January 11th 2010 (Meat Loaf, Mash Potatoes, green Beans) Irish Bar Food

Well, I don't exactly know exactly where Meat loaf originates from (suppose I could google it), I got this plate at an Irish bar (Pub) and restaurant. Now I have been eating Meat Loaf, Mash Potatoes and Green Beans since I was knee high to a duck so whenever given the chance to eat it, I will prolly do so! In the new year I figured it had to be one of the foods I blogged about. I went to pick the food up and it was like any bar at lunch time. A few suites and ties "tying one on" cute bartender (with an appropriate Irish accent) and of course the hired help dishing out the eats. Cheap enough, Only cost $6.50 which for a meal like that in the financial district of Manhattan is a great price.



Looks good, does it not? Well, I will say this, it was not bad at all. In Fact, if I had been drunk at this Irish bar and ordered this, it probably would have gotten 5 stars. However, I was sober and tasted it for what it was. Again, the price perfect, also the size of the dish perfect. It was very filling. But to be honest, it was all quite regular and bland. The mash potatoes didn't quite seem home made, more like boxed. The Gravy was OK, the onions were like....damn, might as well eaten from the onion they were so big. The Green Beans were fresh tasting but def tasted canned. As far as the main piece, Meat Loaf. it was more like processed meat. One knows what meat loaf made out of ground beef looks and tastes like as opposed to left over meat products pressed together. So sad, I will be on the hunt for a better platter like this and I will upgrade this post when I do.

January 10th, 2010 (Chicken Pasteles) Home made Puerto Rican

I can't say much about this meal except even when I micro waved it to eat it out of pure hunger it was still auesome. Manny Mad Dogs mother hand Made these and shipped these from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn. First time I tried them, I micro waved them for 5 minutes and chomped down. So good but not done the way they were intended. So on Mannys B-Dy. we did it right. We boiled them and ate them OG style. FYI, Pasteles are rice, chicken, spices, wrapped in Bananna leaves and wax paper. There are prolly a few extra things going on but those are trade secrets. At any rate, everything was soft and delicious (minus the leaf and wax paper which u not supposed to eat). That being said we were all drunk but they were auesome and filled us up nice. Unfortunatley, we dont have pics of that meal but here is what it should look like like,

January 9th, 2010 (Musubi Chicken Katsu) HAWAIIAN

As this new adventure of trying different foods and dishes moves forward, I tend to pick items that I have no Idea what they are, what they will look like or for that matter taste like, when it comes to picking truly new foods. HAWAIIAN is one direction I have never gone ever ever ever. I always wanted to go there but never have and this is a step toward it in my opinion. So, that being said, I randomly picked the dish Musubi Chicken Katsu. In fact all I understood was CHICKEN.





So as u can see, it consists of a breaded chicken, wrapped in rice, wrapped in sea weed. The sea weed was crispy crunchy, the chicken was breaded crunchy but soft on the inside and the rice was a good texture. Not too hard and not too soft. There was a sweet sauce on the chicken, similar to duck sauce but not. It came in a "3 pack". It was filling for the moment but honestly it did not last long as a hunger suppressor. It was more of an appetizer. In the end, I did what I always do when a food becomes old fast...I added Hot sauce.....just saying. Over all tho, I enjoyed this and I think if you are not a prude, you should try it too. It's a good snack if anything.......and a good introduction to the islands of HAWAII....

January 8th, 2010 (Big Mac, Cheeseburger & Orange Soda) Mcdonalds!!!

Okay...so what can I say. I'm caught up with the fast food nation of having to eat fast, get full, pay cheap, yada yada etc etc. So sometimes at the end of the day, you end up with certain favorites that can never go wrong and as many of you know, McDonalds value meals are one of these. Keep in mind the price of a value meal varies in price. What you will pay in Manhattan is not what you will pay in Omaha, Nebraska but none the less still cheap. And they generally always taste the same....ish. Now I personally don't love fries. I will eat a couple but I'd rather give them away (which I did to Logic The Ghetto Celeb). So I ordered the Big Mac Value meal with an Orange Soda Drink and a cheeseburger on the side.  Picture above is that meal. The cheeseburger is rather skimpy but tasty. It is on a soft bun, had cheese (duh) minced onions and ketchup w/ a few pickles. I could down quite a few of these. The BIG MAC is something special...and I am referring to the special sauce but for a better description..... 

MMMM MM Good............Oh and you have to have with an orange Soda.

January 7th, 2010 (CHEESE CHICKEN PATTY BURGERS)George Foreman!

It seems that the theme a late is cheap and I would like to add healthy. Better than beef is always chicken it's more lean, IE less fat etc.  Add the George Forman Grill and you have one hell of a healthy meal! After all it does drain a majority of the heart attack. Add Potato Bread Rolls, cheese and some deli style pickles and you have quite a meal.......
In fact, it prolly cost for 3 people, about $6.50 for the whole thing. Oh, did I mention, it only takes about 12 minutes to cook this meal.........

LAMB OVER YELLOW RICE & MIXED VEGETABLES (January 6th, 2010) HALAL

Every now and again, and more and again, you need something quick, healthy (ish), cheap and filling. I present to you HALAL TRUCK!!!!!!

For $5 bucks you get cooked Lamb over yellow mixed vegetable rice (corn, peas & Green Beans) with the ever so popular BUT unidentified white sauce and a touch of "Halal" hot sauce. 

Overall, short and simple, It was tasty, filling, convenient, fresh and affordable. The down side is.......where the heck do they go to the bathroom during the day????? Oh, this is near Wall st. and Gold in NYC.

LINGUINE ALA VODKA (January 5th, 2010) Homemade

Today I bring you my first home cooked meal from the one and only "Chef Come Mi Comida".  This is the first of what I hope to be many (2 so far) dishes prepared by said chef (here by referred to as CCMC). 

Typically LINGUINE ALA VODKA W/SPICY SAUSAGE is  an Italian dish.  

The ingredients  in this particular style are as follows:

Linguine (Homemade or Barilla)

Spicy Sausage (Butcher Shop or Bodega)

Vodka (Absolute or Svedka) 

Crushed Tomatoes (Hand Crushed or Delmonte)

Basil & Oregano (Hand Picked or Store Bought Dried)

Salt & Pepper (Chinese Food Packets)

Milk (Freshly Milked or 1 qt. of Borden)

Garlic Cloves (Fresh From window Box or Field Picked)

Overall, this was a great meal. The pasta was the right texture, the sauce was the right consistancy, the spice was not to sweet and not to tangy or tart.

However I will say, as filling (and I do mean rib sticking filling IE one bowl good for a majority of the day full) The sausage itself was just a tad too spicy. 

Not too spicy to the point it was not tasty and/or unbearable but more so that it overpowered the sauce when eaten in the same bite. 

I still give this meal a fork and a knife up and encourage you to try "Chef Come Mi Comida"'s recipe. Email me for details and Paypal info ;)

CHICKEN VINDAROO w/ ACHAR (January 4th, 2010)

Today we travel to India and have Chicken Vindaloo W/ Achar.  Chicken Vindaloo is a spicy hot dish from Goa, India. It's made with chicken, coconut, vinegar and red chili peppers. It contains no butter and I had it served over rice. Achar is a side of mixed pickles.

I did not know what to expect when I ordered this meal. In fact it was not even my choice. What I wanted had run out so I told my friend to just pick something for me. She ordered 2 dishes and said to pick. So that was my choice. I like spicy but not to the point where I can't breath anything but fire. I found a happy medium. What I got was a spicy chicken meal over soft (not too soft) long grain white rice. The red peppers were hidden throughout the meal but since they were whole, I did not make the mistake of chomping into one unexpectedly. The chicken chunks were big and the spice left me with the right amount of spicy. It was enough to break me out in a small sweat but not damage my taste buds to the point of 3rd degree burns. NOW for the not so good. I love pickles which is why I ordered the side of ACHAR (mixed pickles). I don't know if everywhere you go this is the case but these were waaaay toooooo SALTY. I had a few people try it and they agreed. Overall though, this was a very good and inexpensive meal. I will go back and you should too. OH yeah, you can find this in a red or yellow colored sauce, mine was in red and unfortunately, I ate it before I took a pic :(

MEATBALL MARINARA HERO (January 3rd, 2010)

Let me start by saying I PROMISE, PROMISE, PROMISE that not every meal I Blog will be fast food or ordinary. I can say this because as I type this entry, I am actually playing catch up an have 10 more meals to log. Some great stuff I tell you and furthermore 2 of which have been home made (not by me) and 1 of them was actually imported. That being said, lets get this meal out of the way so we can get on to the next one.

Sometimes a meal has to be cheap, hearty and come with REWARDS!!!!!!!! So I bring you the Subway MEATBALL MARINARA HERO.
It's currently part of their $5 foot long campaign and you just can't beat it I tell you.



I can only describe it as what I might call a manly comfort food. I must say that I do not think I have ever had a bad one at any Subway that I have ever gone to. Actually my only disappointment is when I am told they are out of it. My favorite way to have it is in it most pure and simple version (IE, No extras)

Toasted Italian Baked Hero (made fresh in every location like a bakery), Meatballs (They are not stingy although I am told they are only supposed to put a certain number of meatballs on each hero), Provolone cheese and a bunch of Marinara sauce. MMM MMM Good!



Now for my other favorite part, For every dollar you spend, they add a point to their Subway Points Card (mysubwaycard.com). Let's just say, I eat there enough that I have earned enough points to eat a meal a day free for about a week.

Bologna & Cheese Sandwich (January 2nd, 2010)

So day 2 it is and I had a childhood craving. The all American favorite, Bologna & Cheese on white bread w/ Mayonnaise (Preferably Hellmanns). The pic to the left is not the actual sandwich I ate but for those that may have never eaten one (which I find hard to believe), this it what it looks like. I got it from a deli down by the South Street Seaport. I forgot the name of the spot but I will be eating there more because I am in the area a lot. I will grab a menu and scan it, get pics etc in the future . Anyhow, the one I ate had much more meat and cheese (American Yellow Cheese). In fact it was too much meat. You want slightly more Bologna than the picture shown but not so much you feel like your eating a bologna steak. There was not enough mayo and the bread was kind of dry. kind of messed up my craving and left me hungry for something else. Soon I will have another child hood craving but I wont tell you what it is but feel free to leave a message for your suggestions.

BONELESS SPARE RIBS - January 1st 2010 (NJ)

So it was the first day of the new year and my friend (bff "Logic The Ghetto Celeb", lol) convinced me to come spend New Years Eve in New Jersey. Long story short I did. Long story shorter, what would one eat New Years day in Newark New Jersey after a long night of drinking and partying but the ever so convenient chinese food?????!!!! At this point I wasn't so ready to keep all details, after all I was still hung over and just wanted a meal to fill my belly. That Being said, I ordered Boneless Spare Rib Tips & Chicken Fried Rice. To me it's really is a mixture of american food done fast food style thru Chinese restaurants. Overall, a filling meal but pretty fatty meat made edible thru seasoning and sugars and not really the best I have ever had.......Day 1...this will get better!  

What it's all about.......

So I looked back on 2009 and I realized that life is about experiences. That being said, I also realized that, although I have a ton of them (experiences) I still did not have enough. To go further I thought, what's the best way to gain experiences and what is the base of all of them in any culture, location etc. and what would be accessible to most anyone. The answer.....FOOD. It always starts with "breaking bread". 

So in 2010 I will eat a new food/meal everyday for 365 days from any culture, any location etc. If I eat at the same location it will be a different meal. Since I didn't post from the start of the year (I did document on paper), I will play catch up and once done and the blog is updated on a daily basis, we will include locations, menus, photos and video etc.. I will also be accepting suggestions of places to eat (restaurants and food serving locations contact me), types of food to eat. Feel free to also share your own food experiences as well. That being said, Come' , Mangia (eat, eat) and all that!!!!!