Category Archives: Travel

Love & Marriage – the Wedding of Dear Friends

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I spent the weekend in New York City to attend a wedding and those travels will be recounted in two parts – the fab cheap eats are next week!

When you go to a wedding what is it that you look forward to the most? The bride’s dress? The cake? The appetizers? The Cocktail Hour? The kiss? All of those are fantastic, but for me the best part is usually the appetizers and cocktail hour. This weekend I went to a wedding reception (the ceremony was a private affair – a la “Sex in the City”) and it was one huge cocktail party! I loved everything I ate from the truffled mushroom puffs to the broiled shrimp and everything in between. I wasn’t surprised that the food was so terrific since the married couple is incredibly stylish and both love good food.

I was delighted when they let me cook

Bobby and I met in High School and I met his partner Chris in 2010 when I went back east for a High School reunion. Bobby and I lost touch and got back together with one another a few years ago. I adore him and was thrilled to be invited to the “Schoolhouse” – literally a renovated and expanded one room school house in upstate New York. After the 3 hour ride in the car from midtown Manhattan to the “Schoolhouse”, I knew why Bobby had fallen for Chris. He’s smart, funny, sexy, and has a great sense of who he is and his sense of humor is spot on (and all of those things are true for Bobby too!)! I was delighted when they let me cook (and make cocktails) for them and we had so much fun in the kitchen! Bobby loves to cook and keeps everything light, fresh and simple. Chris was thrilled with the simple grilled dinner we tossed together and we all lounged and enjoyed each other’s company at their “Schoolhouse” (Moment of Truth – the coolest thing for me was signing the guest book immediately after Jane Krakowski from 30 Rock and Ally McBeal)!

Each wedding is different. Think of all the ones you’ve attended.

Dining with friends is one of the best things about weddings – whether it is a sit down dinner, or a buffet, or a fab cocktail reception – the camaraderie of those you know and the community building with those you don’t yet know is magical. Think about all the different kinds of weddings you have attended. Each is different and all are wonderful in their own way. Something about celebrating together makes the food taste better I think. Friday evening we met with other out of town wedding guests and had a fun celebration in the theatre district. Lots of moving around the table, laughing and sampling each other’s food went on. And to see everyone smiling and enjoying each other was truly a blessing and I was so happy to be there and meet some of the people I had heard about.

Cajun Seafood Pot Pie with cornbread topping was a risky choice that paid off – very tasty!

John and I at Angus McIndoe’s

The High Schoolers – just call us The Bridesmaids – NOT!

The High Schoolers with the Grooms!

On March 9th my dear friend was able to marry his beloved thanks to changes in the laws in the state of New York. Bobby and Chris have been together for 10 years. To put that in perspective for you:
• John and I knew each other less than one year when we wed, and we never lived together before marrying – we have been married for almost 25 years
• Over 50% of premarital cohabitating couples split up within 5 years
They have weathered the tough times together and FINALLY they can legally be married. I couldn’t possibly be happier for them.

Congrats Bobby and Chris – much love to you!

My Food Memories this week are all wedding related and NYC related – cocktails with Jane Krakowski, wedding cupcakes, lunch with Sarah and Geoffrey (and the BEST BLT ever), snacks with Tim, and wonderful cocktail hour food at the reception. I promise more Food memories of NYC next week.

Sarah and Geoffrey with us at Alice’s Tea Cup.

With old friend Tim (Click his name to see him in his new commercial)  at House of Brews

Yes. That’s really Jane Krakowski at pal Bobby’s wedding!

Two old MARRIED couples!

Until next time – go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

My Mom & San Diego

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

This past week I went to San Diego to spend some time with my Mom who was visiting from Florida, and my Aunt (really an older cousin) who is re-habbing from surgery. Of course I ate out and some was good and some not so good.

If Mom and I are together, we get a little nostalgic about NY food. We talk about good deli, good Chinese and good pizza. And let’s not forget the desserts! Since Mom and I no longer have access to the staples we were brought up on, we frequently search and find suitable replacements. Sometimes the searches are longer and more arduous than others. It’s almost become a game for us; kind of a badge of honor if we can find what we are really craving. Well Cousin John did right by us on this trip! We went to dinner with John and Kayla and had the best deli experience I have had in YEARS at D.Z. Akins. Like any self respecting deli on the east coast, there was a crock of good pickles on the table to start off with. The sandwich I ordered was so big, I could only finish half of it and the chopped chicken liver took me right back to NY! There will be a do-over in my future. The only disappointment here was that the bakery counter looked better than it tasted. I was so excited about the “black & whites” and they weren’t fresh and neither were the Linzer tarts (Moment of Truth – Linzer Tarts are my second favorite cookie in all creation and I never make them because they are a pain in the ass.)
This is Pastrami, Swiss and Roast Beef on Sourdough. There are FRIES on the other side of the plate, but the sandwich was so large that it was a barrier to seeing anything else.

Whenever I go to San Diego, there is one place that I HAVE to visit. I MUST go to Point Loma Seafood whenever I am in town and I took Mom with me this time. They have the BEST fried calamari sandwich ever! It is actually a huge calamari steak, cut into strips and flash fried so it isn’t greasy or tough, served on untoasted, thick sliced sourdough bread. It’s really delish! The first time I went there was in April 1987 with my dear, departed Uncle Bruce. He wasn’t s’posed to be eating anything fried, so he said, “You will not discuss this lunch with anyone.” And we proceeded to have fries, fried calamari sandwiches and ice cold beer. I never told anyone about that “secret” lunch until he passed away 3 years ago, but each time I went to San Diego, I went to Point Loma and thought of him. No, there is no photo of the food, I ate it too fast! Usually I take an ice chest, make Point Loma my final stop in town, and bring home fresh fish. This time I forgot the cooler, so it was sandwiches only. Sometimes the Food Memories are so good that it makes you think the food was actually better than it was. That is not the case with Point Loma. Over the past 25 years I have gone there and eaten numerous times and I am never disappointed. It’s always wonderful, fresh and fun. It’s pandemonium when you go to order, it’s a free for all at the counter and you better know what you want before you get up there!

Time with my family is a rare thing. None of them live here in Vegas – including my only child – so when we get together we do the things we like to do best. Sister Nancy and I eat and drink our way around town. Mom and I find the foods we are craving. Sister in Law Gretchen and I cook together, and when Dad comes, I show off my Big Green Egg BBQ. Because I don’t get to see the extended family as much as I would like, I encourage you to spend as much time with your loved ones as humanly possible. Eat together, create Food Memories and laugh!
The gang at Point Loma in October 2006. A few years before Uncle Bruce passed.

This week’s Food Memories include a sushi dinner for Goddess Lill’s birthday, the “deli experience” with family in San Diego, Point Loma Seafood and briefing Rick Moonen and RM Seafood on Restaurant Week which starts today! If you live in Vegas, or are visiting this week, be sure to check out this website and choose to dine from THESE special menus. Part of your purchase price will be donated to Three Square Food Bank to feed the hungry.

Las Vegas Restaurant Week

Until Next Week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

Diner

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

On the east coast, in just about every small and large town you can find a great diner. In many cases, you do this simply by looking for the shiny aluminum building that looks like an old rail car. In fact, when I was a kid I thought they WERE old rail cars that had been re-purposed into diners. Here in the wild, wild west it is a little harder to determine what’s a diner and what isn’t without going inside and looking a the menu.

The appearance of diners has changed as we all have, and as I have moved around the world, my view of what makes an appropriate diner has changed. I remember as a kid walking into diners and salivating at the rotating case full of desserts. When I was younger they always seemed HUGE and tasted just as good as they looked. As an adult they still seem HUGE and frequently taste as good as they look, especially the pie. When we lived in Maine and I was pregnant, I would drive an hour in each direction to a small town, Houlton and the Elm Tree Diner – they had a chalk board with more than 20 different pies every day, no case ever built has been large enough to hold their daily offerings. I went specifically for the raspberry, most often times taking a whole one home after eating a slice with my lunch. It is seriously the best pie I have ever eaten, hands down!

Also in Maine, in Presque Isle, there is a small family owned joint that we enjoyed nearly weekly when we lived there, the Riverside Inn. Of course there weren’t too many eateries when we lived there (1991 – 94) and this place was family owned, clean and made the BEST bread. The first time we went there, the waitress asked if we wanted “home made toast”. I thought to myself, “All toast is home made,” and ordered whole wheat. BIG mistake – the “home made toast” is their house made white bread, thick sliced. griddled, and slathered in butter!

When traveling, I love to hit a good diner for breakfast before starting the day’s drive or before the day’s events. In Escondido, CA, there is the Centre City Cafe – I think it is an old Denny’s building. They have the best of everything, including chipper waitresses and great breakfast. While there this past weekend, I was nearly GIDDY with my eggs as they were perfectly cooked – whites solid, yolks runny!!

On Long Island, there is a GREAT diner on Merrick Rd in Seaford – the Seaford Palace Diner – with a line out the door most days. Of course Mom took me there. They specialize in fish of all things and their daily special is FANTASTIC!!! It’s a complete meal from soup to nuts for about $15, and it is enough to feed 2 people, no joke! They don’t take reservations and you have to sign in to get a table. Plan on waiting! The problem with diners on Long Island is there are SO many, it’s hard to decide where to start first. It seems like all my favorite diners in NY, both upstate and on “the Island” are all shiny metal boxcars.

Here in Vegas the closest thing I have found to a diner is Blueberry Hill. They are open 24 hours a day and have all the basics you expect and some even have a lounge with cocktails (go figure – it’s Vegas!). Alas, none of them is the shiny aluminum “rail car” of my youth. While the breakfast at The Original Pancake House is great, they aren’t open 24 hours, so they don’t qualify as a “diner” in my book. (Moment of truth – I love the corned beef hash at The Original Pancake House on Charleston).

A true diner has reasonable prices, a VAST menu and decent food and is open 24 hours a day. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just properly prepared, good, working class basics. To my mind a great diner has to have a few things on the menu and they all have to be made really well:
• Breakfast – 24 hours a day – with eggs cooked correctly
• Soup of the day, made from scratch – I prefer Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Chicken
• The perfect Club Sandwich and/or a great BLT
• A “Blue Plate” Special – usually comes with drink and dessert too.
Click here for a little info on the origins of The Blue Plate Special – thanks Fred Harvey!

As I continue to write and publish this blog, I am trying to find my own voice and style. I love the movie references, how about you? Apparently several people didn’t realize to read the entire article with the previous format that you had to click on the title or pic. So…back to the drawing board on format. How do you like this one? Your thoughts?

This week’s Food Memories include a fun dinner at Stone Brewing with the San Diego family, fried chicken fingers at Three Square Bingo while dressed as Zorro, and quiet meals with my main squeeze at home.

Diner – Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke, and Kevin Bacon

Enjoy this week’s pics.

Me and Lynn Moonen dressed up for Bingo – yes that is me as Zorro!

The San Diego Contingent met us in Escondido for some fine fare at Stone Brewing

San Francisco

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

San Francisco – Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy – 1936

I went to “the city by the bay” for the first time on a paid, earned trip a few years ago and I fell in LOVE! I could spend all day in China Town alone, eating my way up and down the streets between moon cake bakeries and dim sum houses. The tea vendors make me swoon with the lovely smells, artistic pots and blooming teas.

If you have never been to San Francisco, let me just fill you in on the fact that it is an amazing dining city and you can get great food for very reasonable prices. Of course there are the tourist traps that you HAVE to go to (like Boudin Bakery and Fisherman’s Wharf), but there are also some really great places that tourists rarely venture into.

Thursday evening I was treated to first class service and spectacular food at Chef Hubert Keller’s Fleur de Lys in Nob Hill. Hubby John was speaking for a med event and I ate, solo, in the bar area. Not lonely at all. Because I didn’t have to pretend to be charming, and I didn’t have to make conversation with anyone, the food was nearly a spiritual experience for me. I never thought that dining alone (with my husband in the next room) would be such an epiphany for me. I was able to focus SOLEY on the food and truly smell, feel and taste it without the distraction of another soul. I did have prosecco with dinner and I shouldn’t have. My head screams whenever I drink any kind of wine. I know better, but it was so delicious! Here is the amuse bouche of desserts they brought me after the OTHER food I had consumed

This trip we skipped my favorite dim sum “palace” – the erroneously named City View has no view at all. What it does have is amazing dim sum and I had to search to find it and we were the only Caucasians in the joint. (Moment of truth: I secretly LOVE when I go into any ethnic restaurant and I am the only, or one of a few, Caucasians in the building. To me that means I found something close to authentic.).

Everything we ate was great, and I FINALLY got to visit a place I heard about on NPR’s The Splendid table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper. It was mentioned on the Road Food segment of the show and it’s called Sam’s Grill. It’s apparently an institution. I suppose that’s why they can get away with their prices for just average food. Or maybe it was what I ordered. I had built this place up so much in my head (and of course ate there AFTER Chef Hubert’s place) that I think maybe anything would have not lived up to the hype. Another go around? Probably.

Also good to try – Nihon sushi and whiskey bar. I never thought whiskey would be a good pairing with sushi, but once again I was wrong. I have seldom seen in one place so much variety in a whiskey collection and the sushi was pretty damn good too.

The icing on this trip was dining with Sisters in Law Bonnie & Gretchen, Nephew Colin, Friend Debbie and Cousin Christine at Bonnie & Gretchen’s. DYNAMITE! FOUR dozen Hog Island oysters, fresh from the farm, plump juicy shrimp with assorted dipping sauces, rare, sliced rib-eye and a gorgeously colored tossed salad. I hadn’t shucked oysters since culinary classes, but once I got in the groove it was a breeze! And let’s not forget the wine. I rarely drink wine because I get screaming headaches from it (see prosecco mention above). I think I found a cure: beer and cider with lunch, Cakebread Rose and Pinot Noir with dinner, eat Zyrtec like candy and finish off the night with Bulleit Rye Whiskey. No hangover or wine headache!

My Food Memories from this week are amply described above and this week’s pics are from the San Francisco weekend.

Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

State Fair

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

As some of you know, I grew up in a rural area in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York. I have few good memories of my childhood. Because I knew I wanted to be living in a concrete jungle, I was miserable there, surrounded by trees, poison ivy, farms, etc., but there are a few things I remember fondly like Autumn (as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in my tribute to Sully) and the COUNTY FAIR. Yes, it’s in capital letters because it was a BIG event. We looked forward to it every year. The Fair was where I saw Chubby Checker and my first demolition derby. There was always entertainment, usually of the country music variety (miserable, remember?) and the High School Queen competition that I don’t remember my High School ever winning, now that I think about it. The 4H always had demonstrations ranging from sheep shearing and wool spinning to horsemanship competitions and of course the baked goods competitions. The most amazing thing for me, as per usual was the food!

What is it about food at fairs, carnivals and amusement parks? What makes that food so special and causes such visceral memories? Why is it every time I walk into an amusement park I want a corn-dog?

Each outdoor venue has special food and Food Memories attached to it. Let’s start with the Fair. Each year I waited in line like hundreds of others for the BEST Italian Sausage and Peppers and Fried Dough (aka Elephant Ears, Zeppoli). Always at the same location on the midway, always the same restaurant doing the cooking. I’d save babysitting money and chore money so I could buy what I wanted and I treasured using MY OWN money for treats. The smell of the grease and feel and look of the powdered sugar coating everything I touched are burned into my brain forever.

While living in San Antonio I went to tons of fiestas! The folks in San Antonio don’t need an excuse, they will make a fiesta out of ANYTHING. One of my favorites happens in April, right before the BIG Fiesta week long event of parades, concerts and galas. It is called NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio) and one of my dearest friends Nanette works for the event. We made it a Girls Night Out once a year and hit all the food booths and entertainment we can stand. They have these amazing drinks made from fruit called “aguas frescas”. Imagine something cold like lemonade, but made with OTHER fruits instead of lemons. My favorites are the watermelon and mango with juicy little bits of fruit floating in a sweet and cold fruit flavored “ade”. One of the more interesting things I ate there is “Calf Fries” and they are, you guessed it, sliced, fried bulls balls. Other than being a little chewy, they were quite tasty! In addition to the “Calf Fries” there are TONS of great food items, smoked turkey legs, brisket sandwiches, bratwurst and cold beer and the ever popular “meat on a stick”. You know, teriyaki, fried chicken, corndogs, etc. Delish!

Since we are on the topic of sticks…Earlier this year I went to Disneyland with some friends. It was a Grown-Ups only, no kids or husbands allowed event. After breakfast we all agreed everything we ate had to be on a stick! Corndogs, Kebabs, caramel apples and ice cream shaped like Mickey’s head all ensued, as did the hilarity and nonsense. We literally walked by food vendors that had nothing on sticks. We even kept sticks so we could pop them into pretzels to stay in theme. It was a great day!

This past weekend my son came home from college for the first time and we went to the Renaissance Faire. This event is not complete for me without three things. I need to see the jousting and I need to eat a Scottish Meat Pie (or 2) and a smoked turkey leg. There is something about being dressed like a serving wench or merchant’s wife and tearing into flesh on the bone that screams medieval times to me!

What are your favorites? What Food Memories are burned into your soul and taste buds that you try to relive and recreate? Go find them and enjoy them!

I hope you noticed that I changed the look of the blog. Please feel free to comment and let me know how you feel about it. I thought it was an easier way for you look back and see some of the other posts and pics. Thoughts?

This week’s pictures: Friend Doreen with meat on a stick, my JUGs (Just Us Girls) with El Rey and my pals at Disney with Mickey shaped ice cream!

This week’s Food Memories include a bizarre dinner with friend Lynn at Rumor, Homemade Mac & Cheese with son Jack and friend Greg, Scottish Meat Pies with my main man and take out fried chicken with Jack on the way home from a cocktail party (his choice of snack).

Until next week go out and make your OWN Food Memories!

State Fair – Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews

On the Road….

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

For some people, when they travel, they look for the familiar in a land that is unfamiliar to them. SOOOO many Americans seek out McD’s in Europe, believe it or not (I will admit they have the cleanest toilets in certain areas of Europe – been there, done that). I, on the other hand, decidedly do NOT – I strive for the new and different!

I recently returned from one of my favorite cities, Chicago; I attend a conference there every July. If you have never been there, let me tell you it is great….in the summer! The winters there are too cold for me, but the summer there is special. Downtown has lovely planted garden areas, it’s a great walking town AND there is fab food everywhere you go. I have been to Chicago every year for more than 10 years for this conference, and each year I try to find someplace new to eat. This year was no exception. While I am delving into the city, and striving for the unfamiliar, there are several attendees at the conference routinely doing the same things every year, sticking to the familiar and tried and true. Why is that?

I think I have it figured out! Let’s use Chicago as the example. For people in rural areas, they don’t have a lot of the “trendy” chains – like Cheesecake Factory – so they want to go there, because “everyone they know” says it’s great. People from certain metropolitan areas don’t have Chicago specialties – like Giordano’s pizza and Portillo’s Italian Beef – so they want to go there. Still others find comfort in routine, when everything else they are experiencing can’t be controlled or they over load on foreign concepts, they stick with what they know. And then of course there are the “unadventuresome” – yes, I just made up that word – you know, the burgers & fries, steak & potato, mac & cheese people (because they know what it tastes like).

As I am none of the above, where does that leave me? I do have fave places that I find in every city I go to, and Chicago is no exception, and I try to hit those places while I am there, but I don’t need a routine and I rarely eat in national chains (not at all if I can avoid it – that topic may be my next blog…hmmm). I am nothing if not an adventuresome eater. Because I am unwilling to eat the same things on the road that I can eat at home, and I am unwilling to settle for second rate, I often find myself dining solo. The masses don’t see the boldness of new, unknown choices as a beautiful thing – for some it is scary, some are just plain cheap, and still others would blanch to see “bone marrow” on the menu!

So this trip I found TWO new places and had wonderful things in each and good company for both meals. Sometimes I CAN encourage people to stretch that comfort zone…

This week’s Food Memories include Nutella Crepes for dessert at Crepe Bistro on Wells, a ridiculously good Shrimp Burger at Public House on State St., and a solitary, but not lonely, lunch at The Purple Pig.

This week’s pic is from last year – me with the Sour Cherry Pie from Ed Debevic’s in Chicago. Until next week, go out and make your own Food Memories.