"Nike Free" sneakers

My first review on something other than food, I'm here to review sneakers!  I love wearing sneakers for many occasions: workouts at the gym, running errands, and also hiking/walking with my puppy dog.  I bought a pair of Nike Airmax about 6 months ago but they're not very comfortable, so I've been searching for a more comfortable pair ever since.

John forwarded me the link for a new line of shoes called Reebok Realflex.  These are really cool shoes!  They try to imitate natural movement of the feet by installing 76 rubber pellets on the bottom of the sole, so instead of having this uncomfortable semi-hard rubber sole (sometimes filled with air bubbles?), you have this close to bare feet feel when you walk/run.  The reviews for Reebok realflex is pretty good considering it's a fairly new technology, but it is somewhat pricey.  For a pair of running shoes, I could be paying around 90 dollars.  So I started looking for a cheaper alternative.

That's when I came across Nike Free technology.  It is similar to Reebok's realflex where it simulates running/walking bare feet by changing the way sneaker soles are made.  I love the flexible soles!  For more information, check here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_Free

Another main reason I went with the Nike Free is because I found a pair at Kohls.  I'm a big fan of Kohls since they have this great return/exchange policy where you can return at any time.  So I purchased a pair online right away with discounts and free shipping.  After all that's said and done, it only cost me $48 for a pair of Nike Free cross trainers!  I love the colors as well, it's white and baby blue, I think it really suits me :)






















http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/shoes/brandsforshoes/nike/womens/PRD~724938/Nike+Free+Walk+HighPerformance+CrossTrainers.jsp

What type of sneakers do you need?  If you're in the market of a new pair of sneakers, I recommend that you take a look at Reebok realflex or Nike Free, try them to feel the difference!

FoodiePop's rating on Nike Free: 4.2/5 
(worn 3 days so far on trend mill and walk around the neighborhood)

Bistro Sensations, Montgomery Mall Bethesda

I rarely post food court reviews, but bistro sensations (newly opened) in Montgomery Mall made really yummy Thai chicken salad!  Ever since I had Thai chicken salad from Panara bread, I've been in love with this light yet delicious entree.  So when my sister and I were looking for lunch ideas in food court, I decided to pick bistro sensations.  It was a pleasant surprise!

Bistro Sensation, food court MM

They have so many different salads, but I picked the Thai chicken salad.  The salads are made as you walk through the line to the cashier.  All the ingredients in the bowl were very fresh!  You can customize the salad down to every single ingredient, but since I'm the #1 meal type of person, I just picked the Thai chicken salad and let them handled the rest....

fresh ingredients

Thai chicken salad, a little pricey at $8 but yummy!

FoodiePop's rating: 4/5 on Thai chicken salad

Bistro Sensations
Food court, Montgomery Mall
7101 Democracy Blvd
Bethesda, MD 20817

O'Donnell's Sea Grill, Gaithersburg MD

On a rainy Friday afternoon, what's better than a happy hour seafood joint?  We decided to spend a couple of hours at O'Donnell's Sea Grill in Kentland to wind down for the week.

Happy hour at O'Donnell's is strictly in the bar area to the right of the entrance.  We've been there numerous times because they have good food on the happy hour menu.  Also, they give you bread baskets that are complimentary!  Their rum bread is extra delicious with a couple of beers...

We started off with couple of beers (Guinness, $3 and Yuengling, $2) and ended up ordering 6 plates of  happy hour items.  They were so delicious and the seafood items were so fresh!  I love going back to this place time and time again.  Pictures are worth a thousand words so take a look at our happy 'happy hour' food & beer items!

the foam and water fountain effect ++!

half eaten complimentary bread basket, we had 2 baskets!

fried calamari, a steal for $4

fresh steamed mussels, another steal for $4!

steamed shrimp for $8, cost more but i LOVE them! 2 orders

burger sliders, $6, not cheap but yummy!

crab dip, $6 absolutely DELICIOUS!

Thanks to my 2 partners in crime.  It was another happy beginning of a wonderful weekend :)

FoodiePop's rating for happy hour: 4.2/5 stars

O'Donnell's Sea Grill
311 Kentlands Blvd
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

IHOP, Gaithersburg MD

Since I took the car to the shop and had to wait a few hours.  I decided to walk over to IHOP and have a breakfast feast by myself!  The new trend is to list all the calories on the menu, which I got to say, ignorance was SUCH a bliss.  After looking at all the calories, I was scared to order anything off the menu.  So I ended up doing the unthinkable, I ordered the 'simple and fit' version since everything else was in the 1000 calorie range!

got to have coffee

I ordered the simple & fit blueberry harvest grain 'n nut combo.  It turned out surprisingly delicious!  It was made with whole wheat flour and had lots of nut pieces all throughout.  I loved the fluffy texture of the pancakes and the nuts added the perfect touch.  The best part was, it was only around 400 calories!

blueberry harvest grain 'n nut

FoodiePop's rating on wheat pancakes: 4/5

IHOP
206 N Frederick Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20877

RedRocks Firebrick Pizzeria, Clumbia Heights, DC

On a sunny Sunday, we took our little dog and empty stomachs to a restaurant in Columbia Heights neighborhood for some patio brunch dining.  It was a gorgeous day and many restaurants in the area had outdoor dining.  We arrived around 11am and the wait was about 20 minutes, so we walked our dog around the neighborhood.  It was a little scary to walk in an unknown neighborhood so we tried to stay on main roads, even so, we quickly circled around and got back to the restaurant just in time for seating on their roomy patio.

patio seating @ RedRocks Pizzera

I read pretty good reviews on Yelp before we picked the restaurant, so I already knew what to order.  There were pictures of  'breakfast pizza' that I had to try since I never had a running egg on a pizza!  The pizza was pretty good, even though it lacked some meat on the topping.  Some bacon and sausage bits would be nice....!  I absolutely loved the pizza crest though, it had a rustic (brick oven) taste to it and it was the right thickness.

sunrise pizza, with egg and potato

He ordered some type of calzone.  It was good and ooozing with cheese, again, we should have added the sausages for $2.50 extra because it would have made it that much better and meatier!  The crust was the same as the pizza, so I loved it as well.

calzone

They also had the 'unlimited mimosa' for $8 which is awesome for brunch.  I bet I could sit there for hours and get OJ & champagne overdose!  Let me close this entry with my doggy's happy smiley face, I think she had a wonderful time brunching Sunday!

see the smiley face?

FoodiePop's rating for patio brunch: 3.8/5

RedRocks Firebrick Pizzeria
1036 Park Rd NW
(between N New Hampshire Ave & N 11th St)
Washington, DC 20010

Wine Harvest, Gaithersburg MD

After dinner Friday, we wanted a bottle of wine and a place to get chatty, so we drove down the street to 'Wine Harvest' wine bar in Kentland square.  This was our second visit to the store since we had a pleasant visit the first time around.

The wine selection was plenty and they opened til 11pm on Friday nights, which was convenient.  We were greeted with a high-school-kid looking waiter that showed us a couple of wines.  The deal was to pick any wine in the store plus $7 cork fee to drink them, very typical of wine bars.  Compared to some of the other wine bars we've visited in the past, Wine Harvest has more down-to-earth and cozy setting.  The wine prices were average and selection was plenty.  Our waiter was acting a bit strange toward the end of the night though, so we were guessing he was drinking on the job.  Other than that, we had a good time chatting and chilling!

plenty of selection

picked a bottle of Merlot

FoodiePop's rating: 3/5 (for wine)

Wine Harvest
114 Market St
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Vasilis, Gaithersburg MD

We were looking for a small restaurant for our girls night out date, so we picked a mediterranean restaurant called 'Vasilis' in Kentland, Gaithersburg.  The wait was about 20-30 mins, I'm guessing typical of a Friday night?  The restaurant has a small and cozy feel to it, but some of the girls said the decor is 'not very mediterranean'.  Either way, it worked for me :)

paper menu - guessing it changes often?

interior decor, lively and cozy

Two of my friends ordered the kabob item with pita bread and rice.  Those dishes looked very mediocre.  In fact, one of my friend stated Moby Dick has better kabob meat dishes....  The other two of us ordered pasta, which was somewhat confusing because they both tasted very ...Italian?  Not sure where the mediterranean touch was, but the pasta was sub-par if you don't care which cuisine you're ingesting? haha.

greek salad, complimentary with entree, not bad

chicken pasta - tasted Italian!

FoodiePop's rating: 3/5 for food (good ambience for wine & chill though)

Vasilis
353 Main St
Gaithersburg, MD 20878