brunch – lifeofacitygal

Palm Springs

Memorial Weekend was approaching rather quickly and my hubby and I still didn’t have travel plans. Rule of thumb in our household, if you’re off from work this equals vacation time 🙂 I believe that Tuesday or Wednesday before the holiday weekend I found a deal you couldn’t pass up on Hotels.com better known as Old Faithful. I am the BEST person to find a good deal on hotels if I do say so myself. Saturday we hit the road a little after 8am and headed for our first adventure in Palm Springs.

During our stay, we stayed at Musicland Hotel. It was absolutely perfect. We had a nicely renovated room which reminded me of a nice studio apartment in NYC for some reason. Possibly the layout instantly put me back into NYC circa 2014. The feature that got me the most was the cute swimming pool. This is what sold me in the first place. Needless to say, upon arrival we changed into swim gear and had a real pool day. I think I stayed on the watermelon float for at least 2 hours. The weather was perfect. We even had chilled wine poolside which was also an instant hit with the other guests staying at the hotel. During the day, my mother-in-law mentioned a site by Food Network (my fav) that lists places Guy Fieri suggests trying. You just type the location where you are and his food recommendations appear. How genius! One of the recommendations included Frankinbuns which was perfect for a midday snack. I went with the Chicago-style hot dog and it did not disappoint. For future reference, I will be using this website all the time because sometimes it does become difficult to make a solid restaurant choice. Thank you mom and Guy Fieri!

For the nightcap, we found a burger spot called Johnny’s located downtown. This was a cute place which was reminiscent of like Johnny Rocket’s. We decided to stop by Ace Hotel before heading in; this was a great decision by the way. They have a quaint bar called Amigo Bar with about 3 booth seating areas and standing room only for everyone else. I did not catch the DJ’s name but he definitely was in tune with music and the flow of the crowd. What a perfect nightcap.

For this particular trip, we did not plan one single thing which worked in our favor. Just a “go with the flow” vibe this time around. For brunch on Sunday, I yelped a few places and decided to try Broken Egg Café. I’ve gotten kind of hooked on bloody Mary’s as of lately so I started with that and ordered the country chicken steak for my meal. Neither one let me down. Did I also mention they had $6 mimosa flights and there were like 20 flavors to choose from? We also tried this and I think the strawberry flavor was my favorite.

Since LA weather has been sort of weird and rather cool temperature wise, we hung out by the pool again for a bit. This time just to enjoy the sun rays and the book I brought along on the trip. Nothing like being poolside with a good read. I found a couple of rooftops that looked very promising and decided to check out High Bar at the Rimowa Hotel. The ambiance here was unmatched. They had mini booths, dozens of pool chairs and private cabanas for you to sit back and enjoy cocktails and small bites. There was also a pool on the roof so if you wanted to take a swim or just be cute and put your fee in like me, that was perfectly alright too J I watched the sunset and became mesmerized by the shades of pink and blue that lined the skies as the sun went down. I would highly recommend visiting this bar if you take a trip to Palm Springs. You have to experience this for yourself. The restaurant 4 Saints is also located in this hotel. I did not din here this trip but definitely will on the next. For Sunday’s nightcap, we decided on a good pizza from none other than Pizza Hut. We enjoyed this right in the comfort of our hotel room and watched TV until we passed out. I’m leaning everything does not always have to be planned or require an itinerary. Sometimes it’s just best to go with the flow. Palm Springs provided just what we needed. Pure relaxation and chill vibes. Until next time….

Sweet Chick

Brunch always seems like a good idea to me. On Sundays, I normally try to venture out and find new brunch spots but on this particular Sunday I decided to do a repeat. Good ol’ Sweet Chick. I was first introduced to this chicken and waffle staple in Brooklyn, New York. Hop off the L train at Bedford Ave and just a few steps away is Sweet Chick in Williamsburg. Why not do a repeat while on the west coast?

Fairfax Ave is a trendy street/area in Los Angeles. You can literally stop for coffee, grab lunch, dinner and or drinks, stop at Supreme, check out kicks at Flight Club or grab brunch at Sweet Chick 😊. As you can see, I opted for the latter option. Sweet Chick is very popular and known for their take on chicken and waffles. You can get a classic waffle of course but why not try one of their many flavors like bacon cheddar, apple cinnamon or spiced pecan? I was torn between the shrimp & grits or chicken and waffles; from the luck of the draw I went with the apple cinnamon waffle and fried chicken. Probably the best decision I made on that Sunday was stopping for a bite to eat here. Something about the perfect crisp of their chicken that gets me every time. Not to forget, the three butters they serve with the waffle; regular, vegetable/herb and like a raspberry one I believe. Try them all if you haven’t before. Each offers a different taste that will not disappoint. There are a ton of other entrees too that I still need to try So if you’re ever in LA and are looking for a good brunch spot, stop on Fairfax and try Sweet Chick. Tell them I sent you 😊

Bloggers Who Brunch

I made a commitment to myself to be more consistent with my blog and dish out as much content as I can for you guys. The blogging community is huge in LA and I’ve been more active in terms of finding social events centered around blogging. I’m so happy to have discovered Bloggers Who Brunch. I mean it’s the best of both worlds. Nearly everyone has a blog, has a favorite blog they follow or nearing to create one in the future and EVERYONE loves brunch. So, this concept in itself is dope and will bring together a lot of like-minded individuals.

I had the pleasure of attending this event in collaboration with Bumble Bizz at the Grove in Los Angeles. Bumble Bizz is also focused on creating a space for creators and networking. Upon entry, you received 2 drink tickets which already was a good sign to me. Convos go so much better over a glass of prosecco or a cocktail right? They also had various set-ups for cute photo ops and many giveaways including a swag bag, t-shirt, mini notebooks and stickers. Oh not to mention they passed around mini chicken sandwiches and mini lobster roll hors d’oeurves. Another win for the event.

There were no formal introductions of the creators of Bloggers Who Brunch or panels with the other influencers in the blogging community so it was all up to you to get out of your comfort zone and actually talk to people; I did like that aspect. I met some cool people including those that were starting to blog as well, creators of new YouTube pages, up and coming photographers and a brand consultant/stylist. All of whom I never would have met or spoken with if it weren’t for this event. I will definitely be staying up to date with this group and upcoming events for the future.

The Barbados Edition

Barbados provided the best weather, the most beautiful scenic views, perfect sunsets and pure relaxation. Everything a woman could ever ask for from a vacation. I visited here with a dear friend who just so happens to be a native and proved to be the best tour guide for this Caribbean gem. Before visiting, I did not have many recommendations on places to go or see; I left it all in her hands and she outdid herself for sure.

We visited Oistins on that Friday night and had a blast hearing the live music, enjoying performances from locals and the best of all, having the local favorites, flying fish and the macaroni pie for dinner. Anyone that knows me would know how much I love food and Barbados did not disappoint. Let me not forget to mention the $5 homemade rum punches. Oh what a delight. The spices in it were so dominant yet not overpowering. Rum punch became a must for each day of the trip 🙂

Let’s discuss the food. I had the pleasure of visiting the Crane Resort in St. Philip and a country club, the Apes Hill Club in St. James for brunch. Both places offered the best experience one could ask for while enjoying a meal. At Crane, you could get the best ocean view and almost instantly gain calmness from the sounds of the Atlantic ocean waves; pure serenity. At Apes Hill, you could dine right outside and overlook the island of Barbados. For the Bajan dishes, we visited a number of places including Fisherman’s Pub in Speightstown, Marina Bar & Restaurant in the heart of downtown Bridgetown, The Beach House in Holetown and the infamous Chefette. We had dishes like the beef stew, macaroni pie, jerk chicken wings, chicken roti and fish cakes just to name a few. To say these places were good would be an understatement. Everything was cooked to perfection. I made sure to try as much Bajan cuisine as possible. The only thing I didn’t recall having was a Bajan dessert but I did have the rum raisin ice cream one day which was a nice refreshing treat. Also when I left to head back to the states, I grabbed a rum cake made by Tortuga. Now this by far has to be the best cake I’ve had and they definitely didn’t take it light with the infused rum.

While visiting places foreign to me, I love to see things regarding the culture or history. We visited Cherry Tree Hill, which provides a beautiful snapshot of the entire island of Barbados. I was able to have a fresh coconut with a splash of rum thanks to the locals and even snag handmade jewelry pieces and souvenirs to bring back home with me. The next place we visited was the Animal Flower Cave in Saint Lucy. Unfortunately, the cave was closed due to high tide but to see the landscape of the cave and have lunch by the ocean worked just fine for me. We traveled to Bathsheba in the parish St. Joseph and enjoyed the scenic views here as well. The drive itself to some of these places created wonderful memories for me. The small narrow dirt roads which often had cattle alongside them, or wild monkeys that peeped out here and there or mongoose that scurried across the roads from time to time made the ride an experience as well. Once you get along the coast, I instantly became mesmerized by the crystal blue waters. The joys of being a passenger includes getting tons of pics and asking for frequent stop requests to capture just a piece of the beauty you witnessed in that moment.

The best feature of Barbados to me would have to be the beaches. I was obsessed with the idea of seeing the sunset and my friend decided to make a trip to the beach to go a swim and have rum cocktails afterwards to wait for the sunset. Brilliant plan my friend and what a sight to see. Simply beautiful and breathtaking. We visited Mullins beach but there are so many others and while driving along the roads there are many public access areas designated for their beaches. We often take things for granted but I literally tried to appreciate every detail involved with this vacation. The beauty of this island is indescribable and I would definitely love to visit here again. Until next time Barbados…

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Only in NYC

Free Love- live performance by Marc E. Bassy (Ace Hotel, New York, NY) from Lifeofacitygal on Vimeo.

Only in New York can you go to brunch and randomly run into one of your favorite artists. That’s exactly what happened to me. While having brunch in the Soho, I ran into the one and only Marc E. Bassy. We had a quick convo about his music and recent performance with G-Eazy the week prior at the The Endless Summer Tour. He then mentioned he was having a new EP dropping the following Friday and was having an intimate show coming up if I wanted to attend. I was stoked!

The show took place at the Ace Hotel in Flatiron, New York and was nothing short of amazing. Open bar and great summer vibes are always a good combination for a great night. Marc performed songs from his album ‘East Hollywood’ including my favorites ‘Free Love’ and Some things never change’. Since the new EP, Groovy People, was coming out he made sure to perform songs from that as well. My favorite from this one is ‘Subway Car’. Who knew a typical day out brunching would turn into not only meeting one of my favorite artists right now but also a personal invite to the show. Could life be any better? Marc E. Bassy is truly talented and has a great voice. Be sure to cop his new EP, Groovy People, and check out his other music as well. You won’t be disappointed.

Some things never change- Marc E. Bassy (Ace Hotel, New York, NY) from Lifeofacitygal on Vimeo.

Brunchin’ It

Brunch has become a very very big deal. It’s the best of both worlds. A bit of breakfast mixed with lunch dishes is a pretty good combo. Here in New York we often add a DJ and groups of about 6-8 people per reservation to make brunch that much better. Since most places offer a variety of dishes, I have quite a few that are my go to for a good brunch. Cornerstone Cafe in East Village, NY has a brunch that you can’t pass up. The french toast is to die for. I had to order something to go with it so I ordered a side of bacon and eggs. Sidebar, the eggs come with breakfast potatoes and a mixed green salad. The pancakes with the strawberry compote are equally as good. To top it off, the finishing touches are accompanied with a refreshing mimosa. You cannot have a solid brunch without a mimosa! Cornerstone Cafe is definitely a must try, if you’re ever in the area. The Prohibition Bakery was another hidden gem I stumbled across while waiting for my table reservation. They have mini cupcakes infused with liquor. Since the cupcake box made a cameo, I figured I would give them a mention too.