BEST Western Omlettes

They also have great home fries:These tri-folded, three-egg omelettes are mixed right up with perfect portions of fillings (fresh mushrooms, green peppers, ham, onion - and I get mine without cheese) so that you get a savory mix of perfectly cooked "egg, etc." in every bite. They're my favorite not only for the flavoring, but how they come out perfectly every time, with a sort of juiciness from the fresh ingredients - not from runny eggs. The home fries are a great side, too: soft and white on the inside but crispy, golden brown on the outside, tossed with sauteed onions (my favorite)!

Where you can enjoy this yourself:

Original Waffle Shop
1610 West College Avenue OR 1229 North Atherton Street
State College, Pennsylvania
http://www.originalwaffleshop.net/

If you are in the area, there is "The Waffle Shop" and also "Original Waffle Shop." They are extremely similar (used to be owned by the same people) but their menus, recipes, and prices are slightly different. For the best omelettes, go to the one on West Beaver Ave or on Atherton Street. (The other ones have the BEST chocolate chip pancakes!) As a side note, the Waffle Shops also have INCREDIBLE waffles, but I recently came into a waffle maker of my own, so I usually like treating myself to an omelette or pancakes when I go out - but definitely try the waffles, too!! They're great at both locations.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

About a year ago, I became obsessed with pita and hummus - just regular, plain hummus. Recently I've started expanding my hummus horizons and have really enjoyed trying homemade hummus with fresh chips or pita when I'm out - there are some really creative things you can do when you add in some seasoning and extra flavors. I usually prefer toasted pita to grilled (it better retains its shape with the former method) but This roasted red pepper hummus was very smooth with light flavoring, great to prep the palate before your main course!

Where you can enjoy this yourself:

Empire Brewing Company
Armory Square
120 Walton Street
Syracuse, New York
http://www.empirebrew.com/

Deviation: Hot Day, Cold Soup!

Normally I feature restaurant dishes, but these soups were just so pretty, I can't resist posting them here. The best part is, the recipe is at the end of this post! They were simple to make - but my family had a hard time guessing what color was made from what - even after tasting them. Since there were four of us, and each recipe makes about four servings, I made all four recipes and figured if I filled each bowl half way, somehow that would render the right amount of food per person...which was almost right. We each got through about 3 of our 4 bowls, haha.

So here's the magic break down!

RED - Chilled roasted tomato - tangy and savory
PINK - Cool mixed berry - fruity with a tart bite
GREEN - Cool zucchini - unusual (but tasty!)
YELLOW - Cold velvet corn - creamy and SWEET!

Of all of them, the yellow was my favorite. No sugar is added, but it has such a sweet flavor you won't believe it. The green I could take or leave, but it was still a big hit to everyone with a mature palate around the table.

Where you can enjoy this yourself:

At your very own home: Recipe HERE!