#125 - saturday night's alright for snacking.

...so last saturday, my bro & his girlfriend amy hosted a little housewarming shindig at their new apartment up in greenpoint. about a week earlier, i'd received an email from amy informing me that on the following saturday, she & the bro would be "making lots of snack food and desserts" & that i "should come over." snack party! as an experienced snacker (& brother of one of the hosts), i immediately marked that shizz down on my calendar. by the time saturday rolled around & amy sent out a follow up email that read "i just made 10 desserts and 3 different kinds of pasta salad in about 14 hours yesterday," i knew it was on.

when i arrived around 9pm, the gathering was already in full swing, with an apartment full of people hanging out, chatting, snacking & drinking. when i first arrived, since i didn't know anyone outside of the hosts, i gave my full attention to the bountiful snack spread which consisted of at least fifty different choices & ranged from hor d'oeuvres such as bacon wrapped scallops & a variety of pasta salads to desserts like black bean walnut brownies & chocolate cream cheese filled cupcakes. each dish featured a printed card next to it displaying the name of the dish & applicable symbols (a broccoli for veggie dishes, a piece of wheat in a circle with a line through it for gluten-free). SO obsessive compulsively/professionally done.

eventually, i decided to interact with actual humans & it turned out that amy & the bro have some interesting/cute friends. there was this one couple who were huge fans of daddy yankee & shakira. the dude did his best to convince me that if i ever make it to europe, since i consistently stay up til all hours of the night/morn, i need to go to barcelona. to be honest, as long as there are bottles of wine and cafes to waste my hours in all hemingway like, i don't care what city i visit. another couple i chatted with had been taken aback by all the crazy woodworking items my brother created that filled the apartment (a skateboard rack, his bed frame, his desk, etc) & since the dude works with my bro doing woodworking, the girl was all "you should get motivated & make a bunch of stuff for our apartment." sorry bout that, dude...better get crackin'.

here's what i learned from the gathering...when hispanic people are out riding the train at one in the morn with their kids in tow, it's just "part of the culture." the daddy yankee/shakira lovin' dude filled me in on that & he was hispanic, so i guess it's true. i also learned that if you have a moped & try to park it on the streets of greenwood, the neighbors will totally freak out & call the fire department because they smell gas. that apparently happened to two of my bro's friends earlier in the day. beyond that, i discovered that people seem to find what i do for work interesting on some level...& that level actually has nothing to do with my job. the first question i often get is "do you get free concert tickets?" that's usually followed up with "have you met so & so musician?" doesn't anybody want to know about content management? so yeah, the snack party was both tasty & educational...food for thought.

#125 - saturday night's alright for snacking.
snack: mint brownies & marshmallow rice krispie treats
drink: goose island lamar street organic pale ale



i brought home a veritable bounty of treats from the gathering, including a bag of cookies with homemade mint brownies & marshmallow rice krispie treats in it. with all the snacks available, i hadn't got around to trying either of them whilst at the snack party, so when i finally got around to eating them, it was like the party was still going...like on & on til the break of dawn & whatnot, but with me as the only one in attendance at the party. there was music & all, but nobody to talk to about my job.

according to my bro, the mint brownies were "an experiment," but to me, they tasted like a perfected recipe, with their tasty minty bits sprinkled throughout. i'm kind of disappointed in myself for bringing home so few of them, but have decided to soldier on anyhow. as for the marshmallow rice krispie treats, they were all moist & chewy & full of krispieness. i'm pretty sure there was no HFCS in them, which means they were better for me than the packaged treats put out by kellogg's themselves. definitely solid, tasty baking in both cases. well played, amy and/or bro.

since the bro doesn't drink & amy hardly does, i also left with a full six pack of assorted good beers. there were two goose island lamar street organic pale ales in there, so i broke open the first one within fifteen minutes of returning home but saved the other one to have along with the bag of cookies. i may be constructing a fictional memory, but if i remember correctly, the organic pale ale was goose island's other offering at july's pitchfork festival, but i was so wrapped up in their 312 urban wheat that i never even got around to trying it. i haven't found any evidence of a lamar st in chicago & goose island doesn't care enough to put the organic pale ale on their website, so i'm not sure where the name comes from. it's probably a tribute to the senior senator & one time long shot presidential hopeful from tennessee or something.

since i'm partial to beers with an assload abundance of flavor, i'm not the biggest fan of pale ales, but the goose island organic one is one of the better ones i've tried. i mean, it wasn't amazing or anything, but since so many pale ales are as boring as the last three wilco albums, i consider it good. still, it wasn't anything special, especially compared to goose island's other brews. it has a somewhat sweet, somewhat hoppy taste to it, but not really. regardless, if you take stock in my blog ramblings, it's definitely worth checking out, but if you notice that there's a sierra pale ale or dale's pale ale sitting on the shelf next to it, you should probably get one of those instead. compared to them, the goose island's just too loosey-goosey.

nosh nook #82 - tuesday, july 7, 2009

the criterion collection of junk food: 19 snacks and sodas we wish were still on the market (link)
07.06.09 - the onion a.v. club - by claire zulkey, donna bowman, keith phipps, kyle ryan, leonard pierce, noel murray, sean oneal & tasha robinson

it amazes me that these days, if you're looking for some of the more truthful news coverage around, you can often find it in two of our country's fake news outlets--comedy central & the onion.  ever since i moved to the city earlier this decade & first encountered the onion's print edition, they've provided me with insight into world events, whether it's coverage of frito's new healthy line of snacks or a story on christ's return to the n.b.a.  parody or not, the onion usually provides more insight into a news story than most non-fake news outlets do.

as a snacker, one of my biggest pet peeves is when a snack manufacturer releases a treat that grabs me by the heartstrings & then yanks it from the shelves never to be seen again. this week, the onion a.v. club (who often deals in nostalgia) pays tribute to these departed gems with a piece on the "19 snacks & sodas we wish were still on the market."  i can't believe that OK soda isn't on this list, but regardless, a lot of the greats are here, including gatorgum, hershey's cookie & mint bar and ice cream cones cereal. in addition, the piece served me up a heapin' helpin' of knowledge, with mentions of a few snacks i'd never heard of but am sorry i missed, snacks like seven up bars & chicago's sweet baby jays.

of the 19 snacks & sodas they mention, my favorite is the magic middles cookies.  those cookies ruled.  they were like any other cookie, but the keebler elves worked their black magic on them & injected a healthy gob of chocolate into the center, offering you an experience akin to chewing freshen up gum, with its flavor explosion liquid center.  lord knows why they discontinued them, since they were obviously a superior cookie, but i'm going to assume it was a direct result of the elf labor cutbacks of '95.  a lot of tiny bakers lost their jobs that summer...& we lost a great cookie.

snack away! #9 - newton's law of figs.

yep, it’s true--there's a recession going on out there, and like pretty much everybody else, i got canned. the good news for me is i was able to land a new gig within a few weeks thanks to an esoteric computer chip programming skill (the details of which are far too boring for a snack blog).

it was when i was between jobs, wandering the streets of boston (and maybe i had consumed a few cold ones) that i talked to shawn about guest snack blogging. i had a lot of time of my hands and had just thoroughly enjoyed reading about todd’s spotted dick (soon to be followed by wilk’s hot nuts) and i wanted in on the action.

fast forward a week and i was working at the new job and all of a sudden i didn’t have much time to think about interesting things to write about. brain was busy digesting new corporate secrets, trying to find where my printouts were being sent to and coping with having to use a shared bathroom instead of the solo units we had the luxury of at the old place.

furthermore, i realized i don’t really even eat snacks. i mean, an apple and a glass of water at 3pm in the afternoon is pretty wild for this guy. what i am basically telling you is this here blog had a pretty good chance of never happening, but as luck would have it, i forgot to grab my apple on the way out this morning and so i wandered down to the cafeteria and bought a little snacky snack.

snack away! #9 - newton's law of figs.
guest blogger: chris leduc, newton, mass

snack: fig newtons
drink: starbucks tazo zen tea (with a little squirt o’ honey)



when’s the last time you had a fig newton? for me it was a least 15 years ago. i remember wondering as a kid what the frig a newton was. why on earth would a cookie be named after the metric system unit for force? what? your kids don’t use the metric system? well fast forward those 15 years and now i live in the city of newton, a rather pleasant if not slightly boring boston suburb which is actually a collection of approximately 13 individual villages rather than one central downtown area. i say approximately because these villages have no official borders and it is hard to even get an official list of what they all are...so i did what any reasonable person would do and went straight for the best places to get indisputable facts: wikipedia...and it was while perusing the wikipedia page about newton that i stumbled upon an answer to that 15 year old question: the fig newton is named so because it was invented right here.

...so it was a no brainer that i grabbed the fig newtons when i saw them in the vending machine today. i paired them with a hot cup of tazo zen tea (with a little squirt o’ honey) from the pseudo-starbucks in the lobby. one thing i noticed right away is that these things are messy. the cake outer part crumbled all over the place and i had quite the mess. biting into the newton, you get a very sugary blast of fig. anyway, i assume it's fig because that’s what it says on the package and i’ve never had a fig in its natural state.

overall, i’d say it was pretty gross and i think i am all set with the fig newton for another 15 years. the aforementioned grossness didn’t stop me from wolfing down both newtons and 200 calories later, i was wishing i had selected a cold beverage to cleanse the cake residue in my mouth. the tazo tea had cooled enough by this point and i found it very refreshing and generally zen-like as advertised.

i don’t regret getting the newtons, as it was a nice trip down memory lane, but the next time i get a little hungry at work, i think i’ll go with a bag of chips.

chris leduc is a jumbo who does something with computers & has been responsible for approximately 17,000 funny moments over his 33+ years. he will sing "cracklin' rosie" for you at the drop of a hat. one time, he saved money, bought car.

#80a - final four (in two parts).

the first of tonight's two final four games pitted the michigan st spartans (ranked #8 by the ap in the regular season) vs the uconn huskies (ranked #5). this year's final four festivities are taking place in front of 72K people (a final four attendance record) at detroit's ford field, so it's all historical & junk. let's take a look at the two teams...

the michigan st spartans are the hometown squad, coming from an hour and a half west up route 96, in east lansing. they're lucky, since home court advantage is HUGE sportswise & they're the first team in the last 15 years to play a final four game in their home state. also, magic johnson went to school at msu, so he was in the audience, which might have been inspirational where it not for him wearing some sort of wack-looking warmup jersey (not very gq, magic). overall, it's a big michigan lovefest, with nine of the spartan players originally from the ol mitt-shaped state or whatever the heck they call it.

the uconn huskies are always good for some good basketball playing. they were the men's NCAA champs in 1999 & 2004 and their women's squad is pretty much the best women's basketball team ever. seriously. this year's team...they're like amazonian cyborgs. the men's team features 7'3" hasheem thabeet, who is from tanzania, which makes me think of this npr story i recently heard about basketball in sudan & another about a movie about baseball & the dominican republic.  so uconn only plays seven guys, which means the same guys are on the floor most of the time & as a result, they have four 1000 point players on same squad for first time in their history.

as for the game, it was one of those neck & neck, back & forth engagements. there was a little scrum & pushing at end of first half which was rather exciting...& then two minutes later came the longest halftime ever, with all sorts of presentations & awards & junk.  the first half back & forth continued for most of the rest of the game, with lots of serious hustle.  at one point, cbs used lcd soundsystem's "daft punk is playing at my house" as a lead-in to commercial, which was totally hip.  anyway, by the end, msu pulled away & uconn tried to come back, but the hometown msu squad prevailed & are now going onto the championship game.  go spartans.

my top player picks: kalin lucas, msu - 21 pts, lots of being fast & stuff / stanley robinson, uconn - 15 pts, 13 rebs, a bunch of loud, awesome dunks

#80a - final four (in two parts).
snack: pepperidge farm chocolate raspberry milano cookies
drink: arcadia ales starboard stout

in honor of our two teams, i'm having a snack & drink pairing from their home states. for the snack, i'm trying to hold myself back from eating, right here & right now, an entire bag of pepperidge farm chocolate raspberry milano cookies. they're crafted by god, via a series of miracles, on the magical pepperidge farm, located in norwalk, ct, which is almost two hours south of uconn, just down 95. the original magical farm was in the next town over from norwalk--fairfield.

the pepperidge farm has been overseen by the campbell soup co. since 1961, when they bought pepperidge & their amazing milano cookies. anyway, pretty much every milano cookie flavor is awesome & if you don't agree with me, you might consider consulting a physician regarding your mental state. they are the only good thing that has ever come out of that god-forsaken, armpit-of-new england state & should be commended as such for overcoming the shortcomings of their environment to create tasty, simple cookies.

the arcadia ales starboard stout is brewed in battle creek, mi, the place most famously known as the home of the kellogg co.  the starboard stout's an oat malt stout with a dark complexion & a tan head & a toasty flavor that mixes quite well with the chocolate flavor in the cookies.  it gets some quantity of thumbs up.  unconfirmed rumor: there's a little bit of tony the tiger in every bottle.

bring on the next game!

#37 - the go-go's were soooo right.

oh man, i am soooo on vacation right now & when i say vacation, i actually mean a non-travel extended period away from the job & the office & its accompanying work & stresses. other than a few stints of unemployment here & there, it's my first vacation since at least 2005, so i've been making a big deal out of it, bringing it up in conversations & emails, referring to it in my facebook status, blogging about it, essentially casting a full net of 21st-century communication designed to ensure that everyone & their mother is aware that i am on vacation.

i suppose the reason i'm so actively promoting this fact is that i've been at my current job for almost two years now & actually still love it & it's our first time apart. in the past, my jobs have been like my relationships--they usually last somewhere between a year-and-a-half to two years & start to go downhill months before they actually end...i get bored...i need change...cuts must be made...& then one day, it's game over.

despite my length of service at this job, i still like it after just short of two years together. during my time there, i've worked my ass off, skipped lunch break after lunch break to get work done, spent hour upon hour working from home & to the enjoyment of the co-workers in my immediate area, have probably done an inordinate amount of audible huffing & sighing at my desk whilst doing so. i still like it regardless of my breathing anomalies.

the fact that it's a music industry job definitely contributes to my satisfaction, since music rules & all. just like before, in all the other industries i've worked in--college athletics, cable tv, fashion retail & newspapers--i went into the job not knowing all that much about the music industry & like with past jobs, i've developed a broad picture of the industry beyond the immediate knowledge i need to do my job. i love learning about how industries work & enjoy having a more-than-working knowledge of how their pieces fit into the grand puzzle. this is why jobs that require unique skill sets & knowledge--electricians, welders, chemists, drug dealers--make me want to be them...to see how they really fit in to the machine.

but for now, i'm on vacation.

#37 - the go-go's were soooo right.

snack: health valley mini chocolate chip cookies
drink: xs blast rootbeer blast energy drink

here is the first good thing about health valley mini chocolate chip cookies: they are tiny & conducive to popping into your mouth one after another after another while your vacation time fritters & wastes away. this is made even more pleasanter by the fact that they have no trans fats. zero. for the laymen, this means that a male human can consume infinite amounts of them with zero consequences to the body. zero. scientists have proven this. female humans are not allowed to eat cookies regardless of their healthful properties. got to think about that figure, gals!

here is the second good thing about health valley mini chocolate chip cookies: they are 70% organic & contain nary a drop of genetically engineered ingredients. this is in stark contrast to the snacks i usually eat--snacks that more often than not probably have some % of post-consumer recycled content amongst the ingredients.

here is the third good thing about health valley mini chocolate chip cookies: they are made in melville, ny, which is a town named after the guy who killed moby dick.

i don't know. i've downed a can of this xs blast rootbeer blast energy drink & i'm not feeling all that more energetic. i guess i feel a little more jittery than usual & a few of my fingers feel a tad more numb than usual, but that could be something else other than the energy drink. regardless, i like the flavor. it's not as chalky or tooth-coating as your average energy drink & it does taste like drinking a root beer dum dum. that's a definite plus. time to update your website, dum dums! the election (& your gimmick) are so passe (like heroin)!

please note that the snack & drink consumed it this blog do tie into a larger theme, but please don't kill yourself trying to figure it out. it'll be my little secret, like ryan seacrest's homosexuality.