1st Bay Area Blogger Meet Up Recap

Happy Saturday all!  Today was a beautiful, sunny California day and the perfect day for our Bay Area Blogger Meet up.  I have been looking forward to our meet up ever since TJ and I first started talking about it.

Several, calls, emails, texts, shout outs and Google Docs later, we had a fun group of girls ready to meet. Although some had planned on attending, but, ended up not being able to, I think having a smaller group made it more fun and personable.

We had such a great time and there are talks of another meet up maybe to catch the Sex In The City 2 Movie when it’s released!!!

I started off my day cleaning house then headed with The Husband to Starbuck’s before we got ready for the meet up. 

I got a Venti Iced Decaf Latte with caramel drizzle on the top and a banana (5 pts).

The Blogger Meet up was a the Metro LaFayette ~ we all sat outside next to their garden of beautiful purple flowers.

I really LOVED their mini grind-able sea salt & black pepper shakers. I totally want to find some like this for home – they are so cute!

My Co-Party Planner TJ has been dealing with an awful stomach virus all week so she wasn’t able to make it. :( 

It was great to finally put a face with Julia of Jogging My Memory.  She is such a sweetheart and fun!

I first met Tiffany of The Gracious Pantry back at BlogHERFood09 so it was awesome to get a chance to sit down and chat.

Both of these girls are AWESOME and I look forward to hanging out with them more 🙂

Since our reservation # significantly decreased, The Husband was happy to tag along and enjoy some delicious eats.  He chimed right in on the conversation and fit in with the foodie & girl talk 😀

Everything on the menu sounded AMAZING so we did what every Foodie does….we ordered a TON of things and shared 😀

I started off with some tropical black tea that was fruity and delicious.

I was totally cracking up because all the cameras were whipped out when our appetizer showed up.  I wonder what everyone thought of us all taking pictures 😀

Get ready for some total FOOD PORN ~ Everything we had at Metro was phenomenal and we all had a hard time deciding which was best.

Appetizer ~ Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Aioli

I’ve never met a fried food I didn’t LOVE, but, these were AMAZING ~ I LOVED the finishing touches of fresh squeeze lemon juice. 

Even The Brussels sprout hating Husband ate one and liked it ~ SHOCKER!

The Husband’s sandwich looked and tasted pretty darn amazing ~ how can you go wrong when it includes BACON and CHEESE.  I had a bite and 2 fries.

Panini of roasted pork loin, smoked bacon, grilled onions, cheddar & fries

Dish #1 ~ Gnocchi Parisienne with wild California morels, green garlic & English peas

Dish #2 ~ Quiche Florentine with mixed greens & Dijon vinaigrette

Dish #3 Grilled Thai Chicken with Napa cabbage-rice noodle salad, nuoc cham & peanuts

I LOVED the chicken and Fuji apples on this salad, but, the thick rice noodles were really al dente.

Dish #4 ~ Crispy Chicken Sandwich with cabbage-apple slaw & fries

I LOVED the bread of this sandwich the BEST.  It was tasty, but, felt like it needed something more ~ maybe some spicy mustard 😀

Here is my sampler plate, I went back for a little more salad and Gnocchi.

The Gnocchi were cooked perfectly ~ they practically melted in your mouth and the wine sauce was light, but, subtle.

This was interesting ~ the flavor was quiche like, but, the consistency was sorta like jello/pudding.  That’s pretty funky for eggs…..The greens on the side were excellent.

Next up was dessert ~ the hardest part was deciding on which ones to share 😀

We started off with the Meyer Lemon Tart with a shortbread crust.  Yup ~ this is as AMAZING as it sounds ~ super tart, sweet and buttery.  I had 1/4 of it.

Salted Caramel Pot de Crème with shortbread cookies

I think this was my FAVORITE dessert ~ I LOVE caramel everything and the BIG sea salt caramels added the perfect touch ~ salty/sweet…MMMM!  I had 2 scoops 🙂

The last dessert we managed to make room for was the Organic Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp With Tahitian vanilla gelato.

I’ve never had Rhubarb before but I am not sure I could taste it in this….this was just amazing strawberries, crispness with Vanilla BEAN gelato – YUM! I had a scoop with a little of ice cream.

It was such a FUN time ~ Thanks again Julia & Tiffany for driving to meet up with us! 😀

After our meet up, I slept off my food coma with a nice nap ~ it was AWESOME because I can never nap.

I did laundry, went to the grocery store and put our closet back together since The Husband wanted to paint it 😀

Dinner was fast, easy and completely what I was craving ~ VEGETABLES & BBQ! 

I made up a simple salad topped with Newman’s Own Light LIme Vinaigrette ~ I am IN LOVE with this dressing!!

Super crisp, sweet corn on the cob!

Plus a 96% Lean Ground Beef BBQ Burger topped with TJ’s Pepper jack, tomato, red onion, AVOCADO, Annie’s Ketchup and Mustard.

MMMM…I LOVE all things that are BURGERS!

Tomorrow is another FUN DAY ~ I am meeting my sis for a morning run, shopping and lunch.

I will try to catch up on all your emails and comments tomorrow night when I get back.

Have a great Sunday all!