A.Blog » food

Celebrating my 25th Birthday

Amy — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:50:15 +0000

This past Saturday I celebrated my 25th birthday. It was food-themed for the most part, which is just fine by me because I love food.

Rob got me Almost Meatless as a present and Arren got me some turtle fudge from Kilwin’s.

Also, for my birthday I thought it would be a good idea¹ to eat the Double Bypass Burger for my birthday dinner at the Vortex Bar and Grill here in Atlanta. Here’s the official menu description:

Topped with two fried eggs, six slices of American cheese, and eight slices of bacon, all served between the two grilled cheese sandwiches that we use in place of the regular hamburger buns.

In preparation, I only had fruit and salad for most the day. When I ordered the dinner that night, the waitress was unfazed. The burger arrived, and it didn’t seem as big as I thought it would. Here’s a video of me tackling the burger (9 minutes, 4 minutes of which are of me chewing and rolling my eyes back).

I didn’t really taste the burger, I was more focused on finishing the burger. Also, I had to divide the burger in two because I couldn’t fit the whole thing in my mouth. So, one portion was a grilled cheese sandwich with a burger on top (the meat was adequately juicy) and the other portion was a grilled cheese sandwich with fried eggs, bacon, and cheese on top of it (the breakfast sandwich portion). I also subconsciously managed to eat a good amount of my tater tots (which are always very good). The meat didn’t really get to me, it was the massive amounts of cheese. The next day, I just ate salad and fruit in an effort to detox.

So, last year I had written that I felt stagnant, that is certainly not the case this year. My 24th year of life has been pretty eventful, for one thing I got into grad school and I moved to a different city that was completely different from New York City. I also paid off my student loans. I learned how to do lot of different things like, silkscreen and Processing.

I don’t think I feel old at 25. Sometimes I still feel and see the world (and sometimes act) like a kid.

it’s wasn’t

Adventures in Atlanta: My first football game

Amy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:10:24 +0000

There is no use in denying that I am an elitist liberal who prefers living in the big city somewhere in the Northeast or on the West Coast and drinks Frappicinos. If I drove, I would probably drive a hybrid.
That said, I thought it would be interesting to go to a football game. Also, the concept of “tailgating” was intriguing. I am always up for free food and beer.
So two Saturdays ago, I dragged myself out of bed on a Saturday to meet up with Bryan and Fred for their tailgating thing. Walking through Frat Row¹, on a beautiful November afternoon, 80′s rock blasting, people grilling and drinking beer, I FELT SO AMERICAN.
Bryan put a bacon cheddar burger o² on the grill. I was also offered Bud Lite and a 24 oz can of PBR. I chose to drink the PBR because I don’t think my fellow beer snobs would ever forgive me for drinking a Bud (no offense to anyone who does like Bud Lite).
The actual game was okay. I didn’t really know what was going on.³ It just looked like the players were running back and forth every few yards. Fred and Rob told me it was a very exciting game against Wake Forest because it was a very close game. I knew it was a close game (Yes, I do know how to read a scoreboard) but I guess I haven’t developed an emotional attachment to the home team⁴.
I did like the spectacle of it all though: the cheerleaders, the game songs, big screens with flashy b-roll and animations, chants⁵, and other fan rituals. I didn’t grow up with this stuff like most of America did, so it’s all very fascinating to me.
I am looking forward to the Georgia Tech vs. Georgia State game, which is going to be intense because there supposedly a huge rivalry. I’m probably going to go to that. Also, Tech is going to the Orange Bowl⁶ , so that’s kinda cool…

Georgia Tech has a Greek system, which is an object of curiosity to me because Vassar never had any one. I watched tv and movies, so frats were kinda like a myth to me
that is a beef pattie with cheddar and bacon chunks mixed into it. It was alright but it needed more bacon flavor. As I chewed, I felt the bacon bits but I didn’t taste the bacon
During tailgating I joked I would be able to fake football knowledge after two more games because I’m good at absorbing buzz words.
The Jackets btw
people stand up and sing the Budweiser jingle between the 3rd and 4th quarter for some reason
the one before the Rose Bowl, which is the Superbowl of college football, I think…

Omnivore’s Hundred (got 35 out of 100)

Amy — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:06:53 +0000

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
~~4. Steak tartare~~
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

PARIS!: Food

Amy — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:38:33 +0000

This wasn’t really a surprise but more like a confirmation that food in France is really, really good. Needless to say the baguette was our primary carb and cheese was the primary source of protein for us.

Since I absolutely refuse to wake up to an alarm early in the morning on vacations, we always missed breakfast. Our three meals for the day was brunch, tea time (except neither of us really drank tea but we did eat pastries that went with tea!) and dinner. We’d wake up and pick from the 1 of like 5 bakeries near us and get a foott long sandwich.

Paris ruined sandwiches for me, in that I can’t buy a sandwich in NYC anymore because the quality is usually subpar than what it is in Paris. I refuse to pay through the nose for crap. However, I did find a French boulanger like a five minute walk from the office I work at. I’ve had two sandwiches from them and they’re really good. Unfortunately they cost me like $10 a pop.
ANYWAY, in Paris, my sister and I usually split a sandwich for brunch. I didn’t take any photos of our sandwiches because it didn’t occur to me to even take some until after I’ve inhaled the sandwich.

Once in awhile, my sister and I would have picnics (most often in our hotel room) because we were too lazy to find a brassiere or too cheap to eat out. Our picnics consisted of one 3-4 foot long bageutte, a cheese, a meat (usually proscuitto), and a tomatoe coriander spread I got from Olivers and Co. off of Rue Cler in the 7th Arrondisement. In addition to the ham, I’d splurge on foie gras. I’ve never really had foie gras before but I liked it. It’s surprisingly filling, probably because it is rich of duck innards. My sister described the taste as “creamy Spam”, which I guess is one way of describing it. I thought the saltiness of foie gras is a bit more subtle than the saltiness of spam. Also foie gras actually tastes like duck (well if you got the foie gras that was 100% duck, which I did usually get).

Macarons, foie gras, and crepes, were the food products, I just HAD TO EAT in Paris, or else I would’ve been profoundly disappointed. So each time we went into a bakery at tea time I just had to have a macaron. I think the best macaron I had were at Dallyou (I got the strawberry flavor) off of the Jardin Luxemborg and Laudree (I had the orange blossom flavor), of which the founder invented macarons on Champs Elyasses. Then The worst was defintely at a PETER(?) kiosk in the airport. The worst macaron was stiff and too chewy while the best macaron was just the right amount of chewy with a rich filling. I guess a good macaron would have variety of textures while a bad one would just be stiff? I have no clue was a “real” macaron tastes like because all the macarons I’ve had were different. My sister, who never had a macaron before said it was like a brownie with fudge in the middle.

Now, crepes are easier to pin down, in terms of gastronomical experience. Crepes are just a simpler affair. They are essentially micro-thin pancakes. Most of the crepes we had were simple dessert crepes we had, we bought from off the street. We had crepe meals at these creprie [name?] on IIle (the other island that is not the island where Notre Dame is). We had gallettes which are just like ordinary crepes except that the batter is made from buckwheat and is savory. The gallette I had was called “Provincal” and had mozarella cheese, olive oil, basil, and tomatoes. It was really good. The crepe by itself would’ve been really good too.

On the last night, we went to a restauraunt roughly translated as Bistro in the 7th. We ordered the menu du jour. Basically you get a starter, an entree, and a dessert, in some places you even get drinks. There were tons of other restaurants right next to it, but I picked this one because they had foie gras and my sister was intrigued by the duck.

For our starters I had the foie gras while my sister had the marinated haddock. I could taste that the foie gras wasn’t 100% duck but it was still good. The marinated haddock wasn’t fresh haddock, rather it was salted haddock, so sorta like the salmon they you can eat right out of the pack. It was a bit too salty but the potatoes sorta offset that.

For the entrees, my sister had roasted duck.

While I had the chitterling sausage au nature (plain). I opted out of the mustard sauce because I thought it would too be spicy. Essentially I wussed out.It tasted strang and unfamiliar. There was sorta of a strange smell but it didnt deter me from finishing the whole thing. At first I didn’t know what chitterling sausage meant but apparently it’s pig intestines. No wonder it smelled funky. Now that I know, I’m not fazed because I’ve had thymus glands before.

My sister isn’t as adventurous as me. She usually picked a menu item she recognized, like duck and potatoes. At Angelina’s, a cafe a few blocks away from the Louvre, and was frequented by Audrey Hepburn, she ordered a plain jane club sandwich (but she told me it was very good club sandwich). I ordered the croussilant ratatoutille, which reminded me off a square spring roll. It is basically vegatable drenched in a kind of sauce, then wrapped in some sort of fried crust. It was savory and I’m having a hard time describing the flavor because it was all novel to me, which is really the best kind of sensation, tasting something you’ve never tasted before.

For dessert, I had the mont blanc. The waiteress basically just bought us a tray of desserts and we just picked one. Now I didn’t know that the Mont Blanc was Angelina’s signature dessert, I just picked it because I saw a lot of people around us pick it. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s basically 2-3 inches of chestnut cream on top of white cream on top of a macaroon. Delicious.

Another good dessert I had was at Laduree. Chantilly cream, on top of a glazed cream puff, decorated with mini-cream puffs. I was tempted to get the hot chocolate too but I figured that would be overkill. Overall, I think it’s sorta amazing how my sister and I didn’t get extremely fat from all the sweets and cheese we had.

Dinner at Veselka’s with Robyn and Co.

Amy — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 04:48:55 +0000

Good times. Had dinner at this place called Veselka’s with Robyn and her friends. (I think my sweatshirt absorbed all the odors of everyone’s meals.)

I never really had Eastern European food before so I played it safe and ordered potatoe dumplings. Also it seemed mildly healthier than the rest of what I was looking at but now that I think about ordering it fried instead of boiled (as well as ordering an eggcream) probably cancelled out any nutritional value the filling may have had. Next time, though I think I’ll order the potatoe pancakes (aka latkes) as an entree (had a bite of Robyn’s and it was delish).

More photos:

Offensive to Vegetarians: My breath smelled like pork

Amy — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 13:37:12 +0000

Last night, went to Momofuku for Robyn’s dinner-gathering-thingie and met some of her friends. Alex B. from Vassar was also there. Poor Alex, maybe 2 out of the 25+ dishes at that place had some meat product in it and Alex is a vegetarian. Also unfortunate was that the main attraction, 5 pounds of roasted and marinated pork was placed in the center of table, right in front of him. But Alex seemed like he had a good time, and unlike the rest of us, the pork fat won’t go to his thighs.

Other yummy courses were a tofu-y, egg-custard like dish with tuna roe, a mushroom salad with radishes, bread with exotic butter, and veal sweetbreads, fried califlower, and whipped tofu, tapicoa, topped with furikeke and urchin. Apparently veal sweetbreads aren’t really bread, but thymus glands. Sounds gross, but it was delish. Prolly because of all the fat and brain chemicals. I also had a glass of come Cava-something Rose wine, which went surprisingly well with the dinner.

I never really had any of the above dishes, so all the tastes were new. It’s a pleasant sensation, eating something you’ve never eaten (assuming it was good). At the end of dinner, Robyn passed out hazelnut chocolate. She and her friends then went to go get gelato. I didn’t go along, because I already had some frozen dessert earlier that day with Jason at Pinkberry. I have my limits.

Finally uploaded my Fourth of July photos

Amy — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:41:54 +0000

THE Hot Dog Eating Contest,
originally uploaded by fangirlamee.

I dunno why I put this off for like 4 months. It only takes me like 10 minutes to upload and label them. Anyway, for some reason I was granted a flickr PRO account, which means unlimited uploads a month (they cap it for free users), so I uploaded all the good pics. This year’s contest was especially historical because an American won the hot dog eating contest for the first time in 7 years. Belated congratulations to Joey Chestnut.