Today I went to go pick up some kaffir lime leaves for my penang curry. I went to A Chau on Niagara street and the guy working the counter told me they weren't allowed to sell them anymore, in fact nobody in town could. Naturally I didn't believe him. So I went to the Niagara St. Asian Market which is only a block away and asked for them and was told the FDA banned them 3 months ago. Apparently they will be fined $10,000 if they are caught selling them! $10,000 for some fucking leaves??? It's bad enough I can't get fresh mangosteens(easily) or durian in this country, but now my lime leaves too?? I am seriously planning a trip to Canada just so I can smuggle a stash of this stuff. Fuck the FDA! I am going to be a one issue voter this year, any candidate that pledges to cut FDA funding will get my vote.

Ok, so does anyone have a really good explanation as to why you aren't supposed to put hot water into a coffee pot?? I'm not certain I believe this, but several people tell me its "bad".

I was accepted into the Nuclear Medicine Tech program at UB!!! I will definitely be celebrating after work tonight!

So work seems to be the topic du jour around here so I figure I'll throw in my work story. This is not stress related, this is to brag about how awesome I think my new restaurant is.

I started working at Seabar this week. For those of you who don't know this a contemporary sushi bar in Williamsville. I know, I know...its in the burbs. But this place is totally worth leaving the comforts of Buffalo to check out. I have eaten at every place that serves sushi in the greater Buffalo metro area shy of Shogun. This is by far the most creative menu, tasteful dining room and best service (I mean c'mon I work there) of the lot. The chef/owner of this place to used to run Tsunami. He is probably one of the finest chefs I have ever worked for, and most likely one of the best in Western NY. It's a relatively newer place, they only opened up last summer. I think this place is going to be very popular very soon.

The menu is small enough to be easily read through but extensive enough to keep you coming back. The wine list there isn't massive but all of the selections pair very well with the dishes on the menu. The sake list there is pretty good. They have plenty of different styles of sake to suite anyone and quite a few that can't be found anywhere else in a Buffalo restaurant.

Sorry if this post sounds like a plug for my current employer, but I guarantee you will be in food heaven if you eat there!

Last night after work I ventured off to Hertel ave for the first time and went to a place called the Sterling Place Tavern. This place is has a decent beer selection. It's the first place I have found Pilsner Urquell on tap in Buffalo. They also have quite a few Great Lakes Brewery beers on tap. The bottles they had looked pretty good too.

They have a small menu, consisting of pretty typical bar food. But the reason you should go is the Burgers. They are pretty spectacular. I ordered it medium rare figuring I would probably get it over done as most places do. But what arrived was a very thick perfectly done burger. The only thing I was shocked by is they don't have bacon for them, so I had sauteed mushrooms instead.

The bartenders were great there, service was very good. They don't take plastic there but the prices are pretty reasonable so bring a twenty and that should get you a couple beers, a burger and take care of the tip.