Epicurean Hedonist

Hummus - Fresh and flavorful

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hummus:

This is the basic recipe that I personally start with.

The traditional recipes use ½ cup to 1 cup olive oil and no liquid from the can.

1 can of chick-peas (also called garbanzo beans)

¼ cup liquid from the chickpeas (save it all, but start with ¼ cup)

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup dried parsley

1 ½ Tablespoons tahini (or peanut butter)

1 Tablespoon garlic

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup olive oil

#1. Drain chickpeas and set aside the liquid from the can.

#2. Put all remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor.

#3. Add the first ¼ cup of liquid from the chickpeas.

#4. Blend for 3 to 5 minutes until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

#5. While you are blending everything together, if it is too thick;

add more of the liquid that you saved from the can. If it is still too

thick, then start adding more olive oil or tap water.

(I use a blender, and it needs to be a bit thinner for the blender

to work, but I like hummus a touch thinner and fluffier for serving).

It is that easy! And that good!

Now comes the fun part. And I am all about fun and flavor.

You gotta add garlic!

Start with a few cloves and see if you like it. Start with a little, because you can always add more if you need to. It is hard to take it out once you put too much in. (Not impossible, just add more of all the other ingredients.)

I personally do a Garlic overkill cause I love “way too much” garlic.

Now, a lot of people use fresh garlic due to the better taste, or you can use the powdered garlic. Basically use what you have in your kitchen; and what you are accustomed to.

Do not be afraid to experiment!

Since it seems that everyone is now on a diet, make the hummus with NO oil. Before everyone panics and flames me about no oil… no, no, really… try it!

You will have to add more liquid, but the calories that you save will really astound you!

Let’s do the math!

100 calories in 1 Tablespoon of oil.

200 calories in 1 ounce of oil.

My recipe calls for ¼ cup of oil…

¼ cup is 2 ounces or 400 calories!

The original recipes that call for 1 cup of oil… savings of 1,600 calories!

Your hummus will be lighter and fluffy instead of heavy with oil.

OMG has anyone tried to find tahini (like peanut butter but made with sesame seeds) in America? If you do find it they want way too much money. Luckily we have a mid-eastern market here in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the corner of Lake and North Anthony, which has tahini for $2.99 for a 16ounce jar. If you use a lot of tahini it is best to go buy a jar of tahini (um, well duh?) But seriously, if you do not use a lot of tahini and you only going to make one batch of hummus, then substitute peanut butter instead. Now here is when the cheaper peanut butter is better because it will not have any sugars. But whatever brand peanut butter you have on hand will work perfectly. Tahini or peanut butter will take the “raw bite” out of the hummus. If you want to, make the hummus without the tahini and taste it, it has a “raw bite” you just can’t explain, kind of bitter maybe? Now add the tahini or peanut butter and mix it real good. Now taste the hummus and it will be nice and “smooth”, or maybe I can use the word “mellow”?

Try adding your favorite spices. If you are unsure of what is good, then make a batch of hummus as the recipe calls for, and divide it into many different bowls. Then add small amounts of all different kinds of seasoning to each bowl. Mix it, let it stand for a few minutes to soak up the spices, and then try it and see which you like. I would make all sorts of different flavored hummus and take it to the Campus Scouts meetings and see which one everyone liked. Do not get your feelings hurt if nobody likes a particular flavor. You gotta try them to see which one you and your friends/family like! Try adding these different spices and see which ones you think are good. I would love to hear your comments:

Hot red pepper (either the fine ground or the flakes! Use a little and go from there)

Chipolte (oooooh how trendy and smoky)

Liquid smoke (just a touch)

Cumin (don’t have cumin? Add taco seasoning right out of the envelope)

Green, red, or golden curry (just yummy if you want some spicy heat)

Mrs. Dash – Pappa Dash – Baby Dash (in place of the salt? No way! Use with the salt)

Aaloo Bhaji (my personal favorite)

Ginger, Turmeric, or Chili Powder

Cilantro (instead of the parsley)

Now, we have all seen hummus in the stores sell for $5 for about 8 ounces…

A can of Garbanzo beans should cost about $1. And everything else should be cheap. . And you will make about 2 cups of hummus with this basic recipe! And you know there is no added BHT or that other yucky chemical stuff the stores put in. Fresh hummus is good in the fridge for about 3 or 4 days and is good in the freezer for about 1 month!

Hey? Did I mention that you can use a can of pinto beans or navy beans in place of the garbanzo beans? So basically hummus is just a fabulous bean dip! Serve hummus with pita chips, celery stalks, tortilla chips, bagels crisps, corn chips…

Fresh and flavorful hummus!

Experiment and Enjoy!

2012-01-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Albert and Pete Duncan

Ambrose

Bob Duncan

Bruce Price

Charlie Mays

Chester Duncan

Dora Duncan

Dora and Rinehart

Regen Duncan (second from right) Esaw Duncan (farthest right)

Esaw and Regan Duncan

Frankie Duncan

Frankie Duncan and Sarah Current

Fred and Myrtle Duncan with Sarah and 2 boys?

Fred Duncan

Fred Duncan on porch

Mamie (Sarah Price)

Mamie (Sarah Price) and Teresa Bigler

William Marshal Duncan and his lovely wife Sarah Jane Simmons

Marthy Mays

Martha and Matilda Brewer

Pearl and Martha

Martha Mays

Priscella Moriah (Granny) Pierce

Unkown

Fred Duncan (second from left)

Fred, Myrtle, Stanley, Martha, Sarah (holding unknown baby) unknown standing behind Sarah, Charlie Mays, unknown standing beside Charlie, and unknown child in front.

Myrtle and Fred Duncan

Myrtle Duncan, unknown, Martha and Charlie Mays, Beverly and Dody Mays

Ordra Duncan with 2 unknown boys

Ordra Duncan

Ordra Duncan with 5 unknown boys

Ordra Duncan

Ordra Duncan with unknown boys

Possibly Ordra Duncan

Sarah (Mammy) Pierce

Sarah Current with Chester Duncan and possibly Stanley Duncan

Sarah Current and Matilda Brewer

Maude Juanita (Susie) Price possibly with David Current

Falafels

2012-01-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

Falafels are a vegetarian “hush puppy” made from chick peas.

I alter the original recipe so much, but they turn out just as fabulous

#1. You are supposed to soak chickpeas (garbonzo beans) for 24 hours then rinse and cook for a few hours like pinto beans? Ain’t gonna happen. Open a can and you are good to go

#2. Pour the can in the bowl, along with the juice. The original recipe says no juice, but they stoopid.

#3. Mash each bean with a fork, do not bother with a food processor because the clean up of the food processor is more hassle that mashing each bean separately with a fork.

#4. Add one medium sized onion, which you finely diced. Big pieces are ok if you like hushpuppys with big pieces of onions in them.

#5. Add 2 or 3 Tablespoons of something green. Either parsley or cilantro, the batter should be kinda green.

#6. Add the spices... this is where it gets fun. Supposed to be 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon cumin and 1 teaspoon turmeric.... I do not have all that shit, so I use a big tablespoon of TACO seasoning right out of the envelope!

#7. Add a tablespoon of minced garlic. Fresh is always better, but of course I use dehydrated.

#7.5 And because I love garlic I use 2 Tablespoons!

#8. If you use taco seasoning, do not add extra salt. If you use the coriander, cumin, and turmeric add maybe 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

#9. Mix everything together.

#10 The recipe says to add 2 Tablespoon flour. I like using "white cornbread mix" that has the flour, cornmeal, and baking powders already mixed in. I add what it takes to make the mix thick like hushpuppies.

#11. Let it all sit a few minutes while you check your email or check Facebook. This lets the cornmeal soak up the chickpea liquid that you poured in from the can.

#12 Check it. If too thick add water. If too thin add more cornmeal mix.

#13. Scoop it out with a tablespoon. Then ball it up like a hushpuppy but then sorta flatten it like a hamburger.

#14. The original recipe says to deep fry them. You will not be able to reuse the oil! It will be very strong flavored like garlic and cumin.... So I pan fry them. I do not waste oil, and they are just as crispy.

#15. Then the cooked disks are ready to serve in a pita with lettuce and cucumber sauce.

Of course, I never have pitas or cucumber sauce so I eat mine by themselves.

If you want to serve them on a hoagie bun, you leave them round and fry them, a vegan sub, you can do the tomato sauce on them and they are fabulous. Not vegan? Add mozzarella cheese!

There ya go! Falafels.

Hey! Did I mention that instead of chickpeas, you can use a can of pinto beans, or any type of canned beans you have? If you make the patties bigger, you can serve them on a hamburger bun just like a hamburger! Make sure you play with different spices and most of all ENJOY!

2012-01-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Here are 37 more photos. I am sorry about the duplicates. But I so easily forget which ones I already have posted. Again, if you have any information about these photos, please contact me at DavidCurrent@yahoo.com and tell me! I thank you so much! Cheers, David

Aaron Duncan

Freddy, Ray, Jason, and Aaron Duncan

Ambrose and Charles

Anthony Mays

Barbara Duncan

Barb and Polly Duncan

Freddy, Ray, Dody, Barb, Jason and Aaron Duncan

Bev, Freddy, and possibly Ray

Bev and Hannah

Anthony, Bev, Charlie, and Marthy Mays

Chester Duncan

Dody Mays, Freddie and Ray Duncan

Esaw Duncan and Family

Fred Duncan

Fred, Carl, Chester and Stanley

Freddie, Ray and Jason

Freddie, Ray, Jason and Aaron

Freddie

Freddie, Jason, Stanley, and Ray

Freddie, Ray, Jason, and Aaron

Hanna

Carl

Mammy (Sarah Price)

Is this Mammy? (Sarah Peters Price Ramsey)

Mammy with Ray, possibly Jason? and Dody

Marthy

Marthy and ?

Marthy in the 1960's

Marthy, Bev, and three nurses

Myrtle

Susie North And Possibly David Current

2011-12-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

Hello and Warm Greetings.

Here are even more images that I have no idea who there people are.

If anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Either comment here, or send me an e-mail at davidcurrent@yahoo.com

#34 Charles B

#35 Doris

#36

#37 kathy

#38 Kim

#39 Malinda

#40

#41

#42

#43

#44

#45

#46

#47

#48 Sue

#49 Sue

#50 Sue

#51 Winnie

2011-12-26T23:34:00.000-08:00

Here are 33 old photos that have no names associated with them. If anyone can tell me who they are I would greatly appreciate it. either leave a message her on the blog or email me at davidcurrent@yahoo.com

Thanks, cheers, David

#13 James Ambrose Price

Ordra Duncan #31

Ordra and Myrtle #32

Old Middlesboro, Kentucky Family Photos. Names that I do not know.

2011-12-26T14:27:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I posted some very old family photos from Middlesboro, Kentucky on Facebook and everyone seems to really enjoy looking at them. Here are some more. These are named, but I do not recognize the names. Please leave comments if you know who these people are. Thanks a bunch!

And if anyone knows the families please give them my blog address so they can also come and look at these wonderful photos of the past.

Please use the comment section on the blog. That way everyone else will see the comment. My email is DavidCurrent@yahoo.com if you have any private questions or comments.

Hope you enjoy

Cheers, David

Charles Raines

Clark Mills

Cleda Cup

Cora

George Jr. McFarland

Jimmy Buttrey

Kermit McFarland

Nelson Sowders

Phyllis and Sally

Rosie Faye Sowders

Century Buffet on Dupont at I-69

2011-10-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Century Buffet

Now open up on Dupont at I-69.

Newly built, it is behind the LaQuinta Hotel which is to the East of the Trolley Bar.

The first time I went the water wall was having some issues, as you can see the guy on the ladder was poking bigger holes in the tubing so the water would run down the wall. They had just filled it up with water and poured some live fish in (which I assume died within the hour because they did not treat the chlorinated tap water).

Not as large of selection as some of the other places have, but what they do have is good and fresh! The food is the usual fair. But placed on the bar in small portions so it is fresh! Love Love Love this concept. I mean I love it with hearts and sprinkles love love love it.

The white platters are very elegant with small portions!
Much nicer than metal hotel pans filled with
stale dry food, that needs to be tossed out!

Ohhh the traditional sweet sticky rice!

And sitting in the fresh pineapple bowl gives it

just a hint of the pineapple flavor.

Absolutely Fabulous!

This rice dish is EXTREMELY sticky and does pose a true choking hazard! People (usually older people) die each year from choking on sweet sticky rice during the holidays.

The white jello is made with Lychee! One of my other most favoritest foods in the world!

If you don't know what Lychee is, then be very careful and only take one small cube to try it at first. You will either love it or hate it.

And don't worry, there is still the usual selection of dry nasty Palmer pastries

straight out of the box like all the other Chinese Buffets have!

Century Buffet has the usual sushi bar where they have sushi pre-made. or you can ask the chefs to make you something special. And Century Buffet also offers the "flat top grill" where they will cook the raw food you place in a bowl and hand to them. Of course those pictures did not turn out well. I am still learning how to use my phone as a camera.

On the second visit they were out of chopsticks. Oh well a fork would have to do then.

I love the kids room. Just off the buffet area is a room that the workers kids occupy. I was tempted to ask if I could sit with the kids. The room looked real friendly and all since they had coloring books and laptops and all kinds of toys.

KIMCHI is one of my most favoritest foods in the world also. I won't lick kimchi off the floor like I will guacamole or cilantro; but kimchi is right up there. The first time I had the kimchi at Century Buffet it was a bit hot (HA! did I say a bit hot? Duh!) and seemed like it didn't have the 1/2 spoonful of sugar added to it. The second visit the kimchi was perfection! I tried not to make a fool of myself. But it was like Walt Disney sprinkled his magic dust on the kimchi and I had no choice.

Naked Tchopstix

2011-10-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

We were to all meet at Naked Tchopstix at 8:30 but of course I got lost in the Kroger parking lot, and was 10 minutes late. Literally. For Real. What a pain in the lower backside to find this place the first time. 8607 US Highway 24 West, Fort Wayne, IN was programmed into my GPS and all she could say was recalculating. Well let me be the one to tell you how to get there, and make it easy for you. When you see the Hilton Garden Inn on I-69 and Jefferson (US 24) you will notice a Kroger behind the hotel. Drive into the Kroger parking lot. Exactly! Do not follow any roads! Pull into the Kroger parking lot. Drive in front of the Kroger dodging shopping carts and old ladies. When you get to the other side of the parking lot, Naked Tchopstix is across the one-way road going the wrong way and up the hill in the Hilton Garden Inn’s parking lot. Did you notice I did not mention any roads but lots of parking lots?

I showed up at the hostess stand carrying balloons and gifts, asking where my party is. They have not a clue. Then somebody remembers that there was a party in the Geisha room (fondly called the Tranny room by my party), and I was shown to the table.

Sat down, said my hellos and ordered hot tea. Naked Tchopstix (NT for short) has no selection of hot tea. Only green tea. No honey-ginger tea or any of the fun stuff. Oh well, I ordered the hot tea and it was so strong that it almost tasted like spinach.

The menu had a lot of stuff on it.  Supposedly NT is supposed to be a Korean / Japanese / Sushi restaurant.  Well the Bilgogi was misspelled as Bilgoki, the Bibimbap was misspelled as Bibimbab, and the Crab Rangoon was misspelled as Crab Ragoon.  What can you expect when the name of the place is spelled with an X.  Come on people get a dam proof reader already if you are going charge $15 a plate and call yourself upscale.

The waiter had neither grace nor finesse.  He must have been hired for his nationality and cute looks?  My advice for him is to go back to school and get a degree.  The poor little thing tripped all over himself while behind me… no idea what he was trying to do behind me; but when you see chairs stacked in the corner and balloons all over the place tied to presents, do not attempt to walk thru that mess.

The waiter brought out the food two dishes at a time. For a party of eight, this took a while. Then when he was bringing out the 7^th entrée he had to light a fire and do a tableside presentation while Heidi (who was #8) had to wait forever for her food that was left in the kitchen getting cold while said waiter played with fire… while everyone else had their food.  Clueless!

Again, come on people, for an upscale restaurant you do not have any food runners? Really? Really now? How about asking a manager to follow you with food? And clear some of the side plates off the table before trying to set a bento box in front of people. Drink glasses and saucers everywhere, and the waiter truly thought he was going to set the bento box down? He was clueless. It got to the point where we were setting our dirty dishes and empty bento boxes on the empty table beside us. The waiter never noticed and never cleared them off.

The Bilgogi (a Korean BBQ beef dish) was just ok. It needed a little more sugar and a lot more flavor. We got around this by dumping lots of soy-sauce on it, or dipping it into the salad dressing. If you want a nice Bilgogi go to Seoul Gardens on Coliseum Blvd. Seoul Gardens is on the north side of the road before you get to the truck stop.

An ink pen was under my chair from the previous diners. Come on people sweep the floor between covers! Is it that hard?

The food was good, the service was lacking, but the companions were beautiful. Just look at the cleavage on Laura …err… I mean the birthday wishes Laura received.

I do like that there is plenty of room to sit at the tables at NT, unlike Asakusa where you are packed in. Also, Asakusa service is rude and rushed. So I guess I can deal with NT’s service being clueless and clumsy because he was very friendly and personable and he did try. (Try my patience that is).

After drinking my green tea, I swirled the leaves in my cup in order to practice the age old divination of Tasseopraphy which is the fancy word for reading the tea leaves in order to tell my fortune. Buddha sitting cross legged on top of the mountain appeared in my tea leaves on the upper wall inside my cup. Starting at the rim is the present, and the farther down you go to the bottom of the cup is the future. The mountain means a journey of hindrance; a difficult but possible goal; but what does the Buddha sitting on top of the mountain mean?

Then I poured the remaining leaves onto a saucer and swirled. An angel means good news and protection and a kite means wishes will come true. I saw two angels flying two kites. So that means double my fortune! Woohoo for me!

Your body is filled with spiritual energy; tea leaves are your soul’s fingerprints. It gets a lot deeper than that but I specifically saw Fat – Happy – Buddha sitting on top of the mountain.

As my friends wandered what else the waiter had put into my cup other than tea leaves… hmmm.

The Later Years - After the Happily Ever After

2011-09-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Barbie

Batman & Robin

Belle

Snow White

Jasmine

Little Red Riding Hood

Snow White

Spiderman

Superman

Ariel the Little Mermaid

Thor

Tweety

Wonder Woman

Are you under-stimulated?

2011-09-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Great Ambiance

Beautiful Decor

It has come to my attention that you are perhaps understimulated. Not getting quite enough of the good stuff; the kick and juice that makes you feel alive and awake and happy to be barely surviving on this little blue speck of space lint we call home.

Does that sound about right? Is that you? Are you aching and craving and moaning deep in the night? I know just how you feel.

It has therefore come to my attention that you could use some additional, shall we say, titillation. Damn straight. You are far from alone.

Fresh Brewed Ice Tea...

They say we are an increasingly desensitized country. We are dejected and perpetually jaded, numbed out at a very deep level. Everything's amazing and nobody's happy. Why, just look around. It's like you can't get a tolerable cup of coffee.

Where do you look for stimulation? Where do you find that vital and bracing slap to your id? More importantly, just how intense do you need it to be before you feel it worth your time, attention, reaction?

Let me introduce you to the Brick House Grill, an upscale gastropub in downtown Huntington, Indiana at 19 West Washington Street, serving the finest sandwiches, steaks, and seafood for lunch and dinner.

Andrew and Garin are the owners of the Brick House Grill and they offer something truly real. With an understated - elegant atmosphere, stunning plate presentations, and delicious, freshly cooked food, hope and salvation is finally here for us foodies. May I hear a Hallelu?

Battered Artichoke Hearts

Baby Bellas

Starters include Scotch Eggs ($8), Fried Artichoke Hearts ($8), and Stuffed Baby Bellas ($8), which are absolutely fabulous!

Salads are The Classic Cobb Salad ($8) with chicken, bacon, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, and cheddar cheese. A Fresh Summer Salad ($8) with fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, red onions, almonds and bleu cheese. And a Black & Bleu Salad ($10) which is topped with 6oz of prime sirloin, fresh mushrooms, red onions, cherry tomatoes and bleu cheese.

Nice thick and juicy burgers with all types of toppings and served with fries. Try the Helluva Burger ($10) which is topped with everything they have except the kitchen sink.

Brickhouse' version of the Chicago Dog!

Gourmet Dogs ($6) are 1/4pound all beef franks and served with Lager Rings. The Chicago Dog is missing the sport peppers and the poppy seeds and the NEON relish but beat out a road trip to Chicago. Ever have a BLT Dog? Wrap bacon around the dog and fry it crispy then add lettuce and tomato; yummy! And look at those onion rings!

The Drunken Englishman ($8) is a crispy fried beer battered fish sandwich, while the Southern Gentleman ($7) is a classic pulled pork sandwich topped with slaw.

One pound of Bacon BLT

The BFBLT or is it BLFGT ($8) or maybe it is GLBT (just tell your server a whole bunch of initials and point to the menu!) I can assure you it is not no normal BLT. This baby starts with one pound of crispy bacon and is topped with fried green tomatoes.

Filet cooked to perfection!

Grilled Yellow-fin Tuna with Wasabi

Dinners include Lime City Sirloin ($16), 12oz N.Y. Strip ($19), 16oz bone-in Ribeye ($20), 8oz Filet Mignon ($22), Blackened Chicken ($16), Cajun Grilled Shrimp ($16), Bourbon Grilled Salmon ($16), and Grilled Yellowfin Tuna ($18) served rare with wasabi.

Spectabulous!

Dijon Dill Salmon ($16), Veggie Linguini Primo ($14), and Englishman’s Feast ($12) which is beer battered fish with fries and slaw. The Pile of Pork ($14) is slow smoked and topped with whiskey BBQ sauce. And the Beer Can Quarters ($14) are plump chicken quarters slow roasted with vegetables in dark beer then covered in BBQ Sauce.

Sweet Potato on the side!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Side of Broccoli

The Brick House Grill is available to cater weddings, rehearsal dinners, showers, birthday or anniversary parties, or any type of celebration on or off sight. They also offer a full bar (with many specialty martinis) and a nice wine selection and beer list.

Give them a call at (260) 224-6696 or check them out on the web at www.brickhousegrill.org and make sure to call for reservations because Awesomeness now has a name; and that is The Brick House Grill.

Hall's Factory - Fort Wayne, IN

2011-09-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

Don Hall’s Factory

5811 Coldwater Road

Fort Wayne, IN 46825

Pictures of Old Time Landmarks hang on all the walls at the factory. The pictures are fun to look at and try to figure out if they were actually in Fort Wayne. Just like the pictures, Don Hall’s is operating in a time long past. Dark paneling and heavy wooden chairs with leather backings are most likely original furnishings from when the Factory first opened. Very nice but at the same time very dated.

The Factory has a Fixed Price Menu from 4pm to 5:45pm everyday and all day Sunday. For $11.95 you get your choice of Chicken Marsala, Herb Roasted Chicken, Brisket, Prime Rib, or Cod Filet. These dinners come with mashed potato and the veggie of the day which is usually broccoli; a dinner salad and a special dessert. The day we went we were served small chilled crème brûlée in monkey dishes. It was very tasty and cooked perfectly with a crunchy top.

The Chicken Marsala was very moist, tender and delicious with a wonderfully light Marsala sauce. The 16oz porterhouse porkchop tasted wonderful but was overcooked and dry. Probably due to the fact that manly people still think that pork has to be over-cooked to be done.

The brisket was dry- smoked and then had bbq sauce poured over the top of it. The Ossian Smoked Ham was moist and served at room temperature.

The side Caesar salads were fresh and had lots of dressing on them, but was very mild if almost bland. The side wedge salads were quite nice with blue cheese dressing. The Dinner sized Greek Salad had plenty of peperoncini and anchovy slices. If you order them left off or not it doesn’t matter, you are going to get the anchovy.

When you order the blue-cheese butter the computer does not have a way to charge you for it, so the server has to raise the price of your meal up by $3. You would think that in this day and age of computers somebody could figure out how to use their computer system. It is just another way to show that the Hall’s chain is still operating in an “Era that has already gone bye – bye”.

The andouille potato cake ($3) is crispy on the outside and creamy mashed potatoes on the inside, covered with scallions and diced tomatoes and a melted cheese. Too bad the sausage could not be tasted.

Once the server’s caught on, the bread and butter was fresh and plentiful. They would bring another couple of bread boards with each trip back to the tables. Yummy. Nice soft white bread with a crispy crust and coated in sesame and poppy seeds that is impossible to cut with the dull-ass knives they bring with it. So, you just reach over and grab a chunk and rip it off the loaf. Did I mention yummy?

The website’s menu for the Factory says Gorgonzola Butter for $3, but when you go to the restaurant it is called “Blue Cheese Butter for $3” on the menu. Hall’s either does this to confuse their customers, or they don’t know their own ass from a wheel of good cheese. Just another way that Hall’s is still in a past century. Both; they don’t know their cheese and they do not keep their website updated.

If you want to dress up and pretend you are living in your parent’s time and age, Don Hall’s Factory is totally recommended. It is a place preserved in the minds of your grandparent’s surviving contemporaries. And it don’t get much better than that.

2011-09-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

Today’s Forecast:
Remembering Big Willy...

An advisory is put out today for a High of Laughter and a Low of Tears.

With many multiple pressure fronts of memories moving in and out all day.

Watch out for Multiple Disturbances with Flash Floods of Tears.

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Today's blog is very personal to me.

A very close friend passed away, and I went to his memorial today.

I have cried and cried again.

Just thinking of my friend not here any longer makes me tear into my medicine cabinet like Billy Holiday. And alas, I can only find one xanax.

This is how we feel about death.

Family

Friends

Food

Her specialty! Whipped Topping!
Laura is good like that...

Good times remembered.

Good food eaten.

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My audience with Bill was beautiful... if not brief.

Bill taught the great lessons that must be learned for admission into Heaven.

Faith, Hope, & Love.

I must now let Bill pass from Non-Fiction into Legend.

2011-09-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sigh!

Looking back at one of my favorite restaurants. Did you already know? I bet you already knew. Or at the very least, had a sneaking suspicion that Blu Tomato near Georgetown has CLOSED. Why do all the good restaurants have to close?

Blu Tomato offered wood fired pizza, pasta, and martinis, with great music and a nice laid back, casual, upscale, trendy atmosphere. Not as pretentious as Biaggi’s and much more elegant than Casa.

The Blu Tomato had different rooms that you could sit in and each were decorated a little differently but all are still warm and friendly just like the wait staff. The hostesses always panicked when I asked for a chair without arms, but they quickly found one and brought it to the table for me. The white paper table-covers placed over the white tablecloths are very handy to draw on and are kind-of-cute. I always forgot to take crayons.

At the table was a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and a dish of parmesan cheese to put on the fresh bread that was brought to the table in a basket along with flatbread and a small dish of black olive tapenade which was superbly made with diced black olives, extra virgin olive oil, and capers.

Appetizers included Fried Polenta (in Indiana we call it mush) crispy and delicious, with Italian sausage and roasted mushrooms in an asiago cream sauce.

Four Cheese Artichoke and Spinach dip served lukewarm with Blu Tomato bread-sticks. Valenza Chicken Wings; Smokey and yummy, a bit small but very tasty.

Salads included the Chopped Salad of romaine, provolone cheese, peppers, carrots, garbonzo beans, cucumbers and balsamic vinaigrette. And the Caesar Salad with romaine, roasted garlic dressing, housemade croutons and parmesan cheese.

And an absolutely delightful Spinach Salad made with goat cheese, grapes, pears, toasted walnuts and a maple sherry vinaigrette. The Radicchio and Romaine salad is one of the nicest salads in Fort Wayne. Tossed fresh gorgonzola cheese, spiced walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette and with honey mustard marinated oranges which truly made the salad over the top and fantastic. Just wish the kitchen would have removed the seeds from the oranges.

Dinner items included Filet Mignon served on weekends and Wednesdays, served with spiced butter on top and cooked perfectly to order. Rigatoni with chicken, Italian sausage, portabella mushrooms, basil and vodka-tomato-cream sauce, light and incredibly delicious. Chicken Marsala with garlic new potatoes and green beans in a sweet Marsala Sauce.

My favorite was always the Chicken Chop. It was stuffed with smoked cheese, roasted mushrooms, sauteed spinach, and artichokes. With rosemary sprinkled everywhere, and served with roasted potatoes.

Desserts included Warm Apple Tarts, Spumoni Pie, a Cannoli, and Tiramisu which was exceptionally light yet flavorful, and a Warm Chocolate Brownie served with butter pecan ice cream, candied walnuts, and caramel sauce.

Yeah, their hours were limited, only being open from 4pm until 10pm and closed on Sunday and Monday. And the credit card receipt said “Blu Harbor Grill” 10601 North St. Road 13, Syracuse, Indiana (574)457-5711 instead of Blue Tomato on Maplecrest Road in Fort Wayne.

The food, atmosphere, and service was so good.

But it doesn't really matter now, does it? The place is closed.

Tropic Chicken - 1122 Taylor, Fort Wayne

2011-09-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

$4.95 lunch plate
Two pieces of chicken in Gravy
Rice and Beans

Tropic Chicken – Latin Restaurant

1122 Taylor

Fort Wayne, IN 46802

(260) 422-3012

Tropic Chicken is hard to find. It is hidden behind the corner of a very small strip mall beside a Laundromat. Behind the biker bar on the corner of Taylor and Broadway. Across from Munchie Emporium.

Just keep looking, you will eventually find Tropic Chicken.

$4.95 lunch plate
Pork Ribs in Gravy with no beans,
with an added Pasty

Needs signage in the food like they do at the Kroger deli. Or at least the names of the food written on the glass outside the showcase so you can tell what everything is. We had to ask the counter person. Luckily the counter person spoke a little English and could tell us what everything was. Still confused about the 3 different types of rice. One rice was yellow, one was white with split peas cook in it, and the other was a very light pink.

Everything tasted great, but everything needed a lot more spice. You could use a bottle of hot sauce, but the food still needed to be kicked up a notch. The guy who was dipping up everything made sure we had lots of yummy gravy over everything. I knew I liked this guy for a reason.

Side of Sweet/Sour Meatballs

You order at counter, and tell them to eat in or to go.

This is a very casual place. You get your food and go sit down and enjoy it. There are some booths and a table to sit at to eat in. It was about 50/50 the amount of customers that ate in and the ones that took carry-out. Paper napkins and plastic tableware for eating in.

Mexican Bottled sodas ($1.25 each) and American Canned sodas (85cents each) in the fridge in the back of the small dining area. The bottle opener is at the counter. One table brought in their own gallon of "Sunny D" and something in a brown bottle.

Coconut Flan

Sweet Fried Plantain

Plain Flan & Coconut Flan

is waiting for you in the

refrigerator with the sodas.

We tried the coconut and it was truly delicious.

Firm, moist, flavorful and sweet.

The plantains were served hot and delicious. We had the choice of sweet or spicy plantains. A small order is one plantain, a large order is two plantains.

The many local Latin customers prove that the food at Tropic Chicken is delicious.

Smart Car. Passion

2011-09-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Gary got a smart car in at Hertz so I just had to rent it for the day.

From the outside it looks very small but it is surprisingly roomy inside.

Not roomy enough for me cause I weigh as much as the 3 cylinder; 71 horsepower, 1 litre Passion.

LOVED the see through roof! FABULOUS #1

Air Condition worked great! Power windows and power door locks. Fabulous #2

Just a little thing, and could park it in a 1/2 spot. Fabulous #3.

Clutchless manual or totally automatic. Fabulous #4.

Everyone stared as I drove buy. Absolute attention magnet! Just make sure you don't want to try and be incognito. Kids on the street would yell out legitimate questions like... How fast can it go? They have never done that to me in my mini-van. For me this is Fabulous #5.

First you put the key in the console between the two front bucket seats.

As I was turning a sharp left corner, my knee hit the key and turned the car off.

Not impressed / Dangerous #1.

The bucket seats are very contoured. And my butt nor my shoulders fit the contour that the designers think is the average person. A flat bench seat would have been spot on. Not impressed #2.

Only 30 miles to the gallon. You must be kidding right? 3 cylinders, and that small and only gets 30 miles to the gallon. I thought these were to get like 60 miles plus to the gallon. So not impressed #3.

The front hood has NO LATCH! I got it up to 80 on the highway and the hood did not come apart, but just to give me a little peace of mind, put a dam hook latch or something on the hood. Not impressed #4.

Very rough automatic shifting. It was a lot smoother when I did the clutchless manual. The single-clutch, automated manual transmission shifts gears so slowly and clumsily and the significant lurch of the transmission shifting is very unnerving. The noticeable shift shock made me and everyone else who tried it, think that the transmission was giving out after 13,000 miles. Nope, the transmission is fine, that is how they drive.

Not impressed #5.

No power at all. I mean do not pull out in front of anyone! 0 to 60 in about 20 seconds. Yeah baby! I said 20 seconds. Me and my Mistress's (my Mistress is in the Smart car with me in the pictures) granddaughter timed it out on the Reagan. And when a semi truck passed the poor little thing actually felt the crosswinds? Not impressed / Dangerous #6.

$15,000 base price? You have got to be kidding! Larger cars are cheaper! Not impressed at all #7.

Can you say ROUGH & BUMPY highway driving. Where the hell are the shocks? Seriously feel every bump. Not impressed #8.

The brake pedal come out of the floor and mashed down, rather than the normal brake pedals coming from the dashboard and mashing "in & down". Had to get used to that. Not impressed #9.

The passion loves to LURCH. I mean, for having no power, it likes to lurch (not roll or crawl, but seriously LURCH) in parking lots and at stop signs & lights. Not impressed / dangerous #10.

So there is my revue. 5 fun and positives and 10 negatives if not outright dangers.

The Smart Passion does drive better than a gold cart, but not when at the upper speeds.

So all together the smart car costs too dam much and for only getting 30 miles to the gallon it is a big (hahaha I made you say big) joke.

Hope you like the pictures of me trying to tune the Smart Passion up.... Just change the guinea pigs food and water and throw in some fresh cedar shavings every 1,000 miles and you are good to go!

2011-09-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Apricot, Pineapple, Lime smoothies. How yummy and refreshing.
Took a can of apricots, 1/2 can crushed pineapple, a small container of peach flavored yogurt, a squirt of lime juice and a tray of ice.
Dumped it all in the blender and turned it on.
Woohoo. The lime gives it a zing.
Cheers

Biaggi's Italian Restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana

2011-09-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

I have found that Biaggi’s is good at one or two dishes and everything else on the menu is just to disappoint.

After the hostess sat us at our table, we waited 8 minutes for our waitress. Actually a table that was sat 3 minutes after us had drinks before our server showed up. Then it took 5 minutes to get our pepsi and waters. Our waitress did not mention the daily specials or the soups of the day. But we did hear a server behind us mention them to yet a different table. A different server brought us a basket of wonderful focaccia bread with a great garlic taste and plain Italian bread. We asked for butter and were served a small dish with a cap on it with the letter B.

If you have to go to Biaggi’s I recommend the wonderful bruschetta which was fabulously spot on in presentation and in flavor. Great crispy yet soft bread, very garlicky, wonderful balsamic vinaigrette, and the small balls of fresh mozzarella were moist and superb.

When the stuffed mushrooms came to the table I wiped my apprehension on my napkin and dug in. They had no flavor and the sausage and the mushrooms were the same color. For being overcooked, they came out barely lukewarm at best. Do not order the stuffed mushrooms.

Marsala Chicken was excellent. Served with veggies that were crisp and fresh, and included squashes and onions. The Chicken Bowtie was perfectly al dente and hot, but very dry and starchy. The Ziti Al Forno was served with a lot of delicious sauce, but sadly was served barely luke warm.

Light tasting olive oil was on our table, to be used with the parmesan and there was sediment of some type in the bottom of the bottle.

Biaggi’s is a very loud restaurant with tables crowded together, no carpet, big open rooms, and high ceilings with no acoustical tiles. Sound bounced every place. Sadly it is a trend for restaurants to forgo the carpet, and the tablecloths can not absorb all the sound. Biaggi’s is loud—very loud. And noises that are too loud can be bad for your hearing. And when you raise your voice, other people have to talk louder to be heard, too. The noise level got louder and louder.

I Wondered as I looked around Biaggi’s: where did it all go wrong? So many feelings and unsaid words: the service left us choked and left us broken and alone. So, the big question: Should you give a damn? Should you be excited about any of it? It seems like you should, but I just can’t muster the excitement.

Welcome to my Errata

2011-08-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my blog.

I am an Epicurean Hedonist by fate.
Epicurean means to me; Enjoying Food.
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good.

I travel a little bit (my friends say I travel a lot) and I like trying new foods and different restaurants.
I have written restaurant reviews for publication, so I thought I would combine the two.

I plan blogging my thoughts on
different Restaurants I visit,
different recipes I try,
places I visit.
And a whole lot more.

So Welcome!
Cheers
David