Do y'all have sweet tea? (pronounced Sw-ay-et Tay)
That's one of the first things I heard my brother Dave say in a restaurant. I knew I was in the South and that Sweet Tea is the house wine down there, but I hadn't considered the ramifications of finding both sweet and un-sweet tea. It turns out that maintaining sweet tea is a bunch of work.
For those who don't know what Sweet Tea is - it's not just tea with sweetener in it, and it's definitely not from the soda fountain. It must be brewed, and brewed hot. While it's still on the stove, you add sugar, when it disolves, add more sugar. Then when that disolves, add more sugar. Once that disolves, add more sugar. (you getting the idea here?) Finally when you add sugar and it doesn't disolve, it's done. Serve chilled over ice.
I snapped this photo at the Atlanta Bread Co. and they do a fine job. Sweet tea is also finally available in West Michigan at a few other places I like to go - Moe's Southwest grill, and Famous Daves BBQ.
This is one time when a small world is absolutely Tea-riffic. (yeah... I just went there)
Maybe it's just me...
November 7, 2006
October 28, 2006
The only Cardinals fan in Michigan
The steam is being let out of the hot dog vendors carts tonight. The Tigers totally deserved to be in the World Series this year, and their season was miraculous. I, on the otherhand am tickled pink, nay - Cardinal red - today. St. Louis won the World Series.
Growing up in Chicago, it was only natural that I was a Cubs fan. Spending summers with my grandfather in Northwest Iowa, gave me a choice between following the White Sox for the summer or the Cardinals. I couldn't follow the Sox, and I wasn't aware enough to understand that the Cardinals were the arch-enemies of the Cubs. So I've grown up as kind of a contradiction. Now, nearly 40 years old, I've followed both the Cubs and the Cards, forsaking all others and in some cases my sanity, until today.
Cards win! Cards win! Cards win!
Living in Michigan, there are as many Cubs fans on the West side of the state as there are Tigers fans. I can imagine the sour expressions on the faces of my friends of both ilk. It's going to be a rough week.
Time to pack away the hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, crackerjack and stadium nachos until next year. Thanks for a great season red-birds!
... I happen to know it's not just me.
October 27, 2006
Thai one on
Lunch today at Godblogcon was in the Biola University cafeteria. Apparently the long lines of sheep to the fodder are over. The students can choose from any number of different small lines leading to everything imaginable. There's the pizza line, the salad bar, a dessert bar, a row of cereal dispensers, and some pretty decent international cuisine. Sandwiches of any variety are available - a soup bar - really incredible. I chose the Thai Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice. There were some very fancy and tasty green beans - and a Dr. Pepper to wash it down.
As I write this, the conference is jumping from a pretty great plenary session regarding the intersection of politics and christianity, to a live broadcast of the Hugh Hewitt Show. Honestly, I don't think I need to sit in the room with the live radio show, so I'm sitting outside in a lovely courtyard. Listening dutifully of course.
So back to the food - I don't think the Biola student body has any clue how good they have it. Reminds me of
God's promises to us through the people he set aside. The story of God is punctuated over and over by promises that God will give us a host of benefits - but we have responsibilities - or appropriate responses to those promises.
I get really excited about that.
...maybe it's just me.
As I write this, the conference is jumping from a pretty great plenary session regarding the intersection of politics and christianity, to a live broadcast of the Hugh Hewitt Show. Honestly, I don't think I need to sit in the room with the live radio show, so I'm sitting outside in a lovely courtyard. Listening dutifully of course.
So back to the food - I don't think the Biola student body has any clue how good they have it. Reminds me of
God's promises to us through the people he set aside. The story of God is punctuated over and over by promises that God will give us a host of benefits - but we have responsibilities - or appropriate responses to those promises.
I get really excited about that.
...maybe it's just me.
Tommy can you hear me
I'm in Los Angeles at Godblogcon learning more about blogging. However, I've still got to eat don't I?
Los Angeles is filled with sushi joints, falafel stands, strip malls, and a potpourri of delightful things to smell, eat, see, and do. I'm drawn to just about everything else.
When I think about whether to eat something - that is clearly not good for me, I'm reminded of this note in the bible.
Basically it sums up the idea the we're called to live a free life - not with wrecklessness (or license to do or in my case eat whatever we want to do) or without love for others, but the freedom from the junk that we might do to each other if we put ourselves first instead of putting God first.
What does this have to do with a Tommy Burger?
This pile of goo represents to me that which is best in the world and can be taken in without polluting myself or others that I care about. I shouldn't eat this every day to be sure, but once every 20 years or so, I can cross that line.
...maybe it's just me?
Los Angeles is filled with sushi joints, falafel stands, strip malls, and a potpourri of delightful things to smell, eat, see, and do. I'm drawn to just about everything else.
When I think about whether to eat something - that is clearly not good for me, I'm reminded of this note in the bible.
Basically it sums up the idea the we're called to live a free life - not with wrecklessness (or license to do or in my case eat whatever we want to do) or without love for others, but the freedom from the junk that we might do to each other if we put ourselves first instead of putting God first.
What does this have to do with a Tommy Burger?
This pile of goo represents to me that which is best in the world and can be taken in without polluting myself or others that I care about. I shouldn't eat this every day to be sure, but once every 20 years or so, I can cross that line.
...maybe it's just me?
October 26, 2006
Oh yes - there will be blog
Dateline Los Angeles, California: home of themed restaurants and Knotts Berry Farm. I've got a view of both from my hotel window as I wait for Godblogcon to get started.
I'm traveling with Andy, our designated blogger, and we're safely ensconced in the Buena Park Holiday Inn, complete with wi-fi. Last night, Andy's sister Becky drove up from the San Diego area to visit with her brother and I got to join them for dinner at The Claim Jumper.
I enjoyed the "Cowboy Steak" - how can you pass on anything with the word "cowboy" in it? It was a delightfully aged NY Strip topped with some very spicy salsa with lots of cillantro. The salsa was placed on the steak while cooking, so it really sunk in and brought some extra tastiness to an already flavorful and tender slab of meat.
The lemonade was exceptional - fresh with a sprinkling of sugar on the rim and a sprig of mint. Well done!
I had to hold off and avoid the "ore cart" an item on the menu that I'm sure is served in an ore cart that you might find in an old-west silver mine of some kind. There were at least three entres listed in the description. I also did not have a slice of the 6-layer chocolate decadence cake. (shudder)
One note regarding the "children's menu" at The Claim Jumper. There's a children's menu for kids under 10 and a "Juniors menu" which according to the legend is "great for young people and seniors". That had me laughing for a while.
... maybe it's just me
I'm traveling with Andy, our designated blogger, and we're safely ensconced in the Buena Park Holiday Inn, complete with wi-fi. Last night, Andy's sister Becky drove up from the San Diego area to visit with her brother and I got to join them for dinner at The Claim Jumper.
I enjoyed the "Cowboy Steak" - how can you pass on anything with the word "cowboy" in it? It was a delightfully aged NY Strip topped with some very spicy salsa with lots of cillantro. The salsa was placed on the steak while cooking, so it really sunk in and brought some extra tastiness to an already flavorful and tender slab of meat.
The lemonade was exceptional - fresh with a sprinkling of sugar on the rim and a sprig of mint. Well done!
I had to hold off and avoid the "ore cart" an item on the menu that I'm sure is served in an ore cart that you might find in an old-west silver mine of some kind. There were at least three entres listed in the description. I also did not have a slice of the 6-layer chocolate decadence cake. (shudder)
One note regarding the "children's menu" at The Claim Jumper. There's a children's menu for kids under 10 and a "Juniors menu" which according to the legend is "great for young people and seniors". That had me laughing for a while.
... maybe it's just me
October 10, 2006
dog-food
Special guest - Walter!
Here on brian-food, I do my best to tell people what's going on in my life, share my observations, or simply make someone smile. The trick is to do that all within the context of food. Today, it's a bit of a stretch, but when I saw that Walter was not only chewing his baseball toy, but had eaten a hole through it, I took this opportunity.
I should say on the outset that Walter occasionally eats his toys, rather than simply chewing them, or playing fetch. He played fetch for about 10 seconds this morning and then hunkered down to do some damage. In the last 15 minutes, he's completely removed the baseball you see here, and has started to work on the rest of the toy. I'll clean it up later. Now - on with the story.
Last night, my softball team had the single greatest game of our career together. Most of the guys have been playing together for the last five years, and we've usually finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. This Fall, we hadn't won a single game, until last night. Final score: 38-9. The whole team played like I've always believed we could play. We started out with some solid hits, taking an early lead. Our defense was rock solid. As for me, I felt more in control of my pitching than I ever have before in my life, and I hit my first home run over the fence in a game. Our record for this season is now 1 and 9, but to me it feels like we just won the championship.
So - to all the guys who played last night:
Ron, Mark VA, Mark A, Morgan, Jplant, Kevin, Brian A, Joel, and Craig
Thanks for a great game!
To our fans who made it last night:
Jessica, Kara, Monica, Gary, Leslie, Carolyn, and Mark VA's grandparents - and you too Rika
Thanks for coming - and your cheering made the game that much sweeter.
An informal poll last night tells me that I'm allowed to feel really good about the game for the next two weeks. I intend to make the most of that.
... maybe it's just me
Here on brian-food, I do my best to tell people what's going on in my life, share my observations, or simply make someone smile. The trick is to do that all within the context of food. Today, it's a bit of a stretch, but when I saw that Walter was not only chewing his baseball toy, but had eaten a hole through it, I took this opportunity.
I should say on the outset that Walter occasionally eats his toys, rather than simply chewing them, or playing fetch. He played fetch for about 10 seconds this morning and then hunkered down to do some damage. In the last 15 minutes, he's completely removed the baseball you see here, and has started to work on the rest of the toy. I'll clean it up later. Now - on with the story.
Last night, my softball team had the single greatest game of our career together. Most of the guys have been playing together for the last five years, and we've usually finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. This Fall, we hadn't won a single game, until last night. Final score: 38-9. The whole team played like I've always believed we could play. We started out with some solid hits, taking an early lead. Our defense was rock solid. As for me, I felt more in control of my pitching than I ever have before in my life, and I hit my first home run over the fence in a game. Our record for this season is now 1 and 9, but to me it feels like we just won the championship.
So - to all the guys who played last night:
Ron, Mark VA, Mark A, Morgan, Jplant, Kevin, Brian A, Joel, and Craig
Thanks for a great game!
To our fans who made it last night:
Jessica, Kara, Monica, Gary, Leslie, Carolyn, and Mark VA's grandparents - and you too Rika
Thanks for coming - and your cheering made the game that much sweeter.
An informal poll last night tells me that I'm allowed to feel really good about the game for the next two weeks. I intend to make the most of that.
... maybe it's just me
October 2, 2006
What up 'G'?
I'm from the Chicago suburbs. I grew up knowing nothing about the wonderfulness that is Giordano's pizza until I was in my late teens, and by then it was almost too late. I managed to have just a few pieces before moving to Connecticut (where pizza goes when it's bad).
Since then, I've been an evangelist for Giordano's pizza. I definitely have way too much, every time I'm there. My most recent trip proved to follow my m.o.
My preferences include:
Sausage
Plain and simple. Oh sure, some of you may want to muddy the waters with more fillings like pepperoni, or canadian bacon (ham), or worse yet "deluxe". My considerable experience has led me to the arguable fact that the sausage pizza is their best. This is especially noticable when the evil-opposite of Giordano's rears it's ugly head - Gino's. The sausage is abysmal.
... maybe it's just me
September 20, 2006
Heaven in a box
The plural of ox = oxen...
The plural of box = boxen.
Boxen of heavenly goodness.
Boxen of bodily badness.
The White Castle hamburger, or "slider" is a thing to behold. A small, quite thin patty of "meat". The patty is perforated with five 1/4" holes like the #5 on dice. The burgers, and subsequently the reconstituted onions, the pickles, and the buns are steamed, not grilled or fried. This produces a grey-ish-brown-ish, sligthly slimey, squishy burger. The consequences of this to one's digestive system are delightful, and awful, simultaneously.
...maybe it's just me
The plural of box = boxen.
Boxen of heavenly goodness.
Boxen of bodily badness.
The White Castle hamburger, or "slider" is a thing to behold. A small, quite thin patty of "meat". The patty is perforated with five 1/4" holes like the #5 on dice. The burgers, and subsequently the reconstituted onions, the pickles, and the buns are steamed, not grilled or fried. This produces a grey-ish-brown-ish, sligthly slimey, squishy burger. The consequences of this to one's digestive system are delightful, and awful, simultaneously.
...maybe it's just me
September 3, 2006
mouthful of pain
This is Steve. He's an old friend of mine from my days working at Calvin College, and who now works for yahoo, and engages in shameless promotion of Target stores.
Steve and I went to St. Louis for our friend Neal's wedding. The wedding was in Alton, IL, just across the 'big muddy' from St. Louis. We had some time to kill, so we went to the mall, and I got into (tried to get into) this rocketship. Please note, that although I was in Illinois, I was boo'd by a little kid in the mall for wearing my Cubs jersey. I bought a Cardinal's cap to go with it. That ought to fix the kid.
It didn't take long for Steve to spot this little beauty.
Steve is a lot more adventurous than he looks and has been skydiving several times. I don't think, however, that jumping from a plane prepared him for 'the mouthful'.
The gumballs looked pretty big, but not insurmountable. I offered to buy, if Steve would eat it, and Steve agreed, providing I'd photograph it. So, 50-cents later...
and with the use of my trusty phone-cam... it began. The double-barrel turney-thing was pretty sweet.
The view of the gumballs through the glass did not do them justice. The shotput clattered down the runway as the machine delivered its payload.
Blue!
Turns out there seemed to be more to the gumball than we bargained for. There was an audible rattle. What could it be? A crunchy surprise? More gum? Something else? There was only one way to find out.
It's at times like this that one begins to question the wisdom of a particular act. Actually, it's at times like this when one should question the wisdom of a particular act. It rarely is the time that we question our own wisdom, until it's too late.
Too late...
Much too late...
Eventually, he had to take it out and bite it in half. There were some problems with that though. Steve couldn't close his mouth, so the blue spit built up and eventually spilled out onto the ground. Those pictures are not here, but if you follow any of the links on the pictures, you'll find the rest.
Good news, there were some kind of 'nerds' or other nibbles of hard candy inside, making the noise.
Looking back, I've thought a lot about the symbolism of the big gumball and I haven't come up with anything relevant yet. What do you think?
... maybe it's just me.
August 24, 2006
So Thirsty
I didn't get much sleep last night, and I was feeling a bit dehydrated. So, thank goodness the floor of my office was covered in little cups of water when I came in this morning.
Thanks Angie!
Angie has been the summer intern here at the office, and I've made it my duty to sneak up behind her when she's "nose to the grindstone" in her cubicle and scare the crap out of her. That's been fun. She has discovered that sneaking up and scaring me doesn't work. (quit wearing the high-heels - I can hear you coming a mile away)
Yesterday was her last day in the office and it's been explained to me that she took her own time to punch out at the end of her day and fill my cube with dixie cups, and tie my chair to the desk, phone to the lamp - to the pencil cup.
I love a good practical joke, especially when it's played on me. I hope that's not all she did. While it was time consuming, and shows spunk, the only consequences will be devine retribution.
Angie - I know where you go to school. I have friends on staff. Don't think "if" - start wondering "when".
... maybe it's just me.
Thanks Angie!
Angie has been the summer intern here at the office, and I've made it my duty to sneak up behind her when she's "nose to the grindstone" in her cubicle and scare the crap out of her. That's been fun. She has discovered that sneaking up and scaring me doesn't work. (quit wearing the high-heels - I can hear you coming a mile away)
Yesterday was her last day in the office and it's been explained to me that she took her own time to punch out at the end of her day and fill my cube with dixie cups, and tie my chair to the desk, phone to the lamp - to the pencil cup.
I love a good practical joke, especially when it's played on me. I hope that's not all she did. While it was time consuming, and shows spunk, the only consequences will be devine retribution.
Angie - I know where you go to school. I have friends on staff. Don't think "if" - start wondering "when".
... maybe it's just me.
August 19, 2006
A cone for all seasons
The ice cream cone.
Since the early 1800's people have been eating ice cream cones. The cones have come in many shapes and sizes. They can be covered in toppings in the form of a walking sundae, and evenually become so top-heavy that they must be placed face-down in a small bucket.
I wish to reference the classic soft-serve cone from Dairy Queen. Be it the standard vanilla, chocolate (pictured) or the 'twist', this vendor got it right. Consistency, presentation, flavor, the whole 9-yards.
Dairy Queen has offered a number of other delightful treats from the Mr. Misty (slush) to the Dilly Bar, to the Peanut Buster Parfait, culminating in the Blizzard, but I believe the finest expression of ice cream is found simply on top of an Eat-it-all cone, undecorated and unblemished.
or on a stick... cause man, isn't everything better on a stick?
... maybe it's just me.
Since the early 1800's people have been eating ice cream cones. The cones have come in many shapes and sizes. They can be covered in toppings in the form of a walking sundae, and evenually become so top-heavy that they must be placed face-down in a small bucket.
I wish to reference the classic soft-serve cone from Dairy Queen. Be it the standard vanilla, chocolate (pictured) or the 'twist', this vendor got it right. Consistency, presentation, flavor, the whole 9-yards.
Dairy Queen has offered a number of other delightful treats from the Mr. Misty (slush) to the Dilly Bar, to the Peanut Buster Parfait, culminating in the Blizzard, but I believe the finest expression of ice cream is found simply on top of an Eat-it-all cone, undecorated and unblemished.
or on a stick... cause man, isn't everything better on a stick?
... maybe it's just me.
August 18, 2006
Moe-riffic
The ubiquitous "They" have put in a new semi-fast-food joint in town called "Moe's Southwest Grill". The wikipedia entry just doesn't do it justice.
They've got a great theme going. Everybody yells "welcome to Moe's" as you walk in. The bathroom doors (pictured) are "he-moe's" and "she-moe's". And that's not the end of it.
It's a Burrito place. If you've been to Q'doba or Chipotle, you get the idea. My favorite part about going to Moe's is the pop-culture quiz you find yourself in the middle of as you read the menu.
The Homewrecker
Joey Bag of Donuts
Art Vandalay
The Full Monty
The Other Lewinsky
The Ugly Naked Guy
Sherman Klump
John Coctostan
I Said Posse
Ruprict
Billy Barou
Pinky Tuscadero
Close Talker
And possibly my favorite...
El Guapo's IN-famous salsa.
They also have real sweet-tea. (there are now 2 chain eateries in Grand Rapids with sweet-tea)
The steak and chicken are marinated and are deligtfully tasty!
... maybe it's just me
They've got a great theme going. Everybody yells "welcome to Moe's" as you walk in. The bathroom doors (pictured) are "he-moe's" and "she-moe's". And that's not the end of it.
It's a Burrito place. If you've been to Q'doba or Chipotle, you get the idea. My favorite part about going to Moe's is the pop-culture quiz you find yourself in the middle of as you read the menu.
The Homewrecker
Joey Bag of Donuts
Art Vandalay
The Full Monty
The Other Lewinsky
The Ugly Naked Guy
Sherman Klump
John Coctostan
I Said Posse
Ruprict
Billy Barou
Pinky Tuscadero
Close Talker
And possibly my favorite...
El Guapo's IN-famous salsa.
They also have real sweet-tea. (there are now 2 chain eateries in Grand Rapids with sweet-tea)
The steak and chicken are marinated and are deligtfully tasty!
... maybe it's just me
July 19, 2006
Dispense-a-lid Disaster
The afternoon was moist.... even sultry when I entered the theater closest to my home in the South third of Kent County. The air was full of possibilities and one of them was for a good movie, a bucket of popcorn and a brimming $4 cup of flavored carbonated beverage. Superman Returns was on the docket for the toasting Sunday tea-time, boasting 95 degrees and 100% humidity. I enjoyed the movie regardless of what the critics said. The optimism associated with an afternoon movie was quickly quenched, not by the soda I would eventually imbibe, but the loss of hope and faith in humanity.
Vandalism reared it's ugly hindquarters and produced a full moon in the direction of the Dispense-a-lid. I routinely marvel at the ingenuity and the "why did this take so long to invent" aspect of simple cover dealer. My coworkers, I'm sure, grow weary of my constant regaling of it's wonders. This day, i wept softly to myself as I surveyed the wanton destruction at the self-serve counter.
Not only was this dispenser ripped off its hinges, but so was every "large" dispenser. Today, I'm embarrassed to live in the same vicinity as whoever perpetrated this heinous act.
...maybe it's just me
Vandalism reared it's ugly hindquarters and produced a full moon in the direction of the Dispense-a-lid. I routinely marvel at the ingenuity and the "why did this take so long to invent" aspect of simple cover dealer. My coworkers, I'm sure, grow weary of my constant regaling of it's wonders. This day, i wept softly to myself as I surveyed the wanton destruction at the self-serve counter.
Not only was this dispenser ripped off its hinges, but so was every "large" dispenser. Today, I'm embarrassed to live in the same vicinity as whoever perpetrated this heinous act.
...maybe it's just me
July 8, 2006
World cup fever
I'm watching the World Cup at home on this fine Saturday afternoon. Germany has just scored the first of two goals that happened in quick succession. (a third followed while I was typing this - by the same guy!) Two Goals! That's huge in "Futball"! Soccer wasn't really an option when I was a kid, so I don't share the passion for it that some of my younger friends do. Putting that aside, I think there are a few reasons that Soccer will have trouble being a commercial success here in the United States.
1) No commercials. Sure, there are ads all the way around the stadium, and the simple banner ad in the scoreboard at the top of the screen, but it's not enough to create the top of mind awareness that advertisers expect.
2) Not enough scoring. Even baseball doesn't move at this this pace.
3) No breaks in play (see #1) to get snacky things. Either on TV or in the stadium. The half-time is too short for attendees to hit the head and the concession stands.
4) Simple Math. The clock counts up, and not down. Americans want to know how much time is left in a game, without doing math. Yeah, we're kinda dumb like that.
5) Referees. The little guys look like they're going to get killed out there. Let's move Ed Hochuli from the NFL to the MLS and see what happens.
By all means, prove me wrong America! Let's rally together and make World Cup soccer as big a deal as the superbowl, world series, and final four.
Finally, Budweiser, you get a full-moon out the car window the next time I'm in St. Louis. Here's why:
An American Beer company sponsored the World Cup, in Germany. I'm not a drinker. I've never had a beer. (seriously) But this I know. American beer is like making love in a canoe. (you can look that joke up on google) Germany - didn't they invent beer? Shouldn't a German beer be the "official beer of the world cup"? I'm just saying that in the scope of ranking beer for the quality factor, Budweiser has got to be near the bottom of the pile and anything out of Germany has got to be better. It's embarrassing for me as an American to be associated with that kind of stupidity. Budweiser of course can't even use the name "Budweiser" in Germany, because there is already another beer with that name. It's now called Anheuser Bush "Bud". The horror...
But that's not the worst of it. (read on)
From The Wall Street Journal (Jun 22, 2006):
Please interpret that in this way. Budweiser didn't want another beer logo displayed in any way during the match. So they wouldn't let the Hollanders into the stadium with the orange pants. A hearty hats (and other articles of clothing) off to the Dutch people who said, "fine, take the pants." and stripped down to their underthings at the entrance to the stadium. Nice going Netherlands - too bad you were stinky sports in the game vs Portugal.
maybe it's just me...
1) No commercials. Sure, there are ads all the way around the stadium, and the simple banner ad in the scoreboard at the top of the screen, but it's not enough to create the top of mind awareness that advertisers expect.
2) Not enough scoring. Even baseball doesn't move at this this pace.
3) No breaks in play (see #1) to get snacky things. Either on TV or in the stadium. The half-time is too short for attendees to hit the head and the concession stands.
4) Simple Math. The clock counts up, and not down. Americans want to know how much time is left in a game, without doing math. Yeah, we're kinda dumb like that.
5) Referees. The little guys look like they're going to get killed out there. Let's move Ed Hochuli from the NFL to the MLS and see what happens.
By all means, prove me wrong America! Let's rally together and make World Cup soccer as big a deal as the superbowl, world series, and final four.
Finally, Budweiser, you get a full-moon out the car window the next time I'm in St. Louis. Here's why:
An American Beer company sponsored the World Cup, in Germany. I'm not a drinker. I've never had a beer. (seriously) But this I know. American beer is like making love in a canoe. (you can look that joke up on google) Germany - didn't they invent beer? Shouldn't a German beer be the "official beer of the world cup"? I'm just saying that in the scope of ranking beer for the quality factor, Budweiser has got to be near the bottom of the pile and anything out of Germany has got to be better. It's embarrassing for me as an American to be associated with that kind of stupidity. Budweiser of course can't even use the name "Budweiser" in Germany, because there is already another beer with that name. It's now called Anheuser Bush "Bud". The horror...
But that's not the worst of it. (read on)
From The Wall Street Journal (Jun 22, 2006):
Going Dutch gained a whole new meaning with this World Cup. Last Friday, at the Stuttgart stadium in Germany, scores of fans from the Netherlands, up to 1,000 according to some reports, watched their team's match in their underwear. It wasn't due to the alleged Dutch aversion to part with hard currency (for clothes or much else). No, the fans showed up fully dressed but were stripped down to boxers and briefs because their pants violated the strict rules of FIFA, soccer's global authority.
Please interpret that in this way. Budweiser didn't want another beer logo displayed in any way during the match. So they wouldn't let the Hollanders into the stadium with the orange pants. A hearty hats (and other articles of clothing) off to the Dutch people who said, "fine, take the pants." and stripped down to their underthings at the entrance to the stadium. Nice going Netherlands - too bad you were stinky sports in the game vs Portugal.
maybe it's just me...
June 30, 2006
Coke Blech!
I've gone ahead and tried the Coke "Blak".
I found the sigle bottle marked at $1.49 at my local D&W with a $0.40 coupon attached, so I caved.
It is not two great tastes that go great together. I love Coca-Cola. I enjoy one from time to time. I like the Cherry-Coke, and if you put syrup into coke you can make some great flavor combinations. Vanilla, Strawberry, Stranilla! Some people like a chocolate coke (tried it, didn't like it)
I do think the Coke company has messed up the flavors after Cherry. The Lemon-pledge Coke was abysmal. The Vanilla Coke was good for the first two-liter, then it started tasting like caopectate. I tried the black-cherry-vanilla sample in the grocery store. It's just plain wrong. The Lime is actually better in the diet than in the regular, but it still doesn't hold a candle to actually squeezing limes into Coke.
Putting coffee flavoring into Coke was not a good idea. +1 on the packaging though.
A side note -
Ingredients:
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, natural flavors, coffee extract, phosphoric acid, potassium sorbate and potassium benzoate (to protect taste), caffeine, aspartame, acesulfame potassium
Seriously?
High fructose corn syrup AND aspartame?
What's the point of that?
maybe it's just me...
I found the sigle bottle marked at $1.49 at my local D&W with a $0.40 coupon attached, so I caved.
It is not two great tastes that go great together. I love Coca-Cola. I enjoy one from time to time. I like the Cherry-Coke, and if you put syrup into coke you can make some great flavor combinations. Vanilla, Strawberry, Stranilla! Some people like a chocolate coke (tried it, didn't like it)
I do think the Coke company has messed up the flavors after Cherry. The Lemon-pledge Coke was abysmal. The Vanilla Coke was good for the first two-liter, then it started tasting like caopectate. I tried the black-cherry-vanilla sample in the grocery store. It's just plain wrong. The Lime is actually better in the diet than in the regular, but it still doesn't hold a candle to actually squeezing limes into Coke.
Putting coffee flavoring into Coke was not a good idea. +1 on the packaging though.
A side note -
Ingredients:
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, natural flavors, coffee extract, phosphoric acid, potassium sorbate and potassium benzoate (to protect taste), caffeine, aspartame, acesulfame potassium
Seriously?
High fructose corn syrup AND aspartame?
What's the point of that?
maybe it's just me...
June 27, 2006
Dispense-a-lid
I love going to the movies. I love getting some popcorn and a soda. I do not love trying to grab a single lid off of the ubiquitous stack of lids found in every movie theater and gas station near the soda fountain.
Some theaters hand you a cup and a lid - then you go off to get your drink. The latest theater near my house had a stroke of genius with their dispense-a-lid.
I don't know if it's really called that, but that's the name I've given it.
GENIUS!! Pure and unadulterated GENIUS!
They still give you the cup at the concession stand, for security purposes. Then all you do is toddle up to the dispense-a-lid, and follow the instructions. Pull down on the handle and there it is! Only one lid. Pick it up, and put it on your cup. GENIUS!
I can't wait to see this take over the world.
Maybe it's just me...
Some theaters hand you a cup and a lid - then you go off to get your drink. The latest theater near my house had a stroke of genius with their dispense-a-lid.
I don't know if it's really called that, but that's the name I've given it.
GENIUS!! Pure and unadulterated GENIUS!
They still give you the cup at the concession stand, for security purposes. Then all you do is toddle up to the dispense-a-lid, and follow the instructions. Pull down on the handle and there it is! Only one lid. Pick it up, and put it on your cup. GENIUS!
I can't wait to see this take over the world.
Maybe it's just me...
Bacado
If you have to go to an early morning meeting, and I often do, it's really nice when you get breakfast.
The Bacado at The Morning Star combines a number of great tastes that I would never have thought of on my own. Bcp told me it was his favorite. My waiter also said it was his favorite. How could I say no?
I'm not that crazy about Avocado on it's own. The saltiness of the bacon and the spice of the cilantro and onion creates a fantastic balance.
On a side note, later in the day I had a cheeseburger with bacon. Bacon, twice in one day? Oh sweet monkey!
... maybe it's just me
The Bacado at The Morning Star combines a number of great tastes that I would never have thought of on my own. Bcp told me it was his favorite. My waiter also said it was his favorite. How could I say no?
I'm not that crazy about Avocado on it's own. The saltiness of the bacon and the spice of the cilantro and onion creates a fantastic balance.
On a side note, later in the day I had a cheeseburger with bacon. Bacon, twice in one day? Oh sweet monkey!
... maybe it's just me
May 18, 2006
Thank you very mocha
I'm borrowing this image from BCP who took the shot with his cameraphone a week or so ago. Following a lovely lunch at Villa Maria in Holland, I met up with my co-workers, Brian, and Brian for our weekly project meeting. We're using Basecamp to help us manage those projects and keep us on task. If you're looking for something to help you out in that regard, I recommend it.
I'm mindful of the fact that no one really needs a 20 oz cup of coffee, do they? (see my last post on the Double Gulp)
That didn't stop me. The mug was really just too much fun to pass-up. It was a de-caf, so I don't think it caused any permanent brain damage. The coffee shop of choice this time was the Java Hut. It's a great little shop, with wireless access, but my cell phone doesn't work in there. That's actually kind of cool sometimes. I've been there twice now and I have to tell you I feel badly for them. They have a great location in a new strip-mall, but no other tennants. They are altogether alone.
So, if you're in Holland - go and bring them your business!
maybe it's just me?
I'm mindful of the fact that no one really needs a 20 oz cup of coffee, do they? (see my last post on the Double Gulp)
That didn't stop me. The mug was really just too much fun to pass-up. It was a de-caf, so I don't think it caused any permanent brain damage. The coffee shop of choice this time was the Java Hut. It's a great little shop, with wireless access, but my cell phone doesn't work in there. That's actually kind of cool sometimes. I've been there twice now and I have to tell you I feel badly for them. They have a great location in a new strip-mall, but no other tennants. They are altogether alone.
So, if you're in Holland - go and bring them your business!
maybe it's just me?
April 22, 2006
Gulp Gulp
I'm on a team, producing an entry for the Compass Academy 24 Hour Film Festival. We've been given a few items that must be in the film, and the rest is up to us.
Theme: Black is the New White
Location: Phone Booth
Prop: Putty
Line: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." (Princess Bride)
We got those at 8:00 PM and have to turn in the finished 5 minute film the next evening.
How do you get through that?
An 8:00 AM trip to 7-11, that's how.
Why does the Double Gulp even exist? It's 64 ounces! I finished it in about 2 hours and my new hobby suddenly became going to the bathroom.
maybe it's just me...
Theme: Black is the New White
Location: Phone Booth
Prop: Putty
Line: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." (Princess Bride)
We got those at 8:00 PM and have to turn in the finished 5 minute film the next evening.
How do you get through that?
An 8:00 AM trip to 7-11, that's how.
Why does the Double Gulp even exist? It's 64 ounces! I finished it in about 2 hours and my new hobby suddenly became going to the bathroom.
maybe it's just me...
April 19, 2006
Shout-Out To My Peeps
The Easter Bunny has come and gone, the frilly grass - in a variety of different colors has been scattered to the four winds, and the chocolate eggs are nothing but foil wrappers. What is left behind are the Peeps.
Peeps are the colored sugar covered marshmallow treats in the shapes of bunnies and chicks. They taste exactly how you imagine they do.
Not everyone views them as just a seasonal cavity inducing lump of marshmallowey goodness. There are those who have performed, shall we say, "unorthodox" experiments on the little fellas.
- reaction to cold
- reaction to heat
- solubility testing
- low-pressure environments
Not to mention the risk analysis.
I just like eating 'em.
maybe it's just me...
actually, I'm pretty sure it's just me.
March 31, 2006
I'm hilarious, and it's not just me
Every now and then at work I chat with Max about the Reverend Fun cartoon. Today, he published one of my ideas.
I'm honored that he did that and gave me a little mention. I feel so special. Does this give validation to my often claim "I'm hilarious"? In and of itself, no, but if you combine it with all the other ways I'm hilarious, you'll see what I mean. At the risk of jeopardizing my natural humility, I submit -
Other ways in which I'm hilarious:
Choice of greeting cards (if you've received a birthday card from me, you know what I mean)
Incontinence (I don't have this problem, it's just a funny word)
Dog named "Walter"
There are probably more ways that I can't think of right now.
This blog is about food though.
Tonight, I'm going to a wedding. There's a reception and everything. My question today is, does anyone really like wedding cake? I've seen many couples spend so much time on a wedding cake; white cake with butter cream frosting, chocolate with raspberry filling, yellow cake soaked in espresso and covered in powdered sugar.
Why not wedding pie? Everybody likes pie right?
I prefer a "make your own sundae". It's a big hit, and you would be much happier.
Ok, maybe it's just me...
March 17, 2006
The Bitter Taste of Vacation
Last week, I went on my first vacation since a trip to the Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam/Las Vegas in 1998. Sure I've been plenty of places to visit family and friends, but a vacation from everything is pretty rare and a treasure.
On the positive side:
It was great to spend time away. I ate some great food, and saw some cool stuff. That's the really important part of a vacation.
On the negative side:
just about everything else.
I waffled between going to San Antonio, Texas and San Diego, California as I thought about where I could find the best weather. This was not just a vacation from work, but a vacation from the gray and cold West Michigan weather. San Diego won, I exchanged airline miles for tickets, made the hotel reservations and took off!
Take a look at the vacation photos.
You'll see "The Big Bri" - a breakfast sandwich offered by Brian's American Eatery, and a few pretty good Mexican restaurants in Old Town.
The weather in San Diego was really disappointing. The local weather casters used the phrase "storm of the century" to describe this cold-damp weekend. On the news they showed people stockpiling sandbags as this monsoon dropped 0.6" on the city during a 4 day period.
The weather was uncharacteristically just like West Michigan as the temperatures stayed around 50, with strong winds, and predominant cloud-cover. However, it produced this view. My friend Mike sent that to me - taken on March 13 (the day I left) - The mountains are about 50 miles east of downtown. I couldn't see them at all while I was there.
West Michigan on the other-hand had temperatures near 70 and gorgeous sunshine while I was gone. It snowed the day I got back. San Antonio had record heat and full sun.
Adding insult to injury, my car had unscheduled and expensive trips to the mechanic. the day before the trip, the day after. Please use the ads to the right of this post and other posts. I gotta pay for the trip and repairs somehow.
Can I get a vacation from my vacation?
maybe it's just me...
On the positive side:
It was great to spend time away. I ate some great food, and saw some cool stuff. That's the really important part of a vacation.
On the negative side:
just about everything else.
I waffled between going to San Antonio, Texas and San Diego, California as I thought about where I could find the best weather. This was not just a vacation from work, but a vacation from the gray and cold West Michigan weather. San Diego won, I exchanged airline miles for tickets, made the hotel reservations and took off!
Take a look at the vacation photos.
You'll see "The Big Bri" - a breakfast sandwich offered by Brian's American Eatery, and a few pretty good Mexican restaurants in Old Town.
The weather in San Diego was really disappointing. The local weather casters used the phrase "storm of the century" to describe this cold-damp weekend. On the news they showed people stockpiling sandbags as this monsoon dropped 0.6" on the city during a 4 day period.
The weather was uncharacteristically just like West Michigan as the temperatures stayed around 50, with strong winds, and predominant cloud-cover. However, it produced this view. My friend Mike sent that to me - taken on March 13 (the day I left) - The mountains are about 50 miles east of downtown. I couldn't see them at all while I was there.
West Michigan on the other-hand had temperatures near 70 and gorgeous sunshine while I was gone. It snowed the day I got back. San Antonio had record heat and full sun.
Adding insult to injury, my car had unscheduled and expensive trips to the mechanic. the day before the trip, the day after. Please use the ads to the right of this post and other posts. I gotta pay for the trip and repairs somehow.
Can I get a vacation from my vacation?
maybe it's just me...
March 3, 2006
Peanuts and Cracker Jack!
I want a Hot Dog!
I want a hot dog so bad, I can almost taste it. I do not however want just some frankfurter from the grocery store. I want a baseball dog.
While telecommuting, I often have the TV on to provide background noise. My borderline ADD make this almost a necessity. Recently though, I got a new TV.
It's ridiculous. It's huge. It's fun. I added the "HD Tier" to my cable for about $7 a month and one of the channels I get is ESPN-HD (check the schedule). While flipping through the few HD channels, I landed there and found Spring Training Baseball! It's Los Angeles vs the Braves - who cares! I want a hot dog. It's the 2nd inning, and LA is up 4-0 - who cares! Someone just caught a foul ball on the 1st base side!
Spring is coming!
I can hardly contain myself.
Until it's warm enough to go to a game yourself, check the schedule and invite yourself over for a game. Love to have ya.
...maybe it's just me
I want a hot dog so bad, I can almost taste it. I do not however want just some frankfurter from the grocery store. I want a baseball dog.
While telecommuting, I often have the TV on to provide background noise. My borderline ADD make this almost a necessity. Recently though, I got a new TV.
It's ridiculous. It's huge. It's fun. I added the "HD Tier" to my cable for about $7 a month and one of the channels I get is ESPN-HD (check the schedule). While flipping through the few HD channels, I landed there and found Spring Training Baseball! It's Los Angeles vs the Braves - who cares! I want a hot dog. It's the 2nd inning, and LA is up 4-0 - who cares! Someone just caught a foul ball on the 1st base side!
Spring is coming!
I can hardly contain myself.
Until it's warm enough to go to a game yourself, check the schedule and invite yourself over for a game. Love to have ya.
...maybe it's just me
January 13, 2006
Optimistic Water
At my office, we have bottled water. We're thankful to have it. It tastes pretty much like water (much better than the tap water in Muskegon) and does all the things that water is supposed to do. Lately lots of major softdrink manufacturers have started pushing their particular take on water. They've come up with cool slogans like:
Dasani (coke) Make your mouth water
Aquafina (pepsi) Make your body happy, drink more water.
The bottled water at our office is incredibly optimistic about it's hydrating properties.
"(H2O) molecules form complex patterns by grouping and clumping together into "clusters". By controlling the size of these clusters, H2 Ultra Fitness Water improves the absorption of water into the body. Resulting in Ultra Hydration for Metabolic Efficiency. You no longer have to drink gallons upon gallons to get your daily allowance. Two bottles a day will make you more hydrated than you’ve felt in a long time. And there is a great taste too!"
It's really good - I like it very much. I can't say that I feel differently by drinkiing two .5 liter bottles than I do when I drink 3 12oz bottles, but man it's a lot easier to drink two than it is three.
(36 US fluid ounces = 1.06464707 liter)
What cracks me up is this note on the box. It's not "best if used by" or "freshness date", it says "enjoy by". That's really nice don't you think?
...maybe it's just me.
December 27, 2005
Katrina Christmas
This year, I spent Christmas with my family. Two years ago I went to Gulfport for Thanksgiving and celebrated Christmas at the same time. That was also the first time I got to meet my brother Chris, and his wife Michelle. All of us were there this year, and we gathered around the Christmas tree to open presents, ate roast turkey and a deep-fried caijun turkey. You can check out my flickr pictures for more of that.
The caijun turkey was certainly a highlight, as well as some fresh gulf shrimp at a local joint earlier in the week. There! Now that I've mentioned food, I can go on to the truly important part of this post.
On Christmas eve, we toured the communities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and later attended a candlelight service at church in Gulfport, close to the beach, but was miraculously spared. It's been a while since I have been in a church as traditional as this with pews and stained glass, a very different experience from CentrePointe. The pastor was as casual as could be despite the long robe and sash of his office. He reminded me of the Menards guy with a deep drawl. He talked about angels. He of course mentioned the famous ones who appeared at the first Christmas, but he also talked about some other that had effected the people in this church directly.
The CEO of the Weaver popcorn company had contacted the pastor about making a donation to the church to help with hurricane relief in the local community, and that it would probably be about $4,000. During their correspondence, the pastor mentioned that someone had once donated an old popcorn machine to the church. He told the CEO that after people in the church had treated it like their own, cleaning it, and as the pastor said, "loving on it," it made some great popcorn. Well the CEO wrote back and after finding out more about the machine, sent along a gift of 75 lbs of popcorn and oil for the popper in easy to use envelopes. This was nice, since the church hadn't been able to make any popcorn lately and it would be much appreciated. Some time passed and the CEO wrote back with a bad-news/good-news story. The workers had taken up their Christmas charity collection and it had not come to the $4,000 the CEO mentioned. Instead it was going to be more like $10,000. The workers at the Weaver popcorn company had taken in this little church as their own. Rather than give to a faceless charity like the red cross, the CEO and the workers connected with the people who needed their help and they stepped up. The money arrived with personal cards and letters from the workers to the church. They are building a relationship with the people there, and taking them in as if they were their own family.
That's what God did for us. He took us in as if we were His own family and when the time came, he made a supreme sacrifice for us. It wasn't money or popcorn, but his own life. And we should take him in as our own as well. That little baby needed a family to take him in and take care of him. He needed someone to hold him and love him. So, God relied on us to take him in as our own. That means we get all the benefits of having the Christ child in our lives, and all the pain that goes with taking responsibility for that child. We have to be willing to do whatever it takes.
As it turns out the people in the Gulfport church took in a popcorn machine, and the Weaver popcorn company took in the people at the church. During the communion portion of the Christmas eve service, one of the deacons told the pastor that the family who donated the popcorn machine all those years ago had lost everything in the hurricane. The pastor let us know, and said, "I think we can take that family in as our very own, don't you?"
This visit with my birth-family was better than I had hoped. At Thanksgiving, I wrote about how I hoped for a better relationship "with Chris and David, my brothers, Chris' wife Michelle, and Bruce - my stepfather." It's grown so much since the last time we were all together. I felt more like a brother and a son than I ever have before. I still can't believe how they took me in.
...maybe it's just me?
The caijun turkey was certainly a highlight, as well as some fresh gulf shrimp at a local joint earlier in the week. There! Now that I've mentioned food, I can go on to the truly important part of this post.
On Christmas eve, we toured the communities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and later attended a candlelight service at church in Gulfport, close to the beach, but was miraculously spared. It's been a while since I have been in a church as traditional as this with pews and stained glass, a very different experience from CentrePointe. The pastor was as casual as could be despite the long robe and sash of his office. He reminded me of the Menards guy with a deep drawl. He talked about angels. He of course mentioned the famous ones who appeared at the first Christmas, but he also talked about some other that had effected the people in this church directly.The CEO of the Weaver popcorn company had contacted the pastor about making a donation to the church to help with hurricane relief in the local community, and that it would probably be about $4,000. During their correspondence, the pastor mentioned that someone had once donated an old popcorn machine to the church. He told the CEO that after people in the church had treated it like their own, cleaning it, and as the pastor said, "loving on it," it made some great popcorn. Well the CEO wrote back and after finding out more about the machine, sent along a gift of 75 lbs of popcorn and oil for the popper in easy to use envelopes. This was nice, since the church hadn't been able to make any popcorn lately and it would be much appreciated. Some time passed and the CEO wrote back with a bad-news/good-news story. The workers had taken up their Christmas charity collection and it had not come to the $4,000 the CEO mentioned. Instead it was going to be more like $10,000. The workers at the Weaver popcorn company had taken in this little church as their own. Rather than give to a faceless charity like the red cross, the CEO and the workers connected with the people who needed their help and they stepped up. The money arrived with personal cards and letters from the workers to the church. They are building a relationship with the people there, and taking them in as if they were their own family.
That's what God did for us. He took us in as if we were His own family and when the time came, he made a supreme sacrifice for us. It wasn't money or popcorn, but his own life. And we should take him in as our own as well. That little baby needed a family to take him in and take care of him. He needed someone to hold him and love him. So, God relied on us to take him in as our own. That means we get all the benefits of having the Christ child in our lives, and all the pain that goes with taking responsibility for that child. We have to be willing to do whatever it takes.
As it turns out the people in the Gulfport church took in a popcorn machine, and the Weaver popcorn company took in the people at the church. During the communion portion of the Christmas eve service, one of the deacons told the pastor that the family who donated the popcorn machine all those years ago had lost everything in the hurricane. The pastor let us know, and said, "I think we can take that family in as our very own, don't you?"
This visit with my birth-family was better than I had hoped. At Thanksgiving, I wrote about how I hoped for a better relationship "with Chris and David, my brothers, Chris' wife Michelle, and Bruce - my stepfather." It's grown so much since the last time we were all together. I felt more like a brother and a son than I ever have before. I still can't believe how they took me in.
...maybe it's just me?
December 19, 2005
Caramel... everything and a Hot Dog
Saturday night I went to an unofficial Christmas party with a few friends. Everyone brought something to share, I brought vegetables. (I know... what was I thinking? - seriously, I really try to bring healthy snacks whenever I can.)
The hosts provided some spicy Hawiian meatballs, candy, and other people brought taco dip and other salty-snacks. New to me was what I have since learned is called "Caramel Delight", but at the time I called "Caramel Everything". It was caramel popcorn with pretzels, chex cereal, and pecans. Oh sweet crunchy goodness! So much for my attempt at weight loss.
Meet Walter
In case you're not in the loop, I have been looking for a dog to adopt. Sorry Mom, you'll have to settle for being a grandmother to another pet.
I'm headed to Gulfport to visit my family for Christmas, and then picking up Walter on the way back from the Lansing airport. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. I've purchased the requisite dog bowls, a couple of toys, a bed and the breeder is providing a kennel and a bunch of other doggy things. The only thing I have yet to purchase is food. I grew up with a couple of dogs raised on Purina Dog Chow. I never knew that dog food had come so far until the breeder mentioned that she's raised the puppy on a Raw Food diet. The web site is worth mentioning, www.barfworld.com, maybe even reading, but don't worry BARF is an acronym. This kind of BARF is not nearly as much fun as "Barf" (Barfolemew) from Spaceballs.
maybe it's just me...
The hosts provided some spicy Hawiian meatballs, candy, and other people brought taco dip and other salty-snacks. New to me was what I have since learned is called "Caramel Delight", but at the time I called "Caramel Everything". It was caramel popcorn with pretzels, chex cereal, and pecans. Oh sweet crunchy goodness! So much for my attempt at weight loss.
Meet WalterIn case you're not in the loop, I have been looking for a dog to adopt. Sorry Mom, you'll have to settle for being a grandmother to another pet.
I'm headed to Gulfport to visit my family for Christmas, and then picking up Walter on the way back from the Lansing airport. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. I've purchased the requisite dog bowls, a couple of toys, a bed and the breeder is providing a kennel and a bunch of other doggy things. The only thing I have yet to purchase is food. I grew up with a couple of dogs raised on Purina Dog Chow. I never knew that dog food had come so far until the breeder mentioned that she's raised the puppy on a Raw Food diet. The web site is worth mentioning, www.barfworld.com, maybe even reading, but don't worry BARF is an acronym. This kind of BARF is not nearly as much fun as "Barf" (Barfolemew) from Spaceballs.
maybe it's just me...
December 16, 2005
feeling sneaky
Is it wrong to bring one's own food into a movie theater?
I've been going to movies most of my life and I've never seen a sign or anything. There really should be some big-ole "No outside food or drink" sign on the door if they want to enforce that. Often, when I go to the movies I bring my popcorn bucket and I smuggle drinks in. Sometimes I also have beef jerky or candy stuffed into my pockets. I've even gone as far as bringing in cheeseburgers. I've got a coat with big pockets to enable this surreptitious gastronomy. It makes me feel like Harpo Marx.
I've always believed it was somehow wrong to do this, but I did it anyway. On Wednesday, while enjoying the roller coaster ride that is King Kong (special effects suck early on, but get a lot better!), it occurred to me that there's no sign or anything. How do I know you can't bring in outside food? I decided that I'm going to keep doing it, but I'll look more carefully for the sign, and enjoy the espionage.
maybe it's just me...
I've been going to movies most of my life and I've never seen a sign or anything. There really should be some big-ole "No outside food or drink" sign on the door if they want to enforce that. Often, when I go to the movies I bring my popcorn bucket and I smuggle drinks in. Sometimes I also have beef jerky or candy stuffed into my pockets. I've even gone as far as bringing in cheeseburgers. I've got a coat with big pockets to enable this surreptitious gastronomy. It makes me feel like Harpo Marx.
I've always believed it was somehow wrong to do this, but I did it anyway. On Wednesday, while enjoying the roller coaster ride that is King Kong (special effects suck early on, but get a lot better!), it occurred to me that there's no sign or anything. How do I know you can't bring in outside food? I decided that I'm going to keep doing it, but I'll look more carefully for the sign, and enjoy the espionage.
maybe it's just me...
December 9, 2005
Snow Day
The Grand Rapids area got anywhere between 4 and 10 inches of snow overnight and most every school is closed today. When you are an adult, you don't really get those snow days, and I think that's one of the biggest rip-offs about growing up. A snow day is like a surprise vacation day. The neighbor kids are sledding down the hill next to our driveway (I kinda wish they would stop by, say hello, and ask first...) and soon they'll head back inside for Hot Chocolate!Hot Cocoa is possibly one of the greatest inventions for a warm beverage ever, and one of the few things that doesn't suffer from microwave preparation. What I mean by that is - you can warm up the milk in the microwave. Here's a way to make a nice batch of it - about 4-6 cups worth. There are some people who would add powdered milk to this, but they can get their own blogs and talk about the food they like. Here, they are just plain wrong. And it turns out that Hot Cocoa is really very good for you!
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch (mmm... thicker...)
1 pinch cayenne pepper (adjust for your taste)
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly.
Whatever you don't use right away, seal in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry.
The trick to making it is to add 3-4 tablespoons of the mix to a mug, add just a little cold milk (less that 1/4 cup) and mix that into kind of a syrup. Then add hot milk to fill your mug. That makes sure the cocoa mixes evenly and doesn't leave any lumps - it also stays mixed longer after the cocoa stands.
If you don't like chocolate or cocoa, but like the hot milk - try adding a few drops of vanilla or another flavoring to some powdered sugar or artificial sweetener, and mix with hot milk just like the above.
Something wacky for you!
Those goofy Canadians have come up with a new ad campaign for drinking milk. The intro is worth seeing the first time so you get the caveman premise, but after that, you can skip the intro to get to the short commercials. Brilliant! Thanks to my friend Rachel for that Wacky submission.
Meanwhile, if you do decide to make the cocoa on the stove top, and that skin forms on top of it... save some for me, I love that.
...maybe it's just me.
December 3, 2005
something in my food
I find stuff in my food all the time.
I used to think I was cursed in some way, but then I realized that I am the god of foreign-matter-in-food. Material that should not appear in a served meal follows me everywhere in order to laud, praise, worship, and generally find a way to become one with me by attempting to find its way into my mouth. Fortunately one of my god-powers is that I can detect things that don't belong in my mouth with the efficiency of an assembly line owned by a company that wants to move their operations to Mexico. The smallest hint of any accidental content sets off an alarm I can't ignore. I'm working on spotting things before I ingest them and I occasionally succeed. If you've been to more than a few meals with me, you've seen it happen. Others of you will have to wait for your opportunity.
If there is a cherry-pit in the cherry pie, it will show up in my piece. I once found an egg-shell the size of a half-dollar sitting on top of an omelet. It wasn't cooked-in or anything, just sitting there on top when it arrived from the kitchen.
Salad poses a particular problem, because it's often filled with a variety of things and textures. Several years ago at an Applebe's I found most of a ladybug in my salad. Not a whole ladybug mind you, but most of one. I had a nice healthy bite of lettuce perched on the end of my fork as I talked with my friends around the table. I tend to talk with my hands, and the fork looked like an orchestra conductor's baton, keeping the conversation's tempo. Finally, I moved the bite toward my mouth. There it was. I sent the salad back and had a burger instead.
Once, on a date, in fact I think it was a first-date, I bit into a piece of glass concealed in the fried rice at a Chinese restaurant. I'm pretty sure it was a bead from a necklace or something, but I bit it right in half between two molars. Getting it out required an oral lavage courtesy of the tall glass of water that came with dinner. I managed to extricate it without injury.
Friday night I had a cup of white chicken chili at a barbecue joint in Muskegon - Brutus' Barbecue. Part-way through it, I saw something odd. It was kind of grayish-greenish-bluish. It was lumpy. There were multiple incidents of it. I asked my server to see if she could figure it out. My friend Steve thought it looked like a few puddles of pneumonia-induced lung-butter. It turned out to be a few dollops of bleu cheese dressing. Well, that's what the restaurant said it was. I think I won't go back there again.
Et tu Brute?
maybe it's just me...
I used to think I was cursed in some way, but then I realized that I am the god of foreign-matter-in-food. Material that should not appear in a served meal follows me everywhere in order to laud, praise, worship, and generally find a way to become one with me by attempting to find its way into my mouth. Fortunately one of my god-powers is that I can detect things that don't belong in my mouth with the efficiency of an assembly line owned by a company that wants to move their operations to Mexico. The smallest hint of any accidental content sets off an alarm I can't ignore. I'm working on spotting things before I ingest them and I occasionally succeed. If you've been to more than a few meals with me, you've seen it happen. Others of you will have to wait for your opportunity.
If there is a cherry-pit in the cherry pie, it will show up in my piece. I once found an egg-shell the size of a half-dollar sitting on top of an omelet. It wasn't cooked-in or anything, just sitting there on top when it arrived from the kitchen.
Salad poses a particular problem, because it's often filled with a variety of things and textures. Several years ago at an Applebe's I found most of a ladybug in my salad. Not a whole ladybug mind you, but most of one. I had a nice healthy bite of lettuce perched on the end of my fork as I talked with my friends around the table. I tend to talk with my hands, and the fork looked like an orchestra conductor's baton, keeping the conversation's tempo. Finally, I moved the bite toward my mouth. There it was. I sent the salad back and had a burger instead.
Once, on a date, in fact I think it was a first-date, I bit into a piece of glass concealed in the fried rice at a Chinese restaurant. I'm pretty sure it was a bead from a necklace or something, but I bit it right in half between two molars. Getting it out required an oral lavage courtesy of the tall glass of water that came with dinner. I managed to extricate it without injury.
Friday night I had a cup of white chicken chili at a barbecue joint in Muskegon - Brutus' Barbecue. Part-way through it, I saw something odd. It was kind of grayish-greenish-bluish. It was lumpy. There were multiple incidents of it. I asked my server to see if she could figure it out. My friend Steve thought it looked like a few puddles of pneumonia-induced lung-butter. It turned out to be a few dollops of bleu cheese dressing. Well, that's what the restaurant said it was. I think I won't go back there again.
Et tu Brute?
maybe it's just me...
November 23, 2005
New-Blog-spot
I recently moved my blog from blogspot to my own site, but the RSS hasn't followed. If you have been reading my blog previously, please visit the new location: http://www.mirthmobile.com/brian-food/
And update your RSS Reader.
oh... and I think that the whole Thanksgiving feast is over-rated.
...maybe it's just me.
November 11, 2005
Chipo... ChipOtel... ChipotE...
A chipotle (also chilpoctle and chilpotle, from the Nahuatl chilpoctli meaning smoked chile) is a dried chile pepper, usually jalapeno, that has been smoked. It is usually found whole in adobo sauce. It's yummy! Spanish is easy to pronounce. For the most part, say all the letters in the order in which they appear: Chi-Pot-le (chi-POTE-lay).
Hint - say it with the gusto of a South American play-by-play soccer announcer and you'll sound like you really know what you're doing.
I went to Taco Bell the other day. The stucco building was festooned with deep red window-clings advertising the lastest in gastronomic bombs the PepsiCoo chain passes off as "Mexican Food" - the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito. I've been to Mexico and eaten the local culture. It was nothing like a "Chalupa". I've also been to a slough of wonderful family-owned Mexican eateries here in the Grand Rapids Area: El Arriero, El Sol, and Maggies Kitchen stand out in my mind. I feel blessed, as a lover of the slightly spicy dishes served by the multi-generational or recent immigrants from Mexico who may have ridden the waves of migrant work so plentiful here in "America's Salad Bowl". Taco Bell makes something wholely-other-than Mexican food, and as long as I create the intellectual separation between Mexican Food and what they make, I'm happy.
I approache the menu, perched high above the heads of the cashiers, and read carefully, fully intending to make my selection from the 99-cent menu. Marketing got the better of me as the suggestive banners had already worked their magic. Flanking each side of the fluorescentt-back-lit menu were two panels each extolling the virtues of the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito. To the left, the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito $2.19 - chicken or steak. To the right, add an enormous Mt. Dew and some stale tortilla chips with a plastic tub of nacho-cheese (a combo-meal) for a bit more. It beckoned.
Sam is a retiree working the cash register at the Taco Bell on Apple Ave. in Muskegon near my office. I don't actually know his name, as whatever appears on his name tag is quickly replaced in my brain by "Sam". I don't know for sure that he's a retiree either, but that's the story I've made up for him and I'm sticking to it.
Sam wore a cookie-duster mustache that made him look like Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton (right) and the same glasses he'd purchased in 1951 after the war. Those frames had gone out of style and now come back into style as Sam held a job that provided free food to polish off his golden years. Sam had worked 44 years as an accountant for Worldwide Fishladder and Sons, before he was rewarded with a pink-slip. Mild-mannered Sam was a skilled accountant, a little too-skilled if you know what I mean. The court had not been kind to him in light of the recent Enron and Arthur Anderson scandals, but he was just a pawn and was given fines and community service instead of prison time.
My turn at the counter came and I returned Sam's gravely "Welcome to Taco Bell, may I take your order?" with a calm steady voice.
"May I please have a Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito - Steak."
I never got that far actually.
Partway through the words Chipotle Grilled..., Sam jumped in with an impatient, "You want a Chalupa?"
No thank you, said I, "I would like a Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito". This time my own tongue turned traitor during the "Chipotle" and I had to repeat it again.
"A Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito if you please."
Sam looked dubious.
Then a light, from some far-away training video clicked on as Sam saw me looking forlornly at the sign above his left shoulder.
"You want that?" He asked in his cantakerous manner.
He gestured with his thumb at the combo meal version of the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito sign nearest.
Thunderstruck, and already amused, I shifted my gaze to the far end of the menu, where the non-combo meal version hung with it's unadulterated price.
"No, actually, I want that one," and I pointed with my left thumb to the other sign.
"Gotcha." Sam said, and rang up the order with a sly wink.
"Order number 158." Sam continued and handed me the receipt and my change.
When the time came, I collected my Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito and returned to the office. The soda cooler held a bottle of cran-grape, and a bottle of water with my name on them.
I really did enjoy that burrito.
...maybe it's just me.
Hint - say it with the gusto of a South American play-by-play soccer announcer and you'll sound like you really know what you're doing.
I went to Taco Bell the other day. The stucco building was festooned with deep red window-clings advertising the lastest in gastronomic bombs the PepsiCoo chain passes off as "Mexican Food" - the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito. I've been to Mexico and eaten the local culture. It was nothing like a "Chalupa". I've also been to a slough of wonderful family-owned Mexican eateries here in the Grand Rapids Area: El Arriero, El Sol, and Maggies Kitchen stand out in my mind. I feel blessed, as a lover of the slightly spicy dishes served by the multi-generational or recent immigrants from Mexico who may have ridden the waves of migrant work so plentiful here in "America's Salad Bowl". Taco Bell makes something wholely-other-than Mexican food, and as long as I create the intellectual separation between Mexican Food and what they make, I'm happy.
I approache the menu, perched high above the heads of the cashiers, and read carefully, fully intending to make my selection from the 99-cent menu. Marketing got the better of me as the suggestive banners had already worked their magic. Flanking each side of the fluorescentt-back-lit menu were two panels each extolling the virtues of the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito. To the left, the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito $2.19 - chicken or steak. To the right, add an enormous Mt. Dew and some stale tortilla chips with a plastic tub of nacho-cheese (a combo-meal) for a bit more. It beckoned.
Sam is a retiree working the cash register at the Taco Bell on Apple Ave. in Muskegon near my office. I don't actually know his name, as whatever appears on his name tag is quickly replaced in my brain by "Sam". I don't know for sure that he's a retiree either, but that's the story I've made up for him and I'm sticking to it.
Sam wore a cookie-duster mustache that made him look like Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton (right) and the same glasses he'd purchased in 1951 after the war. Those frames had gone out of style and now come back into style as Sam held a job that provided free food to polish off his golden years. Sam had worked 44 years as an accountant for Worldwide Fishladder and Sons, before he was rewarded with a pink-slip. Mild-mannered Sam was a skilled accountant, a little too-skilled if you know what I mean. The court had not been kind to him in light of the recent Enron and Arthur Anderson scandals, but he was just a pawn and was given fines and community service instead of prison time.
My turn at the counter came and I returned Sam's gravely "Welcome to Taco Bell, may I take your order?" with a calm steady voice.
"May I please have a Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito - Steak."
I never got that far actually.
Partway through the words Chipotle Grilled..., Sam jumped in with an impatient, "You want a Chalupa?"
No thank you, said I, "I would like a Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito". This time my own tongue turned traitor during the "Chipotle" and I had to repeat it again.
"A Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito if you please."
Sam looked dubious.
Then a light, from some far-away training video clicked on as Sam saw me looking forlornly at the sign above his left shoulder.
"You want that?" He asked in his cantakerous manner.
He gestured with his thumb at the combo meal version of the Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito sign nearest.
Thunderstruck, and already amused, I shifted my gaze to the far end of the menu, where the non-combo meal version hung with it's unadulterated price.
"No, actually, I want that one," and I pointed with my left thumb to the other sign.
"Gotcha." Sam said, and rang up the order with a sly wink.
"Order number 158." Sam continued and handed me the receipt and my change.
When the time came, I collected my Chipotle Grilled Stuffed Burrito and returned to the office. The soda cooler held a bottle of cran-grape, and a bottle of water with my name on them.
I really did enjoy that burrito.
...maybe it's just me.
a few fries short of a happy meal
Ahhh the employee lunchroom. Over the past 20 years or so of my "adult" (working) life, I've sat in a few of them. The Calvin College Faculty/Staff cafeteria is one that stands out because it seemed to me you could pile all kinds of things on your plate or only a few celery sticks, and the cash register only fluctuated between $1 and $1.75. Another lunchroom at a nameless company played propaganda videos on a TV that did not have an "off" button. Being the extrovert that I am, I've always found the people more interesting than the cuisine.
Once upon a time I worked in a factory environment. If you've never worked in a factory, I recommend it. The people there are relatively happy, and have the same passion or lack thereof for their work that people in offices do. There are some people who stand out as rather clever, and others are not the sharpest knife in the drawer. It's the same everywhere. One day I told a joke in the lunchroom, and it went like this:
This is not the funniest joke in the world. The delivery, was pretty good, but not hilarious. A ripple of laughter passed through the people eating their sandwiches and fast food.
However, one of my coworkers looked puzzled.
After a few moments passed, he looked up at me and said, "There's no way that truck is getting under that bridge!"
That was much funnier than my joke.
maybe it's just me...
Once upon a time I worked in a factory environment. If you've never worked in a factory, I recommend it. The people there are relatively happy, and have the same passion or lack thereof for their work that people in offices do. There are some people who stand out as rather clever, and others are not the sharpest knife in the drawer. It's the same everywhere. One day I told a joke in the lunchroom, and it went like this:
Two guys went to truck driving school, they graduated and got their first job together driving a big-rig. On their first trip out, they had to take a detour and along the way passed a sign that read:
Danger Low Bridge Ahead - 10' 11"
They continued driving until they came to another sign.
Danger Low Bridge Ahead - 10' 11"
They drove on until they came to the bridge itself, it had a sign too, it read:
Danger Low Bridge - 10' 11"
They got out of the truck and measured the height of the trailer at 11' 3".
"What do we do?" one said to the other.
The second young trucker looked around a bit and finally said, "Not a cop in sight, let's go for it!"
This is not the funniest joke in the world. The delivery, was pretty good, but not hilarious. A ripple of laughter passed through the people eating their sandwiches and fast food.
However, one of my coworkers looked puzzled.
After a few moments passed, he looked up at me and said, "There's no way that truck is getting under that bridge!"
That was much funnier than my joke.
maybe it's just me...
November 2, 2005
Big Fun!
Halloween has come and gone, but the candy leftovers remain.
About 8 kids came around for trick-or-treating, which were fewer than I expected. I talked with some friends who had 50, 100, 150 kids of various ages stopping in to collect their goodies. The big question I heard from people I know was, "what happened to 'Thank you'?"
I think every generation is confused by the one that follows it, and I'm of the age where I'm noticing that more and more. I'm glad to say that the parents, escorting their children where I live, were visibly training their tykes to be polite and say the appropriate things.
I'll tell you what grinds my gears though.When did this ------------>
become how big "fun" is?
The package is clearly labeled "FunSize", but it's only about 1/2" square by 1" long. How much fun could that actually be?
Not only is "fun" fairly small, according to the candy manufacturers, but I clearly remember the "FunSize" being 3/4" wide by 1/2" high by 2" long only a couple of years ago. Is "fun" shrinking?
I'll tell you what "fun" would be; a four-foot long two-foot wide candy bar.
To be fair, we really don't need bigger candy here in the USA, and Michigan is one of the "largest" states.
You know who's got their packaging right? It's the Chicklets people. They at least are honest and call them "Tiny Size". That's much more accurate! Do I expect the Snickers people to start calling their candy "not much fun size"? No, I won't go that far, but I would like to see a better subjective tag like "pretty small size". I'd really prefer a more objective description like "1-inch size". If they can't be objective, then at least they could be comparative. Perhaps something like: "more fun than a punch in the nose size."
maybe it's just me...
October 24, 2005
All Coked Up
Coca-Cola
Coke
The pause that refreshes
... and a smile
I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony.
I'd like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company.
First of all, I can't believe that they actually used that song in a commercial for Coke when I was a kid. Second, I really like an icy-cold Coke. Coke has a hierarchy, a holy declension of brisk, sweet, caramel-colored cola goodness.
I am not talking about Pepsi, RC, or any store-brand cola-beverage, I'm talking about Coke. The imitations simply can't compare.
1) Coke in a glass bottle.
Something happened when Coke moved from glass to plastic. Sure, there were far fewer incidents of foaming shards in the grocery store parking lot, and the shelves in the soda aisle stopped making that sticky-gritty sound whenever you moved anything, but was that safety and convenience worth the price? There is no finer imbibment that a 16 oz or 1/2 L glass bottle of "The Real Thing". Now, it's only available in the crummy 10 oz variety or from Mexico.
2) McDonald's Coke
I can't explain this one, except to say that our favorite Scottish joint gets points for consistency and formula. They have perfected the fountain coke.
3) Coke from a plastic bottle, poured over ice, served in a glass.
This is as close to the #1 as possible, but it's not the same.
4) Coke from a 20 oz plastic bottle.
Recently I also had a 24 oz bottle that stood up nicely without going to the full 1 L, which, in my opinion, is a waste.
5) Coke in a can.
The aluminum seems to taint the flavor more than the plastic. There are those that disagree with me strongly, they can get their own blog and make their own list.
6) Any fountain Coke in any container.
From the Styrofoam at a gas station to the wax-covered super-big-gulp carton to the "bottomless softdrinks" at any eatery, Coke from a fountain (with the exception of #2 above) is disappointing. It's still better than #7.
7) Coke at a bar.
I don't know what they do to it, but it's wrong.
It's like kissing your sister, going up the down escalator, plundering the rainforest, pulling the wings off of flies, or Pepsi. It tastes like someone used the nozzle that mixes the syrup and carbonated water to siphon leaded gas from the neighbor's car in the '70s and hasn't bothered to clean it since.
...maybe it's just me.
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