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Running around San Francisco this weekend, popped by a few of the old spots ~ and had to go by Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery on Haight. My other old neighborhood fav that we also went to this week, their sister spot up Haight, The Alembic. Food and drinks at both were spectacular as always ~ but what made me grab my camera was the menu redesigns… both the their interior and branding were done by Nothing Somthing: NY. The attention to detail ~ beautiful typography ~ the little type snippets hidden about ~ the images on the flip sides of the pages… also Magnolia had some delicious Devils on Horseback (goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon) and Pulled Pork Poutine. And we couldn’t help but try two cases of the 6 beer samplers to work our way through all of their latest brews. Take a peek at it all on the next page!
p.s.
If at The Alembic - Slow Cooked Farm Egg (with quinoa, chorizo, fava beans, maitake mushroom, idiazabal) is a must try. Also the Bone Marrow. Mmmmm.
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Smitten Ice Cream. Made on the spot with liquid nitrogen! That used to be made on a Radio Flyer. Now out of a double shipping container. In bio-degradable cups… with spade like spoons. And the cash register is an iPad. And the interiors are wood paneled… Only in SF? Certainly a different take on the Nitro-Ice Cream trend than Chin Chin Labs that Justine checked out for us in London ~ that was a bit more mad scientist with lab coats and kitchen-aid mixers…
Father/Daughter team Chas Edwards and Roma Edwards, indulged my curiosity and took a bunch of awesome cell phone pics when trying out Smitten Ice Cream in Hayes Valley. My fascination began when i saw @Poisson’s tweet about it, which lead to my Tasteologie post… Food’s just more fun with a bit of dramatic looking crazy science, right? Especially in a shipping container? Though apparently the made-to-order process does take some time… and it melts a bit quickly, but it does look fun! Ready to see it all up close? Check out Chas and Roma’s pics on the next page!
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First things first, sorry i’ve been quiet. Bottom line, ferverish for a few days that ends up being strep - sucks. Combined with a bit of travel craziness, and right into Grammy parties in LA, i might have overextended a little this month… BUT loading up on antibiotics, chicken soup, coconut water, pudding, etc… and hopefully back to normal by tomorrow?
That being said ~ Cotton Candy Foie Gras Lollipops at The Bazaar at the SLS in Beverly Hills are always awesome. Especially when you have the guy there making them non stop, its mesmerizing. Popped by Primary Wave’s annual Pre-Grammy Party, this year celebrating their 5 Year Anniversary. On fun stuff to share, it was a great chance to try out the new Absolut Wild Tea (black tea + elderflower!) in some of their new cocktails… and being The Bazaar the food was of course molecular gastronomy goodness… and my favorites have always been their Cotton Candy Foie Gras Lollies and the dark chocolate covered pop rocks… so i couldn’t help taking lots of pics of the Lollipop guy set up outside at the party doing his thing! Check it all out on the next page!
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Is molecular gastronomy ready to go main stream? Tucked in the rear of the new Marina del Rey Jamaica Bay Inn on Mother’s Beach (where we were quickly warned not to go in the water!) ~ there is a newly opened restaurant, Vu. With the look of an all-american restaurant in a business hotel perched on the marina, it is so well lit, we felt no shame in grabbing a camera for a few food snap shots! My friend kept joking that if we were going to do the molecular gastronomy thing, we may need to go for burgers after… but the dishes here were far more filling than we expected! With deep fried grits, pork belly, bacon powder, collard green fluid gel, goat cheese hush puppies, micro cilantro/arugula/basil, aerated cream cheese, apple roe, sweet tea poached lamb, chicken fried watermelon, coffee-glazed cous cous, and more… it’s a fascinating experiment to taste! Chef Kyle Schutte has crafted quite the mix of comfort foods and local socal deliciousness! See some of the dishes we tried on the next page… and here are the Vu menus.
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Kahlúa hosted an incredible dinner at Zarela in NYC to announce the launch of their new campaign celebrating its Veracruz heritage, and Sean from Sub-Studio went to experience it for us! He came back with some amazing photos of the event, and it sounds like some serious wanderlust for Veracruz! Which is in turn making me crave mexican food and a Veracruz adventure as well! The cocktails, decor, and new Kahlúa adverts look so beautiful and delicious! Take a peek on the next page to see (and read!) more of Sean’s adventures with Kahlúa!
P.s.
the new Delicioso ads are pretty hilarious… they’re embedded on the next page for you!
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NOTCOT’s Favorite Places ~ here’s a new series of posts sharing some of my favorite places in (and around!) Los Angeles! This content series is brought to you by the All-New 2011 Kia Sportage. Welcome to the Next Level. 
AVOCADO FRIES! and PRETZEL BURGERS! Did that get your attention? Because they really are quite a fascinating treat. SO, this is the final installment of my Favorite Places in LA ~ as sponsored by the All-New 2011 Kia Sportage (Thank you, Kia!)… which is kind of sad, since there are so many more i could share with you, but the weather and timing have been a bit against us the last few weeks! So i’ve been showing you things i really end up doing (even with the raininess we’ve been having on and off) ~ but maybe i’ll keep it going… it’s made me far more conscious of the things i take for granted near home that i seldom write about!
3 Square Café + Bakery
1121 Abbot Kinney
Venice, CA 90291
310-399-6504 (P)
So for today’s installment ~ take a peek inside the deliciousness of 3 Square Café + Bakery ~ i strongly suggest the avocado fries, mint lemonade (its like a super minty non-alcoholic mojito), and the sampler… the presentation is just adorable and perfectly matching the 3 Square logo as you’ll see! Nothing like sitting outside on the patio enjoying the woody decor, adorable dogs walking by, and a mini Shrimp Grilled Cheese, Pretzel bread burger, and Ceviche in a shot sized bread bowl! Take a peek at it all on the next page!
SHARE! Feel free to comment some of your favorite spots near home that are worth checking out if in your town/city!
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FoodParc just opened in NYC at 6th Ave and 29th Street ~ it’s like a high tech foodcourt of sorts, and Anna and Sean of Sub-Studio popped by to take a look for us! Of course they also tasted a bunch of food for us too.. and it sounds like quite the unique bacon-fest! From Bacon Snack and Hash browns with bacon and cheddar and onions inside to Benton’s Smoked Bacon Egg Rolls and Steamed Shrimp, Bacon & Watercress Dumplings… luckily there were also beautiful juices and flatbread sandwiches to even it out as well! “FoodParc is a serious, yet fun, accessible culinary destination. It has 4 distinctly different food and beverage concepts and a full-service bar that includes: The Press, RedFarm Stand, Fornetti, and 3Bs (Burgers, Bacon, and Beer)” The Press is you go to cafe, RedFarm Stand is an asian concept with a twist by Joe Ng of Chinatown Brasserie, Fornetti has italian salads, sandwiches, pastas and more, and 3Bs is exactly as it sounds! All housed in a 20,000 square foot indoor/outdoor, modern space ~ futurist and conceptual designer, Syd Mead (of Blade Runner, Aliens, and TRON) created the environment… and it’s no surprise that in addition to old school ordering, you can also order from all 4 restaurants at once at the self serve monitors! Take a peek at it all on the next page…
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I must admit i was skeptical when one of the most common words that came up regarding the Gramercy Park Hotel Roof Club… was “Magical”. Sure some of the women who uttered the word seemed like the type that may use it in daily conversation, but some of the men who did, most certainly didn’t seem like the type.
Sure enough ~ as i stumble off my redeye, and at 7am find myself at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which was kind enough to invite me to visit their world while here for NY Design Week, my room wouldn’t be ready till 10. With the limited amount of energy, my options were minimal ~ but breakfast with wifi on the roof sounded like a good place to start. Take the elevator to the top, step out, and get lead to a ridiculously adorable and comfy couch to curl up on while breakfast comes up… and as i order and process where i am… i can’t help but notice the beautiful lights, the ivy hanging and intertwined above me, how much greenery and the variety of pots i’m surrounded by… and as my eyes focus, suddenly i realize what a stunning view i’m waking up to. No joke. It’s pretty magical. Everything seemed to sparkle in that early morning glow! It felt as if you were in a large intimate garden/deck at home… and i hear its even more stunning at night, so, i’ll have to find a night to see it glisten as you overlook all of manhattan… So take a peek on the next page of how pretty the Gramercy Park Hotel Roof Club looked bright and early!
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Sometimes you desperately run around the city all evening, desperately hunting for an open restaurant after having two drinks at the ice bar for "breakfast", almost genuinely considering buying 7-11 food, tweet for help, call for suggestions, and almost everything that comes up is closed... then you stumble upon the adorable red cozy outdoor section of Grodan, and peek into a stunningly ornate dining room that smells delicious... and there it is. Froggies! Everywhere! On the menu... embroidered on the napkins, on the door - a simple red silhouette of a frog! (Yes, i now know Groda means Frog in swedish)... but the most intriguing instance of this little red frog i encountered was as i sipped my water... there it was on the bottom of my glass! And it looked so fun with its reflection and prismatic colors projected on the table... I had to share... and i'm so tempted to make mini vinyl stickers to apply to the bottom of my glasses to surprise people when i get home... see more of the pics on the next page!
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We’ve been busy here at NOTCOT tweaking and building and designing secret things we’re rolling out as they become ready ~ live testing and debugging ~ silly things like that… one of them you may have noticed over at 
Leave it to 
Wow. There is a definitely love of light bulb clusters at the 
A floor literally tiled with thousands of copper pennies... it's pretty surprising to look down and see them when you walk into 
And to finish off my triple feature from the 
