Of course!

Jason Clearfield.  The giver of gifts.  The deliverer of chips.  Dear friend and former sweetheart.

Thank you for the most excellent mystery (now solved) of the Zapp's Box of Deliciousness.

My Sour Valentine

I love Valentine's Day.  I always have, even when I'm a single lady (oof, I don't like that phrase anymore), and I always will.  Truthfully any holiday with the promise of food, candy and dressing up in specific colors or outfits to identify that you are indeed celebrating that holiday is alright by me.  

This year was a single affair, although I did expect at least a giant heart shaped cookie cake out of the day, and courtesy of my work Valentine, Mair, I had a frosting covered rainbow chip delight, along with a festive pack of Airheads candy.  I gave out Valentine's bearing the image of my 2008 obsession, a Waste Allocation Load Lifter *Earth class and a Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator.  The Sweetheart candies produced by the same people who bring you Necco wafers that were part of the folded valentines, were not as popular as the homemade treats delivered by my co-workers.

My night ended up the opposite of what I expected (although I really had few expectations)

and I found myself wandering around my neighborhood 7-11 at about 11:30pm in search of my much craved for comfort chip, Lay's Sour Cream and Onion. I had already finished the bag of Zapp's Spicy Creole Tomato Spiked with Tabasco early on in the week.  A true delight in the Zapp's flavor line-up.  My worries of too much spice to make for an enjoyable chip were silly.  It was a perfect, tangy and savory, crunchy kettle chip with the most enjoyable kick of spice.  Zapp's, will you be my post-Valentine?

At first, it appeared the 7-11 did not carry my much needed crisps, and considering I had just walked 3 blocks in the

 frigid Los Angeles night air (it was at least 40 F, haters!), I was facing the fact that I just might need to compromise on the 7 Select Brand of Sour Cream and Onion Kettle Potato Chips.  Then at long last, I found my savior taters, the Lay's Sour Cream and Onion, and I knew the night would be less lonely, especially with the three bags I stuffed in my 7-11 bag.  I also brought the 7-11 in house brand home with me, to accompany the 7-11 staple, the Double Gulp, mixed inside, Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper.  

When my Valentine's and I arrived home, we cozied up to the PowerBook with my over watched DVD copy of 'Gone With the Wind' and a much smaller than the afternoon's cookie cake covered in Valentine themed icing.   I finished all those bags within 12 hours.  

The 7-11 Select Sour Cream and Onion Kettle Chips weren't too nice,  they reminded me of french onion powdered soup mix with the tiniest flecks of green onion in the aftertaste.  The Lay's, however, remain my all time favorite, widely available potato chip.

As long as I have the foods that erase my sadness, and a metabolism that keeps me from acquiring a fat ass, Valentine's Day will remain satisfying, despite my relationship status.

Kittens Inspired By Kittens!

This is completely relevant.  Just wait for the :50 time mark.

The Lonely Life.

Companions for my loneliness the weekend 2.6.09 - 2.8.09: 'Coraline in 3D', 'Gavin and Stacy', and M.I.A. at the Grammy's.

I'd throw in some Big Sugar cookies eaten in there too.  This rainy February weekend in L.A. has been pretty full of delicious food and entertainment.  It helps to have my mind focused on gorging on yums and not thinking about other things.  

'Coraline', the meticulous stop motion picture, geeked me out! The 3D was graceful and complimented the picture rather than detracting from the children's story.  It was also terribly frightening.  If I was cruel, and I did take a child under the age of ten to see this, I probably would have been chasing a wailing crybaby out of the cinema.  

'Gavin and Stacy'! Not having cable bums me out when I end up missing out on gems like this.  The BBC delivered such an adorable, funny show that I am fully obsessed with now.  Saturday night I spent the night in watching the first two episodes that made me turn into jelly.  

Watched the Grammy's at Nick's home on Sunday, partly because pizza was involved.  I honestly couldn't care less about that awards show.  Who does, really?  You are lying.  The only interesting moments of the night were M.I.A.'s 'ready to drop dat babay dance' and the rumor of Chris Brown beating down Rhianna in a rented Lambo.  Craaazy. Also, I was able to share with the group, the latest from my mystery box from Zapp's.

Zapp's Mesquite Bar-b-que. A crunchy tater, however quite lackluster in flavor. I suppose I prefer a tangy, slightly spicy BBQ chip, and this one just didn't cut it for me.  Sometimes it's nice for a chip using the best potatoes to keep it simple and not let the added flavor overtake the crisp, however I thought Zapp's would surely keep up the good work after sampling the INCREDIBLE Cajun Dill flavor.  I wish I had another bag of those.  

This Potato Chip is no longer Kosher.

There wasn't a bag of potato crisps gobbled last night.  There was only one.  A trendy diner's attempt to impress me and all the drunk people of Los Feliz with their fancy versions of diner staples such as a bacon, egg and hash brown bap complete with a single, crispy, slice of potato attached to a toothpick sticking out of the sandwich like a crown. A mere garnish.

Fred 62 did manage to impress this one, because while the chip was a little oily and stuck to the toothpick in a slightly unsettling way, they sure hit a home run on the breakfast sandwich. The buttered bun is what really sent it down the line into my very pleased belly.  I also doused this very non-Kosher food (on Shabbat no less) in "maple syrup" (I won't pay extra for the "real stuff' as servers always encourage when you ask for syrup) to achieve the eggy, syrupy, porky and cheesy delight I happily consumed the previous night at the Noho Diner in the Valley, the Monte Cristo.  I forgot how much I had always wanted to try the Monte Cristo.  

Working at Clarke's in Chicago introduced me to the delectable sammie.  Though, I did curse the customer in my head whenever one was ordered.  It was the server's responsibility to give the kitchen the bread for the Monte Cristo.  Why the cooks could not have their own stock of bread to pluck from in the kitchen was beyond me.  On a few occasions I would forget and get yelled at by a cook, one of the jerk owners, or by a customer.  

I've become quite self destructive with my late night syrup sandwiches.  I promise I will stop(soon) and get back to the tater chips.  Today I will continue with the Zapp's box of Louisiana chippies. 

Oh and go see 'Coraline'.  One of the most beautiful things I've seen. Make sure you do 3D.  

SixBurgh!

Congratulations, SixBurgh!!  Yes, we put a ring on it... 

Super Bowl Sunday was the most spirited I've ever been while watching professional sports.  A thrilling, nail-biter watched with

 fellow Yinzer's on a breathtaking 20 inch flat screen was all I could have hoped for on Sunday, and that's exactly what I got.  Also I had the pleasure of enjoying pierogies and kielbasa washed down with Iron City Beer (thanks to the Cap in Cork in Los Feliz).  

The lively crew that witnessed history on February 1st also had the pleasure of testing the second specimen from my mystery gift of Zapp's Potato Chips, the Lightly Salted Sweet Potato Chip.

I'm a huge fan of sweet potatoes. They are the perfect addition 

to any steak dinner and recently I discovered Trader Joe's Sweet Potato Fries which are the best oven fries I've ever eaten.  While these chips are satisfying in the salty/sweet combo department, the taste of burned potatoes is quite strong.  I hope another bag (possibly from a different batch) will leave me a happier chip lady.  No victory for the taste buds, but a victory for the City of Champions!

Dan Rooney would like to "thank President Obama..."