korean tacos

Korean tacos have been all the craze lately - I love Mexican food and I love Korean food, so I knew I would love them. They have been really popular on the West Coast for a while now, but have recently made their way eastward and you can now find them in three restaurants in the city. And what better way to give them a try than to do a little taste test of all three places!

The first place I tried was Ladder 15. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the tacos, but for $11, I got one braised short rib taco and one pork belly taco. Pretty good deal considering they were pretty filling. However, they were only good - not great. I'm not sure if I would order them again.

Then there was Meritage - home of the Korean fried chicken...MMMMMM. I expected a lot from them considering how much I love their chicken - which by the way is still available though at least the end of the year! Yippee!! Well, let me tell you, I was definitley not disappointed by their version of the Korean taco. You get one taco for $5 and it's pork belly, special Korean bbq sauce, kimchi and other yummy ingredients that I can't remember. I orderded one, and it was so good that I had to order another. BIG thumbs up.

The third place I tried was Giwa. Giwa is almost like a Korean fast food place - but WAY better than any American fast food restaurant you've ever been to. Their kalbi is really good and so is their soon du bu. Their tacos, however, not so good. I knew I was in trouble when I saw that they were topped with cheese. I was tempted to ask for them without the cheese, but I thought, hey - maybe they know something I don't. But I was right:( Most times I love being right, but I was really hoping that these would be good! For $5, I got a chicken taco and a pork taco. So cheap! But I won't be getting these again...I don't think they would be that much better without the cheese...

Do you guys know of any other places with Korean tacos? Have you tried making them at home?

going cuckoo for cuckoo clocks!

I know...lame title...but very true! I have been obsessed with cuckoo clocks since I bought my house and wanted this one SO badly:



It's by a German designer named Tobias Reischle and it used to be sold thru the MOMA store, but it's no longer on their website. And I can't seem to find it anywhere else online. Does anyone know if this clock is still being sold elsewhere? At $450, it's a bit out of my price range, but isn't it so nice? I love that it's a cuckoo clock but it's designed in such a sleek and modern style. It would look perfect in my house, don't you think?

These clocks from the Italian company Diamantini Domeniconi (designed by Pascal Tarabay) are similar to the traditional cuckoo clock in their ornate-ness but are modern in their finish and their two dimnensional quality:

They come in a variety of colors and a variety of finishes including stainless steel, powder coated metal and wood. You can order them here and they are $323 and can go for more than $600 depending on the finish you decide on. Yikes.

If you're looking for something that doesn't cost a week's pay (or in my case, more!), this is for you:

It's a 1/4" piece of birch laminated plywood with an image of a cuckoo clock printed on top. You can get custom colors done and it's only $34! I heart Etsy!

OR, you can try your luck at Marshalls and you may be able to find something like this:

Well, it didn't exactly look like this when I found it. It was an ugly color but with the help of some green paint and silver spray paint...TA DA! Doesn't look like it only cost me $10 does it? And my boyfriend doesn't think I can be a bargain shopper...

meet badger...

Yesterday was a busy day for me and I didn't have much time to put together a post, so today you get to meet my cat Badger (or sometimes referred to as Baxter or Buster by some...). Eric and I adopted him last year and he is one of my favorite things in the world! He is the sweetest cat you'll ever meet - in some ways he's almost like a dog. He comes when we call his name, he likes to wag his cute little tail (which really is little because it was partially bit off by a mean doggie!), and he also likes to play fetch! And the best part: he lets me hold him like a baby and doesn't struggle to get away from me (at least for a good 15 minutes!).

He likes to curl up and nap on the radiator cover in the bathroom in the winter to keep warm:

And here he is taking his prom photo at my birthday party:

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?! Love him!!

another yummy fall dish...

We've been getting a lot of butternut squash and onions in our CSA and my favorite thing to make with them is this delicious butternut squash and carmelized onion galette recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen:

For the pastry:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:
1 small butternut squash (about one pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons butter (if you have only non-stick, the smaller amount will do)
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
3/4 cup fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces), grated or cut into small bits
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves

1. Make pastry: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Prepare squash: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on foil lined (for neatness sake) sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Caramelize onions: While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.

4. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.

5. Assemble galette: On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

6. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.

I didn't make the pastry this time around because I was in a bit of a rush - but it's worth the time if you have it. I just got a pie crust from the grocery store and it still turned out really good. And it's pretty too:)

an urban wedding...

Saturday was a beautiful (and chilly) day and apparently a very popular one for weddings. Eric and I went to the wedding of one of his college friends and while we were walking around the city in between the ceremony and reception, we saw two other weddings parties taking photos. But I bet the wedding we went to was better:) I'm not kidding - if I had a wedding in the city, I'd want it to be exactly the same (well almost). They were missing one key element: dancing. But besides that, it was pretty close to perfect. It was a smaller wedding - I think there were about 65 guests. I love that they were able to keep it so intimate, I'm sure it wasn't an easy task, but it felt really nice and special. The ceremony took place in a church in Rittenhouse Square with the reception at Hotel Palomar - a beautiful hotel in the same area. I've eaten at the bar in the hotel a couple of times and it was delicious, so I was excited to see how our dinner would be - I wasn't disapoointed. In general, the food at most of the weddings I've been to have just been okay - but I really enjoyed my meal this time! I had the halibut which came with sweet mashed potatoes that were incredible. Yum yum yum. And the hors d'ouevres served during the cocktail hour were also tasty - but can you really go wrong with bacon wrapped scallops and mini crab cakes? Oh and kir royales..I was in heaven. I should've known it was going to be a great wedding as soon as I saw the bride and groom's ride to the wedding:

Now THAT is a car. I'm not a car person, but even I can appreciate the beauty of a Rolls Royce!

If you've never been to the Palomar - you really should - if only to see how well designed it is. Philadelphia is definitely lacking in the boutique hotel department, but the Palomar is doing a good job helping to fill that void. And the bar on the ground level is a pretty good spot to grab a drink - hanging out in hotel bars is almost unheard of in Philly, but the Palomar is starting a trend! I'll have to go back and take some photos of the hotel lobby and bar sometime, but here are some photos of the wedding reception to give you an idea of how pretty it is:

This was one of the rooms that the cocktail hour was held in. You can't really see much of the space in this photo - I think I was mostly trying to get a photo of Misa (the bride) in her little fur capelet. It was gorgeous and vintage - it used to belong to her aunt who gave it to her for the wedding.

These chandeliers were in the room where dinner was held - aren't they so pretty!!

The tables:

Everything was very simple but elegant. And felt very romantic. Exactly how you'd want a wedding to feel like.

And to top it all off...they had macarons as their favors!!

collectables...

I don't like clutter - a cluttered room, space, house makes me feel anxious. Which is one of the reasons I don't own a lot of knickknacks. However, there are a couple of things that I can't resist collecting - horse figurines and mini eiffel towers. Strange, huh? I mean, the eiffel towers make sense - I'm a total Francophile, but horses? I don't even particularly love real horses - but there's something about horse figurines that I'm drawn to. I'm not talking about the kind that look realistic - I like ones that look more abstracted...like this one:

Eric's mom gave me this horse - she got it when they were living in Japan years ago. I love the shape and the detailing of the reins - it's beautiful. It's my favorite in my collection...did I also mention that there are only three pieces in my collection? But three officially makes a collection, right?

I also find the Tema e Variazioni (Themes and Variations) plates by Italian artist, Piero Fornasetti, irresistable. They depict a woman's face that Fornasetti found in a 19th century French magazine and there are over 350 variations on this image.

image via

They are definitely a little strange and creepy, but in a good way. Her face is...spellbinding. At almost $200 a plate, I don't think I'll be starting this collection anytime soon. But there is a more affordable option:

Wallpaper! You can get it through Cole and Son and it comes in a few different background colors - I think a cream, a magenta and the grey-blue-green color pictured above. I found it for sale online for less than $100 - a bargain compared to the plates! Now I just need to find a place in my house to use it...

la vie en rose

What better way to kick off the holiday season then with cocktails and a fashion show? Not only can you attend a fabulous event, but you can also help raise money for a very important organization. The Evoluer House is a nonprofit located in Philadelphia that focuses on empowering girls of color through programs that help them develop academically as well as socially. This is the third year that the Evoluer house is hosting this event and their theme this year is La Vie En Rose, where inspiration will come from "the excitement and energy of the joy of life and living - a beautiful life in Paris". In addition to yummy cocktails and a fashion show, which will be under the direction of New York City celebrity stylist Michah Lamar, there will be hors d'ouvres and some fantastic raffles. Sounds good to me! I'll be there:) If you're interested, you can purchase tickets here. And you can keep up to date with what's going on behind the scenes here.