In Honor of Top Chef

Last night was the season finale of one of my new favorite shows, Top Chef. Everyone was saying how great the show was but I was afraid to watch because, 1 - I don't cook and 2- I do not eat 99% of the things they cook. For example, the thought of foie gras , venison and squab makes me sick. That being said, I started watching and am totally hooked. I was especially happy (spoiler alert) because my boy Hoosea won. He was my pick, I feel a special bond with him because he is a jew with a weird name, like moi. I do not like that he hooked up with that mess Leah though. I ate at Centro Venotecca and was not impressed. Sorry, raw egg ravioli is not good.

Anyway, in honor of the season finale where they had to cook their perfect 3 course meal, I have decided to create my perfect 3 course chain meal in 3 different categories - fast food, casual sit-down chain and high end chain. See below for my picks. This was a tough list to make and you might not agree, but alas, it is my blog and my opinions.

Fast Food

Appetizer - A Chicken Nuggets Mix from McDonalds, Chick-fil -A and Wendy's

Meal - Burrito from Baja Fresh with guac for the chips and a side of Nathan's French Fries

Dessert - Wendy's Frosty

Causal Sit-down Chain

A mix of breads from Cheesecake Factory, Texas Roadhouse and Joe's American
Appetizer - Jack Sesame Strips from Friday's

Meal - Mongolian Beef from P.F. Chang's with brown rice and extra sauce

Dessert - White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory

High End Chain

The bread basket from Capital Grill

Appetizer - Chicken Satay with peanut sauce from Tao

Meal - Filet Mignon from Del Friscos with their sweet potato mashed potatoes

Dessert - Creme Brule from Capital Grill

Free Pancakes at IHOP

Another free breakfast to announce. This time IHOP is jumping on the bandwagon and giving away free pancakes on Tuesday, February 24th from 7 am - 10 am. Unlike Denny's, they are asking for donations towards the Children's Miracle Network. I am all about charity, considering I do not do any myself anymore. What an embarrassment to the Key Club I am. I think tomorrow I will stop by the closest IHOP, have some free pancakes, play around with all the different syrup options, I love the real fruity ones (of course I do) and donate a 20 spot or so to the Children's Miracle Network.

Supposedly it is National Pancake Day - I will eat to that!

Yonalisa - thanks for the info

Jackson Hole - A Chain Food Bust

As any loyal reader of this site knows, I love traveling so I can explore all that different cities and countries offer in the culinary realm, especially what kind of chain restaurants they have. When I went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming I was expecting your typical fast food chains, maybe a Denny's and an Applebee's and perhaps some BBQ chains I was unfamiliar with.

Well, much to my dismay, Jackson Hole has only two chain restaurants, Wendys and Dairy Queen. That is it, no McDonalds, no Starbucks, no Chillis. I was shocked to say the least. I even asked the cab driver on the way to see the Elk, "Sir, do you have any chain restaurants here, you know like Friday's or Cheesecake Factory." His reply, "hmmm we used to have this 24 hr diner that was opened from 6 am - 9 pm, ha ha ha." Not funny cowboy man.

I really loved Jackson Hole, there are 7 cowboys for every cowgirl, to quote my dad, but I obviously could never live here. I would have a chapped face (like I do now) from skiing all day and then be fat from eating so much bacon wrapped steak at non-chain establishments.

The Denver Airport is a Chain Heaven

I am blogging to you live from the Denver Airport and wow, it is a chain heaven.  I have never seen an airport have such an amazing variety of wonderful chain choices.

In a 2 feet radius they have some of my favs, Caribou Coffee, Jamba Juice, TCBY and Wolfgang Puck Express.  I never had Wolfgang Puck Express but I have to assume it is awesome.  I got a spicy chicken pizza to take with me on the plane.   The menu at WPE was really legit.  They had tons of salads, chicken sandwiches, pizzas like the one I got, bbq chicken pizza, spinach mushroom and of course plain cheese.  They also had mac and cheese and it looked awesome.  I love mac n cheese in my old age now.

Other great choices here are Dominos (perhaps you are hungover on your flight and need some pizza), Auntie Annes, Burger King, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Quiznos and Ben and Jerry's.

There are also lots of great sit down restaurant options here, not all are chains.  I would prob stick with Wolfgang Puck no matter what.

Ok, I have to get on my plane back home but stay tuned for more posts soon.

A Love Letter To McDonald's

In honor of Valentine's Day I am writing a letter to my true love....McDonald's.

Dear McDonald's,

I have been meaning to say this for a while, I love you. I love everything about you. You have been with me for as long as I can remember. You offered me a place to play in the Bronx when I was a little kid. Your hamburglar slide and fun ball pit were the home to so many wonderful memories and an array of birthday parites. Your happy meals and toys not only brought joy to me, but billions of kids around the world. The best gift you ever gave me for a happy meal were the mini barbie dolls and beanie babies (I was not even that young when I got the beanie babies).

McDonald's you taught me the true meaning of sweetness. Because of you, I learned how wonderful chicken nuggets taste with your honey. Nothing is better than your chicken nuggets dipped in honey.

You also taught me that bigger is better. What is better than a Super Sized order of fries? You should be proud my love, because you, yes you, perfected the art of french fry making. Nobody makes a french fry quite like you do. What I love most about you, is that you do not stop with the french fry, you also learn how to make the best hashbrowns in the world! I know you have helped millions of hungover people across the land with your delicious breakfast options.

You even make a great ice cream sundae. When I really want a treat, I get your vanilla ice cream with strawberries and nuts on top. It is pure brilliance, just like you.

As I grow older, I feel so does our love. You learn and do more like make a solid cup of coffee , the brilliant McFlurry and revolutionized the way we order food through your extra value meal menu.
No matter where I am in the world, when I see you, I feel sense of home and comfort.

McDonald's, I love you. Your golden arches will always have the most special place in my heart.

XOXO

Rori

I really am loving it!

Maybe Dreams Really Do Come True

It is with great excitment that I bring you this breaking news. Put down your Chipotle Burrito, Baja Fresh is coming to town, midtown that is. Nini just let me know that on Lexington, between 45th and 46th a Baja Fresh is opening. Lucky me, that is not too far from my office. Someone up there is looking out for me. Baja Fresh is by far my favorite chain burrito place. It lives up to its name and is truly extremely fresh tasting.

I used to eat this all the time when I lived in DC. Especially after a big night at the Frontpage drinking dollar Coronas and flirting with GW dudes. Once in Boston, made Nina drive to some random suburb to go try it. We clearly had a lot of free time senior year. The last time I had it was when I was in LA. They have one in the Century City Mall. That is one killah food court. I could do a whole blog posting just on how kickA*s that is.

Anyway, I will keep you updated with more news about this opening. I will be sure to be there the first day it opens. Perhaps I may also do live blogging from the event.

The Ivy - Not Just A League I Will Never Be In

I am back from a glorious business trip to LA. Everytime I go I love it more and more. This time I made a point to go to the grand daddy of celeb chains, The Ivy. Perhaps you live under a rock and have never heard of it but The Ivy is a LA chain. There is one on Robertson Blvd where all the celebs and paparazzi hang out. I did not go to that one because I am already a pretty bad celeb stalker, I thought going there would really be crossing the line so I decided to go to the one in Santa Monica. That being said, I had no shame in waiting in line at an Armani Exchange to get a picture with that hottie with the abs from Lip Stick Jungle.

The Ivy at the Shore has a lovely ambiance, it reminds me of a fancy southern patio. There is, you may have guessed, lots of Ivy. The menu is a large menu of very standard American food with some Mexican and Italian influences. To start we got the guacamole and I was very impressed. It was not made fresh in front of you but it was very tasty. The best part was that it was served with warm tortillas. I love that because then you can make a fun guac and tortilla sandwich, delicious. For my entree I was torn between a few choices like ravioli, mango chutney chicken and my actual choice, grilled chicken with a lemon sauce with a baked potato. On the menu it said it came with whipped squash and whipped cauliflower but the waitress told me they did not have the squash. That really sucked because that is one of the reasons I ordered that dish. The entree was really just OK. It was good, but def not wow. I also was kind of disappointed with my mojito. I really thought it was going to be killah but it was not good at all. It needed more sugar and more mint. All and all, The Ivy is Ok, not great. Oh, I did have a celeb spotting there. It was Matthew Broderick. He was not with SJP, but with his parents. They seemed like a lovely old Jewish couple who look like they donate a lot of money to public television and museums. Matthew was throwing back the mojitos like they were actually good. I did not have the heart to tell him they were pretty weak.

Starbucks - Stop Breaking My Heart

Hola from LA everyone! I am still on east coast time so I decided to get an early breakfast at the Starbucks downstairs. I ordered an iced coffee and then remembered that they had all those fun new Chai Infusion drinks. I am not a big tea fan, but chai, I like.

So I quickly changed my order and got an Iced Apple Chai Infusion. At first sip I was hooked. It was absolutely delicious. It tasted like a spicy, cinnamon iced apple sauce tea. I was siked, I pictured myself enjoying this treat on a hot summer day in New York. Perhaps while taking a long lunch in Bryant Park to work on my tan or maybe a 3:00 pm break from excel sheets and powerpoints. I figured, it is iced tea, it has to be relatively healthy, no way is this thing packed with calories. Well, no shock here, I was wrong, as I am wrong about most things. A small, that is in a tiny cup, packed with ice, has 240 calories. The small is approximately 5 sips and 240 calories. If I am drinking 240 calories, it better have some alcohol in it and a cherry on top. This is ridiculous. Starbucks, I was ready to love you, but you managed to make iced tea grossly fattening. I again, am just not that into you.

Go All The Way at Denny's - For Free!!

I interrupt your Superbowl to bring you breaking news. I am losing all my boxes, can care less about the Cardinals or the Steelers and am at a party where it is hard to pay attention to all the commercials. Lucky for you and me, I did notice one commercial!

This Tuesday, Denny's will be giving away a free Grand Slam breakfast for everyone in American. Hellz yeah America and Hellz yeah Denny's.

Sadly, I do not know any Denny's in the great borough of Manhattan, but for those of you living outside the Big Apple, check it out. What is better than pancakes, processed eggs and bacon.

Speaking of bacon, Nini made some killer bacon wrapped dates tonight. Yum Yum.

Oh and Bruce was good but the ref thing was REALLY chessy.