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! :)

San Diego Junior Food Tour

So, a few of us were down in San Diego for a few days and decided to make a little food tour out of it. The two establishments worth mentioning are...Sammy's Woodfired Pizza and MaggieMoo's Ice Cream and Treatery.



According to my fellow diners, the Mahi Mahi Tacos were the best they've ever had, and the BBQ chicken pizza was pretty awesome - CPK-esque, but a more smokey barbeque sauce and big chunks of chicken instead of the slices that CPK adds. They're also known for their Messy Sundae...and their Kobe Beef sliders! This is what our plates looked like after the meal...






MaggieMoo's is similar to ColdStone Creamery - without the unnecessary complicated ordering system - and more base flavors to choose from. They also specialize in ice cream cupcakes!



Ice cream cupcakes. What a concept. Gonna have to try to make those...

Beacon (Asian Cafe - Los Angeles)

That's actually the name of the next restaurant that I need to try. Okay, Los Angeles food bloggers...any of you who have been here, let me know what you thought! Unless you think I should go there having heard no opinions.

For you all that are curious about the place, check it here.

The Baboon and The Chicken

Man, these are starting to sound like Aesop's Fables! But they're not. They're real stories about the monkey community.

A baboon in a Lithuanian zoo has taken a chicken under his "wing" (I'm so clever!). The chicken was going to become food for other zoo residents, but he ran away and found safety with Mr. Baboon. Read more here...

Free Popcorn!

October is National Popcorn Month!

To celebrate, Dale & Thomas is offering free popcorn - all you need to do is pay for shipping. Unfortunately, all of their stores are on the East Coast, so West Coasters, this is how you can get your gourmet popcorn fix! :)

They'll start shipping on October 1 (the official start of the Popcorn Month), but you can place your order now so you don't miss out.

Just clicky clicky for free popcorn!

The Monkey and the Pigeon

You read that right...it's a monkey story!!! Yes, I know, I haven't posted one in a while, but hey...it's been slow monkey news lately.



This baby monkey (a macaque...I think these monkeys are publicity whores) was abandoned by his mother and was rescued by an animal sanctuary in China. While his physical health improved, he was still depressed...until he found a friend...

Awww...so sweet! Baby Macaque is not so sad anymore! :)

Read more here.

The Dollyrots

Okay, this is kind of old news...but I meant to post it, so I'm gonna.

My sister's friend is in a band (The Dollyrots), and their song (Because I'm Awesome) was picked up by Kohl's to use in their new back-to-school commercial. Her friend, Luis, is the guy with blue hair :)

Enjoy!!



Want to see more Dollyrots? They'll be on GREEK on ABC on September 10 - check your TV Guide for times.

Back to the Future - Goodbye!

On Labor Day this year, we headed out to Universal Studios (Hollywood) to ride Back to the Future: The Ride for the last time before they closed the ride. We were lucky enough to get priority passes, so we waited until the park was almost closed before we jumped into line. As the crew member led us into the waiting room, he gave us the heads-up that it was 9 minutes until the ride closed. When we got into the De Lorean, I realized that I didn't remember ever riding this before...so I guess it was the first and last time for me. When the ride was finished, we walked outside and saw that the line was closed and a news crew was gathered in front of the entrance to take shots of this:

It was NBC, and I think my brother got in their shots, but none of us watched the news that night, so I guess we'll never know... :) So goodbye to Back to the Future: The Ride - now we're just waiting for The Simpsons Ride!

For the girls...

For you girls out there...I've added the Purse Buzz link for make-up and hair tips, deals, and freebies. Enjoy! :)

Air Guitars

A few years ago, I asked some people to start an air band with me. (I think it was inspired by David Spade on Just Shoot Me.) We made plans to start the air band, but never actually practiced. Little did I know that I could've been a great success all on my own...as an air guitar soloist...hahahaha!!!

A Japanese man won the Air Guitar World Championship for the second year in a row. Check it out if you so wish (warning: you may ask for those few seconds back). Oh, but what made me wonder was that this guy won a REAL guitar! What in the world is he going to do with a REAL guitar? He plays AIR guitar!!!!!

The Reason I Am Afraid of Dogs

...they're strange little things...

A dog chased me half way to work today (I walk to work). Lucky for me, it didn't actually chase me the whole time. Every time I looked at the dog, it would stop in its tracks. But everytime I had my back turned to the stupid thing and started walking again, it started running full force to catch up. I'm sure it was quite a show for the people that were driving by me.

Go ahead and laugh. I would too, if it wasn't me. Just don't expect me to start liking dogs any time soon.

Tim Tam Slam

(Just in case you need it, Steamy!)

If you ever get your hands on Tim Tams - the oh-so-wonderful chocolate-covered Australian biscuit - you have got to try eating them the Australian way...using the Tim Tam Slam!

Mmm....so messy, but so good! If you think you're ready for this messy adventure, head on over to your nearest Cost Plus World Market and look for them in the cookie section.

Enjoy!

Thrifty's Ice Cream

I LOVE this stuff! And I can't believe that there are people in this world who eat ice cream and have never heard of Thrifty's. Apparently, there are enough for me to start a list. If you find yourself on this list, that's pretty sad. Just to shield them from complete humiliation, I will only use their first name and last initial.

1. Stephanie L.
2. K.C. L.
3. LuxeAficionada

If you haven't tried Thrifty's Ice Cream, you need to be on this list. Drop me a comment and I'll add you. Who knows...maybe I'll send you a little gift...then I will be able to take you off this list! :) No liars allowed.

Oh, and if you comment and tell me your favorite Thrifty's flavor, you too may receive a nice little gift! Depends on the temperature out here in Loma Linda. If it's hot enough, maybe I'll buy you some ice cream :)

UPDATE: Too bad for the rest of y'all. The Free Ice Cream Bank is now CLOSED.

Message in a Candy Wrapper

I found this message in my candy wrapper - printed on foil in a fine orange print.

"Candy is a treat. Please consume in moderation."

Oh, yes, and this was AFTER I had finished the candy bar...ohwell, better luck next time.

New Snack: The Oreo Cakester

I'm lazy (this is a gross understatement...I'm close to being the epitome of lazy) and my doctor knows that. So recently, she asked me to exercise more...since I had an exercise bike in front of the TV. I've been good and listening to my doctor...I've actually worked out four time a week since then! You all should be so proud...

To counter this change in my lifestyle (you know, to bring balance back into my life), Nabisco has been kind enough to introduce a new product into my life - the Oreo Cakester. My sissy and I bought a box and tried it yesterday. Imagine an Oreo cookie sandwich, but with fluffy Oreo cake instead of the crunchy cookies, and a fluffier filling. It's sweet, but good! Definitely not for kids unless you want to get a workout chasing them.

Now I can't get the Oreo jingle out of my head... You can sing along - I know you want to!

"Oh, oh, oh...ice cold milk and an Oreo cookie..."

BTW, if you don't like the voice of the guy that sings the jingle, sing it yourself and win $10,000! :)

I've Been Simpsonized

Thanks to the Simpsons and Burger King.

Mmmm...Burger King. I think want some onion rings.

Guess I should've made my picture a FAT KID!

You can do it too, if you haven't already...clicky clicky!!