tsp. Baking Company – Now Open

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Imagine a disco ball, a glitter floor, simple black and white decor and cases of baked goods. Yeah. Really. Take a little drive to North Las Vegas and find tsp. Baking Company. They just opened on Veteran’s Day and they will be taking the city by storm.

Lappert’s Ice Cream. Of course you can get a cone, but why would you want to do that?

At tsp. Baking Company you will find luscious flavors of cupcakes, oversized cookies and of course, cakes. Do not expect the wild and crazy cakes you can find elsewhere. These are simple, elegant and delicious; saving the cake designer’s sanity for more creative endeavors such as unique flavor combinations. You will also find Lappert’s ice cream. The ultra-high butterfat ice cream from Hawaii is only available in two locations in the valley, The California Hotel and tsp. Baking Company. Kari uses it to craft ice cream sandwiches with the house made cookies. Each one is made to order so you can actually choose two different cookies to sandwich your ice cream. Of course you can get a cone, but why would you want to do that?

Over sized cookies used to make ice cream sandWISHes or to enjoy as is. Familiar faves and some house specialties.

Over sized cookies used to make ice cream sandWISHes or to enjoy as is. Familiar faves and some house specialties.

The Valentine - A red velvet cake topped with strawberry buttercream frosting. You can see the berries!

The Valentine – A red velvet cake topped with strawberry buttercream frosting. You can see the berries!

Kari Garcia moved to Vegas with the Red Robin Restaurant chain several years ago and made Las Vegas her home. She loved to bake, had restaurant experience and wanted a family owned and operated business so she could be there for her family and young kids, so she jumped in and opened her first bakery in 2008. Now, eight years later, one child is in college and one is in junior high and she has a completely different perspective on just about everything. Having learned from her past and the mistakes and challenges she overcame, her focus now is broader in some respects and more laser like in others.

tsp. Baking Company offers Military Discount to all Active Duty and Retired Military Members

After her divorce, Kari sold her interest in her first business to her former husband and business partner. Newlywed Kari Garcia worked with her husband Richard to create a whole new brand doing what she loves. She reinvented herself, and her branding, and is ready to tackle a new neighborhood with sweet treats. Kari keeps the business in the family with her brother in law as one of her bakers and longtime friends and employees that came with her from her previous location. Joking around, Kari mentioned that tsp. Baking Company is “woman owned, military family owned and Hispanic owned, so we’re covering all the bases.” Hubby Richard Garcia is active duty Air Force and with that comes challenges that she’s eager to embrace. As a military family they are proud to offer a Military Discount to all active duty and retired military members, just show your ID!

Kari and Richard Garcia opened tsp Baking Company on Friday 11 November.

Kari and Richard Garcia opened tsp Baking Company on Friday 11 November.

Who doesn’t love a cupcake? I know I do! And Kari makes some of the best. Moist and flavorful, not too sweet and the cases are chock full of fun and inspired flavors that you won’t find in other places, like the Monkey Bite (It’s named after her husband’s actual monkey bite scar on his hand) and a “mystery” flavor each month. Here at tsp. Baking Company you will find only mini cupcakes and when asked why, Kari said, “It allows you have every flavor without the guilt. I was getting a lot of complaints that the buttercream frosting was too rich for kids. They’d eat two bites and then throw the rest away. These are the perfect two bites for kids to enjoy and for adults to have more than one flavor in one sitting.”

"The

The Beanie - chocolate cake topped with coffee buttercream frosting.

The Beanie – chocolate cake topped with coffee buttercream frosting.

Mini cupcakes allow you to enjoy more flavors without the guilt!

Mini cupcakes allow you to enjoy more flavors without the guilt!

When asked about the future of tsp. Baking Company Kari says, “I envision multiple locations with this as our flagship store. This location as a destination to come to North Las Vegas because I think North Las Vegas gets a bad rap and I think we could use something cool that North Las Vegas can be proud of.”

You don’t have to achieve your success by bashing someone else

Final words from Kari, “I think in Vegas there is room for everyone with their own specialties. Not everyone‘s tongue likes everything. If you like cream cheese frosting, you go there. If you like buttercream frosting you go here. If you don’t like cupcakes, we have cookies. There is room for everyone’s success if you are willing to work hard. And you don’t have to achieve that success by bashing someone else.”

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Find tsp. Baking Company at 6120 N Decatur Blvd #103 N Las Vegas. NV 89130. And visit their website www.tspbakingcompany.com and sign up for the VIT (Very Important Tongue) newsletter to receive news, seasonal flavor announcements along with upcoming events and promotions. Mention “Good for Spooning” when you visit the bakery and receive 10% off your entire order now through November 30th.

 

Tommy Bahama Cookbook Giveaway!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Last week I received the newest Tommy Bahama cookbook – Flavors of the Southern Coast and I am delighted to announce my first giveaway ever! Read on for details on how you can WIN the Tommy Bahama Cookbook Giveaway!

Flavors of The Southern Coast: Cooking with Tommy Bahama

The second cookbook in a series celebrating regional culture and cuisine

 

Love to cook? Hate to cook? Either way this is a great book! Keep it for yourself or use it to cross someone off your Holiday gift list. You can bet on fab flavors and interesting cocktails to keep you busy in the kitchen. 

Info from Tommy Bahama about the book:

Tommy Bahama, the iconic lifestyle brand, is pleased to announce the release of its latest cookbook, Flavors of the Southern Coast: Cooking with Tommy Bahama.  This edition follows the wildly popular debut of Flavors of Aloha: Cooking with Tommy Bahama, the first in the series of culinary adventures that explore different cultural destinations in a tribute to the unique dishes of each locale. In keeping with Tommy Bahama’s distinguished tastes, Flavors of the Southern Coast compliments the incredible foods and artisan cocktails served in its 16 Tommy Bahama Restaurant and Bar locations found throughout the world. Offering stunning pictorials and wonderful recipes that are interwoven with storied character this modern cookbook epitomizes the brand’s relaxed lifestyle. To the delight of Tommy Bahama enthusiasts that have come to admire the art of graceful entertaining, Flavors of the Southern Coast captures the essence of the Gulf Coast.

Flavors of the Southern Coast features over 100 recipes and serves up an abundance of simply delicious soups, salads, seafood, poultry, desserts, cocktails and so much more.  Many creations are Tommy Bahama Restaurants and Bars specialties and guest favorites that continue to stir the palette including its Seafood Avocado Cocktail, Crab Bisque, Baby Back Ribs with Blackberry Brandy Sauce, Quinoa Succotash, and of course, its signature Key Lime Pie. The cookbook’s mouthwatering menu proudly honors elements from both land and sea incorporating dynamic ingredients, farm fresh produce and locally sourced livestock from the versatile bounty of the Gulf Coast states. Spicy chilies, fragrant citrus fruits, succulent shrimp, and market greens, all Southern staples, make for meaningful meals infused with interesting and colorful profiles. The Tommy Bahama food and drink story would not be complete without the inclusion of original, hand-crafted, cocktails designed by superb mixologists divining inspiration from the playful, warm atmospheres synonymous with the Southern Coast. [this info and  copy courtesy of Tommy Bahama, used with their permission]

There are three steps to enter the Tommy Bahama Cookbook Giveaway:

  1. Subscribe to the email newsletter. You will get email once a week on Tuesday evening with links to all posts from the previous week. Read at your leisure and never miss a post! To subscribe, enter your email and hit the black “sign me up” button on the top right of this page. NO, I do not share your info with anyone. Already a subscriber? GREAT – you’re one step ahead!
  2. Like my Facebook page Good for Spooning. Here you will get recipe ideas, cooking humor, food facts and photos of what I am eating and drinking. Already following? Awesome – step two completed!
  3. Share THIS POST from my Facebook page! All entries will be tracked from that page.

 

  • Note – you MUST be a subscriber and follow my page to win. All current subscribers and followers will be automatically entered once they share the post from the Facebook page. See below for rules and restrictions.

    WIN this brand new Tommy Bahama Cookbook in Good for Spooning's first ever giveaway!

    WIN this brand new Tommy Bahama Cookbook in Good for Spooning’s first ever giveaway!

 

Giveaway rules:

Contest open to residents of USA and Canada.

One prize will be awarded.

This contest is open for one week. (November 1st to November 8th 2016. Closing at midnight on November 8th, 2016 PT)

You must be 18 years of age and a subscriber and follower of Good for Spooning.

This blog posting must be shared from the Facebook page for tracking purposes.

Winner will be announced on Good for Spooning’s Facebook page on November 9th, 2016 and here on www.goodforspooning.com

Winner will be contacted by Good for Spooning for delivery instructions.

Retail value of prize is $40US. There will be no substitutions.

If you live in the Las Vegas area, delivery can be made in person. If you do not, cookbook will be sent via media mail USPS (or similar delivery option for Canada).

 

Photo Blog – Walking Dead Dinner

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I rarely post a “photo blog”, but since I promised to share the pics, here it is:

Photo Blog – Walking Dead Dinner

If you have been following along you know that we hosted a themed dinner this past Sunday to welcome in Season 7 of The Walking Dead. Truth be told, the real reason we did it was for the comfort of chosen family when we knew at least one of our faves was meeting his demise. Needless to say, we ate before the grisly scenes. Here are some pics of the food, all themed to specific episodes, characters or thematic elements in the show. Do note the “Lucille” prop that the Hubs and the Offspring collaborated on for our table décor.

For me the coolest part of taking all these pics and posting some of them to my Instagram is that The Walking Dead show itself liked and commented on several of them. Color me nerdy, but that was a cheap thrill for me. Thanks to Friend Lillian for letting me know!  I had several fangirl moments and high fives over that shit I can tell you!

Merle's Buffalo BBQ Opossum Dip - clever themed name for a fave dip. Get the recipe HERE.

Merle’s Buffalo BBQ Opossum Dip – clever themed name for a fave dip. Get the recipe HERE.

Mama Dixon's Veggie Spoon Bread. Just the way Darryl likes it. Thanks Friend Lillian for sharing.

Mama Dixon’s Veggie Spoon Bread. Just the way Darryl likes it. Thanks Friend Lillian for sharing.

Shane's Frog Eye Salad - Israeli Couscous cubs for actual frogs' eyes in this pasta salad

Shane’s Frog Eye Salad – Israeli Couscous subs for actual frogs’ eyes in this pasta salad

The Bell Gang - smiling for the camera is not their forte...in fact they hate it.

The Bell Gang – smiling for the camera is not their forte…in fact they hate it.

Friends Joel and Lillian with the Offspring

Friends Joel and Lillian with the Offspring

The Hubs carving the meat

The Hubs carving the meat. Check out the Walking Dead Shirt from Universal Studios Hollywood!

Bowl of Walker Blood Punch. Bulleit Bourbon and Fireball hit hard in this creeptastic punchbowl recipe.

Bowl of Walker Blood Punch. Bulleit Bourbon and Fireball hit hard in this creeptastic punchbowl recipe.

Oh Terminus! Here is the main course of the evening - Dinner at Terminus. If you are a fan of the show, you get it.

Oh Terminus! Here is the main course of the evening – Dinner at Terminus. If you are a fan of the show, you get it.

Carol's Casserole - my twist on Tuna Casserole. Fun fact - perfect post apocalyptic meal; all ingredients are shelf stable in the original recipe.

Carol’s Casserole – my twist on Tuna Casserole. Fun fact – perfect post apocalyptic meal; all ingredients are shelf stable in the original recipe.

Carl had the celebratory can of "roof pudding" when he survived the walkers on his own. Our take on it.

Carl had the celebratory can of “roof pudding” when he survived the walkers on his own. Our take on it.

Look at the Flowers Lizzie cupcakes. Flower shaped lemon cupcakes with limoncello glaze. I used this recipe as a guideline.

Look at the Flowers Lizzie cupcakes. Flower shaped lemon cupcakes with limoncello glaze. I used this recipe as a guideline.

Apocalyptic Chocolate Chip Cookies by Friend Danielle

Apocalyptic Chocolate Chip Cookies by Friend Danielle. Recipe from Trader Joe’s

Coming next week  – WIN the new cookbook from Tommy Bahama!

The Walking Dead Themed Dinner

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Apparently it has been nearly a month since I last posted, and during that time I have been preparing for The Walking Dead Themed Dinner (beware: video trailer may be disturbing to some viewers) for the season premiere this coming Sunday. If you aren’t a fan of the show, here’s a quick synopsis: Zombie apocalypse meets violence filled soap opera. I am an addict.

Friend Karen is all about the THEME. Whenever there is any kind of get together her first question is, “What’s the theme?” For our 25th Anniversary party she wanted to know what the theme was…”It’s our 25th anniversary! That’s the theme!” She wants costumes, decorations, planned themed food and party games, activities, whatever will drive home the point of the theme. If she was a fan, she’d be invited to The Walking Dead Themed Dinner and she’d LOVE IT!

The Walking Dead Themed Dinner to kick off the season sounds like it should be easy. With it being so close to Halloween, it was easy to find creepy recipe ideas online, but few fit the theme of The Walking Dead. Classic Halloween ideas are tombstones, brains (maybe), fingers, witches’ hats, bats, spiders, etc. Coming up with ideas for this dinner was a little trickier. I wanted to stay true to the show and have the menu reflect episodes, thematic elements, critical moments or things they actually eat in the show. Friend Dani said we should have beet and acorn cookies like Carol makes for Tobin.

Keeping that in mind, here is the menu for next Sunday. If you are a fan of the show these should ring bells for you:

  • Dinner at Terminus – kinda like this pic. Ribs smoked in the Big Green Egg and sausages from Kiolbassa

    Main course for The Walking Dead - Dinner at Terminus

    Main course for The Walking Dead – Dinner at Terminus

  • Look at the Flowers Lizzie Cupcakes – flower shaped lemon cupcakes (because the flowers were yellow)
  • Negan’s Bats – Pretzel rods with caramel and chocolate “barbed wire”
  • Shane’s Frog Eye Salad – frogs’ legs were too much bother to infer the frog catching scene with Carl. Vegan Israeli Couscous salad.
  • Carol’s Casserole – Tuna…just because and no one better drop my dish on the porch!
  • Punch Bowl of Blood
  • And of course Orange Crush

Watch my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook on Sunday for the images of the food and friends who show up to watch with us. Recipes to be posted soon. Too bad Nerdist Chris Hardwick can’t join us, but he’ll be busy. I am sure he’d be really impressed!

To view the photoblog – click HERE

Upside-down Peach Coffee Cake

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

There are very few fruits I enjoy more than a “freestone” peach. They have a very short season, so we grab them every time we get the chance. Unfortunately, they usually aren’t labeled so I never know if I am getting a freestone or a cling peach. We were so lucky to find them at our local Costco, but sadly the last batch seemed to have been exposed to too much refrigeration (almost as if they had been partially frozen) and while the flavor was great, the texture was horrible and they sucked to eat raw. I hated to toss them out…so I cooked them and made them all better!

Notice how the pit comes away cleanly from the flesh? That's the beauty of a freestone peach

Notice how the pit comes away cleanly from the flesh? That’s the beauty of a freestone peach

If you know me at all, you know I am not a coffee drinker, but that never stopped me from enjoying a good coffee cake! My mind wandered to pineapple upside down cake and how my Mom used to make it in a cast iron skillet and then I thought, “Why couldn’t I do a coffee cake like that?” In my mind, a coffee cake shouldn’t be overly sweet and this one isn’t. It’s perfect for breakfast or snacking and loaded with caramel and peaches. It’s dense and moist, so you don’t need a huge piece.

When I made this recipe I used a Lodge 12” cast iron skillet. It’s great for everything! I wouldn’t recommend a stainless pan for this recipe – hello, caramel – but an oven safe non-stick pan would work if you adjust the baking time as indicated. A couple of quick notes about the recipe:

  • No need to peel the peaches – BONUS!
  • I made it without the nuts in deference to the Hubby, but I bet it would be great with chopped nuts, so I included variation instructions
  • You can sub regular (not fat free or reduced fat) cream cheese for the mascarpone if you can’t like, but it will make the batter a little tangy
  • This recipe would work well with apples too
  • Cloves and peaches really work well together, so if you like that flavor, make your “pinch” a bit heavier. Same goes for apples.

Upside-down Peach Coffee Cake

serves 12 -16

active time 20 minutes – baking time 40-45 minutes

3 C all-purpose flour

1Tbsp baking powder

¾ tsp sea salt

¾ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)

3 large peaches sliced ¼” thick – use more if you want

¾ C packed brown sugar

¾ C unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)

¾ tsp cinnamon

¾ C chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

¼ C plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp

1 1/8 C packed brown sugar

3 oz mascarpone cheese

3 eggs at room temp

1 ½ C buttermilk

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350

Combine the dry ingredients in a 1 qt bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside.

In a 12” oven safe skillet melt the butter, add the brown sugar and cook over medium flame until it starts to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Top with sliced peaches in a spiral pattern or something decorative. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Set aside.

Cream together butter, brown sugar and mascarpone until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Mix well.

Pour cake batter onto the prepared peaches, gently spreading the batter to the edges of the skillet. It’s ok if you see a little melted butter around the edges of the pan.

Bake at 350 for about 40 – 45 minutes for cast iron, a bit less for a non-stick pan. Either way, check it at 30 minutes to see how much more time you will need. Top will slightly crack and bounce back when touched lightly and the edges will be dark golden brown.

Allow to cool in pan 10 – 15 minutes, then flip out on a large serving platter. Be CAREFUL, the melted sugar will burn the shit out of you if you get it on your skin. If you wait TOO long to flip it out the caramel won’t run down the sides of the cake and will glue itself to the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes after removal from the pan before serving to set the caramel and peaches. Tastes great warm or at room temp.

 

 

 

Oyster Wednesday – $1 Oysters Starting October 5th

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Whether you like your oysters on the half shell, roasted or fried you can get them at Hearthstone Kitchen for a buck starting October 5th with their Oyster Wednesday $1 Oyster Specials.

Official Press Release:

Celebrating the start of a new Fall and Winter season, Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar is kicking off Oyster Wednesdays with $1 oysters starting on Wednesday, October 5th. Hearthstone’s fresh shucked oysters will be served fresh on ice with a delectable house made horseradish cocktail to dip. Additional oysters at Hearthstone that are part of the $1 Oyster Wednesday’s are the classic wood roasted oysters and the tempura style oysters with daikon ponzu and cherry pepper aioli.  $1 Oyster Wednesday’s are will be every Wednesday from 5pm – 10pm.

Hearthstone Kitchen is located at Red Rock Casino and there is something on the menu for everyone. Go for the Happy Hour, stay for the food!

Summer is Over – Fall Means Canning in My House

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I can’t believe it is already September! Where has 2016 gone? Shit! I sound like an old woman, railing against the passage of time! Fall means I need to start canning and here in the desert heat I end up doing it late at night.

We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day

This summer was such a whirlwind of activity and travel that I have barely had a chance to catch my breath. As a child, summer was a time to rest, rejuvenate and enjoy. We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day, so we made the most of summer. We took advantage of every sweet bite before fall and back-to-school sunk their claws into us. Trips to Lake Taghkanic (pronounced tuh-CON-ik ) were the norm, but so was weeding the garden. Going to Gram’s house on Long Island was a forgone conclusion with visits to Jones Beach. We’d go early in the morning and grab fresh bagels on the way as the icing on that particular cake. (Moment of Truth – I rarely go to the beach without wanting a salt bagel with lox cream cheese now.) If we were lucky we got to go to Lake George and to Storytown (now Six Flags Great Escape). I know my mom worked her ass off all summer so we COULD go and do those things. In fact, one glorious summer she was the concession manager at Lake Taghkanic and we went with her most days. [I honestly don’t have a lot of great memories of my childhood, but that summer was epic in my now adult mind. I learned how to do crossword puzzles, run a cotton candy machine, make popcorn in a movie theater style popper and had swim lessons with cute lifeguards whose names I still remember.]

There she was, over a cinderblock fire pit canning everything and anything as if we were preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead

And I remember Mom canning in late summer and early fall. If you know my mom at all, you know how hilarious this sounds. She HATES to cook. Loves to bake, hates to cook. Late summer and early fall were always the worst for Mom because of her allergies. Yet, there she was, over a cinderblock fire pit – no, I am not kidding – wasps flying around, canning everything and anything as if preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead (Moment of Truth #2 – I am completely addicted to that show and can’t wait for the season premiere). I know I have shared this thought before and I wish I had a picture, because my 51 year old brain still can’t make sense of it, even though I witnessed it.

I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past

So now, in my middle age, I find myself prepping for the zombie apocalypse. I am not sure if it is an imperative of generations of farm to table living, needing to prepare for the known cold winter coming through my DNA. Maybe it’s that what once was old school is now fashionable again, or just simple nostalgia. I am canning, preserving and baking. In recent weeks I have made and canned tomato sauce, meatballs, chicken stock and peeled and canned fresh tomatoes. I’ve dried herbs and gotten them into storage. And I am weeding the garden that I allowed to go fallow this summer. I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past because I rarely want to revisit that. You know, Hakuna Matata and all that. But here I am, acting like some country housewife of days gone by.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

Make no mistake, I live in a CITY (where I personally belong), not in the country any more. I am surrounded by concrete and desert landscaping, just the way I like it for most of the year. The siren song of water – lakes, beaches and rivers – holds no sway over me as it did in my childhood, although I do love a good thunderstorm. Vegas could never be called the cradle of the Farm to Table movement. It could never be called the Breadbasket of America. But just for now, in my little corner of the city, what constitutes fall in the desert feels like a modernized version of my past.

Back to School, But Not Us

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Back to school means something else entirely for me.

As I sit here at my kitchen table, looking at everyone’s “First Day” pics I am a bit sad. Everyone is going back to school, but not us. In our house that’s all finished…for now. Our son graduated from college this past May with a teaching degree and now that his licensing is complete, he is looking for a job in his field. Once he gets a permanent position, maybe I’ll post a “First Day” photo of him. Back to school solely means something else entirely for me now. It means lunch.

10 years of friends celebrating the movement of life with a simple lunch.

In 2006, Friend Dani’s youngest was going to kindergarten and Dani was freaking out…just a bit. She was worried about what she would do all day without her small shadow. So Friend Lillian and I decided that a boozy lunch would be just the thing to take her mind off her missing shadow and thus the Annual Back to School Lunch was formed. As the young shadow now enters high school (and her older sister begins college), I realize we have been at it for 10 years. 10 years of friends celebrating the movement of life with a simple lunch.

Over time we have invited others to join us, but it always seemed forced, tight and uncomfortable when we did. Conversation was stilted and polite with little uproarious laughter. Almost as if we couldn’t be our authentic selves unless it was just our merry little trio. The three of us have many years of friendship and shared experiences under our belts and when others were thrown into the mix it was weird. After a few attempts of endeavoring to be inclusive, we three decided our annual lunch should remain exclusive. And so it goes.

This year sadly, Lillian’s job prevents her from joining us, so it will be a happy little duo for lunch. And we continue the tradition of celebrating change. We meet on the first day back to school whenever possible. We keep it light and fun – no tears, no angst, no drama (those must be left at the door). We try to support a locally owned business when we go (one year the first day fell during Restaurant Week, so we made sure to eat at a participating resto to double our community impact). We talk, we laugh, we catch up.

Thankfully, I have developed some amazing friends that keep my life sane.

Over the past 10 years our lives have changed drastically. At our first lunch, I was an active duty wife with a career in sales. My son was in Jr. High. Dani was a SAHM[1] who had recently left the world of live music performance. Her two girls were in grade school. Lillian had just left a job that made her miserable. Her daughter was in grade school. Now Dani is a religious education coordinator and performs live music again in venues around the city with one starting high school and one starting college. Lillian has a challenging new job she loves that allows her to be “part of the solution” with her daughter entering her senior year of high school. I am building a new business in event management (no, I don’t do weddings) and I’m trying to write a cookbook with a college graduate son. Lives change. Change is good…most of the time. Thankfully, I have developed some amazing friends that keep my life sane and this back to school ritual of our traditional[2] “moms only” lunch is a part of my life that hopefully doesn’t change.

The best part of back to school has always been the breather. No summer shenanigans left. Fall is not quite here. So there is a breath. A heartbeat of a moment where I could stop and just be. That was how it was for years. Now I am feeling a little left out; slightly bereft at no longer being part of the crowd. I have no part in the conversation of schools, curricula, after school activities, school lunch, etc. While I am a woman of a certain age, many of my friends still have kids in school. The conversation continues for them, but I am outside of it. I am more than usually grateful to be having lunch with my pals today (even if one is in absentia), if for no other reason than to feel connected to the tribe of parents again.

 

[1] SAHM – Stay at Home Mom

[2] Traditional  – in the way of 50’s “Ladies Who Lunch”. Cocktails are consumed.

Traveling with Friends and Conch   

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

If you are lucky, you have a few good friends that you can do anything with, including going on vacation. My friend Laurie earned a trip with the Pampered Chef to Atlantis in the Bahamas and invited her girlfriends, me, Lynn and Janet, to go along with her. We had a great time and I ate my weight in conch while I was there. Traveling with friends is very different than traveling with family. Your family knows what you like to do on vacation, but perhaps your friends don’t.

My idea of a vacation is getting out and seeing EVERYTHING; trying the local cuisine, beer and cocktails and talking with the locals. I don’t sleep in and I stay up late, just like at home. I like to walk around and eat stuff I can’t get at home. That’s what I do when I vacation with John. Laurie likes to sit on the beach or at the pool. Lynn and Janet both go with the flow. I rarely sit on the beach or, heaven forbid, a public pool. This vacation was a combination of all of that. Atlantis has a huge water park and is close to Nassau so we toured, walked, swam, parasailed, rode the rapids and ate…and ate…and ate.

Fried Conch, Conch Fritters, Conch SandWISHes

Here in Vegas I can get nearly anything, but Bahamian cuisine and lovely fried conch is something that is not readily available. I can get scungilli salad, but fried conch, conch fritters, conch sandWISHes? Good luck! I ate all of that and more while I was away. If you have never had conch, it’s sweet in the way crab is, but toothsome the way calamari is. I prefer it fried, but I’ll eat it in scungilli salad too. One thing I re-learned about Nassau is that I don’t like their beer. At ALL. And we tried “Sky Juice” a bizarre concoction of gin, milk and sweetened condensed milk, that on the surface sounds gross, but somehow it works.

One of the oddest things we did was hire a cab to drive us all around Nassau and point out the interesting things about the city. We had a good driver, Alfred, who showed us the sights. Government buildings, Fort Charlotte, “The Fish Fry” and local flora were all included for the ride. I would highly recommend doing this in any foreign city to get the lay of the land and figure out what you want to visit.

One of the Highlights Was Eating at Oh Andros

For me, the highlights of the trip were parasailing (something I was able to check off my Bucket List) and eating at Oh Andros. Oh Andros is located in “The Fish Fry”, an outdoor mall of sorts, featuring restaurants, bars and shops that serve mostly locals, but tourists are welcome. If you plan to go, just know it’s all cash only, so be prepared. Oh Andros serves authentic Bahamian food and when we arrived the joint was packed with locals. The pics below do not do justice to the food for several reasons, mainly, I had my little camera and you can’t see how big the plates were for scale. Each entrée came with rice with pigeon peas and two other sides. The plate was a standard 10” round. Pile it up 5” high and you get the picture. Everything was properly seasoned and there was WAY too much. If you are in a hotel and not an apartment with ability to reheat leftovers, I recommend sharing a plate with a friend. We had NO IDEA we’d be getting that much food.

Fried Conch and pan fried pork chop.

Fried Conch and pan fried pork chops.

Spicy grilled grouper - there were FIVE filets on this one plate!

Spicy grilled grouper – there were FIVE filets on this one plate!

Slipper tail lobster, cracked and fried

Slipper tail lobster, cracked and fried. No joke, it was an entire lobster!

Fried conch and pan fried whole snapper

Fried conch and pan fried whole snapper. One of the pieces of conch was literally the size of my hand.

Is Inclusive Tipping Really the Way to Go?

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Living in Vegas I know I have become spoiled in so many ways. Access to dozens of live performances a month. Fantastic restaurants with varied cuisine. And some of the best service the industry has to offer. With a lot of restaurants across the country talking about including the tip in the check, I have to ask, “Is inclusive tipping really the way to go?”

Some restaurants in other cities in the USA are already doing this with success. While it may be a welcome change for the guests and clients, how successful is it for the staff? When I was a server I counted on tips to make my bills. Are they making the same amount? Is their healthcare now included? I know one chef driven small chain IS including benefits for everyone in house – both front and back of the house – and everyone had a salary boost, but I don’t think that is true across the board.

Last week I took a trip to Atlantis resort in the Bahamas and it was wonderful! It was a “girls only” trip and we had a great time. Friend Laurie earned the trip with The Pampered Chef and she asked her pals to go along for the ride. What a ride it was! When you are at Atlantis you are on a separate island from Nassau and need to take a taxi or water taxi to the city. All four of being intrepid travelers, we took water taxis and regular taxis to get over to Nassau and off the Atlantis property for some additional fun. The prices on Paradise Island (Atlantis) are higher than Vegas or Disney (now that’s saying something!) and for convenience we ate some meals at Atlantis and some in Nassau.

Tipping is not a city in China

We quickly learned that Tipping is not a city in China, but an included item on your check. When I lived in Europe and traveled outside of the USA it was known that the tip was included in our bill, but it wasn’t a line item on the bill. In the Bahamas 15% is automatically added to your bill as a line item and you can decide whether to tip more. There is a space on your credit card check to allow “additional gratuity”. And our service was spotty at best. At Todd English‘s Olives at the resort (we ate there because we were exhausted and it was close) the only thing that came fast was the check. Having eaten at Todd English restos before, I can promise you he would have been mortified at the service we received. At Murray’s we waited 25 minutes for a table for breakfast and then an additional 20 minutes for water and coffee and another 30 minutes for eggs that were all over cooked and the shittiest corned beef hash I have ever had…EVER. The only edible things were the home fries and the toast. All told it was 2-1/2 hours for BREAKFAST! And the place wasn’t even that busy. And we ended up tipping for crappy service because it was included. On the other hand, in Nassau we ate at Oh Andros and the service was super friendly and a bit slow because the place was PACKED with at least 20 “to –go” orders leaving while we sat there and nibbled on conch fritters. The food was amazing and our server, Shakira, kept checking on us, refilling our drinks and informing us of the status of our food, basically treating us like we were there every weekend (there will be a separate blog about eating on this trip). And yet, at another joint in Nassau the waiter tried to tell us that the tip wasn’t included when it said so right on the menu board. And at a third place, the waiter actually stood there and looked at all of our signed checks to see if we were tipping extra. Like I said, a mixed bag.

“Is inclusive tipping really the way to go?”

If the tip is included on the check, what incentive do servers have, other than pride in their jobs, to provide excellent service? They know they are getting paid no matter what. They know they will probably never see tourists again; it’s not likely that we’ll become regulars. I found in other parts of the world, being a server is a career, not a job, and in those locations the service was always exceptional whether the tip was included or not. Yes, Atlantis and Nassau are tourist destinations with visitors from all over the globe. Well, isn’t Vegas? Isn’t New York? Isn’t Disney? As a server in the USA, it is customary to include a 15% or 20% tip on any party of more than 6 or 8 people, and that is expected nearly universally. Sometimes people tip additionally and sometimes they don’t.

Why was our service so spotty? Was it that I am spoiled? Was it that everyone was on “Island Time”?  Was it the fact that the tip was included? Or simply that service is not as important to some people as it is to me? There is no way of knowing. I have often said that I can forgive mediocre food, but I can’t forgive lousy service. If your food is great and your service sucks, chances are I won’t come back. Sadly, when tipping is included in the check, you never know what you are going to get.

Flushing Money Down the Toilet