My Addictions: Food & Photography

Homework & Life = Busy - But Here is Some Food!

2011-04-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

Homework is keeping me very busy so here is another more photos and information update. Enjoy:

March @ Moritomo:

April @ Moritomo:

Horrible:

Wawa:

Some Fun:

Sonic:

Philly Flavors:

Chloe's Corner on Main Street in Manayunk:

Five Guys:

Home cookin' thanks to my shy girlfriend:

Stadium Grill West Chester:

Collegeville Diner:

Wegmans:

Hong Kong Chinese - West Chester, PA:

Dalessandro's - Roxborough, PA:

Out of the machine at work:

New York Bagel - West Chester, PA:

Homemade Pizza:

Homemade Meatloaf:

More later :)

Phillies Come From Behind, Opening Day Win!

2011-04-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

If you could not tell I am a die hard Philly sports fan (Phillies, Flyers, Eagles). Though the Flyers lost their game we went to last night, it was still a great time. Today, was a whole new day. Phillies opening day! Waking up this morning I was surprised to see it snowing as I left the house. Not something I was expecting for an early April morning in this area. My drive to work looked like this:

April fools from mother nature, thanks! They're calling for 50's and 60's next week and I hope they are right!

Food-wise, today was not so healthy. Today at lunch I made a pit stop at Rita's for some more water ice. Go figure. The owner of my company bought 50 pizzas for us to eat. This is always a great lunch on a Friday. I didn't grab a shot while it was sitting in the kitchen (would've been a great shot), but I did get some photos of the food itself. Two slices of meat lovers, one slice of plain, and one slice of veggie. I also brought home a whole plain pizza.

I am not a big soda drinker by any means. I have had maybe two or three sodas in the past four years. For some reason today, I decided to bypass my "soda diet" and go with one of my former favorites:

Still not sure what is on the docket for this evening with dinner and possibly dessert. We shall see! Now, it's time to get back to watching Andrew Zimmern some more. Wish me luck in not getting hungry!!

Quick Update!

2011-03-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Tons going on today so this is more of a photo update than anything!

Wawa for lunch:

Flyers game with my g/f, my brother, and a bunch of co-workers for dinner and beer

'til this weekend! :)

Answering Requests Already

2011-03-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

It seems I've made somewhat of an impression on people already. I am okay with that. On Wednesday, Stadium Grille in West Chester, PA offers their full rack of ribs for $9.95. A drenching of honey BBQ (Gold), hot, or mild are the flavor options. Fries and a side are included. Tasty! This is fast becoming a regular order for me on Wednesdays. Today, myself and a co-worker, both opted for the full rack of ribs. He got the hot sauce and baked beans on the side. I got the honey BBQ with the potato salad on the side. Quite tasty, though the amount of baked beans, potato salad, and other sides leaves some to be desired. Thankfully, when I finish every piece of this meal, I feel perfectly full and not overly bloated. This is a good deal. Without further ado, on to the photos!

It helps to wash down these amazing ribs with some Arizona Southern Style Sweet Tea. Now, I must point out, I dislike this sweet tea when it is in the large, plastic container. It is merely okay in the glass bottle. In the $.99 can, that is where the flavor really shines:

As you can see, this meat is "hickory smoked" to perfection. The meat is so tender that it falls off the bone as you slowly bite into it:

If this is causing you to salivate, I've done my job! A short time after these landed on my desk (17 minutes to be exact), each delicious rib, every french fry, and all of my potato salad was gone!

I admit, 5 hours after I laid my hands on these puppies, I am once again craving more! Unfortunately, the rain/snow is beginning and I am not too enthused about heading back outside. I'm going to sit here on my couch, flip on my TV, and look forward to eating some Rita's, drinking some beer, and watching movies with my incredible girlfriend later this evening.

Speaking of beer, I'm going to make a confession. I personally am not a huge fan. I've tried the majority of typical beers out there from Guinness to Keystone, Corona to Natty Ice, Bernards to Bud Light. I'm honestly not too thrilled with any of them. I have recently been introduced to one brand that has turned all this around. My buddy Matt, his girlfriend Amanda, and our friend Jay recommended a brand Lindemans. An hour or two later I did as I normally do and forgot all about it. A couple months later my girlfriend and I went out to a bar in the Fairmount/Art Museum area of Philly. This bar is called The Belgian Cafe. While there, she recommended that I try a beer she had enjoyed while in Brussels (Belgium). So, try I did. Boy, was I HOOKED! The label read Framboise Lambic Lindemans. Odd. I had this inkling that the beer was familiar, though I had no idea why. I didn't put two and two together 'til a few days later. This was the same beer that my friends had recommended, but I brushed off. Thankfully, because of my friends suggesting it, and girlfriend recommending it while we were out, I now have a favorite beer!

The Framboise, or raspberry, is quite good! We also sampled the Kriek, or black cherry, and the Peche, or peach. My personal favorite is the Peche. When it hits my lips and tongue it tastes almost like some sort of peach juice, with a slightly hoppy finish. This I can deal with. The way they get this amazing taste is due to the fermentation process of the beer. Let me quote the Lindemans website: "In origin, this sweet-acid drink was obtained by adding fresh black cherries to a barrel Lambic of 6 months young. The addition of fruits provokes a new fermentation in the oak barrels. After another 8 to 12 months, only peels and stones left and the Kriek-Lambic is ready to be filtered and bottled. The residual sugar can be adjusted with straight-on fruit juice to give a refermentation in the bottle. This traditional type of fruit beer is more acid and less fruity." Much more detailed information is available on the link by clicking their name prior to the quote.

After that night at the Belgian Cafe we began searching for suppliers of Lindemans. The small (12 oz if I recall correctly) bottles were nearly $10 a piece. I found this pretty steep, though I am aware of all the work involved in the brewing and export process. Upon searching, we could not find many local places that carried these beers, without purchasing a case for $125+. This, too, was not the route I wanted to take. Thankfully, luck was on our side as we made a stop at our usual super market, Wegmans. Boy were were surprised!! As you can see from the Wegmans link, not only does Wegmans carry Lindemans, but they also have a larger, 25.4 oz bottle for the same price as the bars 12 oz bottle! We could not have been happier. We snatched up a few bottles each and headed out to partake in what we knew would be an amazing night! Cut to a couple months later, and this is only 1/8th of the bottles we have finished:

They even fit in my motorcycle tank bag:

And, on that note, I leave you with something more personable. A photo of my girlfriend and I out on my motorcycle in Valley Forge National Historic Park, as well as a photo of us on her birthday last year (It's food related!):

Thanks for reading and have a great night!

Starting It All Off...

2011-03-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hello and thank you for visiting my Food & Photography blog! Real quick, my name is Rick, I am 28 years old, I attend school at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and also work full time for a Jeep Aftermarket Parts company in West Chester, PA. I live in Southeast Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. I'm writing this while watching the Philadelphia Flyers versus Pittsburgh Penguins game. If I come off as distracted that is because I am! Let's go Flyers! (0-0). Food has always been an enjoyable aspect of life for me. I've been documenting most of what I eat and drink through Facebook on a regular basis. This has lead several of my friends to remove me from their news feeds, and even from their friends lists because my photos make them hungry. I can find solace in the fact that I know precisely how they feel. I personally cannot watch Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, or one of other countless shows on the Food Network, Travel Channel, and others without stuffing my face. If I make the mistake of flipping on one of these shows with an empty stomach I do not sit on my couch for long!

I've always had a soft spot for desserts, no pun intended. Whether in the form of my favorite Swedish Fish Gelati from Rita's Water Ice:

A Maple Creemie from countless stores in and near Burlington, Vermont:

A FroYo from Sweet Endings in Center City, Philadelphia:

Anything from Philly Flavors:

Or the the now vanished Dairy Queen Nerds Blizzard, they all have a space in my heart (and stomach). An added bonus to my life is my girlfriend of 10 months who is an incredible chef. Not only can she out-bake anyone I know (Pastries), but she can produce culinary masterpieces with the best of them:

This runs in her family as her father creates some beautifully plated, superbly seasoned, incredibly tasty dishes:

Thankfully, with the power of my many cameras and lenses, you will get to experience these art pieces from time to time. I also have several friends who are masters of the kitchen, so you will be seeing their productions as well in this blog. Though I cannot promise daily updates as I am in school and work full time, I will be updating this as often as possible.

I'll close this post with a note and some photos. The Flyers are winning 3-2 with 4 minutes left in the 2nd period - again - Let's Go Flyers! And now for your viewing pleasure, lunch courtesy of one of my favorite hoagie places in the area, as well as one of my favorite (Non-alcoholic) drinks:

Photos in this blog were taken with my HTC Thunderbolt 8 Megapixel camera. Most of my high quality shots will be shot with my Nikon D2x and one of my lenses. Stay tuned for more food and photography very shortly!