Posts from the ‘Newborns’ Category

Mar 7

Chain Me Up

A fast food chain with no presence in NYC rumored for the former Gage & Tollner space? What could it be? I’m dying to know. That’s not sarcasm, I really want to know. Didn’t a TGI Friday’s already set up shop there briefly?

The old-timey interior is landmarked so it’s not like you could just stick a Sonic in there easily. I wouldn't argue with a classy Sonic, though. I vote for Cheesecake Factory, but that’s not really fast food.

What’s missing in NYC? In-N-Out (never going to happen), Red Robin? Fuddruckers? Panera Bread? Cracker Barrel? Waffle House? Minus In-N-Out, non of those are technically fast food either. Chick-fil-A? (NYU cafeteria doesn't count). We don't have Dairy Queen now that I think about it. Help!

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Jan 31

Sowing My Oats

I’m hesitant to review (if that’s what you can call this) freebies because, you know, I just can’t be bought (not to mention how mom blogger it feels). But I eat a granola bar every couple days anyway so it was no big thing to try three varieties of the new Quaker True Delights line. Quaker must be on a promotional rampage; Wednesday they had Top Chef contestants oat encrusting everything during the quickfire challenge. No one needs to be eating eggplant spackled with dry oatmeal.

Granola bars are a strange foodstuff. I wouldn’t say that they’re good for you and it’s not as if they do shit in the way of filling you up; they’re just a less egregious snack than a candy bar.

In grade school I was jazzed when chewy chocolate chip was invented. And don’t get me started on Dipps or Kudos (that is how I added the previously unknown word to my vocabulary, though). It’s hard to believe that soft, granola bars studded with M&Ms, Oreos and drizzled with chocolate did not exist before the ‘80s. It felt like you were getting away with something in comparison those dusty, dense Nature Valley bars that were usually packed in my lunch. To this day I still prefer Kashi TLC (tasty little chewies) over the heartier crunchy Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax that James occasionally picks up from Target not knowing any better.

Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut: Banana was the strongest flavor and I wasn’t sure if it was artificial or real until I noticed the embedded banana chips. Then there was a mildly salty, baking soda-y effect followed by coconut crunch. Whole macadamias were nice.

Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry: Sweetest of the three, must be that honey, and heavy on tart berry flavor. The cashews added richness. This was my favorite by far. The odd good thing is that if you’re a poor sap who’s resigned to doing Weight Watchers, this bar only has two points where the others have three.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond: More subtle than the other two. I didn’t encounter any whole berries like in the promotional photo, just speckles. And despite the petite chocolate chunks, this bar felt more Kashi-style healthy than the rest.

So, I would eat a Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry bar if someone handed me one and I was in need of a snack, but as long as corn syrup is the second ingredient I’ll stick to my Kashis. The Corn Refiners Association won’t sway me on their “sweet surprise” no matter how many commercials they produce.

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Jan 28

The Robert Redford of Pizza

I haven’t eaten at Pizza Hut in years (though I did work at a takeout-only branch the summer between high school and college and ate personal pan pizzas nearly every day) so it’s not likely that a marketing gimmick such as their new (nationally—it launched in test markets last year) pizza, The Natural, will sway me. What I do find interesting is how quickly a food fad will sweep the nation, not that I’m one to argue with a move toward zero high fructose corn syrup and filler-free sausage.

Pizza Hut’s own research found that 73% of those surveyed believe “foods that are natural have flavor the way it was meant to taste.” Ok, that’s a bit vague.

But this newfound faith in nature has been bolstered by recent studies. According to Mintel, in the US 33% of new food and beverage products touted being natural in 2008, a 16% rise from the previous year.

Nielsen has reported that food with natural claims accounted for $22.3 billion in sales in 2008, a 10% increase versus 2007. Meanwhile low carb products decreased 3% during the same time period. Natural in, restricted eating out.

When it comes down to it, taste is what really matters. Check out mixed reviews of The Natural on Chow and The Impulsive Buy.

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Sep 9

Photograph Your Way to a Size 0

A recent study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown that taking photos of your food before eating it encourages weight loss. I can’t say that snapping shots of Thai curries or burgers and fries has ever had any positive effect on my b.m.i. So then I wonder if food bloggers are slimmer than the general population? I don't really know any fat food bloggers, but really, I don't know many food bloggers period.

Yesterday I did randomly try the new Dunkin’ Donuts egg white flatbread sandwich, and yes, I took a photo of it. My at-work breakfast usually consists of either Greek yogurt with sugarless jam or a hard-boiled egg with Spanish paprika. I’m bored of both, so Friday I thought I’d go wild and stop by the Broad Street Dunkin' on my way to work (despite the guilt of my coffee cart guy seeing me patronizing another establishment across the street).

I guess I don’t pay much attention to my surroundings because the Dunkin’ Donuts was closed, paper up in the window and everything. Luckily, I was brought one of these over-toasted treats from the neighborhood on Sunday.

No, it’s not tasty and greasy like those egg and bacon rolls oozing with orange cheese. I envy women who eat those with abandon, and I do often spy totally un-overweight ladies (rarely white, for whatever reason) ordering them from delis. I think these are the same women I see with Burger King bags during lunchtime. How do they do it?

The bread is kind of dry, chewy and overwhelms the portion controlled filling. The egg white and turkey sausage are fine. All in all, it’s an inoffensive alternative to a cholesterol laden breakfast sandwich and was more filling that I’d expected but I seriously wanted to put a slice of cheese on it. I think nearly everything could benefit from a slice of cheese.

Update: I was not wrong in my want of cheese. The sandwich is supposed to have reduced fat mozzarella (the veggie has cheddar) as I noticed on TV and online. It's just that chains in NYC have a way of messing up processed food that's designed to be fool proof to prepare.

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Jun 25

Don’t Candy Coat It

Is putting your mug on an M&M old news? I noticed a banner ad the other day that showed what looked to be wedding favors, M&Ms with the newly married couple’s faces on them. I was skeeved out, but it doesn’t take much to put me in that state. If they’d personalized a Jordan almond I might’ve been more forgiving.

I see all sorts of wretched I Do(nut) applications for this sweet technology.

I guess that speculating what that M&M inside of you looks like ran its course and we’ve now resorted to simply stamping our likenesses on the candy shell?

I will admit to a weakness for mass customization, though. Take a gander at what you can do with dolls. My Twinn introduced me to this creepy concept a decade ago and AndGor and Tiny Pocket People have been carrying on the tradition.

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Jan 29

Uncle Sammie Wants You!

Based upon causal Financial District observation, Quiznos’s Sammies are a freak hit. I usually wait until 2pm to eat because hate crowds and mobs wane by then, but at the Quiznos across the street from my office there was still a line well past normal lunch hour and every single person in it was ordering the damn Sammies.

Clearly, the $2, 200 calorie ad campaign is working. Quiznos only recently (reluctantly) started publishing nutrition information, which makes you wonder if they cooked up this product to counteract the frighteningly unhealthy bulk of their menu. Though it should be mentioned that only two of the six varieties are 200 calories.

The mini sandwiches are kind of perfect if you’re craving something junky and don’t want to completely ruin an eating or savings regimen. No, one won’t fill you up but it’s a inoffensive supplement to yogurt, fruit or granola bar, whatever you eat during the day (those are my typical daily bring alongs). For low impact fast food comparison, a McDonald’s cheeseburger is 300 calories and a plain Wendy’s baked potato is 310 calories.

I still have a tough time bringing myself to say Sammie, however. And weirdly, after looking at the photo I took of a Sammie in November I can say that the one I had today seemed larger, or maybe my hand was just really huge a few months ago.

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Sep 8

XXtra, XXtra, Read All About It

Cheetosxxtrafh Cheetos are the only chips I like (yeah, yeah, they’re not really chips in the potato sense) and it’s not like I’m presented with Cheeto-snacking opportunities on a regular basis. But there’s something about road trips that brings out my true junk-loving nature. As kids, whenever my dad (never my mom) would stop at a convenie nce store/gas station , he’d invariably come back to the car with treats not allowed during day to day life, like Hostess pudding pies (do they still make those? Er, apparently not), mini Bama pecan pies (no, I didn’t grow up in the south) and it might have only happened once but I will always remember a can of tooth pain sweet Nehi Strawberry soda. Mars bars were his candy of choice, which have been transformed into the modern Snickers with almonds.

On the longer than anticipated drive down to Key West from Miami (Google estimated three hours, but it took more like five because people drive so freaking slow, which is to say exactly the speed limit. I’ve never seen such a thing around here, and even though it’s infuriating to get mowed down by New Jersey drivers when you’re going 80 m.p.h., it’s more excruciating to be stuck on a one-lane highway doing 35) I managed to avoid gas station candy (but I was lucky enough to run into a CVS and find Great Lash Blackest Black mascara, an item I forgot to pack, mere feet from the entrance and with a dollar off coupon attached to it. You don’t know how good it feels to spend less than four bucks with zero legwork to pick up a necessity). However, we didn’t avoid fried seafood but that’s not for now.

Chicko_2

On the way back to Miami, I picked up a Chick-O-Stick, which was kind of blander than I remember and I swear, slightly cinnamon tinged. I love limited edition snacks (they also had blue cheese and buffalo flavored Doritos packed together in the same bag, which was kind of clever) so I was happy to see James pick up a 99-cent bag of XXTRA Flamin’ Cheetos at a mini mart. I hate food that claims to be hot and isn’t. Wow, their “twice as hot!” was no hyperbole. These fiery nuggets were way more heated than either of us anticipated and possibly not good driving food. They induced coughing and I was afraid James might veer off the dimly lit highway into a manatee laden swamp or something.

Five days later, last night, the bag was still in our apartment, maybe ¼ full. I started picking at the Cheetos and they were hot but not as wildly punishing as they seemed on the weekend. Had my palate toughened up or had they lost their kick?

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Aug 3

Chelada Style

Chill I wondered how long it would take for micheladas to go mainstream. I wrote about them some time ago and I still wouldn’t say they’re wildly popular, especially not outside of Mexican restaurants.

I first saw Miller Chill a few weeks ago at a New Jersey Chevy’s. Of all the places I might’ve spotted the bottled beverage, a suburban Chevy’s makes the most sense. This beer cocktail is simply a chelada with salt and lime, no chile. I always thought the spice was the fun of a michelada.

I haven’t seen the Budweiser Chelada in person but I am aware of its creepy existence. Creepy because it contains Clamato. And I thought that addition was weird enough in chips.

What mildly unknown regional drink will get popularized in the U.S. next? Kvass? Chile beer sounds fine but the thought of rye bread beer makes me want to hurl. Cauim? I would like to see how Anheuser-Busch would handle the chewed manioc aspect. I’m sure it could be commercialized with synthetic enzymes. My vote is for lamanog and it looks like it’s actually being served at Cendrillon.

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Jul 27

The Trouble with Fennel Seeds & Couscous

I find it hard to believe that the nation’s still not ready for goat cheese (I knew there was no way Bonnie was going to win over high schoolers with breaded goat cheese on Monday’s Hell’s Kitchen). Which is why I find it strange that anyone would enjoy a handful of whole fennel seeds in their salad.
I never ever eat at Cosi and am not in the habit of spending eight bucks for a salad (though I’m currently coveting Starwich’s pricey citrus duck salad and debating whether or not to run out get it—heck, I’ve got a little birthday spending money burning a hole in my pocket) but it was Friday and I get loopy. I only chose it because it was the lowest fat of the three new low fat salads. And it’s certainly not a low fat meal if you eat the fluffy flat bread that comes on the side.

It tasted low fat, all right. It’s the kind of thing I’d make from Cooking Light and have trouble choking down the next night as leftovers. I liked the idea of tandoori chicken and pomegranate dressing. Those two components were fine. The lettuce was neutral. But toasted fennel seeds were foul. Maybe I was putting too much stock in the arugula-ification (MS Word doesn’t even recognize the word arugula) of America because I was hoping they meant fennel pollen. But they said seeds and that’s what they meant. It could be my own bias because I’m not licorice crazy but the anise flavor was completely overwhelming and the seeds kept getting stuck in my teeth. Sure, a little pinch of candy-coated seeds after an Indian meal is refreshing but you don’t necessarily want repeated mouthfuls. The toasted fennel seed and chicken salad nipped my Cosi experimentation right in the bud.

Ok, I gave in to the Starwich urge and they managed to mess up my plan. I had been looking forward to “tender braised duck, torn peppercress, frisee, shaved carrots, Israeli couscous with orange-cherry vinaigrette” and I almost got all that. I tempered my initial desire for a sandwich and went for a salad instead. At least the couscous would add a little heft (to my meal not my body, duh). But after paying my $9.95 and waiting, it turned out that they didn’t have any of the little starchy orbs. The cashier asked the little Mexican guy making the salad what he’d recommend as a substitution and he ended up adding cucumbers and oranges. Not bad really–I barely missed the couscous. There was some serious foliage tangled up in my plastic container, though. That peppercress is a tough customer and my plastic knife got a work out. It was certainly worth the extra two bucks to avoid fennel seed overload.

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Jul 10

It Can Sense Fear

If I weren’t attempting to eat minutely healthier (at least as of July 2007—so far I’ve lost 1.5 pounds, which would dishearten anyone else but is pretty good for me considering t he amount of bbq and assorted fatty meats I consumed in the past five days) I would run out at lunch and try Wendy’s new Baconator in a (sluggish, irregular) heartbeat. Instead, I'm looking at 1pm Fage yogurt and Trader Joe’s Very Green Juice Blend. Six slices of bacon? Mayonnaise dressing? I’m sold and I don’t even like mayo. I’ll have to leave the taste testing to those with peppier metabolisms. Dudes and Asian girls please report back.