Dale & Thomas Popcorn – Purple Spoon Ice Cream

Aug 6th, 2010 by ++Mira++ | 4 Comments

Last Royal Oak visit, we decided to get some Popcorn at Dale & Thomas. Purple spoon has opened in the same space and I guess its a knock off of pinkberry. I’ve never had the latter so I can’t compare the two. 

I really loved the signs, design and feel for the place. There was a huge image of a corn field that was lit and it set a light and happy tone for the location. 

Many popcorn flavors like you see below, from BBQ to cheddar-chipotle. We tend to be sweet salty luvin kinda ppl so we went for… 

…The chocolate Chunk Caramel. We ate it for 2 days, and it was divine. The cookies n creme would be interesting to try next time. 

Very cute decor, very bad acting on my part. 

I loved how they presented the popcorn, in the farmers wood buckets. 

In the back the popcorn was popping away, the smell wafting beautifully thru the room. 

They had a turning urn thing that you add the flavor to and it keeps rotating to cover all the popcorn. 

They made the chocolate caramel by drizzling it all over a pan of popcorn, and letting set. 

It was crunchy, fresh, sweet, salty and perfect. I loved that there were big chunks of chocolate here and there. It was a really good treat. 

As for the Purple Spoon part of it, the decor is a bit more modern and minimalistic. It’s theme doesn’t mesh 100% with the farmers theme of the popcorn part, but it’s not too bad. Also, if you buy the popcorn first, they will give you a coupon (1$ off) of the icecream. 

Positives is the low calorie. Negatives are that flavors are limited, but they cycle them. I had the original tart. It was good. Not great, but good.  

You can add toppings for 75 cents each. I’m not a toppings fan in general, but if I were going to try something it would be the fruit or candy. I would skip the cereal. 

The frozen yogurt was good, but I don’t see myself ever craving it. I’m a bit of an ice cream snob i guess.

As for the popcorn, I loved it, and my glass ball says there is more salty sweet popcorniness in my future.

always uncut.

Astoria – Royal Oak

May 29th, 2010 by ++Mira++ | 5 Comments

Whenever we’re in Royal Oak, Michigan, we love to walk up and down the streets and just take everything in. Its a nice walk, especially in the summer. We always pass by Astoria, a sweet/dessert shop. The stuff in there always looks amazing, (we’ve had it on many occasions) and everyone raves about it, so we gave it a try AGAIN.

That strawberry shortcake looked good, but, i’m a chocolate mousse kinda gal

Like I said, I’m a chocolate mousse kinda gal. I was really excited to have this, but I was dissappointed

I LOVE chocolate mousse, especially when done right. Unfortunately, It was too rich, not airy and light, and half the cup I had was filled with whipped cream that was gloopy and as stiff as Anthony Bourdains’ drinks. So, I scooped it all out. Even then the mousse on the bottom was dissapointing. Not as chocolate-y as I had hoped for, but the real kicker was the texture. It was not at all pleasant.

Now, don’t think I’m hating on the place. I was just unhappy because when you walk in, you really want to get one of everything! The stuff looks amazing. But each time the flavor lets me down, and each time I try something else and hope it won’t because I really want to love the place. I do. But even something as simple as peanuts covered in chocolate I make better at home. We had to throw them out. And, in a place where you are paying 3-7 $ a dessert, you don’t want to throw anything out. Sorry Astoria, but you remind me of Mariah Carey. Beautiful on the outside, all fucked up on the inside.

Sangria Tapas Cafe – Royal Oak

Apr 16th, 2010 by ++Mira++ | 7 Comments

Ever since I heard about Sangria I’ve been wanting to go there! They are in Royal Oak, Michigan, and just off main street. The interior was very colorful and I fell in love with the flamenco painting. They actually have flamenco dancers that come every thursday night for entertainment, and a bit of research online showed they have salsa lessons a couple times a week in their Sky Club which is club in and of itself. Next time I want to try to make it to some of the entertainment. It sounds like a blast. Has anyone been? Anyways, we went during the day since my hubby finished his work early, and we enjoy walking around in Royal Oak. Much to my surprise tapas are 1/2 off at happy hour, didn’t feel like paella, and I love lots of little things…So, I may have over ordered just a bit!

We started off with a splitting a salad.

Ensalda de Gambas – $10.95 – the pineapple vinaigrette is really fantastic. It was a pleasant surprise how good it was. I even don’t care if there was no shrimp. It was just that good.

Soon, our plates came out. We ordered a combo of hot and cold tapas. The waiter put them in pyramid fashion, no clue why,lol, but he was a sweetheart and very attentive.

This was my favorite, Salmón Ahumado – $6.95

Now, its salt cured, so it is on the salty side, but it was amazing. So was the tangy dill sauce with it. But you have to be a salmon fan to really enjoy this. My hubby wouldn’t touch it, which I didn’t mind at all! lol..more for me!

Gambas al Ajillo – $6.95 – shrimp sauteed in garlic and peppers. Did not like this. Too much liquid. Didn’t taste like much. However, they normally cook it in wine, but we don’t do alcohol so we asked for a sub. So, in there defense, I have no idea what the original tastes like, but this just felt like boiled shrimp. This was the only thing we both really didn’t like.

Tortilla de Patatas – $4.95 – traditional spanish omlette with potatoes and onions. This was on the “cold” menu, but it was luke warm and I actually would not have even minded if it was hotter. It was something I will definitely order again. I loved it. There was something very comforting about it.

Pasteles del Pez Blancos – $6.95 – this my hubby went gaga for! Fish cakes atop a mound of caramelized onions and granny smith apples. He wouldn’t even touch the onions & apples. He just loved the cakes. They were really good, moist and well seasoned. I liked the onions and apples, but there was too much cinnamon and it was a bit overpowering.

Champiñones Rellenos – $6.95 – mushrooms filled with shrimp stuffing and in garlic butter. Believe it or not, we both ate the mushrooms sans stuffing and thought it tasted much better. It was still good, but the mushrooms alone were great.

Frituras de Queso Azul- $5.95 – Deep fried blue cheese fritters. They weren’t kidding when they said blue cheese. It had a cheese punch! The flavor is enhanced on heating. It was really good, but more than one just felt like too much because of the strong flavor. I wish it was cut down with another cheese so that I could’ve enjoied it more.

Patatas Bravas – $4.95 – Fried potatoes in tomatoe sauce. Was what it sounded like. Nothing more. I wish the sauce was somehow spicier or more interesting. You will notice we didn’t get any meat dishes since my hubby eats “hallal” only, which is kinda like kosher. So, we pretty much ordered the things we could have. You should check their menu for all the other yummy stuff they serve.

Overall, it was a really good experience, and all the entertainment stuff sounds like fun. I want to make it to the flamenco dances one day. There are things I would definitely eat again like the salmon, and the fish cakes. The price depends on what you order, but like I said, it was a happy surprise we made it at happy hour. I give it a definite thumbs up and will definitely be back. Royal oak is also a great spot because of it being party central.lol. Next time, before you hit the scene, give Sangria a try. You won’t regret it.

Have you been? Do you like any other tapas restaurants in your area?

always uncut,

++MIRA++