Hendricks Gin, Lemon, and Honey is a Bee’s Knees cocktail at Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, Il
…Delish! You’d think the honey would make it too sweet but the lemon cuts the sweet thus making the cocktail delicious and drinkable. Plus, designer gin. What more could I ask for?
Hendricks Gin, Lemon, and Honey is a Bee’s Knees cocktail at Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, Il
…Delish! You’d think the honey would make it too sweet but the lemon cuts the sweet thus making the cocktail delicious and drinkable. Plus, designer gin. What more could I ask for?
Dirty Gin Martini with Extra Olives @ Nevin’s in Evanston, Il
…less calories than a beer, and it comes with a snack!
The last day that I was in Boston all I ate was Flour! I started early with Carolyn. We went to the Fort Point Flour which is bigger than the South End Flour and caters to a more commuter crowd so we had no issue getting seats.
TREATS!!!
I had a quiche with side salad for breakfast.It was literally the most light and delicious quiche I’ve ever had. It melted in my mouth and was probably the best ever!
Clearly I hated it...
Then we split this delicious raspberry bar…
Later I went to the South End Flour to pick up sticky buns for my family and a treat for the flight (roast beef sandwich and a brownie, which I only ate maybe half of). I also picked up some chocolate chip macaroons for the next day. While at that Flour location I had a half sandwich which was turkey with cranberries. It was an awesome day, this Flour day. I was very sad to leave Boston and all my great friends. I still love Boston and I want to get back soon.
No offense LA, but I like my ice cream to be real. Not that I don’t have a place in my heart for Yogurtland and Pinkberry, but sometimes you just want REAL ice cream. My favorite place in Boston for real ice cream is JP Licks. There are a number of locations in Boston. Carolyn and I went to JP Lick, Harvard Square between happy hours.
I always order the same thing at JP Licks. I know its lame, but why should I mess with perfection? I always get oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips. The oatmeal cookie has oatmeal which I love but also has a slight cinnamon aftertaste which makes it even more delicious. The chocolate chips make me feel like I’m eating an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (my favorite cookie!) It should be noted that this is a low fat hard yogurt so I suppose it isn’t really ice cream but its more like ice cream than tart yogurt!
YUM! This is for real my favorite ever! I could have it everyday all day. OK, maybe not all day but its soooo good. I need to have this more than once a year.
Carolyn didn’t love her selection so she went back for oatmeal cookie also, and it was much more satisfactory.
Wish I could have it all the time. More proof that I have to combine Boston and LA into one super city!
Lucky for me, Carolyn in a believer in multiple happy hours. First we enjoyed “two buck chuck” pinot grigio while watching this women:
Love barefoot!
After we took our party to Gredel’s Den in Harvard Square. I love Grendel’s because they have awesome happy hour food specials and wonderful drinks, which aren’t that expensive.
As mentioned above, Grendel’s has a superior drink list at low prices. I had a French 75, which I’ve had there before. It consists of gin, lemon, simple syrup and a champagne float! I love an added champagne float!
So light and refreshing! I also was eying a cocktail with lillet but I was glad I opted for the “75”. Its an all time favorite. Carolyn and I decided to split two options on the menu. First we wanted the panini because it contained prosciutto. This was clearly a no brainer because we love our prosciutto. The we split the Santa Fe salad and we added shrimp. Grendel’s has such awesome specials, it was only $1 to add shrimp!!
This was my portion. The panini also had sausage and the salad had cheese and a great dressing (which we obviously got on the side). It was a great deal and the food was only $8 total!!!
Once we completed our drinks we moved on from second happy hour…
And later went to Shay’s in Harvard Square for third happy hour! Shays is a great wine and beer bar. The patio was packed but there wasn’t anyone inside. We sat down and ordered the Hob Nob pinot noir. It was very good. Later I had a glass of the Stump Jump Shiraz. Both were good and the bar was perfect. No frills but good service and not too crowded and not too deserted. A great place to stop in for a glass of wine.
The Hob Nob.
three cheers for happy hour!
Then we headed back to Allston on the bus to Carolyn’s house. I love a Carolyn happy hour and I love it more when it involves three pit stops!
Last Saturday and Sunday I spent the “day” with Shahrin. Technically, it was two days but sadly only ended up being a little of 24 hours. We made the most of it though hitting Harvard Square, Sushi, watching numerous TV shows, feasting on her mom and aunts excellent cooking, getting pastries in the North End, and shopping in Faneuil Hall. Whew. Here is a short recap:
First things first, Shahrin gave me back my copy of Unaccustomed Earth and in it she had a spare key from my Boston apartment. Cool, huh? Then we had lunch. First thing you have to know is that the food at Shahrin’s house is always amazing. I had five pieces of fish when I arrived Saturday. On Sunday I had this eggplant:
The sauce is so good! You can always count on flavorful food when you visit Shahrin. We also enjoyed raspberry tea. The tea is loose leaf so Shahrin and I bought “tea balls” for the tea (insert inappropriate joke here).
Then we went to the North End and I took this picture of the Custom House. The last weekend my friends and I were in Boston together we stayed with our friend Catie there.
I remember when the big dig was going on and this whole area was a dirt hole. Now its really pretty with grass, trees, and fountains.
We went to a little cafe in the North End where we could get canolli and tiramisu. There is a lot of talk about Mike’s Pastry and I will be the first to tell you that Mike’s is good. However, Mike’s is also busy and not really any better than any other of the amazing North End cafes. We went to a cafe further down Hanover, the main drag, which was less crowded and has delicious pastries. I had a chocolate covered canolli
Shahrin had a tiramisu and of course we ate off each others plates
and then we had a latte and an espresso
I love the North End, or “Little Italy”. I snapped some pictures on my way to Quincy Market. Here we have Modern Pastry and Paul Revere’s house:
Then we went to Quincy Market where we indulged in a little shopping and we got drinks at Anthem. I really loved their drink selections but the service was a little bit slow. Shahrin had a ginger margarita and I had a sparkler, which is a pear compote with a prosecco.
We also took a photo shoot because we waited about 45 mins for our drinks:
Finally we got drinks!!
While the service left a lot to be desired the drinks were amazing. My sparkler was really light and very summer appropriate. I love a pear cocktail because its fruity but not sweet. I really don’t like overly sweet drinks. Pear is a good fresh flavor without being too much. I also love ginger so the margarita was delicious. Then it was about that time when we had to say good bye and we were sad…
I hate saying goodbye to that face! I really miss Shahrin. I was a little misty eyed on the T after I left. Shahrin is an amazing friend who would literally do anything for me if I wanted her to. She has always been there for me. She really is my hero. After I left Shahrin I went off to Allston to spend more time with Carolyn.
My first morning in Boston I woke up and went directly to Flour for a sticky bun. I have mentioned here many times at the sticky buns at Flour are the food of the gods. If it was my last meal I would want a sticky bun and an ice tea from Flour. Luckily Brea lives in the South End, very close to Flour.
But first… observe the beauty of the South End brown stones. I really want one.
After a short walk (I love being able to walk!) we arrived at the promised land…
I love Flour, but it can be a bit hard getting a table. Probably because the food is so amazing. We took the bounty back to Brea’s where we ate it while watching Gossip Girl.
Tell me that doesn’t look delicious! I dare you! I will be picking several up before I leave town. The bun is soft, the nuts are yummy and the caramel on top melts in your mouth. There is NO better way to start the day!
Today, David and I went to Disneyland. I went to Disneyland on my birthday last August (because I was able to get in for free) and I had been to Disneyland and Disney World on several occasions. David hadn’t been to Disneyland since 1995!
After a long trip on the freeway we arrived!!! Monday at Disneyland + it was overcast. There was almost no one there. Literally we walked right onto Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion with no wait. We also went to the pirate island (which was Swiss Family Robinson at one time- sadly no more). We only had to wait for 10 mins to get on the runaway train, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, It’s a Small World, and we waited 20 for the Matterhorn and Space Mountain. After a few rides we got lunch. We ate at the Orleans Cafe, a lovely recommendation from Ms. Catie Shea who is a Disneyland aficionado.
My goal for this trip was to be healthy. There was a ton of walking all day which was good. I had ratatouille for lunch:
I could have made a worse choice. Disneyland has HUGE portions, but this was corn, tomato, asparagus and a mixture or zucchini, squash, eggplant and onion. There was a bit of cheese on top, and of course, whatever they cook this in adds calories. Overall, it was pretty good. David had a three cheese Monti Cristo, which is where healthy eating kinda died. I had a solid portion of his which was more desserty than anything. Luckily, I let it go and enjoyed the park. Sometimes, you eat unhealthy things. Crap happens. We enjoyed the park:
And then I snacked on pineapple “whip” from the tiki room fruit stand, which was the only snack I had in park!
Tomorrow David goes home to Chicago, and I will go to yoga. I ran on Saturday (2.5 ish miles with stair running). I’ve had two full days off minus some serious walking. Every day for the past three my feet have killed me after walking. I am excited to go to yoga and then Boston on Wednesday, which we all know will include some serious walking and health, right Carolyn?
Today while David and I were kicking around Venice we stopped to have lunch at Abbott’s Habit, a cafe on Abbott Kinney. Whenever I walk by Abbott’s Habit there are always throngs of people outside so I was excited to try it. To drink I had a Moroccan Mint Tea (and clearly I had Pirates Booty as a side dish).
For the main course David and I both got 1/2 sandwich because we wanted to be hungry for snacks later. I tried the Bobo Chicken Sandwich which consisted of Chicken, melted cheese, pesto mayo, roasted red peppers, spinach, tomato, and red onion on a french roll. It was too good, and the portion was HUGE despite being a half:
It was gooooood. Then we hung out at the boardwalk, the canals and then Santa Monica:
And look what we saw:
A sea lion!!! Tomorrow we head to the east side for brunch with our cousin. Can’t wait!
Left Coast Contessa 