Part of being a great hostess is keeping your guests entertained and stimulated.  A great way to do that is with a game that either stimulates the brain or gives you insight into your fellow guests.

I recently was at a fantastic baby shower where after the main part of the shower we played the board game Encore.  It is so much fun.  The main point of the game is to form teams and be able to sing at least eight (or six) words of a song with a particular word in it.  You go back and forth until a team can’t think of any more songs with that word.  Normally people are a little nervous about singing, but once they get started other players join along and it really isn’t about how good you can sing, it’s about the lyrics you can remember!  I really think you could even play this game without a board, but it makes it a bit easier.  When the word “love” was up I was very glad I had such a strong love affair with everything Beatles for years when I was younger.

Then we were up at Autumn Glory in a rental house.  I am sure if we looked around there would have been a board game, instead we played a game similar to Apples to Apples without the board.  It was super easy to do just on a whim.  First we thought up a list of category/questions e.g. What shouldn’t you say to a cop? OR What’s your favorite Disney Movie?  Each turn there is a reader, who doesn’t play that round.  We let them think up the category/question after the first few practice rounds.  You then write down your answer.  Then the reader collects the answers from people and reads them aloud twice.  Then the participants clockwise from the reader try to guess whose answer matches who.  The reader doesn’t re-read the answers until the turn comes back past them after one round.  If you guess someone’s answer they are out for that turn, and you get to guess again.  If you guess incorrectly your turn is done if and until it comes back around and the reader has reread the remaining answers.  People try to set up other people or just have outrageous answers and it is pretty funny.  You get one point for every answer you get correct on your turn and five points goes to the person who wins the round.  It is great because you really learn a lot about your guests.  And you just need some paper and pencils.

Neither game is overly competitive, and it is a great laugh so it keeps the mood light.  And remember when playing games it normally is best not to put couples as team because that can cause tension, and guests don’t have the opportunity to get to know other people.  Hubby and I were so happy to have such fun occasions to be able to relax and play games and laugh with our friends.  We are so busy right now I think it’s going to be a while until we get that kind of time again and it’s just so fun.

I can vividly remember walking through the Five and Dime in Petersburg, WV with my Mother.  It was a place filled with high aisles and higher possibilities.   And the Five and Dime had these neat craft kits with patterns and lists of what you needed for the project to make the end goal a little more obtainable in a day or so.  One of my very fond memories was making these felt and button santas with my Mother.  I still have one, although the arm is falling off a bit and it needs repaired.  They were really cute! Although I am an atrocious sewer, somehow, they turned out alright, probably due to my Mother’s magical touch with crafts. I loved craft projects with Mother, in fact I still do.

I happened upon these fantastic kits from The Cheswick Company and I immediately thought about our santas.  These are really neat kits and the end products are so cute.  These would make a great project with someone you enjoy spending time with.  Or a great homemade gift for someone worth some effort.  They have holiday themes, or themes from novels, or just cute little characters from nowhere in particular.

And last but not least, this adorable little monkey:

With the weather cooling down I am thinking how fun these could be for a weekend project.

Day Three started with a Mini winding across the Bay Bridge and up through Mill Valley to Muir Woods National Monument.  It reminded me of an old growth forrest on the East Coast that was fed lots of Miracle Grow.  The trees were immense and the earth just smelled good.  It was a nice diversion to be out of the city and among giant trees.  Although there were still lots of people.  And we had to walk as far to parking and back as we did through the national monument.  Many of the side paths were closed during our visit, but the main path was still open; however, I wish more of the side trails would have been open where you could have left the crowds behind and done more serious hiking.  But none-the-less a beautiful thing to see.

We drove back through Saucilito, but it was so crowded we just drove right through and back into San Francisco.  We parked between Golden Gate Park and NOPA where we brunched.  I had Butter Basted Farm Eggs – Roasted Spring Onions, Romesco and Crispy Polenta, with a side of bacon, it was decadent, crunchy, but not overly filling or heavy. MMMMMM. But Hubby really beat me, he got the Chili Braised Pork –Purple Runner Beans, Chard and Buttermilk Biscuit and that was killer good, rich in flavor, but nicely balanced with the beans and greens that weren’t done in a heavy way. I want to try to make this at home.

After our quite filling, but not heavy brunch we explored the portions of Golden Gate Park that we previously hadn’t gotten through.  We visited the conservancy of flowers to look at their orchids and the exhibit on Wicked Plants.  We walked through the dahlia gardens and explored for a bit.  We then went back to the car by way of Osso & Co a fantastic dog store where we picked up some goodies for Max.  We did not get him one of the amazing dog houses they had there, but you never know, he might get one in the future, they were amazingly chic.  We then drove and checked out the shops around Hayes Valley, a very hipster area with great boutique shops.  There is a very good guide here.  I really loved Stark Home Furnishings.

We were so tired from all the walking we crashed at the hotel for a nap.  I had really considered visiting the excellent Nob Hill Spa, and looking back I can’t imagine why I didn’t.  The spa is beautiful with an amazing view from the pool.  And the treatment rooms really pretty.  Next time this will be a done deal.  My sore legs and tired feet could have used some pampering!

That night we had reservations for Boulevard, but neither of us felt like fancy, so we went and had spring rolls at the Slanted Door, which were killer good (we should have just eaten dinner here) and then we had fish tacos a hot dog and fries at Gott’s Roadside, which was good, it was, but not anything as good as the rolls at Slanted Door and the amazing smells emanating from that place. I am still regretting not eating at the Slanted Door right now.

We then wandered our way back up Nob Hill, we stopped in Chinatown to pick up a few goodies before the stores closed.  I got a silk pouch and jewelry roll for travel that pair exceedingly well with my Michael Aram Hartman.  And got some cute gifts for friends and loved ones that you can’t get in our area.

The next morning we wandered Chinatown and I bought some jewelry from an exceptional little jewelry store off the beaten path where you can find nicer things than the junky shops that are mostly visible.  I also drooled over a beautiful gold desk with with cranes for my guest bedroom.

We had a chinese pastries, a mung bean cake for me and a bbq bun for Hubby, and ate an early lunch before the airport at San Sun, which I highly highly recommend. They have some amazing noodle dishes, and that’s what I would order here. The broth, noodles and meat choices were great. You pick the broth-meat, then you pick your noodle type rice noodles, thin or wide, egg noodles, etc, etc, and you can do a combo, they also have some specialty noodle dishes. They have a huge menu so there is other stuff, but most people around us were also slurping up different noodles. Even at 11:00 a.m. people of all ethnicities came wandering in for a meal.  The flavors of the broth were complex, but so comforting.  We then headed off to the airport where I picked up  some dinner at the Napa Farm Market in the airport which had some really nice looking meals- for me roasted chicken, roast potatoes and asparagus.  They even had gluten free cupcakes.  Surprisingly fireworks from a plan are not as cool as you would expect.  Just little poofs of light far far away.

Wants: A Farmer’s Market as good as the one at the Ferry Market Building.

Day two began with me sleeping in for a delightfully long time, only to wake up and find it was still quite early on the West Coast- I love that! We got ready and headed down to the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Market Building.  First up was some delicious dark chocolate almond brittle from G.L. Alfieri Nuts & Fruits, which may be one of the tastiest and most addicting brittles I have ever sampled.  They also have a great selection of nuts and spreads, but that brittle will be ordered for holiday events!  We then sampled some beautiful peaches, then it was on to Ex-Absinthe/Arlequin pastry chefLuis Villavelazquez’s Les Elements Patisserie where we had an amazing strawberry jelly doughnut and lamb turnover.  We knew strawberry was the way to go as the day before we could see beautiful fresh strawberries all over the fields.  And that filling was fresh and delicious.  The Lamb Turnover was also good, wish I could have toasted it just a little, but was a nice savory morning bite.  I am so sorry to say I can’t figure out who I got the lovely little macarons from in front of the building, which is a real shame as she also had some lime caramel which was so good, Hubby loved that.

Inside the building we had an amazing hot dog at the Prather Ranch Meat Co. hormone and antibiotic free, with a great crispness, but juicy beef taste.    Across the lane I slurped down some fresh, briny oysters at the San Francisco Fish Company.

We sampled some Pepples Doughnuts, which may be my favorite cake doughnut of all time and right up there in my top three of all doughnuts.  I am very sad they don’t ship (it’s not sustainable, I know, I know).  But their cake was moist and not overly dense and their flavors were magical, made from fresh and wonderful product, like meyer lemon or green tea.  If anyone going to SF wants to ship me some of these home, you are more than welcome.  I will repay the favor somehow, someway.  Having just eaten an awful large amount of gluten for my system (I only had bites of things, but it adds up, luckily I stayed lactose free and that seems to be more of a problem for me) I picked up a Mariposa sandwich made with Boccalone salami for later.

We then stepped outside and as it had gotten a little later there were hoards everywhere.  Luckily we made it to Primavera for great lemonade and tea.  I had the Chi Chi Rodriguez which may be the best peach tea I have ever tasted (do you see a pattern here?) .  I wish I could get this stuff bottled.  It has all my drink loves- tea, ginger and peach all rolled into one delicious, balanced drink that I had to ration so I didn’t down it in seconds.  Stepping back in we stopped in McEnvoy Ranch and Heath Ceramics, which is just so special they will get their own post just for them.  I also found a wealth of new cookbooks I NEED (def. NEED- something I want very badly, and must acquire because it is superawesomefantabulous)(nevermind that my cookbook shelf is packed to the rim).  To balance off the meatasticness of the morning we stopped in DELICA to get some salad, I got mine in the form of spinach and sesame, but they had a seaweed salad that looked super healthy and good too- next time!

I would have bought so much more except we were going right from there over to the SFMOMA and then to Golden Gate Park!  But most everyplace, but Pepples, ships so I am in luck, plus I couldn’t eat any more and needed to burn off some calories walking.  The SFMOMA had the Gertrude Stein collection visiting and the number of rare Matisse and Picasso’s was just phenomenal.  There was also a beautiful Monet Lithograph with so many colors.  The permanent collection was also very interesting with a lot of work that was beautiful and thought provoking.  One of the fun moments was seeing the Matthew Blarney work, the person the internets always confuses my Hubby with.  After all that walking I needed a short break to rest the footsies.  We were close to Press Club, a fantastic wine bar with a by the glass list that just makes me happy.  The staff has wonderful knowledge of all the tastes and provides very helpful feedback without being wine pontzs.  It has a dark, but very clean and modern  wood motif, with back lights and matte wine bottles in khaki colors.  It is a great place to sit and relax, there are multiple bars and many seating areas.  And just so relaxing.

After this I ate my Mariposa sandwich at Golden Gate Park.  Umm, this is incredible gluten free bread.  It makes me cry that they are so far away.  They do ship though.  It is so much like real bread.  It is chewy and light and airy with good pull and texture.  Why can’t this place be at a Farmer’s Market here!!!  It was soo good.  The sandwich rolls were especially good, so much better than anything I have found.  If anyone wants to go in on a shipment with me let me know!!

Golden Gate Park was beautiful, the conservatory had an amazing exhibit on Wicked Plants!  They also had amazing orchids and temperate gardens.  They also had a beautiful Dahlia garden, one of my favorite flower varieties.  The Japanese Tea Garden was very neat, but I felt the one in Sydney and the Huntington were better.  The other gardens weren’t very well kept, but still nice to walk around.  I think they have probably suffered from some budget cuts.  After all that walking we headed back to the hotel for a pre-dinner nap, as it was a long day in beautiful sunshine.

Then the cherry on the sundae was dinner at Incanto!  I love me some tasty salted pig parts.  And I really like Chris Cosentino’s philosophy towards food.  The dinner was stellar, the Chef was in the kitchen.  Starting with the wonderful foccacio bread and tapenade.  Then moving onto a country harm puree with spring root vegetables.  This country hame puree was a delight, like really good grits, but smoother, denser, creamy, but in an amazing savory way.  I also had the lavender lemonade, which just hit me, as did the puree as something I must make, they were just simple wonderful pleasures.  I then had the pork shoulder with onion, apple and greens which was dense with meat flavor, but very light with simple, balanced flavors.  Hubby had the ragu and that was rich and just homey and wonderful, like a hug from your fat aunt, it consumes you with a joyful fullness.  It is simple, complex food, the technique is impeccable, but the food is honest and not overdone.  Too stuffed for dessert we headed for Clock Bar for some liquid dessert, it was ok, drinks were good, but atmosphere just needed something, it was too hotely, although trying so hard not to be, I would rather do the Top of the Mark and have the view.

We had a pretty amazing trip to San Francisco.  Between the day-trips, the food, the shopping, the attractions, it was just a really great trip.  I found so much great stuff I have to cover it day by day.

We arrived in San Francisco airport around 10:00 a.m. West Coast time and hit the road for Carmel and Monterey.  Of course I was starving, really starving, but didn’t want to ruin a nice lunch on the coast.  So Hubby suggested we stop for an In and Out Burger, as I had never had one.  There isn’t one in the city, but using the great app Next EXIT we found one off the highway on our way.  The app is excellent in places where they don’t label the exits or you just want to see what else is out there, beyond the signs.  It gives you the options and when you pass the exit it moves to the next.  We split a hamburger with fries.  The fries were really light and crisp and not overly salty like so many french fries.  The burger tasted fresh, with actual ripe tomato, the sauce was ok- I would save the cals and add ketchup or mustard.  It was definitely good for fast food, but not something to go out of your way for.  Then we headed through Santa Cruz and down the coast for Monterey.  If you can hold your hunger a little bit there are some amazing looking road stands on that drive out in farm country.  You could see them picking the fresh strawberries and artichokes, mmmm.

Monterey is incredibly touristy, mind you, but the aquarium is really fantastic.  I have been to aquariums all over the world- because yes I am five inside- I love aquariums like some people like art, or shoes or breathing.   But because I have been to so many, I have a fairly high standard at this point.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium is spectacular.

But to be honest one of the things that makes it spectacular is the restaurant.  Oh no not the cafeteria- the real restaurant.  You have to go to the hostess stand and then wait a bit, but you can look through the aquarium then.  Then you sit down with an amazing view over Monterey Bay with otters playing in the bay, and not just a couple, but piles of them.  There were seals swimming around and sunning themselves the birds flying in and out of the kelp beds fishing.  This might be one of the most fantastic dining spots for a nature enthusiast.  (Bring good binoculars, the ones on the table are not adequate.)  They serve wine and beer, have fantastic organic and local food and desserts.  I had a lovely California Bass, pan roasted with sauteed vegetables and roasted potatoes and a reduction sauce of butter and apricot.  It was an incredibly high end lunch that was relaxing and just amazing looking out watching the bay teeming with little otters playing in the sun.  The exhibits are quite breath taking, they light the exhibits so well and they have a huge section of things you can TOUCH!  If you have a small child, or a me, expect to spend a whole day here.  Check out my pics for some of the amazing exhibits from seahorses to jellyfish.

After this we drove through the lovely Pacific Grove with misty, rocky, craggy coastline sprinkled with beaches.  We then drove through Pebble Beach- which for us who don’t know- the whole area has quite a number of golf courses.  You have to pay to do the drive, but the pull offs and views are really quite nice to enjoy.

We then ended up in Carmel and Carmel by the Sea.  We perused lots of cute shops.  Drove by beautiful houses.  We checked out the Nielsen Brothers Market which was a combination between normal little super market and gourmet store, farmers market, but the wine selection inside was very nice, especially local wines.  Thinker Toys across the street has an amazing ferris wheel built out of Tinker Toys and a really great selection of neat toys and vintage toy items.  They had a number of cute dog shops, as well.  Lots of clothing shops and shoe shops with neat things.  But the galleries were the real draw.  We really liked the selection at   Gallery 1000 Fine Art.  So much we thought about purchasing a piece, that is unfortunately a little too big for our space.  There is also the George Rodrique- known for Blue Dog- Studio and so many other great galleries.  I almost found that piece I have been looking for to place in the dining room.

There are so many good choices of places to eat in Carmel by the Sea.  With fresh ingredients grown so close, it is hard to screw them up.  We wanted something light after a long day of traveling and we wandered into Mundaka, a Spanish tapas restaurant using local ingredients.  It was a great choice.  The setting is really nice, and food was excellent.  We had a hilarious group of neighbors in the dining room that made it quite a humorous evening, but our server was so nice and gracious (we could have asked to move to multiple other seating options, but it was like watching simultaneous train wrecks).  We started with fried squash blossoms with chili oil.  They were crisp and light with a sweet taste that balanced well with the chili oil.  We then moved on to patatas bravas which were crisp and spicy and a good version. Squash and zucchini spaghetti with almonds and pecorino were very fresh and vibrant.  Lamb chops with mashed potatoes and some herbed olive oil were cooked perfectly with nice gamey flavor, and tenderness.  The lavender pork skewers with almost a kimchi like side of greens was not what I was expecting, but a nice taste and very different. I really loved this little place and we didn’t want a huge meal, even with this we ordered to much, but it was all fresh and prepared well.  The staff was gracious and very nice.  They had a great wine list, but we stook to there homemade lemonade in preparation for the ride back to San Francisco, which was crisp and refreshing.  From the pictures, the lighting after dark seems pretty cool too, we left before dark to get home!  (Pictures from their website- not our meal.)

Last but not least: Home Sweet Home at the Huntington Hotel.  This place has quickly jumped onto my short list of fantastic hotels.  The customer service is amazing, they are so nice and personable, by the second day they recognize you.  Housekeeping was Nay, who told us if we needed anything to call her at any time.  The doormen were just friendly and helpful as can be.  The room itself was spacious and clean, with a mix of modern and antique furnishings and art.  The bathroom was huge with a large vanity, the room had floor length mirrors, a necessity in my book.  L’Occitaine amenities were quite adequate.  The view from our room was just amazing, one of the perks of being on the top of Nob Hill.  And they have a spa, that I WILL go to next time.  It looked incredible and has a pool and sunning patio overlooking the other side of the city.  The hotel and staff are amazing, this is the place to stay in San Francisco.  Below you can see our exact room and incredible view.  MMMMM, I can close my eyes and dream of this place.

It just so happens that one of my absolute favorite persons lives in Chicago.  And this post is a little late, but we traveled there for a conference that Matthew had in March.  I came for a long weekend that happened to encompass the St. Patty’s Celebration madness, which was a hoot.

We stayed at the Sofitel at the Chicago Water Tower.  I really love this hotel, and would strongly recommend it.  It sits a few blocks back of Michigan Avenue, so it is a little quieter, but right in the middle of things still.  It was easy to walk or use public transportation to most everything in town that we wanted to see.  The rooms were nice and very clean, and just minimally decorated in a way I find relaxing.  There were awesome full length mirrors covering the closets so it was easy to style yourself.  And to top it all off the bathrooms were huge, with a wide array of really nice amenities.  What more can a girl want you ask?  A lobby filed with fresh flagrant flower displays, helpful staff and a great lounge and restaurant that’s what, and they got you covered there too.

So the night I landed, Hubby took me to the most beautiful place.  The Bloomingdales Home Store in Chicago… YeeGods this place is awesome.  Four or five floors of nothing but beautiful home decor, in an old Synagogue that itself was amazing.  Not only that, but they had the new Diane Von Furstenburg plates and bedding.  Heaven, heaven, heaven.   Then we had dinner at Moto.  The super modernist, molecular gastronomy restaurant of Chicago.  And it was so much fun!  I can’t even describe the food and the courses, but I have pictures!  If you like fun dining and don’t take your food to seriously I would recommend it.  There are places rated much better food-wise, like Avec, but this was fun and Hubby and I like all the work and creativity put into the dishes.  The staff was so nice, they were low key and down to earth, and it made the whole thing relaxed and fun.

Friday we ate an early lunch at Grahamwich, Graham Elliot’s sandwich shop. This was really, really good. YOU MUST EAT HERE!  I had the jarbrito tacos which had nicely flavored soft meat and crunchy plantain bits, they could have used a touch more acid, but that is a light quibble.  I also had a bite of my Hubby’s Reuben, which was really good, juicy and just succulent as can be. We also got the short rib sandwich and I ate all the guts out of my half. That was fantastic, the pickled onions, chip pieces, short rib that was rich and soft, but not runny and sauce that was creamy, but had a nice acidic balance pull it all together and it was so rich and crispy and tart all together. That was a great sandwich. It was very hipster in terms of scene, but I liked it, a lot.

After our tasty lunch I convinced Hubby we should walk down Michigan Avenue to see some of the great buildings.  This turned into quite a long walk all the way to the Field Museum, but it was a nice day and we needed to burn off all those Grahamwich calories.  On the way we stopped into a poster store that had amazing old vintage posters on the bottom floor that were amazing and rare.  It is one of those big online shops, but just seeing some of their neat, rare art deco posters up close was fun.  We also stopped into the Chicago Architecture Foundation store which is neat too.  After finally arriving at the Field Museum (and as a note if you don’t love to walk don’t try this it was a long walk), we had a great time seeing the exhibits in their neat vintage boxes with hand painted backgrounds.  I felt like I was in another era walking through the botanical section learning what families plants and veggies I love are from.  I did not know the apple tree was in the rose family.  I don’t think this is probably a favorite museum for kids, but I would certainly recommend it for any adult that enjoys art and botany.

That night we had our obligatory Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill. I started with Duck flautos in a tomatillo sauce. This was just fantastic. Slightly spicy, crisp outer shell, rich meat, but the tomatillo sauce with toasted herbs and spices was just amazing. I am sure it is in his cookbook and would be worth it if you had some time to make it. It was an excellent dish. Hubby had chorizo tamales which were good, but it had so much sauce, meat, greans and etc you couldn’t really taste the tamales, so while it was good, my starter was better. For entrees he had an entree with chicken, rice and spinach which had a light sauce that I want to say was tomato based. His entree was really good, I liked it a lot. The spinach was fantastic and the sauce was light but flavorful. I had chicken enchiladas in mole poblano. It was very rich and sweet, but nicely balanced with black beans. The meat and tortillas were very good, the mole was very complex, but good. It isn’t something I could eat often, I couldn’t finish it just so rich, but it was very good. We were too stuffed for dessert. I also had a very good blood orange margarita. The service wasn’t stellar. We waited a long time for drinks, silverware, our order to get taken we ordered second drinks, but finished our entrees before they came so the waiter asked if we still wanted them and we declined. I understand it is exceedingly busy there all the time, but at the same time, it is always like that so I expect them to be able to better deal with the madness.  If you can get the reservation for Topolobampo, I would bet it is well worth it.

Later that evening we had fun catching up with Megan at her very chic apartment.  A place I wish I could just teleport to with a bottle of wine and stories to tell.

Saturday was St. Patty’s madness. We ate breakfast at Cafe Grand Deluxe, which I believe is owned by Cheesecake Factory brand. Places were so crowded at this point we just wanted some food and they could get us in fairly quickly. I had an egg white omlette and it was good, I mean nothing to write home about, hee hee hee, but definitely an adequate place to stop with lots of variety.  The river was green, people were crazy.  But it was fun to see the madness.  We met up with Megan and toured the Chicago Cultural Center which is just stunning.  If I got married in Chicago this is where it would have been.  The beautiful Tiffany domes and detailed mosaics covering the building just make it a magical place.  We walked through Marshall Fields, toured Millenium Park then ended up at the Art Institute of Chicago.  Wow this place is gigantic, we couldn’t come close to seeing everything.  I also found the layout very confusing if you just wanted to pop in and out to certain exhibits and not follow their routes.  The coolest part of the museum were the mini-rooms which shouldn’t be missed.  I love the Art Institute’s massive collection- well worth paying admission (something us DCers just don’t understand).

That night we went to the lounge at Sixteen at the Trump Tower for cocktails and a snack. I love this lounge, I think it is akin to drink at the W Hotel in DC (which used to be the Hotel Washington, but this place has better drinks).  I bet the hotel rooms are amazing too, especially if you get a view looking up or down Michigan Ave.  The view from the lounge is really beautiful, the cocktails were really well done, I had a ginger cocktail, Vodka, Domaine de Canton and perhaps something else, with a candied ginger rim, it was very well blended with a nice mixture of flavors. My friend Megan had a whiskey, maple syrup and bacon cocktail with some other things to balance out the sweet and that was really good. Hubby had the least appealing, I can’t even really remember what it was, he didn’t get a second of it, he had something else. But sitting there drinking cocktails, watching the skyline light up, and catching the fireworks was a great evening. If you want the iconic cocktail with nice view this is the place. We ate samosas and beef satay both of which were really tasty.  We spent a good portion of our night talking, laughing and just enjoying life from that beautiful lounge.  In the summer they open up the terrace there and I am sure then it only gets better.

That night we ate dinner/more snacks at Bin36. This place had a fantastic wine list, a very good selection of wine flights, a huge selection of cheese and was a great place to hang, casual, but buzzing with a great open feel. We all got different flights, I had the Habla Espanol which had wines from the new world and old, they were all very good. We had a lavender and coffee encrusted cheese, mortadella, salami platter which was very good. Hubby had a cheddar flight which was awesome. Then I had a beet and crab salad, which had a touch too many beets and not enough other components to balance them out. But was pretty good. My friend had sausage, polenta and an egg which was like having really good breakfast for dinner. Hubby had fondue with soft pretzels and apples which was good. We mainly just wanted snacks and hangover food to suck up all the liquor from the day. We then drank at some different bars that night trying to find a good St. Patty’s place but they all seemed to be packed to the gills.

Next day we tried to go to Yolk which was packed, so trying to hit up some museums quickly we just ended up at Potbelly. We then headed up to the Museum of Science and Industry.  This is an amazing museum.  It is the place to take kids, or anyone like me, who likes to be a kid whenever possible.  I watched in awe as trains went through the replica of Chicago, walked up  stairways filled with working pumps, motors and machines you could turn on and off, create a tornado, tsunami and avalanche in the lab, and so much more, this place was epically cool.

Later that day we went to Marshall Fields/Macy’s which was a ton of fun. I wish their cafes had been open that day. We got lots of chocolate from the candy department- I had never seen Moonstruck chocolates before and they are so cute, especially the little animals. I got a bunch for my Mom as a thank you for watching Max and a couple for me including penguins!  They had an amazing selection of anything and everything. That store is just nuts! We ended up grabbing a quick dinner before heading to the airport at Flacos Tacos which was surprisingly good, the chicken tamale was incredible and the tacos were really good. In retrospect we could have eaten somewhere nicer, but we didn’t know how long it would take us to get to the airport, through security and all that jazz, but it ended up being a breeze.  The whole trip was so much fun, I wish we had more time, but another trip now that the weather is warmer wouldn’t be bad either.

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Heads Up!

To all my readers who have diligently followed this post, I wanted to let you know that the 43rd Annual Autumn Glory Festival will be held in Oakland, Maryland from October 6-10, 2010.

I love Autumn in Garrett County, the leaves are beautiful, the air is crisp and people are in such a good mood.  This year I am not so sure how the leaves will fair as it is pretty dry up there, but never the less the festival goes on.

My favorites are listed below, but here is the best listing of events I have seen.  This is a great event to come up for even if just a day or two.

1. The Grand Feature parade on Saturday.  The parade has bands from across the area, commercial floats, Shriners Clubs and so much more, lasting at least an hour and half normally.  Just seeing the kids and adults alike line up to watch the spectical pass feels like a bit of Americana living on.  Not to mention all the good food available in town such as the sausage sandwiches at the fire hall and rotary fries.

2. Oakland Women’s Civic Club Antique Show at the Armory.  This is a huge hall of antique vendors selling all sorts of antiques from furniture, to political memorabilia to jewelery and holiday kitsch.  I always find some great Christmas presents here.

3. No-Hands Ice Cream Eating Contest at Lakeside Creamery.  Although it might be harder to distinguish the culinary great that is homemade ice cream from Lakeside Creamery while scarfing it down in the contest, you no doubt will have a lot of fun helping them finish off the last ice cream for the season.

4. The State Banjo and Mandolin Competition at Southern High School on Friday Night and Fiddle Competition on Saturday Night.  There is some amazing music to be heard here, and you might be surprised how much you will enjoy it even if you aren’t normally a fiddle or banjo type.

5. Western Maryland Tournament of the Bands at Southern High School on Saturday Night.  Bring some blankets to cuddle under while you watch marching bands from across the region battle it out for points and trophies.

This year I am hoping to catch the Antique Car Show which I never get to make.

But if you get a little tired of festival events, I find a diversion out to Swallow Falls to walk and hike the trails is a nice relaxing end to the weekend.  This time of year it is also dog friendly so your Pooch can get some exercise while you enjoy the foliage and views.  I think there are pictures in the archives from last year here.

So this report has been a long time in the making…

Melbourne

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Where to stay: The Park Hyatt.

As you might know from previous posts or just happen to realize for me to rave about a hotel it must be pretty nice.  Well the Park Hyatt Melbourne rates up there in terms of even the hotels I like.  I don’t need a huge superior room, what I need is a clean, comfortable, quiet room with a nice view, a great bathroom and nice amenities.

We went to Australia in May, which is their fall, but it meant off season rates in Melbourne and Sydney, not a ton of tourists and nice crisp, but warm weather.  We got a great deal at the Park Hyatt at less than $200 a night.

For that we got a really nice comfortable king size bed, valet attendants that helped us figure out how to work our GPS system, a hotel that was a close walk to most of the attractions in Melbourne, a huge bathroom with a shower that had a tv and speakers, a electric tea kettle with good tea and nice toiletries that I actually used.

Also the breakfast served here was wonderful. There was a really nice a la carte menu, but we normally went for the buffet with a huge selection of fruits, breads, cereals, juices, cheeses, charcuterie and hot items including the traditional English breakfast of course.  We normally had long days of walking or exploring ahead of us so a nice big breakfast really hit the spot.

What to do:  The very top of your to do list should be the Queen Victoria Market.  This is a huge market.  They have some little restaurants, fish market, meat market, a deli section with stalls selling breads, meats, cheeses, olives, dried goods, eggs, honey, teas and everything else you could imagine.  Then outside they have fresh produce.  They have a lot of produce that is hard to find here like Nooshi a fruit that is like a small juicy apple and very fresh ripe Passionfruit.  Also outside are bins of flour and other grains and people selling wines and other homemade goods.  Then in back of that is a huge flea market.  My favorites were a cracked black pepper meat pie sold at a deli in the bottom left section.  The crust was flaky, it was piping hot and fresh and the fresh cracked black pepper made it the best meat pie of the trip.  Hubby and I also picked up some kangaroo salami, cheese, bread and fruits to take with us on our adventure out to the country that afternoon.

If you are adventurous- and you should be this is Australia for God’s sake- I highly suggest renting a car and driving down to Philips Island.  Now I went mainly for my obsession with non-flying birds of the black and white variety, which you can see nightly.  We got the “Ultimate Penguin Experience” which was really great.  You were taken to a separate area for viewing and walked down the beach to a small break in the dunes where we sat for probably about an hour and fifteen minutes watching with night vision googles little penguins teetering all around you within feet.  Then you hike back along the road spotting little Philips Island Penguins running and nesting all about you.  We were unfortunate and fortunate enough to be able to touch a penguin that was rescued by our ranger when we saw him injured and floundering on the beach in front of us.  I am sure they took good care of him.

Also on Philips Island is a koala sanctuary where you can view koalas a couple feet away doing there thing aka sleeping or eating, I think that’s all they do honestly.  They are cute as can be!  Also if you are lucky like us you will also see some wandering wallabies throughout the park grazing on grasses.

Philips Island also has an area called the nobbies that has beautiful rock outcropping.  Sometimes they have seals, but we didn’t see any on our visit (apparently they sometimes have Great Whites too).  And a working farm.  What we enjoyed most was the beautiful scenery and quiet beaches.

For eclectic shopping and some really good casual restaurants check out Brunswick Street.  This was my favorite area in all Melbourne.  The cute store signs and shop fronts give way to cute fashions, home goods, amazing coffee and tea shops.

Where to eat:

Now we didn’t do a lot of fancy eating in Melbourne, there are so many great casual restaurants to check out and the market was just so tasty, but we had a really great dinner at Movida- Bar de Tapas.  The atmosphere is laid back with nice low lighting.  The croquettes were just like what you get in Madrid.  We also sampled the San Jacobo de Cordonice a quail stuffed with cheese and ham, Pimientio de Piquuillo hickory smoked peppers with potato and salt cod and some other small plates while Hubby had a Bees Knees Beer and I drank some good Australian wine.

While exploring Brunswick we check out the Real Greek Souvlaki Bar where we had huge gyros and lamb platters filled with juicy and flavorful lamb, ripe tomatoes and tasty pita.  Hubby laughed at the size of my gyro, it was a food as big as your head moment.

We also stopped on our way back from Philips Island at a co-op fish and chippery.  I think getting some fresh fish and chips and a meat pie is kind of one of those quid essential things to do, just make sure you have lots of napkins.

In  Sum: Melbourne we love you to death and really we do want more time with you.  You are a dirty mistress to our love of Barcelona and Melbourne, and while we might not be able to work you into our regular rotation, you will be on our mind.  So keep stylin.

Right now is the time of year where people inevitably attend fall festivities or host their own parties celebrating the reaping of the harvest.

I once again missed what may be the best celebration of Fall, culture and community support: The Pleasant Valley Harvest Sale in Garrett County, Maryland.  An auction is held in a beautiful little Amish community each Fall to support the school in their district the Swan Meadow Elementary School.  The auction has gargantuan mushrooms and produce, breads and baked goods and other auction items, the big ticket item being the Black Forest Cake.

During the sale you can wander over to the counter to buy homemade caramels, no bake cookies, fresh yeast glazed doughnuts and coffee and cider to satiate you during the sale.  Also for sale is a collection of recipes from the community made into a cookbook.  This cookbook is a big deal, as it normally has the heavy hitting favorites from each family.

But I will make up for it by attending what MSN rates as one of the top Fall Festivals: The Autumn Glory festival.  Also located in Garrett County, Maryland (an area that happens to be where I am from).  This festival begins this week and events continue until Sunday.  A sampling of the events:

Fireman’s Parade- Thursday night a parade of mostly fire trucks and engines, with the occasional truck of football players and cheerleaders rolls down Second Street and up Route 219 to the firehouse.

Oktoberfest- Thursday night after the Fireman’s parade at the fire hall an Oktoberfest dinner complete with Polca music, dancing and lots of beer takes place, an event that is mainly attended by locals, but any person who attends will be feeling the love.

Grand Feature Parade- Saturday is the main parade a video of a past parade I found on YouTube! (Not the most professional screening, but you get the picture)

Also during this weekend there is an Amish breakfast at the Pleasant Valley Community Center, a 5k run/walk, craft shows, antique shows, classic car shows, the Maryland State Fiddle and Banjo contest, The Liars Festival, No-hands ice cream eating contest at Lakeside Creamery and so much more!  You can see a few of my photos here, I will post more after next weekend.

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And while I have family that lives in the area, we tend to overload our capacity so we normally rent a house from Railey Mountain Vacations, who right now has a buy two get a third night for free special (very handy since Monday is Columbus Day).

Now if you are lucky enough to be invited to a Fall celebration, or just need a taste of Germany,  look no further than Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in Arlington, Virginia (Their site seems to be temporarily down).  A big box of soft pretzels, a Black Forest Cake or wursts would get you an invite back to any party.

No invites?  Well check out the Washingtonian’s list of Oktoberfests. You could also join Rustico on October 10 from noon to six for Oktoberfest where they will have nearly 25 different beers on tap, with live musicand dishes prepared by Rustico, Buzz The Evening Star Cafe, Vermilion, Tallula, EatBar, Columbia Firehouse & Star Catering.Admission is free and tickets will be sold for beer, food, activities and a mighty raffle featuring a beautiful 1997 Harley Davidson Softail – along with three other fantastic prizes. The proceeds from this year’s raffle will be given to DC Central Kitchen to help combat hunger and create opportunity right here in our own backyard.  If this doesn’t get you there,

then this might:

Although please note- kids are absolutely welcome. In fact, there will be many activities just for the kids throughout the day – including a moon bounce, face painting, pumpkin tossing and more.  So choose your reason to go.

Or hop on over to Heidelberg for a delicious grilled wurst prepared on their outside grill.  They have brautwurst, knauckwurst, weisswurst and others for you to try before ordering.  If you need some carb loading before all those tasty German brews order the ultimate combo which comes with a soft pretzel, warm German potato salad, drink and apple strudel.

You can also get your Fall on at Buzz Bakery in Alexandria, VA.  They are selling  Steamed Cider and Pumpkin Lattes. The cider is local and they use a homemade spiced pumpkin puree for the pumpkin goodies. Tempting me most has to be the Candy Apple Martini, made with housemade caramel sauce, apple schnapps and Stoli. They are also stocking seasonal beers, including Dogfish Head Punkin’ and Epheremere.

Order a batch of cupcakes, including out classic Guinness Cupcake, the Caramel Apple Cupcake and the Pumpkin Cupcake with Candied Pepitas and you will surely be a hit.

Fall is glorious, isn’t it?

So I know that I just posted my Phoenix Report and I should save this a bit really, but I just can’t do that.  I need to share.  Plus I am sure I will go somewhere else soon.  So Peeps here it is:

Philly is a really nice weekend getaway.  There is enough to do besides the Independence googly-gook that you leave with plans for next time, but you aren’t like pining to stay like at the beach where really can’t you have just a few more days?  I like that in a weekend vacation, finality with a reason to come back.

Where to stay:  Right now you can score pretty good deal at even the nicest hotels in Philly.  Splurge on the Ritz, which is centrally located centrally and has all the normal luxuries of the Ritz.  Another perk is that their restaurant 10Arts is run by a very capable Top Chef contender.

Friday we went up early so I could have a special birthday lunch date at Morimoto with my Hubby who had been gone for my birthday.  I love the ambiance of Morimoto, the wood walls with uber modern white furniture and the not overbearing neon lighting was cool- not cold and very crisp.  Like a better designed version of the downtown location of Cafe Asia.  But can I comment that the chairs while modern were really comfortable, which I really was happy about.

I really loved the basic omakase ($40) menu. All the fish was very fresh, the opening Toro Tartare with with Caviar, Tempura, Scallions, Ponzu and Fresh Wasabi, and finished with a Japanese fruit was a highlight. It was crispy and salty, but also refreshing and smooth and fatty.  We then had an assortment of sushi with toro, red snapper and others that were all perfectly fresh, they had a wonderful texture and taste in the mouth, never being fishy. We also had a whitefish caparcio with microgreens, with a very tasty vinaigrette with hot oil, we had black cod with miso served with a mustard sauce and pickled peppers that was cooked perfectly, the textural difference between the crispy crust on the cod, the flaky inside and the very smooth pickled peppers created a nice taste. Everything had very good balanced flavors and we were happy with each course. We ended with a chocolate cake with blueberry sauce that was very good. It was just enough food for lunch without being heavy. I wish I lived nearby so I could eat here more often all of the lunch specials coming out looked great.

That night we had a family dinner with the in laws and family in the area at Distrito.  This place was so much fun. I want to go back and eat in the bug. I was worried when I booked it that it would be a little too eccentric for everyone, but it is done in a tasteful over the top way (take the tour on the website- it’s pretty awesome).  A way that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, but makes you laugh at the whimsicality of it.  Personally, I loved the eccentric decorating.

The drinks were good, I was impressed with the Tequila selection. I had a grapefruit soda with tequila mixture.  They served the soda separately so you could make it your own preferred strength.

We ordered way too much food, they say to order 3-4 dishes per person, but at 2-3 each we were stuffed. I had the short rib flatbread which was very good, the meat was tender and savory and melded well with the BBQ sauce, the carnitas tacos were one of the best dishes of the evening, the pork was so tender and flavorful, they had bits that were a little bit more well done and crunchy mixed in for a great ratio of pork texture. The Amarillo (rabbit mole) was excellent, as well, the rabbit was tender and very flavorful it wasn’t overwhelmed by the sauce a rich almost creamy mole which wasn’t spicy, but very homey and comforting,  served on rice in a small hot pot. The whole dish came together really well. The duck fundido was another big hit, spicy and cheesy with tender as can be duck it would be the perfect after bar food. We wrapped the goey, deliciousness in fresh tortillas and it was heaven.  The guacamole was also good, the salsa was decent- very fresh red tomatoes just rather normal. I also had a bit of the tres leches cake which was quite good, much like a very small Smith Island cake. This was one of my favorite meals. I also had some of the salads which were a big portion, but a tad bit bitter (which may have been the cilantro which I don’t really care for).  Especially coming from an area with poor choices for Mexican this was a favorite.  It is so good with all the other choices in Philadelphia I still will be going back.

On our first full day in Philly we checked out the foodie mecca that is the Reading Terminal Market.  Located in what used to be the Reading Railroad Terminal (Yes, Monopoly is based on Philadelphia) this market has fresh produce that is just amazing, fish and meats, cheese and other dairy, Amish baked goods, other pastries, candy, pretzels and lots of food stalls.   The best day to go is Saturday when the market is in full swing.  Sundays the Amish vendors won’t be there.  It could take days and days to eat through all the goodness held within, but I think that a fresh doughnut from the Amish stand in the center of the market is a must eat.  So is a roast pork sandwich at DiNic’s, in my opinion this puts a cheesesteak to shame (although I recommend eating it right then and there as it can get quite soupy if it sits).  Also while here it is essential to get a good soft pretzel.  Although we passed vendors selling boxes of fresh pretzels on the streets the ones at Miller’s in the market where nice and warm with a good bread, salt, butter ratio.  There were also some very tempting sticky buns.  I would have liked to go back on Sunday before we left to get some things to take home, but we had a full agenda.

After exploring the market and taking in a lot of calories we decided to burn some off by walking  down to the Constitution Center, which is a fun interactive museum in the heart of Constitution madness.  We then walked along Arch Street, which has some neat shops and takes you by Benjamin Franklin’s gravesite.  We ran into the First Lady and Obama girls on our walk which caused quite a scene,  but luckily it meant that the Franklin Fountain was without a line.

Another calorie splurger the Franklin Fountain is a really fun stop.  I got the ladies choice which is a float of raspberry soda with peach ice cream. It was fruity refreshing, but still nice and creamy. The ambiance is the main draw though.  Men in daper fountain boy clothing with handlebar mustaches prepare your concoction on the marble in big glass cups, and that is a big temptation.

Then we walked around a bit more and just enjoyed the sites.

We ended up at Fork for the FIL’s big 6-0 birthday dinner. Our meal there was excellent.  We started with a Soellner, Wogerain, Grüner Veltliner, 2007, Austria that was lovely after a hot day, it was crisp and fruity, but not too oaky or sweet and paired very well with my food. Followed by a choice of multigrain, french or other bread, I had the french which had a great taste to it, crusty on the outside, tender within. They had a nice cow butter which was soft and had good flavor.

For dinner I started with the baby lettuce salad with croquette and balsamic. It was very fresh, nicely dressed and the croquette was was warm and crisp on the outside while almost, but not quite gooey on the inside. Hubby had the fish provencale soup with crouton and that was very good, it had a lovely fish broth thickened with cream that was very light I really enjoyed the couple bites I got. For entree I had the citrus cured salmon that was then seared on carmelized shallots, potatoes and a lovely spinach sauce. The citrus with the shallots and spinach sauce balanced very nicely. The fish was cooked with a nice sear and had great flavor. It was seasoned just right. The potatoes were a nice bit size, but in a rustic style that blended nicely with the bold flavor of the fish. Hubby had a duck dish that was very good as well. The duck itself was incredibly juicy, again not overcooked at all, a perfect medium rare. We split the chevre cheesecake with oatmeal crisp and champagne pear. The pear was a bit hard to cut you had to use both fork and spoon but was very juicy and had a nice texture, almost like a plum in texture. The chevre cheesecake was rich and tangy and the crisp was sweet and crunchy so the flavors and the textures were nicely varied. All in all another nice meal.

The next day we visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Textiles Museum. The art deco building that the textiles museum is in is beautiful, and the exhibitions were a girls dream with one room of fashions from the 1800s to 1930s the next vivid modern household objects.  What I really enjoyed was the interior of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  They have transplanted whole rooms that show vivid architecture from many countries and cultures.  The Japanese temple and tea house are stunning, while the Moorish and Arabian rooms showcase the amazing attention to detail those cultures places in each piece of design.  A walk down to the beautiful river would have been nicer without the humidity, but it offers a beautiful view of what has become a really great river.

We then headed back to the city making one last stop at Pat’s King of Steaks for a cheesesteak.  I had a “Wit Provolone, mushroom and pepper steak” which was a little too drippy for me.  Next time I think I will stick with the basics.  And the steak really doesn’t have a ton of flavor so I can see why the saltyness of the whiz is needed.  I will admit fries with cheezwhiz was the favorite of mine for the stop.  But I will have to try again- they can’t be a legend for nothing.