Fried Bubblegum

Leave it to the Texas State Fair to come up with the most bizarre food you can fry, again. Justin Martinez, a 30 year-old Arlington, Texas baker, took home the State Fair of Texas's Seventh Annual Big Tex Choice prize for "Most Creative" for fried bubblegum.

Link.

Interestingly, there's no actual gum in the recipe. Martinez created the familiar taste with bubblegum flavored marshmallows that were deep fried, covered in icing and then dusted with powdered sugar.

Disgusting. And I thought last year's fried beer entry was bad enough!

So once again as fair season rears its ugly head, I ask all you foodies out there: what's the weirdest fried food you've ever had on a stick (or not on a stick)?

I'm still waiting for fried weasel...

Fried Beer

I saw on Rachel Maddow's blog today that fried beer was now being served at the Texas State Fair! Wow.

Check out Fun Fried Beverages for more information on the process of frying beer.

"People said it could not be done; impossible is what we were told! When you put beer into a fryer, it will cause a violent reaction with the oil..."

As a society haven't we taken frying everything we can eat and shoving it on a stick a little too far?

Fried Twinkie on a stick.

Fried Oreo on a stick.

Fried Coca-cola (no shit!).

Fried weasel on a stick (it tastes just like chicken).

Now fried beer! I can barely guzzle down a beer without gagging when it starts to approach room temperature. Call me old fashioned but I really want to slurp down my intoxicating beverage from a frosty cold mug.

All hail fair season!

What is the most bizarre food item you've seen fried and impaled on a stick (or not on a stick)?

Chicago Trip Day 2

I think I've finally recuperated enough to begin writing about the rest of my trip to Chicago, I've been worn pretty slick the last couple of days traveling back and getting back into the swing of things back here in Mayberry.

After work on Wednesday I relaxed a little bit, wandered around Michigan Avenue some more, and finally worked up the nerve to check out Boystown. I'm not sure why I was so apprehensive to travel to Chicago's gay area. Probably because it's such a big city and it's been years since I was last down there. After a short cab ride I wandered around the area for a while trying to find some of the bars that were suggested to me by my friends. I ended up at Roscoe's Tavern, a kind of neighborhood bar, similar to the Park here in Oklahoma City except much larger.

First beer of the night! I was relieved that it was happy hour and only had to pay $2.50 for a domestic beer. There would be many more to follow...

Unfortunately this is the only picture I'll be posting for this day of the trip, I didn't take my camera with me to Boystown for fear of losing it and I didn't get very good pictures from the camera on my phone.

I had the best luck in meeting a local while sitting at the bar at Roscoe's. Since I was from out of town, Jason agreed to take me around to some of the other bars in the area. We stopped off at Sidetrack and Cocktail, both really fun places to hang out. Sidetrack ended up being my favorite bar in Boystown during the entire trip, it's very clean and modern with great music, staff, and drinks.

I'm afraid I was quite intoxicated by the time we finished our bar crawling but as luck would have it Jason lived downtown near my hotel so he gave me a ride back to the Magnificent Mile. He switched to lemonade much earlier in the night anticipating a drive back downtown. Upon our return we checked out the rooftop balcony at his condo and had a couple more beers and some awesome calamari at a bar and restaurant called Bijan's Bistro.

I ended up crashing at Jason's place and got up early enough to make the walk of shame back to my hotel, wearing very wrinkled clothes from the night before in a downpour of rain. I was thinking to myself as I headed to work a little tired and a little hungover that I needed to be careful not to drink too much or stay out too late the rest of the trip since I was in Chicago primarily for work. Wednesday ended up being one of the most tame nights of the entire trip...

Picasso Cafe

Sunday afternoon I met up with some friends at Picasso Cafe in the Paeso Arts District. The restaurant is relatively new as it replaced Galileo's Bar and Grill a few months ago. The place is pretty much the same as far as I could tell with the exception of the name and new menu. Since we were there on Sunday, the only options we had for food was from the brunch menu. I like the atmosphere of the restaurant and the area but I have to say the food and service was lacking. Here's a list of observations:

Service. The girl waiting on us wasn't very nice. She didn't do anything wrong really, she just came across as a bit bitchy and clueless. It takes a lot for me to have a problem with service in a restaurant having been there before as a manager, server, and bartender. Oh and silverware is always nice addition to any meal.

Food. Nothing to write home about. I had the country breakfast which consists of eggs, bacon, and biscuits and gravy. Everything was unremarkable with the exception of the gravy which was yummy. I believe Dann tried to order the crepes a la florentine but they were out.

Drinks. Big problem. Part of the enjoyment of going out to eat for brunch is being able to enjoy a mimosa or bloody Mary. When we arrived and joined Jenny and Blaze we were informed by the girls that they were out of champagne and to not order a bloody Mary as they just ran out of Zing Zang mix (it really is the best). Whatever mix was used for their bloody Marys was florescent red and looked a little gross. No brunch drinks? No problem, they have a nice beer selection. Dann and I order Pacificos. We were brought one, the last one in the restaurant. I order a Hoegaarden, the server leaves and comes back empty handed, they're out of Hoegaarden. I order a Newcastle, the server leaves and comes back empty handed, they're out of Newcastle. Finally I have to settle on a Bud Light draft. Nice.

I was told by all at the table that Picasso's has a much better dinner menu. I'll probably check it out at some point and hopefully they'll be able to restock their inventory in the meantime.

Always On My Mind

I love this video! The first time I saw it was years ago at the Park. There are always a couple of people on my mind...

Speaking of the Park, I stopped by there the other day to grab a beer after work. Ugh. What happened to their happy hour? There were four patrons at the bar and they were watching TV on the multitude of TV's around the bar (the same folks always there). Apparently reruns of King of the Hill and the Simpsons is a fun bar environment. OKC's gay retro video bar has turned into the Fox rerun bar between 5 and 7. In their defense it's usually pretty hopping on weekend nights, right?

I did have a moment of amusement from stopping by briefly. When I was making my way to the door one of the regulars asked why I leaving so soon. I replied that I couldn't drink that much since I was driving. In unison nearly everyone sitting at the bar said, "so are we!" Funny.

Tulsa Trip: The Concert

Kim and I arrived in Tulsa with some time to kill before heading to the BOK Center. We parked in the Brady District since that's where we were going to party after the concert. We cleaned up a little and headed to a hole-in-the wall bar called Caz's.

Caz's was a great hang out before the show. They have a great selection of beers and a bra collection hanging above the bar! Wow bra!

Kim was able to find one of her favorite beers: Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde. "Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde is truly a unique beer experience. Reward yourself with our golden lager made of the finest pale and wheat malts and Cluster Hops, with a kiss of natural strawberry flavor."

I had one as well.

We headed to the BOK Center a little after 7PM, not worrying too much about missing the opening act, Willie Nelson. The facility is really nice but I do have one major complaint: more beer stands and/or working beer stands are needed. It literally took 15 to 20 minutes to go through the line to get a beer or cocktail. Part of the problem was the beer taps at the concession stands. They were freezing up so it would take several minutes to draft a 16 oz. beer.

One of the beer lines from hell.

A view of the stage from our seats. Very nice.

Brooke, Kim and myself.

Dave.

Awesome concert. I'm not a huge Dave Matthews Band fan but I can appreciate how well they sound live and when they get going, they can really jam. Kim and I headed back to the Brady District for some partying after the concert was over. I'll post another update with pics either later today or tomorrow.

Tuesday Bowling

I normally don't post this late but I'm so pumped and proud of our little bowling team tonight! We kicked some major booty! We picked up four points from the league's best team! All three games went down to the wire but we held on for a victory in ever game. I credit the win to generous helpings of beer and fried green beans. Oh and moral support from the LawMan...

The South Shall Rise Again!

I don't have a Sunday Funday story this week since I did pretty much nothing over the weekend but recuperate from being ill. I did venture out to "the great state fair of Oklahoma" on Sunday morning with the parents. We went early enough to avoid the crowds and the heat. Here are a few observations I have about the fair:

Going early to the fair is great. Enjoy the cooler weather, beat the crowds and easier parking; however, if you expect to get a beer before noon, you're shit out of luck. Apparently there's an old liquor law on the books which prevents the serving of alcohol before noon either anywhere or at state functions. I'm still confused about the reasons the nice girl gave me when I tried to buy a beer at one of the food stands. Beer in Oklahoma is 3.2% alcohol by weight and considered a food product, I saw food being served before noon! Also I know there are restaurants around town that serve beer and/or alcohol between 10 and noon.

After running around most of the morning we took a break and sat down to enjoy a cold adult beverage (after 12PM of course). While people watching I noticed a flag pole near the needle (or is it a space needle?). It was flying a Confederate flag!!! I wasn't aware that Oklahoma was an integral part of the Civil War. In fact I'm not so sure Oklahoma would be considered a Confederate territory. I did a little research this morning and found some information here and here. Regardless of the status of the Indian Territory during the Civil War, I don't think we need to fly the Confederate flag under any circumstances. It's a racist symbol, period. Anyone who says otherwise, usually promoting the theory it's a symbol of the states rights over the federal governments power, is a redneck chump. I tried to get a snap shot of the flag with the camera in my phone but it didn't turn out too well.

Not to be entirely negative, I did find the fair to be cleaner than I remember (it's been a couple of years since I attended). The paid parking was a lot easier to deal with rather than what is usually a massive mud pit in the free parking areas. The crowds were manageable and there were plenty of food options to please just about anyone, albeit not very healthy ones.

Hot Hot Hot

Ole ole - ole ole! Ole ole - ole ole!

Buster Poindexter was going through my mind this morning as I was trying to put out a small fire that broke out in my bathroom...

It all started last night after work with a trip to Old Chicago. I met up with Dann and Kim for some beers and pizza. We enjoyed a beef, onion and jalapeno pizza. Since we were in the neighborhood we decided to check out the new Buffalo Wild Wings down the street. We enjoyed some more beers as well as some mini corn dogs with medium wing sauce (classic wing sauce, comfortably hot) and some fried chicken tenders with blazin' wing sauce (keep away from eyes, pets, children: the hottest sauce they got). The blazin' wing sauce was warm but I've definitely had a worse fire in my mouth, most recently on my last trip to Sushi Neko. Anyways we drank a little more, called it a night after some minor crossing over and drunk texting of old boyfriends (you know, the usual).

What's this have to do with the fire in my bathroom? I guess the combination of onions, jalapenos and varying degrees of wing sauce was too much for my body to handle. My digestive system decided to turn on me when I got up this morning to get ready for work. Fortunately I wasn't hurt by the huge fireball that shot through the bathroom and engulfed my shower curtain! The curtain can be easily replaced but I'm not so sure about the melted toilet. The story did end on a happy note, however; I was somehow spared any heartburn which is usually present after a night of drinking and dining on spicy food.