Hash House A Go Go (San Diego)

It's a given that girls weekends are the key to keeping sanity in the whirlwind of school work, internships and career-planning; and when Brenna suggested a weekend at her condo in Coronado, California...well, that sounded simply perfect.

While the weather did not cooperate, we managed to find the eatery gems in La Jolla, Coronado, Carlsbad, San Diego, Point Loma, and Del Mar without trouble. Hannah took the most beautiful photos, a few of which I'm sharing here!

Fresh acai bowls, sea salt chocolate chip cookies, coffee ice cream and Sprinkles cupcakes satisfied our sweet tooth in between meals. And when I say meals, I mean FEASTS.

there's nothing like a sprinkles cupcake. top left [red velvet] was my favorite!

I'll critique True Food Kitchen, our Friday night dinner, in my next post. For now, I'll give you a taste (HA, no pun intended) of my other meals in Cali.

a sneak peek of true foods kitchen

At Hash House Ago Go on Saturday morning, I couldn't keep my jaw closed. If you thought your meals were ever portioned too large, I dare you to come to this breakfast spot in Hillcrest. The plates are approximately 2 feet in diameter. Does that give you an idea?  I was in constant disbelief.

We ordered a few plates to pass around and share. Hot sticky granola with mango and berries was my favorite of the three. But we couldn't go wrong with the brown butter banana pancake; which, in case you were wondering, was the largest pancake I've ever seen. I also loved the smoked salmon scramble with spinach, tomatoes and melted Brie. Delish.

hot. sticky. granola.

I lucked out in the shopping category as well - California is surely blessed with beautiful boutiques and stores. I left with a flirty red dress from Theory (perfect for the upcoming Valentine's holiday, yes?), a Lauren Moshi blush sweater with a hand painted white flower and a mint Lululemon pullover jacket.

The sun finally peeked out for us over the Point Loma harbor during lunch yesterday.  After a simple crab sandwich (lump crab meat on sourdough, can't go wrong with that) we took a few photos to prove that we did, in fact, see some sunshine.

Now, I'm back in Austin and back to reality. But, indeed, I feel lucky. Lucky to have such incredible friends and spontaneous experiences that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my college journey and beyond.

California was surely a sweet touch to my spring semester. I'm looking forward to crossing off more items on my college bucket list: restaurants, trips, adventures, the works!

I would love to hear any ideas for your (and perhaps, mine) bucket lists this Spring! Share away.

Happy Monday!

Redfarm (NYC)

Anyone enjoy ordering General Tso's Chicken on any Chinese restaurant menu?   Well, the guy who invented that dish owns this restaurant, RedFarm.  Maybe it's just me, but I think that's a pretty big deal.

My family therefore knew that we could trust anything on the menu, so we went all out.  From spicy crispy beef to four different types of dim sum, I was continuously impressed with RedFarm's creative preparation and presentation of organic ingredients.  They truly take innovative Chinese cuisine with "greenmarket sensibility" to a whole new level.

ambiance
As my father wisely put it, you "feel like you've won the lottery" when your name is called for a table inside the 42-seater restaurant.  Basically, we had to call at 11 a.m. to put our name down for an 8 p.m. reservation on Christmas Day.  And the five of us still didn't sit 'til 9 - and when I say "sit," I mean squeeze in a four-person booth in the corner.

But please, do not let the wait turn you away from the West Village gem.  Clearly, the demand means something.  You will never experience such impeccable Asian fusion cuisine in your lifetime.  I promise.

food
While I could go on forever about every dish, I'll let you enjoy our meal through photography.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

steamed lobster dumplings with a mushroom ragu

chicken dumplings with basil, cashews, sweet & spicy sauce

diced lamb with chinese broccoli & white asparagus | asparagus, corn, brussel sprouts

shrimp noodle special

mushroom & vegetable spring rolls

katz's pastrami egg roll with dijon mustard dipping sauce

Big Bite of the Big Apple (NYC)

New York City is known as the "Big Apple"—but I ate everything in sight except the apple.

We all know that New York is a food paradise. But I never imagined just how fantastic the food could be until four days and eight restaurants later—from the Bowery to the West Village; from the Meat Packing District to the East Side.

So here's a taste of my New York.

When we landed in the city on Christmas morning, Pulino's in the Bowery was our first stop. Bloody Marys, mussels and creative pasta dishes kept us in the holiday spirit after a long morning of traveling. My favorite was the cappalletti di zucca: a sweet and savory squash-filled pasta with brown butter and pomegranates. Unbelievable.

Chinese food and Jews on Christmas clearly go hand-in-hand; so we just had to check out Zagat's top-rated Chinese spot for 2012. We were five of 42 people in the cozy West Village Red Farm NYC restaurant. And, oh, did this restaurant win the top spot in my book.  The highlight was the Katz's Deli pastrami eggroll with a spicy mustard sauce.  How "New York" is that?! It was so delicious that we had to order another halfway through our meal.

Chelsea Market, if you haven't been, is a gourmet food court of restaurants. I was having trouble deciding which to choose, until I noticed a woman walk by with a full lobster on a paper plate.  Decision made.  The picture below doesn't even do it justice.  The Lobster Place is the way to go.

The award-winning db bistro menu on Wednesday evening brought instant satisfaction before even tasting the dishes, simply because every dish included mushrooms (my favorite)! Their special db burger, stuffed with fois gras and black truffle, melted in your mouth (if you could manage to get your mouth around it!).

Todd English Food Hall, housed in the basement of the Plaza Hotel, was the most overwhelming lunch I’ve had in a while. Why? The “dining hall” set up offered everything from sushi to homemade pastas and salads.  Whoa.

BLT Fish served seafood elegantly and provided a fabulous dining experience, even with a cotton candy finale. The pacific hamachi appetizer matched the avocado and grapefruit with perfection. The cheddar cheese biscuits also hit the spot.  Our waiter provided us with the take-home biscuit recipe, so I'll be sure to whip up some of those before heading back to Austin.

The meat-packing district, a gem of the city I wish I had discovered sooner, became my favorite area for its quiet atmosphere and high-end scene of restaurants and shops. At Fig & Olive, we started with a cucumber martini in the middle of the day.  How fun is vacation!  I kept my eyes peeled for celebrities, since I have heard this was a hot spot; but no luck.  At least the crab salad was tasty.

Hungry yet? Some caramelized critiques are coming your way in the next few weeks! Put these on your list for your next visit to NYC.