Working off the weekend!

After a fabulous but low-key weekend, I actually felt energized to go to work. My arms were sore from the previous day's golf outing, but otherwise I felt great.

I headed to work and started prepping for an upcoming trial. It was one of those rare days when I actually got a lot done and I skipped out of work a little early to head to the gym. I wanted to make it to the 5:30 PM Zumba class. This class was taught by a different instructor (I call her Linda Hogan) and it was way better than the first one I went to. I was hot. I was sweaty. I felt fantastic (minus my still sore arms).

Afterwards, I headed home in this gorgeous weather and felt even better about heading to the gym when I saw people stuffing their faces at Toscano's. B and I cooked a really healthy salmon dish with the most delicious avocado from Peapod. We use salmon steaks instead of filets but it was really tasty. B is getting more comfortable with cooking fish, although it was a tad undercooked for my taste. I think fish is the easiest thing in the world to cook, yet it seems to intimidate B. Note that the picture below does not contain dirty crumbs or cat hair on the table.

I'm heading to bed and to watch the Hills. I have an early morning doctor's appointment, which I'm strangely looking forward to.

xoxo

This weather makes me feel more social...

...and I can't help but want to be out and about all the time!

I am always hesitant to go out on a Friday night because I'm so wiped from the week. But this Friday was an exception because it was my friend C's birthday celebration at 6B. I decided to limit myself to just one of their yummy martinis and spent the rest of the night drinking delicious Wachusett Blueberries. The night was a lot of fun with shots, late inning Red Sox, and dancing to Britney Spears. A knew random people there - a girl he had dated once and another girl who was a college buddy of his. It was a ton of fun, but B and I did end up leaving early when the manager randomly cut B off even though he was by far the most sober one there. C's friend hijacked my camera and took some interesting photos, but this one is a cute one (even though I decided to squat to be the same height as C). Note the evil manager in the background yelling at one of C's friends dancing in the background. The next day B and I were very hungover and got a late start to the day. I was originally supposed to golf at KK's work outing but that never ended up happening so it was one of those rare Saturdays where I had no plans. I got a text from my friend S, who was in town shopping for a cocktail dress. She actually bought a custom made dress from Holiday, which I definitely need to check out. Since she was in the neighborhood, S, B and I headed to the Hill Tavern for lunch. We managed to score an outside table and I cured my hangover with a grilled chicken sandwich, sweet potato fries and lots of diet coke. Our friend G stopped by to say hello as he headed to play tennis with a friend of his.

Afterwards, B and I hit up Newbury Street to do some shopping. I was in search of a sleeveless polo for my golf lesson on Sunday and decided to try Filene's Basement since they have a huge selection of Polo shirts at great prices. B is so anti-bargain shopping but he actually fell in love with the place when we both discovered they have a huge Vineyard Vines selection. I bought a sleeveless Vineyard Vines polo, a standard Vineyard Vines polo, and a Vineyard Vines silk belt for $70. Seriously, one shirt costs $70. B talked me down from an uber preppy Lilly Pulitzer halter top, but I also managed to talk him into a gorgeous Burberry tie that I bought him. It was seriously only $70 and there are so many weddings we are going to that I'm hoping I can convince him to wear it. B also managed to get a few Vineyard Vines button down shirts for a great price.

Afterwards, we headed back home to relax and work off our hangovers while watching the Sox game. We thought about going to the game but opted against it because of the heat. We were starving and since the weather was nice out, I was craving barbecue. I suggested Redbones BBQ for dinner and I think B fell a little more in love with me for wanting to go there. As typical, there was a long line there and an hour long wait, so we headed downstairs to their bar for the wait. I was craving a fruity beer, but they suprisingly didn't have any on tap so I opted for Snakebites. B and I ordered some appetizers - their hush puppies, catfingers (seriously yummy) and onion strings. After an hour, we closed out our ridiculously cheap tab and headed upstairs. I always forget how cheap they are there! I ordered their sweet tea and pulled pork platter with coleslaw and candied yams. B ordered a pulled chicken sandwich with the same sides as me. We seriously over-ordered and over-ate our appetizers because we barely made a dent into our dinners. We packed up our dinners and headed home to drop them off before heading to the Grand Canal to see Bearfight. But the big dinner did us in and we ended up staying in.

This morning I slept in and then dug out my golf clubs from our sports closet. I had my first group lesson of the season with our pro at Newton Commonwealth. I had a great lesson and was hitting really well. Afterwards we started to play 18 holes and my long game was rough, but decent for the first outing of the season. My short game was actually pretty good and I think that I am more relaxed when I'm on the green. Our pro came out for a few holes to watch us play and help us with the things we need to work on (i.e. I need to stop moving my head!). I thought it was really nice of him to do it and this is absolutely why I will probably take lessons for a long time going forward. But after an hour lesson and playing in the hot sun, we stopped at nine holes. Afterwards, the ladies and I headed to Parish Cafe for a post-golf drink. Parish Cafe is one of my least favorite places in Boston. While their beer selection is great, their cocktails are never well-made and their sandwiches are so overrated. While their white sangria was just decent, the conversation and company was wonderful.

I'm looking forward to a busy week at work, along with a lot og gym sessions and networking events.

Hope everyone got lots of sunshine this weekend!

xoxo

Even the worst days can end with laughter.

I had a really terrible day at work yesterday. I obviously can't get into the details, but I was stressed out. I took a little walk during lunchtime and called my best friend S to vent and talk about my frustrations. The great thing about S (and about best friends in general) is that they always know just what to say to make you feel better.


After I cooled down, I headed to Beacon Hill for Crush's 2nd Anniversary party. I remember with this adorable boutique opened up around the corner and little did I know that I'd become so friendly with Rebecca and Laura! I started to browse around and sip champagne, and ofcourse Rebecca so kindly starts pulling things aside for me (without even having to ask) because she knows my style and fit. I found a gorgeous Amanda Uprichard dress that I loved, loved, loved and had to buy it. Its navy blue halter style in the front with a high neck and a deep unique back. I'm not even close to describing how gorgeous it is and it is definitely a Blair Waldorf kind of dress. I'm thinking that I'll wear it to R's wedding rehearsal and dinner, or maybe to B's friend's wedding in Vermont this fall. Love it.


I headed home high on my shopping purchase (did I mention that I got 15% off the dress?) and B was waiting with a bouquet of gorgeous tulips. He knew how tough my day was and wanted to do something to brighten it. Honestly, I'm very lucky to have someone so thoughtful in my life.




B and I jumped in a cab and headed to the Living Room to meet up with KK, her coworkers and friends for some drinks. There was some charity event going on, but KK managed to snag one end of the bar. We caught up over drinks (two glasses of pink champagne for me) and then we started to get a little hungry. So a few of us headed over to Billy Tse's for a late dinner. Over mai tais (which we only ordered because A did), and lots of yummy Chinese food, we had one of those long lingering dinners where we talked about everything. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I've said it before but I'll say it again, nothing can go wrong when you have good food, good wine (or mai tais) and good friends.


I got home pretty late last night (at least for a "school" night) but there's nothing more to love than a Thursday happy hour. I'm looking forward to more of them as the weather gets warmer!


xoxo

Patriot's Day...Does This Constitute a Tradition?

After a late night dinner on Sunday night, I felt full and refreshed for all of the Patriot's Day festivities that were ahead of us.  S, M and P came over and we headed to the Paramount for our "traditional" Patriot's Day breakfast.  While I am a huge fan of the Paramount, I think that it is perhaps one of the most overly hyped breakfast places in my neighborhood.  I love the food and the cafeteria style service but I will never be caught dead waiting in an hour long line for this place, no matter how nice the weather is.  M and P have never been to the Paramount before so I hoped they liked it!  Although I'm a picky breakfast eater because I don't like French toast, pancakes or waffles, I am a huge fan of their malted Belgian waffle with fresh fruit (strawberries, pineapples, bananas, and melon).

After breakfast we headed towards Fenway.  We had some time to kill but definitely wanted to avoid the usual places like the Baseball Tavern, Cask or Game On! since this is the kind of day when every suburbanite crawls into the city.  Instead S introduced M, P and I to the diviest of dive bars - TC's Lounge.  S' dad owns a parking garage around the corner, so this is definitely a place that he has frequented before.  I absolutely loved it - from the Buck Hunter, thongs for sale, posters on the wall and the arcade machine where you take the claw to pick up a toy (except there was some porn mixed in with the stuffed animals).  We had a few pitchers of Sam Summer, and then headed to the game.

If you saw the score, then you knew it was a slaughterhouse.  I had a blast with the gang and even though I forgot to take any fun pictures, I posted one obligatory Fenway shot.

After the game, we met up with E and her friends.  We walked along Commonwealth Mall and cheered on some of the marathoners.  Okay, I really didn't.  I was too busy in search of a bathroom.  Thankfully E's friend M lives right on Clarendon Street and she saved the day in more ways than one.  

After the Back Bay pit stop, we headed to the Green Dragon where the runners for the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club were having their post-marathon celebration.  My friend B from law school was running with two of my friends from college (they all happened to know each other from UMASS).  We settled into a table and chowed down on lots of yummy appetizers and sandwiches.  Afterwards, A showed up after work and thankfully saved the day from my laziness at taking photos and snapped a few cute ones.  

It was a great long weekend and I was happy to head home to watch the Celtics and the Bruins make Monday a great day in Boston sports.  And ofcourse, I ended the night with lots of TV - Gossip Girl, 24 and the Hills. 

I'm getting back into the grind at work but am thankful that its a short work week!

xoxo

Craigie on Main - I Think I'll Pass on the Chef's Whim Next Time

I got back from New Hampshire on Sunday night and was feeling a little restless. Originally B and I were going to finally go see Watchmen. I read the graphic novel in college in my Violence in American Culture class and while comic books aren't my thing, I fell in love with the novel. I got the book for B for Hanukkah but it seemed to take him forever to read it. Anyway, the movie is now only playing at the Davis Square movie theater and by the time we got home from New Hampshire, there was no time to make it over there.

So I was a little bummed, especially since I was antsy to do something. For my birthday, B's lovely friends (and mine too now) S and O got me a gift card to Craigie on Main. They had gone one night and thought that we would really enjoy going. After I got the giftcard, I did some research and found that they do a Chef's Whim after 9 PM on Sundays (although they now offer it on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - I guess the economy is hitting everyone and they want to drum up some business). Since S and O live around the corner from Craigie on Main, we called them around 8 to see if they'd be up for a late dinner. They were free and we made a 9:30 reservation.

B and I made a quick change of clothes and I finally got to rock the leaf headband B bought me. We were at Urban Outfitters a few more months ago and I was admiring it, but didn't want to splurge (I know, this is a rare moment financial conservativism for me). So he bought one in black for me. I brought it with me to Vegas but totally forgot to wear it. But I was happy to throw it on for an improptu dinner double date!

We jumped on the Red Line to Central Square. I was unfamiliar with where it was located, but happy to find that it was only a few minutes walk from the T stop. We got there a little early and headed to the bar. B had a Northern Lights - a cocktail with St. Germain (yummy elderflower liquor), scotch, lime and bitters. I tried to order my standard dirty Ketel martini (extra dirty) but was shocked to discover that they didn't served Ketel One. Maybe this is what happens when you cross the river? I chose their Rain vodka instead and it was a big mistake. Organic vodka does not a good martini make. S and O arrived shortly and we headed over to our table.

We started out with the standard bread basket. B and I chose the "surprise" (i.e. non-vegetarian) six-course tasting and S and O chose the vegetarian tasting. Our server also gave us cards to write down what we liked as we went through each course.

Our first course was a bite of sable fish with caviar and tiny potato chips. It was a fresh and delightful way to start the meal.

Our second course was a salad consisting of hirmasa sashimi, sugar white beets, oroblanco salsa, avocado, whitefish roe, and pine nut puree. This was again delightful and the acidic touch to this course was perfect.

Our third course was more substantial with a charred black cod served on top of red onions and bitter lemon. The cod was incredibly delicious. While I was surprised that the first three courses were all fish courses but each fish was cooked differently. This seemed more of a New England hearty fish dish and I was very satisfied, especially the contrast with the bitter lemon.

The fourth dish was probably my least favorite - a poached egg served with spring vegetables (cooked asparagus, radishes, celery, micro greens, sweet pea coulis) and a scattering of snails. This was cooked a la Schmaltz (i.e. in chicken fat) and served with chicken cracklings. Our server encouraged us to crack the egg yolk and to mix it with the spring vegetables. While everything was cooked properly, it was just not, how do I put it, a pretty dish. The burgundy snails were also chopped up pretty thinly so it was also difficult to get a good taste of the snails. It was just a shame because I'm a huge fan of all of the ingredients but the sloppy presentation just ruined the dish.

Our final savory course was a skirt steak cooked medium rare. The skirt steak was served with marrow, beef tongue, foie gras on top a bed of red rice, mustard grains and greens. I don't know how to describe this dish, except that it was delicious in every bite. I thought it was really interesting how the different parts of beef were served with each other and created a delicious contrast in texture. I'm not sure if this dish is served on their regular menu but I would definitely order it again.

Before we hit our dessert course, we were served with bites of sorbet to cleanse our palate. Each of us had a different sorbet - blood orange, pear, Myer lemon, and grapefruit - served with candied kumquat. We did a little swapping around and I was happy to end up with the blood orange. It was definitely what I needed to get ready for the dessert course.

Again, we were all served a different dessert. I happily ended up with a unique dish - dessert grits. Our dessert server explained that it was a warm sweet white corn grits served with hazelnuts, dried fruit compote, demerara brulee and topped with canela ice cream. It felt almost like a deconstructed fruit crisp and the hazlenuts added a perfect touch.

Just when we thought we were done with our desserts, we had one final touch of a small cup of hot cocoa spiced with ancho chile and cardamon. No one at our table could really finish the cocoa because it was both so rich and we were so full.

The meal was overall delicious. I was a little disappointed that there were three fish courses. S really didn't like one of her courses - a haroseth-stuffed sweet vidalia onion. While she ate the spring vegetables and carrot jus served with the stuffed onion, she really didn't like the onion at all. The server asked if everything was okay and she politely said that it just wasn't her course. At the end of the meal, while we were nibbling on our lemon madelines, the server came back and said that they noticed that she didn't enjoy the course and gave her a $25.00 gift card for another visit. I thought it was a nice touch. I'd definitely go back, but probably to choose my own plates.

The Chef's Whim was a great way to end a lovely Sunday - good food and good company makes the world a better place.

On a sidenote, my friend A was telling me today how she thinks B and I are such a city couple because we are always out and about in the city. I was honestly so flattered by her calling us a cosmopolitan couple and have to give her a little shout-out.

xoxo

A weekend full of sports and sunshine - sounds like another Boston weekend to me!

We got up early Saturday morning as we had a date with our cleaning lady. Like any good daughter of a good middle-class family, I still have a little bit of guilt with having a cleaning person come to our apartment. On top of which, B and I still try to tidy up as much as possible before she comes so she can stick to the really dirt cleaning and not worry about picking up after us. Anyway, now that its nice out, we love having the cleaning lady come in the morning because it forces us to get up and get out the door. We took a nice walk along the Charles River, and then made our way over to Bouchee for brunch. Since it was nice out, we sat out along their patio. We started out with some fresh squeezed orange juice. I had a toasted bagel with cream cheese, lox and the usual sides - capers, chopped onions, and chopped hardboiled egg. B had their breakfast sandwich (croissant, scrambled eggs and bacon) with a side of fruit. It was really relaxing and a nice way to start the weekend.

We headed back home and I actually crashed for awhile. I missed the first half of the Celtics game, although seeing the second half I was actually glad. Our friend S was at the game and he came over afterwards to watch the Sox and the Bruins game with B. I got ready to meet the girls at Clarke's for a girls night out. Although we like to have fancy dinner and drinks and get all dolled up, my girls are also laid back enough to make a girls night out about watching sports and drinking beers. We split some nachos and then for an entree I had my favorite Tex Mex Salad (which I actually had earlier in the week over lunch with A). We had a blast. I brought my camera but sadly forgot to take pictures. And a special congrats to my friend N who is taking a big step and moving in with her boyfriend S. I know its a scary step, but one worth taking.

M and I left a little after midnight to grab a cab before the bars let out. The city is absolutely crazy with three sports teams playing this weekend (two being playoff games), a 5K in the city, and ofcourse the marathon tomorrow. I got home and our friend S responsibly stayed over since he had quite a drive to get home.

This morning we got up and tidied up a bit from the guys night in. B picked up some breakfast for us at Panificio's, another one of our neighborhood favorites. I had their breakfast burrito with homefries. The burrito was pretty filling but lacked the spice that I like in any burrito - breakfast or otherwise. And their "homefries" were really just a side of baby red potatoes, but they were well seasoned and delicious. B had his usual tomato, mozarella and basil sandwich.

Afterwards, B's parents picked us up and we headed up to Derry, New Hampshire to hang out with B's sister and her family. We were excited to see little B's nephew as we haven't seen him since January and he has really progressed in talking. We had an awesome time today. We played with Noah a lot, and had a delicious lunch of homemade butternut squash soup and vegetable lasagna. B's sister picked up a delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert which made me so excited for summer. Afterwards, we all took a really long walk to a few of the farms in their neighborhood (only in New Hampshire) and we saw a few goats, chickens (ew), and alpacas (I know, random). I'll post some pictures after I steal them from B's computer.

B and I are trying to get the motivation to do something low key tonight since tomorrow is a long day ahead of us. Okay, that's a big fat lie...we just made plans for a late night dinner reservation for the Chef's Whim tasting at Craigie on Main with our friends S & O.

Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend.

xoxo

Itching (literally) for the long weekend...

I'm fighting this allergic reaction to the detergent used by MGM Grand one day at a time. I've just started a new medicine yesterday and I have seen amazing improvements so I'm feeling pretty good. I've got a lot going on that's keeping me busy. Work has been a good busy and I've managed to get a lot done this week without overstressing or putting in long hours.

Thursday night I headed to a Suffolk University Law School alumni event at Les Zygomates. When I was in law school, I was the Assistant Managing Editor of the Journal of Trial and Appellate Advocacy and an officer of the Moot Court Board. The current members of the Journal and Board invited the young alumni for a wine tasting. I met up with my good friend J and we headed over together. I've never been to Les Zygomates but I've heard only good things about their wine selection and their live jazz. The event was hosted in a private room in the back of the restaurant. They had about four or five different featured wines served with hors d'oeuvres that complimented the different wines. Truth be told, I was too busy catching up with some faces that I haven't seen in awhile but their featured white bordeaux was delicious (as I had a few glasses).

Yesterday was gorgeous out. It wasn't quite the warm 70s that everyone was talking about but it was beautiful nonetheless. Although I'm usually addicted to the make your own salads (especially with the new spicy honey dijon dressing) from Sebastian's Cafe or the salads of the day from Delicato Cafe, I like to head to Al's State Street Cafe every once in awhile. I always get the same sandwich at Al's - the State Street Special. It has proscuitto, mozarella, basil and plum tomatoes with balsamic vinegar served on their standard small sub roll. I've realized that the reason it tastes so good is that the mozarella is fresh and their balsamic vinegar is probably the best I've ever had. Delish. I headed there with my co-worker D to get some air yesterday and since it was so nice out, there was the typical line out the door. I didn't mind getting some sunshine though.

This weekend is full of lots of fun plans with good friends, family, and ofcourse lots of Boston sports! I'm sure there will be lots to write about...in the meantime, I'm heading out for a long walk and then maybe a stop in the South End for brunch while our apartment gets cleaned.

xoxo

Collective Bargaining in Shopping?

My friend R recently introduced me to a new website called Groupon.  Basically, its a website that started in Chicago which offered a deal a day.  Its basically to find fun stuff to do and buy in Chicago.  They recently have expanded this to New York and Boston too.  The way that Groupon works is that the website offers one deal a day.  The website works with certain vendors that will offer the deal, but only if a certain number of people will participate in the deal.  In other words, the business will give the discount, but only if it is guaranteed to bring in a certain volume of business.  Hence the name: group + coupon  = groupon.  If you want to participate in the deal of the day, you have to "join" within the 24 hour period.  This means signing up and actually giving your credit card information.  They basically do this so people can't just inflate the numbers to get the deal without actually purchasing the discount.  If the number of people is reached (i.e. the minimum number of people "join"), then your credit card will be charged and you can get the discount.  If the number isn't reached, then your credit card won't be charged and there will be no effect to you.  The website states that all of your personal information is protected, and it sounds legit.

Today's deal is a $20 for a $40 gift certificate to ZuZu in Cambridge.  Yesterday offered a $19 gift certificate for 29 classes at Healthworks.  Other deals have included heavily discounted spa, dental and dining rates.  It is definitely an interesting concept, especially since both businesses  and shoppers are getting more creative in this economy.  I haven't tried it out yet but would definitely welcome feedback if any of you buy anything from Groupon.

Happy Shopping!

xoxo

Apparently what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas...

When I was in Vegas, my left leg was a little itchy, but I didn't think it was anything more than me shaving my legs and using the pool. This often happens to me with chlorine and there wasn't a rash or anything. Well, on the plane ride home, my left arm was super itchy. I didn't know what it was but it started to get less itchy on Saturday. On Sunday I went home for Easter and wore a light sweater and my arm felt like it was on fire. I broke out on my left arm with a huge red itchy rash - sounds awesome, right? I did some research online and it sounded like it was a heat rash. I talked to my friend KK, who is commonly affected by heat rash with all of her training. She told me to avoid working out because heat and sweat is not a good idea, and to take a cold shower and use cold compresses. On Monday night, I followed her advice but the rash was still there and didn't look like it was improving. At her and B's suggestion, on Tuesday, I called my doctor for an emergency appointment. My doctor looked at it and said that it is definitely an allergic reaction. Since its only my left arm (with a little on my right arm and legs), it is probably from the detergent on the sheets at MGM Grand because it is nowhere that my pjs covered. After all these years of being teased by my friends for my nighties, I'm really wishing I had worn pj pants and a t-shirt. She told me to take a Zyrtec in the morning and a Benadryl at night (since it is uber drowsy) and gave me a prescription for topical steroid.


Today, my arm is still itchy and warm, but definitely less tender. The redness and the swelling has gone down a lot and as gross as it sounds, you can see the red bumps. This is actually an improvement considering it was just a red blotchy puffy mess before. If it doesn't go down even more tonight, I'm going to call my doctor and she's going to prescribe me an oral steroid. But I'm hoping to avoid that since oral steroids can have some nasty side effects/reactions.


Other than my nasty rash, I'm back to adjusting to everyday life again. Although my sleep pattern is a little off, I'm otherwise back in the grind of work. I met up with my friend A on Monday for lunch at Clarke's. We usually either go here or to Beantown Pub for lunch since both are close by to our works. Its been awhile since we've had lunch and we had a lot to catch up on. Over our huge salads (they are seriously enormous at Clarke's), we caught up on my vacation and her work/love life updates. A has had such an interest past year and a half filled with manys ups and downs, and while I'm still getting to know her, its been so good to see her in a much better place now.


I also got a chance to chat with some of my college friends yesterday amidst of flurry of ordering a bridesmaid dress for M's wedding. I am not the best bridesmaid at the moment as I ordered the wrong colored dress by accident and was too lazy to get myself measured so I just got a size up from the last dress I ordered from the same designer just to be safe in case I gained weight. I'm not too worried about the dress size since my tailor is fabulous and does an awesome job. And once the online dress boutique sends me my confirmation, I can change the colors so its not a big deal. I just wanted to get the dress ordered as soon as possible as the wedding is in August and I'm nervous about the shipping/delivery time, along with time for alterations. Luckily, M is very lax about the shoes and I can recycle my shoes from G's wedding so that's one less thing to worry about.


Last night, I had a date to catch up with golf buddies, E and L, at Bond. E and L are two of my law school buddies that I took golf lessons with last year at Newton Commonwealth Golf Course. Over several glasses of wine, we caught up on our work and love lives. Plus, we planned our schedule for the next month or so for our golf lessons and golf outings. There are a lot of tournaments this year that I'm hoping to participate in and I'm looking forward to working on my game.


Otherwise, I'm back to the grind...and enduring the teasing at work that what happens in Vegas should stay in Vegas....


xoxo

Celebrating Easter with traditional Korean dishes...

I was excited to go home for Easter. While I was too jet-lagged to make it to Easter services (which my dad was surprisingly okay about), I couldn't wait to see my family and hang out with them. Traditionally my mom makes a ham for Easter dinner, but I am not a fan of ham at all. My mom thought about doing a turkey, but my brother-in-law is not a fan of turkey. With so many picky eaters, my mom threw up her hands and decided to have a traditional Korean dinner. I was thrilled because I (with very much a bias) am of the belief that my mom is the best Korean cook in the world. My boyfriend was excited because he has eaten a lot of my mom's American cooking, which is out of this world. Since Korean food is her forte, he knew we were in for a treat.

As usual, my mom had done most of the cooking but my sister and I jumped into the kitchen to help out when we got there around 1 PM. My mom made some of our favorite dishes. Since B loves Asian food but isn't as familiar with Korean food, my mom wanted to show him the variety of Korean foods he hasn't tried.

First she made her spicy dukbokee. Long duk (rice cakes) are stir-fried with carrots, onions, and tofu. It is then stir fried in a gochujang-based sauce. Gochjang is a spicy fermented sauce made of soy paste and red peper flakes. This is a very spicy dish, and often served as street food in Korea.
She also served mandu-guk. This is a dumpling soup. My mom made lots of fresh dumplings with pork and tofu. It is cooked in a clear broth and served with fried egg strips, black pepper, green onions, and black pepper. When you are served the dumpling and broth in a bowl, you get a smaller dish to put one dumpling in at a time and pour some soy sauce in.

My mom also made lots of bulgolgi, which is a grilled beef dish. This is very commonly found in many Korean restaurants and barbecue houses. It is a sirloin thinly sliced and marinated in the beef juices, with plenty of sesame seeds and sesame seed oil.

I made a special request for my favorite dish - balls of chicken and peas, lightly breaded and fried. Its a version of Korean fried chicken and so delicious. While many kids got served chicken nuggers, this is what my mom would serve us instead. The best part is that they are so small and light that you can eat one after another without feeling full.

She also served daeji bulgogi, which is grilled pork marinated in gochujang (soy paste mixed with red peppers), soy sauce and rice wine. Instead of using the traditional thinly sliced pork loin, she mixed it up with country style ribs. The meat was tender and oh so spicy!

Ofcourse, dinner was served with traditional sides called banchan, which included ggakdugi (radish kimchi). This kimchi dish is made from halves of Korean radishes that are parboiled then coated with very fine redpepper powder which gives them deep red color. My mom pickles it with garlic and ginger for additional flavor.

She also served baechu kimchi (whole cabbage kimchi). This is the most common, classic kimchi you will find at a Korean meal.

Whole heads of cabbage are trimmed to remove discolored outer leaves and then split longways into two or four sections. These sections are soaked in brine for three or four hours until they have softened.While this is going on, the other ingredients are assembled and mixed together - ground pepper powder, chopped garlic and ginger, pickled baby shrimp. When they are mixed and the cabbage is ready.

Handfuls of the stuffing are then pushed and spread between the leaves of the cabbage until it is all used. The outer leaves of the cabbage are wrapped round whole to form a solid bundle, which is then stored in a crock covered with salted leaves and pressed down firmly. The kimchi is then pickled and served after it is ripened.

My mom also made another favorite of mine - pajeon, or Korean pancakes. These are savory pancakes made with flour and eggs. The other ingredients are often varied in the pancakes, but my mom traditionally uses crab and fresh zucchini. It is cooked on a pan in a traditional manner as pancakes, except you cook the crab and zucchini first, and then pour the egg and flour batter on top in circles. It is sliced and then eaten with a sauce consisting of soy sauce, sesame seed oil, and rice vinegar.

For desserts, we went back to American desserts. My mom made little cheesecakes. She put a nilla wafers on the bottom of muffin cups, and then poured in a traditional cheesecake mix. On top, she served a raspberry filling with fresh raspberries mixed with raspberry preserves. My apologies for the blurry picture.

My sister also brought a variety of desserts from a local bakery....The pieces were huge and we ended up splitting up various pieces. I had a nibble of German chocolate cake and tiramisu....

And also a bit of an "egg" cake, which was a chocolate and vanilla cake with a hard chocolate candy shell...

Ofcourse, no Korean meal would end without fresh fruit. My mom served plenty of slices of fresh melon. Delish.

My mom definitely cooks with love, and there was a lot of love at our Easter dinner. We are a loud bunch, whether it is to proclaim my mom the best cook in the whole wide world....or to argue over the cigarette tax. After such a huge 2 PM "dinner", I've been full all day and can't wait to heat up the leftovers tomorrow night for dinner.

Happy Easter everyone...xoxo

Leaving the City of Sin

On Friday morning we woke up early considering we went to bed around 4 AM. We had an 11 AM checkout and we took another bath. I know, this sounds ridiculous with the amount of baths we took but if you saw the size of the bathtub and know the size of ours, you’d understand. We finished up packing slowly and then headed down to the lobby to check out.

When we first checked in B asked for a complimentary upgrade, and he told the attendant when we checked in that this was our first vacation alone together and he wanted to make it romantic. B was told that they no longer did complimentary upgrades, but he did get an awesome rate to upgrade to a suite and so he chose to pay for an upgrade. But when we checked out, the attendant never charged us for the upgrade. I don’t think it was a mistake but she was really nice about saying no to B since it is official hotel policy. Regardless, we got an awesome suite for a normal room rate. B also charged a few of the meals to the room since he’d be paying for it all in the end, and they surprisingly didn’t charge us for Tuesday’s breakfast at Studio Café either. We really lucked out with our MGM Grand experience and I highly recommend staying at this hotel. If we ever go back to Vegas, we’d definitely stay there again or at Paris, which we thought was really gorgeous.

B and I headed back to the airport. We switched planes in Dallas and are now en route to Boston. My overall thought of Vegas is that it is a really great place to overindulge, but it is not for everyone. I would definitely go back for a shorter period of time and with a group for the night scene. There are a bunch of different hotels being built across from MGM Grand and next to the Monte Carlo that I think will be absolutely amazing and will rival the Wynn. But there’s a lot of depressing things about Vegas too. From the immigrants passing out sex cards to the depressing obsession with all things bad – sex, gambling, smoking, and drinking in excess. Plus, there’s an overwhelming visiting population of what I like to call Ed Hardy douchebags to poor lower class Americans. But despite these observations, I had a great time with B, who made every experience thoughtful and romantic. Whether it is in Vegas or at home, it is good to be with the one you love.

xoxo

Our final full day in Vegas

B and I were both pretty hungover and slept in really late. We decided to head down to the pool to relax. B knew how much I wanted to get some color, and he was happy to be under an umbrella with his sunburn. On our way down, a hotel employee handed us passes for Wet Republic, their pool bar/lounge. It is funny because they handed me the VIP free pass but B’s was only a discounted card. This was the norm the entire week – the girls get the free VIP passes and the guys who are with them get discounted passes because they know that the guys will go with the girls.

We were both hungry after lying out by the pool, so we headed back to the hotel to change and then walked to Paris for lunch. We had received several recommendations from our friends to go to Mon Ami Gabi at Paris. They have an outdoor patio, an inner patio, and then inside restaurant. Since it was gorgeous out, we wanted to sit outside on the patio and there was only a fifteen minute wait. During the wait, I got my family some cute ornaments as souveniers. We lucked out with seats right in the center (half under the umbrella for B and the sun for me) and we got a great view of the Bellagio water shows. Like any traditional French bistro, they started out with a baguette served in paper and some butter. The bread was freshly baked and still warm with a crusty outside and a warm center. Since we skipped breakfast, we were famished and started out with two appetizers – country style pate and duck confit served with lentils and pearl onions. I’m a huge fan of chopped liver, pate and duck mousse. Although incredibly unhealthy, it is one of my go to starters at any French place. The country style pate was delicious here, but a bit too firm for my liking. It was served with the traditional accoutrements of grainy mustard, cornichons, cocktail onions and toast points. The toast points were more like toast than points, which I’m not the biggest fan of. The duck confit, on the other hand, was perfect to the last bite. Although it wasn’t the best dish for a warm patio dining, it was cooked to perfection. Since I have my weird issues with eating meat on bones, B thankfully did the dirty work of separating the meat for me. The lentils were a nice touch and well-cooked and seasoned. But the pearl onions really made the dish pop and the flavors of lentils, onion and duck together were great. The duck confit was an interesting contrast to the Thai crispy duck from the night before. For our entrees, B had their burger and frites. The frites were thinly sliced so they were very crispy and contained very little “meat” (so to speak) inside. This resulted in the frite being crispy and curly, almost like curly fries but with less potato filling. I got their crepe filled with warm spinach and brie. It was delicious, although a bit salty with the natural saltiness of both spinach and brie. The serving was huge and I could only tackle about half of it, especially having indulged in two appetizers with B. I absolutely love savory crepes and the crepe itself was thin, yet held all of the filling together well. The best part about the meal was the people watching. While I’m no food or wine expert, it was really amusing to watch a table of Southern women claim they didn’t want anything with “stinky feet cheese” in it and then ask the waiter to explain what orzo is. The waiters were authentically French and I felt a little embarrassed about these comments, but amused nonetheless.

After our late lunch, B and I walked around the Paris shoppes for awhile until we found ourselves in a patessiere (spelling) called Lenotre. While the pastry options were endless, we chose to split a chocolate éclair with chocolate filling and a crispy chocolate candy. We walked off our lunch and dessert and headed back to the Miracle Mile Mall to pick up a few things B needed from American Apparel and the Gap. I was tempted with some of the great sales at the mall but was discouraged with the 11% sales tax.

We headed back to the hotel and stopped by the gift store next to the lion exhibit. One of the big attractions is the lions at MGM Grand, and we wanted to get B’s nephew a stuffed lion. We headed up to our room and B promptly took a nap while I jumped into the bath. We both did a little packing before we headed out for our last night in Vegas. We decided to check out the other end of the Strip and took the Monorail to Harrah’s. Harrah’s was cheesy and a bit rundown. My friend S recommended that we see one of the flair shows at Carnivale Court, but we missed the happy hour and it was dead at the early hour of 9 PM. We walked past the ghetto casinos to the Venetian. This place was exquisite in its replica of Venice. B and I took a romantic outside gondola ride and we were paired with an adorable older couple that had just been married the day before. Our gondolier was great and really helped make the whole experience romantic. Like many of the other attractions in Vegas, we got our photos taken on the gondola and we actually liked the pictures. We got a large one to frame for us, some wallets for our parents, and some complimentary keychains (KK, a keychain has your name all over it!).

We then headed to Treasure Island to see their big pirate show. Everyone kept telling us to see it and it was a zoo. I’ve got to be honest, I thought it was incredibly cheesy and I wasn’t sure why so many families were there to see it with the skanky pirate girls dancing and all of the jokes carrying heavy sexual innuendos. We saw most of it, but then decided to move on and walked through the Fashion Show Mall ...

...and to the Wynn. Wow. The Wynn is everything everyone said it would be. It is absolutely gorgeous and luxurious to every detail. I was incredibly impressed and I know my friend G is going to have an amazing experience there. We walked through the Wynn, around the Palazzo ...and back to the Venetian. I was amused with the skanky girls in line for Tao. I think that if we were there with a group we’d be more inclined to go out clubbing but as a couple it seemed less desirable.

From the Venetian, we headed to the Mirage. This was another really cool hotel and I was sad that we missed their last showing of the volcano. We also saw that there is a dolphin habitat and I definitely would have liked to see that during the day. It was after 11 PM and we were finally hungry from our huge lunch. It seems odd to eat so late but this really is the city that never sleeps. We made our way to Carnegie Deli, another place we wanted to check out. I’ve never been to the one in New York, but I’m a huge fan of traditional Jewish delis. We munched on half-sour and sour pickles. B started out with the matzo ball soup. I had a turkey reuben with swiss cheese, and B had the pastrami sandwich. As our plates hit the table, we found out that each sandwich comes with 1.5 pounds of meat. I had about one third of my sandwich, and B finished his sandwich but had to pull out about half of his pastrami. They had some amazing looking desserts, especially their cheesecakes and pies, but we were way too stuffed to try them.

We walked around the Mirage and then made our way to Caesar’s Palace. This was another grand and opulent casino and hotel. We were a bit tired of gambling from the previous days, so we just walked around to check out the sights. I was disappointed to discover that Caesar’s Place had just opened a Serendipity 3 that week. I’ve always wanted to try one of their frozen chocolate desserts but they unfortunately closed early at midnight (well early for Vegas hours). Although I was stuffed from the deli, I would have definitely made room for Serendipity 3. Exhausted at last, B and I walked back to our hotel. It was 2 AM when we got back and we took a long bath to relax and unwind.

Day Three – I’m Starting to Get Used to This Place

I woke up this morning and was famished. I re-discovered our purchase of Krispy Kremes. I devoured mine and B, who strangely is not obsessed with Krispy Kreme as I am, gave me a few bites of his as well. After the donuts, we weren’t too hungry, so we skipped breakfast. The weather was cool in the high sixties and to be honest, it was perfect laying out weather since the sun is hot but the temperatures are cool. But B and I both had a few burn spots from yesterday so we decided to skip the pool, and headed down to the “Tix 4 Tonight” located next to M&M World. My co-worker B told me that this is the place to get half-priced tickets the day of the show. While everyone kept recommending one of the Cirque shows, to be honest, neither B nor I wanted to see it. The line wasn’t too long and we got great seats for the Crazy Horse Paris burlesque show in our hotel tonight. We headed back to MGM Grand to the concierge desk and got our tickets.

Afterwards, we walked to Mandalay Bay for a late lunch. The weather was gorgeous so we tried to stay outside as much during the walk and avoid the casino noise and traffic. We took our obligatory photos of the Luxor and headed to Mandalay Bay. It really felt like a Caribbean resort there and we loved walking around their man-made beach. We headed to Border Grill for lunch and lucked out with a great patio seat upstairs overlooking the “beach.” I told B that I wanted to go get some great Mexican food while we were in Vegas and we saw great reviews of the place. The owners are Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, from Food Network’s “Too Hot Tamales.” Plus, everything is made fresh there, and you could really taste the difference when everything is house-made. We started out with complimentary chips, a trio of salsas, and we also ordered the fresh guacamole. I started out with their melon sangria and B had their watermelon martini. For our appetizer, we had the plaintain empanadas that were so delicious and spicy. I hate soggy empanadas but these were perfectly fried and not oily. The empanadas were stuffed with plantains, black beans, poblano peppers and cotija cheese. For entrees, B had their potato flautas special and I dug into the crab nachos. Um, the nachos were amazing (second only to Orlando’s Alehouse nachos). The nachos had housemade tortillas that were individually baked with cheese and spices. The toppings included diced tomatoes, blackened corn, huge flakes of jumbo crab, and a trio of manchega, panela and cotija cheeses. It also came with sour cream and guacamole on the side. This was probably the fanciest plate of nachos I’ve ever had. I knew when I ordered that there was no way I’d even make a dent in the nachos but I gave it my best shot and the portion that I did have was worth every bite. B and I ordered a second round of drinks – a traditional frozen margarita for him and I had a pomegranate margarita on the rocks. The meal was delicious and completely relaxing. And best of all, we got to use our restaurant.com gift certificate and got $25.00 off our meal.

After such a huge meal, we walked around Mandalay Bay and gambled some more. I honestly just have a blast doing the penny slots and B will do it to keep me company, especially since he already won big on the first day. B also cheesily did the giant oversized slot machines and actually won $18, which is amusing since this is a big waste of money.

We were exhausted and took the Mandalay tram back to the Excelsior and then walked back to the hotel for a cat nap.

Afterwards, we got ready for dinner. We were heading to Lotus of Siam, a tiny little Thai place in a strip mall off the Strip. I know this sounds random, but my boss highly recommended this restaurant (also called LOS to those in the know). My boss claimed that a good friend of his who is a Vegas regular brought him here and he said it was the one place we had to go to. Before our trip, we googled LOS and it turns out to be one of the top Thai places in the country. We had to take a cab to this place. It’s funny but I take cabs all the time in Boston, yet the service is more often than not pretty bad. Half the time the cabbies don’t know where they are going or they are speaking West African on their cell phone the entire time. But in Vegas, the cabbies are knowledgeable, friendly, and efficient. We arrived at a strip mall that looked absolutely shady and desolate. All around were other Asian (mostly Korean) restaurants, stores, or markets. LOS looked like an unmemorable place out front and it seated maybe fifty people at most. But you could tell there was something special when the place was packed on a Wednesday night. They seated us right away, as we had made reservations the night before as their website recommended. Interestingly enough, this place was pretty famous and the walls were covered with photos of various celebrities who had made their way out to this hidden gem. Right away we knew we were in for a treat because the menu was like an encyclopedia. It had detailed descriptions of each dish, and what region of Thailand it hailed from. I was a little congested from all of the dry air and cigarette smoke throughout Vegas, so I started with a cup of their hot and sour Tom Yum Kai soup with chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, lime juice and cilantro. It was perfectly spicy and it absolutely hit the spot. B and I also got their golden (lightly fried) tofu that came with a sweet and sour peanut sauce. The tofu was crispy on the outside and perfectly soft in the inside, and the sauce with crunchy peanuts was a perfect touch. This dish is really simple and I am definitely going to try to replicate it in the future at home. For our entrée, we got a side of Thai fried rice, which had bits of fried egg and pork. We also got the crispy duck with basil and peppers. I have had Asian style crispy duck many times before but nothing can compare to this. The duck was moist and succulent on the inside, yet perfectly crispy on the outside. The problem with crispy duck is that many places will overcook the duck in an attempt to get a very crispy skin, which leaves it very dry. This was not the case here. Although we were on the brink of being stuffed, B and I finished with some coconut ice cream. My only regret about LOS is that we couldn’t order more entrees. My favorite thing about Thai food (or most Asian food) is being totally okay with over-ordering and having lots to bring home with you. I wish that I lived nearby because I know that this is the kind of place where I’d always order lots of food and happily bring home the leftovers. If there is any place you should go in Vegas, it has got to be LOS.

Our waiter called us a cab back to MGM Grand. We gambled for a bit and then headed to the Crazy Horse Paris burlesque show. I have been to only one burlesque show before at Paradise Lounge to see the Boston Babydolls and I was traumatized by the flab and cellulite. But this was completely different. It was an amazing show with the dancing, the music, and the overall sensuality. I absolutely loved it and it was a good compromise since B refused to take me to a Vegas strip club (don’t judge – I’ve never been to a strip club and thought Vegas was a good place to start). We also had some great mixed drinks and beers, and we got cute Crazy Horse complimentary glasses, which I’m hoping will make the trip home. Afterwards, B and I headed back to New York, New York and got more boots of pina colada. I swear that the drinks are loaded with alcohol, because once again we were hammered. We gambled, walked around and drank some more. Around 4 AM, we finally headed to bed.

Day Two – A Day of Sun and Pool

We woke up around 7:30 AM and I realized that my body is not adjusted to the time difference. I woke up to a text with the most fantastic news that my dear law school friend A is engaged! As a sidenote, I’m thrilled that she and B are taking the next step in their relationship!

Anyway, back to Vegas - B and I got dressed and headed down to the Studio Café for some breakfast. The place was packed and we both got the chicken and waffle (mine with scrambled eggs on top and B’s with eggs over easy). We relaxed and then headed back to the room to change for the pool. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and there was a choice of four different pools. We started out by the Backlot River, but my boyfriend is very fair-skinned and we were out in the sun for awhile. While we both had a fair amount of sunscreen, the sun was too much for him so we headed to another pool and B sat under an umbrella while I sat next to him in the sun. The weather was low 80s, breezy and the sun was strong.

After a few hours of sun and several pina coladas at the pool, we headed back to the room to change and to head out to the Strip. Last night, I saw all of these people handing out cards with numbers for strippers and prostitutes. It was disturbing since I was drunk, but it was even more disturbing watching it during the day when people were walking around with their children. I’ve seen a lot of families here and I don’t understand why you would bring your child to somewhere that focuses on gambling, smoking and drinking. Maybe it is my New England Puritan background, but I just wouldn’t bring my kids here ever.

We walked around and ended up back in the Bellagio and had lunch at the Bellagio Café. Since we had dinner reservations tonight, we wanted to eat a light lunch and we both had a Bellagio cobb salad with chicken. The salad was overpriced and the chicken was dry, but a salad did hit the spot. We decided to head back to MGM and stopped at Monte Carlo to gamble for awhile.

Neither one of us did so well, so we headed back to the hotel. After a day walking around, we took yet another bubble bath to get the street dirt off of us. Have I mentioned how much I love the Jacuzzi tub?

After another bath, we headed downstairs to Craftsteak. B made this reservation right after he booked the trip because we were both really excited about trying Tom Collichio’s restaurant. I got B hooked on Top Chef, and we were curious as to whether Tom’s restaurant would live up to his reputation. First of all, the ambience of the place is really sleek, modern and new American. It is dimly lit (in a good way) and the place has huge murals of contemporary art and funky yet functional lighting. The service, ofcourse, is typical old school steakhouse service – completely over the top attentive in a charming way. We started out with a bottle of reisling and were served with dinner rolls (buttered and salted on top) that were baked in their own cast iron pan. We just bought a cast iron skillet at home that we love using and I can’t wait to make bread (or at least cornbread) in it at some point. As a starter, we tried the Kobe beef tartare. The tartare was out of this world and I was happy to discover that they certainly didn’t skimp on the serving. In fact, there was so much tartare, we asked for more toast points. The tartare was creamy from the Kobe beef and was served with an over easy egg yolk and chopped green onion. B joked that while I can’t have my steak less than medium, I’m willing to dive into raw beef. Whether its Asian style raw beef or a carpaccio, I just find it different than having your meat cooked rare. For our entrees, I had the grilled hangar steak cooked medium and B had the grilled N.Y. strip medium rare. We also had two sides of fried zucchini blossoms and white shitake mushrooms. My steak was cooked medium to perfection. Since each steak came in its own cooking pan with the juices and caramelized whole onion, there was a lot of flavor in each bite. B’s steak unfortunately came out as medium well instead of medium rare but the service was impeccable in replacing it very quickly. The zucchini blossoms were a treat. Although fried, they were light, airy, and not a bit oily. The aioli dipping sauce was sweet and creamy. B and I also loved the mushrooms. We always order a side of mushrooms at every steakhouse we go to, and we were delighted to see five or six different types of mushrooms offered. We chose the white shitake mushrooms, which were sautéed with fresh cracked black pepper and thyme and you could taste both in every bite. I hated to admit defeat, but this restaurant was not skimpy in their servings. I finished about half of my steak (B fared better with his), but we left a lot of the sides left. I was dying to try their desserts but quite simply, my stomach failed me. I loved, loved, loved Craftsteak, from its food presentation and taste to service and décor (down to the modern bathroom). The prices were reasonable steakhouse prices, and the portions were generous. I later discovered that the restaurant only uses local farm fresh ingredients, and I wasn’t surprised, considering Tom’s focus on ingredients on Top Chef. You could easily see why this restaurant was awarded the AAA Four Diamond Award.

After such an amazing dinner, B and I headed back up to our room to digest, and maybe take a few photos of ourselves...

B also wanted to change into something a little more casual for the night. Did I mention that he wore seersucker pants to dinner? For someone who lives in everything plaid, seersucker, pearls and preppy, I think I’ve influenced B a little in his wardrobe choice. Our original plan was to see the Crazy Horse Paris show tonight but Tuesday was the only night the show isn’t on. We actually noticed that a lot of shows and clubs are closed on Tuesdays. Since this was the only night we didn’t have anything planned, we decided to check out the casinos across the Strip. We walked around New York, New York.

The mock villages are cute but for someone who lives so close to New York, it was definitely less of an attraction for us. We headed to Excalibur and while the castle looks gorgeous from our window, the inside is a major dump. B made the analogy that the Bellagio is probably the Copley, MGM Grand is the Prudential Center, and Excalibur is probably a strip mall in Saugus, MA. It was run-down and the cocktail waitresses and gamblers all looked beat. We finally headed to the Luxor (a small improvement from the Excalibur).We gambled, drank, and I kept calling B my sugar daddy as he kept giving me money to gamble with. By the wee hours of the morning, we were exhausted so we headed back to our hotel. However, I did discover Krispy Kreme at the Excalibur. B talked me down from my drunken attempt to get a dozen donuts, but we managed to get two of their original glazed for a late night snack.

We headed back to the hotel room and ofcourse took another bath. It actually feels nice to take a bath before bed to wash the dirt and smoke off of you. We were both exhausted and our plans of Krispy Kreme treats were saved for the morning.