First visit to Potsdam, NY

Finally I decided to drive to Potsdam, NY, which is about 20 minutes away from Ogdensburg.  Turn left at the abandoned Ford dealership and stay on this road (#68) as it goes thru Canton (and becomes #11) and into Potsdam. I was surprised to see two universities in the area!  The Walmart Supercenter there was kinda big... but still not that good in terms of variety.  I saw a lot of disgusting items.  Nothing worth buying.

Cookie Pop popcorn? No thanks!

New Lays flavours: West coast truffle fries, Southern biscuits & gravy, New York reuben, and Greektown gyro.  I didn't dare to try any of them.

Peanut Hottie - Is there really a demand for a hot peanut butter and chocolate drink?!?!?

Green Boiled Peanuts!  The South's Favorite Snack!

Pop Tarts Frosted Blue Raspberry - the taste is normal but they are hard to eat.  The opaque blue slime is very unappetizing.

Kettle Brand Red Curry Potato Chips - they taste nothing like Thai red curry

Betty Crocker Pineapple Upside-Down cake mix - it actually had a small can of crushed pineapple in the box!  I thought it tasted gross but Mother liked it!

Ruffles Poutine chips - yuck

I got these last week in Costco out of curiosity. OMG they were disgusting.  I haven't tried Krispy Kreme donuts too many times since they only sell cold ones here sometimes.  From what I remember, a hot one is good.. But these were really bad - with each bite I had a feeling of eating lard or something meaty.  Very very greasy. 

This made me lol in Walmart.  The lady sucking back the sandwich.. right beside those creepy footlong frankfurters.

It's that time of year.. I made a Jell-O cake for the strawberry social party at work.

I got these in Mac's convenience store, klondike mint and banana taffy.  Did not try them yet. I left them in my cubicle for coworkers to sample.

First round of dessert from strawberry social.  They were all really good.

Second round of dessert from strawberry social.

Big Bone BBQ and Wicked Wings is supposed to be open today.  It replaced Mojo Fresh.

Here is the menu

Finally I tried a sandwich from Franks Bakery and Catering.  This is #11 White Girl. It took me all day and I didn't finish it. Huge portion size but very fresh.  It had lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard but you can't tell that from this pic.

June 2015

I got this stuff in Ogdesnburg.  Mike and Ike Cotton Candy flavored candies.  Sure, at first it does taste like cotton candy.. but if you think about it, cotton candy just tastes like sugar anyway (no fruity flavour, etc.).  OK but would not buy again.

Bacon flavoured Pringles.  My coworkers say this is good.  Well it just tastes the same as most other bacon flavoured chips.

Limited Edition Chocolate Strawberry Pop Tarts.  These were pretty gross. Would not buy again.

Thomas' Corn Toast R Cakes.  This corn bread was ok according to me and coworkers.. but it's been unrefrigerated for at least 2 weeks..   Seems hard to finish.  Better throw it out.

Finally I got my Lime Cucumber Gatorade in the mail.  After hearing about it on dawgshed, I had to order a case of 12 big bottles on amazon because I couldn't find any other way to buy some.  I do not mind the taste but I dilute it.  So far I have gotten at least 10-20 people to try it  Only 1 other guy likes it. Most others were too shy to tell me that they hate it.  I would definitely buy it again.

 Sam's Choice Mini Potato Skins Fully Loaded.  These are slightly cheaper than TGIFriday's and just as greasy and delicious.  Would buy again.

Lemon creme Oreo.  Not worthy of the name Oreo.  I heard about them on the dawgshed so I gave them a try.  Yuck.  Tastes like any other cheap lemon biscuit. I had to leave them in the cafeteria for people to take.

Fiber One

I found these Goldenberries in Loblaws and was tricked into buying them.  Turns out that they are like tomatillos without the husk.  Very soapy taste and full of colon shredding seeds.

A bunch of Fiber One products were on sale in Ogdensburg. Here is the first one, Mint Fudge Brownies. It's ok.  I won't fool myself into thinking it's healthy.

Fiber One Streusel Bar. It is OK

Fiber One Double Chocolate soft-baked cookies. Also OK.

battle of the flat breads

At lunch on week days, sometimes we go to Coconut Lagoon restaurant.  One bread they have there is different from those naan breads usually seen in Indian buffets. It tastes more like Pillsbury dough and is very flaky: the paratha.  My colleague mentioned to me that these can be found in the frozen food aisle, so I tried a few.

Spring Home Roti Paratha. It is ok but not as good as the real thing in the restaurant.  They come frozen and you put them in a hot frying pan for 4 minutes.

Shana Plain Naan.  Disgusting. I got it in Loblaws when I couldn't find any parathas.  Do not buy.  I had to throw it out.

Shana Garlic Paratha.  I guess they figure they don't ever need to mention if something has hot pepper flakes in it. Inedible.

Shana Onion Paratha.  I know it's going to be hot.  I am going to just throw it out before eating. I give up.

 ORIGINAL flavour is OK

how to cook: put frozen one on frying pan for 2 minutes each side on medium heat

I got this one from T&T.  The sesame seeds make it worse.  Plain is better.

The worst ones ever. stuck to the pans, flavourless, etc.. I started to think What the heck?  Third world flavour? and I checked the back - made in Pakistan.  Shame on T&T for selling this crappy product.

Handmade Golden Sweet Potato Crepes, also from T&T.  What a disgrace.  Inedible.

watermelon battle

Now that summer is here I have noticed four new watermelon flavoured products in the grocery stores.

Tropicana Watermelon drink: it is delicious and actually does taste like watermelon (uhh and sugar).  I will try the lemonades too eventually.

President's Choice Watermelon Crunch ice cream.  Sugary and gross. Does not taste like watermelon. The "crunch" is granola. Uggh.

Friendly's watermelon fruit bars/popsicles.  Friggin disgusting.  Tastes nothing like watermelon.  I had to let them melt in the laundry sink.  Got these in Ogdensburg.

Nestle FruPops watermelon popsicles. Very gross.  Tastes NOTHING like watermelon whatsoever!  I brought them to work.

This AriZona Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail tastes nothing like watermelon. It tastes like fruit punch.  Thumbs down.

I got my mom to try this Sunrise Watermelon flavour Tofu Dessert.  She said, "Never buy this again!"

I got these in Potsdam, NY.  Undrinkably sugary and fake.  I brought 3 to work because I couldn't finish them.

A new entry into the world of watermelon beverages: tastes only like diluted apple drink.

Spring 2015

Here I did a practise run for PI day pie bake-off.  These are cherry bakewells (an English thing).  The instructions came from Australia and I guess they have a different tart size (much smaller than what I expected).  Anyway they turned out OK.

Also I tried to make Thai red curry from scratch (no paste).  There was a very long list of herbs and spices (basil, lemongrass, coriander, a bay leaf, etc.).  The smell and taste were dead on but the recipe was very unclear so I was not able to make the sauce texture right. It was gritty with hunks of plant material.  I would have to puree further somehow or strain it. Because I failed to do so, it caused "digestive issues".

I got different passion fruits, grenadillas, etc. from the store to plant the seeds.  I think the taste and texture of these is gross.

Lazlo's award winning chili recipe did not win me any awards but it did make people laugh and they ate it.

More of chef Pradeep's custard tarts.  They looked beautiful at first but on the way to the competition, my container slipped so most were a bit crushed.

Saw this at the Middle Eastern store. YUCK.  Also after sitting for some time it separates into 2 layers.

I saw these crazy maraschino cherries in East Side Mario's. Barfffff