salted caramel cupcakes at cupcake royale are my new crack. except it's better than crack, because it comes on a moist chocolate cake. also, crack is not something i actually partake in, so i should probably find something else to compare it to. or you could just go try one yourself. 

vietnamese sandwiches made their way into my life today, and i get the feeling that they are here to stay. i went to a little shop on the ave, and i left with a crispy baguette filled with barbequed pork, cilantro, carrot, cucumber, and a little jalapeno. yummers. colonialism never tasted so good. now i know what to do when i crave a little baguette box, and i am too far away...

Saint Cosme Cotes du Rhone is by far the most enjoyable rhone that i've had in a long time, perhaps ever. rasberry flavors, will probably go well with any meal, a little less dry than most rhones that i've had. Pike and Western wine shop, available at an enticing 14.99. run that shit. 

on a side note, i expanded my culinary horizons with...green vegetable. 

i sauteed a shallot and a couple cloves in olive oil, then threw some red pepper in. i then added swiss chard, which i simmered for ten minutes, whilst dusting some turmeric on top, and a little salt. mmmh. i'm trying to eat more of those healthy foods that keep making an appearance in ny times articles. 

things i'm excited about:

hemp milk. it's so nice.i'm dying to make a latte out of it. mmhh. so much better than soy milk. 

quinn's. aaron and i had a sweet date at quinn's. we had the gnocchi with rabbit. so fluffy. so light. and yet so rich. and the duck. the duck was really well prepared, on a bed of bacon and cabbage. friends, let's get one thing straight here. the combination of duck and bacon is nothing to scoff at. 

i also had an old-fashioned and a glass of red wine. pretty decadent. the homemade whoopee pie, wrapped in tin foil, did not disappoint. 

uhm...new years. i kind of forgot to post about it, due to the days of mayhem and hungoverness which followed. 

calder roasted a duck. he rubbed some oil and herbs(rosemary, thyme, sage) into the duck, which was then roasted. 

raz made salad and roasted veggies. 

we drank a california pinot called "angeline", which was quite nice, though the details are a little hazy at this point. a bottle of cms quickly followed. 

dessert was deemed unnecessary, so we opted for turkish coffee. mmh, turkish coffee. 

after much other alchohol being consumed, we popped open a bottle of bubbly rose. 

on a side note, some motherfucker totally swiped the beer i had bottled out of the pantry. the beer that i was waiting for to ferment. as if there wasn't enough alchohol in the fridge. f'realz. i'm just glad i didn't have any nice bottles of wine in the pantry, 'cause lord only knows. 

the countdown....

oh man. i don't even know where to start.
two days ago i more or less ate my way through fremont.
my family planned an outing to theo chocolate factory, where we took the tour. among many interesting facts, i learned that there are only 8 chocolate factories in these here united states, and man, i think we're pretty lucky to have one here in seattle, because apparently the climate...not conducive to chocolate factories!
we started off the tour seated in a windowless room, wearing blue hairnets, and getting the facts on bean growing, harvesting, fermentation, etc. i kind of want to be the person who travels around, looks at farms, and then nods approvingly to signify that they meet usda standards for organicism! i don't think organicism is a word!
the factory itself, very warm, and the smell of cacao.....just inhabited the air. the machines are mostly second-hand, sometimes old, and really cool looking. i was disappointed to not see them in action. the visit ended with a stop in the confection room,by which point i was done with sampling chocolate!
at ay rate, the take home message of the visit was cacao+cane sugar+fair trade=awesome!

lunch was at the baguette box. mmmh. they serve various sandwiches made with le panier baguettes, and i ordered a sandwich with tofu, avocado, other veggies, some kind of delicious garlicy sauce, and a little sprig of cilantro. yum!

dinner...my friend nathan smith and i went to via tribunali. pretty traditional italian pizza, thin crust, delicate mozzarella, etc. it was a pretty pleasant eating experience, but no real surprises to be had. needless to say, after a day of eating chocolate, dessert had little appeal!