I'm happy to announce an opportunity for one lucky blog reader to win a $35 gift certificate to CSNStores.com. If you still haven't had a chance to visit CSN Stores, they operate 200+ websites with thousands of products. While I enjoy checking out their travel accessories and cookware, they also sell everything from backyard furniture to barstool and lighting.
You might recall the product review I did last month. Currently, I'm longing for these two products to add to my kitchen.
Enter to win the $35 gift certificate to CSNStores.com by leaving a comment below and sharing what you would buy with the gift certificate. Please include your first name and email address. Open to residents of the United States and Canada only. Limit one entry per person.
The giveaway closes on Friday, December 17, 2010 at 11:55 pm EST. One winner will be chosen using random.org and notified via email. 48 hours will be given to respond or another winner will be chosen.
Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post.
My products from CSNStores.com arrived some weeks ago, but I only had a chance to put them in to use recently. Shopping with CSN Stores is easy; the only hindrance is the variety of products they carry makes picking out what to buy hard!
I decided to go the practical route and picked out two new items for our kitchen. As you know from my previous posts, Raisin Bread and I have been cooking quite often at home. While we have made lots of healthy meals, a few of our cookware and electronic items died as a result.
We needed a new hand mixer to replace the one that broke, and I chose the Proctor-Silex Hand Mixer. This model is extremely non-fancy and is pretty generic, but I liked the price point and it does the job that it was meant to do. I've only used the mixer once so far and it was to make a Hong Kong-style egg custard tart. It came out beautifully!
Proctor-Silex Hand Mixer Features:
Bowl rest feature
125 Watts
Beater eject
5 speeds
The other item I chose was a Farberware Superior Nonstick 8" Deep Skillet in Black. We have several other small skillets, but they have lost their nonstickyness due to overuse. Besides the nonstick surface, I absolutely love that deepness of the skillet. This makes it more difficult for me to fling food out of the skillet while I'm stirring. Since I'm not sure how long the skillet will stay nonstick, I used the skillet to make some omelettes for brunch last weekend. Yummy!
Farberware Superior 8" Skillet features:
Deep skillet
Superior nonstick interior for fat-free cooking
Even heat distribution throughout the entire pan for perfect cooking performance
Comfortable, riveted handle is oven safe to 350°F
Specifications:
Cleaning and care: Dishwasher safe
Color: Black
Overall dimensions: 3" H x 8.5" W x 14.25" D
Disclosure: CSNStores.com provided me with an electronic gift certificate in the value of $35 to purchase the items in this review. No monetary or other compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own.
This could just be me, but I have always thought that sending your friends and family cards with your face on it was some how strange and narcissistic. Over the past few years, as we’ve all grown up and become adults, I’ve found more and more of my friends and family living farther and farther apart. It’s not unusual for me to see certain people in my life only once or twice a year. Now, seeing their gorgeous faces smiling back at me on a greeting card is a comfort.
Shutterfly recently debuted its new 2010 holiday card collection. With over 700 designs, Shutterfly offers a variety of sizes and styles as well as both folded and flat Christmas photo cards. These cards are a great way to mark significant moments in life. If you are newly married or have just had a child or have just returned from the most amazing vacation of your life, sharing those moments with loved ones is what the holidays are all about.
I was recently approached by CSNStores.com to participate in a product review. If you aren't familiar with this company, CSN Stores operates 200+ websites with thousands of products. They sell everything from furniture and upholstered headboards to clothing, cookware and luggage.
Over the coming weeks, I will be perusing their pages for an item to review. Here are two items that have already caught my eye:
This blog will soon be decommissioned. I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want to say as a blogger, and I realized that I want to say more about me. So I'm moving all of my old content and writing new posts here:
I have approximately 81 days left in Los Angeles. I don't think I can add much more to this list because it will be impossible to achieve.
Things to Eat:
- Eat a bacon-wrapped hot dog from a street cart
- Palm Springs date shake (June)
- Eat a chili burger at Tommy's
- Animal - Beacon
- Bludso’s Brisket
- Cole’s French Dip
- The Coop (April) - Craft
- Fraiche - Gloria's Salvadoran (April)
- Jitlada
- Lawry’s Prime Rib
- Let’s Be Frank’s Hot Dog
- Ludo’s Fried Chicken (April)
- Mo Chica (April)
- Nickel Diner
- Patisserie at The Bazaar - Spago
- The Gorbals - The Golden State
- Umami
Things to Do:
- Watch a Derby Dolls match
- Get a naked scrub down at a Korean spa
- Watts Tower
- Self-Realization Fellowship
- Van Nuys Japanese Garden
- Mt Wilson - San Antonio Winery
- Monastery of the Angels
- Charmlee Wilderness Park
- Griffith Park Hike
- Heritage Square
I get a day off for Cesar Chavez Day, so Matt and I planned a short trip to New York for the weekend. We didn't have any luck with the two restaurants that I wanted to try. When the original restaurants had entirely too long of a wait, we wandered some back streets, looking on Yelp for possibilities. We wound up stumbling upon Resto in Murray Hill, and I am glad that we did.
Resto is an adorable, homey Belgian restaurant. It was very quaint and unpretentious for a New York restaurant and was just comfortable. I ordered the chicken and waffles. The citrus chili syrup was kind of a strange addition and I wasn't particularly fond of it. But the gravy, chicken and bacon waffle were amazing.
Chicken 'n Waffles
(bacon waffle, peppercorn gravy, citrus chili syrup)
Matt ordered the traditional Belgian dish of steamed mussels and fries, but with a twist. Resto has three different kinds of broth you can choose from, so he picked the Thai-inspired one. It was absolutely delicious. The frites were also great. Big and fat, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They also come with a ton of options for dipping sauces, and he picked an Indian-inspired cumin, yogurt one. Yum! I do wish I had ordered this dish now!
Seems to me that there is no limit to the number of amazing burgers to be found in Los Angeles. The Counter. Father's Office. 25 degrees. Umami Burger. I heard another amazing burger could be found at The Golden State. Then I heard that a beer float could also be found there and I had to try it despite the fact that it scared me to death.
The burger looked tiny to me when it was set before me, but it was extremely filling. The bun and arugula were perhaps my favorite elements of the burger. I was still on my 40 days without fried foods, so I ordered the Persian cucumber salad. I was very happy that I did because it gave a fresh contrast to the heavy burger, rather than the normal heaviness upon heaviness that the combination of burger and fries normally presents.
Burger with Harris Ranch beef, Fiscalini Farms cheddar,
glazed applewood smoked bacon, arugula, housemade aioli and ketchup
And now for the beer float. Made from Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and Scoops brown bread ice cream. I could only eat half of it. The stout was extremely bitter and hoppy. However, it was a fine experiment. Next time, I would prefer the root beer float.
On Matt's last excursion to Los Angeles, he fell ill and couldn't eat much of anything. Therefore, for breakfast, he only wanted to have a fruit smoothie. The only places I know of that serve fruit smoothies besides Jamba Juice and Robeks are vegan restaurants, so we decided to try out The Vegan Joint. The food was very delicious and I think the fruit smoothie wasn't bad either. Don't order the thai iced ice with boba, however. It was terrible. The boba was rubbery and undercooked.
Dumplings had a strange texture but I guess that is what happens with fake meat. The mushroom soup tasted just like tom kha and the Chinese soup had a refreshing, light broth. I am looking forward to eating here again despite the fact that I dislike vegans very much.
Grilled Dumplings
Fruit Smoothie
Mushroom soup with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, mushroom
Chinese soup with glass noodles, shitake, broccoli,tofu, napa cabbage
Let's see how many I have eaten from things Mr. Gold wants me to eat:
101 Noodle Express’ Beef Roll Gold
Akasha’s Quinoa With Edamame
Ancient Ginger Soup at Noodle Island
Angeli’s Gnocchi
Animal’s Foie Gras & Biscuits and Gravy
Anisette’s Pain au Chocolat
Apple Pan’s Hickoryburger
A-Won’s Al Bap Banh Mi from Mr. Baguette Bay Cities’ Godmother
Beverly Soon Tofu
Bigmista’s Pig Candy
Bludso’s Brisket
Bob’s Plain Doughnut
Border Grill’s Green Corn Tamales
Brandt Beef
Brooklyn’s Hearth-Baked Bagel
Bulgarini’s Goat’s Milk Gelato
Campanile’s Grilled Prime Rib
Canary’s Lamb-Tongue Sandwich
Capital’s Hot Almond Milk in Pastry
Casa Bianca’s Sausage-and-Eggplant Pizza
Chantilly’s Sesame Cream Puffs
Chicharrones de Queso
Chichen Itza’s Panuchos Chili John’s Chili
Chinois’ Sizzling Catfish
Chung King’s Chongqing Fried Chicken
Ciro’s Flautas
Cole’s French Dip
Comme Ca’s Cheeseburger
Cut’s Bone-Marrow Flan Din Tai Fung’s Soup Dumplings
Donut Man’s Strawberry Doughnut
El Atacor #11’s Potato Tacos
El Parian’s Birria
Euro Pane’s Egg Salad Sandwich
Eva Solo-Brewed Coffee
Eva’s Lechon
Fab L.A.’s Street Dog
Golden Deli’s Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Good Girl Dinette’s Chicken PotPie
Harry’s Seascape Strawberries
Hollenbeck Burrito Hot Dog on a Stick
Huarache de Cabeza
Huckleberry’s Maple-Bacon Biscuits
Hungry Cat’s Lobster Roll
Ivy’s Corn Chowder
Jitlada’s Fish Kidneys
Kiriko’s Salmon Sashimi
Kiyokawa’s Sashimi Kogi’s Kalbi Taco
Krakatoa-Blend Coffee
Krua Thai’s Pad Thai
L.A. Galbi
La Brea Bakery’s Country White Bread
Langer’s Hot Pastrami
Lawry’s Prime Rib
Let’s Be Frank’s Hot Dog
Little Dom’s Oyster Po’ Boy
Little Flower’s Sea-Salt Caramels
Ludo’s Fried Chicken
Luna Oysters
Lupe’s #2 Burrito
Mandarin House’s cha chiang mein
Maple Bacon Donut
Matsuhisa’s New-Style Sashimi
MCGrath’s Rainbow Chard Meals by Genet’s Doro Wot
Michael Cimarusti’s Squid With Piquillo Peppers and Pig’s Ear
Mo-Chica’s Seviche Mozza Pizza
Musso & Frank’s Welsh Rarebit
Natraliart’s Sprats
Newport Seafood’s Spicy Lobster
Oki Dog
Palate’s Vegetables en Papillote
Paleron With Kumquats and Cream of Wheat Peruvian Roast Chicken Philippe’s French Dip
Pho Minh’s Pho Bac
Rajdhani’s Thali
Rivera’s Tortillas
Romanesco
Saffron Silk Ice Cream
San Nak Ji
Sapp Coffee Shop’s Boat Noodles
Shanghai Xiao Chi’s Pork Pump
Shanxi Knife-Cut Noodles
Sherry Yard’s Kaiserschmarrn
Street-Vendor Cheese Enchiladas
The Gorbals’ Dill Fries
THE Grill on the Alley’s Corned Beef Hash Tito’s Old-School Tacos
Urasawa’s Fugu
Wa Sushi’s Apple Pie and Eel
Whatever Lou Tells You to Drink
Yellow Fish Fried With Hair Seaweed
Okay, so I'm not going to lie. I love Los Angeles, and one of the reasons I love Los Angeles is because of the food. There is so much variety and it's all so good no matter the price range you're looking at. DC has disappointed me so far in the food category. Restaurants that I would go back to in DC, I would never dine at in LA.
Me Jana is a Lebanese restaurant that Matt and I tried to go to in January, but it was ridiculously crowded so we wound up leaving. For Valentine's Day, we tried again and this time called before we arrived. Again, it was completely packed and tables were turning over like crazy.
We ordered a variety of cold and warm mezza, which are small plates like tapas. Only a few of the dishes were good. The goat cheese salad and the seared cheese were delicious, although it was difficult to eat more than one piece of the cheese. It was heavy but tasty. I think the dates put the goat cheese salad over the edge, and I have been adding dried dates to my lunchtime salads since. The mozzarella was okay. You would think that figs and mozzarella would be amazing, but I think the dressing was its the downfall. The sea scallops were just awful. An overcooked, rubbery mess. You can tell that they will be awful just by looking at the photo. The lamb was also okay, a little overcooked for my tastes but the flavor was there.
Goat cheese salad with mixed greens, oranges, dates and walnuts with a citrus vinaigrette
For dessert, we went out on a limb and ordered the achta. It has the consistency of ricotta, but the taste was the interesting part. Imagine taking a single red rose in one hand and then sticking the entire head of the flower into your mouth. That's about what it tasted like to me. In fact, as I continued eating it, I imagined myself doing just that. It was more palatable when including the pieces of fruit in my bites.
Achta with bananas and strawberries
Whenever we go out to eat in LA, at the end of the meal, Matt will inevitably ask, "How many stars would you give them?" But in DC, we have learned that the million dollar question is, "If you were in LA, would you eat here?" Me Jana, the answer is "no."
It isn't every day that you or I get invited to attend the Academy Awards. I learned that the only way to get your booty into the Oscars is to be invited. The seatfillers have an "in" even. Academy members go through the lottery system and if they are picked, they still have to pay for their tickets. I found myself in a very fortunate situation when my dear friend invited me to attend as one of her two guests.
For nominees, the night is a once in a lifetime experience, but it was also for me since I have absolutely nothing to do with the film industry.The first item of business was to find the dress. I'm on a tight budget and wound up scouring a number of closets to find something to borrow. What I wound up with was a beautiful blue silk Calvin Klein evening dress that was....a size two and a little too tight. I had two back up dresses in case it was still too tight after two weeks but my heart was set on the blue one! Thank you, Lean Cuisine, salads and 24 Hour Fitness! I owe you.
The day of "the show" (as people in the know call it) was spent primping for many hours. First was curling the hair and then driving to my friend's place to pick up the second guest and get our eye makeup done. Then we were off to the Renaissance Hotel to meet up with the benevolent inviter and take some photos before the show.
When the big day was approaching, I wondered several times how one gets to Hollywood and Highland when Hollywood and Highland are both closed for the Oscars. In our ticket packet, we were provided with a handy dandy auto pass and when we approached said closed roads, the nice police officers removed the barricades for us to drive on through. Even at this point, there were a ton of looky-loos standing on the sides of the road, taking photos. When we finally got to the intersection of Hollywood and Highland, we found ourselves in a bit of a situation. Our grand plan was to go to the Renaissance, change and take photos. When we arrived, our car was promptly swept away and we were left surrounded by security guards in the pouring rain. We were dressed casually so these guards started bombarding us with questions of why were we there. Finally, we were escorted to the Renaissance, where we were able to finish getting ready.
We went down to the red carpet around 4:15 p.m., which would give us a good amount of time to leisurely walk the carpet, meet up with our friend again and then make it into the theatre for the cocktail reception. Immediately upon arriving on the red carpet, Colin Firth was being interviewed to my left and Queen Latifah was stepping out of her limo. After Firthy was done with his interview, he stepped into line and somehow wound up with his shoulder next to my face. He is taller than me after all.
Now, a little explanation of the red carpet is in order. Even at an exclusive event such as the Oscars, people are still STILL separated into the somebodies and the nobodies. At the security tent, the somebodies get quickly swept away by pretty young things in headsets while the nobodys slowly trudge their way through. Then the actual red carpet is separated into two lines, the press line and the nobody-wants-to-see-you-on-tv line. At points, everyone would get mixed together, but in general, it was pretty segregated.
On the red carpet, I spotted Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Sandra Bullock and Jesse James, Miley Cyrus, Meryl Streep, Gabourey Sibide, Lee Daniels, Tom Ford, Stanley Tucci, Jason Bateman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Saarsgaard with Seacrest, Billy Bush and Mario Lopez doing broadcasts.
As we were entering the theatre, Meryl Streep was next to me and Woody Harrelson a few people back. Once we got inside the Kodak Theatre, we enjoyed champagne from Moet & Chandon. There were also hors d'oeuvres from Wolfgang Puck but I was only able to get two. I spotted Wolfgang Puck a few tables down talking to a strange looking man with a scruffy beard. Then I realized it was Antonio Banderas and next to him was his wife, Melanie Griffith. As I said, we weren’t very lucky with the cater waiters, but we spied one not far away from us so we went after him. Then I realized who he had stopped to serve. It was Mayor Villaraigosa! Robert Duvall was wondering around a lot and I must have passed him four times at least. With about fifteen minutes left until we needed to take our seats, my friend said, "Look it's Matt Damon!" When I turned around, he was right in front of me, looking very cheerful. She claims that he smiled at me, but I hate to brag.
I'm sure you saw the ceremonies so I will just highlight a few things:
- The stage was absolutely beautiful no matter what color it was.
- Duckie! Did you see Duckie?
- Rachel McAdams' dress
- Love that Hurt Locker kicked Avatar's butt (I didn't watch either of them)
- The "Kayne" moment was much more awkward in the theatre than it probably was on television
- I love Gabby Sidibe! She is so adorable. Here is more proof:
The remainder of the night was a bit of a nightmare that I don't want to get into, but we managed to spot Gerard Butler and Samuel L. Jackson as we were leaving the Kodak.
I suppose attending the most exclusive and prestigious event in Hollywood should make you feel special and I did. I was excited to be there and loved the chance to dress up and be part of the event. But the truth is that I wasn't part of it. I was just there and it still made me feel like anyone else watching from their living rooms. Yes, I love movies, and yes, I will remember that night for a long time to come and am so grateful that I got to go, but I still felt like a voyeur.
You've heard of pop-up shopping. Now, there are pop-up art shows. For one weekend only, Manifest Equality took over the site and parking lot of a former Big Lots! store on Vine Street in Hollywood to present a diverse showing of artwork for a good cause: promoting full and equal rights to all Americans. Lots of famous artists were represented such as Gary Basemen, Shepard Fairey, and Ron English but also a fair share of up and coming artists.
The last dreary Saturday was a nice time to enjoy some works indoors.
Manifest Equality's logo in yarn
Side view of the yarn heart
This poor chalk bear looks so sad, and then he got rained on.
Some of the installations:
The art show also gave us an opportunity to search for some pieces for our new home. We actually found a piece we both loved, but it was already sold. We looked at the price list anyway and discovered the piece to be extremely affordable. I emailed the artist the next day and now we are in the process of purchasing a few pieces of her work!
All in all, it was a successful outing. Plus, they had an awesome photo booth and free buttons!
Do you ever dream about certain foods and constantly find yourself thinking about them? I had been dreaming about Westside Tavern's chicken liver mousse for weeks and weeks. When Matt unexpectedly appeared in town, I begged him to go there with me.
The chicken liver mousse is so rich and thick and there is so much of it. Smear it on some perfectly toasted slices of bread and add a little sweet apple chutney and delicious-ness occurs.
Since I was planning to bogart the mousse to myself, I only ordered a half dozen oysters for the rest of my meal.
Jar of chicken liver mousse
The horseradish seafood sauce was ridiculous. I wish I hadn't even wasted an oyster trying the other sauce. I don't even know what it was.
Half dozen oysters
I only tried a bite of the pot roast and don't remember much about it. It looks pretty though. I couldn't try more because Matt was sick and I was preoccupied by the mousse.
Ben's Chili Bowl is one DC landmark that I don't need to revisit. After a 45 minute line, I finally got the messiest chili cheese burger known to man and shared an order of chili cheese fries.While the food was actually really good, the whole ordeal of waiting and waiting was too much for me. Even Pink's is more efficient and organized and has more menu options.
Being one to take advantage of most opportunities, I took the opportunity to experience what is arguably the most famous restaurant in Los Angeles for my final DineLA meal: Spago.
For me, Spago did not disappoint. The wait staff was phenomenal and made diners feel comfortable. The food was plentiful. Our orders was huge and if that's not enough, the bread guy came back to offer more and more and more bread of varying varieties. The lavash and walnut bread were amazing. I'm also a sucker for any sourdough or olive bread.
My dining companion shared each dish even though that might be a little bit of a faux pas. I'm a foodie blogger, so I have to try everything. The raviolini was rich and smooth. The pork terrine was just okay.
Wild Mushroom Raviolini With Mascarpone And Reggiano
Pork Terrine
Aren't your portions supposed to be the size of your fist? The rack of pork was the size of my head but it was also quite tasty. The short ribs on the other hand had a delicious sauce that I kept on eating and eating.
Roasted Rack of Kurobuta Pork
Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs
I felt bad that I ordered the date cake because it was like nothing I had ever tasted before. It had the consistency of a bread pudding but that wasn't what it was. By then, I was so full that I barely had any of the apple tart. The pastry was flaky and buttery but definitely didn't hold a candle to the date cake.
