Coconut Flavored M&M's

A few weeks back i was in Bellingham with my friends Mike, Dan, and Amos and we stopped off at a 7-11 to get some delicious American snacks. This trip, for me, was all about buying some Arnold Palmer's (i'll be writing about this tasty beverage soon) and some Combo's (pretzel and cheese snack). As i'm at the counter with more beverages and snacks than i can carry, and therefore looking like i've got a major case of the munchies and some serious cotton mouth, I notice a package of M&M's that looks really different than what i'm used to seeing. Could my eyes be deceiving me? COCONUT FLAVORED M&M'S!!!

Needless to say i bought a bag (not sure why i didn't buy more). I'm a big fan of coconut flavored things. I probably like fake coconut flavored things more than actual real coconut.

And the verdict is.... DELICIOUS!! I'm pleasantly surprised at how tasty these are! The coconut flavor is strong, like way stronger than i thought they would be. And the package is great.. it's got a lady M&M looking all sexy on the beach while the dude M&M is falling out the tree with a pair of binoculars. hahahaha.... the dude M&M is a creep & a pervert.

I'll be in Seattle in a few weeks and will be searching out some more of these.

Lee's Donuts

I'm a man who loves his donuts. I would rather eat a crappy donut than not eat any donuts. There's some good places to get donuts in Vancouver, but the overall best place would be Lee's Donuts on Granville Island. Sadly i didn't have my camera with me this past weekend when i walked down to Granville Island with the McNabb's because i wish i had some pictures of all the delectable treats that i didn't purchase. For example they have chocolate long johns, and right next to it they have mini-chocolate long johns. They also had something that from the outside looks like a large apple-fritter, but with strawberry or raspberry jam inside, and the thing is the size of a small pizza!! It seriously over-whelmed me.

When i was my turn at the front of the line i stuck to my usual order; chocolate crunch as well as some glazed donuts. I also got 1 chocolate glazed donut hole to eat while i paid for my big donuts. The Chocolate Crunch donuts are unbelievable!! The donut itself is a cake donuts, so a little more dense and moist, and then it's got these chocolate crumble bits all over it. The bits are almost like the tasty chocolate things inside an Dairy Queen ice cream cake. The glazed donuts at Lee's are also amazing. The glaze doesn't crack and fall off, but it's also not too thick. And they also aren't too sweet or sticky.

I may have messed up my knees this weekend by walking to & from Granville Island (gotta justify buying a 6 pack of donuts), but it was worth it to hang out with some good people and buy some tasty donut treats.

Here's a picture of my box of donuts (and yes there is 1 missing... I was hungry! So what. Who cares?)

Food Goals

I've decided to set some new goals... it's good to have direction, to live life with a purpose. Here's some of my new food goals

1 >> Discover who has the best steamed buns. At first i will concentrate on the China Town area.. We have such a large asian community in Vancouver, and the steamed buns filled with black bean or spicy pork are always tasty.

2 >> Search out the best cheap samosas. Besides having a large Asian community here we've also got a large East Indian community in Vancouver. Samosas are everywhere, in corner stores and restaurants all over the greater Vancouver area.

3 >> Who has the best Americano in the GVA? I think i already know, or at least i know where i like to go right now. But i'm convinced that i'm missing a hidden gem.

For now these are my new goals. I'm sure i'll think of more. Stay tuned for updates on these 3. If you've got suggestions, let me know.

Homemade Halifax Style Donairs

Over the years i've come to accept that there are things i love to eat that i will not be able to create at home. And that's fine. That's why there are places called restaurants. Now granted i have overcome this a little bit as i get older and more comfortable in the kitchen. I now make a super delicious lasagna. One of the meals i've thought was impossible to create at home is donairs. I just can't envision some meat on a stick cooking away in my kitchen. So imagine my surprise last weekend when erin (my partner in crime) says she's going to make donairs at home. Of course being from out east she wasn't just making any kind of donairs, but Halifax style donairs. If you're from that area, or have visited, or know someone from there, you've no doubt heard that not only are donairs different in Halifax but they are also better. (on a side note the bowling is different out there as well. It's pretty ridiculous actually) The difference is this sauce they put in it. My first Halifax donair wasn't as mind blowing as i had hoped, the sauce changed the taste that i was used to.

Anyways, the donairs that erin made were incredible!! And the sauce was much better than the one i had on Pizza Corner in downtown Halifax. To say my mind was blown would be an understatement. I'm not really sure how she did it, but i can tell you that there was no mystery meat cooking on a stick in our kitchen.

The day after she made them I found myself in the grocery store picking up provisions for the week ahead when my mind started wandering, and thinking about the left over donairs in the fridge at home. I couldn't concentrate, random items were being thrown in my basket because all i could think about was racing home and making myself another donair. Over the course of a couple days i think ate 3 or 4, and trust me... if there had been more i would've ate it.

Worst Mexican Food Ever

I was hoping to only post good things on this blog, to only talk about food that was tasty, or fun, or interesting. But today i feel a need to spread some bad vibes about a meal i had this week. Me and a friend went to the Topanga on West 4th here in Vancouver earlier this week because i heard from some people that it served up some tasty vittles. But those people are wrong!! Holy crap does this place ever suck!!

After ordering our meals the server brought us a bowl of chips with some salsa, and a small bowl of guacamole that we paid extra for. The salsa was bland and flavorless, as was the guacamole. I could've went to 7-11 and bought a jar of Old Dutch brand salsa and enjoyed it more. There was no flavor or spice. And it wasn't fresh, or homemade.

Next up was the main course. I got a chicken burrito with rice and beans on the side. For some reason Topanga smothers their burritos in this sauce that is a bland, runny mixture of sour cream and guacomole. If this sauce had been flavorful i wouldn't be complaining, but it was bland and kinda gross looking. I wish i had brought my camera so you could see this mess. I prefer when a burrito is smothered in cheese, some tasty salsa and a small dollop of sour cream. The burrito itself was also flavorless. Nothing jumped out at you. The pinto beans on the side were dry, and slightly overcooked. And the rice was overcooked and bland. I won't bother going into details on what my friend ordered, but it had eggplant inside and from what i gather her meal wasn't that shit hot either.

Let's end this review on a positive note... here are some things i did like about Topanga; the server was pretty good, answered our questions without being a dick.... there was alot of food on the plate (too bad it wasn't tasty)... and at one point I could hear Jay Reatard being played on a stereo in the kitchen.

Avoid this dump. I know i will never go back.

Potato Chips: Good Vs Evil

I like potato chips. I think they're almost like the perfect snack, especially on road trips or while watching a movie. I like to try new flavors, and new brands. When i travel outside of Canada you'll often find me perusing the potato chip aisle along with the cereal aisle in a grocery or convenience store.

Sometimes i don't use good judgment when it comes to what i choose to buy. Here is 1 good example;


I was on a road trip to Seattle (to see Black Breath and Walls) with Mike and Elizabeth H. and we stopped at some grocery store along the way. I saw these new Cheeseburger Doritos, and my first thought was "I bet those taste disgusting!". But as I was thinking that thought i found myself reaching out to grab a bag. One thing i hate is when i find a new flavor of chips but it's only available in large bags. I stood there holding a giant bag of cheeseburger Doritos and contemplated how bad they would be, and then went and bought them. And let me tell you, they taste even worse than i imagined! They taste like crunchy vomit. I put the first chip in my mouth and instantly regretted it. I quickly swallowed the vile chip and recoiled in horror at the taste in my mouth. After a minute i tried another one.... nope this shit still tasted like puke. Erin thought they were ok.... she said they tasted exactly like a McDonalds cheeseburger, pickles and all. But neither of us ate more than 2 or 3 chips. Avoid these foul tasting Doritos.

You wanna know what potato chip i like; T.G.I. Friday's Potato Skins Cheddar & Bacon flavor.

This is my go-to , no fail, potato chip when i'm in America. I may pick up random brands and flavors, but I always return home with a few bags of these tasty treats. The chip itself is thicker than a normal chip, and the flavoring is plenty. And while there is alot of flavor on each chip, it's not an overpowering flavor. The bacon flavoring is subtle, with more emphasis on the cheddar. I can not recommend this chip enough!!

Anyone have some chip recommendations for me? I'll try pretty much any flavor. And i love trying old staples like Salt & Vinegar made by companies i haven't heard of.

My Mom's Chocolate Cake

Everyone loves chocolate cake, right? If you don't love, or at least like chocolate cake than i have to ask... "what is wrong with you?"
Let's cut to the chase here; My mom makes the best chocolate cake in the world. That's right, the whole freakin' world! I'll fight you to prove my point. She's got a recipe that everyone should use. but chances are if you used this recipe it still wouldn't taste the same as my mom's. I can't explain why that would happen, maybe the little bit of love that my mom puts in each cake changes the taste.
Let's break it down as to why my mom's cake is the best;

-- The cake itself is moist, but yet dense. But not too dense, nor is it too moist. It's science, i don't get it. But trust me, as you put it in your mouth your eyes roll into the back of you head and you can't help but mutter "god damn!"

-- the icing. Chocolate icing. It's not one of those whipped icings, but it's also not one of those super thick dense ones. It's somewhere in between. Once again, it's a science i can't comprehend. The chocolate isn't too overpowering, or rich. And it's not too sweet. It's just perfect!!

When we were younger one of the highlights of our birthday's was Mom would make a cake and put money inside. When you're 10 years old, the feeling of finding a quarter in your piece was about the equivalent of some old prospector finding gold in the Yukon back in the 1800's. The funny part.... well, maybe not everyone will find it funny but me and my parents had a good laugh about it on the phone the other night.... the funny part is that they didn't wrap the coins in anything when they put them in the cake!! And even funnier... or grosser... is that they didn't wash them either! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...... We'd get our piece of cake on the plate in front of us, spin the plate around checking it out to see if any coins were sticking out slightly, and then attack the cake with our forks. When we'd find a coin we'd suck all the cake & icing off it.... making sure that our new found wealth was nice and clean. Oh, the glory days when everyone didn't live their lives in fear. Those were the days when kids could run around the neighborhood until the sun went down, you didn't have to wash your hands after touching a door handle at the grocery store, and it was still proper etiquette, and perfectly safe, to shake someones hand when you met them.

Here's some pictures of my Mom's cake... and a bonus picture of my Mom making some red beans & rice when i last saw her in the fall.