Sunday 17 January 2010

Restaurant Nora : Michelle Obama's favourite restaurant

Today was Michelle Obama's 46th birthday and as a gift her hubby, President Obama to you and me, took her out for a surprise dinner at her favourite DC restaurant, Restaurant Nora.

Being Nosey we've had a look at well.

The restaurant describes itself as

...America's first certified organic restaurant. This means that 95% or more of everything that you eat at the restaurant has been produced by certified organic growers and farmers all who share in Nora's commitment to sustainable agriculture....

Sounds very "green", is it the sort of place where you guaranteed healthy but not necessarily tasty food? Well what do the crtics say?

The Washington Post

The homey space is decorated with quilts and has a formal, but familiar feel. A bit over-traditional for hipsters, it's parent- and grandparent-friendly.

You'll pay for the quality. The tasting menu is $75 and $65 for vegetarians. A la carte entrees cost around $30.

Reviews from actual diners on the traveller review forum TripAdvisor was somewhat mixed but still good enough to rank 22nd of the 1000+ DC restaurant ranked.

The reviews ranged from

We had a nice bottle of pinot noir that he recommended. We loved the beef carpaccio that we had for a starter and we both loved our salads (his: spinach & arugula; mine: caesar). Ditto for our mains (his: beef; mine: veal curry). I never order veal due to the mistreatment of the animals - however, these are happy calves! It was quite a treat - many different flavors on one plate. We also ordered dessert (his: chocolate chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice ream; mine: the best apple pie I have ever had with rum raisin ice cream). It was an extraordinary meal. We lingered and did not feel rushed. Our check for all of this was $200 - a little pricey but comparable to other restaurants of this quality and style. I highly recommend Nora!
(Clearly appealing to the more "concious" diner)

to the somewhat unimpressed

I understand their focus on serving organic food, but they go a little overboard. Is it really necessary that the menu state that their waiters are dressed in shirts made of 100% certified organic cotton?

Bottom line: go here only if you're not price-sensitive. For my money, I'll go elsewhere to get the same quality of food at a much lower price.

Well if you fancy finding out what it like to dine like the First Family you can head over to Restarant Nora at 2132 Florida Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008


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Monday 11 January 2010

Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger's relationship hits the buffers...

Lewis Hamilton and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger have called it a day after two years.

Reports say
The 25-year-old British racing driver and US pop star, 31, said they wanted to concentrate on their careers.

A joint statement from their spokesmen confirmed: ''Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton can confirm that they have decided to go their separate ways.

''The two of them have decided to focus fully on their careers and will remain close friends.''

The pair started dating after meeting at the MTV Europe Awards in Munich in November 2007.




Former world Formula 1 champion Hamilton said he was like a ''besotted schoolboy'', while Scherzinger, who accompanied Hamilton to Grand Prix around the globe, called him her ''soulmate''.

Reports last month said the high-profile pair were close to separating because of the racing driver's reluctance to settle down.

Hamilton, who previously dated beauty queen Vivian Burkhardt, is hoping to win back his F1 title this year but faces competition from current world champion Jenson Button as his McLaren teammate and Michael Schumacher, who is out of retirement.

Interting how on one hand she is needs to "concentrate on her career" and on the other hand she is leaving because of "Hamiltons's reluctance to settle down"

We Wonder ?