Some stats going into the All-Star break.
Against teams currently above .500…
– The Kings are 20-11-9
– In 15 out of 40 games (37.5%), they’ve scored 2+ goals
– GFA = 2.275
– GAA = 2.1
Against teams currently below .500
– The Kings are 4-5-1
– In 2 out of 10 games (20%), they’ve scored 2+ goals
– GFA = 1.6
– GAA = 2.2
sportclubstats.com currently gives the Kings a 68.7% chance of making the playoffs. bleh.
Saturday = CRAZY.
I woke up at 7AM and rushed to Staples Center to run the 2012 LA Kings 5K. My one week of training prepared me enough to finish almost 2 minutes faster than last year’s time. I crossed the finish line in 26:34, which averages to an 8:34 pace. What my training did not prepare me for was having to run 3.1 miles IN THE RAIN. It wasn’t light sprinkles, IT WAS RAIN. Needless to say, I was soaked afterward.
There was no time to chill and hang out at the event because I had to take my last GMAT practice CAT and Henry had groomsman duties to attend to. I completed my test at 2PM, which left me with only half an hour to get ready for the wedding! I didn’t even have time to eat! 😦
Things finally settled down once I arrived at the wedding venue: Muckenthaler Mansion in Fullerton.
Congrats, Jen & Thai ♥
The ceremony went off without a hitch and the meatballs served during cocktail hour were DELISH! I was so hungry I ate 8 of them!!! 😀
Although I had fun celebrating with friends, weddings, in general, give me anxiety. Personally, I would rather skip the wedding and go straight to the honeymoon – I’m working on getting everybody else on board with that idea. So far, my mom, who’s opinion is obviously most important, said she’s fine with me not having a wedding. Hopefully she’s not lying to me…
Mammoth Mountain, 1/6/12-1/8/12
Conditions: Spring, icy patches, minimal coverage
This is what January is looking like, folks…
No bueno
I’m pretty sure these conditions are the worst I’ve seen and experienced at Mammoth. We tried to make the best of it, but it was difficult given all of the browns spots, rocks and ICE. My board is seriously tore up! 😦
This is usually one of favorite runs – I love to bomb it down to Canyon, especially at the end of the day. So I’m riding down and everything was OK until I turned the corner. I, along with everyone else, was surprised by large patches of ice. People were breaking. People were falling. People were breaking and then falling. @#$*&@%. Icy crowded runs = accidents waiting to happen. I’m glad I survived with bruised knees.
My friends and I spent NYE stuffing ourselves full of red meat and shrimp (3 burner hot pot feast!), watching the Kings play one of their best games of season (4 goals? OH WHAT?!), and laughing our asses off playing telephone pictionary.
Round 2: Movies
Somehow Predator became Pokemon.
Best. Game. Ever. amirite?
Our experience at Traif could not have started out any worse. We arrived 30 mins late because I thought our reservation was at 8:30PM – it was actually at 8:00PM. The hostess offered us the bar since our table had obviously been given away and we accepted. As we were settling in and figuring out what to order, the hostess came by and said she would be able to move us to a table (outside in the patio area) if we didn’t mind waiting about 10 minutes. Even though it actually turned out to be more like 20 minutes, we were so delighted and grateful! The hostess was more than awesome 🙂 .. too bad I can’t say the same for our waitress.
Amuse bouche – Moroccan lentil soup
Delicious and oh so comforting on a cold, rainy night.
Seared scallops, butternut squash, huckleberries, pistachios, sage
The scallops were perfectly cooked and I loved the sweet and nutty aspect of the sauce.
Crispy pork belly, cauliflower, peperoncini, romesco, parsley-garlic
Hmm, honestly, I don’t really remember this one. Not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose. The dish was just not memorable either way.
Butterfish carpaccio, grapefruit, avocado, mint, sesame, soy
The avocado enhanced the creaminess of the butterfish and the grapefruit brought a refreshing element to the dish. YUM!
Gemelli pasta, blue crab, fresh black truffles, braised leeks
I’ve read many complaints about this dish, specifically regarding the lack of crab. While I agree that there could have been more crab (who doesn’t want more crab?), this dish was one of my favorites. The crab was not the star of the dish, but I couldn’t have cared less because I’m a sucker for truffles.
Joe’s chopped chicken livers, balsamic-bacon toasts, rosemary & shallots
LOVED. LOVED. LOVED this! The balsamic drizzle added a bit of sweetness and paired well with the chicken liver pate.
Salt & pepper spicy white shrimp, golden pineapple, sweet potatoes
When I read salt & pepper spicy shrimp, I didn’t expect to see this; I was thinking more along the lines of Asian salt and pepper shrimp. Although I liked the shrimp itself, the combination of pineapple and sweet potatoes didn’t work for me.
Seared foie, fingerlings, ham chips, sunny egg, maple, hot sauce
This dish reminded me of the foie gras loco moco at Animal (one of my favorite dishes EVER). It wasn’t as good, but certainly isn’t far behind. How can a dish with foie, potatoes and egg not be good?
Sautéed veal sweetbreads, roast mushrooms, green garlic, spinach
By this time, we were so damn full, our buttons were about to pop off. I liked the earthiness of the mushrooms and green garlic, but the dish would have been much better had the sweetbreads been accompanied with something that would have provided a contrast in texture instead of spinach. Henry isn’t a big fan of sweetbreads because of the texture so even though I was already extremely stuffed, I basically finished the dish myself. oof.
We definitely learned the hard way that 8 dishes is wayyyy too ambitious! No regrets though, we had a great meal.
Verdict: 4/5
Traif
229 S 4th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
This happened.
<
To the left of my house…
…to the right of my house, a block away.
24 48 72 96 120 144 150 hours without power. Awesome.
How did we celebrate 11/11/11?
By taking a day trip to Mammoth for opening weekend! Yes, we actually thought it was a good idea until it was time to drive back and everybody wanted to just knock the effff out.
Mammoth Mountain, 11/11/11
Conditions: Snow with low visibility, fresh powder, early season terrain
I have a love/hate relationship with snowboarding during snow storms. While I love cruising through fresh powder, the low visibility usually kills the fun for me. I know my goggle lens is definitely too dark for these conditions, but I used Henry’s for a bit, which has a higher VLT, and I still couldn’t see shit!
So now that I’ve experienced a day trip to Mammoth, I’ll probably never do it again. I didn’t even do any of the driving and I felt physically exhausted. Oh well, I’m planning at least one weekend trip to Mammoth every month… can’t let our season passes go to waste!
I knew exactly where I wanted to celebrate my 27th birthday.
NYC.
I purchased our plane tickets 4 months ago and had been counting down ever since. Now that it’s over, I feel empty inside and have nothing to look forward to until our snowboarding trip to Utah next March. Le sigh. #firstworldproblems
To save money, I took a chance and booked a room for Henry and I at the Verve Hotel. The hotel received great reviews on both Yelp and Trip Advisor so it made my decision a little easier to make. The Verve Hotel is located across the Queensboro Bridge in Long Island City and is within a 5 minute walk of 3 subway stations: Queens Plaza (E, M, R), Queensboro Plaza (7, N, Q) and 39th Ave (N, Q). By staying in a hotel one subway stop from Manhattan, I saved us about $600. Awesome, right? I saved us even more money since we took the AirTrain/Subway instead of a taxi from JFK. The AirTrain cost $5 and took us to the E line (Sutphin Blvd/Archer Ave). From there, we used our unlimited 7-day Metro pass and took the E line to Queens Plaza. A taxi ride would have easily cost $50+.
As with all the trips I plan, this one revolved heavily around food. I shouldn’t even say that anymore since it’s basically a given.
Our first meal in NYC was chicken and rice at halal cart (53rd and 6th). It has NEVER, EVER disappointed me. I love it so much. We even picked up two plates on our last night to bring home!
mmMmmm… white sauce
We also had a delicious brunch at Shopsin’s, a little shop located in the Essex Street Market.
Tip: The menu is HUGE so look it over online and have a general idea of what you want before you arrive at Shopsin’s. Oh, and taking pictures is frowned upon (yes, the cook actually shook his head at me), but I did it anyway.
Oyster scramble (CS10) and Blisters on my Sister (Mexican)
Mac and Cheese Pancakes w/ Bacon .. UHHHMAZING
One of the things I’ve always wanted to do was ride a bike around Central Park. I guess the 4th time’s the charm since the weather finally cooperated with me!
We rented bikes from Bike and Roll (Columbus Circle location). A full day rental costs $44 and a “day pass” costs $49. With a day pass, you are allowed to return the bike at another Bike and Roll location. This was a great option for us since I wanted to bike down to Battery Park City.
A quick pit stop at Luke’s Lobster for lunch…
… before riding along the Hudson River and finding this …
I really thought the obstacle course was drawn by Bike and Roll! It was actually for a kid’s event the previous week. LOL! 😀
After a 14 mile bike ride, we treated ourselves to gelato from L’arte del Gelato. SOOO GOOD!
Mokaccino, Mascarpone, Pistacchio
…
Since we’ve already visited the Met and AMNH, we decided to check out the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
Our day passes from Bike and Roll were also good for $5 off the All-Access Pass ($35) at the Intrepid, which included general admission, audio tour and 1 simulator ride (general admission itself is $24). Head sets were not provided with the audio tour. Instead, you held up the device to your ear and listened as you would with a cell phone. Some would probably find this tiring and annoying, but I didn’t really care too much. I only felt inconvenienced when I wanted to listen and take pictures at the same time.
Did I mention that I love planes?
TBM-3E Avenger and FJ-3 Fury
Flight Deck
F-9J Cougar and F-11F Tiger
F-14 Tomcat and A-12 (precursor to SR-71 Blackbird)
…
A birthday trip wouldn’t be complete without a birthday dinner, right? Well, make that two.
Marea and Eleven Madison Park
Thanks, Henry! ♥
——–
NYC Eats & Activities (+our verdict):
Verve Hotel, 4/5
Halal Cart, 53rd & 6th, 5/5
Shopsin’s, 4/5
NYC Bike & Roll, 4/5
Luke’s Lobster, 4/5
USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, 4/5
L’arte del Gelato, 4/5
Doughnut Plant, 4/5
Laduree, 4.5/5
Shake Shack, 4.5/5
A long flight is more endurable when you have Laduree macarons to eat.
The first time I dined at Burma SuperStar, I waited 2 hours for a table. The meal ended up being worth the wait, but I was determined to not let that happen again. Unfortunately, I wasn’t more prepared my second time and it was another 2 hours spent waiting around. Sorry guys! 😦
Tip: Burma SuperStar allows you to call in and place your name on the list – when a table is ready for you, they’ll give you a call to let you know. Make sure you’re around the area.
I decided to combine the pictures I took from my two trips to showcase a variety of dishes.
My FAVORITE items were:
Braised Pork Belly
Tea Leaf Salad
Garlic Chili Shrimp
Garlic Noodles with Duck
The pork belly was melt in your mouth UHMAZING and I loved the different textures in the salad. Being such a big garlic lover, the garlic shrimp and noodles were perfect choices.
The other dishes I’ve tried were delicious as well!
Moh Hinga (catfish chowder)
Nan Gyi Dok
Spicy Chicken with Mint
Burmese Style Curry with Beef
You must order rice with your meal! It’s totally necessary.
Half Tan Poi and Coconut Rice
And if you still have room (which I highly doubt), I recommend this for dessert:
Banana Spring Roll with Coconut Ice Cream
I have a love/hate relationship with Burma SuperStar. I really love the food, but the wait is ridiculous. I’ll make sure to follow my own tip next time.
Verdict (1 & 2): 4/5
Burma SuperStar
309 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
Just like NYC, I never intended to visit SF every year, but things just worked out that way. Last Thursday, Henry and I packed some clothes and snacks and made the 6.5 hour drive up north. We spent the weekend in the city by the bay (+ side trip to Napa, OF COURSE) with a couple of good friends.
GOOD FRIENDS + GOOD FOOD = GOOD TIMES 🙂
In SF, we stayed at our usual spot: Coventry Motor Inn. Upon checking in, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the room was completely renovated (new carpet, new memory foam beds, tv, etc)! And the best part was the price remained the same as before! I LOVE this place for being budget friendly, having FREE parking, and for its great location.
Our first night was spent eating dinner at Leopold’s and getting drinks at Horseshoe Tavern. Not only was the food at Leopold’s delicious, the co-owner Albert is totally awesome! I spoke to him briefly on the phone and since we were staying close by, he graciously offered to put my name on the list and provided an approximate time a table would be ready. Doing just that would have been good enough for me, but after dinner, Albert thanked us personally for dining at his restaurant and even remembered my name!
We tried to wake up early on Friday to avoid waiting a long time for brunch at Dottie’s True Blue Cafe. Unfortunately, I suck at waking up early when I don’t have work so we got in line at about 10:30AM and waited a little more than 1.5 hours for a table. BRUTAL. By the time we were seated, we were starving, thus …
yea buddyyyy 😀
Yes, the food was worth the wait.
After stuffing our face, we tried to fight off food coma by walking around Union Square. We then took the F train to Justin Herman Plaza for some urban zip lining!
The only downside is that you pay $29 for an experience that lasts less than a minute. It’s pricey, but it’s a cool thing to do if you’ve never zip lined before. It runs only in the summer and will shut down by the end of September. Hurry!!
After zip lining, we slowed things a bit by taking a leisurely hike at Land’s End.
The next day, we headed up to Napa for some wine tasting. I don’t like wine so that made me the designated driver and photographer.
Domaine Chandon
Paradigm
Alpha Omega
And that was that. Another great trip up north.
——–
SF Eats & Activities (+our verdict):
Leopold’s, 4.5/5
Dottie’s, 4/5
Zip Trek, 3/5
Philz Coffee, 5/5
Ferry Building, 4/5
Napa Wineries (+Henry’s verdict):
Domaine Chandon, 3/5
Paradigm, 4/5
Rubicon, 4/5
Alpha Omega, 1/5
Ever since watching Michael Voltaggio’s stint on Top Chef (season 6), I’ve been reppin’ Team Voltaggio all day, errday! Despite being a big fan, I never got the chance to try his food while he was at The Dining Room. The only thing that comforted me was knowing that Voltaggio would be opening his own restaurant soon. Originally rumored to open in July, ink. hit some speed bumps and is now slated to open in a couple of weeks (mid-September-ish). In the meantime, fans like myself were able to quell their impatience by heading a few doors down to ink.sack, Voltaggio’s new sandwich shop.
I followed a tip and arrived at ink.sack at around 12:30PM on Sunday. Parking was easy and I was the third person in line. I ordered 5 sandwiches, 1 cookie and 1 drink to share with Henry. As I stood at a table waiting for our food (no seats, standing room only), the line grew and flowed out the door.
Cold Fried Chicken and Jose Andres (aka Spanish Godfather)
In less than 10 minutes, our sandwiches were ready and I picked up the black paper bag at the counter. First up was the Cold Fried Chicken, which reminded me of a (cold) KFC snacker. The only difference on the CFC was the special sauce, Gindo’s Spice of Life, which had a nice kick, but was not anything close to amazing. I found the Jose Andres to be very salty – almost to the point of being inedible. Others like this sandwich, it just wasn’t for me.
Reuben and Maple Pepper Turkey Melt
The Reuben sounded interesting on paper. Sandwich with beef tongue? Cool, right? Yea, well, even though the meat was tender, I couldn’t tell I was eating tongue. The sauer kraut didn’t have any tang either and tasted like boiled cabbage. As for the Maple Pepper Turkey Melt, the highlight was the mostarda. Without it, the sandwich would have been as bland and boring as the Reuben.
Banh Mi and Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie
Of all the sandwiches, I liked the Banh Mi the most. However, it tasted like any other banh mi. I expected the Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie to have some kind of heat or spice, but it tasted like any other chocolate chip cookie. There was actually no heat whatsoever.
I wish I could say I was impressed by Voltaggio’s creations, but I wasn’t. Maybe I expected too much. As a fellow Yelper stated in his review, hype is a horrible thing.
Verdict: 3/5
ink.sack
8360 Melrose Ave, Ste 107
Los Angeles, CA 90069
I first dined at Petrossian back in Jan 2010 and it was one of the best experiences of the year. Fast forward a year and a half and my feelings have slightly changed towards the house of caviar.
Petrossian may look the same from the outside, but it is very much different now. The ever-so-popular Chef Ben Bailly left mid-November to helm the kitchen of Fraîche in Culver City. He was replaced by Chef Giselle Wellman, most recently of Bouchon Beverly Hills. With any change in head chef comes a change in the menu and unfortunately, one of my favorite dishes from the first time around got the ax. RIP best mac and cheese EVAR. 😦
Good thing the Caviar Flatbread РCr̬me Frąche, Chives, Red Onion, Capers, Chopped Egg was still on the menu! And it was just as delicious.
Since my beloved mac and cheese was gone, I ordered another pasta: Squid Ink Fettucini – Wild Californian Sea Urchin, Curry, Salmon Roe. While the flavors were great and I am a self-proclaimed uni slut, the pasta was undercooked.
The only entree on the menu that caught my eye was the Striped Bass – Yukon Gold Potato Noodles, Vodka Creme Fraiche, Chives, Caviar. Notice the common ingredients? Yes, the flavor profile was very similar to the Caviar Flatbread. It’s funny that I didn’t recognize that when I ordered. Anyway, the striped bass was perfectly cooked, but the potatoes were a bit disappointing. The thickness of the potato “noodles” were not consistent thus some pieces were softer than others.
Like last time, I went with a crème brulée for dessert. And also like last time, no complaints. Just YUM.
Verdict (2.0): 3/5
Petrossian Restaurant & Boutique
321 North Robertson Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90048
Until now, I had never been so repulsed by my meal that I stopped eating. So um, congratulations, Grub. You’ve earned this distinct honor.
As we waited for food, we were given complimentary Fruit Loops and Coco Puffs to snack on. CUTE POINTS at least!
I ordered the OOH LA LA! Egg Sandwich and it was anything but ooh la la. Overall, the sandwich was extremely bland with the only flavor coming from the Sweet and Sassy Bacon aka “crack bacon” by the masses. I definitely did not get the hype of the bacon and actually found it a bit odd – one piece was only sweet, the other piece was sweet and spiced with cumin(?). SO CONFUSED. Was this a mistake?
Drenching the sandwich in maple syrup didn’t make it any better either. I KNOW. That’s how bad this sandwich was… even bacon and maple syrup couldn’t save it.
Henry’s dish, Mamacita’s Breakfast Burrito was just as bad. Sure, it looks big, but it was mostly filled with bland, scrambled eggs. If Grub wanted to stuff the burrito with cheap fillers, they should have done so with the roasted potatoes because they were actually tasty!
I’m not sure if I’d be willing to give Grub another try. I already wasted $40.
Verdict: 1/5
Grub
911 Seward St
Los Angeles, CA 90038
No, really! I want to be the highest paid King!
I know some Kings fans let out a collective groan when the salary arbitrator granted Shea Weber a one year, $7.5M award on Wednesday. What does this mean for the on-going Doughty negotiations? Not much, in my opinion.
Bought the last one at Walmart.
I was tired of being a piece of lard, so I finally did something about it. After a year of failing to get back into an after work gym routine, I came to grips with reality: I’M TOO DAMN LAZY TO GO TO THE GYM AFTER WORK. 10+ hours of work makes me just want to chill out and do nothing afterwards… is that so wrong????? Anyway, if I really wanted to work out and get back into shape, mornings were my only option. Thanks to J, I signed up for 10 sessions of morning boot camp that meet 2x a week at 6AM!
6AM!!
Crazy right? On Mondays and Wednesdays, I get up at 4:30AM, eat a light breakfast and head out to Marina del Rey before 5. There are usually about 10 people and this class kicks all of our asses. TRUST.
Henry and I have also been trying to eat more healthy. This week we poached a big batch of chicken and split it into two recipes. We made pesto chicken sandwiches for lunch…
{via Cooking Light}
Note: I omitted lemon juice, walnuts and celery from the recipe. I used Classico Traditional Pesto Sauce, fat free mayo and regular wheat bread. SO DAMN GOOD.
… and chicken salad with cranberries for dinner.
{via Cooking Light}
Note: I omitted almonds and celery from the recipe and reduced the ground pepper (1/2 tsp is a bit much, I think). I used fat free mayo and plain fat free yogurt.
Notice a theme? I HATE CELERY.
Living in the SGV, I’m spoiled by the abundance of Asian restaurants that offer cheap, good eats. Since I’ve pretty much narrowed down my favorites, it’s hard to not be biased when I try new places. I usually end up thinking, I could have gotten the same thing for cheaper at ______, or this dish tastes just as good at ______ and I don’t have to drive as far.
Last weekend, Henry and I decided to give Daisy Mint a try because of all the good reviews we read on Yelp. It is located in Pasadena, which to me, usually indicates overpriced (Asian) food. I had to remind myself to keep an open mind. The inside of the restaurant is pretty small, seating only about 25 people, but there is also a really cute patio area that seats an additional 15 or so. We were fortunate to sit outside 🙂
After we sat down, it took less than a minute for me to decide what I wanted to order. I saw the Duck Roll appetizer and the Spaghetti & Black Mussel entree on the menu and it was a done deal.
I was a little disappointed with the portion of the Duck Roll. It was basically one small roll, cut into 4 pieces. Although it tasted good, I wish there was more duck.
You know those sizzling udon plates at Chinese cafes? Well, this spaghetti tasted just like it. I guess I expected that since the description read “spaghetti stir fried with bell pepper and basil in xo sauce”. I thought the dish was on the salty side and I also didn’t like finding bits of broken shell.
Henry ordered the Green Jungle Curry, which is probably the only thing I would order again if I went back to Daisy Mint.
Verdict: 3/5
Daisy Mint
1218 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91106
It really pains me to watch this video.
I don’t live in Vancouver. I’ve never even been to Vancouver. In spite of this, I can truly empathize with Vancouverites who are deeply saddened, outraged and embarrassed by the riots that took place after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the SCF. I know how it feels. I’m from LA. Hell, there are even riots here when we WIN!. I know how it feels to be unfairly lumped into a category (i.e. LA fans are “classless”) based on the media’s over-sensationalized coverage of inexcusable acts by idiots who do NOT represent the majority of the city’s residents or fan base. I know how it feels to desperately want to deflect blame and protect the city that you love.
I get it.
But come on Vancity, let’s keep it real. To claim that the riots were caused by anarchists and criminals posing as Canucks fans, as VPD Chief Jim Chu did, is completely absurd. I clearly see people in Canucks jerseys, new AND old (yes, I’m talking about the hideous Halloween jersey), actively partaking in the destruction of business storefronts. And I’m not buying the ridiculous explanation that these people were actually hooligans who spent money on jerseys just to riot after the SCF. As easy as it is to rationalize the situation, it is also illogical to reason that the rioters were not “true fans” because if they were “true fans”, they would not be rioting. First of all, the definition of a true fan is subjective, but more importantly, being a true fan does not necessarily mean you are a good person/have good judgement and vice versa. There are bad apples in every group, in every city. It is unfortunate that the rest of us have to suffer because of them.
I actually wanted to try breakfast at Julienne, but it’s only served until 11:15AM on Saturdays. I couldn’t make it because I had a dentist appointment in the morning, but honestly, even though I love food, it’s a tough sell for me to wake up early on the weekends.
When we arrived, my first impression was… wow! Fancy, schmancy! Since it was a beautiful day, we chose a table outside.
Our meal began with bread service. I really liked the Rosemary Currant bread. Henry, on the other hand, isn’t a big fan of rosemary so I basically finished his bread for him.
Since I looked at the online menu before we left the house, I was set on ordering the Sauteed Shrimp and Broccoli Curry with Steamed Rice. I was a little bummed when I found out that the menu posted on the website was Julienne’s winter menu and the curry was no longer available. However, there were a couple of other items that caught my eye. I couldn’t decide between the Tuscan Meatloaf with Spicy Tomato Chutney, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach and the seasonal Fish Tacos so I asked our waiter for his recommendation. He said, without any hesitation, fish tacos.
And they were SOOOO GOOD! The swordfish had a nice char, the citrus was refreshing and I absolutely LOVED the jalapeno aioli. It was definitely the best fish taco I’ve ever had! NO CONTEST!
Henry ordered the Roasted Lamb with Caramelized Onions, Avocado, Tomato, Basil Aioli on Pain Rustique. We were both expecting a hot sandwich, but it was cold.
Although it was a good sandwich, I really couldn’t tell I was eating lamb. If you told me it was roast beef, I would have believed you. The best thing about the sandwich was the caramelized onions.
The dessert menu was presented to us with a tray of desserts. Cute points!! We were sold on the Blueberry and Lemon Bread Pudding. It was served warm, drizzled with raspberry sauce and topped with whipped cream. Delish!
The only downside to this great meal was the bill. Two entrees, one dessert and one cup of coffee set us back $50. Julienne may not be my casual weekend brunch spot, but I’ll return when I feel like splurging 🙂
Verdict: 4/5
Julienne
2649 Mission St
San Marino, CA 91108
It’s such a struggle to decide where to eat on the weekends. We always end up at the usual suspects, ordering the same food. So when Henry reminded me that we still hadn’t tried Euro Pane Bakery, I welcomed the break from monotony and off we headed to Pasadena.
Parking turned out to be a breeze, which is more the exception than the norm. I was pleasantly surprised to see that despite the small size of the restaurant, there were tables available. I guess we came at the right time. After placing our order at the counter, we picked a table next to the storefront window to sit.
We started off with a cup of coffee and a lemon bar.
Dessert first! It’s a way of life 🙂
Not to toot my own horn, but I like my lemon bars better. I thought the lemon filling was way too dense; it was almost as hard as the shortbread cookie crust!
Anyway, we didn’t have to wait too long for our food ~ only about 10 minutes or so. And good thing since we were starving.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE……
I present to you the infamous open-faced sandwich that was featured on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Served Cold”:
Egg Salad Sandwich
I liked the sandwich! It was chunky, well seasoned and balanced, with just the right amount of mayo/mustard. The sun dried tomato pesto spread was a nice touch and added depth of flavor to an otherwise one dimensional egg salad.
If you read the reviews on Yelp, you’ll see mixed reviews regarding the Egg Salad Sandwich. I understand that people will have differing opinions, but some of the negative comments I’ve read about this sandwich are a bit ridiculous. Complaints include:
– not a real sandwich since there’s no piece of bread on top (UM, that’s why it’s described on the menu as being served open-faced)
– too much egg (UM, it’s an egg salad sandwich)
– difficult to hold in hand and eat (UM, it’s called a knife and fork)
The only reasonable thing to complain about is the price: $7.50 (w/o tax) is a steep. It’s interesting to note that the cost differential between the Egg Salad and the Salmon Sandwich below is only a $1.
Salmon Sandwich
The Salmon Sandwich ain’t no Russ & Daughters bagel and lox, but it was still pretty good. Next time I would definitely choose another bread. In hindsight, brioche was an odd choice to pair with smoked salmon. My bad.
Yea, that’s right. I couldn’t leave without some macaroons! I took home 2 sea salt caramel, 1 pistachio, 1 passion fruit and 1 mocha. My favorites were the passion fruit and mocha because they weren’t overly sweet. The macaroons were a little chewier than I’ve had before, but delicious nonetheless.
Verdict: 3.5/5
Euro Pane Bakery
950 E Colorado Blvd, Ste 107
Pasadena, CA 91106
I’ve been wanting to try out this pie for a while now, ever since Christmas, but Harry and David was completely sold out of it until a week after New Years!
I first heard about this pie from a coworker, who mentioned that it was one of Oprah’s favorite things. I checked it out on the Harry and David website and I was very intrigued because it was just crust, gravy and chunks of chicken – no veggies AT ALL!
Not exactly a balanced meal
After an hour and half, we were ready to eat!
As you can see, they do not skimp on the chicken. The flaky, buttery crust reminded me of Ritz crackers and the gravy was rich, creamy and flavorful. If the pie wasn’t so unhealthy and pricey ($20 each + shipping, unless you buy in store), I would probably eat it more often. Henry thought the pie was too plain, as did some of the Harry & David reviewers, so this pie is not for everybody.
I expect a lot when a bakery touts that their red velvet cakes were considered one of Oprah’s favorite things. I mean, it’s Oprah, and y’all know that woman EATS!
Can you believe this is May?????
We usually pack up our snowboards and gear in April, but this year, the stars aligned (MVP12 season pass + cheap condo) and we spent this past weekend in Mammoth with a couple of friends.
Henry and I wanted to shop for groceries before we left for Mammoth so we had to make a game time decision on what to make for dinner (breakfast is so much more simple!). Our friends suggested pasta and the first thing that popped into my head was spaghetti bolognese. I totally would have went with that if I hadn’t made it for lunch earlier in the week; my stomach just can’t handle that much acidity 😦 So, we went with mac n’ cheese instead. You can’t go wrong with mac n’ cheese, am I right??
(yields 4 servings)
Ingredients:
8 oz uncooked Cavatappi (do NOT substitute elbow macaroni!!!!)
3 slices maple bacon
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs – cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded four-cheese Italian blend
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Cooking spray
1 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese
Directions:
1. Cook pasta in large pot; drain.
2. While pasta cooks, cut bacon into small pieces and cook in large non-stick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and place onto paper towel covered plate. Reserve about half of bacon drippings.
3. Increase heat to medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to bacon drippings and cook until browned and done (about 5-6 minutes).
4. In medium size bowl, combine milk and cream of mushroom soup. Set aside.
5. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Gradually add milk/soup mixture and stir with whisk. Bring to a boil and cook until thick. Turn heat down to low and let sit for a few minutes.
7. Add Italian cheese blend and Parmesan cheese, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. Stir until cheese is melted.
8. Preheat boiler.
9. Coat baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in the pasta, chicken, bacon and cheese sauce. Mix together so that the sauce is well incorporated. Sprinkle evenly Colby-Jack.
10. Broil for 3 minutes or until the Colby-Jack cheese is melted.
DEVOURED
We made two containers full and that was all that was left. Proof that you can never go wrong with mac n’ cheese… especially when bacon is involved.
I’ve also made this recipe with chicken breast and it tasted just as good. If you want a more high-end mac n’ cheese, substitute the Italian cheese blend with a combination of smoked Fontina and smoked Gouda – they’ll definitely take the mac n’ cheese to another level of deliciousness!!!!
Official beauty shot
Bon appetit!
Mom deserves the best. And like I’ve said before, Mastro’s is THE BEST! So a little more than a year after I first took my parents to Mastro’s, we went back to celebrate the best mom in the whole wide world, my mom ♥
Our meal started out with the usual bread service as we waited for our entrees. My mom and dad decided to share the Chef’s Cut Rib-eye and Chilean Sea Bass.
Henry and I also went with the Chilean Sea Bass since I loved it so much last time. As for our steak, we wanted to switch it up. We ordered the off-the-menu special, Australian Wagyu Rib-eye “Tomahawk” (22oz). I didn’t know how it could possibly top the Chef’s Cut Rib-Eye, but I was really hoping it would especially since the Tomahawk was priced at $96!!
Well, even though the steak was excellent, I really couldn’t tell the difference between the Tomahawk and the Chef’s Cut (it was no more juicy or tender) so I can’t justify spending the extra $45.
We usually order sides of Lobster Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach, but this time we ordered Alaskan King Crab Black Truffle Gnocchi and Roasted Brussels Sprouts.
SO. DAMN. GOOD.
Come on, Crab + Truffle + Gnocchi???? I’m drooling just thinking about it right now. And I’m totally a sucker for brussels sprouts… I love roasting them with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
I think Henry and I have tried most of the desserts offered so we went with an old favorite: Mastro’s Signature Warm Butter Cake Ala Mode. You really can’t go wrong with this one!
Verdict (4.0): 5/5
Mastro’s
246 N Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
I had the opportunity to attend a screening for Bridesmaids last weekend with a couple of friends. And we did not go as just regular people. No, no. We were VIP! 😀 Being VIP meant that we didn’t have to wait in line and were treated with cupcakes, champagne and water. La dolce vita!
As for the movie… IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! OMG, I haven’t laughed that much during a movie in a long, long time. At one point, I felt a little embarrassed. Why? Well, I have a boisterous laugh and a loud clap to go with it. Yup. I mentioned that my nickname in sorority was husky giggler, right? 😛
Welp, here we are again.
Game 4: Section 114, Row 17, 10-11
So, with a bounce in OT of game 6, it was over. The Kings’ season came to an end as Joe Thornton batted a loose puck past Quick, into the net. Deeming the bounce “lucky” didn’t make the outcome any easier to accept.
And with win against the Coyotes, we’re in the playoffs!!!!!! 2 years in a row since 01-02!!!! Oh my gahhhhhhh~!
PR 1, Row 10, 7-8
I think there’s a good chance of the Kings making it to the 2nd round as long as they’re a 4th or 5th seed. I don’t particularly want the Kings to play against the Canucks or Sharks in the first round. Just sayin’. I don’t want a repeat of last year or Monday night’s game.
I looked at the remaining games of the season for the Western Conference and here is how I think everything will pan out:
In continuing the tradition of one musical per year at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts (formerly known as the Orange County Performing Arts Center), I watched Wicked this past Friday.
I ain’t gonna lie.
On a clear day, the views of Lake Tahoe from Heavenly are spectacular, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that Heavenly is horrible mountain.
I hate Heavenly.
I thought I didn’t give it a fair chance in 2007 so I visited again this past weekend. Big mistake. This trip just reinforced my hatred.
…
On Friday, about 75% of the mountain was closed due to high winds. I know I can’t fault the mountain for high winds, but give me a fucking break. The highest lift (CA side) we were able to take was Powderbowl, thus we were basically confined to a small area the same size as the West side of Mt. High!! Good thing Henry and I both have Epic Passes because if we had paid full price, we would have been PISSED.
Saturday was A LOT better, but only because there was a foot of new pow. The weather conditions in the morning were basically the same as Friday and yet most of the lifts were actually open. I just don’t get it. Anyway, we had a really good time on the Nevada side. We went down some nice tree runs below the Stagecoach lift and I didn’t even mind the skier tracked pow because it was soft enough to carve through.
After a quick lunch at East Peak Lodge, we wanted to go to the top of the mountain so we went up Dipper Express and made our way to Sky Express. As we were about to get in line for Sky, the staff announced that they were closing the lift. WTF, seriously? Sky being closed meant that we were stuck on the California side AGAIN. This is exactly why I hate Heavenly so much; it truly is a bitch to traverse the different areas. From NV to CA, you have to take a few lifts and you can bet your ass that there will be catwalks involved. From CA to NV, you better pray to the Heavenly Gods to keep Sky open, otherwise, just forget about it – YOU’RE STUCK!
Can’t take this guy anywhere
AND why is it that Heavenly doesn’t rope off areas that don’t lead directly back to runs? We went down into the trees off of Cat Track (CA side), got stuck in more than knee deep powder and had to hike over a snow covered trench and up to Maggie’s run! Damnit!
I’m usually sad when snowboarding trips end, but I was eager to leave Tahoe on Sunday. Since it had been snowing, we spent the morning shoveling snow and putting on chains. I had been checking the road conditions since the night before and decided that taking the 50 would be the best way home (instead of the 395) because chains were required for a shorter distance.
Our drive home started innocently enough. It was snowing, but we had chains on so we were fine. After driving a mile down the street, we came to a complete stop. I kept checking the road conditions for the 50 to see what the deal was, but there was no mention of any accidents or road closures. And because we were slowly inching along (no joke, 9 miles in 4 hours), we stayed put. After 5 hours or so, it was finally announced that there was a traffic hold for avalanche control. I seriously wanted to punch something!!! It was so fucking frustrating to realize that not only did we waste 5 hours FOR NOTHING, we still had a good 10 hour drive ahead of us.
I just want to go home!!
So we back tracked on the 50, took off the chains and headed to the 395. This began the scariest drive of our lives.
We just couldn’t catch a break. We were constantly battling Mother Nature whether it was snow and zero visibility or heavy rain and high winds. After 15 hours of HELL, we were finally home.
So yea, Henry and I won’t be coming back to Tahoe anytime soon, that’s for sure.
To end on a good note, check out what we made for dinner: juicy lucy with pepper jack and caramelized onions. So damn good!
My first time dining at Bottega was SO AMAZING, I couldn’t wait to go back! I had to try the Egg and Pork Belly Confit, which Tyler Florence showcased on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. We weren’t able to order this dish the first time around because it’s seasonal; it appears on the menu starting in July.
Good thing I didn’t have to wait too long.
We started off with one of Henry’s favorite wines (Buehler ’05 Cab) and a few appetizers: Polenta Under Glass, Monterey Calamari and of couse, Egg and Pork Belly Confit.
The polenta was just as delicious as last time, but the calamari, though tasty, was nothing extraordinary. Unfortunately, I wasn’t blown away with the Egg and Pork Belly Confit either. I LOVED the runny soft boiled egg, but unfortunately, the pork belly was overcooked. Oh well. I prefer braised pork belly over pork belly confit anyway.
Next up was pasta: Pappardelle Bolognese. The fresh pasta was cooked perfectly, but the meat sauce fell a bit flat. I expected it to be more flavorful.
We shared two entrees between 3 people because we didn’t want to over-stuff ourselves (which we ended up doing anyway). Since Henry and I had duck last time, we went for the Wood Grilled Lamb (with local figs and polenta). The polenta was delicious and the figs added a subtle layer of sweet that balanced out the gaminess of the lamb.
We also ordered the Smoked and Braised Short Ribs (with preserved Meyer-lemon spinach). The meat was very tender and the lemon lightened up the dish.
So even though our buttons were popping off at this point, we couldn’t leave without having dessert. I don’t remember the name of the 1st one, but who cares. Focus on the 2nd dessert: Zeppole al Lemoni – Italian donuts served with Meyer-lemon curd and Earl Grey infused jam. Hot damn, these were delicious!!!! I preferred the jam because the lemon curd was a little too tart.
I had put Bottega on a pedestal after my first time dining there. My second time brought Bottega back down to earth. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the restaurant and would recommend it to anyone. I just know that, other than the Confit of Half Duck and the Polenta Under Glass, most dishes aren’t the best I’ve ever had.
Verdict 2.0: 4/5
Bottega Ristorante Napa Valley
6525 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599-1300
No, not really.
I didn’t train at all for the LA Kings 5K, which is exactly why I am hurting all over right now. Most of you are smart enough not to follow my example, but just to be clear… I WAS STUPID. I SHOULD HAVE TRAINED.
Anyway, for not being prepared and for this being my first 5k, I think I did OK. I finished in about 28 minutes, which averages to 9 min pace. Obviously, I wasn’t even close to winning the race, but I know that with the right training, I can definitely improve my time for my next 5k.
That’s Henry crossing the finish line. He really didn’t want to run, but I made him 🙂
Why hello, Luongo. So nice of you to show up at an LA Kings event.
This little kid was just a taste of what I would see later that afternoon at the Kings vs Canucks game: A sea of fucking blue jerseys. Where the hell did all these Canucks fans come from???? I’d say that Staples was filled with 70/30 Canucks! Bullshit.
View from 209, 7, 7-8
You know what else was bullshit? The officiating. Bad calls on both sides. But the non-call that led to D. Sedin goal pissed me off the most, obviously, since it was the game winning goal. The Kings really couldn’t recover from that, especially Doughty, who just completely went bat shit crazy and got a stupid diving penalty. Good thing the Canucks PP was just as horrible as the Kings PP or else the final score would have been a lot different.
It was a physical game right from the start. Both teams were playing like they had tiger blood and Adonis DNA. Well… except for H. Sedin, who pouted like a little baby after a high stick from Doughty. Look Henrik, suck it up until you’ve had a few pucks to the face like your brother and your old friend Willie Mitchell. They kept replaying this bit on the jumbotron, in slow motion! I totally wish I took a picture. Damnit.
I was really excited to board at Vail. And why wouldn’t I be since Vail is so often described as “Epic”, “Amazing” and a “Big Mountain”?
My first impression of Vail was that it is a skier’s mountain. There were LOTs of catwalks and moguls, which as a snowboarder, I found very annoying. Vail is indeed a very big mountain and because of this, it seemed like 75% of their runs were ungroomed or skier tracked; Practically every run that we went on, regardless of the “groomed” signage, was very bumpy. Vail says that they have “the most groomed terrain on this planet”, but based on my experience, I would have to disagree with that claim.
To me, Vail’s saving grace was the abundance of awesome tree runs and Blue Sky Basin. For great tree runs on the front side of Vail, check out Game Creek Bowl. We spent an entire afternoon in this area!
If it weren’t for Game Creek Bowl, I would tell everybody to skip the front side entirely and go directly to Blue Sky Basin, where it truly is “like nothing on earth”. Riding through fresh untouched pow definitely made me love Vail.
See you next year, Colorado ♥
The highest lift at Breck (Imperial Express) takes you to about 12,840ft. Think this is the top? Think again. To get to Peak 8 Summit, you have to hike up a vertical distance of 160ft!
The easiest way to get to Imperial (for a snowboarder who doesn’t want to use the T-bar :P) is to get to Peak 8 Base and ride up Colorado SuperChair.
Then take Frosty’s Freeway to Chair 6.
From the top of Chair 6, ride down to Imperial Express.
And voila!
Hiking to the top was seriously the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do IN MY LIFE. Not only did I have to battle the elevation (it was hard to breathe up there), I also had to withstand the force of 30 mph winds. I almost flew off the mountain 3 times!
About half way up, Henry gave up and said he couldn’t make it. Even though I really wanted to give up too, I kept on going. I was determined to make it to the top!
And I did it! Once I made it to the top, I basically just threw my snowboard down and collapsed from sheer exhaustion. I got myself together and sat for about 5 minutes looking out into the distance, just taking in the whole experience. I was really happy that I made it to the top, but also sad that Henry wasn’t there with me. Before I could sulk too much, I saw Henry walking up. 🙂
Flowers die. I don’t wear jewelry. Chocolates are meant to be eaten every day. The only gift I wanted was to be together at 13,000ft on Valentine’s Day ♥
This year’s Colorado trip started the same way as last year’s.
We flew into Denver International Airport (DIA), picked up our gear/luggage and hopped on the Colorado Mountain Express (CME).
After the two hour shuttle ride, we arrived in Breckenridge and checked into Pine Ridge Condominiums. So, why do I like Pine Ridge? Well, mostly because of this…
Riding down to your condo after a long day is HEAVEN.
Pine Ridge may not be “ski-out”, but the Snowflake Lift, which takes you to Peak 8 Base Area, is just up the street. You can either walk there, or if you’re lazy like us, you can wait for the bus at the bus stop right outside the complex.
Besides the excellent location, Pine Ridge also has reasonable/budget-friendly rates and helpful staff. I was able to use their meeting room while waiting for the shuttle to pick us up and take us to Vail.
Anyway, once we settled in and unpacked, we took the bus (Gray Line) to City Market. Since I planned our meals before we left for Colorado, shopping for ingredients was a breeze. Carrying our groceries home, on the other hand… well, this is what saving money by not renting a car looks like…
If you’re considering not renting a car and you need to go to the market, rolling duffel bags (or any kind of rolling luggage) are your best friends!
During our stay in Breck, we made:
a. Chicken Enchiladas
b. Chipotle Turkey Chili
c. Rib-eye Steaks w/ Mini Cheddar Potato Skins
I made sure to pick tried and true recipes that were quick and delicious. The last thing I wanted to do after a long day of snowboarding was slave in the kitchen.
Last year, Henry and I suffered the symptoms of altitude sickness: headaches, nausea, light-headedness and shortness of breath. This time around, I was more prepared. I made sure to keep myself hydrated and didn’t experience one single symptom. As for Henry, he didn’t listen to me when I repeatedly told him to drink more water and guess what? He felt like shit the first night/second day. Doesn’t he know by now that I’m ALWAYS right? Damn!
Our first snowboarding day was spent at Keystone. It was not a very good day. The snow was a bit sticky, the runs were bumpy and they also closed the base gondola due to high winds. And we missed the bus back to Breck so we had to wait an hour and half for the next bus. And when we finally got home, I noticed that the knob on one of my BOA boots was missing and without it I had no way of tightening that boot. Good thing Josh at Mountain Wave was able to fix my boot in less than 2 minutes for only $10.
After a lousy first day at Keystone, we hit up Breck and man, the snow was SO MUCH BETTER. We spent much of the first day around Peak 8. My favorite runs on the bottom half of Peak 8 were Spruce, High Anxiety and Rounders.
During the next few days, we pretty much covered all of Breck. Surprisingly, my favorite area was Peak 10! I say surprisingly because last year, I hated Peak 10 because the runs were icy – we did one run and then headed back to Peak 8/9. This year, we went down almost every run on the front side of Peak 10 and they were all so fun and fast.
I also liked the runs at Peak 7. They weren’t as challenging as Peak 10, but still fun nonetheless. My favorite run was Wirepatch.
We usually don’t go out and explore the town during snowboarding trips, but since we didn’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day (it’s overrated anyway!), Henry and I went on a date on our last night in Breck.
Downstairs At Eric’s was perfect for us because we were in the mood for pizza and I was able to catch the end of the Kings game. We ordered the sweet chili wings, “garbage” pizza and chicken fried steak.
I really loved the chicken fried steak; it was so moist and tender! The crust of the pizza was interesting. When I ordered the garlic wheat crust, I really didn’t expect actual minced pieces of garlic in it – what a nice surprise since I LOVE GARLIC!
We passed up dessert at Downstairs at Eric’s because I wanted to see what else Breck had to offer. About 2 or 3 blocks down the street, we found this cute ass place: Crepes a la Cart. The smell was so damn intoxicating, I just had to order a dessert crepe. There were many choices, but I finally decided on the Turtle Sunday.
SOOOOO DELISH! My only complaint was that they didn’t give us enough ice cream! But in retrospect, maybe this was a good thing since it was really cold outside.
So, after 5 days in Breck, we left for Vail. We were really sad to leave, but we were also excited to check out Vail and see what all the hype was about.
To be continued….
Snowboard and gear? Check.
Epic Pass? Check.
Colorado Snowboarding Trip 2011 begins now.
Henry and I registered for LA Kings 5K on March 5th. With registration, you receive a t-shirt and tickets to a game of your choice (Vancouver, Dallas or St. Louis). Of course, I chose the Canucks game!
So… I guess I have to start running again, huh? Perhaps buying new running shoes will give me some motivation. The ones I have right now are about 4 years old. Yea, it’s due time. I’m thinking about these:
ASICS Women’s GT 2150 available at Amazon.com for $71.33 (size 6)!
Gordon Ramsay scares the hell out of me. I would not want to work for him, but eating at one of his restaurants is another story. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay anyone?
Mammoth Mountain, 1/20/11-1/23/11
Conditions: packed powder, spring-like, bluebird skies
First meeting of the year! 🙂
Executive Board:
Cherry
Doug
Kat
Henry
Art
Gertie
Mark
Agenda:
We pretty much covered the entire mountain during our 3 days of boarding. By this I mean we spent equal time at Eagle, Canyon, Mill and Main. Usually, Henry and I like to stay on the Eagle side because
– we usually rent condos in that area
– one of my favorite runs happens to be (Upper) Goldhill to Slot to (Lower) Ricochet – via Cloud 9 Express Chair
– Canyon and Mill are usually way too crowded
– it takes a lot of effort to get to Main unless you start there
I found some new runs that I really love on the backside of Mammoth! Either start at the top (via Panorama Gondola) and take Upper Road Runner or start at the top of Chair 23 and take Skyline to Upper Road Runner. From here you can cut across to go down Arriba to Chair 14. Or you can board Upper Road Runner to Santiago/Santiago Bowl and down to Chair 14. Both are fun speed runs! LOVE THEM!
Click to zoom
Noteworthy Items
Check out this creepy picture. I know I’m short, but damn, I look like a little kid here…
Subsequent Events:
I will be heading to Colorado in TWO WEEKS (5 days in Breck, 5 days in Vail)!!!!!!
San Jose Sharks @ Los Angeles Kings
View from PR 17, 6, 11-12
Winning in SO against the Sharks doesn’t help us that much in terms of climbing up the standings, but hell, it’s better than losing in regulation! Overall, it was a fun game to watch – high energy with lots of close calls/great saves on both ends.
My Nor Cal trip was way too short; we were only there for about one whole day. Our home base was Fremont, but we took a day trip to San Francisco.
During our 8 hours in SF, we browsed and ate lunch at the Ferry Building, walked around the Golden Gate Bridge area, shopped in the Marina District and ended with dinner at Okoze Sushi. It was a tiring day with lots of walking!
My favorite part was the Ferry Building. Despite visiting SF multiple times, the Ferry Building never made it onto the itinerary. I don’t think I ever even considered going there, which is really surprising given my love for public marketplaces.
Since I’ll be heading up to Nor Cal later today, I thought this would be a good time to finally write about my last trip to Napa/SF (in October 2010).
Henry’s brother, David, is now teaching abroad in Korea. I planned a trip to Napa/SF as a last hurrah before he left. As with my trips of the past couple of years, this was heavily based on food and being a fellow fatass, David did not mind at all.
We started out in Napa and had some great burgers + yummy pumpkin milkshake at Gott’s Roadside.
We also lunched at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen during our stay. I was really excited about the duck burger, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The best item was the rabbit tostada appetizer.
Going to Napa can’t be all about food. We visited a few wineries, of course.
Ceja
Duckhorn
Trinchero
and Henry’s favorite, Trefethen
After our wonderful time in Napa, we headed down to SF to eat some more. I swear I would have gained a gazillion pounds if it weren’t for us getting some exercise by biking across the GG.
No matter how many times I’ve seen/driven/biked over the Golden Gate Bridge or whether it’s cloudy or sunny, I am still amazed by its beauty. It is definitely my favorite bridge in the world!
As you can see from the picture below, we clearly were not dressed properly for the bike ride over the bridge. The day started out cloudy with temperatures in the high 50s/low 60s. Because we exerted a lot of energy biking over some big hills, we weren’t really cold until we got closer to the bridge. The strong winds made it feel like the temperature was in the 20s! Good thing the sun finally came out in the afternoon or else we probably would have frozen to death on the bike ride back.
I always have a great time in the Bay. This weekend will be no exception 🙂
——–
Napa/SF Eats & Wineries (+our verdict):
Gott’s Roadside, 4/5
Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, 3/5
Ceja, 3/5
Duckhorn, 3/5
Trinchero, 4/5
Trefethen, 5/5
Firefly Restaurant, 3/5
Fish, 4.5/5
Just For You Cafe, 3/5
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Los Angeles Kings
At the end of the day, 2 points is 2 points. I know. But how you get that win should matter, especially when you’re up 4-0 and somehow the final score ends up being 6-4.
Mt. High, 12/27/10
Conditions: packed powder, bluebird skies
Apparently, I didn’t get the memo.
I’m so glad to be riding again 🙂
Henry first took me to Roy’s (DTLA) for Valentine’s Day 2007. We fell IN LOVE with the amazing melt-in-your-mouth butterfish and their signature chocolate souffle.
We went to Roy’s (La Jolla) again that summer for our 6 month anniversary and tried the opah, which was just as delicious as the butterfish. So based on these two experiences, I’ve considered Roy’s one of my favorite restaurants for the past 3 years, rating it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Last night, I took my parents out to Roy’s (DLTA) for Christmas and well, three years of eating at many highly-rated restaurants have left me a little jaded. Roy’s wasn’t as good as I remembered it to be. I found it difficult not to nitpick the details like the butterfish being slightly overcooked and the Kurobuta pork shank being under-seasoned. Still, the most important thing was that my parents really enjoyed their meal, so at the end of the day, I would consider this experience a success.
Verdict: 3/5
Roy’s Restaurant
800 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Cheesecake Factory is evil. Pure evil! Not only does it serve oversized portions of mediocre food that is high in fat and sodium, it has some god damn freakin’ delicious cheesecake. Damnit!
Breakfast of champions? ………HELL YES!
When I think of salisbury steak, two images immediately pop into my head:
1) hungry man dinners
2) elementary school lunches
Not exactly selling points, right?
Well, seeing the recipe in the December issue of Cooking Light was enough for me to try to make it myself (you can find the recipe in the “Dinner Tonight” section).
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
(yields ~ 4 servings)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup grated onions, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground sirloin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
8 oz baby portabellas (I cheat and buy pre-washed/pre-sliced)
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 tbsp Wondra flour
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Directions:
1. Combine 1/4 cup onion, pepper, salt, garlic, soy sauce and beef. Shape into 4 (1/2 inch thick) patties.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add patties and cook each side until browned (~3 min).
4. Remove patties and add butter to the pan. Saute mushrooms and remaining onions in melted butter (~6 min).
5. Sprinkle flour into the mushroom mixture and cook for about 1 minute. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Gravy should thicken up in about 10 minutes – stir to ensure no clumps.
6. Add patties, vinegar to pan and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
I really loved the mushroom gravy – it was the best part of the recipe! The vinegar enhances the gravy’s earthy/beefy flavor. Even though I adjusted the original recipe, I still think the patties needed more seasoning. Oh, and make sure you don’t form the patties thicker than 1/2 inch. Otherwise, the steak/gravy ratio will be off and that’s a bad, bad thing. Or you can just make extra gravy 🙂
Bon appetit!
An early Christmas present to myself 🙂
LA Kings 5 game ticket pack. Just what I wanted.
I came away with this awesome calendar at my work’s annual holiday calendar exchange.
Isn’t it adorable? I love it!
this girl, kc 