Gourmet Shop COLUMBIA 93

The Gourmet Shop is located in 5 points and offers more then a kick ass wine and cheese selection along with endless, fun kitchen necessities. They also serve lunch as well as coffee and a few pastries. This might be one of my favorite lunch spots in Columbia; their fresh ingredients always guarantee satisfaction. They offer soups, wraps, and different salads, but I almost always end up ordering a panini. It's hard for me to order anything other then the "Turkey Panini" (pictured above), made with turkey, avocado, tomato, and goat cheese. The sides are difficult to choose between as well, but the different pastas are the best. I usually get the pesto pasta (pictured above), which goes great with any of the sandwiches. They offer tables outside in the shade, which is great if you want to bring your dog, and a few tables inside as well. The service is always good and it's an ideal spot for a quick lunch or a long coffee. Overall I gave Gourmet Shop a 93. The food is definitely crave worthy and the service is great.

M Cafe COLUMBIA 82

This past weekend I decided to venture to Columbia to visit some girl friends. As I was heading that way on Friday afternoon, my friend called me and made me promise we'd have sushi for dinner at M Cafe. We originally set off to M Vista (which is the newest M Cafe location, near Wild Wings) around 8 pm, but after finding no remotely close parking spots and noticing how packed the restaurant was, we decided to try the location on Sumter st. After a quick drive we found a spot out front and plenty of tables available. We were seated right away and everyone quickly fell in love with the lychee martinis. We all agreed to split appetizers so we started with edamame, meat filled dumplings, and rock shrimp in a spicy sauce. Edamame is always a safe bet and everyone enjoyed the dumplings. I liked the rock shrimp a lot, but both of my friends had to stop eating them because they thought they were to spicy. Our dinners followed shortly after; once again we had decided to split three sushi rolls and chicken teriyaki. The "Volcano" (the top roll pictured above) roll was the favorite, probably because it was deep fried. M Cafe's menu is big without being to overwhelming. They have plenty of interesting specialty rolls which are hard to decide between, and also offer entrees other then sushi. The chicken teriyaki was pretty good, but the sushi was definitely better. It's a really good spot for a date or a girl's night. We left dinner with to go boxes, full, and ready to go downtown. I rated M Cafe and 82 and definitely plan on going back.

Cafe Strudel COLUMBIA 70

After a late night in Columbia on Friday me and a couple friends decided to try out Cafe Strudel on State St for a late Saturday lunch. The first appeal was that they served breakfast all day and were pretty cheap. The food was decent, nothing special or amazing. I opted for their buffalo grilled chicken salad served over fresh romaine lettuce (pictured left). The chicken was okay but a little dry. Cheap, bland, and slightly off the mark are the best descriptions for the sandwiches and salads. I would go back to try their breakfast, but probably wouldn't try anything else. Overall Cafe Strudel is rated at a 70 for a cheap decent meal.

Taqueria Jalisco Mexican Restaurant COLUMBIA 89

Jaliscos is in my top 5 favorite Mexican restaurants of all time. I must admit that this isn't my first time dining at Jaliscos; when I lived in Columbia I made sure to eat there a couple times a month. It's by far the best Mexican restaurant you'll find in Columbia. Located off St. Andrew's road, Jaliscos offers amazing and authentic micheladas (Michelada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), ceviche, and tortilla soup. The ceviche (top right) is $3.95 and comes on a tostada with avocado slices on top. I have compared many ceviches, and Jalisco's version always comes out on top. The tortilla soup or their sausage and potato tacos are just the thing for a cold day. My personal favorite entree would have to be the Camarones a la diabla (bottom left). The delicious, spicy orange sauce tastes good on everything! Jaliscos is in no way expensive or gourmet, but the food is wonderful. The only thing that Jaliscos doesn't bring to the table are their margaritas. I personally don't care for them, they're very sweet. However, their pina colladas and beer selection are great! Just on the cusp of a 90, Jaliscos comes in at an 89 making it worthy of returning to.