The Month in Food

It's time for a little honesty: My The Week in Food entries regularly feature photos of meals eaten, in some cases, a month prior to their posting. Therefore I'm thinking The Month in Food may be a more accurate, truthful title. Here goes:

Animal-Style fries from In -N- Out Burger. For the unititiated, these are fries with cheese, grilled onions and dressing.

Mongolian BBQ from Sizzle in Rocklin, CA.

Squeezeburger with cheese from Squeeze Inn in Galt, CA.

Slices of Tom Jones and pepperoni pizza from Celestino's in Rocklin, CA.

Broccoli cheese soup, courtesy of yours truly and his trusty Turbo Blend 4500.

Cochinita pibil, one of the most consistently crowd-pleasing meals I make on a regular basis.

It's an exquisite-tasting slow-roasted pork dish that's ideal served in tortillas, as seen below.

Carnitas tacos from Jalisco Grill.

Hand-smashed guacamole from Milagros Cantina in Redwood City, CA.

Duo of Mazatlan Ceviches, also from Milagros Cantina.

The Chalet Burger with fries, from the Beach Chalet in San Francisco, CA. I ordered it with Pt. Reyes blue cheese.

Pt. Reyes blue cheese used to be my favorite, until I discovered BelGioso.

Tri-tip, grilled mushrooms and blue cheese (BelGioso, of course) on a roll.

Chicken noodle soup from Chick-Fil-A. Of all the commercially-available chicken noodle soups I have tried, Chick-Fil-A's is the closest to that served at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant in Buena Park, CA.

Chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A.

Banana macadamia nut pancakes from Stacks in Redwood City, CA.

The Mighty Meat crepe from Stacks in Redwood City, CA.

Hot wings and fries from Wing Stop in San Carlos, CA. The carrots and celery sticks at the top of the image are Katie's.

Pot roast, corn and potatoes.

The next four photos depict food served at Katie's baby shower. Since I wasn't there, I didn't actually eat any of it, but someone took photos so I figured I'd share. First up is Boboli pizza crust with pesto and cheese.

Focaccia.

Tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese on French bread.

Standard crudite tray.

Some desserts, beginning with Katie's baby shower cake, seen before and after. This cake, like every other cake we serve at family functions, was made by a family friend who can make just about any design into a delicious dessert. If you're so inclined, check out his website, take a look at his art, and perhaps order a cake.


Various cupcakes from Icing on the Cupcake in Rocklin, CA.

Carrot cupcake. The little embellishments atop the icing are baby booties, as the box of cupcakes was bought for an impromptu baby shower prior to the one referenced above.

Various goodies including cheesecake and chocolate-dipped marshmallows. These were enjoyed by me during a dinner theater-type performance (well, dessert theater, to be accurate) featuring a couple of my cousins.

Lenten Friday Failure, Week 3: Pot stickers from Fortune Star in San Mateo, CA.

Many Chickens Died to Bring You This Blog Entry, or Super Bowl Eating

The Super Bowl goes hand-in-hand with greasy, often deep-fried food. Chicken wings, pizza, barbecued sausages, nachos - you name it, if it's unhealthy it'll probably make the Big Game even more entertaining than it already is. There's nothing I can say about Super Bowl eating that hasn't already been said; for a lively audio discussion check out the January 27, 2008 edition of Munchcast with Leo Laporte and Cammy Blackstone.

What I can do, however, is show off the Super Bowl Sunday snacking menu at my in-laws' house where I watched the game with about fifteen people. Yes, I will re-affirm that the food shown below was not eaten by an army of fifty or more people.

Store-bought Mexican dip consisting of tomatoes, beans, cheese, olives, and onions:

Deli tray with crackers, cheese, salami and olives:


Homemade meatballs:

Possibly the most delicious thing I've enjoyed in recent years, my sister-in-law Caryn's homemade dip, consisting of Buffalo chicken, blue cheese, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. It was unbelievable with corn chips, and I'm still waiting for the recipe.




Pizza Rolls. Since Katie's been pregnant, she's been unable to eat pizza, something to do with seeing the grease and congealed cheese, or something. Since she can't see the grease, cheese, or for that matter the tiny blobs of fat in the "meat", she has no problem eating Pizza Rolls.

Pineapple sausages, sliced:

Some sort of commercially-available breaded chicken strips, undoubtedly found in your grocer's freezer section:

Orange chicken, similar to that sold at Panda Express. I'm not sure of the brand, though the size of the container indicates that they're probably from Costco or another "Y2K-scale-emergency quantities" type of store. Not bad.

Chicken wings. No clue about the origin of these babies. By the time they were brought out, I'd already gone through a couple plates of food, and I don't think I actually touched them.

All in all, I enjoyed the game, though my digestive tract got sacked bigtime. Additionally, I really did mean to post this shortly after the Big Game. Unfortunately I, uh, just got my film developed. Sorry about that.

Lenten Friday Failure, Week 2*: A slice of Big Sur pizza from Pizza My Heart, eaten and digested not an hour ago. Superb, and well worth burning in hell for.


*Note that there was no Lenten Friday Failure, Week 1. By an amazing coincidence, I happened to abstain completely from meat last Friday.

My Sacrifice

My understanding of the Catholic religion, and the practice of Lent in particular, is that, during the forty days of Lent, one is expected to refrain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday - today, as it turns out - and on each subsequent Friday until after Easter. Most Catholics give up something else that they love during this time as well: The internet, shopping, video games, reality TV, etc. I divulged my feelings on this subject at great lengths last year; you can read the entry in question here.

Though I don't typically succeed in avoiding meat on every Lenten Friday, I usually at least try, and see how far I make it before I forget, or (gasp!) willfully fail. Despite my usual non-adherence to the guidelines of the religion in which I was raised, I did consider giving something up this year; my twice-monthly Friday visit to Pizza My Heart immediately came to mind. I'm not sure why, as a not-really-practicing Catholic, I entertained, even briefly, the thought of giving something up. I suppose it was the tiny little voice in the depths of my brain that I try my hardest to ignore. The tiny little voice I am referring to is better known by the term "Catholic guilt." My friends and family members have sworn off profanity, sugar, caffeine, social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter, and text messaging. For me, the occasional Friday afternoon spent sitting in a booth at the Peninsula's best pizzeria, enjoying Cherry Coke and a couple slices, is a highlight of any week, something that I regret missing when I have to skip it. Therefore, were I to sacrifice something I immensely enjoy, it would have been that.

While I have no doubt that the friends and family members I alluded to have made their sacrifices out of genuine faith, I am unable or even unwilling - too selfish, perhaps - to make such a blind leap. Though I am nothing if not candid about my own lack of faith, it's not that I necessarily believe that there is no God, no Buddha, no Flying Spaghetti Monster, no miscellaneous Great Intangible your denomination swears is responsible for the entirety of creation. No, I believe that if any such deity exists, He, She or It has better things to worry about than whether I eat meat on Fridays, a rule imposed not by any god but by man.

This Lent, rather than sacrificing something I enjoy, I instead sacrificed something I definitely do not enjoy. Good-bye, Catholic guilt. See you in forty. Maybe.

Wordless Wednesday

Jay’s Café: A Tasty Way to Start the Day

I’m not one to eagerly sit down to breakfast. Yeah, I know what you’re going to say: “But it’s the most important meal of the day!” Hey, you’re right. I know that attempting to traverse the typical work day without partaking of the morning meal is tantamount to consuming a sleeping pill. I know that, at least for me, the day’s tasks are much easier to complete after having eaten something for breakfast, and indeed the absence of hunger pangs makes the morning just fly by. Why, then, do I disdain this meal as I do?

The truth is, I don’t dislike breakfast, not exactly. In addition to understanding its importance, I happen to genuinely enjoy a multitude of breakfast foods: Toast with butter (or better yet, a toasted bagel with cream cheese), hash browns, bacon, ham, sausage (preferably all three), waffles dripping with syrup and powdered sugar, cereal with milk, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

What’s missing? That’s right, eggs. Though I pride myself on my diverse palate and my willingness to try just about anything, the very thought of consuming an egg turns my stomach whether fried, hard-boiled, scrambled, or in an omelet; and my inability to order a satisfying eggless breakfast at a restaurant has made going out to breakfast about as fun as shoveling the walkway while it’s still snowing out, and twice as frustrating.

Typically, when I go out for breakfast, I find myself ordering lunch. Though I may be in the mood for hash browns, bacon and toast, it’s easier to get a sandwich than to ask every member of my party if they’d like my eggs, negotiate some sort of substitution for my them without being cheated by the restaurant, or assemble my ideal meal from relatively-pricey side dishes. And though I do like pancakes, whenever I’m about halfway through with my short stack I find that I enjoy them less than I thought I did.

In December Katie and I took a trip to Washington. We managed to catch an early morning flight, arriving around nine o’clock. We rented a car and set off on a forty-minute drive to the home of some friends we were staying with. While driving on State Route 522 we decided to stop for breakfast. After a couple miles with no suitable dining options we happened upon a modest white edifice; a yellow and white sign welcomed us to Jays’ Café, and we eagerly turned into the parking lot.



Once inside, we were greeted immediately by a friendly hostess who led us to a spacious booth. Although it was a Saturday morning the restaurant wasn’t crowded. However, the restaurant was sufficiently occupied to assure us that we hadn’t made a bad choice.

The menu was encouraging; in addition to the standard assortment of breakfast dishes, Jay’s offered a multitude of sandwiches, burgers and entrees typical of a roadside diner. I briefly considered a chicken sandwich, but instinct was calling me toward the breakfast menu. I ultimately settled on a side order of ham and a side order of hash browns. Half a slice of wheat toast taken from Katie’s plate (with her permission, naturally) completed this small but satisfying meal.



(Apologies for the out-of-focus shot above; I’d left my camera in the car and had to use my cell phone.)

In addition to a great meal, we were pleased with Jay’s prices. I suspect that Jay’s Café isn’t significantly less expensive than a comparable eatery in Washington State, but when you’re used to California prices, you notice when you get a particularly good deal when dining out. All told, our bill came to less than fifteen dollars including orange juice. With a generous tip to reflect superior service, we still paid less than we would have for a similar breakfast (before the tip) back home.

Should you ever find yourself on the northern shore of Lake Washington seeking decent food and a homey atmosphere, you could do worse than to stop at Jay’s Café, located at 7520 NE Bothell Way, Kenmore, WA 98028.

Wordless Wednesday

The Last Few Months in Food, part 6

This final entry in the series should finish off the unbelievably huge surplus of food photos from the past few months.

Sausage patty and hash browns from Denny's. No, I am not proud of the fact that I deigned to eat at Denny's. I was out of town, it was one of but a few dining options, and while I would have gladly eaten anywhere else, I was outvoted.

Pancakes, also from Denny's. The less said about this photo and the previous one, the better.

Better pancakes, made by Katie.

Burger with mushrooms and Swiss cheese, served with fries. That's a bottle of Lindeman's Cassis behind it.

Cochinita pibil, with rice.

French fries and sweet potato fries from The Counter.

Carne asada, chicken and carnitas tacos from Jalisco Grill in Roseville.

Sandwich: Pastrami, ham, turkey, chicken and Swiss cheese on a French dip roll, with chips and a gherkin.

An awesome spectacle of a cake, made by my mother-in-law for my niece's fourth birthday. Though I don't have the recipe handy, it was featured in Cook's Country magazine, in the December 2009 issue I believe.