friday favorites.

here are my friday favorites: the travel edition! can you guess where we are? (don't google until you're done!)

• liguria bakery's focaccia bread. this is one of our first stops whenever we travel to this city. the focaccia is (to use an overused phrase) amazing. with less than a half a dozen choices, try one of each! our favorite is the pizza. it's not a fancy place; in fact, it's pretty sparse. it sort of looks like the store in "little shop of horrors" before it became successful. but then again, they don't have to do anything fancy. their specialty speaks for itself. the only bad part? we wish the specialty would speak a little louder because the staff is fairly rude. $3.50 each (i think).

• molinari's deli. there's nothing like an authentic, old school italian deli, especially when they speak italian. i just love that. their sandwiches are to die for and my better half's favorite is their sopressata salami.

• new favorite chai tea. i know, i thought it was impossible too seeing as i have a borderline obsession with peet's masala chai. my sis-in-law took me to this little place called caffe divino and i had an almost revolutionary chai experience. my favorite part was that it wasn't sweet, but spicy. i didn't peek to see if it was pre-mixed or not. i would probably be crushed if i found out it was, but whatever. it was fantastic. i made her take me there again just to try it. she likes how they shave chocolate on top of their coffee beverages. a great way to warm up. and perusing their menu and their little deli case, it looks like this place serves up great chow, too.

• hiking in tennessee valley. ok. it was a teensy bit crowded, but it was a sunny day in a place where sunny days are much appreciated, so i could understand. the views are breathtaking: green hills, ocean, breakers, even a peek of the city. can't wait to go back and do this again.

• tadich grill. if you want excellent seafood served with great service, go here. think dark wood booths, white table cloths, a long bar, old fashioned service. the crab is fresh and their recipes are so good that my better half was even given their cookbook. i guess they know what they're doing since it opened in 1849. their manhattan chowder? fantastic. try the crab salad for lunch. and this is no small serving of crab: it's super generous and the price isn't that hefty. i would recommend going there on an expense account though so you can "indulge" (i mean, do business and make a good impression, thus landing that big account.) this is the one place for which i may go back to eating seafood!