at least it's an ethos...

this kid could write the zagat guide for after dinner treats.

“the candy coating is an understated preface to the complex interaction of salty pretzel & creamy chocolate. these morals are a joy.”

a story of airport food in 3 acts:

- arrive at 12:30 for 2pm flight. have a reuben & pilsner @ the great dane.

- find out flight is delayed until 4 due to mechanical issues. get voucher for $25 and buy nuts, powerbars, & a big glass of whole milk.

- land in detroit at 6:30 and go straight for popeye’s. spicy for life.

- immediately start thinking about what to eat in philly (potential act 4)

traditional irish lunch - bacon, fried egg, & avocado with black beans.

• on the conference call from hell
• been awake since 5:30am yesterday (short 2 hour nap on the plane)
• drove 2.5 hours from munich
• i’m really fucking hungry
• i just need to sleep and eat
• sleep
• eat
• no
• eat
• then
• sleep

then breakfast.  a LARGE breakfast.

i cooked an embarrassingly terrible pork roast last week and have been trying to sort out what went wrong.  i was going for a crock pot pork roast in a thai lime-chili style that could then be put over rice.  what i got was a dry hunk of meat.  terrible.

here is the rundown:

• seared the outside of the roast in cast iron as with other roasts
• cooking liquid was orange juice (used to deglaze pan), fresh lime juice, sweet chili sauce, & water to cover
• added sunchokes, carrots, onion, & garlic
• put in fridge overnight (in liquids)
• cooked low for 7 hours or so from cold the following morning

results:

• incredibly dry meat
• undercooked veggies
• a solid sauce that when reduced was great over rice

could the meat problem be related to the acids in the citrus?  is this a ceviche-type scenario?  could the meat have been par-“cooked” in the fridge overnight?

but the veggies should’ve been cooked in that amount of time.  perhaps the cold liquid having to heat is the problem here.

bacon cheeseburger @ eagle crest bar. 1lb of meat & 6 slices of bacon…and delicious - perfectly cooked & seasoned.

one more tradition checked off the list. i can’t say enough for house sausage from family farm hogs.

also, best diner coffee.

wyatt & i had dinner at pig in a fur coat on willy street tonight. charcuterie plate with house cured meats - salami, capicola, & serrano ham particularly.

the killers, though, were the bleu topped with paper thin honeycomb and the pate with a pickled cherry & balsamic reduction. wow.

dinner at burger lounge tonight - grass fed beef, house made sauces, organic sodas on tap, stellar fries / onion rings, & local craft brews.

sounds like they have around half-a-dozen locations in socal and this is the kind of thing that would absolutely kill in madison. who wants to start a franchise with us?

also, wyatt photobomb is probably the best part of this photo.

pork ossobuco & 4 cheese risotto with a bottle of troublemaker syrah, grenache, & mourvedre blend @ buon appetito in san diego’s little italy.

finest non-bbq pork dish i’ve ever had paired with a perfect california blend suggested by our waiter.