Frito Pie and other Gustatory Delights

The California Desert October 27, 2007
I have been too tired to post at night so my apologies. We will be home tonight and I will catch up and tell you about Brisket at Sheila's in Oklahoma, Frito Pie and Coney's also in Oklahoma, and the coolest little strip of Route 66 you ever did see! Chumley is anxious to have this ordeal over and I can't wait to get back to the gym!! JM

The No Calorie Left Behind Tour

Conway, Arkansas
That title must be credited to Michael Ventre. He came up with that after I told him how much Larry and I have eaten on the road.
I can't write well. All of the blood that is usually in my brain is currently busy in my stomach digesting the abuse heaped upon it today. It started at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville. We knew something was up when the line to get in snaked around the corner at 10 am on a Wednesday. The person who seated us whispered to me that the sweet potato pancakes were his favorite..."ROAD FOOD" recommended them, and the buckwheat pancakes. The great waitress brought us samples of the sugar and spice pancakes, the buckwheat, and Larry ordered some facockta corn meal thing with cheese and bacon. There were three syrups: maple, cinnamon cream, and honey. All this for someone who doesn't really eat much breakfast...The sweet potato pancakes came topped with powdered sugar, wholly unneeded-as the batter was just as rich and sweet as possible. The large mound of sweet butter on the side added insult to injury. I managed to suck down 2 of the delights and a side of Grits. OOOOOOOO. I moaned all the way to Memphis. Memphis - home of Elvis, The Blues and Barbeque. I got a southern blues CD for Mikey, managed to avoid all Elvis stuff, and then had some OUTSTANDING Bar B Q. Some how I found room to devour a pulled pork sandwich- I know PORK AGAIN-oy. The best sauce I have ever had. Wonderful Beans, great coleslaw. Just outstanding. Jim Neely the proprietor of Interstate Barbecue was IN THE HOUSE. (see photo) and he was as warm and wonderful as his food. Carrying on, forgoing dinner...all Larry wanted was a beer and the World Series. We are in a Dry Frickin County. What???? 15 miles in each direction. No Beer. Home state of Bill Clinton? No dang Beer. It is all about TUMS and sleep for me. JM

A "SPIEDIE" TRIP

Stephens City, Virginia October 22, 2007
O.K. So the month, (give or take a week) that I was home went very quickly. I did manage to pack in alot of stuff. I met some really nice new people, and reconnected with two people that are very important to me. Here are some of the highlights: I went to a wonderful wedding in Ithaca and got to show Mikey around my college town. ( believe that a Seinfeld episode about worlds colliding sums that one up.) It was actually a great great time. I got to see three vintage World War 2 planes, and meet a wonderful man named Art. He not only knows about airplanes, but he is one of the #1 ranked billiard players in upstate NY. I have a huge crush on him. I even went up to Glens Falls to see him play in a tournament staged for my benefit. Oh did I tell you that Art is 91? Two things to note about that posted photo: My dad's USC hat, and the cool plane in the background. (Dad wants me to marry John David Booty the quarterback from USC, so that he can say his daughter is Judy Booty. I said that Doug Flutie is actually more my type and almost age appropriate and I could be Judy Flutie, but whatever.) So it was a good trip, and I think Chumley and my parents really got on well. So that brings us to today. My buddy Larry is driving back across the US with me. It will be more of a straight forward trip this time. But if anything interesting takes place I will take some photos and blog about it. I am not the wonderful food writer that Julie is, but I did have a terrific culinary bonus today. Evidently in Binghamton New York there is a specialty sandwich called a Spiedie. It consists of a 12 inch long skinny hero type roll packed full of either pork or chicken cubes. I opted for the pork. The meat was sublime; moist, tangy, with a hint of lemon, salty and tender. Who knew there was a specialty sandwich called a Spiedie? I went to school in Ithaca,
One hour away and have never heard of it!





But my mom, who was the only art teacher in Chenago County in 1946, has heard of a spiedie! We got a hot tip that the best key lime pie in the United States is in Little Rock Arkansas so at the very least I will report back on that. Keep my friends in the the Fire Zones in California in your thoughts. JM