#159 - by the time i get to arizona (pt 2)

during the first two days of my trip to arizona to visit the sis, we tried something called "guacummus," paid a visit to a famous breakfast joint in phoenix & brewery in tempe, and mixed in some at-home snacking. over the final two days of the trip, we just kept on eating with a purpose.

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#150 - limited appeal.

this past weekend, i decided to take advantage of my newly-acquired on demand capabilities & checked out the first four episodes of how to make it in america, hbo's newest series. the half-hour comedy-drama, which premiered back on valentine's day, is produced by most of the same dudes who produce entourage (including mark wahlberg) & it's basically a new york variation on the entourage concept. whereas with entourage you have a group of four dudes trying to make it in hollywood whilst occasionally partying their asses off, how to make it... features two dudes trying to make it in new york's fashion scene whilst occasionally partying their asses off.

as it is, the premise is sort of boring & the content's only slightly better. i have to say that after watching the first four episodes, i'm not all that impressed & if i wasn't a new yorker, i feel like i'd be even less so. like with bored to death, there's a lot of stuff going that's very nyc-specific & might not seem very interesting to folks who don't live here. here's what they've given us thus far:

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snackdown! - 2.12.10

after sunday's super bowl, you'd think that folks (other than the doritos samurai) wouldn't want to think about snacks for a little bit, but that's not the case. after all, this sunday is valentine's day, or as i like to refer to it..."V-D" & while much of the holiday is based on making money for the flower & greeting card companies, it's also an opportunity to surprise your sweetie with some sweets. many men will bore their significant other with the standard box of chocolates, but carnivores will opt for a more adventurous route with the beef jerky bouquet. either way, those planning on celebrating V-D this weekend should plan on doing some snacking...& on that note, let's get to the snackdown!

• do you live in l.a.? despite that, do you have a positive outlook on life? are you japanese? are you a snack ninja? if so, the JAO (japanese american optimist club) has the event for you. on feb 20th, as part of their bingo night, they're holding a "snack-off," where competitors will "compete for the title of JAO snack queen (or king) of the year." the snack-off, which will feature "sweet treats," will also lead to a snack cookbook filled with recipes from the event. in addition, the event will feature the "2nd annual pie the commissioner booth" & a snack bar with "chili rice, ramen, hot dogs & other items." to this i say...BINGO! (rafu shimpo)


• food trucks have been all the rage for a while, but until now, nyc has been lacking one particular type of food truck: an organic vegan one. starting this sunday, the "cinnamon snail" food truck will set up shop in hoboken & offer customers "a menu of unprocessed, organic, and local foods, with gluten-free, macrobiotic, and raw options." we're talking breakfast, lunch & snack options including vegan donuts & "hempseed-encrusted tofu with spicy french mustard dressing over white truffle mashed potatoes and greens." from a truck! adam sobel, owner of the cinnamon snail, hopes to soon bring the truck to brooklyn, a development that can't come soon enough because really, who the f wants to go to hoboken? (village voice)


• ...so this sunday is valentine's day. regardless of whether you're celebrating with someone or doing the single thing this V-D, you can't deny the awesomeness of candy hearts. they're perfect for that moment when you see a hottie across the bar & want to get them to make out with you. instead of dealing with all that "you should make out with me" awkwardness, you can just walk up to them & hand them a "kiss me" candy heart. it's a move that's so cute & sweet that you're 92% guaranteed to get some action. this year, candy hearts are celebrating their 145th anniversary by coming out with new sayings & new flavors (strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange & blue raspberry), so not only will your move be sweet & cute, but it will also be totally updated for the twenty-ten. (the beacon)


• i've never been a military guy myself, but i do respect the fact that those in the military do a lot of things that i would never in my life be able to do. take the marines who attended the "cobra gold 2010 war games" in thailand. the event aimed to "promote regional peace and security," but the best part of it was when marines devoured such culinary delights as scorpions & cobra blood (which they also smeared themselves with). frogs & lizards are also on the menu. that's some hardcore semper fi shizz, folks. i mean, once you've drank the blood of a cobra, killing iraqis & afghanis should be no problem. (the daily mail)


• wisconsin is totally cheesy. the badger state is ranked "number one in cheese production," with "1200 cheesemakers" that produce "25% of all the cheese made in the united states." with that in mind, wisconsin state senator jim sullivan is sponsoring a bill (which has been in the works for four years now) that will make cheese wisconsin's official state snack. official state snacks are nothing new to u.s. politics, as illinois has popcorn, south carolina has boiled peanuts, texas has tortilla chips & salsa and utah has jell-o. jell-o!...but this is the first time that journalists writing about the official state snack have been able to use phrases like "'nacho' average legislation," "a 'gouda' idea" & "if the legislation passes 'munster'" whilst doing so. (wisconsin radio network)

nosh nook #191 - monday, december 7, 2009

coming to a theater near you: the snack police (link)
12.7.09 - smartmoney - by kelli b grant

i have to be honest with you. pretty much every time i go to the movies, i'm at least sneaking in a soda. like most rational human beings, it kills me to pay $4.00 for a friggin fountain soda. it's just insane. are we living in japan or something? i mean, i get it. theaters make a huge portion of their money off of concession sales, so they need to keep that revenue stream pumping. unfortunately, we're living in a crap economy & money's down all around for theaters, concessions included. as a result, theaters are starting to crack down on people cutting into their precious concession revenue by bringing stuff in with them. just last week, the second biggest theater chain, amc theaters, announced that they're ending their policy of letting people bring snacks into the theater. they figure it's time for us cheapskates to start ponying up at the concession stands.

since the movie theaters are trying to milk us for all we're worth at concessions, smart money has a few tips to help us save money elsewhere when we're venturing out to the cineplex during these tough economic times. basically, their tips add up to a bunch of ways to take advantage of discounts. for starters, lots of theaters have loyalty clubs that "offer gratis and reduced-price snacks" at those lame times when nobody goes to the movies, which works out swimmingly because you're also trying to save money by going to a tuesday matinee. luckily, you & your three closest friends are unemployed, so you can easily work it into your schedule. even if you're still employed, you can buy packs of vouchers that offer discount prices on concessions.

their best suggestion is to "pick your movies carefully." i couldn't agree with this point more. there is no reason that you need to rush out & see madea goes to jail in the theater. trust me, you can wait until it comes out on dvd. if you're going to see crap, at least go see something like transformers, something that requires a big screen to really appreciate all the extraneous explosions. it's pretty self-explanatory. stop seeing so many crappy films & you'll save money.

as a service to my readers, i'm going to offer up a movie savings tip of my own: just keep sneaking snacks in. laws are meant to be broken, people. it's not like a theater's going to pat you down on the way in, so you can easily smuggle in a candy bar & a couple of nips no problem. it's no $10 jumbo popcorn/soda combo, but you don't need that crap anyway. from what i hear, that combo has as many calories as a small baby. nobody should eat an entire baby during a summer blockbuster. it's just not healthy.

nosh nook #139 - thursday, september 24, 2009

green is new face of butterfinger candy (link)
09.23.09 - sf chronicle

oh seth green. ever since you first graced us with your sarcastic wit over twenty years ago in the film can't buy my love, playing the part of ronald miller's younger brother chuckie, you've graced us with a plethora of wacky roles & projects. you've played a lovable werewolf boy on buffy the vampire slayer, dr evil's son in the austin powers movies & a (hopefully) asshat version of yourself on entourage. you've provided the voice of chris griffin on family guy & created the animation awesomeness that is robot chicken. now, twenty-five years after yor first film role, you finally get to live out your lifelong dream--being the spokesman for butterfinger. congrats.

as the sf chronicle reports, nestle "approached him over the summer to front their new promotional campaign, making him the brand's first celebrity spokesperson" & first famous face since back in the 90s, when bart simpson urged us to bite his butterfinger & warned us that nobody better lay a finger on his butterfinger. since the simpsons are no longer culturally relevant & haven't been for some time, they had to move on from the bartman. that's where green comes in.

so yeah, it's a dream come true for green, but it's one that's been a long time coming. since 60% of the sentences in this article basically say the exact same thing, i'll defer to the sentence with green's actual words: "i've been into candy all my life and butterfinger is my favorite candy bar. i even auditioned for butterfinger commercials when I was doing commercials, and never got one. and then they approached me to do something." i believe that's the wu wei at work right there, folks. best reader comment on the article: "seth neglected to mention that his contract is for 'butterfinger miniatures.'" get it? cause he's wicked short? clever, leilah. clever.