Dumpling Party
All the dumplings we could fit in our stomachs. We made homemade dumplings and prepared store-bought dumplings. You can see all the goodness here.

Boba Milk Tea and Fried Chicken at Tea Haus
When meeting up with my friend MJ for a coffee date, I got to check out this place and enjoy a milk tea. I also had a few bites of MJ’s fried chicken and it was so good! This is a great place to meet up for coffee and snacks.

Hot Wings at Super Bowl Party
I went to a Super Bowl Party at a friend’s house and another guest made these awesome fried hot wings. They were the perfect amount of spicy and dipped in the homemade ranch dressing, these hot wings were quickly devoured by everyone.

Gryo at Arpeggio Grill
A few years ago, Arpeggio Grill was a frequent spot for me. My go-to (as you may have noticed from other Flavors posts) is a gyro and they make a good, packed one here. As a combo, it comes with french fries and a drink. I’m looking forward to coming back with a crew to devour the 30″ pizza!

Homemade Crock Pot Chicken Soup
I missed my two crock pot meals a month in February, but this crock pot chicken soup I made was a hit! I used five cups of chicken broth, a little more than one pound of chicken breast, and a mix of fresh veggies (not measured).

Fried Chicken Sandwich with Fries at Flyrite Chicken
This new fast food spot has opened up in Austin on the east side. No antibiotics, MSG, hormones, artificial ingredients, and high fructose corn syrup. While I didn’t like the wheat bun, I thought the overall sandwich and fries were very good and a great fast food alternative. That Sriracha mayo is SO good!

Happy Hour at Pacific Rim Sushi & Yakitori Lounge
We gathered at this sushi spot for an Austin Food Bloggers Alliance happy hour. They graciously fed us their best dishes, including the sake mac and cheese, pot stickers, tuna avocado nachos, yakitori, and hot rock selection. The sake mac and cheese was definitely my favorite!

Beer at 4th Tap Brewing Cooperative
My boyfriend and I went to 4th Tap for their beer release party. I really enjoyed the Sun Eater (a sorghum ale that is gluten-free) and the Long Walk (a grapefruit IPA). I also tried the new release Highland Scoundrel, a scotch style ale, but it was a little intense for me.

Space Jam Fries at Svante Burger
These french fries may not look so good but it’s got jalapeño havarti, chipotle aioli, garlic aioli, and bacon-onion jam. Yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds.

Lots of eats at Austin Lamb Jam
My friends and I decided to go to Austin Lamb Jam this year and it was a blast! Our top dishes were the pictured braised lamb gnocchi with hazelnuts and oranges from Juliet and roasted pear and chestnut soup with Moroccan spiced lamb shoulder.

What was your favorite dish in February?

The post Flavors of the Month: February 2016 appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Kimchi Fried Rice at The Peached Tortilla 
I’m a fan of The Peached Tortilla and I like what the restaurant is doing. I enjoyed dinner service back in March and thought their dishes were fantastic. For brunch, I went with nostalgia and ordered the Kimchi Fried Rice because it has Spam mixed in. I know. I haven’t had Spam in years but it was a part of my childhood, for better or worse. Despite the health factor, I did enjoy the dish and wouldn’t mind ordering it again for a family-style meal.

4th Tap Brewing Co-Op
A new brewery opened in North Austin near Circle Brewing and Adelbert’s. Since it is near boyfriend’s work, I got the inside scoop and tried it early. I like 4th Tap because they have an IPA called the Long Walk that isn’t too hoppy. They already have three beers canned. While they are new to the physical building, they are not new to Austin’s craft brewery scene; they’ve been going at it since 2011. Check out their grand opening party on November 7th!

Quiche at Bolsa (Dallas)
I’ve been wanting to try brunch at Bolsa for years. Years! I finally checked it off the list and enjoyed this skillet quiche. The crust was soft and flakey unlike a usual crispy pie crust.

Sweet Treats at Joy Macaron (Dallas)
After brunch at Bolsa, we were close enough to stop for some macarons at Joy Macaron on the way out of town. Yum! We got a six-pack with salted caramel, Nerds, blood orange, rose and lychee, pistachio, and Italian cream. All dainty and delicious. My favorite was the salted caramel (of course).

Gyro at Shahi Café
This hidden gem in North Austin is my favorite place for a quick, filling bite. The gyros are fresh and flavorful. The service is top-notch. Their summer drink, the ginger basil limeade, is a must every visit, though they may be transitioning to a fall drink now.

Crab Cake Benedict and Oysters for Brunch at Mongers Market + Kitchen
Mongers Market + Kitchen is delightful. Inside is a beautifully designed dining room and outside is a roomy patio. The menu has an abundance of seafood items. The mimosas are on point. The raw oysters are high-quality. All in all, it was a lovely brunch with my friend MJ. The Crab Cake Benedict comes with tomatoes, potatoes and arugula and is a very filling dish. My few bites of MJ’s slightly caramelized French toast were the perfect end to the meal. This restaurant will be a top choice for my seafood fix!

Kangaroo Carpaccio Nacho and Meatloaf at Lonesome Dove
I ate kangaroo! It tasted like beef. I also had a hearty dish of meatloaf, collard greens and mashed potatoes and finished the meal off with butterscotch budino. Lonesome Dove missed the mark for me. While the restaurant is beautifully constructed and presents the opportunity to eat exotic meats, the dishes lacked spark. I wouldn’t mind dining here again but my expectation will be a meal that is good but not great.

San Francisco and Sonoma Eats
I’ve updated my San Francisco Eats post by adding a few restaurants enjoyed on trip number two. Check out my notes on farm:table, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, R&G Lounge, Jane, Brenda’s French Soul Food, and Comstock. Also check out the phenomenal Sonoma restaurants in my Sonoma Travel Guide.

$6 Happy Hour Burger at Gardner
I had dinner at Gardner late last year and it wasn’t my favorite, but this burger has me denouncing all other burgers I’ve eaten. It’s juicy and it comes with addicting French fries. They have drink specials and as low as $15 bottles of wine. To top it off, their bar and patio area is looking good and patio time in Austin has arrived. This burger special is on their patio during happy hour until the end of November and I highly recommend taking advantage of this deal! Get there as close to their 5:30 pm opening time as possible to snag a seat.

What recommended eats do you have to share?

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We enjoyed so many memorable dishes, drinks and desserts on our trip to Greece! These are some of my favorites.

Greek Salad
I had a couple of Greek salads during the trip and they were always refreshing. They usually include tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers, onions, olives, and a block of feta cheese, all drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with pepper and a few capers. Of course, I found that everything tastes a little better when you’re overlooking the view of the sea in Santorini, smitten.

Spanakopita
This buttery and flaky spinach pie pastry was a great breakfast and snack during our trip. Here it’s pictured with a glass of fresh orange juice. Yum!

Gyro Meat and Gyro Pitas
One of my favorite meals was a simple three euro gyro chicken pita eaten standing up beside the restaurant. Simple, fast and so good! The word ‘gyro’ describes the way the meat is cooked: on a broiler that rotates, making the meat very tender and moist. In Greece, the meat is usually chicken or pork, though lamb is popular in other countries. The pitas usually include tomatoes, onion, French fries (fried potatoes) and tzatziki sauce. For dishes, the meat was served with pita or the components of the gyro pita.

Seafood Pasta
Seafood Pasta was a favorite dish among us, and we ate a lot of it on the trip. My favorite seafood pasta plate had perfectly cooked noodles with a slight seafood taste and was accompanied with fresh shrimp, mussels, and squid.

Moussaka
Moussaka – a dish with a similar feel to shepard’s pie – was tasty and a good comfort food. We had some that had a bottom layer of potato slices and it usually includes eggplant.

Octopus
I had one fantastic octopus dish. It was caramelized in sauce, very tender and only slightly chewy. Delicious!

Mussels
We consumed an abundance of mussels on the trip. With pasta, rice, and on its own, mussels were a light and flavorful option. My favorite was this dish with rice.

Santorini Brewing Company Beer
We were recommended the Santorini Brewing Company, which was a short bus ride away. Their beers are Yellow Donkey, Red Donkey and Crazy Donkey (IPA). Funny story: we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss our stop so we asked the ticket person if he knew where the brewery was on the stop. He said he would tell us and sure enough, when the stop was coming up, he started slowly yelling YELLOW DONKEY…YELLOW DONKEY…YELLOW DONKEY so that we would get up and get ready to get off the bus. Slightly embarrassing but we’re glad we didn’t miss it! We had tastings of the beer, which were very enjoyable and on par with other craft beers I’ve tasted. They ship 90% of their beer around Santorini and the rest of it to Athens, New York and Oslo.

Baklava
This baklava, a snack after the beach and while we were walking along the Mykonos shops, was very good. Slightly drenched with honey, the perfect amount of sweetness, and of course, the delicate, flaky layers.

Yogurt and Honey and Nuts Ice Cream
Probably my favorite dessert of the trip, this yogurt and honey with nuts ice cream was a refreshing mid-afternoon treat as we sat at a rooftop Santorini restaurant with a view of the sea to read. Yogurt with honey and nuts is traditional but since Greek yogurt is a hit or miss with me, I was excited to see something traditional but in ice cream form on their menu.

Cupcake
Similar to my dessert experience in Spain, cupcakes are not popular in Greece. By chance, La Petite Baguette was a bakery we kept walking by from our place in Athens to the Metro. They had a sandwich board advertising cupcakes so I had to stop in and look. What was presented to me was a one euro mini chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate buttercream frosting and a dab of cream cheese frosting in the middle and sprinkles. Taken in two bites as an appetizer on the way to dinner, the cupcake was good and I’m happy to say I ate a cupcake in Greece!

We ate at a handful of great restaurants during our trip, and these are the ones I’d recommend:

–Aperanto Galazio in Mykonos: restaurant on the Kalamari Beach. The seafood dishes were great here. (Seafood pasta pictured above.)
–Mama’s House in Santorini: good for traditional Greek plates, specifically the Mama’s Kebap plate (pictured above) that includes gyro meat
–Obliex in Santorini: try a delicious 3 euro gryo pita. It was my favorite pita of the trip. I had a very juicy chicken gyro pita (pictured above).
–Volcano Blue in Santorini: great Greek dishes, specifically mussels and rice (pictured above). Sit upstairs for a fantastic view.
–Roka in Santorini: this restaurant is tucked away on a side street but they had the delicious octopus dish I mentioned above. They also have a patio to watch the sunset.

What is your favorite food dish or memory during your travels?

Also check out: My 10 Favorite Sights in Greece

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