Scenes from the DC Turkish Festival

In case you haven't noticed DC is a wonderfully international city so on any given weekend, there may be a couple of streets closed off in downtown DC due to a festival where all can enjoy some of the following: 

Rotating meat on a spit...soon to be a donor kebab for me to eat.

Turkish Kangal dogs. These guys are gigantic but very mild-mannered

Trashcans celebrating Turkish coffee and which I used to dispose of my sludgy coffee grinds at the bottom of my cup.

A Turkish bazaar selling beautiful lamps

And folk dances and singing with tambourines. Just before this performance, a group of Turkish dancers did a very brief dance to Gangnam Style. Now, that's what I call international!

How much can you eat in three hours? - Food truck adventures

About a month ago, Raisin Bread and I attended the DC Funky Fresh Foodie Fest (worst name ever, by the way) to see how much we could eat in three hours. Not really, but that's what the event wound up being. For $45, we were entitled to tastings from ten different food trucks plus 10 alcoholic drinks and 2 non-alcoholic drinks.

We found out that items such as a slice of pizza or a sandwich count as "tastings" and came to the realization that we would not be making it through all of the food trucks.

My sheet of food and drink tickets

We decided to be a little more strategic and try things that we already know we like or food from places that we have been wanting to try.

 Taco from TaKorean

 Buttered chicken from what is probably my favorite DC food truck: Fojol Bros.

Davis Ficelle from The Rolling Ficelle

I'm not sure how I kept eating, but we had only visited three trucks so far!

Time for a refresher! One of my favorite things about the festival was the beer tasting stations and our mini beer stein!

Pulled pork sandwich from BBQ Bus

It started raining pretty constantly at this point so I found myself standing in line at Jose Andres's Pepe the Food Truck.

Futbol Club Barcelone and Jamon Serrano y Queso Manchego from Pepe

I can't remember what these were but I think corn fritters and a piece of shrimp from Tapas Truck. I was unimpressed and very full.

Pineapple basil pop from Pleasant Pops

And one for the road from Curbside Cupcakes.

Eight out of ten....not bad! We skipped DC Empanadas and DC Slice and I also didn't finish my drink tickets. Overall, I found it to be a fun event and worth the price of admission although I wish there was a non-boozy option for those of us who don't want to get trashed.

Zengerine: travel while you shop!

One of my favorite things to do when I am traveling to a new place is check out the local grocery stores, markets and boutiques to see what is unique about that destination. Bringing home something to remind me of my trip is also something I try to do during my travels, whether it be a piece of art or a wearable souvenir. These mementos serve multiple purposes for me: they tell a story about the place they came from and they inspire me to keep exploring.

Two of my favorite recent purchases are a hand-painted mask from Saint Lucia and a painting of a surfboard on driftwood from Puerto Rico. They both hang to the right of my desk and bring me back to those islands almost every day.

This brings me to a recently launched website that merges shopping and travel to bring beautiful products from around the world right to your front door. Zengerine offers unique products that take their customers to new and inspiring parts of the world. Right now, their collection of home and fashion goods whisks shoppers to Asia.

Here are a few of my favorite products on Zengerine.

Both my husband and I grew up drinking lots and lots of tea. Although my tea-drinking comes from my Chinese roots and his comes from his Scottish heritage, we both have a great love for tea. This tea leaf holder from Shanghai is definitely a step up from our rubber-banded packages of loose leaf tea!

My mother is originally from Hong Kong, and I have traveled there numerous times over the years. Metal mailboxes like these can be found throughout Hong Kong and to me, symbolize the organized chaos that is Hong Kong. They are also super cute in magnet form!

This beautiful printed silk scarf from Thailand is chic, functional and pays tribute to Thailand's tradition of silk production.

Readers - What are some of your favorite things that you have picked up on your travels? What do you usually look for to purchase when you are abroad? What types of products or destinations would you like to see on Zengerine?

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Zengerine. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here. 

Weekend in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has never been on my top 10 list of cities to visit, but Raisin Bread and I wanted to do a short weekend trip within driving distance. Although I did quite a bit of traveling this summer, all of my trips were solo, so I was excited to spend some time with my hubby out of town.

Pittsburgh, it turns out, was much more interesting than I assumed it would be. Our first day was spent exploring the downtown area including some visits to art galleries, places with good eats and the Cathedral of Learning (aka Hogwarts).

The day was very wet and rainy, so it was a good thing that we had planned indoor activities for most of the day. Our first stop was breakfast at Pamela's Diner. It was greasy, kitschy and everything a diner should be. I ordered an omelette that came with toast and potatoes. Raisin Bread had banana French toast. I don't know what was in the potatoes but they were like crack.

After breakfast, we went to The Mattress Factory, a museum located in a former Stearns & Foster mattress factory, hence the name. The museum actually is situated in a number of buildings now, but the main exhibition space is in the factory. What makes The Mattress Factory different is that each piece is a room-sized installation that is created on-site.

Ever since I saw MOCA's Warhol retrospective in 2002, I have been pretty fascinated with Andy Warhol. Pittsburgh was his hometown and it is now home to a museum dedicated to his life's work. My two favorite parts of my visit was learning about Warhol's archives. Warhol created over 600 Time Capsules, which were in essence cardboard boxes filled with the stuff that passed through his hands. When he filled a box, he sealed it and sent it to storage. I can't imagine the stories those objects can tell about what his life was like and what the time was like. The other thing I most enjoyed was the educational aspect of the museum, where you can learn in a hands-on way some of Warhol's methods in art-making.



The butterfly is one of my creations from that afternoon!

Once we ran out of creative juices, we visited the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning. Located inside this building are a series of Nationality Rooms. The rooms are styled to represent some of the cultures that settled in Allegheny County, such as Polish, German and Irish. We were only permitted to see the rooms on the third floor that afternoon and these included Armenian, Japanese and Austrian. How lucky are the students who get to attend courses in this beautiful building and in these rooms.

The common area of the Cathedral of Learning made me feel like I was at Hogwarts. I believe if I were a student at Pitt, my favorite place to study would be this space.

The second part of our weekend was spent with Raisin Bread's aunt and uncle. His uncle was participating in a vintage car race.

During the lunch break, spectators can make a donation to take a lap around the track in one of the vintage cars. I doubt there will ever be another opportunity for me to ride in a 1950s Lotus 7 on a race track!

I was pleasantly surprised by Pittsburgh. It was fun, relaxing and filled with plenty of good times. 

Pamela's Diner

60 21st Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

The Mattress Factory

500 Sampsonia Way

Pittsburgh, PA 15212

The Andy Warhol Museum

117 Sandusky Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15212

University of Pittsburgh - Nationality Rooms

4200 Fifth Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

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Love With Food: Review, Discount and Giveaway (ends 8/29/2012)

As many of you know, I love to have new experiences and try new foods. So I was super excited when, a  few days ago, I received a cute little red box in the mail from Love with Food. Love with Food is a monthly subscription-based service that delivers a curated box of gourmet food items right to your door. This service gives you the opportunity to try samples of eight or more new and interesting high-quality products each month. The contents of each box is a surprise and varies based on seasonal themes. If the box contains something that you must have more of, Love with Food offers the full-sized items for sale in their online store. 

Apart from sharing yummy goodies with its subscribers, Love with Food also donates a meal to a food bank for each box or product they sell.

I received August's box which had a "Travelin' Treats" theme. It contained the following items:

Key Lime with Ginger Mustard by East Shore

Skinny Dipping Pretzels by East Shore

Coconut Toffee Peanuts by Sconza Candies

Tangerine Glee Gum

Dried Montmorency Cherries

Gin Gins Super Strength Ginger Caramel Candy by The Ginger People

Vegan Lemony Lemon Cookie by the Sun Flour Baking Company

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie by the Sun Flour Baking Company

I must say that I have enjoyed the pretzels and cookies. Even though I am not a vegan, I found these cookies to be tasty and not chalky at all. I'm not that big of a fan of ginger so I didn't enjoy the mustard or other ginger items much, but that is my own personal taste. I am guessing the heavy representation of ginger was due to the "Travelin' Treats" theme. My mother always made us eat ginger candy on car rides so that we wouldn't get car sick. All in all, I love Love with Food's concept of delivering goodies to your door, giving gourmet brands the opportunity to reach new audiences, and giving foodies the opportunity to eat more food. 

Love with Food offers four subscription options

Annual plan - $120 

Six month plan - $66

Three month plan - $36

One month plan - $12 

Plus, if you subscribe by August 31, 2012, using the TRAVVIP discount code, you will receive $2 off your first month's subscription. Sign up here. 

Or if you are feeling lucky, enter to win the September box curated by Stephanie Quilao of BackInSkinnyJeans.com by telling me why you are in love with food in the comments below. Extra entries can be earned by using the Rafflecopter widget below after completing the required comment.  

The giveaway closes on Tuesday, August 29, 2012 at 12:00 AM EST. One winner will be chosen from the eligible entries using random.org and notified via email. 48 hours will be given to respond or another winner will be chosen. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Love with Food provided me with a sample box for review and will be providing the giveaway prize.. No compensation was received. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here. 

Visit to Los Angeles: Art + Bread

While planning my trip to Los Angeles, one of my must-sees was Royal/T Cafe in Culver City. It was only while doing my research did I learn that the space would close this month for the owner to focus on other endeavors. Ever since Royal/T opened five years ago, it became one of my favorite spots to see interesting exhibitions in the city. You may recall that Hello Kitty had a birthday party there not too long ago.

We enjoyed a nice, relaxing lunch in the cafe before viewing "The Art of Cooking" exhibition. I had the afternoon tea which was a spin on traditional afternoon tea but with a Japanese influence.

Unfortunately, I was not that into the exhibit, but I do still love their small shop, which is always filled with fun and unique items. Hello, Mr. Lemon.

We continued our viewing of art at the LACMA. I spent many years living and/or working within walking distance to LACMA, which I can honestly say I took full advantage of. It remains very close to my heart.

Another reason LACMA is close to my heart is because Raisin Bread and I went there on our first date. He says the moment he knew he wanted to date me was when we were standing on the top platform of the BCAM Building, looking at the view of Los Angeles and the Hollywood sign and conversing.

This is that view. Needless to say, I love the LACMA.

Plus, it always has something new that I have never seen before, like this outdoor installation of yellow rubber tubing.

or this Matisse ceramic piece from Frances Brody's home

or this giant pool set

or hundreds of toy cars making up their own little city.



As we were leaving the museum, we noticed there were a number of food trucks parked along Wilshire Boulevard. I wasn't exactly hungry but when I saw the banh mi truck, I couldn't resist.

One final meal from my trip was UMAMIcatessan. The idea is six different concepts within a restaurant. Maybe like a street market or a food court?

Teal Goose - $12

Grey Goose vodka, fresh celery, kiwi and lime juices, truffle salt and a touch of sugar

I had never been to any of the Umami Burgers before so I thought it was necessary to order one. Not my favorite hamburger in the world but it also wasn't shabby. The bread was soft and the meat was juicy.

Umami Burger - $11
shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, umami ketchup

There is also apparently a "secret menu" from which we ordered an item. I'm not sure what else you can order off the menu, but these tots were nommy.

Cheesy Tater Tots

Finally, as if we hadn't already gone overboard with unhealthy food. We decided to end with a foie gras and jelly donut from and a donut. Pure decadance. This was a few days before the foie gras ban was going into effect so there aren't anymore foie gras donuts in Los Angeles!

Until we meet again, Los Angeles! Miss you!

Royal-T Cafe (CLOSED)
8910 Washington Blvd

Culver City, CA 90232

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036

UMAMIcatessan (now Umami Burger)
852 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

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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