Foodie Fodder from my Instagram

Another giant fruity #salad for dinner last night. #Sometimesfoodie #healthy #foodporn

A photo posted by M. Smith (@poison_and_antidote) on Jun 23, 2015 at 9:50am PDT

Sorry for the filler, but I have a surprise... I'll be going to the Summer Fancy Food Show this weekend! I've kind of been freaking out about it, since this will be my first official event as a food blogger. (I got a press pass! Can you believe that? I'm all official and everything.)

I've been bugging the ever patient Cybele with everything from what to expect at the event, to what to wear. I'll be bringing my phone and my camera to the show, but in the meantime I'm queuing up posts for when I'm away, so this week will be a bit sporadic. I thought I might as well share some foodie stuff from my Instagram that doesn't make it to the blog. 

Trader Joe's Harvest Blend (Pumpkin) Salad Kit - Trader Joe's: Voorhees, NJ

Trader Joe's Harvest Blend (Pumpkin) Salad Kit - Trader Joe's: Voorhees, NJ

Trader Joe's might have set a new record for pumpkin products this year. Everything they've released has been under their own label, and it's varied from the usual pumpkin spiced Greek yogurts to pumpkin spiced croutons, to pumpkin ice cream filled mochi. I can't say this with 100% certainty, but it seems like Trader Joe's may have individually released the most pumpkin products out of any food creator/label this season. (Can any of you name a contender? I'm coming up blank.)

My boyfriend and I both have birthdays in October, so we tend to celebrate both occasions with pumpkin related foods, so I originally bought a bag of this salad mix to serve as an appetizer to his birthday dinner, but I loved it so much I got a second bag to review.

Insta-Foodie!

Insta-Foodie

I was really busy weekend, so I thought I'd take a moment to show you some foodie teaser images from Instagram. (There's a normal review post coming up later tonight.)

All of these items have reviews coming up next month!

Akira- March Restaurant Week : Collingswood, NJ

Akira- March Restaurant Week : Collingswood, NJ 

Just in case you missed my last post, it’s restaurant week! If any of you are New Jersey locals, you should already know about Collingswood and it’s restaurants. For restaurant week, participating locations make a special menu for the event (usually 3-4 courses) and list it at a pretty reasonable price. This is something I look forward to every year, and tonight my boyfriend and I ate at Akira.

The Pop Shop - Collingswood, NJ

The Pop Shop  - Collingswood, NJ

I'm trying out a new watermark, instead of using both my Poison & Antidote and a sometimes foodies logos, I made a new blogspot watermark to replace them both. Don't worry, I'll still be posting everything here on tumblr account, as well as my blog, but the blog seems to be a better platform for my content. (And my posts don't get eaten while I am writing all the time, which is nice.) 

I feel like it has been a while since I posted something from an actual restaurant. This cold weather makes me want to stay indoors like a recluse, but I braved the cold to go to The Pop Shop in Collingswood with my boyfriend.
Apparently we picked a bad night, because a water-pipe burst in the main restaurant and forced customers to go to the side, party-shed, area that is usually reserved for kids birthday parties. Thankfully, the party area was practically the same as the normal dining area, so that didn't both us at all. (It just stinks for the workers and owners.)

I was originally going to order some french fries and a chicken pot pie, but they were out. So I opted for my favorite giant salad.

I ordered:

• Foghorn Country Chicken Salad 
  Crispy chicken fingers, Applewood smoked bacon, tomato, and Jack cheese over romaine with honey-mustard dressing.
• Pop Shop Fries (as a side.)

Strawberry Poppy-seed and Chicken Salad - Panera

Strawberry Poppy-seed and Chicken Salad - Panera

The other day my mother and sister went to the farm to take care of my sister’s horse, and they got me a salad from Panera on the way home.

I LOVE Panera. I actually worked for Panera for several years as an associate trainer, and I can honestly say it is a great place to work and eat. I don’t have any food horror stories from behind the scenes, and I still go back to visit my old bosses and grab a bite to eat. (Unlike my time working at Friendly’s, I haven’t eaten there since 2004.)
The packaging Panera uses for their to-go salad orders has really changed. When I worked there, the clear plastic containers used in restaurants were used for to-go orders. Now, the company uses this nifty, waxed, cardboard box with a clear window. It functions the same way, stacks in the fridge the same way, but it feels more recyclable now. I’ll have to look into it, but I am pretty sure this is more Eco-friendly. I like it.

Akira - Restaurant Week : Collingswood, NJ

Akira - Restaurant Week : Collingswood, NJ 

It’s restaurant week in Collingswood! If any of you are New Jersey locals, you must know about Collingswood and it’s restaurants. For restaurant week, participating locations make a special menu for the event (usually 3-4 courses) and list it at a reasonable price.

Today my boyfriend and I stopped at Akira for a late lunch. I have actually eaten here before, but the restaurant week menu had a few things I wanted to check out. 

I ordered:

• Avocado Salad -Avocado on mixed green salad served with healthy ginger
• Sexy Jalapeño - Tempura Jalapeño stuffed with Spicy Tuna, Seaweed Salad & cream cheese served with spicy mango sauce
• Sushi Dinner - Tuna, Salmon, Fluke, Striped Bass,Yellowtail, Shrimp, White Tuna with a Spicy Tuna Roll
• Gelato Hearts

Although I am not a huge fan of avocado, I really enjoyed this salad. It’s a basic green salad,  typical of most sushi or hibachi restaurants, topped with avocado, ginger dressing and mango sauce. The only thing I would have changed would be a little less mango sauce. It was incredibly sweet and really overpowered everything else. I would rather have a touch of mango and more ginger dressing.

Ikea Food - South Philadelphia, PA

Ikea Food - South Philadelphia, PA

My mother and I went to IKEA for the first time EVER this week. I originally went to purchase a table, but got wrapped up in the food! (I also bought some things from the food section, so I have an IKEA haul coming up soon!) 

Here is what we had for lunch:

My Mother had the roasted chicken breast with mashed potatoes, she said it was the best chicken she had ever had in a restaurant.

For lunch I had the Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes. Lingonberries are really popular in Scandinavian meals. On the side I had lingonberry juice and an elderflower cupcake.

The mashed potatoes were creamy and delicious! They tasted buttery and had a hint of cracked pepper. They sell the same potatoes in the freezer section of their food market, and I have to say these were the best frozen mashed potatoes I had ever had.

I have to say, the lingonberry jam tasted like the best cranberry sauce I had ever had. The berries were tender and soft, but the overall flavor was dry and tangy. A lot like cranberry sauce, but the berries do not have anything to get stuck in your teeth (like cranberries often do.) I actually picked up a jar of this to have at home.

Although Ikea is famous for them, the meatballs were actually my least favorite part of the meal. they tasted a little overly spiced. I think I would have liked them with a different gravy more than the traditional brown. The brown gravy made the spices overpowering, if a tangy sauce had been used I would have liked them a lot more.

The lingonberry juice was really refreshing, but it was a lot like a cranberry juice, just a bit brighter. It isn’t very strong on it’s own, but when I mixed it with a bit of lemon lime soda it was really interesting! All of these items can be bought in the grocery section so you can easily recreate your meal at home.


The elderflower cupcake, was something I had never seen before. The cupcake was really moist and dense, and it tasted like vanilla pound cake mixed with lychee fruit. The icing on top was cream cheese and I think the elderflower was also in the icing, but it was hard to tell with how strongly the cupcake was flavored. I loved it!

Overall, I am incredibly impressed with IKEA’s food. I never though a store that sold furniture would also make decent food. I highly recommend everything! (Except the meatballs with gravy. I won’t be getting that again)

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Golden Corral - Delran, NJ

Golden Corral - Delran, NJ

Even though I am sick with an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis, I went with my family to the local Golden Corral to eat.  (I was too sick, lazy and hungry to cook.)
This was my second time going, the last time I went was with my boyfriend and I pecked at everything… until it was time for dessert. I ate every dessert I could!

This time, being sick, I toned down the sweets.

Panera Bread You Pick Two - Panera Bread Moorestown, NJ

Panera Bread You Pick Two - Panera Bread Moorestown, NJ

I love Panera! I worked there for several years as a trainer, and I love their products and their company. Best job I had ever had, but that was thanks to the wonderful staff and management team. My sister was going to Panera with a friend and asked if I wanted anything, so I ordered this yummy masterpiece!

Bacon Turkey Bravo (no tomatoes and extra Bravo-sauce), is delicious. This sandwich has sweet tomato basil bread, bravo sauce (1000 island dressing), romaine lettuce, Gouda cheese, roasted turkey and bacon. It is delicious! Gouda cheese is the bacon of cheeses. If you haven’t already, be sure to try it!

The other half of my You Pick Two was the Strawberry Poppy seed and Chicken salad. It’s romaine lettuce, chicken and fresh fruits served with a sweet oniony-poppy-seed dressing. I used to hate this dressing when I worked at Panera. It did not look very appealing, but it is delicious! Especially with strawberries. On my break I used to get a bowl of cut up berries, drizzle this dressing on top, and have it for lunch. It’s summery and refreshing.

I don’t think I have ever met someone who did not enjoy Panera Bread’s food. If you haven’t had it, be sure to give them a try!

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Mikado, Cherry Hill NJ

Mikado, Cherry Hill NJ

My friend Kevin came by a few days ago and asked me to go to Mikado with him. Mikado has sushi, curry and all sorts of yummy treats.