Dine On A Dime: Lobster Dinner at Vertical Wine Bistro

 
Head on up to Old Town Pasadena’s iconic Vertical Wine Bistro for their weekly Sunday Night 
Suppers for $25 per person with a focus on classic New England comfort food classics, including Executive Chef Laurent Quenioux’s signature Lobster Boil, obviously when I heard "lobster" I came running! 

Vertical Wine Bistro has a great tradition of bringing the family together with their Sunday Suppers, offering comfort foods such as BBQ Ribs, Fried Chicken and Beef Bourguignon.  Now they are taking a turn at the classic food of my home, the New England coast. “Everyone likes to share a family meal, but we don’t cook at home as much anymore”, says Chef Quenioux.  “ We want to bring back classic Americana with all the trimmings that children, grandparents, and everyone will love. They enjoy it at large communal tables as a family, having a good time and eating comfort food.”

By the way, did I mention that this dinner is an ABSOLUTE STEAL!!! So let me pain the picture for you. I made my way up the white light-lined stairway to second-story bistro, opting to wait in the lounge area while I waited for my host to dine with. The cocktail waitress brought me over a bar menu and notified me that it was Happy Hour all day... yeah, all day Happy Hour on Sundays. Woohoo! Pacing myself, I simply browsed the menu and sat back to take in my surroundings. The bar had a large TV which was ironically playing The Town. Oh Ben, how you make Bostonians proud! 

Portuguese Clam Boil: East Coast Meets West Coast

As some of you may have seen, I celebrated my twenty-something-th birthday this week. Yes, I grew up in one of those families who celebrated "birthday week", so unfortunately The Mr. had to follow suit. I will say, he is a fantastic surprise-planner though. And I'll admit, I have my doubts at times that he'll follow through but I'm never short of amazed with what he comes up with, and this year was no exception. 

New England Lobster Roll

Amazing Lobster Roll from The Lobster Trap - Cape Cod, MA

Due to the recent events, it’s hard for me to get Boston out of my head. It’s hard to watch the news coverage and not feel saddened for those who witnessed such horrific acts on innocent people. However, I must say that it warms my heart to see the Boston Brotherhood that rose to the occasion, opening their hearts and their homes in the wake of tragedy. That is something that needs to be celebrated. The resilience of the city.

Boston is the city that I spent many weekends as a child at the New England Aquarium, Fenway Park, or in Faneuil Hall. The city where I spent 4 years in college making friends that will be in my life forever, and the city where I discovered my passion for food.

Today I want to share with you a recipe that reminds me of home.

New England Lobster Roll

This is one of my all time favorite things to eat...like, in the whole world, forever and ever.

I’ve learned that very few people out here in LA know what a Lobster Roll is and no, it’s not something off of a sushi menu! This is a summer staple back East and believe it or not, it’s pretty easy to replicate.