brown-bag challenge!

i have come to the realization that it is going to be impossible for me to continue my frivolous lunchtime spending habits.  i have a honeymoon jar to fill, after all!

so this week, i am going to challenge myself to five days straight of brown-bagging.  it shouldn't be hard, since i recently acquired this cheery lunchbox for myself, so i can tote my snacks to school in style:

so, what have i packed in my lunchbox for today?


-green sandwich, featuring three-grain bread from big sky, hummus, cucumbers, avocado, and roasted red peppers (although i lament the lack of sprouts, which are usually a staple for this sandwich)

-honeycrisp apple slices

*UPDATE*

the quality of this sandwich increases gajillionfold simply by toasting the bread.  heaven.

i love packing lunches on mondays, since our fridge is freshly stocked with the bounty from our trip to the sunday morning farmer's market.  if there is any avocado left by the end of the week, i might have to repeat this sandwich a few more times before resorting to the traditional pbj.

any other suggestions for creative veggie sandwich delights?

bye-bye, buzz

it has been well over a month since i had my last sip of coffee.  it is something i decided to give up kind of on a whim.  one summer morning at a music festival, i was groggy and sleep-deprived.  wanting to get a little jump before dancing and listening to music all day, i had a cup of coffee someone made for us at our campsite.  but instead of getting the caffeine high that i was hoping for, i felt jittery, queasy, and edgy.

thinking it was perhaps just a product of being sleep deprived and over-stimulated, i tried to give it another chance a few days later, after i had a chance to fully recover from raucous festival-induced debauchery.  slowly sipping an afternoon cup of coffee, the same effects took hold of me: cue heart-racing and cirque-de-soleil trampoline performance in my stomach.  knowing how terrible and unlike-myself i felt after drinking it, i knew it would not be difficult for me quit coffee cold-turkey.

since i have cut coffee out of my diet, i really do feel so many benefits!  i am much more in tune with my body's sleep cycle, i have a lot of energy in the morning, plus i've got a few extra dollars in my pocket since i am not spending 3 bucks a day for my extra tall cafe au lait!

i have to give myself props, however...the week after that festival, i started my second (and final, and most stressful) year of grad school, but i haven't needed to drink a cup yet!  my morning now starts with a cup of green tea, which has a host of benefits all its own.  plus, i have been trying to cut out as much dairy as possible, so drinking super-milky coffee every day isn't exactly conducive to this goal.

it was a little bit hard the first few mornings, i must admit, but after the "withdrawal" symptoms went away (which mostly consisted of me feeling groggy), i have been feeling better than any cup of coffee has ever made me feel!

so, y'all...what do you think?  is anyone else up for the coffee-elimination challenge?

[image]

any advice, vegan friends?

it's officially over.

after a relationship that lasted years, through good times and hard times, dairy and i are no longer on good terms.

sad cheese

for the past few months, i have been trying to ignore my body's signals that dairy just isn't making me feel well, but it is so damn hard!!  i will shout it from the top of a mountain that ice cream, no matter what flavor, is my favorite food.  but it just doesn't make me feel well anymore.

i have been making a concerted effort to limit these things from my diet as much as i can (not necessarily from a moral stand, but for my health's sake), but sometimes i just slip and give in to my strong dairy cravings.  for example, last night, after dinner we went to the self-serve frozen yogurt joint, where i am always very judicious with my serving size.  i got the smallest dollop i could manage from the machine, yet in the middle of the night i woke up feeling horribly ill.  was it worth it?  that's the question i am asking myself now.

so, dairy free-friends, do you have any advice for a girl about to give up lactose cold-turkey? 

and, more importantly, is there life after cheese?

first soup of the fall: shiitake mushroom soup with quinoa, garlic, and kale

last weekend, jordan and i visited the kennett square mushroom festival, whose volunteers and mushroom experts reminded us of this (but just substitute "shrimp" with "mushroom").  we left with an armload of different varieties of mushrooms: shiitakes, crimini (or baby bellas...i had no idea they were the same thing!), portobello caps, even porcini mushroom pasta.

so with the cold weather that came upon us this week, we thought we would try our hand at using the mushrooms for a soup.  i have been trying to avoid dairy lately, so the standard, cream-based mushroom soup was not an option.  instead, we adapted a recipe we found from vegetarian times.  find the original recipe here.

we substituted quinoa for the wheat berries (as i am trying to avoid wheat as well, and we didn't have wheat berries in the pantry, just quinoa).  also, next time we make it i would add scallions to bring a little more green to the soup.

ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
1 cup quinoa
10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 medium bunch kale, washed, stems removed, and sliced on the bias
1/4 cup rice vinegar
4 cups low-sodium, MSG free vegetable broth (we use this to make our own broth; much more economical and eco-friendly than buying the cardboard quarts that end up going to waste!)


method:

cook quinoa according to package directions.  set aside.

heat olive oil in a saucepan.  saute the mushrooms for 10 minutes.  add the garlic and continue to saute an additional 2 minutes.  carefully add vinegar (the pan will be hot, so don't get splashed!) and continue to stir gently, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

add broth to the saucepan, bring to a boil and then allow to simmer for 20 minutes.  stir in kale and allow to wilt.

to serve, ladle the soup into bowls and add the desired amount of quinoa to each bowl (this prevents the quinoa from getting soggy in the broth).

so simple!  enjoy!

mark bittman, i love you.

if you think this looks as delightful as i do, read on.

BIG NEWS, YOU GUYS.

want a hint?

it is purple and shiny and i used to be scared to eat it.  and it rhymes with 'schmeggflant'.

i accidentally ate some baba ghanouj the other day with no ill effects or anaphylactic shock.  so last night during a 4th of july cookout, with a newfound sense of bravery, i had a slice of grilled eggplant with some basil, mozz and tomato.  i KNOW, right?!

i think i have officially become an eggplant enthusiast.  and we have some in the garden now that are almost ready to be picked.  what should we make with it?

garden update!

we have been able to make so many meals now that our garden is starting to explode!  and it really does look like a beautiful, green delicious explosion has taken over our backyard.  can you believe that just a little over a month ago our garden looked like this:

before

and now it looks like this!!

after!

the only sacrifice is that every time we go out to harvest, we get annihilated by mosquitoes, which is a small price to pay for the bounty of the garden gods.

just a few of the things we have made so far with our backyard harvests:

-pesto (obviously...we can't get enough of the stuff!)

it looks like someone else has been
enjoying the basil as much as we have!
who is this mystery nibbler?

-three bean salad with green beans from the garden, garbanzos and cannellini beans, garnished with slivers of basil leaves
-red new potato salad with parboiled green beans from the garden, red potatoes that have been boiled and cooled, thinly sliced red onion, rosemary from the garden, lemon juice, olive oil, and s + p.

things we are looking forward to by the end of july:
-ceviche with loads of cilantro from the backyard (i am also excited about growing our own parsley and cilantro so it won't go to waste when we have to buy a slimy bunch from the grocery store that goes bad in, like, three hours)

-grilled veggie kebabs (on our new grill..thanks, bruce and helene!  xo) with yellow squash and eggplant (on jordan's side)
-fried green tomatoes before the tomatoes start to all turn red

-swimming in a sea of tomatoes...caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes and backyard basil...roasted tomatoes with rosemary...maybe even taking a stab at making our own pasta sauce and canning it!

is your mouth watering yet?  because mine definitely is!!

oopsie smoothie

welp...the no-wheat, no-caffeine, no-alcohol was nice while it lasted...

we went to a wedding last night, and i indulged in the obligatory glass (or four) of chardonnay, and this morning, feeling slightly groggy, i gave in to my iced coffee and bagel craving.

now, a mere five hours later, i feel terrible.  jittery and tired at the same time, thanks to the caffeine, gooey cream cheese and chewy bready bagel.  i am sorry, belly.

so for lunch i made a smoothie to get myself feeling better.  even though i don't have a blender (but it is on the registry!) a food processor does the trick.  half a banana, a handful of frozen blueberries, half a scoop of spiru-tein vanilla, a generous spoonful of yogurt, and some rice milk and ice cubes, blended all together did the trick.

what a pretty color, too!

best garden ever!

after the never-ending saga that went into renting a roto-tiller, we (and by "we", i mean jordan) tripled the size of our garden!  it meant sacrificing the bonfire spot, but our yard is big enough that we can find space for both!

yesterday was the first bountiful harvest of arugula.  i have never tasted arugula so yummy in my life!  the leaves are perfectly green, so delightful and peppery!

first arugula harvest

we had a couple of very disappointing experiences with grocery store arugula, coming home to find over half the leaves in the package to be wilted, slimy and sometimes black.  sorry, grocery store...we are going to do all our produce shopping in our backyard for the next few months.

so what's on the menu for this summer's garden?  basil basil basil (pesto for days!), lots of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, arugula, eggplant (which i will not be eating because of my "allergy"), and some other things that i can't remember because jordan isn't around to ask. :)

i am so looking forward to the summer meals we will be cooking with all of our backyard veggies!

giant garden!

come on young one, your time to grow is now

BAH-zill.

killing the beast.

catch up time.

the last time i wrote was in february.  allow me to bring you up to speed, dear readers (all two of you):

i sprinted to the finish of my first year of graduate school.  i taught a course.  i applied for and landed 2 jobs that i was really hoping to be offered.  my mom got very ill.  i started seeing a therapist.  i pulled my first all-nighter since high school.  i got engaged (!!!!!!).  i missed having my best friends being by my side through all these highs and lows.  

because of all these things put together, the good and the bad, i have become a busy, cranky, slovenly beast with little desire to cook, with an insatiable appetite for gallons of coffee in the morning and even more gallons of alcohol at night.  with night classes twice a week this past semester that overlap inconveniently with the dinner hour, i found myself coming home famished and deciding to feast on take-out food and beer, instead of having to figure out what i wanted to make for dinner.  then going to the store.  then buying things.  then coming home.  then, UGH, preparing food.  you can see where this is going.  

this pattern, as i discovered as i haplessly tried to take my dehydrated, malnourished self on a run (which gradually turned into a crawl) over the weekend, must end.  and so i have come back into the kitchen, prepared with a new arsenal of recipes to explore and to share and to enjoy so that i can explore and share and enjoy my life! 

as of saturday, i have eliminated caffeine, alcohol and wheat from my diet.  all these things are my weak points, and they really are addictive.  and when all self-control is scattered to the wind because of excessive stress, abandon ye all hope and prepare to gorge thyself on 2 bags of pita chips and several glasses of wine.  

so how is it working so far?  well, i have not had alcohol in three days, and it actually has been surprising how little i miss it.  there was a time when having dinner without a glass of wine seemed uncivilized, but then i realized how uncivilized it became to have a glass before and after dinner as well.  forgoing wheat has been easy so far, also.  and i actually do feel a difference in my energy levels since eliminating it, which is unbelievable.  

the hardest thing to give up has been coffee.  whimper.  as i write this in my coffee shop of choice, the smell of freshly ground beans wafting through the air is taunting me as i begrudgingly sip my herbal tea.  i have read on the internetz about the difficulties of eliminating caffeine, and i actually am really stunned at how my addiction has evolved throughout the semester.  in three months, i went from ordering the smallest size available with the smallest coffee-to-milk ratio (1:4), to upping to size from short to extra tall, to eliminating the milk altogether and guzzling it black.  at any and all hours of the day, too, not just the morning.  who AM i?

now that the semester is officially over, i am going to take the time i need this summer to get my habits in check and blog with gusto!  here's to feeling good!  xo.  

Pest-ohhhh yeah!

sometimes, i forget how much i luuurve pesto...
and then i remember!
and then i forget how easy it is to make...
and then i remember!

and then i make it using arugula and parsley, since basil isn't in season yet, and serve it over penne with roasted tomatoes and chickpeas.

and then i congratulate myself on a meal well prepared.

and sometimes i make eggs for breakfast the next day, and have some leftover pesto on top of them.
and sometimes i take a spoon and just eat it out of the jar.  gross?  probably.  delicious?  yes.


in a food processor, throw in a few handfuls of arugula and a few handfuls of parsley.  add a roughly chopped clove of garlic, plenty of grated parmesan cheese, a handful of walnuts (or pine nuts, if you can afford them!) and the juice of a lemon.  turn on the food processor and add olive oil until it reaches the consistency you like.  salt and pepper, too.  serve with ANYTHING.

(ps- i get all my ingredients from the local co-op.  you should too!)

as if you need another reason to stop eating fast food...

here you go.

so gross.

addicted: #2

trader joe's organic strawberry probiotic yogurt

as i get closer to my quarter century birthday, i am really trying to be on the defensive and take control of my health as much as i can.  preventative healthcare is crucial, and diet is a huge factor.  colon health, as old-ladyish as it sounds, is important and has been kind of a buzz topic for me lately.  with a family history of colon cancer and other gastrointestinal woes, it is important for me to take care of myself as much as i can now.

i started hearing a lot of good things about probiotic yogurt, but i was not sure how down and dirty i would want to get in terms of experimenting.  i haven't always been a huge yogurt fan, either.  something about the texture just skeeves me.  but i wanted to see what all the probiotic fuss was about, so during a trader joe's run a couple of months ago, i picked up a four-pack of the organic strawberry probiotic yogurt.  they come in a four pack in itsy-bitsy little cups, perfect for me since too much yogurt in one serving turns me off.  i sprinkled mine with a little granola, mixed it up and was totally surprised!  i wasn't sure if the extra addition of the probiotics would alter the taste at all (in a bad way), but it was actually the least yogurty-tasting yogurt i've ever tried!  i loved it, and i could notice the digestive benefits within a day or two (and i'll leave it at that...)

since they only come in a 4-pack, and we only bought one, we ran out rather quickly. the nearest tj's to us is a good 40 minute trek, so i picked up some dannon activia instead at the local grocery store.  i wasn't as happy with the activia as i was with the trader joe's yogurt.  for one thing, i think for dairy especially, organic really makes a difference.  activia is not organic, and there were considerably more artificial-looking ingredients on the label (not counting the sciencey-sounding names of the probiotics in the yogurt, which were comparable in both brands).  the taste of activia was good, but the effects were not noticeable at all.  so...lesson learned: next time i go to tj's i am stocking up big time on their yogurt!

homemade spinach ravioli

for our first christmas together a few years ago, jordan gave me a beautiful, authentic fire-engine red pasta maker.  we have gotten a lot of good use out of it, but i never remember to document the hours-long event that is making a homemade pasta dinner. a pasta maker is a great investment...you can really tell the difference between pasta from a box and pasta from scratch.  if you put the time in, you will see that it is worth it.

each time we have made pasta, we have always used either the spaghetti or linguine settings.  this time, we wanted to make homemade ravioli instead.  the results were magnificent, and now i'll share the process with you all!

making the dough is not as hard as you think...you just need semolina flour, salt, a little water, some olive oil and a couple of eggs (the best recipes are the simplest ones!)  we always use semolina flour from bob's red mill because it has the best recipe for pasta dough that we've tried.

combine 1 1/2 cups of semolina and 1/2 tsp salt and place on a flat, clean, dry surface.  make a well in the center of the flour and add 2 beaten eggs, 2 tbsp of water and 2 tbsp of olive oil to the well.  using a fork, gently begin to incorporate the flour into the well, starting around the edge of the well and making your way out.  once the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated, begin to knead the dough.

continue to knead for about 10 minutes or so, until the dough is elastic.  then set the dough aside after wrapping in saran wrap.  let rest for 20 minutes.  while the dough is resting, get to work on the ravioli filling.  we used frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained well, combined with ricotta, garlic and salt.  easy and delicious.  combine to taste, and set aside.

once the dough is ready, roll it out flat and cut in half to begin to process through the pasta maker.

now comes the fun part!  first, roll each half of the dough through the widest setting on the pasta maker 10 times.  between each turn, sprinkle the dough with a little bit of flour, fold in thirds, then pass through with the open side facing downwards.

uno...

due...

tre!

once each half has been through 10 times, roll each half through again, changing the setting each roll from the widest to the thinnest.  (usually for cut pasta, we stop at the narrowest setting before cutting into the noodles.  however, since we were making ravioli, we wanted the dough to be a little thicker to be able to withstand the filling.  if you're in doubt, consult the instructions on your pasta maker.)

 since we didn't have a ravioli cutter (they do exist, however!) we used its bigger, more hulky cousin, a pizza wheel, to cut the dough into rectangles.

we put a little dab of the ricotta mixture in the center of each rectangle, then placed another rectangle on top.  using a fork we gently pressed the edges together to seal.

bring a very large pot of salted water to a gentle boil.  drop in about 5 ravioli at a time, and cook for less than a minute (they will float to the top when they're finished).  

look how precious they are!

 i was so pleased with how this little italian dinner came out.  we served ours with sauteed halved baby portobello mushrooms with red sauce, but i think it would be great with just a little drizzle of oil and some cheese on top too!

mangia!

califoodnia

hello, everyone!

i am FINALLY posting after over a month.  and happy 2nd anniversary, little blog!

2010 was a busy busy year for me, with lots of decisions, changes, and stresses that kept me from keeping up with my favorite little project.  it's fitting that i celebrate two years of blogging, and a new year of adventures, with a summary of some of the most delicious food i have ever tasted on my trip to california!

j and i hit the road with our dear friend, chris, and his trusty dog, blue, to explore the treasures amidst the golden state's beautiful landscapes.  while we were spendthrifts for most of the vacay (we paid for lodging for one night only, thanks to the kindness of friends, new and old), we weren't afraid to spend a little extra to fill our bellies.  what fun is traveling if you aren't down to sample the local fare?

and what wonderful sampling we did.

SAN DIEGO

azucar
4820 newport avenue

cafe au lait and a coco y piña scone.

want awesome coffee, beautiful baristas, and scrumptious scones?  hit up azucar, a local cuban bakery, and all your sugar and caffeine filled fantasies will come true.  in the morning, the small space that houses the bakery is filled with this beautiful light that reflects off the key-lime-mousse colored walls and white tables and chairs...a light that draws you directly to the glass case housing the most carefully crafted, glistening scones, quiches and cookies you've ever seen, tasted or smelled.  i had a latté with a coco y piña scone; the boys wet their whistles with azucar's signature quiche and black coffee.  and the mojito-lime cookie?  criminally delicious.

third corner
2265 bacon st, ocean beach

chris was excited to take us to the restaurant where he works.  third corner completely changed my expectations about wine bars.  i used to work in one in my hometown, and, as i found out, it was a very "east coast" kind of place.  third corner was different.  the rooms were laid out like you were in someone's home...the home of someone who has a hell of a lot of wine.  there were shelves of wine amidst the tables, and the diners are invited to peruse the thousands of wines available and select the perfect bottle to bring back to the table to enjoy with the meal.  chris suggested we try pétalos, a spanish wine, and a white bordeaux.  bottles in hand, we took a seat in a cozy room, where the walls were splashed with teal accents, in oversized couches surrounding a rustic, low-to-the-ground wood table.

i liked it already.

we started with the humboldt fog baked goat cheese, served with wild mushrooms and toasted brioche.  the cheese literally melted in your mouth, and its texture was almost like a brie, which was pleasantly unexpected.  we ordered the house salad and the goat cheese salad.  i preferred the former and ended up eating most of it myself, as i loved the basil vinaigrette over the too-sweet strawberry dressing accompanying the goat cheese salad.  sharing is great among friends, especially when it comes to entrees.  i ordered the pan-seared scallops, which were prepared with tomatoes, nicoise olives, green beans and roasted potatoes in a white wine and lemon sauce...however, jordan's salmon entree made me wish i had ordered what he was enjoying.  luckily, he was willing to swap, and we both ended up enjoying the other's dinner more than the dinner we picked for ourselves.  the salmon was perfectly tender, surrounded by a killer tomato fennel confit and a heavenly little puff of mashed potatoes. and for dessert?  wine, of course.  we stayed until midnight.


the blue parrot bar and grill
4993 niagra ave

$2 fish tacos?  yes please.  go for happy hour, get some beers, chips and guac, and tacos and you've had a great time (and it'll still be early when you're done!)  careful...if you're a spice-phobe, the blackened fish tacos are KILLER spicy.  but oh-so-rico.

SANTA BARBARA

sojourner cafe
132 e. canon perdido

the mediterranean nut burger

after a long day driving, trying to avoid classic california traffic, what sojourners we were.  we stumbled upon this cozy, veg-friendly spot after reading a good review in the lonely planet.  the staff was totally friendly; the charismatic host seated the three of us right away, and our super cute, so-cal waitress was patient with our many questions and ready with the right answer every time.  jordan tried the restaurant's specialty, the mediterranean nut burger, a totally earthy, all veggie patty that was crafted to taste like veggies, not like a burger.  each night sojourner features a special ravioli, which i tried.  the night we went it was spinach, artichoke and feta.  drizzled with a simple red sauce, it was hard to beat.  dessert was coffee ice cream, and it was just perfect.

BIG SUR

big sur river inn and general store

our second night in big sur, after a day of hard hiking, we made it to the inn just in time to replenish our bodies with a delicious made to order burrito.  get there before 7 pm...although the general store stays open until 9, the burrito bar housed in the back closes 2 hours before.  in big sur, untamed wilderness outnumbers the amount of five star places to eat, but for a group of hungry hikers, a seven buck burrito really hit the spot.

SAN FRANCISCO

the plant
3 locations around sf

the classic plant burger...hold the aioli

we headed to the "café organic" for lunch on our first day in sf.  i was blown away by the clean food featured on their menu.  all local, all organic, suitable for carnivores with consciences and vegans alike, and they even serve kombucha on tap!  if you go, you must get the plant burger, their signature patty made from lentils, mushrooms, beets, cashews and bulgur wheat.  although it was too early for us to drink, they do serve organic beer and wine to quench the thirsty hippie.  leave it to us to find the least healthy thing on the menu for dessert...house made coconut macaroons!!

there was definitely some butter in those bad boys.  mmmmmmmm.

osha
5 locations around sf

with a lack of comestible asian food in the small wonder, we were instantly delighted when our san franciscan hosts, lisa and nick, suggested we have dinner at osha, a local restaurant with five branches throughout the city.  we arrived while their happy hour was still happening and enjoyed delicious $5 small plates (think scallops with lime, garlic, fresh chili, cilantro and ginger sauce; fresh spring rolls; mango prawns)...nothing terribly fancy, but for five bucks and hungry tourists, perfect appetizers.  little did we know we also happened to be there on a "merry monday", where the restaurant offers half price bottles of wine until close!  we were very merry indeed....especially when our entrees arrived.

i ordered pad see ew (pron. "you");  a stir-fried noodle dish with garlic, broccoli, and egg in a black bean sauce, there was nothing "ew" about it.  in fact, the whole thing was devoured and i was seriously considering licking my plate clean long after the last noodle was eaten.  jordan ordered a magnificent sea bass, cooked in an individual clay pot, simmering in a lemongrass sauce.  the flavors were light and harmonious, and the fish was cooked to perfection.

la boulange

displaying my membership in the clean plate club

we enjoyed breakfast here two days in a row because it was just THAT good.  the cafe au lait makes you want to hug someone, and the "la combo" gets you a delicious meal for only seven dollars (despite its fast-foody name on the menu).  choose half a tartine (there are 5 or 6 to choose from, and they all sounded unreal) and greens or soup.  on day 1 i enjoyed a portobello mushroom, goat cheese and red pepper tartine, fresh greens with a hint of olive oil and pepper, and fruit.  day 2 i tried their house made granola over a bowl of yogurt and fruit drizzled with honey.  they say sf is the most european city in the united states, and with places like la boulange, i believe it.

luna park
694 valencia st. (@ 18th)

sparkling rosé at the bar

during our last day in SF, we were hoofing it all over town, trying to see as much as possible before the trip home the next day.  our feet were hurting and our mouths were thirsty, so we popped into this real hidden gem in the very eclectic mission neighborhood.  the place was filled with beautiful san franciscans enjoying an afternoon cocktail sitting at cozy tables surrounded by lush curtains hanging from the high ceilings.  we took a seat at the long bar and the super-hip bar tender came to us right away.  since the place almost begged for me to, i ordered a glass of sparkling rosé.  it was perfect.  chris ordered the goat cheese fondue for us to share, which came in a little ramekin suspended over a tea light to keep the fondue warm.  smoky charred baguette and tart green apple slices were the perfect accompaniments to the warm, smooth cheese.  a great find for sure.

unwind on union

875 union st (between octavia and laguna)

after an exhausting day, and gearing up for an exhausting night, we popped into unwind in search of a drink and a quick bite to eat.  i was sad we didn't have time to linger over our meal in the totally cool layout of this new restaurant, because i absolutely loved it.  the owner was friendly, not because he was required to be, but because he wanted to be (and believe me, i can tell the difference).  he knew the menu like the back of his hand, and commended our selections.  i ordered the fish tacos; the dish came with three, and i devoured every last bit.  the fresh tomatillo salsa was outstanding.  chris, the recently-converted carnivore, was delighted with his mac-and-cheese sprinkled with smoked bacon and the ingenious lobster corn dog.  and the kicker?  a neato pyrex cube of filled with gummi bears at the host station on the way out.

california certainly knows how to cook and to eat.  here's a few more snaps from some memorable meals throughout the trip...

3 a.m. fries at mad dogs in santa barbara

jordan and chris enjoying their azucar breakfast

chris's macaroon face

the best coffee in san francisco is worth waiting for.

mini doughnuts!