Friday Foodie Finds: the Ypsilanti edition

04/16/2010

So normally on Fridays, I post links to interesting things I’ve found throughout the week.  This Friday, though, I decided to post a slightly different set of links.  Inspired by conversation in the comments section of an article by Nicole, of simmer down! fame, about a day spent hanging out and performing in Ann Arbor, I decided that this Friday I would post links to my Five Favorite Ypsi Establishments.  If you’re in the area, you need to check these places out.

  • Beezy’s Cafe: Uh, I don’t know what to start with.  The awesome laid back environment?  The fun and fabulous staff?  The ohmygodimightdiejustreadingthemenu special french toasts every Saturday?  (We’re talking about special—like pb&J french toast or peaches and vanilla french toast–like ohmigod).  The awesome soups that get exchanged out two or three times a day?  The best breakfast bagel sandwich anywhere?  The fact that I live within three blocks walking distance?  There is nothing to not like about this place.  (Downtown Ypsi)
  • Aubree’s Pizzeria and Tavern: I love this place.  They have just really delicious pizza.  Good other food too, nice relaxed bar atmosphere, great sidewalk seating in the summer but just…really fantastic pizza.  Mm.  Pizza. (Depot Town, other locations)
  • Cafe Luwak: When I was young, I used to go to Cafe Luwak with friends to get ice cream.  Now that I’m old, I go to Cafe Luwak with friends to get ice cream.  It’s a nice place to be.  But wait, there’s more!  They also have soups, sandwiches, weekend breakfast buffet, baked goods…and by the way, their chili offerings for this year’s Chili Cookoff were amazing.
  • Bill’s Hot Dog Stand: I won’t go on for too long about Bill’s because I have already waxed poetically about this place and how much I love it.  We’ll just go with the basics: friendly fast service.  Fantastic chili dogs.  Best root beer ever tasted.  No options and no competition.
  • Gabriel’s Hoagies: Ok, I’m just going to say right here and right now that if you live in Ypsi and have never been to Gabriel’s, get out now.  Just get out.  You don’t have to leave the city but you do have to get in your car, on your bike or on the nearest bus and get there right now.  Like don’t even finish reading this post.  Just go and get yourself one of the most delicious (possibly greasiest) concoctions ever known to man.  When I was a kid, Gabriel’s was a frequent stop…and not just for my 6’3″, 230 pound dad.  My nanny–a woman who weighed maybe 100 pounds wet and was all of 5’2″ tall–could and would scarf down one of these cheesesteak hoagies within minutes.  It is that fantastic.

So there you go.  The next time you’re in town, downtown, anywhere near town, stop in Ypsilanti and try out one of these places.  Happy Friday!

Eat At Bill's

Friday Foodie Finds: the Brownie Edition

04/09/2010

The weather in Michigan has once again turned against me.  Rain, 40 degrees, cloudy.  Spring is definitely here.  It’s enough to make a girl reach for a giant stack of chocolate.  It’s a good thing for me that I have entire shelf in my pantry devoted to chocolate.  Really, I do.  Milk chocolate, semisweet, dark chocolate.  Chips, cocoa powder, bars.  Chocolate sugar.  I really like chocolate.  Maybe too much….ha.  Just kidding.  You can never like chocolate too much.

So to soothe your soul until the warm weather comes back (which will hopefully be tomorrow), today’s Foodie Finds are brownie-centric:

  • Sea Salt Caramel Brownies from doughmesstic
  • Chocolate Caramel Tarte from Taste…not exactly a brownie…but close enough
  • Brownie pops...because everything is better on a stick
  • Chocolate Valentino from Sugarlaws is actually a flourless chocolate cake…but isn’t that just a really fudgy brownie?
  • a Chocolate Microwave Mug cake/brownie…which I want to try…but can’t…seeing as how I lack a microwave now.  So someone try it and tell me how it is.  I can taste it vicariously.
  • And just in case you feel a bit guilty for making these delicious, delectable treats…here’s a link on why home-made cakes are healthier (if not actually healthy…definitely not actually healthy) than boxed mixes!  Don’t you feel better?

Happy Friday!

Gianduja Brownies, click for recipe

Friday Foodie Finds: the Who Thought of That? Edition

04/02/2010

This week’s fun finds from the internet:

And my favorite, just for the hell of it:

Happy Friday!

Friday Foodie Finds: the great one

03/26/2010

I’m going to be doing a lot of cooking this weekend, so I need to prepare myself.  I need to get into the “Cooking is Awesome!” frame of mind.  How do that I do that?  I eat some bon-bons and I watch Julie Child make an omelette:

Friday Foodie Finds: the Asian edition

03/19/2010

My favorite finds from the internet this week seem to have a predominantly Asian-centric theme.

  • Just Bento’s archive–I don’t know what it is about bento boxes that appeal to me, but they’re fantastic.  I have one of my own; I’ll probably make a post about it soon.  I love planning out my lunches!  It’s fun and delicious.
  • Korean BBQ tacos by Inuyaki.  Korean.  BBQ.  Tacos.  Those three words, when separated, are full of win.  Put them together?  Korean BBQ Tacos.  Well if that’s not just the winningest thing I’ve heard today!
  • Char Siu, or Cantonese Roast Pork, a fantastic Recipe…and then you can use the leftovers to make BBQ pork buns!
  • Japanese Sponge Cake from Just Hungry.  A dessert so dangerous that if you cook it wrong, it will kill you.  Wait, no, that’s blowfish.  This looks tasty, if complicated.
  • Fresh spring rolls and dipping sauce.  I heart rolls of all kinds—eggrolls, summer rolls, spring rolls.  But given the time of year, I think these ones are just perfect to make on a warm, sunny evening.
  • and finally, 10 Weird Japanese Foods.  Don’t read while eating.  And no, it doesn’t disappoint.

Happy Friday!

nice buns you got there

Friday Foodie Finds: The Movie

03/12/2010

There’s only one link this week…a recipe movie posted by author Karin Slaughter, which was just full of good old-timey WIN.  As a film major and a foodie, I got a kick out of it.

Cathy’s Coke Roast

Friday Foodie Finds: Here’s a Tip

03/05/2010

This week’s good finds:

  • I found this slideshow from Cooking Light on 25 common cooking mistakes pretty interesting and I’m willing to admit that I commit numbers 2, 9, 10 and 17 on a regular basis and that I’ve done numbers 5 and 23 a couple of times when in a hurry.  But darnit, I want my meat and I want it now!  I’m working on that.
  • I really enjoyed the random food tips from How to Cook Like Your Grandmother, such as, “If you’re in a hurry and buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount.”  Quite a few I’d never heard before.
  • Being an avid believer that the spice must flow (bonus points for you, dear reader, if you get that reference), I also highly recommend this article from The Kitchn on buying, storing and using spices.
  • And finally a tip from me….do yourself a favor and try out a recipe for something you may have never thought to eat before, from Joy the Baker.

Image of the Week: Cinnamon

That’s it for this week.  Cook early, cook often, spade and neuter your pets, etc, etc, etc.

Friday Foodie Finds: What Can Chocolate Do For You?

02/26/2010

So here are some good links I’ve stumbled upon recently:

  • This article by Tamara Wilson details the Science Behind the Love of Chocolate. Now that is a research topic I can get behind.  One part in particular I think you will all enjoy, and commit to memory, is this:
    • “Many people may be surprised to learn chocolate, when taken in small amounts and with higher levels of cocoa, can actually help you lose weight. If the antidepressant amino acids and stimulant theobromine can improve the way a person feels, they may be less likely to overeat. Chocolate can also act as an appetite suppressant which can speed up your metabolism.”

  • A wiki article from Tip the Planet on efficiency tips for cooking appliances.  Save the planet and some money.
  • A Chow.com article on growing herbs indoors; having just moved from an apartment, and being stuck in the barren wasteland that is winter in Michigan, this topic is very close to my heart.
  • And on that topic, for those of you who want to grow things indoors, herbs or otherwise, but who usually end up with plants so dead they could be fossilized, here’s an article on the Top 10 Hard to Kill House Plants.
  • I love love Indian food, so I found this article on the Must Haves from the Indian Food Map informative…and delicious.  And now I’m hungry again.
  • And finally, a great post from a great blog, Food in Jars, on homemade crackers.  I don’t know why, but something about crackers in a jar just…well, cracks me up.  har har.

More next week.  Enjoy!

Friday Foodie Finds, November 20: the Do It Cheap Edition

11/20/2009

This week’s fun foodie finds:

Simply Recipe’s  Cooking on a Budget

Get personalized weekly meal menus and grocery lists from Mealopedia

Homemade chocolate syrup...cheaper than the store and easy!

the One Dollar Diet

Noelle’s $2-a-serving anti-Wal Mart challenge for charity! Try it for yourself; I will be!

Friday Foodie Finds, Nov 13

11/13/2009

This week’s fun finds:

 

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