Sweet and Sour in Boston

A handy website that tells you how to store food. (Stilltasty)

A tale of 2 McNuggets (CNN Health)

Beer Stimulus (WSJ)

I can't believe that Grimaldi's in Brooklyn didn't make this list, but at least they had one Boston spot, even though it wasn't Ernestos. (delish.com)

Not food related, but my high school needs help. (News9.com)

And finally, follow our blog on facebook. (Facebook)

Strange Food Combos (6rounds)

Some Hot Food (Becks.com)

Beers for breakfast (Phoenix New Times)

Finally, a list of Vietnamese food related blogs:

Viet World Kitchen

Playing with My Food

Simply Vietnamese

Been a long time since I've written anything. Here are some links:

Bourdain interview. (Slate)

Joel Stein eats a KFC Double Down (Time)

Speaking of the Double Down, here's some food worst than it. (SFWeekly)

Some pimp rides (gunaxin)

Random national foods (Nokia)

It's a lazy Sunday. We got pulled pork going in the slow cooker which is almost done. I got a big pot of Chao Ga (chicken congee) cooking as well. That should make about 3-4 bowls of it so I can have breakfast this week at work.

Here are some links I've found in the past couple of days I'd thought I'd pass along:

*A list of kitchen essentials. (latimes, courtesy of Dine or Death)

We have the dutch oven and creme brule torch as wedding gifts and while we love and use the former quite a bit, we haven't busted out the torch just yet. We also have a rather boring (but effective) thermometer, but I really want one of these. At nearly $100, I haven't yet justified the costs. We have a few of the other items as well, like the microplane and the nice knives, but our roasting pan was really cheap and is very useful and our nonstick pans were expensive (more wedding gifts) and I'm very, very careful with how we use them. The mortar and pestle is something we've been wanting for a while too to make guacamole with.

*In case you love burritos and never saw the calorie counts. (divinecaroline)

*Some really cool food art. (noupe)

*This brought back some memories. I might have to ebay the Star Wars tumblers as an early b-day gift to myself. (miami new times)

*For those of you who hate Wal-Mart (which I personally love), the produce apparently can compete with Whole Foods. (lifehacker)

*Food from Hong Kong. (cnngo)

*Again, more proof America is behind in Vending Machine technology. (phoenix new times)

*McDonalds from around the world. (like me)

*Bourdain on Yo Gabba Gabba (EW)

Random and funny links I'd like to share. (Not many food related ones.)

Found this food blog on Chowhound.(MC Slim JB)

I didn't know that menupages had a blog, and somehow our review of Hamersley's was linked in it! (MenuPages Blog)

Found from the same link posting as our review, someone else isn't all about Hot Tomatoes either. I thought I was the only one who didn't think it was the greatest. Give me Dino's any day! (Dish This!)

Wrong and funny! Rock Band Nirvana. (Penny Arcade)

My favorite comedian and one of my favorite basketball players. (youtube)

Toby Jones is back! (youtube)

Once again, been both too lazy and too busy to update the blog. Got a review of Hamersleys Bistro coming later today though.

Some images of fast food menu items compared with their advertisements. (Thispiggy.com)

Superfoods you should be eating. (Chicago Tribune)

Ruhlman has a new book out about the ratios in the cooking world. Doesn't it seem like every two months he has a new book? (Ruhlman.com)

Filed under strange: Kobe Bryant on Sesame Street. (FirstCuts via Deadspin)

While I may not truly hate Andrew Zimmern, I do agree with a few of these comments on this list. (Village Voice)

Cool video of Bourdain going to El Bulli. (bighospitality)

An article on Padma and her burger. (Electric Show)

The above commercial. (youtube)

An article on Banh Mi sandwiches. (NYTIMES)

Lemon square recipes from Michael Ruhlman. (Ruhlman)

Filed under the "If it ain't broke, why fix it" category: New Guinness. (Boston.com)

Old blog post I found about 5 hour energy. (Basketbawful)

Ludacris opened up an Asian restaurant in Atlanta. I think the name should have been "Rudacris"...(Straits)

Neat website (Scanwiches)

Cool website that lists deals for Boston area restaurants. (Hubeats)

NYTimes article on how the economy is affecting chefs. (NYtimes)

NYC sitcom map. (link)

How about some links:

World's best street food - including Banh Mi! (Concierge.com)

Event to taste my neighborhood next Tuesday...sadly I have a basketball game so I won't be going. (aac.org)

Wine Riot - a wine tasting happening in my hood...this we might go to. (wineriot)

Best 80's cartoons with videos (Gunaxin.com)

16 restaurant industry secrets - one of them should be that Applebee's SUCK! (Men's Health)

I love Girl Scout Cookies (thin mints rule!) and I know I'll come off as a jerk, but this article made me laugh a little. (msn)

Random comic of how scooby doo episodes end (maneggs)

Some things found on the interweb:

List of the 50 best food blogs (TimesOnline)

Rating doctors like restaurants (NYTIMES)

I found this blog while looking for a recipe for Chau aka Congee (Taste of Home)

Congrats to two future Sooners for making the McDonald's All American Game! TMG and Tiny are going to fit in perfectly. (ESPN)

I'll have more on Top Chef later, but a nice recap here (LATIMES)

Once again the guys from the Sandbox at WFNX has given me inspiration. They were talking about the McRib the other day, one of the greatest sandwiches of all time. Just like the chili cheese burrito of Taco Bell, the McRib is not available at all McDonalds. Very unfair. Someone has taken the courtesy of making a website that will help you locate a McRib. Looks like a trip to Hyde Park, NY is going to be in my near future. (McRib Locator)

Some random video links for you today.

I was amazed that Abby has never seen this clip from Eddie Murphy on SNL:



This is a disgusting dunk by Willie Warren:



And to keep it food related, Bourdain and Ripert cooking:

Great interview with Bourdain:

http://dcist.com/2009/01/chewing_the_fat_anthony_bourdain.php

Looks like the finale of Top Chef this year is in New Orleans:

http://www.realitytvfans.com/2009/01/20/emeril-lagasse-to-guest-judge-on-top-chef-finale-episodes.html

I've been listening to a lot of The Doors lately...the Manzarek brothers are totally underrated. The wiki for those of you who don't know who The Doors are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors

A few years ago, I thought the Grey Album (Beatles/Jay-Z mashup) was genius. The Radiohead/Jay-Z mashup...I'm not so sure:

http://www.jaydiohead.com/

I had heard rumors that there was a new location for House of Siam, and sure enough, it's where the old Thai Village was. Will have to check it out one day to see if it's as good as the original location:

http://southendfoodies.blogspot.com/2009/01/house-of-siam.html

I'd love to apply, but since our wedding is August 1st, I don't think Abby would want me to be in Australia:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090113/od_afp/lifestyleaustraliatourismoffbeat_20090113032028

Great article by Mark Bittman about what one should have and not have in one's pantry:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/dining/07mini.html?_r=2&ref=dining

Boston Food and Whine has the list of Boston Magazine's 50 best restaurants and did a nice mark off of the ones BFW has been to:

http://bostonfoodandwhine.blogspot.com/2009/01/boston-magazines-50-best-restaurants.html

I was thinking of doing the same thing, until I realized I've only been to like 10 or so of these places. Well, here's my attempt at least (italicized ones we have been to) :

1. O Ya
2. L'Espalier
3. No. 9 Park
4. Clio
5. Aujourd'hui
6. Radius
7. Hungry Mother
8. Hamersley's Bistro
9. Oleana
10. Cragie on Main
11. Meritage
12. Salts
13. Oishii
14. Uni
15. Ten Tables
16. Neptune Oyster
17. Icarus
18. Persephone
19. Mistral
20. Sorellina
21. Rialto
22. B & G Oysters
23. Troquet
24. Lumiere
25. Pigalle
26. Toro
27. Blue Ginger
28. Upstairs on the Square
29. Excelsior
30. Benatti
31. Sage
32. T.W. Food
33. Locke-Ober
34. Taranta
35. Rendezvous
36. L'Andana
37. The Butcher Shop
38. Via Matta
39. Dante
40. Scampo
41. 51 Lincoln
42. Lineage
43. Bistro 5
44. Grill 23
45. East Coast Grill
46. Estragon
47. Union Bar and Grille
48. Il Capriccio
49. Bin 26 Enoteca
50. Avila

That list is very interesting. I wouldn't put Pigalle up there after our last meal there. Either way, it looks like it'll be a while before we can claim we've eaten at every single place on that list.

Sorry loyal readers (if we have any loyal readers...if not, then sorry random readers) for the lack of updates. I'd like to say we've been crazy busy with the new year, but it's mainly due to laziness we haven't updated. We have a review of Sage (from Dec 29th) that will be posted later tonight, along with some dinners we've cooked. And I've got a recap for the last episode of Top Chef. In the mean time, here are some links:

Top 10 Sandwiches:
http://screwattack.com/node/15343

I think the Vietnamese Banh Mi should be on here though.

Wedding in a Taco Bell:
http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/2009/01/10/D95KNRTO0_odd_taco_bell_wedding/index.html

And speaking of Taco Bell, a friend recently told me she didn't believe the Chili Cheese Burrito existed. Well, here's a website dedicated to this deliciousness:
http://www.chilicheese.org/cc/default.asp

I wish I had one of those for breakfast right now...instead I'm having what I normally have for breakfast, the Hot and Spicy Bowl Noodle from Nong Shim:

http://www.nongshim-america.com/

Yes I really do eat this for breakfast 4 or 5 times a week. It's warm, yummy, savory, and fills me up. It's also much cheaper (since I buy the case) then eating in my cafeteria every morning. Plus my cafeteria at work sucks. Sure it's high in sodium and other bad things, but it's tasty and it helps my bowels in the mornings.

More later today, I promise.

A few more links to pass along. (The first two are from fellow bloggers that you readers should check out. Their links were hidden in the comment section, so I figured they should be brought out.)

http://daviddust.blogspot.com/
http://foraysofafinancefoodie.blogspot.com/

Grub Street is a great food blog with the latest in all NYC restaurant happenings:
http://nymag.com/daily/food/

This site just cracks my shit up! Watch the youtube video and start laughing.
http://jonesbigasstruckrentalandstorage.com/

One of the best web-comic around. Look up in their archive for the Armadeaddon series. Incredible, especially if you grew up on role playing games and video games like I did.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/

In Boston, there are really only two radio stations to listen to: WERS and WFNX. The former is a public radio station for Emerson College. The latter is the only alternative rock station in Boston. The morning guys at WFNX get me through my morning commute every day. Funny, nerdy, incoherent...so much better than any other morning show in Boston. Check out their website:
http://wfnx.com/shows/sandbox/default.aspx

Found these little lists online and I figured I'd share it all with you:

http://www.examiner.com/x-1673-Baltimore-Food-Fun-Examiner~y2008m12d16-5-fun-foodie-gifts-over-100

http://www.examiner.com/x-1673-Baltimore-Food-Fun-Examiner~y2008m12d11-5-fun-foodie-gifts-between-50-and-100

http://www.examiner.com/x-1673-Baltimore-Food-Fun-Examiner~y2008m12d10-Fun-foodie-stocking-stuffers

Weekend roundup coming later today. Got a review of a Greek place in Back Bay that was a disappointment coming with it.

Anyway, if you were like me and were wondering why Ted Allen wasn't on Top Chef, it might be because of his obligations to Food Network. Not only does he have his food detective show, but also a new food competition show that is similar to Top Chef:


http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/11/new_food_network_shows_are_kin.html

Also, courtesy of Amuse-Biatch, is this the reason why there might not be any Bourdain on Top chef:

http://amuse-biatch.blogspot.com/2008/11/anthony-bourdain-padma-lakshmi-unfit-to.html

I really hope he does guest judge though.

Top Chef returns tonight. I must admit, I didn't start watching this show until the Thanksgiving episode of Season 2. (Bourdain was the guest judge and I was very curious.) Needless to say, I got hooked. Season 3 was incredible TV...it was frustrating, enjoyable, and overall a good time. Very good TV. (I got sick of Dale towards the end...he was so condescending to everyone. Him and the tall dude CJ...just a bunch of jerks in my eyes. And the whole "Hung didn't tell us how to cook the dish correctly at Le Cirque, wah, wah, wah..." Of course he didn't, and any true competitor wouldn't either. This is a freaking competition ass-hats! And to insinuate that this shows that he's not a team player in a real kitchen...how is that even relevant right now? He's not trying to make the dinner rush at Per Se (where he was a fish specialist, meaning he's pretty f-ing talented), he's trying to win a competition. Highlight from the show was definitely the mis-en-place showdown. So awesome to actually see them showoff their tools and craftsmanship. And I'm pretty sure I could chop an onion quicker than the blond from Texas with the fake boobs...but I digress.) I immediately hated Season 4. Everyone and their mother had a faux hawk. The whole lesbian couple thing was annoying. (Don't get me wrong, I like watching a good lesbian couple just like the next person, maybe even more so, but these two people in particular were just so hard to watch or root for.) I didn't watch many of these episodes...only when Bourdain or Ripert guest judged did I turn the dial to it. Also, this show is on at like 10pm! I go to bed right after Futurama ends at 9:30pm. Very tough to go the extra hour and half to watch the show pimp out Gladware and crappy Toyotas and Kenmore kitchens. Why not have Viking do all the kitchens and drive Audi R8s if you are going to product placement us to hell? At least then I could see something I wouldn't normally see. And then they got these stupid poll questions, like, "Who has a crush on Tom?" or "Who do you think is not wearing underwear while they cook truffle oil and are mid-coitus with duck breast?" Who are these people that actually text in their votes? Of course, I'm going to be interested for the first few weeks. We'll get to sift through the chef-testants. We'll have the hot chick, the overly-gay man, the foreigner, the woman that doesn't say anything on the show for 3 weeks and Abby and I go "who the hell is she?", and of course the loser that gets kicked off the first show. Should be good times. We'll post here our thoughts week to week.

Some links to get you excited for top chef:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/arts/television/12chef.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

http://amuse-biatch.blogspot.com/

http://bloggingtopchef.blogspot.com/

http://www.sirlinksalot.net/thetopchef.html

http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/about/index.php

And of course you will have to go here for recaps and general hilarity:
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php

(UPDATE: After quickly going over the bios, here are my thoughts. The favorites are probably Jeff (who worked with Van Aiken and who's current restaurant is called DiLido...so funny!), Radhika (who worked with Vikas Khanna), and Stefan (who helped open Bellagio...which means nothing really but I really like the Bellagio). The chefs with the best chance to be kicked off tonight are: Ariane(for some reason, I think her age is going to hurt her) and Patrick (a culinary student, so basically same reason as Ariane, just in reverse). I think Fabio is going to be the douchebag of the show. And finally, Gene and Jamie win the award for "Chefs I think might do interesting work". That is subject to change after I watch tonight.)

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/thomas-keller-and-protege-to-go-20-rounds/?hp

Some people say dropping $1500 on dinner is a waste, and that it should go to charity, etc, etc...you know what? If I had that type of money, I'd totally would drop it on something like this. (It's my money, I can do whatever I want with it hippies!!!!) But seriously, people drop this type of cash on sporting events, artwork, and even hookers...and I can guarantee a 20 course meal will last longer than that experience. So yes, it's outrageous, it's crazy to drop that type of dough on food when people are starving and food banks need donations...but it's an experience I wouldn't pass up if I could be a part of it. Gotta enjoy life if you can before it passes you by.

Not the greatest of articles, but it is about steak and beef:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/11/12/cheapsteak/?page=1

Also, our friend and fellow foodie Sarah mentions that these are some of her favorite best food blogs :


http://www.katheats.com/

http://carrotsncake.com/

http://eatliverun.com/