Restaurant Review | Le France

Location | Place de la Loge  66000 Perpignan, France

Somehow, I decided we should go to Perpignan. Primarily because Aer Lingus had a cheap flight there back to Dublin.  It's a decent-sized town very close to the border with Spain. It is in the Catalan region, so there's a lot of Catalan pride. However, no one really speaks Catalan. And unfortunately, no one spoke Spanish either, so we were still stuck with pointing to menu items and saying s'il vous plait. Le France was around the corner from our hotel, so we decided to hang out there to have some drinks and tapas. This is the place we became addicted to chorizo iberico.

Trippin | French Junk Food

Surprisingly, the French love McDonald's. We drove through the South of France last month and made a pit stop to have McDonald's per recommendation. Luckily, there are kiosks to order from and you can choose many languages to avoid struggling with French at the counter. I got a Big Mac and it tasted like a Big Mac from home. I really enjoyed the French side salad. The Old Man ordered some kind cheeseburger and it had horseradish sauce on it. It was surprising, but I think he enjoyed it. Because we were on the road so much, we ate lots of French junk food.

Restaurant Review | Le Table Marocaine

Location | 14B, Chemin de Tivoli 13800 Istres, France

If for some reason you find yourself in Istres, check out Le Table Marocaine. My brother (who plays basketball in Fos-sur-Mer) can't figure out if he likes couscous, so he brought us here so he could try it again. 

Marketplace | South of France

There are outdoor markets everywhere in France. In the center of Bordeaux, there is a big market. There are all kinds of things, including antiques. It was very fun to walk around and see the sights... when it wasn't raining. 

Restaurant Review | Le Cosi

Location | 12 Rue Suquet  06400 Cannes, France

It was our first time in Cannes, so we did what any good American would do - eat! There's a little winding street (Rue Suquet) with tons of little restaurants. The hotel didn't give us any specific recommendation, so we just walked a bit and picked one. We chose Le Cosi.

Kitchen Therapy | Ahi Tuna, Kale & Couscous

I wanted to have a little bit of lone time to myself, so decided I would commit to Kitchen Therapy tonight and treat myself to a simple, healthful, home cooked meal. 

I decided a fish, grain and veggie would be the outline for my dish tonight and did a quick sweep at the local Trader Joe's, going straight for items that fit those categories and nothing else. I'm like a kid in the candy store when I go to the market, so to avoid spending more than I wanted, I kept my laser focus.

Home Economics | Coupons

I was watching the new season of Mad Men and it made me realize that coupons are pure marketing. Something I absolutely don't need is 2 for 22¢ - sounds catchy, Peggy, but no thanks. Personally, I don't go out of my way to look for coupons because it's not worth my time. And I have a low paying graduate fellowship, so that should tell you something about the value of my time. I enjoy discounts, but coupons don't do it for me.

More importantly, fresh grocery items don't need coupons because they're perishable. You can always find a deal in the fresh produce section or at the butcher counter because those tomatoes and that steak aren't going to stay pretty for long. I've bought meat before where the butcher has looked me dead in the eye and sternly told me to cook the meat that same day. Great price, no coupons! If you stick to what you know you should be eating, you can get considerable discounts without the hassle of coupons. And you won't have to wonder how 10 boxes of cheese doodles for $10 made you gain 10 pounds.

Restaurant Review | e.leaven

Location | 54 East Ontario Street  Chicago, IL

When I'm in Chicago I always try to have breakfast at West Egg. I was at West Egg with friends at 7am and only had juice because I thought I'd go back and have breakfast when the Old Man woke up. By the time we got there at 10am, it was packed as usual. We were in a rush, so we google mapped it over to e.leaven instead.

Yo Mama | Seafood Gumbo

We have dairy farm friends from Upstate New York who've never had gumbo before. So I made it! I tried not to put anything strange in it, as to not scare them. I've been eating gumbo my entire life and sometimes the things my mom puts in there still scare me. As a result, I left out the okra, oysters, chicken hearts, and alligator boudin this time around. If you like those little accoutrements though, feel free to add them to the recipe.

Product Review | Kombucha Drink

A friend of mine was talking about Kombucha. She mentioned how one of her clients gave her a bottle, and that she has felt a difference in her digestion and "system" after a few bottles.  A year or two ago, it was the hip trendy drink in Los Angeles.