She Eats Alone

I find it hard sometimes to eat out by myself. I don't know, I tend to get really self conscious and I feel like people are staring at me or think that I'm weird. But since I'm in Virginia, alone, what choice do I have? And besides, if I know that the place has amazing food, well, there's no stopping me there! I'll do just about anything for good food, even if it means eating out alone.

Now, I'm not exactly sure what Virginia is known for food-wise. We all know that New York has their cheesecake, Chicago is known for their deep dish pizza, and that Texas has really good Tex-Mex, but what about Virginia? Not a clue. So after extensive research on "the best restaurants in Richmond", I came across Kuba Kuba, a Cuban restaurant. Cuban food in Virginia? I haven't even seen a single Cuban, much less a Latino since I got here. But hey, if the reviews say that it's a good restaurant, then why not give it a shot? Cuban food for me is a treat, considering how Seattle doesn't have many places with good Cuban food.


Upon arriving at Kuba Kuba, I sat myself at the bar. I think the bar is the best place to sit if you are eating out by yourself. The waitress was nice and attentive, she took my order as soon as I gave her the "I'm ready to order" look, and the food came out even faster (which was good because I could only look around the restaurant for so long). Everything on the plate was simply delectable (except for the cornbread). I had the Kuban Roast Pork--the pork was so tender that I didn't even need a knife to cut it. The tostones (oh los tostones!) were savory, light and crispy on the outside and tender and sweet on the inside. This, my friends, is what good meals are made of.

At that point, I was enjoying my meal so much that I didn't even care that I was eating by myself; I was having a relationship with my lunch. The waitress did come to check on me a few times to make sure that the food was good, and even the cook came out to see how I was doing, which was really sweet of them. From this eating experience, I've learned that I shouldn't think so much about eating by myself, as long as no one's giving me a hard time. Because ultimately, it's all about the food.

"C" is for Cookie...or Cupcake?

My latest adventure brings me to Richmond, Virginia, where I have been sent here for a job interview for an Associate Scientist position. I arrived in Richmond yesterday afternoon, exhausted, with no desire to go anywhere or do any exploring. I ordered room service. I never order room service. That just goes to show how incredibly exhausted I was. Today, on the other hand, was different. After waking up at noon, (I'm still not adjusted to the time difference), I went out for a little bit. I did research on things to do in Richmond (sadly, there weren't many options), and places to eat. Fortunately, there were a TON of places to eat...the only problem would be which restaurants to eat at in such a short amount of time.

Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I have a somewhat slight obsession with cupcakes, or dessert for that matter. Finding cupcakes in Richmond were not difficult at all. The only hard part was trying to figure out which place had THE BEST cupcakes. I randomly chose Pearl's Cupcake Shoppe, just because the internet was not very good at providing ranked lists of cupcake shops.

The layout of Pearl's Cupcake Shoppe kind of reminded me of Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle. Kind of like an ice cream shop, but with cupcakes instead. By the time I had got there, their selection of cupcakes wasn't as diverse as I would assume it to be early in the morning, but that didn't stop me from being tempted to try every single cupcake they had in their display case. I decided to buy myself one cupcake, the "C is for Cupcake".


But there's a cookie on top. Yeah, you heard me, a cookie. Pearl's combines the best of both worlds by putting a cookie in a cupcake. Or making a cupcake that tastes like cookies. You decide. But basically, what they did was bake a vanilla-brown sugar cake, put chocolate chip cookie batter inside, and topped it with cream cheese frosting and a mini chocolate chip cookie. So I guess you could say that it's a cupcake that tastes like cookies, topped with a cookie. Again, it's the best of both worlds.

In my many years of tasting countless cupcakes around the country, whether they have been store bought or homemade, I will say that Pearl's Cupcake Shoppe does take the cake when it comes to innovating interesting flavors. Never have I once seen a cupcake like this anywhere in Seattle, and to be honest, I wish I did. As for the taste...did the cupcake actually taste like a cookie? Not really. It definitely had the same sweetness of a chocolate chip cookie, and the cake itself tasted very good and brown-sugar like, but it didn't taste like a chocolate chip cookie. It tasted like, well, a cake that was trying to be a cookie...but couldn't. The actual chocolate chip cookie on top of the cupcake fortunately didn't taste like a cupcake, it tasted how it should taste, but it was very crumbly; I couldn't break it apart without it crumbling into a million pieces.

I'm not going to lie, I really did like the cupcake, but I think the cupcake should be what it is...a cupcake. Please don't try to be a cookie.

A Mighty Craving for Mighty O

Last night, my roommate and I had the most interesting conversation via text message:
Allison: Can we get donuts this week? I seriously can't stop thinking about it haha
Me: Hahaha I was thinking of getting donuts tomorrow morning at Mighty O!
Allison: Can I get a chocolate glazed & sprinkles?
Me: Chocolate glazed and sprinkles, got it!
(This, my friends, is what true friendships are made of!)

I was serious. This morning I woke up at 6:30, got dressed, and drove to Mighty O Donuts. When you have a donut craving, or better yet, when you AND your roommate have a donut craving, especially one that lasts for more than a week, you'd better do something about it, and fast!

This was actually my first time going to Mighty O Donuts. I've held out on going there for a few reasons, the main reason being that their donuts are VEGAN. Yes, you heard me. VEGAN. Have you ever heard of a vegan donut before? Or even the words vegan and donut in the same sentence? You can already sense my skepticism here. Another reason that has eluded me from visiting Mighty O...I'm loyal to Top Pot. There, I said it. Just one whiff of their old fashioned donuts and I'm sold. And, they're NOT vegan. However, after reading the several reviews, (and they were good reviews), I figured it wouldn't hurt to try the Mighty O.


Just how mighty were these donuts? Well, they were surprisingly, mighty good! You couldn't even tell that they were vegan! I must note, however that these donuts are on the cakey side. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of cakey donuts, as a lot of them tend to be very dry and crumbly, but not these donuts. Nice and crispy on the outside, surprisingly soft on the inside. Think of it as a denser cupcake. With a crispy exterior. Definitely worth waking up at 6:30 in the morning.


I got me & Allison four donuts; two for today, and two more just in case our donut craving decides to hang around until tomorrow. This morning, I had the French Toast donut. Sweet, cinnamon-y, maple-y goodness. I already have my eye on the Cinnamon Sugar donut for tomorrow.

Now, the question is, who's donut reigns supreme? Top Pot or Mighty O? It's a little hard to say at this point. But I will say, I'm sensing a donut challenge in the near future.

A Welcome to Seattle Dinner, Ethiopian Style

Several weekends ago, Zach, my friend Janet's boyfriend, came to Seattle for a visit. It was his first time being in the city and of course, she wanted to offer him food opportunities that you simply cannot get in Hawaii. And what better way to get out of your Hawaiian food comfort zone than to eat Ethiopian food? Ethiopian food in Hawaii is practically unheard of, and probably downright scary for some people. I, on the other hand, being the adventurist that I am, find it very exotic and intriguing, and thus I found it to be the perfect place to have a "Welcome to Seattle" dinner. Besides, I've been wanting to try Ethiopian food for the longest time, so that was my chance to convince Janet, Zach, Allison, and Trevor to eat there.

A potential-but-never-really-happened blind date (but that's another story) recommended that I try Habesha, an Ethiopian restaurant in the downtown area. It's kind of in one of those places that you pass by all the time, but when someone asks you about it, you respond with, "Really? I had no idea it was there." The restaurant itself has a really nice, dark, dimly lit atmosphere. The kind of place for a date night. Ironically, I think it's best to eat Ethiopian food when you're with a large group of people. So, perhaps a little more light would've been nice?

"Have you ever eaten here before?" Ahhh, the question that we seem to be getting lately when we go out to eat. And of course, the ever-so-simple response, "No." Fortunately, I always do my research before eating at newly discovered restaurants, so I was a little bit more prepared than everyone else. "But we'll start off with a bottle of the honey wine," I added. Enat. Ethiopian honey wine. Now I'm not a wine connoisseur, but the Enat has got to be sweeter than any dessert wine I've ever tasted. In a good way. (A few weeks later, I was thinking about how much I really liked the wine, and thought about buying a bottle to have on hand. I did my research again and I was surprised when I found out that it costs $22 a bottle! Good wine don't come cheap! I guess that's not too bad when you think about it, but if I'm going to pay $22 a bottle for a bottle of honey wine, I wouldn't be sharing it!)


Now for the main course. Let me start off by saying that Ethiopians place an importance on communal dining. Everything is done "family style". Sharing food from a communal plate? Eating with your hands? I met Zach two days ago and we're already putting our fingers in the same food. If that didn't put him out of his comfort zone, I don't know what would! But I'm all about embracing experiences to the fullest when they come. And besides, we're all family, right?


We ended up getting an assortment of dishes, all to be shared on one communal platter: Abesha Tibs, Yebeg Wot, Zil Zil Tibs, Green Chicken, and one more that I can't remember. Lamb, beef, and chicken. You definitely can't go wrong with that combination. All served with some salad, cheese, and a side of injera (Ethiopian flat bread). Now, for those of you who have never eaten Ethiopian food before, (which is probably most of you), eating Ethiopian food is similar to eating Indian food--you use your hands. Well actually, it's your right hand. Your left hand is supposed to be reserved for you know, personal hygiene purposes if you know what I mean. You rip off a piece of injera with your right hand, use it to pick up a few pieces of meat, and voila! Pop it in your mouth!

I must say that it's definitely a lot harder than it sounds; I already have a hard time with Indian food as it is. But the experience that I had with my friends, trying something new, having fun and trying not to make complete idiots out of ourselves, was simply priceless. All the food was very delicious, but eating in good company was even better. So, with that said, welcome to Seattle, Zach.