Before I going to a restaurant or bar that I’ve never been to before, I always like to check out their Yelp or Citysearch page and read a few reviews to get a feel for the place. And while these sites might give me a good idea of the place’s service, ambiance, or special deals, the reviews don’t always focus enough on what I’m most concerned with — the food.

Unlike other restaurant review sites that review the restaurant as a whole, Foodspotting keeps all the focus on the food. Simply put, Foodspotting is a visual database of delicious dishes at restaurants (and food stands, coffeehouses, bars, ice cream parlors, etc.) near you, uploaded by other Foodspotting users.

When you type a location into Foodspotting, the Google Map at the top of the page will instantly populate with pictures of delicious food in that area, which you can click on for more information. You can also search for a particular type of food (like cupcakes, mac and cheese, or Thai food) to find what you’re craving nearby, or look up a particular restaurant and see what’s been “spotted” there.

But Foodspotting is so much more than just the picture-sharing aspect. By joining Foodspotting and becoming a “foodspotter,” you can share foods you’ve “spotted,” as well as browse what others have added. In addition, you can bookmark foods you want to try by clicking “Want it!” on others’ posts, and vote up food you’ve tried and liked by clicking “Nom it!” There are also expert guides from Travel Channel hosts and food magazines, to help you find recommended foods near you (or to help you plan your next food-centered trip)!

What I like about Foodspotting is that it lets you actually see what the food at a particular place looks like before you get there, because there’s no way to know that just by reading the menu. Plus, you know that if a fellow Foodspotter liked something enough to put it on Foodspotting, you know it’s probably going to be pretty good.

In my exploring on Foodspotting, I’ve discovered a few places near me that I’ve previously driven by without a second glance — now that I’ve seen their food on Foodspotting, I want to give them a try!

What is a girl supposed to do?  Let me share a relatively recent discovery of mine: you don’t necessarily need money to have a nice meal out.

I moved to New York City for an internship this month and subsequently have no money.  The first weekend I was here just happened to be my birthday (funny how that worked out), so I was obligated to spend lots of moolah…on myself.  Now I have even less money.  This is a HUGE PROBLEM in a city where every block is full of deliciousness and fun.

My solution?  First dates.

It’s not hard to find a guy to take you out on a first date.  First dates are easy – no pressure, no expectations, and all you have to do is chat pleasantly and eat delicious food (or see a cool movie, or whatever).  If you don’t want to take it beyond the first date, then you don’t have to. If you do, then more power to ya, sister (more free food ).

Either way, you both had a nice time and you got to try a new restaurant for free. Win/win.

Obviously, I realize it’s not very nice to use guys just for a free meal.  But hey, the way I see it, they’re getting the pleasure of my company and conversation and I’m not completely ruling out the possibility of a second date or even a relationship (one not entirely based on free food, that is). And I’ll pay it back eventually. You know, when I have a job and I’m making money and not dancing around my sublet when I find a dollar in a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in awhile…

In the meantime, though, that Korean restaurant down the street is looking de-LISH and I think that dishy Korean guy would be the perfect person to buy me dinner.

You’re so busy with classes (and a rockin’ social life), you can’t seem to get ahead in the finance field.  Sure, summer might be a great time to soak up some sun for those college students who are lucky enough NOT to be struggling with student loans, car payments, credit card bills, etc.  But for a large majority of us, summer is the time to keep working our asses off… and get paid.

If you’re stressing about debt, never fear– summer is just around the corner.  And if you act now, chances are, you can secure a summer job so you’ll be ready to pay for books, bar tabs, and fall semester housing come August.  The question is, where should you look?

1.  Your former part-time high school job.

If you’re going home for the summer, the good news is, you’ll be close to the company you’ve worked at since you were 16.  Sure, it might not be the most glam way to spend the summer months, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  Maybe you were counting down the days until you could quit pre-college, but you’ve had some time off, and a few more months might not kill you.

Did you quit because you had to leave for college? Guess what- they probably had a whole rush of high school seniors do the same.  It doesn’t hurt to contact your old boss and ask if any shifts are available for the summer.  They’re inclined to say “yes” because they won’t have to pay to train you, and you can start at your old salary- or higher- without having to go through minimum-wage training.

2.  Tourist traps.

Plenty of places that are in summer vacay hot spots only hire for the summer, so you’re more apt to get hired here than a place that’s looking for a long term commitment and are put off by your May-August availability.  Beachside resorts and restaurants, cruise lines, and theme parks are all about hiring for the summer, and many of them will pay for housing because most of their employees are summer temps.  Bonus? You’ll be working with other college students on a summer hiatus- think the underground party that Baby crashes in Dirty Dancing or Lea Remini’s breakthrough role as Stacy in Saved by the Bell.

3.  Summer Camp

Obviously, they only hire for the summer, and college students have an advantage here.  Whatever your skills are, in this day and age, there’s a camp for just that.  Nutrition major? Try “fat camp” (or whatever the PC term is for that these days). Starving actor? Theater camp’s the way to go.  Sports freak? Basketball camp.  Total nerd? Try programs like math camp or youth science camp (I once participated in a program called KAST- Kids Are Scientists Too! Yes, the exclamation point was part of the title, and I learned how make ice cream in a plastic bag there – don’t ask questions).  Even if you don’t have a specialization yet, you may be able to apply as a general camp counselor, and you won’t have to worry about breaking a contract at the end of the season.

4.  Summer Stock.

For all of you liberal and fine arts majors, check it out!  Summer Stock is the best part of the year for many regional theater companies, but you don’t have to be an actor to appreciate it.  Theaters may be looking to fill their Summerstock positions with assistants in marketing, finance, production (read: carpentry), education, or management.  If you have  love for the arts, you’ll have a decent chance of getting an interview. And Summerstock participants are totally prone to partying.

5.  Paid internships.

This is a great time to do an internship, gain experience, and potentially make some cash.  It’s great for your resume, so it’s a good idea to look into companies close to where you’ll be staying this summer, as well as gigs that might be beneficial to list on your resume in the future.  You might not make as much money as you would waiting tables at Jimmy’s Crab Shack all summer, but it’s something.

6.  The internet.

Who knows what other companies are hiring?  Check out summerjobs.com, snagajob.com, coolworks.com, and, of course, craigslist.  Just see what comes up.  Your bank account, your credit report, and your parents will thank you when you can make timely payments next fall without asking for help.

There are so many difficult choices in life (do we love or hate high heels??), so we thought we’d sort through ‘em right here. Every week we will discuss another issue we are torn up about. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!]

I LOVE FOOD and enjoy it as often as I can: for meals, between meals, on the couch, on the way to class, on the way to the gym… And I am an equal opportunity eater.  I love Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Korean, Brazilian, Greek, and of course, American.

There’s nothing better than walking into a restaurant or – yippee! – a bakery and taking in that hot-off-the-stove smell; the yummy aromas of fresh-baked goods fluttering into my nose and making my stomach growl with hunger. And then that moment when that delectable dish is sitting in front of me and I finally get the chance to dig in…

OMG I’m drooling.

There is one “type” of food that I’m not completely head-over-heels for, though, and that is the leftover.

Love:

That giant bowl of fettucine you had with your parents (and on their tab!) was too. freaking. good to pass up. Too bad your stomach wasn’t big enough to handle it all in one sitting. The beauty of leftovers is that you can box that bad boy up and enjoy it tomorrow between classes. Not only is it the best lunch ever, but it also saves you the time of preparing something new and the money you’d waste on a not-so-good Subway value meal.

Loathe:

Now, I’m all about recycling. Paper, plastic, and food. I love Bento boxes, and I think a great way to save the enviroment (and your wallet) is to pack up last night’s dinner into a little to-go box and heat it up the next day for a quick lunch. But I do think that certain foods should be eaten within a closed, contained space in which no one else can smell them, or be kept at home entirely. Have you ever smelled your roommate’s nauseating fish tacos wafting towards you from the public microwave? What about leftover curry dishes from last night’s Indian delivery that linger in your room for days? Gross.

And leftovers never taste as good the next day. Yes, they are probably better than anything you could whip up on the fly, but that hella good panini from last night loses its luster (and crispiness) after sitting in the mini fridge all night. And, of course, there is always that one little box of Chinese that gets shoved to the back of the fridge only to be found months later….covered in fuzz….when you go searching for that mysterious smell coming out of the kitchen.

So, tell me. What are your thoughts on The Leftover?

Have no fear, single girl.  Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples.  In fact, when you’re not joined at the hip, you can usually have more fun by partying it up and enjoying your independence with a gaggle of equally fun, single ladies this year.

Hit the Bar Scene.

Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest bar nights of the year (along with Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day,  the last Saturday before exam week, etc.), and if you have to miss it for a boring dinner date, you definitely drew the short straw.  The bars will be packed with other singles, and if you want to shack up, you’ll find plenty of fish in the booze-flooded sea.

Ogle Some Hotties.

Valentine’s Day, whether you’re single, dating, married, whatever, is a woman’s holiday.  And guess what – you’re far from the only one who isn’t getting wooed this year.  Plenty of nightclubs sponsor male revues and other events where men are forced to put their six packs on display for salivating singles.  Can’t find a live show? Rent your favorite hot stud films and admire Brad Pitt et al on the small screen.

Have a Girl-Date.

Why can’t you bring your BFF out to an expensive, overpriced dinner and drink champagne and toast yourselves? Just because you aren’t in a romantic relationship doesn’t mean you lack other quality relationships in your life.  Take the money you would have spent on frivolous gifts to express your love for a man, and bring out one of your besties.

Host a Meet and Greet.

I am hesitant to suggest blind dates on Valentine’s Day, because you never know what you’re going to get.  So save the speed-dating for another random weekend, and have your own mixer.  Have each of your girlfriends bring a few single guys.  This works best if you don’t know each other’s guy friends, so look into platonic friends at neighboring schools, and play matchmaker in a totally low-key, stress-free setting.

Have a Good Old Boyfriend Bonfire.

If you’re still bitter about the way things ended with your ex, take a hint from Friends and have a boyfriend bonfire.  Or… nonfire, if you want to keep your housing.  If you can’t stand the fact that he’s wining and dining his new ladyfriend, release some steam and get closure by hosting a ritual to cleanse yourself of his memories…and all the crap he never picked up from your dorm.  Have a girl’s night, complete with guilty-pleasure food, chick flicks, and loads of vino, and give everyone a chance to vent about how they are better off without him.

Whatever you do this Valentine’s Day, there’s no excuse for staying home alone.  You aren’t the only one without a date, and you’re not the only one waiting in a long-ass line at CVS to buy a cheesy, heart-adorned greeting card as a means of expressing yourself.  So save a tree and revel in your current relationship status (or lack thereof).  Next year, when you’re taken, you’ll miss certain excuses to wild out with your chicas.

What are your V-Day plans, single girls?

1. I regret that time I met a guy at a bar and did some naughty things at a very public table. That other people may have been sitting at. And the bar also happened to be a restaurant. And it was definitely not sanitary.

2. I regret purchasing condoms while drunk and choosing that the ones that glow in the dark/have spikes “for her enjoyment.” I did not enjoy them that night, nor did I enjoy the way those spikes made me feel for the next 3 days.

3. I regret thinking hooking up in a boy’s bathroom was “hot” – it was not. In fact, it was dirty, moldy and didn’t have a lock. So, with that, I regret that guy’s roommates walking in and getting quite a show.

4. I regret hooking up in my roommate’s bed because she then hooked up in my bed in retaliation…and made a much bigger mess.

5. I regret keeping my hot stilettos on during a particularly wild romp that led to a giant gouge in my wall and a large, bloody gash down my man’s back.

I know I am not alone in making poor hook up decisions. What are your biggest regrets?

You may have made it through Welcome Week without any run-ins with the campus police (congrats!), but you still have plenty of opportunities to meet them up close and personal.

There are going to be many times this year and well into your college career that you will find yourself surrounded by alcohol. And, naturally, you are going to want to partake. Just beware–while you are navigating the university party scene, your RA’s, Campus Police, and Public Safety units are gearing up to bust underage revelers.

Here are some tips on how you can avoid getting written up before your first semester is over.

1. Don’t act like ‘The Freshman.’

Just because you suddenly have access to alcohol, it doesn’t mean you need to consume ALL of the alcohol at once. Even if the cops are out and about, they don’t have the manpower to hunt down every single underage boozer. So, they’ll zero in on the kid stumbling around with a trash can on his head before thinking twice about the passive mingler. The same goes with your RA, who really doesn’t want to walk in on you peeing in the corner of elevator.

2. Beware of PDA.

True story: I was once stumbling across campus with a guy I liked, and was pretty much all over him. I was stopped by a Public Safety brigade, who proceeded to quiz me: Did I know this guy? Where were we going? While I insisted that he was a friend, one of the officers interrupted with “You’re obviously intoxicated and we want to make sure you’re not going to make a bad decision tonight.” Ouch. (Editor’s Note: Where were those guys when I was making out with the guy with the tats?)

Luckily, they let us continue on our way, but the situation could have easily ended badly. This anecdote should be a lesson to guys, too. I’m sure my friend was mortified when the Public Safety peeps pegged him as a date rapist. But, just like the crazy, drunken antics mentioned above will red flag a drunk college student, a pair of horny kids who can’t make it back to the dorm room will also raise the suspicions of the University 5-0.

3. Be careful with your Fake.

If you have someone who is of age that can make a beer run for you, don’t even try to buy your own booze. At my school, all of the campus liquor stores had walls covered with confiscated fake ID’s. It’s a lot easier to get served at a bar or restaurant than it is to purchase booze from the store. FYI.

Still, you need to research the bars you attempt to get in to. Everyone at my school knew which bars would let in the worst fakes, which states made for the worst fakes, etc. I once had a fake ripped up by the manager of a new campus bar, because they were on the lookout for New York ID’s after being watched closely by the Po.

One more little tale: I knew a girl who got fined because she left her wallet at a gas station, and somehow, the cops found her fake ID in it. If a cop sees you with a fake for any reason, it can constitute fraud. Just food for thought.

4. Keep it inconspicous.

If you are walking to a party, don’t crack open a Natty Ice on the street. Don’t fill a Coca-Cola bottle with vodka. And don’t help a friend carry a case of beer if you are a minor. In many states, you can’t even handle alcohol if you are a minor. So if the cops are scouting out the liquor store, and card you and your of-age friend as you drag a shopping cart full of Patron to your car, you might get in trouble, even if you’re stone-cold sober and the bottles are unopened.

Even if you are trying to hide the libations you are hauling to the party, be careful. Ironically, backpacks scream “hidden alcohol,” especially when you are en route to a quad party on a warm Saturday evening. The cops may ask you open your bag, and having 30 beers fall out might put a damper on your weekend.

5. Stay current on campus news.

If there are four bars on campus, and three of them have been raided in the past month, you might want to lay low in order to avoid a sting operation on the fourth bar. Try to catch wind of any rumors that Tequila Tom’s might get raided.

Of course, if you are friendly with the bar staff, they might look out for you as well, because they want to save their own ass as much as you want to save yours. I’ve been flat out told by bouncers that they couldn’t let me in because they anticipated a raid; a year later, those same bouncers planned an “escape route” through the kitchen for the only girl in our group who had yet to hit the big 2-1.

6. Don’t advertise.

This goes along with watching your behavior and being mindful of your fake ID, but it’s the number one reason a minor will get busted. If you’re drinking in your room, don’t leave bottles and cans strewn about for your RA to see. Don’t display your shot glasses and your funnel. Many schools today even have rules that no alcohol-related decorations (posters, etc) may be displayed in “dry” dorms.

Just being alert to the fact that many people on campus are looking out for underage drinking can help you make smart decisions. It’s really not difficult to evade the disciplinarians at your school, and before you know it, you’ll be passing down your fake ID to your younger siblings and telling them to use it wisely. Take your time to get to know your campus and it’s policies. You have four years of partying awaiting you, so there’s plenty of time to tune up your beer pong skills.

So wouldn’t it be great if you could make that rice in your own kitchen and avoid shelling out $8 for an all-you-can-eat meal of regret?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Here’s the good news: you can, and it’s easy. In fact, if you ever have stray vegetables or leftovers lying around (like I do almost… oh, let’s see, EVERY DAY), it’s even easier. Fried rice is incredibly forgiving—you can toss whatever you want in there, and it will still taste great.

So here’s a basic recipe, but feel free to play around with it!

To serve two, you should have:

• Rice (about 2 cups cooked)

• Oil

• Meat or tofu (I like to use chicken)

• A little sweetness, like raisins, currants, orange rinds, or pineapple bits

• Veggies (most crucial are probably onions, and I also often use carrots, cabbage, broccoli, corn, peas, bell peppers…)

• Scrambled eggs (optional but delicious)

• Seasoning—If you’re going for Indian flavor, use chili powder, cumin, and garam masala. For Chinese style, use soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, and sesame oil. Garlic is good for both kinds, and so is ginger.

Get Cookin’:

First, stir-fry your veggies and your sweetness in a frying pan with a little bit of oil. I like to fry my veggies and meat/tofu together, but you can do them separately and then combine them later, as well. Stir-fry everything on medium heat until it’s tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

Your rice should be pre-cooked before you begin stir-frying the vegetables because, otherwise, it will be too moist. So, make it ahead of time if you can; if not, try to get it done at least 15-30 minutes in advance.

When your veggies and meat/tofu are done cooking, combine them if you haven’t already. Add your seasoning, lower the heat, and continue cooking them for a minute or two until you think the spices have infused their delicious flavors into the ingredients.

Finally, add the cooked rice to the pan, and stir everything together. Turn off the heat. Add more spices if necessary, serve, and enjoy!

[Image courtesy of maona.net.]

Welcome to day 6 of my week-long vegan eating adventure.

Breakfast: Wheatabix cereal with soy milk.

Lunch: I drag a friend to California Vegan Restaurant on Sunset. I get a sweet and sour seitan (wheat gluten) dish with steamed brown rice. The sauce is tangy and tasty with pineapple, which I always love. But the seitan has a weird consistency and taste, it looks like a cross between tofu and chicken and it kind of creeps me out.

Dinner: I go with some friends to Famima!!, the Japanese convenience store, to get some cheap dinner. I spend twenty minutes looking at all their boxed dinners, studying ingredients, trying to figure out what I could eat. I end up just getting a fruit plate. I watch my friends eat their food and think of a new annoying thing about eating vegan: you can’t try your friends food. I’m someone who always steals other people’s food, so this is incredibly annoying.

2 AM: My friends and I go to Norms diner in Santa Monica after dancing to exhaustion at Gas Lite. Everyone orders pancakes, eggs, ice cream. I order a salad. I get a small plate of iceberg lettuce. I don’t know how they make their salad dressings, so I stick with vinegar. Major yuck.

It occurred to me today that one great way to eat vegan would be through one of those meal-delivery services. Does anyone know of one that has good vegan options?

[photo from veganmenu.blogspot.com]

I can honestly say that I’m getting used to eating vegan, although I did wake up in a cold panic last night thinking I’d accidentally had nonfat milk instead of soy milk in my morning coffee yesterday, so maybe I take that back…

Breakfast: Breakfast is definitely the hardest meal for a vegan. I think cereal with soy milk is an acquired taste (or maybe just always gross), and as I found out yesterday, scrambled tofu is just plain nasty. I looked up some vegan recipes online, but everything requires baking. You can make versions of muffins, waffles, pancakes, etc, but who has time for this when running out of the house in the morning? Today, I have oatmeal and a Starbucks soy latte for breakfast… again.

Lunch: Nothing. Nothing.

Dinner: I meet up with some friends at Real Food Daily in West Hollywood after much convincing. I’m starving because I didn’t eat lunch, so my plan to order something small and light goes out the window and I get myself a “Supreme Burrito” with ranchero sauce and taco mix (tofu spiced like taco meat, I think). I devour it so quickly I forget to take a picture first (for College Candy, not because I’m some food obsessed freak), which is why it looks so gross in the pictures. But believe me, it was delicious.

If you live in a city where there are vegan restaurant options, you’re seriously in luck. It’s great to be able to just look over a menu and order whatever you want without having to worry about it being vegan. If there aren’t vegan restaurants in your area, look for vegetarian ones, or check out a website like vegetarian-restaurants.net for their advice on vegan-friendly restaurants in your area.

[photo from veganyumyum.com]