bookluvingbabe

You know I use Yelp for? If I'm out of town and I want to have Italian and I have no idea what is within a 2 mile radius of where I am. There are usually links to websites and I ignore the reviews. (I used to use Google Maps but that doesn't work as well on mobile devices and the results are more scattered.) Ruth is right about the quality of the reviews.

Estadio? First plate screamed Estadio to me but not the second one...

I shop at Costco. Membership is through work so I don't have to think about the cost of it. For the stuff I would normally buy at WF, which is produce out of season, Costco is an alternative. I shouldn't be eating asparagus year round, but it is a vegetable I like and those are few and far between. I'm the weirdo in the checkout line with 3 jars of herring, a bag of asparagus and a box of avocados. We go once every few months. I like that the corporate policy is always a 15% markup, no higher. I like that the CEO capped his own salary. I don't notice the employees are any more or less unhappier than other stores. Except for Trader Joe's. No employees are ever as happy as the employees at Trader Joe's.

1) Stop eating processed foods. 2) Engage with CSA, farmers markets, and other direct to consumer outlets and venues for farmers. 3) Use social media, blogs, and other forms of communication to get the word out there that you don't have to choice between WF and Safeway. We don't live in a food desert in the middle of nowhere. Even if you live in the bleakest, poorest parts of this area, with effort you can have access to those options too. But it takes effort. It takes a willingness to arrange your budget so that you spend more money on food. It takes time to travel on the bus and Metro (Neither of which is cheap anymore) to get to the farmers market or the CSA pickup. It takes time to cook from scratch. I'm not perfect about this stuff, far from it. But I've come along way since I started becoming aware a few years ago...

Is Costco an option for you? MOM's? (Although truthfully, MOM"s makes me nuts in different, non-political, ways and I don't buy meat there...) I suck it up and I buy meat and eggs at the farmers market. Or I drive to the farm directly. I buy dairy at MOM's. Produce is a mix of farmers markets, MOM's, Costco, Trader Joe's and even sometimes Giant. But I have a car and lots of time and a child who truly thinks there is nothing cooler than going to a farmers market. I don't have unlimited funds which would make this whole thing ever so much simpler.

Eve? (I'm just going to guess Eve until I'm eventually right... Or go myself...)

I should confirm the balance and then give it to Wider Circle or save it for the next Giving Tree. Good point...

I don't shop at Wal-Mart. (Except that I still have a $50 gift card from when BLBaby (soon to be six years old) was born that someone gave us that I can't bring myself to spend...) I ignore the money Target poured into anti-gay marriage efforts because I like Target. (Though I shop there less than I used to...) I don't eat at Chick'fil-A. For long standing and unchanging reasons that are probably similar to DanielKs. (I did make an exception in 2008 when I was in Atlanta.) Etc... I remember learning the name Cesar Chavez at a very early age when my mother ignored my begging and boycotted California grapes. I come by this naturally. Mr. BLB and I talk a lot about shopping at WF. We've naturally moved more and more away from it as we've found better, less expensive choices that sync with our values. But if I run out of grass-fed milk, I'm going to drive the 5 miles to WF in the Kentlands instead of going to MOM's in Rockville or Frederick. I try really, really hard not to run out. Sometimes we end up there because there are only so many outings you can take an almost-six-year old on in the bitter cold. At least a trip to WF ends with minimal purchases of a banana, kefir and probably a plate of meatballs for him. And I take Dean's words to heart. None of it is ever easy...

Given how much construction is going on next door, I'm not surprised critters are moving around and finding new homes.

Hopslam was still available today at noon. I didn't have the courage to check the price.

Eve? Volt? Both use similar placemats at the bar, I think.

It is the more expensive of the sushi options in the Kentlands. It always seems empty. I have to confess that I may simply be biased against them as it is where we discovered I have issues with escolar/white tuna. I spent the next 48 hours wanting to die. We spend our raw fish money up the street at Yoyogi.

Yes! Crispy Beef Teriyaki from the lunch specials. It's funny because I have never been when it was less than 3/4 full. It is our go to sushi spot and yet I've never gotten around to posting about it. There is another more traditional sushi place on Center Way Place but it is more expensive. And it always seems empty so I'm dubious. My young dining companion did not want sushi from Yoyogi that day but from Whole Foods. I promised him if he didn't like Yoyogi, we would go to WF. 2 minutes after we were served he was done and announced he loved it. And then he started eyeing mine. He tried California Rolls (loved) and yellowtail (not so much love but he swallowed it) while waiting for the beef to come out.

It is located in Maryland. If google is to be believed, it has been mentioned once on this website, in passing as part of another thread. It expanded recently (the last year). (Expanded the space it is in, not to more than one location.)

Yes, beef. Sauce still isn't right. (Sorry, I was distracted by BLKindergartner.) Think more basic, more Americanized in terms of sauce. Do you want more hints?

Yes, Japanese. Yes, simple cafe (always crowded when I've gone). So simple that I don't think they have a website. Not pictured (and already eaten at this point) was sushi rolls of avocado, yellowfin, salmon, and California.

Not pork but it is fried.

I remembered a little too late (and a young dining companion was a little too hungry) to get a picture of the uneaten plate. But you get the idea.

Thanks! I tried that and found it gnarly. I'm not a big coconut fan so I'm not surprised it didn't work for me. I also found the no-sugar-addded sunflower seed butter pretty nasty. I'm day 7 now. Still going well. Very aware that I want a sweet bite of something at the end of a meal. Normally I'd pop a piece of chocolate in my mouth. I found myself foraging for fruit instead. Trying to make sure I'm actually hungry before I do eat the fruit. So far I only seem to be hungry about half the time. Baby-steps...

I haven't used them in years but they did lovely work back in the day. I still miss Asman though...

Thanks goodness--I was afraid I was the only one who thought of Cool "Disco" Dan when I saw this!

Temporary and then see how I feel as I reintroduce stuff. I'd been doing an 80-20 paleo/primal thing but that was really more like 50/50 and that wasn't working for me. At a minimum I see myself treating grains as a treat in the future. Legumes don't seem to bother me so I suspect they'll come back at some point. Right now the only hard part is the lack of cream in my coffee. I'm sure it will get harder but I'm really trying to reset my cravings. Fingers crossed that it works.

Well I'm on Day 4 of the Whole 30 http://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/ (No grains, sugar, sweetners, legumes, dairy or booze. I'm sure I'm forgetting something...) So far I can say it doesn't suck. I've resorted to frozen ice cubes of coffee to cool my coffee off enough to drink it first thing. I'm also using MyFitnessPal to track calorie intake--not required but I needed to get a sense of how much I was eating. And I bought a Fitbit to track activity level and sleep levels. If I can get the (Expletive deleted) thing to work, I think that will help get me to move more.

Mr. BLB has been impressed with their food truck offerings. Unfortunately they don't usually park close enough to his office to get there and back and in a timely manner. I like the Baltimore Bomb but it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about how sweet it is.

Going on the play of rustic-Rustico, I went and looked at their menu but I didn't see a good match...