Many people have a misconception of what I do. Some seem to think that in my travels I have become a “food snob”. I can assure you that my views of food have not changed. I enjoy how restaurants and sports bars take different directions to make and differentiate themselves for what is an everyday meal you can find everywhere. I have a list of things to try in my travels. When it comes to food, really am out looking for a good meal and I don’t think there is anything higher on this list than having a great burger. The “burger”, in its many splendors, comes in many fashions. There is you typical Beef patty, but there is also bison, salmon, turkey…etc. All of them are delicious and worthy of trying.

Today I will be reviewing BrewBurger’s turkey burger. This is a personal favorite of mine! The turkey, which is very lean, is cooked on a flat grill and you can taste the sear without the turkey patty being over cooked or dry. This perfectly cooked, fresh ground turkey burger sits upon a choice of breads including: kaiser bun, onion kaiser bun, sweet egg bun, or american style bun. I opted for the sweet egg bun. This is a nice bun that from its name is pretty self explanatory. A nice weighted bun with a sweet taste. Also served with the sandwich is fresh lettuce, fresh avocado slices, tomato and an in house cranberry aioli. The cranberry aioli is an unique signature condiment made with cranberries and mayo. It is a delicious addition to the turkey, avocado, sweet bread combo. I also like dipping my fresh cut fries in the cranberry aioli.

The fries are fresh cut and fried in aged grease. I like an aged grease because it adds complexity. It adds a compexioty that you just can’t get when a restaurant changes its grease bins too often. I have never had a fry here I didn’t like. I have had plates with not as many fries as I would like, but as you know if you have read any posts with fresh cut fries, I am a self proclaimed “fresh fry fiend!” Not only are the burgers top notch, BrewBurgers is also a great place to go to watch a game. There are several big screen televisions to watch whatever team of yours may be playing. Though being in Nebraska and seeing this full mural, you might not want to cheer on any team playing against the cornhuskers too loudly.

If you are in the Omaha area, BrewBurgers has 2 locations. I have 6 restaurants locked into my GPS and the L and 108th ST location is 1 of the 6. For BIG trucks, there is easy parking with the 2 adjacent hotels. I have not been to the 7515 Pacific ST location, so I can not advise anyone on the parking situation. From time to time I will be adding to this review to showcase some of the other burgers. FifeFindsFood has not only given me more than a new reason to re-order every burger on the menu. FifeFindsFood has given me a “guilt-free” reason to re-order every burger on the menu. I have eaten here at BrewBurger dozens of times and will continue to make this place a mainstay when I am in the Omaha area. For the great food and service I am calling BrewBurger a DEFINITE DO AND DO AGAIN.

My latest adventures have brought me back to the town I spent my misguided youth and into my late 20′s. I am back in Fredericksburg, Virginia for the weekend of my birthday. For this review I have came back to a restaurant that I regularly frequent when I am on holiday. That restaurant is The Mad Crab. There are 2 locations in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Rt 17 in Stafford and Rt 1 in Massaponix. I am a frequenter of the Massaponix location. For those of you truck drivers looking for this location, you are in luck because there is a fueling station just off I95 at exit 126. If you are ever in the area and eat at The Mad Crab, be sure to ask for my old friend Jen. She will surely take care you and give you a great dining experience.

The Mad crab is a great place to bring friends. On this weekend before my birthday I am met by some of my old friends. Along with good friends and good food comes good times. To kick off our dining, I ordered a beer and the crab dip. The Mad Crab has a full bar with most of your favorite beers. They do have $1 Natural Light glasses on special. The crab dip is a great take on a cheese dip with lump crab cake served with crisps and toasted baguettes. I found this crab dip to be light, creamy and chalk full of lump crab meat. a great thing about this dish is the choice of crisps and baguettes. So you can opt for which you want depending on how light or heavy you want your appetizer to be.

an entree for my friends and I, I chose the pan seared scallops and 2 sides of hush puppies. I am a BIG fan of The Mad Crab’s pan seared bay scallops. I find them to be of a nice size, pan seared perfectly and seasoned just right. If you find scallops a little to much of a seafood for your taste, it is served with a lemon. I personally find them delectable and in NO NEED of lemon. If you are more of a fried scallops person, they also have a fried scallop plate served with 2 sides. I also ordered the ready to peel shrimp. The shrimp, as you can see in the picture, is not only fresh and of great size but broiled and seasoned to perfection. This seasoned shrimp is true to its name. Delivered to table, hot and ready to peel. I would recommend either of these as a meal in themselves or a tag-along to go with any meal.

I know what you are thinking. “With all this seafood, what could possibly make for delicious dinner”? I am glad you asked. For my entree this evening I am opting for the shrimp and crab fettucini alfredo. I am a big fan of fresh seafood, creamy cheese and pasta. When you can have all 3 in 1 dish…I say GO FOR IT! I love this seafood fettucini alfredo. You can have this with any of 3 seafoods: crab meat, shrimp and/or scallops. This dish pictured is served with fresh lump crabmeat and shrimp. The fettucini pasta is cooked al dente, just the way it should be. The Mad Crab definitely comes thru with the alfredo. It really ties the dish together nicely. For dessert I opted for the key lime pie. For those whom whom have never tried key lime pie, in most places it is a gram-cracker crust and key lime pie tastes a lot like a tart cheesecake. Served with a whip cream along the edge, this key lime is exactly how I like it. It will make for a great ending to a phenomenal meal.

I would like to give a special thanks to my long time friend Jen (whom was our server) and all of the folks at The Mad Crab I also would like to thank some old friends of mine for coming thru and making this birthday meal special. A shout out to Nick, Matt and Andy. It was great to seeing you all. I am calling The Mad Crab a DEFINITE DO and DO AGAIN. For those in big trucks, do not despair, there is plenty of truck parking just down the street and plenty of BIG BOX stores nearby to replenish your truck with goodies. I have turned my father, my mother & stepfather and several friends on to The Mad Crab. Everyone has been pleased with the food and service. So by all means – bring your family, bring your friends and bring your co-workers. This place is not to be missed.

My travels today bring me to the town of Sterling Heights, a suburb in the northern part of Detroit. Coming into town I was in the mood for Mediterranean but unsure where to go. Looking at YELP I am surprised to see Ollie’s, a Lebanese restaurant. I must say that I have never had authentic Lebanese food, so I really had to try it.

Starting off the meal, there is a basket of fresh pita and fresh za’tar. If you have never been to a Mediterranean restaurant or cafe or more so a Lebanese restaurant or cafe, za’tar (or sometimes spelled za’atar) is a rather simple recipe of complex spices. Though these recipes are as varying to the creator. For the most part za’tar is a culmination of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, marjoram, oregano and/or salts. This typically is served on a plate and then doused with a nice extra virgin olive oil. You then stir the ingredients and dip pieces of the pita into the mix. The taste is exquisite, unmatched and a great way to begin a meal.

One of my many meals at Ollie’s was the fresh hummus plate and shwarma dish. The hummus is made in house with a sesame

Today my travels bring me to the beautiful city of Denver, Colorado. Upon reading up on one of my favorite cities I was pleasantly surprised to see that Denver is not only known as “The mile high city” but it also has the great privilege of being known as the city that is to microbreweries that Napa, California is to wine. This came as a surprise to me but after thinking over the fact that Coors built their plant here because the cool, cold, fresh mountain streams it does make sense. In fact there are over 12 Microbrewery eateries in the greater Denver area alone. This is what makes my job as a food critic fun and exciting. Since I am on 15th street in downtown Denver I decided to check into Rock Bottom. Rock Bottom is a favorite spot in Denver of mine and after reading this review and seeing this second picture of their brewing’, it is not be hard to see why.

For a late lunch I opted for the blackened shrimp macaroni and cheese paired with Rock Bottom’s very own Belgium White Ale. This was not just any blackened shrimp mac & cheese. This blackened shrimp mac & cheese is topped with

My journey brings me to Flagstaff Brewing Company in beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona. Located in the heart of Flagstaff here on scenic route 66, there is Flagstaff Brewers Company. Flagstaff Brewing Company has been open since July 1994. Boasting itself with a mission statement “To provide craft-brewed beer to a thirsty mountain town, and to break the mold that has typified the atmosphere, structure and goal of brewpubs for all too long.” be a producer or world-craft ales and lagers and provider of specialty sandwiches, I just had to stop in and get a taste the local Flagstaff taste.

For lunch I thought I would try the most exotic sounding, non burger sounding sandwich on the menu. This lead me to the Raspberry Turkey. This sandwich is made of smocked shaved turkey breast, avocado, fresh tomato and spring mixed lettuce served on a ciabatta bread. This sandwich comes with fries or fresh cut potato crisps. There is also a garlic potato crisp selection for a little more. I opted for the garlic crisps

My latest adventure has brought me to scenic Flagstaff, Arizona. As many times as I have been thru Flagstaff, sadly I have never taken the time to stop and enjoy the town. Flagstaff is located on historic route 66 and I can not think of a better place to take a forced weekend holiday. I am staying at the Days Inn hotel and Northern Pines is located inside the hotel which is rather convenient being a short walk to the lobby. The ambiance is not overdone and aesthetically pleasing.

I am going to start with my breakfast. Being in an omelet mood I was pleasantly surprised to see that Northern Pines had an extensive omelet selection including an omelet served with chorizo, a spicy style of sausage. I ordered the San Francisco omelet which has grilled shaved turkey with applewood smoked bacon. The omelet is then topped with avocado slices and melted white cheese. The omelets are served with 2 sides and a small glass of a juice of your choice. I ordered the french bread french toast and home-fries and