#hot chocolate would have paired perfectly with my french toast

[spiltscribbles]

ADFFASFDSFG DO THE SWITCHED LUGGAGE WITH WOLFSTAR

Notes: LEGITLY I DO NOT KNOW!!!! STOP GIVING ME THAT LOOK DAMN IT RJ!!!! Big BIG love goes to @kattlupin and @justtoarguewithyou for the Beta help<3 Please don’t hate me RJ!

.-

~Hour 0   

Remus focuses on the chill that’s beginning to frost the window of the quaint, Edinburgh coffee shop that’s tucked into a dark corner of the large block of the tube station, appreciating the glittering blankets of snow coating the ground and the melodic holiday tunes playing from above. The scent of cinnamon wafts through the air and his phone’s pressed between his ear and shoulder while one hand toys with the tassel hanging off the reindeer trinket lining the counter, and the other’s clasping onto his luggage.

“I can’t wait to show you! My mum’s bought Harry the cutest little Saint Nick babygrow, and Mrs. Potter’s sent me her recipe for the samosas James especially likes. And—”  

Remus laughs through his nose, pressing the phone closer before accepting the hot chocolate handed over to him by the barista who winks his way before going back to start up the next round of drinks.

“Lils, I’ve bought the ticket, and I’m about to board. No need to continue on trying to convince me. I’ll be in London for Christmas.”  

“Oh, Remus, I can’t wait!” Lily crows delightedly, and Remus can just pick up on the sound of a bowl clacking to the ground, inwardly praying that she doesn’t burn down her entire cottage before Remus’s even gotten the chance to see it. “I’ve missed you, it’s positively ridiculous how long we haven’t been able to visit! Criminal, really!”  

Remus drags his bottom lip between his teeth, flushing slightly at the dig considering that the absence from his closest friend from childhood  was almost entirely his doing. “Well you know, with Fabian’s research and all, we were constantly out of the country, over to the States one week, and then Asia the next.”  

This time, it’s effortless catching on the sound of harsh stirring accompanied by Lily’s unimpressed cluck at the sound of Remus’s ex’s name. “Well good riddance. He was never good enough for you Remus, a total self righteous prat.”  

“Is that right?” Remus smiles wryly, taking a sip of his coco before wrapping his scarf around his neck once more to brace for the cold. “I thought he was mighty fancy-able considering the degree and being fit and all.”  

“Dry as Petunia’s skin in the winter,” Lily sniffs airily, and Remus studiously does not mention the mountain of moisturizers that Lily stored away in an unused closet in the old flat they shared during six form when she thought Remus wasn’t looking. “Now I get to have my fun and set you up with a proper bloke, especially since you’ll be moving back to London after the semester officially closes. Ooo! We can start a double date night! There’s this cooking class they’re holding down the street for couples but I didn’t wanna join because James would only get all obnoxiously cocky when he ultimately does remarkably and I end up burning water.”

Remus laughs, remembering the occasion she’s referring to, which had led them to pressing together their measly savings to buy an electric kettle like good and proper adults, rescuing their pots from getting burnt to a crisp thanks to Lily’s forgetfulness. “Least if you come along with whichever bloke, I’ll know I definitely won’t be the worst one there.”  

Remus twists up his mouth, displeased. “Unwarranted slander.”  

“Your french toast chipped my pug’s tooth before he spat it out.”  

“Maybe Snuffles just has a bad gag reflex.”  

“His gag reflex is perfectly adequate,” she sniffs.  

“Well I’ve never spat out my own food.”

“Hmm, I bet you get all the boys in the yard whenever you talk about how skillfully you’ve trained your gagging.”  

“Stuff it, Evans.”  

“Potter now actually, Ta so much.”  

“Gone off and married yourself a posh Londoner and now you’re sounding like you’re meant to be on an episode of Downton Abbey, is that right?”  

“Innit brilliant?”  

“Bloody exhausting is more what I was thinking, love.”  

Lily’s answering laugh is light and tinkling and it’s the happiest Remus’s ever heard her all year, and it’s like a punch to the gut when he all at once realizes just how drastically he’s missed her.

“Don’t pout Re, I’ll still be able to tolerate your lowly,  Welsh vowels.”  

“Sod off.”  

“Mean.”

“You started it.”  

“Oof.”  

“Did you break the eggs the wrong way again?” Remus asks, single brow cocked as he finally retreats into the actual underground and ambles to the queue waiting to scan their tickets.   

“You can’t break eggs the wrong way Remus Lupin!” Remus stays silent. “Don’t give me that look!”  

“What look?” Remus asks owlishly.  

“Don’t think I can’t picture it right now, with the slanted mouth and your left eyebrow raised with pure condescension.”  

“I don’t like this picture of my character that you’re painting, Evans.”  

“I don’t like your insinuations of my egg cracking skills, Lupin.”  

“But I’m right, aren’t I? You did break it?”  

“Well yes, that’s the general idea of cracking an egg.”  

Remus scoffs. “The wrong way I mean.”  

The silence coming from Lily is positively fuming and Remus thinks that if they were in some sorta old-timey Disney cartoon she’d be steaming smoke from her ears right about now. “’S just a singular shell, it’ll melt right in the pan once I pop it into the oven.”  

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you’re trying to poison us. And right when I became single and ready to pull again.”  

“Oh speaking of pulling,” Lily squawks, and Remus absolutely despises that tone of voice—flashes of young, drunken escapades bubbling to the forefront of his mind, twinging when he thinks of the flower he’s got tattooed onto his arse to match the crescent moon on Lily’s own.

“No. Absolutely not.”  

“Oi, you haven’t even let me explain myself, you berk! I just wanna help.”  

“You’re an evil, evil Femme Fatale, and you shouldn’t even have this much power over me considering how rudding gay I am.” He screams that last part perhaps a bit too loudly, garnering amused glances from most of his fellow patrons, and a couple curious ones. Including a pair of disarmingly lovely gray eyes. And holy christ above does he hate Lily right now.  

“But Remus,” she says in a distinct sulk through the line. “It’s just that James’s brother also recently just got out a relationship with this bird from work, and it wasn’t nearly as long as you and Fabian, but I thought you two would just be so cute together. He totally fits that crush you had on Stubby Boardman all through A levels, and I just thought it’d help you so much with getting over that ginger-haired bastard.“  

“You are the only ginger-haired bastard in my life,” he tells her glumly, wincing when the ticket holder smirks at him as she scans him through, mouthing a ‘Good Luck’ with a smirk. 

Damn Remus’s very existence.  

Keep Reading

[winterfluffs]

A Chance Meeting

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Summary: All he wanted was a night alone but fate had other plans

Warnings: Fluff. Major fluff.

Word count: 1.9k

Author's notes: I have finally finished something! This has been a very long time coming, so I am super nervous and excited, even a little afraid as no one else has read a thing I've written in 7 years. Maybe longer. Hopefully this isn't too bad! Also, apologies for any improper punctuation. And also for not knowing how to do an undercut as this is kind of long. I'm still new with posting/using the app on my phone.

Bucky Barnes slid on his coat, placed a hat on his head and as quietly as possible, slipped out the front door into the frigid December night air.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy: he had his best friend, close friends who saw him for who he was and not what he was or what he had done, a nice warm place to stay, food in his stomach. Hell, he was an Avenger for Pete's sake. He had come so far from his time in the war, the time where he was brainwashed to be an evil assassin – he knew he should be grateful, and he was – there was just still something missing. How can one man have so much and it be like nothing at all?

The thoughts ran through his mind as he walked through the dark streets; the snow that had started light only minutes ago was now coming down heavier and faster. He had no idea of what time it was, nor did he care. He just had to get out. Clear his head. Maybe force his body to get some sleep after some much-needed fresh air.

Even though he hadn’t been a Russian assassin since Steve Rogers had found him and helped him get back his memory, he still had awful nightmares. Terrors that lasted long through the night and well into the next day. Some so bad they shook him for days on end resulting in him not being able to sleep.

Which was why it was in the middle of the night on December 24th and he was in the middle of the town square staring at the giant Christmas tree in an effort to shake the bad thoughts that crept through his mind.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a quiet voice came from beside him. Bucky had no will or want to talk to anyone. Especially at whatever ridiculous hour it had been.

Bucky gave the person a slight nod wanting nothing more to be left alone.

That was a downfall of being an Avenger. People always knew who you were, wherever you went, always knew where you’d be, and had always wanted something of you. He loved attention back when he was a kid, even thrived off it, but now that he was older, colder he loved to be left alone.

“I’m so sorry, but – “

“Here it comes.” Bucky thought and turned to the person, ready to put on his act.

“– do you know where this is?” the woman pointed to a map she had out in front of her. “This street, that is.” She shook her head while looking at the map, heavy snowflakes resting in her hair.

“Oh.” He blinked and gave her a curious look. He waited a few more seconds for her to ask him if he was the Winter Soldier, if she could get a date with the Captain America, or have drinks with the Iron Man.  When none of those questions came, he was stunned.

The woman was so focused on her map that she had temporarily forgotten about the man standing next to her. Bucky coughed to get her attention. “I am really sorry. I know it is late, it is super cold, and you’re a stranger who probably doesn’t want to be bothered. It’s just I was supposed to be at my parents’ house hours ago. My cab left me stranded on the side of the road when he couldn’t find my house, it started to snow, the streets have been completely empty, and you are the first person I found to ask for directions.”

God she was beautiful Bucky thought to himself while trying to concentrate on her words. His eyes wandered over the women. Long dark hair framed her face perfectly, her cheeks and nose rosy from the cold, her eyes warm and inviting. His stomach tied in knots as she looked at him helplessly.

“This is turning into a really awful Christmas.” She sighed heavily packing the map back into her bag. “I am so, so sorry to have bothered you, sir. Merry Christmas.” She smiled at him within a troubled glance then began to walk away.

“Do, uh, d-do you like hot chocolate?” Bucky stammered calling out to her back. He kicked himself for being so awkward, so troubled that he doubted himself in his ability to communicate with people.

“Sorry?” the woman turned around unsure if she heard him correctly.

“Hot chocolate. It is freezing out here and from the sound of it, you’ve been walking around out here for a pretty long time. Would you…want to go get a hot chocolate? Warm up a little?”

“It’s 12:45 in the morning.”

“I know a great little diner that’s open 24 hours. Best hot cocoa in the surrounding area.”

She smiled thankfully unsure as to why she couldn’t get enough of the quiet dark-haired man. “I would absolutely love a hot chocolate. Possibly some pancakes, too.”

“I don’t know about pancakes, but they have the best French toast I have ever had.” Bucky smiled as he made his way over to her, needing more time with her.

“Even better.”

 -----

“Oh my God you weren’t kidding!” she moaned as she let the melted cinnamony, buttery, eggy goodness slide down her throat. Bucky laughed as she took another bit, moaning louder as she chewed. “These are to DIE for.”

Bucky smiled as he watched her eat, a calmness coming over him that he hadn’t felt in an exceedingly long time. Like he was supposed to be here. With her. Like tonight wasn’t just a chance meeting between two strangers. He thanked his lucky stars that she didn’t take him for a dangerous person, even though deep down he knew differently.

“Thank you.” She looked at him her eyes locking onto his. “For all of this. My parents and siblings only just moved here a few months ago and this is my first time to visit. Mom thought she gave good directions but….” She pointed around in reference to her being lost in a diner with a random stranger at some crazy time in the morning. “Anyway, I really appreciate it.”

“Glad to be of service.” He laughed, his eyes crinkling on the sides. Bucky couldn’t remember a time when he felt this relaxed, this calm, this happy. He and mystery woman spent over two hours in the diner talking; about anything, everything, and nothing at all. He was happy to be in her presence, to make her laugh, to make her forget her worries for a little. It was only then that Bucky realized she did the same for him, too.

Since he laid eyes on this woman, he felt lighter; forgetting his troubles, forgetting the reason why he was awake at 2:45 A.M. on Christmas morning instead of asleep in his bed. She made him laugh. Laugh like he hadn’t laughed since the 40's, before the war, before the training, before the brainwashing, before the fighting, before the blood.

And he felt free.

He didn’t have to be Steve Rogers’s best friend, he didn’t have to be the Winter Soldier, he didn’t have to be an Avenger, he didn’t have to put up a wall he did when people got too close.

He was just James Barnes. It was a feeling he never wanted to forget.

 -----

“Do you want me to call a taxi for you?” Bucky looked around. The snow was coming even faster now, a good four or five inches already on the ground with no looks of stopping any time soon.

“No…I’ll have to think of something.” She shrugged. “Can’t be too far off, right?”

“I know this is going to sound really crazy but hear me out: I live right around the corner. You could stay a little, warm up and dry off in front of the fire, maybe have some more hot cocoa, hot tea if you’d prefer. And if you’d like, once you’re ready, I can drive you to your parents’ house. Or call you a cab.”

“I don’t even know your name.” she laughed blushing slightly. Or maybe it was the cold. What Bucky knew was that it made her even more adorable than she already was.

“I go by Bucky…. but my first name is James.”

“James…” she smiled taking his hand in hers. “[name].”

“Now that we officially know each other, what do ya say?” God he would do anything to spend more time with her, to know her inside and out. To spend the rest of his life making her happy, knowing he was the reason behind her bright smile.

“Fine. But only because I am still frozen solid and would love another cup of something hot.” She smiled that bright smile again. The smile that Bucky couldn’t get enough of. The bright smile that was now aimed at him. He was the reason for that smile. The thought made Bucky’s stomach turn and his chest tighten; the need of wanting and not knowing of what could be lingered in the air.

“Bucky, I want to thank you.” He froze at the mention of his name, the sound going straight to his heart.

“If you hadn’t stop to help….” She trailed off with a distant look in her eye. Bucky pulled her in for a hug feeling her sigh into his embrace. He moved the hair from her face, him finding himself lost yet again in her eyes.

Without thinking, Bucky gently placed his lips on hers smiling into the kiss when she instantly kissed him back.

“Don’t think either of us thought this is how our Christmas would start.” She laughed making Bucky laugh as well.

“No. But I know I am definitely not complaining.” His eyes crinkled when he laughed, something [name] found adorable and charming; she knew she was teetering on dangerous territory, yet she couldn’t get enough. Didn’t ever want to get enough.

He pulled her in closer, his lips hovering above hers. “This might be way too soon, but I think I’m falling really hard for you.”

“Funny you should say that – I was just thinking the same thing.”

Bucky’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

Having gone from being utterly miserable to meeting the woman of his dreams in one night was a story that no one would believe. He wouldn’t even believe it if someone had said it to him. Yet, as he and [name] stood together in the falling snow, [name] happily in his arms, kissing him like he had never been kissed before, Bucky couldn’t get enough. For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to fight off the pure happiness he felt.

“Let’s get out of here before we freeze to death.” He gave her a crooked smile and held her tightly as they walked the short distance to his house.

---

“Still cold?”

[Name] nodded her head, scooting over into Bucky’s embrace when he motioned for her to come closer. She sighed at the warmth of his body really relaxing for the first time since her trip began. She knew she was crazy being in a stranger’s home, cuddled up in front of a fire with a man she barely knew. Her mom would surely go crazy if she ever found out. Yet, she didn’t care.

All that mattered was her and him.

Together.

And that’s the way she hoped it would be.

Forever.

[shawn-mendes-post]

Aftermath

A/N: Chapter 2 of Just Friends. I don’t own anything. 

VMAs Recap: (Y/N) is not a little girl; she is a woman with many males wanting her. 

This year there were many good performances. However, (Y/N) took the show and left us wanting more.  If you do not know who she is, then let me brief you. 

She was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1997.  She comes from a line of prestige doctors.  It came out a surprise when she would not follow the same path as all her members in the family.  She would follow her best friend, Shawn Mendes, on tour.  Things would heat up with their friendship as people began to speculate romance was blooming. However,  it came to a stop when Shawn and Camila were spotted kissing. 

Their friendship is unknown because the two are no longer spotted together. (Y/N) was busy filming in a tv show and writing songs while Shawn was doing a collab with Camila. 

Next, we hear about (Y/N) is her new single Hands to Myself.  Fans went wild and could not believe sweet (Y/N) could be so....sexy.  She would perform the song at the VMAs. 

She gave Shawn a run of his money with an alluring performance. She wore a seductive dress that showed off her curves.  Hair curled down her shoulders, perfectly framing her heart-shaped face. She even had a male dancer dance with her. The dancer was all over her, and she was all over him.  The two were both joined by another male dancer, and the performance was Hot. Hot. HOT.  

Overall, it was an outstanding performance, and I cant wait to see what she does next. Watch out for my next article about the timeline of Shawn's and (Y/N)'s relationship. 

***

(Y/N) stared at the article, rolling her eyes at how they had to mention Shawn. "Why must people keep focusing on our friendship. I don't even know what goes on in his life anymore," she complains, flipping the french toast.  

Her agent sent the article after the VMAs. He wanted to let her know how everyone loved her performance. He also wanted to check up on her since she has a movie shoot soon. 

(Y/N) finished making her breakfast before she sat down to eat.

 Her plate consisted of fluffy, warm, french toast with glazed strawberries, topped with powdered sugar giving off a heavenly look.

 A side of bacon and eggs with a soft biscuit landed on another plate. Her stomach grumbles before she digs in, not having anything since yesterday. 

Agent 

Don't forget to go to the shooting of the movie.  Also, you have an interview tonight.

Groaning, she gets up and gets ready for the day. 

***

Shawn was hungover because he could not get his mind off of (Y/N). After seeing her at the VMAs, it brought back memories of the two. 

"Shawn!" A 4-year-old (Y/N) yelled, running towards him in her Halloween costume. He lets out an "oof," as she wraps her arms around him. He laughs, patting her back, hoping she would let him go. 

She lets go, glancing at his costume and lets out a squeal. " My prince Eric," she said, dreamily. He rolls his eyes, not understanding why she even had a crush on a cartoon character.  "Yeah, yeah," grumbles, blushing as he sees her Ariel costume.  She was wearing the pink ball gown that he mentioned he liked. 

"Ready?" He asked, holding out his arm for her to take. Nodding, she wraps her arm around his, following their parents out the door. They spent a couple of hours of trick or treating and having fun with each other. 

After, they went to Shawn's house, having a little party. The kids were sent to Shawn's room. Shawn dumped all his candy on the floor and (Y/N) did the same thing, giggling as she sees all the different types of candy. 

The two would swap candies and munch on them, watching a movie on his bed. Time passes, and the parents come in to see (Y/N) head-on Shawn's chest and his arms wrapped around her waist. Both were peacefully sleeping, and the parents took a picture of the two. 

***

Shawn stared at (Y/N) with lovely eyes, finding her the perfect girl. " I will marry you, " the 7- year-old told her. She laughs and shakes her head, " oh Shawnny, we are too young. Maybe when we turn 20. Hopefully, I will be on my way to becoming a doctor, and you are on your way as a famous actor."

Shawn shakes his head, not liking the wait, "let's get married today," making her eyes widened. A chock caught their attention as they see Shawn's parents. Both of them were frozen, not knowing what to say. 

(Y/N) tilts her head, thinking about what Shawn said, and then nodded her head rapidly. " Okay, Can we?" She turns to Shawn's parents making them snap out of their state, looking at both of the kid's pleading face, debating on what to say to the two hopeful kids, before nodding their heads. 

***

The next day the two kids were in the backyard. (Y/N) was wearing a white gown that went to her ankles. Shawn was wearing a tux that made him uncomfortable. 

The two were not able to see each other, and that made it difficult for things to get done. The two would sneak away to meet up with each other, and just spend time together. The parents would have to find the kids and separate them. 

Later, (Y/N) was walking towards Shawn, smiling excitedly. Shawn was glad he was marrying his best friend. Their eyes connect, and both of them could not look away.  It was time for them to exchanged vows. 

"Shawn, you are my best friend and will be forever. I would follow you to the moon and back. I promise I will always be there for you, Shawn. "

"(Y/N) you are amazing.  I want to stay by your side no matter what. I can not see my life without you. I will be your best friend forever."

Then Shawn places a Ring Pop on her ring finger, remembering what his father said.  Then (Y/N) did the same to him before she leans and kisses his cheek, blushing as she pulls away. The parents cheer as pictures, and a video was taken of the two. 

***

Shawn stared at himself in the mirror with tired, dry, and red eyes. His hair was a mess, and that was unusual for him. He knew he should try and talk to her, but after the last encounter, he thought it was best to leave her alone.

But he missed her. He missed her so much that he couldn't even stop his tears when he thinks about her. The smell of her hair because she uses a specific type of shampoo.  The way her eyes lit up when she would see him. A smile always on her lips or the way she giggles at everything he says. "I miss her," he mumbles, placing a hand on the mirror. 

A 15- year-old Shawn was sitting on the couch, running his hand through his hair. He was waiting for (Y/N) and her family to come over for Chrismas, the yearly routine. 

He was clutching the gift he wrapped poorly in his hands, wondering if she will like her gift. 

He spent countless months saving up for her gift because he wanted to make things perfect for her. 

He knew he was busy after he signed the record deal, but he wanted to be there for (Y/N). 

Knock. Knock.

Fumbling, he stands up, cheeks flared, as he hears his family chucking. Opening the door, he was left breathless when his eyes meet hers. 

She was standing in front with a big gift in her hands, perfectly wrapped with a big bow resting on the top. 

"Hi," she said, softly blushing when she saw how handsome he looked. "Hi," he replied, grinning stupidly, not noticing her family.

"Ugh, get a room," her little brother said, disgusted at how they were acting, making the two tomato red in the face as they cough awkwardly. 

Everyone enters the living room, but Shawn takes (Y/N) to his room. 

The two teens sat on Shawn's bed, five feet apart, glancing away from each other. There was a pregnant silence since the teens did not know what to say. "I got-" the two started, but stopped when they realize the other was talking. 

" I got you a gift," she mumbled, shyly giving him the gift in her hands. He carefully unwraps the gift. He opened the box to see different items in there. He took out a pair of fluffy, slippers.  " You need a pair when you go on tour. "

Smiling, he gets the next item, which was wrapped chocolate chip cookies. " I know you love my baking. "

The next item was a jar with notes. Some envelopes read "open when..." making him curious about what they say. 

There were pictures of the two for him to keep when he goes on tour and to have something to remember her since she wouldn't be with him because she was going to study to become a doctor. 

"It's wonderful,"  he kisses her cheek. " I got you something too," he said, giving her the gift. 

She unwraps it, slowly opening the box before she lets out a gasp.  An elegant, silver locket with a vintage moonstone stone set in the center,  framed Victorian floral in an antiqued silver color, laid in the small little box. 

" I can't take this," she says breathlessly, shaking her head. She tried to push the box to him, but he shakes his head. 

" I want you to have it. You mean the world to me (Y/N) and want you to know," he whispers, opening the locket to show a tiny picture of the two smiling. (Y/N) stares into his eyes, tears sliding down her face, slowly leaning closer to Shawn's face. 

Their lips touch in a light kiss, making both of them nervous. 

He places a hand on her waist, brings her closer to him, the other hand on her neck, tilting her head more. (Y/N) has one hand on his thigh as the other is running through his curls, whimpering at his touch. 

Her hand on his thigh rises up and down till becoming dangerously close to his crotch. Shawn's breath gets heavier, heart beating rapidly, blood rushing through his ears, making him pull away from (Y/N). The two were a blushing mess as they breathed heavier than normal. 

"Wow," she said after a while of silence. Shawn chuckles before running his fingers through her hair. " Your right, wow." 

He wanted to kiss her again, and he would if she didn't pull away from him. "We shouldn't have done that," she said, getting up and looking at him fearfully. " Why not?" He asked because it hurt him that she regretted it. 

" I don't want to ruin our friendship, Shawn. We can't be together because you are becoming famous and I'm just me. You are just going to leave me for someone prettier and richer than me. We should stay friends because of the uncertainty of life," she explained, not wanting to but knowing her family would disapprove of them being together. 'You must focus on becoming a doctor,' her mom told her. 'I know we thought it was cute when you were little, but you're not anymore,' her father said about her crush on Shawn. 

Shawn sat motionless, countless thoughts running through hid head before he nods his head. "I understand (Y/N). However, I want you to know I would never leave you for another girl. You are the bewitching girl in the world. It was a heat of the moment," he lied through his teeth. 

"SHAWN! (Y/N)!" Women voiced was heard through the walls. The two teens rushed towards the living room to join everyone else. 

***

Shawn sighs, tired of his confusing feelings. He loves Camila, and she makes him feel alive. But she wasn't (Y/N). He couldn't just mope anymore. He had things to do. He had songs to write. 

***

(Y/N) was off the stage, running her fingers down her off the tight shoulder dress. 

She didn't want to wear something that would bring too much attention.

She was currently a guest on Jimmy Fallon's show to help with the True Confession between John Mulaney and Pete Davidson, two of her favorite comedians. 

" First we are going to need another player, we found a great one you know from Stranger Things, American Horror Story and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, she is also a singer you know well (Y/N) (L/N)!'

(Y/N), gets in motion, she spins, across the stage coming to a stop, and pose.  

She laughs, the audience hollers, at what she did, " coming in hot!" 

Pete was clapping as he watches her impress everyone. His eyes trailed down to see what she was wearing, and he silently admitted she was stunning. 

" Here is how it works. In front of us are two envelopes with confessions. One confession is true, and the other is a lie. Once you read your confession, the other players have 60 seconds to interrogate you, and they have to guess if you are lying or telling the truth." 

(Y/N) nods, grabbing the coffee cup, take a sip, holding back a gag at the taste. " Don't drink that. It's a prop," Jimmy said, shaking his head, trying to reframe from laughing. 

" I had them place coffee in the cup, but I don't like this coffee," she mumbled, making a silent reminder to go to Starbucks after this. 

" John, you go first. Pete, what envelope should John open." 

Pete nods as he points to his envelope and then to John's. " Mine or his?" He asked, laughing. 

" His," Jimmy and (Y/N) said in sync.

" Oh, number two," Pete chuckled out. 

" This could be a lie or the truth. We don't know."

John picks up the envelope, "alright." He then opens the envelope, wondering what is going on. "Are we doing this correctly?" 

" Is this mine or his?" Pete asked, curiously. 

" His," (Y/N) mutters, stares at John, she had an idea of John's, tell when he lies.  

" Who am I talking about? You?" John asked, looking at Jimmy. The audience laughs at how they are questioning the game.

 " You talking about you. " 

" Do you get it?" 

" I should read the email." Everyone laughs as Pete covers his mouth.

John clears his throat before speaking, " my neighbor was arrested by the FBI for being a cannibal. "  

" What?" A few scattered laughs were heard. (Y/N) smiles already knew the answer. 

" What year was this?" 

" 2013," John said, sipping on the drink. 

" So cannibalism illegal at this point. " 

" So wait… is this L.A?"

" New York." 

Jimmy and Pete looked at each other and come to the same conclusion. 

"The FBI got involved, but how did you know?  They asked you questions?" Jimmy asked, needing more information. 

" Uh, when the FBI were swarming our lobby and arrested the guy at 6:00 am a raid. 

" Was there any clue he was suspicious or anything?"

" No, he never said to me in the elevator, "Guess what? I might be a cannibal."  (Y/N) watches the interaction between the three, laughing at them. The buzzer rings, and it was time to guess. 

" I say no cause if it was in L.A, I would believe it. "

" I'm going to say its false. "

They turn to (Y/N), and she smiles innocently. " I am going to say it is true." 

" It's true." 

"What! No!"

John then explains the story to everyone. 

It is Jimmy's turn, and he opens up the envelope, silently reading to himself.

" You sure? Two is pretty good." "I like one."

" I once went for a beer with a musician and woke up in a hotel in Nashville.

"Where did the evening start?" "New York."

" Yes. It's true. " Everyone laughs at Pete's declaration. John and (Y/N) agree with Pete, nodding their heads. They begin to ask uninterested questions to fill in the time. The buzzer goes off, and all three said it was true.

" Pete, it is your turn, and (Y/N) will be picking the envelope. " " I pick one."

" Lorne Michaels and I went to Jamaica together on a vacation for New Years," Pete said, trying to not laugh. "

John made a face, not believing what Pete said. "I want that to be a lie. " The three would spend the rest of the time asking Pete questions.

"I want it to be true, but I'm saying no. " " Not true." (Y/N) stares into Pete's eyes, making him laugh. " It is true," she said. " It's true," Pete admitted.

" I am terrible at this game," Jimmy said, getting up from his seat. (Y/N) had her head held high, smirking when she knew how good she was?

" Now, it is (Y/N)'s turn.  I pick two. "

(Y/N) nods, picking up the envelope, trying to remember what it said. She reads it silently before going deathly pale. She forgot she wrote this, but knew she could not change it now.

" I once had a wedding and got married to Shawn Mendes," she told them, silently wishing she was somewhere else. Screams could be heard in the audience, and that made (Y/N) more nervous.

"How old were you?"

" I was six. "

" Where was it?"

" Umm, I think in the backyard of Shawn's home."

" Did you have a real wedding?"

" Not really, we were pretending that we were getting married. I mean, we were only kids back then. "

" Were your families happy?"

" I think so. I knew Shawn's parents were, but mine, I don't know.

The buzzer went off, and it was time for them to guess. " I am going to say no," Jimmy said, staring at her to figure something out. " I think it is true," John and Pete said.

" It's true," she mumbled, cheeks flushing as the crowd hollers. " WHAT!"

" I was six, and he was seven.  We saw a movie about two people getting married and spending the rest of their lives together. He wanted to marry me, and we came up with a kid's wedding. Our parents planned it out for us. There is a video of the whole thing. I'm pretty sure its somewhere in our family things.

" Our thanks to John Mulaney, Pete Davidson, and (Y/N) (L/N)!"

(Y/N) waves before getting up with Pete. She was being interviewed after John, so she was going to wait in the dressing room.

[daisylincs]

Staticquake 53, 63, 47, 61

53 = Mutual Pining, 63 = Everybody Knows/Mistaken For A Couple, 47 = Not a Date and 61 = Love Confession. 

Thank you so much, anon, I was grinning already just as I read these prompts! I can just feel the denial coming off these two in waves, and it's the BEST. 

As I was reviewing my bullet-point fics so far, I came to the shocking realisation that I haven't written a single coffee shop AU yet!! I know, I was stunned, too. And I immediately decided I needed to fix that! Luckily these prompts worked really well with a nice little coffee shop spin on them, so, I hope you like it! 

Daisy works as a barista for Shield Coffee, and unlikely as it is, she's found a family there. It's a strange kind of family, to be sure, but it's more than she's ever had before. 

It works like this. The owners of the little shop, Coulson and May, took her in and taught her a trade when no-one else would. In this little pseudo-family, they're her mom and dad. 

Fitz and Jemma are her co-baristas, and also her best friends. They brighten her days with their cheerful banter and the way they always finish each other's sentences, and even if they do drive her up the wall sometimes with their total obliviousness, she loves them more than anything. 

Mack is one of her regular customers, and she's come to know him so well that he's like a big brother to her. She teases him relentlessly about his obvious crush on Elena, the pretty Columbian girl who always stops by at Shield after her morning run, and he rolls his eyes good-naturedly and promises he won't be tipping her today. (He does anyway.) 

There's Bobbi and Hunter, who are that pair of cousins who will put a smile on your face no matter what with their playful bickering and on-again-off-again drama that somehow always ends up with them on. 

Then there are all the other customers who she doesn’t know as well, who are like those far-off family members whose faces you recognise and would totally say hi to on the street, but who aren’t in your inner circle. 

So yeah, she knows and likes everyone, and everyone knows and likes her. 

So when a totally new guy pops into the coffee shop one morning, suffice it to say Daisy is intrigued. 

"What can I do for you?" she asks, looking up and flashing New Guy a friendly smile. Oh, he's cute. Nice. 

"One hot chocolate, please," New Guy says with a smile. 

Daisy stops in the middle of pouring milk into the espresso machine to give him a disbelieving look. "Uh, you know this is a coffee shop, right?" 

"Yes, actually, I can read," he says drily, nodding up at the sign above her head. 

She rolls her eyes and chooses to ignore that. "You're not seriously going to order hot chocolate in a coffee shop, are you?" 

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I've never really liked coffee," he says, and if he didn't have such nice blue eyes, Daisy would never forgive him for such a horrific betrayal. 

"Well, maybe that's because you've never tasted my coffee," she says, leaning against the counter and quirking her eyebrows at him. "Here, tell you what. I'll make you that hot chocolate -" she can't quite keep the grimace off her face "- but I'll also make you a French Vanilla latte. On the house." 

"See if that doesn't change your mind," she adds under her breath. 

"We'll definitely see," he says, tipping his head at her in a little salute. Flashing her a playful smile, he adds, "I've never been one to pass up a free cookie." 

Oh, he has some nerve. Daisy shakes her head, smiling despite herself, and he gives her a little smirk as he turns away to go find a table. 

She's still smiling (but more determinedly now - she's going to prove him wrong) as she makes his drinks - both of them - and calls, "Jem? Can you cover the counter? I'm taking my fifteen." 

Sweeping his drinks onto a tray, she makes her way over to his table. "Prepare," she tells him, handing him his latte and perching on the edge of his table, "to have your mind blown." 

He gives her a very unconvinced look, but slowly raises the cup to his lips. Takes a small sip. And… 

Makes a face. 

"Oh, come on!" she exclaims, dropping her hands in exasperation. "That's really great coffee." 

"I'm sure it is," he says, trying and failing to wipe away his grimace. "It's just really not my thing." 

"You know what that sounds like?" she asks him, folding her arms and shooting him an arch look as she takes the latte herself. "That sounds like a challenge." 

"It does?" he asks, arching his eyebrows. 

"Hell yes," she says firmly. "You come back tomorrow, and I'll make you another one of our lattes. I'll find one you like, I'll bet on it." 

He takes a very deliberate sip of his hot chocolate. "Well, I will come back," he says slowly, "if only to prove you wrong." 

Daisy gives what's half a snort and half an incredulous laugh, shaking her head at him. "I can't believe you," she informs him. He toasts her with his hot chocolate, blue eyes sparkling. 

"Alright, what's your name?" she asks, because if she's going to be doing this she can't keep calling him New Guy in her head. 

"Lincoln," he says, putting down his hot chocolate to shake her hand. 

"Well, I'm Daisy," she says, gripping his hand. "And I am going to convert you into a believer of the religion of coffee." 

He rolls his eyes at her, but he's smiling a little. "Yeah, we'll see," he says. Reaching for the latte, he takes the complimentary cookie off the plate and waves it at her. "Thanks." 

It's her turn to roll her eyes, but she's also smiling. This is going to be fun. 

"So, who's that cute guy you were flirting with?" Jemma asks, catching her arm as soon as she returns to the counter. 

"I wasn't flirting," she denies immediately - because, Jemma, what? "Where did you get that idea?" 

"I don't know, the cute smiles and proximity?" Jemma suggests, eyes dancing with mirth. 

Daisy snorts. "Yeah, no." Giving her friend a comically betrayed look, she explains, "He doesn't like coffee! I have to convert him." 

Jemma rolls her eyes and mutters something that sounds suspiciously like "totally flirting" under her breath. But when Daisy gives her a look, she just smiles innocently. "Great idea." 

Daisy rolls her eyes and ignores her friend. Jemma's totally wrong - she wasn't flirting! And yeah, okay, Lincoln's cute, but that's so far from the point. 

The point is coffee. Yes. 

The next day, as promised, Lincoln shows up. He orders a hot chocolate again, giving her a shit-eating grin as he does. 

She rolls her eyes and brings him that and a hazelnut latte. 

And, of course, he doesn't like it. 

This repeats the next day, with the only change being the flavour of latte she brings him. And repeats again the next, and the next. 

Okay, there is one other change, as well. But Jemma can stop smirking, because it doesn't mean anything, at all. Okay? N-o-t-h-i-n-g. They're just friends, and if they keep talking for the entirety of her break, and often longer, well that still doesn't change that, not one bit. Got it? 

All it means is that Lincoln is really easy to talk to, bad taste in coffee or no.

And everyone else in the coffee shop seems to think so, too. More and more frequently, Lincoln is chatting nineteen-to-the-dozen with Fitz and Jemma about something science-y she wouldn’t understand if it hit her with a ten-pound hammer, but which they all get really excited about. Or he’s exchanging banter with Hunter and Bobbi, and placing bets on when Fitzsimmons will finally get their act together. Or he’s laughing himself silly as he and Mack try to learn Spanish from Elena and Joey. Even May grudgingly admits he’s an alright kid. 

Daisy only realises what’s happening as she brings him a pumpkin spice latte, and after taking a grudging sip, his eyes widen.

“Whoa,” he says. “That’s… that’s good.”

Daisy stares at him for a moment in total shock, then shrieks so loudly the entire coffee shop jumps. “I knew it!”

And before she quite processes it, all her friends are flocking around the table, too, exchanging “told-you-so’s” and “finally!’s” with Lincoln. 

It’s then that she realises two fundamental truths at the exact same time: number one, Lincoln has become a part of the Shield family. The thought leaves a warm glow in her stomach. 

And number two… when he looks over at her, blue eyes sparkling as he holds onto his pumpkin spice latte, her heart feels like it’s going to burst from warmth.

Oh, god.

She likes him.

She finds herself looking at him with totally new eyes, as if she’s trying to analyse every little thing he does. The way he laughs and interacts with her friends, and the way they smile warmly back… it leaves her feeling so full of soft warm happiness that she thinks she might explode of it. 

But that doesn’t mean he likes her back… does it?

I mean, probably not. Right?

She finds her gaze lingering on him a little longer, now, as they sit down for pumpkin spice lattes on her ten o’clock break each day (she still tells him I-told-you-so every single day.) 

And sometimes she thinks his eyes linger a bit, too.

Then other times she thinks, Daisy, stop being ridiculous, this is your FRIEND. Friends are allowed to look a little longer when you’re busy TALKING, so stop overanalysing everything, dammit. 

Her inner pep-talk sort of works. Sort of. 

Pity nobody else heard it. 

One day, as they’re sitting together and talking animatedly about Trump’s latest dumb Tweet, this sweet old lady stops by their table and goes, "oh, it does my heart so good to see young love again. You two are such a lovely couple." 

They both start blushing like crazy - "oh no, we're not together" - and Daisy can’t meet his gaze all of a sudden because oh my God, this is awkward. 

And to make things worse, Hunter, asshole with the worst timing in the world that he is, chooses that moment to pop up behind them and go, "Really? Because you've basically been going on dates for three weeks now." 

Daisy and Lincoln simultaneously splutter versions of "What are you talking about??? Those weren't DATES!!"

 Then Jemma pops up, too, and starts ticking things off her fingers. "Sitting together in the coffee shop? Check. Bantering and teasing each other? Check. Making each other grin like idiots? CHECK." 

And when Daisy stops to think about it… sitting together and chatting over coffee does seem a little bit like a date. And, okay, yeah, maybe she does smile a little bit more than she should if they’re just friends, and her heart does do this little happy skippy thing when he smiles back - but that’s just her. Right???

She looks over at Lincoln, and finds him blushing too as he studiously looks down at the table. 

Wait… if he’s blushing, too, that means…

“Were they?” she blurts. “Were they dates?”

He looks up at her, and his expression is all awkwardness, but with a little bit of hope in there, too. “Do you want them to be?” 

Daisy’s heart is going crazy in her chest. Oh dear sweet God and his great aunt Tracy, this is all simultaneously so good and so terrifying. It kind of definitely seems like he might like her too, maybe.

So she takes the plunge and says, “Yeah.” 

He laughs, shaking his head a little incredulously. “Wow. I thought it was just me… I mean, sometimes I thought you might feel the same, but then I told myself I was just reading into things, and -” 

“We’re a pair of idiots,” she says, and she’s a little mad at herself and him but she can’t stop smiling. “That’s exactly what I thought, too.” 

“Well, then,” he says, and he can’t stop grinning, either. God, they’re a pair of love-struck idiots. “So now that we’ve established that - do you want to go on a date? Properly?” 

And Daisy’s grinning so much she thinks her face might split as she answers, “only if there’s coffee involved.” 

He’s laughing, and she’s laughing, and somehow they’re both drawing closer until they’re kissing.

The entire coffee shop starts cheering.

“I KNEW IT!” Hunter yells, pumping his fist. “I knew it! We all saw this coming, oh my God you two owe us!” 

“Oh, fuck off,” Daisy says, reaching for Lincoln’s hand and grinning when he immediately laces their fingers. They pretty much run out of the coffee shop, their friends’ whoops and whistles following them all the way.

(Even so… they go back to the coffee shop for their first real date. And neither of them even mind the relentless teasing that much - they know it’s just because everyone’s really happy for them. 

They’re really happy for themselves, too.

The End.)

Digital pumpkin spice lattes to anyone who spots the Hamilton reference 😜 

[gourmade4u]

Start at the basics

Kitchen Essentials

If you’re just starting out, what are some essential tools and tips to keep in mind while you’re working away at your best Gordon Ramsey duplicate? 

Well, for starters, you need to make sure that your kitchen has the necessary base in which to build from. 

TL;DR- Chef’s knife, rubber spatula, whisk, pans (all types are neatly listed below the picture with the whisk and rubber spatulas), glass mixing bowls, kevlar or other cut-resistant gloves, metal spatula, cutting boards, electric thermometer, colander, box grater, and a timer (if you don’t have a microwave or oven that has one). 

First thing’s first: 

A Chef’s knife. I purchased mine from Ergo Chef (not an affiliate, I’m just a huge fan). From the moment my hand touched this knife, I cried literal happy tears from the depths of my soul. If you have arthritis issues, or issues that cause your hands to swell or lock up from consistent use, an ergonomically designed knife is incredibly important. For those of you just starting, my first knife set was a Farberware set with a wooden block from Walmart. It was a 20 piece knife set with steak knives and it was less than 90 dollars. But take the time to invest in your knives, you’ll be grateful that you did. 

I’ll post in a separate article how to sharpen your knife, but do keep in mind to NEVER, hold on, let me bold this, NEVER: run your knives or single knife through the dishwasher, and/or leave them in the sink. After you finish using your knife, it is best if you wash and dry it immediately to keep it from rusting. Your knives will thank you, and so will your wallet. 

A rubber spatula.

So, this little guy is the absolute best. He will help you toast rice for your risotto, spoon out that perfect pan sauce that took you way too many tries to get it exactly the way you wanted, AND he'll make sure that all your batter makes it into the pan, or your mouth, whichever you prefer.

A whisk. So yes, a whisk is incredibly versatile. You can use it to scramble eggs, make meringue, mayo, vinaigrette, and bake that cake you’re gonna regret in a week.

PANsexuality is important. But it has nothing to do with this next list of pans.

Non-stick pan

10 in. stainless steal or ceramic pan 

Cast iron pan (or 3)

Sauce pot (if you're like me, you have 6)

Griddle pan (not pictured... yet)

Sheet pan

Casserole

Each and every one of these serves a unique purpose.

A non-stick is great for eggs, bacon, frittatas (which are fancy eggs), and so many other items that I promise aren't just breakfast food. 

A ceramic pan is wonderful, but in my personal opinion, a stainless steel is better if you're a novice. A ceramic pan requires a lot of spoons (energy) and maintenance. They scratch easily if you look at them the wrong way. But they are great for more even cooking than a stainless, and make the best pork chops. Stainless steel isn’t as hard to work with, isn’t as high maintenance (though, like knives, NEVER put them in your dishwasher), is ideal for crusting your steak, and making a pan sauce with the remaining bits. 

A cast iron pan evenly distributes heat and you can put it in the oven at 500 degrees without worrying about warping or damage to your pan. Cast iron is also fantastic if you don’t want to use as much fat in your pan to keep your items from sticking. Also, you can’t get a crust on a steak in any other pan, the way you do in a cast iron. Also, don’t put this in the dishwasher.

A sauce pot sounds like an unnecessary necessity. I’ll explain, when most people hear “sauce” pot, they get very confused because there are like, 30 types. This is an exaggeration, but there are a lot of types. A large saucepot can hold from 1 qt. to 5 qts. I always recommend getting a 5 qt. pot because you can use it for small amounts and large amounts. But the best advice I can give would be to get one that can hold at least 2 c of liquid, and also one that can hold 5 qts so you’re not making oatmeal for yourself in a pot that’s too big. 

A Griddle pan is more of a luxury item, but I always recommend having one in your kitchen. You can make your best pancakes, arepas, bacon, grilled cheese, tuna melt, etc. It’s honestly a great tool to have on hand if you want to whip something up quickly. 

A sheet pan is important for so many reasons. You can make cookies, cake, bacon (I know I’ve said about 2 of the others already), roasted veggies, etc. I definitely recommend having at least one on hand. You’ll find that you’ve allowed yourself to enjoy brussel sprouts  smothered in parmesan cheese, and roasted cauliflower with garam masala and ginger for the first time ever. Just trust me, your oven is made for a varying amount of possibilities, and the right tools can get you started.

A baking dish/pan/casserole, whatever you want to call it, it’s a huge piece of either: cast iron, ceramic, glass, or clay that can be covered and it will, much like your sheet pan, allow for new ideas in the kitchen. Casserole is a very common word used by mostly older women from the south, but they aren’t just a dish your grandma cooked in the 50′s. French toast casserole is so impossibly custardy and delicious, you will thank the Gods that there has ever been something so wonderful in existence. You have stews, roasts, lasagna (uncovered, don’t be rude to your lasagna), and so many others. Just please, okay? Okay.  

Glass mixing bowls are a MUST. Okay, so some really important things about these bad boys: DON’T leave them on a hot stove because the heat will make them shatter and explode all over your kitchen. If you have pets or kids, I don’t have to tell you why this would be bad for potentially weeks on end. You can, however, makeshift a glass bowl and a boiling pot of water into a double boiler to melt your favorite chocolate chips to make fudge. Glass bowls are also non-absorbent, so they won’t retain bad odors or flavors when you use them in the kitchen. They’re also incredibly sanitary for the same reason.

A pair of Kevlar or other gloves meant for slicing and dicing in the kitchen. I recommend this no matter what level of experience you have. Professional chefs cut and burn themselves all the time, it is best you do what you can to protect your fingertips and nails. 

A metal spatula will help you scrape any bits and pieces that have stuck onto your stainless or ceramic pan. Please be sure to use carefully, the metal spatula itself is very temperamental and can ruin your pans forever. 

Cutting boards. There are, a whole litany of reasons you need a cutting board or 10 in your kitchen. I myself have 4 and I use all of them. Cutting boards are made of several different kinds of material. Ultimately, for me, I use a wooden one and an eco-friendly material cutting board set I got from Bed Bath and Beyond. Cutting board maintenance is, arguably, the most important thing when it comes to  purchasing one. Best way to clean a cutting board is to make sure you’re passing your sponge over the slits in the board left behind by your knife, in the same direction. In other words, don’t scrub your board in a circle, but trace over the cuts in the board to ensure proper sanitation of it. 

An electric thermometer. Okay, so show of hands, how many people have deep fried chicken, burned the outside and undercooked the inside? I don’t know of any single person who is just beginning, who hasn’t done it. An electric thermometer is your best friend. You can get a regular thermometer, that will require constant calibration, or you can get an electric thermometer and not have to worry about calibrating it as often. Perfectly juicy, succulent, and properly cooked chicken will measure at 165 degrees Farenheit. Anything beyond 180, expect it to be dry, but at least it was cooked properly! To calibrate a thermometer: bring water to a boil, and then place your thermometer in the water, allow it to come to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, then place your thermometer into an ice bath until it gets to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Celsius would be 100 degrees boiling, and 0 degrees in ice. 

A colander is meant to strain out pasta water, and you’ve probably not seen it used for much else. But a fine mesh colander can be used to filter out your frying oil so you can reuse it instead of wasting it. This little thing is good for anything that requires draining: meat, starch from rice and potatoes before cooking them, washing all of your vegetables at once before getting started, and also, it can help with steaming your broccoli or shrimp when you don’t have a basket steamer.

A box grater in general, is a fantastic tool. They have different sides that allow you to do different things. From shredding cheese, potatoes, carrots, or zuccini. But the question a lot of people ask: what is that side with all the really tiny spaces in it? It’s a zester, and it goes so unnoticed for so long because most folx don’t know the best way to use it. The zester is great for adding a little elegance or pop of flavor into a dish. For example, if you use lemon pepper often, adding a zested lemon rind to your dish would bring out all that delicious acidity that you won’t get from just using the regular seasoning from a bottle. A little fresh lemon zest here, some grated nutmeg there, a little orange zest in your tea, these all pack a mean right hook. Try them out. 

Last, but not least: a timer, gentlefolx. I can not stress the utter importance of learning how long it actually takes you, the reader to complete a task from start to finish. Not everyone works at the same pace, so a recipe that says “prep time: 5 minutes”, might actually take you an hour, and that’s okay. Keeping a timer on hand so you can keep track of how long each task is taking to complete, or making sure you’re pacing yourself as things are bubbling away in the kitchen, is a great way to figure yourself out in the kitchen. I recommend listening to music, writing your ingredients on a white board that sits at eye level in your kitchen so you can refer to your recipe as you’re going without having to constantly look at your phone. 

I hope this helps every single one of you learn a bit more about what it means to begin your journey with food. 

[thequeenofsheba-blog]

Mexico Foodie Trip Report

ORIGINALLY POSTED IN JANUARY 2018

Here is a report from our latest foodie trip to Mexico over New Years, apologies for the length in advance! Highlights were El Moro, Fonda Margarita, Carmelitas, El Cardenal, Quintonil, Aperi, Hueso and Red Cabbage Café. Biggest disappointment was the Pujol tacos omakase.

Mexico City

Azul Histórico- disappointing but beautiful

The place is beautiful, and the service wonderful. We had a waiter who took us on a Mezcal tasting tour for about 40 minutes, and allowed us to try some of the rarest Mezcals out there. On to the food, their famous tortilla soup was yummy but not very exciting. We had a ceviche with an Asian twist and guacamole. It was tasty but a tad too salty, with the soy sauce overpowering the dish slightly. Then we had the mole enchiladas. The mole was interesting, not sure I liked it though. And finally we had the conchinita pibil which was dry and nothing exceptional at all.

El Cardenal- heavenly breakfast

The perfect breakfast that I am still dreaming of. We sat down to an anis cinnamon roll with nata de leche and hot chocolate, simply heaven. Then we had the best huevos rancheros of our trip, the dish just needed a tad more of the delicious tomato sauce. And the chilaquiles were absolutely divine.

El Moro- best churros of my life

Hands down best churros I have ever had, so crunchy and thin and a bite of heaven. Went back to the original location twice during the trip it was so good.

Quintonil- excellent meal

Brilliant meal, I will say from the outset. We started with blue corn tortillas with salsa, habanero and beans- delicious and I liked how traditional it was. Then we had the epic cactus pad salad, delicious and so refined, the pairing with mezcal and beet juice was ok, pure mezcal would have worked better. Then peas and pork- smokey heaven and the perfect crunch of fresh peas, with very good pairing. Then scallops and beef tongue- nice, warm, buttery, herbaceous, and again a good pairing. The escamoles and avocado was interesting but didn’t do much for me, was a bit lacking in flavour though maybe the point of the dish is more about texture. The pairing didn’t make sense either. Then we had an octopus pancake of sorts that was very tasty but needed more heat and was a bit rich. Then salmon trout which was lovely, with this delicious squash honey- it’s the perfect bite, though there were an unnecessary slice of squash on the plate as well. The sweetbread tacos were tasty, but a bit too sweet bread for me (am generally not a fan of the taste and texture of sweet bread. The ox tail was delicious, very Mexican in flavour and packed a punch, but the texture was not what it should be. Then a nice and tart cactus sorbet, before a stellar first dessert, these "guava rocks" that were savory and sweet, a great texture, and you keep going for more and each bite is different. The final dessert was fantastic, this corn ice cream that is perhaps in my top 3 desserts of all time.

Lalo!- nice

We sat down and started with a cinnamon roll from the break offering, which was delicious. Then we had the chilaquiles which were nice with a good amount of heat and the eggs were done perfectly. We then had the famous french toast which was so delicious but an absolute sugar bomb.

Pujol tacos omakase- massively disappointing, very filling, and perhaps there is only so much one can do to elevate a taco?

First off I will say that we knew doing the tacos omakase over the tasting menu was a risk, but I had heard from a fellow chef that the omakase is where the chef and his team are experimenting and doing some exciting things. We started with street snacks with an odd juice pairing. None of the bits were great. Then we had a scallop tostada which was nice if a bit oily and not the best scallops, but with a good pairing. Then came a vegetable taco with confit eggplant that was totally bland. Then we had a folded taco with uni and black beans, which was tasty when you got the right bite, but quite salty. Then came a delicious pork cheek taco, but it was also very salty. Then a pork pastor taco with pineapple, which was nice but not exciting. Then a taco with a chili stuffed with wagyu- it was one of my favourite of the meal, but by this point I was quite full. Then a break from the tacos- a croquette with seabass that was nice, not too exciting. Finally the famous mole dish that I have to say was not the best mole we had on our Mexico trip. Then an apple tamale dessert that would have been tasty if not for this burnt caramel ice cream that stole the taste from every other element in the bowl. And we ended with the thin coil of curros, that were nice and delicate, but can't hold a stick to the churros at El Moro in my opinion.

Máximo Bistrot- I am 50/50 on this one. Two of the dishes were great, two I didn’t love

We started with a simply delicious ceviche of seabass which was so fresh and bright. Then we had an artichoke dish that was very fresh and warming, but not super flavourful- more like comfort food but without the yum factor. Then we got delicious homemade raviolis stuffed with a ragu and two pieces of oxtail as well, very well done. Then a lovely strawberry sorbet, followed by a burnt sugar cake that really didn’t do anything for me

Rokai- if you are looking for sushi in Mexico City, this is the way to go.

So the chef offers two different omakases (of differing price because of the offerings included), but the menu also includes hot dishes, dessert, etc. Since we were there for sushi, we requested only sushi, sashimi, nigiri. They consulted and the chef agreed. It was a very, very good meal from that point on, with tons of uni, wagyu beef, toro, etc. Out of my sushi meals outside of japan, I would rank it in the top 10.

Fonda margarita- fantastic breakfast, not to be missed

Small note- if you want to try lots of things on the menu, you can ask for half portions of each item. We had the chicharron in chili verde, which had a very nice heat. Then the huevos rancheros- you have to ask for sauce or they come naked. I got them in a red sauce, that was delicious. And then we got the famous beans and scrambled eggs which were delicious as well and not too beany. We ordered a very good churro at the end, but it came cold which is my only complaint of the meal- I suggest you ask to make sure you get a fresh, hot one.

Contramar- very nice, especially for a weekend lunch

I started with some nice oysters, though they didn’t loosen them which I thought was a bit odd. Then we had the famous, and delicious tuna tostadas. We got a sashimi of mackerel which wasn’t great because the slices were cut very thickly. We got grilled shrimp that was very nice and plump and juicy, and grilled tuna tips that you can make into a lovely fish taco. For dessert we had a slice of nutella flan which was nice (my husband loved it), and the awesome fig tart which is so good because of its crust I think.

El-k Guamo- great for a quick, light bite in the historical center

We had an excellent polpo and crab tostada, with the perfect amount of acid and flavour.

Zihuatanejo

El Arrayan- not great

Very nice chef, but not the best food. The coconut shrimp were oily and unexceptional. The tuna steak was good, though they could have brought a better dipping sauce- they brought an odd blueberry sauce and the rub on the tuna didn’t add much either. We ordered the tuna rare, and if the grill had been hotter you would have gotten that nice crust on the outside, and raw on the inside. Instead the outside was cook, but with no crust. The size of the piece of tuna was enormous. The mezcal was very bad quality.

Carmelitas- fantastic breakfast

Do not miss this place, and do not get put off by the wait, it is so worth it. We had the most stunning breakfast, which started with a delicious cheese curd dip, then the most perfect aporreadillo rojo with just the right amount of heat. Then the huevos motulenos that were nice, though less impressive. On the side we had a quesadilla which was very good because of the quality of the tortilla. I had a cup of the café de olla, coffee cooked with cinnamon and orange peel, it was so delicious and unlike at most places, it wasn’t pre-sweetened. Lovely service and a charming place.

Tentationes- go for the view, not the food

We ate our New Years Eve dinner here. The view doesn't get any better, so that really is the main draw. The tasting menu... well it was fine, but not a hint of anything Mexican, and it was sort of odd pan-European. Again, you go for the views, not the food. The cocktails were really not exceptional, nor was the wine list.

Patzcuaro

La tradicion- great hearty home cooking

First off it is worth noting that the place itself is not the most appealing looking, compared to the charming cafes and restaurants off the main square. But if you want traditional, delicious bubbling pots of food, you come here. Victoria the chef and her husband are lovely. We had the pork in tequila sauce, which was really yummy, the enchiladas with cecina, also very yummy, and then the steak in black chile sauce, which was truly delicious though a bit salty. We had a glass of the mezcal uasisi, which was very good, as well as a mezcal passion fruit liquor which is like a lovely dessert in and of itself. We finished off with the zapote in rum- a very odd fruit with a very odd texture/consistency, and you didn’t taste the rum at all.

Pacanda- get a scoop if you are in town

Delicious nieve de pasta ice cream, lovely balance of flavour between the almonds and the light hint of cinnamon.

Quiroga

Best carnitas of my life- we did a detour to come here to eat carnitas at Carmelo's. Jesus was it mind-blowing... I will be dreaming about that carnitas for years to come. I cannot stress enough how much it is worth the detour. Insanely delicious.

Morelia

Lu- not worth it

The restaurant feels a bit like a train station, as does the service. We were done with our tasting menu 55 minutes after we were seating, with plates coming sometimes before the earlier plate had even been cleared. They first brought us buns (not very nice ones) with a lovely black chili dipping sauce that had great heat. Then the best course- a corn salad that was fantastic. After that came a tasteless squash stew, and then a very overcooked trout. But the trout came with a very nice mole, and a tasty side salad with a pungent cheese sauce, which helped the dish. We got a version of a cheesecake for dessert which was quite yummy. The cocktails though, including the margaritas, were terrible- tasted like they came from a slurpie machine.

Fonda Marceva- very nice breakfast

Lovely space, lovely staff. I started by ordering a cafe de olla- it was packed full of sugar, I need to warn you. We got the uchepos which were killer. The aporreadillo was nice and the quality of the meat itself very good and the sauce was nice and spicy, but not the best aporreadillo I have had in Mexico. The frijoles were so packed full of flavour. At the end, between the sauce from the uchepos, the aporreadillo, and the beans, I had a delectable soupy sauce left on my plate to clean up with a tortilla.

San Miguel de Allende

Moxi- good, but not outstanding

There is something about the layout of the place, and the freezing temperature in the winter, that meant we didn’t feel really at ease any time during the meal. We got the tasting menu, with a starting bite of a tostada with black beans, cheese, avocado, and greens, which was a delicious start. Then we had a zucchini flower soup, which was not exciting at all. Then a fish dish that had a nice rub and some other seasoning that tasted lovely with the bed of rice, but the fish itself was over cooked and dish needed salt. Then a fantastic steak hanwith a habanero chili. The steak was so perfectly cooked and seasoned. Then a very refreshing palate cleanser of mandarin sorbet and sunflower seeds encrusted with brown sugar. Finally it ended with a nice French toast slice for desert but with a bitter coffee syrup and a coffee ice cream that wasn’t great. It would have worked so much better with a nieve de pasta or vanilla ice cream. We also had breakfast at Moxi- the chicken black bean tamal was very nice, with a great light heat. The poached eggs and salsa were also very nice.

Cafe San Augustin- don't like the churros

This place has nice hot chocolate, but the churros nowhere as good as El Moro in CDMX for example. The dough is too sweet, the oil is not hot enough, so you don’t get the same browning and crispness, and the churros are fatter as opposed to thin and crispy, which I prefer.

Don Tacos Tequila- hip, decent tacos

This is a very hip joint. I would say though that the tacos aren’t fantastic. The don tequila taco was way too cheesy, needed lots of acid to cut through. The Mexica was ok. The el huerto was good when you got the right bit with the chile. The bigotes was the best taco we had. We also got a pastor that had way too much pineapple in it. The salsas that come with the meal were the real highlight, absolutely delicious, all of them.

Nomada- interesting meal, worth doing a tasting menu here I would say

We came here on a non-Wednesday (the night they do their weekly tasting menu) but they obliged us with a tasting menu of sorts. We started with a beet and tomato dish that was very clean and tasty, and the tomato slices had an amazing, sweet flavour. Then came a chile stuffed with goat cheese in a tomato sauce, nice but could use some heat. Then a mushroom risotto with truffle oil and serrano chilis, very nice and delicate, with a nice hint of heat. Next came the best dish of the night, octopus so perfectly cooked and in this heavenly sour sauce- it was a perfect dish.

Nice piece of steak, a bit over because grill was not hot enough to get rare but nice crust I assume,

but very tender and nicely seasoned. But came with the same charred vegetables as the last course which was a disappointment. Tasty mashed potatos

Mascarpone fig dessert, least favourite of the meal. The cream was warm, which was unpleasant and had a bit of a mealy texture.

The staff admitted to us that they use very little spice, because of their foreign customers- which is a real shame as a few of the dishes could really have benefitted from more heat.

Vía Orgánica- no good

The green chilaquiles were ok, not exceptional. The rancheros were tasteless besides some lovely little potatoes on the side. The only positive is that the juices were very fresh.

Baja fish taquitos- yummy lunch in San Miguel

The fondito and shrimp were delicious but make sure to ask for proper tortillas, not the packaged kind that we first were served. Then we got a tostada with tuna- the fish seemed canned though the menu made a point of saying it was fresh- but I don’t buy it. Then we had a tasty ceviche tostada that had good, light heat. Then I had a chili stuffed marlin taco that was absolutely delicious. I also tried a smoked marlin taco that was very nice. And they make a kickass michelada.

Aperi- do the chef's table, you will not regret it, some of those bites were so stunning

We initially had a booking for the tasting menu, but later heard about the chef's table option and changed our booking- I am so glad we did! We started with a cocktail at the bar that was not great- it tasted like a bad tropical drink at an all-inclusive. But then we were lead to the charming back room attached to the kitchen, and got to meet chef Matteo Salas. We started with a first bite of toasted rice, fava beans, and chickpeas, it was crispy but after a bite that was about it in terms of excitement of the dish. But it was paired with a wonderful glass of Casa Dragones tequila, which is really the best you can get in my opinion. We then had a fish tostada bite with olives and avocado that was nice, bright with acid, and crisp. Then a foie gras ball that was rich but I was not convinced with the flavour. Then came a stunning amberjack sashimi with the perfect amount of kick. Then a mussels pasta dish with seaweed and bacon that was beyond outstanding. Then we got a piece of trout cooked to perfection with a stunning mushroom foam. Then the main meat was an oxtail dish that was rich and needed acid, wasn’t the most exciting. Then a fantastic banana dessert, and then a lovely chili dessert that was spicy, salty, and lovely. It came with an unfortunate rum tea drink that just tasted of rum.

Guadalajara

Hueso- fantastic food to eat in a group

I liked the family style nature of this place. You can only get a tasting menu if you are alone. But in a group, you can ask them to give you a sampling of their best dishes, which we did. We started with an amuse bouche of salmon pate that was fine, not great. But then came a delicious shrimp aguachile, a fantastic beef offal dish (I hate offal normally but went back for seconds and thirds), and a heavenly foie gras dish that I am still dreaming of. Then we had a killed pork belly dish, and a chocolate rack of lamb that was well cooked but unexciting. For dessert we had the 'bone' dessert that was gimmicky and didn’t have any real taste to it, an unexceptional cheesecake, but an amazing popcorn ice cream. The cocktails throughout were stellar.

Alcalde- odd meal, felt like a schizophrenic chef

We ordered a mezcal jaicama cocktail to start, which was basically served as a slushie. We spent meal waiting for it to melt so we could drink it, at which point it was way too sweet. First came the snapper sashimi with salmon roe and Serrano in a lemon cure, which was very nice and bright and tasted Mexican. Then came a nopales salad with burrata and herbs, nice and bright but not remotely Mexican. Then came chia bread which had a nice crust but didn’t really make sense in the context of the meal. Then we got the tamale ball in a sauce and on a bed of spinach, that was a pure, deep dive into Mexico’s flavours, but beautifully elevated. The corn flavour, the bitter spinach, the nuts- it was fantastic. Then came a red snapper in bell pepper and olive sauce- the fish was perfectly cooked, with lovely flavours, but tasted more like an Italian dish than anything else. Then we got pork tail which was crispy and flavourful but quite heavy and salty, but very Mexican in a good way.

Then came a hibiscus dessert with very intense flavours, great crunch, but was very sweet. And finally a pine nut milk dessert with rose petals that was very sweet but yummy.

Overall, it felt like chef trying to make a modern European meal, with a few Mexican dishes slotted in, with little relationship between them and an unclear progression

La Docena- get oysters and sashimi and that’s it

The oysters are decent, the "wagyu" beef dish was half fat and very oily, really not pleasant, but the saving grace of the meal was a fantastic toro sashimi.

Puerto Vallarta

Hiroshi at the Hotel Mousai- no good

We went to the sushi counter and asked the chef which seafood was fresh, he said only the salmon, scallops and mahi mahi. We got the salmon and scallops, which were both totally tasteless. The mahi mahi was better. The restaurant does not have a great sake collection.

Red cabbage café- best mole I had all trip

We started with the spinach salad, which I didn’t think was anything exciting, nor the peanut soup. But the mole poblano was kickass, with so much depth and spice, and the chicken underneath was perfectly cooked. The chile en nogada was sweet, spicy, creamy, and had the great crunch of pomegranate. Both dishes were outstanding.

Coco’s Kitchen- maybe we were unlucky and it was a bad day?

The famous almond french toast was under cooked totally mushy, and the churros hotcakes had way too much baking powder in the batter and left that awful taste you get as a result.

Tintoque- good fine dining option in PV, first half of the meal was strong, second half wasn’t, and was basically all dessert...

We got the tasting menu, which started with a glass of tuba, which was tasty and sweet. Then an amuse of an oil fish empanada with habanero onion sauce that was nice, and very Mexican. Then we had an aguachile with octopus and escolar fish that was bright and delicious with a nice mild heat, though the octopus itself didn't add much to flavour. Then came an outstanding beet salad with cheese. Then octopus tamale in a tomato sauce that was absolutely fantastic- the octopus was so delicious and well prepared. We then got another escolar course, where the fish was totally overcooked on both our plates, that were decorated with these two silly slices of zucchini that had no role. The spicy pineapple sauce though was lovely. We then got a slice of beef that was very nicely cooked but came with a gummy potato puree- it was not an exciting main dish. We then got a bowl of coconut ice cream to share. It was ok but we were disappointed to see we were already on to dessert after 5 courses of a 9 course menu. Then we got the one good dessert, a delicious passion fruit cheesecake mousse. Then came a chocolate dessert that I thought was really no good. The final course was a single petit four that was basically just sugar, no other flavour, and in my view you cannot call this a course.

Final note, for those of you who get the serious Tequila/Mezcal bug and want to buy some excellent bottles to bring home, having gone to Palaccio Hierro and a few other stores in Mexico City, I would recommend La Europea as having the best selection, as well as some very good gusano salt.

[travelonlinetipsofficial]

These are the 10 best restaurants in Paris, ranked by local expert

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These are the 10 best restaurants in Paris, ranked by local expert

There’s something comforting about wandering outside and seeing the familiar – familiar surroundings, familiar faces, familiar bakeries, butchers and, yes, bistrots. It’s always a challenge to update this ‘Best Restaurants’ list for Paris. It’s like having to choose your favorite child. And with 44,896 restaurants in Paris (as of last count in 2017, compared to NYC’s 26,697 also from 2017 tally) I’d be fibbing if I said I’d tried them all. 

But that said, there are some bstrots and neighborhood favorites that remain with you long after the meal has stopped lingering. So this update of Best Paris Restaurants is for all of you who yearn to visit the City of Light just one more time, for those of you who dream of visiting for the first time, and for those of us who never left. It’s for all of us who have come to love and appreciate the familiar, the familial, and the faces at the corner bistro we see as we pass on our daily comings-and-goings. In other words, sometimes the simplest really is the best. 

After wandering the streets and visiting the landmarks of Paris, there are times when all you really want is a good meal. Those times seem to occur quite often in Paris where excellent bistros and restaurants line nearly every street you walk down. And that’s not to mention all those ‘must’ places, you know, the ones that have all the user recommendations and Instagram photos.

But image doesn’t always equate with quality. So when the only thing that will do is a satisfying, taste-good, sure-fire meal, you can have confidence that any of these restaurants on this list won’t let you down. Some offer haute cuisine, what some men might call frilly food, and others offer just that perfectly grilled, thick steak served with potatoes and an excellent glass – or bottle, why not? – of red wine. 

Many of today’s noteworthy chefs here in Paris have begun to practice the cult of personally sourced ingredients. There was a time when restaurants made their purchases at the big fresh market called Rungis out by Charles De Gaulle airport, every morning. Many still do that, but you’ll find that the really finicky chefs have their fish provider, their meat cultivator and their butter and cheese curator on speed dial on their portable phones. And some even have their own vegetable gardens. Here on this list, many of these chefs meet that telling criteria. 

‘In the heart of the gariguette;’ That is this Provençal Restaurant/Bistrot’s moniker. Lets air that out a bit. Ready for a mini-deep dive into French nostalgia and romantic cultural references? ‘Gariguette’ refers to the potpourri of scents you find when hiking the dry, hot country trails of the S. of France. The scent is evocative of sagebrush, thyme, rosemary and a distant hint of lavender. For a French person it prompts memories of long, langourous summer afternoons spent playing petanque while sipping pastis on summer holiday. And this is exactly where you step into when you enter Chez Janou. Time stops and all of a sudden you are ‘en Provence’ once again. The central, classic zinc bar is lined with over 80 types of different pastis that you can order by the glass. The menu is just as classic and full of nostalgia. Much of it is market driven.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Leave room for chocolate mousse, it’s served in a big soup terrine and is enough for a table of four. Also prepare to taste pastis!

Paige’s expert tip: I love Paris, but sometimes you really do wish you were ‘en Provence.’ At this neighborhood bistrot, you get to have it both ways. As you enter Chez Janou, you get to step into a France that’s been immortalized in the caper films of Louis de Funes. All that is good and right, classic and delicious about France, you’ll find here at this simple, neighborhood bistrot hidden just a stone’s throw away from Place des Vosges and Bastille. Here you can always find an abundant selection of fresh-caught seafoods and shellfish. And, of course, succulent meats grilled ‘à point’ round out the choices. The bistrot’s sprawling terrace in the summer not only encircles the angular sidewalk but overtakes the little ‘place’ across the street, too. The decor is full of Jacques Tati posters from 1950s films.

Read more about Chez Janou →

The Southwest region of France is known for its food. After all, this is where the Perigord is located and from which the famous truffles come. Less known are its wines. But once you’ve been introduced to the beauty of Malbec’s original terroir, there is no going back. This restaurant consecrated itself to being the culinary tapestry by which the region’s wines would shine. So the menu is fairly simple: a dozen oysters to share for starters, a huge (1 kgl) chuck roast of beef ‘Irish Vintage’ to share between two or even two adults and two kids are the kinds of items you’ll get to choose from here. Gazpacho, devilled eggs and other nibbles are also S. West classics that go well with these deep reds and sometimes sweet whites. Roast duck served with raspberries and beets as its cold side; and the French toast as dessert which is made with brioche (not bread!) served with melted salted caramel butter – now aren’t these mouthwatering?

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: On Sundays, their upstairs ‘speakeasy’ bar transforms into a children’s babysitting den. Yep, that means parents can enjoy their Sunday brunch, in peace for once.

Paige’s expert tip: French Southwestern cuisine is known the world-over. After all, the Perigord is famous for its truffles and foie gras. But here in Paris, it, likes its lovely wines, is often overshadowed by its glitzier kinsfolk. So this lovely little bistro, in a historical building just a couple doors down from where Jim Morrison once lived, offers the whole Southwestern-inspired culinary package.

Read more about Aux Vins des Pyrenees →

My Burgundy – “Ma Bourgogne.” The family traditions carried forward by this landmark bistro occupying a place of honor in the arcades of the Place des Vosges harken from his mother and grandmother. It’s from these family recipes the daily specials and the evergreen dishes originate from. ‘Menu’ in French means Special of The Day. (Whereas ‘la carte’ in French means ‘menu’ in English). Here Le Menu includes an appetizer, a main dish, a dessert or ‘fromage’ and a beverage. All that for a fixed price. Given that you’re dining at one of the top 3 real estate addresses in Paris, this is a fair deal for superior quality food. The bistro’s wine list lives up to its name, too. Whether you’re fond of Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays or not, pretty much anything from Burgundy is sure to win you over, if you’re a wine lover. They do take reservations here (subtle hint) so it’s probably good to plan ahead since this is an overwhelmingly popular choice with locals and visitors alike.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Could there be more of a ‘living the fantasy’ moment than dining on classic Burgundy ‘Jambon Persillé’ while sipping Chardonnay at the Place des Vosges?

Paige’s expert tip: Here you’ll find welcoming staff and service. Meaning, despite this being a destination dining address at one of the most beautiful Parisian landmarks, they’re still keeping it real.

Read more about Ma Bourgogne →

Photo courtesy of L’Absinthe

Beetroot Gaspacho with goat cheese, a thick juicy steak – the kind you dream of, their signature Le Hot Duck as appetizer… these are only a few of the savory items on the menu that you’ll find here at the Rostang’s L’Absinthe. Pair that with a chilled carafe of Beaujolais and you’ve got yourself a memorable meal. Adding to the charm of this family bistro is its location on the Marche St. Honore, a pedestrian area and market square hidden between the Eglise St. Roch and Place Vendome. And let’s not forget the handcrafted absinthe cocktails, the namesake of this little gem. Though if sitting out on this picturesque terrace on a Parisian market square and pedestrian zone is your idea of a perfect end to a wonderful day, then rest assured there are plenty of cocktails and a solid wine list, too, to choose from for your down time.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Comfort French food served in generous proportions at a neighborhood-feel bistro in a pedestrian zone in the center of Paris is what L’Absinthe is.

Paige’s expert tip: This is the charming neighborhood bistro to dine at when you want a thick cut steak, a carafe of chilled Beaujolais and a side of roasted baby potatoes. You’ll find more than just comfort food here, though. They’ve got a crafted menu of absinthe cocktails and their own signature appetizer, too, Le Hot Duck, which, once you’ve tasted, you understand why they trademarked it.

Read more about L’Absinthe →

This is the kind of tucked away little bistro on a Parisian sidestreet in a chic quartier that inspires novels and pivotal scenes in French films. The young team of Jonathan Caron and Anne Legrand have the mentorship of Christophe Pele (2 stars, Le Clarence) in common, save for a passion pure of serving up excellence on a plate. Here at L’innocence, with its tightly fitted dozen tables, the food becomes the sole focus. Chef Legrand works in the open kitchen to craft her fixed menu dishes while Caron interacts with guests and selects wine pairings. Each evening differs, but you can expect delicacies of grilled cauliflower with minted fromage blanc and citrus condiments; toasted foccaccia with basil olive oil; white asparagus with smoked poutargue in a white butter sauce; lamb shank served with carrots from Annie Bertin’s gardens, and for the pre-dessert, tempura-fried acacia blossoms with Bruyere dipping honey.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: New talent with fresh, imaginative cuisine is a rarity. What Legrand and Caron serve up here will have you re-discovering what fine dining truly means.

Paige’s expert tip: This is the restaurant to take someone special for whom food is an art form. Yes, of course, ingredients are sourced from only the best producers who sell their products exclusively to only a handful of the top chefs. But even more than that is what Chef Legrand delicately does with her materials. And with Caron working the dining room, the partnership dishes up a superlative alchemy of food and wine. Perhaps it is the pedigree of chefs past such as Chef Rose who have left a bit of fairy dust inside these walls? Or, more likely, it is simply the absolute purity of passion and dedication to excellence in French cuisine that sets this young duo’s restaurant apart. It is one not to be missed and offers promises of a meal breathtaking in its delicacy, imaginative creativity, execution, presentation and service.

Read more about L’innocence →

Refreshing here is that the service is quick and pleasant and the staff is welcoming and warm. Duck is the dish here, so much so that it even embodies its mascot. Other classics on the menu not to miss is the Mimosa eggs which are a crab salad filled devilled eggs appetizer, heavy on the fresh crab. The foie gras is top quality. Sides – whipped mashed potatoes, full of cream and butter, a fresh green salad, roasted potatoes and sauteed crisp vegetables in, yes, butter come in dishes that you can share. Don’t even think about skipping dessert here. If you’ve never tried the French whipped, lightly toasted egg white in a sea of creme anglaise, otherwise known as Ile Flottante, I highly recommend you do. The portion here is more than generous and its done exceptionally to perfection. Or you can always go for the tarte du jour.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: During the warmer months, outdoor terrace dining here means looking out over the Seine onto the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris and the Ile Saint-Louis.

Paige’s expert tip: For your first visit to this bistro, stick with the classics and signature dishes. That means have a taste of the roast duck and the crab stuffed devilled eggs. The wine cellar at the sister ship (La Tour d’Argent) is ranked one of the best in the world. So even the wines by the glass here will be excellent choices for whatever you order. Sides are fun and are meant to be shared. A simple tapenade and country style bread is your pre-appetizer for whetting the palate as you peruse the menu. Under the recently assumed reigns of André Terrail, son of the famous Tour d’Argent restaurateur, Claude Terrail, the family’s gastronomic bistro La Rotisserie d’Argent offers delightful accessibility. The sizzle of the establishment’s signature roasting duck and farm-raised chicken greets you when you enter this red-checked tablecloth icon on the Left Bank. It is literally just next door to the shrine of gourmets the world over, La Tour d’Argent, but here what is served is the bistro version of French food of the highest quality ingredients. Claude Terrail acquired this bistro in 1989 with the intention that snobbery had no place within its walls.

Read more about La Rotisserie d’Argent →

This is one of Paris’ newest and most elegant restaurants. You may have heard of the Prince Robert of Luxembourg’s famous wine estate in Bordeaux, Chateau Haut-Brion? In 2016 he opened these doors to his private mansion in Paris not far from the prestigious Champs-Elysees. Devoted exclusively to the French Art de Vivre, dining here is a most memorable experience that transports you into a luxury cocoon of timelessness. Chef Christophe Pele offers his deliciously devilish take on French classics that marry a modern twist to the favorites. Each day he uses his 2-star Michelin prowess to create the day’s offerings. But of course you can choose from the menu as well. In terms of gastronomic dining, a phenomenal wine list and surroundings unparalleled even in Paris, Le Clarence with its friendly and welcoming team, offers you the kind of fairytale experience heretofore only a dream.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: When the occasion calls for chateau dining Le Clarence instantly transports you into that magic of French luxury and refinement, while retaining that at-home ease.

Paige’s expert tip: Fairytales do come true. That is what dining at Le Clarence will have you believe. The chateau’s decor was done by Prince Robert himself who tastefully recreated the atmosphere of his legendary Bordeaux estate here in the heart of Paris. For those exquisite wine pairings with lunch or dinner, you are in excellent hands here with Head Sommelier Antoine Petrus. There are over 120 outstanding winemakers to choose from on the menu representing mostly French but also international wine regions. And, of course, you have your choice of all the excellent Domain Clarence Dillon vintages as well including Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion and Quintas.

Read more about Le Clarence →

Set menus come in a range of three or four services for lunch and four or seven services for dinner. Rather than being seated in one large dining room, you are seated in one of several smaller dining salons, thus adding to the air of intimate dining. Many tables have views out onto the exquisite private garden surrounding the manor. Things to taste on the menu include ‘blue’ lobster from the Iles Chausey, pigeon de la Guerche on a bed of roses ‘eternelle’ accompanied by balsamic whipped beets. Delicate white cod served with raw slivered coconut over a fine glaze of lightly curried pumpkin purée. And the chocolate soufflé, so rich and velvety that it melts the bourbon vanilla ice cream and the créme chantilly it’s served with.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: The creative flair Chef Pacaud lends to his classically interpreted cuisine, maintains Apicius as a culinary temple.

Paige’s expert tip: I don’t always recommend Michelin-starred restaurants, but this one I do, and without hesitation. Apicius has long been a culinary landmark, a Parisian temple of gastronomy, and now under Chef Pacaud’s masterful touch, you not only dine on extraordinary finesse but experience the complete and whole pleasure of haute cuisine presented with excellent, friendly, professional service. The restaurant’s bar off to the left when you enter the private manor is a good way to begin or end your meal. Named after the Roman who wrote the first culinary book in the times of antiquity, Apicius is the Michelin-starred restaurant set apart in a world unto itself nestled in an 18th c. mansion just a few streets away from the Grand Palais. Helmed now by the young and extraordinarily accomplished Chef Mathieu Pacaud, within a year of taking over, he maintained this iconic temple of gastronomy’s Michelin star. He and his business partner, Laurent de Gourcuff have infused this park-like setting in the center of the city with a hip, fun, dynamic ambiance while not relinquishing a shred of the establishment’s elegance.

Read more about Apicius →

Located now at the Monnaie de Paris, this celebrated restaurant serves contemporary haute cuisine in a just redone – though historical – space overlooking the Seine on the Quai Conti. The Monnaie de Paris, France’s former mint, is the oldest French institution and was founded in 864 under the reign of Charles II. It offers, now, in this newest incarnation, spectacular views overlooking the Seine. The interior design has notes of the theatrical, with tables placed just so, to capture the natural lighting. Salmon, flown in direct from Scotland, is served on its bed of ice at table, seasoned before your eyes with a triad of citrus before gingerly being sprayed with a consomm– of citrus. One of the signature dishes you mustn’t miss is Chef Savoy’s savory use of brioche. It’s a recipe original to him and one that, with its homage to the simple mushroom, delights every time.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Chef Guy Savoy is one of France’s culinary ambassadors, hands down. This, his ultimate flagship restaurant, overlooks the Seine from its minted, majestic perch.

Paige’s expert tip: If the exquisite meal here has left you sated, and you absolutely must pass up the signature house brioche, don’t fret. Just down the street, Team Guy Savoy has opened up a Brioche Takeaway so now you purchase this lovely, doughy (sweet and savory) goodness to bring with you.

Read more about Guy Savoy →

Photo courtesy of photo by Pauline Le Goff copyright of Chef Alain Passard used with permission

When Parisians speak of Chef Alain Passard’s restaurant, Arpege, it is in hushed, reverential tones. Descriptions of meals enjoyed here invariably include mention of vegetables; also that it requires a good three hours of dining time spent at the table. Vegetables have become, since the early 2000s, the chef’s signature. He still serves meat and his preferred method of cooking is still over an open flame, a technique his grandmother taught him. But in the past decade he adapted this talent of flamb–ing, grilling and roasting to vegetables: “Learn how to travel delicately with your pan on the open flame guaranties texture, taste, color, light and transparency with your vegetables,” declares this illustrious French chef. He maintains three of his own vegetable and herb gardens to assure the highest quality ingredients: “Between the gardeners and me, we discuss carrots and beetroot like others speak of Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc!”

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Long before ‘plant based diet’ became a buzz phrase, Chef Passard was dishing up veggies in his 3-star restaurant. They’re grown in his Normandy garden.

Paige’s expert tip: This is the only restaurant in the French capital today to manage all its own fresh vegetables, herbs as well as red and black fruit cultivation. The restaurant’s name is inspired by the chef’s second love: music. Makassar wood furnishings and Lalique crystal ware round out the clubby decor.

Read more about L’Arpège →

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Bath holidays: Where are the best hotels in Bath? Top accommodation revealed | Short & City breaks | Travel

Bath is the World Heritage Site mainly built from gorgeous local, golden-coloured Bath Stone (Image: Getty Images/The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa/ The Queensbury)

Bath is a city where I have decided I could quite easily live. For starters, it’s beautiful. Not only is the World Heritage Site mainly built from gorgeous local, golden-coloured Bath Stone, it’s also surrounded by rolling green hills which are visible from the town as you look up. It’s also easily walkable yet crammed with culture and, importantly for me, easy to get to from neighbouring Bristol, London, and Birmingham. This makes it an ideal choice for a weekend break. If you’re after an indulgent UK holiday and looking to treat yourself, these are three of the top hotels to stay in – The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, The Queensbury and No.15 Great Pulteney.

Bath holidays: Where are the best hotels in Bath? Top accommodation revealed

Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa

The problem with staying at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa is that you may never want to actually leave it. A wall of elegance practically smashes into you as you walk in and there’s an instant feeling you’ll get looked after.

Located in the middle of the famous and iconic Royal Crescent, the hotel actually stretches far beyond the buildings you see on entrance. An acre of stunning gardens lies behind, offering an oasis of tranquillity after a day of sightseeing. Further accommodation and the restaurant as well as the spa are found at the other end of the garden making for a very quiet night’s sleep indeed.

Our room is the Lord Nelson Suite – the famous military figure once stayed in Bath – and busts and paintings of the great man adorn the room as a nod to the theme amid the grey neutral tones. Ornate lamps and colourful cushions add a pop of colour.

In the spacious living room area – separated off from the bedroom with a curtain – is a fireplace and a bookcase filled with a variety of interesting tomes, creating a homely touch amid the luxury. French windows open out onto a spacious balcony which looks over the garden and the odd guest below. One can feel very regal from such a position – although no Romeo (or Knightley, Darcy or Tilney for that matter) came a-calling, alas (remember, there’s always the Jane Austen Centre…)

When we are first shown to our room there’s a brief moment when we think we’re told there’s complimentary cheese which would make it officially the world’s best establishment, but it transpires the lady actually said complimentary teas which, for a Briton, is still pretty exciting. We order one immediately. It’s only a few moments we realise one explanation for our sense of peace – Classic FM is playing from bedside speakers and it’s the addition I never realised I needed – my life finally has a soundtrack.

The little touches don’t stop there, pillow spray is provided with the turndown service, newspapers are offered and there’s an umbrella in the wardrobe complete with a tag letting you know what you can do in Bath in the rain. Furthermore, there’s also a car parking spot for every room should you need it.

Bath holidays: The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa is in in the middle of the iconic Royal Crescent (Image: Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the stylish bathroom provides his n’ her sinks, sumptuous products by British perfumer Floris plus a bath and shower – the controls for which are conveniently placed the opposite side from the water flow which means never getting wet until you’ve got in, which is a surprising bonus.

We dine in the hotel’s Dower House Restaurant and our table benefits from a view of the secluded garden as the spring evening draws in. The friendly and knowledgeable waiters prove invaluable in helping me decide on my order (it all looks so good) and the sommelier suggests a delightful Sauvignon Blanc.

Turmeric and black pepper bread sets a promising tone for the meal before I tuck into my starter of slow cooked duck egg. It’s huge, rich and creamy and pairs well with the salty Morteau sausage, and crunchy leeks and chicken crisp – all in all, superb.

This is followed by roasted seabass, served with two perky scallops prettily presented with beetroot, tasty morsels of smoked eel, hay baked potato, smoked roe cream and horseradish. The portions may seem small at first but I soon have “elegant sufficiency” as my grandmother used to say and decide on a brief hiatus ahead of dessert.

This is wise and dessert is, unsurprisingly, also delicious. I opt for rhubarb and orange tart with ginger ice cream, the tangy favours of which all perfectly complement each other. My friend goes for the cheese board – well there had to be cheese somewhere didn’t there? This is presented by a rather handsome waiter who informs us he is responsible for buying the cheeses in, and his enthusiasm is palpable as he explains each one to us. One nugget we learn is that the ash in the rind of goat’s cheese is supposed to aid digestion – but after the feast we’ve had I’m not sure there’s much hope for us.

We heave ourselves up and take a turn around the garden before retiring for the night, thoroughly pampered and satisfied.

The next morning we make the most of The Spa & Bath House. I do a few lengths in the 12m heated pool (where the glistening blue tiles shimmer like a mermaid’s tail), try out the Vitality Pool and sauna before heading for a massage.

The spa’s primary partner brand is Elemental Herbology whose products are based around the Five Element theory from traditional Chinese medicine. My therapist considers my skin type, lifestyle, environment and season and opts for Earth for balance. I have chosen a Deep Muscle Melt full-body massage which uses the oils as well as hot stones – although the spa menu offers so many other wonderful-looking options it is hard to decide. My therapist’s small hands dig deep into my muscles and work through knots on my back in what makes for a very stress-relieving and relaxing hour before I return to my room, take tea on the balcony and prepare to leave this haven of luxury.

Double Deluxe rooms at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa start from £330 on a B&B basis. To book, please email info@royalcrescent.co.uk or call Spa Reception on 01225 823333

Bath holidays: An acre of stunning gardens lies behind the facade of The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa (Image: The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa)

The Queensbury

The Queensberry Hotel may not have the grand scale decadence of The Royal Crescent but this boutique hotel is every bit as lovely and is right the heart of the city, making it perfect for exploring Bath on your doorstep.

The hotel is both chic and trendy but not in a threatening way; the interior design is particularly exciting. The bathroom in our room boasts a wall decorated entirely with goldfish-covered wallpaper, the orange and blue tones of which inject a quirky edge into the accommodation as does the gold grouting between the white tiles. There’s also a free standing bath in there and fabulous White Company products. It’s all rather like staying at the house of a particularly fashionable friend.

One little touch I particularly like is the little, dim bathroom lights that automatically come on into dark should you need to make your way to the toilet in the night. All hotels please take heed of this! A marvellous concept and a rousing thumbs up to whoever’s idea it was. What’s more, Classic FM is also playing when we enter here, too which is proving a charming theme of my stay so far.

It’s the Michelin-starred restaurant in this delightful townhouse which is the true gem of the establishment, however. If you’re after an excellent meal, the 3 AA Rosette Olive Tree restaurant is the ideal spot – it’s certainly the best one I’ve had in a long time.

I go all out and order the larger of the two tasting menus, otherwise known as the ‘Chris Cleghorn Seven’, with paired wines. Things start exceedingly well with a cheese-filled profiterole appetiser – an ingenious morsel of pleasure – before a raw Orkney scallop is presented in its pretty shell for a starter. It’s succulent and juicy thanks to the tangy pink grapefruit granita along with a kick from the horseradish. This is paired with a Galician Rías Baixas white wine before I’m served a Lebanese rosé with my second course of burrata – not that this is the Italian cheese as I’ve ever known it. This is burrata ice cream, churned and frozen but still creamy with the saltiness of green olives with tomatoes and a basil sauce.

Bath holidays: The Queensberry Hotel is both chic and trendy but not in a threatening way (Image: The Queensberry )

Onto the first of the mains – Turbot on the bone which is like consuming a cloud it’s so soft and tender, pairing perfectly with the crunch of asparagus and buttery sauce, along with shrimp, salted lemon and sherry. To go with this is is the best Chardonnay I’ve ever tasted – an Astrolabe Province Marlborough Chardonnay 2015 which knocked my socks off; both nutty and creamy it went hand in hand with the turbot perfectly.

We move onto the second main of oh-so-succulent Woolley Park Farm duck served with duck liver on a tiny sliver of toast along with barbecued beetroot, sea beet, hazelnut and blackcurrant – all paired with a rich South African merlot.

The first dessert is a soft Tor cheese with soaked golden raisins and chicory with a Jurançon 2016 rosé before moving onto a (highly unusual but incredibly delicious) tobacco-flavoured ice cream which comes with chunks of aero-style chocolate and a chocolate parfait – rounded off with a divine Graham’s 2013 port.

By this point, I’m frankly sozzled and stuffed. I squeeze in a yummy raspberry and ice cream concoction before I throw in the towel. No way can I face the proffered coffee and petit fours although I have no doubt they’re just as delectable as everything else in the feast. We began our meal at 8.15pm and it is now 12.30pm. It’s definitely time to leave. Any plans we have of going out are shattered – as are we.

Our waiter throughout the evening has been the charming Jake who we find out is a mere 22. This appears to be a theme of the restaurant – most of the servers look as though they could be about to sit their A-Levels – but this doesn’t seem to affect the running of the place. Jake himself is incredibly knowledgeable and seems to know all there is to know about the wines he studiously explains to us. I also overhear him taking care to find out the needs and desires of the couple next to us so he can advise them suitably.

The restaurant appears to be doing a roaring trade and is filled with customers, creating a buzzy atmosphere for the Saturday night. This is particularly impressive given how unassuming The Olive Tree is from the outside – but it really is a true gem worth checking out. Not to be missed!

Hotel prices start from £145 for a classic double room. To book go to https://ift.tt/1pEhACZ

Bath holidays: The Michelin-starred Olive Tree is a true gem worth checking out. Not to be missed! (Image: The Queensbury)

No 15 Great Pulteney

Great Pulteney Street is the widest and grandest in the city of Bath so it stands to reason that No 15 Great Pulteney is also rather grand. It is also, however, completely bonkers.

This eccentric hotel –  self-proclaimedly “luxury for the curious” – is packed full of character which one might never guess judging from its chic Georgian townhouse exterior in complete uniformity with the entire street. Inside, the decor is so quirky it leaves your scratching your head. There’s a collection of kaleidoscopes in the hallway, a bizarre selection of dog figurines on one stairway and military memorabilia crowding the bottom of a staircase. The latter even features a soldier mannequin which, when first I spot it out of the corner of my eye, nearly makes me jump out of my skin. You have been warned!

In fact, no staircase in the same here: one has models of anthropomorphised pigs, another old cameras and a third huge perfume bottles. The thought that must have gone into the design is mind-boggling.

Our room on the top floor is lovely and while not so ostensibly idiosyncratic as the communal areas, there’s still something undeniably Bohemian. Our lamp shade drips in beads, mirrors with weaved frames sit above the bed’s headboard and a large, black sheep serves as a chair. These quirks don’t stop the hotel form providing all the mod cons, however, judging by the Dyson hairdryer and fan plus enormous TV with Sky.

From our window, we can see the roofs of all the stunning Georgian houses on the streets, the famous rugby grounds and even the abbey if I crane my head – all backed by the glorious Somerset countryside.

Bath holidays: No 15 Great Pulteney is an eccentric hotel – “luxury for the curious” (Image: No 15 Great Pulteney)

Bath holidays: The Dispensary comes complete with extensive wooden drawers labelled for herbs (Image: No 15 Great Pulteney)

An inventive addition to the hotel’s set-up is The Larder which peckish guests can raid whenever they want. While I am there it stocks help-yourself supplies of milk, ice cream, yoghurts, water, cans of fizzy drinks, old fashioned sweets plus flapjacks and brownies. It’s gloriously like a tuck shop and my inner schoolgirl lights up with the glee at the idea of plundering it for free (before my adult self remembers my straining jeans).

Before dinner, we head for a drink at the hotel’s Bar 15 which promises ‘creative liquid libations.’ I opt for a classic No 15 Champagne cocktail and settle back to see what eccentric delights reside in the bar. I am not disappointed. Our table is utterly bedecked with blue beads and jewellery and topped with glass, the huge paintings on the wall come to life with bizarre protrusions and little 3D editions of classic novels such as The Water Babies feature enchanting cut-outs of characters on the front covers.

I’m more taken with the restaurant, however. Aptly named The Dispensary, the room goes the whole hog with the theme, complete with extensive wooden drawers labelled for herbs, antiquated glass bottles of all colours lined again the wall and even old talcum powder containers.

There’s a nod to the actual function of the restaurant as well thanks to such features as a stove, complete with cast iron pots and a wall boasting every type of whisk you could possibly imagine.

The food is tasty too. I enjoy a starter of hake goujons – which are fresh and delicious – before a crispy duck salad washed down with a South African Cabernet Sauvignon. I finish with an utterly indulgent sticky toffee pudding (with top-notch fudge sauce) and a paired dessert wine.

Prices from £115 for a Cosy Double room. 01225 807015; https://ift.tt/32Cc7ce

The post Bath holidays: Where are the best hotels in Bath? Top accommodation revealed | Short & City breaks | Travel appeared first on Tripstations.

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[yinyangswings]

A Cup of Coffee and A Plate of French Toast- Percival Graves x Reader

Fandom: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Characters: Percival Graves

Pairing: Reader X Percival Graves

Notes/Warnings: Nothing really. I’m not really sure how a squib would be treated in the North American Wizarding Society, so I made a squib that wasn’t completely outcasted from the society but still has to work like a non-magical human

Word count: 3,929

Imagine: Percival Graves meets a squib who runs a diner

One headcanon referenced: @thesniffler with Percival falling asleep in reader’s arms-

“Now, now Percival...don’t be like that. This will only hurt more if you move.”

The blade was directly next to his eye and sweat trickled down his face as he stared into heterochromic eyes that were glittering with mirth in the dark.

“Now be a good boy, Percival.”

The grip on the back of his head grew tighter and the blade glinted in the light.

A scream echoed through the corridor.

“NO!!!”

Percival shot up from his bed, the scream echoing in his head, his chest heaving as his eyes frantically searched the room for...for…

No one. He wasn’t in the cell, he was in his home, his own bed.

He wasn’t with Grindelwald.

Sighing, he flopped backwards in his bed, staring at the ceiling,

Another sleepless night it would seem.

Sighing he got out of bed, pushing his hair back, scratching his head.

He hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in months. The moment he closed his eyes, he was always trapped in nightmares of Grindelwald. The phantom never seemed far from his mind and was always in the shadows.

He cursed loudly as he banged his knee against the living room table, stumbling a bit and caught himself on the wall. With a wave of his hand the light flickered on.

He had remained in the same apartment, unwilling to change every little detail of his life because of Grindelwald. But he wasn’t willing to keep the same layout the man had so comfortably been living in, so the first thing he had done when he had returned was change the entire thing.

He was still getting used to it himself.

He swallowed.

He needed air...he needed to get away.

He needed to go somewhere.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he had pulled on clothes, a pair of shoes, and was walking down the streets of New York, his wand pressed tightly beneath his sleeve. He just kept walking, kept on walking.

Until he spotted a small diner, one he had walked past several times named The Central Fairy. The sign on the door showed it was still open, despite it being so late.

...it wasn’t like he had anything better to do at that moment.

He heard a bell ring as he entered and walked over to the kitchen bar. A young woman looked up and smiled, (Y/E/C) glittering in the lighting.

“Good evening sir. What can I get for you?”

“Just a cup of coffee.” He muttered rubbing his forehead as the woman watched him sit down at the diner. She smiled gently.

“Coming right up.”

He stared at the counter as he listened to the woman move around the other side of the counter. After a few moments she put a cup and poured a cup of coffee into it.

“I’m surprised though. Not too many wizards or witches of your stature come to the diner.”

He spat out the gulpful of coffee, staring at amused (Y/E/C) eyes, glittering teasingly in surprised.

“What? Did you expect the diner titled The Central Fairy to be one that caters to no-maj’s?” She asked as he looked down at her pockets and saw no wand, so how…

“I’m a squib.” She responded gently, refilling his coffee to replace the lost drink. “And my sister works for you, so either the Percival Graves has an identical twin brother, or she was pointing someone completely different out to me.”

He stared, regarding her. And it dawned on him.

“You’re Isla’s older sister?”

“The one and only. (Y/N) Mayfield, pleased to meet you.” She replied with a smile, “Still, I’m surprised...I didn’t think you would have ever stopped in here.”

“I...needed a change of scenery, I suppose.” He admitted watching her as she pushed back a strand (Y/H/C) hair behind her ear.

“Well you’ve come to the right place. The Central Fairy is rather popular in the wizarding community. So... What would you like to eat?”

“I...what?”

“To eat.” (Y/N) pointed at the menu and smiled. “I’d hate for you to just have coffee. I can suggest Rags to Riches which is French Toast stuffed with cream cheese filling served with maple syrup.”

Wondering if he was in another dream, he finally nodded.

Percival watched her as she poked her head into the opening to the kitchen calling to the cook in the back and he heard an affirmative grunt.

“I didn’t know this was a wizards diner.”

“I get the occasional no-maj, but Isla puts a few wards around the entrance to dissuade the majority of them. She worries, you see.”

He chuckled slightly.

“Yes, your sister is known for being a bit of a worrier if I remember correctly.” He finally admitted and (Y/N)’s eyes lit up and she smiled brightly.

She had a rather attractive smile.

“So it’s not just around me? Hot dog!”

“I feel as though your sister is going to be glaring at me for the next few weeks.” Percival joked lightly and she laughed in response as she turned to get the plate of french toast.

“Probably.” She finally replied setting the plate down, “But I doubt she’ll make it too obvious.”

He offered a slight smile at her.

“Well I’ll find out soon enough.” He finally replied and watched as she smiled again as he took his first bite.

“There’s my favorite sister!!” You chirped happily as the familiar girl came in. Isla rolled her eyes accepting the hug.

“I’m your only sister.”

“And what a wonderful sister you are. Sit, sit. Your usual?”

“Yes please. Extra chocolate chips.” You heard and laughed.

“Al, you heard the girl!”

“Got it boss!”

Isla waved at the cook she could just spot over the window, and the man waved back, a gnarly hand waving before he returned to what he was making.

“So how have you been? You’ve been pretty busy.”

“We’ve had to go through all the cases that Grindelwald went through. It’s been pretty busy because of that, and trying to seal up breaches in the secrecy.”

“I see...hm...maybe that’s why Mr. Graves stopped in last night.” You muttered softly to yourself, but ever the vigilant one, Isla looked up.

“Wait...you met him?”

“He came in for Mama’s famous Rags to Riches,” you respond with a smile setting a similar plate in front of Isla, “and here you go, chocolate chip pancakes.”

“I...wait, Percival Graves, the Percival Graves came into here, a diner...for french toast?”

“Honestly Isla, why does this sound so strange to you?”

“Because Percival Graves doesn’t eat, of all things, french toast. He eats, sleeps, and breathes coffee.”

“I think that is a staple for you aurors, hm?” You remarked with a chuckle.

“You know what I mean...besides don’t forget, some people in the MACUSA don’t want squibs knowing about the Wizarding Community.”

“Is Percival Graves one of those?” You asked, cocking your head to the side. “He certainly didn’t seem that way last night.”

“He’s...fair. But I don’t really know his opinions on squibs.” Isla responded, shifting uneasily, “he hasn’t really been talkative to us lately. Not that I can blame him.”

“I can’t either.”

“You heard?”

“Isla, I’m a squib and I own a diner that wizards and witches go to. Even if I don’t get the The New York Ghost doesn’t mean I don’t hear the news from customers who think I don’t get what’s going on.”

“Oh...right…” Isla remarked blushing and taking a bite of her pancakes.

“So...it’s true then. That’s how Grindelwald hid here?”

“Mhm. I saw it. And I was there when they found him.”

You shuddered.

“I can’t even imagine.”

“Neither can I.” Isla replied, taking another bite as you poured some coffee for her. You then smiled.

“Hey, can you ask Mister Graves how he liked his meal. I was helping another late night customer when he left.”

“You want me to what?!” Isla exclaimed. “(Y/N), he’s my boss.”

“And I’m your older sister.”

“No, I’m not going to do it! You can’t make me!”

A Few Hours Later

“Sir?”

“Come in.”

The door opened and closed quietly and he looked up to see Isla, who was standing there nervously, cheeks aflame, fiddling with her fingers.

“Is something the matter Ms. Mayfield?”

“Um no, at least I don’t think so, and I know you’re busy so I’ll try to be quick and I...” she trailed off, blushing, “my sister wanted to know if you liked the food...and if I don’t ask she’s going to pester me until she dies, and then haunt me, I’m sure of it.”

“The french toast was perfectly fine. I enjoyed it.”

“Oh, that’s good. I-”

“You can also tell your sister that I might come back.”

“R...really?”

Percival looked up and saw Isla was smiling brightly.

“Oh, (Y/N) is going to be happy you liked the recipe!! Well have a good day, Sir!” She chirped and hurried out. Despite himself, he couldn’t help the smirk and the chuckle.

The two were certainly related, no doubt about it.

Percival Graves kept his promise of returning to the small diner. As the months passed he found himself visiting whenever he couldn’t sleep...which given his nightmares, was fairly often. (Y/N) always greeted him with a smile and making a cup of coffee for him. Sometimes he would eat something, sometimes he didn’t, just enjoying the familiar comfort of a slowly growing ally and friend that didn’t judge him for what had happened to Grindelwald and making him feel...somewhat normal.

She didn’t push him to talk about work, especially his capture. Only once had she mentioned it, and he had immediately gone quiet, unwilling to share that. And she understood then. If he wanted to talk he would, but more often than not he listened to her talk about her daily life.

It was a comfort.

Six months had passed when one night, Percival awoke to rapid tapping on his window. Blearily awakening, and grumbling to himself as he had actually been sleeping rather well that night looked over to the window.

And he spotted Seraphina’s personal owl sitting outside, looking at him with large eyes.

Something had happened.

Something big.

Knowing Seraphina’s preference to use mailing pigeons as to not attract no-maj’s in the city’s attention, he briskly walked over, untying the scroll from its left claw and rolled it open.

Two words.

It only said two words but it was though they had reached in and snapped around his lungs like a vice and suddenly there wasn’t enough air in the room.

He’s escaped.

He had to force himself to breathe but his lungs didn’t seem to be getting anything. It hurt...it hurt so much and he-!

He needed to leave. He needed to get out of this damn place

He had barely made it up the diner steps when the door opened. He didn’t need to tell her.

Just by the look on her face...she knew.

“You must be freezing, come in.” She said softly and he entered. She closed the door, locking it and flipping the open sign to closed.

“You know.” Percival stated.

“Isla contacted me right away.” (Y/N) said softly. “Percival-”

“Don’t...don’t tell me it’s not my negligence that resulted in his escape.”

“It isn’t though. He’s a wizard with-”

“I know what he’s capable of!!” He snapped and she went quiet. “You wanted to know how he got me?” Percival asked, bitterness in his voice, “I was on a case. One of my friends in Europe had gotten some intel that some of Grindelwald’s supporters were making their way to the United States. That soon we would soon be overrun with wizards who would do anything to expose us. ” He began, “And I decided it’d be best to check it out alone. See if this warehouse even existed. If the lead was even true.”

(Y/N) slowly sat down, watching him with concerned eyes. He refused to stop. He couldn’t.

Not now.

“And it was, God Almighty it was. And there stood the bastard himself, smirking when he walked out of the shadows. We duelled, you can ask your sister, or see my scars to know that I lost. Of course the Congress will tell you that his memories show that it was a hard-fought victory, but I lost and was captured. And then I was tortured...they tried to break my mind and-” He broke off, pushing the lump back, “how could anyone be the same after that? I just wanted it to stop. For the agony to end. And when he finally got what he wanted for his memories and impersonation, he stored me away to use for ingredients of the polyjuice. Stupidly, I assumed that people would realize that Grindelwald wasn’t me. That they’d figure it out after a few days, a few weeks at most. But…”

He trailed off, looking at the mirrored wall, staring at his reflection, his damn reflection, a scar etched into the side of his face, where Grindelwald had milked blood from him. And anger took over and before he could stop himself he smashed his fist into the mirror, distorting his reflection further. Glass rained to the ground.

“Perci-”

“NO ONE EVEN NOTICED! MY COLLEAGUES,” he punched the mirror again, “MY NEIGHBORS,” and again, “THE DAMN PRESIDENT THAT I SPENT MORE TIME WITH DISCUSSING LAWS AND CASES WITH! NO ONE...NO ONE…” He trailed off as the rage that had built, and built in him, that had flared up just then, just as suddenly vanished and his throat ached as he blinked rapidly to push back tears.

“No one noticed that it wasn’t me...Grindelwald may have made sure that those who would have questioned me more were reassigned to different stations, but no one noticed it wasn’t me. Why didn’t...was it because of me? Was I...”

“I can’t answer that...I don’t think anyone can really answer the reason why none of them noticed. And that might be the reason that now they all avoid the conversation. Why they pretend that it didn’t happen like that.” He heard and looked up to see her standing in front of him and gently she moved his now bleeding fists from the shattered mirror, cupping them gently into her own hands, and he saw that his were shaking.

“But that makes it worse, right? It’s one thing to be injured...it’s another when someone impersonates you and no one notices. When those around you don’t even want to admit what happened right in front of them happened. What was done to you was wrong...what happened because of it was horrible. But I can tell you, and you have to understand this, what happened to you was not your fault and those who see it like that are fooling themselves.” She said softly.

(Y/N)’s hand gently ghosted over the light lines over his wrists, and his eyes blurred.

“It’s not your fault and you’re allowed to be angry. You’re allowed to be hurting on the inside. You’re allowed to be scared because he’s escaped. You’re human, Percival, and it’s alright to be human every once in awhile.”

He made a choking sound and he roughly brushed the palm of his hand over his eyes. She offered a gentle smile.

“You can cry. No one but you and me will know. Diner confidentiality and all.” She said, tracing her fingers delicately over cheekbones. He made a choking sound, his whole form shaking. He curled inward, leaning down to press his forehead into her shoulder. She didn’t move, didn’t flinch. She just remained there as he broke down and cried, pulling him close.

He didn’t remember much after that.

He remembered (Y/N) leading him upstairs to her apartment, above the diner, remembered her guiding him to sit down on a small bed and her getting a medical kit.

He remembered resting his head onto her shoulder, smelling whatever she put in her hair…vanilla he thought.

The last thing he remembered was the slight pain as (Y/N) tenderly pulled out the glass shards from his knuckle and a gentle kiss on the injured hand, and vaguely remembered her wrapping him in her arms and keeping him close to her chest, running her fingers through his hair, and tell him about the day at the diner and all the interesting people she’d met, from a goblin who kept trying to buy a lemon square for a knut rather than the five knuts it was actually supposed to be.

He didn’t, however remember falling into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

It was only the next morning that he smelled coffee.

It stirred him, though the throbbing headache made him want to crawl into some corner. Reluctantly, he lifted his head slightly to see a steaming cup of coffee next to a glass of water. He sluggishly sat up, rubbing his temple and winced as pain traveled through his knuckles. He looked down to see each one had been thickly bandaged, and flexing them hurt like hell.

The events of the night before flooded back and he looked around to see that (Y/N) was no longer in the apartment. And he could see that on the couch was a blanket and pillow neatly folded.

Guilt filled him and he sighed.

He could easily apparate away without a fuss, but his mother’s echoed voice of being a gentleman and he sighed, looking at his hands.

He’d need to thank her anyways.

“The Congress is in an absolute panic.” Isla commented tiredly, playing with the food on her plate. You didn’t scold her, not this time.

“I can imagine why. Do they know how he got her out?”

“No.” Isla responded tiredly. “Look you’re going to have to be extra careful for a little bit. Everyone is going to be panicking, and it’s going to cause some people to do some stupid things...especially to those different.”

“I know the drill, Isla.” You respond dryly going to take an order to a customer and the younger girl sighed.

“I’m not trying to be mean, you know that right?” Isla commented as you returned and you sighed.

“I know.”

“Good...I’ll be right back.”

“Morning bathroom break?”

“Morning bathroom break.” The younger one confirmed, hurrying away and you chuckled softly. A few moments later you heard the back door open and close. Looking up you offered a smile.

“Sleep well?”

“Better than I would have thought.”

“I’m glad.”

“I’d like to...apologize...for my behavior last night.” He finally said after a small silence. You looked at him confused.

“You were in shock, Percival...why would I be angry?”

“But I…”

“The mirror was just a mirror. It can be repaired easily enough. I’m more happy that you came here than wandering around outside and possibly getting hurt in some other type of fashion. I do apologize however...I don’t really have any other methods other than no-maj ways to deal with a wound.”

“It’s fine,” he replied, flexing his bandaged hand, “it’ll heal.”

“I’m glad.”

“Di...Director...G…”

You and Percival glanced over and looked at Isla who had come back, and whose face had turned a bright burgundy color at the sight of her boss. She spun around, apparently intending to escape through the bathroom door, only to run directly into the door and cursing loudly, holding her face. You however couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s a pull door, Isla.” You teased, earning a glare from your sister.

“Yes, thank you! I’ll be right back...again!”

You waved good-naturedly and looked at Percival with a smile.

“If you want to, you can come here as often as you want. It’s always open to you.” You said softly as he looked at you like a child who was guilty of taking a cookie out of the cookie jar.

“I’m not going to impose…”

“It’s not an imposition when I allow it, Percival.” You reply gently. “I care about you...so please, if you ever need to, just come over.”

He was silent before nodding.

“I’ll be on my way...and (Y/N)...”

“Yes?”

“Thank you...for last night.”

He didn’t even let you respond before he opened the door and walk out. No sooner had he left and started down the street did Isla come rushing out, looking at you with glittering eyes.

“Tell me EVERYTHING.”

And you sighed.

“You love her.”

Percival jumped a bit, whirling around and making a move to grab his wand, when he spotted Tina, who was looking at him smugly.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You love her. The diner owner.”

“That’s making quite the leap, Goldstein.”

“A leap that’s true.” The eldest Goldstein sister declared. “I know so.”

“And you believe to know this how?”

“...Queenie had the same expression.” She finally admitted and Percival frowned, having remembered the report about the no-maj that the youngest Goldstein had become smitten with months before the whole Grindelwald debacle. Tina shook her head.

“Have you talked to her?”

“Not recently. I’ve been busy.”

“Looking at the same evidence that all of us are looking at.” Tina remarked, gentling a bit when he gave her a look,

“Look...you care for her. You of all people deserve something like that. You don’t need a taker...you need a giver. And (Y/N) is a giver. Don’t take your happiness away…you can be happy or not. The choice is yours.”

He was quiet as she left, staring at the door and swallowing as he thought about (Y/N)’s smile, the way she listened to him, even if she was busy, her laughter…

Just her...

He hadn’t been there for a few weeks and you sighed, pushing your hair back. He was probably busy...or you had been too forward. Groaning, you shoved your hair back again. Maybe you should cut it. Still...Percival had said that he had found your long hair charming as so many girls had their hair shorn short and-

You looked up in confusion as the bell chimed. Strange, this wasn’t a usual time for customers. Especially on a Thursday.

“In a minute!” You called out, wiping your hands on your apron and coming out.

“Sorry...we’re short on staff, so I-”

“(Y/N).”

You looked up in surprise, your cheeks beginning to burn when you saw that Percival Graves standing there. You swallowed roughly.

“So...did you come here for a cup of coffee?”

“No...not particularly.” He replied walking up to you.

“Oh! Then something to eat?” You asked, your face slowly turning red as he closer to you, because this couldn’t be happening...this couldn’t really be happening.

“No, not that either.”

“Well I don’t really have anything else here, you know.” You admitted weakly, breathing sharply as he placed his hands on either side of you, looking at you with a look that made you shudder softly.

“If you don’t want this...tell me right now and I-”

You went on your tiptoes, delicately almost shyly pressing a kiss to his mouth, before lowering back down. No sooner did you look away did his hands cup your face, strong fingers holding your jawline and drawing you back to him and kissing you, and oh my that was even better than your kiss. Your fingers knit into his vest and you lean into him as he drags his fingers through your hair. Finally you pulled away, panting slightly as he rested his forehead to yours.

“Actually...coffee sounds great.” He finally muttered and you can’t help but laugh.

“An order of coffee and french toast?” You ask softly, and he smiled, pressing a kiss to your hairline.

“You know what I love.”

“That I do...that I do.”

[jmuo-blog]

New Post has been published on https://jmuo.com/what-were-cooking-this-fathers-day/

What We're Cooking This Father's Day

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[Photographs: Vicky Wasik, unless otherwise noted]

Father’s Day is many things—some of them sweet and sentimental, yes, but accompanied by a fair number of holy-crap-what-do-I-DO anxieties. I’m the only child of divorced parents, so making Father’s Day a special occasion falls squarely on my shoulders. And, let me tell you, Atlas ain’t got nothin’ on me. First of all, my dad’s birthday consistently falls in the same week as Father’s Day. Considering that he’s hard to shop for to begin with,* finding a way to treat him not once but twice in the space of a single week can be an overwhelming prospect. Which is why I try to go all out and whip up a master meal as a gift unto itself.

* If you’re having similar struggles, you may want to check out our Father’s Day gift guide.

I asked the rest of the Serious Eats team to share what they’ll be making for their fathers this year, and what I got was a pretty impressive array of options. Come Sunday, I know I’ll be putting more than a few of these recipes to good use, from a towering devil’s food cake to crispy risotto pancakes.

Papri Chaat

For as long as I can remember, the first thing my dad did after coming home from work, even before kicking off his shoes, was to throw together a quick chaat. It’d be a pretty impromptu endeavor; he’d toss in cereals and crushed-up tortilla chips, along with some fresh aromatics and herbs. His chaat changed day to day and depended on whatever was in the pantry. For Father’s Day, I’d like to make him a real-deal, homemade papri chaat. It’s a whopper of a recipe, with two chutneys, two fried things, and, of course, a chaat masala made with a laundry list of ingredients. But I think nothing would make him happier than an upgrade to his post-work snack. (Yes, my dad works on Sundays.) —Sohla El-Waylly, assistant culinary editor

Choucroute Garnie

One of the dishes my dad would make from time to time when I was a kid was a pot of sauerkraut cooked with pork chops. His dad grew up an orphan in Germany during World War I, wandering the streets barefoot and collecting scrap metal to sell for a few coins. When he emigrated to the United States as a 13-year-old, he brought very little of his early German life with him—understandably, the pressures to assimilate and leave behind any trace of being German were strong during that period. His habit of eating pork and kraut was one of the few traditions that survived. Sure, choucroute is technically French, hailing from Alsace, and sure, June isn’t the best time for such hearty fare, but it’s the most glorious version of that meat-and-cabbage combination I’ve ever tasted, and I think my dad would agree. —Daniel Gritzer, managing culinary director

Devil’s Food Cake

Back around Mother’s Day, I went on at length about the balanced, nourishing, vegetable-heavy dishes I like to make, or imagine making, for my recently vegan mom. With my dad, whom I actually may be cooking for IRL this Father’s Day, that’s all out the window. In food as in few other aspects of his life, my dad has a weakness for the rich (German chocolate, bacon, lasagna) that’s matched only by his love of the over-the-top (unreasonably hot chili peppers, perilously strong coffee, the brightest of all bright-orange cheese puffs). And moderation isn’t his strong suit: My dad is the sort of guy you could imagine eating so much that he pukes. Okay, maybe not these days, but I’m just positive this happened when he was a kid.

Of all the dessert recipes we have that could stand up to such an appetite, the devil’s food cake that originally appeared in Stella’s book is the most likely candidate. I’ve never made it before, but the combination of Dutch cocoa, chopped dark chocolate, brewed coffee, and a whole mess of butter—along with Vicky’s photos of those dark, brooding layers sandwiching fluffy chocolate buttercream—is enough to sell me. The biggest challenge won’t be making sure I have the right equipment on hand or that it’s cool enough in my parents’ Mississippi kitchen for the buttercream, but keeping my dad from stealing chunks of cake and spoonfuls of frosting while I work. —Miranda Kaplan, editor

Hi, my name is Tim, and my dad is a chocoholic. Think party-size bags of M&M’s at every gathering and Max Brenner sampler packs for Christmas. So this is really a no-brainer: three layers of dark, rich chocolate cake, smothered with a generous helping of chocolate Swiss buttercream, topped off with chocolate cookie crumbs. Plus, dark chocolate is good for Pops’ blood pressure, right? RIGHT?! We’ll keep telling ourselves that as we go back for seconds and thirds. —Tim Aikens, front-end developer

Extra-Crispy Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Vanilla Waffles

My dad isn’t much of a cook, but he is a great cheerleader. Ever since I started cooking, back when I was a kid, he’s been the ultimate taste-tester, a finely tuned human smoke alarm—his acute sense of smell detects the slightest hint of overdoneness well before the timer has gone off—and an inquisitive observer. He’s deeply interested in the hows and whys of recipe alchemy and history—sometimes to my chagrin when I’m elbow-deep in a marinade, peering over my shoulder to gauge if the butter on the stove is more nut brown than golden brown, and trying to remember to stop the stand mixer whirring on the counter before those soft-whipped peaks pass the point of no return.

Process and context have always been as important to him as the result, something that translates seamlessly from food to life and back again. Pairing Sohla’s honey butter–doused fried chicken with Stella’s buttermilk waffles would be the perfect multi-component project. Not only would the combo satiate his sweet tooth, it’d also hit that perfectly indulgent craving for pure fried goodness. They’re recipes I could tackle in parts throughout a weekend, with plenty of opportunities for him to sporadically poke his head into the kitchen for taste tests and long, spirited conversations that spin off in a dozen different directions. It’s rare that we get the time to do such things anymore, and, as a bonus, we’d get some stellar fried chicken and waffles out of it, too. Win-win-win. —Marissa Chen, office manager

French Onion Soup

My dad once, rather infamously, spent a great deal of time and money attempting to make a very fancy French onion soup. Unfortunately, the return on investment was pretty dismal, and we haven’t made French onion soup since. He still orders it whenever it’s on a menu, though, and waxes poetic on every caramelized, cheesy, toasty bite. One recipe that delivers all the hits and definitely won’t fail is Daniel’s French onion soup: It’s easy, relatively quick, and once we’ve made it together, my dad will be able to replicate it whenever a craving strikes. —Kristina Bornholtz, social media editor

Fresh and Creamy Lime Pie

My dad is decidedly Team Pie, and in the realm of pie, he’s particularly fond of meringue (although he wouldn’t turn his nose up at cherry or blueberry, either). To balance out the potential heaviness that often goes hand in hand with family cookouts, I’ll be serving up this light and fresh lime pie—seasonality be damned. It’s as cold and refreshing as a glass of limeade, and the perfect palate cleanser to end a summer meal. —Stella Parks, pastry wizard

A Thai Feast

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

My dad lives across the continent from me, so I’m pretty sure I won’t be cooking anything for him this Father’s Day, but if I were, I’d make a spread of Thai food (one of his two favorite cuisines). I’d start with this Spicy Chicken, Banana Blossom, and Herb Salad, packed with fried alliums and coconut. (You can sometimes find banana blossoms in Asian or Indian markets, but this salad will work just fine with shredded cabbage in their place.) Then I’d move on to some Pork Larb (a sweet and hot meaty salad flavored with toasted rice) and Phat Bai Horapha (stir-fried beef flavored with chilies and basil). Fred’s not so into rice, but I’d still whip up a batch of this easy Crab Fried Rice, if only for my own sake. It’s Father’s Day for me, too, after all. —J. Kenji López-Alt, chief culinary consultant

Crown Roast of Lamb

My dad is an incredible cook, and he always pulls out the stops when he has me over for dinner—I’m talking Moroccan pastilla, osso buco, vitello tonnato, and many other trademark concoctions. So I’m always on the lookout for new special-occasion dishes I can make to return the favor. This Father’s Day, I’m turning to a recipe I’ve had my eye on for years: Daniel’s crown roast of lamb, which is filled with a couscous stuffing and topped with a bright pistachio-mint sauce. It checks off all the boxes: some of my dad’s favorite ingredients, a stunning presentation, and guaranteed delicious results. —Niki Achitoff-Gray, executive managing editor

Risotto al Salto and Chili Crisp

My father and I have a somewhat contentious culinary relationship, in large part because, while he loves Serious Eats and makes our recipes regularly, he doesn’t ever seem to follow the instructions. It isn’t laziness, nor is it absent-mindedness; it’s usually because he thinks he knows better. Which is why I always dread receiving the email each week in which he announces his intention to make some new recipe or another. I can generally tell whether or not he’ll be successful, and it often has to do with how much attention to detail a recipe requires.

Case in point: Daniel’s risotto al salto, which, while straightforward enough, does require a little fussiness; you need to rotate the rice pancake in the pan to ensure even browning, and Daniel takes great pains to point out that flipping the thing is a relatively tricky endeavor. Of course, my father made his attempt, using risotto with rather large pieces of sausage in it (which, I SHOULD NOTE, Daniel specifically says to avoid the first time out), and sent me a picture of his failure, including the entirely unnecessary message “This recipe did not work for me.” Anyway, if I were making him a Father’s Day dinner, I’d make the flippin’ pancake, and I’d serve it alongside some of Sohla’s chili crisp, since my father has asked me why anyone would make it when you can buy the stuff in the jar at your local Chinese market. Because it’s better, Dad! —Sho Spaeth, features editor

Singaporean Chili Crab

When I was young, having crab at home was a treat, but still cheaper than eating it at a restaurant. I have memories of cautiously peering into the sink as my father handled the pinching crustaceans with force and speed. He’d stir-fry them Cantonese-style, or simply steam them with soy sauce on the side. This Father’s Day, it’ll be my first time making a crab dish (yikes!). But with a Serious Eats recipe and my dad’s guidance, I’m confident this Singaporean Chili Crab will be a hit. —Vivian Kong, product designer

Skillet Chocolate Cake

My dad loves chocolate cake. (It’s a love I have very much inherited.) For Father’s Day, I’ll be treating him to Stella’s skillet chocolate cake: The ganache frosting is super luscious and rich, and the cake (typical of Stella’s recipes) is perfectly moist and deeply chocolaty. And in the future, he can make this recipe for himself without much trouble. He already has the cast iron pan, and the whole thing comes together right in it. I can only hope that he’ll think to return the favor and make it for my birthday. —Ariel Kanter, marketing director

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[fashiontrendin-blog]

A Holiday Spirit Starter Pack for the Grinches in Your Life

http://fashion-trendin.com/a-holiday-spirit-starter-pack-for-the-grinches-in-your-life/

A Holiday Spirit Starter Pack for the Grinches in Your Life

In Turkey, for the non-religious, New Year’s Eve is a really big deal: people put up trees, buy gifts, decorate their homes…basically everything that smells like Christmas and looks like Christmas, but, you know, is all in celebration of January 1st. This is why, in America, my family sometimes felt like the sole benefactor of Target’s 70% markdowns on ornaments come December 26th.

After my parents immigrated from Istanbul in the early ‘90s, they continued to cherish the holiday season with an unbridled gusto they passed on to me. And as someone who now voluntarily resides in New England as an adult, I consider the holiday season my last hurrah before everything goes to shit. From January onward, the weather transitions from slushy to morose to downright incomprehensible. And so I’ve continued my mom and dad’s tradition of, shall we say, holiday enthusiasm, for all things Christmas, despite not being Christian, because really, what else do I have to look forward to before gluing myself to a seasonal happy lamp for the next five months?

All this is to say that I don’t “get” people who don’t “get” the holidays. I’ve heard this from everyone: friends, coworkers, my significant other. Unless the holidays genuinely make you feel sad, which I totally respect, I only see the upside of falling head-first into festive spirit. So if you, too, have loved ones with enthusiasm-related barriers to doing so, allow me to help you help them with the below list of foolproof suggestions, which I’ve compiled with the express purpose to de-Scrooge the crankiest among us.

If I could put stability or a ho-hum news cycle in my shopping cart this holiday season, I’d have already checked out by now. Alas, that’s where ABC Family, Disney, and a host of other holiday moviemakers come in to fill the void. Their copy-and-paste plotlines are beyond comforting given our current political climate, and honestly, how refreshing is it to know that the most shocking thing about the leading male character is going to be that he’s secretly Santa Claus (and not a literal predator)?

Starter pack, in order of Rotten Tomato scores: Jack Frost, 20%: The only holiday film perfectly tailored for fans of American Horror Story and Donnie Darko. Errant dad Michael Keaton dies and reincarnates (read: haunts) his family as a snowman. Unaccompanied Minors, 30%: A successful dupe for Home Alone. Just substitute home for an airport, and burglars for the TSA (a sentiment anyone who’s handed over shampoo at a security checkpoint can empathize with). 12 Dates of Christmas, 51%: Imagine experiencing your worst blind date twelve times, with Jordin Sparks singing in the background the whole time. The Mistle-tones, 57%: Like Glee meets Step Up, but with a lot of plaid. The Santa Clause, 75%: Sure to be a hit with anyone who works in finance, law or another field that actually requires you to read the Terms & Agreements at the end of documents.

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Sugar is considered better for you than salad this time of year! It’s shocking to me that most people haven’t heard of this unwritten rule, which is why it’s so fun to tell them. Surprise! Here, sprinkle some more graham crackers atop your eggnog ice cream. Tuck into that sheet of peppermint bark––once the clock strikes 12 on January 1st, your body registers it as kale.

Starter Pack: Chocolate Caramel Crack(ers) from Smitten Kitchen: The ideal baked good for you and your favorite Scrooge to make together. Cookie Salad from Molly Yeh: Bless Molly Yeh and her interpretation of salad. French Toast Casserole with Salted Frosted Flakes from Chrissy Teigen: For all those times when French toast isn’t indulgent enough. Reversed Impossible Chocolate Flan from Melissa Clark: Would it be the holidays if you didn’t have the time to flip and reverse an already very complicated desert? Christmas Tree Cupcakes from Martha Stewart: If you’re the person who eats the frosting and discards the actual cupcake, this one’s for you.

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Win them over with comfort. No one can actually be grouchy about the umpteenth holiday party where they have to make small talk about how it’s “so cold this year” and “wow, shitty media men, who knew, right?” if they’re draped in velvet. It’s scientifically impossible. If you’re still having trouble, might I suggest adding glitter?

Starter Pack: These boots from Madewell and Strategia. These have zippers, which is why they’re sensible. This dress from Rhode Resort. Pair it with tights, and you’ll be set to dominate in some drunken calisthenics at your next holiday event. This blazer from J.Crew. Just crying out for an embroidered scarf tied around your neck. These bow pumps from Tory Burch. Nothing says it’s the holidays like gratuitous bows. MR by Man Repeller velvet sandals!!! And a velvet from Self-Portrait (on sale!). For those who refuse to let the off-the-shoulder trend die.

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I empathize with the malcontents who say they’ve heard Christmas classics one too many times in malls across America, but that’s no reason to shun to the world of alternative holiday music that exists. “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, these are not.

Starterpack: Sufjan Stevens Christmas: If this was a particularly trying cuffing season, Sufjan Stevens’ holiday music is your soundtrack for extensive crying jags. Punk Rock Christmas: Just when your parents were counting their blessings for not having to brave Hot Topic for your Christmas presents anymore! A Very She & Him Christmas: Probably not being played in Macy’s, but definitely being played in an Anthropologie. Holidays Rule: A compilation album that contains both The Shins and Andrew Bird, so it’s actually a tribute to your douchey high school ex.

The absolute best part of the holidays is how socially acceptable it is to drink at nearly any time, in any format. Consider the hot toddy: all the comforts of a cup of tea, spiked to give you the confidence that you can make it through the next time someone makes an off-color political quip over dinner. The holidays are, in a way, like freshman year of college all over again: most everyone is giddy over something or another, and there’s copious amounts of booze (and the better quality stuff is reserved for the older folks).

Starter Pack: Santa’s Sleigh: Somewhere between a milkshake and a mojito Spiked Apple Cider: Decidedly better than whatever version of this you drank at fraternity holiday parties. Fairytale of New York: Isn’t the name just enough? Lady Irish: Paint your nails green, add some glitter, and pose with a glass of this drink. Coquito: Guaranteed to get your cousin who won’t stop talking about how amazing it is to be a vegan really, really wasted.

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Collage by Kelsey Lim.

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[sightandfire]

Address : 5100 NW 72nd Ave, Bay A-1, Miami, FL 33166

I have heard of the Tank Brewery time and time again, but never actually had the chance to go visit; that is until I participated in their inaugural Craft Beer 5k. Who knew that I would meet the owner that night, someone so outgoing and sociable, and we quickly became friends.

                     (The boss & head honcho Carlos Padron & I after the Craft Beer 5k)

Carlos Padron, lawyer and large scale cigar importer and exporter, had his first taste of craft beer right here in Miami, FL! He was actually at The Local in Coral Gables & while eating his meal, he wanted to try something new. His first craft beer was Cigar City’s Maduro (a brown ale) based off the recommendation of a server who worked there. He listened to her as she gave him the low down on the Maduro.  He saw how enthusiastic and knowledgeable she was on the subject and how excited she was to tell him about the beer. This was something he wanted to get into fast!

So he talked to a couple of his lawyer buddy’s and they went all in! Knowing nothing about the brewing process, Carlos reached out to FIUs craft beer club (B.R.E.W. FIU) and struck up a partnership with them. The brew masters at Tank are from BREW FIU and what is cool about this whole thing is that Carlos gives them free reign to do as they please; he doesn’t micromanage. While he learns the process, he knows and trusts his brew masters to do what they do.

We got to take a tour of the brewery which honestly left us impressed. They opened the brewery next to the warehouses where they store and ship cigars out, so they have a huge amount of space to mess with.

What’s even cooler, is they’re starting a bottling process and we got to see the machine! So pretty soon you’ll be able to pick up some Tank beers at your local supermarket.

(The bottling machine)

And what’s even cooler is that they have their own lab for quality control! They want to make sure each newly brewed beer has the same great tasting consistency as the last. They know that craft beer drinkers have no loyalty, so it just takes one bad batch to lose a customer, so with this lab (the only one in Miami so far) they make sure that each beer is up to their high standards.

 (The lab)

(The tasting room)

The same vibes I felt from Carlos radiate off of Tank Brewery. Opening their doors this year it’s a family friendly place where you know you’re going to have a good time. Speaking of good time, on to the important part, THE BEER!!!

(flights are filled in cigar boxes from Carlos Padrons Cigar company!)

Here are the explanations from the brewery:

Core:

El Farito IPA [American IPA (6.5% Alc/ 60 IBU)]: Boasting an intense hoppy nose of citrus and tropical fruit, this drinkable IPA will satisfy your hop fix anytime of the day. Named after Key Biscayne’s Cape Florida lighthouse, better known to locals as “El Farito”.

Freedom Tower [American Amber (5.3% Alc/ 30 IBU)]: We named our Amber Ale after Miami’s most recognizable landmark, so called for its deep ties to our local Cuban-American population. This ale features malt-y caramel flavors with subtle hints of stone fruit.

La Finca Miami [Belgian Style Wheat Saison (6.2% Alc/ 26 IBU)]: An age-old beer style that originated in the farmhouses of Belgium. Crisp, citrus-y and refreshing, La Finca Miami is the perfect companion on a hot day.

Half Year Releases:

Byronic Brown [English Style Brown Ale (4.6% Alc/ 24 IBU )]: Byronic Brown is a complex and delicately balanced beer that exhibits nutty and bready flavors, with mild caramel and dry cacao in support.

Rye-lingual [Rye Stout (6.3% Alc/ 45 IBU)]: Suggestions of luscious bittersweet baker’s chocolate and a touch of smooth cold-brewed coffee coat the tongue.

Rye-lingual (Rye Stout Nitro): No description available.

Seasonal Hop Series: The series consists of four hoppy beers that are meant to be perfectly evocative of the four seasons. A Double IPA bursting with fruity hops in Spring, a refreshing Pale Ale in summer, a wet-hopped Rye IPA for autumn, and a dark and resiny India Black Ale in winter.

Spring: Double IPA [Double IPA (8% Alc/ 80 IBU)]: Like a tropical fruit salad, an explosion of juicy passionfruit, gooseberry, sweet mango, and ruby red spring forth. All this balanced by dank, grassy, and floral hop undertones.

Summer: Pale Ale [Southeast Pale Ale (5.6% Alc/ 35 IBU)]: Our Pale Ale is hoppy and refreshing, designed with the hot Miami Summer in mind.

Fall: Wet Hopped Rye IPA [Rye IPA (7.1% Alc/ 60 IBU)]: Our Wet-hopped Rye IPA is a celebration of both the hop harvest, and the beginning of Autumn. Hopped with Amarillo and Centennial, and finished with Simcoe “wet” hops; this IPA is loaded with fresh unadulterated hop aroma. Juicy mango, apricot, pomelo, and sticky pine resin explode on the palate, followed by biscuit and spice on the finish. Enjoy fresh, preferably with family and friends.

Winter: India Black Ale [Black IPA/ Cascadian Dark Ale (6.6% Alc/ 68 IBU)]: Chinook, hops give this beer the refreshing and unmistakable aroma of resiny pine with hints of bitter grapefruit. If the smell of hiking through a pine forest with a cup o’ Joe in hand is your thing, then this is your beer.

Abbey: The beers in the Abbey series are crafted using different techniques and carefully chosen ingredients to create their unique attributes. However, at the heart of all these beers lies a common motif: a classic Belgian yeast strain and its complex and expressive character.

 Abbey 6 [Belgian Style Dubbel (7.2% Alc/ 22 IBU)]: This dark mahogany ale is loosely based on the classic Dubbel style brewed by the Trappist monasteries of Belgium.

Abbey 8 [Belgian Style Trippel (9.3% Alc/ 36 IBU)]: The classic Tripels of Belgium were the inspiration for our Abbey 8.

Abbey 10 [Belgian Style Quadrupel (11.5% Alc/ 25 IBU)]: This gorgeous dark-maroon ale is the boldest in the Abbey Series, and our twist on the Belgian Quadrupel style.

Small Batch Specialty Series:

Amalgamation Blends: The Amalgamation series is an ongoing experiment in which we explore the endless possibilities attainable through blending.

-Zymurgy Project (Wild Ale): No description available.

Ventanita Series: Our “Ventanita: Coffee Infused Series” is a continuous collaborative effort with specialty coffee roasters. Specialty coffee can display a diverse array of flavors that can come as a surprise to the uninitiated. We work closely with our coffee roasting friends at each step of the process to create a perfectly balanced interplay between both coffee and beer.

Hop Experiment: Our Hop Experiments are an ever changing array of small batch hoppy beers focused on exploring the world of hops!

-Hop Experiment #4 [Motueka Saison (6.2% Alc)]: Character hop: Motueka. Tasting notes: key lime, lemon, herbal mint, earthy “saison funk.”

-Hop Experiment #6 [India Pale Ale (5.5% Alc)]: Character hops: callista, nelson, mistral, experimental French hop P10/9. Tasting notes: bitter grapefruit, citrus zest, pine needles, pineapple, dank, resiny.

Limited Release: Various seasonal releases that we love to brew. Enjoy them while they last!

Frank The Tank [Imperial Stout (10% Alc/ 45 IBU)]: Dark chocolate and french press coffee dominate the palate, accompanied by a fruity bouquet of blackberry, dark cherry, and raisin, with hints of brown sugar.

German Style Pils [German Style Pils (4.8% Alc/ 34 IBU)]: Citrusy and herbal hop character over cracker-like Pils malt leads to a crisp profile with a snappy finish.

London Style Porter [British Porter (5.0% Alc/ 35 IBU)]: A throwback porter, inspired by those produced in London at the turn of the 20th century. Brown malt paired with judicious amounts of black malt creates the impression of roasted nuts, unsweetened cacao, and coffee in this chocolate-brown brew. UK Fuggle hops deliver their unmistakable cedar-like wood character, and a classic British yeast provides dark fruit complexity. For 150 years, the drink of choice for London’s working class: this unapologetically robust beer was never intended for “polite society.”

Oktoberfest Marzen [Marzen (6.0% Alc/ 22 IBU)]: Märzen is the malty amber-colored predecessor to the modern day pale Oktoberfest lager. The name stems from historical times, when this beer would have been brewed in March and stored until Oktoberfest. Times have changed, but we still make it a point to lager our Oktoberfest-Märzen for at least 12 weeks, resulting in an exceptionally smooth beer.

Oaked [American Oaked Rye Stout (6.5% Alc)]: The oak contributes vanilla with hints of caramel and wood-tannin elements, which beautifully compliment this stouts dark chocolate and spice character. Tasting notes: vanilla, caramel, bourbon oak, coffee, unsweetened dark chocolate, pumpernickel, dried currant.

Oaked [French Oaked English Brown (4.6% Alc)]: French oak elevates this refined and delicate beer to new level of elegance. Tasting notes: soft toasted oak, coconut and macadamia, complex “French oak spice structure” hints of vanilla, caramel and chocolate, velvety mouthfeel.

(The Zymurgy Project Wild Ale)

Here’s what I thought:

Core:

El Farito IPA: Citrusy, fruity & hoppy, but neither flavors are overbearing. A great mix of all three where each one balances the other out, neither one over powers the other. Scents of citrus and hops.

Freedom Tower: Malty with a bit of a fruity/sweet aftertaste. Not overbearing on the sweetness. Scents of an ale/malty.

La Finca Miami: Light. Crisp. More citrus flavor than your usual Belgian. Puckered my lips. Sweet, but not over bearing. Had a citrusy scent as well.

Half Year Releases:

Byronic Brown: Was not on tap. 

Rye-lingual: Scents of straight coffee and chocolate. Full bodied. Hits you in the back of your mouth. Nice chocolatey/coffee aftertaste.

Rye-lingual (Nitro): Same scents. A lot smoother. Velvety feel as it travels down your mouth. Creamy. Tastes similar to a Guinness Nitro IPA

Seasonal Hop Series: 

Spring: Double IPA- Was not on tap. 

Summer: Pale Ale- Was not on tap. 

Fall: Wet Hopped Rye IPA- Was not on tap. 

Winter: India Black Ale- Was not on tap. 

Abbey: 

Abbey 6: Was not on tap. 

Abbey 8: Was not on tap.

Abbey 10: Was not on tap. 

Small Batch Specialty Series:

Amalgamation Blends: Zymurgy Project- Now this was a really cool one. It is a wild ale. Malty, crisp, refreshing with a sort of woody/earthy aftertaste (although it is not overbearing). This is actually “La Finca” fermented for 30 weeks. It is kind of sweet as well and a little sour too in the second and third taste, but again, not overbearing. Makes you pucker your lips a bit. Scents of ale, but tastes completely different. It had a bit of a different taste every sip you took.

Ventanita Series: Was not on tap. 

Hop Experiment #4: Lemony/subtle key lime scents. Leaves a slight minty cleansing aftertaste. Crisp. All flavors are balanced and subtle, nothing really stands out.

Experiment #6: Citrusy, fruity scents; kind of like fruity pebbles. Sweet. Citrusy, Also hits the back of your mouth. Crisp, would recommend as a beach beer; slight hints of grapefruit.

Limited Release:

Frank The Tank: Was not on tap. 

German Style Pils: Was not on tap. 

London Style Porter: Was not on tap. 

Oktoberfest Marzen: Was not on tap. 

Oaked [American Oaked Rye Stout (6.5% Alc)]: Oaky, chocolatey scents. Chocolate rye aftertaste. Envelopes the pallet. Scents of an imperial stout.

Oaked [French Oaked English Brown (4.6% Alc)]: Earthy, smells exactly like the cask it was in. Oaky, subtle chocolate aftertaste. Typical brown ale.

  So all in all the ambiance of the brewery, the service from the staff, the food we ate and the beers we were served I would give Tank Brewing Company 4 out of 5 piggys!

    Quick note, one little thing that I found out so you don’t freak out while you’re there; the brewers believe that all people will enjoy the aroma and scents of a craft beer, when most will just want to be at the brewery to drink beer and have a good time. Don’t let the way they pour fool you, the servers are not doing bad pours, they are pouring as the brewers instructed them. They pour 8oz pours in 16oz glasses so you can get the volatile scents (scents that will disappear quickly) from the foam of the beer. So don’t get upset at your servers for serving the beers the way the brewers are telling them to pour! There’s a reason behind the madness.

(The aptly named “Big Ass Pretzel” & “Duck Wings” from @twistedforkkitchen. Check them out while you’re there!)

With a dope atmosphere and definitely with room to grow, I definitely see Tank Brewery being a powerhouse in the near future. So stop on by, grab a beer, get your growler filled and have a great time!

They also have a cigar room where you can light up a stogie and down a couple beers!

Website:  Tank Brewing Company

Facebook: Tank Brewing Company

Instagram: @thetankbrewing

Twitter: @thetankbrewing

  The Tank Brewery Address : 5100 NW 72nd Ave, Bay A-1, Miami, FL 33166 I have heard of the 

[touristguidebuzz]

Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago A La Carte Dining

It’s no secret that United has invested a great deal of time and money into its new Polaris business class offering. Earlier this week, the airline started its a la carte dining option at Chicago O’Hare Airport. While TPG Editor-in-Chief Zach Honig already reviewed the United Polaris Lounge at ORD, I had a chance today to stop by and try out the new food options. Spoiler alert: It’s all really good!

During my visit, I had the opportunity to test out the new breakfast menu, served until 11:00am, and the lunch/dinner menu, served until 30 minutes before closing. That usually means food is available for order until 8:30pm, but the lounge does technically stay open until the last flight of the day leaves, just in case of delays. Today, the staff transitioned from breakfast to lunch between 10:30am and 11:00am, so if you’re looking for breakfast items specifically, I’d suggest placing your order before 10:30am.

While I didn’t entirely love the new Polaris seats I tested out on the ground recently at an event in Chicago, this new Polaris Lounge makes United Clubs, Admirals Clubs and Delta SkyClubs feel like you’re flying Spirit Airlines.

Dining Setup

The United Polaris Lounge is a pretty substantial size, considering only business- and first-class passengers (flying United Polaris or in a premium cabin on a partner) have access — no club membership or elite status will get you in here.

I love the new individual pods where you can sit and get some work done or just relax. Currently, there are 16 dining tables available, though UA plans to expand that to 24 tables by next week. Each one sports a “Reserved” sign, but fear not — they are open to anyone. According to the staff, the reserved sign is just to make it clear that these tables are saved for a la carte dining, and guests are discouraged from sitting there otherwise.

Don’t worry about the “Reserved” signage — it��s only there to ensure that the tables are used for dining only, and not simply as regular seating.

During my visit, the tables were never completely occupied, but in the event that they are, the lounge “concierges” will open a waitlist, much like at a traditional restaurant, and find you in the lounge when a table is ready.

There’s also a great buffet, with novel little skillet plates for the taking. Guests are welcome to enjoy their buffet options at the individual pods or elsewhere in the lounge, but you can’t do the a la carte dining outside the dining tables area. I do prefer it this way, as it truly feels more like a restaurant with attentive table service, rather than just ordering food at a lounge.

There’s also a buffet selection with novel little skillet dishes if you want something quick.

One thing to note — the lounge is definitely set up for people traveling solo, or with one companion. All the dining seats so far are for one or two people, and most of the seats around the lounge are either individual pods or a pair of chairs. This makes sense for an international business- and first-class lounge that you can’t access with elite status or bring guests into (except for passengers in Polaris first, and even then, only one guest anyway).

If you do happen to have an entire family flying with you in business class, you’ll likely have to ask the staff to try to awkwardly merge the rounded tables together if you want to sit together. But for the majority of cases, this setup makes a lot of sense, promotes privacy when traveling for business and makes the lounge feel far more comfortable.

There’s also a buffet set up in a separate area of the lounge, which you are obviously welcome to eat from as well. There were really cool dishes served in mini-skillets — frittatas for breakfast and other items for lunch. Sadly, the items weren’t labeled or marked, so I had to ask a lounge attendant each time to figure out what they were.

Breakfast

Upon approaching the dining area, I was quickly given a table and menu, then assigned a server — just like in a restaurant. The menu is designed to have smaller portions so that you can try out multiple items if you’d like, or save room for the in-flight meal. Personally, on Europe-bound evening flights, I tend to like to eat in the lounge so I can get as much sleep as possible on the short hop across the Atlantic.

United’s delicious breakfast selection at the Chicago Polaris Lounge.

Along with pastries and breads, the breakfast menu consists of:

French toast, with caramelized apple and maple syrup

Belgian waffle, with market berries and warm cherry compote

Smoked salmon and potato latke, poached eggs, American caviar and hollandaise

Eggs Benedict, Canadian bacon and roasted tomato hollandaise

Magnificent Mile breakfast, with eggs prepared to order and roasted potatoes

Sides of Potatoes O’Brien, sausage links, and apple smoked bacon are available for order as well.

The breakfast buffet had three frittata options, as well as two types of porridge, along with sausages and other items.

Apart from the sit-down menu, there’s also a sizable buffet selection, with fruit, pastries, two types of porridge and three types of frittatas — vegetable, sausage and bacon, and a cheese option. I tried the sausage bacon frittata, which was alright, but assuming you have enough time, I’d stick to the a la carte menu.

There are plenty of pastries to go around in the buffet section.

I wanted to try as much of the food as possible, so I ordered an orange juice, Eggs Benedict, smoked salmon and potato latke (with caviar!) and Belgian waffles. I asked for the Eggs Benedict and smoked salmon dishes together first, which turned out to be a good idea — the smoked salmon and potato latke is essentially an Eggs Benedict, but with smoked salmon instead of ham and a potato latke instead of an English muffin.

I ordered the Eggs Benedict and smoked salmon with potato latke and caviar side-by-side — a delicious decision.

The eggs were perfectly poached with both dishes, with plenty of delicious, oozing yolk. Both were served with a side of roasted potatoes, and I found the portions to be perfect for the occasion — you can always order more food, but I hate wasting it if there’s too much before you get on a flight. The star here was the caviar on top of the smoked salmon dish. Sure, it’s probably not gourmet caviar, and didn’t come close to what I’d just eaten in Cathay Pacific first class merely hours before, but c’mon, when’s the last time you’ve had caviar in any lounge, domestic or otherwise? The caviar added a perfect balance to the poached egg and hollandaise sauce, with just the right amount of saltiness.

The Belgian waffles were delicious as well, though I didn’t care for the cherry compote as much.

To finish up the meal, I had a Belgian waffle topped with fruit, cherry compote and powdered sugar with syrup on the side. I didn’t care much for the cherry compote, but the waffles were cooked to just the right amount of crispiness and were otherwise delicious.

After the meal, my wonderful server Monique proactively brought over an Illy latte, complete with Polaris logo coffee art on top. I’m not a coffee expert, but it tasted pretty decent.

After my meal, I was proactively offered an Illy latte, complete with the Polaris logo.

All in all, I’m a guy who usually dislikes breakfast in favor of lunch or dinner. I was pretty impressed by the options offered though, and the smoked salmon and potato latke topped with caviar definitely stole the show — I highly recommend ordering that if you generally like Eggs Benedict.

Lunch and Dinner

After working in an individual pod for a few hours to let my stomach digest the food, I headed back to the dining area to try out the lunch menu — I wish I had eaten less for breakfast, since the lunch menu was even better. Lunch/dinner service begins at 11:00am, and is available into the evening hours.

Here’s what you’ll be able to order for lunch.

As with the breakfast menu, many of the options come in small portions so you can try more than one item — note that the entrees are the exception and represent a heartier meal. Some of the dishes, such as the buttermilk chicken and pear and cranberry cobbler, also take a little longer to prepare (about 15 minutes). Your server should let you know more about that, but keep that in mind if you have a flight to catch.

Many of the dishes are created by Chef Art Smith, whose claim to fame was a stint serving as Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef.

Appetizers

American beef carpaccio, with Chicago-style picked vegetables

Fontina Arancini with roasted tomato sauce

Soup

Charred carrots and apple with candied fennel slaw

Salads

Roasted beets, with whipped charred feta and macadamia crumble

Seared tuna with mizuna greens

Sandwiches

Blue Door Kitchen burger, with beef, sharp cheddar, garlic aioli, bacon, picked onion, tomato, fries and a fried egg if you’d like

Buttermilk fried chicken, with pimento cheese, picked onion and tomato

Entrees

Buttermilk fried chicken, with honey hot sauce and braised greens

Seared rib eye, with orange ginger sauce, forbidden black fried rice and seasonal wok-fried vegetables

Shrimp and grits, with tasso ham, crispy okra and tomato stew

Sweet potato gnocchi with sage brown butter

Desserts

Decadence by chocolate, a dark chocolate brownie truffle, with milk chocolate banana cotta, and white chocolate bark with dried cherry and pistachio

Ice cream

Pear and cranberry cobbler, with macadamia nut crust and red wine caramel sauce.

There are salads and cheese on offer in the buffet, if you’d like — but if you have time, definitely take advantage of the sit-down dining option instead.

Again, there are a number of buffet options available as well, including cheeses, salads, brownies and mini-cake bites. Among the hot options were a braised short rib, pasta and what looked like a chicken pot pie with puff pastry. The latter turned out to be a mushroom pot pie, devoid of any chicken — a small placard or label would have been quite helpful here.

For dessert at the buffet, there were brownies and delicious mini-cakes that reminded me of a cake pop.

Among the buffet options, I tried out the braised short rib and the pot pie — the short rib was great, with great flavors and wonderfully cooked Brussels sprouts. I was less impressed with the pot pie — which, again, I would’ve avoided if it had been labeled.

As with breakfast, if you have the time, I’d highly recommend skipping the buffet options and going straight to the a la carte menu.

I tried the braised short rib and pot pie — both were good, but nothing compared to the a la carte items.

Since lunch had been served for an hour or so after I had enough of an appetite, the lounge was abuzz with people talking about the fantastic menu and food, so I was quite excited to try it out.

I ordered the beef carpaccio to start, followed by the roasted beet salad, buttermilk fried chicken and seared rib eye (cooked to medium rare, of course).

A well-prepared beef carpaccio, which perhaps could’ve used just a tad more seasoning.

Let me tell you — each of the dishes I ordered were superb. The lunch menu here isn’t fancy by any means, but with excellent, hearty food. It easily compares to food in top international first-class lounges like Qantas First in LAX, and Cathay Pacific’s The Wing and The Pier first-class lounges in Hong Kong.

The beef carpaccio was excellent, though perhaps just a tad under-seasoned to my taste. The beet salad was fantastic, with both red and golden beets and a wonderful feta cheese. Around me, I heard other passengers raving about the beet salad too, so definitely try it out if you’re a fan of beets.

The roasted beet salad is fantastic, and tasted very refreshing with the fried chicken. It was so good that I may have been guilty of tasting it before I remembered to take a photo!

Next up were the real stars of the show, the entrees: I had the buttermilk fried chicken first, which was incredible. The chicken was tender and moist, but crispy. Be careful with the hot sauce though — it’s delicious, but spicy! Definitely taste a little first before pouring or dipping your chicken straight into the sauce.

I would definitely order this fried chicken again — it’s the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.

I finished up the meal with the seared rib eye, which was cooked to perfection at medium rare. Steak is one thing I try to avoid eating on planes, since reheated partially cooked steak is very difficult to get right with a galley oven. This was definitely a good way to satisfy my appetite for steak. I could’ve done with a little less orange ginger sauce, which tasted like teriyaki, though, and I left the vegetables and rice on the plate. But none of that really matters, since the beef itself was incredible.

To finish, I had the seared rib eye, cooked to a perfect medium rare.

At that point, I was too full to order dessert, and I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but there are three options to choose from should you want it.

All in all, the lunch/dinner was fantastic. If you find yourself in a Polaris lounge soon, I highly recommend trying the roasted beet salad and the buttermilk fried chicken. I’d also order the seared rib eye again, just for the steak.

Overall Impressions

Food at the Polaris Lounge is great — really great — miles better than any other domestic offering from United’s competitors. American Airlines, for instance, offers limited buffet food options in its “International First Class” lounges. Later this year, those lounges will be branded back to “Flagship Lounges,” and some will offer Flagship Dining to first-class passengers only — keep in mind that Polaris dining is available to all business- and first-class passengers.

If you have the time, I’d definitely suggest taking advantage of the a la carte options — they’re much better than the buffet choices, which are already fantastic. While Delta did offer some a la carte dining options in its JFK Sky Club for premium-cabin passengers some time ago, it no longer offers any sit-down dining options.

My server, Monique, was great as well, with service as attentive as the best restaurants. There are at least two servers for just 16 tables of two, of which only five were occupied when I dined, so there’s definitely a feeling of personal attention.

One last item of note — the lunch/dinner menu (but not the breakfast menu) solicits cash or credit card tips at the bottom. I found this to be a little strange for a lounge — perhaps others feel differently. During my visit, I didn’t notice anyone leaving cash tips, or approaching the bar to swipe a credit card for tips.

Accessing the Polaris Lounge

Currently, there’s only one Polaris Lounge in operation, and that’s at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). A Newark Polaris Lounge should be opening by the middle of this year, along with one in San Francisco. United is planning to open a total of nine Polaris Lounges around the world, with Dulles and Los Angeles following later in 2017, and Hong Kong, London and Tokyo, which are all expected to open by the end of 2017.

Polaris Lounges are only accessible to business- and first-class passengers flying United Polaris or business or first class on Star Alliance partners. Club memberships and elite status won’t help you here — United Club members, Star Alliance Gold Members, Global Services members, etc., can only get in if they’re flying business or first class.

Have you had a chance to dine at Chicago’s Polaris Lounge?

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