My Epic Pass arrived in the mail today! Woohooo!!!!
There have been a few early storms so I’m seriously stoked to get out there and board. I’m hoping to head out to the local mountains this weekend. As for the rest of the season, my Colorado trip is booked and Mammoth in January is pretty much set, but everything else is tentative. Check out my schedule:
I can’t wait!!!!
[Source: Harry How, Getty Images]
Of late, it has not been a happy time for “Coon n’ Friends”. After a nice 6-0 winning streak, the Kings have gone 1-6 in their past 7 games, with the only win coming from a shootout against Boston. Yes, of course I’m really disappointed, but no, the sky is not falling! Every team goes through tough periods. You can’t expect any team to win all 82 games; that’s just ridiculous! I really hate reading all the message boards after a loss because everybody jumps on the “trade ______” bandwagon. However, I do agree that there are issues that we need to take care of:
– Our PP is seriously horrendous. Even with a man advantage, we have difficulty with puck possession in the offensive zone. When we do keep the puck in, our plays are so damn predictable, it’s no wonder every team seems to be able to shut us down on the PP.
– What’s up with all the turnovers?! One person comes to mind when I think turnovers and that is JJ. When JJ is on his game, he’s great. When he’s not, his mistakes usually lead to goals for the other team. But let’s be fair, JJ is not single-handedly bringing down the Kings.
– TM doesn’t want to break up the 2nd line, which is understandable given that they have been the dominant scoring line since the regular season started. However, the Smyth-Stoll-Williams line has been less and less effective in the last few games (the line hasn’t scored since the Boston game), perhaps due to the fact that the other teams are adjusting their focus to neutralize our “hot” line. It’s time for TM to consider shaking up this line – what do we have to lose?
I looked at the Purple Pig’s menu multiple times when planning Foodcation 2010, but I didn’t get the “OMG, I have to eat here” feeling so the restaurant never made it onto our itinerary.
Fast forward to our last night in Chicago.
We didn’t have time to eat before our fireworks cruise so by the time it ended (around 10:30PM), we were starving. Using our fabulous new phones (HTC Evo), we searched for the closest place to eat. Well, what do ya know. The first restaurant listed was the Purple Pig. The food gods must have wanted us to eat here.
The Purple Pig, whose tag line is “Cheese, Swine and Wine”, is located on Mag Mile, two blocks north of the Michigan Ave. bridge. The Mediterranean inspired dishes are served tapas style so we ordered 5 + dessert.
(1) Shrimp & Clams with Rosamarina
(2) Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs
(3) Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes
(4) Scallop Spiedini with Chickpea Aioli
(5) Jamon Serrano with Duck Egg, Asparagus, Grilled Bread
I can’t really say one dish was my favorite; they were all so delicious!!!! The shrimp and clams were so light and refreshing, the bone marrow was rich and decadent, the pork shoulder and scallops were perfectly tender and oh my gosh, you all know how much I LOVE runny eggs!
(6) Butterscotch Bodino
What a great ending to a fantastic meal! The butterscotch pudding was thick, smooth and had just the right amount of sweetness. YUM!!
Fate works in funny ways. I’m really glad it led us to the Purple Pig.
Verdict: 5/5
The Purple Pig
500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
2008 – Phantom of the Opera
2009 – Rent
2010 – Beauty and the Beast
I’ve now watched three shows at Segerstrom Hall in the Orange County Performing Arts Center (OCPAC) and I have yet to be disappointed with my seats or the production. I’ve usually sat in the center between rows L-O; the view is great.
This past weekend, I watched Beauty and the Beast and WOW, what a great show! Even HENRY thought it was entertaining 😀 Just like the movie, my favorite characters of the musical were Lumiere, Cogsworth and CHIP (he was SO DAMN CUTE!). Most of the special effects were fantastic; I only found the “wolves” to be really cheesy.
The next show I’m looking forward to watching is Wicked (March 2011). Yes, I’m lame…I’ve never seen Wicked 😦
When Alinea calls you and tells you that they have a 5:45PM seating available, you scream at the top of your lungs, jump up and down on the sidewalk before calming yourself to say, “Yes, I’ll take it”.
As I was planning Foodcation 2010, I didn’t think there would be much of a chance of us dining at Alinea given the huge wait list, but I prepared myself nonetheless; I didn’t make concrete dinner plans for our first two nights in Chicago, just in case.
Our flight from Philly arrived in Chicago at 3:30PM and we checked into our hotel by 4:30PM. This meant that we only had 45 minutes to settle in, change and get ready for dinner! I was really stressed, but like I said, whatever it takes! The hotel concierge recommended that we take a taxi to Alinea since we would be dressed up for dinner, but we decided to take public transportation instead. I see no shame in taking the subway/bus while dressed up, although, I would NEVER do that in LA.
Alinea is located in a gray, nondescript building in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. If not for the valet parking sign outside, you would not know that this gray building with big windows houses one of the best restaurants in world.
Behind the big black doors is a fuchsia lit, narrow hallway. You begin walking down the hallway, entranced by the bright color, but all of a sudden, sliding doors open to your left and you are pulled back to reality. Welcome to Alinea.
Keep in mind, menus were given to us at the end of the meal, not the beginning. We were to interpret the dishes on our own, with all of our senses.
English Pea: Iberico, Sherry, Honeydew
We started our journey with a manipulation of English Peas. The peas were blanched and pureed with cream and then freeze-dried and shaped into free-form shards. Accompanying the peas were powdered Iberico ham, honeydew spheres and drops of sherry vinegar. With each bite, we got a different combination – peas with ham, peas with honeydew, or all of the above. The peas proved to be a great canvas for the distinct flavors of the other ingredients. This was one of my favorite dishes overall.
Shrimp: Fermented Black Bean, Cinnamon Aroma
Yuba: Shrimp, Miso, Togarashi
Chao Tom: Sugar Cane, Shrimp, Mint
Distillation: of Thai Flavors
Next, we took a trip to Asia. Even without knowing what exactly was in each dish, you could recognize such Asian ingredients as miso, fish sauce and black bean.
Tomatoes: Pillows of Fresh Cut Grass Aroma
Our sense of smell was put to work during the heirloom tomatoes course. The plates were placed on top of deflatable pillows filled with the aroma of fresh cut grass. With the help of gravity, the aroma escaped from the pillows as we ate the tomatoes and for a few minutes, we were transported out of the restaurant and into a garden after springtime showers.
Pork Belly: Curry, Cucumber, Lime
The pork belly spring roll course gave us an opportunity to be “hands on”. After making our own stand with metal prongs, the servers placed a sheet of spring roll paper on the stand and topped it with delicious pork belly. What we wanted in our pork belly spring rolls was totally in our control; we had 11 different ingredients to choose from. Henry being adventurous, used everything. I, on the other hand, do not like cilantro or mint so I opted out of those items. This course was very refreshing and fun. I liked the idea that fine dining wasn’t limited to using proper silverware.
King Crab: Plum, Lilac, Fennel
The next course offered three variations of King Crab combined with three ingredients: plum, lilac and fennel. With each variation, the temperature of the dish and the level of richness increased. This was a great stepping stone to the more rich and savory courses of the meal.
Hot Potato: Cold Potato, Black Truffle, Butter
“Eat this right away” was what our server instructed us to do for the hot potato course. I kind of freaked out a little bit because I notoriously take forever to get the perfect shot, but this time I just had to let it go. We pulled the pin out, letting the hot potato/truffle/butter fall into the cold potato soup and knocked all of it back. Delicious. I can see why people rave about this course.
Lamb: Reflection of Elysian Fields Farm
The first of our meat courses was to be a reflection of Elysian Field Farms, Alinea’s long standing supplier of lamb. The lamb loin was cooked sous vide and skewered with a spruce branch to represent the trees on the farm. Served alongside the lamb were ingredients that represented the lamb’s diet (corn and oats) and surroundings (grass).
Black Truffle: Explosion, Romaine, Parmesan
In between the two meat courses was an explosion in your mouth, literally. A black truffle explosion, to be exact. I love truffles so this course was absolute heaven.
Tournedo: A la Persane
The second of the meat courses, referred to as an antique concept, was an interpretation of August Escoffier’s “Tournedos a la Persane” recipe. Notice how the beautiful china adds to the antique feel; Alinea is all about the details. This course brought us back to the basics: simple plating, great combination of flavors and textures. Perfect.
Bacon: Butterscotch, Apple, Thyme
So, how do you transition from savory to sweet? With a dehydrated slice of bacon dipped in butterscotch of course!
Lemon Soda: One Bite
Transparency: of Raspberry, Yogurt
Bubble Gum: Long Pepper, Hibiscus, Creme Fraiche
Our dessert courses began with a trio of fun dishes that were reminiscent of candy such as lemonheads (Lemon Soda not pictured), fruit roll-ups and bubble gum.
Earl Grey: Lemon, Pine Nut, Caramelized White Chocolate
A play on tea and cookies, the earl grey course was my favorite dessert. Loose tea leaves were finely ground and combined with crumbled shortbread dough. The innovation didn’t stop there, of course; the other elements of this dish really helped elevate it to a whole other level. The lemon curd spheres brought out the citrus component of earl grey while the white chocolate strands masked some of the bitterness.
Chocolate: Coconut, Menthol, Hyssop
Now for the dessert finale. I’ll let the video speak for itself. Excuse my “Oooohhs” and “Aaaahhhs” 😛
♥
The perfect ending to this extraordinary meal would have been to meet Chef Grant Achatz. Unfortunately, the stars did not align as he was on vacation. The end of August seems to be a popular time for Chefs to take vacation. We did, however, get the opportunity to tour the kitchen. I guess we’ll just have to come back and dine again in order to meet the great Achatz 😉
The End.
Verdict: 5/5
Alinea
1723 North Halsted
Chicagom Illinois 60614
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Los Angeles Kings
The first game I attended this season turned out to be the Kings’ first loss at home. Talk about being bad luck 😦
I purchased my premier seating tickets through: livingsocial.com. At Staples Center, premier seating is basically the section between the 100s and the 300s – the 200s surround both nets. Food and drink service (as in you order and they serve you – you still have to pay) is included in the premier section so you literally can stay in your seat all night long, unless you have to go to the bathroom of course. I actually prefer the premier seats to the 100s because you have a more elevated view of the entire ice rink while still being close enough so that you can clearly see the players and the puck. Although it’s exciting to be so close, if you’re too far down in the 100s, it’s hard to see what is going on if it’s not happening right in front of you. The downside is that the price for a single ticket game in the premiers is usually more expensive than the 100s (other than center ice), so if you go for the 100s, I suggest you choose from row 15+.
Did you notice that Staples Center was packed? The Kings are back and I could not be more proud 🙂
We love LA! ♥
It’s been three months since we returned from Foodcation 2010 and I’m finally getting around to posting about our last stop: Chicago. That’s some serious backlog! (Read about NYC and Philly)
We only had one reason to go to Chicago and that was Alinea. So imagine my disappointment about being put on a 20+ person wait list. We had booked all of our travel/lodging months beforehand and I thought calling one month before to make a reservation at Alinea would be enough, but it wasn’t; Alinea begins taking reservations two months prior to the month you plan to dine. For example, if you want to dine on August 24th, you better start calling on June 1st! More about Alinea in another post.
We booked a room at Allerton, which is located on Mag Mile. To me, the location was the best aspect of the hotel. I love how lively and vibrant Mag Mile is! It reminds me a lot of NYC and you all know how much I LOVE NYC! 🙂
As with NYC and Philly, the public transportation in Chicago is very efficient. We purchased a 3-day pass (available at CVS) for $14 each, which we used to go to Hot Doug’s, of course.
After about 50 minutes on public transit and another 50 minutes waiting in line, we were finally standing in front of Doug, himself, ordering:
– 2 “Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel”
– 1 “Red Wine and Demi-Glace Venison Sausage with Fig Goat’s Butter and Raclette Cheese”
– 1 “Saucisson Alsacienne: Bacon Sausage with Creme Fraiche, Caramelized Onions and Tomme de Savoie Cheese”
– order of DUCK FAT FRIES
One word: AMAZING.
To burn off the 3000+ calories we consumed at Hot Doug’s, we walked around the city.
First up on our walking tour was Millennium Park. We were in town for “Chopin in the Park”, a bi-centennial birthday celebration of Poland’s greatest composer, Frédéric Chopin. Perfect timing! Chicago is Warsaw’s sister city, which is why it was part of the celebration. We stopped to listen to a little boy play Waltz in D Flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1 (aka Minute Waltz) and Waltz in C Sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2. I recognized both pieces instantly – anyone who started playing piano at 4 years old and practiced 3 hours a day would.
After Millennium Park, we made our way to Buckingham Fountain (cue: love and marriage, love and marriage :)) …
… and ended our walking tour at Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower), where my camera battery ran out after my first shot inside! BURN. Thank goodness for back-up point and shoot!
We also used our metro passes to visit the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks.
While Chicago is certainly beautiful during the day, it is even more so at night. Chicago has the most breathtaking skyline I’ve seen so far. Even better than NYC. YES, I said it!
The above is my best attempt at a panorama. Taking pictures at night without a tripod is hard enough, but on a moving boat? Forget about it 😦 Anyway, we were on a boat for a fireworks cruise. During the summer (~Memorial Day through Labor Day), there is a fireworks show every Wednesday and Saturday night at Navy Pier. Sure, you can experience the fireworks show for free at Navy Pier, but with a cruise, you can sit back, relax and soak in some history, all while enjoying a breathtaking view of Chicago. At ~$30/pp, Lake/River boat tours may seem like a tourist traps, but I highly recommend them!
Trivia time!
In what direction does the Chicago River flow?
a) West to East, towards Lake Michigan
b) East to West, away from Lake Michigan
c) Both directions
Well, according to the research of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, the answer is c) both since it is believed the surface flows away from Lake Michigan while deep, deep below, the flow is in the opposite direction because of a density current. Anyway, the original flow of the river was West to East, towards Lake Michigan, but engineers reversed the river flow in the 1900s due to concerns regarding the pollution of the city’s water source.
Between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan lies the Chicago Harbor/River Lock. This device allows boats to easily transition from the lower water level of the river to the higher water level of the lake. That’s right! I got my learn on 😀
Ok so, you can’t go to Chicago and not have a deep dish pizza, right?! Right. Since I’ve never had deep dish pizza before, we went to Giordano’s for lunch, waited about an hour for a table, and guess what? After one bite, I decided: I HATE DEEP DISH PIZZA! It’s really an abomination to the pizza I grew up with and love. The crust in the middle of the pizza was mushy, there was too much sauce that wasn’t seasoned properly and worst of all, you can’t eat this kind of pizza with your hands. Yea, I know I’m being Captain Obvious with my last point, but seriously, how awful is that?! There’s a time and place to be prim and proper and eating a pizza is not one of those times.
Well, this trip was certainly different than our past trips since it was heavily based around food. And while I loved this food tour of ours, I did find myself missing the outdoor activities. For our next annual trip, I’m going to try to have more of a balance between food and the outdoors. Life is all about balance 🙂
——–
Chicago Eats (+our verdict):
Hot Doug’s, 5/5
Giordano’s, 2.5/5
Blue 13, 3/5
New York Islanders @ Los Angeles Kings
[Source: AP, Mark Terrill]
Ok, ok so despite a fairly decent start, losing the last 9 games doesn’t exactly make the New York Islanders a benchmark team, but I’ll take the two points, thank you very much. The game actually turned out to be much more exciting to watch than I expected!
Dallas Stars @ Los Angeles Kings
[Source: AP – Mark Terrill]
After finding out that Poni and Willie would be out for 4-6 weeks due to injuries that resulted from last Saturday’s game against the Preds, I was a little worried to say the least. Why? Willie is a HUGE part of our PK efficiency, having logged the most PK minutes thus far. Poni is a big body that we depend on for the shutdown line (Poni-Zues-Simmer). Despite these set backs, I thought the Kings dealt with the situation well.
I measured out all the ingredients before I realized I left my mixer attachments at my friend’s apartment. I didn’t want to just quit and throw everything away so Henry and I sucked it up and mixed everything by hand!
These babies turned out soooo yummy; you can really taste the love and hard work that we put into it.
I guess it’s true – anything is possible with a little bit of elbow grease.
Adapted from Paula Deen’s recipe
(yields ~21-24 cupcakes)
Cake Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp red food coloring
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz. packaged cream cheese, softened
1 cube butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
1. Position rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with Reynolds foil baking cups – I recommend the foil ones because the oil from the cupcakes can soak into the paper cups. (BTW, I only had enough batter to fill 21 cups)
3. In medium mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.
4. In large mixing bowl, use electric mixer to gently beat together the wet ingredients: oil, buttermilk, eggs, red food coloring, white distilled vinegar and vanilla extract.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
6. Pour batter into each baking cup until 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes using a toothpick to test doneness. Remove from oven and let cool.
7. For frosting: in large mixing bowl, use electric mixer to beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract together until smooth. Add sugar (1 cup at a time) and mix at low speed until fully incorporated. Increase speed to high until frosting is light and fluffy.
8. Once cupcakes have completely cooled, use butter knife to frost.
I should have took off the foil. Oops!
Bon appetit!
Biggest.Disappointment.Ever.
Right off the bat, I found the food unappetizing. We started off with the garlic shrimp and the dish was overly salty. Usually when we order shrimp, I’m all over it, but this time, I couldn’t get myself to eat more than two pieces.
I tried to rationalize that the garlic shrimp was the exception; the next dish had to be better right? Wrong. The chefs in the kitchen went to town with the salt that night. By the third dish, I starting feeling a little sick.
We held on to hope that the saving grace of this meal would be the $38 Paella Valenciana (House Specialty). Wrong again. This dish was just as salty as the tapas, if not more. I tried to eat as much of it as I could since it was pricey, but I really couldn’t stomach more than a couple of bites.
I’m not sure if this was just an off night for Amada; according to Yelp, Amada is one of the best restaurants in Philadelphia. But based on my experience, it’s not likely that I’ll return to Amada. Ever.
Verdict: 2/5
Amada
217-219 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
NHL.com pun headlines make me laugh.
But seriously, JW and his sweet ass goals. DAMN, they’re so beautiful to watch.
… and what about this one against NJD?
Extra points for JW since he scored against Kovalchump’s line.
PS. Happy 26th birthday Brownie!!! ♥
As I’ve mentioned before, I love duck. Duck confit, roast duck, Peking duck, duck a l’Orange; you name it, I’ll eat it. So when one of the managers at work offered me wild duck, I jumped at the opportunity. Apparently teal duck hunting season started a couple of weeks ago.
The duck breasts are small – about the size of my fist. As suggested, I sauteed the breasts until nicely browned, added cream of mushroom soup to make a gravy, served over white rice… mmmm mmmmm delicious!
Instead of dressing like a sloozy and freezing my ass off on Halloween, my good friend and I decided to have a girls night in.
Shabu + Hawaiian Bread Pudding + Red Velvet Cupcakes + TRUE BLOOD = Great Night ♥
I first came across this Hawaiian Bread Pudding recipe at work. One bite and I was IN LOVE. The recipe is so easy to make and budget friendly as well. I’ve made it for holiday parties, Mammoth trips and just because. It’s super delicious by itself, but even more so when eaten with vanilla bean ice cream. TRUST.
Ingredients:
1 round loaf of King’s Hawaiian Bread
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups half & half (or 1 cup milk, 1 cup half & half)
1 cube of butter
5 eggs
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
3. Cut round loaf of King’s Hawaiian Bread into cubes. You can also just rip the bread into pieces. Place the bread cubes in the baking dish.
4. Heat half and half in a pot over medium heat. Add butter and sugar and stir until fully melted. Take off heat and allow mixture to start cooling.
5. Beat eggs in large bowl.
6. Temper the eggs: Add a small amount of the half and half mixture while whisking vigorously. The point is to slowly increase the temperature of the eggs, otherwise you will just end up with scrambled eggs.
7. Add egg mixture to bread, making sure that it is distributed evenly. Let the bread soak up the egg mixture for at least 30 minutes.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes. You should see the bread rise/puff up.
You. Will. Love. It.
Bon appetit!
Ten games into the season and the Kings are #1 in the league (7-3-0)! Am I surprised? Yes, and no. I’m surprised because Doughty has been out for the past 5 games and Kopi’s performance has been lackluster. I’m not surprised because the Kings have great D (although it was missing for a couple of games) and Quick has been solid.
The Kings just finished up a 5 game road series (3-2-0) and now they’re about to begin a 5 game home series. First up? The Devils and Kovalchump. I would LOVE to see the Kings shut them out and for Poni to get a hat-trick. I really do have high hopes for Poni – hopefully he doesn’t let me down!!
I’m glad we’re playing at home for the next two weeks. It’s hard for me to catch games that start at 5:00PM or 5:30PM since I’m still slaving away at work. And I can’t catch the replay since I’m knocked out by then. Yea, #firstworldproblems.
[Source: AP]
My coworkers think I look better with glasses. Henry thinks glasses are sexy (on me of course :P) Me? I’m not so sure. I don’t think I’ll ever feel pretty in glasses because I’ll always associate glasses with the teasing I experienced in middle school… by the boy I had the biggest crush on no less.
Waking up extra early, sitting in traffic, fighting for parking, waiting in line for half an hour, standing for the whole duration of the opening session. All this for the Women’s Conference. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to experience this convergence of amazing, well-spoken, dynamic women. I cried. I laughed. I listened. I learned. I came away inspired.
Here is a recap in pictures:
Being the First Lady of California, Maria Shriver has been responsible for putting together this annual Women’s Conference. I attended a few years back and I have to say, my experience this year far surpassed the previous. Perhaps Maria wanted to go out with a bang? Whatever the case, she did a fantastic job.
Michelle Obama closed out the opening session by addressing her cause: military families.
After the opening session, we broke out into our morning conversation topics. I attended “It’s Time To Talk About Your Happiness” (with Deepak Chopra and Goldie Hawn)
Lunch Session: Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Both women shared their trials and tribulations of being a woman during a time when it was truly a man’s world and Sandra expressed what it was like to finally break the glass ceiling of the highest court in the US. To me, these two embody the word empowerment.
The Village! Free goodies and samples! ♥ ♥
Grand Finale. Oprah was presented with a Minerva award along with four other amazing women.
Sarah McLachlan performed during the Grand Finale. I’ve always loved her music and I was already in awe when I saw her on TV during the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Games, but seeing her LIVE? Chills down my spine.
The loot I came away with = 3 bags full. My shoulder hurt like hell throughout the day, but seriously, how can you say no to free stuff?
I’m not sure if I’ll get the opportunity to attend next year, but I wonder what it will be like without Maria at the helm…
Yes, you read correctly. Drumsticks. As in dark meat. As in the kind of meat I said I didn’t like.
Why did I do it? I wanted to save money. I didn’t want to pay $3.99 for chicken breast, so I caved. $0.99 a pound for chicken thighs and drumsticks? Alright, I’m in.
(yields ~3-4 servings)
Ingredients:
10 thin scallions, coarsely chopped
1 habanero chile, seeded and coarsely chopped (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE)
2 tbs. distilled white wine vinegar
1 tbs. fresh thyme leaves
3 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 chicken drumsticks (~3.5 lbs)
Cooking spray
Directions:
1. Add scallions, habanero, vinegar, thyme, garlic, allspice, pinch of salt and pepper into food processor. Pulse to a thick paste.
2. Transfer paste into large ziplock bag and add drumsticks. Toss to coat and let stand for about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Make sure rack is in the center of the oven and turn the broiler on high.
4. You can use a broiler pan to ensure crispiness, but I used a regular baking pan and the drumsticks turned out fine. Foil the pan and coat generously with cooking spray.
5. Season both sides of the drumstick with salt and pepper. Arrange on the baking pan, skin side down.
6. Broil chicken for 10 minutes, turn over, and continue to broil until nicely browned in spots (from the paste) ~ 20 minutes total.
If you have a ginormous food processor like me, then cleaning might be a pain in the ass, but trust me, this recipe is totally worth it! You can make these babies for parties, bbqs, tail-gating, etc. The heat is not as intense as you would think since the habanero is seeded, but if you want more heat, just coarsely chop the habanero with seeds and add to the food processor.
Bon Appetit!
Stop #1 was NYC.
Stop #2? Philadelphia.
Three reasons propelled me to visit the city of brotherly love:
1. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of my favorite shows, EVER
2. Iron Chef Jose Garces’ restaurant, Amada
3. Tony Luke’s cheesesteak
Philly is about a two hour drive from NYC. Instead of flying, which would have cost a couple hundred dollars PER PERSON, we took the Boltbus. The price of a one way ticket usually ranges between $8.00 to $20.00, however Boltbus offers $1.00 fares for whoever purchases the first ticket for each time slot. My ticket cost $1.50 ($1.00 + $0.50 service charge) and Henry’s cost $10.50.
We took a taxi from the Best Western Bowery Hanbee Hotel to the New Yorker Hotel (34th St and 8th Ave). For Boltbus trips to Philadelphia and Boston, the meet up location is right outside of Tick Tock Diner, which is located on the ground floor of the New Yorker Hotel.
The bus was right on time and to my surprise, we basically shared the entire bus with 10 other people! We had ample leg room and though we didn’t take advantage of it, WiFi was available for us to use. I ♥ Boltbus!
Two hours later, we arrived in Philly and checked into Penn’s View Hotel. Besides having jacuzzi tubs in most of their rooms, the location of Penn’s View was a huge selling point for me. There is a bus stop literally right outside and the subway station is just around the corner. The historical sites AND Amada are only a few blocks away and the hotel has a great view of the Ben Franklin Bridge. Though the decor might not appeal to some (I didn’t mind it at all), our Standard King room (w/ jacuzzi tub) was a delight to come back to after a long day of walking and eating. Continental breakfast was included with our stay and we certainly took advantage of that. And even though we did a great deal of walking each day, we also took advantage of the fitness room on the 4th floor to burn off some extra calories.
During out first day in Philly, we checked out Reading Market Terminal. I instantly fell in love with the place right as I walked inside. If you think the Farmer’s Market in LA is cool, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
The meats and seafood looked so fresh…
… and so did the produce.
There were also vendors that sold sweets and various home products…
… and the intoxicating aroma from the prepared food vendors lured us to one in particular: DiNic’s.
We sat down at the counter and ordered their famous Roast Pork w/ provolone and broccoli rabe. My excitement for this popular sandwich quickly faded when our server told us that they had run out of broccoli rabe AND spinach (at 1:00PM) so only sweet peppers were available. I found it ironic that they ran out of produce and yet, they are located in a public market where fresh produce is sold.
After taking one bite of the sandwich, I was confused as to why so many people swear by it. The roast pork was not only tough, but flavorless as well. I’m not sure if the broccoli rabe would have made any difference.
At least the coffee from Old City Coffee didn’t fail me 🙂
Since our hotel was located near the historical sites, we decided to tour that area before our dinner at Amada. So deeply rooted in history, Philly reminds me a lot of Boston. I love that there is still a small town feel to both cities, even though they are among the most populous cities in the United States.
Many of the popular sites in Philly are located within Center City. The boundaries of Center City are South Street to the South, the Delaware River to the East, the Schuylkill River to the West and Vine Street to the North. Like NYC, Philly (Center City) is very walkable. Also like NYC, Philly’s public transportation system (SEPTA) is very efficient as well. We bought a One Day Convenience Pass for $7.00/pp – valid for 8 rides on any bus, trolley or subway route in one day. For those who want more flexibility, there is also a One Day Independence Pass available as well ($11/pp for unlimited travel in one day). With our pass, we visited many locations where It’s Always Sunny was filmed…
Love Park fountain: Anti Smoking Rally in “Charlie Goes America Over Everybody’s Ass”
Philadelphia Java Company: where The Waitress works (and is stalked by Charlie)
Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Circle: “Walking in Charlie’s Shoes”
From Logan Circle, we walked passed the Rodin Museum as we made our way to the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, where we ran up the steps like Rocky.
As for food, Tony Luke’s was my favorite of all the places we ate at in Philly (I’ll write about my bad experience at Amada in another post). When I was planning Foodcation 2010, I thought about going to Geno’s or Pat’s, but I was less than thrilled to see that reviewers gave them 2.5 and 3.5 stars, respectively, on Yelp. I was interested in Tony Luke’s, but didn’t jump on-board initially because I was short on time and Tony Luke’s is farther away than the other two. However, after reading Gastronomer’s take on the whole cheesesteak battle, I changed my mind. I’m so glad I did because she was right, Tony Luke’s is the real deal.
After 20 minutes on the 57 Bus and a 5 minute walk, we were standing in line at Tony Luke’s.
We ordered a cheesesteak with whiz, roast beef italian (broccoli rabe w/ sharp provolone) and curly fries. I would have ordered the roast pork, but I was still traumatized by DiNic’s. Both sandwiches were DELISH, but I actually liked the roast beef more than the cheesesteak (Henry thinks I’m crazy).
I wish we had more time in Philly; I felt a little rushed at times. So much to see, so little time! I didn’t get a chance to check out UPenn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Eastern State Penitentiary or the Mütter Museum . What this means is… I’m going back to Philly, Philly, Philly…♥
Oh yea…
HIIIIIYAHHHHH 🙂
Night time shot FTW!
——–
Philadelphia Eats (+our verdict):
DiNic’s, 2/5
Tony Luke’s, 4/5
Pho 75, 3.5/5
Le Bernardin wasn’t part of our original plan for Foodcation 2010, but when I called to make a reservation at Alinea and was put on a 20+ person waiting list, I immediately made a reservation at Le Bernardin as plan B. I knew I wanted to have one fine dining experience during Foodcation 2010 and if Alinea wasn’t meant to be, then Le Bernardin would have to work… I guess 😦
I know, I sound like a spoiled brat, but who likes settling for “second best”? I was never truly excited for Le Bernardin. Even while I was dining, I was just reminded of why I was there in the first place. Le sigh.
In all fairness, we had a fantastic meal at Le Bernardin and I would recommend it to anyone visiting NYC. My favorite dishes from our 4 course tasting ($112) were the Lobster (warm lobster carpaccio; hearts of palm, orange vinaigrette) and Langoustine (seared langoustine; mache and wild mushroom salad, shaved foie gras, white balsamic vinaigrette). Delicious! I’m glad we didn’t go with the more expensive 7 course tasting ($138) since only the Lobster was on that menu. And besides, I liked having a choice too.
It’s easy for me to compare Le Bernardin to Providence since both restaurants specialize in seafood and both Chef Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin) and Chef Michael Cimarusti (Providence) are strong advocates for sustainable seafood. Foodwise, I think they’re pretty much neck and neck. As for service, based on my recent visits, I would have to say that I experienced better service at Le Bernardin.
It would have made my night to meet Chef Ripert. Unfortunately, he was not in the kitchen; he was on vacation for the week. Little did we know, this chefs on vacation thing turned out to be the theme of Foodcation 2010.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Le Bernardin
155 W 51st St
New York, NY 10019
It’s raining in SF and I still chose to go out in my Rainbows. Some call this dedication. Some call this a bad habit. Call it what you will. I ♥ my Rainbows and I’ll probably still be rocking them when I’m old and gray.
The first time I biked across the Golden Gate Bridge was in 2008. Two years later, with less muscle and more fat on my body, I biked the bridge again.
Yes, the hills are as brutal as I remembered, but biking the bridge this weekend has made me realize how severely out of shape I am! Snowboarding season is only about a month away so I NEED to start working out. I definitely don’t want to be all winded on the mountain 😦
GG is such a beauty isn’t she? My fave ♥
View from Presidio, SF
View from Horseshoe Bay
Blazing Saddles
2715 Hyde St
San Francisco, CA 94109
Los Angeles Kings @ Vancouver Canucks
The 2010-2011 season opener ended with the Kings spoiling the Canucks’ 40th anniversary with a 2-1 victory in shootout. It always feels good to win the first game of the season, but to me, this was more than just the first game, this was an opportunity for a little bit of revenge against the team that booted us out of the playoffs last year.
The only thing I like about my 1.5 hour commute home from work everyday is seeing Brownie’s face on the 710 freeway.
The first game of the 2010-2011 regular season is next week!!
I absolutely love the last four months of the year. Why?
September: Henry’s birthday
October: My birthday
November: Our anniversary & Thanksgiving
December: Christmas
How do we celebrate our birthdays and anniversary? Eating, of course!
For Henry’s birthday, we revisited two restaurants: Animal and Providence. We had such a good experience the first time around, we were a little nervous that our second experience wouldn’t live up to the first. Fortunately, the food was just as good as we remembered. Animal and Providence have firmly secured their place on our favorite restaurants list.
At Animal, we had a party of 4, which allowed us to try a LOT of dishes – 12 to be exact!
Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes) may have mentioned Animal’s Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”, but if it were me, I would have raved about this: “Foie Gras Loco Moco”. Foie gras, hamburger, egg, spam, rice, sriracha… how can you not love all that on a plate?
————–
Three years ago, Henry took me to Providence for my birthday. Three years later, I returned the favor ♥
We decided to order the full tasting menu (+ wine pairing for Henry), just like we did last time. The meal started with an amuse bouche trio and the BEST BREADS EVER: bacon brioche & nori focaccia!!
I enjoyed every dish on the tasting menu, though in terms of creativity, the dishes didn’t compare to the extraordinary meal we had at Alinea (Chicago, Il); let’s face it, after eating at Alinea, nothing else compares. The first time we dined at Providence, we didn’t have a clue about cheeses so our server chose our cheeses based on what he perceived to be the best/best tasting. Well, surprise surprise, we didn’t like any of our cheeses. But what a difference three years make. We’ve now figured out what kind of cheeses we love/hate and we were able to guide our server in the right direction this time around. End result? We totally cleaned off our cheese platter.
While the food was excellent, the service at Providence was sub par (and not at all what we remembered it to be), considering it’s two star Michelin restaurant. The wait staff looked confused for most of the night, Henry was given the same wine twice and when the birthday dessert was brought out, it was placed in front of me instead of Henry. These are basic tasks that a server at any restaurant should be able to execute! My only consolation was that Chef Cimarusti came out of the kitchen to talk to us and sign my menu. 🙂
————–
Verdict: 4.5/5
Animal
435 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Verdict: 4.5/5
Providence
5955 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Winner winner, chicken dinner!
I finally got the golden ticket!
LudoBites 5.0 was amazing as expected. The food was delicious, albeit a little pricey (this meal was def not cheap), but totally worth it. My fave dish was the “Hot Foie Gras Dynamite, Raw Tuna, Lychee, Crackers”. I’m such a foie slut!
Oh, and thank you to the 2 girls sitting next to us for giving me the cojones to talk to Ludo. Without them, this wouldn’t have happened…
♥
The most anticipated restaurant of the NYC leg of Foodcation 2010 was Mario Batali’s Babbo. Since reservations are accepted one month prior to the calendar date requested, I made sure I called on July 21st at 7AM, ON THE DOT (the restaurant reservation line opens at 10AM)!
1-212-777-0303 … BUSY.
Instantly, my heart sank. For the next 20 minutes, I was in agony. If Saturday night didn’t work, I only had 2 more nights in NYC to eat at Babbo! SHIT SHIT SHIT!
I redialed and redialed, and redialed and redialed. I was so used to the dial and hang up routine that I almost didn’t notice when I finally got through. A lady with a British accent picked up and asked me to hold some more. I waited and waited, and waited and waited. Finally, the lady picked up again and I told her the date and time that I wanted. “No problem,” she said. Really? That’s it? I almost had a heart attack for nothing. Awesome.
Babbo is located in Greenwich Village, a couple of blocks away from another beloved restaurant of mine, Harold Dieterle’s Perilla. Lodged between two brownstones, Babbo would be easy to miss if it weren’t for the large contrasting letters that adorn the front of the building and the small crowd that usually forms outside, waiting for a table. Luckily for us, we were seated promptly upon arrival.
Having already studied the menu beforehand, I had a pretty good idea of what we were going to order. I decided to forgo the tasting menus and order a la carte. But since my list was pretty long (I was interested in 2 antipasti, 6 primi pastas and 3 secondi), I asked our waiter for his advice. “Is this too much food?” seems to be a question I ask at every restaurant :). He suggested that we order one or two antipasti, cut our primi pastas down to three and the secondi down to one or two. Even though it was difficult to eliminate dishes, it was good advice. The portions at Babbo were pretty generous so had we ordered what I originally intended, they would have had to roll us out of the restaurant.
The antipasti dishes were great. The “Grilled Octopus” was perfectly tender and the limoncello vinaigrette lightened up the intense charred flavor. Comparing Babbo’s grilled octopus to the grilled octopus at Bottega Ristorante (Napa, CA), I would have to say that Babbo has the upper hand, primarily because of the refreshing vinaigrette. As for the “Steamed Cockles”, the spicy tomato based broth that they were bathing in was sooooo delicious – definitely give me more bread so I can sop it all up, delicious.
Next up was the highlight of the night: Babbo’s infamous “Black Spaghetti”. I can’t even describe in words how amazing this dish was; I can only drool as I think about it. Best pasta I’ve ever had, HANDS DOWN.
The other two pasta dishes we ordered were delicious as well, my favorite being the “Gnocchi” (with braised oxtail). Though the “Lamb’s Brain ‘Francobolli'” had great flavor and the pasta was perfectly al dente, I couldn’t really tell that I was eating lamb’s brain; the filling was a lot more ricotta cheese than lamb’s brain. Francobolli means stamps in Italian and as you can see, the edges make the ravioli look like such. Cute right?
Lamb or duck? That is always the question. This time we chose duck. Remember when I said that Bottega‘s duck confit was the best I’ve ever had? Well, it still is in my book, but Babbo’s “Duck” (with endive marmellata, Babbo pancetta and cherry vinaigrette) is a very, very close second.
We ended our meal with a “light” dessert. We actually saw the table next to us order the “Assortment of Gelati and Sorbetti” and thought it looked pretty good. My favorite gelato turned out to be the one that I thought I would like the least: Olive Oil. (Side story: So about the table next to us… guess who? Julianna Margulies, her husband and two friends! Apparently it was one of the friends’ birthday and EVERY DESSERT on the menu was ordered as a birthday surprise!)
So, did Babbo live up to the hype? Assolutamente!
Verdict: 5/5
Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca
110 Waverly Pl
New York, NY 10011
It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been to NYC, the city never ceases to amaze me and I find myself falling even more in love.
For our annual trip (last year was the Pacific Northwest, read here and here), I decided to create our own US foodie tour. First stop? NYC, of course.
We took an early morning flight to JFK on JetBlue. This was the first time I’ve flown JetBlue and if it weren’t for the cheap airfare (in comparison to other airlines) and no charge for the 1st bag, I probably would never fly JetBlue again. The terminal at LAX is HORRIBLE – the line to get to TSA was a total disaster. Before flying JetBlue, I had envisioned it being comparable to Virgin, given the TV screens and radio channels, but it’s not; JetBlue kind of reminds me of Southwest.
After landing at JFK, we took a taxi into the city ($60 including tip: $45 flat fee + $5 toll + $10 tip). We booked a room at the Best Western Bowery Hanbee Hotel located at the edge of Chinatown. For those who are budget conscious, this is a great hotel, if you don’t mind the stench of the streets as you walk outside (don’t worry, you can’t smell anything inside). The hotel is conveniently located a block away from Grand St. Station (B, D) and a couple of blocks away from Bowery Station (J, M). From these two stations, you can get/transfer to anywhere in the city! The hotel offers complimentary continental breakfast (served until 10AM), but the selection is very limited: hard boiled eggs, make your own waffles, various pastries and fruit. To save money, the breakfast is sufficient, but NYC has so many good breakfast/brunch places to offer so go on, splurge a little!
[Source: Website Photo]
So besides eating, you can’t go to NYC without doing some touristy things right? Right. Since we were in NYC during the summer, I thought it would be cool to check out Coney Island. A 50 minute train ride down to the south end of Brooklyn, Coney Island is home to Nathan’s, where they hold the annual July 4th international hot dog eating contest, and the world famous Cyclone roller coaster.
If you’ve ever ridden on Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia and thought, wow, this ride hurts… well, let me tell you, the Cyclone at Coney Island is 100 times worse. Basically we paid $8 each to experience the roller coaster OF DEATH. Not only was it extremely jerky, but at every drop, I thought I was going to fly off and die. Now, I consider myself a thrill seeker; I’ve been sky diving and this experience was way more terrifying than jumping out of a plane. TRUST.
Being that it was a Saturday, there were many people walking on the boardwalk or laying out on the beach. As we strolled along the boardwalk, we came across a large gathering of people and dance music blasting. Apparently, a dance circle formed in the middle of the boardwalk. There were only a few people with enough balls, or alcohol in their system, to get their groove on in the middle. The half-naked man in the blue pants and the boy in the red definitely stole the show.
Coney Island was an interesting experience. Yes, it’s “dirty” and a little “run down”, but so is the pier in Santa Monica. If you’ve never been to Coney Island, it’s definitely worth a trip. But remember, Cyclone = ROLLER COASTER OF DEATH.
We took the train back and stopped at York station just so we could walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
After so many failed attempts, I can finally say that I did it! But honestly, it wasn’t that impressive. Having biked across the Golden Gate Bridge, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge just pales in comparison.
Walking from end to end took approximately 40 minutes, and that’s with stops to take a few pictures. If you want to walk across the bridge, I suggest starting from Brooklyn since you will be facing the skyline instead of having it behind you.
During our time in NYC, we also visited the Met. Although the “suggested” admission price is $20/adult, you can actually pay whatever you want since it’s more like a donation, but please don’t be cheap; the Met is worth every penny. And by the way, the museum is HUGE. If you’re interested in visiting the Met, you should really plan your way around beforehand – look at the museum floor plan and map out which exhibits you want to see. As for me, I headed straight for the Egyptian exhibit…
I passed through the American Wing and Medieval Arts…
… to make my way to the Greek and Roman art exhibit.
All this took about 4 hours and I didn’t even get to hit the SECOND FLOOR! 😦
What about shopping? Well, instead of shopping for clothes, I went shopping for a knife! I’ve been itching to buy another knife since it makes so much more sense for Henry and I to each have a “good” knife to use while we’re cooking. Not having to wait for each other and rewash makes all the difference!
Korin is a distributor of exquisite Japanese chef knives, beautiful tableware and restaurant supplies. Their showroom/store in located in downtown NYC. Many chefs refer to Korin as a candy store and that’s exactly how I felt when I ventured inside.
With the help of the resident Knife Master, we purchased a Misono 440 7” Santoku. It is just as sharp as our Wusthof, but a bit lighter, which I’m starting to really appreciate.
And that was that. Sadly, 4 days just flew by so quickly. Next stop: Philly.
I’ll end with 2 things that I must have in NYC…
Shake Shack
Halal Cart (53rd and 6th)
——–
NYC Eats (+our verdict):
Ippudo, 4/5
Russ & Daughter’s, 5/5
Katz’s, 4.5/5
Nathan’s, 3/5
The Stanton Social, 3.5/5
Shake Shack, 5/5
Halal Cart 53rd and 6th, 5/5
——–
S. Pellegrino’s 2010 World’s 50 Best Restaurant List:
Done and done.
A little taste of what’s to come…
My 2nd attempt to hike the Mt. Wilson trail was pretty much a FAIL. I only made it to the second stop: Orchard Camp. Along the way, I seriously wanted to just keel over and die. This trail is no joke, especially in 80 degree heat.
I’d like to blame my physical weakness on the fact that I didn’t eat much for breakfast – just a few pieces of fruit. But it was most likely because I haven’t exercised regularly in months! Yup, that’s how I do it. No exercise for a month and then BAM, 30 mile bike ride or 8 mile hike. My body loves me.
A few days later, I started to itch at work. A few hours later, I counted 18 bumps all over my body; Two more bites developed over the next couple of days. At first, some of my coworkers thought it was fleas, but the bites really didn’t resemble flea bites (I googled :)). The big welts seemed more like spider or mosquito bites. Regardless, whatever bug(s) bit me had a good freakin’ meal. You’re welcome.
I’ll be back in a week at least 10 pounds heavier. Awesome.
BTW.. I’m posting from my new HTC Evo. I’m totally in love with it despite the dismal battery life.
Girls weekends are the best ♥
I love one pot wonders! They make life so much easier, don’t they? This recipe was a winner in my book since it required minimal ingredients (most of which I already had in my pantry) and minimal prep/cooking time.
The recipe doesn’t call for this, but I ALWAYS season my ground meats before cooking. I treat every ground meat the same: add a bit of sugar, garlic/onion powder, cornstarch and soy sauce. I mix everything together to fully incorporate and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
Adapted from Cooking Light’s “Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals” Cookbook
(yields ~5-6 servings)
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp garlic power
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups water
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
2 (16 oz) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 oz) jar mild salsa
Directions:
1. Season ground turkey: Put ground turkey in large bowl. Add sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cornstarch and soy sauce. Mix in one direction until everything is incorporated. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
3. Add ground turkey and poblano pepper. Crumble ground turkey and cook until browned.
4. Stir in water, chipotle powder, pinto beans and salsa. Cover and bring to a boil.
5. Mash beans lightly with a potato masher until soup is slightly thickened.
This chili was flavorful and hearty! I can’t wait to make it again during winter, perhaps during one of our Mammoth trips 🙂
Bon appetit!
1. I woke up early, skipped breakfast and drove down to Long Beach for the Long Beach Street Food Fest where I was on a field surrounded by popular food trucks such as Buttermilk, Calbi, An-Joo, Grilled Cheese Truck, Lomo Arigato, etc.
2. For the sake of being adventurous or just for the sake of being a fat ass, I gorged myself with food that actually turned out to be not so good. For example:
a. Lomo Arigato’s Lomo Saltado + Inka Kola. After a 20 minute wait for the food, I was expecting deliciousness. However, I was presented with cold fries, cold rice and tough beef. At least the green sauce was good (and SUPER SPICY), but not good enough to make this worth $10!
b. An-Joo’s Korean Fried Chicken. $7 for 3 pieces of chicken and a side of daikon. Not exactly a good deal and not the best chicken I’ve ever had either, but I would eat it again…
c. Buttermilk’s Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bites ($3), Buttermilk Brick ($4) and Cake Donut Bites ($2). The chocolate chips were completely unnecessary, the rosemary over-powered the Buttermilk Brick and the donut bites were nothing exciting.
d. Calbi’s Shrimp Taco and Beef Taco ($1.99 each). Despite the 10 minute wait to order and the 25 minute wait for food, this was the first truck that produced good food. I wish I ordered more food from this truck!
e. World Fare’s side of Truffle Mac & Cheese Balls ($3.50?). BEST THING AT LB STREET FOOD FEST!
f. Don Chow’s Taco Sampler ($6). I don’t remember anything about the tacos, except that after a couple of bites, I did not want to eat them anymore.
——
3. I left LB Street Food Fest unsatisfied, but with a full stomach. I took a food coma induced nap in preparation for the next event, LA Street Food Fest.
4. I attended said LA Street Food Fest and ate my heart out. Forget the pictures, I just focused on eating everything in front of my face.
Lessons learned:
– LA Street Street Food Fest > Long Beach Street Food Fest
– Not all food trucks serve good food
– Long lines do not necessarily equate to good food
– Paying extra $$ for VIP is worth it
– Keep hydrated throughout the day, but drink as little as possible during the actual event in order to save room for food
– Sunscreen is my friend
Guy at club: Hi, so what’s your name?
Me: [kc]
Guy at club: I’m [guy at club]. So, how old are you?
Me: Oh, I’m old. I’m turning 26 this year.
Guy at club: Wait, so how old are you now?
Eating a steak dinner before we go clubbing in Vegas. That’s how we roll.
Griddle me this. Griddle me that. Griddle me up some delicious flapjacks!
Eating at Griddle Cafe takes a lot of patience. For those who live in or around the area, screw you! For those, like myself, who drive about 40 minutes, spend 15 minutes looking for parking and another 25 minutes waiting outside to be seated, I feel your pain. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Whoever came up with “good things come to those who wait” must have been talking about Griddle Cafe.
At Griddle, the good things come in the form of ginormously thick pancakes, filled and topped with sweets that would make your dentist cringe. We ordered the “Time to Love” – streusel, butterscotch chips, caramel, pumpkin filling, topped with powdered sugar, whip cream and caramel. Given the filling and toppings, you would think that the pancake would be overwhelmingly sweet, but it totally wasn’t! It was PERFECT!
I wish I could say that we demolished this baby, but shamefully, we only finished slightly more than a quarter of it; We had filled our bellies with other, unmemorable items on the menu. I ordered the “Gone Shrimping” – egg whites scrambled with shrimp, basil pesto, scallions, tomatoes, topped with capers. Sounds good on paper, but not so much in my mouth. It was very bland and I’m not a big fan of frozen shrimp since they usually turn out rubbery when cooked. Henry ordered the “Chicago Charlie’s” scramble – Italian sausage, potatoes, bacon, bell peppers, mozzarella, garlic, basil and lots of onions. A lot better than my shrimp scramble, but still bland overall with pops of flavor from the sausage and bacon. It kind of reminded me of a pizza with no sauce. Now I understand why a lot of people just ordered pancakes and nothing else.
Next time the game plan is to share one order of pancakes/french toast and another breakfast dish. I’m thinking… “Addicted to Noisella” – nutella stuffed french toast.. or how about “Black Magic” – oreo filled flapjacks topped with more oreo cookie pieces?? DAMN.
Verdict: 4/5
Griddle Cafe
7916 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90046
I’ve been working 12 hour days lately so I haven’t had the time to cook the meals that I’ve wanted to cook; I haven’t had the time to try new recipes and be creative. All my meals for the past two months have been my favorite repeats that I’ve stored away in my quick, easy and delicious file.
Since things have finally started to ease up, I had a chance to try out a new recipe this weekend. I found this recipe to be a nice breath of fresh air from eating A LOT of chicken and fish.
Adapted from Cuisine for Two Magazine
(yields 2 servings)
Ingredients:
Steaks –
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 steaks (any cut)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Sauce –
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. tomato paste
1/2 cup port wine
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. light butter (I like “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Olive Oil Light)
Sides –
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
8 cups spinach
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. light butter (I like “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Olive Oil Light)
Directions:
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into cubes. Place in pot of water and bring to a rolling boil until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
2. Combine brown sugar, salt, paprika, chili powder, and pepper. Press the spice mixture onto both sides of the steaks.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook to desired doneness (~2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare). Remove steaks and keep warm.
4. Do NOT wipe skillet and turn down heat to medium. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
5. Deglaze pan with port wine, scraping up the bits on the bottom. After liquid is reduced by half, stir in broth and Worcestershire, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk in butter, honey and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove sauce and keep warm.
5. Clean out skillet to cook spinach. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and cook until blistered (they will pop and juice will ooze out!). Add spinach and cook until wilted.
6. Drain potatoes and mash while incorporating butter and honey.
The original recipe called for chili-spiced potatoes, but since Henry wanted to be “healthy”, we substituted Yukon gold potatoes, buttermilk and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with sweet potatoes and honey. I thought this change would work well since the spice rub had brown sugar, but just to make sure, I added some honey to the port sauce to kick the sweetness up a notch.
Bon appetit!
And during 4th of July weekend, I wanted to.
We rented some bikes and rode from the Santa Monica pier to Marina Del Rey. I wanted to go further, but we didn’t have enough time. The bike path at the beach is pretty cool to ride on, if you don’t mind people blatantly ignoring the “BIKE ONLY” rule. Either people think “BIKE ONLY” means anything with wheels (i.e. baby strollers) or they just don’t give a shit and think it’s a free-for-all walkway. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to suddenly break in order to avoid hitting people who decide to leisurely cross the bike path, oblivious to the fact that I’m less than 50 feet away.
Even though I was extremely sore from bike riding (note to self: adjusting the seat prior to riding is a MUST), I hiked a small part of the Mt. Wilson Trail the next day. This was my first time hiking this trail, so when I heard that people use this trail to train for Half Dome, I almost peed in my pants.
Because we started so late in the day (about 3PM), we had to turn back after the first stop. First Water Junction is located about 1.5 miles from the trailhead with an elevation gain of about 1000′. I found this to be a moderate hike given that it was pretty much a steady incline the whole way with some areas being steeper than others. What made this more challenging was the heat! I’m actually glad we didn’t start earlier since the sun would have been blazing down on us the entire time. Next time, I’m planning to hike to the summit of Mt. Wilson (7 miles, 5000′ elevation gain). I hope I live to blog about it.
Ok so, technically, I didn’t. But we did party at the same club in Las Vegas (XS) and he sat merely 3 feet away from me! Oh, and he also smiled and waved at me when I screamed his name like a giddy little schoolgirl. This means I’m cool right? Right.
I’m impressed. When I watched Eclipse, I didn’t feel an urge to slap Kristen Stewart in the face. She actually did a decent job this time around. And by decent, I mean somewhat better than her appalling performance in Twilight and her barely passable acting in New Moon.
♥ Team Edward ♥
Source: Twifans via heartkbitch
Michael Chiarello.
I never thought much of him. I would occasionally watch his show, “Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello”, but he never held my interest for an entire episode. It wasn’t until he appeared on Top Chef Masters that I truly started appreciating his culinary expertise.
Michael Chiarello is currently the Chef and Co-owner of Bottega Ristorante, located in Yountville, CA, where worthy competition such as Redd, Ad Hoc and The French Laundry are just right down the street. He was previously the Executive Chef/Founder of Tra Vigne in St. Helena. He has published numerous cookbooks, owns a small family winery as well as a catalog/retail store, NapaStyle. Even with all his success, Chef Chiarello has still managed to stay humble. When I told him that I LOVED his food, Chef Chiarello was quick to point to his Chef de Cuisine, Nick Ritchie, and teasingly said, “It’s his food. I just take credit for it.”
We started off the night with two appetizers: “polenta under glass” and “wood grilled octopus”. The polenta was highly recommended by Page Buehler (of Buehler Vineyards), and well, THANK YOU Page because the polenta was absolutely AMAZING! It arrived in a glass container (hence the name “polenta under glass”) topped with a parmesan crisp and caramelized wild mushrooms. Drizzled with a little balsamic game sauce, this dish was to die for! The polenta was rich, creamy and very well flavored. The caramelized mushrooms added a sweet, earthy element and the balsamic sauce complimented the mushrooms in sweetness while asserting its own presence with a bit of tartness.
The octopus was amazing as well. I loved the grilled flavor and I can’t believe how tender the octopus was!!
When our waiter took our order, we decided to have a “regular” entree and a “lighter” entree since we were also eating two appetizers. The “lighter” entree we chose was the Adriatic Seafood Brodetto (monkfish, mussels, rock cod & fresh Monterey calamari, forno-confit tomato broth, olive oil crouton, paprika-saffron rouille). As you can see, brodetto is a fish stew similar to cioppino or bouillabaisse. One difference I noticed right off the bat was that the tomato broth of the brodetto was more rich and dense than a cioppino (which usually tends to be more thin and watery). All of the seafood was perfectly cooked, but the broth was by far the star of the dish.
Ok, everybody knows I have a thing for duck. I just can’t help myself from ordering it when I see it on the menu. So… what did we order for our “regular” entree”? Yup, Confit of Half Duck (mostarda di frutta, Forni Brown green, red win duck jus). Now, I’ve eaten duck confit at many restaurants and I can say, without a doubt, THIS WAS THE BEST DUCK CONFIT I’VE EVER HAD! The skin was brown and crispy while the meat was fall of the bone tender. Mostarda di frutta is a traditional Italian condiment of candied fruits bathed in a mustard flavored syrup. The duck was great on its own, but even better when eaten with the fruit; the sweetness of the fruit helped cut the saltiness from the duck. This was truly perfection on a plate. If I ever appeared on the TV show, “The Best Thing I’ve Ever Ate”, I would be raving about the duck confit at Bottega. LOVE.
We were already pretty full at this point, but pass up dessert? No way! We ended our meal with Chocolate Bourbon Tortino (banana brulee, roasted banana gelato, milk chocolate peanut butter bar). Basically, this was a high class Reese’s sundae! Though I found the tortino a little rich by itself, eating everything together in one bite was delicious! Henry loved the chocolate peanut butter bar!
At the end of the night, our waiter led us to the kitchen where Chef Chiarello was nice enough to sign our menus and take a picture with us. I can’t wait to come back to Bottega.
Verdict: 5/5
Bottega Ristorante Napa Valley
6525 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599-1300
I spent a few hours on Sunday at the Rose Bowl for the Flea Market. This event happens only once a month, every 2nd Sunday of the month to be exact. I should have checked the weather, but I was too lazy to, so I played it safe by wearing a light cardigan over a tube-top sundress. After walking only half way to the entrance from my parking spot, I had to take my cardigan off because it was so damn HOT! Well… bare shoulders + no sunscreen + blazing hot sun = not only a horrible sunburn that hurts on touch, but also a ridiculous tan line from my purse.
The girls and I mainly looked at purses and shoes since these items were basically at every booth. After awhile, everything started looking the same to me. I did come home with a small black purse that was in great condition for only $15!
Perhaps I visited Thomas Keller’s restaurants in the wrong order; starting off with the best was probably not a good idea, tactically.
Last October, we made our way to the Foodie Mecca of the West, The French Laundry, and it was one of the best and most expensive dining experiences we’ve ever had.
This past March, I ate at Keller’s less expensive, more casual restaurant, Bouchon. The cooking techniques exhibited were superb; my duck breast was beautifully seared. The flavors, however, did not come together for me. So overall, the meal wasn’t necessarily bad, but I left unimpressed.
With these two restaurants down, that only left one more Keller restaurant to try on the West Coast: Ad Hoc.
Ad Hoc is located in Yountville, along with a few of my favorite restaurants: Redd, Bottega and of course, The French Laundry. Opened Thurs-Mon, Ad Hoc offers a daily changing 4-course dinner menu, served family style; brunch is also offered on Sundays.
Now, listen carefully folks!! Each night there is only one menu, only 4 courses offered, so if you don’t like what’s on the menu, you’re shit out of luck. I already knew that this was the concept of Ad Hoc, having done my research, and I was actually excited about going to dinner and not having to fuss over what to order. However, there were many people dining at Ad Hoc that night that just didn’t have a clue. I can’t believe how many times I overheard the waitstaff having to explain to diners that there was only one menu offered and that they would be happy to call another restaurant to help secure a reservation if the menu wasn’t to the diners’ liking. Moral of the story: do your research!
The appetizer of the night was a white shrimp and cucumber salad, dressed with a tomato vinaigrette. The dish was very refreshing and I would have raved about it, if it weren’t for the shrimp. I don’t think I’m being ridiculous by saying that peeling shrimp is a basic skill that every cook/chef should have, especially when you’re a chef at one of Thomas Keller’s restaurants! It was very disappointing to have to pull out pieces of shrimp shell as I was chewing. This just shows poor execution and attention to detail, something I’m sure Keller would have disapproved of. What a bad start!
For our entree, we were served steak with onion rings and roasted broccoli rabe in an All-clad braiser pan along with a side of grits. I was surprised by the tenderness and juiciness of the steak considering it was a hanger steak. The onion rings were perfectly fried with the right amount of batter and I especially loved the crispiness of the broccoli rabe. Not only did the grits have great flavor because of the bacon and parmesan cheese, it also provided a great contrast in texture from the steak, onion rings and broccoli rabe.
At Ad Hoc, the third course is always a cheese course. We had Cowgirl Creamery’s St. Pat. The edible green rind comes from the cheese being wrapped in stinging nettle leaves (the stinging hairs are removed prior to wrapping). The cheese was soft and creamy with a mild flavor. I usually like stronger cheeses so I wasn’t too fond of St. Pat, at first. But when I paired it with the red onion marmalade, it was delicious! The sweetness of the marmalade really brought out the natural sweetness of St. Pat. Henry didn’t like the taste of the cheese so I basically ate everything!
Our final dish was a tres leches cake. Moist without being “soggy” and just the right amount of sweetness, this was a perfect end to a meal that started out imperfectly.
Even though the meal recovered from the shrimp mishap, I had to decrement Ad Hoc’s rating from 4 stars. It wasn’t something I could easily forgive or forget.
Verdict: 3.5/5
Ad Hoc
6476 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599
Currently on Yelp, Gary Danko has an overall rating of 4.5 stars with 2075 reviews. And yes, it’s really THAT good.
Our first visit to Gary Danko was in August of 2008 and it’s been on top of our list of favorite restaurants ever since. Our second visit was just as wonderful. Everything was cooked to absolute perfection and I was reminded of how great Danko’s sauces are; the only reason we kept eating our bread was to dip into the sauces of each dish! At Gary Danko, you can either order the prix-fixe tasting menu, or you can create your own tasting menu consisting of 3 ($68), 4 ($85), or 5 courses ($102). Last time, we ordered 5 courses each and though a very enjoyable meal, we were overly stuffed. So, we learned from our past experience and ordered 4 courses each this time around.
I’m going to keep the words short and make this more of a picture post. I thought it would be interesting to show side by side pictures from both visits to Gary Danko (left = 1st time, right = 2nd)
Amuse-bouche:
Appetizers:
Fish & Seafood:
Meat & Game Birds:
Desserts:
Verdict: 5/5
Gary Danko
800 North Point Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
… continued from parte uno.
After our first day in wine country, we checked into the Arbor Guest House B&B, located near downtown Napa. We’ve had good luck with B&Bs in the past (Greenlake Guest House in Seattle and James House Santa Barbara) and this time was no different. We stayed in the Bella Vista room, which I believe is the smallest of the rooms available, but it was perfect for us. It was furnished with a comfortable queen sized bed, flat screen TV and a cute claw foot tub in the bathroom. There was a guest refrigerator downstairs in the patio area stocked with water, juice and soda. Hot water was also available in the dining room at night for tea or hot chocolate. Dan and Candy, the innkeepers, were very nice and though we didn’t go downstairs for afternoon wine and hor d’oeuvres (either I was napping before dinner or Henry was watching the Laker game), we heard other guests laughing and talking so I’m sure everyone was enjoying themselves.
Every morning, Dan and Candy provided us with a delicious breakfast to start our day. My favorite was the sticky buns!!
We spent much of our 2nd day in wine country around the Rutherford area. The first winery we visited was Cakebread, highly recommended by my coworker. Since Henry prefers red wines, he decided to make an appointment for their red wine tasting. After checking in, we were escorted to the small red wine tasting room. One man tended to 3 other couples besides us, so it was another, “this is such and such wine.. enjoy”. Since we were in such close quarters, it was really easy to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations. The couple next to us seriously hyped up the wines too much; after each wine they tasted, we heard, “OMG, I love this”. And as if to confirm, the man pouring Henry’s wine also added, “this is such a treat.. you’ll love this”. Yea well, Henry didn’t love the $106 Dancing Bear Cabernet, but he did like the 2006 Merlot enough to buy it.
The 2nd winery we went to was probably Henry’s least favorite in terms of wine, but the property was beautiful and the overall experience was very relaxing. Frog’s Leap Winery proudly boasts that they grow all their grapes organically and are committed to the principles of sustainable farming. Tastings are held on the “porch” of the vineyard house. There is a long table that can hold large parties (or several smaller parties) and there are also smaller tables that wrap around the porch.
The wine tastings ($15) at Frog’s Leap included a plate of cheese, almonds, bread sticks and cranberries. SCORE!! I pretty much ate all of the cheese because I’m a fat ass.
Unimpressed by the wines, Henry and I left empty handed and we headed to lunch at the Rutherford Grill. I decided on this particular restaurant because it was the only one in or around Rutherford that caught my interest and having a 4.5 star rating on Yelp didn’t hurt. When we arrived at 2PM, the hostess told us that the wait would be about 40-50 mins for a party of 2, but the inside and outside bar were first come, first serve. I put my name on the list and quickly began to scope out the bar area. I was prepared to fight for a spot, but good thing it didn’t come to that because 3 groups actually left the bar at the same time!
We didn’t want to over-stuff ourselves so we shared an appetizer and an entree. This also helped us save a bit of money since even with just 2 items + drink, we paid almost $50! The spinach and artichoke dip was creamy, cheesy goodness. The ribs were fall off the bone tender, but had an overly smoky flavor. Overall, a good meal to hold us off until our much anticipated dinner: Ad Hoc.
The last day of vacation is always a sad one. The realization of having to go back to the “real world” left us with an unsettling feeling the whole entire day. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us, but we didn’t want to leave just yet so we made two pit stops: Trefethen and Boon Fly Cafe.
A month ago, my parents, Henry and I went to dinner at Mastro’s Steakhouse. Remembering how he first fell in love with Buehler during a previous trip to Mastro’s, Henry asked our waiter for another wine recommendation. Our waiter suggested Trefethen’s 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon and sure enough, it was another instance of love at first sip. So, of course we had to visit Trefethen while we were in Napa!
Trefethen Vineyards, located in the Oak Knoll District of Napa, is HUGE!! A magnificent gate adorns the entrance and a drive down a lovely tree-lined street transports you to a 19th century winery building that houses the tasting room. Henry had a difficult time deciding between the Estate Tasting ($10/choose 4 of 8 wines) and the Reserve Tasting ($25/5 wines), but he ultimately chose the Reserve Tasting because it offered multiple cabs. Considering it was the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, I was surprised that Trefethen’s tasting room wasn’t crowded. This totally worked out for us because Henry received excellent service unlike the other wineries we visited; he was also given an opportunity to have a vertical tasting of their 2005 and 2006 Cabernet Sauvignons (the 2006 was only offered with the Estate Tasting). Henry loved the wines and experience so much, he bought 3 bottles: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5L), 2007 O-K-D Five, 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. I guess, we saved the best for last? Well, Henry still says that he loves Buehler just as much. Whatever 😛
I had made up my mind the night before to try Zuzu, a tapas restaurant, for lunch, so imagine my disappointment when we got to the restaurant and it was CLOSED! Stupid me, I didn’t pay attention to their hours listed on the website; they open at 4PM on the weekends. I had to think of a plan B quick and the first place that I thought of was Boon Fly Cafe.
Boon Fly Cafe is located in the Carneros Inn (so damn pretty, but WAY too expensive for us to stay there). The exterior is absolutely adorable! There are swings outside for people to sit on while waiting for a table and coffee is also available in case anyone needs a pick me up. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait; we were seated right away. Little did Henry know, I already knew what I wanted us to order before we were handed our menus; I studied the menu during the planning phase of our Napa trip. Henry and I generally like the same foods, so with little resistance from Henry, we ordered the “green eggs and ham” and the kobe beef burger.
“Green eggs and ham” consisted of poached farm fresh eggs wrapped in honey-cured ham on crispy hash browns with lemon leek cream. Oh my gosh, it was so freakin’ good! I love runny eggs so breaking my eggs and having the yolk soak into the hash browns before I took a bite was a real treat. The ham provided the perfect amount of sweetness and the leek cream added a bit of “Napa elegance”. The kobe beef burger with poppy-seed brioche bun was absolutely divine. It was unbelievably juicy and tender, cooked to a perfect medium rare, and was so much more flavorful than a regular burger. And did I mention the brioche bun? I love, love, love brioche; I use it to make my bread puddings. The richness/sweetness of the brioche pairs well with any burger in general, but even more so with a decadent kobe beef patty. Needless to say, we left with happy stomachs.
I can’t wait for my next trip especially since I’ve been averaging 14 hour work days. Le sigh.
——–
Napa Food & Wine (+our verdict):
Bottega Napa Valley, 5/5
Cakebread Cellars, 4/5
Frog’s Leap Winery, 2.5/5
Rutherford Grill, 3.5/5
Honig Winery, 3/5
Ad Hoc, 3.5/5
Trefethen, 4.5/5
Boon Fly Cafe, 4.5/5
——–
After much anticipation, Memorial Day weekend has come and gone. There were a few glitches along the way: a shit-load of work I had to finish before I left for SF on Thursday, rain forcing me to cancel my original plans on Thursday and a weird allergic reaction to something during our stay in Napa. However, the delicious food and near perfect weather we had over the weekend more than made up for these slight inconveniences.
Henry and I didn’t leave for SF until about 12:30 or so because I had to take care of something at work. Even though Thursday was supposed to be my day off, it sure didn’t feel like it. I kept having to check my work blackberry during the day. Yes, I have two: work and personal blackberries. It’s sick, I know.
Rain was in the forecast for Thursday (which made me cancel my original plans to hike the Land’s End trail) and sure enough, dark rain clouds spotted the sky as we approached our destination. I guess we chased away the rain because we didn’t experience a drop of rain during our entire stay.
We arrived in SF just in time to change and get ready for dinner. We decided to revisit one of our favorite restaurants, Gary Danko. The first time we ate there was during our first trip to San Francisco together back in 2008. We fell hard and fast for Gary Danko and even though two years have gone by, it still remains as one of our most memorable dining experiences.
The next day, we ate brunch at Honey Honey Cafe and Crepery before heading up to Napa. Honey Honey Cafe is located on the corner of Taylor and Post and if you’re planning to drive here, expect to pay $3.50 AN HOUR for street parking (parking in SF is RIDICULOUS!!!!). The restaurant is pretty big by SF standards and fast-food-esque in the sense that you order and pay for your food at the counter and then pick a table to sit and wait while your food is brought to you. They have an extensive menu including the usual breakfast and lunch items as well as their signature sweet and savory crepes.
If Henry hadn’t knocked some sense into me, I would have ordered the Post Street omelette, which is basically a traditional Denver omelette with a San Francisco derived name. Henry made me realize that since we were at restaurant that specializes in crepes, perhaps I should order one of its namesake. Thus, I ordered the Half Moon Bay crepe (cheddar, tomato, mushroom and crab cake) and Henry ordered the Cancun burger (jack cheese, crispy bacon, tomato, avocado and salsa). Delicious!!
After brunch, we made our way to Buehler Vineyards for our 2PM appointment. Buehler is located in the mountains east of St. Helena, approximately a 6 mile windy drive from highway 29. The overall experience was unlike all the touristy wineries located along the 29 or on the Silverado trail.
Page Buehler, the son of John Page Buehler, Jr., gave us a tour of the property while explaining their general wine making process. It was just us and Page (and his cute dogs :)) so we felt really special to have all his attention. We made our way back to the office for a tasting and Henry ended up buying two bottles: 2008 Zinfandel, 2008 Reserve Chardonnay. He probably would have bought some of the Cabs, but he already has two bottles at home. Buehler is one of Henry’s favorites.
After Buehler, we went to one of the most touristy wineries EVER: V. Sattui. And well, it’s touristy for good reason: the grounds are beautiful (many weddings are held there), they have a great deli and cheese selection that you can enjoy outside on the picnic tables and oh yea, the wines themselves aren’t too shabby either.
After Henry had a tasting and purchased a 2008 Zinfandel, we bought a black forest ham panini, some prawns in mustard sauce and a salt cod cake and had a wonderful picnic outside.
——–
SF/Napa Food & Wine (+our verdict):
Gary Danko, 5/5
Honey Honey Cafe & Crepery, 4/5
Buehler Vineyards, 5/5
V. Sattui, 4/5
——–
To be continued…
As sad as I am that my Kings were knocked out in the first round, I’m still watching the rest of the playoffs! And let’s face it folks, whoever thought the Kings would win the Cup this year is seriously delusional; I just expected them to advance into the second round. But fear not, the way the Kings have played this year signifies a long, long period of playoff runs in the future, perhaps even a Cup. We shall see 🙂
I should have posted my predictions for round 2, but they were wrong anyway, so let’s see how far off I am for round 3 and the finals…
Conference Finals:
Sharks will win game 4 by 1 goal in regulation play. Blackhawks will win the series on the road in game 5.
Habs vs. Flyers: Flyers advance in 7 games
Stanley Cup Finals:
Blackhawks vs Flyers: Blackhawks win cup in 6 games.
I ♥ having foodie friends 🙂
Our original plan was to go to Bottega Louie, but we weren’t down to wait a long time for a table so we opted for Lazy Ox Canteen instead. Definitely wasn’t an issue for me since Lazy Ox has been on my list of restaurants to try for a few months now. We called before we left to get the scoop on the place and the hostess promised us a table outside in the patio area, but when we arrived, she couldn’t come through and even though I should have been pissed at the situation, I was actually glad we didn’t get that table since it was freezing COLD outside! The four of us took up the offer to sit at the communal table, which we basically had all to ourselves for almost the entire dinner.
In addition to the items on the printed menu, there were also dishes listed on a blackboard that you could order. I have bad eyesight to begin with and I’ve worn my two week disposable contacts for about a month now so it was a little difficult to read the board. For our first round, we decided to order three dishes: yellowtail, ravioli and mussels.
The white soy marinated yellowtail was my favorite dish of the night. I usually don’t like avocado, but paired with the yellowtail, it added a creamy element to the texture of the fish. The brown wedges in the picture were delicious, crispy hash browns. Since all of us at the table love mussels, we just had to order some. We chose the ever-so-popular brick roasted mussels and they certainly did not disappoint. The sauce was fantastic, the mussels were plump and best of all, there was bread to soak up the excess sauce. BTW, I think it should be MANDATORY to serve mussels with pieces of bread since drinking the sauce straight up can seem kind of ridiculous and desperate, but I understand, desperate times call for desperate measures. As for the ravioli, I’m ashamed for not being able to remember what was in it, but trust, it was good!
Unfortunately, we didn’t have the same luck with our second round order: roasted cauliflower, soft shell crab with okra, grilled squid and abalone. According to the waitress, the roasted cauliflower was a popular choice, but I felt like it was something I could have made at home, easily. The soft shell crab had a nice batter, but other than that, it was plain and ordinary. And don’t even get me started on the grilled squid – yuck. The abalone was ok, the capers were a nice touch.
We were anticipating on ordering tapioca brulee for dessert since we saw a picture of it on Yelp, but we were denied! 😦 It wasn’t available. Our waitress suggested the chilled rice pudding in place of it. Good call, lady!
Nom nom nom!!!
Verdict: 3/5
Lazy Ox Canteen
241 South San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA 90012
I went down to Long Beach on Sunday expecting some fun in the sun out on the water… except there was no sun, which was totally bizarre since it was blazing hot on Saturday! You’d think that California weather would be more predictable, but lately it hasn’t been. Despite the lack of sun, I still had a blast.
We rented our single kayaks from Kayaks on the Water for $8/hr (pro-rated after the first hour). I’m sure the kayaks usually run out quickly, but since it was overcast that day, there were still some kayaks available for rent when we arrived. After we signed up, we were given some laminated maps and a brief description of the area. Then we were handed our life jackets and we picked out our paddles and kayaks. Simple as that, and we were off.
Of course I came prepared with my swimsuit bottom and boardshorts on, but unfortunately I did forget other necessities: a towel to dry off after a quick rinse and a change of clothes would have made me more comfortable during lunch. Sitting on wet bottoms = no bueno.
After our workout, we stuffed ourselves at Open Sesame, only a 5 minute drive away. Open Sesame is a Mediterranean restaurant that offers classics such as hummus/baba ghannouj, tabouleh, schwarma and kabobs. Seating is limited due to the small size of the restaurant and for those who want to know, there is only one bathroom. We waited about 20 minutes for a table – not bad for a Sunday afternoon. The prices are a bit steep for lunch (our entrees averaged about $15), but you definitely get more than enough food. All of the meats had great flavor and were cooked properly. I especially loved the spicy hummus. Yum!
this girl, kc 