Dried Green Mango

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but I've got a new dried fruit obsession...the Philippines brand Dried Green Mango! I used to buy the huge bag of dried fruit from Costco (the mix that had mango, green mango, blueberries and strawberries)...and my family and I would pick the green mango out first... Now we don't have to do that!

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

I don't usually like bananas...but if you freeze them and cover them in chocolate, that's a different story. Most stores that sell them cover them in chocolate AND peanuts (boo - I'm allergic), but Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is brilliant and flexible enough to change it up for me!

Tonight I had my chocolate-covered banana...with chopped pecans! :)

This was followed by a session of kettlebell...which I also "enjoyed."

Denny's Fried Cheese Melt

Denny's has a new item: The Fried Cheese Melt. Sounds delicious, no? This cheesy delight is made with four fried mozzarella sticks and American cheese sandwiched between slices of sourdough bread. All of this, of course, is grilled to crispy, greasy perfection. But they didn't stop there...they're rounding out the meal with a side of french fries and a side of marinara.

Woweeeeeee...talk about a portable heart attack!

Pacific Dining Car - Afternoon Tea

I experienced Afternoon Tea for the first time in my life today...at the Pacific Dining Car in Downtown Los Angeles. Tea sandwiches, scones with whipped cream and strawberry preserves, an assortment of desserts, and of course, TEA!

Here are a few visuals:I thought that tea would be dainty with tiny morsels of food. I was wrong. So much food! I'm SO going again.

Las Vegas Food Tour

Our whirlwind trip to Las Vegas turned into a challenge of how much food we could fit into our bodies in the less than 24 hours that we were there. Here's the rundown:

Dinner: Pampas Brazilian Grille @ Planet Hollywood
I didn't think that I would be completely satisfied by an all-you-can-eat Brazilian BBQ. They very quickly proved me wrong. They brought their BBQ chicken and spicy chicken around as soon as they heard there was a "chicken lady." Add that to the salad bar (caprese, green salad, roasted and fresh veggies, fried bananas, rice & black beans, hush puppies, bread, and a bunch of other prepared salads)...all of which was very very tasty...and that equals complete diner satisfaction.

Their fresh pineapple carver made it even better!

Dessert: Serendipty 3 @ Caesar's Palace
The Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate made famous by their NY stores have now come to Las Vegas. Mmmmmm....

We also tried their Strawberry Supreme - tasty too, but we got too big of a size...

Brunch: The Buffet @ the Wynn
My favorite buffet...mostly because of the desserts. Before it was because of their mango-lychee dessert with vanilla bean tapioca whipped cream. Today it was because of the caramel mousse that they used to top their rice pudding. Oh, and also because of their fresh strawberry sorbet.

Street Cart Fries @ Spitz

I have an unnatural love of french fries, so I'm always happy when a restaurant shakes things up and gives me a new variation to try. Spitz just did that with their Street Cart Fries...

Fries (thin crispy fries - either potato or sweet potato - we prefer the sweet potato) covered...excuse me, smothered with cucumber, tomato, kalamata olives, onions, green bell peppers, feta cheese, and their chili sauce. You can even add meat to round out your meal of fries.

Try them - they're really good!

Magnolia Bakery - Los Angeles

It's finally here! And it's not just for cupcakes!

My brother and I took a leisurely Monday morning drive through LA to visit Magnolia Bakery. When we got there, SURPRISE! NO LINE! We walked in and got our snacks in a flash. I got cupcakes, cheesecake, their famous banana pudding, and a Magic Bar for everyone to try.

My favorite thing? The banana pudding! (This is so weird because I don't like bananas in my smoothies...) I've already placed a standing order for my brother to pick up the banana pudding on his way home from work. Lucky for me, it's on his way home!! :)

Filipino Food Truck - Manila Machine

The Filipinos finally decided to join in the food truck craze, and soI've got a new truck to check out - the Manila Machine!

They're serving up Filipino faves like adobo and Filipino breakfast, and they have new and different items like pan de sal sliders!

Anyone want to join me in searching for them?

Marshmallow Milkshakes

I love toasted marshmallow, and I like milkshakes, therefore making MARSHMALLOW MILKSHAKES my new project.

I will let you know how these work out for me...wish me luck!

Magnolia Bakery

If you haven't experienced the NY cupcakes that started the current cupcake craze, don't be sad. Magnolia Bakery is headed to Los Angeles!

Update: It's slated to open this weekend, but if that's true, it's going to be crazy! We may have to drive by and check the line out before committing the time. If it's too bad, we'll just head to Joan's on 3rd! :)

Free Slurpee Day

It's 7-11's way of making this 7-11 day a happy one for you.

Swing by your local 7-11 and get your free 7.11 oz. slurpee. Hurry! You have to get there before they run out! :)

The Ultimate Food Truck Day

Let me just preface this entry by saying that YES, I AM A FAT KID. That being said, here is how the day went...

Breakfast: The Buttermilk Truck
They were in Echo Park, just 10 minutes away, so how could I NOT go? I came away with three orders of their pancake bites (6 mini pancakes per order - red velvet chocolate chip, almond, and blueberry), and one order of their Hawaiian french toast.


Lunch: Delicious home cookin' courtesy of my mom

Afternoon Snack: Frysmith (the french fry truck)They, too, were about 10 minutes away, so again I was obligated to go. This time my mom and cousin joined me. We ate our own fry orders there and took three for the sibs at home.
Evening Snack: Stewie's Shave Ice
My sissy and I took our niece and nephews to get shave ice (snow cones, in kid-speak) at the Americana at Brand. Five orders of shave ice for us and two to go for my bros.

Second Evening Snack: Komodo Truck
After dropping our niece and nephews off, my sissy suggests going home via sidestreet so we can see if the Komodo Truck is still there (she spotted them turning onto Colorado Blvd earlier in the day). Sure enough, they were there and serving it all up. Steak tacos, chicken tacos, garlic fries, truffle fries....all really good.

More pictures to follow...

Chilled Cucumber Soup

I've heard this soup mentioned several times in my life, but I've never had a chance to try it. I happened across this new site and the writer was raving about the simplicity of this recipe...so tonight, it became a project.

Stick 3 cucumbers in a blender, add sour cream and some cider vinegar. Refrigerate or freeze until completely chilled. Top with homemade croutons and voila!

I took pictures, but they didn't do the soup justice (the soup was a pale green). The soup was not like anything I had tried before...and I'll be looking for different variations now! :)

Wingstop!

I had Wingstop for the first time today! I know, I'm a little bit delayed... but oh man, what a delicious way to celebrate Independence Day... I was so busy eating while Avatar was playing that I still don't know what it was about!

Hot wings and my aunt's potato salad? Yum. With a V-8 fusion chaser - you know, to balance the meal. Hahah :)

Haagen-Dazs Five - New Flavors

The Haagen-Dazs FIVE line has new flavors - strawberry and caramel! I'll be searching for them to give them a try. So if you happen to find them, let me know!

New Cookies!!

So I stumbled across this cookie bakery called Freshly Baked. Normally I have an urge to try every new bakery of which I become aware, but this one was screaming for me to try it...

How? By it's claim to be 100% VEGAN FREE! Yeah man, real butter, real eggs, that's right. So my sissy and I trekked up and down Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock to find these cookies.

We got a good variety (everything but the strawberry and peach cookies), and they're pretty decent. I tried the Monkey Nut Blast - Banana/Chocolate Chip/Walnut. Delicious and original with their use of banana chips in the cookie.

Pictures to follow...

Tasted: Pinkberry - Watermelon

So we tried the new Pinkberry flavor (watermelon) tonight. I don't usually like anything with artificial watermelon flavor...but this was okay. I will be sticking to my original flavor (with a little mango here and there), and I'm glad it's a seasonal flavor...

Ciao Bella Key Lime Squares

Wow - these made me cut my dinner short (yes, I ate half of my six-inch sandwich) so I could start dessert early! Ciao Bella Key Lime gelato between two graham wafers. Delicious! Once I started eating it, I couldn't stop...so this is the picture you get...

HIGHLY RECOMMEND. And if you don't like it, let me know and I'll come finish them for you.

Watermelon. Pinkberry. HAPPY HOUR!!!

It's here - Pinkberry's summer flavor: WATERMELON! And tagging along are the new topping additions - fresh watermelon puree, diced watermelon, and diced cucumber. I'll be there for happy hour - you can meet me there and let me know how the new stuff tastes. :)

Frozen Crush & Get Shaved Ice

My sissy found this place called Frozen Crush out in Northridge, so we decided to try it today. It's a store that looks like a gelato shop, but the displays are filled with Italian Ice. It's another option in frozen desserts (you know, like frozen yogurt or ice cream). My sissy got hers swirled with their frozen yogurt (a creamy soft serve, and not tart), and I got the flavors of a Bomb Pop (remember those?! If you don't, it's blue raspberry, cherry, and lemon). If you find that you can't live without it, they cater with their Crush Cart.

Since we were out in Northridge, we decided to go to the Get Shaved Ice non-truck location. Their menu offerings are slightly different - menu here. My brother got an ice cream sandwich (their cookies were homemade and they had a good selection of ice cream for a store of their size), and my sister and I got shave ice. They also do shakes! Yum.

Total sugar overload.

Pinkberry Alert - Watermelon!!! HAPPY HOUR!!!

You may be asking, "Watermelon WHAT?"

YOGURT! Watermelon is Pinkberry's new flavor for the summer...and it's bringing three toppings along with it.

And yes, you're seeing that correctly... Their daily Happy Hour begins on June 25. 1/2 price from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Hot Dog on a Stick - Free Hot Dogs!

Free Hot Dog Day is tomorrow, June 15. Just show up at your local Hot Dog on a Stick and you'll get the hot dog of your choice.

Enjoy!

Street Feast - Round 2

The food truck craze continues...and a prime example could be the Street Feast at the Americana in Glendale. The first one was crazy crowded, and here's Round 2 of customers battling long lines for gourmet truck food!

Mark your calendars - it's on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 from 6 to 9 p.m.

I actually didn't go to the first one because I heard about the looooooooong lines while I was on my way out there. BUT, I've seen how the lines can be for one truck, and I have yet to see if I can endure such a long wait for several trucks.

Anyhow, the info is here. Don't forget to print your flyer for free parking.

World of Color - California Adventure

Tonight we were lucky enough to get tickets to see a sneak peek of California Adventure's World of Color. We didn't really know what to expect, but we got quite a show! Plus, my brother got to high-five the giant Tigger, and we got to say hello to our hosts for the night - Mark Wallengren from KOST 103.5 FM and Sean Valentine from MyFM 104.3 (both Los Angeles radio stations).
But first, we began the evening with the one essential Disneyland snack, DOLE WHIP! This time my sissy and I put it in a cone - yum! :)Then on to the show...Apparently we had a pretty good spot. The KABC/Good Morning America production crew was right next to us with their cameras. After the show... finally...time for the rides...with no lines!! One of the best KOST private parties yet. Thanks KOST!

Back Home In Lahaina & Millions of Milkshakes

Wow, what a busy day of eating today was! All of it was done to celebrate my brother's birthday. :) We started with the panzanella that I made at home, then moved on to the restaurants.

First was my brother's favorite Hawaiian restaurant - Back Home In Lahaina. We ordered SO MUCH FOOD! My favorite was the Hawaiian nachos with their Hawaiian BBQ Chicken.

That's a NACHO TOAST for my brother's birthday. Thanks for the idea, Ivan! :) Then, it was time for the ride home and a stop for dessert...at McDonalds! Ivan ordered the McChicken sandwich just for kicks. For everyone's safety, I'm not going to disclose how many people this ordered served.
Finally, to end the evening of caloric intake, we visited Millions of Milkshakes. It was open until 2 a.m. to accommodate the late night craving...

CPK Butter Cake

OOooohhhhhh so delicious. It's not on the menu just yet, but you can ask for it! A warm butter cake with a topping that I don't know how to describe. I suppose you may want to get it to share with others first, just in case it's an acquired taste. Or you can just bring me and I'll let you have a bite!

Crepe Day

I got a new crepe maker and decided to make crepes. This was the final product of today's efforts. Looks like I need to work on my crepe-making skills a little...

Shaved Ice in Glendale

Stewie's Shave Ice is now open to satisfy your shaved ice cravings. It's a little different from Get Shaved Ice (you don't have to chase it down, the flavors are different, and the options are a little different), but the ice is still like snow!

Check them out by clicking here. Pictures to follow...

New Addiction: Pretzel M&Ms

Yes, that is correct. For all of you M&M lovers (and the likers too)...there's a new version of M&Ms! Chocolate-covered pretzel balls with a candy coating. Buy the party pack and share the love!

St. Regis for Brunch

This was easily the most money I've spent on an individual meal in a long time...but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. I was going to post all of the pictures that I took, but I'll just give you a couple of the highlights. It may look like I only had sweet stuff for brunch, but to be honest, I didn't take pictures until halfway through the meal because I was so excited to eat! So...no pictures of the hot food or the omelet bar. Here's the sweet stuff...pecan roll, waffle with fresh strawberries and cream, a scone and jam...This might not be the best of pictures, but I'll explain what is on the plate above. A spoonful of creme brulee, a coconut macaroon, a chocolate covered strawberry (looks a little light...like the chocolate has bloomed, but the light is just reflecting off of the gold dust on the chocolate), and a peach cheesecake in the shot glass.
And the final dessert - a warm chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. Yum.

New Product: Cherry Raisinets

Okay, I need your help finding this one...

Nestle now makes Cherry Raisinets - dried tart cherries covered in dark chocolate. Yum. So if you happen to find them, point me in the right direction!

Haagen-Dazs

I hope you found a Haagen-Dazs and got some free ice cream yesterday. Just had to share a picture of mine...

Need A Guilt Trip?

When is the last time that you were told how RICH you were? When is the last time you actually had to endure a guilt trip? Well, this link can accomplish both for you: The Global Rich List.

Try it and let me know what you think! Don't worry - they don't ask for personal information, and you don't even have to give a real salary.

Epi-Pen - the sequel

These new Epi-Pens are HUGE. Well, maybe not any bigger than the others I've had...but they look more intimidating! They look like they'll transform into a little robot that will give you the necessary dosage of epinephrine - 0.3 mg to be exact.

Mrs. Beasley's Truck

That is correct, folks. Just when you thought another food truck couldn't fit onto the traffic-congested streets of Los Angeles...here comes another one! Mrs. Beasley's Mobile Cupcake Van will be loaded with all the sugary goodies (cupcakes, cookies, cakes, drinks, etc.) that you've come to know and love in their stores...and they'll be bringing them to a location near you!

Details here.

Godiva Lollipops

There is yet another way for you to get Godiva chocolates into your system. Godiva now makes little chocolate lollipops shaped like popsicles.

They also sell their ice cream flavor truffles in little ice cream containers (like the pints you buy at grocery stores). Very cute. Very pricey.

New Ben & Jerry's Flavor

Introducing...Bonnaroo Buzz - Light Coffee & Malt ice creams with Caramel swirls and English toffee chunks. The nicest thing about this new flavor is that proceeds will go to a philanthropic cause (details here).

This flavor is only available in scoop shops, so go find your nearest shop and check it out!

Happy 50th Birthday Haagen-Dazs!

And whaddayouknow...they're giving free scoops to celebrate! Here are the details - straight from their email:

Visit any participating Häagen-Dazs Shop on May 18th between 4pm and 8pm and enjoy a free scoop of one of our original flavors: Chocolate, Coffee and Vanilla. They're just as scrumptious as they were 50 years ago.

Mmmmm...enjoy....

Happy Star Wars Day!

No, I'm not making it up. (Look it up - I'm really not!) It's May 4 - making it the most appropriate time for Star Wars fanatics to say, "May the fourth be with you."

Consider yourself informed...if you weren't already.

Lily! In Swedish Commercials?!

My cousin's beautiful baby...check it out...

Get Shaved Ice Menu

Sorry for the bad picture, but this is the menu for Get Shaved Ice in case you're planning on going!

31 cent Scoop Night

Don't forget - 31 cent scoop night is tonight! Head to your nearest Baskin-Robbins tonight to both satisfy your sweet tooth and to support America's firefighters.

Step Into The Sunshine

The title is actually a song that our children's choir used to sing. I had no idea that other kids were singing the same song - and this particular trio added a little flair that would make my brother jealous!!! (in addition to the fact that the kid is so young...)

Click here to check out the kids.

The Hat

I've seen The Hat all around Southern California as long as I've been here (yes, so that would be DECADES), but I've always just looked and passed by. Today, I finally got around to trying it. I got a turkey sandwich. Turkey? At a place famous for its pastrami? Yes, turkey, on the recommendation of the cashier. Also, you should know that I don't eat red meat.

My verdict?

Eh. Pass on the turkey. But if you like pastrami, I hear it's really good.
And if you order french fries - get a small order...no matter how many fries you want...trust me.

Grilled Cheese Invitational

We attended the 1st 8th Grilled Cheese Invitational this year. For $10, unlimited Tillamook grilled cheese sandwiches and Pacific Foods tomato soup? YUM!

We also got kettle chips and Izze sparkling fruit juice to make it a complete, "balanced" meal.

Ohhhh Tillamook. It's so good. More pictures to come.

Milk Does A Body Good...

...Pass it on!

My brother ordered milk as his drink for dinner the other night to help his body recover from his workout. It made me think about the old OLD commercial that you just read a few seconds ago. With the wonder of YouTube, I'm able to share the commercial (at least one iteration of it) with you :)

Dollar Tuesdays @ Hot Dog On A Stick

I'm not sure how long this is going to last, but Hot Dog On A Stick has $1 hot dogs every Tuesday. It would be best to check their site each time you go...just in case the deal ends.

You can find it here.

BOGO Free Jamba Juice

Jamba Juice is celebrating their 20th anniversary, and they have a deal for all of their customers. Buy one drink off of the menu and get another one for free. This deal is good from today, April 12, through April 25. Just don't forget to print the coupon before you go! Get the coupon here!

Review: Pinkberry Cones

I was so excited to get a Pinkberry cone this weekend. But bad service combined with an unexpected product has led to this advice for you: If you're going to get Pinkberry, don't get it in a cone.

This is what happens...

They will ask you what topping you want, and fill the bottom of the cone with it (a cake cup cone), then swirl the equivalent of a Mini on top of the "toppings" (which are now...bottom-ings?!). The problem? The frozen yogurt is sitting on top of a shallow base and doesn't stick too much, so if you lick the yogurt, it will move. Mine moved from the cone to my purse. ARGH! What a mess.

I think my best suggestion would be...if you REALLY want the cone, ask for it on the side. Hopefully they'll do that for you. You'll enjoy the experience more, and your clothes/car/purse/surroundings will be safer too.

Get Shaved Ice

You really should get shaved ice...but not just from any "shaved ice" vendor. You HAVE to try the Get Shaved Ice Truck!

The Get Shaved Ice Truck travels with the Kogi BBQ truck. The shaved ice is like snow, not like the ice chunks you might get at other places. They offer lots of flavor options, and they're so good! You can even add sour spray, azuki beans, or ice cream. Luckily, it stops not too far from our house every Friday, so we can count on this delicious treat every week...even when we don't want to stand in line for the korean bbq tacos/burritos/quesadillas.

Check it out - and let me know what you think if you get to try it!

Pinkberry Update

Short and sweet...

Pinkberry announced a "new" MINI size - but they had introduced this size when they gave samples of their new mango flavor. They also premiered a Pinkberry cone...so you can have the whole "ice cream cone experience" with their frozen yogurt.

Enjoy!

31 Cent Scoop Night @ Baskin-Robbins!

It's that time of the year - when you can donate to an honorable cause and get a tasty treat for doing it! Baskin-Robbins is honoring America's firefighters. The Baskin-Robbins CommunityFoundation is donating $100,000 to the National FallenFirefighters Foundation™ (NFFF). Just 31 cents will buy you a scoop of your favorite flavor!

Date: April 28, 2010
Time: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

See you there!

Food of the 80s

I know this dates me, but I have to share...

There's this website (In the 80s) that allows people to reminisce about foods from the 80s. As I was looking through this list, I got happy seeing the snacks of my childhood! You should take a look. You'll probably be reminded of some favorite snacks too.

One of my favorite? Suddenly Smores by Nabisco. It was so simple - just a small package that you pop into the microwave. After a few seconds, you have two perfect little s'mores!

Enjoy your trip down memory lane.

Street Feast @ the Americana

The gourmet food trucks have a big meeting tonight - and they'll be there to serve you! It's called Street Feast...from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight at the Americana.

The Dim Sum Truck
Mandoline Grill
Komodo
Coolhaus
The Buttermilk Truck
Willoughby Road
DOSAtruck
The Grilled Cheese Truck
Frysmith

I'll will be there! Find me for free parking (first 3 people - HA!) Then enjoy the food with me!

Free Cone Day - Ben & Jerry's

I know, late notice...but just in case you have a Ben & Jerry's in your area, it's FREE CONE DAY TODAY! Just stop by your nearest Ben & Jerry's scoop shop between 12 noon and 8 p.m. today, and you'll get the flavor of your choice for free!

Enjoy! And think of me...cuz I don't have one near me...

School Lunches

Okay, I'll admit, I was spoiled when it came to lunch when I was in school...so I'm sure I have no idea what kids these days get when they have a "bad" school lunch at a public school. There is one teacher who is determined to bring light to this issue. She's blogging about it...anonymously. I don't blame her. :)

Also, along the same train of thought, Chef Jamie Oliver is trying to revamp school lunch programs in his new show Food Revolution.

Check these two out. They intrigue me...and their issues might be interesting to you too!

The Sugar-Free Experience

This week, I went 5 days without sugar (or sugar substitutes). Why would I do this? Because I know I'm addicted to refined sugar...and this is the time of year when candy is available everywhere I turn... I had to go back to eating fruits and vegetables.

The result? An increase in my salt intake...I wonder how my blood pressure is. Another result...the better result is...after having sugar withdrawal headaches over the past two days, I think that I've broken my addiction to refined sugar! Today's the day that I can actually go back to eating sweets, and I don't have a craving for them. In fact, I'm very happy snacking on the nuts that I still need to finish up.

Actually, the thing I missed more than candy was SAUCE! I love my ketchup and salad dressings...and I couldn't have them this week. Good thing I had invested in awesome (expensive) balsamic vinegar. I think this helped keep me sane.

One of the girls here at work baked me brownies to celebrate my homecoming to sugar, and they haven't been much of a temptation sitting on my desk.

Pinkberry's New Flavor Is...

MANGO!

Need REAL proof? They're giving away samples - a mini Mango Pinkberry with toppings - on Friday so you can try it! Details here.

Candy Bar Ice Cream Bars

My family loves Snickers ice cream bars. LOVES them. But with my peanut allergy, I'm not able to enjoy them with the fam.


But I DO love the Twix ice cream bar! It's a sad substitution for the Snickers, I've heard, but in my case, they're quite delish. The 3 Musketeers ice cream isn't bad either!

I have yet to try the M&M ice cream bars...

ASCII File

I know this is not food or deal oriented, but I have to ask... Is it sad that I know what an ASCII file is when one of my Tech Support guys doesn't?

The Best Kit Kat...

And by "best" I mean the most satisfying if you're looking for a Kit Kat fix...
They can be found in the little snack packs that have one tiny bar in them. They're my favorite!

What's the difference, you might ask? They have four wafers instead of the three...reminds me of the time when candy manufacturers weren't trying to cut corners or quality to save money (but the bars are half the size of a normal bar of Kit Kat...so that doesn't remind me of the good ol' days...).

So far, they've been available for Christmas and Easter. I couldn't find them around Valentine's Day. It would probably be in my best interest to stock up while they're here...

Figure Skating

I don't understand this sport. I mean, I do and I don't. It's called figure skating, but they are given points for their jumps...when they're NOT skating.

Shouldn't they give points for skating figures?

FOR INSTANCE...
Who can skate in the straightest line? Or who can skate in the most perfect circle? Or who can skate in the outline of a particular object? :)

Just a thought...

New Ben & Jerry's...

That's right. You can't have new Haagen-Dazs flavors and not have new Ben & Jerry's flavors, right? So here you go...NEW FLAVORS!!!

Boston Cream Pie - Boston Cream Pie Ice Cream with Yellow Cake Pieces, Fudge Flakes & Swirls of Pastry Cream

Dulce Delish - Rich Caramel Ice Cream with Dark Caramel Swirls

Milk & Cookies - Vanilla Ice Cream with a Chocolate Cookie Swirl, Chocolatey Chip & Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Brittle - Peanut Brittle Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle Pieces & a Caramel Swirl

Mud Pie - Chocolate & Coffee Liqueur Ice Creams Swirled Together with a Chocolate Cookie Swirl

We've talked about Gingersnap and Maple Blondie before, right?

K'ya - Street Food

My sister emailed me about a restaurant at Hotel Menage, sits just around the corner from Disneyland. Their restaurant, K'ya, serves street food - tapas-style.

I've been there twice...because the food is pretty good and because the presentation is fun! They also have a pretty long menu to work through.

Most of the items (except for the soupy dishes) are served in paper baskets, just as you would get food from street vendors. Just beware - each dish is small and has a small price tag, but they recommend at least three per person, which brings the total to a regular dinner dish price.

My favorite thing on the menu: Hearts of Palm-Papaya Salad with Papaya Seed Dressing.
Delicious.

I'll be back - and maybe you'll be with me! :)

Captain EO is back

Whooohooo...we all new it had to happen, right?
Well, my bro called (EARLY) this morning to tell me that he had just heard it was opening today, and that people had been standing in line since midnight last night...

Soooo, the plan today would be to put that good ol' annual pass to use. After work, that is...

New Haagen-Dazs Flavors

Just in case you thought that they were slacking off in the Department of New Flavors, here are their newest additions to the line...

Dark Chocolate Mint: All the rich complexity of artisanal bittersweet chocolate blended into a luxuriously smooth ice cream.

Amaretto Almond Crunch: Seductively smooth Amaretto ice cream blended with crispy almond brittle.

And there are the 'almost new flavors':

Midnight Cookies & Cream: An indulgent blend of smooth chocolate ice cream, buttery fudge ribbons and chocolate wafer cookies.

Bananas Foster: All the lively flavors of classic Bananas Foster captured in a distinctly delicious ice cream.Your 2009 favorite returning for an encore!

Peanut Butter Brittle: Smooth peanut butter ice cream, with a peanut butter swirl and crunchy peanut butter brittle pieces.

Häagen-Dazs Five Lemon joins our all natural lineup of flavors crafted with only five ingredients— sweet, juicy lemons, milk, cream, egg and sugar.

Peach low fat frozen yogurt, including fresh orchard peaches and live and active cultures. Indulge in natural goodness.

BOGO Pinkberry

That's right - caring is sharing this Valentine's Day!

Buy yourself some delicious Pinkberry (with toppings), and get one of equal or lesser value for free to share with someone you love...or at least like...

Click here for the coupon...and spread the love, people!

CHAM Good....

My brother and I made plans to bring my mom to Souplantation tonight, with the intent of letting her meet up with her friends while we ate separately in the same restaurant. The line was WAY too long, so we decided to eat elsewhere on Lake Avenue (in Pasadena).

Rubio's, Panda Express, Chipotle, Wahoo's Fish Tacos...

I said that we should go to Sharkie's, the brother said okay. While walking towards Sharkie's, we saw a different restaurant - CHAM Korean Bistro. Sure! We can try that...

Good thing we did. We got to eat good Korean BBQ, but with a healthy twist. We both got their California Bibimbop, and he tried their tofu pockets. My other bro got take out - just spicy bbq chicken and rice. We also tried their sweet potato cheesecake. Yummmm...

We'd probably go tomorrow, but they're closed on Sundays.

New Heinz Ketchup Packets

After soooo many years of tearing the corners off of small rectangle packets, Heinz is changing their ketchup packets. For those who prefer squeezing, you'll still have that option. But now you will have the ability to dunk too!

Epi-Pen Experiment

I'm allergic to peanuts, and after two years of my friends and family insisting that I carry an Epi-Pen, I finally got one. When I visited the doctor, she determined that my allergy was severe enough that I should carry TWO. I spent a lot of time training my family with the test pen. The brothers had too much fun practicing with the test pen...resulting in a big fat bruise on my thigh.

This past Tuesday, after seeing an expired pen, and I figured it was time to REALLY experiment. To my partial defense (you'll see why it's only partial in a second), she did say, 'Try using one on an orange, just so you can get a feel for it..." and she had told me to keep the expired pens so I could do it. I didn't have an orange, so I grabbed an apple.

I took the expired Epi-Pen, opened it up, took off the safety cap, and firmly pushed (jammed) it into the apple. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH there was a great big splash...splattered my face and my hands. What did I do? I FREAKED OUT. Then I saw the crater that the pen created in the apple and FREAKED OUT EVEN MORE. I called my sissy to make sure that it wasn't too dangerous for me to have epinephren on my skin. When she called me back, after letting me know that I'd probably be okay, she laughed and made fun of my panicking.

AN ORANGE. The doctor said an ORANGE for a reason! I knew I was a bad patient, but wow, way to teach me a lesson!

1-800-4-QWERTY

As I've been listening to the radio and watching TV this past week, I've gotten more and more irritated with the way that people/companies display their phone numbers. Example...

George Clooney did a very nice thing in organizing the telethon for the people of Haiti. Celebrities all came together to donate their time and talents to get people to watch and give. The problem was...everytime they displayed their number, it was displayed like this:

877-99-HAITI

Usually they would give another number right below, giving the real number so you don't have to go searching for the numbers that correspond to the letters on your phone. Helpful, right? I thought so.

But no, they didn't do that, and I have a smartphone. With a full keyboard. I didn't know what number to dial. But that's okay...I'll give somewhere else.

Chocolate Cheerios

Because you needed a new flavor of Cheerios to add to your collection, General Mills has introduced Chocolate Cheerios! They're also offering a coupon for 50 cents off your purchase of Chocolate Cheerios. Unfortunately, I found it AFTER I bought my cereal. :(

Krispy Kreme's Free Doughnut Day (for Southern California)

To celebrate 10 tasty years in Southern California, Krispy Kreme has declared tomorrow (Saturday, January 16, 2010) Free Doughnut Day.

Participating Locations:
• 4760 Los Coyotes Diagnol in Long Beach
• 1199 W. Artesia Boulevard in Gardena
• 4034 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles
• 4485 Mills Circle in Ontario
• 330 City Drive South in Orange
• 1548 Azusa Avenue in City of Industry
• 1521 North Victory Place in Burbank
• 4180 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in San Diego
• 25802 El Paseo Avenue in Mission Viejo
• 1231 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica
• 2305 Otay Lakes Road Suite 206 in Chula Vista

Enjoy your free tasty treat, SoCal...

Oatmeal Wednesdays

If you've tried the steel-cut oatmeal from Jamba Juice and like it, you'll definitely like this:

Every Wednesday in the Month of January, Jamba Juice is offering their oatmeal for $1! Plus applicable sales tax, of course.

Enjoy!

Cake Balls

It's weird for a title, I know. But that's what these creations are called. I know you can make them...in fact all you need to do is bake up a cake (boxed is fine), roughly crumble it up and mix it with a can of icing (more or less to your own taste/desire), roll the mixture into balls, and dip them in chocolate! Or white chocolate. Or cover with fondant if you're ambitious. Search for a recipe on the web and you'll find them all over (like on All Recipes).

OR...if you're lazy and have money to burn (or if you have a sister who has a free day on the weekend), you can have someone make fancy ones for you! :) A company called The Cake Ball Company (imagine that) makes these desserts and will ship them to you. If you're in Texas, they've even invited you to their production facilities. They are fancier looking than ones that the lazy people will make at home...and they have lots of flavors to choose from. Find them here or (occasionally) at Neiman Marcus online.

Disneyland for free

Yes, Disneyland is offering up free tickets again this year.

Last year, you just had to be born...but this year, you have to work for the tickets. You have to get involved in community service activities, which you should be involved in anyway! Unfortunately, not all community service projects will get you these tickets. You have to pick a project that is with one of the participating service organizations.

It's not bad at all, though. Give a day of community service, and get a free ticket to Disneyland! You can feel good about what you've done, and you get rewarded with a day to 'the happiest place on earth!'

Good plan, Disney. Way to teach everyone about community service.

Click here for details.

Happy New Year! From Baskin Robbins

...and me too...

Baskin Robbins announced a special to welcome in the new year. Buy a 4 oz. scoop of ice cream, and add a second scoop for 99 cents!

Plus, they have a new flavor - Dulce de Leche.

I've got a special to offer too! If you happen to get ice cream from me, it's likely that you can add scoop for free. But that's only as long as supplies last and if you can find where I keep the ice cream! :)

Hope you have a sweet new year.

Ukelele Cutie

Can't understand a word he's singing...but the kid is a ukelele genius! At least with the Jason Mraz...

Move Over, Reese's Pieces...

...you've got some company now. Meet York Pieces, Almond Joy Pieces, and Special Dark Pieces!

All without peanut butter, and just in time for the holiday baking season! YAY!

Ben & Jerry's New Flavor - Maple Blondie

I love new ice cream flavors, and Ben & Jerry just created Maple Blondie (description here and below)! They have timed this just right - it's time for me to replenish my ice cream supply.

In the words of Ben & Jerry (well, their email, at least):

Our new limited batch flavor is inspired by Hannah Teter, her Olympic Gold Medal & her mission to make a difference! It's Maple Ice Cream with Blonde Brownie Chunks & a Maple Caramel Swirl. It's available in scoop shops & starting in December, it'll be in grocery stores near you.

Krispy Kreme and Christmas

Krispy Kreme has announced this year's Christmas treats:

Snowman Doughnuts - so cute!!

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Chocolate Iced Glazed doughnuts with Christmas Sprinkles

White Iced Glazed doughnuts with Red & Green Drizzles

Wreath doughnuts with green icing and a bow

Gingerbread Crunch doughnuts-original glazed dipped in white icing and "holiday spiced" gingerbread crunch

Wow sugar rush!

Red Robin Gingerbread Shake

Red Robin has introduced their Gingerbread Shake to celebrate the holidays. You can try it for $2.99, but make sure that you specify that you want the $2.99 shake or they'll surprise you with the sidecar and charge you the full $4.59!

I was really excited about it until I conferred with my sissy. She pointed out that it was blended with graham cracker and topped with a gingersnap. My review? Tastes Christmas-y, but not gingerbread-y like some might gather from the name. Maybe it would be better to call it a Holiday Shake... I'll be sticking to the good ol' glass of water from now on...

Jamestown Pie Company - Buy a Pie!!

My mom and aunt visited West Virginia a few years ago and discovered the best chocolate chip pecan pie that we've ever had. After some searching, I was able to find the company that made the pie...and I thought that I'd better blog it because of their awesome URL...

http://www.buyapie.com/

Buy a pie. Straightforward...and easy to remember! Genius. Their motto is pretty fantastic too:
Because Round Food is Good Food

:) I can't say that I can argue with that!

Many thumbs up for their pies; just don't eat too much at a time or you'll have sugar overload.

Pinkberry BOGO

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

As my family sat around and talked during Thanksgiving dinner, I discovered something very important. I found out that one of my cousins works for Pinkberry...and has for the past two years...wow I lag.

Anyhow, she gave me a BOGO coupon that starts tomorrow - and I think that you can get it via facebook or twitter too. The reason for the celebration that Pinkberry starts to serve their chocolate yogurt tomorrow! Yum. So print it out and treat someone tomorrow...hopefully it will help your bodies recover from the overeating from today!

Eggo Waffles Shortage

Yes, this is sad news for all Eggo Waffle lovers. Due to flooding at the Atlanta bakery - their largest waffle bakery - there will be a shortage of Eggo Waffles that could last until mid-2010. No joke.

I'm going to stock up tonight. If you want your Eggos, you better beat me to the grocery store!

Hershey's Irish Creme Kisses

I FINALLY found some new holiday candy. Hershey Kisses come in an Irish Creme-filled variety. I would've posted a picture, but I left them for the girls in my office. Don't worry if you want to find them - Target stocks tons of them, so they're easy to find. Just look for the green packaging.

Ben & Jerry's Gingersnap Ice Cream

I got an email a while back letting me know that it was on its way to stores...but last night I found it! Gingersnap Ice Cream - yummm. It's a sign that the holidays are here.

When I was younger, my sister and I would always find the gingerbread men ice cream sandwiches around the holidays. They don't make them anymore (so sad), but this is an acceptable substitution!

Now on to planning the Christmas lights for our house...

Pizza Party

I celebrated my birthday this year with a pizza party. Sounds simple, but it was probably a big pain for my family to deal with. This party involved pizzas from all over - from Chicago to LA.

Lou Malnahti's deep dish Chicago pizza straight from Chicago.
Round Table Pizza's Gourmet Veggie pizza - ooh garlic and veggies.
Domino's Regular Cheese Pizza and Thin Crust Veggie Pizza
Numero Uno's Thick Crust Cheese Pizza
Brownstone's NY style Pizza
Gourmet Pizza Shoppe's Dessert Pizzas

Add to that a sampling of Portillo's Italian Beef Sandwiches - both sweet and hot - plus other sides, desserts, and lime punch!

Total carb overload. Hopefully I'll get a picture of this smorgasbord and post it.

Halloween Candy Overload

It's been four days (in Sesame Street Count's language, that's 4 days AH, AH, AH, AH) since Halloween, and I'm still flooded with Halloween candy.


Usually, the manufacturers will just change the packaging. There are those, however, who decide to tint their white chocolate orange, or in the case of York Peppermint Patties, tint the peppermint cream orange. Weird.

But the weirdest thing is that I got a Kit Kat bar and the wafers were vertical instead of horizontal. I was going to take a picture, but I'm such a fat kid that I couldn't wait to take a picture. I just ate it. And now I'm telling you about it with no visuals. Sorry.

Pain du Monde

I'm a big fan of little bakeries. Coincidentally, some of the best ones I have found have been in the food courts of malls. Example? Paradise Bakery. I just stumbled upon Pain du Monde, which is another great example.

Pastries, cookies, sandwiches, everything that a bakery should have. I'll be visiting them again soon!

Disneyland's Halloween Time

This is BY FAR my favorite Disneyland celebration - Fantasmic, Halloween fireworks, "Nightmare Before Christmas" Haunted Mansion, Ghost Galaxy Space Mountain. There are some pretty decent videos of the fireworks show online...like these...

Thank goodness for annual passes and conference tickets!

No New Candy?!

I've been conducting my usual search for new candy (you know, every time I go to a store that sells candy), and I haven't found anything new in a while. This is driving me nuts! Usually I will find some sort of special edition of a candy bar as soon as they start selling holiday candy, but I've had no luck this year.

Maybe I'm just not searching hard enough...or maybe candy makers are slacking off!
Let me know if there's something out there that I need to try.

New Godiva Treats

So Godiva makes a suitable Reese's peanut butter cup substitution for me, and they're pretty tasty. I joined their club so I can get a piece every month for free. But now Godiva is trying to raise my sugar levels with other products - they now offer cupcakes and brownies.

They finally jumped in on the cupcake fad with these chocolate cupcakes (with a chocolate center) and vanilla or chocolate buttercream. Sorry kids, these treats are only available online and by catalog order (not in stores), so you'll have to plan ahead if you want these.

Free KFC - Take Two

KFC is trying for a second time to give their chicken away. On Monday, October 26, they will give one piece of their Kentucky Grilled Chicken to anyone who visits their stores. No coupon is necessary and they promise that they will have enough for everyone.

So if you're in the mood for KFC, but are not interested in the grilled chicken giveaway, I would recommend that you plan to satisfy your craving on any day but Monday.

Homemade Deliciousness

My brothers surprised me this past weekend with their cooking skills. The bros and one cousin decided that they wanted to cook...and cook they did.

We were treated to several flavors of homemade buffalo wings, garlic fries, and a pizzookie (a cookie baked in a deep dish, but they used a regular sheet pan) with ice cream for dessert!

Big thumbs up to the boys...for exercising cooking skills and for saving us from having to go out to a restaurant. I think they should do it more often. We just have to find a place to sneak in some veggies...

Just Say No

...to the Buffaloco wings at El Pollo Loco. Well, I can only talk about the Buffalo flavor, since that's the only one I tried. It may be that their BBQ flavor may be tasty and delicious, but I have yet to try them.

So I got the 5-piece buffalo wings...opened the container and got a whiff of the sauce. Yep, something got me. Good? Bad? I wasn't completely sure yet. So I proceeded to the visual inspection of the wings. It was a weird color for buffalo wings...a little too yellow...but maybe I'm just too used to the reddish sauce of the bar food in the area. The real test was to actually taste the sauce. Oh. I quickly discovered that I should have paid more attention to the initial indicators (smell and looks). They have this weird taste...some additional herb or seasoning that gave it a weird taste. My first guess was there was too much oregano or rotisserie seasoning that was competing with the buffalo sauce. But the wings didn't keep me interested long enough to figure it out.

Maybe I got a bad batch, or maybe I'm spoiled with the other good wings nearby. Whatever the reason, I'll stick with the restaurant wings when I allow myself to indulge.

Oh Romanos...

Guppy Tea House

We've found the perfect place to have a fat kids party. It's called the Guppy Tea House. If you thought that the food at Claim Jumpers was giant, this will blow your mind. Giant toast, giant shaved ice, it's crazy! I'll post pictures as soon as I get them.

San Diego Food continued...

So I had the chance to visit Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego, and this gave me the chance to have some good food.

D-Lush
One of the employees did a really good marketing job on me. I was walking by with Dippin' Dots in my hand. He took one look at me and said, "Dippin' Dots? Oh honey, why don't you try something healthy. Here's a sample of our Strawberry Banana smoothie." I tasted it, put my ice cream in the trash (before you freak out, it was almost done!), and decided to give them a try. I chose their Lemon Lover Jello Shot. Tasty! It was basically frozen lemonade with Jello snack packs blended in...it was big and I didn't finish the whole thing. So if you come across one of these places, you'll probably be lured in by the samples, coupons, and crazy fun employees. I hope whatever you try is good.

There's one here at Hollywood & Highland...if the mood ever strikes again.

Uno Chicago Grill
Chicago Pizza. Just the basics...nothing fancy. So delish. After lunch today, my grandfather made sure that there was still some pizza for his mid-afternoon snack. :)

Oh, and I can't forget the visit to Neiman Marcus so the employees would have an opportunity to be stuck up and ignore me once again. All for the love of the Yoku Moku. Thank goodness the people that helped me were friendly!

Have You Ever Tried To...

...find a Mexican restaurant in San Diego? They're not hard to find. In fact, you'd probably have some trouble finding the RIGHT one...if you were looking for a specific restaurant. If you drive through Old Town San Diego, almost every restaurant there is a Mexican restaurant! (This is actually what happened tonight.) And they're probably all awesome.

San Diego Foooooood

So it's more than a week into October and I haven't posted about food yet?! Shocking, I know. But I've been saving it up for this trip that I'm on. I'm in San Diego at a conference...and so I can eat. What have I had so far? Let's see....

Village Pizzeria at the Coronado Ferry Landing
New York-style pizza from those geniuses who decided to ship NY water to San Diego to make the crust as authentic as possible on the west coast! Yum.

Bloomingdale's 59th and Lex Cafe
So cute - a small cafe on the top floor of Bloomingdale's. I tried their frozen yogurt - swirled their plain and their raspberry/strawberry (that supposedly had rosewater...for your health?) - with their raspberry sauce. The sauce was really sweet, but strangely addicting...at least while I was eating the yogurt. I had to throw the cup away so I wouldn't look pathetic trying to scrape it all out.

More tomorrow, I think. I believe the stop is Uno Chicago Grill for some Chicago-style pizza!