illy at sf chefs

Yikes, what a weekend! I think I'm still recovering from all the caffeine and amazing food that I put in my body last Sunday. My friends over at The 88 invited me to join them and illy coffee at SF Chefs this weekend and of course I couldn't say no. The morning started out with the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony with chef Marcus Samuelsson before moving on into the tent at Union Square. Illy actually had their own tent at the event where endless amounts of coffee were being prepared by bearded baristas (is that a requirement or something?) and hosted chef interviews throughout the day. While I was there I got to try a variety of illy's MonoArabica coffee in various forms: latte, drip, espresso shot, you name it. I probably ended up consuming every single drink they offered (including the canned iced coffees) throughout the day, which would probably explain why I couldn't fall asleep until 3am later that night.

I also got to hang out with two master Instagram wizards (Bill + Daniel) who were covering the event with me. While watching those two and Harry I was amazed at how much care and attention went into taking and editing Instagram photos. Time to upgrade my dinky photos? I'd still feel inadequate anyway.

The highlight of my day was definitely meeting Marcus Samuelsson and getting to follow him around throughout the day without looking like a creepy stalker (I blame my obsession with Top Chef Masters). I was definitely a little starstruck as I watched him interview people like Drew Nieporent and Martin Yan (anyone remember Yan Can Cook?) and attended his cooking demo on the main stage. I can't wait until the weekend to crack open my copy of his book Yes, Chef.

Finally, last but not least: the food. What else is there to say? Too many things to photograph. Too many things to say. I'll just leave these three photos here and let your imaginations run wild.

foie-ther's day x kanon vodka

I'm sure a lot of you who follow me on Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr have already seen these photos from the Foie-ther's Day Dinner with Stag Dining and Kanon Vodka (sorry about the pic spam guys!) but I thought I'd still share them here since I am now officially a FOK! Stay tuned for more posts and collaborations, I'm super excited. I've been hanging out with my Kanon buddies whenever they're in town since their first SF launch dinner and I'm stoked to start contributing to their blog. Read my post about the dinner here.

kanon vodka dinner

Since I'm back to posting regularly and most of you don't seem to mind the Instagram photos, here are couple snapshots from the Kanon Vodka dinner at the Westerfield Mansion that I was lucky enough to attend last week. Ho-ly crap it was amazing. I was pretty stoked when I got the invite since it was going to take place less than four blocks away from my place but I had no idea that a location like that existed so close to me. Before dinner we got to drink this punch which we customized with our own choice of bitters (my favorite included a spray of absinthe and cherry bitters) while we explored the mansion. This place was AWESOME. My favorite room (aside from the library) was probably the watch tower at the top floor where we had a 360 view of the entire city. So surreal. Thanks Kanon!

The dinner (catered by Stag Dining) itself was something that I'm still dreaming about even a week later. It had been a while since I'd had such a fantastic dinner. Each course was paired with its own cocktail and my favorite was probably the smoked oyster chowder with dungeness crab... seriously, I still can't stop thinking about it. The deconstructed martini which came with it was equally amazing and came with, wait for it, a spoonful of BACON POWDER. It may have been all the alcohol but I found myself saying "OMG" multiple times throughout the night. We also happened to sit in front of Peter, the founder, who was really awesome and we ended up chatting with him the entire night about politics, soccer, traveling, etc. If you're reading this, Peter, come back to SF soon!

cafe gitane

Posting this on an empty stomach probably isn't such a good idea but I'm doing it anyway. Went to Cafe Gitane when we stayed with our friend in Nolita. I'll let the photos speak for themselves since my stomach is killing me but I HAVE to say this: AVOCADO TOAST. AVOCADO TOAST!

central park and shake shack

vintage linen shirt, Saint James striped shirt, Theory shorts, vintage Coach satchel, Karen Walker sunglasses, Rachel Comey Miner boots

And here's the only other outfit I photographed in New York. It's kind of hard to be creative when you're working out of a tiny suitcase in unexpected weather. Same shorts, same bag... at least the shoes are different? Anyway, wore this to explore Central Park and hit up Shake Shack to see what all the hype was about.

So does Shake Shack compare to In-N-Out? I can only say that it wouldn't be fair to compare the two since they're two different things: Shake Shack was less of a fast food chain to me and more of a gourmet eatery. Plus In-N-Out is just something I grew up with that tastes familiar now matter where I go, you know? But that's just me I guess. Nevertheless it was delicious, so delicious in fact that I ended up going back and spending a total of $20 there that day. (Granted I never wanted to eat again after devouring a double cheeseburger, cheese fries, soda, and milkshake....)

"Under Your Spell" - Desire (I'm addicted to the Drive Soundtrack haha)

smorgasburg

Here are the snapshots that I promised from Smorgasburg. Like I'd mentioned earlier, we didn't have as much time as anticipated to sample more but we were satisfied with what we got. The view was amazing as well with the clouds clearing over Manhattan so we ate our food right by the waterfront. Someone left a comment on my last post wondering how I could wear shorts in seemingly cold weather but the photos are deceiving: it was actually hot and humid. TOO hot and humid. One of my friends actually asked me how I could go out in a long sleeved shirt and hat... I don't know what I was thinking either.

From top to bottom: Choncho's chicken tacos, beef bulgogi bun from We Rub You, hot dog from Asia Dog, shrimp teriyaki balls from Mimi and Coco.

Looking back I wish we hadn't missed most of the vendors since I have no idea when I'll be back. I was bummed that I didn't get to buy anything from Whimsy & Spice since Jenna has been one of my favorite bloggers for quite some time now (thank for trying to get Mark to look out for me while he was packing up, I wish it had worked out!) For years I've been meaning to order something from their store but keep slipping up... I finally got my chance at Dean & Deluca right before I left and picked up a pack of brown sugar gingerspice cookies for Brent since he's also a fan. Unfortunately I didn't even get to try one since he took them with him to work and finished them all on Bart without saving me one. Rude!