Jessica "the value" C.'s Profile

Ok I'll be honest, I cannot justify taking off on a Monday just to sample Ad Hoc's famous fried chicken. Well... I can justify it... but I really shouldn't.

Luckily for me Addendum serves it on Saturday from their go-to booth. Huzzah huzzah huzzah! We called a bit ahead and showed up just in time for our order to be ready. We each got 3 pieces of chicken, potato salad, collard greens, cornbread and a drink.

We sat outside on the picnic benches and it was a cool day, so we opted for sitting in the sun. As usual, I devoured my whole meal and all pieces of the chicken were incredibly moist including the white meat. The chicken was perfectly fried, the batter was light and crispy without being too thick in areas. It was seriously tasty, although I think it was rosemary that was a little stronger for my taste, as I often like the pure chicken and batter taste with my fried chicken. Nevertheless, I am now a believer. It was truly delicious.

They've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty
They've got whozits and whatzits galore
(You want thingamabobs? They got twenty)
But who cares?
No big deal
I want more...

I want to be where the tea sandwiches are! I want to see, want to see them dancing... Er um wait, I'm getting carried away with my Little Mermaid references. Anyhoo... we came here for a friend's baby shower and sat in the window table, and everything was adorable. They definitely have a lot of gadgets and gizmos about decorating the tea room.

How is it that one can eat more sandwiches when they are cut into tiny pieces? I wolfed down my share in minutes then looked around to see the ladies I was with chatted and drank tea in such a dainty way and slowly noshed on their sandwiches. *sigh*

The 8 of us all shared 4 orders of the High Tea for 2.

I ordered the blood orange tea and then the chicken apple walnut sandwich and pear and stilton cheese. Both sandwiches were delicious and the tea was flavorful and really nice.  The best part was the scone however, which was warm and fresh and I caressed this scone with a healthy helping of devonshire cream.

Fantastic experience here in terms of eats and a feast for the eyes, my only wish is that you could sit around gabbing longer, but alas they give you a limited amount of time for your reservation and need to get going soon after the timing ends.

I love grilled cheese and tomato soup, so when Melt opened I had to try it. We went late on a late Sat night at around 9:30 for dins. We were the last people in the restaurant.

I got the Italian Job with tomato basil soup and PY got the Parisian with the tomato soup too, letting each other sample the other one's sandwich. Sad to say the soup was SOOOO sour. It was a little disappointing, and could have used a lot of sugar.

The sandwiches and cheese combo flavors  were great, but it would have been just a little better if the bread was toasted a little more before adding in the cheese to make the sandwich just a little more crisp, instead of slightly mushy in the middle.

But the fantastic part was that they were open till 10pm and as we were gabbing in a booth, last folks in the restaurant, no one rushed to kick us out, but instead the manager came by to give us a free raspberry shortcake dessert melt.

The dessert was probably the best thing we had there. I highly recommend it, and the staff was completely helpful and nice having not been there before the other night.

I went to Powell's City of Books on a mission to find a collection of poems by T.S. Eliot. Doesn't that sound romantic?

The funny thing is, I wouldn't have gone without making such a quest, because I felt that for me to go into a bookstore, without such purpose, would be so disingenuous to who I am.

But to say I rarely ever pick up a book, would be a lie. I totally pick them up, I just don't read them.

Powell's is open till 11pm every night including Easter Sunday. It's a convenient thing to do at night, that is a block away from my hotel (Ace Hotel). After grabbing a quick bite at Clyde Common, I entered Powell's ready for my quest at 9:23pm.

I was able to find exactly the collection I wanted in a 1978 almost pristine hardcover print from The Franklin Library. The bookstore is color coordinated and well labeled. I found the book at 9:28pm. Quest over. The end. *sigh*

A little dumbfounded by how easily my mission had been accomplished, I continued to look at other poetry books. "It's Not You, It's Me: The Poetry of Breakup" screamed out to me with it's simple cover and cliche statement of disinterest on the cover. I found a step tool in the next aisle to read it in.

While reading poetry written about divorces and cheaters, I paused drew a breath and looked up. I found myself in the Greek Mythology section. Quick flashbacks of me sleeping through Classics 128 lectures in college just to try to run into the guy was crushing on as we would leave the lecture hall. But also how I had adored reading about Homer, Odysseus, Medea, and Antigone. Much of what was written so long ago resonate so well with modern times.

Clutching my T.S. Eliot collection I realized I wanted to be inspired. I want to read about love, everlasting friendship and triumph over adversity. I put down the other book and wandered deeper into Powell's.

Up and down the stairs it's like a maze, I wandered into the architecture and interior design sections because I enjoy those topics. Unfortunately the web has made it so much easier to digest those topics, relegating these books to things you keep on your coffee table for show.

Then I ended up in the young adult section and discovered Nancy Drew again. I sat on the floor looking at the bottom shelf which contained the books I currently store at my parents house, I was actually missing a couple from the collection they have here. I used to get so excited over buying these books.

He once said something like, "You're writing at best is mediocre." I had retorted back, "At least I try." But still, that's the singular moment he robbed me of the joy I get from sharing an experience. I stopped writing in most part because of that comment. But after an hour and a half in Powell's, I purchased the book and rushed back to the hotel because I wanted to write again.

Thanks Powell's. You inspired me with the thoughts of many and resuscitated my will to write once more. And I love the way it smells inside, some mistake it for musk, but it's definitely reeks more of inspiration.

Even on a somewhat gloomy day Bottega Louie is popping.

I can only claim to have had the macaroons here, and frankly I only remember with great delight how good the cassis macaroon was, as cassis is by far my favorite macaroon flavor at any bakery.

Between the 3 of us that went, we probably got like 12 macaroons to share. After waiting in line a bit we rushed back to the car and devoured all of them before we even left the parking spot.

Came here a couple weeks ago to try what a friend said was "the best proscuitto ever".

And oh god yes, it was super tasty. Even thinking about it now I want to go back and get some. It was so thinly sliced that it makes you keep wanting more. I think that I could eat a pound of it in a sitting. We also got some spicy salami which was tasty as well, but the proscuitto... now that was some sexy cured meats.

Will come back, will bring friends, will eat a pound of meat in a single sitting. *dreamy sigh*

Visting LK up north is always a treat, especially when there is cider served in mason jars, mac and cheese and homemade oreo cookies served with milk.

It was a relatively warm night when we went, and the place was bustling. Luckily I brought the ladies and Nick so that we could order whatever we wanted and have Nick devour everything else we couldn't finish. If only all guys we hung out with had an appetite as large as his, then testing restaurants would be so much easier.

Nevertheless we ordered:

Trailer Mac = NOMS
Gilroy Mac + Bacon = NOMS
The Exchange Student + Bacon = Not bad
Roasted Brussel Sprouts = Tasty as well

I'm pretty sure we ordered 2 more orders of Mac & Cheese, but my memory fails me. All I remember was it was a rich rich dinner and for 5 people we had way too much food as we ended up getting 3 togo cartons.

Cute atmosphere and clean restrooms. But always very crowded and no bar to sit at while waiting. Show owner comment »

There's what you want and then there's what you'll settle for. Mono Lakes Tufa State Reserve was a settle. Not to say it wasn't amazing, remarkable and beautiful, but it just wasn't what my heart was set on.

I've been wanting to go to Bodie for the past 3 years. Something that you'd never realize from meeting me in person is that I adore ghost towns. I love the idea that people once lived in a now abandoned place and the items that they leave behind hold memories for me to uncover and make stories about in my head.

Sometimes the daily grind takes it out of you and what you need to recharge is a break. So this past weekend Bodie was that destination. We planned only 1 day before online chatting. It was spontaneous and fun, we both looked at photos online and were almost giddy with anticipation.

Then we drove to Sac and stayed one night before heading on our journey. 4 roads were closed due to rockslides but we persisted, happily chatting about whether we'd make it in time. Finally 13 miles from the park... the main road is closed.

Disappointment often feels like your heart drops to your stomach. It's a really low hollow feeling, that is kind of hard to describe with words alone. Maybe it's most akin to someone punching you in the stomach. We turned around to go home after seeing nothing.

Texted CB at a road stop, and she said we should go to Mono Lake an see the Tufas. So we turned around and drove another 30 miles. Much to our surprise it was beautiful.

Limestone dust covered foliage, salt water lake and clouds that parted just so, when we opted for photos. It was really quite lovely. And with that a little less disappointment we turned around and went home.

Tri-tip sandwich, I think I love you. I had heard legendary tales of your existence for years prior to sampling your sweet sweet meaty goodness, but those tales pale in comparison to reality.

Oh and we also ordered fries and the steak cobb salad, but for me everything was meh compared to the sandwich.

The roll was soft and buttery, perfectly soaking in the juices that spilled over from the tender pink meat. A side of bbq sauce existed to dip the sandwich into. This sandwich is heavenly, and even looking back at the photos on a full stomach, I still would want to order another sandwich.

And yes, this is far better than Adamson's in the Bay Area. I completely concur now.

I rarely partake in desserts, in most instances I would much rather have another helping of meat. But thanks to hanging out a lot with LK, my sweet tooth has been activated.

I ordered the critter (peanut butter) and the buffalo chip (white chocolate with macadamia nut) along with a glass of milk. The cookies melt in your mouth. They are so smooth, soft and buttery and I was so glad I ordered milk to go with it. Despite being completely full throughout my time in SLO, I managed to make room for these cookies and it was entirely worth it.