Honey Bunches of Votes viewing party!

Honey Bunches was actually one of the sponsors for the People’s Choice Awards, so it was only right to watch the show this way . Here they are on the red carpet…literally:

Food celebs

Anyway, back to the viewing party. Granted, I was technically in the middle of my three-week cleanse which forbade me from eating any processed foods and/or carbs. I will say this was the ONE time I made an exception. I tried to keep it minimal, but oh, it was so worth the tastes!

Chocolate covererd strawberries with HBO flakes

Fruit and yogurt

They also unveiled their newest flavors: Honey Bunches of Oats Fruit Blends. Look out for their delicious additions, Peach Raspberry and Banana Blueberry. Combining my favorite fruits (blueberries!!) with my favorite cereal? I just have to say, Thank You.

And since you couldn’t be there (I did miss you), here are some recipes to the delicious treats they had there!

SEEDLESS GRAPES WRAPPED IN GOAT CHEESE

Seedless grapes covered with goat cheese

1) Divide goat cheese into 24 quarter size balls. With your fingers, mold the cheese around the grapes until the fruit is completely covered. Keep cold.

2) Use a rolling pin to crush Honey Bunches of Oats. Roll each coated grape one at a time in the finely chopped cereal until covered. Place a single layer in a low flat dish, cover and refrigerate until read to serve. May be prepared up to 6 hours before serving.

CRUNCHY CHICKEN DIPPERS

Crunch Chicken Dippers

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs lightly in a shallow dish or pie plate. Dip chicken in eggs, turning over to evenly coat both sides of strips. In separate dish, coat chicken with cereal.

2) Place in two cookie sheets covered in non-stick spray. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

MINI CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CUPS

Mini Chocolate Mousse Cups

1) Beat egg yolks in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed for about 3 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Heat 1 cup whipping cream in 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat just until hot. Gradually stir at least half of the cream into egg yolk mixture, and then stir back into hot cream in saucepan. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring constantly; until mixture thickens (do not boil).

2) Stir chocolate chips into cream mixture until melted. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours, stirring occasionally just until chilled.

3) Beat 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold refrigerated mixture into whipped cream. Pipe or spoon mousse into cups. Sprinkle with your favorite Honey Bunches of Oats cereal

*Use dark chocolate and milk chocolate to get double chocolate mousse

x
Shy

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Starving on a Saturday morning with no idea of what to eat is not a fun way to start the day. Recently, in a haste of studying for grad school midterms (ick!), we needed a quick and filling brunch.

Our saving grace? El Vez! With its flashy signs and mix of formal and informal decor, the ecclectic restaurant is a must to visit if you’re ever in Philadelphia. I’ve been there on several occasions–once on my own birthday–but always at night. I did learn from these dinners though that the queso fundido de hongos (truffled wild mushrooms with chihuahua cheese and huitlacoche served with flour tortillas, $12.50) is a must for my appetizer. Luckily, that’s also available for brunch so it’s exactly what I ordered.

Queso fundido de hongos

The days are getting colder which in my mind translates to soup season. So, we ordered the roasted corn soup (pan seared scallop, tomatillo and jalapeno mermelada, $9). I think this would the best soup I’ve ever had! It was just the fix that I was craving for days. If you’re a soup lover, you have to try it!

Roasted corn soup

For our entree, we shared a steak and eggs dish (carne asada with two fried eggs, grilled scallions, guajillo steak sauce atop green chile potato hash, $12). Personally, I’m not a fan of eggs, so I skipped over that part (sorry!), although the steak, sauce and steak eaten together was a burst of flavor. And that sauce — I’m on a mission to find the recipe of that sauce.

Steak and eggs

Lastly, to get us through the rest of the day, we needed a sugar-rush of mexican chocolate ice cream ($7). Yum! I ended up taking a nap after my brunch, but it was worth it, and I was full right up until dinner which means I clocked in even more time to study.

Mexican chocolate ice cream

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La Duni

La Duni

La Duni

A cupcake tree

There was the prettiest assortment of cupcakes and pastries at the little coffee bar when you enter. There were also the most gorgeous wedding cakes perched on top of random tables and shelves all over the place too. And then I saw this:

Cuatro Leches?!

Cuatro Leches cakes?! Tres leches is one of my favorite desserts ever ever so quatros sounded downright heavenly. I already committed to ordering a slice no matter how full I was after brunch. But more on that in a bit. When we sat down, they handed us a full picture menu of just their coffees. We pored over it and when I couldn’t decide, I asked the waitress which one was their most popular and she said their cafe con leche so I went with it.

Cafe con Leche

They come in monster cup sizes and I loved the heart and star surprises on our coffee, but taste-wise, it was disappointing (and bland). My other followed their first instinct though and went with the vaca blanca which is an espresso with melted Belgium white chocolate and milk. Now THAT was amazing…the chocolate gives it such a delicious flavor that just melts in your mouth. I was a little jealous of their coffee.

Vaca Blanca

They also had a full menu of cold lemonade drinks! We got their limonada con menta (mint, lemon, lime, sugar, soda and crushed ice) and limonada mango (lemon, lime, mango and soda):

Mint and mango lemonades

They were so refreshing and flavorful (I personally loved the mango one a little more– it was light and delicious). That was all just drinks…moving on to food. I guess the best way is to just show you the spread of their huevos rancheros, chilaquiles rancho la lira (crisp tortillas with melted asadero and gruyere cheeses, red and green salsa, and black beans), breakfast tacos, and brunch chile relleno (a stufffed poblano pepper filled with beans, scrambled eggs, cheddar, provolone, gruyere cheese, tortilla chips and topped with queso fresco and salsa):

Brunch is served!

Starter tortilla chips and salsa

Brunch Chile Relleno

Chilaquiles Rancho La Lira

Breakfast tacos

Huevos Rancheros

The portions were generous and pretty much every plate was under $10. Everything from the salsa-doused eggs to the crisp roasted potatoes hit the spot without going overboard on the spice. And even though I couldn’t breathe afterwards, I was not about to deprive myself from trying their cuatro leches cake…

Cuatro Leches cake

I was soo excited when it came out dripping in their leches sauce. It’s described as a layered mantecado vanilla sponge cake in cuatro leches sauce and topped with caramelized Swiss meringue and dotted with Arequipe reduction. Maybe I was over-zealous, but after my first bite, I thought it was disappointing! Tres leches cake is usually light but this, I guess being a sponge/pound cake, was dense and just too sweet for me. I know this point of comparison may not be useful for most, but it sort of tasted like the Indian sweet called ras malai which is a cream-soaked dessert as well. I love ras malai, but this wasn’t supposed to be that. I guess I was also comparing it to tres leches cake, thinking it’d be the original on steroids (basically a taste explosion of tres leches), but it was really different. Some of my friends really liked it though — they also never had tres leches before!

Restaurant Info:
La Duni Latin Kitchen & Coffee Studio
NorthPark Center
8687 N. Central Expy #1516
Dallas, TX 75231
214-987-2260

REPORT CARD
Meal: Brunch
Occasion: Exploring Dallas
Price: $$
(Out of three stars)
Ambiance: ***
Food: ** (loses a star for their disappointing cafe con leche and over-hyped cuatro leches!)
Service: ***
Would I go back?: Yes. And I want to try every single thing on their coffee menu.

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pretty centerpieces

Here are a few facts about Kalamazoo: No one’s really sure where the name came from. It used to be known as the “Paper City” for its paper mills. It’s the original home of Gibson Guitars. It was once the headquarters for Checker Taxis until they filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

I guess there’s actually nothing super fascinating to tell you about a place as exotic-sounding as Kalamazoo, except maybe the exceptional dinner I had at their not-quite-as-exotic sounding restaurant, Food Dance.

For a city that also happens to have a strong agricultural economy, a farm-to-fork dining place like this is more than appropriate. I went recently with my family when we drove up to visit my brother and his family nephew, and the food was so fresh and delicious. We started out with some super refreshing mint and peach ice teas:

Drinks

The gnocchi we had as an appetizer was drizzling with brown butter and had extra juicy blistered sungold tomatoes.

Gnocchi

My brother kept telling me how good the burgers are here, and if you know me, you’d know I’ll probably never refuse a burger. I got Michelle’s Favorite Burger (a Niman Ranch ground sirloin, olives with sautéed mushrooms, aged cheddar, lettuce, tomato, roasted red pepper mayo, and onion bun) with a side of mac and cheese.
The burger was beyond. I practically inhaled it. The mac and cheese had a crispy top (maybe a tad too crispy), but I enjoyed it as well.

Michelle's favorite burger

My brother got the same thing with fries and goat cheese I think:

Michelle's Favorite burger with fries

My sister-in-law went a more healthier route with the tomato pyramid, a stack of local tomatoes with roasted poblanos, farm-fresh black beans, avocado, tomatillo, melon and cilantro juice.

Tomato Pyramid

She got a crème brulée to go (not pictured) which we devoured at home later. I just loved how fresh everything tasted, and how it kept the integrity of so many flavors. Plus, my nephew seemed to love the spacious, relaxed ambiance of the place. Another great thing about this restaurant is its pick-up-an-go store located at the entrance. They have fresh lunch and dinner, bakery items, artisan cheeses, local maple syrup and honey, and their own coffee blend!

Food Dance store

REPORT CARD
Meal: Dinner
Occasion: Family dinner
Price: $$
(Out of three stars)
Ambiance: ***
Food: ***
Service: ***
Would I go back?: Yes, and not only because there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot else going on in Kalamazoo

x
Shy

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Zenobia Lounge

It’s so refreshing to get out of NYC sometimes, because the restaurants EVERYWHERE else have so much more room. This Middle Eastern restaurant is interesting because it calls itself a “multicultural cafe and bookshop.” It has loads of literature on all the different Arab countries, and even a small gift shop by the entrance. They also host Arabic classes and other workshops year round.

Inside Zenobia

We made our way to the back garden, where people were already smoking hookah in the afternoon. We ordered the mint lemonade which is the “mintiest” you’ll probably find on this side of town — so much so, it’s actually GREEN.

Mint Lemonade

I felt like i hadn’t had a latte in forever, so why not:

Latte

We then ordered some kibbeh to start, chicken shawarma with fries, and fatteh chicken.

Kibbeh

Chicken shawarma

Fatteh Chicken

The kibbeh came out steaming hot and delicious (I always feel like kibbeh is a cross between a falafel and beef samosa). The chicken shawarma and fries hit the spot. When I ordered the fatteh chicken, I was not expecting what I got at all, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a yogurt dish with toasted pita, tahini, garlic, grilled chicken, pine nuts, cilantro and drizzled olive oil. It’s just so flavorful and delicious, but being ahem South Asian, we don’t know what to do with dishes without bread or rice on the side. So we ordered some:

Rice

The rice dish was a monster, and we ended up only eating a fourth of it because it just became too much food. But if you can manage, the fatteh chicken really is delicious on its own. When we managed to reach a satisfied full, we moved on to shop around a little (I scored some flares that would make Rachel Zoe proud), and then made our way to foodie stop #2: Serendipity 3.

Serendipity 3

I didn’t even know they had a Serendipity 3 there also, but the cool thing is it was still just as whimsical, but a little DC flair (check out the giant Abe Lincoln):

Inside Serendipity 3

I spy our 16th prez

My friends got the requisite frozen hot chocolate, mostly as a means to escape the heat for a little while:

Photo Credit: Faraz Hamedani

The two straws were for Faraz and Asghar

FINALLY, I refused to leave unless I tried some Georgetown Cupcake. Everyone in DC talks about them, and the 20-minute line out the door didn’t scare me at all.

Georgetown Cupcake

Decisions, decisions...

The lovely staff made the wait pretty bareable, giving everyone glasses of water who were waiting and just generally…happy? I think if I worked at a cupcake place, I’d be generally happy too though.

Display inside Georgetown Cupcake

Display inside Georgetown Cupcake

After poring over the menus they handed to us while we waited in line, I decided on carrot cake, red velvet, vanilla birthday, and less-than-promising-but-whatever-I’m-gonna-be-experimental mint julep.

Our cupcake feast

The verdict? I’m probably going to get hate mail for saying this, but I wasn’t totally impressed! Carrot cake was good but standard, red velvet was decent but I’ve had better, and the mint julep was barely ingestible. Granted, I didn’t even try anything chocolate (I’m generally not a chocolate cupcake person), and to their credit they were freshly baked and all. My favorite was the vanilla birthday….vanilla on vanilla. I don’t know if that says something more about me or the rest of the selection. And I appreciated that the sprinkles even had a little flavor, and not just the usual waxy toppings like most. I just felt they were slightly lacking in its texture (I like them really soft) and maybe I’m comparing them to the Sprinkles and Buttercups of the world. What do you guys think?

But alas, a day where 2/3rds of my meals are sugar still makes perfect sense to me.

Trip well done, kids

Georgetown Cupcake
3301 M St NW
(between N 33rd St & N Bank St)
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-8448

x
Shy

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A family-style dinner

If my first dinner in Toronto with Mickey Contractor and co. was any indication of how the rest of my stay would be, then I should have known it would be fantastic. We kicked off the week in style by dining at Nota Bene, a David Lee restaurant. The restaurant name is Latin used to indicate that special attention should be paid to something (or Italian for “note well”). And that you can taste — with a mix of flavors and focus on “farm-to-fork” locally-sourced ingredients, every mouthful was fresh and inviting.

Cavatelli pasta

Ok let’s be real: the cavatelli pasta kinda resemble, well, little maggots. But if you can get over that, the truffle oil and mushroom fusion was a perfect starter.

Hamachi Ceviche

The hamachi ceviche was made with avocado and jalapeno that had a nice spicy kick to it. Oh and it has these little roasted crunchy corn in it that that was an unexpected but welcomed touch.

Pomme Frites

Everyone pretty much died over the vinegary pomme frites and crispy onion rings (not pictured). That was all just to begin.

Grilled halibut

Mediterrannean Sea bass

Wagyu burger

We moved on to our main courses…can you guess what I got? It was a close decision between the steak and burger, but I ended up going with the wagyu burger. The waitress had warned it would be messy, and messy it was, especially considering it came topped with a poached egg. It might have been the first time I ate a burger with a fork and knife. But the meat was delicious. I would probably only get it done medium-well next time (I got it well-done because the waitress also told me the patty was fairly thick, but I think it lost some flavor being a little overdone). Everyone was equally raving about their own dishes, like the grilled halibut and sea bass.

Pistachio ice cream

Grapefruit sorbet

Berries (that came with a side of whipped cream)

All the dessert was a treat to end the meal off with. If you want my advice, skip the frilly stuff and go straight to the pistachio ice cream…I may be biased, but the silky dessert tasted like it was just churned behind the counter. So.Good.

Oh yeah, and one of the coolest things was how the food is served here — all the waiters came out at once with a dish on each hand, and lined up behind us in a single file. They then simultaneously dip down and served our whole party their plates at the same time. I felt so fancy.

Restaurant Info:
Nota Bene
180 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 3X3, Canada
416-977-6400

REPORT CARD
Meal: Dinner
Occasion: Business dinner to kick off IIFA week
Price: $$$
(Out of three stars)
Ambiance: ***
Food: ***
Service: ***
Would I go back?: Yes, and preferably in the good company that I was with that night too! Guys, a good place to impress the ladies. Just sayin.

x
Shy

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