Sunday Funday at Sonny’s Hideaway #SummerAtSonnys

Sunday Funday at Sonny’s Hideaway #SummerAtSonnys

By Erin

If you are looking for a new place to try for a wonderful Sunday Brunch; then have I found a place for you! I am always on the lookout for tasty new places for a nice Sunday Brunch, so when I heard from Sonny’s Hideaway in Highland Park to come in and try their new Brunch Menu, I just could not resist. Brunch is happening on Sundays from 11 AM-3 PM; making it a great option for daytime eats and drinks.

With a new chef on board at Sonny’s Hideaway comes a new brunch menu. Chef Alexander Abdel-Monem has added a number of fancy summer dishes to the mix, including ricotta fritters with hazelnut and chocolate, passionfruit custard, chickpea pancakes with tomato, eggplant, swiss chard, cumin and parmesan and bone marrow hash with sriracha. These options happily join other brunch classics like Brioche French toast with cinnamon creme fraiche and fried chicken with poached eggs. Whatever you choose, you are bound to have one delicious meal!Sonnys Hideaway

Chef Alexander Abdel-Monem, the cocktail list for the Sunday Brunch, and also the fun Tiki Tuesday’s that Sonny’s offer! 🙂 Yum!

Cocktail offerings for Sunday Brunch include some spicy Bloody Marys, Hurricanes, The Naughty Professor, and the classic Mimosa, which should all go nicely with any of the sweet or savory dishes.

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Emporium Thai Cuisine in Westwood

Emporium Thai Cuisine in Westwood

By Erin

One of my favorite kinds of  foods to eat is Thai Food. When I received the invite for a media dinner here, I couldn’t resist as I am always on the lookout for great places to have Thai food at. If you also have a love for Thai food or are an adventurous foodie wanting to try something new, then you have to check out Emporium Thai Cuisine in Westwood.

Emporium Thai Cuisine

Emporium Thai Cuisine has been serving families and the surrounding community for 14 years and they specialize in Southern Thai food with a very large menu that is sure to have something to please everyone in your party. One unique aspect on their menu is the “spicy scale” which allows you to choose how hot or mild you want your food on a scale of 1-10.  I don’t like my food terribly spicy, the majority of our dishes were at a “3” on the spicy scale. This worked well for me. It wasn’t too hot or spicy for me at this level.

Another quality that I love about this place is that it is family owned and run. Dining here truly is a family affair and I love being able to help out and eat at a family run restaurant. While you are here, you will be treated like one of the family.

Now onto the food! Here is what was on the menu for us for the night. 🙂

Coco Mango Salad with Fried Tofu (Southern Thai Specialty dish) and Thai Iced Tea

EmporiumThai Ice Tea

Shredded raw mango mixed with dried coconut fresh chili, lime juice and fried tofu. A  Southern Thai Specialty dish, it was really light and refreshing. Perfect for these hot summer days. A great way to start out any meal.

Crying Tiger Beef (Southern Thai Specialty dish)

ETC Crying Tiger Beef

Thai-style marinated beef, served with their homemade chili sauce. I really enjoyed this one as the meat was very tender and flavorful.

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Jumping Around at the Barn

Jumping Around at the Barn

By Erin

Summer is just around the corner and these long summer days are really nice to get some jumping fun in. It’s a great time to get some training in and get ready for the show season ahead. A few of the horses are just learning how to jump and are coming along very nicely. You can tell that they really enjoy this change of pace from the usual just hacking around the barn. I am enjoying having a horse to be able to jump around a little bit on too, as I haven’t gotten to do much of it lately!

Purple Slurple

Purple jumping his first oxer (the red and grey jump) and his first time over the rock wall! He did great! Don’t mind my position… I’m rusty and he’s just learning, so we’re both getting used to these jumps! 🙂

Jumping Around On Every Last Detail

Every Last Detail AKA, Big jumping the brick wall. Big is looking good here! He’s such a pro!

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