Wed, January 28th of 2009
2:31 pm
“Carmel” & Cheese: A Chicago Popcorn Tale
I grab the bag of popcorn from Ian, intent on salvaging what little hasn’t reached his mouth yet. He protests but only half-chewed kernels sputter out of his mouth, so full is it. Peering into the now grease-stained bag, I see a disparate mix of khaki and orange -- the Chicago mix of caramel and cheese – that has more of the former than the latter.“You finished all the cheese!†I accuse Ian, my eyes boring holes into him.“I did not!†he replies defiantly, arms crossing over his weight-room-enhanced chest, oily-orange fingers neon signs of guilt.“Well, what good is it if I don’t have cheese along with the caramel?†I shoot back.And that, as you can see, is the whole idea behind Chicago-style popcorn.






Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me 
People bandy around the word “love†too much, I know. It’s one of those things that slips out automatically like “Hi, howareyou?†and “Textme.†I’m guilty of the same. But when it comes to food – and if you’ve been reading this website long enough, perhaps you've even met me – you know I don’t take my food lightly. Nor am I a light eater. Okay, enough of the puns.What follows is a short list of foods I love. Of course, if you’ve seen some of these photos before on this website and/or recall me mentioning them here, forgive me. I can’t keep track of all the foods I love.
Late last year, I got emails from three businesses with one common product: polvoron.
Just like the word “cool,†a slang word from the 1960s that’s shown incredible staying power and become part of our lexicon, so has this particular under-cooked chocolate cake that’s also going the way of cool.
My Bin is a sucker for those free food samples at supermarkets while I tend to turn my nose up at them: god only knows how long those things have been sitting there. We’re in Rustan’s Fresh supermarket at Rockwell ostensibly to get healthy – er, make that “healthy-er†food after the eating orgy that was the holidays.
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