When I received an email from my PR friend about a new restaurant opening in town called Smalls, I was interested…especially when I read this snippet:

Owner Joseph DiLeo says, “Food lovers will appreciate that we ground our beef, bake our bread and make our pasta in-house. Combine that with extraordinary hospitality and creative handcrafted cuisine and we’re optimistic Smalls will become a destination restaurant, lounge and bar. We designed Smalls as a family friendly restaurant with a relaxed setting through the day that will gain energy into the night, especially with our late night hours Wednesday through Saturday.”

Um…yes, please! And before I could start making plans to visit, I got invited to a special Friends & Family preview event. Score! I happily RSVP’ed and decided this would be a great restaurant to visit as my one cheat meal for Eat in Month.

{Inside Smalls}

My friend Sarah and I went to the event after Zumba. We arrived a little late, but luckily, there was a table for us.

{Our view}

I loved the menu. It was simple, but had a nice selection with mouth-watering descriptions.

As part of the event, Sarah and I each got a free drink coupon (good for a beer or wine of choice) and one free entree. We decided it was a beer night. I got the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Copper, which is a locally brewed beer.

We decided to share an appetizer of crab cake sliders.

The crab cakes were absolutely wonderful. They didn’t have a fishy flavor like some can. The outside was nice and crispy and the inside was tender and well-seasoned. I loved the little microgreens on top, and the jalapeno cheddar biscuit was one of the best parts of a restaurant like this – from-scratch touches.

Our order turned into a happy-accident from there. We ordered the Beef Short Rib and Chicken & Waffles, but they were out of the short rib. So, instead, we ordered the Pimento Cheese Sliders and some onion rings.

The onion rings were nice and crispy.

They were served with a sauce that reminded me of buffalo wing sauce.

And since our original order had to get replaced, the waitress / restaurant sent out some goodies for us to try on the house – the mashed potatoes, which were nice and cheesey…

…and thought we couldn’t get the Beef Short Rib entree, they had some sliders left!

Yum!

The chicken and waffles were a little difficult to share since they were bone-in, not to mention Sarah and I were feeling pretty stuffed by the time we got to it, so we didn’t eat as much of this one. The fact that I’m a lazy eater and prefer boneless chicken probably contributed to this. But the flavors of this dish were really fun and delicious.

Saving the best for last – the Pimento Cheese Sliders were one of my favorite eats of the night. I love how they grind their own beef here, and I think you could taste the difference in the sliders. I wish the pimento cheese flavor would have been a little stronger, but the beef was top-notch.

All of the food was really tasty. I just want to come back so I can try their house-made desserts. I bet those will be really special, and I’m a sucker for handmade desserts.

Foodies like me will appreciate the attention to detail, small touches, simple but interesting menu, friendly staff, and the fact that they make so many things from scratch. Thank you Smalls!

Reader question: What’s the most important thing to you when you’re choosing a restaurant? Organic ingredients? Supporting local farmers? Having your favorite entree? Location?

We enjoyed a slow morning with family the day after Thanksgiving. No Black Friday shopping for us.

Rose had pancakes, bacon, and coffee waiting for us when we woke up.

And she even made me some of her special oregano elixir since I’m feeling a cold coming on.

{Heidy, Mario, Sis, Rose, me, Ben}

We bid adieu to the family, and a smaller group of the young crowd headed out for our favorite Atlanta tradition – dim sum.

{Leo, Lindsay, and Sis}

We trekked over to the Oriental Pearl (where Sis and I went somewhat recently) in search of dumplings and other deliciousness. The last time I came here with cousins, a few years ago, the restaurant had converted from the amazing dim sum restaurant to a run-of-the-mill buffet. We were so sad to think our tradition had disappeared. It wasn’t until Sis and I made our trip to the OP in May that we discovered the dim sum was back in action! Hazzah!

The restaurant was far less busy and had a smaller selection since it was a weekday, but the carts were swinging by within just a couple minutes, and they proved to have most of our favorites.

We quickly snapped up some har gow, steamed BBQ pork buns, and shui mei.

We got one of the long shrimp dumplings (and a beef one – not pictured).

Crispy shrimp balls.

Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce.

Love their plates by the way!

Baked BBQ pork buns.

With a plate full of my favorite eats, I was one happy eater.

So was Leo.

And sis and I tried a new dessert – a sort of mango jello-type dessert with evaporated milk poured on top.

(I believe this is a photo from a dim sum trip from the early ninties – and do you recognize the girl to the far right?! )

As I mentioned earlier, we made many trips to visit our cousins over the years. Each trip ended with a family trip to the Oriental Pearl for dim sum.

The adults were busy this trip, so the new dim sum crew held down the tradition for this adventure. It’s interesting to think about the transition that is already under way – from the old crew to the new crew. And it’s fun to think about this table being filled in a few years with our children, who will be the next future dim sum crew!

sometimes the food is the best because of the context

The trip reminded me of something Anthony Bourdain said in that show I saw recently. When asked about finding the best food, Anthony said that sometimes the food is the best because of the context. He’s so right! I mean, the food at the Oriental Pearl is delicious, but what makes it so special is the company, the familiarity, and the sentimentality of the experience. We’ve been eating at the Oriental Pearl for about 20 years now, and I hope we get to enjoy at least 20 more years together.

After leaving the Tasting Pavilion, we decided that we had enough time to make a quick trip to Tartine Bakery before the Gala dinner.

We cabbed it over and got in line. Even around 3pm-ish (forgot what time it was exactly), the place had a wait.

Everyone huddled around the display case as they made their way through the line.

And you may be able to tell why from these photos – look at those sweets!

Want.

We were there for chocolate croissants primarily, but they were sold out! So, we picked up a couple things instead.

I’ll have to come early enough to get a table sometime so I can enjoy a piece of this yummy-looking quiche.

Mara and I split a gougere.

And I had a plain croissant. So buttery. So flakey. So right.

***

Soon enough, it was time to get ready for the gala dinner. I was sad it wasn’t going to be at the Ferry Building like it was last year, because that was so stunningly gorgeous with all the lights and high ceilings. But, I was happy that this year’s gala was in our hotel since it meant not having to walk very far in heels and rain.

{me, Lori, Christin, Karen, Maissa}

The gala started with french fry appetizers by Alexia, the sponsor for the evening. The fries were actually created using several blogger-created recipes by fellow Foodbuzzers.

{Teri & Me}

We had a special treat for the evening – a cooking demo by Tyler Florence.

Appetizers

Salad – bibb lettuce, honey-roasted pears, glazed pecans, blue cheese vinaigrette

Main course – Brandt Beef Farms Filet Mignon and Meyer Lemon Roasted Prawns – heirloom carrots, celery root puree and peppercorn demi glace.

I thought everything was cooked nicely and the steak was super tender. I really liked the prawns, as well.

We got not one, but 3 desserts! The San Francisco Trio – Sourdough Bread Pudding, Cowgirl Creamery Cheesecake, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Mousse. They were all nice. I would have preferred the bread pudding warm, but the flavor was nice. I thought the chocolate was rich and light all at the same time, but the cheesecake was my favorite.

Phew – after all that yummy food I was stuffed. Again, some people went out for a night on the town, but I headed back with my roomies to chill in the hotel room and relax. We had one event left, and I’d be heading to the airport before I knew it.

I actually spent some of the night packing my bags, setting aside my honey badger travel outfit, and calling in a reservation for an airport shuttle. I like taking the BART to the hotel and something more direct for the way back. After a pretty productive night, I hit the sack.

***

In the morning, I headed out with my roomies to the last event of Foodbuzz Festival – the farewell brunch.

The brunch was sponsored by Godiva Chocolatier, who gave us some pretty sweet swag in our swag bags – 2 bags of flavored coffee, a travel cup, and chocolate.

They had a coffee station, a cold buffet, hot buffet, as well as speciality Godiva coffee drinks available upon request.

I wasn’t much in the mood for eating since my anxiety was starting to build with the thought of hopping on an airplane in just a couple short hours, but I found a couple tasty things to eat.

And before I knew it…it was time to go.

I bid adieu to my friends – old and new…to my roomies…

…and to the crazy-hilly streets of San Francisco that I love so much…

I walked back to my hotel, got my bags, and waited for the shuttle. The shuttle service was really awesome. It picked me up from the hotel and dropped me right off to gate I needed at the airport. I loved how stress-free it was. For $16 (plus tip), it seemed worth it.

I grabbed a quick lunch at the airport and charged my phone before boarding the plane.

The flight took off at 1:30pm San Fran time and was roughly 4 1/2 hours long. The Foodbuzz swag came in handy as a snack. I really enjoyed this Bunny Bar by 18 Rabbits.

I thought it had a nice mix of oats and dried fruit. The flavor was good, too, and the texture was chewy.

I bought wi-fi for the flight home and caught up on emails and blog stuff. It turned out to be a good distraction from the flight itself. I even helped a football-loving couple next to me keep tabs on their team who was playing while we were in the air. Things were going pretty good until the crew announced that two of the bathrooms weren’t working (when we were about halfway through the flight). Then all by the first class worked. Finally, they announced none of them worked. Yikes! Luckily, by that point, we only had about 45 minutes left in the trip. I was just glad it was the bathrooms not working and not something more serious that could interfere with the flight of the plane, ya know? Anywho, we landed safely and early around 9pm Eastern time. It kind of sucked to lose the whole day to traveling, but I think it was better than doing the red eye like I did last year. I would have liked to squeeze in a couple more restaurant visits on Sunday, but since I’m low on vacation days for the rest of the year, I’m trying to save them for the holidays.

All in all, I had another great trip to Foodbuzz. Thank you to Foodbuzz Festival!

And to all my Foodbuzz friends new and old – it was so much meeting you and hanging out with you. I hope to stay in touch on the blogosphere and see you at another conference soon! I have all the cards I collected gathered, and I can’t wait to check out your blogs!

As I work through editing the photos from Foodbuzz Festival, I’m realizing that there are so many that I want to share with you that many of the related posts will be pretty photo-heavy. This is one of them.

Remember that time I went to Chez Panisse? Did I mention that Mara and I went on a mad shopping spree just before dinner? Ok, not really. I only had one store I wanted to visit this trip – Zara. I’ve lusted after their clothes for a long time, but they don’t exactly have tons of Zara shops in the South. I wanted to go by this shop the last time I was in San Francisco, but by the time I swung by the store, it was closed.

This year, I was determined to make it, and make it I did.

I was like a kid in a candy store at Zara and oohed and aahed at all the pretty clothes. I haven’t had a chance to wear the goodies I bought very much yet, but so far, the store has impressed me. The clothes seem reasonably priced with up-to-date styles (that seem to be pretty well made). The huge plus is that the clothes actually fit me pretty well – especially the blazers, which is normally challenging for my wide shoulders.

Anywho, we actually really did go to Zara on Thursday, but it was too dark to take photos, so I snapped a couple when we happened to pass it Friday on our way to the Fisherman’s Wharf.

The first goal of Friday was to sleep in. We ended up waking up kind of early, but we still got to enjoy a lazy morning, which was close enough for me. No rushing to the office for me, thank you!

The second goal of Friday was to get a crab roll for lunch, thus the trip to Fisherman’s Wharf.

I had to snap a photo of Boudin at Pier 39. I really enjoyed bringing some sourdough home from my last SF trip, but since they sell it at the airport, I prefer to just get it there out of convenience.

The weather was gorgeous – i only wish we’d had enough time to go by the Golden Gate Bridge.

I got to see the famous sea lions again. Love those cute “little” guys.

Mara and I approached a row of restaurants and decided to go ahead and find a place to sit down and enjoy lunch.

We ended up going with Nick’s Lighthouse.

The interior had a funky, eclectic style.

Coca cola and a water to drink.

We each got a small cup of crab chowder. With the weather around 59 degrees F (which is cold for this Southern gal), this hot chowder hit the spot.

And we decided to share this crab roll with french fries. It was a good thing, too – do you see how big that sandwich is?!

The crab salad wasn’t at all what I expected. I thought there would be bigger chunks of crab so it more resembled potato salad or something. This crab salad had a texture and consistency like chicken salad made with pulled chicken.I actually found this to be a nice surprise, and I really liked the way they prepared it.

After lunch, we walked down to Tcho, a chocolate shop that Mara discovered on her last SF trip.

Tcho makes their chocolate from-scratch (like, from the cacao bean) right here. Love that!

Unfortunately, we missed the tour by 20 minutes (they only do two a day at this time – one around 10 am and one at 2pm – call Tcho for actual times), but there were at least plenty of samples around to taste.

We decided to bring some chocolate goodness home with us. This drinking chocolate caught my eye…

…as well as these Tcho a day containers that looked sort of like protein powder at first glance.

I got drinking chocolate, Tcho-a-day, and some cacao nibs to bring home. Gotta love an edible souvenir.

Next time on TCL – the first Foodbuzz event!

Reader question #1: Have you been to Fisherman’s Wharf? What was the most memorable place/restaurant/etcc of FW?

Reader question #2: What type of souvenir do you prefer – one you can keep forever (magnet, picture frame, etc.) or one you can eat/drink/consume (chocolate, spices, etc.)?

I had the pleasure of visiting one of the world’s most famous restaurants last Thursday with Foodbuzz roomie Mara of What’s for Dinner? I have to thank Mara for making the restaurant suggestion when we were deciding where to go for our splurge meal of the trip to San Francisco, CA.

Chez Panisse was co-founded by Alice Waters (chef/author) and Paul Aratow (film producer/professor) in 1971 and is famous for using local and organic ingredients. The restaurant has been entertaining foodies for many years – I like to think of it as the type of place my dad would love to visit. You may recognize Alice as being a pioneer of the local/organic/slow food movement, and she has even been called the “mother of American cooking.”

Note: Both of my nicer lenses broke before Foodbuzz, so I used the factory lens for my Foodbuzz trip. It works well with good natural lighting, but the quality of photos won’t be that great in low-lighting like the type we had at this dinner. Sorry!

(this photo – credit – Mara – What’s for Dinner?)

From the Chez Panisse web site:

“Alice and Chez Panisse are convinced that the best-tasting food is organically and locally grown and harvested in ways that are ecologically sound by people who are taking care of the land for future generations. The quest for such ingredients has always determined the restaurant’s cuisine. Since 1971, Chez Panisse has invited diners to partake of the immediacy and excitement of vegetables just out of the garden, fruit right off the branch, and fish straight out of the sea. In doing so, Chez Panisse has established a network of nearby suppliers who, like the restaurant, are striving for both environmental harmony and delicious flavor.”

We took a long cab ride from San Francisco to Berkeley for our late dinner out. A nice woman waiting outside offered to take the photo of Mara and me. As it turned out, the lady was Mary Jo – a pastry chef of the restaurant. She gave us the inside scoop to ask Pete (a busboy at the restaurant) to give us a kitchen tour, saying he did a wonderful job.

The menu at Chez Panisse is particularly interesting.

I found this note about the menu on the Chez Panisse web site:

“The menu which changes every night is designed to be appropriate to the season and composed to feature the finest sustainably-sourced, organic, and seasonal ingredients including meat, fish, and poultry.”

The restaurant has the same menu for all guests on any given day. I’d never been to a restaurant that didn’t offer at least a choice of two options per course, but I was down for whatever Chez Panisse had to offer. It was kind of like an eating adventure.

The menu turned out to be quite the experience for me, providing dishes that contained many ingredients I don’t typically like. I was ready for the challenge, though with an open mind and empty stomach.

The starter proved to be the first challenge – olives with fresh herbs and orange peel. I’ve never been a big fan of olives, but I recognize them as a delicious food item. I’ve been trying to eat them over and over the last couple years to no avail. But, on this night…they were absolutely delicious! I absolutely loved them and was really excited to finally get why everyone seems to rave about olives so much. I’ve been enjoying tangy flavors lately, so I’m thinking that helped me enjoy the flavor of these olives. The firm texture also helped.

Our menu for the evening.

Nice hearty bread with butter.

First course – from the menu – “Wild mushroom tart with watercress and rocket”

The first course was another challenge. Mushrooms and I have never really gotten along over the years. There’s something about the texture of mushrooms that I find unappetizing, though I adore the flavor. I frequently leave mushrooms in foods cooked with them, and though I will try to eat them, I can usually only down one or two in a sitting.

Of course, tonight was special, and I managed to eat the whole tart! This meal may have contained the most mushrooms I’ve ever eaten in one meal. And did I mention I enjoyed them? The tender mushrooms paired with the crisp tart shell – yum! The side salad was pretty nice, too – I love my greens.

Mara and I opted for the wine pairing that came with the meal.

The wine matched the dish perfectly.

Second course – (from the menu) – “Roasted Ling cod with shell bean ragout and herb butter”

I’m not much of a big seafood person, but I wasn’t going to let that throw me off. I was really excited about tasting such a well prepared piece of fish. The funniest part of the night was when Mara and I tried to figure out what the delicious “broth” in the bowl was. “It’s so rich…and…buttery? What is it?” Yeaaa, a quick check of the menu revealed that the “broth” was in fact melted butter with herbs. Niiice.

The fish was lovely, the shell beans were tasty, and the green beans were cooked perfectly crisp-tender. This course was paired with another white wine that again matched the course exactly.

As we were wrapping up the second course, I noticed that the same guy had been clearing our plates. Clearing plates => bussing => busboy Pete? As he collected the plates from our second course, I decided to go ahead and inquire further – “excuse me…are you…Pete?” He seemed surprised I knew who he was (even though I didn’t really know who he was…hehe), but when Mara and I referenced Mary Jo, he was all in. We asked if he’d have time for a kitchen tour, and Pete suggested we do one after finishing our entrees.

Third course – (from the menu) – “Spit-roasted Rancho Llano Seco pork loin with wilted greens and parsnip puree.”

The pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender, and though I normally like to trim all the fat off of my meat, the outside crust had an amazing flavor that couldn’t be missed, so I ended up eating some of it. The puree was silky and the greens was cooked just how I like them (not too soft, not too firm). Everything was seasoned perfectly and tasted amazing.

Within a couple quick minutes of finishing our main course, Pete whisked us away to the kitchen for the grand tour.

Spices and the old-school order board.

Dessert in the works.

I kind of wanted to have a Veruca-Salt-moment and jump onto the table digging into all the sweets. But I refrained.

Local produce!

The restaurant also had a map on a corkboard in the kitchen showing where all the farms in their network were located.

Our fabulous tour guide Pete showed us the biggest mushroom I’ve ever seen! Scary!

Back to the table – the view of the restaurant from the kitchen.

Pete surprised us with mint tea before the dessert course. The tea was piping hot when it came out…

…but just ready for drinking by the time they served dessert. I’m not sure if they did that on purpose, but I like to think they planned the timing perfectly on purpose.

Dessert course: “Pear sherbet coupe with Champagne glee”

I’m not a big sorbet/ice cream person when it comes to dessert (give me baked goods!), but I loved every bite of this.

This crispy cookie with almonds was quite nice, too.

And as though we hadn’t gotten enough nice little touches to our dining experience, Chez Panisse gave us a small plate containing tiny pieces of chocolate and pate de fruit. The chocolate was lush and creamy and the pate de fruit was chewy and sweet. They were both delicious, and I kind of wished I could buy more to take home.

Oh, and I can’t end this post without mentioning what a wonderful job the staff at Chez Panisse did for Mara and me. From the host who greeted us to the pastry chef waiting for her ride to the busboy who gave us a tour of the kitchen, everyone made us feel so welcome.

I was so thrilled to have dined at a restaurant so integral to the local food movement, and I can definitely see why Chez Panisse frequently ranks in the top 100 restaurants of the world. The biggest lesson – simplicity can be powerfully delicious. Each meal was so special and detailed as to appear extravagant, and yet it was so simply prepared. Though I already tend to be a simple cook, but this experience was great inspiration for me to strive to make simple excellent.

Reader question #1: Have you ever been to a restaurant that inspired you to change the way you cook?

Reader question #2: What’s the most famous restaurant you’ve been to?

Well, I’m currently typing mid-air over who-knows-where on my way back from Foodbuzz Festival 2011. We have about 2 1/2 hours left in our flight, and I’m really looking forward to seeing hubby and Bailey. I’m hoping to draft a couple posts before getting home, and I’m having a blast editing all the photos! It’s so fun to relive the trip through the images.

On to day #1 of my trip to San Francisco, CA…

***

Have I ever mentioned that I’m afraid of flying? Not sure where it came from but I’m blaming the fact that my family always did our family vacations as road trip warriors. I’ve never flown anywhere with my immediate family…seriously, not once.

I don’t know why I do it to myself, but I always try to score window seats on planes. Someone afraid of flying should probably not be staring out of a window – especially for take-offs or landings.

I thought I’d snap some photos of some scenic views from the plane on the way out to California, though.

The captain didn’t announce anything, but I believe these are the Rockies (can anyone tell?).

Soon enough, we were flying over the Bay towards the airport, and I was desperately hoping to see a runway under our plane soon. Have you ever landed over water?! It’s fine at first, but once you start being able to recognize individual waves, you start to wonder when you’re going to see land. I was so happy when I finally did. I swear there was only about 10 feet of clearance, but we were moving so fast, it must have been hundreds. At least, that’s what I’m going to tell myself.

I was the first to check in at the hotel. Our hotel was very close to last year’s and right between Union Square and Chinatown, which I thought was a pretty ideal location. The rooms were small-ish, but very nice. I spoke with the man checking in who mentioned they’d all been renovated within the last year. I only wish they would have added in a couple extra outlets (us bloggers need to use lots of cellphone and laptop chargers). And, I’m also waiting for the day when all hotels have free wi-fi for all guests. One fine day, right?

Within just a couple short hours of arriving, I met up with roomie Mara and my roommate from last year, Julie. We joked that we were having a reunion from our Cafe Gratitude trip from last year’s conference. Good thing we didn’t have to find a taxi again!

We knew we’d hit Chinatown when we noticed this gorgeous street lamps.

As we got further in, the store signs kind of gave it away, too.

You likey my travel-outfit? I know…stylin’! Seriously, I’m kind of like the honey badger when I travel – I really don’t give a **** (about my outfit). Comfort wins!

I loved seeing all the interesting things for sale in Chinatown – especially the food ingredients. It made you want to pick up something you didn’t recognize and go home and figure out something interesting to make with it.

We walked all around Chinatown trying to find a dim sum place that was open. Our original plan was to return to the dim sum restaurant I visited nearly 3 years ago on my first trip to SF – Hang Ah. Unfortunately, they were closed. I think they’ve started serving only on Fridays-Sundays since my visit there.

We then walked by a few other places that had good reviews on Yelp. Unfortunately, they had no where to sit down to eat (kind of like the place we visited last year), and us weary travelers were looking for a sit-down spot. We were about 5 minutes shy of making it to Hong Kong Clay Pot before they closed, but just missed cut-off. And after having traveled from pretty far and walking around in the rain, we ended up stopping at a buffet style restaurant that a kind lady on the street recommended.

It was pretty good, but I actually thought the fresh batch of stir-fried noodles with chicken was better than the dim sum.

We meandered back to Union Square in search of desserts.

Julie told us about a cupcake shop she’d read about online, as well as a delicious pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

The place – Cako.

They didn’t have the pumpkin cupcake, so I decided to go for the Banana Tella – a banana cake with nutella buttercream frosting.

The cupcake was really interesting and almost tasted like a banana muffin. The frosting was a nice buttercream with a light nutella flavor.

And do you see this sign?! I think I need this on a shirt.

***

Next up – a trip to a very famous restaurant – any guesses (no cheating if you already know the answer!)

I’ve wanted to go apple picking for the last couple years, but for one reason or another, the trip has eluded us. 2011 did not disappoint…

We hit the road for a day trip to a nearby apple orchard just over two hours away. We were originally going to make a long weekend of it until I found out (on Friday…yikes!) that I have Monday off, but my client doesn’t. So, overnight plans were thwarted. No bed and breakfasts for us, but I get to roll the vacation day forward and will probably use it around Thanksgiving, which will be nice.

We decided to hit up a local restaurant for lunch (before going to the orchard), and thanks to some Yelp research we chose Flat Rock Village Bakery. They organic eats, artisan breads, and great reviews online.

Just like the reviews said, the place was busy and had a tight waiting area for ordering. The tables were almost all full outside when we walked in, but they turned pretty quickly.

The restaurant, behind a shop called The Wrinkled Egg, had a fun artist (or was it hippie?) vibe to it.

We managed to grab one of the outside tables tucked under a tall magnolia.

After hearing about the sticky buns online, we decided to get one to share and gobbled it up before our pizza even came out. I tried to resist its sticky-sweet goodness, but caved pretty quickly. Life’s short, eat dessert first, right?

I also got an Almond Joy scone to enjoy later.

For eats, we chose the BBQ chicken pizza. The pizza was thin crust and came out piping hot. I’m pretty picky with my BBQ chicken pizzas, and I thought this one was wonderful. It had a great BBQ sauce, gooey cheese, nice bites of chicken, red onion, and one of my favorite components – fresh cilantro.

I only wish we were making a weekend of it so I could have gone back for a leisurely breakfast. The reviews were right. I can see why so many people make a point to stop at the Flat Rock Village Bakery.

Next time on TCL, photos from the apple orchard. I still have quite a few more photos to share with you guys!

***

Thank you so much for reading!

***

Reader question: Are you a fan of day trips? Tell me about your favorite {or most memorable} day trip.

Hubby and I had somewhat unusual plans for a Friday date night – Disney on Ice. I think we must have been one of a handful of couples at the show without children. So, why do Disney sans kiddos? I think most of you know I spent about 10 years training as an ice skater. In addition to that, I had one skating coach (in Orlando, FL) who worked with the show and actually almost convinced me to try out for Disney on Ice when I was in high school. I never did try out, but I think it’s interesting to think that it could have been me out there on the ice!

I’ve been anxious to wear my new red jeans out, so I started my date night outfit with those. I really like neutrals with bright pants, so I went with this simple sweater that I thought would also be good to keep me warm during the show.

And I’ve really been loving using this Ziordia bag. It seems to go with almost everything, and I love the unique design.

Full ensemble:

Red jeans: BDG via Urban Outfitters

Layering tank top: The Limited

Sweater: Banana Republic

Martina Wedges: J Crew

Purse: Ziordia

Bracelets: local boutique, Banana Republic, Aldo

Pearl earrings: family gift

First up on the agenda – a strong cocktail at Enso to end a tough work week.

Cherry Blossom – so amazing and wonderful with just the right amount of tart and sweet flavors…I already want another.

We headed straight to the show after cocktail hour. The show featured 3 25-minute acts. First up – The Princess and the Frog.

Cinderalla

I was very jealous of her sparkly boot covers. I would have LOVED to wear those when I was a skater. I didn’t perform often because I had stage fright, but those boot covers may have been enough to motivate me to stop being such a chicken.

Tangled

This act was really impressive because they had great skating with a mid-air ribbon act. I’ve never seen that before, and it was pretty cool to see live.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

The finale!

I was glad I brought my coat because I definitely used that during the show and after. We’ve now entered the season where it can be warm during the day but super chilly at night. Bring on the layers!

We left uptown in search of a later dinner. We had plans to eat dinner before the show, but I got a last minute 5pm meeting request at work, so we had to push dinner to post-show.

We ended up going to Pewter Rose (where we had a discount via hubby’s job).

Pear martini – another fantastic martini

Hubby and I shared 2 appetizers and an entree.

Calamari – nice and crispy with spicy pepperoncini

Crab cake with collard greens

Bone-in braised pork with garlic mashed potatoes, spinach, and cherry tomatoes. The meat was suuuper tender and the meal had a great comfort-food vibe to it.

All in all, we had a fabulous date night!

Reader question: Do you still see shows like Disney on Ice as an adult?

One of my favorite things to do when I have guests over is make them TCL-style eats. My sister is the easiest to please because she always comes prepared with a list of things she wants to try.

I decided to make a few of my most popular recipes for my friends Beth and Bri.

Basic Green Monster Smoothies

I even decided to do a play on one of my faves for entertaining – mini frittatas.

This time, I made them sans rice and just with parsley and parmesan…and served them with Individual Blueberry Breakfast Crisps.

Parmesan Parsley Mini Frittatas

These easy mini frittatas are not only great for sharing…they whip up in under 5 minutes and take only about 10 in the oven. Switch out your favorite mixins to suit your tastes.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Serves 4 (makes about 16-18 mini frittatas)

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F and prep a mini tart/frittata pan with non-stick spray.
2. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. Stir in cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.
3. Use a mini ice cream scoop (or melon baller) to fill tart/frittata cups about 3/4 full.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes until the eggs are cooked through (I usually wait till the tops are just starting to brown lightly).

Hello gorgeous!

In the afternoon, I did a super-fun kickboxing-inspired workshop that my friend Megan was leading with another friend Ashley.

And post workshop, I went with my friends Sarah and Bri to Mac’s for some casual afternoon eats.

We shared a basket of fried pickles. I’m starting to think that Mac’s makes the best fried pickles I’ve ever had. They’re nice and crispy with just the right touch of spice to let you know it’s there without burning your tongue.

Hubby stayed home to watch football, but he requested I bring home leftovers. So, I ordered the small (haha – do you see that photo?!) combo, which yielded plenty of leftovers.

After such a big lunch, I just whipped up a simple bowl of udon-noodle soup for a light dinner.

I had to save room for dessert…two desserts!

First up…a hefty slice of cheesecake that my friend Sarah made (thanks Sarah!). She first made this tasty dessert way back when for my housewarming, and I still rave about.

Plus, I had caramel apples, which were birthday gifts from Megan and Erica (thanks guys!).

They gave me four fun flavors, but I decided to crack open the pecan pie first.

It had a lovely layer of chewy caramel with crunchy nuts and warm cinnamon.

Delish! I think I’ll be ordering more of these in the upcoming holiday season. I mean…is it just me or do caramel apples scream “holidays”?!

All settled in for a cozy night at The Chic House.

Fried Pickles: Yay or Nay?

Reader Question: Do you like caramel apples? Have you tried any interesting flavors?

I never really got to celebrate my 21st birthday, so for the last couple years I’ve been telling my friends that I was going to re-celebrate my 21st when I turned 31. Only a 10 year difference…no biggee, right?

However, as the celebration date approached, I started feeling more old, tired, and beat down from work (this has been a particularly tough year of work for me). Suddenly, the idea of a casual pot luck or simple house party sounded better. Luckily for me, I had already told my 21st birthday celebration idea to my friend Megan who ended up planning quite the bar crawl for me.

With a specially developed and printed agenda (all the birthday party guests got a copy), plus a 21st-birthday-style tiara (from Megan), I rallied for what was to be a spectacular night on the town.

We ended up doing a casual pizza dinner at the same place we went last year – Luisa’s pizza. Dinner was followed by birthday drinks (21st-birthday-style) and plenty of dancing.

Here are some photos from the night (because sometimes pictures are so much better than words):

(complimentary birthday tiramisu – thanks Luisa’s!)

Gatorade – my new fave

Since I was out with a bunch of my Zumba peeps, we requested a couple of our fave pop-style songs. The DJ played them and even played some others we hadn’t thought about:

• Drop It Low
• Tik Tok
• How Low
• On the Floor
• Hey Baby

We strayed a little bit from the agenda due to patio closures, etc. (and we didn’t make it to Taco Bell), but it didn’t matter…I had SO MUCH FUN!

Sending a big thank you to Megan and Erica for planning such a fun birthday bar crawl!

Reader question #1: How did you celebrate your 21st birthday?

Reader question #2: What is your favorite shot?