Food Fight

Boil in Bag Omelets

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:24:00 +0000

I saw this recipe on ESPN during a pregame show for one of the 400 stupid college football games I have to watch every weekend because my roommates are all super fans. You know the type. Screaming at the TV and rooting for anywhere between 5 and 25 different colleges, 99% of which they did not attend and have no affiliation with.

The pregame show presented various different ways to make breakfast during a early morning tailgate party. The recipe itself was for boil in bag omelets. I was intrigued by an alternative method for making omelets, mainly because I am God awful at making them for some reason. They always end up becoming “scrambles”, which is breakfast talk for “failure”.

Luckily I had all the ingredients necessary to make a quality omelet. I combined two eggs, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and bacon in a medium sized Ziploc bag. Drop the bag in a large pot of boiling water. Leave the bag in the water a little longer than you think you should. I removed mine prematurely and soon realized that the innards of my omelet were not cooked. I threw it into a new bag and put it back in the water for a few minutes and ta-dah! A perfectly shaped omelet!

While the omelet was shaped like a burrito and looked delicious, it lacked that taste you get from frying it up in a pan. It also took longer to boil an omelet than it would to cook one the traditional way. It was also a little watery. If you’re not the best omelet maker though, it may be worth the little extra time to insure it makes it to your plate in one piece.

Chocolate Banana Breakfast Smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:38:00 +0000

How many times have you woken up starving for no particular reason? You don’t want to grab a muffin or some other doughy ball of fat and sugar because you’ll just be hungry again an hour later. You also don’t have time for a real breakfast full of proteins and other things of that nature. So you go to work hungry and run out the clock until you reach a time where it’s socially acceptable to eat your lunch.

Here’s a simple idea. Make a breakfast smoothie. They’re quick and easy to make, and if you stock up on whey protein ahead of time, you can make a protein packed breakfast that will keep you energized until lunch time.

Here’s an easy recipe:

- 2 Table Spoons Vanilla Yogurt
- 1 Cup Chocolate Milk
- 1 Banana
- 2 Table Spoons Chocolate Whey Protein (optional)
- 1 Cup Crushed Ice

Just mix all the ingredients in a blender and you’re good to go. If you have a travel container then you can take the shake with you and save some for later. Smoothies are great because if you stock up on a few key ingredients like yogurt, milk, and fruit, you can make pretty much any combo you like.

Make it happen.

Become a Food Fight Follower!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Hey everyone. You may or may not have noticed the section devoted to "followers" of this blog in the lower left hand column. I strongly urge you all to become a follower of my blog! Why? Because it makes it look like I have an audience!

Not only that, but it's cool for me to see who's checking my writings on a regular basis. You even get to inculde an image of yourself, so all your friends can see what great taste you have in blogs! You can become a follower by clicking the followers section itself or if thats too much work you can do it here.

If you won't do it for me... do it for this baby seal.

BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0000

I could lie and blame my current financial situation on our failing economy, but the fact of the matter is I was broke long before the current recession. I’m terrible with money and I usually spend it before I make it. I also tend to live far outside my means in terms of expensive dinners, booze, and electronics are concerned.

With the new year less than a month away, I‘ve decided to make some strides to get myself out of debt and learn to better manage my money.That means less dining out and more dining in. For the past couple of weeks I have been cooking at home a lot more than I have in the past. Not only that, but I’ve been cooking on a budget. Lots of inexpensive seafood, chili’s, soups, & homemade pizzas.

Here’s a cheap and easy recipe for BBQ Chicken Pizza:

Here’s what you’ll need:

-1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust
-1/2 cup barbecue sauce
-1/2 cup diced grilled chicken
-1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
-1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
-1/4 cup chopped red onion
-1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-1 pizza pan

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the pizza crust on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Spread with BBQ sauce and chicken. Sprinkle evenly with red pepper, green pepper and onion and cover with cheese. Bake the pizza for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Please Don't Try This at Home

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:18:00 +0000

Before I begin, if you enjoy my ramblings on this blog than you may also like my new blog: Strongly Worded, where I write angry letters to things that I feel have wronged me in some form or another. Please check it out!

On to business! As most of you know, I have dedicated several posts on this blog to bacon related studies and the bacon arts. Bacon cinnamon buns, bacon cookies, chocolate covered bacon, and so on. I honestly never thought the day would come when I see someone do something bacon to the point where I thought myself, “I don't think this is safe”.

I discovered the following images at Holytaco.com. I'm going to warn you, this isn't for the faint of heart.

Who doesn't like a little arts and crafts when they cook? Weaving bacon together looks like about as fun as it does delicious. Next fry the bacon up in a frying pan, but make sure you don't pause to think about what you are doing or may me not be able to continue.

As if a that bacon tapestry didn't look bad enough for you.

Whoever thought of this concept is either a certified genius or an authentic nut job.

Is it a burrito? A pork roll? Or just an abomination of nature? For the love of God, please don't try this at home.

Calamari Pasta Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:22:00 +0000

Today I’d like to share a recipe I made last night with nothing but leftovers from my fridge. Sounds kind of boring doesn’t it? Well, the main ingredient was somewhat unique, if that makes you feel any better. In my opinion this ingredient is perfect to throw over pasta, which is exactly what I did. What was it? Was it chicken? Nope. Think smaller. Think… more legs.

That’s right, calamari! I have had an irrational love of calamari (Italian for squid) since I was a kid. My grandmother used to fry it up for the family on News Year Day. It’s great stuff and it’s remarkably cheap and easy to prepare.

The night before last I had made seafood stew with shrimp, scallops, and calamari. I had over shot the amount of calamari that I needed, and thus was left with about a ½ a pound of tentacles left over. The tentacles happen to be my favorite part. This is lucky for me, because at the fish market most people request the rings.

At any rate, here’s my recipe for calamari in a white wine sauce and angel hair pasta. Please forgive the crudeness of this recipe, but I basically just throw things in the pan as I see fit. I don’t really care for exact measurements.

Here’s what you’ll need:

- Roughly ½ lb of squid (tentacles, rings, or both)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 green onions (chopped)
- A handful of left over kidney beans (red and white)
- A generous splash of white cooking wine
- A generous amount of angel hair pasta
- A frying pan to cook it all in

Boil two pots of water, one for the pasta and one for the squid. Throw the squid into the boiling water only for a few moments (until it curls up and turns purple). Then strain it and set it aside. If you add the uncooked squid to the wine sauce raw, it turns it a weird shade of purple. Cook the angel hair pasta in the other pot, drain, and set aside.

In a separate frying pan add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low until hot. Next turn up the heat a little and add the cooked squid and stir for a few minutes.

Pour the squid and wine sauce over the pasta and you’re done! Not only is it easy and delicious, but it also freaks out your roommates when they see you eating it. No one in my house was willing to try it except for the dog and he seemed to enjoy it.

Moms Pumpkin Pie Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:45:00 +0000

Today I would like to share with you one of my mom’s greatest recipes: her famous pumpkin pie. This is easily one of my top 3 favorite desserts that she makes. Every holiday season she rolls out a number of different pies, I am also an avid apple pie fan, but pumpkin is the winner in my book by a significant margin.

Here’s what you'll need:

-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-2 large eggs
-1 can (15 oz.) canned pumpkin
-1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
-1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

-1 pie pan
-Whipped cream

-Vanilla Ice Cream

Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Next pour the mixture into the pie shell. Bake in a preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F and then bake for another 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Let the pie cool for 2 hours and then refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before and vanilla ice cream.

Chili Con Crazy!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:29:00 +0000

If you frequent my blog then you may have noticed that I am on quite a chili kick as of late. Since I created my now famous ‘Nightmare Chorizo Chili’, I have been mixing and matching various ingredients and experimenting with different textures and flavors. Last night I attempted to make a chili with an ingredient that you don’t normally associate with chili: Shrimp.

I was a little scared at first. I was cooking for someone who doesn’t eat meat so my options were a strictly vegetarian chili or some sort of seafood chili. I had to abandon my go to ingredient, which is Chorizo sausage, for either fake ground beef or some type of seafood. Shrimp seemed like the only logical choice. Though next, I’d like to try crawfish.

Anyway, here’s the recipe. It’s insanely easy and pretty healthy by chili standards. All you need is a large sauce pan or crockpot and the following ingredients.

-¾ pound of shrimp tails removed (I used precooked to save time)
-1 can (16 ounces) diced tomatoes with jalapenos
-1 can (16 ounces) red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 cup tomato sauce
-4 green onions (chopped)
-3 cloves garlic (diced)
-1 ½ tablespoon chili powder
-¾ teaspoon ground cumin
-½ teaspoon garlic powder
-½ teaspoon salt
-¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
-¼ teaspoon dried oregano
-½ can light beer
-1 shot whiskey

Once you’ve prepared the ingredients just throw it all in a large crockpot and cook on medium heat until the chili begins to boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer until the shrimp curl up. Top with shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crush tortilla chips.

Last Minute X-Mas Gift Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:26:00 +0000

Since Christmas is fast approaching, I thought it might be a good idea to throw out some last minute gift ideas for the food enthusiast in your life. I stumbled upon this product on Flickr when I noticed an oddly named group known as “Mr. Bento Porn”. Bento boxes are great ways to transport your lunch to work or whatever. Especially if you’re fancy and your lunch consists of several different parts that you don’t want all mashed together. Technically, you could bring your breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the one container.

The people in the Mr. Bento Porn group however, have taken it to the extreme. They all send in photographs of their Bento’s creatively displaying their meals in such a way that can only be described as weirdly artistic. They’ve somehow managed to make packing your lunch into an art form. Don't ask me how. I personally would love to get one of these things for X-mas. Though I’d probably go nuts making complicated meals for about a week before I just started bringing my plain old sandwich and leaving the other compartments empty.

If you’re thinking of getting a Bento for someone this X-mas, you can get one at Cookware.com. Tell em’ Jon sent you.

The Great Burger Quest: Week 8

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:29:00 +0000

It’s about that time again. It’s time for week 8 of my Boston Burger Quest. I took last week off because of Thanksgiving, but I’m back and ready for another burger. With only 3 weeks left, where did I decide to go this week? I dined at Charley’s Eating and Drinking Saloon.

I’ve been to Charley’s a handful of times, but I don’t believe I’ve ever had their burger. If I have, than I don’t remember it… which could very well be the case. Either way, I was joined by my friend Stupid Scott and his lovely girlfriend Rachel. After she took 30 minutes deciding what salad to order, Scott and I dug into our burgers.

I wasn’t impressed. The burger was remarkably average. The bun was a little too soft, the burger was slightly undercooked, and aside from the onion rings inside, it was fairly flavorless. After thinking about it for a good 6 seconds, I just finished eating it without taking anything else into account. I was very quickly bored with the whole thing. The fries were definitely better than most of the fries I’ve encountered over the past 7 weeks. It just would have been nice if they had given me more than six.

On the Jon Defreest Scale of Overwhelming Deliciosity I give the Charley’s burger a wonderfully mild 5 out of 10.

Don’t waste your money. Charley’s is a fine establishment, but the burger is boring and uninspired. I’d go there for a steak or a nice piece of fish, but no more burgers from Charley’s for me.

If you liked this burger review, then you may also like The Great Burger Quest Week 7, Week 6, and Week 5.

Holiday Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:23:00 +0000

Looking for a gift for that warm beverage lover in your family? Do you not care enough about this person to spend more than 30 bucks on a X-Mas gift? Well, have I found the perfect gift for you!

This nifty little mug would be the perfect edition to anyone’s silly mug collection. Once this mug is filled with a beverage of your choosing, it displays a helpful message to inform the user of the approximate temperature of its contents. It has 3 messages: Hot, Cold, and Hot and Cold at the same time. I guess it was too hard to have the mug say “warm”.

When the contents of the mug are hot, the mug turns white and displays the word “hot”. When you beverage is cold, it turns black and displays the word “Cold”. Did everyone get, that's gonna get it? Good, we'll move.

The days of burning your tongue on a scalding mug of hot cocoa are a thing of the past! Simply look at the side of your mug and it will tell you everything that you need to know. How many times have you reached for you cup of morning coffee only to be shocked at how cold it has become. Never again! If you’re seriously interested this mug you can purchase it here.

If you want to purchase me this mug for X-mas simply email me and I’ll send you my address. I also except cash gifts and moderately to unreasonably high priced bottles of Scotch.

If you enjoyed this product then you may also enjoy this condiment gun or these pen cap utensils.

A Recipe... for Terror!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:43:00 +0000

I’m a bit tried this morning. I had a tough time sleeping last night and I had some pretty graphic nightmares. I won’t go into the gory details, but let’s just say it involved homicide and a sledgehammer. I have a wild imagination. I rarely dream and even more rarely do I have bad dreams or nightmares. After some thought, I think I can I know why my dreams were so dark: my famous chorizo chili.

Yesterday, I made chorizo chili. I’ll spare you the recipe for now, but it contains hot chorizo sausage, jalapenos, garlic, beer, whiskey, and garlic. Those are all the right ingredients for a good night sleep, right? Well… apparently not. I made chili for me and my 3 roommates and we all had weird dreams. Not everyone had nightmares, but all 4 of us had some form of a weird dreaming experience. I've spent the morning trolling Google looking for a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, with such luck. I’m going to have to assume that the dreams are a byproduct of the combination of booze and hot peppers.

What foods give you crazy dreams?

Moms Trifle Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:13:00 +0000

Yesterday I briefly touched upon my Thanksgiving dinner. What I failed to discuss in detail was the dessert. I thought it would be fun to talk about one of my mom’s greatest recipes: Trifle. Trifle is a dessert my family enjoys roughly twice a year; once at Thanksgiving and then usually again on Christmas Eve. It’s relatively easy to make and is quite impressive looking. It’s a great crowd pleaser and one of my favorites.

All you need is a cake pan and a trifle bowl to serve it in. The trifle bowl is vital, because if you can’t see the layers, then it’s just a giant bowl of pudding.

-1 package yellow cake mix
-1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
-1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
-1 cup milk
-1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
-1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
-3 bananas, sliced
-1 handful of strawberries, sliced
-3 Heath Bars, crushed

Prepare cake according to package directions and bake in a 9x13 inch pan. Let the cake cool completely. Cut half the cake into smaller pieces.

In 2 large bowls, create the two different pudding layers a keep them separate. In a large trifle bowl, layer 1/3 of the cake cubes, 1/3 of the chocolate pudding, 1/3 of the banana slices and 1/3 of the strawberries.

Repeat the process except this time use the vanilla pudding and top with more whipped cream and crushed Heath Bar pieces.

If you enjoyed this recipe then you may also enjoy Hawaiian Burgers and Beer Butt Chicken.

Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:39:00 +0000

Another Thanksgiving is in the books, as people all across America prepare for one of the longest work weeks of the year. As promised, I have documented my Thanksgiving day feast, so that I may share with all of you. Not only that, but all of my Thanksgiving predictions also came true. This year was pretty much the same as every other year and every bit as delicious.

I rolled in to my grandma’s house somewhere around 3 o’clock and just in time to see the bird come out of the oven. Once I took off my coat, I promptly made myself a drink and took a seat on the couch alongside my father.

My dad, attempting to read the paper and watch TV at the same time.

Next to me on an end table was a tray of crackers and some undisclosed pink dip that I was later informed was “Shrimp dip”. It tasted like cheese, shrimp, and cocktail sauce and had quite a wonderfully addictive quality. My aunt later scolded me for my failed attempt to identify said dip and declared, “We have this dip every year!” After a series of one on one interviews, I later confirmed with every member of my family that we had never seen this dip before in our lives.

As I drifted in and out of consciousness on my grandma’s couch, we flipped the channels between House and whatever football game was on at the time until it was time to eat. Below is a photo of my plate.

It's called sexy people, get used to it.

The dinner consisted entirely of Thanksgiving Day staples, save for a new dish that my grandmother had concocted. It was a simple dish comprised of broccoli, pearl onions, and bacon and it was quite a hit. I for one, helped myself to seconds and possibly even thirds.

Next was dessert. I was stuffed to the rafters, so I only had a single piece of pumpkin pie. Our dessert table offered pumpkin pie, apple pie, lemon meringue pie, trifle, and a new mystery dessert that my mom created which contained more rum than the average pirate.

All in all it was another great Thanksgiving that is finally out of the way, so we can get to the king of all holidays! But that rant is for another day.

If you liked this family post then you may also enjoy Corso Family Wine Making Day Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Thanksgiving Pregame Action

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:03:00 +0000

Welcome to the first annual Food Fight Thanksgiving pregame show! Since I will not be posting for the next 4 days, I felt I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t leave you all with a Thanksgiving themed entry. I hitch a ride to my parent’s house at about 1pm EST and then do nothing but eat and drink until I return to the city sometime late Sunday night. It’s a holiday of excess and I plan to celebrate it the way it was meant to be!

What’s my plan? First off, I plan on getting in everyone’s way for a good hour, or so taking pictures for this stupid blog. After that, I’ll probably sit down in front of the TV and drink for somewhere in the realm of 6 hours or until my mom wakes me up to eat. I’m the oldest of the children in my family, which puts me in a weird position. I’m too old to talk about being a college freshman, but too young to talk about having kids and home ownership.

I usually just sit in front of the TV and take a nap. I’m often sitting adjacent to my dad who is in the same boat that I am. The only difference is that his age isn’t the factor; it’s the fact that he simply doesn’t have anything in common with my mom’s side of the family. My mom’s family is loud and obnoxious (like my mom and I), and my dad is soft spoken and enjoys being alone. A match made in heaven, I know. So he and I slowly melt into the living room furniture whilst drifting in and out of conscientiousness until someone herds us into the dining room for dinner.

At which point I gorge myself on mashed potatoes and green bean casserole until I shouldn’t be legally allowed to operate heavy machinery. But I’ll save the details on the meal itself for return.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Will it Blend?!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:53:00 +0000

Alright, I realize this is a video about a blender, but it’s still pretty sweet. Will it Blend is an ad campaign focused on illustrating the raw power of the Blendtec blender. If you ask me… mission accomplished.

While it is kind of cool to see how easily this blender can blend an avocado, I’d much rather watch it reduce an iPhone to a pile of dust. Throughout this campaign, there have been a number of videos demonstrating how this blender can blend damn near anything including ipods, marbles, glow sticks, and even diamonds.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I’ve wanted to make a golf ball and strawberry smoothie, only to find that my stupid blender can’t get the job done. Frankly, it’s embarrassing. It's good to know that someone at Blendtec has my needs in mind. Check out the video below and the Blendtec blender itself. Pretty cools stuff.

Hey Starbucks, Here's a Tip!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:51:00 +0000

I've noticed a disturbing trend at Starbucks lately. Every morning I buy my morning coffee at the same Starbucks like clockwork. Every morning I get the same thing, I pay for my coffee, place all of change in the tip cup, and then... nothing. What? No thank you?!

It's no secret that Starbuck charges $2.10 for a cup of coffee so that you'll have change with which to tip your server. Not only that, but they make sure the change is primarily in dimes and nickels so that you don’t feel compelled to pocket it for laundry. Personally, I tip my local Barista 90 some-odd cents every morning and for what? Turning around and lifting a little spout to fill my cup. That's almost a 50% tip for doing NOTHING! And it's a handful of change so I know they hear me dumping it in there.

I used to work for soulless ice cream corperation when I was high school and I lived off the tips. People were very generous and sometimes those tips were the only thing that got me through the day. I was grateful for the little I received from each customer and I ALWAYS said THANK YOU!

Not only do these Starbucks employees not say thank you, but they usually don't even acknowledge that I've done them a service! Nod, smile, burp, I don’t care! Just do something! Next time I order my coffee, I’m going to take my handful of change, and spike it on the ground in front of them. If you want my gratuity, you can get down on your hands and knees and pick up each cent. Have you ever tried to pick up a dime off a concrete floor? It’s almost impossible.

If it weren’t for my unhealthy caffeine addiction, I might stop going to Starbucks all together… Who am I kidding, I'd still go every morning if they spit in my face and told me I was ugly.

Coffee is a hell of a drug.

If you enjoyed this rant then you might also like: King of Nothing, The Candy Rant Can, & This One's for my Peeps.

The Great Burger Quest: Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Welcome to Week 7 of my Boston Burger Quest! Week 7? I’ve eaten a burger a week for 7 straight weeks? No wonder my dress pants don’t fit. Where did I decide to dine this week you ask? I chose to take the road less traveled and went to a place that isn’t known for having the greatest food. They are however known for having the cheapest food. That’s kind of good, right? This week I took a trip to one of my all time favorite dive bars in Boston: The Pour House.

Located on Boylston St in Back Bay, the Pour House is located almost exactly across the street from my office. On days where I cannot muster the strength to go to the gym on my lunch break, I usually end up at the Pour House for a nice cheap lunch. The Pour House offers cheap food, cheap beer, a usually cool wait staff, and Big Buck Hunter. What’s not to like?

It has been my experience that most ladies don’t appreciate the majesty that is the Pour House, which is understandable. In my opinion there are few bars that are as well suited for a guy’s night out. If you plan on going to the Pour House you will no doubt end up spending quality time with your guy buddies for two reasons: Because your girlfriend will most likely refuse to join you and because there are seldom any other girls there for you to talk to. This fine Friday afternoon, I ventured out in the blistering cold with my pals B. Hill and Scott.

Could this burger be my ticket to burger nirvana?…Alright, who am I kidding? I knew full well this burger wouldn’t be great; I just really wanted to go the Pour House.

So how was it? When biting into a Pour House burger you will immediately notice the lack of that char broiled taste you get with most burgers. Why is that? It’s because their burgers are most likely cooked in a skillet or a microwave. Either wouldn’t really surprise me.

Personally, I am reminded of the hamburgers that I used to eat back in my high school cafeteria. While that is by no means a sign of quality, it does take me back and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. The bun is a standard no frills hamburger roll that was most likely purchased at Shaw’s, the meat is somewhat chewy and never quite as hot as you’d like it, and the veggies are fine, just fine.

As much as I personally enjoy these burgers for reasons beyond even my understanding, I would place the quality of a Pour House burger somewhere far below that of a gourmet burger and slightly higher than that of fast food. I also feel I should point out that this burger was only 5 dollars, so you can't really expect a masterpiece.

On the Jon Defreest scale of Overwhelming Deliciosity, I give the Pour House Burger a heart wrenching 4 out of 10. Sorry Pour House, it’s nothing personal and I hope we can still be friends.

Even in light of my not so flattering review, I still encourage you all to go to the Pour House whenever possible. Even though it's not the best burger you'll have in your life, it's still an experience worth trying. I highly recommend the Hawaiian burger (with pineapple and Teriyaki sauce).

If you liked this burger review than you may also enjoy: The Great Burger Quest Week 6, The Great Burger Quest Week 5, and The Great Burger Quest Week 4.

You with the Crown! You Dropped Your Wallet!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:42:00 +0000

I’ll admit, I'm a sucker for good viral marketing. I spend an unhealthy amount of time on the internet; I have to deal with a large amount of advertising, which is fine. I enjoy some ad campaigns, while others make me want to chew on the business end of a shotgun. Every once in a while though, someone comes up with a campaign that I actually enjoy, not simply tolerate. As much as I hate to admit it, Burger King has been pumping out some impressive ads in the recent year.

If you want to know my stance on Burger King you can do so here. I’m not a huge fan of this establishment. I try to steer clear of fast food in general and when I do occasionally succumb to my urges, I’m a Wendy’s man. But like it or not, BK is in the midst of a stellar campaign.

I love the blank smile on the face of the new “King”. I enjoyed watching him get hit by a car and attacked by the police. He’s entertaining and he’s iconic. It’s just great branding. But BK has now taken to viral marketing… and in my opinion, they’re doing a great job.

The news has already picked up on the story and people from all over the country are sending in their stories. Imagine walking down the street and you see a wallet, of course you pick it up. Perhaps you want to find out who it belongs to so you may return it. Perhaps you pocket it and continue about your business. Either way, once you open the wallet this is what you find:

That’s right. The King has lost his wallet. Not only that, but he encourages you to keep it. The wallet contains The King's drivers license, BK coupons, a map to local Burger Kings, and cash ranging anywhere from $1 - $100. If you ask me, it’s brilliant. As much as I dislike Burger King, I can’t help but admire their creativity.

Reddy, Set, Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:02:00 +0000

The above title is not a typo. You’ll understand once you read the next line. Last night I attended the annual birthday dinner of my good friend and roommate Chris Reddy. As of yesterday, Chris is 28 years young. Being of Italian descent, Chris also has quite the affinity for Italian food. He even knows how to pronounce words from menus that I simply grunt and point to. Here is a picture of Chris sporting some very modern facial hair.

As for dinner, we dined at Lucia in Boston’s fabled North End, which may very well be my favorite restaurant in Boston. I’ve loved Lucia ever since I first visited there last year. This was only my second visit, but this time was even better than the first. The atmosphere is intimate, the wait staff is friendly, and the food is beyond description. Though I’ve only eaten there twice, I have had the pleasure of sampling many of the restaurant's most popular dishes.

This particular evening I had a Saltimbocca Lucia, which was a veal scaloppini topped with prosciutto, mozzarella, and mushrooms sautéed in a white wine sauce. I don’t know where to begin attempting to describe this meal.

At the risk of sounding inarticulate, this dish was really, really, really… good. Now I know a lot of people have a problem with veal. I for one, take no moral stance either way. All I know is that I find veal to be delicious. If you wish to register a formal complaint, please feel free to send your emails to pointlesswhining@noonecares.com.

I have more pictures from this illustrious evening, but sadly my laptop is a bit under the weather and thus my photos are all stranded there. I’m fairly confident that I took a picture of almost every meal at the table. Once I get it fixed I’ll be sure to include some more photos.

On a unrealted note. Someone sent me a link to Lighting Trends, which is a blog about uh... lighting trends. Anyway, they did a post on food inspired lighting and I thought some of them were pretty cool. Check it out.

Happy Birthday, Stupid.

International Food Fight!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:10:00 +0000

I stumbled upon this video a while ago and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I didn't really get it at first. There's a lot more going on than you think. Pay particularly close attention to the types of food and what they're doing.

What Cookies?

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:57:00 +0000

Just when you think the Japanese have run out of clever ways to make you hate food, they come up with an idea like this. Take a good look at the image below. Why do those chocolate chips look like they have wings? Chocolate chips don’t hav… Oh dear God…

It makes you wonder what kind of thought process led to such a creation. People love wasp’s right? How can you not?! I know I personally let them just fly around my apartment just for laughs. Not only do they make great pets, but they are also delicious! People love wasps and people love cookies; so why not combine the two! Brilliant!

If there was a just and loving God, then he wouldn’t allow this kind of stuff to go down. I have an urgent message for the creators of these cookies, as well as any other company that feels it necessary to include insects in their baked goods.

I never understood how anybody could enjoy eating bugs. You can't even turn on the Discovery Channel anymore without hearing how insects are considered delicacies in other parts of the world. Are they? Really? They have no meat! They're crunchy little exoskeletons filled with guts. No one eats guts! Okay, some people eat guts, but no one should. Also, don’t most bugs contain some sort of venom? That can’t taste great.

In conclusion, bugs are not food.

Boston's Best "Blank"

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:50:00 +0000

I’m very pressed for time today, so I’m going to take a different approach to today’s post. Most of you are probably well aware that I am in the 6th week of my Boston Burger Quest. That being said, I’m thinking of wrapping this project up on the 10th week. 10 burger reviews seems like a good place to wrap up. Don’t be sad though. I plan on undertaking a new project! I’m thinking that my Boston “Blank” Quests will continue on for the life of this blog. I have a few ideas for what my next quest should be. But I was wondering what you guys think? What would you rather see me review next? My ideas are as follows…

Best Pizza in Boston

Best Bar Food in Boston

Best Burrito in Boston

What do you guys think? Leave me some comments and vote above to help give me an idea.

This Beer will Drive you Bananas!

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:19:00 +0000

I’m man enough to admit that I have an affinity for fruity drinks. There I said it. I also drink Scotch on a regular basis, so back off! Most men scoff at the thought of fruit flavored beers, but I personally enjoy most of them. I especially enjoy black and blues, which is half Guinness and half blueberry beer. When I see a weird beer at the liquor store, I like to give it a fair shot. The other night I saw a beer that I had never before seen in my life. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Wells Banana Bread Beer!

I can hear some of you groaning already, so hear me out. I brought it up to the counter and asked the shop keep if it was any good and he replied with an emphatic “YES”. He also recommended that I mix it with Brooklyn Chocolate Lager. I took his advice and purchase a single bottle of the choco lager.

I did as I was instructed and mixed the two beers, the same way you would a black and tan (using a spoon). There was a problem though… the consistency of the choco lager was much heavier than that of a Guinness. Rather than float wonderfully at the top of the glass, leaving the two beers perfectly separated, the result was a completely muddled mixture of the two. It was a black and black. Upon tasting the concoction, I immediately noticed that the Brooklyn Chocolate completely overpowered the banana beer. Luckily though, I still had half a bottle of banana beer left. I decided to drink it straight and it was delicious! I was shocked!

Yes, it tasted like bananas. Yes, it tasted like beer. No, it tasted nothing like banana bread. Yes, it was delicious. I think if I had used Young’s Chocolate Stout in lieu of the Brooklyn Lager, the chocolate banana would have turned out much better. Rest assured, I will be attempting this experiment again.

In other news, I encourage you all to check out the Hoosier Burger Boy. It’s a burger blog written by a fancy gentleman by the name of Scott. His blog hosts burger reviews from all over the country. I couldn’t help but notice that Boston was not represented on his list, so he was kind enough to add me to his blog roll. It’s nice to see what’s going on in the burger world outside of Boston. I strongly suggest you check it out.

When I’m With You, Every Day Feels Like Double Soup Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Yesterday was Boston’s famed Soupfest in the Newbury Arcade of the Prudential Mall. Soupfest is an annual event, where local eateries set up stations where you can taste test samples of their soup. Even though I’ve worked in this building for over 2 years, this was my first time attending. It was nothing short of magical. There were so many soups to test, most of which were my favorite varieties.

I think that it is safe to say that I consumed roughly a quart of clam chowder. I also can now safely say that Boston Chowda House has a clam chowder that is vastly superior to Legal Seafood’s. I have tried to compare the two in the past unsuccessfully, but once I had them back to back there was no contest.

Many stations also featured Mexican tortilla soups, which is my absolute favorite. I especially love when soups have tortilla strips on top. Sometimes when I’m at home, I have a bowl of Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Fajita Soup and mix it with crushed Tostitos. In fact I think I just decided what I’m having for dinner tonight.