Marcus Samuelsson

Photo credit: nytimes.com

Someone whose clothing style always makes me smile is chef Marcus Samuelsson. I have his new cookbook, Marcus Off-Duty, and while the recipes and stories are enticing, the photos of Samuelsson stand out. Here is someone who likes color, knows what styles suit his body shape, and has fun with clothing. And he can cook! Bravo.

Just Because

And now a detour into the world of food.

David Lebovitz' blog is one that I always read. He is an American pastry chef who is currently living in Paris--what a dream! His writing is open, smart, funny, and full of super interesting and useful information about food, cooking, baking and eating. Here is a small taste of Lebovitz' writing from one of his recent posts, in Q & A format:

Do you agree with Julia Child, who said “A party without a cake is just a meeting”?

DL: Ha! Good one, Madame Child. Although one could replace the word “cake” with “cocktails,” “ribs,” “chips and guacamole,” or “wine and cheese,” and still have a pretty good party.

Colliding Worlds

Photo Credit: RuthReichl.com

I love it when two of my passions--food and clothing--come together. So imagine my delight when Ruth Reichl's latest blog post appeared in my inbox this week. In case you did not know, Reichl is a former food critic for the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine (during its last years), and a brilliant writer. I've enjoyed her memoirs, such as Garlic and Saphires, and just last night was reading all about her first novel, Delicious!.

Anyway, in this post Reichl let readers in on how she packed for her current book tour. I like how she stuck with a color scheme and that we have the same Uniqlo puffer jacket! Now "savvy packer" can be added to her long list of skills. If you have the opportunity to hear Reichl speak on this book tour, GO! I saw her give a talk at UCSB a few years ago and she was terrific--a real, charming storyteller.

Speaking of Food

Image Credit: Full of Life Foods website

Why not speak of food, one of my very favorite topics? The trip to SLO included several memorable culinary experiences.

On the way to my friend's house, I stopped in Los Alamos to check out bell street farm, a cafe I had read about in Edible Santa Barbara magazine. What a darling place! The cowboy hat wearing owner charmed my daughter and me with his enthusiasm for good food and a pretty setting. He led us to the lovely outdoor patio area and we saw some very tasty-looking sandwiches and salads being eaten by happy customers.  I wish we had not eaten such a big lunch prior to our drive; we contented ourselves with coffee (for me) and freshly made lemonade (for my girl).

In SLO, Heather and I lunched at one of our very favorite places: the Big Sky Cafe. We split the delicious Middle Eastern platter and a delectable banh mi sandwich. Heaven! The night before I had dinner with Heather and Mark at a place in town that was new to me: Sidecar. The attitude was a bit on the Portlandia side, but the food was creative and divine. We savored every bite of the beet salad, and gobbled up the insanely good roasted brussel sprouts.

For years I have been reading and hearing about Full of Life Flatbread restaurant in Los Alamos. But I could never successfully time a meal there as they have very limited hours. However, we hit Los Alamos just around dinnertime on Sunday evening, and I convinced my daughter that this would be a meal she would remember.

We were immediately seated in the back dining room, where we could watch the cooks baking the pizza in the huge oven. We chose to share the Kalamata pizza and a crisp house salad. On top of a very thin, slightly charred crust sat a film of tomato sauce, covered in kalamata olives, mozzarella and feta cheeses, sweet peppers, herbs, and garlic. YUM! What really won Jane over was the dessert: a dense hunk of rich brownie (no nuts--yeah!) served with vanilla ice cream. It was perfect!

What an ideal weekend: good times with friends, sharing Wardrobe Wisdom, and terrific meals.

Dining Out

Once in awhile I have to veer from my clothing obsession to write about my equally if not more powerful obsession with food.

In January I took my mom out to lunch for a long overdue birthday present. We went to Santa Barbara City College's Gourmet Dining Room and it was an absolute delight from start to finish. Naturally the view of the ocean was spectacular, and the dining room was simply but elegantly furnished. The wait staff (students in SBCC's Culinary Arts) was earnest and friendly. And the food was spectacular!

I do not remember the last time I had such a beautifully cooked piece of salmon. It had a slightly crunchy, light crust and melted on my fork. A understated and lovely lemon butter sauce added to its delicious taste. The accompanying haricots verts were also fresh and tasty. And the salad which started the meal was full of flavor and looked pretty and sprightly on my plate. All the food was prepared by SBCC students.

In short, I cannot wait to return to the Gourmet Dining Room and suggest you get yourselves over there ASAP. Oh, I forgot to mention its affordability: our meal was less than $25!