National Cheesecake Day!

What a close contest!!! The #1 and #2 commentor separated by just a few seconds!!!

Congratulations Rafael for being the FIRST person to share your favorite cheesecake flavor!

Please email financefoodie [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address so I can send you your prize!

And don't forget to enter my Au Bon Pain gift card giveaway, winners will be chosen on Aug 8th using a random number generator (so the last entry could even be a winner!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Who moved my cheese?..."

Thursday, July 30, is National Cheesecake Day and the The Cheesecake Factory's participation in the beloved event.

TWIST Ravioli Scrubby

Welcome to Finance Foodie Presents: Pioneering Products. These series brings you the exclusive 411 at the new and cool products that have recently come into the marketplace! 

 

“Let's get dirrty..”

Now as many of you know, I am a terrible cook. During the few occasions where I attempted to cook, the only things I managed to make were small fires and large messes. Luckily (or maybe strangely), I find it rather calming to clean up these messes – in fact, nothing makes me happier than seeing a sparkling countertop and cupboard full of neatly stacked shiny dishes and pans (I’m going to make a great wife one day, minus the not cooking part)!

Since I am a sucker for cool kitchen cleaning aids, imaging my excitement when I discovered the Ravioli Scrubby from TWIST! A kitchen sponge made to look like food…how ironically awesome! This hemp burlap pouch is filled with a biodegradable sponge and it does an awesome job in clearing off baked on (or in my case, burnt) food. And it’s an eco-friendly product – tough on stains but friendly to the Earth.I later found out at my local Whole Foods that TWIST makes a whole slew of food inspired cleaning products (i.e. Dish Dumpling, Sponge Cake, etc.)…witty! The products are a bit more expensive than your generic sponge from Wal-Mart, but well worth the investment (plus they are just so darn cute!).

To see more TWIST products, check out their website at www.twistclean.com

Au Bon Pain Gift Card Giveaway!

CONGRATS to #3 and #32, Shirley and Stoner!!!!
Please email me at financefoodie [at] gmail [dot] com with your contact info and address so I can send you your prize!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On many days, my biggest motivation for not hitting that snooze button is the thought of a tall cup of hot (or iced – weather depending) coffee served with a toasted corn muffin from the Au Bon Pain. Lucky for me, there is an Au Bon Pain at every block corner in Boston, so I’m never far from a “morning motivator.”

Interesting Italian: Tavolo Ristorante Boston

By: Paola Mesadieu

Going to dinner with a bunch of food bloggers can be quite an experience. Aside from all of the cameras flashing and the scribbling sounds of bloggers’ jotting down their notes in between each bite, I’d say this is a great way to dine in Boston. Chris Lyons of Chris Lyons Communications, organized last week’s Bloggers Dinner at Tavolo Ristorante in Dorchester. With 25 years in the PR business, Lyons has found that hosting these dinners for foodies is a win-win situation for both bloggers and restaurant owners.

In the case of Tavolo’s Ristorante, the owners wanted to get the word out about their unique dinner menu. In addition to their pizzas and pastas, Chef/Owner Chris Douglass and Chef Maxwell Thompson are cooking up some interesting combinations that highlight the different specialties of Italian cuisine. Our five-course dinner started consisted of:

Watermelon Salad – feta, lemon, herbs

Music to My Ears: One Kendall Square Music Lab Boston

By: Marico "Mari" Corbin

A stream of jazzy notes and raspy lyrics float up to my ears as I approach the One Kendall Square Music Lab last Wednesday. The band, 3rd Left, is the featured entertainment for the evening. Hailing from Plymouth, MA, the rock and jazz inspired four-man ensemble creates the perfect mood for an evening of food, drinks, and mingling.

Getting Old School at Delmonico's New York

By: Ethan Shen

As I walked up to the door of Delmonico’s I couldn’t help humming the opening theme to Wall-E.
“We’ll see the shows, at Delmonico’s, and we’ll close the town in a whirl!” Turns out, it’s no coincidence, Delmonico’s is the oldest fine dining restaurant in America and has been open since 1837, more than enough time to earn its honorific place in some song lyrics. But we’re not here for nostalgia, we’re here to be fed.

Fancy Food Show 2009 in New York

By: Eleonora Herdean

The Fancy Food Show at the Javits Convention Center is massive, filled to the brim with hundreds of thousands of products from all over the world. It was so exciting, I didn't know where to begin!

After drinking a little too much Australian wine, I "stumbled" into the amazing Chocolove booth. Ooh chocolate and wine! How much better can it get? Besides the chocolate being yummy goodness, each of the wrappers included a different poem inscribed by a famous poet. What a great gift to your sweety pie!

Now, sticking to the wine and chocolate theme, I cannot think of a better way to enjoy vanilla ice cream than to top it off with champagne mint chocolate sauce! Whoever came up with this is genius!

I had an amazing time and wish I could have stopped by every booth, but my journey stops here. I wish you all the best wine and chocolate dreams.....

For more highlights, check out my guest post about the Fancy Food Show on Grace's blog, GraceNotesNYC!

And for more pictures, please click here