I never heard of Coke and Peanuts until I read this article about FSU’s head coach doing it. Sounds stupid. I tried it. It was stupid. Go Gators!
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Coke and Peanuts
Category: Uncategorized
I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in Napavine, Washington.
Greetings from Napavine, Washington
N 46° 36.418’ W 122° 54.302’ Elev. 206 feet
I used to stop here at the Ribeye regularly way back when, usually ordering soup and salad. They had really great homemade soups and a decent salad bar. But the big attraction was that they had either prune or date bread — I can’t remember which — on the salad bar. It was unusual to find and unusually good.
Sadly, the owner retired and sold it to some muff-it(s) who promptly ran the place into the ground. It was amazing how a heretofore thriving restaurant could be turned it into a ghost town so quickly. It was shuttered toot sweet and remained that way for a few years.
The restaurant has been reopened by another outfit for four years or so. (The same company has three other restaurants.) But the salad bar is gone, along with the prune or date bread. Did I mention the bread was incredibly good? I still miss it.
The new incarnation of the Ribeye offers some interesting appetizers, like Deep Fried Dill Pickles, Deep Fried Green Beans and House-smoked & Fried Jack Cheese ($7.99 ea.). I didn’t try any of them because, well, I can’t eat that much.
They also offer daily specials. My waitress, Hannah, told me about the Monday Night Special: Country Fried Pork Chops. She said the chops — two 6 oz. pork chops soaked overnight in a brown sugar, maple brine — were breaded and fried and smothered in country gravy. If the way she all-but drooled as she described them is any indication, they are very good. Hell, I thought they sounded great and I hate maple-flavored crap.
As per my usual habit, I ordered the day’s special: Spaghetti and Meatballs with soup or salad ($10.99). I ordered it for a couple of reasons: I wanted pasta and one of the other restaurants under the company’s umbrella is a pizza joint. I hoped that might be a good omen sauce-wise. It turned out to be a good call.
I started with Cheesy Cream of Asparagus w/Ham soup. Asparagus is the King of Vegetables In my book. I’m of the mind that when Marie Antoinette said “Let them eat brioche†(that’s what she actually said; no mention of cake.) she could’ve been truly pitiless and suggested the starving peasants eat asparagus, so noble and delicious are those heavenly shoots.
I prefer my spears steamed, almost wilted, with butter and salt. Although I’ll eat asparagus whenever it’s offered, the cheese in the soup kind of threw me. Why would anyone do that to asparagus? It’s not like it’s a semi-industrial vegetable like broccoli, for chris’sake. Nevertheless, I asked to sample it and … great googly-moogly, it was awesome.
The delicate flavor of the asparagus wasn’t over-powered by the cheddar cheese and the soup had a nice thick and creamy texture. There were plenty of 3/4†pieces of asparagus. It was very filling. I never detected any ham, however. I think it may’ve been minced and then minced again before it found its way into the pot; I saw some unidentifiable red flakes.
The spaghetti was perfect, al dente and still a little wet. The marinara tasted both incredibly fresh and delightfully refreshing. It wasn’t highly seasoned and let the tomato stand on its own merit. Delicious. The (beef and pork?) meatballs were likewise superb. The reasonably hefty orbs were moist, with an almost creamy texture inside. Good gawd, y’all. And the Ribeye served reall Parmesan cheese, too! While the toast was marginal — I want my garlic toast garlicky, damn it! —the meal was quite satisfying overall.
I stopped back again about a week later and ordered Meatloaf ($14.55 w/tax) to go. I really wanted to try the pork chops but, being afraid they might taste of maple and being a bit under the weather, I passed. I figure I’ll try them when I dine in and I can send them back if need be.
The meatloaf was sort of meh. The baked potato was served with a butter mixture that contained both chives and sour cream. It was also served with a roll and a vegetable medley of broccoli, cauliflower and those so-called baby carrots. The veggies were perfectly cooked and delicious.
What was really incredible, however, was one of the soups they had that day: Turkey Curry Rice. This stuff was incredible, with nice little chunks of home-baked turkey in a mild creamy curry base. In retrospect, I should’ve just gotten a bowl of that and called it good. Although I quickly ate all the veggies, I barely touched the rest of the meal. Being sick sucks.
In addition to the disappearance of the prune (or was it date?) bread was the absence of a truly wonderful photo. Way back when there was a giant color photo hung just inside the foyer. It was an extraordinarily spectacular photo of the Ribeye sign with Mount St. Helens erupting in the background. I always liked the photo because it took me back.
I was one of the lucky schmucks with the dubious distinction of experiencing the mountain’s largesse firsthand. I lived in the “footprint†of the ash fall from the initial blast. Three days of pea-soup fog the consistency of talcum powder. Magnified it revealed its true architecture: shards of glass. You quickly discovered that you can’t seal your house. It’s impossible. So the ash came in, uninvited.
A helpful Science professor on TV, a volcanologist, noted that ash clouds travel much like nuclear radiation. Thanks for sharing, Doc. Did you know that when Chernobyl blew the highest radiation levels recorded in the US were in Spokane, Washington? It had circled the globe before it came to rest in there.
While I don’t miss the Mount St. Helens Experience too much, I do miss the photo. Almost as much as the bread.
And so we roll.
Ramblin Jack’s Ribeye, 1336 Rush Rd., I-5 Exit 72, Napavine, Washington
Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.
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Hi Noodle
Now that I just moved from the Graham stop in East Williamsburg, I can tell you my little lunch secret. Go to Hi Noodle and sit at the window. It’s the best view in the area to people watch. And on a nice day, they have the windows open.
What I like to do when I’m sitting with a friend is to put the timer for two minutes and we each have to pick one person walking by that we want to have sex with. If you don’t pick a person within that time limit, you have to have sex with the next person that walks by …which has led to some hilarious outcomes.
It’s a hard game because you don’t want to waste your pick on a doable person, when you never know who’s right around the corner. But then you don’t want to not have a pick at all, because you might have to do a crackhead that walks by.
The game rules are always evolving. Like a newer rule would be if you see Carmine’s pizza delivery van pass, you get a bonus pick. Or if your pick (outside of the last fifteen seconds) never leaves the view, then your pick is void.
I always get the same thing. The Green Curry Noodle Big Bowl lunch special ($8) with chicken, the salad appetizer and a Singha beer ($3). The first time I got this when they first changed restaurant names from Pagoda Thai late last year, this dish was horrible. The noodle was wrong (I think it was spaghetti) and the eggplant wasn’t cooked enough and hard. But now the Green Curry Noodle Big Bowl is really good. The coconut curry broth is tasty. The noodle is the right type of noodle for this type of food. The vegetables are cooked correctly. And the view is awesome.
Alright Hi Noodle. Bye Noodle.
Time to check out the restaurants in my new hood –Jefftown.
Hi Noodle – 333 Graham Ave (b/t Devoe St & Metropolitan Ave) New York, NY 11211
I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in Alamo, Nevada.
Greetings from Alamo, Nevada
N 37° 21.854’ W 115° 9.6315’ Elev. 3,464 feet
Sailing the asphalt seas can be very sad sometimes. I’ve had one of those sad days. I feel like the lone schmo in Alamo. And the Sinclair is closed.
It all started when I “encouraged†a short bus off the road, over an embankment, and overturn into a river. I pride myself on my erratic lane changes. I even have a giant sticker on the back of the trailer that reads CAUTION: THIS VEHICLE MAKES WEIRD TURNS. I feel it’s not only my duty as a professional land yachter but a divine directive to make traveling as exciting as possible for any motorists with the good fortune to find themselves in my immediate proximity.
According to various first responders the short bus was crewed by a couple of nuns shepherding a group of pre-schoolers on an outing to a children’s museum. I’ve been to a children’s museum before and, in my humble opinion, surviving an escape from a capsized bus in eight feet of ice-cold water followed by the terror of a panicked clamber out of a river makes for a much more memorable experience. It also made for a “teachable moment†for me: I learned that nun’s habits make excellent flotation devices. Who knew?
But here’s the sad part: I failed to plan this trip adequately and am now stuck in Alamo at three o’clock in the morning eating whatever food I have on hand. As a result I’ll be having JIF Peanut Butter and Smucker’s Blackberry Jam on Franz Big Horn Valley Natural 100% Whole Wheat Bread sandwiches for dinner. To balance the meal, I’ll also be having some crappy Walmart-issue Macaroni Salad. I’ll wash it all down with a delicious Kern’s Banana-Pineapple Nectar. To make the meal both more palatable and exotic I’m going to call the nectar Platano Pina. What the hell. It is Hecho en Mexico and I imported it personally … from Barstow, California.
I must say I’ve had better meals recently; Feesh and More Feesh come to mind.
Which reminds me … I was negligent in focusing on the feeshes in the aforementioned posts. I left out an important, breathtakingly exquisite thing about California’s Central Coast, something that can’t be properly appreciated until it’s in your mouth: Fresh, ripe produce.
My friends and I motored around San Luis Obispo a bit one day, taking Prefumo Canyon Road over the hill from San Luis Obispo to See Canyon. It’s a wonderful drive, with spectacular views from the summit all the way to the coast some 10-12 miles away. Yet another of the many hidden wonders that is California.
In See Canyon, we first stopped at Gopher Glen Apple Farm, a hidden little gem located in the heart of this little apple-growing valley. This place is so cool. It’s a very small, family run farm outlet that grows and sells its own fruits. And the pickin’s and squeezin’s are incredible.
They do a very cool thing here. They display apples on a grid with their corresponding names so you can sample them and evaluate each varieties’ merits. Of the eight tree-ripened apples they offered that day, I thought the Hawaii was the best. I’d never heard of it. So sweet and … apple-y. It’s amazing how far superior the taste of a fresh, tree-ripened apple is, as opposed to a store-bought apple that was picked pre-peak, and then artificially ripened after spending a year in cold storage.
It’s sad that we forget things like the vibrant that’s-what-it’s-supposed-to-taste-like flavors of fresh, ripe fruit. We also had some fresh-squeezed cider that was likewise scrumptious.
I bought four different kinds of their homegrown plums. Sadly, I only ate two. But the two I ate were unbelievable. They tasted just like … plums! And they had distinctly different flavors. When was the last time you bought a plum in a grocery store that had flavor?
Forgive me while I take a moment to wax nostalgic and salivate anew.
Next we visited Avila Valley Barn. Years ago AVB was a Ma-and-Pa produce stand. It’s now become a bona fide tourist trap. They do some cool things, like roasted on-the-ear corn. And their produce is great and mostly locally sourced, albeit a little overpriced.
I spotted some wicked good Globe artichokes at Avila Valley Barn, imports, no doubt, from the Artichoke Capital of the World: Castroville, California. (The choke on a Globe is round; i.e. not pointy. Its petals/leaves are meaty, tender and flavorful. Those pointy artichokes are good only for the hearts, if you ask me.) Though I thought they were a bit pricey ($2/ea.) by local standards, they looked so good that I had to buy some. Unfortunately, when they were cooked I wasn’t feeling too hot and missed out. I heard they were great. Oh well.
If you are ever so blessed to visit California get in touch with a local so you can do it right. I’ll help. Jason has my number. Call him and he’ll call me and I’ll call meu amigo brasileiro in Rotterdam who will call you and give you my number. We’ll get you organized, for sure.
And so we roll.
Alamo Sinclair, 51 Broadway St., Alamo, Nevada
Gopher Glen Apple Farm, 2899 See Canyon Rd., San Luis Obispo, California
Avila Valley Barn, 560 Avila Beach Dr., San Luis Obispo, California
Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.
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Tio Wally Eats America: More Feesh!
I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in Morro Bay, California.
Greetings from Cambria, California
N 35° 33.8681′ W 121° 4.9141’ Elev. 75’
Here’s another installment from my recent Central California Coast adventure.
Some friends and I made a trip up the coast to see the San Simeon “home†of still-deceased spoiled-brat megalomaniac and all-around dangerous weirdo William Randolph Hearst.
Hearst Castle is a massive, rambling hacienda-on-steroids that sits atop a 1,600 foot high hill overlooking the teeny-tiny oceanside village of San Simeon. While the views are spectacular, the estate itself is so massive and so over-the-top that I suspected it was probably a pitch-perfect reflection of Hearst’s personality. In other words, the place was kind of creepy.
Afterward we made our way to Linn’s Restaurant in Cambria, a local institution that’s been here for 25 years. Linn’s is famous for its pies as well as its fruit preserves, especially its signature Olallieberry, a hybrid cross between a blackberry and a raspberry.
They first brought out slices of baked-on-premise whole wheat bread and a wonderfully garlicky focaccia, along with butter and a ramekin of Olallieberry preserves. The Olallieberry preserves are so great that I really should’ve bought a jar. Unfortunately, I’m just not that forward thinking, especially after dinner when I’m stuffed.
One of my friends ordered Polenta with Roasted Vegetables ($18). The polenta was topped with what looked to be mostly roasted zucchini and yellow squash, with a little red cabbage and mushrooms, dressed with “Linn’s Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette, Swiss cheese, Parmesan shavings and a balsamic glaze.†She said it was very good but bemoaned the fact that she’s been eating squash from her garden for the last couple of months and was getting kind of tired of them.
My other friend — designer of the TWEA graphic header — ordered a Hearst Ranch Burger ($15), “Half-pound patty, Brian’s artisan bun, smoked Gouda, lettuce, tomato, onion, garlic aioli, french fries†[on the side]. Judging by the way he kept saying “Oh, man!†after every swallow, I’m guessing that he enjoyed it immensely. I was sort of disappointed, however, that he didn’t opt for the Apple-Olallieberry Slaw instead of the fries. It sounded sort of interesting and I’d have liked to’ve tried it.
Hearst Ranch Beef is quite a big deal locally. (The 80,000 acres surrounding the Castle is still a working ranch; they have another 71,000-acre spread on the other side of the Santa Lucia Range near Cholame, California, site of James Dean’s fatal car crash. The ranches, by the way, are operated by Hearst’s great-grandson, Steve, who is renowned for NOT being a spoiled brat nor a quintessential weirdo. Indeed, he’s regarded by everyone I know who’s ever met him as being a “normal guy.â€) Billed as free-range, all-natural, grass-fed and grass-finished beef, I can personally attest to the superb quality of Hearst Ranch Beef. Its reputation and cachet are well-deserved to the uttermost. I can also attest to it being somewhat pricey.
I ordered one of the day’s specials: “Locally caught Albacore tuna, blackened (medium rare), served with pineapple salsa, Jasmine rice, black beans and Linn’s grilled Shishoto peppers.†I think it was $28.
I don’t remember if the giant hunk of Albacore was 6 or 8 ounces, but it was a very big, very thick steak. It had a nice outer crust while the inside was largely uncooked; I would have preferred it to’ve been a little more done. Still, it made for a nice combination of textures, alternately crispy and buttery. The melt-in-your-mouth tuna was complimented nicely by the tanginess of the pineapple salsa.
Equally tasty were the grilled Shishoto peppers. I’d never heard of these Japanese peppers before. They were very fresh, probably grown on the Linn’s Original Farmstore farm located five miles east of town. Although slightly salty, these mild peppers were very tasty, somewhat like a cross between a green bean and a pepper, and went nicely with the rest of the accompaniments.
Behind the restaurant, Linn’s has three outbuildings: the Easy As Pie Cafe, Linn’s Gourmet Goods, and Linn’s Homestyle Gifts & Sale Loft. Because of the theme-park looks of the buildings I kept thinking that if they had a narrow-gauge train chugging along the perimeter they could be well on the way to establishing something akin to a Knott’s Berry Farm North. Thankfully, they don’t.
While both the food and service at Linn’s was exemplary I think I would go somewhere along the coast next time. It’s going to be about the same price and, more than likely, of similar quality. Moreover you could enjoy a view of the Pacific and have a much better possibility of seeing large marine mammals, like otters or seals or whales. There were no otters or seals or whales on Main Street in Cambria.
And so we roll.
Hearst Castle, 750 Hearst Castle Rd., San Simeon, California
Linn’s Restaurant, 2277 Main St., Cambria, California
Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.
I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in Johnstown, Colorado.
Greetings from Johnstown, Colorado
N 40° 21.7583’ W 104° 59.0529’ Elev. 4986’
I first wrote about the legendary Johnson’s Corner just over two years ago. It’s one of those places that I usually stop at whenever I’m passing nearby because it’s just so damn good. So good, in fact, that Johnson’s Corner is programmed into the SS Me So Hungry’s GPS so we’ll know exactly how near or far it is.
My original intention was to dash in and get a roast beef dinner and a piece of German chocolate cake to go. I was hoping to beat out the worst of the first snow of the season and, with any luck, get at least part of the way across Wyoming before it became unbearable or they closed the Interstate or … who the hell knows? It’s Wyoming in Winter and anything can happen — quickly.
Having done Wyoming in Winter countless times before I knew what I was potentially in for. And it ain’t pretty. Indeed, it can be absolutely brutal:
I’ve been there when the snow “fell†horizontally; when the wind blew so hard you could look in the mirror and read the side of the trailer; when the windshield iced up so badly you couldn’t see a damn thing and it was all you could do to find a safe place to stop and knock the ice off the wipers; when road conditions were so horrible and you were so “puckered†you had to use a pry bar to uncouple a certain part of your anatomy from your seat; when it was so bitterly cold that you had to park ass-into-the-wind in hopes of generating enough heat in the cab to be “comfortableâ€; when, if you’re finally lucky enough to find a place to park, you got to spend a half-hour the next morning, wet and freezing to death, crawling around underneath the rig hammering on frozen wheel drums trying to free-up the brakes. Did I mention that it ain’t pretty? Winter Wonderland, my ass!
(Helpful tip: When driving in snow turn on the defroster before you need it. More importantly, put the sun visors down to trap the heat and help warm the windshield.)
So… I went into Johnson’s Corner and the offerings on the Specials Board were Pork Rib Tips, Seasoned Red Potatoes, Vegetable and Roll for $7.29, and Hot Meatloaf, Open Faced w/Smashed Taters for $6.99. Both of them sounded pretty good. I’d had the meatloaf before and it was great. So I asked my server, Emily, what was more fun. She said the Meatloaf. Okay, I said.
As I was waiting I kept staring at the Specials Board, thinking the Pork Rib Tips sounded pretty good, too. So I ordered that as well. After all, you can’t possibly have too much food when you’re crossing Wyoming in Winter. Did I mention that it ain’t pretty?
The Pork Rib Tips were a really great treat. I couldn’t believe how heavy the box was when I picked it up. There must’ve been three pounds of meat in there, which took up two-thirds of the box. I had two meals of it and still had some meat left over.
The Rib Tips were strips of virtually boneless rib meat, although it did contain those weird little white cartilage things. It was served covered with a great, somewhat spicy barbecue sauce. They were extremely tender, though not quite fall-off-the-bone tender. Still, there was so much I got kind of burned out on it.
The Seasoned Red Potatoes were also a treat. I think they were spiced with a bit of cayenne pepper as some of the bites were downright hot. Thankfully the cayenne wasn’t overpowering. The corn was standard-issue canned corn, which I kind of like occasionally.
I’m pretty sure they make their own rolls at Johnson’s Corner. They have a full-blown bakery there that churns out all kinds of great stuff. This particular roll was lighter than air. It was also invisible — Emily didn’t give me the roll! For shame. I would’ve gone back in to fetch one but the weather was coming and time was of the essence. However I will remember to whine loudly and complain hardily during my next visit.
The Open-faced Meatloaf was likewise great. The meat and the smashed taters (they’re term) were both served on pieces of white bread, smothered with a great brown gravy. Johnson’s Corner has great mashed potatoes and gravy. That they serve them on a piece of white bread always kind of cracks me up. Starch on starch smothered in gravy thickened with starch. You’ve got to love it. This may also be an indication that there is probably not a nutritionist on staff at Johnson’s Corner.
The German Chocolate Cake is quite a deal. At $3.29 for a giant slice you can’t go wrong. The slice is one-sixth of the homemade two-layer cake. It’s got German Chocolate frosting on the top and between the layers, chocolate icing on the outside. The slice is humongous enough, and rich and sweet enough, that it takes me well-over a half-dozen tries before I can finish it.
It was truly fortuitous that I stopped at Johnson’s Corner when I did. I ended up making it only a short way across Wyoming (to Laramie) before I surrendered and parked the yacht. But it all worked out. After all, I had a giant stash of great foods to enjoy as the snow fell.
And so we roll.
Johnson’s Corner, 2842 SE Frontage Road, Johnstown, Colorado
Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.
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Brooklyn Seoul Restaurant
Grand Opening of this new Korean spot, where what I thought were all those mob fronts used to be. I didn’t realize they were opened. They don’t have a sign yet. It’s coming Thursday.
I went with Todd and Elissa. We split Tacos, Bao Buns, Chicken Wings and Dumpling Ramen. Much of it was on the small size, but they were pretty tasty. I liked it even more with the Jalapeno Soy Vinegar sauce. The sauce on the Chicken Wings ruled –sticky and pungent. It’s the owner’s mother-in-law’s recipe.
I guess they just opened and probably still working on the restaurant, but I wonder if the place doesn’t look Asian enough. I feel like its like at my work, where we are not allowed to have our Asian cartoon characters have Asian accents. Maybe it’ll be offensive?
I wonder if Charlie the mob dog will visit.
Brooklyn Seoul – 749 Metropolitan Ave (btwn Graham Ave and Humboldt) Brooklyn, NY 11211
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Serbian Food Festival this Weekend
I saw this across the street from my go-to lunch spot…
I looked it up at their website and used Google Translate:
| SERBIAN FOOD FESTIVAL |
 SATURDAY – SUNDAY, May 26-27, 2012
On Saturday starting at 10 am and last until 4 pm and on Sunday after St. Liturgy.
At this festival you can find:
– SERBIAN TRADITIONAL FOOD AND DRINK
– SMALL ANTIQUES SALE
– FOLK MUSIC AND GAMES from our region
and more …
|
I imagine everyone’s welcome, although it’s at a Serbian Orthodox Church and the website isn’t in English. I might be out of place, but I guess that isn’t unusual.
Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava – 20 West 26th St (btwn Broadway & 6th Ave) New York, NY 10010