Gaper's Blog

You Think You're a Picky Eater?

We all have our own weird food preferences but I have a feeling that I may be in a pretty high percentile as far as finicky food habits go. I'd love to be proven wrong and find that someone else is even worse.

I really hate tomatoes. However, I like nearly every derivative of them. Love: tomato soup, marinara, tomato juice (or V-8), bruschetta, salsa, bloody marys and pretty much anything that isn't just a tomato. Put a tomato slice on a sandwich or burger and I will remove it and wipe off the remaining juice and seeds like it's a hazmat site. It's something about the raw tomato taste that gives me the willies, and I have no idea why.

Onions are very similar for me, love the flavor they provide but hate them (almost always) on their own. Love: French onion soup, onion flavoring, onion rings (but I have to eat them whole, if the breading breaks and the onion escapes its' shell, I freak out), 'bloomin onions' and so much more. When it comes to onions as a garnish on a hot dog or a burger, they have to be finely diced. For instance, I love the finely diced, steamed onions you get at White Castle as well as the finely diced onions one gets with a McDonalds cheeseburger but hate the chopped onion pieces you get with a Quater Pounder. Yes, I'm that picky.

As for other veggies, I love raw carrots. I will tolerate cooked carrots but only in stew or soup. I like cucumbers but hate zucchini, squash and pumpkins. Gimme zucchini bread, though, it's yummy. Love potatoes but hate yams/sweet potatoes. Love broccoli but hate cauliflower, adore asparagus but can't stand radishes or turnips. And so on.

Another weird one for me: eating food off the bone. If I'm in a situation where eating meat off a bone is my only option, I will.  On the other hand, I love BBQ ribs and Buffalo wings but really don't like eating fried chicken, unless it's boneless chicken tenders or 'boneless' wings. I like meat but I'd rather not be reminded that is was once part of an animal and the less it reminds me of that, the better. Color is another sticking point, because both are pinkish, I avoid ham and bologna, they remind me too much of skin. I know, gross.

One last one that just came up the other day--venison.  I know that we have a deer overpopulation problem in this country, I see deer almost daily where I live, which is in one of the most densly populated counties (Cook) in the country.  Hunting helps keep the deer population in check and prevents some deer from starving which is actually a much more painful death than being shot.  Most deer hunters I know take a cue from Native Americans and use as much of the animals they hunt as possible, having the hides tanned for gloves and slippers and have the meat butchered into the various cuts of meat (chops, ground 'beef', filets) that feed their family and friends.  I also know that venison is leaner and better for you than most beef.  Even though I am an unabashed meat-eater, I refuse to eat venison because of the 'Bambi Effect'.  So when some friends had me over for chili for the Bears game last Sunday, I politely declined when I learned that the meat was vension and to their credit, my hosts were completely understanding.

Seriously, that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure my relatives secretly hate me because I have so many restrictions they have to check with me to see if it's O.K. that they serve something at family gatherings. I'm sure you've got your own quirks, which will remind me of other weird food aversions I have.

I Had Sushi And It Was Good

When I did my Rachael Ray post last week, I made mention of the fact that I'd never had sushi before and didn't really have any desire to try it.  This set my friend Chris reeling and he fired off a two page e-mail (titled: "So, I've been disturbed all morning") in defense of sushi with an impassioned plea to at least try it, at his expense.  Now Chris wasn't the first person to try to convince me to try sushi, Carla's a pretty big sushi fan and had tried in vain to get me to eat sushi on many occasions.  It was a delicate situation, if years of my better half trying were fruitless, she might get upset if all of a sudden, I decided to try it based on someone else's recommendation. It turned out that she didn't really care what the catalyst was as long as I tried it.

I'll admit that part of my aversion to sushi stemmed from it being one of those yuppie fads in the early 80's. A much bigger factor though was the whole raw fish/weird foods thing. I had always categorized sushi along with other semi-exotic foods like frog legs, escargot, oysters, caviar, steak tartare, 'Rocky Mountain Oysters' and pig's feet.  Foods that people sometimes eat just to say they've eaten something weird.  I've tried some semi-weird food (oysters, escargot, alligator & conch) with pretty universal distaste. I made two conditions before agreeing to try sushi: no roe (fish eggs) and no raw fish.

Chris chose Wakamono, his favorite neighborhood sushi joint and we went last Wednesday. I was a bit self-conscious but after some familiar starters (crabmeat & cream cheese wontons, asparagus, prosciutto in ponzu sauce & toasted shallots) it was onto the maki rolls. Feel free to consult the menu for the specifics of each roll but we had the Dragon, Godzilla, Kani Chung, Philadelphia Maki and a few others, one of which even had a bit of roe. All in all I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty they all were, with the Godzilla being my favorite, the spicy mayo was outstanding. The rolls are bit big for one bite and you kinda have to eat it in one bite but I'd gladly go again and am glad I had a persuasive friend in Chris to insist I try it. Thanks Chris, we owe you one. The only drag of the night was getting back to our car to find a CPD meter maid had ticketed us for not having a front license plate, so lame.

What food(s) are off limits for you? What have you tried that surprised you (good or bad)?

Favorite Restaurants

When we first moved to Forest Park in 2002, the town was still on the upswing of its current renaissance. Madison Street was still bars, antique shops and a few decent restaurants. We had tried most of the restaurants and were pleased but nothing blew us away. Our neighbor told us about a place I had passed dozens of times, a storefront take-out Italian place his friend ran called Tutto To Go. On a lark one night, we ordered from there and I had some really great Baked Mostaccioli which I ordered the next time and it was even better. A month later, the place was boarded up. I asked my neighbor what was up and he said they were building out for a restaurant proper which would open the following spring. I guess I was out of luck as far as the Baked Mostaccioli was concerned.

Since this place was on my way home from work, I drove by it every day. One warm spring day,  on my way home, I noticed a Grand Opening sign for La Piazza (the new name); there had also been an article in the local paper mentioning the opening. We decided to go, maybe they'd have my dish on the menu. Any critic or chef will tell you it's not a good idea to go on opening night, too many bugs to work out but we went anyway. I'm glad we went as we had an amazing meal, met the chef and found a local restaurant (within walking distance) we loved. It ended up replacing the late Soul Kitchen as quite literally, my favorite restaurant in the world. Easily two dozen times later, it remains so and amazingly, I've never had a bad morsel of food there, ever. It's quite simply the most inventive, delectable Italian food I've ever had. I've sent friends and family and haven't heard a bad word about it. It's since nearly tripled in size and has become one of the most difficult reservations to get in the Oak Park/River Forest/Forest Park area. I feel pretty special that we witnessed the first night of a place that has gone on to such great success.

Now it doesn't have to be a long drawn out story like mine but tell us about your favorite restaurant (just one, please), your go-to place, the place you'd go to if you just got a big raise or promotion or learned some great news. Or the place you go on date night, the place you take good friends who come to visit. If they have a website, feel free to include a link. It doesn't matter if the place is in Chicago or Borneo, tell us about it.

Top 10 'Can't Live Without' Foods

I like the poll-type questions (especially Top 10 Lists) for Fridays and I also really like food, so why not combine the two? Follow my lead, you can be as specific or as general as you like. For instance, I adore cheese and could do a separate Top 10 Cheeses (not a bad future topic) but will cite cheese (generically) as a food. You may love seafood but that's too broad, so maybe mention your specific favorites.

We're going to do this Wheel of Fortune style though, when they do that final puzzle, they spot you five consonants and let you pick a vowel. I'll go ahead and spot you five foods that are (almost) universally liked so you don't have to waste five slots and add one of my own that didn't make the cut. The five basics: pizza, burgers, ice cream, chocolate & donuts. I also really love strawberries but some people don't.

10) Asparagus - The only vegetable to make this list but I could easily eat asparagus everyday.  Any way you want to make it I'm there.  I recently had some asparagus ravioli that was out of this world. And yes, I'm one of those who experiences the 'asparagus pee phenomenon' sometimes within a half hour of eating it. I know, TMI, but hey. Broccoli would be second place in the veggie category.

9) Nuts - I could do a separate Top 10 nuts list as well but when that blogging day comes it's time for me to stop writing this thing. Macadamia nuts are my favorite (of course, they're super-fattening and really expensive) but pistachio nuts have always been a close second. My biggest nut pet peeve: Brazil nuts, every nut mix comes with them and I don't know a soul who eats them. I give 'em to the dog, she thinks they're a treat.

8) Scrambled Eggs - I won't eat eggs any other way, not fried, poached or hard-boiled. I'm not even big on omelettes, unless they have sausage or bacon in them. And my wife will tell you, I make some of the best scrambled eggs on the planet. The secret, add a dash of milk to the eggs before beating and use a stainless steel bowl to beat them.

7) Soft Pretzels - There was this place in Glen Ellyn in the 70's and 80's simply called The Pretzel Place, it was about five feet wide and other than soda, they only sold hot, soft pretzels. It was the place to hang when we had half-days at school. Then one day they closed forever and I went pretzel-less for quite some time until they started selling frozen soft pretzels at Jewel. Auntie Ann's pretzels in the malls are decent but they recently started selling pretzel-dogs which are sublime: a Nathan's dog wrapped in pretzel. Mmmmmmmm, pretzel dogs.

6) (Most kinds of) Fish - I'm a very picky eater, so I won't say I like all fish. I certainly won't eat fish that still has scales or bones, any whole type fish even though I loved sardines as a kid. I'm not a sushi fan. I do love: catfish, perch, walleye, whitefish, sole, mahi mahi to name a few. I love nearly any breaded fish (actually you could bread nearly anything and I'd eat it).

5) Crab Legs/Lobster - These are fairly interchangeable right?  I mean you could argue lobster is bit higher on the seafood hierarchy but the texture/taste is similar and both are best served steaming hot with drawn butter and you have to use nutcrckers to get to the good stuff with both foods. Yes, one is indigenous to Alaska and the other Massachusetts but these are two of the few shellfish I eat regularly. No clams, no oysters, no mussels.

  4) Encased Meats - If you Google encased meats the first hit you get is the place where I first heard the term: Hot Doug's. Hot Doug's is legendary in Chicago and a must stop of you're a fan of this stuff. Doug can get a bit esoteric for my tastes sometimes (not a big fan of most game, for starters) but stuff some cured, spicy meat into an intestine casing and I'm with you for the most part. Hot dogs, brats, Italian Sausage, Polish Sausage, Kielbasa, Klobasa, salami, mortadella? Bring 'em on.

3) BBQ Ribs - It's kind of incongruous, I'm not a big fan of eating too many things off-the-bone (poultry and fish to name but two) but give me a slab of ribs and I'm gnawing on them like a caveman. The best ribs north of the Mason/Dixon line can be found at Hecky's Ribs in Evanston. Believe it or not, Portillo's has great ribs and Mickey's in Oak Park has a great Tuesday rib special, a half-slab for $6.95. Gotta love the post-meal wet-nap cleanup.

2) Cheese - This is cheating a bit too as there are so many different varieties. It's good all on it's own (gouda, havarti, Monterey Jack) or on something like a burger or sandwich (American, muenster, Swiss). When I had to adhere to a strict low-sodium diet awhile back, cheese was the second-hardest thing from which I had to abstain. The hardest?  See below.

1) Bacon - In the pork family, bacon is king.  It's not that I even eat that much bacon (3 to 5 slices a week) but there is no finer taste on earth than a perfectly crisp slice of bacon. Therein lies the problem, it must be cooked properly and so few people do. There are a few diners I frequent where they know how I like my bacon and I reward them with my continued patronage. For me bacon should be totally flat and have none of the whiteish, ripply fat left, it should be dark brown, almost black.

Alright, who's hungry now? Gimme your Top 10 Foods You Can't Live Without.

Now That's a Tasty Burger

Sorry vegetarians, this one's for the carnivores. 

We were sitting around on Easter Sunday and the subject of cheeseburgers came up. Everyone from my dad to my grandpa to my 8 year old cousin had strong opinons on their favorites. I'm not gonna make any rules other than simply list your Top 5 burgers. However, if you live in say Moscow, Idaho you may want to throw us a bone and list one mass-market or chain burger that's not a regional spot. And herbivores, feel free to chime in if you'd like, I love a Boca Burger as much as the next veggie-lover, Morningstar are also quite tasty too, or come up with some burgers from your meat-eating past. In no particular order, my Top 5.

1) McChesney Burgers - Glen Ellyn, IL -  Kind of an oddity in that McChesney & Miller is a grocery store and not a restaurant, albeit a grocery store that nearly pre-dates the Civil War. A testament to the appeal of the McChesney Burger is that several restaurants in town proudly serve the hockey-puck-thick McChesney Burgers on their menus.  Even Barone's, already famous for their sublime pizza serves them at their flagship restaurant. Pick some up should you even find yourself near Glen Ellyn.

2) In-N-Out Burger - Various West Coast Locations - Back when the health department of Los Angeles started handing out letter grades for cleanliness, In-N-Out was the only fast food restaurant that got an A+. Their burgers are always fresh-ground from meat delivered that day. It recently supplanted the also-good Fatburger as my favorite California burger. Out of this world for a chain.

3) Fuddruckers - Various Locations - Another fresh made-to-order burger that I dare say is almost too big. I'd really hate to see the caloric content of one of these babies, which is why I only have them on very rare occasions. Ironically, the last time I had one was when it was the only restaurant open within a two mile radius of a funeral home that was host to the wake of a guy I knew who had died of a heart attack.

4) Culver's - Various Locations in the Upper Midwest & Texas - I blame the wife for this one. We were on our way up to Green Bay one weekend years ago and she suggested a stop of Culver's, a burger place I'd not heard of before (they were only based in Wisconsin then).  Any place that throws caution to the wind and actually makes their burger that much unhealthier (but yummier) by adding butter (behold the Butterburger!) to it holds a special place in my heart. Another culinary discovery made in that maiden voyage to Culver's was the breaded cheese curds which are very bit as tasty as they sound. They give you punch card there which entitles you to 15% off your first angioplasty.

5) Goldyburger - Forest Park, IL - Not real long on ambience but one of the best burgers around. Even though I had family in the River Forest area for most of my life, I don't remember having been here before we moved about two blocks from the place in 2002. I've probably had nearly every one of their specialty burgers and never been disappointed and usually quite amazed. They have a nice beer garden with TV's, a great place for kids too, we've taken many a niece and nephew there.

Honorable Mention: Lucky's- Oma, WI (Sadly, it no longer exists), Kopp's - Milwaukee, WI, White Castle- Nearly Everywhere, Fatburger - Los Angeles, CA, Dillburger, Iowa City, IA (I think this one's gone too) & Sub Tenders' Patty Melt- Forest Park, IL.

Now your Top 5's, please.

Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye

For the next two weeks, I've been asked by my doctor to follow a low-sodium diet. At the time, I didn't think it was a big deal, then she gave me the literature that stipulates what I can and cannot eat. The 'cannot' list is basically a list of what I eat everyday and the 'can' list is stuff I only really eat when I really have to.  Gone are deli meats, nuts, crackers, bread, soup, cheese, eggs, bacon, most cereal, mustard, mayonnaise, carrots, milk, pizza; you know, the fun stuff. What I'll be eating for the next few weeks will be fruits, oatmeal, farina, rice and meat that is broiled, baked or boiled. Nothing says yum like boiled meat! What puzzles me is how the method of cooking has anything to do with sodium. Does frying something magically up the sodium content? What about BBQ?

I shouldn't complain because I have friends whose diets are much more limited than mine and some of their diets are for life, not for two weeks while I reduce my sodium. I actually kind of enjoy depriving myself once in a while, it makes me appreciate things more. It's just that I gave up fast food for Lent (except for one sub sandwich a week) so for the last two weeks of Lent, it'll be no fast food or submarines. I did have one 'last supper' that was rich in sodium: Pastrami on rye with mustard and Muenster cheese with a side of potato pancakes.  Also, Carla made a delicious pork dish seasoned with paprika with a side of rice for my first low-sodium meal; I even got to have an ice-cream bar for dessert, so it's not all bad.

Anyone have any good low/no-sodium receipes they feel like sharing? Or a similar tale of dietary woe? At least Jack Daniel's is sodium-free! Ditto Jim Beam.

Wow, a diet soda that's actually good.

One of the many positive influences Betty had on me years ago was getting me to change from Coca Cola Classic to Diet Coke, a switch I made with a great deal of resistance.  Those of you who've been out with me know that I'm a seasonal drinker; in the spring and summer I drink Gin and (sometimes diet) Tonic and in the fall and winter it's Jack and Diet Coke. Diet Coke is actually swill but you make sacrifices in the name of health. There is something kinda vile about the mixture of Jack Daniel's and Diet Coke, but again it's a choice between a 300+ calorie drink and one that with Diet Coke is actually around 100 calories, which is not bad.

Coke actually answered the low-carb craze a few years ago with a product called C2, which was basically half Coke and half Diet Coke and is quite good but good luck finding it in stores. Enter Coke Zero.  They're currently 'rolling out' Coke Zero with a big media blitz, so I decided to give it a try. Damn, it's actually good. Of course nothing will ever match the flavor of an ice-cold Coca Cola Classic, but this is the closest I've tasted to the real thing. I only hope Coke Zero will catch on and replace Diet Coke, since you can actually get Diet Coke in most bars.

So, give it try and let me know what you think/thought of it. Or, keep drinking that diet soda that tastes like watered down Coke with a hint of Windex, it's your call. I'd actually love to see someone defend the flavor of Diet Coke, if such a person exists.

Top 5 Candy Bars

There were some problems yesterday with people trying to post and instead getting linked to amazondotcom which is a bad thing when you're trying to conduct a poll. Sorry about that. I think the problem has been fixed, so I'll try again. I'm looking for Top 5 Candy Bars. Here are mine.

5) Maltesers - You think Whoppers® are good? You have so much to learn, my friend.  I remember reading somewhere that these were being sold under a different name at a few retail outlets in the US, but forgot where. British in origin.

4) Baby Ruth® - There's some disagreement as to whether the candy is named  after the notorious New York Yankee or Grover Cleveland's daughter. Either way, it's yummy. Probably only second to Reese's Pieces [E.T.] in terms of prominence in a major motion picture [Caddyshack].

3) Nutty Bar - Hands down winner for best bargain in the candy world. Still only 25¢ at most gas stations/convenience stores and a big bang for your buck since it's double the size of most candy bars. Even in most vending machines, it's only 35¢.

2) Almond Joy® - Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. I always do. I've eaten Mounds® before, but what's the point? Given the choice of almonds or not, I'm going with almonds every time. Not many candies contain coconut either, which tends to come back for an encore when you floss afterwards.

1) Toffifay® - This is the Rolls Royce of candies: hazelnut, caramel and dark chocolate. A tad pretentious? You bet.  Delicious? Yes. The best candy on earth? Yes.

Honorable mention: M&M's, Butterfinger, Snickers, Reese's and Payday.

Post your favorites.

Skittles Smoothie Mix

So, we've been really busy lately finding a house. In the past thirty days, we've been either under contract or in a bidding war on three different houses. I'm sure there will be posts about the whole experience at some point, but not now.

Despite my girth, I'm not a big candy guy. I like the occasional chocolate bar or toffee, or a box of Ferrara Pan candy (purchased at the factory store a mile away, as Ferrara Pan is made here in our fair city).  I have however made a recent discovery: Skittles Smoothie Mix. Same Skittle texture, but with much less harsh flavors. Look for them where you buy candy, they're absolutely yummy.

I promise a post with a bit more substance sometime this week. In the meantime, enjoy some Skittles Smoothies.

We Slovaks are a Crafty Lot

Well, if you know me at all, you know I'm 50% Slovak (also 25% Irish, 25% German for those of you scoring at home) and you also know we're a crafty bunch. Check out one of my homies:

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1261997.html?menu

Not sure if I'm beaming with pride or slightly embarrassed, but alive's alive no matter how you stay that way.

Thanks Nancy Murphy (Happy Birthday, girl) for ths link.