San Diego 2014: May 24 - 28

As a graduate student we are often told that we need to practice self-care to prevent burnout.  My type of self-care is traveling - whether it be a weekend trip up to Washington or a few weeks in Hawaii for the holidays, as long as it has nothing to do with school, I'm set.  My best friend moved to San Diego last summer and ever since we've been talking constantly about visiting each other.  I had enough miles to use for one leg of my trip, and found a great flight deal to pay off the remainder.

The weather in San Diego was nice and sunny - not too much of a difference than the temperature up in the Pacific Northwest, but for some reason seeing palm trees instead of evergreens just makes the whole environment feel warmer you know?  I also got to see the ocean, which seems silly coming from someone from Hawaii who doesn't go to the beach very much, but being near an ocean this past weekend gave me a sense of calm that I haven't felt in a long time.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are thousands of thousands of words for you to look at:

Saturday Night: In-N-Out as a post-flight meal!

So gluttonous and fattening but oh so delicious when you are starving.

Sunday Morning: Brunch at Great Maple with my best friend and several of her San Diego girl friends. 

Beignets!  I LOVE beignets - so much that I learned how to make them - and these were just so cute and oh so perfect for brunch.  They were served with a side of lemon curd which added some tartness to the super-sugary beignets.

Okay, seriously is this real life?  First of all it's a flatbread.  Second of all it's a breakfast flatbread.  And third of all, it was amazing.  Served on a cute little cutting board, this flatbread had proscuitto, truffle oil, onions, and two perfectly poached eggs.  Ridiculously savory and satisfying.

Sunday afternoon/evening: Fashion Valley Mall

When my friend gave me a list of malls in the San Diego area I was contemplating between Fashion Valley and an outlet for the longest time.  That all changed once I saw the directory for Fashion Valley and learned that they had a Boudin Baker.  The.  Boudin.  Bakery.  Which serves the clam chowder of my dreams.  It wasn't from SF but it was still an actual Boudin Bakery restaurant so that was literally the one and only reason why I wanted to go to Fashion Valley Mall.

Since I no longer live right next to an Urban Outfitters (I moved to the 'Couve!) and noticed there was a 50% off all sale items thing going on at the UO at Fashion Valley, my friend and I decided to take our chances and see if there was anything that we would like.  UO clothing has always been hit or miss with me and I refuse to buy a dress with an unfinished hem that looks shredded for $50 because it is somewhat hipster-looking.  </rant>  Anyhow I managed to find this adorable dress for $15.  It was the only one left so I took it as a sign from God that I was meant to buy it.

One thing that I really miss is really, really, really good Japanese food.  Granted, there are tons of sushi places and Asian eateries in Vancouver (Washington, not Canada), yet I have yet to find an excellent ramen place.  My friend took me to Santouka which is nestled in a Mitsuwa shopping market.  I got the shio ramen with a pork & rice bowl and an egg.  I also asked for extra ume for 50 cents more.  Everything was deeeelicious~

Monday Morning: Baked Bear, Sunset Cliffs

After perusing Brandy Melville - which is another non-existent store in the PNW - we stopped by Baked Bear which is not as fancy as Milk in LA but still delicious.  They have cookies, waffles, or brownies that you can use as the sandwich and choose which ice cream you want as your filling.  I decided on a snickerdoodle and funfetti cookie with cookie dough ice cream.  SUGAR OVERLOAD. 

An impromptu trip to Sunset Cliffs!  This was a chance to see the ocean (yay!) and take a picture with my (tall) best friend which is a rarity and we hardly have any pictures together.

This view!  Ahhh!  It's my desktop background now!

Monday Evening: We also spent Memorial Day at a friend's BBQ where I ate even more food!  I don't have any pictures because I was too excited to eat everything - whoops!

Tuesday Morning: Hepburn's Tin Fish Bar, La Jolla Shores, Gelato

I'm so grateful to my friend and her boyfriend for driving me literally anywhere and everywhere for me!  For my final full day in SD I wanted to get a taste of some good fish tacos.  We went to the Tin Fish down in Gaslamp where I got two sea bass tacos, crinkle cut fries, and the freshest slaw ever.  So, so, so good.  Incredibly fresh, not overly oily, and I ate EVERYTHING.

After scarfing down our fish tacos we went over to La Jolla Shores and saw sea lions basking on a rock.  So cute!  The weather was a bit overcast however and not as sunny as it had been when we visited Sunset Cliffs, but the ocean was gorgeous again so no complaints here!

Also in La Jolla there is was a Gelateria that had so many different gelatto and sorbetto choices!  After sampling the guava and lemon sorbetto I went with lemon with a sugar cone.  My sorbetto was scooped so nicely and placed atop my sugar cone with care.  It was absolutely delicious and I swear I finished it in a few minutes.

Tuesday Evening: The Tofu House

I have been dying to get my hands on some tofu chigae ever since my boyfriend moved down to Vancouver and we are no longer within close proximity to an H-Mart with a BCD Tofu House.  The Tofu House is located right next to an American Pub (literally that's what it was called) where a huge soccer/futbol game was going on.  (While dining I repeatedly heard UNITED!!! being shouted at the top of several people's lungs next door.)  Since I'm allergic to shrimp I was thrilled to see an "As You Wish" option for my tofu chigae which allows you to pick whatever you want.  I decided on clams and beef which I felt was a very protein-filled combination.  They have a tiny basket of eggs on the table that you can crack into your chigae when it gets to the table.  And of course there was lots of banchan (side dishes) available for me to devour.

Although I'm not a fan of driving in California I am forever jealous of the food that everyone has access to.  Hopefully I can go back again soon!  Did you do anything fun for Memorial Day?  Travel anywhere?  Feel free to leave a comment below and don't forget to follow me on bloglovin`!

Portland Eateries Part I: The Waffle Window

It definitely seems like my blog is naturally becoming one centered around food, and I'm fine with that.  I realize that there is no way at all I can become a professional blogger - one who updates things regularly - since my last post was over a month ago!  Whoops...

Anyhow I decided to make a series called Portland Eateries!  Is this going to be a weekly thing?  A monthly thing?  A whenever-I-feel-like-it-thing?  I have no idea.  But what I do know is that The Waffle Window on NE Alberta St. is amaaaaaaazing.

Whenever I have friends visiting Portland I am often asked, "What food place should I try in Portland?"  I always say "The Waffle Window!"  The Waffle Window has two locations - one in SE Portland and the other in NE Portland.  I've only been to the NE Alberta St. (NE Portland) and it's because on both occasions I wanted to sit down and eat.  From what you can read on yelp, the SE Portland has a dining area that it shares with an adjacent restaurant.  The NE Portland location however is more like a cafe-esque type of place where you can sit and happily munch on your waffles.  They have SO. MANY. WAFFLES.  From sweet to savory and to even waffle sundaes (what???) with seasonal specials, there's something to satisfy everyone and anyone.

Now for some beautiful waffle images:

The "Three B's" Waffle - Bacon, Brie, and Basil

Look at how beautiful that is!  I somehow always wind up getting the Three B's.  Even when I feel adventurous and want to try something new, I end up asking for it.  There's just something so magical about the harmony between crunchy, salty, sweet, and savory tastes that form in my mouth with every bite.  It also comes with a big heaping of their house-made peach jam.  I die.  I'm kicking myself for not knowing the exact price, and not all prices are listed on their menu, but I believe it was less than $9.

More waffles:

Nutella and Fresh Banana Waffle looking all delicious.

I'm not a big fan of sweet things, so the waffle above was happily devoured by my boyfriend.  I had about two bites and it definitely reminded me more of a cake than a waffle.  The whipped cream wasn't too heavy nor did it taste like it came from a can, and it was topped with delicate cinnamon-sugar and fudge.  Again, I'm not too sure about the prices but I'm positive this one was less than $9 also.

They also have some hand-crafted lemonades like blackberry basil and green tea mint.  I'm a devout fan of green tea so you can guess which one I always get.

So basically if you want to eat something different, delicious, and satisfying, definitely try The Waffle Window the next time you're visiting Portland!  You'll spend less than $10 a person and leave happy!  Are you a fan of waffles?  Have you visited The Waffle Window before?  Let me know what you think in the comments below and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin`!  

Things that are delicious.

Hi there everyone! I'm so sorry about the lack of blog posts, but it's been really hard to keep up with blogging and school going on at the same time. Butttttt, the one thing I do have time for is eating. Here are a few things I've eaten over the past two weeks complete with location and price for your epicurean convenience!

Sausage/Ham/Cheese Soondubu from BCD Tofu House (Lynnwood, WA) $8.00

If eating twice a week didn't give me so much heartburn, I think I would eat it every day for the rest my life. Soondubu is, in essence, a spicy tofu stew along with any type of meat or vegetable that your heart desires. BCD has 20 different combinations. Twenty. For some reason though I always wind up going back to this one no matter how many other combinations I try. Along with your soondubu you get 5 different banchan or side dishes with your meal. All orders come with a mackerel (a whole fish just for you!), kimchee, and different types of pickled vegetables that vary each week. This time I received bean sprouts, spicy cucumbers, and spicy radishes. Oh and don't forget the stone pot purple rice! For $8 including tax and tip, you can't go wrong. 

Poké Bowl from Uwajimaya (Beaverton, OR) $7.99

Holy moly macaroni are my eyes deceiving me!? Do poké bowls actually exist up in the northwest? Apparently they do now! I loooooove poké and always make it a point to eat as much as I can when I go back home to Hawaii. Now for $7.99 (no sales tax in Oregon!) this poké bowl was decent. Was the fish absolutely amazing? No, but it was pretty darn close. They give you A LOT and the chunks of poké are bigger than some other poké bowls I've had, Hawaii included. You can choose what types of poké you want as well so I settled on shoyu ahi and spicy ahi. 

Mini Cream Puffs from Beard Papa's (Beaverton, OR) $4.95 for 5 puffs

When I have a sweet tooth I want something that's light and delicious. I know that's vague but it's not like I'm craving a giant cupcake or anything like that. Anyhow I LOVE cream puffs because they're an incredible light dessert, if made properly. Usually the regular size puffs are a bit messy to eat and all the cream filling goes everywhere and it can get messy. But not these mini puffs! For $4.95 you receive a cup of 5 puffs and you can mix and match to your heart's content! I got 3 vanilla and 2 dulce de leche puffs. I would say that eating all 5 is like eating 2 regular sized puffs so I feel like you get more value out of these. Also they fit in your car's cup holder for easy snacking!

What are good foods to eat in your area? Feel free to comment below and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin!

The Melting Pot: I love me some fondue.

This past weekend up in Everett my boyfriend and I had an early Valentine's Day at The Melting Pot in Bellevue, WA.  This was in the middle of the huge Snowpacalypse that decided to unleash some white wonderland snowflake fury on the Pacific Northwest.  You can read more about the Snowpacalypse by clicking here. The Melting Pot is pretty much the perfect place to have a date night if you don't mind slightly small portions, and slightly high prices.  There are a lot of options and I definitely left feeling full, but it's not some place that you can frequent on a weekly basis.  Here are some pictures below of the delicious experience!  All food descriptions and more information for The Melting Pot can be found here.

No full length shot, but I have no shame in saying that we both looked pretty cute!

1st course: Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue (Gruyère and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses, white wine, garlic, nutmeg, lemon and Kirschwasser) alongside baguettes, assorted meats, granny smith apples, and vegetables)

2nd course: The California Salad, perfectly proportioned.  (Mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, candied pecans and Gorgonzola cheese with Raspberry Black Walnut Vinaigrette)

3rd course: Our entrees!  We opted for the Mojo cooking broth (Caribbean-seasoned bouillon with a distinctive fresh-garlic flavor and a citrus flair) and ordered The French Quarter (Premium filet mignon, all-natural breast of chicken, and Pacific white shrimp seasoned with Cajun spices and accompanied by flavorful Andouille sausage) and Steak Lovers (Premium filet mignon, teriyaki-marinated sirloin, and seasoned choice Angus sirloin).  These are also accompanied by 5 sauces: Curry, Gorgonzola Port, Green Goddess, Ginger Plum, and Teriyaki Glaze, and a bowl of assorted vegetables.

4th course: Dessert!  Holy moly this was delicious.  We selected the Chocolate S'mores for our dessert fondue (milk chocolate with marshmallow cream, flambéed and topped with bits of graham crackers).  All dessert fondues come with an assortment of strawberries, bananas, red velvet and brownie bites, rice krispies treats, marshmallows, and a cheesecake.

Watch our dessert fondue being made in action!

Cost: ~$50/person

Quality: 4 out of 5

Service: 4 out of 5

Would I go again: Yes!  But only for something VERY special...don't want to break the bank.

They also bring you back seconds for the cheese fondue and the dessert fondue so don't worry about rationing everything out!

Have you ever had fondue before?  Have you ever made your own fondue?  I think that'll be my next adventure!  Don't forget that you can follow me on Bloglovin` by clicking the Eiffel Tower to your right!

How To Make Kale Chips

Hi everyone!  Now I know I'm literally years late on the kale-chip-bandwagon, but here's a very, very, very easy recipe (below) on how to make these delicious, irresistible, crunchy power greens.  There are tons of reasons why kale is awesome; according to MindBodyGreen, kale is low in calorie, high in calcium, fiber, iron, Vitamin A, K, and C, and has 0 fat!  It also has a ton of antioxidants and works like a "detox food" (aka regulates your digestive business), and also serves as an anti-inflammatory food and it's awesome when it comes to cardiovascular support.  Not to mention when massaged with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt, kale chips become the healthy (and equally addicting) version of our dear old buddy, Mr. Potato Chip.

Easy Kale Chips

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F.  Get out your kale! The easy way to go is to buy your kale already cut, chopped, and cleaned.

2. Line a baking sheet with foil - this helps with the clean up - and take out a small handful (roughly 1 C) of kale onto the foil.

3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over the kale.  You can also use coconut oil if you'd prefer.

4. Massage the oil into allllll those nooks and crannies in between the leaves of the kale to ensure even cooking.  (Yes your hands will get super oily, but olive/coconut oil are good moisturizers for your skin!)

5. Sprinkle sea salt sparingly onto your oiled up kale; seriously less is more.  You don't need to physically sea the salt piling up on the kale chips.

6. (Optional) I wanted to try out Mrs. Dash's Lemon Pepper seasoning on my kale chips today.  Yes, I realize Mrs. Dash is salt-free, so putting the sea salt first completely ruined the point of it being a healthy seasoning alternative - but I had it in my pantry and decided to try it.

7. Make sure your kale chips are in a single layer and not bunched up on top of each other.  Pop them into the oven for 12 minutes.  Yes, 12 - not 11 and not 13, but twelve minutes.

8. After 12 minutes, take your lovely baked kale chips out of the oven.  As you can see they do shrink down quite a bit!

9. Put the chips into a bowl, toss the foil out, and enjoy!  I dare you to just eat one and walk away (it's impossible!)

*Storage note: 1 cup of kale can easily fill up a small bowl (see the first pic) so I wouldn't really recommend making a lot of batches.  If you do make a lot of batches, don't be surprised if the kale gets soggy or wilted overnight, even if you keep it in a container, and it'll definitely depend on the humidity of where you live.  BUT on the bright side, just pop them back into the oven the following day again at 325°F for about 6 minutes and they'll be back to their fresh, crispy selves.

Oh and if you were wondering how the kale chips tasted with the lemon pepper seasoning, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars (boo!).  I think the other seasonings within the lemon pepper shaker actually burned in the cooking process so a lot of my kale chips ended up tasting charred and just plain gross.  I think I'll stick to plain old sea salt or garlic salt next time around.

If you try out this recipe please let me know!  I'd love to know if it worked for you or if you made your own little adjustments to it!  Don't forget you can follow me through bloglovin by clicking on the Eiffel Tower picture to the right!

Enjoy your kale chips!

Firsts: Bella Luna Korean Spa & Sauna, a co-ed jjimjilbang.

From now on, every time I try something new - whether it's a new store, new food, or new experience - it's going to go under the title of "Firsts."

This Saturday marked my first experience going to a co-ed jjimjilbang.  A jjimjilbang is a traditional Korean sauna.  You might have seen one if you're a fan of k-dramas, or if you've seen Psy's Gangnam Style music video.

From kpopnews.org

A jjimjilbang typically has several dry sauna rooms, several wet sauna rooms, a bunch of pools and a bunch of pools you can go into.  I've always wanted to try going to a jjimjilbang but unfortunately Oregon only has one, and it's a bit out of my way.  My boyfriend however lives up in Washington near Lynnwood - a city that hosts a bunch of Korean eateries, supermarkets, and hair salons.  I figured if there was any place to look for a jjimjilbang in the Pacific Northwest, it would be Lynnwood.

Thanks to the power of Yelp, I learned of Bella Luna Korean Spa and Sauna.  Most jjimjilbang that I've seen are same-sex only, but surprisingly Bella Luna is co-ed!  Since my boyfriend is half-Korean I asked if he wanted to have a day or relaxation with me and he happily agreed.

*Note: Forgive my lack of pictures but I didn't like the idea of bringing my phone into 150 degree rooms just to snag a few photos.  Sorrrrrrry!

Bella Luna charges $25 for all-day use of their facilities.  If you want to get a massage or scrub, it's some additional $$.  Since I wasn't in the mood for a scrub and since my boyfriend and I planned on getting a couples massage later at a different location, we just wanted to use the sauna.  After paying, the girl at the front gave my boyfriend and I each a key to our locker, a pair of pants, a shirt, a body towel, and a face towel.  I also got a little bath cap.  We were instructed to take off our shoes and place them in a little cubby.  The floor is heated! We were then shown the gender-specific locker areas.  In the locker areas there are same-sex only sauna rooms, and a bunch of pools.

I met my boyfriend out in the co-ed lobby area and we set out to find the different rooms.  Each room has some mineral in it that's supposed to remove impurities from your skin and basically detoxify your whole body.  Our first stop was the clay room - which I didn't realize until after was the hottest room ever.  No wonder they had a note that said to only stay in it for 15 minutes!  After the clay room we found the salt room which is basically a room in which you can lie on a bed of salt.  That was at a much more comfier temperature thankfully!  Bella Luna also has a snow room which is a room with a bunch of freezer coils all along the walls, which allows you to cool off in between.  There are also ridiculously comfy couches in the lobby area complete with magazines and foot massagers!

After the snow room we went to the jade room which is probably my favorite.  This room is COVERED in jade and a bunch of other different rocks.  It was at a temperature in between the salt and clay room, so it was pretty warm but still comfy.  We migrated later to the charcoal room which was my boyfriend's favorite since it was only 108 degrees.  I think he fell asleep at some point!

We took a break to have some lunch at Cafe Robins, which is a restaurant inside Bella Luna that's run by an ahjussi and ahjumma.  We ordered the bulgogi plate, and some spicy ramyun alonside an ice coffe and green tea.  The ahjumma gave us little cookies on the side and lots of delicious banchan (side dishes).  I was debating about getting my phone to take a picture of everything but my boyfriend told me to relax and not worry about Instagraming everything.

After our meal we relaxed on the couch in the lobby before returning to the salt room.  I wanted to check out the Elvan stone room in the women's area so I bid my boyfriend goodbye for a bit.  The Elvan stone room was comfortable and set at a lower temperature.  Surprisingly there was a girl in there using her phone and eventually she fell asleep.  I don't know if her phone made it or not.  After the Elvan stone room I found my boyfriend sleeping in the jade room.  We basically cycled through all of the rooms again and finally near the end I said I wanted to go in the pools.  The boyfriend wanted to take a shower so he said he'd meet me back out in the lobby so we could grab some dessert from Cafe Robins before leaving.

Let me tell you about the pools.

First of all, you have to be comfortable getting naked in front of people.  There are signs all over the pool entrance that no swimsuits are allowed and your bath cap must be worn at all times.  There were lots of naked old ladies and women my age walking around not really caring at all.  It was slightly intimidating, but I found out you get over it really quickly.  The shower area also has shampoo, conditioner, and body wash so if you brought your own body loofa then I'm sure you could take a shower after you were done with everything.  Also within the pool area are scrubbing areas, and two additional wet saunas - an infrared room and a steamed jade room.  There are 3 different pools: 1 hot-tub like one, 1 mid-temperature large one, and 1 small freezing ice pool with a waterfall.  Surprisingly the ice pool felt amaaaazing to sink in to at the end of my time in all three pools.

I met my boyfriend in the lobby after changing and found out that there were no other men in his locker room so he got to test out the pools all by himself!  We went to Cafe Robins and ordered a yogurt berry patbingsu or shave/shaved ice.  This is the ONE picture that I took of the entire time at Bella Luna, but it was so delicious!

Nom, nom, nom!

Homemade ice cream atop a giant layer of red bean, followed by fresh raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries smothered in condensed milk, on top of a bed of freshly shaved ice and berry yogurt on the bottom!

Needless to say we gobbled it up in less than five minutes!

Overall my first time at a jjimjilbang was awesome!  I would definitely go again - especially if it's only $25 for the whole day and this place opens at 9 AM and closes at midnight (whaaaat??)!  I'd definitely recommend it to you if you're ever in the Lynnwood, WA area.

What about you?  Have you ever been to a jjimjilbang?  Comment below and don't forget to follow me on bloglovin by clicking the Eiffel Tower!

Weekend adventure: Maui, Day 4 & 5

To cap off my last two days on Maui:

I got my hands on a Zippy's Chili Plate! I haven't had Zippy's in forever so it was great to sink my teeth into some bean less goodness. 

On the 31st I had mochitsuki (もちつき) with my boyfriend and his family.  Mochitsuki is a New Year's tradition that involves the pounding of mochi by hand and forming it into bite sized mochi. My boyfriend's mom decided to put Trader Joe's Cookie Butter in them!  Here's my boyfriend hard at work!

All in all Maui involved a lot of food, sun, and relaxation. I can't wait to go back again next year!

Weekend adventure: Maui, Day 3

Today included a tour of the Andaz Hotel that my boyfriend's brother worked on. After a bout of coughing, choking, and heat exhaustion, we spent the evening in Lahaina where we had deep dish pizza!

This is called "The Works" with homemade meatballs, sausage, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, anchovies, and pineapple. Instead of the usual pizza sauce, The Lahaina Pizza Company uses a slow cooked stewed tomato sauce. 

Since the wait was about 45 minutes we managed to get some Ululani's Shave Ice for the second time!

I got the "Sunset" which consisted of mango, passion orange, and guava. So much food! I'm going to be so sad when I have to go back to Oregon!

Weekend adventure: Maui, Day 2

For my second day here I got my hands on some guri guri and made a pretty cute gingerbread house! Keeping my updates short since I'm constantly out and about!

Weekend adventure: Maui, Day 1

I made my annual December visit today to Maui to visit my boyfriend's family. After traveling so frequently from Oregon to Hawaii, a 20-minute flight from Oahu to Maui is a cinch. For my first day here I was happy to see the sun shining - perfect weather for some Ululani's Shave Ice which is pretty much my favorite shave ice place. Ever. I got passion orange and guava for my own makeshift POG flavor, and topped it off with lihingmui seasoning. Extremely refreshing and delicious!

Poutine - those Canadians know what's up.

If I had to pick one thing to eat for the rest of my life it just might be poutine.  Honestly though if I ate poutine every single day then 'the rest of my life' would be shortened to a few years.  This artery-clogging goodness has its roots in Quebec, Canada.  Although arguments on what is considered the "original" poutine abound, poutine is basically a glorious mess of fries, cheese curds, and gravy.

My first encounter with this divine snack was on July 6, 2013 when my boyfriend and I drove up to Canada for the day to visit Playland.  Playland is part amusement park, part country fair, and due to poor planning skills my boyfriend and I failed to exchange our USD to CAD.  Thankfully there was ONE eatery in the park that accepted Visa.  We ordered some pizza, poutine, and sprite, not expecting anything amazing.  We were wrong.  Poutine was a mixture of crunchy, melty, salty, heavenly deliciousness.

The second time I met up with poutine was in September.  Again my boyfriend and I drove up to Canada for an overnight stay in downtown Vancouver - this time prepared with Canadian money.  I had gone on Yelp to find some poutine places and the #1 review was for Mean Poutine on 718 Nelson Street.  This place definitely had some mean poutine.  In fact, the poutine that my boyfriend and I ended up getting was called "The Mean Supreme Poutine" which had beef, bacon, peppers, mushrooms, and onions.  This poutine was one of 7 specialty poutines but you also can make your own!  They also serve the most amazing hotdogs ever!  You can view their menu here.

Finding cheese curds at a grocery store proved to be a bit difficult - even after hitting up Whole Foods and local markets.  Unfortunately I live 2 hours away from the Tilamook cheese plant - where I know they have cheese curds - so you can understand my excitement when discovering the Fred Meyer that was 2 minutes away from my apartment had some in stock.  I bought some gravy packets - those 58-cent powder ones - and some frozen fries.  I also added some caramelized onions to the mess.  The result wasn't as good as Mean Poutine's, but it satisfied my craving for it.

Nom, nom, nom!

Poutine is the perfect snack when you feel like being particularly gluttonous.  This weekend my boyfriend discovered that Trader Joe's carries poutine packs in their freezer section!  We also added kalua pig shipped up from Hawaii made by my father.  

Look for poutine in the freezer section at your local Trader Joe's!

Verdict?  We definitely should've added salt or something to the Trader Joe's fries.  They were a lot thicker than the generic Ore Ida fries I was used to, but also tasted like very bland potatoes.  The cheese curds were also a bit on the rubbery side since they were frozen in little packets and needed to be defrosted, but luckily we had some fresh cheese curds from Fred Meyer on hand.  The kalua pig definitely saved it.  Nevertheless, long live poutine.