Sometimes it’s just a great weekend trip to go back to your old stomping grounds and reminisce about the good old days. . .
This past weekend, my mom and I took a quick trip down to Virginia to . . . run some errands. Yes, I know it’s crazy to drive all the way to Virginia for a haircut and to get some skirts and my bridesmaid dress hemmed (even the tailor Mr. Kim told us we were crazy), but the thing about a trip to Virginia is that it means we get to revisit some of our favorite places to eat.
Take one: La Madeline.
This was my absolute favorite cafe to visit for French pastries when we lived in Virginia. They used to have huge fluffy cheese-filled croissant that I would always order. In the winter, my favorite spot was one of the seats by the central fireplace, so cozy. Pre-Panera, La Madeline will always have a special place in my heart.
This time, we went for lunch and took advantage of the pick 3 salad option. I chose the strawberry spinach salad, the tomato basil soup (a classic and another favorite), and the strawberries Romanov. 
Perfect. Delicious. Beautiful. No further words are necessary, in my opinion, for this wonderful lunch.
Although I love featuring local eateries, there are some chains that I am also a huge fan of and do really love as well. Gordon Biersch is one of them. In addition to having great beer, they also serve one of my favorite fish taco dishes. Not only do you get a soft tortilla, but they also put a blue corn crispy tortilla shell in-between the cheese and fish filling. So tasty with a super combination of textures. I’ve tried both the lobster/shrimp as well as the cajun fish, and both were delicious.
We also tried the cobb salad flatbread, which was surprisingly really good. The flatbread base is thin and crispy, with some cheese melted on top. Then chicken, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, and avocado were layered on top. We also tasted freshly cracked sea salt on top, which definitely brought out the flavors of the ingredients and made them pop. I’m definitely a fan and would order it again, perhaps to share with a group.
After dinner, we headed to the hotel bar to watch the start of the Notre Dame vs. Syracuse game. I took the opportunity to try my first classic martini.
Usually I’m not a vodka person, but I actually really enjoyed this martini. Especially with the olives. This may be a new favorite. Although, next time I think I’ll start the night off with this drink instead of finishing with it.
For breakfast, we treated ourselves to coffee and a red bean paste filled doughnut at Le Matin de Paris, a Korean French inspired cafe.
Perfectly fried so as to be crispy without being oily . . . thin and fluffy dough . . . extremely smooth red bean paste . . . this really is the best there is. 
Definitely deserving of a close up.
With just the right amount of sugar encrusting this delicious ball of dough, this was the perfect breakfast treat to close out a wonderful mother-daughter weekend.