Tag Archives: Awesometown

by | December 21, 2011 · 4:52 pm

Holiday Eats

I’ll use any excuse to go out to eat. Holidays just happen to be a yearly built-in excuse. Over the past week, many restaurants have been visited, family functions have brought mass quantities of foods, and jeans have gotten a little tighter. It’s all worth it.
First up – family dinner. My extended family in Awesometown recently got a Big Green Egg, so we went down to enjoy some pulled pork that had been sitting on the smoker for hours. We supplied the homemade mac and cheese and baked beans. I ate until I hurt, then ate some more.
Yesterday I took my family to Two Guys from Italy – a restaurant in Moorpark that is owned by a German woman and sells amazing German food. Oh yeah, they make Italian food too. I ordered a cappuccino, which was delicious, even though I still don’t know what a cappuccino is. How is it different from a latte? Someone please explain.
I also ordered one of my latest obsessions (which I actually first tried at Two Guys from Italy) – jägerschnitzel. I’ve discovered it’s quite difficult to take a good picture of pork that’s been pounded flat, dredged in panko, fried and smothered in a wine and mushroom gravy, served alongside deliciously buttery dumplings called spaetzle. Trust trust me on the fact that it tastes delicious.
Today we checked out a brand new place in Newbury Park called La Cucina di Venti <– my Yelp review. I ordered the Mushroom Ravioli – I know, you’re asking yourself, mushrooms?? But Bexter hates/used to hate mushrooms! I may have been officially converted. This sounded good on the menu and tasted drop-dead GORGEOUS in my mouth. Possibly the best ravioli I’ve ever had, mushroom or not!
For dessert my mumsie ordered the limoncello gelato flute – light, refreshing and zesty, PLUS you get to keep the glass!
I ordered the rich and luscious tiramisu. Seriously, the most heavenly Italian meal I’ve ever consumed.
At the end of a busy holiday day, I like to have a warming glass of imperial stout. I’m repping Enegren’s latest beer Daniel Irons Oatmeal Stout because it’s amazing. Narcissism explosion commence – go check out Enegren’s newly launched website to see more pics I took. Narcissism explosion over.

That skims the top of my holiday eats so far! I’ll be sure to eat a lot more over the next few days before my excuses run out.

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by | November 21, 2011 · 9:07 pm

Pre-Thanksgiving

For the past few years we’ve celebrated Thanksgiving early with our family who lives in Awesometown (aka Valencia aka false advertising). Awesometown is not, in fact, awesome, but it’s always wonderful to spend time with the relatives.
My uncle got a Big Green Egg for his birthday and we all get to reap the results. This turkey was smoked with apples, onions, white wine and thyme and was out of this world!

Unfortunately, pictures of my full plate were forgotten while I was consuming said full plate. I gorged. I loved. It was amazing. Allie and I, being the geniuses that we are, decided that doing some TRX after dinner and champagne was a good idea.
Hint: It wasn’t.
Allie taught me some “simple” moves. I woke up in the middle of the night with massive muscle spasms thanks to those “simple” moves.
In case you were unaware: It’s a lot harder to do pushups when your feet are hanging in the slings of a TRX and you’re laughing like crazy.

All of the other pictures will have to wait until Allie sends them over from her camera. These few sum up the night pretty well though, I must say. Today I hung out with my pops who I haven’t seen in three weeks thanks to our crazy travel schedules. We bonded over the important things in life.
The first and last time I went to Anacapa Brewing was years ago, before I really understood or liked beer. I thought that there was something wrong with Anacapa’s beers because they were all bitter. Bitter = bad??? Who was I???
Turns out their beers are only 25-35 IBU. Definitely not too bitter. HOWEVER, they’re still not very good… My favorite of the sampler platter was the Off Kilter Scotch but it wasn’t distinct enough to make a lasting impression. The pumpkin was nicely spiced on the flavor, but since it’s only a seasonal it won’t be a go-to.

In other news, I’ll be going down to San Diego tomorrey to pick up a keg washer and visit a few breweries, so I felt it necessary to bake some  foods that would sustain the brewer and myself on the long trip that may take up to three whole hours.
Chocolate/Peanut Butter Chip cookies (courtesy of Nestle Tollhouse – I’m lazy tonight). I had to test one to make sure it was edible and decided to pair it with a glass of my Vanilla Porter. PAIRING cookies with beer, unlike exercising after pre-Thanksgiving, was a brilliant idea.

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