It’s time to write, people. It’s time to write. For the past weeks I’ve been lucky enough to have my friends covering for me while I was out and about on vacation, and for also giving me time to recover the week I got back. So a big thanks to Biscuit, Zucchini, Kettle Corn, Tomato and Yam.  Hugs to all!

Especially because the inevitable post-vacation cold came in with a vengeance and without mercy.   I always fail to give myself a “rest” day upon my return, going straight from the airport one day back to my desk the next. As a result, I end up with a cold of some sort, and this trip was no different. Anyone else do this? Just me?  

So while I recover from my stupidity, my friends let me stay out of the kitchen and lazy on the couch for just a little longer.  The upside?  I’ve discovered Sleepy Hollow.

But now that I’ve got my head on straight, I’m back and ready to tell you all about my #IceLondon adventures: what I saw, what I ate, and tips and tricks should you ever visit the lands from whence I have returned and the food stops I strongly encourage you to make.

First, Iceland.  Iceland seems to be one of the new “it” places to go lately, and it’s been on our list for a while, passed over time and again until the stars aligned last week.  Lettuce and I really didn’t know much about Iceland except that there were waterfalls and volcanos, that it rained and was probably cold, and supposedly beautiful.

Well, we were right about all of the above, and learned a little bit more.  Here’s a quick and dirty history of this tiny nation in the way, way up north.

The first permanent settler was a Norwegian who supposedly threw two large logs into the sea and vowed to settle wherever they landed, and that spot is where Reykjavik now sits.   The symbol of the water and two logs can be seen throughout the city. 

After being long ruled by Norway and Denmark, a lawyer named John the President started the movement for independence in the mid-1800s by shaking his fist at the Danish king and said, “No more!”  The non-violent resistance continued almost another 100 years until finally in 1944 Iceland voted to cede from Denmark completely.  Rather than pull a King George and start a revolution, Christian X sent the new government a letter of congratulations and wished the new republic well.

To this day, this country of approximately 320,000 people has no military at all, and the police spend much of their time on social media (their Facebook page has over 72,000 likes), saving cats from trees and taking pictures with and of dogs and babies*.  Apparently a few years ago they had to shoot a guy and it was a whole lotta DRAMA.

*Information about Reykjavik police came from our tour guide, Martinn.  His opinions, not mine.

Tourism is a relatively new thing and really started becoming a big thing in Iceland thanks to the big recession of 2009.  Since then, the Icelandic Kronor has dropped 2/3 in value against the U.S. dollar, making it much more affordable and appealing vacation destination to us across the pound.   Martinn stated that while the influx of tourists hasn’t been roses, it’s been key in helping the economy recover from the crash.

So, there’s a bit of history about this lovely country.  Thinking about heading there? Here are some lessons and suggestions learned from our trip.  Because this will be long enough, food talk will be coming in a future note- lots of food things to say.    (more…)

Before we just back into Bolivia, a follow up on my Eat Denver deliciousness.  While I can think of a lot of the dishes to recreate from my culinary tour de Colorado, I decided on the one that surprised me the most: the BBQ pulled pork panini from New Belgium’s Goodness Truck.  Also, it’s National BBQ Week, apparently, so revamping that into these BBQ pulled pork quesadillas seemed apropos (I’ve never used that word before ever. I’m not sure if I will again. Doesn’t flow. Moving on…).

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After the disaster that was Miami two years ago when we arrived with not one restaurant on our to-eat-to-do list, D and I realized the importance of researching places to eat whilst on vacation. The good thing about last week’s vacation out to Los Angeles is that no research was needed. Born and raised in the City of Angels, D knew just where she wanted to eat, and so we set out to eat only good things, getting by with a little help from her friends.

Having been there for four days, I can only offer four must-eats. We were at the fairgrounds for most of the weekend for Stagecoach, which meant Chipotle before and root beer floats (for D) and French fries (for me) after.  I’m sure there are a gazillion other top-notch choices of restaurants if you were to visit Los Angeles, but these were pretty damn delicious, especially if you want to get in some of the…alternative eating….that occurs on the west coast.

You’ll see that there are two vegan restaurants on this list. One regular vegan and one completely raw.   While I don’t necessarily endorse the vegan lifestyle, whatever floats your boat is up to you. However, I am fascinated by the methods and ingredients vegan chefs use in cooking. Often times I want to try it for myself. But then I remember bacon. And turkey legs. And big juicy burgers. I know that vegetables are juicy too, but not even close to the same way a good ole fashion burger can be.  However, if you’ve never tried anything vegan, don’t knock it ‘till you try it.

Update- some of these places sadly don’t exist anymore, but I’ll happily share some photos for your imagination.

First: Juliano’s Raw (apparently the world’s first raw restaurant).

I’ve had raw before (flashback to Elizabeth’s in D.C.) and heard about Julian’s through Lettuce’s raves and was excited to try it, especially since I could eat everything on the menu, without worrying about the gluten/dairy/yeast problems that have plagued me of late.  Juliano’s was completely safe, so Tomato and I ate with abandon to our heart’s content.

First up, drinks.

I had the “Blood” (apple, beet, lime and ginger) and Tomato had the “The Green Star” (microgreen, kale, apple, mint, ginger, rhodiola and damiana).

Light and refreshing.

Second, appetizer. Jalapeno poppers.

I was leery since I don’t typically like jalapeno poppers. No complaints here.

Third, soup.

On the left was my Tom Kha Gai (coconut curry) and her Creamy Miso Soother.

Finally, entrees.

I got The Beverly Hills Taco

and D, the Chile Relleno.

Needless to say, we had no room for dessert.

Restaurant Two:  Manhattan Beach Post.

Sadly, I took no pictures, but I’d describe it as artisan shared plates. Everything was great and since we had a party of 6, we ordered a good chunk of the menu. Crafty cocktails and the breezy beach air made for a chill but cozy Thursday night. I HIGHLY recommend the plantains. I’m pretty sure they were everyone’s favorite.

Restaurant Three: Hugo’s Tacos.

Hugo’s Tacos is probably one of the least pretentious places we could have eaten in what is, in some ways, one of the most pretentious cities.  It’s nothing more than a walk up counter with picnic tables…and could, in all honestly, be a food truck.  However, these tacos were fanstasticulous. And, keeping pace in a city where everyone modifies their orders, had gluten-free and vegan options, which worked out splendidly for moi.

I had three crispy shell tacos, one steak, two fish and Tomato and I shared a boatload of carnitas nachos.  Food was optional the rest of the evening.  I wish I could recreate the marinade on the steak tacos because it was the best steak taco I ever ate.

Restaurant Four: Flore

I was KNOCKED AWAY by the food at Flore, and it was my favorite out of the four.  It’s a cute little diner-esque place with all kinds of standard diner fare redefined.

I ordered the club sandwich.  Club sandwiches are my favorite sandwich ever, and I wanted to see how this shaped up without mayo, meat-bacon or gluten-ized bread.

Holy hell. It’s possible this sandwich is better than a non-vegan club. NOT KIDDING.

What sold me was the bread. I LOVE BREAD. And it breaks my little gluten-intolerant heart that I can’t eat it more than I do. I’ve think I mentioned before how I want to live in a bread house, and this millet bread would most definitely make a lovely roof for such an abode. I want to eat it now. And tomorrow. And every day into forever.

So there you have our brief but successful food tour of the Los Angeles area. And, to bring some of the L.A. into your house, I’ve recreated the homemade ginger ale I ate at Flore. With summer coming, it’s sort of the perfect refresher. It’s actually more like a ginger-ade, pretty heavy on the ginger. I’m pretty confident it’d be awesome with some sort of alcohol thrown in. Maybe gin. Just sayin’.