WWYD (FAKB)?

Things I would do(oo-oo) for a Neapolitan Klondike bar:

1. Tweet about craving it after hearing about Neapolitan Klondikes from the helpful mustached fellow employed at my local Paper Source.

2. Visit KlondikeBar.com and use its store locator in an attempt to find the Neapolitan bars, only to discover the closest store that carries them is located 50 miles away; tweet about my disappointment.

3. Say YES PLEASE after the kind folks at Klondike offered to me, on Twitter, a "free one-time shipment" of Neapolitan Klondikes in response to aforementioned tweet.

4. Stumble out of bed the next morning to accept a big cold package packed with dry ice while addressing my mother's quizzical stares.

5. Completely disregard my dentist's recommendations to eat only soft, lukewarm foods after getting my wisdom tooth pulled that same day.

6. Substitute my breakfast for one the following day.

7. Begin working on a strategy to somehow obtain future boxes of Neapolitan Klondikes.

(Unique) LA day.

Being primarily an OC gal, I don't get to explore LA all that often. But my cousin lives and goes to school there, and she is the perfect excuse to visit. Also, she knows her way about town, and I get to be her chauffeur for a day. It's a win for all.

I had scheduled an "LA day" on my calendar not really sure what was in store. But I did know that we were going to start the day with grilled cheese. I had been looking forward to this for weeks. Clementine was having "Grilled Cheese Month" specials the whole month of April, and I was lucky to make it for the final weekend.

Behold the baked potato melt:

Potato, bacon, broccoli and cheesy goodness between two slices of potato dill bread. I was able to eat about a third of the sandwich before my appetite succumbed to its richness and I could not take one more bite. Eating a tuna-cheddar salad and part of my cousin's ham and Gruyère on pretzel bread probably had something to do with that, too. 

Also, the sweet homemade pickles. Delicious. Take it from someone who hates pickles. Or don't. It's up to you. (But seriously, eat the pickles.)

Our bellies quite content, we boxed our leftovers and were headed to our next stop: the Unique LA expo. This show features clothes, art, jewelry, awesome things, etc. from hundreds of independent local designers and artists. And, of course, it's fun for foodies, too.

Yummy things we saw:

Friggen' cute plush fruit by Janie XY.

Graze reusable sandwich/snack bags.

Sugars and herb packets by Backyard in a Jar.

Yummy things we ate:

An avocado vanilla popsicle from the Popshop. My cousin had lime mint mojito.

A CoolHaus snickerdoodle and candied bacon ice cream sandwich. (Yes, we had ice cream and ice cream.)

Flying Pig's smoked chicken and short rib "tacos." I had only a bite of the chicken, and all I can say is: This truck better be coming to OC soon.

P.O.P. Candy's rich, buttery toffee. The thyme, walnut and cherries one was my favorite.

Yummy things I brought home with me:

An adorable steppie art print for my kitchen.

Strawberry chipotle jam by Backyard in a Jar. It's sweet with just the right amount of heat. It's been a little over a week and the jar's almost finished.

A Subeco shirt. For every shirt they sell, they plant a tree in the rain forest!

Yay LA!

Summer and fall obsessions.

Hello! I'm slowly resurfacing and it's taken longer than expected. But, here we go. Up and at 'em.

Let's see. I think I still had a few posts left on Japan, but it's friggen' November for Pete's sake. I might do a wrap-up later.

For now: A few summer obsessions that have trickled into fall.

YummyEarth Organic Hot Chili Pops


Particularly, the Chili Mango Mambo pop -- a sweet, fruity sucker with a hot chili kick. And it's organic and natural and made with real, good stuff. Win! I get them at my local Sprouts.

Breyers Rocky Road Ice Cream


I practically lived off this during the hot summer months. I originally thought I liked Breyers ice cream in only strawberry and mint chocolate chip, and that the more traditional, richer ice creams just weren't.. rich enough. But their good ol' rocky road proved me wrong. Maybe it's just 'cause Breyers makes rocky road just the way I like it -- marshmallow swirl instead of whole marshmallows (a pet peeve of mine), chocolate-covered toasted almonds instead of just plain nuts, all in creamy chocolate ice cream. Mmm mm.

Pumpkin and chocolate

Oh, man. I have been craving this combo like mad recently. My boyfriend even offered to stack a brownie on top of a slice of pumpkin pie to help satisfy my craving, and I probably would have eaten it if it weren't for the root canal I had earlier that day.

Terrible experience, by the way, that root canal. I do not recommend it.

Rutabegorz has pretty much saved my life on more than one occasion with its gargantuan iced pumpkin cookie. It is thick and soft, almost cake-like, and my attempts to savor it slowly are always met with utter failure. I only wish chocolate milk was at the ready to wash it down.

The other weekend, I trekked out to Claremont for Some Crust Bakery's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.


These are perfection -- the texture emulates a chocolate chip cookie over pumpkin cake, and the chips are always warm and gooey. I wanted to buy a hundred of them, but I walked away with only two. Whyyy did I buy only two?

It's ok though, because the following week I made these:

Pumpkin whoopie pies. Here's the recipe on MarthaStewart.com. When making the cookies, drop the batter in little spoonfuls unless you are planning to undertake whoopie pies the size of burgers.

I have been going pumpkin crazy -- expect future pumpkin posts.

Markets in downtown Naha, Okinawa.

Glorious sensory overload, especially for seafood lovers:




Mini mangoes! Together now: Awwww.


An Okinawan specialty: Taco rice.


Miso that resembles salsa:


I picked up this strange fruit: kanisuteru. The flesh was sweet, soft and starchy, and tasted similar to chestnuts.


Mango Tango ice cream from Blue Seal -- how Okinawans do ice cream.

They just do some things a little better here.

Things eaten in Japan I just can't get in the States.

McDonald's McFlurry (makkufuruurii) with real strawberries and crushed Oreos.


Makku also cooks eggs perfectly -- as in: soft to medium, and not rubbery and overcooked -- for their breakfast sandwiches. Yes, I went there. So?

Thick and luscious mango gelato in a waffle cone from 7/11.



EDIBLE -- and delicious -- chirashi-zushi bowls from your local supermarkets and convenience stores.


Balls of fruity sorbet from Circle K.



As much as I love food back home, I know I'll seriously miss this stuff when I return.

Summer grubbin': A look back.

Well, hello.

It's three in the marnin'. But goshdarnit, I promised I'd do this, didn't I?

Needless to say, I have been one busy mofo. Three separate time-consuming activities, all important to me, have swallowed me up whole. At least I won't have to worry about one of these anymore after the next four days.

It is one sad, crazy world when a food-loving gal is unable to contribute to her own food blog. It makes me long for the yum-filled days of summer, when I could afford the money, time, and patience to buy fancy pastries, make stews, and layer popsicles, respectively.

So as a gift to myself, here's a look back at a few snapshots of summer, when life was perhaps a smidge more carefree, and a whole lot tastier..


Some Crust Bakery in Claremont... Oh, how I miss the raspberry- and lemon-mousse cupcakes and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.


And the key lime cupcake.


Just.. the key lime cupcake. That's all. Try it and this jibjabba might make sense.

Summer was also the time of whimsical movie-plus-some-food-completely-unrelated-to-the-movie-and-vice-versa nights. Okay, I only held one of those. But who could forget "Japanese Curry and James McAvoy Movie Night"?! James McAvoy's Scottish accent and Vermont Curry-brand curry, with "a touch of apple and honey," will forever be ingrained together in my mind, that's for sure.


Finally -- the art of popsicle making!

Step 1: Buy a ridiculously unnecessary popsicle recipe book.


Step 2: Buy a ridiculously unnecessary -- but freakin' adorable -- Sailboat popsicle mold set.


Step 3: Create beautiful and delicious frozen treats in an attempt to justify the silly splurges committed in steps 1 and 2.


.... After I've finished my nostalgic sobbing about summer's end, I'll do my best to focus on what fall brings:

THANKSGIVING!!

Officially leaving the Bay Area.

Ok. We're gonna do it. All in one go.

Let's wrap up the Berkeley foodventures and be done with it already!

Highlights from the rest of our trip, in reverse order of favoritism:

4. Chowdahs in the chill at Fisherman's Wharf.

Before our hike up the insanely steep and crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco, we needed proper sustenance. Fisherman's Wharf is a very touristy -- therefore, expensive -- spot, so we had to be a little creative:

First, we got an adorable sourdough turtle from Boudin. After promptly devouring its legs, tail and head, we headed over to the cluster of fresh seafood offerings where we purchased a cup each of crab chowder and clam chowder, each costing only a few dollars. Because it was biting cold and we didn't really feel like eating next to the pigeon poo, we headed back over to Boudin's heated outdoor patio to eat. (Wasn't that such a great idea?!)

The crab chowder was my favorite. It was the corn in it that sold me.

3. What is a Gypsy's? It is a delicious.

Spaghetti carbonara at Gypsy's Trattoria Italiano, located at none other than Asian Ghetto.

Man. I wish there were an Italian place like this at home. Gypsy's has a huge selection of pizzas, calzones and pastas (cooked perfectly al dente), which are prepared quickly, come in hefty portions, and cost you no more than a matinee movie. My carbonara was creamy and eggy, generously adorned with crispy pancetta.

As for the garlic bread? Instead of the usual garlic buttered-toast, Gypsy's dishes come with a slab of bread and a generous smear of real roasted garlic so soft and sweet, you'd think it was butter. But better. Better butter. Of garlic.

2. Hot/cold confusion, and the creamiest gelato ever.


The sun didn't peek out once during our trip, so it's a good thing I love eating ice cream in cold weather. Almare served up some of the most decadent gelato I've ever tasted (texture is always key). Pistachio was rich and nutty, kiwi-strawberry was true to its fruity flavors but not overly sweet, and both were perfectly creamy and thick.

Ici, on the other hand, is on a whole 'nother plane of ice cream existence. The flavors here, which change daily, are always unconventional: Earl Grey and cookies, Santa Rosa plum, gingersnap-honey, cardamom-rose... so many chances to try something you've never tasted before.

On this particular day, my cousin and I both opted for peach-habanero. Its searing heat was immediately soothed by sweet tanginess, which quickly turned back into spiciness. While sitting on a bench outdoors, we vocalized this strange, but wonderful sensation:

"I'm cold. But it's hot! But it's cold... I'm so confused!"

1. Diamond dogs.


From the hole-in-the-wall (literally) Top Dog, my sister got a chicken-lemon dog (left), I got the linguica, my cousin got the original Top Dog. Unfortunately, the one I got was my least favorite -- probably because I unwittingly slathered it with a very spicy horseradish mustard (I didn't know what "Russian mustard" was!). At least now I know that spicy, smoky sausage does NOT go with horseradish. The O.G. "New York-style" hot dog was classic and wonderful, and the chicken-lemon was surprisingly juicy and tender. I really, really wanted to go back to try the smoked chicken apple dog, but didn't get a chance to! Boo. I want to try each of the dozen or so flavors.

Phew! This post was long, but it included only highlights; I took way more food photos:


For my next visit, I've vowed to make it down to Berkeley's famed "Gourmet Ghetto" -- home to the likes of widely-praised Cheeseboard and Chez Panisse.

Let's go! Now?

Beaucoup chili.

Ack! I totally forgot to blog about this last week.

The Tustin Street Fair and Chili Cookoff is long gone (June 1), but for the sake of reminding myself what I should try next year, I am documenting it anyway.

The Tustin News did a full report of the chili cook-off winners as named by the International Chili Society, but here are the favorites as named by the Supercool Spicy Sexy Chili Society (my sister, boyfriend, and myself):

Out of the dozen or so we tried, my boyfriend's top pick was Duffy's Fantail Chili (front), which placed fourth in the aforementioned judging. It was just all-around good, flavorful chili -- one of my favorites, too.


The chili in the mini bread boule, for which I can't recall the name, was fricken' adorable but much too salty.

My sister's favorite was the Spice Girls Chili. I forgot why. I think because of the tomatoey flavor.


Mine was the Fire Ant Chili. It was unique, smoky and had a really nice kick. Y'know, it had "layers of flavor," and all that jazz.


I also really liked the Paradise Chili, which I forgot to photograph. Mostly, I think I liked it because it had corn in it. Everything is better with corn. You should know that by now.

And to cool off, Repicci's mango-flavored Italian ice was the perfect treat on this scorching summer day:


Next year I must remember to try:
Blue Ribbon Chili (sold out before we even arrived)
Roadkill Chili
Ring of Fire Chili
Oh, and we overheard people talking about steak chili... but could not find the vendor ourselves.

* * *
Tustin Street Fair & Chili Cookoff
El Camino Real & Main Street
Tustin 92780
714-573-3326