Seafood and Sunflowers July 22, 2010

We spent a wonderful weekend in New England… full of seafood and sunflowers.

The journey began with oysters for breakfast actually. Well sort of, we had an early lunch at Matunuck Oyster Bar in Rhode Island as a pit-stop as we drove from Massachusetts to Connecticut after taking the red-eye in from Cali. But oh the oysters were so good – and fresh!! Some were even plucked right out of the waters behind the restaurant.  We definitely recommend eating outside, but it is worth peeking your head in to check out the bountiful oyster selection on ice.

After settling in, next up was for dinner at Abbott’s lobster in the rough in Noank, CT. Is a seasonal BYOB diamond in the rough sort of joint. Steamed lobsters, mussels & clams, huge steamers, clam chowder. You get your elbows dirty and have a perfect picnic table feast. Note – you will definitely need to map to find this place, it is sort off of the beaten path, but worth the scenic drive.

Just recently we were reading an article about breakfast spots state by state, and heard about a tiny place in Mystic, CT. Since we were to be in the area we thought we’d check it out. Kitchen Little is the name, and that pretty well describes the restaurant as well. Its a tiny little peanut of a place, but that’s all it needed to be. The view of the seaport from the outside patio was kinda perfect for an early morn. Hubby ordered their claim to fame dish – the Portuguese fisherman (spicy hot chourico and linguica from Fall River, scrambled together with eggs, peppers, onions, and jalapeño cheese in a lightly spiced sauce served with a Portuguese English muffin). I had scrambled eggs with cream cheese and crab. We definitely recommend asking if they have any specials. And if in season get an order of blueberries and creme.

Oh yeah, for a bit on silly tourist fun, we went to Mystic Pizza!

And finally, to complete our weekend in New England, we embarked on a hay ride. I’ll admit, that part of the afternoon nerved me, but the rest of the day was beautiful. Buttonwood Farm participated in a sunflower festival fundraiser for the Make a Wish foundation. The hay ride took us through 4 of the 14 acres of sunflowers, sold sunflower bouquets, and their farm fresh ice cream. And so, to wind down our weekend, we delighted in caramel ice cream with sunflower seeds.

Mermaids, Bees, and Nachos June 28, 2010

Bumblebee Ride at Coney Island

What a strange title for a post, right?  But that’s exactly what we experienced last weekend!

June 19^th marked the annual Mermaid Parade at Coney Island, which is an experience to say the least.  Sand, surf, sun, mermaids, and everything else in between!  The parade includes anyone who wants to participate – little girls’ birthday parties, groups making a statement (think “boycott BP” for this year), mermaids-at-heart.  It’s Coney Island at its best.

If you haven’t been to Coney Island, let me describe it to you. Imagine a carnival, sideshow, boardwalk, amusement park, and beach all mixed into one.  It can be fantastic or a little too much, depending on your mood.  It is also very loud.  Coney Island is home to the infamous Cyclone (a rollercoaster that’s been there since 1927) and Nathan’s Famous (origin – 1916) hot dogs.

The idea of a hot dog, a quintessential New York snack, was much more appealing to us than the Cyclone, but that’s just me.

After an hour on the train with some crazies dressed as pirates (did I not mention that pirates are also common to the parade?) We arrived in time to see the last half of the parade and then eagerly headed over to the site of Nathan’s, right off the boardwalk, along Surf Avenue.  Then we saw the line…maybe 150 people long.  It was hot and we were hungry, so we decided to save Nathan’s for another post which brings us to the nachos…

San Loco Ballpark Nachos

We still wanted something to eat that fit in with the theme of the day – fun, campy, not-entirely-healthy – so we stopped off at San Loco in the Lower East Side.  San Loco’s self-proclaimed Gringo-Mex menu is great!  Ordered a

couple of taco locos, Pacificos, and the star of the show – a small order ($2.60) of the Ballpark Nachos, complete with tortilla chips, squeezee cheezee nachco cheese sauce, sour cream, fresh jalapenos, taco sauce, and ground beef.   Totally bad but oh-so-good.  Yummm.

End of the Mermaid Parade 2010

It was the perfect punctuation to a day spent in the summer sun, mish-mashing with mermaids, pirates, and rollercoasters.   We’ll be heading back to Nathan’s on a less crowded day.

The Cutest Ice Cream Shop Ad EVER! June 23, 2010

As I wait for our “official” blog photographer to send pictures over for what was scheduled as the next post (keep your eyes peeled for “Mermaids, Bees, and Nachos”) I came across this advertisement.  And since it also happens to be the cutest ice cream shop ad EVER, we had to share it.  Check it out:

After watching this absolutely brilliant ad, I had to find out more about this Lake Street Creamery.  The first thing I noticed on their site was that they

“don’t just sell ice cream. [They] are dedicated artisans bringing you unique flavors in ice creams, gelatos, sorbets and the floats made thereof.”

They also claim their ice cream will turn you into a god.  Mmmmm!  I love everything about it so far.

From the looks of their menu they’ve got innovative and exciting flavors like Donut, Earl Grey, and California Zephyr (Tahitian vanilla, Meyer lemon, and fresh mint!)  With fresh ingredients and small batches changing everyday, I can’t wait to try them!  And with reasonable prices (about $4 for a scoop), there’s no reason not to.

Aside from their smart marketing and fun campy content on their site, they are in Los Angeles!  Which means that our other resident bee can check them out immediately (or wait for me to get there in August – which I might add would be the bee-utiful thing to do…)

Oh, and I should probably mention that this isn’t really an ice cream parlor in the traditional sense of the word.  Lake Street Creamery is a mobile unit that posts their daily locations via Twitter and their site and can apparently be booked for special events.  How fun!

We will let you know when we’ve tried this.  In the meantime, has anyone had the experience of cute kittens and Lake Street Creamery?

Economy Minded Luxe Lunch March 23, 2009

In light of the current economy, we are curbing our out of the house eating. Sometimes it seems unjustified to pay beaucoup bucks for only a moderate meal. But there are times that it is enjoyable to eat out – my hubby and I love Saturday lunch dates. So we decided to adventure out for a lovely afternoon, and pay mind to our ordering.

I shall begin…but I’ll need to take a moment to close my eyes, a and salivate for a moment, mmm, the taste memory is fantastic. We went to Canaletto in Newport Beach, an Italian restaurant.  For our meal we ordered the Antipasto di Pesce, small plate samplings of their seafood appetizers. I should note that all the dishes themselves are on the lunch menu, but the sampling antipasto is actually listed on the dinner menu (we had checked out the menu online), there was no problem ordering it however. The small plates each came out one by one when ready, sized perfectly for two to share, and price accordingly. The antipasto is $15 pp, but the meal was far more luxe than the $30 price tag (for 2) would suggest. I should also mention that each of the appetizers if ordered alone are priced between $10 and $14, so to get e bit of all of them is well worth it. But none of this is giving the meal justice…let me describe the dishes that arrived…

Ostriche Fresche – Seasonal fresh oysters with lemon and cocktail sauce

Carpaccio di Spada – House-cured swordfish carpaccio with sliced fresh artichokes, capers, and micro-greens

Sardee in Saor – Fresh sardines fried and marinated with sweet and sour onions (so similar to a herring snack my hubby had a few summers ago in Amsterdam)

Baccala ‘alla Vicentina – Imported dry cod baked in milk with onions, capers and garlic, served over soft polenta (the description does nothing for the taste – more creamy than salty, warm and delectable)

Calamaretti Fritti – Baby squid lightly floured and deep-fried; served with grilled polenta and spicy marinara sauce

Polipo con Patate – Warm octopus and potato salad with extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice (the octopus was no where near it usually chewy self, it was tender and scrumptious)

It was a leisurely late lunch, and a lot of wonderfully different food. I have no pictures, but no fear, I’ll be going back and I’ll snap some. ~ HHB

Lunch at Terroni in L.A. February 26, 2009

Outside view of Terroni, Los Angeles

One of our days of adventure on our Los Angeles honeymoon in November 2008 brought us to Terroni, a southern Italian restaurant on Beverly Boulevard.  We hadn’t planned on eating there, it just sort of happened as we were in the mood to eat something delicious after spending much of the morning at the La Brea Tar Pits.

We drove around the La Brea area, looking for a place that seemed like we’d want to stop in…we had a few ideas, but we were looking for both atmosphere and yummm…Terroni seemed like a good place with its tasteful awning and outside seating.

We went in thinking there might be a wait, but there wasn’t for a table for two…we started things off with a Bellini, made in an unusual way – with pear juice instead of peach puree (they were out and the bartender suggested this alternative…) It was refreshing and the color matched the day.

My sweetie opted for a simple Coke, since he was likely the one to drive us back to Irvine.  The soda came in an old-time Coke bottle, which added to the fun of the day.

Inside Terroni

Terroni Menu

Knowing that my sweetie doesn’t like to adventure that deeply into food, we opted for something we knew we would both enjoy – pizzas.  The pizzas at Terroni are meant for one person, but two can easily share.  (We had leftovers which HHB and her hubby snacked on later that night.)

We ordered the Margherita Pizza and the Affitisciuta Pizza.  Both were quite nice.

Foreground -Affitisciuta Pizza, Background - Margherita Pizza

The Margherita Pizza is pretty basic – tomato, fresh basil, mozzarella, sauce.  It was our safe option but a good option.

The Affitisciuta Pizza came with tomato, mozzarella, smoked scarmoza cheese, and homemade spicy Italian sausage.  It was quite nice.

The overall atmosphere of Terroni was fun, and albeit a little hipster, the food was acceptable.  The sauce on the pizza was a little boring for our taste, but there was nothing wrong with it.  Perhaps with the flavorful sausage, too much flavor in the sauce would overpower it.

We would definitely try it again.  You should stop by if you are ever in the neighborhood and let us know what you think.

Terroni Kitchen and Grocer area

Some More Info about Terroni, should you wish to visit:

• Located at 7605 Beverly Boulevard at Curson Avenue
• Indoor and outdoor seating available
• Metered parking on the street or valet
• 11-10 on Sun-Thurs/11-11 on Fri-Sat
• Restaurant doesn’t take reservations
• In-house grocer available

I feel like home January 13, 2009

It may be cause for concern…I turned to my hubby and proclaimed “I feel like home”. I was just a block from Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

I’ll explain. I was in bed all week, fever, congestion, aches, nothing fun. We went for a drive, with the top down in the warm sun, enjoyed the view of tall palm trees in the clear blue sky; surely this would make me well. And then we found ourselves at Nate’n Al Delicatessen.

I could have wanted nothing more – Chicken soup with a big round matzo ball, and because I was in heaven I also ordered an onion roll. My hubby had a pastrami sandwich. And the pickles. oh I could have been 4 years old at the Rascal House on Miami Beach.