pun with extra [cheese]

 i can tell i'm getting older.  two thing that bring me enjoyment are good pizza and a clever pun. that might help you imagine my face when i ate here.  pizza was good...i got a shirt.

the [original] burger

like any mid-western boy, i enjoy a good burger, so you can imagine my thrill when this summer found me traveling past new haven, which is home to louis' lunch, the birthplace of the hamburger sandwich.

overall i enjoyed it.  i'm guilty of enjoying mustard, ketchup and relish on my burgers, so it was a bit of a change to only have cheese, onion and a tomato as a garnish. thankfully the meat was so flavorful, you didn't need anything else.

 i'd love  to go back sometime and enjoy the meal inside as it looked like a terribly cozy place to be. 

together like [chili] and [cinnamon rolls]

this pandemic is really starting to get to me. it's now been well over a year since i've seen my family back home.  that along with the winter weather has me needing some warm comfort food, a combo of foods only a mid-westerner would love and even understand. chili and cinnamon rolls.

i made this combo tonight and the spicy mixed with the sweet took me back to my midwest childhood sitting in the school cafeteria.  you see, chili and cinnamon roll day was the one day no one brought a lunch.  everyone loved CCR day!

and it wasn't just at school, this combo was mad at home as well.  large community chili dinners would take place in my hometown before home football games.

this combo isn't for everyone, but for a guy missing his family, this mid-west meal, made kansas seem just a little bit closer.

iykyk

 this midwest boy just found the best fried chicken in maine.

eating good in the [new] neighborhood

it's amazing how a slight change in position can change your perspective.


buying a house just a few miles from the old apartment, i assumed my list of favorite restaurants would change or be updated.  i was wrong.  just a little ways aaway from the new house sits 158 pickett street cafe. a low key, super casual place with incredible food!

this is not a "foodie" blog, simply a reminder to everyone to change your position just a bit every once in a while. doing so, just might change your perspective. it also might allow you to stuff your face with the best home fries ever!

 

 

 

[a]typical maine saturday

in a town famous for craft beers and delicious food, heading to a brewery on a saturday seems like the perfect way to enjoy an early fall afternoon.  on the recommendation from several people we decided to check out "oxbow blending and bottling."  we met up with friends and enjoyed an afternoon full of sours, pilsners, ipa's and duckfat fries which are a gift from the food gods themselves.  not only was it great to catch up with everyone, but it seemed like the entire city was enjoying the weather.

i feel every city has a rhythm to it, and i'm starting to sync with portland's.  a lot of this cities beat is based on where best to enjoy a pint; by the ocean, at 'camp', on the patio or inside by a fireplace.  this particular weekend, being too cool to be by the ocean, but also too sunny to be inside, it was for sure patio time in portland.

dats alotta [sandwhich]

i love road side attractions.


sometimes they're strange land forms, unique structures or historic sites, but more often then not it's an object or animal that seems to vastly different than most other object like it.  you often hear "the world's largest...", "the worlds deepest..", "the worlds smallest..", etc etc ect.  if i'm on the road and see a sign for one of these attractions, you can bet i'm going to stop and check it out.  now imagine my delight when one of these events basically came to me.

last month the city of portland, maine decided to create the world's largest ham italian.

a little back story for those unfamiliar with this type of sandwich.

to make a long story short, back in the day, a baker named giovanni amato was selling bread to the dock workers of portland.  by request, he started adding sliced meat and vegetables to the bread making a simple ham sandwich.  since he was italian, they became known as ham italians.  he sold so many he eventually opened a restaurant.  over one hundred years later it's a staple in the state of maine, with his store still going strong as well as several other deli's selling their version of the sandwich.

i was introduced to these sandwiches last year by a friend of mine who is a true "mainer."  being the type of guy who loves local culture and wanting to embrace my new home, as well as thinking it's a pretty damn tasty sandwich, i've become a true fan, belonging to several on-line social media groups filled with ham italian fan-dom.

imagine my excitement when it was announce that a group was organizing an effort to create the world's largest ham itailian.  food! local culture! world record!  there was no way i was going to miss this.  i took an early lunch that day and met up with my wife to head down to the square where it was taking place.  as i turned the corner of the street i saw 177 feet of italian bread.  several deli's would make different sections of the sandwich until it was completed.  as they piled on the sliced ham, veggies, oil and vinegar, i was scoping out which section i would like to try.  as it's not really too complicated of a sandwich to make, the event didn't take long.  i grabbed a couple of slices, sat back and enjoyed my ham itailian.  

not only did i get to try a few varieties of the sandwich from different deli's but there were several other ham italian "fans", who oddly all looked exactly like me, doing the same thing.  i chatted with many of them and now follow several of them on instagram.

in the end, it wasn't an "official" world record as the proper judges weren't there, but the sense of community felt that day was something special.  although this event is pretty much incapable of become a road side attraction i do believe photos of the event will be placed in the local museum under the "ham italian" exhibit.

yes, it's a real thing. be sure to grab a ham italian and check it out.