What'll You Have? What'll You Have?

Hello readers! I've had a busy fall, so I am super duper behind on blogging about my time in Georgia.

When I first moved back to Pittsburgh, it was a huge adjustment. One of those adjustments was not having cable. No more HBO series, no more ratchet reality television. But I did get lots and lots of cooking shows and public television specials. One of those shows was "A Hot Dog Program", and one of the locations featured was a place called The Varsity in Atlanta. Having previously lived in Atlanta and having tons of friends from there- yet never hearing of this place- made me intrigued to see it. This Labor Day trip made it possible.

The floor underneath the lines to the registers

I went to the first Varsity location with one of my best friends Tunicia. We pulled up to a huge diner-looking building with two parking decks packed with cars. Later I would find out that this location is actually the largest drive-thru in the world. We went inside and it seemed as if we had stepped back in time- but in a good way. We walked past small displays that covered the history of the restaurant, and an ice cream shop was to our right...while crowds lined up to several registers

The menu

Eagerly I approached the woman at the counter wearing a paper Varsity cap (that was no match for my huge afro...the only other people wearing them were Tunicia and a bunch of little kids who awaited their food) and was greeted with their famous "What'll ya have? What'll ya have?" welcome. I ordered two number ones for us. Tunicia got an orange frosty looking thing and recommended we each get one of their famous pies (they offer apple and peach- seeing as it's Georgia I opted out of my usual apple and ordered a peach one at her suggestion).

My Varsity cap-- before it fell apart on my afro

The food came relatively quickly, and tasted pretty good. I mean, there isn't but so delectable a hot dog and onion rings can be and the only other famous dog places I know are Ben's Chilli Bowl in DC and Original's here in Pittsburgh. I actually hate the taste of Ben's (greasy and flavorless in my opinion) and Original's is ok, but Varsity is the best for sure. (I'm sure many of you remember my trip to Chicago where I had a Chicago dog...but that's more of a regional thing, not a specific restaurant). I really enjoyed my food but more importantly, I enjoyed spending time with my friend in her hometown while we caught up on all of our girl talk stuff.

My hot dogs and orange drink

My peach pie

I WILL say that I loved the peach pie. Again, peach usually isn't my flavor of choice but this one was delicious. Not too sweet, not "fake" tasting. It was probably the best homemade but not in a house dessert I've had in a long time. I will probably cajole one of my Atlanta friends into taking me back for a round two the next time I'm in the city (which will be at the latest January 2015).

Tunicia and I with our Varsity caps

Well, now that life has started to slow down a bit, I can get the last of these Georgia blog posts out. It's starting to get cold though, so the snow is probably not far behind. It will most likely hinder my travels until the spring, but we shall see.

In the meantime, thank you for your patience and for following me on my journey! As always, I'll see you on the next adventure!

Super Sonic

This is going to be a very brief post. I've since gone and come back from Atlanta, Georgia for my Labor Day vacation, but I would be remiss if I didn't include this entry for my friends that are in the number of fans of Sonic Drive-In restaurants. My friends rave about the slushies and all the varieties and options available to diners. I'd never eaten the food before (I've never actually lived close to one), but because I was there at the National Headquarters for Sonic, I figured I needed to remedy that.

View of the Sonic HQ from the Water Taxi

I must say that yes, the menu was a bit overwhelming to a new customer. There are literally dozens of drink flavor combos- and you can mix and match them. Let alone at least 15 meal options. The cashier was very friendly once she realized that I was a complete rookie. Oh- and this is another interesting thing. Apparently most (if not all) Sonic restaurants are drive-ins only- something my friends pointed out in amazement as we sat in the spacious and COOL bright blue and yellow dining room.

I will be honest and say I don't remember how much I liked the food- I didn't hate it, but I wasn't in love with it the way some folks are (like my sorority sister who was super excited that the headquarters location had a menu item that was discontinued in her home state of Virginia). I certainly would eat there again- and yes the slushie was delicious (I had a cherry/lime/pineapple flavor going)!

In the meantime, I am going to try and get these Atlanta posts out in a more timely fashion. Not too sure what the rest of my travel schedule will look like for the rest of this year, but I know 2015 will be super busy!

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and I'll see you on the next adventure!

Beats N Burgers

So, the heart of the reason why I ended up in Oklahoma in the first place. If you remember last summer I went to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, states I was able to cover en route to the National Convention of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity and Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority. I am a Life Member of Tau Beta Sigma, having joined at THE Eta Delta Chapter while playing clarinet in the marching, pep, and concert bands of Howard University.

That's me and my friend/ soror Melanie...you all first met her on my Illinois entries

I won't make this a post about the great feats and accomplishments of my organization, but I will say that sorority membership has allowed me to travel to many states and cities over the years. This time, my musical family brought me to the state of Oklahoma- where our National Headquarters is located. We gathered to dedicate a memorial garden in honor of our recently deceased founder Wava Banes Turner Henry.

That's Wava!

So, enough mushy mushy. Back to the reason you come to my blog! Stillwater is a city about an hour away from Oklahoma City. It's the home of Oklahoma State University, and again, the National Headquarters for our two organizations. I'll be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of ritzy glitzy stuff to do there- in fact it appeared most of the city was simply the campus of OSU, which is also THE largest campus of any school I've ever seen. Outside of the actual dedication ceremonies, most of my time spent in Stillwater was spent socializing with friends and fraternal family.

Headquarters!

One place I did get to visit though was a spot called Eskimo Joe's. It was STUPID packed, and obviously owned by a super proud Republican- the owners have signed PERSONALIZED letters from both President Bushes and their wives hung in the gift shop. The letters mentioned their famous cheese fries- something that everyone said we should try. However, we weren't actually that hungry so my sorority sister and I ate very light meals.

Eskimo Joe's

I ordered an Oklahoma traditional food- an onion burger- although it wasn't called that on the menu. Onion burgers started decades ago as a way for restaurant owners to stretch their beef longer. Once beef prices dropped, many just kept it up because the burgers just tasted great that way. 

My onion burger

EJ's wasn't a disappointment. The food was good, and once we were seated we were served promptly by a super friendly waitress. We even got cute souvenir cups with our drink orders. In fact, minus the stupid long wait (which is not their fault) I have no complaints. I DO, however, have an observation. The logo for Eskimo Joe's (as a black woman who is very aware of race issues in my country) sorta bothered me. I mean- it's an Inuit person with huge teeth and squinty eyes. Granted, I am apparently the only person who noticed this. I mean, it would be the equivalent of having a Native American mascot with cherry red skin or an African American mascot with big pink lips and a watermelon slice in their hand. But. They've been around for 20+ years, and seemingly haven't needed to address this. More power to them. I don't think they are intending the image to be harmful or anything...just...you know. Kinda noticeable.

Also ironic they chose a cold weather mascot in a city that was 105 degrees the entire
time I was there lol

Well readers, I still have quite a few entries for Oklahoma, and God-and-finances willing I will be in Atlanta, Georgia in a few weeks. You KNOW I've already got my touristy plans brewing. Until then, thank you all so much for reading along for my journey, and as always, I'll see you on the next adventure!

Brontosaurus-sized Pork Chops

This will be a super fast entry- mostly because when I was at this location I was more focused on the person I was with than the actual location. It's a favorite restaurant of his, and I must say Cap City Fine Diner and Bar proved itself to be an awesome place.

At my friend's suggestion, I had the pork chops, and he had the meatloaf. What I got was a plate with two huge chops, with veggies and mashed potatoes tucked underneath. It was delicious, even though I would never be able to be a member of the "clean plate club" eating there! Too much food!

My pork chops

His meatloaf

Again, everything was tasty- and the staff (at least at the bar where we ate) was super nice. I was excited to see another citizen of STEELER NATION at the bar, and inadvertently entertained the entire bar area while trying to figure out the name of an old Tom Cruise movie (it ended up being Legend).

Again, thank you all for reading my blog. By the time you read this, I will be en route to Las Vegas! Enjoy your Memorial Day weekends, and come back soon!

As always, see you on the next adventure!

Sausage Fest - No, Not Like That

Again, many apologies readers for the delay in posts! I have this, and one more entry to fill you in for my third outing in Ohio for the blog. One week from today, I'll be in Las Vegas, and you can bet I already have my itinerary full of things I want to see and share with all of you. It's gonna be a party!

Unless for some reason you hate museums- in which case the party will look like this.
Image from http://santarosacru.blogspot.com/2011/02/departing-twelve.html

Speaking of guys at boring parties, let's talk about another kind of sausage fest- my time at Schmidt's Restaurant und Sausage Haus, or just Schmidt's for short. Every website and travel blog I perused while planning my trip to Columbus mentioned- and praised- this German restaurant.

Now, growing up in Pittsburgh (and you know, being Black), I grew up with what I consider the best of both worlds when it comes to comfort foods. The very best of soul food, paired with highlights of European immigrant fare (we've already established I love pierogies). It's nothing for me to dream of a meal with fried chicken with baklava for dessert. Or to eat pierogies and want a slice of sweet potato pie on the side. As much as I love the European fare I grew up exposed to, there are a few countries with cuisine I've just never been a fan of- Germany would be one of those countries. I just am not keen on the idea of eating sausage filled with blood. But. I was determined to try it both for this blog, and on the faith of dozens of random Internet posters that insisted I try it out.

Sausages on display when you first enter

I ordered the Autobahn meal, which for $15 gets you all-you-can eat access to a buffet of German sausages, sides, and surprisingly, fried chicken. I didn't eat much, but I think part of that was I had a raging headache while I was there, and when you are in pain, eating just isn't on your mind. I would have done better getting a regular meal, but I wanted the "experience" you know?

The Autobahn Buffet. It was near Easter, so that explains the ears and basket.

I went to Schmidt's with a (vegetarian) sorority sister. I'm sure there's comedic gold there with how to find acceptable food as a vegetarian in a place based around meat. But we were both able to indulge in what is said to be Schmidt's best item: the Jumbo Cream Puff.

I got the traditional vanilla, she got the mocha almond special

Man, listen. I wish I had gotten an extra one of these for the road. HUGE (neither of us finished ours), and a perfect balance of flavor and sweetness. Light and creamy filling, delicate pastry. These were amazing. One is certainly enough for two people, but we didn't know that at the time. They had other desserts on display at the front, but, no. Don't even waste your time. Get a puff. Any puff. And thank me later.

Across the street (well, if that tiny cobble stone path can be classified as a street...) there is also a Schmidt's Fudge Haus. Inside there are tons of handmade German confections. While waiting for our hotel shuttle to pick us up, we went inside. There was a man making fudge right in the shop. You could watch him work his magic in person- we didn't just because he informed us it is a time intensive process, and we only had maybe 10 minutes until our expected pick up time.

He's the fudge-maker

I bought my grandmother four "turtles" candies, two with caramel and two without. I only bought four because they (like everything else in that area) were super huge and heavy- and they sell the handmade candies by weight. (And I'm starting to wonder why I didn't take a picture of them....) She loved them, saying they reminded her of the way they used to make candy when she was a kid (keep in mind my grandmother was born in 1922). 

Some tips and advice if you are going to come to Schmidt's. First and foremost- come early. My soror and I arrived RIGHT at 11 when they opened and there were maybe 4 or 5 tables already seated. By the time we left about an hour later, a line was just starting to form to get in. I've read travel account where folks say the wait can be more than an hour (or that it's impossible to get in). Second, don't get the Autobahn unless you REALLY like German food. While none of it was terrible, as someone who isn't a big fan anyway, it made my selection very difficult. Finally, add some time to your visit to take a picture in the head-in-the-hole outside where you and one other person can look like 19th Century German children, and stop in the Fudge Haus and pick up some candy. Trust me, factory made/tasting confections these are not!

Well, I'll try and get the last entry (my trip to the Ohio Statehouse) on the Internet before I leave for Vegas! While I'm gone, check out my Facebook page, and follow me on Twitter.

Thank you all so much for reading my blog, it really means a lot! As always, see you on the next adventure!

My First Salmon Bake

Before I begin this post, I think you should know two very random factoids about me.

1. I strongly dislike eating outdoors. When I go to restaurants I only eat out on the patios if I'm out voted by friends. If I know I am entering a situation where I have no choice but to eat outside, then it takes about 15 minutes of mental prep before I start my day to squash my weirded out vibes about being forced to eat outside.

2. I loathe blueberries. I think they taste bitter and rancid all at once. I mean, I'm not crazy about berries as a whole to begin with, but I enjoy different berry flavors in certain specific formats so long as those gross seeds aren't involved. But blueberries? I'd rather go hungry. Of the many foods I disliked as a kid but have since grown up and enjoyed, blueberries are one of the few to stay on the list of DO NOT EAT foods.

Yep. That is pretty much the face I make when presented with them.
Image from http://cheezburger.com/2669553664

So imagine my utter delight when I realized that the salmon bake I had paid $50 to attend was not only outside, but only had one dessert featuring my "favorite" fruit. Yep...this is where you insert my WTF face. However, since I paid for it, I was going to go. Besides. Surely the salmon and other offerings would make up for it, right?

Enter the Gold Creek Salmon Bake in Juneau Alaska. My money got me a round trip ride (on a school bus) from the port, an all you can eat buffet, and musical entertainment. When you first arrive, you are handed a cup of very creamy clam chowder that honestly didn't taste all that different from Progresso clam chowder with some extra herbs thrown in for good measure. Long lines (and I strongly dislike long lines!) wrap around to all the stations, including the general food buffet line and the grill where two guys were basting and flipping salmon on large metal racks. Luckily the eating area was mostly covered by plastic umbrella shaped things over the tables. The buffet included a lot of food that had Alaskan themed names- but weren't much different from what you would eat at home. (For example, the "Miner Baked Beans" were simply pork and beans with grilled hot dog thrown in for good measure.) Warning- do NOT eat the blackish looking pasta salad. It has some sort of balsamic vinegar/soy sauce flavor that is absolutely terrible and no one I saw ate it! I liked the gravy covered chicken, and the salmon, though a teeny bit over cooked, was decent. I enjoyed that even all the way up in Alaska, they had a black man on the grill.

Grilling the salmon

View of the eating area and the plastic umbrella shaped things keeping us dry

I liked that they had no problems telling us what the glaze was on the salmon (brown sugar and pineapple juice), and I DID eat a whole lot of food (after throwing away that terrible pasta salad).

I was also pleasantly surprised that I liked the Alaskan Blueberry Cake. Apparently, blueberries (and huckleberries) are to Alaska what peaches are to Georgia and oranges are to Florida. But remember, I hate blueberries so I got the piece with the least amount of berries in it after my godmother insisted I try it. It was absolutely delicious- very light and delicate tasting and it was enhanced by the lemonade I was drinking. Overall, I'd rate the food as OK. I didn't enjoy being out in the elements- especially while it was raining and in the mid 60s- but I could see how that would be fun for people that like that. They also had marshmallow roasting camp fire areas, and two cute mallard ducks that had no problem walking among the crowd and eating what they pleased.

My plate: Chicken w/gravy, grilled salmon, cornbread, wild rice,
pork and beans, and my lemonade with my blueberry cake

The gift shop on site was woefully under stocked and tiny-- several visitors asked the girl at the register if they had bottles of the sauce used on the salmon. I can't figure out why you would want to buy something as simple as brown sugar and pineapple juice, but nonetheless they lost quite a few sales because all she could do was giggle and say they were out of stock.

And the singer-- man he was terrible. I almost felt sorry for him because only one or two people clapped for his off-key, tone deaf songs that were more depressing than anything else. I would have rather they played a CD or something over the speakers.

I know it sounds like I'm griping a lot about the experience, and while there were things I liked and didn't like, I'm overall glad I had the experience. The Pacific Northwest version of a fish fry is apparently the salmon bake. But as our bus driver put it (whilst he passed around pictures of his children and gave hints that he would appreciate tips), it's obvious they make a LOT of money ($1.5 million annually we were told) and reinvest very little of that back into the dining site.

But hey, there are thousands of cruise ship passengers who will shell out that dough for the Alaskan experience. Who am I to knock their hustle?

Red Light Special

One of my more interesting stops in Alaska was my time at the Red Onion Saloon located in Skagway. A former brothel and bar (among other things), this current restaurant and mini museum tells another side of the Klondike Gold Rush-- that is, what those thousands of (mostly) men did when they weren't prospecting. As you could imagine, they drank. They played games and socialized. And they supported the oldest business in the world- prostitution. There were about 80 different brothels of varying levels at one time in the area, and the Red Onion was considered the best of them all.

Red Onion Saloon

They had quite a few different tour options available, but the one I opted for was the $10 "quickie" tour. For 20 minutes, one of the "working girls" would take you to the upper levels of the building where it has changed very little since the its heyday. There is original wall paper still on the walls, with larger swatches framed and displayed. One of the original red lanterns that advertised the "business" available for patrons is still on the inside (protected form the elements now). Even a beaded gown worn by one of the Saloon's former Madams (the woman who managed the brothel) is on display.

Inside the brother area

The Original Red Light

Beaded gown worn by a former Madam

When they were renovating the building (you know, so they could offer tours and operate a restaurant on the lower levels...) they found all sorts of trinkets left behind over the years. These are displayed in glass cases along the wall. In learning about the renovations, we were told that the dividers that would have separated each woman to give her a "room" had been removed so that groups could come through, but you could still see the staples and nails in the ceiling where they were attached.

Some items found under the floor boards during renovations

That is pretty much the gist of the tour (it was a quickie after all). I learned a few neat factoids (like Skagway had electricity before New York City, and that the ladies would curl their hair with electric curlers- in the dark though because you couldn't have your lights and curlers plugged in at the same time). They talked about the resident ghost names Lydia- but I DO NOT play around with stuff like that, so I was thankful she didn't make an appearance for us. Our tour guide (named Annie Whichway- get it?) was very personable and enthusiastic- even if the corny sex-tinged jokes were laid on rather thickly at times. I get it though, they want to play up the whole brothel thing, and dressing up with red lipstick, bustiers, and telling double innuendo jokes that come across in a family friendly way.

Annie Whichway telling us about the last Madam of the Saloon
as we stood in her former bedroom

I didn't eat at the Red Onion for two reasons. One- there was plenty of already-paid-for food on the cruise ship. (Don't let the excursions desks fool you- downtown Skagway is a ten minute walk away from the port, and there is a $2 shuttle that loops all through town if you can't handle that much walking). Two- the only food I saw on everyone's tables that looked halfway appetizing was a plate of nachos- and I didn't go all the way to Alaska for nachos. I liked that with the tour you get a souvenir garter in red and black. A pretty unique and awesome way to promote your business and create memories for your visitors in my opinion.

My hooker garter

Well, I still have a few entries left to type up for my Washington and Alaska adventures. Thank you so much for reading my blog! You can look at the rest of my pictures on my Facebook page, and as always, I'll see you on the next adventure!

The Most Famous Fish Market In America

I'm still super busy at work, but I wanted to get at least one entry out there.

I spent 8 days in Washington and Alaska- my longest vacation in two years. I took more than 300 pictures and experienced some really beautiful and unique things. This was my first time traveling in the US past the Mississippi, and I must say I was extremely pleased with my first city on the Left Coast- Seattle. I like Chicago. I really like Boston. But so far Seattle has won me over as a super cool city.

For one, they are the ONLY city thus far that has heckled me in my Steelers shirt (a big kudos point from me- as lots of people apparently hate my team, but few dare say it to a fan's face! That took some chutzpah!) I remember looking out of the window as I landed and thinking how GREEN everything looked, just before the stewardess welcomed us to the "Emerald City". When I got off the plane, I immediately felt like I was out of shape and was killing the Earth: everyone there was thin, dressed like a 1990s J.Crew catalog, with biking gear in hand and a recycling bag in the other. They even have COMPOSTING at the airport. Seriously. Even though I felt like a fish out of water, I was in complete awe and excited to learn more.

Seriously.

Speaking of fish, one of the first places I stopped at in Seattle was the famous Pike Place Market. Now, the only prior knowledge I had of this place was The Real World: Seattle and a book I was forced to read (but enjoyed) at a part time job I once had. My godmother and I took the five minute walk from the Monorail to the market and I fully expected to see a bunch of fish and guys in bloody aprons throwing lobster tails around. There was some of that (well, they weren't bloody anyway) but there was SO much more! Pike Place of course has fish mongers, but also has fruit and produce stands, flower shops, cafes and diners, novelty shops, and all sorts of things made by local business owners like cakes, jellies, candies, even chocolate noodles (which I actually tried. They weren't bad, but I don't see how practical they are). Here are some highlights of my visit:

Sosio's Produce

This was one of my first stops in the market. Sosio's was the best looking produce stand that I saw, and they were generously slicing up peaches and mangoes for passersby to sample. I like fruit and all, but generally am not hugely pressed to eat peaches, and while I like mango flavored stuff, the actual mango itself has proven to be...unpleasant texture-wise to me. Not so at Sosio's! Before I could even say "No thank you," I had a huge chunk of peach in my hand that tasted...like candy! It was crazy sweet. I literally said "Oh my God!" when the woman who had given me my piece smiled and pointed to the sign posted above their peach display:

Apparently I wasn't the first to say that after tasting this fruit.

After my cruise (to Alaska...more on that later!), my godmother and I went back to Sosio's and bought peaches to take home with us. It was then that I got a chunk of mango that was melt in your mouth good. Seriously. From someone who doesn't even like mango. If I lived in Seattle they would be my exclusive fruit provider- not only are the products tasty, but they LOOK and SMELL good. And there is a wide variety- I saw huckleberries in real life for the first time (but I wasn't that brave to taste them as well) as well as homemade fruit candies and vegetables too. I really loved this place!!

We were starting to get a little hungry, and almost all of the cafes and diners were crammed with people, so we rushed into Le Panier for a quick snack and drink. I love food, but French food has been something that I just can't really bring myself to say I LOVE. And while French bread is tasty, the pastries I've had have usually only been okay. However, since we learned the market was soon to close (we got there around 4 on a Monday, and by this time it was nearing 5pm), I didn't have room to be picky. Most of the staff was friendly- even if you could tell they were a bit annoyed at the last minute rush of customers that my god mom and I were a part of. Not being very familiar with the scant offerings they had left, I picked out a pastry I had at least seen before (a croissant aux fruits abricots). I also tried a macaroon- even though I've had them before and can say that I truly am just not a fan but I was willing to give them another shot- and at an employee suggestion picked a pistachio flavored one.

My pastries

While I enjoyed the apricot pastry (allowing for a little hardness because it was the end of the day and they had been made early in the morning), I am still not a fan of macaroons. There were people looking to get into the shop after the employees had closed the doors, and that was when the staff  started to get a little sarcastic and borderline rude with the remaining guests. I personally felt very rushed as a guy sweeping right next to our table blatantly ignored my godmother as she asked him a question about the pastries. Not the worst service I've ever received (no, that honor still belongs to Marble House in Rhode Island) but it took away some of the magic of being able to say I ate at a quaint place in Pike Place.

What made up for it was being able to say that I went to the FIRST Starbucks just a few doors down. I picked up some coffee and mugs for friends that are coffee addicts- me myself if I drink two cups of coffee a year I'm doing a lot...I'm a loyal tea drinker. But I loved that it didn't look like every other Starbucks you've ever seen anywhere. No forest green fabric awning, no hipster music blasting out with CDs to be hawked at the register. It was completely unlike my normal experience with Starbucks, and I loved it!

But I can't mention Pike Place without talking about fish at all, right? Well, my godmother spent $300+ dollars on lobster tails and crab legs to be shipped to her home from one of the less famous fish sellers (who were nonetheless friendly and eager to fill her order), but the stand everyone knows about is the Pike Place Fish Market. I was hoping to get a recording of them throwing fish around and happily interacting with customers, just as I had read in the book and read about on travel site reviews, but since it was so late in the day there weren't many people buying fish and I'm sure they don't toss around their products just for non-buying tourists to take their photo. And they had a LOT of fish and seafood on display. One in particular was a weird flattened out looking fish that I wanted to get a closer look at. It had a sign above it that said "I am a monk fish". Just as I was getting ready to snap a photo...

It moved and a loud noise came from it! Those jerks at Pike Place fish had it hooked up to a wire and when unsuspecting folks walk by it they scare the begeebers out of you with that trick. Needless to say everyone around us looked at me like I was a complete fool because I yelled so loudly, but I'm not worried about that.

from http://erincooks.com/pike-place-market-hello-im-a-monk-fish/
That thing is terrifying!!

Well, I have quite a few more adventures to type up for you, and slowly but surely I will get them done! In the meantime, all of my photos are up on Facebook. Feel free to take a gander, and "like" my page while you are at it!

Thank you for reading my blog, and as always, I'll see you on the next adventure!

Gettin' Iggy With It

First, I'm having a few technical difficulties getting the last of my photos to go from my camera to either my work or personal computers (something about the USB not being recognized- even though it JUST worked the other day *sigh*) So the rest of my Massachusetts pics are coming shortly!

Second, I want to say that with the exception of one site in particular, I had a good (if not exhausting) time in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I'll discuss my negative experience later, but I wanted to start off on a positive note.

These two states represent my first blog-related treks into New England. When I think New England, I think pilgrims and colonials. I think cold and dreary weather. I think largely of sports teams I either have no strong opinions of- or extreme hatred towards. And I think of chowder, lobster, and other seafood.Well, it was a bit cooler than expected the weekend I went, and I got rained on my first two days ending up with a pretty soggy suitcase. I did do three sports related excursions, but we'll get to those later (once my pics are uploaded to my Facebook page). So I'll focus on my first entry on the food I ate, specifically at Iggy's Doughboys and Chowderhouse.

No seriously, I hate these cheating bums.
Image from www.roosterteeth.com

I already knew that yes, there is the traditional New England clam chowder that's white and creamy, and yes, there's the Manhattan version that's red and tomato based. But I learned in this clip from CBS's 'Taste of America Tour' that there is indeed a third version of the Northeast's signature soup: the Rhode Island Clear. Since several travel sites all agreed that Iggy's was THE place to go to try Rhode Island seafood, I decided to give it a go.

Iggy's...and my $45 cab

I took a cab from the TF Green Airport (after getting to Rhode Island by train from Boston), down to Iggy's- a round trip ride that ended up costing me $45.00 with tax and tip! (Yes, apparently Rhode Islanders pay tax on cab rides, something I learned from my driver is highly disliked by those in the business. I gotta say I agree with them- I've never heard of such foolishness.) But it was worth it. I ordered a little bit of everything that I had either never heard of or was told was a specialty of the region/restaurant. Way too much food for one person, but most of it was tasty.

Here's a pic of my Rhode Island Clear chowder. It isn't on the menu (only Red and White are), so you have to ask for it specifically. Slightly too salty, but otherwise well flavored.

Clam cakes and Rhode Island Clear chowder

The bowl is next to an outpouring of clam cakes. I was least impressed with these. My cab driver said you're supposed to eat them by dipping them into whatever chowder you have. This greatly helped because these things were a bit dry, and I'm not 100% sure I had any actual clam inside of the ones I ate (though admittedly, I only finished like 2 or 3 of them). It may be hard to tell, but they were slightly larger than a golf ball.

An Iggy doughboy, covered in powdered sugar. HUGE but tasty!
The taste reminded me of funnel cake/donut hybrid.

Above you'll see one doughboy- a near hand-sized patty of fried dough topped with a topping of your choice (my cab driver said powdered sugar is the most popular- I personally would've gone with cinnamon sugar otherwise.) I got six of these for free using a coupon I got for signing up for their emails. I think a few solicitations is worth saving three bucks and some change.

A Famous Iggy Burger and Iggy root beer

I got a hamburger on the off chance that I hated all the seafood I got and was still hungry. The most popular burger is the Famous Iggy Burger and it comes with sauteed peppers and onions, mustard, relish, and optional cheese (which I gladly accepted). It was just okay- not horrible by any means, but not super amazing. But, what do you expect from a place that specializes in seafood, not landlubber fare? The root beer is made by Iggy's (they also sell a house made raspberry-lime pop as well...oops, I guess I mean soda for those of you not from a pop-saying city). It was probably the best root beer I've ever had- smooth, not too harsh or metallic tasting. It was great.

A Rhode Island "stuffie" or stuffed quahog

Now this was my favorite part of the meal. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter (and really, why wouldn't you?) you would know that trying to say "quahog" without sounding like a total tourist was something I wanted to accomplish. (Think co-hog, or watch a few episodes of Family Guy and listen to them say it). Nearly every Rhode Island tourism website I found said that visitors should try a "stuffie" while they are there. I only ordered one, partly because they were $2.50 each (sorry, but that's not a lot of chewing for nearly $3) and partly because I wasn't sure if I would like it.

What a quahog that's alive and in the wild looks like I can't tell you (though I'm assuming that's its shell they serve it in), but what it tasted like was a very delicate seafood taste, with stuffing and other goodness, drizzled with lemon juice. My cab driver told me that locals eat theirs with hot sauce. It was such a warm and comforting taste! I don't know what the stuffing is, how they chop it up and cook it or anything, but I DO know that I was very pleased. While waiting for my order to be finished, I saw people sitting at tables with trays full of these empty shells. I guess I'm not alone on liking them.

Well, I'll update you on my four day adventure (my most ambitious outing yet itinerary-wise) every couple of days over the next few weeks. Alaska and Washington state are next month, so I'm gearing up for that, and you know, I do have work and other responsibilities here at home.

Thank you for reading along and following me on my journey!

If You've Never Had Pierogies, You Aren't Living Life Right

And I mean that with all of my heart.

Mmm...sauteed in butter and lightly salted. How can you NOT like these?
image from http://onceuponasmallbostonkitchen.blogspot.com/

In college, I had a boyfriend from the South who honestly didn't think black people in the North ate or even KNEW about soul food. Not only did I laugh in his face at how ridiculous that was (I mean, 90% of us have family connected to at least one Southern state, so of COURSE we know about fried chicken, corn bread, candied yams, greens and the like) but I remember being shocked myself when he said he'd never eaten a pierogie before and insisted on pronouncing kielbasa as "keel-baw-suh" instead of "ka-boss-si"! No no friends, black people (in my region of the North anyway) enjoy our barbecue and sweet potato pie right next to our favorite German, Greek, Irish, and Polish foods. I actually think we get the best of both worlds that way, but I digress...

Soul Food-- not as secret as some from the South think it is lol.
This looks like a typical plate from my youth-
except the sauce would be slathered all over those ribs and we'd have cornbread instead of toast
image from http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/soul%20food

I knew I wanted to go to a Cleveland eatery because the city has gained quite a culinary reputation over the last few years. But I also wanted to go someplace that people actually living in the city enjoyed- not just Food Network TV stars and visiting chefs. Google and a few of my fellow Trip Advisor commenters consistently mentioned Sokolowski's University Inn- and that was good enough for me!

Sokolowski's is the oldest family run restaurant in the city of Cleveland, and has been going strong for 90 years. The interior was a little dark, but it reminds you of going into your grandparents' den.
So why the whole pierogie intro? Well, Sokolowski's serves mostly Polish food, cafeteria style. That means you get a tray, pick up your dessert, and then go along picking your entree and sides. Naturally, being that I LOVE those potato filled pockets of goodness, I chose them as a side, as well as a cream-sauce covered chicken fillet, sweet potatoes, and a slice of apple pie. My plate wasn't "pretty", but it was tasty (thankfully not too salty!) and packed with way too much food.

My plate at Sokolowski's

Another bonus is this place is literally down the street from famous West Side Market (that was sadly closed on the Tuesday I made my way there). I got off the Red Line RTA train one stop from Tower City (the central hub station) and walked for about ten minutes before the restaurant was on my left. I crossed a bridge and went under another one- it started to look a bit shady for about two seconds there but never to the point I felt unsafe.

Almost done posting my Cleveland adventures. Currently (trying) to be fiscally conservative these upcoming weeks as I prepare for my 4 days in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and you know, actually buying my plane ticket to Seattle for my trip to Washington/Alaska. As always, my Facebook page is up and always accepting thumbs up!

See you next adventure!