In DC

Wow - almost a month since my last posting!

I'm currently in Washington D.C. for GMAC's PDP (Professional Development Program). PDP is a conference for business school admissions professionals. The program begins later this afternoon, so I've got a bit of free time until then.

This morning I went to Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market. I had a nice mushroom empanada and white nectarine muffin for breakfast.

That's it for now - I'm off to Eastern Market!

Off to LA

We're headed to LA for the long weekend. We'll spend one night in Palm Springs, one night in Westwood, and the final night at my parent's house.

Here's our tentative "hit-list":
Father's Office
Happy Harbor
Simbala
Din Tai Fung
Josie Restaurant
xooro
Fosselman's

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July!

Top 10 pizza joints in Phoenix

Top 10 pizza joints in Phoenix (from AZCentral.com/Howard Seftel)

I've tried 8 out of the 10!

• Pizzeria Bianco
• Humble Pie
• Patsy Grimaldi's
• Cibo
• La Piazza al Forno
• Grazie
• La Grande Orange
• Pizza a Metro
• Vito's Pizza
  
• Classic Italian Pizza

Fantastic food last Friday

For lunch, I went to A Touch of European Cafe with a few of my co-workers. None of us had been there before. It's a small restaurant in downtown Glendale. I had a tomato, basil, mozzarella, and turkey sandwich on ciabatta bread (served w/ a bag of chips). The sandwich was excellent. We also split a slice of chocolate cake for dessert. Great find B!

Here are a few pictures:

For dinner that night, we went to Tuck Shop with a friend. We've been there twice previously, but I've never written about it before. With this visit, Tuck has solidified itself as one of our favorite places in the Valley.


On this visit, we ordered the following to share:

• Wild mushrooms on short pastry, goat cheese, sherry, thyme ($7)
• Medjool dates stuffed with Schreiners chorizo, melted gruyere ($9)
• Halibut filet, herb garden pesto, lentils, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes ($19)
  

Everything was excellent, as it has been on our previous visits. I think "big, bold flavors" is a good overall description of the food at Tuck Shop. The star of this meal was the halibut entree. The fish was perfectly cooked and the tomato was bursting with juice. It was a fantastic summer dish.


We were too stuffed for dessert, but they do give you complimentary cookie dough balls...

I'm a bit concerned that they weren't busier for a Friday evening. On our previous visits (back in late January and early February), the place was packed and we had to wait for a table.

Here are some pics of things we've had on our previous visits:

Panini bites: grilled pear, taleggio, arugula, honey w/ prosciutto ($7+$2)

Roasted baby beets, spicy mustard cream ($6)

Citrus-brined fried chicken, white cheddar waffles, braised greens ($17)

Pine AZ spiced skirt steak, parmesan lentil mashed yukons, mushrooms ($18)

Blueberry Buckle ($7)

Bananas foster ($7)

If you haven't tried Tuck, I strongly recommend that you give it a try!

After dinner, I suggested going to Lola Coffee - a recently opened coffeehouse. We had a "Matador" (mocha w/ cinnamon) and coconut cupcake (made by Sweet Pea Bakery). Both were excellent. Here are a few pics:

It was a very nice day...we tried two new places which ended up being great, and returned to one of our favorites.

Places mentioned:
A Touch of European Cafe
7146 N 57th Dr #C
Glendale, AZ 85301

Tuck Shop
2245 N 12th St
Phoenix, AZ 85006

Lola Coffee
4700 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85012

Dinner tonight

Sauteed spinach w/ garlic

Pan fried tilapia (seasoned w/ cajun spice mix)

Massive U10-15 shrimp (cooked w/ butter and garlic)

Movies all weekend

We watched four movies over the weekend:

The Man on the Train (L'homme du train) - This one was "ok" for me...

Flags of our Fathers - Good movie, though I thought the companion movie "Letters from Iwo Jima" was a much better film.

Up (in 3D) - Loved this movie!

The Hangover - Hilarious...funniest movie I've seen since "I Love You, Man". Thought it was a tiny bit too long though.

Stop Motion Video made from Post-It Notes

Stop Motion Video made from Post-It Notes...


Making of video:


Amazing! Thanks for sharing Pangu...