Restauranting - Birmingham, AL

My trip to Birmingham was in 2007 when I was with Deloitte (yes, that same trip when I met Patrick Dempsey...mmmmm - and yes I realize I've used this picture before - but it doesn't get old).

I was to be there for 2 weeks (and later 3 more), and couldn't go home on the weekend. I'd listened to Greg on 94/7 (patience, there IS a point to this) every morning since they became "94/7 alternative Portland" (after that huge issue when the knrk dj's played and made fun of the guy being beheaded in 2004 - they canned the station and restarted with a much better version, that is unless you loved Linkin Park. Ironically enough, the same radio call numbers were for a 40s/50s oldies station my parents used to listen to - and won a cruise from. I think they cried when it shut down. Either way, the station has been in my life for awhile...but I've digressed).

Anyway, Greg had played a large part of my wake-up routine, with his indie alt music, minimal news, and soothing voice. I knew random things about him, like his cat's names and where he grew up! So I took a chance and sent him an email requesting suggestions. He came back with an awesome list, which I promptly wrote down (this was well before smart phones were "the thing", and when Rachael Ray's $40 a day was the best way to find out about restaurants in other cities - Birmingham wasn't on her show) and carried with me to B-Ham.

As you can see, if was well used. This was my first experience traveling alone, (my coworker was set to get there the 2nd week) and I had never eaten at restaurants by myself either! I learned quickly that sitting at bars makes you feel less awkward, and is the best way to get to know people. And (as you can see), I met a few people and had many places to go added while I was out and about.

Where I went: (and forgive me, going all Instagram on my food wasn't the thing back then - so no food pics - and I may not remember what I had! The only one that has closed on the list is the Grey House Grille)

Garage Cafe - great bar in a hidden part of town, lots of unique sculptures and statues all over (something Alia would love). Definitely the place to grab a beer! (or to meet, and have a stranger take you to the airport to pick up a coworker...haha)

Garage Cafe - entrance

Billy's

Milo's - their version of a Bob's/ In'n'Out Burger. Must get sweet tea - also my first experience with this!
Billy's - though I went on the 2nd trip - was a cool English pub!
Highlands Bar and Grill - this was one of the places I got more suggestions from and met a great couple Mandy and Mitch. We hung out for the evening, and took me to another bar. I also got a note for Greg with the menu - but never was able to meet up with him! Still have it to this day - is that creepy? I had the warm peach crostata and a peach drink. Very good!

Blue Monkey

Bottega - both the cafe for lunch and the restaurant for dinner. As Greg told me - it's the place to see old money and see people trying to get money. Great Italian food - well worth it! Of course, I went with money, and didn't have to pay for anything - go me;-), and it was the first time I've liked scallops.
Dreamland - Alabama BBQ! Complete with wonder bread on the table. Definitely a do:-) 'bama is a pork place.
Blue Monkey - really cool underground style bar with more of a hipster feel.

Fried Cookie Dough

Jackson's Bar and Bistro - in Homewood, AMAZING Cookie-Dough Egg Rolls! Nothing better than fried cookie dough!!

(not mentioned - Surin West for Thai, and La Paz for Mexican. I'm sure they were fine, but don't remember them well enough)

I know I had more, but those were the highlights. It was an unexpected treasure-trove of food, and I would say definitely go if you get the chance! (also, go to the Barber motor sports track - grand am style - no nascar-circles here! and they have a huge car museum)

Restaurant Blog - Intro

I've found through my travels, I've both given and received many restaurant suggestions. Now don't get me wrong, I love Yelp (or if you're in Winnipeg - the outdated UrbanSpoon), and have used it to find places I really like, but there's something nice when the suggestion comes from a person you know and trust (especially when it's a foodie boss!).

I've been asked multiple times about Seattle/ Portland suggestions, and while I love thinking through all the places I like/go, a few always inevitably slip through the cracks. So I've decided I should start documenting the suggestions I've received/ restaurants I like in blog form!

And the place where the suggestions first started for me - Birmingham, AL! Enjoy!  And I've finally added to this with Milan, Italy.

Club Awesome!

Wow, I've made it to 30. I can't believe I'm in my 4th decade. I've always preferred my odd-numbered birthdays (my surprise 25th thrown by Hillary, Vegas for my 27th, and a low key hike and dinner on my 29th), but as Cheri so aptly pointed out, at least there's an odd number at the beginning of this one!

And boy, was that the key;-), that and having the bestest friends ever come share it with me.

Before turning 30, I made 2 significant and permanent life changes. I bought a condo and got a tattoo;-). It was all ready be shown off in time for my friends' visit. Some flew straight from vacation, others piled up in cars and drove the Slog, and still others carved out time from their Seattle lives. I'd booked a party bus, and despite a minor "I never got confirmation, and can't get ahold of the company" freak-out, and a last minute change of venues. Sitting in traffic to head to Woodinville sounded no bueno, so on Friday I found FANTASTIC places to go to in Fremont/ Queen Anne.

A few sweet, knowing cards and gifts, a couple champagne toasts, checking in at "the drunken clam" (giggity, giggity), and we were ready to go. Seattle complied and provided blue skies and hot (88) weather.

Our first stop was Fremont Brewing, where they have an open garage style tasting room, with tables and space for kids and puppies. (gotta love Seattle's dog culture!). Had a summer ale and their wheat beer, plus lots of fun conversations, and mingling of old and new friends.

With our stomachs perfectly primed, we headed to our first "adult" stop - Fremont Mischief. Where this adoraballs little distillery was empty (getting ready for a 40th), so we had the cute staff, Jason, all to ourselves, as we tried a 2yr old whiskey, a 8yr old whiskey, an extremely flavorful, aphrodisiac-induced gin, and some smooth vodka. Yum! So much to look at, must return!

Back to the bus for some more champagne and snacks (sorry for throwing blueberries!;-) ). We were headed to another local distillery - Sound Spirits for tastes of vodkas, gins, and aquavits, and herbal liquors. They were empty when we got there. No worries about lines or waiting here. Plus, they had 2 adorable greyhounds just waiting to be petted. And I obliged. Their tour is $1, and should definitely be taken advantage of. They were such great hosts to an unexpected group of 12 people!

Plus, they told us just down the street was another distillery - so we marched down the street to Batch 206. It was our lucky day - and we had no lines again! I guess everyone was at Seafair or stuck in traffic:-). Alright, now that we had our fair share of drinks (4hrs later), we headed back to my place and chilled for a few minutes before walking to the Rabbit Hole in Belltown.

Again, couldn't have asked for better hosts! Thanks Jessica! And those applesauce shots were delicious! We had burgers, tacos, beers, jalapeño poppers, and some "Skew Ball". I was also joined by a few more lovely Seattle friends! Some hours later, I thought it would be worth it to give my favorite bar a try - and to my joy and delight- the downstairs library at Bathtub Gin & Co - was open! Marcus was a sweetie and made us shots and drunks (that was a typo, but I thought it was fitting).

And a Natalie Belltown night wouldn't be complete without a call to my favorite restaurant - Spur. I love Alexandra and Dillon, they even brought me an ice cream dessert and my friend's sang happy birthday.

Cher and Hill went to bed - and to make sure we could all have a place to sleep - thanks ladies! While others of us went to the late night Lucky Diner for some food! If you're there, get the Chocolate Stout Milkshake! It was amazing! (way better than the braised greens ;-))

The 10 that were staying with me walked home - and I learned that my 438 sq ft place will indeed sleep 10 people, if not comfortably, at least sufficiently. (and with the a/c unit on the fritz, it thankfully only got to 75 overnight)

As far as I know, there was no lunch losing, and no alcohol poisoning (though I gave my own self a run for the money). It was the best birthday celebration I've had to date.

I'm so excited to "learn from the lessons of my 20s", experience new places and things, and continue on this life journey down into the next 30-years!

Potty Ponderings

I always find that I think a lot when I'm in the bathroom, who knows, maybe I'm just bored.  I've brought my cell phone in a few times to quell the boredom, but I also have a fear of things falling in the toilet - so that's not a frequent occurrence.

I've actually been afraid of things falling in the toilet for a long time.  In high school, I used to wear rings all the time, and I'd take them off every time I went to the bathroom to avoid them slipping off into the toilet.  You know, because apparently that's a pretty vigorous activity...  Nothing has fallen in to date.

But my falling in fear is just one of the many odd thoughts I have about using the bathroom.  I also hate talking to people - either before, during, or after.  I mean, really, I don't want you to associate me with anything that bathroom may offer.  And it's just awkward conversation! When does it start, when does it end, when do you acknowledge someone... who knows!  I remember we had a partner at Deloitte who loved to talk in the bathroom - and I just couldn't help but think - ummm am I going to make any CLM's???

It also reminds me of early high school, when my friend Karissa and I used to hide out and - gasp - EAT in there.  Yeah the popular girls in our 30 person high school weren't so nice - so we hung out in the bathroom and ate on the baby-changing-counter.  Gross, huh?  I also sang to her... we were awkwardly close admitting that now... urgh.  Good thing I'm not a germ-a-phob, just a bathroom-a-phob.  In the same high school, we also had a teacher who wanted people to talk while she was in there.  Yup - that's what happens at small private schools - you know way too much.

Totally grossed out or should I continue?  I've also had interesting bathroom conversations with co-workers in Europe.  That may have been the funniest conversation ever.  I mean really, Western European toilets have 2 buttons.  One big, one little.  And there is always a toilet brush - in every stall!  Yup, we talked about that - I was never sure - big for most common or big?  Apparently big.  And the toilet brush - I guess they are a self-service country.  But the director we were with continued with his experience at Procter and Gamble's TP division.  How they studied who used more toilet paper (men or women), and the fact that the US TP is pretty thin, and the doors in the stalls in the US - may as well not be there - there's no privacy!  So naturally, I think about this man every time I can see through the cracks :).

I also find that other people's break time habits have made me reel a little - boys, there is definitely no party inside...there are people both brushing their teeth and pumping milk while in stall.  So I guess my phobia of bathrooms isn't unfounded, I just think we all need our own little space... guess I'm glad I didn't live in Roman times!

I guess really, my fear comes mostly from the Santa Clause toilet seat cover that my grandma made long ago.  On the front side of this felt toilet decoration, it's Santa, arms wide saying "ho ho ho", and you may think you know where I'm going - and yes, on the reverse side it's Santa with his hands over his eyes saying "oh oh oh", but the worst thing about it, Santa is PEEKING!  I have never gotten over the fear that Santa is watching me... guess he does know everything...

Well I think I've officially made sure you always have things to ponder while you're... indisposed to do anything else :).  Until next time... don't forget your privacy strips! :)

Flirting.FAIL.

I saw an episode of American Dad the other day, where they were watching Betwitched

 and Stan wanted to have Francine make him martini's after work - well, it failed horribly for them.

But it got me jonesing for a martini real bad.

I had the gin, but no olives.  So I went to Freddy's to pick up the necessities.  I found the olives - soaked in vermouth - which made me realize I needed more than just gin and olives...hehehe - and went to the new, "1183 initiative" liquor section (woot woot!) to find the dry vermouth.

While walking around, I saw this attractive silver-haired man, and "luck" have it, he was headed straight for the liquor as well - my kind of man.  I quickly performed my vermouth-search, and was walking past him, when he started talking to me about the liquor selection and the increase in the tax on the alcohol.  I said, oh, that sucks, but it's nice getting it here (paraphrased).  We exchanged what we were searching for (him bitters, me vermouth).

He momentarily looked for me, I said thanks for the help.  And asked the Freddy's fish man where it might be.

As I turn to head to "aisle 4 or 5", silver-man went on to point out the Dry Fly.

Me: "No, I haven't had, it but, I know it's local and have heard it's good." (I continue to walk away)

He says, "those are really nice boots, my GIRLFRIEND would like them".  Ahhh really, you just pulled the girlfriend card on me? Fine, whatever, you were starting to creep me out anyway.  But silver-fish continues...

As he bends down to look at said boots, reaching out to touch me (Clovis don't like to be touched...)  :"What are these leather?"

Me: "No, they were only $20"

Silver-fish: "Really, they feel like leather"

Me: "Nope"

Silver-fish (standing up-ish): "Huh, they are really nice, she'd really like them" (starts to bend down again) "Are the toes suede?"

Me (pulls away): "No, it's all the same material"

Silver-fish: "Where did you get them? Those are exactly her style"

Me (thinking, what are you gonna take them from me???): "gojane.com"

Silver-fish: "go jean?"

Me: "GOJANE, like 'see jane run'"... and I walk away at this point, as he says "so aisle 4 or 5"...

Not sure what his point was in this whole "flirtation" attempt.  I thought he was cute, then thought he was gay, and it turns out he has 'a girlfriend'.  Would you REALLY mention that in a store-drive-by?  Either way, made me shake me my head and laugh.  What's your worst/best pick-up story?

Dinner...Success?

I recently got a few sprigs of fresh rosemary from my friend's backyard...and have been looking forward to roasting some red potatoes with them.  Today, I came across this recipe for "Moroccan Mint Roasted Vegetables" from a great food blog - 101cookbooks.com.  Well, there was no rosemary, but after a quick "rosemary roasted vegetables" search, I came up with a suitable idea from Epicurious.  A few potatoes, a couple of carrots, and some asparagus in olive oil and sea salt for 20 min at 400. Then I added some smashed garlic, pepper, and rosemary for another 20, and I came up with a delightful dinner.

I also opted for the 101 Cookbooks idea to add some plain yogurt.  I used greek, with a little more sea salt and a spray of lemon juice.  Sometimes, the unexpected is exceptional!  And I'm looking forward to trying the roasted vegetables in the Moroccan style.

Photo credit: 101cookbooks.com

Top 10 reasons my 3 weeks in Europe were great

There are so many things that happen over a 3 week period, most are mundane, some are interesting, some shitty, and some can't be kept in.  In order to share, I'll distill them into a top-10 a'la David Letterman.


10) Staying in a nice hotel in Antwerp, unawares of the shit-hole I would be in for the subsequent 2 weeks :(

9) The momentary freak-outs waiting for the train/ metro/ RER (and questioning whether I was waiting for the right train, going in the right direction), getting off the train (I couldn't buy tickets with my pin-less credit card, and didn't have change, without a pass, I couldn't get out!), and getting to the train (like when I was waiting to board to get to my train to Amsterdam and there was a message in French that I couldn't read, and the next train wasn't for another 45 min - I spazzed worrying I wouldn't make my connection).
8) Not killing my coworkers (trust me, this was harder than you'd think).
7) The fantastic weather the whole time, it may have been ice cold in Belgium, but it was mostly sunny all 3 weeks, and graciously rained only at night.

6) Being told by the waiter my first night in Paris that I had a nice accent (not sure if he meant my English or attempt at French...).
5) Having 1000+ restaurant suggestions, and eating probably the best food of my life - then walking it all off.

4) Seeing the iconic Parisian monuments (again) and the Parisian's acting every bit as French as the stereotypes about them.


3) Spending a fantastic weekend with Alia - and walking or metroing through almost every district in Paris... I believe there are 20 in the city center area?? Even if I did get a nasty cold/ flu at the end of it all - I still love you bitch!!

2) Finding out I got the new job and meeting some of my soon to be colleagues!!!
1) Making new friends.
Friend 1: The Belgian in Amsterdam who is "in a band", and getting a free cappuccino - we're fb friends now, so that makes it real, right?

Friend 2: When asking the waiter his favorite dessert, his response of "The classics: the creme brulee, the molten chocolate cake, and the french kiss (while he leaned in to provide said dessert...)." Of course, he gave me his name (Thomas), the restaurant's card, and told me to fb them.

Grilled shallot-carrot mousse-prosciutto
Amazing.

Friend 3: Finding a fantastic restaurant on my own for V-day, then returning with Alia, only to have the owner happily remember me (and proceed to make sure we only paid for 1 glass of wine each, rather than the 3 we each had...if you get a chance, try a Gris 
Blanc!). I've never had a better appetizer. Ever. If you ever find yourself in the 19th arr. go to Draco!

Chestnut souffle

Friend 4 (and my favorite): Emilie at Le Cosi. In the first week there, my team had dinner here. My coworkers had already made friends with her. The baby cow (veal) was delectable, and the chocolate cake like nothing I've ever experienced. After dinner on my last night in Paris, we went back to Le Cosi for a night-cap. She was there, and we also got to meet the owner and the chef. He probably knows he's amazing, but I had to tell him again. So he made me dessert... I could have died after finishing that. Nothing will ever compare. We also only paid for 3 drinks... while we had 9...don't worry, I got her business card and plan on fb'ing her as well ;-) when I'm done with this whole lent thing...


I'm (gratefully) home now.  Paris certainly did not disappoint.  There is definitely something special about that city.  And I can't wait to go back again - someday :)

Yoga pants and high heels

Yup, that was what I ended up wearing home after yoga tonight because I forgot my flip flops.  And as you can guess, I along with the rest of the world have started strong on my New Years resolutions.  They are (drum-roll please):

1. Workout more - at least once a week, I've been THAT bad lately (and that doesn't mean I get to average it out ;))
2. Volunteer - I was thinking since I'm kind of a people person, it should involve that - maybe at an assisted living home?
3. Waste less food - and at least compost it (my apartment complex finally has a compost bin!)

As I was driving home, thinking about how we all make resolutions, and most are lucky to make it through the first quarter of the year.  Maybe there is a reason for that, and it's not that most of us are lazy or quitters - but that this time of year has a lot less distractions so we find something else to focus on.  Football season is winding down, no one likes the NBA, baseball doesn't start for a few months, and the holidays are over.  Also, for those of us in the Northwest, the sun isn't out, so there isn't the pressure to have to take advantage of every minute of sunshine.  In fact, working out in a dark yoga room for 90 min is better than being in our cars or at home in the dark.

Maybe we have a need to feel busy and purposeful (plus, no one wants to spend a ton of money and a few dance or yoga classes are cheaper than eating out or Christmas shopping).  And I actually didn't come to any conclusions on whether this was a good or bad thing!  It was either, we all need to take a break and take this winter time to relax, not feel like we have to go go go.  Or else, it's that this time should be taken advantage of to form some good habits, try new things, and even if only 1% of it sticks, isn't that better than we were the year before?

So whether you decide to make resolutions, decide to just give your all in everything, or take this winter to re-energize, may this new year bring you happiness and joy - even if that comes in a pair of heels and yoga pants :).