A Zappos Miracle

My obsession with bags is pretty well known and was even referenced by Adam when he proposed. He promised to go purse shopping with me six years ago and I still hold him to that promise. Poor guy! I blame my bag obsession on genetics since plasticmom is also obsessed with bags, backpacks to be specific. With my achy back, I've been on the hunt for a nice leather purse I can wear cross body. I picked out the Foley and Corinna mid city tote in Aubergine or dark purple and decided to order it from Zappos where I have VIP status and get free overnight shipping on everything. Their service is so crazy amazing, it's blogworthy. Here's the timeline for my order:

Monday 7 pm - plasticann orders online

Monday 11:47 pm - Zappos ships my order from Kentucky

Tuesday 7:59 am - my order arrives in Boston and is on a truck for delivery

Tuesday 11:34 am - my order is delivered

Total time - 16 hours and 34 minutes

I was flabbergasted, I couldn't believe how fast my order arrived. What had I accomplished in those 16 hours while my purse was zipping across 1000 miles? Let's see, I took the bus home from work, ate dinner, slept for 8 hours, went to work, drank coffee and had some morning meetings. I'm a little embarrassed the purse was more productive than me.

P.S. If you order from Zappos and want to be a part of their beta VIP program for free overnight shipping, just call them up and request it. The program is "invitation only, but they might be able to help you out if you call."

P.P.S. I'm loving my new bag, it's awesome.

Bakun Burger Tour (BBT)

At the end of 2009, Adam was telling me about how one of his dreams in life is to try all the $20 burgers in Boston featured in this one magazine article in 2010. Fortunately, Adam's modest dreams in life were well within reach and could be funded by one hundred dollar bill. DONE! He did enjoy a few of the burgers, but wasn't disciplined enough to really follow through with all of them. He did spend a lot of time last year pitching our friends on the Bakun Burger Tour, a monthly get together of burger lovers who try different gourmet burgers. Here are a few of Adam's rules if you're interested in joining in.

1. The BBT only visits restaurants with delicious burgers. It doesn't go for "gimmicks" like enormous burgers or five pound burgers held together with skewers that are not as delicious. You might wonder who the taste maker who gets to decide which burger is worthy, that would ultimately be Adam who named the tour after himself.

2. On the BBT, everyone has to order the burger. Don't think about going off script by ordering a turkey or veggie burger. You need to order the signature burger.

As much as I make fun of Adam for his BBT, I think it's a pretty fun idea which is why this year I got him an official BBT "flag" to encourage his culinary adventures. I found this awesome tea towel at a local craft fair with a diagram of a cheeseburger and I had it embroidered with BBT. I was kind enough to actually use Adam's official name rather than sneaking in the name I was originally advocating for, the "triple B" or "BBBB" or the "Boston Bakun Burger Bonanza." To top it off, I got him a set of fabric markers so he can write the name and date of all his burger accomplishments on the towel. Let the tour begin.

Illustrated tea towel from Girl Can Tell.

Art Deco Tour

We stayed in South Beach for three days during our trip and I didn't realize until we arrived that South Beach has a huge district of preserved art deco buildings. The Miami Design Preservation League had the entire area designated as historic in the 70s to preserve the architecture. On Christmas, we went on a really interesting art deco walking tour and learned more about the area and the architecture. It's really fun and I'd highly recommend it. If anything, it'll provide a baseline understanding of what art deco architecture looks like so you can avoid running commentary of, "why isn't that art deco" or "I think that looks a little art deco to me." Of course, not from recent experience and totally hypothetical.

Sushi Samba

We celebrated Adam's dad's birthday at Sushi Samba while we were on vacation in Miami and it was one of the best meals we had this trip. It's a Japanese/Brazilian/Peruvian fusion restaurant which sounds a little schizophrenic, but it totally works. The food is really flavorful and the textures are different since they use a lot of Peruvian ingredients like peruvian corn. Here's what we shared and my awesomeness ratings, it goes good, awesome, super awesome and freakin' awesome:

Rock Shrimp Tempura tobanjan alioli, black truffle vinaigrette SUPER AWESOME

Chicarron de Calamar cornmeal crusted calamari with tomato, mint, plaintain, tamarind AWESOME

Beef Tenderloin and Aji Panca GOOD

Sea Bass and Miso SUPER AWESOME

Sake-Soy Braised Short Rib burdock purée, shimeji fricassee, brussels sprout AWESOME

Peruvian Fried Rice with pork belly FREAKIN' AWESOME

coco duo dark & white chocolate custard with praline AWESOME

warm chocolate banana cake maple butter, banana chip & vanilla rum ice cream SUPER AWESOME

P.S. I know I forgot a bunch of other dishes we tried because I couldn't find the description on the website, but it was all really yummy.

B.O. Fish Wagon

On our first night in Key West, we were hungry for a good meal so we walked over to BO's Fish Wagon for dinner. I don't know how to describe the decor so you'll have to check out some of the photos on their website to get the feel. Anyhow, the food was awesome. We had the fried fish sandwich and upgraded to the fresh grouper option, a fried conch sandwich and a Key West style hot dog which turned out to be fried. Definitely check this place out if you're looking for a fun low key meal and be sure to get the refreshing key limeade.

Besame Mucho [Key West]

Every so often, I find a well merchandised independent housewares/gift store that I fall in love with and Besame Mucho is my most recent addition to my all star list. It located down the street from Blue Heaven in Key West and it's a really fun store with lots of cute vintage finds. It's that nice mix of old and new and the unique merchandise is thoughtfully selected and displayed. I was eyeing a great woven beach bag with gold leather detailing, but decided that Boston is not really "beachy" and I didn't really need it. I almost bought myself a pair of heavy vintage scissors, but they were ultimately too heavy to be practical and I can't bear to have scissors for decoration ever since I watched that movie Dead Again with my friend Corinna. Eeek! Now back to sunnier topics, be sure to check out Besame Mucho if you're kicking around Key West, it's definitely worth a visit.

P.S. My other all star favorites are Watson & Kennedy in Seattle, Posh in Chicago and of course Fishs Eddy in NYC.

Blue Heavenly Breakfast

Before we left for Florida, I'd asked MGDub for some recommendations from her last trip and she's recommended Blue Heaven for breakfast so we started our first full day in Key West with their heavenly breakfast. Adam and I shared the shrimp eggs benedict and a blueberry pancake. The hollandaise sauce on the shrimp benedict was perfect and the giant shrimp were meaty enough to stand up to the eggs benedict. The homemade sausage that Adam's parents got was tasty, it had a little kick to it and their homemade banana bread was very good. It's not as good as my banana bread, but it's pretty close so that's actually a rave review from me. Great outdoor eating area to enjoy breakfast on a nice day and they even have their own wandering roosters roaming about the courtyard.

Five Guys Burger

We did a lot of driving while in Florida, actually Adam's dad did a lot of driving, Adam navigated with his Droid while the rest of us took naps and enjoyed the scenery. I was on occasion "helpful" around meal times when I would look out the window for a good place to eat. My "good eye" proved indispensable when were stuck in traffic on the highway out of Miami. We were all hungry and on our way to becoming "hangry" [hunger induced angry]. We had been on the wrong end of the four lane highway to turn into a restaurant whenever they appeared and I had no idea when we would be able to eat. Fortunately I spotted a Five Guys on my side and was able to get Adam's dad to make a quick U-ie. While I was impressed with my "good eye" and kept self congratulating my "good eye," I'm not sure my family really appreciated my "good eye." I did get to enjoy Five Guys for lunch and that pretty much made my day.

As for the origins of my love for Five Guys. A few years ago, I discovered Five Guys Burger at DC's Reagan National Airport. I was waiting to fly back to Boston on a business trip when I noticed a plain looking sign for a "Five Guys Burger." The signage was so basic, I was intrigued. I figured it had to be either super awesome like In-N-Out or just nondescript and I had to find out. It turned out to be super awesome so I ordered a burger and fries even though it wasn't time to eat. Their fries are fried in peanut oil and the burgers are topped with all the toppings you want. The burgers are hand formed and I actually think the food is better than In-N-Out. I don't love the fries at In-N-Out and Five Guys has amazing fries and they're generous with them to boot.

Key Lime Pie Pilgrimage - Finale

2. Robert Is Here [Homestead]

Also a find from the article, Robert Is Here is a tropical fruit farm stand that makes awesome fresh fruit shakes. Their signature is the Key Lime and Strawberry Key Lime milkshake. We stopped by on the way back to Miami and picked up a huge box of tropical fruits: mangos, papaya, jackfruit, etc. I was totally key lime pied out at this point, having already enjoyed two slices of pie earlier that day, but I had to get a shake just to try it. I ordered a Strawberry Key Lime milkshake to mix it up a little and it was so good, I felt sad I couldn't drink the entire shake. They use real key limes so there's actual pulp in the shake. It's refreshing and really flavorful...I'm still mourning the 2/3 full shake I had to throw out.

1. Joe's Stone Crab [Miami]

We asked a bunch of different people where we should eat on vacation and Joe's Stone Crab got the most unprompted recommendations so we had to check it out. The food was good, no doubt, but they had my favorite key lime pie of the trip. It was a classic tangy slice that was super well executed. The filling was cool and smooth and the graham cracker crust was crumbly and buttery. Like I said three posts ago, I'm a big fan of key lime pie and the classic is always a winner in my book so I'm giving Joe's the top spot.

P.S. Joe's has a key lime pie recipe on their website and you can also mail order a pie.

Key Lime Pie Pilgrimage - Part III

4. Chocolate Dipped [Key West]

Key lime pie is everywhere in Key West and chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick is even more prevalent. Pie on a stick is totally portable for snacking while you walk around town and chocolate just makes it even better. Alton Brown's a fan of this sweet treat and frankly, I wouldn't have tried it had I not read that Alton Brown loves it. Yep, I am THAT food snob. Turns out, it's pretty yummy like a uber delicious frozen ice cream bar. Everyone sells it and you don't need any utensils to enjoy it.

3. Porky's [Marathon]

We're rounding out the top three key lime treats here so it's getting harder to rank them. We also read about Porky's fried key lime pie from the article. Adam would probably disagree with Porky's fried key lime pie at #3 and argue it should have the top spot, but this is my list so ha. Porky's is this BBQ restaurant with no real walls. It's the kind of place you think of when you imagine the keys and the first time we stopped in, I couldn't believe this place existed. They lightly batter a slice of key lime pie and then fry it for 30 seconds and it is really really good. The fried batter envelopes the pie slice like a meta pie crust making it extra crunchy. The filling is not super tart and still cool, even frozen, on the inside. The fried pie was so memorable, we stopped by Porky's a second time for lunch and pie on the way out of Key West. We ate the most Porky's key lime pie hands down tucking in 3 slices of fried key lime pie.

Key Lime Pie Pilgrimage - Part II

6. Flamingo Crossing [Key West]

I love ice cream a lot so I had to try the ice cream at Flamingo Crossing on Duval Street one night. The Cuban coffee ice cream was intensely coffee flavored and wonderful and the key lime ice cream was refreshingly creamy and delicious.

5. Wooden Spoon [Marathon]

We read about the Wooden Spoon in the key lime pie article so we grabbed a slice to go on the drive back to Miami. It's a little yellow dive diner on the side heading away from Key West and they make an interesting pie that's the consistency of whipped cream. It's very light and fluffy and mildly key lime flavored. There was much discussion whether the graham crack crust was homemade or packaged. I vote machine made since it was so evenly pressed, but Adam argued it was homemade by a highly skilled pie maker. The verdict is out, but the filling is definitely one of a kind and tasty in its own unique way.

Key Lime Pie Pilgrimage - Part I

For Christmas, we flew down to Miami to meet up with Adam's parents for vacation and spent a few days in Key West hunting down key lime pies to try using an from the New York Times as our guide, "Searching Margaritaville for the Perfect Key Lime Pie." While I'm a big fan of key lime pie, Adam and his parents are not natural fans of this tart treat, but they really embraced the spirit of our Key West adventures and enthusiastically sampled eight key lime treats.

8. Pepe's [Key West]

I had high hopes for this pie since the article mooned over it. Their crust has cinnamon in it which isn't my favorite. I like the tart filling, but the others preferred a milder key lime flavor. Kind of a weird tasting pie in my opinion.

7. Cole's Peace Bakery [Key West]

We stopped by Cole's Peace Bakery three times in three days, the food was so yummy. Wonderful homemade Cuban bread, delicious breakfast sandwiches and phenomenon sandwiches with home-roasted meats. I bought the key lime pie since everything else was so good and it was alright. Classic key lime pie with a graham cracker crust, nothing special. I don't think they sell many pies so I'm guessing the pies sit in the fridge for a while which might be part of the problem. There are better things to be enjoyed at Cole's and better key lime pies to sample elsewhere.

P.S. The bakery is attached to The Restaurant Store next door, a great [surprise] restaurant supply shop. I bought myself a nice big industrial whisk and 500 cupcake liners. Be sure to check it out.

Happy New Year 2011

I actually made some resolutions this year.

• Lose weight [Boring]
• Blog more

When I started blogging regularly in 2003, I was a couple of life stages back. I was working in a small office where I hung out daily with hilarious friends like Steve and Wheezy who provided lots of blogworthy material and my best bud MGDub was still living in Boston. Life is still good in 2011, but it certainly has transitioned quite a bit and I've pretty much been off the blog mania routine the last few years. The deal is I really have missed blogging regularly so I'm going to try making it a priority in 2011 for my own enjoyment.

Enough introspection! We had the last day of 2010 off so Adam and I went downtown for lunch at the Back Bay Social Club for lunch. We tried their $21 burger and their pastrami sandwich/tomato basil soup combo. The burger was very good, wonderful beef that was half aged and half prime. A lot of fancy burgers feature brioche buns, but this one was a really great white roll with a crusty exterior...a refreshing change. The fries were pretty good, but I kinda expect excellent fries for $21. The soup/sandwich combo I thought was a really good deal at $10 and it even came with fries so I would recommend checking it out for a delicious and well priced lunch if you're downtown shopping. While the burger was delicious, but not worth $21 so it doesn't make the cut in terms of our price/quality ratio efficient frontier. The burger still to beat in terms of the quality for the price remains Garden at the Cellar in Cambridge.

New Old Car

As many of you may know, Adam and I have never owned a car and our goal is to put off car ownership for as long as possible. Fortunately, we live in an area that enables living car free really easily. plasticmom, on the other hand, lives in LA where car ownership is a must. She hates driving and tries to walk or take public transportation as much as possible, but she still needs to maintain a car she rarely drives. As a result, she's owned her car for around 8 years and managed to finally crack 5 digits on her odometer in year 7. That's right folks, she drove less than 10,000 miles in the first 7 years. The following is a reconstructed conversation of her most recent car inspection:

Car dealer: [looking at the car befuddled] How old is this car?
plasticmom: Eight years old.
Car dealer: Ummm, why does it look so "new?"
plasticmom: I don't drive it very much.
Car dealer: Hold on, I'll be right back.

[minutes pass and they return with a gaggle of other car dealer employees.]

Car dealer: You guys have to see this, I've never seen anything like it. This car is eight years old and it looks brand new and it barely has 10,000 miles on it.
Everyone: Wow, I've never seen anything like it.

Sunshine Lucy's

Admittedly, this blog has jumped the shark as my good friend Steve would say, but I'm trying to be better about blogging mostly because I do really enjoy blogging and I've missed it.

Here goes. One of my favorite stores in Davis is a furniture store called Sunshine Lucy's on Holland. I always try to stop by and check out what's new which is easy for me since I live in the area. They have a lot of used furniture, but the really cool thing is they repaint and reupholster their furniture with fresh colors and modern prints. I think they do a really good job pairing the old and new so it's vintage, but not so old fashioned. It reminds me of the Anthropologie shabby chic look without the super high prices. They'll also make you whatever you want if you're into designing your own pieces, they seem really accommodating. I bought myself a great armchair last year with a great black and white dragonfly upholstery and a old school painted wooden stool with clawfeet. Actually, the aforementioned Steve drove me and my furniture home and saved me on delivery charges. Right now, I'm coveting the bookcases they're featuring in their window. They're kinda mod and cubist with each asymmetrical cubby painted in a different vibrant color. Check it out this weekend and let me know what you think of the bookcases.

Treats

I wasn't able to bake this weekend, but I wanted to make treat bags
for work so I put together mini wintry treat bags. Tiny Dolphin
chocolates like ginger, masala and pink peppercorn, my favorite
peppermint Stash tea and a mini candy cane. At least they look super
cute.

Day 2 - still Molten

I microwaved some left over cake for 30 seconds and it was still
delightfully molten.

Chocolate Molten Cake...surprisingly easy

I had a craving for chocolate molten cake last night so I decided to try out this recipe from Everyday Food. I'm pretty sure I tried this a few years ago with lackluster results, but this time I had great success. Adam even said, "one of your best desserts." Check it out, you won't have to trudge out for molten cake in the middle of winter, just make it yourself.

Cookie press initiation

I finally broke out the cookie press I got for Christmas a few years
ago. I was a little intimidated by the press, but my first pass turned
out alright. Not as easy as the box implies, but not too hard. Next
time I'll want to make tons of dough to knock out tons of cookies.

Pile of socks

I hit the sock jackpot at the gap tonight. Socks for sale so I cleared
out their inventory for Adam and hooked him up with enough socks to
last him at least a few years. $1.99 a pair plus 10% off on Tuesdays
so they were $1.79 a pair. Now Adam can start retiring his socks with
holes...oops did I say that out loud...how embarassing for Adam.

100% sugar

I might have taken things too far today with these brownies smothered
in marshmallow fluff and covered in peanut butter cap n crunch and
m&ms. I tried a square inch of it and it's tasty, but totally packed
with sugar. The kids at the church potluck will love it. The parents
won't like the wound up kids they'll have to deal with after the
potluck.

Ichigo (strawberry) Cream

I just tried a bite and it's awesome. Flakey pastry, custard and
strawberries. All for $2.95 from the Japanese bakery at porter exchange.

Chicago good eats 2

Breakfast this morning at Xocu. Awesome homemade churros, torta with
poached egg and a ham and cheese empanada. Super yummy, might go back
for lunch after the architecture boat tour.

Chicago good eats 1

Landed last night. Checked out Portillo's after we checked in. Italian
roast beef sandwich was delicious. Kind of like a French Dip. Hot dog
was tasty too.

Wow! Anthroplogie Aug 20

I've been mourning the loss of c&b in harvard square, but look it's
now going to be an Anthropologie. Woohoo! Even better for me although
I think Adam still prefers the c&b. Made my night!