Review: El Pollo Loco - Queso Crunch Burrito

The Queso Crunch Burrito ($4.99) at El Pollo Loco is a limited time new item that I had a "buy one, get one free" coupon for. According to their text, it contains "flame-grill chicken breast, Jack cheese & poblano queso and crispy tortilla strips." I know "queso" means "cheese" and looked up that poblano is a mild chile pepper, so a chili pepper cheese.

News: Baskin Robbin's - 31 Cent Scoop Night on April 30, 2008

Not to be outdone, or only slightly to be outdone, by Ben & Jerry''s Free Cone Day, Baskin Robbins will be having its second annual 31 Cent Scoop Night on April 30, 2008 from 5pm to 10pm at all 2,700 stores nationwide. In conjunction with the promotion, Baskin Robbins will be donating $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. You can get up to 10 ice cream cones for 31 cents each, basically meaning you can try a little less than a third of Baskin Robbins' 31 flavors for a little more than $3. Of course, you might go into a diabetic coma afterwards.

31 Cent Scoop Night
April 30, 2008, 5pm - 10pm
Store Locator

News: Ben & Jerry's - Free Cone Day on April 29, 2008

Every year around late April, early May, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has its Free Cone Day. This year in commemoration of its 30th birthday, the company is celebrating with Free Cone Day on April 29, 2008. Save the date for free ice cream!

I'll try and post a reminder on the day of if I remember...

Use their handy shop locator to find the closest participating store near you.

Free Cone Day
April 29, 2008
Shop Locator

Review: McDonald's - Vanilla Iced Coffee

McDonald's recently started sending coupons to my house and in their most recent flyer was a coupon for a free Iced Coffee which I promptly clipped and stored in my car. Sure enough, after a late night of classes, I stopped by a local McDonald's to get me some free 24oz. Vanilla Iced Coffee.

Review: Ten Ren - Beef Stew Noodle and Eight Treasures Tea

Ten Ren is a Taiwan-based company that specializes in tea and ginseng products. It has over 100 retail locations worldwide (in seven different countries according to their website), with over 20 sites in the U.S. (in California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Texas). Some, but not all, of its locations are called "Ten Ren Tea Stations", while others just say "Ten Ren" and sometimes "Ten Ren Tea Time". I don't know why they do that.

Review: El Pollo Loco - Flame-Grilled Chicken

The spread: 10 flame-grilled legs & thighs, 4 corn tortillas, cilantro, spicy avocado salsa, medium pico de gallo, lemons slices, mild original salsa, and onions. Their current promo price is $9.99 or roughly $1 per leg or thigh which isn't really much of a deal when you can get a leg off their value menu for $1.

Review: Arby's - Southern Style Chicken Sandwich

I always think of a giant hat when I think of Arby's because of the giant brown hat that used to be the signage at my local Arby's before they modernized the place. Now there's no hat like a McDonald's with no golden arches... you walk into an Arby's and it kinda looks like a Carl's Jr. or a Jack in the Box... not much differentiation in fast food restaurant interiors nowadays...

Homemade Recipe: Potatoes That Taste Better Than The Chicken

I went over to my cousin's and saw Martha Stewart with a guest French chef who was making food. This is kinda what they made to the best of my recollection. Haha... monkey-see-monkey-do cooking so to speak.

Review: Pepe's - Shredded Beef Hard Taco - Alhambra, CA

Pepe's is a local Mexican food chain with a shop in Alhambra, just a little past Sixth St. on Valley. They also have stores in Covina and Temple City. They're known by some for their hard tacos (or Americanized tacos by purveyors of authenticity) which I have to say are pretty good.

Local Review: Huong Que Cafe - Pho Ga and Chao Ga - Oakland, CA

I used to live a short walk away from Huong Que Cafe and passed by its red awning a few times, under which old Asian men played Chinese< chess, but I never actually went inside...  That is, until recently, after I had already moved away from the area. It's a favorite of my brother's that he discovered after I had moved out. It's a quite bit roomier inside then its facade suggests and there was plenty of seating available.

Local Review: Vietnam House - Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio and Cafe Sua Da - San Gabriel, CA

Vietnam House is located in a strip mall at the southeast corner of Las Tunas and Mission. It's owned by the same proprietors as Golden Deli across the street although it's always less crowded. It basically has the same menu except they also have and specialize in Bo Bay Mon ("seven courses of beef", bo = "beef", bay = "seven", and mon="dish" as in a dish of food and not literally the dish itself.) which I've only probably eaten once or twice in my life and never here. My mom tells me Bo Bay Mon is overrated.

Review: Peach House - Frozen Yogurt and Brazilian Lemonade

From Left to Right: A Peach House small peach-flavored frozen yogurt (~$3.50... I don't remember the exact pricing) with strawberries; a Brazilian Lemonade (~$2); a medium raspberry-flavored yogurt with strawberries, mangoes, and mochi (~$4.50); and a medium peach flavored yogurt with lychee (or was it longan... I forget...), raspberry, and kiwi.

Review: KFC Toasted Wrap

Enticed by commercials, I decided to try a KFC Toasted Wrap for $1.29.

The KFC Toasted Wrap comes in a partially see-through bag which was not perforated, which resulted in a slighty steamed toasted wrap from the short drive home.

Review: Klondike - Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Bar

More Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! I saw these at the supermarket on sale for $3, which is a lot cheaper than their regular price of over $5. The Klondike bar was originally made by the Isaly Dairy Company in the 1930s, but today the brand is owned by Unilever who along with Nestle account for about half the ice cream sales in the U.S. and approximately one third worldwide. Some of your favorite ice cream brands are owned by these two companies. Dreyer's (Edy's in the eastern half of the U.S.) was bought by Nestle, and Ben & Jerry's was acquired by Unilever.

Photo: Mom's Homemade Beef Pho

Made by Mom and served in a reusable Ziploc container (Look ma! I managed to keep with the brand theme!). My mom braised the beef brisket you see on top beforehand and sliced it up. She also included thinly sliced round roast and store bought beef balls ("bo vien"). She then just puts everything in the fridge and all I have to do is put everything in a bowl and spoon some boiled broth over to enjoy a hot bowl of pho.

Local Review: Taylor's Automatic Refresher - Bacon Cheeseburger and Onion Rings

While up in the SF Bay area, I met up with one of my friends for lunch at the Ferry Building, which I assume is so called because it's where the ferries embark and disembark to and from various locales around the bay.

After walking about and perusing the many food options, we settled on good 'ole burgers and rings at Taylor's Automatic Refresher.  I wonder what the an "automatic refresher" is... maybe it used to be an automat back in the day?

Review: McDonald's - Hazelnut Iced Coffee

I stopped in Kettleman City (central California) for gas while driving to Oakland and saw a sign for new iced coffees at McDonald's. They offered Regular, Vanilla, and Hazelnut flavors. $1.59 for a medium, $1.79 for a large.

Local Review: Banh Mi Che Cali - Banh Mi Dac Biet and Cafe Sua Da - Alhambra, CA

Banh Mi Che Cali is a chain of Vietnamese eateries, mostly in the southern California area. They specialize in banh mi (bread) sandwiches and che desserts but also have other dishes and baked good such as pho, nem nuong, and bo kho. The one in Alhambra on the northeast corner of Valley and 7th, also has a deal where you can buy one Tapioca or Pudding Milk Tea ($2.00) and get one free.

Review: Jack in the Box - Sirloin Steak Melt

I decided to try Jack in the Box's Sirloin Steak Melt a couple of nights ago. I ordered a medium combo with Onion Rings and a "medium" 32oz. Orange Fanta... I think the large combo comes with a 44oz.(!) drink.  That's almost 4 cans of soda. As you can see from this close up, the cheese was nice and gooey and the bread was well toasted.

Review: Hot Pockets Supreme Pizza Stuffed Sandwich

Ah the Hot Pocket... I ate a bunch of these back in high school on account of them being on sale for about a dollar for two in a package and my mom thinking it was awful convenient. I got pretty sick of them and honestly would never buy them ever, but since I decided to resume the life of a starving student and moved back home, my mom still buys them when they go on sale. Normally, I feed them to my brother when there's not much to eat in the house, but in a bout of hunger one late night I popped one in the microwave.