His Eye Is On The Sparrow

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

Well, 2014 is almost over and 2015 is practically on our doorsteps.  I work for a company that had a long range vision plan for the year 2015, so for years everything was punctuated with a "In 2015" intense whisper.  

The seriousness behind how much we were supposed to accomplish and change "by 2015" was like a heavy weight bearing on our backs.  It was like we expected to have houses on Mars by then and God help the person who wasn't onboard to make the mission happen.  It was very much a "success OR ELSE" feeling to me.  And it gave "In 2015" this very weird, otherworldly aura.  

And now it's almost 2015, will a dreaded doomsday event occur?  Who knows?  I'm just happy to not have to hear the "terroristic inspiration" of how much we have to achieve by 2015.  Ladies and Gentlemen, 2015 is here.  Now let's live in it!  

I was recently in San Francisco, California - where I had briefly lived a million lifetimes ago.  If you read my previous post:  "A San Francisco State of Mind" you may recall on my last visit I was doing some walking down memory lane and inadvertent second hand smoking marijuana as I strolled down the Haight.  I was already in a mood of deep contemplation and examination as I had deja vu recalling the first time I had ever been to Haight-Ashbury a million lifetimes ago.

Not only was I thinking about life lessons from my youth, but l was also hungry.  (Story of my life.)  I walked past a restaurant called Sparrow Bar and Kitchen.  The song "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" started up in my head.  

The lyrics from the song "His Eye Is On The Sparrow": "I sing because I'm happy.  I sing because I'm free, for His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me" always moves me very deeply.  I felt like this was some sort of sign.  

I was receiving a lot of spiritual nourishment (and second hand pot smoke) on my meditative walk along The Haight.  Now this restaurant seemed like it was tailor-made for a more basic nourishment.

The restaurant is adorable with a wall of reading material that has both David Chang's Lucky Peach magazine as well as a "Little Miss Trouble" kids' book.  (I have the "Little Miss Bossy" t-shirt, so even though I am 900 years old I still cater to my child self.)

The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen has soju cocktails.  Their "Blood Orange and Thyme Paloma" screamed "drink me!"  I am a sucker for herbs in my drink.  Give me a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and vodka with a salted rim and a big old piece of fresh rosemary and I am in heaven!

I don't want to be cheesy and say "You could really taste the thyme!" in this blood orange and thyme paloma.  BUT YOU COULD REALLY TASTE THE THYME!  It was delicious and I had to physically restrain myself from ordering another.

Also can I just take a moment to give a big cheer to the San Francisco attitude?  Like Portland, Oregon, there seems to be a generally relaxed air in the citizens.  Which I am not sure why because the traffic and continued need to drive cars up steep hills always stresses me out, but the locals seem to be mellow.  (Although maybe that aforementioned pot smoke may be the reason ...)  

When I entered The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen, I asked the hostess if she had a table near an outlet.  I know this isn't Starbucks, it's a lovely restaurant.  BUT my phone was dead and I needed to summon an Uber to take me to the airport.  (I heart Uber!)  The hostess didn't even blink and instead said very nicely "I have one right over here for you."  In most any other city, I would have received a heavy sigh, an eye roll and a haughty look of disdain.  God bless you, San Francisco.

I found all of the service at The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen to be top notch.  So thank you not only to the hostess but the bartender and my server as well!

I had finished an intense meeting earlier in the day.  It was spiritually uplifting but still emotionally taxing.  And not to use food as a drug, but this really felt like a time for ... BACON.

The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen serves bacon-wrapped Scotch eggs on a bed of frisee with a sauce Cheron (which is basically Hollandaise with more lemon, some tomato paste and thyme.)  I love a good Scotch egg and I love anything wrapped in bacon, so I had to order it.

Now most Scotch eggs are horrifically overcooked.  A traditional Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage then dredged in bread crumbs and deep-fried.  But The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen's Scotch egg was perfectly cooked.  Look at the gorgeous deep yellow center.  It was lovely.  The sauce Cheron had a nice piquant flavor although frankly the egg was so good on its own; it didn't need a sauce.

To continue with my bacon theme, I saw a "Dirty BLT" on the menu:  candied bacon, goat cheese, peppercorn-spiced remoulade and romaine lettuce on Ciabatta served with hand cut Kennebec fries.

Candied bacon?

Goat cheese?

Ciabatta?

Kennebec fries?

It's like The Sparrow had his eye on my stomach and created this sandwich just for me.

The Ciabatta roll was the best ciabatta bread I have ever had in my life.  I could have put my shoe between the Ciabatta roll and loved every bite.  

To be fair the candied bacon just tasted like regular bacon to me, but with the goat cheese and the remoulade the sandwich has this custardy, velvety, smoky awesomeness that made me a very happy camper.

The sandwich was very hearty.  After the bacon-wrapped Scotch egg, I could only eat 1/2 the sandwich.  The other half I devoured several hours later on a plane back to Tampa Bay.  It held up well!  (Thank you, world's best Ciabatta!)

The Kennebec fries were delicious, but I couldn't eat all of them.  I need a San Francisco Kennebec fries buddy!  I wonder if they have a section for "Seeking Pal to Eat Part of my Potatoes" on Craigslist?

The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen were top notch in my book.  The decor is lovely.  The atmosphere is hip but laid-back.  The service is incredibly friendly, fast and responsive.  The cocktails and food were amazing.  Win - win - win.  A great lunch in the Haight-Ashbury area.  If you are in San Francisco, I highly recommend you check it out.

Eating at The Sparrow Bar and Kitchen made me feel the same way I do when I hear Jennifer Holliday singing "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" - happy and uplifted!

As your 2014 comes to a close, I hope you are at peace and filled with joy ... and maybe filled with some bacon too!  Thanks for reading!

Watching Top Chef in Slovakia

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

I thought I had written my last post for 2014, but I guess I had another post in me!

For better or for worse, I try not to stop to think whether something scares me - I just do it.  Because if you allow yourself a moment to let self-doubt and fear into your heart, you may never do what you know you need to do.  I credit my Mother for this.  Growing up poor, you don't have the luxury of kindly demurring when things get rough.  You just have to jump in and hope for the best.

When I was nineteen, I backpacked around Western Europe on a shoestring budget with the woman who is now known as Mrs. BKJ of Minnesota.  To save money on youth hostels, we would occasionally travel by night and sleep on trains.  This made for such adventures as: (1) waking up to find a swarthy pickpocket trying to steal our luggage as the train made a late night stop in Avignon, France; (2) watching a man urinate in the middle of the Rome train station and (3) having "gentleman" after "gentleman" try to con us out of our money or virtue.  But two girls from Minnesota are FARM STRONG! and we made it through the experience unscathed.  

(Fact Checker Alert:  OK OK neither Mrs. BKJ or I lived on a  farm, but my Great-Aunt did have a farm - check out my post as The Strawberry Queen "Pink Was The Color of My Itchy Discontent" here.)

So when I was in Budapest, Hungary for work; I decided to hop a train to Slovakia to check out Bratislava.  Why?  WHY NOT!  

Do I know where Slovakia is on a map?  Nope.  
Do I speak Slovak?  No.  
Do I speak Czech?  No.  
Do I speak Hungarian?  No.  
Do I speak German?  No.  
Have I ever been on a train in Hungary or Slovakia?  No.  
Do I know what currency they use in Slovakia?  Nope.  
Do I know anything about Slovakia?  No.  

These are questions a normal, rational person might ask themselves before starting a train trip between Hungary and Slovakia.  But if you are a regular reader of LilyOnTheLam - you may be aware that I am not a normal, rational person!

My preparation for a trip to Slovakia was 1) checking the train times, 2) checking a map to see where the Budapest train station was, 3) checking to see what currency they use in Slovakia (the Euro!), 4) checking a map to see where the Bratislava train station was and where the "Old Town" area was located and 5) double-checking that US citizens did not need visas to enter Slovakia.  (That last one is kind of important!)

I did look for a Bratislava city guide - but fat chance, neither the internet, online bookstores or Budapest bookstores had anything on Bratislava.  I wondered if Bratislava was a mythical city that did not exist.

I shrugged my shoulders and said a very famous Lily line "I'll figure it out when I get there."

Seriously, if I had stopped to really think about hopping a train and just showing up in a country where I had absolutely no familiarity with the language and except for a short stay in Prague (now Czech Republic) a million years ago, had no clue about Slovak history ... I would have never seen this ...

The interior of the Bratislava Train Station

Don't get me wrong - I'm a big believer in rational thinking, looking before you leap and not dying on a train to a country you have never been to before.  BUT I also strongly subscribe to the James Russell Lowell quote: "FATE LOVES THE FEARLESS."  Sometimes you just have to hop on that train and see where life takes you.  This line of (somewhat warped) thinking has served me well in my life and as I think about my 2015 goals, I know I need to embrace this even more!  

So on a Saturday in November, I loaded up on a highly caloric buffet breakfast at the Sofitel Chain Bridge Hotel in Budapest, Hungary.  Each month, the hotel has a special pastry and this particular month it was "Strudels of the Monarchy" - an array of different flavored fruit strudels at the breakfast buffet.  It will also be the name of my future all-girl, one-cat punk band.  Watch for our album in 2016.  

Judging by a Budapest city map it looked like I could take a long walk and get to the train station, but I am not the finest of cartographers so I took a taxi.  The ride was quick and yet surprisingly expensive.  (I walked home from the train station when I returned, proving that it indeed was walkable in the right shoes.)  

I entered the Budapest train station looking for a ticket booth - but none was to be found.  I was stumped!  I have been on trains all over Europe, parts of Asia and America - where are they hiding the ticket booths??  

Finally against a wall I saw these mini travel agency offices.  One marked domestic and one marked international.  There was a ginormous long line at the domestic travel agency office.  I stood in this line for about three minutes until I realized that Slovakia is not a domestic part of Hungary.  (Not the smartest girl in the world!)  I tried to subtly step out of line without drawing any attention to myself before sprinting over to the international office.

I sat in a chair in front of a glass encased booth inside another glass encased office.  In America, so much is fast-serve, self-serve, automated - you stand in line to get everything.  I must admit I felt very weird getting a train ticket by sitting down in front of the travel agent.  She quickly sold me a 2nd class round-trip ticket for Bratislava good for one month.  

I hopped out of the office with my very old school, slightly Soviet looking, 3 attached pieces of paper ticket and went to find my train!

The 2nd class train compartments had individual compartments with 6 seats each.  The seats were faded and threadbare in spots, but comfortable.

I found an empty compartment, kicked back and pulled out my iPad.  I had two episodes of Bravo TV's "Top Chef: Boston" that were just begging to be watched.

It was a gray cold day, but the scenery between Budapest and Bratislava (about a 2 1/2 hour train ride) was still lovely.

I had an uneventful trip, caught up on my American TV and before I knew it I had arrived in Slovakia.

Bratislava's Hlavna Train Station

I hopped off the train - no apprehension, no self-doubt, no raging fear of Slovaks ... just excitement (and gratitude that it wasn't raining).  I was ready for my Slovakian adventure to begin!

The purpose of writing this blog post was not so much to talk about the trip between Hungary and Slovakia but to talk about the spirit in which the trip was taken.  As we say "goodbye" to the remainder of 2014, I hope everyone who reads this is living their lives to their full potential, hopping trains (literal or metaphorical) to new lands and have hearts full of excitement and gratitude!

P.S.  Long story short - walked 13 miles around Bratislava, had a great day, saw lovely sights in the Old Town of Bratislava, had some bad pierogi, had a good beer, some awesome cake, delicious coffee, found a tiny pamphlet on Bratislava history, bought some souvenirs and then went back to Budapest.  It was an excellent day!  It was definitely a nothing ventured, nothing gained adventure!

A San Francisco State of Mind

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

If you are a regular reader of "The Lam," you may notice that my posts have not been as frequent as usual.  It's not that my adventures have slowed down - as I have been to Houston, NYC, Budapest (twice!), Vienna, Bratislava and San Francisco in the past 2 1/2 months; it's that I have been steering my energy to short term goals.  

I started a rainbow striped girlie journal back in May 2013.  (The cover of the journal is so ridiculously more suited for a 6th grader than a woman of my "advanced years.")  For my mental health and stress level, I do my best when I write every day - it's like an unburdening and a soul lightener.  Whether it's a blog post, a heart felt note to a dear friend/loved one or a journal entry - I just do better spiritually and emotionally when I spend time writing.  

But since May 2013, I haven't been dedicating much time to journal entries and frankly I was tired to still be writing in the same darn rainbow striped girlie-looking journal for sooooo long.  I was determined that I would have the journal completely filled before 2015.  I would NOT be welcoming the new year still writing in this darn girlie journal.

So I set a goal for myself to finish writing in all the pages of the "never-ending journal" before 12/31/2014.  And then each day I wrote ... and wrote ... and wrote.  I will admit that some of the writing occurred while I was binge watching five seasons of "Friday Night Lights."  When I watched the first episode I thought "Why was this show so popular?  I'm bored.  I don't like football.  Blah blah."  But by the second show I was hooked and then the BINGE began.  

And on December 7, after many hours of writing and many episodes of "Friday Night Lights;" I finished that darn journal before my deadline.  Mission accomplished!

At the same time I was doing my "Million steps in 100 days challenge" - which I also completed and am very happy to have stay focused on my goal and met the challenge!  Another mission accomplished!  

One more area that I have been paying more attention to is my lack of reading.  I love to read but again it's another area that I have been neglecting.  I set a small, achievable goal of reading 12 books in 2014.  I have read 16 so far.  Bam!  Another goal met!

I suspect the year 2015 is going to be a continuation of setting short-term goals for myself, staying focused and achieving everything I set out for myself.  It may sound boring, but to me it is pretty exciting!  However it means less time working on LilyOnTheLam, so forgive me my lack of blog posts lately.  I have photos for about 200 blog posts but not a lot of time nor motivation to write them.  Perhaps in 2015?

I have had the great fortune to have spent some time in San Francisco lately for another project I am working on.  It is a place near and dear to my heart.  I spent a lot of time in Northern California in my early 20's due to having two relationships who lived there.  Had the real estate market prices not gone through the roof, I probably would have moved to San Francisco when I turned 25.  However instead I chose Los Angeles - because it was significantly cheaper and warmer. 

San Francisco has always held this optimistic, lovely, "young love" vibe due to the experiences I have had there in my oh so long ago youth.  It's magical to arrive in the city and still feel that sensation after so many many many years.  (I am 912 years old now, you know.)

This week has especially been "San Francisco on my mind." I had some extra time while I was in San Francisco, so I leisurely walked around the Haight - taking it all in (and I don't mean taking in the secondhand pot smoke - which was impossible not to inhale).  

This store in the Haight always makes me smile when I see it ... for purely egotistical reasons.

I enjoyed remembering the first time I walked around Haight-Ashbury and how "small town Middle America" I felt.  I am much more "worldly" now and yet there still is some level of touristy-commercialistic-anachronistic-otherworldly haze around the Haight that I still adore as if I still had wide, bright eyes.

I was also excited to see that one of my favorite NYC store "Kid Robot" has a store in San Francisco as well.

When I returned home to "my other city by the bay," Tampa Bay - I attended a concert featuring two of my favorite San Francisco bands-- Matt Nathanson and Train.  It was a nice way to end my San Francisco trip.  Mary Lambert and the East Coast Inspirational Singers also performed at the concert.  A fantastic concert.  I have seen Mary Lambert perform before, but it was my first time seeing East Coast Inspirational Singers - and they were FABULOUS.

All in all it's been a wonderful week.  As we approach this holiday season, I wish all the best of peace, joy and happiness to you all!

Happy Tuesday! You're Ugly!

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

I find Top Ten lists about cities to be somewhat random, arbitrary and usually incorrect in my humble opinion.  For instance, Tampa is supposed to be the number one city for singles in a certain age range.  But if I ask my single friends about this, they scoff ... the dating scene here is not the best ... and certainly not "number one."

But when I saw this article stating that Tampa residents are hotter than Orlando residents, I just had to laugh and say facetiously "Oh of course that is true."  It's easy to agree with some of the "proclamations."  

I have a lot of friends in Minneapolis and according to the article, Minneapolis people are even more attractive than Tampa people.  (Whaaaat?  Noooo way!)  

I expect I'll get some Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas, it is empirically proven that we in Minneapolis are hotter than you ... and a Happy New Year!"    

Tis the season to brag!  I hope they at least send me a candy cane with their bragging.      

Foiled By The Hungarians and Why Michelle Pfeiffer is An Alien

Hello My Wonderful LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

I am back!  I have been in Austria, Hungary and Slovakia - working, eating EVERY pastry in sight and carrying on conversations in part German, part Italian, part French, part Hungarian, part Russian and for some reason really broken English!

Between working and eating, I hopped a train and spent a day in Bratislava.  Being in Central Florida, it takes me a good five hours to leave the state - so watching 2 episodes of Scandal and 1 episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta on my iPad and I go from Budapest to Bratislava?  Sounds pretty good to me!  

By the way, my fellow passengers were intrigued as I watched Nene Leakes preparing for her Cirque Du Soleil Zumanity emcee role in Las Vegas.  I was like "People, Apollo Nida is being sentenced to jail!  I have to watch!  And why are you watching over my shoulder?"  (I could throw in a piece about why did Apollo get 8 years and Joe Giudice of Real Housewives of New Jersey get like half of that ... but I don't want to start a war with any Bravo TV reality fans!)

Anyway, reality TV watching aside ...  I am happy to be back on U.S. soil - and my 900 cats are happy I am home as well.  The first night I slept 10 hours straight without stirring.  I woke up to find myself completely surrounded by cats.  If I had slowly stood up there would have been a perfect body outline of me done in cats.  OH MY GOD:  "CSI: Cats" has been born!  Forensic kittens solving crimes!  Mid-season TV replacement Spring 2015.  Watch for it!

I actually tried to post on my blog from Hungary but my computer kept picking up Google: Magyarorszag (a.k.a. Google Hungary - Hungarians are actually known as Magyars, which I prefer name-wise.  There's something very Genghis Khan about it.)  Anyway Google kept turning my Blogger links into Hungarian and with a belly full of Palinka (Hungarian fruit brandy) and pastry, I just had no patience to be blogging in Hungarian!

So with an almost three week lag, I am BACK to blogging American-style.  No more foreign Googles, googling up my links!  

I have so much to write about - and let's be honest here, I still haven't written much about my LAST trip to Hungary.  Nor my trip to Minnesota before that.  I have been busy, people!  But I needed to "break the ice" and make sure I had some posts for November 2014.  Can't miss an entire month!

So I dedicate this first post back from Europe #2 to the blog Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies.  I do this because as I received 2 weeks worth of held mail, I had Entertainment Weekly's Reunion issue and this picture was inside ...

From Entertainment Weekly

A reunion photo for the cast of the movie The Fabulous Baker Boys - Beau and Jeff Bridges and of course Michelle Pfeiffer.  I dropped the magazine and said out loud to my 900 cats: "Good lord, how does Michelle Pfeiffer still look so good?  She has to be like 80 now.  What the hell?"  (OK she's 56 years old, but jeez she doesn't look it at all.  Is she killing young virgins and bathing in their blood?  Impressive!)

Which looking at the picture reminds me of the one and only time I have ever met Michelle Pfeiffer.  And by "meet" I mean sat 3 rows ahead of her at Baz Luhrmann's "La Boheme" on Broadway.  I was discreetly posting Facebook status updates before the show began when I kept noticing patrons popping up like Prairie Dogs with excited looks on their faces.  (Don't ask me why I capitalized prairie dog - it just seemed appropriate.)

Finally after the 800th Prairie Dog popped up, I turned around to see what everyone was staring at.  Three rows behind me (6th row) were Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw, Bruce Springsteen and his wife Patty and David E. Kelley and his wife ... Michelle Pfeiffer - who had slunked down in her seat and was hiding behind her program.  (My spell check says slunked is not a word - well it is now.)

Now I loves me some Michelle Pfeiffer, but I wanted to say "Honey, you're sitting next to Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg - there's no need to hide behind your program!  Not all of the eyes are on you!"  (Which by the way, Bruce Springsteen was standing up without a care in the world.  He might as well have held a sign that said "Hey, I'm Bruce.")  

But I have to say in Entertainment Weekly's reunion photo for The Fabulous Baker Boys - definitely all eyes are on Michelle ... just like they were for the movie (in my opinion!)  So maybe hiding behind her Playbill program keeps wrinkles from forming on her face.  Whatever you're doing Michelle, just keep doing it!  (Young virgins, beware!)

With winter approaching, it has actually become quite chilly in Tampa.  I am nursing two blisters on my right foot that I received from wearing super cute tall boots for 12 miles as I tromped around Slovakia.  (Yes, I sacrifice my feet for fashion.  I'm female!)  

And it rained yesterday in Tampa, so instead of going for a long walk to burn off all the European pastry calories-- I headed to the Casino and won $144 on The Walking Dead slots.  (I gave part to the Salvation Army, part to Publix's Thanksgiving feeding people in need campaign and I kept some of the winnings for myself because hey, I'm not a saint!)  

As I inhaled cartons' worth of second hand smoke in the casino, I felt like the klassiest dame in the joint!  Oh gambling and people in stretched out polyester, so glamourous!

Before I went on my latest European odyssey - I ran into a friend of a friend who was with some other people.  I was talking about my European and Asian work trips and one of the people I did not know looked at me and said, without sarcasm or bitchiness: "You are amazing and have a fascinating life!"  

As I try not to pop my blisters and am surrounded by snoozing, content cats; I laugh and say - "Yes, I am amazing and have a fascinating life!"

Thank you for stopping by, my amazing readers!

There's A Schweine in my Schnitzel: International Pig Week Continues! Clearwater, Florida

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

Happy Halloween!  Welcome to DAY FIVE - and the last installment of LilyOnTheLam's first ever INTERNATIONAL PIG WEEK.  I chose today's porcine-themed blog subject in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Vienna, Austria.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, from the Pierogi Grill & Deli in Clearwater, Florida, USA ... the Schweineschnitzel with Pierogi ...

  
Also known as pork Schnitzel with mushroom gravy with a side of caramelized onion topped pierogi.  

It is heaven with mushroom gravy.  Crispy, crusty, breaded pork cutlet in a savory, not too rich mushroom gravy with Pierogi Grill's awesome pierogi.  This is not a meal for one with a light appetite.  It is stick to your ribs all day and all night food.  I highly recommend you plow some fields before you have this dish!   

If you are a regular reader of LilyOnTheLam, you will know that I adore Pierogi Grill and Deli ... and not just because I am part Polish.  (Although maybe 72% because I am part Polish.)  I also love their Eastern European deli where you can find products you would not normally see on your American grocery shelves.  Such as:

Instant cappuccino mixes in hazelnut, rum, brandy and cherry flavors!  The next time I go to one of my fancy friends' houses and they ask me what I'd like to drink; I plan on turning my nose up and requesting "a brandy-flavored instant cappuccino, please."  

Then I plan on looking shocked, dismayed, disappointed and judgmental when they woefully admit that they don't have any.  

I will then hand them a map to Pierogi Grill & Deli and I will whisper "I can wait while you go buy some."  Then I will stare at them intently until they depart.  Friends are so much fun!

I read in a tour book that schnitzel came into being when "back in ye olden days," the rich would actually coat their meat with gold flakes.  (My sister and I ate our body weight in gold flake decorated pastries at the Leela Palace in New Delhi, India.  If you're ever looking for the most amazing hotel to stay at - check out the Leela Palace!)  

Eventually either people went poor or the poor wanted to imitate the rich and voila, we now coat our meat with bread crumbs instead of gold to make schnitzel.  

I have no idea if this is a true story or not, but I love the concept of it.  I have this vision of me sitting on top of a solid gold throne demanding that my pork cutlet be coated in gold!  
I've been known to have a little Marie Antoinette in me and not just because I am delusional and bound for a beheading.  

I can't think of a better way to end International Pig Week (and to celebrate my upcoming trip to Austria!) than with a quality schnitzel.  Is Pierogi Grill's schnitzel as good as ones I have had in Germany or Switzerland?  No.  But it's pretty decent for Florida.

If you're in Clearwater, Florida, check out the flavored instant cappuccinos and the schnitzel at Pierogi Grill!

Put Some Butterscotch on My Bacon: International Pig Week Continues - St. Pete Beach, Florida

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

It is DAY FOUR of International Pig Week at LilyOnTheLam!  I hope you have been enjoying this week of porcine posts.  If you are just joining us mid-Pig week, please make sure you check out the previous posts:

Day One: Divin Porcello in Budapest, Hungary
Day Two:  The Thirsty Pig in Portland, Maine
Day Three:  Pork Sausage and Mustard-flavored potato crisps from the UK

and now Day Four ... Bacon Butterscotch Beignets from Castile Restaurant at the boutique Hotel Zamora in St. Pete Beach, Florida!

I loooooooove a good beignet (check out my Bitches and Beignets post from New Orleans, LA), so when I went to the swanky new boutique hotel in St. Pete Beach, FL - The Hotel Zamora and saw that Castile Restaurant had "Bacon Butterscotch Beignets with a Navel Orange Gastrique" on the menu, I said "SOLD!"  I went to brunch with my friend, the CEO of an organic home and body care line.  The decor is fabulous with a view of the lovely inter coastal.  A perfect place for brunch.

Despite my fun-loving palate, my day-to-day eats are pretty Joe Schmo.  The only time I hear the term "gastrique" is when I am watching Bravo TV's "Top Chef."  And even then I roll my eyes.  For the record, a gastrique is a reduction of vinegar and sugar.

I have to say I had very high hopes for these beignets.  They were decent but did not live up to my high expectations.  I am used to beignets that are bit more puffy and fluffy in the middle.  These were overcooked.  I suspect the cooking oil was too hot to allow the dough to properly puff up.  I would have appreciated more bacon flavor.  The butterscotch was tasty and the navel orange gastrique was delicious.  If I were to get these again I'd ask for the sauce on the side as some pieces were drowning in the sauce and overly sweet.  

All in all it's a great concept for a beignet, it just needs more work.  And more bacon.  (Check out my vegan bacon post here.)

I will say overall the atmosphere, customer service and cocktails at Castile Restaurant are top notch and are worth checking out.  So if you're in St. Pete Beach, don't miss out on this one!

P.S.  Yesterday was National Cat Day.  My youngest cat plopped himself down in front of me spread eagle and demanded a belly rubbing.  These cats -- give them a day and they think they are little Princes!

Put A Cork In It: International Pig Week Continues

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

Happy National Cat Day!  Had I known before today that it was National Cat Day, I may have actually named this International Cat Week ... but nope instead it is DAY THREE of my self-proclaimed International Pig Week here at LilyOnTheLam.  

If you have been keeping up with the Porcine-themed posts, you will know that Day One was a restaurant review of the Divin Porcello in Budapest, Hungary and Day Two was a restaurant review of The Thirsty Pig in Portland, Maine.  

For Day Three, we are going back to traditional LilyOnTheLam posting with a "New Product Wednesday" - product reviews on products that are new or new to me.  But in keeping with the International Pig Week theme, I am reviewing:  Corkers Pork Sausage and English Mustard flavoured (or in the US- flavored) potato crisps (or in the US- potato chips).  

In my subscription box trial-mania, I recently checked out Escape Monthly's "vacation in a box."  I find these boxes to be a super cool idea - you get a guide book and items from the country you are "virtually visiting."  This month's box is London.  I received a cute British toy car, an elegant tin of tea and several other Brit items including these CORKERS.

Although I must admit that so far I have already traveled to every place that Escape Monthly has sent me boxes on - Paris, Puerto Rico and now London.  Next month's box is Hawaii - a place I love and have been to many times.  So instead of "Escape Monthly," I have been calling them "Travel Memory Box."  Which is probably a better title than "Places Lily Has Already Been Box."

I must have an Irish soul resting in me because when I looked at this package of chips (a.k.a. crisps) from the Escape Monthly box, I thought "Isn't a corker like a weirdo?"  I looked it up in UrbanDictionary and sure enough, in Irish slang it is.  

Now before you say "You are what you eat, Lily you weirdo;' I have to say "Hey, don't call me a weirdo."  ;-)

I will admit that I am not one to shy away from non-American flavored snack foods.  My sister Squidge and I tried Frito Lay's India Magic Masala potato chips when we were in Delhi.  (Verdict: pretty tasty!)  

I also tried peanut-flavored Cheetos when I was in Moscow.  (Verdict:  Why does God hate me with these awful tasting Cheetos?)  

I even tried soft shell crab Pringles in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.  (Verdict:  "These taste like crab butt."  To which my male Brazilian co-worker said: "How do you know what a crab's butt tastes like?"  Ahem.  No comment.)   

But even with my "gastronomical tourism" through snack foods around the world, my stomach wasn't sure if it was up for pork sausage and mustard flavored (or flavoured) potato chips.  I had had a particularly naughty weekend of eating a lot of junk food and my stomach was screaming for some fruit and vegetables that had not been deep-fried.  Sorry stomach, not today.  

I'm not sure why I was so wary.  I am a big fan of things cooked in animal fat.  It even says so on my curriculum vitae.  "Lily - friend of things fried in animal fat since 1734."  

Duck fat fries?  Yes, please.  Hash browns cooked in bacon grease?  Bring it on, baby.  Yorkshire pudding?  Cheerio and yes, yes!

But perhaps my wariness stems from the sad experience that generally food that is made to taste like other types of food can usually end up tasting only like chemicals.  

If these were homemade potato chips cooked in sausage fat and drizzled with mustard, I think I'd be more onboard.  But these are packaged crisps (a.k.a. chips) with a dusting of some sort of seasoning.  And maybe that seasoning tastes like pork sausage and mustard or maybe it tastes like soft shell crab butt.  Were my taste buds and stomach really wanting to get onboard this train?

Since it is International Pig Week and it is New Product Wednesday, I decided that this was no time for my stomach to wuss out.  So I tried the CORKERS ...

And ...

They tasted like pork sausage and mustard.

Not like a chemical, artificial version of a semblance of pork sausage and mustard, but they really did taste like pork sausage and mustard.

The question now becomes ... do I want potato chips that taste like pork sausage and mustard?

Ehhh ... I prefer a good old regular potato chip.  

Who knew that International Pig Week would be the defining point of my potato chip eating lifetime?  I've learned something new about myself!  

The Corkers were not bad, they were just not my taste.  Maybe one day I will be sitting on the couch, watching The Walking Dead on AMC and I will suddenly want a pork sausage flavored potato chip.  But so far that has not happened.

HOWEVER ... if you are craving a potato chip that tastes like pork sausage and mustard, this is the chip for you!

I have since learned that Corkers also makes a sea salt and cider vinegar flavor.  Now I have had salt and malted vinegar, but cider vinegar chips?  I am intrigued!  

They also make a red Leicester (like a cheddar cheese) and caramelized onion flavor as well as a Sweet Thai Chili flavor chip.  Traveling around Australia, I learned I am quite fond of Sweet Thai Chili flavored snack products.  Oh Corkers, you may make a convert out of me yet!  

(Sadly their website only ships Corkers to UK addresses - which is a reason to make friends with people in the UK.  I am quite content knowing I have at least ten people who I could hit up for an international potato crisp delivery if I ever had the urge!)

Tell me what your favorite potato chip flavor is in the comments section below!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next International Pig Week blog post!  

International Pig Week Continues: The Thirsty Pig in Portland, Maine

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

If you read yesterday's blog post, you will know that I have decided that this week is INTERNATIONAL PIG WEEK on LilyOnTheLam.com.  I started off this pork-themed week of blog posts with the fantastic Divin Porcello - Friends of Ham- restaurant in Budapest, Hungary.  It is now time to take this Pig Week to the United States - Portland, Maine to be exact.

I love Portland, Maine.  It has this weird zen calming effect on me.  

Of course Portland, Oregon also has the same weird zen calming effect on me ... so perhaps just the word "Portland" calms me.

(Side note: which by the way, I have FINALLY started watching Portlandia from IFC.  After years of doing the "Yeah yeah, I know I should watch it - I'll get around to it eventually," I have finally watched a few episodes.  Which, by the way, is the same thing I said about Modern Family [love it] and have continued to say about Downton Abbey and The Strain [yeah yeah I'll get around to it.]  Each episode of Portlandia makes me miss Portland, Oregon.  The quote "Portland is where young people go to retire" cracks me up every time I hear it in the following Portlandia sketch.  Probably because it is somewhat scarily true!  The Dream of the 90's really is alive in Portland!  Sigh ... I miss the 90's.)

While walking down the streets of the historic downtown Portland, Maine area, I saw a sign for "The Thirsty Pig."  I looked it up online and saw that it was known for its quality, specialty sausages and great beer selection.  Win-win!  I knew it was time to check this Pig out!

At The Thirsty Pig, you order your meal at the front counter.  If you like chatting with cute, male hipster counter staff while watching retro cartoons, this is your place!  (Side note:  I always love any place with cute, male hipsters.)

The decor is warm, homey and eclectic.  Very pub-like.  Very friendly.  The patrons and the staff are great.

And who doesn't want their own "dial out a handful" of peanut machine?  I had never seen so many peanut machines in one place!

And in homage to my listening to Cary Elwes' book on the Princess Bride on audiobook, I feel compelled to add this clip when talking about peanuts.  Rest in Peace, Andre the Giant.

But back to the bar/restaurant review ... I saw that The Thirsty Pig menu had a pretzel with mustard and cheese.  I know I shouldn't load up on bread in a specialty sausage house, but I am powerless to resist a good pretzel.  

And this was a good pretzel.

The cheese and mustard were OK, but the pretzel was top notch.

Next on to the pig ... Thirsty Pig's kielbasa with their fantastic pickles on the side!  But to my great surprise, The Thirsty Pig has collard greens as a side dish.  I love me some fantastic collard greens, so I ordered it and hoped the Thirsty Pig could make collard greens as good as I was used to in the South.   

I don't know how Portland, Maine made such great collard greens, but they did it!

And reviewers raved about their pickles and they were NOT wrong ... crunchy, tangy - everything you want in a pickle.

And of course, a cold beer ... or in this case, a cider beer.

The Thirsty Pig indeed has tasty, gourmet, quality, specialty sausages.  I was surprised at how delicious the food was- usually pubs focus more on the beer than the food.  The atmosphere was friendly, jovial and warm.  If I lived in Portland, Maine, this is the type of place I could see myself hanging out once a week.  I only wished my stomach were bigger to allow me to sample more of The Thirsty Pig's fine sausages.  But it gives me a great reason to travel back to Portland, Maine.

P.S.  The Thirsty Pig has great merchandise too.  Look at this fantastic t-shirt I purchased that I just HAD to have!

The front of the T-shirt has The Thirsty Pig logo on it

How are you enjoying International Pig Week on LilyOnTheLam.com?  What are your favorite pork restaurants?  Let me know in the comments section below!