Posted by roatha on May 15th, 2008 in Site news ·
Sorry again for the lack of updates. Finals are over so things should be much less hectic around netfoodie headquarters. I do want to mention that everything being expensive these days makes it a bit more difficult to review new foods. It’s hard enough to fill up my tank, let alone review the snacks in the gas station. Oh well, the show must go on!
If anyone is reading this and cares, we’re open to donations to our snack fund! If you’ve got some leftover scratch in paypal, click below to donate to the netfoodie fund! Any little bit helps keep the site afloat!
Peddling aside, expect a real update tomorrow!
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Posted by roatha on April 30th, 2008 in dessert ·
Been busy with the end of the semester and all, but here’s a little treat for you loyal readers:
Join us for 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins®
and help us honor America’s firefighters.
Participating stores will reduce prices of small ice
cream scoops to 31 cents.* At some locations, you
may also have an opportunity to make a donation
to your local fire charities.
Wednesday, 4/30/08 from 5pm to 10pm.
http://www.baskinrobbins.com/Promotion/31cent.aspx
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Posted by roatha on April 24th, 2008 in Food ·
I got a call today from a friend that let me know that there were rice rations in the US starting up. I checked around and so far it looks like Sam’s Warehouse and other warehouse clubs are starting to limit the number of bags that can be purchased at one time. Sam’s is currently setting a limit of 4 bags per customer. While there is a rice shortage worldwide, the US isn’t feeling it as bad. According to some sources, most of the price crunch is from restaurants hording food in anticipation of higher prices.
This is such a big deal that even the Daily Show picked up on the story. Right before the Colin Firth penis photo story, Aasif and Rob compared the rice shortage between Africa and the local Costco. While it was a satire on American leisure, it was interesting that they picked up this story. It seems that The Colbert Report is also going to run a segment about the food shortage! I’ll update this article with what they had to say.
Update: The Colbert Report covered the rice ration on today’s show. Stephen joked about not being able to make his kiddy pool paella and set out “The Rice Stuff” interns to hit all the warehouse stores to get him rice.
So, it real world terms, what does this mean? Well, I went out to see what the rice situation was locally. I first went to Costco and they were completely sold out of bulk long grain white rice. I went to a local Asian market, Saigon Taipei Marketplace to see how they were affected. They were completely stocked and they even had some rice on sale for 17.99 for a 25 lb bag! Still more than it was a couple months ago, but better than the 20 bucks I paid earlier this month.
So there you go. A global, national and local look on the rice shortage. Happy eating and good luck!
Continuing coverage from our last rice post:
http://www.netfoodie.com/2008/04/10/why-is-rice-so-damn-expensive/
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Posted by roatha on April 23rd, 2008 in Restaurants ·
Situated directly across the new Dallas cowboys stadium, Airways burgers is in a prime location to make it big! Seriously, you could almost throw a rock at the stadium(though, apparently, they don’t want you to try). So as part of our April search for the best burger under 2 bucks in Arlington, we gave them a try!
Airways boasts charcoal grilled burgers and a great atmosphere. They are well priced- most burgers about 3 bucks- but unfortunately, the only burger that meets our 2 dollar limit is the Jr Burger for $1.69. And boy is it junior. And it doesn’t make up for it in the flavor department either. The charcoal grilled patty came with mustard and pickles on a bun. It tasted like burnt meat, mustard and pickles on a bun. Come on, just because you use charcoal doesn’t mean you have to burn it to prove it.
And if you’re saying “well… it’s a junior burger, it’s meant for kids”, I have 2 things to say. First, kids like good tasting food too- though maybe with a slightly skewed palette. And B, I also had their Hickory burger which consisted of a bigger patty, chopped onions and bbq sauce on a bun. This burger was also burnt and the onions were entirely overwhelming. And I love onions. I couldn’t even finish it, even though I left hungry.
So to recap, the burger was burnt, tasted bad and small. Airways Hamburgers gets 1 out of 5. Not awesome at all.
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Posted by roatha on April 21st, 2008 in Random ·
While it’s not necessarily food related, I found this article interesting enough to post here anyways. Plus, it’s just in time for Earth Day! Thesimpledollar.com has a tutorial on how to save money by making your own laundry soap! While it does cost about 7 bucks up front for supplies, it makes 312 loads worth of homemade laundry detergent!
Check out the tutorial with pictures here:
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/04/09/making-your-own-laundry-detergent-a-detailed-visual-guide/
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Posted by roatha on April 18th, 2008 in Site news ·
Sorry guys, I’ve been a little distracted recently and haven’t gotten as many snack food reviews as I normally do. And if you wanted to know what’s distracting me, well… it’s learning to make jewelry! Ok, before you revoke my man card, let me explain.
In my random internet searchings, I ran across this awesome site called Etsy.com. It’s kind of like an eBay for all things handmade. They have some REALLY cool stuff on the site. I fancy myself a creative person, so I signed up for a seller account. Woohoo, I can make stuff and sell it now! But what?
And that’s why I’ve been distracted. I’ve been learning to sew and make jewelry and other crafty goodness. Including ninjas! And ninjas are manly, so there!
Here’s a little link of what I have on my shop so far. Not much yet, but steadily growing! And I promise I’ll get some more reviews up!
http://geekyglam.etsy.com
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Posted by roatha on April 18th, 2008 in Drinks ·
Buh? That was the exact sound I made when I saw this at Target. I’m not sure what possessed them to put green tea together with ginger ale. I guess they’re kind of the same color. They probably got caught up the the antioxidant craze that’s been sweeping the food world. Next will probably be pomegranate ginger ale or even acaii berry ginger ale. Actually, I’d probably try pomegranate ginger ale!
You know what, this really wasn’t that bad! At first, it just tastes like a crisp carbonated green tea soda but you get the ginger ale on the back swing. It’s actually pretty good- we finished the whole 2 liter bottle in no time. Who knew! Maybe we should mix all like-colored drinks together! Wait, that sounds like what happens at a party when the bartender has had one four too many…
Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale gets a 4 out of 5 awesomes!
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Posted by roatha on April 15th, 2008 in Random ·
A little bit tastier sounding than the vinegar diet, the cookie diet seems to have alot more legitimacy behind it. It was developed 1975 by Dr. Sanford Siegal and has been used to treat more than 500,000 patients. It’s also been used by hundreds of other doctors with their patients.
Here’s how it works: You eat 6 special cookies throughout the day and a sensible dinner with lean meat and veggies at night. And by “special”, I don’t mean special brownie “special”. These cookies have a secret blend of amino acids that help curb hunger. The average patient loses 15 pounds in a month!
This diet has recently gain media attention because Madonna was interviewed saying that her husband, Guy Ritchie, reported a loss of sexual appetite while on the cookie diet. The cookie doctor fired back about it in his blog, saying that none of his over 500,000 patients has reported any loss of libido.
Check out the cookie diet website for more information:
http://www.cookiediet.com/
Source:
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/cookiediet/cookiedoctor/prweb855514.htm
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Posted by roatha on April 15th, 2008 in Random ·
There’s new site up called Freerice.com that claims to donate rice based on your interaction with the website. Of course, anything free always brings up suspicion so I dug a little deeper. Pleasantly, I found that this site is legit as far as I can tell. They’re aim is to fight world hunger and illiteracy! Here’s the scoop:
- You go to freerice.com
- You answer some vocabulary questions
- They donate free rice to the UN World Food Program.
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Posted by roatha on April 15th, 2008 in Recipes, Snacks and dessert ·
I visited a local farm right here in Arlington on Saturday. Gnismer Farms lets you pick your own strawberries for $2.50 a pound! We decided to throw a fondue party on Saturday(yeah, I know we’re weird) and I figured it’d be cool to get some fresh strawberries to go in the chocolate 
Well, we apparently had way too many dippables available for the fondue and ended up with a decent amount of sliced strawberries left, which I froze. I had just picked up a free ice cream maker from a garage sale(thrown in free for buying a sewing machine and table with 3 legs for $4.35: ca-ching!) so I thought why not make a frozen strawberry treat on a Sunday afternoon ! We’re on somewhat of a health kick(minus the fondue) so we opted for some frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 tub(4 cups) of plain whole milk yogurt
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 podful of vanilla bean seeds (got a spectacular deal on vanilla beans a while back from Costco, you can use extract instead)
- 1 cup of frozen sliced strawberries
- 1 cup of canned lychees in syrup, drained and chopped (available at any Asian market or maybe the Asian aisle of your grocery store)
Instructions:
- Microwave the frozen strawberries for 30 seconds just to get them a little mushy. Chop into smaller pieces for easier mixing.
- Mix together the yogurt, sugar, vanilla and fruit thoroughly.
- Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.
- When done, store in the freezer for 2 hours before eating.
Seriously, this is the BEST frozen yogurt I have ever had! The sweetness from the lychee perfectly matches the tanginess of the strawberries. And the tartness from the real yogurt is out of this world! I’ll definitely make some more later. And I never knew it was so simple to make. You take yogurt and freeze it. Viola, frozen yogurt!
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Posted by roatha on April 13th, 2008 in Random ·
I missed this last night because I was having a fondue party. Luckily, Serious Eats had all the episodes! So here it is: all three of Saturday Night Live’s Death by Chocolate skits:
UPDATE: Videos went down, I got it back up for you guys!
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Posted by roatha on April 10th, 2008 in Food ·
For those of you that don’t know, I’m Cambodian-American. I was born in Houston, but that doesn’t change the fact that I, like 3 billion other people on Earth, live on rice. Specifically, Thai Jasmine Long Grain rice. I have some with almost every meal and if I don’t, I’m often not satisfied until I do. So you’ll imagine my surprise to hear that the price of rice has almost -DOUBLED- in the last week or so. Instead of the ~$12.99 per 25 pound bag I’m used to paying, in some places it’s now $22.99! And that’s if you can even find some! Seriously, the Hong Kong Supermarket in Arlington only had one brand last weekend instead of their normal 5-6 brands. And that stuff looked like it was going fast. Ok, I can handle eggs and milk doubling in price. Or gas becoming a luxury that only kings can afford. But NOT my rice! Please?
So, why the sudden increase in price? Well, if you’re reading this… it might be your fault! Yes, there has been some speculation that demand is going to be more that supply. And the cost of food and gas are up in general. But a major factor in this price increase is public hoarding. Prices started going up and people freaked. Everybody and their moms (including my mom actually) started stockpiling rice like no tomorrow. Here’s an excerpt from a news article:
“There is enough rice supply for domestic consumption”, Mingkwan told reporters late yesterday in Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok. “The current shortage has been caused by some hoarding and panic buying on concern the price will rise further.” There is no need to reduce exports, he said.
Rice, the staple food for about 3 billion people, has nearly doubled in the past year on increased imports by the Philippines, the biggest buyer, and as China, India and Vietnam cut exports. Record food and fuel prices have stoked inflation, contributing to strikes in Argentina, riots in Ivory Coast and a crackdown on illicit exports in Pakistan.
So why is rice so damn expensive? Because the world hates you.
Source:
Bloomburg Asia
Telegraph.co.uk
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Posted by roatha on April 9th, 2008 in Snacks ·
This is one of those things that I’ve been wanting to review for netfoodie since the site started. I’ve had it before, but I’m sure many of you out there haven’t. Elotes are a popular Mexican street food. I got mine from a cart in front of Fiesta mart for 2 bucks.
Roasted corn in a cup, big deal you say? The thing that makes this treat different is what you put on it. And that’s just about everything.
List of elote toppings:
- Heavy mayonaise
- Sour cream
- Butter
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh lime juice
- Hot chili sauce
- Lemon pepper (this one’s a Texas thing)
- Salt
- Pepper
And of course, I went for it all! Yes, I got a styrofoam cup full of EVERYTHING!
Taste? Yes. Man this stuff’s got a lot of flavor. Each bite is a little different than the last. Here’s a sample of what to expect. First you taste the sourness of the sour cream and lime juice. Then the creaminess of the butter and the mayonnaise. Then you taste the cheese. Then it’s spicy from the chili sauce and the pepper. Then you get the sweetness of the corn. And that’s all in one bite!
And yes, I’d get it again. It’s kind of like an cow exploded in your mouth while eating some corn. Dairy is part of the food pyamid… And hey, corn is a vegetable, right?
Elotes get a 4 out of 5!
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Posted by roatha on April 8th, 2008 in Random ·
Take a few shots, let it burn in your chest stink up your breath.
In a recent interview, Fergie of “Fergalicious” fame says she keeps slim by taking shots of apple cider vinegar. Apparently, 2 tablespoons of the vinegar will cleanse and flush away the fat.
Interested? Here’s how to do it. According to sources online, you need to use organic unfiltered apple cider vingar. You should not take the vinegar straight and undiluted. It’ll strip the enamel off your teeth and cause some stomach discomfort. Some people mix a little baking soda into it. Some mix it into their apple juice or tea. At the very least, mix it with a few ounces of wate, use honey to sweeten.
Can’t stand drinking the stuff? They sell apple cider vinegar supplements online and at your local vitamin shops.
So there you have it! If you want to look like(and smell like) Fergie, just drink some vinegar. Me, I’ll stick with… anything else.
Sources:
http://fashion.hollyscoop.com/fergie/fergies-diet-secret_447.aspx
http://www.steadyhealth.com/pros_and_cons_of_apple_cider_vinegar_diet_t66170.html
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Posted by roatha on April 7th, 2008 in Drinks ·
Jeremy, a good friend of mine, gave this one to me for review. Ah, the very reason I started a food website: getting free food and drinks! Jeremy gave Virgil’s very high remarks and I couldn’t wait to review it.
So it sat in my fridge for a few weeks. It’s not that I didn’t want to review it, surely I did. It just seemed too special to drink with my slice of pizza or bowl of rice. I have a weird relationship with food. I get into moods where everything has to be just right. Well, today the stars finally aligned and I decided to give good ole Virgil’s Root Beer a try!
It was worth the wait! Micro brewing must be where it’s at because this root beer is smooth and creamy. The carbonation is definitely there, but not sharp like in some root beers. It has a great rich taste with a slight licorice aftertaste. I’ve had some root beers that have gone way overboard with the licorice and I can’t stand it(I’ll tell you about my experiences with absinthe later). Virgil’s also boasts the use of 100% natural ingredient which I think make the flavor very rich. Virgil’s Root Beer has no caffeine, so no problems drinking it in bed. Which I plan to.
One thing’s for sure, I’ll never look at your average 2 liter of root beer the same again!
Virgil’s Root Beer gets a 4 out of 5 on the awesomeness meter!
Where to get Virgil’s Rootbeer!
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