Every Wednesday my boyfriend and I meet halfway between Madison and Milwaukee for date night. It’s the one night a week we get to see each other, catch up, and enjoy the other’s company. Long distance relationships are never fun, but I have to admit,  I’m enjoying all of the new restaurants we get to taste together. This past week we met in a quaint little town called Cambridge. It’s a nostalgic spec on the map that I’ve been wanting to explore the many times I’ve passed through on my journeys home. We savored the last bit of summer eating out on the cobblestone patio and sipping ice tea from a mason jar.

{Adorable town of Cambridge}

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

Brunch has been on my to-do list every trip I make to NY. Somehow, something always comes up and I never make it. However, this trip was a success. Lets just say that I could do this every Sunday; sitting outside on a brisk afternoon with an over-sized sweater, drinking coffee, people watching, and eating a Latin-style brunch in the homey east village.

{vintage inspired bikes that I would love}

{Delicious french toast covered with fruit}

{They left our bill with this awesome postcard. So cute}

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

While living in my new-found home, Madison, I make it a goal to try as many new places and restaurants as possible. Side Note: I just realized that I have lived in four different cities in the past two years; Paris, New York, Chicago, and now Madison. Apparently I have a hard time sitting still. Anyways, going out to dinner is probably second to my love for fashion. And I’ve heard a lot of people talk about a bar/cafe called The Library. It’s hidden gems like these that I love to find. A place college students can go to study and wind down with a cocktail. Why didn’t I have this while in college?! It has become one of my favorite places I’ve discovered this far, living just down the block is a plus I suppose. May I add they have a killer BLT.

{I love the hundreds of books surrounding the entire place}

{my new found love: cider beer from England}

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

Two weekends ago my boyfriend and I went to Chicago for a little special celebration-my graduation ceremony. I graduated in the summer of 2010, but my college only has the ceremony once a year, which is why I had to wait so long to walk.

 We stayed at The Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan Ave and spent the night in the beautiful city. We ate dinner at The House of Blues, a place I’ve been wanting to go to since I lived down there, while a great jazz band played. It had such a great vibe with live music. I can honestly say that the HOB is now one of my favorite places to eat! I had the New York Strip and my boyfriend tried the honey glazed chicken breast that was to-die-for. It had so much flavor and personality, yum.

After dinner we went back to our hotel and enjoyed a couple drinks at the Angels & Kings Club.  It was a Sunday night so it was very quiet and cozy. When my family came down to celebrate, we dined at The Park Grill that over looks Millennium Park. This restaurant has been on my list for some time now and they have a Kolbe Burger with a pretzel bun that is fabulous! May I add that the calamari has one of the best sauces.

{A great book in our room}

{We stayed on the Tina Turner floor and this quote was on a mirror in the room}

{Millennium Park}

{The best Blueberry Mojito at The Park Grill}

{Delicious Kobe Burger with a pretzel bun}

{I love this picture-totally GIYC}

{A great picture of the Trump Tower in the late afternoon}

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

Memorial Day Weekend went by way too fast for me, but what weekend doesn’t? The weather was absolutely beautiful, except when it decided to rain on our tailgating party at the Brewer’s Game of course. However, making a pit stop at this pub was a great choice-best Bloody Mary bar ever. All in all, the weekend was great and I noticed many little things that reminded me summer is definitely here! Yesss.

Some beautiful flowers I captured over the weekend. I’d have to say Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers.

I’ve always been a burger lover, and I can’t believe I had not eaten at Fred’s Burger in Burlington, WI before. It is said that they have the world’s best burger (I will definitely vouch for that one) and people travel from all corners of the world to have a taste.

Yum, yum, yum! Homemade curly fries and everything.

A little Brewer spirit!

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend and took the time to remember the men and women who served and are still serving for our freedom!

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

This past week I went to Vegas for the first time.  It was another destination that was on my Bucket List. My only impression of Vegas prior to the trip had been based off of movies such as Vegas Vacation and The Hangover. So, I’m sure you can imagine the scenarios running through my head. Below is a little snip-it of my vacation, thankfully far from a tiger being kept in our bathroom!
(Don’t mind the picture quality, all photos were taken via Droid)

The penny machine that I wont $80 dollars on. I’m not a big
gambler, so I was really excited about this!

My favorite part about the dinner buffets. Hello desserts!

We ate at this delicious Italian Restaurant called Grotto.
Our waitress was great and gave us a complimentary strawberry
shortcake. One of the best I’ve ever had!

The limo driver made my trip when he offered to take us to
the Vegas sign! This was a top priority on my list.

________________________________________________

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

I’ve been wanting to post about my awesome restaurant-finds when I was in NYC for Fashion Week. Next to fashion, the mass of restaurants squeezed into every crook and cranny of the city is a close second to why I adore NYC so much.

I came across this little restaurant right after I got to New York. I dropped off my bags at my girlfriend’s place and immediately went exploring until she got out of the office. When I’m in New York, I am so overwhelmed by my span of restaurant options. I’d make it a goal of mine to eat at every single one if it was physically possible.

This little pizzeria is called Vezzo. And I can honestly say I had the biggest, best mushroom and cheese thin sliced pizza of my life. Vezzo’s interior was the epitome of New York: brick walls, dark wooden tables adorned with a small candle, and a floor to ceiling red velvet curtain in front of the entrance. Practically, the curtain was there to keep the harsh wind out, but I like to think it was strategically put their to act as the cherry on top of the ice cream to complete the picture. The butter on top of the popcorn. The Louis on top of the Vuitton. You get the picture.

(photo taken via Driod)

I also ate at this little Italian Restaurant the night of my birthday. Great choice by my girlfriend. It’s called Malatesta Trattoria. I call it Malatesta for short, as you can see why.

The most adorable restaurant ever. Scrunched into a little corner, this small Italian restaurant is very popular, so expect to wait  at least 45 minutes if you go on the weekends. The hand-written menus added the perfect touch to the restaurant. Below is a picture of the Bruschetta that we ordered, delicious. For the entree, I ordered the Potato Gnocchi. Amazing. The restaurant only accepts cash as well, so come prepared!

(Photos taken via Droid)

Dos Caminos should also be another restaurant to add to your list! Fabulous Mexican Restaurant, known to be a favorite of Jessica Simpson. I personally, have only had their chips-n-salsa because we decided just to go out for some drinks. But, if the food is half as good as those chips and salsa, wow. Not to mention, whatever mix drink the bartender made me was heaven. Great things to say about Dos Caminos! My next trip I’d love to actually eat there.

After all of these food and restaurant posts, I’m wondering if I should just become a food critic? Hmm. Making a trip in the summer months would be even better; patio dining.  But, if you find yourself in New York City searching for a great restaurant, Vezzo, Malatesta Trattoria, and Dos Caminos are among my favorites.

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

If you haven’t read Food Obsession, Part One–take a look before continuing on! The other night, I decided to keep venturing on this whole cooking streak. So, I made crab legs, twice baked potatoes, and seasoned asparagus. Yum, Yum, Yum. And I’ve been thinking, there are probably many others out there just like me. There has to be, right? So why not start blogging about my cooking experiences and maybe it will help other amateur cooks along the way.

Ingredients:

4 large baking potatoes
1/2 – 3/4 cup Sour cream
1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
2 “shakes” garlic powder
2 teaspoons chives

Crab Legs

Bundle of Asparagus

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Directions: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

To speed up the cook time on your potatoes, put them in the microwave from 12-15 minutes. Then proceed to bake them in the oven for an additional 15- 30 minutes. (If you choose not to put the potatoes in the microwave first, you will need to bake them in the oven for 1 hour)

Once the potatoes are soft (test by sticking a fork through) you can take the potatoes out of the oven. From there I hold each potato in a hot pad and cut a hole that outlines the potato. Scrape the skin off of the top of the potato and scrape out the insides of the potato into a large bowl. Some cut the potato in half and then scrape out the insides, it just depends on your preference. Continue this process with additional potatoes.

Add  1/2 stick of butter and 1/2 – 3/4 cups of sour cream into the large bowl. Mix. From there, add 1 cup of shredded cheese, 2 shakes of garlic powder, and about 2 teaspoons of chives. Mix until well-blended and lumps are gone. Now, you’re ready to scoop the mashed potatoes back into the potato skins. Bake in the over for an additional 15-30 minutes or until brown on top.

Crab Legs: When your potatoes have about 10-15 minutes left to bake in the oven, put the crab legs on a cookie sheet. Cover the bottom of the sheet with water and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Melt butter, and serve!

Asparagus: Steam for about 5 minutes. From there, add butter and garlic to taste. Perfection.

End result? Deliciousness.

Once again, I was presently surprised with the outcome of my dinner. A far cry from where I was in my Macaroni&Cheese days! Now, I need your help. Everyone does things a little differently so, do you have any tricks that you’d like to share? Better yet, a recipe you’d like to recommend me to try? I’d love to blog about it!

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB

I have a food obsession. Food is a very general word, but when I say food I mean can’t put your fork down, your mouth isn’t big enough, good food obsession. I’m pretty sure that it’s safe to say I would spend just about any absurd dollar amount on a delicious meal. Trying new cuisines and restaurants is just about as good as getting a new pair of pumps.

My boyfriend and I just celebrated our five year anniversary a few weeks back, yes five years ladies! The longer the wait the better the ring right? Anyways, I always love a good excuse for a fancy dinner, so I started doing my research. I wanted a restaurant that we haven’t been to, but was also recommended. I really thought we exhausted our list, but there are always little gems in the middle of nowhere. I decided on the Carnivore, which is a restaurant known for their seafood and steak choices. I’m a huge steak and potatoes kind of girl, so I was really excited for this dinner.

The ambiance of the Carnivore is very intimate with dark wood floors and tables, a candlelit dinner with an over-priced bar selection. For an appetizer we chose, or I should say I chose, Calamari with seasoned garlic. My boyfriend is allergic to seafood–poor, poor thing. And it wasn’t the best I’ve had, I could have taken it for something that was warmed up in the microwave. My steak and wild mushrooms on the other hand were delicious. The seasoning on the steak was just to die for and if I could have fit anymore in my stomach, I would have.

Continuing on with my food obsession, I have gotten this itch to cook. Let me give you a little bit of my background: Macaroni & Cheese and Macaroni & Cheese. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little bit, I can make a mean Chili and basically anything with ground beef. But, who can live off of just that? So, I’ve been trying to become a little more versatile with my meal selections. One thing I despise about looking for recipes online is that they all call for what you don’t have, let alone heard of. I don’t plan on making numerous trips to the grocery store each week for a specific meal, who has time for that let alone the budget?

So, last night I went out of my cooking comfort zone, which obviously isn’t very big. But, I made something I had no idea how it was going to turn out. (For you cooking experts out there, don’t poke fun, this is big for me). I made boneless chicken breasts with mushroom sauce, wild mushrooms to sprinkle on top and mashed potatoes. The entire process went smoother than I thought! I revised the recipe to the ingredients that I had. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any white wine to throw in the mix and I assumed using red wine just wouldn’t do the trick. I was so excited with how the meal turned out that I even tweeted a picture of it! The chicken breast was so tender and juicy, the sauce was creamy and the wild mushrooms were awesome.

So, as I was on my cooking high, I realized that I really would like to learn more about cooking. More about the knitty gritty and the secret tricks. I’ve been wanting to take cooking classes for a very long time, but never pursued it. So yesterdayI was doing a little research and found some hands-on cooking classes with Chef Michael Feker at his school of Culinary in Milwaukee, WI. The classes fill up quickly, so I immediately inquired and am anxiously awaiting my response. In the meantime, I’ve gathered a few interested girlfriends, and we’re going to do this together!

So, my food obsession documentary will continue and hopefully grow. Hopefully, one day, I can put the burnt macaroni and tart-tasting Koolaid behind me and consider myself a good cook! Not to mention, I got the greatest Christmas gift–A pink apron that reads: Will Cook For Shoes, Lots and Lots of Shoes! Ah, Perfect. I hope my boyfriend knows what that entails.

Have a great night!

Sincerely,

THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW CAB