Saturday, April 28, 2012

Foodie Log 31, date April 28, 2012

Just went to see Human Nature at the Warner Theater - it was my first motown show and my first time at the Warner Theater.  The Warner Theater seemed like the perfect location for a motown show - a well-loved and well-worn theater (I was impressed how clean it was despite its age)

The four Aussies (together for 22 years!) put on a great show and got the crowd really into it - even showing us the choreography for The Supremes' Stop in the Name of Love (ahhhhhhh - so great! so great!) (oh and apparently I had been doing the dance all wrong these years! oh the huge manateeeeee!!!)

Loved their wiggle-ing - swoooooon! (if you go to the show, you'll know what i mean)
Great harmonies and I thought they really captured motown with lots of classic dance moves!

btw - a little random, but Community's "Basic Lupine Urology" episode is TOTALLY awesome!!!!!!!!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Foodie Log 30, date April 21, 2012

Another season, another Williamsburg trip! yay!

The Traveling Gnome was all over the place, making new friends, revisiting old haunts ... good times and full tummies were had by all!

Got a two-for-one treat when we went to check-in with SnoBall


and ran into Oscar! (oh, that weiner! hanging out in front of the Hotdog King's palace)


Afterwards, we had to go tell Captain George all about it!









Now, if only the traffic on I-95 weren't as hideous as heck, we would make that trip every weekend!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Foodie Log 29, date April 8, 2012

You know what makes an awesome (possum-est) breakfast on Sunday?

Whoopie Pies!!!

mmmmmmm chocolatey / sugary / artery-clogging goodness - mmmmm, I say! mmmmmm ::drool::

the Traveling Gnome agrees
Whoopie Pie Fort
now, as some of you may know, the origin of the whoopie pie is quite controversial between the north and the kind of north - the great debate between MA and PA - the food fight between the Lumberjacks and the Amish - pitting Whoopie Pie Festival against Whoopie Pie Festival.

Whoopie Pie Gnomedom
Well, I, for one, am not about to pick sides here (unlike the monster Lobster Roll duel, but more on that later) - all I know is that one can never have enough whoopie pies and as long as it involves two chocolatey pieces and one creamy/fluffy/sugary filling, I do not care whether it came from the first state to see the sun rise or the home of cheesesteaks.  TGnome, on the other hand, is having a problem maintaining the peace ...
Whoopie Pie Defector! (oh, the huge manatee!)



Saturday, April 7, 2012

Foodie Log 28, date April 7, 2012

Just went to see Hunger Games ("just" as in last weekend - c'mon, I have a job and sometimes a life, delays should always be expected)
;)

First and foremost, I enjoyed reading the book (despite the violence and all of the heroine's self-imposed issues) - very interesting concept, though I guess not completely original ... given that the likes of the Long Walk, the Running Man and even Battle Royale came long before it ... still, whatever gets people reading!

Second, I thought that they did a great job of bringing the book to the big screen (slight exception noted below) - certainly no HP, but I know that's not a fair comparison, there can only be one in a lifetime (well, maybe more than one if the odds were ever in our favor)

Third, but no less equally poignant, no movie needs to be more 90 minutes! (maybe, rarely maybe, 120 minutes, tops!) this movie adaptation ran 142 minutes - so, in the best of circumstances, it was 22 minutes too long! sometimes 22 minutes too long doesn't feel too long, but I felt these 22 minutes (to be honest, more like 30 minutes) - there were gratuitous frames (the intense looks, the dramatic pauses, the awkward moments where no one says or does anything, but it really feels like someone should be saying or doing something, anything!)

in short, read the books, go see the movie and, as always, happy chow!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Foodie Log 27, date March 18, 2012

Good Food, Cheap!

It's "funny" how it has become the "norm" to have $15+ entrees on the menu at "regular" restaurants - like the neighborhood kind that's really not fancy-schmancy enough to have entree prices that high ... I know, it's a sign of the economic times, but still!!

that is why I love being able to find a filling, good food meal that rings in at under $5 - where can one find such a steal of a deal? head over to your local Vietnamese hub, ours is called the Eden Center (hopefully your hub has a cool name and a spiffy entrance), and grab a banh mi sandwich - fresh french bread, shredded & pickled carrots and daikon, a couple of slices of jalapeno, some green herb-y thingy, meat of your choice and a little white sauce (don't know what it is, don't care, it's yummy in my tummy!)

if you go to the Eden Center, pretty much every other store sells these delicious morsels and they all pretty much have it for the same right on the money price of under $5 a pop, but one of my favs is the #6 (grilled, shredded chicken) at Song Que, the one in the corner with the little water fountain sculpture thing in the front.  the size of the sandwich is fairly large - I can break it in half and feel like I am getting the big bang for my little buck.

don't take my word for it, just go and give it a try! what do you have to lose for $5? I bet you've wasted more than that for so much less ... e.g., overpriced cupcake (I am guilty of this), overpriced burnt coffee (Starbucks, I'm looking at you), a cup of movie theater popcorn (oh wait ... that's probably more like $10 ...), etc ...
 
http://songquedeli.com/

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Foodie Log 26, date March 4, 2012

Wow ... talk about a long overdue post! (if anyone out there is still reading ...)

I may have "forgotten" to post (aka "too lazy"), but I did not forget to continue eating (har har) ... apparently my comedic blogging skills need a little more juice ...

Anywho!

I would like to present Exhibit A - yum yum fried rice at Rai Rai Ramen in Honolulu.
Exhibit A: Rai Rai Ramen's Fried Rice (combo size)
I know - what a weirdo, talking about fried rice at a ramen place ... but you know what, yummy is as yummy eats and I don't particularly care where it comes from.  Don't get me wrong, the ramen here is absolutely lovely and delicious and etc etc, but it gets all the recognition it needs from the name alone, so I want to give a little shout out to the fried rice, ramen's wingman in the journey to my tummy! (literally, you can get the Mini Combo Fried Rice, which comes with ramen AND fried rice - save a little, trust me, your stomach will not be very happy with you if you eat it all in one sitting)

Fried rice - that super awesome mixture of rice and whatever else you want - in this case, egg, scallions, onions, pork, and those fishy while/pink slices.  At Rai Rai's, you can hear them freshly frying your meal and those saliva generators go full blast ::droooooool:: and they don't keep you waiting, as soon as they dome it onto a plate, they bring it out to you - that's what I call service!

okay, I have to go wipe the drool off of my keyboard now ... until next time, happy chomping!