Cooking Demo from Chef Lori Baker, Banker & Baker

On Saturdays, along with shopping at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, I often attend cooking demos,  either at the Ferry Building, Macy's, or Williams-Sonoma.  Each venue has a different focus, but all host excellent local chefs, or chefs in town on book tours. I don't often write up posts on the demos, but this one was particularly amazing, so it warranted a post! This week, Williams-Sonoma hosted chef Lori Baker, the pastry chef from Baker...

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Cold Stone

I love ice cream.  And I love birthday freebies. So, when I got a BOGO for Cold Stone for my birthday, I just had to hit it up, as it had been years since I'd been.  We used to go all the time with my teammates at work to celebrate birthdays, but somehow stopped that tradition. I think that magic has been lost.  The ice cream just seemed fairly low end, not creamy, just not very good.  The mix-ins, likewise, just aren't very special.  And...

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Mariposa Bakeshop

I always have a pile tasting notes, from a variety of events, laying around.  Since I only publish once a day to my blog, and I like to do real restaurant reviews within a day or two of my visit, things like my reviews of chocolates, ice cream, bakeries, and whatnot tend to just get queued up, until something inspires me to post. The other day, a friend asked what my favorite flavor of ice cream at Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous was.  Instead of...

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Brownie Sundae from Buca di Beppo

Update Review, August 2013 Last year, you may recall that I went on a little journey to Buca di Beppo to enjoy a free birthday brownie sundae.  I didn't think any component of the sundae was all that successful, but all combined, and enjoyed while sitting in the sun at Yerba Buena Gardens, it was pretty enjoyable.  I sought to replicate that experience again this year. Since I've reviewed it before, I'll skip the general details and focus only on...

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Dinner at Pläj

Pläj is a Scandinavian restaurant that opened recently.  I normally wait a while longer before checking out a new place to give it time to work out kinks, but the reviews I've seen so far have all been very, very positive, from both the critics and the Yelpers.  And my frequent dining companion, Emil, is Swedish, and has been very excited about the menu.  And they have a deal on Scoutmob for $10 off, and you know how I like freebies these...

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Ice Cream from Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous

I'm a huge fan of frozen desserts, but regular ice cream isn't what I normally gravitate to.  That said, when I want a scoop of hard ice cream, Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous is where I go.  They are my favorite ice cream shop in the city.  For once, the Yelpers aren't wrong: there is a reason they have 600+ Yelp! reviews and a 4.5 star rating.   The ice cream is all made fresh daily from high quality ingredients (local, organic Strauss dairy...

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