Blue Dragon Restaurant

Wow, wow wow. As a nut-allergy babe who loved Asian food, when I heard that Ming Tsai had a nut-free Chinese resto in Boston, Boston became like, my dream city. And I never got to go to that resto because now it is closed!!!!!! But I went to his new place, which is almost as cool because it's also nut free. I went with my boyf and my great friend, so that was also very fun. The food was great, but sharing it was hard. They were good about allergies of course, including fish and peas! :)

I/we got:

Pork and Scallion Wontons: Honestly I didn't love this -- it was super spicy (??) or made me tear up somehow, even though it obviously wasn't an allergy. Just not what I loved. 5/10

Spicy Chicken Rangoons: This was amazing, it tasted very good but I only got one of them. Crispy and like, uh, Asian food??? I love this. 9/10

Chinese Broccoli: Not the same as American brocco, but basically chili-powdered oily green broc stoccs. I liked it and didn't find it spicy at all, but my cohort thought it was very spicy and didn't love it. I thought "This is fine." 6/10

Chow Fun: This was fun, but I wanted like a lo mein noodle and this was very thick bois. The veg were great and the flavor was great, but I would try a different noodle next time. 8/10

Cookie: OH GOD! THE COOKIE! Got it without the soy caramel just in case. It was so warm and crunchy and good and I love the cookie and ice cream. Cookie. 9/10

Blue Samoan Cocktail: They were out of the beer I ordered, and thank god because this was amazing. Creamy and sweet and refreshing and bright blue and came with an umbrella. I stan (as they say). 9/10

Wine: Wine is fine, I got this. 7/10

Overall, I think our waiter might have hated us and the table was a bit cramped, but the food was great and the service was good and everything was a fun and good experience. Would 100% go back.

Overall

Cost: 5/10 (About 120$ for 3)

Taste: 9/10

InnovAsian General Tso’s Chicken Rice Bowl

Dude, I love this. It's perfect. Tiny, but tastes just like the big General Tso's, with bonus rice and broccoli and red pepper. Can't go wrong!

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [3.50 a bit high for the quantity]
Taste: 9/10

Frío Gelato

This was probably the pinnacle of my Chicago trip, which if you are a nut allergy trago you might understand. Nut free gelato!!! In a regular store, in a cone, at the pier!!! What!!! And it tastes great, just like regular ice cream/gelato must taste. I wish with all my heart I could go to a place like this whenever I wanted, but I guess it's good for my weight or whatever. (I don't even believe that, I just eat frozen meals sadly instead).

So: gelato! They have vanilla and chocolate cones, both are good and don't really taste that different. I got trifondo which was like, caramel and chocolate and vanilla, and it was tasty and sweet and lovely. Then I got raspberry and marscapone, which is probably my favorite flavor. I also tried the cafe con leche, which was "fine" but not my favorite. Sadly then I had to leave the time zone so I could only try three flavors, woe. All were so fun and creamy and melty and great. I love you, frio gelato.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (IDK, maybe 7 dollars each? Who cares)
Taste: 9/10

Friendly's Cherry Chocolate Chunk Sundae Cup

Is this my favorite of the Friendly's Ice Cream Cups? So far, I think so! Apart from my slight allergy fears because this is a new food (classic), this was delicious, just like the hot fudge one but with the addition of cherry pieces! The ice cream part was like the Healthy Choice Cherry Chocolate Chunk ice cream (i.e. yum), with a strong flavor and nice big cherry pieces, plus you get the standard fudge and whipped topping as a bonus. This isn't listed as a current flavor on their website though, so I fear they might not make it anymore! Sadface.

Overall

Cost: 8/10 (1$)

Taste: 9/10

Fiesta Mexico

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! My favorite Mexican place. This is such a big restaurant, two floors and lots of different tables, and we never have to wait for a seat even though sometimes it is very crowded. The food, I think, is great, but even though the menu is expansive I've only ever ordered one thing since I like it so much. That's the fajita quesadilla with chicken (and rice). It is basically a chicken quesadilla with chunky fajita veggies in it. It is big and delicious. This is all you could want in a Mexican food. The rice is also very tasty, but it has peas in it which I pick out and eat recklessly. They also bring you chips and salsa, of course, and these are great as well. Watery salsa but in a good way. Unique flavor, not like a jar you'd get at the grocery.

I do change up my drink, and today I got the Strawberry Sangria, which was huge and super strong. And tasted like the berry parts of Berry Berry Kix cereal. So, it was good. A+.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (maybe 10-15$)
Taste: 9/10

Dragonfly Café

Happy New Year! I'm starting 2018 off with the flu, but at least I had a wonderful brunch at the Dragonfly Café! I love love love this place because the whole kitchen is nut-free. No peanuts, no tree nuts, but they still use egg/milk/wheat/milk so everything tastes good. When I discovered this place I was so happy. They have breakfast foods, omelette, sandwich, pancake, french toast, crepes, burgers, salads, mac and cheese, and more, probably. The service is good although maybe a little slow, but I actually like that. It's super chill. Today I got a custom omelette, with brie(!) brocco mushroom and ham. It was really good, actually, because the egg was thinner than most places, so it wasn't overwhelming. Also comes with rosemary breakfast potatoes (very nice) and toast (I accidentally got non-white, so I didn't eat it, but the white toast is good). I also got a cappuccino which was really good and had a cute cinnamon dragonfly in it. And then for dessert we split the chocolate banana crepes! I didn't think I would like it because of chocolate but it wasn't chocolate, it was crepes with banana filling and chocolate sauce on top and banana slices and some whipped cream. Basically it was freakin' great. I wish every day were New Years Day (props to them for being open, by the way).

Notre Dame crepes: I liked these even though they sounded super weird - apple, spinach, sausage, onion??? But there was mostly a lot of crepe, some goat cheese, and little tiny pieces of breakfast sausage (which were good!). I enjoyed it. 6/10

Chocolate mouse lava bomb egg thing: Ughhhhhh it made me feel bad inside and tasted like 'meh' 4/10.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 9/10

Q says: It's fine. The guy was nice. / I like it because you like it? My food was bad.

Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Ready Sauce for Korean BBQ Stir-Fry

Dude. Dude. Dude. OK, so if you've read this blog or know me in person, you probably know that since the age of 12 or so, when I got seriously diagnosed with NUT ALLERGY BAD NUT ALLERGY, I've been on the quest for nut-free Chinese food. And not crap Chinese food, but stuff that actually tastes like the (takeout) Chinese food of my youth. However, I have been mostly unsuccessful (mild success came with Yoshinoya Beef Bowl's fried rice (RIP West coast life) and this frozen Innovasian chicken and broccoli meal, but after many attempts, I've generally come up short. Since I am usually in search of (Chinese) lo mein or fried rice or chicken and broc, I never would have thought to try this packet of Korean BBQ stir fry sauce on my own. However, blessedly, it was sent in my monthly Degustabox (fun food sub box). First downer: I have to buy meat, onions, and veg if I want veg. So this is a commitment. Then I need to marinate the meat for two hours. Whew. And they say to buy "flank steak", and I'm not very familiar with cuts of beef, being a mostly poultry-only girl left to my own devices. The only flank steak is over 10 bucks a pound at my store! Good lord! But, since the only potential alternative (London Broil Top Cut) looked really different, I bit the bullet and spent the 10 bucks for this meat, then came home and made rice and cut veg and marinated it up and stir fried the heck outta this thing! (The cooking itself took less than 10 min, which was crazy, and I don't have a meat thermometer so I was a little scared and did it on the longer side, like 8min total). And...and....it tastes EXACTLY like the beef teriyaki I used to get as a kiddo! Chewy beef pieces skewered with a wooden stick. Now as a kid this wasn't my favorite Chinese dish, my parents always ordered it, but damn if it didn't bring tears to my eyes to taste a so similar thing!!! I think it must be partially the cut of meat (damn you, beautiful chewy 10 dollar meat), but the sauce is also a really similar flavor, and it's just really great to have this. Ahhh. I think it came out well; even though I used a little less meat than called for and so I had a fairly saucy dish, when it's over rice it isn't too overwhelming or too sweet or anything like that at all. Just great. What a fun surprise! I might have to buy this again, even given the expense, maybe to make for my loved ones (i.e. parents and bf (separately)) to get their reaction. Woo! Cooking success high! :)

Overall
Cost: 3/10 (about 3$ for the sauce, which is OK, but see my meat stress above -- though I'm sure you can use other meats or veg or something instead)
Taste: 9/10 (as a meal, the sauce on its own didn't wow me, although it is good)
Nostalgia: 10/10

Voga Moscato Wine

OK, I know what you're thinking, "wine never contains nuts"! Well, all the more reason to drink it, right? A friend brought this to my place for a party, and now I'm drinking it and am gonna have to thank her for bringing this into my life, because it's delicious and very cheap. Plus, the bottle is only 750ml and has a lid instead of a cork, so it's perfect for the single life (my current life). Anyway, enough about me!

The taste is basically champagne without the fizz. It's definitely a dessert wine, very sweet, but also not cloying. It's a very mild, fruity, pleasant flavor, and it's actually much better chilled. Next time I buy wine, I'm probably going to go for this! Thanks Irene!



Overall
Cost: 9/10
Taste: 9/10

InnovAsian Chicken & Broccoli

Wow! As you may know, the quest for nut-free Chinese food is among my most difficult and desired. So whenever I go to a new grocery store, I check to see if there is anything which might fulfill this craving. Enter Wal-Mart, and enter this delicious meal which is also so easy to prepare. You microwave the chicken and broccoli and pour some sauce over it. I thought "this is probably going to be gross" and then when I smelled the sauce, which was gingery and sweet, I thought "oh no...". But I was wrong! I was very wrong! This is filling and delicious and actually tastes pretty similar to (not great) takeout Chinese!! It IS a little bit sweet and spicy, kind of like General Tso's, and the chicken is breaded, but it's really good tasting chicken and the sauce is really nice. The broccoli is fine; nothing to rave about, but the chicken is really good. I only used about half of the sauce and this seemed to be the right amount. Glory hallelujah!

Overall
Cost: 4/10 (I don't remember but I think it was about 7$ -- not so great for 1 nice meal)
Taste: 9/10 !

Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Cookies (Milk)

Cookies? Biscuits? Who knows. These are German, or British, or something not American, but they are in my local Pathmark grocery store, so I decided to try them out. They do make almond and hazelnut products, but these specific cookies don't have an allergy warning for any nuts. Lucky for me, they are also pretty delicious. The base is a nice buttery wafer, and it is covered with good milk chocolate. Not the type which covers your Nestle + Nabisco cookies, and not even the Pepperidge Farm Milano chocolate. This is better, creamier. It's also a substantially thick layer. So, all in all, this tastes like a high-quality snack, and it's really good. A rare gem for nut allergy people! Check it out! :9

Overall
Cost: 7/10 (On sale for 2.50)
Taste: 9/10

CyliK music : A Non-Food Review

I'm making a one time exception in this blog to review something that isn't food! On the one hand, there's no peanuts involved. On the other hand, it's good music. CyliK is a very new electronic artist, just burst onto the scene! Only a few tracks posted so far, but they're all winners. Good study music, good background music, good chilling out music, driving music, all that stuff. My favorite track is posted below, but check out Cylik.com for the rest and for info about how to download or follow them on facebook etc.


Overall
Cost: 9/10
Taste: 9/10

J says: great stuff, 9/10

Margherita's Pizza

Now that Main Street Sliders has shut down :(, I need a new place on Main Street that can be my "cozy easy comfort food joint", yanno what I mean? And Margherita's is definitely my favorite pizza on Main Street; great variety, great service, tastes really good, 3$ slices, great location, etc. The only downside for me is that these are really big, really cheesy, really fatty slices that can make me feel pretty queasy afterwards if I'm not careful!!! (I think pizza + I have a personal issue). And apparently they have beers on tap too; I never noticed because like I said, I always just come here alone for a comforting snack. But this seems like a great hangout and the pizza is really really good. Gotta give a shoutout to my friend Rachel who picked Margherita's as her favorite Newark pizza long before I did -- good call, Rach.

Enzo's White: Tomato, mozzarella, spinach?? a classic
Spinach, mushroom, + ricotta: excellent :9 especially the ricotta, sweet and good.

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 9/10

Ben & Jerry's Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Ice Cream

It's been a while! Anyway, I've gotten pretty into coffee. Like I really like coffee. And of course I like ice cream, so when they converted this scoop-shop flavor into a peanut-safe frozen version, of course I bought it. The ice cream base is coffee flavored, which I used to hate, but now I really like. It also has little "espresso-flavor" chocolate rectangles inside; a decent amount of them. Basically the whole thing tastes like a coffee truffle which is really good. Yum. (Super unhealthy though of course :D)

Overall
Cost: 5/10 (buy on sale!)
Taste: 9/10

Hershey's Creamy Milk Chocolate

 This is Canadian! No wonder it's so good. This is creamier than a regular Hershey's chocolate bar, almost like a red symphony bar (which is a really great bar, except it may contain peanuts now!!). I like it a lot and I wish we had them available in good old America!!


Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 9/10

Oreo Heads or Tails Double Stuf

Oreos! Yum. I like all double 'stuf' oreos, and I even like regular oreos. The fact that I'm not allergic to them is great but I think I would like them a lot regardless. I like the fun of the vanilla and chocolate options, although I do like the chocolate side better, I'd rather have both than just chocolate because it keeps things interesting. These are great and I could probably eat a whole box!

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.50]
Taste: 9/10

Laura says: As far as cookies go, I don't like oreos that much to begin with. But these oreos have a vanilla side, and I like that. 7/10

Eggo Mini Muffin Tops - Blueberry

Oh, dear. These are so bad for you, but so good! They come in these cute little sheets of 4 "muffin tops" which you toast, and then eat by tearing them apart. They're great for a snack but not really for a breakfast. They taste like little pastries, but not like a blueberry muffin. Nonetheless, they're really good. :9

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 9/10

Marie Callender's French Bread Garlic And Butter Croutons

These are my favorite croutons! They taste great and go with salads and vegetables. They also stay crunchy for a long time, but aren't too hard to bite into or anything. They taste a little garlicky, and a little oniony, but not super buttery despite the name. Yum.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 9/10

Ben and Jerry's "Willie Nelson's Country" Peach Cobbler Ice Cream

That's a mouthful! Of good ice cream! (iced cream?) Anyway, this is a really delicious flavor. And I can't find anymore, so it may be summer-seasonal. This is basically a peach ice cream with chunks of peach and cinnamon-y shortbread cookie pieces. It's all very tasty and does, in fact, remind me a lot of actual peach cobbler. It's got a strong peach flavor, but not overpoweringly like a peach sorbet might do. It's cinnamon and vanilla-y as well. I highly recommend this one!

It's nut free, although not necessarily made in a nut free plant. However, there's no allergy warning, and I trust Ben And Jerry's pretty strongly with that stuff. (here's there faw if you want to read more: http://benjerry.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/184/related/1 )

Overall:
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 9/10

Kinder Surprise Egg

Kinder eggs are great, but you can't get them in the US too easily because they have toys in them! What the heck, America. Anyway, they're peanut free and they're really good. It's a chocolate egg with a white colored reverse side on the hollow shell. Then there's a toy inside. It's pretty good and fun and great. Yum.

Overall

Cost: 5/10

Taste: 9/10

Laura says: Yum! I love it. And a toy too. 9/10

Pepperidge Farm Brussels Cookies

Pepperidge Farm always makes me a little anxious because their ingredient statements don't contain an allergen statement or any bolding or anything like that. However, after reading the ingredients carefully, I've never had a problem with any of their cookies or crackers (and I've had quiiite a few of them). These Brussels cookies are 2 crispy cookie pieces encasing a thin layer of chocolate. This sounds a lot like Milano, but it's different! First of all, they're circular! The cookie pieces are a totally different texture - thinner, crispier, and they have a hint of coconut. (warning: don't eat if you're allergic to coconut). I like these a lot.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 9/10