my new favorite food...

i have a new favorite food.
I bet it's yours too...
free food.
Last night i went with some friends to SIDEBOARD in Danville.
SIDEBOARD is this really cute place and our friend Stacey works there, who is lovely.
I went for breakfast once and their yogurt tastes kinda like sour cream.
...in a good way.
But last night we went there before they closed and i said to Dani and Peter..
" i wonder if this is like Denica's where when they close up they give you the cookies they're gunna toss..."

Denica's is this cafe in dublin.
their cookies are good but i don't actually like the place that much.
sorry Denica.

anyways...
it WAS like Denica's!
Stacey gave us hecka free cookies and i was like YES!
They were so good and i really think it's because they were free.
Free stuff tastes so much better than stuff you paid for.
But not like samples at costco...which i guess you kinda pay for because you pay a due or something.
...i dunno i just mooch off my parent's costco card.
...
.....
But when you accidentally get free stuff...like you're at the right place at the right time???
THE BEST!

One time at Disneyland, i was sitting waiting for someone in the little ice cream place on main street.
I wasn't actually eating ice cream I was just waiting in there sitting at this little table.
This girl came out from behind the counter and was like "um we made an extra sundae...do you want it???"
OF COURSE!
ALWAYS!
The only thing better than free food is free food at Disneyland.

I just read my friend Chris' blog and he is such a beautiful writer.
It makes me want to write something beautiful...
but it seemed prudent that I first write you about free food.
sorry.

charlie hon kong= charlie yum yum

i haven't blogged in a while.
i went through some pictures and found this one.
i'm eating a spicy dan peanut bowl at charlie hong kong's in santa cruz.
it's the best.
i've been pretty busy lately but on my down time i honestly consider driving to santa cruz just so i can eat at charlie hong kong's.
ok that's a lie...i would do a food tour in santa cruz.
but charlie's is the fricken bombdotcom.
it's hella fast and hellza delicious.
ya.
hellza.
it's that good.
i could eat there everyday.
they put cilantro on everything and it's awesome.
i also enjoy the mariachi music they play while you're eating vietnamese bowls.
it adds an element of confusion and mystery to your dining experience.
go to charlie's.
i took my fam there and they loved it.
i watched my grandpa eat a noodle bowl and it was awesome.

BLUSH yogurt owns me.

i resisted.
but i cannot go on doing so.
BLUSH yogurt is frigging delicious and has changed my life.
It's not soft serve...it's SO much more!!
it's really yogurt....how do they do it??
i need answers.

i think that's why i love it so mcuh...
because the whole time i'm eating it i'm wondering...
"how is this possible?"

i also love that they're open late.
and i love that i don't feel like a cow after i finish it.
i feel the opposite of a cow.
i feel awesome.

if i ran marathons, i would eat a small blush yogurt before each race.
i would more than likely win those races...
not because i'm fast but because BLUSH yogurt is so awesome it would have changed my chemical makeup into that of a natural athlete.

ya.
it's so good.

an ode to sweet tea

my dearest sweet tea,
your are so delicious.
now all i have to do is take a dollar to McDonalds to enjoy your sweet goodness.
served in a giant cup the size of my forearm, you refresh me for hours upon hours.
Sometimes you give me a tummy ache...but i still love you.
I remember how much fun we had in New Orleans.
I was tired and thirsty and you were, as always, delicious and incredible.
It was then that my eyes were opened and you shown in all your glory.
I'm so glad you came to California, Sweet Tea.
You never let me down.
Now my summer will be filled with refreshing sips and tummy aches induced by your incredibly sweet wonderfulness.
I will always look back on this summer fondly as the summer you rocked California and my heart.
Thank you, sweet tea.
Thank you.

Cereal? For Dinner? Whaaaaat?

Last week I went downtown to this new place is Santa Cruz called "Cereality".
It's silly.
There are pictures of cereal icons like tony the tiger on the wall and a big kitchen counter in the center of the room.
There motto is "Cereality: Where it's always Saturday Morning..."
It's pretty fitting, there is a big screen on the wall showing exclusive cartoons.
It's like the cold stone of the breakfast world.
You can blend cereals and add fruit or candy...
They have oatmeal and smoothies too.
But the cereal is the main attraction.
I brought the girls i nanny with me and they took full advantage of all the ridiculous cereal possibilities.
They're meals consisted of reeses puffs with lucky charms, applejacks, bannas, oreo crums and marshmallows.
Ya.
"Cereality: Where your babysitter stops caring what you consume..."
Maddie and I had oatmeal.
I burnt my mouth very badly but it was good.
Oatmeal with peaches and cransberries.
They weren't fresh peaches...canned maybe.
And the cranberries were dried...craisins?
But it was really good.
I don't know if i'd go again...
I'd rather recreate the oatmeal in my own apartment.
But it was a cool experience...

Greatest things to eat at Disneyland ever

I guess it's a given that everything form Disneyland will be amazing because it's made with love, magic and baby laughs...but i discovered some new delicious treats!

My usual staples when touring the magic kingdom include: pickles, micky face cookies and chocolate covered carmel apples.
This trip however i added a few new treats that I feel I must identify them to the three people that read this rediculous blog.

For breakfast I had a mango by the jungle cruise.
They put a lime slice in the box so you can squeeze a little lime on top and suck all the juice out of that amazing disney-inhanced piece of fruit.
YUM. SO good <3

Next we sampled a variety of sweets like cotton candy, churros, etc.
Nothing to shout about.
Don't waste your money on thigs you can get at the fair...
just my opinion.

Then I stood in a 20 minute line for some pineapple dole whip which is found in front of the tikki room.
So good.
I originally was dissapointed by dole whip because people made such a big deal out of it.
My advice woudl be to go into the dole whip with moderate expectations and then be pleasantly surprised!

I'm still a strong believer in the mickey face cookie. You can get them at the bakery on main street and i enjoy them with a mini jug of milk. It's thick sugar cookie covered in chocolate with a white chocolate mickey face.
pretty amazing.
and it's hella big.
awesome.

So for dinner I watched others eat the giant turkey leg.
People argue me but I will be forever convinced that it is actually ham.
It's huge and pink and smells like bacon.
you do the math.

I (a moderate pescaterian) enjoyed the veggie gumbo found in new orleans sqaure by the pirates line. It's so good and it comes in a sour dough bread bowl. It has ocra in it which impresses me but some people don't like it.
::TIP::
Don't eat it on the ground because a loud russian family will argue next to you and their chubby son will run through your bread bowl like he's on fire and he won't feel compelled to apologize.

The best treat of the day, and my new favorite at disneyland, is the tigger tale. It's found ONLY at pooh corner which is by the pooh ride and splash mountain.
duh.
picture it:
four (disney made) marshmallows on a stick, covered in thick carmel, then coated in a layer of orange chocolate and topped off with milk chocolate stripes. They are so delicious and wonderful. You will never want to eat anything else again!

GO.
DO IT.
EAT EVERYTHING!

The Buttery

Maddie, my roomie and bestie, is always complaining about the food culture in santa cruz. She has a more sophisticated pallet while I will pretty much eat anything.
But we both agree on the Buttery and its awesomeness!
The Buttery is a bakery ::slash:: cafe that has the bombdotcom cookies and treats!
They have these sugar cookies with quick pour icing...oh my gosh.
so good.
oh! and these double chocolate cookies...they' like brownies...
yeah.
hella good.
However I must warn you that there is a weird guy who works there.
He will listen to your conversations and more than likely accost you at your table.
But that aside it's awesome.
if you come to santa cruz call me and we'll go.
the cookies are only like a dollar and i've gotten really good at dodging the creeper.

the ranch revolution

Raise your hand if you enjoy a little ranch with your pizza!

Yeah... thats what I thought..

Everyone does!

Is there anything more delicious than a slice of veggie combo dipped in ranch dressing?
no..of course not.
So why isn't ranch just out on the table with the cheese and peppers at pizza places?
In my experience, you always have to go up and ask for it...as if they didn't already anticipate me wanting it!
They should come in little packets with delivered pizza!

Give me ranch, round table!
Don't make me ask, Ammici's....
You know what I want, woodstocks!

More ranch!
Let's start the revolution!

cupcakes

i love cupcakes.
why don't we eat them more often???
So far the best cupcake I've ever had was in Austin, Texas at heycupcake.
It was a red velvet cupcake and i loved it so much.
if you have yet to try red velvet you should...it's really good.
Everyone is always stoked about funfetti cupcakes but I say that people need to experience other cupcakes.
There is a vast world of cupcakes out there, people!
Maddie's mom got me a cook book that's all about cupcakes...there is one with rose oil in it...
ROSE OIL!
Why are we stuck on boxed cake mix when there is rose petal cupcakes out there!?
Lets all get together and have a cupcake party and eat 17 cupcakes each...
no one reads this yet so that party, as of now, consists of me.
But that party will be awesome.