or, if there’s a large sum of money involved.  

case in point, my friends and i have decided to do a DUBBLOCK BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE.   below is a copy of the email i sent out a couple days ago….   wish me luck and wish  me skinny.  =)

[for the record, i in no way believe that i am FAT. i do, however, believe that i have a lot to work on, and that is what i intend to do.  so pls dont try n preach that you "hate how skinny girls complain about how fat they are" or tell me i'm not "fat."  i know i'm not.     but i'm not perfect either.    but its about PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION]

writing on the running trail next to my nbf's house.

From:  Raaachem
Date:  Mon, 4 Jan 2010 13:40:39-0800
To: Dubblock (32)
Subject: DUBBLOCK BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE!

Think like the TV show, but brought into our real lives. With the Start of 2010, we all have different goals… Some of us have a little to lose, some a little more. But we are all here to help encourage and motivate each other to reach those healthy goals!

What: This is a 15 week individual weight-loss contest. The purpose of the contest is to be healthy and (of course) look good by the time summer comes around.
When: Initial weigh-in is on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6. The contest officially starts on January 10 and ends APRIL 25 … Just in time for our Dubb Summer Kick Off! (and kickball!)
How to win: This contest is based on percentage lost, not pounds lost. The winner will be determined at the official final weigh-in. The final weigh-in will be on April 25
Winnings: BL contestant entry fee is $50. Skinny people’s side bet entry fee is $25. Winner takes all. (Entry fee is due by Sunday, February 7, Superbowl Sunday)
“Skinny People Side Bet” — Skinny People have a chance to participate too in a side bet. The Skinny people pick a “fat” person to coach and motivate. Should their “fat” person win, they take home the side pot.

All BL correspondence will go up on the blog. Weigh Ins will be EVERY OTHER SUNDAY and the top three names will be placed on the blog.

Are you strong enough to take the challenge? Or will you let the rolls, double chins, and fat jokes take over ur life? Diabetes vs Diet Cokes. The Battle of the Buldge continues…The choice is up to you…

yesterday, we hit up one of my favorite brunch spots – Mercury Lounge.   since Jess was in town, i had to give her  a taste of sisig nachos right?    Lets break it down.

The Place – Mercury Lounge, San Francisco.   Folsom x 12th

The Hype - I’ve heard of this place only thru my friends who work the bar there late night.     My girl Kat works the bar, and the owner of Mercury is good friends w/ my sister-in-law so I was familiar with the name, and the bar.. but not the food.    My girls and I wanted to brunch it one day and we checked out the brunch menu here…  two words – ENDLESS MIMOSAS.   we were set. 

The Review – first of all, i’m a big fan of anyplace that serves endless mimosas.  ever.   thats really all i needed to hear… but!   it turned out too also serve a couple of my favorite things.  SISIG NACHOS for instance.   if you’re not filipino and dont know what sisig is, its like… a party in ur mouth.   grilled pork with onions and jalapeno, perfect over rice and apparently over nachos and drizzled with nacho cheese sauce as well.   For this one dish alone, Lawrence (the owner) is my hero.  

Also, please order the sweet potato fries!    AND the Adobo fried rice (with 2 over easy eggs on top, of course)

The Verdict -  although they serve staples like Joe’s Specials, and Chicken and Waffles, I really recommend the nachos.    like REALLY.   paired with endless mimosas, its perfect pulutan for a morning of gossip with ur favorite gals.  =)    Brunch is from 11-3 on Sundays.    Holla!

my first stop after landing is always always always ZIPPY’S.  chili chicken mix plate!  this place is open 24 hours so it was definitely not our only stop here. the best drunk food, i swear…

up the block on Kapahulu is Leonard’s Bakery.  always stop #2 for the best malasadas ever!  the flavor of the month was Lilikoi custard but you can’t go wrong with original, cinnamon, or even li hing!

if you’ve seen Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, you’ve probably seen him at Side Street Inn.  a little restaurant in an alleyway next to Ala Moana that serves really good food at all hours of the night.  unpretentious and easy going, much like the rest of the island, and pupu platters do not disappoint.

kalbi short ribs, kim chee fried rice, furikake encrusted mahi mahi, and the pork chops.  good god the pork chops.  get em while they’re hot.

on the first morning i wake up in Hawaii, its a ritual to head over to Kailua town and hit my favorite breakfast spot EVER. Boots and Kimos. Home of the famous macadamia nut pancake sauce.   head out and order a stack of Banana Macadamia pancakes w/ the mac nut pancake sauce, mac nut french toast, portugese sausage, and a side order pulehu ribs.  dont forget to wash it down with some POG. (passion-orange-guava) GOOD GOD.  this is so freakin great we went here twice.

after conquering the Lanikai Ridge hike and laying out all day at Lanikai beach (my faveee), we headed over to Island Snow. shave ice is so fucking refreshing after laying out in the sun. dont forget the ice cream on the bottom and get the snow cap! whats yo flava, tell me whas yo flava!!

u already know im a FATASS. snack time, courtesy of Don Quixote! poke!

winner winner chicken dinner. actually, we didnt even have any chicken. BUT we headed on over to Nobu for the best. dinner. ever. real talk, the yellowtail w/ jalepno n ponzu sauce – i wanted to bathe in it. the ahi salad was amazing. the roc cod? TO DIE FOR.

the next day on our way to the north shore, we stopped by the town of Kalihi to hit up Liliha Bakery for some chantilly coco puffs. i thought i had tasted the best cream puff in america with beard papa. well, liliha bakery just SHAT all over them.

we ate it in the car ride on the way to the other side of the island. an hour later finally find ourselves in Hale’iwa town for some shrimp truck action. Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck is the fucking SHIT. they have another truck in kahuku right where the shrimp farms are, and these are literally the freshest shrimp i’ve ever had.

after swimming under waterfalls, and causing ruckus in the north shore, we headed back to waiks and walked over to the international marketplace for some Pukadog. i am a fan of gourmet hotdogs and after ghetto dogs (bacon wrapped street dogs) and Japadogs, these take the fucking cake. these buns are toasted from the INSIDE out. like, crunchy on the inside? soft on the outside? with shit like mango relish and guava mustard. all washed down with lilikoi lemonade. DELISH.

on our last day on the rock, we headed back to kailua town to order Boots n Kimo’s and picnic on the beach. after working up n appetite tryna keep from getting stung by the Portugese Man of War we hit up Fatboys for some crackin ass garlic chicken.

and thats all folks! too short of a trip to hit up the rest of my places (you hungry, eggs n things, mitsu-ken, garlic house) but i’ll save it for the next time i’m on the rock. EEENNJOOOYYYY..

From the List – #10. Baja Style fish tacos from Nick’s Crispy Tacos.

The Hype - i’ve actually been here before, but only cuz at night, it turns into a club.  lol. Rouge.  and it was hard for me to believe souch a bougie place could be a taco place during the day. one of my really good girlfriends, Vanessa (whom i wholeheartedly trust with food) had told me about it but i FINALLY got up to driving allllll the way to broadway to get some since i was already heading to the giants game.

the full review of Nick’s and Bi-Rite Cremery after the junp..  

The Review – i knew how to get there, since i’d partied at Rouge before and sure enough, there was a big sign that said Nick’s Crispy Tacos.  weird. i walk in and see the same table that i’d drank a whole bottle of goose at, and there’s a family eating quesadilla’s and burrios.  weird.   i head to the counter and order un taco pescadero, un taco camarones, (both Nick’s way – with guac and cheese) and elote.

GOOD GOD.  they call em “crispy tacos” cuz the inner tortilla is cooked to a crisp.  so not only do u get the softness of the outer tortilla, but the crunch of the inner tortilla.  genius.  stuff that with a perfectly battered and deep fried piece of fish, baja style sauce, pico de gallo, cabbage, shredded cheese and guac, and u got, hands down the best. fish. taco. i have ever had in my entire life.

the elote was just how i like it.  sweet corn, covered in parmesan cheese, with lime, butter, and chili powder.   i make it better (lol) but it was the perfect compliment to my orgasmic fish tacos.

The Verdict - believe the hype.   i’ve contemplated having this again for dinner tonight but im so fucking lazy.  i might change my mind later… thank god they’re open till 10.

———————–

saw the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds and got a 2 for 1 voucher on Virgin America.  SCORE.

————————-

From the List – #35 salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery

The Hype - this isnt the first time i’ve had this.  but it is the first time i brought my camera, and had THE LIST in mind.  after the giants game, we headed over to the mission, illegally parked on the street, and got in the ridiculously long line.  please note that even on a cold, windy, foggy night the line for this place is around the corner.   today was warm, breezy, and not a cloud in the sky — the line was twice as long.

my lil man and my living diary.

The Review – i have to say that i LOVE salted caramel to begin with.  i actually put salt on all the sweet shit i eat.   and this ice cream is to die for.  i usually pair it with roasted banana ice cream cuz the combo is like a party in my mouth.

The Verdict – worth the wait in line. i promise.

unti next time!  today was a good day.  =)

Hayati and I at the Gilroy Garlic Festival last Saturday

ok i lie.  i’m on the brink of tears, actually.  why?

cuz i just signed up for the SF STREET FOOD SCAVENGER HUNT.   and i got hella excited cuz i would fucking OWN that shit.   

The Go Game presents: “Go Game Street Food Adventure”

Think you know everything about food in SF? Well, prove it! Over 3 weeks, beginning on August 1st and going all the way THROUGH August 22nd, San Francisco’s best restauranteurs, famous (and infamous) street food vendors, devoted food producers and hidden puzzles will come together to create a labyrinth of food-related challenges for you to navigate. Play in teams (easier to eat more food that way!) or on your own, but make sure you play! The game will take place all over SF, but you will be able to play at your leisure – from home, work or a fancy coffee spot – and the game will lead you to specific street food havens on the weekends! The game will culminate in the Bay’s best day of eating on August 22nd at San Francisco’s first Street Food Festival! At the festival, the final scores will be tallied and bragging rights will be awarded!

i was already recruiting team members and constructing a game plan… and then…  as i’m giving my team a pep talk, i realize that its starts this saturday. 

THIS SATURDAY.  the same Saturday i’m going to American River to go RAFTING.  fool, i dont even swim.   and frankly, i think i’d rather eat around the city than drown in Sacramento!     WAH. 

not only that, but the end of the hunt will be on the creme de la creme of all food festivals.  the SF Street Food Festival!    which is also when i’ll be in Vegas.   is it sad that I’d rather stay home and eat than party like a rockstar in the city of sin?    i’m SERIOUSLY thinking about rearranging my plans for the month.  

with that said, if ANYONE in SF wants to take over my team, holla at me and do me proud.  puh-leeassee.

***EDITOR’S NOTE*** Matt from @sfstreetfood just made my month!   looks like i CAN participate after all.  SF YOU AINT FUCKIN READY.

and being the HEFFER that i am, i went thru the list and surprisingly, i havent heard of over half of these. so along with my fellow heffers, Abi and Queenie, we have decided to eat our way thru San Francisco and this list.

i will be documenting my foodgasms here, but we have started a blog dedicated to our foodventures… WTFat.

and although we’ve already tried a few of these things (which will be blogged later), i thought i’d start off with something that i had last weekend.

From the List – spicy crab and grits from The Front Porch

The Hype – prior to reading this list, the “soul food” restaurants that my friends swore by were 1) Hard Knox and 2) Farmer Browns. so naturally i start asking around, and lo and behold, i only find ONE person who’s heard of it…. and even though i trust my cousin Tamara’s judgement wholeheartedly, i was still a little suspect. so i yelp that bitch and there were adjectives like “fantastic” and “amazing” and thats really all i needed to hear.

The Review – this place actually has a front porch. lol. its small and quaint and just my type. the menu got me wide eyed and i was hella hungry already so me and queenie got straight to ordering.

Spicy Crab and Grits has changed to Spicy Shrimp and Grits. wah. but we ordered it anyways and we werent disappointed. cheesy grits were anything short of boring and the shrimp was cooked to perfection. and i was pleasantly surprised when i unknowingly bit into a piece of BACON. cuz bacon makes everything better! lol.

We also had the Fried Green Tomatos (crackin!), the mac and cheese (so good we ordered 2), maduros, steak fries, and the mashed potatoes. But the entree that made my fucking night had to have been the Bucked of Fried Chicken! my hubby is a fried chicken master and even he said it was the best fried chicken he’s ever had! crispy and perfectly seasoned on the outside, juicy and plump on the inside… this bucket stood NO CHANCE.

The Verdict – GO HERE. the end.

for brunch, we thought we’d stray from our usual (Stacks or Millbrae Pancake House) and hit up Peter’s Cafe in Millbrae.

we feelin hella hawaii right now since we just got our tickets to the rock, and we just couldnt fight the feeling.

Hawaiian Ribs and eggs

Spam Omelette

loco fuckin moco

eggs benedict

the special over here is this German Baby Pancake which takes 30 min to cook so we thought wed try the cinnamon apple one..

that thing was huuuuuge (thats what she said)

we then headed over to the mall for some froyo at planet yogurt. Adonis LOVED IT!

watermelon and mango son!

Adonis. =)

so as we sat there and ate froyo, michelle complained that she was gettin hungry again…. so we leave the mall and head to the avenue’s for some muthafuckin Coco’s Crawfish.

thats 1 lb of crawfish, 1 lb of shrimp, hotlinks, and corn in the best garlic butter ever.

did someone say crab?

murderized it!

aaaand after all that salty, garlicy, buttery goodness we decided to head to Kowloon Tong to satisfy our sweet tooth. if you dont know, this place is fucking amazing. whoever had the idea to have a dessert cafe with all the fatty goodness is officially my hero.

and THAT would be toast, with peanut butter and condensed milk. GENIUS.

what the french toast! peanut butter french toast.

waffle - ice cream- fruit sandwich.

brown sugar and hot tofu fa.

and as we went home and sat on my couch wondering when we should watch The Hangover, we realize that i’m out of La Victoria’s famous Orange Sauce. so we packed the chevy and drove to san jose. if u dont know what would cause rational people to drive 45 minutes for some sauce.. then educate yourself on this shit!

super burrito, orange sauce, and orange soda

super carne asada taco with the best orange sauce on the planet

and finally, to not waste our trip into san jose, we drove over to santana row to hit up pinkberry. cuz even tho we had a knock off earlier in the day, it STILL WASNT PINKBERRY.

strawberry, mango, and mochi on original tart!

and TA-MUTHAFUCKIN-DA. 6 food stops in the span of 8 hours. gotta love being friends with fatasses. =)

we hit up The Griddle on Sunset in which our waiter looked like a skinny josh hartnett. =)

that, my dear friends, is the “Creme de la Creme French Toast”.. graham cracker crusted, cheesecake topping, orgasm on a plate! seriously, whatever is in that cheesecake topping is crack! 6 mimosas later and i wanted to bathe in it.

Met with Lawn for lunch and had the BEST.BURGER.EVER. at the Golden State. and then said hi to everyone at the Hellz office.

p.s. after leaving the office we proceeded to stand there and gawk on the street as some random guy got arrested. apparently he tried to steal something? and regular people off the street stopped him until the police arrived. one guy even told him that if he ran, he’d let his pit bull loose on his ass! totally renewed my belief that people are good.. =)

my girl anna then twittered her ass away and found the kogi truck at santa monica college. after much anticipation, i decided on 2 short rib tacos, 1 spicy pork taco, and 4 short rib burritos (the burritos are for baon today).. i only have three words for this place. BELIEVE THE HYPE.

lastly, we topped it off with some pinkberry cuz even though they just opened one in the bay, it will always be so LA to me.

Tour de FatGirl 2009 was a success.. until next time LA.. my stomach shall be readyyy!!!!

currently craving GARLIC SPAM – i’ve only found this shit in Hawaii’s Walmart and gadamn this tastes 10x better than it sounds. and i know it already sounds good right? garlic infused spam? shit, garlic infused anything is grrrreaaatt! i’ll be sure to leave extra space in my suitcase for the cans i plan on bringing back home.

take me back to BOOTS AND KIMO’S – 3 days and counting till i’m back at my all time favorite breakfast spot on Oahu. .. the home of the original macadamia nut pancake sauce, this is always always ALWAYS the first stop on the first morning i wake up on hawaii.. located in a small town called Kailua, its the perfect place to eat, then head to my all time favorite beach.. lanikai. if u make it here, try the pulehu ribs, portugese sausage, corn beef hash omelette, and wash it all down with a side of banana macadamia nut pancakes and some lilikoi juice! i cannot WAIIIT.. if an orgasm on a plate existed, it would be sold at boots.

let me make DAE DAE’S CHEESE PUFFS – named after my girl who makes em, Dana.. she made these for us on Xmas, and again last sunday for superbowl and god, can they be heaven in a fried wrapper??
ingredients:
hella chopped bacon (1 pack)
1 1/2 sticks cream cheese
4 oz sour cream
1 bunch spinach
wonton wrappers
cook bacon till crispy. drain. add spinach, let wilt. add cream cheese and sour cream till melted. wrap in wonton wrapper. deep fry the bitch. garnish with cilantro and serve with spicy sweet n sour sauce. ta-fuckin-da its a party in ur mouth.

i want to try THE FRONT PORCH – the spicy crab and grits made it to 7×7′s SF 100 things to eat and drink before you die… spicy crab? thats like, my all time favorite combination. let me google map that shit n ill tell u about it when i get back.

until next time folks!

take me back to – SATURA CAKES. after doing the breast cancer walk in san jose, and before hitting the spa with my sisters we walked around campbell waiting for our table at stacks.. we stumble upon this bakery that had samples of their french toast at the door. oh sweet jesus christ almighty, i just about had a mini orgasm. this place is an organic bakery that only uses organic ingredients as they bake all their shit fresh on the daily.. from strawberry shortcakes, to green tea cream puffs, cookies, muffins and of course, my favorite french toast. make sure to hit up their campbell, los altos, or hawaii locations.

let me make – BROWNIE BITES. i’ve been making these since i discovered them in the refridgerated section of pak’n'save. Nestle Brownie Bites (in the yellow square packaging). bake at 350 for 11 minutes and sprinkle with a healthy dose of powdered sugar or crack cocaine, whichever you prefer.

i want to try – PAD SEE EW WITH CHILI AND SUGAR. cuz according to abi, its the shit! next time i hit up thai bbq, this will be my order!