Postino & La Grande Orange, Phoenix, AZ

Postino is in the old Arcadia Post office building. The entire restaurant and bar has an inside out feel with huge commercial garage doors that are rolled up when the weather is not too hot.  Postino is known for their bruschetta.  You choose four from a menu of 11.  Our favorite was the ricotta cheese with dates and pistachios.  Next door from Postino is La Grande Orange, same owners and I just found out they have locations in Pasadena and Santa Monica. 

La Grande Orange is known for their English Muffins...and they are so good.

Don't forget to enter my give away. 

Lunch at Arcadia Farms, Scottsdale, Arizona

I arrived just in time for lunch at Arcadia Farms in Scottsdale, Arizona.  it is the quintessential  place to have lunch if you are in the area.  When we first walked in they asked us if we had a reservation.  I looked around at all the empty tables while my sister said that yes we did have a reservation, but we were a little early.  Within 15 minutes the place was buzzing and nearly every seat was filled.  

The restaurant takes up the entire block of First Avenue, just off Goldwater Boulevard and Marshall Way in Old Scottsdale.  There is a restaurant, a separate building across the street for take-out and sweets and it also houses their catering division.  Next door is where the owner resides behind a gated courtyard.

Since the restaurant was originally an old house, there are several rooms, courtyards and the entire interior is in black and white...of course I loved it!

The food was delicious.  We shared warm chopped vegetable salad and seared salmon over greens.

Phoenix has so many innovative restaurants with wonderful menus and many are in buildings that have been renovated from an old car wash or a post office.  Tomorrow...Postino!

Holiday traditions

Holiday traditions...we all have them in some way.  For some it means getting up early and driving for hours to cut down their own tree.  For us, we were just happy hopping into the car and heading to Stew Leonard's to pick out the perfect tree.   This year it was a tree lot along Pacific Coast Highway just as the sun began to set.  Another family tradition was dinner at Union Square Cafe in NYC sometime during the holidays.  We were never organized enough to make reservations so that meant arriving at 5:30 just as they opened their doors and grabbing four seats at the bar.  We have so many fond memories of dinners in the city...just the four of us.  So this year I made Union Square Cafe's Bar nuts to reminisce about the past while we make a few new traditions to carry on in the years ahead.  

Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts

Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson/Food Network

• 2 1/4 cups assorted unsalted nuts, including cashews, walnuts, pecans and whole unpeeled almonds
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degree.

Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine and spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 8 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter.

Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm.  Yum!

To send to out of town friends, I put the dry ingredients into the small jars and nuts into bags.  All they have to do is pour the nuts onto a baking sheet and toast.  Add melted butter with the ingredients in the jar and mix all together, serve warm... and enjoy!  

Oh Joy. . . Christmas comes to Juxtaposition in Newport Beach, California

One of my favorite places to shop or just for a little inspiration is Juxtaposition.  It is located along the Pacific Coast Highway in the Crystal Cove Promenade in Newport Beach, CA. 

Even as often as I visit Juxtaposition, there's always something new.  I loved these wonderful candles made from old jar and bottle molds and the reclaimed apothecary bottles to hold matchsticks.  It's a great place to buy gifts, but I have a hard time parting with anything I buy at Juxtaposition.  They wrap everything beautifully and every ticket is hand written on a three-copy sales slip...just like it used to be done everywhere...I love that!

At 3,000 square feet there's plenty of space to move about and it usually takes me at least twice through to make sure I haven't missed something new.  The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful, but will let you look around at your own pace.

I wish this were my closet...I love everything they have...from bags and shoes to boots and clothing pieces...a very well edited collection that fits my style perfectly.

I love this sign that sits out front.  There are several wonderful restaurants right in the same shopping center, like Pacific Whey  next door,  but for the best view...head across the street to the Shake Shack.

Just across PCH (north) is the Crystal Cove Shake Shack, now owned by Ruby's, but still one of the best views.  Right after leaving Juxtaposition I drove over to the Shake Shack and it was just after the rain had cleared. . . It's not everyday you get to see a school of dolphins swimming this close to shore. 

               Thank you Michele and Ellen at Juxtaposition for allowing me to photograph! 

"Yes Please"

I asked my daughter over morning coffee if she would like to go to LA for the day and her reply was, "yes please."  Good answer, because sometimes it's just a good idea to get out of the hood...our familiar surroundings.  It's not all that easy to do in Southern California.  It was actually less stressful to go into Manhattan when we lived about 40 miles outside the city in Connecticut.  LA traffic...it's as bad as everyone says it is...period.  Still, there's much to see and experience in Los Angeles.  My daughter Madeline and I love to shop and eat, so that's what we did in LA on this beautiful October day.

We found ourselves complaining that putting in two quarters only registered 15 minutes on the meter.  Wait a minute...that's only $2 per hour.  Aren't we used to spending $15 an hour in some midtown NYC parking garages?  Why are we complaining?  They even make it as easy as inserting a credit card and adding minutes.  Okay, maybe there's a few things good about LA.  We had a good laugh about a Woody Allen quote Madeline heard from her AP English teacher.  It goes something along the lines of "the only cultural advantage that LA has over New York is that you can turn right on red."

We had lunch at Chin Chin in Beverly Hills for less than $20 and brought some home.  This part of BH seems, at least to us, off the beaten path and far less typical of what you might think of Beverly Hills.  Madeline is embracing the preppy style and I have to say I am loving it!  Jewelry:  Helen Ficolora "M" charm necklace, acorn locket on long chain, Madewell, bracelets, H&M, TAG Heuer watch, her dad's.

The corner of Beverly and Charleville.  Dimsum at Chin Chin.

What she's wearing. . . Prep head to toe starting with a Burberry sweater of mine from like 15 years ago, her little brother's Ralph Lauren shirt, Coach bag, a recent Thrift store find, cut off shorts from American Eagle Outfitters and  Sperry Top-siders.

We ended our day by strolling through the Farmers Market and a little shopping at The Grove.  There is so much going on here on a Saturday evening.  We heard live music from Midnight Train and there was an outdoor movie going on as well.  So how did you spend your Saturday?

LACMA and Ray's

Today was a day we decided we needed to get out of South Orange County.   We had the most amazing lunch at Ray's at the LACMA.  It's only about 65 miles, but with LA traffic the trip took almost 2.5 hours, so we were very hungry when we arrived at Ray's.  When you are extremely hungry, it's not a bad thing when they bring out bread and butter to start.  We devoured that and then ordered two appetizers.  A corn soup that was so creamy, almost velvety and topped with crispy potatoes.  Next up was a squash blossom dish that was stuffed with delicious goat cheese that was lightly breaded and it just oozed out and over a bed of sweet corn salad that was slightly chilled.  We hardly needed our main course which we split. It was a truffled rice with arugula and a porcini sauce.  LACMA is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon and we could not have been happier with our restaurant selection.  Service was impeccable too!  (note:  all photos taken with my iphone).

Julia Baker + Paradise Valley, AZ

Julia Baker started her career as a statistician, but then following her passion and love for food, she moved to Paris and enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu.  She graduated first in her class and landed in Scottsdale, AZ.  Her shop is amazing and it's located in the new Intercontinental Hotel in Paradise Valley, AZ.    If you're ever in the Valley, you must check it out.  They said they would host book clubs...wouldn't that be fun?  There are so many great books that would be perfect for this setting.  And they serve chocolate martinis!