My car

I'm starting to think that my VW Jetta is a lemon...

I got it during my junior year in high school, I believe, and I've had numerous problems with it over the past 6-7 years despite only reaching 34,000 miles.

Apparently the engine and the car's brain are so sensitive that they need the premium gas instead of regular gas. I disregarded that during the first month of ownership due to how ridiculously expensive premium is/was, and I had to take my car in at least twice due to engine failure/brain failure. Mostly my fault, but after that I switched to premium....

Then, my car started making weird sputtering noises when I would accelerate above around 60 mph. I took it in and they said nothing was wrong, it just makes noises like that for no reason (ugh.) Shouldn't they at least know why such strange noises are occurring? It continues to make those noises every day.

My car radio died twice in one year! I finally replaced the stock radio with one from Circuit City. So far that one has worked fine, probably because it wasn't made or installed by VW!

This past weekend my car sat untouched for two days and the battery died. My dad said he had it replaced 3 years ago with one that is definitely supposed to last longer than three years. I looked this problem up on the internet, and low and behold a ton of Jetta owners have been having the same dead battery issues. One bought a new battery after her original died, and that battery died in 2 weeks after she let her car sit around a few days. No wonder VW gives us solar-powered battery chargers for everyday use... Sadly that didn't even work since my battery was still dead after jumping it, driving it around 30 minutes, AND plugging the charger in.

Tomorrow I'm praying that my car will start on its own.... if not, I don't know if I want to go through the hell that other Jetta owners had to deal with once their cars started mysteriously draining their batteries.

Petrillo's and more...

Tonight I finally tried Petrillo's Pizza! I'm such a lame-o. I hung out with Allie, Kacey, and Darryl, and both Allie and Kacey have had Petrillo's their entire life (or at least Allie has.) What is sad is that we've all lived in the same houses since we were tiny little children, so it shows just how deprived I am of good, LOCAL pizza.

I liked their specialty pizza, but it was so overloaded with toppings! It wasn't a bad thing, but I could only eat one slice because it was so huge. Next time I think I'll get just a pepperoni and bell peppers pizza to really get a good idea of the cheese and sauce. I really liked the crust, plus the quality of the ingredients was 100x better than Dominoes or Pizza Hut. Their Italian sausage was one of the best sausages I've had on a pizza, and I've eaten a lot of pizza.

Tonight we played a bunch of games and talked. It was fun, and it was even more fun watching Allie's new dog run around, sleep, and attempt to hide a pizza crust she stole from the table while we weren't looking. Everywhere I go I am reminded of the fact that I want a new dog haha. It's not that my current dog isn't cool enough, but I'm used to having two dogs who play and run around a lot. Ever since my female dog died last year, my male dog hasn't been the same.... he just sleeps all day :(

Anyway, on Friday Darryl and I ventured over to this cute little restaurant called Cook's Tortas for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised by the restaurant because it reminded me of West LA, not Monterey Park. That was mostly due to the decor. There were a ton of tortas to choose from, but I got the Chicken Basil (chicken, pesto mayo, cucumbers, lettuce, tomato) and Darryl got the Carne Asada (carne asada, avocado, pico de gallo, and some sort of chipotle mayo.) I enjoyed mine, but Darryl's was amazing. I also loved the crusty bread they use. For $6.45 (plus tax,) you can get any sandwich plus a small side. I thought the almost footlong sandwich and red (sweet potato) fries were worth it!

The 100...

Bold things you've eaten.

42/100... wow I'm lame.

1. Venison

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Calamari

12. Pho

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters (technically... like in a pasta/soup)

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float

36. Cognac with a fat cigar

37. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat

42. Whole insects

43. Phaal

44. Goat’s milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more

46. Fugu

47. Chicken tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini

58. Beer above 8% ABV (I've had IPA... and that MIGHT be >8%)

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores

62. Sweetbreads

63. Kaolin

64. Currywurst

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

68. Haggis

69. Fried plantain

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette

71. Gazpacho

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost

75. Roadkill (seriously?)

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

85. Kobe beef

86. Hare

87. Goulash

88. Flowers

89. Horse

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake

New Restaurants...

One of my resolutions was to try a new restaurant every month, so since this month is almost halfway over I thought it would be a good idea to think about where I'm going. Here are the finalists for January (any input would be awesome!):

1. Petrillo's Pizza, 833 E. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, CA 91776.

For the past 6 years I've been hearing about how good Petrillo's is. It's local, moderately priced, and who doesn't love pizza?

2. Elements Kitchen, 107 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105.

Ever since college, I've become a self proclaimed foodie. From what the Yelp reviewers have been saying, this is a foodie heaven. Their mac and cheese seems to be pretty popular, and being the comfort food lover that I am, I cannot resist a good mac and cheese.

3. Grub, 911 Seward St., Los Angeles, CA 90038.

I'm a big Top Chef fan, and former Top Chef contestant Betty Fraser is one of the ladies behind this restaurant. I've been looking for a yummy brunch place, and although this one's far, it sounds promising. Their afterschool special (grilled cheese and tomato soup,) "crack" bacon, and french toast are popular and sound deliciously fatty.

Of course, my fall back choice is Petrillo's, but if any of you have heard anything good about ANY of these places, leave a comment! Even if you haven't heard anything about these places, any comments are welcome :)

Banned

Although I have the funds to buy clothes, I'm choosing to stop buying unnecessary clothing for at least a few years. Hopefully I can actually stay true to this statement and curb my shopping habits! The only reason I would buy new clothes is if I gain or lose a massive amount of weight, but that shouldn't happen. With grad. school tuition coming up and the economy so horrible, I want to save as much money as I can so that I can actually put a sizable down payment on a house/condo when I'm ready. Thank goodness I'm going to a Cal State that's 10 minutes from my house! I would die if I had to pay rent for the next 3 years.

I guess my blog will only be a cooking and "daily ramblings" blog from now on, heh.

Speaking of non-shopping things, UCLA beat USC on Sunday night at the Galen Center! The whole game was a little too close for comfort, in terms of scoring. I hate close games, especially when it's not on our home turf. I hope I get to see them play each other at Pauley!

On to more good news.... I found my bluetooth headset that's been missing for 3 weeks! If I had to plop down $30 for another headset I would be extremely upset with myself. Don't you hate misplacing things? I tore up two rooms in my house trying to find that tiny thing, and after all that searching, it was in a new, UNUSED purse that was hanging on my bedroom door. I tend to wear my bluetooth while shopping so I must have put it in there right after I brought the purse home. SUCH a stupid place to put such a tiny thing.....

"That's what she said."