If I had to Leave Queens, I’d Miss you the most

5 Burro. I would miss being able to walk to 5 Burro Cafe. Its so sad to admit, but i have been there at least once a week for the past 3 months… Yes. The hostess doesnt know my name just yet but shes got that familiar “Heeeey” going on… you know the really long “Heeey” you say when the name of the person you are greeting escapes you? I am very fond of the long “hey”. Anywho. I had a friend come visit me and he wanted to thank me for letting him crash on my couch so he offered to take me out… and since 5 burro cafe, in my opinion is an impressive little hole in the wall I suggested we go there for lunch.
I want to gush for a second about my new Sigg Bottle! YAY! I need to drink more water. I had to toss my camelbac and this was the next best thing! LOOOOVE IT!

For breakfast, I wasnt very hungry and I knew that I was going to be eating a large Linner… so i made myself a fancy cafe con leche with foam and bit of cinnamon! Dee-Lish! For any Keurig owners, my old roomie just told me there is a new “steaming wand” attachment… im all over it. I will report back with my findings.

At 5 burro cafe….

I got a cool toy. I must say I am disppointed to note that lately, the toys have been few They need to get on that ASAP. I got my raspberry margarita.

My friend made a fuss about the margs being frozen and opted out of a straight up margarita.

So he got the shark attack. I have never tried it…nor have I had any desire to try it other than the fact that I wanted a shark to add to my collection. (the shark is in my possession as we speak). My friends verdict: Not good.

I was shocked. I probably should have tried it just so i can say for myself if it was good or not. The description of the beverage escapes me but there were quite a few elements in there… and he said you could taste every single one of them.

REALLY?

that doesn’t sound right.

Having skipped breakfast i ordered the steak fajitas. What the hell else would i order? As a matter of fact I FINALLY gave in to getting a salad over the weekend and my other guests talked me out of it. I WILL GET A SALAD! I WILL GET ONE EVENTUALLY! I made my friend taste the steak. He was slightly impressed.

That pissed me off.

I know this blog is called Food Snob. I know that I talk shit about a few places every now and again but when someone talks shit about something I know is GOOD- i get a little offended. Its one thing not to like something – which you have every right not to like but its quite another to tear apart every single part of the meal, the drinks, the establishment and etc when you are taking someone to their favorite place. That joint was MY choice. Rather than let him bug me, I bit my lip and continued to munch away and thanked the heavens that he and I are nothing more than friends.

He ordered the Enchiladas with Mole Sauce. My mom ordered the enchilidas last time she was there and she didnt like them- her idea of enchilidas are more like burritos smothered with sauce and cheese. The mole sauce tasted creamy and smoky. But I didnt recommend them. he ordered them anyway and ate 1/4 of it. *shrug*

Everyone is different. I cant twist his arm to make him like something and its not the first time I have taken someone somewhere and they didnt love the food as much as I did. I acknowledge this…maybe he was trying to impress me with his knowledge of food since he knew i would blog about the things I eat.

Who knows! after we left we were having a conversation about going out again and he shocked the shit out of me when he said he would go back to 5 burro because he liked it..

I just booked an appointment with the doctor to check my hearing. Coulda sworn he hated the place- but whatever. Hes gonna go back? Score one for Mo Diva!

Later that evening, I went home after a day of window shopping and sinus headaches and remembered i had some goodies from whole foods.

A giant bottle of lambics, “red wine”, and discount cheddar cheese.

Dont mind if I do…. i helped myself to the entire bottle of lambics. Its raspberry beer that should be avoided when you are thirsty. It tastes like soda… and I chugged the first half of this.

along side my cheap cheese and pita chips. My hangover the next day was indescribable. And when i went to visit my mother she opened the fridge and offered me a glass of lambics… i am still woozy at the sight of this stuff. haha

Stay Dry sweeties!

Weekend ReCap, Part One

ACHOO!
Bless me.
Constant Sneezing, Itchy eyes, runny/stuffy noses, and itchy throats.
It can only mean one thing…
Spring is blooming. I am lucky to be allergic to every kind of pollen there is and the pollen count this weekend was enough to make me cranky. And enough to make me have to take a break from my eye makeup (which I have a hard time living without)…so I look a lil plan and frumpy- but i make it work for me.

I took my Mickey for a long walk in Forest Park on Friday afternoon in an effort to jumpstart her Spring Fever and to get her nice and tired for the rest of the day. When i adopted Mickey, she was emaciated and it was tough to get her weight up. But Now my mickey girl has No problem at all gaining weight… some even say shes getting fat (i dont know how thats possible) But to keep my pup healthy- we go for long walks and run sometimes (and eat normal portions!)

Needless to say, the winter break has made Mickey a sedentary dog and as gorgeous as the scenery was, my poor baby was huffin and puffin trying to keep up with momma. But she slept like a rock that night.

I wanted to tire her out because I had dinner plans with Carol who was in NY on business! its our annual tradition!

Carol, using her new YELP app, came across this awesome Bondi Find in Lower East Side of Manhattan. Bondi Road is a small hip little joint in Lower East side that looks like the ideal afterwork spot for the thirsty peeps. I am enticed to go back for their $20 drink special… cuz I get thirsty sometimes.

Having had quite an exhausting day I snatched the drink menu and asked the waitress to recommend a drink. She said margarita and i was sold. She had the sexiest Austrailian accent I have ever heard. i was tempted to ask her to read the entire menu to me just so i can hear her speak. Dont you wish you had a sexy accent? I am from brooklyn- nothing sexy ’bout that, Fughettaboutit. My friend Rebecca grabbed a “To Killa Sunrise”. Anything Tequila in my book is a winner. hands down this is probably one of the best Straight Up Margaritas I have ever had. (5 Burro makes the best FROZEN margs) this was nicely mixed and wasnt bitter or had a weird aftertaste- it was perfect and I guzzled this baby down.

the menu is small and affordable. When i see small menus that are small I feel good about almost anything I get… the restaurant knows how to make this limited number of items and im almost certain they make ‘em well!

I was torn between several dishes. Pesto Shark pasta, Mutton Stew, and the mussels hot pot.

I opted for the shark pesto pasta. The dish was $10 which is pretty cheap but I would have been excited about more food. In reality, this is probably the portion recommended on the box… and i was happy for a real portion but I wanted a big girl plate… with bigger servings of pasta. The Shark, was delish. Reminded me of scallops only more fishy tasting (in a good way).

I took a mussel from Carols dish and a spoonful of her seafood chowder which she thought was delish! Now this dish is a nice portion. I should note for next time I will be getting stew… since that is where the volume is.

I also had my very first raw oyster in shooter form. I got a bloody mary raw oyster shooter. Cant explain it but i loved it. will be ordering that again soon!

After any great dinner, one needs a great dessert and Yelp Came to our rescue again.

With reviews like “better than Crumbs” and Five star ratings across the board we walked a few feet over to the Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery. And when someone says a cupcake is better than my “CHOICE” cupcake… thats a challenge bitch!

there were slim pickin’s at this place. But the decor was simple and COMFY with plush seating all over the place. I was eyeing some treats that the other patrons were eating and I had a hard time choosing. the cakes look simple and homemade- which is a really nice touch.

I saw this goodness being piled into a cup and was sucked into it like a magnetic force. I thought at first it was tiramisu and then recalled that the bakery sold pudding… PUDDING! OMG! PUDDING.

After some debating on Cupcake vs. Pudding, my friend Rebecca (a lawyer) made a compelling argument taht we should make a healthful decision. Pudding has milk in it. a lot more milk than cupcakes. and milk has calcium…

So we got a cup of calcium. How healthY! Pudding flavor of choice: CHOCOLATE BOMB. Serving sizes available: 12 oz and 16 oz or as I like to say XLARGE and Double XLarge.

we both got the “small”. Its rich. Its delicious. Chocolate pudding with chocolate cake crumbles and even some bits of frosting. I was in Piggy heaven. I totally needed some agua to go with this (and they sell milk by the cup too! how cute!)

I only managed to eat half of this. It was wonderfully chocolately and totally satisfied the crying child in me that wanted chocolate dessert. Rebecca and I will probably have to share it next time because we each threw away half of our dessert. Had I not run out of water, i would have TOTALLY finished it and not even consider the BAJILLION calories that are in it. but at $2.50 a pop- this is NOT bad AT ALL!

Carol, who is a cupcake afficionado, went for the Sexy Red Velvet cupcake. Red velvet cake topped with ALMOND Cream Cheese Frosting. I had a bite and may I say: HOLY SHIT. that was a good freakin cupcake, esp for $1.50. Sorry Crumbs. They got you on that one!

Tomorrow we move onto Part 2 of the weekend ReCAp!

Tres Ammmigas

If you know how to swim, you probably weren’t remotely phased by the downpour that hit the tri-state area over the weekend…I am a great swimmer so getting around over the weekend was easy. JK
In all seriousness- the tsunami that we called “a little rain” was gross and put a damper on some of my weekend plans- BUT NOT ALL of them!
Mari, Missy, and Myself (the three M’s- thanks mari) had planned a girls day a few weeks back filled with Margaritas and Tex Mex… and even as I was cursing the rain while walking my dog, the thought of margaritas was making the day seem beautiful. Especially Margaritas from 5 Burro Cafe.
The three of us met up at 3 pm on Saturday.
I got there first and wasted no time in ordering my poison: Raspberry Margarita. I would have take a fresh pic but I was being scoped out by a couple who was mesmerized by my beverage and were asking me questions about it. I felt whipping out my camera to take a pic of it might be a little weird- best if i have a few glugs and then take pic of it… or wait till Missy got there.
Missy arrived next and sat beside me while her apricot margarita was made. Just as she got her drink, Mari arrived and we got to be seated.

The waiter kindly placed this tempting bowl of tortilla chips and fresh pico de gallo on our table. Having only nibbled on some toast in the morning, i was ready to dive in face-first. I nibbled…okay- maybe i shoved chips into my mouth while glugging a perfectly thick and potent raspberry margarita!

Mari, was a good girl (who gave up meat for Lent) and had a gorgeous Shrimp salad. I always say Im gonna try the salads there… but I feel like if im gonna be at 5 burro, its a SIN to not get the steak.

Missy was also being good and ordered the veggie salad. I have to say this was a gorgeous salad. I love how generous they are with the veggies… and I spotted a huge chuck of avocado in there! nice!
The ladies split a side of house made guac. Clearly, that shit is legit! I would love nothing more that to eat this guac right out of the ramekin with a spoon. But i didnt because this was not my guac and despite what you all think…i do have SOME self control (some!)

But self control went out the window when i ordered my steak tacos…

and when the ladies wanted to take a pic of my food… I’m not an ugly girl but I love taking weird ass pics like this. SMH. This pic is called “a Ravenous Mo”. I was enjoying tender juicy chunks of skirt steak smothered in guac, garlic and onions (kiss me?) and skipped the wraps and dove into my mexican rice and refried beans (musical fruit indeed).

While stuffing my face, my drink needed replenishing:

Ah, thats better! Its important to remember that if you plan on drinking heavily you should have extra protein (preferably meat), since that is the key to alcohol absorption. Since I inhaled my steak I was feeling a nice buzz from my margarita… and the second one sealed the deal.

Thanks Mr. Waiter, for taking a nice pic of us! We are so hot. and tipsy.

We decided to take a walk… and when mari and Missy nearly FLEW away (oh, those skinny girls – jk) we walked into Barnes and Noble which might have been a mistake.

Photo ops. Loud conversations, random giggling and several pee breaks… we got a lot of attention. Too bad i didnt care.

I’m holding the “New York Bartenders Guide” paying homage to my drunkeness. ALL Hail the Margarita!

And since we were in Queens and we are bloggers and we love dessert we walked our sobering behinds to the alley with The Lite Choice.

Can you see my excitement? Cuz Im really excited. Stephanie was there! Our homegirl who took care of us the last time. She remembered us (and probably thought “OH NO, NOT THESE GIRLS AGAIN!) and she took very good care of us!

Peanut Butter Fudge Beyotches!

with oreo topping.

Me and Mari. Mari got the caramel with waffle cone crumbs and Missy got the oreo mix that she loves to pieces.

thanks Stephanie for taking our pic! We had a great time just dishing, and eating out soft serve… we were gonna go back to get a mini margarita from 5 burro (i know- where AA when you need it?) but mother nature turned on me and I got the worst headache of my life. I suffer from seasonal allergies and now that spring is coming I get the worst sinus headaches ever… so i called it a night.

Feeling stuffed and headache-y, mari and I decided to walk most of the 1.5 miles… in the tsunami.

This is what I look like after getting rained on and whipped with high speed winds and a headache.

Stay Tuned… next month the Tres Ammmigas hit up Brooklyn. WATCHOUT BK… we Thirsty!

NYC Blogger Meet-up

Being a blogger for a little over a year now I have FINALLY had my first blogger meet up. Over the last year I have had the pleasure of connecting with local bloggers via email and the rare face to face meetup and I have been DYING to meet everyone. Mari and Sarah decided to round up the locals and Missy chose the venue. Since she is a big fan of 5 burro Cafe she thought the others would enjoy it as well… lucky for me I have been here before and I LOVE IT HERE!
the Attendees were Me, Missy, Mari, Sarah, Julie, Joanne, Dawn, and Jen.
Missy did us a favor and got there early to get our name on the list. This place is a little on the small side and even on a slow night there is a wait. Luckily we waited about 15 minutes….if that!
We were seated in a nice long table in the back. They served us some corn tortilla chips and fresh homemade salsa. We were so busy chatting and giggling that we kind of forgot that they were there (good thing for me!)… and then the cameras came out! 8 bloggers plus 8 cameras- sooo many awesome pics!

from left to right, Joanne, Mari and Sarah. I snapped this pic as Jen was coming in.

Missy, Julie, and Dawn.

And I must say, this is one gorgeous group of blogging ladies! And we all had a lot in common!

Time for drinks! I love their margaritas! The kind of margaritas that sneak up on you with their potency. I got the raspberry. Only one! I was on cold meds and didnt want to chance getting loopy on everyone (even though I am already a little loopy as it is).

Missy was the only one to snap a picture of the toast. But cheers to a fantastic group of ladies!

Stole this pic from Mari- its a great pic- if i must say myself. I’ve known missy via email for a year so it was so nice to finally meet her!

Me, Missy, Julie and Dawn.

Our food took forevs to arrive! And the consensus was that the Steak Fajitas were the cats pajamas! So good. Buttery and juicy skirt steak seasoned perfectly along with yummy grilled peppers and onions, rice, guac and sour cream. Julie got a shrimp salad and it looked REALLY good!!!

The poor waiter got stuck with 8 cameras and made us say Tequila about 16 times! But he managed to get everyone and it came out great! The meal was fantastic! and I was most looking forward to what was coming next!

No, we didnt bar hop!

Last week, when Mari and I had our tour at The Lite Choice, they heard about our blogger meet up and arranged for the Forrest Hills Location to stay open an extra hour JUST FOR US! We were so psyched!

The walk to TLC was short and when we walked into the store, My big mouth announced “the bloggers have arrived”!

wasting no time, i asked Stephanie for a snickers. Any Flavor, any time! She served me some chocolate soft serve and put a healthy portion of fresh peanut butter and mixed away!

Delicious! Before I put my spoon in i offered tastes to the other ladies who were still deciding.. the majority declared it was yummy! I loved the fresh peanut butter in it! it made for a yummy texture! I saw they had some pints prepared and one of them was called O’Henry. Henry will be home after his 3 month business trip this coming thursday and I think that will be a cute little surprise! Here we are! Enjoying out Lite Choice Soft Serve!

thank you to THE LITE CHOICE for accomodating us! It was the perfect end to a great night!

Happy Birthday Cow Girl!

Happy Birthday 21st (plus a few more) Tracey! You dont look a day over 18!
I told you yesterday there was an EPIC cheat coming up… a calorie fest of epic proportions… and this is it.
This is where I take my month of hard work and succumb to the aromas of smoked ribs and fresh bread. This is where I throw all my will power out of the window…
And this is where they make the birthday girl sit on a saddle and yell YEHAW at her. Yep, Im for SURE not in New York anymore. AS you can see from the photo above, the good looks run in the family. Lookin’ good Tre’… and remember that i love you dearly before you tell your husband that you are going to kill me. Surely, you had to know that if i snapped a pic of you it was likely to end up on this lovely blog.
We went to Texas Roadhouse… on a saturday night. And so did every one else. The wait with a reservation was 45 minutes.

But they had peanuts for snackage while we waited.

I wish i can say thats the number of peanuts I consumed but the truth is that this is probably what was left AFTER i snacked…

And I felt really bad for the kid that had to clean this mess up! The peanuts there are endless! That huge barrel is full of peanuts, when you get seated, you get a small bucket of peanuts, next to your table is another barrel of peanuts… everywhere!!!

When we were seated we were given two baskets of fresh bread. I have a serious weakness for fresh bread and had a roll… (plus one more)

With whipped cinnamon sugar butter. Seriously Roadhouse- you’re killing me! And when we finished our 2 baskets…why did two more come out?

This is not New York so there were no calorie stats on the menu. But guessing by the contents of hte menu, even the salads were gonna start at or around 1000 calories. After a quick text from Mari… who said I am entitled to ONE cheat… I went for the half slab of ribs.

I ordered a drink. Strawberry Margarita. There are no margaritas on the planet of New York that can match up to the margaritas in 5 Burro Cafe… but everyone was having one so i went for it. BAD idea. We are definitely not in New York; where the drinks are strong and the and margaritas taste good. This margarita was so WEAK. It tasted like strawberry puree.. and it wasnt just mine. My parents ordered a Grey goose martini that tasted like pure water. Roadhouse, do you water down your alcohol??? shame on you! I returned my drink and went for this:

A Jamaican cowboy. i have no idea what is in it but its mighty fruity tasting and i could have chugged this on an empty stomach and not feel a single buzz…I cant wait to get my margarita at 5 burro cafe!

Mom and tre got a caesar salad to start and I had to have a bite… I really liked the dressing. I ordered a mammoth half slab of ribs. Meaty slow cooked ribs. They were fantastic. I also ordered mashed potatoes with brown gravy to go with it. The taters were heavenly.

in an effort to have ONE green veggie in my meal i opted for the green beans… that came smothered in bacon and onions. DAMN. I tasted them- they were okay but my heart was set on fresh sauteed green beans.

Surprisingly, i didnt eat everything on my plate- my hard work is definitely paying off! But I still have to see if my calorie fest has an effect on the scale this week! Wish me luck!

Birthday Saddle anyone???

Happy Birthday Maribel

Jay and Maribel Strike a pose.

Its been AGES since I have hung out with Jay. Its been almost a year *gulp*. But good friends are always there and he is always reaching out to me for a night of fun on the town. How could I say no to that face? It was his BFF’s 40th birthday (doesnt she look amazing!!?!) and both of them were delighted to have me. jay and I decided to pregame a bit… which is a disclaimer for the quality or lack there of in the photos to come. Having remained, for the most part, sober for the last 11 months, I drank like a party girl again for the first time in a while and the effects of alcohol are apparent if you continue to read. I will however note how impressed I am with myself that admist a night of debauchery I still managed to hold a camera and snap pics of the food that I ate. (I have no explanation for the mass texts that I sent out that night though… so to all those that received one- Please accept my deepest apologies)
See these? Yea. $4. What do you get when you have two cosmos before dinner? Blurry shots of $4 margaritas. How many margaritas can you get for $4 a piece… 5. So 7 drinks in one night…(shivers)

The place was El Cantinero and its in Union Square area. Actually its on the same block as Bowlmor lanes. Cantinero has two floors and on the 2nd floor is a bar area. On Saturday nights they have happy hour if you stay in the bar but you can dine all over this place.

We started with tortilla chips and homemade salsa. The salsa was great but I havent been anywhere that screws up salsa. It was a little thin, i like chunky salsa.

Being a little tipsy, I tend to eat with my eyes. So Jay and I agreed to share everything right from the start. WINGS! How do you serve wings with NO BLUE CHEESE!?!?! Not that Im big on the stuff but I like to dip a small piece into the stuff for its cooling effect. But the wings were OK at best.

I felt Steak Fajitas were a perfect dish to share and i was right. We got a sizzling platter of steak, peppers, and onions with some other stuff

With guac, sour cream, and pico de gallo on the side. After dining at 5 burro cafe, this place was not up to par. The meat was skimpy and the strips were scrawny. At first bite they were grisly and not moist like those at 5 burro. I crave the beef strips at 5 burro cafe whereas here… not so much. I could have probably done without the fajitas. I was full of tequila- which impaired my judgement- which allowed me to continue eating sub par fajitas.

Drunk shots.

Everyone now! See the rosy cheeks? Thats the best way to tell if I had been drinking. What a mistake it was to imbibe so much! I woke up with a RAGING hangover. I am definitely getting older (in 5 days to be exact). So next time I will remember not to drink on an empty stomach, not to say yes when the waitress says “want another one?” and NOT to text ANYONE while in my drunken stupor.

Street meat and A Margarita!

Okay, I confess! I didnt eat the lunch that I packed yesterday. On my way back from the Chiropractor, I saw a line behind a halal cart on Wall Street. No biggie, just people getting lunch. But it was pouring, and I thought – people are waiting in line in the rain for this food, its got to be good. So, I walked a lil closer and saw the sign. LAMB/CHICKEN GYRO -$3.
What? Must be the nasty stuff.
I walked by and saw the dude shaving the lamb off the groovy rack. A gyro rack? in a truck? for $3? Lets do this.
I ordered the lamb Gyro with the white sauce and lettuce and tomato. THREE BUCKS. Nice. When I got to my desk I unwrapped the yummy smelling gyro and was a little disappointed becuase it was kind of on the scrawny side. I’m not being a big or anything but gyros are meaty and messy, this one was manageable. I will say that the grease was a bit much but after some blotting i was ready to sink my teeth into it. The bread was fresh. I loved it. The lamb was tasty and even had some brown bits when the dude cooked it up for me – liked it alot! and the sauce – I dont think it was gyro sauce but whatever it was, was pretty damn tasty. Would I get this again? Times are tough and when $3 buys you lunch- I saw go for it. I wouldnt eat this everyday but in the event that Im low on funds and without lunch, you better beleive that Im taking a trip to this guy for street meat.

In honor of Cinco De Mayo… I HAD to have a margarita. And the people at Zilch know that I hate drinking my calories (because obviously i save my calories for greasy street gyros) and they sent me some 0 calorie margarita loving just in time for Cinco de Mayo.

I took Mickey with me to the liquor store and picked out a bottle that I was told was smooth and NOTHING like Cuervo- good! Cuervo is gross.

All I needed to make my guiltless margarita was a packet of Zilch, one jigger of tequila and a lil water. I mixed it up accordingly and served it in my fancy stemless margarita-ware from Crate and Barrel (thanks Elvin!)

It was delicious and did not have that cuervo burn that I hate from Tequila. The verdict: cant wait to have another one tonight!

I love that I can take the packets with me to resturants or to parties and not have the classic high calorie margarita but my own low cal version instead.

Zilch is a great product! And its super affordable! 10 packets of mix for $4.99! you can’t beat that!

Henry wants Mexican food for dinner tonight but I already cooked, any bets that I ditch my chicken and let him bring home fajitas?