Ω the hoofprint december 18, 2013
The holidays are like a chain reaction COMPILED BY CAROLINE HUANG, EMILY CHEN, LISA SHEN, SABRINA WAN, AND MEGAN WU
Chain restaurants everywhere offer unique holiday specials this season.
iHOP: Eggnog Pancakes An aroma of warm maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg garnished on a fresh batch of buttery hot pancakes. That’s the smell of the holiday season at iHOP. It has a generous layer of eggnog cream between the pancakes.
McDonald’s: Holiday Pie Filled with custard and topped with a pinch of sprinkles, it looks and tastes great. The top layer of the crust is firm, albeit a little bland, to a good measure. Although a little lacking in flavor, the Holiday Pie is a a pleasant delight.
Chick-fil-A: Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake Chick-fil-a’s holiday-themed shake blends the chain’s fantastic “Icedream” ice cream with their featured peppermint syrup and dark chocolate. The treat has whipped cream and a red cherry on top.
Starbucks: Caramel Brulée This drink is a little too sweet for me and left me craving water. Despite this, it is rich and creamy. Topped with cream and sprinkled with brown sugar, this drink will definitely bring sweetaholics the holiday cheer!
Panera: Holiday Bread This dessert is a loaf about a foot long, baked to a golden brown and drizzled in icing. It’s stuffed with applecinnamon filling and topped with crumb topping, raisins, and chocolate chips. It’s a great treat to share with friends and family.
Yogurtland: Cinnamon Roll The seemingly odd combination of summer and winter desserts creates a sweet and savory flavor that resembles the holiday pastry in a unique way. However, it has an unpleasant aftertaste that ended my appetite for more.
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The science of Creamistry 3972 Barranca Pkway Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 777-6627
Creamistry offers lighter yet a creamier form of ice cream. Jacqueline Sotoodeh Tech team Ice cream isn’t something I expect much variety out of - but at Creamistry, I found a completely unique form of ice cream, much lighter and creamier than your typical sweet treat. The decor is simple and modern, and the appearance of the shop itself would make a customer eager to walk in and try this store’s product. You find smoke from machines that you wouldn’t expect to be used in an ice cream store. The idea of chemistry is constantly emphasized in all their decorations, from pictures on the wall to the menu’s decorations. The amount of flavors and combinations is a little overwhelming at first, but it’s simply just choosing your
favorite flavors and putting it all into a delicious treat. I decided to choose the organic vanilla bean flavor with bananas and marshmallow cream, a combination of my favorite flavor, favorite fruit, and the tastiest-sounding PHOTOS BY JACQUELINE SOTOODEH topping. When I first received the ice cream, it appeared ordinary, like anything I Though the amount of toppings could buy from Baskin Robbins, but is limited, the ice cream tastes good the taste and texture were completely with or without more flavors. Despite new. Each bite melted into my mouth the pretty long drive it took to arrive in a light yet creamy way that I very at Creamistry, the treat I received after much enjoyed. was definitely worth the wait. Ω
Going green with One Veg World 178 S Glendora Ave West Covina, CA 91790 (626) 917-2727
Looking for something lighter to eat for a change? “One Veg World” offers a variety of vegan food at an affordable price. Nikita Patel Staff writer Before digging into my usual plate of some sort of meat and potatoes, I tend to feel a kind of regret over the lack of greens in my diet. If you’re anything like me, you’d soon dismiss the thought before tearing at the meat. So when I found out about One Veg World, an all-vegan restaurant and grocery store, I was certainly pleased and quite surprised with the opportunity to try some more foods that weren’t of the meat variety. Behind the Edwards Cinema in Covina, One Veg World holds a variety of vegan-friendly selections ranging from a zesty curry to a hot bowl of pho. While I do admit that the restaurant was a bit on the small size, it still seemed very open, clean, and fresh. I was quite happy with the recently revised menu as it offered a diverse variety of foods without being too overwhelming like the previous menu. Curious with a vegan restaurant’s take on chicken drumsticks, I ordered the B.B.Q. drumsticks while my parents got a simple bruschetta. I wasn’t too surprised when the bruschetta, a flavorful mix of herbs and diced tomatoes laid on a soft bun, tasted amazing. What did surprise me,
however, was the creative innovation and tangy savoriness of the B.B.Q. drumsticks. Essentially, one drumstick was a piece of tofu slathered in slightly sweet barbeque sauce and skewered on a short piece of sugar cane. Even though I enjoyed eating the drumsticks, a bitter aftertaste would always persist in reminding me that it wasn’t really chicken. An imbalance of sweetness came up in the desserts we ordered. To wrap up our dinner, my brother ordered a scoop of chocolate ice cream without
PHOTOS BY NIKITA PATEL
peanuts and I got myself a slice of coco-ana cake, chocolate cake topped with banana frosting and coconut shavings. The vegan ice cream tasted off and incomplete, similar to diet ice cream. Since there was nothing to balance the sugar, the chocolate ice cream tasted a tad too sweet. For a restaurant that uses no dairy or meat products, One Veg World does a very good job. Yet while my stomach was satisfied from all of the food, my mouth and brain still felt hungry for more. Ω
WHO KNEW VEGETABLES COULD TASTE SO GOOD (FROM CLOCKWISE): The restaurant’s decoration follows a comfortable tropical theme. | Toasted french bread with flavorful tomato bruschetta. | A veggie burger with a vegetable patty served with fries and sauce.