Tacolandia VS Taco Libre

In a previous post I talked about my glorious adventure at Taco Libre. The first, all taco all the time, festival held in downtown Dallas. Tacolandia is the Dallas Observer answer to Taco Libre. I realize the easiest way to go about this is to compare and contrast the two, because essentially they're the same event with a slightly different name.

Tacolandia took place at the Dallas City Hall Plaza, which is a nice, basically concrete, area of land with a small green patch and some random sculptures. My team (my brother, his girlfriend and my boyfriend) and I arrived about 10 minutes before the gates opened. I learned from Taco Libre to get there a little early unless you want to wait for an hour. Gates opened, we were given some boxes to hold our tacos and a voting chip and were free to eat. And when I say free to eat, I mean that in every sense of the term. It was free to eat. The cost of food was in the cost of your ticket.

So close to the entrance. I want to eat TACOS!

They had 28 vendors serving their version of a taco. Wait, let me correct that statement. They scheduled to have 28 different vendors but I know some didn't show up like Torchy's Tacos. I'm disappointed in you Torchy's. I love you so much and to see you willingly ignore an obligation you agreed to made me feel like your mother. Shaking my head in shame and sadness.

Most were street tacos and like I've said before, there are only so many meat, onion, cilantro tacos you can eat before you get bored. But there were some variations.

Velvet Taco wins for most unique with a Chicken Tikka Taco. An Indian-inspired taco with basmati rice and Thai basil. My brother and his girlfriend voted them to be the best taco based on sheer creativity.

Val's Cheesecakes, whom I actively follow on Instagram, created a taco cheesecake. Yep, taco...cheesecake. I'll wait for that to sink in. It is exactly what it sounds like. Taco flavored cheesecake. Against my better judgement I tried it and my gut was right. Cheesecakes are meant to be sweet not savory. It was too weird for me and I can't say I was a fan. But I'll try a cheesecake one of these days.

I had more than one salmon taco, on accident. It was about 80 degrees that day and salmon was just not something I wanted to eat. That's like asking for food poisoning. Kozy Kitchen was one of those salmon tacos, which I had one bite of and threw out because I refused to waste precious stomach space on tacos I didn't want to eat. One or Done. One bite or I finish it. No middle ground. They also had a buffalo taco, which was fine but not great. Another one bite wonder.

Biggest disappointment

Taco Diner had a chicken and waffle taco. Freaking CHICKEN AND WAFFLE taco. When I first walked by they didn't have any ready and when they finally did the line was ridiculous so I missed out on it's wonder. But props for the idea. I was actually extremely disappointed that I missed out of that taco above all others. I was so curious of this taco that when I recently went to Taco Diner I ordered it and was not thrilled. In the below picture the chicken at Tacolandia was obviously fired to a crispy goodness. At Taco Diner the chicken was breaded in an egg batter like tempura and that was a mistake. The batter didn't hold up well enough to the sauce and the maple syrup. You lost the texture, which an egg batter already doesn't offer much of, rather quickly. Fried chicken Taco Diner, or none at all.

Photo credit to Taco Diner

Lazaranda had my favorite taco of the day. It was a pulled pork taco but the sauce was just this side of salsa and the pickled veggies were on point. Plus, they put the cheese on the bottom AND they threw that on the flat top so it melted and just started to crisp up. I ate one, loved it, waited in line for 10 minutes to both give them my vote, along with the boyfriend, and eat another.

Check out that glorious winner! Well my personal winner.

Besides the food, Tacolandia also took things a little further for its patrons. There was a DJ pumping out some tunes. They had the only grass area set up with bags, massive beer pong, horseshoes, just some fun lawn games. There were some photo-opt areas throughout plus an actual photo-booth area hidden among the taco vendors. They also had people doing Sugar Skull face paintings, which actually looked legit. Those people did a good job. The only thing you  needed to pay for inside the event was drinks. But all drinks. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike.

My personal take-away: 

If Tacolandia and Taco Libre got together and had a baby, that baby would be "The Best Damn Taco Festival in Texas" (I'm claiming that name).

Taco Libre did great with publicizing the event. It was packed. Again, had to wait an hour to get in and the event sold out. Tacolandia was not so packed (which isn't really a downside as a customer but as a coordinator not exactly what you want). It was out on social media but I don't feel like it was as much as it could be. Taco Libre paid for social media ads, either got local food bloggers to advertise on their social sites or were out there enough that bloggers just went ahead and promoted it themselves. Leading up to Taco Libre I couldn't escape it. Tacolandia was really only promoted in the Dallas Observer. I did see an occasional flyer here or there, but I didn't see anywhere near as much of it on Insta nor did I see much on Facebook. It was there, but not as predominate as it could be.

Taco Libre had bands. Granted they were more Mexican bands and that's not really my thing, but live music is nice. Tacolandia had a DJ. He did music. But no one really cared.

Tacolandia was 21+. No damn kids ALLOWED! That was the best. No kids running around, no strollers, no crying. I was so happy to not have to deal with children under my feet while navigating tacos. I'm focused. I'm in the zone. My taco zone does not include me making sure that I don't murder your children. 

Tacolandia was smart to include the cost of food in the ticket. And the ticket prices weren't outrageous either. I got my tickets on sale for National Taco Day, they were 40% off, so that knocked the cost down to $15/ticket. $15 for all you can eat tacos is a deal to me. Hell, $25 still isn't that bad for all you can eat tacos. Taco Libre had it that you had to buy tickets, then buy tacos, and buy beer. It was a mess of money. Here, I didn't have to pick and choose with tacos I ate because I didn't want to spend $100 on tacos alone.

Tacolandia was in the "fall", which in Texas still means summer. That was nice. The weather that weekend was in the 80s. It wasn't blistering hot like Taco Libre was. The outdoor space offered a variety of locations to sit when Taco Libre offered only the grass and, fingers crossed, you didn't get stepped on. Now, to be fair, Taco Libre's location was visually more appealing, taking place in a park, but Tacolandia was more...user friendly.

This is how "The Best Damn Taco Festival in Texas" needs to work. Cost of food included in the ticket, more advertising on social media, done on or around National Taco Day (puts your solidly in early fall, plus give it more of a "national" reason which could up the attendance rate), keep the outdoor activities and keep the music.

Put that taco in your box and eat it!

Frank Underground

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending my first ever Frank Underground dinner. If you don't know of Frank Underground, it's an "underground restaurant" that was created by MasterChef season two finalists Jennie Kelley and Ben Star. Together they take you on a themed culinary journey. Although they never try to recreate a theme they will never recreate a dish. My dinner, "Brunch After Dark" was a theme they had done once before and brought it back because of the response to that particular dinner.

To sign up for Frank you need to visit the website and get on their mailing list. Once you're on there they will send out an email (usually once a month or once every two months) listing the theme for the dinner and the dates. From there you respond if you're interested and can make any of the times listed. After that you pray that luck is on your side because seats are given lottery style. I also encourage you to follow them on Facebook. On occasion they post last minute cancellations and on social media, but it's a first come first serve basis.

The dinner is held in a secret location that is not disclosed to you until the night before/day of your dinner. You sit, along with about 20 strangers, around a communal table crafted of reclaimed wood that Ben made himself. Throughout all the courses Jennie and Ben give you background on the ingredients and the inspiration about the dishes. At the end of the day... sorry night... you will be there for about 3 hours. Three hours of pure food heaven. At Frank they believe in frank food. Just basic ingredients turned into something fabulous.

Upon arrival you have to buzz up to the apartment, and if your name is not on that list you are not getting up. They check your name at the front door and at the apartment door. Just in case in the 2 minutes it takes you to get up to the elevator you're no longer yourself. The staff (yep staff) will take your purse (or coats but this is July in Texas, the fact I wore flannel baffled my mom but I looked hella good) and give you a cocktail, our's being champagne, and allow you to mingle. They will not start dinner until everyone has arrived. They encourage you to not be fashionably late.

Before dinner even started I had taken down 4 glasses of champagne. To be fair, it was the tiny, serving appropriate sized glasses. If I were pouring it would be a wine glass and it would be full. Once everyone arrived we were invited to sit. You are encouraged to make friends with your seat neighbors, which you will whether you want to or not. I was for it. Don't get me wrong. New friends = Yay!

My new dinner friends. Two of which were Frank veterans having attended around 10 dinners.

Once everyone was seated dinner started with an amuse-bouche.

Amuse-bouche:

Buttermilk cheddar biscuit - Foie Gras - Housemade heirloom tomato jam.

Let me explain what an amuse-bouche is, in case you've never heard of that term. An amuse-bouche is a single, bite sized hors d'oeuvre. It's usually served on a spoon but this one had potential to be messy so it was served on a plate.

I've never had foie gras and I still couldn't tell you want that tasted like. I didn't try it on it's own because liver. But this was a humanely obtained duck (?) liver. The biscuit was homemade with Vermont sharp cheddar cheese. What I was most cautious of trying, besides the liver, was the tomato jam. I'm very finicky with tomatoes. I used to eat them like apples when I was younger and then I got over them. Now I have to be in the mood for them. And honestly, I might start off in the mood and half way through my food be over them and pick them out. This jam was mixed with thyme which helped with the balance of flavors. It wasn't too sweet which one would assume tomato jam to become. At the end of my three bites I was very ready to get into this meal.

First Course:

Black bean huilacoche puree - Uncle Ron's heirloom squash - Chorizo - 63.5° egg (specifically) - Salsa Verde - Pickled vegetables

I know your first questions is, "What the hell is huilacoche and how do I say that?"

Huitlacoche (wee-tlah-KOH-cheh), AKA "corn smut", is a fungus that grows naturally on corn. It is a delicacy in Mexico while here in America we will just destroy the whole crop. The fungus itself sells for a higher rate than actual corn. It is perfectly safe to eat.

So in the bottom you have the black bean huilacoche puree. Mixed in are bite sized chucks of Jennie's uncle's squash. On top you will find chorizo, the 63.5° egg, salsa verde, pickled radishes and onion and cilantro as a garnish. This dish was fanominal.The black bean puree tasted like refried beans but was perfectly smooth. The chorizo added just the perfect amount of spice while the pickled vegetables added a slight sour note. Cliantro and the salsa verde rounded out the Mexican inspired flavor profile. It is mind blowing in its simplicity. Honestly though it could be a bowl of cilantro and I would be happy. I love that herb. It's disgusting how much I love cilantro.

Let's talk about eggs for a minute. I'm sure you're wondering, as I did, why specifically 63.5°?  Eggs want to cook at 145° F. Fact. Well assuming fact, this is what I was told at dinner. We cook our eggs too high. Here they cook the eggs for an hour sous-vide style. That means they put the egg in an air tight plastic bag and put that bag in a water bath and let it cook. Sous-vide is also great from quick marinades. It forces the marinade into the meat because it has no where else to go. The more you know right? When you cook the egg in this style the white and the yellow are the same consistency. If I had the patience to cook eggs for an hour, sous-vide style, I still probably wouldn't because I would never be that patient.

Second Course: 

Frittata - Ibercio ham - Smoked mozzarella - Asparagus salad

This is an Italian-based dish. Although, the ham comes from southern Spain and only southern Spain. The pigs, which this specific ham is from, are foragers. They eat acorns and wild flowers. No one feeds them. Once the pigs are fat or whatever they need to be they are salted and hung in a cellar for 1+ years. Obviously the curing of the meat happens once Babe is no longer with us. The technique these farmers use essentially make prosciutto. This specific ham was aged 2 years and goes for $180-200/lbs.

I put my fork into the ramekin and had a hard time getting it to come apart so at that point I wasn't too impressed with this dish. Then I put it in my mouth and took back every negative thought I had. That ham though. I have very rarely said the words "Oh my God" while eating but this time I did. I almost put the fork down. I didn't want to be distracted from eating. I didn't feel the need to rush into my second bite. But no because $200 ham. I have never had anything like that before and I most likely will never experience that again. That'll do pig. That'll do.

Third Course:

Watermelon sorbet - House-distilled peach moonshine - Mint

Once you are on the guest list for a dinner at Frank they send you an email with all your instructions and also your menu. You are free to look at it or not. Some people don't because they want to be surprised. I love surprises but I also love getting excited about what I was going to eat so I looked. Of all the dishes listed this was the one I was most excited to try. I love watermelon. That's one of the reasons I love summer. So much watermelon so little time.

Moonshine. The booze of the Prohibition era. Moonshine must be consumed within one week of distillation or it is no longer moonshine. Moonshine is also highly illegal and extremely strong. I obviously did not have moonshine (wink wink).

The watermelon sorbet is made with just frozen watermelon juice. It was a subtle flavor. The moonshine was strong but I didn't get peach. I got booze. I ended up mixing the sorbet with the moonshine resting on the bottom of the glass and taking it like a shot. I also removed the mint. I thought there was too much mint and I know that was the consensuses among my new friends on my side of the table. I also just don't like mint outside of mint chocolate chip ice cream or a mojito. But like I said, the people sitting around me agreed. We decided that basil would be a better herb. Or salt. Either in the form of some granules atop the sorbet or salting the rim.

Fourth Course: 

Crouque- madame - Laraland farms smoked red wattle ham - House-made sourdough - Gruyere - Sunny duck egg - Caviar - Green Salad. 

This was considered the main course. Again, a dish I've never experienced before. Crouque- madame. A crouque-madame is like an open-faced sandwich. It's bread, ham, cheese, and optional sauce. Our sauce was replaced with the egg. What's the difference between a crouque-madame and a crouque-monsieur? No idea. I tried to Google it and it gave me the same definition. So my guess is the monsieur is an actual sandwich. Someone, please feel free to enlighten me on the difference.

I was not a fan of this dish and I'll tell you why. The sourdough was a little too crusty which made it difficult to cut. I was literally throwing my food all over the table, at one point my lap, because I couldn't get through the crust. It was incredibly frustrating. Maybe it was the wild yeast. Wild yeast takes longer to rise. The first rise takes 24-48 hours and the second rise takes 3-6 hours. I doubt it was the yeast, that's a cop-out. I even just got in that dish after a little while and picked it up with my hands. Naturally after covering it with the caviar that was falling off because if I'm going to eat caviar I might as well get that shit all over it. I've had caviar on it's own before and was not a fan. Mixed with more food it's not as bad. After the hand attempt also failed me I ended up giving away what was left of my food. Like I said, the people around you become your best friends. Already willing to eat after you. No cooties at this table.

Fifth Course:

"Dessert Benedict" - Candied bacon waffle - Cantaloupe ice cream - Zabaglione

You know how fruit salads are always cantaloupe and honey dew and you're disappointed? Not here. The only way I want to eat cantaloupe is in ice cream form from now on. One scoop is all you need. The color of the zabaglione (which is an Italian whipped custard) was very yellow. Questionably yellow. It received its color from tumaric but it was really throwing me off. Yellow is not an appetizing color for food. At least to myself. But it was delicious nonetheless. At the bottom was the bacon waffle. Cause bacon waffle. You can't go wrong with bacon waffle. It was little bits of bacon so it wasn't overpowering at all. I only really got crunch from the bacon more than bacon flavor.

Drinks:

Home-made blood orange grapefruit mimosa

The mimosa was mouthwatering. I feel that carafes needed to be on the table. They didn't really, the servers walked around and re-filled your glasses often. But still, carafe wouldn't have upset me or anyone I was sitting with.

Rose

The rose came with the main course. I know I drank it but at this point I was kinda boozed up and a little overwhelmed by taste to really remember it. I know that in looking for a wine pairing for the dish they tired 8 different wines. PS- I would love to be apart of these tastings beforehand. I like wine.

Turkish coffee 

Turkish coffee. I don't drink coffee. When I was younger my mom had coffee in a water bottle in the fridge. I mistook it for soda and chugged it and regretted it instantaneously. Since then I just never wanted to drink it. It brings back bad memories. There are few exceptions to this statement. 1. I'm dying and need caffeine to get me through the day. 2. It's this Spanish espresso on of my Directors at work makes. 3. Turkish coffee.

It's slightly sweetened so you don't need to add sugar but they do offer it at the table. Apparently, in Greece they use Turkish coffee grounds to read your future. We were not in Greece, nor was anyone of Greek decent so no readings for us.

At the end of our three hour dinner I was done. This brunch dinner was some of the best food I've ever eaten. No brunch nor meal will ever compare. I might as well stop eating altogether. From now on I am eating for nourishment and not enjoyment. That's partially a joke. I love food. But really this meal is in direct competition for best meal of my life thus far, and I think it wins. When Jennie and Ben came around at the end asking everyone what they thought I told them "Anorexia starts tomorrow. Might as well end on a high note."

They also ask everyone what their favorite dish was. I told them mine were the two dishes where the main component was something in my every day life I hate.

I don't like beans (although I'm warming up to them) but that black bean puree was the best dish of the evening. It was so humble in it's origin and ingredients. So perfectly balanced.

Also I hate cantaloupe. But like I said, ice cream form and I'm sold.

After dinner was said and done my mother and I cornered Ben and asked for MasterChef secrets. Which I got. I know all the behind the scenes goodies. I'm on to you Fox and MasterChef. On to you.

I encourage you to sign up for Frank. It's hard to get in but when you do it's worth it. One thing I was told by Frank frequenters is to let them know you are open for any night as opposed to a singular night. I suggest creeping the Facebook if you don't get picked and snag last minute seats. It's an experience and it's one to remember.

Thank you Jennie and Ben for a wonderful dinner and a most kismet evening. Brunch After Dark was obviously meant to be in my life. I appreciate all the hard work that you put into putting that dinner on and want to emphasis just one last time how absolutely, without a doubt, fabulous the food was.

Double Brunch Weekend

You know what's better than brunch? DOUBLE BRUNCH! You heard me. Brunch on Saturday and brunch on Sunday. Brunch for days. That's exactly what I did the other weekend and it was glorious. Both the places I went are in Uptown, admittedly probably the best location in Dallas to have brunch. I'm not an Uptown girl, nor do I live in an Uptown world, but I will visit to eat there sometimes.

Saturday Brunch:

Little known fact, in Klyde Warren Park on Saturday mornings there are a bunch of free workout classes. I found this out via D Town Sweat. On the last day of the month they post a calendar of free workout events all around Dallas, and who doesn't love free? Alex agreed to go with me and we planned on doing the 9 AM Bootcamp followed by the 10 AM yoga. At 9 AM it was already blistering hot and terribly humid so by 9:15 we knew that yoga wasn't going to happen. The class was brutal, but it's a workout.

After that we grabbed Alex's roommate and walked over to Company Cafe.

Walked because Company Cafe is right off the Katy Trail.

That's the sign off to the left. See literally right off the Katy Trail.

Couple of pluses to Company Cafe. Everyone was there in workout clothes so you don't have to feel pressured to get super fancy or "Uptown Pretty" as I call it. Also, it's a farm-to-market type restaurant, so all the dishes were fresh with quality ingredients. 

Alex got The Morning Glory:

Good morning glory.

It's buffalo meat and scrambled eggs over a bed of spinach, onions, peppers, mushrooms, with some guac and salsa on top. If you sub-out buffalo meat with turkey, because I assume buffalo meat is hard to find, you can easily make this dish at home.

Her roommate Brittany had The Deep Bowl:

This was sweet potato hash with bacon and beef, topped with avocado, two eggs and salsa. Another dish easily replicated at home.  

I created my own concoction of the Yard Sale over some biscuits and gravy:

The Yard Sale is an egg scrambler with bell pepper, onion  and giant chunks of mozzarella and either venison or turkey sausage. Naturally I went with venison because I love that deer meat. But I put all this over biscuits and gravy mimicking a Panhandler from Old Went Cafe in Denton. 

All this food was deserved after that workout, plus the walking to and from Company Cafe on the Katy Trail. 

Sunday Brunch:

Sunday Alex and I were supposed to meet up with a couple new Instagram Girls for an Insta-Brunch (if you will) and Boxwood Tap and Grill. The girls didn't end up making it so it was just Alex and myself.

This place was so cute. It's right on the corner of Thomas Ave and Allen Street. It's in a mixture of residential and shops so you have a nice view from the patio. The patio itself was like a little oasis.

With ivy growing on the walls, misters outside to cool you off, picnic tables with umbrellas for shade and TVs along the wall. It's a great little get away. 

Since it ended up being just Alex and I we got ourselves the Mimosa Trio. That is a bottle of champagne with three seasonal juices. We had the classic orange juice, strawberry-kiwi, and white cranberry. I prefer non-traditional juices for my mimosa when given the opportunity so I was hitting the strawberry-kiwi and white cranberry.  

Neither of us were overwhelmingly hungry so we decided to split the chicken fried chicken.

Gravy on gravy with gravy on the side.

We had the chicken fried chicken, which was fresh out the fryer hot topped with gravy, scrambled eggs, and cheddar biscuits topped with gravy. Basically everything was topped with gravy. No problem with that. The gravy was delicious. The cheddar biscuits were not Red Lobster but they were still good. Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuits are hard to beat though. One person could probably eat the dish but you would have to be hungry. It was the perfect size to split between two people. 

At the end of this weekend my blood had been replaced with gravy. Thick, delicious gravy. #NoRegrets. If I had to pick one over the other it would probably be Boxwood just because of it's patio, but it's hard to call because the food in both places was incredible. 

Chocolate, Cheese and Bubbles! Oh My

This post is centered around my most favorite of favorite foods in the word. Cheese. I love cheese. Seriously, I took a Buzzfeed Quiz once that asked "Would you rather give up cheese or oral sex?" and I gave up on the quiz.That first question was too hard. But upon further discussion about that with my coworkers we all decided we would keep cheese in our lives. That's how important cheese is.

A picture of my food pyramid. 

A couple weeks ago Megan asked me if I would ever be interested in a cheese tasting class. I then realized that she clearly didn't know me well enough if she needed to ask me that. Obviously a cheese tasting class is something that needs to happen in everyone's life, but especially mine. So we bought tickets to Scardello's "Chocolate, Cheese and Bubbles" class. They have multiple classes but chocolate, cheese AND bubbles was something that needed to happen like yesterday.

So artisan. 

Upon arrival the shop is small but it's got a rustic country chic thing going on. Based off the size you can see why these classes sell out quickly, at best you can maybe fit 40 people. Also, unless you go in a big group, be ready to become friends with your neighbors.

Look at all the chic-ness happening. So many pickled items.

I was more than ready for the cheese to come. For real. Cheese me please.

Cheeeeeeese!

What was disappointing? The sample sizes. To be fair, yes it's a tasting, and additionally no amount of sample sized cheese would ever win my heart, so I can't put that as an actual negative. I would, maybe, be satisfied with individual wheels of each cheese, plus chocolate bars and whole bottles of champagne. So being realistic here, those are hard expectations to accomplish.

Look at that glorious cheese plate.

The way they do this is they pair two complimentary types of cheese with one piece of chocolate and one type of champagne. You then, essentially, have four tasting rounds. There is also bread for you to spread cheese on, or clear your palate a little between tasting courses. As you go through the courses you learn a little background on the cheese and the champagne (not so much the chocolate but you get a little bit). They tell you the difference between one type to the other, the processes they go through. It's interesting little tid-bits of knowledge dropped on ya.

Seriously, look at that set-up. Cheese and chocolate goodness.

At the end I wanted another tray of cheese. I thought about buying a few wheels as well (as you can in store), but knew they wouldn't last (which I guess is the point). But I would absolutely buy some of those cheeses, I marked down the ones I liked for future consumption. There were only two cheeses I didn't like. One was a bleu cheese, but I don't like bleu. That one was difficult to eat too because I could tell I was trying a great quality bleu cheese, I just couldn't bring myself to like it. But the chocolate it paired with cut some of the overpowering bleu cheese flavor for me so I did finish my piece. It also dawned on me almost immediately upon starting the class that, "I'm totally bringing Caitlin here." I already told her we were gonna go to a class here, she's excited. Because cheese.

So Scardello. Go buy cheese there. There sell other things too, like wine and ornate tasting salts and pickled things. It's artisan, so you know it's fancy.

Fancy wines

Fancy salts

Take a class if cheese is your thing, and it should be. If cheese is not your thing, and it's not for a medical reason, you should keep that to yourself. Never trust a person that doesn't like cheese.

Minivancouver

Last week I went international and traveled to Vancouver for the first time. It was also my first time out of the country. It was also my first time traveling anywhere with coworkers. Basically, a lot of firsts. This post is going to be a general trip overview and then I will have other posts about food and at least one additional post about brunch, maybe two, we'll see how it goes. We hashtagged our trip #minivancouver2015 so if you don't already follow me on Instagram you should, and you should also check out the photos via the hashtag because they are A. beautiful and B. somewhat hilarious.

BTW, I have purple hair now. #purplehairdontcare

Day 1: Travel and #SoloSeattle

I joined this trip 2 months after it was already planned so I was on different flights than my cohorts. My flight in was also significantly better because I got into Seattle 5 hours before them, direct, so I explored the city all by my lonesome. Let me tell you, I adulted real hard that first day. Not only did I have to get my first ever rental car, it was a minivan (hence minivancouver), plus I had to drive around a strange city, alone, I took public transit, my phone died, I was responsible for getting my friends from the airport AND I had to drive to Vancouver. So big shout-out to myself and many pats on the back because I didn't die!

Go me! Team Not Dead!

Like I said I had 5 hours to kill in Seattle so what did I do?

First and most important stop for me was the Chihuly Museum because his glass work is amazing. Check it out if you're ever in Seattle it's worth the cost. I walked into the museum and my heart fell in love.

Such amazing work and this is just a small sampling.

Since Chihuly is right next door to the Space Needle I bought the combo ticket because why not do both?

There are gorgeous views from the top of the Space Needle.

There was also an automatic photo machine that if you put your ticket in it takes your picture. No obvious selfie here. By the way, the Space Needle also has it's own Instagram and it's actually kinda cool.

After that I headed over to Pike's Market via the monorail. The monorail basically only runs to Pike's from the Space Needle, so easy public transit. Now, you do have to walk about 5 blocks down to the actual market but it's a straight shot. The market is fun, so many things to look at and buy.

I'm cheap so I didn't buy anything but this mac and cheese that I didn't really need to eat but hey, cheese.

I also visited the original Starbucks because that's a thing.

At Pike's is where my phone died. So I wandered around for a little bit. Checked out the gum wall.                            

 

So gross

Eventually, I really needed to find a plug so I headed back to the Space Needle to bunker down by a plug in the gift shop, on the floor, right next to the elevator doors, to try to get just enough battery to be able to make at least 2 phone calls. While disrupting traffic, I found out my girls got in a little early, so I had to map it (again, adulting, I used an actual map) back to the airport. When I got my friends they were all drunk so first stop, Burger King, second stop, Vancouver.

BTW, we spent an hour at the boarder. AN HOUR! And we became the most obnoxious people there. Kept jumping in and out of the car to take pictures. Not like we were going anywhere fast, or slow. At one point they closed the line after our car and I was positive we were about to be arrested. Thankfully we weren't. We attempted to joke with boarder patrol (they do not like that), and then off to our Air B&B.

Our Air B&B was small. We knew it wasn't large but "sleeps four" really meant "sleeps four if you don't mind having absolutely zero space". The bed was less than 6 inches from the wall so if you wanted to walk from one side to the other you had to spider-man crawl the wall. Vancouver also doesn't believe in AC, or fans, so the air was stagnant even with the windows open. But the view was amazing, if you ignored the cranes.

After the drive we all just chilled out and game planned our next day.

Day 2: Granville Island

Jamie and I woke up at 6:00 AM because we were still on Dallas time internally. We went for a walk to see if we could find things. Our first thing to find was China Town. We knew the general direction, we just didn't know how far we needed to go. We did find it though, and rather quickly. So we looked around there, because nothing was open yet, then walked back to Science World. We walked around the water, found a film crew for Continuum (on Syfy channel), was told it was cool to check out the set, found out from the actual film crew it wasn't as cool as we were told, asked if they needed extras (they didn't), found cops that we thought were film extras carrying a camera, asked what they were doing, they were actual detectives gathering evidence for a crime, asked if they needed extras (they didn't), broke into Science World and played around on some things before being told we needed to leave, then headed back to the room. That was like 3 hours of bullshitting around.

We then all piled into the car and headed to Granville Island.

It's a cool little place.

Lots of shops. There's Granville Market where you can buy produce and things.

It's right on the water so it's a nice place to go to to check out the water scene, and the house boats, while grabbing a couple drinks.

To be honest we probably spent a little too much time there but whatever. It wasn't awful, I just know we could have fit something else into the day.

I forced more things into my day though. Adriana and I headed over to the Chinese Gardens. It's this little, well, Chinese garden.

We were lucky enough to get into the last tour of the day. We learned all about Chinese culture surrounding the home and the garden.

All about Yin-Yang and how it's shown in the water and rocks and plants. It was actually really interesting and informative. Our tour group was also predominately Asian so they translated scriptures on the wall for us. They also seemed to teach our tour guide a thing or two. He was so cute too. Like puppy cute.

That night my friend Emily picked me up and I went to her place so we could hang out the next day. Emily moved to Vancouver about 4 years ago and I haven't seen her since the move. She actually created and birthed a human since the last time I've seen here to give you some real idea of how long it's been.

Day 3: Exploring with Emily

The girls all went to Victoria Island, which I did really want to see, but sacrifices had to be made and Emily is more important to me than an island. She took me to a mountain.

Mountain

And some beaches.

Beaches.

She would know better than I where we went, but it was pretty. I learned how to crab fish (crab hunt? crab-whatever) by creeping a guy that was doing it. We also went on a little hike to a beach. We climbed down some rocks and trees to get there only to learn if we walked 5 more minutes there were stairs.

It wasn't that big of a deal, but Emily had her baby strapped to her. She hit those rocks faster than I did though so more power to her.

We murdered a lot of baby crabs too because they were EVERYWHERE. Seriously, couldn't take one step without stepping on a handful of tiny infant crabs.

There are baby crabs in that water I promise

That evening her husband took the baby and her and I went to New Westminster Quay.

Cute little area. We ate right off the water. I also tried poutine for the first time. I was super hesitant to try that but quickly realized why it was a thing and I already miss it. I miss that gravy cheese deliciousness so much. I no longer want a birthday cake I want poutine!

We then just hung around a little while.

I'm so punny

Around this time is when I found out the girls kinda changed the plans on me and we were no longer staying the next night in Whistler. Basically, we had a mini communication breakdown but at the end of the day I ended up staying another night at Emily's and we had another day with each other while they did a 8 mile, high intensity, hike that I was not interested in.

Day 4: More Emily time

Today we took the baby and rode the rail over to downtown Vancouver and explored it a little bit. This is also where I ran into Yolk's food truck. Yolk's was recommended to me via Instagram and it was a good recommendation too. Chicken and waffles AND a twist on eggs Benedict. But food post is coming after this.

We then dropped baby off with the hubs again so Emily and I could have a day of adventure. Today we went to Deep Cove so we could kayak.

I love kayaking. So much.

While we were waiting to kayak we found another show filming. This one was Cedar Point. They also didn't need extras.

Emily and I kayaked to Grey Rock, which, as the name sounds, is a big grey rock. We sang some Pocahontas songs, we watched two bald eagles snatch a seagull out of the air, drown it, and carry it off right over our heads. Straight NatGeo shit right there. I was actually afraid a dead bird was going to fall on my head for a second.

Just around the river-bend

We climbed around Grey Rock. We kayaked. We enjoyed the sunshine that Dallas wasn't getting.

We then ate some pizza and headed home. After that we said goodbye and I went back to our cozy Air B&B.

Day 5: Zip Lining Fun Times

Today we woke up bright and early so we could drive to Whistler for zip lining. Our guides Hanley and Freddie were super chill guys.

The view both driving up to Whistler and zip lining around it were breathtaking. I will admit, my zip lining time in ATX was a little more exciting. Here we were zip lining over the same spot just back and forth, in Austin I went over various spots over Lake Travis.

Afterwards I tried to talk the girls into white water rafting but that didn't happen (bucket list item still not crossed off). We were going to go kayaking but we kept hearing storms were rolling in so we didn't and just headed back. Then we all basically crashed because we were going hard for 3 days in a row. It was bound to happen. I literally don't think we did anything after that. If we did I don't remember.

Day 6: Losing Steam

Saturday we went significantly lighter. Jamie went for a run, so Mindee, Adriana and I went brunching (duh) and then shopping downtown a little. We went to Catch 122, another Instagram recommended location. I forced the girls to have poutine, but this one had duck confit with brie. I could have just eaten that but no, obviously I didn't. Also, I swear there was a Christian Grey look-a-like at the table across from me. Somewhere around mimosa number three I just stared at him, even though he clearly had his entire family, baby included, with him.

Yeah. I snuck a picture.

Afterwards we headed back to the room. Mindee passed out, Adriana still wanted to explore and Jamie and I went to the brewery next door to grab a drink and some dinner. Steal Toad. Go there. That food though. Seriously speaking, I don't know if it was because I was in a new place or what but every single thing I ate in Vancouver was the best thing I'd ever eaten.

Saturday night was supposed to be the designated night out. I spent $120 on a kick ass jumpsuit. Went full makeup. Kim Kardashianed my face. I. Was. Ready.

Two girls bailed. One wasn't feeling well and the other got tired. So myself and the last girl standing went out without them. We didn't get to Granville Street (the "happening spot") till around 10:30 and all we saw were lines. Lines everywhere. We headed over to Gas Town to see the same thing. Our cab driver told us if you head out after 10:00 you should expect to wait at least an hour to get into anywhere. That was something not told to us at any point in time prior. After 30 minutes waiting outside one bar we said screw it and headed back. I'm still real angry. I was ready to be seen. I just wanted to be seen. I also wanted to dance, I wanted to have my circle of purses and just dance. I also wanted a singular drink bought for me because I was looking fine. And instead I got a cab ride home. What a waste.

Day 7: Basic Brunching

Sunday we went brunching. This was also something we learned. People brunch HARD in Vancouver. We called a couple places and were told the waits were close to 2 hours. This was at 10:00 AM. Two hours at 10:00 AM. Seriously? Here was one exchange I had:

"Hi, I'm not from here and I just wanted to know what the wait was like."
"Around an hour and a half. Unless you have a big party then ha probably never. How big is your party?"
"Four."
"Oh, that's not big. About an hour and a half to two hours."
"Do you take reservations or call aheads?"
"No."
"Kthnxbye"

We found one place that told us if we arrived when they open at 10:30 we would probably be sat pretty quickly but sometimes they fill up in 20 minutes. So we hauled it over to Fable and lucked into a table because yeah, about 15 mins later they were full. Again, another amazing restaurant with delicious food. This one I will post a brunch review about later.

After that we attempted to find a spa but that wasn't happening. So Mindee and Adriana went on a hop on/hop off bus tour. Jamie and I headed back to the room and cleaned up and started to pack. Then we headed back to Steal Toad to waste what was left of our Canadian money.

Day 8: ET Phone Home

Our last moments in Vancouver. We woke up early to clean, pack, and head out. The drive to Seattle was quicker than the drive to Vancouver. We got to the airport about 4 hours before our flights. Again, we were on different flights so they went to their gate and I hung out in the cafeteria. I was also told when I was just checking my bag I might not even be flying home because Dallas was under a weather advisory. Thankfully, my flight was only delayed 2 hours. Conveniently, I ended up offering the seats at my table to random pilots that ended up being my random pilots. I hung out with them up until it was time to board our flight. Allen and Tom are the shit! They calmed my down about my flight anxiety and this was the first flight in a while I didn't need any anxiety pills, nor did I freak out during the turbulence. Also, since it was Memorial Day, we all got a singular free alcoholic beverage on our flight which I absolutely took advantage of. But then I was given another that I did not order. And then I found out from the flight attendants that the pilots told them to take care of me and give me whatever I wanted ssssoooo drink number 3 happened. I was a little drunk by the end of that flight but I just wanted to sleep. I'm gonna miss Tom and Allen. I gave them hugs while I was leaving.

And that was my week long excursion to Vancouver. It was a blast. More importantly, I don't think words can explain how absolutely beautiful and breathtaking the scenery is. I would go back in a minute. Hell, coming back to work sucked because Dallas. And rain. And work. I was also almost famous three times while I was there so there's that.

Please, go to Vancouver. If you need suggestions of things to do, places to go, things/places to eat, I've got em.