Thoughts on Thursday

1. I have 7 books on hold on the library but won’t have time to pick them up until Saturday. It’s like having presents but not being able to open them. That may be the dorkiest thing I’ve ever said. The next book I’m looking forward to is:

2. Last night Amanda and I had takeout from Oriental Garden. This place looks like a total dump, but has surprisingly good sushi. For just 10 bucks total, I got two huge rolls. Both the Philly roll (salmon & avocado) and the Mount Pleasant roll (shrimp & avocado) were really fresh.

Don’t be afraid of this restaurant’s exterior. It’s a diamond in the rough.

3. Charleston friends, you know my good friend Joe Girard, the afternoon DJ for 95sx? He is so funny. We were chatting via email yesterday, and when I asked him where he’d been, he responded “Been hiding. Hitting the gym and eating peanut butter.” HA. Story of my life!

Ladies…he’s single….and a cutie!

He might kill me for this, but it’s worth it.

4. On Tuesday, my cubemate Rachel had leftover pizza from lunch. She left a slice in the box and put it in the fridge at work. When she pulled the box out for lunch on Wednesday, the pizza was GONE. Someone took the slice, ate it, and left the empty box.. The worst part is she had taken a bite out of it!!! That’s disturbing you guys. She put a sign up, and I couldn’t resist leaving a comment too.

Who steals half eaten food?!

5. I don’t typically drink white wine, but I gave this bottle from TJ’s a chance because of the green label. It was good! The label claims “This pale straw colored wine has very intense orange blossom and honey aromatics while delivering a full, rich body with a core of pear and nectarine flavors followed by a smooth aftertaste that’s long and focused.” Excuse the fact that they don’t know what a run-on sentence is and give this wine a try!

6. I downloaded Nicki Minaj’s new album, Pink Friday…Roman Reloaded. I love her, but I need to listen to this a few more times before I know if I like it. Can anything top the first Pink Friday? Have any of you listened to this yet?

7. I’ve now gone to 4 Pure Barre classes in a row. OUCH. They should be getting easier, but nope. They’re getting harder because I’m getting sorer. Beach body, here I come! I won’t be back until Saturday though – Thursday is kickboxing (a must!) and Friday is a rest day.

8. Tonight I’m going to the Water Ball with my friend Logan. A night of fancy dresses and champagne at the aquarium? Yes, please! Even better, it supports a good cause: clean water!

Tomorrow is Friday!

NYC Recap Days 1 & 2

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my 3 NYC vacations in the past year, it’s not to plan anything. Why? Because every time I specifically plan something, it doesn’t happen. Ice skating? Didn’t happen. That museum? Nope. Pickles? Whoops forgot those too. My friends and I are too free-spirited for itineraries.

With that said, I sure had a lot of fun.

I arrived early afternoon and went straight to Kaye’s house before meeting Lucy at her new apartment. Reunion with my soul mate/old roommate/best friend? Check!! After catching up over some wine, we got ready for dinner at Sushi Samba. Enjoy the one and only group photo from the weekend. We seriously had too much fun to bother with snapping photos. Sad, but not really.

Kaye and I split two rolls: Green Envy - wasabi pea crust, tuna, salmon, asparagus, aji amarillo-key limo mayo and the Pacific king crab, avocado, asian pear, soy paper, wasabi-avocado crema.

Lucy and Ann shared a couple different rolls too.

The sushi was fine, but it didn’t wow me. I’ve had better here in Charleston. After dinner we walked over to Wilfie & Nell in the West Village for drinks. While there, I noticed some dude pouring green juice and squealed, “Is that pickle juice?!” A few minutes later, some random man and I were drinking picklebacks: shots of whiskey chased with pickle juice. WHISKEY. My body hated me in the morning.

The hangover cure, NYC style, was picking up precious little macarons from Maison Ladurée.

I got two flavors: pistachio and caramel with salted butter . They were very flavorful for being such delicate treats. I also had a bite of Kaye’s vanilla and it was by far the best. So darn delicious. Thank you, Anabel, for the recommendation!

After our “breakfast” of macarons, we had lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. Still maintaining my vegetarian status, I dined on an Organic Black Bean Hummus tartine with avocado and spicy tahini. It was very light and fresh.

Lucy’s lunch was my second choice: Rustic Tuna, Hummus & White Bean
tartine with diced tomatoes and basil pesto. I want to make this at home!

Saturday’s form of cardio was shopping. We ventured into H&M, Zara, Dylan’s Candy Bar, and Benefit Cosmetics. Out of all that, my only purchases were at Benefit. BADgal plum mascara and  It’s Potent! eye cream.

 

I went to dinner with my friend Ben who is a fitness blogger/marathon runner. (See what he’s up to on his blog, Motivate Your Ass.) For future references, he will be known as B Dawg. Apparently he thinks it is weird that I call myself Xtina, stating “That would be like if I called myself B Dawg.” So B Dawg it is.

We ate at Euzkadi, a Spanish tapas style restaurant in the East Village.

We tried a bunch of different plates:

• Goat cheese and honey croquettes
• White Beans & Chick Peas w/Mushrooms, tomato comfit & vegetables) (my favorite dish)
• Tortilla Vasca - Potato and egg omelet, w/chorizo, peppers and onions
• Seared Steak w/ Russian salad & scallion Chimichurre
• Roasted lamb in a mushroom raisin demi-glace

At first, I shied away from anything that wasn’t vegetarian but as I was noshing away on the Spanish tortilla, I realized there was ham in it. And that’s when it was decided that I would take a vacation from being a vegetarian and enjoy myself in NYC. I still didn’t want chicken, but the ham and lamb? Yeah, that happened. And then we talked about Shari Lewis & Lamchop’s Playalong while feeling (kind of) guilty.

To be continued…

PS: If you read all that, you’re ridiculous. And I love you.

Bambu for Mary’s Birthday

Wednesday was Mary’s 26th birthday, so a big group of us went to Bambu to celebrate. I had previously met the chef, Joaquin, at the Best of Charleston awards party. I let him know that I was coming in because I wanted to say hi. Right after we ordered our meals, Joaquin texted me telling me to come in the kitchen.

In the back waiting for me was a little sake glass bouquet of flowers! How sweet is this?

While we waited for our appetizers, I was suddenly presented with…….I kid you not…FRICKLES!!! Frickles at a sushi restaurant? How was this real!?
They were tempura fried and served with some kind of sauce that Lauren ended up stealing to put on her sushi. Both Jess and Amanda decided that these were the next best frickles after Midtown’s. I agree – tempura battered pickles are pretty ridiculous.

As part of my meal, I ordered the edamame & spinach dip served warm, crispy wonton chips. The last time I went to Bambu with Diana and Lucy, a reader told me that I needed to try this appetizer the next time I went in. Thank goodness for her recommendation – this was absolutely delicious. The whole table was raving about how good it was. It was topped with panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese – to die for!

I also ordered a unique roll that was wrapped in cucumber instead of rice. This is the Coleman Blvd roll with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, scallions, asparagus wrapped in cucumber with ponzu sauce.

Without the rice, it was a lighter roll and you could really taste the freshness of the fish. Although it really didn’t need any sauce, I ended up dipping it in Jess’s ponzu sauce. That citrusy sauce is hard to resist!

After we all finished our meals, the birthday girl was surprised with dessert! Our whole table got these amazing sugary cinnamon dough balls with warm caramel sauce. One bite in, Jess declared, “My life has changed forever.” They were that good.

Perhaps the most exciting event of the evening (after the surprise frickles, of course!) was my next surprise. Joaquin had made me Pad Thai to go for tomorrow’s lunch! Lauren and I plan on eating this at work tomorrow, Lady & The Tramp style.



Shout out to Lauren – it was great to meet you!  

Bambu Dining with the Roommates

Last night, Diana (my old roommate) and Lucy (my new roommate) and I went to Bambu for dinner. Bambu is an Asian restaurant in Mt. Pleasant off of Coleman Blvd. It’s very pretty inside and the sushi is great. They have a ton of rolls to choose from, so we each picked one and shared with each other.

Diana ordered the SCAM Roll - Crab and cream cheese roll topped with avocado and spicy shrimp and crab mix.
Lucy ordered the Super White Tuna Roll - White tuna and avocado atop a spicy tuna, crab and cucumber roll.
I ordered the Umami Roll - Tempura shrimp, spicy tuna, and mango roll topped with seared tuna, jalapeno, and sweet chili sauce.I loved all three rolls, but I definitely enjoyed mine the most. Mango in a roll was a first to me, and I really loved the fruity flavor against the jalapeno.


We went straight home after dinner. No additional alcohol for us. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have fun. Remember when I bought my hula hoop a couple weeks ago? When I got home with it, I was thinking Lucy was going to think I was a total weirdo for buying a hula hoop. Instead of looking at me funny, she told me she actually had the same one in a different color. Moments later, she came out of her room holding a purple hula hoop.

So last night, Lucy and I had a major  hooping session. I’m talking about a solid hour of hula hooping – around our waists, wrists, elbows, and neck. Yes, neck. We are becoming pros. I can’t even lie – today’s mission is to go buy more hula hoops in different colors because it’s really fun to hoop two at at time.

We are 5-year-olds.

Videos/pictures to come.

Don’t forget to enter the Yoplait smoothie giveaway!

Rob’s Spicy Tuna Roll Challenge at Bushido

On Saturday night, my friend Rob participated in a spicy tuna roll challenge at Bushido Japanese restaurant. A bunch of his friends got together to watch him chow down on 10 tuna hand rolls, with the heat intensifying in each one.  You may have seen an episode of Man Vs. Food where Adam Richman participates in this same challenge. If you eat all 10 rolls on different occasions, you are called warriors; if you eat all 10 in one sitting, you are considered a legend of the roll. During the challenge, you are not allowed to eat or drink anything other than water. You are also not allowed to use the bathroom/get sick!

For the past several weeks, Rob has been eating peppers every day in order to prepare his pallet for the event. He felt pretty confident going into the challenge and we were all excited to cheer him on. The first thing I asked Rob was what else he had eaten that day. “A four cheese tomato panini with tomato soup at Breugger’s. Before coming here, I had 2 doses of pepto and a tums.”
The first set of 5 hand rolls. Rob preparing for #2. On the roll #4, Rob said that the heat was about the same as a jalapeno. At #5, he said he felt the quantity more than the heat and that on a scale of 1-10, he was at about 2. I was a little skeptical. So was Brett.About 20 minutes later, Rob was ready to sign the waiver to attempt the second set of rolls. Just how hot are the final rolls? Roll #8 is filled with a whole habanero pepper! Roll #9 is filled with a green dragon chili pepper. #10 is filled with a red chili and a spicy sauce.About roll #8, Rob said, “I have tasted things this hot before.” He was not afraid of #9. And finally, he was down to the last roll. Trey had the nerve to toss a piece of wasabi on his plate, telling him to eat it with the roll! After #9, Rob said, “My ear hurts a lot.”The very last bite!Challenge: complete! Rob was awarded the warrior headband! He was also rewarded with a picture of his face on the wall, a $25 gift certificate, and free appetizers or sake on every visit…if wearing the headband.And after all that, he ate the piece of wasabi! Now Brett was just like, “wtf, really?”And Matt just got hungry and started thinking I was an Xtuna roll. The face of a legend, whose final request was, “Can someone text my mom?” Ha!
Would you attempt the spicy tuna hand roll challenge?

Weekend Recap, Ham and Lentil Soup

Friday:
Ladies' night! Margaret, Amanda, Mary, Mary-Grace, Meghan, Molly and I met up for dinner and drinks at O-Ku Sushi. Can you believe how many M names were in our group? Naturally Amanda was renamed Mandy and I was renamed Mina.

For dinner, Margaret and I split two rolls. I chose the Potato Wrapped Roll: shrimp tempura, avocado, shoe-string potatoes, eel sauce, and mango remoulade. Amanda and Mary raved about this roll, so I knew I had to try it. It was a really interesting combination of flavors and I loved the extra crunch from the potato.

 Margaret ordered the Harvest Roll. I can't remember exactly what was in this roll, but it was topped with fried Fuji apple! This roll was way too intense and had too much of a deep-fried flavor.

On the way to the bars after dinner, I ran into my favorite hot dog vendor men! They call me "Cookie Girl" because every time I've had too much to drink, I try to convince them to let me sell my cookies at their stand. They always tell me that cookies don't go with hot dogs, but I think they are being silly. I took a pic with them anyway.

Saturday:
I think I half died yesterday. Awful. I haven't decided if it was a 24-hour bug or from the shot of Wild Turkey, but I was yakking all day. Margaret even brought me to Chick-fil-A and I couldn't even it. That is crazy talk. These were my friends on Saturday night.

Btw, unflavored Pedialyte is NASTY. It tastes like salt water, but it works.

Sunday:

I finally felt better! I met Tyler for lunch at Mozzo, then Amanda picked me up so we could take some pictures downtown. A friend of hers that lives in North Carolina wanted us to take some pictures of a street sign that had special meaning to her fiance and her. The pics came out so pretty!

After our little photo shoot, we hit up Menchie's for some fro yo. I got the blueberry tart yogurt and topped it with cookie dough balls and heath bar bits.

For dinner tonight, I made a wonderful Ham and Lentil Soup that I found on Closet Cooking.

Ham and Lentil Soup adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup red lentils
• 2 cups ham, diced
• 1 ham bone
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 handfuls spinach
• pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan. 

2. Add onions, carrot, and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes. 

3. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. 

4. Add chicken broth, lentils, ham, and ham bone. Simmer, covered, on low heat for an hour. 

5. Remove from heat and stir in spinach.

This soup is awesome. It's packed with veggies, and the lentils absorb so much of the broth that the soup actually thickens up. Next time you bake a ham, SAVE that bone and make this!