Let me start by saying that today, Amigo and I got to eat lunch together, so my that made my day – he even brought the Frankie with him! We decided to try Your Mom’s Burger Bar because some friends of ours in the ‘hood said they were pretty darn good.  Holy schmolly they could not have been more right!  To begin, amigo loves and adores the Casino el Camino burger above none other..today, he proclaimed that Your Mom’s was the best burger in town!  I was SHOCKED! 

I did not get a ready-made burger, I decided on the Build Your Own and had American cheese and mayo.  Yep, that’s it, that’s the real way to eat a burger and be able to taste the meat.  

The unique thing about these burgers is that the cheese is literally in the middle of the patties and when you bite in to it, a warm pocket of cheese oozes from the meat…there is so much cheese between the meat morsels that its possible to get some with each bite.  It’s orgasmic.  

(side note:  weird too, cuz last night I was watching the food channel and there was a segment all about the Jucy Lucy burgers in Minneapolis and that is exactly what I wanted…and exactly what I got!) 

They have $6 hamburgers on Monday and specials each day of the week, they have a homemade veggie burger, there is a patio, and picnic tables outside…DOG FRIENDLY! 

I can’t wait to return!

As many of you know by now, I loooove to cook, I love to eat, I love to bake, and most of all I love to try out new recipes…

Sick of the same old same old in the poultry world, I recalled a chicken recipe I had several years ago – some (Italians) call it a Rollatini, and some (everyone else, ha) call it stuffed chicken.

I had originally set out to make brocolli and cheddar stuffed chicken, but after reading so many variations of this one recipe, I settled for goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. 

I have two new favorite food blogs (aside from Ruth Bourdain) that have been my go-tos lately.  A dear family friend surprised me with her blog, A Muse In An Apron…(How can you be brilliant, beautiful, successful AND witty – she’s amazing) and a blog that I most recently came upon, Bakin’ and Eggs. 

For this evening, I chose a recipe from the latter, and changed very few steps of the process – and had I had the time, rather than using sundried tomaotes, I would have used Shirelle’s roasted cherry tomatoes.  Next time, for sure!

I served my stuffed chicken with cous cous and a cold cucumber salad – ENJOY…and please please please, share ANY food blogs that you love! 

Full Recipe Here

Edits to the recipe by GBJ…

1.  I did not use basil – I had none on hand (my sad garden will be another post)

2.  I omitted the broth for double the wine.  I chose a Portuguese Vinho Verde for the job and it was perfect.

3.   I did not reconstitute the dried tomatoes as I rather enjoy the naturally tangy flavor and dry texture.    (…but like I said, next time I will use the roasted tomatoes)

4.  To ensure a moist final product, after I seared the breasts in the pan, I set them into a baking dish with a couple of lemon slices, ~1.5 cups of white wine, a tsp of capers, a tsp of whole black pepper corns and a pinch of savory.  (your favorite seasonings will work just fine)

We had a crew of seven and rolled in at 10:20 pm to a not-so-welcoming HOUR wait.  Justine’s will however, accept reservations, but only for parties over six, and at the time, we were unaware that we would have enough asses to fill that many seats.

I started my meal off with a cold garlic soup…light, creamy, velvetty smooth and FULL of garlicy punch. It was one of the best soups I have ever had – next to the vichyssoise at Olivia.

For the entree I had the steak frites…yes, that’s correct, steak and fries. If you have ever been to Paris, you know that meat and fries are not only a staple, but also a tradition – and that the French do a far superior job with the potato than the American’s. (so basically, if you EVER call it a freedom fry, that simply renders you an ill-cultured, static and stale American…gross) True to form, the steak was tasty tasty and cooked to perfection, the fries were all French – perfectly crisp on the outside, steaming hot and soft on the inside, and salted by Aphrodite herself. Amigo passed on the appetizer and decided to head straight into his main course – The Fillet de Poisson, a light and fresh filet of snapper served in a buerre blanc alongside haricots verts. His fish was tender and moist and anything served in a good buerre blanc is simply to-die -or. Justine’s hit the nail on the head with this dinner.

The food was so delicious, I refuse to complain about the hour wait and the endless hipsters who over crowded this, my new favorite, east-side haunt. 

Go early, have a Hendrick’s (it’s hard to find in this town) martini, play some Bocce Ball in the courtyard, and prepare yourself for one of the most divine meals to be had in our fine city.  I think it’s better than Aquarelle – and I knew thought I’d ever say that!

Papa Bear, start saving that scratch – you’re takin mama to Justine’s for her birthday…

Justine’s – open 6pm – 2am (dinner served until 1:30am)

Closed on Tuesdays

Reservations accepted for parties larger than six

The 2010 Emmy awards came and went without much hubbub regarding anyone’s atrocious fashion sense. 

The usual offenders were MIA…most likely hanging out in some seedy West LA bar with that idiot Scott Disick.  What the fuck is wrong with that kid.  Better yet, what the fuck is wrong Kourtney Kardashian?

Plenty of people!!!! And this is only one reason why…

WHAT. THE. FUCK?  She stands for everything that I don’t.  And not only that, but she is a bigger idiot than George W.  (and who even knew that that was remotely possible)?  I am at a loss for words.  Separate church and state and let the people think for themselves!  PS, wasnt this asshole the one that was touting abstinence until marriage…and then her slut daughter ends up pregnant and in school AND UNWED????  Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Someone DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not to mention that this bumper sticker was spotted on a car in Austin.  AUSTIN is supposed to be the best place in Texas…whoever you are, you are tainting us!  I should have keyed the shit out of this car!  Where’s Craig when you need him?

I have a total foodie geek crush on Ruth Bourdain.  She (?) is an elusive and unknown writer who has recieved her fame by mashing up the tweets of Ruth Reichl with the mind of Anthony Bourdain.  It’s pure fucking genius people.  Genius. 

Anyways, I can’t wait until she gets her hands on this bad boy.  KFC’s new fried skin sandwich!  I am not joking.  When is this shit gonna stop?  I thought that the Double Down was just as bad as it could get, but what the fuck…I was dead wrong.  They have outdone themselves…and now I am gonna go throw up. 

Two South Florida men have been arrested and charged with Medicare fraud as they have been billing the Federal Government for fraudulent penis pumps. Four claims for penis pump reimbursement were filed for FEMALE patient alone. Hmmmmm, let’s see, medicare fraud amounts to approximately $65 billion dollars per year.

Hmmmmmm, I wonder if I could start filing claims for the Fleshlight?

read more here…

That’s exactly what this guy did to his girlfriend! Knocked her plum off the balcony while “dancing”.

Welcome to spring break…you crazy kids. Next time your ass is in the air and your man’s clearly not good with the judgement of his strength…a dance off is NOT a good idea. I repeat, NOT a good idea. Any questions?

What’s all the fuss over “ain’t” about? Is there really anything wrong with the word? Or is it even a word?

The colloquialism ain’t is a nonstandard contraction of the following: “am not;” “are not;” “is not;” “have not;” and “has not.”

It is also used in some dialects as a contraction for “do not,” “does not,” and “did not.” For example, “We ain’t got any milk left.”

It derives from the late 18th century word “amn’t,” which is a contraction of “am not.” Amn’t and the related word “an’t” are rarely used anymore.

There are several antiquated non-standard contractions. Hain’t means “has not” or “have not.” And baint and bain’t mean “be not.”

The validity of ain’t has been widely debated. On one hand, many people consider it to be an acceptable contraction in everyday speech. But on the other hand, it seems that just as many people consider its usage improper and simply “bad English.”

There is no use denying how commonly ain’t appears in some of the most beloved expressions, such as:

• “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

• “He ain’t what he used to be.”

• “You ain’t heard (or seen) nothing yet.”

• “Say it ain’t so, Joe!”

• “Ain’t it the truth!”

Skokie city police in Cook County, Illinois are forced to cut the roof off of a house after a hoarder was buried alive under her phat stash!  (watch)

According to authorities, the home was filled with debris from the floor up to three feet below the ceiling.  The two occupants of the home dug tunnels as means for navigating through all their shit.

Sadly, the 80-something year old woman that was buried alive had just recently been to the doctor and was given a clean bill of health.  Just think, this problem could have been solved! 

I think it would be a good idea for homes of the elderly to be visited every so often by social services to ensure their safety. 

Hoarding is an anxiety disorder that is classified as a type of anxiety.  If you know someone who suffers from such pack-rat-itis….DO SOMETHING for crying out loud!