I’m sure you’ve all noticed the ads for Pick Up Stix running alongside your food blog for the last month or so. Well, thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a $50 gift certificate to taste-test!

Even though I’ve lived in LA for 3+ years, I still forget that this city is SO spread out. The only Pick Up Stix location nearby is in THE VALLEY.  For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, going to the Valley involves words like “driving over the hill” and is always accompanied by a groan and/or eye roll. In other words, I live in Santa Monica…a good hour trek (at least!) from Pick Up Stix. Luckily, driving is relative and I’m used to spending eons in the car. Also, two of my very favorite girls, Katie Jo & Julia, live in the Valley, so I’m always willing to hop the hill.

Kate cubed (so many Kates!) and Julia hadn’t gotten together in nearly two weeks (GASP!), so it wasn’t hard to twist anyone’s arm for FREE! CHINESE! TOGETHER! Kate Winston and I took her pup for an hour hike through Runyon (which totally kicked my butt) to stretch our legs and build up an appetite before dinner. When we finally went to pick up the food, it was almost 9PM!

I had checked out the menu beforehand with intentions of ordering something light and healthy, but since Winston and I picked everything up for the group to share, we just went to town and ended up ordering the following spread:

  • Vegetable egg rolls
  • Wonton soup
  • Steamed dumplings
  • Dan Dan Noodle bowl with chicken
  • Vegetable Chow Mein
  • Lemon Chicken
  • Beef w/Broccoli
  • Steamed Veggies
  • White Rice (why kid ourselves at this point with brown rice, right?)

Yes, for 4 people. Our grand total came to $50.09. I mean, 9 cents. We had the best time picking things off the menu and asking the cashier “How much do we have left now?” I felt like a kid in a candy store. Thank you Foodbuzz and Pick Up Stix — ordering has never been so much fun!

Here’s a snapshot of the night’s taste-testers. From another occasion, I have to add. Wednesday night we were in sweats and chowing down around a coffee table 🙂

Kate (me!), Kate (Katie Jo), Kate (Winston), Julia

Everyone was super hungry, so I snapped a quick photo of the vegetable egg rolls so we could start on those while I unwrapped and shot each dish. We piled our plates high and made a really decent dent in all the food. So much for leftovers?!

Vegetable egg rolls

Steamed dumplings

Dan Dan Noodle bowl with chicken

Steamed vegetables

Lemon chicken

Beef with broccoli

Vegetable Chow Mein

Group favorites included beef with broccoli, lemon chicken (which was definitely fried and crispy), and the Dan Dan Noodle bowl (which was super spicy). Here’s a shot of my plate…plus many more bites straight from the containers!

My thoughts? Well, I went into the night intending to order a healthy chicken and vegetable bowl with steamed brown rice and ended up with the feast above. I really appreciate that there definitely are some healthy options on the menu (Wok Smart), although everything I ate was pretty much fried and sodium-packed. I LOVED the lemon sauce for the chicken and thought the veggies tasted pretty fresh for “fast food,” although I wasn’t a fan of the egg rolls or won ton soup, which is strange because those are usually two of my top picks.

Overall, I don’t eat that much Chinese takeout (I think the last time was December 2008?), but Pick Up Stix was great for a quick, friendly, easy, filling, tasty option. It’s not my usual style of eats but we all enjoyed it and gobbled everything up.  AND I got to spend the night gabbing with three of my favorite loves, so no complaints!!

In other news, thanks for playing the one truth game! Almost everyone guessed either #1 or #7 and the winner is…NUMBER ONE.

  1. I’ve never had a cavity. TRUTH. Jealous?
  2. I played basketball in college. FALSE. I played from elementary school until early high school when I turned in my mesh shorts for newspaper editing.
  3. I’m left-handed. FALSE. 100% righty.
  4. I love scary movies. FALSE. I hate scary movies. Even episodes of Law & Order watched alone at 11PM give me bad dreams!
  5. I’d like to bungee jump at least once in my life. FALSE. While I would love to give sky diving a chance, the though of snapping back on that cord just freaks me out.
  6. I’m afraid of horses. FALSE. I was actually born on a horse farm and even now approach horses with childlike enthusiasm. What? All horses don’t like when you hang from their necks or blow in their noses? Well…I will probably do both those things.
  7. I never visited my college in DC before confirming my acceptance. FALSE. I am insanely indecisive. I visited DC many, many times before finally sending in my acceptance, and I actually had an acceptance to another college in the mail and called my mom before the post got picked up and had her switch them out. Down to the last second.

That was fun, although hard to come up with so many lies! Looks like the week has flown by yet again. It’s been a busy one at work and at night. It’s supposed to be gorgeous this weekend AND I have a pool party/BBQ planned AND Beck-O is coming to town from NYC so I am pretty pumped. Plus, I have my camera back. SIGH. Hopefully I will have some good updates for once!

Happy weekend everyone 🙂