Destination #8: The One and Only Cure

I needed a beer, an alcoholic beverage, a pain killer, ANYTHING. Let's put it this way, after one month of living in the apartment where I am, I'm ready to move out. So it was the perfect opportunity to go to Magnolia Brewpub for a "Strong Beer," number 23 on the list of 100.

Here's a story: Three mornings ago, at 4:30am, I felt a body crawling next to me into my bed as I lay peacefully asleep. I bolted upright, switched on the light, witnessed a bleached blond, petit girl, with her pants half off, crawling into bed next to me. I asked who she knew in the apartment, who she was, and why on earth she was crawling into bed with me. She didn't have an answer to any of these questions. Just a typical late night in our Mcallister Street apartment.

I also had the pleasure of walking into a mouse infested kitchen watching roommate number one munching on a dog bone due to the fact that he was too lazy to spend money or time shopping for his own food, while roommate number two explained that he doesn't even like eating food. Yet he refuses to date any girl who doesn't like ranch dressing.

It was at this time that I decided it's time to move out, and time to grab a beer.

I will tell you, factually and accurately, I am drunk writing this right now, after one beer. Ok, so I'm that girl who, after one or two beers sends love text messages to her ex-boyfriend. But I'm telling you, this strong beer was really REALLY strong.

It wasn't until just a few months ago that I started enjoying beer. Maybe that’s because my entire beer tasting experience had lay in the times of college dorm living... throwing ping pong balls into red plastic cups that had previously been used for lord-knows-what, then drinking the contents out of them which tasted like carbonated piss water, but were actually the fine brewings of Keystone Light.

Once my friends and family exposed me to other beer, all I wanted to drink was beer. Beer for lunch, beer for dinner, beer as a de-stresser, beer as a digestive aid. If there's an opportunity to sample and drink beer, I'm there.

Magnolia Brewpub brews "Strong Beer" only for the month of February. I ordered their Tweezer Tripel, a Belgian style beer. Before I got drunk, the flavors blew my mind. It was more bold than the typical Belgian I was used to. The flavors popped in my mouth. Stone fruit, nuts, flowers, and that refreshing cold carbonation that is so wonderful about Belgians. Once I had sipped half my beer, neither my maggot infested apartment, nor the thought of Keystone Light, could effect the magically content mood I was in.

Destinations #6 and #7: Plate Full of Sunshine

The wait to get into Zazie for a table for two was one hour. But after waiting 5 minutes, one of the two tables on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant opened up, a first come first serve table. I snagged it and was on my way to foodieliciousness, #74 on the list of 100.

There are several choices of eggs benedict at Zazie, and in my opinion, there is one that is far more worthy than the others: "La Mer," poached egg on an english muffin with dungeness crab, spring onion, avocado, and of course their house-made hollandaise sauce.

La Mer looked and tasted like sunshine. One beautiful savory poached egg with sweet crab, creamy avocado, spicy spring onion, and the lightest, most lemony hollandaise sauce I have ever had. The combination of these flavors was perfect.

Warning: Order AT LEAST two eggs (you have your choice of one, two, or three). I ordered one egg and was about to eat my plate once I finished the actual food. It was so good, that I forgot to take a picture of the food, and had to resort to a photo of my clean plate after the fact.

At dinner time, I decided to get back to my Asian roots, so I went to Katana-Ya Japanese restaurant for the #5 item on the list: Chasu Ramen.

It's a tiny, very hip spot with a small sushi bar, and a line out the door. The only ramen I had had previous to this experience was the so very gourmet Maruchan Ramen that comes dry in a little plastic package. During my dumpster diving days, my backpacker friends made "Ramen Bombs": Instant mashed potatoes cooked in water with a pack of ramen mixed in. And if you were a super gourmand, you added cheese to the mix. Even I, the girl who ate walnuts off the grocery store floor in the bulk aisle, could never force myself to eat this substance that looked like worms emerging from a swamp.

So, real ramen was sounding pretty good. And it was. The wheat noodles were perfectly aldente, the barbeque pork was tender and savory, and the broth was a thick, almost creamy, miso. I would've loved a bit more of a kick...it's a dollar to add spice and next time I will spend that extra dollar. It was a nice intro to my first non-packaged ramen.