BLOCHO'S TACOS

Supreme meaning #5.  But I'll take it. The NPD Group puts out an "Eating Patterns in America" report each year and guess who made it to the #5 spot?  Yes! You're right! MEXICAN. Tacos for days. via Univision

Being gluten-free made college really hard.  Every party had beer, everyone drank beer, and beer is full of gluten. Then, I discovered CIDER.  AAJ, Alcoholic Apple Juice, as I call it.  Some ciders taste just like that -- apple juice.  Others have a ferment-y funky taste that I kinda hate and love all at once.  Whatever cider you enjoy, there has been a tremendous boom in new ciders, flavored ciders, and craft and mainstream ciders over the past two years. Today, Tasting Table bring us Cider 101.  Enjoy. Cider 101: Your Ultimate Cider Cheat Sheet Cider found in The Ferry Building in San Francisco Left Beer. Right Cider. @Torst in Greenpoint. My tips for enjoying a cider. Drink it cold. Very cold.  Maybe even pour it over a glass of ice. Be sure to ask for the ice on the side when ordering a draft cider, otherwise you'll only get about half of what you paid for! Don't let people shame you. Cider is delicious. Cider is alcoho...

I've been slacking.  On blog posting and taco eating.  I'm embarrassed to even boast that I have a blog about taco-ish things. Today I received an email. 3 Taco Shops to know.  I know 1.  Empellon al Pastor opened recently and comes from the amazing line of Empellon Taqueria and Empellon Cocina.  I know it, but I've never been.  And the others?  Maybe I have heard them mentioned once before, but really they all sounded pretty new.   And I call myself a taco blogger.  Sheesh. Well, clearly this needs to be remedied in the upcoming months and what better way to spend my November and December than eating tacos? But check out this guide, because everything looks way delicious.  http://www.insidehook.com/table-stakes-october-2014

Command + ~ = LIFE CHANGER I usually have multiple tabs in multiple windows open on Chrome.  I find it really frustrating to click back and forth between the windows.  Today I reach for Alt + Tab to switch from Chrome to Microsoft Word and given that my fingers were a bit lazy, I discovered Command and ~.  I switched between Chrome windows! Cheers to productivity! (This all occurred on a Mac.  Cannot speak for PCs at this time.)

I love a good infographic.  My dad often forwards me his Daily Infographic email when the topic is something he knows I'll love...How to Moonwalk, 50 Things Every Traveler Should Know, Beer and Your Body (I'm gluten free), and my all time favorite: A Visual Guide to Reading His Texts (Thanks, Dad.) Today I found an infographic about Tacos.  It's pretty awesome. Thanks to  fitsme  for enlightening me with this Taco Food Pyramid.

During my annual check up, I sat and watched the phlebotomist draw blood for my standard blood tests, thinking everything would be just dandy. 3 days later I found out that my Vitamin B12 levels, while in the "normal range" are on the low side.  This slight B12 deficiency likely explains why I've been going to bed at 10pm and still feeling exhausted. So, how do you amp up that B12? Two options: with a supplement or by eating foods in which B12 occurs naturally. Part of my feels strongly opposed to taking a supplement because there are natural sources for B12, but most of them are animal products (red meat! clams! liverwurst!) and I'm always conscious of the ethical - and health - impact of animal products/animal protein.  Plus, my recent trip to Israel has not convinced me to keep Kosher, but I certainly take note of when I'm not doing so.  Yay treif! Looking at the list of foods my doc recommended, I could definitely see myself heavily consumer many of t...

Last week, I joined the marketing team. This required me to pack up my desk - a laborious process considering I keep a mini kitchen and 5 pairs of shoes in the office - and move to the other side of the floor to sit with the marketing team. With a new team comes new discoveries.  I find them all fascinating.  Here are a few. It is very quiet.  Most conversation is work-related which is a) productive and b) very different from my old desk. The temperature is much warmer.  I keep a blanket at my desk because I used to work in an ice box. My coworkers have very distinct eating habits.   We have a stand up meeting.  I love standing in the workplace. As the weeks progress, I know more tendencies will start to unveil themselves.  I cannot wait!

To the mouse in my apartment. Dear mouse that is living in my apartment, Please go away. You do not pay rent and I want to evict you. Why are you so stubborn? For a week I've placed very sticky traps to lure you into submission and you've strategically avoided all of them. You don't even seem to like the tasty poison I've left for you. Last night, when you sauntered from the fridge towards the bookshelf, paused, and turned back towards the fridge, a part of me sympathized for your nomadic life. But here's the thing, buddy. I spent a very long time trying to move to my apartment. Yes, I know its a pretty hip NYC neighborhood and many people want to live there, but it is my name on the lease, not yours. You don't live there!  I hear there are plenty of new up-and-coming neighborhoods in Midtown West or Queens -- go to Astoria! Why won't you go there?? You've made my home feel foreign and my meditative relaxation before bed is now filled with...

Clementines were our appetizer! Meals from the Heart Cafe Ordered: Poached Egg and Crab Cake Passion, Cheese Grits, Vegan Power Smoothies. Some great things about this place: It's located in the French Market and there's plenty of seating either at their counter or in an area with lots of tables/chairs. Because the French Market seems to be a bit of a tourist destination, the crowd is buzzy.  This place, however, gets visits from lots of locals! They give you clementines after you order Everything can be made gluten-free I had my first crab cake at Meals from the Heart Cafe and I would return again and again for that crab cake.  It was light.  It was tasty.  It came with a sauce/aioli that was finger-lickin' good.  The cheese grits were delicious, but I needed to add hot sauce to bring out the depth in flavor.  The Vegan Power shake was huge and extremely satisfying. Into one smoothies they pack fruit, walnuts, flaxseeds, almond milk, hemp mi...

In the past 7 years since I've been gluten free, the market has seen a tremendous increase in the number of gluten-free items on the store shelves.  Cookies, pretzels, cereals, breads, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, muffins, crackers...you name it!  Carb-y good ness now comes in all different gluten free shapes and sizes.  It seems like every brand -- from King Arthur Flour to Betty Crocker -- is coming up with a gluten free variation.  I've tried a lot of these products, but if you were to ask me for recommendations, I don't feel super passionate about one over the other.  I tend to grab what is available and have not developed a preference one way or the other.  I would feel OK about this indifference if the items were really the same, but they're not.  Everyone has their own take on gluten free and the blend of flours used typically differ. I made the assumption that the category with the greatest variety in composition and the one where having an op...

My new favorite place to people watch in NYC: The uptown end of the 1/2/3 train at Times Square on a weekday during rush hour . Lots of people. Lots of stories. Very fun to make up your own.

The United States is filled with lots of cool cities that have lots of cool things.  I feel very fortunate to have spent and be spending a large portion of my formative years in New York City where it seems like you can have any type of experience you want at any hour of the day. I love New York.  And, there are many other cities I have a passion to explore. One of those cities is New Orleans. Similar to my obsession with Austin, TX,  my fascination with New Orleans sprang up out of nowhere.  I don't think it has to do with Mardi Gras, but maybe I can attribute it to Jazz Fest?  Whatever it is, New Orleans has been in the Top 5 of my "Places to Visit in the US" for a while now. Feeling spontaneous one dreary winter afternoon, I started looking up flights (and hotels) for Jazz Fest 2014.  Clearly, I was too late in the game as all the decent places had been booked and flight fares were astronomical.  I spoke to my mom about this and asked h...

Full. I like to see the glass half full.  Optimism vs Pessimism. This is really hard.  Especially in New York. Do you love NY? Source: Wikipedia A few nights ago I had dinner with two dear friends (at Tortaria on University Place. Great spot!) and as we were saying goodbye I realized we spent most of the night complaining.  Work, our cities, career aspirations, housing, love lives etc.  Nothing seemed to be going "the right way".  I was slightly bothered by the negative tone that the night took on (although we had a great time) and realized that although we had been a bit pessimistic, it was really nice and comforting to have two good people to talk to about these trials and tribulations. Tacos from our "negative", but really fun, dinner! I have some friends who pass off every complaint or frustration as "something that happens to everyone".  Maybe that is so, but sometimes I just want to complain about it and bask in the negativity for a ...

Coconut Oil is not the same as Coconut Butter. Coconut Butter is delicious. Really delicious . I've found a new food obsession.

Every so often, my Dad emails my sister and me with an article, a quote, or some infographic that really hits home with its "realness" and life lessons. Yesterday was one of those days. From my dad* For reasons too convoluted to describe, I was looking at some of the dialogue from A Thousand Clowns, in which I performed in 1965  as Nick.  The story is around an uncle bringing up his 12-year-old nephew (Nick) and the social workers want to take Nick away.  Murray, a wise soul, protests as follows: Murray Burns : I just want him to stay with me until I can be sure he won't turn into Norman Nothing. I want to be sure he'll know when he's chickening out on himself. I want him to get to know exactly the special thing he is or else he won't notice it when it starts to go. I want him to stay awake and know who the phonies are, I want him to know how to holler and put up an argument, I want a little guts to show before I can let him go. I want to be su...

My blog mission states: JOURNEY FOR THE MOST DELICIOUS TACO .... In other words, I am looking for the best taco in the world with a heavy focus on the United States. When I was tipped off that The Huffington Post had released an article from The Daily Meal entitled "America's Best Tacos" , I got really excited. HuffPo highlights Torchy's Tacos in Austin, TX (that I absolutely LOVED during my time - and Taco Adventure - in Austin) and Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market in NYC (which I have visited, but did not blog...sorry.) as two top picks from The Daily Meal's list of 50 . I love this.  I had to stop looking through the slideshow because my mouth was watering. Literally. " Tacos are a food that inspires fierce loyalty." I know have lots and lots of new additions to my "Tacos to Try" list...and some travels to do!  It seems like various places in Texas and San Diego should be my first stop.

Holy moly.  I cleansed for over 2 week.  15 days of juice, smoothies, and lots of lot of water. I never thought I'd be able to do it, but was really shocked at how easy it was.  Day 3 and Day 11 and 12 were probably the most challenging.  After Day 10, I started to feel the emotional ramifications of not eating.  However, when I started to get upset over something it was often because I needed my next juice!  I loved the simplicity of my life.  I didn't have to think much about what I wanted to "eat" or about preparing food.  The difficult choices were which juices to buy!  I learned to love some new Juice Press flavors ( Gravity , Simple Green, Anti-Aging, The Meal - only sometimes....) Gravity and some of my tried and true favorites were too sweet or lost their charm (Love at First Sight, Doctor Green Juice).  Chia seeds were super helpful in keeping me feel full longer and I was seriously never without a water bottle.  I d...

I posted a question/poll on Twitter.  Do you know anyone that DOESN'T like tacos? I am expecting an [overwhelming] response of "NO!".  When you break it down, a taco is a tortilla with some stuff in it.  That stuff can be meat, veggies, or a combination.  Heck, if you want to make a fruit taco, go for it! Tacos are becoming pretty mainstream.  I'd be hard pressed to find a city without some sort of Mexican food/taco outlet.  Not saying that this will be a good  place for tacos, but it's bound to exist. The proliferation of taco photos on social media has grown significantly.  In honor of everyone's tacograms today for Cinco de Mayo, I provide my hashtag taco mashup. #tacos And oh, so many more. A few of my favorites: Major kudos to all the Instagramming from: Food 52 -   Zagat - Thrillist - Be Well with Arielle - Food Network - Bon Appetit - NYC Food and Travel - Treat House  - The New Potato -a...

Today is Day 15 of my Juice (and smoothie) cleanse. I still feel amazing. After many conversation about the process of transitioning out of a detox, I have decided that today will be my last day of only juice.  Tomorrow I will re-incorporate solid foods into my diet. When I initially embarked on this journey, I was planning to do 20 days.  I'm cutting myself 5 days short because I realized that I can't go back to "normal" after nearly 3 weeks without food.  In order to maintain the benefits of this detox, it is crucial that I make this transition slowly and carefully. On Friday I head to New Orleans.  I want to be able to eat what I want to eat and not feel sick.  Giving myself a few days for recovery is probably not enough, but I'm making a compromise.  Will I dive immediately into fried foods and meat?  Absolutely not.  And honestly, that's not what I'm craving right now. I am excited to eat raw foods and continue to feel the b...