Scenes From the Weekend + A Surprise 5K

Holy cannoli, I can’t believe it’s already Monday. I hope you had a great weekend! We had a nice weekend of lots of last minute plans. Friday I spent the day at Truve; we officially had our soft opening last Wednesday so I wanted to hang out there. Plus, I got to train one of my clients there too; that was fun! It’s really cool, different space since it’s not a typical gym and I think it’s going to be lots of fun to train there.. otherwise known as more ways for my clients to hate me. Ha!

See the tire and ropes? 😉

View from above!

After Truve, I met Nathan for drinks and a pretty light dinner. We had to save room for dessert..

Mine: Pumpkin Caramel Swirl; His: Orange Brandied Currant
Both equally amazing!

You may have seen on Instagram that I decided to randomly go for a run last Wednesday. Well, it wasn’t too random.. it happened to be a test run. Around 11:30 Friday night, I decided I was up for a 5K on Saturday. Since one of the trainers from Truve was part of the race organizing team, I wanted to be there to support it and Truve. It was certainly not my best run, but not my worst either.

Post-run with some Truve-rs!

Nathan and I decided to keep it local and hit up a food truck rally right near us for lunch.

Huge and super flavorful chicken shawarma salad.

The biggest bahn mi wrap I’ve ever done seen!

Yesterday we stayed local again and went for a nice 3 1/2 – 4 mile walk. There was, of course, a beer pit-stop.

Only the classiest.

Such a beautiful day!

And while I went to a meeting, Nathan took over the kitchen and made an awesome dinner of crispy Thai pork lettuce wraps with cucumber salad, pickled carrots & daikon, crispy shallots, fresh mint & basil, cashews, and all the hot sauces you can ever want!

Presentation is always key with him.

Can you see the layers of flavor?!

It was such a nice meal to come home to and a great way to end the weekend. This weekend, we have a friend coming out for work.. it’s going to be jam-packed full of fun and I can’t wait!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Crispy Thai Pork with Cucumber Salad, pickled carrots, and daikon
Monday – Maple Glazed Salmon for me; cajun chicken with buttered herb noodles for him; roasted asparagus for all!
Tuesday – Leftovers
Wednesday – Oven Fried Korean Chicken with pickled watermelon salad
Thursday – Leftovers
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Out!

Food for Thought

Did you have any fun plans over the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #64: The First Weekend

I’m here, I promise! I haven’t forgotten about you! It has been a crazy couple of weeks, though, with the move. But we’re in California now and we’ve had a great time eating. I mean.. exploring! 😉 That said, I have to share the first weekend of tasty treats we’ve found!

Enter another photo dump post..

Ohhhhh the hills!

Friday

Burma Superstar
Aka our first dinner in California!

Tea Leaf Salad – their most well-known dish and for good reason! Tons of flavor and lots of crunch.

Pumpkin Tofu Stew

Mint Chicken – Nice and spicy and paired perfectly with the noodles.

Garlic Noodles.. nuff said.

Tucker’s Super Creamed Ice Cream

I definitely have a thing for homemade ice cream [thanks, Mom!] and there was no doubt this was the real deal.

Pumpkin and Alameda Honey ice cream in a homemade waffle cone. Good thing we decided to share “2” scoops!

Saturday

Almond milk latte.. the first of many.

Dinosaurs

Portabello Bahn Mi from the smallest restaurant ever.

Toronado

Beer at Toronado. This may be our new place.

Umami Burger

Smother ‘Em Fries – Shredded short rib and house gravy. Nathan didn’t even give me a choice!

Earth Burger – Mushroom & edamame burger, butter lettuce, cipollini onions, and truffle ricotta. I could have eaten a pound of the ricotta!

Sunday

Oakland Farmers’ Market

Blue Bottle coffee and a cheesy bread stick. Breakfast of champions!

Razan’s Organic Kitchen

Grilled Salmon Kebab packed with roasted veggies, tahini, hummus, and lentil rice.

Prost!

And that’s not even all of it! I’ve had some pretty fabulous lunches as I’ve been out in San Francisco looking for a place to live. If you’re dying to see some salads [which you really should be..] you can check them out on Instagram. You’ll also see my workouts so I can keep up with eating this way 😉

Food for Thought

Have you been to San Francisco before? Tell me the places to hit up!

What I Ate Wednesday #63: Going ALL Out!

This past weekend was one for the books. We crossed off a couple more places from the bucket list and then some! It was our second-to-last weekend in the city so we had to take advantage as much as possible and it was so much fun.

Of Love and Regret

Love this place. As I mentioned in my bucket list post, we had been here before but wanted to head back once more and I’m so glad we did. The food is always fabulous and the drinks didn’t disappoint either.

The Old Man’s “Hatten” – bourbon, cochi di torino vermouth, aperol, luxardo cherry garnish, rocks

Saison Darkly – Brewed with dark malts and burnt sugars then lightly spiced with rose hips, hibiscus, & schisandra berries

Vegetarian Bahn Mi Burrito – seared Asian Pâté (black beans, barley, scallions, & ginger), South Asian slaw, Sriracha sweet chili aioli, fresh basil & cilantro, wrapped in a grilled whole wheat tortilla + a baked sweet potato

Nathan surprised me and sprung for dessert. He usually doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth and this one was delicious.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with chocolate sauce and goat cheese caramel

Bluegrass Tavern

Another place that we’ve been to a couple times that didn’t make it on the bucket list post, but I knew we had to go back for Nathan. They make a smoked fried chicken to die for! It’s the perfect combination of smoke and crunch, plus they topped it with crispy brussels!

I was worried my Apple Cobbler cocktail would be too sweet but the bourbon balanced it nicely. I’d highly recommend anything that comes with a bourbon-soaked apple 😉

Apple Cobbler Bourbon Cocktail

Charcuterie & Cheese Plate – Homemade Garlicwurst, Rabbit Black Truffle Terrine, Sharp Cows Milk Cheese, Pickled Okra, & Chutney

Kale salad with goat cheese, shallots, fennel, grilled salmon, & lemon vinaigrette

Smoked Fried Chicken with crispy brussels sprouts over garlic mashed potatoes

Lexington Market

FINALLY! Lexington Market is a Baltimore staple. Everyone I know that doesn’t even live in Baltimore has been to Lexington Market so I had to go and it was so worth it! On top of the crab cake, I also had a couple raw oysters [best I’ve ever had!] and a fresh Berger cookie. The chocolate literally melted in my mouth. You should really order some.. they’re worth every penny [and calorie].

Faidley Seafood – Lexington Market

This place is no frills. Just the way it should be.

The famous crab cake from Faidley Seafood with pickled beets and cucumber salad.

The Food Market

This wasn’t an official bucket list place either since I was lucky enough to have a catered work brunch, but when my family wanted to get together for brunch, I figured it would be a good choice. Plus, I need to get all the blue crab I can before we go.

Crab Benedict – Homemade whole wheat english muffin, crab cakes, poached eggs, & potatoes

I guess you could say I really ate my way through the weekend. Every bite was fabulous and so much fun.. though the best part was all of the time I got to spend with my family. It was the perfect way to break up all of the packing!

Food for Thought

What food is your hometown known for?