This started on March 26th, after realizing that I'd gained back 12 of the 40 pounds I lost last year during my super mega dietary change, where I stopped eating fried foods, red meat, desserts, and soda. That change was very successful, and although I originally planned on losing 50 pounds, I ended the diet after 40 and hoped to continue the trend without a formal set of rules. But I picked up some of my bad habits again this year, and the pounds started slowly creeping back in.
So I decided to try something drastic. I'm a meat eater, and I especially love BBQ, so I figured the most drastic thing I could do is to give up meat. I did this once before last year for a week, and it was a challenge, so I figured a full month would really be a test of my willpower. So this was partly to start to drop the weight again, but mostly just to see if I could do it.
Turns out I can. But unfortunately, when I don't have meat on the menu, the choice of food that I like is pretty small. So I probably had a lot more pizza, calzones, fried jalapeños, and pancakes than I should have. But even with a pretty bad diet, I still managed to drop 8.5 pounds for the month.
For the first time in my life, I tried faux meat and cheese at a vegan restaurant. While it wasn't the most disgusting thing I'd ever had, the "no-harm chicken parm" was just a little off - I left the place with a funny taste in my mouth and I just didn't feel right the rest of the day. So that was the first and last time for me.
I found plenty of luck at Italian restaurants - they tend to have a good selection of meatless pizzas and pastas, along with simple salads. I stopped at Oregano's for lunch several times for a Caesar salad and a slice of pizza with various veggie toppings, including their delicious red jalapeños. My favorite place, Babbo Italian Eatery, also has quite a few good non-meat choices - my favorite probably being the Classic Neapolitan pizza.
I thought about juicing for some of my meals, but never actually got around to it. I'm pretty lazy, so I always hate spending a half hour preparing my fruits and veggies, juicing them, and cleaning everything up, all for 2 minutes of drinking the juice, and being hungry afterward anyway. I'll get back to that occasionally as part of my ongoing diet, but I couldn't see myself doing that during my meatless month.
I should mention an asterisk for this month. I went out to San Diego last weekend, and once you leave the state lines, time officially stops for diets. So I did complete 31 full days, but it was broken up, so 25 days on, 3 days off, then 6 days on.
I'm declaring a new goal for myself for the rest of this year. Since last year's diet was so successful, and not all that difficult, I'm back on it (mostly). In addition to generally smarter food choices, no deep fried foods, no red meat, no big desserts, and no soda - but I'm giving myself the ability to cheat on occasion for social reasons. But each cheat comes with 30 minutes of strenuous exercise that I have to complete within 48 hours, in addition to the light/moderate exercise I'm already doing. I think this can get me to my next goal - once I lose the remainder of these 12 pounds again, I'm going for 30 more pounds, for a total of 70 since early last year. Once I hit my target, I'll reevaluate and find something that can keep me there indefinitely.
If you're curious, I kept track of everything I ate for this month - one of the things that kept me motivated, watching this list grow, proving that I could do it.
I started at a new job shortly before 2011 started, so I had to find a new set of places to eat. Here is the list of the restaurants I visited most often in 2011.
#1:Babbo Italian Eatery [Yelp] 6855 North 16th Street
Last year's rank: #3
I've been coming here regularly for years, and always loved the place. Great food, great service, and really nice people. Favorite dish: Buffalo chicken caesar salad (when I'm eating healthy) - otherwise the Three-Cheese Mac and Cheese
#2:YC's Mongolian Grill [Yelp] 3206 S McClintock Drive
Last year's rank: #6 (different location)
A great place to go when you want to eat reasonably healthy, without sacrificing taste. If you do it right, you can put together a very healthy meal that's still very satisfying. Favorite dish: Turkey, onions, green onions, celery, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, noodles, with YC's Own, orange, garlic, and ginger sauces
#3:Chipotle 4423 East Thomas Road
Last year's rank: N/A
Made with quality ingredients, and served fast even with a line, this is always a good place to stop for lunch. Favorite dish: Chicken soft tacos with cheese, hot sauce, corn, and lettuce
#4:The Barbecue Company Grill and Cafe 4636 South 36th Street
Last year's rank: N/A
This place is off of the main roads, and only open lunch hours, but it's always busy. They do a buffet once a month, and the place is just packed. They've got some great sauce, and lots of very good barbecue meats. Favorite dish: Smoked beef brisket sandwich with seasoned fries
#5:Sonora Mesquite Grill [Yelp] 4613 East Thomas Road
Last year's rank: N/A
These guys make some delicious tacos - quality meats, with tasty toppings and excellent salsas. Favorite dish: Barbacoa soft tacos
#6:Spinato's Pizzeria [Yelp] 11108 North Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard
Last year's rank: #4 Favorite dish: Thick crust pizza - I like to experiment with the toppings. Everything I've had has always been good.
#7:Cornish Pasty Company [Yelp] 960 West University Drive, Tempe
Last year's rank: N/A
These guys put together pastries with one of a couple dozen different fillings and dipping sauces. There are a lot of good items on the menu, so definitely a place to go to multiple times to try them all. Favorite dish: Chicken Alfredo
#8:King's Fish House [Yelp] 35 South McClintock Drive
Last year's rank: N/A
I'm not a seafood guy, so the menu's pretty limited for me. But it's a nice place, good service, and what I do get is always delicious. Favorite dish: Bowties with Chicken
#9:Hap's Pit BBQ [Yelp] 4801 East Washington Street
Last year's rank: N/A
Good barbecue sandwiches and sides, and the fact that it's within walking distance of work makes it an easy choice. Favorite dish: Beef brisket sandwich with garlic mashed potatoes
#10:Joey's of Chicago [Yelp] 4280 East Indian School Road
Last year's rank: N/A
I love a good Italian beef sandwich, dripping in meat juice. These guys definitely deliver that. Favorite dish: Cheesy Italian beef sandwich and fries
Just thought I'd share my favorite recipe. It's actually the only meal I know how to make that has more than one ingredient, is not terribly unhealthy, and doesn't come out of a box. So I end up making this about once a week.
Step 1: Salsa
I've been working on this for a few months, and have it just about where I want it. Great flavor, just the right amount of heat.
4-5 Roma tomatoes
1 yellow onion
1 orange bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 ear of corn
3 jalapenos (leave seeds in)
2 habaneros (leave seeds in)
about 10 leaves of cilantro
juice of 1 regular lime or 2 key limes
black pepper
Blend in food processor until it looks like salsa.
I've always loved BBQ - by far my favorite type of food. I've followed a Twitter account called AZBarbeque casually for awhile, and noticed yesterday that they were putting on a 4-hour training course to become a certified judge for the Barbeque Championship Series. I was free and looking for something to do anyway, so I signed up.
It was a great time. About an hour of discussions about rules and procedures, followed by a couple hours of eating. We went through chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket, as a simulated competition. In each round, we discussed how and why we ranked the items, talking about what types of things merit low or high scores.
So I'm now a certified judge, and while I don't know if I'll have the time to do this on a regular basis, it's definitely something I'd be interested in participating in once in a while.
Date: 2011-10-17 20:33:39
Name:
Flo M (via Facebook)
Joe i just helped one of my clients open up a BBQ smokehouse joint, its called rics smokehouse BBQ & Grill, Up by my work Happy Valley & 22nd ave..There is also another one called Pork On a Fork. They are pretty good. you can judge that!!
As part of my quest to lose 50 pounds, I decided to try something crazy, and spent the last week seeing what life is like as a vegetarian. I'd call it a success, but I definitely won't be converting permanently.
I started last weekend - I didn't have any meat on Saturday, but it was just out of laziness instead of on purpose. As it often happens on the weekends, I didn't feel like cooking or leaving the house, which meant my meals consisted of what I happened to have in the kitchen - in this case, Raisin Bran, yogurt, and Triscuits with salsa. On Sunday, I decided to continue the trend and give the no-meat thing a try for a week. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I had a couple salads, some fruit, cereal, and carrots, and did just fine.
Tuesday night I cooked up a nice meal: brown rice, sauteed potatoes, an onion, a green and a red bell pepper, black olives, fresh corn, and a half a dozen spices and seasonings, topped with Pace Picante Sauce and lowfat cheese, in burrito form. This turned out really well, except it was a whole lot more than I was expecting. I figured it would last 2 or 3 meals, but it turned out to be 6.
Tonight I decided to try a portobello burger, something I've wanted to try for a long time but never got around to it. People say portobellos are very "meaty", and even though I've never believed them, I've always been a little curious. I tried Blu Burger in north Scottsdale (actually way north Scottsdale, just this side of Carefree), where I topped it with lettuce, tomato, sauteed onions, and included a side salad. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't even consider comparing the mushroom to meat. It was slightly less mushroom-y than regular mushrooms, but not enough to make me want it again. I also considered trying some fake meats like tofu or soy this week, but in the end decided against it - just not worth it.
So I proved that I can cut back on my meat intake without a whole lot of difficulty - but before this, I've already mostly swapped out beef for significantly less fat with white-meat turkey and chicken. It was a fun experiment, but I'm looking forward to a nice turkey sandwich or maybe a buffalo chicken caesar salad in the next couple days.
The diet's been moving kind of slowly since halftime - I'm up to 37 pounds gone over a total of 18 weeks, but only about 11 pounds in the last 11 weeks, even with the added exercise and the vegetarian week. But at this pace, I'm expecting to hit my goal by around November, and we'll see where it goes from there.
Date: 2011-07-29 22:25:00
Name:
Terry V (via Facebook)
It's like I don't ever know who you are anymore!
Date: 2011-07-29 22:27:00
Name:
Joe Enos
If I could eat 5 pounds of meat every day and not gain any weight, like I did back in high school, I totally would. Stupid old age.
Date: 2011-07-29 22:29:00
Name:
Melissa E (via Facebook)
Please come and teach my husband a lesson or two! At least let him see that you ate lettuce and lived to tell about it ;)
Date: 2011-07-29 22:49:00
Name:
Joe Enos
There's always hypnosis - you've seen the Veggie-Boy episode of Cheers, right?
Date: 2011-07-30 01:19:00
Name:
Wendy E (via Facebook)
You ate a mushroom???!!! Wow ... I'm proud of you!
Date: 2011-10-14 07:14:51
Name:
Ronnie H (via Google+)
Hey, Joe... Check out myfitnesspal.com. Its a great weight to track what you eat, calories, carbs, and protein. You can also input your exercises track how many calories you burn.
Date: 2011-10-14 07:15:29
Name:
Joe Enos
That looks pretty awesome - I'll give it a try. Thanks
No red meat was pretty easy - I really like chicken and turkey, so I was able to survive without a problem with no burgers or steaks. Not that I don't love beef, but as long as there are plenty of tasty meat choices, I can live without it. Pork was still allowed, but I tried to keep that to a minimum.
I've given up soda before for about a year or so, which only ended because it's just so darn convenient. It's not always easy to find iced tea or other moderately healthy non-carbonated drinks that taste good, or decent drinking water. But I've managed to put in a little effort to get back to a mostly-water routine, with some iced tea, juices, and things like Vitamin Water Zero.
For my desserts rule, my exception was small pieces of dark chocolate. I've been buying the Lindt extra dark chocolate from the grocery store, and having a couple squares every night - it's very reasonable when it comes to fat and calories, provides health benefits, and generally makes it easier to avoid the big ice cream cakes, cheesecakes, pies and other good stuff out there.
Deep-fried foods was probably the toughest. There are a lot of times when deep-fried stuff makes up the majority of the menu. I love Americanized Chinese food, which is mostly fried stuff (orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, sesame chicken, etc.). Chick-fil-A's signature chicken sandwiches, strips, nuggest, and fries fall in this category, so I've stayed away from there. But I've held true to this rule, sticking with places like YC's Mongolian Grill, Samurai Sam's, and Subway, in addition to making my own simple meals like ground turkey soft tacos, turkey sandwiches (using a wide variety of turkey styles from the grocery store deli), and cereal, sometimes with berries added.
In general, I've been making smarter choices as well. I've tried to have at least one or two salads per week, my favorite being the buffalo chicken ceasar salad (without the caesar dressing) at Babbo Italian Eatery. I've looked for foods with light sauces like olive oil, balsamic vinegar, or hot sauce, rather than heavy cream, butter, or sugar based sauces like alfredo or barbecue sauces. I've kept greasy foods like pizza down to a minimum.
For my halftme break, I'm planning a week or so of food that I've been off for awhile (in moderation), including a steak (which I had yesterday), Chick-fil-A sandwich, some Chinese food, and BBQ brisket. For this week, I'm starting a routine of walking a couple miles every morning, which will continue and turn into jogging, and eventually running, as I start to get myself back in shape. It's been probably 14 years since I've been able to run more than about a quarter of a mile without feeling like collapsing.
Part two will start in a week or so, and will incorporate light exercise, which will hopefully keep the pace of weight loss going at a few pounds per week. In addition to the walking/jogging/running, I'm planning on starting up light weight lifting again, just 10 minutes or so per morning at first. I like the four food rules I've been using, so I think I'll stick with that, except I'll give myself a "cheat day" each week for BBQ beef, a dessert, a burger, or something else so I don't go crazy. With any luck, I'll get these next 25 pounds off in no more than another 2 months, and we'll see where things go from there.
Here is a list of my favorite places to eat throughout the year in 2010. Lots of new places this year compared to last year.
(1) Corleone's 15040 North Northsight Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Last year's rank: #9 Their Philly cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz is very addictive - especially when they keep sending coupons worth about 40% off the regular price. They've got a few other pretty good sandwiches, like buffalo chicken and barbecue chicken, and they have a decent pizza, but I'm sticking with the good old #1. Favorite dish: Philly Cheesesteak with grilled onions and Cheez Whiz
(2) Al's Beef [Yelp] 14740 North Northsight Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Last year's rank: N/A Of three Italian beef restaurants near my work, this was my favorite. The beef sandwich has a great flavor to it, especially when ordered "dipped", when it comes out just dripping in juices. Favorite dish: Regular Al Italian Beef sandwich with grilled onions and provolone cheese
(3) Babbo Italian Eatery [Yelp] 6855 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85016 Last year's rank: #8 This place has plenty of great pizzas and pastas to choose from. Everyone is very friendly, and it just seems like a big family - always welcoming, and there are lots of regulars, including myself. Monday nights, when I typically come in, the place is packed, with people coming in non-stop to order their $5.99 spaghetti and meatball special. Favorite dish: Three Cheese Mac and Cheese (including bacon and Italian sausage)
(4) Spinato's Pizzeria [Yelp] 11108 North Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85259 Last year's rank: N/A The place has a friendly atmosphere, with good food and good prices. Favorite dish: Thick crust pizza with salami and black olives, with a cannoli for dessert
(5) Joe's Real BBQ 301 North Gilbert Road, Gilbert, AZ 85234 Last year's rank: N/A I've only been here a few times, since I don't get to the southeast valley very often, but I try to make a point to stop at Joe's whenever I do. The barbecue is excellent, probably the best in the valley since El Paso closed down. The side dishes and homemade root beer top off the delicious meal. Favorite dish: BBQ Sampler plate, with homemade applesauce and cheesy potatoes.
(6) YC's Mongolian Grill 9120 East Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85256 Last year's rank: N/A You pick what you want, and as much as you want (at least as much as you can fit in a single bowl). It's all good quality food, and cooks up nicely, with the various sauces fused into the dish. Favorite dish: Turkey, onions, green onions, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, noodles, with YC's Own, orange, and garlic sauces
(7) Buffalo Wild Wings 7000 East Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85054 Last year's rank: N/A I think over the course of the year that I tried all of the 14 wing sauces, and enjoyed all of them. The hottest, "Blazin'", was too hot for me, and even though it tasted good, I actually couldn't finish all 6 of my wings because it was so painful. Everything else, from the sweet to the tangy to the spicy sauces, gave a nice flavor to their wings. Favorite dish: Boneless Hot BBQ wings
(8) Taste of Chicago [Yelp] 13802 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 Last year's rank: N/A My second favorite Italian beef place in the area. This is quite a bit different from the others - thicker bread, thicker meat, and a pretty good barbecue beef. Favorite dish: Cheesy beef sandwich
(9) Blue Burrito Grille 7318 East Shea Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Last year's rank: N/A These guys deliver a pretty good burrito, and a nice little salsa bar to complement the multi-colored tortilla chips. Favorite dish: Machaca breakfast burrito
(10) Chick-Fil-A 14995 North 87th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Last year's rank: #4 This year introduced the spicy chicken sandwich, the first real major change in their menu in recent history. I was a little worried that they were screwing with perfection, but they really got this one right. Just the right amount of buffalo flavor infused into the meat, but still based on the original style. Favorite dish: Spicy chicken sandwich deluxe, no pickles
(Honorable mention) Fogo de Chao [Yelp] 6300 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85253 Last year's rank: N/A This place is simply amazing. Meat, meat, and more meat, all top quality and loaded with flavor. It's a little expensive but well worth it. The rest of this list is made up of places I went to a lot during the year, and I only went here once this year - but I couldn't leave this off the list. Favorite dish: MEAT
This place is a meat lover's paradise. I don't think I've ever eaten so much meat in my entire life.
But before the meat service begins, you start your meal over at the gourmet salad bar, which was not why I was there. After picking up a couple olives and leaves of lettuce, and a slice or two of onion, I felt good about having a nice balanced meal.
Back at the table, it's time for the real food to begin. The servers come by immediately, bringing a dozen different kinds of meat, filling up your plate as many times as you can handle. Lots of beef, like top and bottom sirloin, filet mignon, ribs, and ribeye, plus lamb chops, leg of lamb, pork ribs, parmesan-encrusted pork loin, chicken with or without being wrapped in bacon (like I'd eat chicken that's not wrapped in bacon), and sausage. Every meat was delicious, tender and juicy, full of amazing Brazilian flavors.
Also included with the meal were various side dishes, like a pretty good cheese bread, mashed potatoes, and carmelized bananas - but I was here to eat meat, so I didn't have a lot of those.
In the end, I don't know how much I ate - I'd guess each portion to be around 2-3 ounces, and I probably had at least 20 portions (everything at least once, several things twice), so probably around 3 pounds of meat. With all the different flavors constantly coming, it always seemed fresh and new.
At $62 (including soft drink, tax, and tip), it's a little more than I typically spend on a meal, but well worth it. This is definitely a place I'll be back to, maybe a few times a year. It will take that long to recover from my meat-induced coma anyway.
This weekend I took a trip up to Las Vegas for a couple days. Here's how it went, in excruciating detail, more than you could ever possibly want to know.
Day 1: Friday I left my house around 9:00, and stopped at Alexi's Family Restaurant for breakfast. I wasn't terribly impressed with the food there.
So I'm off - I took the Carefree Highway over to US-60, skipping most of the city traffic. I heard that there was significant construction still on the path through HooverDam, so I took the alternate route through Bullhead City and Laughlin.
I was still more than an hour out, and getting hungry, so I decided to stop for lunch at the Iron Rail Cafe at Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino. They advertised a $7.99 prime rib or ribeye special, so I figured I'd check it out. The meal was awful. The meat was totally flavorless, the potato had no taste, and the vegetables, which were large and crispy in the picture, looked and tasted like frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, lima beans, green beans) that were microwaved at some point in the last few weeks. So 0 for 2 in the food department.
After fighting construction and traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard, and cursing at my GPS for sending me to the wrong location, I finally arrived at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. I got settled in, and headed down to the casino.
I dropped $100 in various slot machines, then $20 in a couple video poker machines. There was a TexasHold'em tournament starting, so I joined. The tournament started with 20 players, and I was in good shape most of the tournament. It got down to just me and one other player, and I finally was taken out, finishing in second place, for a $140 prize.
Next up: dinner. I went to the buffet in Excalibur, determined to eat well more than $20 worth of food. My first trip was to the Mexican and Chinese section, where I filled my plate with ground beef, fajita chicken, Spanish rice, fried rice, pork nuggets, orange chicken, then some prime rib and stuffing. My second plate was piled high with penne with meat sauce, manicotti, mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, a meatball, porkloin with demi glaze, and brisket. For dessert, I went with a small chocolate truffle cake. My drink was a Mrs. Arnold Palmer (iced tea and pink lemonade). Just about everything was very good.
After dinner, I broke even playing a little video blackjack, and then back to slots. I found one of those funky ones that has a bunch of bonus stuff that I didn't understand. I hit the bonus, and got a $500 winner, so I called it a night.
Day 1 gaming results: $359 ahead.
Day 2: Saturday
I started my day off giving $80 of my money back to the casino through slot machines. I then made my way over to the video poker machines, where I found the 100-hand games. These are pretty awesome - it's a different strategy to win 100 hands than it is to win 1 hand. It's also a big point-maker for the casino club points. Down to my last hand, I was dealt 4 cards toward a natural royal flush, so I got a few real royal flushes and a few wild royal flushes out of the 100 hands - the next hand I was dealt 4 queens, so I ended up with $250 more than I put in, and enough points to get a free lunch at the buffet.
For lunch, other than the drink, I went with all different items than last night's dinner: plate 1 consisted of pot roast, a pork chop with hunter sauce, banana nut bread, fried shrimp, sausage and peppers, and cheese soup. Plate 2 was taquitos, Asian pork, Mongolian beef, lo mein noodles, and roasted pork. For dessert, I went with Oreo cheesecake. Everything except the taquitos was good.
After lunch I didn't have the same good luck on the gambling front. $300 in draw poker and $200 in roulette just seemed to disappear. I continued my long-term strategy in roulette of playing 22 (my high school baseball number) every spin, in addition to other random places around the board, and after about 50 spins, 22 still never once hit, bringing my streak to about 200 consecutive non-22 hits (odds of a number not hitting 200 consecutive times is about 1 in 200).
Up next was the main event - Shakira in concert at the Mandalay Bay hotel event center. There was no opening act, just recorded music for over an hour after the ticket start time - not sure what was going on there. Once Shakira took the stage, the show was pretty good - a few newer songs like Loca and Waka Waka, some old ones like Ciega Sordomuda and Si Te Vas, and of course hits Whenever, Wherever and Ojos Asi. The instruments tended to drown out her voice during a few of the louder songs, but other than that, things were all good. Lots of music and dance styles, and plenty of hip shaking. During her first encore, some nutcase jumped up on stage and headed her way, and was grabbed by security just in time and dragged backstage, where I'm guessing he learned to regret his decision.
After the show, I decided that it was unacceptable for me to actually leave on the plus side at the casino, so I donated another $100 in a 50-play video poker machine, and $20 in a slot, and played just enough to get another free buffet for tomorrow morning. No dinner on Saturday - the lunch buffet was plenty for one day.
Day 2 gaming results: $450 down (-$91 overall)
Day 3: Sunday
Before checking out, I hit the buffet one more time for breakfast. Just one plate - I was about to hit the road, so I didn't want to overeat. I had hash browns, scrambled eggs with ham, onions, and peppers, a Denver omelette, sausage link, sausage patty, turkey sausage patty, bacon, a croissant, grits, biscuit with country gravy, white rice, half a peach, and half a pear, with a cranberry juice/apple juice mix to drink. I broke even playing video poker, and headed out.
I passed through Laughlin again on the way home, and this time decided to stop at the Tropicana Express, where I stay whenever I'm in Laughlin. I figured this would be a good opportunity to win back some of my money - of course it didn't work out that way. I managed to dispense of $100 in a little over an hour playing video poker. By then, it was lunch time, and I had enough comps for a free buffet - you know how much I love free food, so I stopped in. It was brunch-time, so the menu consisted of breakfast and lunch foods. I started with roast beef, a dinner roll, a cheese omelette, scalloped potatoes, apple pancakes, waffle with strawberry, a biscuit, chipped beef, and orange chicken, with an Arnold Palmer to drink. Next plate consisted of stuffed shells, french toast, potatoes with peppers and onions, and more scalloped potatoes and orange chicken. Nice healthy lunch - the meat was surprisingly tough, but other than that, things were pretty good. I made $20 on the slots, and gave it back playing roulette (just focusing on Black-22 and losing each time), before heading home.
Day 3 gaming results: $100 down (-$191 overall)
On the way home, I was in no hurry, so I tried a route I'd never done before. I went through Bullhead City, down through Fort Mohave, Needles, then the 62 and the 72 to the 60. This route was about as interesting as the rest (not at all) - I passed through a few tiny towns like Bouse and other places I wouldn't want to slow down in. If I had planned my route in advance, I probably would have gone through Lake Havasu City, but I was just playing it by ear. Maybe next time.
Whenever I take a driving trip, I always rip some audio from TV shows or movies that I know pretty well, and put them on my iPod. This time, I picked a totally random disc of The Big Bang Theory, and a random disc from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. By some bizarre coincidence, both discs contained Las Vegas-themed episodes. In The Big Bang Theory, the guys head out to Vegas to get Howard out of his break-up funk, and in DS9, Vic's lounge is taken over by gangsters and the crew must rob the casino to save it. Good Vegas episodes. This kind of thing happens to me way too often.
Anyway, I arrived home, and my cats didn't seem to notice that I was gone.
Date: 2010-10-18 10:12:16
Name:
Ryan M (via Facebook)
Joe, did you have a notepad with you when you were eating?
Date: 2010-10-18 19:12:31
Name:
Joe Enos
I wrote it all down (well, digitally wrote it down in my phone) after I finished each meal. This kind of thing is important.
Date: 2010-10-18 19:12:50
Name:
Joe Enos
By the way, I didn't really mention that I did enjoy my trip - I didn't win any money, which is always the goal, but I did have a good time anyway. And if you want to see the Shakira stage rushing thing, check out the first 20 seconds here - somebody got it on video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfVcq0saWxw
This year's vacation led me to San Diego, CA, for Comic-Con International 2010, the biggest geek-fest in the universe. After watching the highlights last year, it looked like it would be pretty fun, so I decided to give it a try. I bought the tickets and booked the tickets back in October, and even that was late enough that I missed out on Wednesday "preview night".
Here's a breakdown of the weekend - way more information than you care about or ever wanted to know...
Day 0: Wednesday
I took the day off of work on Wednesday to prepare. My plan was to go to sleep early on Tuesday night, wake up early, sleep 5 or 6 hours on Wednesday afternoon, then leave the house around 11pm to get to San Diego with plenty of time to spare on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, my stupid brain doesn't let me sleep on my schedule, so I ended up sleeping only about 2 hours on Wednesday evening.
Day 1: Thursday
I made the drive on schedule, and got to San Diego around 7am, after a couple of quick stops on the way (IHOP for a 3am breakfast, and a casino to stretch my legs and throw away 25 bucks). Knowing that parking at the convention center is not a good idea, I parked at the trolley station and took the train downtown. Unfortunately, an employee at the station misinformed me about the special "red-line" schedule, so I ended up waiting about 30 minutes longer than I needed before finding out that the red-line didn't come this early, so I'd have to take two trains. Of course, the wait at the next station was another 20 minutes or so, so I ended up getting to the convention center a little before 8.
Once there, I saw the line to get in - pretty long, but bearable. It wrapped around the back of the building, so I followed it back there. From there, it ducked around a corner, no big deal. But then it kept going and going and going - this had to be the longest line I've ever seen. The longest Disneyland lines were nothing compared to this line. But after about a half mile of walking just to get to the back, and another half mile to get back, I was finally in. Pre-registration/badge pickup moved surprisingly well considering the number of people there.
First stop, another line. The three USA shows (Burn Notice, White Collar, and Psych) were scheduled back-to-back-to-back in Ballroom 20, starting at 1pm. At 8:30, I saw the line was already growing, so I got in place. Three and a half hours in line in the hallway, alternating between standing and sitting in an uncomfortable position on the floor, while I was sleep-deprived, kind of sucked. For about an hour, there was a fairly steady stream of costumed attendees walking by, which was fun to watch. As big a TV nerd as I consider myself, I really had nothing in common with the people around me, so I didn't have much conversation, just a book to read (Dave Barry's History of the Millenium).
After another hour of waiting inside the auditorium, the panels began. I was in about the 8th row, so decent seats in a room of more than 4,000. The Burn Notice panel came first, and was pretty entertaining. Bruce Campbell was very funny, and the rest of the panel provided some fun and interesting answers to the prepared and audience questions. There was even an announcement of an upcoming Burn Notice prequel movie centering on Campbell's character. There was also a video describing how to do spy stuff to pitch your ideas to a Comic-Con executive, done in the style of the show. White Collar was next, a fun show starting its second season. The main cast was all there, including my favorite actress, Tiffani Thiessen, who of course looked great. The panel started with a funny video showing the planning of a caper to steal the new Tron footage, and moved on to some fun Q&A. Psych, probably the funniest show on TV right now, also had a very entertaining panel, including some singing and dancing.
The panels were fun, but honestly there wasn't much there that I would have gotten from watching the clips that will inevitably be on YouTube shortly if they're not already there. With such a large audience, there wasn't much of a chance to interact with the panelists. Also, both of the cameras I brought weren't able to take decent pictures of the panel - all of them had a horrible glare that made it impossible to see anything.
On the way back to the hotel at around 6:00, I realized the only thing I'd eaten since about 3am was a couple Oatmeal Creme Pies that I packed, so I decided to stop for dinner. I took the advice of a co-worker and stopped at Phil's BBQ, which also had great reviews on Yelp. The place has a line that wraps around the building, but since I was just going to eat at the bar, I could skip the 30 minute line and walk right in. The dinner menu is pretty much just beef ribs, pork ribs, and chicken - kind of limited for a BBQ place, but I tried the beef ribs and chicken combination, with fries. The dish came out, with tons of food. There were three giant beef ribs with lots of meat, and probably at least a half pound of chicken, along with a ton of fries. The sauce was excellent, thick and just a little spicy. Both the beef and chicken were great, and the fries were pretty good as well. Definitely the kind of place I'd frequent if I lived nearby.
Day 2: Friday
After 36 straight hours with only about 2 hours of sleep, my brain needed to be recharged. I decided to sleep in and skip day 2, which included Stargate: Universe, The Big Bang Theory, Bones, and The Joss Whedon Experience. I heard the Big Bang Theory panel was great, but somehow I doubt it was worth another day of 6 hours standing in line. So I played hooky instead.
With all day to kill, my first stop was lunch. I was in the mood for Philly cheesesteaks, so after a quick Yelp search, I ended up at Gaglione Brothers Famous Steaks & Subs for a Cheez Whiz steak sandwich with onions, with garlic fries. The sandwich was pretty good, but not as good as Corleone's back home. The garlic fries were a little weird, not something I'd have again.
I spent most of the day just kind of checking out the city. I checked out a few beaches and played some pool, and then it was time for dinner. I felt like Italian, and found one that looked kind of appealing, Paesano. I had the minestrone soup followed by baked lasagne and garlic bread. I really wasn't impressed.
Day 3: Saturday
Today was the Chuck panel, my favorite show on TV right now, and really the whole reason for attending the convention. The panel started late, and being scheduled for only 45 minutes, it ran pretty short. However, we did get a video and performance from Jeffster, and some insight into next season. Linda Hamilton will be making some appearances as Chuck's mother, and there will be several other guest stars as always, like the Old Spice guy. Unfortunately, with the time constraints, there was no time for audience Q&A, leaving the crowd a little disappointed.
I wanted to see one more panel later in the afternoon, so I stuck around and toughed out the next several panels. Family Guy was first - I'm not a fan of the show, but Seth MacFarlane is a funny guy, so the panel was bearable. The Cleveland Show was next, and that was horrible. Don't know how this show is on the air. Somehow Futurama is back on, and that panel was next - this show gave it a good effort when it started, but never really was funny, but it has a new home on Comedy Central, so Groening and crew were out there talking about it. The Simpsons was next, wrapping up the block of panels I didn't want to watch. Every time I watch the show anymore, I'm lucky to find one funny thing in the whole episode. It's another one of those shows that was great for awhile, but should have been ended about 5 or 6 years ago. But there was one funny moment in the panel; while answering a silly question about a Simpsons spinoff, someone brought up the fact that Seth MacFarlane has three shows, to which producer Matt Selman responded "Seth MacFarlane has one show three times", getting mixed reactions from the crowd.
The other panel I wanted to see was V, the remake of the old sci-fi miniseries, which will be entering its second season soon. The show is good, but the panel really didn't accomplish anything. The moron who was moderating it kept asking the actors questions about how the show is unfolding, and pretty much every answer was "Umm...well...I hope that...". The types of questions he was asking should have been directed at the show's creators and writers, and the actors should have been asked questions that they could actually answer.
After the panels, I was thinking about food, and I can't come all the way to Southern California without stopping at Shakey's. They currently have a special for a $9.99 large with BBQ sauce, bacon, ham, pineapples, and jalapeno sausage. It wasn't bad, but next time I'll stick with normal pepperoni pizza.
Day 4: Sunday:
There was nothing of interest in the Comic-Con schedule, so I took another day to relax. I figured I'd take this opportunity to find a day spa to get a fancy massage (and I mean a real massage, not a "massage"). I found one that looked promising, but never was able to contact them. The next place I found with good reviews was Suki Day Spa. Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to the location - it was downtown, just a couple blocks from the convention center, which meant parking was impossible. I ended up parking about a mile away in some hotel garage's "guest only" parking, and luckily the car was there when I got back. I went with the 4-handed massage, something I've never tried before. Totally worth it - a little expensive, but having two parts worked on at the same time is a different experience, very relaxing.
Dinner was at Hunter Steakhouse. I started with a caesar salad and a chunk of a pretty good oat bread and sweet butter. The main course was a filet mignon served medium rare, small but very flavorful and perfectly cooked. Sides were excellent au gratin potatoes and ordinary onion rings. For dessert, a good sized turtle cheesecake. Overall, an excellent meal.
General Notes:
This was the first time I've done serious driving in San Diego, and it's as bad or worse than Los Angeles. There are lanes merging with no notice, through lanes turning into turn lanes forcing you to change lanes to go straight, ambiguous stop signs, interstate freeways dropping to one lane (not construction, just the way it's built), freeway entrances inside neighborhoods, random onramp locations, endless business districts, unmarked freeway exits, unmarked intersections, 45-degree drops, and the same old California drivers.
My cats were happy to see me when I got home - they've been extra friendly since I've been home. I've never left them alone for more than about 2 days before, so I was worried that they'd be mad at me, or that they would have torn up the house while I was gone. But aside from a few things knocked over, the house was fine, nothing broken or damaged.
Comic-Con really isn't for me. Sitting on the floor or standing for 5 or 6 hours at a time just to be in the same room as my favorite TV actors isn't worth it to me. I'm not interested in the other pieces: comics, video games, or buying crap, and I really don't get a thrill from seeing a big movie star from across the room. It was fun seeing a bunch of people in costume, and the panels were generally entertaining, but not enough to get me back next year.
Also, I didn't get any good pictures, but the ones I have are here: http://jturl.us/comicconpix - just some costume pictures. I didn't get any clear pictures of any panels or celebs.
Hell's Kitchen, the popular "reality" competition show, returns to Fox in just over a week. This is really the only non-scripted show that I can actually watch and enjoy, even though it does have some of the same flaws as any other show of its type, like the overacted drama, predictability, and repetitiveness.
Chef Gordon Ramsay is a great character, and he makes the show not only watchable, but actually very entertaining. His anger issues make for excellent television, and even if it's not totally authentic, it's always fun to see people get food thrown at them, get yelled at at point blank range, and even threaten to physically fight the chef, yelling stuff like "I ain't no fu**ing b**ch!" or "Let's go step outside, motherfu**er!" - one of the most entertaining scenes of the series to date.
This season, again, there are 16 contestants, 8 men and 8 women, so I think it's safe to assume the men vs. women game will be on again. I know absolutely nothing about these contestants, other than their pictures from the show's website, but I'm going to use my Nostradumbass powers to predict the order of how this season will go, based on nothing but what they look like and where they're from. There are interview videos on Youtube, but I'm too lazy to watch them all. Here is the order that I'm predicting they will be eliminated, along with some insight on how I think they will be treated.
#1: Andrew Forster Andrew gets the distinction of being the first eliminated, after proving himself to be totally incompetent in all things cooking, and having an all-around annoying personality.
#2: Fran Klier She will be the second one to leave, after Ramsay yells at her for longer than usual, mostly because at her age (44), she's been doing this long enough that she should be better at it.
#3: Savlatore Coppola Due to the fact that he is extremely friendly, and a nice guy to have around, he doesn't have the potential for the leadership qualities that Ramsay is looking for (a.k.a. being able to yell and swear at your co-workers).
#4: Nilka Hendricks Nilka is kicked off after (for the 4th season in a row I think?) serving undercooked chicken, and Ramsay says "You could have killed someone". If there's one thing to learn by watching this show, it's not to serve raw chicken whenever Ramsay's around.
#5: Benjamin Knack A service with screw-up after screw-up leads Ramsay to kick out Benjamin, a culinary instructor, and Gordon to say something to the effect of "You couldn't instruct a fu**ing donkey on how to s**t properly!", whatever that means.
#6: Ed Battaglia Again, a teacher is booted off the island, this time a high school cooking teacher. Ramsay makes a comment about how he's teaching a whole new generation of students how to poison the population.
At this point, the teams are uneven, so Siobhan, who hasn't been fitting in with the red team moves over to the blue team, evening up the teams at 5 each.
#7: Mikey Termini Mikey's toughness proves to be too much as it pushes him over the line with Ramsay. After yelling back too loudly at the chef, Mikey is eliminated. Ramsay tells him that he just has no respect, followed by "Now give me your fu**ing jacket you fu**ing donkey!"
#8: Jamie Bisoulis She has remained fairly quiet through the season so far, not really causing problems, but not shining either. Ramsay eliminates her, but does so relatively calmly.
#9: Maria Torrisi Maria suddenly forgets how to cook, and screws up everything she touches. Ramsay stands there with a dumbfounded expression on his face, saying "What is going on here?" several times during the service.
#10: Jason Ellis After nearly setting the kitchen on fire, and burning Chef Ramsay's hands with a hot pan, Jason gets the heave-ho and is escorted out by firefighters.
Down to 6 contestants, the teams join together as one. It's about this time when the show stops being as funny, as the remaining contestants are typically not totally incompetent or annoying anymore.
#11: Siobhan Allgood Ramsay has to kick off the only contestant from across the pond, after a series of mediocre performances. He expected more out of a fellow Great Britainer (or is it United Kingdomer, or whatever you call it when someone is from one of the British Isles).
#12: Holli Ugalde She is finally eliminated, and everyone wonders why it took so long. In reality, it's because you need to keep at least one attractive person on the show for as long as possible.
#13: Scott Hawley After "one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in Hell's Kitchen", Scott is eliminated after making a few small mistakes in the kitchen.
#14: Autumn Lewis A less than stellar performance while in charge of the hotplate gives Autumn a ticket home.
This leaves Stacey Slichta vs. Jay Santos for the final episode. Each choose the three of their former teammates to work for them in the final competition. Both act shocked and amazed when Ramsay tells them that they're going to visit the new restaurant in Vegas or London or wherever it is this year, as if they've never seen the show before. Ramsay treats both contestants very well, acting as if he wasn't calling them donkeys and throwing food at them just a few short weeks ago.
#15: Stacey Slichta Stacey loses in a close competition, leaving...
Winner: Jay Santos Jay wins Hell's Kitchen, where he will go on to be the new executive chef, head chef, or whatever, at some trendy restaurant.
Lately I've been thinking a lot about health, nationwide nutritional problems, and the underlying cause of obesity across the country. I came to the realization that there's one specific way I can improve my own personal health, while contributing to a respectable movement that is often mocked by carnivorous barbarians.
I've decided to become a vegetarian.
Most of my life I've been a big meat-eater. I've enjoyed beef, chicken, and the dozens of tasty products from the magical pig, along with the occasional turkey dinner, lamb chop, and even buffalo burger. Looking back at these decisions, I can't believe I ever allowed myself to contribute to the death and destruction of so many innocent animals, all while ingesting the hormone-soaked and bacteria-flooded flesh of these animals.
As a civilized human being, I can no longer in good conscience continue this savage way of living. Human beings no longer need to be predatory hunters, with so many delicious alternatives. I can be perfectly happy, and significantly healthier, eating fresh green vegetables, fresh fruits, and legumes. Soybeans can be made to not only resemble various kinds of meat, but also taste very close to their meat counterpart. With these wonderful choices, there's simply no reason to eat the flesh of other animals.
So mark today, April 1st, 2010, on your calendar as the day that I gave up meat.
Date: 2010-04-01 13:00:33
Name:
Wendy E (via Facebook)
Oh, Joseph ... your decision has touched my heart! Your words have moved me so, that I believe I'll join you in this health-conscious, humanitarian undertaking. I shall be a vegetarian too. May we both remember April 1st, 2010 as a day we'll always remember.
Date: 2010-04-01 17:42:53
Name:
Mike E (via Facebook)
Who are you people?
Date: 2010-04-01 17:43:26
Name:
Melissa E (via Facebook)
You do realize, Joe, that to have pulled that prank off, you would have had to eat like a vegetarian all day. Did you??
Date: 2010-04-01 17:45:06
Name:
Joe Enos
I made it all the way until about 8am when I had a chorizo breakfast burrito, then a barbecue beef sandwich for lunch, and hot wings for dinner. So I was close.
I'm always looking for good barbecue in Phoenix, and I tonight I came across Grady's BBQ while searching through Yelp. The reviews were all positive, and the location wasn't far from me, so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did, because this was the best barbecue brisket I've had in a long time.
The place is a little hole in the wall on 19th Avenue and Cactus, in a little strip mall that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it. Inside, there were only two small card tables with folding chairs and a hand-written menu with pictures on the wall. This is definitely a good sign - if a place this small, in this location, stays in business, it must be good.
I typically try the brisket at barbecue restaurants, so I went with the brisket sandwich and fries. There are three flavors of sauce (mild, hot, and super hot) - I decided to go with the hot. When the food came out, I was anxious to try it, mouth watering from the pictures on the wall.
The bun was a standard hamburger bun, and the fries were good but nothing special. The meat, however, was excellent. The brisket was incredibly tender, definitely cooked for a very long time. There was just the right amount of fat, just enough to give it flavor without being invasive. A little bit of the meat was slightly crispy, which blended in very well with the overall tenderness. And the sauce was outstanding - thick and sweet, with just a little kick to it. I'd be interested in trying the super hot next time I'm in.
Including drink and tax, the total came to $9.67, and I dropped a couple bucks in the tip cup. It's a little more than the $5 El Paso BBQ lunch special I used to get all the time, but still well within reason. It's only slightly out of my way home from work, so I'll definitely be back many times.
Tonight I tried the new Domino's Pizza that they've been advertising like crazy, described as "a completely new pizza reinvented from the crust up". They have changed everything from the crust to the cheese to the sauce, supposedly all for the better.
The advertising makes a big deal about the cheese, that it's "100% real mozzarella", which makes me wonder what it was before - they don't really say, but apparently it used to be some artificial crap. The new cheese, flavored with a little provolone, seems to work pretty well - I don't notice a huge difference with the new cheese - it's still nowhere near as good as Papa Murphy's, but it does seem to be a bit of an improvement over the old one.
The next big change was the sauce. Domino's describes the new sauce as sweeter and bolder, with new herbs, a little red pepper, and apparently some kind of sugar that provides the new sweetness. The sauce is definitely different - the sweetness reminds me a little of the Pizza Hut Pizza Mia, which is their sweeter alternative to their standard pizza. There's a tiny hint of the red pepper, definitely not overpowering, and just enough to give a little more flavor. I'd say the new Domino's sauce is good, but again it's not the freshest, and not as good as Papa Murphy's.
Probably the most noticeable change is with the original hand-tossed crust. From what I can tell, the thin and thick crusts have not changed, only the original. They seem to have been inspired by Hungry Howie's Pizza, a place famous for lots of flavored crusts. Unfortunately, Domino's didn't add multiple good crust options - they picked one flavor and went with it, and went with it, and went with it, then added more, then took it a step further, and after it was all over, doubled how much stuff they dumped onto the crust. It's definitely too much, and while it's not a bad flavor, I don't think it will work as a standard crust even if they did tone it down a little. I understand that they didn't want a boring, generic crust, but I don't think they have it right yet.
Date: 2010-01-06 09:33:39
Name:
Mat C (via Facebook)
When it gets there, check out Naked Pizza
Date: 2010-01-06 09:34:06
Name:
Joe Enos
I don't know - that looks pretty healthy...It's hard to imagine healthy pizza actually tasting good.
Date: 2010-01-06 14:51:22
Name:
Michael O (via Facebook)
I remember the all you can eat Shakey's experience as if it were yesterday.
Date: 2010-01-06 14:52:21
Name:
Joe Enos
Shakey's is one of the main reasons I go to California every few years.
Date: 2010-01-06 14:52:39
Name:
Michael O (via Facebook)
They had them in Milwaukee too, when I was a kid. I'm not sure if they are still there.
Date: 2010-01-07 16:17:28
Name:
Michael O (via Facebook)
The irony is that unbeknownst to me, my wife ordered Dominos last night. Both of us hate Dominos and were impressed with the ads.
Verdict: the sauce did have a better flavor, definitely daring use of peppers for a mainstream joint. The crust was as awful as ever. There is an excellent local pizza place, Angelo & Vito's across the street, and I don't see us switching.
Date: 2010-01-07 16:29:03
Name:
Joe Enos
I agree that the local places can have the best stuff. Here in the Phoenix area, we've got a couple of really good local chains that I go to now and then, Oregano's and Spinato's. Both are probably better than any of the national chains (except maybe Papa Murphy's, but that's a different type of place), and there are several others that get a lot of attention that I haven't tried yet.
Continuing on my Best of 2009 theme, here are a list of my favorite places to eat in the past year.
(1) Oregano's Pizza Bistro 7215 E Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Great place to hang out at for lunch. Excellent food to go along with a friendly and fun staff. Very reasonably priced lunch specials - about $6 for unlimited pasta, the stuffed crust pizza of the day, or two massive slices of thin crust pizza. Favorite dish: Heck-of-a-slice of pizza with sausage
(2) Chino Bandido Takee-Outee 15414 North 19th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85023-4300 This place is definitely unique - it combines Chinese and Mexican dishes to form delicious combos. They've been featured on national television a few times, and won multiple awards, for their unique food style. Favorite dish: Jade Red Chicken
(3) El Paso Bar-B-Que Company 8220 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85258-2487 By far the best barbecue I've had. High quality brisket and pulled pork, with a choice of two amazing sauces, combined with excellent side dishes, El Paso was miles ahead of its competition. They offered $5 lunch specials (eventually went up to $6) of a brisket or pulled pork sandwich with a side, which was easily the best lunch deal around. Unfortunately, all of the locations have shut down, so I've been trying (and failing) to find something anywhere near as good. Favorite dish: Brisket sandwich, spicy BBQ sauce, and sweet potato fries
(4) Chick-Fil-A 14995 North 87th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260-2665 Definitely the best form of chicken I've ever had. The original chicken sandwich, strips, nuggets, and all of the breakfast dishes are incredibly tasty, especially when combined with their original barbecue sauce. Great waffle fries, and the grilled chicken club sandwich delivers very nicely as well. Favorite dish: Original Chick-Fil-A Sandwich, no pickles
(5) Quiznos 15050 North Northsight Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85260-2607 Everyone knows Quiznos - Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm...Toasty. This makes an excellent lunch stop, with quality ingredients, including their delicious toasty bread. Favorite dish: Chicken Carbonara on Rosemary Parmesan
(6) Papa Murphy's 3230 East Union Hills Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85050-3204 Take-and-bake pizza that is built in front of you and wrapped up to bake at home. All parts of the pizza just taste fresher and better in general than any other chain. Favorite dish: Thin Crust deLITE with canadian bacon
(7) The Good Egg 13802 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 Lots of traditional breakfast and lunch foods, from omelettes to pancakes to sandwiches. Favorite dish: Country Combo omelette (Ham, Bacon, Sausage, Jack and Cheddar) with country potatoes
(8) Babbo Italian Eatery 6855 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85016-1049 Babbo is a great Italian bistro with a few dozen very good pizza and pasta dishes. The staff is always very friendly and easy going, and the place is excellent for a nice relaxing dinner. Since I started going there a couple years ago, I've had about 33 different dishes, and haven't found a bad one yet. Favorite dish: BBQ Chicken pizza
(9) Corleone's 15040 North Northsight Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85260-2615 Authentic (I think) Philly Cheesesteak and similar sandwiches, dripping with grease and Cheez Whiz. Probably not the healthiest sandwich, but very good for once in a while. Favorite dish: Philly Cheesesteak with grilled onions and Cheez Whiz
(10) Qdoba 12005 North Tatum Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85028-1650 Very similar to Chipotle, Qdoba offers assembly-line burritos and tacos, with several different meats, all very good, combined with beans, rice, and a variety of sauces and other toppings. Favorite dish: Burrito with shredded beef, rice, queso, hot sauce, cheese, lettuce
(11) May Garden 5814 West Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ 85031-2421 This is a little hole-in-the-wall place that I passed every day when I was growing up without ever giving it a thought. I first tried it a few years ago, and was very impressed with the food. It's not fancy, but there are a lot of choices on the buffet line that are as good or better than anything I've found anywhere else. Favorite dish: A little of everything - probably the sweet and sour pork
Date: 2009-12-21 12:08:02
Name:
Wendy E (via Facebook)
We need to get you to Philly for a real cheesesteak at Jim's. Fooey on Cheese Whiz. :P And as for May Garden, gee I can't remember it because it has been SOOO LONG since I've been there. :)
On the way out of town, we stopped in Cave Creek at Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue. I've read several reviews of the place, and they made it sound like it was the best barbecue in the Phoenix area. I enjoyed the food, but it was nowhere near the best in Phoenix. For my money, El Paso Barbeque Company was the best in Phoenix - there were several locations in the valley, but unfortunately, it looks like all of them are closed - stupid economy. But Honey Bear's, Bad To The Bone, and Famous Dave's, and probably a few more that I can't think of right now, are all as good or better. If anyone has any suggestions for more good BBQ anywhere in the valley, please let me know - I'm always interested in finding great places to eat, especially barbecue.
The Arizona Sundogs are in their third season in the CHL, a mid-level professional hockey league, with ties to the NHL and AHL. I don't really know much about the league, but it seems that the Sundogs are affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes. Ticket prices are a little high for a minor league game, but since it's really the only thing to do in Prescott, it's understandable. The arena is tiny compared to places like the Jobing.com Arena or US Airways Center - the game's attendance was 2,943 - I'm not sure how many people the arena holds, but it can't be more than a couple thousand more than that. The fan base was small but loyal - the fans were as good or better than the average Coyote fans.
The game itself was lots of fun. Five minutes into the game, the Sundogs were down 3-0, and there had already been two fights. But things started to settle down a little bit after that. Scoring slowed down, and it started to look more like the kind of quality hockey I'm used to seeing with the Coyotes. As the game progressed, fights broke out practically every few minutes. The most violent Coyotes game I've seen wasn't anywhere near this physical. This built up through the third period, where a huge brawl broke out late in the game. After a long series of fights, the refs started to discuss how to respond. After probably fifteen minutes of discussions, a couple of players were ejected, and the penalty boxes were filled. Shortly after, another fight broke, with somewhere around 30 seconds left in the game - it seemed like the players cared more about fighting each other than actually winning the game - but by this time, Arizona was down 6-4, and couldn't expect to come back anyway.
As with most hockey games, the fights were a big part of the fun. But the hockey itself was played pretty well, and even though hockey really isn't my game, I'd have to say that watching these guys wasn't a whole lot different from watching the NHL. When you add in the great fan base, and the 114 penalty minutes on 43 infractions (including 69 minutes of fighting-related penalties), this was a great day.
A few months ago, a Papa Murphy's Pizza restaurant opened near my house. I'd heard of it, but hadn't tried it before - I didn't even know there were any in Phoenix until this one opened. As soon as I tried it, I knew it was the greatest pizza ever. It's a different type of pizza place - they build you a pizza, using fresh ingredients, and give it to you to bake at home (Take-N-Bake). Since it's priced about the same as some of the other popular chains, without the need for ovens, delivery drivers, or other expenses found at other places, they can afford to provide significantly more quality than the other guys. It's better quality than the other guys, and significantly better quality than even the best frozen pizza brand.
I've been trying to cut back on pizza lately - it's not exactly a part of a healthy diet - but when I do get pizza, I make sure it's Papa Murphy's.
Who says pizza isn't part of a healthy diet? Meat, dairy, vegies, and bread. What other all-in-one meal can provide that? Pizza is perfect ... as long as you don't wolf down two or three pies in one sitting!!
I was looking at the numbers, and a whole large thin-crust pizza at Papa Murphy's is roughly equivalent to a 4X4 and fries at In-N-Out - so you're right - I guess it's not all that unhealthy...
About a year ago, I gave up soda in an attempt to live a little healthier. Before then, I drank an incredible amount of soda - mostly diet soda, but still full of bad stuff. It was a little tricky at first, but after just a month or two, it was second nature to order iced tea when I went out to eat, and to only buy water for drinking at home. If you want to read some interesting stuff about soda, check out the following links - I'm sure some of it is just scare tactics, but there's a lot of interesting stuff here: 8 Ways Soda Fizzles Your Health Diet Soda - Dental Gentle Care It's funny to see that when you look at acidity, Pepsi is closer to battery acid than it is to water. It's even closer to battery acid than it is to root beer.
Giving up soda was a positive step - it made me generally feel better, but really didn't help me lose weight or improve my health. I've decided to take a new and drastic step...
I've decided to give up chocolate.
I'm not quite a chocoholic, but I enjoy a nice chocolate dessert a few times a week. More than once I've enjoyed an entire box of Oreos over the course of just a weekend. And when girl scout cookie season comes around, I can easily finish a box of Samoas in a day. Whenever I eat out, I usually pick a dessert from the chocolate part of the menu, from triple chocolate pie at Village Inn to a chocolate fudge brownie at Friday's to a chocolate chip paradise pie at Chili's. It's always incredibly good, but I figure I can live without the extra calories and fat (1600 calories and 78 grams of fat in the case of the Paradise Pie - as much or more than the meal).
I think this is a reasonable goal - I'm not giving up dessert entirely - just chocolate. I'll scale back on my dessert in general - maybe down to once a week...We'll see how things are going in a few months.
Joseph (and you know I only call you that in that certain "mom" tone of voice), I commend your decision to drop a few pounds; heaven knows we could all stand to do that ... but giving up chocolate??!! Are you insane? Where have I failed?
