Saturday afternoon we visited Deschutes Brewery Brewhouse.  We sampled a few beers and we still had a hard time finding something we love because all the trendy beers are pretty hoppy loaded and weâ€re not much into that kind of taste.  The place itself was so nice, everyone seemed to have a great time and the staff is super friendly.  Iâ€ll visit the brewery again because Iâ€m sure sooner or later we will find a beer that we love!

In the night we went to Silver Moon Brewing for more local beer tasting and live acoustic music. The staff was very friendly and I really enjoyed my time.  I ended up having a Pilsner in the end, but they owe me a brown ale, hopefully some time soon when hoppy beers are not the most trendy kind ha!

For dinner we headed to downtown and tried a new place called ‘Wild Rose Thaiâ€.  I believe this place has been open for less than a year according to their FB Page.  Our waitress was pretty knowledgeable of the menu and very friendly.  We appreciated all her suggestions for specials and vegetarian options for J.

J ordered a vegetarian Tofu stir fry with a side of Jasmine rice.  The vegetables were perfectly cooked; the sauce was too sweet for our preference.   We shared an appetizer ‘Yum Khao Tod†(crispy rice croquettes, shallots, chili, peanuts, lemongrass and other ingredients in a spicy tart lime dressing, over chopped lettuce).

At first I was skeptical at the Yum Khao Tod, mostly because I was looking for a Nam Khao replacement and Iâ€ve never been a fan of iceberg lettuce. Once I tried the dish all my worries went away, everyone who tried on the table agrees with this. It was an explosion of flavors, salty, tart, crispy, I mean you mention it.  There was so much going on in that dish, and in a great way.  The crispy lettuce added a nice fresh contrast.  We will order it again when we visit Bend.

I ordered a Five Spice Pork dish (off menu).  It was subtle and savory, it had asparagus and tons of cilantro.  Itâ€s big enough for two people and more with the boiled eggs on the dish.  It certainly reminded me of a Vietnamese Pork Belly dish a friend of mine made a few weeks ago.  It was fantastic and I was told they also make it with pigs feet (Iâ€ll have to order it when J isnâ€t watching!)

Taya ordered a Som Tum, I liked it, I was expecting a sourer version and after having a conversation on Facebook with the restaurant they mentioned to me that their Som Tum is more between north and Bangkok since they have more vegan and vegetarian customers. They put ground dry shrimp on top, but for vegetarians they leave it out.

She also ordered the Mussel Hot Pot and it was so fragrant I couldnâ€t stop dipping my rice on that sauce.  The mussels were plump and cooked to perfection.  If I ordered again Iâ€d ask for extra lemongrass or ginger, but thatâ€s a personal obsession!

Our other friend ordered the See Klong Moo Tod (deep fried pork spareribs topped with fried garlic and served with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce). I got to try it and I thought it was well seasoned and crispy and soft at the same time. I prefer my ribs a bit more chewy than ‘falling off the bone†and these ribs had the perfect balance of those two options. I liked the sauce and I can see myself ordering these ribs with a few beers (I canâ€t believe I forgot to ask which beers they had!)

J & Taya having coffee ^___^

If you follow me on Twitter, Reddit or FB, you should know how much I miss the Laotian food from Bangkok Golden. After experiencing this Northern Thai dinner, I canâ€t imagine myself visiting Bend without having lunch or dinner at the Wild Rose Thai.  This is only the beginning of our culinary adventures around Bend!

¡a comer!

PS.

I love this cat

By the time J and I arrived at Bend we were already starving and we were lucky that our sweet friend Taya had already picked The McKay Cottage for brunch!

Iâ€m not sure how the parking works for weekdays but there was plenty of street parking during this past weekend.  McKay Cottage is a lovely small restaurant. They give you hot coffee and samples of sweet pastries while you wait for your table. We had no problems waiting for our tables 10 minutes on Saturday and 20 minutes on Sunday while sipping our hot coffees.

On Saturday J ordered the Veggie Omelette, Taya had a Mango-Orange Mimosa with eggs Benedict. I ordered buttermilk pancakes and sausage. We shared strawberries creme filled crepes. Their cottage potatoes were boasting in savory and crispiness, I really enjoyed them.

J and I wished the crepes were a bit thinner and toastier, but thatâ€s a personal preference.  The whipped cream and strawberries were just perfect in quantity and sweetness, so yes I would order them again.

I tried Tayaâ€s egg benedict special with the spicy hollandaise sauce and Andouille sausages. It was very flavorful and the portion very generous.

On Sunday morning we decided to try McKay Cottage again. Not only did I enjoy their pancakes, but the place has such a positive vibe and clean ambiance you canâ€t help to feel happy while youâ€re there.  We had to try that butter scone again, the marion berry marmalade and butter complimented great along with a cup of coffee.

This time I ordered my pancakes with a side of ham, as you can see on the picture it is a very generous piece.  It was salty enough to make a great contrast with the sweetness of the pancakes and strawberries.  I liked the ham over the breakfast sausage links.

Taya started her Sunday with the Croissant Stuffed French Toast with Italian mascarpone cheese and strawberry compote, she shared some of it with us. It was like an explosion of sweet flavors.  She ordered it with a side of sausage, which makes sense considering this dish was like a dessert!  I think it is a great dish to share, just like the crepes.

J preferred his Sundayâ€s dish ‘McKay Cottage Potatoes†over Saturdayâ€s omelet. He was very pleased with it and as a personal preference he would have liked a side of sour cream.

We will be returning for more brunches, this time Iâ€ll make sure to join Taya with a Mango-Orange Mimosa and order butter scones to go for the road trip back to Portland.

¡a comer!

Two weeks ago I was driving across the country from coast to coast with J.  It was quite the experience and not exactly what I was expecting, but in a good way!

What was I expecting?
– Fast Food only options on the road.
– Terrible rest-stops.
– Scary truck drivers owning the road.
– Scary hitchhikers
– Criminal Minds unsub contact with strangers
– End-of-the-world catastrophe

I swear I’m a positive person, but I do like to prepare for worst case scenario situations, so yes, I did carry an emergency kit to survive a few days inside of our car and I also, had in the back of my head that my chef knives were accessible, plus you can make a weapon out of nothing, so thank you personal defense training booyah!

What actually happened:
– We ate only once at a fast food joint (Waffle House) and it served better coffee than Starbucks (in ya face!)  We tried all sorts of small local restaurants.
– 95% of the rest-stops were so clean and comfortable, except for the last rest-stop once we got to Oregon, seriously so odd.
– Truck drivers do own the road but they aren’t scary at all, really friendly, hard workers, there were so many of them, men, women, couples and when one truck had an issue, another would stop to help.  They drove better than most regular cars we saw on the road!
– We didn’t see a single hitchhiker, we did see an abandoned car and then a person walking towards a gas station that was a few meters away already.  Even if we found a hitchhiker, we had no space, we were carrying our lives inside of our car.
– Most strangers were very friendly.  Not everyone was chatty which is understandable because most people have been driving for hours like ourselves.
– The world did not end while we drove to Portland, yes!

Which states did we cross from DC/Virginia  to Oregon?

1. Tennessee
2. Kentucky
3. Indiana
4. Illinois
5. Missouri
6. Kansas
7. Colorado
8. Wyoming
9. Utah
10. Idaho

We were so lucky we got to explore a bit of Knoxville with my friend Sarah, thanks to her we also made friends for life with Jessica, Amanda and Michael.  Kansas gave us the roughest drive because of the gust winds, at some point I thought we were going to die, I swear.  Colorado (Denver, Boulder) and Utah (Ogden) offered a wonderful driving scenery and food.  We really enjoyed our time there.  Last but no least, Idaho (Boise), thanks to my friend Anastacia, we were lucky to stay with her sister and family, who now we also consider family of our own, they were that lovely.

Where did we eat? Every single place had vegetarian options!  (I did carry some snacks, some nights we just ate fruits, cheese and vegetables to keep it simple.

1. Waffle House
2. Sarah cooked!
3. Tomato Head
4. Sarah and Jessica cooked!
5. Sarah made a lunch box, thanks Amanda for the bagels!
6. Bean Street Cafe
7. Tong Phoon Thai
8. Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue
9. The Humble Pie Store
10. El Taco de Mexico
11. China Gourmet
12. Chopstix
13. Ruan Thai
14. Farr Better Ice Cream
15. Ben Lomond Hotel (breakfast)
16. La Fiesta Mexican
17. Flying M Coffeehouse
18. Marina cooked!
19. Mazatlan

Overall, it was an amazing experience, something I can only describe with videos, pictures and maybe a beer.  I think everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime.  I’ve crossed Panama City to Costa Rica and it was also quite the adventure.

Would we do it again?  Who knows! We are happy staying around Portland, and now the adventure only begins.

¡a comer!

These were my first actual vacations since my trip to Panama in the summer of 2012.  At first, J and I were considering visiting Asheville in North Carolina, hibernating for a week at the Wintergreen Resort or visiting the Luray Caverns.  In the end, we decided to visit Boston since neither of us have been to New England before and we’re happy to say that we were very pleased with the results of our trip.

When we were looking for lodging information in Boston, we realized we really wanted to visit the city, but we also wanted to stay away from crowds and the “city life’.  I’m a big fan of lighthouses and being around New England, we wanted to make sure we would see at least two (we ended up seeing five and once the picture are up I’ll link here).  Salem, Rockport and Gloucester were the towns that got our attention and they were not too far from Boston so based on that, we planned our vacation.

Salem, MA

We couldn’t get a room on Saturday night at our motor lodge in Rockport, so instead, we spent the night around Salem.  We tried a vegan place “Life Alive”, which was fantastic, I was so skeptical of their curry and rice, or the broccoli melt wrap, but both dishes had so much flavor, the place itself was nice and bright.  It was a great place to have dinner after such a long drive, over eight hours!

For breakfast, we ended up eating at Red’s Sandwich Shop.  It was highly suggested by some locals and twitter friends that I should try this place.  We ended up seating at the bar and had coffee, blueberry pancakes, sausages and mushroom omelet with home fries.

Gulu, Gulu was great for a drink and cheese, their gluten-free apple pie was really sad and I didn’t enjoy it at all, but the crepes looked fantastic, I still regret not ordering their nutella fruit crepes.

Blueberry Pancakes – Red’s Sandwich Shop – Salem, MA

Gulu Gulu Cafe – Gluten Free Apple Pie – Salem, MA

Rockport & Gloucester MA

Before this trip, I never heard of Rockport or Gloucester, but I looked at the google maps, read about the towns and saw pictures of the area.  J loves the ocean and I love small towns so this had the right combination for the both of us.  Gloucester offered night life but our interested was mostly on food so we were glad we were able to try four different restaurants.  Latitude 43, Minglewood Tavern, Causeway and Horizon Chinese Restaurant.   The mussels, quesadillas and cranberry juice at Latitude 43 were tasty.  The decor and service were pretty decent.

Causeway offered the best fish and chips I’ve had in a long time and the baked-buttery lobster was big enough for two people, I still ate it all and savored every bit of that dish.  As you can see from the pictures, this place isn’t fancy, but the service was very nice and if you go in winter, make sure you sit at the back, it got very cold in the entrance of the establishment.

Horizon Chinese Restaurant worked as our last resort for a late rainy Sunday evening.  It had probably the worst crispy rolls and fried rice I’ve had in my life, but when you’re on vacation nothing really sucks.  Since I always carry good chocolate with me, that night wasn’t a disappointment, we did a chocolate tasting of our own!

Baked Lobster – Causeway Restaurant – Gloucester, MA

Fish & Chips – Causeway Restaurant – Gloucester, MA

Causeway Restaurant – Gloucester, MA

Fennel / Garlic Mussels – Latitude 43 – Gloucester, MA

J having coffee and a danish at the Bean Leaf Cafe – Rockport, MA (this was our favorite spot for coffee)

Bean Leaf Cafe

Mushoom Pizza – Minglewood Tavern – Gloucester, MA

Two Brothers Cafe – Rockport, MA

Fudgery – Bearskin Neck – Rockport, MA

   Boston, MA

There were two things we wanted to make sure we did when we visited Boston.  The first one was walking all the Freedom Trail, which we did, walked the 294 steps of the Bunker Hill, didn’t die, and the second thing was eating the lobster roll at the Neptune Oyster Restaurant.  I requested the lobster to be cold with mayo and a side of the most delicious french fries I had during all my trip.  The amount of lobster was generous and though I read online that it’s good enough for two people (and I did see people sharing it), it was good enough for me, but I’m a big girl so I could handle it.  After the roll, I had some of my favorite oysters Kumamoto and Kusshi.  J did the sacrifice to go to this one with me, he’s vegetarian, so he had some of the fries and an iced tea.

If you’re wondering where did J eat when in Boston, don’t yell, it was at Whole Foods.  It’s always a safe place for vegetarian food, and we needed to take a break after walking all the Freedom Trail so we were thankful there was a Whole Foods nearby.

Before taking our train back to the suburbs of Boston, we stopped by a liquor store to purchase local beer.  I’m terrible at choosing beer and though the folks there were helpful I ended up buying a smoked beer, because who knows why.

You won’t see Boston breakfast on this post because we were tight on a budget and our awesome inn by Danvers, offered continental breakfast so that worked great in order to afford the Lobster Roll and other dishes.

The  dessert that I remembered the best was the cannoli from Modern Pastry Bakery in Boston, unbelievable!

I’ll be doing another post on the rest of our trip.  We tried a few places on New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island, plus, I have a few pictures of lighthouses that I can’t wait to share.

(click here to see the rest of the pictures on my FB Page)

¡a comer!

Lobster Roll – Neptune Oyster – Boston, MA

 Modern Pastry Bakery – Boston, MA

There are so many wonderful vegan/vegetarian restaurants in this area that I’ve been to with non vegetarian friends that they have loved such as (Loving Hut, Sticky Fingers, Everlasting Cafe, etc), but this post is not about vegan/vegetarian restaurants but about places that offer delicious meatless options and non-vegetarian ones as well.

The idea for this post came up from looking at restaurant options for me and my husband, heâ€s vegetarian and Iâ€m not. It is fairly easy to find vegetarian options at restaurants but most of the time the options are all about cheese and/or eggs. Thatâ€s the reason why you wonâ€t see a pizzeria on this list.

Iâ€m not sure how the vegetarian options were 20 years ago, but nowadays there are so many, and with great food. There still are places out there that when they offer a vegetarian dish or two, they are usually boring salads or stir-fries. This is not the case with the restaurants Iâ€m sharing on this list, their menus offer well thought options for vegetarians, and of course the meat dishes are also unbelievable delicious.

  

1. Bangkok Golden (Seven Corners – Falls Church, VA)

Since the first time I tried this restaurant (click here to read about my first visit!), I fell in love with Laotian food. The people that work there are so wonderful, including the owners Chef Seng and her husband Boun. Some time ago, I would go so often to this restaurant that at some point I even ended up working with Chef Seng managing her online community and social media channels. I havenâ€t worked with them for months now but I still go for my weekly Laotian dinner on Saturday nights!

On the vegetarian side, there are tofu curries, noodle dishes, fried rices, Lao salads, and the Mieng Muang Luang which is one of my personal favorites a delicious ‘Savory grounded rice paste with lemongrass, ginger, tomato, chili and peanutsâ€, wrap it in lettuce and go to heaven! On the meat side I always go with the Pork Neck or the Steamed fish, both with a side of sticky rice and Mango Salad (which you can have vegetarian or with Shrimps). This place even offers a Vegan Tasting Menu on request, itâ€s totally worthy even if youâ€re not vegetarian, I can promise that you will love it!

2. Busboys and Poets (2 locations in DC, Shirlington, VA & Hyatsville, MD)

The first time I tried Busboys and Poets I was actually only eating vegan food and I was very excited because this place has so many veg friendly options, I tried the vegan quesadillas and vegan nachos. Another time I tried the Vegan Tuna Salad Sandwich (off the hook!) and their brunch options are also so delicious with veg bacon and sausage, so yes, it is very ‘flexitarian” ha! (How do you like that for labels?).

For omnivores I really suggest the Fried Chicken with mashed Potatoes and collard greens, any of their sandwiches or pasta dishes like the shrimp-chorizo Chicken pasta I hope to try next. Ask for their vegan desserts, they always have at least two and that include their cookies and brownies that I highly recommend with a soy cappuccino.

PS. Thanks for pictures Melissa DePaulis!

3. Ted’s Bulletin (Capitol Hill – Eastern Market)

Tedâ€s is an easy place for vegetarians, Iâ€m not sure for vegans as the dishes we have tried had dairy in them. I would say that from the five restaurants here, this is the least vegetarian friendly, but they have a veggie burger that makes up for it. I’ve tried many vegetarian burgers and if you want to feel that sort of savory-crumbling burger that resembles a meat patty, this is the one. The boozie shakes are delicious (seriously good) but they arenâ€t vegan friendly and I really hope maybe in the future they can offer at least one option with soy or almond milk, (there is just so much dairy my belly can handle!).

Iâ€ve tried their Cobb Salad with chicken strips (this dish is so big I believe it serves two people), it was so good I even smiled when I had it, and yes, do ask for the avocado dressing, it added the perfect touch to an already delicious salad. My good friend the Cake Lady from operation:eatery ( (which I thank for taking me to this place for the first time), highly recommends the bacon and blue cheese brussels sprouts.

4.  Astor’s Mediterranean (Arlington, VA and Adam’s Morgan)

No shame to admit that I go to Astorâ€s at least once a week, if only for the lentil soup and a side of that noodle-rice. Yes Iâ€m the mayor on Foursquare and the employees already usually know what Iâ€m about to order, but as often as I go, I never get bored of a good falafel platter and their lentil soup or spicy chick peas. They offer at least two vegetarian sandwich options and most of their appetizers are even vegan. Iâ€m not a big fan of their vegan pizza but I’ve seen plenty of folks ordering it, so it is pretty popular. Iâ€m not sure if their luscious rice pudding is vegan since it is made with coconut milk, so youâ€d have to double check.

For meat dishes I recommend prime steak and their roasted chicken, both with spicy chickpeas, rice and Egyptian salad are one of my favorite dishes when Iâ€m very hungry, I mean it, both dishes are super filling. I’ve tried their salmon and I wasnâ€t too thrilled and Iâ€ve heard mixed reviews on the Lamb Shank which I’ve thought of giving it a try but itâ€s so big that it scares me away!

Regardless of being a vegetarian or an omnivore, you will most likely end up ordering a side of their hummus and the warm pita bread.

5.  Casa Oaxaca (Adams Morgan)

You know that if there is guacamole and beans in a menu, you will find several veg options to enjoy. The Rellenitos de Platano Macho and the their tacos will keep you coming back to this place. If that isn’t enough then the Churros con Cajeta and the flan will do! They have a special Vegan menu available that I couldnâ€t find online, but if I find a link Iâ€ll update this post.

Where to start with the non veg dishes, the ones that Iâ€ve tried are splendid, and Joahna, their general manager, was kind enough to share this Chilaquiles picture with me and now I know what Iâ€ll try the next time I visit Casa Oaxaca and of course all the things Mole!

I never forget last year when I was working in the organization for a TEDx in Adams Morgan, how we needed to find a place to celebrate afterwards. At the last minute I got an awesome sponsorship by Google DC (Thanks Corrie!) and we didn’t have much time left to find a place for the afterwards party. Thatâ€s when I approached Chef Alfio Blangiardo of Casa Oaxaca on Facebook and as soon as he saw my message he told me what to do and contacted Joahna, and she worked all the perks with me. Iâ€m very thankful for their quick response, lovely food and amazing customer experience throughout our party.

—

The list ends here and there are still so many places I’m sure are wonderful for vegetarian and omnivore couples, so if you have any that you’d like me to review, let me know in the comments and I’ll make sure to add it to my ‘Places To Eat’ List!

¡a comer!

Chimney Rock, North Carolina

I spent only three days of this short trip and if I get the chance to visit North Carolina again I’d love to visit Raleigh and try a new Laotian Restaurant in the area and also visit a good friend of mine.  I was celebrating my birthday and there is a post I’ve already published regarding my trip to Asheville and Lake Lure, NC linked here.

We did a lot of walking and almost no planning on where to eat, my husband is vegetarian so it was important to at least know which places where veggie friendly so we were very lucky when visiting Asheville, every single restaurant either had a vegetarian/vegan section on their menu, or they made it clear they would accommodate us.  It felt pretty good for him considering that most of the times restaurants offer for vegetarians either a boring salad or a side of french fries.

He already had in his mind that he wanted to try VegHeads and Plant.  I was excited about Veg Heads because it is a drive-thru fast food joint but vegetarian!  Plant seemed more fancy but when we drove by we also noticed the funky feeling of their customers (by funky I mean everyone having blue, purple or red hair color, shredded jeans, tattoos and piercings).  Plant’s menu was also very interesting having spices from different cuisines and being fully Vegan, local and all the good things.

I don’t regret anything I ate during this trip, there were things that were not so good (fast food stops, a strange eating almost at midnight from a Chinese restaurant, etc) but they are not worth to mention with details or photographed during our trip.  In the end, there was my favorite thing that it was so good that I forgot to take a picture of it. It was a Coconut Cream Cake slice, and yes it was on my birthday.

These were five tasty foods we tried during our trip:

1.  Coconut Cream Cake from Old Europe (no picture, I know boohoo)

2.  Chocolate Gems was terrific, I enjoyed every single truffle, my favorite was the one suggested by one of their employees *Earl Grey Tea Truffle* and their turtles, they were not overly sweet, I actually tasted the Champagne, the Beer truffle wasn’t as flavorful as I hoped, but the rest were flawlessly luscious.

3. VegHeads was the most surprising experience because it was our first vegetarian drive-thru.  The attention was the friendliest we had during our trip (and we must say that everywhere we went we received a very kind attention).  The Philly Cheese Seitan Wrap on Pita Bread was very delicious, warm, great bread, flavorful seitan/cheese and vegetables grilled just enough.  We also tried the Korean BBQ Tempeh Wrap in flat bread, it tasted great, but we were not in the mood for tangy flavors so we enjoyed the seitan wrap much more.  Also, be aware that this is not really a fast-food place, the folks in there take their time to prepare your food so I suggest to patiently order, go and take a sit at one of their available tables and wait for the smiling person to bring your meal.  I swear I felt happy even before eating my sandwich.

4.  Plant.  When we went to Plant we were expecting a very expensive kind of restaurant, don’t get me wrong it is pricey in compare to regular food joints, but I just thought it would be much more.  Do you know why?  Because we ordered beers and we were expecting DC prices and boy were we wrong, most of our beers were $4 or less ha!

The above picture shows the Cheese Platter I ordered, one cheese was made of soy and the other was cashew milk cheese.  The Rosemary-Olive Oil drizzled over the berries and in combination with the olives gave the dish a wonderful back and forth between flavors and textures.  I would definitively order it again the next time.  The customer service was ok, nothing too warm but never cold, our waitress was there whenever we needed her and that’s enough on my list. The below picture is also from this restaurant, the dish is called *JERK* grilled tempeh, smashed sweet potatoes, sautéed collards and fried banana.  I wasn’t too crazy about the presentation or the flavors of this dish.  Maybe it wasn’t a good day for it, but it arrived at room temperature/cold and it had too many sweet flavors (bananas and sweet potatoes), also I must admit I like my seitan with a crispy texture or if it’s going to be grilled, I look for the charred flavor, but it was my husband’s dish and he enjoyed it very much.

While at Plant, I also ordered their Peanut Butter and Jelly House Ice Cream, it was unbelievable, I ordered a scoop of it as an extra for our cranberry-apple tart that wasn’t impressive, but this PBJ ice cream made me forget about the other part of the dessert.

We finished our meal with a capuccino with soy milk, delicious, strong, just like coffee should be.

Bonus:  Scratch Bakery in Durham was our break-stop between DC and Chimney Rock (8-9 hours trip).  This Sugar Buttermilk pie was a bit sweet and sour, perfectly creamy, but a little too rich for my taste, I don’t dare to condemn or applaud this pie since it was the first of its kind that I’ve tried.  I didn’t like the crust, it had a strange chewy and not so very crumbly texture, and its flavor didn’t do much for me.  I would stop by again because I have read great things about this bakery, it is a shame we were not hungry enough to try other pastries or breakfast options from their menu.

Now there you have it this was my short but wonderful experience while visiting North Carolina, I know I missed a lot of places, a Ramen Shop, Indian and Thai Food, pizza, food trucks, so many places, so little time!

Hopefully my next road trip will be to Pittsburgh, but that has yet to be confirmed.

¡a comer!

My least favorite part of road trips are waking up before 6:00 am, yet my favorite part is being able to look at the sunrise so it was all worth it.

We headed to Nazareth to visit the Martin Guitar Factory and though I don’t play any instrument, visiting the factory was amazing, the tour and the staff, everything was fascinating but I will write more about it on my other blog along with some good shots I took.  Funny thing the tour at the factory was the only place I actually got to use my Nikon, and for the rest of the trip all the pictures were taken with a phone.

 

Vegan Treats distributes amazing desserts to Loving Hut and to other restaurants I frequent.  I was already familiar with their Death by chocolate cake, danish pastries and cinnamon buns, so this time we decided to try different desserts: a peanut butter-chocolate cake, vanilla cake and lemony cheesecake.  It saddens me to say that none of those cakes were delicious compared to all the amazing pastries I’ve tried from them in the past.  The bakery is really neat looking, the staff friendly and though I was disappointed with the selection of cakes this time, I know I will keep trying their stuff because they have never disappointed me before.  (I was hoping they had the Tres Leches which I tried in the last Veg Festival and it was unbelievable but you have to order in advance and I didn’t, bummer!).

After Vegan Treats, we headed towards Bethlehem for lunch, we saved the desserts for later so we needed to grab something before I ended up having 3 bags of potato chips at a gas station ha!  I was looking forward to trying an Indian restaurant but when we arrived their buffet looked already empty so we kept walking for around 20 minutes until I saw a Malaysian Restaurant Jenny Skuali and we headed there.  I have almost no experience with Malaysian food but I was very open as usual with Asian cuisine and I’m glad I made that decision.

We ordered curry with Roti (phenomenal), Curry Puffs (were a bit greasy but flavorful), Tofu Satay (completely unexpected dish but it was refreshing and crispy, I enjoyed it), the sauteed dumplings were my least favorite dish, but then came along the Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) and let me tell you that was one of the best fried rices I’ve had in my life, smoky, spicy, we ordered it with tofu and it was sliced along with the perfectly cooked vegetables, I want more Malaysian fried rice in my life!

Roti & Curry

Satay Tofu 

Nasi Goreng

After this delicious lunch we headed to Philadelphia, we had a stop and munched on the Vegan Treats desserts.  Once we found a motel we took a break and barely left the place.  I even got to watch a few minutes of Napoleon Dynamite and One Day films on cable (I get excited because i don’t have cable at home so forgive my non-touristy exploratory attitude lol!).  Also, when it’s cold it’s just very difficult for me to explore a city so I’ll make sure the next time I plan a trip like this, to choose a better weather, it was so cold and rainy at times, yet we managed to drive around the city and found a place highly recommended by a good friend. Blackbird Pizzeria.

 Three things about Blackbird Pizzeria, the Philly Cheese Seitan (steak) was the BEST I’ve had in my life, and a few years ago I went to Philadelphia to do a tasting of their different classic Philly Cheese Steaks so I can compare!  It could be a matter of taste but I’ll tell you that regardless that this sandwich was vegan, it is again the best I’ve ever had of this kind, I would drive back to Philadelphia just to eat that and their crispy wings.

As you can see by my excited face, those seitan wings were unbelievable crispy, the sauce was a bit too hot for me but the next time I’ll just order it on the side.  This is when it’s tough for me, the vegan cheese pizzas, this was similar to other vegan pizzas I’ve tried in DC, it’s not the pie itself, it’s just the cheese, it doesn’t cut it for me so I had a slice of the vegetable pizza and it was the usual Daiya cheese flavor, it was ok but not delicious for me. Sorry!

 After the pizza we went for some snacks and back to the hotel, no energy to enjoy Philly’s nightlife and of course, it was too cold ha!

The next morning we had fruits and nuts for breakfast, this is really important for trips and more when you know you will have more pizza and desserts during the day, so I always bring healthy snacks.  We went straight to the Italian Market, Isgro Bakery didn’t disappoint, I couldn’t get a picture of the Apple Croissant filled with cream cheese (heaven) neither pictures of the slices we tried from Lorenzo’s and Sarcone’s, the winner for flavor was Sarcone’s but Lorenzo’s actually heated the pizza (unless Sarcone’s does too but they didn’t offer it and I didn’t ask).  I had the square pizza from Sarcone’s and thin crusts don’t work for me, too heavy.  I love thin slices, not crispy though, it isn’t a flatbread!

Here is my partner in crime 

The weather wasn’t behaving at all and I needed to buy a pair of jeans so I researched for malls around Philly, King of Prussia was highly recommended and I almost lost myself in Old Navy, a weird objects store and a Comic Store.  Of course trying the food court is always the most awful part of hanging around a mall, but the snow in the end and playing Johnny Cash on our way back home made things much better.

This weekend I’m looking forward to catch up with blogging, probably having more pizza, falafel or some of my you know it, favorite Laotian food.

¡a comer!

Yo no sé por dónde ese señor caminó que no se encontró con frutas, porque hasta saliendo de mi casa me tropezaba yo con algún puesto de banana, vendedores de mangos, mamón chino (rambután) y pixbaes!

Esta traducción me ha tomado aproximadamente 30 minutos así que mis disculpas por los errores.

No he sido autorizada para hacer esta traducción, solo estoy compartiendo con mis amistades que no leen en inglés y si es bien cierto me enoja las conclusiones de este señor pero a ustedes mis lectores les dejo la traducción y comentar se ha dicho.  Y por favor si alguien recomienda alguna corrección para esta traducción escribirme a littleladycook@gmail.com y con gusto le arreglo!  Paz :)

Link original —> Panamanian Food: Cover It with Ketchup or Set It on Fire

¡a comer! (aparentemente con ketchup)

—–

Mientras que en Panamá no hace falta lugares locales de comer económicos y alegres, Panamá es el lugar para mantener la billetera tranquila, engordarse algunas libras y tomar vino y comer poniendo el corazón contento. – Lonely Planet Quinta Edición de Lonely Planet-

Mis experiencias con la cocina local y el ambiente gastronómico en la ciudad de Panamá fueron completamente diferentes y mucho menos románticos que la narrativa optimística en nuestra honesta Guía de Lonely Planet. De hecho pasé 2.5 días explorando la ciudad, y esos días los pasé casi exclusivamente disfrutando el Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO/ barrio del Casco Viejo, que está actualmente bajo restauración masiva como no he visto antes.

Algo en lo que LP (Lonely Planet) si estuvo cierto fue en lo que es “suave con la billetera”/ Si hubiese tenido más tiempo de seguro me hubiese encontrado con comida más deliciosa y con precios más razonables de los que me encontré… cierto? Como fue, me fui de la ciudad de Panamá, con mi estómago lleno de almidón y carbohidratos, sin embargo algo insatisfecho.

Como pescetarian (vegetariano que sólo come mariscos) y no puedo darme el gusto comiendo carne roja que Panamá promete es una de sus especialidades, llegué con expectativas modestas por mariscos frescos, frutas frescas y abundante platos de arroz y frijoles. Yo asumí que todo esto estaría disponible y super barato… y supongo lo estaban, algo, pero esto no es SurAsia. Puede que Bangkok me ha malcriado.

Comida en la calle? No, casi en ningún lado.

Puestos o carritos de vendedores de frutas desbordándose con piñas, mangos, guineos y cocos? No.

Montones de frijoles y arroz cubiertos en cebolla, servidos con acompañamientos de yuca hervida y plátanos maduros empalagosos, como en mis fonda Latinoamericana favorita en Nueva York en la esquina de Spring y la calle Lafayette? Ni se le compara.

En el Casco Viejo, el crecimiento de restaurantes de cocina internacional ha hecho que los precios suban y que las fondas locales salgan del lugar.

He notado que es un área turístico en crecimiento, y que lugares asé tienen precios turísticos también, pero fue realmente impresionante encontrarse con restaurantes con precios consistentes con los de Nueva York. Todavía existen “escondidos” un buen puñado de lugares con estilo buffet. Lugares como No-Frills Coca Cola cafe, en donde probé este arroz con mariscos (foto de arriba), arroz amarillo con vegetales salteados y trozos saludables de pulpo. Estuvo…ok, pero un poco simplón y profundamente necesitando picante, así como lo comen los locales, excepto que…

La mayoría de los panameños que obervé comiendo no utilizaban picante, utilizaban en vez ketchip. Ketchup! Montones de arroz blanco o amarillo con marisco? Cubiertos en ketchup. Pescado entero frito? Vertir ketchup por completo en él. Ceviche, uno de los platos favoritos en la ciudad de Panamá? También vi eso, se lo comían con ketchup. Hey, yo soy el que tiene el paladar extranjero y no tengo derecho a juzgar la obsesión de los panameños con el ketchup, pero… asco.

No comí una sola fruta en la ciudad de Panamá porque no me encontré con ninguna, excepto en el supermercado. No comí arroz con frijoles negros, ni lentejas, y arroz si pero con menos sabor que de una caja de Zatarain’s. No pude encontrar yuca que no fuese frita, mientras que el acompañamiento favorito de patacones sabía tan simple, que no funcionó para mí. El picante fue bien cierto el salvador de la mayoría de mis platos.

Un lugar que si disfruté e inclusó regresé fue el Mercado de Mariscos, un restaurante sencillo, en el segundo piso del Mercado afuera del Casco Viejo y que llena muchísimo durante horas de almuerzo, sobretodo los fines de semanas. El ceviche de corvina es relativamente económica por $4 y sabrosa, mientras que los pescados fritos ($7-$9) estuvieron calientitos y maravillosos.

De resto, meh.

La escena gastronómica de Panamá fue decepcionante. De repente necesito agregar más ketchup.

*No estoy insinuando que la comida panameña es tan mala que deba prenderse con fuego, es solo una referencia oscura a una canción de Ween, y el fuego me refiero al picante. Nada más. Y que conste aunque no me disculparé por ser honesto con mis experiencia mala-limitada en Panamá en un solo barrio, yo sí disfruté de la comida en otros lugares del país y me encantaría encontrar más si llegase a regresar. Esto es más que todo un comentario parcial y gentil en la super vendida Guía de Lonelu Planet… ah y… comida cubierta en ketchup da asco.

Pizza

Memories.. so many…

Panama, pizza memories, many places my favorite is a Greek one Athens (a chain, no shame I really enjoy eating there), because Im a sucker for dry oregano, feta and Tzatziki and of course I have great memories from Napoli, Pizzeria Italia, Tambal, Tamburelli, even Sorrento I could say, and many others I will mention in another post on Pizza in Panama!

Now my first pizza I have no idea, I can barely remember what I ate yesterday, yes my memory is that bad but I can be honest I did have Pizza Hut, Dominos and even Costco pizza a few times, and even craved for it, but here we are talking a girl who could easily have two whoppers after 3 hours of volleyball practice so don’t judge my high school food choices!

I asked Executive Chef Liam LaCivita from Liberty Tavern if I could come over shoot few pics and taste the pizzas and he said of course with his huge smile of his, Steelers fan ugh! (Go Seahawks, sorry Chef had to do it).

I went all over the restaurant getting in the middle of everyone’s daily tasks, cooks prepping for Lunch service, and etc, but everyone was kind and I did share pizza with them so we were all happy, around Pizza, because Pizza is great and I will stop saying the word Pizza at some point, just not now because Pizza is brilliant, and Pizza could save the world, well not really but if everyone (excluding Gluten-Free folks, unless it is Gluten-Free pizza), shall be happy with Pizza and Happy people don’t murder right? Summary Pizza could save the world I said it!

Ok I shut up here are the pics, I’m hungry… again!

NOTE: the rest of the pics on my Facebook Page –> http://www.facebook.com/littleladycooks

Vermont Cabot white cheddar, prosciutto, caramelized onions, Granny Smith apples, sage

Italian Fennel Sausage, Arugula, Fresh Mozzarella, Ricotta, Oregano, Burnt Onions

Ingredients for both previous Pizzas

Lovely Rising Dough

So patient David was while I asked “and what’s that? and why, and why not this…”

My favorite “Dessert Pizza”, I so miss Apple-Honey Pizza from the Greek Restaurant back home, so it was nice to be able make my own, simple, fruits, cheese & honey.

I shared it with Managers & David, I think they enjoyed it, or maybe were just polite enough to smile and had a slice ha!  

Green Apples, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Squash, Honey & Cinnamon

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¡a comer!

My dear friend Bridie who’s not just sweet, beautiful and funny happens to also be an amazing baker.. she asked me to help her with few photographs to create some postcards for Northside Social and I couldn’t refuse this since I love hanging out with her and also Chef Rob’s (Pastry Chef) creations!

Few things I learned on this Photoshoot… before going there I was planning bringing different kinds of plates, plus maybe few other things.. I totally forgot about them and just brought my camera, good thing the sun was amazing and we had a window upstairs that worked perfect when I placed a little table next to it.

When doing Photoshoot of Pastries:

1. Eat First

2. Use Raw ingredients the pastries use as background, I think I could have done a better job with the plates filling them with espresso beans at least for the espresso chocolate tart, but i liked the one with pecans and also blueberry muffins crumbs!

3. If you get a chance use a lamp.. if you notice some of my pics have too much shadow coming from the Sun position but if you use a lamp you can fix that easily.. sometimes it does work to leave the shadow.. like on the tarts I liked it.

4. Try to do the best shot you can and if you use digital don’t be afraid of doing extra pics, its not like when using film because roll is money $$ 

I took around 175 pictures, which of them less than 20 were ok and just maybe 3 or 4 were really good, I’m very critical of food photography, it has to look as if you wish you could eat the paper or screen where you are looking at.. i guess that would be my definition of Food Porn if i ever had to use it *shivers* (not so fan of the word ha!!)

I regret not having a capuccino but then I like sugar in my coffee and want to cut off on calories (which is a big joke considering that I had 2 tiny tarts after the session ha!).

We had lunch, shared a mushroom sandwich so warm, it had mayo I LOVE MAYO! and also veggies, salad, etc… tasty and discussed the details for the pics among other girly things (yes I can chit chat… sometimes…).

I’m posting my favorite pics here and the rest will be on my Facebook Page!

Please if you stop by Northside Social say hi to Bridie for me and never leave without one of her sweet pastries!

¡a comer!