Year 2, Day 188: Chinese Coffee

I'll just admit it. I have a soft spot for Chinese food. Growing up in New York, excellent Chinese Food (though I'll allow that maybe I didn't know what that was back then) was ubiquitous. You could not throw a chopstick without being able to find a great place. My family would go between a few different ones, I think Dynasty and Bruce Ho's. One was more dressy. I was shocked when I got to Boston (in 1983) at just how different the Chinese food was here. Though I was accustomed to things being deep fried I had never seen chicken wings OR chicken fingers on a menu. And to this day, I will never, ever understand why so many Massachusetts Chinese restaurants serve rolls. It is a real head scratcher. Through years of trial and error, I did find a few restaurants of acceptable quality, and Bernard's is one of them, though it is heartbreakingly hit and miss. Since my kids fell in love with boneless spareribs recently, Emily and I figured it would be a good "First Day of School" Dinner because we wouldn't have to cook and they'd be happy. Well, they really weren't in the mood, so naturally, the parents, worn out, ate them. I tried to be good and order more vegetables, but it's a little like trying to read when the TV is on. You can do it, but it's hard.

Breakfast
4 Slices of Black Forest Ham
1 Slice Balthazar Multi-Grain (Non-pan)
Green Tea

Snack
4 sticks Beef Jerky
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar

Lunch: Russo's ($4.92)
Red leaf, red onion, red pepper
mushrooms, broccoli, feta, chicken
balsamic vinegar

Dinner: Bernard's
Boneless Spareribs
Chicken Soong with Lettuce Leaves
Bok Choy
Jade Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

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Things You Don’t Know, Can’t Know and Don’t Want to Know

By MARIAN BURROS, The New York Times
Published: September 13, 2006
Make That a Skim Mocha

Your morning Starbucks latte may never seem as sweet again.

If you thought you were being nutritionally virtuous by stopping at Starbucks instead of McDonald’s, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says, “Wrong!’’

A venti — or 20-ounce — Caffè Mocha with whipped cream has 490 calories, equivalent to a Quarter Pounder with cheese. And a 24-ounce Java Chip Frappuccino with whipped cream has 650 calories, not to mention almost an entire day’s allowance of saturated fat.

According to the center, a nutritional advocacy group, the Frappuccino is equivalent in calories to a McDonald’s coffee plus 11 of their creamers and 29 packets of sugar.