[SEATTLE BYTES] I Took A Food Tour in Seattle. Bean Lives in Seattle!

Next week, I will be posting up my food adventures from the Indie hub of Seattle, Washington. For those of you fellow food travelers, hopefully this helps plan out the menu for your future vacation. I know this blog is called FooodisGoood, but I incorporate personal tidbits to give the site a bit more warmth and spunk. "Good times are nothing if you can't share it with your loved ones. " -- C-Swizzle

With that being said, I attempted to link my Seattle Food Tour with Kevin & Bean from KROQ's morning show since Bean Baxter lives in Seattle. Yes, I tried a little too hard...but with good intention. I wanted to share the live on-air interview I did as a guest on the show. All I want is that you get a little crackle off my fan girling. 

Side tidbit: I had this deja vu moment taking me back to watching a Conan Interview of Mindy Kaling. Mindy had interned at the Conan show and told herself that one day she would be featured as a guest on the show. Mission accomplished, Mindy! 

Well funny thing is, I used to be a little ol' assistant at a radio station by the dials of 97.1, and I would have the Mindy interview on my mind. I, too, told myself I would one day be an on-air guest on one of the shows. It was a silly thought. I left my radio job earlier this year, how could I ever accomplish the "Mindy Mission" now. 

But, lo and bold...

Enjoy my interview as the "Taylor Swift Fan Girl." (Aired October 23, 2014 aka one day after my birthday).

Being mentioned in the same tweet as Dr. Drew #bucketlist

Tune in next week for a post of actual BITES not bytes ;)

--C.H.

Taylor Swift's Freshly Baked Homemade Cookies

I really wanted to take one of the freshly baked cookies my homie, T-Swizzle, was passing around at her house and stuff it into my...into my....

Well, I guess the problem was there was no way to stash away the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie I had just personally been offered from a tray held by Miss Swift herself...so I savored the image in my mind (and stomach). I know I can't help being biased, but honestly I have never tasted the most amazing cookies in my life. The texture possessed such a heavenly moist factor. The chocolate morsels oozed joyously out of the tender midsection, drizzling onto my fingers. At this point I freaked out, worried that I would accidentally stain one of Tay's fluffy pillows when I sat back down on the floor of her living room. Living room? What?

Yes, between gawking at her presence and previewing her highly anticipated new "pure pop" album, Taylor baked cookies for her 30+ guests in her quaint, little abode during an intermission. I was one of those very blessed fans. No, I am not lucky. Luck is random, luck is winning contests, lucky runs out. I'd much rather be blessed because it's more abundant and it means the Big Man up there is gracefully watching over you. 

For those of you wondering, I was picked out by Taylor strictly through the process of social media stalking. (I wonder if she has ever been on this blog?!). Maybe this poster I had brought to the Red Tour last year caught her eye?

And so, I was contacted through Twitter and asked to meet in a secret location. From there, we were to be chauffeured in limousine buses to another undisclosed location. The catch was that we could not bring anyone and we most definitely could not bring our little iPhones. We finally filed out of the bus into the patio of Taylor's house. Sushi, pizza, appetizers, and refreshments were provided. Through the window we spotted an MTV Award and..could it be...a shiny, golden Grammy? Once we refueled a bit, the excitement rushed again as we were escorted into the house. The rest was history as I cried and fainted in utter shock. JUST KIDDING. I did nothing of that sort because I was just trying to convince myself I wasn't hallucinating. I used her bathroom! I pet her new cat, Olivia! I held her Grammy! I got to tell her, "Thank you for the best 22nd birthday present when your Red Album released the same day as Kendrick Lamar's and you wrote the song '22'."

Seriously though, never in my wildest dreams would this have been a possibility in my reality. In addition to all that, last Friday, I had the opportunity to see Taylor along with an all-star lineup of artists perform at the iHeart Radio Music Festival in Vegas. As if things couldn't get any better, I got to sit front row at The Ellen Show yesterday (taping will be aired today, Sept 23). I would say my weekend went pretty well.

To give you a brief insight, I have actually been having a rough two weeks (eg. The water pipes in my house have malfunctioned, so I have been showering at the gym...don't take water accessibility for granted!). Prior to 2014, I had lost both grandmothers and my uncle within a short time span. While my family was facing financial difficulties, I decided to put my career dreams on hold in order to help out since the industry I want to pursue doesn't compensate very well. Somehow through it all, I kept my chin up and drew strength from my faith. At the end of the day, I am so in awe of life. It's easy to be thankful when you're life is going good, but true gratitude is when you find abundant blessings even in the storms of life. 

...AND THAT'S HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBLES.

--C.H.

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26  

The Ice Cream Bucket Challenge #20DaysofICECREAM

FooodisGoood has participated in our own version of the #IceBucketChallenge. 

Join us in raising awareness and donations for Compassion International. The original #IceBucketChallenge has recently received a lot of advocacy, so I thought to broaden the awareness spectrum towards a charity I have been supporting for a long time.

So if anyone is going to criticize the waste of water & ice cream...sometimes it's important to sacrifice for the greater good! (Disclaimer: All materials in this film were recycled and reused, or too old to use.)

And as Taylor Swift says, "The haters gonna hate, hate, hate...but we just gotta shake it off." 

I nominate anyone who is reading this post. Cheers!


--C.H.

For more info on Compassion visit www.compassion.com
Advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. 

[Day 15] Colorful Delights: Frostbites #20DaysofICECREAM

Frostbites offers Italian ice with a twist of frozen custard. You can mix any of the many flavors that the store carries with your choice of vanilla or chocolate swirl. If the line is not too long, the associates will advise you with the most popular combinations.

I must have tried more than ten combinations and found that the "sour gummy worm" was the best mix with the right amount of tanginess, sweetness, and refreshment. To get this combination ask for strawberry lemonade, green apple, watermelon, and blue raspberry.

Sorbet shakes, sorbet sodas, and sweet crepes are also options you can try here.

Sour Gummy Worm (Left), Cherry/Mango/Strawberry Lemonade (Right)

For more info:

Frostbites
Crepes & Frozen Delights
Various Locations in
Cerritos, Chino Hills, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Long Beach, Riverside

Who Says McDonald's Isn't Hip Enough?

From a happy meal box shaped building, an actual plane you can dine in, or even a McDonald's that is literally in the middle of the dessert....these locations won't ever compare to your local McDs around the corner!

CHECK IT OUT on YAHOO:
The 15 Craziest McDonald's

This McDs was converted from an old financial institution in Norway
*Photo Credit: Yahoo News

[Day 14] How To Churn Ice Cream With Your Bicycle: Peddler's Creamery #20DaysofICECREAM

Sometimes there aren't enough words to explain things. Seriously, I do not know how people lived before YouTube. So without further adieu, here is how Peddler's Creamery harnesses the power of a bicycle (with some type of sophisticated contraption system) and to produce ice cream...

So I didn't actually churn ice cream in the video, but if you do want to try it out Peddler's does allow customers to bike for their ice cream at certain times slots in the day. Apparently you need to pedal for about 20 minutes at 15 mph, resulting in one batch of ice cream. By the way, your help in churning ice cream for Peddler's profit will not go in vain. You will be rewarded, too. Depending on the how many batches you churn, you can receive free ice cream and prizes. For more details check out the Peddler's Club.

"After churning 3 batches, you get to play rock, paper, scissors with one of our employees and if you win you get another scoop free" --Peddler's Club Rewards

The on-the-go bike used for events

This sign points to your destination

Now, the process for concocting this ice cream may seem extensive, but I can attest that Peddler's Creamery has one of the best ice creams during my #20DaysofICECREAM. They boast vegan and organic ingredients within their biodegradable cups.

Notable flavors include Pancake Batter, Mexican Chocolate, Honey Lavender, Snikerdoodle, Kumquat, Strawberry Basil

We ate KBBQ after this.

I apologize for the lack of flavor details in this post. This really is an ice cream shop I would go back to again, but I was just so amazed by the bicycling process that I ended up just enthralled at the simple yet ingenious idea of it all!

--C.H.




Peddler's Creamery
458 S Main St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

[Day 13] The Exotic Flavors of Mashti Malone #20DaysofICECREAM

No preservatives

No eggs

No refined sugar

No corn syrup

No trans fat

No artificial flavor

No artificial color...

...That's a lot of no's. 

Don't be fooled, though, because Mashti Malone ice cream is jam packed full of zest. Check out their selection of wildly aromatic based ice cream flavors:

Menu taken from Mashti Malone

Just to let you know, LA has some of the best ice cream shops, but the search for parking is an absolute nightmare and journey in itself. However, for being about a block away from the heart of Hollywood, Mashti Malone offers a free parking lot. Another plus in my book.

Rosewater Saffron w/Pistachios on a "Malone"

Herbal Snow & Mango

The rosewater saffron is probably Mashti's most popular flavor. Although the sound of saffron may scare you, it is actually pretty tame compared to the other stuff. My personal favorite was the herbal snow. Now that has a freaky frangrance flavor, but I just really liked it. There are a couple other off menu flavors as well such as the lavender which actually wasn't too strong in fragrance. Order your ice cream on top of a mashti or malone. A mashti is made out of waffle cone. The malone is some kind of super fried and glazed dough. Warning: The malone is intensely sweet. Think of an overly cooked doughnut/churro soaked in sweetness.

Mr. Mashti Malone (that's not actually the owner's name but humor me) walked my ice cream eating team out of the shop and even chatted with us about his ice cream ventures. Apparently a new Mashti Malone will soon be opening up in Glendale. You can also find Mashti Malone products sold in Whole Foods Markets.

--C.H.


Mashti Malone's Ice Cream
1525 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046

What is the vision behind FooodisGoood.com?

The following reflects the beliefs and core values for which 

FooodisGoood.com proudly stands by:

*GIFS taken from BuzzFeed

Check out the BuzzFeed Article that inspired this post. 

[Day 12] Don't be a Snob: Cucumber Ice Cream #20DaysofICECREAM

Special flavors change daily
As the Brown Paper roll is ripped & replenished

Some would say I have become kind of an ice cream snob. The other day someone offered me some store bought ice cream and I found out to be repulsive.

Naturally, when I visited à la minute, known for their handcrafted flavors made using the now infamous nitrogen liquid, I went with the quirkiest choice...the special of the day: Mint & Cucumber Custard topped with a finger lime simple syrup.

"Let me get the medium size," I cockily ordered.
"Are you sure you don't want the small just to try it out," the associate warned me.
"No, it's okay. I promise I will eat it all.."
"Okay, we can get you a different one if you end up not enjoying it."
"Don't worry, I can do it."


At this point you can take my presumptuous, self-proclaimed foodie title and throw it out the window. That cucumber stuff belongs on anything but ice cream. The flavor was comparable to cucumber facial masks. On that note, let's not try to pretend the cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches are the best part of tea time!

The syrup does nothing to strengthen the likability :(

Customer satisfaction is a high priority at à la minute, I was given the option to try another ice cream since I admitted defeat with the cucumber ice cream. I ended up with the Chocolate Lavender. The first spoonful gives your mouth an unusual reception of ice cream flavor. The lavender pierces through the chocolate and surprises the part of your brain that manages taste buds. After a couple more bites, the spiced chocolate flavor adapts to familiarize with the body and mind. Overall, it is just okay.

The Affogado is pretty neat for the coffee lovers out there! A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream floats atop à la minute's coffee beverage. My personal favorite is the Espresso Chip! Such a great texture mixed in with enjoyable crunchy cookie chips in every spoonful.

Although the Riverside location has been open since 2012, the Downtown Orange shop just opened this past June. For those further away from Beverly Hill's beloved Ice Cream Lab or Irvine's Creamistry, à la minute' definitely fills in the demand for liquid nitrogen ice cream for residents in LA's east side. 


--C.H.

Chocolate Lavender with liquid nitrogen brewing in the background

Espresso Chip

Affogato (Floating Ice Cream Scoop in Coffee)

For the Pretty Little Liar Fans out there

Downtown Orange Location

My Little Minions

à la minute
Handcrafted Ice Cream made with Frozen Liquid Nitrogen

117 N. Glassell Street

Orange, CA  92866

                &

19 E. Citrus Ave. #105

Redlands, CA 92373

Follow @FooodisGoood on Instagram
Tag #20DaysofICECREAM 

[Day 11] With A Honeycomb On Top #20DaysofICECREAM

I was a bit lost walking around in this plaza off LA's most congested main streets, Wilshire Boulevard, so I had to text a K-Town native friend to confirm I was in the right place.

FIG Tip: Ask for directions!

As I looked up from my phone, I see a buzzing little bee float in front of me. Yup, it's gotta be somewhere around here. Follow the march of the bumble bees!

My nails match my desert #winning

What is that on top you ask? Well, I can assure you this ain't no cherry on top sundae... 

"Pure Honeycomb"

HoneyMee is an ice cream shop that offers milk ice cream with a swirl of honey and a honeycomb on top. Now, I don't really care for honey that much, but I couldn't get enough of this pairing! The "True Milk" ice cream is HoneyMee's pride and joy, and with great reason so, because it really tastes like the milkiest milk served as a frozen treat. Apparently the milk is produced from a family owned, Kosher dairy factory in California. If you're a bit skeptical about the honeycomb topper, you can choose not to order one but, of course, that wouldn't be a very cool Instagram pic now would it? Just get the 100% pure honeycomb, it's kind of the main attraction.

FIG Tip: Check-in on Yelp to get $0.50 off

HELP! The bees keep coming near my ice cream!

HoneyMee
3377 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010



**CAUTION: When eating at HoneyMee, be aware of all the bees hanging out there. They really have a thing for the honeycomb on top. 

[DAY 10] Farrell's 5th Annual Ice Cream Eating Competition VIDEO #20DaysofICECREAM

*CUE DRUM ROLL*

DUNDUNDUNDUN...

I ATE 3 SCOOPS OF ICE CREAM WITH WHIP CREAM ON TOP IN 3:57 minutes. It's pretty slow compared to the other competitors, but seriously...you gotta be crazy to eat each scoop in less than 30 seconds. The fastest challenger in the woman's category got a time of 1 minute!

The Aftermath Commentary: 
Did I get brain freeze? Surprisingly not. I was shivering internally and couldn't stop smiling mostly because the muscles in my jaw were frozen. I have no idea why, but I didn't and I'm happy with it.

The inside of my mouth lost all feeling. Have you ever experienced burning your tongue on a scorching hot drink? That's how it was on the rooftops of my mouth for two days straight, except in this case it was freezer burn. I also noticed a super sensitive reception when cold products touched my teeth for three days.

I kept it all in. It was a total food/sugar high above anything I've felt before. I just let it sit in my stomach while I walked around a shopping center. Then, I ate a couple of fish cake sticks and took a long nap.

Join me next year? I already have a few brave souls willing to try it out next summer!

3 Scoops of Crazy

My Support Team!

Me & My #Selfie

Me & The Manager

Commemorative T-Shirt Woohoo!

Farrell’s 5th annual Splendiferously Superific Summer Spectacular Ice Cream Eating Challenge

+Benefiting Children's Hospital of OC (CHOC) and Make-A-Wish Foundation ...IT'S FOR THE KIDS!

--C.H.

Q&A: What's my favorite food?

P.S. I am halfway into my #20DaysofICECREAM. Day 10 post will be coming up soon along with a video of me eating Farrell's ice cream in 3:57 minutes. However, I had to take a brief break because I lost feeling in the rooftops of my mouth for a couple days. Not to make further excuses, but my teeth also grew super sensitive to cold temperature foods. Don't worry, I've recovered so I will be on more ice cream missions!

[Day 9] Gelatissimo #20DaysofICECREAM

Gelato is starting to give me the impression it is actually "designer ice cream." For one thing, many of these gelato shops are all structured like high end boutiques. Don't even get me started on the overblown price tags that goes with a small serving size. However, I still enjoy gelato because it comes in a more eclectic array of unique flavor creations.

"Gelatissimo" is owned by an Italian family. Just like Italian leather shoes are of high quality, I feel Italian owned places can boast such authenticity with Italian products such as the gelato.

Three words: WHITE. CHOCOLATE. NUTELLA.

...Absolutely heavenly! Swirled in the white chocolate Nutella are bits of chocolate with crisped rice, which are sure to make your taste buds jump up and down. What can be better than the chocolatey taste complimented with strawberry gelato to wash down that cocoa breath.

I also recommend the Roasted Almond and Pistachio as a combination! The two creamier flavors envelope each other very well.

For fruit lovers, check out peach and wild berries. Other exclusive flavors include Fig, Basil, and Tiramisu.

There's also a good selection of Italian desserts to check out!

Peach & Wildberries

For Whip Cream connoisseurs, ask for this free extra!

--C.H.

Trying to smile with gelato in the back

Gelatissimo 
(In the 85 Degree Bakery Plaza)
2682 E Garvey Ave S
West Covina, CA 91791

[DAY 8] An Unlikely Pair: Habanero Chocolate #20DaysofICECREAM

Laguna Beach - the TV show that brought fame to Miss Lauren "LC" Conrad. As of 2010, Laguna Beach is also home to the Habanero Chocolate gelato! You should definitely try out such an odd combination.

The first bite is chocolate....and then your tongue is left with a spicy sensation as if you just had a bite of scorching hot chili pepper. Honestly though, I didn't think I could handle a whole serving of Habanero Chocolate, so I settled for boring but super refreshing, Pink Guava. I was allowed two flavor choices, yet stuck with one because I don't believe gelato's mixes well with other flavors like regular ice cream does.

Stand out flavors I was fascinated with include Ferrero Rocher, Chocolate Sea Salt Truffle, Sangria, Fresh Sage, and Champagne Pear.

--C.H.


P.S. Eating gelato after a day at the beach is the best thing ever!

From the outside it looks like a shoe boutique!

Pink Guava

 

That's my mom and I

Dolce Gelato

247 Broadway Street
Laguna Beach, CA 92651



Follow #20DaysofICECREAM on @FooodisGoood 's Instagram