The Volvo Classic Pan Americana was a 40 day rally that brought the participants through most of South America.  I caught the cars on day 25 of the event.

I was sitting in Starbucks when I noticed the cars down below.

Pictures of the cars close up with the great background of Cusco, Peru.

The rally looked like a lot of fun.  I hope to be a participant in a rally one day soon!  You can read more about it here: http://www.volvoclassics-panamericana.nl/ You’ll have to hit the Google translate button on the site since the site is from the Netherlands.

I went for it with the Truffle Burger that has house made truffle cheese and truffle glaze.  It was delicious.  You can see in the background that I also had the truffle fries.

After eating all the food on my plate I still wanted something sweet so I ordered a cake treat.  The cake desserts are made by the Cake Monkey Bakery and are fantastic! I had the peanut butter and marshmallow cake.  It’s a more sophisticated version of a Ding Dong (for those readers in the United States).

Have you eaten anything new or interesting lately?

MSG offered one sitting at 8:00 pm and the meal consisted of 5 courses. The
restaurant was sold out and every seat in the house was taken. All of the
courses offered unique flavors and I have to say they did an excellent job with
only a couple of staff members in an unfamiliar kitchen on the first night.

The meal started out with warm bread.  The butter was amazing.  I think there must have been cheese in it.

The first course was a salad that had apples, radish and cucumbers.  The flavor tasted like kimchi which I am a big fan of.

The second course was veggies with carrots and eggplant with a side of yoghurt.

The third course was roasted potatoes with seaweed.

The fourth course was ramen with pork belly and egg.

The fifth course was dessert which was panna cotta with meyer lemon and blueberries with cinnamon donuts on the side.

This happened to be my first pop-up restaurant experience but it was so much fun
that I can guarantee it won’t be my last.

Chelsea’s Kitchen has a cool vibe as although it was already around 3 pm when I arrived, there were plenty of people both inside and outside on the patio.

I decided to go all out and have the burger with fries.  My friend decided to go with the soup and salad special.  The food was good and the portion size was generous.

I also ordered the ice cream for dessert but just now realized that I never took a picture of it!  It came with caramel and hot fudge as well as different toppings including peanut butter chips, crushed Oreos and confetti sprinkles.

This middle of nowhere café sells close to 200 pies a day and many of their pies are ordered and shipped across the country. The Café was really cute and probably has never been updated since they opened in 1918 but I think that’s part of its charm.

I decided on the mixed berry pie with a scoop of ice cream.  Unfortunately, they were out of ice cream and instead gave me a little whipped cream on the side to eat with my pie.  The first thing that struck me when I took a bite was that I didn’t taste the crust.  The crust is usually my favorite part of the pie so it is usually the first thing I notice and although the crust didn’t play a big part of the flavor profile, the pie was fantastic!

If you happen to be driving to or from Sedona stop in to the Rock Springs Café and taste the pie for yourself!

The side of the Barrio Café.  I thought the wall was so cool!

I found myself back in Phoenix with a business meeting nearby the Barrio Café and I was so excited.  I walked in just as they opened and was so excited to try their food.   I decided to try the Cochinita Pibil which is slow roasted pork with achiote rojo and sour orange but before the meal came out bread was brought to the table.  I passed on the bread since I was hoping for tortilla chips and salsa but that just left more room for the meal.

Unfortunately, the meal was very disappointing.  The first bite I took of the pork was cold and every bite after that was either warm or cold.  It was obviously heated up from the day before which surprised me considering how long it took to come out and that I was the only person in the restaurant.  The dish was a huge disappointment and I basically left most of the food on the plate before paying the bill and walking out.

Roses in Full Bloom

A few weeks ago I walked down to my beloved garden after a mind numbing day of work, looking forward to smelling the roses and brightening my day.  When I arrived, to my shock and dismay my roses were gone.  They were pruned down to nothing.  In that instant my heart sank and a wave of sadness came over me.  I was surprised to feel such intense emotions from the loss of my roses.   I knew that they would eventually have to be pruned but I just wasn’t expecting everything to be gone.

Pruned Roses

Still in shock, I decided to take a seat on a nearby bench and look at the ocean.  I realized how the roses were such a perfect metaphor for life.  Sometimes, unexpectedly, something comes into our lives that completely tears us down and rocks our world.  It’s not to hurt us but to teach us and make us better.  Knowing this doesn’t take away the pain or make it any easier but if we keep our sight on the possibilities, we have the ability to create something bigger, better and more beautiful than what we ever had before.  As for my roses I have faith that when they grow back they too will be bigger, better and more beautiful than they were before.

Although I had high hopes in enjoying the food hall and possibly tea, the store was so crowded that it was virtually impossible to navigate around without being pushed and prodded from all directions.  The place was packed and I hate crowds so I made my way to the food hall to take a few pictures and then got out.

Packed Food Hall

Caviar is one of the many foods available in the Harrods Food Hall

Fresh Fish

Octopus Salad

Sushi

Savory Pies

Chocolate

Baklava

If you have a chance to visit Harrods I would highly recommend it.  My advice is to go during off hours or try to find a time during the day when it isn’t so crowded.  I understand there are better food halls in the area which I hope to try the next time I’m in town.

Before I went to London I decided that I wanted to try a unique Afternoon Tea.  After doing an internet search I found a Chinese option at the Grand Imperial London in the Grosvenor Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road.  Besides the unique menu, they also had a large variety of teas to choose from.

Afternoon Tea Presentation

Prawn and Spinach Dumpling, Deep-Fried Black Cod Roll and Crispy Chicken Bun

Crispy Duck Salad and Mixed Chicken and Vegetable Lettuce Wrap

Oven Baked Egg Tarte and Mago and Sago Cream

Picture of the Grosvenor Hotel (Taken from the Hotel Website)

Picture of the Lobby of the Grosvenor Hotel (Taken from the Hotel Website)

The atmosphere, food and service were all superb at the Grand Imperial London.  If you are in London and in the mood for something a little different, give this place a try.

Day one brought me to Barbara Jean’s.  Barbara Jean’s is a causal, laid back restaurant with good Southern food.  It’s conveniently located right across the street from the Market and was right around the corner from my hotel. I ordered the eggs with ham, grits and jalapeno corn bread.  The service was slow but I was in the South so it was to be expected.  The restaurant was decorated in a country feel which was fitting considering I was in the low country.  Nothing was fancy here but everything was fresh and tasty.  The entire meal was about $6.  The total bill when I added in my coffee was about $9.  Breakfast was very filing and satisfying.  Barbara Jean’s was great and I would recommend coming here.

The second day I was looking for another restaurant when I came across Toast.  The restaurant looked cute so I decided to give it a try.  There was a sign giving Toast accolades for being the best breakfast spot in town.  I was quickly seated and an overly friendly server who felt completely inauthentic came to help me.  I decided on two eggs over medium, bacon and grits.  I had such a good meal the morning before I thought why mess with a good thing.  The food came out pretty fast and the eggs were a little over cooked.  The bacon was ok but the grits were a train wreck.  They were tasteless and runny.  The worst part was that they were under cooked so every time I bit down I got hard bits.  The combination of a runny consistency and hard pieces was gross.  After one bite I put my spoon down and I was done.  I wouldn’t recommend this place.  Any restaurant in the South that can’t cook grits should be avoided like the plague.

On my last day in town I went to Eli’s Table which is the restaurant I was originally looking for on the second day.  The restaurant was nicely decorated and I was one of only a few patrons inside a little after seven in the morning.  I quickly looked over the menu and decided on the ham and Swiss cheese omelet.  I also ordered the grits since I didn’t want the horrible experience from the day before ruin my love of breakfast grits.  The food came out fast and was full of flavor.  There was plenty of cheese and ham in the omelet.  The grits were the best breakfast grits I can remember having and unlike the previous day when I put my spoon down because it tasted like slop, today I had to put my spoon down so I wouldn’t eat the whole bowl.  Both the meal and service were great.  I would highly recommend Eli’s Table.