09.11 to 09.12 - Virtual Food

My kindred fatty cousin has told me on several occasions that this is his favorite site. Although the P word disturbs me a bit, I have to agree that this site is a winner. Gorgeous in-your-face photography of the most mouthwatering food. How can one go wrong??

If I look at the pictures long enough, I could probably salivate enough to make myself have to go to the bathroom. Haha. It's that bad. :\

09.10 - Common Sense Dictates . . .

that you should not stick your fingers in a chocolate fondue fountain!!

We had an office luncheon today and we were all delighted to find a chocolate fondue fountain with an assortment of goodies next to it (strawberries, pineapple, marshmallows, yellow cake, etc.). My coworker and I were "prepping" our plates by sticking toothpicks into our goodies of choice so we would be able to chocolatize them quickly and efficiently. While we were doing this, we noticed a lady next to us who was grabbing strawberries with her fingers and then sticking them into the chocolate. And she wasn't even being careful about it. The woman was straight-up jamming the strawberries under the waterfall of chocolate, getting her fingers caught in the line of fire and proceeding to lick the chocolate off mid-dip. It was only as she got to her fourth one that she looked over, noticed my toothpick-clad army, and said, "Oh. That would make more sense."

Eww. Seriously?! No common sense whatsoever. If I knew who she was and where she worked, I'd be tempted to send her a mean letter through interoffice mail. I don't want your nasty germs and skin cells in my fondue, I would say!

P.S. Despite this disturbing event, I am not ashamed to say that my army did, in fact, take a chocolate shower. Please don't judge me. :\ It was a fountain of chocolate, for goodness' sake!

 

09.08 to 09.09 - Genius Cereal Maker

Honey Bunches of Oats is a popular cereal. We've all seen the catchy TV commercials over the years, and I have to admit that the cereal is pretty yummy. But I never had a thing for the flakes. The flakes were quite boring compared to the yummy oat clusters-- and they'd get soggy a lot faster. I really hated that-- so most of the time, I'd pick out just the clusters and throw them into the cereal bowl or I'd eat the flakes first and save the clusters for later.

I think it's obvious that cluster lovers have suffered for years . . . until now. I walked into Walgreens last week and was blown away when I saw a beautiful box of cereal entitled "Just Bunches." Just bunches!! Why the people at Post didn't think of this earlier, I have no idea. But someone over there is a genius. And that same genius has made me very happy. :}

09.06 to 09.07 - Always Trust Google (and Your Sister)

My brother and cousin were about to place a pizza order in time for the Bears game earlier tonight, but they were having some debate about topping choices. This is how the conversation between my bro G and my cousin S went:

G: My sister says the BLT pizza is really good.
S: BLT? Really? That sounds weird.
G: Hmm. Let's see what people have to say about it. (starts googling) Well, I googled the pizza place, and there's a Yelp link with a review quoted. This person says the BLT pizza is sooo good.
S: Really? (looks over G's shoulder at the screen, suddenly has uncertain look on face) Umm, are you sure that isn't your sister?
G: My sister?! No! There's no way it would be her! (clicks on the link to go to the Yelp site)
S & G: (both look intently at the screen, they read the reviewer's profile and realize that it is IN FACT me, then both start laughing hysterically)

When they told me this story later on, I was quite amused. I was also pleased to find out that my brother did order the BLT pizza and, luckily, it was enjoyed by all. ;)

09.05 - How Much Is Too Much?

In general, buffets are somewhat extravagant. You can eat whatever you want in whatever quantity you want. And for food lovers with little self-control, buffets are a deadly paradise. I must admit that I fall within the "little self-control" category-- and, in addition, I have a long-established rule that one does not go to a buffet without getting (at the very least) three new platefuls of food. Ha.

So yeah. I went to two buffets today. *sheepish look* The first time was for lunch at a Thai restaurant, and the second time was for dinner right before a baseball game in the basement of the ballpark. The Thai buffet was darn good-- particularly the crab rangoon which were rolled long like cigars (and had one long strip of imitation crab running through it). Mmm. And the ballpark buffet was also pretty darn good, but one can only have so many burgers and hot dogs before it gets to be a little too much (particularly after stuffing oneself at a Thai buffet).

So, overall, it was a full day of eating. And I wonder . . . are two buffets in a day too much? Or would it have been too much had I participated in a breakfast buffet as well? Mmm . . . three buffets in a day. I'll have to try that out one time . . . ;)

09.04 - The Singles Lunch Spot

Lunch has been harder for me to figure out these days, as one can tell from my last post. As a single person, going to the nearest Thai, Indian, Japanese, or Mexican place for lunch is not an option. Why? Because it's just awkward. Sitting there with a big piece of tandoori chicken or a big bowl of udon is just not as rewarding when you're occupying only one side of a table meant for two. People end up looking at you, and they start forming dramatic stories in their heads about why this poor girl is sitting in a nice eating establishment all by her lonesome.

So what's a girl to do other than roam aimlessly through city streets or sit in a quiet office lunchroom with gossipy middle-aged women? Well, today, I did roam around aimlessly . . . but, suddenly, like a giant lightbulb turning on in my head, I stepped into a Dunkin Donuts. "Do you still serve breakfast sandwiches?" I asked tentatively. The man shook his head-- but as I began to turn around to leave, he laughed and said they did. So I ordered a breakfast favorite: a sausage supreme omelet on a blueberry bagel. And upon receiving my beloved sandwich (which cost less than $4), I proceeded to sit there . . . all by my lonesome, biting into a yummy breakfast sandwich, and feeling completely comfortable about it all.

I've found that other fast food restaurants are pretty accomodating for singles as well, but Dunkin Donuts has officially become my ultimate spot. Not only does DD offer worry-free singles seating, but they still serve breakfast at 2:30 in the afternoon. You just can't beat that. ;)

 

08.30 to 09.03 - Lunch Constants

I'm not sure if you all remember my lunch buddy S, but he stopped working here sometime in June in order to pursue a big-shot, full-time law school existence. Before leaving, he made sure to emphasize to me that "we are not friends outside of work." I used to share at least one meal a week (and at most three meals a week) with him, so I just figured he was being characteristically mean to me. I've come to realize though that I might have been mistaken. I no longer see him anymore, let alone share even a whiff from the same eating establishments.

S was my lunch constant. Nowadays, my lunch constant is the all-too-familiar beige lunch room and a tried-and-true styrofoam cup of dehydrated sodium-laced noodles floating around in hot water. The latter will always remain the same, readily available when I have a dollar to spare, consistently tasty and satisfying. And as much as I miss the cold, biting personality of my former counterpart . . . a warm, flavorful cup of noodles is a welcome substitute.