restaurant review: boka in chicago

Boka.

This most recent trip to Chicago had not been the epicurean delight Mr. Sazy Rock and I expected it to be. In addition to a disappointing meal at Tru, other restaurants we tried left us wanting more. The only ones we enjoyed were Weiner's Circle in Lincoln Park and Athena in Greek town. Luckily, our last meal in the City did not suck. Indeed, we were pleasantly surprised about our experience at Boka.

The Scene 

The scene.

I would describe this Michelin starred restaurant as casual high end in that the level of cooking was high but the dishes were served on a table without cloth.

When we arrived for our 7 pm reservation, the place was full and buzzy. Diners were dressed from business casual to downright casual - a gentleman on the table next to ours was wearing shorts. To be fair, he was the exception and not the rule.

travel zen on friday - tour de france on the champs elysee

We were able to catch the last day of the Tour de France as they made their laps along the Champs Elysee in Paris.  My husband is a huge fan and was utterly thrilled to see this firsthand.  Before I met him, I didn't know there were people who watched every second of the race...

french pharmacy haul in paris

(Paris, France).  As an avid viewer of beauty youtube videos, I knew that I would have to pick up some skincare and makeup bits in Paris.  There are many French brands that are either more expensive in or not available in the U.S.  I did do some research prior to my trip so I had an idea of exactly what I wanted to pick up.  I also researched pharmacies - the most famous being Pharmacie City-Pharma in the St. Germain area but by all accounts, it's very crowded.  In actuality, there are pharmacies everywhere in Paris (just look for the green cross signs) and if you have time, do some price comparisons and you'll notice that they do vary greatly.  Not every pharmacy carries all the brands you may be looking for so you may have to go to more than one.

I've heard the pricing at City-Pharma is quite good which is why it's so well-known, but I noticed that the small Pharmacie T-LeClerc near the Hotel de Seze had really good pricing compared to the pharmacies in the Montmartre area where I ended up shopping.  If you are truly pressed for time and can't do price comparisons, then I'd recommend going to City-Pharma which has a large selection and good pricing or the one in the Galeries Lafayette which also has a large selection.  But remember there is also a pharmacy located in the airport.

So what did I end up getting?

restaurant review: tru in chicago

Tru.

I really wanted to like Tru. It has been around for a long time and has received many accolades. Although I have visited Chicago many times, this visit was my first at Tru. It was not Mr. Sazy Rock's first visit. I think his last visit was about a decade ago and he found it decadent, memorable and very good. So, he wanted to revisit the restaurant to see how it has changed through the years. And, I came with plenty of expectations. Sadly, I left with most of them unfulfilled.

travel zen on friday: cape cod, ma

Saw this in Provincetown, MA at the tip of Cape Cod. It made me smile and I hope it makes you too. Happy Friday!

hotel review: hotel de seze in paris

(Paris, France).  After reading through several reviews on tripadvisor, I chose to stay at Hotel de Seze because of the consistently good reviews, its convenient location and the charming photos on its website.  It is a small boutique hotel so the photos on the website may lead you to believe it's "larger" but overall we didn't have a problem with the size of the hotel or our room.  

restaurant review: chartreuse in detroit

Chartreuse.

If you ever find yourself in Detroit, you might find yourself surprised in more ways than one. The city might be down on its luck at the moment but the shell that made it once a great city still remains. Indeed, I found the architecture stunning, the art scene engaging and the history fascinating. 

On a recent trip to the Motor City, Mr. Sazy Rock wanted to research its restaurant scene. Folks we met in the Midwest who frequented Detroit suggested that we check out Chartreuse. So, off we went to explore. 


The Scene 

travel zen on friday: berlin tv tower

Berlin TV Tower - located near Alexanderplatz.

my experiences on air france - never again!

On a recent trip to Europe, I flew on Air France four times within 2 weeks:

• Los Angeles (LAX) to Paris (CDG)
• Paris (CDG) to Berlin (TGL)
• Berlin (TGL) to Paris (CDG)
• Paris (CDG) to Los Angeles (LAX)

and I can say that after this rather concentrated experience, I will most likely never fly on Air France again.  Let me go into more detail below...

detroit eats: coney island hotdog

Detroit gave me a pleasant surprise when I first visited the city during a business related road trip with Mr. Sazy Rock. One of those surprises was finding all sorts of Coney Island restaurants in town. Even more of a surprise was realizing that they were all different and separate entities. Apparently, someone did not trademark the name so other businesses also named theirs Coney Island. Each Coney Island restaurant may be distinguished by additional identifiers in their name.

Coney Island restaurants specialized in hot dogs. Mr. SR and I liked hot dogs. So we thought to compare and contrast all the many different Coney Island hot dogs we could fit in our belly during our all too brief stay in the Motor City. We did it so you do not have to.

travel zen on friday: cabo san lucas, mexico

Happy Friday, everyone! That's all nature. Enjoy.

packing tip: using contact lens cases for liquids and creams

After about 20 years of active traveling, I am pretty good at packing light, but I am always open to learn new tips even though it's pretty rare for me to hear anything new now.  But much to my happy surprise I came across a packing video on youtube recently that offered a solution to my constant struggle with the darn 3 ounce liquids rule.  The tip was so simple!  Just decant your liquids into a contact lens case - preferably the kind that screws shut.

While I am an avid collector of skincare samples, they are often too small for the duration of my trips, or they are new products which could end up irritating my skin.  I'd much rather use my routine skincare and makeup products but I don't always have sample sizes of them.  (Tip - you could go to Sephora and they are usually very nice about giving you a sample which can usually last 3-4 days, but that takes a lot of pre-planning.)  However, this tip of decanting your lotions, liquids and creams into eye contact lens cases is ingenious!  It's leak-proof, light, and if you use both sides and/or multiple cases, you could get enough product for your entire trip.  The cases are also easy to clean and quite durable - unlike many of the cheap travel containers you can buy in drugstores.

I'm preparing to head out on a trip to Paris and Berlin soon and I've been decanting my moisture masks, face lotion, face sunblock, and foundation into little cases.  I just put a strip of masking tape on each and label them, and I'm saving so much room in my carry-on luggage!  It's also great if you only want a small amount (i.e., night cream, face mask, etc.) for the plane ride without taking out your entire toiletries bag.

Have you ever tried this packing tip?

restaurant review: cassia in santa monica, california

When Chef Bryan Ng shutdown his downtown Los Angeles restaurant called, Spice Table, due to a subway extension, I was a bit sad. That restaurant had plenty of Singaporean / Malaysian / Vietnamese dishes on offer that I really enjoyed, and missed. Luckily, he decided to open in Santa Monica. The recently opened Cassia has some of the old menu items found at Spice Table and some brand new ones. 

The Scene

The Scene.

When Mr. Sazy Rock and I arrived around 7:30 pm and the place was packed. The big, open room also meant that it was loud. Luckily, older persons that we were, the host showed us to a table in the back room that had a wall, which shielded us from a lot of the noise. The tables were also arranged quite close together so we ended up making friends with a group seated next to our table. Beware about sharing confidences as your table neighbors will likely be able to hear you.