What You Didn’t Eat at Your Office Christmas Party December 17, 2006
Posted by starbright31 in Bougie, Food Memories.add a comment
I know, I know, it’s another non-review of something that you can’t have locally. But if you’re willing to spend a few thousand dollars on a 7-day cruise you can have a meal similar to this (but with even more choices of food).
I work for a cruise line that shall remain unnamed. Earlier this month, the company had a holiday luncheon onboard one of our ships:
Unlike other ship visits, this meal was a lot better than I expected. This luncheon included:
Baby green salad with shrimp
Prime rib
Christmas pudding (a.k.a. fruitcake)
Raspberry creme brulee
And the two moochers that accompanied my mom and I to this luncheon:
Great food! The prime rib was so huge, and it was cooked just the way I like it- still bloody in the middle. The only downside besides dessert (I’m not a fan of fruitcake or raspberries, but for those who do like them, I heard it was delicious) was the restriction on what drinks you could order. They offered us apple, cranberry, and orange juice, and iced tea, but no soda. If I slipped a twenty to my waiter, I’m sure I could’ve ordered something else, but oh well.
Classic Canadian Fast-Food December 17, 2006
Posted by starbright31 in Food Memories, Outisde Los Angeles.add a comment
From November 23 through November 30, I had the pleasure of going to my second home away from home, Canada. While it was great to see my family again, I was more excited about my reunion with what I’ve been craving for since my last visit in December 2001, Canadian fast food. And most importantly- poutine.
Poutine (pronounced, roughly, poo-teen, or poo-tin; exact Québécois pronunciation in IPA [pʊʦɪn] — listen to it in .wav format) is a dish consisting of french fries topped with fresh cheese curds and covered with hot gravy (usually brown gravy) and sometimes other additional ingredients. The curds’ freshness is important as it makes them soft in the warm fries, without completely melting.
Poutine is a fast food staple in Canada; it is sold by many fast food chains (such as New York Fries and Harvey’s) in the provinces, in small diners and pubs, as well as by roadside “poutine trucks” and “fries stands”.
Poutine is available in only a few places outside of Canada, including the northern United States and a handful of Canadian-themed restaurants and pubs throughout the rest of the world. Some popular Canadian travel destinations (such as Mexico, Florida, and Taiwan) are also known to have poutine available, but only sporadically or at the behest of Canadian expatriates. – Wikipedia
Now when I mention poutine to friends and family, I get a 70/30 response of “Ewwwww! That sounds gross!” over “Mmmmm, that sounds awesome.” Of course, I prefer the latter. And when I go into detail of what poutine is, I gush over how that combination of hot gravy and melted cheese work so magnificently with French fries. The following are pictures of poutine I had during my recent stay:
This was purchased at the local Costco in Burlington. The cheese was too cold and the gravy wasn’t hot enough to melt most of it. The fries, however, were excellent as they were crispy around the edges and steaming hot.
Eat This Blog Exclusive: Anthony Bourdain September 23, 2006
Posted by starbright31 in Food Memories.2 comments
(Better late than never! I’ve been meaning to post this for a while. I guess now’s a great time since I’ve just updated the look of the site!- Renee)
On June 18, 2006, Jamie and I met our favorite “celebrity chef” and host of Travel Channel’s No Reservations at a book signing for his new book Nasty Bits. The following clip is a video of him reading an excerpt from his latest book, Nasty Bits.
We love this man and we highly suggest that you buy all his books here at Amazon.com. And watch his show, No Reservations, on Travel Channel.
Going Chinese and Doing Denny’s April 27, 2006
Posted by foodies in Cash Only, Cheap, Chinese, Food Memories, Late Night Eats, Places to go when you're drunk.3 comments
Restaurant:
Sam Woo
Location:
6450 Sepulveda Blvd # G, Van Nuys, Ca
Type of Food:
Chinese
Price:
Varies. And this is important: CASH ONLY. You could be cheap, but you could be spending a lot depending on how many is in your party. My mom and I only spent $20 in all, which included tip.
I love the day after tests–Especially when you pass them. And especially when you don't have work, school or jack-shit for that matter. So imagine my chagrin when I was frying a piece of bologna and my Mom comes in and asks if I want to go to lunch with her.
Pictured: Having tea with my mom and writing a letter to my bestfriend/new NY penpal Peter
…Ah yes. Sam Woo. Everyone in the Valley knows this is the place to go when you don't want to make that trek to Chinatown. Located next to the ginormous 99 Asian Ranch Market on Sepulveda and Victory this is a safe bet whenever someone always suggest Chinese.
Pictured from top to bottom: Beef with Ginger and Onions. Squid with Spicy Salt
It was nice. I haven't been home much with school, work, Capoeira and hanging out with my friends so it was a nice change of pace. Lots of neutral non-invasive conversation, (but honestly, why would there be?) and the best part about going to eat with the 'rents? They always pick up the tab! Since it was just my mom and me, we only we up for ordering 2 dishes: Beef with Ginger and Onions & Squid with Spicy Salt. It's pretty packed during lunch time. The food still came out fast and hot. I think I even burned my lip on the beef. Tons of different soup that's served then too, but the only wonton soup that I'll ever eat will be my mom's.
And usually, after, we walked only 5 ft. to 99 Asian Ranch Market where my Mom had to buy party supplies for my cousin's kid's birthday.
Yes, I know, this isn't a food picture, but I can't help it. She's cute. I challenge anyone who has cuter. But back to everything else. Usually whenever I come along and my Mom is waiting at the Meat Section to be helped I can usually be seen wandering around.
What the hell is this?
Century Old Eggs, anyone?
After that I pretty much went home and continued with the Asian-ness and watched "Memoir of a Geisha" which is not that bad. What can I say? I guess I'm a sucker for stylized film. My only concern was the fact that they were all speaking English. If you were in whatever-the-hell-century it is Japan wouldn't you speak, oh I don't know…Japanese?! But so anyway, after that and after I came back from Capoeira and got out of the shower, my friends Liz and Hannah come pick me up and we have late-late dinner.
Restaurant:
Denny's
Type of Food:
Late-night American
Location:
17018 Devonshire St., Northridge, CA
*shudder* Denny's. Open forever. This place other than rats and cockroaches will be the only thing standing after Nuclear War. I keep wondering why I never come here sober and once I'm done with my meal this is the reason: It's sucks. It's one of the Top 10 of fucking love-hate realtionships I have next to Jack Black and the I-405 Freeway. I never know what the hell I want, and don't get me wrong. The place doesn't SUCK that much, but when I'm coherent sometimes I'm also not that rational.
I've told people about how I've felt about Taco Bell and the same analogy (And quite possibly one of the best and wittiest analogies I've ever thought of) applies to Denny's:
It's like an ex-significant other.
When you're pressed for time, or there aren't that many options that you can think, or if you're lazy you go there and once you're there you're like, "Yeah!" and when you get it, you can't wait to get in there and be all up in that.
But once it's over, you just have the sickest feeling and ask yourself,
"What the fuck was I thinking? I could have had SO much better. I thought I had standards"
or
"I wish I had what my friend over there was having"
-Jamie
The Griddle Cafe April 23, 2006
Posted by starbright31 in American, Breakfast / Brunch, Food Memories, Trendy / Hipster.add a comment
To christen this site, the first restaurant that we need to mention is The Griddle Cafe:
Location: 7916 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90046 near Sunset and Fairfax
Type of food: American- best to go there for breakfast
Essential orders: Papas y Benedict (left) and 'Tis the Season pancakes (right), and to drink you have to get their French pressed coffee. It's strong, but so rich and delicious.
From left to right: Papas y Benedict, Me with a Tis the Season; Yes, I'm extremely excited
Service: I'd say 8 out of 10. The waiters are friendly, and because it's in Hollywood, these guys are cute. (NOTE TO SELF: Get photo-ops of hot waiters per request)
Portions ARE HUGE!! Go there on an empty stomach. I keep wanting to be different but I always get the Papas y Benedict and Renee and I always share 1 pancake. Papas y Benedict–Potato Skins with the bomb hollandaise sauce, a fat poached egg and a HUGE ham steak. The sauce is SO good. And it's not like your mom's–take 2 bites and then hate it. You keep eating until it's gone. And after you're done eating, you want to order toast to sop up the sauce. Either that or so you don't get seen licking the plate. I get mine different. I substitute the ham for bacon on the side and egg whites, because I'm not the yolk-bleeding-onto-everything-type of girl. I pretty much only get breakfast food, because the regular lunch sandwiches are so-so. Their fries did improve since the last time I did go there because my cousin got a sandwich.
Their pancakes taste so good. You can either get a stack of 3 or just one. They're ROTUND. They're huge but they don't sink to your stomach like the Bisquicks. They're light and fluffy and taste like cake. Renee and I always try to get different ones, but Tis' the Season is where's it's at.
…I wait for the days that Vh1 has yet to make fun of you…
The Tis' the Season has a BIG SPOONFUL of pumpkin pie filling and homemade whip cream. I fucking hate pancakes almost more than I hate that James Blunt guy, but when I go to The Griddle Cafe (or Griddles for short as we all call it) I always gotta get a pancake! -Jamie
Average Bill: Between me and Jamie we always spend around $30 total here.
Need to know: Go through the back– the front is for newbies and tourists. If you are going in front, look for the bald short guy with glasses–he's always there to sit people. Bring a camera because you never know who of Young Hipster Hollywood will be there. Last time I was there with my cousin and my bestfriend I saw Milo Ventiglimia. Adrian Brody is seen there frequently as well. If you do bring large parties, they do have a special room in the back. But at the most I'd say that would fit 8-10 or something. Whenever I go, it's always real early, so it's cool finding tables, even on the weekends. I'd highly suggest sitting coutertop if there's only 2 of you, 3 at the most. Booths for parties of 3 or more. Outside if you want to smoke. It's good people watching, but beware of vagrants. -Jamie
If you want to be seated in a timely manner, you have to get there when it opens at 8 AM. It's a very hipster breakfast joint. Don't be picky about where you're sitting, it's a small place. You're better off sitting at the counter too if it's available. I wouldn't bring parties of 6 or more -Renee
Funny anecdote: The last time Jamie and I went to the Griddle we had to sit outside because we didn't get there at opening time. We were sitting adjacent to this table with some very Hollywood-looking blonde who was probably some type of writer/producer/whatever. Anyway, she orders a bunch of food for herself that I believe she wants to eat there and take home too. While she was waiting for the food, she steps away from the table for what Jamie and I thought would be a short bathroom trip. Turns out that bathroom trip is at least over 10 minutes long because her food comes out in the meantime. Within this absence, a homeless man comes up to the table and is about to pick up the lady's food. I say, "Hey that's somebody else's food" so he backs off. Everybody looks at the homeless man, hoping he goes away soon so we can all continue eating in peace. I think another 10 minutes rolls by with the adjacent table still empty. While Jamie and I are stuffed with our usual order and just about ready to receive our bill, the same homeless man comes up and goes gung-ho on the lady's sandwich and fries. I say again, "Hey that's someone else's food, she's supposed to come back," and he pretty much says something along the lines of "fuck it, she's not back yet." And as fate would have it, that's exactly the time she comes back and starts yelling at the homeless man to go away. He does, but the food's already been touched by the homeless man. Jamie and I both think, "I guess she's going to get that food replaced by the staff."
But she doesn't. She gets the food that was man-handled by the homeless man wrapped in a box for someone else to eat later. I think at that moment, everyone in the outside area looked at each other and silently said "What the fuck? A bum just put his germs all over your food, and you're still taking that home? EW!"
