Eating on an Expense Account

It’s been a good week of eating. It started off Sunday evening with some steak and walleye for a birthday celebration. I washed it down with an icy cold large mug of Coors Light. The negative was that we ate outside, in an area with some thick trees and weeds near a river. It was prime time mosquito haven, and we spent more time fighting mosquitoes than enjoying the food. They even brought out bug spray, but it didn’t do much. I thought about adding the bug spray to my salad or bread – kind of like spray on butter or dressing, but didn’t think it would be a good addition.

Monday, left for a work trip. Since it was expensed, I decided to indulge a little more. It started with some French toast, bacon and diet coke for breakfast at the hotel airport. After travels and about an eight hour delay I headed to the steak house behind my hotel. This steak house was well known according to the reviews, I was less than impressed. I had a 14 ounce sirloin, which was about six ounces of grizzle and fat, and some crawfish loaded mashed potatoes, which were quite tasty. The steak was a C at best, if I was paying it would have been disappointing. The highlight of the dinner, however, was eavesdropping on the suave businessman who had left his wife and was clearly with an escort. The woman was much younger and just didn’t seem like a woman who would be with this guy, unless paid for or getting paid to be with on a consistent basis. I overheard suave businessman tell said escort he needed to be on his “A” game the next day at work, and her response was “what does that mean?” Business guy then had to explain to bimbo gal the definition of what it means to be “on you’re A game.” Smart one there.

He then proceeded to ask her “what is it you see in me when you could have any guy you want?” That was after he said “yeah, I left my wife a year ago but it’s hard, it takes time.”

Anyway, the steak was average, but the in-restaurant conversation was solid. Would I go back? Only if I wasn’t paying….

On The Road: Dinner Two

Last night I had dinner with some work colleagues. We had a solid feast. I had four Fat Tire Pale Ale beers, some seared ahi tuna, and we had an appetizer of deli-style duck, ham, salami, speck and some other deli meat, which was quite tasty. We ate it with a spicy mustard sauce and bread, or without bread if wanted. We also ordered the family style asparagus and au gratin potatoes – all good stuff. It was one of those stuffy places I wouldn’t have ate if I wasn’t paying, but it was mighty good. The tuna portions were small, but with the other apps, beers and side dishes, I was a satisfied customer. Then again, I probably would go there again even if I was paying, it was that good. Sometimes it better to not eat at a few crappy places and save that for one trip to a nicer place.

Travel skips

Why is it that people think they are cooler than they are because they are at an airport or traveling? Last night I went to get the late menu from the hotel bar – I was craving some buffalo wings and it wasn’t on the room service list – and I walked into the bar area, and there was some skip, all loud and drunk, talking to some gals saying “Aruba is great, but the whole Caribbean is just a great experience, I go their all the time.” I was at the hotel bar for about two minutes – they didn’t have wings so I left – but I just got the feel there were a bunch of annoying business heads of all ages who just wanted to stand around and pretend they were important because they were on business and had an expense account. They probably wanted to party with people from the trade show to show them how cool they are or how much they can drink. Nothing wrong with having a few cold one’s or stiff drinks, but don’t try to be somebody you are not. You’re really not that important.

You might think - what does this have to do with food? Well, if I never went to get those buffalo wings, I never would have got to witness guys trying to be Bobby Big Shot.

Anyway, still at the airport, and still watching people get in line at the KFC. Oh, their poor stomachs.

Great service – but spare the explanation

I had some great service at the restaurant I just ate at. I told the server she did a great job and joked she needed an assistant. She then got into this big long rant and description of how the person who was supposed to come in didn’t come in, and that she didn’t know she wouldn’t have help but got through it even though she works better when she knows she doesn’t have help and is busy. I really wasn’t that interested in her story. I just wanted my bill and to pay so I could go sit and write about eating, not talk to the person who gave me the food I was eating. Anyway, she probably made some good tips on the day, but she didn’t need to talk about it.

Her one downfall? She called everyone honey. Why do female servers think they can get away with calling men honey? There is only one person who can call me honey (food gal). Is it me or does the server calling men honey usually look like she has a rough edge to her? Like she smokes too many cigarettes, used to drink a little too much (she still smokes at least a pack a day though), and has had bad luck with men? I don’t get it, don’t call me honey. Then again, I guess it’s better than “sir” which makes anyone feel older than they are, even if they are old.

The power of pizza rolls

Just got home and want a snack, ate an early dinner and craving something. Am I really hungry and do I really need to eat? Probably not, but I like to read and eat, or is it eat and read? Whatever, they are a glorious combination and I am about to do both.

Speaking of glorious combinations, I had one of my summer favorites yesterday, a batch of radishes with some salt on them and a diet coke. The combo is great together and gives you some seriously powerful burps. But you always get the one woody, extra spicy radish that just doesn’t taste right. I like them cold, and sitting in water after a while after they are clean.

Anyway, I first had some of my homemade salsa with tortilla chips while settling in to read my new Sports Illustrated. This salsa was pretty good this time. I used five medium tomatoes, half a cup of jalapenos, green onion, white onion, half a red pepper, half an orange pepper, half a green pepper, a dash of Louisiana hot sauce, and mixed it with some salsa seasoning mix. I also added some jalapeno juice which I got on my hand and later rubbed in my eye which felt oh so good burning away.

So, I still wanted to eat more and even though the food gal came home with $165 in groceries the other night, I was not quite sure what I wanted. There was a frozen pizza in the fridge, but I had pizza the night before and just wasn’t up for another (well, I was up for it but I thought I’d hold off). Looked at making a shrimp and rice dish I had the night before, but passed. Looked at some deli turkey or salami, and passed. Basically, I wanted as minimal time and effort as possible to make something.

I finally found it in the freezer, and I knew it was there but forgot – Pizza rolls!! I think food gal snuck them in behind the vanilla frozen yogurt and underneath the beef loins so she could sneak the snack for herself. But I was on to her tricks, and found the pizza rolls she had schemes with. Now that they are cooking, I don’t even know what kind they are, but no worries, it’s a pizza roll so I am not picky.

I always count out my pizza rolls when putting them on the cookie sheet. I had 18 to start, but put two away to go with 16. I got out the aluminum foil and sprayed it with Pam cooking spray before putting them on. Food gal always puts the pizza rolls right on the cookie sheet, no spray, no foil. Why? It makes no sense, because then you have to clean the cookie sheet. If you just put it on a piece of foil you just toss the foil away. Plus, with no spray, they stick to the pan. I like my pizza rolls just so the sauce and meat is oozing out a bit, not a whole lot, but just a bit. But you have to let them sit for a few minutes otherwise you will seriously burn your tongue. It’s not quite letting it sit as long as when you get soup from a restaurant like Panera, but pretty close.

Anyway, pizza rolls are a great snack, and I am glad I found them even though food gal was trying to hide them. Now it’s time to eat them.

Eat!

Can you eat breakfast twice in one day?

I got up early with Little Food Gal this morning, about 5 a.m. I had some Trail Mix crunch with almonds and raisins. Why do the boxes/advertisements for any post grape nuts/trail mix cereals act like the only people who eat these go hiking all the time? Is that their target audience? I mean, what if a guy is 317 pounds, loves to snowmobile and works part-time as a clown? Why can't he be the kind of guy who eats Trail Mix crunch? Why can't this guy be on the box or in the commercials?

Anyway, I ate the cereal, and after LFG ate and seemed to get tired, I went and laid down and went back to sleep until about 9 a.m. I got up thinking, what do I do know? Do I eat breakfast again, or do I eat lunch? Is it breakfast, or is it lunch? To make a long story short, I didn't actually eat until about 10:43, when I had an egg salad sandwich, some tortilla chips and a diet coke.

But, back to the topic of discussion. In most peoples view, 9 a.m. is still breakfast time. However, The Food Guy doesn't follow most peoples eating patterns/habits. Really, eating lunch at 9 a.m. is no different than eating lunch at noon if you have been up since 5. How so? Well, there is a four hour difference, similar to many people who eat breakfast at 8 and lunch at Noon. Therefore, if you get up at 5 and eat, then eat four hours later, it's just like the person on the 8/Noon schedule. So, what does a person do - do they eat breakfast or do they eat lunch?

And if you eat lunch at 9 a.m., then do you have dinner at about 1 or 2, or is it lunch again?

Tough dilemma to figure out. You decide.

A-Rod and a Pound of Cod!

What’s up with no diet Mello Yello? I mean, they have diet Mountain dew, but why no diet mello yello?

I ate a pound of cod last night. I brushed each side with olive oil, then added a rosemary garlic seasoning, and baked it. The pound was the pre-cooked weight, by the time it was cooked and I ate it (with a baked potato), it had shrunk down into about five pieces, about two bites a piece.

If that was really a pound, it got me thinking, how many pounds of cod have you ate in one sitting? If you think about those VFW fish fry’s or any fish fry that you just demolish the fish, I bet on a good night many of us have pounded down 4-5 pounds of cod. Add in the breading and tartar sauce, and you got some serious caloric intake there. They should just bring the fish in and throw them out to everyone to eat like you are in a Seattle fish market, then you could just eat it and take chunks right out of it.

On an unrelated note, I tried trading A-rod in my fantasy baseball league yesterday, no takers yet.

On another side note: If you could insert music into a blog, I would insert a Motley Crue cowbell session right now. Speaking of Motley Crue, The last 1:41 of the song Get a Piece of Your Action – from the Crue’s first tape (yes tape, the one with the pic of the dude and his waist/belt on the cover) is one of the most underrated Crue songs of all time. Check it out.

Back to the topic, food gal asked me this morning at 4 a.m.: Have you ever ate a butter and peanut butter sandwich. It got me thinking, again, that butter is often forgotten item when it comes to making a sandwich. We all know that sometimes there is nothing better than a buttered meat sandwich. But the restaurants, they never give you the option of butter on your sandwich. How come Subway doesn’t have that condiment item, right next to the mayo, southwest chipotle, ranch, and other sauces. They should have a container of butter ready to squirt right on the sandwich at each customers request. My favorite buttered meat sandwich is bologna, and then I like to dip into chicken noodle soup. I loved that lunch in school and have it on occasion now.

Speaking of school lunches, I always ate two hot lunches a day, and one day a year I would have three – that’s when we had turkey/gravy over biscuits. I would then fall asleep in some boring history class after.

Anyway, it got me thinking, again, that one of the favorite things I do when eating was developed at school lunch. I would never drink my milk until I was done with a lunch. I wouldn’t take a few bites, drink a couple of drinks, take a few bites, and so on. I would wait until the lunch was completely done, and then I would chug the milk. Then, I’d go get my second lunch, and then I would eat it all, then chug the milk. If I got thirsty while eating, I went and got some water until I could chug the milk.

Is there anything better than chugging a nice cold glass of milk? I drink skim, but sometimes, it’s even good to throw in some 2 percent or whole milk, now we’re talking. That is pure milk pleasure.

I had a dilemma the other day. I wanted a big glass of milk, but only had s small cup left. Do you drink it all, or do you save some for later, say, if you need it for cooking, or to just have as a security blanket? I drank the cup and put the rest, about ½ a cup, back in the fridge. Maybe this stems from my childhood when Father of Food Guy would freak out if there was no milk in the house. I could drink the last glass of milk at 9:30 right before bed, and if I did, I’d have to go to the store to get another gallon of milk. If the power ever went out, if the roof caved in, if the washer overflowed, it could be dealt with, but if there was no milk, holy cripes, look out!

Speaking of no milk, since I drank that milk, I still don’t have any more in the house. I could crave some right now. I just ate a tuna sandwich and am a bit parched. I have horrible breath too. The other day though, I may have had the worst breath. It was a combination of pepperoni pizza and milk breath. MMMM..sounds appealing doesn’t it? What other combos of food/drink give you bad breath?

One thing I like to eat and drink is Coca-Cola and radishes, it gives you some of the best, most powerful and explosive burps humanly possible. Try it out sometime.

Gotta go, time to grab a snack and try to trade A-rod (he’s on the DL - douchey list - now because he’s hurt so it could be tough).

EAT!