cheap food – thosecoolkims

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 14 (Vancouver)

We fit a lot of things into our last day in Vancouver. We started the day in Gastown, which is the historic center of the city. The shops are cute and the restaurants are cool. We found a very hip spot called Bao Down (yep, you guessed it – specializing in amazingly creative takes on the steamed chinese buns called bao) and we couldn’t pass it up. Ed + I ordered 3 bao and shared them for a light lunch. It was so good!

(Those tasty bao from L-R: The Flip Side, Two Worlds Collide, Bao Chicka Bao Bao. seriously, click the menu link for the description – YUM!)

We loved this french woman selling her crepes on the street. We didn’t try any, but how cute is her vintage trailer?

After Gastown, we headed for Granville Island which is a neat little place to shop. They even had a Kids Market and Ruby loved that there was her own special Kids Door to enter through. She got to spend a little of her souvenir money and we even went to a pet gift shop and bought something for Jimmy.

The main draw was a free waterpark in the center of all the action, but unfortunately, it was closed. This was a major disappointment for our waterbaby, so we did some quick, on-the-spot research and found out Vancouver had a ginormous outdoor saltwater pool that sat right on the beach. We hightailed it right over to Kitsilano Pool. It’s probably the biggest pool we’ve ever seen!

As Vancouver is still experiencing their record-breaking heat wave, it was a pleasure for all three of us. :)

This was the view of the beach from the pool deck:

We swam well into the early evening and then it was dinnertime. Ever since Ed arrived in Canada, he’d been jonsing for an authentic poutine. We found one of the most recommended spots, Mean Poutine, and Ed reports that it hit the spot! Ruby + I opted for something else than the french fries drenched in gravy and cheese curds (ewwww!), but were happy that Ed got his fix.

We wrapped up the day at Stanley Park (kinda like New York’s Central Park). We wanted to show Ruby the totem poles and we wanted another chance to bust out the selfie stick and get a family pic with the Vancouver skyline behind us. Check and check!

It’s been a great two weeks on the road. This was our furthest destination as we went North, and tomorrow begins the trek South towards home. So far, the trip computer in the car tells us we’ve driven 2243 miles and have spent 55 h, 56 m in total travel time.

We’ll have a big driving day tomorrow, but we’re planning to leave very early. Hopefully, we’ll beat all that traffic at the border. We’ll be driving the coast and sleeping in Astoria, Oregon tomorrow night.

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 7 (Seattle)

We spent most of the day en route to Seattle. Ed + I have been most excited about this leg of the trip because we have loved Seattle ever since being here 10 years ago in 2005. On that trip, we bought our wedding bands, we stayed at our most favorite hotel and we had several epic meals we still remember — how could this not be our city? Too bad the houses in Ballard we’d want to live in today are like $800k. (Yep, we already looked) It only took about 30 mins. and we’d decided that our feelings about this place hadn’t changed.

I asked the author of 100 Things to do in Seattle Before You Die if she’d be willing to send me a book and I’d document my #100ThingsSEA excursions in exchange. I got the book and we hit the ground running — we headed straight to Mr. Gyros for lunch to start checking things off the list. Mr. Gyros’ Falafel (and the hot sauce) were definitely list-worthy.

I happened to notice that Sonic Boom Records was across the street, so we checked it out to get it checked off the list as well.

However, the real magic happened across the street at Bop Street Records. We were looking around, and Ruby somehow managed to find the opera and orchestral section (!!!). She spotted a Don Giovanni record that was pulled out to the front of the rack. She started asking Ed lots of questions about it, and a guy working there overheard them talking. He was so surprised to see this little kid talking about the opera Don Giovanni that he started talking to Ruby and Ed! We found out that this record was a special “blue back” edition and is highly collectible. Each side of the record had a 1P on it too, which meant both sides were part of the 1st pressing and adds to its appeal for collectors. He wanted Ruby to have it though, so he discounted the record for us to make sure she’d end up with it. :) Ruby has the 1st album in her collection now and we swear — she picked this record out!

We had a cute dinner in Queen Anne and walked to the park to let Ruby blow off some steam in the playground. Sunset wasn’t until 9:11pm tonight — it stays light out so late here and she wants to stay up!

Wrapping up Week One, our trip computer in the car tells us that: We’ve driven 1737 miles (from Lakewood, CA to Seattle, WA) and we’ve spent 35h 23m in travel time. Fremont and Capital Hill in the city tomorrow.

p.s. I fixed the comments issue, so feel free to let us know if you’re reading!

KimTrippin’: Pacific NorthWest — Day 5 (Portland)

There can only be one word to describe today’s adventures: EPIC.

To kick off the day, there were two things to check off our mandatory Portland list — coffee and doughnuts. Ruby got to try her first Voodoo Doughnut and Ed + I got properly caffeinated thanks to Stumptown Roasters. (Ruby enjoyed a cup of milk ;))

Ed did some research before we got to Portland and found out we could rent bikes — and an awesome bike trailer seat for Ruby! — from Waterfront Bicycles. He made us a reservation so we could get our sedentary butts moving and take advantage of one of the country’s best bike cities. Admittedly, I was intimidated at first, but it ended up being the best day ever! Ruby loved being on a bike ride and said several times during the trip, “I’m so happy doing this!” We thought it was a great way to see Portland, and definitely made for an authentic experience.

This was a general overview of our route:

Biking over Hawthorne Bridge

Carrie’s lovely Linus bike (want!!!)

The bike shop even had some pretty sweet helmets for us to borrow.

It was 90+ degrees in Portland today and we thought all of our biking across town justified a stop at one of Carries favorite ice cream shops on earth — Salt & Straw. Salt & Straw opened a location in L.A. this year and we’ve been several times, but we’ve never visited where it all began in Portland. As usual, they had some very interesting flavors — including a street food flavor called “Kimchi & Rice“! (Seriously, click that link for the ice cream description — INCREDIBLY creative!!!). Salt & Straw is generous with the samples before buying and we usually aren’t afraid to taste anything concocted by their geniusness, but I guess we just weren’t as adventurous today. Doesn’t mean we don’t still have a ton of love + respect!

We rode those bikes from 10:00 am when the shop opened until about 4:30pm when Ruby completely crashed out. We got our money’s worth.

After heading back to the hotel for a little downtime and a quick dip in the pool (it’s HOT), we topped the evening off with our favorite meal of the trip so far at an Indian Street food joint called Bollywood Theater. The food was so good, we didn’t even get any pictures of it.

Tomorrow we’ll get out of the city for a bit and explore Multanomah Falls and the Gorge. Looking forward to some hiking!

The L.A. French Dip Face-off: Cole’s and Philippe

We’ve been known to do a few foodie face-offs, and today we decided to compare Philippe and Cole’s to see who has the best French Dip Sandwich. They both claim to be the originators (read the rivalry story here) and are about 1.5 miles apart from each other. We’d been to Philippe before, but never Cole’s. While they both are amazing locations, we had to give Cole’s a slight edge on the ambiance. It’s dark and old-timey inside, and even has a urinal that was supposedly used by Charles Bukowski! :) The main difference is Cole’s is a sit-down-and-be-served establishment, with a bar inside. At Philippe, it’s bright and bustling inside, you order at the counter and seat yourself.

Cole’s served their sandwich with the au jus on the side, and it came with one of their “atomic pickles”. The pickle takes things over the top — they are so spicy, but really good! You’re supposed to add the hot mustard (seasoned with horseradish), but Ed and I weren’t big fans of the mustard.

Philippe serves their sandwich “wet”, which means the bun has already been dipped in the au jus. We could’ve asked for a “double dip”, but kept things simple. We didn’t realize you had to order the pickle separately (boo!), so we missed out on the pickle comparison.

The verdict? Ed and I both agreed on this one — it was Cole’s. We thought the meat tasted better, we liked dipping our own sandwich to meet our own preferential au jus to sandwich ratios, and the pickle … that pickle!

Of course, Philippe is still the bomb — it’s a great place to go, and a must-do in Los Angeles. But there can only be one winner of a face-off, and for us, it’s Cole’s!

Happy 4th, 2013!

Today we spent the 4th as a family — just the three of us. We also did three things we love to do: drive, eat and hang out in L.A. With a Fiat 500c convertible that was perfect to cruise in, we were everywhere from Huntington Beach to Artesia in the morning/early afternoon, and then we headed to the Grand Park in Downtown L.A. that evening for some quality time in the best splash pad ever and to catch a fireworks show!

Here are a few snaps from our day:

(more pics)