Travels with Toaster

The BLT with fantastic, mouth-watering bacon, black truffle & rosemary aioli, iceberg lettuce, sharp cheddar, and best of all…tomato jam. The wheat roll was our choice (we could’ve gone with rye or sourdough instead), and was excellent....

It may surprise you, given the content of so many of my posts, but my normal eating habits are relatively strict. Wholeheartedly and regularly, I repeat and practice the mantra: “everything in moderation. Including moderation.” Recently, ho...

It seems that the older I get, the more I’m starting to really prize the phenomenon known as “Leap Day.” Why? It’s simple. See, I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t take rare opportunities for granted. It’s no secr...

A few years ago, I became acquainted with chef Victor Scargle’s talents while he was the executive chef at Go Fish. When he left to teach at the Culinary Institute, it made sense, but I’ll admit I was disappointed at the thought of him not ...

My last day in SoCal started with the promise of brunch in Hollywood around “noon-thirty,” where I’d finally get to meet my cousin Tami’s boyfriend (they’ve been together over a year, I just haven’t been around much)...

It’s always hard to leave a place where you’ve been having fun. It’s also always hard for me to leave San Diego because I love it so much. Today’s departure, though, was particularly brutal, emotionally speaking. After sleeping ...

…or something like that. This trip’s playlist consists of songs about the New Year (and not just “Auld Lang Syne,” though of course that shows up a time or two), California in general, as I’ve driven the better part of the...

The evening of New Year’s Eve 2011 began with a congregation of my friends (sister Andi with her hubby, Ben, and one of my very favorite people, my good friend Jathan) at my host Isabel’s house. I mixed us a quick chai martini before we fel...

San Diego New Year’s epic vacation, Day Two: New Year’s Eve. Having planned to take advantage of the opportunity to sleep in, given that we’re going to be up all night tonight, I stayed in bed till about ten and then Andi & Ben m...

Day 1, part 2 in San Diego: I met my sister Andi and her hubby Ben in Escondido for dinner at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens.Ben had been there before, but Andi & I were just happy to have found a place that had a menu as interesting as th...