The Food Of...

Boo!

2008-07-12T21:40:00.001-07:00

After a nice long break, time to start writing some again. Though now, I'll be doing it here.

Yeah I Know It's Been a Month

2008-03-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

I apologize, for I have been too extremely busy to do much on the blog. Sorry!

Here are some pics from my Columbus, Ohio, trip:

It's 12:41AM, And I Just Ate 30 Cloves Of Roasted Garlic

2008-02-26T21:41:00.001-08:00

Due to my skillful (or ignorant) scheduling, my boss and I landed in Columbus, Ohio, at the ripe hour of 10:45PM. Good thing we didn't try and come earlier, as there were people on our ATL-Columbus flight who were supposed to fly here at 11AM this morning. Instead of a bitch post, you get a non-bitch post. Ugh the verbiage is not flowing at this ungodly hour.

We missed dinner due to the crazy flight schedule (we were in ATL for about 10 minutes, including a bathroom stop), so we ordered from Pharaoh's Pizza on the recommendation of the desk clerk at the Drury Inn downtown (please, no groupies). The desk clerk, as I type this, is calling Hillary Clinton "girl" out loud as CNN plays repeats of bloviations past.

We got a margherita pizza and medium chicken wings, because apparently neither of us wants to sleep well. The margherita was pretty good, especially for midnight in snowy and cold Columbus, Ohio.

Oh yeah, it's snowing. And cold. The rental car company offered me a brand new (34 miles) 4x4 Jeep Compass for $50 a day. I told him I was stuck to the corporate rate. He upgraded us for free.

The crust was slightly doughy (or toothy maybe, but there weren't any teeth in it) and had good flavor. The fresh mozz on it was good but not super plentiful. The fresh tomatoes that had been baked on top were very flavorful and sweetened up nicely in the oven. But what go me were the plentiful roasted garlic cloves along with the mix that tasted like fresh-pressed garlic with parmesan and Italian seasoning also sprinkled on top. So I'm burping up garlic, but I'm a happy camper.

I'm also happy because we got a suite so I have my own room.

The chicken wings were just ok -- they were cooked well but the sauce wasn't very spicy (yeah it was medium...was looking out for my boss who likes spice but isn't into torture like I am) and it was also very oily. Extremely messy, and not something I'd go out of my way for.

Overall a good meal at an ungodly hour to be eating such things.

Tomorrow: hotel breakfast and two meals of banquet food. Wish me luck.

Off To Columbus, Ohio

2008-02-26T13:21:00.001-08:00

I'm off to Columbus, Ohio for work. Woohoo! Apparently it's in the 20s and snowing there. Faaaaantastic!

Hopefully there will be some good stuff to write up -- I'm having banquet food for lunch and dinner tomorrow, but will try and do something good for the two breakfasts and lunch on Thursday.

Martha Stewart Buys Emeril

2008-02-20T04:03:00.000-08:00

Well only the book and show half...

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. is bringing in a new celebrity: popular TV chef Emeril Lagasse. The New York-based media and merchandising company founded by domesticity maven Martha Stewart announced Tuesday that it bought the rights to Lagasse's franchise of cookbooks, television shows and kitchen products from him for $45 million in cash and $5 million in stock.

The final price could rise to up to $70 million if certain benchmarks are achieved.

Martha Stewart did not acquire Emeril's Homebase, which includes Lagasse's 11 restaurants and corporate office.

Whole story here.

The Waffle And The Duck

2008-02-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try and actually get my trip recap done before the trip is even done! I'm sitting at the airport in Columbia, South Carolina, and have some time and laptop battery available to do some typing.

I don't know how good a picture of Columbia I could paint based on the 24 hours or so I effectively spent here. Plus, given that it was a Monday and Tuesday night stay, it's not like I could tell you how the weekend nightlife is anyway. But we will push on nevertheless.

I stayed on the northwest side of town, about 6 miles away from downtown, on Bush River Road. Bush River Road is mostly commercial businesses, ranging from department stores to strip clubs. There were no 24-hour stores that I saw with the exception of the Waffle House next to my hotel. But what a Waffle House it was! I had breakfast there both days, and while I ordered the same both days I got different food each time. The BRR Waffle House is definitely in the friendly and clean group of WHs and it appears that at least half of the morning crowd eats there several times a week, as on the first visit I was the only person I saw actually order for myself. Everyone else was "***some menu item***, right?" as asked by the staff.

R made me a convert to over easy eggs and WH is like a church to me now -- both times I ordered 2 eggs over easy, white toast, and hash browns smothered (onions) and peppered (jalapenos), extra crispy. Day 1 they nailed it, and even gave me double hash browns for 25 cents extra (half price on the upgrade.) There's nothing quite like the egg yolk running over the buttered and slightly salty toast. Day 2 I ordered the same thing, but the two staff were trying to get out a to-go order so by the time the waitress called mine she substituted cheese for the jalapenos. Still very good, but the hash browns with the onions and jalapenos are certainly superior. It was also 5:20am when I ate, and I wasn't awake enough to try for corrections.

Service was excellent on both trips, and the iced tea was refilled appropriately and tasted good.

There are alot of WHs in Columbia, and I can only vouch for the BRR location (near I-20 between I-20 and I-26), and if you're a WH fan, it's a good one.

I went with Muffler and the Independent to lunch at the Fuddruckers near our meeting site (almost everyone else from the meeting showed up there as well. Popular spot.) This location was also on BRR, about 2 doors down from the above WH. Small world.

I ordered the half-pound cheeseburger, medium, with onion rings and tea. The cheeseburger was a very good sample of what Fuddruckers can do with beef and bun, as the meat was cooked perfectly, tasty and juicy, and the bun was exceptional buttery goodness. The pico and jalapenos made it a winner. The tea was good too and refilled appropriately by your's truly. Overall a good location of that chain (to recap...good locations: BRR in Columbia, Rogers, AR...lesser location: Branson, MO.)

The real adventure was for last night's dinner. The Independent and I, on my executive decision, headed downtown to the Congaree Vista district, which is a gentrified/revitalized/yuppified warehouse neighborhood near the state capital. Think of 6th St in Austin -- I think that's where they're trying to head. One impressive piece of work is the Publix supermarket which is located in an old block-long warehouse. Cool way to use the old building.

I had actually seen the website and menu for Gervais and Vine before I headed down here, and I thought that would be a good place to try. I was a little nervous when the Independent told me his favorite restaurant is Cracker Barrel, but apparently he also likes all other sorts of foods. Gervais and Vine is a tapas bar.

*** time to board plane ***

*** on the ground in Atlanta ***

Our pilot altered us before we took off in Columbia that we were the only flight in the southeast released to fly into Atlanta. Apparently the storms that killed 47 overnight were going through the Atlanta – absolutely horrible and very scary. As I type this, we’re under a tornado watch, and hopefully I can get out of here today.

Back to Gervais and Vine…

G&V is a tapas restaurant and wine bar, to update my characterization of it a few paragraphs north of here. See I could just edit myself, but how excited would that be?

The menu is pretty broad – hot tapas, cold tapas, spreads, and pizzas. The sort of thing where only the most picky of eaters wouldn’t be able to find something to try. Items tend to be in the $6-8 range, and pizzas are about $7.50.

One big attraction for us to the restaurant was its outdoor seating, as the night was about 70F and we had spent the day in a less than well-ventilated room with 100 other people. The patio atmosphere was very relaxed – a student with laptop, a girl with small puppy, working folk, etc.

I chose a marghertia pizza (hey the menu says the oven runs at 700F, may as well give it a go) and the spicy sausage with romesco sauce. The Independent ordered the asparagus with romesco sauce and the duck with a honey glaze. He also did something very bold – he ordered his food and asked the waitress (who, while wearing a “wine goddess” tshirt wasn’t all that helpful with wine selections) to tell whoever was running the wine bar to pick out a wine for him.

He was quite pleased, as the white Austrian wine, who’s name I can’t remember right now, went perfectly with his two items, and he loved the wine on its own as well. Romesco sauce has red peppers and a bunch of nuts and spices (sort of like a Spanish mole, but not really), and theirs’ had a slight kick to it. The asparagus was cooked perfectly to my tastes, at a nice al dente. There were actually a bunch of stalks – about 10 – which was surprising given the market prices for asparagus right now (at least in Arkansas.) Throw labor, sauce ingredients, and overhead on top, I’m a little bit amazed they could make money on it.

The Independent also loved the duck, and I thought it was good too. I will admit this was the first time I’d ever eaten duck, and good thing it was good. It was cooked about medium and the fat, while not crispy, was good too. The glaze added a nice sweetness which, as far as the whole meal was concerned, balanced nicely with the spice from my sausage.

The Independent also later ordered a rioja, which he loved (and even wrote down for future purchase.)

The pizza was good. High quality sauce and fresh mozz cheese, and they were generous with the basil. The crust was crisp but not crackery and it had a good buttery flavor. I can’t point to a specific spice in it, but I really enjoyed the sauce on it. Certainly a good pizza, especially for a state that isn’t know for its pizza.

The sausage was great. Very spicy and the romesco sauce was a nice complement – almost mustardy when both were eaten together but not quite. I could eat a lot of this dish.

Complaints? Only one. They don’t brew their own tea. WHAT????? This is the south right? Weird for them to go through the trouble to put in a pizza oven that runs at 700F but not a tea pot to fresh brew the most popular drink in the south.

Service was excellent, and my diet Pepsi was refilled appropriately (if no tea, then cola with pizza.)

I don’t know the next time I’ll be in Columbia, but when I am I will be eating at G&V again. The Independent was equally excited about it. All in all, worth a try if you’re in that fair city.

Now back to waiting for my flight…

Writings From My SC Trip: Part 2

2008-02-15T18:45:00.001-08:00

Blogging in its very essence is an exercise in narcissism. Writing blog posts while not even connected to the internet has got to be an even greater exercise in self-importance, because not only do you think people care what you think, you think people will care what you think, on your schedule.

And with that I'll let you know that I'm not connected to the internet while writing this. I'm bored off my ass, with just under another hour of my delay left to go, assuming that the delay doesn't grow even longer.

Here are some random thoughts, published on my schedule for you to care about:

* It is already old news, but the Eli Manning to David Tyree pass in the Super Bowl was possibly the most amazing play I have ever witnessed with my own eyes as it happened. Or to be honest, as it happened on DVR playback, about 15 minutes behind reality.

* The airport terminal is blasting CNN. Unfortunately it's Lou Dobbs and his crew of screaming bloviators, which is bearable for about 10 minutes at current volumes. I now have on the mp3 player with the headphones set for noise reduction.

* There is a bird hopping around the terminal floor. Hop hop hop.

* I'm not from Nebraska, but my blue tshirt that says "NEBRASKA" in white letters makes everyone think I'm a Husker (even though a Husker would wear a red shirt with white letters), and I hear it every time I wear the shirt. I'm starting to wonder what the people from Nebraska have done to everyone else.

* During my last business trip, a tornadic storm hit Bentonville and I spent an hour on the phone with R while she huddled in the closet with the kids. This just in -- a tornadic storm is supposed to go through the area while I spend the night in South Carolina.

* In a food-related post, thumbs up on the location of the Flying Burrito that's near the Walton Arts Center near the University of Arkansas campus. We passed on the North College location due to a large crowd and gave the other one a try on Sunday. The burritos were just as good and the ambiance reminded me of my college days in Texas.

* Another food-related note. Hey why not, it's a food blog right? While the food isn't anything to write long blog posts about (but the fresh brewed tea is quite good), Chik-Fil-A has grabbed the crown of "fast food place you can bring the kids to" for us. We've gone to the Pleasant Crossing location in Rogers a couple of times -- decent food for fast food, lots of tea, good kids meals that the kids like, prizes like books and flip thingies about the first 12 presidents of the USA, extremely prompt and courteous staff (polite? what?), indoor playground (because we've learned that wind chill is a big deal here), and most of all, extremely clean. McDonalds hasn't got a thing on them.

40 more minutes left in the delay. Hopefully.

Writings From My SC Trip: Part 1

2008-02-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

I know I don't rant a whole lot on here -- as you know I am always very measured in my opinions -- but I must express my opinion on one topic that has come to affect my life in a profound way.

Terminal C in the Cinncinnati airport has no Cinncinnati chili restaurant. No Skyline. No whoever the hell else does that style of chili. Subway? Yes. McD's? Yes. A few sit-down places? Yes. But no chili! Cinncinnati's sole major contribution to the world's culinary scene (there may be others, but who gives a shit right now), and it has no representation in a fairly well-equipped and modern airport terminal. Pathetic.

The answer may be, however, that the Cinncinnati airport isn't in Cinncinnati. It's not even if Ohio. As I sit here waiting for my delayed flight in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I think back to a trip to the alternate reality created by our modern transport system --

"If you left a bag plane-side in Fayetteville, you can pick it up at the gate in Cinncinnati" -- flight attendant. The first part has actually been a big news item recently in the NWA news...Northwest Arkansas Regional Ariport is located in Highfill, in Benton County, not Fayetteville, which is about 20 miles away. Because Fayetteville is probably the most well-known town in the region (whereas Bentonville is relegated to only "most important" status), this is an understandable mistake. I think there are a fair number of people who live in the region who don't know what town the airport is in. But the big problem isn't the locals, it's the out-of-towners who hear "Fayetteville" and think "I'll tell my driver that I'm going to Fayetteville airport." Why? Fayetteville has an airport -- Drake Field -- which I don't believe carries any commercial traffic anymore. So people end up at the Arkansas air museum or some such and whoops! their flight is taking off at XNA in Highfill before they can make it to the right airport. I think a few airlines have agreed in principal to change how they refer to XNA, obviously the attendant on Delta, operated by Chataquah Airlines, who was wearing a Republic Airlines lanyard, missed the memo.

And the other side I already covered -- after flying out of "Fayetteville" I landed in "Cinncinnati," which of course is across the river in another state. If Nick Lachey can't claim it as his hometown, it ain't Cincinnati. And that's reflected in the food choices apparently.

I noticed during my dinner that Lou Dobbs with no sound on a tv is like watching someone taking a challenging dump.

So I ended up at Moe's, a sit-down place. They should just rename the place "Meh's."

I should have known from the start -- spigot Nestea, not fresh brewed, in my glass.

In my trying to be good (and because I had a good lunch at On the Border in Rogers), I ordered the Tuscan sandwich. How can someone mess up fresh mozz, basil, tomato, and some other veggies with balsalmic vinegar? Well it can happen. Soggy sad French bun. I didn't know fresh mozz came in shreds. The veggies were fine, but when the starting point is half-melted shreds, really what heights can that sandwich reach?

The seasoned waffle fries were fine, though they would have risen to good had they been hot. The ketchup, from a Heinz bottle, was on the watery side. I didn't touch the cole slaw.

Overall a sad meal. The saving grace is that in this alternate travel reality, the experience gets chalked to the expense account, not to my bank account, so the only real damage to me was inflicted on my taste buds.

Off To The Palmetto State

2008-02-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

While you wait anxiously for some word on the Rocking Horse Cafe in New York, I'm off tomorrow for Columbia, South Carolina, for a little bit of work fun (actually my work is always fun...yes I'm a little bit off.) In all of my travels I've been to or through South Carolina many times (mostly along I-85 or I-95), but I've never been to Columbia, so I'm interested to see what I find.

Cheap Thai: Eating In Chelsea

2008-02-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

The Chelsea neighborhood in NYC has a ton of restaurants, which is a boon for the traveler but also a challenge. Even if one is generous and allows the quality of restaurants to be represented by a bell curve, with equal numbers of excellent and terrible places to eat, having several hundred options not too far away means that while there are several that will be great, there are several that will leave you feeling sad and alone. And in reality, the curve is probably skewed to the left for most places, so recommendations come in very handy.

We arrived at our hotel right before 11am and by the time we checked in and dropped of bags it was 11:15. We'd both been up for hours -- he picked me up at 4:30am to make a 6am flight -- so we were both hungry. The desk clerk at the hotel recommended Pongsri, a Thai place just a block away from the hotel (see picture above taken from my room -- it's on the far right), saying that the hotel staff eats there all the time. The idea was certainly intriguing, as the Demographer and Captain had made allusions in the past to the general dearth of good Thai in the city.

We got to the restaurant at about 11:25, but they weren't open yet. Obviously not Bentonvillians, as people around here are ready for lunch at 10:30 (which is why I fit in so well).

My boss, however, is not a man to be stopped. He opened the door and said "can we come in? It's cold out" and the staff relented and let us in a couple of minutes early.

One very good thing about Pongsri is that it's not expensive for lunch. The lunch menu items all range from $6.95 to $7.95, which seems like a good price for a meal in NYC that doesn't involve dough, cheese, and sauce.

My boss got his favorite Thai dish, masaman (going with the menu spelling) curry with beef, default spicing (this is the same dish he got my first day at work when he took me out to lunch.) He thought it was very good and also thought the portion was a good size. He got a Thai iced tea to go with it and liked it though he noted (as I did and will tell you soon) that the tea was on the strong side. Overall he was very happy with his meal.

I went outside my comfort zone and ordered the number 19, tao-hoo pad-ped, or in English, fried tofu with green beans, onion, carrots, and chili paste. Tofu??? Yeah I know, weird. But with the increase in my travel schedule for work, I'm realizing that many pounds can be gained if one isn't careful in those situations, so I'm trying to broaden my protein horizons and also trying to focus on dishes with more veggies in them. In all, I realized that I shouldn't be doing my Reno menu every time I travel.

I ordered the dish "extremely hot and spicy." No I don't get up, grunt loudly, and flex when I order Thai food. Jeese.

The dish was quite good, perhaps too many carrots, though not extremely spicy. It had a kick, yes, but my strong Thai iced tea was never needed for a rescue. The tofu was good, on the firm side, and fried enough to give it some texture. The sauce was fairly standard stir-fry (slightly gelatenous, though not a Chinese sugar bomb), and thinking back I'm wishing I had gotten the number 20, which is similar but has Thai basil, as the basil would have put the dish over the top. Strong but not spectacular, but a good lunch overall.

Pongsri is certainly someplace I'd hit again to try some of the other menu items -- their menu is huge, so two dishes are best to be used as a gauge, not a deciding factor, and the quality of the food was high enough to warrant a return visit.

I'm Still Behind, So Enjoy Some Shots From NYC

2008-01-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

I will get to those two pesky NYC restaurants soon. Here are some shots from a walk I took...

Yes Virginia, New York Really Does Have A Sesame Street!

2008-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

Proof? Elmo has a restaurant.

Reno, Day 2, Land O'Mexican Food

2008-01-25T20:56:00.001-08:00

Finally got my pictures back, so I can finish up my Reno writing. I know you've been waiting with baited breath.

Day 2 of my journey started out with the leftovers of the snow storm and the associated ice left behind in places where people didn't care to do anything about it. Such as the parking lot of my motel.

And to make things a little bit weirder, even with all of that ice and snow, not too far east of Reno there was a canal breach and massive flood in Fernley, NV.

But because of the nature of the work I do, what was important on this trip wasn't the goings-on in Reno. I had a target further south, and bright and early in the morning I made my way to Carson City to take in the state government surroundings. Carson City reminded me a bit of Salem, only with desert scenery and less to do. I also learned that when driving on the highways, don't get too close to the sanding truck.

I got to Carson City in time for breakfast, but after some driving around I didn't come across what one would consider a bevy of breakfast options. I ended up selecting Jimboy's, which I actually silently ridiculed in my head when driving by one in Reno the night before -- cheesy graphics, poor lighting, and a generally unwelcoming presence.

The location in Carson wasn't as bad, though it was also daytime, so the outward appearance of the lighting wasn't such a factor. Plus, once I went inside, the food was cheap and Mexican (always a good thing on my travel budget.)

One very bright spot of the experience was the woman at the counter -- extremely friendly and patient while I stood there trying to figure out what to get. I decided on a breakfast burrito with egg and potato and orange juice (I don't think their tea was fresh brewed, so I skipped it.) The burrito, with the addition of the green salsa from the salsa bar and some jalapenos, was actually very good. The tortilla, if not made in house, tasted as close to made in house as a delivered tortilla can taste. Eggs and potatoes were well cooked (and the thing was HOT! Imagine that.) The green salsa I'm thinking was a mix of a tomatillo sauce and a green chile and had a little bit of heat and a very good taste. Overall a very good and very cheap breakfast, and it held me over until lunch, which is always nice.

I will remember for the next time I'm in Reno and/or Carson (which will probably be this summer) -- it's ok to eat at Jimboy's and I will try some of the regular menu food.

My meeting in Carson City didn't take as long as I thought it would, so I headed back to Reno for lunch, as again, CC doesn't seem like a real hopping restaurant town. If you know otherwise, please leave a comment as I'd love to check out some places in town on my next trip out.

For lunch I landed almost accidentally at El Adobe Cafe. I was trying to go to Miguel's, a spot I had eaten at in December 2006 when I was out there, but they were closed for lunch. After passing Miguel's on South Virginia, I decided I would turn around and head back for the chains near my hotel as I had a business call in the not too distant future and didn't want to be searching upper South Virginia for someplace to eat.

I turned onto West Arroyo and BOOM! there was a Mexican place calling my name (yes I ate Mexican food for every meal on this trip.) When I noticed that they had a sign for wireless internet access, I made the decision that El Adobe was where I needed to be. If you don't remember, the Super 8, where I stayed, had shit for internet services -- no wireless (and no nearby wireless to grab onto), no ethernet that I could find, and no business center.

The chips, salsa, and iced tea turned what started out as a convenience into heaven. The chips were fresh. The salsa was brick red, with a dried chile base and nice kick. Great flavor overall (I can't remember the specifics right now.) The tea was fresh brewed, tasted good, and was refilled appropriately (the service was great overall.) All this while I was connected on my laptop. This may be the best restaurant ever.

Or just one of them...I got the chile colorado plate for lunch, which was chunks of beef stewed in a red chile colorado sauce. Like most other chile colorados I've had, the chile flavor was good but it wasn't spicy at all. However, the salsa made life better, as the two different chile flavors melded together perfectly and the salsa's heat kicked up the tame colorado sauce. The corn tortillas were piping hot but I don't believe they were made in house. However, my tacos were still very good. Rice and beans were stronger than average. Overall a good plate, though I just wish the colorado had more oomph to it.

But! As a complete meal/experience, this is certainly a place I will return to. They made my mouth happy, my tummy full, and my life easier. I can't ask for much more than that.

For the LSU-Ohio State game, I headed to the sport book at the Grand Sierra Resort. Let's just say there were about 40 million too many Ohio State fans there. But no matter, as the Tigers took care of business. I actually spent much of the game on the phone with R, who was trying to figure out what to do during the storm that spawned numerous tornado sirens and a few twisters back home.

For dinner I ended back up at El Pollo Loco. Another tasty meal there, much like the first one the night before. Again, remember, cheap is good! And I do like their chicken and BBQ black beans quite a bit.

Back From New York

2008-01-23T18:44:00.001-08:00

My 24 hours in New York is done and I am back in NW Arkansas, waiting for the temps to get down to 10F tonight (it's 26F at 8:45 with a clear sky out there.) Anyhow, it was a whirlwind of a trip and I'll do my write-ups of Pongsri and Rocking Horse Cafe soon.

I saw this story on sushi tuna over the shoulder of someone today -- if you're a big tuna sushi eater it's a story you should read it.

We stayed in Chelsea, which is a neighborhood in the low 20s on the map, west of Park Avenue (I don't know the specific boundaries, but that was the general area.) It's arty and alternative and not particularly touristy (the only souvenier shops I could find were of the sex toy variety.) We were there as our business brought us to the general area and the Chelsea Savoy was the cheapest hotel we could find. No Ritz-Carlton for us.

Today's food was less noteworthy. Breakfast for me was a bagel and egg at Chelsea Papaya, which was cheap and conveniently located catty-corner to our hotel. My boss got an egg on wheat bread. The sandwiches were unexciting (they don't have a ton of condiments out either), but my boss liked his papaya juice and I liked the mango juice. Not sure if it's worthy of the Food Network praise I seem to remember. Also, the cook tried to upsell -- "egg and bagel?" "yeah" "two eggs?" "no, one egg" *pause* "one more minute on your two eggs and bacon bagel" "no I want one egg" etc etc.

Lunch was at Laguardia Airport. If you are hungry at LGA, be sure to eat before you go through security, as there ain't shit past security in terminal C. And with my boss's reconstructed knees setting off security, thus requiring additional checks each time, there was no way we were going to go back out to the main terminal. Anyhow, I found some soba noodles and jalapeno chips and they were fine, but not worth writing anything more about.

So Where Were We?

2008-01-21T19:54:00.001-08:00

I know I know, another week plus of new no content. Rest assured I'm working on it. We've actually been to a few new (to us) spots here, even though a couple of them are national chains -- the big surprise was probably Ruby Tuesday, which largely delivered on its promise of good food. I have a couple more Reno spots (actually one Reno and one Carson City) to write up, and I'll do that when I get my pictures back, as I've been traveling with a film SLR loaded with B&W film and a 50mm lens. One spot, the El Adobe Cafe in Reno, was a lifesaver, providing free wireless access when my hotel didn't even provide wired service. Finally, in about 6.5 hours I'm headed to the airport for a business trip to the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

Carl's Jr Founder Dies At 90

2008-01-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

Very sad, though sort of funny that he had insider trading issues.

Whole story here.

REsNOw

2008-01-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Editor's note: I went to Reno and wrote some posts that I couldn't put up because I only had my work computer. Here is one.

As the plane headed for the ground, the moonlit sky illuminated the snow-covered mountains.

Oh shit, snow.

I actually knew it was coming. I can read ok sometimes, and I read the weather reports. Snow Sunday. Snow Monday. Cold. Good thing I forgot to pack a coat.

Sometimes it's good when people flake out. Like the guy at the car rental place who was supposed to get my compact rental car but took so long the clerk took pity on me and gave me the luxury version, a Chrysler 300M. Big engine, super heavy. Not intimidated by snow.

Dinner was El Pollo Loco, a chicken spot I went to just over a year ago on my last trip to Reno. Their "thing" is Mexican-style grilled chicken (it's "healthy", according to the signs), and they actually do it pretty well. Crispy skin, flavorful meat, though a touch on the dry side. However, that was easily rectified, as their spicy avocado and spicy chipotle salsas were both spicy (imagine that!) and extremely good. They even have whole fresh serranos on the salsa bar, and I made sure to grab one of those. The chicken was served with two corn tortillas, so I made up some tasty tacos. I got BBQ black beans and spanish rice on the side. The rice was good, but was helped out by the addition of the avocado salsa. The beans were very good -- black BBQ beans with smoke flavor and not too salty.

The bad? No brewed tea, so I drank Hi-C fruit punch.

My hotel has no wireless access, no business center, nothing. This is a pain in my ass for blogging, but an even bigger pain because I need to be distributing stuff for work via email. Ugh.

I Love LA (He Loves It!)

2008-01-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

Editor's note: I went to Reno and wrote some posts that I couldn't put up because I only had my work computer. Here is one.

Actually I don't care for it all that much -- too crowded, too massive, bad memories of my first job out of grad school (I got in trouble for a Dilbert cartoon in my cube), too much hair gel, etc. I would love, however, to have a vacation here just to eat the city's ethnic foods. I'll give it that.

As I type (but not as I post), I'm sitting at LAX waiting for my next flight from LA to Reno, and I just wanted to point out one place where the frenzy over airport security misses the boat. How do you get from terminal to terminal at LAX? By train? Nope. By walking? Nope. By teleportation? Nope, the writers who were supposed to put that in place are on strike.

You get from terminal to terminal on a bus that shares the tarmac with airplanes. Sharing it so much so, that there are stop signs in places so the bus can stop while the airplane goes by. And the bus wasn't driven by Jet Le or someone who's look would suggest "don't even it try it." It frightens me a bit, as it only takes one psychotic asshole to take over the bus and take out a passing airplane. Stupid stupid stupid.

The only other thing of note is that I got in and will leave too early for dinner, so I got some picante corn nuts and a bottle of water. Yummy, though the guy sitting across from me probably thinks I'm chewing too loud.

Oh well, off to Reno...

Wrapping Up The Jersey Trip

2008-01-05T00:23:00.000-08:00

We've made it back to NW Arkansas safely and soundly, though I am damn tired of Newark Airport. The woman taking our boarding passes even made sure that remembered what New Jersey is most famous for -- screaming at people for no good reason.

Her: "MAKE SURE EVERYBODY HOLDS THEIR OWN BOARDING PASS!!!!"
R: "Yeah, like I'd let my 2-year old hold a boarding pass."
Her: "WELL I DON'T KNOW EVERYBODY BY SIGHT!!!"

Oh well, and after all that, it looks like I'm back to Manhattan (probably through EWR) again later this month. Yeesh.

But let us not focus on the negative. We're back in a good, positive place. Let me give kudos to Don at Olympic Airporter, who went well out of his way so we wouldn't have to change vehicles and wait in the cold with the kids and luggage on our car ride to the airport.

Also, on New Year's Day we headed into the city to visit Captain Sawyer and the Demographer, and after some fun at the Museum of Natural History, they treated us to some great pizza from Pizza Park (212-879-6444- 1233 1st Ave (66th & 67th)). The big pie was vodka sauce with fresh mozz and basil. Man it was good -- light and tasty crust (notice the lack of carbon), garlicky sauce, and 5 cows' worth of good fresh mozz. Probably one of the top five pies I've had (others being the tomato pie from Columbus in Trenton, NJ (I think that's the right spot in the link -- it's been 10 years) and the cheese and sausage from Apizza in Stayton, OR.)

The cheese was great too, though EtE loved it with the cheese ripped off. He's a carb man.

Anyhow, it's the Captain and Demographer's favorite slice joint (it sounds like slices are their primary business), so if you're on the upper east side go check it out.

One other quick note was a visit to the Neptune Baja Fresh, which is someplace we haven't eaten since the move. Very good, though the Salem location does the veggie quesadilla a bit better (veggies more cooked down). The item of note was the queso fundido, which was excellent, with a nice smoky chipotle bite. We devoured that stuff. Plus lots of fresh brewed iced tea, which is like blood to me (I had 10 cups at work today, plus a few at lunch. I missed my tea.)

I'm off to Reno on Sunday and will probably write posts but not post them until I get back, unless they hotel has a public computer. Until then...

The Jersey Culture

2008-01-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

No, not this Jersey culture.

We went out to Freehold yesterday, which is the central town of sorts in western Monmouth County Speaking of Monmouth County, it is home to several of the most expensive zip codes in the USA, including Deal, which had a 2006 median sale price of $1.8 million. Before you close your gaping mouth, keep in mind that a good chunk of homes in Deal are summer homes, not even full time residences, unless you count the live-in servants as residents.

Anyhow, we went out to Freehold. During our expedition we thought it would be fun to eat at Friendly's, which both R and I grew up with. Unfortunately my Treo, which is not Flash enabled, only knew where Friendly's Freehold location was, not that it was boarded up (the company's website requires Flash. Pricks.) The key isn't so much the food, but the ice cream. Friendly's ice cream sundaes rock.

So instead I suggested Jersey Freeze, which is a New Jersey institution, unless of course you ask people who live on the eastern side of Monmouth County, who've never heard of it. Jeese, people messing up my generalizations. Come on, Bruce Springsteen likes it! The Boss!

We ended up on the food side (yes, the place is split up between food and ice cream -- you can't get ice cream on the food side) for some lunch. To be honest, in my youth I don't think I ever ate the food at Jersey Freeze, and had only been there for ice cream a few times. I grew up in central Monmouth County, bitches.

I ordered the Jersey cheesesteak, which was sliced (more like shaved) sirlion, mozz, caramelized onions, and some dressing on a bun. I forget which dressing because I couldn't really taste it. No matter, overall it was surprisingly good. Everything was fresh, and the beef was good. The mozz added gooeyness plus good flavor to the sandwich.

The big shocker of the day was probably the chicken salad on rye ordered by R. Really good chicken salad, and fresh enough that the celery was still crunchy. The chicken had a nice roasted flavor and the rye bread was dense, but fresh and soft.

EtE ordered the junior burger with cheese, which was good as well. Not Logan's, but what is? For fast food it was tasty. The beef was particularly good. Beefy flavor (sounds stupid, but you know what I mean), and even at well done it was moist and juicy.

LE got a hot dog, which was blech but she was fine with it.

We ordered the crinkle cut fries and the battered fries. Both of these are brought in -- I forget the brand of the crinkles, but the battered fries are Ore Ida -- but they do a good job with the fryer and they taste good.

The star of the show and what I remember from my youth is the ice cream, so we made our way to the ice cream side and ordered a Katie's special, which has vanilla and chocolate soft serve, hot fudge, peanut butter sauce, peanut butter cups, and whipped cream.

Or should I saw, the potential star of the show. My memories failed me, as while the toppings were really good (I love peanut butter and chocolate together), the ice creams were flavorless, and neither R nor I could tell the difference between the vanilla and the chocolate. Very disappointing. I just hope it was an off day, as I wouldn't go back for that ice cream.

So in the end, I'd eat the food again if venturing out to Freehold, but unless something changes, I'll skip the ice cream, memories of my youth be damned.

Happy New Year, Or, Alternatively, Ole!

2007-12-31T21:07:00.000-08:00

Happy new year to all of you -- I'm assuming the ball dropped in Times Square about 14 minutes ago, though I didn't watch it, mostly because I've got a Jehovah's Witness-view of the day, or to be more technical, whoopdedamndo. I guess it is a celebration of the victory of the Roman calendar over all others, but I unfortunately have no cow to ritually slaughter in celebration. I would gladly trade it in for a holiday on the first day of spring.

A day I do like is my wedding anniversary, which occurred not too long ago. In celebration, R and I headed to Bistro Ole in Asbury Park, which is someplace that you Bruce Springsteen fans will be familiar with (Asbury Park, not Bistro Ole), on the recommendation of my father-in-law. Their food is "Latin infused Spanish Portuguese Cuisine," a description which, at this late hour, boggles the mind a little bit, as at 12:26am one should not be trying to decide how Roman conquest, the Moors, and the genius who invented guacamole play into this whole thing. I think what they're going for is "New World Latin Meets Old World Spanish and Portuguese Cuisine."

But this semantic meandering is meaningless, because the food is really good, and when it comes down to it, that's what really matters, not the mental navel-gazing of authenticity checks. Imagine how much CO2 wouldn't be produced if that sort of dickery disappeared.

And of course I just read the "about us" on the website and it mentions authenticity. Now I'm a little confused, or tired. But really, I don't care because my tastebuds are quite independent of any state or country.

(This is where Mel Brooks steps in and breaks out into "The Inquisition.")

First thing you need to know: no reservations. Not so important at 5pm (when couples with little kids and kind family are seated), but very important at 6pm (when it's full.)

The restaurant is sexy, sophisticated, and intimate (read: sexy, sophisticated, and some of the tables are close together.) And yes, the chairs are comfortable, so lingering and being romantic and doing three courses is not a challenge to the back.

Bread is brought out to start, and it was pretty good, dipped in olive oil that flavored with garlic. I loved the garlic flavor of the oil (the cloves and greens are in the flask), though I wish the olive oil was a tad stronger to add a fruity olive oil punch to the beautiful strains of garlic melodies dancing across my tongue.

What I really had my sights set on, however, was the appetizer of plantain chips and guacamole, or the "Ole Special." This was terrific -- the plantains, cut in long strips prior to frying, were perfectly fried and crispy. Maybe a touch more salt but that's picking nits. The guac had a nice avocado fruitiness and slight heat. Extremely fresh.

R got the "Chef's 'best seller' sea bass," which is seared sea bass with Spanish pesto, Spanish rice, and avocado salsa. The fish was fantastic, with a light texture and good taste, not fishy at all, and a great sear giving it a nice crust. It worked very well with the avocado salsa. She even let me have the last bite, which was very nice of her, showing the sort of kindness that is required to be married to me.

I got the skirt steak special, though I think it's something they offer quite a bit, as it was one of the dishes mentioned when discussing the restaurant. I ordered it medium, it came out more on the medium rare side (and in the middle was very close to rare -- it was probably the whole skirt -- the thing was over a foot long). Obviously we weren't in Salem. But hey, I'm game, and it was quite good. I don't know how long they let it rest after cooking, as even with the romantic lighting I knew that liquid under the meat wasn't the terrific tomato-chipotle salsa served next to the meat on the plate. Not a big problem but something to bring up from a presentation perspective. The onions on top of the meat were nicely caramelized, and a bite of the meat with the onions and salsa was a great treat. The puffy fried plantain chunks on the side were really good as well. I really need to eat more plantains. They have them in all the stores in Bentonville, I just get in trouble when I fry.

My dish came with Spanish rice and black beans. The black beans were excellent, some of the best I've ever had. The rice was on the bland side, which was a disappointment, but then the disappointment was averted when a forkful of beans entered my mouth.

We finished off with the bananas in tequila sauce. Sort of a Latin take on bananas foster. The bananas were warm and melt-in-your-mouth, and the tequila sauce was really good, though it had more of a caramel flavor than a tequila flavor. Scoops of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce also sat in the sauce bath, and their melting produced a nice creaminess in the sauce. A really good dessert and one I'd get again.

Service is friendly and efficient, and it should be mentioned that the busboys are excellent, keeping the table clear of finished plates and the water glasses full. The owner, Rico, even stopped by the table and wished us well when he found out what we were celebrating. Great people and atmosphere, resulting is a superb dining experience. (My quotable quote)

To sum it up and get to bed, Bistro Ole is a place I'm excited about, and certainly a worthwhile stop on a trip to the Jersey shore.

Edison, New Jersey, Home To Corned Beef That Would Make You Smack Anyone Else Who Makes Corned Beef

2007-12-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

Whether you're a Southerner by birth or by relocation, one thing you hold near and dear to your heart is that the big flap of fat on top of a brisket must never be removed prior to cooking, lest the result lose all the joy that seeps into and over the meat. If you're the Redneck King, who's a guy I work with and should really talk more about on this blog because he's fascinating and loves to cook, not only do you keep the fat on, you put two pork butts (or "asses", as he calls them) above the brisket on the smoker (and only use a Cookshack) so that the "butt juice" can drip onto the brisket. I told him he should market a product called "Richard's Butt Juice."

One thing that will shock, SHOCK, you, if you ever happen into the Seaview Costco, is that their briskets don't have the fat flap, or much other fat to speak of. This frightens me a bit, because I fear that the goodness of the fat flap will never be realized. However, most briskets in this area never see the inside of a smoker (not even a Brinkmann, my smoker of choice, because $60 was all I was allowed to spend). Instead, they will be crocked, corned, grilled and crocked (my father-in-law's preparation), etc. So I guess the fat flap becomes a liability. But sometimes joy can be a liability.

When corned beef is the end result, oftentimes the best eating is cut from the point of the brisket, which has lots of interior fat to make the meat extra tasty, and the flat cut meat is dry and undesirable to people who love tasty and moist meat.

Enter Harold's New York Deli Restaurant, which advertises itself as having the best corned beef in the world. Apparently Harold used to operate the Claremont Diner, wherever that was, as I don't think it's the one in Oakland, CA, and the Carnegie Deli in NYC, which is modestly famous for its meat. So walking in, sure they may be boastful, but at least they probably have a good idea of how good corned beef is supposed to taste.

Well I haven't tasted every corned beef in the world, but this was certainly the best I've ever had, and it was flat cut meat! Moist, succulent, corny, but not too corny, and extremely tasty on the tastebuds. I tried it two ways -- first, on a reuben (pictured above), which is 13oz of meat smothered in swiss cheese, hiding some rye bread, saurkraut, and Russian dressing (yeah it's not sized for one.) The reuben was delicious, and I made it perfectly balanced by not putting too much saurkraut or Russian dressing on the serving I cut off of it for myself. I also tried it from the corned beef sandwich, which was 26oz of meat in between two slices of rye bread. Everyone (there were eight adults) agreed that the corned beef was exceptional.

At this point I will tell you that on the excellent pickle bar (the kosher dills rock) they have enormous amounts of fresh rye bread, some of the best I've ever eaten.

Speaking of the pickle bar, and this is all a matter of personal taste, I didn't care for the half-sour pickles (which R loved), or the sour pickles, which didn't make it to my mouth due to the body odor smell (but they are quite popular), or the pickled tomato (front and center in the picture above), though my dad liked it. Try them all and see which ones you like.

The portions are insane, essentially family-style Jewish deli. It's not for the dainty, not for those seeking romance, and not for people who don't eat much.

The knish (pictured above with the reuben) was great, a perfect blend on potato and onions on the inside. With the mustard it was heavenly.

We also got the hard salami, which I thought was great, R thought was the best she's ever had (she's a huge hard salami fan), and Grandpa Sam thought was sliced too thin. It was sliced thin, but if it's too much thicker it can be hard to eat. Hard salami is not named as such because of it's melt-in-your-mouth succulence.

We also got the turkey, which I thought was good and my mom especially loved. R liked it as well (I just asked her as she's sitting next to me), though not enough to merit a turkey sandwich on its own.

The fries and onion rings were very good and perfectly executed, though I would have preferred more salt on both. LE and EtE managed to consume most of the fries.

The desserts are also insane in size, with most portions feed 5-6 people. We got a slice of chocolate fudge cake and a slice of apple streudel. Grandpa Sam loved the streudel, though R thought it was just ok. I liked the fudge cake (so did LE), but I think overall if the novelty of the size weren't in play, these two desserts would not necessarily be as popular as they are. Good, but not great.

Service was extremely efficient (the food comes out FAST!), though drinks are not refilled to my Southerner standards. People here just don't hydrate themselves as well as I do. It's quite a job getting all the food onto the table, but somehow we managed.

So if you're doing a food trip to NYC, should you take a side-trip to the swamps of Jersey to try Harold's? Yes you should.

***

We had a really nice lunch with the Therapist today at the Holmdel Macaroni Grill. The last time I had lunch there, we got into a car wreck 15 minutes later.

R, the Therapist, a I all got various sizes of the Caprese salad, and all were impressed by the quality of the tomatoes and basil, especially given that it's the dead of winter here. The bread was also fantastic, the tea great and refilled nearly appropriately, and it was good to visit with an old friend.

My Yard Is Brighter And Louder Than Your Yard

2007-12-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

That would be my father-in-law's next door neighbor. It plays music too. Loudly.

Interesting retail customer service note today -- in the past two days, I have been to two separate (both in location and company) locations of large national retailers in which employees working the register area have spontaneously starting yelling at each other in angry tones, with large numbers of customers standing nearby. Nothing says we care little about your experience in our store much better.

One other interesting retail note -- having lived in and/or visited most of the lower 48, I can say with some certainty that the northeast really has it made for ethnic ingredients, even at chain grocers (though I will also say that this excludes Hispanic ingredients, which are getting there but don't always expect to be able to get tomatillos.) Went to Wegman's today and was completely blown away by the Jewish and Italian foods offered, both in prepared form and in ingredient form. Tons of fresh mozz in several forms, huge olive bar, the whole Cento line (I shake my fist at this one, as Cento's romas are my favorite -- Whole Foods in Oregon only sells the romas, not the whole line), and a bewildering array of other packaged Italian goods. Five or six types of knishes in the prepared food area, you get the gist. And this isn't a specialty store, it's a grocery store.

And I didn't see any tomatillos at Wegman's by the way.

We all have specific foods from specific places in our lives that shape our views on those foods from other places and constitute almost an impossible standard to live up to, regardless of how good they may be in the present day. For readers of Michael Ruhlman's blog, whatever it was had alot of wood in it, forming present day sticks in asses. His rise to "fame" has turned what used to be a pretty interesting blog into:

*POST ABOUT ANYTHING*

Comment 1: Michael, you're the best!
Comment 2: Michael, I want to fellate you!
Comment 3: The Next Iron Chef was a scam because you and the guy who won have love children hidden in mental facilities in outer Mongolia.
Comment 4: How dare you criticize Michael! You are scum that likes canned broth!
Comment 5: I will go to Cleveland and eat at LOLA!
Comment 6: Michael, I too will go to Cleveland, eat at LOLA, and then dress up as a woman, even though I am a 6'5" man with a full beard and deep voice, and fellate you!

And so on...

What I'm really saying is that the comments have been really lacking of late on this here blog.

Ok got sidetracked there for a second. Anyhow, growing up, and even after that, the gold-standard for chicken parm subs, for me, has been that sold by Joyce's Subs and Pizza in Lincroft, NJ. They've been around for 38 years according to their take-out bags, which is 5 years longer than I've been alive and 7 years longer than my first steps in Lincroft. They have always been an honest, no-frills kind of place, a frill being something like a booth put in within the last 33 years (it's been 2 years since I've been in, so maybe it got a redo, but if it affects the food then no redo please.)

AC and JC picked up some Joyce's on the way back to DC and brought it over for all of us to eat. I got the chicken parm sub, and it, for the most part, achieved the gold standard. Chicken fried perfectly and, for the most part, moist and tender, and most of all, tasty. Perfect amount of sauce and cheese. Bread toasted just right so that even a 15 minute car trip from the shop to the house couldn't kill the joy. I mean, when you get that bite of toasty Italian bread, breading, chicken, the slightly acidic sauce, and the melted mozz in your mouth, the world is saying "this is the best f'ing chicken parm sub ever."

One slight problem with today's -- one of the pieces of chicken (it constituted half of the half), was rubbery. Tossed that. Other than that though it was awesome.

Just as good were the eggplant parm subs, which R got.

Again, perfection is all steps, including the balance of ingredients, surviving the car trip as well. The eggplant was extremely tender and melted in my mouth.

I think there are two keys to Joyce's excellence: (1) the bread. No chain sub shop can replicate it, and even most places that claim to do Italian subs don't come close. The only place I can think of offhand with the bread to go up against Joyce's is Antonio's Flying Pizza in Houston, which has very good chicken parm subs. (2) They know what freaking chicken parm is. They fry the chicken, they get the sauce right (lubricate but don't overwhelm), they melt the cheese, etc.

I know I've only talked about their hot subs, but I've been eating at Joyce's for 20+ years and all the subs are very good at minimum, even the cold ones. Surprisingly enough, I don't think their pizza is all that great, but the last time I had it was 10+ years ago, so inject a huge grain of salt into that statement and don't hold it against them.

Day Uhhh...I Have No Clue: New Jersey, It's Still Here

2007-12-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

I don't have too much to write about, so I'll fill you in on the little whimsys I've come across the past couple of days.

* People in New Jersey can't read, especially if it's a red octagonal sign that says "STOP." What's the rush? Those two extra seconds won't get you out of the state any faster.

* Ate the fine cuisines of Taco Bell (on HY 36 near Barnes and Noble) and Costco pizza today (my father-in-law normally gets pizza at the restaurant run by his next door neighbor, but it was closed). The Taco Bell was actually fresh and hot. Plus they had brewed iced tea, allowing me to feel somewhat normal (if you've forgotten, during most work days I consume 6-8 20oz cups of iced tea (of course you need to factor for ice, but still). I love my cafeteria.)

* I'm just now getting over the exhaustion of the travel. Yeesh.

* I've consumed more cookies and candy in the last two days than I did in the year proceeding. However, my bowels have attempted to offset the intake.

* Whenever my 2-mile commute to work stretches to 10 minutes on a bad day (from the usual 7-8 minutes), I can always take heart in that my uncle has to ride the train 1.5-2 hours EACH WAY every day for his commute. That's an extra work week every month!

* After watching two shows tonight that mentioned food in India and China, I'd have to say I'd go to India first. I was hungry after that show was over. The Bombay Duck looked quite tasty, though if you can't get the lizardfish, any white fish should do -- just dust with salt, chili powder, turmeric, and lemon juice, dredge in flour, and fry. Serve with your favorite chutney.

* I would put up pictures, but I'm uploading on flickr right now and it's taking forever.

* I wonder how Apizza in Stayton, Oregon is doing. If you haven't been there yet, go.

Nuevo Jersey, Aqui!

2007-12-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

Just in case you were wondering, we made it safe and sound to New Jersey. After a long two days I'm beat, so this is all you get for today.

OK -- just one thing -- AC and JC made an excellent Christmas Eve dinner. And Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Because I'm In Arkansas Instead of NJ, I'm Reading Blogs And Watching Quality Videos

2007-12-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

Props to Deadspin...

Viva New Jersey: Day 1, The False Start

2007-12-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

Before we get started with the story, let me do some product talk...

Glaceau's strawberry-kiwi Vitamin Water. You're probably wondering at this very moment how I think it tastes? Is it refreshing?

No clue. I haven't tried it.

No, why I am bring up Glaceau's strawberry-kiwi Vitamin Water is that I picked up a bottle for free yesterday while taking care of some work business (however, I turned down the hamburger helper sample, begging off as just having eaten lunch). The woman handing out the samples opened it, and I closed it back up for the walk to the car. I put it in the car and forgot about it.

Fast forward to this morning.

It got cold last night. It was freezing at 7pm and down to 20 when I woke up at 7am. So cold. Cold enough to freeze water.

But not cold enough to freeze Glaceau's strawberry-kiwi Vitamin Water. It was as fluid as the day it was born. Not even a trace of having been frozen.

So what I surmise is that Glaceau may have not made the best beverage on earth (I've tried it before and thought it was way too sweet), they have made the perfect emergency beverage that can act as either a thirst quenching agent or anti-freeze.

So on with the story.

The car picked us up at 3pm for a 5:30pm flight. All went smooth, got to the airport about 3:30 or so. Got up to the counter...

duh duh duhhhhhhhhh

Air traffic control hold on the flight because of high winds. I read the alert later, which said that the storm was producing winds of 15 to 25 mph with 45 mph gusts. Yeah, high winds. Anyhow, we had a proposed departure time of 9:02pm, BUT, because the our plane coming in was on time, it was a no-leave situation as any release on the hold meant we had to go. Also, TSA at XNA leaves at 7:30pm, so you need to be through security by then or it's no-fly for you!!

So we decided to rough it for six hours. No other options.

I've said before, but am too lazy to look up, that the food choices at XNA are far too limited and the quality is a bit suspect. Monopoly pricing and service unfortunately. So for $24 I got two hot dogs for the kids, 3 Ozarka waters, a cup of soda, and a taco salad.

The taco salad isn't on the menu, but I saw a ground crew person get one, asked what it was, and was informed that such a thing as "taco salad" existed at XNA. This is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, as my freshman year of college I ate taco salad almost every day at Spanky's in College Station, TX (who closed my sophomore year and I tell you I cried. I really did. The taco salad was that freaking good.)

The XNA version has many tortilla chips (of questionable freshness), chili beans, chili con queso, and then salad greens, shredded cheese, and tomato slices on top. They even gave me jalapeno slices.

It really wasn't that bad, I just wish the chips were fresher and the chili and cheese had a bit more punch. But for monopoly price and service airport food, it's better than the pathetic looking pizza my kids wouldn't eat, and they'll eat most any pizza you put in front of them.

Anyhow, at 7:30-45 or so, they cancelled the flight. The departure time would have put the crew beyond their federally regulated allotted hours. So no New Jersey for us tonight!

We hopped into a car service car, drove back to the house, and I undressed (need to wash those clothes for the morning!) and blogged. Woohoo I know.

We'll try again at 6:30am tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Here We Go Yo Here We Go Yo So What So What So What's The Scenario

2007-12-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

Bo knows this *what?* and Bo knows that *what?* but Bo can't rap...

Anyhow, I apologize for the long relative silence on my part on this here blog. AC has been doing a great job filling in the gaps. We've just not eaten out alot, and R puts up all of our home makings for you to cook on her blog. So not a whole lot for me to write about, unless I wanted to get into immigration politics, and I'm not going there.

So what's the plan? Mark your calendars, for travelogues are coming...

12/23 - 1/3: I'm in New Jersey (AC will be there too for awhile)

Read my previous New Jersey posts.

1/6 - 1/8: Reno, Nevada (actually on the 8th I will be in the air most of the day)

I actually went to Reno about a year ago but never got around to writing it up. One place I really liked was Miguel's, and they even comped me a sopapilla. Great service too.

Some time in January (not set yet): Columbus, Ohio

Read the previous Ohio posts here.

Early February (I forget the dates off the top of my head): Columbia, South Carolina

And there will be a few other trips as well I'm sure.

***
And I did try one new spot -- I had the fish and chips at the River Grille Steakhouse in Bentonville. The best fish and chips I've had outside of Oregon. Beer battered cod fried perfectly, and the fries, which are also battered prior to frying, were excellent. The white chocolate cheesecake was ok (I can make better), the tea was good, and the service was friendly though a bit slow, though we had a big group so not a completely fair way to judge them.

DCist: Skorpios

2007-12-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

Part of the fun of writing for DCist is writing about the smaller places that have been mainstays for the 8 years I've lived (on and off for some) in the Northern Virginia area. However, inside-the-Beltway snobs (a group to which I now belong), don't get to experience some of the best food in the area. Skorpios is truly at the top of the heap in terms of takeout, with the best Greek food I've ever eaten. Their roasted chicken is to die for, and I've gotten several free items in the past because of a shared name with the owner.

Here's a link to the post on DCist...enjoy!

Full News Story On Acambaro

2007-12-11T04:04:00.001-08:00

Here's the full news story on the Acambaro raids.

Part of it strikes me as a little bit weird, but I won't get into politics on the blog (though you're probably thinking I haven't gotten into much of anything on the blog lately, so why not?)

A Bentonville Favorite Raided

2007-12-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

Local police and ICE raided four Acambaro restaurants today, including the S. Walton location here in Bentonville. I actually drove by the S. Walton location at 11:30 this morning after getting gas and wondered why there was noone there, especially because people pack this place every day for lunch. And when I say pack I mean park in the dirt behind the dumpsters pack. I hope this all gets resolved -- it'll be good to have them back up and running (this after Acambaro 3 on 14th St. closed mysteriously a few weeks ago.)

Story here.

DCist: Korean

2007-12-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

For your review, kind readers, here's a link to a post about a Korean restaurant on DCist. Good times, and this marked our first time at a Korean place without a mouth-breathing Korean ordering for us.

(I had a grad school professor who sent out FYI emails with the aforementioned delicate phrasing. It's very pleasant, wouldn't you say?)

Video of AC Eating Jalapenitos

2007-12-04T19:30:00.001-08:00

Jalapenitos: WTF?!

2007-12-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

Battling a late-afternoon snack craving, I headed over the diabetes-maker (vending machine) for a crunchy remedy. Sun Chips? Boring. The latest ass-flavored Dorito combination? Over it.

Then I see Jalapenitos, in the most unattractive snack chip bag ever...a white background showcasing horrible-looking orange chips, further selling it by inserting pictures of jalapenos and blocks of cheese. They're all natural, too! So why did I spend $0.85 on them? Good question. I get into tangy/spicy kicks every now and again, brought on a number of factors (boredom and depression seem to be at the top of the list). I'd call it the culinary equivalent of writing emo music, where my tongue writes the lyrics "I just want to feel SOMETHING...ANYTHING!"

Upon the first bite, I knew I was going to be disappointed. The cheese coating is best described as sandy, the flavor is flat, and the jalapenos are more fruity than anything. Think of every off-brand shitty cheese doodle you've ever eaten, and therein lies your first bite of a Jalapenito.

Truly an underwhelming offering, and maybe my expectations shouldn't have been high to begin with. Obviously the guy who stocks the vending machine didn't have much stock to rotate, because right behind the lone bag of Jalapenitos rested a whole row of Cheetos. I'll stick with my carrots tomorrow.

God, what a waste.

Beijing, China: Day 8 - It's so haaaard to say goodbye...

2007-12-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Despite having a late afternoon flight, we were able to fit a lot into our abbreviated schedule on Day 8. JC and I returned to Tian'anmen Square, hoping to walk around and take some last minute pictures and buy some last-minute souvenirs. The air pollution combined with the fog made for horrible sight-seeing conditions, so our pictures didn't really turn out to be anything special...like, say, those below.

Stately Chinese flags in the air pollution

Point made...bad air pollution and fog!

We did, however, get to see what has to be one of the strangest tourist attractions umm ever. In what is quite possibly a feat never to be replicated, the Chairman Mao Memorial Mausoleum was constructed in the year following Mao's death in 1976. Today, hordes of people line up to walk by the pickled corpse, getting a glance at the man who formed the People's Republic of China. Tails are told of hours spent in line to get a 30-second glance. Well, we were lucky....it took us 15 minutes from getting into line to exiting the gift shop (yes, there's a gift shop). The first room you enter contains a statue of Mao, where people lay flowers and pray. You're then shuffled into the "coffin" room, where Mao lies in state. Dude looks good for having been dead 30 years. As a whole, it's a strange sight, but one that you should make sure to take in to satisfy your morbid curiosity.

The only orderly line you'll find in China

Once our bags were packed, we headed up towards the Beijing airport to see some of the diplomat housing, as well as some of the outlying suburbs. We fit in one last meal at the Lake House. If you're wondering how to get there, turn left after civilization ends, then go through the roundabout, and then turn left on to a country road where the Chinese guy with the cowboy hat is standing. Once you drive to the other side of the lake, STOP! The Lake House has a ton of indoor and outdoor seating, and you can see the fisherman out on the lake. Don't order fish at the Lake House though...it apparently comes from the lake, and may or may not turn your insides into ecto-plasm. We ordered kung pao chicken, crispy beef served with green onion in pancakes, and toffeed fruit (we had to get the toffee fruit). Lucky for us, our last Chinese meal turned out to be our favorite. As a sidenote, the Lake House was swarming with flies. Our waitress leaned over our table once to swat at a fly on the window. Classy!

Make your own spot!

And with that, the travelogue comes to an end. It's been awesome writing about the trip and reliving some of our favorite moments.

Postscript #1: We tried some of the candy we bought at a supermarket. For all the stories I've heard about durian fruit, I've also had an itch to try it. Well, we got the equivalent of a durian fruit life saver...wow. Imagine taking a poopy diaper, letting it sit in the trash for three days, and then pouring it on top of a pineapple life saver. One of the worst things I've ever tasted (a list that includes sea urchin). After 10 minutes of brushing teeth and mouthwashing, the taste finally went away. Itch scratched, and never again will appear.

Postscript #2: JC recently found a store in Alexandria, VA that has a lot of the items we saw in the markets in China. Ahh...the declining value of the dollar (or is it the weakness of the yuan?)...The average price of an item in the store for the exact same item was roughly between 5 and 10 times the price over in Beijing. Can we go back?

Beijing, China: Day 7 - The Emperor WILL Behead You

2007-12-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, a guy and his wife traveled to China...since then, he wrote eloquently about 6 days of his trip, allowing the reader to savor the buildup to the grand finale. Your savoring can end (and commence throwing tomatoes at your dink of a blogger).

Day 7 started off with a rather exciting prospect. Tell a taxi driver to drop you off at the north gate of Beihai Park, and then look around for a white van with a specified license plate number. Illicit purchase? Nah...I got shots for that stuff anyway. We were searching for the "ticket booth" for our hutong tour. The Beijing hutongs are neighborhoods with maize-like streets that date back several centuries, some as far as the 1400s. There are several companies set up at the North Gate to take you around the hutongs via rickshaw, whose drivers likely have the largest calves in China.

Sketchy van? Oh, there it is!

Our first stop was the Drum and Bell Tower, which were used in days of yore to tell time. Imagine 26 large drums being played at 2:00am telling you what time it was. As you can see from some of the pictures from the Drum Tower, it was not a day to do much aerial sightseeing.

Aerial view of a Hutong

It's 10PM...your children are up here keeping Beijing awake

Our second stop was Mr. Wu's house. Who's Mr. Wu? A guy that owns a home in the hutong who contracts out to the various tour companies so that they can bring their groups in to ooh and aah. His home covers about 2,000 square feet, and has an outdoor garden and extra apartments for his two sons and their families. We talked about purchasing land, the Olympics, and what food they make for Sunday family dinners (noodles and dumplings, if you're curious). It was a great time, and everyone was grateful that we got an opportunity to see the inside of a home in the poorer (although kind of trendy) part of town.

The garden was quite lovely...quite lovely!

Our last stop on the tour was a tea ceremony at Gong Wongfu, the residence of Prince Gong. Note to self: when living in an empire, do not accumulate more wealth than emperor...he'll have your head. We learned how to brew the different types of teas, and that you can re-use black tea leaves. Also, if you drink green tea, you'll lose weight. Those Chinese and their myths. My favorite was the green tea, while JC enjoyed the black tea flavored with lychee.

Silly Americans and their quest for losing weight...BUY TEA!!!

After the tour, we headed back to the Chaoyang district for lunch at Chingari, a Bangladesh, Pakistani, and Indian joint. They offer a lunch buffet, but we had our eyes on some of the entrees. We ordered veggie samosas to start, but wound up with beef (meh). I ordered palak paneer, which is the Indian cheese with a creamy spinach sauce. JC ordered the chicken do piaza, which in spite of its Italian-sounding name, was flavored with tomato, onion, and a hint of coriander. To sop up the sauce, we ordered a garlic naan which was rather flat in taste, and definitely did not taste like it came from a tandoor oven. Shame shame. We both enjoyed our entrees, though.

Now imagine a belly full of Indian food...what would your next stop be? You guessed it...Bodhi, for an aromatherapy massage. There was tons of oil, and the towels were steamed in an herb bath, and of course there were Chinese ladies climbing on our back. We left refreshed, ready for our final night in Beijing.

We met up with The Host and one of her colleagues at The Tree, a hole in the wall wood-fired pizza joint that serves Belgian beer. It's like a slice of heaven, right there in Beijing. JC and I ordered a puttanesca pizza, which was topped with olives and capers. We left off the anchovies, remembered what our homemade puttanesca tasted like the one time we included anchovies...crap, that's what it tasted like. The pizza was a different story...the sauce was smoky and sweet, while the crust had a good taste but could have had more taste. I ordered a couple glasses of DeKoninck, taking advantage of the $4 cost, which is about half of what it costs at a bar down the street here in DC.

Step over the people sleeping in the alley and do the secret knock

I turned in early, while JC and The Host stayed up late looking at old pictures and recounting stories of their childhood. One more post to come about the last half day.

Food Network Canceling Emeril Live

2007-11-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

This was a bit of a shock -- Food Network canceling the show that made them what they are today.

While it's not something I watch much anymore, back in the late 90s/early 00s it was Emeril Live, along with living in Louisiana, that got me into food and cooking, so I do owe a debt of gratitude to him and the network. In recent years it's gotten almost depressing to watch as he assembles 10 dishes per episode in a rushed fashion, but even still there were glimpses of the joy that emobodied his early work. I guess they just needed more time to show off Rachael Ray smoker's hack.

Skanksgiving Recipes

2007-11-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

My chickens came out awesome -- smoky, moist, and flavorful -- as good as or better than any chicken I've had at any BBQ joint. The dry rub (on the left) was the better of the two, a good thing since it's a mix I came up with. They ended up smoking for 6 hours, as the temp never got above 40F during the smoke (it's 21F right now as I write this, up from 19F when I woke up.) R has all of the recipes for our dinner up at cookbooksmasher.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

Or as EtE says it, "Skanksgiving." But isn't that every day?

I'll put up some useful info from our dinner later, and R will have up all the recipes on cookbooksmasher. This is our first Thanksgiving on our own in quite some time, so we're smoking chickens and turkey sausage, making stuffing, cranberry sauce, and rolls, and we even made cheesecake bars and pumpkin pie. We also had lunch at Waffle House, which was excellent and service was great, most likely because the waitress knows us. More soon...

Closings And Hair Follicles

2007-11-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

Word reached me tonight that Mama Fu's and Moe's down on Walton may be closed. Sad, as Moe's had a great deal going on for quite some time. Hmmm...maybe the great deal killed them. So to get our burrito fixes, looks like we'll have to head down to Fayetteville and the Flying Burrito Company. Not that that's a bad thing.

Lunch today was with a huge group at Abuelo's. I got the huevos rancheros which were fine but not tremendously exciting (I can make better at home). I'm thinking if you stray too far from chips, salsa, and their fajita meat the strength of the menu weakens a bit (they don't make their own tortillas, which I still think is a crime.) However, for the first time in the three times I've eaten there I got the "hot" and "super hot" salsas, and both were excellent and addictive. My co-workers think I'm psycho and my boss thinks I'm awesome because I told the waiter to get her some. The hot has a kick to it (depending on what batch you get their regular salsa can have a kick too), and I think what makes it addictive is the roasted garlic overtones, or at least what I think were roasted garlic overtones. Watch me be wrong. It's served warm which I love as well. The super hot tastes a whole lot like xni pec, which is a scorcher of a Yucatecan salsa and features tomatoes and habanero chiles. The first giveaways were the heat and the fruitiness that is typical of habanero salsas. I ate tons of it, and between that and the 100s of ounces of iced tea that I'd had since 8am ($0.85 for freshed brewed iced tea at work, free refills all day, it's like heaven), my system was spinning around in circles. I even felt the burn in my hair follicles. It was great.

It wasn't so great when it all wore off after lunch and I was left with a headache and wanting a nap.

I will try and try some new places to write up. The kids have been on a Zaxby's tear of late so we've been there alot recently.

New DCist Post

2007-11-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to my most recent DCist review for Pizza Zero, an Argentine pizza joint in Bethesda, MD. Gots to love a wood-fire grill restaurant that keeps their woodpile in plain sight! There will also be more DCist posts to come!

I have to give my editor a shoutout for his writeup about Five Guys in Manhattan. If you haven't had Five Guys yet, prepare for the end is nigh!

About those China posts, the last two days and a follow-up post about our food souvenirs are forthcoming shortly...

Buffalo Wild Wings, Service So Slow You Have Time To Cleanse Your Colon

2007-11-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

Ok -- Buffalo Wild Wings in Bentonville. I know there are other locations around here and haven't been to them, so to be fair that is my disclaimer.

Anyhow, against our better judgment we ended up there on Sunday for dinner, mostly because EtE wanted their corn dogs. Their service is actually always really slow, but on this trip it was slow, inept, incompetent, and unapologetic. I almost wrote this on Sunday night because I was pissed off (it took all I had to leave any tip at all,) but I figured that time would give me perspective, and now I will share it.

Lesson Number One: Reading is fundamental. When the tea canister says UNSWEET, don't put sugar in it to make sweet tea. This is not only a failure on the part of the schlub who made the tea, it's a failure of management or whoever is responsible for checking that things are done correctly, especially if it's a beverage with a rather high sugar concentration. As a result, we had to wait for them to make a new pot of unsweet tea, which took 20 minutes, and while I drank one glass of sweet tea (I'm not a big fan), R got her food before she got a drink.

Lesson Number Two: Think on your feet. When your customer's drink of choice is unavailable, ask if they would like something else, do not accuse them of not knowing what they are drinking and then ignore them for 20 minutes.

Lesson Number Three: Do your fucking job. If you see empty cups when you walk by your assigned table, ask the people if they would like some more, especially if those were their first cups of the drink of their choice and they've been at the table for 50 minutes. It doesn't take very long and you can still go chat with the girl at the hostess stand afterwards.

But thankfully our waitress had an excuse. After I had closed the tab and she gave us our second cups of iced tea AS SHE WAS CLEARING THE TABLE, she told me that she was stressed because she just got a 20-top. I spared her the proper reaction, which would have been:

"You didn't have the 20-top for the last fucking hour fifteen, let me take back the 2 bucks I tipped you."

Instead I said:

"Oh."

Anyhow, BWW is on the s-list. Anyone who has read this blog knows that my money won't get spent there for quite some time. Congratulations!

Beijing, China: Day 6 - Our nymph is impressed by your talent!

2007-11-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

After 5 days of eating (awesome) Chinese food, we started Day 6 with a wholesome American breakfast. Grandma's Kitchen, located near the embassies on the east side of the city and right below the Tibetan restaurant from Day 3, is Beijing's answer to IHOP...only the plates of food are bigger, if that can be believed. There's a warmth inside, though, which can be attributed more to the country inn-esque design and the Chinese hospitality, rather than any Sousa march going through my head.

The breakfast menu contains the standards: waffles, pancakes, and your choice of pork product. They also feature fresh squeezed juices, which is great for people who don't need a Diet Coke to get their day going. JC had the lemonade, and The Host had the OJ. The lemonade was tart, kind of like what you'd hope from a fresh-squeezed juice, rather than Country Time sweetness.

For the meal, I ordered the pancakes with bacon and scrambled eggs, while JC ordered the waffles with the same sides. The pancakes were light and fluffy and FRIGGIN' HUGE!!! The waffles were a little soggy, but their size was to be admired. The only downside to the meal is that the amount of syrup served doesn't match up with the size of the pancakes or the waffles. The Host employed a commendable strategy, which was to dip each slice of her french toast into the syrup, thus making it last longer. She truly is a masterful in the ways of Chinese efficiency...

After breakfast, we headed back to the apartment to load up on trail mix and granola bars and headed up to The Great Wall. We decided to go to the (comparatively) remote location of Mutianyu, which is about 60 minutes outside of Beijing, and requires many turns and trips along quiet tree-lined roads. Compare this to the Great Wall at Badaling, which by all accounts is the world's largest cluster-f, but possibly leading to hilarious down-wall tumbles.

You will BOW to the cable car

We took a cable car up the wall, and decided to turn east, rather than scale the mountains to the west.

The way we could have gone...

We ambled about for 90 minutes or so, stopping to take pictures, admiring the smog, listening to stupid freakin' blondes in heels drinking beers complaining about how mountainous the wall is. It's built on mountains, so the flat parts are few and far between.

The wall was pretty quiet, actually, aside from the spots where the cable cars dropped you off. When we weren't ambling, we were meandering, and were able to stop and take many pictures of the fall color mixed with the China smog, yet admiring the grandeur of the wall. The coolest part of the trip to the Wall was coming down off of it, where we took a tobaggon on a hilly, curvy course down to the bottom. OMG was it awesome. I would have paid to go back up the wall so that I could go down the tobaggon again.

Foodwise, there are multiple street vendors at the entrance to the wall selling fruit, nuts, and ice cream. We got a pack of roasted nuts dipped in sugar and topped with sesame seeds, which sated our sweet tooth. You can buy snacks along the wall, even an ice cold (?) Tsingtao. Just don't drink the beer and wear heals and try to hike along the wall, as evidenced by the lovely Americans discussed earlier.

The distance we covered on the Great Wall

Upon returning to Beijing, we went to one of The Host's favorite restaurants, called "The Hole in the Wall." From the curb, it lives up to its name, as you kind of walk up to a break in a big cement wall in order to get to the restaurant. Once inside the wall though, a large courtyard awaits you, complete with fountains and extra seating. The inside dining room is expansive, and the aisles were filled with chefs carving up orders of Peking Duck. The Host had her favorite dishes, and we perused the menu in an attempt to add our stamp to the meal.

Unfortunately, our stamp kind of sucked. The concept, shrimp served with sugarcane, sounds like a sure hit. However, the shrimp was mashed up and served, corn-dog style, with the sugarcane in the middle. It was a pain to eat, and we were disappointed in the lack of sweetness, even with a considerable amount of gnawing on the sugarcane.

The other dishes, though, were a smash. The sesame beef was a standout...crispy fried beef served in a sweet sauce and topped with sesame seeds. We were all competing for the last bites. The pancake with scallions, normally street fare, was light and flavorful. The hot sweet pineapple was similar to the toffeed fruit, but the texture was a little strange because of the pineapple being a big gummy. We also got an order of fried bean curd, which was stuffed with cabbage and mushrooms...think of eggplant rolletini, but a lot healthier.

Leaving The Hole in the Wall

Time was a bit of a crunch during dinner, as we had to catch a cab across town to go to the Peking Opera. We made it just in time for the start of the...umm, what to call it...a play? There was a warmup act of what seemed to be the slowest ninja-fight in history.

Sadly, this is about how fast the pace of the fight moved...

The main act was a doofy knob of a "lord" being courted by a nymph, but a fat man was very unhappy with this development.

She could have done better

Swordplay ensued, and sticks were kicked all over the stage.

Yes, he's a tool, but I'll kick your ass just for fun

Eventually, everyone goes home happy, as the cymbals providing the soundtrack FINALLY stop bashing. Oh, and they also served us desserts with the price of admission...we got Jasmine tea and various sweet treats. I couldn't stop eating the peanuts covered in sugar, and was that guy who, when he wasn't nodding off, was chomping loudly on the sugary snacks.

Sweet but unsuccessful in keeping me awake

If you're wondering, the title of today's post is taken from the literal translation of a line in the opera, which is more "dudes talking shrilly" and "girls kicking sticks" than anything Paviarotti would have done. Definitely worth taking in on a trip to China, though, as the choreography, costumes, and "fight" scenes were amazing.

Until Day 7...

Wow An Actual Post About Food From A Place I Haven't Had Yet

2007-11-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

You've probably noticed I haven't had a ton of new write-ups of late, and for that I apologize, because we really haven't been eating out all that much, and when we do make it out it's usually Zaxby's, which is terrific, but there are probably only so many posts necessary for me to tell you about the 5 variations on fried chicken fingers they serve.

Today was one of those nights, and you know what I'm talking about -- the kids are grazing and/or asleep, nobody feels like cooking, and autumn and the end of daylight savings time catch up with you. Time to order pizza.

Bentonville is not chock full of pizza places -- mostly fast food shops like Eureka Pizza, Jim's Razorback Pizza, and the like. There is a Chicago-style place, Gusano's, that we've had twice. I don't know why I haven't written it up, probably because I've been very conflicted about their cuisine. On one hand, they do a good job with salads and their cheese bread, and their ingredient quality is very good (good sauce and cheese on the pizzas). However, their crust is a disaster. It's like pie crust gone wrong texturally, and it doesn't have much flavor. That's the short of it anyway.

So it's been awhile since we've had pizza. Fayetteville and Tontitown seem to have some interesting spots, but we're not always down that way, so you'll have to wait for me to eat at those.

The newest pizza entry in Bentonville is Rosati's, a Chicago-style pizzeria that also does pasta, salads, and sandwiches. Let's note that Bentonville has two (2) Chicago-style pizzerias, which just provides a little bit more evidence that we may be in the midwest. Hmmm.

They've got no seating, just take-out and delivery.

I ordered over the phone, because our house is high tech and has a phone. However, I didn't have a Bentonville location menu, so I pretended to know what I was talking about by using the McKinney, TX, menu. I ordered a large cheese pan pizza and a regular Caesar salad. Why didn't I get a traditional Chicago pie? Solely a matter of time, as those things take forever to cook.

I picked it up and I won't get into the specifics, but the customer service is very good. Highly commendable.

I'll start with the salad. Fresh lettuce and tomatoes, generic croutons, though the kids ate most of them so I guess it didn't matter all that much. Very good dressing though, and for a take-out salad it was good.

The pizza was excellent, the best we've had since moving here. I was particularly impressed with the crust, which was close to Sicilian-thick, had nice buttery overtones, and had a nice crunch around the edges and was like a good bread under the toppings. R loved both the sauce and the cheese, and I thought the cheese was quite good and the sauce was very good, slightly on the acidic side (but I've got a cold sore in my mouth so take that into consideration on the acidity issue.) Flavor-wise the sauce was rich and had oregano overtones. Overall the quality level was very good, and like I said, the pie was excellent. R called it "craveable."

So Rosati's will get repeat business from us, and from what I've heard from people I know, we're not the only ones.

Beijing, China: Day 5 - What's that Thai woman doing on your back?

2007-11-08T23:05:00.000-08:00

That's not fog...

With only one activity planned for the day, JC and I took some time to meander around the Sanlitun area, a heavy ex-pat area in northeast Beijing, mainly due to the clustering of embassies. We got a late start to the morning, with plans to grab lunch right when the restaurants opened at 1130.

Said lunch brought us to Bocata, a South American restaurant located adjacent to the Venezuelan embassy. Bocata has an expansive seating area, and must be an attractive option at night for the lounge crowd (we like our drinks to be served to us at TABLES!). Since it was a dreary day, like most days in Beijing, we took a seat indoors.

The menu offers a range of sandwiches and snacks, and offers a brunch buffet on Saturday and Sunday. We went with a smoked pork sandwich, which combined thinly sliced smoked pork loin with green and red peppers served on a marraqueta, or perhaps some other type of delicious South American bread. We got an order of thinly sliced potatoes on the side...and wouldn't you know it, they're FRENCH FRIES!! Political context aside, the democracy-lovin-socialism-stifling potatoes were thin and crispy and served with a trio of sauces: thousand-island dressing (meh), ketchup (double meh), and garlic mayonnaise (holy shit incredible!!). Although I have a pretty bad memory, I can't remember ever having french fries with mayonnaise, even in travels to France. And all it took was a damn clove of garlic...brilliant.

And now, in a The Food of... first, here in all my glory is a picture of your humble blogger.

The afternoon took us outside the third-ring road (I wonder if Beijingers have the same aversion to traveling outside the third-ring road that I have to traveling outside the DC beltway). We went to a photo studio to get dressed and made up like the characters in the Peking Opera. It was an absolute blast, completely over the top, and very much worth the trip. We put our Me No Speak book to work, as it helped us pay beforehand and know that we weren't walking out with our prints that day.

With all the excitement of the photos, we just had to relax afterwards. What better way than to head back to Bodhi for another massage. This time, we got the Thai herbal heat treament, which combines a Thai woman climbing on your back with really hot towels. It was quite refreshing, despite my description.

A large group of girls and I (complete reversal from college) went out for dinner to "The Red Rose," a self-described Muslim restaurant in the Sanlitun area. The dishes have their roots in Western China and Mongolia, and are more along the meat-on-a-sword bent. We started the night with veggies both okay (assortment of julienned veggies and the damn corn dish again) and friggin' awesome (sweet and sour eggplant, as well as the best spicy green beans of the trip). From the sword menu, we ordered swords of chicken and lamb. The chicken was salty, but damn if it wasn't tender and juicy. The lamb had a similar texture, but it was ultra-super-uber lamb-y, and I couldn't get past half a piece. Lastly, we got shredded beef, which is in the Top 5 dishes of the week. The beef was shredded finely, slightly dried to give it a jerky-like texture, and served with red chilies. I continually went back for more, and didn't object towards the end of the meal when the plate of beef wound up in front of me for idle picking.

The Red Rose also offers live entertainment...perhaps the most diverse live entertainment this blogger has ever experienced. The show started with belly dancers (one who was quite possibly a drag queen), followed by a middle-aged woman singing the Chinese equivalent of Celine Dion accompanied by a tape, followed then by a Gypsy King-like band that.was.AWESOME. But they'd play two songs and sit back down! We had to sit through what seemed like an eternity to get back to the good entertainment. They did return though, for only a few more songs. Once the live snake came out, we were out of there...

For a nightcap, we stopped at the Rickshaw, which is down the street from the Beijing Hooters. The Host's friend's boyfriend was playing some tunes, so we enjoyed a Tsingtao and then turned in for the night.

It's A 14 Hour Drive And Noone's Sleeping

2007-11-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

I feel bad because no matter how many posts AC puts up about his trip to China, my stupid La Chingada follow-up ends up on top of the page. Though I guess it's not stupid, because people have actually commented on it! Someone reads the blog!! Someone not related to me! I'm guessing the Hollywood writers' strike has already had some impacts.

But really -- SCROLL DOWN AND READ ABOUT BEIJING!!

Anyhow, I saw AC's pictures from China and for some reason I wanted to make a humorous attempt to link them with Hare Krishnas. Probably because I downloaded a bunch of Shelter albums recently and Shelter has been a long-running inside joke between the two of us. And also probably because I didn't realize Shelter put out a chanting CD but found out today while, when doing important work at my desk (everything I do is important, so that statement is obviously redundant, as is this one, because you already know that everything I do is important), my ears were treated to something that sounded like Scottish folk music sung in Hindi accompanied by wind chimes in a persistent gale. I kid, but for some reason I do like them. Weird I know.

Shelter -- "Thinking of My Beloved" (mp3)
Shelter -- "Saranagati" (mp3)

I've also grabbed a bunch of Ignite lately. Like CoverGirl makeup, they are versatile, good for the gym, work, or the car.

Ignite -- "Poverty for All" (mp3)
Ignite -- "Epidemic" (mp3)

As for food, which is probably why you are here, R and I saw Cooking Light executive chef Billy Strynkowski do a demo today, which was fun. He did a few recipes from the October issue -- shrimp fra diavolo, salmon with an almond crust, and a roasted sweet potato ravioli (using wonton wrappers.) Overall a good presentation, and the woman in front of us who was doing a culinary amen-chorus was entertaining as well ("crushed almonds, yes!"). I believe he does have a Coco Lopez fetish though.

La Chingada Not Screwing You Any More

2007-11-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

I noticed last week that the restaurant with the unfortunate name La Chingada had changed their sign and blacked out the "g." However, this weekend they've got an just gotten rid of the whole "La Chingada" part of the sign, so now all it says is "Tacos y Mariscos." I wonder what word they will use next!

Beijing, China: Day 4 - Sing Me Tibetan Disco!

2007-11-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Our first stop on Day 4 was the Lama Temple on the northern edge of the 3rd ring road. The temple was, in a word, breathtaking. Like the forbidden city, the temple contains a series of gates, along with rooms that run along the side. Outside of each room was an incense burner, where the Buddhists burn three sticks and pray to the Buddha contained in each room. One can't help but get swept up in the spirituality of the place (do I take pictures of people praying?) and the lavishness with which each of the altars were built. There's an 18-meter statue of a gold Buddha...18 meters equals almost 60 feet, for you SI-unit landlovers. The smells of the incense filled the air, and you just can't but help and watch the impact that the place has on the faithful. If anyone saw a couple Americans hanging out on a bench eating trail mix, that was us.

One of a harmonius number of Buddhas...

The afternoon brought us down to the eastern side of Beijing by one of embassy neighborhoods. Specifically, we were seeking out Makye Ame, a Tibetan restaurant we had read about in one of our guide books. After finding our way around the various diplomatic compounds, we finally found our way to the restaurant. On a Tuesday afternoon, in a neighborhood full of embassies, you'd think a row of restaurants would see a lot of attention. Not so with Tibetan, apparently. We were the only diners, not that it brought us that much attention.

To drink, we ordered a pot of yak butter tea, motivated again by the guide book recommendation. You probably figured it out by now, but this was basically a large pot of warmed yak's milk. Have YOU ever had yak's milk? It has a milder taste than goat's milk, and actually wasn't bad...when hot. Once it cooled down, it was pretty disgusting. But hey, at least I'll be able to tell my children I had yak's milk.

The pot is quite lovely though...

We started the meal off with vegetable rolls, which are basically what I wish Chinese eggrolls would be like. The rolls were filled julienned carrots, cabbage, and thin cellophane noodles and then lightly fried. A sauce not dissimilar to thousand-island dressing was served on the side and was a pretty good accompaniment. For our main dish, we ordered fried pork with mashed potatoes. Fatty pork (too fatty, according to JC) was served with diced red and green peppers in a pool of runny mashed potatoes (too runny, according to JC). I liked the peppery flavor of the pork, and I liked the homey flavor of the mashed potatoes. There were also unexpected bits of lemongrass sprinkled throughout, which made both of us think that the dish would have been 100 times better with more lemongrass. Oh, and I can't forget the music that was playing in the restaurant, consisting mainly of techno (Tibetan disco) and English-language love ballads.

We worked off the yak's milk at the Silk Street Market which contains more Chinese swag, jewelry, and a pretty stocked music stand. This was the only haggling experience where I actually got hit in the arm with a calculator...but in the end, I won :)

For dinner, we went out for Sichuan hot pot. Everyone gets their own pot full of a herb and veggie broth (some restaurants offer a communal pot for the table), and you can order meats, fish, and veggies to cook in the broth...kind of like fondue, but 100x more awesome and 100x cheaper. The pot also comes with several sides, including soy sauce, cilantro, peanut sauce (mmmmmmmmm), and hot chili oil. We ordered, in no particular order: beef, shitake mushrooms, frozen shrimp balls, spinach, homemade noodles, and homemade dumplings with beef. The noodles and dumplings were standouts, while the shrimp balls were kind of hit or miss (some were really fishy tasting). Highlights of the meal include The Host going over to another table in order to order the peanut sauce and an elderly man educating JC on how to remove shrimp balls from the pot (use the spoon!).

All for me to dip in da broth...

After dinner, we stopped at April Gourmet (pick up all your western needs here) and got a pack of Tim Tams. The Host's quote of "I'm not doing you any favors" was spot on, as we're now addicted to them. A Tim Tam contains two chocolate cookies separated by a layer of "creamy fudgy icing" (I'm outsourcing food descriptions to JC), surrounded by a fudge coating. Damn, they're good, and we even brought a pack to the states. Too bad they're gone, but fortunately Butterfinger Crisps were on sale at the Bulls-eye Superstore, and has filled the collective stateside chocolaty void.

Until Day 5, when I make the big step on this blog of revealing my identity...

Beijing, China: Day 3 - I'm a Picture Driver!!

2007-11-04T06:51:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the delay...on we go.

Day 3 saw us launching into self-sufficient tourist mode, as The Host had a job to do. We headed to the center of the city, home to some of the more popular tourist attractions. To get there, we took the Beijing subway, which, though simple in its design and layout, really gets you where you need to go (with the exception of sites located in northwest Beijing...take a cab). Not that I'd classify this as a mistake, but we got on the subway on a Monday morning around 0930, when a good majority of the population is on its way to work. So we had to breathe in and push our way on to the train. The tightness level wasn't as bad as an Amazing Race trip to India, but certainly tighter than anything DC commuters would be willing to deal with.

Finally breathing out, we arrived at Tiananmen Square, home to you know what. We took a right through the Tiananmen Gate on our way to the Forbidden City. Although several gates were under scaffolding, and the side rooms with great exhibits were closed off (there must have been an all-hands guards meeting), the Forbidden City was awe-inspiring...partly because of the grandeur, partly because the artistic design, but mostly because it was so peaceful (tourists aside). Even centuries ago, it would have been great to have been emperor and say "I'm tired of all the city noise, I'm just gonna hop over to the Forbidden City for some peace."

The Forbidden City

We exited the Forbidden City through the North Gate, and headed east to Wangfujing Street to do some shopping and grab some lunch. Our eventual destination was Yoshinoya in the Beijing APM mall, which is probably the closest thing to an Asian Wendy's that you'll have. The menu consists of multiple value meals, all of which consist of meat, rice, and vegetables. If you can speak Mandarin or are good at pointing, you can also order some different iced drinks. We ordered the #6 combo (me holding up 6 fingers), which came with pork, BBQ'd chicken, steamed (reheated?) veggies.

So this is fast food...

JC hated the pork because of the stringiness and the fattiness. I actually liked it, as it reminded me of some Korean meals I ate at a friend's house growing up. JC was more a fan of the chicken, which was moist and tender, with an added sweetness from the BBQ sauce. The veggies included some carrots and cauliflower, but inspired little more than "hey, at least we're eating veggies." The Yoshinoya seating area was located right next to an Orange Julius, which was tempting, but alas we passed.

Our next stop was the Night Market off of Wangfujing, which is renowned for food stands that serve dead bugs. We built up the courage to eat a couple scorpions, but that courage soon left when the food stand MC started waving live scorpions in front of us. Once he blew on them, and their legs wiggled...we instantly lost courage and bolted the market. Disappointing, as it's pretty much the only unfulfilled expectation of the trip.

They were alive before they were cooked...

We headed back to Tiananmen Square afterwards to walk around...however, the entire square was closed due to elections...you know, the elections where a country of over 1 billion people is represented in a closed door session by 30 or so men who cast votes. (Return to Tiananmen will occur on Day 8).

For dinner, we headed down to the Chaoyang District for Peking Duck and an acrobat show. The Peking duck was brought to the table whole, and carved tableside by a guy who gets paid to do such things. The dish comes with several sides, such as julienned celery/radish/green chili, garlic paste, and hoisin sauce. Take a pancake, pile with duck and sides as desired, and enjoy. And enjoy we did. Damn it was good. If you're feeling especially indulgent, take a piece of duck that's mostly skin and dip it in sugar. (Mouth salivating just thinking about it). Here, see for yourself...

Not the first time food was served on a dish in the shape of what was served...

We also ordered sweet and sour fish, which is a whole fish, with squares cut into the side, fried and covered with sweet and sour sauce and various veggies. The dish was a culinary onomatopoeia, as it tastes exactly like its name (perhaps not proper use of the word, so sue me...). They even brought the still-alive fish to the table beforehand, so we could give it a name and know its sign.

We ordered veggies as well...broccoli with cashews, as well as asparagus. I'm starting to see a pattern of minimalism, as the dishes don't do much to screw with natural flavors of the vegetables...is that boring or culinary minimalism?

Afterwards, we hit The Acrobatic Macrocosm for awe-inspiring displays of everyday skills, such as balancing glasses on all of your extremities, standing on a balance board and having bowls stacked on your head, and, with gas prices being what they are, why not just get 13 of your friends and take a bike to work?

Pssh...I could do that...

Until Day 4...

It's Saturday And I Too Await AC's Next Post

2007-11-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

I don't have much in the way to write about -- we went to Taqueria Vega in Rogers again and had another great meal. I think next time I'm going to get two gorditas with the Mexican BBQ. Damn good. Try anything made with masa, as all corn products are made in house.

The only other thing I have to report is I made these truffles for a work fundraiser and they brought in $475, or $17-ish a truffle. While my truffles rock, it speaks volumes of the generosity of the people I work with (the bake auction brought in over $11,000!)

Beijing, China: Day 2 - The Happy Ending is in the Cannelloni

2007-10-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Day 2 got off to a slow start, with JC and I struggling to adjust to the time change. We slept all right, but we just couldn't stop watching CNN international. They seriously show the same "save the earth" crap every 15 minutes...we must have just been brain dead.

Our first stop was the Panjiayuan market, better known as the dirt market (an allusion both to the fact that the market used to be on dirt and the fact that you can buy pretty much everything except dirt there). Craft-sellers from the countryside populate the booths at the market, as well as those who seem same Chinese crap, different location (e.g., Karate Kid 2 drums). This presented our first chance to haggle, which is a very important part of shopping in China. As a wise man would soon tell us, nothing in China should cost over 100RMB, which equates to roughly $12.50. This mindset held true for everything from to . But you can buy teapots sets and assorted china (imagine that), as well as nifty wood carvings.

JC and The Host haggling

After all that shopping, we needed a meal fit for a king...or even this guy.

The restaurant of choice was The Noodle King, conveniently located near the Hong Qiao Pearl Market and the Temple of Heaven, which were our other two stops for the afternoon. The Noodle King specializes in noodle soups, similar in concept to Vietnamese pho. Only pho relies more on the accompaniments for the remember-able flavors, whereas the Noodle King packs all his flavor into the broth (where could I go with that line???).

We first ordered celery and lily, a refreshing warm-up to a filling lunch. The veggies were stir-fried and served with a plainish corn-starch thickened sauce. It didn't need much flavor, as the celery retained its flavor and crispiness, and there was no stringiness to speak of. As for what lily tastes like...umm...not much. The texture is kind of like an onion, only without the migraine-inducing splendor. The veggies were followed by fried beef patties (we actually ordered fried eggplant patties, but that's what happens when you point). All of us took one of the patties, but after a couple bites moved it to the side, as it constituted unnecessary filler.

The soups were the next arrival. The Host and I ordered the beef noodle soup, while JC ordered the pork, peas, and green chilies. The beef soup was awesome...the broth has a rich flavor, and the homemade noodles were the perfect texture. The chunks of beef in the soup were hit or miss, as they were likely randomly selected from when the cow was thrown at the ceiling fan. JC's pork soup, however, was amazing. The pork was fried and tender, and the green chilies added a little piquancy and freshness to the richness of the broth. She was delighted to have ordered the best thing at the table, as that usually never happens.

The final bit of the meal was toffeed fruit, or like we said in China "mmmmmmm....toffffffeeeeed fruit!". Toffeed fruit is a puree of apples, battered, fried, and served with a sticky sticky caramel sauce. When this dish arrives at your table, you must cease eating all else for time is of the essence. Wait too long and the fruit is too hard and sticky to pick up, and you will have to hang your head in shame the rest of the day.

On to the lunch food porn...
Our next stop was the Temple of Heaven, which was used by ancient emperors to get within whispering distance of God...and now we all take pictures of their holy things. (BTW, the leading photo is from the animal killing hall on the Temple grounds.)

This was the first site where we got a real perspective how large and precise everything is in China. A tour of the grounds took about 2 hours, and everything is built in such fine detail. Trying getting that type of quality contract work these days...

I don't have much to say about the Pearl Market, which was our next stop, other than to say it makes the ladies happy. There are two floors devoted to pearls and jade (you can decide what's fake and what's real...kind of like reading Playboy). There are a few other floors with clothes, shoes, and handbags...again focusing on making the ladies happy. It just provided more opportunity to haggle and refine the craft.

After all the touring and shopping, it was time for some relaxation. We headed to Bodhi, an actual legitimate no-extra-service-added-but-I-didn't-think-to-ask massage place. We all got foot massages, which conveniently included a head, neck, and shoulder massage as well. And they feed you too! I ordered green tea and JC ordered a banana lassi, a yogurty drink that tasted more like yogurt than banana.

We were so exhausted after our relaxation that we ordered in from O Sole Mio, an Italian restaurant in the Sanlitun area. I ordered the cannelloni, which was fresh (yes, FRESH) homemade pasta filled with a mushroom filling and topped with cheese. For being an uninspired menu selection, I was actually quite pleased with the taste. JC ordered risotto a la parmigiana. Contrary to what your thinking, they don't individually fry the arborio rice pieces and roast them in fresh tomato sauce. The dish was essentially rice with a shitload of cheese. Pretty boring, and probably our first oops of the trip. Sorry, no food porn to show you.

Instead, I close tonight with a valiant attempt to appeal to the American consumer.

Until Day 3...

From The Red Country Back To The Red Stick

2007-10-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ed Note: Here is part one of my Baton Rouge trip...

If Baton Rouge is known for one thing, that one thing might be the giant refineries on the north end of town. For the unfamiliar, rain and colder temps provide a reminder to the nostrils that petrochemicals are king here.

I was greeted by the smell when I left the airport today -- it's familiar but also a little bit distant, probably because I haven't smelled that smell in a while, and the smell is generally limited to the north side of town. The rest of the city, depending on the time of year, is inundated with the scent of the Community Coffee roaster or the burning sugar cane fields.

Amazing when I write a travel post that has no gripes or comments about the actual travel itself! This morning's journey down through Dallas was uneventful. The only note would be that my work computer is having issues getting wireless networks to work. Thankfully I am Treo-d up now, so I'm connected to my email.

I decided to have lunch at Albasha in the Citiplace shopping center. Baton Rouge is unique in that, for an area of a half-million or so, there are several competing Greek-Lebanese mini-chains and some other single location shops as well. Albasha was my favorite from my time here, but there's also Arzi's (which had an outlet at the mall when we lived here, not sure if they still do), Roman's, Serop's, and Zorba.

I sat at the bar as not to take up a table during a very busy lunch rush. The area around Citiplace has really built up since we left in 2001, so there's certainly the potential audience available.

I started with the kibbeh. I've written about kibbeh before I think, probably when I got it at Karam in Portland and wondered what the fuck they had served me (I can't access the site while I write this so I'm going off of memory.) Albasha does kibbeh the way kibbeh is supposed to be done, unless you think the beef should be raw, in which case they don't do it the way you think it should be done. Herbed ground beef and pine nuts coated in a bulgar batter and deep fried, served with a yogurt sauce. It was excellent, though if I had to complain I'd want a few more pine nuts. Perfectly fried, the beef was nicely seasoned, and the sauce was a creamy counterpoint to the savory beef and bulgar combo.

My main dish was the lunch chicken shawarma. I know I've written about shawarma before, mostly complaining because places don't do it the way I think is right, and if I say it's the right way then goshdarnit it's the right way. Put the chicken on a vertical roaster spit and shave it off, making thin slices. Don't cook it on the griddle. Don't give me something that looks boiled. Thin slices. Some with crust, because vertical roasters do that. If you have any questions, go to Albasha. They will help you out.

The chicken was phenomenal. Thinly sliced, moist, just a touch of roasted skin on a couple of pieces, some crust, and a hint of garlic. It came with hummus, which was very good. Smooth but not baby foodish smooth, topped with a couple of chickpeas, olive oil, and sumac. Very good flavor balance -- not too nutty, not too lemony. The rice pilaf was good, and the peas added a nice hint of sweetness. Not something I'd order on its own, but still good. The strongest item on the plate after the chicken was the Greek salad, which had a creamy dressing but not so creamy as to obscure the feta, and it too had a nice garlic hint. I love garlic. The chopped romaine was crisp and fresh. The whole plate was a wonderful return to something that I loved very much way back in 1998-2001.

The weak part of the meal was the pita bread. I didn't ask, but I'll bet you $0.25 that they don't bake their own. It's ok for dipping in hummus, but it doesn't have the same joy that eating the pita right out of the oven at Fadi's in Houston has.

Service was good, though I was sitting at the bar next to the cash register so it's not like it was tough to get the attention of the waitstaff. The iced tea was good and refilled appropriately.

Excellent with the exception of the pita, but I won't let that bring me down. Nope.

Beijing, China: Day 1 - It's about the journey...

2007-10-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ahh, travel days...stressing that you have everything you need because where you're going can't possibly have what you forgot, worrying that the visa affixed to your passport only gets you into the airport and thus makes Catherine Zeta-Jones the object of your affection...

We flew to Beijing direct from Newark...and if you're going to fly to a city with horrible air pollution, why not leave from a part of the New Jersey Turnpike that smells like someone poured gasoline into a backed-up toilet and lit it on fire? Thankfully, neither the smell nor the dumbass plane pusher-backer who accidentally hit the power off button could keep us from taking off.

The first 11 hours of the flight were unremarkable, with the exception of a group of French-Canadians who thought it be jolly to figure out the video solitaire games with their asses knocking into my seat...jerks...no wonder the NHL took away one of your franchises.

At hour 11, we were served the first meal worth talking about. The choice was eggs or dim sum...gee, what could possibly be wrong with eggs that have been reheated after 11 hours of sitting around? Dim sum was the choice. The meal was the perfect setup for our trip...just good enough to get us excited for Chinese food and just crappy enough to think "It can get better, right?" The dim sum comprised noodles with soy sauce (how inspired!!!), a beef shumai noodly dumpling, and a bready beef dumpling. The shumai dumpling was VERY peppery, but the beef was juicy and tender, thus dispelling the myth that airline food has no taste. The bready dumpling was odd in that parts of it looked browner than others, thus leading to uncertainty about whether the dumpling should have been cooked more. Nevertheless, the filling was a palatable sweet beef mixture...neither exciting nor offensive. (Note: this was the last dim sum consumed on the trip).

We landed in Beijing at about 1500 local time, so we needed to rest a bit before heading out for dinner. Our host (The Host) took us to "The Wooden Floor," one of the many Sichuan restaurants in Beijing.

The Wooden Floor

The restaurant is located in the northeast corner of the city near the airport, right across the street from the Holiday Inn Lido. The group consisted of JC, The Host, one of the Host's co-workers (Ohio), and myself. As would be a theme for the trip, we ordered several dishes to share among the group. We ordered our fair share of veggies, Mom...broccoli with garlic was the first dish to show up, followed closely by corn with peas and pine nuts, and tailed by sauteed green beans, but not to be outdone by the crispy fried potatoes. The broccoli with garlic is pretty eponymous in its taste, with the broccoli being winningly crispy. The corn dish was a bit forgettable, as anybody in any time zone can microwave frozen bags of corn and peas, throw some pine nuts on top, and call it Chinese. Only thing noteworthy about the dish is validation that JC and I had sharpened our chopstick skills well. The green beans were crispy, if a bit on the bland side. The beans were cooked in pork fat, but beyond that, there wasn't much flavor. The crispy fried potatoes were a highlight of the meal...thinly sliced, fried, served with hot red chilies and green onion, and stacked about 6 inches high (0.15 meters for our standard unit-challenged friends). This is how I will eat my Wendy's french fries from now on.

We ordered both a chicken and a beef dish for the table. The chicken dish comprised fried chicken (like you'd find in sweet and sour), tomatoes, and apples. The sauce was tomato-flavored, and damn were the apples a surprise, but a sweet, welcome one. The highlight of the meal, though, was the sizzling beef in pepper sauce, served on a hotplate. Holy god, this was one of the top 3 dishes consumed on the trip. The beef was cooked with onions and peppers, and coated with a liberally-heavy black pepper sauce. However, the pepper was not overwhelming, thus making it a rich, savory flavor. Man, I could eat that every day...as it so happened, that was definitely the object of my idle picking towards the end of the meal.

But enough words...bring on the food porn!!!

Meal at The Wooden Floor

The crispy fried potatoes...mmmmmmmm...

We ended the day with a little shopping and called it an early night.

Coming on Day 2: learning how to haggle, our first temple, and more good food!

China Post Preview

2007-10-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

We're back! We spent a week in Beijing, China visiting a friend who has been living there for 3 years. In a way, it was a little unfair in that we knew all of the good places to eat and all of the must-do activities, which put a large dent in the amount of exploring we had to do. We still did our fair share though :) The sites, the food, and the people were all incredible, and I highly recommend visiting the city, especially in the fall.

The coming days will bring day-by-day recaps of our trip, focusing on the food we ate (of course), the places we went, the random things we heard, and the random sites we saw. As a teaser, here's what to expect:
Day 1 - Our first GOOD Chinese meal
Day 2 - Shopping at "Dirt" Market and Pearl Market, Temple of Heaven
Day 3 - Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, Peking Duck, Night with the Acrobats
Day 4 - Lama Temple, Shopping at Silk Street Market, Hotpot
Day 5 - Sanlitun, Peking Opera pictures, Muslim Restaurant
Day 6 - Great Wall, Peking Opera
Day 7 - Hutong Tour, Pizza and Beer (Belgian style)
Day 8 - Return to Tian'anmen, Last Supper (sniff) on the lake

It was a fun, busy week, but we're happy to be back in the Eastern Time Zone and breathing invisible air. So until the first of the daily recaps, here's a couple pictures of China's cute younger generation.

Temple of Heaven

Lighting incense at Lama Temple

Renaming One Of The Cast, And The Best Breakfast On Earth Redux

2007-10-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

Before we get going, I have to let you know that one of the cast of thousands on this blog didn't like the nickname I gave him, citing lameness and lack of creativity. Thus, L-P shall now be named the Conflicted Pole. This is important, as he was around for two meals in this trip.

I will also let you know that I forgot to grab the post I typed up in wordpad on my work computer, so you'll get the early part of the trip second. I know this scars you, and I apologize.

There's some background for the first meal, extending back to my last trip down to Baton Rouge. On my flight from baton Rouge to Dallas, I started up a conversation with a woman who was moving from Denton, TX, to Baton Rouge for a new job (we'll call her Dr. Sarah, not because she's a doctor, but because Google would make you think she is). We chatted on the plane about life in the city and the crazy political history of Louisiana and I found out that she kinda sorta works in a way that is sorta kinda related to what I do, except that it's not what I do, but related. Damn it's hard to explain things on an anonymous blog. Uh...people like me and the Conflicted Pole do the things we do, and it provides material for people like her.

Anyhow, we made a point to keep in touch, and when I found out when I was heading back I coordinated with the Conflicted Pole for all of us to go out to dinner. The Conflicted Pole suggested a number of places, and we settled on Parrain's, a seafood joint that opened a few months after R and I graduated from LSU and left for Houston.

TCP (I got tired of typing the whole thing) fretted that he didn't make reservations, because when we got there at 7pm the parking lot was packed and so was the restaurant. Luckily Dr. Sarah had arrived slightly earlier and gotten us on the list. TCP should not have fretted, as they don't take reservations, something I just learned when looking at their website. I will admit it's not the first time I looked at the website, as when I found out where we were going I looked online at the menu.

The decor is reminiscent of a rustic but high-class shack, and the place is pretty damn big.

TCP started things off with an order of boudin balls. For those of you who haven't had boudin (which actually included me -- I made it three years living there without trying boudin), it's a pork rice dressing, which is normally stuffed into a sausage casing, but instead rolled into a ball, breaded, and fried like a hush puppy. Parrain's serves their's with a spicy creamy horseradish sauce. Very good -- the balls had a good flavor, though no one flavor was very pronounced, and the sauce was excellent. The balls were perfectly fried as well. MMMMMMM...fried.

I was wondering if TCP was going to order the fried gator, but he said that the gator appetizer has some consistency issues.

Speaking of hushpuppies, TCP ordered the fried catfish platter with the hushpuppies, and didn't eat any of the hushpuppies because he was going to take them home to his kids. He didn't specifically say how good the dish was, but apparently he orders it alot, so I'll take that as a recommendation.

Dr. Sarah had the grilled fresh fish, which on Tuesday was lemonfish, also known as cobia.

Let me back up for a second. Parrain's only serves Gulf of Mexico fish. My kind of place (not that I don't love halibut, but redfish, red snapper, etc...tasty tasty tasty.)

Anyhow, lemonfish is a meaty fish, sort of like tuna or shark. Dr. Sarah said she liked her meal, though I don't remember her commenting on the garlic mashed potatoes. One piece of trivia -- the cobia is also known as the Black King Fish in Kerala, India. Her meal did lead to an odd exchange that she handled much better than I would have.

I think the waitress was trying to find out how she liked the fish, because I don't think the waitress had ever tried it. But it came out "so is the lemonfish fishy?" -- almost like she knew the cook pulled it out of a box marked "expired yesterday" and wanted to make sure it was ok. Dr. Sarah handled it by saying it was good, whereas I would have said "why, what's wrong with the fish?"

I ordered the Maurepas, which was paneed (lightly floured and pan fried) red snapper served with a pecan meuniere sauce, which was buttery and nutty, with chopped pecans on top. Holy moly it was good. The fish was extremely fresh, no fishiness (they didn't ask me if my fish was fishy, but I still want to share), and quite tasty. Not too salty either. The garlic mashed potatoes were good, though I would have like a bit more moisture in them. The roll was meh.

Service was very good. The iced tea was very good and refilled appropriately. I noticed in general that the tea in Baton Rouge is brewed slightly stronger than most places, and it is certainly identifiable as Community Coffee iced tea (I don't know why, it's just how it tastes.)

Overall a very good meal, and a place I'd go again.

After dinner I did a little bit of shopping because I forgot to bring shaving stuff with me and I didn't want to do my work event on Wednesday all scraggly. After that, I went to Coffee Call to do some preparation for Wednesday, and I fit in well, as it was all students in the crowd studying for midterms. The vibe of the place is sort of funky and historical with a touch of arty (because of the students I think), and I think they're open 24 hours. Pretty cool for a place that's in a strip mall (I think they were in an old run-down strip mall which was renovated and is now a new strip mall -- I only went once or twice during grad school so it's been awhile.)

I'll be honest -- I needed a beignet fix. On my last trip down I didn't get a chance to make it over to Mall of Louisiana to hit the Cafe Du Monde outlet there, and on this trip I realized that was ok, as that outlet has closed. Twas ok, as Coffee Call's beignets were great, just as good as the ones I remembered from Cafe Du Monde's Baton Rouge outlet. The hot chocolate was good too.

For those of you who find the retail business interesting, or just like beer, you should check out the extra large beer case at the new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market on Highland at Lee.

I also made sure to visit Huey Long's grave and the state capitol building. I needed to be sure to pay my respects.

You already know what I did for breakfast on Wednesday. Seriously, Louie's is freaking awesome.

And the biscuit with my Spanish omelet was even better this time than last. Here is my plate after I ate most of my breakfast:

Service was excellent again (I think it was the same waitress, who is very good at anticipating my iced tea needs.) I again sat at the bar, so I could watch the kitchen action (Frenchie was working, and watching him is a blast, if only to listen to him goad on the political talking-head types that eat there.)

When I was in grad school I spent alot of time at the Ben Hur research farm.

Even though it has nothing to do with what I do now, I'll have you know that I used to work in a wheat and oat breeding lab, and we spent many hours heading wheat and keeping track of 40,000 individual cultivars. The most miserable part of my experience was the harvest, when the June temps (it was winter wheat, so it grew from November through June or so -- I forget the exact timeframe) reached 100+ and the sun beat down like crazy. Baton Rouge isn't the sunniest place on earth, but it certainly decided to be that summer.

Still with me?

After my work event on Wedneday, TCP and I went to the Little Village in downtown Baton Rouge. We got a table, though the place was packed to the gills, and remained that way the whole time we were there (from noon to about 1:45). Lots of suits, lots of handshakes, lots of...oh wait, TCP and I were wearing suits too. I even had a lapel pin on. Oh well, at least we fit in.

In my casual searching on the web, it seems like the number one item at the Little Village for people is the bread, and I agree. Warm Italian bread with parmigiana cheese and chopped parsley on top (at least I think it was parsley...my memory is foggy), with good olive oil on the bottom and a galicky olive tapenade on the side, which even I liked, and I'm not a big olive person. Really really good.

TCP ordered the half muffaletta. "Half" I think means "half of all the muffaletta in the kitchen," as even half a sandwich is huge. He liked it, and it's one of his favorite things to order, which I will pass along as a recommendation.

I ordered the Italian sausage and spaghetti, which was very good. The sausage was outstanding, with good fennel flavoring and a touch of spice. I also liked the marinara sauce, which was rich, very slightly sweet, and tasted like it had been cooking since 6am. The kind of marinara that old mustached Italian men call "sugo" just before they smack you in the face for dishonoring your mother. The spaghetti was almost an afterthought, hiding beneath the plentiful sauce. It was al dente and fine, but the star of the show was the sausage with the sauce.

Service overall was fine but slow at times, with good refills on my iced tea (which was also very good.) However once bill time came, our server disappeared and it took awhile to get out of there. The service would be fine for long lunches, but for those in a rush I could see where it would drive them nuts.

So I will end this long post now. I had a salad for dinner at the DFW airport terminal B Chili'stoo, which was fine if sort of funny because of the vast amounts of canned fruit it featured. At least they were generous with the fresh jalapeno pieces, and the iced tea was good and refilled appropriately.

Back From Baton Rouge

2007-10-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the Red Stick. I've got one post written, but it's on my work computer in a text file, and I'm still catching up on sleep so I'll get the rest written in the next night or two.

Update From AC

2007-10-22T15:28:00.001-07:00

AC sent an email from China...

"so you know, I'm taking good notes and will be
doing daily recaps when I get back to the states. I'll also have good food
pictures and some scenery that will add to the content. The food here is
incredible, and pretty much guarantees that I'll be very picky about Chinese
food in the future. We've done several Chinese places so far, had Italian
delivered last night (homemade pasta...yum), and we're going for Peking Duck
tonight. We went to a "fast food" place today for a bite for lunch, which
was interesting in that I used three of the five words I know in Chinese to
effectively order and get an extra pair of chopsticks."

Jesus And The Giant Dinosaurs

2007-10-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to AC for putting up a couple of posts as to make this blog look inhabited.

Before I get going, a couple bits of news...

Andy is going to China soon, which he will blog. I'm not sure if he will blog from there or if he'll keep real good notes and blog when he gets back.

I'm going back to Baton Rouge on Tuesday, and will have a meal or three to talk about, as, if American Airlines cooperates, I'll have lunch and dinner on Tuesday and breakfast on Wednesday definitely to write about, even if the breakfast post is "I went to Louie's and had a Spanish omelet and there's no better breakfast on earth."

So anyways...

My parents and grandmother came out a couple of weeks ago -- this you already know if you read this blog with any sort of religious commitment (or really even casually, it's only three or four posts ago.) I wrote up the latter part of the trip, with our excursions to Tulsa and to Fayetteville.

So I'm going to try and piece together the first part, just because I know you want to know such things.

The first day we didn't try anything new -- lunch was Smokin' Joe's on Moberly and dinner was On the Border.

I've written up Smokin' Joe's before, but this visit was noteworthy, because R ordered the brisket sandwich and declared it some of the finest brisket she's ever had, even better than Buster's. Smoky and moist, with a beautiful smoke ring, nice crust, and good flavor (yes I tried it and it was excellent.) Even ordered for takeout, which we did last weekend during everyone being sick, the sliced brisket was very good. Definitely a worthwile offering for you to check out. Also worthwhile is the hot link sandwich, which I've had a couple of times in the last few weeks and have found excellent every time. The sausage isn't really all that spicy, but it's got great flavor, nice snap in the skin, and a really good texture/grind.

Friday, the first full day of the visit, we headed to Eureka Springs. Eureka Springs is a 19th century Victorian Village (or so their website says), which has left its Victorian days behind and embraced it's present as part-biker hangout, part-evangelical Christian promised land, and part-tourist trap. Though it's located in the middle of a generally conservative region, it's the only town in Arkansas to recognize gay marriage. All are welcome in Eureka Springs, and all are welcome to sit in Eureka Springs traffic.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Our first goal was to see Dinosaur World, which received high praise and raves from the travel guide my grandmother brought with her. Being the master navigator I am, we went the wrong way on highway 187 off of US 62, and ended up going through Beaver, Arkansas, not to Beaver Dam, which is next door to the land of the prehistoric beings. All was not lost, however, as we got to cross two one-lane bridges, both of which were in the guidebook as well.

Anyhow, after figuring out just what happened, we made our way down to Dinosaur World.

Closed. And not for the day.

Yikes.

To make it up to the kids, who had sat in the car and not been too bad through this whole thing, we stopped at the playground next to Beaver Dam so they could run around and have some fun.

(Note the swimming hole. There are many swimming holes in Beaver Lake, so if you're doing the tour during warm weather, don't forget your suit and snorkel, as the water is crystal clear.)

So after playtime, we headed into town to eat. As did everyone on a motorcycle or with a Corvette within 100 miles of the town. Parking? Ha! Actually after 10 minutes or so of looking my parents found two spots so we did get to park.

I had a Rachael Ray moment -- on her $40 a day show she always talks about using guidebooks and other such nonsense to find places to eat. I saw an ad for Cafe Luigi in one of the big regional guide magazines, and they state that they've been open for 20+ years and have been written up in mags like Southern Living among others.

Maybe they were written up 20 years ago.

In my estimation, Cafe Luigi lives on three things:

(1) It's location on the main drag in downtown;
(2) It's patio; and
(3) Praise it received long ago.

I wish I had checked the internet, because it's much more telling, and much more correct. But hey, life's about having stories to tell, right?

We ended up having to wait for a table on the patio to be cleared off, even though the patio allowed smoking. Why? Because the interior was a stuffy sauna. But there were no smokers about at the time, so we sat. Across the street is a reallllllly popular biker bar, so if the bikers are around, don't expect to converse on the 30 year war between Eritrea and Ethopia. To be fair, it's excellent people watching, which is good because the food and drink suck.

I won't get into the sandwiches, they really aren't worth your time or mine. Avoid them. The ravioli the kids ate was ok -- the pasta was cooked correctly and the cheese inside was well-seasoned, but their sauce doesn't surpass anything you can buy at your local grocery store. Much of their menu isn't cheap either -- we were lucky in that we didn't get nailed paying for expensive mediocre crap, just non-expensive mediocre crap.

And the iced tea -- well, the iced tea is worth writing about IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. GIVE ME AN S! GIVE ME AN H! GIVE ME AN I! GIVE ME A T! WHAT'S THAT SPELL? SHIT!

Let's step back for a second. For all intents and purposes, we're in the south, even if we're really in the southern midwest. No matter. You can go to most any restaurant anywhere off of I-540 between Bella Vista and Fayetteville and get a good to excellent glass of iced tea. With maybe one exception (and it was an off day as I'd had fine iced tea there previously), I've not had any bad iced tea here. It's part of the culture. It's in people's blood (literally and figuratively -- everyone in my group at work drinks 4-5 20 oz. cups a day minimum.) If you live here, you have some idea of what iced tea should be.

Not at Cafe Luigi! Not only was it overly strong, it was spiced! With cinnamon! Think about that for a second. Italian food. Tomato sauce. Strong cinnamon flavored beverage. They do not match do not pass go do not collect $200. Remember the vanilla candle episode of Top Chef? Like that, but in my mouth (so it's important.) There is a special place in hell for iced tea that bad and that ill-matched to the food with which it is served.

Service was so bad I won't even get into it. I'm still fuming over the iced tea.

So forget what the ad in the magazine says. Forget what Southern Living said 20 years ago. Do not go to Cafe Luigi. You can't blame me if you do.

But like many times in life, all is not lost.

Regardless of where you eat in Eureka Springs, you must go to Two Dumb Dames and get their chocolate raspberries and cream fudge. Incredibly good and apparently award winning, justifiably so. Like a fine truffle, but better because it's fudge. The tiger butter, mint, and rocky road are also excellent. Well worth the hour of Ozark curves to get there from Bentonville.

So after all was said and done, R and I headed back to Bentonville to get the kids napped, and my parents and grandmother continued the tour, going to Christ of the Ozarks and Thorncrown Chapel (which looks amazing by the way, I haven't been there yet.)

We made dinner at home that night...I believe Friday night was this dish. Yum!

DCist: Enjera Eritrean

2007-10-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

One more post before I go...My latest restaurant review for the DCist blog was posted today. A friend and I checked out an Eritrean restaurant. Enjoy!

Crap in Dough, A Stromboli Adventure

2007-10-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

Back in grade school, I remember the day when a stromboli was first offered, another option for my burgeoning culinary palette. Growing kids need pizza anyway they can get it (mainly for the added calcium), but the frozen offerings in the school cafeteria were crappy at best and slices of a cardboard box in which blood vials had exploded (topped of course with melty cheese) at worst. The great thing about the stromboli was the shiny glimmer of the surrounding aluminum foil, so the bully KNEW that you were eating the rolled-up pizza today, so you didn't have any lunch money left to take.

Fast forward (won't say how many) years, and the prepared food bar at your favorite local grocery store is following the education system's lead. Screw pizza...roll this shit up and smoke it! That is to say, roll up the dough, fill it with tasty ingredients, and throw it in a wood-burning oven.

I venture into Whole Foods every day, as it's located a mere 5 minute walk from where I work. I'm very familiar with the prepared food section since I walk around it searching for anything new (and often just to see if samples are out), and then usually pick up my Honest Tea. The pizza is a good deal (2 big slices for $5), but can be hit or miss. However, this week, the much-heralded stromboli was on display.

And it's not just pepperoni in dough (although that probably is the main component of the Italian Meat and Cheese stromboli). Other flavors include Bacon Cheeseburger (which very negatively impacted a friend of mine earlier this week) and Salmon. I elected to try the Prosciutto, Asparagus and Smoked Gouda.

The dough was outstanding, although a bit dusty...don't wear a black shirt when attempting to eat one of these. However, the inside was NAS-TEE, nasty! I like my aspargus crisp, and the steam inside of the stromboli cooked it to death. The prosciutto was passable, but the smoked gouda really just phoned it in, lending nothing to the overall flavor.

This was really just an experiment for me, and I think I'll go back to having my piece of Jamaican salmon with some aspargus and orzo on the side. If offering crap is part of the legal agreement of the Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger, I'm writing the SEC a letter right now!

I'm off to China tomorrow, and will have a full report when I get back.

Sorry For the Delay

2007-10-13T18:22:00.001-07:00

But with the aftereffects of yesterday's kickball tournament at work and the current effects of some nasty little bug, I'm good for about a sentence on here before I collapse.

Working Backwards: Tripping Out In Arkansas (And Oklahoma)

2007-10-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

I was going to write lots of flowing prose about my parent's trip out, but then I realized that you only read this blog for the bad jokes, not for the flowing prose.

I figured I'd start with the last day, if solely for the purpose of leaving the more entertaining stories for last. Because what's more entertaining than stories of going to the DMV? If you are ever thinking of moving to Arkansas, just remember that the process goes something like this:

1. Go to the state Department of Revenue. There you will take a number and wait in line. If you are lucky (as we were), you will only wait a little bit, only to find out that to get a license they need either a birth certificate, which of course you won't have because who has a copy of that (don't answer that), or a VALID passport, which means it didn't expire 3 years ago, two years after your last trip overseas, which was to Canada, which isn't really overseas but the Bush administration is a touch confused about what is where, and resulted in you having to cross your fingers on re-entering the U.S., because the Canadians let you in but the Americans might not let you back. Fortunately, you crossed around midnight, when the guard could care less about the documentation you had with you.

2. After not getting a license, go to the county tax assessor, because in Benton County, Arkansas, you are taxed on "what you own." I'm sure that means cars, boats, trailers, and livestock, but it is phrased "what you own." So next May, when I call in to report what I own, I will be sure to make the list as complete as possible. I wonder if there's a blue book for used underwear.

3. After the county tax assessor helps you, which in reality took no time at all, get into a line to get a stamp that says you owe nothing. The line hasn't moved since you got there.

4. Whoops! Computers are down! You are welcome to wait or to go to a different tax assessor office.

5. Use the not-to-scale map to drive to the county offices in Rogers. Miss the turn and drive to the south end of town, realizing along the way that there are no fewer than two tortillerias on 8th St. in Rogers, which is quite a find.

6. Get to the county offices in Rogers, make it through both the tax assessor lines and car registration lines in about 15 minutes.

The lesson? Buy a bike.

Actually the lesson is to go to Rogers and skip the Bentonville offices. I will try and follow that lesson when I go to get my license once I get around to either procuring a birth certificate or renewing my passport.

To top it off, the last day of my parents' trip out featured enthusiastic and plentiful thunderstorms, rendering moot any plans to do anything outside. So we did what any rational group of people would do. We drove to Fayetteville and went to the AQ Chicken House for lunch. You may remember that we tried to go to what pretended to be a Bentonville location of the famed chicken house back in June, but to no avail. But that sign is now gone, and the only two locations are in Fayetteville and Springdale (which is also the home of Tyson, if we are name-checking the Fortune 500 companies located here.)

According to my grandmother's Ozark-region guidebook, if you are within 100 miles of AQ, you are required to go there. I am nothing if not a stickler for rules (don't answer that), so I wanted to be sure to go there.

The Fayetteville AQ is decked out in sort of an old-west decor, and it's a very large restaurant. We sat under the picture from 1950, when the restaurant was next door to the chicken houses that raised the birds served in the dining room.

Speaking of chicken and Tyson for a second: does the chicken I buy at the grocery store qualify as local because it's Tyson? There are a number of Tyson processing plants within 100 miles of Bentonville.

The AQ meal started with fresh rolls, which everyone liked except for R, who wasn't hot on them. They had a particular flavor that I couldn't place, but were good with honey.

For an appetizer we ordered the deep fried pickles, as the guidebook told us we must do so. Again, me and rules. They were actually really good, with a really good batter surrounding the kind of pickle slices you find on burgers. The batter to pickle ratio definitely favored the batter, but that's not such a bad thing. I didn't try the red dipping sauce, but the white tarter-esque sauce with the dill was excellent. Reaction around the table was good but mixed -- I could eat a basket of them but I'm not sure about my parents and grandmother.

But what about the fried chicken??

AQ is famous for its pan-fried skillet chicken, like grandma used to make, if your grandma made fried chicken. If she didn't, you may use a different grandma as your reference point, though be sure she doesn't mind that you have invited yourself over for dinner.

I ordered the pan-fried chicken meal, which comes with two sides. I tell you what, the chicken is really good, and the crust is addictive and tasty (my grandmother offered me a fourth piece and I ate the crust off of it, plus half the meat.) The crust is salted just right, with a nice hint of black pepper. The chicken had a slight touch of grease, though I wouldn't call it greasy. The meat itself tasted great and was moist and juicy. However, where AQ's fried chicken stands in your own personal pantheon of fried chicken is a tricky matter. It's definitely home-style, to the point where it tastes homemade (certainly a good thing, don't get me wrong), but if you are a hardcore fan of the deep fry or the cajun spice it may not rank up there with your favorites. If you are a homestyle fan, then this may be one of your top bird preparations.

My sides were the mashed potatoes with gravy and the macaroni and cheese. The mac and cheese was fine, nothing to write home about. The mashed potatoes, however, are worth a trip if you are within 100 miles. The cream gravy is phenomenal (it has taste! it has taste!) and the potatoes under them are just as good. They whip it up something nice. R got the mashed potatoes as well and agreed on their sublime beauty.

R got an interesting platter -- the sampler, which has three pieces of chicken, one pan-fried, one charbroiled, and one BBQ. R liked the pan-fried but loved the BBQ, and would definitely go back for the boneless BBQ chicken breast meal (she's not big into chicken bones, but found the flavor to be fabulous.) She was less enthusiastic about the charbroiled piece, which she found to be weird. I agree -- it's breaded and then broiled, which gives the crust some bitter burnt (not caramelized) spots. The meat on the piece I had was moist and flavorful, but the burnt crust flavor detracted from it.

My dad and grandmother had the pan-fried chicken and loved it. My mom had the BBQ boneless breast and enjoyed that as well. LE and EtE had the kid's spaghetti meal, and LE ate it up (EtE filled up on the rolls.) I tried the spaghetti and it was fine, but nothing I'd order. They do chicken too well to stray.

Service was ok. Tea refills were slow, and you have to have a little bit of patience with the food time (I will chalk it up to making the chicken fresh, thus no harm.) The tea was good though.

We'll be back, even if it's only 20 miles away from us.

If you can't tell by the pictures, we had a bit of a repeat on Sunday. Perhaps you need to refresh your memory. We caravaned to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to go to the aquarium and to Los Cabos Mexican Grill.

I will spare you the background material -- you can go to the last post for that -- but will jump ahead and say that Los Cabos is becoming one of my favorite restaurants overall.

Why? The fajitas are freaking excellent.

Remember that they already have great chips and salsa, and their non-fajita dishes aren't too shabby either (we sampled a bunch of them on the big Cabo Wabo platter.)

But the fajitas, with perfectly grilled and slightly smoky chicken and steak, are something to behold, rivaling the best fajita houses down in Texas on their best days (Pappasitos can have issues with consistency.) The steak was particularly noteworthy, as it was moist and flavorful, and not chewy at all. It melted in my mouth.

The only complaint would be the lack of guacamole with the fajitas themselves. I guess we could have ordered it as a side.

The tortillas, which I know from last time aren't made on site, were fantastic nonetheless.

Service was excellent, and the tea tasted good and was refilled appropriately. You'll no you're no longer in the south when they tell you that they only have unsweet tea.

Coming up...Eureka Springs, a surprise at the mall, and a couple of standards turn out great meals.

CSA Redux

2007-10-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Whew! I’ve finally clawed my way out from under the pile of tomatoes.

Dear readers, my lack of posts over the past two months has been due to an inundation of tomatoes. In the spring, when warmer weather beckoned like a siren, I foolishly planted four seedlings. Coupled with the bounty from Denison Farms, we’ve been up sauce creek. Seriously, though, I have had pounds and pounds of tomatoes to deal with and I regret to say some have even been tossed into the garbage, rotting little buggers. In February I will look back on that fiendish act and cringe.

But I digress. You are reading this to hear about the trials and tribulations of subscribing to our local CSA. With fall officially here, I’ll provide a summary post – my top ten reasons (presented in no particular order) for subscribing to the Denison Farms CSA.

1. Candace Grapes. What delicious little flavor bombs. Smaller than your average grape, Candace Grapes have an intense sweetness paired with a tart bite. You have got to find these if you’ve never had them. Amazing. (Technically they were not from Denison Farms, but that’s one of the great things about getting a veggie box from a local outfit – they trade produce with other farmers to ensure subscribers get a variety of foods. We are supporting Denison Farms and others along the way.)

2. Fingerling potatoes.What a revelation these are when roasted. Creamy, nutty flavor. My new FRP(favorite roasting potato).

3. Romano beans. These are long flat green-bean like things with fresher than green bean flavor. Delicious steamed and then sautéed with olive oil and tomatoes (of course!).

4. The box truck pick up. It's great to see other subscribers picking up their box each week. This neighborly chit-chat and familiar, smiling faces put the “community” in CSA.

5. Hearing my 2 ½ year old remind me to pick up the “beggee box.” He loved (and eagerly devoured) most everything we received. Cherry tomatoes (“juicy!”), strawberries and raspberries were tops during the ride home.

6. Tomatoes. Ok, even though I was overrun with tomatoes, I still looked forward to getting them each week. We had fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, thick tomato sandwiches, and panzanella, an Italian tomato and bread salad. When we tired of those, I made sauce and put it in the freezer. Next year I won’t plant four tomatoes! Only one…or maybe two.

7. Delicata squash. I’ve seen this variety in the market (cream colored with green stripes running lengthwise), but never tried it. It’s wonderful. Bake it whole and then take out the seeds. It has a velvet-y, sweet flavor – it’s sometimes referred to as a “sweet potato squash.” My son loves it for dessert, drizzled with a bit of cream. I think I’ll experiment making a pumpkin pie type dessert or custard using Delicata…

8. Supporting a local farm. Some interesting statistics: the US has seen a 70% reduction in farms since 1935. The median income for a US farmer was $15,848 in 2002. The average age of US farmers is 55.3. In 2002, the percentage of US farmers 35 years or younger was 5.8%. What does this mean, you ask? A low annual salary, coupled with the hard work of running a farm, means there is little incentive for young people get into farming. And if young people don’t, who will grow our food in 10 or 20 years? Will it all come from overseas? Supporting a CSA does make a difference, one farm at a time.

9. Convenience.You might think it's inconvenient to let someone else decide what you are going to cook and eat. However, it saves me a trip to the grocery store and saves me from impulsively spending extra money at the checkout. My willpower is minimal, so this is a good thing. There's also an "IRON CHEF"-ness to the box which I really dig. Of course, because everything is in season, flavors naturally complement one another. There wasn't one week where I thought, "what the hell am I going to do with this??"

10. The Winter Box. Even though summer is fast becoming a distant memory, the box lives on. With a Winter subscription, it will keep arriving through Christmas, filled with squash, sweet potatoes, greens, root veggies and the like.

Subscribing to the CSA has become part of our lifestyle and food style. From December to June we’ll venture back to the grocery store to poke and prod anemic looking vegetables. For now, we will continue to enjoy a hefty box of flavorful produce, savoring every bite.

Crooked And Steep

2007-10-06T21:10:00.000-07:00

My parents and grandmother are out this weekend, so there will be a long travel post coming up. Highlights so far: mingling with bikers and the Viagra crowd (sorry, middle-aged Corvette enthusiasts) in Eureka Springs, some good food and some not so good food, and a great picture opportunity at the park next to Beaver Dam, which will be absolutely beautiful once the fall color hits. It's really beautiful here and the weather has been quite cooperative thus far.

A couple of pictures from our lunch at Cafe Luigi in Eureka Springs.

Sweet Home Atttlanta...nah, that doesn't work

2007-10-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

(-s note: I actually have a picture scanned from a trip to Atlanta way back in 2001 or so, so I added it.)

JC and I took a road trip down to Atlanta to attend a friend's wedding.
Here are the daily culinary highlights.

Day 1:

What can one say about road trip food? Knowing that our options consisted of fast food, fast food, scary-ass places geared towards truckers, and strip clubs with lunch buffets, we decided that packing a lunch would be the way to go. We stocked up at Whole Foods, purchasing pitas made by The Perfect Pita, to go with hummus and veggies. Knowing that we were missing out on the GT-UVA game in Charlottesville, we decided to "tailgate" in the parking lot of JR's Outlet in Burlington, NC, which seemingly sells everything, if their highway bulletin boards are to be believed...Oh, dammit!!! We missed the spring doll event!

Day 2:

JC and I met up in Buckhead with family for lunch and wound up at The Tavern. We drove by Houston's, considering the parking lot was full, and tossed out the thought of Emeril's because, well, his essence has too much rosemary for my liking. (I also don't like websites that don't list
prices.) The Tavern is a bit of an upper class joint price-wise, with burgers and sandwiches in the $8-$12 range. From there, the entrees start in the $20 range...no thanks for lunch. JC ordered the combo po-boy, which came with shrimp and oysters. The batter was crispily suitable, although it probably could have used a bit more seasoning. Also, both of us were a
bit freaked out by crunchy bits in the oysters. Said family member and I both ordered burgers...mine was topped with cheddar cheese and cooked medium. I don't eat meat on a regular basis, but this burger hit the spot. The redness in the middle provided the requisite juiciness without announcing that my cow was still alive. All sandwiches were served with a
healthy dose of fries, which were crispy without being burned, but were almost to the point in size where a fork and knife were necessary.

The wedding was held at the TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth. The setting was beautiful, situated overlooking the 18th hole. The dinner, served in the clubhouse, was par for the course (yes, the pun is intentional), with pasta bars and carving stations. The highlight was the roast beef, which was served with a creamy horseradish sauce and whole grain mustard. The hidden treasure came when JC and I discovered a side room where the fruit and chocolate sauce were hiding. The chocolate sauce had a hint of bourbon or whiskey (I'm not a hard liquor guy).

Day 3:

Day 3 found us at our favorite restaurant in the Metro Atlanta area, Tierra. Situated up the street from Piedmont Park, Tierra sits in a tiny strip mall (it's very hard to miss as you drive towards it). The restaurant changes their menu seasonally, but there are three things that are always served. First is the black bean soup, which is to die for. Creamy soup, served with apple cured bacon and a dollop of creme fraiche. The mainstay entree is the Argentine beef with a homemade chimichurri. Lastly, Tierra offers the best tres leches cake this food blogger has ever tasted. In addition to the mainstays, we also ordered the mussels with a pasilla pepper broth and the ceviche. The mussels were cooked perfectly, and I removed all the shells from the bowl so I could sip up the remaining broth. The ceviche was flounder, but the liquid was a bit too limey taste (yes, there exists such a condition) and too vinegary for others' tastes. For entrees, a standout was the seared scallops accompanied by quinoa cakes. The cakes were seasoned perfectly and had an awesome texture. We cook quinoa a bit at home, and it was great to see a restaurant build such an appetizing offering from this low-carb grain. For dessert we added the crepes with cajeta to our order. JC was a huge fan, although I find goat milk gross for the most part. If you go to one restaurant in Atlanta, Tierra should always be that
stop.

Day 4

Sunday dinner was picked up from MGR Palace, a new vegetarian restaurant (in a Walmart shopping center) located in the shadow of Stone Mountain. As per our usual tendencies, we ordered the samosas to start, which were filled with potatoes and peas and fried to perfection. The tamarind sauce on the side was a different twist on usual samosa accompaniments (at least in the DC area). I ordered the saag paneer, which is slices of cottage cheese served with spinach and tomatoes. In a change, the sauce was a tomato cream sauce, and the spinach was mixed in with the cheese. Spectacular taste, and it had a bit of a kick to boot. We also ordered the bullet naan, which was covered, in butter, garlic, and green chilies. Tasty? Yes. Spicy? Holy <insert deity here>, YES! Good thing there was extra milk on hand, as we had to take a couple breaks just to finish up our entrees. JC's eggplant, while not earth-shattering, had a mild flavor that didn't add to the fire in anyone's mouth. The restaurant is new, and is looking for customers to make the trek out to Stone Mountain. Trust me, it's worth it.

Thanks to -s for linking to my DCist article. I'm headed to China in a couple weeks, and will have an extensive culinary writeup upon my return.

British Noses

2007-10-03T15:52:00.001-07:00

From Yahoo...

"Super spicy chili sauce being cooked at a London Thai restaurant sparked road closures and evacuations after passers-by complained that the smell was burning their throats, police said Wednesday.

London Fire Brigade's chemical response team was called after reports that a strong smell was wafting from the restaurant in the heart of London's Soho district Monday afternoon, a Metropolitan police spokesman said, speaking anonymously in line with force policy."

I did that one time when my sister and the good Captain were out.
Whole story here (thanks AC)

DCist: Thanh Son Tofu

2007-10-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

AC has a review of Thanh Son Tofu in Falls Church, VA, up on the DCist blog. Congrats to AC on the new gig!

I Know I Know It's Not About Food

2007-09-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

This isn't the kind of publicity I like my schools to have...

"Texas A&M's Dennis Franchione said he has stopped selling inside team information through a newsletter to boosters who paid $1,200 per year in subscription fees that helped finance the coach's personal Web site."

It is inevitable that only a shitstorm shall follow once people start looking into whether the information was used for gambling purposes. Just fire him now and spare us the rest. Whole story here.

Red Stick Randomness

2007-09-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Random musings regarding the Red Stick...

The LA state capital building is tall. The tallest in all the land actually. It's also where Huey Long was assassinated (and he's buried in the front yard.)

The pelican migration through town is something to behold. I forget exactly when it happens, but it's usually in the fall, about late October to early November. They love the lakes near the LSU campus.

Of all the places I've lived, Louisiana was probably the most photogenic. I can hear the Oregonians crying foul, but how many pictures of mountains can one take before one has had enough? The area around Baton Rouge has the optimal mix -- city (both old and new), rural (scenic, little churches, plantations, etc.), nature, farms, and most of all, it's pretty easy to pull off of the road in most spots. It was also helped out by the fact that R and I had very different school workloads, so I had alot of time to explore.

Bluebonnet swamp in Baton Rouge (near the mall of all places.)

Memorial Tower at LSU.

Random bull along I-10 west of the city.

Silo in Brusly, just across the Mississippi River.

Baton Rouge mardi gras. Far more political than the New Orleans parades. I need to dig up my picture of the Monica Lewinsky doll riding a huge cigar.
There's that silo again, looking phallic.

LSU campus.

This is just stuff I have scanned right now. I could go on for far too long, and that would probably bore you to tears!

Baton Rouge Day 2: Taking Part In The Louisiana State Pasttime

2007-09-25T20:39:00.001-07:00

Editor's note: I didn't have time to take pictures on this trip, so all shots are from 1998-2001.

The La Quinta on Acadian in Baton Rouge is not like, say, the La Quinta in Bentonville. That is to say, it's not a really nice hotel with plenty of amenities. The La Quinta in Baton Rouge is motel-style, so the doors go to the outside. It is also undergoing renovations, so it's half-empty as a practical matter. They gave me a room way in the back, away from either the interstate or Acadian Thruway, and there was maybe one other occupied room, so I was a bit nervous being that isolated (Baton Rouge is not a low crime city, and not just in the really bad neighborhoods. For instance, the son of a woman R worked with was gunned down during a carjacking in a neighborhood that, while not great, wasn't so bad it precluded the occasional cutting-through to avoid traffic.) So I slept about as well as could be expected.

But in Baton Rouge, waking up is its own reward, as breakfast awaits in the form of Louie's Cafe, on State Street by the north gate of LSU.

I didn't take that picture -- it's from the New York Times feature on spending 36 hours in Baton Rouge (funny, they left out cruise Florida Blvd. and wave at the prostitutes.)

If I remember correctly, Louie's is the longest operating restaurant in Baton Rouge, with 60-someodd years under its belt. I apologize if the number is wrong, but it doesn't matter, as they have been practicing so long perfection is not the goal, it's the norm.

If you can, sit at the counter. That way you can watch the action in the kitchen. The usual sights are the hashbrowns cooking on the skillet and pancake and omelet orders. The new sight for me was the pot of gumbo, started before I arrived and still having ingredients added when I left 40 or so minutes later. I'm thinking that'll be some good gumbo, going slow and long like that (I've never had gumbo there, so take that as you will.)

A sidenote is that while I'm no gumbo expert, the best gumbos I've had were those served at the LSU Department of Agronomy functions. I don't know which faculty/staff was the gumbo-master though.

I ordered the classic, not eaten by me since probably 2003 -- the spanish omelet with the biscuit on the side. The omelets at Louie's are different than other omelets I've had. They spread the eggs thin on the griddle, let them cook a bit, and then put a pile of the hashbrowns in the center and fold the egg over the potatoes. Now the hashbrowns aren't Waffle House shreds (I'm not knocking Waffle House shreds -- lord no I would not knock those), they are chunks of potatoes, (most likely) seasoned with Tony Chachere's (or something very similar), and left on the griddle until ordered. They are freakin' awesome.

I don't know who is behind the recipes at Louie's. I always wondered though, as one time R and I ate there years back, Chef John Folse came out of the back in his chef's coat. I don't think Folse has gotten the acclaim outside of Louisiana that he maybe deserves, but in the state itself he's a pretty big stud.

The egg and hashbrown structure is then topped with a warm salsa of crushed tomatoes, jalapenos, chopped white onions, green onions, and minced garlic. It's spicy, garlicky, and incredibly good. So good that when I go back towards the end of October I will go to Louie's and eat it again. Just like I have almost every time I've been.

The biscuits are excellent and perhaps worthy on their own of the effort to go. My big mistake was picking the wrong little tub in the basket of butters and putting "spread" on my last bite. I was reviewing documents while I ate, what do you want??

I talked to L-P later in the day about Louie's. He agreed about it's status as the best breakfast place on earth, though he disagreed on the omelet. Apparently the jalapenos mess with his stomach. Anyhow, there's an omelet there with sausage in it that he loves. I'll find out the name and report back.

The iced tea was good and refilled appropriately. Overall service was excellent (I sat at the counter, so I watched my food being made and the cook handed it to me right off of the griddle.) One caveat is that it was pretty empty, as I had a later breakfast and LSU had already started up for the day, and when they get busy it's not a fast in and out kind of place (especially if you have to wait an hour before sitting down.)

It's very important that if you ever go to Baton Rouge, you go to Louie's. If you don't, I'll be sad.

Post Louie's I had to do some shopping, so I left my car in the Louie's lot and walked on to campus (and prayed I wouldn't get towed. My prayers were answered. Don't not attempt this at home.)

It's funny (to me, anyway) -- moving from Oregon to Arkansas required a readjustment to humidity. Even when it hits its peak of rainy misery, Oregon doesn't feel all that humid (probably because the temps are lower.) Here in Arkansas, it can be pretty muggy out at times, enough to encourage quality time in the great indoors with the AC on. But Arkansas has got nothing on Baton Rouge. I had forgotten that the state past-time is sweating, and I was drenched after my shopping and walking across campus.

What's even funnier is that Baton Rouge has got nothing on New Orleans. New Orleans humidity is the most disgusting I have ever felt anywhere.

This is about the time the story peters out.

After my breakfast and shopping I went back to the h(m)otel, showered, and changed into my suit for my work duties that afternoon. L-P's office catered in Quizno's, which didn't strike me as anything when it happened, but when I told R later that day she said "WITH ALL THE GREAT FOOD IN BATON ROUGE THEY GOT QUIZNO'S???" Excellent point!

If you care, the sandwich wedge was ok, though completely unmemorable. I forget what was on it. This may also be due to the stress at the time.

I didn't eat at the Baton Rouge airport, instead saving my dinner for the DFW airport. I ate at Texas Stadium in terminal B, mostly because they had a bar with TVs so I could watch the Titans/Saints game. I got a bacon cheeseburger, which was extremely mediocre, though the fries were very good, with a nice seasoning mix that included some greenery. Tea was mediocre, but the service was excellent.

I made it home in one piece, no real stories to tell from those flights.

As far as I know, I'll be heading back in a month or so, so I'll eat more and report more.

***
In other news, I believe AC has got an Atlanta travel post coming up. He's also doing some auditioning to write for a much higher profile blog, and good luck to him on that!

Baton Rouge Day 1: A Return To Where It All Started, With Two Broken Planes Along The Way

2007-09-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

Editor's note: Due to time constraints, I didn't take any pictures on this trip. All photos were taken by me between 1998 and 2003.

I don't think it's possible to overstate the importance of Baton Rouge in my life. Though I only lived there for three years, it was the place where choices were made and opportunities taken that, if I had not taken them, life would be very different today. I got into the industry I work in because I happened to randomly discover that a company was opening an office in Houston and hiring an LSU professor to head it up, I emailed the professor, he invited me over to his office for an informal interview, and a year later when I finished my degree he hired me (and without the degree from LSU I also wouldn't have had the opportunities I've had.) I got engaged at Dinardo's (now Ruffino's) restaurant (even with the name change, the garlic and rosemary chicken is to die for. The potatoes on the bottom soak up the olive oil, chicken drippings, garlic, and rosemary flavors and melt in your mouth) and was married while we lived in Baton Rouge.

It was only fitting then that my first challenge of my new job, exactly the type of challenge I was hired to do, took place in Baton Rouge. And no, I'm not going to say what it was. I'm continuing my no talking about work policy, even if I do talk about the travel and the eating.

Sunday morning we hit Atlanta Bread Company for breakfast, partly because we wanted to try it and partly because we didn't have enough time for a sit-down restaurant because I needed to go to the airport. ABC is in the Panera mold, with a bakery on one side and food items on the other side. First plus -- samples! They had out 5 or 6 types of bagels to sample and 5 types of cream cheese. Certainly a good way to sell bagels, and their bagels are better than Panera's. While they aren't the finest bagels on earth, they actually taste like bagels, not just round bread with a hole in the middle. R delivered quite the compliment when she said she wouldn't have a problem buying a dozen bagels there and freezing them. The kids got the cinnamon crisp style, with they both loved, R got sesame with plain cream cheese (she gave the cream cheese an A), and I got an everything with egg, cheese, and sausage on it. The sandwich was good, though it could have used more black pepper and I did add some Tabasco as well. It also could have stood to have the bagel be toasted, as the moisture of the other ingredients sogged the bagel a bit too much (it may also have had a visit to microwave land.) Good iced tea too.

Getting out of XNA was no big deal. Man that's an easy airport to deal with.

DFW airport in Dallas was a bit more fun. Including this trip, I've been through DFW on American Airlines twice in order to fly to Baton Rouge. The first time, we spent the first night of our honeymoon sleeping on the airport's floor. The second time had to be better, right?

Better, yes. Good? Not so much.

I got to DFW, went to my gate, and they said...

"Plane's broken, we're waiting on a new plane."

After awhile, they said...

"OK, go to this other gate, we've got a new plane."

Walk...walk...walk...walk...wait for people to get off of the plane...

"OK, let's board. Thank you for your patience, safety is our first priority."

Board...sit...sit...sit...

"We've recalculated our fuel needs, so hold tight while they pull some fuel off."

Wait...wait...wait...wait...

"Uh oh, there may be a problem. We've called maintenance."

It's at this point that I should tell you that I was sitting next to a guy from Homeland Security. At some point during the de-fueling, I took of my headphones to see what was going on. Apparently, a bag had fallen into the middle of the roadway on the tarmac, and had been sitting there about 45 minutes or so. The guy sitting next to me said that he had videotaped trucks swerving around the bag, but nobody stopping to pick it up. He also said that he would send American an email from his DHS account with the video attached.

"Sorry folks. Safety is our first concern, so we need to deplane you and get you on another plane. The fuel pump is broken and we can't get it fixed for awhile." They didn't add..."We won't remind you that this plane just landed here in DFW with a load of passangers."

We had been sitting on the plane for about an hour and a half at this point. So we deplane and had to mosey to a different part of the terminal, which required travel by train. One of my fellow passengers is a history professor at University of Houston who was going to speak at LSU. Houston to Baton Rouge is four hours by car. LSU flew him through Dallas, which even without the delay is a longer trip than four hours.

So we finally make it onto plane number three, and after three hours of delays, touch down in Baton Rouge. I had to meet with L-P to go over some things for Monday, and our original meet time of 4:30 had been blown to smithereens. I got in my rental car and headed for the interstate.

I was last in Baton Rouge in 2003. Since then, Katrina happened, which briefly doubled the population of the city, and L-P said he believes that 40-50,000 people stayed, which is still a big population increase for a city of 250,000.

I got to my hotel (motel would be more correct...meh), called L-P and waited on the curb for him to show up. While waiting, I watched a drug deal go down -- car 1 parks, car 2 pulls up a little bit later, driver from car 1 gets into car 2, driver from car 1 gets out of car 2 after about 2 minutes, gets in his own car, both cars drive away in different directions. Good times.

L-P and I ended up looking for dinner just before 9pm, and we ended up at Ninfa's as it was Sunday night, so our options were limited. This actually wasn't a bad thing, as the Baton Rouge Ninfa's, a franchise location of the Texas chain, is the best Ninfa's I've been to (though I qualify that by stating that I never made it to Ninfa's on Navigation in Houston.)

The place was pretty empty save for a few tables, and they sat us in the very back of the restaurant. Good, because then we could talk business and not worry about it.

Ninfa's is generally memorable for its chips and salsa -- both salsa's are memorialized in Robb Walsh's Tex-Mex cookbook (which if you don't have, get) and they don't disappoint at the BR Ninfa's. I guess I'm used to the homemade green, because the restaurant's tasted slightly different, like it had garlic in it. The chips are also very good.

L-P ordered the carnitas and said they were very good. They came out like the fajitas do, on a hot platter with caramelized onions and some toppings that I didn't quite catch.

I ordered the Jackie, which is fajitas for one, with chicken, because I had good memories of lucious tacos made with their fillings (and Ninfa's practically invented fajitas as we know them.) The memories and reality were pretty darn close, though I had forgotten how saucy the meat is. Not stir-fry saucy, because the onions are caramelized separately and the meager bell pepper and tomato donation are hardly cooked at all, but a marinated-then-grilled-and-basted saucy. If I remember Walsh's recipe correctly (I'm too lazy to go downstairs and check), the Ninfa's fajita marinade has soy sauce and pineapple juice in it, among other things. I may be wrong, but it's almost an Asian marinade.

The fajitas were very good. The chicken was moist and flavorful, though the grill flavor wasn't particularly aggressive (no real charring or anything like that.) The onions were excellent, caramelized into a sugary goodness. The bell pepper and tomato donations decorated the platter, and were fine on the tacos, but jeese give us more than one slice, eh? The tortillas were fresh and terrific, more rustic than On the Border's but not quite the perfection of La Hacienda Real in Salem. It also comes with queso, which is a nice addition to the tacos (along with the green salsa.) Pico and guac are also provided, and are also good, but not plentiful enough to go the whole meal. The appeared on tacos 1 and 2, but 3 and 4 were all queso and green salsa.

The rice and beans were good, and I actually liked the rice better than I remembered.

The tea was excellent and refilled at a modest pace. Service overall was pretty good.

And with that, L-P dropped me off at the h(m)otel, the travel sleep issues kicked in (I'm not a good hotel sleeper at all), and I headed out for a drive to check out what had become of the city. A few notes:

* The rental car had both full-blown Sirius and an aux input jack on the stereo. Between those two options and 91.1 KLSU, life does not get much better sitting in a car.

* The bad parts of BR are still bad, and the beautiful parts are still beautiful. If you ever go, check out the garden district, Highland Road, and the lakes around campus.

* The commercial development is astounding. Places I remember as open fields are now high-end strip malls with shops like Whole Foods and PF Changs. Big difference.

* The housing architechture is still the finest in the country (see: A. Hays Town)

Day 2 soon...

I Debated Whether To Put The Word "Fuck" In The Title, But Decided It Was Best To Leave It Out...oh wait...

2007-09-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's like the blogging gods wanted to give me a gift. Somebody named their restaurant "La Chingada!" (link NSFW, though if you're reading this post, it's probably no longer a concern) Poor Editrix back at the Statesman -- if they're still linked to this blog the complaints are going to kill them. But I am merely reporting and translating the facts for you.

In other news, travel post about Baton Rouge coming up, as I am headed there tomorrow. Wish me luck, even if I won't tell you what for. The only meal I have planned so far is breakfast on Monday at Louie's, the best breakfast place I have ever been to.

Pronouncing Taqueria, Difficult Yet Worth It

2007-09-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

As an outsider, possibly the one food scene you'd least expect in NW Arkansas is a taqueria scene -- chain Mex like Abuelos and On the Border are fairly commonplace nowadays, but there are places where the more homestyle food of the taqueria is non-existent (like say, the town in New Jersey where I grew up.) But NW Arkansas has a taqueria scene, and a fairly large one in Rogers (I think Springdale, further south, has one too), the sister city to Bentonville (they've grown into one another.) I don't know the history, but in recent times the housing and construction booms, the Tyson plants, and even businesses like Wal-Mart International (which operates in several Central and South American countries, not to mention Wal-Mart de Mexico), have certainly contributed to the demographic boom that birthed the taqueria scene. And for that I am thankful.

Some of my coworkers tried Taqueria Vega on Hudson in Rogers (about 2 miles east of Sam's Club) on Tuesday and came back raving about it. Well about most of it. One guy, who we'll call the ButtSmoker (because he mocks me about how much meat he smokes...duh), did complain about the red salsa that comes out with the chips. "It's oily" he said. But he did rave about everything else. From his description it sounded like a red chile sauce, and the group loved the green sauce, and I was intrigued. R was intrigued as well when I told her about it. They serve tongue too? Well that's worth a visit!

Taqueria Vega is on a strip of Hudson that actually has 3 taquerias and a Salvadorean Pupuseria all within about 100 feet of each other. I think one of them is called "La Chingada," which is sort of scary, given that it's a nasty nasty word in Spanish slang. You would basically be saying "Hey, let's go get some tacos at Fucker!" I will follow up on this very soon (this is a blog, so I can do stuff like this, right?)

Anyhow, Taqueria Vega is owned by the father-in-law of the ButtSmoker's roofer, Juan. It's vibe is not unlike the taqueria you would think of when someone near you says "taqueria." TV tuned to one of the Spanish channels, sparse decor, etc. They keep overhead low and focus on the food.

The chips and salsa came out first. I know I rarely focus on the chips and salsa first, but because they were a point of interest in the discussions leading up to the visit, they will get first billing. The chips were fine -- standard thickness, fresh, crispy, not oversalted. The green salsa is a very good version of the common tomatillo salsa. The red salsa is what I thought it would be...a chile sauce. The taste was heavily dominated by ancho chile flavors, which is to say it had an almost raisin-y flavor and dark overtones. It had no real depth of flavor -- no oregano or cumin hints, or roasted garlic. Just chiles I believe. It also wasn't very spicy. A great chip salsa? Meh, probably not, but certainly good to have around
nonetheless.

The menu is reminiscent of Otilia's in Houston -- a selection of full dishes on one half (they come with rice and beans), and antojitos on the other half with a list of the meats you can put in it. And what a list of meats it is...the usual chicken, beef (including a stewed Mexican BBQ, but more about that later), and pork, and also tripe, cabeza (head meat), tongue, cesos (brains), and buche (uh..."pork product" is the definition I found, to be honest I hadn't heard of it before.)

R ordered the chicken torta (they've got a number of different tortas) and chopped guacamole. The chopped guacamole was excellent. Chopped avocado, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro with lime juice, and it just worked in a way most guacamoles don't. The chicken torta was very good, with chicken, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, onions, and avocado (I forget if it had beans on it or not, I only had one bite), with R's only complaint being that the chicken was a little bit gristly.

I ordered the Mexican BBQ, which was shredded beef which had been slow cooked in a red chile sauce, and it came with rice, beans, chopped white onions and cilantro. Best of all, it came with three fresh homemade corn tortillas, which were some of the finest corn tortillas I've ever had. They were also thicker than any corn tortillas I've ever had. The tacos, with the beef, onions, and cilantro, made my tastebuds dance. Adding the red salsa or the guacamole was really good as well. My only wish is that there was a little more spice in the red chile the BBQ was stewed in, but it tasted so good that it's only a wish, not a complaint. The rice was fine, though it seemed a little undercooked as the grains were a touch watery. Taqueria Vega uses a long grain rice for its dish, so maybe that has something to do with it. The beans were fine as well, nothing to shout about.

Overall it was a fine meal and we'll be back. I'm excited to continue venturing into the taqueria scene round these parts.

We Messed Up And Made It Right, Even If It Took Awhile

2007-09-18T20:17:00.001-07:00

R and I hit the Rogers Johnny Carino's today for lunch, as I was in the mood for some Italian and it's a place that I've known of since the late 1990s but had never tried. I'm not entirely sure where they're based, and their website plays on "authentic" Italian food, but given the number of dishes on the menu that contain jalapenos, I'm going to guess they are based in Texas and that "authentic" refers more to the Italian-immigrant populations around Bryan, Texas, more than some far-off city in Italy. However, perhaps the world needs a little Tex-Mex-Italian.

The restaurant seems to exist in the same universe as Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill (moderately priced Italian chain, with lunch dishes in the $8-10 range), though it does separate itself a bit with the more aggressive flavorings on the menu, including a number of dishes that don't have jalapenos with little "spicy" markers next to them.

To start, they've got loaves of bread fresh out of the oven. It's similar to Macaroni Grill bread, though it's more of an Italian loaf than foccacia, but it's got a nice hint of rosemary with a brushing of oil and salt on top. Very good. Unfortunately the dipping oil doesn't quite hold up its end of the bargain, as the main focus is crisped garlic, which doesn't have alot of zing (and reminds me a bit too much of when I cook garlic in a forgetful manner, though not as bitter.) The olive oil was on the light side as well with a hint of frutiness.

We made it through two loaves, because our lunch took forever to come out. But all was not lost. Apparently what happened was one of the servers took our food to a different table, and once they realized there was a screwup, they (apparently by policy) had to trash the food and recook the order. Even with the extra time, it's a good policy to have as it ensures that customers receive fresh and hot food. I also appreciate that the head chef/expediter came to the table and explained this to us (I do wish that our server had given us some advance warning, but the chef visit made up for it.) Good customer relations is a good thing! More restaurants should think like this.

R ordered the angel hair with artichokes, which she thought was very good. "Light and tasty" were her comments. The pasta had artichokes, capers, black olives, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Good portion size as well. I'm going to have to remind myself to bug her about what she thought it tasted like -- I think it reminded her of a pasta dish with capers that she had at a place in Holmdel, NJ, about 10-12 years ago. The only reason I remember the dish was it was the first time I had capers, and to this day I'm still not a huge fan, though they're ok in limited doses.

I ordered the Skillitini, which besides the goofy trademarked name, is actually really good. It's like sausage and peppers gone fajita -- you get a hot cast iron skillet full of spaghetti, caramelized onions, green bell pepper, and (in my case) Italian sausage. The dish is labeled spicy, and the sauce has a bit of an arrabiata vibe to it (lingering crushed red pepper and black pepper flavor.) The spaghetti was al dente, though some of the pasta on the bottom of the pan does eventually caramelize and ultimately scorch if you don't rescue it all on your first go (it's a huge portion, especially after eating so much bread.) The sausage also had a slight kick for me, but really had a nice flavor overall. Sort of a strange dish (caramelizing pasta?), but one worth eating.

The iced tea was good and properly refilled. The server also offered and delivered on to go cups at the end of the meal (that's a big part of the restaurant culture here -- the to-go cup. It's a beautiful thing.)

Service overall was very good, with my only complaint being, as I said before, a little advanced warning about the timing of the meal. However, they took care of it in a respectful and classy way, and the food delivered as well.

We'll be hitting it again.

Notes And Whatnot

2007-09-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

* For the first time since we moved to Arkansas, I had to break out a sweatshirt. Feels like fall today, should be in the 80s tomorrow.

* As glowing and kind to the Bentonville Waffle House as I have been in previous posts, I do owe you a bit of advice I figured out today. If you get there and they are packed, go somewhere else. I've never seen a restaurant staff so overwhelmed and in the weeds. I think the waitress told us she was at wits end and that the kitchen was slow even before saying hi. Of course she didn't tell us that she would also forget to butter the toast, forget the kids' waffles, and once she remembered them, burn one. Wow, it was a logistical clusterfuck. However, when the food did arrive, it was very good. Just beware.

* R and I hit the BVille Whole Hog Cafe for lunch this week. I got the half chicken with beans and potato salad and R got the salad with the pulled chicken. Overall very good meal, though if you go salad, definitely get the ranch and not the other options (ranch made in-house, the others come in Kraft pouches.) Definitely try the Volcano BBQ sauce, available only by asking, it's not out on the tables. Hottest BBQ sauce I've ever had (lingering heat in the 10-15 minute range), but still had good flavor. While none of the chicken meat was very smoky, it tasted great. My only complaint is that the white meat was drier than I like, though not too dry to enjoy (and certainly fine with sauce.) The beans were fine, nothing to write about, and the potato salad was good but nothing I'd go out of my way for. But BBQ isn't about the sides, right?

* A revelation occured to us last weekend. I wasn't feeling great and was in the mood for tortilla soup. Many many moons ago, back when we lived in Baton Rouge, we used to go to On the Border and get their tortilla soup, which, to my memory, was pretty darn good. So we decided to hit the OTB in Rogers for lunch so I could try the soup, which I hadn't had in at least 7 years. Instead, we get there and I smell fajitas and decide hey, may as well try these. Fajitas are a funny thing...they were invented in Texas, brought to the world by Mama Ninfa, and then brought to Mexico where somebody misunderstood the memo and turned them into something resembling stir-fry. So while the fajitas at your favorite Mex place may be "authentic" to the ancestral home of the proprieter (if those folks aren't from the Texas-Mexico border or south Texas), but it doesn't mean you should eat them (you could spend hours arguing about what "authentic" fajitas are anyway -- technically the term "fajita" refers to beef.) Anyhow, OTB does their fajitas in the acceptable method, grilling the meat and serving them with caramelized onions and peppers on hot iron skillet. Tortillas are fresh and made in-house. And guess what? They are really good. I had the beef and R got the chicken, and both meats were excellent, moist and tasty, and made great tacos. The beef wasn't chewy or tough. The pico and guac are great, and generous with the jalapenos. The tortillas are solid, though not La Hacienda Real's (but what are? Of course LHR's other food sucks. Ahh the irony.) Overall definitely a fajita destination for those of us outside of Texas (and you folks in Salem are getting one soon I do believe.) The chips and salsa are fine, nothing too exciting. Iced tea was good and refilled appropriately. Overall excellent service.

And that's enough for now.

Me and Wolfgang

2007-09-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

I met Wolfgang Puck today at the grand opening of the Sam's Club in Fayetteville. It's actually quite the state-of-the-art store and you can read about it here. Anyhow, I got some cookbooks signed by him, got my picture taken with him, and even got interviewed by the local news about him! I don't even sound like a total dumbass! He was nice as could be, even having already spent almost an hour signing cookbooks and taking pictures.

Picture to come when I get it, and yes I will black out my face :). If you want to see me on the news, send me an email.

400th Post

2007-09-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, 400 posts. Approximately 388 more than most blogs!

And while I'm proud of us for putting up so much information vital to the survival of western civilization, I'm more proud of you, the readers, for continuing to check out the blog as it has gone through a number of changes over the last few months. Even in the new digs, we still get a number of visitors who came via searches for Apizza in Stayton and the Big Kahuna in downtown Salem.

I realize that I've been bad with restaurant write-ups of late, and for that I apologize. What I need to do is do shorter, quicker, meal recaps when I eat someplace as opposed to sitting on it waiting for another try. I will try to do better.

If it makes you feel better, however, the travel side of things will really light up in the next month and a half. AC's got trips to Atlanta and Beijing on his plate, and I'm headed to Louisiana probably twice in the next 7 weeks or so (Baton Rouge definitely for one, not sure if the other is BR or New Orleans.) And if we are enterprising and actually get up posts about our hometowns, you'll have lots of info about places in NW Arkansas and Washington DC/Northern Virginia.

So thanks for reading, and thanks for your continued support!

Woman Dies After Eating Raw Oysters

2007-09-11T23:59:00.001-07:00

This issue seems to pop up every now and then. For people who don't know the woman (I am included in that group), this is probably the most important take away lesson:

"Health officials warn that summer is not the optimal time to eat oysters and other shellfish that are harvested from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico because they can sometimes be contaminated with bacteria by the time they arrive at restaurants."

Whole story here.

State-Inspired Courage: Raleigh, Days 2 and 3

2007-09-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

(Will not type "Rayleigh" of Rayleigh scattering fame every time I try to type Raleigh)

A full night's rest behind us, Day 2 in Raleigh started with the aforementioned cheesecake (and healthy grapes) for breakfast. The cheesecake was from one of the bakeries in Raleigh (can't remember the name right now), and was soft, creamy, moist, sweet .

Bellies full, we headed to A Southern Season outside of Chapel Hill. The store is a gourmet grocery store/cafe all rolled up right next to a a certain department store. As you walk in, you're thrown (yes, THROWN) into the coffee and tea section. Considering JC and I were Diet Coke-less up to this point, we both consumed the free samples of Moca Java (yes, no H). Tasty, being coffee and all. We then got lost in the aromatic heaven of the tea section, which offered 2oz. and 4oz. packages of loose teas (no truth to the rumor that the packages of green leaves contained this). The other highlight of the store is the chocolate section, where they sell chocolate bars from around the world, as well as homemade truffles. We dug for some of caramel-filled truffles, and were rewarded for our effort...even melted and subsequently refridgerated, they're to-die-for. I was slightly disappointed by the beer and wine sections, as the selection was a bit meager.

Lunch brought us to Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill, a restaurant and microbrewery on Franklin Street next to the UNC campus. The decor is very Tar Heel-heavy, as they advertise as the place to go drink after UNC inevitably loses all of its sporting endeavors. The restaurant layout can be described as sprawling, with a wide bar area and beer vats visible off of the main room. And with visible beer vats, it meant only one thing...it was time for the sampler. The sampler delivered, with generous samples of each of the beers listed here. Our favorites were the Mango Lager and the Old Well White.

The menu contained, well, bar food. I ordered the BBQ chicken pizza and JC ordered the turkey sandwich. The pizza had a good sweet BBQ sauce, but I wouldn't say it was bursting with flavor. The chicken was pretty close to awful, with pieces of cartilage thrown in for good measure, and I think it might have been boiled prior to being put on the pizza. Grilled/roasted chicken would have been much preferred. JC enjoyed the turkey sandwich, which came with applewood smoked bacon and was served on a tasty pretzel roll. Did I mention the beer? I did the heavy lifting with the sampler, so suffice it to say my path out of the restaurant was not a straight line.

After a trip to the Duke Gardens, we hit up El Dorado Restaurant in the Brier Creek section of Raleigh for some Mexican food. The chips and salsa were awesome...fresh, hot chips and a smooth salsa. I went a la carte with my order, asking for two cheese enchiladas and a poblano chile relleno (singular). The enchiladas were tasty, but broke AC's Rule of Cheese Enchiladas: Never NEVER have the default sauce for your cheese enchiladas be a meat sauce. I've sent dishes back at Mexican restaurants that contained an unlisted meat sauce. Luckily, the meat sauce was bearable, more of a peppery gravy. A strange topping for cheese enchiladas, but hell, I ate it. The chile relleno took its merry damn time coming out of the kitchen, prompting "Donde esta el chile relleno?" a couple of times. Finally, a plate was brought with TWO chile rellenos, one covered in sauce and one just kind of sitting there sauceless. Turns out they put an extra on the plate (the extra turned out to be the meat-filled chile, which I gladly gave to the Canadas for leftovers). The chile was tasty, but I had a problem with how eggy the batter was. It was pretty much a stuffed poblano surrounded by a two-egg omelette, and was a little rich. JC ordered the pollo fundido, which was basically a grilled chicken breast with vegetables covered in a shit-ton of cheese. Rave reviews from her and Mrs. Canada, who ordered the same. (For more fundido, be sure to check out Oyamel's queso fundido, which was surely on the judges' minds when Bobby Flay got his freakin' comeuppance.)

Day 3 found us visiting some family in Durham, where we proceeded to Red Robin for lunch. As it's been written up several times in this space, you know the drill...huge burgers, lots of fries, salads covered in fried shit. This was my first visit to a Red Robin, and in general I was pleased. I ordered the Santa Fe burger done medium. Very tasty, and the meat was perfectly cooked. JC ordered the california chicken sandwich. The menu design team at Red Robin must have observed an aberration in California cuisine during their exploration, as the sandwich contained about half a jar or mayo (huge turnoff)...must have gone to Sacramento or something. However, mission accomplished as the meal gave us enough fuel to get back to DC in a swift 4 hours, with only a minor potty break outside of Richmond.

That's all for now. I'll be back in a couple of weeks with posts from Atlanta. Oh, and we're driving (better than spending over $300 bucks per on a plane ticket).

-Written while listening to a playlist constructed from 120 Minutes memories

Criminal Of The Day

2007-09-10T05:15:00.000-07:00

McDonald's worker thrown in jail for oversalting meat:

"UNION CITY, Ga -- A 20-year-old McDonald's employee spent a night in jail and is facing criminal charges after a police officer complained that the burger she prepared with too much salt made him sick."

In other news, Emeril has scrapped plans to open a restaurant in Union City, Georgia and throw a special opening night for law enforcement officers.Whole story here.

Better Than Ramen

2007-09-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

I've got a MF Doom song stuck in my head -- ever since we bought ricotta at the store yesterday...

"Not alot of bling
When he do the thing, badda boom badda thing
From the womb to the tomb
Get the ricotta badda bing badda boom."

I have no clue what that means.

Anyhow, I figured I'd share a quick recipe with you today, as I came up with it quickly and it tasted good.

I caught some nasty little bug yesterday, and spent some quality time riding the porcelain bus last night. I had a little bit of queasiness this afternoon and decided I didn't want leftover lasagna, which was what we were having for dinner. I was really in the mood for some soup and would have loved to eaten some caldo de pollo from Doneraki, possibly the best chicken soup ever, but alas Donerki is in Houston, not NW Arkansas. So I made do with the following...

4 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic
3.5 oz fideo noodles (the $0.24 kind at Wal-Mart in the Mex section)
Meat from two drumsticks and two thighs, grocery store rotisserie chicken
Lots of black pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
3/4 tsp. chipotle chile powder

Throw all of the above in a pot, bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes or so, serve with avocado slices and fresh limes. Pretty tasty. It's not a scientific recipe, but you'll make do I'm sure.

***
One more thing...I was going through my music downloads tonight and came across this one. The inspirational lyrics: "You can fool yourself all you want, but soy does not taste like meat."

Last Laugh -- "Soy Does Not Taste Like Meat"

Yummy Water

2007-09-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Lately the water here hasn't been tasting very good, and now I know why...

"The change in the water happened sometime last week and is caused by a spike in a chemical produced by blue-green algae, water district officials say."

It's actually kind of nasty when you think about it. Whole story here.

Get The Ricotta Badda Boom Badda Bing

2007-09-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to AC for filling the gap this week with his Raleigh post. I'm wondering when the next part is coming! :)

I'm sure you are all bored with my "I'm so busy" pathos bs, so I'll skip the apologies as to why I'm not posting every day like a good blogger and get on with the talk about food, because that's probably why you are here.

To start, you should check out the September 2007 issue of Gourmet, which is focused entirely on Latin American food. They even tone down the "I'm so much better than you because my writing expense account is so huge and I can spend a grand on dinner" bullshit that alot of their normal issues have. Though the interview with Maricel Presilla, did venture a bit much into the more-authentic-than-thou realm, which would have gotten me pumped up back in my Houston days but is now mostly boring and irritating. I think I've finally gotten to the point in my life where the first question I ask myself is "Is it good?", relegating the authenticity question to the trivia and methods behind the food. Speaking of authenticity, the first couple paragraphs of the Dominican piece are bizarre and a bit pathetic -- ok so it took awhile for a critical mass of Dominicans to form and a good restaurant scene to develop, but what were folks cooking at home? Food culture isn't completely tied to the restaurant scene, even if that's what the restaurants want you to believe.

A couple of other interesting notes. Congrats to ExtraMSG for having his name not edited out of Robb Walsh's article. The Carolina Cucina article shows that the English language does have a limited number of superlatives, though poor Taqueria Lopez in Durham, who apparently makes the only subfantastic Mex dish in all of North Carolina (though the author does praise another mole's sweetness and haunting cinnamon afterglow, so every opinion gets a grain of salt added to it.) I'm ready to go to Scottsbluff, Nebraska and Chicago. Apparently mole is the new crunchy taco. And I wish somebody would do an article on Salvadorean food that wasn't about pupusas. There is other Salvadorean cuisine, right? (Not that pupusas are bad, but this is Gourmet audience, not the Food Network.)

Speaking of Mexican food, we've hit Maria's in Bentonville a couple of times recently, once for lunch and once for dinner. A couple of co-workers have tabbed Maria's as the best Mex place in town, so we of course had to check it out.

The menu and style are similar to Acambaro, which isn't too much of a surprise as, to my knowledge, they are owned by members of the same extended family, though I don't know the relationship. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

There are a couple of ways to eat at Maria's. Cheap and really cheap. Most items on the lunch menu are $4.50-5.50ish, and they'll sell you those items at dinner for $1 more. This may be why on both visits the place was packed. They have a menu with other items, but there's plenty to work through before even worrying about paying more for other stuff.

The fare is mostly standards, though there may be some non-standard stuff on the more expensive part of the menu from which I haven't yet ordered. I'll update you when I do, don't worry.

The chips and salsa are in the same sort of good-but-not-great realm but laced with something that makes them extraordinarily addictive.

R, who doesn't always have the same need to try stuff from all over the menu that I do (though there are places where I don't do that, but not ones here yet), both times ordered the chicken enchiladas, one with verde sauce and one with sour cream sauce. And to be fair, there's a good reason why she ordered them the second time. They're fantastic. The tomatillo-based verde sauce is full-flavored with a slight kick and not at all sour (though I don't think the tomatillos are roasted.) The sour cream sauce is "creamy and soury" (I just asked her what it tasted like, she's so much help). It's not heavy at all and it goes great with the corn tortillas and stewed chicken, which is flavorful in its own right.

I ordered the cheese enchiladas on the second visit, and while I thought I had ordered cheese enchiladas with their chile con carne with queso blanco on the side, it came out as cheese enchiladas covered in queso blanco. Whoops. It was good however -- good cheese flavor in the sauce and good chedder flavor from the cheese inside. I'm not sure if they make the tortillas in house, but the corn tortillas are much better than steamed ones from a supermarket bag. I'll have to investigate that one. My only compliant is that the cheese inside the tortillas wasn't melted enough. Would I get this dish again? Probably not -- too much cheese and no balance, but that one is on me and not on the restaurant. I still want to try the cheese with the chile con carne.

On our first visit I got the tacos al carbon with the chicken. If you're ever curious about how a restaurant's fajitas taste, ordering tacos al carbon is usually a cheaper way to get a sample without committing to the cost of an order of fajitas. The tacos were good but not great. The meat wasn't Jalisco-stirfry, but wasn't Texas grilled either, and had tomatoes and slices of bell pepper and caramelized in it in addition to a slight sauciness. Good flavor but a touch salty. The chopped veggies on the side were fresh. The tortillas were good too, and as I said earlier, I will have to investigate their origin.

The beans are rice are good in general. Solid.

The iced tea is good, served in enormous cups, and on the first visit was refilled appropriately. On the second visit there was one prolonged lull. However, in general the service is very good.

One nice surprise were the sopapillas, which are cheap and tasty. They don't poof up quite like the sopapillas in New Mexico (though do they do that anywhere other than New Mexico?), but they are airy, fresh fried, and covered in cinnamon. They provide honey as well. We had to fight the kids for them, and the kids won for the most part because we're too nice.

As a public service to you, I will be sure to continue working through their menu.

Viva La Revolution! Raleigh, Day 1

2007-09-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

AC here...

This past weekend, JC and I headed south along I-95 with everyone else on the East Coast, headed for Raleigh, NC to visit Dan Canada and family.

Thankfully, it seems 95% of the traffic was destined for Va. Beach and the Outer Banks and thus traffic on the horrifically boring stretch of I-85 from Richmond to Raleigh was pretty quiet. (Sidenote: the new speeding ticket rules have made Virginia highways like a NASCAR restrictor-plate race. Packs of cars where no one is willing/able to speed, lest they get thrown in jail and be forced to pay ridiculous gobs of money. Set your cruise control for 65, baby!)

So after getting into town and watching my beloved Yellow Jackets kick the ever-loving snot out of the Whimpering Irish (which could have been done in DC, yes)...the group headed to Carmen's Cuban Cafe near Raleigh airport for dinner. Cuban was a welcome destination, considering that Mrs. Canada was known in years past for resisting calls to Cuban food. Previous successful visits to Carmen's loosened the restriction, so expectations were high.

The restaurant is nested behind the Premium (Prime? Premium? The place without a Coach outlet) outlets with an unassuming storefront. However, once you walk in and see the lounge/bar area with leather couches and orange-ish patterned lighting, it would seem to have a more clubby atmosphere...a fact backed up by their website. The separate dining area, however, is pretty standard, with a view into the kitchen (through the doors, but still).

I learned a crucial lesson at the start...it's a rule that I often adhere to when out with a group of people dining on international cuisine. NEVER LET WHITEY ORDER FOR THE TABLE!!! The waitress asked for an appetizer, and I blurted out "croquetas and empanadas" in my best "Yes, I can somewhat roll my R's" Spanish. In Spanish, apparently that translated loosely to "croquetas." When the empanadas were declared M.I.A., Mrs. Canada inquired as to their location. Long story short, they would have had to put a new order in for them, and they'd come out with our entrees. So no thanks. They did bring an extra basket of buttery garlic-y Cuban bread, which was most welcome (our soft drinks were also comped).

To what we actually did eat...The croquetas, which resemble mozzarella sticks, but with ham and cheese replacing the mozzarella, were fried up and served piping hot. (According to Dan Canada, there are multiple ways to cook a croqueta.) The serving was perfect for the table, as the appetizer portion contained 4. (I'm not a fan of odd-numbered appetizers...one too many half spring-rolls for my taste.) For entrees, I ordered the ropa vieja, which was perfectly tender/melt-in-your-mouth and came in a delicious tomato sauce. The entree came with a side of yellow rice (awesome with the tomato sauce), black beans (meh), and fried sweet plaintains (on the level). JC ordered the Cuban sandwich (DO NOT get between JC and a Cuban sandwich...you heard
me, Bohio's). The pork was tender, the bread was crispy, and the pickle/mustard/cheese was the perfect accoutrement. The Canada's ordered chicken and steak, both thinly sliced, breaded, and fried (the Spanish word eludes me, plus the menu on the website is not cooperating with Firefox..BAD!). The chicken was said to be tasty, and consumed in world record time for Mr. Canada. The steak was deemed okay, as the breading was a bit soggy.

We passed on traditional post-dinner Cuban treats, specifically the Cafe Cubano and flan. (I probably could have used the Cafe Cubano to make it through piece-o-shit Casino Royale). Cheesecake awaited at the house, and if by eating cheesecake for dessert, you mean "eat it for breakfast the next morning", then the night was a success.

To come on Day 2: gourmet grocery stores, drinking in Chapel Hill, and
wondering how many chile rellenos come in an order of "1 Poblano Chile
Relleno."

--Written while listening to Okkervil River.

Labor Day Weekend Travel Notes

2007-09-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

Ahh Labor Day weekend. The last summer fling. Three days of fun, sun, and complete and total exhaustion. Let's recap.

I have a job for which I need to wear pants. I didn't move down here to be a stripper, mostly because I don't want to be poor and hungry. This blog would surely suffer.

When we lived in Oregon, a need for pants would mean a trip to Woodburn or Lincoln City to hit the outlets. I don't necessarily know why, because for many stores the outlet is just another retail shop, and for punkasses like Eddie Bauer, it's a retail shop with last year's items discounted a whole 10% on Labor Day Weekend. Big sale!

I will admit to being an Old Navy guy, and our target was really the Old Navy Outlet in Branson, Missouri. If you've never heard of Branson, it's like Nashville and Disney birthed a city and placed it in the middle of the Missouri Ozarks. It's also home to Yakov Smirnof. Which could be a reason to go. Or not. You decide.

However, Branson, like much of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, sits among lush green mountains and crystal clear lakes and rivers, so it's not like you have to brave the ugliest place on earth to go experience Yakov.

The trip report is short -- we pretty much cruised around to see what's there, ate at Fuddruckers, and went to the outlets to do some shopping. Here are the lessons:

1. Labor Day weekend IS NOT the time to go to Branson. It is insane to go to Branson on Labor Day weekend. Do not do it. Thinking about it? You're crazy.

Why?

There is so much traffic you can take beautiful photos while sitting in your car. If you can see a building, there's a chance you'll get there within 20 minutes. Wow.

2. If you do go to Branson at all, be sure to learn the back routes. Apparently there are roads for the Yakovs and other full-timers, while the tourists sit on highway 76 like dumbasses.

3. The Fuddruckers in Branson is a lesser beast than those in northwest Arkansas (Rogers and Fayetteville.) Well, at least if you order the Rajun Cajun chicken sandwich in its crispy form. Sad, and they don't achieve the bun butteriness that the NWA shops do. Yeah someday I'll do a Fuddrucker's write-up.

If you decide to drive to Branson from NWA, you may want to think about skipping the Google instructions...hold on, let me tell you what they are before we discuss any further...

1. Take US 62 to AR 37
2. AR 37 turns into MO 37
3. Take MO 37 to MO 112
4. Take MO 112 to MO-FF
5. Take MO-FF to MO 86
6. Take MO 86, if you survive the drive, to US 65
7. Take US 65 to MO 76

Yes, Missouri has letter designated highways as well as number designated highways. FF, JJ, Q, OO -- you name it, Missouri's got it. They will show you.

The Google drive is very complicated and on some roads that make the roads that go to the Oregon coast look like major highways. I highly recommend taking US 62 east to US 65, enjoy the sane roads, take in Eureka Springs (on our quick drive through one of the most beautiful small towns in America), and enjoy the Ozarks.

***

This weekend we also finally made it to Beaver Lake for some swimming. Beaver Lake is a big recreation area round these parts, with boating, swimming, camping, scuba, etc, etc.

25 minutes east of our house is Prairie Creek park and campground. They've got at least one swimming area (see the pic at the top of the post) and a playground for the kids, picnic/bbq spots, and a marina for the boaters. No food services, or even any freaking trash cans. Where are the trash cans?

Anyhow, the water is warm, clear, and awesome. There are even some fishes for nibbling at your toes. It was also extremely un-crowded, especially given the Labor Day weekend expectations. All in all, an excellent stop if you're ever in town.

The Cattle Are Standing Like Statues And Pigs Once Again: Part 2

2007-08-29T19:42:00.001-07:00

"Instantly I heard that voice…and then I saw with my eyes something I'd never seen. Suddenly, in the clouds in the skies above New York City and the east part of the United States, and which hung there for quite some time and then spread out across America, without touching the ground, and then God diffused it away from America and sent it out to the nations of the earth..."

I wish I had known about this quote for my Star of India post. There is a natural and beautiful synergy between televangelist visions and fart jokes.

But instead I bring up the quote because the second part of our roadtripping weekend was a visit to Tulsa, Oklahoma, home of the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (there's a joke there but I'll pass, lest you never read this blog again) and the one and only Oral Roberts, the originator of the quote above and the man behind the buildings in the picture below.

Tulsa is about 2 hours west of Bentonville, though it's one of those places where it takes 2 hours to get there and then could take quite a bit longer if your destination is on the other side of town. It's a great drive, with picturesque hills, wide open spaces, and the excellent Cherokee Nation setting the speed limit on the Cherokee Turnpike at 75mph (Tulsa also hosts the Cherokee Art Market in October, if you're into Native American art.)

Our destination wasn't actually in Tulsa, which proved to be a challenge for both Yahoo and Google maps (no links because of how badly they blew it.) We were headed to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, which is a suburb south of Tulsa. I followed the directions given to me by those sites and ended up in downtown Tulsa, only 10 miles or so from where we needed to be. Thankfully I remembered an alternate route, headed south on highway 75, and ended up where we needed to be.

Thought I had been to Oklahoma twice before, I'd never been to Tulsa. Both trips through the state were to drive from Texas to Iowa, so I don't even know if I'd spent more than 10 minutes not in a car in the state.

As I alluded to before, Tulsa, while not the most populous city in the U.S., is certainly spread out. You can see downtown a half-hour before you get there (trust me I know, though we didn't take the most direct route either.)

Very much unlike us, we hit Jenks without a plan as to what we were going to eat. The trip was planned the day before and I never got around to finding something a specific food destination. Had I thought about it, we probably would have ended up at Taco Cabana, which doesn't necessarily have the best food on earth, but their tortillas are generally excellent and the salsa bar fresh and tasty.

But I forgot.

So we hit the main drag in Jenks looking for grub. The main drag in Jenks is, well, a drag, as the choices are fast food places that you can get anywhere, and after two hours of driving, you don't want food you can find just anywhere. Ok so Taco Cabana has tons of locations in Texas, but hey they don't have any stores in northwest Arkansas, Oregon, or Vermont.

It was also Sunday, and downtown Jenks was dead. Not unexpected given the day.

At the end of the drag are the aquarium and the Riverwalk Crossing. We decided to drive into the Riverwalk lot and check out the options. There was some hope for decent food, as the Riverwalk is home to a Melting Pot, which is fun even if the kids need to age a few years before we attempt to take them there.

We decided to try Los Cabos Mexican Grill and Cantina, as Mexican food is always agreeable with the kids and it sounded good too.

The amenities and detail of the Los Cabos restaurant is impressive, especially given the scale of the place. The indoor restaurant is very big and they've got an awesome patio as well, complete with stage and a clapboard list of the bands scheduled to play. The theme matches the name, with thatched roof touches and the Cabo palapa bar vibe. The food, however, is different from anything I had in Cabo.

The menu veers towards Tex-Mex, and given by the number of people who ordered fajitas while we were there, the demand follows the spirit of the menu. The fajitas are served Tex-Mex style, steaming hot on an iron skillet. As a result, the restaurant smells goooooood.

But for some reason we skipped the fajitas completely and ordered the Cabo Wabo platter, which is a whole bunch of different things on a platter sized for 2.

Let's talk chips and salsa first, however.

R and I agreed, we would drive 2 hours for the chips and salsa. Thin, crispy tortilla chips reminiscent of the finest chip purveyors in Houston. There are two salsas. First is a standard picante served chilled. Ignore this salsa. The second salsa is a roasted tomato salsa, very similar to that served at Pappasito's, served warm, and one of the finest salsas to cross my lips in quite some time. The salsa had a smoky roasted tomato body with roasted chile and roasted garlic overtones. Not very spicy, but had a lasting low burn. My mouth is watering just writing this paragraph.

Our sampler platter arrived, and it was a behemoth.

You do have to be ready to eat some beef when it arrives. The taco, which was good, was beef. I would also suggest eating it first, as moisture from the sauces on the other items soaks the bottom of the crispy shell.

The chile relleno is a poblano, stuffed with ground beef, battered and fried and covered with a tomato-y chile gravy (or "ranchero sauce"). I'm generally not a chile relleno guy, but this one was excellent. Three keys -- (1) the pepper itself was excellent, obviously fresh, not overcooked, (2) the crust wasn't too thick, so there wasn't a bunch of inedible glop on the plate, and (3) the chile gravy had a sweetness that offset the spice of the pepper very well.

The fajita chicken enchilada was good but was probably the weakest item on the platter. The chicken was very good, but the flour tortilla in combination with the sour cream sauce just didn't provide the zip that the other items had. The tortilla itself was really good, and I prodded enough to find out that while not made on site, the restaurant contracts out with a local family to produce the tortillas. They taste like they're made onsite however.

I also prodded and found out that Los Cabos is corporate owned, but only has two restaurants -- the Jenks location and another in Broken Arrow (if you're in the know you call this place "B.A.") I would think they are primed to go national, but have no clue if that's in their plans.

The chicken tamale was exceptionally tasty. Dense masa, good flavor in the meat, and I love their chile gravy (not called "ranchero sauce.") I need to conduct some academic research into this issue, but I believe the tamales here are made with corn meal, not the masa you traditionally think of when you think tamales. This would make sense, as I remember the story about Berryhill's Tamales in Houston mentioning something about how Walter Berryhill was from Oklahoma, and the corn meal dough was a product of his Okie roots (I think the corn meal is also a feature of Southern hot tamales...I need to do some research to get all this stuff straight. When I make tamales at home I use corn meal.)

The chile gravy also graced the beef enchilada and the cheese enchilada. Both were great, and I could eat a full plate of both. Though the way the fajitas smelled, a full plate of anything but fajitas will have to wait until visit #3.

Service was excellent. The iced tea was very good and refilled appropriately. The waiter even offered to-go cups, but we were headed to the aquarium and I also had already consumed more than my fair share.

Kudos for the mariachis, which was entertaining for the kids, who decided to get out of the booth and dance next to the table. We were seated out of the way so it didn't disrupt the flow of traffic at all (if you were worried.) Also kudos for the restaurant keeping the mariachis in a central location, so you didn't get that "whoah mariachis please let us eat in peace" feeling that can accompany many a meal eaten in the tourist meccas of Mexico.

All in all, this was one of the best restaurant Mexican meals we'd had since leaving Houston. The Aquarium was great -- not too big but the collection is impressive for its size (especially the walk-through bullshark tank) -- so we'll be back...to Tulsa, to the Aquarium, and to Los Cabos.

The Cattle Are Standing Like Statues And The Little Piggies Watch Intently: Part 1

2007-08-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

Road trip weekend!!

Sometimes you just need to get away, and this was one of those weekends. Of course one of our road trips was all of 25 minutes down to Fayetteville, but we also went to Tulsa, marking the kids' first trip ever to Oklahoma and the first time R and I had been to the state in 10 or 11 years, and our first ever time to Tulsa.

Fayetteville first however...

R wanted to go to a store that will not be named, lest you think I am endorsing it, to look at shelving for the kids' toys. That store does not have a location in Bentonville, so we had to go down to Fayetteville to visit it. This just happened to coincide with dinnertime, so we decided to grab something down there as well.

I know I haven't done a Fuddrucker's write-up yet, but I will tell you the story, because Fuddrucker's is about 500 feet away from where we had dinner on Saturday, Noodle's Italian Kitchen.

On a recent trip to Fayetteville, we really wanted to go to Logan's Roadhouse, a place with great burgers and one that we visited on our family trip down here in June. It was still pretty hot, so we kept the kids hydrated and were happy to not have to cook. We got there before the big dinner rush, got our booth, and started to get settled.

One of the key attractions of Logan's are the peanuts in the shell in a bucket on the table. The kids loved them the last time, and were excited about loving them this time. So R and I started looking at the menus and the kids started working on the peanuts.

And then...

I hear EtE choking and look next to me and he's got the look on his face...

"I'm gonna throw up"

I get a napkin and get it under his mouth...a few pieces of peanut shell come out with a little bit of vomit. Gross, and unpleasant for the other diners to see if they did indeed see it, but nothing to get too excited about.

And then the floodgates opened. All the liquid he drank, as it was hot, magestically spewed on the banquette seat, on the table, and on the floor under the table. And then, just to be sure, he spewed again, soaking all in its path with brownish watery puke.

We had to evacuate. Last I saw they were cleaning up the booth, but I really hope they didn't seat anyone in it the rest of the night.

The upside was that R overheard someone say it took an hour (at 5pm) to get their entrees, so maybe it was for the best.

After that we ended up at Fuddrucker's.

But that's not what this post is about.

I had noticed Noodle's prior to deciding to eat there. I'm always a bit wary of places that focus on pasta, or have a reference to pasta in the name, as many of them tend toward all-you-can-eat mushy spaghetti with crappy red sauce that makes you wonder why you didn't just stay home and make Barilla with Ragu at a total cost of $2.00 or so, $3.00 if you got a loaf of bread at the market as well.

The exterior of the building played into this a little bit. Cutsy logo with fork and tomato. Building that looks like a castle.

But looks can be deceiving. The inside is charming, kind of rustic (they've got the strings of bare lightbulbs hanging to give the feeling of a dinner party in the yard of someone's villa), and the main walkway goes right by the open kitchen, so you can marvel over the striped ravioli. It's quite nice.

And something else you can marvel over is the menu. R made the comment that there is something tasty sounding in every section, which is unusual. And I will tell you that it took a little while to figure out what to get.

Lucky for you we found something, or else I'd have nothing but vomit to write about. R ordered the jalapeno lime chicken (I know I know, so traditionally Italian), and it was exceptionally good. Just imagine -- grilled chicken infused with some smoke (they've got a wood pile out back), over linguine with a lime-touched alfredo sauce, tossed with cilantro and quality pickled jalapenos. Quality = spicy. The chicken was moist and the char from the grilling balanced out the spice and acidity from the sauce (the acidity also balanced really well with the cream.) The linguine was a perfect al dente. If you are one of those people who thinks that organic equals healthy, you can also order a free range chicken version that features organic heavy cream. You know, healthy.

I went a different direction and ventured into pizza land. I ordered the Border, which is essentially a pizza with spinach and artichoke dip on it, topped with jack cheese, tomatoes, and those quality jalapenos. Oh man was it good (on Apizza's crust I bet it would be amazing.) The crust was actually pretty good -- slightly bready and thicker than NY-style, not alot of char, and a really good flavor that went well with the toppings. I could have eaten the spinach and artichoke dip on it's own it was that good (they do put in on pasta as well.) A definite recommend for both entrees.

The kids shared a four-cheese pizza, which I sampled and it was very good. Cheesy and slightly buttery, almost like a garlic bread. We 86'd the fresh basil, as EtE can be picky about it, and I imagine it's even better with the basil on there to add some depth to the flavor.

The bread that comes out is served impaled on a serrated knife, and the skinny loaves are Italian and wheat. Both are fine, nothing I'd run down for. The dipping oil, however, is quite good, with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, and red chile flakes being the things we picked out. It would make an awesome salad dressing too -- perhaps better than their house Italian, which was good but not as good as the bread dip.

The iced tea was great and refilled appropriately. Service was excellent.

Overall we were pleasantly surprised and extremely happy to discover Noodle's. It's definitely worth a stop if your in Fayetteville.

The Best Cinnamon Roll I've Ever Had

2007-08-26T19:33:00.001-07:00

I keep meaning to blog about Daylight Donuts, but the task has eluded me in recent weeks. Not that I had ever even heard of them prior to those recent weeks, but still.

We had a food day at work a few weeks ago, and one guy, not yet nicknamed, brought in donuts from Daylight and another brought in Krispy Kreme. I will tell you that, even in our past lives in the south, neither R nor I was a huge Krispy Kreme fan. They had a devil's food cake donut that was to die for, and in its honor they killed it off. I've never forgiven them, because none of their other offers was even worth a drive over.

But it's been a few years since then. KK's stock was crippled due in part to over-rapid expansion, dilution of the brand, and mostly killing off their best donut. They even hired Stephen Cooper to rebuild the brand, and he's best known for being the head honcho of the dismantling of Enron. Times are tough for them.

But none of that mattered as it was time for these two companies to go head-to-head. Mano-a-mano. Fried dough melting on my tongue.

The end result was a beat-down of epic proportions, like Roberto Donna showing up on Iron Chef America against Morimoto and not even completing the required number of dishes, like the U.S. driving Iraq out of Kuwait back when the president was named Bush but he was much taller in person. No contest.

The Daylight cake offering, covered in a stawberry frosting, was sweet but balanced with the strawberry flavor of the frosting, sumptuous, moist, and wonderful. The KK cake offering was on the dry side, boring, no strong flavor, and blah (I already don't care for the classic KK raised donut, so you don't have to bitch me out in the comments. They are edible straight out of the fryer, awful otherwise. I can taste the aftertaste just writing about them and that's not good. Yes it's your fault.) Even after one donut I was convinced I was on to something.

So two days later, on a fateful Sunday morning, the kids and I headed east to Rogers, Arkansas, home of the Daisy Air Gun, to search out Daylight goodness. The first thing we learned is that any drive east-west across Rogers feels like an eternity. Why is that?

We did eventually arrive at the red-barn shaped building and once inside ordered a plethora of donuts. We devoured and loved, returned a week later, devoured and loved, and returned a week later, devoured and loved. So now I think I can fill you in a bit...

The Good: bear claw, fried cinnamon roll (or "the regular one"), the sour cream donut, the maple bar, the maple thing with the pecans, the raised(!!), the cake with maple frosting, and the raised with blueberry frosting.

The Meh: anything with chocolate frosting (waaaaaaaay too sweet, even for me), the apple fritter (may just be a matter of taste, not execution,) the cake with cinnamon sugar (EtE loves it though)

The Reasons You Should Immediately Find A Daylight Location Near You: the jelly donut (R said it's the best she's ever had) and the "Weekend" cinnamon roll (baked not fried)

The "weekend" cinnamon roll (only offered at the Rogers store on weekends) is soft and pillowy but not raw at all, with strong but not overwhelming cinnamon in its folds, and a sugary glaze on top. It's awesome. EtE decided that he would co-opt half of mine today and said "mmm...that's good." It has ruined me for all other cinnamon rolls except for those made by R.

Prior to a few weeks ago I didn't know that Daylight exists, but apparently they've got 900 stores! I even work with a guy who used to run the shop in Newport, Oregon, so it's not even a midwest/southern thing (though the Daylight Donut Flour Company is based over in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will get mentioned on this blog very soon.)

A Sunny Friday in Cleveland

2007-08-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

AC here...been a while since I've posted here...I'm going to flit in and out on occasion with a few travel posts since I'll be doing a fair bit of traveling over the next few months.

As you're no doubt aware, -s and I have multitudes of family ties to the great state of Ohio. Last month found us in the beautiful Bobby Flay-less southwestern metropolis of Dayton. This past weekend, the wife (JC) and I visited the great NE of the state, rocking out in Cleveland for another wedding.

Our early Friday flight into town gave us the entire day free, so we asked ourselves the question that not even Einstein could solve: "What the HELL is there to do in Cleveland?" Well, we already knew that we wanted to hit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (lasting impression: geez, it only takes a museum exhibit to make you think "God, I like the Clash...but seriously do we need an entire floor devoted to them? And they really released an album AFTER they booted Mick Jones from the band?").

With three hours spoken for, there was of course the matter of food to eat. We got multiple recommendations for Hornblowers, on the north shore...but lo and behold, an empty parking lot and a "For Sale" sign told us there would be no dining. So we walked...and walked...and then walked some more. Lake Erie has an awesome waterfront with the Browns stadium, the aforementioned Hall of Fame and a science museum, but THERE IS NOWHERE TO EAT.

We walked up East 9th Street to a pavilion, while JC said "I remember a restaurant being near the Hall of Fame, and it had one word, but I don't remember what it was called, but I'll know it when I see it." Helpful. Upon walking into the Pavilion, Cafe Sausalito beckoned, at which point JC noted "Yeah that's the restaurant." Helpful again.

The menu at Cafe Sausalito sounds inspired, with very modern sounding dishes. The awesomeness-meter cranked up near 11 when the iced tea contained a faint hint of peach (I drink my tea unsweetened, in stark contrast to -s). But then it all came crashing down. First up was the "Crispy Cajun Calamari" with a lemon aioli...alliterative, alluring. If by Crispy they meant "soggy as shit", by Cajun they meant "completely unseasoned", and by lemon aioli they meant "goddamned Hellmann's". And they put roasted red peppers on top. For what? Ugh. Then come our entrees. JC had the crab cakes (as she is known to do) which came with a side salad. Crab cakes were a season-less mess, and the salad was drenched in a worthless vinaigrette. I had the mac and cheese, which was decent and crusty on the top with good cheese and breadcrumbs. The grilled chicken lent a good smoky flavor. Underneath was a watery mess, with my noodles just swimming in thin cheesy watery nastiness. God help us all. Like I said, the menu is inspired (specials included stuffed porkloin with brie), but they obviously don't season any of their food (which is cause for castration on Top Chef) and their service is less than adequate. Skip this place.

Dinner found us at Buca di Beppo, an Italian family style joint in Westlake. The decor and atmosphere is very reminiscient of Italian eateries back in NJ and in Little Italy-Baltimore, and the menu had all the classics. Being in an eggplant parm mood, I was not to be talked into anything else. Turns out I didn't need to worry, because general lack of hunger allowed us to split a small dish (meant for two or more...emphasis on the "or more). We also ordered a side of spaghetti and marinara. The eggplant was sliced thin and fried perfectly. The marinara was sweet and delicious. The FREE bread was awesome (go ahead, spend 6.99 for an order of garlic bread). And we had plenty of leftovers for breakfast for the entire family the next morning. Overall, Buca is a big winner, especially compared to its red-headed heroin addict cousin Maggiano's (motto: Does it have oil on it? It does? Here's five more tablespoons!).

That's all for now. Next week, we're off to Raleigh, NC to visit friends and family.

Thanks for letting me interrupt and sorry for all the CHEESY DOODLE exclamations!

-Listened to this while writing...

I'm Still Behind

2007-08-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

Yeah I know I get in these ruts from time to time. I'm still getting used to my new work schedule, which has me at the office from 7:30-5:30 M-F and then I have to go to a meeting two Saturday mornings a month (slightly different from my state schedule, which was show up at some point, leave at some point, as for much of my last six months there I didn't have a tremendous amount of work to do.) The nice part though is that the town is small enough that I can go home for lunch and I'm home by 5:40 in the evenings.

I will try and get up a couple more write-ups this weekend. I had a work lunch at Golden Corral today and this evening was kind of crazy so we ended up at Maria's (a Mexican joint) for dinner. Good food, good fun (I spent the afternoon driving go-karts and riding a mechanical bull), and hopefully good writing (good luck.)

Until then, go cook something...