Some Random Food-Related Facts About Yours Truly

In assembling this list, I tried to come up with some really obscure and surprising food-related facts. Had I once been locked in a warehouse overnight with nothing to eat but boxes of uncooked pasta, I probably would have included that as one of them. Had I once been a model at an erotic bakery, yes, that is also the sort of thing that would bear mentioning. Had I ever escaped serious prison time by successfully persuading a jury that I committed a heinous crime because I hadn't yet had my morning coffee, rest assured that that fact would be somewhere on the following list. Alas, I am a pretty unsurprising, middle-of-the-road sort of guy.

Nonetheless, here are thirty random facts about me, and they all involve food or drink in some fashion.

1. My absolute favorite food is Mexican food. Oh, and burgers. Burgers are my absolute favorite. And pizza. I could live on pizza. And soul food. Authentic Southern soul food is my absolute favorite. And Chinese food! I really love Chinese food. But my absolute favorite is seafood. And let's not forget about Italian food, which is my absolute favorite. By now, you should have a good idea as to what kind of blog this is.

2. Despite my somewhat discriminating palate, I can discern no tangible difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. I'm sure there is a difference, but if the local supermarket has Coke for $1.59 and Pepsi for $1.49, well, sorry Coke. Maybe next week.

3. My favorite Jelly Belly flavor is Juicy Pear.

4. Although I enjoy - or at the very least will try - most foods, I do not like eggs at all. Hard-boiled, over easy, egg salad, omelettes - any variety is an effective means of killing my appetite.

5. In 1985, I gave up sweets for the entire year, and it was easily the most difficult New Year's resolution I've ever had to maintain, especially at age nine. But I did it! At midnight on January first, 1986, I ate a Snickers bar.

6. I enjoy eating spinach, whether cooked or raw. My mother convinced me to eat it at an early age because it's what gives Popeye his strength.

7. My least favorite restaurant is easily Denny's. Nothing personal, Denny's. I just don't like you. Not even after a concert or drinking binge, when nothing else is open. There are far too many better places to eat a meal during normal business hours to even consider sitting at one of your formica tables, and if it's the middle of the night and you're the only game in town, I can probably wait until morning.

8. I'm overweight given my height, but underweight considering how much - and what - I eat.

9. During my early adulthood, I became partial toward Vanilla Coke. I'm not talking about the bottled product that Coca-Cola has been marketing on and off since 2002, but regular Coke flavored with vanilla syrup, because that's what John Travolta's character drank in Pulp Fiction.

10. My favorite breakfast cereal is, and has always been, Lucky Charms, though I will gladly eat virtually any generic equivalent, such as Magic Stars or Marshmallow Mateys.

11. In my opinion fried foods are always better than the baked equivalent. That's not to say that I've never eaten something that was baked when I had the option to enjoy it fried, but I can certainly taste the difference.

12. As a child, my favorite restaurant meal was the beef and bean burrito from Casa Maria (now El Torito) in Burlingame, California. I would usually place broken tortilla chips in my side of refried beans and pretend that it was a graveyard.

13. Although I do enjoy bologna and salami in sandwiches, for me neither of these meats can carry a sandwich on its own. For that matter, both meats together do not a satisfying sandwich make. I much prefer a sandwich with a variety of other meats in addition to bologna and/or salami.

14. Pizza My Heart is my favorite by-the-slice pizzeria in Northern California, thanks to a wide variety of delicious slices, Cherry Coke in the soda fountain, and relatively late hours. If they'd only open a location in the greater Sacramento area, I'd be all set.

15. I can't tell you which human being was the first to steal my heart, but I can definitely state for certain that Hefeweizen was the first beer I ever truly loved. And I still do.

16. I consider Hillshire Farms' current crop of "singing about cold cuts" spots to be easily the most abrasive and annoying commercials in the history of the universe, and definitely a good reason to purchase a DVR if you haven't already.

17. It was always a privelege to lick the beaters when my mother made mashed potatoes. I once got my finger caught in the mixer when I stuck it into the beaters well before it was actually turned off. I was at least ten years old and thus should have known better.

18. One of my favorite food-related locations is B Street in San Mateo, California, dubbed "Burrito Alley" due to an intensive concentration of taquerias along a several-block stretch. In addition, B Street also features pubs, pupuserias, Thai Food and at least one '50s style burger joint.

19. As a very young child, I preferred eating hamburgers with ketchup only. I would generally order my hamburger with "no salad."

20. Though a purist in my younger days, in my relatively older age I am much more open to California pizza, fusion cuisine, and Tex-Mex. If it tastes good, I'll give it a try.

21. Last November I ate six lobster rolls in two days while vacationing in Boston, and now I'm hooked. The lobster roll is among the most perfect sandwiches in existence.

22. When In -N- Out Burger opened its first location in San Mateo County in 1998, I made the thirty-five minute drive (each way) from my home in San Bruno six times in the first week.

23. I prefer broader pasta noodles (e.g. fettucine) over narrower ones (e.g. capellini), though it's unthinkable that I will turn down a hot plate of pasta simply because it's not my preferred type.

24. At two years of age, I opened the refrigerator, took a bite of every piece of lunch meat I found, and threw the remainder on the floor.

25. Given the choice, I'll skip Godiva and go straight for the See's Candy every time.

26. Food Network's Unwrapped is one of my favorite basic cable shows.

27. My favorite kitchen appliance may very well be my blender. Sure, you may not be able to cook with it, but it's ideal for making blended drinks and preparing ingredients for homemade salsa.

28. In the fifth grade, I would frequently stop at a local convenience store on the way home from school and buy a small bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a New York Seltzer (often vanilla cream) to enjoy during my walk. This remains a very fond memory of my youth, and I often wonder whatever became of New York Seltzer.

29. I prefer canned corn over frozen corn, and frozen peas over canned peas.

30. When it comes to dessert, I'll usually skip the cake and the pie in favor of cookies and/or ice cream.