St. Patrick's Day Glutton

Today is St. Patrick's day and also my fourth trip to Baltimore (6th, 9th, 10th, and now 11th grade). I knew from the start that these two happenings, as being merged into one, would create a mass bubble in my gastro-intestinal tract. I had actually planned in advance, however, what I would be having...I had planned breakfast at least a week in advance and dinner the night before. Because the day just HAD to be EXTRA special, I decided to stifle my craving for the "Shamrock Shake" that McDonald's offers around St. Patrick's Day until the actual day, seeing as how it is tradition to stop there for breakfast on the day from Williamsport to Baltimore (4.5hrs, on a good day, in a large tour bus). Then was the easy question answered of what shall compliment this Shamrock Shake - a Bacon Egg and Cheesse McGriddle was, of course, a given. I'm positive this number of calories would make any cancerian patient require an extra tank of oxygen and a new pair of depends. Dinner would be fairly healthy containing every food group - a 1.5lb gourmet burrito from the mexican restaurant, Chipotle. This place has also become tradition to visit since there is not one in the entire State of Pennsylvania, which is oddly depressing (depressed because of the absence of burritos...get it?). This burrito, which is more perfect than the left testicle of God, contains more meat than a home-grown Nebraskan pig, more lettuce than your grandmother's protein shake, more sour cream and guacamole than water in the ocean, and more types of deliciously amazing salsas than exist in your local Sheetz. Try this on for size:

• 18" Flour Tortilla
  
• Carnitas (Pork)
  
• Cilantro-Lime Rice
  
• Black Beans
  
• Fajita Vegetables (Roasted Green and Red Bell Peppers and Onions)
  
• Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa (Mild)
  
• Tomatillo Red-Chili Salsa (Hott)
  
• Pico de Gallo
  
• Romaine Lettuce
  
• Guacamole
  
• Sour Cream

If just reading that ingredients list doesn't make your mouth salivate with Mexicano goodness...I can't imagine what a reclusive life one would lead.

Corpse Pudding

Corned Beef and Cabbage is the traditional meal for St. Patrick's Day, however, this was put on hiatus due to my excursion to our lovely southern state of Maryland...until today, that is. Later, after my mom had shown me some quilting pattern in her book, I discovered a recipe for bread pudding on the same page, which prompted me to search for chocolate bread pudding which I first had in Hoss's about a month previously...pretty damn good too, if I may interject. It took longer than expected to find a recipe that used cocao rather than chocolate chips, and even longer to make it than expected...but it got done, and it got done well. If one is able to look past the appearance of half-dried half-rotten half-eaten corpse, this chcolate bread pudding is fairly tasty, although I do feel slightly nauseated just looking at the stuff.

Restaurant Pazzo - 3.15.06

Today was supposed to have been spent, during the much latter part, in Wilkes-Barre attending an Aerosmith concert. But they canceled yesterday because of a "cold." So, we made plans anyway. Dad decided we should still do something "special" and not just sit at home like we would normally do, especially since a concert was now fully out of the picture and we had a good 8 hours to kill. Decided to go to dinner at a new place in Williamsport called Pazzo on 326 Court Street. The interior = gothic/gaudy/baroque with themes of jokers (like on playing cards) and diamonds (the shape) on the walls and seat cushions. I liked it very much. I had called yesterday to find out the prices, hours, and menu. Four to twenty-four dollars, open by 6pm for dinner, asian-cajun fusion, respectively. After being seated, the most delicious breadsticks are presented to you in a blue napkin-lined beer glass with a side of olive-oil that you pour, salt, and pepper yourself - how retro. The breadsticks have garlic (not overpowering) and salt on them...not to mention they are the perfect temperature of somewhere between tepid and luke. I had a simple Pepsi with a side glass of water. For some beginning appetizer, I asked for the Crab Bisque which was sweet, creamy, rich, spicy, and luxurious all at the same time...something I had never experienced in a soup. It was also a perfect portion for a cup of soup. Perhaps an exact 250ml even? For the dinner entree, I ordered the "Duck Roll", which was sort of deceptive seeing as how it comes in slices of the roll on a long Chinese-style plate. From the description, I had imagined the Duck Roll to be somewhere along the lines of an eggroll...it said it had somen noodles, cabbage, and grilled duck inside, with a side of spicy peanut sauce. I imagined it to be simple to eat: 1.) pick up with your hand, 2.) dip into peanut sauce, 3.) hoover it. This was, unfortunately, not the reality. What I was presented with was something much more regal than I thought would become of my meal (chopsticks, chinese plate, and square porcelain sauce dish), but the actual sustenance was unexpected: sushi-style rolls filled with somen noodles, shallots, cabbage, and duck. I wouldn't have been a problem, but NOWHERE on that menu had it mentioned nori (seaweed) being the composition of the actual roll...there WAS sushi on the menu, quite a selection of it too, so I don't know why it wasn't posted in that sub-category. It also wouldn't have been a problem, but the slices were too short and too wide for chopstick and too unstable (b/c of the somen and not sticky rice) to dip into the peanut sauce even with a fork. Anyway, the duck was VERY good and I beleive I prefer it over steak (but not chicken or turkey...NOTHING fucking NOTHING replaces chicken and turkey!). Nevertheless, it was quite delicious altogether, but I think I wouldn't get the duck roll again. I'm thinking that a combo of extra breadsticks and crab bisque would be sublime.