Finding Ways to Pass the Time

Happy Monday, folks.

Just back from another cafeteria lunch. My stomach is letting me know that it did not approve, but I didn't have time to throw something together this morning. Water logged spiral pasta with a runny meat sauce that had too chunky tomatoes and questionable meat. I also got a side of red potatoes that were tossed in what looked like cherry tomatoes, basil, onion and raisins. Weird combination but it worked. And a hot dog. Don't ask me why... I just do things like that.

I wonder if I have an antacid in my locker.

Tonight is my last official lab in cake decorating. We're covering fondant. The next class after that is either the written final or the lab final. Whichever, I will hopefully be prepared. Tomorrow is the written final for food prep, which I am not prepared for. I was planning on studying that this past weekend, but whoops. Life gets in the way.

I was going to make a separate post about this, but better do it now before I lack the motivation. Met up with my friend S yesterday for brunch. If you have been following this blog then you would know S was my dining partner in crime back in the day. Supper clubs. Getting all the free iced coffee on free iced coffee day. That stuff. Anyways, I moved upstate; he focused on his acting. I mentioned that I was going to be downstate and he inquired about meeting up for brunch. I quickly agreed, even though I was skeptical about brunch options in Rockland. There are places I'm sure, but the one he picked was in a bar. Noonans in Pearl River, to be exact.

Long story short, not going back there again. If you sat at the bar, you got decent service. We sat in the back, but near the bar. Constantly had to flag down the server. S's food was barely lukewarm. My French toast was dry. Bacon was crisp, and probably the only thing positive about my food. Because it was a set price ($27 inc. tax) I just kept ordering bloody mary's to make up for my abysmal meal. S did the same, only he got mimosas... for fun.

To be honest, I wasn't really a fan of that place to get beers anyways. But it's there so I guess that's why people go. And it has such positive reviews on their food. Shame that they may be misguided.

Afterwards we headed up the street to Louie's on the Avenue. I've never been there before, but after checking it out I definitely need to try it. We got some drinks at the bar and chatted with one of S's friends and the owner. I broke a glass... spilled a drink. Can't take me anywhere it seems. S was heading down to Maryland for a couple of shows so we said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways.

Didn't get to shop at Costco. They close at six on the weekends. Way too early, if you ask me. But I suppose closing that early allows your workers to you know... enjoy their weekend. I wanted to buy that chopped kale salad!

I hear there were some rumblings about TAP NY. I took a look at the winners and was disappointed.

Brown's won? REALLY?!? My experiences are hit and miss with them. And almost always a miss.

Chatham, Crossroads. Okay, I'll let it slide. But what about the other breweries? Peekskill made no showing? What about Rare Form? I can't really think of other breweries I would have expected to have heard more about but eh mind is blanking right now. And IPA heavy? Good thing I didn't go, since I don't really like IPAs all that much.

But what do I know? My knowledge is from what little things I picked up from M's sister and brother-in-law. Both are certified BJCP judges; they brew; and they help organize the Michigan Homebrew Festival. So it must be legit.

Bleh. Heartburn setting in.

I Should be Proud, But I’m Not

And a happy early Wednesday to you. It’s one of those rare times I’m up this early and I don’t feel exhausted. But I have to get moving, so I’ll keep this brief.

First off, my stint as a juror is over… without me having to ever step in court. Guess the caseload is light this week. So I don’t have to worry about it for another six years.

Second, what caused the title of this post was an article I saw on Twitter. I don’t have the link on hand, but it’s on the Washington Post website. Another piece about how Filipino food has finally arrived; noted some Filipino restaurants and those that are starting to cook Filipino food in the DC/Northern Virginia/maybe Maryland region; and snippets from Nicole Ponseca, the poster child/darling of the Filipino food movement.

I should be all rah rah about this and be happy. I am to a certain extent… but come on. Filipino cuisine hasn’t finally arrived. It’s been here. For a LONG time. If you live anywhere with a Filipno polulation you've most likely come across our stuff. But it takes some Fear Factor and Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern before people start to get curious… outside of areas that have large Filipino populations (aka the coasts and major US cities. Anywhere there's a hospital... but that's stereotyping, even if it is true). We’ve been spouting how great our food is for years.

Hiya… shame. Could you call my negativity that? Perhaps. I think many of the older generation have it, but it was ingrained in them to be that way. To be modest. To not boast. Bait... good. The younger generations are not like that. If you have to call it anything, they are “OA” – overacting. But I guess you have to be so absurdly OA for people to take notice. Balut eating contests? Pass. But it does get people wondering what’s going on.

And why does Filipino food have to be fancy? Something that was mentioned in the article. Fine dining or something. Why does it need to dressed up to be accepted? If you wanted to do that to say, “yeah, we can be fancy too!” Go ahead, do it. Do you. But I will be happy going to my mom & pop to get my Filipino food fix. Or just go home and eat. Probably better that way, those mom & pops have varied quality.

Blah. Proud and negative. Embarassed, but always with good intentions. Whatever. It’s early, I’m out of time. There still is no Filipino restaurant in the Capital Region. There is Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Burmese. No Filipino. There are people who “cater” in the area. I don’t know who they are, but they do it. But no actual brick and mortar place. I think it would be kind of cool to open one up. Or do a pop-up. Food truck. Something. I’ve been taking these cooking classes for a reason… maybe for that.

But you need money for that. And time. And a whole lot of confidence. I lack just about all of that. So for now I guess I’ll just cook it and give it away to friends and co-workers. Because I can’t eat it all.

Freezer Purge

I don't remember if I wrote about this before, but my freezer is on this fritz... again. I've already thrown out a lot, mostly meat. It pains me to do that, but who knows how long its been thawing and refreezing. The back is completely covered in ice and not properly freezing what little is left in there. I have a bag of salmon fillets, a seafood mix, a roaster, and assorted vegetables and fruit. Not stuffed, but arrrgh. I don't want to throw all that out.

I'm tempted to bring stuff to work and throw it in the freezer there. But I am pretty sure it's full.

Le sigh. First world problems.

How Papa John's Does Square

Before I go any further, let me say my involvement with this pizza was picking it up and having a slice or two while making my own dinner. Any exasperated reactions please direct to M.

So last weekend Papa John's had a contest to pick which side won on the coin toss. If you guessed correctly, you won a free pizza. At M's urging, I went and voted. Once. M voted much more than that... and won't tell me how many exactly. Anyways, he guessed right on a bunch of them... so free pizza for us.

yay...

M called me after volunteering and asked me to help him order our free pizza. Which topping? Mushroom. Regular or crispy crust? Regular. Extra sauce or no sauce? Are you kidding? Regular cut or square? Hmmm... square I guess.

Picked up the pizza and endured an extremely warm ride back home (gotta keep that pizza warm). Opened up the box and that is what we saw - a round pizza cut into a bunch of small slices. Square slices. Not what I expected... I thought it would be a square pie, something new PPJs was trying out. A nod to the local pizza style if you will. 

That is what I get for expecting too much out of them. Dreams dashed, a hard cold reality slap in the face.

And the garlic dipping sauce didn't melt. Boo.

Doh!

So long ago when I started blogging and didn't know any better, I uploaded all my pictures online and linked them to my posts. I did that for a good... three years perhaps? And where did I upload all these pictures to?

Myspace.

Because I didn't know any better. And at that point Facebook was all the rage, so myspace was relegated to storage. And then it changed... or reset... whatever. And the three years of photos?

GONE.

Somewhere wandering in that vast abyss called the "internet." It's probably hitched a ride with some passing cloud and hoping for the best. And damn that photo collection for not charging its phone! Can't call and find out where the hell it is. Can't geo-locate with GPS. Hell, it can't even charge the damn thing because they forgot the cable and its a regular usb hookup... in the land of iphones!

GAH. I've got 99 photos but I can't find one. Online.

Anyways. Out of my system. Anyways. One of these days, when I actually have free time, I will have to search through some old hard drives to see if I can find these pictures. Hopefully I did save them to a hard drive and did not foolishly depend on myspace actually keeping it there.

JT, grumpy cat is coming your way.

Shopping Wisdom

A Little Peeved

There are all these great food related events going on. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s fantastic and right up my alley. But I feel like they’re neglecting a group of the population, a group that M is a part of – vegetarians.

Exhibit A - The Chefs Consortium Dinner at Bannerman Island Castle:

• Chilled corn and crab bisque with tarragon crème fraiche
• Northwind Farms turkey ballotine with pipian sauce, corn and butternut squash salsa

Exhibit B - 100-point Beer Dinner at Mcgreivey’s:

• Jamaican oxtail stew with butter beans and fried plantains
• Crab cocktail with mango sabayon over Bibb lettuce
• Chicken Etoufee with fried oysters and dirty rice

And then there are the wild game dinners, Baconfest, I’m sure this “Taste of Elegance” thing coming up will be more of the same. And don’t even get me started on our eating situation when we attempt to go out.

Plenty of things for me to devour, but hardly anything for M. And before I would ignore it, and just think, “oh well, that means more for me!” But that’s selfish thinking.

Well I’m taking a stand. More vegetarian friendly dinners! Show our veggie loving friends that they too can come to the dinner table… and have some really awesome beers paired with it.

Vegetarian dinner with beer pairings.

Someone. Please. Make this happen. And if you do, I’ll be first on line.

Shame On You, Panera

I like you Panera, I really do. But sometimes you make me wonder.

Take this for example. I was over in East Greenbush and figured I'd stop in and have a cup of coffee while I did some reading. It's one of my favorite things to do when I visit a Panera - all the coffee I can tolerate. So I'm there on line about to order my coffee when I think "Hmm. It's getting to be dinner time. Maybe I should get something to eat. How about a You Pick Two? I've always liked those."

The soup was fine, as they usually are. But this thing here. This lousy excuse for a sandwich... this was horrible! It's the butt end of a loaf of bread. I really don't think they ran out of bread - they could have cut into another loaf. But no... whoever was working that end of the line got lazy and cut up the smallest piece of bread they could find and give it to a customer. They took a crap piece and cut it in half!

Unacceptable.

I've learned my lesson - no more ordering sandwiches from Panera. The prices get bigger, and their portions get smaller.

So Pissed

I ordered out tonight. And I wrote about it. I was on a roll too - the words were totally flying. And then the unthinkable.

It deleted.

Gone.

At the moment I want to toss my tablet and the sad sack app called Kingsoft Office. Give me Word and autosave.

Grr. Now I have to scramble to remember things. And I really don't have the for it.

posted from Bloggeroid

Losing My Cred Series: Buca di Beppo (Colonie, NY)

We food bloggers/over-enthusiasts are guilty of many things, the worst of them being (in my opinion) narrow mindedness. There are those that get so wrapped up into it, they lose sight of reality. 

A blanket generalization? Perhaps. But at least for me,  I'm "keepin' it real."

Yes, I write about food. Not as well as others, but I do write about it enough to keep some people interested. I obviously talk a lot about it since I have become the go-to person of sorts when it comes to food at work. I try my best to support local businesses, (which is evident if you've read any of my posts) but there are times when I am nowhere near these places and I need something convenient. And what is almost always convenient? A chain establishment.

Yes, a chain. McDonalds/Dunkin Donuts/Pizza Hut/Olive Garden/insert any other looked down upon establishment that has invaded your town. Here's the thing - if I'm on the verge on hangry, I have no qualms walking into said places and grabbing a bite. M definitely has no qulams because he's seen my hangry and let me tell you, it it not a pleasant sight. And if I have a coupon or I can get a free meal, we can't get there fast enough. Why? Because I have a coupon... making that overpriced meal not so overpriced. 

And sometimes... sometimes... I just feel like it.

Could I have chosen to spend my hard earned money at a local/happy meat supporting/taking it to "the man" place? Sure. But I was feeling a little narrow minded, Sorry!

Does this mean I have to turn in my foodie badge?  

Now that I got that out of my system, let me tell you about lunch. As we were going over our plans for the morning (estate sales!!), M mentioned the coupon I got from Buca di Beppo was going to be expiring soon and it would be nice of me to take him out for lunch (he's not letting up about my 27 dollar steak, that boy). I was fine with that; it's been a while since we were there last, and I was in the mood for it. We got some stuff for a steal, and made our way over to Wolf Road.

The coupon was ten dollars off a bill of twenty or more. M got the eggplant parm, I got the soup and salad (Tomato Basil and a Cesar salad). Nothing out of the ordinary, but it did hit the spot. After the discount, our meal came out to eleven bucks. Not bad, considering that's about the price for one of their dishes.

Oh, Another Supermarket?

(direct link here: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpf2ugCslE1qavqqoo1_500.gif)

This is how I feel about it. Sure I can comment on this rumor, which my co-worker insists will happen - that a Wegmans is indeed going to open up at the Latham Circle Mall, because they had heard it from someone that works at JCP.

But for now, I will just say this - I don't give a damn about another supermarket until someone wises up and rushes to open some ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER. They do have people there too. Chopper doesn't cut it.

And when they do, I may get past my laziness and do this:

(direct link here: http://assets0.ordienetworks.com/images/GifGuide/dancing/23ma42w.jpg.gif)

Stewart's Buttered Roll

So there was a discussion on Twitter recently about the buttered roll. One person in particular didn't understand what the big deal was and why people could eat such a thing.

Why? Why the hell not? 

It's bread and butter, conveniently put together and in grabbing distance as you pay for your morning coffee. And it really isn't an upstate thing, nor is it really a New York thing. I've bought these at Stewart's here in the Capital Region; 7-Eleven in New Jersey, Maryland, DC; Wawa in Southern Jersey; and Sheetz in Western PA. Hell, I bought buttered rolls in a tiny hotel shop in Hawaii! I've bought these at gas stations, bodegas, the corner food cart. You don't buy it because it's flavorful. You buy them because it's cheap, portable, and tides you over until you actually eat.

Okay, I'm done complaining. 

Anyways, I went to Stewart's this morning on the way to work to pick up some ice cream for a party (Crumbs Along the Mohawk, on sale this week for $3.19). I poured myself a large coffee and there they were... the buttered rolls. But there was more... much more. Peanut butter rolls! Peanut butter and jelly rolls! Plain rolls you can toast and then butter! And bagels with the same options, but I didn't really pay much attention to those since the hoopla was all about the rolls. I grabbed a roll and scooted over to the cashier. Paid for my food and went on my way. I put my coffee and roll in the staff lounge to eat once I got settled at work. This was about 9AM. When did I finally get around to eating that roll? When I got home, which was about 6PM. Bread didn't taste stale, butter I'm guessing was salted. 

Whatever, still hit the spot.

Turn Off

I guess Flavour Cafe is alright. But not liking the fact I had to pay for a refill. Even Professor Java's gives you one.

Oh well. I tried the place out.

posted from Bloggeroid

Souped Up

Not too long ago I ordered some ramen and it cost me just over six dollars. What I got was not what I had expected and now I wonder if I'll go back to this place again (review in te works I swear).

Friday I made myself some ramrn. The cost of that? Two bucks... at most.

Top Ramen + stir fried bokchoy + scallion garnish = warm and satisfying meal

Dear Time Warner

You suck. The house has been without internet for a week, and it will be yet another week before it is back on.

With no real clear explanation why.

And I can pretty much guarantee you charge us for the two weeks it hasn't been in use... because the loss of internet access was "our fault."

Feeling really stabbity right now.

GIVE ME BACK MY FAST INTERNET DAMNIT!

Post Hold

Thanks to Time Warner, I have no internet at home, which means no words with friends, hulu, or posting. And I had a bunch lined up.

So either I go to places with free wifi for the next two weeks, or pay someone a bunch of money to tell me what. I already know - there is nothing wrong.

TWC is a piece of crap. I wish there was Optimum online here! Never had these issues.

posted from Bloggeroid

Questionable Defense

Oh, the lengths I will go to to save my garden.

Farewell, Peter Wong's

It's been a while since I stopped in for a bite. I should have gone back sooner, before it was too late.

Peter Wong's in Montvale is no more. The Antique Mall and barber shop which neighbored it in that strip mall have also made their exit. I don't know if they were turned out, or left willingly.

That far end of the strip, which seemed pretty empty anyways, has been fenced off and from what I've seen, is in the midst of reconstruction.

And what is filling the void?

The Fresh Market.

I noticed the sign as I was driving toward A&P Fresh, not even half a mile further down the road. The Fresh Market, which M and I both agree is very similar to A&P. Not to mention DePiero's is nearby.

Why?

At first, I thought it was pretty cool- they were expanding and hey... more options, right? But as I drove past, I saw who had to be sacrificed for that to go in. I became livid.

Three local business had to go so that a chain could come in. Mom & Pop's. Stores that seemed to be there forever. Now gone to appeal to the followers of "gourmet markets." It is the trend, after all.

I don't know. Very disappointed. Can't even tell you if I'll ever shop in that FM. I'm sure I'll stick my head in there to give it the once over, but then I'll get back in my car and shop where I usually shop.

Smith’s Tavern/Smitty’s Pizza (Voorheesville, NY)

It was a very long week for me, and I needed some fun time. For my first weekend upstate, M and I decided to go estate sale shopping. In the winter. Yeah, there’s a whole lot of wrong with that, but what else is there to do? And we need a table for that microwave. We attempted to hit up one in Rotterdam (which we think didn’t really happen) and one somewhere out in Schenectady (never made it due to an almost empty fuel tank and a dead GPS battery).

The McRib is Back!

Oh yeah, my old friend is back. Only it was never my friend. This sandwich is indeed a temptation, only I was never really tempted to have it before. Blame it on the McRib aura.