pouch food

People that regularly follow this blog are not likely to believe that I actually packed a lunch for myself today, so here's photographic evidence.



I didn't make the sandwich though. That was my pay for a night's performance at the Camellia Lounge. Darn good sandwich.

vali thai

Today I gave pizza a chance. (Give Pizza a Chance, food cart @ SW 5th and Washington) It failed.

I've been addicted to Vali (Vela? Veli?) Thai Food, a different food cart on the same block. The Red and Yellow curries are so good that I can't bring myself to try anything else.

I know that one day I'm going to get horrendously sick from one of these carts, but until that day, this is some of the best food that I've ever eaten.

morning star

Oh my joy, I have found my breakfast spot this morning!

Morning Star Café on SW 3rd and Washington

Served up a fantastic bagel and a great cup of Illy brewed coffee. It was great, quick, cool atmosphere, cute girls. They even have Voodoo donuts. Good job you guys, you have a new repeat customer!

bagel bistro

I love bagels and coffee. I had a place I really enjoyed going - NW Bagel Deli in Hazel Dell - but now it'll be over 16 miles away, so I probably won't make it out very often anymore. I'm spending mornings before work looking for a new coffee and bagel place in the downtown Portland area. I will be reviewing them here.

Bagel Bistro on SW 4th and Stark

I ordered the sesame bagel and a coffee, and both came with a smile. The bagel was a touch salty and the coffee was... well, not. Atmosphere is reasonable, lots of breakfast choices including non-bagel-related items. Overall it's the best place I've been to yet. Sadly it looks like Vancouver has the bagel figured out far better than Portland does.

up front

It took me about 2 dozen shots to finally get this one, because in order to get a shot where the sign was readable, you had to catch it in the split second while it was lighting up.

I've never been the first one to be stopped by the bridge. To most people on most days at most times (myself included) this would be the worst bit of luck you could have, as inevitably it would be making you even more late going somewhere. Or at the very least just wasting a bunch of your time. But tonight was a different sort of night. I was... appreciative.

That I could leave my house in my comfy car whenever I wanted and likewise come back whenever I pleased.

That I could go to Starbucks on a whim and have a great cup of coffee in the middle of the night.

That I could order food for at virtually no cost... and eat it! Just like that!

I look at where I am now and where I was just a year ago, or two, or five, or compared to the lives of most of the people around me, and I realize how free I am. The only person I have to answer to is God; otherwise I'm basically free to do what I want when I want. Why isn't this more amazing to me on a regular basis? I think I need to live more thankfully. Yes, the events that made me single were and still are pretty devastating, but to not see all of the good and merciful things that have come from this is a tragedy.

The guys at the Bell got a little carried away with extra ingredients and, through careful discerned tasting, I was able to dissect the recipe for the Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito! I sure hope Taco Bell does not sue me because I'm posting it right here! Starting with a standard Bean Burrito:

• Tortilla
• Beans
• Shredded Cheese
• Red Sauce (I cannot remember if this was present or not)

And then adding:

• Rice
• Nacho Cheese Sauce (secret ingredient!)

And here I was thinking they actually had a special cheese mixture for the burrito. Man, these guys are geniuses.

teeter

For 9:15 PM it was pretty crowded at Yuki. Not so much that I couldn't get a table, so I sat down and ordered a Sapporo and a beef teriyaki. It was more like a sliced Japanese steak. Pretty good stuff.

I'm sitting there eating and can't help but to overhear the fairly obnoxious girl in the corner talking to some new guy friend about how she used to be awful to guys on purpose. I'm sure a lot has changed, I think to myself. I'm pretty sure I want to be alone.

Another guy, older, comes in by himself and sits across the restaurant facing me. He's fine for a while but once he tries his entree, he flags down the waitress to tell her how bad it is, and that he eats better versions of the same thing all over town, and he doesn't want to pay for it. The whole restaurant can hear. All the Japanese girl does is bow politely and take the food from him. I'm pretty sure I don't want to be alone.

I get home, flipping through MySpace quickly to see if anyone has requested a DVD, and I find a picture of Sarah and the family and I burn, I miss her so badly.

I'm pretty sure I want to stay inside and not see or hear from another soul. Stay here until I can't feel a thing for real, until I can see her face and not care at all about her. Stay here until I'm dead if I have to.

farmer in the

Why do I blog about food so much? Simple. Eating is the only non-work related event that occurs during weekdays, period. So I ENJOY it. Enough said.

I'm trying to branch out. So yesterday I ate a 7:00 PM breakfast at Del Taco. Del Taco is a California chain but they have a handful of locations in other states, including 3 in the Portland metro. Their value meals uniquely pair french fries with traditional Mexican items, leading to a confusing yet oddly satisfying combination.

Taco
It's a hard taco in a really cheap shell. Unremarkable. But it's nostalgic for me; it reminds me of the days as a youth leader hanging out with the kids and shooting dumb/awesome videos (more on this later). Some days these go for 3 on the dollar, which makes them considerably more appealing.

Quesadilla
What do you expect? Cheap cheese in a big tortilla folded over. Just like you make at home for your boyfriend every night. That's right, I said it.

Fries
It's been a couple years (my visit last night was the first in a while), but if memory serves me correctly, they are heated-up Ore-Ida bag fries. And I just realized that the "Ore-" part is probably Oregon. Woo hoo, we are famous!

All that to say, I highly, highly recommend it.

welcome home

I landed without much fanfare and proceeded to Dollar rent-a-car. I always thought I hated Dollar, even before I ever dealt with them. Now I know that I hate them. Although to their credit, I was in and and out faster than any previous rental experience, they barely said anything to me before tossing me the keys to a Chrysler T&C mini-van that I didn't ask for. It looks approximately like poop and drives a lot worse than that.

They even had the nerve to ask me to bring it back the next morning so that they could take back the more expensive car and give me something cheaper. In nicer words I told them to get lost.

I was hungry. So I hopped onto the 805 and got off at Telegraph Canyon for none other than...

Closed?! What, it's only 11:30!

A quick iPhone search gave me directions to a second, also closed, Lolita's Taco Shop in Bonita. At least it was a nice drive.

It was clearly time for Plan B. I remembered something about Roberto's Taco Shop being a close substitute and punched that into the phone. Up popped a number of pins in downtown Chula Vista so off I went. Broadway and H - success!

But I could never prepare myself for what I was about to eat. Friends... this was the most rewarding meal I have ever eaten. I had high expectations, being the snobby ex-Southern-Californian I am, but I'll tell you, the taste was above and beyond any and all of that. Shockingly, shockingly wonderful.

I could even smell the white cheese (seemingly unfindable outside of San Diego!) reminding me of the early years eating tacos as the good pseudo-Mexican toddler that I was. It's such a disinctive smell. Really, I must recommend, if you are in San Diego please visit this place; you will be blown away.

Then on to Lestat's for a late night cup of coffee. Lestat's is a 24-hour coffee shop situated under the Normal Heights sign. With heavy heart I must admit that it thoroughly trounces anything we have in Portland; the people are great, the coffee is great, and it's actually open 24 hours a day. There was a time not long ago where the only reason I was able to finish part of a project was because this place was open and serving caffeine with a smile, so I owe them eternal gratitude of sorts.

As all great coffee shops are at any late hour, it was packed. I moved on quickly because there was nowhere to put my laptop and I had a lot of email to catch up on.

The more time I spend in San Diego the more I really, truly like it. For certain it's a place I could live. Maybe it's time to consider giving the Northwest a break and trying something old-new for a while.

cheesy gordita crunch

This one is for Kendall. If you love the Cheesy Gordita Crunch as much as she, you need to sign this petition.

Viva la Cheesy Gordita Crunch

No, they probably won't bring it back on account of 109 digital signatures from the web, but America wouldn't be so great if we didn't sign this on principal alone.

For the obsessed (myself not included), here is an article that might help you decide if you should give your support to this cause.

Associated Content review

One must not think of Taco Bell as Mexican, he or she must simply consider it Taco Bell.

The only unique problem with the Cheesy Gordita Crunch will be exposed if one does not like cheese.

CGC Ingestion Simulation video

Oh. Now I'm hungry.

ranchero

I've been on an unexplainable Taco Bell kick lately. I think it's in the interest of self-preservation.

Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco Wow! How I love thee. Grilled chicken, I think, cheese, lettuce and tomatos, and... uh, ranchero sauce. Delicious! It tastes a lot like you'd expect and a lot like you don't expect, but whatever you expect, it's actually really great. Mine was fresh and came with a healthy serving of... ranchero. Con: it's a little pricey at $1.79. 4/5 [free colin]s

1/2 lb Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito It's a great item but don't eat it two days in a row. Like I just did. Cheese overload. Once every, say, two days, perfectly fine. The cheese hits you like a freight train. Imagine yourself on a dance floor in disco-fever L.A. The girl with the rainbow boa comes around... fluffing it in your face one time, two times, three... suddenly you are presented with a plate of white powder. Let it pass, for the next tray holds what you really desire. Yes. A platter of fully melted Taco Bell cheese, straight off the assembly line. Bob worked hard to make it for you. Bob works hard for the money because he really needs to make another payment on his Integra. Take a big, hearty bite and reflect on why America is so great. Do you feel better now? Also, I'm pretty sure it's not a full 1/2 lb. That might be a negative OR a positive. Therefore I'm awarding it 3.5/5 [free colin]s the first time you eat it but only 2.5/5 [free colin]s for the repeat visit.

One sad bit of news is that the Cheesy Gordita Crunch (not to be confused with the Nacho Cheese Gordita, mind you) has disappeared into the ethos. Fear not, it's likely to return on a cycle like many of the other successful exotic items have in the past.