Secret Lives Tour, Part One

Hello, sweet ones!  Well, the first leg of my second book tour for  The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts, is now complete (remaining dates here! And a contest to win a copy HERE!). And oh, has it ever been sweet! Here's a mini review of who I saw, what I ate, and what magical things happened. SEATTLE:  I arrived in Seattle on the day my book was officially released, May 7th. Woohoo! I basically went straight to the reading venue, which was the University Bookstore. The event was co-hosted by the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, who brought cookies and offered a sweet discount on the book for all girl scouts (including former girl scouts!). Why Girl Scouts? Well, the book tells the story of the cookies!  It was a fun event--to say the least! The next morning...I woke up hungry. I went to the Wandering Goose Cafe, new since I left Seattle. Man, was this place wonderful. They prominently feature biscuits, one of my favorite foodstuffs. I got a biscuit, of course, and a few other items. The standout on this visit? The "Charlie Brown" cookie, a deep, dark chocolate cookie studded with peanut butter chips. Oh yum.    I recorded a radio program next, with Rachel Belle. She is so cool! Next, I had an event at Book Larder where I demo'ed Better Than Sex Cake (it's in the book!). This was an awesome time. I saw many cake celebrities.  One of the attendees? Dani of High 5 Pie. And she brought me some treats! Related: The next A.M., I started out with a cherry almond pie from High 5 Pie.   and then I baked some Katharine Hepburn brownies (recipe's in the book) for an upcoming TV appearance in Portland. And then I headed to Portland! Even though it's kind of a silly flight because the security line is usually longer than the flight...I flew. With the brownies. Here are the brownies on my lap. They were so cradled and loved. PORTLAND: Once I arrived, I enjoyed some non-sweet food and hung out with my fella. Then, in the morning, I was on TV. Before my appearance, in the Green Room, I reviewed my book with Haley, the publicity all-star for my book. Then, I was on TV! You can watch the segment here. And here's a little behind the scenes look at the script.   Look, here I am acting casual (not) in front of the tv station! Next was breakfast at Tasty N Sons (actually, if you want to get technical, Tasty N Alder). I got some prunes that were prepared with cheese. I know this doesn't sound like a glamorous food, but WOW! were they good! The prunes were nice and sweet but the cheese gave them a little savory saltiness. Speaking of salt...it was about time for a visit to the deservedly famous Salt and Straw! Have I mentioned they sell my artwork there? Now, it is a true fact that my artwork looks better when you gaze at it with a hefty scoop of Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache ice cream. Yes indeed. But you know, the world is not so bad with a milkshake, either, so we picked up one of those, too. In chocolate. Of course, nothing can warm you up for a doughnut snack better than ice cream, so we started heading on over to Tonalli's Donuts. But--uh oh--on the way we were distracted by Pine State Biscuits!  We kept on walking, and I found a heart. This is a great opportunity to show you how cute the shoes are that I was wearing. Finally, to Tonalli's! Donut or Doughnut? Actually, the sign says both. Confusion aside, how could anything ever go wrong in a place like this? We got an old fashioned blueberry glazed, and a plain old fashioned. Very good stuff. Especially the blueberry. Not completely because of the flavor, but largely because of texture. The glaze kept it somewhat soft, whereas with the unglazed one, it got kind of crispy. Still very good, though. Later that evening, we had to try Ruby Jewel, which was near the hotel. I got one of their famous ice cream sandwiches with bourbon butter pecan ice cream between chocolate chip cookies. Trust me, there is nothing wrong with that package. The Ruby Jewel ice cream is different than Salt and Straw, but I think very good. The Ruby Jewel ice cream has a longer, lingering creaminess, whereas with Salt and Straw it hits you right away: mega creamy! Both different styles. I like them both, a LOT.  Now, I need to ask something too, because my guy got two scoops of ice cream with chocolate sauce and called it a "sundae". For me, this does not a sundae make--it has to have more toppings. What do you think? The next morning, I did a yoga class (I KNOW) and there happened to be a cafe attached to the yoga center called Prasad. If you're in Portland and like raw, vegan, gluten free (in some cases, all three) baked goods--hit this place up.  Of course, if you prefer your sweets full of gluten and better yet fried, hit up nearby Blue Star Donuts. I have a lot to say about this place, so if you want to know more, look at my post about it! After that, at least a quick trip was needed to Saint Cupcake, a place I really love. Don't you just want to dive into this? I'd love to show you more photos, but the mini cupcakes purchased were consumed too quickly.  And then...time to head to... SAN FRANCISCO: Hello, San Francisco. I'm hungry! Unfortunately I did not have a ton of free time in SF. Before my first reading, at Omnivore Books, I was able to hit up a Whole Foods where I got a Ginger Biscuit which actually rather surprised me with how creamy and soft and tasty it was. Baked on site, I was informed. And yes, I found time for a chocolate water at Dandelion Chocolate. The Omnivore Books reading was great. Beforehand, I got to meet up with Hayley of The Domestic Rebel, someone I have wanted to meet for a while. And my friends Erin and Renee came to the reading! The next day, upon the suggestion of readers at the previous signing, I hit up Bob's Donuts. It's open 24 hours, and it looks like it's been there forever. They have some huge donuts but I stayed classic. They are straight-up old fashioned non-fussy donuts. They made me so happy. I headed over to Hayes Valley, where I indulged in my favorite guilty chain pleasure, the almond croissant from La Boulange. And I maybe found 15 minutes or so to lounge in the grass. Then...time for another reading! I went to Book Passage this time, a magical place if ever there was one. The staff is SO friendly! I got to meet up with my friend Anna too. She's kind of a big deal - her first cover story for SF Weekly was just published! The next AM, it was time to head to the airport. I didn't get to visit as many bakeries as I would have liked on this trip, but it was still TOTALLY SWEET. Because I tend toward good manners, I sent out thank-yous today: Yay! I can't wait til leg 2 - I still have a few more dates left on the tour! You can find them here. Places Mentioned:  University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE; online here. Wandering Goose Cafe, 403 15th Ave. E, Seattle; online here. High 5 Pie, 1400 12th Ave, Seattle; online here. Book Larder, 4252 Fremont Ave N; online here. Tasty N Sons, Two Locations in Portland, OR; online here. Salt & Straw, Multiple locations in Portland, OR; online here. Pine State Biscuits, Multiple locations in Portland, OR; online here. Tonalli's Donuts, 2805 NE Alberta, Portland OR; on yelp. Ruby Jewel, 428 SW 12th; online here. Yoga Pearl - Prasad, 925 NW Davis, Portland OR; online here. Saint Cupcake, multiple locations in Portland, OR; online here. Blue Star Donuts, 1237 SW Washington Street, Portland OR; online here. Whole Foods, I went to the one on California Street in SF; online here. Omnivore Books, 3885 Cesar Chavez, San Francisco CA; online here. Dandelion Chocolate, 740 Valencia Street, San Francisco; online here. Bob's Donuts, 1621 Polk Street, San Francisco; on yelp. La Boulange, multiple locations in San Francisco; online here. Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco; online here. via CakeSpy http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2013/5/20/secret-lives-tour-part-one.html

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