Stop by Mercadito this month and try Chef David Blonsky's smoked pork cheek taco as part of Chef Patricio Sandoval's Tacos for Strength campaign.
“It’s the taco lovechild of the best of Mexican and barbeque flavors," says Chef Blonsky, of Bull & Bear and Public House. More complex than many of the other tacos on Mercadito's menu, tender pork cheek is nestled in a housemade corn tortilla and topped with salsa verde and crispy shallots, queso fresco and espelette pepper. An order of four tacos is $16.50 at dinner and a lunch order of three is $12.50. Five percent of the proceeds from these tacos will go to Share Our Strength, dedicated to ending childhood hunger.
My new favorite part of waking up is a breakfast of crunchy granola from Nature's Hand. Their flavors include Maple Pecan, Wild Blueberry, Cranberry Delight, Raisin Hazelnut, and Cinnamon Apple, my favorite of all. Nature's Hand is made in Minnesotra and they use quality ingredients, like real sugar, molasses and honey to sweeten the whole grain wheat and oats. I especailly love the plentiful sunflower seeds in the mix that add a sublte nutty flavor. None of their granola includes unpronounceable ingredients that look like they belong in science experiments.
The Cravory delivers three spectacular seasonal flavors in honor of St. Patrick's Day, all of them laced with booze. What's not to love? With renditions of Salted Caramel Guiness, Irish Coffee and Baileys and Mint in cookie form, the drinks themselves become afterthoughts. Baileys and Mint was our favorite, with a hint of organic mint cutting through the creamy Baileys liqueur and chocolate chips. Irish Coffee was topped with ooey gooey marshmallows and sprinkled with cappuccino chips to sweeten the Jameson. These cookies are sturdy enough to ship across the country. They come two in a pack, so if you can keep your hands off them, they'll stay fresh for two weeks.
Valentine's Day is sneaking up on us, and ladies are probably wondering what the fellas have planned for the holiday. But the more important question is, what are you getting for your man?
Guys can be notoriously hard to shop for.
But before you balk at the lack of options, consider a classically feminine gift: chocolate. Manly chocolate. Whiskey and scotch infused truffles.
Theo Chocolate has a Single Malt Scotch Ganache collection with four different truffles, aged with different scotches to impart sweet and nutty to smoky flavors. Any guy who appreciates good scotch will love these chocolates.
Dressing fashionably in winter on a budget is all about strategic layering. Tees, sweaters, cardigans, scarves, hats, gloves, boots, coats, and more. For us, it's most important to have a quality winter coat that you love and adore. Whether that be a classic pea coat, belted wool coat, or a puffer down jacket is totally up to your sense of style--and the weather.
A beautiful pair of boots is another worthwhile investment. Boots need to be comfortable, sturdy, and warm but also chic and trendy.
If for some reason you don't feel like baking cookies for the holidays, simply order some treats from Michelle's Naturally. You could even take them out of the bag and pass them off as homemade. We won't tell.
Michelle Millar grew up in Guyana, where she's always been vegan. Then, at 20, she moved to California where her dad owned a vegan baking company. After a brief modeling career Michelle started her own company, also making vegan cookies.
My latest chocolate obsession is St. Croix Chocolate. When Robyn Dochterman and Deidre Pope founded their chocolate company, they aimed to created "bliss in a bite." I daresay they've succeeded.
Pumpkin brandy caramel may be my favorite flavor of all. Usually truffles that try to combine several flavors end up dominated by one, with the others getting lost in translation. Here, that's not the case. Sweet caramel hits your tongue first, filled in by a smooth pumpkin flavor with a boozy brandy kick cutting through the sweetness.
Are your split ends and dry brittle hair are cramping your winter style? Take off your wool hat and get thee to Maxine Salon, where glamorous stylist Dani Hauflaire (she models for the salon too!) will fix your winter hair woes with Kerastase's Chronologiste treatment.
Chronologiste is a luxurious treatment that lasts about thirty minutes, complete with a soothing scalp massage. I was amazed that this over-achieving treatment was suitable for all hair types and could simultaneously strengthen, moisturize and volumize hair. Caviar pearls keep nutrients (like vitamins A and E) fresh, and the pearls are mashed into a smooth velvety cream, before being liberally applied from roots to ends. I'll admit I'm not entirely sure what gluco-lipids, squalene and ceramides are, but I don't have to have a science PhD to tell the difference in my hair after using Chronologiste.
Gluten-free has become a popular catchphrase lately, and many brands are creating gluten-free breads, brownies, cookies, muffins and more. These treats often have a strange starchy taste, a combination of too much baking soda, sorghum and a mix of tapioca, rice corn or potato starch that just doesn't work.
For the perfect gluten-free treat that everyone will enjoy, try macarons. Macarons are naturally gluten-free, the shell's made with almond flour, egg whites and sugar. Fillings can range from jams to buttery ganaches. With macarons popping up everywhere from Maison Ladurée in New York to the world's first macaron truck, Sweet Spot Macarons, in Chicago, they are the trendiest treat this holiday season.
Blow your chocoholic friends away this holiday season with a gift of seasonal truffles from Donna Toscana. The 5-piece chocolate set contains includes single servings of orange cranberry, pumpkin caramel, eggnog, vanilla honey and tiramisu truffles and retails for $14.99.
While Joonbug tries not to play favorites, we're still salivating over the cream eggnog (topped off with ever-awesome notes of brandy) and the cranberry orange flavor (which gets a dusting of Chinese five spice powder).