Mouth Stuff

Alright, I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell you what food I've been eating.

At first I ate lots of stuff just in the car (granola bars, fruit and nut bars, trail mix, Wheat Thins) but I have switched over to real meals, probably because we have been through states with cities in them. Crazy thing.

In Austin, Texas I ate pizza that was paper thin and pathetic looking but had a surprising flavor impact. To follow it up I devoured ice cream of which Cold Stone's business model is based. I also ate Whataburger, which is a fast food burger place in the South. It is not good but is probably better than say... Burger King.

Still in Texas (it's a large place) I visited Salt Lick. This was boasted by many as the best BBQ. By my standards, it was delicious. I had a sausage sandwich. Their sauce is quite unique and Dave and I couldn't get enough of it.

In Houston, Texas I had what I was told is traditional Texan BBQ. I only tasted Dave's because I was experiencing my typical stomach discomfort. I wasn't too thrilled with Good and Co. BBQ, mainly because of their tomato based sauce, which tasted like marinara sauce to me. If you know me, you know why I wasn't pleased. The meat was still really good.

In Louisiana I tasted my first Cajun/Creole food. It blew my mind. I had been drinking and that has been known to skew one's perception of the quality of a meal, but this food was amazing. I had jambalaya and Dave had gumbo, my first time trying either and both were really good. We had bread pudding with a whiskey sauce for dessert, an excellent finish to our already stellar meal.

In one day... I had my first beignet, which is a French doughnut. The wait was stupid long and the beignet tasted like a burnt funnel cake. Not the best. Immediately after, we walked across the street and ate breakfast. I ordered a Cajun omelet, which had some of the same things I had the last night but wrapped in egg. It wasn't the same mastery of the food so it was merely acceptable. I also had grits, pretty good. Only around two hours after, we went to the apparent birthplace of the muffaletta. Dave and I both had half (they are gigantic). It was probably one of the best sandwich shaped things I've ever had in my mouth. For those of you who don't know, a muffaletta is an Italian sandwich that has salami (maybe another meat), gruyere, and the best goddamn olive spread ever. It was almost unreasonable. I almost took it back and spat in the chef's face, it was so good.

After arriving in Atlanta Georgia, DT took us to a bar (this is the same day, mind you). We ate fried sea food and drank beer.

In Atlanta I ate breakfast at The Flying Biscuit. It was tasty but I was feeling stomach sick. The grits here altered my perception of grits forever making me believe I love them.

DT took us to a pizza place called Antico. This was one of the best meal experiences in my life. It seems unfair to rate it so highly because I had only one slice of pizza (again, stomach issues) but the atmosphere of the place heightened the experience. After ordering, we squeezed by seated people and found the kitchen. The kitchen felt like an Italian wedding party. The chefs were making pizzas, people were carrying around six packs and bottles of wine, and the large tables were full of large portions of food. The place was bursting with convivial harmony. Before our pizzas were ready, the older woman, the matriarch of her rosy cheeked family, told Dave that if he kissed her on the cheek, she'd give us a bottle of wine. Obviously, we gained a bottle of wine. The food was by far the best pizza I've ever had and the wine was an added bonus. For one of the first times, I felt connected with the people around me through a simple love for food. It had that European glow that I pathetically long for.

Ate breakfast at West Egg. Good but not great. DT claims he knows the where abouts of the best garlic fries in the world. I shall see and report back to you.

Fun side note: Subway is everywhere. I've seen it every state. Sonic is a big deal in the South. People actually go to Dairy Queen. Chili's is the most common sit-down restaurant. In the South East, Carl's Jr. is called Hardee's.

P.S. If you want to comment on any of my entries, please do. It makes me feel like people are actually reading and I'd like to know what people think.