Whoa. Just whoa.
Starbucks Chestnut Praline Latte
Sometimes it bums me out that I don't love the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks at all. Isn't that a fucking sad sentence? It felt gross writing it. It feels grossing feeling it. But I'm serious, people love that fucking drink and I get jealous of that.. I don't hate the drink, I just don't think I understand why it's supposed to be a delicious thing...?
In any case, I was excited to try their new drink. Why? I suppose you could say that I desperately want to have a drink there that I absolutely crave. They have so many goddam locations that I should have something I can call my own. (I used to be all about their apple fritters in the early 2000s but then they magically stopped appearing, which is probably a good thing 'cause those guys were mad bad for you.)
ANYWAY, this drink? Sucked. The aftertaste is... fishy. Not like tastes-like-fish fishy, but just fishy in the manner that made me question, "What have I ingested and why did I finish it?"
Anyway, I think that's it. Me and Starbucks really tried to make it work, but I guess in time I'll be able to fully move on and accept our fate.
P.S. $4.50 for a small drink is highway robbery, anyway, so it would've never worked out in the long run.
P.P.S. Can we all sign some sort of petition to get them to stop adding whipped cream to 90% of their drinks? I mean, c'mon, we're not 9 years old. We don't need any whipped cream.
Mind Over Matcha at Booster Juice
I feel slightly cheated that I've ONLY DISCOVERED THIS DRINK THIS YEAR. I can't believe that I've walked past many a Booster Juice for fifteen years - all the while this beautiful drink was sitting there, watching me, silently taunting my ignorance. I've never tasted a smoothie as delicious as their Mind Over Matcha. You have to try it. I didn't (/still don't) know exactly what matcha is and I never bothered to look it up since the word itself never sounded very appetizing to me. I couldn't have been more wrong. Drink this baby. Drink it hard.
(And is it not nuts that Booster Juice has been around since 1999? That seems a little wild to me.)
Simpsons Wine
These bottles are gorgeously designed and I want them. That is all.
The Peninsula Winter Drinks Deal
You'll really only care about this post if you live near NYC and go out drinking. Oh, and if you like to get fancy often.
The bar at The Clement at The Peninsula hotel (at 55th & Fifth) has a winter cocktail menu in accordance with the temperature outside right now. So basically, the colder it gets - the cheaper the drinks get. For every degree below 25, the price will drop a dollar. If the temperature reaches zero degrees, you’ll get free petit fours to accompany the free drinks.
I'm obviously going to go because I've always wanted a reason to see that hotel because it's gorgeous from photos and the some-day-dream of mine is to stay there a night solely to have use of their indoor rooftop pool. It looks nuts. The drink promotion lasts until February 28th, 2014.
Clearly Canadian
I'm not really sure how popular this drink was in the States back in the day, but I loved it where I was from. And apparently, they're making a comeback. You can buy them by the case ($35 for 12 bottles, which is roughly $3/bottle), which I suppose isn't terribly expensive if you love the stuff. I won't be going to such lengths to enjoy them once again, but I encourage you to do just that and invite me over.
(Let the record show that if Pepsi Blue ever does this, I will spend my savings on owning every last can.) (I'm not proud of that, but I owe you my honesty.)
Hot Chocolate Variety Pack
I can't tell you how delicious this stuff is. Obviously I went for the Coffee Crisp first, which was amazing. But then the After Eight one happened and my head exploded. So I'll assume I'll be too dead to write about how good the Rolo one turns out to be.
You can buy this variety pack at most grocery stores in Ontario - I found it at the Metro near my parent's house in Mississauga. SO GOOD.
The Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 3 in NYC
This is the frozen hot chocolate that they serve at Serendipity 3 in New York. I've only tried to go to the restaurant once, and the line/wait was much too long so I left. I only really wanted to go so that I could try one of these since I've heard how good they are.
Anyway, I found out that you could buy the packets online and make them at home (providing you have a blender - a good blender, too - one that crushes up ice well), so that's what I did instead. Verdict? Really goddam good. I don't see how the made-in-the-restaurant version could be any better, really. Just tasty as hell. And enjoyed in the comfort of my own home no less! The packets come in a variety of sizes and you can buy them on Amazon.
It's $8.95 when you order it at the restaurant, but the serving size is good for at least two people they say (they also have a peanut butter version at the restaurant).
Also, have you seen the movie Serendipity? Man. I don't even like movies like that and I loved that movie. Just delightful as hell. The likable John Cusack? Get outta here, he's so great in it.
Juice of the Day - Perfect Pineapple
This is a juice I just made. I got the recipe from The Big Book of Juices. It consists of one half of a full, hugeass pineapple and three kiwis. How the hell do you cut a kiwi so that the insides stay put but that brown skin fucks off? NO IDEA. What I got left over after attempting to de-skin that kiwi was almost laughably tiny. Nevertheless. THIS DRINK IS DELICIOUS. And when you taste it for the first time, you think, "Ohhhhhh. THIS is what pineapple is supposed to taste like," in a really positive way. Most pineapple juices have ludicrous amounts of sugar and all kinds of garbage in it to preserve it, so this was refreshing as ever. DRINK. (Also, the recipe from the book tells you to put eight tablespoons of pineapple juice in it as well - and that sounded dumb to me, so I omitted it.)
If you're looking for more juice recipes, I have only obtained one other great one so far, but give me some time. You'll get more.