LAVO

This past weekend, I made a quick little trip up to NYC for less than 48 hours for a few job interviews. Although it was a pretty hectic trip, my mom and I made time to try one of the newest (and best) restaurants in New York.

Only six months old, we had to make our reservations at LAVO at 6 o'clock (senior special ha!) to get into New Yorks new hot spot (Paris Hilton and one of the Kardashians recently had their birthday parties here). I've never seen so many people eating dinner at 6 p.m. in my life. The awesomely hip restaurant was already packed.

With it's sister restaurant Tao right across the street, this new Italian version has much the same atmosphere and turns into an all out nightclub after 11. Tao and Lavo both originated in Vegas, but have moved to NYC and LA.

We started out with a glass of champagne each and a bottle of red wine - we were determined to stay late enough to not look like the losers who got there at 6 p.m. After an hour of garlic bread and wine, we decided to start out with one of their famous 18" pizzas - it was not round, however, but oval - 18" long. It was delicious - not too crispy but not soft.

For our meal, I had the most delicious, light Dover Sole with a side of broccoli that I think I've ever had, and my mom had a bone in serloin - rare - with truffle fries. Everything was amazing.

We ended our meal with their specialty - fried oreos with a side milkshake. I was in heaven. If you ever venture to New York or Vegas - I highly suggest you make Lavo one of your stops. But make reservations early so you don't have to eat with the old folks!

Travel Wishes and Jet Setter

If I had the means to do whatever I wanted at all times, I would make Jetsetter.com my homepage and choose a new adventure each week. Invented early last year as a spin off of its sister site, Gilt Groupe, Jetsetter offers luxurious hotels for a short period of time at an unbelievably discounted price. While you must become a member to join and see the special offers, all that a membership entails is your e-mail address and a few junk e-mails every day - a small price to pay for the wonderful opportunities you get. A few of my favorites right now...

The Petra Hotel in Greece...

The Gotham Hotel, New York - a new little boutique hotel for an amazing price...

and an event experience...Lollapalooza in Chile, complete with VIP tickets and a hotel

And for a less realistic wish that doesn't appear to be on Jet Setter - - The Vik Retreats in Uruguay...

Estancia Vik

and

Playa Vik

a girl can dream...

Charlie Sheen

While many people may find the new and "improved" Charlie Sheen to be hilarious, I see it as a bad publicity stunt that will have detrimental effects on his family and children for years to come. I personally think Sheen is a selfish prick who lost his job so now has to make an idiot out of himself in order to make a buck.

We all know who he is...the long time star of Two and a Half Men who was famously married to Denise Richards and since has had what seems to be multiple mid-life crises. We heard about his little mis-hap at The Plaza in NYC late last year, yet I don't know if it was just me, but I had no idea how insane this guy is. Even if he is faking it to get some more money, its giving him a really bad name.

From quotes like "my daughters will realize how bitchin' I am and that I sign the front of checks, not the back," to smoking and drinking throughout the entire interview on 20/20 to having two "goddesses" live with him and his children, I personally think Charlie Sheen is an over all scumbag.

http://www.popeater.com/2011/03/01/charlie-sheen-drugs-goddesses-20-20/

Perla's

With its charming blue and white striped outdoor seating, I've been wanting to try Perla's for some time now. I had the pleasure of finally eating there for a late lunch on a beautiful Friday last week and I was not disappointed.

Deep in the heart of South Congress, this little gem is the sister restaurant to one of my old favorites, Lambert's, and also owned by Tommy Moorman, a fellow Alamo Heights-er and the brother of one of my close friends. Moorman opened Lamberts, a gourmet BB-Q restaurant on 2nd Street, in 2006 which turned out to be a huge success. They opened Perla's, which is mainly seafood, three years later in 2009.

While I probably wouldn't recommend Perla's to one who dislikes seafood, there are a few other options, but their main focus is around seafood and oysters. We sat outside on the wooden patio over looking the bustling SoCo and had mimosas and bloody marys while we had an appetizer of calamari with marinara sauce which was incredible. For my entreé, I ordered the Crispy Gulf Snapper a la Plancha which might have been the most delectable fish I've ever had. It was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of sauce and juices.

After an amazing lunch, we walked around SoCo to stores that you need to make sure to stop by: Kendra Scott and By George on Congress - they're both so cute!

UCHIKO

A few weeks ago, a few friends and I decided to try out the new Uchiko - the new sister restaurant to the famous Uchi. Let me say this first, we went on a Tuesday night, and there were only two empty tables in the whole restaurant...that should attest to how totally delicious this place really is.

We started with some tempura nasu - japanese eggplant crisps with some sweet chili sauce - Uchi's own version of chips and dip. Needless to say they were addicting and incredibly tasty. We also ordered the hot rock - wagyu beef served raw with an extremely hot Japanese river rock on which you cook the beef strips. We also got some grilled edamame which had so much flavor you didn't even need soy sauce.

Next we were served a little tasting from the chef - a slice of strawberry paired with a slice of yellow beet. I'm not a huge fan of beets, but because everything else had been so, so tasty, I decided to give it a try and I was not disappointed. The complimentary tastes exploded in your mouth for a special little treat.

After all of our various appetizers, we ordered our sushi rolls - the infamous Shag roll with tempura fried salmon, sun dried tomato and spicy sauce - simple yet amazing; the crunchy tuna roll with bigeye tuna, jalapeño, cucumber, aioli and tempura flakes; and the tiger cry with grilled wagyu steak, toasted rice and cilantro. I cannot tell you which was best because they were all so delicious. I could have eaten 4 more of each.

To finish our incredible meal, we ended with the fried milk. While it sounds a bit strange, it just might be one of my favorite desserts of all time after eating it. It comes with two tiny little donut hole looking things (the fried milk), a chocolate torte, some chocolate cocoa powder and some plain milk chocolate.

After my first time at Uchi, I want to go back until I can try every single thing on the menu, as I'm sure they are all equally as unbelievable as what I had on my first visit.

Funding for Texas Heritage Cut

In light of our new client, the Heritage Society of Austin, I decided a little coverage of the new budget cuts wouldn't hurt.

On February 7, Gov. Rick Perry eliminated all funding in the Texas budget for the Texas Historical Commission. In doing so, this new budget cut will eliminate up to 80% of funding that backs historical sites making it extremely difficult to keep up with preservation strategies.

While its true that the government is facing tough budgeting decisions, it would be a mistake to cut the budgeting backing the historical commission.

The mission of the Heritage Society of Austin is to preserve historical sites and keep Austin from turning into a city full of skyscrapers and high rises. If there was no one working to preserve all of these sites, where would we be today? We would be living in a city with many fewer signs of what Austin used to be and to many people still is - a city rich with history.

Have you ever heard of the Driskill Hotel?? I bet you didn't know that the Heritage Society of Austin raised money to save the Driskill way back when they were trying to tear it down....pretty cool, huh?

The history of our city really is an exciting thing if you take the time to appreciate it.

For more information on the Heritage Society, please visit http://www.heritagesocietyaustin.org/.

Let's Rodeo San Antonio

Tonight after my exciting 3 hour lecture, I plan to drive home to San Antonio for the weekend to enjoy one of my favorite Texas traditions - the stock show and rodeo.

While this may seem totally Texan - cliché, it really is one of the most fun things about San Antonio. People do wear cowboy boots and there are some real hardcore cowboys there, but there are also people like me just there for the fun experience and to drink a few beers and eat some junk food.

Tomorrow night we are going to go see the stock show (which starts at 8 p.m.) and then stay afterwards for the Train concert. Then on Saturday we plan to go to Clay Walker. Not only do I love seeing the shows, there is also the fair ground...

With rides and roasted corn and gorditas and funnel cakes and beer, its like paradise.