FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

A Cozy Goodbye

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Our last morning in Tacoma, we decided a little do-over was necessary. Holly and I hailed a cab, grabbed two additional co-workers, Corey and Julie, and headed to Caffe Dei. We walked through some misty, gray chill and into the warmth of coffee shop goodness.

Caffee Dei is a vegan-friendly shop with a similarly as sweet of a coffee machine as Austin’s Houndstooth Coffee. Julie and I ordered super-sized Americanos and Corey and Julie went with mochas that were almost too beautiful to drink. We munched on breakfast muffins and cinnamon rolls and mmmmm’d in total disbelief that they were vegan.

The vegan sausage sammy on homemade sourdough and mushroom gravy continued the mmmmmm’s. It was the perfect savory start to a gloomy Pacific Northwest day. And after we all had clean plates and empty cups, the only option for our group was to order a second round of warmth and goodies and continue our conversation. Caffee Dei was the absolute best spot we could have chosen to spend our last hours in Tacoma!

Hello From Tacoma!

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After a loooong day of traveling from Austin to Tacoma, my co-worker and I woke up craving a fresh breakfast.  I wanted a big bowl of fruit and a big cup of joe and Holly was on the same page.  I did a little Yelp research and found a vegan coffee shop about two miles from our hotel.  We hailed a cab.  He dropped us off a few blocks away from our destination (why?  I don’t know.).  I pulled up the Yelp app to get directions and…  Saw “closed today”.  What?

It would have been a total fail if Sarah hadn’t just sent me a list of Tacoma to-do’s.  First on the list was Southern Kitchen, which happened to only be a few blocks away.  When I saw that it was attached to a muffler shop, I knew it would either be a huge hit or huge(r) miss.

We sat ourselves, ordered two cups of black coffee, and looked over the menu.  The first thing Holly noticed was that Southern Kitchen had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  This place was going to be a huge hit indeed.  And even though the corncakes (cornbread pancakes), eggs, and breakfast meats were far from what we were initially seeking, our meals totally hit the breakfast spot.

Side note: Corn waffles have officially been added to my baking list!

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South Congress Brunch

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On Sunday morning, Emily and I swooped up my long-time friend, Shayne, from her hotel and headed to the brunchiest brunches of all brunches at South Congress Cafe. Shayne and Emily had met years ago, so it was a nice little reunion for all of us. An even nicer little reunion when the ginger mango mimosas arrived. Seriously? Seriously.

I hadn’t been to South Congress Cafe since my apartment hunting trip last February, which was totally ridiculous because their brunch is the best around. I stuck with a classic benedict that had finely sliced ham and perfectly poached eggs. I’m more of a meat-liker than a meat-lover, so the proportions of this dish were 100% my style.

Emily ordered the steak & migas and had a little love-at-first-sight moment when they arrived. Perhaps we all did, they were b-e-a-utiful.

And Shayne went with the daily special of gouda grits with pork shoulder and poached eggs. A day prior, I had just finished ranting to Emily about Austin’s inability to provide a solid cheese grit. After tasting Shayne’s grits, I had to eat my words and then eat more cheese grits – they were phenomenal!

And a little P.S. bonus… The wait will most likely be long, but the hostess will get your digits when you arrive and give you a ring when you’re next on the list. We were able to pop into a few shops while we waited, which made 45 minutes fly by.

@GrubRestaurant LA

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Over the years, more and more of my friends have headed West, which makes for both a fun and busy LA vacation.  I was too jet lagged for Baily‘s 90s themed birthday party on Saturday (huge bummer!), but was thrilled to find out that we’d be able to meet for an extended, chat-filled lunch before hopping on the redeye flight to Tampa.

We took the advice of a friend and checked out Grub.  As soon as we walked in, we could tell it was a place you could sit and chat for hours.  The server immediately brought over a lovely little basket filled with pretzels, veggies, and dip, which was both good and bad.  Good because it was so darn cute and satisfied that raging hunger that inevitably hits me the second I step inside a restaurant.  Bad because it fulfilled the raging hunger and allowed Baily and I to do a crazy amount of catching up before even beginning to browse the menu.  Regardless, our waiter was patient with us and I was thankful for that.

Everything on the menu appealed to me in some fashion, but the bold red letters stating “Voted Best Tuna Melt in LA!” lured me in.  The tuna melt was as good as mine and Baily went with the crab cake salad.  The tuna melt had a real tuna patty (no canned stuff here) and tasted like a super hearty, extra comforting grilled cheese sandwich.  The pesto added that touch of herby-ness that I’m always a fan of.  And it was large enough to take home leftovers that were equally as good two-ish hours later.

So, yum food and welcoming atmosphere were totally A+ in my book.  But what ended up being my favorite part of the Grub experience was how social the restaurant was before and after our visit.  We tweeted up a storm and they were genuinely interested in our visit and what we thought of our meals.  It was so smart on their part, so twenty twelve.  I dug it.

Til next time Grub folks!