NomNoms: Waffle House (Dallas)

My flight into Dallas was two hours late. When I finally got in, it was past 1AM. My sister and Chris picked me up, and we went to Waffle House! Do you know how dead the suburbs of Dallas are at 1AM? The place was completely empty besides us and another group, which meant that service was a little too attentive.

I've decided I don't like grits. They taste like buttery oatmeal. The works hashed browns taste like chili cheese fries! Everything else was pretty tasty though. The waffles are much lighter than they appeared and the bacon was perfectly crisped!



Hot chocolate



All-star Special - Waffle, grits, toast, bacon and eggs



Grilled bacon and egg melt with "the works" hashed browns

Waffle House
1613 W Hebron Pkwy
Carrollton, TX 75010

NomNoms: GI Gelato & Coffee House (Vancouver)

One of the most amazing things about visiting Vancouver was how late the sun went down. Gelato is a must on a warm summer evening!





GI Gelato & Coffee House
#16 - 1535 Johnston St.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

NomNoms: Kamei Royale (Vancouver)

Our first meal in Vancouver was supposed to be at a really good sushi restaurant in the Financial District. Of course, it was closed on Saturdays! Instead, we asked a hotel front desk for recommendations and went to Kamei Royale instead. All I wanted was some fresh Canadian salmon! Caviar didn't hurt either.



Salmon sashimi




Kamei Royale
1030 Georgia Street W
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Festival Fun: Los Angeles BBQ Festival

The first Los Angeles BBQ Festival took place on September 13th and 14th at the Santa Monica Pier. Admission was supposed to be $10, but I found a coupon code online and paid a little over $6 including service charges. Admission also did not include food and each plate cost an additional $10.

Overall, I was not impressed with the event or the food. Since there were only eight vendors, the lines were insanely long which made it impossible to walk around. The concept was really cool though, in that out of town pitmasters were showing off their food!



Elgin hot sausage and bbq brisket
Southside Market and BBQ, Elgin, Texas



Kansas City spareribs and baked beans
LC's BBQ, Kansas City, Missouri

NomNoms: Afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel (Cape Town)

The Mount Nelson is a fancy schmancy hotel in Cape Town and it's afternoon tea is world-renowned. As an afternoon tea connoisseur, I had to go, especially since I could expense it!



Entrance to the Mount Nelson



The Conservatory where we took our tea



The food spread



Gardens and fountain

Mount Nelson Hotel
76 Orange Street
Cape Town, Republic of South Africa, 8001

NomNoms: Deanie's (New Orleans)

My first crawfish. It's hot and spicy and burns your mouth but it is oh so tasty!



Two pounds of crawfish

Deanie's
841 Iberville St
New Orleans, LA 70112

NomNoms: Acme Oyster House (New Orleans)

OMG! A dozen oysters on a half shell for $6.99

Acme Oyster House
724 Iberville Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

NomNoms: Cafe du Monde (New Orleans)

Cafe du Monde is a real New Orleans institution. I went to enjoy the classic combination of cafe au lait and beignets every single night I was in New Orleans (sometimes drunk and sometimes not).



Cafe au lait and beignets

Cafe du Monde
1039 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA

NomNoms: The Brooklyn (Seattle)

Happy hour!



Oysters!



Mussels!

The Brooklyn
1212 2nd Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

NomNoms: Meskel (Seattle)

Vegetarian combo, lamb and chicken



Injera



Honey wine

Meskel Ethiopian
2605 E Cherry St
Seattle, WA

NomNoms: Top Pot Doughnuts (Seattle)

Sugar and glazed

Top Pot Doughnuts
2124 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121

NomNoms: Piroshky Piroshky (Seattle)

Yummy yummy yumminess can be found at this Russian bakery.





Smoked salmon pate



Potato and mushroom

Piroshky Piroshky
1908 Pike Place
Seattle, WA 98101

NomNoms: Restaurante Guelaguetza (Los Angeles)

This is a Oaxacan restaurant but I've had bad experiences with the typical Oaxacan dish of mole, so I decided to go a different route and ordered something else.



The best horchata in the world - with chopped nuts and cactus fruit puree



Botana de Molotes - fried corn dough filled with potatoes and chorizo



Torta

Guelaguetza
3014 W. Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

NomNoms: Wakasan (Los Angeles)

I've been dying to do an omakase meal (which is a chef's choice type experience), but it's so expensive! I found out about Wakasan through Yelp. It is extremely reasonably priced at $35 per person for 13 courses. However, some of the courses seemed to be fillers and were not very impressive.



Marinated spinach



Marinated bean sprouts and seaweed



Potato salad



Cold marinated eggplant



Sashimi - scallops, tuna, and amberjack



Grilled salmon



King crab legs



Soup of beef, vermicilli, and potato



Fried chicken and slaw



Rice with ikura (salmon roe) and uni (sea urchin)



Miso soup



Egg custard



Red bean ice cream

Wakasan
1929 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Workout LA: Malibu Creek State Park

Malibu Creek State Park
1925 Las Virgenes Rd
Calabasas, CA 91302

NomNoms: Boule (Los Angeles)

Beautiful macarons - fleur de sel, pistachio, chocolate,
meyer lemon, and apple jacks



Walnut fig bread

Boule
408 N. La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048