Bionic Bites turns 1 & Blogiversary Giveaway
Time flies and all of a sudden your blog is a year old. (Technically, my blogiversary was last month, but that’s just a minor detail folks. Better late than never, I say.) I remember two years I ago I wanted to start a blog, but frankly, I was too lazy to do anything about it. Then after a year of hemming and hawing, I finally got my expanding ass off the couch and created Bionic Bites. Now, eighty-six posts later, I’m celebrating a year of past deliciousness. I savored jamón ibérico de bellota in Menorca, found dragon beard candy in Montreal, ate a ton of street meat in New York, and through it all, got sick only once. All publicly, for my enjoyment and yours. Thank you to all those who have been reading from the beginning, and for those that just recently stumbled on to my blog, shame on you! I’ll be expecting more from you in the coming year. 😉
To celebrate my first blogiversary, Hannah (my wonderful sister-in-law and the designer behind byHannahDesign) created a hand stamped silver necklace for me to give away to one lucky reader. On the necklace are three pendants with the words this blog is based on: Explore, Experiment, and Eat. It’s a woman’s necklace, but I’m sure you male readers have a sister, daughter, mother, or female friend who would be happy to receive this as a present. If you don’t, you should probably cry in a dark room and then go out and make a new friend of the opposite sex. Tell the girl there’s a necklace in it for her. But seriously, I’ll try to make my next giveaway more unisex. I appreciate you male readers as well.
To win the necklace, simply leave a comment below about your most memorable edible discovery. One of my favorite finds was grilled chicken from a beach vendor at Anse des Sables in St. Lucia. The chicken was simply grilled over charcoal with a few local Caribbean spices, but it was insanely juicy and flavorful. With a view of the ocean and a bottle of Piton Shandy, which the guy who sold it to me said was “good for you,” the little meal was final respite after three torturous nights at a mosquito-ridden bed & breakfast. I had two pieces of chicken and two bottles of Shandy, lemon and sorrel. Delicious.
One winner will be randomly chosen next week. Contest ends 12 p.m. ET, Monday, August 24, 2009. Good luck and thank you again for reading! I promise more culinary adventures in the coming year. Hold on to your stomach, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
UPDATE: The giveaway contest is closed and the winner is Nicholas! Congratulations to Nicholas and thank you to everyone who participated!
No Name Grilled Chicken Vendor
Right after the gate of the secondary beach entrance,
south of the main entrace
Anse des Sables, St. Lucia
congrats on the blogiversary! i really enjoy reading about your culinary adventures 🙂
my most recent, memorable edible discovery was last summer in hong kong — fresh sugar cane juice. was never a fan, but now i am a believer.
I’d never had French macarons before, so I dropped by La Maison du Chocolat one day after work for a caramel one. It was incredible in its sweet caramel chocolate-y goodness. Apparently La Maison was a good choice for my first taste–I’ve yet to find better!
psssh, I’ll wear that necklace. Ain’t no thang.
Most memorable discovery was probably my first time at Super Taste. This was three years ago before the hand-pulled noodle craze. I heard they had good dumplings and tried their noodles too. It may not be on everyone’s top list but it’s certainly my favorite hand-pulled noodle place. When my friend and I first had it, we thought we hit the jackpot.
It’s not a tiny place or an unknown place, but browsing around at Trader Joe’s resulted in finding their Harvest Grains Blend. (I’ve got no stock or ties whatsoever in TJ’s or the folks who make this product) I’ve had the tiny couscous, and I’ve had orzo, but I’d never had Israeli couscous or baby garbanzo beans or quinoa before. It’s a fantastic mix of soft and crunchy. We’ve had it with chicken (sweet and savory), garlic shrimp, and in cream soups.
My other favorite food find is a Gorgonzola Cheesecake, with a polenta crust. There’s a swanky bar/restaurant in town that serves it as an appetizer, with a roasted garlic bulb, some thinly sliced and grilled como bread, and drizzled with a balsamic reduction that’s *amazing*.
Congrats! It takes dedication and fervor to keep up with a fun, culinary blog. 🙂
Mine was a random stumble at a Israeli restaurant and I discovered my love of hummus. There was a period when I was obssessed, I mean obssessed with this creamy concoction. I purposedly take the subway (from work) just to get my hummus fix. I literally closed my eyes everytime I bite into a hummus sandwich.
(Had an internet glich, hope this isn’t a double post!)
My most memorable food discovery is Cantonese style roast goose in Hong Kong with my mom. I’d never had anything but roast duck up until that point. And now, I’m wishing they had the roast goose here in the US! Take the best roast duck you’ve ever eaten time ten and there’s the roast goose. It’s so juicy, tender and flavorful you think you could eat the whole thing.
OK, I’d just rather eat the crispy skin all by myself but that’s just greedy, wishful thinking! 🙂
Great blog! Keep up the good work!
@tami – I never had sugar cane juice. I must try it!
@Stephanie – La Maison du Chocolat was definitely a good choice. Their salty caramel macarons are my favorite in NY.
@Lily – You are such a tease. What did you eat and where?!
@Danny – I know if you win, you’ll definitely rock it! You’re hilarious. And btw, I love Super Taste too.
@Bladerunner – I love Trader Joe’s also. Some of their selections taste like crap, and once I bought burrata past the freshness date (very bad), but I always go there to stock up on olives and goat cheese. It’s cheap and good.
@kim – Hummus is pretty tasty once in a while, and it’s super easy to make it at home. I like it with lots of roasted garlic and lemon.
@Gastro888 – I’m dying to go to Hong Kong, so much deliciousness in one city! But there has to be really good goose somewhere in NY. I’ll have to look into this.
Congratulations on the blogversary! I look forward to many more posts on your food finds to come~ Recommendations are always useful in this food-saturated city. 8D
My most memorable food discovery would probably have been in downtown LA. 😛 I was there for a convention and decided that I had to try an In-N-Out burger, despite only having seen Carl’s Jr. in the immediate area. So I took my roommate with me and we walked all around the downtown Los Angeles area, before stopping to ask for directions from some patrons of a Mexican food truck at around 11PM. Unfortunately getting to the closest one required a car we did not have. Fortunately, though, that truck didn’t and my roommate was Mexican. We got two tortas, threw on some fixings, and our hunger aside, that was probably the most delicious and satisfying meal I had in LA.
Since coming back to NY, though, my craving for a good torta has not been satisfied. 😛
Superduper congrats on your food blog. It is seriously mouth-watering, I’m often left frustrated. In a good way. ^_^
I think my yummiest memory was when I discovered the most amazing sushi I’d ever eaten. And that’s saying quite a bit. The euphoria occurred on my trip to Chicago with my mother and sister, just two days after we found out my mother had been cured of her stage 3B cancer. During the cancerous period, I’d eaten a lot of junk food. TONS. Luckily, Asians metabolize carbs quite well.
Anyway. While on our walk towards Grant Park, we stopped at a place called “Hot Woks Cool Sushi.” I ordered shrimp tempura maki, spicy tuna, and my mother ordered a fusion fried rice dish she shared with my sister. It had chicken and coconut and pineapple as well as other seasonings you wouldn’t think to find in a fried rice dish. And it was really quite good! I was surprised. But most surprising of all was their sushi. The texture of the tuna was so completely perfect. Not slimy but soft and smooth. The spice was even throughout each piece’s tuna block, and for a roll I don’t typically like, I loved it. If I could, I’d go to chicago simply for “Hot Woks Cool Sushi” again in heartbeat. ^_^V
When I was 15, i went to japan, and OMG it was the first time i tasted green tea ice cream. it was almost winter then, but i didnt care. i was dreaming about a couple of years later. that’s one main reason why i wanna go back to japan, too!
Do I have to pick just one? Fine then… First time I had mango shaved ice in Taiwan, I was probably 12 or 13, since my Grandparents had always said it was unsanitary and would make me so sick that ‘I’d regret it.’ Well, thanks to my mom, who so graciously snuck me out of the house and bought me that beautiful dish of finely shredded ice, condensed milk, syrup, and fresh mangoes… the prediction came true. I went home that night sick as a dog, I don’t think I left the bathroom for hours (how about that for a food story :D!). In any case, I didn’t care… for those few hours of pain at night, the 5 minutes of bliss while eating was worth it. I was hooked, I’ve probably eaten 100 or so bowls since then, and enjoyed every. single. one.
@Jello – Do you remember the name of the Mexican food truck? Would love to try it when I ever do find my way over to the east coast.
@Sasha – It’s hard to find good sushi even with a good rec. To stumble on it by chance is a true miracle. BTW, hope your mom is doing well.
@Kat C – Haha, have you found any good green tea ice cream since then? I get mine at the Japanese grocery.
@Nicholas – Did you get sick every time after the first time? Oh lord, sounds bad, but sometimes it’s hard to resist shaved ice. I like shaved ice with red beans, condensed milk, and lychees.