Cave Creek, AZ

I can't believe its already my last day in Arizona! I have already started to plan my next trip out to Phoenix, and I haven't even left yet. This morning I asked Amanda and her family if they could show me some of Arizona's famous desert country... and so they took me to the town of Cave Creek in the Sonoran Desert. I've seen more varietals of cacti today, than the rest of my life combined.

According to the city of Cave Creek's website, the town of Cave Creek derives its name from a stream that runs past a large overhanging bluff about two miles out from town. Cave Creek was a stopping point for local Indian tribes. However, its modern history can be traced back about 100 years. Its roots beginning in the Arizona Gold Rush and US Army/Native American disputes of the 1870s.

Anyone who has had the privileged of visiting some of the local retail stores and restaurants that including the Horny Toad, Big Earl's Greasy Eats, The Bad Donkey, Big Bronco, the Tumbleweed Inn and the Silver Spur Saloon... you will notice that the town has not changed its aesthetics much since the 1870s.

Amanda and I met up with some friends at the Cave Creek Coffee Shop, and then headed to Frontier Town for some wild west sized retail therapy. We finished up the visit with a stop at the Horny Toad Restaurant in an attempt to stay out of the 96+ degree heat. All in all, it was a fun to get out of the haven of Phoenix and see a bit more of famous Arizona desert. I just wish I had time to see more of the Cave Creek/Carefree area like Bartlett Lake (yes, there is water in the desert) and the Spur Cross conservation area. I guess I will have to save it for next time...

Some Retail Therapy in Phoenix, AZ!

Greetings from the land of sunshine and resort living, Phoenix, AZ! After a much needed break from the San Francisco fog, I am visiting my friend Amanda and taking in some of the famous Arizona sunshine. (Amanda said i needed to get some color to my "porcelain" skin.)

Amanda did not waste time in taking me to her favorite local brunch hangout, La Grande Orange. The easiest way to describe this restaurant/grocery is to say it is pure deliciousness. Take Anthropolgie-esque class and blend it with comforting southern french cuisine, and you have this little gold mine. How could you not fall in love with this place?

We entered the restaurant through the kitchens past the racks of rising dough, red velvet cakes, and other goodies - which any foodie will know is a treasure in its self. Taking the advice of the locals, I ordered an english muffin sandwhich with eggs & bacon. Was I ever in for a surprise. Not only was the sandwhich to die for, but the english muffins are unlike any sort of muffin I have ever had before. The grocery sells the muffins at $9 for a pack of six... and let me tell you that its a steal. These muffins are worth their weight in gold. If you are in the Phoenix, swing in and buy a couple packs for home. (And while you are at it, send one to me!) Coupled with an iced Havanna Coffee, and you think you died and went to culinary heaven. (The Havanna Coffee is a Spanish style coffee that reminds me of the kind my father makes from Puerto Rico.)

Attached to the cafe is a pizzeria and gift/grocery store. The gift/grocery store was a great place to pick up gifts with a range of culinary supplies, to fun trinkets, as well as an excellent selections of wines including my favorite summer white, Rias Baixas from Spain.

Afterward our delicious brunch, Amanda took me to a fun clothing boutique called Francesca's Collections. If I didn't believe in love in first sight, I would have after a stop at this store. Filled with great clothing, fun one of the kind jewelry, and unique home furnishings it is a great stop for some retail therapy... and the best part is that it is at reasonable prices. Open in 1999, Francesca's provides an unique shopping experience by taking its inspiration from travelers who search the world for beautiful luxuries and gifts to bring to their friends and family. Apparently, this chain has stores in 28 states... including Loveland, CO and will be opening this summer in San Francisco! Amanda had to drag me out of the store. But not without making a dent on my checkbook.

Final stop on the tour was a store called Charming CHARLIE. This fashion accessory boutique is organized by color! Filled with fun & flirty jewlery, bags, shoes, and other great finds... you are first overwhelmed by the color coordinated displays. If you are in the area, this is a must stop... and with reasonable prices this is a great place to pick up fun gifts for all your girlfriends back home. I picked up a great turquoise necklace for my mom that she loves and some stylish and fun black sandals that i would sleep in if I could get away with it!

I want to thank Amanda for sharing these great treasures on our retail therapy tour of Phoenix. I can see why she loves living here so much and I can't wait to plan my next trip to the desert...

Congrats, Alexia & Joe!

Return From Sabbatical - 5/1

After a long break which involved too many stressful late nights in the office, a couple stressful moves which reminded me of how much junk i don't need, my kid brother's wedding and my nephew's marriage to their soul matez, the opening of an art gallery in the office focusing on internal artist, and a lot of adventures both near and far, I am returning to the blog.

I hope to have some great updates in the next couple of weeks, with trips to Phoenix and Colorado coming up soon, my professional website to be released in June... and a trip to Europe in July. In the mean time, happy travels to all...

Suppenküche (San Francisco, CA) - 3/7

"Cooking is a little like witchcraft, like alchemy, to transform people from angry and tense to relaxed and warm, happy. Therefore the right witch doctors in the kitchen can perform magic on the customers..."
- Suppenküche owner, Fabrizio Wiest -

For the past couple of years my bff, Candace, has been trying to drag me to Suppenküche, a traditional style German brauhaus /restaurant in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. I have only heard amazing reviews from previous patrons of the restaurant, including many native Germans who claimed its the best German beer and food they have had outside Germany. So using my birthday as an excuse to finally check out this local favorite hot spot, Candos and I pitched up for an early dinner last Saturday night. (Suppenküche is a small restaurant and sits people together at their long tables. Because of this, they only takes reservations for parties of 6 or more, so its wise to try to get a table early or be prepared for a long wait.) After a long week, I was looking forward to some hearty beer and the meat & potatoes fare.

According to the restaurant's website, Suppenküche owner Fabrizio Wiest came to San Francisco in 1993 from Munich with the concept of opening a traditional German Wirtshaus to show Americans something about German beer, as well as the warmth of the atmosphere from his home. Fabrizio's grandfather had a small country brewery which delivered beer to several dozen Wirtshausen in the small region of Mengkofen until 1970. Fabrizio has fond memories of being at the old beer places with the local people, eating, drinking, talking, and being raised in an environment with farm people. It is from this tradition that the Suppenküche originated. "Many valuable things were lost from the old time, the old ways of living.The connection to the land and to the people who lived in such traditional ways," states Fabrizio. "Suppenküche brings a bit of the atmosphere from that small Bavarian village to San Francisco, merging the monastery with the Wirtshaus, serving a cuisine developed throughout the ages, in a place that is safe and warm."

I arrived early and thought I start on a beer while I
was waiting for the rest of the party to arrive. I was surprised at how full the restaurant already was at 5:30pm on a Saturday. Overwhelmed by the massive German beer selection, I chatted with the very friendly and knowledgeable bartender who convinced me to try a delicious dunkelweizen (a dark wheat beer) called "Celebrator." When Candos arrived, we beat the crowd and had just enough time to order a couple kinds of dark hefeweizen (an unfiltered wheat beer) before we were seated. Candos were full of great suggestions from their travels to Octoberfest in Germany last year and were surprised the food and beer at Suppenküche was even better than some of the fare they tried on their travels. As both the beer and the food are filling, we decided to order family style and shared the appetizer of asparagus wrapped in bacon in a lemon-butter sauce, the special entree of succulent pig with a bread ball smothered in a rich, thick mushroom gravy, and a second entree of "Jägerschnitzel in Champignonsoße mit Spätzle und grünem Salat" or Sauteed Porkloin in Mushroom Sauce served with Spätzle, sauerkraut and Green Salad. All in all, the food was authentic, delicious, and served in huge portions. I would give them 5-stars all around. The biggest surprise of the night was when Candos talked me into trying a Berliner Weisse, a "white" beer from Berlin that is brewed from a mash that is three-quarters barley, one-quarter wheat and add a little raspberry syrup, to take the edge off its sharpness. It was delicious.

We sat at the table with a group visiting from out of town and were happy when they ordered the house specialty, 3 liters of beer served in glass boot that is called "das boot" by the locals. We quickly made friends with our fellow diners and ended the dinner with a delicious German black forest raspberry cake and a hysterical (albeit slightly drunken) rendition of happy birthday sang to me by our fellow diners.

After my evening at Suppenküche, I would happily say that Fabrizio Wiest delivers a magical evening all around with delicious authentic German food served in a safe and warm environment. Suppenküche is located at 525 Laguna (at the corner of Hayes and Laguna). It is open every day for Dinner from 5:00 to 10:00pm, and for Brunch on Sundays from 10:00am to 2:30pm.

Cheeseboard Pizza (Berkeley, CA) - 2/11

The Cheeseboard Collective is one of Berkeley's best kept secrets. Anyone who has lived in the East Bay of San Francisco can tell you what a diamond in the rough this store/restaurant is (even amongst the other gems of the North Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto). This store is more than a bakery, cheese shop, or pizza parlor... its a way of living and has a strong cult following. Even facebook has a group called "Cheeseboard. Need More Be Said?"

The Cheeseboard Collective is composed of two stores situated next to each other in the Gourmet Ghetto... a pizza shop that only makes one type of pizza day with live jazz music and the other a bakery/gourmet cheese shop. The Cheese Board collective was founded on November 6, 1967 by Elizabeth and Sahag Avedesian, and was created as a special business model where all workers own an equal part of the collective and have equal power and working for equal wages. To achieve this, upon joining each member is given ten shares worth $100/share. When a member leaves these shares are sold back to the corporation. All members are paid an equal hourly wage. Profits go to buy new equipment, raise wages, or are placed into our retirement fund. Moneys placed into this fund are distributed based on hours worked.

The cheese shop/bakery is amazing gem of its own with extremely helpful and knowledgeably staff. Its the only place you should go when you need to pick up some cheese for a dinner party, picnic in napa, or something to compliment a new favorite bottle of wine. And the scones are a personal favorite of mine (and compliment the coffee at the Peet's around the corner.)

When I first started going to the Cheeseboard in 2003, the pizza shop was a little hole in the wall with enough room to fit a counter, a long line out its door and down the street, and a small piano. If they ran out of pizza, they would just shut down early for the day. People would grab their pizza and sit on the median on Shattuck Ave. Ironically the only thing to change is that they expanded the space to fit in some picnic benches and full jazz quartet and Berkeley put a "No Trespassing on the Median Sign" up a couple years ago... which people like to lean up against while they slurp down these amazing pizzas.

Every day, the Cheeseboard release their pizza creation of the day at: http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/

The wait in the line is not bad, despite the fact that there is ALWAYS a line. Today's pizza was roasted eggplant, onions, mozzerella, olive oil, spanish smoked paprika, Grana Padano, garlic, and parsley.... And they always give you complementary slices to go with it. The pizza is all about the bread. And it has been described by one local food critique as "It has to be a mixture of cheese, secret ingredients, and drugs??? I have no idea what they put in it but its magical..."

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

On this special day to celebrate the glory of love, I thought it was only appropriate that I post a few photos of my favorite things...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/alice-waters'-perfect-omelet/19201.html

New Year's Resolutions...

Happy New Year! I must apologize for not updating my blog on my numerous travels and adventures over 2008. Unfortunately, 2008 was a difficult year filled with too many goodbyes to people I loved and cared about. But the one lesson I learned was to enjoy whatever little adventures and joys life brings to me. So my New Year's resolution this year is to post more blog entries on my local adventures and travels... the places I call home and regularly visit. As well as, actually getting around to post all those travel photos that have been taking up room in the photo archives in my cupboard.

In the meantime, my New Year's wish to you is that God will grant you always a sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering angel so nothing can harm you... laughter to cheer you, faithful friends near you, and whenever you pray, that heaven will hear you. (Irish Prayer)

Ringing in the New Year in the Carolinas

It was with hope of some R&R that I set off for New Year’s weekend in the Carolinas with my best friend, and resident southern belle, Candace. Despite the lack of non-stop flights from SFO to Durham, NC and United’s knack of losing my luggage, it was a pleasant trip. It started with a tour of Candace’s alma matter, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I quickly fell in love with the quiet intimacy of the campus (despite its large size) and the Southern culture and history that seemed to echo from every brick and cranny. And it is always insightful to see a place that someone you are close to considers “home.”

A couple random facts about the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly on December 11, 1789 and beginning instruction in 1795, the University of North Carolina is known as the oldest public university in the US. Some of the famous alumni include Michael Jordan, Caleb Bradham (inventor of Pepsi-Cola), John and Elizabeth Edwards, Andy Griffith, and Thomas Wolffe. Even the local firefighters show support for the UNC Tarheels, as their vehicles are painted in the school’s colors of light blue and white.

My favorite stops on Candace’s tour was “the Old Well” and the outdoor theater known as the “Forest Theatre.” The Old Well, modeled on the Temple of Love in the Gardens of Versailles, is considered the most enduring symbol of the University. Originally used by students since 1793 as a water supply, current campus tradition dictates that one can "drink from the old well" as a symbol of good luck. Of course, Candace and I couldn’t resist starting off the new year with a bit of luck on our side.

After a long walk around the campus, Candace, her father, and I stopped for a quick bite to eat at the Carolina Brewery, where I sampled some of their ales, Southern BBQ, sweet potato fries, and squash soup. (All came highly recommended and were quite enjoyable!) Of course, any trip to Chapel Hills is not complete without a stop at Southern Seasons. What an amazing store! It is kind of a cross between a southern William Sonoma, Berkeley Bowl, and Trader Joe’s. If you are in the area, it’s a must stop. Unfortunately, we didn’t get time to tour the campus of the UNC arch rivals, Duke, as we had a dinner date with Candace’s grandparents. However, now I have something to look forward the next time I am in the area.

The next day we were off, despite the rain, on our road trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As tourist towns go, this one is filled with its share of beach front concrete high-rise hotels and golf courses. But, Candace and I found the quiet off-season crowd quite enjoyable and made friends nearly everywhere we went. It was a good idea to stay off the beaten path at the Grand Dunes with its spacious luxury suites and well-kept golf greens. Although I didn’t get a chance to try out the golf course, we did however have an especially grand time with dinner at Medieval Times. There is something about knights, jousts, horses, and a rowdy crowd to get you in a good mood. Overall, it was a relaxing trip and a low key ringing in of the New Year, which is exactly what I needed (although I do hope that United returns my luggage sometime soon!).

To quote Princess Esmeralda of Medieval Times, “I fare thee well, ladies and lords, in the new year…”