crush kitchen

After breakfast and checkout I headed for Am's. Her poppa and brother greeted me while Am showered from her dance class. A co-worker was in the lobby and I told her I was headed to see my college roomate and she said quite rightly that "Oh, that's like family". Could not agree more. I refer to Am as my adopted White Guatemalan sister (not to be confused with my Guatemalan sister in-law) and her family is my adopted family and they always make me feel that way.

We had lunch at Crush Kitchen in Lodi. YUM! Honestly I felt like a lush ordering wine with lunch but Am assured me it's what is done in Lodi, a big wine making city. We ordered a cheese plate and bruschetta for starters. The cheese plate came with raw honeycomb and some chutney and three delish cheeses (Gruyere, Humbolt Fog, and a Bleu cheese) and I swear I could have just eaten that and been happy. Honey + Cheese = deliciousness.

See how happy cheese makes everyone?

After lunch that everyone liked (salads, burgers, soup) we ordered Smores. Handmade everything and these little cooker things that lets you roast the marshmallow right on your table.

This little pyromaniac had fun. All boys love fire.

The place was exactly the best of California. Seasonal. Delicious. Fresh. California Cuisine is my favorite kind of food. It's American but Sunshinier, therefore better.

After lunch we went into their little gourmet market that had all kinds of stuff I'd get if it wasn't that I had to put them on an airplane like Lodi olive oil in a beautiful glass bottle. I settled for a popcorn topping. Have we had a talk about my love of popcorn? Well we should sometime. We took a little walk to let our wine food digest in downtown Lodi.

It had cute little shops and restaurants we'll have to explore in depth on a return trip.

Ma and Pa grape salute you.