Relapse

Just when I thought I was over the “I want be a chef” phase, I see this.

Anyone who knows me and I mean really knows me, knows I LOVE hole in the wall Mexican restaurants (the more hole in the wall-y the better), LOVE beef jerky, and LOVE dingy dive bars (the dingier the better).

Get out of work at 10, throw on the plainest white t-shirt ever, eat tacos, drink some beers, have two random ladies tell me where the best beignets in the city are, take some shots, eat some tamales, have some more drinks, eat some homemade beef jerky, grab some mini-cheeseburgers, end the night in some random place in Chinatown eating snails and making Back to the Future references, all on a TUESDAY NIGHT!

This is a chef’s life?

This is the life I want.  Like exactly to the ‘T’, the life I want.

I guess I’m going to spend the next four hours researching culinary schools again.

The Shake Shack

The Mecca of New York Burger-dom.

The Line.

The Burger.

Worth the Wait.

En Route Back to NY

Spent one day in Chattanooga before heading back to the interlocking NY. Ate barbeque brisket, pulled pork and ribs. Ate shrimp & grits, fried okra and Mac n’ cheese. Drank a ton of whiskey. Fairly confident if I grew up in the south I would be 300 pounds. Good Bye The South, My Stomach Will Miss You.

P.S. Once I can get in front of a computer I’ll post up a ‘Roo recap.

Breakfast of Champions

En route to Bonnaroo.

Balanced Roadtrip Breakfast.

I Love Carbs

Made Spaghetti alla Carbonara tonight…

Love. Love. Love Pasta (and bacon, and cheese).

Belt Un-done. Pants Un-buttoned. Ate Too Much.  Itis.

The Ten Cheeseburger Commandments

Without further ado, I give you the Ten Cheeseburger Commandments.

1. Thou Shall be All-Beef.  Turkey, Chicken, Salmon, Veggie, Portbello Mushroom or Any Other Pagan Protein is Unforgivable.
2. Thou Shall be Medium Rare (real men eat pink).
3. Thou Shall be Fresh, Never Frozen.
4. Thou Shall Not Add Bread Crumbs (this is not a meatball, it’s a burger).
5. Thou Shall Season with Salt and Pepper (and only salt and pepper) Just Before Grilling.
6. Thou Shall Flip Once.  And Only Once.  
7. Thou Shall Melt Thy Cheese.
8. Thou Shall Respect Thy Bun.  Toasted or Steamed.
9. Thou Shall Grill on a Flat Top (when available).
10. Thou Shall Serve with a Milkshake (preferably vanilla), Beer (preferably American) or Cherry Coke.

*Dedicated to the Patron Saint of the Cheeseburger: Mr. Ron Swanson

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Went to my first Yankee Game of the season tonight (they lost 5-0), here are the three keys to enjoying a game at the New Yankee Stadium.

Cheesesteak (with onions and whiz), peanuts, and a large beer (Budweiser).  I know a hot dog is more sport and city appropriate (and I do love hot dogs), but the cheesesteak holds a special place in my heart.  Sit back and watch the game while sipping on a cold beer, snacking on peanuts and devouring a cheesesteak.  It all comes together so perfectly. I can only say, few things in life are this simple, yet this enjoyable.

Ghosts of iPhones Past (Part II: Electric Boogaloo)

Couldn’t fit it all in one post, so here’s Part Duex.

Venture out west to L.A. for a few days. 

Head to D.C. to Restore Sanity and/or Fear with John Stewart and/or Stephen Colbert.

Notre Dame – Army game at Yankee Stadium.  First football game at the New Yankee Stadium. 

Eight seconds on Beginner Minesweeper.  Beat it.  I dare you.

Brett (one of my best friends from high school) wears a Mickey Mouse hat.

Met Ron Swanson.

Bisdale (pal of mine) rocked out.

Attempted to woo Rihanna into becoming my girlfriend.  Failed.

Big Apple BBQ 2011 (I told you, I love BBQ), this time I met BBQ legend and pitmaster Myron Mixon.

Went to Chicago.  Had to get a Chicago style hot dog.

And had to make the pilgrimage to Wrigley field. 

Watched Pineapple Express for the twentieth time and got this awesome screen shot of the greatest look ever delivered on screen (and the very fact that someone took the time to put this on YouTube proves I’m not alone in my assertion).

My Bolton Wanderers, led by American Stuart Holden, won the EPL (on FIFA 11).

Won a Zak DeOssie jersey from work.  Moral of the story, if you enter a pool at work and you think there’s no chance you’ll win and the grand prize is any NFL jersey you want.  You might win.  So as a gag don’t put down the worst player you can think of, or else you’ll have to deal with a bunch of drunk people at a sports bar consistently asking you, “Who’s DeOssie?” 

Had some pretty good moments over those two years, hopefully my six month old iPhone 4 could capture some nice moments over the next two years. This makes me want to find my even older Motorola, which spanned from freshmen year of college to the my 21st birthday.  Maybe I’ll go trolling for it another day.  I can’t even imagine/remember what’s on that phone.