Tricia: I'm a closeted foodie

Greetings viewers! Tricia here.

Confession #1: Bloggers used to annoy me.
I used to hate people who blogged about their life, experiences and their favorite breeds of cats. I found people who blogged to be people who stayed in like hermits, sitting in front of their computer and writing for hours discussing on where to get the best scrapbooking supplies and debating on who is hotter, RPatz or Taylor. But up until I read 2 of my friends' blogs this year, I realized how satisfying it is to record and share your thoughts on a particular subject on a site where people can follow and comment. And if they didn't give a crap about what was said, all they had to do was close the window and walk away. Freedom, people, is where it's at.

Confession #2: I'm a closeted foodie
I've lived in Ithaca for the past 6 years and it wasn't until I met Siddharth that I really ventured out in Ithaca (and later, outside of NY) to try cuisines and certain spices outside of my comfort zone. If you don't know me already, I'm a first generation Asian-American and my parents (especially my dad) rarely like to venture outside of the Chinese cuisine. I think it's because when they came to US for university, they missed authentic Chinese food so much that any chance for them to eat Chinese food, they would. (Although now these days, my dad is willing to eat any cuisine, as long as it's a buffet). My family would rarely go out for Italian food unless we're too lazy to cook rice and just wanted greasy pizza. I don't even think I tried a lasagna until I was in my teens! And spicy foods? You can FORGET ABOUT IT.

So when I entered university, I used my freedom to avoid Chinese food altogether. Besides experiencing an assortment of (cheap) beer, I sought out the many cuisines Ithaca had to offer: Thai, Greek, Indian, Mexican, South American, Moroccan, Korean, and the best of all, baked goods. (Ithaca Bakery is probably my happy place. Siddharth and I share the common love of flakey pastries, plump bagels and cookies galore.) Since then, I've always been up for trying something new and interesting, of course with limits. I don't think eating dog meat is appealing.

Confession #3: The food blog was MY idea
Ok, it's not really a confession, but I figure it would be a segue to tell my readers how this blog came about. It all started when I took my first picture of an interesting sushi dish I had at Shibuya. It was basically a seafood salad in a V-bottom glass bowl that was floating on top of a fishbowl with an actual fish! I was so surprised (mind you, I'm more use to carrots that are carved into fish shapes as garnishes in Chinese dishes) because it made me realize there is so much creativity that can be included into a simple delicious dish to make it more memorable. I'm all about the taste, but presentation and creativity usually take the cake. I shared this picture with my family and friends over the beautiful casinos I visited in Las Vegas. Now, most of my photos from my vacation are the foods I eat. Even my current computer background is a slide show of all the interesting dishes I've come across in 2 years.

Then, Food Network started airing a show called "The Best Thing I ever Ate" and I got hooked. I loved how all the famous TV personalities spent 30 minutes naming their most memorable dish in a certain category (i.e. spicy foods, BBQ, dessert, chocolate). Every episode I watched, I would imagine myself being on that show and naming my most memorable dish. And then I thought to myself, "why not just write them down?" So here it is, a blog naming the many memorable dishes I've had and where you can enjoy them yourself. Enjoy our listings of interesting and delicious dishes. And if you have any suggestions, agreements or disagreements, we welcome them. Keep our list going, eating is no longer a necessity but a luxury.

Siddharth: My passion for life and food

When I was growing up, food was something I took for granted. In my house, my mom made homecooked meals every night. Even though she cooked a lot of Indian food (my parents are both immigrants from South India), she also tried different sorts of foods too - American, Italian, Chinese, and more. My mom also loved to bake, so I was always treated to delicious desserts. For a long time, as a child, I thought this was how everyone had it. It wasn't really until high school that I realized how lucky I was. That was when my friends started coming over for dinner and events at our house, and they always went on about how great of a cook my mom was. I couldn't imagine another way of living, but I was soon to be faced with a harsh reality: I was headed to college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Eastern NY (a 7-hr drive from where I grew up in NW Ohio), and I would no longer be coming home to meals cooked by my mother! What was I going to do?

My first year at RPI was tough - I ate cafeteria food everyday, and I hated it. I started eating really unhealthy foods, as these were the only things I liked in the cafeteria: belgian waffle with Ice Cream and a side of fries for dinner was not unusual for me (I still have a tremendous love of junk food, but back then it became primary sustenance!). After that experience, I knew I had to learn to cook for myself. As a sophomore I moved off campus into an apartment, and fending for myself in terms of food began. I started slow: I used 4-ingredient cookbooks and followed simple recipes that my mom e-mailed me. As time went on, I slowly got better and better, and I tried more sophisticated recipes. By the time I was a senior, all of my friends were eager to eat my cooking, and I was widely considered the "chef" in our two floor apartment of 6 guys. After graduating RPI and coming to grad school at Cornell, I continued to broaden my culinary horizons. Now, no recipe scares me (except baking - I still leave that to my mom and Tricia!), and I develop a lot of my own recipes. I have a great feel for food, and I typically have house parties of 10 or more people each month, where I cook and serve multiple course meals for my friends. Everyone enjoys the food, and I really enjoy making food for everyone.

I think things have come full circle: my mom always cooked for others because she liked to, not because she had to. This is how I am now: I have found that food is something that brings us all together, and it is really important to me and how I live my life. Tricia, who I met 2 years ago, has learned to share my passion for food, and together we make our free time, weekends, and vacations centered on food (cooking and eating!). Tricia has developed into quite a baker herself! So here, we share with you what we create and what we consume. We'll give you recipes, details of places we ate, and even comprehensive reviews of local places in Ithaca. We hope that the food we share here will become something that you can enjoy with your family friends as well!

View our Photos

We hope that you enjoy all of the pictures we include. We are trying to become the best food photographers that we can be. If you want to see all of our photos from the blog plus more from our travels, please visit our flickr photostream.