The Great Pizza Debate! Part 1.

Are you aware that there are over 20 regional varieties of pizza in the United States? This may come as a surprise to some of you but yes, there are more options than thin, thick, hand tossed, pan, deep dish, and stuffed. Those terms that are used by most chain pizza parlors are generic terms used, but knowing the origin and using the correct term for the style to me, makes for a better sale.

In order to understand and appreciate pizza, you have to understand the origin. Now, I won’t go into great detail and depth, but I’ll skim over it. In the 16th century Naples, a Gallete flatbread was referred to as a pizza. It was a peasant dish, originally sold on the street. Prior to the 17th century, pizza was covered with red sauce, later to be replaced with oil and tomatoes or fish. in 1889, to honor the Queen of consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, Neapolitan chef, Raffaele Esposito created the “Pizza Margherita”, a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil, to represent the colors of the Italian flag.

The Neapolitans take their pizza very seriously. Truly pizza purists, the Neapolitans dine on either of the two true pizzas - the Marinara and the Margherita. The Marinara is the older of the two and is topped with tomato, oregano, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. It was prepared by the seaman’s wife for her seafaring husband when he returned home from fishing trips in the Bay of Naples. Many Italians enjoy their pizza at Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba in Naples. In 1738 pizza production began here for peddlers, but expanded to a sit down restaurant in 1830.

Now, as adverse economic conditions forced four million southern Italians to come to America by 1900, pizza was slowly introduced to America. Still an inexpensive peasant food, these southern Italian women would make this in their kitchens. And in 1905, Gennaro Lombardi applied to the NYC government for the first license to make and sell pizza in the USA, at his market on Spring St in what was known then and know today as Little Italy. Nineteen years later, Anthony (Totonno) Pero left Lombardi’s to open Totonno’s in Coney Island. In 1929, John Sasso left Lombardi’s to open John’s Pizza in Greenwich Village. In the thirties, pizza spread from the East Coast to the West Coast. In 1943, Chicago pizza was born, when Ike Sewell opened Uno’s. And so on, until the development of, ugh, chain pizza joints. Which lead to a decline of authentic mom and pop pizzerias and a decline in taste and it all began in 1958. Without naming names because I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, I think you all can figure it out. As I said, 1958 was the birth of the first chain, 1959 the second, and 1960 was the third. It was mostly the prices that these chains offered to the American citizens that won them over. If only, if only the real pizzeria’s were given a chance by everyone, these chains may not be in existence, but the independent pizza makers still exist.

Now let’s get down to business and talk about style. We’ll begin with the original and in my opinion, the top, Neapolitan. My dear Chicago and suburban friends will not agree with me here, but you have to give it a chance before you disagree. Neapolitan pizza is small, roughly 10” in diameter, but who’s really measuring? They are a thin crust pizza made in a wood burning oven. They have a puffy crust and nothing but the freshest ingredients are used and they are used sparingly. Typically San Marzano tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, and a little bit of basil. The marinara is just sauce and a sprinkling of an aged cheese or the napoletana, which is a marinara with anchovies. This all baked in an ultra hot wood burning oven.

Next in line is the New York Neapolitan. This pie is almost identical to the Neapolitan, in that is still uses quality ingredients. The differences are that it’s noticeably larger and it’s baked in an ultra hot coal oven. This style of pizza is available outside of NYC now. In fact in Chicago there are two, Coalfire and Castel Gandolfo.

Let’s talk New York Style. This was my favorite for years and the source of many arguments about New York or Chicago. This is a simple pizza, more thin than thick with sauce and a few toppings in order to keep the crust crisp. A traditional New York slice is cheese and sauce. Stroll into a place like Ray’s Original Pizza, Famous Ray’s Pizza, or World Famous Original Ray’s Pizza and you will see a display of mouth watering pizza with a multitude of toppings. Everything is baked on site, in an electric pizza oven, and just reheated in the same oven as you choose your slice or slices. When they remove it from the oven, it’s reborn to it’s original state. The cheese is gooey and the crust is crunchy. Fold that sucker in half and shove it in your face! If you want, sure you can dab the grease off of the top, but depending on what time of the day or morning you go, it just doesn’t matter. Here in Chicago, the one stand out of New York Style is Bacci’s.

Grilled Pizza was invented in Providence, Rhode Island. This is a thin crust pizza that is cooked quickly on the grate of a grill, gas or charcoal. There are no worries about this pie falling through the grates because it sets up quickly over the intense heat. Once one side has set, the crust is flipped and topped with sauce and thinly sliced toppings. When I say thin, I mean you can read the papers through them. Ok, maybe not that thin, but thin so they can heat through in the short time that it takes for that second side to set and caramelize. Of course, don’t forget, anything that needs thorough cooking such as ground beef, sausage, chicken, etc, should be precooked. If you are not feeling inspired to do this at home, grilled pizza has moved to areas outside of Providence. Red Flame Pizzeria on the Depaul Campus grills their pizza, but finishes it off in the oven to crisp up the bottom, however I’ve never had a problem with the bottom of my pizza not being crisp.

My first experience with Stuffed Pizza was living in Streator, Illinois. We discovered a small restaurant in a strip mall that housed our Kroger and K-Mart, called Savoia’s. And what a discovery it was! This deep dish style was extra deep, like a couple of inches deep. The pizza is then topped with cheese, lots and lots of cheese and your other toppings are then added. Next comes another layer of crust, a thinner layer, and finally it’s sauced. When we discovered this place we kept it as our special place. There weren’t many choices of places to eat in Streator, so we kept this as a place we would take our out of town visitors and everyone fell in love with stuffed pizza. This style originated in Chicago in the mid 70’s. Nancy’s Pizza and Giordano’s Pizza were the first to sell this style. The founder, Rocco Palese created this after his mother’s recipe for scarciedda, an Italian Easter Pie from his hometown of Potenza. The Giordano brothers worked for Palese as cooks and split off on their own in the early 70’s.

As I said above, I am going in order of my tastes because it’s my blog and I am trying to hypnotize you and convince you non believers that some styles of pizza are best enjoyed a few times a year. So, now let’s discuss Chicago Thin Crust Pizza. This is a very typical pizza across the Midwest. Any fresh made pizza you get in a bar/tavern or your local pizza joint serves this style. It has a thin, crunchy almost pastry like crust. It’s topped with a highly seasoned sauce, your toppings, and cheese. This pie is also cut into a grid or a “party cut” style, not your traditionaly slice. It’s a run of the mill style, but some places can really knock this one out of the park. My personal favorite, Mario’s Pizza in Pontiac, IL.

The Chicago Style Deep Dish was invented at Pizzeria Uno in 1943. This pizza is far from any Italian roots. The crust on this pizza is distinct in that it has cornmeal in it. The crust is also parbaked, which gives it a greater spring. The cheese layer is applied, then the meat, the vegetables, and finally the sauce. One location, Gino’s East will even give you the option of broken sausage or a sausage patty which covers the entire pizza. Beside’s Gino’s East, Lou Malnati’s is also a famous location for this Deep Dish. One note that I must mention, when Anthony Bourdain made his Chicago visit, he went to Burt’s Place in Morton Grove for their deep dish. The freshest of the fresh ingredients were used and the owner, Burt Katz has been turning out pizza’s for over 20 years.

Our next style is Sicilian Style. Basically it’s a rectangular pizza, however traditionally the cheese goes under the sauce. Also in a traditional Sicilian there is a strong presence of garlic. Don’t confuse this with the Chicago thin and it’s grid cut. This Sicilian is baked in a rectangular pan. The crust is typical of New York Style.

I remember Mom talking about a pizza that my Great Grandmother used to make when they came to America from Sicily, that to me sounded like what some would consider Focaccia, but it was thinner. This is known as Grandma Pizza or Nonna Pizza. It’s a simple pizza really, a thin layer of dough stretched into an oiled, square/rectangular “Sicilian” pan. It’s then topped sparingly with shredded mozzarella, crushed uncooked canned tomatoes or fresh crushed, chopped garlic and Olive Oil. It’s then baked until the top bubbles and the bottom is crisp. Ahh, I can smell the garlic roasting, filling the air with that distinct smell now. When I walk into someone’s home and make the comment that it smells like my Grandmother’s apt, that is truly a compliment.

States in the New England region of the U.S. often conflict with one another when it comes to certain things, and pizza is one of them. And in particular, New Haven, Connecticut, has their style of pizza, New Haven Style Apizza. Now, like New York Neapolitan, this style is also baked in a Coal Oven with fresh ingredients. The distinctive difference is the oblong shape and served on a sheet of waxed papper atop a plastic cafeteria tray. The one thing that New Haven may be able to claim is the origin of the Clam Pizza. I can hear it now, “ewww”, “yuck”, “blah”, etc., but have you tried it? Garlic, Clams, Cheese, and Olive Oil, how can you go wrong with that? There is one place in Chicago that serves New Haven style, Piece Brewery and Pizzeria. You read that correctly, brewery. And they have some fantastic brews, both regular and seasonals. And their pizza is consistently awesome!

Ok, ok, I said above that there are more than 20 regional varieties of pizza in the U.S. and there are only 10 listed above. But I’m kind of antsy to get this out there and not completely bore you to death with one blog. So, I will follow this with another blog on the other varieties of pizza. I’m hoping to stir some passion and debate, it’s happened already with my preference of Neapolitan and New York style pizza over Deep Dish. It’s all a matter of choice and it’s all within our reach. So, branch out and try something new. I recommend attempting the grilled pizza at home. Anyway, if I don’t get the second blog out prior to, everyone have a Merry Christmas!

The New South.

Let’s talk about food! I know, shocker, to be discussing food on this blog. Not just any food though, let’s talk about food in the South.

Of course when I mention Southern cooking, you automatically think fried chicken, greens, cornbread, chitterlings, catfish, hush puppies, fried corn, fried green tomatoes, and Red Velvet cake, just to name a few. Now don’t get me wrong, no one can do it like the South when it comes to good ole Southern comfort food. My Grandma, from Louisiana made a killer sweet potato pie. My Uncle Jessie and Aunt Dwena could fry up some catfish, hush puppies, and fries like no one else. The banana pudding was second to none and the BBQ would make you wanna smack your momma. It was, has been and will continue to be the best, however the times they are a changin. Gentrification is consuming even small town Southern USA and along with the gentrification comes a change in dining options. It’s not a bad thing as long as the original cuisine of the area is not forgotten and put by the wayside.

Now, I’m not well traveled in the Southern US, but I’ve put enough miles on my vehicle between Chicago to Nashville, TN to Tuscaloosa, AL to be aware of the changes. I’ve taken highways and back roads in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama to see the people of these states. I’ve had the chance to eat at every kind of restaurant offered along these roads, and I’ve seen the changes over the years of traveling these roads, and I have to say it’s a pretty exciting change.

I will use Nashville as an example. Music City USA, the home of honky tonks, The Grand Ole Opry, The Opryland Hotel, Music Row, and former and current musicians of all genres. Nashville is also the home of some fantastic restaurants, both classic and modern.

Meat and Three’s are a great way to begin this topic of classic restaurants. A meat and three is a popular Southern meal combination of any meat and three vegetable sides for one set price. Typical meat choices are fried catfish, fried chicken, and brisket. Typical vegetable choices may be green beans, collard greens, white beans, fried green tomatoes, potatoes, corn on the cob, or fried corn. An item that I was reminded by my Sister, that should not be forgotten in the vegetable category of a meat and three is macaroni and cheese. I won't say anymore, you'll have to figure that one out on your own. Some better known meat and three’s in Nashville are Monell’s, Swett’s, and the Loveless Cafe. There are many, many more and you can find them all by checking the website - www.meatandthree.com

There is something exclusive to Nashville, Hot Chicken! Hot chicken, in it’s traditional preparation, is a portion of breast, thigh, or wing that’s been marinated in buttermilk, breaded, sauced using a paste that’s been heavily spiced with cayenne pepper, and pan fried. Always served on top of slices of white bread with pickle chips. Of course, for the health conscious (LOL!), hot fish is also offered. Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack and Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish are two of the best known hot chicken locations. Nashville even has the Music City Hot Chicken Festival - www.musiccityhotchickenfestival.com

Then you have just classic American restaurants such as Jimmy Kelly’s. It would be difficult to find a classic steakhouse in the US with as much tradition as Jimmy Kelly’s, with the exception of Peter Luger in Brooklyn (125 years of service and still going). Jimmy Kelly’s is housed in an old Victorian Mansion and has been open for more than 70 years, run by three generations of the Kelly family. Besides their classic American steakhouse cuisine, the restaurant is also known for their friendly, professional service, and long term employees. They’ve never had to advertise for servers and they have a very low turnover. One gentleman has served 44 years behind the bar and another server, who died a few years back, recorded over 40 years of service. Donned in white coats and black ties, the only complaints I’ve read about service is that it can be a bit gruff, however Jimmy Kelly’s is not like wandering into a chain steakhouse where loud music and bright colors are in your face. Jimmy Kelly’s is a classic and stands to stay in business for many years to come - www.jimmykellys.com

I could go on and on with the classics, but I need to touch on the new Nashville food scene. I don’t think there is anything that you can’t find in Nashville now. Things have come a long way since I had my first visit.

Let’s start with South Street Crab Shack and Dive Bar, which is a casual smokehouse, crabshack, and a bit more upscale than your typical dive bar. Start off with a truly Southern treat, fried pickles and bypass the tartar sauce and ask for South Streets white sauce. I’m not sure what it is, but I know that it’s white, a bit spicy, and adds a hell of a lot of flavor to everything! Then don’t mess around, move right into their 12 hour, smoked over hickory coals, pulled pork served on corn cakes. Maybe their 1/2 Rotisserie Pumped Chicken, which has been injected with their secret seasonings and slow smoked. In the mood for a sandwich, then I suggest either a Fried Shrimp or Fried Oyster Po’Boy. Served on a Hoagie roll, this sandwich is packed with fried shrimp or oysters and topped with cole slaw, onions, tomato, and a pickle. As far as sides goes, I’ve been stuck on their Hush Puppies and Homemade Tater Tots. And make no mistake, these are true, honest to God homemade! Maybe a bit bigger than golf ball size, balls of potato, with onion and chive, crunchy on the outside and tender and tasty on the inside. They alone have a ton of flavor, but then you dip them in that slightly spicy white sauce and you have an entree there alone! South Street has a great menu and should not be missed on a visit to Nashville - www.pansouth.net

Something a little less traditional would be City House, with a kitchen run by James Beard nominated Chef Tandy Wilson. I think we can consider City House as urban Italian fare. With a changing seasonal menu, you just never know unless you check the menu online what you will be offered. The night we all went I shared a pizza and pasta. The pizza was a white pizza, meaning no tomato sauce. On this thin, Neopolitan style pizza was house made belly ham, Mozzarella, Grana Padano cheese, oregano, chiles, and a farm fresh egg cracked over the center during the last few seconds of baking. Quite a few people will turn their noses up at the idea of an egg on a pizza, but my friends, I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed in this. If I could figure out how to post photos, I would. Of course you can check my facebook page for photos of this piece of art. And it was as delicious as it looked. For the pasta, we had the Rigatoni, with Oxtail Sugo, Chestnuts, Mushrooms, and Pecorino Romano cheese. Since some Italian Americans on the East Coast and around Chicago refer to tomato sauce as “gravy” or “Sunday Gravy”, the Italian translation, which is actually juice, but can also mean sauce. The expression for “gravy” in Italian is sugo d’arrosto, which is literally translated to mean “juice of a roast”. It was a thick, rich sauce that coated each piece of rigatoni, leaving flavor on every piece of perfectly cooked, pasta. The kitchen at City House is open, like a stage, so you can watch their every move...so you can watch the show and see that you are indeed being served a fresh, top notch meal - www.cityhousenashville.com

And to touch on the celebrity chef scene, we have Chef Arnold Myint from Season 7 of Top Chef. Chef Myint is the Chef/Owner of Nashville restaurants-Cha Cha, PM, and Suzy Wongs House of Yum. Chef Myint also has an outpost at the Nashville Farmers Market, AM@FM, which offers gourmet grab-and-go, using fresh in-house baked breads, ingredients sourced from the market, as well as ingredients sourced from local artisans. I’m going to focus on Suzy Wongs because that is the only restaurant of his that I’ve visited. The name of the restaurant, Suzy Wong’s, references a popular 1950’s novel, "The World of Suzie Wong." It’s the story of a beautiful Asian “lady of the evening” falling in love with an American diplomat. Not only will you get fabulous modern Asian cuisine until the early hours of the morning (they are open until 4 AM on Friday and Saturday), you will also enjoy creative cocktails, great decor, and good music. The service is great, very attentive and the crowd is urban cool, but laid back. We snacked on Vegetable Gyoza Pot Stickers, while waiting for our Garlic and Basil Egg Noodle Lo Mein. The gyoza is the Japanese version of the Pot Sticker. The primary difference in the Japanese version is the rich garlic flavor. Other differences are that these gyoza are lightly flavored with salt and soy and their wrappers are much thinner. I’m not sure what the dipping sauce was, but it enhanced the garlic flavor, making a nice balance and not leaving an overhwhelming garlic punch in your mouth. The Garlic and Basil Lo Mein, was a simple yet flavorful bowl of noodles with a nice garlicky flavor, with a hint of basil. It was not a dry noodle dish, there was some moisture to these noodles, but it was not swimming in a sauce. The noodles were cooked perfectly and there were some pea pods floating around that still had just enough of a crunch to add texture to the noodles. Our other diners enjoyed the Pineapple Red Curry Shrimp, Peanut Sauce Chicken Penang, and the Chicken with Wonton Noodles. Everyone left satisfied and no one left hungry - suzywongsnashville.com

This is just barely the tip of the iceberg of what Nashville has to offer diners from every corner of the world. Wait, no the world is round, so there are no corners on a globe, so, well, you figure it out. Just know that when you visit Nashville, your appetite will be satisfied. And remember, this trend is expanding beyond the city limits. A good example, and I beg you to look at their website, is Mack and Kate’s Cafe in Franklin, TN - www.mackandkatescafe.com This little treasure we found while traveling to find a place for brunch one Sunday morning. Every other popular place was packed, while Mack and Kate’s had not been affected by the after church crowd, yet. We made it just in time!

The South is growing ya’ll. People are discovering the joys of eating and they want new and exciting food to eat. Not only do the folks that live in these places that hunger for more benefit, but so do you, the visitors (I will not call you tourists) that come to explore these areas. The Southern states are beautiful, the people are friendly, and the food is delicious and to me, that’s a hell of a great combination!

Chinese cuisine in America

When I go back to Pontiac, IL, where I spent all of my teen years, into my 20’s and early 30’s, at least one night we will eat out or order carry out from a small selection of restaurants. There is nothing unusual about the restaurants in Pontiac, nothing that stands out as extraordinary. You have a few family restaurants, pizza joints, a couple of Mexican places, fast food, and even two “Italian” places. Of course, you can’t have a town with a population of more than 10,000 people and not have at least one Chinese restaurant. Pontiac not only has two Chinese restaurants, but they are buffets!

As we sat with our take out last night, which I will admit was very tasty, I thought about Chinese cuisine in America and how much the Chinese have had to Americanize their traditional food in order to survive here. And why do they compromise what could be a great experience for Americans? Because not all Americans have the palates to appreciate traditional Chinese food. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not necessarily a good thing either. To me, compromising a long standing, family recipe of ethnic origin would be the same as putting Ketchup on a great steak.

Unless you are fortunate enough to live in a city with a Chinatown or have access to a city with a Chinatown or a great Asian market, you will be bombarded with Chop Suey, which was believed to have been invented by a Cantonese immigrant back in the 1800’s. He was trying make Chinese food palatable to Westerners, so he took whatever vegetables he could get, stir fried them and added meat. He served this dish over steamed rice and named it Chop Suey. Other entrees that are a stretch on authentic Chinese cuisine are Mongolian Beef, Cashew Chicken, Almond Chicken, General Tso’s Chicken, Sesame Chicken, and Crab Rangoon to name a few. Last night I dined on Chicken with Mixed Vegetables, which the Chinese are traditionally heavy on vegetables leaving the protein as an afterthought. My Mother had Lo Mein, which is traditional in Chinese cuisine, however typically made with wheat flour noodles and flavor. Her Chicken Lo Mein was missing the wheat flour noodles and the flavor. My Chicken with Mixed Vegetables however had a great flavor, although I’m not quite sure what that flavor was. Typically I can detect something from flavor, but this time, I couldn’t tell what any particular seasoning was in that mysterious brown sauce. It was brown, thick, and gelatinous, but it did have a good flavor.

I know not everyone can handle dining on authentic Chinese food. Did you know that there are 9 main regional Chinese cuisines and if you go to wikipedia you can find all the information you can imagine about these regions and the types of food they have to offer. After that, you can even break these foods down into recipes and photos. Or, you could come and visit me and we will wander down to Chinatown and you can experience this first hand. You can trust me, I will ease you into this potentially life changing experience. Chef Tony Hue is a master of Sichuan cuisine, and I would definitely suggest starting there and working your way around Chinatown. After that culinary breakthrough, then you can graduate into Japanese, Korean, Thai, and the ultimate(in my book), Vietnamese. Of course I believe once you experience Vietnamese food, you’ll never want to try anything else.

Of course, Asian cuisine as a whole could be discussed all night. The traditions, the do’s and dont’s, etc. Did you know that not all Asian cultures use Chop sticks? Did you know that it is acceptable to eat Sushi with your hands? Did you know that it is acceptable to slurp when sitting down to a bowl of Pho(Vietnamese Soup)? So much could be discussed, but that would take the fun out of researching and learning on your own, because I can’t teach you everything. I have much to learn yet about the Asian culture.

Now, before I sign off, I want you all to know that I’m not knocking small towns and their selection of restaurants. I’m hoping to inspire at least a few of you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Small towns are limited to what they have to offer and as frustrating as it is, as long as it sells, things won’t change. You have to take a leap of faith. I promise it won’t bite and it won’t hurt, much.

By the way, not to burst your bubble, but Fortune cookies were invented in California!

Motivation and Direction. What the hell happened to it.

A few years ago, I could write. I could write things that would make you want to eat your computer monitor, that would enable you to smell the food that I was describing, that would make you want to go out and eat that Shiz now! But over the last few years, I lost it. I could blame a couple of people that just sucked the motivation out of me, but that would be a cop out. It's not like I've stopped eating, because I have to say, I've had some amazing meals over the past few years. Amazing would be an understatement though. On my trips to New York City, Nashville, and the local restaurants here in Chicago, they have all provided meals well worth putting in writing and sharing my experiences with you all that may not normally eat such things. Things that would make most people turn their noses up, but I could convince you to at least put just a smidge on your tongue.

Over the past few years I've converted people from eating something as simple as Veggies to what some would consider Extreme, such as Sushi. There is a wild world of food out there, just waiting for eager diners to consume. I am fortunate enough to live in a city that is on the cutting edge of food. The restaurant industry here is booming and some say it's paving the way in the US. Not bad for being land locked in the middle of the US. And I've also had the good fortune of being able to travel to New York City and experience their Restaurant scene. I've met Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs, and Pastry Chefs. It's been a truly brilliant experience.

The biggest surprise I've had was the Nashville scene. Although it's young and up and coming, it's going to be competitive. Maybe not to the level of NYC or Chicago, but it will be on the US Map of excellent foodie destinations. From the simple Cuban Sandwich from the Tin Roof, or the Fresh Soft Pretzels and Beer at the Flying Saucer to the comforting Po Boy's and Steam Pot of the South Street Crab Shack and Dive Bar, all for the casual diner. Then going a bit upscale, you have the Stuffed Peppadews at Rumba, grilled South African peppers, stuffed with Goat Cheese and Chorizo, chased with a Hard Cider with a shot of Jack Daniels Honey dropped in or the House Made Belly Ham, Mozzarella, Grana Padano, Oregano, Chillies Pizza, artfully decorated and finished off with a Farm Fresh egg placed right in the center right before being pulled out of the oven, which was prepared by Chef Tandy Wilson of City House. Chef Wilson was nominated in 2010 by the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef SouthEast. As you can see, there is so much more than Country Music and wanna be cowboys in Nashvegas!

Here we are, November 2011, and I believe I've rediscovered my motivation, thanks to some friends and a mission to help someone else rediscover their mission to write. So now, with camera in hand and a small notebook, I will begin again my love of writing and photography to go along. If you are going to nibble on your monitor, you should at least have a visual. And this that I provide will be much less expensive than Internet porn. I hope to provide what the great Anthony Bourdain has termed "Food Porn". If you see me out, I won't be one of those annoying bloggers, critical of everything, verbal about the smallest things. No, I have a genuine love of good food, and I want to share it with you in hopes that it will motivate you to maybe leave your comfort zone of Burgers and Fries and maybe try a bit of Sweet Breads or Chapulines.

Until next time....