Is it Macaron or Macaroon?

Today, May 31st, is National Macaroon Day! Now that's not to confuse National Macaron Day on March 20th.

So what is the difference between macaroons and macarons? Is there really a difference or is it just another way to spell the tasty treat?

First, let's simply define each one: a macaroon is a lightly-baked meringue-like cookie. A macaron is a sweet meringue-based confection in a sandwich-like presentation. Both the English word macaroon and French word macaron are derived from the italian maccaronem, meaning crush or beat. This is due to the key ingredient for both pastries being crushed almonds. Although they share this common ingredient, the only other ingredient they share are egg whites. The rest of the mixture is what separates the sweet from the rich, and the smooth from the crumbly.

The macaroon is most popular as coconut flavored, a lighter and crumbly snack to a person's dessert palette. The macaron is much more sweet, usually more tastier-looking by the variety or colors (food coloring) to match the many flavors (from chocolate to pistachio).

So I guess we can say that the macaroon and macaron are cousins. Needless to say, go out and buy yourself a tasty treat and happy National Macaroon Day!

Palm Springs Restaurant Week Starts Tomorrow!

Got any plans this weekend? The Palm Springs Desert Resort is hosting Restaurant Week starting tomorrow!

Enjoy delicious meals from over 80 participating restaurants, explore amazing trails/sight-seeing excursions, and relax at exclusive spas, resorts and country clubs in the beautiful Palm Springs.

For more information check out: Palm Springs Restaurant Week Official Site

Make the Most of May

The final few days of the month of May is upon us. Have you been able to celebrate any food holidays this month?

Some May food holidays include:
National Orange Juice Day - 4
International No Diet Day - 6
National Shrimp Day - 10
National Chocolate Chip Day -15
National Wine Day - 25

May is also National Barbecue Month AND National Hamburger Month!

How awesome has this month been for foodies?

As we celebrate our remaining days of May, Wiki How has a great 'How To Celebrate National BBQ Month' article. See if you can do a few!

Celebrate National Barbecue Month

So warm up your grill, toss in a couple of franks and beef patties, slab some bbq sauce on that rack of ribs and enjoy the sunshine and (almost) start of the summer!

Happy National Wine Day!

May 25 is National Wine Day.

I'm raising my glass to all of you bloggers, foodies, friends and strangers out there who read our blog. Thank you!

When I turned 21, the first thing I wanted to ever taste was wine. I watched so many films when I was younger and noticed how sophisticating, social and just plain happy gatherings were when people were sipping wine and chatting merrily. So I figured something had to be up with wine. Even growing up and going to church on Sundays, wine was something sacred. So since my 21st birthday, I discovered, experienced and shared the wine I tasted and the foods I paired it with. I still can't ever remember what to pair the exact wine with the food I eat, but that's what my friend Matt is for - my personal wine aficionado. The only rules I ever remembered were to pair white wines with white meat, seafood and light food and pair red wines with red and dark meat or heavy meals. But when you're a wine enthusiast like my friend Matt, there are certain wines for every food. Here's a nice chart to refer to when you want to pair your wines this three day weekend.

For a larger view of this image click here

Whether you drink alone or with friends this National Wine Day and for the rest of the weekend, here's to you. Thanks for reading and have a great memorial weekend. Cheers!

What Free Food Can You Get On Your Birthday? DishClips and ChaCha are here to help!

What's the best gift you can ever receive on your birthday at any age??? Ok, well besides love...

Why, FREE FOOD of course!

A cake has been a symbol of celebration for birthdays, parties and big feasts usually associate with this every person holiday, and everyone loves it. Even restaurants.

Many people know that some restaurants will offer free dessert on a person's birthday and red robin gives you a free burger on your special day. Whenever I go to a restaurant with a celebrant, I just pass it by our waiter that it's someone's birthday and 70% of the time the restaurant has something in store for birthdays.

Thanks to ChaCha, here are some famous restaurants that know the importance of your special day and they want to celebrate with you if you come in to their eatery.

 From free drinks to even a $30 gift certificate, enjoy your special day whenever it is!

Free Birthday Food Restaurants: http://www.chacha.com/gallery/5795/what-free-food-can-you-get-on-your-birthday

What Are Your Memorial Day Plans?

The best thing about Memorial day, aside from the fact that we observe the holiday for the men and women who passed away while serving in the United States Armed Services, is that it is celebrated on the last Monday of May. And for some reason from that day forth, everybody just cannot wait for summer.

From Barbeques to picnics to the beach to the park, Memorial day is the perfect get together as a 'start of summer hurrah!' And for those of you who soak up the sun early or have evening gatherings, there are sure to be sales in most stores for Memorial day Monday (some even for the entire weekend!).

So expect this weekend to be packed full of events in your neighborhood.

Check out your local chamber of commerce, city website, city hall, the local newspaper, or even event sites like Yelp, Meetup. EventBrite and others.

As always, Twitter, Facebook and other social sites are great starters. Having fun with friends during the three-day weekend seems like what I'm going to do this weekend!

Taco Tuesday Time

It's Tuesday and that usually means one thing: Taco Tuesday!

So, where do you go for Taco Tuesday? Same place all the time or do you like to cross off different taco shops on your foodie list?

Personally for me, I've got go-to's if I want to just enjoy the weekly thing. But if I were to go out with friends or coworkers, I'd change it up a bit and probably find a new place to go to.

IF we were in San Diego, I wouldn't need a map or a list to tell you where to get the best tacos. But since I moved to the OC, this was a new territory. So what do I use as a foodie list? The OC Taco Tuesday Finder. It shows every eatery/restaurant in OC with their Taco Tuesday deals.

So I'm going to pass it on to anyone who wants to change up their Taco Tuesday routines from time to time.

http://ocstandard.com/OC_Taco_Tuesday_Finder.html

I'd love to hear where you guys love to go for Taco Tuesdays though so please share with me. I always love discovering new eats!

Finals Week Fuel

It's that time of year again. Finals week has come upon us. I remember when I was in school I'd practically live on campus for the week of finals. I think at one point I brought a toothbrush and left it in my purse when I'd stay overnight and go home at 5 or 6 in the morning. Nevertheless, our campus wouldn't have much eateries open, the only real option was Denny's or a 24-hour Starbucks. But you can only handle so much of it. Except there were those times when food trucks like Kogi would drop by the campus.

I would only find out when Kogi would drop by via Twitter; then I found this website that helped me find even more food trucks around or see where my favorite food trucks were on real time. So this is my finals gift to all of you students studying for finals. We need to fuel up to have the perfect amount of energy for those finals.

Check out http://roaminghunger.com/OC for the food trucks that drop by late night for your finals schedule.

Good luck on finals and congratulations to the 2013 graduates!

NoHo Dine Out Fridays

TGIF! Got any plans tonight?

To my Los Angeles Foodies, the NoHo dine out Fridays is still happening.

This event is located at 11458 Burbank Blvd, just west of Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood.

Admission is free. You can enjoy a variety of gourmet food trucks and local Holiday Boutique tables. Dine with your neighbors and friends and share your foodie tips and ideas with others.

See you there!

Splach LA Competition Update

WE only need 20 more votes to make it to the next round of the Splash LA Competition. Please visit this link and vote for DishClips, then share it with your friends and family.

If DishClips is able to win this competition, we will be able to:
-Jump start the restaurant portal to promote deals and specials from your favorite eateries
-Possibly start the planning stages of the Android platform
-Provide more rewards and future versions of the current iPhone application

Last Minute Mother's Day Ideas

Mother's day is just two days away and I have to admit, I have not found time to get my mom anything on her special day. I searched online for many last minute gift ideas and frankly, this article was the most helpful and creative. So I want to share that with you.

Last-Minute Mother's Day Gift Ideas That Mom Will Actually Appreciate (from the Huffington Post) http://huff.to/179By4q

The jar of compliments is genius. My mom loves that I get creative with things and she'll surely love that. I can't thank her enough for everything she's doing for me.

I also need to figure out where to take my mom to eat or what to make her. Since I'm a food lover, this is actually more important to me than an actual gift. My mom taught me so much about cooking and food that she's a huge part of why it's a passionate thing to me. In the past, these were my best meal ideas for Mother's day:

• Breakfast in bed - who doesn't love that? Wake up earlier than mom and whip up some pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast-- the whole nine yards! Make some fresh juice or pour her a glass of iced tea to go with it. If you have a garden outside, pick out a flower and add it to the side of the breakfast tray to add style.
• Breakfast for dinner - at my house, this is a big deal. We never really ate together as a family in the mornings since we had different schedules, but my mom always had us eat dinner as a family. So from time to time we'd have breakfast for dinner to have a feel of breakfast as a family.
• Make her favorite meal for dinner - anything homemade will truly make a mother smile. ANYTHING. It's the thought that counts.
• Take her to her favorite restaurant - you can't go wrong with that. My mom loves Marie Calender but we only go on her birthday. Why not go twice a year on Mother's Day too?
• Take her to a place she's never been but have always wanted to go or you would think she loves
• Take her to a place that reminds her of home (If you don't currently live in your mom's hometown) - My mom is from the Philippines so she loves it when we find a nice filipino restaurants nearby. Whenever she eats there, it reminds her so much of home (and I know she misses it).

So many things to choose from, but I think I have an idea about my mom's mother's day meal. Well, I hope you all have a lovely Mother's day with your mom's!

Angeli

Vator Entrepreneur Competition

Hey bloggers!

DishClips needs your help! Vote for our company to send us to the 2nd round of competition! 

With this opportunity, DishClips would have a window of options to move forward:
-User Portals (on website)
-Restaurant Portals (on website)
-Newer iPhone Versions
-And Possibly Get Started On the Android Platform!

So please vote! http://vator.tv/company/dishclips

Thanks!

Eat For A Cause!

We all love to eat, that's why we're foodies. So why not do something good while you eat? For those of you who love to dine out or enjoy fine wine, have I got an event for you.

The Trey Curry Foundation will host its sixth annual Vine to Wine benefit this Friday May 10, 2013 at the Regent in Riverview, Florida. More details below:

What: Vine to Wine Benefit Fundraiser
When: Friday May 10, 2013
Time: 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Where: The Regent 6437 Watson Road Riverview, FL 33578

Gourmet chef Dave West and his team will cater to the event, as fine wines will be provided by Premier Beverage.

All revenue earned from ticket sales and a silent auction will go to A Kid's Place in Brandon, FL, a shelter for children who have been victims of domestic violence and neglect.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://patch.com/E-xq86

New Blogs Coming Your Way

Hey bloggers! Angeli here. There's going to be some new changes with the DishClips blog.

-First, we will be blogging almost every day about the latest news in the foodie scene.
-From time to time I'll write a feature blog on writing experiences, but I would love to share with you all the great events going on in different food communities.
-We are in the works to integrate this blog to our official site, www.dishclips.com

Watch out as I share with you future food events, food holidays, fun facts, interesting articles, How-to's and much more!

Happy Eating,
Angeli


Don't forget to download the newest version of the DishClips app, available now on the Apple app store or click this link to download now: http://dishclips.com/download