Food Filled Weekend In Boston

For Valentine's Day and President's Day, I took the long weekend off to head north to Boston for some family bonding. After watching all the beautiful snow up the New England coast, we immediately headed of to dinner for Valentine's Day, we got the best table in the house, being a party more than two. The best part about eating with my cousin is we always end up splitting the best dishes so we can try more things. We ordered gnocchi and seared duck with cherry sauce, which was very similar to our favorite meal we grew up eating on vacation every summer. Our food journey was off to a great start, and with the weather still being nice, for winter in Boston that is, we headed out to lunch the next day. We went to Asana at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to have one on the most amazing lunches ever! Ordering the tuna melt with grilled yellowfin tuna, truffled cheese, pickled onions and capers all on a croissant and a short rib sandwich with melted cheese and caramelized onions. But the best thing had to be, hands down, the crispy brussels sprouts with parmesan cheese, garlic and thyme, they were incredible! We walked down Newbury Street which is one of my favorite spots to shop and enjoyed a sunny day. Later that night we went to The Beehive for some live jazz music with a great glass of wine and dinner. Afterwards we went out to a fun club nearby. The next day we started early with an all day V-Day Pub Crawl with a bunch of friends, if theres something Boston is serious about it's definitely their drinking, we finished off the day with much needed greasy Chinese food take out and an early night home. Unfortunately the next day we woke up to a snow storm and opted to stay in until later that night. In the morning after the snow cleared, we headed to Trident Booksellers and Cafe for ricotta and blueberry stuffed french toast and eggs benedict, amazing breakfast inside an old-school, quaint bookstore, just what we needed. After a beautiful day we met up with an old family friend for dinner at Lolita Cocina and Tequila Bar with tapas and margaritas including pork al pastor quesadillas and fried chicken tacos. It was a perfect ending to a crazy fun weekend! Its always fun in Boston, can't wait to go back!

Birthdays, Blizzards, and Shopping Bags

Nothings like Blizzard Nemo to slow down the birthday celebrations! As the storm started coming in, I couldn't help but fight it and go out anyways. After a very long dinner at one of my favorites, Poco, in the Lower East Side, I had to defy the snow and go bar hopping. Since it was a tuesday night, we didn't have a ton of options, but it was definitely fun! I was hoping to go out with friends the following weekend to celebrate, but we were all a bit snowed in. With crazy winds and over a foot a snow, the weekend became quite slow. Of course I still managed to do what I really wanted, have a day off to go shopping and other girly things, like afternoon with tea and macaroons. Hopefully birthday weekend part two in Boston will be more eventful!

Tapas With A Twist

After a couple crazy weeks of school, I deserved a night out with my girlfriends. We decided to try The Social Social on the Lower East Side. Since it was a last minute choice, I made an early reservation, but even when we arrived the place was already packed. We sat down in a very dark, loud, yet cool scene. I ordered a cucumber vanilla cosmo, and it was really good and equally strong. We ordered some of the restaurant's most popular dishes, starting with the french onion soup dumplings, we were all a bit confused, the concept was interesting, but the taste was just odd. We then shared sliders, my favorite being the kobe philly with truffle and goat cheese fondue. Finally we finished with arroz con pollo and shrimp and grits, they were both really good, not amazing, but definitely enjoyable. I would love to go back to try other items on the interesting menu.

Heading South of the Boarder

While I was home I visited my family and friends in Mexico City. I spent a week eating, exploring and catching up with some of my favorite people. There is truly nothing like authentic Mexican food, I couldn't get enough fresh tortillas, mole, oaxaca cheese and occasional tequila. One of my favorite parts of Mexico, that would be their eating schedule; breakfast, coffee break, late two hour lunch break, drinks or coffee in the afternoon and a late long dinner. We need to take a page out of their book, they truly enjoying their meals. I learned so much about my beautiful family and our history in Mexico, seeing where my dad grew up. It was such an amazing week, from the food, to the nightlife to the museums and parks, me encanta Mexico!

Year of Love

Happy New Year everyone! Its been an incredible year, and I know this year will be the most exciting year yet. Last year I did not set any new year resolution and just tried to enjoy the moment, and I think I have gotten better at that. This year I want to make my goal to love more. To love my friends and family more, love my last few months in NYC, love my new job and love my upcoming new west coast address. I want to put more love and happiness out into the world! So I will start with saying I love you all, may 2013 be the best year yet!

Home for the Holidays

After a crazy fall of storms, bad weather and craziness, I am so excited to head home and see my family. This break will be one of my last times visiting LA before I officially move home. Enjoy your holidays everyone!