Sunday, February 21, 2010

#1 Chop Suey

#1 Chop Suey, 4307 West Irving Park.
They give you large portions at a reasonable price; plenty of vegetables and the meat of your choice.
I usually only get the beef and broccoli because I like the broccoli and carrots. Once in a while I get chicken and broccoli or the chicken war mein.
They have excellent egg rolls and fried crab meats.
Ian usually gets the orange beef or orange chicken.
Currently in the middle of laying out my newspaper so I haven't been able to update as much as I'd like. I'm done with one of my three stories...the other two need to be finished by Wednesday. Oy.
I spent my weekend with Ian, it flew by..in a bad way. Time just went by way too quickly. Had a few weird dreams that I can't remember because I woke up really early....well, early for me anyway. That might have something to do with the fact that I originally fell asleep at 11 40. So I woke up at 8 30 and just laid there listening to Ian sleep [and this isn't creepy because at least I don't watch him sleep the way he does to me sometimes..that's not really creepy either] while I drifted in and out of dreamworld.
I'm glad that I'm writing again. I really missed it. From now up until my exit on the paper, I'll be writing restaurant reviews. The good thing is that I continue doing it on here after I'm done in May.
What's funny is that I started my 'collegiate journalism career' in Arts and Culture and I am ending it the same way.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

A Microwaved Cheese Sandwich

That's what I ate for dinner.
My mom made some weird Hamburger Helper thing last night (with ground turkey instead of ground bee mind you) and it looked weird so I didn't eat it yesterday. And I didn't eat it tonight either.
I can't remember when...I'm gonna guess that I was around the age of 7 when I discovered the microwavable sandwich.
I was too young to use the oven so I took two pieces of bread and two pieces of American cheese, lined them up perfectly, put the sandwich on a plate in the microwave for 1 minute and 60 seconds later, I had melted cheese on bread.
Mission accomplished.
It's just as good as a grilled cheese..except it's soft.
I love grilled cheese sandwiches. Once in a while, I add some ham (krakus is the best ham in the world. it's lean, it's tender and it's not too salty or sweet).
Tomorrow I'm making an omelet for breakfast and I'll probably take a photo of it. By the way, my "omelets" always end up being scrambled eggs with bits of the ham and cheese attached to the egg...it sounds gross but I'll explain more tomorrow after my post.
I'm tired.

[And yes, if forever existed, that's what I'd choose to spend with you.]

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Why I...........

overreact.
I have always overreacted to everything because I've known too many people who don't react...at all.
I'm constantly telling Juan that he needs to stop watching his life go by.
I get mad.
I cry.
I laugh.
I talk too much.
There are days when I talk too little (if you can believe that).
I'm writing about this topic specifically because it's something I'll always do and something I've always struggled with.
I can never find the middle ground for being angry...there's times when I'm so pissed that I'll say anything, even if I know it'll hurt the person and five minutes later, I'm standing or sitting there regretting it. I hate hurting people, despite what some might think.
The one time you'll see me "live in the moment" is when I'm writing an angry email as I did today.
I write and write and write and then I just press 'send' without thinking. I don't do this all of the time but it happens. All I can say is that I'm sorry for being so harsh even though I still stand by what I said.
Almost every day, I end up saying something I don't mean or I say something that was meant to come out differently.
I will say this, whether the person reads it or not, I know that I'm a handful but this is who I am and probably who I'll always be. I believe in standing up for what I believe in, advocating for my friends and other loved ones and apologizing when I know I was wrong.
I'm wrong for overreacting but justified in feeling the way that I do.
I'm pretty sure that the majority of the close friends I currently have, will continue being a large part of my life for years to come.
I'm sorry. But..I still stand by what I said.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Other pics from Crisp. (do not take)

this is the Bad Boy Buddha Bowl.

Customers...it got crowded soon after.

A different view of the buddha bowl.

Examples of the different bowls. Supposedly, these are made fresh daily.

Coming soon.


I took this photo. Do not steal it. Anyway, this is the Dakota Seoul Steak sandwich (hold the onions) from Crisp (2940 N Broadway). Crisp is currently run by manager/acting owner Jonathan Pazona. I recently sat down and interviewed him for the restaurant review I'm working on for the newspaper. I've had this sandwich a couple of times and it's the best thing ever. I'm sure it's terrific with onions but - none for me, thanks. The bread is fresh and warm. The meat within the sandwich is a Korean beef called Bulgogi. It is EXTREMELY tender and sweet; Jonathan says they marinate the meat and keep it in a sauce for hours. The sandwich is also filled with mushrooms and a blend of cheeses. The mushrooms are not from a can, they are completely fresh. As is the rest of the foods on the menu. My full review for Crisp will be up in two weeks.

La Bamba

Today my boyfriend and I went to this restaurant on the corner of Halsted and (insert some Chicago side street name here) called La Bamba. Yes, that was the name. Their motto is "Burritos as big as your head!"
First of all, the only person I know who would even attempt to eat a burrito the size of someone's head is Samson Felshman - one of my good friends and THE human vacuum. I have seen Samson eat a Super King Burrito from TBK in about 5 minutes...pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.
Anyhow, I never understood the concept of people measuring food with the size of someone's head. Do they mean THE HEIGHT???......OR THE WIDTH???
Perhaps La Bamba should've been more specific.
Despite the employees thinking that I was a tourist/hipster A-hole, the food arrived fast and there were no Spanish insults made in front of my face; I do not speak Spanish but I understand most of it. When I was 4 or 5, both of my parents were working full-time jobs and I stayed with my Aunt who I still refer to as 'Mami Martha' after nearly 23 years of age. Mami taught me how to speak Spanish fluently before I was even enrolled in public school. So I walked around grocery stores pointing at foods saying their names in Spanish. I stopped this after a man came up to me and asked why I was not speaking Chinese.
...well...because I'm not Chinese. I'm Korean and my parents are white...and my Mexican aunt takes care of me when I'm not at home. But four to five-year-olds aren't very good at verbalizing their rage for racists so I just shrugged and walked to the cereal aisle.
BACK TO THE STORY...............
I was extremely jealous of Ian's quesadilla. It was huge and he paid $12 for it.
However, I received 3 tacos and rice and beans for under $9.
Technically...I was given six tacos; The man behind the counter melts cheese onto one tortilla and slaps the other one on top with the meat and whatever you please. Thus, the six tacos.
I do not like spicy food. I do not like flavor that prompts a "food orgasm" in my mouth. I do not care for onions or the smell of them.
I like garlic.
I like salt.
I like bland.
I like it when ONE piece of food brings the ENTIRE entree together.
This food was somewhat bland because I asked for: no onions, no hot sauce, no tomatoes. So it won my heart, sort of.
The Thing About Tomatoes
I've actually never BIT into a tomato...the idea of red stuff running down my chin doesn't excite me.
But I REALLY like tomato sauce, I also REALLY like tomato juice with ice...and I put ketchup on pretty much everything ketchup is appropriate for.
However, when I see a tomato/a piece of tomato on a burger/hot dog/steak or chicken taco/salad, I will immediately remove it.
I don't know why.
I just hate them.
The cook didn't screw up the tacos at all, which is odd because most places always forget to take one of the two to three ingredients off. There were no tomatoes or onions in sight.
More brownie points for him.
Even though the place seemed a bit desolate, the food at La Bamba is inexpensive (there's a difference between cheap and inexpensive), not TOO greasy but greasy enough to satisfy and they don't screw it up.
The only thing is...whoever really owns this place should have the employees work on their smiles or..not let them work when they have a cold. THAT makes me nervous but I don't have food poisoning..yet.
This was my first blog. It's more for my enjoyment and the people I work with on my school newspaper.
I am just as sarcastic as I seem on paper/screen.
I hate twitter and I had one before you did, probably.
If you're lucky, I might post some of my poetry but I usually only submit it to my school's literary magazine for publishing.
I will at some point write about the way people perceive me and how I perceive myself and what makes me the way that I am since people like to talk a lot about who they think I am.
The truth is this:
I am cynical, lonely, caring, sad, impossible, DIFFICULT, mean, honest, child-like and more often than not [lately] - quiet.