weekend brunch

...To inspire you for the weekend. If you're in LA, you should most definitely consider Gjelina for brunch this weekend. We were there last Sunday and it was so delicious I could barely breathe. I know I've posted on their foods before, but nobody ever tires of delicious food shots, do they?



Lemon ricotta pancakes with chestnut flour. OMG.



Beet salad with avo and orange. I don't know what they do to their beets, but they are amazing.



Poached eggs with polenta and tuscan kale.



And a mostly devoured okra masterpiece that I'm planning to recreate this weekend if all goes well.



Oh, and then there's the cutest baby in the whole world. He was there too.

Hope your weekend includes a delicious meal. I'll be back next week with an update on our project.

mother's day (or any day) picnic supplies

We had a busy weekend last weekend. We were down in the OC for a friend's shower/pre-wedding party, stopped in to see another friend's new babe born 3 days after Dashiell, and then zipped back up here after brunch on Sunday for an evening picnic organized by our neighbors. I did not have time to prepare lovely homemade picnic, as you can imagine.





But that was a good thing, because it meant that we got to stop by the Zinc Cafe in Corona Del Mar for the most delicious picnicking supplies. I love the Zinc. I find any excuse I can to eat there when we're in the neighborhood. There's a smaller satellite location in Solana Beach near my parents' house, but it's no where near as delicious as the one in CDM. Think perfectly prepared deli salads, wines, soups, cheeses, sandwiches... and that's just the to go stuff.

I picked up:

Marinated goat's cheese with lemon and thyme
Cured french olives with orange and garlic
Roasted cauliflower
Edamame salad
Hummus
Crackers

And 3 soups for dinner this week. The Tuscan white bean was insanely delicious, but I only got a taste because I was afraid a huge bowl of beans might send the baby into a panic.

ZINC ZINC ZINC ZINC. I love you.

Will drive north for food

I realized this morning while walking that we're leaving for 10 days in 1 day. There is much to be done before departure. But you don't want to know about any of that stuff. The fun stuff is where we're going and more importantly, where we'll be eating. This was supposed to be our anniversary trip, which it is, but it's also turned into our vacation alone before the baby comes... I believe they call it a babymoon? Or does that come after the baby?

Anyway, we're heading north by car to the bay area, my favorite place to visit in the fall. And we're going to spend the entire time doing things that you can't do with an infant. At least not very easily.

But before any of that happens, we'll be in San Diego for a wedding. Remember Katya's invites? That party is in 1 day. I have some planning to do.



(from flickr)

Then Sunday, once Katya and Andy are happily married, we pack up and head to Big Sur (staying here, yay), possibly making a pit stop at Full of Life Flatbread that Christine so highly recommended. So here's the question... Early dinner at FOL or wait and have dinner in Big Sur when we get there? We're not really sure where to eat in Big Sur, aside from Nepenthe. Which could be good. Big Sur Bakery is closed on Sunday nights (boo), but we'll be having breakfast there in the am. Any suggestions would be appreciated.



(photo by sfgirlbybay)

After Big Sur, we head to San Francisco for a few nights. Where we will visit the following fine dining establishments:

Rose's Cafe on Union Street. We love it here. We happened upon it years ago on a fall trip up North and have been loyal (though infrequent) customers ever since. The food is simple but delicious.

Tartine, obviously.

Boulette's Larder. Again, fairly obvious. I am in love with Boulette's Larder. If one day I have a kitchen like their little restaurant I will be in heaven.

We have one more dinner in SF that we haven't settled on. I have a whole list of places to try, but perhaps one of you knows the inside scoop. We're up for driving over to Berkeley too. I adore Berkeley, though thankfully there isn't a Cal game next weekend or I'd be spending my anniversary at Memorial Stadium.





And then we're off to Napa for the rest of the trip. We splurged on our lodging up there, hoping to really lay about the mineral pool and read and relax. Maybe hit up a mud bath? Must remember to pack an old swim suit. There won't be much wine tasting this trip, sadly, but I'm sure we'll find ways to entertain ourselves all the same. Maybe a few hikes. Our room comes with bikes so we can pedal around the vineyards. If there's something we shouldn't miss, do tell.

We have reservations at Bouchon and Ubuntu. Very excited for both. Crossing our fingers for a French Laundry cancellation. We did get the call for one, but it was at 11 am. This probably makes me an impostor gourmand, but we just couldn't justify (or frankly truly appreciate) the extravagance for lunch. Really, almost breakfast. So I asked to stay on the wait list with hopes of a dinner slot popping up. If it does, yay. If is doesn't, oh well.

The other two nights are open. And we'd love recommendations for those of you who frequent Napa. We might just picnic in our room with spoils from Oakville Grocery and/or Dean & Deluca. But we might want to get out so do share your favorites.

We'll probably have lunch at Auberge du Soleil. We have it on good authority that's not to be missed.

It's lucky I'm on a gradual weight gain program at the moment or this trip would be poison for my thighs. There are major upsides to eating for two.

Now must pack. Very exciting.

weekend things

Finally made it to Intelligentsia in Venice. We're a little slow on the uptake. It's so modern and clean and you get your own barista who makes only your drinks when you order. And their pastries are not only edible, they're quite delicious.









Other than that, we laid low. Found these late season peaches at the market, which were pretty tasty though different from their juicy summer brothers.



I napped and read on the couch quite a bit and then puttered around in the kitchen on Sunday afternoon. I find Sundays to be good days to do fussy things like making stock and segmenting oranges and seeding pomegranates. Things you just don't want to tackle come dinner time during the week. And it made the house feel so cozy and fall-like. And then made me incredibly sad that we don't have a fireplace or dining room. A fireplace and dining room would certainly make all of our troubles disappear.

Stock for a few soups to try this week (so prepared!)





And salad parts for dinner at our neighbors' house on Sunday evening. (Hi Ruth and David!) Isn't that so communal and cute? We love our 'hood.



Now if it would only rain. The clouds have been looming, but I'm afraid they might blow over. Please rain please rain please rain.

Huckleberry

This weekend after a little jog (a prenatal-friendly jog), and trip to the farmer's market in Santa Monica, we stopped by Huckleberry for some take away bread and treats.

The line was huge so I took a few photos while we waited. The space has such nice light and lots of little details, very hard to resist when the camera is near.














I should first say that we've never actually had a meal at Huckleberry. We're in the habit of picking things up to take home so I can't properly review their food. But I always get this roasted carrot salad and it's never that good. The idea is there... roasted carrots with cumin, avocado, and cilantro... but the flavor isn't. Poor carrot salad. I actually bought carrots at the market so I could make my own version. I'll let you know how it turns out.

HOWEVER the white bean dip we tried this time was delish. And their country boule is really lovely. And their scones are good and buttery. Apparently it's loosely inspired by Tartine (where Zoe, the co-owner learned to bake), a very necessary stop on our Bay Area road trip. Soooo excited.

One of these weekends were going to get there early enough to avoid the brunch crowd and actually have breakfast.

And now that the baby news is out, here's the belly progress so far...



Just slightly obscuring the laces... But after dinner it's quite a different story.

Farm 255 surprise visit

Via Travel + Leisure.

My dearest, loveliest, most pregnant friend Laura appeared in my lap over the weekend.

We seem to be on some sort of Conde Nast free publication list at the moment and we're currently receiving a complimentary subscription to Travel + Leisure magazine (last year it was Mens Vogue). I usually thumb through the pages for a moment, feeling sad about all the amazing places there are to travel that I have no plans to visit, before I toss it into the recycling bin.

This month there was a nice feature on restaurants who are taking the 'farm to table' thing a step further by actually growing their own food. And main image was this cute photo of a totally hip, cowboy-boot-clad, knees-sock-wearing farmer girl tending to her towering okra crops.



Um, that would be my friend Laura. HELLLOOOOOOO!!!! How cool is that? I had no idea they had an article coming out and certainly would have never even seen it had Conde Nast not signed us up for our gratis subscription.



Their restaurant, Farm 255, is soooooo worth the trip if you're in Athens, GA. Or any of the surrounding cities, actually. And you can totally visit the farm and even volunteer to help harvest, especially right now when the squash and tomatoes and okra are coming in by the ton. Which is always great fun.

Aaannd, they got a shout out in a NYtimes article last week, Young Idols with Cleavers Rule the Stage, (thanks for the tip, Nikki!). Their former chef Tamar is back in the Bay Area, but credited her butchering skillz to her days on the farm. Awwww.

It seriously made my Saturday. I'm so proud of them and all their hard work.

kogi

Friday night, just finished dinner with friends at AK on Abbot Kinney and there, parked in front of the Brig, glowing like a beacon of the promised land, is Kogi. JUST finished dinner, as in stepping out of the restaurant and into line behind a taco truck. We had no choice.

For non-LA residents, Kogi is a Korean taco truck that roams the streets of LA declaring its whereabouts though it's Twitter feed. Which means these tacos can be elusive, especially if you're not on Twitter. Delicious culinary delights I say, that as it turns out are perfectly sized for a post dinner snack. Spicy kimchi topped dessert, if you will.

If you live here, you need to eat these.

(bottom pic from Kogi)

churros y chocolate that vanish before our eyes

for LA peeps out there (or anyone coming to LA)...

You need to go to Lucques if you haven't been. Definitely one of my very favorite restaurants in LA.

Everything is completely delicious. And then there's the churros y chocolate, which are better than any I tasted in Spain... by like 1 million miles.

I tried to eat them slowly, I did. But this is what happened:



in approx 60 seconds. And every other couple sitting at the bar with us on Saturday ordered them too, with similar results. Thankfully iPhone was able to document the carnage as proof.

I need the cookbook, even if it's just so I can make their perfect salad dressings.

sweet chairs and general design skills from creme design

My friend Amanda sent this link over this afternoon during one of our therapeutic interoffice IM sessions. Love these multicolored plaid chairs at Distrito in Philly.



And the warm, rustic feeling of the front of Forge in NYC... makes me want a glass of red wine. now.



Lots more inspired interiors at Creme Design.