those three special words

I love you.  Those are three words that everyone wants to hear.  Some people wait lifetimes to hear them, some kill to hear them and some sacrifice everything to hear them.  Those three special words.  I love hearing them, don’t get me wrong, but I have a more favorite triad in the English language.  Oh yes, friends.  You and I both know that few words get me as excited as these: Food and Wine.  What a glorious combination of syllables.  So simple and yet, so very satisfying.

I am a fan of pretty much any kind of festival.  In my family, we are “festival people.”  A sort of snooty carnie, if you will.  We like to hang around food people, we really like to hang around wine people, and when the day is done, who isn’t thankful for a bit of art and music on the side (those are regular pairings with the magic three, don’t you know).  So, when my big sister from my sorority (are you really surprised that I’m a sorority girl?) told me that she would be participating in the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon and wanted to do the Wine and Food Fest the next day, I agreed to attend pretty much immediately.

Fast forward several months.  Lindsay ran and it was very exciting.  It was her first half marathon and she absolutely killed it.  She had been eating very healthfully for about two weeks prior, so to celebrate, the day of the race, we prepared and bought wine, cheese, desserts and crackers from The Fresh Market, parked on the couch until the 10pm race was to start, and relaxed.  As we were too tired to actually eat the cheese at 2am after the race finished, we decided it would be the perfect and most appropriate breakfast for our F&W day.

After a healthy dose of lactose and alcohol, we set off to Epcot to journey around the world and taste the many delicacies they offered.  Before eating, however, we decided to check out a few of the “rides” at the park to have a full Disney experience.  I have to say, one of my favorite things about Epcot is the wonderful irony of it all.  This park was supposed to be the focal point of Disney World in Orlando (thanks, Magic Kingdom, for killing the dreams of the big golf ball), and was intended to be a permanent Worlds Fair, with the main part of the park as a sort of “future world.”  What is so fantastic about Epcot is how outdated everything is.  The rides and attractions talk about the “future” that we are supposed to have and it reads a bit more like a ’70s science fiction novel than it does an accurate depiction of the future as we now think it will be.  But it is awesome.  I just love rides that haven’t changed since the late ’80s.  Really makes you wonder what they’re spending all of their money on…

After lots of laughs and sarcastic/snarky comments, we went to try all of the delicious food.  With two cash cards loaded and in hand, we went to Hawaii to taste the pork slider with pineapple chutney and the tuna poke with seaweed salad and a taro root chip.  I have to say, this was a great way to start off the day.  The slider was delicious; the pork was tender, the pineapple wasn’t too sweet, and it was on a sweet Hawaiian-style roll (go figure…) which was to die for.  The tuna poke was also very tasty.  The taro chip was a bit of a miss for me, but the tuna was fresh and cool and the seaweed salad was a great salty compliment.  Feeling good and ready for more, we went to Argentina for the beef empanada–also delicious.  The ropa vieja from the Caribbean tent was pretty good (although the rice was not very well cooked), and the mahi with coconut lime sauce and hearts of palm over rice from Brasil was surprisingly tasty.

We were on a roll.  Next was Mexico for the shrimp tacos for Lindsay which she loved, and the Swedish meatballs from Scandinavia (for me) which were just ok.  The sauce was not as flavorful as it should have been, the lingonberries were incorporated with the sauce, thus not really impacting the dish, and the meat was fine.  A let down, but I still ate them.  Linds and I shared the rice pudding and it was bizarrely unevenly cooked.  I don’t really understand how they accomplished crunchy rice pudding, but they did it.  Wanting to cleanse our palates of these let downs, we decided that a visit to the cheese tent was a must.  They had an Artisan cheese plate and another dish, a cheese fondue, which I was pretty pumped about.  Linds saw the Germany tent across the way, so while she went to go get some apfel strudel, I waited for the cheese.  When I went to place my order, I was very distressed to learn that they had run out of Artisian cheese and would not be replenishing their stock for another 15 minutes.  I proceeded with ordering the fondue and found Lindsay and the glorious looking strudel.  The strudel did not disappoint.  It was just as it should have been.  The fondue, however…well, it was weird.  They just didn’t cook it long enough.  The wine hadn’t burnt off its alcohol and the cheese was still in warm shreds.  Nothing had incorporated together to form a sauce.  It was thrown out.  And that’s saying something, because I will eat pretty much anything.  Really, I will.  This was just not worth the stomach space.  And you might be surprised, but space was running low.  We were hitting a wall and we were only about halfway through.  We also had spent about $15 each.  Who knew that it was so inexpensive to gorge yourself at Disney World?

Not wanting to lose momentum, we went to the Werther’s caramel store in Germany and each bought a dessert.  I ate mine promptly (a brownie with caramel sauce drizzled on top).  Lindsay judged me and said she wanted to “hold off.”  Not cool.  Next was Poland for the kielbasa with pierogi.  So good, and so heavy.  I would have eaten a full serving of that any day, though.  Doesn’t get much better than potato-filled noodles.  Then we went to Singapore to try the shrimp cake on a sugarcane skewer with Singapore noodles.  This dish was just not tasty.  The shrimp cake was way too shrimpy (although, in defense of the dish I really don’t care for shrimp so much) and the noodles were altogether bland and oddly flavored.  We even tried to chomp on the sugarcane as a little treat but the shrimp cake had permeated the flavor of the cane and it was just not a good situation.  So we got a snow cone to make up for the loss.

It was around this time that we decided to not eat anything more, save for the fisherman’s pie in Ireland, which Lindsay had been planning for since we’d read the menu (so about 48 hours).  Deciding not to eat anymore is not as easy as it sounds.  Because we passed Belgium and couldn’t resist the waffles with berry compote and a chocolate truffle.  The waffles were actually delicious, and the mussels they were serving looked awesome too.  When we finally rolled our way over to Ireland, I was fairly certain I’d never eat again.  But Lindsay had really been looking forward to the fisherman’s pie (with lobster and scallops, and a mashed potato top), so I put on a brave face and dug in.  I’m glad I did, because this was absolutely the stand out dish of the day for me.  I was surprised at how much I liked the combination of seafood with tomato cream sauce and mashed potatoes.  Bravo, Ireland!  Thanks for ending our day on a high note.

We made a quick pit stop to taste some of the sodas from around the world before departing and heading our separate ways.  Overall, we had a wonderful day.  Nothing says true friendship like letting someone watch you consume more calories than you did the entire month prior.  And all for a pretty decent price.  Epcot, I will be back.  Just maybe with a more discerning eye…

❤ Amy

surprises everywhere

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t have very high hopes for the culinary scene in Birmingham.  Or really, for Birmingham at all.  It’s in Alabama, and I might be a tad bit prejudiced against Alabama for the mere fact that it is, well…Alabama.  We wanted Greek food.  Like falafels and greek salads, and I really wanted potato salad atop my bed of greens.  If you haven’t had this, you need to.  We first stopped at Taziki, a regional chain with a Mediterranean flair.  After standing in line for a few minutes looking at menus, we decided that it really wasn’t for us.  It had nothing that really got us excited, so we went back to the car to try again.  Thanks to our trusty concierge, urbanspoon, we were ushered on to The Olive Branch, a mostly-Greek Mediterranean place.  When we drove up, we saw a sign that indicated they had Coca Cola products.  I wasn’t leaving.

We walked in and took our seats at the bar, a prime spot for viewing the goings on in the kitchen.  We quickly ordered sodas and decided to start with the grilled mushroom appetizer.  It was basically just button mushrooms that had been cooked on the flat top, but they were very tasty.  Savory and perfect with the complimentary pita bread.  I was excited.  Joellen was a tad nervous (they cooked the mushrooms next to some meat).  We both ordered the falafel lunch special and waited for what felt like an eternity to taste our fried chickpea deliciousness.  And deliciousness, it was.  Joellen ranks the falafel at Olive Branch in the Top 3 that she has had–ever.  That’s pretty big.  They were crisp on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside.  Not an easy feat to accomplish.  Our falafel patties sat atop some awesome wild rice, and we were also given greek salads, pita and hummus.  We unfortunately dressed our salads with the house dressing, which looked really tasty but tasted like olives (no bueno), and it was all I could do to just scarf it down so that I would feel good about having some green.  Joellen didn’t even try.  She just gave up.  We couldn’t finish our falafel, leaving two each for left overs, and decided to split the walnut baklava and the pistachio baklava.  I was convinced that I’d prefer the pistachio, but the walnut was just stellar.  Sweet and flaky goodness.

After our lunch, we got in the car and made the short and easy drive to Nashville (I’m a little ashamed to say that I slept for a good part of the drive), and started on our next project: cooking dinner for Cindy and Kate.  Cindy is a friend of Joellen’s from college and she has a birthday this weekend, so to thank her and her partner, Kate, for letting us stay, and to celebrate her birthday, we decided to make them dinner.  Not wanting to do anything complicated, we decided to make vegetable lasagna with salad and a cake (from scratch).  Somehow things become a little bit bigger than we intend for them to, but I’d like to think we usually pull it off.

I started out by making the cake batter to get the most time consuming aspect out of the way.  I used Bobby Flay’s coconut cake recipe (just for the cake part–frosting was of our own creation) and was very hopeful about the results (I’ve used it once before and it came out really great).  Next, we started on the lasagna.  We cooked the noodles, roasted some yellow squash, sauteed spinach with garlic and onions and sauteed some mushrooms in the same fashion.  After making the ricotta-mozzarella-herb mix, all that was left was to puree the fire roasted tomatoes that had been doctored to our liking, in to a sauce.  After much laboring and the addition of more mozzarella and pecorino romano cheeses, the creation was complete.  To be fair, Joellen made the entire thing.  I just lent my hand in the seasoning of the sauce and the turning on of the burners.  We also roasted some beets and cut up different vegetables for a mini salad bar.  Joellen made a tangy honey dijon dressing with cider vinegar and I made a goat cheese dressing with shallots that got some mixed reviews (it was excellent with the beets, though).  I am determined to try and try again until I succeed with that one.  The cake came out looking great, although the strawberry cream cheese frosting lost its volume at the addition of the strawberries (which hardened the butter) and subsequent warm down (which melted the butter too much).  It was more like a thick glaze, but all diners were very generous with their reviews and nobody had a morsel of food on their plates.  I’d say it was a very successful foray back in to the kitchen for the two of us after such a long hiatus.

We’d like to thank Birmingham for surprising us, not only with the food that they host, but with some really friendly people.  We’d also like to thank Cindy and Kate for housing us and for lending us their kitchen to make a huge mess of.

❤ Amy

acl: day one

Austin. City. Limits.

So, I’ve never been to a music festival before. Last year I toyed with the idea of going to Bonnaroo, but I couldn’t really afford to take the time off from work. So when Joellen told me that one of the main reasons for the road trip, the Mecca to our hajj, if you will, was Austin City Limits, I got pretty excited. And nervous. I don’t do so well in the heat, nor do I care for large crowds or excessive noise (I may be a 90-year-old masquerading as a 20-something).  One thing that always bonded Joellen and me, though, is our love of music, so I could think of no better destination for the road trip.

We got up early (around 8:30…) and headed over to Zilker Park for day 1 of ACL. When we arrived, we were relieved to find that the lines were short and the sky was full of clouds. As I’m sure most of you are aware, Austin is experiencing a major drought and to see rain clouds in the sky is kind of a miracle. With hope of a good-weather day, we headed over to see Cults, but not before dropping by another, smaller stage to see what Miniature Tigers had to offer. An all male band with a familiar sound, they sounded a little raw and were alright, but not my favorites. Now Cults: I was not aware of this band, but Emily and Helen–Joellen’s friend from Kentucky and Emily’s high school friend–really wanted to see them, so we were all game. I really liked the band. They had a female front man (front woman?) and a somewhat dreamy sound that reminded me of something I would hear on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack (that is a good thing). I would up knowing one song (you’ll notice that’s a trend with most of the bands we saw) and really enjoyed my first music festival act. After Cults, we stopped by another stage to see An Horse who I also enjoyed. A male-female duet from Australia, they had a cool sound as well. It was a Joellen pick and did not disappoint.

We then took a break for lunch #1 and were so excited when we saw all that there was in the Austin Eats section of the park. There was so much to choose from so we decided to take it slow. We started with a grilled corn salad with a soft boiled egg from Odd Duck Farm to Trailer. It was really good. I wasn’t expecting it to be cold, but that was a very pleasant surprise. Really nice flavors that didn’t totally bomb in the heat. Definitely a good way to start off. Then we decided to have something small, so we each ordered a taco from Torchy’s. I got the green chile pork (on flour tortilla) and Joellen got the fried avocado (also on flour) and wow. They were so delicious. I actually favored Joellen’s taco, as it had a wider array of flavors, and I was really digging the fried avocado. Mine had just a touch more cilantro than I can handle, but I will definitely be making more trips to Torchy’s soon.

After our first lunch, we went to check out The Secret Sisters, a band I’ve heard Joellen mention a few times before. Now, given her usual tastes, I assumed they would be indie-alternative singers who may or may not be related (see: Tegan and Sara). I was really surprised when she told me that they did old-school country music. And did they ever. These Alabama girls were both energetic and demure, and sung beautifully. I was absolutely thrilled at how much I liked them. Check them out. Now. We then went over to a bigger stage to set up camp to see Brandi Carlile, who I was really excited to see. I’m just going to take this time to come out and say that I knew of about 5 artists of 130 who are at ACL this year. And Brandi was one of them. I discovered her on a Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack and fell in love with her sound. She was awesome. Just really great. Just as I hoped she’d be, and so much more.

It was then time for lunch #2. We walked farther down the food section and found a lot more that piqued our interests, so we again decided to try/share a few little dishes. We first got the Kick Ass Nachos from Tim Love’s Love Shack, which lived up to the name. Joellen and I both have a secret (now not so secret) love of cheese sauce. This dish had plenty. And it was homemade, too. Nice job, Love Shack. We also got some truffled mac and cheese from Lonesome Dove Western Bistro which I devoured. I’m really in to truffles right now (see here) and this dish was flavorful without being heavy. It was delicious. They used orzo instead of the traditional macaroni which I liked and Joellen wasn’t crazy about. I would order this dish over and over, but again, when you’re using two of my favorite ingredients, that is a given.

We then went to meet with Emily and Helen at the Smith Westerns show, which abruptly ended 20 minutes before it was supposed to. Odd. We heard that Ray LaMontagne was onstage and went to go see him. Joellen really likes him and the more I hear, the more I like. I would have liked to stay, but it was so swamped that we decided to go to the stage next to his to wait for Cold War Kids and listen to him from the sidelines. I really enjoyed CCK. They were an Emily pick and a good one at that. Again, I knew one song and got really excited. I also did not want to stand up so I got a good glimpse of feet and tattoos. It was pretty great.

We went to the next stage (where Ray had been) and set up camp for Bright Eyes. They are a favorite of Joellen’s and I’ve liked them for a while too. I was introduced to them back in high school and have dabbled ever since. I’m ashamed to say that I fell asleep during their show, but it was a light, short sleep and I could hear how awesome Conor and the gang were.

Joellen and I left a little early to get a spot for my favorite act of the weekend: Sara Bareilles. I just love her. She sings one song that got really big, and I have been pretty excited about her for a long time (thanks, Andrea for letting me burn her cd!). She was awesome. Energetic and so talented. I wish that she was given a bigger stage/that she had played longer. Oh well, we’ll just have to see her in concert some day.  After Sara, we had dinner: spinach pakoras with a delightfully spicy/refreshing mint chutney from Royal Indian Foods and an fried avocado “cone”: fried avo with spicy sauce and sweet coleslaw in a flour tortilla situated in a paper cone from The Mighty Cone. It was actually really good.  Oh, and we also got ice cream. Amy’s Ice Cream, which is something that Joellen has been talking about since we got here.  Apparently it’s very Austin. We got the mint chocolate chip which was awesome. We then found Helen and Emily and settled in for our final show: Kanye. And it was fine; just what you’d expect: flashy, loud and crowded. We all enjoyed sitting toward the back and taking it all in.

To close, some observations about ACL (if I still have an audience, thanks for hanging in):

– There are so many nice people. Everyone is pretty like-minded and I have neither heard nor seen anyacts of violence. It’s all peace and love here.

– I love the flags. People carry around flags or balloons, inflatable animals, what have you on long poles and I love them. We have seen so many fun, creative and random flags. They’re also excellent for identifying location when you’re trying to find a friend

– There are so many kids here. And not just little kids with their parents, but 11, 12 year olds (seemingly just with a group of friends) who should maybe be with a chaperone. It’s a little alarming to see that once the later shows start.

– “So many young people with so many regrettable tattoos” -Joellen

– Rain happened. It was awesome, even if brief.

– This is the greatest place to people watch-EVER.

 

Until next time, Peace and Love from the ACL-ers

❤ Amy

vegas: most relaxing city award?

I know it seems that every other post we talk about how we “revamped” and “really needed it;” we talk about our friends who graciously let us use laundry facilities and how we reorganized the car and how whichever city was a godsend.  It is not untrue that Seattle and LA offered us relaxation, each in their own ways (cough cough, laundry), but Vegas has been a different beast altogether.  We’ve been staying with my friend Alana and her boyfriend Steve who have offered us unlimited laundry use and cold drinks galore.  And even though we have ‘reorganized’ before, yesterday we actually got to clean out the car.  I mean, everything was out and we threw things away and vacuumed and Windex-ed and Armor All-ed and it felt so good.  But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let me start at the beginning of our day:

We woke up late, apu (as per usual), and had a leisurely morning before heading to the Bellagio, where both Alana and Steve work.  Alana is a stage manager for Cirque du Soleil’s O (it is amazing, you must go see it) and Steve is an acrobat in the show.  They are a pretty awesome couple.  They keep interesting hours, but manage to be more energetic than we could ever dream of being.  So, we went to the Bellagio to have lunch at a restaurant that Alana has really been wanting to try: Todd English’s Olives.  I must admit, when I first read the menu, I thought a lot of the items were tired.  But when we arrived and tasted the food, my mind quickly turned.  I had a Bellini (when in Rome…) while Joellen stuck with water and Alana had a raspberry lemonade.  We ate some bread with different olive tapenades and tried to decide on what to order for our main courses.  It took me an unusually long time, since it’s Vegas Restaurant Week and there were so many options.

Alana had the Boston Bibb Salad and the Sea Scallops, Joellen had the Portobello Flatbread and I had the Caesar Salad (with anchovy fillets) and the Sea Scallop dish as well.  Alana really enjoyed the salad and scallops and Joellen’s flatbread was delicious.  Made with fontina cheese and white truffle oil, it was aromatic, slightly salty and really well-balanced.  My salad was so tasty (it was also nice to have something fresh and green…it’s been a while…), and the anchovy added a great amount of salt and depth of flavor.  The sea scallops were absolutely fantastic.  I mean really, really stellar.  Paired with a whipped yukon gold mash, fava bean puree, roasted beets and frisee, I was floored at how well balanced the flavors were.  The beets were, in my opinion, what made the dish.  The scallops were, for the most part, seared nicely, and who wouldn’t love mashed potatoes?  And the fava bean puree was just divine.  For a restaurant I was none too excited for, Olives really delivered.  The server even remembered to get me lemons for my Diet Coke (I might have had three drinks in front of me…caffeine, alcohol, hydration; they’re all key)–hooray for nice, attentive servers (to the server from Park Grill, you could take a few notes from Olives guy).

After lunch, Joellen and I headed back to Alana’s house, but not before stopping for me to get a manicure at a wonderful 24-hour salon , having a Starbucks break (very necessary) and seeing someone get arrested…for stealing from CVS…really?!  We went back and had the massive car cleaning session, which was just so fantastic and really cathartic.

Afterwards, we got cleaned up and decided that we would again stay in; after all, we’re in Vegas!  We sat outside sipping on our respective drinks of choice, enjoying the nice change in weather, reading.  Or at least I was reading.  Joellen was doing something on her computer.  We got hungry and so we decided to eat two of the tamales that we purchased in Grants Pass at the farmer’s market.  The girl who sold them to us said that re-steaming them was the best way to enjoy them, but that a microwave would also suffice.  I decided to MacGyver a steamer using a deep skillet to simmer the water, a large metal bowl to catch the steam, and a cooling rack to hold the tamales.  I was pretty impressed with myself.  It might have taken almost an hour, but the results were delicious.  Everything a tamale should be.  Alana came home and we had another drink with her before everyone turned in for the night.

So this might not have been the Vegas experience everyone dreams of, but it was truly blissful for us.  Being in the car for the bulk of our days is pretty tiring and having a nice soft bed and a washer-dryer is all we need to make us happy.  Now on to touch multiple states at once!

❤ Amy

another day

El Segundo, I love you. Not only because of the escape from the air pollution of Los Angeles interstates/freeways/highways, but because I finally reunited with my beloved iced coffee. Blue Butterfly Coffee, can we be friends forever?

(That was out of chronological order, but it was the best part of the day.)

We started the day today with one thing in mind. House. We met a realtor in Pasadena and we saw some houses that renewed our spirits about finding what we need. Maybe Pasadena is not the right place for us now, but we’re excited to explore it further and we were happy we had a positive experience.

Oh, apparently half of L.A. doesn’t work on Fridays. We spent more time in traffic today than I thought possible. I know everyone says it, but they really freaking mean it. Traffic in L.A. really sucks. It took us nearly 3 hours to drive to Pasadena, see 3 houses very close to each other, and drive to meet Cara for lunch in El Segundo. Good thing lunch was worth the drive. Cara was excited to take us to one of her favorite lunch spots, Farmstand. We got there kind of late (2:30ish) and walked in to a very empty restaurant. That can go in any direction, so glad this one took a right turn. We started with the baked Brie topped with apples, garlic, and pecans and Parmesan fries (why not?). The appetizers were taking a little longer than normal so we were gifted a small grilled watermelon salad with feta, basil, and balsamic. I enjoyed this the most of the three starters. The Brie was good. (Yes, I’m one of those that find Brie slightly overrated and a bit reminiscent of sweaty feet stench – keep in mind that I will always eat it, though.) The fries were good, but would have been much better with freshly grated Parmesan and a little truffle oil. We also had soft, warm bread accompanied by two oils (described as green and red). For our main courses Cara, Amy, and I had the Mediterranean Chicken Salad with avocado, Grilled Chicken Sandwich/Side Salad, and the Farmstand “Balanced” Soup/Tomato Avocado Salad, respectively. Cara loved her salad; she had ordered it before and was excited to have it again. Amy devoured her sandwich and liked it a lot. It came with sliced zucchini instead of pickles, which was a huge selling point for her. I enjoyed my lunch as well. The soup was a lentil-like soup with a yogurt and mint drizzle (I would skip the mint next time). The salad was amazing. I love avocadoes and to not enjoy at least one while in California would have been a crime. I also love balsamic, though an unnamed travel companion thinks it’s overused (maybe, but there’s a reason). All in all, a great experience. Did I mention that our late arrival meant that we got there for happy hour food prices? Bonus.

We said goodbye to Cara as she returned to work and we got on the road to Las Vegas (after a brief beach stop – I couldn’t leave L.A. without putting my feet in the sand). You know those people that don’t work on Fridays in L.A.? Well, the other half go to Vegas on the weekends when they do get off. Our bad for waiting until 4:15 to get on the road west, but there really wasn’t too much of a choice at that time. It took us 3 hours to get out of L.A. I’m not going to say any more about that at this time. Or ever. When we finally got out of the gridlock (not to be confused with just regular L.A. traffic), we stopped at In and Out Burger for another L.A. experience. We ordered some fries, animal style, and got back on the road. In case you’re wondering, no wallet left behind.

Driving to Vegas from L.A. proved to be quite the experience. It’s unbelievable how many cars were en route to the City of Sin. Once the sun went down, all we could see was the taillights in one steady stream. For three hours. We stopped somewhere along the Mojave for a bio break and some fuel (gasoline and dark chocolate honeycombs). While there we saw a blonde in a BMW blasting her rap music and putting on makeup (red bull and vodka, please), three young guys in a minivan housing some subs (Hangover re-enactors), and an older couple enjoying an ice cream sandwich (Hoover Dam). A Vegas postcard for sure. I wonder what they were thinking about us?

The last of the drive really flew by and sooner than later we were knocking on the front door belonging to Amy’s best friend, Alana. Alana and Steve were kind enough to wait up for us and even had ingredients to put together a couple of homemade pizzas. One pizza was pepperoni, mushroom, fresh tomato, and roasted yellow pepper topped with Monterey Jack cheese and a little garlic. I can’t report directly, but Amy said it was very tasty (if you’re keeping score, that’s one for roasted peppers). The other pizza was veggie (yay) and was loaded with mushrooms and artichoke hearts atop a carefully crafted and wonderfully seasoned ricotta base with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and also topped with the MJ cheese. Amy even seasoned the crust with salt and roasted garlic. Nice touches all around. I’m so lucky. Amy and Alana popped a cork, Steve and I cracked a beer, and we settled in for some catch-up/get-to-know-you talk. After about two hours (and delicious homemade pizza consumption) we hit the sack. Recharge needed.

Joellen

one short day (in the emerald city)

Since my last post, I realized that I forgot to mention the delicious Spokane hotel meal that was prepared by Amy. She makes a fantastic PB&J. I was reminded again of my omission when she repeated the gesture this morning – a lovely way to start the day. We also had another fine sleep-in this morning. It was definitely strategic as we set off to conquer (dabble in) Seattle’s offerings.

We made the short drive into the city and headed to stop number one: Salumi. Cured meats weren’t high on my list, but Amy was ecstatic about this venture. Salumi is owned by Mario Batali’s family…a fact that made me excited as well. We waited in a fairly short line in a very narrow space. Satisfied customers were exiting with words of praise and “it’s worth the wait” smiles. Amy ordered the Salumi Salami Sandwich and I the Veggie Sandwich (shocker). I can vouch for the salami since I think I had the best seat in the house for watching Amy roll her eyes in delight. I learned that people in Seattle don’t mind sharing their food with complete strangers…while also learning that Amy wouldn’t have minded being that stranger. She spoke a lot of the gnocchi (Tuesday is gnocchi day at Salumi) and eyed our fellow diner’s dish more times than I could keep up with. But, in the end, the girl finished her dish and Amy did not get a sample. I think gnocchi just made the to-do list in any given future destination.

After lunch we traveled by foot a few blocks to the waterfront where we quickly realized that we were just a little off track from where we needed/wanted to be. A few questionable resident sightings confirmed this. I can’t lie, I was feeling slightly uneasy about Seattle at this point. I never felt unsafe; I just didn’t expect the homelessness (although, Amy commented that it’s quite difficult to distinguish the homeless from grunge in this town). We headed to the car in search of new hope.

And hope we found. I know everyone says you should definitely hit Pike Place Market. It’s a must-see kind of thing. From the fish slinging to the folk art to the fruits/vegetables/flowers…it’s got a lot going on. Initially, I found the market to be a little disappointing. We shared a custard éclair that was super, but I found the rest of the vendors less than spectacular. Then we crossed 1^st Avenue.  This led us right where we wanted to be: a foodie’s paradise. We did the obligatory Original Starbuck’s visit (I had my first coffee in many months). From there we headed to cheese (that won’t surprise any of you). Beecher’s Handmade Cheese lovingly supplied us with cheese curds we thoroughly enjoyed…and eventually lost…most likely in Aveda. (If seen please email offtolookforamerica@gmail.com.) We then drifted into La Buona Tavola – Truffle Café where we were greeted and assisted by the owner, Rei Hanscomb. We (Amy) had an extensive and informative information session with Ms. Hanscomb – she was both kind and knowledgeable. She let Amy sample many truffle products, but she finally settled on the Black Truffle Salt (10% concentration) and, of course, some salami.

Bellies (more) full, we ventured to the Original Nordstrom store and Aveda (fromage black hole land). We browsed, shopped, and regrouped then made way to the nearby Monorail station for a trip to the Space Needle. However, this was not before a small child demanded I hurry up in the mall restroom and followed this with a subtle punch in my leg on the way out.

The Space Needle is neat. It is. I resisted. I’ll admit it. It’s hard to deny landmarks of such magnitude. Where you look to the peak and find yourself lost on your feet. We took the 500+ foot ride in the elevator and found the most comprehensive and amazing views of the city. We perused the gift shop for a while and settled on something everyone needs, Space Needle salt and pepper shakers (jealous?). We enjoyed a stroll around the Seattle Center and I got an opportunity to vaunt about my 1988(ish) Tony Hawk skateboard and aged myself by singing along to “Silent All These Years” in the courtyard. I know. We also got to see Key Arena, an exciting thing for me, a WNBA (it still exists) fan and Seattle Storm follower. Amy, not so much.

Our tired feet eventually transported us back to our vehicle. We had decided on Thai for dinner and made the drive to a vegetarian Thai restaurant in Ballard, Jhanjay Thai. The super hip atmosphere (and that fact that it took us 10 minutes to locate a parking spot within 3 blocks) indicated good things were coming our way. We were right. So good. Perfect way to end a perfect day – Pad Thai, Modern Family, and the couch. I would also like to point out that my decision to spend $10.77 to have our laundry done today was probably one of the wisest yet. Patting self on back (in clean pajamas).

Oh, and we got sun in Seattle! Two days in a row. AND, I got to listen to KEXP in real life.

Joellen

i’m amazed (montana/idaho/washington)

The morning started out quite nice today. After falling asleep to train whistles and a highly efficient air conditioner, we were well rested and ready to tackle the day. We checked out at 11:06 (always a few minutes late) and headed to Sacajawea Park to fulfill Amy’s desire to visit. I’m so glad we did. It was situated on the river with beautiful mountain views. We had our leftovers from dinner as we took in the amazing scenery. Amy did a little light rock climbing…as much as one should do wearing mere flip-flops. She made it to the water’s edge and I saw a foot go in. I guarded the belongings and snapped pictures of the event.

Next stop was a very badly needed car wash. The Wild West has an incredible amount of bugs – not as many as Florida, but more than I expected.

We hopped on the road and there we stayed…for about 30 minutes. I think it’s fair to say that we’re both suckers for artisan foods. I read somewhere that the Neely’s had visited this award-winning caramel shop nearby. We drove out there and sadly the factory was closed. However, I had read that their caramels were distributed to over 600 retail outlets. There was still hope. On the way to the caramel destination, we had seen the Bozeman Co-Op. Once seen, I think we both knew that it was not an optional stop – it was a must. This was easily one of the best decisions of the trip (there have been many, though). It was a great little place where we enjoyed salads with tasty options (quinoa, edamame) and a really wonderful bowl of veggie soup. The healthy meal really hit the spot. Bonus: they were a distributor for both the caramels and a local goat cheese I had read about. Bringing a cooler on this trip was an excellent plan.

Fueled up , we were ready to drive our little hearts out. And that we did – for 6 hours.  In order to keep this a little interesting I’ve decided to make a few points. If you know me, you know I love bulleted lists. So:

• Montana is amazing. I mean, just spectacular. I would love to spend more time visiting. Summer home?
• Everyone on I-90 drives a Subaru. Not, everyone, but a ton. I definitely think it’s the most common make of vehicle we’ve seen on the road. Also, whenever we see another Subaru, Amy (in her best Buster Bluth) acknowledges them with, “Hey brother.” It’s the cutest thing. Ever.
• Also, another road observation: Montana may have the most concentrated amount of personalized license plates in the country. It made for an awesome past time.
• Oh, Butte, MT is not that amazing. We found a travel stop with a McDonald’s, a casino, an Arby’s, a Subway, and 3 toothless people buying corn dogs. Judging from the crystal meth signs on the highway, I think we might have stumbled upon a place that won’t be on either of our repeat visit lists.
• The speed limit is MT is 75. Which means good things can happen over 80 – that’s only 5 over! Also, neither of us has seen an authoritative figure on the highway since Minnesota.
• We got beef jerky before leaving Big Sky Country. Just the smell takes me back to childhood. I supported the purchase for that reason alone.
• The sea salt caramels were delightful.

We saw thousands and thousands of trees today and it never got old. I am just taken aback by the beauty that surrounds us. Sometimes the mountains appear to go on forever. The vastness is mysterious and wondrous.

We pulled into Spokane’s fabulous Holiday Inn Express and were warmly greeted. We haven’t experienced much more than genuinely friendly people on our journey. We checked in, unpacked, and ventured out to see “Our Idiot Brother.” Cute movie. Nice to see more than the road for a few. Also, Zooey.

Tomorrow it’s off Burien, WA. We are staying there while visiting Seattle. Super excited!

Joellen

roadside (minneapolis to south dakota)

Our new air mattress doesn’t have an auto-deflate feature. Today was so great that I have little else to complain about. Except maybe the excessive bugs on my windshield.

We started with lunch. And if you read Amy’s post before this one, you’ll know why. All fun nights deserve a special next-day meal; and all departure meals deserve to be momentous. Amy’s been mentioning this “Jucy Lucy” concoction for a while. Minneapolis is the home to Matt’s Bar and Matt’s Bar is the home to the “Jucy Lucy.” (Which, I’ll add, is apparently debated.) Andrew kindly called the order in for one “JL” and I saw a twinkle in a certain eye. While plans were being made for Matt’s the previous evening, I was making my own plans for a delicious vegetarian lunch. Birchwood Cafe did not disappoint. I ordered the black bean quinoa burger with avocado mousse (goat cheese based and so yum) and a jalapeño aioli. Andrew and Angela split the summer veggie pizza and it looked really great. Amy waited for us to get our food so we could eat together (read: so she wouldn’t be judged harshly for bringing a greasy burger to the local granola hangout). According to her, it was worth the hype, the wait, and the judgment. I loved my burger – I have had some great food so far. After we finished lunch it was time to say goodbye to Andrew and Angela. It’s not “goodbye”, it’s “see you soon.” Thanks guys – you were great. If I have my way, I hope we’ll visit Minneapolis again next summer(ish) – not winter. I think Amy and I were both impressed by the city.

Have you ever driven from Minneapolis to Rapid City, SD? No? Just stare at this for 10 hours:

Though a consistent scenery (we all know I love consistency), it was really gorgeous. I thought my eyes would tire of the rows and rows of corn, but I surprised myself. We drove a lot today. In fact, we are still in the car as I am typing this. We’re in the Badlands, but it’s late and dark. We encountered farmland from outside Minneapolis until about 50 miles ago – about 8 hours of it. Shortly after crossing into South Dakota a longhorn sculpture in the distant prairie caught my eye. We hadn’t made but one stop for sodas, why not? This type of experience is what this trip is about. Porter Sculpture Park is odd America. And so is the sculptor. I think Amy was a little (lot) wary of the strange man with crazy gag glasses and a sunscreen-pasted face…he did want to know if she was a botanist because she was photographing a flower. I still think we should have played along with that. His grapes needed her. The “garden” was scattered with metal sculptures – some with accompanying philosophical stories. See the pictures, I don’t think I could do the details justice.

Back on the road. Another 10, 67, 100, or 200 (I can’t keep track) miles and we decide to succumb to the many advertisements for “The Corn Palace.” We also needed gas and a caffeine fix. After the very brief, but “I wonder what it would be like to live here” drive, we arrived. And departed. Drive bys count. There was a small fair of sorts happening as evidenced by teenager girls in short shorts clandestinely hopping out of mom’s minivan. It was big and corny. Here’s are pictures that other people took

On the way to the interstate, we stopped at the local gas station/convenience store for gas and restrooms. Of course, we chose the one with the small green dinosaur on the sign. Duh. I’m only adding this segment so I can tell the world (aka our 200ish followers) that the Sinclair at Exit 332 on I-90 in South Dakota has an awesome bathroom. There was a wicker chair in there for guests. It felt just like grandma’s house.

We’re now 10 miles from our exit and I need to navigate. I’m sure the Rapid City Holiday Inn is anxiously awaiting our arrival, but I doubt it compares to the excitement I am building for a washer and dryer. We’ll miss friends greeting us with open arms and free room and board.

Update: Room is great. We’re in a corner suite with a mini fridge and like 80 (3) sinks. Also, not to toot my own horn, but I have become quite the car chef. Amy has driven the late shift and I have made sure that we consume food for fuel. I make a really mean Triscuit/cheese snack. Be jealous.

Time to change the laundry over…yay!

Joellen