7 things

i was tagged by Stephanie over at live. love. eat. to complete a list of 7 things about me. there were no guidelines associated with this, so i'm choosing to make them all food related. :)

1. i gravitate more towards fruit flavored candy and desserts than towards chocolate. this is not to say that chocolate doesn't have a special place in my heart, but my first true love is fruity flavors. examples of this is skittles, starburst, lemonheads, apple crumbles, blueberry muffins, and peach cobblers.

2. for several years in a row my birthday dinner consisted of a bottle of champagne, eggs benedict, and creme brulee.

3. i love wild game, and am a fan of finding fun ways for the home cook to use wild game in weeknight meals. i think that venison, bison, boar, and antelope are wonderfully flavorful and unique...and love to eat as well as cook them.

4. i have an affinity for french fries. they are one of my favorite foods. if prepared well, they are a showstopper, though i'll eat them even if they are awful. in fact, when i was a child my mother used to buy me a small fry from the mcdonald's drive-through because it was the only thing that would stop a tantrum in progress. i called mcdonald's "fry donald's".

5. my favorite cuisine is vietnamese. i was fortunate enough growing up to have a plethora of amazing vietnamese food at my finger tips, with pho joints on every corner. however, living in baltimore means the pickings are slim. i still travel down about an hour to get good vietnamese on occasion, but have learned to recreate my favorites at home as an immediate fix.

6. the best restaurant i've been to is in this area: l'auberge chez francois. it's amazing french country cuisine always makes me blissfully happy. the atmosphere is completely casual and comfortable, but the food is top notch. their traditional alsatian food is hearty and perfectly prepared. in 2007 it was voted reader favorite in washingtonian magazine for the 22nd time. twenty-two times people!

7. my dream is to open a knitting and yarn shop that also has a small cafe that features panini and crepes as well as really good coffee and tea and good company. combining my two loves would make me immensely happy.

i "tag" anyone who reads this and hasn't done it already...let me know if you do so that i can read your responses.