Fatty Fridays - High School Lunch

When I was in high school we had the option of leaving campus to get lunch. My junior year we had an entire hour, which meant that we had plenty of time to venture off school grounds and find whatever fatty fare we could get our hands on.

Wendy's was always my favorite place to go, partially because you had to drive down a dirt road to get there, and partially because of the dollar menu. But occasionally I'd splurge and get something off of the dollar menu, and every once and a while that meant I'd get a triple stack.



In retrospect I don't know how I ate so many of these and lived. Imagine a Five Guys burger dipped in grease. It was disgusting. But when you're in high school I guess you can do that kind of stuff.

So I decided to see, years later, exactly what I was putting into my body. So here's the nutritional info for my meal, sans large birch beer.

Triple Stack Total Fat: 30g
Large French Fries Total Fat: 26g
Triple Stack Calories: 530
Large French Fries Calories: 540
Total Fat: 56g
Total Calories: 1070

So my question to you: What was the most disgusting thing you ate when a child that you wouldn't touch today? Or, would you still chow down on that triple stack today?

Photo Courtesy of Taquitos.net

Stealing food = delicious fun

In one of our better adventures last night, Evan and I went to the Senator to see Fiddler on the Roof. But, as we got there early, and were both hungry, we ventured over to Belvedere Square, which is essentially a mall with a little strip component to it.

What we found there was pure gold, a true Chanukah miracle: an open office Christmas party being held both inside and outside Belvedere Market. The whole market was open, and there was more free food than a VIP box at the Super Bowl.

Were we invited? No! Evan recognized the name of the company as some real estate developer firm, so with the help of some fast talking we were able to fit in pretty quickly.

But this wasn't a party as much as it was a food orgy.

Name it and they had it. Sushi? Yep, all you can eat. Sandwiches? Four or Five different kinds. Cheese? A good dozen varieties. Ice Cream? Some of the best ice cream I've had since I was in Vermont.

But the best part was outside. They had a beer truck, a truck-o-beer, all the wine you could drink, and the true highlight: they had three guys shucking oysters. Not just oysters, but the biggest oysters I've ever seen. I think they pulled them right out of the water and brought them directly to the market, because they were also some of the freshest I've ever had.

So after 15 oysters, about 15 pieces of sushi, a small bowl of cinnamon ice cream, a sandwich, a few cheese samples, a hot chocolate and a hot cider we made our way to the Senator...with our stomachs and wallets still full.

Food Day: Lovin' the Latkes edition

Man do I love the holidays...and the fried potatoes that come with. And now, here's the news in the world of food:

Richard Moves on the West Coast: Riding high off his James Beard award, Chef Michel Richard will be opening two restaurants in LA next month according to the Washington Post. One, also titled Citronelle, will be an eighty seat venture at the Carmel Valley Ranch resort. The other, called Citrus at Social, will also be located in LA and will have more of a lighter, "LA" feel to it.

I also remember reading some time ago that there was talk of him opening a spot up in Bethesda. As long as he stays based in the DC area, I, and the rest of us here in and around the beltway will be happy.

Secret Supper: There's a great story in the Boston Globe's food section about "Love + Butter", a underground restaurant/supper club that's defying the Board of Health and operating without proper licenses and inspections - oh, and the food there is supposed to be amazing.

R.I.P. Entree: The NYT has the most interesting article I've seen today, declaring the decline of the entree. According to the Times, in major cities such as New York, San Francisco and Chicago (Why not DC NYT? I think this town and chefs like Jose Andres has done more to advocate the cause of small plates (the primary downfall of the entree) than any other chef in this country, he, and by association, we, deserve credit) have been turning their nose up at the big protein laden dishes.

My thoughts on this article are mixed; I agree with the premise that the entree is no long the placeholder in the center of your meal, I think it must be acknowledged that this isn't a mainstream trend yet, and somehow I doubt it will be anytime soon.

On that note, lunch has arrived and Tom's chat starts in 15. Have a wonderful snow filled food day folks!

Happy Chanukkah!!

It's the 25th day of Kislev folks...and you know what that means!



May your ham be moist and succulent, and your candles burn bright.

What a wasted weekend...

not in the sense that I didn't do anything, but in the sense that I was wasted for most of it.

At some point on Saturday night, after a trip to the Dancing Crab in Tenleytown (nothing like reliving those college years) the family ended up at Steak & Egg.

For those of you don't know about Steak & Egg, or who have never been, it's kind of like Minibar...for drunk people.

You really shouldn't get a degree from AU unless you've done at least 6 credits of Steak & Egg; and while I didn't frequent it that often while I was there, I always like stopping by if I'm in the neighborhood at 3am on a weekend night.



There really is no sight like watching those line cooks do their thing at some ridiculous hour at night as dozens of drunk kids try not to throw up into their coffee.

Steak & Egg wasn't the only stop on my magical mystery tour of a weekend. Starting and ending with two lovely dinners with my favorite editor/freelance writer, there was a traditional "Irish" meal at some new "Irish" place in Dupont that really isn't worth writing about (though I didn't know that "Irish Whiskey Mayo" was the same thing as tartar sauce) and two great parties that I'll blame/credit for the inebriated state I was in all weekend - Tweaks, Toby, Ags - great job to all.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some sobering up to do.