Roast chicken with gravy – United Airlines

Roast chicken with gravy - United Airlines
Served with potatoes, carrots, green beans, side salad, dinner roll, and cream crackers.
London (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO), United Airlines

The chicken doesn’t look very appetizing, but it was actually palatable with the salty gravy on top. The carrots and beans were way overcooked and had the consistency of soft food for the elderly. I’m not a salad person so I just picked at a few lettuce leaves. This was another underwhelming dinner service from United Airlines. Please, let me fly first class next time!

Jubilee Market Hall
Jubilee Market Hall, Covent Garden.

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).

Spicy chicken wings – The Stockpot

Spicy chicken wings - The Stockpot
Braised chicken wings served with a side salad. £3.30
The Stockpot, London ENGLAND

As an American, whenever I see “spicy chicken wings” on a menu, I automatically assume that they’re going to be deep fried and unhealthy, and super delicious! This dish was neither deep fried nor delicious, but I’m sure it was still unhealthy, lol. The chicken wings were hard and of poor quality and the braising liquid (sauce) wasn’t spicy at all. I was surprised at how much you got for the low cost though.

Random parade procession
Random parade procession along Birdcage Walk.

Foie gras terrine – Dolce Sitges

Foie gras terrine - Dolce Sitges
Fruit preserves, toast points, side salad.
Dolce Sitges, Sitges ES

This was SO good! I think they really skimped on the toast points though considering the large slab of the foie gras terrine, lol. Oh well, I made do. 🙂

Art nouveau clock tower

Art nouveau clock tower, Placa Cap de la Vila. The narrow streets of Sitges provide a surprise around every corner!

BLT sandwich – Dolce Sitges

BLT sandwich - Dolce Sitges
With hard boiled eggs, mixed root chips, side salad.
Dolce Sitges, Sitges ES

Wow, this hotel was beautiful! It’s situated on a hill above the town with great views of the Mediterranean. After taking the train from Barcelona, I was super hungry when I arrived so I went straight to lobby bar/restaurant and ordered some food and mojitos! Mmm, just what the doctor ordered.

Passeig Maritim
Passeig Maritim, the main drag along the beaches. Sitges is SO charming with many visitors from all around the world there to enjoy the beautiful beaches and warm weather. The town is small enough to easily navigate, but at the same time feels cosmopolitan because it’s packed with people.

Croque madame – La Cooperative

Croque madame - La Cooperative
De pain de campagne, frites et salade. Ham and cheese sandwich topped with fried egg, country bread, French fries and salad. 9,90€
La Cooperative, Paris FR

I thought I’d try a croque madame in France! Hmm, I’m not sure if this is how they’re supposed to be normally, but I wasn’t a fan. The bread was really toasted, as evidenced by the dark broiled cheese and dry edges, so it was hard and difficult to eat. I’m used to croque madames that are softly oozing with melted cheese and perhaps some bechamel thrown in for added moisture. This plate was gigantic though so it was a great value. I could only eat half of it, but the girl at the table next to us had no trouble finishing hers off, omg! The fries were also limp and bland.

Louvre Museum
Louvre Museum. Everything is so huge in Paris! The number of beautiful buildings is astounding so it’s not difficult to constantly be snapping pics. We walked the grounds of the Louvre but never made it inside. We didn’t want to bother with the long line and we were getting too tired to fully appreciate such a large museum once inside.

Sweet and sour chicken – United Airlines

Sweet and sour chicken - United Airlines
Served with fried rcie, side salad with ranch dressing, dinner roll, butterscotch brownie.
San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG), United Airlines

Ugh! I would say that this was a joke of Chinese food, but I’m pretty sure sweet and sour chicken is an American invention in the first place. I’m just gonna say that this was NOT good, yuck!

Hanging art installation

Hanging art installation, SFO Terminal 2.

Open flame chicken meal – Goood Frikin’ Chicken

Open flame chicken meal - Goood Frikin' Chicken
Marinated over night in an herbal marinade, cooked slowly on open flame til tender and done. Served with macaroni and cheese, side salad, olive oil pita, and garlic dip. Half chicken $11.75
Goood Frikin’ Chicken, San Francisco CA

I love the marinade that they use for their chicken! It’s SO delicious and I end up devouring the entire chicken, skin and all. Actually, the skin is my favorite part, hehe. Although their mac and cheese isn’t oozy-gooey I still love it. It’s full of cheesy flavor and works well with the Mediterranean spices used on the rest of the food. And of course I could eat stacks of their pita and garlic dip. Noms!

Salade Comete – La Comete

Salade Comete - La Comete
Smoked salmon, mushrooms, tomato, haricot vert, cucumber, hard boiled egg. 9,90€
La Comete, Paris FR

We were searching for an early, small dinner but all the restaurants/cafes were packed. It was such a warm evening that we really wanted to sit outside at a sidewalk table to enjoy the weather and to people watch. Everybody else seemed to eat outside regardless so why not do the same? We walked around for quite some time before we ended up at Cafe La Comete.

Our initial idea of getting a small meal quickly ended when we realized the portions were quite large! The prices were, however, much more reasonable than our first meal in Paris (which I thought was slightly overpriced). The food here was good, but nothing special. I’d never seen a salad completely veiled in thin layer of smoked salmon though – that was new. Our waiter was really cool, a little rough around the edges but friendly and accommodating (and easy on the eyes). We haven’t really had to fumble with our French at all so far since everyone speaks English anyway.

French baguette - La Comete
French baguette. Complimentary

Place setting - La Comete
Place setting.

Jardin de l'Hotel-de-Sens
Jardin de l’Hotel-de-Sens, Le Marais. We were walking around the neighborhood near our hotel and passed by this cute garden with low hedges and beautiful flowers. I also love the red accents on the building’s dormers.

Endive salad – Ma Bourgogne

Endive salad - Ma Bourgogne
Salade d’endives au bleu des causses. Blue cheese, tomato, carrot, chives. 10€
Ma Bourgogne, Paris FR

This was a simple but very tasty endive salad! The blue cheese came in large cubes tossed with the chopped endives in the center of the plate and was simply dressed.

Paris Plages 2013
Paris Plages 2013. During Paris Plages, they create artificial beach areas along the northern bank of the Seine River. These sandy oases were great because it was SO hot while we were there. They even have misters, showers, and plenty of food/beverage stations and seating areas. And of course the people watching was spectacular! 😉

Penne pasta with meatballs – United Airlines

Penne pasta with meatballs - United Airlines
Side salad with ranch dressing, dinner roll, butterscotch brownie.
San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG), United Airlines

Ugh, I’m never liked the meals on United international flights. They’re usually worse than bad cafeteria food, but I guess they succeed in their goal of being heavy and fattening and making you fall asleep so you’re not a disturbance on the plane. This pasta was actually passable as decent microwave food though. The salad and roll were throw-aways, but the brownie was pretty tasty. 🙂

Classic board games exhibit
Classic board games exhibit, SFO Terminal 2.

Roasted lamb leg – Goood Frikin’ Chicken

Roasted lamb leg - Goood Frikin' Chicken
Slices of garlic studded roasted choice lamb leg topped with mushroom sauce served with basmati rice pilaf, salad and bread. $15.95
Goood Frikin’ Chicken, San Francisco CA

Mmm, this was really good! The lamb was super tender and flavorful. The basmati rice pilaf was too salty and I could have done without it, but I do love their bread. The lamb even tasted great as leftovers the next day. 🙂

Side salad - Goood Frikin' Chicken
Side salad.