Saturday, September 22, 2007

GRUB

I recently discovered Grub after searching on Yelp for a Los Angeles restaurant that serves a good bowl of tomato soup - a recent, but still unsatisfied, craving. I didn't make it to Grub for lunch but enjoyed an early Sunday morning breakfast there last week. It's in a completely random location and looks like a house serving breakfast on the corner. Actually it reminded me a lot of the Glenwood in Eugene, Oregon. The entire staff was friendly and welcoming, including the owners who took time to visit every table. Betty Fraser, one of the owners was on Season 2 of TOP CHEF. Unfortunately, I've never watched this season but am addicted to this Season's. Anyway, I struggled with deciding between the bacon, cheddar and tomato scramble and the Friggin' Amazin' French Toast...I went with the scramble. It was truly one of the better egg dishes I've had in Los Angeles, although I think it was mostly due to the bacon. Mmmmmm, this bacon was sweet and slightly salty. And the dish came with roasted potatoes that were seasoned to perfection. They didn't even need any additional salt or ketchup (which I ALWAYS tend to reach for). Grub has definitely made it to my list of favorites in Los Angeles. On my next visit, I'm ordering the Afterschool Special.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Duck, Duck...Sheep!

We had (a bit sporadically) decided to visit Eugene after watching ESPN commentary on how strong Oregon was looking this year. I typically don't like to believe the hype, especially since the Ducks have let me down in the past, but my mama wanted to take me to her old stomping grounds at the University of Oregon. We drove down from Portland along the Oregon coast, to take in all the beauty Oregon has to offer. After yet, another long drive, we arrived in Eugene which is a ghost town (typical of college towns) when school's not in session. However, Marlene was happily filled with nostalgia of her good 'ol college days. The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the garden at The Glenwood, it's also priced for students which sweetens the deal! Although Eugene was a ghost town when we arrived the night before, the town was suddenly filled with Duck fans everywhere! Exciting! We explored the campus and loaded up on Duck gear for the game, which we still didn't have tickets for. However, we luckily scored tickets right outside of Autzen stadium and had the opportunity to enjoy half of the game. Sadly, we had to jump in the car for the long haul up to Seattle. But of course we couldn't leave Eugene without having a slice of Track Town Pizza on game day! Some of the best pizza I've ever had...

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

The City of Roses

After a long drive down from Vancouver, we were greeted at Portland with HOT summer weather. We checked into The Benson Hotel which I'd recommend to fellow travelers, mostly because they have free wine tastings and live jazz! Our first destination was Powell's (amazing) bookstore where I probably spent an hour in awe, especially in the cookbook section! We finally settled on dinner at the Thai Peacock where I enjoyed one of the most delicious vegetarian meals I've ever had. The next morning we walked to the Pearl Bakery where we engulfed scrumptious danishes which I highly recommend you try if you're in town. Dreamy. In order to burn off some of our mass cosumption, we walked around the trendy 23rd street (take advantage of no sales tax!) and drove up to the Rose Garden...I'm aware I'm glowing and in need of a tan, but check out the scenery behind me! Oregon is absolutely gorgeous in the summer! After stopping to smell the roses, we took a short drive to Beaverton to meet with brand new mommy, Kristen and little baby Audrey Cox! And ended the day catching up with one of my mama's old college friends, Heather. So fun!