MY ANOSMATIC LIFE

As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been traveling for the past couple of months. When not able to really smell and taste, I soak up experiences with the rest of my senses and like to take photos. After Portugal, I went to California for the first time (shocker) and explored Palo Alto, Napa Valley, and Los Angeles. We flew into San Francisco. Sorry, not sorry, but where we ate is not worth writing about (I don’t even remember the restaurant’s name). We arrived late to California and unfortunately did not pick the right spot to eat despite the excitement. Fast forward, the first stop was Palo Alto. I was there for a film seminar at Stanford University with a sister-friend in case wondering why I visited one of the most expensive cities in the United States. The gas prices then were interesting starting at $5.09. I’ve never seen so many bikes in my life. I would be riding a bike too if gas prices were that high.

There are some food firsts and restaurants that stood out while visiting the state. I tried a spot called SomiSomi that serves soft serve and Taiyaki, a Japanese fish-shaped cake. I couldn’t taste the full sweetness but it was really good, soft, and crunchy. I think I got the Nutella Taiyaki and my friend tried the Taro. We left no crumbs. I don’t think I’ve ever had an arepa before (really can’t remember) so perhaps I had my very first arepa at Coupa Cafe with a delicious cafe latte.

The next stop was Napa Valley. I couldn’t smell a thing on the ride but took up all the beauty during it. There I visited a winery Castello di Amorosa with a friend and had the best grape juice ever. If you’ve never met anyone who went to a winery to only drink grape juice, nice to meet you. There was limited grape juice to try but glad they had options available cause I totally purchased a bottle. I have an obsession with Muscadine grape juice where sometimes I would request my Grandma to bring some when she comes in town. Afterward, we tried a restaurant downtown Napa Valley Distillery, and ate Black Truffle fries (no proof…they were too good) and an Armenian Pizza. The pizza was so good I legit couldn’t stop eating it and ordered three back-to-back and had to stop myself. For some reason, I was not getting full. The Napa Valley Distillery bartenders made some delicious custom mocktails for us. The first mocktail was so good and sweet, that we had to get another but a different one made with the foam also cause we saw someone else’s drink with foam look amazing.

The final stop was Los Angeles and took a train. My first day in LA was hanging out downtown. I can finally say I ate at the famous Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles and at the original location in Hollywood. Of course, the chicken and waffles were delicious but the mashed potatoes and gravy on the menu sounded so irresistible and was one of the best I’ve ever had. I could have swam in the gravy. Also, who gets chicken and waffles, plus mashed potatoes? Me! I got to see one of my cousins and ate at Tocaya Moderna. I hung out in Santa Monica and had some of the best tacos at Papi Tacos & Churros. Not only were the Pollo Asada and Beef Birria tacos bomb but the consome (beef broth) was so good that I drank it. I have no photos for evidence because I all I did was feed my face and finish it up with some warm Dulche de Leche (caramel) churros. After watching the sunset near the Santa Monica Pier, I had dinner at the Japanese restaurant Shirube with friends and everything was yummy. Last morning before departure, I ate at Issa Rae’s restaurant in downtown LA Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen – DTLA, and had the Bangin’ Breakfast Burrito but ate the majority of it before realized didn’t take a picture.

Almost everything on my Cali trip looked good and was tasty to me. One thing about traveling and eating with friends is the joy of knowing that we’re all speaking the same language full of oohs, aahs, and mmm’s when all realize the beauty of something and when something tastes good. There’s nothing like saying something tastes good and someone agrees with me and shares the excitement despite my smell and taste challenges. Of course, I have had folks disagree before or I have even told a friend I was surprised they ate something cause of the way it looked. This trip was full of majority positive travel and food experiences. California did not let me down.