Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sticky Icky Crunchy Chewy Goodness - Flour Bakery

A couple weeks ago, the SOWA Open Market hosted a food truck rally. All of the amazing local food trucks in one place? I could feel my cholesterol rising as a bunch of friends made plans to meet there one Sunday afternoon. Then the heartbreak. I met my friend Lara, and we were walking over when we get the call. The lines at every truck are an hour plus, and they are running out of food. My dreams of chicken and waffles were dashed, and it was time to come up with a plan B.


If you are ever going to be in this (or any) food situation, you want to be with my girl Lara. I mean, she has a blog called Ham on a Plane. She knows and loves food more than anyone I know. Since we were in the South End, our obvious Plan B was to hit up Flour Bakery. My mouth literally just watered when I typed “Flour Bakery”.

This place is insane. I have never had ANYTHING that came out of this place that did not blow my mind. Amazing cookies, cakes, sandwiches, and a sticky bun to die for. Like, I would really lay down and die for this little ball of heaven. It’s been featured on the Food Network’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate” and “Throw Down”.  Bobby Flay is a super fan.  No big deal.

By the time we got to Flour, Lara and I were ready to pass out. Neither one of us had eaten yet, saving all the room in our stomachs for chicken and waffles. We couldn’t wait got our sandwiches, so we started with the sticky bun. Sticky bun as an appetizer. H-E-A-V-E-N.   You can try to make them yourself, but I doubt anyone could be as successful.  I mean, they marinate them overnight in the sticky "goo" and then baste them in it once they are done.  Don't try this at home.  Just go to Flour!  Here is a before and after.


Then it was time for lunch.  In my opinion, a true friend is one who likes to get two things and share.  Love this Lara.  We got the roast beef and the tomato, basil, mozzarella.  Let me start by saying that they are made on house made bread.  MMMMMMMMM!!!!  The roast beef is topped with horseradish cream and the most delicious fried onions.  The TBM was grilled to perfection on nutty bread thats almost a little sweet.  Deeeelish.


To wash it down, no ordinary drink would do.  Of course Flour makes their own fresh raspberry seltzetr. What else would you expect?


After we devoured everything else, it was time for dessert dessert.  The sticky bun before lunch was not dessert, don't get it twisted.  That was breakfast.  Dessert was a house made "oreo" and a chocolate chunk hazlenut cookie.  For the record, this "oreo" was also featured on Food Network.  This place is no joke.  The faux-reo was divine.  Cakier than the packaged variety with a buttery delicious filling.  The chocolate chunk hazlenut cookie was kind of like if you made a jar of Nutella magically crunchy, and mixed in a little butter.  It is by far one of the best cookies I have ever had (outside of this masterpiece)



So if you couldn't tell, I thought this meal totally sucked.  Kidding.  Bummed I missed out on chicken and waffles, but the day was totally redeemed by Flour.  I can not recommend this place enough.  I bet my bottom dollar that you won't be disappointed.  You might gain a couple L-Bs in the process, but well worth the weight.

Work It!



Queue the Missy Elliot...

1. Any responsible office calls for responsible shelving, and this guy does the trick! It’s simple and classic, and would look great crammed with magazine files and storage boxes. Tactfully crammed, not Hoarders crammed.

2. I’m a sucker for a modge podge of art or pictures. I have one on my wall, which I should probably show you some time. These three pieces are from three different places. First is the stunning Couture print from ZGallery. It makes me want to go play with my make up right now! Next is this precious silhouette of two friends from West Elm.  I love it to bits (and could totally replicate it for less than $1). And finally, Boston pride courtesy of Ork Posters. If you have pride in somewhere else, you should still put Boston on your wall. But if you insist, there are other options.

3. You may ask… where will you put a throw pillow in an office? Easy peasy. On the chair, piled on the floor as cushions, or on the desk instead of your laptop. They add personality and charm. Gotta have em. Plus, this one looks like an E. I’ll take it.
4. & 5. Time to get down to business. You need a desk and a chair.

The desk is from West Elm. The color is unique, and adds tons of character to the room. You could pick a more neutral tone, but that would be responsible.

Now to park your fanny. This chair is modern and looks great with the clean lines of the desk. It looks way expensive, almost like a white Herman Miller, but at a fraction of the price.

6 Love this rug. Love it love it love it. Nuff said.

7. Baskets are a touchy subject. It’s easy to be country kitschy. At the same time, you need somewhere to stash your stuff. These are modern, and the weave on these is thick enough to hide your Us Weeklys.

The Canary In The Coal Mine


Some people can go to the mall and legitimately window shop without spending a dime. Not me. The closest I can get is looking at home décor purchases online, knowing that I literally have nowhere in my shoebox apartment to put things, so I can't buy them.


But, if I were to suddenly have a living room to design, this is what it might look like!

1. I first spotted this lamp over on Copy Cat Chic. Which by the way, if you haven't checked it out, check it out.  They find more cost effective versions of beautiful beautiful things.  This lamp is from Overstock.com, but it’s high end step sister is available at Potterybarn, for twice the price. Given the choice, I will always pick the same thing for less money.  Call me crazy.

2. My first instinct was to pick all Boston based art, but I decided to branch out. These vintage prints are all from Art.com  and there are plenty of cities to choose from. I think the simple silver frames look great on the cool grey wall. Speaking of… the paint is Behr’s silver screen.

3. I am a total sucker for a console table. Don’t know why, I just love em. I found this Avington console table at Target on the cheap.  I think it just sounds fancy to own a console table.  And I want to be fancy.
Bring on the mood lighting.  This little yellow stunner is from CB2. It adds a nice pop of color and helps create a yellow theme without being too aggressive (in my humble opinion)

3. The heavy hitters! I am obsessed with getting a grey couch lately. Grey is neutral, but a bit different. Once I have a living room, expect to see this guy in it. I visited a Z Gallery on a recent trip to Atlanta and sat in this bad boy and let me tell you… marshmallow!  And since it is called the Nathan Sofa, I would call him Nathaniel at all times. Obviously.

I added This Way And That Pillow from Anthropologie to break it up. And let’s be honest, I can’t imagine any room without something gorgeous from Anthropologie.
And now for the true canary. I die for this Gerber slipper chair. It’s bold but not obnoxious. And at $254? Gimme a break.

And finally a rug. Because my mother says you always need one. I found this one over at West Elm. It’s neutral enough that you could re-purpose it in other rooms, and with any color palette. I’m still poor enough to think this way. Oh, I can’t wait for the day that I’m a baller and don’t have to make responsible decisions.