These are my new favorite candies. I bought a bag of them at a little grocery store in Tokyo and have been rationing them out since I got home. They are a LOT like M&Ms, but the candy shells and the chocolate inside are ever so slightly different. Yes, the differences are very subtle, but trust me, they mean everything. I also like the cute color scheme and the cartoon dog drawings that show up on every couple of candies. That is a major plus. Awesome: I found a candy I love. Bad: it’s from Japan. Does anyone know about these? Have you seen them anywhere here in the metroplex? Lemme know.
Some DIY things are awesome, like designing your own dunks or knitting a cute scarf. Some other DIY things are not so awesome, like washing your car or planning a wedding. (That’s when you just call in a professional.)
So where does frozen yogurt fall into this? In the first category, of course! Yogilicious is a relatively new frozen yogurt place that’s set up completely self-server style. You pick your size, one of MANY yogurt flavors (including cookies-n-cream, green tea, and taro), and then add delicious toppings. Pick everything you want and then pay by the ounce. It’s .45 an ounce, which we figured is a little more expensive than other yogurt places, but not outlandish.
The toppings bar is the most impressive part of the Yogilicious experience. You can go au natural with fresh berries, kiwi, melon, and granola, or decadent with chocolate chip cookie dough, cheesecake bites, and candy. There are some really interesting choices present too, including Fruit Loops and mochi.
Basically, it all about getting exactly what you want. And unless you’re like me, that doesn’t happen very often (just kidding). I loved getting to pick the portion size I wanted and the amount/ratio of toppings. That’s the best part about Yoglicious.
On the downside, the yogurt is not very yogurt-y. Unlike the very tart, natural-tasting yogurt I prefer from Orange Cup, this is quite sweet and very TCBY. Also, I really like how readily available calorie information is at Orange Cup. They print your personalized label and put it right on the cup! Granted, Yogilicious can’t do that b/c you’re the one picking everything out, but I couldn’t even find the calories per ounce of the yogurt in the store or online. No good.
So essentially, there’s some good and some bad about Yogilicious. Overall, it’s a great place to stop for dessert when you’re in the West Village, but I don’t think it’s the best in Dallas. (But then maybe that’s because my yogurt skills are inferior? After all, I made it myself!)
3000 Blackburn Ave. #160 | Dallas, TX 75204
214.521.7888
Uhh… what’s the point? I’ve long considered Jack in the Box basically irrelevant and pointless. When I saw the commercial for these cute little sirloin sliders, I decided it was time to revisit The Box and see what they’re about. This is because a.) it is nice to see the sliders craze go so mainstream and b.) because I like cute small foods.
Well, these sliders are dumb! First of all, there’s the price. WTF. For three little sliders, it’s $4. I thought we were in a recession. This makes them each more expensive than a more substantial McDouble. That would be okay if they were more delicious, but that brings me to the second point. They’re not. They’re kinda dry, the bun is weirdish, the cheese was nonexistent, and it may or may not come with grilled onions on it(?). (I ate one.)
I didn’t have a reason to go to Jack in the Box before, and now I still don’t. (Except for maybe once in a while for .99 cent tacos, which I think are one of the best junk foods ever.) Next time I need a diminutive, fatty snack, I’ll just cookie-cut a circle out of some McDouble and call it a day.
Ever get bogged down trying to remember how much of ingredient ‘A’ should be mixed with ingredient ‘B’? Well here’s a handy little chart that writer Michael Ruhlman has assembled and presented. It’s not cheap ($20), but if you are looking for a quick gift for someone who likes to bake, this is the ticket. Maybe it will also inspire you to bake more. Everyone loves homemade dough!
via Michael Ruhlman
Don’t be fooled by the dilapidated exterior of Captain Nemo’s Steak Submarines. It sits quietly off the corner of Grauwlyer Road and Irving Heights Drive in Irving, unexpected and unassuming. You might not even think they are open unless you chance upon them during the afternoon lunch rush. On our adventure to this landmark restaurant established in 1973, the place was empty except for an old man in a truck out front, receiving some drive-up service. (Apparently if you pull up and just wait in your car, someone will come out and take your order. Now that’s what I call service.)
Once inside Nemo’s, you’ll see it has a very old-school, “locals only” feel to it. It’s all wood-paneled interior and no frills tables and chairs. These are good signs, because how could a place like this stay in business for so long unless they served up consistently delicious food? We ordered a Steak Sub and an Original. All the subs come with lettuce, tomato, onion, special seasoning, vinegar, and oil. The Original is your classic cold meat sub: salami, cotto, ham and provolone cheese. Nothing too special about it and very standard except for the bread…
As any sandwich connoisseur will tell you, it’s the bread that makes or breaks it. Nemo’s definitely has their bread on lock. It is baked fresh everyday in the bakery next door and is the perfect combination of a crusty outside and a soft, chewy inside. It’s even available for purchase so you can take it home and make your own subs. If I lived closer, I would be taking advantage of this fact daily.
While The Original was nothing to rave about, the popular Steak Sub is a whole different story. It’s stacked with wonderfully flavored, sliced ribeye that warms the bottom of the roll. It’s then piled high with all the standard veggies and sauce mentioned above. I would almost liken it to a cheesesteak, although the meat is not sliced as thin and the seasoning is a bit different. This is the sub that makes Captain Nemo’s what it is. Delicious and unique, what more could you want? Oh, did you say carrot cake?
Let me just say this for their carrot cake: I usually don’t like it, but the homemade, fresh carrot cake that they bake at Nemo’s is an unexpected treat. The frosting is picture perfect and I dare you to find a better piece of carrot cake for the steal of a price, $2.00.
Capt. Nemo’s is a diamond in the rough and I would recommend it to anyone out there searching for a great steak sandwich and carrot cake to top it off with.
Price: $4.69 (Steak or Original Sub)
$2.00 (Carrot Cake)
1426 N Irving Heights Dr | Irving, TX 75024
972 438 7777
Amusing myself on the laptop while the boys all watch the basketball game (NCAA Championship, very big deal). I thought it’d be nice to pick up some pizza for the game, so I went to nearby ZuRoma Sicilian Kitchen. The Monday night special just so happens to be buy one large pizza, get one free. Score! I decided to go with two specialty pizzas (The Supreme and The Greek) and just a pepperoni/olives one, because choosing all the toppings sometimes gets overwhelming.
Owned by a relative of the locally famed Campisi family, ZuRoma’s is a cute, quaint neighborhood place located in a stripmall. They have a full seating area for dining in and a little bar, but they also do pickup and delivery. It’s not a beautiful location per se, but there’s something nice about its casual, mid-cities vibe.
But seriously, forget about atmosphere though, because it’s irrelevant. Their pizza is awesome. I’d eat it off the back of a bus. Their thin-crust is reminiscent of Campisi’s, but we’re partial to ZuRoma’s because of the delicious sauce and uber-fresh toppings. I think we’ve said it like ten times tonight: “This pizza is goooood!” And with the deal that they have on Mondays, you can’t really go wrong…Now back to catching up on blogs and pretending to watch basketball.
2140 Hall-Johnson Rd. #118 | Grapevine, TX 76051
817.442.1616
The Japanese are in love with presentation. Everything is precise there; dishes are beautiful and meticulously plated. During a cooking class at a culinary school in Tokyo, we got a first-hand lesson on how highly they pride accuracy. When making sushi, each individual piece should be very close to the same weight. The sushi rice for each piece is traditionally weighed to 20 grams, but good sushi chefs don’t have to measure that because they can do it by feel. The fish is then sliced a particular way to be laid out over the rice, and each piece of sushi is formed by hand following a step-by-step formula. They make it seem effortless. Of course, doing it yourself is a lot more complicated. One of the chefs did say that my sushi was “very cute,” so I basically felt awesome about it.
Most helpful tip: Keeping your hands moist with a mixture of vinegar and water while rolling sushi helps keep the rice from sticking to your fingers!
During the cooking lesson, we also made some tempura. Not nearly as precise a dish as sushi and something that we, as Americans, can really get behind. (It’s deep fried, ya’ll!) Surprisingly, the authentic thing really doesn’t differ from what we enjoy here. Even the variety of vegetables they recommended were the same (eggplant, zucchini, etc.) However there was one exception: shiso. This Asian herb is like a fennel-y basil and almost completely dissolves on the tongue after it’s been tempura fried. They dipped the batter on one side and let it stay in the hot oil until it turned a golden brown. Best. Snack. Food. Ever. I’ve been told that you can find it in the States at asian markets, so I’m going to keep by eyes open. (Although, I think the deep frying part should be kept at a minimum. Maybe I’ll find another way to cook with it?)
