Category Archives: Products

Cereal – it’s what’s for breakfast

Posted on February 11, 2008 | 2 Comments

Is anyone else obsessed with those ads for Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls? They’re not laugh-out-loud hysterical, but I find them oddly soothing. (If you’re lost, check out all of the commercials and some webisodes here.)

Unfortunately for Jimmy Dean, I identify more with the cloud character, who only eats cereal (because it’s “cold and wet”), than the sun (above) who is an optimistic hawker of fine JD sausage products.

So, with apologies to Jimmy Dean’s marketing department and the true cereal obsessives (e.g. Seinfeld) whom I could never hope to emulate, here’s my Top 5 Favorite Cereals.

1. Cracklin’ Oat Bran

The operative word here is “Crack.” This stuff is so good, but so expensive, you might as well cut it up and sell it in baggies outside the supermarket. Bonus points for the apostrophe.

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Chinese Pad Thai (and other likeable contradictions)

Posted on January 16, 2008 | 1 Comment

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So here’s a mystery for you: why does the Pad Thai made by Chinese places taste better than Pad Thai made by Thai restaurants?

Maybe this is not a universal rule, but it sure holds true in Philly. I’ve been to at least three Thai joints here, and only two Chinese places (one of which is our regular: Square on Square), and I have to give it to world’s oldest civilization: they know how to culture-hop.

For anyone unfamiliar with the dish, Pad Thai is a stir-fry noodle dish that usually has some combination of a meat (usually shrimp), tofu, peanut crumbles and egg. It’s usually served with bean sprouts and a wedge of lemon or lime and can be considered, along with fried rice, the very definition of Asian comfort food.

This weird contradiction of tastes, in which I prefer the “fake” version over the authentically prepared food, got me thinking about other such anomalies. The only one that popped into my head was syrup.

Am I the only one that prefers to drown my waffles in Aunt Jemima rather than natural tree blood?

I think not.

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The Tradeoff of Trader Joe’s

Posted on December 7, 2007 | Leave a comment

Trader Joe’s is awesome. They have great food, great prices and a friendly, accommodating staff.

But even though Trader Joe’s has captured a majority of my food shopping dollars recently (mostly owing to the fact that the store is only three blocks from my apartment), they don’t fulfill my every food need.

Look, I love generic Joe’s products as much as the next guy. From chickpeas to chicken, they get the job done. But sometimes you want the comfort of the real thing. Even if the real thing is just clever marketing.

Here are five things I wish I could get at Joe’s:

1. Jif peanut butter

Granted, I haven’t tried Joe’s equivalent but, well… I just don’t want to. I love me some Jif.

2. Tomato sauce

All of Joe’s sauces have preservatives, unlike the snobby, high-end sauces (like this one) to which I’ve become accustomed.

3. Eggo waffles

Sorry, I can’t leggo my Eggos.

4. Ice cream pints

Joe’s has maybe two flavors from Ben & Jerry’s. None from Haagen Dazs. There’s a whole segment of the population that lives on this stuff: they’re called Americans.

5. Cereal

Life, Cheerios, Frosted Mini Wheats – me likey the pretty boxes.

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And just to be fair, here are five things I prefer from Joe’s.

1. Pizza dough

It’s good, it’s cheap and it never disappoints. Insert innuendo here.

2. Pita chips

A-frickin’-ddictive. Sea salt is my new favorite salt. A close second: salt.

3. Chocolate truffles

Just get them and I won’t need to explain.

4. Apples and pears

You can’t miss with Joe’s produce, but I’ve been particularly impressed with these fruits.

5. Cheeses

Nowhere as good as DiBruno’s selection or quality, but for the price, it’s a pretty good start.

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The Chosen Beer

Posted on November 9, 2007 | 1 Comment

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My cousin is part of a Beer of the Month club and got this in last month’s allotment.

Ya gotta love the marketing. And who wouldn’t trust a company called Shmaltz?

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Complaining worked for me…

Posted on November 4, 2007 | Leave a comment

Free ice cream

And it can work for you too!

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but Haagen Dazs has a light ice cream flavor that will melt your soul. It’s called Extra Rich Light Dulce de Leche.

Even with such a reputation for unparalleled smoothness, sometimes a bad pint will find its way into a store. And sometimes, just sometimes, a bad shipment will plague your whole neighborhood. This is what happened a few weeks ago when I purchased two pints from two different stores within a block from each other.

The ice cream, while still tasty, was icy; not at all smooth. Pieces of ice cream would break off as I dragged my spoon across the layers. My keen detective skills told me that this had to be the result of a shipping problem in which the ice cream melted slightly and refroze, making it icy and unpleasant.

After five minutes on the phone laying out my complaints with a Haagen Dazs rep (in which she agreed with my theory), she was kind enough to send me two certificates for free pints. Pretty sweet.

Now, I’m not saying you should abuse this system, but there is a recourse if a normally excellent product doesn’t conform to its prior quality levels.

This is America. You should never have to suffer through inferior ice cream.

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Questioning Qdoba

Posted on October 19, 2007 | Leave a comment

Qdoba Mexican Grill. What exactly does that mean?

Somehow, I don’t think many Mexicans have high-tech grills where they prepare pounds and pounds of chicken and steak every day.

Also, most of the food prepared at this burrito factory doesn’t even involve a grill. They steam the tortillas, press the quesadillas, mix the pico de gallo and warm the beans.

I guess it’s a marketing thing.

While I’ve graduated to shredded beef and shredded pork burrito, I occasionally return to the good ol’ grilled chicken, like I did today at lunch.

I usually eat these things for dinner and now I know there’s a good reason: they give you less stuffing at lunch. My burrito was definitely a little smaller, a little lighter than usual.

Now, I know the stretchability of these tortillas: they could probably wrap a rotisserie chicken in one. So, I behoove you Qdoba lunch manager, is it too much to ask for your dinner portions at lunch?

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Crack Cookies

Posted on October 17, 2007 | Leave a comment

 

I know this might be considered heresy to some of you big-time bakers, but the most addictive chocolate chip cookies ever created are from Costco.

I try to convince myself that I buy them only for the big plastic case they come in… but that’s just a cover. They consume my every thought and I can’t help but consume them in return.

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The Staple – Olive Oil

Posted on October 8, 2007 | Leave a comment

If there’s one thing you should always have on hand in mass quantities, it’s olive oil. Of course, I’m bias because many of Mom’s recipes start with this fruit of the gods, but, trust me, it’s essential.

I know one TV personality who has popularized the acronym EVOO. As much as I like her, the word is like poison to my ears. It’s four freakin’ syllables and sounds like a DNA sequence. Can’t we just call it oil?

Anyway, when I’m out of olive oil, I don’t mess around. I go to Costco, get a gallon (like I did today) and use it to refill a smaller dispenser. Believe me, you don’t ever want to run out of olive oil. That’s just a bad scene.

Oh, and if your excuse for not having olive oil is that the pan is non-stick and doesn’t need it, then you’re technically right; but you’re no fun.

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Best. Tomato Sauce. Ever.

Posted on September 26, 2007 | 7 Comments

Nothing like a little hyperbole to start your engines!

Anyway, I’m not going to pretend that homemade sauce will ever be equaled by a bottled sauce. (By the way, here’s my recipe.) However, if the sauce in question has the same ingredients and tastes oodles better than that average Ragu swill, well, you’ve got something special on your hands.

When, during the course of human events, one must actually used a bottled sauce, you should look for not more than seven ingredients:

1. Tomatoes (duh!)
2. Olive oil
3. Onion
4. Garlic
5. Basil
6. Salt (preferably Sea)
7. Pepper

Everything should be fresh. But, even more important is what should not be in the sauce: tomato paste. When you see this on a bottle, go home and cry. You’re better off frying up some tomatoes in olive oil with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

Personally, I’ve always been a Rao‘s man. Great sauce, no doubt. But this new one is a contender and the price is a few bucks cheaper than the big R.

It’s called Paesana Marinara and it just blew my mind.

Ciao!

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