My yelp review for CHILI'S: aqui
If you are too laze:
Chili's Bar and Grill, affectionately known as "Chili's", is a truly phenomenal establishment. The food is hot, crunchy, and made-to-order. The waiters are young, charming, and resemble Seth Rogen. And the decor, the ambiance... I step into a Chili's and all my troubles float away.
A mere two years ago I knew nothing about Chili's other than that it was the place people go to "live a little" or "pepper in some fun." One night, it all changed. My good friend Marla was having her 20th birthday, and my friend Darcy and I had to plan an EVENTFUL evening to celebrate. We were just spitballing... where can we go just a little wild, but with style and class? For some reason unbeknownst to us, Chili's floated into our minds. "Chili's? Where they have baby back ribs and awesome blossoms? [although they don't actually have these anymore] What's so great about Chili's?" GOOD QUESTION.
We stepped into the Westwood Chili's locay (convenient for ucla students!) and sat down immediately; no velvet ropes here. Our waiter came over looking like he just stepped off the plane from Miami. Actually, I think it was a female waiter that time, but no matter. One of us was wearing somewhat absurd princess gear, and they just smiled and took our orders. I got the honey chipotle chicken strips. I'll never forget them! They were so hot and crispy! They came with mashed po-tot-oes and a big hunk of buttered corn. I don't remember what my friends got, because I'm pretty self obsessed, but I do remember each one of us leaving feeling truly on top of the world.
Since then, Chili's became our haunt. Whenever we feel down in the dumps-- maybe we couldn't get tickets to a screening of a hot new movie-- we head on over to Chili's for a little pick-me-up.
Last time I went, I got their new mini-tacos. LET ME TELL YOU, THEY ARE NOT MINI AT ALL! They are stuffed with flavor and smokiness (because I got the smoked chicken). They were, like, gourmet. Also, their desserts are out of this world. The chocolate and chocolate chip lava bundt cake are mounds of sweet heaven. But NOTHING compares to their cinnamon shots. They are only $2 each, but they are literally the best things in the entire world. I tell this to everyone when they go there for the first time, but they never believe me. If they refuse to order one for themselves, I order one for them. But the moment they stick a forkful of that cinnashot in their mouth, they bow down and thank Yahweh that I'm their friend.
The only thing is I hate parking in Westwood. I think Chili's should have it's own parking lot the size of UCLA!!!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
IMAGES ARE IN!!!
OK, readers. We just need to cut the bull and apologize. We KNOW that the previous post had been up for over TWELVE hrs without images. And I'm sure ya'll were checking our blog, as per usual, and were delighted to see a new post from your fav Meryl Streep & Amy Adams-focused blog. But then, upon closer analysis you wonder where are the illustrative photographs? I KNOW, right? Truly, we are professionals, and this discrepancy will not happen again.
Monday, January 4, 2010
No Doubt: Peanut Butter, Two Ways
Good Morning sports fans! It's been awhile!
Today has been a real culinary and cinematic treat for Meryl, Amy, Caitlin, and Marcy. Let us tell you why. "Why?" you ask? Let us tell you. To begin, we built up an appetite in our bellies and brains with a little roller bladin'. It was exercise. We were joined by our neighborhood friend (who, to protect anonymity, we will call Alice Krishner :)!) for a pre-dinner screening of the Meryl Streep and Amy Adams classic Doubt (also starring the ALWAYS FINE Phillop Seymoust Houffmin). After that, it was time for a tasty ethnic meal: ra ra ramen! (not the kind out of a bag LOL) with a dear friend of ours (who, to protect anonymity, we will call Barry Berry :)!!). We returned, mouths and minds satiated but still wanting more.
We were home and in need of an easy, but flashy sweet treat. We stepped into the kitch and realized we hadn't had time to go the grocery store!!!!!! So, we decided to use peanut butter. I know what you're thinking: "Peaunt buttre. Boorrrinngg." Well, get off your high horse, because we got news for you! There are a c
ouple of simple ways to flash it up, using ingredients you can find in almost any kitchen.
To back track a bit, Doubt had us thinking about the fine line between doubt and certainty. Naturally, this lead to comtemplation of the limitless dichotomies of peanut butter. In fact, there are SO MANY ways to flash up a classic peanut butter dish that we decided to prepare a duo of peaunt buttre using two very different (and verrrrry delicious!) types of peanot buttar.
The first recipe makes use of a family favorite brand: smooth, overp
rocessed, Reduced Fat Jif. This recipe has two steps; the first is the more complicated so c&p this into a word docu for your files. Take a SPOON and scoop up the Jif. Put it on a PLATE. Phew. OK, now the hard part is behind us! I know you're exhausted after that, and you think, this is an exquisite dish as is. But here's the D: although Jif is delightful when it hits the tongue, a wise woman once said "I like the crunch of the noodles." And she had a point. Crunchy noodles are often more pleasing than their limp dick counterparts. One word: Cascadian Fields High Fiber Cluster Flakes.
The second recipe calls for a more natural favorite: Laura Scudder's "Nutty". Now this recipe may LITERALLY be the easiest thing I have ever done. Put some Laura Scudder's Nutty on a piece of bread. Any bread will work. Guess what? YOU'RE DONE. Don't believe me? Put it in your mouth. I know what you're thinking: DAHYUM, actions speak louder than words.
But really, what does it mean to be a compassionate person? More importa
ntly, how can we get closer to God? Trader Joe's Berry Bonanza Juice is a rich, deep purple mystery. And it is an absolutely luscious pairing to our duo of butters. But, given the difference in tastes and textures of our two dishes, it seemed improper to serve TJ's BB in the same ethereal form for both. Sometimes the vessel creates the meaning. For the more upscale of the two, we serve BB in a wine glass. For it's artisan counterpart, a vase. Berry Bonanza's never tasted so good, except when it didn't taste a little bit like leftover dirt from when we kept flowers in the
vase.
On a final note, we were really struck by the elegant use of Dutch angles in Doubt. Also, y'all need to get down to El Pollo Loco real quick. BRC for only ONE DOLLAR? Don't DOUBT IT!
Today has been a real culinary and cinematic treat for Meryl, Amy, Caitlin, and Marcy. Let us tell you why. "Why?" you ask? Let us tell you. To begin, we built up an appetite in our bellies and brains with a little roller bladin'. It was exercise. We were joined by our neighborhood friend (who, to protect anonymity, we will call Alice Krishner :)!) for a pre-dinner screening of the Meryl Streep and Amy Adams classic Doubt (also starring the ALWAYS FINE Phillop Seymoust Houffmin). After that, it was time for a tasty ethnic meal: ra ra ramen! (not the kind out of a bag LOL) with a dear friend of ours (who, to protect anonymity, we will call Barry Berry :)!!). We returned, mouths and minds satiated but still wanting more.
We were home and in need of an easy, but flashy sweet treat. We stepped into the kitch and realized we hadn't had time to go the grocery store!!!!!! So, we decided to use peanut butter. I know what you're thinking: "Peaunt buttre. Boorrrinngg." Well, get off your high horse, because we got news for you! There are a c
ouple of simple ways to flash it up, using ingredients you can find in almost any kitchen.To back track a bit, Doubt had us thinking about the fine line between doubt and certainty. Naturally, this lead to comtemplation of the limitless dichotomies of peanut butter. In fact, there are SO MANY ways to flash up a classic peanut butter dish that we decided to prepare a duo of peaunt buttre using two very different (and verrrrry delicious!) types of peanot buttar.
The first recipe makes use of a family favorite brand: smooth, overp
rocessed, Reduced Fat Jif. This recipe has two steps; the first is the more complicated so c&p this into a word docu for your files. Take a SPOON and scoop up the Jif. Put it on a PLATE. Phew. OK, now the hard part is behind us! I know you're exhausted after that, and you think, this is an exquisite dish as is. But here's the D: although Jif is delightful when it hits the tongue, a wise woman once said "I like the crunch of the noodles." And she had a point. Crunchy noodles are often more pleasing than their limp dick counterparts. One word: Cascadian Fields High Fiber Cluster Flakes.The second recipe calls for a more natural favorite: Laura Scudder's "Nutty". Now this recipe may LITERALLY be the easiest thing I have ever done. Put some Laura Scudder's Nutty on a piece of bread. Any bread will work. Guess what? YOU'RE DONE. Don't believe me? Put it in your mouth. I know what you're thinking: DAHYUM, actions speak louder than words.
But really, what does it mean to be a compassionate person? More importa
ntly, how can we get closer to God? Trader Joe's Berry Bonanza Juice is a rich, deep purple mystery. And it is an absolutely luscious pairing to our duo of butters. But, given the difference in tastes and textures of our two dishes, it seemed improper to serve TJ's BB in the same ethereal form for both. Sometimes the vessel creates the meaning. For the more upscale of the two, we serve BB in a wine glass. For it's artisan counterpart, a vase. Berry Bonanza's never tasted so good, except when it didn't taste a little bit like leftover dirt from when we kept flowers in the
vase.On a final note, we were really struck by the elegant use of Dutch angles in Doubt. Also, y'all need to get down to El Pollo Loco real quick. BRC for only ONE DOLLAR? Don't DOUBT IT!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Amy Adams: A real Meryl Streep
Hey there guys and dolls! Marcy here updating from beautiful SLO, California. Car troubles have landed me in a motel for the night, but I'm making the most of it. It reminds me of the time Caitlin and I had nothing in the fridge but pepper jack and cheese and a few tortillas. You want to know what we made with those wacky ingredients? Quesadillas.
So here is my "quesadilla" for the night: a gem of an article I found in the LA Times archives while doing my nightly Meryl/Amy research. It's called "That Amy Adams Touch" and it's an exploration of Amy's stormier side. Talk about news we all care about!
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/new
So here is my "quesadilla" for the night: a gem of an article I found in the LA Times archives while doing my nightly Meryl/Amy research. It's called "That Amy Adams Touch" and it's an exploration of Amy's stormier side. Talk about news we all care about!
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-amy-adams11-2009aug11,0,234631.story
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
l-o-v-e
I was munching on a nectarine while Marcy was vacationing with the fam in Santa Barbara (go dolphins!) and suddenly, it hit me: what is love? Isn't that question really what Meryl Streep & Amy Adams & Caitlin & Marcy is all about? From the deep love and care for cooking, to the relationship between Amy Adam's character Julie whatever and her sassy journalist-husband, to Julie's admiration for Julia Child (and Amy Adams' likely admiration for Meryl Streep [and hopefully vice versa because they are quite the movie duo]), to the profound platonic love and friendship between Marcy and me... it seems it all converges at that one four letter word. I don't have any conclusions to offer on this topic; just some food for thought.. LOL!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Rooster in the Hen House
We had exciting plans for tonight. We were going to get dolled up in our Sunday finest and head out for a night on the town. But alas, life had other plans for us, as always. Here in the Meryl Streep and Amy Adams and Caitlin and Marcy kitchen, we don't let a little snafu ruin our night. If life hands us cinnamon waffles, turkey hot dogs, and a bag of a mozzarella cheese, we make lemonade!
Not literally, of course. Upon further reflection, we could have made lemonade out of the frozen lemonade from concentrate hidden in the back (front) of the freezer. But we made use of what we were given (we selected each item from the refrigerator individually) and put together something you may think is a little "off the wall." This is a great treat for a late night snackfest with your best girls (or boys, don't wanna alienate our male readers). When those pink-clad ladies (or blue clad fellaz, don't wanna alienate our male readers) pop one of these in their mouths, they'll be begging for more.
Step one. Pop a cinnamon waffle (we recommend "Eggo") in your toaster oven if you can L'EGGO (BadaBING!!). You'll want to toast it just long enough to warm it up while keeping it slightly limp. Our grandma taught us a great way to test limpness in toaster waffles: hold that bad boy in your hand. If it hangs down a little bit, it's limp! Step two. Sprinkle a little mozzarella (you could also subsistute a sweet marscapone, if desired) all over that waffle. You want to coat it completely to insure the waffle will stick to your dawg.
Step tres (3). Pop that dawg smack-dab in the middle of the mozzarella (or marscapone)-coated waffle and fold it up at the RIGHT and LEFT ends around the LENGTH of the hot dog. You shouldn't have trouble folding if you listened to our tips on limpness of toaster waffles (see step one). Notice the waffle resembles a plaid cinnamon hot-dog bun in this state-- feed it to your kids and they'll never know the difference! Wrap the rooster in the hen house in a two-ply paper towel and put it in the microwave on HIGH for twenty-five seconds.
We're not gonna sugar coat a thing. It'll come out limper than the marathon tape after the winner has broken through the finish line, but we have a tip to help make that dawg stand on it's own two feet. There's no shame in performing parallel processes in the kitchen. Mimicry is a sign of flattery. Discard the paper towel, slip that dawg back in the toaster for a minute and it'll come out with the rigidity of a well-constructed gymnasium.
The final ingredient is a favorite of ours, Jamaican Jerk Blend. There are two schools of thought on the timing of the Jamaican Jerk. The first, more traditional approach is to mix in the JJ with the cheese before putting the rooster in the hen house in the microwave. This blends the JJ with the cheese, marrying the flavors. The other technique is to add the JJ right before serving, allowing the strong notes of the Jamaican flavor to really stand on their own. This time, we tried the newer approach, to outstanding results. Each bite had not only the strong, spicy island taste of Jamaica, but also the delightful and subtle crunch of flakes.
The sweetness of the cinnamon, the gooey goodness of the cheese, and that salty, homey turkey flavor all combine to make AMERICA in your mouth. Talk about YUM. We recommend pairing the rooster in the hen house with a nice glass of Ralph's Generic White Grape Juice (NO SUBSTITUTE WILL SUFFICE! We're serious on this one, guys!). The interplay of grape and juice and dawg is good.
WARNING: We know those BBQ fiends may say, "hey! why not add some KC Masterpiece barbeque sauce because the sweetness and tanginess in the sauce will echo the flavors of both the cinnamon waffle and the turkey dawg!?" Well, we hear you, our friends, and we understand where you're coming from, but we discovered the hard way that KC Masterpiece barbeque sauce, and probably any brand of bbq sauce (maybe a dab of A1 steak sauce would hold up) will OVERPOWER the subtle, yet erupting flavors of the rooster in the hen house. So, just cast it aside, and give these flavors a chance. You won't regret it.
Not literally, of course. Upon further reflection, we could have made lemonade out of the frozen lemonade from concentrate hidden in the back (front) of the freezer. But we made use of what we were given (we selected each item from the refrigerator individually) and put together something you may think is a little "off the wall." This is a great treat for a late night snackfest with your best girls (or boys, don't wanna alienate our male readers). When those pink-clad ladies (or blue clad fellaz, don't wanna alienate our male readers) pop one of these in their mouths, they'll be begging for more.
Step one. Pop a cinnamon waffle (we recommend "Eggo") in your toaster oven if you can L'EGGO (BadaBING!!). You'll want to toast it just long enough to warm it up while keeping it slightly limp. Our grandma taught us a great way to test limpness in toaster waffles: hold that bad boy in your hand. If it hangs down a little bit, it's limp! Step two. Sprinkle a little mozzarella (you could also subsistute a sweet marscapone, if desired) all over that waffle. You want to coat it completely to insure the waffle will stick to your dawg.
Step tres (3). Pop that dawg smack-dab in the middle of the mozzarella (or marscapone)-coated waffle and fold it up at the RIGHT and LEFT ends around the LENGTH of the hot dog. You shouldn't have trouble folding if you listened to our tips on limpness of toaster waffles (see step one). Notice the waffle resembles a plaid cinnamon hot-dog bun in this state-- feed it to your kids and they'll never know the difference! Wrap the rooster in the hen house in a two-ply paper towel and put it in the microwave on HIGH for twenty-five seconds.
We're not gonna sugar coat a thing. It'll come out limper than the marathon tape after the winner has broken through the finish line, but we have a tip to help make that dawg stand on it's own two feet. There's no shame in performing parallel processes in the kitchen. Mimicry is a sign of flattery. Discard the paper towel, slip that dawg back in the toaster for a minute and it'll come out with the rigidity of a well-constructed gymnasium.
The final ingredient is a favorite of ours, Jamaican Jerk Blend. There are two schools of thought on the timing of the Jamaican Jerk. The first, more traditional approach is to mix in the JJ with the cheese before putting the rooster in the hen house in the microwave. This blends the JJ with the cheese, marrying the flavors. The other technique is to add the JJ right before serving, allowing the strong notes of the Jamaican flavor to really stand on their own. This time, we tried the newer approach, to outstanding results. Each bite had not only the strong, spicy island taste of Jamaica, but also the delightful and subtle crunch of flakes.
The sweetness of the cinnamon, the gooey goodness of the cheese, and that salty, homey turkey flavor all combine to make AMERICA in your mouth. Talk about YUM. We recommend pairing the rooster in the hen house with a nice glass of Ralph's Generic White Grape Juice (NO SUBSTITUTE WILL SUFFICE! We're serious on this one, guys!). The interplay of grape and juice and dawg is good.
WARNING: We know those BBQ fiends may say, "hey! why not add some KC Masterpiece barbeque sauce because the sweetness and tanginess in the sauce will echo the flavors of both the cinnamon waffle and the turkey dawg!?" Well, we hear you, our friends, and we understand where you're coming from, but we discovered the hard way that KC Masterpiece barbeque sauce, and probably any brand of bbq sauce (maybe a dab of A1 steak sauce would hold up) will OVERPOWER the subtle, yet erupting flavors of the rooster in the hen house. So, just cast it aside, and give these flavors a chance. You won't regret it.
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