Green Eggs

The Super Sized Cupcake

2009-11-09T04:57:00.005-05:00

I never realized how big a cupcake could really be until yesterday.

In Tampa, there are gourmet cupcake shops all over town and they all charge about $2.50 for a tiny little cupcake. I was always impressed with the architecture of these particular tiny cupcakes. They are made from scratch in a variety of flavors and super delicious.

However, my tiny cupcake infatuation came to a screeching halt when I was introduced to a cupcake from Crumbs Bake Shop in NYC.

En route to London yesterday, my sister-in-law (who lives in NYC) was gracious enough to meet me at JFK for my 4 hour lay over.

She has been talking about Crumbs Bake Shop for months and every time she mentioned it my mouth began to water. I didn't want to miss this perfect opportunity to jam a giant cupcake down my throat so I enlisted my sister-in-law to bring me a variety of cupcakes to the airport for us to enjoy during my layover.

When I asked her to bring more than one I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I wrongly assumed they were the same size as the tiny Tampa cupcakes. Wow was I wrong.

She met me with a giant bag full of three enormous cupcakes that were each the size of a softball. Inside was a BaBa Booey (pictured above) it's a chocolate cupcake filled with peanut butter icing with peanut butter/chocolate icing on top and peanut butter chips, a Red Velvet cupcake, and one not on the daily menu called Half Baked which was a vanilla cupcake with cookies crumbed on top and filling in the middle.

These cupcakes were so giant I had to come at them with a knife - and since this was basically a one chance opportunity (I couldn't take them on the flight with me) my sister-in-law ate all three. They were absolutely phenomenal. It puts every other cupcake I have tried to shame. They were big, sweet, fluffy, tasty and completely satisfying. The Baba Booey in particular soothed my soul....the peanut butter filling was light and not too sweet.

Feel free to keep enjoying your local cupcake shop because they still are good, but keep hoping for more. If you want true cupcake satisfaction it can only happen at one place: Crumbs.

Eating London

2009-11-07T20:06:00.005-05:00

London is famous.

I'm not exactly sure all of the reasons why it's famous, however I do know that for hundreds upon hundreds of years, London has been an iconic city around the world.

I'm going to be in London for 4 days this week and while I should be excited about all of the rich history, museums and Big Ben, I'm mostly excited about the food. Therefore, my agenda revolves around eating. I don't have all of the details worked out yet, however I'm planning on trying to do at least these three things:

- Enjoy afternoon Tea Time
- Taste authentic Fish and Chips
- Check out one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants

So yes, I'm going to London and all I plan on doing is eating. Is there anything wrong with that?

In addition to what I have planned, do you have any suggestions of restaurants I need to check out?

Final Pumpkin Tasting Round Up

2009-11-02T21:40:00.007-05:00

Fall seems to have come to an abrupt end a lot sooner than expected.

As of yesterday, all of the stores that I frequent have already taken down all of the Fall decor and rolled out all of the Christmas decorations. The seasons are starting earlier and earlier every single year.

To wrap up our Great Pumpkin Taste off, below are the final three reviews of the fall season:

Dunkin Donut's Pumpkin Donut
Unlike the Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice doughnut, Dunkin was a huge disappointment. I'm a bug Dunkin fan, however their take on a pumpkin donut treat was completely unsatisfying. To be completely honest it literally was like eating a pumpkin flavored sponge. I wasn't even able to finish the entire donut because I was so uninterested. If you're after a festive fall donut, hit up Krispy Kreme.

711 Pumpkin Latte
I know what you're thinking. I've completely lost my mind to be willing to try 711's Pumpkin Latte. However, my decision to get a 711 Pumpkin Latte came after an intense taste testing.

Every night I go to 711 to get my wife a slurppee (yes, every night). 711 has a coffee machine set up for customers to get hot chocolate, cappacino's and their featured Pumpkin Latte.

Next to the machines are sample cups and on several occasions I opted to try the Pumpkin Latte on my way to the check out. Much to my surprise....it was very good. Don't get me wrong it was not a luxurious Starbucks experience, but for only a couple bucks it was creamy, tasty and delicious.

Pumpkin Pie Blizzard
Nothing beats the sweet taste of Pumpkin Pie mixed in with DQ's fantastic soft serve. The Pumpkin Pie Blizzard is a classic fall treat.

Although it's not my favorite Blizzard flavor (peppermint is, and it's coming up soon), it's still a good choice if you're in a fall festive mood.

There are a lot of great options out there for those of you who crave the sweet taste of pumpkin, however of all the different things I tasted there is one that truly stood out: Krispy Kreme's Pumpkin Spice Doughnut. I was surprised at how good it was and the combination of pumpkin and spice was perfect, not to mention the sweet topping of Krispy Kreme's signature icing.

Since the season is now coming to a close, you better hurry if you want to eat any more pumpkin products that restaurant's are serving. After all, Christmas is just around the corner and word on the streets is that Starbucks is rolling out their holiday drinks tomorrow...

Pop Goes the Bagel

2009-10-28T21:35:00.004-04:00

Why do restaurants feel the need to take something that's perfect and try to make it better?

Bagels are a great example. They are a divine creation and nothing is wrong with them. Baked right and topped off with a satisfying cream cheese there is nothing like a fresh made bagel.

So why change it?

Einstein Brothers Bagels didn't think plain old bagels were good enough so they went ahead and invented Bagel Poppers, which are a cheap rip off of Dunkin Donuts Munchkins.

The poppers are basically tiny little bagel balls. The featured flavor, Pumpkin, has a coating of pumpkin icing on top of the popper to add a little extra sweet flavor.

In the spirit of trying everything Pumpkin, the last time I was at Einsteins, I ordered up some Pumpkin Bagel Poppers. Much to my surprise, they were served in a plastic cup with a lid, all stacked on top of one another.

The icing was good, but it was extremely messy.....it was all over my fingers, hands, face and clothes because I had to dig in the cup to get the little frosting covered popper. The other problem was that the popper was chewy like a bagel. Therefore, eating it was not a pleasant experience because you're holding on to the popper with your hand and it's slipping all over the place because of the icing.

A price point of $3 for some bagel balls in a cup also seemed a little excessive. At most bagel shops you can get an entire bagel and cream cheese for about $2.

Here's the deal. Einsteins serves awesome bagels, they don't need to take the left over dough and turn them into little bagel bits. What they should have done was just offer pumpkin bagels with that rich pumpkin icing on the side......now that would have been sweet.

If I was a Doughnut...

2009-10-19T21:19:00.006-04:00

If I was a doughnut I would be a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Krispy Kreme treats their doughnuts with such love and care. They gently baked them fresh every day, cover them in a warm glaze and then coat them in frosting and set them out to be purchased.

Ah, the life as a doughnut, it must be good.

Although I do love to eat doughnuts I usually don't venture away from my usual order. When it comes to Krispy Kreme, there really is nothing like a nice and hot good old fashioned glazed doughnut.

To make things seasonal and exciting however Krispy Kreme has come out with a Pumpkin Spice Cake doughnut.

On my mission to taste everything pumpkin, I visited my local Krispy Kreme and immediately was hit in the face by that oh so tempting Krispy Kreme aroma of fresh baked doughnuts.

As I was ordering I was already drooling waiting for my Pumpkin Spice Cake doughnut.

Upon my first bites it was just as good as I had imagined. Not too much pumpkin flavor and the "spice" was just right. The glaze coating was just sweet enough, but not overwhelming.

Until this moment I had forgotten how good Krispy Kreme actually is....I haven't had a doughnut from there in years. Not to mention a doughnut is extremely affordable....at just around $1 this is a perfect Fall treat that will definitely satisfying your craving.

So if I was a doughnut, I wouldn't want to be just a regular Krispy Kreme doughnut, but a Pumpkin Spice Cake doughnut.

What type of doughnut would you be?

Pumpkin Spice Frappuccinos are Evil

2009-10-18T20:49:00.004-04:00

It's always bittersweet when Starbucks rolls out their famous Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino.

Like clockwork right after Labor Day everything in Starbucks stores gets converted to "autumn" themed to promote this appetizingly evil beverage. The way Starbucks advertises the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino really is sick.....how do they make it look so flippin delicious?

This year was no different and after driving by Starbucks a couple of times I couldn't resist my temptation any longer.

I went walking in to my local Starbucks with pride ready to make my annual Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino purchase and as I was preparing to order I was very clear with the Barista: "Listen, I know that you are extremely overpriced, and I probably won't be back this year to buy another one, so can you please make this Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino good!?"

She looked at me like I was a complete bubbling lunatic and graciously agreed to make it taste delicious.

Then she told me my total: just under $5. WAIT WHAT?! I order a Tall, a Tall! Not a "Venti" why the heck does it cost so much?!

She then explained that because the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino is "seasonal" there is a slight up charge from the normal Frappuccino price. An up charge at Starbucks? That makes absolutely no sense.

A little disgruntled I still paid and took my Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino back to my car.

Although I hate to admit this, it was completely delicious. The deep taste of pumpkin with a hint of spice blended together topped with whipped cream was simply extraordinary.

Even though it tasted so good I still couldn't justify it. $5 is a lot of money.....that's two loaves of bread, or 5 meals at Wendy's. I almost feel financially irresponsible for continuing to give Starbucks my money.

The already ridiculous price plus the unnecessary up charge for a "seasonal" item really irritated me. The Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, may be "seasonal" when Starbucks decides it is, but as many of you may know, you can actually order it any time of the year.....with no up charge.

Simply said, Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino's are pure evil.

They lure you in promising the world only to disappoint you with an outrageous price, then they win you over again when the sensational taste hits your lips, then you're angry again when you start sucking every last drop through your straw.

It's sad, but I fall for the same Starbucks trick each and every year. Maybe next Fall I'll remember and change.....probably not though.

The Great Pumpkin Taste Off

2009-10-17T06:52:00.005-04:00

Fall has finally arrived.

What a wonderful time of year....the leaves start changing, it gets a bit cooler, pumpkin patches start popping up, and Target pulls out the Christmas decorations (yes, Christmas decor in October).

Many restaurants like to celebrate the spirit of Fall as well by launching a variety of new products that all revolve around the pumpkin.

It almost seems like they can inject the flavor of pumpkin into just about anything these days as long as it helps them to drive sales.

Personally, for my entire life I used to hate pumpkin. My mom used to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins......and I wouldn't come within 15 feet of them. Can you imagine me actually saying no to a form of pie?

Last year however, as I finally broke my habits and gave pumpkin a try I came to find that I completely love it. Almost anything pumpkin flavored is simply delicious!

If you love pumpkin like I do, you're in luck because over the next several days I'm going to eat and drink as much pumpkin flavored food I can get my hands on and write about it here.

Below are the restaurants that I plan on visiting to try their featured pumpkin item:

Starbucks
Einstein's Bros. Bagels
Dunkin Donuts
Krispy Kreme
Dairy Queen
711 (not a restaurant, but they still have a pumpkin drink)

All of the products and experiences will be rated against each other and one will be selected as the winner of Great Pumpkin Taste Off!

Am I missing any restaurant that is featuring something pumpkin flavored that I need to go try?

The Big Sexy First Watch Photo Shoot

2009-10-04T07:05:00.007-04:00

I often find myself in unusual situations, especially in restaurants.

For this reason, it may come as no surprise to you that my family and I were recently involved in a Photo Shoot for First Watch Restaurants.

About a month ago, we were approached by the Manager of the First Watch we visit. He told us that First Watch was looking for "extras" to participate in a Photo Shoot at their new restaurant location about 15 minutes away. They were planning to use the photos on their website, Facebook and through other PR outlets. The bonus was that we all received Breakfast for Two coupons for participating.

The opportunity to star in a photo shoot along with coupons for free breakfast was right up my ally, so on behalf of everyone in my family, I agreed.

Early one morning we arrived at a brand new First Watch location in Palm Harbor, FL. Inside the restaurant there were cameras set up all over the dining room along with a handful of photographers and other "artistic and creative" looking people.

Not to mention there were "models" in the restaurant as well. This, by far was the most entertaining part. The young male model playing the "server" was patiently waiting shirtless when we got there because they were ironing his polo. From the look on his face, it seemed he would have been perfectly content doing the photo shoot with no shirt on, after all he is a "model".

They took the less attractive non-model like extras and split us up into two tables and then tortured us by placing beautiful looking food (pictured above) right in front of us that we weren't allowed to touch, eat or breathe on.

Then, we sat there. Staring at the food. Staring at each other. And smiling when the photographer told us to.

About 45 minutes later we were done and handed our breakfast coupons. When we walked out I actually wondered if we would make it into any of the photos or if they would cut us out in editing.

Earlier this week I found out when First Watch posted a selection of photos from the shoot on their Facebook Fan Page.

Look closely at the photo below. The server in the yellow polo is the model who wishes he was shirtless that I mentioned earlier. I put a red circle around the smiling bald held of my father-in-law who apparently was attractive enough to leave in the photo.

Now, for my wife and I's big debut you'll need to look very closely at the server's armpits. In his left armpit is my wife's head with a gray shirt. In his right armpit is me with a blue shirt on. Unfortunately the server is blocking the best looking person of all, my daughter, completely.

So there is my big claim to fame: I'm the guy in the server's arm pit in the First Watch photo. Gosh I love being a model.

To view all the photos from the shoot, click here.

Fluffy Yeast Rolls

2009-10-02T20:46:00.011-04:00

The free bread a restaurant offers is an extremely important part of the experience.

With a single bite, free bread can alter your view of the entire restaurant. Really amazing free bread, moves souls and makes us want to come back again and again.

Logan's Roadhouse offers life altering bread....

I walked into Logan's for the first time today and at first was rather startled by the atmosphere. Just beyond the host stand is a glass case full of raw steaks. Basically a butcher shop display in the restaurant. Right next to the butcher case is a glass wall with a full view into the kitchen so you can literally watch them prepare all of the food.

After taking our seats we were greeted by our server who told us all about Logan's (the fresh baked yeast rolls, fire grilled steaks, awesome mac and cheese, etc). Then, he made a promise: "this is your restaurant, we can do anything you want and meet any request, we value our customers and we will customize anything to make them happy"

That, is a very powerful promise. As a customer, it made me feel good...he was authentic and genuine and I believed him.

When he came back to take our order, we ordered the appetizer sampler platter, however we had one change. We wanted to add the Smokin Hot Grilled Wings to the platter and it wasn't one of the options for us to choose from. When we told our server that we wanted to add the wings to the platter, he promptly responded: "I'm sorry, we can' do that"

WHAT!?!?

You just spent 5 minutes blabbing on about how it's "our restaurant" and we can do "whatever we want" and now you're telling us no!?

Shocked, I challenged him on this statement and reminded him that he literally had just told us that we can make any change we want. After laying on more guilt than necessary, I finally convinced him to agree, but only after he said he would up charge us $1.

What started out as a great experience had turned suddenly sour.

Then, the free yeast rolls were brought to our table and saved the day.

R-E-M-A-R-K-A-B-L-E.

Light, fluffy, and piping hot the yeast rolls came out steaming and brushed with butter. The bread literally melted in your mouth.

Just a few minutes earlier we were upset, disappointed and irritated. Our server promised us something and then broke his promise moments later. However, the yeast rolls changed all this. Suddenly the chicken wings didn't even seem that important anymore when we had these glorious rolls in front of us.

Then I found out that Logan's offers mini burgers (or Roadies) on the yeast rolls. Clearly, you know what I ordered.

The Roadies were just as satisfying as the yeast roll and I'll be bold and say it was once of the best burgers I have ever had....juicy, flavored, and topped with cheese and a pickle. The yeast roll, however made the burger. Every burger should be served on a light buttery roll like this.

So at the end of the day, even though there was an awkward case of raw meat, and a slightly deceitful server it turned out to be a great experience. The free bread saved the day.....and I took a dozen rolls home.

[Free Offer: The manager stopped by our table and gave us two Free Logan's Roadhouse Appetizer certificates. The first two people who post on comment on this post about their favorite restaurant bread will get 1 of the Free Appetizer certificates!]

The Best Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

2009-09-27T13:56:00.011-04:00

It had been a long day, we were both exhausted.

With about an hour left until our flight back to Tampa, we needed food. But not that nasty overpriced airport food. We wanted something good, satisfying and comforting.

As we stood reading over the large airport terminal map of all the restaurants and shops in our terminal, nothing seemed good. Finally something stood out.....something original, different and just what we were looking for: Gourmet PB&J

We both looked at each other clearly thinking the same thing....Gourmet PB&J...is that possible? What does that even mean?

However, regardless of how odd it might sound, we were both convinced we needed to have it. The unfortunate part however was that the Gourmet PB&J restaurant was on the complete opposite end of the terminal....and it seemed like we walked forever. Who knew that I would ever go to this length just for a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.

When we arrived we were both pleasantly surprised by the unexpected variety of choices. I really didn't know what we would find on the menu aside from peanut butter and jelly.

However, they offered an array of bread choices including white, sourdough and 8 grain, several different types of jelly, crunchy or creamy peanut butter, and the best part of all...extra toppings: banana, honey, chocolate, marshmallow fluff and bacon. Yes, bacon.

If you know anything about peanut butter you probably know that the best peanut butter combination is with bananas. So I chose the toasted 8 grain bread, with crunchy peanut butter, bananas and honey. They toast your bread by sending it through a toaster similar to something you would see at Quizno's. Then they smother the peanut butter on, slice up the banana and top it all off with honey.

The end result was both expensive and fantastic. I was shocked that it cost close to $5 for a peanut butter and banana sandwich (I'm assuming it was due to an airport up charge). However, it was well worth the slightly ridiculous price. The thick crunchy peanut butter spread over the delicious bread and topping with bananas and honey moved my soul. It was completely delicious.

I don't want to over exaggerate however, it might have been the best peanut butter and banana sandwich I have ever had. Clearly we weren't the only ones craving a good old fashion peanut butter sandwich. The PB&J gourmet restaurant was situated in the middle of 4 other restaurants and it was the busiest, the line was filled with people all willing to spend $5 for a PB&J.

My question is, why don't more restaurants like this exist? It would be perfect for a mall food court when all people want is some comfort food. I know personally I would be there all of the time. Obviously you could always make a sandwich like this at home, however for some reason it just tastes better coming from a restaurant.

Maybe it was the bread, or the banana, or the honey but whatever it was it made me wish I had a reason to go to the Detroit airport more often.

Eating with the Amish

2009-09-23T22:55:00.002-04:00

When my wife first told me that she wanted to drive an hour south to Sarasota, FL to visit "the Amish country" I thought she had lost her mind.

"What do Amish people have to offer that's worth an hour drive?" I asked out of curiosity

She answered: "Cheese"

Well, cheese isn't the only thing. They also serve up pies, homemade mashed potatoes, and fried chicken.

At the word "cheese" she had me sold. We needed to go to Sarasota, now.

Believe it or not, there are actually a variety of Amish owned restaurants throughout Sarasota. However, after some deep research we settled on Yoder's Amish Home Cooking

From what we could gather, Yoder's seemed to be the most authentic and had the most history. Not to mention they were also recently featured on Travel Channel's Man vs. Food.

Yoder's is a quaint restaurant with a market to the right that sells fruit, vegetables, cheese, jams and bread. To the left of the restaurant is a store where you can purchase stuff for your house that you don't really need.

It became clear upon our arrival that Yoder's was a very popular place. The line to get in was out the front door and the parking lot was jammed packed.

We finally ended up getting seated at a table and we were greeted by our server. I talked to her quite a bit because while I had already studied the menu in detail and I really didn't know what to order. Sometimes when you visit restaurants you don't know what to order because nothing looks good, other times (and this rarely happens) you don't know what to order because you want to try everything.

This was one of those special situations where I wanted to eat everything on the menu. The decision was very tough, however with our server's counseling I decided on the 2 Piece Fried Chicken dinner with a side of mashed potatoes and homemade sweet potato fries.

My wife ordered the far less exciting "Vegetable Plate" which consisted of a salad, side of mashed potatoes and two corn muffins.

Finally the glorious moment arrived and our food was delivered to our table. The fried chicken was amazing, it's pressure cooked, crispy and extremely juicy. Every bite of the chicken was absolutely succulent.

The sweet potato fries were equally unbelievable....a full plate of homemade fries with a side of cinnamon sugar to sprinkle onto the fries. (Let's just say I sprinkled plenty on).

Knowing how famous Yoder's was for their homemade pies I didn't have any hesitation in placing my dessert order while I was still eating my entree.

We ordered one slice of peanut butter pie (see above) and a piece of cheesecake. The peanut butter pie is simply to die for. I'm going to make a bold statement and say it's some of the best pie I ever tasted.

After we ate ourselves into an oblivion, we went next store to the market and picked up some homemade strawberry jam, and baby swiss and muenster cheese.

The Amish know how to eat, how to cook and how to provide amazing service. The entire experience can be summed up by me simply saying: I wish I was Amish.

Addicted to the Orange Dream Machine

2009-09-12T21:05:00.004-04:00

I have a new addiction. And it's a rather expensive one.

What started out as an innocent journey to purchase a gift card for a friend turned into a mind numbing relationship that I simply don't know how to escape from.

This addiction is with Jamba Juice....something I never dreamed would happen. I'm not a huge smoothie guy. I don't need special energy boosters or doses of nutritional fruit, or shots of wheat grass.

We recently visited Jamba Juice with one intention: buy a gift card and leave. I made a terrible mistake though and started looking at the menu. About half way through the menu review, I almost lost interest until my eyes came upon the section titled "Creamy Treats".......now this is more my language.

There are only three choices in the Creamy Treats section and the smoothie called "Orange Dream Machine" caught my interest. Orange Juice, orange sherbet, non fat frozen yogurt and ice.

After some good hard thinking (after all, this "drink" cost over $4) and a strong recommendation from the Jamba employee, we decided to order an Orange Dream Machine.

Upon the sweet orange taste touching my lips I knew that I was forever enslaved to this phenomenal smoothie. Don't be fooled by the simple description of sherbet, yogurt and Orange Juice. This smoothie tastes like a melted down Orange Creamsicle. It's creamy, smooth, thick and completely delicious. Nothing is better than an Orange Creamsicle, especially when you can drink it through a straw.

My wife and I fought over every single ounce of the Orange Dream Machine smoothie and we were sucking down every last drop.

Now.....the Orange Dream Machine owns me. I can't get it out of my mind. I think about Jamba Juice and that stupid orange smoothie all the time. When I drive by Jamba Juice I get lost in my gaze and I almost drive off the road. I need help, or maybe I just need to go buy some more Orang Dream Machines.

Who knew a fat man could be addicted to a smoothie?

The Traveling Bib

2009-09-02T22:08:00.005-04:00

We all know that the best place aside from the airport to "people watch" is the mall Food Court.

This past weekend while we were sitting in our local Food Court watching people and enjoying our Chick-Fil-A we saw something more shocking than usual.

A few tables to the right were two elderly woman eating chili from Wendy's. But, they had plastic Red Lobster bibs on.

That's right...in order to protect their outfit from getting chili on it they somehow had gotten plastic Red Lobster bibs to wear while eating it.

Slowly as the woman ate, my wife and I watched more and more closely in shock and awe. Where did they get Red Lobster bibs at the mall and why were they wearing them in the middle of a Food Court?!?!

Here is the really alarming part: After they were done eating, they took off their bibs, wiped them clean with a napkin, folded them up neatly and put them back in their purse.

These women carry their Red Lobster bibs around with them!

As you can imagine this launched a series of questions in my mind.

Why do grown women feel the need to use a bib?
Why does Red Lobster offer bibs....is lobster really that messy?
Why would someone steal a plastic bib from Red Lobster, clean it after use and carry it around with them?

I'm a pretty messy guy. My wife spends many of her evenings getting stains out of my clothes, however, I would never consider wearing a plastic bib or carrying one around with me at every restaurant I visit.

It seems absurd to tie a plastic bib around your neck before eating....I would feel more like a baby than anything else.

Have you used a bib? Do you know anybody that carries one around with them!?

What Didn't this Happen at My College?

2009-08-26T21:55:00.005-04:00

McDonald's is moving forward in conquering the world with their new line of McCafe beverages.

There latest stop for coffee domination is at college campuses. In what is likely their most genius move yet they placed hidden cameras inside a Boston University classroom earlier this summer to film bored students during an early morning class lecture (see video below).

Suddenly in the middle of class McDonald's employees come parading in to give McCafe beverages to all of the students. The hidden cameras carefully filmed the transformation from miserable classroom to delighted students as they sucked down their McDonald's coffee.

The students of course had no idea they were being filmed and now McDonald's has turned the hidden camera experience into their next TV ad which will begin airing on September 1.

The ad is great for McDonald's. It shows the authentic positive influence their coffee can have on everyone and it captures real life reaction to their drinks.

Here's the only thing I can't figure out: Why didn't this ever happen to me when I was in college?!!

RSS and Email readers, click here to view the video.

Your Neighborhood Microwave

2009-08-23T16:33:00.007-04:00

It's always special when someone who doesn't know your personality gives you a gift card for a place you would never go to.

This scenario is how my wife and I found ourselves with a $25 gift card to Applebee's this past weekend.

This particular gift card was one that I didn't want to spend more than I received, which means I had zero intentions of spending a penny more than $25.

With this plan in mind, we invited two of our other cheap friends to our house for a small, yet free Applebee's party.

Knowing our budget, we ordered two Appetizer Sampler Platters ($12.49 each) to get the most food and the most variety. The Sampler platter included: Spinach Artichoke Dip, Mozzarella Sticks, Cheese Quesadillas and Boneless Buffalo Wings.

When placing my to-go order the Applebee's employee told me it would be ready in 15 minutes.

15 minutes! Wow that's fast....wait a second.....how are they cooking this food? Technically I have no idea, however after getting this quoted time I began to form a theory that the food might actually be cooked in the microwave.

About 20 minutes later, my theory was proven true when I opened up our to go packages to reveal the two Appetizer Sampler Platters. The Spinach Dip was nuked to oblivion with a nice thick cheesy skin on top of the dip. The Mozzarella sticks were still slightly hard and the cheese was chewy. Thee buffalo wings (which I assume were originally frozen) had breading that was nice and dry even with the buffalo sauce on top.

All symptoms of food cooked in a microwave.

Is what has happened to Casual Dining restaurants? Should we expect fast food quality food at a significantly higher price?

Before I go on in my riff against Applebee's let me just set one thing clear - the food didn't taste bad.

But, what frozen microwaved food does? Hot Pockets taste good. Digiorno Pizza tastes good. T.G.I Friday's has even gone as far as selling their microwaved food in the frozen section of your local grocery store.

So maybe I'm just the one with the whacked out thinking. All signs point that we should anticipate that food from Casual Dining restaurants like Applebee's should be microwaved and then served to us.

I guess I just always hope for more.

You Say When

2009-08-09T17:29:00.007-04:00

Walking through the mall today everyone around me was carrying blue cardboard cups filled with some sort of dessert.

After seeing person after person stroll by indulging in some frozen treat my curiosity began to rise and soon my wife and I were on a mission to find the origins of the blue cups.

We darted down each section of the mall and finally stumbled upon You Say When Yogurt Shoppe. What we found was something I have never seen before. Along the wall of the yogurt shoppe was a variety of frozen yogurt flavors including mint chocolate chip, angel food cake, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mango and more. In addition to the frozen yogurt there was a display of yogurt toppings....chocolate, fresh fruit, nuts and even Fruit Loops.

Above the frozen yogurt machines was a sign that read, $.59 per ounce and on the counter near the cash register was a small scale. This is definitely a different type of Frozen Yogurt concept. You grab you're own cup and fill it up with as many flavors and toppings as you like and then weigh it at the end and pay for how many ounces you have.

I was interested enough to give it a try, however an imperative question was going through my head. How much is an ounce?

For $.59 an ounce, every single drop of frozen yogurt suddenly matters because it's all adding up to be the final cost of your dessert. In order to test things out first I asked the employee to show me how much an ounce of frozen yogurt actually was.

Satisfied with the amount I cautiously I took my blue cup and filled it every so slightly with strawberry frozen yogurt and then ran over to the scale to see how much I had. Realistically I figured I would spend about $4 so I was carefully trying to stay close to this boundary.

After my first measurement I wasn't quite to $4 yet so I went back over to the machines to add a little bit more. This time I mixed in Angel Food Cake to the strawberry and ran back over to the scale to measure it one more time......I still had some more room to play with so I went back to the strawberry yogurt and added just a tiny little dollop more.

Proudly I took my cup of Frozen Yogurt to the register and it rang in at 6.8 ounces total or $4.29 with tax. This did not include any extra toppings.

The Frozen Yogurt was simply delicious. The Angel Food Cake wasn't too sweet and complimented the authentic tasting strawberry flavor wonderfully. Not only did this little afternoon treat taste good, but in comparison to other ice creams or desserts it's not too bad for you either.

Frozen Yogurt is a national craze right now, "You Say When" Yogurt Shoppe is the first I have seen to make things different, interesting and exciting. My only advice before you go is to make sure you know how big an ounce is, otherwise you're bound to walk out with a $10 cup of Frozen Yogurt.

Locations here.

Yummy Yummy Sauce

2009-08-08T07:04:00.003-04:00

Strachan's Homemade Ice Cream shop located in Dunedin and Palm Harbor, FL has a secret....and it's not their ice cream.

Usually when you visit an ice cream place it's because of their actual ice cream. It's homemade or they offer your favorite flavor etc. I remember as a kid Baskin Robbin's 31 Flavors was the only place around (at that time) that served green mint chocolate chip ice cream. Why anyone would invent mint chocolate chip ice cream that's not green is beyond me.

The sauce and toppings for ice cream however often gets overlooked. We don't necessarily care what type of toppings an ice cream place offers because we're so caught up in the ice cream flavors.

At Strachan's Homemade Ice Cream however, focusing too much on the ice cream is a big mistake. Don't get me wrong they offer some of the best homemade flavors I have ever had. But, it's not their secret.

Their secret is in their Yummy Yummy Sauce.

Yes, Yummy Yummy Sauce and let me tell you it is very yummy. It's their own combination of hot chocolate and hot caramel sauce mixed together. While it sounds very simple, don't be fooled, it's freakin delicious.

At Strachan's they put Yummy Yummy Sauce on just about everything.....Banana Splits, Homemade Ice Cream, Soft Serve, and every sundae. My favorite however is to just get plain vanilla soft serve and then let them dump as much Yummy Yummy Sauce on top of it as possible. The sweet tastes of chocolate and caramel blended together takes an ice cream dessert to an entirely different level.

Yummy Yummy sauce as far as I'm concerned is the best invention since ice cream and I can't get enough of it.

You need to experience it to, so you have two choices: 1. Visit Strachan's or 2. If you don't live in FL you'll need to make your own, here is a recipe. (When you have it finished, send me an email and I'll be right over.)

It's Local and it's Tasty

2009-08-05T22:05:00.005-04:00

If you're local to the Tampa Bay area, there are an enormous amount of great local restaurants to check out.

Below are some local restaurant reviews I've written for MetroMix.com in the past few months. Follow the links to discover a new local restaurant in the Tampa Bay area.

Cupcake CUPCAKES - a Cupcake shop with delicious cupcake creations. Review here.

Green Chili Indian Bistro - fast casual Indian food. Sounds weird but I was pleasantly surprised. Review here.

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza - an original take on pizza cooked over burning coals. Review here.

If you're in the mood for Cupcakes, Indian Cuisine or authentic coal fired pizza, all of these restaurants will fulfill your desires.

15th Ave Coffee & Tea

2009-07-26T21:27:00.005-04:00

At 15th Ave Coffee & Tea in Seattle you can get something most coffee places don't offer.

All of their coffee is brewed the way you like it, either pour over, French Press, La Marzocco or Clover. They offer a variety of unique coffees some of which are grown locally and others are from around the world. Their specialty teas are just as unique and special.

15th Ave Coffee & Teas serves fresh pastries which are baked locally and delivered fresh to the coffee shop every day. During the evening you can get a cup of specialty coffee and enjoy live music from a local artist. An added bonus to this whole experience is the free Wi-Fi and the hip atmosphere.

This one of a kind coffee shop just a short time ago was a neighborhood Starbucks, one of many throughout the Seattle area. This particular location fell victim to Starbucks many closings throughout the country late last year.

Then just this past week the shopped reopened as 15th Ave Coffee & Tea. The ironic part? It's still owned by Starbucks.

That's right, Starbucks closed the store, completed rebranded it as a local coffee shop and then reopened it under a different name. Are they trying to trick us?

Starbucks isn't trying to fool anyone, they're conducting an experiment. When Starbucks became mainstream in the 1990s, their rapid expansion ran many local coffee shops out of business. With their corporate marketing budget and streamlined processes the local joints simply couldn't compete. Now, Starbucks is taking a step back to discover what it destroyed.

For the first time ever they are creating an authentic and local coffee shop that serves up more than just coffee...they're serving a piece of the local culture. By concentrating on everything local, even naming their store after the street their located on, their hoping that they will uncover a new secret about what consumers actually desire.

According to this recent article it seems like this new "local" approach is just the beginning. If the 15th Ave experiment goes like Starbucks has planned, we might all start seeing Starbucks close and reopen as a new creation.

The real question however is if this new local approach is enough to change consumer's opinions about Starbucks. If a local coffee shop owned by Starbucks opens in your neighborhood, would you go there?

More info about the 15th Ave Coffee & Tea shop is available on their website here.

Needs

2009-07-22T21:29:00.008-04:00

Restaurants' purpose is to fulfill our needs.

The remarkable restaurants understand this concept. They deliver memorable, revolutionary experiences that make you want to go back again and again.

I need a burger from Five Guys. I need coffee from Dunkin Donuts. I need a bowl from Chipotle. I need teriyaki chicken from Pei Wei.

I don't need Ruby Tuesday's.

The last time I was at Ruby Tuesday's was probably 10 years ago. Since my last visit, they have gone through an extreme re-branding campaign, changing everything about the inside and outside of the restaurant including a complete makeover of the menu.

The inside of the restaurant is gorgeous. They have huge comfortable chairs, cool lighting and servers that look hip and modern. The food on the menu looks spectacular and they offer a guarantee on their hamburgers: if you don't like it they'll replace it. Not to mention all of their burgers come with endless fries. (Very sweet).

Our server was good...he was friendly, attentive and when it took too long for our food to come out he comped all of our drinks.

The food was....ok. We tried a variety of the menu including: the sampler appetizer, spinach and artichoke dip, fried spicy shrimp appetizer, prime cheeseburger and three mini burgers (turkey, crab and hamburger) and the Blondie dessert and chocolate tall cake. Yes, we ate a lot.

From the taste of it I'm going to guess that most of the food was frozen before it was cooked. However, the burger was very juicy and delicious. Although it was juicy it didn't have much flavor or unique taste. The mini turkey burger was awkward and the mini crab cake burger might have still been a little raw.

Generally speaking you could sum up the food with one word: decent. (My wife would probably disagree with me and just tell you it was disgusting seeing how she was violently ill late last night after dinner.)

So what's wrong with decent? Nothing really. Clearly people don't have a problem with mediocre food as Ruby Tuesday was on a wait when we got there.

Maybe I'm the one who's messed up here. We were in a brand new restaurant with good service, a menu that offers a guarantee and endless fries all at a fairly reasonable price, yet I was still unsatisfied.

What's my problem then?

I don't need it. It just wasn't amazing enough. It was just a normal restaurant. I could have gotten the food I had almost anywhere else and it probably would have tasted better. There is nothing special or spectacular about Ruby Tuesday's.

Today when dollars are stretched and "nights out" are limited, every single experience has to be remarkable...it has to fulfill our needs.

So tell me, does Ruby Tuesday do anything for you?

Learning How to Eat

2009-07-20T22:00:00.007-04:00

I don't know how to eat.

I realize this may come as a surprise to many of you as I talk about eating on a regular basis. Technically speaking, I do know what to eat, just not how to eat it. Basically what I'm getting at is that my dining etiquette isn't as good as it should be.

Unfortunately this creates a bit of a problem as I often find myself in situations where I'm eating in front of other people. How do you hold a knife and cut? Which glass is mine? Which way does the bread get passed? Can I take more than one piece of bread?

These burning questions and the addition of my "motivating" wife led me to hire an Etiquette Coach. I didn't want to go to Etiquette School with a bunch of 16 year olds so my search took quite some time, however after a few plunges into Google search results I found Patricia Rossi, an Etiquette and Protocol Coach. Her program was exactly what I was looking for: a one time 1.5 hour session at Capitol Grille for $95. That's right, a complete lunch at Capitol Grille and etiquette training for only $95, in my opinion a pretty sweet deal.

I suppose all things considered, I should have been nervous about having lunch with an etiquette coach but I wasn't. Realistically, I was paying her to tell me how dumb I am so I was hoping that I would mess up a few times.

Capitol Grille is an interesting restaurant and wasn't what I was expecting at all. The interior design is a reflection of a Country Club up north, complete with deer heads hanging on the walls and portraits of old men. To be honest I wasn't a huge fan, however the food made up for it.

The first step of learning how to eat involved knowing where all of the utensils go on the table, which ones are yours and which ones to use first (work outside in). Then the hardest part of all... we practiced cutting. Please note at this time we didn't have any food yet.....we were cutting imaginary food. However with my imaginary food I learned that you aren't suppose to "saw" at your food and you're suppose to eat with your left hand (if your right handed).

Once we finished practicing on imaginary food, our server brought out the most delectable French Onion soup I have ever tasted. But, how do you eat French Onion soup properly? You're suppose to cut the large crouton using your spoon on the side of the bowl and then to take a bite.

The saddest part about getting etiquette training is that you're not there to eat. What I really wanted to do when I saw the bowl of French Onion soup was to dip my head right in and enjoy, however instead I had to properly cut and then taste every bite.

Moving along Capitol Grille next served a perfectly grilled 8oz fillet with a side of mashed potatoes. The fillet was so tender and juicy I could have cut it with my fork and eaten it the way I really wanted to. However, per Patricia Rossi's guidance I had to eat the proper way and use my knife and fork as they are supposed to be used. While at first I didn't enjoy this, it did make me slow down and actually savor the food I was eating.

Capitol Grille prepares a phenomenal steak, their amazing food complimented by their world class service made this one of my all time favorite dining experiences. They anticipate your needs, exceed your expectations and their servers are wildly intelligent.

At the end of my experience I left with a full stomach and a full mind. Test me, I dare you. Sure I dropped my fork a couple of times and I took more free bread than I was supposed to, but now for the first time I actually know how to eat like a gentleman.

So be on the look out, next time you see me I'll be the classy guy using his knife and fork the right way and drinking his beverage without a straw.

Jealous?

Dream Blizzard

2009-07-13T22:05:00.005-04:00

Spring was always an exciting time of year.

Not because of spring cleaning, or rain or the blooming of flowers. Spring was special for one reason only: Girl Scout Cookies.

Every spring, Girl Scouts appear out of no where. Like a herd of stampeding cattle they show up on the side of the street, in front of grocery stores, and in your office buildings. At every destination they only have one goal in mind: sell Girl Scout cookies.

When we were kids, my Dad's office was no different and one magical day in March he would come home with boxes upon boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Then, the fight began. My brother and I only liked two kinds of cookies: Tagalongs and Thin Mints. Not trusting one another we would split the boxes evenly and take our portion of boxes up to our rooms and hide them.

There was always one problem: my brother never changed his hiding spot. So, it didn't take me long to find them and once I finished off my boxes I slowly finished his as well....taking one cookie at a time very slowly. Evil, I know.

To this very day I adore Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies. The rich chocolate combined with the crunchy cookie on the bottom and peanut butter inside tastes like a a piece of heaven.

For this reason, you can imagine how excited I was when Dairy Queen announced their Blizzard of the Month was a Tagalong Blizzard. Last night I got my first taste of the new Blizzard. I'll be honest, I am slightly bias. With my love for Tagalongs it was almost impossible for DQ to mess this up.

The Tagalong cookies were crushed up and the pieces of cookie, peanut butter and chocolate were blending in the DQ ice cream beautifully. The peanut butter and crunchy cookie all mixed up into the ice cream tasted even better than the cookie by itself. This was probably one of the best Blizzards I have ever had. In other words, this is a Tagalong lovers' dream blizzard. I'm petitioning DQ to move this Blizzard onto their menu permanently.

The bad news is, it's only here for a short time and once it's gone I doubt I'll be able to steal this Blizzard from my brother.

Taco Bell Takes No Ingredients from Nature

2009-07-02T22:09:00.003-04:00

We all love Taco Bell. We all know that the "quality" of their food is often questionable.

Finally to answer all of our unanswerable questions, The Onion News Network has provided this breaking news about Taco Bell's latest food creations. I'll let you decide if you want to believe this story is true or not.

Can't see the video? Click Here.

Crazy for Crispers

2009-07-01T20:17:00.009-04:00

For years I have been searching.

Where can we find a restaurant that is like Panera only better? A better version of Panera would be a place that offers quality food at a reasonable price in an inviting atmosphere and has outstanding service....

Crispers is that place.

Before my most recent visit I had only been there once before several years ago. It was a bad experience...service was poor, food was overpriced, and the atmosphere was reminiscent of a high school cafeteria.

My wife went back to Crispers about a month ago and it was so good she went two more times that same week. From her ongoing praise I decided it was time to go back.

Here's what Crispers does that Panera doesn't:

The employees are friendly. When I couldn't decide what to order, the employee opened up a menu and made several suggestions. He read our order back to us and was more than happy to make any special changes to what we ordered without giving us a problem.

Great variety and the ability to customize. They have countless salads, sandwiches, sides and flat breads. There is an endless amount of choices and you can combine them any way you like. See for yourself. As mentioned above, they offer you the choice of bread you want on your sandwich (however I encourage you to always pick Asiago Cheese). They ASK you if you want something special changed to your meal. Have you ever tried to change the bread on your sandwich at Panera? Chances are if you have, the employee responded with a dramatic eye-roll and a sigh of frustration.

Service. You know that pager at Panera? The one they give you so you can sit and wait but everyone stands at the counter anyway? There is no pager at Crispers and there is no counter to wait at. They take it a step further and deliver your food to you based on the number on your table. OH and when you're done they come pick up the dishes for you. Say goodbye to bus tubs and overflowing trash cans.

It tastes good, it's high quality and the portion is huge. I ordered the half Pulled Pork Carnitas Sandwich and a cup of potato soup. Crispers pulls their pork in their restaurant. The flavoring of the pork plus the BBQ sauce and topped off with the Asiago Cheese bread tasted like a summer BBQ dream. The "cup" at Crispers is double the size of the "cup" at Panera and that creamy potato soup was sensational.

Two words: Kids Club. If you have a kid and even if you don't the Kid's Club at Crispers is by far the best thing of all. A kids grilled cheese costs $3.99 and you can select your type of bread. It's served with a side of potato chips and the best part? A wooden coin. I know, sounds crazy however this wooden coin is good for a free kids sized gelato at the end of your meal. You just take the coin up to the counter and they'll give you your choice of creamy, sweet, rich, fantastic gelato. The gelato normally is extremely expensive so even if you don't have a kid you should probably considering ordering the kids meal anyway.

Friendly employees, quality food, a nice warm atmosphere, and the added bonus is gelato. Crispers is everything that Panera wishes they could be. From now on you'll know where to find me. I'll be that guy at Crispers claiming my daughter's wooden coin for my own personal gelato.

You can find your nearest Crispers here.

The Guacamole Convert

2009-06-25T22:14:00.006-04:00

I always thought those people who got guacamole at Chipotle were complete fools.

First, the guacamole looks like a green paste. Second it costs like $2. Why do you need it?

Then like a slap in the face my eyes were suddenly opened.

My relationship with guacamole started as any relationship should.....nice and slow. My short yet sometimes insightful sister-in-law is obsessed with Chipotle guac. She gets it dumped on her bowl every time she visits Chipotle and when I was last with her I asked for just a taste on a chip. Eh, it was good but it didn't blow my mind and I still didn't understand why people insisted on having it.

This first taste raised my curiosity and on my next visit to Chipotle I started using a wise and classy trick. Something you may or may not know is that if you get a veggie bow the guac is free....therefore eliminating the $2 charged slapped on at the very end. If you get a veggie bowl and don't want the guac on top, no problem they will put it on the side for you.

With this knowledge I finally decided to use something I should have been using for years. My wife always orders a veggie bowl and I have never taken advantage of the "free guac". The taste adventure with my sister-in-law got me interested so several weeks ago I requested the guac on the side of my wife's veggie bowl.

When we got home, I gently and cautiously added just a touch of guac to my bowl and mixed it in with everything else. Whoa...whoa......this was intensely better then just having it on the chip. Looking around to make sure my wife wasn't looking I added a little more...mixed it in and took a few more bites.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING OUT ON!?!?

For years.....YEARS I have been living in an empty world without guacamole. So many meals....so many opportunities to make my Chipotle food better are now lost forever. The homemade taste of Chipotle's guac combined with the flavors of the rest of their food is nothing short of remarkable.

My life has been changed forever. Now I demand on having guac on the side with my bowl....a Chipotle experience without it would be far from superior. I will never look upon those that added guacamole at Chipotle with disgust again. Yes it is a significant amount more money to add guacamole onto your meal. However the trick is to go with a friend who gets a veggie bowl and ask for it as a side...then it's free (assuming your veggie eating friend doesn't want it).

The guacamole at Chipotle is food magic. Forget about the infamous queso at Moe's.