No! I'm not calling my father a monkey! This picture reminds me of the giant artwork that hung above my father's office desk, but his was way cooler. It was a monkey smoking a cigar, answering the phone, and looking like The Boss Man! ( The internet did not have a replica of it. This is the closest one.)
I got my thirst for the OhMyGosh! from my father. My father taught me to work hard and play hard. I remember spending countless hours sitting next to him at his office watching him write numbers, and more numbers and more numbers, and talk business talk. While I was most likely stuffing my face and leaving watermarks on his desk, I looked in amazement at how awesome my father was. He made working look cool. On weekends, my father and I would go to off-road, motocross, and slalom competitions, and of course drag racing. He also taught me how not to shoot my eye out, and how to peel out before I could drive a straight line. He is also the coolest father in the hood, who trusted me to have the wits and coordination to ride a scooter at age 9. He was not wrong! ( My mother was probably in church praying to all the angels and saints as well.)
My father taught me that life is one big adventure, and not to sweat the small stuff...except traffic! Hey adventure is waiting, and the slow drivers are holding us down! Move! or get crushed! Oh...ohhhhm~
As hard working as my father is, he always had time to drive us to and from school, plan off the beaten path road trips, and never fails at Sunday Funday festivities. Why didn't I inherit his energy?
Thank you Papa for your constant support, for laughing at my cheesy jokes, the fun and unique adventures, being my food guinea pig (remember the scones that turned into "stones" and the flan that turned into soup?), and teaching me not to fear life...but to party with it! I am my awesome self, because you made me that way!
To all the fathers and father figures
Happy Father's Day!
May your kids grow up and think you're awesome. Ha!
A cancelled appointment and my disdain for waiting in line led me to an early supper. I started my trek in the direction of Green St. in the hopes that I would not find a crowd that resembled the stock exchange floors. It's 6 P.M. and Green St. looks free and clear and all is a go!
As I entered the door of Green Street Smoked Meats, I was greeted by a tattooed man with an impressive beard, who makes sure you know the laws of the meat! You don't mess with the meat!!!
This is not the bearded man
The bearded man told me to get hooked on phonics and order under the signage that says "Order Here." What? This is an actual functioning sign? and not just kitsch? I don't know what kind of affliction I have, but ordering fast food style somehow stresses me out! This better be worth it!
As I stressed over the ordering process, I stressed over the amount of times my mind changed as to what my belly wants in it. Everything looks so good! it doesn't help that I'm watching this man cut meat, and every piece looks so scrumptiously barbeque-ey.
OK..my turn...I ended up getting the Frito Pie. yes it has Frito chips in it, and it's even served in the Frito bag! I can't remember the last time I've had Fritos, and what they did here is amazing! It reminded me of loaded nachos, but with perfectly smoked pulled pork and BACON!
This was my tray of food. I thought the tray and butcher paper was a nice touch. Yes, you are seeing Wonderbread WHITE BREAD!!! Whole grain wheat, 10 million grain bread does not live here!
To answer the meat conundrum I was dealt with, I thought that there was no better way to go but...PORK BELLY!!! It's basically very thick cut bacon, and it was perfectly seasoned with...uh..smoke and deliciousness?
What's meat without it's blanket of sauces. Here at Green Street Smoked Meats, they give you four sauces to bath your meat with. Coffee, Texas, Vinegar, & Spicy. I was expecting the coffee to have a hint of coffee. I'm not sure If my taste buds are paralyzed, but I did not get coffee. The Texas is the barbeque sauce for people who refuse to stick their foot outside of the line. The Spicy was my favorite. It was sweet, smokey, and spicy. The vinegar was something I somehow skipped. Find out on your own I guess.
Oh you see this fun beverage right here? This IS your awesome grandma's sweet tea...if your grandma loves hiding bourbon in her tea. My starving self should not have started with bourbon. This might have been the reason why my taste buds were paralyzed and I skipped the vinegar sauce. Did I mention you can order a pitcher of this sweat tea?! Uhhm yes! Grandma knows how to party!
And for dessert... ice cream! During my internal stress out session in the "Order Here" line, I spied with my twitching eye, the signage...ICE CREAM! I ordered it along with my meal, and was given the mark of the super meat hero. You get "VIP treatment" when you order ice cream. You get to cut in line after your meal to collect your sugar.
Meal time done!!! Time to flash my pig stamp like a super power...whooosh...it's ice cream time! Look at that delicious hard (butterscotch?) coating on this creamy little thing...but to my disappointment...it tasted like "meh." Once again, should I blame my paralyzed taste buds?
Despite the "meh" ending to my meal, I would go back to get more meat, but maybe not be so buttoned up next time. Barbeque sauce on your sleeve is not a good look. You can however rock the sauce in plaid and your beard, which was a common sight during that night. It's one way to save the flavor for later. Oh yah...I would even line up and "Order Here."
You are getting sleepy~~~wooooh. On any given weeknight, you'll find either the Food Network or the Cooking Channel tucking me in bed. One night, while fighting the sleep fairy like a kindergarten tike, the Cooking Channel's Unique Sweets , woke me up from my daze with the words Danish and Seattle. What?! Do they have these enchanted aebleskivers The Great Dane keeps talking about?
Aebleskivers: TGD described it as basically spherical pancakes
There was only one way to find out...Go there! To Nielsen's!
Boo! No sightings of the mystical Aebelskivers, but I found a Potato and Sara Bernhardt.
Ok, I have to admit, the only reason why I got the Potato was because this was what Unique Sweets raved about. I have great faith in their choices; and how could you mess up sugar?
I took the first chomp, and the marzipan was like a sweet, soft shell on top of the puff pastry. After breaking through the Marzipan barrier encasing the soft fluffy whip cream and custard combination, I found my shirt and everything around me covered in the cocoa powder that this thing is sprinkled with, it also did not help that I was dancing around singing "Hot potato, hot potato"( housekeeping tip increase) This pastry reminds me of a profiterole, but 3x bigger, and much more delicious than the profiterole. This pastry is so light and airy, yet decadent, and it almost does not seem too sinful to have more than one, or two or three. The only sin you can commit is not getting more than one, which I was miserably guilty of.
A bite off Sarah Bernhardt sparked a delicious memory that I could not put my finger on. Then it clicked. Am I eating a dark chocolate covered macaron, filled with chocolate mouse?! I basically was! Hidden underneath the chocolate and mouse layer is indeed an almond macaron. This pastry was supposed to be created in honor of that French actress, Sarah Bernhardt. I like how this is a bigger and better version of a macaron. Yep, another unfortunate mistake of just getting one.
I couldn't just leave Nielsen's without picking up these fun little marzipan fruit dopplegangers. This will fulfill the ADA fruit requirement right? I declare yes!
I can't wait to have one or a few of these cute little pink boxes tied with twine, and filled with yummy deliciousness again!
For your full Noshing experience: Summertime by Billie Holiday
If you've skimmed through The Eat List, you've read about Nomi's Creamsicle Tumbler. Well, as luck would have it, we were a block away from Nomi, when my friend declared that she's "thirsty." I hurriedly led her to the watering hole, in the guise of being conscientious. In reality, I was really leading myself to get some dessert. Elevator take me up!
I looked at the menu confused. Nothing is standing out to me! During my confusion, I could not for the life of me remember what THAT dessert was called. All I could remember was that it had some citrus type flavor in it. Ah! I think it's the Whipped Choco-Macchiato? It's got lemon in it.
Then this arrived in front of me. Umm, how deep into my food coma was I the last time I came here?! I don't remember it looking like this! I sat there for a long while, trying to convince myself that this is it. The convincing was halted by the sight of my chocolate dome collapsing like the demise of "Death Star."
( Nerd alert!)
My spoon sped up the collapse of the dome, and inside was the creamy lemon panna cotta, which was nestled on a bed of caramel. It was one heavenly spoonful. The chocolate crumble trail, provided a nice crunch contrast to the creamy texture.
As I shamelessly licked my spoon clean, I concluded that this was not an outdoor summertime dessert! The whole time I was eating it, I had a sneaking suspicion that my face looked like this...
Speaking of wine...It seemed as though Rose was the wine of choice for the day. It seemed that everyone was drinking this wine! I was not a fan of it. It just did not give me the "oh that's refreshing" kind of feeling.
Needless to say, I found out that the Creamsicle Tumbler was only served for dinner, and indeed the Whipped Choco-Macchiato was not the creamsicle. I was a wee bit disappointed by the lack of lemony tartness that brings a pucker to your face. Nonetheless, it gave me my sugar fix. Guess I'll take a food coma nap while waiting for them to serve dinner! Ha no...I'll just come back.
