Glazed and Infused!!!!

Most Amazing doughnut ... Ever! (well, in 24 years). But, these doughnuts will be hard to beat.

Me and my posse were headed to wicker park on day 2 of our Chicago food-cation. When we walked out of the train we saw a huge sign that said "NOW OPEN ... Glazed". Well, you know, they had me at 'glazed'. Apparently this was a new doughnut shop which shared its space with a pre-existing restaurant. The restaurant was also packed.

So we jumped in line and our mouths immediately started watering when we read the menu. The aroma that filled that line was like sweet fried cloud. As you could see from the picture of the little girl below (picture entitled: 'me want doughnut').

I'm gonna side step for a second and mention the app "level up". It's this app that links to a credit card and allows you to pay from your smart phone. It also allows you to add a tip. But, the real reason I mention this app is because once you select your location 'level up' will give a list of nearby businesses (most dealing with food/beverage) that will give you a discount for using this app to pay. Glazed and infused for instance gave a $10 credit towards my account... My doughnut was FREE, and the next time I'm back and decide to use 'level up' my credits will be there for me to use.

Wicker Park is a must stop anyways if your in Chicago. It's filled with eclectic shops and people. Sites to see and be seen in. If you take the blue line train to the Damen stop. Glazed and Infused will be right down the stairs across the street.


Thanks Grace for the photos!

Flour City Pasta!

I love visiting this stand at our local regional market in Syracuse. The guys that run the stand are always so friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. Also, they LOVE food (my kinda people).

Do yourself a favor and google this company. Flour City Pasta has their products in a few stores around NYS. The pasta is always so fresh and full of flavor.

The picture you see is a dish I made with the lemon fettuccine. I cooked up some veggies (peppers, onions, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, seasonings) in a chipotle olive oil. Then I pan seared Alaskan salmon with rosemary Tossed that all together with a little juice from the banana pepper jar and a violet balsamic vinegar. And topped with fresh avocado on top.

It was great, paired with a baked sweet potato dusted with cinnamon. (No, I'm not worried about the carbs. Ha ha ).

Thanks Flour City Pasta!

The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

I'm so excited to share this with you! This is one bar totally worthy of Anthony Bourdain's "Layover".

When the Yelp results on this came up I kept passing it over because I wasn't looking to invest or mortgage! Finally I read the reviews and I'm so happy I did. Apparently this bar is left over from Prohibition. Which makes sense you'd find it in Philly, one of the most historic cities in our country.

I read somewhere that the alcohol is distilled on the premises ( but don't quote me on that, I couldn't relocate the source). The drinks were delicious. The names of the drinks were ... Interesting.

The atmosphere was great, very subdued. Most of the light is candle light. The Franklin would be great for intimate groups. It seems that large groups would be discouraged just due to the way the tables are arranged.

Also, the Rittenhouse square is just about a block away, perfectly lit for a night time stroll. When we were walking around there were a diverse group of people enjoying the wether and pleasant conversation, as well as the people watching.

Florence and The Machine!!!

This was an amazing concert. If you have an opportunity to see this wonderful, soulful powerhouse—take it. My friend and I went to Atlantic city to see the show at the Bortaga. Atlantic city left much to be desired. Actually AC was horrible (the outlets were good though).

FATM was a standing room only show. Which honestly was a bit difficult, because there were so many people. Of course certain people wanted to leave "their spot" and come back as if you were reserving it specifically for them. Which I did by standing in it, and not moving upon their return. Thanks for the great spots guys.

Blood Orange opened up for FATM. He was a one man show with a Mac book pro, a guitar, a projector, and a projector screen. He was a pretty cool to watch. He gave a very artistic show.

Florence, was great! She was captivating. The show seemed to last forever (in a good way). Florence was very interactive with the audience. It seemed like we were at a much more intimate show than we actually were. Florence was as sweet as I expected her to be and just as stunning as well. To be honest I don't even own her CD. But she's a performer and a true artist. If her genre fits your taste. I'm positive you will enjoy her show.

Devil's Alley Bar & Grille

We got to Philly after being exhausted from the 5 o'clock traffic...we were starving. I asked my local friend (Brandon) for some suggestions he replied "Friday's"... And yes he did mean TGIFridays. Of course I would not be stepping into a chain restaurant. Unless I was desperate or in danger. YELP came to our rescue.

The reviews described this spot pretty well. Very unique and intriguing dishes. Although, every thing was sweet. Even the greens cooked with beer and the Mac'n'cheese with the tomato jam. I think my friend and I were both looking for something a little more savory. We didnt order any main courses. We did however order ALOT OF SIDES. Kind of a smorgasbord, if u will. The greens had a good flavor, the were made with black eyed peas and beer. The flavor was good, but they were too sweet for me. The Mac'n'cheese with the tomato jam didn't really live up to its name. It wasn't quite flavorful or creamy enough. I think because the cheeses they used were not sharp. The tomato jam was more of a stewed chunky tomato soup. I did like the sausage hash I got... But it needed something to cut the grease, the Tabasco sauce helped that out.

The fried Green tomatoes were GREAT!

The atmosphere here was pretty cool. You could tell the people that were there came often. I thought the flavors were a tad bit off, for the most part.

Day by Day

If you're ever in Philly looking for a great place to brunch, Day by Day is the place! Their brunches will satisfy anything from a basic to adventurous palate. Even the prices will suite any budget.

The seating is somewhat limited, so I wouldn't suggest large parties. One of the best parts was sitting outside on a quaint little street and watching the people walk by.

For breakfast my friend and I both got the 2egg (scrambled) breakfast with black toast (kind of like pumpernickel ). The ice coffee was great (free refills). We also tried some of the mini raspberry muffins— they weren't my favorite part, but the muffins were tasty. Overall, I would give Day by Day two thumbs up!

Spanish styled quinoa

1cup quinoa

2cups chicken broth

4tablespoons sofrito

1/4 cup garbanzo beans

1/3 cup banana peppers

5(halves) sundried tomatoes

1/2 cup Spanish olives (juice drained)

Bring to boil simmer til waters gone ( I stirred half way through simmer). Then turn on lowest setting for about 2 min and fluff. Enjoy!

P.s. I tried it with water instead of the chicken broth and the flavor wasn't as good