Super Sweet Blog

2008-11-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

In no particular order, here are some of the delicious things I have been eating lately. And by lately, I mean September on...
Comfort. Boneless spare ribs with orange barbecue glaze, mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese, and a side of brussels sprouts. Bang-o-rang, Peter!!!

Besty's (Bin 22). Wheat bagel with sun dried tomato cream cheese, and their hot chai tea is amazing. Perfect sunday brunch.
The O'Henry Lounge. Tea and snacks served in the lobby of this beautiful hotel.
Black Sheep. Nuevos Rancheros. Minus the tortilla, this dish is my fave. For anyone from another city (other than those on the West coast) who say that Richmond sucks, I would argue that our eateries beat the crap out of yours. So there.
Tarrants (on Broad near the galleries). Veggie omelet with home fries and fresh fruit. Go back for their dinner. Especially if you like seafood. Anything they bake in parchment paper is delicious. They have really good pizza, too. (or so, I hear).
And a newcomer to Richmond. Stronghill. (across from Buzz and Neds on Blvd.) Awesome dessert-chocolate torte. I didn't take a picture yet of their home-made banana bread ice cream, but it is amazing.
Michael had the escolar. Sorry for the blurry picture. But, yes those are onion rings on top.
I ordered the cornish game hen over collard greens and a belgian waffle. Honey drizzled over top. Perfection. Too much to eat in one sitting. Good for breakfast the next day, though.
Frog legs. So weird to see this half-frog on a plate with garnish. It was presented very nicely, though. People who like frog may enjoy this dish. Overall, Stonghill-two thumbs up and an awesome destination for drinks and a cool hang-out spot. They have a lounge area in the back with couches. Not to mention, it is bike-riding distance for me and Michael. Okay people, go eat some great food!!! Here are some suggestions.

1. Stronghill
2. Cafe Rustica
3. Black Sheep
4. Siam Paragon
5. Tarrants
6. Mezzanine (tell me how it is, I haven't been there yet)
7. Zed's Cafe (same as above)
8. Bacchus
9. Sushi o
10. Carytown Sushi (not on a weekend, UR crowd and West enders)

Cheers!

So I Missed Fall...sorry

2008-11-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

While at Silver Diner the other night, I was harassed for not having updated this beloved blog in quite some time. I apologize. However, to my defense, I have been quite swamped with other things/priorities/activities. Here are a few of them. And I have missed being able to reminisce about the fun I have everyday as I decide what to post for you all to enjoy. So, enjoy ...
Michael had a piece selected for the Weatherspoon Museum's Art on Paper show, so we made an appearance in Greensborough and found this humble little hotel-The O'Henry. Absolutely beautiful. Ladies, make your boo take you here. Custom made beds, tea and roses everywhere, and the whole place embodies southern hospitality. As you can imagine, Michael and I fit right in...
Sleeping. My bedtime is now around 10:00 pm. Just so you know. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to Michael (and George and Quinn) Happy birthday to you. VCU Masters of Education Program. That's all that needs to be said.
Yay!!!! Field Trips with my rad class. They are awesome. Seriously. Quirky, sarcastic, and age-appropriate. We went to Jamestown and to the James River and to Tredagar Iron Works and...
Bottom's Up where they all had three slices of pizza and soda with several packets of sugar dumped into it. I told you, they are geniuses. Michael even loves them. And you know that takes a lot. They call him Dad. Weirdos.
Main attraction. Ramp construction in the backyard. Good times for all. Girls whose significant others will be over here all the time: PLEASE COME BALANCE THE RATIO. I would love to hang out with you.
Autumn love. Chance and Sassafras. They were made for each other.
Mark. Keeps you on your toes.

Goodbye Summer

2008-09-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

So, Summer flew by. When we got back from LA, our first friends to see were the lovely Nikki and her main squeeze Cappy. We went to our dependable Cafe Rustica. Above-Cornmeal crusted Trout w/asparagus and tomato salsa. It was a nice Welcome Back Dinner.
The next night we went to Sushi-O. Above- Unagi-don (broiled eel over rice with Japanese pickles). Sooooooooo good. No leftovers. That's how you know it is awesome.
For dessert at Sushi-O, we had the sampler. Above-petite pound cakes with assorted toppings and liqueur dipping sauces. Michael wouldn't wait for me to take a picture.
And my new favorite sandwich. Norwood Cottage Bread w/hummus, microgreens and tomatoes. The bread can be bought at Richmond's really nice Farmer's Market. South of the James @Forest Hill Park on Saturday mornings. If you go, look for me and Cappy. Maybe Nikki. Michael will be sleeping for sure. Farewell summer.

Hello Friends. It won't happen again. (part 1)

2008-09-07T15:53:00.001-07:00

So, Michael and I took Ashley and George's honeymoon to LA. We went to see our best buddies in the City of Angels and it was a wonderful and relaxing vacation. We took a lot of pictures and had a lot of fun. Here are some highlights of the trip.
The Gold Room. We ended up here after we left a scary Mexican bar($2 margaritas!!) where some girls were trying to fight each other. Then they were trying to fight Caitlin because she asked one of them not to stick her ass in my face. Apparently, we were asking too much. Tequila makes people crazy I tell you. Anyways, the Gold Room was actually beautiful. The area above the bar was painted glow-in-the-dark like a galaxy, and the little booths all around the bar were enclosed with twinkling lights above each one. Will ordered more tequila and two pints of beer for us all for our first round. Again, tequila makes people crazy.
Stella Im Hultberg show. I never know what to say about her because her work is amazing to me. And she was my inspiration for the food blog. She is an amazing artist and loves food. A woman after my own heart.
Michael and I ate like vegetarians for the most part while we were in LA. It is so much more convenient. Seriously Vegan and Vegetarian restaurants on every block. We ate at this place, Bulan Thai, three times in five days. Above- Garlic Asparagus w/ veggie chicken. Bang-a-rang!
I love this dog. Vito...if you had teeth, I would have checked you in another bag for $25 more to bring you home with me. Here we are at Dave and Will's friend's loft/office space. RZO. It was super nice with an awesome view of the city. I will find some pics of the view and post them later.
Please do not be disgusted. Even though I was. Michael ate five of these. Long story short. Lady camps out between two dive bars near D&W's house. She has a make-shift grill with bacon-wrapped hot dogs and grilled onions soaking in grease. The scent wafts to each bar. Vulnerable drunks wander out of the bars, order these delicacies, the old lady soaks a bun in the grease, smothers ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard on them and makes an easy $3.00. Michael had 2 in one night. Yum.
Sweet ass taco/burrito truck. Hand made to order corn tortillas, hand painted truck. What more could you ask for? Oh, and if you are ever lucky enough to come visit our house, ask us to play the incredible CD that Dave bought for us from the young kid taking the orders. It will change your life.
El Matador Beach. Malibu. I can't talk about this. It is making me depressed to be sitting in humid Richmond.
Michael in the pool.
Yes, that says ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL and this young man is carrying a little girls terry cloth pool bag. While at the Raging Waters Waterpark in San Dimas, we witnessed some of the most amazing/inspiring tattoos in the world. I just lied.
Bronson Caves. Home of the original Batman Cave. There is also a cool ditch to skate if you are so inclined. There is a sleeping dinosaur there. It was hot, and also had a bad infestation of killer bees. LA, we will be back...sooner than later.

Hello Friends. It won't happen again. (part 2)

2008-09-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

You're so vain. You probably think this post is about you. But actually, it is about the beautiful Biskey wedding. George, you looked wonderful, but Ashley, you stole the show (see below). Breathtaking. Amazing food. Somehow, no pictures were taken of the spread. We were too busy getting wasted and eating it all. In short, the mashed potato and salmon stations were my favorite, but the very close runner up was the chocolate fountain with assorted dipping items.
James, your best-man speech was very well done. Kathy, yours was very moving. As you can see, you brought some people to tears. I don't know where they found this young lady at, but the feller next to her seems to have taken a liking to her.
The scary girl battles the Maid of Honor. Scary girl wins, but not before Erin bites her in the crotch. Well played, ladies. It was hilarious to see you all drunken wrestling. Classy.
Amazing. Congratulations you two. I love you both.

August Is Here

2008-08-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

Where did July go? Actually, where did the entire summer go? August is officially upon us, but this month, too, is already planned out and does not include many free days. In spite of the craziness that summer brings, I like to find quiet moments to enjoy delicious comfort foods and to have nice relaxing evenings with my good pals.
Above- Grilled terriyaki salmon with rice and paprika grilled corn.
Above- Upside down apple walnut cake w/ vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel drizzle. (Tarrants on Broad St.)Happy Birthday, Cappy!!! On Saturday, Richmond's #1 dental student/star triathlete was super-stoked when a bunch of us surprise partied him. Thanks to our wonderful hostess, "Cool Nikki." Michael and I made Cappy (and Napoleon) awesome birthday boy crowns.
Cappy's delcious birthday spread- Chick-fil-a nuggets, Tuna steaks over greens, feta and cheddar mac-n-cheese, carrot and cucmber salad, swedish meatballs, guacamole, and garlic hummus. And, Billy... I knew you wouldn't be able to finish it all. Wuss.
Yea!!!!! Strawberry Cheesecake for dessert!
Napoleon had a blast.
We were all told to bring Cappy something homemade for a birthday present. Since I surround myself with amazing artistic friends, Cappy got some sweet gifts.
Above- an original George Biskey.
Above- an awesome Ashley Hines (soon to be Biskey) print.Above- Handmade sculptures: teeth, a weiner dog, mohawked character, and a mini stolen Cappy bike. Yes, you jerk who stole his bike, we will find you. Just wait...Great Party, Nikki!

Laundry Day

2008-07-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Alright, alright. I will update my blog. People, in the future...please be patient. Things have been busy in the life of Brionna, as you will see below.

Summer School is officially over. Hooray! Please observe the creative genius that is my fourth (and fifth) graders during our unit on Greece. Television will be the death of any future creativity in youth. I swear by that. My students cannot draw something out of their own imagination. It is either copied straight from a book, or it is a tennis shoe. Seriously. If I see another Air Force One or some other Nike/Bape designed shoe, I will vomit. But, below, I was at least pleased to not see any corporate logos or Sponge Bobs on the Grecian urns that they decorated. Well done class.
This past Sunday, the Old 97's came to good ol' Toad's Place to put on an awesome show. Later that night, Mickael got to drool over Rhett as we interviewed him for the next issue of RVA. It was actually pretty disgusting. I am not exaggerating when I say that drool was running down Mickael's chin and his palms were sweaty. I think his nipples were hard, too. He needs to get over this man crush.
So, the part of the blog that I am getting a lot of positive response to is about my food postings. I must admit, they are my favorite part, too.
Above- Chocolate Torte from Cous Cous. By the way, Cous Cous makes the most bangin' coffee, too. My cup of coffee went perfectly with the light, soft dessert.
If you are walking down the street and get a whiff of a car that smells like Bath and Body Works, or the Yankee Candle Store, tell them that they lost their auto fragrances near ADA Gallery. This person is clearly putting a spin on the massive-collection-of-keychains phase that we all went through.

Quinn, while you are out getting stung by jelly fish, I am being a lazy ass at Mickael's boss' pool. In case you can't tell, it is salt water and slate lined. I know, disgusting, right?
Me at the disgusting pool. Wondering what to eat for lunch.

Above- Lunch. Turkey sandwich w/ Cheddar cheese, Duke's Mayo, and tomatoes. Funyuns, salt and vinegar chips, and cucumbers on the side. So delicious.

The boo bear waiting for something to fall.

oishii tabemono-"delicious things to eat"

2008-07-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been perfectly wonderful. Friday, Michael and I woke up and went to Black Sheep for brunch. As usual, we left full... which was fine so we did not have to spend our entire paycheck on snacks and such at the stupid movie theater. But, we did see The Dark Knight, and it was great. The Joker was very convincing and a very amusing psychotic terrorist.

Above: Sausage Gravy and biscuits and a side of smash-browns with scrambled eggs. Hand squeezed orange juice is a perfect "pick me up."

Michael's stomach is stronger than mine. His heart can take this much sugar in the morning.
Above: Challah French Toast with a layer of Nutella in the middle. The entire dish is covered in an orange glaze syrup and powdered sugar. Heaven on a plate. He could not even wait long enough for me to take this picture before he had to be all up in it.

After we saw the movie, it was almost time for another meal. The two and a half hour film was a bit long for my taste, but I survived. Since I sat through the movie like a "big girl," michael took me out to dinner at Cafe Rustica. Two of my most favorite food spots in all of Richmond in one day!

Above: The German Special for the night- meatloaf, a bratwurst, a mustard gravy with capers drizzled over mashed potatoes and a side of roasted red cabbage. Amazing. Locally grown tomatoes from Andy's Garden added a nice light touch to my hearty entree.

Above: Michael's dinner entree- pollo en pasta- very light and tasty. Cafe Rustica knows how to please...everytime!

And the grand finale- grilled pound cake with lemon curd, blueberries, and strawberries. It looks delicious, but words cannot describe how perfect this dessert is. Even though we were stuffed, we had to eat every bite.

Needless to say, we slept well Friday night. Full stomachs digesting while watching episodes of Monk and Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Perfect!

Quick trip to NOVA... part 2

2008-07-14T13:18:00.001-07:00

Saturday afternoon, we were off to Tyler and Gwyn's baby shower. It is almost time for Logan's big debut!
Above-this cake was a triple layer vanilla cake with rasberry jam spread onto each layer. And yes, those are white chocolate shavings adorning the top of this beautiful dessert. I unfortunately could only eat a few bites because of the next picture.

Amazing Baby Shower spread at the Hines' household.

Above-shrimp cocktail, spinach and artichoke quiche, tuna/chicken salad sandwiches, wild rice salad, meatballs. Full stomachs.

Momma and Poppa Hines. Friends and family gathered in Springfield to shower these two with gifts for their baby-to-be. Gwyn, you were right...the butt paste did smell good. And we can all look forward to seeing Tyler sporting the Baby Bjorn baby carrier over his newest Schmack purchase.
Congratulations guys!!!

Afternoon Delight. Michael made me a breakfast of champions. I luv him.
Above-spinach pie, scrambled eggs, Fried potatoes, 7 grain toast, oj from a UR cup.
Perfect weekend.

Quick trip to NOVA... part 1

2008-07-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Of course, no trip anywhere is complete without a skate session or two. Here we are at a pool/tire graveyard/fun place to get "gnar." Whatever that means. All I got were three bug bites.

We met Quinn and Courtney at the above locale and then ventured into DC to see a group art show at Project 4. Super Sweet graphite mini-drawings that could not really be viewed without a magnifying glass. Some nice Jeff Soto pieces. (By the way, dude...send Anne some more stuff. All yo' stuff sold opening day and she wants more.)
Next, we all headed to Gravelly Point, which is a cool park behind Reagan National Airport. We watched the planes come in and spent a nice and relaxing afternoon avoiding rush hour.
Quinn and Courtney-you guys are awesome!

NWA.

For dinner, we made an appearance at the brand spankin' new Sticky Rice DC. John has done it again. It was amazingly nice inside, the food was great, and we didn't have to wait 3 hours like all the other "non-special" suckers.
Above-Godzirra roll, Amazing Fantabulous roll, and the invisible tuna sashimi.

Q and C enjoy the Vegetarian medley with udon noodles. Courtney said it was delicious. Quinn doesn't look so sure. Or else, he forgot how to smile...
All in all, it was a great Friday. How was work everyone else???

Yay! It's not raining.

2008-07-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

My sister rules. And now she has a job. She's all grown up. I am very proud.

I need to go back to Japan. This food was amazing. And this was in a train station fast food place. Seriously. Come on America. Get your priorities straight.

The ho made me mad.

Don't worry. Mark did not eat me and Michael did not abduct me.

My FAVORITE past time. Ask my husband...he can confirm.

Purpose in life and love

2008-07-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have now decided that this blog's main purpose will be to share pictures of amazing food with the occasional flick of my friends and daily spottings. With that said... Eat @ Black Sheep. Goshen and Marshall. (Top- Grillades and Grits/Sausage Gravy and Biscuits/French Toast w. Nutella... amazing)

And if that wasnt enough, Melissa brought us complimentary Banana Split Pancakes. (Yes, folks... those are chocolate chip pancakes you see)

Ok, Rhett Miller is wonderfully funny in person, and the Old 97's are coming to Toad's Place at the end of July. Let's all go and par-tay.

City Dogs (Cary and 13th). Do it. Delicious creations built on top of a foundation of the most basic hot dog. They get their liquor license Monday. And they have mikshakes. Go be a kid again.

Michael and I made Bagna Calda-baked garlic/anchovies/olive oil. Served on a Hanukkah plate. What more could you want in life?

Ladies of Richmond, don't even think about taking any of these fine specimens of man. They are all spoken for. I put this picture up so you have no excuses of "I didn't know he had a wife!!" Nice try.

Good Luck Ashley!

Yay! America.

2008-07-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that there are many things to complain about when it comes to the grand U.S of A. But, I cannot deny that most of us have pretty awesome lives. At the end of the day, I have an amazing family, #1 husband, sweet-ass dog, and the most wonderful friends in the world. Yeah, I could move to another country or continent for that matter, but it seems like all I need at this point in my life is what I already have.

I won't think too deeply about this post because I really don't like blogs that overanalyze and rant about everything. But maybe today, as Michael is out skate-boarding with the dudes, and we plan to cut loose with our friends later, I can't complain. The birthday of our country. A day off from work. A good excuse to relax. Just enjoy it for what it is.

At the crib

2008-06-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

So, today my kids were given the task of creative writing. Hilarious stories came out of their minds. A few of my favorites...

1. Zeus and Hercules start a pizza delivery service and steal Agamemnon's television when he can't pay for his pizza.

2. I am involved in a soap opera/love triangle with some fourth graders, second graders, and michael. Amazing.

3. GOD's power as described by a fourth grader. Me: "I said write about gods and goddesses." Response: "He is a god. The God." I could not argue.

I love teaching.

Bored on a lazy Sunday

2008-06-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

This is where I would like to be right now. Actually a saltwater pool would be better, but instead I am creating a blog that I can post pictures for y'all to enjoy. Basically I am flaunting the extremely exciting life I have.

Gross story. Simplified version. Loud Bang. Fruit thrown at our door by neighborhood deviants? No, Northside bird flew into and exploded on our glass door. Wonderful husband hosed down said door. I stayed on the couch.

Who: Michael, Mark, Dee, and me
When: August 13th-18th
Where: Los Angeles, baby
What: I don't even make predictions when we are going to see Dave and Will

Michael found a friend under this lovely umbrella. Hi, John. Thanks for saving our spot in line.

I will always look up to you. Probably because you will always be the one dancing on a table.