With house-made mustard and honey. $7
Hi Tops, San Francisco CA
What a perfect item to serve at a sports bar! Since chef Jamie Lauren of Top Chef fame served wonderful pretzel bites at her former restaurant Absinthe, why not add a pretzel to the Hi Tops menu?! Score!
Taking the dog for a walk on the beach at Fort Funston.
Apple, grapes, Temecula honey, crackers. $12
Escena Lounge & Grill, Palm Springs CA
Omg, they certainly gave us A LOT of cheese! We weren’t expecting such a large plate when we ordered it, but we’re not complaining, hehe. I’m not sure what all the cheeses were but there an herb-crusted goat cheese, bleu cheese, brie, gouda, some kind of cheddar, a soft sheep’s milk cheese, and a couple other kinds. I can never say no to cheese so I liked everything. And the honeycomb chunk was awesome!
Cholla Cactus Garden filled with Teddy Bear chollas (Cylindropuntia bigelovii, Cactaceae), Joshua Tree National Park.
Arugula, goat cheese, honey, crostini. Happy hour $5
Bankers Hill, San Diego CA
Simple and delicious! The honey drizzled over the goat cheese crostini was a nice touch.
House red wine. Happy hour $5
It sure got dark pretty quickly!
Flowering Euphoria “cactus”, Desert Garden, Balboa Park.
Buttermilk battered Rock Jr. chicken, Martin Farms mixed chicories, Pinkie’s buttermilk biscuit, Mr. Combover Soma honey and bacon coffee gravy. $20
Citizen’s Band, San Francisco CA
Mmm, this was really tasty! The flavorful fried chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside. The biscuit was ok, but I loved the local honey drizzled on top. The chicories were yummy as was the gravy but I wish there was more of it.
Pinot noir, Acote, CA 2010. $10
Riding an SF Muni green Boston streetcar.
Five white meat chicken tenders fried and served with honey bbq sauce. $8
Lookout, San Francisco CA
These were probably straight out of a frozen bag, but I must admit that they were pretty tasty! I guess fried food always tastes good when you’re drinking with friends, hehe.
Delice de bourgogne (triple creme cow’s milk cheese), petit agour (sheep’s milk aged cheese), roaring forties (blue cheese) with pears, pistachios and honey. $16
Maven, San Francisco CA
Wow, this was A LOT of cheese! We were having a four-course tasting menu but we weren’t sure how much food it would be so we ordered this cheese plate early on to supplement our meal. Boy, we wish we hadn’t. No, the cheese was amazing but we were SO full that we really didn’t need anymore food. We tried our best ot eat as much of it as we could though. I think the roaring forties blue cheese with the honey on top was my favorite. NOMS!
Four Roses Manhattan. $9
Baby backs coated in house rub, flame broiled and baked with honey mango BBQ glaze. Happy hour $9.95
Don the Beachcomber, Kailua-Kona HI
I’m a huge fan of BBQ ribs! These babybacks tasted good but not amazing! I wish they were a little more tender, but since they were slathered in delicious BBQ sauce I didn’t mind too much, hehe.
Decorative gate at the Hulihee Palace, Ali’i Drive.
Bunuelos: donuts, date jam, spiced honey, date-olive oil ice cream. Summer prix-fixe menu $38
Tinto, Palm Springs CA
Mmm, I love bunuelos! These were pretty good and I enjoyed the date-olive oil ice cream too!
Chocolate flourless cake, chocolate mousse, passion fruit sorbet.
I think this was just a little too rich for me after a large meal. I couldn’t only eat a few bites before I had to quit. The flavors were good though.
Pink crown of thorns flowers (Euphorbia milii, Euphorbiaceae).
Pork belly, honey lacquer, shaved apple. Summer prix-fixe menu $38
Tinto, Palm Springs CA
Duck confit, serrano ham, black cherry, la peral spread.
Montaditos are delicious bites on slices of baguette. These were very tasty and had very different flavors. I liked the pork belly montadito a little better, perhaps because the duck montadito was a bit on the salty side.
Pretty flower box, E Tahquitz Canyon Way.
Semi-firm, raw, sheep’s milk. with pear, membrillo and honey. Summer prix-fixe menu $38
Tinto, Palm Springs CA
Never had this cheese before and it tasted great. I’m a huge cheese fan so I’m always excited to try varieties that are new to me. I think the good food helped to calm me down after dealing with the clueless hostess and my eyes finally adjusting to the cave-like dimness of the restaurant even when it was blindingly bright outside.
Bread with smoked salmon spread. Complimentary
This was frickin’ delicious!
Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum, Poaceae) in the backyard of the PS house.
Endive, caramelized grapes, honey-thyme vinaigrette. $10
Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, San Francisco CA
I think they replaced the endive with pickled onions! I really enjoyed this appetizer. I know that this pork belly is super fatty, but it was oh so yummy. The thinly shaved fennel underneath and the acid from the pickled onions helped to cut the fat. I must say that I enjoyed the caramelized grapes the most, lol! Those little suckers were amazing!
The sidewalk parklets in my neighborhood have also been decked out for the holidays!
Figs, arugula, fresh ricotta, chopped hazelnuts, honey and white wine vinaigrette. $9
Trio Restaurant, Palm Springs CA
Ew, this salad was sweeter than dessert! The honey and white wine vinaigrette was WAY too sweet and the fresh ricotta and pulverized hazelnuts added a weird texture to this sad, overly dressed salad.
Fronds of a young California fan palm tree (Washingtonia filifera, Arecaceae) in the PS house backyard.
Vittle Monster 