Olive focaccia round – Arizmendi Bakery

Olive focaccia round - Arizmendi Bakery
$1.50
Arizmendi Bakery, San Francisco CA

The olives were especially large on today’s batch of olive rounds. Yum! They were nice and juicy.

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Empanadas – Fresca

Empanadas - Fresca
Peruvian aji de gallina, salsa criolla, hardboiled egg, olive, greens. $8
Fresca, San Francisco CA

These empanadas were really tasty and nicely priced at four bucks a piece. The crust was flaky and buttery and the Peruvian filling was delicious. Mmm…

Cocktails - Fresca
Killing Tyme: Four roses bourbon infused hibiscus, thyme, canton madeira, orange bitters. $10
House Manhattan. $10

Calabrian sausage pizza – Stoneburner

Calabrian sausage pizza - Stoneburner
Bright lights chard, gaeta olives, mozzarella. Happy hour $8
Stoneburner, Seattle WA

Calabrian sausage pizza - Stoneburner
Omg, only eight bucks for this amazing pizza during happy hour?! Count me in!! Honestly, this pizza was frickin’ great. The ingredients were top notch and the crust was heavenly. I think Stoneburner definitely has one of the best happy hours in Ballard!

Bourbon Old Fashioned cocktail - Stoneburner
Bourbon Old Fashioned: bourbon, gum syrup, bitters, orange zest. Happy hour $7

Parmesan, oregano, dried chilies - Stoneburner
Parmesan, oregano, and dried chilies.

My favorite snack at the moment!

Favorite snack
365 branch multi-seed flatbread crackers with brillat savarin and chopped olive tapenade.

Omg, I love these! I buy everything at Whole Foods and put everything together whenever I need a little snack (usually when watching tv). Every bite is packed with tons of flavor and it incorporates one of my favorite cheeses. The brillat savarin is soft and spreadable so this snack is super easy to assemble. Noms!

Citrus marinated olives – Percy’s & Co.

Citrus marinated olives - Percy's & Co.
I was really surprised at how many olives we got for only three bucks, score! They tasted great with the citrus and rosemary flavors, and I loved that it was a mixture of different olive varieties. Olives are my favorite so I’ll definitely be back for this snack. Happy hour $3
Percy’s & Co., Seattle WA

Pike Place Public Market
Pike Place Public Market sign at the corner of Pine and Pike.

Baby beets – Luce

Baby beets - Luce
Lightly smoked with fig branches, pickled cherries, black olive, fresh ricotta. Tasting menu $95
Luce, San Francisco CA

I can certainly appreciate an artfully plated dish, but this is going a bit far maybe. There are literally only four tiny pieces of beets on this plate. I understand that there are many components here, but give me some more damn beets! LOL, I’m only slightly joking… The beets were delicious, and so were the pickled cherries. I think that was a beet gelee too, but don’t quote me on that.

Blooming chalk lettuce
Blooming chalk lettuce (Dudleya lulverulenta, Crassulaceae), West Field Road.

Croque Italienne – Patisserie Valerie

Croque Italienne - Patisserie Valerie
Grilled granary bread sandwich filled with prosciutto ham, mozzarella and topped with sundried tomatoes, black olives and gruyere bechamel. Servied with a salad garnish. £6.70
Patisserie Valerie, London ENGLAND

This was a great variation on the a croque sandwich. I think it was the combination of the crispy granary bread and the “Italian” toppings covered in gruyere bechamel, all broiled to bubbly perfection that made this dish delightfully interesting. Noms! And the “salad garnish” was more substantial than I expected, score!

Raspyberry Heaven smoothie and OJ - Patisserie Valerie
Raspberry Heaven smoothie: raspberry, blueberry, mango and apple. £4.05
Freshly squeezed orange juice. £3.05

Monument of the Great Fire of London view

View from the top of the Monument of the Great Fire of London, including the 30 St Mary Axe building (the Gherkin).

Olive and cherry tomato greche – Princi

Olive and cherry tomato greche - Princi
Greek bread with green olives and cherry tomatoes. £2.20
Princi, London ENGLAND

This bread was pretty good. We ordered it because we didn’t recognize the name. It was jam-packed with olives which is great because I’m an olive fiend. They reheated it before serving so it was nice and warm! 🙂

Hungerford Bridge

Crossing the River Thames on the Hungerford Bridge.

Cheese and wine – Z Hotel Soho

Cheese plate - Z Hotel Soho
Assorted cheese, olive, biscuit, raisin and hazelnut bread. Complimentary
Z Hotel Soho, London ENGLAND

The Z Hotel had a great complimentary cheese and wine break available in the early evening. They set it up in their cafe and actually had a pretty good selection of snacks and alcohol. We only made it down for one evening, but we had a great time. I was generally impressed by the professionalism and service from the Z Hotel staff overall. Although the rooms were super small, the central location of the hotel was perfect for this visit! 🙂

Red wine - Z Hotel Soho

Red wine. Complimentary

Palace Theatre
View of the Palace Theatre from my Z Hotel room, Cambridge Circus, West End.