Savory Discovery - Bear Flag Fish Company

I've been missing Hawaii lately. I used to go almost once a year because I have family there, but that stopped as I got older. The last time I went was in 2008. Anyway, missing Hawaii made me crave some fresh seafood. My go to spot for fresh poke is North Shore Poke Company in Huntington Beach and a friend recommended I try Bear Flag Fish Company in Newport Beach since I love poke. The restaurant is near the Newport Balboa Peninsula, in the same parking lot as Rudy's Pub & Grill. It's a small restaurant with some seating inside and a small patio. There was a small line when I went there, and I heard that's pretty normal, so be prepared for a little wait. Here's a shot of the outside and inside in case you're interested.

APPETIZERS:

1. Clam Chowder - Don't want to overhype it, but this is the best Clam Chowder I've had in Southern California! Big pieces of clams and fish and not too salty, perfect!!
2. Ahi & Salmon Poke - Huge chunks of fish. You can't see it well in the picture, but the bottom half is salmon and the top half is ahi. I've never had salmon poke, and so glad I finally have. Super fresh and flavorful
3. Shrimp Cocktail - This was probably the only thing that wasn't impressive. Shrimps were big, but nothing special. I wanted to try the Crab Cocktail, but they ran out, so I'm guessing it's good.

MAIN COURSE

• Seared Garlic Butter Ahi Tuna Plate - The ahi was seared perfectly and had a hint of garlic. I could have used a little more garlic and butter though. The brown rice and veggies were a perfect pairing to the fish and made me feel like I was eating healthy.
• Albacore Burrito - Never had such a fresh tasting burrito! There was rice, avocado, black beans and fresh salsa as well and all complimented each other perfectly. The only thing I felt it lacked was a sauce, but they have tons of sauces there to add yourself. I went for this sweet chili sauce which gave it a little kick but had some sweetness to balance it out.
• Halibut Burrito - Exactly like the Albacore but with Halibut. The halibut was a little mushy and I think would've tasted better if it was grilled with a stronger fire, to give it a little char and crunch, other than that detail, I still enjoyed it!

Everything was so delicious. It's hard to find fresh seafood that's cooked right, and the place definitely delivers! The location is great too because you can cruise around on your bike, or spend the day at the beach or Balboa Peninsula to work up an appetite. I highly recommend trying this place if you love seafood like I do. Oh and in case you're wondering, I shared all this food with two other people. There's no way I could have finished it all. I always try to go to new restaurants with at least 3-4 people so I can sample a variety of items on the menu.

Foodie & Art Day in LA

I've been meaning to check out the Stanley Kubrich exhibit at LACMA, so I decided to make a whole LA day out of it.

The day started off with brunch at Doughboy Cafe, just down the street from LACMA. I've had it bookmarked on Yelp for awhile, so was excited to try it out. I had the Almond Crusted French Roast with strawberries, and my date had the Breakfast Burrito. The french toast was delicious! It wasn't too sweet, and the almonds gave it a nice crunch and extra flavor. I was pleasantly surprised with the breakfast burrito as well. I kind of gave my date crap because I didn't think a burrito at a non-Mexican joint would be good, but it actually was! It had thick slabs of bacon, avocado, crunchy hashbrowns, fluffy eggs and salsa. We always share food and it definitely satisfied my sweet and savory cravings! Next time I want to try the red velvet pancakes or red velvet cake which they're famous for.

After filling our bellies, we headed to LACMA. We try to come every time there's a new exhibit. The last time we came was for the Tim Burton exhibit, which was amazing. The special exhibits are a little more pricey and this one, like the Tim Burton was $20. A little tip, if you want to see the regular exhibits you can actually check them out for free if you come after 3pm on a weekday. In case you don't know who Stanley Kubrick is here are a few of his movies you might recognize:

• Clockwork Orange
• Full Metal Jacket
• Eyes Wide Shut
• The Shining
• Lolita

When you first enter the exhibit, there's a gallery wall of all Kubrick's movies. I recognized the ones listed above, but there were so many that I had never heard of as well. As I went through the exhibit I learned that Kubrick started his career as a photographer for Look Magazine. His photos were very unique in that they captured moments and emotions that most people wouldn't catch. He definitely had an eye for unique images and liked to push the envelope with his noir films. If you watch his movies today, you probably wouldn't think twice about the topics, but back when the movies were originally released, they were definitely controversial. The exhibit had props from his different movies and previews of his films, but it also included interesting pieces such as complaint letters from organizations such as churches who were offended by his movies.


I really enjoyed the exhibit because I learned so much more about Stanley Kubrick and got a glimpse into his thought process for his photographs and movies.Although I've seen the permanent collections already, I still like to do a quick walk through of the other galleries. Above are a few pictures from the Stanley Kubrick exhibit as well as some of the other installations. When you come to LACMA, you also have to take advantage of the awesome photo spots: the Urban Light, the neon yellow string installment, the LACMA Rock, and on top of the Broad Contemporary Art building overlooking LA.

To end our day, we had dinner at Mendocino Farms, down the street from the museum and across The Grove. It was another place I wanted to cross off my Yelp bookmarks. Right when we walked in we were greeted by the friendly staff. I loved the mix of industrial and reclaimed wood decor. Since the hubby and I indulged at Doughboy Cafe, we decided to split a Korobuta Pork Belly Banh Mi Sandwich. They also let you try all of the sides and we settled on half Almond Romesco Shells (has pasta, red pepper, parmesan and spinach) and the Curried Cous Cous (with carrots, artichoke and cauliflower). The sides itself were bomb.com! My favorite was the curried cous cous; who would've thought to mix the two? It was nothing like I've tasted before. It tasted a little bit like Indian Curry, but not spicy, great combo. The almond romesco shells was very light and fresh. Now to the main course. The pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro, cucumbers and jalapenos are all normal banh mi ingredients but the caramelized kurobuta pork and the chili aiolo on the panini grilled ciabatta was a pleasant twist that made my tastebuds sing in joy. Hubby and I agreed we are definitely coming back here. Next time we want to try the Steak BLT and Prosciutto and Free Range Chicken sandwiches.

Savory Pita Pizzas

Now that I've touched on the Savvy part of my blog, I wanted to introduce the Savory. I've been trying to eat healthier and one of my favorite, quick and relatively healthy recipes are Pita Pizzas. It literally takes about 10 minutes to make and you can put any toppings you want.


Here's what you'll need:

• Whole Wheat Pita Bread (or regular pita bread if you prefer)
• Sauce: Tomato Sauce, Pesto, EVOO, anything you want
• Shredded Cheese: Mozzarella works great, but any should do
• Toppings: Go crazy! I usually throw in mushrooms, onions, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken breast chunks and any other veggies or meats you like

DIRECTIONS

1. Lay out your pita bread and spread sauce on
2. Add shredded cheese (don't add too much or it'll become soggy)
3. Add toppings
4. Pop in the toaster oven or regular oven at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes. Make sure you watch it because the cooking time really depends on how fast the toppings cook. The pita bread cooks relatively fast.
5. Let it cool down for a few minutes and enjoy!

OTHER PITA IDEAS

• Savory Pita Calzones: most pita breads open up and have a pocket inside. You can stuff the pita bread just like you would a pizza and toast it the same way for a pita calzone
• Dessert Pita Pizza: If you're a sweet tooth like me you can spread nutella or cookie butter on the pita bread, add your favorite nuts and fruits like strawberries and bananas, then toast for a few minutes. This one isn't healthy, but it sure is good!
• Pita Sandwich: Just like a regular sandwich without all of your fixings falling out when you take a bite of it.

Buen Provencho!

My First Post - Savvy and Savory ?

Let me introduce myself, my name is Audrey and I'm living in Southern California. I’m absolutely excited to start this new chapter in my life which is part of the reason why I wanted to start my own blog. Let’s start off with the title. I wanted something that captured my love of “frugalista” shopping, food, home decorating, DIY projects, traveling, wedding and event coordination, and my own personal journey as a  new homeowner. As you can see this blog is going to be about a lot of things so it was impossible to find a title that incorporated it all, but mainly it will be about living life fabulously without breaking the bank and my delicious discoveries through food, travel and life as it happens… hence Savvy and Savory. I can’t take full credit for that name though. I bounced around a bunch of ideas with some friends, and one of my BFF’s, Krisheila thought “Smart, Savvy, and Savory” and I really loved the ring to it and play on words, so I just cut out the "smart" since savvy incorporates that and boom, there you have it.

Beyond the title, I’ve always found writing to be cathartic and I thought this might be a good way to document my finds and my life. I have a philosophy I like to call the “5 F’s”: Family, Friends, Food, Fashion and Frenchie.”  That pretty much sums up the things I love most, and in case you’re wondering, the last one is for my French Bulldog/Frenchie named Rambo. He’s going to be 4 years old this year and yes I enjoy dressing him up every once in awhile, taking a bazillion pictures of him, and letting him sleep on my bed with me. How can you resist this face?

Excuse the tangent, I’m sure I’ll be going on a lot of those, but let me get back to the point of this blog. I see a lot of blogs focused on fashion and décor I can’t afford or the lives of people I can’t relate to. I make what I like to call the “medium bucks,” and I think I am doing fairly well, but I am by no means rich. This blog is dedicated to those women who are in a similar place in their lives where they’re settling down,, moving up in their careers or still searching for the right one, renting or owning their own home… all while doing it in an affordable style. Just because I’m 30 something doesn’t mean the fun has to stop, but it also doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges, and I’ll be sharing those hurdles as well.

 A little more about me, I’m a Marketing Director at an IT Company and I love the company I work for, but I hope to one day also be a Teacher/Professor, two extremes I know. For my undergrad I got a B.S. in Communications & International Business Marketing, and I’ve been working in that industry for over 7 years now. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Marketing, but I've always had an itch to teach. I’ve always loved tutoring kids and about 3 years ago, I went back to school to get my Teaching Credentials and Masters in Teaching. Although I now have my masters and credentials, it just isn’t the right time to be a Teacher, especially in Southern California. I looked everywhere, but because so many teachers are still getting “pink slips” (laid off), when there are positions open, they hire those teachers back because new grads like me don’t have enough classroom experience. I could start substitute teaching to get my foot in the door, but with a new mortgage, I just couldn’t afford the instability of being a sub, which is why I’m still happily keeping my Marketing job. I’m decent at it, and my 2 bosses are amazing to work with, I’m very fortunate. I’m happy where I’m at, but every month when I see my grad school loan payments, and how expensive it is, sometimes I doubt my decision to go to Grad School because I’m not utilizing that degree. It’s hard to not have regrets, no matter how much people tell you not to. I just try to remind myself that someday I’ll be able to use it, whether it’s teaching elementary school kids or combining that passion with my current job and teaching Marketing at a college level, one way or the other I hope to make teaching happen.

Alright, I’m sure you’ve had enough of me. I hope you’ll share your stories too as this blog progresses. Feel free to ask me questions or leave comments, I love to help my fellow ladies (or men too if you’re reading).