Can someone please explain

...why every donut shop in LA also sells chinese food? whats the connection?

A really good red wine for $8.99

red burgundy pinot noir reserve 2006. everyone is sure to like it.

Fig Cocktail - Impress your grandparents

Today I learned how to make an awesome drink: a Fig Cocktail. (Although I think there needs to be a more impressive name for this). It's actually pretty good, and people who like scotch will especially enjoy it. It's easy:

1 shot chambord
1 small shot single malt scotch (We used Drambuie)
1/2 teaspoon fig essence or fig jam (usually available in the jam/near the cheese section of your grocery store, or here)
1 slice of fig (optional)
Splash of Club Soda

Pour into a cocktail glass over ice cubes.

If you don't like scotch, you can try this tasty alternative.

Vitamin Beer

What's up y'all. I'm in new york. I went to a German bar, and found a beer which is supposedly very high in vitamins. Does anybody else think this is genius? Not only do vitamins prevent you from being hung-over, they are good for you. Now if you are sick, you have no excuse not to drink. And you don't have to make yourself chug orange juice 24/7. I think we need to bring this to the US mass market.




It's called Hofbrauhaus Traunstein 1612er Zwicklbier, and it comes from the town of Traunstein in south-east Bavaria, Germany. It's a lighter, fruitier beer - somewhat similar to a Heffe.


I also tried the Austrian favorite, Stiegl. http://www.stiegl.at/en/stieglat/ It's a good standard beer -while it's light, it still has enough body for everyone to enjoy.

national cupcake day

is today...anybody celebrating?

And Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes!

http://foodbeast.com/content/2010/10/07/pumpkin-pie-in-a-cupcake/

pumpkin pies just got so much more portable.

Mountain Dew Cupcakes!

(includes recipe for Mountain Dew Buttercream, which can be used in other desserts as well)

http://www.allthingscupcake.com/2007/12/05/mountain-dew-cupcakes/

THE BLOG IS BACK

that is all.

The original Nachos

According to legend, Nacho's were invented by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya in a Mexican border town in the 1800's. One night a group of foreign travelers came to his restaurant, hungry and exhausted - but the restaurant had just closed and he had used most of his ingredients for the day. Ignacio did not want to be rude to the foreign guests, so he ran into the kitchen and tried to improvise with whatever he had left. The result: Nacho's. The original nacho's are single tortilla chips, freshly fried and individually topped with cheese and a single jalapeno slice.

I decided to try making original Nacho's, so I bought corn tortillas, cut them into four pieces each, and fried them in vegetable oil. (for beginners: to fry them, I heated up some veggie oil in a frying pan and dipped them in it). Then I topped them individually with low-fat mexican blend cheese (you know I'm health conscious) from the grocery store and the jalapenos, and baked them until the cheese was melted. It was actually really good. I got this photo from Flickr but this is exactly what it looks like:

Vegan Burgers - better than you think

Don't automatically skip over this post when you see the word Vegan!!!!! Vegan burgers are really good. I would choose a good vegan burger over an average traditional burger any day. So, where else would we go try vegan burgers but L.A., which happens to be both the vegan-food capital and burger capital of America. Let's examine 2 impeccable vegan burgers I had recently:

Real Food Daily - http://www.realfood.com/

Burger with the works - Tempeh vegetable patty, sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato, rustic roll, avocado, tempeh bacon, melted cashew cheese - $14.75

totally worth $14.75. not much else to say. The only thing I don't like is that the patty feels a little thick and heavy. It's good, but it's not as juicy as a meat patty would be.

The Golden Mean - http://www.goldenmeancafe.com/

"Lean Mean" Veggie Burger with the works - Bean grain and veggie patty with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, special sauce, avocado, tempeh bacon, and began cheese on a burger bun - $12.75

Pretty much the same description as the RFD burger. But the patty here is awesome - its thinner and tastier than the RFD patty. I have no complaints about this burger. It's not as big as the RFD burger, but it's still filling.

Bottom line: the hippies got it right.

Addicted to tortilla soup

recipe to follow...

Rumor Alert

Brooklyn Bowl is supposedly coming to the Mission

http://www.brooklynbowl.com/

o_O

New Menu - Radio Africa & Kitchen

Radio Africa & Kitchen has just posted their new menu, for this Friday, October 15th. The former underground restaurant now serves patrons on select Fridays from Coffee Bar on Florida & Mariposa in the Mission. Chef Eskender Aseged's menu is inspired by his childhood in Ethiopia and time spent in North Africa, Italy, and France - making it a nice fusion of different Mediterranean ingredients and flavors. I've been meaning to try it but I'm never in town when they are operating :(

Menu: http://www.radioafricakitchen.com/menus.html

Food Porn: http://www.radioafricakitchen.com/gallery.html

Ohio's Premier....Chocolatier?

I like to make fun of my co-worker Mike because he is from the midwest, but when he returned from a trip today with a box of Ohioan chocolates, I was too shocked to think of an obnoxious remark. They are called Buckeyes, after the Ohio State University mascot, which is a poisonous nut. (Well, I guess its better than a tree). Even more shocking is the fact that they are quite good, although I think they would be better if they had liqour in the center. According to Mike, they are even better homemade - take a ball of peanut butter and dip it in melted chocolate.

Buy them here: http://www.anthony-thomas.com/