Bi-Rite Creamery @ 18th St, San Francisco

If there was any a store that I wish I lived on the same street, it would be this one: Bi-Rite Creamery.  It always has lines out the door, with people waiting with excitement and anticipation, wondering what flavors they are going to get, knowing that they will pick the ones they always have come in for...

Located in Mission Dolores, it's adjacent to Dolores Park, which makes it the perfect stop after a hot day laying out on the grass (I also love going to Bi-Rite Market across the street and getting a sandwich and some side salads for a Picnic in the park!)

The whole street that it's located on is a veritable food fest, you have Delfina and Pizzeria Delfina where you can get some of the best Italian food in the city, Tartine Bakery and the Dolores Park Cafe-all good food..



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Bird Pick Tea & Herb @ South De Lacey Avenue, Pasadena

I fell in love with this shop even before I went in! You can see from the outside through the large warehouse like windows, jars full of loose teas and condiments, Dark wood fixtures give it a Chinese Herbal Medicine Shop look with displays of woven baskets full of utensils...And even though we're not really Tea drinkers, (the hot variety, we are avid Ice Tea consumers) it's a really cool place to cool down and enjoy some window shopping to envision a life that's not really your style, but fun to  imagine!






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Supannee House of Thai, @ Shelter Island Drive, San Diego

So it was inevitable that at some point on our San Diego trip, we would have to have Thai food; and so on our last day, right before we ran to airport on our way home, we had lunch at Supannee House of Thai Restaurant in a beach town of Shelter Island.  I don't know why, but Thai is particularly tasty when it gets hot out, maybe it's all the sweet and spicy flavors so savory in the summer!

Located in a commercial center, it's a quaint little grouping of shops and restaurants; but be aware, parking is really tight in the front lot! (narrowest parking lines I've ever seen....)

The Town of Shelter Island has got an awesome sleepy beach community feel to it, the townsfolk strolling along the avenues, reading newspapers, and quietly join about their day, it's so funny that it's so close to the airport and Downtown...




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Umami Burger SF @ Union Street, San Francisco

I know, I know, there's a ton of places to go in SF without having to go to the same chain that we go to in LA, it's sad...But the Umami Burger is an addictive temptress and when there's the possibility of a local dealer for Burger crack...well at least it's not like we're going to an abandoned warehouse or anything....

Quite the opposite, Umami SF is located in the yuppie-esque neighborhood of Cow Hollow, where ergonomic baby strollers run amuck, the streets riddled with haute furniture stores cum massive price tags (delivery not included) and a bevy of bars where the drinks are abnormally flavored and sickeningly sweet, fecund with saccharin....

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Update: I-naba Japanese Soba Noodle Restaurant @ S. Decatur Blvd, Las Vegas

Update: so being as we can't order everything on the menu, we often come back to the restaurants that we thought were worth coming back for more.  One of these restaurants is I-naba Japanese Soba Noodle Restaurant (please see prior review for background and previously ordered dishes).

Now that it is full on Summer, it's time to order the dishes that best typify Japanese cuisine during it's steamiest months...


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FLOWERS!!!!

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Out The Door @ Bush St, San Francisco

Sticky Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf 

I don't know why it is, but whenever we're in SF, we end up eating mostly Asian food; whether it's Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese or Thai, (and Indian on a special occasion) it's the go-to cuisine.  Maybe because it's so much more prevalent there, or I just go crazy as soon as I'm transplanted back into an urban setting...

It was heartbreaking when the Westfield location closed down...yes, it was inside a mall...yes it was located adjacent to the Food Court...yes it's soooo touristy....BUT WE DIDN'T CARE!!! It was totally convenient for us, (The Ferry Terminal is cool, but sometimes, you don't want to trek all the way to The Slanted Door near the whipping winds and cold damp waterfront...) the environment is always casual and easy going...and you can go to Bearded Papas out in the Food Court for a Cream Puff afterwards! It's the simple things that are the best...

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Starbucks Bearista Photo 5: Happy Father's Day!!!

To all Fathers out there:  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!

Hodads @ Ocean Beach/Point Loma, San Diego

To say that we live for Burgers is an understatement; this country has fueled its citizens, young and old, on the deliciousness of this All American Sandwich.  And whether you're having it in iterations of Turkey, Chicken, Ahi Tuna or Chickpea Vegan, you've still bought into the ideal of the great Americana and its favorite past time-eating till you drop.

Our goal for the San Diego trip was to diversify the dining venue and its levels, some realivitely trendy, others low key, but all of them tasty and sapid.

Hodads was recommended as one of the best Burger joints on the West Coast and rather than visit the one downtown, we were aching to try it's original(ish) location that made it famous-a trip to the beach was in the cards for us! 

Look up the HIstory of Hodad's, it's pretty interesting  In a nutshell: Founded in 1969 by Byron and Virginia Hardin, opening up their first Hamburger Joint called, 'Hardin's Barrel' on Main Street in El Cajon, moving around along the street until its present location and name, 'Hodad's' - referring to the slang of a wannabe surfer poser on the beach.  In any case, it's recognized as one of the Top Five Burgers by CNN and the only one on the West Coast...



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Kirin Mandarin Restaurant @ Alberni Street, Vancouver

Barbecue Pork Pastries

Vancouver is an amazing city, I can't believe that it took us this long to get there!  I mean, it's got great architecture, beautiful natural scenery, the nicest people and some of the best food available on the Pacific Northwest (Okay.......so the weather ain't great.....)

It's well known that Vancouver has an incredibly large Asian contingent, and we wanted to dive into it and get ourselves immersed in a delectable Far East food coma.....

Now, it's been a while since we've had Dim Sum, (in Vegas, you go to Ping Pang Pong or the New East Ocean Dim Sum & Seafood) and it is a real treat to go, (how does everyone eat so much and stay so frickin thin?).


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Palace Kitchen @ Fifth Avenue, Seattle

They say you can discover a lot about a city by it's architecture. And while that statement may hold water, (so says the architect from a former life) I truly believe that the way to understand a city's true colors is to immerse yourself into it's dining culture and eat your way through it!

I've found that some of the greatest dining experiences are not in the obvious metropolitan urban hubs that you would expect; sure, New York, San Francisco and Chicago will have the finest dining available, but I've come to the conclusion that the finer the dining, the bigger the distraction from the essence of food in its efforts to compliment the event of dining with good company..


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A Walk-In Recipe Book: Kochhaus, Berlin

One of the Recipe Tables

Okay!! Grocery shopping....my experience often involves circling around the (super) market, trying to locate all ingredients I need, (and forgetting one thing or two during the ordeal) or staring at an interesting looking ingredient, yet have no idea what to do with it. So when I read about Kochhaus before headed to Berlin, I knew I had to go and check it out. I mean, grocery shopping and new recipe idea in one shot.... at least I can't say no to that!!! 

Kochhaus is a walk-in recipe book concept. Upon entering the store, I see dark wood tables each devoted to a single recipe. And on the table, there's pretty much all the ingredients you will need to execute the recipe, including chicken stock cubes and even.. wines to pair with!! Hallelujah!  (Also, you could pick up a copy of the recipe for €0.50).

My Recipe and Dried Flower Petals

On the walls surrounding these recipe tables, a wonderful collection of cookbooks/food writing, spices, wines, cookware and tableware completes the display. Not a mega store, but there's an intellectual epicerie kind of feeling to it. It was end of April, and the store was featuring white asparagus. I picked up a copy of recipe (White Asparagus Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette and Parma Ham), a tiny jar of dried flower petals that screams Spring  and a bottle of Barolo. Despite the fact I do not have the privilege of being a Berliner to go straight home and cook myself a great dinner, I felt inspired.

After returning home, I did some research on Kochhaus and found out it's actually a young start-up (New York Times wrote a piece on them in 2010). In the world where all F &B ehnthusiastics and professionals are pulling their hair out to come up with new concepts, I have to say this one is simple, straight forward and well executed. 

Recipe: Gebratener Spargel mit Grapefruitvinaigrette und Parmaschinken

Kochhaus Schonerberg/ Akazienstrabe 1 10823 Berlin