Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Royal High Tea July 9, 2011

Filed under: Dining Out,Food,Friends,Los Angeles — Kelocity @ 9:00 pm
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In honor of Prince William and Princess Kate’s royal trip to Hollywood, my friend Janet and I decided that having afternoon tea would be the perfect way to celebrate.
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Ok, so that’s not entirely true. We bought a groupon a few weeks back and scheduled our Tea Date long before we realized the Royals would be in town. But it seems appropriate, don’t you think?
Our destination was “Two A Tea”, a cute little tea house about an hour away. And we agreed it was definitely worth the drive.
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The tea house is set up like an old Victorian home. Complete with crystal chandeliers, baroque art and antique linens. It was so fun to dress up, act proper (as proper as snapping photos of your meal can be) and enjoy some dainty foods.
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They have various menus to choose from, each varying in the amount of courses you can enjoy with your tea. We chose the “Royal High Tea”. It was my first visit to a tea house, so might as well go all out, right?
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The tea list is pretty big, and it’s hard to decide on a flavor. We each got our own pot, so in the end, decided on Vanilla Coconut and Peach Apricot. While the tea brewed, we started up a great conversation. It’s fun to catch up with friends without distractions. I really needed an afternoon of girl talk.
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Before long, our tea pots were ready. Freshly brewed tea is so delicious. And even on a hot California day, it hit the spot. It was so fun to drink out of beautiful teacups too. It felt fancy schmancy.
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Our first course was a freshly baked blueberry scone. It was the perfect mix of crumble and sweetness. Served with lemon curd, clotted cream and berry preserves. I admit I was scared to try the clotted cream, but it was really good.
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Next up was the soup course. I got the pureed red pepper with feta cheese and croutons.
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And Janet ordered the carrot ginger that also came with croutons.
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Next up was a citrus salad. This was so perfect for a summer day. The dressing was sweet and refreshing!
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Meanwhile, we were sip sipping our tea the whole time. Cup after cup.
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Soon a scoop of sorbet came out to cleanse our palettes. I thought it was adorable that they served this on a tea bag rest.
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Then we were ready for our tea sandwiches!  We had a turkey, cream cheese & cranberry sauce, egg salad, roasted vegetable, curried chicken and cucumber. I had one of each (minus the egg salad). My favorite one was the cucumber, although I was too full to finish it.
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And finally, we had dessert. We decided to each get one and split it half and half. One was a warm berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce and the other was a black forest chocolate cake with a chocolate mouse with raspberry drizzle and fresh whipped cream.

Oh my, they were amazing. Sadly, all my camera wanted to focus on was the whipped cream, but you’ll have to trust me that it was beautiful and yummy.
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I think we sat and chatted for almost three hours! The waitress refilled our teapots once, so I’m pretty sure I drank almost two pots of tea in all.
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What a great afternoon, hope to do it again someday. Thanks for the great company, Janet!

 

Superior Donuts at the Geffen June 29, 2011

Filed under: Friends,Hollywood Events,Los Angeles,Theater — Kelocity @ 7:31 am
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My friend Chely scored some free tickets to the Geffen Theater in a fundraising raffle last year. I was thrilled when she invited me to be her guest for a show last night. I don’t go to the theater nearly as often as I should and it was a great excuse for a night on the town.
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We had a communication mixup and I was parked in front of her house, and Chely was parked in front of my house. We kept telling each other “I’m out front” “Me too” “Where are you?” “Right in front!” Oops. We laughed about it later, too funny. We finally met up and headed over to the theater.
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The Geffen is really beautiful. It’s an intimate theater with all the right touches.
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With our tickets, we also had entrance into the Founder’s Room, a VIP area to hang out before the show. That’s how we roll!
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I know, I had the opportunity to snag a free MINT CHOCOLATE Clif Builders bar or a cookie and I didn’t take it. Day 3 of eliminating sugar. And you know what? I’m not even really missing it yet.

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There weren’t too many people in the room with us, but everyone else was fairly older. I love people watching. I think it’s so cute to see older couples get all dolled up to see a show together. The men wear their suit coats, and the women put on their lipstick. It’s so beautiful.

I also noticed that old people LOVE Hershey Kisses. LOVE them! They’d sneak over, and grab a whole handful. One woman winked at me and said “I took 7. One for every day of the week”. So cute. When I’m old, I hope I can enjoy life’s simple pleasures with such enthusiasm too. If you pay attention, you really can learn a lot from the older generations.
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The play was Superior Donuts and it was just amazing. It starred Gary Cole, who I know from Entourage, but he’s been a bunch of other things. Also starring was Kathryn Joosten (known for her role as Mrs. McClusky on Desperate Housewives) and Edi Gathegi (OMG, he plays Laurent in Twilight!!!!!!!!!)
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It was witty, funny, emotional and brilliantly written. I loved it from start to finish. The set was very impressive and the way the used the space was really smart. I laughed out loud several times. I have to say this was probably the best play I’ve ever seen in LA.
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We had great seats, but behind us was a group of kids on a field trip(?) that were quite loud. The play was riddled with cuss words, adult jokes and (a little) bit of violence, so I was surprised to see so many kids there. But regardless, I think it’s great that they enjoyed the show. I just wish someone would have schooled them in theater etiquette before hand. See, I fit right in with the old people. I’m probably more cranky than they are. ha!

If you’re in the LA area, definitely check out this play before its run is over. You have another week or so. It is definitely worth it.

 

Grease is the Word… June 25, 2011

Filed under: Food,Friends,Hollywood Events — Kelocity @ 10:47 am
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Last night was our first summer night at the Hollywood Bowl. Hard to believe the season is here again!
The show was a Grease Sing-A-Long! They played the movie on the big screen and everyone sang along! It was a blast!
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But let’s back up to dinner! We met up with Katherine, Kaitlin, and a few of their friends.
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One of the pest parts of going to the bowl is being able to picnic beforehand! We spread out our blanket and munched on some goodies.
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I had a spinach & tomato salad with a drizzle of honey and some buffalo pasta chicken salad. Delicious!
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Irving had that awesome sandwich I made him earlier. haha Wife for the win!IMG_6126

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LA Bloggers!
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And then we waited for the show to begin!
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They put the lyrics up on the screen so everyone could sing along! It was a blast.
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They also gave everyone a goodie bag before the show with props to use during the movie. I missed what all of them were, but the yellow fabric was to hold up during the drag race, and the pom poms were for the pep rally scene. And the bubbles were for the “beauty school dropout” song.

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Such a fun night, it’s been a while since I saw Grease and I was surprised by how much of it used to go over my head when I was little. My favorite part of the night was when Danny and Sandy are in the drive-in and a little kid behind us asked his dad what Danny was trying to do. BAHAHA. Awkward!

 

PS. This was Irving’s FIRST time seeing it. Whaaaat? I think he liked it though.

 

Do you remember your first time Seeing Grease? Mine was at a fifth grade sleepover!

 

The Hollywood French Toast Tour June 12, 2011

I don’t venture “over the hill” often. I love living in the Valley and can’t stand the Hollywood traffic. But I made the drive twice this weekend with one of my favorites! Janet is pregnant and she’s been craving french toast. And when pregnant mama wants french toast, you go with her to get it. TWICE!
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We called this weekend, “The French Toast Tour”, and it all started Friday night at the Larchmont Bungalow.
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This was my second time there, and I loved it the first time, so I was psyched to go back again!
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I looked at the menu, really I did, but really, I knew in my gut the decision was already made. I ordered the red, white and blue pancakes… again! But Janet came for one reason, and one reason only…. french toast. I think she loved the décor just as much as I do!
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We sat outside and chatted for a bit before the food came out. It’s fun dining al fresco on summer nights!
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My pancakes were every bit as amazing as I remembered. It’s such a unique taste, and it’s just so pretty!
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Janet’s french toast looked beautiful too!
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Served with a side of Bacon! Oh man, their bacon was delicious!
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I think we had a happy mama!
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Breakfast for dinner is fun! I ate as much as I could, and still couldn’t eat the blue velvet slice. I saved it for later!
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Friday night dinner with friends!
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Janet liked the french toast, but said she was still dreaming about the Griddle Café. We made plans to go for breakfast the next day for part two of the french toast showdown. Janet arrived promptly at 8am yesterday morning. We wanted to avoid the crazy lines and get in early!
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Our plan worked, we were seated almost immediately! We ordered coffee, which each came in an individual french press! So cool!
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Janet, of course ordered the French Toast. I stole a bite and it tasted like cake! I’ve never tasted anything like it!
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Irving ordered a waffle. It was dense and savory and a little bit sweet.
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And I completed the breakfast item trifecta by ordering the “Mounds of Pleasure” pancakes (coconut and chocolate filled pancakes topped off with whipped cream). I love coconut, so I ordered them. Holy Canoli! This thing was HUGE!
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Three 12-inch pancakes with layers of coconut and chocolate in between. It was the size of a birthday cake. Literally. I can’t even put into words how big this thing was. I was in shock. Right away, I asked for a to-go box. I couldn’t even cut into it, it was so large! I ate about 1/8th of it before being stuffed to the gills. I actually needed a second to-go box just to fit it all in!
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The taste was incredible, but next time, just ONE pancake will do! And even then you could probably split it!

We had a great time, the griddle café is a hollywood legend that must be eaten to be believed. I’ve officially been initiated in!
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Oh, hi Irving!
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So in the end, I think the Griddle Café won for “best tasting french toast”. And it also wins for best tasting and unique flavors of pancakes. And they win for size of pancakes too.

But in my heart, Larchmont wins for prettiest red velvet pancakes.

So much fun, thanks Janet!

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After the Griddle Café, Janet, Chely and I scrapbooked for a solid five hours! I got a few pages done that have been on my to-do list for ages! And when I came home, I took a three-hour nap. Guess I was tired! Can’t think of a better way to spend a saturday: friends, food, scrapbooking and a nap!

 

Eagle Rock Brewery: Girl’s Night May 18, 2011

Filed under: Blogging,Dining Out,Food,Friends — Kelocity @ 9:20 pm
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Ok, I admit. Having a post about going to a brewery slightly contradicts my “I don’t really drink” post a few days ago. But like I said, I don’t need to drink, and when I do I definitely don’t overdo it. This was a beer tasting event, and that’s just what we did. Tasted some really amazing beers.

The Eagle Rock Brewery in Glendale hosts monthly events just for women. Each night has a theme and last night was ‘Bieres De Champagne”. It was a sampling of sparking beers that could almost pass as…. champagne!

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I went with some of my favorite bloggers, Kaitlin and Katherine!

I made sure to represent with my nametag. Hello, my name is kelocity.com !

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They went through each beer, one at a time and described how they make it, why they like it and what it should taste like. This was very fun for me since I know nothing about beer.

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The first one was Deus from Belgium. This one was sweet, they told us to look for hints of honey, and they were definitely there. I really liked it.

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Plus beer that comes in wine bottles is fun. I’d never seen that before. Is it common?

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The second one was Maltose Falcons Brut that was made by a homebrew club in Woodland Hills. It was FABULOUS. My favorite of the night for sure. It had a lot of flavors that really did dance around my mouth. I never really knew what people meant when they say that, but this one definitely did.

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The third was Lifemans Cuvee-Brut from Belgium and it tasted like grape soda (in a good way). Maybe like an Italian soda. The good kind. It was so sweet.

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And lastly, we had the Malheur Brut Noir from Belgium. They said that there was “chocolate in the nose”. If you focused really hard, that was definitely there. I don’t usually like dark beer, but this one was different. It was delicious.

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The tasting room was a lot of fun, I’d definitely go back to try some new ones.

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It was a fun night out with the girls and I really enjoyed trying some beers that I’d probably never think to order in a restaurant or a bar. But maybe now I’ll actually read the descriptions on the menus and choose something fun next time.

Katherine sent us home with a bag of four of her Ah-Mazing macaroons. Seriously, these things are like crack. There’s a reason one of them is now missing from the picture….

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Ok, that was a lie. They are all now missing. I don’t know where they went. Don’t look at me!