Food Love

Brisket taco topped with the roasted poblano and bbq sauces, cabbage & cheese from Salt Lick Taco Bar in Austin airport on my layover back from Tampa. Highly recommend stopping by if you find yourself in the right terminal!

Three Things

1. Salon Salon of Anna Maria Island did a wonderful job on hair and makeup!
   
2. Bradenton Beach and the surrounding beaches made for a peaceful, sunny mini-getaway.
3. The glowing bride and myself - we've come a long way since middle school days!
   

East Coast Weddings (Weekend III)

Off to the southern gulf coast of Florida to take part in and celebrate the nuptials of Christina Reed and Matthew Beers this weekend! I've known them since middle school :)

Three Things

1. Magnolia Bakery's cupcake of the month is Snickerdoodle. I suggest everyone within reasonable distance to one of their bakeries go get one as soon as possible. It's also a super awesome coincidence that the (early) birthday celebrant's favorite cookie is Snickerdoodle.
2. Popbooth is one of my favorite apps on my phone. Highly recommend that you download it to your iPhone or iPad!
3. I can't say enough good things about the crew at Lola Gaspar in Santa Ana. We shared the cured chorizo flatbread, short rib mole and special ribs of the day - the cocktails and drink options were great, and I'd like to give kudos to Bartender Ed for introducing us to their homemade bourbon + tangerine wheat beer combo.
   

Cities Across the (Atlantic) Pond - Alsace Wine Route

Working a bi-continental role while I was with GE Energy had me splitting time between Greenville, South Carolina and Belfort, France. While Belfort was quite a small town, the train service was well connected to other cities in the Alsace region. My two favorite to wander around were Strasbourg and Colmar - mainly due to the architecture that made you feel like you'd step into the pages of old storybooks and the great wineries along the route.

Food Love

I love almond croissants. I also love pain au chocolat. As the nice older baker gentleman at the Los Feliz Farmer's Market pointed out the other day to me, I shouldn't have to choose - I should just get a chocolate almond croissant from his stand. And so I did.

Localizing - Props sans photos

Unfortunately for my blog's audience, sometimes my hands are too busy stuffing my face with the food I eat to capture good documentation prior to the plate/coffee-cup/glass being cleaned.

• Black Market Liquor Bar (Ventura & Carpenter) - Ricotta gnudi. Order it.
  
• Cafecito Organico (Hoover & Bellevue) - One visiting friend this weekend exclaimed, "I've never had a coffee kick in this quickly" after a long night out in Venice.
  
• Tacos Delta (Sunset & Lucille) - Quick service and some ridiculous magic salsa paired well with a great fish and shrimp tacos combo plate.
• Eveleigh (W Sunset & Sherbourne) - I normally don't do oysters. This dining experience changed that. Served with a crazy champagne & black pepper granita. Mind blown. My other favorites included their hangar steak, burrata & heirloom tomatoes and duck rillettes.
• The Village Bakery & Cafe (Los Feliz & Garden) - Lemon-Rosemary-Almond-Olive Oil Cake is heavenly.
  

Three Things

Dedicated to my excuses for the slacking in updates this past week/end:

1. DIY-ing this year's Halloween costume, the Hamburglar.
2. Roaming around Pacific Beach in wonderful 80+ degree weather.
3. Grubbing on incredible banana blackberry pancakes from Isabels Cantina