THE MORRIE

Appreciate AFB Hospitality Group inviting ageekdaddy.com to join in a free holiday brunch with some of Metro Detroit's most popular bloggers including yesnodetroit.com and metrodetroitmommy at THE MORRIE in trendy Birmingham, Michigan. THE MORRIE has garnered a reputation for being a lively spot for food, drink and music. It was my first time visiting the place and I wasn't disappointed. It was a great time!

First off was enjoying some Bloody Morries. These were some super bloody mary style drinks! Titos Vodka, housemade bloody mix, celery, pickle, olive, lime and hickory-smoked BACON. A great drink to put you in a festive spirit!

After drinks it was time for some eats. Wow! I wasn't expecting the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Flatbread to be so enormous. It was like ordering a large pizza for myself. No problem though because it was delicious. I ate it all up!

Chargrilled cauliflower flatbread, maple bacon, cheddar jack cheese, pickled shallot, arugula, scallion, white sauce, and baked eggs. I especially liked how the eggs were cooked in a sunny side up style so that their warm yolks melted out and covered the flatbread in a gooey goodness that complimented the dishes other ingredients. Warmed up my belly on a cold winter day. It was so good!

Of course, I wasn't going to turn down desert even after a huge, delicious meal. Have to say the desert was amazing! An ice cream sandwich that may have been one of the BEST deserts I've ever had! Yes  was that good!

Caramel ice cream sandwiched between two English toffee cookies. It was so tasty I'm tempted to go back to THE MORRIE just for desert! That being said their food and drinks are so good it would be a shame to stop by and not indulge in their whole menu while there.

In addition to food and drinks this dad blogger was also treated to some great live music during this holiday brunch. I really appreciate that live music isn't just not for the night time scene at THE MORRIE. It is impressive that they have performers on site during brunch hours. The musician really enhanced the setting with a fine performance of soft rock songs.

THE MORRIE gets a geek daddy nod of approval for a tasteful place to eat out. In addition to the Birmingham spot there is also a location in Royal Oak. Head over to themorrie.com to see a calendar of upcoming performers and learn more about their menu.

Noodles & Company Spices Up Their Menu

I was invited to swing by the NOODLES & COMPANY restaurant down the street from my house for a complimentary tasting of the recent changes they've made to their menu.  While the focus of the menu is of course on dishes featuring noodle recipes, they also have a variety of appetizers, soups and salads available too and I tried some of them all.  I have to admit being a creature of habit and while regularly frequenting this restaurant always get the same thing -- Japanese Pan Noodles with Shrimp.  So have to admit it was nice to get out of my comfort zone a bit and try a whole lot of different things from their menu.

I started off trying out the new Thai Chicken soup.  Wow that was incredible! The soup isn't too spicy but it still warms up your mouth in a nice way.  It is made from coconut, curry chicken soup with onion, cabbage, red bell pepper, lemongrass, lime, galangal, turmeric, and shallots.  Not sure what some of those ingredients are but it sure was good!  I will absolutely be getting this again next time my family visits NOODLES & COMPANY.

Next they brought out their Napa Market Salad with Chicken & Chicken Veracruz Salad to try out.

Napa Market Salad with Chicken

Mixed greens layered with Gala apple slices, Roma tomato and red bell pepper topped with pulled grilled chicken, bleu cheese and naturally raised bacon crumbles, tossed with pomegranate vinaigrette

Chicken Veracruz Salad

Mixed greens with Roma tomato, red onions, chili-lime chicken, naturally raised bacon crumbles, fresh cut corn, tossed with jalapeno ranch dressing and crispy jalapenos, fresh avocados and cilantro.

I enjoyed both salads but the Napa Market was a bit more my taste.  I really enjoyed the pomegranate vinaigrette mixed up with the apple slices, grilled chicken and tomatoes.  Have to admit loading up my plate a couple of times with the Napa Market Salad along with plenty of Cheesy Garlic Bread.  NOODLES & COMPANY'S Cheesy Garlic Bread is made of parmesan and garlic butter melted over toasted petite baguette.  Be careful because the bread is so good you could fill up your stomach before getting to your main course!

Steak Stroganoff was next.  Marinated steak, mushroom sherry cream sauce, fresh herbs, cracked pepper, roasted mushrooms, wavy egg noodles and parmesan.  A very filling meal.  I particularly liked how the steak and mushrooms complimented each other in this dish.

I wrapped up my tasting session at NOODLES & COMPANY with their Thai Green Curry with Shrimp entree.  I really liked this! Shrimp with a sweet coconut green curry sauce, rice noodles, pineapple, broccoli, red onion, snap peas, lime, black sesame seeds and cilantro.  I'm definitely going to be mixing up my normal routine of just ordering the Japanese Pan Noodles by starting to occasionally get this dish as well.  In fact the next time I go to NOODLES & COMPANY, I'm going to be buying the Thai Green Curry with Shrimp for my entree.  I'll probably get some of that Thai Chicken soup to go with it as well!

As I was about the leave, the staff at NOODLES & COMPANY has one last surprise for me.  They boxed up some Japanese Pan Noodles for me to snack on later on because they know I love that dish so much.  See it does pay off to try new things even if they take you a bit out of your normal comfort zone.  I really had a wonderful time learning more about the menu at NOODLES & COMPANY.

To learn more about their menu for yourself or find a location near you, please visit noodles.com