Fairwell to Summer of Color

Manhattan Beach...and other Southern California beaches (?) painted their lifeguard towers in funky 80's colors for the summer. It was a pleasant surprise as I stepped onto the lukewarm/turning into fall feeling sand to put my feet in the cool water. My favorite is the bright green one you can hardly see. Will they have a fall painting party soon to make them normal again?

I hope they continue the painting trend into every season :)

Eating Crabs like a Marylander

Have you ever eaten soft shell crabs in Maryland?
This is far from your Alaskan king crab leg event out in sunny ole California...this is an experience to be had...

First things first, tables are covered with boards to protect the wood during hammering and layers of newspapers and cut up paper bags are placed on top.

Crabs are then placed in a big pile in the middle of the table for all to grab.

Well hello there, Mr. Crab. These crabs are seasoned heavily with a mixture including lots and lots of Old Bay Spice. In case you were wondering, celery salt is one of the first ingredients. This stuff is seriously intense, making your mouth feel on fire throughout the whole dining experience, which is why you have a beer there to keep you company.

Everyone has their own method of how they choose a crab out of the pile. Annie, Matt's sister, tries to get the heaviest ones since "they are usually denser and more moist." I just tried to pick the ones with the biggest claws...I think I'm forever in the "larger claws=better crabs" mindset from eating all that Dungeoness.

Matt went step by step through how he takes apart his crabs; very methodical and precise. He couldn't figure out why I kept getting shells in my mouth but I think I must have not been following the rules well enough...woops!

It's just common sense that you will drink National Bohemian Beer or "Natty Boh" (originally brewed in Baltimore, MD) with these beauties...

Tearing apart crabs with this much seasoning is a messy experience. Matt's mom was kind enough to lend me one of her work-out shirts so I wouldn't get this stuff all over my white blouse. I know, I know, who wears a white blouse to a crab eating party, right? It won't happen again, cross my heart.


It's a real social event, which is why I think I quite enjoy it. You chat, bang on crab legs, drink beer and have a merry time!

Maddie couldn't exactly join the party, though she probably would have been a fine crab eater.

Thank you Metzbowers for making my first Maryland crab eating experience one of a kind!

For the record, I ate 5 whole crabs! Yowza!

"What! You've never eaten Five Guys?!..."

I'd be lying if I said Five Guys hadn't been built up to the extreme measure before I ate there. After going to culinary school with many east coasters and being friends with one of the most opinionated east coaster EVER, I'd heard about the burger joint that Matt claims, "doesn't compare to In-n-Out." He also states that "In-n-Out is weak and a perfect example of how Californians don't know what real food is." Strong words, right?

I thought so and also knew I had to try it and compare it to my favorite burger place in the entire world.

There is a logical reason I love In-n-Out and that's my obsession with ratios. Not ratios a male would necessarily like, but ones that I do. I enjoy the petite patty, thick piece of lettuce and small, slightly crispy bun sitting atop the perfect amount of secret sauce. I like that the toppings are simple and perfect and their "weird" fries are delightfully crisp if eaten in a reasonable amount of time.

Five Guys is good, real good, but it's different. So different I don't think I want to compare it at all to In-n-Out. Don't get me wrong, Five Guys is definitely "in a class by itself," but I can't say it is better.
The fries are thicker, the normal burger comes with two patties instead of one, there are tons of topping to choose from including sauteed mushrooms and hot sauce and they have peanuts for you to munch on while you wait to remind you about the fries being fried in nothing else but peanut oil. Very manly.

The staff was friendly and the service was prompt at the one we went to in D.C. but after biting into the ginormous burger I did have one small complaint. It was just a tad bit dry and in need of more sauce. Not a huge deal, but something to note. The burger Matt ordered was perfectly sauced but I think it was because it also had cheese and bacon to fill in the gaps where sauce didn't hit...





Matt, the In-n-Out dis-liker in all his glory. Quite the host, I might add.

Sweet Action in Denver

There is nothing like a scoop of Brown Sugar Banana ice cream on a hot summer day in Denver. And when you walk into Sweet Action off Broadway you're hit with a cool breeze from the subtle air conditioning and fresh air spilling in the front window mixed to perfection.

Sweet Action is unique in it's flavors and consistent with its quality. I don't necessarily always like all the flavors since they can be a bit daring but I always enjoy tasting the concoctions and choosing the one I liked most. There's something about its vibe I love-- Maybe it's the fun artwork, cool Denver folk I always see inside or the sense I get that they're taking so much care with the product being created. It's why I love America; someone can take an idea and run with it, be successful and bring new perspective to something as simple as ice cream flavors.

You should hit this place up if you're in Denver, whether it's 100 degrees or 40...you can always buy a pint with a cute label and bring it home to enjoy by the fire :)





Oh, and did I mention ice cream is my favorite food? Believe it!

We're In the Rockies?

My Denver friend Matt and I decided to go on an adventure through the woods last Saturday. From Boulder we went up hwy 7 and figured it would loop us around within a few hours, bringing us back to Denver at a decent hour. No such luck, Matt was wrong, it didn't loop. Once we got all the way in to Estes Park (where Steven King stayed for a summer and got his inspiration to write the Shining!) we saw a map telling us to back track almost the entire way to Boulder before heading to Denver. The trip in total was over 5 hours.

A few hours into the drive we were talking about the Rockies and I turned to Matt and excitedly asked if we were actually IN the Rockies. "Uh, yes, we're definitely in the Rockies." We were IN the Rockies! I don't know why I think that's so cool. There were so many times I felt like it was all fake...as if I were at Disneyland and a Disney Princess was going to appear with Mickey Mouse and the whole gang.
Everything up there was stunning.

I feel like I should be embarrassed that I didn't know it was actually THE Rockies for so long as we drove on winding roads through so many trees and mountains, but we never discussed where we were going, that's what made it an adventure!

SALT

SALT' is located in downtown Boulder where you're so close to the Rockies you feel as if you could touch them and where every corner is dripping with charm. Brick walkways, tree lined streets and crisp air. Boulder is quite lovely in the summer.

The inside of this restaurant is beautiful with painted brick walls and vaulted ceilings. There is an open kitchen with a wood burning stove and oven. You can sit and watch them cook at the wood bar overlooking the action.

The food was...okay. Ya, just okay. Well, I take that back- the fries and homemade ketchup were AMAZING, but the rest of the dishes were just not up to par...


This ketchup was great. Tasted like a cross between marinara, store bought ketchup and barbeque sauce; we couldn't get enough of it.

I ordered the sesasonal vegetable plate but ended up enjoying the pickled beets the most. The spinach with goat cheese wrapped in phyllo was good but not too impressive. The curry cakes flavor was overpowered by dill and needed to have a crispy outside, in my opinion. The green beans were nice and al dente but had been sitting with creme fraiche and onion too long so as to take on too much raw onion flavor for my palate. The farratto and mushroom side was delicious but tasted like it had a pound of butter in it and seemed slightly too rich to finish for a lunch dish. This may be too harsh, I don't know.

My friend is a vegan and only had a few options to choose from. The homemade flatbread was quite enjoyable with a nice olive oil drizzled with rosemary and sea salt (though, it was $8 for an order). The salad had good beets but was plain. I won't blame that on the restaurant though. Being vegan and making them hold the cheese and dressing is a bit unfair...

Like I said before, the atmosphere was great and our server was nice enough. I just wasn't blown away, you know? I love the name, the menu and the cute street corner it's on, the ousdie patio and the painted brick. I also love how well they pickle their beets.

I'll have to go back and give them another chance. Maybe for dinner next time!

Rib Master

My brother, Jared, makes the best ribs...baby back and beef alike. They're "beyond-beyond" to quote an eclectic sales woman I once met. Simply seasoned, cooked at a low temp and doused with the perfect amount of bbq sauce, these ribs end up falling right off the bone. I love when we decide on making a dinner menu around them...finding fun salads, sides and appetizers to compliment is no trouble at all. The only real problem is trying to convince everyone at the table that the other dishes deserve their attention as well. I'll keep working on that...