All posts by certifiedfoodie

About certifiedfoodie

CertifiedFoodie is a food enthusiast in Houston. She's a fearless adventurer whose palate will bravely taste absolutely anything (!) once. A motto which have led to profuse tongue-scrubbings, cussing, and back-to-back food poisoning. When not eating and/or traveling, she's a loving wife and mom and a career woman involved in healthcare.

Restaurant Crawl in Jackson Hole

I won’t get into why I haven’t blogged since forever. Had something to do with a certain virus, a lockdown, and people saying that it is insensitive to be posting about going out and eating amidst all the suffering. I get that, so I stopped my silly blogging.

“We either live with it, or die of it” — Fauci did not say that, I did. So this is me, getting back to do what I’ve always been doing: embarking on food adventures, this time as safely as I possibly can. Life is too short to be feeling bad and eating bad food. Also, I’m not really that important to get “cancelled”.

This “crawl” is divided into three categories: Old Reliables, Great Finds, Influencers Choice.

  1. Old Reliables – these are well-established restaurants in the area, consistent in quality and service.

Il Vilagio Osteria – this is in Hotel Terra. As you can see, I am off to a good start in celebrating my 50th with a 20 year old Latour. We brought the bottle. As opposed to Texas, Wyoming does not have insane corkage regulations.

Meatballs! the hand pulled mozarella is a great touch
Have I mentioned that Bourdeaux pairs really well with pizza? Il Fico – dried fig, cognac-caramelized apple and several yummy cheeses.
Every self-respecting Italian restaurant has great Tiramisu on its menu

Westbank Grill – this wonderful restaurant is tucked in the heart of Four Seasons – a hotel that really lives up to its name because with any location you go, at any point of the pandemic, they are there — open and welcoming, ready to give you the best experience (for the right price, of course).

Black Cod with Saffron
Oh look! Steak, I wonder who ordered this? Haha
Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Boar Bacon – in the design world, this would be a shabby-chic kind of deal
Another 50th celebration. Yey!!! This is a pear donut with verjus glaze.

Handle Bar – also in Four Seasons but more of an apres ski kind of vibe

Handle bar mustach-shaped pretzel! Brushed with beer cheese
Elk Chili
Duck Fat Wedges – sounds so unhealthy, because it probably is. It’s really good though

2. Great Finds

Old Yellowstone Garage – don’t let the name fool you. It looks nothing like a garage (not my garage, for sure). It’s artfully decorated, very modern and relaxing, right on the slope of Bridger Gondola, inside Caldera House. We ate here twice (and you know how I feel about going to the same place twice–so this is pretty good).

Focaccia Basil Pesto
Pappardele Elk Bolognese – they claim that they have the best in town and I concur
Scallops with Heirloom beans
Wagyu Zabuton aka little pillow. This is more like little throw pillows because it came cut, but the tenderness is definitely there!

Bin 22 – accidentally discovered as we were walking around trying to find the town square. It is a wine store slash restaurant kind of deal. Absolutely amazing food in a very non-Jackson Hole price range. We ate here twice, ON THE SAME DAY. So I cannot stress enough how good this place is. I am not featuring any of the wines because I wasn’t able to take pics of the bottles; we did have Priorat, Spanish Vermouth and a really nice and bubbly Cava

This is their food specialty – hand pulled Mozzarella with wild mushrooms
Grilled Spanish Octopus
For round two we had baked brie and paella

Local Restaurant and Bar – for a name that doesn’t exactly scream wildy imaginative, this is an amazing restaurant conveniently located next to the town square. We stumbled on this gem as we ran fleeing from the restaurant that I will feature next.

Bar is on point. I had a Matilda which is a local vodka, curacao and some cardamom bitters. D had a Nebbiolo
Love, love, love this herb crusted bone marrow
Buffalo burger
Hanger steak with Chimichurri sauce

3. Influencers Choice – these are restaurants that come up with every travel blog. Not to bash these bloggers-for-a-living lot, but they DO have to push places to “earn their keep”. Take with a grain of salt when reading these travel blogs as some places are just too hyped up.

Million Dollar Cowboy Bar – the good thing is, nothing in the menu cost even close to a million dollars. Otherwise, the food is unimaginative, the service is tired.

The only saving grace is the cute saddle they have as barstools. People who have never rode a horse may disagree; while very Instagramable, it is very uncomfortable

2. Mangy Moose – too bad because this is really close to where we were staying. Menu is kinda generic and don’t let me get started with the service…. There are a lot more pleasing apres-ski areas in Teton Village

And just like that….I’m back (although I was never really gone).

Ireland, Part Two

I’m too old for Dublin. The pubs, the nightlife, the dancing, the music, are things I would have enjoyed immensely 15-20 years ago. But back then, I was trying to raise a tiny human being. So I spent my hard-earned travel dollar on Disney trips instead. Was it worth sacrificing all that fun for the obligatory pilgrimage to Mickey Mouse mecca? I will not know until my kid picks a nursing home for me. Stay tuned.

Amidst all the pubs (there are thousands!), this is the holy grail. Temple Bar. I had to wake up early to get a pic by myself. Otherwise, it’s a madhouse.
This is in Temple Street, the hub of all bars and nightlife.
The pub is all about draft beer. Guiness, to be specific.
I’m not a huge beer fan so we opted out of the Guiness tour and instead we took a Jameson whisky tour. “A good story cannot be devised, it has to be distilled”. This is a highly recommended tour even if you’re not a big whisky fan. It is fascinating how whisky is tightly woven to Irish history.
Other than Temple Bar, this another pub that’s noteworthy. Established 1198. That’s a lot of years and a lot of beer.

This is definitely a lot of beer for a non-beer-drinker.
Beef and Guinness Stew. So rich, so hearty. This is one beer dish I could totally dig.

Ireland is beautiful and delicious. Their cuisine speaks a lot of its history and is really worth a visit.

It’s for the books now and it’s time to start planning for the next trip — Madrid!!!