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Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

There's no doubt that I'm a HUGE fan of Ruch Reichl. This former LA Times and New York Times food critic, and current EIC at Gourmet is a heroine in her own right. She's got a kick ass palate and a sincere love of food that shines through brightly. I'm not ashamed to admit that she's the reason I subscribe to Gourmet (although I probably should be). As you can tell, I'm a bit of a stalker fan.

I got the chance to see her speak at the LA Public Library while I was in culinary school and have been hooked ever since. Here is an article I wrote about that Ruth Reichl speaking engagement which first published in the CSCA Newsletter. Hope they don't mind if I publish it again.

Iron Chef Rocks!

Going through my old culinary school papers, I came across a bunch of interesting homework, essays and synopses that were fun to read all over again. This one was from my Food in History class where I highlighted one of my fave shows, Iron Chef. This is a long one, but if you've got the time it's a great read. Allez cuizine!

Food is to be looked at as well as Eaten:

Iron Chef and its Impact on the Appetite of Man

How to Destroy an iPhone

Every foodie needs her fab electronics to keep it all straight. I absolutely LOVE my iPhone and would never trade it for the world. I can blog from it (as you early readers can tell from my unedited posting earlier), check my account balances, tweet my heart out, play Mafia Wars, preview a restaurant at Yelp before giving it a shot and keep a gratitude journal all in one place.

The first loss was somewhere along the 28 here in glorious Virginia. The most recent iPhone travesty was closer to home. She found it 12 hours later laying in the street, a shell of it's former self.

I had the chance to see the mess up close. I've got to tell you, it's quite a sight. The shattered display was mesmerizing. I even kept pushing the central home button, hoping there was some Apple magic to bring it back to life. To no avail.

(Doesn't the new update come out in a month?) Hopefully for my sweet iPhone-killing friend, the third time will be the charm.

Kilwin's Chocolates - Annapolis, MD & 2nd Chances

It's Easter Sunday. Regardless if you believe in Jesus or not, it's hard not to be struck with the power and beauty that is the story of Easter. It's all about second chances. And if you watch the evening news with any regularity, it's hard to believe any of us are deserving of a second chance. Still by grace we continue to receive them. Never ceases to amaze me.

If there are any deserving of a second chance, it's Nick and Molly Pastermack of Kilwin's Chocolates in Annapolis, Maryland. Molly found my humble little blog where I wrote about a trip to Kilwin's Chocolates roughly six months ago. Navy football game, boat show and busy Saturday night traffic made for a bit of confusion at Kilwin's that night. Molly asked me if I'd be willing to give Kilwin's a second chance and promptly sent me a batch of the velvety butter creams I had missed. She also sent lovely hazelnut truffles, chocolate and walnut covered rice krispy treat (yum!), a bag of caramel popcorn with pecans (Nutcracker Sweet) and the truly divine chocolate bombe truffle that is worth it's weight in gold. Of course I told her that I'd only do it on one condition...

The Fractured Prune - Dulles, VA

Every culture has their version of fried dough. Hush-puppies, churros, beignets, zeppoli, malasadas, pirozhki, funnel cake, so on and so forth. But it's the ubiquitous doughnut that, at least in this country, takes the cake. So much creativity, so much inspiration. It's hard to find a doughnut that hasn't been tried at least once. (On a side note, I have heard of a Portland doughnut eatery happily named VooDoo that makes a maple bar topped with bacon and NyQuil & Pepto Bismol concoction. Former, yay! Latter, blech!)

A fellow AOL'er and foodie comrade hipped me to the most unfortunate named doughnut establishment smashed between campus and the airport. Named for a spunky Baltimore octogenarian (well, close... she was in her 70's) who gave the men of the late 1800's a run for their sporting money, all while breaking a few bones along the way. Her God given name was Prunella and soon was dubbed "Fractured Prunella". Inspired by her gumption, The Fractured Prune was born.

The same night as his glowing endorsement, my fiance and I hightailed it to the middle of nowhere for a sampling. The verdict?

Caramelization

I have to learn how to master the art of the short post. It takes so much out of me to write a restaurant review. Plus, work has been like a really bad episode of Jeopardy as of late, so I've been ignoring my beloved food blog. In order to bridge the gap between bearing my soul and doing nothing, I'm inspired to give quick culinary school tips to my loyal readers.

Over the weekend I hosted a Recession Party for some co-workers. My good friend from North Carolina brought her 8 year-old daughter to enjoy my renditions of pasta and Guitar Hero. She told me that she wanted to be a chef (and a dancer, actress, singer and several other things I can't recall). So, I did what any chef would do... I put her short self to work. And she rocked it! She happily made garlic bread, assisted in the creation of Bolgnese sauce and even added her flair to an otherwise uninspired salad. I was quite impressed with the passion of this young'n.

Rodeo Mexican Grill - Los Angeles

It's no secret that my new home in Virginia is chock full of horrible Mexican food. Locals try to point me in the proper direction, but I'm disappointed time and time again. Those who have ever spent an appreciable amount of time in California, especially Southern, know the difference.

Needless to say when our plane landed at LAX, all I wanted was Mexican. Thankfully, my quest helped discover a hidden gem in the middle of LA.

My soon-to-be in-laws hipped me to Rodeo Mexican Grill in the Pico Union area. To be honest, I have no idea how long it's been on the unsuspecting corner of Olympic and Union but it looked fairly new. Apparently my fiance's grandmother unearthed this spot, introduced it to his parents who then turned us on. What a treat!

This edition of Rodeo was impressive to start as it had a dedicated parking lot, something you don't see too often for an inexpensive spot other than In-N-Out or McDonald's. The restaurant itself was on the small side, but boy did they pack 'em in. Meander through the switchback velvet rope dividers to place your order as you look at the amateur food photography. (Kind of like my iPhone shot. Lighting was dark and I wasn't prepared to like this place so much.)

Mekong - Richmond, Virginia

I love discovering hidden foodie towns. It's like finding $20 in the pocket of a jacket you rarely wear, or someone in the checkout insisting you go before them. So nice! Keith and I recently took a trip to Richmond, Virginia to see Christmas lights. Unexpectedly, Richmond turned out to be quite fond of great food.

I don't normally like taking the advice of the tourist mag you find in hotel rooms. They're always full of crappy restaurants that charge a boatload of money for less than average food. Because you're a tourist, how are you to know? But, for lack of a tour guide, we opted to research all the suggestions and decide who looked the least deceptive. After reading one food critic say if they could they would eat at Mekong every single day of their life, we had to give it a try.

Dining at Mekong, we hit pay dirt!

Situated in a very nondescript almost shady looking strip mall, we just about rolled right past this beloved Vietnamese restaurant. As we pulled up into the parking lot it was full and clearly getting fuller. A good sign.

Tackle Box - Washington D.C.

You've got to respect the East Coast for their passionate love of two things: beach vacations and seafood. Take either one away and I think there would be a riot on our hands. And even though the Mexican food thus far has been less than abysmal, I have yet to have a fish focused meal that didn't pass muster. Needless to say, my recent visit to Tackle Box in Georgetown had me fall for the whole seaside vacay seafood thing hook, line and sinker.

Situated next to its posh sister fish eatery Hook, Tackle Box is more apropos for Old Orchard Beach or Atlantic City. The boardwalk vibe is palpable with wood planked walls, weathered picnic tables and benches and hand drawn menus signaling the catch is fresh off the lobster boats.

Upon entering the small locale you're struck by the groups of happy lobster roll eaters, stranger next to stranger, wiping up every last drop from Styrofoam plates and cheap plastic silverware. I knew this was going to be a treat.

My dinner companions and I must have taken too long in front of the massive chalk outlined Tackle Box menu as we were greeted by the sweetest staffer who came from behind the counter. He was patient and full of great suggestions. I certainly admire anyone willing to tell me honestly what they eat on break.

Ciudad Turns 10 - Los Angeles, CA

I have a special fondness for Ciudad. Not only does it have incredible pan-Latin food and was literally a stones throw away from where I worked in Downtown LA, but I had the pleasure of staging there (fancy French word for intern) for a month while in culinary school. What an amazing experience.

(Pay close attention to the flatbread dusted in various seeds and spices on the table before you order. I earned one gnarly burn balancing three scalding hot sheetpans making those bad boys. A Ciudad scar I wear proudly.)

I got this once in a lifetime opportunity from Chef Beni Velasquez when he was Executive Chef there. Not only that, I was fortunate enough to meet co-owner Susan Feniger while staging there, one half of the infamous "Too Hot Tamales". Only in LA...