panties + vodka

so we went up to the catskills this past weekend. not from new york? probably never heard of it. it's like a 2 hour drive outside of the city where you could get lost in the wilderness. no joke. i kept thinking of "blair witch project" and "misery" as we were driving through the night with no street lamps. this is an exerpt from my friend's directions:

" When the road forks, bear right. Keep going on Springtown. Watch for deer, they will be right next to
the road. it get's tricky from here as road signs are hard to see. Keep going until you see a string of leftward arrows in yellow warning signs, then a deer crossing sign, then a tractor crossing sign, then a horse crossing sign. Next you will see a curvy road warning sign with a 30 mph limit warning. "

ok? so now you know what kind of area we were in. but it turned out to be awesome. fully equiped for us city slickers.
wi-fi, electric grills, cable tv. you know, real survival stuff.

we took full advantage of the well-stocked kitchen. i mean, most nyc kitchens can't fit 5 people let alone everyone having their own work station.

just a glimps of some of the ridonculous stuff we had over the weekend:

Warning: if you're not a carnivore, please skip to a different blog post.

hayrim working the grill with some hawaiian chocolate macademia nut pancakes (they're the best). make sure to pick some up on your next trip.

yup, that's right. we had cheeseburgers topped with hay's amazing(ly) spicy beef chili, and thick cut bacon.

oh, but that's not all.

italian sausages with...

onions cooked in bacon fat!

yup, after all that and a beer I lay disgustingly satisfied and slept for three hours.

and woke up and ate old school instant ramyun (oh, and a bag of fritos!)

i've had an average of 1 meal per day since that all happened. please don't think i'm on a diet. no. i'm just punishing myself for all the gluttonous behavior. might have to go running tonight, maybe...

and of course, i can't forget about my new lover boy... that'd be dutch on the left! (and cyrus is also very lovable). hugo was there, too

i wish i'd taken pics of the clay pond but didn't risk having any electronics out. the dogs kept diving into the water and would've ruined anything in their way.

thanks for a blast guys~~

oh. and on the way back to the city we stopped by to visit an old friend of ours. Rowan. that hair!

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sorry for copping out and just putting promotional stuff on the blog. hasn't been much to write about. or maybe the sun makes me lazy.

here's just a bunch of randoms...

that tree we bought Memorial Day weekend was looking like this:

but now looks even worse than this:

our latest bambino pic. benjamin has grown up to look like this:

hugo has grown up to look like this:

but sorry hugo, we're currently obsessed with my bro's new puppy Cheerio:

you might think i've joined some cult, but this is that that robe they give you at 230 Fifth avenue rooftop bar when it's cold out.

Artichoke pizza made it to my hot 10 EV drunk food list . which is still worth waiting in line for as this pic was from last night...

Here's me eating all-you-can-eat Indian buffet at Jackson Diner in Queens. I had a dream last night that Momofuku was having a Bacon buffet. but alas, it was but a dream. C'mon neighbors!

But the real point here is my "Make Me A Sandwich!" Monster tee.

Which you can buy here.

And last but not least... food!

was in Miami last month and of course, made another trip to Joe's for their stone crabs. ridiculously large!

but the true crab eaters that don't use utensils other than a mallet go to maryland. was there this past weekend visiting in-laws.

and then finished it off with some scrimps. TWO DAYS IN A ROW! it's all just water weight any way.

oh and my newest tv obsession is Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet. Seriously? seriously. but please get whoopi to narrate all the episodes! also, seriously.

Posted by cindy at 11:57 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

it may just be an excuse, but the holidays always brings food in abundance. mostly yummy and mostly not-so-healthy foods.

well, here's an ode to food. just pics that i found on my computer from the year past. enjoy!

in'n'out burger in LA. check out the protein burgers wrapped in lettuce!

one of the first dinners my husband made after we got married. seared scallops and asparagus risotto.

panties & vodka, duh!

this is how they do it in palm springs.

o'briens rib joint in marlyand.

round two at o'briens. this plate belongs to my arch nemesis, boy genius's plate. he won that round.

this is how the koreans do outdoor bbq.

this is how the koreans do indoor bbq.

fish tacos in maui. the place is a truck called jawz.

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i know hundreds of bloggers and publications have already covered the Korean fried chicken phenomenon but... I can't resist.

I grew up eating this stuff and can't believe people's fascination with it. Korean fried chicken is great - it's somehow never as heavy as Southern fried chicken, which I love equally. It's crispy, tasty, juicy, and any more adjectives will just make me salivate.

But when I hit Bon Chon last night in Koreatown I was in for one of the best surprises ever. It's just a completely different level of fried chicken. For New York magazine's full coverage, click here.

we got three large combos and some extra dishes like spicy rice cakes and french fries

The chicken on the left is the soy ginger chicken and the one on the right is the spicy chicken. They're both excellent but the spicy is so hot that you have to eat one and then go for a soy piece - you can't have two back to back. But that burning tongue sensation is so addictive, so you keep going back and forth until they all disappear as they did below... 

those little white squares are pickled daikon radishes that are a staple with korean fried chicken.

the crazy thing is that when you're done, the wax paper it comes with hardly has any grease on it. now isn't that great? less guilt... wait, or maybe I just didn't see it because of the mood lighting in there? hmmm....

must go back. anyone game? - no pun intended.

Posted by cindy at 09:26 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I'm quite famous for making a killer curry back in NY.  It may not be the same out in Japan.  As you can see, the Golden Curry brand is not as famous as this "cute" hamster brand.  And don't ask me what brand it is.  I haven't gotten through my lessons of Hiragana and Katakana yet. 

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what could be better than cold noodles on a hot summer day?

More specifically, how about handmade Japanese udon noodles on a bed of ice?

Yakitori Totto is my new home.  

Posted by cindy at 11:02 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

an old co-worker branched out about the same time I did to start up her own business. She had done design stints at Ralph Lauren and Frederic Fekkai (where I met her). We've spotlighted her on an Azaleas email years ago with her amazing sculptured cakes like the ones below.

but now you can view her delicious confections in her new book.

Buy now! 

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Pinkberry has swept the city. I know every food blogger and dessert blogger has written about this dessert, but I can't resist.

The thing is, that picture just doesn't do it justice. When you add all the goody toppings like cap'n crunch, cocoa puffs, and other fresh fruits like mango, kiwi. yum! I was in K-town yesterday (the first of three NYC outposts) and the line was out the door! How am I supposed to get a quick fix when I have to wait for half an hour to get my pinkberry! it's just not fair.

The first time i went here, i went two days in a row. You can't go here thinking it's going to be ice cream or that it's frozen yogurt trying to taste like ice cream. it's frozen yogurt with that refreshing sour yogurt flavor.

duh, and now that i've posted this... maybe you guys will actually go there and i'll have to wait even longer! but it's SOOOOOO worth it.

Now, why didn't i come up with this idea? 

 more review on yelp

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the same trip to chinatown brought us to our favorite crab haunt (or crab hunt?), Hop Kee

 crab smothered in "Special" sauce.

 and don't wear nice jewelry. your hands'll be filthy.

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man, my first food blog and i didn't have my camera with me! well my colorful descriptions will have to suffice.

i was craving paella and found this place called Spain Restaurant on MenuPages.com and decided to go check it out. well, it was certainly an experience.

you walk in and you feel like you've just walked into a place that's been frozen in time - hmmm. try 1986. the first thing you can't help but notice is the bartender in a flaming red bartender/waiter cropped jacket. the jacket's not the only thing old-school in there - so's the bartender. behind the bar is a photo of him wearing the same exact jacket behind the same exact bar 20 years ago.

 then, there are two tvs in the dining room by the bar. not flat screen tvs, more like the ones that use antennas (remember those things? well,  katie does. she finally upgraded her tv! and got cable!).  They're fully funtional, meaning, they don't put on the closed-captioning, just the actual volume - blasted. so, if one of you wants to watch the newest episode of 24 and the other, spanish soccer? not a problem.

 when you sit down, the bartender comes around to get your drink order. A pitcher of sangria, of course! then another old-timer comes at you with food you didn't order; hence, the title for this blog. for two of us, they gave us 2 salads, a plate of bbq pork ribs, and a plate of mussels (like 10!)

Take note: we noticed a couple that came in just for drinks and the waiter brought out a plate of meatballs for them.... just for ordering drinks!

i got the pork chops drowned in garlic...hey, it's the winter time! and pete got the paella. well, we ended up sharing everything, cuz that's how you do it in espana. (oh, and a free plate of fried potatos were included here) the pork chops were delish~ and paella was pretty decent.

the waiter came to refill my plate when i finished my portion of the paella. fine. but he wouldn't listen to my pleas that that was enough. he just kept going and going until the pot of paella was empty. needless to say, i finished that 3rd plate of paella. i felt so gross the next day, i woke up at the crack of dawn (according to my clock) to go running.

i can't wait to go back for a pitcher of sangria and the free meatballs. i'll make sure to post photos next time.

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so last night my friends and i made the trek (all two L stops) to Brooklyn to explore the legendary, and possibly best idea ever -- Barcade. The perimeter of this place is lined with at least twenty of those clunky relics of childhood... Tetris, DonkeyKong, Punch Out, Pacman, MS. Pacman (phew), Out Run (personal fav), star wars and contra(!) So...turns out i haven't gotten better at any of these games since i was 10, but at 25cents a pop it was worth the trip to find that out.

but the real magic of this place is their insane beer selection. now, while i pretend to know a thing or two about wine, i pretend to know nothing about beer. all i know is that "Black Chocolate Stout" (chocolate + coffee flavors) and "Middle Ages Wizard's Winter Ale" (caramel + cinnamon) are as fun to drink as they are fun to tell your friends you're drinking. and if you're an attractive blonde (much like my friend) the bartender will most likely let you taste all 25 of the choices on tap, which apparently rotate pretty often.

so go, but bring your beergut and your quarters. well...maybe save this one for post valentines-day-lingerie, when you don't need to mind your girlish bod. 

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