By rote

Magnet #1294 - Dos Caminos

Ya'll. I keep getting lost on the way to work.

Ok, ok, not lost exactly, but whenever I'm on autopilot, I end up doing funny things. Funny things like:

- getting out at Union Square instead of 28th Street in the morning, or
- walking right past my office building til I look up and realize...I've walked right past my office building. Or,
- leaving the office, intending to walk up several blocks to a restaurant on 29th...only to remember I'm already on 29th.

It's amazing, in my head, I've stepped into the Manhattan map, only my origination/termination point, is my old office building. So, when I'm on autopilot, I end up completely disoriented, and not where I'm supposed to be.

I suppose it's natural - I mean, I spent a third of my life in that building (holy crap), but still, it's so odd!

Of course, the new gig in a new building does mean getting to know a new neighborhood, and new restaurants.

Dos Caminos isn't one of those new restaurants - my friends have been going there for years for lunch. And since I rarely did lunch, I never did get to go with them.

So I finally got to go, and voila! Magnet!

Get yer fries here

Magnet #1224 - French Fries

Ahhh, part of a set.

Today, I'm craving fries. Random how a lot of my posts lately are food-related.

Anyway, here's something I learned these last several months in North Carolina with my parents.

Did ya'll know that McDonald's serves No Salt fries? For serious.

I mean, it takes longer to get them, but they'll fry up a batch and not add salt for you, if it's requested. It's awfully nice of them to be so health-accommodating.

Of course, I've also learned that the secret to McDonald's french fries being the best fast food french fries in the world is...

SALT.

Without that magic salt? Forget it.

The fries are really just fried potatoes.

Get yer ice lollies here

Magnet #1223 - Ice Cream

Ok, fine. Ice lollies are technically popsicles from what I understand, but this magnet my sister got me still fits. Because...

This. I have been craving this for ages now. But like, not the stuff I can run down to Food Lion or Harris Teeter to pick up.

All the freakin' NYC food truck tweets from @VLAIC and @CoolhausNY are driving me crazy, popping up on my TweetDeck, telling me where they're stationed every day. Makes me crazy because I can't get to them from here in NC!

If you haven't had Van Leeuwen ice cream before, you're missing out - my absolute favorite ice cream on Earth right now.

So much so, that it was actually on the Con list of quitting my last job, because their butter yellow truck is usually parked down the street from their building. In the end, the ice cream couldn't prevail...but it just means I'll have to walk further for it, I guess.

Recipe for disaster

Magnet #1218 - Carnation's Easy-Does-It Cookbook

Another one of my Lovely Day Designs magnets I picked up a few weeks ago. Supercute, super-retro.

Picked it for today, because I'm back home in North Carolina, at least for a bit. Which means another couple of weeks of numerous home-cooked breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Yay!

I swear, when I finally move back home to NYC, I will likely drop a good 10-15 pounds without my parents' home cooking to pudge me up.

Don't get me wrong. I definitely know to be grateful for all the meals my parents are cooking for me. It's great. And when I'm ordering my umpteenth meal at from any number of delivery guys who know my address, I'll definitely miss being called down to the table.

But here's something funny. We've started to notice a weird ebb in the flow of my mother's cooking. And I'm blaming those damn cooking channels and their tv shows.

The fact of the matter is - and I say this objectively speaking, I swear - my mother is, hands down, the best cook I know. She is! She always has been. Ask anyone who's had her cooking, they will agree.

Best of all, Mom's one of those old-school chefs that do it by touch, feel, smell and of course, taste. And she doesn't need any of those stupid tv shows with those annoying chefs and their fake kitchens and all their fancy recipes and concoctions to tell her how to make good food.

She does all that on her own.

So herein lies the problem. She's constantly watching all those stupid tv shows with those annoying chefs and their fake kitchens and all their fancy recipes and concoctions.

And she's taking notes!

What's worse, is that she's starting to try and mimic those recipes!

What I'm learning is, all that does is mess with her mojo.

It's no longer Mom's cooking. I mean, it's good, for the most part. But it truly makes me crazy when I hear, oh, I tried so-and-so's recipe. It's like podMom's cooking.

Today, she followed a recipe from someone on tv, and it ended up salty. No. I mean, so salty that even my mother, who thinks salt is a food group, couldn't eat it. We had to throw away the whole NY strip. Steak! We threw away steak!

So my goal for the next few weeks is to break Mom of these silly tv recipes that aren't so great. To go back to trusting her fabulous cook instincts and go from there.

Now. If I could just figure out how to block the signal for Food and Cooking from our DirectTV here at home, that'd be superduperawesome.

And I'm not just saying that because it's on, morning, noon and night when she's home. Nope. Not at all.

Some say ambrosia. Some say...Watergate Salad?

Magnet #1207 - Jell-O Salads

Watergate Salad. A yummy remnant from my home economics class in junior high. For me, anyway.

We spend Thanksgiving with a Filipino family who has an American in-law who always brings Watergate Salad as her dish.

For the first couple of years, it sat on the dessert table, green and lonely, in a sea of traditional Filipino desserts. Until my aunt realized that I was the only one who was eating it - she still manages to send it home with me every year.

Of course, Thanksgiving comes but once a year...which means I go the rest of the year without it. Especially because my mother won't make it, and we all know that I don't cook.

And, one could argue that Watergate Salad is something that only needs to be had once a year. But earlier this summer, I discovered that K&W Cafeterias have it! So, yeah. In addition to chicken pan pie, fried okra and the best mashed potatoes in the world? Green Watergate Salad has become a staple. Woot!

What's Watergate Salad, you ask?

The recipe, from Kraft, for Watergate Salad

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, in juice, undrained
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O pistachio flavor instant pudding
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1-1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip

Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Stir in Cool Whip. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Yeah. Easy as pie. Not even any real cooking.

But come on. It's way easier just to head out to K&W. Plus, it sounds dessert-y, right? I love, love, love that K&W keeps it with the salads. Hahaha.

Ya'll, I heart this stuff so much.

It's totally why I had to buy this Lovely Day Designs magnet from this new magnet lady I found down at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market. Mind you, I bought two sets of three magnets, so I might have gone a bit overboard.

But I wouldn't be me, if I didn't!

To live and die - Escape Home to NYC, Part 2, Day 3

Magnet #1184 - Die in Manhattan

My sister bought me this fantastic Mad Men magnet, and I can't think of any other truer sentiment for the End of the World.

Or Rapture.

Or End of Days.

Or Apocalypse.

Or whatever it is.

Or wasn't.

All things considered, there wasn't any other way I'd rather have spent the last day on earth, than Saturday morning cartoons, diner breakfast for lunch, dragging a friend to the NY Public Library's Centennial Celebration and showing him around one of my favorite buildings in town, giving the same 5-cent tour to another friend who's lived here most of her life and never been inside, discovering a new (to me) Cuban restaurant serving $6 Happy Hour Mojitos (so going back!), and some late-night shopping at Macy's.

Yep, a little tv, food, architecture, history, fun and friendship.

Best day ever, and quintessential New York.

Seriously. If the End of the World had happened while I was drinking those Mojitos last night? I'd have been perfectly content.

Now, we just have to wait til October.

Or you know, 2012, if you're Mayan.

A toy surprise in every meal!

Magnet #1168 - Happy Meals

Another Ann Taintor magnet I picked up - I think at Alice's Tea Cup last week.

I know, why they have Ann over there, I haven't figured out, but it was cute, and I wanted it. However, I do need to be careful or I'm likely to end up with the entire set of her magnets, including the ones with the chicks complaining about their hubs and kids.

I just loved this one, because even at my advanced age, I'm still buying Happy Meals wherever I can. Can't help it - I love the toys. Honestly. It's a magnetblog, tell me you're surprised. At all.

Once when I moved out of an office - I had a special (small) box just for all my Happy Meal toys. The thing was, I had only been in that job for like nine months, so I can't even imagine how many McDonald's trips that box equaled.

Scary.

Desserts come first

Magnet #1166 - Compagnie Francaise

Another magnet from my Union Square magnet guy - it's a turn-of-the-century advertising poster created by T.A. Steinlen for the French Chocolate and Tea Company.

It's basically his wife Emilie and daughter Colette, having their coffee and tea (from the French Chocolate and Tea Company), plus their cat, who, by his perch on their kitchen table is meant to show how much of the family.

Honestly, I'm just using it for today, because I'm staring at a Pico's leftovers box full of chocolate-y goodness, wondering if I need to get up and walk over there and knock out the rest of the contents.

It's the remnants of the Bestest. Dessert. Ever. Called a Diplomatica, it's a flan top half with a brownie bread pudding-y bottom, with pecans on top, drizzled with caramel.

It. Was. Amazing.

Like, had I known that that was waiting for me at the end of the meal, I would have just made it the meal - and then been able to eat the whole damn thing.

Clearly, I need to get back to North Carolina, because I will totally need to be rolled down the train tracks on Thursday...between today's Diplomatica, yesterday's dark chocolate chipotle cake, and the pecan pie the night before, I think I've cut a dessert swath across Houston to last me a while...

Or at least until next year's OTC, anyway!

Last call - Escape Home to NYC Day #4

Magnet #1163 - HERE ZOMBIE

This magnet my friend brought back from the Romantic Times convention best represents how I feel right now.

After three days of running around town like a girl with a hall pass, it would seem that NYC has kicked my ass.

As I write, I'm running a low-grade fever, all aches and sniffles...putting off packing for Houston because I don't really want to get up off the bed. OIY. There went my Explore Brooklyn Day plans, along with my back-ups of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Festival, and even the antique show I wanted to check out.

I did pretty good though, despite myself, brunching on the UWS and watching Fast Five. Yep, only #prettyboys and #fastcars could have made me break my self-imposed NYC movie theatres ban. (But, well worth the effort, because it was one of the better of the franchise - the twist at the end more than made up for its silly Ocean's 11 slant.)

Anyway, so this is how my escape home to NYC trip ends, with a sneeze and a sniffle, rather than a Tom Collins w/ a splash of cran to celebrate tomorrow's birthday. No matter, at least I won't be hungover for the Houston flight in the morning. So there's that.

Thanks, NYC, for the fun four days here at home - I squeezed in enough good times and food to last me through the next couple of months.

And then hopefully, I'll be coming home to stay.

Shut UP! It's Oreo Fudge Cremes!

Magnet #1155 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The beauty of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945) being one of my fave presidents is that I've done a boatload of magnetposts on him - which means I can use this magnet for absolutely nothing but...Oreos.

That's right.

Oreos.

I've been streaming the heck out of FOX, Hulu and yes, CW lately, in a desperate attempt to keep up with my shows, and it looks like Nabisco's done a pretty extensive buy with FOX because I keep seeing the same commercial all over again.

Not even joking, every break for the last several eps I've watched of Fringe and now Bones, it's the same. tv. ad.

Luckily, the Oreo Fudge Creme spot is actually watchable and re-watchable. And watchable again. At least for me.

The spot's way below, but it basically features a family expounding on the indescribably delicious fudgey goodness of the cookies, each member using today's catchphrases. Like, for reals. Seriously.

It's a great spot mainly because as each phrase comes up, you totes think of the last time that you yourself used it...and if you're me, it was probably like five minutes ago. Get out, I know you're surprised. No way! I know, right?

The funny thing is that I can totally see the copywriters in some conference room arguing with the clients over which phrases to keep and use. Especially because there are totally a couple of phrases I haven't heard anyone use like Hello Sir and Mahjong. Whoa, really?

My favorite is Mom busting out with Shut the front door, because I keep getting dinged for telling everyone and everything to Shut up. (It's not bad manners, dammit, I swear, for me, it's a term of endearment! Work with me, yo!)

So. The question is, will I buy it next time I'm roaming Food Lion aisles? I dunno. The packaging's pretty, I'm sure the price point's fine, and I've seen the ad more than the supposed seven times to make me buy it. And did I say the packaging's pretty?

One thing's for sure, if or when I do try Oreo Fudge Cremes? I will totally yell out Franklin Delano!

I mean, what?

Go fish

Magnet #1079 - Fish

I picked this magnet up at Bowne & Co. Stationers museum/store down at South Street Seaport. A very small, but really cool place to visit, they have their 19th century printing press on display, as well as a few stationery items on sale.

Seeing their old printing press reminded me of how my maternal grandfather owned the only newspaper on the island of Cebu, Philippines, complete with their own printing press on the ground floor. So when he'd visit us here in America, we'd have to visit all these old-school printing presses, to see if we could buy all the individual typeset letters for their press at home. I don't know whatever happened to that printing press, though my grandmother offered it to me, when she heard I was going into publishing many years ago.

But the real reason I picked this fish magnet, is because it kinda just reminds me of my dad. I've probably said it before, but he loves, loves, loves fish. It's not even that he's a true vegan or anything, but he really will eat only fruits from the sea, and then not even all kinds of it.

It's to the point where it's nearly impossible to find regular Joe American food that he'll eat...aside from fried fish from Captain D's or a plain Filet O'Fish from McDonald's. Or french fries. He eats a lot of french fries. Oh, and bread. In fact, flying usually means us handing over our dinner rolls for him to eat. Poor thing.

The last few days, the poor lady from Food Services has been struggling to find any hospital food that he'll eat. Our conversation?

Food services lady: Will he eat green beans?
Us: No.
Food services lady: Will he eat tuna?
Us: No.
Food services lady: Oh! Will he eat grilled cheese on white?
Us: No.
Food services lady: Will he eat mashed potatoes?
Us: No.
Food services lady: Will he eat baked potato?
Us: Maybe. Let's try.
Food services lady: Ok. How about ice cream?
Us: Oooh, yes!

Annnnnd, that was his first hospital meal. Ice cream.

Because he sure didn't eat that baked potato.

Fork, please?

Magnet #1032 - Republic

Republic, with its communal tables and really good hot soup, I imagine it keeps pretty busy during the winter months.

A confession:

I'm Asian.

I don't use chopsticks. Like, at all.

I know! It's the craziest thing being at an Asian restaurant, and being the only restaurant at a table full of gringos and asking the waitstaff for a fork.

You know that look that people give first-gen kids when they don't speak the native tongue? That's the look I get when I ask for a fork in an Asian restaurant.

But, here's the thing. I'm Filipino. We didn't grow up using chopsticks at home. And, as near as I can tell, neither did my mom or dad back in the Philippines.

So, no. I don't use chopsticks.

Except in my hair. I'm a damned whiz at doing that.

Just dessert?

Magnet #935 - Blue Water Grill

One of the perks of my previous job was the wining and dining of clients, which sounds kind of frivolous, but really, it's not.

Some folks don't like doing it, thinking it's a waste of time, but when it's with people you like and respect, and love working with, shared meals are pretty fun. It's a great chance to see your colleagues and clients outside the work environment, outside of the stuffy cubbies and even stuffier conference rooms. Always great for makin' memories.

And, if you get to eat at some of the better restaurants in the city, like Blue Water Grill, hey, what's the harm? Especially when they have a really great dessert chef. If I truly had my druthers, I'd totally go into these nice restaurants and order just dessert.

Of course, for me, it's like the first thing my clients learn about me at dinners - I never share desserts. What? Dinner's what you go through to get to dessert.

Anyway, thanks to a Tweet from @Newyorkology, I found out that tomorrow is Free Dessert Day, which means that some restaurants are offering a somewhat dubious treat of one free dessert for every two entrees purchased. One? Really? It should be a one for one ratio, methinks.

Still, if I were entertaining a client tomorrow, I'd offer up that opportunity for them. The meal at a participating restaurant, I mean.

The dessert? Would be all mine, thankyouverymuch.

Sticky rice

Magnet #856 - Mahatma Rice

My dad eats rice with every non-breakfast meal. For serious. Rice, and a banana, with whatever entree they've made to go with it.

Which means a good 75% of our dinners growing up, we had rice as our main staple. Not unusual in a Filipino family.

But, this Mahatma magnet is not that rice. I've never actually heard of Mahatma, but apparently, it's America's favorite, according to their site. My sisters gave this magnet to me, from an Embassy day they did in DC.

I actually had to look this up, cuz I was convinced Mahatma was a country I didn't know about. Don't judge, I just had no idea.

The Mahatma site also has a section devoted to Riceipes, which makes me crazy for a couple of reasons. The very concept of rice recipes is completely foreign to me - that they exist and that they involve different ingredients and rice. On the other hand, there's a small part of me that wants to try them.

We've always had the steamed rice you normally find in Chinese restaurants. The other stuff's just foreign to us. It's beyond our ken that someone out there actually wants unsticky rice.

I mean, I've actually mocked those commercials that show the cooked rice freely tumbling into the bowl.

Silly Uncle Ben's.

Burgers, fries and a shake

Magnet #829 - Hamburger

To all those who have served, are serving, or will serve in our armed forces around the world, thank you. Right now, I'm kinda wishing I were home to find that magnet with field of poppies on it to celebrate this Memorial Day.

But, I guess I'll have to make do with this old-fashioned hamburger.

Now all's we need are the fries and shake!

And then there was barbeque

Magnet #802 - Cowboy on Ice

Ya'll, I want to see Cowboys on Ice. No, there's not a production going on anywhere, I just think it'd be awesome to see cowboys on ice.

Yesterday, to escape the crowds at Reliant Center, we went with a media rep and our clients out to the Reliant Arena for lunch.

First, let's talk about how OTC is *so* big that they're basically in two giant buildings, and an outside display area, and there's still a waiting list of tons of exhibitors out there who want to.

Second, let's talk about how it was literally a 15-minute ride to circle the lots to actually get to the giant Reliant Arena.

Third, let's talk about how, OMG, for whatever reason? They had the best beef BBQ known. to. man. Like, OMG, I think I might be going back today, just to have it one last time. I mean, I come from the land of pork BBQ. And let's face it, NY may think it knows it's brisket, but geewillikers that was seriously the best meal ever.

Or, I was just hungry.

But, I'll go with the former.

Apotheosis of pork*

Magnet #727 - Wildwood BBQ

In case ya'll haven't heard, I grew up in North Carolina. In case ya'll haven't heard, they're kinda known for their barbecue down there.

That's why I hesitate to go to any BBQ places here in town, because inevitably, I compare it to a couple of local places at home.

Wildwood BBQ, a BRGuest restaurant billed as one of the first organic BBQ restaurants, is across the street from us at work - which makes like the 4th BBQ place within a 10-15 block radius of me. I'm definitely not lacking up here in BBQ joints. Wildwood has a great space, and usually, the food's pretty good.

Mind you, I wasn't the biggest connoisseur of BBQ growing up. We didn't have it in the house, growing up - so the only time I ever had it was for school lunches. Indeed, it wasn't until I got to college, and maybe even beyond, that I learned there was even a difference between Eastern NC and Western NC BBQ.

Seriously. I don't think I went to the famous Lexington Barbecue* restaurant until college - and I live like 20 minutes away from it. And, if there's any place you should try BBQ in North Carolina, it's in Lexington. Damned good, that stuff. Plus, it's family owned!

I know. It's weird. I promise you, my mother's the best cook for miles, so we weren't wanting for good recipes to knock your socks off. But when it came to the traditional American fare like green bean casserole, tuna fish sandwiches, or sloppy joes, nothing could have been more foreign from our kitchen table.

But to her credit, anytime we'd run home and say, can we have X? She'd find the recipe and go to town. Still does.

Well, except one thing she refuses to make. There's a family we go to for holiday dinners every once in a while, and there's this lady who always makes that green fluffy dish that sits on the dessert table, circumspectly avoided by the Filipinos. Except me, because it's totally the Pistachio Ambrosia stuff we learned how to make in Home Ec. In fact, the (Filipino) lady of the house always knows I can be counted on to take it home. Heh.

Anyway, I picked this magnet today, because yesterday, I discovered that I've been missing out. I just learned about this odd (apparently Southern!) concoction of crockpot meatballs smothered in some sort of chili and grape jelly sauce. Never heard of it before. But the funny part is that everywhere I turned - online and offline - people are like, what do you mean you've never had that? And I'm like, what do you mean, what do you mean? I've never even heard of it!

Part of me wants to try it. The other part of me? Never wants to mention it to my mother, because otherwise, we'll be have it until she perfects the recipe. Hahaha.

Be our guest, be our guest

Magnet #701 - Fiamma Osteria

And now I'll have that song in my head for the rest of the day, complete with the ahhhhh, chorus in the background.

One of the best things about my job, and working in client service, is that it allows me to visit some of the best restaurants in town. Love that.

Ok, really, I just love trying the desserts at them. One of my habits is making sure to request the dessert menu along with the regular menu, so that I can figure out what meal I should get in prep for dessert. That's vital info, or else how can you know what to order for the meal?

Obvi, if you're in a restaurant where there's a dedicated pastry chef listed on the menu, you can't go wrong. Unless you don't see anything chocolate on that dessert menu. And that's a sad little restaurant, indeed.

Anyway, ya'll, I haven't a clue where this magnet came from. I've never been to Fiamma Osteria, and it's not even open anymore down on Spring Street, though they still have a location at the MGM in Vegas.

It's a BR Guest Restaurant though, which means that it was pretty nice, with great food, I'm sure. But, that's kind of the guarantee you get with BR Guest places, methinks.

If you haven't visited any of their restaurants, get thee there soon.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

Magnet #640 - Pizza

So, here's the deal. Over the next two weeks, I'll be off and away to Italy for the Save the World sister/fiance's wedding.

Which means I may or may not have time to blog each day. Oiy. It could be good, it could be bad - for me, that is. All I know is that it might be the first time in 640 days I may not be near a computer! How ever will I make it through to December? Why didn't I learn how to post from my BlackBerry? Or start writing all my posts ahead of time and timer set them to autopost? Eh, oh, well.

Anyway, I know it's kinda stereotypical, using pizza to herald the upcoming trip to Italy. But, two things. Pizza's what we had for lunch in Venice, last time I was there. And, Save the World sister's already running around Florence, and her first thing to report back to me was that they saw French Fry pizza. Whoa. See, now, that sounds like an American heart attack waiting to happen. Oiy.

So, yeah, I thought this cute bottlecap magnet from @KristinaMyers' Etsy store, would be fitting.

Can you feel it, sugar high!

Magnet #618 - Chocolat Besnier Le Mans Ad

Just spent several minutes online trying to find out more about this magnet. All anyone really has is that it's a vintage chocolate ad from many years ago, artist unknown. Annnnd, that's all I got. I want to say I either picked this up at the Union Square magnet guy...or the Chocolate Show.

For the purposes of this magnetpost, let's go with the latter.

The Chocolate Show is celebrating its 12th year, which I can't believe. I've been on and off, over the years, though it's been a few years since my last visit. Indeed, I almost missed it this year, until a friend of mine pointed out it was this weekend. Yay for last-minute tickets, I guess.

It's interesting to see how it's changed and stayed the same over the years.

I suppose nothing can take away the first time you ever go - the scent of chocolate wafts down the crowded halls, and the exotic chocolates in gorgeous packaging from all over the world are enticing as hell. Really, the sheer amount of chocolate at this thing is always overwhelming.

I used to do the chocolate fashion show of chocolate dresses, with the fancy shindig of fun hors d'oeuvres and nice swag that they finally managed to price the common man out of. I dunno if they even had the show this year, but they definitely had cool dresses to look at, and even a supercool haunted house.

The culinary demonstrations with famous chefs and chocolatiers from famous restaurants and tv shows are still there. Great to sit and watch, even better, tasting the recipes they're demo'ing. They've changed up the demos slightly, based on attendee feedback, I suppose. Like, having demos of recipes or activities that people can do at home - chocolate decorating cookies on sticks.

The exhibitors have changed over the years. One thing I loved was that the show was a good venue for high-end chocolatiers worldwide to come and show off their wares. It was always interesting to see the flavors and infusions they concocted, as well as the beautiful packaging. I can never resist beautiful packaging. Never. They still have some exotic exhibitors, like camel milk chocolates from Dubai (which I didn't get to try) and exhibitors from Europe and South America. But it's mixed in with domestic exhibitors with their chocolates as well.

I will say that I do miss my Payard Patisserie's flourless walnut chocolate cookies - the best chocolate cookies in the city. Yes, of course I can always go to the UES location, and I do, but this was sort of my tradition whenever I go to the show. Buying a couple of the cookies, and hoping to have them with milk, but never being able to save them long enough to get home to have them with milk. What? They're just that good.

One thing that they've refused to change up, which I suppose is a good thing if you're the Metropolitan Pavilion, is the venue. It's too small. Every year, we're all crammed into the tiny walkways and tiny booths, every inch jampacked with sugar-rushed people with their giant bags and rambunctious kids (no strollers, thank God, but I think that's cuz they were all on the UWS today), making the mad dash and elbowing people out of the way to get to the free chocolate samples at all the booths. Honestly, it's just miserable sometimes.

What's really disheartening is to see people saving up the chocolate samples in Ziploc containers and bags. Aside from their appalling booth trick-or-treating, I honestly don't know how that helps the exhibiting chocolatiers. You can't tell whose chocolate is whose if they're all ajumble in those half-melted bags. And having tried the majority of the chocolate at the booths, there's a huge difference in some of those chocolates! Ugh.

You really can't blame them, I guess. With price of admission hovering at the $30 mark, you want to get the most out of the day as possible.

Still, a day of chocolate and chocolate sugar highs is a good day. And that's what the day - and my bag of many various pretty bags and boxes of chocolate - was.


*From Empire Records. Yes, that's Renee Zellweger. And if you haven't seen it. Go. Now.