VIncent's Market Bistro @ 3930 E Camelback Rd, Phoenix

We like to go our of our way to try and find F&B venues of all
types; from the down and dirty, the hip and trendy, the cosy and quaint to the greasy and Pepto Bismally......

But I'm always intrigued to arrive in a new town and see where the locals like to eat.. now usually, that usually means a take out burger joint or a greasy spoon.  But in the case of the vast urban Phoenix sprawl with its inorganic population growth, (basically it's three major cities shoved into one) you've got an ever evolving diaspora of generational clusters with it's own microcosm of habitual norms...

The easiest way to observe the human condition is in it's eating habits; we had the pleasure of staying in the Scottsdale area this time, where an intimate little outpost of a Bistro bustles like a hive, hidden away from it's older, larger sibling, Vincent's on Camelback.


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Katz's Delicatessen @ 205 East Houston Street, NYC

While the New York trip was my homecoming, it was also an opportunity to visit old haunts..

On the Lower East Side, there lies a culinary landmark, an ode to the New York Style Delicatessens shining a beacon of glistening fat, beckoning to carnivores all over the country.

Katz's is a New York institution; a culmination of where diverse classes of real New Yorkers dine together democratically, a well ordered society ruled by the love of Pastrami....a Brisket Utopia if you will...




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Life is a Bear Pond Espresso

Racion @ 119 West Green Street, Pasadena

Walking along the smaller side streets of the Old Town of Pasadena, there's a relaxed, hush ambience similar to a quaint neighborhood in small town America; the Hopper-esque tree lined streets-mature, hefty trunks fanning dynamic branches with vast, luscious canopies that swallow up the heat, rising from the concrete pavement.

While strolling in the late afternoon dusk, you may (or may not) notice an adorable, one story house; Mediterranean inspired facade, with its window and door frames in Peacock Blue, and above the door- the tiniest of signs faintly indicating the treasure trove of amazing concoctions inside its stucco walls...

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The New iPhone 5 for Food Bloggers!!!

I was crying.....it's so true...

Minamoto Kitchoan @ Market St, San Francisco

For those of you who have lived in a cave/hovel/Uni-Bomber bunker, Mochi is a popular Japanese Confection consisting of sweetened rice that has been pounded into a sticky gooey consistency, conventionally filled with a sweetened bean paste called Azuki. It's definitely not your conventional sweet dessert, but texturally it's divine.

Nowadays, Mochi is pretty much everywhere, one iteration that is very popular is the Mochi Ice Cream (ice cream filled Mochi in various flavors) which is popular in Japanese restaurants.

However, for the real thing, you have to go and buy from an authentic Japanese confection shop; so when we're in SF, Minamoto Kitchoan is a destination must that should not be missed...



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Update: Bread & Butter @ S. Eastern Ave, Henderson

 At this point, we're at Bread & Butter pretty much every weekend, so we need to consolidate our visits into one post.... It's been hard to try new items on the menu, considering there's our favorite mainstays of Br & Bu, (Red Velvet Whoopie Pie, Waffle Sandwich)....  But for our readers, we bravely forge on...

The Pastries are obnoxiously delicious, the best in town! We've ordered the Sticky Buns, the Chocolate Doughnut with Cream filling and the Strawberry Croissant (what do they do with the other half of the Croissant) all were amazing.  If you're in our area of town, I do implore you to go and treat yourself to some honestly, scrumptious pastries.....

Also on the menu are the Filled Doughnuts: Raspberry and Vanilla Creme. Can't stress enough that these are a must get: with the powder sugar on top and the fresh tasting filling, these blow any mega-chain doughnut out of the water..

And our favorite: the red Velvet Whoopie Pie-it's really a dessert but it's always ordered to take home for that afternoon snack or evening dessert.  The moistness of thick Red Velvet cake sandwiching the Sour Creme filling is just a perfect dish.

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Cafe Medina @ Beatty Street, Vancouver

Restaurants that take great pride in their breakfasts have a special place in my heart.  The comfort and care it requires to service the grumpy, hungry, caffeine deprived customer such as ourselves deserves accolades and recognition way beyond a monetary tip.



Cafe Medina is a picture  perfect venue that provides a quaint, intimate setting, much like a cocoon, to gently arouse your sleepy disposition to receive the day...and in the case of Vancouver, that can be a cold, rainy and cloudy one!


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Flour + Tea @ Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena

Deep in the suburban crevices of picture perfect Californicana, breathes a melody of diversity; a synthesis of cultures evolving the culinary landscape.  Much like the French once dominated the baked goods domain, now it has become the Asian Bakeries that invigorate and inject a new set of savory carbs.

Flour + Tea is a Bakery/Tea Shoppe with just these Eastern influences permeating all the goods you see inside, from the Tea selections and styles of cool refreshments, to the breads, sandwiches and confectionaries-they are as exotic as familiar, if not in some innovative iteration; Mochi breads, Red Bean Pastes filled Doughnuts, Sausage Rolls and Curry breads.

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Paper or Plastik Cafe @ West Pico Blvd, Los Angeles

Down along Pico Street, You may be surprised to find a coffee shop housed in an industrial building, prominently taking corner real estate in an otherwise semi-desolate area.  And upon further inspection, you notice the unusual architecture, with modern awnings combined with the warehouse windows, it has a definite hipster hippie vibe with some found/object design incorporated into it...

It's always exciting to find a new coffee venue to explore, with as much coffee as we drink, we should be trying a new coffee shop everyday...wishful thinking and delusional on our part, but one can dream.....

Paper & Plastik is definitely a bohemian environment, it's got a loft like interior with industrial fixtures, and an organic mixture of furniture with a dance(?) studio attached in the rear-it's truly a melange of paradoxes; a coffeehouse with an identity crisis?



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Random Photo: Pizzeria Bianco @ East Adams St, Phoenix