Tag Archives: Baltimore

Food and Entertainment

La Cuchara works out its kinks with stellar customer service

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My family and I dined at a new restaurant called La Cuchara last night. When I walked through the door, I immediately smelled the wood-burning oven and knew that something special was cooking.

The restaurant serves food typical of the Basque region of Northern Spain and Southern France. It was their first day open, but clearly the word was out as the restaurant was teeming with excitement.

Tasty manchego and caramelized onion snack
Tasty manchego and caramelized onion snack – Image from La Cuchara

Our pintxos and drinks came out in decent time. We had manchego with caramelized onions, anchovy with peppers and onions, and patatas gravas for our snacks.

Patatas gravas
Patatas gravas – Image from La Cuchara

Then the wait began. We were having such a good time that we didn’t realize we hadn’t received our entrees. It had been about 45 minutes since we finished our snacks.  My husband began looking for our server, Gavin. Soon the manager, Ryan,  came over to apologize and tell us the entrees were on the house. Sweet! Poor Gavin was in a frenzy, but we were good about it. It was the restaurant’s first day open and it wasn’t his fault.

My husband and I had grilled sea bream with carrots and capers, my son had a lamb shank, which he tried to eat like a cave man, and my daughter had grilled chicken with a salad.

For dessert, we chose sorbet, churros, chocolate cake and leche frita. Again, they were nowhere to be found. I guess the staff figured they needed to save face and comped our entire meal. That’s stellar customer service!

The food was delicious and service turned out perfect. But doesn’t it have to be with competitors, such as Woodberry Kitchen and Birroteca nearby?

Marni and Peter
Marni with Ryan, the awesome manager of La Cuchara Baltimore

Big thanks to Ryan, the awesome manager who took care of us. His customer service ROCKS!

La Cuchara is located in the Meadow Mill area of Baltimore.

Race calendar

2015 Race Calendar

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For a variety of reasons, such as training requirements, scheduling, and money, I’ve narrowed down my event schedule for 2015. With some adjustments, I was able to come up with events that are close to home and satisfy my personal goals and prior commitments.

Baltimore 10 Miler – I chose this race because I’ve found that the 10-mile distance is ideal for me and I can walk to the event. The description of the course is “scenic and challenging,” which, for me, translates to: I’ll run through a park, see a lake, and they’ll be tons of hills for my running (dis)pleasure. Sounds fun!

Bike to the Beach – a 100-mile charity cycling event from Baltimore, MD to Dewey Beach, DE to promote cycling and to raise awareness and funding for autism. This will be the longest and hardest event for me, but also the most rewarding. The team I joined is Sarah’s Riders, in honor of my friend’s daughter who has autism. Link to my donation page link soon to follow.

Iron Girl Columbia – this all-women race is like no other. As a spectator in 2013, I was in awe of the different shapes, sizes, and abilities of the women who participated. I felt empowered just watching. I wanted to be a part of it and completed Iron Girl Rocky Gap later in 2013 and Columbia in 2014 . I know where my training failed in both races: I slacked on my bricks, so I faded on the run portion after cycling those Allegany and Howard County hills. I feel I need to redeem myself. Couple all that with the fact that it’s the 10th anniversary celebration, how could I miss it?

Baltimore Triathlon – Olympic – I have three sprint distance races under my belt, so I’m moving on up! My goal this year is to increase my triathlon distance to an Oly. Mentally, I know I can do it. Now it’s time to get my body in the game.

Let the training begin!

Food and Entertainment

Four is the New Eight

My friend, Kelly, and I attended a 50th birthday party yesterday. When she asked me to go with her, I was all in. Free food. Free drinks. A night away from the family. I was pretty amped up until the hammer dropped. The party was from 4-8, which meant I’d get home around the same time I would’ve left the house in my single, no kids days. *sigh*

Nonetheless, I donned a sophisticated black dress, stillettos, and we headed out. It was a pretty awesome party. The birthday boy, Teddy Douglas, is in the music industry, so a lot of the music played sent me down memory lane of my time on the Baltimore club scene. Hearing Baltimore club favorites, such as Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman” and “100% Pure Love,” made me feel like I was at The Paradox again.

I had to remind myself the hours don’t make a party fun. I make it fun! The people I meet make it fun. The live band, deejay, and delicious crab dip didn’t hurt either. I even discovered yet another cabernet sauvignon to fall in love with and it all happened before 8.