FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Oh, Saturday…

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Last night was a slight whoops.  I had plans all week to meet Val and Meghann for a late happy hour: 7PM, Cheap, be there, done.  But earlier in the day, I found out our Tampa office was awarded a $26M project in a still downward spiraling construction market, so happy hour started a tad earlier than I had planned.  Like… 4PM, Yard of Ale, the entire office, yay?  See, whoops.

My uber productive, first Saturday at home in quite some time turned into not-so-productive.  I popped an umeboshi plum (a supposed hangover cure) and headed to the pool to meet Val and Amber.

It was HOT!  I lasted a solid, muggy hour and then attempted to hop back on the path of productivity.  It was looking good!  Fabric store, Village Health Market, fresh and sinless lunch.  I was going places!

… until I got home and found comfort in my couch.  In the battle of lazy Kristin vs. couch, the darn couch wins every time!!

Any tips on pulling it together when you’re feeling oh so lazy??

KitchenBar

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Within hours of KitchenBar popping up at BT, I had a slew of emails and inquiries.  Miss Erica knows my style and was the first to send me an Outlook invite – if it’s on my calendar, I’ll be there.  I’m addicted to schedule like that.

It was definitely strange to be in a familiar place with a foreign menu, but the strangeness faded as the wine settled and the food arrived – the presentation was A+.  As far as taste is concerned, everything was good (I promise, don’t take this the wrong way), but I had a difficult time being at BT and not comparing the current cuisine to the likes of what I was accustomed to eating in that particular space.  With that being said, the most enjoyable taste on my plate was a combo I had never had before: egg and tuna.  Other favorites amongst the table were the charred eggplant puree with burratta, prosciutto de parma zeppole with rosemary doughnuts, and burratta with watercress, peaches, blackberry sorbet and almonds.  Fancy shmancy!

Then it was time for group shot, x-rated napkin folding, medical astrology, and polishing off the remaining wine – you know, the usual for a Wednesday…

Now back to Healthy Living Summit Packing!

Just Another Cafe Hey Day

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Let me just start with…  It POURED today in Tampa!  So much so that I buckled a golf umbrella, spent 45 minutes driving four miles, and considered writing someone of importance requesting that Tampa now be called Atlantis.  And when it came time for lunch, I wanted only two things: something close and something cozy.

I speed dialed my favorite neighbor, Cafe Hey, and placed an order for the VLT sandwich and kale salad.  I butchered the VLT even more than usual (sorry chef!) by adding avocado (duh!) and nixing tomatoes and vegenaise.  The next modification would happen in the privacy of my desk…

I mile high piled the kale salad on my sandwich and went to town – cuban toast crumbs were a flyin’!  I didn’t care though, the dressing on the kale salad and the crunch of the lettuce and sunflower seeds were so darn good!

Here’s to hoping for a dryer tomorrow!

Bigger Byblos

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I last saw my mom when she dropped me off at the airport and took this awkward tourist photo before heading to LA.  That was twenty seven days ago.  And twenty seven days without mom time was starting to wear on me.

I shot her an email asking if we could do dinner after work and she politely declined.  Apparently this whole twenty seven day thing was affecting us differently.

No more than five minutes later, I had a new email from a completely different mom that was no longer tired and missed me equally as much as I missed her.  A new mom that had a Groupon for Byblos – hurrah!

The first thing I noticed when I walked up was a newer, larger outdoor seating area than what I remembered.  This triggered rumor memories of an expanding Byblos, rumors which were verified upon entering a gynorm, spruced up interior.

We ordered the salmon filet and vegetarian platter which consisted of hummus, grape leaves, baba ghanuj, tabbouleh, and falafel (i.e. heaven platter).  Everything tasted better this time too.  Perhaps the building wasn’t the only thing face-lifted during the renovation!