Cold Stone Creamery

...eating cold stone ice cream! yes i knnnooowww! i was lactose intolerant for 14 years and then it suddenly disappeared last year. i've been hearing about cold stone ice cream for years but never tasted it because i didn't want to deal with the effects...i've been wanting to try it for a long time now and today was the day. i was sooo excited waiting my turn in line, ready to order my churro caramel crave. i stepped to the counter told the young man what i wanted, only for him to reply, "sorry the machine is broken, we don't have that right now"........are-you-kidding-me???!!! it was like going to kfc and they've ran out of chicken, or going to burger king and they have no burgers!!!! how do these things happen??!! i was lost!!!!! i didn't know what else to order...i was speechless i didn't really want anything else but my churro caramel rave. i really felt like throwing a tantrum kicking and screaming, but i knew this wouldn't bring my churro caramel crave any closer to me  :( ! since i still wanted ice cream , i ordered a medium waffle bowl of oreo overload ice cream (aka cookies 'n cream) with coconut, waffle cone chips, roasted almonds and oreos (totally boring compared to what i wanted orginally). let me just say cold stone is not all that it's cracked up to be...for all the hooplah, i was expecting something so much better! it tasted like any other store bought ice cream...and the cone, if you've ever had joy's sugar cones from the supermarket...this cone cannot compare! it was weird; it was soft and hard to tear apart. it was chewy, i felt it tasted kinda stale or just not baked long enough... i don't know but for the $8.13 i spent on this waffle bowl, i could have gone to target, bought 2 cartons of edy's and would have enjoyed it a whole lot more!!! but i guess if you're on the run, you're craving ice cream and have change in your pocket to spare, you could probably spring for some cold stone ice cream other than that, i don't think it's really worth it...

xo

Château Phélan Ségur vs. J. Lohr

…drinking château phélan ségur saint-estèphe 2004. this bottle of bordeaux originates in france and has a price range of $32-35 (somewhat pricey in my book) i don't think that i would buy this one, it was an office pick.  it is made from dark ruby plums with cedar, dried herbs, sweet cherries, and plums. this was new for me because i didn’t know that they put herbs and bush in wine (interesting, i know!!!) even with all those flavors, it is a very very dry wine. it also had the taste of black licorice and tar (not a fan of either) character with fruit. my boss said, “this is what wine is supposed to taste like…” hmm yeah ok, about that....i tasted it and thought it was just ooook. i don’t think my palate is classy enough for fancy wine like this but maybe I’ll get there one day. then they brought out a bottle of j.lohr seven oaks 2008 (cabernet sauvignon) to compare to the château phélan ségur (bordeaux) . this carbarnet sauvignon comes from the vineyards of california. the price range for this bottle is $11- 21 and made from black cherries, black currants and plum fruit, complemented by vanilla. i thought it tasted like fruit with a hint of flowers. out of the two wines, i definitely preferred the cabernet sauvignon because it was slightly sweeter than the bordeaux though it is also a dry wine. it had a lingering aftertaste of the flower/fruit mixture which was nice and flavorful...i think it would be a great wine for a nice steak...wow, i shouldn't have said that now i want a steak toooo!!

xo

Mushrooms

...eating mushrooms. can you believe it?!! i ordered pork chow fun for lunch today (how come they never give you enough meat to finish the noddles...??), the last time i had pork chow fun, i pick out every, single, little, brown mushroom.  there was a time when i swore that i would never eat mushrooms (i dont like the idea of eating fungus, oh yes, that's what they are, ya know?!!) however today, i decided to man up and eat them! well, who would have thought that mushrooms are a goodie! i liked them! i was surprised myself! do you know how many weddings i've been to and there has been stuffed mushrooms, mushroom wrapped in bacon all sorts of mushrooms dishes that i've passed on and all this time, it tasted like chicken!!!!! why didn't any of you tell me??!! it tasted like chewy chicken but i really enjoyed it. i don't know if all mushrooms taste the same but based on this first impression i want to try more. so... i'm on to the next one, on to the next...mushroom!

xo

WIne, Cheese, Chocolate with a side of games

...co-hosting a wine and cheese party, actually it was yesterday but i wanted to share it with you. we wanted to get some friends together and what a great way to bring friends together other than with stinky cheese and the wine that matched them that brought out their 'flavor'. in order to prepare for this party, i went on a hunt to pair cheeses and wines, here is the list that i came up with:


spanish machego- rioja (red)
fontina- chianti (red)
stagnola blu- fine tawny port (red)
roquefort- fine tawny port (red)
guyere- chardonnay (white)
tomme de savoie- pinot gris (white)
morbier- beaujolais (red)
delice de bourgogne- veuve clicquot brut (white sparkling)
gouda- pinot gris (white)
goat cheese brie- bordeaux (red)
parmesan grana padano- chianti (red)
french brie- cabernet sauvignon merlot (red)
sharp cheddar- beaujolais (red)

who knew that you could bond with strangers and friends over the stinkest cheeses!!! it was crazy, how cheese can be an ice breaker!! we also had chocolate fondue and a whole lot of accessories...fruit (strawberries, bananas, pineapple), baguettes, crackers, pretzels, marshmallows, sausage, tomatoes, olives...it was a table fit for a king!!!! i was proud of the spread we put together for our friends!!! oh, so along with hosting the party, it was the first time i ate an olive..it was huge! i tried it.........hate-ted it (if you watched 'in living color' back in the day you know exactly what i mean, hahaha)!!!!! it was soo salty, which was totally unexpected, slimy, gooey, and then i had the gag reflex...i will never have olives again!!! uuggg!! just thinking about it makes me shiver. i did make an awesome  discovery after hating the olives...marshmallows between two ritz crackers. a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!! the sweet and salty combination was sooo good--the bomb diggity!!!  all in all, i think the party was a success, chilling with old friends and meeting new friends, the conversations flowed the whole night!! and of course a party isn't a party without a couple rounds of taboo, guys against girls, of course!! the set-up might be a little different next time but definitely something i would love to do again!!!

 

xo

Natural Sweet Wine

…drinking a glass of natural sweet wine from the robertson winery. this wine is from south africa and is made from chenin blanc, colombard and muscadel grapes (for those of us that know little to nothing about wine that means blah, blah and blah grapes, hahaha!). the price of this bottle of wine ranges between $5.40 - $9 dollars (i know a great price, totally affordable!). there is a very low alcohol content (7.5%), so if you don't drink wine on a regular basis, it's a great wine to drink every once in a while! this light wine is sweet and very, very tasty, full of grapey flavor. i thought it was a nice treat since most of the wines that i've had recently were dry wines...i think if you try this sweet wine, you will not be disappointed, i promise!!!!

xo

Veggie Burger

…eating a veggie burger, seriously! today i went to the v-spot for lunch, located on 5th ave in park slope (there a lot of great places to eat in the park slope/boerum hill area of brooklyn). though i didn’t enjoy last week’s vegetarian/vegan lunch experience i was willing to try something new and simple, a classic bacon burger (home-made veggie patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, tempeh bacon on a toasted whole wheat bun) and it came with a lentil soup on the side. i tried to keep the suspense going, so i started with the soup…i did not like it. it tasted very bland with a touch of salt. the soup came with a piece of whole grain bread; i only had enough soup to finish the bread and then put the soup to the side ready to devour my veggie burger. i took a bite…i took another bite, broke off piece of my tempeh bacon…i wanted to cry!! how could they destroy something so beautiful...so absolutely amazing??!!! it was horrible!!!! it tasted like bootleg chewy old plantains. Though I love plantains regularly, no one likes the stale plantains that sat in the pan of oil all day. it reminded me of old oily leather shoes! i took a few more bites willing myself to like this burger. when i went to the restaurant to pick-up the burger, the guy said that the patty contained black beans, lentils, potato, carrots; all things that i like. why didn’t i like this burger? in my 30 years, i think my brain has been programmed to think that anything with the name burger should be tasty meaty goodness with crispy bacon juice dripping from the sides of my mouth. i ate half of the burger and stopped there. i really tried my friends, but i couldn’t do it…i have become a vegetarian failure. after telling my friend about my veggie burger experience, she has volunteered to make one for me and I will take her up on her offer…’til then, no more veggie burgers for me!!!

xo

Farding

…hearing the word ‘farding’. when i heard the word 'farding', i had no clue what the word meant so i had to look it up in the dictionary. according to the merriam-webster dictionary, ‘ fard’ (verb) means to paint (the face) with cosmetics. so ladies when you're driving and applying make-up in the mirror that is known as ‘farding while driving’. I googled farding to see what would come up and to my surprise there are many websites campaigning for farding while driving to be illegal just like texting while driving. be careful ladies, depending on where you live, the police can give you a ticket for farding….just thought i’d give you a heads-up! be safe out there, the police are everywhere!!!


xo

Coney Island Twister Poutine

...eating poutine. dw (i'll use initials to refer to my friends) and i went to corner burger this evening for the first time. it was cute place on 5th ave in park slope, that had a kind of johnny rockets' style and ambiance. i checked the menu before we got there so i knew exactly what i was going to order. i ordered the slope burger (cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, homemade onion rings, chipotle mayo, pickles, lettuce and tomato) and the coney island twisters poutine. what is poutine, you ask? well, it is seriously a plate of deliciousness with a side of heart attack, haha! the french canadians were the geniuses that created this dish which consists of french fries topped with cheese curds, covered with gravy and sometimes additional ingredients, in this case you know, it was b-a-c-o-n!!! i also ordered the dessert poutine--sweet potato fries dusted with cinnamon sugar and topped with maple syrup. i thought to myself, seriously why didn't i think of this?! :) i took the onion rings off the burger (not a fan) and sunk my teeth into one of the best burgers i've had in a long, long time. the burger was amazing!!! it was juicy and also quite tasty! the coney island twisters were incredible!!! i don't know how the canadians thought about this tasty treat but i am sooo glad they did. the dessert poutine was the only thing that was just ok...they were good when they were hot but just like all other fries as they sat there getting cold and soggy they started to taste kinda whack. overall, i enjoyed my food. if i had to complain about anything it would be the service, which was really not that great. there was one waiter and though there were only two tables for him to wait on, he took forever to take our orders and then again when we wanted the check...if you don't mind mediocre service, i totally give the food my blessing and i would definitely go back to try other things on their menu.

slope burger

coney island twister poutine

dessert poutine

xo

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Rose

...drinking veuve clicquot ponsardin rose. this is the first in my wine series. last week, i told one of my bosses (i have two of the nicest bosses ever!) that I was going to start a blog and that part of it would consist of me trying new wines since i really don't know anything about wine. he said that he had a perfect bottle for me to try and this could be the first bottle to get me going. usually when people say they're going to give me something, i don’t get my hopes up so that i’m not disappointed when they forget. this time, however, i was pleasantly surprised because he remembered! veuve clicquot rose comes from champagne, france. it is a combination of raspberries, strawberries, cherries and blackberries tasty goodness. though its pink (my least favorite color in the world), it was quite tasty, actually let me be truthful, it was really, really good!!! it's semi-sweet, not too sweet and not too dry with just the right amount of tartness. it was especially tasty with my plate of lasagna, garlic bread and caesar salad (yes i made dinner tonight). since valentine's day is approaching, i suggest this as a great compliment to any romantic meal, whether you're a wine drinker or not, i think you will enjoy this one. you could also drop in a few strawberries for a little more flavor if that's your preference...très delicieux! 

xo

Raw/Vegan Burrito

…eating a raw/vegan burrito. i went to sun in bloom for lunch today. i’ve passed this place many times but never went in because i didn't find the menu appealing. since this is about trying new things, i decided to start here (plus the place I really wanted to go to was closed). i went in but was a bit shy about ordering because i didn’t know what some the ingredients on the menu were. i was able to talk the chef behind the counter; she was really nice and took her time explaining what they were-- dulse, tempeh and sunflower 'meat'. i settled on the western burrito (zesty sunflower “meat” with fresh salsa, avocado slices, a mix of cabbage, zucchini & sprouts dressed in sib’s famous live ranch dressing). i figured i like sunflower seeds (i didn’t understand how you can get meat from sunflowers but anyway...), avocado, salsa, so how could i not like it, right? along with the burrito, i bought a bottle of lemonade, which had agave for sweetening instead of sugar. i got back to my office, totally excited to try my new lunch. from the first bite i was nauseous. yes, i was nauseous, but as an adventurer, i felt that i had to persevere and give it my all. sorry to say i couldn’t even make it through one half of the burrito before feeling like it was going to come back up!! since i'm not a cow and i don’t chew cud i knew i had to stop eating. i covered it quickly and tossed it to the side with the thought that i would eat some more later… when later came and i uncovered the container the smell instantly made me gag!!! i couldn’t eat anymore sunflower meat! seriously, i really tried!!! the lemonade was good but that was only because i like drinking juice straight from a lemon! agave had no sweetening impact on the lemonade. in fact, it wasn’t lemonade at all, it was lemon juice!! if you like raw/vegan i am sure you might like some of the items on their menu…though i didn’t totally care for this raw/vegan experience, I will not let this keep me from trying other places… 

before

after

xo

Blogging

...i'm blogging! i can't believe it! i'm sooo excited to share all my first time experiences with my review and opinion. in this blog i will be trying all sorts of new things--food and drinks, books and activities (within reason, of course). along with sharing my everyday firsts, i will try a new bottle of wine every week, alternating between red and white. i'm even open to suggestions (once again, within reason) and i promise to share my honest opinion!

this blog came about because i recently felt like i was missing out on many things and not even bothering to try them once to form my own opinion about them---well, no more!! i--have--changed, i promise to try everything at least once and will never say--no, thank you to trying new things!!!

i hope you follow me every step of the way and feel free to comment. xo