Food Photo(s) Friday - Pizza Night!

Jonhnny and I love pizza. I know it's not good for us, but I needed a quick idea for dinner and it was Pizza Hut. Unfortunately, it was pricier than it used to be and I was stuck paying $45 (tip and delivery charge included) for 2 large pizzas, 8 wings (ranch NOT included), a liter of Pepsi, and 5 breadsticks. It used to be cheaper than that, but oh well... Here are some photos of our dinner.

$45 for this... WAHHHH?!

And I HATE Pepsi... I was forced to drink it since it was the closest thing to my beloved Coke

8 Medium Buffalo Wings

Breadsticks w/ Marinara

Supreme Pizza

Large Pizza w/ Sausage, Onions, Mushrooms

I hate how Pepsi keeps trying to make a guest appearance in 4/5 of my photos. That bastard...

A Good Sunday

I've been lacking in posting lately. Super sorry! >_< I had an AMAZING Easter Sunday. First off, I had a lunch date with two amazing foodies Linda (Girl Eats World) and Michelle (Foodie the New 40). I hope one day I'm able to be as great of a blogger as them =). We opted for Zed's since the three of us have never been there before. There was a lovely bunny there to greet us and make us laugh while we ate our brunch. There was a brunch buffet and we also got mimosas... The mimosas probably made us a little more rowdy, but it was so much fun! There were so many highlights to our three hour lunch.

• Anthony Bourdain came into the conversation (Linda & Michelle LOVE him!) and a picture of him holding a bone up to his wee wee was brought up... Picture here: NOT SAFE FOR WORK! It was SCANDALOUS. But oh so funny.
• Linda had Michelle and I as the stars of her vlog (VEDA day #24) Below... ;]
  
  
  
• Michelle was a tad bit hesitant to be on camera.. She said maybe she could do puppets with her fingers. Linda suggested using the clean socks in her car that she keeps handy for bowling. Super prepared Linda cracked us up with this bit of info.
• This leads to the next topic... Linda saying her boyfriend had "smelly balls"... SMELLY BALLS?! Yes, smelly bowling balls... Cinnamon, in fact ;] (Not what you were thinking huh? DIRTY MIND!) Harhar..
• I had no clue what sweetbreads were.. So I asked. Michelle searched it on her adorable iPad and as she read it, it said sweetbreads is a culinary name for the thymus, pancreas, various glands, and sometimes testicles. Ahhh.. A new word for balls; sweetbreads. "I got your sweetbreads right here, buddy" LOL
• Lots of laughter with two beautiful, amazing women.. Women I'm blessed to be in the presence of =) 

Some photos from brunch

Biscuits & Gravy, Grilled Chicken & Green Beans, Scrambled Eggs, Shrimp & Grits

Mac & Cheese

SO GOOD!

French Toast, Caesar Salad, Crème Brûlée/Key Lime Brûlée (Wasn't sure.. LOL), Sausage Link & Scrambled Eggs, Grilled Chicken & Green Beans (again.. haha), Mashed Potatoes

This weird key lime crème brûlée thing again haha

The food was ehh ok. It wasn't the best brunch I've had. I kinda expected more from Zed's.

After lunch with the ladies, I wanted to go across the street to PetCo. to get Snugs some cookies. Wasn't sure if it was open or not since it was Easter. Luckily when I got there, it was open and I was able to get my little boy his favorite cookies. 

I got home and studied my butt off (two tests the following day). In the middle of studying, my boyfriend came over and surprised me with something....

Set of 5 kitchen tools, cake pan, and my favorite... A hot water pump/dispenser.

He bought me the hot water pump so I could have hot water to make noodles at school.
Ahh.. He knows me so well =)

Yay for kitchen/baking tools!

Pupcakes! =) 

They look good enough for humans to eat huh?

(AND, they were only about 50 cents each!)

He got them at this pet store at the Round Rock outlet

Everything he bought was on sale... My honey did good =)

Food Photo Friday - Match Made in Taco C Heaven

I can't help but to crave Taco Cabana when I know it's on campus right around the corner from my classes. There's a food court located in the downstairs of The University Center.. A place where I spend many hours of my school day sitting infront of my laptop. On Wednesday, I already knew what I wanted for lunch and it wasn't the sack lunch I usually bring to school with me. I usually try not to spend money on food at school, but once in a while is ohkay! My honey gave me lunch money (so sweet!) and I was super giddy while walking down to the food court. I ordered the #1 combo on the menu; 2 fajita tacos, chips&queso, and a drink. The man who took my order was a nice, older gentleman who had a smile on his face the entire time I talked to him. It's probably because I was smiling in joy while ordering. I love good customer service =) I filled my cup with my all time favorite soda; Root Beer. I got my food and walked upstairs to the study area of the UC. There's about 16 cubicles for students to sit and study. I usually just sit, eat, and play on my laptop harhar ;] I took out all the food in my bag and took a picture of it and sent it to my honey. I said "Thanks for lunch, Honey!" 

Happy tummy =)

After I sent him the picture, he texted me a picture too and it was a picture of his lunch. Guess what he got? TACO CABANA too! 

Cabana bowl =)

Ohkay, well granted I did tell him I was getting Taco C and he was like "I wanted to get Taco C because you did" Haha. Match made in TACO C heaven ;]

Funny thing is when I got the mail after school, I got a page of coupons for Taco Cabana. What a coincidence =)

ChiLantro BBQ - The OTHER love of my life

My first Yelp review was for ChiLantro BBQ. So good I had to write a review (Something I've never done before): Check it out here!! I've been meaning to make a post on my personal blog about ChiLantro, but life has been hectic! But here we go...

I cannot say it enough.. I am in LOVE with ChiLantro. My fascination started about a year ago. I kept hearing things about this place called ChiLantro all over Facebook. I was like "WTH is ChiLantro?! Everyone is talking about it, I gotta get in the know! And I love the name.. It sounds like cilantro" LOL. The first time I actually went to ChiLantro was after one of my summer courses at ACC. I was sitting impatiently in class all morning, awaiting the moment when I would get to try this food truck. Finally when class let out, I hopped into my ridiculously hot car. (End of July + Black leather = no fun!) When I got to ChiLantro, I was like "CRAP! There's a long ass line" That didn't stop me though. I am the most IMPATIENT person ever and lines get me ancy even after standing in them for only 5 minutes, but I was already there and nothing was gonna stop me from trying ChiLantro. It took about 10 minutes before I got my order in. This lovely Korean gentleman took my order. It was my first time there and I was nervous about what to get. I ordered the spicy pork burrito and kimchi fries with chicken for hubby. I got two tofu tacos for myself since I wasn't eating meat at the time. I was happy that ChiLantro had vegetarian options.

[I just took a 10 minute break to talk to hubby on the phone and watch my friend Linda's videos and now I lost my train of thought. lol....]

OK! Back to work.. =P When the lovely gentleman told me that there would be a bit of a wait on the kimchi fires because they were so busy, another kind man said "they're worth the wait ;)" I was like, I bet! So I had no problem waiting since I had already ordered. I didn't think it would take about another 30 minutes for my food to be ready. Let me remind you, it was SCORCHING outside. By the time my food was ready, I was sweating up a storm. I thanked the lovely men for my food and went on my way. I surprised hubby with a new delight and he was excited to try it. He instantly fell in love with the fries. The kimchi fries have kimchi, choice of meat/tofu, cheddar and jack cheese, onions, cilantro, sriracha, sesame seeds, and their famous "Magic Orange Sauce" (mayo + sriracha, I'm guessing?). My bf LOVES food with a kick and that's exactly what the fries had. It was a "party" in his mouth. His coworkers were intrigued with the spread he had.

After a couple more trips, I learned that the lovely Korean man was the owner, Jae Kim. Jae and his crew are amazing people. From the first time I visited til now, I still get the best service. It doesn't matter if you're a ChiLantro vet or a first-timer, you will STILL get the best service. 
Jae Kim: "Every single customer is important. I know I can't satisfy everyone, but my intention is to give them all I got!"
I love it when people in the food industry truly care about their customers. I've been working in the food industry since I was 16 so I've seen the good, the bad, AND the ugly. My ratings for ChiLantro go to 11. Surpasses that 10 scale. Now, Jae and his crew aren't just people who work at ChiLantro to me, I consider them my friends (Here's a shout to Jae, Bex, Chris, & Ryan!). ChiLantro has come so far and is so successful in the Austin community. Even people in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston are jealous of us Austin folks. (I even wear my ChiLantro shirt to other cities to flaunt what we got!) I'm so happy for Jae and everyone that has contributed to ChiLantro's success. I know this is just the beginning for them and I can't wait to see what amazing things arise in their future.

 

The first picture I ever took at ChiLantro: July 29, 2010

My hands were shaking while taking this picture because I was so excited

The most recent picture I took at ChiLantro: April 6, 2011

Kimchi fries w/ Tofu.. No magic mayo, extra sriracha, onions, and cilantro

YUM!

The funny thing is a lot of people think I'm obsessed with ChiLantro. For the longest time, my boyfriend asked me "What's up with you and ChiLantro? HUH HUH!" Haha.. I can't help what I like. ChiLantro makes my heart and my tummy happy!

Oh, and don't worry.. That won't be the last photo I take. I plan on hitting up ChiLantro for dinner tonight once classes are over. WOOT ;]

Food Photo Friday - Oh Domo-kun!

I had the chance to meet a bunch of amazing people last Saturday during Austin Bakes for Japan. It was an amazing experience for me. I got the chance to help raise money for Japan and make a difference in someone's life. Knowing that I could help someone else in need, gives life so much more meaning. One of the amazing people I got to meet was Tien Bui, owner and baker of Sweet Pop Shop. Sound familiar? You might have seen her cake pops at The Peached Tortilla. Tien made adorable Domo-kun cupcakes, along with amazing cake pops and cute cupcakes, for the bake sale. My boyfriend and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Domo-kun! I knew which items I wanted to get at the bake sale. I got to help people in Japan by donating and volunteering AND get adorable Domo-kun cupcakes for my boy and I. Win-win! I couldn't have asked for a better Saturday. We won some Domo plushes at D&B for Jonhnny's birthday so I figured I would have some fun with them and their twin cupcakes ;]

Oh nom nom nom nom! =D

And together we helped raise OVER $11,000 for Japan. Austin is AMAZING!

Food Photo Friday - The "Get Rid of the Sickness" Potion

I've been sick for the past couple of days and was feeling super cruddy last night. My throat has been hurting and I've been coughing up a storm. Of course, my dad noticed and opted to make me some Chao Ga (Vietnamese Rice Porridge w/ Chicken). He always knows how to make me feel better. As a kid, my dad always made me porridge when I was sick. Either porridge with salted eggs, porridge with chicken, or plain porridge with soy sauce. Yummy! No need for medicine, I have dad's porridge!

Chicken Porridge w/ Cilantro and Homemade Hot Oil

Makes my belly happy =)