i think it is safe to say that dave jr. is a yellow cherry tomato plant.
several of them seemed just soft to the touch and ripe for the picking, so today was the day i decided it was time to pluck a few of the beautiful orbs and have a taste test.
they are like little pieces of candy.
i’m off to the market to get some fresh bread, arugula, bacon and perhaps and avocado, because a blt for dinner is screaming my name.
i took a road trip with my sisters kate and emma the week of june 10-15, 2012. i enjoyed every single moment and meal of this week, regardless of the food we consumed, and where it came from. (well, with the exception of tuba city.) this is my story.
6/10
i left on a sunday morning. i flew to chicago from los angeles with nothing in my belly but a nectarine, and a grapefruit in my purse. of course, when i got into chicago, it was discussed that we would have lunch.
kate picked an awesome start to our journey.
lunch at belly shack, chicago, il: pork rib + sausage sandwich with chihuahua cheese, caramelized onions, and mushrooms.
finding a good dinner spot was another thing. the three of us were used to being able to get food past 9p. not so much in the middle of iowa, or as we found out, in many other parts of the country.
dinner at casa tequila, tiffin, ia: pork tacos, tecate.
the beer was good. the salsa tasted like canned tomato sauce. not kidding.
6/11
good morning! god love college towns for having decent coffee shops. this place made my morning, and besides the slow service, it was a wonderful way to start the day.
breakfast at mars cafe, des moines, ia: ham + egg, lavender dijon on ciabatta, intelligentsia americano.
i had a lot of good breakfasts on this trip. this would prove a hard one to beat.
for lunch i was determined to find a non-fast food place in the middle of nebraska. it was tough, but we did it.
lunch at cafe on the square, seward, ne: blt (perhaps on homemade bread) + coleslaw. (no photo)
by the by, i loved finding this place smack dab in the middle of america.
although we weren’t able to stop, i surely would have liked to have a libation here:
on the way to denver, we researched a few places for dinner, but again we were getting in past 9pm. thankfully, our cousin penny and her husband charlie, who were putting us up for the night, were gracious enough to make us dinner. honestly, it was so very wonderful to have a home cooked meal after being on the road for hours on end.
dinner at penny + charlie’s, denver, co: brats, ravioli, green beans + asparagus.
this was hands down my favorite dinner. oh and there was ice cream later. happy girl.
6/12
the next morning, emma and i needed to get our caffeine fix, so we walked to the local coffee shop.
coffee at tenn street coffee, denver, co: black coffee.
we returned to yet another homemade meal.
breakfast at penny + charlie’s: eggs, toast, grapefruit and kefir. (no photo)
we stopped in glenwood springs, co for lunch. emma found the spot. if anyone knows me, they know i enjoy the pig. this place was made for me.
lunch at the pullman food + drink, glenwood springs, co: miyagi oyster with cranberry fennel vinaigrette, pulled pork in balsamic bbq, homemade talera bread, tempura caramelized onions and asparagus, salad with house vinaigrette.
definitely the best lunch of the trip.
once we made it to moab, we were again a bit stifled on choices for places for dinner, but ended up with the safe bet. italian.
dinner at pasta jay’s, moab, ut: caesar salad, margherita pizza, chianti.
meh. average italian, but really not that bad. the chianti was the star of this meal.
6/13
we had walked by this place on our way to dinner the previous night and commented on the possibility of having eggs benny before hitting the road in the morning.
breakfast at jailhouse cafe, moab, ut: coffee, eggs benedict, bacon, more coffee.
this place was in contention for best breakfast on the trip. damn good bacon, and non-intelligentsia coffee.
lunch at goulding’s stagecoach dining hall, monument valley, ut: mini navajo taco.
their idea of ‘mini’ is ridiculous. i think even if kate and i were to have split a ‘mini’ we still would have had intestinal distress regardless.
dinner from sonic, tuba city, az: cheeseburger, fries. (eaten in our motel room)
no comment.
6/14
breakfast at cameron trading post, cameron, az: red ranchero cheese eggs benedict, hashbrowns.
good try. not what i needed on top of a sonic dinner the night before though.
lunch at bright angel dining room, grand canyon village, az: roasted red pepper soup, arizona caesar salad, grand canyon pilsner.
the soup wasn’t bad, but super salty. the salad was a huge disappointment. once again, the beer was the winner of this lunch.
dinner at plaza bonita mexican restaurant, tusayan, az: pollo mole, grand canyon pilsner.
emma: ‘is it good?’
me: ‘no.’
lots and lots of laughter.
6/15
breakfast from american flyer coffee, williams, az: cinnamon roll, black coffee.
yup…delicious sugar high.
lunch at ludlow cafe, ludlow, ca: tuna melt, peach pie.
i had been here previously while working on the john mayer #roadtripmusicvideo, so i knew what was to be expected as far as the tuna melt. i didn’t get to taste the homemade pie on that trip, unfortunately i did on this one. fail. fail. fail. the crust tasted like something from a communion cracker i once had when i was eight, and the fruit was obviously from a can. blech.
obviously this trip was not about the food. it was so much more than that. when we reached los angeles we had all learned a few more things about each other: kate rules at off-road driving, and music education; emma makes high pitched noises whenever she sees a cute animal; and i think we can all agree…i am a huge food snob.
when i get together with my friend john i know at the very least we will talk about food, more than likely we will be eating food, and without a doubt, we will be critiquing food. today we met at father’s office in culver city.
now, i have had the burger once before, and enjoyed it, but i didn’t put much thought into the details. knowing john and i have enjoyed a few burgers together, and discussed good and bad points of all, i figured he would be the perfect person to help bring my thoughts into a concise review. right off the bat, we are both not a fan of the basket presentation, but that did not weigh in on our feelings about the burger itself.
the bun: i thought the french bread roll was a good compliment to the burger. since there wasn’t any sort of crisp toppings like raw onion, lettuce or tomato, i liked the slight crunchiness of the roll. john favors an actual bun.
the toppings: caramelized onions, bacon, gruyére, maytag blue, and arugula. the bacon was somewhat non-existent, there was just a bit too much arugula piled on, and i liked the combination of the two cheeses, but the star of this burger was the caramelized onions. they were reduced down into a compote with a sweetness that almost reminded me of a bbq sauce.
the meat: i ordered mine medium and it came medium. it had good flavor and a good balance of browned on the outside, as well as, pink and juicy on the inside.
the price tag at $12 seems a bit steep, especially since you have to order fries separately. all in all, it was a good burger, and i would order it again, but i might try other things on the menu next time.
wild, fresh + tasty 