WRITING CULTURE 2012: Film, Food & Beyond

It is customary in a Puerto Rican household to have café con leche with a piece of bread or crackers. Like every person we rely on coffee to start the day, to get us through the day and to end the day. Growing up I would wake up to the smell of Café Bustelo. The taste of coffee first thing in the morning on a weekday is soothing. Especially coffee that is made the traditional way that does not consist of a filter made of disposable paper. Spanish coffee is as addictive as chocolate, we can’t survive on just one cup or one piece of chocolate alone. Having that first cup of coffee in the morning gives me a rude awakening. The day will start off on a good note once I have that first sip and feel the hot and sweet caffeine that’s accompanied with milk slide down my throat and hit my belly like no other.

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I think I just got shot…in my mouth. The sweet flavor of delicious cocoa from my Mocha Frappuccino has hit the inside of my mouth with the force of a bullet to the heart. The delicious cold beverage may just look like a chocolate milkshake but it is very different. Somehow, the cold hits your mouth first and then one second later the mocha hits you with a sweet surprise that sends immediate shivers down your spine. Starbucks, hit me one more time.

I’m not really a breakfast person. Usually my breakfast is my lunch because I just can’t get an appetite right after rolling out of bed and I don’t understand how most people do. Small fruits are a something I’d eat for breakfast like grapes or an apple but that’s very unlikely. However there is something that always calls my name whenever I need something to chew on before going to my 9am class.

S’mores are already on the top three of my favorite sweets and desserts but s’mores? For breakfast? Pop Tarts aren’t really my kind of style either. To be quite honest, I’ve only had about 5 poptarts in my life and they were all pretty gross. Except for one. The S’mores Pop Tarts are simply delectable and not only are they just jam packed with sugar and chocolate to ruin my blood pressure to keep me energetic for the day, but they taste pretty damn good.

The first time I tried one was at a sleep over about five years ago at a friend’s house and I thought it was okay. I saw it again in one of the Baruch vending machines during my freshman year and I couldn’t stop eating one every other morning even if I tried. People might say this is pretty gross since poptarts are just squares of sugar and death but I don’t drink soda or juice and strictly just drink water with my meals so I’d like to see it as a balancing act for my life. Less sugar there and more sugar here just means I’m getting just as much sugar as the average person so s’mores poptarts will forever be part of my morning routine for as long as I live.

©macaroniandcheesecake.com

This oatmeal pie has a soft, chewy, gummy-like texture. I’ve been eating Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Creme Pie since I was eight-years-old. At first I didn’t like it, I thought it made my mouth dry with its floury taste, but I soon grew accustomed. White-cream-filling smothered between two oatmeal cookies, delicious. The oatmeal is moist, smooth and a bit bland but fear not the creamy filling adds a mild sweetness to create a great balance.

Today I had Sun Chips for breakfast. Sun Chips are a few ingredients removed from Doritos, and that is not good. Calling them “Harvest Cheddar” flavor was an insult to cheddar. They tasted nothing like chesse.
The brightly colored bag crunched loudly every time I reached for another chip, much like the crunching sound coming from my mouth. These man-made grainy, salt-chips made my fingers and tongue orange. I immediately wished I bought a bottle of water to rinse the after taste from my lips. I also forgot my water bottle. Fragments of Sun Chips were pasted to my molars to remind me of the poor choice I made.
The small bag contained about 15 chips and a whopping 200 calories, yet I was still hungry. They were 20% sodium and devoid of any nutritional value. I realize it’s not practical to have sliced apples with peanut butter or hot oatmeal in a vending machine, but Sun Chips for breakfast has to be the worst breakfast ever! What was I thinking?
Maybe next week, I will learn from my mistakes and wake up earlier. Then I could make a delicious frozen-fruit smoothie with almond milk and vegetable protein while leisurely scrolling the news. Unfortunately, my class on Thursday is too early for me and I often miss breakfast rushing to class.

The flavor/texture combination of a golden kettle cooked potato chip is something enjoyable at anytime of day. Plain potato chips are a fool-proof means to a gluten free snack that can literally be found around the world!  The identifiable crunch as you bite into a chip is heavenly, with just enough salt to keep them from being bland.  Three ingredients (potatoes, oil, salt) mean that while we know potato chips are not the healthiest choice, they are a lot better than most options you can find on short notice hunger, and it also means there is nothing there to be nervous about when eating them… you know exactly what you’re getting.

The fact that potato chips are absolutely delicious is merely icing on the cake for this crunchy treat.

Bubble tea? When I first heard of bubble tea, I thought the name was describing some kind of tastes, for example bubble gum flavored tea. I had no idea what was in store. I was surprised by its looks because it wasn’t what I expected, it didn’t look cute or refreshing. I was afraid to try the bubble (tapioca) because I didn’t know how I would react to it.  Tapioca pearl has round shape that looks and tastes like pudding. This ball shape tapioca comes in various sizes and colors which actually made very intriguing. After trying it, I can never forget black milk bubble tea; all the flavors blended with tapioca pearl were delicious.

About six years ago, bubble tea became extremely popular and began to expand quickly. These days, you can find this beverage everywhere, near at mall, bookstore, fast food restaurant, or even your house.

My favorite place to go for bubble tea is near main street flushing. Near Macy’s they have a lot of bubble tea store, which are very affordable because of the competition nearby.

Most of the stores offers buy one get one free or discounted price for a student which makes me to want to buy more bubble teas.

Not only the price is affordable, but the quality of the bubble is good. Bubble makers are experts at making the tapioca. They understand or know how to make it at the right consistency.

The no grief  Kobe Beef Hamburger. credit: legambleur via flickr

The hamburger has  a bad reputation. On one hand it’s become the symbol of America’s addiction to fast food, bloated waistlines and cholesterol choked arteries.  And rightfully so, the hamburger is not exactly the healthiest food. Especially at “traditional fast-food” burger joiints likes Burger King, McDonalds and Wendys. But those aren’t the hamburgers we’re hear to discuss, because as far as I’m concerned they’re Franken-burgers. A scientifically engineered sandwich composed of cheap bits of cow, other animals, chemical fillers and injected with “flavor” for your dining pleasure. Yuck!

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Unlike everyone, I do not have such a passion for food. To me food is one of the basic requirements that I have to take to survive. However, it does not necessarily mean that I hate food. I just do not have any fondness with food. I am pretty easy with any type of food as long as it is eatable and not sour. Thus, I was super confused on writing the food rant. So, I chose to write about the food that I often eat, Gyro. I think Gyro is a delicious platter, which is not only easy to get but also save my time on cooking. I think it is also a good combination of carbohydrate and protein, which fulfill my nutrition needs as well.

There are three types of Gyros: chicken over rice, lamb over rice, and the one I like to order is chicken and lamb over rice with extra white and hot sauce, without any onion in it. I usually buy Gyro from JacksonHeights, Queens. There are so many Gyro food carts on 74t and 75^th Street inJacksonHeights, and most of their customers are working people and students. The lifestyle and working environment inNew York are making people depend more and more on eating meals outside of their house while on the way to work and school. Likewise, I am dependent on this type of food so much because I do not have enough time to make food at home after juggling with school and work. Also, I just do not like to waste my time on cooking.

Despised by children and often adults, they are gratuitously given a small spot on the dinner plate. They are often boiled beyond recognition or drowned in butter or unnecessary fatty sauces.   Vegetables are simply the best. They are my favorite food and deserve to be in the center of every plate.

Hot, cold, raw, steamed or juiced, the flavors, textures, colors and varieties are endless. I try to eat as many different vegetables as possible, not only are they delicious and low in fat and calories, but they also are the most nutrient dense foods you can eat.  I love watching them grow from the ground and change colors as they ripen, and there is no way I can resist a farmers market.

Asparagus, arugula, brussels sprouts, collard greens, okra, radishes and spinach are just a few of my favorites. I’m amazed every time I find new varieties or new ways to eat them.  Whether they are in salads, entrees or soups I can’t get enough of them.