Visit to Los Angeles: In-N-Out and Michael Voltaggio's Ink

It's been over a month since I told you about all of the noodles that I ate when I went home to Los Angeles for a visit, but noodles were certainly not the only thing I ate. The number one thing on my list was In-N-Out. Conveniently, a new location opened up very close to my parents' house! Oh, how I missed you!

Grilled cheese animal-style with well-done French fries

Another thing I ate was a whole lot of food at Michael Voltaggio's ink. The chef was working in the kitchen that night, but I didn't want to sneak a photo of him.  

Entrance to ink.

I started with the $13 cocktail of tequila, jalapeno, passion fruit and mezcal plus a gigantic cube of ice. I really enjoyed the spicy kick of the jalapeno.

Tequila Cocktail

Our waiter suggested that we order three dishes each. We wound up ordering seven dishes total because nine dishes seemed like way too much for three girls to consume. These seven dishes turned out to be way enough for us. In fact, I was uncomfortably full by the time we finished our fifth dish. I wish we had ordered more of a variety of dishes. We somehow went very heavy on the meat and those dishes were quite rich. 

I was happiest with the first three dishes that came to our table. They were each creative, complex and composed of a variety of ingredients.

Brussels sprouts with pig ears, lardo and apple

The second dish was something that none of us thought about ordering but our waiter highly recommended it. I am super happy that we took his advice because I liked this a lot. There was a lot going on in the dish but it had interesting textures and was refreshing and clean tasting.

Carrots with coconut ice, cardamom soil and pea tendril mojo

This wasn't necessarily my favorite dish but I thought it was the most interesting. Who would have ever thought of egg yolk gnocchi?

Baja scallops with egg yolk gnocchi, mushroom hay

Next up was the symphony of meats. At this point in time, I can't remember which one I enjoyed the most although I believe it was the pork belly. Perhaps it was because it came out first. All of the meat dishes were good, but I knew that we had gone overboard on the meat and couldn't really judge them fairly by then because I was getting so full.

Pork belly with charcoal oil, bbq flavor and corn

Lamb shoulder with tongue, vadouvan and yogurt

Wagyu beef with carrots, tendon and horseradish tofu

Poutine with chickpea fries, yogurt curds and lamb neck gravy

We decided to push through our uncomfortableness and order a dessert to share. I wasn't too enthralled with it and thought that the apple could have used some more apple.

Apple with caramel, burnt wood ice cream and walnut

Overall, I quite enjoyed what we sampled that evening although I think we could have chosen our selections more carefully! Lesson learned!

In-N-Out
various locations around California

ink.
8360 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90069

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At #BlogHer12 - Avenue Q the Musical

Thanks to MamaDrama I had the opportunity to attend an off-Broadway show during my visit to New York for BlogHer 12 this past weekend. On Thursday night, I found myself at the New World Stages to see the multiple Tony-award winning musical Avenue Q.

Exactly ten years ago next month, two girlfriends and I packed up a U-Haul and moved to an awful street in Brooklyn called Avenue U. Avenue Q took me back to that time when I was fresh out of college and trying to find my purpose. It turned out that my purpose was not to live in New York City, but that is a different blog post all together.

Avenue Q follows the journey of a new college graduate named Princeton who moves to New York and finds himself on a street named Avenue Q. While my neighbors were new immigrants from China and Russia, Princeton's are furry monsters and a couple of people.

This musical is hilarious and completely inappropriate. You should expect puppet sex and tunes with titles like "The Internet is for Porn" and "If You Were Gay." There is something to be said about cute, fuzzy puppets singing these songs. I was rolling with laughter.

Plus, the cast is awesomely talented. The puppeteers played multiple parts each and moved seamlessly from one character to the next and sang beautifully. The concept of the musical clearly takes its cues from Sesame Street with people and puppets living together, but this show is not for kids.

If you happen to find yourself in New York and need a just for adults night at the theatre, I highly recommend Avenue Q. Trust me, you won't stop laughing!

Tickets are available at Telecharge.
Follow MamaDrama - @MamaDramaNY
Follow Avenue Q - @avenueqmusical

Disclosure: MamaDrama provided me with tickets to Avenue Q. No monetary compensation was received for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure policy.  

Portugal: Part 4 - The Rest

My fourth day in Lisbon was the start of what brought me to Portugal in the first place. It was time to get to work, but I don't want to bore you with the details of that. Instead, I will just stick to the fun stuff.

As I mentioned before, bacalhau is the national dish of Portugal. This is what the product looks like as it is sold from a bacalhau shop.

The literature that I read over the course of my studying about Portugal suggests that the Portuguese are a synchronic culture, meaning that they view the past, present and future as being interconnected, so it is not surprising that their past is symbolized in much of their arts and architecture. For example, the street lamps in Lisbon show a boat with two ravens.

Lisbon street lamp

Every guidebook I read claims that a ride on tram 28 is a "must do" on a first time visit to Lisbon. Even Bourdain doesn't poopoo it. I felt weird riding public transportation just to ride public transportation, but one day I found myself actually needing to use it. I love how the trams remind us of just how old Lisbon is.

I spent some time at the Castelo de Sao Jorge one evening, taking in the beautiful views of the city. The red tiled roofs were a common sight throughout the country. This castle dates from the Moorish times and sits in a strategic position at the top of a hill overlooking Lisbon.

View of Lisbon from Castelo de Sao Jorge

The second half of my trip in Portugal was spent in the north, near the city of Porto. One evening, I had some free time so I went to some of my fellow conference attendees to Porto. We nearly died in a taxi but that is a different story. Porto is, of course, famous for producing port wine. The port wine houses line the Rio Douro in the city of Vila Nova de Gaia.

Sandeman Cellars

Traditionally, boats called rabelos were used to transport the port wine barrels down the Rio Douro, and they can still be seen on the river today.

Rabelos in the Rio Douro

I wanted to spend some more time in Porto, so I spent a night in the heart of the city. A landmark that can be seen around the city is Torre de Clerigos, a bell tower which is a part of a church.

Torre de Clerigos

While I never eat McDonald's at home anymore, I had to visit the Imperial McDonald's in Porto. It sits on Porto's main square, Praca de Liberdade and is super fancy.

You can barely see it in this photo but the sign does say "Imperial McDonald's"

The counter at Imperial McDonald's

I still couldn't get enough of the Portuguese tiles. Even the train station is heavily decorated with them. This is the train station I arrived in when I returned from the conference to Porto.

Sao Bento train station

In the afternoon, I found myself wandering about. Sometimes I have a plan of attack and sometimes I just find myself walking towards whatever catches my eye. What caught my eye was Porto's cathedral. It was no longer open for the day, so I didn't get to see what the interior looks like. 

Still, it was worth it. The best part was the terrace of the cathedral, which offers great views of the Rio Douro and Vila Nova de Gaia. If you look closely, you can see all of the signs of the Port wine houses.

On my last day, I also took a ride on the teleferico. This made me fall in love with the red roof tiles even more!

That's all of Portugal that I have for you! If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend making the journey to Portugal. It is a beautiful country full of warm people, delicious food and it is quite affordable compared to the rest of continental Europe.

You might also like:
Portugal: Part 1 - Obrigada: the only word I learned
Portugal: Part 2 - Kicking it old school in Belem
Portugal: Part 3 - Cold and Rainy in Sintra

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Portugal: Part 3 - Cold and Rainy in Sintra

My last free day was spent in a drizzly, windy and tourist-filled town called Sintra. Don't get me wrong, it was still beautiful, and I saw things that aren't even close to anything I've ever seen before.

Sintra is a very easy 30-minute train ride from Rossio Station in the center of Lisbon to the last stop on the Sintra line. This area used to be a summer retreat for royalty and the aristocracy, so the city is littered with huge mansions and estates plus a few palaces.

Rossio Station

The Portuguese transportation system is very modern, probably due to the infusion of EU money in the last few years. However, it seemed to me that most of the tourists still opted to participate in tourbusapalooza because this was the only place during my whole trip that was overrun with tourists.

When the train pulled into the station at Sintra, I knew it was going to be a wet and unpleasant day, weather-wise. It wasn't raining hard so I decided to take the 10 minute walk into the center of town. Along the walk, you can already see Sintra National Palace (Palacio Nacional de Sintra) topped with Madonna's Jean-Paul Gaultier cone bra.

Sinta National Palace

Plus, the street leading into town is lined with sculptures like this:

Heart sculpture on the way to Sintra ville

The Sintra National Palace was my first stop. It is the only remaining royal palace from the Middle Ages. One of the unique things about the palace is that many of the rooms have their own themes.

The Swan Room was used for banquets and other functions and is beautifully decorated with white and green tiles, animal shaped tureens and a ceiling painted with swans (of course).

The Magpie Room has a ceiling that is decorated with magpies but I found this intricately tiled wall and fireplace to be most stunning.

Many of the windows of the palace presented views of the Moorish Castle, which I would visit later on in the day.

The piece de resistance was the Stag Room. It was absolutely exquisite, decorated floor to ceiling with blue and white tiles and painted coats of arms and stags. It was also overrun with tour groups. I patiently waited until the tour groups cleared out, giving me a few minutes to enjoy the room with only a few other travelers. Of course, another tour group quickly descended upon the room.

One of my main goals of this trip to Portugal was to see some examples of Moorish architecture. I was in luck because the chapel of the palace was done in Moorish style.

While there were many more rooms I wish I could share with you, I will leave the palace at the kitchen. This place was huge and stark. Guess the royals need a lot of space to feed the richies.

The dreary weather was getting to me at this point so I gave up on trying to wander around looking for something good to eat. Instead, I opted for something quick and sugary. Cafe a Piriquita is famous for their travesseiros. Travesseiro translates to pillow, which is appropriate for me because I love my pillows. They are almond and egg custard filled flaky goodness. I grabbed a couple of pastries and a drink and was on my way to my next spot.

Piriquita

Travesserio

I had originally had grand plans to do a lot of walking but my feet were cold and my nose was runny so I took the bus, waiting with the rest of the tourist folk. My destination was Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors). The castle is more fort than what one normally thinks of as a castle, and it castle dates back to the 9th century and offers panoramic views of the city along its high, winding walls.

While the views were remarkable, I had thoughts of the winds whipping me off a ledge, so I wound up cutting my visit to the castle short.

Does it look windy to you?

The castle also gave me a peek at the prime real estate that exists in Sintra. Look at all of the big houses! More like mini castles.

My final sight in Sintra was Pena Palace.  The same bus I took from Sintra ville can take you to the gate of the palace but then there is still a ten-minute walk up to the palace.

Pena Palace is a odd mishmash of different style of architecture and colors. Photos weren't allowed inside the palace so there will only be exterior shots. The interior showcased rooms decorated in Victorian furnishings. And similar to other sights I visited in Portugal, the Palace had rooms dedicated to Asia and the Middle East.

I reached my limit of walking around in the cold so I took the train back to Lisbon. 

I enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Servejaria with some beer and seafood. If you haven't figured it out, oil is important here, just look at my octopus.

Coming up will be a wrap up of the rest of my trip to Portugal. 

Cafe a Piriquita

Rua das Padarias

Sintra Portugal

Servejaria 

Praca dos Restauradores

Baixa 1250-188 Lisbon

Portugal

You might also like: 

Portugal: Part 1 - Obrigada - only word I learned 

Portugal: Part 2 - Kicking it old school in Belem 

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Three reasons why I need a style makeover #BlogHer12 #Windowstyle

I’ve been through a lot of change recently. Exactly two years ago this month, I moved from my beloved Los Angeles to Washington, DC to stay with the love of my life. Once I arrived in DC, we started living together. I began a professional MBA program and found a new full-time job in the non-profit sector. I am now two semesters away from completing my degree. Five days ago, I turned 32. Oh yeah, and another minor thing happened. I got married! We have now been married for 13 lovely months.

Despite all of that change, my style has stayed just about the same. So why do I deserve a celebrity style makeover from Windows? Below are three reasons:

1) Future MBA needs to look the part – Going back to school 10 years after finishing my undergraduate degree was an adjustment and working full-time on top of that was, I’m not going to lie, really, really hard. Planning a wedding and honeymoon at the same time was a lot of work. Still, I somehow have managed to do extremely well and earn a 3.8 GPA (so far). As I approach the end of business school, I anticipate my career to move to the next level, and looking like a competent, smart, accomplished and professional woman will be important.
 

Photo: Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images

Can I emulate Marissa Mayer?

2) Look my age (minus a couple of years) – I am regularly mistaken for an early twentysomething. I believe this is partly because I’m Asian. Hello, we look young! And partly because I’m still wearing the same clothes I was wearing when I was 25. While I don’t mind looking young, I find myself getting very offended by some people assuming they know how old I am (i.e. how much life experience I have). I don’t necessarily want to look my age, but it would be nice to get a little respect at work, at school and wherever else I go.

Going through my photos gave me a fright when I found two photos, one from three months ago and the other from six years ago, where I am wearing the same outfit. I can assure you that this isn't the only example I have.

Me on a visit to Williamsburg, Virginia in April 2012

Me at the Los Angeles County Fair in September 2006

3) 30 isn’t the new 20 - When I was in my 20s, I could eat anything I wanted and not put on any weight. Additionally, moving to a new city where I knew exactly one person sapped some of my self-confidence. I gained 20 pounds since moving here as a result. I've started to take steps towards losing some of those pounds like changing my diet and making time for exercise. Although I have accepted that my body will change as I age, I am still working to rebuild my self-confidence.

Winning a style makeover would give me the help I need to put my twenties behind me and get excited about the future. A future that includes days at the office in outfits like this:

J. Crew Origami Sheath Dress - $198

Tory Burch Simone Cardigan - $225

I've worked hard taking steps to build my career and establish a healthy marriage while neglecting my wardrobe and personal style. Now is the time when I should be rewarded with some pampering and pretty clothes! 

Disclosure: I am attending #BlogHer12 in August and Windows is giving away prize packages including a style makeover and new computer to five BlogHer attendees. Rules here.

In writing this post, I'm entering the Microsoft Windows Style Makeover sweepstakes for a chance to win a head to toe makeover!