My Birthday Weekend: Good Eats - Ink + UmamiCatessen + Bellini Osteria

I have been MIA on here for some time now. It has been an emotional hardship the past month and some dealing with the unexpected loss of my beloved doggy, Chip. When I feel the time is right, I will share her story with the world. But for now, this is a long over due post of my gluttonous birthday weekend in April.

I really didn't feel like celebrating much this year, but the love of my life convinced me that I should. I must say it was nice to spend quality time with him, my closest friends, and my family.

Ink. 

I had been wanting to try this place out for months and finally got to experience Ink for an intimate birthday dinner with my boyfriend. For those of you who don't know about Ink, it is a restaurant owned by the former Top Chef contestant, Michael Voltaggio.

I instantly fell in love with the place with my first glance. I was definitely digging the curb appeal, tucked in the corner behind gates filled with ivy and candle lights shimmering through. The interior is simple with a monochromatic color scheme of grays and industrial modern furniture & lighting.  What really stood out to me, though, was the outstanding service. Attentive waiter and servers, each which knew every detail of the dishes we ordered. I love when the staff knows their menu. And their constant change in dirty plates & dinnerware, I love when my plate is fresh & clean.

Everything was delicious, we ordered 5 shared plates + dessert and was comfortably full. My favorites were the brussels sprouts & pork belly.

Beef Tartare - hearts of palm + sea bean chimichurri + horseradish + rye //  Malpeque Oysters - mignonette ice + oyster leaves 

Brussels Sprouts - pig ears + lardo + apple // Pork Belly - charcoal oil +  bbq flavor + macaroni&cheese // Lamb Shoulder -  lamb's quarters + tongue + vadouvan + yogurt // Apple - Caramel + Burnt wood ice cream

UMAMIcatessen.


I have been to Umami and loved their burger, so this place wasn't anything new, but I really wanted to check this place out for its interior design. Unlike the other Umami restaurants, this one was huge & spacious, great for large parties. I love all the custom furniture made by District Millworks in Los Angeles. Definitely a good source that I hope to collaborate with in the future with Davis Ink.

Since I tried Umami's burger before, I wanted to try out what this particular Umami had to offer. I opted to go with the Pork Liver Pate Sandwich. This dish was just alright, the pate was too salty, which I expected. But the sweetness of the caramelized onions made it worse.  I think if this sandwich had raw red onions, it would be perfect.  The boyfriend got his traditional choice the Hatch Burger, which I probably should have went with also.

Pork Liver Pate - Caramelized Onions + Arugula  // Cripsy Pork Ears - Parsley + Lemon + Brainaise // Sweet Potatoe Fries - Garlic Aioli

Hatch Burger - 4 types of green chiles + house made American cheese

  Bellini Osteria. 


I love Italian food, it is one of my favorite comfort foods! For some reason, when we do birthday celebrations in my family we always end up at Italian restaurants. I wanted to try a new Italian spot out by my hometown.  I found Bellini Osteria in Westlake on yelp and it was amazing. I think I found my new favorite Italian spot back home.  

I loved everything we ordered.

Battilarda - Italian cold cuts + Prosciutto + Salame + Mortadella + Olive&Parmigiano // Burrata con Pomodoro - Burrata Cheese + tomato // Tortellini alla Panna - homemade tortellini filled with veal + parmigiano cream sauce //  I forgot the name of this dish since it was on the specials, but this was mine and I loved it. Seafood linguine in a spicy lobster sauce. 

Cucina Enoteca Opens: Good Eats + Interior Design

Cucina Enoteca finally opened at the Irvine Spectrum Shops. I have been waiting for this restaurant to open since I loved Cucina Urbana in San Diego. They share the same design + menu with a few defining elements. I encourage everyone to check this amazing restaurant out if you are ever in Orange County.  

I love the interior design. When you can't stop turning your head finding new interesting things to look at, you know the designer accomplished something unique and wonderful. The owner, Tracy Borkum, is the visionary behind the restaurant; she created the menu, the interior design, the service, etc.. 

Here are a couple iPhone photos from my dinner last night:

Napa: Good Eats

All of these restaurant choices were based on yelp! Yelp is definitely my best friend when traveling.

Redd
We came here for my sister's birthday dinner. Getting reservations here was a challenge, especially Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but we ended up just walking in and was seated within 30 minutes.

We decided to order the five-course tasting menu. I always opt to go with this option, especially, at a restaurant I probably will only get a chance to try only once. There was five of us and every course we each got our own plate, but two different dishes were served among us. So to get the most out of it, we tasted each others dish if we wanted. For those with nut oil or nuts I passed on, for obvious reasons.

Bare with these photos, I took them with my iPhone in low light. I was a tad embarrassed to take out my SLR , especially because it was a pretty dim atmosphere.

First Course: 
Raw 
Sashimi of hamachi + sticky rice + edamame + lime ginger sauce
Yellowfin tuna tartare + asian pear + avocado + avocado + chili oil + fried rice + cilantro (not pictured)

Second Course: 
Sea
Carnaroli risotto + maine lobster + meyer lemon confit + truffle oil
Petrale sole + coconut jasmine rice + clams + chorizo + saffron curry sage

Third Course:
Poultry 
Roasted chicken + pinenut potatoes +  root vegetables + natural jus
Liberty farms duck breast + turnips + spinach + quince + huckleberry jus

Fourth Course:
Meats
Lamb (not sure what was in this)
Prime new york steak + shortrib + cannelloni + bone marrow crust + creamed spinach

Fifth Course:
Sweets
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Peanut butter beignets

Favorites are the Lobster Risotto, Duck, Short rib and of course, pumpkin cheesecake!

Brix
We came here for Lunch. I originally yelped this spot for Brunch, but when we got there I realized that brunch was only on Sunday. Whoops! But regardless, I enjoyed this restaurant, it had a pretty view of  the vineyards!
I will have to try there Brunch buffet another time, since it seems to be amazing according to yelp reviews.

Artisan Cheese Board / Apple wood bacon & fall mushroom flatbread

rustichella pasta bucatini / ginger creme brulee / pumpkin cheesecake

Favorites is the bohemian creamery capriago cheese and the pasta bucatini!


Wine Spectator Greystone @ Culinary Institute of America
We came here for our last dinner in Napa. My sister chose this spot. The Culinary Institute of America is gorgeous, looks like an old castle, I wouldn't mind going to school if it looked like that.

The food overall was pretty good, but definitely some dishes were on the WAY too salty side, luckily my main dish didn't suffer that.

On the Menu: 
Appetizers
Today's Temptations: small bites of different appetizers.
I wish I remembered what each are, but I know my favorites of this was the cream of mushroom soup and the duck bruschetta. 
Oysters on a half shell

Main Course
Seared breast of Sonoma Duck 
confit butterball potatoes + delicata sqaush + Bloomsdale spinach + fig red wine jus


Dessert
Chocolate Molten Lava Cake + Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
This molten cake was amazing! It wasn't too rich or bold. I think I ate 3/4 of it.

Of these three restaurants, I would recommend to most definitely try REDD. 

Enjoy! 

San Diego: Interiors - Craft&Commerce

I got to finally see Craft&Commerce in person! My boss and I came here for a late lunch after our client meeting in San Diego. We quickly fell in love with the place, not only did the design evoke a warm comfy feeling, but the details of the place were remarkable. To name a few, the reclaimed wooden tables with industrial u-channels framing it, crackled/broken mirror behind book shelving, use of text/words...I can go on and on about this place. Thank goodness for the iPhone 4S, I got to take some quality photos.

Since we arrived around 3, their menu was in between lunch and dinner, so we settled for some appetizers. I got the Mini Corn Dogs + Sweet potato fries. Good comfort food when I am starving. I am definitely coming back to try their dinner menu + cocktails.

I love San Diego's interiors and food culture... it is growing and I am happy to be a part of the new developments soon to open. 

Chicago - Good Eats

Chicago is definitely in my top favorite cities. It would be perfect if it weren't the "Windy City" and was more dog friendly. (I'll get into the whole dog friendly thing in another post) But the food culture here is amazing. So many little neighborhoods with great restaurants + bars + lounges, too many that I will need multiple visits to get to every "must try" restaurant. Luckily my brother lives here, so more trips to come. This trip was my fourth trip to Chicago, but only my second trip that I was able to explore the Good Eats there. 

One thing I have learned with Chicago food culture is MAKE RESERVATIONS, if possible. This trip we had no reservations, except our last night for dinner, but that was at 10:30 pm!!! If the restaurant doesn't take reservations or was booked expect to wait at least 2.5 hours. But eating late dinners is definitely not uncommon in Chicago.  

I am only posting about a few restaurants because, either they were worth it or I didn't have my camera for some of my food stops. 

The Bongo Room. (Wicker Park)

My brother suggested to go here for brunch. As some of you know, I am not a breakfast person, but I decided to try the Red Velvet + Chocolate Hotcakes topped with vanilla bean cream. I actually really enjoyed this dish, I only really eat pancakes when I crave them, but the doughy texture of this hotcake was addicting. And the vanilla bean cream instead of standard syrup made this dish more of a dessert than a breakfast dish. I love dessert, so this pleased me. 

My sister got the Pumpkin Spice + Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake Flapjacks topped with vanilla bean cream. This tasted like Autumn Fall and the best part of it, was it had graham crackers crumbled in it! I don't exactly remember what Krista got, but it was some kind of seasonal french toast. I didn't try it since it had walnuts, but from what they were saying, it was good. 

This place had delicious mimosas. I got the raspberry + pear mimosa and my sister and Krista tried the other two, orange + mango mimosa & black raspberry + grapefruit mimosa. I highly recommend the raspberry + pear mimosa, I could barely taste the alcohol, but I definitely felt it! haha. 

Raspberry + Pear Mimosa / Red Velvet + Chocolate Hotcakes / Pumpkin Spice + Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake Flapjacks / Seasonal French Toast

Frontera Grill. (Near North Side, Downtown)

My brother claims this is one of the best Mexican places, but I can argue that. I think Javier's in Irvine/Newport can compete this place. We waited 2.5 hours for our seats which probably turned me off at first, but we found some seats at the bar while we waited. It wasn't easy getting these seats, we had to "fight" for them. We ordered some drinks + appetizers to ease our hungry stomachs. After 2 orders of Ociones (Oysters) + 1 order of Trio, Trio, Trio ceviche + 1 order of Taquitos de Mariscos + 1 order of Guacamole&Chips we were finally seated! 

The oysters were amazing, I forgot where each oyster was from, but I know that the smallest ones were the best. The three different ceviches were good as well, but the best one was the middle one, which I believe is the Cevich Fronterizo that consisted of Lime marinated Hawaiian Albacore + tomatoes + olives + green chile. I like my ceviche on the sour side, the more lime the better! 

I usually order a cheese enchilada + taco combo at Mexican restaurants, but lately I have been trying different dishes or out of the norm dishes. I went with the Special of the night which was a braised beef dish. I am so glad I ordered it! Braised meat is becoming a favorite of mine, especially when done right. This was SO good,  my sister and Krista were wishing they ordered it. The beef was cooked to perfection, very tender + juicy. I am not sure the spices or ingredients in the dish but the flavors were so yummy and it wasn't overly salty! Some braised meats I've had tend to be overly salted, but this was perfect. The dish tasted just as good the next day too! And whatever greens was paired with it was amazing too. Everything about this dish was satisfying. 

Ociones / Braised Beef / Falda Asada "Brava" / Trio Trio Trio

The Purple Pig. (Near North Side, Downtown)
Despite the "20 minute" wait that was more of an hour wait due to the mistakes of the hostess', this place is probably my favorite of the weekend, partly because it was small "tapas" dishes. I love getting to try a lot of the Menu. 


We ordered Braised Baby Artichokes + Fingerling Potatoes + Asiago&Salami Toscana, Prosciutto bread balls, Roasted Bone Marrow + Herbs, Cured Meats: Coppa & Lingua Agrodulce, Cheese: Gouda & ??, Milk Braised Pork shoulder + mashed potatoes, Razor Clams + Oregano + Lemon&Olive oil, Chicken Thigh kebabs + fried smashed potatoes + Tzatziki, Meatball slider. 

My favorites were the Braised Pork Shoulder, Braised Baby Artichokes, and Chicken Thigh Kebabs. The Braised Pork shoulder was tender and the mashed potatoes on top were creamy&delicious, good textures together. Others thought the pork was too salty, but I didn't mind it at all. I never really order any artichoke dishes, but this one was worth trying, if you like Medditerranean flavors. Love the "citrus-ness" in this dish, it was quite refreshing. I didn't get a photo of the Chicken kebabs. This was our last dish and I was so full I wasn't going to try it, but I am glad I did. The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside and went well with the Tzatziki sauce. However, I couldn't stop picking at the fried smashed potato even though I was full. This was crispy on the outside and creamy in the inside. How they achieved those two textures together I have no idea, but I would love to know how. Amazing.

I could have gone without the Razor Clams and the Prosciutto Bread Balls.  The clams tasted more like squid with a tough and rubbery texture and the flavors were a little bland for my taste.  The Prosciutto Bread balls sound better than they tasted. Didn't really do anything for me, except add carbs to my body!

Moscato Wine / Water

Braise Pork Shoulder / Cured Meat&Cheese

Meatball Slider / Razor Clams / Bone Marrow / Prosciutto Balls

Braised Baby Artichokes / Cured Meat&Cheese

Good Eats: The Gorbals

For a belated birthday dinner for my brother, we decided to meet half way and eat in Los Angeles. Originally we were suppose to go to Church & State, but since the reservations were all booked for the night we opted to try The Gorbals. The Gorbals is owned by Top Chef Ilan Hall. This quaint little spot is located in what use to be the Alexandria Hotel. The interior has that speak easy feel it to, simply, simple.

The servings are small plates, meant for everyone to eat "family style". After contemplating what we should get and how many of each we should get, we decided to indulge in the "King's Feast" for a party of 8. I was reluctant to do this at first, but for $40/head it was totally worth it. We were served plenty of dishes from each category on the menu and refused any chicken dishes, so we'd get the most of our money! (haha!)  We ended up having a 13 course meal that was ridiculously satisfying.

The break down of our dinner is as follows: (not in this order)

Pork
Bacon wrapped matzoh balls
Spare ribs
Banh mi poutine

Beef
Roasted marrow + oyster mushrooms + walnut + malt vinegar
Burger + onion six ways
Confit tongue + romesco + croutons

Seafood
Grilled squid + lemon + garlic + parsley
Prawns a la plancha + anchovy butter
Squid ink battered local yellowtail + chips

Side Veggies
Latkes + smoke applesauce
Grilled sweet corn + pimenton butter
Broccoli + soy + chilies & vinegar

Dessert
Sticky toffee pudding + ice cream + maldon salt

My favorites were the beef tongue + burger + corn + toffee pudding. The tongue was cooked perfectly, crisp on the outside and oh so tender in the inside! Beef tongue has become one of my must try on menus lately, definitely a new favorite meat.  The burger was nice and juicy. I wish, at the time, I took the time to figure out the six different ways the onions came, but it was so good I was savoring the taste and I was starved at this point. I love corn and any way it is served, so of course I would love this dish. I must have eaten at least 3/4 of one of corn plates. The sticky toffee pudding was amazing! The balance of the textures + flavors were on point, sinfully sweet with a slight salty after taste.. I tried to hold my self back to just one bite, but I could not resist!

I would review each dish, but that would take too long! However, I would skip out on the cocktails and get straight to the business of the food. The drinks were overpriced and didn't make any real impression on my meal. Save your money and indulge in the King's Feast, especially if you have a larger group!

The Gorbals : Bar & Dining / Billy Buttons (I love these)

The Desperate Housewife / Birthday Boy with his Manly Drink

Beef tongue / Spare Ribs / Latkes 

Sweet Corn / Matzoh Balls / Broccoli 

Grilled Squid / Yellowtail / Burger

Prawns / Banh Mi Poutine

Bone Marrow / Sticky Toffee Pudding

San Diego - Interiors + Good Eats

After a weekend getaway in San Diego for a friend's birthday, my tummy and desire for design inspiration are quite satisfied. I've been on a food overload ever since we got back, definitely in need of some kind of detox.

Cucina Urbana.

I've been wanting to try Cucina Urbana ever since I discovered it while going through design magazines for project research. If you follow my tumblr, designvibe, then you probably already have seen some photos of the interior. Although the photos I've posted on my tumblr are pretty accurate of the interior, they don't totally capture the beauty of physically experiencing the space. For one thing the space was way bigger than I imagined, as you will see in my own photographs of the interior. Cucina Urbana is a modern day Italian restaurant with lots and lots of great textures and details. Details + Details + Details !!!! 

What makes this place even more attractive is the food is just as inspirational as the interior. The interior is modern mixed with traditional elements and so is the cuisine!! They describe Cucina Urbana's food as Italian Classics with a modern twist.  

I ordered the Short Rib Pappardelle Pasta with mushroom + parmigiano and the boyfriend got the Meatball Mozzarella di Bufala with spinach + fontina + parm. The Short Rib was so tender and the pasta was cooked to perfected al dente. This was my first time having pappardelle pasta and I loved it, I love thick flat noodles of any kind. Overall, the short rib was a tad bit too salty for my taste and I consider my self a salty eater, but the pappardelle's heaviness balanced the dish well.

Short Rib Pappardelle Pasta  / Meatball Mozzarella di Bufala Pizza

Searsucker.
I hear about this place all the time, especially since my boss knows the owners + chefs of this restaurant, since they are also our clients at Stingaree Nightclub & Guest House @ Stingaree. Searsucker's interior is modern + hip without being intimidating. It has an open floor plan with only columns as an architectural feature to create spaces within spaces. This restaurant definitely has some great design features, especially the lighting. I might be a little biased when saying that the interior as a whole didn't WOW me, but I've got loyalty to my boss and our design team!

Since I was there for a birthday dinner, we had a pretty big group and thankfully because of that, we got to sit at probably the coolest spot in the restaurant. The large country wooden table + various different traditional chairs + rope chandelier above our table was definitely one of their key design features.

The food was beyond my expectations. Me and the boyfriend shared a few dishes, I guess you can classify their dishes as "tapas" plates, big enough to share and small enough to get lots of different plates. We started with the Tuna +screaming rooster + ginger + tomato, marrow bone + sea salt + onion jam, and duck fat fries + tomato jam, all of which were amazing, I can't pick a favorite. The tuna was spicier than I had hoped for, hence the screaming rooster ingredient, but I loved it and I love raw tuna in any form. The marrow bone was, as usual, like butter in my mouth, but definitely could do with out the onion jam, it was too sweet for me. Duck fat fries had the perfect flavor + crunch to them and the tomato jam went very well with it. For our main entree, we got the Loin "filet mignon" with lobster butter + cognac, medium cooked. Oh my lord was this piece of meat so tender and juicy! It was cooked more on the medium rare side, but I didn't mind that at all.

Tuna / Marrow Bone / Duck Fat Fries
(Unfortunately, I was unable to take a photo of our main entree since the boyfriend was so eager to dig into it)

San Francisco - Sites + Good Eats + Shopping

My Labor Day weekend was spent in San Francisco with the boyfriend. Spent two whole days in the city, definitely not enough time to do all of the site seeing, shopping, and food indulging that I wanted/intended to do. The weather was exactly what you would expect in San Francisco, overcast + chilly breeze, just the type of weather I love.

Sites.
We got to see the Golden Gate Bridge + Union Square + Pier. I wish we got to visit all the tourist spots, but due to public transportation + city traffic + restaurant wait times, time was limited.

All the times I've been to San Francisco, I never took the time to go to the tourist spots and if I did, I was young and didn't understand why my parents wanted to do all these tourist activities. You really do appreciate more as you grow older.

The Golden State Bridge was breathe taking, just like a scene out of a movie. So much character to this city and much more I still need to discover within it.

Good Eats.

Our first stop was Hog Island Oyster Co. at the Ferry Building. The line was long, which is always a good sign that the food must be amazing. We only waited about 20 minutes since we had no preference where we sat, we were starving at this point. People were waiting well over an hour for outside dock seating, I didn't mind the inside since I was cold anyhow and the view was just as amazing. 

We started off with Oysters + Beer&Wine. I don't know much about oysters since I just started to eat them after discovering I am no longer allergic to them, so we got the Oyster Bar Mix to have a taste of each Oyster offered. To tell you the truth, I can't tell the difference between them all, except that some are bigger than others. I absolutely love the refreshing taste of  raw oysters and will definitely have to try it on every menu, maybe then, I will be able to tell the difference between amazing and mediocre oysters. 

After reading yelp reviews, we decided to get the Clam Chowder + Grilled Cheese Sandwich and split the two. The Clam Chowder consisted of Hog Island Manila clams + aromatic vegetables + bacon + potatoes + cream. This was no ordinary clam chowder, when I think of chowder I think of thick and creamy, but this was more of a soup with cream broth. Very delicious. The Grilled Cheese Sandwich was mouth watering AMAZING, it consisted of Mezzo Secco + cave-aged Gruyere + Fromage Blanc. The texture of the crisp bread and the perfectly melted cheese created an orgasmic sensation in my mouth and with every bite there was a "mmmmmm" as a result. 

I will definitely come back to this place!  

I always need dessert after my meals, so we stopped by Miette Pastry Shop, also in the Ferry Building. I got a Rose Macaron + Rasberry Macaron.  A few hours later, we walked by Cako Bakery, by our hotel in the Union Square area, and picked up a couple cupcakes Red Velvet + Blueberry. I have to try every bakery's Red Velvet, Cako's Red Velvet was pretty good with just the right amount of moistness. I would go back for more.  You will learn that I have a major sweet tooth, it is very rare that I will turn down sweets of any kind, unless they have nuts in it (major allergy!).

 For Dinner we met up with my sister and her friend to eat at Thanh Long. A definite must, for me, every time I am in the city. I've been going to this place since I could remember vacationing in San Francisco. It is the first&original of  the established An Family restaurants. They are known for their crab & garlic noodles. For those of you in Southern California, Crustaceans in Beverly Hills & Anqi in Costa Mesa (South Coast Plaza) are branches of this famous restaurant, but, of course, with location they are a tad bit more pricey.

 My sister and boyfriend ordered the crab: the Roast Crab + the Drunken Crab. I always go with the Shaken Beef, since till this dinner, I was allergic to Crab. As usual, we got sides of Garlic Noodles + Garlic Rice.  If this place was close by, I would order Garlic Noodles for dinner at least once a week. The garlic taste isn't overbearing, but I love garlic, in general. I am determined to figure out a good Garlic Noodle recipe, if any of you know one, let me know.

I've been pretty brave about trying things I am allergic to, in hopes that I have outgrown the allergy. Having a doctor and nurse at the table was convenient when trying the crab, thank goodness I didn't need their expertise though. I definitely like crab, but I don't know about the process of getting to the crab meat.

To end the scrumptious meal, we had creme brulee, one of my favorite all time desserts. Don't forget to order a cocktail with your meal, the pineapple lycee martini was just to my liking, not too strong but still had a kick. If there is a lychee cocktail on a menu, it is a given I will be trying that.

For Sunday Brunch, we had to try Mama's, as suggested from friends. The line was super long, in the photo below, that is just a 1/4 of the line and there was still a small line inside! We waited 2.5 hours to be seated. I am not a breakfast person, but my boyfriend loves breakfast, so we had to try this place.  I was going to go with a burger since breakfast foods are just not appealing to me, but after waiting 2.5 hours I opted to go with what they are known for, their Crab Benedict dish and the boyfriend got the Crab Omelette dish. I don't know what it is about breakfast, but definitely not worth waiting for. However, to all the breakfast lovers, I will review this place based on my boyfriend's comments. He absolutely loved the food, he said he liked the Crab Benedict better, it had more flavor. He did say he would come back to this place. I suggest if you try Mama's come before it opens so the wait isn't so crazy.

As our last meal in the city, we had dinner at Salt House in the SOMA area. My sister suggested this place because she knew I would love the interior of it. Initially I planned this trip in hopes to get inspired by fabulous interiors.  I was sad to find out that the few restaurants I researched with cool interiors were closed on Sundays. I was a little disappointed of the restaurant interiors in San Francisco, I expected a lot more. Maybe  I didn't research enough to find more or suggestions from friends were more about the food than the interior.

Anyways, loved the open floor plan of Salt House. It is an industrial sophisticated atmosphere with exposed brick, high ceilings, rustic iron&wood details, vintage edison light bulb fixtures, and custom made drum shade pendants, made out of some sort of index card/order cards. The lighting made it feel very warm and inviting.

The food complimented the great interior. To start, we ordered the Oysters (I think I might be slightly obsessed with oysters) + Poutine : kennebec fries + vermont cheddar + short rib gravy. I liked the fries, but they weren't amazing, maybe because they were steak fries instead of the skinny fries, which I prefer. I love well balanced fries that are crispy yet soft.

For our entrees, I got the Duck, which was cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside and so tender in the inside. I could have done without the apple + dates mixture that accompanied it. I love my meat salty not sweet. The boyfriend got the New York Steak, medium rare with braised short rib + crushed fingerlings + snap peas + bacon. I got to taste a little bit, his steak was also cooked to perfection, pink + tender. I wish my duck came with his sides instead.

To accompany our meals I got a vodka cocktail, can't remember what was in it, except the fact that I could taste the tonic water, which I do not like. I thought the other ingredients would mask the taste, but I was wrong. The boyfriend got a beer, Racer 5, he claims this beer to be his new favorite beer. I am not much of a beer drinker, never acquired the taste.

Shopping.

Shopping was on the top of my list. You can't go to the city and not shop! All my favorite stores just a short distance away and super sized. It was heaven.  Among the many things I bought, I will only share what I got from Marc by Marc Jacobs. I make it a point to visit every cities Marc by Marc Jacobs store, he is one of my favorite designers, more specifically handbag designer. I love the style of his bags, they are trendy + youthful and come in lots of functional shapes + colors + modern patterns. And his bags aren't over the top expensive!

On to what goodies I came home with. I've been wanting new sunglasses and I'm not very good at keeping my sunglasses scratch free so I constantly buy new ones. Mbymj is perfect for hip shades that aren't pricey but got the quality factor. I got new shades, an updated version of my old shades with mirror lens. I love the yellow detail on the sides. I also purchased a canvas tote, I wish I had this when I was still in design school, but its perfect for work it fits my notepad + design mags + ipad + personal stuff. They always have cute little knick knacks + jewelry (you wont find on their website or other common websites), I always leave the store with some kind of new jewelry. I bought a simple woven leather bracelet with the MJ initials on the it. Lastly, I bought a new purse, a shoulder bag with metallic python-embossed leather. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The size is perfect for everyday use, not too big and not too small, a great accent to any outfit.

There was so many new things I wanted a clutch + watch + earrings + etc, but I will have to save those purchases for my next trip to Chicago.

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend.

XOXO