Flashback: Maryland State Fair, in haiku (originally posted 9/2/07)

Sticking with this haiku theme, here's a post that is now five years old.  It was one of my early favorites, a trip to the State Fair.  The current one is starting up again today.  More details here.

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Maryland State Fair, in haiku (originally posted September 2, 2007)


I went and stuffed myself at the Maryland State Fair today. I haven't been in years, and really not much has changed. Still, it was very different for me, because I always experienced different things when I was younger. That and nobody went with me this time, so I could roam around completely unencumbered.

I saw lots and lots of things, and ate lots and lots of things. So much so that I feel compelled to compress it all down, as with Artscape, into haiku form once again.

Light Rail is easy!
Hopped on at Falls Road Station,
There in 5 to 10.

Plus, it lets you off
RIGHT THERE, at the back entrance -
6 bucks to get in.

One senior didn't like that she couldn't get in as cheap as the kids.

Lots and lots of cows
Lots and lots and lots of cows
At the Cow Palace.

I did mention the cows, didn't I?

After that I hit
Maryland's Food Pavilion
All food grown right here!

I started with crabs:
Two small soft shells on a bun.
Tastes better fried, though.

I tried them with horseradish as well as mayo. Was a little overpowering. For $8, I wish it had been better.

Next I went for lamb:
Barbecued for six-fifty -
Tangy, tasty, good.

I had never seen lamb barbecue until today. It won't be the last time.

I got hit by games:
Simpsons, Dora, Family Guy.
Not tempted at all.

How many of me are there? ¡Cuéntame! Let's count me! Uno, dos, tres, cuatro...

You should see those crafts
All in the 4-H Building.
Innovative stuff...

Someone also made a cake out of pink towels. I forget what the judges thought about it.

Those kids do a lot
Of 4-H dioramas
Some clever, some, well...

Come on, you gotta admit this is cute.

I saw lots of crafts
Like quilts, clothes, flow'r arrangements
Crocheted dollhouse - what!?

That's what I said - a crocheted house. With crocheted furniture.

Much food on display,
Lots of prize-winning ribbons
For the state's best food!

I stared at produce,
Jars of pickles, chutneys, jams.
Oh, my mouth watered!

This isn't the half of it.

Then came the baked goods.
I drooled over all those cakes!
Some done by the kids.

Mmmm. Cake.

There were fancy ones,
Chocolate, red velvet, yellow,
Fondant everywhere!

This one had, like, fifty-seven ribbons

Hungry for some cake,
I left, seeking sustenance.
Got corn dog instead.

Greasy, crunchy, sickening, delightful. Ah yes, the North American corn dog ($3).

Finally found some cake,
In the exhibition hall:
Edelweiss Bak'ry.

By this time I was on a serious fat and sugar high, ready to crash any second.

No, I didn't hit
Any of the rides this time.
Not too big on rides.

"If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.' "
- Jeff Foxworthy

Saw lots of fried things:
Oreos, Twinkies and fudge (!?)
PB Sandwiches (!!!)

Yes, that says "Deep Fried Fudge"

Thus ended my day.
Stuffed, heading back to my car,
With the smell of hay.

Now that's a lotta hay

To see the rest of the photos, click here.

Snacking State-by-State: Pennsylvania II - A cheese steak just isn't a cheese steak... (or "The Philadelphia [Cheese Steak] Story")

When food fans thinks of Philadelphia, two things come to mind: cream cheese and cheese steaks (twice with the cheese).  I've eaten much more of the former, on bagels, in cheesecakes, even in maki rolls.  But the famous cheese steak is a sandwich I haven't eaten many of.  That changes below.

Official Name: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
State Nicknames: The Keystone State, The Quaker State
Admission to the US: December 12, 1787 (#2 - Delaware beat 'em to the punch)
Capital: Harrisburg (9th largest)
Other Important Cities: Philadelphia (largest), Pittsburgh (2nd largest), Allentown (3rd largest), Erie (4th largest)
Region: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest; Middle Atlantic (US Census)
RAFT Nations: Maple Syrup; Clambake; Crabcake; Chestnut; Wild Rice
Bordered by: Maryland & the Mason-Dixon Line (south), West Virginia (southwest), Ohio (west), Lake Erie (northwest), New York (north & northeast), New Jersey & the Delaware River (east), Delaware (southeast)
Official State Foods and Edible Things: white-tailed deer (animal), milk (beverage), ruffed grouse (bird), chocolate chip cookie (cookie), brook trout (fish)
Some Famous and Typical Foods: German & Amish foods; Polish & Eastern European foods; pretzels, water ice, hoagies & Philly cheese steaks (particular to Philadelphia); city chicken, halupki & halušky, chipped ham, kielbasa (particular to Pittsburgh); scrapple; Hershey's chocolates; birch beer; Herr's Potato Chips, Hanover Pretzels & (yes) Utz Potato Chips; people (if you're an extra in a George Romero movie, that is - the big ones were all filmed near Pittsburgh)

Swing from western PA to eastern PA, and discuss the foods of Philadelphia, city of brotherly love.  This includes pretzels, water ice and of course Philly cheese steaks.

I've been to Philly enough - it's just two hours up 95 after all.  And yes, I've eaten a lot up there: Egyptian food, Irish food, ice cream, hot dogs, a myriad of plates full of whatever at the Reading Terminal Market (just before a visit to the Franklin Institute, or after a visit to the creeptastic Mütter Museum no less).  But I haven't really ever tried the cheese steaks.  This has spared me from making the fateful choice between the city's fabled competing cheese steak stands, Pat's vs Geno's (or were they actually fighting?  Maybe not after all...)  Yes, I know I'm not from Philly, and yes, I know that Baltimore, with its weird mish-mash of Northern, Southern and generic Chesapeake foods, is a major hub for "Philly (style) cheese steaks.  But since i haven't eaten many in Philly, I can only assume that ours are mere shadows of the real thing.  Probably the same can be said for the one I made below.  Actually scratch that - I know you can say that.

But I wasn't sure just how easy or difficult it was to make a Philadelphia cheese steak.  It can indeed be done - whole online forums are devoted to the subject.  The matter they debate is not about assembly, or even whether to use provolone or Cheez Whiz.  They debate how to slice the meat, and what meat to use.  Most forums, such as this one on Chowhound, specify a rib eye roast of at least a few pounds.  The rib eye roast, which is apparently the most tender to use, needs to be at least partially frozen to enable easier slicing.   In addition, the forums recommend a meat slicer.  I know my family has one, but I have no idea where this thing is.  And I don't have an extra $70 - $300 to buy a new one.  So a $20 electric knife will have to do.

The Recipe: Philadelphia Cheese Steak


The recipe I use is from Pat's King of Steaks.  They give an easy recipe to the Food Network that I attempt to replicate below.  You will need:

* beef roast (preferably rib eye; I got about 1 3/4 lbs of eye round for about $4 a pound)

* vegetable oil to fry up the veggies in; I had this)

* onion (had one)

* mushrooms ($2.50 for a small tub)

* green & red bell peppers (at first I planned to buy one each, roast them and fry them in oil, but buying the jar of pre-roasted pre-oiled peppers for about the same price - $4 - and this saved me an extra step or two at that)

* provolone and/or Cheez Whiz (I had neither, and wanted to try the cheese steak using both.  A half pound of provolone was about $4, as was one jar of Cheez Whiz, which I didn't realize was in the refrigerated section)

* ketchup (had it)

* Italian rolls (a package at Harris Teeter was another four bucks) 

First, leave your roast, uncooked, in the freezer for at least a few hours.  This will make it easier to carve.  Even after leaving it in for two hours, it didn't really get too hard.  I tried it in a semi-semi-frozen state.

I knew going in that the beef would never be truly as thin as I wanted it to be, since I didn't have a hand slicer.  But I did try my best to get it as thin as possible.

The pieces wound up being about this thin.  So already this won't be as thin as I want it.  But it's as good as I will get it.

Next, slice an onion thinly.

Heat some vegetable oil on a flat surface - a griddle, a grill or (once again) my trusty 12" cast iron skillet.

Fry the onions until slightly brown.

When they get like this, remove them...

...so you can fry the beef.

It won't take long to cook the beef through, though had the beef been thinner it probably would've cooked faster.

I wanted to try the cheese steaks with both provolone and Cheez Whiz.  The provolone is easy to use: just put it on the cheese steak.  But I don't usually work with Cheez Whiz, so I had to go the extra step of heating it up to a pourable consistency in the microwave.  I found that I had to reheat it since it re-solidified by the time I needed it.  That's just not natural, dude.

Take out the beef and cook the mushrooms.

Add the peppers, and what the hell, add the onions too.  Pat's recipe does not say to cook the onions with mushrooms or peppers.  It assumes those are already cooked.

Now to assemble your cheese steak.  First place the meat on your Italian roll, which of have to cut in half of course.

Next add the onions (had I cooked them separately, the mushrooms and peppers would go on last).

Then comes the cheese.  I decided to make half provolone and half Cheez Whiz, and divide the sandwich in half..

Top this with a little ketchup.  This didn't look right but the recipe never said where exactly to put it, so there it goes.

There you have it: my own version of Pat's King of Steaks' cheese steak.  Granted it's certainly nothing like the original, or their competitor's version.  I found it kind of messy to eat - had I put it inside some sort of paper wrapping I could have kept it from falling apart.  It didn't completely fall apart, though a few bits of beef did fall out, or off, here and there.  It was a jam-packed sub, that's for sure.  The beef was a little chewy, which would not have been a problem had I been able to slice it thinner.  As to the question of provolone vs Cheez Whiz?  I have to go with the provolone.  I found the Cheez Whiz to be surprisingly bland.  In comparison, provolone is too, but I just liked it better.  That said, I now have a jar of Cheez Whiz I need to find something to do with.

Sources:

Amish America.  "What do Amish eat?"  Copyright 2010 Amish America, All rights reserved.

Amish Homestead Cookbook.  Tourist cookbook, date of publication unknown.

AmericanCivilWar.com.  "American Civil War Recipes: Union Hardtack and Confederate Johnnie Cakes".  Date unknown.  Copyright 1997-2012 AmericanCivilWar.com, maintained by Central Design Lab. All articles are public domain and clearly credit and link to the author when possible.

Batz, Bob, Jr. "Pittsburgh sticks with loving 'City Chicken'".  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, published March 30, 2012.  Copyright ©1997-2012 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

Brieda, Luboš.  "Potato Dumplings (Halušky)".  Slovak Cooking, posted November 3, 2009.  Updated March 24, 2010.  Copyright 2009-2011 Slovak Cooking.

Chowhound.com.  "Slicing Ribeye roast for philly cheese steak".  Discussion on "Home Cooking" board, Chowhound.com. Thread started September 6, 2008.

Pat's King of Steaks. "Pat's King of Steaks Philadelphia Cheese Steak".  Featured on the episode "Best Sandwiches" of the show The Best Of.  Food Network, 1999.

Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau.  "Pennsylvania Amish history & beliefs".  Copyright 2012 Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau, site maintained by Cimbrian.

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.  Pennsylvania Cookbook Trail of History.  From the Editors of Stackpole Books and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, foreword by William Woys Weaver.  Stackpole Books: Mechanicsburg, PA, 2004.

Pittsburgh.About.com (About.com). "How to Make Haluski (Cabbage and Noodles)"  Date unknown.  Copyright 2012 About.com.  All rights reserved.

Robinson, Douglas.  "City Chicken".  Recipe in I Grew Up in Southwestern Pennsylvania: A Nostalgic Look at Growing Up in the Pittsburgh Region.  Recipe featured in the article "Pittsburgh sticks with loving 'City Chicken'" by Bob Batz, Jr. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, published March 30, 2012)

Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "Pennsylvania" page and other pages, and the Food Timeline State Foods link to "Pennsylvania".

Gino's is back

Brand new news about an age-old area food institution!  Gino's is back, and open in Towson.  In this day and age of the higher quality small chain burger (the Shake Shacks of the Northeast, the In N Outs of the West Coast), the time seems perfect for a Gino's resurrection.  ABC 2 News reports.

I remember Gino's from when I was a young child.  There was one open off Patapsco Avenue - and there was a Roy Rogers, too, I think.  Eh, Lansdowne and Baltimore Highlands were very large places for a 5 year old.  Anyway, Mom & Dad often took us there.  Then one day they stopped.  I didn't realize at the time that they had closed down.  You know the inevitable trip is coming sometime soon.  You just know it.  And you will read about it here.

Shake Shack comes to the District

Shake Shack, that most In N Out-ish of New York City-based fast food chains, is coming to the District of Columbia soon, according to the Washington City Paper. There will be two locations - Dupont Circle and Nationals Park, that last one convenient for any DC-bound Mets fans. It has very high-quality meat, which it grinds itself! As often as I get to DC these days, this is just another reason to go. Now let's work on getting a Wagamama out to these parts.

In N Out vs Five Guys?

Erik Hayden writes for The Atlantic about an East Coast-West Coast burger war I did not even know about:

[W]hen Five Guys launched its West Coast expansion in 2008, SoCal-based blogs and local newspapers (the O.C. Register and the Los Angeles Times love fanning the flames of this subject) fretted about the impending war between the two beloved, identical seeming burger franchises. Then, in 2010 came shocking news for area fast-foodies: In-N-Out was "ousted" by Guys as Zagat's Best Burger and Five Guys was deemed a worthy competitor to In-N-Out. [Hayden 2011]

As the author points out, the folks in SoCal are intensely loyal to In-N-Out (I should know, having lived there for several years). I've eaten at both, and I knew Five Guys was more widespread than In N Out. What I did not realize was that Five Guys was heading west, unlike In N Out, which will never head our way. But honestly, I don't really have a sense of which one is better or not. I'm heading to SoCal next month. Perhaps it's time for a taste test?

Let the Revolution Be Coated in 11 Secret Herbs and Spices

I'm not sure why current events and this food blog don't often intersect, but they should do so more often. Take the following video (h/t Chris Bodenner at Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish blog at The Atlantic*). Here's the set up: the government media, supportive of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, current recipient of much anger from many protesters in Cairo and other cities in Egypt, are claiming that the protesters are being paid by foreign governments with - wait for it - Kentucky Fried Chicken and €100 (about US$135). Far from angrily yelling that this is ridiculous - which it is (KFC!? Please. I want In N Out Burger or nothing at all) - they openly mock the allegation. The video is in Arabic but subtitled in English.

I find the video both hilarious (for the absurdity of the allegations) and inspiring (that the protesters are just not running out of steam).

* Bodenner links from Robert Mackey at the New York Times who mentions Egyptian blogger Mosa'ab Elshamy, who points out the government's Kentucky Fried Allegations.

Exits 7B, 8A and 11A Revisited

Once you get past Glen Burnie and Ferndale on the Beltway, you run into the dreaded 95 Clump. Nobody calls it that. Not even I call it that. But this is an apt description for how the various interstates and state routes - the northbound parts of Maryland 295 (Exit 7B), Interstate 895 (Exit 8A) and Interstate 95 (Exit 11A) - just all kind of come together, somewhat leading to the same place. If you drive the back roads to the locations I visited off of these exits, you find that you can pretty easily get to whichever one of these major routes you want with little effort.

Exits 7B, 8A and 11A -
Section of the Beltway - the Glen Burnie (S. Baltimore City, N. Anne Arundel County) and Catonsville (S. Baltimore City, SW Baltimore County) Sections
Towns & neighborhoods along the way - Morrell Park, Violetville, Westport, Lakeland, Cherry Hill, Pigtown, Brooklyn Park, Lansdowne, Baltimore Highlands
Routes that branch off - I-95, I-895, MD-295, US-1

Places that have shut down since I last visited

The first time I did this, I never bothered to take 295 to Westport. At the time I didn't want to travel that far from 695 for food. Also, there aren't a lot of notable places in Westport, so I didn't really explore. As my journey around the Beltway continued, I was willing to drive farther and father away from the Beltway (hell, I went all the way to Harford County by the time I got to the Northeastern section of the Beltway.

One Westport location I had noted the first time I did a redux post, of places I missed the first time, was the Cajun Blu Restaurant. It no longer exists. Or maybe it's just been renamed (see below). Surprisingly, this is the only location that is missing from the first time I wrote about it. Most other places I wrote about have remained open despite the recession. That is not to say that nothing has closed - there have indeed been closings. Take the Holiday Restaurant on Hanover Street in Brooklyn Park (closest to 895). I never had visited it, but now I don't really have the choice. The same is true for a lot of the restaurants in the area that have been hit during or even before the recession.

Restaurants that have since opened

When you drive up Cherry Hill Road, you will not see a sign for Cajun Blu. But you will pass by Ambrosia Catering (map).


Though I haven't stopped in, Ambrosia apparently has one big buffet on Sunday afternoons. I'm not usually free on Sunday afternoons, but maybe you are? If so, be prepared for a massive "soulful Sunday buffet" featuring many soul food favorites - from macaroni and cheese to collard greens, fried fish to black eyed peas. It's all there on Sunday afternoons for the price of $15 ($12 for seniors, $8 for kids). At some point when I have a Sunday free, I will need to stop in. As noted, Ambrosia also caters, and they have a wide variety of dishes they serve.

Restaurants I didn't get around to the first time

In contrast, I did get to visit a few more of the eateries in and around Morrell Park, conveniently located along US-1 and right off Exit 51 off of 95 North (if taking 95 South, you will have to take Exit 50B past Caton House (renovated since I visited last time) which I did visit the first time, towards US-1 and Lansdowne. Turn left at Washington Blvd.

One place I technically did not get to the first time around was Polock Johnny's (map). I say technically because I treated it as if I had. Really though, the last time I had visited when I wrote that post was several years before. Kind of like the Georgetown Market (map), where I stopped many a time on the way home from high school for a foot long hot dog (ah, those were some late 80's/early 90's memories). But as for Polock Johnny's: I figured it was finally time to, you know, go back for real.

Polock Johnny's is a Baltimore institution. Despite the name, it does not serve Polish food. It does serve Polish hot dogs and regular hot dogs, in various combinations and lengths - their Original 5' Polish, their Large 7" Polish, their All Beef 7' Big John, and so on. You can also buy their dogs to go, from their fridge case in the front. And several of their dogs come in combos, with fries and sodas (milkshakes are more, and onion rings in place of the fries are extra). I went ahead and ordered a regular all beef hot dog with onion rings and a soda (about $6) with "the Works". Polock Johnny's famous Works consist of... er, I don't know! And I wouldn't know, since it's their own special recipe that they aren't divulging. But you can also buy tubs of "the Works" to take with you as well.


I did not dine in, but took my food home. Even after I got home half an hour later, the food was just as good for the wear: the dog was still juicy and the tangy, onion-y Works held up well to the travel. Is it any wonder people might buy tubs of this to go? I am not usually a big fan of take out fries, which is why I went with the onion rings. I found myself nibbling on these greasy delights all the way home, and about half of them were gone by the time I got there. Juicy and crunchy all at once, these are the thick onion rings you hope to find when you get take out.


Farther into Morrell Park along Washington Blvd, you head past DeSoto Road (I used to go that way to get to Gibbons sometimes, now shut down by the Archdiocese). Before you hit the old Montgomery Ward (now Montgomery Park) and the decades-gone Little Tavern, you hit the exit that takes you southbound onto I-95. Right off Exit 51 off of I-95 north is Italiano's (map), the latest in a few restaurants that have been in that location over the years (if you get off, the only way back on to 95 from there is south - remember that). I had seen Italiano's many a time in passing along 95 - it's that close - but never ventured to stop in.

The first time you visit Italiano's (they also have a drive thru) you will be greeted by a very large chef statue - maybe this is Italiano? - flanking a very snazzy counter and a nice, comfortable seating area. Mirrors and bright lights make it seem very big inside. If you eyes aren't drawn to our big fiberglass friend (he has menus, by the way), they'll probably be drawn to the big glass counter filled with Italian desserts. I might have gotten one of the desserts were it not for the dizzying array of options on the menu. This place has much of everything: pizza, pasta and stromboli, but also subs, sandwiches, Greek food, hamburgers, salads, crab cakes and other seafood dishes. I could have easily spent $20 or $30 at this place, so I showed some self-restraint and got myself a stromboli ($7.50 minus additional toppings - about $9.50 with one topping). The standard stromboli comes with tomato and cheese. I added sausage to mine. It came out 10 minutes later in a pizza box, which surprised me a bit.


When I got the stromboli home, I could see why they packaged it the way they did: it was a 12" pizza folded over, much bigger and flatter than most stromboli I've seen around town. Yes, I know this is the correct way to make them, but I haven't seen many like that lately. This stromboli was a few meals for me (eat it with tomato soup for a nice filling meal on a freezing cold day). Though I have had better stromboli recently (as recently as Glen Burnie), this one is pretty standard and I did enjoy it. The crust was a nice soft crust, perfect for dipping into tomato soup or sauce, and the sausage is in nice chunky slices, mixed in with the melted cheese and tomato sauce. If nothing else, this stromboli makes me want to go back to try what else is on their utterly humongous menu.

So, what did I miss this time?

Again, I have missed some spots, specifically in and around Brooklyn Park. I still, regrettably, have not made it to 895 Grill (map), though from the reviews I have read online its patrons love the food, the cheesesteak in particular. One spot I have never seen appears to be a Brooklyn Park institution - the Castle Restaurant (map). Then again, I cannot find anything about it. I know of no one that has eaten here. Urbanspoon doesn't even know about, and the City Paper has asked readers for more information. No cars were in the lot (granted, the info I found online says it opens at 4PM), but there was a big "OPEN" sign above the door.

Look! It's, um... open?

So if anyone has any info about the Castle Restaurant, please pass it along here. Or to someone!

Places I got back to

Italiano's (Italian/American/Greek/seafood) - 2229 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230; Phone: (410) 468-3377

• Would I eat there again? Yes
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Perhaps

Polock Johnny's (hot dogs/fast food) - 3212 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230; Phone: (410) 644-5997

• Would I eat there again? I have and I would
  
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Yes

A few places to look up later

895 Grill and Carry-Out - 101 Chesapeake Ave, Brooklyn, MD 21225; Phone: (410) 354-1968

Ambrosia Catering (catering/African-American/brunch) - 1810 Cherry Hill Rd., Baltimore, MD 21230; Phone: (410) 837-8701

The Castle Restaurant (I have no idea) - 3720 Potee St, Brooklyn Park, MD 21225; Phone: (410) 355-8300

Georgetown Deli (deli/fast food/grill/corner store) - 2829 Georgetown Road, Baltimore, MD 21230; Phone: (410) 644-7040 ‎

Life After People: the McDonald's Edition

Hat tip to the GOOD Blog via the Daily Dish (neither is a food site), another reason to heed Morgan Spurlock and Super Size Me: a McDonald's Happy Meal looks (though perhaps doesn't taste) pretty much the same after 4 1/2 months. Manitoba-born New York City artist Sally Davies found out as much and the Refinery 29 website chronicles a sample of her work.

This is a typical Happy Meal after 137 days:


My guess is the ice, at least, would have melted.

Screw Chick-Fil-A...

The first Sonic Drive-In ever to open in the Baltimore area opens up on Liberty Road in Reiserstown on Friday, August 13! Last I heard, future ones are slated for Ellicott City and Lansdowne (and note to Sonic: it ain't pronounced "ElliCOT" but "ElliKIT"). I don't know if this is still true but I sure hope so (except that most of my family lives in Lansdowne, and I will stop there more often than my waistline will like).

More info on the first Bawlmer Sonic can be found at the official "Sonic of Baltimore" Facebook page.

The Atlantic Magazine takes on Egyptian street food

I have never heard of this uniquely Egyptian fast food, kushari, the pasta-rice-garbanzo-lentil with tomato and crispy onion dish. Now I have to figure out a way to make this. As Maggie Schmitt noted about it for The Atlantic Magazine's website, this street food is now becoming posher, as more sit-down restaurants are popping up to sell the stuff:

Instead of disappearing before the onslaught of hamburgers and fried chicken, local street foods are updating their image and presentation, and competing with international fast food on its own terms, targeting a middle class with increasingly urbane tastes. While in the older neighborhoods kushari is still ladled out from wooden street carts and in tiny hole-in-the-wall eateries, in the swankier parts of town you can get your fix at a gleaming new kushari restaurant franchise with formica banquette seating and waiters in uniforms with baseball caps.

Hopefully it'll show the McFalafel who's boss. There are also glorious photos of kushari and some places that serve it with the article. I just ate and it's making me hungry again.

Camden Yards has to find SOME way to draw fans back...

Apparently, there is some new "all you can eat" section at the ball park. And it's not just here. This from Brett LoGiurato at the Sports Illustrated website.

The left-field sections at Camden Yards are part of the growing trend of all-you-can-eat style options in major league ballparks. At a cost of $40 per ticket in the section, fans are entitled to a buffet-style choice that includes all the above-mentioned foods and even salad -- you know, in case you are feeling guilty.

"It's a great deal, especially for the teams that aren't selling out every game," [interviewee Matthew] Cavalier said. "The Phillies, Yankees and all them are always going to be fine. They don't need to do this. But for fans of, say, this team, it's a good plan."

The Orioles aren't the only franchise attempting to boost attendance in slacking sections with the promotion. Nineteen of the 30 major league teams offer the all-you-can-eat seats at some games in 2010, up from 13 two years ago and six in 2007.

The last time I went to Camden Yards (that was about four years ago), I shuddered at having to pay $4 for a hot dog. $40!? Dude!

I have to start eating healthier

As my laptop battery was dying on the plane, it dawned on me that I was finally in the unique position of being able to blog about what I eat from 30,000 feet in the air! This is courtesy of AirTran, whose internet access is not free despite what their flight attendants might suggest. Were that AirTran one of those small percentages of airlines that offers anything more than little itty bitty cookies or a small bag of pretzels. Too bad I didn't bring in my greasy, salty, and not altogether appetizing breakfast sandwich from the Quizno's in D Terminal next to my gate.

At least I got filled up on a Tacos Del Carbón meal at Del Taco w/ crinkle fries and a Diet Coke. That's because my friends whom I am staying with are starting NutriSystem in order to lose a few pounds.

Man, I need to eat better. I really do.

The Double-Down: not quite the end of civilization

I'm not eating that thing, but at only 540 calories it's not as much of a travesty as many fast food sandwiches. So points out acclaimed numbers man Nate Silver at 538.com. Why he's pontificating about food and not political or sports stats - all of which he usually nails - is anybody's guess. Though he develops a chart to show just how bad the Double-Down is in comparison to many popular chicken sandwiches (one DD = 1.00, so if a sandwich is worse nutritionally than the Double-Down, it will have a DD value of over 1.00, and if better then the DD value will be under 1.00). It's worse than many chicken sandwiches, but there are worse ones - check out that Panera Chipotle thing:

I love graphs. Courtesy of Fivethirtyeight.com.

Also note that many hamburgers are worse than the Double-Down!

But even though there are much less unhealthy items on any fast food menu than this thing, it's actually no worse than a Big Mac (also 540 calories), and calorie-wise is quite tame in comparison to some of the stuff at the other places:

• Back to McDonald's, who is not exactly a great choice for healthy eating: their Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (would that be a Half Pounder?) is 740 calories.
  
• Just a Baconator Single at Wendy's is 610 calories.
  
• "We pride ourselves on clogging your arteries" Burger King, and their Whopper (670 calories), Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich (800 calories) or Triple Whopper (1,160 calories!!!)

And yes, that's before you even consider info about fat, carbohydrates and sodium! But Silver has another metric: Double-Downs per Calorie (DDPC), which shows that you're actually getting more crap per calorie than any other sandwich in his metric:

Also courtesy of Fivethirtyeight.com

Silver explains this second chart this way:

...here, things don't look very good at all for the Double Down, since for all that crap you're taking in, you're only getting about one-quarter of the calories that you need. On this basis, not only is the Double Down worse for you than any of the chicken products (Chick-Fil-A's Chargrilled Chicken Club, at 0.91 DDPCs, is the next-worst), but also all of the burgers as well -- even the Triple Baconator (0.98 DDPCs) and the infamous Thickburger (0.92 DDPCs). In fact, the only thing that beats than the Original Recipe Double Down is the supposedly healthier grilled Double Down (1.19 DDPCs), which is almost 20 percent worse for you than the signature version on a per-calorie basis.

I still won't be eating one, but you can easily find worse. Unless you stop to consider how much crap you're taking in per bite, in which case it starts to look like the end of civilization after all!.

Road Trip to Rehoboth! (Dogfish Head Update and Apologia)

I haven't gotten around to posting about my recent, very impromptu trip to Rehoboth Beach last weekend (again, glad I could help you out, Eric, and thanks everyone - I had fun). Before last week, I had only once visited this gay mecca of the Mid-Atlantic region. Go figure. Along the way there and back I did get to try some food I rarely get the chance to eat.

Before I go on, however, I have to note that I very sadly did not get the chance to stop at the awesome and fabled Dogfish Head Brewpub (I didn't mean to disappoint you, Brad)! As I noted in a comment below: I had very little time in Rehoboth - just an overnight, and I only had about 1/2 an hour to myself before I had to leave. I couldn't rush a trip to Dogfish! But it will definitely happen next time. And hey, at least I brought a four pack of Midas Touch down with me, so there was some Dogfish Head-ness for me after all.

Sonic Drive-In


There is a Sonic Drive-In in Bridgeville, Delaware! Sure, there are other Sonics in Delmarva, even in the Maryland part of it, but they are on the way to OC and I wasn't going there. For those of you who hanker for Sonic but are just headed straight to Rehoboth, you are in luck because it is right along the way. No fried pickles at this one like the one I stopped at in Hinesville, Georgia, last summer. Bummer. But I did get a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings (only 30 cents more to get onion rings instead of fries) and a medium soda. Total price: around $6.50.


The burger was filling and even had an onion ring sandwiched in between the burger and the bun. It is a bit of a messy burger to eat if you're not careful. Still, I actually found the side order of onion rings more satisfying. Hardly like Burger King's little perfect circles of what I could only call "processed onion food", these are thick rings of onion covered in crispy and a little greasy batter. When those Sonics open up in the Baltimore area soon I will probably go just for that.

Blue Moon Restaurant

...is also a gay bar! That's not a tough thing to find in Rehoboth, mind you. I went with several friends and we closed the place (at 1 AM)! I got me a Guinness for about $5. I was certainly enjoying myself, by the way. You should've heard my rendition of "Poker Face" on the dance floor (yes, it is actually in my range, and I am a damn good singer). They had finger foods out for patrons all night, like little quiches and some sort of breaded cheese.

Louie's Pizza


Eric recommended Louie's (by the Boardwalk) for their subs, which he always stops to get before the drive home. They told me it would take 10 minutes for my Italian super cold cut sub. It only took five. A juicy, meaty six inch sub that is very difficult to eat while driving will cost you about $6.


Eventually I had to resort to just picking up individual cold cuts to eat on their own.

Candy Kitchen

Candy Kitchens are almost like Starbucks in Rehoboth. I didn't shop at this one. At least I don't think I did.

How could I leave the Eastern Shore or the Delmarva Peninsula without a stop at the Candy Kitchen? It wasn't easy, so I stopped. Got a half pound of fudge - a quarter each of vanilla and chocolate for about $5. Candy Kitchen fudge, I have missed you.

And one strange aside...

I won't go into too many details about why I headed down to Rehoboth, since it would take a while to explain anyway, and since there are photos that I really don't want floating around the internet. But all I will say is this: it all had to do with a murder mystery weekend that some of the guys had planned, with more than a few gay men in drag - and they do this every year. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to the next one.

That said, since this was the first one I had ever been to, I was put through a disturbing culinary rite of passage. Due to its secrecy, I shall not reveal it so as not to piss anyone off. But as awful as it was, and as hopeful as I am to never do that again, it actually wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time. But it was bad.

Other photos -

Facing away from the Boardwalk

Facing the Atlantic Ocean and Dolle's, which I did not get the chance to stop at.

Maryland's flag is so much more bizarre and interesting than Delaware's! Or most state flags for that matter. Is that the county flag on the left?

Fields of pretty flowers

And back over the mighty Chesapeake, a ride that always manages to freak me out.