Posts Tagged "Food Network"
Eating…Oxbow Public Market
Lately the weather has been unseasonably cool and rainy, odd considering that it was late May/early June in California and it’s usually warmer around this time. The bf was actually a bit disappointed since he was looking forward to the warmer weather. In fact, my plans for a fun outing in Napa Valley with him was cancelled due to general un-picnic like weather. Boo rain. Because of the weird weather, I’ve spent the past few days hanging out at home so when the need to be outside to photosynthesize suddenly became overwhelming, I decided to pretend I was a tourist and hit up Oxbow Public Market near downtown Napa.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but it’s basically a large market hall with a bunch of small alcoves for shops, similar to the Ferry Building marketplace [apparently the guy behind the Ferry Building space is the genius behind Oxbow]. I wandered around for a bit checking everything out and getting a lay of the land. One shop in particular, Whole Spice, really grabbed my attention which had a ton of different spices, extracts and salts, including Himalayan Pink salt. I’m not quite sure how I would use the Himalayan Pink salt but I was tempted to buy a few ounces just because. I would like to go back to further discover what else they had in store. Since I didn’t really have a game plan when I came to the market, I ended up deciding to make it a day of eating. Of course I did.
My first stop was to C Casa. There were a lot of things on the menu that I wanted to try but since I had plans on sampling a few other bites, I had to pick only one. Instead of leaning on my go to [steak], I inched outside my comfort zone and ordered the spicy lamb taco (with goat cheese, avocado crema, mint, jalapeños, garlic aioli & micro greens) and the hibiscus orange iced tea.
I really enjoyed this taco. The lamb was nicely seasoned and really tender and there was a slight heat from the jalapeno peppers. The lamb was so good I would have eaten it by itself. I was disappointed that I couldn’t really taste the mint and I ended up taking out almost half of the micro greens because it was just too much. They really overwhelmed the rest of the taco.
Next, I stopped by Gott’s Roadside in hopes of getting an order of their crazily delicious calamari, however my plans were thwarted when I found out there was, in fact, NO CALAMARI. How rude!
I sulked for a second as I slowly made my way back to the marketplace before realizing the bakery I wanted to try was just around the corner. The Model Bakery has tons of different breads, cakes, cookies and other yummy looking pastries available all day long. I stopped in to try one of their famous English Muffins that was featured on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate…“
This was no ordinary English Muffin; it was large, fluffy, and crispy. The dough is actually a ciabatta bread so it lends its unique texture to the muffin, plus they griddle them to give it a nice outside crust. I had mine toasted and slathered it with butter and apricot jam and I instantly fell in love with it on the first bite. The bread itself is really chewy, the good kind of chewy, and my mouth is watering just thinking about it right now. I want more and I know I won’t ever be able to enjoy a Thomas English Muffin ever again. I have effectively been ruined and I’m not mad about it in the slightest.
Thomas would be jealous of these nooks and crannies.
After feasting on the world’s best English Muffins, I made one last stop at Pica Pica Bar to see if anything on the menu could entice me. Originally I was going to order some tajadas [sweet plantains] but I ended up being swayed by a display of patacones. I’m not exactly sure what I got [I let the cashier pick the fillings for me] but they’re like twice baked potatoes with meat fillings instead of more potato. Also, instead of potato, it’s actually a plantain. I ended up with a trio of pork, chicken and steak with a spicy cream dipping sauce [which was sour cream with smoked chile].
Of the three, the chicken was actually my favorite. It’s rare when I prefer chicken over steak but the chicken had a smoky almost barbequed taste to it that I really liked. The pork was good too, it was just salty enough for me, though the tomato and avocado slice made it a little messy to eat. I could have done without the steak; it was just meh. It didn’t really taste like they had done anything to it. I would have rather have a second chicken patacone.
In all, I’m really glad I made the trip up to Oxbow and loved everything I nommed on during the two hours I was there. It was the perfect distraction from my day and I’d definitely come back to eat everything again. Especially that English Muffin.
Read MoreAre you gonna eat that?
After a night’s rest and a fairly productive yet slow morning. We spent at least an hour sitting and debating whether or not we should go to breakfast. Well, I sat and watched Spongebob and Food Network since I no longer get those channels at home and am going through some major withdrawals. Seriously, it’s so bad I actually watched Rachael Ray! I know! I haven’t watched her show in YEARS.
Anywho, since it took so long to make a decision, we ended up sitting around and waiting until it was time to meet Bubba for lunch. And where did we end up lunching?
Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles!
Oh yeah. I didn’t have a chance to make it down there the first time I was in L.A. but I was determined to make it there this time around. Luckily for us the wait wasn’t long. We pretty much had enough time to walk back outside and for Jon to sit down before we were called in. And extra points to the security guard at the door who called him “Bubba.” Poor guy; the longer he hangs out with me, the more he loses his name.
Anywho, so my thoughts on Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles?
Oh my goodness, I LOVE THOSE WAFFLES!! They simply were some of the best waffles ever. So light and cinnamony and…what? You say there was also chicken on the plate? Three pieces of chicken? Oh yeah, about that. The chicken was…okay. I don’t usually eat the wing part as a whole so I wasn’t really feeling this chicken. It was a little dry as well. I much prefer the leg and I didn’t realize I could have just ordered the leg and waffle by itself. Had I known I totally would have gotten that.
But the waffles, they were delicious. So delicious I even wondered if they sold waffle mix. They totally should. I was so in love with these waffles that I gave my last chicken wing to Lindsey so I could finish my waffle. And then I helped Bubba finish HIS waffle. Yes, I ate the waffle from his plate. They were that good. And thank goodness we’re such good friends that he didn’t stop me from pillaging his plate.
After lunch Lindsey and I made our way to the Santa Monica Third Street Promenade to just wander around and do a little browsing [and also to look for purple leggings. Can you believe American Apparel wanted $26 for a pair?! SERIOUS!]. From there we made a stop at Vanilla Bakeshop for cupcakes. Naturally.
We both picked up three cupcake babies. I ended up with vanilla bean, red velvet and a black and white. I didn’t take pictures of those cupcakes [for shame] because I was too excited over the dessert shots we impulsively bought after paying for the cupcakes. How can you look at these and say no:
I know. Buying only one each took a tremendous amount of willpower. I think Lindsey had the Chocolate Dirt Cake and I had the Banana Pudding. And it was not enough. A shot is such a tease.
With our bellies full we had plans to head back to the apartment for a quick nap before heading down to Knott’s Berry Farm but after driving around the building for a while, we decided to just make the trip down earlier than planned. Good thing we did because we sat in traffic just getting to the off ramp. And then I spent another 30 minutes completely frustrated as I tried to figure out how to find the parking lot. I couldn’t see any signs and when I drove through the park, they decided it would be a funny joke to NOT place a sign letting drivers like myself know that the left lane directed you to the parking lot and the right lane was for drop offs only and would eventually spit you back out into the street. The only sign they had was “Use Both Lanes.” Ugh. So then I followed what I thought was a sign for parking only to find out that it was for the hotel and was given directions to another lot. Except the lady didn’t tell me that the lot would require a left turn so I drove right by it! Let’s just say by the time we weren’t exactly in the best of moods at that point.
We finally make it in and I remembered why I don’t really enjoy going to the Halloween themed nights: the random scary people. You know the costumed people who wander throughout the park scaring everyone they can? I don’t like them. I just don’t like getting scared like that. I spent the entire night not making eye contact and hoping they would leave me alone. Thankfully we were pretty much left alone. I think because when we were walking around, one of us was always eating and I like to think they’re told not to scare people with food. Good thing too because if one of those costumed folks scared me while I was attempting to eat my funnel cake [which was completely disappointing and overpriced! Definitely not as good as I remembered in high school] I would have dragged them back to the funnel cake place and demand a free one.
I had two objectives for the night: 1] get funnel cake and 2] ride GhostRider. We stood in line for GhostRider for five minutes before bailing since it was insanely long but only after I got the assurance that we’d make it back there at some point during the night. I picked up the funnel cake on our way to Silver Bullet. Lindsey wasn’t in the best of moods and I was worried that the night would be a bit of a bust but thankfully it started to lift once we finally made it onto the Silver Bullet and she had a chance to eat. And then for the crowning moment: GhostRider.
This wooden roller coaster is quite possibly the BEST ride at that park and I’m not ashamed to admit that riding that thing was my sole motivation for driving all that way and dealing with the massive crowds and touchy-feely teenagers who like to stand in line and heavily pet each other while they make out, just so I could get back on that ride. And you know what?
IT WAS SO WORTH IT.
Sure I had to convince Lindsey the line was worth it but there wasn’t much I could say because there is no way you could properly explain the experience that is the GhostRider. You really need to ride it to get it. While the funnel cake was disappointing, GhostRider was the exact opposite. In fact, I had forgotten just how violent that ride is. Well, violent isn’t the right word but you move around in the seat a lot. Lindsey kept yelling at me about talking her into the ride and when we finally started to slow, I had the distinct pleasure of pointing out the second half of the ride. Yes folks, the ride is THAT long. As much as I like to ride roller coasters with my arms up in the air, I was only able to do that for about a quarter of the ride. Oooh I’m getting excited all over again!
And Lindsey’s reaction? She turned to me when we were done [for real this time] and declared: That was not okay. But I know she liked it. She just had to process the whole thing. But ultimately she enjoyed her time there, which was really the point.
But riding GhostRider again after 10 years? When can I go back?!
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