I Suck

Cripes

Less than a week in, and I already missed a NaBloPoMo posting. Oops!

Does it matter that I thought about posting yesterday?

A Cuppa Joe

How is it that I make coffee every single day and yet I can't make it taste the same every day? I certainly don't understand how people can consistently make bad coffee, but I also don't understand how I can't consistently make good coffee. Some days it's so perfect I want to shake myself until I confess what I did to achieve something so delicious. Other days, like today, I want to give myself a kick in the shin for making it so strong my esophagus spasms when I drink it. Perhaps this is a solid argument for buying the coffeemaker that takes pods.

Oh My Goodness!

Food critic and writing demigod Jonathan Gold likes my Yelp reviews! I'd heard about this from a couple of friends who know him, but to see it in writing for myself was quite exciting. Okay, he actually says he likes the energy I bring to my reviews, but I'll take that to mean I'm obviously next in line for the Pulitzer. Oh, happy day!

1001 Uses For Leftover Garlic Bread

I get the feeling I'm going to be eating a lot of garlic bread sandwiches this week. (In fact, I bought salami and pepper turkey for this express reason.) I'm also planning on making garlic bread pizza. If I get super-adventurous and still have any leftovers, I might try my hand at croutons. What else could I do with an (almost) entire loaf of garlic bread?

Spaghetti And Sadness

I used my kitchen as God intended tonight - Ken came over and we cooked dinner together. We decided on spaghetti, so we went to the market and then I insisted on doing most of the work myself and bossing him around for the rest. He's a very obedient sous chef, I must say.

We sauteed Italian squash (aka zucchini), graffiti eggplant, and red bell pepper in garlic and olive oil and combined this with store-bought Barilla marinara. We also heated up some garlic bread (because what's spaghetti without garlic bread?) and made a salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and sunflower seeds. I wish I'd thought to buy eggs because hard boiled eggs are my current addiction and they taste so good in salads.

For dessert we had Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in waffle cups. Those cups are tasty, but packaged very deceptively so as to appear much larger than they are once you open the box. I'd buy them again anyways. The ice cream is also amazing, by the way - super pepperminty!

We had a really nice evening, but eventually we had to acknowledge why he'd come over. He wanted to spend some time with me so we could talk about his potential move back home to the East Coast. Nothing's set in stone yet, but it seems he'll probably be leaving California within a couple of months. I'm absolutely miserable about it.

I can't imagine my life here without him nearby, the way he's been since I arrived in Los Angeles. I want more time together and I tell myself that would make it easier for me to let him go. But I know that's not true - no matter how much time we spend together, it will never be enough for me. He's the best friend I've ever had, the person who sees me like nobody else ever could. I miss him already.

FAIL

So I missed posting yesterday. Sorry, NaBloPoMo. I was going to do it before I left to go running with Jenny, Bill, and Cole, but I thought for sure I'd be home before midnight. Of course, Jenny and I stayed up talking until 1:30 so by the time I got home, I was too tired to do anything but take a shower and crash.

I did have a post planned for yesterday - a follow up to my original Donut Man post, in fact. I drove 40 miles roundtrip to Glendora because I read on Yelp that it was the last week for strawberry donuts. (Stupid me, I heard Masa say they were gone but I thought he just meant for the day, not the year.)

I kind of knew I was in for disappointment when I drove up and saw a guy painting a sign for fresh peach donuts on the wall of the place. Eric, the guy behind the counter, told me they'd just finished with strawberry season two days earlier. Curses! I asked him what I should order instead and he recommended a cream cheese and raspberry topped donut. I also took an apple crumb for good measure; I figured the fruit is why they're best-known so I couldn't go wrong. (He also mentioned that they serve cream cheese pumpkin donuts in October and November. NOM!)



I haven't come close to finishing the half of each donut I kept for myself (I dropped off half of each one for the Ex on my way down to Lakewood to put in the offer on the house) but they are pretty good, if not exactly what I was craving. I'm not sure they were worth the drive, though.

The Donut Man

I've wanted to try the strawberry donut from The Donut Man for over a year. I still haven't had one, but I need to try to make it out to Glendora this week, as it's the last week of the season.

However, thanks to the ever-fabulous Masa, I did try the peach donut from there tonight during Bill's birthday celebration tonight. I don't think the fruit is perfectly ripe yet - the peaches were a tad firmer than I would have liked - but man, those are some damn tasty (and huge) donuts.

It's a good thing I'm planning on running with Bill and Jenny tomorrow night. I've had way too much good stuff to eat this week.

The Rich Girl's Diet

One of the absolute pleasures of traveling for work (at least with my job) is that I get to eat at some fairly nice establishments and I don't have to foot the bill. My company is pretty generous in terms of expenses for meals, and while I don't exactly take advantage, I pretty much never eat on the cheap (for dinner, anyways) when I'm on the road.

I'm not traveling today, but I do have a colleague in town with whom I love to spend time, so she's taking me out courtesy of our company tonight. We're going to Cafe Santorini, and yes, I chose it because I haven't Yelped it yet.

I'm so spoiled.

Lip-Lickingly Luscious

The first time I ever tried pat bing soo was in Dallas, of all places, courtesy of a Korean friend I met thanks to Yelp. Let me just say, those Koreans know what they are doing with the frozen desserts.

For the uninitiated, pat bing soo (or patbingsu) is a popular Korean dessert of shaved ice and red beans with sweetened condensed milk, covered with sliced fruit (usually kiwi, strawberries, and bananas) along with mochi. The best kind, in my opinion, incorporates (vanilla) ice cream as well. I do not like cereal on it, as I learned when we ventured to a place in Koreatown that served it with melty strawberry ice cream and Fruity Pebbles. Yuck!

Anyhow, fortunately for me, I found a little slice of heaven right here in Pasadena. Sandwich Story serves pat bing soo, and while it didn't have ice cream on it, they said could totally work that out for me next time. (I am in love with this place already.) I am very happy right now.

Hulk Smash!

Then Hulk engage in rough sexual congress with you!

I am in the throes of PMS, which means I am totally angry, hungry, and horny. Those are not three great tastes that go great together, by the way.

I needed to go to Target tonight and since I was already in Alhambra, I thought I'd stop by the Target there. BIG MISTAKE. Whoever designed their parking is either a complete masochist or flunked all their urban planning classes. That is one fucked up parking lot. After driving in circles for ten straight minutes, I left in a fury before I popped a blood vessel or burned the store to the ground (a threat I shouted out the window as I drove by the entrance of the store, startling several shoppers).

By the time I got back to Pasadena, I was somewhat calmer and managed to park and enter the Target there without any tears or violence. However, not being able to find the paper towels that were on sale enraged me, as did my momentary belief that Target had suddenly stopped carrying Equal.*

Then there was this hot guy I kept bumping into in the store, until I was a seething pool of sexual energy and had half a mind to accost him in Electronics. (Cleanup in aisle 6, cleanup in aisle 9.) Lucky for him, my attention was distracted by the fact that The Notebook, which was supposed to be on sale for $10, was actually $13. I think this is when my skin turned green and my pants shredded around my massive thighs.

I managed to leave the store without killing or sexually assaulting anyone, but to soothe the savage beast within, I had to stop for a Neapolitan shake at In-N-Out. Mmmmmm...it's like the opposite of gamma rays. I highly recommend bringing me one of these if you think you might upset me this week.

* I actually did harbor a belief that perhaps Target had stopped carrying Equal for some sort of moral reason when I couldn't find it next to the other sweeteners in the store. A few weeks ago, Jenny told me Equal was originally developed as a neurotoxin to kill ants. I'm still not sure if I believe this (or if I care, since it tastes AWESOME) but I was pretty panicky when I thought I'd have to settle for Splenda instead.

Although I Also Thought There Would Be More Recess

Corazon and I had Tarantino's for dinner on Friday night. As we were eating, I mentioned that I usually have pizza once a week. (This could explain why twice-a-week sessions with Melody aren't making me any skinnier.) Corazon thought that was totally awesome, which made me realize: a) I really am awesome; b) I need more friends who admire me for having so little self-control that I eat pizza once a week; and c) along with eating dessert first, eating pizza once a week was always kind of my dream of what being a grown-up would be like.

The Taste of Summer

A friend of mine from back home was in town the other night and somehow we started talking about Nelson's Golden Glow barbecued chicken. (I'm pretty sure that lucky bastard had eaten some recently.)

Every time I'm home, I drive around looking for Nelson's Golden Glow, aka Porta-Pit. It is seriously the BEST. CHICKEN. EVER. It's usually available at portable bbq stands by the side of the road during the summer, being sold by church groups or Boy Scouts trying to raise money. It smells and tastes amazing; I can't even explain how good it is.

There's almost nothing worse than hoping to get some Nelson's and not being able to find it. (Except for buying chicken because it smells like Nelson's but then it doesn't taste the same - that really sucks.) But now, thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I'll be able to hunt it down the next time I'm in Indiana. Almost makes me want to use my free roundtrip on Southwest to schedule another visit home.

Look! A Wagon Wheel!

I have been remiss in my food blogging duties, as I failed to mention any of the grilled cheese concoctions I consumed last Saturday night.

I arrived with a cooler full of ice, a bottle of wine, and popsicles left over from the previous week. Unfortunately, there weren't any sandwiches ready when I walked in. I stood around for a bit complaining about being hungry and hoping someone would make one for me, but no one did. I finally gave in and made my own using some Gruyère that Corazon brought, sliced tomatoes, and the garlic/rosemary olive oil that Sofia made. Ohhh, nom nom nom....so tasty.

Then Nick started making open-faced grilled cheese on Texas toast with cheddar. Also quite delicious! Corazon made a Gruyère, garlic spread, and sliced apple grilled cheese with a Parmesan crust bacon (sorry for the memory lapse, darling) that was divine. I kind of blacked out on cheese at this point and don't remember any other sandwiches, though I'm sure I tasted a few more. (The blackout may also be attributed to the half bottle of Stella Rosa wine I drank.)

Based on this event, I have decided I would like to marry a cheesemonger. Not only would he give me unlimited access to cheese, but isn't that the coolest job title ever?

I Should Have Had The Biscuit

Had a sausage McMuffin and a hashbrown along with some very suspect "orange juice" (tasted mysteriously like orange drink mixed with watered-down juice to me) from McDonald's this morning, watched the sky turn pink as the morning light crested the mountains, and then climbed into bed and fell asleep. I don't know if I can stay awake for a steak dinner at Ruth's Chris tonight; I'm already zoning and it's only 3:00. McDonald's is so not the breakfast of champions.

The B Does Not Mean Bad

I went to Philippe's yesterday for lunch with my friend Eric, who had only been once before. We ordered our food and polished it off in less time than we had spent waiting in line. He had the ham & cheese and I had the beef double-dipped. (I also had a piece of blueberry pie.)

He said the sandwich was great, but after we finished eating, he looked up towards the front door and a look of alarm came over his face. "Oh, man, did you know this place has a B?" he asked me nervously.

A few years ago, that might have fazed me. I used to think a B was a sign that a restaurant was really dirty. (I actually thought the B stood for Bugs.) Now, I won't even step foot in a Chinese restaurant that doesn't have a B. (That's how you know it's good!) And for sure I'd still eat at Philippe's even if they had a C. I reassured him he'd be fine, since Philippe's has been feeding Angelenos for 100 years.

I think they probably had their grade lowered just for the mustard pots. First they went after the bacon-wrapped hot dogs, then the taco trucks, and now the mustard pots. What's next? Outlawing Animal Style at In-N-Out? Those damn Health Department people are trying to ruin my city!

This Little Piggy Stayed Home

I wanted to make dinner at home tonight, since I've been spending an absurd amount of money eating out the past few weeks. (And I continue to do so, considering how many lunches and dinners with friends I have planned for the week.) I have totally blown my bi-weekly budget.

After my workout last night, I stopped at Zorba Chicken on the eastside of Pasadena to pick up a shawerma wrap for dinner. It was nearly nine and I seemed to be the final customer of the night, so the owner offered me an entire rotisserie chicken (plus three pitas and some garlic paste!) for free. Free? That's my favorite price!

I thought I'd make something at home out of the chicken, and since I've been wanting to make rotisserie chicken soup for a while (hmm, somehow that desire seems really boring when I type it out) I went ahead and made that tonight. Being too lazy to go to the market, I made do with what I had in the house:

* 2 cans of chicken broth
* 1 cup of water
* about 1/4 lb of chopped baby carrots
* about 2/3 cup of long grain rice
* dash of rubbed thyme, sprinkle of oregano, generous amount of ground black pepper, and a bay leaf
* 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken
* juice of 2 lemons

I brought the broth and water to a boil, added the rice, carrots, spices, and chicken (removed from the bone) and let it all simmer about 25 minutes. I added the lemon juice at the end and of course, took out the bay leaf.

It came out pretty good, though a little more lemony than I would have liked. I also wish I'd had some celery on hand. Next time, I'd just use one juiced lemon, along with one can of broth and two cups of water to reduce the saltiness/lemony-ness. I'd also cook about 20 minutes instead of 25; the rice seemed a little too soft. Oh, well, live and learn.

On the upside, it tasted good enough that I ate a bowl and a half. On the downside, I have two full containers of soup left and I really don't think I can eat six more bowls of it.

Bad Burger Mojo

There's almost nothing worse than a crappy burger, except for a crappy overpriced burger. I've had a couple in the last few weeks.

The first was at the celebratory dinner that Leila and I shared in honor of having completed the March NaBloPoMo. The company was stellar, but the burger, not so much. We went to the Larchmont Grill on a Wednesday, which is Burger Night. I ordered the Kobe Beef burger on a sourdough roll expecting to be blown away. While the burger wasn't bad, it also wasn't even close to great. I was expecting something much more flavorful. This was a mediocre burger at a ridiculous price.

The second letdown was at 25 Degrees last Friday night. I had very high hopes, but once again, the burger was nothing special. They should be ashamed to serve completely unseasoned ground sirloin. Even the Midnight Moon cheese and roasted tomatoes I ordered as toppings couldn't liven it up. To add insult to injury, the meat was overcooked and slightly dry. A cow gave its life for this? The fries were ass-kickingly good, but that doesn't excuse the burger travesty.

To apologize to my taste buds, I went to Fatburger yesterday and had a plain hamburger. It was perfectly cooked, still hot from the grill, and deliciously juicy. Larchmont Grill and 25 Degrees, perhaps you should visit and take notes.

Thinking

There are a few food items that make everything they combine with better:

• bacon (duh)
  
• garlic
  
• feta cheese

Coincidentally, two out of three of those things make my stomach hurt but I still love them.

Wine also makes everything better. LA Wine Fest was awesome. *hic*

That's My Stomach You Hear Grumbling

I'm leaving for the Grilled Cheese Invitational shortly, and I could eat my own arm right now. I had breakfast at Andy's around 11 and then a soda and a mini candy bar (100 Grand, yum!) a couple of hours ago. I really should have had something else between then and now. I hope there are a lot of sandwiches ready by the time I get to Fran's.