Eat Well, Live Free

Today I have two special guests on the InnSide Nevada City blog, Jillena and Marcos Hernandez.  They live in Sacramento and have a blog called Eat Well, Live Free.  I met them earlier this year and when they called to say they wanted to celebrate their anniversary at the Outside Inn I asked if they wanted to share their Nevada City experience.  Below is their post, “We Heart Nevada City.”

Today is our 1 year wedding anniversary!  We spent the weekend relaxing in Nevada City to enjoy the beautiful weather, stunning art, brilliant wines and deeply satisfying locally brewed beers.  And we ate.   And ate.  And ate the most inspiring local and organically grown creations, the darkest chocolate cakes and the most decadent truffles.  We first arrived on Friday evening at the Outside Inn.  This ultra charming local hotel is owned by the most interesting Keeper and blogger, Erin Thiem.  When you go to Nevada City, you may just run into her covering a local event.  We were bummed when before we knew it, it was time to go home, and we found the outdoor shower for two!  Next time we will use that!

Our first amazing meal was at the California Organics Grill.  My juice, a blend of fresh orange, carrot, celery and beet, got me off to a good start.  And this raw platter was a good idea too… Because, soon enough we stopped at The Truffle Shop…  to eat a creation by Chef Willem DeGroot, who has apparently sent truffles to the White House and the Vatican.  In between the meals, we spent some time with a few dozen bikers who were on a “Poker Ride”, a charity event to raise money for a young mother with leukemia.  One of my favorite stops was Treats, for the freshly made artisan ice cream, with a whole line of vegan flavors!

Then we drank.  A whole lot more than we normally do, because apparently making it through your first year of marriage is somewhat of a sporting event that folks cheer for you when you make it across the finish line, and buy you wine and other drinks.  The lady’s at Indian Springs Winery were quite delightful and excited for us!  We bottled an exceptional Zinfandel at Nevada City Winery, the old fashioned way.

For the Grand Finale, the prize of Nevada City was dinner at New Moon Cafe.  We couldn’t have asked for a more special meal.  We had the risotto with baby artichokes, English peas and carrots, the roasted beet salad, the flourless chocolate cake, panna cotta and more wine.  It was quite a luxurious meal.  We thank Buzz for taking such great care of us! We were sad to leave before we got a hike in, but we will return for more!

Marcos and Jillena Hernandez, bloggers behind Eat Well, Live Free a Vegetarian Adventure.

© 2012 InnSide Nevada City, © Photos by Marcos Hernandez