Notes from the Weekend: February 10

Notes from the Weekend is a feature that sees the members of Team Meal Ticket compiling all the food/drink highlights uncovered during prime eatin' time, Friday to Sunday. Adam took the weekend off so it's just caroline chiming in this week. We'd love to hear all about YOUR weekend eating adventures in the comments. Go for it! (View past NFTW installments at citypaper.net/notes.)

Adam Erace: AE

Caroline Russock: CR

I got the weekend started on the right foot with an extended happy hour at Vernick with killer cocktails, brandade and anchovy toast and a plate of mackerel and avocado tiradito that was absolutely perfect. Back at home we deliberated dinner plans over a few beers and eventually headed over to Fountain Porter for burgers, beers and fries. We finished off the evening with a few gin and tonics at The Dolphin for Holy Ghost!—CR

Had the family over the house on Friday night, but with no time to cook, I took some help from the fine folks at Cafe con Chocolate. The Mexican-Japanese gem on the west side of Snyder supplied the spicy beef chili to my steamed brown rice. Roasted up some veggies and voila, dinner done. To go with the south-of-the-border theme, I mixed up a cocktail starring one of my favorite spirits, mescal. I've been steeping a bottle of El Silencio with pineapple cores since Christmas, an infusion that mixed beautifully a puckering cranberry shrub and club soda for sparkle.—AE

After throwing back a few somewhat revitalizing beer-mosas on Saturday, we headed to an early dinner at David's Mai Lai Wah. The meal kicked off with a round of Zombies and then always awesome salt and pepper wings, fried dumplings (that ginger sauce!), fried rice, Peking duck and sweet and sour pork. Probably should have listened to the waiter when he told us that our order was a little much for two people.—CR

Saturday eating started with the handsome Cobb salad from Honeygrow, a pre-dinner dinner before my cousin's wedding at the Down Town Club, where my diet consisted of chilled poached shrimp cocktail and Maker's manhattans. I managed to sneak in a pistachio-crusted fillet of perfectly cooked grouper accessorized with luminous beurre blanc, too, before sending the happy couple off to a honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Bring me back rum, guys!—AE

On Sunday we headed over to Sancho Pistola's to check out their newly introduced and totally amazing $30 brunch menu. The concept is genius - $30 gets you a starter, main and a side plus two hours of unlimited bloody marys, mimosas and margarita. pick and choose as you'd like. Brunch menu highlights included tortilla soup with shreds of tender braised chicken and avocado and rancheros with pork on crisp-fried tortillas. Good stuff. Due to a lack of burger buns within (lazy, I-don't-feel-like-dealing-with-the-snow) walking distance of my place, I ended up making cheeseburger hoagies for dinner.—CR