Category Archives: Travels

My last post left you in the midst of our siesta after our day in Montreal. After our beer, we came back to the hotel and napped; then we got ready for our dinner at Europea. I will apologize for my lack of pictures — I’m still really shy about taking my camera out at restaurants. I did get one photo below, but for the other courses you’ll have to use your imagination!

Before our trip, I did some research to find a good dinner splurge. We’d already gone to Au Pied Cochon during our last visit to Montreal, so I started reading the Chowhound boards and Yelp. On both sites, I saw Europea come up with favorable reviews; when I checked their site and saw a 4-course dinner for a mere $59, I booked a reservation.

Luckily for us, the restaurant was only a few blocks away, so we wandered down for our 7:00 p.m. reservations. I wasn’t sure how fancy the restaurant would be — Sean was wearing jeans and I was a little bit nervous that wouldn’t do. I was very happy when we got to the restaurant and taken to our table without any issue (later on, I saw lots of other people coming in in varying degrees of casual including shorts and flip flops, so I guess my worry was really unfounded.)

I always get a little nervous when sitting down at any sort of pricey restaurant. I can’t explain it except that I feel like a little kid putting on adult clothes. But, the service staff really made us feel welcome, and that’s always my first sign that we’re in for a good evening.

We decided to try a wine from Quebec which we learned was made from maple. It was interesting — crisp and sweet without much of a lingering taste. I didn’t really taste maple at all. We liked it. Of course, we didn’t write down the name!

We chose to do the 4-course meal over the 10-course meal — though the 10 course meal was tempting as it was only $89. But we felt like we wouldn’t make it through 10-courses without being gut bustingly full. And, it turned out that there were a few little amuse-bouche course that made our 4-course meal, more like 7-courses.

The first thing we were served were goat cheese and parmesan lollipops — Quebec goat cheese and micro-greens sandwiched between two parmesan crisps served on a lollipop stick. Really fun and yummy!

After the first amuse-bouche, we were served lobster cappuccino — a cute little cappuccino cup with a truffle and lobster soup and lobster cream. The soup, colored by the truffle, looked like espresso and the lobster cream, steamed milk foam. This was SUPER delicious (and rich!)

For our next course, Sean got the fois gras with a vegetable root puree, morel mushroom emulsion, and chanterelles. This was divine! I opted for the crab which was done three ways: in a crispy ravioli, a crab salad with smoked milk, and crab over a cauliflower pannacotta. This was really interesting. I’m not sure I’d really want the crab salad with smoked milk again, but it was neat to taste once. I’m not quite sure how they smoked the milk, but it had a certain woody, smokey flavor. I did really love the cauliflower pannacotta! I would have never thought of it, but it was smooth, and creamy — a delicious base to the sweet crab meat.

Next, another amuse-bouche — fried cheese “cigarettes” (think really delicious mozzarella sticks)! These were served from a cigar box. Our server came around with the cigar box with two little “cigarettes” and we just plucked one out. I thought it was a fun way to serve these. Then, to clean our fingers, the server put a little bowl in front of us and plunked something that looked like a large aspirin tablet — then she poured hot water over it. It was a napkin that expanded with hot water!

For our main course, Sean got braised veal cheeks served over a parsnip puree. I thought his was really much better than my halibut. I’d say that this course, while well-done, wasn’t too exciting though Sean’s parsnip puree was really, really delicious (and I need to try and recreate it when we start getting parsnips this winter!) My halibut was served with a pea emulsion, a few fresh peas, and a homemade tomato ketchup tapenade. It was tasty, but not knock-your-socks off.

Then, we had pre-dessert. Pre-dessert consisted of a huge, pink puff of cotton candy (!), a box of freshly baked Madeleine cookies (in a box so we could take them home), and a little plate of three cookies and a tiny ice cream bar (key lime ice cream covered in white chocolate.)

Pre-dessert Cotton Candy & Cookies

Finally, dessert: fresh, macerated berries served with a vanilla creme and pistachio pannacotta. Nice and refreshing and cool.

Oh, but then, there’s even more! A bag of meringue cookies tied with a bow for me to take with me!

Over the course of the evening, the service was spot on and super friendly (even though we didn’t speak French.) When we were served the first amuse-bouche, the server said, “a little bit of whimsy from the chef.” I have to say, the whimsy from the chef definitely trickled down to our service staff. They were sincere and smiling and really seemed to enjoy what the were doing. It made the whole experience a delight. And seriously, how can you not have fun during a meal that has a cotton candy course?

I don’t think this was necessarily the best food I’ve ever had — there were some really bright spots and some good, but not mind blowing courses. But it was the most fun meal I’ve had in a long time — and for the price, you definitely can’t beat it!

I LOVE Montreal. When I booked Sean’s birthday class at King Arthur Flour, I first thought we might stay in that area over night and make a weekend of it. It seemed like a great idea considering it was Labor Day weekend. When I looked for a place to stay in the area, however, nothing excited me. It’s mostly Inns and B&Bs in that area, and I prefer fancy, boutique hotels.

Then I thought, “Montreal is not too far away!” “Not too far away” is 3 hours, but totally worth it for a nice hotel and some time in one of my favorite cities.

After our bread baking class — and shopping spree — we headed up and over the border to French Canada. Our plans, in priority order, were to relax, eat, drink beer, and wander around.

We checked into Hotel Le Germaine at about 9 p.m. on Saturday night. It was late and I didn’t feel like changing out of my tee shirt and jeans, so our options were limited for dinner. We decided to head to St. Laurent Street and visit Frite Alors. We’d been to Frite Alors before. I knew it would be very casual — and I remember liking the frites a lot.

Apples for guests displayed on each floor at Hotel Le Germain.

After the bread baking class and long drive, Sean needed this beer.

This time, the trip was meh. The frites were delicious, but the service was pretty of bad and my fish (I got the fish and chips) was reminiscent of what I would get from deep frying some Gorton’s fish fillets. Sean said his cheeseburger was decent. I’d go back again, but only for frites (or maybe some poutine.) I did enjoy a great beer, Boréale Dorée, though our server never actually came back so we could have another.

My Boreale at Frite Alors.

We stopped at Sean’s favorite late-night store, Couche-Tard, and picked up some fancy beers to drink back in our fancy room (while watching Bull Durham, a classic I’d never seen before.) We bought Don de Dieu and Éphémère which is brewed by a local Quebec brewery, Unibroue. I’ve seen these beers before in our liquor store, but they were definitely more expensive at home than at Couche-Tard. I wish we took better notes, but we did thoroughly enjoy the Don de Dieu.

However, we found the Éphémère not to our liking. We expected a cider, but it wasn’t sweet like a cider. It tasted to me as if you fermented the apple peel (actually, I think I said, “it tastes like I’m chewing on an apple peel.”) There was apple flavor, but it lacked sweetness. Funny, I remember the most about the beer I didn’t like. It was no Magners (or, shout out to my London roomies, Strongbow!)

Unibroue brews in the hotel room.

Why is it that even at posh hotels, there are Pringles in the mini bar?

The next day we woke up and hit the free breakfast at the hotel. It was chaotic in the restaurant — no plates and out of most of the food. We hung around until we got plates and had a few nibbles and a cappuccino. Not bad for free, but we were on our way to the Jean Talon market, so we knew we’d get plenty of eats there.

The hotel was very near two metro stations and we headed toward the market stopping to get a day pass for the metro (a steal at $7!) I love the Jean Talon market. I’ve been there a couple of times before and it’s just a gorgeous display of vegetables and artisan foods. When I see great markets like this, I get so very jealous! We have nothing that compares in Boston and it’s really a bummer. We have plenty of farms and lots of small farmers markets, but still nothing that makes me as happy (I get equally as jealous when I’m at the San Francisco farmer’s market at the ferry building, Pike’s Place Market in Seattle, and the farmer’s market in Portland, Oregon.)

Gigantic leeks!

Cauliflower at Marche Jean Talon

I digress. We had a wonderful time ogling the amazing looking fresh fruits and vegetables. We also had a couple of delicious snacks. First, for a whole dollar, we got the best, fresh, hot ear of corn we’d ever eaten in our entire lives. I’m not kidding. This corn was super sweet and succulent. I wanted to hug the farmer who grew this corn. Sean broke the news that we couldn’t bring any home with us since it was an agriculture product. Blast!

The best corn ever!

Sean digs in!

After walking around the market, I needed a quick sit. Fortunately for me, we sat on a bench right outside of a seafood shop that was selling fried calamari, shrimp, and smelts. I love smelts. I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember, but it’s not something I get to eat often. When I was a kid and we visited my dad’s family outside of Pittsburgh for Christmas, I got to eat smelts. When I was a bit older and my dad’s Uncle Dan came to visit for Christmas in Florida, I also got to eat smelts. But that’s it. My parents hate them. And for some reason, I’ve never cooked them. So, when I saw “eperlan” on the menu, I had to verify that what I was seeing were smelts — they were, and I sold Sean on sharing an order. Yum! I’m also now empowered to try making them myself at some point in the very near future.

Mmm. Smelts!

After our snacks, we headed back toward the hotel in search of a bar. Last time we were in Montreal, we went to a microbrewery on St. Denis, so we got off the metro at Berri/UQAM in search of it. I had a good memory because the bar, Les 3 Brasseurs, was only a block away!

We sat at the bar and enjoyed some tasty brews. I got the feeling that this chain restaurant was not too far off of a Chili’s, but we weren’t eating and the beer was good, so I didn’t mind that so much. I loved that you could order a whole liter of beer (though we didn’t.)

My beer at the bar of Les 3 Brasseurs.

After getting boozy, we headed back to the room for a siesta. And then we had to get ready for dinner at Europea which I will wait until “A Quick Stop in Montreal: Part II” to describe. Spoiler: it was possibly the most fun meal I’ve ever had!

For Sean’s birthday this year, I booked him (and me) a trip with a few stops.

First was a stop at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT. Sean loves to bake — and of course, I do too, so I thought a bread baking class would be a perfect way to spend a day. Baking with yeast can be a scary experience. You’re dealing with living creatures that can completely affect the outcome of your baked good — you need to know the best way to treat the yeast in order to get the best results. I knew the Bread 101 class would be interesting and helpful for both of us.

After dropping the pup off with my parents, we headed to the KAF baking school where we were greeted by MaryJane, our instructor for the day. MaryJane teaches classes at the baking center, answers questions for the KAF baker’s hotline, writes for the KAF blog, and decorates cookies for the KAF photo shoots. She was a wealth of knowledge — there wasn’t a question that stumped her! She also did a great job demonstrating how to mix and knead each bread.

We made three types of breads all by hand — if you know what bread dough should feel like, then you will have an easier time once you graduate to using a mixer or bread machine.

Sean cleaning up after kneading white bread.

Our first was a basic white sandwich bread which we baked in loaf pans and braided (neat presentation!) We also made Pane Siciliano, made with semolina flour in addition to all-purpose, which we mixed AND kneaded all on the counter (no bowl necessary.) Finally, we switched gears at the end and made a dough that was chemically leavened in the form of scones.

My white bread dough rising.

Sean mixing his Pane Siciliano dough -- look, no bowl!

There were a few main points that I took away (and many little tricks and tips.)

1. Baking bread can be really quick. We made three loaves of bread within 4 hours — this was with time out for instruction. Our white bread rose for about 45 minutes before we shaped and let proof for another 15.

2. Yeast isn’t all that scary. Just make sure you aren’t using chlorinated water (lots of tap water is chlorinated, so bottled is a good bet.) Make sure you don’t let the water temperature rise to above 110 (and really even much cooler is generally better — the rule of thumb was room temperature.)

3. Making the dough by hand is a good place to start when first baking bread. In general, you want to knead until the bread springs back when you touch it. Also, dough that’s a little on the moist side is better than adding too much flour and drying it out. These are things you will understand better by working by hand.

Sean braiding his white bread loaf.

My braided loaf of white bread.

We had a great time at the baking center and got to take home lots of fresh baked bread. We also got to spend plenty of money in the King Aurthur Flour baker’s store on new ingredients and equipment. We’ll definitely be back for another class!

Our braided loaves of white bread hot out of the oven.

I had the incredibly good fortune to visit New Orleans twice this year. The first time, I carefully arranged it so that the family cruise left from the Port of New Orleans — we were there for New Year’s Eve. I was afraid the crowds were going to be unbearable, but the city knows how to host a party and the crowds were friendly and fun with plenty of security at every block to ensure a safe celebration. I was very impressed. It was amazing to ring in the new year with several drinks along Bourbon street and beignets from Cafe Du Monde.

Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve

After the cruise was planned, Gracie asked Sean and I if we’d be interested in a foodie trip to the Big Easy. We couldn’t turn that down, so in March, we met up with Gracie, Ku, Adrian, Mia, Kate, and John for a food frenzy. It also happened to be the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day means parades and parades mean beads! Gracie, Sean, and I braved the pouring rain to see the parade, kiss some Irish guys (Gracie and I), catch some cabbages (Sean), and rake in the beads (all of us!) We were lucky enough to have some local guides showing us around — Tiger and Patty, Gracie’s old family friends, helped make the trip extra-special by taxiing us around while giving us the background on the buildings and neighborhoods.

St. Charles Street Car to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Sean is the King of Cabbages and Beads!!!

Of course, I can’t talk about New Orleans without talking about the food. Here’s a long list of the amazing food we sampled along the way.

Lüke
Lüke is a John Besh restaurant. It’s more casual and less spendy than August. It’s basically an Alsatian brasserie that also serves local New Orleans favorites. We visited Lüke on both trips. The food was really good while the service was great during first visit and very friendly, if a little shaky, the second. But, Sean’s $13 choucroute maison — a saurkraut and pork fiesta (sausage, pork belly, cochon de lait, and pork knuckle) was and incredible value and worth the shaky service. It was so delicious, he got it both times we were there. We also greatly enjoyed the flamenkuche tart (bacon, onion, and cheese on a crispy flatbread) during both visits. The frites were delicious and the burgers were reportedly perfectly cooked (and HUGE.)

Mother’s
Mother’s is an institution in New Orleans and another restaurant we visited on both trips. I only ate breakfast at Mother’s, so I can’t speak to the lunch and dinner menu items, but I found Mother’s to be a mixed bag for breakfast. During my first visit, I got a basic breakfast with grits, ham, eggs, and a biscuit. The grits didn’t knock my socks off which was disappointing since I love them and you can really only get them cooked right in the south. The meal as a whole was fairly forgettable except for that biscuit! Mother’s biscuits amazing — they bake up tall and fluffy and pretty near perfect. Damn, I want one now! I’ll admit, the ham was delicious, too. On my second visit, I smartened up, stuck with biscuits, and was very happy.

Biscuits at Mother’s

Gumbo Shop
It’s funny, I rarely see the Gumbo Shop mentioned on foodie boards, but it’s one of my favorites. Possibly because it’s one of the places I ate during my first ever visit to New Orleans. But, I think it’s also because it serves up tasty, comforting New Orleans fare at reasonable prices. We ate at the Gumbo Shop on both visits — it was the only place I trusted without a reservation on New Year’s Eve. It’s one of Gracie’s favorites, too, so we had to go with her as well. I love that the Gumbo Shop serves warm french bread loaves at the table. All the food was great on both visits. I especially liked the oyster and andouille gumbo I had on the second visit.

New Year’s Eve at the Gumbo Shop

Cafe Du Monde
There’s probably no better place to grab a cup of chicory coffee, a warm, sugary beignet, and people watch than Cafe Du Monde in Jackson Square. We got to ring in the new year with little French donuts and cafe au lait — a great start to 2009. Though, I have to admit, on my second visit to NOLA, we stopped at Cafe Beignet and I actually thought the beignets there were some tough competition — bigger than Cafe Du Monde and a little more airy. When I suggested I might like those beignets better, though, my foodie friends couldn’t agree, so you should try both versions and decide for yourself if you’re ever in New Orleans.

Central Grocery
Yes, it’s touristy, but there’s no doubt that Central Grocery serves up a mean muffuletta. A whole sandwich loaded with Italian meats and olive salad is bigger than my head. Gracie, Sean, and I bought a whole one to share and we carried it out to the banks of the Mississippi River to chow down. Sean and I also tried the version at the Napoleon House, however, I didn’t like it as much. The Napoleon House’s olive salad was way too chock full of large pieces of celery and it was toasted. I prefer my muffuletta cold. I do recommend the Napoleon House for great ambiance and a classic New Orleans drink — they are known for their Sazeracs and Pimm’s Cups.

Eating a Central Grocery Muffuletta on the Banks of the Mississippi

Acme Oyster House
Acme was my first choice for New Year’s Eve dinner — I really wanted some oysters and crawfish! But by the time we were able to meet for dinner, it was closed (early for the holiday!) I had to wait until our foodie trip to get inside the door, but it was worth it. Our group devoured raw and grilled oysters, spicy boiled crawfish, and crawfish fritters along with cold Abita beer. Nothing fancy about Acme, but who needs fancy when you’re getting crawfish seasoning all over your fingers?

Jacque-Imo’s
Everytime I’ve been to New Orleans, I read restaurant reviews and message boards that extol Jacque-Imo’s — yet I never seemed to actually make it there. Lucky for me, Kate decided to make reservations during our foodie trip. I am grateful for this because, woah, what delicious food! The menu was huge and it was tough to decide what to order. But, amazingly, everyone in our group of 7 order something different so we played pass the plate and we all got a taste of the other dishes. Not a bad dish in the bunch — Jacques-Imo’s is known for seafood and there was plenty of it all fresh and tasty. Of course, I knew it was going to be good when we passed through the kitchen on the way to our seats and I saw one of the cooks liberally brushing butter on freshly baked corn muffins.

Camellia Grill
“If I get into heaven and I don’t wind up here, I’ll be mad.” That’s a quote I heard while sitting in the Camellia Grill waiting for my pecan pie to be warmed up on the griddle. It was from what I assumed was a Tulane student — he was sitting with friends opposite Sean and I at the old-school counter that serves as the only place to eat at the diner. I think I might have to agree with him and I’ve only ever ordered the pecan pie ala mode. Great service, obscenely delicious pie. I never miss going to the Camellia Grill when I visit New Orleans.

Johnny’s Po-boys
Tucked into a small shop on a side street in the French Quarter, Johnny’s Po-boys was a delicious stop. Friendly counter service and a huge po-boy stuffed with crispy fried oysters won my seal of approval.

I am Queen of the Beads!!!

Part of our San Francisco trip was spent in wine country (duh!) We were lucky to be traveling with a rock star — Gracie. Between her industry discount and St. Michele contacts, we got discounts galore. All hail Gracie!

We started the day off getting breakfast at the Oakville Grocery. I had a delicious berry scone.

We sat outside enjoying the sunny weather and looking at the Opus One vineyards. Soon after, we made a quick stop at Opus One so that the Diva could pick up some wine — we did not have any interest in a $30 tasting, however.

While driving, we saw a sign for a chocolate and wine tasting at Rutherford Hill Winery – needless to say, I quickly turned into the parking lot. The “chocolate tasting” wasn’t the best (a nibble of chocolate with one of the reds), but Sean and I did enjoy the muscato enough to buy a couple of bottles.

Next up, Conn Creek Winery where Gracie knew the pourers in the tasting room. Amy was really good and knew her stuff — plus she extended the employee discount to all of us. We bought some really delicious reds and learned a ton about the immediate growing region in Napa.

We could have stayed at Conn Creek all day, I think, but we had to get on the road to El Dorado…Kitchen. El Dorado Kitchen is in Sonoma and we had a very enjoyable lunch that included truffle fries and, for me, mussels in a beurre blanc sauce. No dessert though because we had to go cheese tasting at the Sonoma Jack store!

From there, we headed to Gloria Ferrer for a fabulous bottle of bubbly on the terrace, Cline where we got a great deal on some rose, and Domaine Carneros for a sparkling wine flight which was fantastic. Oh yeah, in between there somewhere we *had* to make a pit stop at Angelos for beef jerky.

Finally, our VIP was lucky enough to get us a table at Chez Storms where we enjoyed pizza, conversation, and, of course, more wine. Our day in wine country was full but still relaxing and enjoyable. I might never take a trip to wine country without Gracie ever again!

On a recent foodie trip, Sean and I met up with Gracie and Armida in San Francisco. The last time I’d was in San Francisco, Gracie took me to the farmer’s market at the Ferry Building. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip, so we had to go back!

The market was bustling with pre-thanksgiving shoppers, but we still got to sample lots of great products. Highlights included purchasing some Rancho Gordo beans (cranberry and Christmas lima beans), sampling a couple types of super fresh dates, slurping down some Pacific oysters, and seeing brussel sprouts on stalks (who knew!)

Farmer’s markets always make me want to fill a whole suitcase to bring home local stuff and this one is no exception!

Here’s where Cook with Kerry becomes Travel and Eat with Kerry. I had October off of school for various traveling reasons. And I took advantage by being at home only 1 out of the 4 weekends in October.

More pictures of the trip.

I spent Columbus Day weekend in Boulder, CO. I headed from Boston with my friend Ana and we met our friend Gracie who flew in from Seattle. It was a girls’ weekend and that always means good eats!

Our first stop was the Boulder farmers’ market where we browsed fresh fruits and veggies plus other organic treats. I bought some super fresh dried coconut which I plan on using soon to created a coconut macadamia nut crusted fish. It’s amazing how much better this is than that sweetened store bought stuff I’m used to — the coconut actually tastes like a NUT! The flakes are dried and crispy. And, the best part, I can mail order more when I run out!

While we were walking around the market, I saw someone eating a tamale. I knew I HAD to have one. I love tamales and you don’t see them often enough on the East coast. We found the tamales in an open air “food court” where they had all sorts of delicious dishes. We did get tamales (mine was spicy pork) and they were great. Although, I’m bummed we never got the bowl of asian dumplings from another stall. I said, “If I lived in Boulder, I’d come here every Saturday for lunch!”

For dinner that evening, we headed to the Kitchen. I’d read about this restaurant — it uses fresh, local ingredients wherever possible and I liked that idea. The restaurant was modern, but still warm with an exposed brick wall. The menu was small, but I liked that since I always have issues trying to decide what to get. I thought I wanted a steak (after a whole month learning about beef), but as often happens, the side dishes sold me on my meal. I opted for the pork chop which came with a porcini and potato gratin and freshly made apple sauce.

Before that came, we shared two appetizers: mozzarella, tomoato, and basil plus a cheese plate. The mozzeralla was super fresh — rather than being worked into a ball, it was more an amorphous “blob” drizzled with olive oil. The cheese was delicate and lacked the usual mozzarella stringyness; spread on a piece of grilled bread with some tomato and basil, it was perfect!

The cheese plate had an excellent assortment of cheeses with a sprinkle of nuts and honey. Only the very flavorful bleu cheese was a miss in my mind — I like bleu cheese and this was even strong for me!

Ana chose to get gnocchi with kale and cured pork cheeks (described as sort of like bacon, Ana didn’t hesitate!) I got a few bites of this one and was happy I did. The gnocchi were as light as a cloud and the pork cheeks gave a perfect saltyness to the light cream sauce.

But really, the star was one perfectly grilled pork chop which was a suprise to me since it was the sides that sold me. The porcini and potato gratin was fine. How can you go wrong with porcinis? And the apple sauce was a bit too tart for my taste. It didn’t matter though. I could have scraped those sides into the garbage and still been perfectly happy with the pork chop. It was a thick, bone-in chop with just the right amount of fat, seasoned well, and cooked to a perfect pink. So simple, yet it’s what I remember most!

Oh wait, I can’t forget the dessert. I ordered sticky toffee pudding because the server said it was their “hands down” best dessert. I also remember eating this dessert in a London pub and never tasting any dessert as good since, so I had to give it a whirl. While their sticky toffee pudding didn’t match the London version I had years ago, it was still delicious, sweet, and sticky with a good drizzle of caramel and a dollop of ice cream. Gracie’s butterscotch pot du creme was also a stand-out — thick and rich with butterscotch flavor, if I went back, I’d have a hard time deciding on a dessert!

After ambling out of there we thought we wouldn’t need to eat again for the whole trip, but of course, the next morning, we woke up with hungry tummies. Before we took a short hike around the Flatirons just outside our cottage door, we went for breakfast at the Chautauqua dining hall which I read was an excellent outdoor eating experience since it over looked the mountains. Unfortunately, it was too chilly to eat outside, but the building itself (a historic building from the late 1800s) was quite charming. We had the breakfast buffet which had quite a few options, though most were forgettable. It wasn’t a bad experience, but I don’t know that I’d go back unless I could sit outside, enjoy the view (which would certainly make the food seem more special), and order ala carte.

We spent the rest of the day hiking and then driving through Rocky Mountain National Park (which was AMAZING!) At the end of our day, we just got some cheese, bread, and snacks from whole foods and brought them back to our cottage to drink with the wine that Gracie brought with her from Chateau Ste. Michelle. A perfect ending to a great day.

Our final day in Colorado brought us to the Boulder Tea House. The teahouse was sent piece by piece from Boulder’s sister city in Russia. Its ornate and beautiful tilework and detail is something to see if you’re ever in the area.

The teahouse offers a wide variety of teas, as well as breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an afternoon tea (for which you need reservations.) We went for breakfast where I got hash, eggs, and a biscuit (the biscuit is what sold me.) While the service was on the meh side (slow, and we had to ask for milk for our tea), the food was good. The hash was more like a pulled corned beef brisket which I found different-in-a-good-way with perfectly-soft sauteed onions, peppers, and potatoes. The biscuit was delicate, as a good biscuit should be.

Of course, where else would we go after the teahouse, but the Celestial Seasonings factory tour. Before the tour, we got to spend some time in the tasting room sampling some teas (we LOVED the Candy Cane Lane green tea). Then, it was off to the factory, where we were lucky to be there on a work day (factory tours are always better when there’s stuff going on!) We learned about the process of milling, mixing, and packaging the tea — the highlight was a walk through the mint room which contained all of the mints at the factory and was quite an olafactory experience (cleared our sinuses right up and made our eyes water just a touch.)

Our final stop before the airport (to kill some time) was the Boulder Brewing Company. There was no tour, but a ton of beer brewed on site. We got to settle out on the back patio, eat some decent pub food, and drink fresh beer (Ana and I got the $10 sampler which included 10, 3 oz. beers which I’d suggest.)

I definitely enjoyed Boulder. The nature was absolutely stunning, the weather was fabulous, and the food was memorable. What more can you want from a vacation?

Yikes…I knew the comments in moderation were going to be bad, but I didn’t expect 16,000! But, yes, now I’m back.

The wedding was fabulous and the honeymoon wonderfully relaxing. I just needed a little while (few months!) to get back into the swing of things and pick up where I left off.

I don’t have a new recipe, but here are a few photos from the honeymoon.

These were the most delicous nachos…perfect because the chips were served on the side of what was like a seven layer dip so every chip got some topping!

These were realllllyyyyyy good blackberry margaritas!

Costa Rican coffee beans! So good!

Wow, I can’t believe we’ve been back from Las Vegas for over a week. Life does fly by!

So, last time I went to Vegas, I went with the girls. We treated ourselves to one fancy-pants dinner at the fabulous Nobhill. This time, the focus was different and we were really there to play some serious poker. We didn’t eat anywhere super special, but of course, we had to eat, and there were a few places we wanted to check out based on a research and suggestions.

We stayed at Sam’s Town a couple of miles off the strip, but a really good value for the money. It’s the type of place the locals go to gamble and as such, the tables are cheap, as are the food values. The first place we ate on our first day in Vegas was the Sam’s Town Firelight Buffet for breakfast. The goal was to make it as close to lunch as possible so that we could get a little breakfast and lunch all at once.

However, we were starving by 10:00 and couldn’t hold out any longer and had to settle for just one type of meal. Overall, the buffet was a decent value — $5.99 or $4.99 with a players club card. There were disappointments. Both the biscuits and the breakfast burritos were crispy and dried out rather than soft and moist due to a lack of a cover over their respective warming stations.

But, the french toast and omlettes made-to-order were both outstanding and made up for what lacked in some of the other offerings. The Firelight buffet also included a ham carving station and a large selection of fresh fruit including delicious and juicy cubes (bricks, really) of watermelon. Considering you’d pay $5.99 for a sub-par omlette at your local IHOP, this buffet was a fairly decent bargain.

However, I think the best bargain at Sam’s Town is in their Harvest Cafe — steak and eggs, every day, for $4.99. We’re talking old Vegas prices. For that, you might assume you’d be getting a hunk of steak resembling shoe leather, however, that’s not the case. The steak and eggs comes with a nice cut of sirloin steak perfectly cooked to your liking (and if not, the servers will take it back as I witnessed at another table.) If that’s not enough, you get two eggs, hash browns, and toast. We ate at the Harvest Cafe twice during our stay, each time the breakfasts were tasty and a good value.

Since I’m a fan of Top Chef, I really wanted to check out Tom Colicchio’s sandwich place, ‘wichcraft, at the MGM. The offerings at ‘wichcraft were on the pricey side. Sandwiches ranged from about $6.50 (for your not-so-basic grilled cheese) to $9.50 or so. Not so suprising since it’s a well-known (now Celebrity) chef’s place in an upscale hotel and casino. But, while the sandwiches were pricey, we got a lot of bang for our buck. Our sandwiches were hefty, filling, and the offerings were creative.

Sean opted for a roasted pork loin sanwich with red cabbage and jalepenos. This was delicious! I kind of wished I had ordered it. Mine was an Sicilian tuna with fennel, black olives, and preserved lemons. Ok, mine was pretty darn delicious as well. I really liked that the tuna was done in more of an olive oil dressing rather than mayonaise and the crispy fennel gave the sandwich a slight sweetness. I’d certainly go back.

Here’s a tip: you can get half-priced dinner at the half-priced ticket booths around town. We found this out when we decided to purchase half-priced tickets to see the Amazing Jonathan at the Sahara. The sales person at the ticket booth asked if we had dinner plans and since we didn’t, she offered up half-priced dinner at a churrasceria in the Alladin. When I heard the mention of meats served on swords and saw the twinkle in Sean’s eyes, I knew immediately where we were eating dinner that night.

For $17, half-off the usual $34 dinner price, we got reservations at Pampas Brazillian grill. The good: the salad bar was beautiful and emaculately clean (I even saw two employees cleaning the ice where people dropped food.) It contained all sorts of cold salads (olive salad, bean salads, etc.) plus a hot foods section for rice and beans and mussels and baked salmon. There were also 8 different types of meats being passed around on swords. The best being the meats wrapped in bacon (filet mignon and turkey) as well as the pork sausage. And of course, there were a couple caipahrinas with dinner.

The bad: the service kind of sucked when we first got to the restaurant. Apparently, there was a large party taking up a lot of room, so we had to wait for a table. We had no problem with this and bellied up to the bar. The problem is that they decided to seat us much faster than they could get the seating area in order, and as such, the servers were confused and the tables weren’t completely set. Sean and I had to share one fork and one spoon for the first 10 minutes of dinner. This frusterated me. To top it all off, our server was a bit flaky and we only saw her about three times. Luckily, we did see another server who helped us out when we needed it (more caipahrinas, please!)

I’d probably give Pampas another try — especially half-priced.

On one of my parents’ last trips to Vegas, they discovered a hidden gem in Binion’s Casino in downtown Vegas. They told us we had to check out the snack bar next to the poker room at Binion’s for their cheap and huge deli sandwiches. On this trip, Sean and I decided we’d check it out.

This proved to be a hot tip. This snack bar, the Deli, serves giant corned beef and pastrami sandwiches made with Boar’s Head deli meats for about $6.50. The snack bar isn’t big — it’s just one counter in the middle of the casino, but the sandwiches were delicious (we split an overflowing reuben) and the service was excellent — I asked for sauce on the side and when they noticed that they didn’t make my sandwich right, they corrected it without me even complaining. This is definitely a hidden gem that any hungry gambler should check out.

Our final stop in Vegas was the Village Buffet at the Paris. It’s ranked in the top few buffets in Las Vegas on most polls you’ll read. Since I signed up for one of their player’s club cards, I got $5.00 of each of our dinners and the call of freshly made crepes sealed the deal.

The crepes, they were fresh and very good with plenty of different fillings (apples, berries, chocolate). But, overall, I was a little disappointed. The buffet wasn’t really any more spectacular than any other Vegas buffet I’ve been to (and at a normal price of $25 — you can certainly eat at another buffet cheaper). The bread wasn’t especially fresh or special and I was expecting better from a Paris-themed restaurant. In fact, most of the food was forgetable.

The buffet did include crab legs which were plentiful. It also included a delicious array of cheeses and dried fruits. The grill station was also a stand-out feature in my mind — the grilled vegetables and lamb were paired with middle eastern spreads and were a refreshing change to a lot of the heavier foods on the buffet (and that I’d been eating all week.)

My advice for anyone who’s going to eat at this buffet would be to fill up on crab legs, cheese, and salad — and then go for the desserts. Aside from the crepes, there was a huge variety of sweets from mousse to eclairs to chocolate tarts.

We left Vegas with empty pockets (lady luck wasn’t on our side during this trip), but with full bellies. We can’t wait to go back again and check out some new eats in between our poker playing.