Louisville, Kentucky. June 2009. 

My first stop on tour. My little 17-year-old self, headed to Louisville with my mother. The first question everyone asked me when they met me.. “So is your mom touring with you the whole time?”  And even though she did NOT tour with me the whole time (she stayed in KY with me for 3 days, through my rehearsal process and my opening night), I’ve never felt more like a little kid trying to play in the big kid sand box. But I mean, honestly? I hadn’t even graduated from high school yet. My parents would have to have been crazy to just send me off on a plane to tour for 11 months. And also, having my mom with me for the first few days made the adjustment so easy, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. 

I mean, of course I still wanted my freedom. I was on TOUR now, mom. Sheesh… 

Whiny whiny Krista. My mom is the actual greatest. After my opening night, Wednesday, June 3rd, I went to celebrate with some of the cast, and if I remember correctly, it was Krystina, Matt, Anthony, Freddy and Chase. Has it literally been almost 2 years? Wow. Anyway, we wanted some food, and this trendy club-ish building caught our eyes, and it was called Proof, which we later found out to be at the award-winning 21c Museum Hotel in Downtown Louisville. When we walked inside, we immediately felt the cool, dark atmosphere. The dining room was decked out with white couches and metalic bar seats and tables, and the walls were covered with some of the coolest artwork I’ve ever seen. And to top it off, the food was actually incredible. Matt ate a freaking Bison Burger. 

And then I get up to pee. I keep finding more and more artwork. Little did I know that there’s a damn MUSEUM at the back of this restaurant. After dinner, we all explored the fully stocked art museum. There were sculptures and moving pieces and rooms of bright color and mirrors and disturbing images and delicate paintings - it was just absolutely remarkable. One piece in particular that still sticks with me today was a floor length drop-scrim with falling letters on it. Once you stand in front of the scrim, your reflection is projected and the letters fall on your body to make words. We looked the piece up online and found out that the words are actually part of a poem. It was just beautiful. If I’m ever in Louisville again…I don’t know why I would be…but if I am, I’m going back. 

http://www.proofonmain.com

Ok. So here’s the thing. I love food.

And the fact that I got to galavant across the country with the coolest Broadway show ever AND eat food from over 20 different states was just the cherry on top of an already amazing experience. While I was on tour, I compiled a list of my favorite restaurant(s) in each city, and now I’d like to share it with you. I’ll give you details on the type of food provided, my favorite food on the menu, and of course, where you can find it when you’re in the area. Every one of these restaurants holds a special place in my heart - cue tears and small violins - not just because of the mouth watering food, but because they trigger memories from each city, and it’s insanely comforting. 

Each new blog post for the next few months will be about a different restaurant, in a different city, with a different memory attached to it. It’ll be nice for me to sort of re-live these experiences via sharing them with all of you. My favorite restaurants come in all different shapes and sizes, prices and decors - from chic underground coffee shops to frozen yogurt stands to elegant restaurants suitable for Valentines day to diners in the middle of nowhere with the best egg-white omelet you’ve ever tasted. The cities always changed, but there was one constant; one thing we always had to find whenever we arrived at a new destination - and that’s food. And I found some good, good, good food. First stop, Louisville, KY…

In the spirit of the New Year, I though I’d post my running mix that gets me through my 5 mile runs, and hopefully inspire some of you to keep up with your resolutions! I have 27 resolutions - I know, it’s a lot - but I plan on keeping ALL of them, and #6 is pushing me to my limits by making me run 6.2 miles, which I’ve never EVER done in my life! I’m hoping to do it by the end of my school year, so I’m starting training next week! I think this is a really great mix, and I just wanted to share it with you! :) It’s about 1 hour, and really gets your heart pumping! Happy 2011 everyone!

1. F*ck You - Cee Lo Green (3:44)
2. Mercy - Duffy (3:40)
3. The Bitch of Living - Spring Awakening (2:53)
4. Bionic - Christina Aguilera (3:21)
5. Check It Out - will.i.am & Nikki Minaj (4:12)
6. Take Me On the Floor - The Veronicas (3:30)
7. Miss Murder - AFI (3:27)
8. Dirty Little Secret - The All-American Rejects (3:14)
9. Ego - Beyonce (3:56)
10. I’ve Got Atrophy On the Brain - Matt Duke (4:34)
11. Power - Kanye West (4:53)
12. Magnetic Baby - Semi Precious Weapons (2:45)
13. Break the Sky - The Hush Sound (3:19)
14. Best I Ever Had - Drake (4:11)
15. Cinderella Man - Eminem (4:39)
16. Whip My Hair - Willow (3:14)
17. Survivor - Destiny’s Child (4:00)