candy candy candy I can't let you go

Current Crush: Cella Chocolate Covered Cherries

(Alliteration brought to you by Gretchen and the letter "C".)

[insert nasty Fat Bastard quote here]

I'm headed out for dinner and I've not been on my game food-wise.  Kids, don't try this at home.  My food consumption so far today:

• Blueberry Scone (Bought at Coffee Bean as I was running to a make-up class that was scheduled for today.)
• Half of a Lemon Donut (I wouldn't have bought the scone had I known that my teacher was going to bring us donuts!!  And yet, I can't resist.)
• Half an order of Fried Cheese Curds, a bite of a Brat and many Shoestring Fries (Badger watching party at an area sports bar.  Badger-centric food specials.  Plus I wanted some fries.)
• Half a slice of Reduced Fat American Cheese (Biggs the cat likes American Cheese, so we have this daily ritual...)
• Four Thin Mints (Finishing off the Girl Scout Cookies.  Finally.)

So, uh, yeah.  Pretty much nothing I can do at this point to fix my diet today.  Maybe some ice cream and chocolate crepes are in order.

baby got back

In honor of the four boxes of Girl Scout cookies* that arrived in my office on Friday (I intentionally left them at work over the weekend so as to avoid temptation for 2 days longer), I give you my list of Girl Scout Cookie Boxes Most Worthy of Eating In A Single Sitting:

1. Samoas. I'm not even a caramel lover generally and these things are completely addictive. If you can walk away from a half-full box of Samoas, you must be superhuman. Or a robot.

2. Tagalongs. Like a peanut butter cup, but with a better chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio. And a Cookie Crunch (although I admit, the cookie part doesn't do that much for me when compared to the chocolate and peanut butter parts).

3. Thin Mints. I'll limit, for purposes of this list, the required consumption to a sleeve of Thin Mints. Because I think that if you eat an entire box in one sitting, paramedics may be required.

4. Trefoils. Not as good as Lorna Doones, but still some damn fine shortbread cookies. Glass of milk, sleeve of Trefoils. 'Nuf said.

5. Do-Si-Dos. Not really in the same league as top 4, but worth the extra 200 calories to grab a couple if someone has a box opened for public consumption. Cookie portion is a bit on the dry side. Helpful to have a beverage handy.

Time to become a bit more friendly with the treadmill during my free time...

*I make the same order every year: 1 box Samoas, 1 box Tagalongs, 2 boxes Thin Mints. Tagalongs and Samoas are always gone within the first two days. Thin Mints have slightly more staying power. Plus I have to take a box home and freeze it.

Popular

I'm head of the class

I'm popular

I'm a quarter back

I'm popular

My mom says I'm a catch

I'm popular

I'm never last picked

I got a cheerleader chick

--Nada Surf

I have the Review of the Day (ROTD) on Los Angeles Yelp today. ROTD days are always good days because I wake up to bunches of compliments from my fellow Yelpers. It makes me feel so... so... appreciated. So I knew I had the ROTD before I ever signed on to Yelp from just perusing the e-mails in my gmail inbox. Thank you, House of Blues Gospel Brunch!

Here's the text of my review: (or you can find it at http://www.yelp.com/biz/RMb04rUwvhOT1gLt2vx6Xw#hrid:75Qjd7d64AkYJ78yIHOysw)

HOUSE OF BLUES (Sunset Strip)

Two words: Gospel Brunch.

The boyfriend and I went to gospel brunch this fine Easter morn. I feel like I should be able to recite all the food we ate, but seriously, there were more calories consumed in a one hour period than anyone should ever actually admit to. So I'll just give you the highlights:

Cheddar cheese grits - 5 stars (more if more were available) - I LUV me some grits!

Mac and Cheese - 3 stars (could have been cheesier)

Sausage - 5 stars (excellent flavor and texture; and I'm not even a huge sausage person!)

Biscuits N Gravy - 4 stars (BF loved the gravy, but I didn't actually try it, so second hand, but the biscuits were great!)

Southern Fried Chicken - 5 stars (no description required)

Jambalaya - 4 stars (chicken chunks a bit dry, otherwise quite tasty)

Waffles with fresh berries - 5 stars (!!!)

Heirloom Tomato Salad - 3 stars (good, not excellent, but then again, it is so not tomato season; I defer)

Banana Bread Pudding - 5+ stars (you are freaking kidding me! I would weigh 300 pounds if I had unlimited access to this dessert!!)

Gospel singers - 5 stars

HOB is generally a fun venue. I've seen some really fun, mainly 80's shows here. But the gospel brunch on Sunday takes it from fun 4 star venue up to 5 star extravaganza!!

***Gratuitous star sighting note: I saw Ducky. Yes, you heard me right, Ducky, from Pretty in Pink, at an ABC/Soft Cell concert here last year. Ducky at an 80's band show. Really. Top that.***

Food Food Food Food Food

Mike and I didn't accomplish our goal of eating only pizza for our entire trip to Chicago, but we did hold the Gino's East vs. Giordano's grudge match. No one changed his/her opinion. He's still a Giordano's stuffed pizza guy and I'm still a Gino's East deep dish chick. Luckily we are open-minded enough (and pizza-tolerant enough) to celebrate our differences. Viva la pizza! Further in-depth analysis is available on my yelp for your viewing pleasure, but the crib notes version is pizza is all about the flavor of the sauce and the ratio, the ratio, the ratio.

In other news, I feel like I answered one of the great food mysteries of our times. Not quite the magnitude of the age-old Licks-to-the-Center-of-the-Tootsie-Pop puzzle, but I can definitively say that it took me 48 days to finish six boxes of BooBerry cereal (hey! they were small(ish) boxes!). I've, um, satisfied that craving for quite a while. But it is nice to know the BooBerry is available to me if it ever hits me again.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

Tomorrow morning Mike and I will head out for a weekend trip to Chicago. Some Dallas friends are using the long weekend for a Sunday night wedding there. So far we haven't really come up with any sort of agenda for while we're there, other than mapping out all the deep dish/stuffed pizza places we plan to hit during the trip. My favorite is Gino's East, but I'll try to keep an open mind while I'm there. Pizza report to come...

Magically Delicious

Yesterday six boxes of Boo Berry arrived at my doorstep. Who on earth would go to the trouble of ordering six boxes of sugared cereal off the internet when there are 150 varieties of sugared cereal at any grocery store you could possibly walk into? Well, you have your answer.

For most of my childhood, I was a have-not. My mom was on Weight Watchers pretty much from its inception in the 1970's until I was a teenager. But occasionally, for special occasions, I would be allowed to pick out one box of "the good stuff" and my selection would invariably be Boo Berry (and I would then go on a sugar rampage, consuming the entire box, with or without milk, in the course of a day and a half). That is, until it stopped being widely available.

For some reason, General Mills decided to take Boo Berry and Frankenberry underground, while continuing to promote Count Chocula. So nowadays most people think that it has been discontinued, but, as wikipedia rightly points out, GM still makes it and it is available on the internet. And Boo Berry has a loyal following. Run a google search and you'll find sites like this for the hardcore Boo Berry-ite. In fact, there was even a feature on The Daily Show with an interview of the guy who runs a fan website. I love the internet.

And I love my Boo Berry. Mike is concerned that I might sit down and consume all six boxes in one day. I can understand his concern, but I reserve such gluttony only for the week after girl scout cookies are delivered these days. Really. (I'm still trying to get the girl scout cookie 5 that I just gained off.) He has discussed hiding and/or rationing, but I swear I do not plan any sort of binging. Well, at least not while he's in town. He does have a conveniently scheduled business trip next week though...

So watch for a new photo on the Boo Berry site one day soon: Leila and her Boo Berry.