Eat, Drink + Be Merry. Travel + Food Photography. Los Angeles and Beyond.

Last August, Jeni and I had dinner at State Bird Provisions. It was already very popular and well-known amongst the locals and fortunately we were able to get a table quite easily. In the last seven months, many good things have happened to the quaint eatery run by husband-wife/chef-duo Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski including Bon Appetit’s “Best New Restaurant in America 2013″ and a James Beard nomination. From Instagram photos, I’d see 20-30 people already queueing up for a seat before the restaurant even opened. One would think there was a secret concert being held inside, but no – it’s just amazing food being made. Each time we return to San Francisco, we end up here. Not simply because of the food, but because of the whole experience. We love the chefs, the team and the service. Anyone that has been will probably speak the same.  Knowing we’re big fans of their food, Stuart and Nicole invited us in to photograph their food and team in action. I can tell you, it is very difficult to keep focus when your subject is a tasty piece of sea urchin atop a sourdough pancake with shoyu reduction.

Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski. Their first date in 1994 was at a pho restaurant in Cupertino. Awesome. Follow his awesome tour of the Fish Sauce Trail in Vietnam with Top Chef Paul Qui of Uchiko (Austin, TX) and Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia (Louisville, KY).

Stuart and Nicole infuse Asian ingredients into their dishes. Always delicious and well-balanced. I believe these ingredients are used to spice their pork ribs.

Produce you’ll never find in Trader Joe’s.

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For my birthday this year, Jeni sent me off first to Nashville for a few days and will be meeting her up in Louisville. I’m here to see what the Southeast is all about and I know I’ll be impressed by the whiskey distilleries, hot chicken shacks and warm hospitality. Stay tuned!

Listen to WonderTune Louis + Nash.

01. Aeroplane – We Can’t Fly (Oliver Remix)
02. Atlas Sound – The Shakes
03. Avi Buffalo – What’s In It For?
04. Black Moth Super Rain – Like A Sundae
05. Blackbird Blackbird – Modern Disbelief
06. Cashemere Cat – Mirror Maru
07. Cayucas – High School Lover
08. Childhood – Blue Velvet
09. Chromeo – Hot Mess
10. Ducktails – Letter of Intent
11. Feeding People – Island Universe
12. Frankie Rose + Teen Daze – Union
13. Lord Huron – The Stranger
14. Roosevelt – Sea Dub
15. Sea Wolf – Priscilla
16. The Sweet Seranades
17. Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
18. Tops – Double Vision
19. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Swim and Sleep
20. Youth Lagooon – The Hunt

Listen to WonderTune Louis + Nash. Thanks, follow me at @eeddbbmm to see what we eat/drink in Nashville and Louisville.

Our first experience in London wasn’t as ideal as we thought it would be. Flying from Los Angeles, we had a stop-over in Philadelphia. Due to airplane malfunction, we were left on the tarmac for nearly 4.5 hours without the air vents on. Fortunately they didn’t put on any Katherine Heigl movies to entertain us. Upon arriving at Heathrow, we were welcomed by London’s biggest asshole who happened to be dressed in a wrinkled customs officer uniform. Probably due to the fact that we were Americans (I guess I don’t blame him) and not of the same skin color as him, he decided to interrogate for us nearly ten minutes for the shits and giggles. Even delving into how much we had in our checking and savings. The weather was also colder than we had also expected, even raining and snowing a little during the evening – horribly freezing! We took to the cocktail lounges and drank away all that happened during the day. But the next day would completely redeem everything.

For us, things can change from crappy to happy the second we smell something delicious being cooked, or see steam rising from a grill or table top. Our friends Warren and Laurie took us to the Borough Market as soon as we could wake up. They knew that this would make up for everything and it sure did. We ended up coming back once more before departing to Paris.

Founded in 1756 and located in the Southwark (Suth-erck) neighborhood, the Borough Market runs from 2 am – 8 am for wholesale companies and shortly after to the public. If you could only eat one “restaurant” in London, I’d suggest checking out the market for the “food court” approach. Or if you plan on taking the Eurorail elsewhere, pack your lunch here for the long train ride and make everyone else around you jealous. The Borough Market finely curates some of England’s best food vendors and purveyors – from meat, seafood to artisanal goodies. I had heard that the selection process to become a vendor here is quite difficult and that the committee at anytime may ask a vendor to leave if they aren’t performing to standards. Sorry Los Angeles, but the Borough Market makes the Fairfax Farmer’s Market look like a Food 4 Less. Although the market itself isn’t that large, the appeal was that of a kid’s first visit to Disneyland. (English accent)… shall we?

According to this cow map, the Borough Market is accurately divided into three main sections. But one should not ignore the fine establishments near the neck, brisket or belly. They are just as tasty.

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