September 2011


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Stuff the Bus: Food Drive Takes Over DC

Hey there. Quick service announcement.

For those of you in the DMV, Venga is teaming with DC Central Kitchen for a two-week city-wide food and donation drive. I’ll be helping “Stuff the Bus” tomorrow at the weekly food truck convention known as Farragut Fridays.

Come out to help support the city’s hungry by donating canned or boxed goods (acceptable goods list) or giving plain old money (onsite or online) while you wait in line for your food truck-sponsored lunch. If you can’t make it tomorrow, check out the full Stuff the Bus schedule, which runs all next week.

What: Stuff the Bus Food Drive
When: Friday, September 23 from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Where: Farragut Square, between I St, NW and K St, NW and Connecticut Ave, NW and 17th St, NW
Bring: Non-Perishable Goods or Money* (Cash, Credit Card, Check)

*And if giving to a good cause won’t provide you with enough warm and fuzzies, read more to check out the discounts you’ll recive for donating.

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in Personal 1 comments
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Nachos Gone Wild!

With football season kicking into high gear, it’s about time for some serious snack talk. But you know us ES-ers aren’t gonna just crack open some Tostitos spicy cheese dip and call it a day. These 10 recipes are taking nachos to a whole new level.

1. Greek Nachos

Pita chips, ground lamb, and tzatziki stand in for the usual Mexican ingredients in this inventive Mediterranean take on Nachos.

Greek nachos recipe from elly says opa!

2. Chimichurri Nachos

It’s Argentina’s turn to get creative, topping their nachos with grilled steak and the country’s signature cilantro sauce.

Chimichurri nachos recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

3. Totchos

Yes, that’s tater tot nachos, and really, can anyone argue nachos wouldn’t be better when you replace the chips with crispy fried potatoes?

Tater tot nacho recipe from Riley J. Briggs.

4. Pasta Nachos

At San Francisco Italian restaurant Puccini and Pinetti, wonton wrappers serve as the base for Italian nachos topped with marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil.

Recipe for pasta nachos.

5. Grilled Nachos

Once again proving that any food that tastes good tastes even better cooked over a grill.

Grilled nachos recipe from Jenn’s Food Journey.

Next: Potato chip nachos, dessert nachos and more

in Cheese / Desserts / Featured / Lists / Pig / Red Meat / Restaurants / Top 10 Lists / Trends 1 comments
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Attack of the Meme: The Best of Parks and Recreation Food Banter

There’s not much in this life that can cure my end of summer blues. Brussels sprout season comes close. So does the chance to wear leggings and my gold-studded flats. But, really, it’s watching Leslie Knope promoting parks, recreation, feminism and pot brownies.

With Parks and Recs starting tonight, here’s the best of its food banter.

10. A Simple Man

(Photo: CraftyCake)

9. Tissues Are Out, Scones are In

(Photo: Nine Weasleys)

8. Biology 101

(Photo: Forehead)

7. The New Aphrodisiacs

(Photo: Broriarty)

6. Life Lessons

Next: Top 5 Moments in Food Banter on Parks and Rec

in Featured / Lists / TV 3 comments
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Time for a Mudslide…on a Stick

Fall is almost here and with that we are letting up on the fruit in the Poptails-a bit. But what we are not letting up on is the booze.

Get your mixing hands ready for this mudslide with a twist. We went and added a banana in the mix. The sweetness of the banana neutralizes any tang the vanilla yogurt body may have, and adds a bit of creaminess to the mixture. While we were at it, we also threw in some grated chocolate for added flavor and texture.

There you have it, enjoy your Endless Simmer twist-up of the traditional mudslide, in a Poptail.

Mudslide Poptail

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in Desserts / Endless Poptails / Recipe 5 comments
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Plus-Size Vegas: The Peppermill

To celebrate/mourn the end of the summer, I did what any old-fashioned, hard-drinking American girl would do: hopped a flight to Vegas for a weekend of pool parties, 52-oz. margaritas, slot machines, and food exploration. I know it’s important to look hot in Vegas, and part of looking hot is not stuffing your face with so much buffet food that you get all bloated and oily. That’s why I took it relatively easy until the final day of our trip, when I said “screw it” and headed down to the old end of the Strip to try out a diner I had read about and was desperate to experience for myself: the Peppermill, where everything is larger than life.

The Peppermill is equally lauded for its immense portions of epically greasy diner food and its gloriously tacky atmosphere. Upon entering the Pep, the hostess will probably say something like “Okay, for three?  It’ll be about 20 minutes. But you’re welcome to wait in our lounge…?” Yes, yes, YES. You will wait in the magnificent Fireside Lounge!

It looks like Xanadu crashed into a jungle, and then disco balls covered the sky, then half of the wildlife in the jungle turned into flatscreen TVs that blare blurry 80s music video programming. How’s that for a mental picture? Can you imagine it? Well, here’s a taste:

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in Bacon / Cheese / Food Travel / Pig / Restaurants / Sandwich 1 comments
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Two Broke Girls With One Contradiction

I live in DC, where the people are nerdy and we still form lines at cupcake shops. We’re dorky. Okay. I admit it. But I also live among the smug and deceptively pretentious. I’ve been to Brooklyn, too. I’m familiar with stereotypes. Therefore, let me judge.

In the new CBS laugh-tracked comedy, 2 Broke Girls, a sarcastic bitchy brunette, “Max,” played by Kat Dennings, is poor and full of sass, living in the birthplace of hipsterville, Williamsburg, yet dreams of opening a cupcake store.

Max isn’t a hipster herself, as she easily mocks two wool-hat wearing scrawny boys, but she sure isn’t subscribing to Real Simple either. Heeding information solely from the inaugural episode, I concur that the too-cool Max should be too-cool for the tired cupcake hysteria, making 2 Broke Girls a new sitcom with an already faulty old-trend.

Fuck cupcakes.

 

(Photo: All Things Cupcake)

 

in Desserts / TV 4 comments
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The Oktoberfest Survival Guide

Oktoberfest kicked off on September 17th in Munich, Germany. Unlike last year, I won’t be in attendance this time around. But in case you will be (or will be attending one of America’s faux celebrations), I want you all  to be prepared with my professional tips.

1) Be prepared for the ride

If you’re traveling to Munich via train, you might find yourself in a car with 10 men from the same “village” who have multiple kegs, loud music and an underage 15-year-old.  They will all be offended if you don’t drink beer and/or take shots with them, so just do it. Don’t plan on resting up during this voyage.

2) Eat whatever everyone else is eating

Look around. What are the old men and the bavarians in leiderhosen eating? Order that, no matter how good everything else sounds. If you can’t figure out the German menu, ask for an English version. They have them.

3) Order a pretzel the size of your head

You will not find anything like this in America no matter how hard you try. Plus, you’re going to need some carbs to aid with the 10 liters of beer you will inevitably drink.

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in Drinks / Food Travel 0 comments
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