Maniacs.

So, a couple months ago, I blogged about the Texas State Fair selling deep-fried butter. Well, apparently it tastes good:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We're talking, Singles Ladies good:

Lemme Tell You.

Sonic has finally come to Massachusetts. You have no idea how awesome this is. Herewith is a full on analysis:

For some, it was their first time at Sonic after years of seeing the chain's television ads.

Yup. This has been such an effin' tease. They'd advertise and advertise, but we COULDN'T GO TO ONE.

"I am originally from Texas and Sonics were all over the place, so when I found out they were building one in Mass., I was wicked excited,'' said Lundstrom . . . .

Heh. Sounds like Mr. Lundstrom is a full fledged Yankee now.

Krispy Kreme drew hordes of doughnut devotees when it opened in Medford in 2003, but today it has no stores in the state.

Here's the diff: Krispy Kreme sucks. And Dunkin' Donuts is awesome. Ask any New Englander which they prefer. In fact, ask any New Englander what their favorite coffee is. KK had no hope. But there's no local Sonic-like institution in the Northeast. I think they're going to be just fine.

"Oh my God, Sonic is so much better than going to a bar,'' Brockman said.

Sing it.

Even I Can't Eat That.

As someone who has eaten at various points in his life: a deep-fried cheeseburger; deep-fried oreos; deep-fried twinkies; deep-fried pickles; deep-fried coke; a three-day old Taco Bell burrito; Spam; and food I didn't know the name of or from what creature/plant/chemical plant it came, even this makes me gag.

Deep-fried butter.

It is exactly as it sounds. Everything is bigger in Texas, including the artery blockages.

I'm Determined Not To Sit This Out.

So a ways back, I talked about how some podcasts are helping me to not sit out on some big issues of the day. "Luckily," the big issue going on right now is the whole recession and stuff, so I sort of can't help but be on board just by listening to Planet Money (Alex Blumberg cracks me up).

I don't do as good of a job keeping up with their blog, but there have been a couple goodies recently, so herewith, I'm going to point some of them thars out.

One thing they do is have an "Indicator" which is just some number or sign out in the real world that helps contextualize the state of the economy. One of their listeners (not me) offered a tidbit about recipe websites suggesting more hot dog based foods, such as this:


Oh my God! I've totally eaten budae jjigae! Recession-schmecession. That's good eatin' (and value). Yeah Korea!

I Scream.

Obsessed with the awesomeness of ice cream in the Boston-area (my fave, bien sur being Kimball's -- the Carlisle location more specifically -- btw, Carlisle is so tiny it's local newspaper is called the Mosquito -- I know, quaint, right?), Yahoo! just posted a list of top ice cream destinations in the country. Of the 8 on the list, 5--yes 5--are in New England.

Proof positive that frappe isn't "Yankee" for milkshake. Milkshake means there's no G-D ice cream in it. Get it right, America.

If I Had Twitter, I'd Basically Only Tweeteritterwitwitiwi About What I Just Ate.

I've had this conversation before, where I've pontificated on who the first person was who decided to eat an egg.  I'm not the originator of this thought, but sadly, in my old age, I can't recall who my source was.  But think, some dude (gender non-specific, I just say dude because I it's my blog and not yours) sees this thing come out the backside of a chicken, and they some how wonder "I wonder what that tastes like?"

 

This came up again last night when I was having dinner with my brother, and I ordered the soft-shell crab.  (One of my all-time favorite noshes.  Fo shiz'.)  Some dude (<-- deal with it) one day looked at this thing crawling around and wondered, "You know, I'm kinda tired.  I'm just going to eat the whole damn thing."  Weirdo.

It's Amazing Baystaters Aren't Fatter.

More reasons why Massachusetts is kick-awesome (what do you want from me? Kris Allen has revealed in interviews that he was an avid watcher of both Boy Meets World AND Singled Out -- how you all are resisting his charms I just don't know nor do I want to -- yield! YIELD!).

Next Friday is free donut day at Dunkin' Donuts.

And next Saturday is free ice cream day at Friendly's.

Oh you know that's wicked good.

The Best Guacamole Recipe in the World.

I originally found this via Alton Brown at the Food Network, but that website doesn't keep all recipes online for some reason. Thankfully, some people are awesomer than I and didn't lose their hard copy version of the recipe. I've now used this recipe at my second social gathering (New Year's Eve), and it received a response as enthusiastic as its debut (Super Bowl Sunday). If the Food Network won't do it, then I will:

3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin [<---- THIS IS THE MONEYMAKER.]
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. Add 1 tbsp of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for one hour and then serve.

EDIT: Holy carp! I put the moneymaker tag on the wrong ingredient. It is now correct.

Flame.

I totally want this:



Color me totally seduced.

Loose Ends.

I'd been meaning to write some follow-ups so here goes. I know, I know, it's like waiting for the last episode of Lost or Battlestar Galactica around here (the latter being far, far, far, far, far, far superior).

1. Firefox v.3 doesn't get along with Skype. I've changed 3 things since the displeasure of June 18. First, I reduced the cache. Second, I limited the number of backtrack pages. And third, I got rid of a Skype installation, which I had recently installed in v.2. So far--knock on wood--I've been able to reset the cache with no crashing. Hopefully, I can reset the number of backtrack pages. It's my guess that Skype and v.3 don't get along.

2. In much more important news, I just came back from WALL-E. It's good. Boy howdy.

3. In slightly less important news, I finished reading A Confederacy of Dunces, which I had tried to read 4 or 5 years ago because it was a "cool" book to read. I picked it up again because I'm working my way through the Pulitzers. You know how Greek comedies aren't all that funny? Sort of like that, but with more farting. Seriously.

4. The Dunkin Donuts flavor trial is all done. Herewith:

Raspberry: B. Surprisingly better than blueberry. Maybe it's because I think raspberry is a more distinctive flavor and so it can hold its own better, or maybe I'm just being silly.

Toasted Almond: C. Completely irrelevant. Take that two-worded-flavor. You think you're so special because you're toasted. Who wouldn't be? Minus points for trying too hard.

Hazelnut: B+. Classic! This is the only way I can get my hazelnut fix. I'm allergic to them. Yup, that means no Nutella, either.

Caramel: C+. I can't remember what this tasted like. I'm guessing caramel.

5. "Sackbut" is a real word.

Dunkin Donuts Coffee: A Midterm Assessment.

As previously noted, Dunkin' Donuts coffee is sweet angel sweat collected for our unworthy human lips. Being the arrogant race that we are, we've nonetheless attempted to improve upon this liquid happiness. DD allows you to order your coffee in a variety of flavors, to varying degrees of success. What's particularly awesome about the flavoring is that they aren't sweetened (unlike some evil empire's flavors), which means you can still customize your coffee precisely how you want it.

I've taken it upon myself to provide a user's guide for these options. Herewith, a midterm report:

Original (no flavor added): A+. Really. No improvement needed. Therefore, "improve" is the wrong word. Let's just agree that adding flavor is but a different experience--familiar, but incomparable. That's the only fair thing to do.

French Vanilla: A-. Classics never go out of style. I'll likely bookend this little journey with that other stalwart standby, hazelnut.

Blueberry: B-. The newest in the line, and not exactly the slam dunk you might expect. I think it's because DD's coffee isn't roasted that intensely, and fruit essences tend to go with the more nutty flavor of coffee (think orange valencia). I'm not looking forward to raspberry.

Coconut: A. A winner. This is what dreams and puppy dogs are made of.

Cinnamon: C+. Bitter beginning, but then you get used to it. I think it would be better if I liked my coffee sweeter. But since I don't, the cinnamon just sort of sits there.