There were several stand-outs — dishes that left us wanting more. Here are some examples.
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Brio Tuscan Grille
The "Pasta Brio" is a combination of tender grilled chicken and crimini mushrooms tossed with rigatoni in a roasted-red-pepper sauce. It is a filling, tangy, delicious dish that sells on the Brio dinner menu for $19. The creamy, delicious, espresso-infused bite of Tiramisu served alongside was a nice touch.
EO Burgers
This restaurant may have burgers in its name, but EO Burgers also has a frozen custard shake on the menu for $4.99 in three simple flavors — Madagascar vanilla, Ghirardelli chocolate or fresh strawberry. What a great way to cool off.
Make it a frozen-custard cocktail for a $3 upcharge. The fact that EO Burgers had an ice cream sundae bar making custom sundaes for long lines was a good call for a hot day.
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Fleming’s Steakhouse
Potatoes au gratin made with creamy cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese are delicious enough on their own. Breading and deep frying them into zesty, cheesy potato balls takes it to the next level of guilty pleasure. Another plus: those cheesy potato balls were served alongside pork belly with a smoked jalapeño aioli.
Pasha Grill
Pasha Grill is one of the most underrated restaurants in town. It does a phenomenal job with fresh, healthy Mediterranean dishes that are priced right. Its samples of hummus and falafel excelled. The hummus, a dish normally on the appetizer menu for $6.95, features creamy pureed chickpeas flavored with white pepper, plenty of garlic, tahini, fresh lemon juice and olive oil. It's a simple dish that tastes so good. The fried falafel, which also sells for $6.95 on the menu, is a delicious vegetarian fritter made with chickpeas flavored with fresh cilantro, garlic and onions. It's normally served with a special tahini sauce, but for this event, a single falafel ball was served on a bed of hummus. It was light and delightful.
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Pho District
This is a newer restaurant at The Greene, opening late last year next to Cold Stone Creamery. It specializes in Vietnamese sandwiches (Banh Mi), smoothies and Pho soup (pronounced "Fuh"). The restaurant served up mini-eggrolls, summer rolls and samples of grilled pork and chicken. Pho District's Taste of the Greene offering was a little taste of some of the flavors that go into their Vermicelli noodle bowls. They offer grilled pork and an eggroll (Bún thịt nướng chả giò, $10); grilled chicken and an eggroll (Bún gà nướng chả giò, $10) and beef stir fry and an eggroll (Bún bò xào chả giò, $11) These bowls feature a bed of vermicelli noodles and protein topped with, vegetables, peanut, pickled daikon and carrot, flavored with a fish sauce and soy dressing. This small sampler was a good taste of what the restaurant offers.
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The Pub
Blackened chicken, spinach, bacon, red peppers, green onions, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, smoked gouda sauce, rotini pasta and shredded Parmesan ... it's as rich as it's sounds. The chicken Gouda pasta normally runs $14 on The Pub’s menu. It's one of those dishes you don't always think about until you get an opportunity to sample, and then you can't stop.
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Other dishes that were sampled include:
• Pretzel bites and mini pretzel dogs from Auntie Anne’s
• Mongolian Ginger Chicken and Rice from BD’s Mongolian Grill:
• Chicken and brown rice from Deg’s Flame Grilled Chicken
• House-made chips and fresh salsa with cheese sauce from Fuzzy’s Taco Shop
• Samples of fudge (peanut butter, chocolate, turtle and sea-salt caramel) as well as chocolate-dipped pretzels and chocolate-dipped graham crackers from Kilwins Ice Cream & Fudge
• Blueberry and Carrot raisin-nut mini-muffins from MiMi’s Café
• Mac and cheese, bear claws, and cherry, apple or cheese-filled pastries from Panera Bread
• Cold Brew and salted caramels from Winans Chocolates + Coffees
Contact this contributing writer at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com.
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