Ultra Violet Mt. Dew

I like the color purple just as much as I like a good sale, so when I spotted Mt. Dew's new Ultra Violet on sale I decided to try it. The pop is really pretty - a light lavender color in the bottle. But when I poured it into my glass all the fizz and bubbles turned a sky blue color. Disturbing.

The taste? Not so great - much too sweet and syrupy for my liking. I couldn't drink the whole bottle.

Dear Mt. Dew,

Please bring Mt. Dew Throwback back.

Love,

Me.

Smak-Tak!

5961 N Elston Ave

Chicago, IL 60646

773.763.1123

www.smaktak.com

A cute and cozy, cabin atmosphere creates a comfortable setting for some good polish food at Smak-Tak on North Elston in Chicago. Jake and I have had to drive by this small restaurant a few times now, but yesterday it worked for us to stop in and have a bite to eat.

Smak-tak translates to Taste-Yes!

Jake ordered the special platter and I ordered the stuffed cabbage rolls (a favorite of Jake's family, called golumpkis in Polish, pronounced go-WHOMB-keys). They were quite tasty - the tomato sauce was nice and thick and coated the golumpkis just right.

We each received two side salads of coleslaw and warm shredded beets with onions, too. The coleslaw was more pickled tasting than traditional mayo-laced American coleslaw. Very refreshing after a warm afternoon. In fact, I bought some at our neighborhood polish grocery store tonight because I enjoyed it so much.

I hadn't realized how much of a role dill plays in Polish food. I can't say that I eat dill all that much, other than in pickle form, and that doesn't really ring true to the taste of fresh dill sprinkled on a cabbage salad or freshly mashed potatoes.

Angus Burgers

McDonald's doesn't top my list for places to grab a good burger. Until now. On a late night cruise with a friend he recommended I try McDonald's new 1/3lb. Angus Burgers. Up for a challenge, I accepted.

Verdict? The Mushroom Swiss Burger is good. Really good. It has mushrooms, swiss, and mayo on it, but we swore the mayo was enhanced somehow. Like... some sort of cream cheese mayo maybe? Maybe it was late night delirium - regardless - Ronald, you got my vote.

[Image from McDonald's]

She put in her thumb and pulled out a plum-a-granate...

“I am putting real plums into an imaginary cake.”

- Mary McCarthy (American novelist and critic,1912-1989)

Unfortunately no cakes, imaginary, or real, are being made today.

Plum is on the menu though - in the form of Snapple's "Plum-a-granate Diet Tea." I had it at work the other day, and it's really good. It's got more plum than pomegranate, but in my opinion, that's the way it should be. Try it!