I was wondering to myself last night why I wanted to start all of this up again, why now? Then I thought back over the last few weeks and counted the number of times I've eaten out or tried something new for take out... If I go back two months I've eaten at 4 new (to me) restaurants and gone out another 6 times beyond that. That's like... 10 blog posts!
Why didn't I take pictures? Take notes? Jot something down? Who knows. But I am from now on. Also thinking we should revisit at least a few of those places.
I mean I'll obviously go back to the Bagdad again. I love that place. Good food and nice movie prices, $2 tuesdays? Come on! Last week I saw Hunger Games and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer for $4, along with a very tasty turkey sandwich, tots, and amazingly good ranch dip ($9.50). You know I'll be back.
Redneck Widow, Apocalypse Mom, and myself have been into Bollywood movies for... Gosh it seems like forever but its probably more like under a year, and as such we've been into the Indian (Hindustani) culture/ cuisine. So we visited Namaste for their dinner buffet with BellaBabe, The Man, and all the kidlets (I'm sure they'll get names later). And it was so good! There was a variety of food, everyone enjoyed themselves, and the kidlets were suprisingly (to me) adventurous and willing to try new things. I was so proud. We have to go back.
There was the bar we went to just the other day... Can't remember the name, not a good experience for me... Why oh why did I order "Pork Medallions in a Rosemary Wine Sauce" at a bar? What was I thinking?? Blech... It was over cooked, over salted nastiness. Doubt I shall return.
And of course the never ending search for "good" chinese. My favorite chinese isn't authentic or high class... I want egg foo young patty in brown gravy with fried rice, so tasty. And difficult to find. Wierd right?
So I promise more adventures, and hopefully with all of these contributors we can churn out at least one post a week. Its a good theory right?
Friday, August 10, 2012
Why am I here?
Well, let me answer that question. Mainly the 2 other posters on here thought it would be a good idea. I don't really consider myself a foodie. I am culinarily adventurous though. Also, I can't follow a recipe. Recipes equal disaster in my kitchen. None of my dishes are ever the same way twice.
How did I get this crazy name....Apocalypse Mom? I do the shopping for my household which currently includes 8 people. It does fluctuate. I am also responsible for the cooking. Well when I shop if there is a great deal on a certain item and there are only 10 left? What to do? What to do? Buy all 10 of course. Suddenly, everyone in my circle is making light of my shopping ways. " Hey, are you getting ready for the apocalypse or something?" Eventually I just started saying yes I am.
I must say my additions to this blog may seem somewhat limited at times. You will likely get a review for every chicken sandwich in the city of Portland. I have some medical conditions which keep me from eating certain foods. For example no beef or pork. I have been told this makes me a vegetarian. Not vegan as I still eat chicken and fish. What do you think?
I look forward to this adventure we are on together. I hope you have a good time as well.
How did I get this crazy name....Apocalypse Mom? I do the shopping for my household which currently includes 8 people. It does fluctuate. I am also responsible for the cooking. Well when I shop if there is a great deal on a certain item and there are only 10 left? What to do? What to do? Buy all 10 of course. Suddenly, everyone in my circle is making light of my shopping ways. " Hey, are you getting ready for the apocalypse or something?" Eventually I just started saying yes I am.
I must say my additions to this blog may seem somewhat limited at times. You will likely get a review for every chicken sandwich in the city of Portland. I have some medical conditions which keep me from eating certain foods. For example no beef or pork. I have been told this makes me a vegetarian. Not vegan as I still eat chicken and fish. What do you think?
I look forward to this adventure we are on together. I hope you have a good time as well.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Hello World...
Hi there readers, I am relatively new to the world of blogging for a purpose. So please bear with me if some of my posts seem to wander around a bit before finding their topic
So I have agreed to sample various restaurants, food carts (Bleh!), "dining establishments" and give my opinion of the meal (If we can always call it that) here on this blog. While SleepyGinger is a good friend of mine, I have often accused her of being too much of a foody. Needless to say, our opinions on these things differ greatly. So this blog should be amusing at times and interesting at others and at the very least educational. I do hope that we at least give a nice show casing of what is available in and around the Pacific Northwest.
Now, a very small bit about myself. I am a full-time student at PSU (GO VIKINGS!!!!!!!!!!), a mother of 3 (4+) children, currently going through a divorce, a published author working on my second and third novels, a registered minister, and according to my children I am an evil mastermind. :-)
We welcome info on new places to eat, recipes to try, or general wackiness to critique. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you feel the same.
So I have agreed to sample various restaurants, food carts (Bleh!), "dining establishments" and give my opinion of the meal (If we can always call it that) here on this blog. While SleepyGinger is a good friend of mine, I have often accused her of being too much of a foody. Needless to say, our opinions on these things differ greatly. So this blog should be amusing at times and interesting at others and at the very least educational. I do hope that we at least give a nice show casing of what is available in and around the Pacific Northwest.
Now, a very small bit about myself. I am a full-time student at PSU (GO VIKINGS!!!!!!!!!!), a mother of 3 (4+) children, currently going through a divorce, a published author working on my second and third novels, a registered minister, and according to my children I am an evil mastermind. :-)
We welcome info on new places to eat, recipes to try, or general wackiness to critique. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you feel the same.
Ch- Ch- Changes! (Or How I Roped Someone Else Into This. Muahahahahahaha!)
Okie dokie people! The blog address has changed, the staff has changed (a little), my alias has changed, and the bent has changed... Just breathe and remember "What does not change, stagnates and dies." and we'll get through it.
Its been almost exactly a year since my last entry over on Culinary Quest of LittleRed and BellaBabe and soo much has happened. After returning from (WorldCon Baby!) vacation BellaBabe and I opted to part as roommates and things went quickly from there. Since that time I've moved twice, changed my job twice (though now back at my Downtown Destination so... Yeah...), been layed up with a back injury and am finding my footing again. Currently in a wierd recovery state after falling on hard times and being caught by family and friends.
Family and friends who let me babble on ad nauseum about food, cooking, and restaurants. Family and friends who will go with me and give their opinions... Do we see where this is going? I thought as much. But BellaBabe's location and schedule keep her pretty busy so while she may come back every now and then when I drag her kicking and screaming into having fun, she likely won't be around as much as she used to.
I've invited a long time friend (10 years holy cats!) into joining me in this babbling to the interwebs I enjoy so much. She's a published author, currently working on a second novel, pursuing her Master's degree, raising a gaggle of kids (4+) with her parenting partners, wrangling her parents in their golden years, and trying to have a kickin' good time. The two of us often have vastly differing opinions and enjoy debating and talking out the why and the how of our opinions. She is (for the purpose of these written words) the Redneck Widow.
I'm hoping to bring in other members of our diverse friendverse to chime in with their opinions from time to time.
I've changed my handle from Little Red to Sleepy Ginger as I felt it better suited me. My goal is a post a week. And no, this doesn't count as this week's post. So join me as I start again... Again. And let me know what you want to see.
Its been almost exactly a year since my last entry over on Culinary Quest of LittleRed and BellaBabe and soo much has happened. After returning from (WorldCon Baby!) vacation BellaBabe and I opted to part as roommates and things went quickly from there. Since that time I've moved twice, changed my job twice (though now back at my Downtown Destination so... Yeah...), been layed up with a back injury and am finding my footing again. Currently in a wierd recovery state after falling on hard times and being caught by family and friends.
Family and friends who let me babble on ad nauseum about food, cooking, and restaurants. Family and friends who will go with me and give their opinions... Do we see where this is going? I thought as much. But BellaBabe's location and schedule keep her pretty busy so while she may come back every now and then when I drag her kicking and screaming into having fun, she likely won't be around as much as she used to.
I've invited a long time friend (10 years holy cats!) into joining me in this babbling to the interwebs I enjoy so much. She's a published author, currently working on a second novel, pursuing her Master's degree, raising a gaggle of kids (4+) with her parenting partners, wrangling her parents in their golden years, and trying to have a kickin' good time. The two of us often have vastly differing opinions and enjoy debating and talking out the why and the how of our opinions. She is (for the purpose of these written words) the Redneck Widow.
I'm hoping to bring in other members of our diverse friendverse to chime in with their opinions from time to time.
I've changed my handle from Little Red to Sleepy Ginger as I felt it better suited me. My goal is a post a week. And no, this doesn't count as this week's post. So join me as I start again... Again. And let me know what you want to see.
Laurelwood Public House & Brewery (Culinary Quest 3.8.11)
I woke up yesterday (Sunday) morning** and remembered that BellaBabe had plans. Flipping through my netflix and hulu queue I searched for my standby favorite food shows. After an episode and a half of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" I had enough. I wanted food, and nothing in my kitchen was appealing.
So I got dressed and took off down Sandy Blvd in search of breakfast. The first "Open" sign I saw was at the Laurelwood Public House and Brewery. BellaBabe has been telling me that the Laurelwood has one of the best burgers in town, but the only time we've attempted it we stood at the host's stand for 15 minutes without even a "Be right with you" from passing waitstaff.
But I was hungry, and they were open. So I decided to give their brunch menu a try.
With my stomach growling I pulled into the parking lot and headed inside. I was promptly greeted and allowed to pick a seat. I ordered coffee and it was delivered so quickly I didn't even have a chance to look at the whole menu. When I did find the beverages section I was a little vexed at being charged $2.00 for a 6 oz cup of coffee but not all coffee cups can be the 20 oz miniature flowerpots I have at home. The coffee didn't last long and I set the empty mug on the edge of the table to indicate a need for refills.
And there it sat. For 25 freaking minutes while my waiter passed the table 4 times. When I finally flagged him down and was able to place my order and ask for a refill.
I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and asked for a breakfast reccomendation as I was torn between the Eggs Benedict (my eternal favorite when its right) with smoked salmon and the Breakfast Burrito (I've been on a spicy kick lately) with chips and salsa. I was told that the breakfast burrito was "The best!" and ordered it with House sausage added (for an extra $1.50).
30 minutes later this plate was placed before me. Heaped with stale tortilla chips and sans the promised salsa. One good thing, the guacamole was fabulous! Bright, vibrant, cooling, slightly chunky without being a difficult dip.
But. Big, big but. That House Sausage that I paid extra for? Flavorless and rubbery. While there did seem to be a decent amount of it, it was completely forgettable. There was twice as much tortilla as there was filling and the filling itself was overpowered by the black beans. I missed the flavors of the egg, potato, and sausage that should have been sharing the stage.
All in all I was not impressed. But I'll try it again, maybe it was an off day?
Laurelwood Public House & Brewery
5115 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
tel: 503-282-0622
**I apologize for the late post, but mobile blogger wasn't working and after typing this entire thing out on my cellphone, by George I'm going to post it!
So I got dressed and took off down Sandy Blvd in search of breakfast. The first "Open" sign I saw was at the Laurelwood Public House and Brewery. BellaBabe has been telling me that the Laurelwood has one of the best burgers in town, but the only time we've attempted it we stood at the host's stand for 15 minutes without even a "Be right with you" from passing waitstaff.
But I was hungry, and they were open. So I decided to give their brunch menu a try.
With my stomach growling I pulled into the parking lot and headed inside. I was promptly greeted and allowed to pick a seat. I ordered coffee and it was delivered so quickly I didn't even have a chance to look at the whole menu. When I did find the beverages section I was a little vexed at being charged $2.00 for a 6 oz cup of coffee but not all coffee cups can be the 20 oz miniature flowerpots I have at home. The coffee didn't last long and I set the empty mug on the edge of the table to indicate a need for refills.
And there it sat. For 25 freaking minutes while my waiter passed the table 4 times. When I finally flagged him down and was able to place my order and ask for a refill.
I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and asked for a breakfast reccomendation as I was torn between the Eggs Benedict (my eternal favorite when its right) with smoked salmon and the Breakfast Burrito (I've been on a spicy kick lately) with chips and salsa. I was told that the breakfast burrito was "The best!" and ordered it with House sausage added (for an extra $1.50).
30 minutes later this plate was placed before me. Heaped with stale tortilla chips and sans the promised salsa. One good thing, the guacamole was fabulous! Bright, vibrant, cooling, slightly chunky without being a difficult dip.
But. Big, big but. That House Sausage that I paid extra for? Flavorless and rubbery. While there did seem to be a decent amount of it, it was completely forgettable. There was twice as much tortilla as there was filling and the filling itself was overpowered by the black beans. I missed the flavors of the egg, potato, and sausage that should have been sharing the stage.
All in all I was not impressed. But I'll try it again, maybe it was an off day?
Laurelwood Public House & Brewery
5115 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213
tel: 503-282-0622
**I apologize for the late post, but mobile blogger wasn't working and after typing this entire thing out on my cellphone, by George I'm going to post it!
Lead us not into temptation... (For it tastes NASTY!) (Culinary Quest 8.2.11)
I know, I know, I know! I'm a bad bad blog girl. Sue me. No really don't. I don't have anything.
In light of many things, including a rather epic trip (WORLDCON BABY!) in *gulp* 15 days, I've been living on the tight side, eating in, at friends' places, or on the very very cheap. My mind is too full of gotta buy, gotta find, gotta packs to really focus on blogging.
As you may recall from my last post I've become aware that I'm ignoring the restaurants in my neighborhood. This can not stand.
But how to explore the local culinary scene while still saving every available penny for WorldCon? The answer is Restaurant.com. Rather, it appeared to be the answer. With seemingly monthly 80% off sales on restaurant gift certificates it seemed to be a good way to explore the area on the cheap. So back February I dropped about $20 of real money and ended up with $250 in Restaurant.com money. The way it works (usually) is you pay a certain amount and end up with a certificate for $25 off your bill of $35 or more, including an 18% tip. Sounds pretty sweet right?
To date I've used 3. Two at Brother's Crawfish (great food, bad picture lighting. We'll go back and blog about it I promise.) and one on last Friday (July 29th) at Aladdin's Cafe.
Let me paint you a picture... Happy Friday! Its hot, beastly hot. Nothing sounds better than hiding in some air conditioning for an hour or two. BellaBabe and I decide to "splurge" and see Green Lantern at McMenamin's Bagdad theater for $3 a ticket. Whoot for cheap! We arrived at the theater about 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start, thinking to get a pizza and some tots to share during the show. Complete mission failure! They had one person behind the counter taking and assembling orders. The line was epic, the previews were starting... Dilemma! We decided to eat after the show and dashed into the theater to grab seats.
The movie was great! Ryan Reynolds is a sarcastic bastard and I love it, what can I say? BellaBabe and I kept up our running commentary (yes, we're those people who talk in theaters. The tickets cost $3, suck it.) and at the end we were satisfied with our entertainment and giggling in sisterly glee.
After the show, we're hungry, we're wandering Hawthorne, we're spit balling ideas... Suddenly I remember my restaurant.com certificate stash. There are three choices relatively near our house, lets explore somewhere new...
After a little debate (and the fact that I can't find one of the certificates) we decide to try out Aladdin's Cafe. I call ahead to make sure they still take the certificate (ALWAYS CALL AHEAD TO CHECK!) and they do. So off we go.
My excitement over trying new food is slightly dimmed by the dingy strip mall location, but there are many loyal diners (identified by the suspicious glares tossed at the "newbies") so we press on.
Let me point out, this isn't a cultural difference/ foreign flavors distaste. We adore Nicholas on Broadway. I know that if I order the Stephen's Chicken I'm getting at least two if not three meals out of it. And the Gyro? Forget about it. Three meals easy. Not to mention their AMAZING pita bread and humus.
We ordered the humus appetizer. I decided on the combination kabob (kafta and lamb) and BellaBabe bit the bullet and went for the Special of the day, Mansaf — Cooked yogurt with lamb.
I don't want to get into details because... Well I don't want to make myself sick. It's enough to say that (with their lovely open kitchen) I got to watch the cook overcook my lamb twice, the kafta kabob was practically charcoal, the "basmati" rice that came with both dinners was overcooked, I suspect came out of a box, and BellaBabe's portion held the shape of the pan they stored it in... Seriously. As for "The Special"? I'll throw in a pic.
That is curdled yogurt ladies and gentleman. The mouth feel was grainy and disgusting...
We declined dessert and ran home to kill any potential food poisoning with alcohol. (I know it doesn't really work that way, but after that nastiness... Liquor was required.)
Now I'm crossing my fingers for our text attempt... Until then, happy eating!
In light of many things, including a rather epic trip (WORLDCON BABY!) in *gulp* 15 days, I've been living on the tight side, eating in, at friends' places, or on the very very cheap. My mind is too full of gotta buy, gotta find, gotta packs to really focus on blogging.
As you may recall from my last post I've become aware that I'm ignoring the restaurants in my neighborhood. This can not stand.
But how to explore the local culinary scene while still saving every available penny for WorldCon? The answer is Restaurant.com. Rather, it appeared to be the answer. With seemingly monthly 80% off sales on restaurant gift certificates it seemed to be a good way to explore the area on the cheap. So back February I dropped about $20 of real money and ended up with $250 in Restaurant.com money. The way it works (usually) is you pay a certain amount and end up with a certificate for $25 off your bill of $35 or more, including an 18% tip. Sounds pretty sweet right?
To date I've used 3. Two at Brother's Crawfish (great food, bad picture lighting. We'll go back and blog about it I promise.) and one on last Friday (July 29th) at Aladdin's Cafe.
Let me paint you a picture... Happy Friday! Its hot, beastly hot. Nothing sounds better than hiding in some air conditioning for an hour or two. BellaBabe and I decide to "splurge" and see Green Lantern at McMenamin's Bagdad theater for $3 a ticket. Whoot for cheap! We arrived at the theater about 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start, thinking to get a pizza and some tots to share during the show. Complete mission failure! They had one person behind the counter taking and assembling orders. The line was epic, the previews were starting... Dilemma! We decided to eat after the show and dashed into the theater to grab seats.
The movie was great! Ryan Reynolds is a sarcastic bastard and I love it, what can I say? BellaBabe and I kept up our running commentary (yes, we're those people who talk in theaters. The tickets cost $3, suck it.) and at the end we were satisfied with our entertainment and giggling in sisterly glee.
After the show, we're hungry, we're wandering Hawthorne, we're spit balling ideas... Suddenly I remember my restaurant.com certificate stash. There are three choices relatively near our house, lets explore somewhere new...
After a little debate (and the fact that I can't find one of the certificates) we decide to try out Aladdin's Cafe. I call ahead to make sure they still take the certificate (ALWAYS CALL AHEAD TO CHECK!) and they do. So off we go.
My excitement over trying new food is slightly dimmed by the dingy strip mall location, but there are many loyal diners (identified by the suspicious glares tossed at the "newbies") so we press on.
Let me point out, this isn't a cultural difference/ foreign flavors distaste. We adore Nicholas on Broadway. I know that if I order the Stephen's Chicken I'm getting at least two if not three meals out of it. And the Gyro? Forget about it. Three meals easy. Not to mention their AMAZING pita bread and humus.
We ordered the humus appetizer. I decided on the combination kabob (kafta and lamb) and BellaBabe bit the bullet and went for the Special of the day, Mansaf — Cooked yogurt with lamb.
I don't want to get into details because... Well I don't want to make myself sick. It's enough to say that (with their lovely open kitchen) I got to watch the cook overcook my lamb twice, the kafta kabob was practically charcoal, the "basmati" rice that came with both dinners was overcooked, I suspect came out of a box, and BellaBabe's portion held the shape of the pan they stored it in... Seriously. As for "The Special"? I'll throw in a pic.
We declined dessert and ran home to kill any potential food poisoning with alcohol. (I know it doesn't really work that way, but after that nastiness... Liquor was required.)
Now I'm crossing my fingers for our text attempt... Until then, happy eating!
Food Cart Friday ( Culinary Quest 8.8.11)
So last post I talked about giving a different restaurant.com place a try, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men... Yeah. It went awry.
Alot of personal stress hit last week ( if you should know, you probably already do. <--- how cryptic is that???) and BellaBabe and I spent Friday afternoon/ evening running around the Clackamas end of 82nd like chickens with our heads cut off on a mad dash to acquire everything for our impending trip. (WORLD CON BABY!) As we were winding down and starting to think of which drive thru fast food place we would hit on the way home the Babe signal went off!
It was a message from our old pal Kane-ger-Man. He was suffering from the dreaded, and all too common, "Good Times Deficiency". So after much debate, and sizing up the available space in the RedMobile it was decided that we would meet up at the Jolly Roger for drinks before strolling down to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod. So off we went.
At the Jolly Roger I ordered a Bloody Maria (my new favorite drink, and they make them STRONG at the Jolly Roger!) while BellaBabe ordered (...insert the name of the pineapple, coconut, raspberry, rum, and far too much lime concoction she had here--->*), it was okay although too much lime and not enough raspberry. Kane-ger-Man joined us and ordered (... Wow that's a fail twice in a row on remembering drink names), he did not care for it. It tasted like a... Pina Colada gone bad was the best description. He sent that back and ordered a shot of rum instead. He was much more pleased by the straight rum without all the "foofyness". Then the band kicked on and loud reggae band + TINY bar = Headache for LittleRed and an unhappy Kane-ger-Man, so we departed.
After being temporary distraction by a small classic car gathering in a nearby parking lot, we wandered to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod and let the sights and smells assault us. Now I must be honest, this is far from the first time we've come here. In fact it's one of our favorite late night destinations. I love the carnival atmosphere brought about my the strings of light under the tent, and the food is nothing to sneeze at either. All together we ordered six items from four different carts.
At Pyro Pizza, BellaBabe and I ordered the Traditional Margarita pizza while Kane-ger-man ordered the Pepperoni.
We gave our names and wandered away while pizzas were assembled and cooked to crispy, chewy, perfection in their wood fired oven. Strolling diagonally across the lot we arrived at Whiffie's Fried Pies and ordered the BBQ Brisket and Mozzarella fried pie.
After ordering the pizzas and the pies came the debate. Crepes? No, nothing we can agree on. Potato Champion? Not tonight, can't read the sauce board and not really a fan of their poutine. What about the BBQ place? Never been. Let's go! So over we wandered to Bubba Bernie's in search of something non-piggy (BellaBabe has allergies) and not too substantial. BellaBabe spotted Sweet Potato Tots and seemed intrigued, and while I'm not usually a sweet potato fan I decided to suck it up and try something new.
They were awesome! We tried them with three sauces, the Texas Smoke, the Honey Bourbon, and the Bubba Sauce. Texas smoke was our favorite followed by the Honey Bourbon. The Bubba Sauce was odd, it seemed like the flavor changed each time we tried it. BellaBabe theorizes it is made up of a mixture of all of their other sauces. I concur with this possibility.
I almost want to end it there. I really really do. Leave it on a high note. But I can't. After everywhere else we opted to try El Brasero. We ordered a beef taco and beef nachos. The taco was bland and extremely dry even with the lime quarter squeezed over it. And the nachos (which I am not a big fan of anyway) were packed full of jalapenos. And neither BellaBabe or I are fans of that "So-hot-I-can't-taste-anything-but-FIRE" style of heat. So... Not so much. But Kane-ger-Man seemed happy to munch away. Besides BellaBabe and I had more than enough food with the pizza, pie, and tots.
Mix all of the above together with a slight buzz, nice atmosphere, and lively conversation and you get one great evening! Thank the Gods It was Friday!
Alot of personal stress hit last week ( if you should know, you probably already do. <--- how cryptic is that???) and BellaBabe and I spent Friday afternoon/ evening running around the Clackamas end of 82nd like chickens with our heads cut off on a mad dash to acquire everything for our impending trip. (WORLD CON BABY!) As we were winding down and starting to think of which drive thru fast food place we would hit on the way home the Babe signal went off!
It was a message from our old pal Kane-ger-Man. He was suffering from the dreaded, and all too common, "Good Times Deficiency". So after much debate, and sizing up the available space in the RedMobile it was decided that we would meet up at the Jolly Roger for drinks before strolling down to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod. So off we went.
At the Jolly Roger I ordered a Bloody Maria (my new favorite drink, and they make them STRONG at the Jolly Roger!) while BellaBabe ordered (...insert the name of the pineapple, coconut, raspberry, rum, and far too much lime concoction she had here--->*), it was okay although too much lime and not enough raspberry. Kane-ger-Man joined us and ordered (... Wow that's a fail twice in a row on remembering drink names), he did not care for it. It tasted like a... Pina Colada gone bad was the best description. He sent that back and ordered a shot of rum instead. He was much more pleased by the straight rum without all the "foofyness". Then the band kicked on and loud reggae band + TINY bar = Headache for LittleRed and an unhappy Kane-ger-Man, so we departed.
After being temporary distraction by a small classic car gathering in a nearby parking lot, we wandered to the 12th and Hawthorne food cart pod and let the sights and smells assault us. Now I must be honest, this is far from the first time we've come here. In fact it's one of our favorite late night destinations. I love the carnival atmosphere brought about my the strings of light under the tent, and the food is nothing to sneeze at either. All together we ordered six items from four different carts.
 |
| LittleRed is such a dork she forgot to take a pic of everything before the eating commenced. Above is the Pepperoni Pizza ordered by Kane-ger-Man. |
At Pyro Pizza, BellaBabe and I ordered the Traditional Margarita pizza while Kane-ger-man ordered the Pepperoni.
We gave our names and wandered away while pizzas were assembled and cooked to crispy, chewy, perfection in their wood fired oven. Strolling diagonally across the lot we arrived at Whiffie's Fried Pies and ordered the BBQ Brisket and Mozzarella fried pie.
 |
| Incredibly poor cell-phone pic of friend pie awesomeness. |
After ordering the pizzas and the pies came the debate. Crepes? No, nothing we can agree on. Potato Champion? Not tonight, can't read the sauce board and not really a fan of their poutine. What about the BBQ place? Never been. Let's go! So over we wandered to Bubba Bernie's in search of something non-piggy (BellaBabe has allergies) and not too substantial. BellaBabe spotted Sweet Potato Tots and seemed intrigued, and while I'm not usually a sweet potato fan I decided to suck it up and try something new.
They were awesome! We tried them with three sauces, the Texas Smoke, the Honey Bourbon, and the Bubba Sauce. Texas smoke was our favorite followed by the Honey Bourbon. The Bubba Sauce was odd, it seemed like the flavor changed each time we tried it. BellaBabe theorizes it is made up of a mixture of all of their other sauces. I concur with this possibility.
I almost want to end it there. I really really do. Leave it on a high note. But I can't. After everywhere else we opted to try El Brasero. We ordered a beef taco and beef nachos. The taco was bland and extremely dry even with the lime quarter squeezed over it. And the nachos (which I am not a big fan of anyway) were packed full of jalapenos. And neither BellaBabe or I are fans of that "So-hot-I-can't-taste-anything-but-FIRE" style of heat. So... Not so much. But Kane-ger-Man seemed happy to munch away. Besides BellaBabe and I had more than enough food with the pizza, pie, and tots.
Mix all of the above together with a slight buzz, nice atmosphere, and lively conversation and you get one great evening! Thank the Gods It was Friday!
****
There are several more pictures I wanted to add to this but for some reason Blogger won't let me. So they've been uploaded to the Flickr gadget on the right of the page. Sorry for the low quality cell phone pics, the lights were low and I don't have a camera. It's on the list, I promise.
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