FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Seafood Solo-ness

by

I struggle to find a real difference between conferences and sorority rush: lots of smiling, lots of forced conversation, you selling you, them selling them. Exhaustion.

I headed to Flemings on my way back to the hotel to decompress.  Most of the time I find comfort in take-out and pj’s, but tonight?  Well tonight, I was sucked in like a magnet to fancy food and cocktails.

I ordered The Stiletto (blackberries and gin) and Seared Ahi Tuna off of the happy hour menu and then (this is where the splurging comes in) ventured to the small plates menu for the Lobster Tempura.  It was total seafood overkill, but I went for it.

P.S. Fried lobster may as well be fried shrimp.  Not impressed.

P.P.S.  I heard a quote today that stuck with me – “survival is the new success”. At a point in my life where I’m trying to be less focused on being the best, having the most, all of those -st, -st, -st things, I took a liking to this quote.

What are your thoughts on “survival is the new success”?  Too pessimistic? Deceivingly optimistic?

Overdue Introduction

by

Ariel.  Baily.  This is your introduction.

When Baily moved from Tampa to LA in January, I introduced her to Ariel via Facebook.  But a big city, conflicting schedules, and a missing link (me!) made it tough for an official introduction.

The three of us finally met up last night for dinner at a fancy shmancy restaurant near my downtown hotel.  A fancy shmancy Water Grill with a 50 percent discount since Baily is a supervisor at Ocean Avenue (a relative of Water Grill).

We let Baily do her expert ordering thing and ended up with quite the spread: The Grand Iced Shellfish Platter, Diver Scallops, Rock Fish, and Fromage Blanc Cheesecake.

The platter allowed us to sample a huge portion of the raw bar menu, which was phenomenal.  I have a whole new appreciation for oysters with stats beyond the traditional oysters on the half shell that I order at local dives back home.  And both main course dishes were loaded with exotic mushrooms, making the entire table pleased with our selections.

And the cheesecake?  Yum.  The dessert, in its entirety, was prepared in-house and you could totally tell.  The vanilla bean ice cream was the best ice cream I have ever had the pleasure of trying.  No joke.

Even though I’m looking forward to being home and getting back into my routine… I’m really enjoying being the total foodie that I used to be, even if it’s only a temporary thing.