The blogging experience..

So this may potentially be my last blog entry, and though I have struggled with maintaining entries in a timely manner. When I have taken the time to sit down and type out my thoughts, I have found the whole thing to be a bit therapeutic. The ability to type out your deepest thoughts about subjects that most of the time people could legitimately care less to hear your opinion about is something that anyone could find enjoyment with. I had two blogs about sodas, and even talked shamelessly about a box of junk food targeted to drunks and stoners. I really enjoyed putting my own wit and charm into each paragraph and hope the three people who may have taken any time to read them have enjoyed the ride through the weeks. It was a great experience, and something that I REALLY should do on a weekly basis as I continue on this journey just so that I can have all my thoughts and opinions about food recorded so I can watch myself develop throughout my career...That would be something worth blogging about.

Healthy Cooking

I have been given the opportunity to partake in a healthy cooking course at my school that will be taught by a master chef. I am both nervous and excited to be able to take such a class. I am excited for obvious reasons, to learn how to cook not only for myself, but for those around me in a way that is delicious AND good for them. I am nervous though, to see just how bad I have been treating my body with my cooking and the cooking of others, and to see how I may have already affected myself or those whom I have cooked for with my poor choices in techniques or ingredients I am ready  to have a new recipe book to read through. Excited to see all the different potential ingredients and imagine how they will fit into the overall dish. All the while picking the brain of a master chef as he teaches us to improve our skills, and potentially our lives through a plate of food.

JJ

There was a time where I can distinctly remember there only being a small handful of Jimmy Johns restaurants in the area. Today there seem to be about as many of them as there are McDonalds or Taco Bells. How did this company manage to pull this off though? In an ever changing world where variety is king, how did a restaurant succeed serving nothing more than a small set list of sandwiches with simple ingredients. Subway offers you a plethora of toppings and breads, but at the double J's you have two bread options and the toppings you can get can be counted on one hand. They offer three or four different kinds of chips, and soft drinks as your accompaniments. It is literally the most simple setup in the history of restaurants, but people are going bananas over it, and they just continue to pop up on more and more street corners. I just don't get how it all manages to run so well.

Carbonated Water

I know I did a soda post once before, but I would like to address this time the addiction half of the soda craze. I used to drink almost a two liter a day of diet dark soda. Have a soda with every meal, and often find myself going on a run to the gas station to have myself a soda for no reason at all. It was an absolute addiction, and I distinctly remember when I tried to quit, the backlash that my body put up was insane. I would crave the rich sugary flavors like a smoker trying to get their nicotine fix, and if I didn't feed my body the sugar and caffeine, I would find myself with these earth shattering headaches that I couldn't fight. A soda is  carbonated water mixed with a flavored, caffeine laced syrup. It is garbage for the body, and though I know its one hundred percent not possible, I would like to think that one day the world can rid themselves of their dependencies on soda. That's a lot of headaches.

The Quickest Way

So my step mother is taking the plunge and getting gastric bypass. A surgery that in my view is just an easy way out for people who have made lifestyle choices that have caused them to become morbidly obese. Before you say anything, I believe that I have the right to pass this judgment because I have battled being overweight for my entire life.I knew gluttony entirely too early in my years, and shortly after I graduated high school I found myself being two hundred and seventy pounds. With some simple changes to my diet, a little self control and an ipod I found my way down to two hundred pounds. So I am living proof that this "disease" is entirely curable. I digress though, and now that I am in culinary school, the thought of this surgery sickens me even more. Why in the world would you ever want to shrink your stomach to the point that you cannot even enjoy a full serving of food. Where you can be fuller than full after a few saltine crackers. What I am trying to say is that I can not justify limiting the amount and type of food I can enjoy, just for the simple satisfaction of my own self image. That's a disease.

The Big O.

My school randomly hosts speaker series, and they are often fairly bland and boring, or an attempt to sell me rubber spatulas. The most recent one however was likely the most well done presentation I have seen in quite a while. A man gave us a front row seat for his midlife crisis, and showed us how his hobby he enjoyed is slowly turning him into a successful entrepreneur. The difference in the story however, is that this man did not accomplish all of these goals on luck. (Well not all on luck at least) He accomplished his goals through hard work, trial and error and persistence among other things. He led us step by step through every process he went through to get to where he is at that very second, it was intense to go through all of his ups and downs as if we were all there experiencing them with him. On top of all that, his descriptions of his liquor itself were less about how much he loved it, but how the high authorities on the topics of all things booze praised the taste, and how he has potential customers from around the GLOBE, not just the USA, but around the globe asking for his product. That's big business. This stuff will be HUGE one day, and I will get to say I met him when he was only a little operation. Damn, what a good networking tool he will be.

The Restaurant Field

You can find a restaurant anywhere these days. From gas stations to grocery stores, movie theatres to malls. The restaurant industry is growing more and more everyday, and does not show any signs of stopping, and for good reason. People will always need to eat, and making it readily available for the customer at any turn is an awfully good business plan. Once I obtain this degree from Lecole and step out into the "real world", I assume I will find an abundance of jobs waiting for me, and that no matter what, as long as I have that degree, and especially as I get more and more experience that I will never have any troubles walking into a kitchen and accepting a job. I can absolutely NOT understand people that go to our school who have issues finding jobs. A restaurant goes CRAZY for students, because sometimes the pool of workers outside of us is just abysmal and littered with druggies or foreigners. I could have a new job next week if I did my research and put the effort into it, and I dare anyone to tell me I cant.  This industry is forever hiring because it is forever evolving. Variety is the spice of life, and I plan to over season my plate.

booze foods

How many days have you woken up in a groggy blur, not sure how you got to where you are? We have all been there, and many of us have more than we would like to admit. What is the first thing that you find yourself wanting after water and advil? For most people, the mind goes straight to finding the greasiest and usually most unappetizing on any other day meal. I never crave a fast food hamburger and fries until I am hung-over, and why is it a quick fix for everything that ails us when we have those massive headaches that make us feel like we were hit in the temples by thor's hammer? I have heard the old excuse of, " It soaks up all the alcohol", but I wonder if that is what is really going on, and if there is any scientific merit to that, and if there is scientific merit, why do fast food restaurants not market to that crowd simply on the premise of it being "good" for the customer for once.

Family Values

What is the value of eating at the table as opposed to eating sitting on the couch? Is it wrong one way or the other? I personally find no greater joy after cooking a meal than that of seeing all of my hard work laid out nicely on platters on a well set table. A meal is something that I think should be almost like an event. I want to sit down and relax while I enjoy every bite of what I made, or what I paid for someone to make for me. To be fair though, I can understand some people just do not have time a lot of the days, or they do not value food the way I might, and if you are one of those people I encourage you for your next meal to stop! Dust off that dining room, set the table and really enjoy what you've put together. It will change your life

Meat and potatoes

Classic Midwest staple, a good filling hearty meal that everyone loves. My father is no exception to the rule, and this should in turn make cooking for him easy one would assume. In reality though it can be quite the opposite. My father will not eat a single green vegetable, or anything with so much as a little black pepper or other spice on it.  I am often stuck trying to cook a whole separate meal when I want to make something ethnic or healthy, and watch him eat French fries and macaroni and cheese. I would love some help and input on this topic, what do you think I can cook for a guy who will only eat like a five year old?

Pretentious

Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed. A word that you would assume would define just about everyone who goes to and works at Whole Foods Market, but for the most part that could not be farther from the truth. As far as the workers go, they are some of the most genuinely nice and helpful people that you can find at any store, and they are all so knowledgeable about things that normal people could care less about. I met a lady on my last adventure that knew more about cheese than I thought anyone should know, or ever need to know. I am hooked though, and when I can afford to splurge I will go into that mecca of really expensive high quality goods and...try to not spend fifty dollars on four items.

Silpat

Possibly one of the greatest inventions for the everyday chef, made with fiberglass and food grade silicon, a silpat is your favorite expensive non stick aluminum foil that you can actually wash and reuse. If you are making something that involves any time in the oven. A silpat will not only save you money, it will make you feel good because you know you are doing good for the enviorment not putting some cheap foil or parchment into a landfill. And just when you don't think it can get any better, they are CHEAP. Not one of those tools you find on an infomercial that cost you three easy payments of $14.99, no the silpat just wants a one time payment, usually of about or around that 14.99 pricetag. So stop ripping papers and foils and invest in the future!

http://www.silpat.com/ourstory.html

Soft Drink

How do you think they got that name? I did some research, and it turns out a soft drink is technically any drink that doesn't contain any alcohol. The reason that soda adopted the name is because the PR people for the companies were desperately trying to find one universal name for the product, as it had many names depending on where you were in the world. My personal favorite soda is a Fresca. There is nothing in the world more refreshing than a cold glass of grapefruit soda, especially one that can double as a pallet cleanser. We all obviously know how bad a soda really is for you, and that if you can avoid having them in your diet, then at all costs do it. They are a huge part of the hospitality industry as ways to get even non alcohol drinking customers to drop just a few extra bucks. Clever. Flavored water.

Enjoy this article! Read the Facts!

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/07/why-carbonated-beverages-are-called-soft-drinks/

The power of preserves

On my recent adventures to Centennial Farms in Augusta, I stumbled across home made preserves in their gift shop, and I wanted to buy ALL of them. Some of the mixtures, such as apple with strawberry and peaches with jalapenos set off instant light bulbs in my brain for possible dish ideas. I ended up buying a sweet pepper and apple relish that when I tasted it, was what I had always hoped pickle relish would have tasted like. It was sweet with a little bite of heat perfectly blended into it. I have used the relish on bratwurst already with a ton of success, and I have plans to use it to make a variation of thousand island to be used for a turkey reuben sandwich. (Maybe in the next couple weeks that will be a blog.)

Its peak season if you want some quality apple and pumpkin picking for dirt cheap prices.

http://centennialfarms.biz/

Pinterest Revolution

I know I know, its kind of a girly thing, but I would be lying if I didn't give it a shoutout for all of the wonderful pictures and recipes. The site is basically a massive database of creative, well thought out recipes that cover any craving you may have on any given night. You can literally put in any simple ingredient and run into hundreds upon thousands of variations and uses. I will be using it to make some hors d'oeuvres for game one of the world series tomorrow. (that's for next week!) Join, enjoy, network, meet foodies. Its cool. I promise.

https://www.pinterest.com/

Thug Life

http://thugkitchen.com/

I shouldn't have to write anything else, but I will anyway. Thug kitchen is the single best and most entertaining food blog I have ever read. The word choice is not for the faint of heart, as they replace usual culinary gab for that of a sailor. The humor is very in your face, but it is still clever enough to keep you coming back. The recipes are always spot on, every dish is creative and usually the dish is  pretty healthy. The pictures are what really make this blog for me though. They look professional, and instantly make you want the food they are showing off. So roll up your windows, lock your doors and head to the hood for some thug kitchen.

expletive.

The worst thing I ever ate.

A ceasar salad is one of the simplest foods to create. I mean it has four components, romaine, parm, croutons and dressing.  I personally just recently discovered my love for the salad, and when I came into a little bar and grill after playing beer football with a massive appetite, I was excited at the thought of enjoying a ceasar salad while I waited for the rest of the food. I would like to break down what I actually received twenty five minutes later. The romaine was a little less than fresh, the croutons and cheese were nothing more than your average cheap grocery store brand. The dressing though is what was really the nail in the coffin. A ceasar dressing should be just a little heavy with a good zesty flavor. This dressing was less ceasar and more miracle whip, so thickly coated that it looked like whoever had tossed it had lost control of the bottle and poured three times the necessary amount. Needless to say it was one of the worst things I have eaten in recent memory, and I ate a snail at six forty five in the morning in second phase.

The Winter Months

The low is supposed to be thirty three tonight, and I cant help but feel like winter is coming with a vengeance this year, which means days full of laziness under the heating blanket. However, this is a food blog, and not a napping digest article (I made that up). The cycle starts with Halloween, which is essentially just an excuse for people to ingest themselves into a diabetic coma of miniature candy bars. The next few weeks of sugar crash induced naps lead us into thanksgiving, aka the ultimate cheat day. Black Friday and holiday shopping brings in stress and fast food binges, and Christmas itself is another day of obnoxious themed feasts with the addition of presents, which is quickly followed by a drunken messy new years, and a massive hangover of fried food the next day. I plan to enjoy every second of every obnoxious feast, but I hope to be able to discipline myself and NOT GAIN WEIGHT THIS SEASON..

I want a kit kat...

But..Pumpkin...How did this happen...?

I love pumpkin spice, and pumpkin flavored anything, but it seems to me this year that some of the big name food corporations have REALLY caught on to this flanomenon...(flavor+phenomenon). For example, M&M's now come in pumpkin spice flavor, which is not to be outdone by Hershey's famous kisses, which you can also find in a creamy pumpkin spice flavor. At Starbucks you can get pumpkin spice flavored ANYTHING, and in case you don't like drinking your fall flavors, never fear! There is a pumpkin baked treat for any pallet. The gym I go to offers a seasonal pumpkin smoothie at their smoothie bar. I have pumpkin butter in my refrigerator, and that sits alongside a six pack of pumpkin wheat beer. I have had at least half a dozen pumpkin pie blizzards this month, and a soup from bread company that tastes like a melted pumpkin pie. I have lost my mind over it all, and will likely eat each individual item to exhaustion and be completely over it all by winter. Just to get excited about it again next September before they start to roll the same things out next year.

Culinary Kidz

So, I would like to share my feelings on something that I have been seeing a trend of on food television lately that has all but completely turned me off from watching it. The newest trend seems to be competition cooking shows involving CHILDREN. C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N.. Now, I understand that the idea is attempting to start a movement of kid cooks, and I dig that, I really do. I think even as someone who never wants children of his own, the idea of a child learning how to sufficiently cook themselves good wholesome foods that don't have microwave instructions on them is one of the most beneficial life skills they can gain. So why is it that these networks are turning these children into competitors, and instead of teaching teamwork in a learning environment, they put these kids under insane pressure to perform in a culinary competition and then judge them and dramatically eliminate them one by one until they crown a champion. I can only imagine the day when they run an iron chef special for children. I literally cringe at the thought.

Week 47

With twenty three weeks to go, and my fellow classmates starting to branch out into the field outside of school, I have found myself wondering how I will be going about attacking my career choices. I currently work at a mom and pop style bar and grill that is fairly successful. The owner really cares about the establishment, and the menu is actually fairly good. There is a solid variety, and the price points are insanely low. The "GM" is a veteran of restaurant management who really puts his heart and soul into the establishment, and though the place as a whole has a lot of flaws, it survives and even thrives in what is a corporate driven restaurant saturated area. It is a tiny kitchen with few workers, and though there is some good quality workers in back of house, there is no established leader. This is the role I hope to take over, to bring together the kitchen as a whole, and hopefully bring the stability and leadership that I believe it is lacking. My fear is that this restaurant is too small time for me..I have big dreams after I am done with all the schooling, and I plan to work until I can attain every last one of them..Only time will tell though I suppose, and none of this will happen if I don't keep up with these darn blogs. I think I have finally found a way to battle them though..Again only time shall tell.

Gyro...Yerrrro?

Who really knows exactly how you are supposed to pronounce it anyways? I have heard every attempt in the book, but that is not what this post is meant for. We are not hear to talk grammar, I want to instead dissect this beloved sandwich piece by piece so you understand that if you have never had one for yourself, exactly what you are missing out on. Start with the most important part of every sandwich, the bread, for a gyro a pita is used, and when slightly grilled it turns into the most perfect warm little glove for all the wonderful fillings, good Segway right? Lets go to the next most important element, the meat. If you are having an authentic greek gyro, the meat is part lamb and part beef. The taste of perfectly sliced warm lamb off that rotating meat carousel is the perfect balance with the before mentioned pita bread. The richness of the meat is countered with the creamy salty bite of feta cheese, and topped with a yogurt/cucumber/dill sauce that cools you off without taking away from the meat. Throw in your other necessary elements, such as lettuce, tomatoes, and sliced white onion and you have one of the best sandwiches ever made..



Oh, you want one?
Try this place!
http://www.spiros-restaurant.com/
Or this one!
http://www.olympiakebobandtaverna.com/

54

54th Street, another one of those corporate bar and grill types with some "local" memorabilia nailed down to every square inch of the walls not taken over by some obnoxious television. A little less than charming as far as atmosphere, but my real beef with this place is the menu. A novel of typical American bar cuisine that is sure to frustrate and confuse anyone who embarks upon the daunting task of deciding on dinner options. The restaurants most popular item is "gringo dip", a politically incorrect stomach ache that is an obnoxiously creamy white nacho cheese dip. Outside of all that, the food itself is not all that terrible, and some of the options may actually surprise you. For example, I got a gyro last time I went, and somehow it was actually fairly satisfying considering the specialty of the menu seems to be more along the lines of a tex mex. Either way,  If you have the patience to read a food novel, and you have a love for all things cheese dip, 54th may be the best corporate chain you've never tried.



http://www.54thstreetgrill.com/cmss_files/attachmentlibrary/pdf_menuAugust-2013.pdf

Pineapple Pizza

I just found out that there is a major culinary backlash to the idea of this delicious mixture. I am shocked by this because I assumed with all of the emphasis on things like fusion cuisine and mixing sweet and savory, that there would be an open minded acceptance to this idea. Now, to be fair, I can see where maybe an original Italian style pizzeria could become offended, but they just have to accept that its just another Americanized dish that is here to stay, and will likely continue to evolve.

panera

How do I justify spending nine dollars on half a sandwich and a small cup of soup? I cant, but for some reason I have had it three times in the past week. For the same price, I could get an oversized chicken sandwich with an equally oversized fry and drink, but every time I find myself opting for the quality over quantity. It is not even that much healthier than going through any drive through and getting that combo meal, which was news to me (ignorance is bliss.) I am at this second daydreaming about squash soup and a turkey sandwich on wheat bread. Splurging is going to be the death of my wallet.

The AB project

So I have been learning a lot about Alton Brown while writing a paper about him, and I have come to really admire him even more than I did before. His witty ways are not just something that you see on television. Its not some persona that a snarky writer put together for him that he put on his best acting face for it. Alton Brown is one hundred percent of who you think he is, and I think that's why he is so admirable. He is confident and driven, and works harder than any television host I have ever watched. He produced everything for "Good Eats" for THIRTEEN YEARS, and that show won multiple awards. I digress with this, I can only hope that one day I am half the man that AB is, and be even half as humble with my successes. Look out for the whole project, coming to you week 10.

What the hell are halfsies?

Its a combo of half regular fries and curly fries that comes included with Jack in the Box's new munchies meals. A group of meals that are served only after 9pm. They contain a soda, the fry mixture, two tacos and all of this is  topped off with some ridiculous "entrée" that ranges from a breakfast burger to chicken nuggets that are "drowning in two kinds of cheese, with ranch and bacon." Jack in the box seems to have decided that they were going to take things one step farther than just being open late, but instead market ridiculous meals that appeal to a college kid who is either too drunk or too stoned to care about the fact that they just ate something that they would (hopefully) never eat during the day when they are more...sober?

Intrigued?! why wouldn't you be? Check it out for yourself.

http://www.jackinthebox.com/promotions/jacks-munchie-meals

catch a flight

I know what you are thinking, and I agree, that is a very cool picture. I know what else you are thinking, your blog is late again, I admittedly did not manage my time well, and that mixed with aa couple unexpected life events leads to your Tuesday evening read. Back to the picture though, the contrasts from a summer beer to a fall beer makes for a great color progression. With that in mind, lets talk about my adventures in Augusta Missouri. After some hard work in the apple fields, (that story will come too) while walking back to the car to find a sign for a local brewery. A sunday afternoon seemed like the perfect time to go try out some local beers, right? The Augusta brewery is a genius idea, a brewery right on the head of the katy trail, but the parking was easy to navigate, and they even had bike racks for those tired travelers of the trail. ( there is some of that genius I talked about.) The place has the most extensive outdoor patio with a clever service plan, decent food, live music and good scenery. This is picture is what they call a flight (in case you didn't know), and they are delicious with good company, a cool breeze and some lousy cover band. The beers pictured are from left to right pumpkin, hefeweizen, an IPA, and a blonde.

A bruised bias.

Global warming is real, but this isn't a food conspiracy blog, so lets just move on. I went apple picking for the first time since childhood, and I have to be honest, as a child the novelty of being in a muddy field stepping all over piles of half eaten somewhat rotted apples was only fun for so long, but at twenty three, and without any children to look after myself, I found it to be a thousand times more interesting and fulfilling, but at the same time, as a one day to be chef, I found the act to be upsetting. I learned in culinary school about how picky Americans truly are about our produce, and how to be more open minded about fruits and vegetables with minor blemishes, and how to not just put them back in the produce department as we search for something slightly "prettier" for our money. Though, at the grocery store, you can put the fruit or vegetable back where someone else may buy it. In these orchards, once you have picked an apple and found it is not your ideal choice, your only option to avoid paying for said apple would be to throw it on the ground for the bees to get after. Long story short here, I spent my whole day watching children throw good apples to the wasteland of the ground, and I found myself starting to show a bias for the slightly bruised apples. Oh well, I suppose it is the nature of the event, and the farm is probably more than aware that no matter how hard they try every season, they will always lose a solid percentage of a crop to the bees. Upset about seeing so many mile high apple pies on the ground, I retreated to the farms store with my 8.8 pounds of fruit, where these thoughts were quickly washed away by a  Dixie cup of ice cold apple cider.

Postseason Baseball and your restaurant experience.

They have so much to do with each other you wouldn't even believe it. Even if you are not a fan of sports I guarantee you know what playoffs are, and if you've lived in St. Louis for any number of years you know that October is usually red. Last year, working in a bar and grill during playoffs was one of the coolest experiences of my time waiting tables. The atmosphere in a crowded bar with cheap beer and limited space during playoff baseball is like no other, and if you have yet to experience it, I recommend you go give it a try because you may just love it. The camaraderie among a crowd of people based on what kind of t shirt each is wearing is intense. The crowd lives and dies on every pitch, and the electricity when something goes right for the home team can only be rivaled by being at the game itself. For the restaurant this means an obvious boost through the roof on liquor and food sales, and working at a martini bar and grill this year with five televisions and a speaker system that travels to the patio. The sky Is the limit for how much money I can rake in, because when every customer sees red this month, I will be seeing green.

Whats for dinner?

Definitely the most frequently asked question in the world, I literally just asked my lady the exact question, and I can not for the life of me understand why it is always so hard to answer. Why for some reason it is so hard to pinpoint exactly what you are in the mood for, if anything at all. Half of the time the dinner battle is carried on for so long you end up settling on something you didn't even want in the first place.  I have always made sure that meal times were an event, whether I was dining alone, for two or with a crowd a meal time is the  time to get worked up about trying something new, or making an old favorite that tastes good no matter how many times you may eat it in a year, and I think too many people do not appreciate the value of sitting down and enjoying before mentioned meal. Too many people just rush through their food without a second thought, without really tasting or enjoying anything they are putting in their mouths. Try and make it a point to really slow down your bites and chew your food, and I think it will change your life. You may actually like something more or even find something you didn't like that you find you enjoy when you see it for all the flavors that go into it. So now then, whats for dinner?

Green China.

Chinese takeout, one of the great staples of American cuisine. The perfectly fried pieces of chicken engulfed in sauce, some sweet, some spicy, some sour and some a mixture of all three. You add that to a heaping side of carbacious...I know its not a word...rice that's been fried to death in a wok with random vegetables and meat chunks, AND most places insist you tag on a couple crab Rangoon or an eggroll for that little extra tug on your belt. Let me stop there and visit the food enigma that is a crab Rangoon. A crunchy outer shell with cream cheese, crab meat and green onions. It is such a simple mixture that I am surprised more people do not try and play around with to try and make them even more extensive and creative. In school we made some of these tasty treats with smoked salmon instead of crab meat and they were some of the best things I have ever eaten. Oh, did I start rambling about appetizers? Apologies, lets get back to the main idea here, and let us just go ahead and give a proper salute to the Chinese take out business for offering such great easy options of skillfully fried happiness for a reasonable price in ten to fifteen minutes.

PaPi'S BbQ

I know that I just wrote a blog about how its fall, and pumpkin spice rejoicing, etc etc. This past Thursday when it was still summer my lady friend and I decided on a whim to make a trip to what I think is the best barbecue I have ever had. The establishment serving said barbecue is called Papi's, which is located in the city right between Saint Louis University and Harris Stowe respectively. It is barbecue done right, done perfectly every time. Now the location is relevant not only for those who may want to go out and try it for themselves, but because I live nowhere near the city. In fact I am probably almost a solid hour depending on traffic from before mentioned hustle and bustle. So to make this long of a trek for food is ludicrous. Unless we are talking about Papi's, where the ribs are so stinking good that they do not need to be smothered in sauce, and of course that is exactly what I got when we finally arrived, with a side of sweet potato fries, potato salad (double starch? YOU BET) and of course a quarter pound addition of burnt ends (don't know what those are?! That's a blog for another day). The only problem with all the food being so good is how fast you accidentally inhale it. When you get down to that last bite and stare longingly at it wondering where the rest of the food got away to you know that no matter rain or shine, hell or high water you will have to be back for more.

If I had a daughter I would name her Basil.

I actually have no plans to ever have children, but I thought that was a good Segway into talking about my love for the herb. It was not until a chef instructor of mine made a basil pesto for a wrap that I realized how much I really enjoy the flavor of basil. It is sweet, but it works as a compliment with savory flavors instead of taking over like sugar would do. I have also found that when basil can be used to make some of the best drinks I have ever had. For example, in school we made a basil/watermelon lemonade that I literally had to force myself to stop drinking. At my job, they make a martini with cucumber and strawberry vodka muddled with basil that with every drink gets more and more refreshing. I digress though, just know that if you have never given basil a chance, she will surprise you in the best way.

A room for presentation.

Just because I can, I want to write a review for the lovely restaurant that my school runs as one of its many side projects. I went here for the first time for lunch today, and to say that I was impressed is a bit of a stretch. To be fair, when I was in the restaurant myself, it took our group a few weeks to reach our peak of service, and this group was very obviously no different. The two servers who were assigned to take care of us were less than qualified. It was almost laughable to watch as they scuffled to multitask all that comes with being a passable server. I watched as they struggled with a pot of coffee, and then watched as they were consistently defeated by a POS system. The food was a whole different story, even the bread service tasted better than most I have had, and even though it was lacking something, the free little bite of a southwest salmon/crab cake thing (one server told us salmon, the other server told the table behind us crab) was a really nice touch. My sandwich was grilled chicken on a very nicely toasted herbaceous buttery hoagie roll with all the fixings on top and a really good sweet red wine sauce that brought it all together. Even the French fries were surprisingly good, and I ate every last bite. Before I could leave I was again shown the inexperience of the wait staff as they botched my bill, but all in all I have to say I will be going back, ignoring the poor service and just focusing on the food.

The power of a vice.

It bewilders me to this day the absolute power and pull of alcohol. How is it that a person is willing to pay five to ten times the price for something just because of where they choose to drink it. For instance, I went to a concert the other weekend and paid eleven dollars for a twenty four ounce domestic beer. More disturbing than that is I bought two of them, and WORSE STILL is my girlfriend bought two as well. As a matter of a fact, a large number of the people I saw had fallen into the same trap as I had, the need for that hoppy flavor, that acquired taste that we force ourselves to acquire. I hated the taste of alcohol when I first tried to drink, but I knew it was what grown folks do, and I will be damned if I don't take full advantage of this older lifestyle I always dreamed of having. When I say it like that, the forty four dollar tallboys that I would have spent maybe seven dollars on if I had just waited to drink them in my home make sense. It seems that it is an endless fight that I will be fighting for a long time to come.

Blizzards in September.

Sunday September twenty-second is known as being the fall solstice, the official first day of cool weather, shortened days, the color orange, light jackets, bonfires, apple picking and my personal favorite, PUMPKIN SEASON. Now, pumpkin season is so much more than hayrides and picking that perfect orange globe that you just cant wait to massacre, it also means the return of pumpkin spice flavorings in just about anything you can possibly imagine. This is of course not limited to your coffee, and for my money, the place I go to find my favorite pumpkin spice treat? Dairy Queen...YES THAT DAIRY QUEEN! SOMETIMES YOU DONT HAVE TO LOOK HIGH AND LOW TO FIND SOMETHING WONDERFUL. Damn foodies always overthinking. (Hipocracy is my middle name btw). Anywho, this delicious concoction is like eating a pumpkin pie with cool whip in ice cream form. Its just perfect, and I eat them to the point of exhaustion all through the leafy season. If you have never, and you have missed this curious flavor all year. GO. Go now.

Jason.

Who is Jason? I have no idea, what does the name Jason have to do with a food blog? Everything. Jason (whoever he is) decided to make a deli chain, and let me tell you friends, he did it right. There is only one Jason's Deli in the metro area, and if you are within 100 miles of it, you owe it to yourself to go and give it a try. It is part fresh salad bar, part delicious sandwiches and wraps that will blow your mind, oh? What? You don't think that a franchise can have fresh ingredients? Believe my friends, and if its too hard for you to understand, then again, go for yourself. Their salad bar is not just salads either, it has an assortment of dips and crackers, some of the best hummus and pasta salads you could get from a deli. OH! and if you save room for dessert, and trust me, you would be a fool not to. They offer free..yes..FREE SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM for dining in. Mix all of this with a clean, well organized restaurant, believe me when I say this place has their act together. Ask me about my favorite dishes from there. I dare you. Or just go try for yourself. You'll be thanking Jason...whoever he is.

DDD

Equal parts food and bleach blonde hair, with a personality the size of the state of California and editing that could make you want to eat dirt. I am of course talking about the phenomenon that is Diners, Drive Ins & Dives. It was one of my first loves in the world of food television. Now, don't get me wrong, I love cooking competition shows just as much as the next guy, and even the next guy after him, but sometimes you just want to see some great food without all the extra drama and pizzaz..is that a word? Anyways, I am watching the show as I type and he is at a Pakistani restaurant, where else can you see that?! As much as I would love to hate this pudgy doofus in flip flops, I cant, and trust me I have tried. He is a wordsmith when it comes to describing food, and he never stops smiling. HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU HATE SOMEONE WHO IS ALWAYS HAPPY? Answer? You don't.

Spinach Salad

So..this blog is about the food right?! RIGHT! So I figured I would start of by sharing with the world one of my absolute favorite meals that I eat AT LEAST once a week, and before you ask, yes, this salad is big and hearty enough to be a meal, and in today's world of ranch dressing on all the greens its a nice change of pace for any salad fan. Lets talk setup then shall we? We start with a bed of baby spinach (obviously), and we follow that with a hearty handful of rich feta cheese, red onions (small diced), mandarin oranges, BACON, craisins, walnuts and two perfectly salty and crunchy flatbread croutons. Add in the option of topping this sweet and savory pallet attack with either braised chicken thigh meat, grilled shrimp or seared salmon, and you have a meal anyone who loves a little contrast can enjoy. OH! What's a salad without dressing? A mess of random toppings on some foliage is what. Thankfully this salad is served with a sweet tomato dressing that is so simple to make that it would completely shock you if you knew what went into it. All you need to know though is that it is the perfect sweet and tangy topping that ties everything together and will leave you wondering how you ever made it through a hot summer evening without this refreshing twist on your typical spinach salad.

WTF is "Monster Eats" ?

Why hello there, I am glad you asked! I have been appointed with the exciting task of opening up my thoughts on all things food, food service, food prep, food television, kitchen gadgets, restaurants, etc. and sharing them with the general public. I myself am a current culinary student, food television junkie, and kitchen gadget nerd. I have worked everything from fast food to full service, pizza to corporate chains, so I can guarantee that I will have plenty of dishes and experiences to share over the next ten weeks.