Experience: Guy's Night Out at The Boulevard at SouthEnd

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Calling all men to shop Guys Night Out at The Boulevard at SouthEnd. Yes, I know shopping may not be high on the list of things to do BUT making it out tomorrow will help you get on top of your significant other's list (get your mind out of the gutter) AND you can drink beer while doing so! Here are the highlights for tomorrow's event:

• The World of Beer will be pouring a local brew, called Lone Rider of Raleigh
• The Southern Cake Queen will be on hand with sweets and so you can order delectable desserts for your lover
• Escape Hair and Skin Studio will offer gift certificates and salon specials to help beautify your lady. Oh--and if you purchase a gift certificate for a facial your giftee will receive a free shampoo and blow out
• Fashion Florist of Charlotte will be ready and willing to take your orders for bouquets of roses and flowers

  And of course, The Boulevard has an fantastic selection of gifts for that someone special. If you are stumped, check out the HoneeBee Gifts table in the front of the store to see my top picks:)
In addition, if your lady has filled out her "wish list" The Boulevard will have that on hand to make shopping a breeze.

Once you have made your selection(s), boutique staff will wrap it for you! Seriously, this is a one stop shop that makes your Valentine's Day easy peasy! Guys Night Out takes place tomorrow (Tuesday, February 11th) from 5-8pm. Details can be found here.

Cafe Sketchwalk 1.1 - L'Etoile Cafe

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Started the day meeting up with friends at L'Etoile Cafe at Owen Road. I was there for brunch and had their delicious french toast with scrambled eggs and bacon. It was a delicious fare - not too greasy nor was the maple syrup accompanying the toast too sweet. There was even a nice hint of cinnamon in the syrup. I had their flat white to wash the brunch down... it was so good, I had two - coffees that is.

However, what must be the main draw of the place is the environment. Set like a French-influenced Japanese cafe, the place has a charm and quaintness that blends itself beautifully into the quiet and comfortably appointed interiors.

This is a definite place to visit for some chill time alone or with friends.

Lunch at Maison Kayser, Wheelock Place

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Maison Kayser, Wheelock Place

Maison Kayser is Eric Kayser's venture into retail bakery. He is a master French baker with over 80 stores worldwide and his products are a household name.
Eric Kayser is a fourth generation master baker. His great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all traditional French bakers. At the age of 18, he became a companion of the prestigious Tour de France of baking.
On September 13, 1996, Kayser opened his first bakery at 8 rue Monge in Paris. It was an instant success, garnering much critical acclaim. The opening of many more bakeries in Paris and in various countries abroad followed very quickly.
Eric Kayser is widely regarded to be one of the world’s best bakers. He is commonly referred to as the “ambassador of French bread to the world”.
Today, there are over 80 Maison Kayser locations worldwide. With 18 in Paris alone, more locations have opened throughout Greece, Portugal, Russia, Japan, Ukraine, Morocco, Senegal, South Korea, Lebanon, and the UAE.
The products and services in the bakeries vary from country to country, each adapting to the local tastes and flavors. This dynamic touch has helped the growth of Maison Kayser throughout the world. Each Maison Kayser location produces its products on-site daily.

Costa Coffee at Vivocity

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This is the first time I've tried Costa Coffee. They have other outlets at Chevron House and Raffles City. However, I have not noticed them till they opened at Vivocity. When I tried their latte (my 'standard' for testing barista skills) I found it bitter and ashy and the milk was not sweet and rather thin. I do hope the barista's skills improve.

Costa Coffee started when Bruno and Sergio Costa founded a coffee roastery in Lambeth, London in 1971, supplying local caterers and coffee shops with their slow-roasted blend mocha Italia. Costa branched out to retailing coffee in 1978, when their first store opened in Vauxhall Bridge Road, London.
In 1995, the business was acquired by Whitbread, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2009 Costa celebrated the opening of their 1,000th store - in Cardiff. In December 2009, Costa Coffee agreed to acquire Coffee Heaven for £36 million, adding 79 stores in central and eastern Europe. By the end of 2010 the company had overtaken Starbucks in the UK, reaching a 37.6% market share measured by revenues.

60¢ for a moment of nostalgia...

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Kueh tutu - an expensive form of nostalgia...

Kueh Tutu is a traditional delicacy and a uniquely Singapore dish that was invented right here. Made primarily with rice flour or glutinous rice flour, the light snack contains either ground peanut and sugar or shredded coconut as its filling. The typical method of preparation involves rapid steaming of the flour and the filling. Once ready, the Tutu is served on pandan leaves to add fragrance.
I remember I used to have them at 20¢ each, then 30¢ each and by the time I was in my early teens, it was 50¢ each. Now? It's a whopping $3 for a set of 5. You do the math.
Nostalgia and memories are an expensive hobby...

Damian's 30th Anniversary

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I was lucky enough to be invited to do a tasting at Damian's 30th Anniversary dinner.  This is a very nice set of menu of 4 course meal.  I know you missed the January deal, of $30 for a 3-course dinner like the one I'm about to tell you how good it is.  But for the entire month of February,  it's Spaghetti and Meatball Fridays for $8.30 in honor of their start year of 1983.  In March, they are having the return of classic dishes daily, chosen by their servers.For start, we were greeted by Johnny Mandola, he was very hospitable and it's like welcoming people to his home.  He made sure all of his guests are taken care of.
We started out with shrimp brochette h'orderves.  It's quite nice and tasty, but didn't want to fill up on bread, we got more to go.Once we sat down, we had the Mona Lisa salad.  It's very unique is that it has mixed greens, feta cheese, and roasted almonds.  Together with the balsamic dressing, it's a very sweet start.  No, seriously, it is kinda sweet and you get that as a mix with everything in the same bite. Right after the salad, they brought out the Ravioli for the antipasti course.  It's really well done, the only thing is that it's a sweet potato ravioli, which made me felt double starched.  Personally, having been here, I think I would've selected the gnocchi instead, which has spinach and cream in a tomato sauce, much more well balanced and less likely fill you up early on in the night.For my entree', I selected their Veal Marsala with green beans.  Everything is very flavorful just I remembered them to be.  Green beans were fresh and I literally wiped the plate down with them to get the very last bit of that marsala sauce.  YUM!
Lastly for dessert, we had tiramisu.  Who doesn't like tiramisu?!  Nobody!  Light mascarpone cream and coffee soaked ladyfingers.  This is as delightful as you're going to get.  Totally made my night!

One thing I like about Damian's is that if you go there before going to a show at the theatre district, they have 2 shuttles that takes you there.  They take you to Jones Hall, Alley, Wortham, and Hobby Center.  For special events, something really big like Paul McCartney, they may make an exception to go to Minute Maid or Toyota Center.  Check with them when you make a dinner reservation.  The good thing is, you grab an early dinner, let your server know you're going to a show, they'll make sure you get on that shuttle.  You don't have to fuss about parking and getting stuck when you are out of the show, and afterwards, you can come back for dessert.  It's a great arrangement, and the only restaurant that I know of offer this service.
When we were there, companies are having happy hour for their staff at their banquet room.  They have a wine room for private dinners.  Not to mention they have a gluten free items noted on the menu in case you're interested.  And their servers have been there for a long time which knows their stuff.  Being that this is the restaurant's 30th year, they must be doing something right.  
Damian's3011 Smith StreetHouston, TX 77006713-522-0439http://www.damians.com/menu.html

Ruggle's Green

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For gluten free 'fast food', aside from Elevation Burger, your other best bet is probably Ruggles Green.  This round I got their Kobe Burger with Swiss cheese and on gluten free buns.   There's tons of decisions to be made just ordering a burger; do you want lettuce, tomato, pickle, mayo, ketchup, greens, Swiss or American or mozzarella cheese, fruit, fries, sweet potato fries, or quinoa salad.  Told you, tons of decisions to make.... 
Anyway, burger with Swiss, greens and tomatoes on gf bun with sweet potato fries.  I will say that they are super generous with the fries because it's pretty much the entire plate.  The burger is good and juicy, the buns were a tad dry and too toasted, so it's dry against meat.  The mayo is their peach chipotle mayo sauce, so it has a little kick to it... but still pretty good.
Ruggles Green2311 W. AlabamaHouston, TX 77098713-533-0777http://www.rugglesgreen.com/