Even more bliss?

Hi there starving foodie. Not starving yet? Well you will be after this post. Remember a few months ago when I blogged about cupcakes? You know the ones, the perfect little bites of bliss from My Little Cupcake.

Courtesy of My Little Cupcake

Well I have some exciting news for you all, or at least those of you who live in Vermont. My Little Cupcake is opening up a new branch! It will be located on the corner of College St. and S. Winooski St. right across from the Roxy theater. Thus, this post is a predecessor of what is to come. I am telling you all to keep an eye out for my next post. It will be coming soon. How soon? Well that is a surprise, but I promise to go by and gave the new location my feedback. I also promise to regal you with tales of delicious, mind-blowing, pillows of flavor. If you want, join me on the next train to flavor town. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Until next time,

Little Foodie

A Little Crazy And A Lot Of Idol

Welcome back devoted followers, I know it has been a while since I posted last, but you know, college life gets busy, and college food gets boring. But I thought I would give you guys a treat today:

Image courtesy of Google Images

Ok, its not that kind of treat, but it is really more of a getting to know you more treat. I was feeling nostalgic and recently reread all of my old posts on this blog. I noticed I had never told you guys about my ambitions. Well, I did say that I would love to own a restaurant one day, but it is so much more than that. My life's dream, as of right now, is to be a very successful culinary business woman. I idolize people like Donatella Arpaia and Bethenny Frankel, they are women, who have a very successful self made business.


The first woman I idolize is Donatella Arpaia:

Image courtesy of Google Images

Donatella is a highly successful, extremely intimidating women. She was born and raised in the New York area, and still currently lives there today. She currently owns three restaurants: kefi, a Greek restaurant located on the Upper West Side of NYC; Anthos, another Greek restaurant which is co-owned by Michael Psilakis, on West 52nd Street in NYC; and Mia Dona, an Italian restaurant, on East 58th Street in NYC. Recently Donatella opened another restaurant with Michael Psilakis in Miami, Eos, which is categorized as having Mediterranean cuisine. This is Her first restaurant outside of New York. Her restaurants are not the reason I fell in love with her though. Truth be told, I have no had the chance to even try her food (I hope to this summer), but it was her determination and love of the industry that I aspire to recreate.

I remember seeing a commercial one time, Donatella was talking about how she became a restaurateur:



And I remember thinking, her father didn't want her to go into the culinary industry and she still did, and she became successful. I compared her father to my father not wanting me to do the same, and I know it is because he cares like Donatella's father cares, but it still doesn't matter. Like Donatella, I am determined, and if I want something to happen then it will. I might be studying marketing/advertising now, but one day, sorry daddy, I will make it to the culinary world.


The second woman I idolize is Bethenny Frankel, watching her TV show Bethenny Ever After on Bravo recently, inspired me to write this particular post on my idols.

Image courtesy of Google Images

She is a completely self made business woman and a new mommy to boot! She had a rough upraising, to put it bluntly, but she was able to focus and set her mind to what she wanted to do, and boy, did she achieve it. She doesn't personally own a restaurant, but she is an established natural food chef, and she does own her own liquor label:

Image courtesy of Google Images

The Skinny Girl Cocktail brand is something Bethenny created for girls like her, someone who likes tequila and margaritas, but still wants to stay thin. I think of it as the less caloric drink. While I do not aspire to own my own liquor brand, I do admire Bethenny's ambitions. When she wants something she really goes after it. On this week's episode of her show, Bethenny Ever After, there was a problem at the Skinny Girl bottling plant. The solution? Bethenny, and her husband Jason, went to Montreal, to the bottling plant, and figured out a solution to the problem.

Bethenny and Donatella are both admirable women. They fix problems that need to be fixed, the inspire girls like me, and they make good looking food. They are determined, accomplished women, that have achieved everything they want in life and more. I hope one day I become as successful as them, or even better, get to meet them and pick their brains about what I can do to be successful.

Until next time,

Little Foodie

The Perfect Bite

Oh. My. Word. There is nothing like the perfect little bite, of the perfectly sized portion, of a delicious cupcake.

courtesy of my little cupcake

Now doesn't that look delicious? The above is the only cupcake I was not able to picture, flavor Sundae (I was too busy munching to photograph it). I also purchased six other cupcakes, that survived the trip back to my dorm room:

picture taken with my phone

Those yummy looking cupcakes are talking to me as I write this post. The perfect thing for a day on the slopes. If you are curious of the flavors, they are (top, from left to right) Mexican Hot Chocolate, Pink champagne, Birthday Cake and (bottom, from left to right) Malted Milk Ball, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Vanilla. Anyways, they really are delicious. I like to call them "elusive cupcakes." Really they are from this quaint little bakery in Essex Junction, Vermont called My Little Cupcake.

the sticker on my box of cupcakes

My first impressions? Well, I walked in stiff from a day of snowboarding, and went immediately into bliss from the aroma of baking cupcakes. YUM! Then I noticed the walls. Adorable, cutesy, animated cupcake decorations of their actual flavors. I fell in love. There were tables for those who wanted to eat their cupcakes right then and there, if not, you could get a box of take out. That is obviously what I did. Towards the back, there was a single display case of cupcakes with many different flavors; it was very hard to choose. Eventually, I did. Oh, and did I mention that everything was pink and welcoming? Well it was.

All around, a very good bakery that I advise everyone to go to if you can. Check them out on Facebook, or even Twitter. But there is nothing like holding a little cupcake of your very own. So scurry in, before I eat them all up.

Until next time,

Little Foodie

Churros Anyone?

Have you ever eaten a fresh, homemade churro? Well last night I had that fresh homemade churro. I got to go to one of my favorite restaurants last night, Barcelona. It is a delicious tapas bar.

As usual, I went with my parents and they told me to order whatever I wanted. There were so many choices I didn't know where to start. I ordered: tuna tartare, potato tortilla, papas bravas, warm roasted spiced acorn squash, branzino a la plancha, the diver sea scallop, crispy calamari, and more. The bonus though, was when the host sent me a baked cauliflower dish, on the house. It was delectable and scrumdidilicous. The cauliflower was accompanied by manchego cheese, parmesan cheese, and toasty breadcrumbs. I was in heaven.

Everything else I ordered was delicious as always. My favorite thing about tapas is, it is a great way to get a little bite of everything. Especially at Barcelona where everything is fresh and seasonal. And then came dessert: churros.

I always get them, I don't even look at a dessert menu at this point. A freshly fried piece of dough that is light and airy, covered in cinnamon sugar with chocolate sauce on the side. I don't even eat the chocolate sauce, just the churro happiness. Each bite is bliss-inducing happiness, so much so, that my parents get the smallest morsel of a bite. They are the best churros I have ever had.

Barcelona is a must for anyone near Greenwich, Connecticut. A great atmosphere with wonderful food and personable waitstaff. If you are lucky enough to go on a night when Chef Christian is there, then you are in for a treat. He usually greets you at the door, otherwise he will come out of the kitchen and make sure you meal was good. But even if Chef Christian is off, the other chefs are equally as good. Everyone the restaurant hires has heart and really cares, I even think it is a prerequisite before you can apply for a job. So go, enjoy, and remember, don't share those churros.

If you want check out Barcelona for yourself, go to: http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/index.htm

Until next time,
Little Foodie.

Food Coma

Today I went to Church & Main with some very good friends, all of us on a budget. We had decided to get brunch since it is generally less expensive than dinner, thankfully we were right. I have to say that I am an extremely happy camper, right now.

We sat at the counter facing Main Street and watched people, and animals, wander by while we ate. There was a variety of choices on the menu, I chose the Lobster Benedict. Lobster, poached eggs, and a corn cake made for one delicious combination.

The lobster was unfortunately slightly overcooked, but it had amazing flavor. The eggs were cooked to perfection, which I, personally, know is a hard task. And then there is the corn cake. It had amazing flavor, and everything was perfectly balanced, but it was kinda mushy. It needed more crunch. This could have been fixed if it was seared longer to develop a beautiful golden brown crust, but unfortunately, without that crunchy texture, the dish became muddled.

The restaurant itself is in a small space, but it made for a cozy, intimate atmosphere. The service was slightly lacking though. I did overhear that there was a mix up in the kitchen, but there was a large time lapse in between ordering the food and actually receiving it. The waitress should have communicated to us that there was a mix up.

All in all, I would definitely go back to Church & Main. The food was quite delicious (with some minor tweaking needed), but I will give them the benefit of the doubt because they have only been open a few weeks. I do hope to go back soon and try more delicious, coma inducing food, soon.

And for those curious about Church & Main, go to http://churchandmainvt.com/

Until next time,

Little Foodie

Endless Smiles

This past weekend my parents came up to visit me. I was ecstatic, because not only was I going to get to see them, but I was going to get to go out for good food!! A win, win situation.

Friday night we went to 156 Bistro, my dad had never been. My favorite thing of the night was the tuna tartar. It was delicious! Beautifully colored tuna with a complimentary dressing holding it together made me extremely happy. I only wish the tuna had been uniformly cut; I kept encountering uneven pieces. I also wish that the dressing holding the tartar together was a little lighter. If I could have seen more of the tuna's beautiful red color, the dish would have been even more appealing. But overall I was very happy with the dish.

Saturday night we went to L'Amante, a delicious Italian restaurant. I ordered squash blossom fritters, potato crusted sea bass, and then a creme brulee for dessert. The squash blossoms were delicious with taleggio cheese inside, and a honey sauce drizzled on top. I am still salivating. The sea bass had room for improvement. The potato crust was cooked unevenly, raw potatoes are gross. And then the sea bass was huge. A case of too much food. But the beurre blanc sauce that came with it was perfectly creamy and complimentary. And finally, the creme brulee. Oh my God. First, a beautiful layer of bruleed sugar on top. Nice and crunchy. Followed by a delicious vanilla custard. My only complaint was that the custard was sweeter than I like. Otherwise quite delicious. L'Amante is a great place to go, but beware that the service is slightly lacking.

Finally, Sunday for brunch (before my parents left), we went to Magnolia's. To start, a must order is their banana bread. Quite scrumptious. I actually got a loaf to go; it is sitting in my fridge. I ordered the potato pancakes. They were nicely done, but more like potato patties. I did appreciate the fresh chives, it really lightened the heavy, fried, potato pancakes. I will definitely go back though to try more of the options. Warning, a line does form quickly so get there early!

Stay tuned for more food adventures!

Until then,
Little foodie.

Sorry For The Delay

Sorry fellow foodies for the lack of posting lately. I have now learned that it is hard to be a full time college student with midterms and have a food blog. I have been hauled up in my room writing papers, working on projects, and trying not to go insane. I promise to try and post more often, and this upcoming weekend I will be getting a plentiful amount of yummy foods so maybe get some multiple posts going there. Who knows.

But for today's post I would like to talk about one specific food item. It is delicious, comforting, and I don't know how I could ever live with out it. I, of course, am talking about the grilled cheese. There is nothing better on a stressful day than the ooey-gooey savory grilled cheese.

Today is a rather stressful day for me, with midterm projects, work, and class, so of course for lunch I ate grilled cheese. I am still thinking about the gooey American cheese. It is just so comforting. Of course it would have been better with a side of tomato soup, but I work with what I got.

Now I ask you to imagine this simple warm sandwich. Two pieces of bread, and a few pieces of cheese, cooked on a grill, or in a saute pan--it depends on what you have to work with--that results in a gooey, saliva inducing mess. How happy would that make you? I know it makes me happy. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Of course it can only get better from there. I leave you now to ponder how it can get better. I want you to dream about the gooey comfort food. See, you're smiling now.

Until next time,
Little Foodie