An Eating Tour - I'm sure you've all noticed that the West Coast half of this blog has been quite delinquent in posting lately. I hope you can forgive me, as I've been on a three-week jaunt, including Christmas in LA, New Years in San Francisco and the feast of the Epiphany in Washington DC and a few days in Chicago.

Here's the quick rundown, using food as our guidepost: I had the opportunity to meet John's friend Quincy at Cafe Asia...have lunch at Tortilla Coast with Poliguy...spot Drew at Duplex Diner while dining with Kevin and Dr. Brian...and enjoy a great evening out with Brian, Jason, Michael, John and Jamie, starting with drinks at Chi-Cha Lounge followed by dinner at Local 16.

Kevin and I both had a really good time in DC, and the Mitchells were excellent hosts, as always. We had the opportunity to enjoy Jamie's delicious Deer Valley Chili during a Simpsons/AbFab/Sex and the City viewing. And we also got to do plenty of sightseeing, including a visit to the new Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum extension at Dulles, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Another Smithsonian highlight for me was seeing the three walls of Julia Child's kitchen at the National Museum of American History (I had seen the fourth wall at Copia when Kevin and I went to Napa in November).

My last day in DC, I had to make a run to cakelove (as featured on Oprah!) to bring some cupcakes on the next leg of my trip. In Chicago, I finally meet my friend Joe in person, and we had a great time checking out the Art Institute of Chicago together. I visited my dear friends Rob and Tom, who took me to a tasty little spot called Firehouse Grill, and also provided me with the opportunity to get in some good shopping. And before leaving, I was pleased to be able to meet Joe's new boyfriend Ken while enjoying a delicious breakfast at Toast. So, now that I've totally destroyed my South Beach diet, it's time to regroup, start eating better and resolve to start blogging more regularly again too.