme brulee. I wish that gave us a large bowl of the creme brulee instead  mini glass cup of just a mini glass cup with about 2-3 bites in it.

Food that we also had not featured in this post were the usual bread the restaurant starts customers with during dinner time, the sangrias drinks part of the tasting menu, and the green salad with light vinaigrette. Unfortunately, it just slipped my mind to take pictures of the sangria. And I forgot to take pictures of the bread and salad because my hunger took over. My favorites of the night was the fresh mozzarella, salad, and creme brulee. Overall, I thought the food was good, but not worth price I paid.

Brunch Again- Little Spoon Cafe

We wanted brunch and Little Spoon Cafe (1500 South Street) was nearby. So guess where we went to eat? I got the Avocado Toast and I also shared the Carrot Cake Waffle with my friend. I enjoyed both of them very much. 

Avocado Toast

The Avocado Toast was very simple. The mixed green salad had a very light dressing that you can barely taste which I am okay with. The avocado on the toast was creamy and might have only been lightly seasoned with salt. The duck egg was cooked sunny sided up. I never had duck egg before but it just tasted like a regular chicken egg to me.The bread was somewhat well toasted. I thought the components of the avocado toast were very simple but went really well together. I might try to make this one day but maybe with a regular egg. 

Carrot Cake Waffles

The Carrot Cake Waffle was delicious. It came with ginger syrup, topped with whipped cream cheese, and candied carrot pieces. I thought the cream cheese and ginger syrup completed the carrot cake waffles well. The waffle were not crispy as I hoped it would be but nonetheless it was still good. It was not too sweet or overbearing with spices that are usually in carrot cake (eg. cinnamon, clove, etc.) and it had raisins in it which was a plus. I am glad we tried this waffle. It makes me wonder how good the other waffles are at this place are.