The most FANTASTIC food exists in California... more specifically in Santa Monica, California where I visited last weekend for my sister's wedding. Not only did the excitement of the wedding make it a great vacation, but also the charm of the area as well as the vast variety of great cafes, bakeries, restaurants, and wineries. My mom and sister and I went to California early so that we could check out the area and visit local hotspots. Unfortunately because I'm still under 21, I wasn't even allowed to enter the winery my sister and mom were so excited to go to so none of us went :( That day improved drastically though when we went out for lunch at The Lobster (a local seafood restaurant right next to the water. I ordered fish over butternut squash and sauteed spinach. The picture is all I need to put in this blog to tell you how delicious it was; I've never experienced a meal so light and so rich in flavor at the same time.
After lunch, we walked through an outdoor mall (The first time I've ever seen one!) and that led us to a gelato/sorbet cafe that serves over 100 flavors!!! I got banana-peanut butter gelato and it was worth every penny :) From their we decided it would be a good idea to visit a bakery my mom had seen near the wine-tasting place we had planned on visiting; The Vanilla Bake Shop was its name and it provided us with 6 delicious mini-cupcakes for that evening.
The last stop of the day was C&O Restaurant, an Italian food restaurant that serves individual and family style. I got the gnocchi and my mom and sister (appropriately) ordered a seafood pasta dish to share. Oh! And I cannot forget to mention the killer garlic rolls they served fresh all through dinner (hot and fresh from the oven). For dessert we all split a piece of tiramisu and then headed back to the hotel to eat our cupcakes :P and watch The Killers with Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher.
My sister's food at her wedding was another highlight of the trip, not to mention getting to meet the chef that prepared it all. He made these mini-burger-like things with duck and appleslaw that blew me away.
I'm so happy because I know my sister is happy now and to top it off, her wedding gave me the chance to experience California, a place where everyone should go at least once...
