This video is interesting! Gotta love the kid with the lisp!

Now I want some chocolate! Maybe I’ll go over to Max Brenner! Have you ever been there? Its a chocolate themed restaurant! If hot chocolate is “the drink of the Gods” then Max Brenner must be a heaven outlet! They have this hot chocolate that tastes like a cup of melted hot chocolate! Its the best hot chocolate ive ever had! But its so rich, you really cant finish a whole cup! by the time you get 3 quarters of the way down, you start to go into a chocolate shock. But its worth every shiver! lol

I will do an in depth post about Max Brenner later. I have lots to tell!

Do you drink cows milk or a milk substitute like soy, rice, or almond milk? I ask because, Im not a big fan of milk or the idea of the origins of milk. As good as Half & Half tastes to me I decided to get away from it for a while and I started drinking soy milk. I was addicted to SILK for about a month! The vanilla flavored is awesome! Especially the extra creamy one. Then I started researching the benefits of soy milk vs. cows milk and I got some disturbing information.

Many milk substitutes (soy milk, rice milk, almond milk etc) contain an ingredient called Carageenan. Carageenan (pictured above) is a seaweed substance used in many milk and yogurt substitutes as a thickening agent. It makes things creamy and more rich. However, Carageenan is not a safe ingredient. Ive read that it has been known to cause severe stomach issues including tumors when it is consumed too much. It has also been known to cause instant stomach aches after ingesting it.

Its sad when you think youre doing the right thing for your body and you realize youre doing more harm than good. Ive also read that soy is not the best thing for women to ingest too much of.

Im writing this message to say be careful with the substitutes that you buy and do your research to make sure they have the right health benefits. Be sure to read the labels when buying milk substitutes because MOST soy milks, and milk substitutes that Ive encountered contain Carageenan in the ingredients.

The one soy milk that I know of that DOES NOT contain Carageenan is called “Eden Soy”..its a pretty good soy milk. It doesnt taste as good as silk…but it serves its purpose if you really cant deal with cow’s milk. I guess its the Carageenan making the other milk subs taste so great..and as good as it tastes, its definitely not worth the health risks.

With that said, I guess I will just stick to Bessie’s boob juice in my cereal. ugh! (hey thats a good name for a milk company Bessie’s Boob Juice………or not? *shrug*)

Sources:
Carageenan: Its use doesnt gel

Carageenan: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Nasty Food of the Month

Dangers of Carageenan

Im really gonna miss my friend Momo when she permanently moves to London. She knows the coolest places to eat! She’s like a walking Zagat survey! She has seriously eaten at every restaurant in Manhattan. Its a wonder that SHE isnt the one with the food blog.

After we had dinner with a bunch of friends the other day, we went to this really cute dessert bar called “ChikaLicious”. Everything about that place is cute and tiny (except the prices)! That place is so small you have to take baby steps when you enter. If you step too big you’ll end up behind the counter. People dont seem to mind being piled up on top of each other, sitting on eachothers laps if they have to. They’ll sacrifice their comfort just to get a little taste of one of those cupcakes. And thats all youll get if you buy one of those cupcakes, A little taste!

Theyre so small that I cant really classify them as cupcakes! Maybe they should call em DIXIE Cupcakes. It annoys me when I see people eating them with forks. THEYRE TWO BITES! Maybe 3 if you’re dainty! COME ON PEOPLE! I bet these are the same people who eat their snickers with a knife and fork.

What makes up for it is the fact that the cakes are small but the taste is BIG! Those are some the most moist, fluffy, delicious cupcakes I’ve ever had. They ALMOST give Tonnie’s Minis a run for their money! I say almost, because Tonnie’s Minis are delicious, bigger, AND cheaper! So they win by default!

One itty bitty cupcake in ChikaLicious is $1.75. That sounds cheap but when you see how small it is, you’ll think again. A “Premium” cupcake is $2.50! Premium cupcakes are the exact same size as the regular cupcake but they have a filling. Caramel has a caramel filling, Strawberry shortcake has a strawberry filling etc. I would really like to taste the Smore’s cupcake! Those look great! I will visit that store until I have tried every cupcake and when Im done trying them all, I will do it all over again! So far I’ve had the coconut (my fave), the vanilla, and the almond. Im not overly fond of the almond because the toppings are too crunchy. The almond is good but its not a favorite.

They have other desserts like Custards and “Adult Chocolate Pudding”. Cant wait to find out what the pudding is like. I was tempted to try it the other day, but I thought I’d better slow down considering I had already eaten 3 cupcakes and was eyeing a cookie! Their Chocolate Chip cookies are fantastic. I actually like their chocolate chip cookies better than Insomnia Chocolate chip! And thats saying a lot because these cookies werent even warm! But theyre so good, they still warm your insides.

I love their cute little birthday cakes. They look so yummy. When I say little I mean it. Theyre 10 bucks and theyre about the size a real cupcake should be! LOL…Im exaggerating a little but not much. One birthday cake can be eaten by one person seriously. I would love this place much more if the prices were a little more reasonable but they have a bunch of cute desserts and snacks and I am determined to try each and every one of them regardless of the cost. So expect an updated blog post.

The only thing thats missing from ChikaLicious is a staff with personality. You would think such a cute, quaint place would have cute quaint employees but what I’ve found each time Ive gone there (3 times so far) are employees who seem a bit annoyed by the customers and by the fact that they have to be there. I guess I would be annoyed too if I was selling cupcakes from a closet. If they made the place double the size, I think everyone would be happier. They dont need to make it any bigger than that though. If they make it any bigger than that, it might lose its charm!

East Village
13 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY
(212) 777-0606

Went to Pho32 the other day! That place is so much fun! If youve never had Shabu Shabu, you have to try it at least once! Even if you dont like cooking! Shabu Shabu tricks you into thinking cooking is fun!

Shabu Shabu is this whole experience! The tables have these little circles in them that are kinda like little hot plates. The waiter brings you this little pot filled with broth, and puts it on the hot plate. Then when it starts boiling, they bring you a plate full of veggies, and thinly sliced meats of your choice (chicken, pork, beef, or seafood)…then you put it all into the pot and let it boil! As the steam and aromas come up you have a good time laughing and joking with your friends!

I recommend you ask for some raw onions and garlic to season it up even more. The Shabu Shabu also comes with a variety of sauces for dipping your meats and veggies in. The sauces are good but once I season mine up with the onions and garlic, I dont even need the sauces any more. Their rice is great! I think they put sesame oil in it, which gives it extra flavor. I like to put rice, and my cooked meat and veggies into a bok choy leaf, roll it up and eat it like that! its great! If you dont like rice you can order it with noodles. But I am a rice fiend! I think I could live for years on a desert island with just rice! I’d be fat as hell but I’d be alive.

Pho32 is a great place to have a Shabu Shabu experience, but when you get there make sure you ask them if the table works! They love to sit people at tables, you get your mouth all set for some Shabu Shabu, then when you order it, they tell you the table doesnt work! How the hell are you running a Shabu Shabu joint with some broke ass tables? Thats like having a barbecue with no grill! Pho32 please get it together! I thought that the tables were broken at the 32nd street location because they were old, but the St. Marks location is new, so whats your excuse?

I went with a group and we were scattered all across a long table because some of the little stoves worked and some didnt. We almost looked like we were eating by ourselves…luckily a few more friends came to fill in the gaps and were smart enough not to order Shabu! Aside from the raggedy tables we had a great time. I love putting all the ingredients in, watching it all boil up..I love smelling the aromas! I love the control I have over my food! I can cook it for as little or as long as I want!

I liked this place so much that I went back the next day and took my mom. She had a great time. She loved the coffee they brought to the table. It was brewing in its own cup! Even the coffee cooks at the table! haha. I ordered the same thing the next day that I ordred the day before and I noticed that I didnt have any eggs. That leads me to believe that the eggs I was eating belonged to someone else’s order. SORRY FOR EATING YOUR EGGS! Especially considering there were 3 eggs and I ate two of em lol. BTW If you crack an egg in your pot, dont panick! It will start to boil so much that it looks like its about to boil over, so dont crack the egg in there if you have more than half a pot full of broth. To be safe maybe you should just boil the egg whole. Everyone might hate you for stinking up the place with a boiled egg, but at least your pot wont boil over.

These Shabu joints have a nice little hustle going on dont they? Theyre charging you 15 to 18 dollars for a bunch of raw food and making you cook it yourself! And they got the nerve to take FOREVER to bring the meat! We kept asking “wheres the meat? wheres the meet?” I felt like I was in a Wendy’s commercial! WHERES THE BEEF?! I mean seriously, why did it take so long? Its not like they had to cook it! Were they out hunting?

But seriously, they think their slick dont they? Im gonna open up a Shabu Shabu in the hood! Instead of broth Im gonna put some oil in those bad boys, and bring around slices of raw meat and flour so people can fry it up! Everyone will sit at those tables with pots of sizzling meat getting popped in the face with grease talkin about OOOOH THIS IS FUN! People are crazy as hell! I just might be onto something!

By the way, if you have your hair pressed, Shabu Shabu might not be the meal for you! With all that steam, you will go in there with a press & curl and come out with an afro!

Aside from the Shabu Shabu, I really enjoyed the appetizers, ESPECIALLY the fried shrimp balls! Those were so good, I had to order another. Dont look at me that way! I shared it with the group! We had a great time, eating and drinking! Sidebar: Pho32 does not have a liquor license so if you wanna get your drink on, you have to BYOS (Bring Your Own Sake!). And when you invite your friends to meet you at Pho32, make sure you say “Pho32″ and spell out the ” p-h-o” because someone thought I was saying “432″ like I suddenly got a country accent and started pronouncing “four” FO’.*smh* lol

541 Laguardia Place
New York
(212) 477-5700

This is just a quick post to let you know to check out Rhong Tiam if youre looking for a cute, cozy bar/lounge type of place to get a few drinks and chow down on some appetizers! The place is really adorable inside! The funny thing is, the place is so cute, I used a photo of the interior for my twitter background before I even knew what this place was.

The other night I went to meet up with my friends, walked in and said HEY THIS PLACE LOOKS FAMILIAR! HAHA! What a coincidence!

Rhong Tiam is actually a Thai Restaurant. I havent tried their food yet because I just went in there to meet up with friends and have a few drinks. We had some appetizers, fried cauliflower (delicious) and some calamari! I was told the calamari was great. I dont eat calamari so I will take their word for it. Other appetizers were ordered but they took so long to come that I left before they got there.

The place is really cute, but dont go there if youre in a hurry because they take all day to bring EVERYTHING! And dont let the waitress recommend things to you because she doesnt know wtf shes talking about! Stick to your gut! If you see something on the menu that you want, GET THAT! Dont let the waitress recommend something that she likes better because obviously her taste buds are on vacation.

I was gonna order the banana sticky rice but she recommended the Mango Flan and told me how delicious it was! So instead of sticking to my guns I listened to her! Note to self: Never order FLAN from a Thai restaurant! FLAN IS A LATIN DISH! Sticky rice is a Thai dish. They need to stick to what they know! That flan tasted like breakfast! All I needed was some bacon and hashbrowns. They tried to doll it up and make it look cute with fancy sculpted sugar on top and fancy sauce, but that wasnt nuttn but a damn egg! It tasted like pure egg and had the nerve to be 6 dollars. Did I just pay 6 dollars for a damn egg? The sticky rice was 4 dollars. She must not know what Flan is supposed to taste like, if she did, she wouldnt have said that mess was good. If you didnt know what it was supposed to taste like, I guess u could say it was good. But it wasnt good flan.

Other than that I think the place is cute. And it seems like a chill place to hang out and sip at cocktails and munch on appetizers. I would definitely go back! I would just be sure not to get any latin dishes! lol FYI I went to the one on 2nd ave.

I went to Delta Grill in Hell’s Kitchen with some friends last night. That place kinda sucks! I say “kinda”, because there were a couple of good points. The people were nice, the atmosphere was cute…half dive bar half cracker barrel I guess. It was very WOODEN inside. I think they were going for a Louisiana feel? Ive never been to Louisiana but thats the impression that it gave me.

The waitress was nice, but she wasnt very attentive. You practically had to set stuff on fire to get her attention. She was more interested in chattin up the bar tenders and watching tv than waiting our table. The menu was full of Louisiana Specialties like Po’ Boys, Jumbalaya, Fried Okra and fun Cajun style foods. The selling point that lured us into the restaurant was the fried okra. Im still waiting for my okra.

Well… I did get the okra, but I I’m still waiting for the rest of it! They gave me a big ass basket with a handful of okra in it! WTF am I gonna do with that? And it had the nerve to be 6 bucks! I guess it was a dollar each piece? Does okra really cost that much? Is their rent that high?! Then, it supposedly had some fancy cajun mustard mix to dip it in…but it just tasted like some watered down Gulden’s to me. Who do they think theyre fooling?

For bread, they gave us cute little cornbread muffins which were ok. I prefer my cornbread a little sweeter. It would have been nice if they had given us soft butter. Its no fun to try to spread hard butter across soft bread as it crumbles in your hands. Why dont some restaurants understand that? I guess they think its fun eating butter speckled crumbs with a spoon.

Onto the entree. I ordered the BBQ Ribs with the Chef’s “Secret Sauce”. That sauce tasted like some damn ketchup with onions in it. I guess they got their sauce making skills from the McDonald’s school of sauce making. McDonald’s big mac special sauce is more of a secret than that mess (*whispers* thousand Island Dressing aka mayonnaise, ketchup and onions). Im not knocking the ribs though, just the sauce. The ribs were pretty good. Nice and tender and meaty. I would actually go back there for the ribs (if I felt like paying 18 dollars for them).

For sides, I had veggies and a choice of waffle fries or sweet potato fries. I went for the waffle fries. I guess neither was really a good choice. My friend ordered sweet potato fries and they were both cold when they got to the table. Cold fries are thee worst! Luckily the waitress was nice about it, and she gave me all new fries! That act of kindness is what single handedly got her a good tip…because her tip was almost a post it note that said “quit your job, then youll be able to watch more tv”. But the fact that she was so nice about the fries made us soften up to her. Plus, she gave me new fries without taking the old ones away. THATS TIP MATERIAL RIGHT THERE!..and in true greedy form, I ate both! HEY! WASTE NOT WANT NOT! (what does that mean anyway?)

Oddly the veggies were more tasty than the fries! I dont know if the fries were that bad or if the veggies were just that good! But they were nice and juicy, well seasoned, and there was a nice variety of broccoli, zucchini, carrots, and some other stuff.

My friend ordered the Fried Shrimp PoBoy. Doesnt that sound delish? Too bad it wasnt! The shrimp were cold! I guess nobody told these people that when you fry stuff, youre supposed to use HOT oil! They prove that just because your food tastes like it came straight from hell, doesnt guarantee that its hot.

So my friend asked another waiter (because our waitress was too busy watching tv) to send it back to the kitchen and heat it up. When she got her food the second time, it was just as cold as it was when she sent it back! WTF?! Maybe theres a freezer between the kitchen and the dining area and they have to slowly walk through it to get to the table? She wasnt happy with her food at all. I guess that explains why she was eating everybody else’s lmao.

My other friend ordered a burger. I guess hers was good. When asked how she liked her food, she replied “a burger is a burger”. Im not a big fan of burgers so to me thats not necessarily a good thing..but I guess to burger eaters that means its fine?

My rib portions were large enough to take the rest to go, and I had a few waffle fries left…I would have taken those to go too if the bus boy hadnt tipped over my water into my fries! Clumsy ass! Wet up my fries! I should have told him to get me another order. But I was nice about it and said it was ok. (after I told him I was gonna kick his ass..to which he laughed. I guess he thought I was joking!…..I WAS! but it wasnt up to HIM to decide that! now I REALLY wanna kick his ass lmao…wet my fries AND laughed at my idle threats!? how DARE he!)

If youre adventurous enough and feel like spending all your money on sucky food, go to Delta Grill and get yourself a Shrimp Po Boy and some cold ass fries for 15 dollars! Or you could try some of their other food and let me know if theres anything worth eating besides the ribs. Though this isnt the greatest review. Im not gonna totally write this place off just yet. They might have been having an off night. But for the prices theyre charging, there shouldnt be any off nights.

Check out their website! Their website is about as good as their shrimp po’boy and their web designer is about as attentive as our waitress! I see a trend *smh* Their Horrible Website