Holding in the crazy

To quote one of my most favorite shows, I'm having a hard time "holding in the crazy" right now (thank you Scrubs, and thank you Comedy Central for giving me an hour every weekday after work!). This morning I accidentally shaved my fingernail in the shower, but not on the edge where I can do something about it, but right in the middle where it will need to grow out and proceed to bother me for weeks. Totally annoying. It's already catching on my hair, sweater, gloves, etc.

New Eats

Didn't get a chance to stop in yet, but I noticed yesterday on my walk around Hessel that the asian food store (in the parking lot with IGA, across from Jarling's Custard Cup) has completed (or nearly so) their remodeling for restaurant business. There is now a sign up that says it's the Yellowfin Restaurant. I can't wait to try it out! Will try and get by there for at least a menu this week.

Regrets, I've had a few...

I'm going to have to bail on the blogger meetup tonight. Feel like crap from last night and haven't even really gotten up today. I'll catch the next one when I don't have a big thing the night before to go to. Have fun everyone!

A "chili" Saturday night

Just a few pictures from Saturday night, when my mild mannered husband was nice enough to grace us with a pot of his chili made with some of the last of the summer's fresh tomatoes, onions and peppers. I don't have a picture of the finished product (beans were still missing from these shots) but here's a couple pictures of it in progress.

It seems that Opening Bands was taken down for 24 hours yesterday as a statement of it's importance and under-appreciation. It is now back up and functioning and asking for volunteers to help keep it going, support it, etc. See the website for the letter on reasons for it being down on purpose and other things the site has. I've often found the shows listings useful in particular in finding things to see and do.

It appears that Opening Bands no longer exists. When did this happen?

Murphy and Misha say it's the "cool" thing to do.

It's that time of year again for the annual Champaign County Humane Society fundraiser Cold Hearts, Warm Noses. It's not too late to get tickets to attend this fun and worthwhile event this Friday. Yours truly can always be found there in a slightly intoxicated state bidding on things she doesn't really need in the auction thanks to the open bar, and food is included to (appetizers during the silent auction followed by dinner and a live auction). A good time is always had. Come on out and support a great group of folks who do so much for our local animals!

Even though we are diehard Steeler fans (if you aren't in our family, you're out of the will, it's that simple), these guys are making a good argument for being our bandwagon team this year.

You know, in spite of my gourmet appreciation, once and awhile I enjoy a good old fried food item of some sort (ok, more than once and awhile). Tater tots? Bring it. Fried chicken? Awesome. I had the pleasure of trying a deep fried oreo at my favorite amusement park this summer (Kennywood) and it was truly awesome, the cookie being reduced to nearly dough again in the frying process. I had a bite of hubster's deep fried candy bar one time (eh, could give or take that one) and L-O-V-E the Champaign County Fair fried cheese on a stick.

All that said though, this just doesn't appeal to me in the least. What will they think of next?

Fellow foodies, check out Food Candy, a new myspace or facebook-type site for foodies everywhere!

Toss This

In case anyone is interested, The Tossers are playing their badass irish punk music tonight and tomorrow at Cowboy Monkey. Shows start at 10pm if I remember correctly. Not sure if we get to make it due to kidlet's plans, but if you can go, I suggest it because they are awesome.

CU Blogger Meetup, take two

OK, trying again with the blogger meet up next Saturday at 7pm at Boltini. The hubster and I will do our damnest to be there.

Friday Night Lights (er, Eats)

Friday night we started out our evening by heading to dinner at one of my favorite eating establishments in the area, Crane Alley in downtown Urbana. The building is beautiful inside with the tin ceilings common in so many of our downtown facilities, nice woodwork and large pool tables. The smoking section is very separate (and soon to be short-lived, as we all know) keeping dinners in the "non-bar" restaurant part of the building more free from smoke with their dinner than most places in town.

When we arrived it was fairly crowded already for so early on a Friday night, presumably due to U of I homecoming festivities. We got there around 7:30pm, and requested a table in the bar area for seven. We happily suggested that we'd crowd around a four top since that's all that's available in that part of the bar and we had multiple smokers in the group. The waitress, while nice, seemed very overwhelmed and was extremely slow in practically all aspects of service, from getting our initial drink orders to bringing our checks at the end. That said, I'm never in much of a hurry when I'm there (or when I go out to eat in general) so we were okay with that. One other minor note of inconvenience was the ladies' bathroom, which only has two stalls (usually sufficient for the times we're there, rarely is there a wait) was down to one stall and one out of order. This resulted in a line of three or four women when I finally went in to the bathroom towards the end of our visit. Two stalls is not enough when the place is running at a fuller capacity and one rarely is enough for any place at any time.

We ordered some appetizers first thinking some of our party may take awhile to arrive and opted for the vegetable tempura, which came with sides of a ginger soy sauce and a wasabi aioli (I hate that stuff, for the record. Mixing flavors into mayonnaise just doesn't do it for me even as a mayo lover.) Be forewarned that many of the appetizers are big enough to be meals in and of themselves. I should have just ordered this, but I overdid it as usual. The veggies included were lots of zucchini and yellow squash (mostly this actually), some broccoli, carrot sticks, and the best by far was the asparagus. You could add shrimp for $4 more (seems steep to me, but hey, if it floats your boat) but we didn't. The batter was great, nice and light as tempura should be, not very soft or damp as veggies, particularly those with higher water content can lead to. The ginger soy dipping sauce always just tastes like straight soy to me, but that's okay. Like I said, for sheer ability to eat reasons I should have just had this but felt the need to order a sandwich as well.

We ordered sandwiches and I opted for something other than my usual favorite, the portabella burger, a nicely cooked decent burger with grilled onions, portabella slices and gorgonzola cheese. Instead I opted for the similar but different steak sandwich, which included the same flavors and toppings. It came on ciabatta bread grilled lightly. The flavors of the sandwich were okay, meat was a little tough and fatty in places and slid off the sandwich when I couldn't bite through it, but the taste was good, the meat was cooked as I asked (medium rare, and it's hard to come by a place that will do it right and leave it mostly pink). I always end up having to smooth the gorgonzola crumbles out a little when I get these sandwiches, as the crumbles are huge and spotty on top usually making for uneven coverage. Overall, not the best I've had from them (I should stick with my burger fave) but not bad. I opted for the sweet potato fries with my sandwich instead of the regular fries (or onion rings are another option). These are always a treat, nice a thin and sweet and crispy. Definately one of my favorite things available at Crane Alley overall.

To drink I selected a draft of the one beer not on the actual beer list but instead listed on the specials board, the Bell's Octoberfest. It was a very striking light orange color and had a nice fullbody without being overwhelming or bitter. Nice accompaniment to the meal. I would have liked a second drink but my waitress never seemed to come around and ask once we had our food.

Just as a sidenote, it seems that after some local investigation, Crane Alley is being called a bit of a fraud as their "pint" glasses for draft beer are actually closer to 14 ounces of liquid due to the shape and thickness of the pint glasses. Some folks are extremely upset over this "fraud" so I figured those people going for the awesome beer selection should be aware of the price/amount difference in case they are looking to try a more expensive beer or something special. Some bad reviews on service there (I don't disagree necessarily) and some notes on the food going downhill as of late (I haven't noticed).

Overall, not one of our best visits to Crane Alley, but rarely are they a complete disappointment. Their burgers are some of the best in town and I'm told their wings are incredible as well. The beer and wine selection is extensive, though rarely can you not get something they have at Friar Tuck in Savoy. The markup on beer is relatively reasonable, as we've often paid just slightly more for bottles than in the store.

Tonight's dinner, stuffed baked onions, stuffed with turkey sausage, brown rice, garlic and roasted onion with some cumin, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. This picture is before they went back into the oven.

Weighty Issues

I have a secret that at this point in my life not many people know, just those who are closest to me and have known me for more than five years or so. I have a very serious weight problem. In March of 2004 I finally got my shit together and lost a bunch of pounds (91 to be exact) and since last summer have proceeded to regain almost 25 pounds of it. It makes me totally bonkers about food, about exercise, about eating, about drinking, about darn near everything that I enjoy in life. And I don't mean it makes me crazy like a little annoyed about how I should be paying more attention to what's going in my mouth so I can drop the weight off again, but really Crazy with a capital C sometimes.

For lunch today, for instance, I was left with bringing the very last freezer lunch I had purchased at a much earlier and much hungrier time. I don't really want it now. In fact, it doesn't sound good at all. It's vegetarian chili with lime crema. I don't want that. What I want is pizza or sandwiches or soup or just about anything else. BUT, money is tight so I don't want to eat out and weigh in is tomorrow morning and I have to stay "on plan" so it's not skewed by a binge the day before (even though it will be up anyways because I totally bailed last week since I was bloated and had pigged out the day before last Friday).

This lack of options for a tasty lunch and being essentially trapped into eating something I really don't want makes me pissy, and that's probably being nice about how I am. On top of that, people at my work feel the need to talk about food all day long (today's selections discussed so far: cheesecake, peanut butter pie, rum cake, hot dogs, potato soup, and it's just past noon so who knows what delights the afternoon discussions will bring).

I feel a binge coming on and I'm trying to fight it just until tomorrow. Tomorrow we go out to dinner and then hang at the bar for the evening. I just need to make it to tomorrow and I can eat what I want, have some drinks, etc.

BUT I DON'T WANT TO WAIT. I WANT IT NOW! *kicks and screams*

Honestly, there have been times I've come close to a major crying breakdown hissy fit because something got screwed up with my food order or I felt a binge coming on. I have some very serious issues with food and my weight. It just all makes me crabby.

Is it wrong if I find this incredibly hilarious?

Weekend Eating, Part II: The Farmer's Market

Ah, last weeks at the farmer's market can surely signal the end of summer. Thankfully on this past Saturday we were able to locate many summer favorites still, though some were being touted as the "last of the summer". Our market harvest included:

1. fantabulous looking (and tasting, simply steamed them last night with dinner) green beans,
2. a bag of fresh peaches (one of the "last of the season" items),
3. fresh garlic (two different kinds, a long stem hard that is supposedly more potent, proof to come, and your standard italian variety),
4. peruvian purple fingerling potatoes (roasted with fresh garlic and rosemary last night, very pretty with some reds thrown in as well),
5. a handful of lovely banana peppers that are destined to become renenos in the next few days if all goes as planned ($.10 each, can you really say no to that?), and
6. a mini apple pie that was SO good (and we got samples which led us to buy it, yeah for samples!) from Geogia's Pies.

The folks also grabbed up some corn (Michiganers... no corn like Illinois corn to be had there already). There was no banana bread to be found by the time we got there unfortunately, which was one thing I went looking for specifically. Oh well, guess I'll have to make some at home this week.

I'm lamenting the impending loss of the market and my veggie share already (only four weeks left of the share). Did I ever mention I'm not much a fan of winter in general?

The weekend rundown, mostly foodwise

Great weekend for food was had by all. Friday night we had a lovely dinner at Cafe Luna, sharing a slew of different tapas. When we arrived for our 9pm reservation our table was not ready and we were encouraged to order a drink at the bar while we waited (which seemed odd given this town's early dinners, but whatever). We ordered a couple tapas as well to tide us over as we had already had a couple drinks at the Blind Pig and were ready for food. The first beer I ordered at Luna, Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale, was not to be had in spite of being listed on the beer and wine list, but again, a trivial aside to the nice evening. The one aspect that rubbed all diners the wrong way was the waitstaff's attitude like they were doing us a favor and that they were a little put out by us for some reason, but thankfully, the food made up for that.

We began with sashimi tuna cubes, served on a layer of toasted sesame oil with toasted sesame seeds on one side. It was a beautiful presentation with a bit of very potent wasabi on the side. Delicious and tuna is always a favorite of mine. We also had the proscuitto and manchego crostini, which was fabulous, toasted nicely with a thin slice of each and a spread of quince paste on the bread underneath. It was much less heavy than anticipated and the bread was amazing (as usual).

Next we ordered the house salad with their garlic dressing, which is always nice and simple, and had the roasted artichokes and beets, which were very tasty. I really enjoy beets in general and the crispiness of the artichokes was a new texture for me with them, which I appreciated. They were doused in a decent balsamic vinegar mixture.

We then followed that with fried goat cheese, which came in four small balls sitting on honey with grilled onions (carmelly and sweet) and bread. Slathering the cheese on the bread slices with the onions on top was amazing. I just love cheese in general and grilled onions are one of my most favorite accompaniments in many meals.

Following these came the beef carpacio, which was served sliced wafer thin with a greens salad in the middle. It was a nice presentation and declared the favorite of the things we tried by my father. It was very rare (perhaps entirely so, I couldn't discern if there was a slight sear around the edge or not) and dad said he got a hit of wasabi or something similar in the salad, though I didn't find what he was refering to. We also enjoyed the beef kabab, skewered with red onion and mushrooms and served with potato gratin. The beef was tender, though a little fatty for my tastes (but I'm not a fan of fat on meat in general) and the potatoes were wonderful with tangy (gorgonzola I think) cheese setting of the meat nicely.

Our last tapas was tied for the best of the evening with the tuna for me. The scallops served on a bed of truffled corn was simply amazing. The scallops were cooked perfectly, a real feat especially in a town that really doesn't know or get good seafood a lot, just on the other side of raw. The truffled corn was spectacular and mom and I both agreed we could have eaten a whole bowl of the earthy sweet concoction by itself.

We finished out dinner with a dessert of red raspberry and white chocolate stratta, which was plenty big enough to split four ways and was excellent. The white chocolate mousse was extremely light for a mousse and not terribly oversweet like they can sometimes be, which set off the natural sugar in the berries nicely.

Overall, the food was simply amazing, though the service was just okay. My one complaint was the overuse of balsamic vinegar in the choices we had, it seemed like it was in most of them in some form. But the food was fabulous, the atmosphere was warm and quiet and we had a lovely evening for the most part.

Saturday's dinner was at home and we smoked salmon on cedar planks and lightly grilled fresh scallops and served them with my mother's spectacular ceasar salad (I kid you not, I have never had a salad of any kind, anywhere that I enjoy more) with homemade croutons and fresh crusty bread.

Sunday we had brunch at one of our favorite local breakfast haunts, the Original Pancake House. I was thrilled to see that fall had indeed arrived because their seasonal pumpkin pancakes were on the menu. Served with real whipped cream on top, these are a favorite of mine and are great as is, no butter or syrup needed. A glass of fresh squeezed OJ was a welcome accompaniment and the meat lover in me couldn't resist their fatty, thick sliced bacon (the one meat I prefer with more fat than lean, heh). Others enjoyed strawberry pancakes (my summer favorite), blueberry pancakes, swedish pancakes with lingonberry sauce and the homemade corned beef hash. We waited about a half hour to be seated which isn't too bad for the place on a Sunday morning, though it seemed a little long for being there around 9am. Usually if you can beat the post-10am church rush, it's more like 15-20 minutes when nothing else is going on in town. Regardless, a nice way to start the day and send off the parents will full and satisfied tummies.

Just me, the hubster and kidlet then headed out to enjoy the weather at Curtis Orchard where we went out and picked a couple pumpkins from the pumkin patch, and filled up our cart with gorgeous blood red mums, fresh apple cider, some hideously ugly gourds and the orchard's famous apple doughnuts.

A great weekend was had by all, and I look forward to our next trip to Curtis Orchard (for our Halloween pumpkins) and can't wait to dine at Cafe Luna again. It has certainly joined Radio Maria and Crane Alley on my husbster and my's favorite places to dine in C-U.