Foodie Wannabe

Top Posts of 2011

Happy New Year (almost)! I wanted to wrap up 2011 like I did last year with a year in review, featuring the top posts of the year. These are the top posts by page views, posted in 2011 and viewed in 2011. Behold...

9. Restaurant Martin Stein: Vienna (88 views)

Providence: Los Angeles

Husband and I are lucky enough to have the freedom and frequent flier miles to take quick weekend trips when we're not working or feeling too attached to our cats. Such was the case a few weekends ago when we had the opportunity to visit my father-in-law out in LA. After a fun day of sightseeing and a Kings/Canadiens hockey game, we geared up for a schmancy dinner at Providence, which received two Michelin stars in 2009. They have a killer-looking tasting menu, but being on Pacific time and starting dinner at 9:30 pm, meant that Husband and I would have had to essentially pull an all-nighter. Taking in two courses was not disappointing at all and just means we'll have to go back one day for the full shebang. We first received a few amuse bouches, a soup (with a straw!) and a cute box of salmon skin topped with roe and a little seafood puff pastry.

 

Foreign Cinema: San Francisco

Our final meal together for the girls' wine-tasting weekend was brunch back in San Francisco at Foreign Cinema. This restaurant also shows movies on the concrete walls at night, but since we were there on a sunny Sunday morning, it was just a relaxed, high-ceilinged sight to see.

In-N-Out Burger: Mill Valley, California

Anyone whose been to an In-N-Out Burger knows that the beauty of the quick-service chain is in its simplicity; there's very few things on the menu (hamburger, cheeseburger, double-double, fries, shakes). And it's all quite tasty.

The Girl + the Fig: Sonoma, California

I'm beginning a three-part series highlighting some Bay Area restaurants that I was lucky enough to chow down at during a recent wine-tasting, bachelorette-partying, friend-reunioning weekend. After a really intense day of touring the area wineries in Sonoma (and a four-hour couch break watching wedding movies), the five of us headed out to The Girl and the Fig in downtown Sonoma.

Restaurant Walter Bauer: Vienna

One night in Vienna, we ate at Walter Bauer, a restaurant pretty old school since Husband had to actually call to make reservations, and they don't have a website. It's hidden on a side street near where we stayed, and as you can see, they don't have a fancy exterior to draw you in.

Max Brenner: Boston

After a late afternoon dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant in Boston, the ladies in our traveling group decided that we also needed dessert. We didn't know any better and picked out Max Brenner while strolling down Boylston Street. The reason I say that we didn't know any better is because this place has the most outrageous (and pretty expensive) chocolate desserts. (I later remembered that I saw the Vegas location featured on one of those CRAZY DESSERTS! shows on Food Network or the Travel Channel.)

The Garden: Part II

I wanted to follow up on an earlier post featuring photos of my dad's garden in August. One month later, here's the crop:

Harvest Time!

When I was visiting Michigan in August, I had a chance to sample some of the fruits (really vegetables) of my dad's laborous gardening. It's really motivating to see the results, and now I want to garden myself make Husband grow more plants on our deck. The fall is even better since my favorite vegetables (squash!) are harvested during this, my favorite season. Behold, the beauty of the vegetables (and a sunflower).

Sacher Cafe: Vienna

If you go to Vienna, any and every guidebook will mention the famous Sacher Cafe, which serves Austra's most famous pastry, the Sacher Torte.