Golf. Spa. Food. Sun. Happy.

Beautiful Palm Springs, CA. Warm, dry, sunny. Golf, spa, restaurants. Heaven.

D and I stayed in Palm Springs for a few days while out in Southern California. D enjoyed some golf, while I enjoyed some spa. Together, we enjoyed food! We stayed at the Westin Rancho Mirage Hotel Resort and Spa, and the main restaurant at the resort is the Bella Vista Restaurant.

We had dinner there one night, and it was pretty good food, but perhaps overpriced (it is a resort, after all). First, we each had the tortilla soup (I didn't take a photo of this!), and it was deeee-licious. It had a smooth silky consistency of pureed tomatoes, was just slightly spicy, and came garnished with tortilla strips, white cheese, and cilantro. I asked for extra cilantro... it's my favorite herb!

I ordered the salmon dish, which came on a bed of mushroom risotto (creamy, cheesy, mushroomy, yummy), broccolini, and other veggies. The salmon was cooked just right... I hate overcooked salmon! Pardon the shadow of my head in the photo.


D ordered the Seafood Trio, which was basically a small piece of salmon, a whole deep-fried soft-shell crab, and a couple of seared scallops, on a bed of risotto and a half-artichoke. The salmon was cooked well, but the scallops were overcooked and rubbery. The soft-shell crab was good, but both D and I were accustomed to having it in sushi so it was kind of strange eating it whole like that. But, it was still tasty!


Then dessert.... D ordered a latte (he cannot have dessert without coffee), which came in a very cool modern cup and saucer. I was impressed with the design, and wish I knew where to find one for home!


Then, we got our dessert -- apple tart, with vanilla ice cream, caramel, and a fun sugar garnish. It was really, really, really, quite a tasty dessert... perhaps the best part of the meal!


Overall, a great time in Palm Springs, with pretty good food. More on my California trip to come...

Hash House... a go go!

Photo credit: www.hashhouseagogo.com

What do you get when you combine delicious homemade hash, pancakes and waffles the size of my favorite All-Clad 12" frying pan, and a fun cool atmosphere that has been featured on the Travel Channel, Martha Stewart, and Dr. Phil? Hash House a go go! Tucked in the up-and-coming hipster area of San Diego called Hillcrest, Hash House a go go (yes, that is actually the name of the restaurant) is packed on a Sunday morning with a wait of at least an hour. But, waiting in San Diego in the 70 degree sun isn't so bad, I'll be honest. Especially when you get food as great as we did!!

They describe the food as Twisted Farm Food. It's definitely a made-from-scratch, straight-from-the-farm kind of a place, but the "twisted" part? I'm not sure about that. The food is outrageously big (I don't want to even consider the calorie count), and reasonably priced.

My brother ordered the Tractor Driver Combo -- two eggs with potatoes, and one very large buttermilk flapjack. I am sure they used more than two eggs, or else those eggs came from ostriches, because there were eggs-a-plenty on that plate! And the plate itself was probably about 24" long... insane! After putting forth a good effort, it looked like he barely touched it, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.


My sister ordered the waffles with two eggs and potatoes, and again, the suspected ostrich eggs. The waffle was a bit undercooked for my liking (I like mine crispy!), and like my brother, it looked like she barely made a dent in it at the end.


And I ordered a dish that is the namesake of the restaurant -- hash! I am a big fan of corned beef hash, but decided for the [possibly] healthier Roasted Chicken Hash with garlic, onions, asparagus, and rosemary. Mine was the smallest in quantity by far compared to the other two, but it was still an enormous amount of food. It came with a huge homemade biscuit (and homemade strawberry jam), a large slice of watermelon, and two poached eggs. I have to admit, I prefer my hash to be the old-school diner type of hash -- pressed into a patty and on the griddle to a crispy finish. This was the kind of hash that was basically just big chunks of potatoes stirred together with shredded roasted chicken. Don't get me wrong, it was still delicious, especially with the runny yolks of the eggs and the vegetables. But, I think I still prefer the old-school diner hash.


If you're in the San Diego area, check out Hash House a go go. It's hip, fun, and in a great location in which there's a lot to see. If you like breakfast foods, you will love this place! Just be prepared with a very healthy appetite, and perhaps a cardiologist on hand, just in case.

Post-hiking burgers.

It was a beautiful day in San Diego. There was a gentle breeze, the sun was shining, the sky was incredibly blue, and the temperature was hovering around a very pleasant 65 or 70 degrees. As you can see, there was only one teeny tiny benign white cloud in the sky...


We took a little hike in the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, which was basically a climb up a big hill, and back down to the beach. It was an easy hike, but the view from the top was simply amazing!


Once we reached the beach at the bottom of the hill, we kicked our sneakers off and frolicked in the cold (but refreshing) ocean. Ahh... I love the smell of salt water.


After an afternoon of hiking and frolicking, we worked up quite a hunger! We agreed on burgers. Delicious juicy burgers. One of my friends knew of a place in La Jolla called Burger Lounge, which sounds fancy and expensive, given its haute locale, but it actually is quite casual and reasonably priced.


All the beef is organic and grass-fed, the fries are cut fresh, the onion rings are made in-house, and the buns are baked daily by a local baker.

The Burger Lounge Caesar Salad ($6.95) was huge and delicious! Definitely a good value.


The Grilled Lounge Burger ($7.95) comes with crisp lettuce, tomato, house-made 1000 island, fresh onion, and cheddar or American cheese, on a freshly baked bun. Everyone agreed that the buns were wonderfully soft and tasty, maybe the best burger buns I've ever had! The fries were not as crispy and I would like, but still tasty. The onion rings were delicious and crispy and crunchy, just right! It was clear that they were freshly battered and fried, since the batter/breadcrumb mixture stuck firmly to the onions. Nothing is worse than onion ring batter/breadcrumbs that completely separate from the onion itself. Well done with the onion rings!


I chose to have the Burger Lounge Vegetarian, made of quinoa (a very very nutritious grain), and with the same accompaniments as the regular beef burger. I added avocado as an extra, which they slathered generously (woohoo!). I am not a vegetarian, but often opt for vegetarian selections, especially if they offer more fiber than a meat-based selection (me and my love affair with fiber). I have to say, I wish I got a beef or turkey burger instead. I appreciate that the veggie burgers are made in-house, but it just was not up to par with other veggie burgers I have had. It fell apart and crumbled easily (often occurs with veggie burgers, I have found), and the flavor just wasn't robust enough for me.


Overall, I was pleased with Burger Lounge. Maybe one of the best parts were the heat lamps in the outdoor patio, to which many New Englanders would think, "Those wimpy San Diegans can't handle a 50 degree night!", and they would be correct! People break out the scarves and parkas when it gets to 50 degrees or so, whereas people in Boston would be going out in shorts and flipflops. But, I admittedly was chilly as the sun went down during our meal, and was grateful for the presence of those heat lamps. Call me a wimp!

The Cottage

Breakfast. One of my favorite meals of the day. I could have breakfast foods at any time of the day, for any or all meals. To me, there's nothing better than an oozy egg yolk, or fluffy buttermilk pancakes, or hot mushy oatmeal. Yum.

Me, D, and my sister had brunch at this place in La Jolla (San Diego) called The Cottage. I wish I took a picture of this place from the outside, because it is just adorable! It literally is a cottage, with a lovely little outdoor patio. And of course, since it's San Diego, the beach is close by and the scenery is picturesque.

I ordered from the breakfast menu, of course, and selected the Sorrento Eggs Benedict with sliced tomato, prosciutto, asparagus, and basil. It was delicious! Although the eggs were slightly overcooked (not runny enough!), the house made signature hollandaise was nice, and the cottage potatoes were a nice accompaniment.


I apologize that this posting is thin in words and pictures, but there is more to come!

First class!

Flying is not necessarily my favorite mode of transportation. I generally cannot get comfortable in seats that are narrow, that recline from 90 degrees to 80 degrees, and the 1/2 ounce bag of pretzels they hand out like consolation prizes.

However, on this latest trip to California, D was able to get us first-class tickets using his miles! It was such a lovely and pleasant experience, it will be challenging to go back to coach. Clearly, the seats are much larger and roomier, and they recline to maybe 45 degrees. But maybe the best part of first-class was the food! Sure, it wasn't fine dining in the air. But, it was far improved from the bag of pretzels and small cup of soda.

First, they brought us warm salty nuts (I hear you snickering). They were delightful! A lovely combination of macadamia, walnuts, cashews, and almonds. Yum. They also brought all the beverages in real glass tumblers (not plastic!).


During the first leg of the trip, they served us dinner. I had the cheese ravioli, which were surprisingly pretty good for airplane food. Sure, it was probably just a few steps above Chef Boyardee, possibly frozen/re-heated, but nonetheless, it was nice to have a warm meal. Not to mention, the white cloth napkins, real silverware, and accompaniments such as a roll and dessert. The ravioli were smothered in a rich tomato sauce, and were stuffed with a nice blend of cheeses. Overall, I was pleased.


On the next leg of the trip, the flight attendant asked, "will you be joining us for a fruit and cheese platter?", to which I responded, "Heck yeah!" Just kidding. I politely accepted her invitation. The cheese was mediocre, just your basic cheddar and swiss, but the fruit was pretty good. The ham and roast beef were good also, but nothing beyond your standard luncheon meats. Again, what made it memorable was the presentation -- white cloth napkin, real silverware. I'm such a sucker for this stuff!


I didn't take any photos on the way back, but we had a shrimp salad for lunch. The shrimp were completely overcooked and rubbery, and the salad itself was basically iceberg lettuce (horror of horrors!). But it came with a minestrone soup, which was salty, but quite good. They also served the same ravioli for dinner, which was exactly the same as the first leg of the trip.

Overall, I am very pleased with the food that was served in first-class. Certainly, I would have rated it "thumbs down" if I had the same food at a restaurant elsewhere, but the fact that this food was served on an airplane made it somehow much tastier and palatable. This was probably my first and last experience flying first-class, but it won't soon be forgotten!

Stay tuned...

I've been away on vacation in California, hence my absence from blogging for the past week or so. But, I have accumulated plenty of fun food stories and pictures... it will be a massive review of airplane food, breakfast/brunch places, burgers, fine dining with a celebrity sighting, cupcakes, and a little home cookin' with my siblings.

Stay tuned...

The view from the plane window on departure from Boston.

Snowed In -- Soup and Sandwich

D and I were snowed in today -- I had no class, and he didn't go into work. What could be more satisfying on a cold snowy day than a warm bowl of soup and a nice hot sandwich? I decided to try a new recipe, courtesy of SeriousEats.com, and also make some chicken melt sandwiches.


The soup is a White Bean and Tarragon Soup, and it is as delicious and luxurious as it sounds. It's quite a simple recipe, with the tarragon being the only remotely "special" ingredient. Tarragon I had never used in cooking before, so I wasn't too familiar with the taste of this particular herb. However, I found it to be very pleasing to the palate with a gentle anise/fennel/licorice flavor.


You'll see that the recipe calls for 2 Tbsp of butter. I rarely use butter when cooking, but this time I decided to go for it! It was very well worth it, as expected. The flavor of butter is rich and smooth, and just 2 Tbsp is not enough to make me feel that guilty!


I am a big fan of any beans, and white beans are my favorite choice for soups and stews. I find them to be more velvety than other beans, and I appreciate their smooth buttery color. They provide a lovely texture to soups, especially if they are mashed up just slightly.


As for the sandwiches, I love love love hot panini sandwiches. We ran out of tuna, but we had one big can of chicken that I thought would make a nice chicken melt sandwich. I preferred my sandwich in the traditional panini style -- two pieces of bread, grill marks on both sides. D preferred his to be open-faced -- one piece of bread, with the cheese melted in the broiler. I simply mixed the chicken with some low-fat mayo, salt, and pepper, and used aged white cheddar cheese. I added some baby arugula to my sandwich as well.


The soup turned out beautifully! The tarragon added much needed depth and an interesting flavor. I cannot imagine this soup without the tarragon, it would be much too boring! The scallions provided a gentle onion flavor, and the carrots cooked down to sweet and colorful orange specks. I did not have a stick blender nor a potato masher, so I just used the back of a wooden spoon to break up the beans as much as I could. This left a slightly thickened soup that still retained some whole beans. I garnished with just a drizzle of olive oil, freshly cracked pepper, and a bit of fresh tarragon. It was the perfect accompaniment to the sandwiches!


White Bean and Tarragon Soup

3 14-oz cans of white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
3 bay leaves
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 scallions, roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh tarragon, roughly chopped

1. In a large soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil. Add the scallions and cook for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.
2. Add the beans and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then add the bay leaves and half the tarragon leaves. Drop the heat to low to allow the soup to simmer, about 20 minutes. Blend/mash/food mill/stick blender the soup to the desired consistency.
3. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a bit of tarragon, and freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!