Selina here to tell you all about my trip to Spain.

First, for a little bit of background. My family used to go to Spain almost every summer when I was younger but the last time I had been there was eight years ago so, I was so excited to go back and to show Tommy, my husband, all the things I love about it. My mom was also around during most of the vacation.

Our destination was Marbella, a beautiful little town on the Costa del Sol. It’s an amazing beach town with great beaches, wonderful food, and an entertaining beach pedestrian only promenade with lots of restaurants, bars, and clubs.

First, let me show you the view from our balcony.

So, as you can imagine, this is what I did most of the time.

I know…what a rough vacation.

We also did A LOT of eating.  As you will see, a great deal of this post will be dedicated to food which is appropriate for a pants post (and because I love food). The food in Spain is so delicious and I had some of my favorite things.

For example, I really love lasagna in Spain. It’s made with bechamel sauce and baked in little individual clay dishes in the oven so it comes out hot and bubbly. Amazing!

Don’t you just want to eat that?!

Another thing that I have many lovely memories of is the ice-cream in Spain. It’s just so delicious. It’s not as rich and decadent as say Amy’s ice-cream, which to me is a good thing. They have wonderful flavors like nougat, cream, dulce de leche, and my favorite, green apple. It’s smooth and creamy, not too tart, and amazingly refreshing on a warm summer night.

Here I am enjoying my favorite flavor at the best ice-cream parlor (note that others agree, check out the line going out the door!). This place is always so crowded they had to implement a number system like at a deli!

Another yummy dessert that people in Spain eat a lot is called churros y chocolate. Churros are basically deep-fried dough sprinkled with sugar. The chocolate is basically a thick hot chocolate which you use to dip the churros in. Oh man, I want some right now!

Another interesting dessert is called the Gofre. I say it’s interesting because it’s basically a waffle with or without toppings. I know Americans eat waffles for breakfast but I agree with Spaniards in thinking that waffles should be for dessert.

Messy and delicious!

Ok, but seriously…here is another awesome dessert that I always have to have in Spain: Strawberry tarts!

Look at this deliciousness! It’s like pure perfection: fresh and juicy strawberries and a crisp and buttery crust.

Oooh Oooh another dessert..yes, there is more! We had to have a few crepes cuz they are so yummy.

Banana and chocolate with vanilla ice-cream

here is one with apples and sugar

and strawberries and sugar

Ok, let’s take a small break from the food (don’t worry, it will be back real soon). We did do a few other things besides eat, but really in Marbella it was mostly hang at the beach, walk around, and eat. It was pretty amazing. I also got to see some of my friends I used to hang out with. One person I saw was my friend Heather who is from Ireland and comes to Marbella for vacation. Thankfully, we reconnected via facebook and we got to see each other!

Yay for facebook!

One thing that is always a tradition for us is to go to the market. The markets in Spain travel from city to city on different days and the market in Marbella is on a Monday. There you can walk around and buy so many things from fresh fruit to CDs to clothes to pottery. It’s amazing! The nickname for the market is El Barato but unfortunately due to the Euro and other factors, it’s really not that cheap anymore.

A fun thing about being in Marbella is there are lots of charming towns to visit nearby. For example, we went to a town called Mijas in the mountains. It has amazing views and a lovely park…

and a really cool little church built out of rock

and charming people like this cute couple who has been making doughnuts here ever since I was a little girl.

Another town we visited is Benalmadena. We took a teleferico or cable car up the mountain to see some more amazing views.

We were very lucky and excited to be in Spain for the world cup finals! It was amazing to be a part of this historic moment.

We went to a port called Puerto Banus where all the rich people park their crazy yachts. We went there because someone said they were going to be showing it there on a big screen but no such luck. We still had fun watching it at an outdoor pub.

The atmosphere was very lively and festive

It was such a tense game but when they finally scored that goal and won, it was an outburst of emotion.

People were all over the streets chanting and dancing.

We took a break from Marbella and traveled to Barcelona for 4 days. Me and Tommy were very excited to go since we had never been north of Madrid. It’s an amazing city with the most unique and interesting architecture I have ever seen. Barcelona is also different in that they speak Catalan in addition to Spanish so it took us a while to figure out some of the different words they use for things. For example, for salad they say Amanida instead of Ensalada. The first morning we got there starving for breakfast, we were confused when the waitress said they had pasta with chocolate for breakfast. She obviously meant pastry and not the pasta that you and I know but it took us a second to figure out.

We did so many amazing things in Barcelona in 4 days. We saw 7 museums in 3 days! We weren’t planning on it but we couldn’t pass up the Artticket deal. For 22 Euros you get access to 7 museums.

One of our first stops in Barcelona was La Rambla, a pedestrian mall with lots of tourists, street performers, and shops.

Presenting…Edward Scissorhands

Honestly, I thought it would be more interesting but I wasn’t that impressed. I did like La Boqueria, a market in the area with lots of bright colors, fruits, meats, etc.

Look at all the amazing and colorful fresh juices

and fruits from all over the world

As I mentioned, the architecture in Barcelona is amazing thanks in large part to Antoni Gaudi. One of his creations that we visited is a public park called Park Guell. It’s like being in a whimsical fairy tale!

We also visited La Pedrera or Casa Mila an amazing apartment complex Gaudi built. For some reason I forgot to take a picture of the exterior but check out the amazing roof.

This is the interior courtyard of the building

Here is the exterior of another cool Gaudi building

Probably one of the most famous sites in Barcelona and the most famous Gaudi work is the Sagrada Familia, an enormous and intriguing cathedral started in 1882 and that is not expected to be complete until 2026!

Here is a view of it from the roof of La Pedrera

We were able to take an elevator up towards the top where you could see all the towers and designs up close

It’s like a christmas tree, right?

I want to eat this because it looks like fruit baskets

We went to many museums as I mentioned like the Picasso museum, the modern art museum, and Joan Miro museum. One of the most spectacular art museums was the MNAC or Museu Nacional D’Art De Catalunya (National Museum of Catalan Art).

It is housed in this amazing building in a beautiful park

We saw amazing art by such historic artists as Picasso and Dali.

Here are a couple of my faves

Most days we were way too tired from walking and touring all over the city to go out at night but we made an exception to go see a movie outdoors projected on the wall of a castle!

We ate a yummy veggie dog (topped with little fries!) while waiting for the crowds to get there and for the movie to start

It was a great experience enjoying the outdoors with (mostly) local people although it was strange since it was a weird Swedish horror movie that we watched with Spanish subtitles.

We did of course have a few good meals while in Barcelona (yay back to food!). Our favorite lunch was at a restaurant called Anima. In Barcelona you can get really good deals for lunch by getting the menu of the day. Usually you get two or three courses for a reasonable price. At Anima you could get either first and second course or second and dessert and a drink for only 10 Euros.

For my first course, I had a cold carrot soup with an artichoke and vegetable ice-cream. It was sooo good!

For my second, I had a fancy hamburger

and Tommy had Salmon

For dessert we had a chocolate tort with raspberry sauce and balsamic vinegar ice-cream. Deeeelish!

We also tried an efficient Tapas place where any tourist can order. You will see what I mean when you look at their menu.

Who can resist mini little plates of food?! You can try lots of different things without spending too much money.

Like yummy chicken croquetas. It’s something like mashed potatoes, chicken, and milk encased in bread crumbs and fried.

We also had a mini steak and fries

After 4 wonderful but exhausting days, we headed back to Marbella to relax some more and to eat more food.

Like freshly made gnocchi

and lots of seafood

shrimp in olive oil

fish baked in salt

It’s just so nice to eat dinner right by the beach and to hear the waves while enjoying delicious food. You can see here how me and my mom are enjoying the scene.

Our time was sadly coming to a close but before we left we had to have some Paella, one of Spain’s most famous dishes. I opted for the vegetarian paella this time, crispy rice with all kinds of veggies.

It was time to go home. We had an amazing time and I was sad to go but hopefully I will get to go back again soon.

I hope you enjoyed traveling with me, and if you are in need of a vacation, just look at this and insert yourself here:

Adios til next time!

so, without further ado, here’s a sample of the freedoms we are so v. lucky to have thanks to AMERICA!

that’s right, i broke out the ANIMATED GIFS. that’s how much i heart this country.

1. freedom of party themes

in america, we have the right to theme our parties in whatever way we choose. this is a HUGE right that i think a lot of us take for granted. i mean, how would you feel if the government told you you could only have a last airbender birthday party but you really wanted a harry potter one instead? obvs that would be an egregious violation of yr god-given american rights! not to mention a totally lame party!

i celebrated this freedom on the fourth of july at chris and trish’s house, where they threw a British America Party. we ate shepherd’s pie and crumpets, drank pimm’s cups and watched old james bond movies. in other countries, this might be considered treachery or, at the v. least, terrorism. but america chose not to interfere with our bloody good time, because america loves fun.

i didn’t take pictures at the party (I KNOW! WHO AM I?!) but here’s a delicious representation of a pimm’s cup, aka what we all would be drinking right now if our forefathers had just simmered down a little.

2. freedom to move to warmer, more awesome cities

there are lots of people who live in places where it snows, and for some unfathomable reason, they like it. but what about the people that are tired of knit hat hair and losing fingers and toes and basically dying a little inside every time they have to leave their house? in some countries, those people just have to suck it up cos THERE’S NO WARM PLACE TO GO. but in america, we have plenty of different climates to choose from (well, for now), and we’re free to move to any city we want to live in!

i applauded this freedom on the fourth by visiting george and jenny cos THEY LIVE HERE NOW OMG!!!!!!! in fact, they arrived in the ATX on independence day itself, and their move was thankfully not interrupted by an alien invasion. so now they are free to eat queso, drink margaritas and do this as much as they want to:

3. freedom to drink cocktails of any color

obvs racism is still a v. serious problem for people around the globe, but i’m here to talk about a lesser known (and obvs lesser evil) form of racism: cocktail coloring. maybe you’ve never heard of it, so allow me to paint a graphic picture for you:

you walk into an ordinary neighborhood bar. you just enjoyed a mini sex & the city marathon, and you’re craving a cosmo like nobody’s business. the bartender says, “what’ll it be?” and you reply, with a hint of sass (cos you’re SO carrie), “i’ll have a cosmo, please!” then the bartender yells, “WE DON’T SERVE THAT KIND HERE!” and PUNCHES YOU IN THE FACE. all because you ordered a pink drink. CHILLING, ISN’T IT?

here in the united states, we can drink cocktails of all colors! red, white, green or black, they’re all fair game for yr liver! i chose to celebrate this particular freedom while at my friend carter and tary’s dinner party by drinking a V. V. BLUE MARTINI.

dazzling, isn’t it? that’s AMERICAN FREEDOM RIGHT THERE. v. delicious, liquid freedom.

4. freedom to wrap puff pastry around hot dogs and make it tasty business

sure, you might be laughing right now, thinking to yrself, “anyone can make pigs in a blanket!” well that’s where you would be WRONG, SUCKA! but this is america, where we suffer fools gladly, so it’s ok.

most people in this country make the mistake of assuming that everyone around the world has access to puff pastry. even worse, they believe that pigs in a blanket are a globally acknowledged food item. THIS IS BLATANT IGNORANCE. you think people behind the berlin wall could just walk down to their local grocery store and buy puff pastry? I DON’T THINK SO.* you think people in communist countries are allowed to even purchase hot dogs, let alone know the intricate steps involved in making pigs in a blanket? OF COURSE NOT! because hot dogs are a symbol of america! and evil governments hate america, so they will attempt to repress and even punish any attempts at making pigs in a blanket.

i proudly enjoyed this freedom on the fourth thanks to carter and tary’s amazing culinary skills. and also, if anyone in north korea is reading this post, i’m sorry to rub this tasty business in yr face but STAY STRONG!

*i mean, i’m not 100% positive, but i’m pretty sure.

5. freedom to eat all types of mac & cheese, regardless of color, size or ingredients

THIS IS MY FAVORITE FREEDOM!!!!!! well, after, like, getting to vote. and also voice dissent. ok, this is my favorite *tasty business* freedom. and if i need to explain to you why this needs to be celebrated, well, you’re obvs new to pants town (if so, welcome! and also, i really hope you like reading about food. and pants).

that’s right, carter and tary had FOUR VARIATIONS of mac & cheese at their party. because they are amazing. and also true americans.

6. freedom to watch fireworks in the company of adorable children

every country has children in its population. but does every country have adorable children? after seeing “babies,” i would have to say yes. BUT does every country let you watch fireworks with its adorable children? MAYBE. and when it comes to this vital experience, i can’t accept uncertainty. i need a gosh darn YES, and guess which country is giving me that 100% guarantee?

AMERICA THAT’S WHO! so on sunday, i had the distinct privilege of watching an awesome fireworks display alongside these super super excited kiddos:

the best part? they gave *every* *single* firework an enthusiastic response. because they’re real americans, and real americans don’t discriminate. watch this video and prepare to be INSPIRED:

and that, pants world, is just a FEW of the reasons why i am PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. WHERE AT LEAST I KNOW I’M FREE… to drink colored cocktails, eat all types of mac & cheese and, most importantly, be any kind of pants i want to be!

so, now it’s yr turn to get all starry and stripey! what freedoms did YOU celebrate on the fourth?

LOTS OF TASTY BUSINESS AND FRIENDSHIP!

after years of running from place to place so i could see ten bands every night, my priorities suddenly shifted away from the music and way more about the food. obvs most of this has to do with my intrinsic obsession with all things delicious, but a part of it stemmed from my new festival motto: “anything that’s not inconvenient!” (pardon the double negative, it just sounds better that way, you know?). others might call this: “getting old.”

so be warned that this post will contain about 80% fewer bands than last year and about 50% more tasty business. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

henri, erica and i basically established those percentages on tuesday night, when we decided to celebrate our newly acquired fader fort wristbands with a cheap-o happy hour at mccormick & schmick’s! is it just me or are there too many c’s in that name? anyway, we got spinach artichoke dip (sorry, it was gone before i could get flossie out of my purse), fried calamari:

p.s. that calamari is actually a huge scam cos hiding underneath that first layer is just a big pile of cole slaw. WHAT?! that is like, the worst kind of surprise.

and, the pièce de résistance, MINI CORN DOGS!!!!! with chipotle dipping sauce!

i’ll continue, but don’t worry, you will see corn dogs again v. soon.

since that was just happy hour, of course we still had to have dinner. so we walked over to frank, where i decided to take it easy on my tummy and skip the hot dogs. i just got the chili cheese fries instead!

you may be asking yrself, “seriously? no music yet?” but hold yr horses, son! the music festival didn’t even begin until…

WEDNESDAY

i met up with henri and erica downtown and had my heart set on checking out the iamsound showcase, mainly cos i’ve been dying to see jj. but as soon as we got to malverde, i realized there was a big line and, more importantly, THAT I HADN’T EATEN DINNER YET!!

the choice was clear.

yeah, yeah, if we’d gotten in line, we could’ve gotten into the show, but then we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this DELICIOUS QUESO WITH CHORIZO AND FRIED PORK RINDS ON TOP!

y’all, i mean, just look at that cheese. LOOK AT IT (and look away from my face, cos this is a horrible picture, but i’m posting it anyway. such is my devotion to cheesy goodness).

after dinner, we decided to do our other favorite sxsw activity. no, not actually see a band. GO TO MUGSHOTS!

we meet up with the fabulous erin for a drink and a chat. FYA REPRESENT!

you’ll note that i’m wearing my green vest for st. pattie’s day! fortunately for erin, she was holding a green bottle, which i know the irish would totally count.

after sending erin off to the british embassy so she could actually see some bands (what is *that* about?), we decided to walk over to the ritz and check out the u.s. premiere of “suck,” a rock ‘n’ roll vampire movie. and if that description isn’t enough to sell you, here’s the trailer:

i know, right? what’s not to love? ok, well, besides moby playing a believable hardcore singer. although knowing he’s a vegetarian, i did enjoy the scene where people throw raw meat at him. sure, the premise of the movie is silly, but we had a great time watching it! this isn’t the kind of film you’d want to watch on yr own, not cos it’s scary (although that main vampire dude totes gave me the heebie jeebies), but because it’s WAY more amusing with a crowd. plus alice cooper! i can’t look at him and not hear “In fact , it’s pronounced ‘mill-e-wah-que’ which is Algonquin for ‘the good land’” in my head. bonus!

THURSDAY

it will come as no shock to you that my day began in this fashion:

henri and i chillaxed on the chupacabra patio and watched the parade of hipster fashion march by (more on that later). john met up with us for a beer, then we walked towards the east side until we reached the fader fort!

it may not look like much on the outside, but the fader fort is legendary for its free beer and most excellent line-up. i’d actually never ventured inside until this year, and i’m so glad i did, cos i ran into my favorite rock star of all time! i’m talking, of course, about erik!

honestly, i can’t imagine south by without erik, since we’ve been enjoying it together for so long. that’s some friendship legacy, y’all.

i do realize, however, that sxsw isn’t just about pantsers and tasty business, so here, finally, is some music for you!

first, we caught the local natives, a band i’ve been dying to see. and yes, they most definitely rocked! listen while you look at the picture and you can feel like you were there! p.s. beer helps the effect.

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/10-Cubism-Dream.mp3|titles=10 Cubism Dream]

speaking of beer, ta-da!

i’d like to take a moment to thank henri and john for going up to the bar for me and therefore making my two beer tower possible. this bud’s for you, guys!

after the local natives, we headed outside of the tent and ran into basically everyone we know in austin.

the always delightful josh d!

selina! tommy (in the background)! chris (and trish)! erica! sporting a totally sweet soco wristband! swag it up, lady!

i mean, just one look at all of these faces and you can see why i loved going wristbandless. i’d SO pick these guys over a struggling indie band any day.

next up were the morning benders, another band i was really excited to see live. and they were super great!! i wanted to insert my fave song of theirs, “excuses,” here but it’s too big. so just go here and listen to it! you will not be sorry, no sirree.

now that we’d seen a whopping two bands, it was time for a change of pace. and i mean that in the most whirly, dizzying way possible. that’s right, folks, at this year’s sxsw, there were CARNIVAL RIDES!!!! OMG!!!!!

now, see, there’s a line i can get behind (heyooo!). you’ll see more pics later, but jelly nyc totally aced it this year with their carnival-themed day shows. and we got there in time to catch the last ride of the day! which, as you may know, is the most magical feeling in the world. relive it with me now! and if you need to hold my hand, it’s ok.

seriously, best way to watch the sunset EVER.

the jelly nyc party rented out the mexican american cultural center, a space i’d never visited but loved immediately. i mean, look how pretty! like a rainbow!

in fact, the only sight sweeter than that was the dish of mac & cheese i was later served at parkside. allow josh d. to model some for you:

after our late dinner, i went to BED! cos it was not inconvenient!

FRIDAY

in the early afternoon, i had lunch at whole foods with one of my rice superstars, jen hitt! jen has pretty much my fave name ever (it’s fun to exclaim! try it!), and she’s awesome enough to deserve it!

it was wonderful to catch up and hear about jen’s continued fabulousness. yay pantship!

following lunch, i met up with henri so we could walk back over to fader fort. i snapped this picture as we headed east, because nothing says south by more than hipsters walking down sixth street IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. unfortunately, they do not sparkle.

when we reached the fort, i encountered cherie currie! with a chain saw! carving a jean jacket! i mean, of course!

she was in town to promote “the runaways” (which i saw last night and really enjoyed, btw), but in my opinion, all she was really promoting were her AMAZING LINDA HAMILTON LEVEL GUNS!!!!! cherie, i look forward to dressing up as you for halloween, although i’ll be taking the dakota fanning route cos a) i look like her b) there’s no way i could ever achieve anything close to yr arm muscles.

now that we’re back at fader, let’s take a moment to address this year’s sxsw fashion.

SXSW 2010 FASHION REPORT!

well, dear readers, you will be displeased to learn that Major Fug is still dominating the runway. we’re talking mullets, stonewashed denim, skinny jeans, fanny packs and cheap 80s sunglasses, modeled all together quite masterfully by this person:

all i can think about when i look at that picture is, “don’t sit on yr keys!”

to elaborate on Major Fug’s stranglehold on sxsw fashion, i give you exhibit b, the Guy Who Looks Like a Child Molester On Purpose:

as usual, this year’s festival had its share of women inexplicably able to wear the highest heels ever while standing for hours:

lest you think it was all just the same old haute couture, i have two new exciting fads for you!

first, the Yacht Rockers!

these guys were EVERYWHERE this year! as henri put it, “there are so many brokeass people here trying to look rich!” i’ve never seen such a plethora of dudes pretending to be james spader from “pretty in pink” (you guys know he didn’t get the girl, right? just checking).

but by far the WORST new trend i observed was THE DREADED ONE PIECE SHORT/TANK TOP COMBO!!!!!!!

AM I ON CRAZY PILLS?! WHAT IS THIS? i wanted to tear into that sucker like mugatu on a cappuccino high. WHAT PURPOSE DOES THIS GARMENT SERVE? other than to force you to complete disrobe when you use the bathroom, which at south by means a port-a-potty, which means YOU HAVE TO BE ALMOST NAKED INSIDE A PORT-A-POTTY? gah my skin burns with germ apparitions just thinking about it!

if i was a fug girl, i would create a clever conversation between these two involving a tank pantaloon one-piece and orange skin. but i’m not, so let’s simply cleanse our eyeballs with my favorite piece of fashion from the whole festival. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you:

THE PANTS SHIRT!!!!!!!

does anyone else hear angels singing while tearing up tank/short one-pieces?

speaking of heavenly music, next up is the very best, which is not just a clever name! they put on the funnest show i experienced this year, complete with two kickass dancers and TONS of energy. listen below to get an idea of why they’re just so infectiously awesome!

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/01-Kamphopo.mp3|titles=01 Kamphopo]

the guy in the hoodie was the cutest hype man in the world. he kept yelling, “AUSTIN MAKE SOME NOISE!!!” and then trish and henri would do this:

y’all, even the professionally apathetic, too cool for school hipsters were *dancing*. that should tell you what an absolute blast this show was.

now that we were filled with boisterous energy and smiling our faces off, we did the only thing we could do under the circumstances: MORE CARNIVAL RIDES! so we headed back to jelly nyc…

and got some of this action!

no, i’m not talking about the gravitron (although henri did ride it, twice! i prefer to maximize my chances of keeping food IN my stomach). i’m talking about FUNNEL CAKE Y’ALL!!!!!

about five minutes later, that plate was empty and i was covered with powdered sugar. oh yeah and HAPPINESS.

henri’s carnival food of choice? a big ole corndog!

i just realized there were no clowns at this carnival, and i want to take a second and thank jelly nyc for mercifully sparing us all.

anyway, back to the rides! hi chris and trish!

bon voyage, erica and henri!

i think i made the same awesome face erica’s making, except it wasn’t on a ride. it was when i got my funnel cake.

next up, the swings! no one was on them, and we felt kinda bad for the carnie guy, so we all got on. as you can see by our faces, it was a good decision! yay happy sxsw pants!

this picture of caitlin and james totally reminds me of the end of “grease.”

too bad their swing didn’t fly up up up into the sky! although on a carnival ride, that probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

and in case you want to ride this INSANELY CRAY CRAY ride from the comfort of yr desk chair, here you go!

after riding ourselves silly, we caught a bit of the glass candy set (not bad, but not that exciting).

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/ROLLING-DOWN-THE-HILLS.mp3|titles=ROLLING DOWN THE HILLS]

the funny thing is that the band preceding glass candy was sleigh bells, and before they went on, i was like, “yay!! sleigh bells! i’ve been dying to see them!” and then this hyper girl in a mesh tank top got on stage and started yelling into the mike and i was like, “wait! where’s the dude from the shins?” ha ha, um, that would be BROKEN bells, sarah. not sleigh bells. but seriously, aren’t there enough words to go around for band names?! i don’t see anyone using PANTS in their name, and that word is MUCH better than bells!

anyway! erica, henri and i headed to dinner (no pictures, sorry!) and then i… guess what… WENT TO BED!!! cos i had no wristband to stop me!

SATURDAY

on the final day of sxsw, henri and i STAYED INSIDE. ALL DAY. you know why? because it was freezing! and you know how posh d. feels about her pants getting cold!!! it’s a sin, you guys. seriously.

and, like my motto says, i’m old! er, i mean, it was not inconvenient to stay inside. right.

we did finally venture out around 10:30 to console trish, chris, jeni and erica, who had all stood in the clustercuss known as the perez hilton party line and froze their pants off and still didn’t get in. and y’all know that’s not what fxtb is about!! fxtb is about being warm and having easy access to tasty beverages and friends! and what’s the best place for that? the highball, of course!

although there was plenty of perez bashing (waiter: “what can i get you?” chris: “perez hilton’s head on a plate?”), it was soon conquered by all of the pantsing and love in the air. awww!

just look at this sweetness brought to you by jeni and mick!

and you know it’s a good time when the finger photo bandit makes an appearance (nice one, trish!).

we concluded the festival with a ceremonial burning of the wristbands!

ok, actually, we didn’t really burn them, cos that would’ve smelled super bad, but the symbolism, people! the symbolism!

and that, pants world, was my sxsw (fxtb) of 2010! sure, it was different, but honestly, i had a blast, and if this is what getting old is like, BRING IT ON (preferably with queso on top).

[Note: No children were harmed in the making of Deviled Corn Dogs. Good taste and our arteries may not have fared so well.]

Scene: One random day in December, at a lovely, but messy, semi-suburban home.

BR: I saw this recipe show up in my Google Reader today. It’s from ThisIsWhyYou’reFat.com. I think we should make it on New Year’s when everyone comes over!

MSWR: Oookaaaaaay…

BR: It’s called Deviled Corn Dogs. People are really excited about it. The Google Reader share generated over a dozen comments and included awesome suggestions like adding “Baconnaise” to the recipe.

MSWR: [shudder]

BR: You buy pre-made corn dogs and cook them, then remove the sticks slice them in half, take out the dogs, mix up the dogs with other good stuff like tater tots and mayo in the food processor, then pipe the stuff back into the corn dog shells and bake them.

MSWR: Whoa. This recipe requires to you re-process the pre-processed hot dogs? You don’t see a problem with this?

BR: The only problem I see is that I’m not eating one RIGHT NOW!

MSWR: Blech. Will this be interfering with my turnip greens and black-eyed peas?

BR: Not really. It’s just going to make the entire meal infinitely more awesome.

MSWR: Will I have to do any work?

BR: Nope. I was thinking that this would be a great project to take on with the men.

MSWR: “Men”. Riiiiiight. OK, have fun.

End Scene.

Scene: New Year’s Day, same house.

MSWR: So much cooking, so little kitchen space, aaaaaaaahhhhh. If you want to make the deviled corn dogs, you’d better start now. I’m getting out and handing over the camera to a dude.

BR and Assorted Male Guests: We’re on it. Here’s what you do:

Cook the bacon.

MSWR: What’s the bacon for? That’s not in the recipe you got off the interwebs.

BR: Are you forgetting the golden rule of cooking delicious, manly food?

MSWR: “When in doubt add bacon”?

BR: Close, but there is never any doubt. Continuing the process…

Bake the corn dogs and tater tots. Then, carefully remove the corn dog sticks and slice them in half lengthwise.

Remove the corn dog innerds.

Place corn dog innerds, tater tots, mayo, spices, bacon grease, and crumbled bacon in a food processor. Include Cholula, Hot Sauce of the Gods.

Take ‘em for a whirl.

MSWR: Ewwww.

Female Guest #1: You’re doing what with the what now?

BR: Can we use your pastry piping bag and tips?

MSWR: Um. I guess. The tip’s pretty small, though. Maybe a ziploc bag would be better. Don’t be messing up my piping bag with that goo.

BR: Let’s try the tip first.

Male Guest #1: This isn’t working, I’m just going to use the ziploc bag.

Male Guest #2: Let’s top some of them with cheese and bacon and leave some others plain.

BR: Now, we bake!

[5 minutes elapse] Meanwhile, guests are busy discussing what the deviled corn dogs represent for the coming year, if the turnip greens represent money and the black-eyed peas represent luck. Love life, perhaps? Clogged arteries?

BR: Yum! These look AWESOME. I can’t wait for a photo before I put one on my plate.

MSWR: They look ok, actually. I guess I’ll try one. I’ll just pretend like I didn’t see what all went into the mix. At least there are vegetables on my plate.

Female Guest #1: I can’t pretend not to know the horrors that dwell within. I can’t unsee what I’ve seen. I’ll pass.

Female Guest #2: No thank you. Are you people actually going to put that in your mouth?

Vegetarian Male Guest: I’m definitely trying it.

MSWR: It’s ok, not quite as gross as I expected. It tastes like highly processed food-like substance piped into a shell of highly-processed, sweet food-like substance. Maybe too sweet in the shell.

BR: Nom. Hmmm, probably didn’t need to add salt.

MSWR: This was fun, but I definitely don’t need or want another one of those ever again in my life.

BR: Nom. Oh crud, I forgot that we were going to add ranch!

MSWR: Yes, that’s exactly what it needs, more fatty ingredients. Wait, are you eating another one?

BR: Nom.

The End… or is it! Dun dun dun!

with that said, this post may look long, but it’s mostly just pictures. cos really, a blogger can only write “NOM!” so many times before she loses all artistic credibility. ha ha LIKE I HAVE ANY LEFT. anyway!

when i woke up on sunday morning, i could barely contain my excitement cos henri and i were about to embark on the “come hungry” tour with calvin trillin, which is like, this Big Freaking Deal. if you’re not familiar with mr. trillin, check out this bio from the new yorker festival website:

Calvin Trillin has been a staff writer at The New Yorker for more than four decades. His gastronomic reporting pieces have included, in recent years, articles on Ecuadoran soup, Singaporean street food, and the best barbecue in Texas. He has published twenty-six books, among them comic novels, nonfiction, and memoir. Three of his books on eating are collected in “The Tummy Trilogy.”

um… anyone who names their books “the tummy trilogy” is pretty much my greatest hero of all time. and also my new best friend. but actually, the first time i really heard about calvin trillin wasn’t because of food– it was because of the untimely death of alice, his beloved wife. he wrote an incredible (and heartbreaking) piece in the new yorker about alice and their extraordinary marriage, and my eyes *still* get teary every time i think about it (check out this salon piece for a more articulate explanation of why alice and calvin’s story is so wonderful and compelling).

needless to say, i couldn’t decide what i was more excited about– meeting calvin or eating crazy amounts of delicious food (i think that may be the highest compliment i’ve ever paid anyone, btw). even the disgusting, rainy, FREEZING weather couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm (although it did dampen my feet BOO).

we met up at father demo square, which featured some lovely autumn foliage:

since the entire point of the tour was to walk everywhere, the new yorker gave us big, sturdy umbrellas, which was v. nice of them.

ok y’all are going to kill me for this but they gave us a card with all of the stops on it (and the food items) and uh… i can’t find it. I KNOW, I KNOW. THIS IS A TERRIBLE CRISIS IN JOURNALISM. i have looked EVERYWHERE. fortunately, i take a zillion pictures, and i managed to capture the storefronts of *most* of the places… but not all of them. I’M REALLY SORRY. i’ll just try to do a super good job of making you feel like you were actually THERE, and then if you ever go to NYC you can just… go back! cos you were there!

so let’s begin with the tour!!!!

stop #1: a super charming bakery/meat place somewhere near greenwich village (SORRY!!!)

food item: fresh baked bread with parmesan and pancetta

it’s truly a holy miracle that something so small and simple can be SO DELICIOUS!!!

on the way to the next stop, we passed by henri’s cafe!!! and there’s a dog on the sign!!!

but we didn’t stop there on the tour, so i guess it’s not THAT great.

stop #2: blue ribbon bakery

food item: seasoned flatbread. again, it looks basic but it was incredibly flavorful!!!!

i should stop here and tell you a little bit about walking around with calvin. because yeah, obvs, the food was tasty and it was exciting to pop into all of these random places and emerge with a fuller belly, but i think what i enjoyed the most about the tour was just hearing calvin talk. he talked about the restaurant, the evolution of food in the neighborhood, and just his own little anecdotes about different eating experiences.

isn’t he cute? don’t you want to adopt him as yr grandfather so he can take you to his favorite restaurants and give you good advice? i do!!!!

one of my favorite tidbits came when he was talking about this building that used to be a police station:

i know, that is REDIC. since the building is pretty ostentatious for a police station, calvin said people used to call it “st. john the fuzz.” i found this incredibly endearing for some reason.

stop #3: well, we actually didn’t stop at this place, cos they had a box of sandwiches that they gave us so, as calvin put it, we wouldn’t have to walk more than two blocks without eating. but these sandwiches came from somewhere in chinatown.

food item: green sandwich (and no, that’s not my faulty memory, that’s actually what he called it)

OMGGGGG THIS WAS AMAZING!!!!! i think calvin has cornered the market on plain-looking food that turns out to BLOW YR MIND. this was basically like a hamburger bun with bok choy in it, but it was so fresh-tasting and spicy and NOMMMM.

stop #4: grandaisy bakery

food item: potato pizza and cauliflower pizza!

the potato pizza had onions on it (GROSS) so i stuck with the cauliflower option, which was absolutely scrumptious!!! i know it sounds weird to put the brain of the vegetable family on a pizza, but it was thinly sliced and well seasoned and YUM.

stop #5: a spanish food store

food item: spanish tortilla!

i didn’t think this one was THAT great, but it also had onions in it, so i COULD be biased.

at this point in the tour, we were on the edge of chinatown…

(henri was NOT a fan of the goldfish, btw)

and little italy! MAMA MIA!

(henri is to goldfish as sarah is to that creepy leering chef guy)

stop #6: saigon… something?

food item: spring rolls

i wasn’t that impressed with these rolls either, but they featured lots of mushrooms, which i’m ALSO not a fan of (i know, and i call myself a foodie, blah blah blah, MUSHROOMS ARE GROSS AND I CAN’T HELP IT).

while we were munching on the rolls, calvin talked a bit about the history of immigration and its effects on NYC food:

don’t you just want to share a banana split with him and talk for ages and ages?

stop #7: di palo’s italian cheese shop

i REALLY loved the feel of this place. it was super charming and old-world-feeling and IT SMELLED LIKE CHEESE!!!

food item: FRESH MOZZARELLA WHAT WHAT!!!!

SWEET MOTHER OF TASTY BUSINESS. this cheese is totally tied with the green sandwich for my favorite food on the tour. MELT IN YR MOUTH RIDICULOUSNESS.

step #8: saigon bakery

food item: vietnamese sandwich

DIZANG this sandwich was delicious. i do want to point out, though, that i didn’t eat the whole thing, nor did i actually finish most of the food on the tour cos y’all i gotta maintain my tummy endurance. i am, after all, a professional athlete of tasty business.

stop #9: some dumpling place

food item: pork dumpling!

this dumpling was pretty good, but i’ve had better in houston FACE HARD NAMELESS NYC DUMPLING PLACE!

stop #10: (FINAL STOP) the restaurant at the east broadway mall

you have NO idea how INCREDIBLE it felt to a) enter a warm, dry environment b) get to SIT DOWN. at this point, the east broadway mall felt like a freaking five star luxury restaurant to me.

food item: dim sum!!!!

oh dim sum, what an adventure you are! overall the food was good, although we didn’t get to pick out our own items from the cart, which is half the fun. oh and there were no sesame balls CALVIN WTF?!!!

and that, my dear pantsers, is the “come hungry” tour with calvin trillin, aka one of the greatest moments of my stomach’s life. like, if my stomach lived in a house, it would have a framed picture of calvin trillin above the fireplace, sort of like how catholic grandmas hang pictures up of the pope, cos this tour? it showed my stomach a glimpse of heaven and pretty much guaranteed my eternal foodie salvation.

ok i know i said i would finish up the trip in this post but I AM EXHAUSTED FROM ALL OF THE NOMMING. plus i really don’t want to break the internet cos that would be rude. so… stay tuned for part 3, featuring even MORE tasty business (i know, you’d think i wouldn’t need to eat for days except DO YOU KNOW ME AT ALL?).

i’ve been wrestling with this issue for a long time now,  and after hours of scouring the internet and countless conversations and sleepless nights when i– ok, that’s actually a lie. i am actually a v. good sleeper and never let ANYTHING get in the way of me and my zzzzz except ok maybe vampire eric in a freezer. anyway! the point is, i really need yr help.

you know how cupcakes were like this huge food trend? some may argue “are” but that’s an entirely different debate that i really don’t have the energy for cos HELLO didn’t you just read the part about my sleepless nights?!!! so yeah, even though i personally have loved cupcakes since i was a little sarah pants, i think we can all agree that within recent years, they became this huge, like, foodie phenomenon that swept the nation and now every city has like 30 cupcake places and there’s cupcake EVERYTHING, like cupcake aprons and cupcake candles and cupcake erasers and cupcake jewelry and yes i own all of those things. basically, we’re looking at total cupcake market saturation, which means that the trend is already on its way out cos it’s impossible for something to be cool when *everyone* loves it.

so… my question is: what’s the new cupcake?!!

trust me, i’ve given this a lot of thought.

at first, i thought it might be cake balls.

pros: they are DELICIOUS. and also v. cute.

cons: i still feel kind of funny when i say the words “cake balls.” also, any cake ball non-food products would just look like lollipops. that can’t be good for cake ball marketing team.

then i thought, ok, what about froyo?! i LOVE froyo, and there’s a TON of places opening up in austin, so it’s obviously a big trend.

pros: froyo is extremely tasty business. and there’s all kinds of crazy toppings!! you can put WHATEVER YOU WANT on it!!

cons: froyo has kinda been done before. like, TCBY, anyone? plus, froyo-in-a-cup products would just look lame, and froyo-in-a-cone just looks like ice cream!

maybe this is wishful thinking, but now i’m starting to wonder if it’s mac ‘n’ cheese?

pros: IT IS PRETTY MUCH THE TASTIEST BUSINESS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

cons: um… it’s not as portable as a cupcake? i really can’t think of any cons. ok, i know i’m biased but i would totally buy a mac and cheese shaped candle. and i already have a shirt with a noodle and cheese gazing dreamily into each other’s eyes under the words “soulmates” so i have *real* evidence that mac and cheese products can be cute.

you can see why this question has been keeping me up at night. as a devout foodie pants, i need to know these things! i need to be on the cutting edge! and i don’t mean that in the ice skating movie sense, although that is definitely a good sense, too.

help a posher out here! leave yr ideas in the comments!

LINKS

genies and fairy godmothers, take note: this is pretty much the best wish granting i have ever seen.

agent lover presents: corey haim in “the lost boys.” i think the rob lowe one is my favorite. or maybe “born to shop t-shirt?!!”

squee of the day: I NEED A TEACUP PIG IMMEDIATELY. hello, even ron has one!!! (thanks for the link, dad!)

I MADE DONUT MUFFINS!!!!!!

some of you may recall my first encounter with the tasty business masterpiece known as donut muffins during my last trip to boston. they were AMAZING! they were DELICIOUS! they were FULL OF BUTTER & CINNAMON & SUGAR (i.e. the three building blocks of life).

well, shortly after that post, randy sent me a list of recipes he’d found online and suggested that i try out one (or two). but it wasn’t until last sunday when i had the perfect excuse for baking: i got invited to a tea party in honor of MSWR’s birthday!

I LOVE TEA PARTIES!!!!!!!!!

armed with this recipe and lots of time (i tend to mess up if i’m in a hurry, like i’ll put in all the flour and then two lines down i’ll read, “save half the flour for later” and then i’ll angrily threaten the recipe with my spatula and a few choice words), i headed into my kitchen*, tuned into this amazing episode of this american life and mixed up some donut muffin goodness!!!

*this makes my apartment sound incredibly spacious, like i’m on a cooking show. not only is my apartment small, but there were no colorful bows of ingredients waiting for me on the counter. wtf!

unfortunately i did not take any pictures of myself as a baking pants, but rest assured i wore my cupcake apron and even dusted some flour on my cheeks for authenticity.

here’s what the muffins look like when they come out of the oven:

i know they look like biscuits on the top, but their consistency is most definitely muffin-like. also i should point out that donut muffins definitely fall under the julia childs’ school of “you can never have too much butter.” like, if you’re scared of butter, don’t make these. in fact, don’t even click on the recipe or you might actually have a heart attack.

in fact, if you already have high cholesterol, you should probably stop reading this altogether cos i’m about to tell you that, after the muffins cooled a little bit, i dipped them in melted butter and then rolled them in cinnamon and sugar which was pretty much the MOST AWESOME THING I HAVE EVER DONE. in fact i sang a little song that went like this, “donut muffin! hangin’ out in butter! going for a swim! rollin’ around in the cinnamon and suuuugaaaaaar!! gettin’ tasteeeee!!”

after that final bath/roll-round, the donut muffins were READY TO BE EATEN UP OMGGGG!!!!

i have to say, i was pretty proud of myself. like, they actually look like the picture in the recipe!! and they smelled DIVINE!!

and OK ok i ate one before i went to MSWR’s party. YOU GUYS I COULDN’T HELP IT. if you had been there, smelling that cinnamon sugar tasty business smell, i think you would’ve done the same thing. plus it was important for me to know if they were actually good before i served them to unsuspecting tea party people. you know, for politeness sake.

turns out I AM REALLY GOOD AT MAKING DONUT MUFFINS. COS THEY WERE DELICIOUS. they were moist and soft and buttery and crunchy with cinnamon and sugar and, like, the most insanely comforting food i have ever consumed. my tummy had that “tucked-in” feeling, you know, when you’re safe and warm in bed and someone’s just read you a really great story and you’re about to fall into blissful, peaceful slumber.

once the muffins were done, i got myself ready for the festivities! of course, when one is attending a tea party, one must array oneself in finery and jewels and splash on a bit of shalimar (my grandmother’s fave perfume, btw).

i thought i looked pretty nice, but then i got to the party and saw MSWR, birthday queen and hostess extraordinaire, looking positively RESPLENDENT in lavender!

of course, the best looking thing at the party wasn’t a lady (sorry, gals!) but THE FOOD TABLE COS LOOK AT THIS!!!!!

this tea party had all of the requisite dainty snacks: scones with clotted cream, teeny finger sandwiches…

cupcakes and… CAKE BALLS?!!!!!!!!

turns out that i wasn’t the only culinary genius in the mix– erica made chocolate cake balls! and drizzled them in chocolate so that it took me about an hour before i really believed that she hadn’t bought them at a fancy pants store.

of course, it wouldn’t be a tea party without tea, but it wouldn’t be a FUN party without mimosas! in cups with cool scratch-off labels!

i LOVE scratch-off stuff in general, but these cups are brilliant cos usually you don’t win anything with a scratch-off card, but with these cups, you always win cos there’s a tasty beverage inside!!

btw, in case you were wondering, there were a few guys at this party, like josh and carter! i took this picture while they were trying to “bump” their iphones, which i think was just another way of reinforcing their manliness at the tea party. er, yeah.

as you can see, the tea party was full of deliciously fancy food and poshed up pantsers, i.e. a lovely time was had by all!

happy birthday pants, MSWR! and thanks for giving me an excuse to make donut muffins. they may well be my Greatest Contribution to Mankind Thus Far.

LINKS

patton oswalt has a new CD out!! my life is about to get WAY funnier.

squee of the day: DIFFERENT ANIMALS BEING FRIENDS –> a bird and a cat!!!! this is AMAZING!!

in spite of that billy crudup business, i can’t stop loving claire danes. esp. when she looks smoking hot and has sharon from MSCL as her bridesmaid!!!

you guys, let’s pool our money together and get michael jackon’s favorite artist to paint us all in a picture on the moon with, like, angels and children and stuff!

if you haven’t seen it already, check out this for real academic analysis of the likely outcome of a zombie attack (spoiler: we are screwed, y’all). thanks for the link, kiersten!

agent lover spotlights a super cool video by marina and the diamonds and leaves me totally jonesing for rhinestones on my eyelids.

You guys, vacation food is the best kind of food in the world, cause it is delicious, nourishing AND an adventure! You don’t know what will come out on your plate, cause it’s food from a foreign place! Even when the foreign place is, like, Dallas, and mainly what comes out on your plate is subpar Tex-Mex. But luckily for me, I haven’t been in Dallas for the last two weeks! No, instead I’ve been in the UK, stuffing my face.

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking. People always say that England doesn’t have great food. They say it’s bland and tasteless and just plain weird. I don’t get that, cause while I’m no fan of mushy peas myself (ick. Peas are gross to begin with and then mushing them? Hello, I have teeth, I do not eat mush.), pretty much all the food I eat in England is freaking tasty business. And because the only thing I like as much as eating food is thinking about food I have eaten, I am here to share it with you! With bullet points. And photos, cause that’s how I do.

ONE: The Sandwiches

One way in which the UK triumphs over the USA in the food department is the proliferation of perhaps the finest of fast foods: The Ready Made Sandwich. Heck, they even have an entire restaurant chain devoted to the concept. I love Ready Made Sandwiches. Although they can be a bit tricky (most sandwiches come my personal food nemesis, mayo, and it is always a fierce quest to find sandwiches without it), they can also be Tasty Ready Made Goodness, such as this smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich from Marks and Spencer:

Also, I like how I can put my Ready Made Sandwich in my purse, for consumption later*. You never know when you might be trapped somewhere, on the tube, at a bus stop, in a line to get into the dressing rooms at that Primark in Oxford Circus, which is a hellhole from which escape is nigh impossible, and you really just need a sandwich. Lucky for you, you have one READY MADE, in your bag.

* I do not actually recommend keeping a salmon sandwich on your person for any lengthy amount of time.

ALSO, in the UK, I can eat The Erin! Yeah, that’s right, I have a sandwich named after me!

The shop down the road from my friend Other Sarah’s house does baguettes, and the lady behind the counter named this one after me, cause I invented it. (well, it’s a sausage and mushroom baguette that I once ordered a few years ago but then asked, “could i have cheese on it?” and apparently the idea of a sausage, mushroom and cheese baguette is SO BIZARRE that they had no choice but to give me Intellectual Property rights over it.) I’ve ALWAYS wanted a sandwich named after me and NOW I HAVE ONE. Up next: fulfilling my life dream of being a D-list celebrity famous only for doing commentary on a VH1 pop culture show.

TWO: Pub Food

I’m not talking your standard fish and chips here, though that’s damn tasty, too, but rather the whole gastropub movement of the last few decades. If you’ve never been to one, imagine a pub that also serves RLY good food. (actually, just imagine Austin’s North by Northwest. and then imagine yourself buying me some dessert from there, plz, cause, yumz.) I love gastropubs cause they’re pretty, and quiet, and serve really awesome food AND drinks. In fact, it’d be good to live above one. I wonder if I could swing that with the UK visa commitee.

While in England and Scotland, I was lucky enough to eat at a few really good gastropubs, but two stood out in particular. I devoured this meal at a pub in Edinburgh – beef stew with handmade dumplings and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Bonus? The beef stew came in a little pot. As you will see later on, I LOVE FOOD THAT COMES IN LITTLE POTS.

Just looking at it, I want to eat it again. Dumplings, come back to me!

Also, this meal, of a fishcake topped with poached egg and hollandaise over french green beans, was DELICIOUS. And it so happens that when consuming this meal, I was battling the Worst Hangover I Have Ever Suffered (TM), so if I thought it was tasty business even when the idea of food made me want to kill myself, imagine how good it REALLY was!

And, yes, I was still battling a hangover at dinner time. In fact, I kept battling it till about 3 am. That’s how bad it was. Stupid gin. And whiskey. And wine.

THREE: Cupcakes.

It wouldn’t be a day ending in Y if I weren’t baking, consuming, or thinking about baking or consuming cupcakes, and it certainly wouldn’t be a poshdeluxe blog without them! So friends, let me tell you about The Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill. It’s so cute and tiny! Check it:

And they have an impressive array of daily specials. I love daily specials. It’s like you get a treat, just cause it’s Tuesday, or whatever.

We visited the bakery on Sunday, so one of the daily specials was lime and poppyseed. I purchased one of those and one Red Velvet, to see how the bakery handled the standards.

The verdict? YUMMY ENGLISH CUPCAKES IN MY TUMMY. The lime and poppyseed was particularly delicious – a perfect balance between fruity and savory. I’ve set out to recreate it this summer in my own kitchen. YUM. So if you find yourself in Notting Hill (Matt G and Olivia, I do not believe you have a choice in this?), I highly recommend you stop in for some tasty cupcake business. And a cute little piggy bank!

And, while on the subject of desserts, check out some of the tasty ones I consumed on my trip:

There’s tiramisu and an espresso-and-chocolate coated ice cream and cranachan. You guys? Cranachan is possibly the best dessert ever to be invented. It’s toasted oats, raspberries, whiskey and double cream. I wonder if I could start eating it for breakfast. What? It has OATS in it.

FOUR: Wagamama

It would not be a trip to London without at least one gorging on noodles at Wagamama, and it certainly wouldn’t be a poshdeluxe post without the mandatory Eating Of Noodles photo.

These were the noodles I was consuming!

And these were the very tasty duck gyoza (I often wake up dreaming of Wagamama’s duck gyoza, and I’m not sure what that says about me) and the delicious chili squid:

Would it be weird to travel to Boston or DC just to go to Wagamama? Maybe if I threw in a trip to H&M, too?

FIVE: Gordon {Bleepin’} Ramsey

My friend Courtney, with whom I travelled to the UK, asked me if I wanted to eat at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, since she’d always wanted to go to one. DID I? The only thing I enjoy more than eating delicious food or thinking about delicious food I’ve eaten is eating delicious food and having someone insulting me while I’m doing it, so I WAS TOTALLY DOWN. Unfortunately, Gordon wasn’t there (too busy selling off his restaurants, I think), so no one called me a “{bleeping} donkey,” BUT I still got to eat flippin’ delicious food, and now I get to think about the delicious food I ate, so I consider it a win.

We went to eat at the York & Albany, which is a hotel in Camden whose restaurant is owned by Mr Ramsey. We chose the three-course prix fix lunch menu (only 18 pounds! we’re pretty cheap dates.):

First up? Roasted tomato gazpacho.

Look! It comes in its own little copper pot!! On a cutting board, with fresh mozzarella on the side! OH MY GOD YOU GUYS. It was so delicious. We were cheerfully talking away until the first course arrived; we each took the first sip and then made a sort of strangled, happy moaning noise in unison. The gazpacho was light and just this side of creamy, with flavored oil drizzled on top and salted slivers of roasted almonds there to provide contrast. Satisfying, but not filling, which is the raison d’etre of a first course, and something most restaurants can’t seem to get right.

Next up? For me, it was the roasted sea trout:

Oh, man, you’ll have to bear with me for a second, but seeing that photo just made my tongue remember how the perfectly cooked trout flaked off and mingled with the briny capers and olives, balanced out by the freshness of the homemade tartar sauce (made with some sort of soft cheese, like a mascarpone. it wasn’t mascarpone, though.). And now my tongue is sad it can’t eat that meal ever again. SO GOOD.

My friends Courtney and Sarah chose the other option – roasted leg and breast of chicken on potatoes with spinach puree. I didn’t try any, but judging from the way their eyes rolled back in their heads, I think it was pretty good:

For dessert, I chose the treacle tart with homemade yogurt sorbet.

I LOVE TREACLE TART!!! And this was perfect – smooth and sweet, without being cloying, with a crust that made me want to weep. And the sorbet balanced it perfectly – and made me start saving pennies for a good ice cream maker for my house.

Sarah and Courtney again chose to go a different route (which is good, cause it means I get to taste it!) and ordered the chocolate brownie with black cherries and vanilla bean mousse.

One bite of that and I was in some sort of chocolate nirvana, although I’m glad I didn’t order it because the one bite perfectly satisfied my chocolate cravings for a month (I don’t hate chocolate, but I don’t have an all-consuming love for it, either.). It was delicious, though, and that mousse was sinful.

AND we even got little apple fritters at the end! I neglected to mention that we also got bread at the beginning of the meal, for FREE, which has never happened to me in the UK. My friend Sarah was so confused by it – “they’re not going to charge us? really?”

So, THANK YOU, Gordon Ramsey, for one of the best meals of my life. Please stop selling off your restaurants.

There were many, many other meals, obvs, during the two weeks, but these were the highlights. (And there WERE some lowlights, trust.) If you’re interested in reading about the non-food parts, I’m writing about it all (slowly but surely) in my own blog, likepenguins. Although I warn you, it’s less pictures of food, and more pictures of, like, sheep.

I will leave you with this thought, pantsworld: the food in the UK can be so sinfully good that even the soup is lascivious.

You should go. Eat an adventure.

just typing that made me suddenly wish there was a tasty business smackdown show, like with food instead of wrestling. and people faced off by eating the most delicious food in the world and taunted each other like, “WATCH THIS SWEET POTATO FRY GO STRAIGHT INTO MY MOUTH, SUCKA!!!” oh man. not only would i watch that show, i would try super hard to get on it.

anyway! back to boston!

on sunday, we drove out to stonehurst, this cool old mansion that’s surrounded by a forest. it’s maudie’s favorite place to walk, cos she can run around like crazy and bark at sticks. you can tell in this picture that she is TOTES excited:

on the way out there, we stopped at sofra, this CRAZY DELICIOUS bakery owned by the same folks who run oleana (the mediterranean restaurant we dined at the night before).

sweet cracker sandwich, this place was PACKED with people. and, more importantly, it was also packed with TONS OF PASTRIES.

y’all, i almost dreaded reaching the register cos it meant that i would have to choose between more than a dozen delicious choices. in the end, i settled on some focaccia-like bread dusted with herbs:

and a croissant slathered with mascarpone, orange and chocolate. OMGGGGGGGGGG.

oh sweet little croissant, WHY ARE YOU NO LONGER IN MY HAND?! i need you right now.

our walk through the woods was a lovely respite from the bustling of the city. plus, as henri pointed out, they actually have, like, WOODS on the east coast, as opposed to the dense shrubbery and pine trees in texas. it made me feel like i was in lord of the rings or something (aragorn! come hither!).

i fell behind the group a bit cos i got distracted by all of the nature. and by nature i mean THE DELICIOUS CROISSANT IN MY MOUTH.

that is my kind of trail food, you guys. forget about granola bars.

once my croissant was gone, i manged to shift my attention to the actual fauna and flora. like, check out these wild orchids!

i also really loved these bell-shaped flowers, cos they seem like something from a disney movie.

ok i need to stop with the flower pictures before i start trying to write inspirational messages over them.

maudie was less into flora and way more into the fauna, like this frog she tried to befriend via loud barking.

unfortunately for maudie, the frog was less interested in exchanging BFF charms and more interested in staying alive and uneaten.

after meandering down different paths, we ended up in what seemed like the oldest part of the forest. jenny and i made a few “twilight” references, because we can’t help ourselves. even when we know that’s worse than trying to crack a joke about ents or something.

we circled back to the house, which turns out to be the location of my future old-fashioned fancy pants party cos LOOK!!!!

seriously. stonehurst. 2010. ballgowns. dance cards. champers. delicious gossip. romantic intrigue! esp. as people lounge about on the back patio overlooking this!!!

BEST PARTY EVER! interested sponsors, page me!!!!

after all of that brisk bucolic exercise, it was time for refreshment in the form of my favorite noodle chain ever, WAGAMAMA!!!! which previously existed solely in london, meaning i’ve only gotten to eat there a few times but NOW THERE ARE TWO IN BOSTON!! I AM NOT KIDDING!! and so THANK YOU GODS OF TASTY BUSINESS there is no longer an ocean separating me from THIS:

oh delectable noodles!!! come to texas!! we will love you forever! and maybe put queso on you! cos that’s what we do in texas!

i have to take a picture every time i get to eat at wagamama, which i realize is a rule that has expanded to include, um, every restaurant i go to. but anyway. here’s the official wagamama photo, boston edition!

after lunch, we headed over to newbury street for some shopping (H&M, obvs) and some cupcake sampling at a nearby shop, sweet.

so, i’d heard a lot great things about sweet, although as a cupcake connoisseur i remained skeptical. cos that’s what connoisseurs do– act snobby. BUT my excitement level definitely shot up a notch when i saw this beautousness on the shelves:

like, straight outta wayne thiebaud!!!!

i made everyone take a photo with their cupcake, cos, um, i’m sarah pitre.

henri got a mini dark chocolate one and acted all cute about it.

george and jenny got three different ones to try, cos THEY ARE AWESOME.

and i got the caramel chocolate cupcake, which was v. v. scrumptious looking:

so yeah, the cupcakes all looked fabulous but… well, sweet, i hate to break it to you but… um, SUGAR MAMA’S TOTALLY BEATS YR PANTS OFF. FACE HARD.

there was nothing *bad* about the cupcakes, they just weren’t amazing. i didn’t gasp out loud or bang my fist on the table like i do when i eat an elvis or an odd couple from sugar mama’s. in other words, sweet offered no competition for the 2009 best cupcake poshie.

we decided to make our last dinner in boston uber traditional and hit up a “legal seafood” restaurant near harvard. with images of don draper dancing (er, standing and looking enigmatic?) in his head, henri ordered the biggest platter ever (plus a martini, obvs). cos nothing says “manly” like ripping apart a big lobster and getting butter on yr chin!

i had the fish and chips, cos i’m more of a peggy olsen than a betty draper.

to finish off the night, we headed over to fenway to check out this bowling alley/bar called “lucky strike.”

um… yeah.

let me put it to you this way: the neon sign was the first and only thing i liked about this place:

you guys. if you ever seen this sign, RUN. AWAY. cos it’s a homing beacon for douchebags around the world.

ok, so we kind of knew it would be cheesy, but sometimes cheesy can be a good thing. especially when the website features celebrity sightings as awesome as THIS:

DUDE. come on. who doesn’t want to party with clint eastwood?!!!

unfortunately, clint wasn’t around, and therefore the “awesome” type of cheesy fell to zero and the “douchebag” brand shot WAY up. way, way, way up. like, EXTREME SPORTS BAR up. in spite of this, we decided to stick around and wait for a lane to open (note the big screen tvs above the lanes, so you can watch sports even as you bowl. um yay).

after about an hour of waiting, we actually warmed up to the place.

HA HA JUST KIDDING.

jenny and i decided to make a break for it before someone spilled a natty light on our heads or they announced some kind of bikini contest. george and henri, brave soldiers that they are, remained behind in order to spread a bit of hope and decency to the bowling lanes.

all i have to say is CLINT EASTWOOD. WHY? WHY?!!!!

in spite of our close encounter with death by douchebaggery, i left boston the next morning with a v. happy tummy and a heart full of squee. thanks for being so fabulous, george and jenny!! and thanks for being so FULL OF TASTY BUSINESS, boston! i will be back for seconds v. soon!!!

LINKS

ten awesome moments from sesame street!! yay!!!

the new yeah yeah yeahs video is KILLER. and yes that is a pun. and it was intended.

well, that is kind of a lie, cos i’m actually hungry right now, but still, WE ATE SO MUCH!!!! and we had the best time!!!

as most of pants world already knows, henri and i go to boston about twice a year, ostensibly so that he can do shows at the coolidge theater but REALLY so we can hang out with our favorite east coasters, jenny and george!

through numerous visits, i’ve actually begun to feel quite at home in boston, which is a totally delicious, v. cosmopolitan feeling. again, it’s mostly due to the fact that george and jenny are such fabulous hosts.

first, we get to stay in their charming apartment in cambridge, so mornings can be spent like this:

seriously, their apartment looks EXACTLY like what i thought “cool urban adult apartments” looked like when i was in high school. this is mostly due to movies and my seventeen magazine subscription.

in addition to being wonderfully eccentric, their home includes maudie, the wonder dog:

and two cats, one of which was begging to be made into an LOL cat:

seriously, i just made that cat’s wildest dreams come true. kitty, you’re welcome.

the second reason that george and jenny are the hosts with the mosts is cos they take us to INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS RESTAURANTS!!!!

on the first night, we hit up our old favorite, fugakyu, which features one of my favorite desserts of all time, tempura chocolate banana!!!!!

i realize the apple design doesn’t really make sense, given the lack of apple in the dessert, but it’s cute. DON’T QUESTION FUGAKYU.

the next day, we journeyed to the neighborhood of roslindale in search of a tasty brunch. along the way, i found out that roslindale has a really awesome sense of humor:

symphony barbers YOU GUYS ARE HILARIOUS. seriously, i love signs like this. cheesy marketing humor is a dying art, let me tell you.

once again, george and jenny did NOT disappoint with their amazing tasty business research skills. cos the brunch? WAS. TO DIE. FOR.

seriously, if you’re in boston, proceed immediately to geoffrey’s for their ultra fabulous disco brunch. here is what you will experience:

1. the perfect atmosphere for scintillating conversation and consumptive lounging:

plus a soundtrack of disco hits, y’all!!!!

2. a long list of divinely delicious (and cheap!!!) drinks with the best names ever:

(yes, i got the grandma mosa, and yes, i had more than one)

3. DONUT MUFFINS!!!!!!!!! <— MOST SALIENT POINT IN THIS WHOLE ENTRY!!!!!!!

HOLY PANTS. YOU GUYS. i had never heard of donut muffins before (i know, weird, right?) but THEY ARE THE BEST BAKED GOODS EVER. like, i realize it’s blasphemous but the truth shall set you free: THEY ARE BETTER THAN CUPCAKES. and they NEED TO BE IN AUSTIN IMMEDIATELY. they’re so soft and delicious and rich and topped with cinnamon sugar and NOM NOM LET’S GET A ROOM.

i really don’t think you need any other reason to fly up to boston right now and eat at geoffrey’s but i’ll keep going to so that i can be fair to the other foods.

4. super scrumptious biscuits with sausage gravy!

LOOK AT THAT CREAMY GOODNESS. and the best part? there were sausage patties inside the biscuits = double meat!!!

seriously, geoffrey’s easily snagged the #1 spot on my Best Brunch In the Universe list (ok, well, tied with the four seasons. and also with that other boston place that makes its own pop-tarts. oh and the neighborhood restaurant too… ok, well, clearly, i have no concept of what “1″ means. anyway). in fact, this place is SO good, you’ll end up kissing random people at yr table! out of pure joy! yay!!

or maybe that just happens to henri. cos… he’s henri.

plus, it’s still springtime in boston, so i guess there was already a lot of love in the air.

after we walked around roslindale for a bit, the gang headed over to brookline, where i made my semi-annual pilgrimage to trader joe’s!! oh trader joe’s, with yr hawaiian shirted employees and fun snacks and “crocodile rock” playing overhead, i love you!

as usual, i bought some thai chili lime cashews, but i also picked up something that i was V. EXCITED ABOUT COS LOOK:

whoopee pies!!!! NOT JUST A CLEVER NAME, MY FRIENDS.

sweet fancy moses, it just took one bite to make my pants go whoopeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

we took a break at home to introduce george and jenny to the wonders of smooth moves. jenny was an instant pro– i mean, check out the form on her elephant pose:

after giving our tummies time to rest (tasty business is hard work, y’all), we headed over to oleana for a DELICIOUS mediterranean dinner, featuring such culinary masterpieces as whipped feta with red peppers and lamb and eggplant dumplings. INCREDIBLE. unfortunately, it was too dark for good pictures, so you guys are just going to have to trust me.

that night, henri hosted the ladies of the 80s singalong, which featured some groundbreaking streamer dancing:

as well as an earth-shattering new facebook profile pic for henri:

oh flossie, you photographic genius, you!

stay tuned for part 2, featuring more tasty business! and a forest!

LINKS

my new favorite NYC phenomenon: sad panda.

micael posted this beautifully eerie series of 100 abandoned houses.

faye sent me this hilarious link to the posters for matthew mcconaughey’s next 10 movies. “that’s not where the moon would be.” – science.

new buffy movie whaaaa?!!!

not to quote my own tweet but ok i will: if loving robots is wrong, i don’t wanna be right.