Silver Springs, MD - Jr. Food Tour

This past week, I was in Maryland for a conference. I was lucky to have a cousin to take me out on a little food tour. Here's how it went...

We had dinner at a lounge named Local 16. It was the first time that I have gotten carded without actually wanting to. I actually didn't even understand the guy when he asked to see my ID. It's Zagat-rated...and it was some good eating. When I tried to pay the bill, I learned that my cousin had the reflexes of a cat. She cleared off half the table when she reached for the bill. She sent the salt and pepper shakers flying off the table into my lap (I guess that's what I get for trying to get the bill), and emptied her wallet onto the floor. It was awesome. The waitress started laughing and stayed to chat a little. We found out that she's from Poland, and is learning Spanish so she could visit Brazil...where they speak Portugese. Go figure.

Then we went for dessert at Cosi. We had make-your-own smores...with graham crackers and giant Oreos. So fun.

End of meal...time to shop for food.

Whenever I'm on the East Coast, there's one thing that I look for to bring back with me - Drake's Coffee Cakes. Yes, I know that you can buy them on the internets (no, not "internet"), but I'm too cheap to pay for shipping. So I shop for these lovely treats whenever I can. This usually means a trip to the grocery store with my friends who live in the areas that I visit. My cousin had never heard of these delicious wonders, THEN she decided to take me on a hunt to find them so I could bring them home. Here's how our trip went:

CVS Pharmacy
- Only had Hostess and TastyKake treats. Next...

Giant Supermarket
- YEAH - Drake's Display. Oh. No cakes...Only other Drake's stuff. Gotta try again...

Rite Aid
- Same as CVS. Hmm...starting to suck for me...

7-11
- Nope. Nothing. Not even Simpson stuff. Onward...

Safeway
- CLOSED. What supermarket closes before 11 p.m.???? Argh...Starting to get discouraged...

GIANT #2 - Our Last Hope
- Location: 5 minutes away from her house

- Yessssss. 8 boxes of cakes!! How many should I buy??
- Supermarket Voice: "Attention Giant customers: The time is now 10:55, and we will be closing in 5 minutes. Please make your selections and proceed to the front counter. Thank you."
- Cousin: All EIGHT...hurry, I'll help you!

So there you have it. I came home with 8 boxes of coffee cakes. Half of them have been claimed by the family. Four more to go. Luckily I'll be back on the East Coast in March. :)

Airplane Seats

Okay, so you've probably heard the debate about whether airlines should charge their larger customers to purchase two seats. I've always sided with the larger customer when it came to these debates...up until yesterday...when the perspective changed a bit...

Wanna know why? Get ready - this story requires audience participation.

I was sitting on my plane, getting ready to fly back to Los Angeles from Houston (my layover from DC) last night. In our row of three seats, there was a larger lady sitting in the window seat, an empty seat, and me sitting in the aisle seat. We were so happy! We were going to have some extra room in our row to relax on the way home! (audience: applause) But then came the standby passengers (audience: BOO! HISS!). Two of them. A skinny guy and a bigger lady. Which do you think chose to sit with us in our row? (audience: choose an answer)

If you guessed NOT the skinny guy, you are CORRECT! Do you know what that meant for me? I spent a whole three hours getting pushed into the aisle (since she hung her arm over the armrest and took some of my seat), which means that I got hit by the drink cart and by the attendants. I was also sporadically poked by this lady's elbow (she was right-handed and doing Sudoku the whole trip back).

So anyway, I've kinda changed my mind about the whole paying for two seats debate. Instead, I think that the airlines should create bigger seats and make everyone happy. I might revert back to my old decision once my body realigns and the sympathy from my heart can once again reach my head.

Fortune Cookies - Beware!

For those of you who enjoy reading nice fortunes at the end of your delicious Chinese meal, beware! Fortune cookie makers (Wonton Food of New York) are starting to add bad fortunes to their fortune database. If you don't believe me, read it for yourself!

Maybe it's a good time to stop believing in those good fortunes (did you really think that you're so fortunate?! :)).

RoseGreen Frozen Yogurt

And in the city of Glendale, it goes by the name of RoseGreen (on Brand Blvd between Lexington and California streets)!

There are others, like Dolci Mango, but my tastebuds prefer the RoseGreen products. If you're a Pinkberry hater, this may be the place for you. The differences? They use Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries (yay), and THERE'S PARKING AVAILABLE! (Pinkberry=no parking, hence the hate from me)

At RoseGreen, you can see what all the fuss is about, and you don't have to give any of your money to the Pinkberry empire. The only difference is....they offer more than just the plain and green tea flavors. Yesterday, my sissy and I tried their raspberry - which was pretty good, but I still prefer the plain.

They're party of the Los Angeles frozen yogurt wars (check the article if you wish!).

Bling H2O

So I'm almost over the Evian superstar water, and I was getting back to my normal cravings for regular bottled and tap water (hmm...but they're the same thing, right?). Along comes my friend Donald to introduce me to the latest thing on my wish list - Bling H2O! Apparently this is Paris Hilton's water of choice, and it was featured at this year's Emmy after parties. Check it out - and laugh at the ridiculousness! :)

Frosted glass bottles...Swarovski crystals...can't wait to taste the water!! Hahah...then fill it with my regular tap water! :)