...a few lil' bites.

NOT DEAD! that's right. if you were wondering, with the radio silence that's occurred here at eat!drink!snack! over the past month & a half, whether the blog had finally gone the way of millions of other blogs before it & kicked the bucket, the answer is "no, virginia." NOT DEAD! as i tend to do every year, i burnt myself out on pumpktoberfest & along with the mid-november start of a new job, it just seemed like a good time to take a break in preparation for everything that i have planned for the new year. that's right...i have "things" planned. here are just a few lil' bites...

to start, we've got next week's "2011 top ten tracks & snacks" & "2011 top ten links & drinks." while last year's snack & drink lists and our inaugural tracks & snacks list were pretty awesome, this year's lists are going to be even more awesomer...like more awesomer than a breakdancing t-rex with wings & a laser gun. i know right? HOLY SHIT T-REX. the best part is that because i've been such a slacker all year long, there are a whole bunch of snacks & drinks in my top tens that have NEVER BEFORE been featured on eat!drink!snack! BONUS! you're welcome. as far as the site goes, sometime after that, to appease my need for constant change, i'll be rolling out a slight redesign & revamp.

then there are the TWO new projects i've decided to take on in the 2012. the first brings us in the wayback machine to '02, when as a plucky young new yorker, i wrote three "government issued books"--how to be a good patriot, the pigeon initiative (a book about destroying all pigeons) & how to be a rockstar. ten years later, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their creation, i'll be rereleasing a limited run of the pamphlet-sized books & releasing a brand new book in the series. for obvious obsessive reasons, said book will be about snacks.

the second project is one that i'm extremely psyched to announce. after months of blabbing about the idea to friends, in the coming months i'll be launching a BRAND NEW BLOG. if you can't get enough of my assorted ramblings here at eat!drink!snack!, you'll soon have tons more opportunities to satiate your sick hunger. while i'm going to keep the exact name of said blog a secret for the moment, i can share the blog's focus with you: TACOS! i know. shocker. if you know me in real life or on twitter, you're probably aware that i love tacos with the passion of a thousand burning suns. now i'm taking that love to a whole new level. there you have it. if i don't die or go insane, 2012 is going to rule.

...& while we're on the topic of "bites," let me tell you a little bit about one of this year's xmas gifts from my snack-enabling sister--a pair of custom chocolate bars from austin's chocbite. they offer hundreds of custom chocolate bar toppings & since the sis is obsessed with groupon, she picked up a deal that allowed her to give every member of the parow family unique chocolate bars catered to our specific tastes. since my tastes often skew toward weird, i got a 58% bar with brownie crunch, curry powder & spicy dried mango and a 74% bar with chipotle powder, dried japon chile, jalapeno salt & lime chili almonds.

they both kicked some serious ass but i have to give the nod to the one with the mango, brownie crunch & curry powder. the spicy, benutted one features a nice, spicy dusting of the chipotle, japon chile & jalapeno salt. they complement the dark chocolate quite well & with the crunch from the lime chili almonds, it makes for a tasty bar with a spicy kick. still, the flavor can't even compete with the awesomeness of chocolate mixed with the sweet & spicy flavors of mango & curry and the texture of both mango & brownie crunch.

the only drawback is that with the toppings (five max), tax & shipping, you're looking at $15-$20 a bar. at that price, i don't think i'll be getting all that many of them in the future but the pair made for a pretty sweet xmas gift. well played, sis. you TOTALLY know the way to my heart.