Unless I’m overcome with a nostalgic craving for Double-Stuf Oreos and ice-cold milk, most store-bought cookies are just not worth the calories they cost. Not that I’m watching my figure (it’s pretty much the same … fat), but I estimate that if you’re going to gorge yourself on sweets, why not indulge in the good stuff? Admittedly, I did have a thing for Pepperidge Farm Brussels, but even they have gradually lost their luster, blatantly falling victim to cheaper ingredients and large-scale mass production all in the name of profit. When it comes down to it, nothing can beat home-made cookies, particularly my cookies, fresh out of the oven. Continue reading
House of the week: Double on Scott Street
All I want for Christmas is a house of my own. Do you think this year you’ll swing it Santa, help me get a loan? As much as I love to rhyme, I’m sure you’ll find it lame. This is a blog, after all, and not a reindeer game! Continue reading
Livin’ easy at The Big Cheezy
When you dine out regularly, it can be a relief to go to a casual restaurant where you don’t have to be concerned about whether or not your food will taste good, or even worse, if you’ll be able to afford it. I’m sure you all can relate to restaurant “sticker shock” … or should we call it a “check crash?” One too many Old Fashioned’s or extra appetizers can easily push you far beyond your food-cost comfort zone. There’s also that possibility that, by no fault of the chef, you simply didn’t like your dish. Then you’re left paying through the nose for a partially full stomach and an afternoon of disappointment. Continue reading
House of the week: Cottage on Eliza Street
When I found today’s house, Judy Garland’s voice reverberated through my brain singing “A Cottage for Sale.” Though I’m not mourning a failed relationship per se, I am mourning a love unrequited because I know that this adorable little abode and I will never be together (cue a deep sigh).
Hanging out in The Backyard
In general, I am not a huge fan of kids. While I realize people have all kinds of arguments to refute this particular point of view, nothing has been said or done to change my mind. Kids are invariably messy, selfish, smelly, sticky, noisy, irritable, ornery, time-consuming, aggravating, angsty little money pits who rarely fail get on my nerves in record time. I realize I was one of these putrid little beasts long ago who likely tormented people like me, but that still doesn’t alter the simple fact that I am wholeheartedly Team Mama Fratelli, frequently echoing her eloquently stated sentiment that “kids suck.” Continue reading
Eat all the pie at District Hand Pie & Coffee Bar
Often I joke about ordering the entire menu at a restaurant, but once I actually did. A few months back when John and I were starving in our food-less apartment (we desperately needed to go grocery shopping), we decided to eat first in order to avoid buying everything in the store. After hearing so much about it, we visited District Hand Pie & Coffee Bar on the corner of Arabella and Magazine Street and ordered one of every hand pie they had. Was this a wise decision? Probably not, but it sure was a tasty one. Plus, when we went shopping afterwards, we were too stuffed to fill the buggy with items that were not on the list. Continue reading
House of the week: Privacy on Patton St.
Agree or don’t agree, but I believe there’s a certain level of badassery going on when you can hide a 3,000 sq. ft. home so completely that the entrance appears to be part of your neighbor’s property. I discovered this super cool, My Secret Garden-ish abode today during my usual online bout of house envy. Continue reading
Ghoulishly gourmet dinner at Kingfish
A few years back I wrote a gruesome food piece in Where Y’at Magazine dubbed “Eat it! I dare you.” for Halloween. I featured dishes that might not be so daring for the seasoned gourmand, but for the average diner might have required a bit of derring-do. After all, items like squid ceviche at Santa Fe Restaurant, fried sweetbreads at Bayona and even raw oysters (that daunt many!) seem rather everyday to me now, though for many people they might require a measure of bravery. Continue reading
Cheering for Bao & Noodle
People may be inclined to argue the point, but there is a real lack of good, authentic Chinese cuisine in the Crescent City. Of all the Chinese restaurants I’ve experienced since moving here, Jung’s Golden Dragon is the closest I’ve come, that is until I dined at Bao & Noodle.
A few months back, my friend Anne and I ventured out into Bywater to get a taste of Chef Doug Crowell’s take on Chinese cuisine. When we arrived at the baby-blue building that looked as if it once might have been a corner store, the restaurant was empty of diners. We walked straight up to the front counter (a.k.a. fold-out table) and picked up a paper menu before a woman appeared from the back all smiles, offering to help us order. Continue reading
Building my sci-fi, utopian food court: Kebab
Sometimes, this eternally hungry fat girl wonders what it would be like to have her own, personalized food court. I could stand in the center, whirl around with my eyes closed, my arm outstretched like a pointer on the Wheel of Fortune, and slowly tick-tick-tick to a stop, anxious and excited to open my eyes and look even knowing full well that no matter what I land on, the choice will be, well, choice. Continue reading