1. Bastide in LA - unfortunately it has closed now, but the executive chef there is opening a new project soon, so I've heard. This was back in 2002 or 2003...amazing! It included the best cheese course I've ever had, too. Just amazing from start to finish. We discovered a new favorite cheese, which we have to special order from iGourmet to find, but it's worth it...so soft in the center when it's really ripe that it almost puddles.
2. Chez Panisse in Berkeley - the first time I went. Menu included the most fresh, amazing piece of salmon I've ever had the good fortune to taste, and this squab...oh, delicious squab. Just amazing, local food prepared stunningly well.
3. Zin in Healdsburg - After a day of wine tasting, a BIG group of us went here - me, Sarah, my parents, and her parents. Between all of us, we probably ordered everything (or close to it) on the menu, so there was a lot of sampling of plates. Every. Single. Dish. was great...there was a shortrib, a steak dish, some lamb, chicken, fish, pork...it didn't matter, they did it all well. I remember a great tomato and mozzarella salad there as well, and some amazing bruschetta with white beans and tuna. And the desserts and wine! So much fun, and just a great, great menu.
4. Artisan in Paso Robles - this was the meal I had on Saturday. Again, just amazing ingredients, prepared well. I had the best duck I've ever had, paired with this andouille sausage and pecan dirty rice and braised greens. The rice was the best restaurant rice dish I've ever had, hands down. The duck was cooked perfectly. Our desserts were fabulous, the company was great...all around fabulous.
5. Chez Panisse again, this time up in the cafe. I may be partial to this meal because this was the night Sarah proposed, but they were doing a Sauvignon Blanc themed week upstairs, and we had the most amazing flatbread pizza with prosciutto, arugula, and this tangy-ish cheese....and that was just the starter! I had a great roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes as my entree, and we split this plum tart for dessert...heaven!
Congratulations, Michele! That is a HUGE acheivement!!
Oh, I definitely can relate to the loose clothes encouraging thoughtless eating! That's one of the reasons I've sworn never to wear elastic waist pants ever again (except to the gym). If I sat around all day in a big old Tshirt and sweats, it would be so easy to eat a little of this (cookies) and a little of that (candy) and nibble my way right back to 257 pounds. Because you never notice that you've gained weight until it's too late!
Amanda, Michele and I are meeting up in CA to duplicate your adventures. Have you ever considered being a food writer? You're very good!!
I've had some great meals...I had to kick out two of my favorite local restaurants (an anniversary dinner at Waterboy restaurant in Sacramento, where I ate cassoulet and we had a lovely grand marnier souffle for dessert, and Biba, which is Northern Italian, also in Sacramento, where I had a braised lamb shank over buttermilk mashed potatoes). And then Bouchon in Vegas...the best steak frites in existence (and who doesn't love steak, perfect fries, and wonderful wine? Seriously!!).
I could probably come up with a top 10 list of restaurants for you to do a tour.
Amanda,
Thanks for posting! While we all have to be "good" most of the time, those one of a kind amazing meals can still be enjoyed once in a while.
I have only heard of Chez Panisse and haven't been there or to the others....
I had to keep going in the staff room about 20 more times before I left work and the smell of egg rolls was overwhelming. I knew I would feel way too guilty if I had one though (and one could easily turn into 2, 3, 4 or more!)
Well I made it through the weekend and didn't do half bad. It wasn't perfect but I will take it since it was so much better then the past couple of months. I even fit in some exercise, and didn’t give up with the interruptions of 2 phone calls while I was in the workout room. DH wasn’t home so I figured I better answer it, just in case … it was DH both times.
So far so good today, I am hoping I will have enough ambition to workout when I get home this evening; my plans are always good when I leave work but something happens when I walk through that front door.
On plan today...wahoo! Didn't have time to do my strength training, but it'll get done tomorrow.
Sarah went to the produce stand and came home with the most AMAZING blackberries, so tomorrow will be highly blackberry-based. They're SO good. They stain like mad, but oh my. Just juicy and sweet and at peak flavor.
B - English muffin pizza muffin
S - Fruit salad - cantaloupe, strawberries, and blackberries
L - Leftovers - Sausage and lentil soup
S - Greek yogurt w/ blackberries
S - Popcorn
D - Pork chop with spiced peach sauce, baked potato w/ ff sour cream, steamed broccoli
S - NSA Ice Cream w/ vanilla-cinnamon roasted pineapple and more blackberries
Good morning! I'm back after a stormy weekend and planned day off yesterday. I finally had my Mother's Day massage. It was lovely. I went to the Indian restaurant in the same area though and well Indian food equals butter doesn't it. I didn't overdo but I'm sure calories were sky high. It was planned though and today will be right back on track. Today's plan
B-greek omelet
S-apple
L-boca burger w/tomato,onion,lettuce, broccoli on the side
S-fruit salad (just cut up fruits topped with a tablespoon of yogurt)
D-huge salad, ww spaghetti and veggie sauce
S-100 calorie popcorn, pria bar (I'll be at baseball games)
Wow I think I totally missed this thread! I'll hop on now
Yesterday I was OP with the exception of some pudding at night, but it was only 2 points so no biggie.
Today:
B - Egg (2) on light toast(1), banana(1.5), 1/2 turkey sausage (1.5)
S - Fiber One Bar (2)
L - Salad (0) with chicken (4), 3TBSP light parmesan dressing (3.5)
S - 2 plums (1), oatmeal (2)
D - 1 turkey sausage (3), 1 grilled green pepper (0), 1 corn on the cob w/spray butter (1)
22.5/22
*Willpower to not buy popcorn while seeing Kung Fu Panda tonight? Priceless!*
I ate a little too much dinner last night. I didn't need that much steak, nor did I need a piece of cinnamon toast for dessert, b/c I was full, but convinced myself I wanted something sweet. Certainly not disastrous, but I kept eating when I was already full. I will try to be more mindful today.
I'm leaving for my friend's wedding tomorrow afternoon and I always stress myself out when I'm getting ready to go on trips. I'm trying to just make a list of everything I have to do (all totally do-able), check things off one by one, and eat healthily and exercise up until the time I leave.
Amanda, your business trip about a month ago is my inspiration. You stayed so OP and made really good choices given the resources you had. I'm going to try and enjoy my time with my good friends I don't get to see often, and not spend so much energy stressing about food and exercise. It doesn't need to be so hard and shouldn't be the focus of my trip!
It was a co-worker's birthday yesterday. I'm ignoring the leftover cupcakes somebody put by the coffee pot 5 feet from my desk. I really don't need them!
Amanda - do we have a drool icon? Yum yum yum yum....
My top meals:
1) The Sky Room, Long Beach CA - OMG. This place may be more known for ambience than food, but it was all great. It takes up the entire top floor of a building that is now a retirement home, but it has its own elevator attended by an elevator man in a tuxedo, panoramic windows with views of Long Beach harbor and the city, great art deco decor, and live music (the kind you'd expect in an art deco place) with a dance floor. Service was amazing too -- they brought out the wine list, brought us our champagne, gave us time to relax, came out with the menu, and we had a four-course meal with wine pairings. I am blanking on half of what we ate but I distinctly remember the skate wings and the chocolate sampler dessert.
2) New Rivers, Providence RI - This is a teeny tiny place in Providence on a little side street. They have a rotating seasonal menu, and we had THE BEST duck confit ever. The food was absolutely amazing, and made up for the uncomfortable fact that my grad school advisor was also at the restaurant.
3) Sushi Samba Dromo, Miami, FL - went here on a business trip so I wasn't paying. This is probably the trendiest restaurant I have ever been to. Amazing Japanese/Peruvian fusion.
I am blanking on the name of a place we went for my sister's law school graduation in NYC that was great as well . . . and I had multiple very good meals at L'Opera in Long Beach, but I don't know if I'd consider them among the best I ever had.
Okay, enough food porn -- my office is having a dessert buffet at 2:00, what should I do??? (Dessert is my biggest weakness, for those of you who don't know...)
Last edited by paperclippy; 06-10-2008 at 09:29 AM.
I leave tomorrow for a conference out of town. I am really going to do my best to stay OP as best as I can. I'm bringing my running shoes and I will make good food choices. I do plan on having some kind of alcoholic beverage with a little umbrella by the pool, but other than that....I really do not want to have to relose a few pounds when I come back.
Okay, enough food porn -- my office is having a dessert buffet at 2:00, what should I do??? (Dessert is my biggest weakness, for those of you who don't know...)
Well, will it be worth it? There are a few desserts that are worth the calories and the splurge, but not many.
How will you feel tonight about your choices?
There are a few fabulous things that I do not deny myself, but I think they will likely never be found in an office dessert buffet. But maybe you have some pretty talented people bringing the food!
2) New Rivers, Providence RI - This is a teeny tiny place in Providence on a little side street. They have a rotating seasonal menu, and we had THE BEST duck confit ever. The food was absolutely amazing, and made up for the uncomfortable fact that my grad school advisor was also at the restaurant.
Is it pricey? Providence is only about 10 minutes from me! I should check it out
Have you ever considered being a food writer? You're very good!!
Yum yum yum yum....
We do have one of those! 