Candy Canes Suck. Try These Instead!

It's a well known fact that candy canes suck. Why? Well, a cane shape is perhaps the worst of all possible orientations for candy, and come on, peppermint candy is nothing special anyways. Why unhinge your jaw like an Emerald Tree Boa Constrictor just to fit a damn breath mint in your mouth? Then it shatters and you have shards of freshness piercing your tender gums. And it's a damn mess. Nobody wins with a candy cane.

Fortunately, the good (I might even say inestimable) people at Tootsie (and my colleague AH, whom I have now proclaimed "most knowledgeable holiday candy person within a 40 foot radius of me at work") have brought us an amazing treat -- both an improvement on peppermint candy in general but also an alignment of said candy more consistent with, say, the way a human face works. 

It's a peppermint tootsiepop. Unlike candy canes, they are NOT awkward, painful, and ultimately sticky experiences, AND they are filled with tootsie chocolate. WORD. 

My sneaking, sinking suspicion, however, is that they're seasonal.

Presidential Thanksgiving; the Onion

My post about Thanksgiving is forthcoming (anyone know how to do a photo montage? Or something?) but I'm just pretty pleased that the New York Times (all the news that's fit to print/post on the interwebs) lists the First Family's Thanksgiving menu.

My take: That's a lot of pie, Mr. President.

I prefer the Onion News Network video, in which Obama outlines the moral and philosophical justifications for the annual Turkey Pardon. Enjoy:

Obama Outlines Moral, Philosophical Justifications For Turkey Pardon

And who says legitimate journalism is dead?

Know Why These Beans are Smiling?

Because they're dark chocolate covered espresso beans (which is, after all, also why I'm currently smiling).

Getting Hungry Sam through the afternoon, one bean at a time.

BREAKING NEWS: Breakfast Sandwich

Post-gym, pre-work, I habitually go to Caribou Coffee, where I buy a $4 version of the exact same banana and walnut oatmeal I make at home (except mine's better) and a coffee. Well, this morning, the line at Caribou was absurd (I HATE waiting in lines. Any other shape is fine; lines frustrate me.) -- so I crossed the street and hit up Potbelly, which was emptier than my tummy on Yom Kippur. I'd seen that they make breakfast sandwiches, but since I consider Potbelly a treat, I'd yet to try one.

MMMMMM. See? It's got some ham, and a little omelet, mushrooms, swiss, some lettuce, a tomato, and on that decent Potbelly bread (which doesn't, after all, have the same pungent aroma as the Subway bread). AND only $3. Downside? According to Potbelly.com, it pretty much negated my workout, calorically. Good thing I'm in it for the protein. =)

I'm gonna remember this.

Sweet Tooth Revenant

Yesterday afternoon, coming back from the Hill, I stopped at the Godiva in Union Station. You see, I'd been slightly inspired by an article in Consumer Reports which rated Godiva Dark Hot Chocolate the best they'd reviewed, and so I was seriously considering picking up a little. Also, my sweet tooth has come back with a vengeance -- maybe it's the season.

Good thing prices weren't posted; sometimes I think Godiva operates on one of those "if you have to ask..." pricing models.

Here is a play-by play of my experience. Or at least as much as I care to type.

1) "I'd like to order a dark hot chocolate" This is gonna be good.

2) "$5.50? Really?" This is absurd. Who would pay this much for hot chocolate? Oh well, I learned my lesson.

3) "Thanks. *sip*" Dear God. Dear, sweet merciful one, who has made the cocoa bean.

[I proceed to stand there, sipping, for about 60 seconds. Nothing cogent forms in my mind. Then --]

It's...velvety. It's dark; it's rich. It's intense, yet soft and sweet. Not so sweet that I'm not transported (because after all, sweetness for sweetness' sake is pretty much the problem in America). It's complex -- I wonder if I could do a tasting? Maybe Godiva would bankroll me. Or Consumer Reports!!!

And so goes the mind of Hungry Sam. I hope you've enjoyed this bizarre, stream-of-consciousness look into my psyche -- but this is a great deal of what passes through my mind when I'm REALLY enjoying food.

Wherein I Eat Awesome Stuff in Atlanta

I was in Atlanta recently, visiting JHK and taking the LSAT -- it's a long story. WHILE I was there, I indulged in three particularly sumptuous meals, photographic proof of which I now will present.

1) Dinner on Friday night at Murphy's

I've now visited Atlanta thrice, and each time I have found myself at Murphy's -- but before this visit, only for brunch. (GET THE SHRIMP AND GRITS, DAMNIT. SO GOOD). This dinner menu, like Napoleon Bonaparte, is short -- but fully prepared to conquer my appetite and unify my taste buds into a single regime under its rule.

Awkward simile? Maybe.

Anyways, I resisted the urge to get shrimp and grits AGAIN (it's on the dinner menu too) and instead opted for classic dry-rubbed ribs. I don't get ribs often, but I think ribs such as these are my death-row-last-meal meal. They were so fall-off-the-bone, finger-lickin', bone-suckin', tender and flaky delicious that it was struggle to set a few aside for later. When you can't even keep the meat on the bone if you tried, that's when you know you've found a good ribs joint -- and Murphy's is, at that.

Here too I tried the mussels, which were good but nothing to blog about (oops). However, nestled next to the dish of mussels marinara were thick-cut handmade fries, which were pretty much worth it right there. Moist without being greasy, salty without overpowering the flavor of the potato, they were pretty much just how I like 'em. Another win for Murphy's. I'll be back.

2) Breakfast before the LSAT (at the ungodly and inhuman hour of about 6:30)

I'm not sure I need much commentary for this photo, except to say that if I did well on the LSAT (I find out Nov. 1), it's thanks to this breakfast of champs -- cheerios, leftover ribs, and macaroni and cheese.

3) Dinner Saturday night at Bistro Niko

My experiences with French restaurants are more than limited -- I think I've been to ONE in my life, on Key Biscayne in Miami, where I tried escargo. I know almost nothing about the cuisine, except that they eat frog legs.

SO I DID.

That's right; I tried frog legs. And you know what? Duh duh duh...

They tasted like chicken.

Except they tasted like the best, most tender, flavorful, and wonderful chicken you've EVER HAD. These were lightly breaded and pan fried with lemon juice and a little tomato with spices, and once I got past the fact I was eating something that looked VERY much like a frog leg, I could focus on how tasty it was. If you, my dear readers, think you have it in you, I highly recommend trying frog legs sometime.

For my main course, I had skate wing. For those unaware, skate is a cartilaginous fish, like sharks or manta ray, in fact, very much like a manta ray. Skate is a very tender white fish, markedly un-fishy tasting/smelling, and when cooked, flakes cleanly into large chunks. The skate I ate (hahaha) was pan-fried with lemon juice, white wine, and capers -- EXACTLY the same way MB an I cooked it during my only other experience with skate. It's an easy fish to cook, as the meat is thin and of uniform depth, but the tricky part (MB and I struggled with this) is separating the flesh from the cartilage structure under the wing without making a mess of the fish. Apparently, the trick is to be careful.

In my mind, as much as I love staples and favorites, there's nothing quite as exciting as trying the new and/or exotic; I give Bistro Niko two or three thumbs way up for presenting both in an excellent and perfectly executed fashion.

Next time on Hungry Sam: What I made for dinner tonight.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: PB&B&J

This is a Breaking News Update from my desk at work: I am eating the most delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich that has ever been or will ever be. It has banana slices. BANANA SLICES.

It's on whole wheat multigrain bread from Trader Joe's, using organic crunchy peanut butter, and jam that our family makes from family-picked strawberries every year. It is amazing and I am ecstatic about it. Here is a picture; I wish I should give you all a bite, but then there would be nothing left for me.

PB&J's are having a bit of Renaissance in my tastes, for whatever reason; I think I've just made peace with Peanut Butter. And Bananas.

A more fully-though-out posting on something that someone else might care about to follow later tonight or tomorrow.