Boston, the scene: Vox Populi, Top of the Hub

After flying and transferring and waiting and eating peanuts and drinking airplane coffee, I couldn't wait to feel Boston's fresh air. (It also helped that my body believed it was three hours earlier than it actually was, but n'importe quoi).

Our first stop was Top of the Hub, one of Boston's more well-known bar and restaurant haunts with spectacular views of the city (for a hefty price). We decided overpriced drinks and a long wait for a table weren't worth it, snapped a few pics, and went on our merry way.

Instead, we visited Vox Populi, a place Jon had heard about and wanted to check out. It was bustling, more a bar than a restaurant, with a second upstairs bar area that became more busy as the night wore on -- think: college students and televised basketball games.

However, they had a lovely martini menu for some sweet prices ($11-$12), which was a nice change. One example: the Pear Tree Martini, with Grey Goose Le Poire, St-Germain Elderflower liqueur and fresh lime juice.

What are your favorite places in Boston?

Coming soon: Erbaluce, Mike's cannolis, and Legal Seafoods.

Photos, from top: View from the Top of the Hub; enjoying friends at Vox Populi (both, credit Kelsey Ramos); Top of the Hub (maywong_photos)

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What's your breakfast fancy? (And the story of The Breakfast.)

My answer: everything. Including that French toast up there.

You already know how much I love breakfast -- I've already reminisced about Sunday morning pancake breakfasts before church.

So naturally one of my favorite memories of college years (I'm already reminiscing about something that ended 7 months ago) also involves breakfast. It was a night a good friend came over to my tiny, barely-big-enough-to-live-in-let-alone-host-even-one-guest college apartment and we invited a bunch of friends over to cram around our little 6-chair round table and eat homemade breakfast burritos with chorizo and eggs, pancakes with all kinds of toppings and syrup, fresh fruit salad and juice.

And in high school and even a couple years into college, before we lost our unnatural childlike metabolism and developed adult taste buds for calorie-laden wine and beer, my best friend and I would spend an early morning in our pajamas attacking the process of constructing The Breakfast.

It deserves title-case because it was literally big enough to be its own entity, with a name. We'll call it Joe. Joe, who was resurrected during the shared Cal Poly SLO-UCLA spring break, consisted of blueberry pancakes, tator tos (naturally), turkey bacon, fresh fruit, french toast sticks (I could be making that up), my best friend's delicious scrambled eggs, "english muffins and jam for sure" (says BFF), ketchup (most people consider this a side dish -- definitely elevated to main dish status for her), sausage and chorizo and various other things we felt like throwing on the table. If Joe sounds nauseating, pretend you are an 18-year-old.

Here are some really delectable breakfast recipes that I've been wanting to try -- let me know if you make them. What else have you been eating for breakfast?

• Edna Mae's sour cream pancakes -- doesn't that photograph look positively LUSCIOUS? Smitten Kitchen
• Healthy & delicious baked oatmeal. Serious Eats
• Heart-shaped cinnamon rolls. Pinch My Salt
• Slow-cooker ultimate breakfast casserole. A Year of Slow Cooking
  
• Chilaquiles -- use up those tortillas and hot sauce! Serious Eats
  
• And, just for fun: a video of what Photoshop might look like if you could bake cookies with it. Serious Eats

Photo: Homemade french toast (a perfect way to use old bread!). Credit: Kelsey Ramos

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PhotoBite: What I'm craving right now (Hint: starts with "pan" and rhymes with cake)

If Mardi Gras isn't enough for you (or if it's too much), know that today is also Pancake Tuesday ("Shrove Tuesday") and you can celebrate with a big stack of flapjacks. There will definitely be a little breakfast-for-dinner time on my table tonight. Homey and casual Breakfast is one of my favorite things EVER and now, a whole day to celebrate it with pancakes! Rejoicing ensues.

If king cake is more your style, I'd recommend this LA Times recipe for homemade king cake with cream cheese frosting and tart apple filling. I had a slice of it this morning (never too early for King Cake) and it made my Mardi Gras day.

Happy Mardi Gras, happy Shrove Tuesday!

Photo credit: Kelsey Ramos

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PhotoBite: They sought me out to hold the chopsticks

The food editors came to find me because they needed someone to hold dumplings with chopsticks for a food section photo shoot...

...because I'm Asian (I can only assume). :)

http://tweetphoto.com/10419910

(Noelle Carter, the Times' Test Kitchen Manager, shot a picture of the action and Tweeted about it.)

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I left my heart in Boston

Back in the daily grind after a blissful week-long trip to Boston which included, among many other things: cannolis from the North End, running in the snow, baking a cake, oysters and beer, fabulous wine and meandering all over Boston and Cambridge with three fantastic Boston friends. One of our stops was the highly-touted Top of the Hub restaurant and bar.

I'll chronicle all of our delicious culinary adventures on Frugal Nosh in the next couple of weeks, as I recover from the shell-shock of returning to work, upload my photographs, etc. Stay tuned.

And in the meantime, answer me this:

What do you love about Boston?

Photo: Top of the Hub, Boston, MA. Credit: maywong_photos

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Photo Bite: Mozza2Go

Ladies and gentlemen, I present: evidence of my inaugural Mozza2Go experience.

Thanks to some sweet coupon help from BlackboardEats (30% off), some foodie friends and I were able to indulge guilt-free at the trendy take-out sibling of Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza.

Our picks: a simple Margherita pizza with mozzarella, tomato & basil (shown at bottom left); the
Coach Farm goat cheese, leeks, scallions, garlic & bacon pizza (at top); and the star of the night: Fennel sausage, panna & red onion pizza. You can see the remains of it up in the top left corner there (saving the best part -- the crust -- for last).

Three pizzas and a homemade salad were plenty for four of us, as the pizzas are personal-sized and cut into four large slices. The service at the small storefront on Melrose was pleasant and very friendly -- my pizzas were ready on time, the man at the counter told me I ordered his two favorite pizzas (goat cheese and fennel sausage) and the shelves of fancy gourmet goods in the shop were neatly stocked. (Remember that "takeout" shouldn't translate to "no tip.")

Parking can be tough -- I found metered parking one block west on Melrose.

I'm planning on going again as soon as I can, so send me your recommendations:
What are your favorite Mozza pizzas? What are the other must-haves on the menu? If you've never been, check out the menu and tell us what you hope to try.


Mozza2Go
6610 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles 90038
323-297-1130
www.mozza2go.com

Photo credit: Kelsey Ramos

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Photo Bite: The best way to detox (from Frugal Nosh followers)

The other day I appealed to my Twitter community: "Trying to detox but just ate half a Krispy Kreme...what do you eat/drink to detox?" and got a lovely response. Thought I'd share:

Photo credit (L-R): Flickr users JOE M500, haleysuzanne, and craigCloutier

Follower patriciawayne divulges her secrets: "blackberries, pomegranates and green tea". I fully agree. I drink green tea every day and it is very cleansing and soothing.

Photo credit: Flickr user waynewhuang

Follower SheSimmers suggests something new (to me): "Yerba Mate - It kills my sugar craving." (Anyone have suggestions about where to buy good, not-too-expensive Yerba Mate?)

Photo credit: Flickr user looseends

and follower Ellie_Bee_ says simply: "soup!" (What a lovely suggestion. Probably doesn't mean clam chowder or bisque, unfortunately -- or fortunately.)

I've been pretty happy with my detox constants: a half cup of oatmeal with a small sprinkle of dried cranberries for breakfast; whole grains, big but not loaded salads (simple spinach will do) and lean proteins for lunch; holding off on desserts, office treats (like Krispy Kreme donuts, shudder) during the day and snacking on juicy pears or Clementine citrus instead, though sometimes I give in when my cubicle neighbor brings me a piece of dark chocolate.

What do you do to detox?

Stay up to date with other detox queries and food musings: follow @FrugalNosh on Twitter! (Thanks to my awesome followers!)



Photos all licensed under Creative Commons. Top photo links (L-R): pomegranate, blackberries, green tea.

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How to help send food to Haiti

The devastation after Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti is enough to move anyone to action.

Here are some organizations where you can donate food for relief support in Haiti: United Nations' World Food Programme, Red Cross, Oxfam America, and Action Against Hunger.

The Los Angeles Times also has journalists in Haiti, updating from the scene and the website has more resources for how you can help.

(Thanks to SeriousEats for the links, who referred them from Epi-Log.)

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