Skagit Tulip Festival (Mt. Vernon, WA)

I'm a little late on posting this but thought I'd share anyway. It was a few years back when I first heard about the Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon, Washington (one hour north of Seattle). Those who know me really well know that I LOVE tulips. There's something about them that really just shouts "SPRING!!!" It wasn't until this year that I finally flew over to Seattle to attend the lovely Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon. Crazy thing is that I've been to Seattle at least ten times in the past three years, but my trips never fell on dates in April, and unfortunately, the Tulip Festival only runs through through the month of April. At the end of the month, the tulips are cut and distributed. Anyway, here you go.....tulips galore!

        

Capisce/Lake Tahoe

Two summers ago, a group of us went on a weekend trip to South Lake Tahoe. While we were there, we found ourselves a little gem - Capisce. This family-run, traditional Italian restaurant was located in Zephyr Cove, Nevada, just a few miles away from our cabin. We decided that when we were in the area again in the future, we would plan a visit to Capisce for dinner. Needless to say, two years later, we made that visit to Capisce, and the food was just as tasty as I remembered it to be.

Hanging out near the lake pre-dinner.

Capisce? = "Understand/You got it?" in Italian.

Balsamic vinegar and olive oil with focaccia.

Tortilla soup with shredded chicken breast, vegetables, crispy tortillas and cheese.

A split order of lasagna and chicken pesto.

Capisce is located at 178 U.S. 50 in Zephyr Cove, NV.

Hook & Ladder

My first time at Hook & Ladder was during October of last year, just a month or so after the restaurant had their grand opening. The last time I went in was for dinner, and I can still distinctly remember the delicious house-made roasted beet linguine. Fast forward to Spring of 2013. My lovely co-workers and I decided to escape the confines of our office and go out for lunch at this midtown joint during a warm Sacramento afternoon.

Strawberry lemonade.

Pancetta & poached duck egg salad with frisee, radicchio and almonds.

Three meat ragu made with paccheri pasta.

Clara's Chicken Salad with mixed baby lettuces, roasted chicken, shaved red onion, cucumber, roasted red bell pepper, garlic croutons, kabocha squash and goat cheese.

This pizza was on their list of daily specials. Wish I remembered all of the ingredients. Speaking of pizza, Hook & Ladder had one on their menu that sounded delish - fuji apples, peppered bacon, goat cheese, walnuts & honey. Umm....yum!!

Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. is located at 1630 S St. in Sacramento.

Castello di Amorosa

For those of you who will be making your way out to Napa Valley this season, I would definitely plan a guided tour of Castello di Amorosa. I'm a total researcher when it comes to trip planning and love to look up everything from sightseeing spots to restaurants before heading over to my destination. So when I was planning a trip to the area, I looked into a few different tours of Napa, including countless vineyard tours. I settled on Castello di Amorosa, which surprisingly, opened their doors to the public only 6 years ago! The weather was perfect, and the skies were amazing, which made for a fabulous day overall.

The castle is comprised of 107 rooms, both below and above ground.

The Great Hall.

Barrels upon barrels!

               

Tasting room.

The view from the top floor, overlooking Napa Valley.

Castello di Amorosa is located at 4045 St. Helena Hwy in Calistoga, CA.

Cook St. Helena

As the weather warms up and the leaves turn green, I'm reminded of one of my favorite places to visit in the Spring - Napa. After a tour of Castello di Amorosa, I used my handy Yelp app to research Italian restaurants in the area (I should probably add here that I LOVE Italian food). According to my phone, there was an Italian restaurant located about 6 miles from the castle. Less than 10 minutes later, my date and I arrived at Cook St. Helena on Main Street in St. Helena. 

A quiet Friday late afternoon.

The dinner menu consisted of appetizers, salads & soups, house made pastas and entrees (including sauteed dayboat scallops, roasted airline chicken chop, braised shortrib and seared bistro filet).

Fettucine alle vongole with clams, spicy white wine broth and mixed herbs.

Spaghetti & meatballs with sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, parmesan broth and basil. Definitely my favorite of the two dishes we tried.

Cook St. Helena is located at 1310 Main St. in Saint Helena, CA.

Revolution Wines

Thanks to Yelp (frequent user over here!), my co-worker and I found a restaurant that's been in town for a few years, but one that neither of us had heard of. After venturing over to their website, we discovered that Revolution Wines did not have their bistro menu posted online. We decided to wing it and check it out anyway. Glad we did because the French BLT was delish!

Lunch options consisted of wine pairings, small plates and large plates.

"French BLT" with bacon, green apple, brie and balsamic-caramelized onion on a baguette.

Arugula salad with candied cashews, poached pear, crispy prosciutto and feta-honey vinaigrette.

     

Craig Haarmeyer, winemaker at Revolution Wines, gave me a tour of what goes on backstage. He described the restaurant as farm-to-table and vineyard-to-table. The restaurant prides itself on serving local and seasonal food.


Revolution Wines is located at 2831 S Street in Sacramento.

Pushkin's Bakery

Watch out, Sactown! There's a new bakery in town, and this one's gluten/dairy free. When my co-worker and I read an article in the SacBee about a new bakery that had just opened a month prior, we immediately scheduled a lunch date for later in the week to check it out.

I was totally feeling the name, especially since I have Eastern European roots!

There were two cases loaded with gluten-free goods - everything from cupcakes to zucchini bread to cookies.

                  

I present to you the chocolate raspberry cupcake on the left, and to your right, a chocolate crinkle and a S'more sandwich. 

Pushkin's Bakery is located at 1820 29th Street in Sacramento.