Hi All! I know I’ve been a little slow in my writing the last few weeks and today I decided to take it in another direction and talk about one, or two, or ten of my vices.. Yes, I admit to a number of them. Obviously you all know by now that food is pretty much the numero uno for me, but trust me when I say I have quite a few others. Let’s dig in, shall we?

1. Food as a whole. I love it and I can never have enough of it. I have a very close friend who doesn’t share my passion for food and sees it as a necessity to live. I, on the other hand, see it as a necessity to survive but in the most enjoyable way possible. I derive so much happiness from food, I would be lost at sea if it were to disappear from my life.

2. Strawberry shortcake. And we’re talking the kind with the actual shortcake and not the sponge cakes. I like the real stuff folks, adding little bit of almond extract to my whipped cream to give it that little umpf (kudos to my sister Jena for giving me this idea), and making sure the strawberries are macerated just enough where they have a little firmness left but have become the most juicy and sweet topping to contrast the buttery piece of shortcake. This, my dear readers, is one form of heaven for me.

3. Chicken Wings. I could probably eat my weight in chicken wings on any given day. Slathered in buffalo sauce, or honey gold BBQ, or grilled or covered in a great dry rub… it doesn’t matter… I’ll eat them any way I can. Here are a few of my favorite spots for the, in my opinion, the best wings:

• My picks for Buffalo or Honey Hot’s check out http://www.buffspubofnewton.com/
• For Honey Gold BBQ dirt wings check out http://www.jtimothys.com/menus.php
• If you’re craving more of a dry rub my two go-to’s are http://www.elicannons.com/index.html and the monster wings at http://www.sweetcheeksq.com/meet-the-fam/the-restaurant/
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4. S’mores. I grew up camping for a week every summer, and one of my fondest (and tastiest) memories is making s’mores. I remember the older kids teaching me how to hold my stick just right in the fire so as not to burn my marshmallow, and to have the rest of the accoutrements ready to smoosh it between two graham crackers with s square of Hershey’s chocolate. And while I may not camp every summer anymore, I still have been known to make them over an open fire at my parents’ house, or in the over should I have a desperate craving. And if you too are a fan, but don’t like making them go to The Gallows (http://www.thegallowsboston.com/) and pray they have the dessert that is a variation of the s’more, but with peanut butter and layered in. Your mind? Yup, it just got blown.

4. French Fries. I love me some hot, salty french fries. I love them plain with ketchup for dipping, or tossed in seal salt and rosemary, maybe dusted with truffle oil and parmesan, or completely smothered in a poutine style. I mean seriously, is there anyone out there that DOESN’T like fries?

5. Burgers. I have regaled myself as somewhat of a burger connoisseur in previous posts, and I still stick by that. Sometimes there is nothing I crave more than a mid-rare burger with the simplest of toppings- lettuce, tomato, red onion, and ketchup. But other times I might want some aioli, or pickled onions, or a great cheddar, or bacon and BBQ sauce. Either way, on my worst days I know a burger can cure any blues I might have. A few of my favorite burgers spots here in Beantown include:

• Craigie on Main http://www.craigieonmain.com/
• The Gallows http://www.thegallowsboston.com/
• The hamburguesas at Toro http://toro-restaurant.com/boston/
• JM Curley http://jmcurleyboston.com/

6. Chinese Food. For the majority of my life, since starting on solid food as a baby, I have had a deep love for Chinese Food. And I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I even love the variation that comes from the mall. Hi, my name is Julie Jakubiec, and I love mall Chinese food (the first step is admitting you have a problem right?). I’m also very ashamed to admit that every time I get Chinese I am pretty much guaranteed to over order. My sister, brother in law, and myself have been known to hit our favorite spot in Boston’s China Town (Gourmet Dumpling House, and if you don’t know now you know) and completely indulge in all things delicious. Our go-to’s are the soup dumplings, the crab rangoon, salt and pepper calamari, the garlic sautéed greens or spinach, and the eggplant with spicy basil sauce… not to mention the additional items we are sure to tack onto the order. And at the end of the meal we lean back in our chairs and are blissfully happy, but painfully full for the next 12 hours or so.

7. Accessories. Ok, ok I know this is a food blog but come on ladies you know you love to accessorize yourself too. I have become quite the fan of Bauble Bar http://www.baublebar.com/, Gorjana and Griffin http://www.gorjana-griffin.com/, and Etsy these days. I have no shame in the fact that I buy something new pretty much every two weeks, don’t judge me. But there is something I absolutely love when getting ready to go out to dinner, about putting on my jaguar bangle, and a great necklace.

Ok, so there’s a short list to get things started. I would love to hear from you all on your vices and maybe give those a whirl as well.

Bon appetit!