Preakness Weekend Tidbits...

A few thoughts:

1. If I had to choose between Loco Hombre and Alonso's, I'd choose Alonso's in a heartbeat. That's the conclusion I came to last night with my friend Scott when we went for Mexican. Easily a third of the items on Loco Hombre's menu was from Alonso's (to be fair, you can order several of Loco Hombre's items on the Alonso's side).

But it seemed that Loco Hombre's food was a bit on the, um, charred side for Scott. We ordered their Loco Nachos ($10) as an appetizer. They came out a good while after we ordered them, but they were indeed piping hot, with nice, cold guacamole and cream cheese on top. They can't be faulted on their presentation, and honestly I did like the nachos. But they were, again, a little burnt for Scott's taste.

The main courses were more overall underwhelming. Scott got the chicken fajitas ($14), with lots of chicken, onion and bell pepper - half of which was burned onto the fajita pan. It smelled good to me. Scott couldn't finish it. My tacos ($13) were soft and juicy, but a little dull. On the plus side, the meat was pretty good in those tacos. The chicken was the best, followed by the shrimp - both were juicy and tasty - and then the steak, which was also pretty good. It was the rest of the entrée that underwhelmed me. I wish some salsa had come with them, to at least spice things up - maybe their very different nopal cactus salsa, for example. Also, the tortillas were a little bland, but that's really a failing of flour tortillas in general and I can't blame Loco Hombre for that one (give me corn tortillas any time). The sides were bland to the point of inedibility. I can't remember when I've last had such forgettable rice. The refried beans had an interesting presentation, lumped onto the plate like an ice cream scoop, which did nothing for their flavor. I wouldn't have minded the tacos, despite the problems with the sides, had they not cost as much as they had. But I was still more satisfied than Scott.

Since it was Preakness Day, and since I had just posted about the Black Eyed Susan, I thought I would try one. Scott has made them before, and the recipe I described was completely unfamiliar to him.


What I got for my $7.50 seemed like an orange juice with a kick. Not a hard kick, just a kick. I didn't get much of a buzz off of it. Each of the Yuenglings I had later at the Central was stronger.

Next time I think I'll just stick to Alonso's.

2. Speaking of the Preakness, there was many a woman in a big silly hat coming in for food after the big race. Yes, we are Big Hat Country.

3. Clothes easily add almost five pounds to your total weight, as I found out this morning. Not counting drawers, which weigh nothing:

• Jeans - 2 lbs
• Belt - 0.2 lbs
• Socks - 0 lbs
  
• Tennis shoes - 2 lbs
• T-shirt - 0 lbs
• TOTAL - 4.2 lbs extra

4. On the, ahem, recommendations of friends who read the blog, I have lightened the background graphic. Hopefully that will help with the readability.

5. Oh, and just as I Tweeted yesterday, I have officially passed graduate school!!! Next task: finding a job for the upcoming school year. Now I can officially celebrate.