CopyCat Restaurant Cookbooks

Have you ever wondered what made Kentucky Fried Chicken’s original recipe so special? Or maybe you wondered how to make the famous secret McDonald’s Big Mac sauce? Or maybe you even wondered how Burger Kings makes their trademark whoppers? Now what if I tell you that you can now actually make these creations all in the comfort of your own kitchen. Well this is all possible after I recently discovered these brilliant cookbooks called the CopyCatCookbooks. These books helped me learn all the best kept secret recipes behind all my favorite fast food and restaurant dishes. I’m talking about awesome identical recreations of dishes from restaurants and fast food joints such as

John's Pizzeria at Times Square

What would fantastic New York food be without its’ famous pretzels, bagels, and deli sandwiches, and my personal favorite, New York style pizza. At almost every corner, you can find good, thin crusted, handmade pizzas, claiming that they’re the best in town. However, despite all these claims, I decided to treat myself to possibly one of the best pizzas near Times Square called John’s Pizzeria. This overcrowded, loud, and bustling pizzeria serves up some mouth-watering brick oven, New York style pizza. The moment you walk in, you are greeted by a huge swarm of people…no not the employees, but other hungry restaurant guests. You then get a number, which will probably make you wait from anywhere between 40-120 minutes. However, thankfully, the waiting area is right near

New York City Part 1

I've just recently came back from New York City this past weekend, and I must say that I had a great time. I finally got to see the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Plaza, I watched the Rockettes Christmas Special at Radio City Hall, I visited Dylan's Candy Bar, I saw Times Square for the first time, and I enjoyed possibly the best fresh, brick oven, thin crust pizza I've ever had in my life.  My next post about my experience at John's Pizzeria is coming soon so be on the lookout. Below, you will get a little taste of what I saw during my trip. Enjoy!

Korean Style Pork Belly

After craving some home-made Korean food for the past few weeks, my dream finally came true a few nights ago when I came home for the weekend from college.  My mom surprised me with my favorite meal, grilled pork belly, or in Korean, samgyeopsal.  This is commonly served as an evening meal and consists of thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat, which is quite similar to uncured bacon. Now to some of you this may seem unappetizing at first, but believe me, it is very tasty. For such a simply prepared dish, it truly is jam packed with bold flavors. This meal can be easily prepared from just about anywhere and it needs little to no preparation. You can honestly go to your local supermarket, buy a pack of fresh pork belly, and throw it on the hibachi grill without even having to worry about seasoning or marinading it.  Below you will find some photos of all the elements that helped make my Korean style pork belly meal so delicious. Enjoy!

Cupcake Heaven?

I love cupcakes, especially those from Georgetown Cupcake. Now although my second experience wasn't as mind blowing as my first, it still was very good.  At this moment, Georgetown Cupcakes are featuring new holiday flavors like gingerbread, pumpkin spice, and peppermint chocolate cupcakes. So if you want to try some unique holiday flavors, be sure to stop by Georgetown Cupcake during this month.

To read my post about my first experience at Georgetown Cupcake, just follow the link: Georgetown Cupcake

Washington DC Vacations

Papa Razzi: A Modern Trattoria

After another routine stop to one of my favorite bakeries, Georgetown Cupcake, a few friends and I decided to enjoy a nice dinner at an Italian Restaurant called Papa Razzi. Now from the first impression, I was quite impressed by the restaurant because it had a very interesting set up and atmosphere. The restaurant was very dim with many dark accents throughout.  Possibly the best feature about the restaurant was the upper seating area because it was very open, and it offered nice views of the city scene. Now in terms of food, I must say that I was quite unimpressed. Maybe it was because I ordered a chicken risotto with mushroom and onions at a pasta place, but it just didn’t create that wow factor that I crave whenever I eat out. Even after trying some of their famous hand made pastas that my friends had, I didn’t feel like it differed from any other Italian that I would get elsewhere.  In terms of service, our waitress was very kind and social, with the occasional conversation here and there. Overall, this restaurant offered a great atmosphere, but the food was not as impressive as I would have hoped. However, I would go back and try something different just to make sure my experience wasn’t subpar because of a poor entrée choice.

College Kid Budget: $$

Washington DC Vacations