I just finished Michael Pollan’s newest book, In Defense of Food. It was pretty good—a very interesting  perspective on nutrition that’s forced me to consider my eating habits. Though I’m actually pretty good about staying away from processed foods (ordering out a lot helps with not eating too much stuff out of boxes) I admit I have a problem with eating too much meat and my portions are too big.

Pollan’s book talked a lot about eating whole foods, so I decided to go eat at Whole Foods tonight! (I really like their buffet since I’m way too busy/lazy to cook for myself). According to him, you need to “eat food, not too much and mostly plants.” I stuck with the cold foods today, mixing a salad of tuna (I know it’s not sustainable—I’m working on one food cause at a time), chicken, soba, several different vegetable/lentil/other stuff mixes they had, and artichoke hearts… lots and lots of them.

I’ll let you all know if my whole foods at Whole Foods experience becomes an integral part of my eating habits…..it does leave me slightly hungry… i’m just trying to fight off the urge to run to downstairs to grey’s papaya and grab two hot dogs…

Have you ever eaten something so good that every time you think about it, you can’t help but drool a little? Well, the words “Cafe Habana” and “grilled corn” tend to make me want to rush down to Nolita and subject myself to the crowds of pushy New Yorkers all with the same addiction. Last time I waited 1.5 hrs for brunch…. all I remember is a lot of yelling and freakishly strong Prada-wearing girls making sure nobody cut in front of them. It’s well-known that Cafe Habana serves an excellent version of this South American staple that makes the long lines well worth it.

This weekend, instead of subjecting myself to the long lines of similarly addicted people… I decided to try and make it for myself. How hard could grilling corn be, right? Well first I had to find a grill (thanks Dan) and then I had to gather the right ingredients. I had a hard time finding/pronouncing the right type of cheese for the grilled corn. I finally settled for your run-of-the-mill parmesan cheese. Here is a picture (thanks Jon) of the final product.

The corn came out pretty well; the lime and spices gave it that nice flavor that we have all come to expect. However, I think the missing cotija cheese would’ve made it just right. Verdict? It was well worth the effort, but I think I’ll be back to the long lines next time Cafe Habana comes calling…