The good thing about eating out at the beach is that you generally don’t have to worry about being underdressed. The bad news is that it can be tough to find a more gourmet experience among all the crab shacks and pizza places. Luckily, Bethany has a few gems a couple blocks north of the Boardwalk. Sedona is one of those spots. It’s a creative American tapas place that does a “deal” on Tuesdays in the summer (“Tapas Tuesdays”) where you can get three tapas for $26.

Personally, I don’t think the $26 deal is that great when you do the math. Certain small plates (read: the pricier ones) are excluded from the Tuesday special, which means at most you’re saving only about $6. I’m not one to scoff at saving a couple bucks, but you shouldn’t order three tapas just because it’s “on sale.” Either way, Tapas Tuesdays are a fun excuse to go eat some small plates if nothing else.

All of the tapas were pretty good, although nothing that really “wowed” me. The Short Rib Ravioli was my favorite, and the only exception to the “pretty good” statement was the Crab Guacamole (not pictured, people ate it before I snapped a pic, sorry). There was hardly any crab in the guac, and the crab that was in there didn’t have much flavor.

The portion sizes of the plates were obviously small, and would’ve been perfect for a couple or maybe three guests. For me and my seven relatives I wished the plates were larger or that we knew to order two of certain dishes like the Seared Rare Tuna, which only came with two wontons.

Our Server was nice and understanding of my older family members who aren’t exactly the most clear when ordering, which was a nice plus. In terms of the atmosphere, Sedona regularly changes the paintings on the walls (which are for sale), which is cool. Personally I love eating outside, especially at the beach, and would prefer that to Sedona’s slightly stuffier interior, which is why I’d choose 14 Global – another tapas restaurant on the same block with outside seating – over Sedona most days.

Sedona Creamy Caesar: Romaine hearts, herb croutons, reggiano parmigiano.

Seared rare tuna on crispy wontons with asian slaw and seaweed salad.

Short rib ravioli with bleu cheese demi.

Asian marinated flat iron steak, served rare, over grilled asparagus.

This item is not listed on Sedona’s online menu, but I believe it was lamb meatballs.

If you’re not looking for stereotypical beach food, I’d definitely check out Sedona. If you’re still hungry after their smaller tapas, you can always take the five minute walk to the boardwalk and get a giant custard in a waffle cone from Kohr Brothers like I did.

I have a confession to make: I have a huge sweet tooth, but ice cream doesn’t really do it for me 😬 But naturally, if everyone else I’m with is getting @kohrbrothers custard, I’m not going to say no.

A post shared by Ashley Uzer (@loxandleather) on Aug 31, 2017 at 10:46am PDT

My boyfriend and I had a little mini vacay in “Charm City” last December, and naturally I am just getting to writing about it now.

Considering all the issues that have surrounded Baltimore in recent years, it might not be the first place you think to take a trip. But just like any city, there is good and bad in Baltimore, and if you have your wits about you you’ll be more than fine – and hopefully have a great time, too.

Because I planned the trip, many of our activities revolved around food. Also, it was cold out, so our activity options were slightly limited. I’m going to write a separate post on what else we did in Baltimore. But for now, here’s all the food we ate, and where you should eat too next time you find yourself in B-more.

Pratt Street Ale House

We walked into this spot on our way to the Geppi’s Entertainment Museum on our first day in Baltimore after checking into the hotel. It was a pretty standard pub-style with bar bites. We ordered the Buffalo Bites and the Crab Flatbread. Service was super-quick and the atmosphere was chill, but we wished there had been more crab meat on the flatbread.

Buffalo Bites (Medium)

The Crab Flatbread

The Food Market

This place was an awesome brunch spot, and their dinner menu looks amazing too. There were so many fun combos on the brunch menu that I had trouble deciding what to order, and we loved the complimentary mini donuts/hush-puppies. Also, who doesn’t want to spend brunch saying words like “funchies” and “lunchies?” Especially after a couple mimosas?

My boyfriend ordered the Fried Oyster Omelette and I went for the Monte Cristo because I am a sucker for a sweet and savory brunch meal since I can never decide between the two. Both dishes were fab, and as an added bonus the restaurant had great lighting 😉

I would definitely recommend this spot to anyone visiting Baltimore! It was also in an area called Hampden which had a bunch of cute vintage shops, record stores, etc.

The Fried Oyster Omelette: bacon, arugula, tomato, cheddar cheese, hot sauce, breakfast potatoes,

The Monte Cristo: ham & cheese french toast, over easy egg, brie mornay, breakfast potatoes

Level Small Plates Lounge

This is in Annapolis, not Baltimore – but close-by enough I figured it was worth mentioning. It was located right on the waterfront in Annapolis, where there are a bunch of cute places and shops (although many close on the early side of the evening). It’s been months and I am still dreaming about the Brussels Sprouts we had there. If I visited again, I’d skip the Tuna Tartare as it was kind of bland and didn’t taste super fresh – but everything else was great!

Spicy Tuna Tartare: ahi tuna, spicy soy vinaigrette, wasabi tobiko, micro cilantro, house tortilla chips.

Chorizo Dip: papa weaver chorizo, chilies, sorrel, tandoori naan.

The Buffalo Cauliflower

The Fried Brussels Sprouts: hot honey, goat cheese ranch.

The Chocolate Chip Cookies & Milk

Fork & Wrench

This was where we went for dinner on the first night, and we really liked it. The decor was cute and kitschy, and it was also pretty empty when we arrived which was weirdly nice. We also liked the booths so we could sit close because we’re an embarrassing couple like that – at least when we essentially have the place to ourselves.

The Brussels Sprouts were delish, and so was pretty much everything else. They change the menu seasonally, so the menu has since changed, but I’m pretty sure you can’t go too wrong here.

This restaurant is also by a nice pier/boardwalk area where you can walk around, it looked sort of residential. We ended dinner late and it was dark out, so we didn’t walk around for too long, but it would’ve been nice on a summer evening.

Oxtail Perogi: braised cabbage, bosc pear,

Crispy Brussels Sprouts: guanciale, shallots, spiced pecans & sherry vinaigrette.

F&W Mac and Cheese: tasso ham, beer-cheddar fondue, & blistered pardon peppers.

Duck Confit Rillette: cider gelee, pickled cranberries,

S’Mores Donuts

Daily Grind

We made a quick stop here on our way out of town. It was by the water, easy to find, and had lots of seating. He got a bagel with lox and I got a blueberry bagel with PB&J because I was craving something sweet. Definitely a good spot to sit and get work done too.

For a couple days there, it was almost perfect fall weather, and I took full advantage of it.

Summer may be the “fun” season, but fall is when you can layer and look your cutest.

Last weekend when I was in Philly I wanted to wear something super comfortable for walking around the city, but I also wanted to look hot (I mean, who doesn’t?). This interesting combo of stuff came together.

My roomie just recently gave me these amazing velvet leggings from HUE and this super glam choker from Bauble Bar. The leggings are amazingly comfy, but also elevate leggings to a slightly more luxe look which I love. The choker does the same, and is a definite upgrade from my usual black beaded chokers.

The sneakers were also a gift from a friend (my birthday was this month!) and they are my new favorite shoes. It’s crazy because I would probably never buy them on my own, but they seem to match with everything and are amazingly comfortable. I guess it goes to show that sometimes buying basic, low-key stuff serves you well.

I spent most of the day walking around after having brunch at Schlesinger’s Deli. I won’t go into details about my meal, because personally I didn’t think anything was super note-worthy (although they did have a complimentary pickle bar, which was fun) except for the dessert.

Blame it on my sweet tooth, but their “stuffed cookie,” which was essentially two chocolate chip cookies with chocolate cream in between, was fucking amazing. They also had an oatmeal version, and a sprinkle cookie that was the size of my head, but I definitely don’t regret going for the classic chocolate chip.

The cookies were the perfect texture, the cream was so sweet but not too sweet, and I was a happy girl. My boyfriend and I took turns taking bites and passed the cookie across the table as if it was a bottle of rum or something. I may or may not have taken two bites on my turn occasionally…

Choker: Bauble Bar (similar here)

Jacket: Forever 21 (pins vintage)

Bodysuit: Nasty Gal

Bag: Vintage Chanel

Belt: Vintage

Leggings: Hue

Sneakers: Adidas Ultra Boost

If you keep up with “trendy” Instagram-famous type foods, you’ve probably seen rolled ice cream. It’s pretty much your standard ice cream, except it’s flattened out and rolled like sushi. Actually, it’s very much like sushi rice in a way. You can eat rice free-form in a big bowl, or you can roll it into sushi.

I hadn’t tried this rolled phenomenon until last night when my friend who goes to NYU took me to his favorite spot on campus. When I say favorite, I mean favorite, he legit didn’t even have to look at the menu to give his order, lol.

I, on the other hand, had major menu anxiety (as usual) when confronted with four different categories that I had to choose from. I ended up going with coffee ice cream, with fudge mix-ins, topped with an oreo, and drizzled with caramel sauce. Yum, right?

As you can see, the ice cream is very photogenic and adorable. As for the taste, I’m not sure I was sold. I liked the effect of almost cutting into ice cream instead of scooping it, and the texture was nice. But the fudge mix-ins were totally lost (I couldn’t really taste them), and the flavor of the ice cream itself wasn’t very strong.

When I think mix-ins, I think Dairy Queen blizzards or some shit, and this fell flat. I also wish they had crumbled up the oreo instead of just plopping it on top. Maybe prettier for presentation (although debatable), but kind of made it hard to eat with the ice cream.

Would I eat it again? Sure. Would I go out of my way to get it? Probably not.

P.S. I really wish they had cookie dough balls as an option for on top…just a thought.