Baseball Game Craves & Savors

What’s not to love about baseball games? Watching America’s favorite past time has always been enjoyable, especially growing up when the San Francisco Giants played at Candlestick Park and bleacher seat specials were $1. In addition to being able to bring in our own drinks and snacks into the stadium, vendors walked around selling red vines, malts, cracker jacks, and cotton candy. The quality time with family and friends at the game and the food made watching the actual game that much more enjoyable. Now-a-days, prices for seats are not quite as ‘special,’ but everything else still has the same appeal.

My bf and I attended the last game of the opening series at the LA Dodger’s stadium, where Big Time Timmy Jim Lincecum was the starting pitcher. We had awesome seats behind the Giants dugout, between home plate and first base, which also gave us access to the Stadium Club, where food options are a little less pretzels, fries, and nachos and a little more salads, cheeses, and veggies. After the third inning in which the Giants scored 4 runs, including 3 runs that came in from a home run by Pablo Panda Sandoval, we headed to get some food for the next three innings where we sat out in the patio of the Stadium Club that overlooks the field, and has TVs plastered everywhere inside the bar and dining areas. We both ordered the Famous Chef’s Table (buffet). I filled two plates full of food, including the tomato wedge salad, roasted beet salad, sauteed broccolini, classic caesar, faurot farms crunch salad, quinoa salad, asian noodle salad, couscous salad, shrimp cocktail, salmon en croute, garlic roasted mashed potato and mushroom ragout pizza. For dessert, we had the banana cream pie, which I was craving after seeing it delivered to a neighboring table. We savored the sweet dessert, while witnessing Buster Posey hit one over the wall for another home run. We headed back down to our sets, in time for the seventh inning stretch. The Giants proceeded to win the game 5-3, and won the series 2-1, which allowed us to also savor sweet sweet victory. “For it’s root root root for the GIANTS, if they don’t win it’s a shame, ‘cuz it’s one, two, three strikes your out at the ol’ ball game!”

Easter Brunch Cravings at bluEmber

When we’re craving so many things for Easter brunch, what’s better than a buffet? After Easter Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Rancho Mirage, by bf and I headed to meet the rest of his family for brunch at blueEmber in the Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa. For the first time ever, we had to listen to the sermon outside though a doorway since the church was at maximum capacity. There were over 300 people in the church lobby alone. We had direct access to hear the mass from one of the back doors, but all of that standing in the dessert sun really built up an appetite. Luckily, we had reservations for a brunch buffet and big-time cravers, such as myself, were able to eat as much as our hearts desired.

The seafood station was filled with pacific coast oysters, snow crab legs, crab claws, mussels, poached shrimp, and a selection of smoked salmon. The salad station offered heirloom tomato, buffalo mozzarella, pesto bordeaux spinach, shaved radish, dates, grilled green beans, cous cous, grilled artichokes, olive tapenade, tabbouleh, chopped parsley, cucumber, truffled mushroom, grilled asparagus, baby swiss chard beets, pickled carrots, walnut brittle, blue cheese, chilled seafood, shaved fennel, picholine olives, assorted greens, artisan cheeses, and a variety of vegetables and dressings. The soup station had clam chowder and smoked chicken soup with small bread bowls, and the carving station had a chef slicing pork steamship and beef wellington. There was a station of hot items, including farmers market roasted vegetables, organic squash, short rib hash, roasted potatoes, crab cake benedict, brick oven chicken, pan roasted barramundi, grilled ratatouille, and hedgehog mushrooms. All children ages 5 and under (which applied to the twins) ate free, and there was a children’s buffet with mini pizzas, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken tenders, lasagna, and local vegetables. There was also an omelet station, where chefs made custom omelets with an assortment of vegetables, meats, and cheeses. There was plenty of fruit, and the dessert station was out of control! On display were french belgium waffles, seasonal berries, cafe tiramisu, cheesecake, apple tart, white chocolate mouse, mini french pastries, creme brulee, panna cotta, rasberry and chocolate cake, chocolate pralines, chocolate truffles, mini hot cross buns, and chocolate covered strawberries.

The bluEmber Brunch buffet had a great variety, and since the weather was beautiful, dining on the patio was that much more enjoyable. Not to mention, the resort is beautiful and offered an Easter egg hunt for the children (which was the 3rd egg hunt this weekend for the twins). For family fun in the sun, the desert rarely lacks in sunshine and it’s resorts always cater to families so like this weekend, the fun never ends.