Pale Moon

The bottle says its a belgian style pale ale. It has a very thick finish for a pale ale. Starts off light and ends up being very overpowering with a malty aftertaste at the back of ur throat. Yuck. Think of it as mixing woodchuck and rolling rock. Def not enjoying this :(
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dear black dog -- why are you so amazing??

Spotted at legends...

Finished a guiness. How cool is this???
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Spotted at Dominick's

I like egg nog and I like tea, egg nog flavored tea? Gross.
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coming back to school with this beauty :)

(source)

is it too early to start thinking about nye?

(shopbop)

because i really want a reason to buy this.

mac n (goat) cheese

becca and i have been planning on making homemade, lactose free, baked mac n (goat) cheese for months. we never got around to making it due to laziness and uncontrollable cheese snackage...whoopsies.

but we finally made it. and it was delish. and it only only gave us a mild tummy ache. wooo

here a pic of our final product (jk, it was actually like 1/3 of what was actually made...) --

how we made it:

Mac n (goat) cheese [modified from ina, of course]

Ingredients

• Salt
  
• 1 pound Barilla Plus elbow macaroni
  
• 1 quart soy milk
  
• 1/3 cup olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces goat milk mozzarella
  
• 8 ounces goat milk cheddar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

boil water and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

while the pasta's cooking, heat the soymilk in a small saucepan over low heat. in a large pot, heat the olive oil over low heat and whisk in the flour. cook for 3 minutes and continue stirring. Slowly ladle in the soymilk and make sure to completely mix each time. this avoid lumps!! after all of the milk is added, add the cheeses, a tablespoon of salt and 1/2 tablespoon of pepper (or more...). add the pasta, mix, and pour it all into greased baking sheets.

bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

our thoughts??
it took a long time to make! we luckily made a salad to eat while the mac n cheese was in the oven. the flavor was reaaally good and def didn't feel like we were missing out on anything. the mac n cheese did feel a little grainy and i'm not sure if that's because of how goat cheese melts or because we had 4 oz less cheese than ina's recipe. the topping was crispy and yummy but could have been better with some breadcrumbs on top.

so tips for next time:

1. have a snack available while making this.
2. use 12 ounces of both cheeses.
3. sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top. there should be enough oil in the sauce to toast it.

WOOOO POSTING ABOUT COOKING AGAIN. and i'll keep you posted bout the next time we make it with the modification :)

OH. MY. GOD. SO ADORABLE.

(from people.com)

apparently food is fashionable. the wall street journal just printed an article this so it's legit news.

in it, they mention various fashion houses opening restaurants in their stores, chefs being in fashion magazines, and barney's use of chefs for their holiday window displays.

according to the article, barney's creative director simon doonan (who i fell in love with watching i love the 80's/90's) said they chose food stars for their holiday windows because "we looked around for what's bubbling up in the culture this year and we realized that everyone's obsessed with these icons of food culture. Our customers want to eat at the new Batali place as much as they want the new Céline bag."

first off -- hollahhh my love of food is so trendy. gosh i'm so cool. and number two-- OMG CULINARY STARS AND PRETTY CLOTHES (AND CHRISTMAS). THAT'S SO AWESOME.

but um....

(from the wsj)

WTF. ina would NEVER wear a snuggy. nor look that creepy. rachael ray tho in the back?? spot on. ha.

oh, and in the chi town spot they're doing hometown chefs. oh heyyyy grant achatz.

I have cool roommates

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Spotted on undercover boss..

Wooo smoler counting money and being on national tv for 5 secondss
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swongy's take on pizza and a beer.

sometimes waiting 40+ minutes for dinner just isn't doable. even if it's for dinner at black dog. one of these times happened last friday night. instead, a certain unnamed person and i decided to pick up a 6 pack and a pizza.

but hi. i'm stephanie wong. i'm not going to do keystone and $5 papa john's for dinner. (at 2 am..that might be another story..) but this was going to take the place of a very yummy brisket sandwich (with hot georgia peach sauce and a side of twiced-baked potato casserole...)!!!!

many of you (slashh maybe 1 of you) know mirabelle as a cute bakery in downtown urbana that has delish croissants and super early closing times (3pm on saturdays?! like really). what you may not know is that they make pizzas friday and saturday nights. i only found this out from this article in smile politely over the summer.

the night we went, they had margerita pizzas but we decided to go for the veggie goat cheese pizza. mr. baker-man said it was "his most popular". so how could we not?

(sorry i couldn't get a good pic and i was too hungry to keep trying..)

the pizza had a tomato sauce and caramelized onions, green and red peppers, artichoke hearts, fresh grape tomatoes sprinkled over it. in addition to goat cheese, the pizza was covered with some hard cheese. it tasted saltier than mozzerella but it might have just been that, ha. the crust was really good. according to the smile politely article, homedude takes his breadmaking seriously. and it shows! it was chewy and crusty but still moist and buttery. but for the pizza as a whole -- i was more ehh. don't get me wrong -- it was a good pizza. but honestly, i kinda got bored with it after 1.5 slices. the toppings and everything together were just kinda mehh. and i still think the pizza with the salad on top from bread company is my fave in the c-u.

with that said, i'd be up for stopping by again. i really want to like the place after re-reading the smile politely article. i find the whole it's-kinda-a-secret thing awesomeee (ummm i'm all about knowing things other ppl don't!) aaaand i like that he only makes 20 pies per night. and that he really cares about what he's doing. so what if his most popular one was only so-so to me. there are still other combos to try...and deep dish! they have a facebook page with status updates about the pizzas available each weekend. so i'll go back when there's an interesting sounding pizza.

ok so yeah, the title says pizza AND beer.

we decided to go with two brother's bitter end. two brothers is a local brewery that we've heard about and words like "bitter" and "pale ale" sounded cool. so that's how we painstakingly chose it, lolz. i like this beer. easy to drink, decent bubble size, crisp and slightly bitter. did it go with the pizza? not really. it kind of needed to be either more hoppy or more dark to go against the pizza. it may have added to the "i'm bored with this after a slice and a half" thing. whoops. but i'd drink it again..just not with that pizza. this beer would be good with something spicy or intense with flavor. i'd do it with something like chipotle (or black dog...)

if u wanna get a pizza with me next time lemme know :)

and wooo i'm food blogging again. i have another post comin soon about lula cafe in the chi!

This is what a four pound brick of tofu looks like.

Hollaaahh
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Breakfast burrito and cholula from qudoba ftwwwwwwww

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wormhole cafe in wicker park

• delorean from the first back to the future (altho the 2nd one's my fav...i mean hi -- they go to the future AND the past wuddup)
• metropolis coffee!!!! aka my fav (esp their spice island blend..)
• MOCHA PUFF FTWWWWW.

:edit: totes realized that he said wicker park. and it's RIGHT by the bongo room. ummmm stopping by there while we're waiting for delish pancakes/sandwiches? YES.

it's official -- grant achatz hates me. (u know, since i met him for like 2 seconds)

ANOTHER GIN-BASED DRINK. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. but still super cool..altho even cooler if he slowly chilled ice cubes so they really are crystal-clear. (ohh FOODIE BURNNN). and i still want to go to aviary when it opens. hopefully by that point they'll come up with a whiskey drank. oh aaaaand i wanna get tickets to next. someone make it happen. and by someone i mean the father.

Sweet corn festttttt

Yes, this is what happens when you live in the middle of bumble... W/e corn for 50cents per ear, and black dog dinner with a beer flight after.
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We're so college (#3)

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we're so college (#2)

10:40am (read: early-morning) delivery of cold pizza and tobasco to my apartment. hollaaaaaa.

also testing if a certain someone really checks out out the blog...

FRIED BEER FTWWW

2010 Sixth Annual Big Tex Choice Fried Food Awards Finalists

Deep Fried S’mores Pop•Tart – Pop•Tart with a sensational chocolate, peanut butter, s’mores flavor is lightly battered and deep fried. Hot out of the fryer, the sinfully diet-busting treat is drizzled with chocolate syrup and topped with whipped cream.

Deep Fried Frozen Margarita - Sweet and creamy funnel cake batter is deliciously coupled with margarita ingredients. Fried, dusted with a tangy lemon/lime mixture and lightly spritzed with south of the border flavor, it’s served in a salt rimmed glass. 21 and over, ID required.

Fernie’s Fried Club Salad – Super colossal 12” spinach wrap surrounds generous layers of juicy diced ham & chicken, shredded iceberg, crunchy carrot strips, ripe cherry tomatoes, shredded sharp cheddar and hickory smoked bacon. Deep fried until lightly crispy; topped with deep-fried sour dough croutons on a stick and served on a bed of shredded romaine lettuce. Choice of creamy Ranch, Thousand Island, or Caesar dressing.

Fried Beer - Beer-filled pretzel pocket is deep-fried to a golden brown. One bite and the escaping beer serves as a dipping sauce. 21 and over, ID required.

Fried Chocolate – A white chocolate mini candy bar + a cherry are stuffed into a mouth-watering brownie, dipped into delicious chocolate cake batter and deep fried to perfection. The finished product has a warm just-out-of-the-oven taste! Topped with powdered sugar and a rich cherry sauce and served with chocolate flavored whip cream.

Fried Lemonade – Lemon flavored pastry is made from Country Time® lemonade. First baked, then fried, this taste tempting treat is glazed with a mix of lemonade, powdered sugar, and lemon zest.

Texas Fried Caviar – Texas version of a southern good luck staple. Black-eyed peas are fried and laced with special spices blended with Old Bay® Seasoning and are available in regular or spicy. Find them in Cotton Bowl Plaza (next to Cotton Bowl steps), inside the Auto Building, near Big Tex, and on the Thrillway.

Texas Fried Frito Pie – A generous portion of savory Texas born chili accented with a hint of sharp cheddar encased in everybody’s favorite corn chip. Lightly battered and fried to a golden brown perfection. With its smooth medley of hot, meaty, crunchy, salty, cheesy, oozing goodness, “Texas Fried Frito Pie” transports you back to the golden age of Fair Food.

(via eater)

We're so college.

Enjoying free food at the union!! (And yes, we brought our own mustard for the pretzels.)
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Spotted at meijer...

OUT OF LOUISIANNA WTF.
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The current state of our kitchen...

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Phoenix. Lolla 2010.

sometimes my camera can take cool pictures.

Dessert...

Forgot to share the dessert..hahaha. Fresh peaches cooked in a simple syrup over a yummy cake (tasted like gooey cake to any visitor of st louis). Garnished w a curdled creme?? Heaaaavennnn
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aaaand complete.

sooo i obvs was freaking out about asking paul to take a pic with him. but then brian huston (the chef du cuisine) was out there too!!!! my mom basically took my camera and told those boys they should take a pic with em because it was my 21st birthday (almost three weeks ago..but shhhh)

and they did! and i got a pic with two beauuuutiful strangers too. turns out they own frasca wine, which was doing a tasting that night at the publican. man in the middle gave me his card EEEEK WUDDUP. it's because he's from boulder and i told him i have friends at cu. (but i don't...) anywho I CAN EMAIL/CALL HIM. WOOOT. (obvs won't really). but anywho his name's lachlan? and he has a three part name?? and he won a james beard in 2008?? and man on the far right is wearing a well fitted suit..? and is good looking?? and is a master sommelier???

can i get a what what...

too bad my bb takes horrible pictures..but actually kinda good because it doesn't show me cheesing. because i was. i mean hellooooo i finally get a pic with (two) famous chefs from chicago after missing out on grant achatz and graham elliot...

ahhh great way to have the last meal of summer in the chi!

:edit:
ps -- i may or may not have mentioned how i wanted to go to avec but couldn't to paul kahan. (if u didn't know there was a fire there last week and a fireman died). he was just liek "ohhh we'll open soon". *awks* and then i also may have overlooked mr. james beard winner when talking to paul because, well..i only follow chicago chef sorry. i think that's why he gave me his card. so i could google him and find out that he's waaay legit and make me feel bad :(

SWEETBREADSSSSSSSS

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charcuterie plate

Pork pie, beef cheek terrine, head cheese, sausage and pickles

This plus butter and bread..(And beer) omgeeeeeez
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Taste of three hams and trappistes rochefort

The beer's supposed to be like chimay. A bit more chocolate-y but does go well w the salty/gamey ham. Bahhhh legit in love w this place! And totes spotted paul kahan eeeeeek!
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Final din at the publican. Hollerrrrr

Probs will be liveblogging :)
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Edzo's double cheddarburger

Kind of a gross pic...and it was kind of a gross burger :(
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i like fests.

maple syrup...bacon...bourbon....WHAAAAAAAT.

gimme. now.

How we make pop at work.

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saurkraut balls

"Sauerkraut, cooked ground pork, diced onions, bread crumbs, cream cheese and an egg are rolled into balls that about the size of meatballs. They are then fried and served as a snack or first course, even bar or picnic food."

ok, so i guess the description sounds pretty gross. but i really wanna try this because i do love me some saurkraut. like...a lot. i always get extra servings of em with brats and at costco with polishes. aaaaand frosh year at IT i legit ate plate-fulls of the stuff.

altho i've never planned to go to ohio, this def is something to try if i'm ever out there, i guess.


(via slashfood)

List of Vendors for Lollapalooza

(the stuff swongy finds interesting in bold, obvs)

Big Star
Bleeding Heart
Blue 13
Burrito Beach
Elate at The Hotel Felix
Franks 'N' Dawgs
Hoosier Mama Pie Company
Kuma's Corner
The Metropolis Café
more cupcakes
Rockit Bar and Grill
Seedling
Sunda
The Smoke Daddy Rhythm and Bar B Que
The Southern
Trotter's to Go

although most of these vendors are pretty amazing (and on my list of restaurants i wanna try), let's be real here... august in the chi = gross sweatiness aka not prime feasting conditions. aaand i'm sure the food's gonna be expensive (uhhh $10+ hot dogs last year, graham elliot?!??!) i'd rather spend the money on my erh, recent 21-ness. but i am willing dish out the mooolah to try a pie pop :)

and before you try to counter with the taste being in hot weather -- u should know that i actually hate the taste. not only is it hot, but there's too many ppl and it's a waste of money. the only reason i'll go is if the mama pays for it, there's a bunch of friends going, or someone cool is performing (ie john mayer)

aaanywho, only about a month and a half till lolla and my bdayyyyyyyy. (HINT HINT ALL OF YOU READERS/MY FRIENDS. DON'T YOU DARE FORGET)

Spotted at crate & barrel...

Is this worth the 12 dollars??? Probably not. But still super awesomeeee
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Blue cheese fries at the clubhouse in oakbrook...

No this is not an order of pasta. Fresh cut fries with blue cheese, scallions and red chili flakes sprinkled over it. Amaaaaaazing!
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Spotted driving down lake cook...

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probably the only post dealing with hockey there will be this year --

yeah, so i haven't really been following the hawks. they do meet my criteria of a team to cheer for (wooo chicago! and black/red/white with green and yellow accents are pretty awesome) but over the course of their post season i've been busy with studying for finals, getting an internship, and hanging out with friends/the mama.

i start my internship next tuesday (AHH SO PUMPED I'LL POST ABOUT IT LATER) so i probably won't have the time/desire to watch any of the upcoming games either. ummm next season i guess...?

aaaaanywho this story about the hawks did catch my eye. welll because it deals with food (of course). apparently mayor daley has been making bets with the mayors of the cities the hawks have been up against each round. the following is the official list of what daley is wagering against for the stanley cup. what's kind of funny is this was compiled even after philly's mayor announced he wanted to bet service projects instead of food...lolz

THE LIST (i've also taken the liberty to highlight things i find awesome):

Abundance Bakery: three dozen red velvet cupcakes.

Al’s #1 Italian Beef: 100 Italian Beef Sandwiches.

Allen Brothers: six boxes of 34 oz. USDA Prime Long Bone Ribeye steaks (The Blackhawk Chop) for Philadelphia and 5,000 burgers to Blackhawks Charities.

Azteca Foods Inc.: 10 cases each tortillas, tortilla chips, salad shells

Billy Goat Tavern: Three dozen double “cheezborgers.”

BJ's Market: Barbecue Turkey Ribs, Mustard-Fried Catfish, Roasted Turkey Wings.

Bobak’s Sausage Company: 100 Italian Sausages and 100 Gourmet Chicken Burger “Pucks.”

C. J. Vitner Company: 10 cases of Chicago Style Potato Chips.

Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs: “Cowboy” by David Todd Trost.

Chicago Public Library: A collection of books by some of Chicago's great authors, including Scott Turow, Innocent; Carl Smith, The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City; Gwendolyn Brooks, A Book of Poems; Saul Bellows, The Adventures of Augie March; Studs Terkel, Touch and Go; Sarah Paretsky, Body Work.

Connie's Pizza: 50 Large Deep Dish Sausage Pizzas.

Eli's Cheesecake: 500 slices of a "hat trick" of Eli's Cheescakes - Original, Strawberry, and Chocolate Chip.

Garrett Popcorn Shops: 25 gallons of Mixed Popcorn.

Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse: Once Case of the “Chicago Cut” USDA Prime Bone-in Ribeye steaks.

Glunz Family Winery & Cellars: 12 bottles of Glunz’s de la Costa Sangria.

Goose Island Beer Company: 10 cases of Goose Island Honker’s Ale.

Great to Be Here Tees: Chicago/Philadelphia Sports Fan T-shirt package.

Half Acre Brewery: one case each of Gossamer Golden Ale, Daisy Cutter Pale Ale and The Invasion Helles Bock.

Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse: 49 6-oz. Double-Cut Lamb Chops.

Illinois Specialty Cut Flowers: A sustainably grown Blackhawks bouquet.

Kim & Scott Pretzels: Round-trip airfare to Chicago for two, hotel room for one night, free dinner at Kim & Scott's Cafe Twist at 2218 N. Lincoln Ave. and a case of Kim & Scott's Gourmet Stuffed Pretzels.

King Wah: 200 egg rolls.

La Preferida: Assortment of over 50 Authentic Mexican food products including refried beans, Jalapeño Peppers, Organic Products, Salsas, Tortillas, and Seasonings.

Lyric Opera of Chicago: two tickets to Verdi’s “A Masked Ball”, two Lyric fleece pullovers and baseball caps.

Manny's Cafeteria & Deli: A Deluxe Manny's Care Package containing sliced corned beef & pastrami, potato pancakes, rye bread and a bottle of Manny's Horseradish Mustard.

Margie's Candies: five cases of Margie’s turtles

Mullen Foods: Chicago's Finest Applesauce

Original Rainbow Cone Inc.: 25 quarts of Original Rainbow Cone ice cream

Reebok: 100 youth hockey sticks

Reggio’s Pizza: 10 Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizzas

Robinson's Ribs: three cases of Robinson's Barbecue Sauce -Original, Brown Sugar and Hot.

Stanley's Kitchen & Tap - West Loop: 20lbs, 10oz. of toasted macaroni & cheese.

Stewarts Coffee: six cases of Stewarts Private Blend Coffee and two cases of "Red Eye" Blend.

Terry's Toffee: 30 pounds of toffee.

Vienna Beef: 1961 Maxwell Street Polish Sausages and 2010 Chicago Style Hot Dogs

Windy City Soda: cases of Windy City Soda to the City of Philadelphia and 15 cases to the Chicago Greater Food Depository.

World's Finest Chocolate: 50-lb. chocolate almond bar.

what do ya'll think about the list? is it a good representation of chi-town's food..?

there are definitely tons of very awesome chicago-y food. but some are things i've never heard of..like ever. am i just that uncultured bout chi-town or are they really just that random?

and i think they should have included lou malnati's and uno's instead of the connie's or regio's. i've never heard of reggio's and connie's to me is just gross weirdness served at stadiums and the mccormick place. i also find manny's and king wah wayyy overrated, so i guess i understand why they're being offered but definitely not something i find interesting. oh and robinson's?? same deal. like i understand why it's listed but no bbq can compare to black dog....so it's gonna be considered ehh in my book.

but -- can we note that out of all of goose island's beers (312, bourbon county, or the other 2343243 that have won awards) they chose my favorite one, honker's ale!?!?! hollerrrrrr

cafe laguardia

so i kind of created a monster when i introduced my mother to groupon. a few months ago, i casually forwarded a groupon for zapatista, which is this yummy mexian(ishh..) place in that's 15 mins from my house and becca's bday dinner was there :) lemme know if you wanna check it out. i'll def go...even sans groupon.

mother was too late to buy the one for zapatista but she did ended up signing up for groupon....andddd buying every other offer they had.

no, like....seriously.

practically every week, i got a message from my mom saying "i bought a groupon for _____! we can go over the summer :)"

might i let you know-- i haven't heard of half of these places!!! so get ready for some interesting posts about random places this summer.

cafe laguardia was one of these restaurants my mom bought a groupon for. apparently it's been featured on check, please! and tasty travels..? yeah, i didn't remember it either.

the place is in bucktown, about a block off of damen and armitage. street parking was easy to find (we parked right across the street) aaaand it's free.

(pic of the outside thanks to menupages.com)

based on their fancy purple awnings with pretty fonts and colors, you'd think this was a classy place with pottery barn-esque decore. boyyyy was that wrong. there was so little lighting we had to move to a table by the window in order to see the menu. the white air ducts are spray painted zebra print. the chairs are black and white cheetah print...ohh and fuzzy. i wish i were making this up... and yeah, i got zero pictures because of the lack of lighting.

(but to give it some credit, the bar was pretty cool...marble floors, elevated wooden tables, a fancy wood bar with pretty bottles behind it haha.)

soo to the food. for a drank, i got the mojito* (per r.ray's suggestion). the thing i realized -- i don't like mojitos. whoooops. the mint's woodiness is incredibly over powering and almost reminds me of floor cleaner. but after diluting it with extra seltzer and adding an equal..it was alright for me lolz. soo yeah. i mean, i'm sure it was a good mojito? but they're not my thing so maybe it is worth all of the hype..?
(*sidenote -- mother was all up for me trying to get this. she was just like heyy it's lunch! and i'm with you! just act cool and go for it. and it worked. hahha)

for apps we started off with the ceviche and cuban tamale. the ceviche tasted like brothy pico de gallo. it was delish but def not good when you're paying $9 and expecting at least some taste of calamari and shrimp and there are none. the tamale was better though. the masa was light and nutty while the stuffing tasted like cured (?) fatty pork..def a good thing! and for $4..hullo (shoutout to c.bontempo on that one) but idk the diff between this and a mexican one...

for entrees we ordered the taste of cuba and red snapper. i was really excited about the red snapper because (FAVORITE OF RACHAEL RAY AND CHECK, PLEASE!) was printed in bold in the description. the fish was fresh and cooked well. and it came with good shrimp too (yeahhh FINALLY got some shrimp). but the white wine sauce was incredibly rich and made everything taste pretty much like bleh. i think the basil-tomato compote and onion garnish was supposed to cut through that but it didn't do enough. i do love my sauces..but this was just wayyy too much. and i think i may have gotten a few bites of unincorporated butter....either that or coagulated sauce. is there really a better of the two? yeah total grossness. needless to say, the dish wasn't that good. so fail rachael ray and check please. faillll

the taste of cuba seemed perfect for swongy -- there were 8 different items!!!! i'm just gonna list each thing out in order of how much i liked them:

1. fried pork medallion - well this sounded interesting right?? yeah it looked really good may have been pork belly aka my new obsession. but it became this dry, crunchy and salty piece of meat that was pretty inedible by itself.
2. braised beef -- the tomato-y was good but the beef was really dry and tough. my mom joked that she couldn't eat any more in fear that it would stick in her teeth and she didn't have any floss or toothpicks with her.
3. ground beef - yeahhhh. basically ground beef with some onions thrown in. and maybe some spices. it was good...but then again, it's ground beef. so idk how u can really mess that up?
4. white rice - surpriseee i like rice.
5. black beans - well, it should be noted that my basis of black beans is chipotle's so idk if that's like...legit. but in any case i did like cafe laguardia's more. the beans were more soft, and had a smokey, ham flavor. and it worked well as a sauce for the dry meats described above.
   
6. fried plantains. can't mess that up i guess.
   
7. tostones -- carbs that are fried twices. durrr i'm gonna love it.
8. croquettas de jamon. OBSESSED. fried mashed potatoes...YUM-O (hi r.ray). aaaand then add to that a hint of haminess and richness from sherry wine. legit getting that at every cuban place i go to from now on.

annnd to recap. while there were some good things, overall cafe laguardia was a bit of a disappointment. to get rave reviews from two pretty significant sources..? huhhhh???? while i appreciate their introducing me to cuban ham croquettes and serving me(...), it's too far away from my house for too mediocre of food. i'd rather go to a mexican place closer to home or find a yummier cuban place downtown.

Spotted at the sweden shop...

A lime green french press?!?!?!
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Meat Versus Miles: Why Less Meat is Better Than Going Local

more reasons to cut down on red meat...interesting stuff, yo.

I thought I'd share with my readers a few fascinating numbers that demonstrate the enormous environmental value of a low-meat diet.

1) Replacing your red meat intake with chicken, fish or eggs for just one day per week has a carbon equivalent impact of driving 760 miles less per year.

2) Switching to a vegetarian diet for just one day per week has a carbon equivalent impact of driving 1,160 miles less per year.

3) Switching from a standard American diet to a vegetarian diet has a carbon equivalent impact of driving 8,000 miles less per year.

4) Switching to 100% local diet has a carbon equivalent impact of driving 1,000 miles less per year."

(via casual kitchen)

yummy snackage -- apples and cinnamon (why this took me so long to discover i don't know....)

(sometime i like to pretend i'm a food photographer.)

for the past few months (maybe a year now...) i keep having weird changes in food preferences. especially with fruit. i don't like pineapples, strawberries, kiwi, or grapes. and with apples -- i keep changing my mind on em. one month i'll love them another i'll hate em...which is unfortunate because apples are so good for you! they're high in vitamins, low in cals, and full of fiber (which becca and i appreciate..)

so over spring break i loooved them and brought back a box of braeburn apples from cotsco. ohhh but wait, i hate them again. shooot.

after realizing i couldn't do apples-and-peanut butter every day (the pb added a good 200+ cals), i had to come up with another way to trick myself into eating apples. gosh..i've become a 4 year old..

but lo and behold -- just sprinkling some cinnamon makes these apples sooo delish! like a yummy dessert. and if you leave them sitting for a little bit, they get even better. i don't know if there's any scientific proof behind that, but that's just from my observation haha.

so try it. i promise it won't disappoint :)

anderson cooper profiles jose andres on 60 minutes

so tonight was the highly-anticipated first televised interview of coco. there were fb statuses and tweets all in anticipation about what conanando would finally say. welll it kinda was a disappointment. he's contractually not allowed to say much about jay and what he could say i've heard already.

buttt on this episode of 60 minutes there was also this segment with the beautiful (questionably gay), silver fox andy cooper talking with jose andres! andres has a cool rags-to-riches story, he finds fruit and veggies sexy, and he makes sure to spend time volunteering at a soup kitchen (oh you know...going from charging 200+/head to feeding the homeless, normal stuff..) homeboy has some really interesting opinions about things and this unexpected interview was wayyyy better than coco's.

oh and sidnote-- if you didn't know, anderson cooper is my all-time old man (aka anyone 40+) crush.
and wtf..i wanna take that harvard class.

laura cristina and i went to see third eye blind yesterday.

(so this pic is a bit awkward because it was taken by a creep rando...which is explained in #3)

here are my thoughts about the concert --

1. third eye blind has made new music since the 90's..wtf. we only knew maybe 4 songs out of the entire set.
2. stephan jenkins is super cute! oh wait...he's only 14 months younger than my mother. awkiewarddd
3. probs the weirdest crowd i've seen at a concert. either 3eb's new stuff has attracted weirdos or this is what the true urbana crowd looks like. either way...oye
4. balcony seats at canopy = greaaaat. perf for short lazy ppl (not that i'm either of those..). we got to see everything and not have to stand. here's the view --
   

(and i took this picture while still sitting!)

but it was a pretty fun evening overall. we balcony drank beforehand and had an amaaazing meal at bread company (which included a yummy glass of sangria!) i'll talk about the meal another time but here are some pics:


yes, i realize the first one turned a bit too food-porny. even i am a bit grossed out....sorriezz. but that pizza-- OMGEEZY. SO AMAZING.

Smoked pork pozole at Radio Maria

Aside from the bad service that's expected at radio maria (oh you know-- 20+ minutes to get food and laura had to wait an extra 10 for hollondaise...) this was delishhh. The broth was light but full of bright, zesty flavors. it worked extremely well with the rich, salty and smokey pork (of which I got the deliciously crispy end!!). It was also served with beer bread which was more like buttery toasted cornbread. It was exactly what I wanted this morning -- something yummy, satisfying but not too much to give me a tummy ache. If you're not in a hurry and patient w lack-luster service...def get this for brunch
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graham elliot bowles and i have the same glasses. wuddup.

(altho i wonder how i should feel knowing that my style of frames legit are for erm, "large" faces....)

anywho i love him. he cooks well, can dress as a chippendale for halloween (NSFW), and wears chanel glasses. ohhhh and he's cooking at lolla again. so random/interesting. <3 <3 <3

"result: a rainbow-tastic candy massacre"

this dude was driving and came across this pile of crushed gobstoppers. kinda gross/trippy/fun/delicious-looking all at the same time...

(from flickr via serious eats)

when a whoopie pie and a cupcake fall in love...

they make whoopie pie cupcakes!

ok ok, so it might be the fact that i may be going a bit loopy sitting in the same seat at starbucks for the past 3 hours...but i found this extreeeemely cute and even giggled out loud a bit. (other factors maybe the fun font, pretty colors, or really lame play on the word whoopie...)

(via serious eats)

oooooooo i wanna try this!!

awesomeness:100. practicality: 0.

jimmy fallon spoofing glee = complete hilariousness.

a nifty kitchen gaget involving cafeine?!? actually maybe not that cool..

i present to you the mypressi twist. this little gadget makes shots of esspresso with the help of nitrous oxide. you can see a vid of how it works here

at first i was like wowww. but then as i read about it, the more i started to become less impressed.

first off -- you have to add boiling water. secondly, it only makes one shot at a time meaning you have to clean out and refill the gadget at least twice for a decent cup o' drink. andd on top of that -- you have to buy NO2 cartridges, which i'm sure aren't that cheap.

i kinda think a french press is still the better way to go. you still get strong product, it's just as easy to use, and you don't have to fuss with or buy a bunch of parts (plus its cheaper to begin with).

although cool looking and interesting, i think its a pass.

Chicago Magazine's list of Best Restaurants in Chicago, Ever

1. Alinea
2. Le Francais
3. Charlie Trotter's
4. Frontera Grill and Topolobampo
5. Spiaggia
6. Trio
7. Ambria
8. Morton's The Steakhouse*
9. Gordon
10. Pizzeria Uno*
11. Avec
12. Carlos'*
13. The Bakery
14. Blackbird*
15. Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!*
16. Everest
17. Arun's
18. The Pump Room
19. Yoshi's Cafe
20. Gibsons Steakhouse
21. Jacues
22. Fritzel's
23. Carson's*
24. Gene & Georgetti's
25. Cape Cod Room
26. Le Perroquet
27. Eli's Place for Steak
28. Jimmy's Place
29. College Inn
30. Shangri-La
31. The Berghoff
32. Henrici's
33. Hackney's on Harms*
34. Alexander's Steak House
35. Gladys Holcomb's Home Cooking
36. Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli*
37. Don Roth's Blackhawk
38. Red Star Inn
39. Fanny's
40. Wing Yee
*=where swongy has been to.

andd i've only ate at 8 of them. :( but honestly...a bunch of them don't sound too great. like all of those steak places -- eh, over it. but alineaaa. maybe i can go for the bday.

(list via grub street chicago)

lea michele at the glee premiere vs martha stewart at good housekeeping's 125th anniversary.

hmmm a young actress at a premiere of the biggest tv hit or a past-middle aged woman celebrating some magazine that's been around for over a century. lea should obviously be the one with the better look. but sadly...take a lookie


sorry, i love you lea but you looks like a wannabe cool mom with that crazy hair (slash i actually know moms with bangs like that..). and that dress...bleh. maybe if it was hemmed correctly and your hair was more modern?

but yay for ms stewart! she looks so fab and age appropriate. and those shiney gold pants - FUN FUN FUN. but downplayed nicely with clean, simple make up and jewelery.

(pics from leamicheleweb.org and huffington post)
^saw her outfit on perez but i wanted a picture that wasn't written on lol