Summer Favorites (LBI)

My favorite season has come to a close. I always say I’m going to try new things, but often wind up going to the same places. It’s a seasonal town, and some options are only open May through October. This year I was extra good about branching out. These were a few of my favorite LBI things:

Lobster rolls from The Local. These aren’t new, but I live for them. Let’s carry on.

Poke nachos and fried oyster deviled eggs from the Old Causeway. Also technically not new since this is my place of choice any time someone asks where I want to go to dinner, but I tried the neighboring restaurant with the same owners, Mud City Crab House, and it did not disappoint.

Engleside sushi, always and forever. This year I also tried Shell sushi, which was almost equally delicious.

Oh my gosh, I’m spoiled. I went to Parker’s Garage three times, three weeks in a row. If you know it, it’s kind of expensive, kind of far (from where I live), but always amazing. Somehow I attended a regular night out, a birthday party, and a family gathering here on back to back weeks. Other delightful restaurant surprises were: DaddyO’s rooftop bar, Delaware Oyster House.

Jeffreeze Ice cream is technically off the island, but it’s a new favorite and not a far drive. We loved seeing musicals at the Surflight Theatre. This year, they were outdoors:

And I guess that’s a wrap on summer! It was a fast one, but a good one.

Veganuary Update

This might be more of a lack of Veganuary update after a few slip-ups, but I’m doing my best! I like starting the new year off with a healthy challenge, so I’m trying to be meat and dairy free for these 31 days. I was finding it very easy during the first two weeks, because Sydney has a ton of vegan restaurant options, like this pancake place right down the street from my building:

And this coffee shop with cool graffiti in Marrickville:

I’m finding that I feel better eating vegan this January than last year. Last time, I think I was eating a lot of nut-based products, which were making me feel bloated and gassy (sorry TMI!) This year I’ve been sticking with veggies, beans, and some soy stuff from the grocery store. King Street in Newtown is my favorite strip in Sydney for plant-based eateries. I also like making my own stuff at home, like this vegan pizza or last week’s cauliflower tacos:

However, this past week proved more challenging! My friends from England hosted a Sunday roast, and I wanted to try new things like Yorkshire pudding and old favorites like stuffing. It was my version of a Thanksgiving since I missed the one at home. Then I really fell off the wagon since there were invitations to multiple sushi restaurants and a friend made me some amazing cheesy risotto.

As usual, I find eating vegan very easy when I’m on my own. But when I’m out with friends, I hate being the fussy one. It’s hard to stick to my guns because I’m not completely opposed to eating meat and dairy. I just don’t enjoy it on a regular basis. I don’t think I’ll ever be fully animal product-free, but it’s nice to do the challenge. I’ve been finding myself choosing vegan more often throughout the year, too, so never say never.

Thankful

I didn’t think I would be missing out on Thanksgiving this year, because my family doesn’t always do something together at home every year. Everyone is usually traveling or in different places, and last year when I was living in LA, the flights were quite expensive to go home so soon before Christmas, so I stayed in California. But this year my mom decided to do fun stuff with family and my dad decided to do fun stuff with family. What the heck! And of course, everyone in the world was busy posting photos of their traditional meals while I painted ornaments and ate a lonely burrito at the shopping center’s food court since it was already Black Friday here:

Never fear, though! I do love the job, and I usually pack my meals from home instead of braving the mall’s options. On the night before Thanksgiving, Mike and I went out to a multi-course meal at one of the best restaurants in his neighborhood. We’ve definitely spent many a Friendsgiving together in college, so it was nice to have a reminder of the good old days—and the good now days! No turkey or cranberry sauce this year, but there was pumpkin! I may have to negotiate a green bean casserole the next time I get back to the states…

This year, I’m thankful for friends in all places, for my family who seem to reluctantly support my impromptu announcements to go far away, for my yoga practice, and for all the twists and turns in these wild life adventures. Here’s to having absolutely no idea where I’ll be on Thanksgiving next year.

Sunrises & Swans

Having another week off from working (for better or for worse) meant extra time to explore this city. It comes complete with sunrise views at the park across the street:

Annnd I realized the other day that there are black swans in the park! I’ve never seen them before. Side note, I’ve never seen the movie before, either, and I think that someday I probably should. These swans didn’t seem to mind me creeping semi-close to take a photo.

I did a waitressing trial here last weekend. That seems to be a thing they do here when you want to work in hospitality— after the interview, they’ll offer an unpaid trial for a few hours to see how you do. I’ve enjoyed one and not enjoyed one, but at the moment I’m thinking I don’t really want to waitress while I’m in Sydney, because the main reason I’m here is to practice yoga at 6am, and the two lifestyles don’t blend very well.

The view from the restaurant was nice, anyway.

Mike came back from his work trip to Taipei/Korea/Japan so we went to the farmer’s market near his place:

I arrived a little early and was hungry, so I got this crumpet. And may I say what a treat it is to be able to order a crumpet!

Then Mike got there and we had breakfast, second breakfast, or maybe brunch?

Yum! As you can see, there’s no shortage of things to eat here. This week I’m back to work so that I can fund all the cafe and farmer’s market visits that my heart desires!

Down for Dumplings

I always seem to find my way to Chinatown in one city or another. Last week was no different. After yoga and two morning interviews, I took a walk through town and wound up on Dixon St, the main street in Sydney’s Chinatown.

It was pretty quiet in the early afternoon on a Tuesday, but I’m eager to go back on a Friday for one of the night markets. I scoped out the restaurants, ice cream stands, and tea shops, but I had my goals set on a different part of town for lunch.

The path from Dixon St. leads down to Darling Harbor. I remembered it from my last visit—pretty crowded and touristic, but a good place for pretty views of the harbor and, I hear, fireworks every Saturday night. It’s also home to the Chinese Garden of Friendship, which costs only $6 to enter so I should just suck it up and go to, but during both visits I’ve gotten too tired/hangry to continue my tourism. I had some snacking to attend to.

The walk back to Mike’s place took me past a tiny street-between-streets called Spice Alley. It’s a strip of ten hawker food stalls offering cuisine from China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Um. How is a person supposed to decide between those options? I see no reason to ever eat anywhere else.

After much time spent debating, I chose a plate of chicken and veggie dumplings from Shanghai. Australia doesn’t have many of its own delicacies that are worth writing home about, besides fish and chips, kangaroo (no thanks!), and emu (also no!), but I’m happy to sample treats from nearby nations. It was the perfect lunch break after an interview-filled morning. Sending a million cover letters and resumes can get to you after while, so it was nice to forget my struggles with a plateful of dumplings.

Noodle Night

Like I said last time, one of my favorite ways to find out about fun stuff to do in a new city is by word of mouth. That means sometimes I have to break out of my comfort zone, put my phone down, talk to strangers, and then remember what they say, take my phone back out, and write it down! When I was waiting for my Uber at the airport, I heard a girl saying that there were free walking tours offered twice a day, every day around the city. I asked her where they met up, and followed her advice to join one. I was hesitant to do such a touristy activity now that I’m trying to blend in as a real “Sydneysider”, but it was a good way to learn many things and enjoy a free afternoon activity whilst being around other people.

The tour went all around the central city area, lasting almost three hours. I knew it was a good one because I paid attention almost the whole time and barely got distracted like I have been known to become on long historic tours. I learned that you can rub this boar’s nose for good luck and donate some change to the hospital behind him:

And that the two animals on the coat of arms of Australia, the emu and the kangaroo, were chosen because they’re both unable to walk backwards. So the country keeps on moving forward, and I like that message.

We walked through Hyde Park, saw some food tents and fences set up, and our guide told us that Friday night would be the last Noodle Night Market of the season. And the last one to be held in Hyde Park, the original location, probably ever. There are few things I love more than noodles, so I knew I had to be there! Luckily, Mike’s office is right next to Hyde Park, so he agreed to meet me after work for some noodle noms.

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However, there were not only noodles to choose from. There were just about all the asian delicacies you could imagine, and some that might’ve been made up just for the event: bao buns, satay, bubble waffles, fish balls, a wild spiral french fry creation on a stick, etc. etc. You want it? You could probably have it, if you were willing to wait in the lines of about a million people each. I wanted the flying noodles pictured above, but they were so popular that we got tired of walking to find the end of the line. No matter; we gathered a couple beers and stood in a much shorter line for likely very similar tasting, non-flying noodles.

All was right with the world.

Dining in Durham

Ok you guys, I don’t know what to tell you, because I ate more donuts in North Carolina. My sister spent a couple weeks there last year and said I had to go try Hole Doughnuts. Then I went to the lunch with Lainie and Warren, and they reiterated that I really should get some for the road. Unbelievably, I was feeling tired of donuts by that point, so I could ignore one recommendation, but I certainly could not ignore two recommendations.

This time it was a full-on snack experience, because they cut the dough circles and dunk them in the frying oil right in front of you. Then they dust them with powdered sugar, toasted almonds and sesames, or cinnamon and sugar. Wow! Also the bakers are very friendly and serve excellent coffee, too— added bonus!

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As I told you, I wasn’t hungry for more donuts at this point, so I was able to ride the 3.5 hours in the car with them from Asheville to Durham. I would bring them to my friend Matt and his lady friend for her birthday. This ended up being a semi-mistake, because I think they would have been a lot better fresh out of the fryer. They were still pretty tasty at night, but they did taste like donuts that had been obtained in the morning, ridden in the car with all day, and delivered in the evening. Ya know?

Did you know that the Raleigh-Durham area has become pretty cool and hip? I didn’t officially know, but every time I visit, things are looking better and better. My friend Matt recently purchased a house there with a sweet front porch swing and a big backyard. I know, what? People my age are buying houses and here I am carrying all my belongings in my car? Anyway…

Matt took me to dim sum (my favorite!) at the best restaurant in Raleigh, Brewery Bhavana. I love dim sum because you can share many little things and therefore incur less risk on ordering stuff you don’t recognize or know how to pronounce. Just like my old favorite restaurant in Philly, Kingdom of the Vegetarians, that is now closed. Tears. Ironically, I do not feel this same affection for trendy fake tapas restaurants where hummus is, like, $18.

Brewery Bhavana is perhaps actually not the best restaurant in Raleigh; it’s in the top 5 or so, but it is the #1 best in my book because look at these bookshelves:

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Look at this most aesthetically-pleasing bar I’ve ever seen in my life:

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And even look at this women’s bathroom wallpaper:

We also went to this equally hip bar/music venue and, the next day, did unwelcome but necessary work projects at a little coffee shop with a very cute name (Cocoa Cinnamon).

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Thanks Matt!

Napping in Nashville

I stayed the night in Nashville with my friend Nate, whom I had forgotten is the ultimate host. I’m sure most Tennesseans are that way, from what I’ve seen so far in this life. Sadly, during this visit, we were like ships passing in the night, because Nate had to work late and I had to leave early in the morning. However, sleep seemed less important than catching up on life events, hopes, and even yoga teacher training dreams. It was good to find a friend in the middle of the long road.

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It goes without saying that the next morning I had to make a stop at Five Daughters Bakery. Of all the donuts, this one, pictured above, is the donut. It’s really something—this 100-layer, croissant donut, maple glazed, buttercream-filled concoction. I don’t even understand how it can exist, and I’m glad I don’t live in Nashville so it can only be a special-occasion-type-of-thing.

It was only about four hours from Nashville to Asheville. What a treat after those ten hour days! And an equally delightful treat to have lunch with my friends Lainie and Warren. Would I ever tire of stuffing my belly full of donuts and bbq?!

Lainie just started a master’s program, and she had a test the next day, so it could only be a quick lunch and coffee break. Luckily, my mom’s friends slash my godmother agreed to host me for the night. They took me out to dinner, for which I was very grateful, although I was still pretty full of barbecue at that point.

What luck to have so many amazing places to visit across this route and friends to share the adventure with! More to come (and many more food posts) as I slowed down the driving across North Carolina…

Texarkana-Tennessee

I made the sad decision to leave Austin a night early so that I could break up the drive between Austin and Nashville. I booked a hotel in Dallas and only spent about eight hours there, but you can bet that I went back to the breakfast buffet for thirds to make sure I got my money’s worth. At that point, I was getting antsy about spending so much time in the car, but I still enjoyed watching the landscapes change from dry plains to lush greens, and stopping in silly places like Texarkana.

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My original plan was to stay and camp for a night in Hot Springs National Park, but I’m glad I cut that out of the agenda. Perhaps because it seemed like one of the least natural parks I’ve come across, or perhaps it was because I was listening to the national park abductions episode of Wine & Crime and one of their warnings was to never visit a national park alone. Moving right along…

The food tour continued at Central BBQ in Memphis, and the barbecue honestly was to die for, so if I happened to be abducted or murdered in a national park, I would be content that this was my last meal.

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A Weekend in Austin!

The drive from New Mexico to Texas wasn’t nearly as entertaining as the previous day’s, but it did allow me to stop by my old stomping grounds of Torchy’s Tacos in Lubbock to help break up the drive. I had a Trailer Park taco, which is fried chicken with lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese, and you can bet I ordered it trashy, which means add queso, yes, please and thank you. Oh yeah, I also stopped at Chick Fil A because I couldn’t decide, and that was the way I was living my road trip life.

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Anyway, it was five boring hours to Lubbock and five boring hours after that, but I finally landed in my previous home: Austin, TX! We popped open some drinks right away and went out to Rain dance club, which was shockingly one of the first bars I ever visited in Austin during my first trip there back in 2011! Life hath come full circle.

Obviously, there were many more tacos to eat. As much as I love that trashy trailer park taco, I do think Torchy’s is a little overrated (*gasp*), and I prefer Tacodeli (my number one fave) and Tacos Veracruz (they now have a brick and mortar up north, hallelujah!) Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

I took a class at BFree Yoga with my teacher Shelby because she’s the best. Then we spent a magical day at the pool and donned wigs in the night. It was a perfect weekend full of friends and fun!

Sweet & Spicy

This is not a recipe blog, and I haven't written much about food since the long lost days of this special personal project, BUT I made a new appetizer this weekend for my roommate's Memorial Day BBQ and many, many friends asked for the recipe.

It's Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower from How Sweet Eats, and it was pretty easy and extremely tasty. You should probably head over there to make it asap and, while you're at it, make all her other stuff, too!

from How Sweet Eats

Amigos de Austin

I traveled to a whole different part of the world and where do you think the first estadounidense I met was from? No place other than Austin, Texas! Yee-haw!

Sara is super nice and welcoming. She moved down here to start a bakery and a pizzeria. What a fine place to do just that. Pan de Vida is a relaxed respite off busy La Calazada street with great pizza, plenty of hammocks, and cinnamon rolls that I am not going to say whether or not could come close to my grandma's because sometimes she reads this! You'll have to try them for yourself.

I'm glad to have met Sara early in the trip, because she told me an easy way to remember the money exchange rate when I kept forgetting which ones were from Asia and which one was for here. The next day that knowledge saved me when the street converter tried to rip me off 200 cordoba. But all I had to do was correct him and he gave me the difference plus a little more. Sometimes it really pays to talk to strangers.

Singaporean Strolls

If you're looking for somewhere very clean, very efficient, and where nothing ever goes wrong because all preventative measures have been taken to ensure that nothing can ever go wrong, Singapore may be the place for you. It's an other-worldly city, nicer than any I've ever visited. It sort of makes you afraid to touch anything or mess anything up for fear of receiving a $500 fine or a public caning, but I didn't see anyone being fined or caned so it wasn't very scary walking around sightseeing and enjoying the cuisine in designated eating spaces.

This is a melting pot for sure, and I ended up spending most of my time in Chinatown and Little India before exploring any Singaporean culture. It's hard to pass up $3 meals in the Chinese food stalls, but you can find similarly priced delicacies from local hawker stands. After just a day, you may find yourself pointing and gesturing for mysterious ingredients, knowing you'll end up with phenomenal results. 

There's so much to see and do that I'm not sure three days was enough for fully uncovering this gem of a city. Fortunately, the public transportation system and flawless and will take you nearly everywhere you need to go. Unfortunately, the hostels and the people working in them are so nice that you might not ever want to leave. I'm glad I have a mini stopover on my way back to try more.

Live to Learn

Like I told you in the last post, I'm not the greatest of granddaughters, and before my recent trip to Buffalo, it had been quite a while since the last visit to upstate New York to see my grandma. This time, I took advantage of our stay together to convince her to share one of her most powerful areas of expertise: baking cinnamon rolls.

She has long been known throughout our family and her group of friends for her special touch with these tasty spiraled treats. My sister and I share antagonistic photos whenever one of us is lucky enough to get a full pan of her own in the mail. Despite my grandma's desires to spend the trip showing me around the Grand Island Golden Age center, she kindly agreed to spend a day in the kitchen walking me through all the mixing, rising, and rolling steps. And, even though the instructions have never been exact, the batch she guided me through came out pretty deliciously!

As the people we love grow older and begin to downsize in their living spaces, it's usually inevitable that we'll end up inheriting some of their precious possessions. Even better than the invaluable antique jewelry and multi-generational family heirlooms are the pieces of knowledge we can pick up along the way. A few years ago, my grandma taught me how to crochet, and now I think of her anytime I'm working on a project. And I've only made a few pierogi on my own, but I'll never forget holidays spent making them in a flour-filled kitchen with my aunt and uncle. It's a reward on two levels: you get to spend a special time together learning the craft, and then end up with lifelong memories that spring up whenever you decide to attempt it on your own. While I might not have perfected the kneading and measuring processes yet, it makes my heart happy that my grandma had the time to pass her unrivaled ability along to me. Hopefully I'll get to carry it with me for a long, long while, even if I'd rather not know how much powdered sugar ends up in the glaze.

Disclaimer: I did also come away with more than a few vintage skirts from the guest room closet, so don't go thinking that this post is wholly immaterial.

Sweet Summer

If any past/present/future employers are reading this, please know that I am very dependable and dedicated, and this post is most definitely not about me. However, for some people who are surely not me, certain times of year require the skipping of work in exchange for the seeking out of fresh fruits.

If you're finding yourself in that seasonal position, and if peaches and blackberries are the objects of your sweet desires, here are some do's and don'ts to guide your quest:

• Do carry out your search in Fredericksburg.
• Do check the pick-your-own calendars before you go.
• Don't stop at the jam/salsa stores along the way or you might take pity on lonely little old ladies with lots of free samples and end up buying more jam/salsa than you had originally planned.
• Do stop in Dripping Springs for the very best pizza or pastries.
• Don't run out of time for sunning and swimming on your way.

Pick wisely and enjoy!

Southeastern Spring

Spring Break happened last week, and as a person who has not had a spring break in some time, I can tell you that it was a miraculous feeling. Spending your hours with 4-8 year olds can be a ton of fun, but I was pretty excited to only interact with humans in my age range for 7 straight days. Not needing to set an alarm was pretty great, too.

The first stop was Nashville, which I knew would be a marvelous place since everyone I've ever met from Tennessee has been of the friendliest and most down-to-earth nature imaginable. Lainie (you already know her) met me at the airport, and her amazing friend Lindsay let us stay in her amazing apartment for the whole weekend.

It was cold[er than Austin], yet sunny, which turned out to be the perfect weather for walking around and snacking on scotcheroos (link warning: very, very addictive), hot chicken, and the most incredible donuts you'll taste in your lifetime.

Anyway, we two-stepped a bit, too, so it must have all evened out.

How-to: Campfire Thanksgiving

This is coming a little late, but fortunately for you and for all of us, campfire meals needn't be limited to the end of November. Here's how to make a good one at any time of year, and particularly for that one special day when turkey is required.

1. Spark it up

Light a fire, bring a camp stove, or, better yet, combine the two and cover all your bases. We cooked our sweet potatoes, sausages, and dessert over the fire and saved room on the stove for crucial sides like stuffing and mac & cheese.

2. Improvise

Unless you are much better at packing than we are or you are camping in your yard, you probably won't be able to roast a whole bird over your flames. We ended up with turkey sausages, but you could try breasts for a more authentic experience. There's also bacon, cold cuts, or the option to become a vegetarian for the day. 

3. BYOB

You can skip cranberry sauce and still get your servings of fruit by adding juice to your mimosa! Bonus tip: this will help shield you from any doubts that your meal might be subpar and erase any homesickness about what your relatives used to make*.

*Dad, if you're reading this, I hope you will still make me real turkey at Christmas.

Lovely Lux

Luxembourg is quite charming. We've nearly drunk and eaten our gracious host, Mike, out of wine and cheese. If the euro declines any further in value, I think we'll buy a castle and stay!

If you’re interested in travel around Luxembourg or other European destinations, consider Trainline, Europe’s biggest train and coach app.

Eating in Reykjavik: Don't be skyred!

*Disclaimer: I didn't actually eat that many adventurous Icelandic foods. I just wanted to make this pun using skyr, a delicious yogurty dairy product that they eat for breakfast, snack, and dessert.

So I didn't try whale, puffin, or seal because I didn't feel like eating whales, puffins, or seals, but I did eat a tiny bit of lamb, A LOT of wonderfully fresh fish, and as much skyr as I could get my hands on. 

Our first coffee on the island

Our celebratory, start of trip meal at Kopar could go toe-to-toe with most top restaurants in Austin, and our servers were always perfectly friendly and helpful. We even ate a traditional, mayonnaise-slathered hotdog on the last day, despite the fact that neither of us likes mayonnaise or hot dogs.

Then we went and swam in some geothermal pools, and all was fine and good.