lunch table: la boulange

photos by delphine

One of my favorite spots in San Francisco: La Boulange. The exterior of the building is so inviting with its bright leaf green accents. I love that they stenciled the name onto the building with paint: they didn't have to spend a lot of money on expensive signage to create an effective storefront.

inspiration: california

far west fungi

Yesterday John and I strolled around the Ferry Building (San Francisco, California) while killing some time between meetings. I loved seeing so much great graphic design in one place. (and the food and goodies looked delicious, too). The Far West Fungi stall was by far my favorite stall. Beautiful and interesting goods, amazing merchandising, and welcoming vibe overall. J does NOT like mushrooms, so I had to quickly snap a few photos while he powered by. We are taking the ferry tonight, so I will to sneak back while J waits (I think I can bribe him with a gelato) so I can buy some infused oils to take home for my dad. I bought a little surprise for my Mom at the Miette confiserie.

travel: san francisco

Today I'm traveling to San Francisco for a quick work/fun trip. One of the things I am most looking forward to (besides visiting my cousins, of course) is a visit to La Boulange for a cannelle and café au lait. Thank goodness nobody in my neighborhood makes these or my pants would never fit again.

trend: violet

creme de violette -- violet liqueur

Discovered this holiday season: Créme de Violette Violet Liqueur. Delicious straight up or in a chilly vodka martini. Almost too good to be true! I also like this wildflower wine made by J. Lohr, which tastes of violets. Violet is a pretty every day/regular flavor in France; when I was a kid my favorite gum flavors were violet, cassis, and licorice -- none of which I have ever seen in the US. Why are there no violet candies in the US, yet we're plagued with a plethora of disgusting watermelon flavored candies? I'm just sayin...

logo crush: jin patisserie

la vie revee tea gift set and orientchic tea tins from jin patisserie

While driving around Venice on my way to visit a client a few years back I spotted the lovely Jin Patisserie logo and have been ever smitten with it ever since. It's such a lovely logo--especially when blown up. The simplicity of the mum is really pretty, and I love any logo using the color orange! I've never had the time to stop into the patisserie, but I've found a few teas that I would buy for the packaging alone on their website: I'd love to try the Orient Blends Orient Chic tea. It's a blend of green and black teas, scented with Osmanthus, lotus and jasmine flowers, combined with pepper. Sounds so romantic, doesn't it? I love teas scented with pepper and with jasmine, but have never tried them both in one tea. But the tin is so gorgeous (and my very favorite shade of green), so even if the tea stinks I'd be happy to just look at the package!

sweet treat: spicy hot cocoa

spicy maya hot chocolate by chuao

It's ridiculous how much I love this Spicy Maya hot chocolate by local (San Diego) chocolatier Chuao. It's seriously spicy: pasilla chiles, cayenne pepper and cinnamon are all blended in with the chocolate. They have another yummy flavor, Winter, that is almost as delicious (and is preferred by my husband and son, who don't like spicy stuff). It blends bittersweet chocolate with ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and pepper. Dreamy is right next door to a Chuao store, and I have NO IDEA how those girls stay so thin because I'd be pigging out on these chocolates every day and washing them down with a hot cocoa!

kitchen: scallion buttermilk biscuits

With Delphine in the house, a woman who lived in occupied France as a teenager and remembers Nazis marching down her street, nothing is wasted, especially food. A few days after Thanksgiving (or "Thanks Given," as Delphine calls it), when we could not eat one more turkey sandwich, I made this turkey pot pie. I don't normally post about the kitchen, since the most I usually make there in a week is 15 pots of coffee, but last week I made these yummy buttermilk and scallion biscuits. I used them as a topper instead of a crust for the turkey pot pie.

donuts at the montage

view of the Pacific Ocean from our table at The Loft at the Montage

photos: delphine

A few weeks ago I hopped up to the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, California to have lunch with a friend. We were both blown away by this amazing dessert: beignets and a marshmallow mud pie made with homemade marshmallow, chicory ice cream, and chocolate. The little round cup was full of warm chocolate sauce. Yum.