A couple weeks ago, my friend and sometime guest blogger Betsy invited Adam and I to join some Whole Foods Market employees for a yoga and chocolate class on the plaza above the flagship store.

Combining two of my favorite things – yoga and chocolate – sounded like heaven to me. Betsy read about David Romanelli, a yoga teacher that started offering classes combining yoga and food, in a New York Times article. She was inspired and asked him if he would come to Austin and teach a class.

It was a …

I’m looking for the first night of Chanukah, beginning at sundown tonight when we’ll:

Light the first candle of the menorah (Hanukkiah) with the shamash (while in reality a candle, the shamash doesn’t count as one of the eight candles — their only purpose is for viewing).
Recite the Chanukah blessings and sing songs.
Eat fried potato pancakes (latkes), and sufganiyot (donuts).
Play dreidel and eat chocolate gelt (potentially Twix this year as I haven’t been to a store that sells gelt yet).

In honor of this fun time of year, I wanted to share …

Betsy is one of the people whose opinion I trust most when it comes to fresh seafood and cajun-style cuisine. We have eaten together at Perla’s, Nubian Queen Lola’s, and now Shuck Shack. I heard about Shuck Shack first via Maggie’s Austin, another local food blog with awesome photography.

Below is Betsy’s review — I’ll follow up after to add my two cents (although I generally agree with her).
Shuck Shack’s website prominently proclaims “The Gulf Coast Comes to East Austin.” As a Gulf Coast native who is generally disappointed in …

I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and can’t think of a more satisfying meal than a plate of fresh local seafood paired with an ice cold beer. In lovely yet land-locked Austin, a meal like that is virtually impossible to come by. So needless to say, I was excited to check out Perla’s, hopeful it would help fill my homesick yearnings for the fresh and flavorful fruits of the sea.
The Scene – As soon as I entered Perla’s lush, oak-tree lined patio area, I felt …

I met Betsy and Laura for dinner at Daily Juice Cafe on 45th and Duval. For dessert, we shared three delicious chocolate truffles made with raw cacao. Raw foodies LOVE cacao. Most of the folks we met at Daily Juice had this wild eyed, intense look that I think is attributed to eating so much cacao. Cacao contains phenylethylamine which is said to increase focus, alertness, and keep you happy.
Cacao is a major source of magnesium and over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in the mineral. This …