Obligatory disclaimer: This was an invited visit to Dublin’s Paris Baguette and thus, all food and drink was free to me. Early in November, I was invited out to Paris Baguette’s newest franchisee in the Bay Area: the Dublin store opened just over a month ago at the Almond Plaza shopping center. Before this visit,
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A few weeks ago, I promised you a more intensive–dare I say sneakier?–sneak peek into Oakland’s the Hive development. Over at Localwise, I wrote a quick article summarizing all the retail businesses onsite, but I took a lot more pictures than the published ones, and they’re sure to entice you in.  And what better time is
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La Bedaine is a tiny French bakery on the outside, but on the inside, it specializes in French cuisine that you can take home to cut a few steps out of dinner. That means vacuum-packed meals such as duck confit and coq au vin. For simple meanderers, such as myself, La Bedaine’s cheery yellow display
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I tried out the cupcakes at this local bakery stand inside the NewPark Mall (directly under the food court) after an open mic night with the Fremont Writers’ Club. The pretty, pretty cupcakes on display drew me in; I’m a sucker for a gorgeous cupcake, although the wares often don’t deliver on the visual appeal.
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It’s always refreshing to find a place that lives up to the hype, and Tartine Bakery qualifies. One of my North Carolina food-writing friends was visiting California (check Kristen out at GadaboutFood!), and she invited me along to try this small bakery in the Mission District that has made a million top ten lists for
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This is Part 2 of my blog posts on our Amelia Island vacation last May. In Part 1, we cruised down the Amelia River, but we’ll stay closer to the hotel this time, the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort. Spacious rooms, a welcoming lobby and bar, and this each morning: Sunrise is not something I
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Hummingbird Bakery 771 Broad Street Old West Durham, Durham Website Lunch: $6.50 — $9.00 Hummingbird Bakery is Amy Tornquist’s, chef of Watt’s Grocery, newest venture. Watt’s is one of my go-to recommendations for dining in Durham. As a lover of all things dessert, coffee, and Watt’s Grocery, I was looking forward to trying out Hummingbird.
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Hello fellow food and travel lovers, I’m back! It’s been a few weeks without updates on the Gourmez, but I’m sure you managed to entertain yourselves with all those other awesome food bloggers in the Triangle or elsewhere on the Interwebs. I had a good trip to Washington, and I do have some photo blogs
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  In the last Minneapolis Blogging post, we had some tasty treats on Eat Street after an afternoon spent at the Sculpture Garden. What could possibly be left to do in Minneapolis on this five-day trip? A stroll through Lowry Hill and around the Lake of Isles and a few more memorable meals, that’s what.
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Scratch 111 Orange Street Downtown Durham Website Scratch is a cute shop tucked into Orange Street in downtown Durham, a walkway that often doubles as a skateboard thoroughfare and an art gallery in the form of metallic sculptures in planters.  A few outdoor tables are very appealing on warm days. Inside, pastel egg-shell colors dominate.
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