March through May Recent Faves

I've been gone forever, and so much has happened over the past few months. I made it through board exams (and passed!), vacationed in Italy, visited family in Birmingham, and I'm one week into third year of med school. I've eaten so many things, so I figured I'd post about some of my favorite eats over the past couple of months (minus Italy foods, that will get its own post).

Fave pie: cherry berry pie recipe from Food & Wine. I must celebrate Pi Day every year. This year it was during board prep, but I made this tasty pie anyways and it was totally worth it. I subsequently snacked on pie while studying for the next few days ^_^

Fave meal out during step studies: Sultan's delight at Cafe Istanbul. I think this dish is lamb on a bed of roast eggplant puree. This is among my favorite restaurants in Cbus and this is my new favorite dish here. 

Fave sammich: pastrami, avocado, greens, gooey egg, and mayo. I ate this several times a week while prepping for boards since it whips up pretty quickly and is so hearty and delicious. 

Fave weird food: seafood doria (rice casserole) from Hiroko's Place in NYC.  After boards, I took an overnight bus to NY and then flew to Italy, so had a day to frolic about the city. This dish is hella weird but I didn't expect it to taste so good. Think cheesy seafood risotto, but Asian o.O

Fave place I've always wanted to try...but didn't quite meet expectations: Dominique Ansel. I think the cronut was way too hyped so I had major expectations and it was only...okay. I liked their DKA more (another popular pastry sold there). 

Fave restaurant in Birmingham: El Barrio. I haven't sampled many restaurants in Bham since my parents moved there, but this is among the best ones that I've tried (and lots of people seem to agree since it was super crowded on the weeknight when we dined here). The dishes are well-executed, delicious, and seemingly healthy, and I loved the tostada salad and grapefruit margarita that I ordered

Fave dish I made recently: seafood pan roast. Khoi made this dish for me several times and I love it, so I made it for my parents for Mother's Day while visiting, and they absolutely adored this dish too :)

Fave recently-discovered brunch in Cbus: Wolf's Ridge Brewing. I brunched here once I was finally back to Cbus after my trip. I've always wanted to eat here and their eggs benedict is among the best I've had, so this place did not disappoint. I would love to come back and try their dinner menu for a special occasion.

Fave thing Khoi has cooked recently: Vietnamese Shaking Beef with Tomato Rice. My gosh it's pretty, and it tastes as good as it looks. I swear I'm dating a chef or something. 

My study stuffs. Cute things made my depressing study situation more...bearable. And now it's finally all over hurrah :D