Food | Kelocity.com

The Riverside Cafe April 8, 2011

Filed under: Dining Out,Food — Kelocity @ 7:33 pm
Tags: Dining Out, Food, Soup

Not long ago, Irving bought a Tippr coupon for The Riverside Café in Burbank.
The Riverside Cafe

We used it last night because we didn’t feel like cooking, and wanted a low-key restaurant. They are known for their French Onion Soup, which we of course ordered. It came in a piping hot bowl, fresh out of the oven. It was pretty good and actually did taste homemade (in a good way). The gooey cheese was the best part.
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Served with a fresh-out-of-the-oven baguette.
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On the side, Irving got a sausage sandwich, and I got the grilled zucchini and eggplant. Why do veggies off the grill taste SO GOOD?

Perhaps it’s the butter seared on the grill that keeps me going back. HAHA Either way, it was excellent.
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The only thing I didn’t like about this place was the décor. It’s an older place that could really use some updating. Everything was dusty and a little gritty. The plastic chairs also felt a little makeshift. And we dined with huge sunflowers in our face.
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Where’s my husband? ((But I was entertained by the picture frame behind him that is outlining the wall socket. Clever!))
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We agreed the food was right on, but they should think about some new table cloths and an upgrade. I know that sounds pretty snobby, but their prices are extremely high for what you get, so I thought the atmosphere would have been a bit better. That being said, it’s hard to find these cute little hole in the wall places in LA and it did remind me of home, so it was kind of nice. I’m a tough critic.

We’d give it a shot again when the weather is nicer and we can eat outside. The neighborhood itself is pretty cool. It’s in the equestrian district where everyone has a barn attached for their horses. We saw quite a few walk by when we were eating. We should definitely explore the area more.

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A Tribute to Za’atar

Filed under: Dubai,Food — Kelocity @ 11:20 am
Tags: Arabic, Dubai, Food, za'atar

I grew up eating Za’atar. We used to eat it multiple times a week for breakfast growing up. My friends used to gag just looking at it, but it is SO good!

Zartar is an arabic word, so when it translates into english, there are multiple spellings: (Arabic: زَعْتَر‎, in english: zaatar, za’tar, zatar, zatr, zattr, zahatar, zaktar or satar).

What is it? It’s a mixture of thyme, oregano, basil, savory, salt, dried sumac and sesame seeds. We used to eat it baked onto pita bread with olive oil or butter.

My grandparents always had it at their house (my grandfather is Lebanese).

Another variation, that we called sim sim, was also a household staple. This is a mixture of honey and sesame seeds baked into a pita. We’d always have a slice of each for good measure.

It’s hard to find really good Za’atar around here. You have to find a really good Lebanese or Arabic market. I’ve found it a few times in LA before, but nothing quite like the bakery back in Boston.

And then I went to Dubai. Oh. My. Gosh. Za’atar EVERYWHERE! I had many za’atar croissants when I was there. I got awkwardly excited when I saw them! I even had a Za’atar mojito one night at the Burj Al Arab.

We did a bus tour of Dubai one day that included a walking tour of the spice souks. Our guide stopped and showed us different spices and let us smell and taste some of them.

In one particular stall, on a whim I asked “do you guys sell Za’atar?” The man smiled and said “of course!” and showed me a giant bag of my beloved spice, it must have been 1 pound or so. I was so excited! I’ve never seen it sold in that quantity before! I kept saying “oh my gosh! are you serious?” I turned to Irving. “Do you see that? They have Za’atar! Look at all that za’atar!” I don’t know why I was so shocked to see it. I mean, they do use it a lot in the middle east. I was practically jumping up and down. I asked “How much?” and he told me 120 dirhams. I didn’t do the math in my head very well, but I said “well, what if I buy three bags?” He said “oh, well if you buy 3 bags, only 100 dirhams each. Sounds like a deal! I said ok, I’ll buy three. And I made Irving fork over all the money we withdrew from the ATM that day. “Irving, I can’t believe we found it! What a good deal!”

(keep in mind, my entire tour group is watching this happen inside the little store!)

Irving smiles at me, maybe a little concerned over how excited I just got over seeing za’atar sold in bulk. He whips out our currency converter (which I highly recommend by the way) and tells me that I’ve just spent about $80 on za’atar. WHHAAA????

I mean, I love za’atar, but not THAT much! By now, our tour has moved on and we’re walking through the open market. I start bawling in the middle of the street. “How did I spend $80 on za’atar? I thought it was a good deal? What was I thinking? How did I just get ripped off? I’m so stupid. What a dumb traveler I am. Such a rookie mistake!”

I ended up going back and returning one of the bags. In the end, I spent about $45 on two bags… I gave one bag to my mom and grandparents for Christmas last year (You guys better eat that by the way!) and I kept one bag for myself.

And today, I opened up my za’atar for the first time, and inhaled deeply to smell the sweet aroma.

I decided to try my hand at making my own za’atar bread using authentic middle eastern flatbread. just kidding. I used Trader Joe’s brand.

I mixed it with ~~some~~ a lot of olive oil to make it a pasty texture.

I also brushed some olive oil on the bread, but I don’t think I needed to do that.

All ready to go in the oven!

I only baked it for 10 minutes, but next time, I’ll do it a little longer. The perfect breakfast! (as long as you floss your teeth after!)

So there you have it. All you needed to know about my love affair with Za’atar. If you see it at the farmer’s market or in an Arabic restaurant, don’t be afraid to order it! It’s delicious.

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Confession…

Filed under: Food — Kelocity @ 7:47 am
Tags: Chocolate, Food

I eat Bananas sometimes as a vehicle to eat Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chips and Coconut.

Is that wrong?

This is the lazy man’s banana soft serve. It’s everything I would have put inside anyways. Mmmm!

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And today, I climbed a Mountain. April 3, 2011

Filed under: Food,Friends,Happy,Los Angeles,Workout — Kelocity @ 9:45 pm
Tags: Food, Friends, Happy, Hiking, Love, Workout

That’s right. Yesterday, I was in the valley of ‘woe is me’, and today, I climbed a mountain.

We slept in this morning, woke up feeling refreshed but in desperate need of some fresh air. We needed a sweaty hike to reconnect with ourselves and with nature. Something to pull us back in.

We hiked a 6 mile trail in the Verdugo Mountains. But we made one wrong turn at the beginning and found this!

We had to turn around and backtrack to find the trailhead.

Once we got going, it was really nice, but the first 2.5 miles were straight uphill. It was HARD!

The incline was killer and seemed to drag on and on. But the views definitely made up for it.

I love seeing LA from up above. It feels so big (especially in traffic), but from up there, it looks so small and quiet.

But this was just the halfway point…And then the climb continued. And continued. And continued.

I was SO thankful for the overcast sky today (I’m not a happy camper in the heat). But we came prepared anyways.

A few times, I really wanted to give up. I jokingly begged Irving to let us turn around before reaching the top. See that tower at the top of that hill? That was the goal. Look how far away (and high) it looks!) We’d already been hiking for an hour by this point too!

Every time I would think we’re getting closer, it seemed impossible to reach. (I think I’m really out of shape). We got passed by a couple of people. HAHA).

But each time I wanted to quit, I kept thinking that I can’t call my blog post “I ALMOST climbed a mountain!” I had to REALLY climb it! All the way to the top!

And then finally, we made it. My, how far we’ve come.

That’s what a 2,689ft elevation climb will give you. Check out this elevation map from my Garmin! Straight up and straight down!
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At the top, someone built a chair. And whoever this person is deserves a hug. I LOVE YOU CHAIR!

I sat in it for a good ten minutes and took in the view. Felt SO good to get out and do something for myself today.

We did it babe! And it hurts so good! What a workout!

I only went as far as that chair, but Irving wanted to actually touch the gate of the tower…. I told him to go for it…

…But I’m staying riiiiiight here. haha

Instead of coming back down the mountain the way we came, we kept going on the trail that eventually looped back around. Here’s the map from my Garmin. After lunch, we did walk back to where we started to completely finish the loop.
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At the bottom of the trail, we ate lunch at the Golf Club.

As soon as we sat down, my Garmin chimed ‘6 miles’. I love nice round milage numbers.

We were really hungry (it was 2:30p by the time we were done!) I got the BLTA and it was killer! Oh man, hit the spot.

We relaxed, and watched the birds pick at the crumbs other people’s kids left behind.

It was a half mile back to the car, so that brings our hike to 6.5 miles total.

On the way back home, we stopped to pick up some groceries for the week. The usual. But how funny is this sign for Ramen Noodles? People did double takes looking at the sign, too funny. The scary thing is, there actually was a point in my life where I may have thought that was an incredible deal. ha!

Tonight, our friends Erika and Timmy came over to have dinner and play some games. (Erika Killed us in Yahtzee!)

Irving made some Chili Cheese Dogs on the grill. They were from Omaha Steak and we really liked them. No better way to kick off summer than with a cookout.

We were supposed to put the chili on the dog like this…

But I preferred to have my chili on the side.

I’m always looking for an excuse to eat Ketchup. yes!

Served with a side of homemade Pasta Salad. Very excited to have leftovers for lunch this week!

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In other news, The 200-Mile Ragnar Relay is in 12 days! I’m slated to do 12.3 miles total, but I’m really hoping to squeak in another mile in there somewhere to count it as a half marathon! After this hike, I feel ready. Let’s do this!

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Squeezing it in! March 31, 2011

Filed under: Food,Running — Kelocity @ 7:00 am
Tags: Fitness, Food, Pasta, Running

I went to a health seminar yesterday that was about ‘living a healthier life’. A lot of it was information I already knew, but sometimes it’s a nice refresher to learn why it’s important and pick up a few new tricks. The theme of the class was ‘everything in moderation’, and ‘move your body more’. Duh, rocket science, right?

A few easy ways to move more:

Whenever you go up or down a flight of stairs, turn around and go up and down again before moving on
When you’re on the phone, pace back and forth (Irving does this and easily walks a few extra miles a day (seriously, he wears a pedometer to prove it)!
When you’re washing dishes, do leg lifts or calf raises
Walk whenever you can!

All that info motivated me, and when I got home from work, I turned around to go for a run! I intended to do a 5K, but when I got back and mapped it, it turned out to only be 2.6 miles. But hey, I moved, right? It felt so great. There were so many people outside last night! Everyone is enjoying the longer days I think.

One thing I learned while running: Green Day has the BEST songs for keeping a steady pace. All their songs have the perfect tempo for my running speed. It keeps me going!

I blame the warmer temps, but it was H-O-T!