My first trip to NYC was a short, but dizzyingly wonderful one.  I spent about thirty-six hours there and managed to sightsee more than I’d expected.  And naturally, I ATE.  In fact, the only thing I think I had on my to-eat list that I didn’t get to was the pizza.

Don’t get me wrong.  We tried.  We walked all the way across the bridge to Brooklyn for Grimaldi’s pizza.  Except that it was 90somethingfucking degrees outside and the line THAT WENT OUTSIDE was a good 45 minutes.

Hell no.

So, we ventured to the South Street Seaport instead.

NYC has SO MANY food options, and with the exception of Times Square (ick. boo.), most seem to be authentic, local, amazing little eateries.  Here’s what I DID manage to nom:

• a bagel in Brooklyn.  To be honest?  It was TASTY, but the bagels at East Coast Bagels in California were better on the sheer principle that they had CHOCOLATE CHIP bagels and this little shop in Brooklyn did not
• popcorn shrimp at the Heartland Brewery at the South Street Seaport.  Popcorn shrimp is ALWAYS a win.  I also enjoyed their Summertime Apricot Ale with my Fish and Chips.  Seafood?  Always good.  FRIED seafood?  EVEN BETTER.

• Then there was a CHEESE PLATE and TIRAMISU at Bar Baresco.  I think that the best way to enjoy a cheese plate – at least for me, while I’m learning what I like and don’t – is to ask the server for a good variety of different levels of soft and hardness and intensity.  We got a beautifully diverse array of soft cheeses, red wine infused cheeses, and delicious nuts and honeys to accompany the cheese.
• And the tiramisu? OH MY GOD.

Now, I just need to get back to that fine city and have a piece of greasy pizza!

I was fortunate enough to get to the LA area not only twice this summer, but over back-to-back weekends.

I spent a Friday night at the start of August catching up with one of my best girlfriends. Nicole lives (I use that term loosely in that at the time this is being written, she is currently packing up and prepping to move out) in an LA suburb, and we wanted a night to catch up on all the ridiculousness that had transpired in our lives over the summer so far.  So I abused the flight benefits I have access to and headed out to her place for the night.

SLEEPOVER WIN.

The second weekend, I randomly decided to join a new friend – a blog friend – as his plus one to a wedding of a friend of his. Both weekends were fabulous, and of course, included delicious dining that will be highlighted below.

Weekend One -
We did dinner in Malibu on Friday night (I just love saying that. Doesn’t dinner in Malibu just roll off your tongue a little? No? Just mine? Ok FINE.) at a place on the beach called the Paradise Cove Beach Cafe.

We had giant margaritas and I enjoyed the seafood tacos (two fish, one shrimp) that were HUGE and delicious and spicy and nearly perfect.

The setting of the Beach Cafe was great, in that it was – naturally – on the beach.  I’m not accustomed to ocean outside my windows so I basically just sat and stared off in daydreamland while we ate.

On Saturday morning, Nicole took me BACK to this bagel shop – East Coast Bagel – we’d stopped in prior to our Vegas trip back in June. As you can infer from the name, they’re all East-Coast-style and stuff… not sure what that means exactly except for two things:

• they are fucking DELICIOUS
• they actually make chocolate and/or chocolate chip bagels, which I haven’t found elsewhere YET. So when I get chocolate chip bagels, toasted with peanut butter and the peanut butter gets all warm and amazing because the bagel was just toasted… my heart does a little song-and-dance routine that not many other food combos can elicit.

(Rachel promises me that their available on the East Coast and when she comes in from Jersey this weekend, I’m getting a suitcase full. What a great friend )

Weekend Two -

I joined Nico out in the Hollywood Hills area the following weekend as his plus one for his friends’ wedding. It was kind of fun to tell people I was from the Internet (and since Nico and I met because of 20-Something Bloggers, that’s what we told people), until we realized that the people seated with us at our table – Nico’s friends – were also major social media nerds so that wasn’t as impressive as we thought it’d be. Anyway, Nico writes a lovely recap of the event here (and says some sweetheart things about me). But let me talk about the food at two different places.

Breakfast.  We did breakfast at what apparently is a famous little eatery.  And by famous I mean it was in the movie Reservoir Dogs, or so I’m told (I actually haven’t ever seen that movie, whoops!).

We enjoyed multiple cups of coffee at Pat and Lorraine’s in (on?) Eagle Rock.  I had classic French toast that was the perfect amount of comfort breakfast food to start the day.  It was a really cute, diner-ish place with a great patio and friendly staff.  Seems like the kind of place that the locals frequent and that certainly has it’s “regulars.”

Then, after a few hours of tooling around Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and other nifty little neighborhoods, we did a late lunch at The Alcove.  It’s a gorgeous little bistro/deli place in the Los Feliz neighborhood of the LA area.  We sat outside, drank mimosas, and I ate the most ridiculously amazing crab cake sandwich in the history of crab cake sandwiches.

Here’s what they say about it on their menu:

crab cake sandwich
maryland style crab cake made from sweet blue crab meat on a caramelized onion bun, caramelized bermuda onions, wild arugula, tomato and chipotle aioli on the side

Don’t even tell me you’re not salivating.  That aioli?  AMAZING.  And you really can’t go wrong with arugula; it’s one of my favorite greens of all the greens.

So, mid-afternoon outdoor lunch plus good company plus champagne plus crab?

Le swooooon.

The best food memories I have of Las Vegas happened at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco.  Why?

Because there was a cheese plate.

And we like cheese plates.

My initial reactions, as I wrote back on June 8, 2009:

One of the highlights of this past weekend’s trip to Las Vegas was the formaggi at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco in the Venetian. We had the server choose the best 7 cheeses offered and were given this platter with the accompaniments that included Honey with Truffle Oil, Brandied Cherries, and Apricots.

Absolutely amazing. Oh, and then I followed this with an amazing Margherita pizza and paired it all with a pretty Friulian white wine

Delish!

(via my personal blog)

Their Margherita pizza was incredible also, but this marked my Real Good Cheese Plate De-Virginization, so that’s what I’m focused on here.

My first trip of 2009 was out to visit my oldest and dearest friend Steve.  He moved out to Colorado from Minnesota after college, and having recently decided that four years was enough, he moved back this summer.  I went out to visit two weeks prior to that move, back in the middle of May, to soak in the mountains and a vacation one more time before he returned.

We did all kinds of awesome things while I was there including climbing a mountain, walking around Boulder, and taking a mini road trip up to Wyoming.

But of course, I seek out interesting restaurants and remember the food, so here’s my little recap of where we ate and what we had:

In Denver (technically, Broomfield):

• Tres Margaritas (6896 W 120th Ave, Broomfield – (303) 410-8705)

We weren’t on any particular culinary adventure or mission at Tres Margaritas; I was mostly in need of food and drink upon my arrival and Steve picking me up from the airport.  We each had two margaritas – on the rocks, thanks – and I ordered a taco/enchilada combo that was HUGE and AWESOME and naturally came with the requisite Mexi-rice and beans.

I’m always a sucker for good Mexican food and for a quiet little hole-in-the-wall in the suburbs?  This one was muy bueno.

In Boulder -

Boulder was SO much fun to explore!  They have a walking mall area called Pearl Street where vehicles aren’t allowed and folks just roam freely up and down the shop- and bar-lined cobblestone road.  Street performers entertain visitors, and gorgeous flower gardens and cute decorations line the street from one end to the other.

• The Med (1002 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO 80302 – (303) 444-5335)

At the recommendation of a colleague, Steve and I popped into The Med for dinner.  We opted for splitting a number of different small plates to better taste more of their offerings.  The menu’s set up really well for that too, and I believe we ended up with five options.  And I know, I know… FOODIE BLOGGER FAIL, since it’s now August and I’m writing about a May trip, I don’t remember all the details.  I remember mussels, lamb meat (I think on skewers), and I believe salmon.  I know, FAIL, but really?  The food was INCREDIBLE, the staff extremely pleasant and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is deliciously funky.

All in all?  Denver and Boulder are fine culinary spots and I’d love to go back to try more.

I love exploring my own cities – Minneapolis and St. Paul – as well as getting out and walking/dining my way through new places.  This blog is about that – it’s about the new places I explore and the people and food and wine I meet along the way.
Bon appetite!