Serendipity & Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

Who's seen the movie Serendipity?? So cutesy and romantic. Did you know that they have a restaurant called Serendipity 3 in Las Vegas? It's right in front of Caeser's Palace. (Yelp)

Katie, Andrew, and I went there on our last day in Vegas. Tyler had a coupon for a free Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, their specialty drink, if you ordered a certain amount of food. Between the three two of us, it was a great little treat on that hot day (Andrew only had one sip, Katie and I guzzled the rest down).

After decades of keeping their frrrozen hot chocolate recipe a secret, like Bush's Baked Beans, they released it to Oprah. Of course!

You'll need:

1/2 ounce of Chocolate (bittersweet, semisweet, milk - you choose)

2 t Hot Chocolate Mix

1 1/2 T Sugar

1 1/2 C Milk

3 C Ice

Whipped Cream

Chocolate Shavings

1. Chop the chocolate into teensy pieces, then use a double boiler to melt it.

2. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar, stir until melted.

3. Take it off the heat and SLOWLY add 1/2 cup of milk. Continue stirring and then - hardest part - let it sit and cool to room temp! Resist the urge to drink.

4. When it's cool, put the remaining cup of milk, the mixture you made above, and the ice into a blender. Blend it on a high speed and when it's all smooth and delicious looking, pour it into your favorite goblet. 

5. Top it with whipped cream and chocolate shavings!

If you decide to order one at the REAL restaurant you'll be indulging in a concoction that blends 20 different kinds of chocolate into an icy, rich cocoa flavor. 20 different kinds?? That's crazy!

Add 3 straws and it will look like the one we had...

While eating our food we looked over and saw a tiny man eating this ENORMOUS French Toast LOG. Look at the size of one of the eggs for comparison purposes. It was HUGE! $15 for bacon, sunny side up eggs, breakfast potatoes, fresh berries, whipped cream, and a foot long of French Toast!

And the guy ate the entire thing....

Katie and I split The Summer Bries ($16) - a turkey sandwich, served open-faced on a raisin pumpernickel bun with apples, cranberry mayo and brie. (LOTS of brie FYI). The sandwiches all come with a side of sweet potato fries.

31 Cent Scoop Night Recap

It probably seems like ages ago when Baskin Robbins had the MOSTunFREAkinBELIEVEABLE deal ever... And yes, I do still daydream about that glorious day... but it is never too late to look at pictures and celebrate the short, but sweet, life of the 31 cent cone.

I had no idea what to order! They gave everyone the option of buying three $0.31 cones. So technically you could snag a triple scoop beauty for under a buck! I bought two scoops (to start). Tyler, Max, Maren, and I ate our yummy cones at a nearby comic book store. So precious, right?

I hopped in my car and began driving home... I called Kerry on the way and asked her if it would be completely barbaric of me to stop at the Seaside Baskin Robbins location to get more ice cream. There were two flavors I still wanted - coffee and chocolate/peanut butter. At first Kerry was on the no-don't train (which was why I called her, so she could talk some sense into me), but I eventually said "screw it," and convinced her that it would be okay because the scoops are just so small!

I'm glad I stopped! At this location the Seaside Fire Department was behind the counter serving the scoops! They parked their big red fire truck outside of the store and a few non-scooping firemen were there supporting the cause. I snapped the picture (below) of a retired fireman whose son (left) was serving me my ice cream. All the profits went to the National Fallen Firefighters Association.

On the organization's website it reads: "The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and Baskin-Robbins would like to thank everyone who participated in the Annual 31 Cent Scoop Night held on April 28, 2010 to benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and local fire service organizations nationwide... This year's event was a tremendous success; Millions of ice cream scoops were served in support of our firefighting heroes across the U.S. ... We would like to thank all of the fire service organizations that came out to support the event. Almost 700 partnerships were created between local Baskin-Robbins shops and fire service organizations." 

So GLAD I could help! Anytime, really.

Side note: 4 scoops of ice cream!!!!! WAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

31-Cent Scoop Night at Baskin Robbins

Tonight, Wednesday April 28th, from 5pm until 10pm you can get $0.31 cent cones from Baskin Robbins! This event has been in my astrononomy calendar for a few weeks now and I'm stoked that it is finally here! 2.5 ounces of yummy ice cream that's been perfected since the 1940s (thank you sophomore year decades project). $100,000 of proceeds will go to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

All you need is a nickel, quarter, and penny! I'll be going there straight after work!

There are two locations within a 10 mile radius of the 93955 zipcode:

1. 1534d Freemont Blvd. Seaside, CA 93955
2. 406 Lighthouse Ave. Monterey, CA 93940

Last Chance Mercantile

As I was driving home (Seaside) from home (San Jose) I made the impromptu decision to find the Marina Dump. As part of the Green Team at work, I go to bi-weekly meetings and help plan the Green Fair (April 15th).





At the last meeting, somebody mentioned Last Chance Mercantile (14201 Del Monte Boulevard, Marina). It is a store near the dump that sells random items for ridiculously cheap prices. Basically - the last chance to purchase these items before they end up like the brave little toaster or his blankey friend.

I remembered hearing that it was near the Dole Factory, so I turned off at Marina's Del Monte Blvd exit.

Dole's cooling, packaging, shipping facility

I got lost, so I pulled over and asked a farmer tending to his rideable lawn mower for directions. He kindly told me to turn around and make a left at the stop sign just past the Dole plant. I began to see signs for the landfill and waste management facility. Fancy terms for DUMP!

The drive into the dump was oddly beautiful. There were rolling green hills with blossoming wild flowers, towering trees with shadows that veiled the pavement, farmers in the distance piloting tractors and tilling their land. The most picturesque landfill access road I could possibly imagine. Before the gates of the slag heap, I turned right at the sign and parked in front of the Last Chance Mercantile.

LCM had sporting goods - lots of old golf clubs and balls, auto parts, clothes, books, mulch, compost, paints, bakeware, and more! I purchased measuring cups ($1), a nice glass serving platter ($1), five $1 tin trays, and one $2 tin tray that was a bit more intricate than the others. My total was a little over $9 after tax.

My dad agreed to help me turn my 6 platters into a cupcake stand. Can't wait to drill some holes through these babies! My cupcake stand will be one of a kind and look super duper snazzy! Snap!

LCM is a great place for DIY fanatics, bargain hunters, remodelers, or the unemployed. The resale shop has extremely affordable prices and, with a little imagination, you can turn trash to treasure. It would be fun to get together with friends, each contribute $2, and spend the remainder of your day building something crazy on a $10 budget. Yes? No? Any takers?

Operating hours:
Monday - Friday: 8 am to 5 pm
Saturday: 8 am to 4:30 pm
Sunday: Closed