Calamity Shazaam in the Kitchen

Last dinner on holiday at the Old Northeast Tavern. Chicken & Plantain quesadillas with pineapple salsa - an unexpected treat. Pulled pork sliders and green apple slaw. And a couple of Florida Ave Ales, a local beer from the Cold Storage Craft Brewery in Tampa.

 Perfectly cooked bacon Spinach, tomato, and goat cheese omelet Blueberrylicious pancakes  Oh and mimosas. Lots of mimosa.

As you may, or may not, have surmised - I will eat beans and rice at any opportunity.  Yesterday on our way to see K.D. Lang at the Hard Rock in Orlando we stopped for a bite to eat at this place: Spanish and Chinese you say? Well yes, but for me it was the Spanish part that was important. And as a side note, I think that the reason there are Spanish-Chinese food restaurants is because back in the days of yore when sugar plantations were in full tilt across the Caribbean they brought Chinese workers in to cut the cane. At least that is what I think was the deal, I could just be making that up... Of course I got rice & beans. I also got the roast pork. The pork was delicious - so tender and tasty, I completely pigged out. Oink oink. I ate it all up. At this point Jo & Jo must think I have a worm or something, given my capacity to inhale food... As I have the day to myself tomorrow, I just might go and find MORE rice & beans. Stay tuned. ...

Every town has one, a weekend open air market. The one in Boston closes (sort of) in the winter because of the cold and the snow. The one here closes in the summer because of the heat.  Now I am not a fan of crawfish and therefore not so much inclined to try a crawfish pie, but seriously, how awesome is that sign. Very awesome. I am sure I am not the only one who wanted to buy the sign. Vivian probably has a few of those signs for folks just like me. I really should have asked. C'est chouette, non? I ought to have gotten a better close up of the ginormo jar of Nutella on the roof. If it had been an actual jar filled with real Nutella, I would have fainted. Jo tells me this stuff is "amazeballs". Well, she would have used that word only I hadn't introduced it to her yet. I have never heard of this stuff so she bought some and I took a photo of the sign in case I love it and need to have it shipped to my mouth. Honestly, Boston needs to have an Empanada...

I am away for a few days, down south and in the sun, visiting a very dear friend and her lovely girlfriend. The thing I love about my pal Jo is that she and I are on the same wave length about lot of things, mostly about what is funny and when to eat, which is pretty awesome when you are a funny & hungry girl like me. On our way to her house from the airport we made a pit stop at Mazzaros Market , basically the supermarket of my dreams. I could not really get a decent shot of the place as I was like "ooh, I want that, oh and that, and one of those..." But this gives you a general idea. Row after row of epicurean delights. A kind of heavenly warehouse with row after row of amazing things to eat. All I needed to see was an Oompa-Loompa and I would have started to actually worry. We brought home 6 sandwiches, 8 pastries, a box of their specialty cookies, a packet of amaretti, and a package of ladyfingers. For two people, with a third on the way. Blurp....