Laura: What are your lazy day tricks?

I'm sitting here in the bedroom deciding on what to order from Pearl River Chinese. I don't really feel like getting up and walking to the living room to consult with my boyfriend's food needs, so I CALL HIM. I really didn't feel like walking a few feet. I am a lazy, messy piggy. Gosh, what's wrong with me? What are your lazy day tricks? I might want to try them! Anyways, I'm waiting for some hot cream cheese wontons to be delivered. Chinese food + watching Lincecum pitch = my evening!

Laura: Dear Fall, I need you I want you

Quick post since Mad Men is about to start. I am craving all things fall right about now. A cup of cocoa, crunchy leaves on the ground, cheek-cooling wind, mom's warm Italian food, and sunsets at 5. I tried to make up for the lack of it all with some Italian take out from Antonella's Restaurant in San Jose. This place really reminds me of my family's cooking. It's simple, warm, cheesy, and hearty. I couldn't decide on what to get so I ordered a bit of everything. Spaghetti with pomodoro sauce, meatballs, pepperoni and sausage pizza, and (because I have to order these every time I go there) the most amazing gorgonzola mashed potatoes.  Everything hit the spot and made this summer a bit more bearable. But, please please please Fall come quickly ,I miss you a lot!

Oh and a little something for two people who are having some blues. I wish I could be there to cheer you up and share desserts and make you laugh. Still go get something sweet, it will make it you feel a bit better.

P.s.- I'm not eating this all by myself! My boyfriend and I will be devouring it together. 

Joan: Priorities and Packing

When you move into a new place what is the first thing you should do? Some say clean, others recommend unpacking. A particularly paranoid friend said to check Megan's Law (not a bad idea, gotta be aware of those UnSubs...) These are all fine ideas, but it's me. You know what I did. I put on my walking shoes and canvassed the neighborhood for all the takeout menus I could find. Now before you judge me, this was the state of my new fridge:

Grim. As much as I love ice cream, I definitely needed something more.I think the gastro gods were smiling down on me because it turns out there is this fantastic neighborhood Italian place right around the corner. I ordered their lunch special, a Frutti Di Mare salad. Usually salads are my worst enemy (all that useless lettuce!!) but this place wins major points for their perfectly sparing use of endive and arugula topped with red and yellow bell peppers and plently of calamari, shrimp, clams, mussels, and scallops.

And the dressing. This dressing needs to go on EVERYTHING. It looks like melted butter but it's actually a lemon vinagrette. They also included complimentary baguette bread and this delicious dipping sauce with chopped/pureed olive in it. Mmmmmmm...

Now being the wino that Laura thinks I am, I also stopped to get a bottle of wine to celebrate my salad. Problem #1. Everything is still packed away. Thank god they gave me that wonky fork.

Problem #2. I may have had too much fun labeling the boxes to actually pay attention to what was going inside, because in the box labelled "wineglasses", this is what I found:

Nail polish, jewelry, and a MARACA. Fortunately the wineglasses were found in the makeup box...but how did the maraca end up in either of those boxes??? Moving mysteries, love it.

I'm in LA! Now to find MGG...

Super Duper Burger

LAURA: Some changes are coming to the blog! We are soon getting a Los Angeles edition, or maybe Joan is just up and leaving me! Joan will be there this week and I'm getting a bit sad about it. Who will drive hours with me to eat at a restaurant? Who will encourage me to order dessert after I've eaten a 1/2 lb. cheeseburger? I will be holding auditions shortly for a new Joan, anyone interested?

For Joan's last food weekend in the Bay Area we decided to eat everything we can and leave nothing on the plate. Our first stop in San Francisco was Super Duper Burger in the Castro. Super duper delicious. We used our blog press pass (aka Joan's connections) and got an in-depth look and taste of this stellar burger place. All the meat is ground and delivered every morning from Niman Ranch and the rest of the ingredients are local to the area. I had the daily special- a green peppercorn bacon burger with jack cheese. That's a lot of my favorite things in one food item. It was, for lack of better words, Super Duper!

 The house-made lemonade with brown sugar was pretty good too! Joan received a double burger and strawberry milkshake made from the soft serve ice cream and we shared the garlic parmesan fries. This was the perfect start to a food coma day. I also believe this is the first time we are photographed together, ever!

(I don't know if you can see it through the window, but Super Duper is located directly across the street from Gold's Gym. Evil geniuses.)

I will post more on where else we ate later, but you should definitely go to Super Duper Burger soon! Joan, I will miss you and your food-centric ways. I know you'll explore LA in search of yummies and Matthew Gray Gubler.

JOAN'S EDIT: Lies. We were photographed together here

Joan: Comic Con? psh, I'm at V.I.P.

V.I.P., it's the place to be...

I have been dying to find a place that serves deep fried squid, canned peaches, popcorn, carrots, and Chex Mix to go along with my Soju cocktails. Thank goodness I have found V.I.P.

Located in a lovely strip mall next to a bowling alley and a beauty school, V.I.P. is the late night hotspot for those in the know. And you do really have to know, their business sign is unlit and all the windows are blocked out. Just keep an eye out for young drunks. Once inside, each party gets their own semi private table with couches and curtains you feel like a...V.I.P.

All snarkiness aside, I'm glad I got to experience the V.I.P. magic on my last weekend in San Jose with some great company and some pretty fantastic Soju cocktails.

San Jose Lasts List

It's all happening so fast! But in the midst of moving and sorting and packing and worrying, I still have to eat. Laura and I have a list of places we need to revisit and a longer list of places we never got a chance to try. We'll let you know how it goes.

Revisit: Before I leave I need             again!

*a banana milkshake from Falafels Drive In

*a cheeseburger from Naglee Park Garage

*to visit Omogari Korean and find out that server's name

*Shabuway

*curry in a hollowed out pineapple

*a drink from Jack's

*sliders from the MoGoBBQ Korean taco truck

*licorice and nuts from the Yolo Fruit Stand

*to squat and gobble at Squat and Gobble's

*to get fancy for midnight Pho

*find out who comes up with the puns at Dia De Pesca, maybe steal their breaded halibut taco recipe. Actually, this probably belongs on the "Never Got To" list.

I can hear my waistline expanding. Santa Pants!

Joan: IT-ly? What the hell's she doing in IT-ly?!?

Per Twitter, it looks like MGG’s going to Rome…jealous! Just think; gelato, prosciutto, pizza, Prada, and PASTA.

Vespas freak me out, but I'm a big fan of most things Italian. I want to see the domes in Florence, the canals in Venice, the clothes in Milan...although I don't think I want to see the Leaning Tower, just because with my luck it would choose that moment to topple right over. (On me, no less) Sigh. Have you ever read EM Forster's A Room with A View? I'm semi-convinced I will find the love of my life in an Italian Pensione and never want to leave.

Sadly the closest I’ll get to Italy in the near future will be going in to work later where my memories will consist of explaining the difference between penne and linguine, and of children loading up their straws to spit apple juice at me.

Wish we could go with you, Matthew, but it looks like we’ll just have to settle for watching the most fantastic movie ever made about Italy… Only You starring Academy Award Winner Fisher Stevens, and some guy named Robert Downey Jr.

Joan: Check, please! Check the check, please!

Scoop of strawberry ice cream, small milk, and a slice of chocolate cake...

I took Algebra three times and even I knew this wasn't right.

Laura and I couldn't stop laughing for almost five minutes, it was so ridiculous.

I think next time we want dessert we'll pass on Mini Gourmet. The cake was Costco status, the ice cream tasted like strawberry Quik, and while the milk was perfectly fine, the glass the it was served in made it look like mint milk. Blargh.

Laura: How to take corn and make it unhealthy, plus a chicken sandwich

I finally had enough energy to make dinner tonight. I've been avoiding it like Twilight. Since it was so hot (around 91 today....ughhh) I decided to use the oven. Great plan, right? I found a recipe for elote corn (corn with butter, lime, and cojita cheese) but decided to prepare it with an Italian flair. I preheated the oven and roasted the corn w/ husks for 25 minutes. After it was done in there I burnt my fingers peeling off the husks and then the goodness began. I slathered a butter and mayo mixture all up on that innocent little corn and then sprinkled a parmesan/ lemon pepper mixture on top. SUCCESS! The heat from the corn made the cheese melt & crust. It was superb.

By the way, the corn on the cob was just a side dish. I made chicken lime sandwiches using Trader Joe's frozen chicken lime patties. Seriously, if you've never tried these you need to. My boyfriend and I are crazy for them. I cooked the patties through and then grilled them in between sourdough bread  and Muenster cheese . It was a pretty good, down home Sunday night dinner. 

                       

Joan: Champagne, Cupcakes, and Cocktail Dresses...oh my!

This past Thursday, Jackie scored my friend Isis and I an invite to the Thread Social line launch party at the Priscilla of Boston boutique on Santana Row.

This place was far fancier than my usual haunts, but my anxiety was eased by the magical combination of champagne and Sprinkles cupcakes!

There were many lovely ladies in attendance who, lucky for us, avoided the goodies like the plague. Score! A whole tier of untouched Red Velvet cupcakes were waiting for us to munch our way to sugar nirvana. There is no dignified way to eat a cupcake, (regardless of the super awkward wooden forks they provided) but dignity be damned, Sprinkles really does make the best Red Velvet in my humble opinion.

We might have been more excited about the cupcakes than the dresses, but there was one in particular that I was lusting over...

                

Isis, Jacks and I had lots of fun finding our dream dresses. Even if I never find Mr. Right, *coughMGGcough*, I'm going to throw myself a wedding-themed party so I can wear these fabulous frocks...

Laura: Los Angeles Roundup Pt. 1

Joan and I went on a little road trip to her former Los Angeles stomping grounds. I never really thought I would like it there so much, but this past weekend has changed my mind. Maybe it was all the food or maybe, possibly, and probably it was meeting Matthew Gray Gubler (see previous post)and watching him in a sketch comedy show!

 Joan and I stayed at a hotel that was too posh for our needs but the bathroom really was amazing (besides the very bright lights that transformed me transparent). And then we ate and ate and then ate some more. YAYYYY food! We didn't take too many pictures, but we did capture some of our most delicious delights.

 First up Canter's Deli on Fairfax. Joan was shocked that she's never been here before and I was more than thrilled that we got to come here together. We actually came here twice in one day, I know, gluttonous. Who cares we were on vacation so the calories don't count, right? Our late night menu at Canter's consisted of a Reuben with extra sauerkraut (yuck, Joan) and a salami & egg sammy for me. This is deli and diner food at its best and I wish it was closer! Here are some pictures of our yummy goods!

Meeting Matthew Gray Gubler

We did it! We met Matthew Gray Gubler last night and it was AHHHHHmazing! More to come, but for now a video. Stay tuned!

Joan: Call in the boys from Quantico, we’ve got an UnSub on our hands!

There’s nothing like coming home from a late night burrito run only to find your home surrounded by police. I only imagine that finding a dead body in an ice machine or maybe hearing the toilet flush when you’re home alone could top that experience.


I try to get out of the car, but the lovely SJPD wont even tell me what’s going on, only that I should drive away and maybe come back in half an hour.


REALLY? There is a possible serial killer/ crazy drunk/ lovers quarrel going on and they expect me to leave? I want to see this sh*t go down!


We end up going to The Mini Gourmet (don’t let the name fool you) to debate all possible criminal scenarios going on at my apartment. Neighbors boinking too loudly? Someone set a cat on fire? The Zodiac killer resurfaced? All this was discussed over yummy grilled cheese, onion rings, fries, and nothing healthy. Thanks, Mini Gourmet!

(Turns out there was an arrest warrant out for someone and they tried to hide out in a dumpster. I liked my cat theory better.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!

Matthew couldn't join us for dinner...but we made it work.

Don’t let the salad pic fool you, there are birthday shenannigans contained in this video.

(UGH. Is this what my voice really sounds like?)

Mission: don’t get arrested

I mean, it’s probably not illegal…right? And we only need a getaway driver because we might be too paralyzed by laughter. Or horror. Does making someone suffer secondhand embarrassment count as a crime? Oh God, there will be video proof, we won’t even be able to deny the crazy.

Stay tuned everyone.

…and on a completely related note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!!!

Mosley lane most spooky moments