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12 Hours in Paris – A Pastry, Bread, Chocolate, Food and Art Layover Visit
We were to arrive late night in Paris and fly out 36 hours later. What are 2 French food-starved food lovers to do? Maximize! We spent the whole day shopping in clothing and food stores, interspersed with eating. In fact, Plan A was to visit Du Pain et des Idées, which came highly recommended. So blinded were we by the beautiful streets of Paris that we never even referred to our plan. Luckily copius eating fell into place on its own. View this post on Instagram Le Grande Epicerie Paris might be the most insanely…
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First Time Using My Portuguese Alembic Copper Still Wasn’t a Disaster After All
Weeks had passed since I had arrived home with my 3 liter shiny copper still, which I bought in a little shop in a town whose name I don’t even know between Porto and Nazare in Portugal. It was the kind of hand-hammered copper still you see for sale on the Internet, only it was 60 Euros. I had a goal to find such a still and was thrilled to pack it up and bring it home. The thing was I had no idea how I would use the still. At the time my goal was to make essential oils from the rosemary, lavender, mint and other herbs that grow…
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A Visit To Costco In Mexico and Incidents There
To be clear, Costco is not a city in Mexico. It’s really Costco. In Puerto Vallarta. It all makes sense. Of course a city with tons of retired Americans has a Costco. Talk about creature comforts! Upon discovering the Costco, we hopped in an Uber (another export), to see what was the same and different at El Costco. The underlying mission was an homage to my dad, one of Costco’s biggest fans. We had traipsed to Mexico to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, and a toast to dear old muerto Dad was in order. Costco did not disappoint. Their mango smoothies, with which we toasted, were off the hook—pretty much…
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Favorite Bay Area Cafes & Coffee Roasters
Update September 2020: If you think the coffee / cafe scene is a moving target you would be right. When I published this list a few years ago, included were so many now-closed cafes including an awesome industrial cafe at a coffee roaster Uncommon Grounds and Farley in Emeryville. Blue Bottle had not yet been acquired by Nestle. During the COVID-19 pandemic, of course cafes are only for take-out. This has dramatically reduced or eliminated laptop thefts!?! Without further ado, here are some great spots for coffee around the Bay Area: I still have not quite hit upon a job that would entail going to a new cafe every day…
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Best Things To Do On a First Bay Area Visit For Parents With Teens
Wherever you go in the Bay Area you will have ample opportunity to hike, soak in some culture, beautiful scenery, eat well and find something for everyone’s interests. I made this list for all many families with teens who stay in my Airbnb / VRBO in Rockridge. Let me know if I’ve missed something important! -Susie Berkeley & Oakland Walk from my Airbnb to the UC Berkeley campus, down College Ave. and walk through campus. Lots of food, shops, cafes, and pretty houses along the way! Oakland Museum has really fun California history exhibits. There is a small, very authentic Chinatown nearby. Pizza at Zachary’s near Rockridge BART or Barney’s…
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Kids Cooking Class – Cookie Making With Archimedean Principles
RIP Ernest Miller — one of the most intelligent, vivacious, creative food educators. The ultimate Epicuring experience – applying principles from Greek mathematician Archimedes to an experience to which Epicurus (of “epicurean” fame) would flock. On June 7, 2014 it’s for parents and kids, with very few tickets left. Such a cool idea, you can hear about here. It’s sold out but you can get tickets with a very well-priced reward on the Chocolate Chip Cookie School Kickstarter campaign, a project I recently launched to help kids develop critical thinking through cookies!
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Planning a Food Centric Trip to Morocco
The excitement our first trip to Morocco is building. As we research and get recommendations, I’ll update this post with cooking school and dining finds we’ll be checking out. Oh so many cooking schools in Marrakesh! In addition to the official schools it seems many riads (historic buildings-turned-inn) are game to teach anyone motivated to learn Moroccan culinary arts. Lonely Planet names Faim d’Epices as the best (and their combo cooking school and spa afternoon is…well, can life get better?) Other half-day pastry classes as some other mentioned schools have me drooling. Rough Guides ditto the Faim d’Epices recommendation and also recommend La Maison Arabe (as do many Trip Advisor…
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A $25 Leisurely Afternoon in Oakland
Somehow the holidays passed by with no R&R in sight. So I decided to indulge with an afternoon off near Lake Merritt on a Friday afternoon. The streets bustled, I guess with likeminded folks enjoying this mid-week New Years. Here’s how I spent a 6-hour leisurely afternoon in the corridor that bustles between Mandana at Lakeshore horse shoeing over to Mandana at Grand Avenue. First take my “pro parking tip” and see if you can get an all-day parking spot by Walgreens and Trader Joe’s just where 580 dumps off at the Lakeshore exit. I kind of feel bad letting the secret out as it’s probably good employee parking, but…
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Fall 2013 – California Food Event Picks for Curious Epicurists
FALL 2013 FOOD EVENT PICKS Check back here for updates & Facebook last minute picks Every Saturday: CUESA Kitchen Demos feature local chefs and authors sharing tips and recipes. Looking for stuff coming up sooner? See our early Fall finds. Oct. 21, SF, Sugar Skull Making Class at 18 Reasons Within the traditions of the Dia De Los Muertos, sugar skulls play a meaningful role, representing deceased loved ones who living celebrants want to honor. Learn how to make your own sugar skulls at this hands-on workshop with Michele Simons from the Sugar Skull Gallery. See some of Michele’s work on this short documentary “The Making of Sugar Skulls” from…
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Plan a Tour to San Francisco’s 2 Saturday Farmers Markets
Saturday morning in San Francisco is a farmers market lover’s paradise. And while paradise is best visited by car, it’s well worth the trip: STOP #1: The Ferry Building’s CUESA market teems with all sorts of great coffee and breakfast food vendors, not to mention produce, cheeses and breads in both front and back. OK also not to mention classes and activities. Getting there: For the Ferry Building, drive and park on Howard near Embarcadero. You can get validated at the market. STOP #2: Around the bend, if you’re on the freeway anyway, lies the historic Alemany Farmers Market, which San Francisco started in the 1940s to connect the city…
