Hello from the West Coast!

I'm typing this on my computer in front of a huge open bay window, with 75° air blowing by. Oh, yah. We're in LA...for a month!!! I am thrilled to have traded this...

for this...!

In order to try to keep in touch a bit, my blog for the next month, though still often food-focused (how could I not focus on food?!), will also be my tool for sharing LA with my friends and family while we're away (I know that most of my readers are you guys, not strangers.. :) ).

Sadly, we woke up our first day here and all four of us had the nasty stomach bug that's going around. It was rough. The #1 thing I was looking forward to about getting here was the FOOD! Lainey put it very well when she whined, "But I don't want to be sick in Californina!" Believe me kid, I know.

We pulled through, though, and ventured out yesterday afternoon to start exploring the city a bit. Mike and I enjoyed a delicious dinner from Vegan Glory, an amazing Thai Vegan restaurant, one block from our house (woohoo!! can you imagine such a place even existing in the Capital Region?!).

I am absolutely loving having so much great food so nearby, and we're only on our first full day of being able to eat! Today we walked to a restaurant for breakfast (as in, about 10 minutes), and we're a 20 minute walk from a huge outdoor daily farmer's market/restaurant area.

So far, I'm totally embracing being a California girl; if only we could transport everyone we love to be here with us, I would consider moving here. :)

What's for Dinner Wednesday, FIFTY SOUTH!

EDITED TO ADD... : Duh, my sleep deprived brain didn't even give any details so that YOU can go to our favorite place. :) Fifty South is located on Rt. 50 in Ballston Spa...here's their website: http://www.fiftysouth.com/

The Wednesday afternoon, outdoor farmer's market started up this month in Saratoga. I love taking the girls over and getting some serious shopping done (it's so much more manageable than the super-crowded Saturday market), but it leaves me with little time to cook dinner. So tonight after the market, we headed to our favorite restaurant, Fifty South, for an early dinner. There are very, very few restaurants that we have found locally where we can eat the way we like to. I have been meaning to blog about Fifty South for a while now. This is our usual breakfast spot (local, humanely raised eggs!!), and nothing beats their omelettes. As if the food isn't great enough, the owner, Kim, and the manager, Brenda, are thoughtful and beyond friendly, and have really worked to create and foster community in their restaurant.

Tonight's dinner was perfect. I had a veggie burger (called the Lainey Burger there, after my sweet girl!) that is the best one I've had ever. Mmm... Mike had a tempeh reuben sandwich with sweet potato fries, and Alaina had buckwheat blueberry pancakes. All so delicious. If you live locally, you should visit them. You may even run into us! :)