All You Can Eat – California-style

One of the things I miss most about being away from home (after friends, family and all other familiar things) is the food. The food Minh and I have had in the UK isn’t even on the same level as the most basic of food that we can get in California. over the 3 weeks that I was home, I threw my healthy diet to the wind and ate pretty much whatever I wanted. And of course, took pictures of almost everything. Here’s a look of what Minh and I ate on my trip home… It’s not everything, but it’s most of it. There are over 100 pictures here.. so feel free to just skip over.

VA LHR Upper Class Lounge – latte, soy milk, pear

VA LHR Upper Class Lounge – bubble & squeak, duck egg, bacon

VA Upper Class Flight – crab timbale

VA Upper Class Flight – vegetarian curry

VA Upper Class Flight – chocolate hazelnut tarte

VA Upper Class Flight – afternoon tea

In-n-Out – cheeseburger and fries

Pitfire Pizza – bbq chicken, brussel sprouts & pancetta, house salad

La Costa Resort Spa – crab salad & avocado, terra blue chips, mango salad

La Costa Resort Spa – chicken lettuce wraps

Casa de Bandini – guacamole

Casa de Bandini

Casa de Bandini – margheritas

Casa de Bandini – seafood enchiladas

Casa de Bandini – carne asada

Casa de Bandini – flan

Stone Brewery World Bistro

Stone Brewery World Bistro – pretzels, brussel sprouts

Stone Brewery World Bistro – street tacos

Stone Brewery World Bistro – fish with quinoa

Flame Broiler – beef short ribs

Kelly’s Donuts & Burgers – cronut

Original Pancake House – corned beef hash, eggs, pancakes

Original Pancake House

Whole Foods – New Belgium Lips of Faith

Lemonade – various salads and chicken sandwich

Five Guys – burger and cajun fries

Tip Top Kitchen – banh mi dac biet, bi cuon, ca phe sua da

Afters Icecream – milky bun

Afters Icecream – milky bun with churro icecream and chocolate chips

Starbucks – caramel macchiato

Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop – pina-kale-ada juice

Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop – sweet potato fries

Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop – The Antioxidant Orchard salad

Mile Square Golf Course Banquet Center – Wedding Food!

The Bruery – beer flights

The Viking Truck – dragon eggs

The Viking Truck – corndogs

Pieology – PIZZA

Di Lien’s House – che thai

Di Lien’s House – bo bia

Di Lien’s House – banh xeo

Bruxie – waffle fries

Bruxie – Guiness shortribs

Bruxie – pastrami

Bruxie – fried chicken

Bruxie – Irish nachos

Mochilato – green tea, red bean, pistachio, Beard Papa

Katie & Andy’s House – corned beef and cabbage

Katie & Andy’s House – icecream pie

Sidecar Donuts – maple bacon donut, Stumptown cold brew

Istanbul Grill – gyro

Istanbul Grill – chicken kabob

Istanbul Grill – dessert

Haven Gastropub – margherita flatbread, fried pig ears, spaghetti squash

Haven Gastropub – Haven burger

Hue Oi – banh beo

Hue Oi – bun bo hue

Hue Oi – barbecue pork chop with rice

Home – banh xu xe, Calpico

Tacos Tamazula – chips & salsa, horchata

Tacos Tamazula – pork tamale, carne asada taco

New Belgium Lips of Faith Coconut Heff

Book Club (Mary’s) – cara cara orange, strawerries

Book Club (Mary’s) – roast vegetables, bacon, salad greens, edible flowers, poached egg

New Belgium Lips of Faith Pluot

Starfish – razor clams

Arc – Earl Grey Pimm’s

Arc – potato, duck

Arc – meatball

Arc – bacon

Arc – quail

Grilled Cheese Truck – roast beef and brie

Matsu – scorpion

Home – Wedding Cake!

Home – Wedding Cake

Casa Inka – empanadas

Casa Inka – mixed grill

Casa Inka – alfajorcitos

Coco Ichibanya – curry with squid

Com Tam Tran Quy Cap – bun cha ha noi, eggrolls, thai tea

Ragin’ Cajun truck – shrimp & catfish po’boy, beans and rice

Creamistry

Creamistry – rocky road, vanilla and strawberries

The Center Club – Katie & Andy Wedding dinner – shortribs

The Center Club – Katie & Andy Wedding dinner – fish

The Center Club – Katie & Andy Wedding dinner – cupcakes

Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe – loco moco with polish sausage

Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe – California omelet, chili

Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe – pastrami on hawaiian bread

VA Upper Class Flight – seared tuna, asparagus

VA Upper Class Flight – beef filet

VA Upper Class Flight – cheese & crackers

Here’s a list of the restaurants included in the pictures above:

VA Upper Class Lounge (LHR) – In-n-Out – Pitfire Pizza – La Costa Resort and Spa – Casa de Bandini – Stone Brewery World Bistro – Flame Broiler – Kelly’s Donuts & Burgers – Original Pancake House – Whole Foods – Lemonade – Five Guys – Tip Top Kitchen – Afters Icecream – Starbucks – Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop – Mile Square Golf Course Banquet Center – The Bruery – The Viking Truck – Pieology – Di Lien’s House – Bruxie – Sidecar Dooughnuts – Mochilato – Katie & Andy’s House – Istanbul Grill – Haven Gastropub – Hue Oi – Tacos Tamazula – Book Club at Mary’s – Starfish – Arc – Grilled Cheese Truck – Matsu – Casa Inka – Coco Ichibanya – Creamistry – Com Tam Tran Quy Cap – Ragin’ Cajun Truck – The Center Club – Bread Crumb Ohana Cafe

So I’m not about to write a review for each of these places, that would take (metaphorically) FOREVER. But I did want to say something about my wedding cake. Minh and I finally got the wedding cake out of the freezer while we were home. It’s been frozen since our wedding, which was June 2012. Usually, the tradition is to freeze the top of the wedding cake and eat it at your first anniversary, but since we were out of the country for our first anniversary, it wasn’t possible. So we defrosted it and were expecting the worst. To our surprise, it was DELICIOUS! Just as good as it was on the day of our wedding. AMAZING! Big kudos to Colette’s Catering for an awesome wedding cake.