A Weekend Away (and the Post to Prove It!)
by Mara @ What's For Dinner? on September 7, 2009
in dinner out,friends
I set out Friday afternoon for my weekend in Utica, NY for my good friend Mary’s wedding… little did I know that I would proceed to eat myself stupid!
There was a serious lack of vegetables, tons of starch and homemade Italian cookies, an abundance of the most caring people, and did I mention tons of food?
I arrived late Friday night, and proceeded to stay up late getting to know my roommate-for-the-weekend, (HI SHANNON!) and going on an endless journey looking for the local Wal-Mart. I crashed out at almost 2 a.m. and awoke ready for a cup of coffee… or 5.
Shannon and I decided to forgo the hotel breakfast in favor of finding the nearest Starbucks which was supposed to be about 20 minutes away. So we drove. And the address didn’t exist! We ended up here:
It had a rural route address and, in true Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives style, I went for the “house specialty”: corned beef hash and eggs. And toast. And potatoes.
While delicious, it was almost completely devoid of nutrition other than protein. After saying goodbye to this guy
we went off in search of a farmstand that was listed on the Diner’s placemat in search of produce. I regret not taking pictures of the name of the stand because it was SO beautiful! Just look at all these goodies:
We bought some peaches and yellow plums, and drooled over the cinnamon rolls as big as our heads, and then headed back to get ready. We headed to the church, and before I knew it, my friend of 25 years was married!
They were serenaded off to the sounds of a full brass band, which I think was the coolest thing ever!
After killing a couple hours, it was time for the reception! It was at a beautiful golf club, and again, the music was amazing. And speaking of amazing… the food… oh my the food…
From top left: green salad with balsamic vinaigrette; amaretto stone sour; plate with pomodoro pasta, eggplant parmesan, and meatballs; plate with chicken francese, Utica Greens and roasted potatoes; chocolate cannoli cake and mini eclair; plate of mini desserts that I honestly can’t remember the names of.
Expect to see those Utica greens here again because they were SO GOOD! I took a picture with my friend and her husband:
We headed back to the hotel, and started getting ready for the trip back. I flew out of New York and landed in Philadelphia and immediately went in search of vegetables. I got a HUGE box of cucumber, tomato, dill and greens and a California roll… and all was right in the world (and my belly)
I awoke this morning after getting in late completely excited… I was meeting up with someone who I’ve wanted to meet for a LONG time. Any guesses?
She’s tall…
Loves almond butter…
any ideas??
I picked her up where she was staying and we drove to the Heartland Cafe , an old favorite formerly vegetarian restaurant. Heather was absolutely as wonderful and down-to-earth as she seems on her blog. I swear, we could’ve talked for hours more… but alas, the time was short after we got our food. I got a vegetarian chili, avocado and jack cheese omelet with beautiful whole wheat biscuits:
We headed out, I dropped her off, and I went off to my bi-weekly nail appointment. It’s another foodie day here, as we’re celebrating my sister’s birthday tonight at The Publican restaurant in Chicago. I’m still recovering from my lack of vegetables this weekend, so I MUST get at least something green tonight.
Holy long post, Batman! Have a great Labor Day all!
Tagged as:
birthday,
breakfast,
chili,
dinner out,
friends,
holiday,
restaurant,
travel,
wedding
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
what a fun weekend! The wedding looks beautiful and I’m glad you got there and back safely!
so jealous you got to meet Heather
I know what you mean, you go to an event and though it’s really delicious and decadent, you think – I’ve got to find something healthy!
.-= Diana´s last blog ..Food Contests around the Web – September 3rd, 2009 =-.
I love that you and Heather met!!!! Whoo hoo!!!
I already know the rest about your weekend, since we chatted about it, haha
How fun!! Congrats to your friend. Looks like an amazing wedding. And seriously, what a fun meet-up. Two fun, beautiful bloggies with good taste in food! I want in!
.-= Lara (Thinspired)´s last blog ..Matthew’s First Half Marathon =-.
Is it bad that the first thing I recognized without captions was the amaretto sour?
That looks like one jam packed weekend – how fun!! You and Heather look great!
.-= K´s last blog ..Blue and Yellow =-.
Meeting Heather must have been fun, she seems so nice!
Love those berries picture!
.-= coco´s last blog ..On flight recap =-.
Of course I had to scroll up to check out the chocolate cannoli cake more than once. YUM!
It looks like you had plenty of awesome eats, but I know what you mean. At some point, my body/brain start to scream EAT FRUIT NOW!!! I love the photos of the market, and I’m jealous that you got to meet Heather. Y’all are too cute.
Ooooo fab pictures!! I WANT that chocolate cannoli cake!!
.-= Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats´s last blog ..Check, check, check! =-.
The title of your post doesn’t do it justice. You should have included an “incredible” weekend away. Everything looked fantastic!
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Mom’s Birthday Trip To Baltimore =-.
That farm stand–ooo, ooo, ooo! Sounds like an awesome weekend…Jealousssss…
.-= cinnamonquill´s last blog ..Madeleines Save the Day =-.
That produce stand looks awesome! I don’t know if I could have turned down the cinnamon buns
.-= Allison @ thewayiseetoday´s last blog ..NEW BLOG !!! =-.
I’m still wanting that latte!
What a beautiful wedding and look at all that beautiful food!
Sounds like you had a wonderful long weekend!
.-= Quix´s last blog ..Happy Labor Day! =-.
Mara,
So glad we got to meet up – if we lived in the same city, I have a feeling we would be good friends. We would definitely laugh a lot.
I loved Heartland Cafe – you know me well. Best meal I had all weekend…even better than my White Sox dog.
The wedding looked beautiful as did that produce stand. I’m drooling over those blueberries, and I loved your friend’s dress.
Hope you had fun at your sister’s b-day dinner!
.-= Heather McD (Heather Eats Almond Butter)´s last blog ..My Letter to Liz Applegate =-.
What a fabulous weekend, Mara! I am still super jealous that you got to meet up with Heather
We will all definitely have to get together next time!
The wedding looked so gorgeous – love the brass band and the happy couple! The food looks amaaazing, too – I would have had many helpings of those mini desserts, I’m sure – lol.
Talk to you soon!
.-= Jenn (eating bender)´s last blog ..My Turn to “Ask Aida” =-.