Beauty and the Beach

Picture Story: Port Aransas, Texas

Sunset on the Beach

Braided like Belle 

Soy Cappuccino at Coffee Waves 

Beachy Beer Cans 

Nacho Snacking

Meditating on the Beach

Mixed Greens Salad at Shell's 

Stormy Skies

Meeting TAYLOR KITSCH!

Meeting KYLE CHANDLER! 

Pretty Dress I saw (and want) from By George

Coconut Shrimp at Hula Hut in Austin

Pretty Lily Pad Ponds at Hotel San Jose in Austin 

Jalepeño Cornbread at Eastside Cafe, Austin TX 

Ginger and Mushroom Potstickers at Eastside

Wonderful Weekend in Paris

          The perfect weekend in Paris would combine just the right amount of shopping, sightseeing, fine-dining, and pastry eating. I have put together a guide to having a wonderful time over a long weekend in the beautiful City of Lights. Enjoy!

Pastries and Dessert:  

Laduree ~ French Macarons and desserts  

http://www.laduree.fr/ 

Angelina ~ Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, Dessert... Perfect

• Hot Chocolate L'Africain (Chocolat Chaud) - The richness of the famous old-fashioned hot chocolate, served with a small pot of whipped cream

• Luxurious pastries like the Saint Honoré -  Puff pastry, caramel-coated pate a choux, soft caramel, whipped Bourbon vanilla cream 

          http://www.angelina-paris.fr/

Pierre Hermé ~ pastries from "the Picasso of pastry"  

http://www.pierreherme.com/ 

Le Boulanger des invalides: jocteur ~ inexpensive, yet quaint Parisian cafe perfect for breakfast, lunch, and anything in between

• Hot Chocolate, hailed the "best hot chocolate" by Jordan of Oh Happy Day

• Chocolate Croissants, Fresh Baguette, Apple Tarts... this charming bakery is piled high with delectable treats for any palette

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/05/le-boulanger-des-invalides-jocteur/

Paris's best croissants:

• Au Levain du Marais ~ Croissants with extra-crips ends, while the delicately layered center is soft and tender

•  La Pâtisserie by Cyril Lignac ~ Beautifully crisp croissants

• Du Pain et des Idées ~ Artisanal croissants that are more substantial with a sturdy crust and hearty interior. 

•  Pâtisserie Boulangerie Blé Sucré ~ Best Croissant in Paris: With its crackly glazed crust, tender interior, and enchanting quality, what sets this croissant above the rest is the masterful hint of French sea salt in the dough

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/paris-best-croissants.html

Scenery:

Velib ~ Bike rental service

•  Take a bike, return it where you like, Vélib’ is a self-service bike system available 24 hours a day, all year round. To access the service, buy a 1-day or a 7-day ticket online or at any Vélib’ station or sign-up for a long-term subscription

• Year-long Passes cost only 29 € and Day Passes are a steal at only 1,70 €!

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/09/velib/

Rue Montorgueil-Les Halles 

•  One of Paris' oldest market streets, Rue Montorgueil is a pedestrian-only zone lined with some of the city's best fish, produce, and fine grocery shops. 

• Les Halles Shopping Center: This monstrous shopping center in Paris was, up until the mid 20th century, the location of Paris' most important open-air market. Les Halles is notoriously labyrinthian and difficult to navigate. Plans to completely remodel the shopping center are in the works. 

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/04/rue-montorgueil-les-halles-paris

          http://goparis.about.com/od/parisneighborhoods/ss/Montorgeuil_Pix.htm 

Montmartre Cemetery ~ Ryan Goseling and Eva Mendez' famous macabre hangout  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmartre_Cemetery

Le 104 ~ A fantastic art museum Featuring a Carousel and interactive art exhibits 

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/03/le-104/

Food and Dining:

Refuges des Fondue  ~  best fondue in Paris  

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/03/fondue/

L'As du Falafel ~ best falafel in Paris 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'As_du_Fallafel

Chartier ~ has a historic ambiance and boasts a classically French menu 

http://www.restaurant-chartier.com/www/visit/anecdotes.php

Le Timbre ~ inexpensive French fare 

http://www.restaurantletimbre.com/le%20timbre%20.html

Best of Paris: 

1. BEST PLACE TO WATCH A PARIS SUNSET

Go to Pont Neuf, walk down the steps behind the statue of Henry IV and walk to the tip of the Ile de la Cite, where the entire city of Paris began as a Celtic village.  Watch the sun slip away. If you have the luck of some clouds and some sun at day’s end, you will be amazed by the shades of pink in the sky and will no longer wonder why “La Vie en Rose” is a song associated with Paris.

2. BEST PLACE TO LOOK AT FLOWERS

The Marche aux Fleurs on Ile de la Cite. Really nice way to warm up, inside the green houses. It is the bird market on Sundays, as well. So neat!

3. BEST PARK CAFÉ

The café in the Tuileries gardens in front of the Louvre. Great place for an awesome croque monsieur (grilled ham and cheese) and hot chocolate when you’re taking a walk.

4. BEST PARK IN PARIS

Jardins de Luxembourg, where there’s a boat pond and children play, even in winter. The French Senate building is here, and it was formerly a Medici’s palace. A very beautiful park to go to!

5. BEST MUSEUM IN PARIS

Musee d’Orsay is amazing, and you should plan on spending at least 3-5 hours here, but for a really intimate view of several modern master’s works, stop by l’Orangerie when you walk through Tuileries (this may be reopened after renovation now, but I’m not sure.) If it is again re-opened (or if the collection’s being housed elsewhere, great Modiglianis and Monet’s Water Lilies! Somehow, on weekdays, crowds always seem to miss this one.

6. BEST VIEW IN PARIS

From the Pompidou (also known as Beaubourg) by locals. The museum has several of the most recent modern masters, and there’s always a lot going on at the plaza in front and at the nearby funny fountain!

7. BEST ICE CREAM

Berthillon, on Ile St-Louis. Also known as Ile de Johnny Depp, where he lives! Mango’s my fave, but they’re all really tasty. No address required. If you get to Ile St-Louis, you can say the name and someone will point you there!

8. BEST SHOPPING STREET 

Hands down, rue Faubourg St. Honore, which eventually turns into a full-fledged rue. On the Rive Droite! (Other side of the river from you! Just start walking from near the Metro stop for St. Philippe le Roule.) A nice mix of shops that will make you drool with a few you can still afford. Colette’s a neat one, like a museum of all that is good and perfect for shoppers, with a collection that is still, for some items, affordable (213 rue St Honore). Some of the chocolate shops on this street will make you weep just looking at them! Avenue Montaigne’s another great shopping street, but that’s almost solely for “I’m crying. My life would be perfect if I had that Valentino dress,” window shopping. 

          http://ohhappyday.com/paris-guide/ 

Six Things

Sometimes, the little things, like iced tea in the hot afternoon, can be the best part of an otherwise dull week. Lazy summer days in Dallas can be pretty boring, so to add a little delight to the week, we have made a ritual of eating lunch at our favorite restaurants and then cooking light summer meals at home for dinner. Some of my favorites this week involve bright pink iced tea, the best fish tacos, and an icy bubble drink. 

Hibiscus Tea with Orange and Mint

Fish Tacos from Dive (Dallas, TX)

Refreshing Green Juice

Potato Flautas from Zuzu's (Dallas, TX)

Almond Bubble Tea

Chlorophyll Water "Shot" at Asian Mint (Dallas, TX)

LA to San Francisco in Food: Part 2

Chef Chu's: 

Upon entering the San Francisco area, we stopped for lunch at Chef Chu's in Mountain View. All I can say is this restaurant is wonderful from the moment you enter to the moment you leave. Right when you enter, a larger-than-life-size poster of Justin Bieber greets you - among the various other autographed pictures of celebs who have ventured into this historic chinese eatery. After sitting at  a booth near the entrance, the waiter/ manager took our drink orders and - after overhearing us gushing about the Justin Bieber poster - whipped out his iphone and showed us the dozens of pictures of Justin on his most recent visit to Chef Chu's: pictures of Justin, Justin with Jayden Smith, Justin holding the manager's newborn baby... 

This restaurant is famous for being the first fast food Chinese restaurant in America. It was a lot of fun and the manager is awesome! 

Mr. Green Bubble:

Favorite bubble tea in California! Mr. Green Bubble by far has the best ambiance and bb tea flavors of all the bubble teas in San Francisco. This cute shop offers a variety of flavors and they even have soft serve ice cream with a bunch of unique flavors and toppings! My favorite part was the huge size (only one to choose from) of the bubble tea: about the size of two normal teas :) I recommend the Rose Green flavor. 

Ici Ice Cream: 

Rum Raisin ice cream at Ici... This is hands down the best ice cream I've ever had in my life. The fresh made cones are filled with dark chocolate at the bottom to keep your ice cream safe from dripping out the bottom. While in the 30 minute-wait line, employees will bring you samples of any flavor(s) you want to try. I sampled the peach habeñero flavor and was extremely surprised to find that the sweet/ spicy flavors worked perfectly together without being overwhelming. I ended up going with the Rum Raisin flavor -  I have never tasted anything so luxurious in a scoop ice cream before... So pleased with this icy find.  

                              

Osha Thai in San Fransisco: 

 First full meal in San Francisco and not a disappointment! The pad thai was delicious and beautiful, topped with a fresh orchid! Classy! 

Foreign Cinema: 

My favorite restaurant of the trip - possibly of all time. Foreign Cinema is a chic restaurant with an innovative concept. Here you can enjoy a quality meal while sitting outdoors watching a featured movie (in my case Breakfast at Tiffany's - perfect!) projected on the side of the building. It is pretty much the perfect place for a relaxing night, and I hear their brunch is unbeatable. 

Frog Hollow Farms: 

Mmmm I've never had such a wonderful bowl of oatmeal as the one at Frog Hollow Farms in the Ferry Building. This became our morning ritual during our stay in the city and was the perfect start to every day. A warm bowl of steel cut oats, fresh fresh fresh berries and peaches, pecans, a bit of brown sugar and to top it all off a dollop of Frog Hollow peach conserves. The peach conserves were so delicious that we ordered a case of 12 once we got home!  

Miette: 

The cutest, most delicious, picture perfect bakery inside the Ferry Building in San Francisco's bay area. Apart from all of the unique candies and sweets throughout the shop, the truly fantastic attraction at miette is the shop's signature macarons. From rose-geranium to chocolate to pistachio, miette has covered all of the classic flavors and more. These macarons are more natural in quality: using skin-on almonds, no artificial colors, and the freshest ingredients possible. Truly a delightful find. 

These adorable cupcakes came from........ 

the airport!? 

Yeppp I never knew airport food could be this good! They tasted fresh and moist and delicious! All of the food in this airport was surreal... it was like an airport if an airport was a melting pot for asian, vegetarian, californian, and cupcake cuisine! For these fresh flavors and more, Terminal E is the place to be!  

LA to San Francisco in Food: Intermission

The journey continues to Santa Barbara. This town is pretty much what you would think of as the most perfect beach town ever with perfect weather, the perfect hotel, perfect shopping, and the most wonderful food. We stayed at the charming hotel Oceana and couldn't have been more pleased. This small hotel offered a swimming pool and hot tub, free bike rentals, an outstanding complimentary breakfast, and was only a short walk to the heart of the town. Our first meal was eaten at Santa Barbara Fishing Company and although we had to write our name on a long list at the door and waited for nearly an hour before being seated at one of the six or seven tables, our patience was rewarded with an outstanding meal. 

Located at the very end of the pier, this restaurant is home to some of the freshest seafood around. I ordered the crab cakes, served with onion rings, caesar salad, and a wonderful slightly spicy aioli sauce. This restaurant is a must if you are in the area. 

The freezing mornings in California certainly take some getting used to - especially for a native Texan who is used to summer weather well through winter. A warm bowl of oatmeal with walnuts and raisins and some hot green tea sure help make the unbearable conditions more comforting. As does the steaming hot tub just outside our hotel room that we would sneak to early in the mornings before starting our days in this somewhat bipolar city. 

Next on our agenda was stopping by one of Martha Stewart and Oprah's favorite (and unique) shops. After witnessing a grand opening of an HnM store and thoroughly scavenging every foot of the shopping strip in the town square, we were in need of an afternoon pick-me-up. What better than an acai bowl? This ginormous bowl loaded with anti-oxidant oxidant rich acai berries, bananas, strawberries and topped with granola, honey, and bee pollen among other (healthful) things sure did the trick! It was unlike anything I've tasted before - you can definitely tell you are treating your body well with every spoonful. Overall, very satisfying and a compelling mixture of textures and flavors. Really a unique experience and definitely one worth trying! 

Our last meal in Santa Barbara was experienced at Julia Child's favorite taqueria. This tiny hole-in-the-wall prides itself in fresh, homemade, authentic mexican flavors. Quite a few vegetarian options, including a delicious poblano tomale. If tacos aren't really your thing, the salsas alone are worth the trip. Three to choose from, and each are homemade daily.

 

Our last stop before reaching San Fransisco is the Tickled Pink Inn at Big Sur. What a wonderful hotel with a beautiful view of the ocean. The drive alone is breath taking - the winding coastline along the edge of the mountains. The breakfast itself wasn't much but the view was incredible and the fact that it was an outdoors eating area was very chic. 

Almost to the end of the adventure: the next blog post will be San Fransisco! Stay tuned...

LA to San Francisco in Food: Part 1

My absolute favorite part about my trip to California this past summer was by far the food! The ingredients in California are so fresh and flavorful they put Texas produce to shame. Being a vegetarian, I was pleasantly surprised by the refreshing abundance of vegetarian and vegan options at every restaurant we visited - not to mention the dozens of bubble tea shops we found! My family, you see, is smitten with the current bubble tea craze, so any chance we get to buy this vietnamese drink is not wasted. 

Our first stop upon landing in LA was at a wonderful little family owned restaurant aptly named Vegan Glory. This small restaurant serves up some of the best vegan food in LA, all influenced by traditional Asian flavors. 

Each of us (me, my sister, my mom and my dad) ordered one of the lunch special curries in different colors: green, yellow or red. The yellow curry with vegan shrimp (yep! shrimp made of soy) was our favorite! Surprisingly the shrimp had both the texture and flavor of shrimp and its uniqueness made it a very memorable part of the meal! The lunch specials come with purple rice, a side salad, and an egg roll - a very generous amount of food, all of which were delicious. This remains our favorite vegan meal from the trip; Vegan Glory certainly lived up to its name. 

For Fathers' day breakfast we headed over to Shaky Alibi. I know, sketchy name right?, but after reading about this little waffle shop in the airline magazine during the flight, we wanted to give it a try. Selling only Belgian waffles and a multitude of morning beverages, this quaint little eatery lets you customize your waffle with toppings ranging from fresh blueberries to a slather of speculoos. I opted for a more traditional variation with fresh berries and pecans, but you can create some pretty wild combinations with what is on the menu here. Keep in mind though, that all of their waffles come with a dusting of powdered sugar - even the savory ones (with eggs and sausage), so if sweet and savory isn't your thing, stick with fruity toppings. I would definitely recommend trying one of their hot teas, which pair perfectly with the waffles and are served on a little tray with an individual tea pot and mismatched ceramic tea cup. This cute breakfast shop is an instant favorite! 

After spending the morning exploring the gardens at the Huntington Library, we worked up a pretty big appetite, bringing us to our second vegan meal of the trip. Just inland of Santa Monica Pier lies RFD (Real Food Daily), a vegan hotspot in LA. Toby Macquire ate here just hours before us! This vegan restaurant is the type that creates a vegan spin on classic American dishes, like mac and cheese or pizza. The humongous burrito was fantastic - and big enough to feed four -  and while the food was pretty obviously vegan-ified, it was fun to try classic favorites in a new way. We loved the star factor that this restaurant ensued and the waiters assured us that Toby Macguire wasn't the first celebrity to drop by. 

After watching Mario Lopez filming Extra we debated leaving the Grove to make our reservation at Katsuya, but we ultimately decided not to pass up a good bento box - and we are very pleased we didn't! The meal started with miso soup and salad - both of which were better than any we've had before: both intensely flavorful while enticing our appetites for the meal to come - and then came the bento box. The very reasonably priced, 14 dollar bento box. I got the vegetarian version, which came with veggie sushi, mixed vegetable tempura, and tofu steamed and served with some sort of red chili pepper/  shitake mushroom sauce. Overall the meal was satisfying but light and very delicious. I preferred the california roll (that came with the salmon bento) to the veggie one, probably just because I am a crab lover, but you can definitely taste the fresh ingredients used here. The tempura was crispy and not greasy at all, and the iced green tea was strong and refreshing, perfect to wash down this classic Japanese meal. Fantastic lunch! Now back to the Grove...

Back at the Grove we found the first bubble tea on our California adventure inside the Farmers' Market. There was a tea stand set up with hundreds of tea tins filled with exotic dried leaves and flower petals. I selected a rose green tea with no milk and no sugar - I can't stand sweet tea. It was good, but I prefer the floral flavors of the tea at Momoko in Austin, TX - I find they have more floral flavor and less green tea flavor. Overall, not an outstanding tea. 

 P.S. if you are looking to try the best bubble tea around, Momoko in Austin makes the best. Select a light flowery tea with half sugar or else it is much too sweet to enjoy. 

Who can come to Los Angeles without going to Disneyland? Not this family of Disney lovers! Coming with slightly low expectations after enjoying Disney World so highly, we were not expecting to be wowed by the much smaller Sleeping Beauty castle, or the classic - albeit few- rides. We ended up spending the whole day here and wanted to spend another on the recently erected California Adventure. It was the most fun we'd had so far and didn't want it to end. Another plus to this "happy place" was the food! Micky Mouse everything: from pretzels to ice cream, everything tastes better in Disneyland! 

Our last meal in LA before heading out to Santa Barbara and on to San Fransisco, was enjoyed at Off Vine. A charming cafe style restaurant located in a small, yellow-painted house just outside the heart of Hollywood. Again, we found plenty of vegetarian options. Pictured above is the non-vegetarian chicken salad (really light and yummy!). I ordered the pistachio crusted vegan chicken breast served with green beans and mashed potatoes. I love the new vegan twists on classic foods and this was no exception! I couldn't even tell that I wasn't eating real chicken and I love that this meal was light but also very satisfying. 

At this restaurant, we also experienced perhaps the best chocolate souffle we ever will (outside of France). It was rich, airy, and not too sweet. Notice the cute individual ruffles of whipped cream - no worrying that you won't get your fair share. Also notice how someone dug in before the picture could be taken - it was just to inviting! 

That pretty much sums up our days in Los Angeles in food. Santa Barbara and San Fransisco are coming up in the next post, so stay tuned!