Those who know me, know that I have this thing for food. I love to eat. I also have a reputation for knowing or being able to find great places to eat. Whenever friends or colleagues wanted to know where to eat in a particular location, they would come to me and want to know: “Where should I eat in …?” When I was doing a great deal of traveling for my work, I kept an electronic diary of my restaurant visits that included location, prices, specialties and other notes of interest. If you wanted seafood in San Diego, I could name six or eight great places to find excellent seafood. If you wanted real Thai food in Washington, DC, I had that covered with three authentic Thai restaurants, each in different parts of the city.
If you wanted great Greek food in Chicago, I could recommend two places. That was until one of them closed. I almost cried when i discovered this on a trip back to the windy city and asked the hotel concierge to make a reservation at one of these restaurants. But I had my heart (and stomach) set on Greek food that night, so I quickly named a second spot, a local favorite in Greektown. Later during the same stay, when I asked the same concierge to make a reservation at a particular Italian restaurant. he exclaimed, “You certinly know your way around Chicago! That’s one of my favorites, but not many out-of-towners know about it.”
Prior to the construction of several interstate spurs, the primary automotive route between Harrisburg, PA, and Rochester, NY, was US-Rt 15. If you wanted coffee or a snack anywhere along this six-hour drive, I had you covered. I knew the location of every Dunkin’ Donuts within three miles of US Rt 15 between these two cities.
If you wanted to or had to stop while you were traversing the Ohio or Pennsylvania turnpikes, I could help you. I knew what food vendors were located in each of the rest stops. I also knew which rest stops kept their restrooms clean. There were several which I always advised people to avoid.
Although I have eclectic tastes, I love simple dishes along with some of the more exotic fare. For the past several years, since I have been grounded from my travels with some medical problems, I have become addicted to the food programs on television. I enjoy thinking about the exotic dishes produced on the Food Network’s classic “Iron Chef America” series. The show features heated competition in the iconic Kitchen Stadium between a world renown chef and one of the pantheon of Iron Chefs. The current Iron Chefs include Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto, Cat Cora, Jose Garces, Michael Symon, Marc Forgione, Geoffrey Zakarian and Alex Guarnaschelli. Wolfgang Puck was also an Iron Chef for a short period of time. However, he voluntarily retired when he wouldn’t commit to continual appearances on the television series. Each of these chefs had to win a crueling knock-out tournament to win the honor and title of Iron Chef.
I also enjoy the more thoughtful, less competitive dishes prepared by Ina Garten on her Food Network program “Barefoot Contessa:Back to Basics.” The ads for her show pretty much tell the story of the show: ” recipes, menus, and serving ideas for stress-free cooking, baking, and entertaining.” Ina’s dishes are fairly simple to prepare and make for casually-elegant luncheons or dinners.
However, I also enjoy the simpler, basic fare featured on the Food Channel’s program “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” I especially enjoy those shows when I have eaten in the featured eatery. Most of the time for these shows, I have enjoyed one or more of the restaurant’s specialties when I visited the spot. As I watch Guy talk about the featured food, I recall each bite right along with him.
Once in awhile I will also watch Adam Richman’s program “Man Against Food” on the Travel Channel. I will admit that most of his food challenges are beyond reasonableness. However, if one would just cut back the portions proposed, I find many of the featured foods appealing. Two recent examples of this were monstrous omelets and chili dogs. The omelet challenge was to eat a five pound breakfast consisting of one pound of home fries and a four-pound, 12-egg omelet. The ingredients of the omelet actually sounded great. They included sausage, spinach, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes. A nice three egg omelet made with these ingredients, along with a reasonable amount of home fries, would make a nice breakfast. The chili dog challenge included four, yard-long hot dogs covered with two pounds of chili and one pound of french fries, along with a proportional amount of melted cheese, chopped raw onions and yellow mustard. This monstrous plate was way too much. However, give me one regular sized hot dog, covered with just the right amount of chili, onions and yellow mustard, along with a small order of french fries, and I am satisfied with a nice lunch.
This post is the beginning of a series I am planning on some of my favorite foods. I hope to cover the gamut from appetizers to desserts, from soup to nuts. I will start simple and light. The next group of posts will feature some of my favorite soups. They will be followed by my favorite sandwiches and salads. Those will be followed by my favorite appetizers. I will then move on to my favorite breakfasts, dinner entrees, and ethnic specialties. I will finish off the series the way any great meal should end, with great desserts. Some of the posts will point readers to particular restaurants that serve these items. Other posts may include recipes for the dishes which are either my creations or dishes that my wife prepares regularly.
I hope that you enjoy these posts. I welcome any comments and suggestions. Great food is meant to be shared. As Phil Robertson finishes many of the episodes of Duck Dynasty, he offers a blessing at the family table similar to the following one that I offer to our gracious God:
“Dear Father, thank you for your bountiful goodness and harvest of great eats. Bless this food we are about to receive. In our precious Savior’s name, Amen”
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