cookie monster's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
Las Vegas with kids
yes, thanks for the suggestion - we love Burger Bar and will undoubtedly end up there at some point over the weekend. But I'd still like to find some place a little fancier that will work for Saturday night.
Chowhound Post
Las Vegas with kids
At the risk of starting another "kids don't belong in nice restaurants" thread . . . going to a Saturday matinee of The Lion King at Mandalay Bay with two other adults and two four year old girls. Since we'll all be a bit dressed up for the theater, we'd like to take the girls to dinner afterwards some place nice but still kid-appropriate (and of course with decent food for the grownups). Would like to stay in the general vicinity of the Strip, and the only hard and fast menu requirement is that there must be french fries. Bonus points for any sort entertainment but that's not a necessity. So far our best thought is Mon Ami Gabi - any other suggestions?
Chowhound Post
Anyone know where Lee Ho Fook is in Chinatown?
Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein . . .
Chowhound Post
What's your favorite 'Value Menu' item from the fast food restaurants?
I'm with you, Emm and Bob W. I used to take most of one slice of cheese off my double cheeseburger because the processed cheese to processed meat ratio was just a little off - plus the processed cheese flavor would overwhelm the pickles and onion-like bits. So the McDouble makes me very happy - plus as you said, one can eat it while driving without endangering ones clothes, or fellow drivers.
Chowhound Post
Anybody know what flavor this is - Prosecco??
Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine.
Chowhound Post
ideas for non-chocolate, non-wine, non-floral hostess gifts?
along the same lines - small bottle of really good aged balsamic vinegar. It's the kind of thing that people won't necessarily buy for themselves but they really enjoy receiving.
Chowhound Post
I want to do a "hot chocolate bar" that'll go all day on Thanksgiving...
This is a coffee urn:
http://www.cooking.com/products/shpro...
there are various kinds, but this looks just like the one my parents had 30 years ago.
Chowhound Post
Why do my brownies always turn out this way?
hmmmm . . . I definitely prefer metal for almost all baking, but brownies seem to be an exception. Maybe it's my wacky oven.
Chowhound Post
Why do my brownies always turn out this way?
Oh, how I wish people would stop telling you to make them from scratch. yes, it's not that hard. Yes, they do taste better. But that's not the question you asked, and there are times when a mix is the best/only option (for example, when you're not in your home kitchen with all the scratch ingredients readily available, or when you really only have 3 minutes, not 15, for prep time). Anyway, I second turning down the oven temp, and I also find that brownies, whether scratch or mix, bake more evenly in a pyrex pan rather than a metal one.
Chowhound Post
Good lunch for Mom and Pop in Venice Beach? Or maybe Main Street in Santa Monica?
All on Abbot Kinney, and all with outdoor seating:
Three Square Cafe might work for you.
http://www.rockenwagner.com/3square-o...
Joe's isn't cheap, but their lunch/brunch menu is a pretty good deal.
http://www.joesrestaurant.com/menu_br...
For a lighter meal, Jin Patisserie has nice sandwiches and salads as well as pastries, in lovely garden setting.
http://www.jinpatisserie.com/
Chowhound Post
Thank-you gifts?
I got a thank you gift box of assorted treats a couple months ago from a company called Cookie Good - www.cookiegood.com
No one in the office had heard of it before, but the cookies and bars were delicious - much better than most of the other deliveries we've had.
Chowhound Post
Attention Vegetarians/ Vegans
I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian, but which is your guest? A lot of the [delicious-sounding] suggestions you've gotten so far include eggs or dairy.
Chowhound Post
Easiest recipe you cook and love
Rroasted vegetables - brussel sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, whatever - olive oil, salt, pepper, in the oven til done - delicious.
Chowhound Post
Help! need restaurant for my niece's sweet 16 on Halloween
Sort of along the same lines - maybe Lucky devil's in Hollywood? But I agree with Molly - getting in and out of Weho or Hollywood on Halloween night is probably not something you want to try to do. I was going to suggest Baby Blues BBQ in Weho - I went to a birthday dinner there last weekend for a slightly older birthday boy and 15 of his closest friends and it worked out great - but you won't be able to get near SM Blvd that night. So maybe there's some place in Culver City /Venice / Santa Monica?
Chowhound Post
"With au jus" = with with the juice
Or a chai tea latte - mixing three languages to get tea with milk and spices tea with hot milk.
Chowhound Post
What's the best bottled Italian salad dressing - oil type and not creamy?
Since you asked for recommendations on bottled dressings and not a recipe to make your own, here's another vote for the various Newman's own varieties. Like FrankD said, the only ingredient besides oil, vinegar, water and seasonings is xanthan gum.
Chowhound Post
Caramel pretzel chocolate chunk cookies?
Interesting - are these a non-US product? And I will definitely report back. I was hoping to conduct the experiment tonight but now it's looking like I won't have time. Stupid job.
Chowhound Post
Caramel pretzel chocolate chunk cookies?
Aha - chopped up Kraft caramels. Much simpler that the path my brain was on of how to make caramel and then somehow swirl it through the cookies . . .
Chowhound Post
Caramel pretzel chocolate chunk cookies?
Last month I was the lucky recipient of a box of assorted cookies and bars from a local delivery service, which included "caramel pretzel chocolate chunk cookies." They were a big hit , I'm a big baker and now I want to try to recreate them. They seemed to be your basic chocolate chip / chocolate chunk cookie dough with the addition of crushed pretzels and some soft caramelly pieces. Crushed pretzels are pretty self-explanatory, but I'm at a loss as to how to get the caramel bits. I've searched around online but all I get are recipes for chocolate covered pretzels. Any ideas? Thanks.
Chowhound Post
Individual bottled wine/champagne cocktails for brunch?
Whole Foods sells splits of decent Prosecco in a 4 pack for about $12 - I forget the name, but I think it's one of their private label brands.
Chowhound Post
New Oroweat bread: Sandwich Thins
Two more thumbs up. I first discovered the pepperidge farms version on the east coast - very similar, called deli thins. Then I bought the whole wheat Orowheat ones here in LA. They make excellent toast, and I was really surprised how well they held up to a fully-dressed burger.
Chowhound Post
Best place in WLA to buy tomatoes? (other than farmer's markets)
The Venice Whole Foods has had some really good heirloom tomatoes for the last couple months.
Chowhound Post
What's your favorite affordable, California-produced dessert wine?
Third the Essensia.
Chowhound Post
Birthday Dinner - Male, 20's, American-ish food, fun
What's your per-person budget? with or without tax/tip/drinks?
Chowhound Post
Do you eat like a pig but stay skinny?
I'll support your rant. More than once people have said to me "how do you eat like that and yet stay thin?" or yes, more snarkily, "boy, you're lucky to have you metabolism." (I'm 5'4" and 125lbs with a good amount of muscle.) what people don't realize is that they're seeing me out at restaurants or parties or other social occasions where yes, I pretty much eat and drink what I want. What they don't see is me dragging myself to the gym 5-6 mornings a week, or what I eat when I'm making myself a "non-event" meal, which is a lot of egg whites, plain grilled meat, fruit, steamed or grilled vegetables, salads with lowfat dressing, cottage cheese, a few nuts . . . pretty darned exciting. So if I'm thin it's due mainly to discipline, not winning the random metabolic rate lottery.
Chowhound Post
Restaurants with-in walking distance to the Santa Monica Pier................
Cora's is only open for breakfast and lunch though, right?
woodranch, depending on when you're going to Cirque du Soleil, La Cachette Bistro might finally be open by then . . .
Chowhound Post
There is no such thing as a great cupcake
But see therein lies the problem - one can't slowly savor a cupcake while still getting cake and frosting in each [small] bite. The technique you described results in large mouthfuls (and probably some frosting on one's nose). Cookies of course can be nibbled without being compromised.
Chowhound Post
There is no such thing as a great cupcake
I love cake. I love frosting. And I love cupcakes. But given the choice, I'd rather have a slice of cake, because I want to have the perfect ratio of cake to frosting in each bite, which is nearly impossible to do with a cupcake unless you put it on a plate and eat it with a fork, which kind of defeats the purpose of a handheld, single serving treat. Otherwise it's inevitable - the first few bites are almost all frosting, and then at the end there's nothing but cake (often dry and tough, as noted). Layer cakes, otoh - no such issues.
Chowhound Post
Lemonade and then some
Does anyone know how late it's open? I don't see that piece of information on the website.
Chowhound Post
Favorite hangover foods (or restaurants)?
I know that Marix isn't exactly a Chowhound destination, but several of my friends swear by their huevos chipotles (aka hangover soup). It's a bit too spicy for my delicate constitution - personally I tend toward cheeseburgers, like Tom P and Phurstluv. McDonald's or In-N-Out is just fine in a pinch, and doesn't require one to sit up straight at a restaurant table and carry on a coherent conversation.
