Thoughts on Fiber

This has become somewhat of a running joke with my girlfriend. She accuses me of being "obsessed with fiber". And I guess to some extent, I am. I look for foods with high amounts of it. I don't get as much as the FDA recommends, but I can safely assume I can more than most guys my age. But, I don't supplement it.

So, why is someone under the age of 60 so concerned with getting enough fiber? I'm not really sure where it exactly started. I guess it's actually several things at once:

1. I'm trying to eat better. Supposedly, more fiber fills you up with less intake. I have not found this to be the case. Portion sizes are still a problem for me.

2. I got a subscription to Men's Health Magazine for Christmas. They advocate getting enough fiber. Their main drawback is that to truly eat as healthy as they describe and recommend, you'd pretty much go broke. Still, though, interesting stuff.

3. There's so many different health benefits to a high fiber diet. Check out this site:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fiber/NU00033

There you have it. Just a random post on a random subject. Hope you found it interesting, or at least interesting enough to kill a few seconds of your day.

Frosty Goodness

This place is really close to my house on Routes 5 & 20. Technically, it's in Irving, NY. I know summer has officially arrived when this place opens.

They've got all kinds of specialty sundaes. They're all pretty tasty. Especially interesting is their "flavor of the week." Each week they have a new flavor of soft-serve ice cream. As you can see in the pic, this particular week's flavor is pistachio. Pretty good. You can get the flavor of the week by itself or twisted with vanilla.

I just felt the need to tell you how great Frosty Treat is. And to give them a little free press. As always, I received no compensation for my endorsement. And I needed to post something.

Creepy BK

How creepy is this?

Product Endorsement- Metromint

Let me say from the outset, that I receive no compensation for endorsing this product.

I first came across Metromint water at the Charlotte airport. I bought a bottle right before my flight back to Buffalo. I loved it from the first sip! It's perfect! There's a great mint flavor, plus a nice cooling sensation. Imagine my joy when I came across it at my local Wegman's! You should give it a try if you like mint. It's really good if it's ice cold. (You probably could have figured that out.)

I have discovered that the most enjoyable time for me to have one is at the very end of the day. Here's what I do: I am usually busy from 5-6 EST. So, I put Around The Horn and Pardon The Interruption on the DVR. I watch them right before bed with a Metromint. I got to bed totally relaxed and happy. A few pages out of whatever book I happen to be reading at the time, and I'm off to Dreamland.

There's a bunch of varieties, and I've only tried the Peppermint. But if Peppermint is any indication, I think I'd be satisfied with any of the varieties (though I'm not that big a fan of spearmint anyway).

http://www.metromint.com

Texas Pics 2- Whataburger!

This is one of my fave things about Texas. Whataburger is a fast-food chain in Texas. It's fast food with actual flavor! It's really tasty. I was so excited about eating there. I even got a picture with one of the employees. It was fantastic!

Enjoy!

The Favorite Foods List

Here's a list of my favorite foods. Pretty straight-forward. No particular order. Also, this list is by no means complete.

1. Chicken Wings (You probably know them as Buffalo Wings)
2. Pepperoni Pizza
3. BBQ ribs
4. Fried Chicken
5. Boiled Peanuts
6. Prime Rib
7. Cheeseburger
8. Bacon
9. Biscuits
10. Chocolate Milk

Now, I don't eat all of these everyday. In fact, I wouldn't say I even eat them most days. I'm trying to eat healthy. That kinda limits the amount of wings and fried chicken that go in my tummy. But, they are treats when I get them. Though, this far north, boiled peanuts are harder to come by.

A Little Late, Perhaps?

I took these 2 pictures after I got home yesterday afternoon. They depict the Ice Cream Man in Silver Creek, NY.

I love it! It's freakin' October and the Ice Cream Man is still making the rounds! I thought that was really cool (no pun intended). I bought a frozen delight called a "Hyperstripe". It's a Popsicle that has blue raspberry, white lemon, and red cherry swirled together on a stick.

Wing Festival Pics

Yesterday, I went to the annual chicken wing festival in Buffalo, NY. What a thrill! How could it not be, since chicken wings (or Buffalo wings, to you non-WNYers) are one of my all-time fave foods? It was great to try wings from all over the region, as well as the country. I was surprised at what a great value it was. It was $5 to get in, and then you had to buy a sheet of tickets. The sheets were $10. At the wing restaurants, 2 tickets got you 3 wings. So, a whole sheet got you 30 wings. My personal limit is about 20, so I had some leftover. Plus, drinks and non-wings foods were on a cash basis. Now, why you would go to a Chicken wing festival (in Buffalo, no less) and get a friggin' slice of pizza is beyond me. But, I digress.

The other big thrill for me was getting to meet and have my picture taken with the Wing King. He's a local guy named Drew Cerza (I hope I'm spelling that right). Anyway, he founded the festival. His other claim to fame was that he beat Bobby Flay on the "chicken wings" episode of "Throwdown." Nice, huh? That's us in the top photo.

So, the big question is this: Who had the best wings? Time to lay yet another bias on the table. I have to go with The Anchor Bar. It's one of my fave places to go in Buffalo. And they have the best wings in the known universe (in my book).

Enjoy the photos!

The Ingredients List

Faithful readers know that cooking is one of my hobbies. I've only been cooking semi-seriously for a couple of years. But I try to learn as much as I can about it. My favorite cuisine is Chinese. Maybe in a later post I'll tell you that story. Then again, many of you faithful readers probably know it. Anyway, here is a list of my fave ingredients to use in dishes (Chinese or otherwise). Again, they are in no particular order:

1. Soy Sauce
2. Crushed Red Pepper
3. Craisins
4. Garlic
5. Peanut Butter
6. Bacon
7. Amish Roll Butter
8. Sesame Oil
9. Fresh Ginger
10.Chicken (any part except legs)
11. Ribeye steaks

Review- Taste of Buffalo

Today I went to the Taste of Buffalo. It's not as big as the Taste of Chicago (which I attended last year), but it was just as tasty. The weather was warm, might be considered hot here, but nothing a ol' STL guy can't handle. Plus, the there was a great crowd. Good things always happen when I'm in an urban area. On top of all that, I met Bobby from "Hell's Kitchen." I don't care about the show one way or the other. (Personally,I like Chef Ramsay. I think his other show Kitchen Nightmares on the BBC is a lot better. But that's my opinion. I could be wrong.)

So, allow me to give a rundown of the places at which I stopped (in no particular order):

1. Ms. Goodies: I had what they call the Junkyard Dog. It's a fried fish sandwich with fries, slaw and hot sauce all on a pita. Not bad.

2. Village Desserts: I had to try something which labels itself the "ultimate peanut butter cookie". It was actually quite tasty. It had PB frosting, PB chips, and some chocolate on it.

3. Shannon Pub: I tried their potato chowder. Good flavor, could have used some bacon (or more bacon). However, let me caution you. Potato chowder does not pair well with blue Powerade. The weather was also a bit too warm for soup, but still good.

4. The Grill @ The Dome: Here I tried the Bourbon Shrimp skewer. The shrimp was grilled, and maybe a tad overcooked. But that's forgivable due to the crowd. Kinda syrupy glaze, but not too bad.

5. Red Osier: They tried to pass this off as a "prime roast beef sandwich." But everybody could tell it was a beef on weck. But, as beefs on wecks go, it was one of the best. However, 8 tickets for only half a sandwich was a bit steep, I think.

6. Kabab and Curry: I had this stuff called Chicken Makhani with Basmati Rice. Very tasty. The sauce for the chicken is a really bright reddish-orange. But, you get a great serving size.

7. May Jen Chinese Resaurant: People who know me know I'm passionate about Chinese food. They also know I'm a bit harder on Chinese places. But I'm also pretty generous. I tried the Ginger Garlic Chicken. Pretty Good. But I'm not sure that I would order it on a regular basis. I still enjoyed it, though. I could really taste the ginger, but not so much the garlic.

8. Carmine's Restaurant: I wanted to give this place I try. I saw it local TV yesterday and my interest was piqued. I tried the crab cake stuffed shrimp. It came with this spicy remoulade which brought a nice, pleasant delayed heat. The dish itself was really good. I could see making a trip there for these.

9. Fat Bob's Smokehouse: Here, I binged. I got both the STL-style ribs and the Pulled Pork sandwich. I'm a sucker for a good pulled pork. This one was good, but needed slaw on top of it. That's really the best (and possibly only right) way to eat it. But I digress. The ribs were tender, and just the right size. I could also see making a trip for the ribs.

10. Tandoori's: I had the chicken curry with rice. One of my companions today was a curry enthusiast, so that made the dish that much better. Good curry flavor. One of my fave dishes today.

11. Zebb's: This place is not too far from me, up Route 20. I tried their NY Chili. Probably my least fave thing of the day. i don't know what it is, but I can't seem to find good chili up here. Most of the places I've tried taste like spiced-up jarred spaghetti sauce. But, the place was highly recommended by a friend, so I'll give the rest of the menu a shot at some point.

12. Orazio's: This was the 2nd or 3rd place we went to. Here,I discovered my fave dish of the day They were these little balls of olives and asiago cheese, breaded and then deep fried. The best! A trek to this place is definitely in the not-too-distant future.

13. Spicy Thai: I tried the "healthy option" here. It was 3 steamed veggie dumplings. Incredible! Steamed just right, and with the right amount of soy sauce on top. A real delight.

14. Anderson's Frozen Custard: I needed to cool off. I got the Loganberry Ice here. It was cool, with a good loganberry flavor. Not a bad ending. However, it does not pair well with Labatt Blue.

All in all, this truly was one of the best days I've had during my year up here. I love the city of Buffalo, and now I love it even more now that I've gained some insight into its culinary treasures.