Gas Station Gourmet

Last night the hubster and I were too lazy to cook dinner, so after a Costco run (where he didn't feel like having Costco pizza or hot dog for dinner), we decided to drive down a block or two from our apartment to the Valero Gas Station that sits on McFadden where Santa Ana meets Tustin.

Yes, the gas station. And it wasn't even a 7-11 or an Extra Mile convenience store either (he loves the Extra Mile - attached to most Chevron gas stations - hot dog with sauerkraut). He said that every time he drives by (it's right smack in between his work and home... about 2 minutes from home and 3 minutes from work - how nice, right?) around lunch time or after work, he always sees people sitting around eating. So we had to try it. It's a 2-minute drive from our apartment - why the heck not?

Scoping it out. It was almost 9pm by the time we came by and it wasn't crowded at all, just a few people in line and waiting in their cars. The place is open for lunch from 11-3 and dinner from 6-10.

Here it is: Peter's Gourmade Grill! It's attached to the Valero gas station convenience store. It's really just a kitchen with an order/pick-up window and a small outdoor counter with some stools if you want to eat there, but since we're so close to home, we took it to go, like most people do. Or they sit in their car and eat.

In passing, the hubster kept thinking it was a gyro place (based on that neon sign there), but when we went there, it was much more than gyro... sure there ARE gyros and other Greek touches, but we went with the burgers and fries.

This is just the partial menu displayed in the window. We each went with the ABC burger (Avocado Bacon Cheese) with a 100% Angus beef patty. And then before I could say anything, the hubster ordered the Sweet Potato Gooey's. I knew I couldn't have that, and wanted the Greek Fries instead, but I didn't want us going home with two orders of fries, since you know, I really shouldn't be eating fries to begin with. So we went home with an ABC burger each (mine without ketchup because that's pure sugar there) and an order of the Gooey fries.

All I could smell and think about on the 2-minute drive home (darn that red light!) were Sweet Potato Fries! And to be honest, I'm not that big of a fan of sweet potato fries. What are Sweet Potato Gooey's?

THIS is Sweet Potato Gooey's: sweet potato fries with brown sugar and maple syrup, topped with toasted marshmallows. Seriously. Like a yummy, fried alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole... if you like marshmallows and all that sweetness. I stayed away.

And finally, our ABC burger! From bottom to top: soft potato bun, mayo, pickle slices, shredded lettuce, tomato slice, 100% Angus beef patty (looks really fresh, right?), melted cheddar cheese, thick slabs of bacon, fresh and creamy avocado slices, mayo and mustard, soft potato bun. Delish! We gobbled those suckers down QUICK.

The only thing about Peter's Gourmade Grill being so small is that they run out of stuff. By the time we got there (about an hour before closing), they were no longer serving breakfast and Mexican food, and pastrami. The next time we go - and YES, there will be a next time, and a next time, and a next time... - I don't know what I'll try, but the hubster will be getting The Rammer (grilled pastrami served on top of a 6 oz. Angus beef burger with mustard, pickles, grilled onions and swiss cheese on a pretzel bun), and I will insist on the Peter's Greek fries (shoestring fries tossed with oregano, feta cheese and topped with gyro meet and served with cucumber sauce). Yummy yummy! And oh yeah... if you're in a hurry, you can also text your order in before hand and will receive a confirmation text in return.

Build-A-Burger

The other week, we went to visit a friend who works at a... I don't know what to call it. A rocket/aeronautics place? Here, you tell me: Spacex... oh I see, the sub-heading says "Space Exploration Technology". Anyhow, yeah, that place.

So anyway, for lunch he took us out to The Counter in El Segundo. We've circled the one located at the Woodbury Town Center in Irvine where another friend lives, but we've always felt we weren't hungry enough to dine there.

So anyway (again), you get a checklist to build your burger. What did I have?

Step #1: Choose a Burger - Beef, 1/3 lb (that was the smallest!), on a bun

Step #2: Choose a cheese - Jalapeno Jack

Step #3: Choose up to 4 toppings - Dill pickle chips, grilled onions, organic mixed greens (I couldn't decide on a 4th so didn't choose one)

Step #4: Choose a sauce - Roast Garlic Aioli

Step #5: Choose a bun - Onion bun

The result:

I barely managed to finish half of this burger. Yup. After realigning all the burger pieces together and spreading the sauce all over the top and bottom bun, I sliced the burger in half and... forced myself to finish that half. I was hurting afterwards. It was more meat than I should have consumed. But it was tasty. Except I didn't taste any Jalapeno Jack cheese. And the grilled onions were a little weak. But man, it sure was a burger all right. Would I recommend it? Probably. Would I go again? Probably not. Although I might... and get the veggie patty next time. And get the burger with no bun and in a bowl instead.

Hash House a Go-Go!

What would you have as a follow-up to the Wynn buffet while in Vegas? Well, since we didn't get hungry until 20 hours later, why not Hash House A G0-Go, located inside Imperial Palace, as featured on Man v Food???

Yes, why not?

It was delicious.

I think their idea is to provide farm-fresh food... but on steroids. The wait was about half an hour to get seated, and maybe another half an hour after that until we got our food, but it was worth it. Anna's order came out first.

Perhaps their most popular: the Sage Chicken and Waffles (14.95).

Four fresh waffles with hardwood smoked bacon, topped with two sage-fried chicken breasts and with a hot maple "reduction" and fried leeks. It needed a skewer to stand up!

When I said "waffles with hardwood smoked bacon", I mean, the bacon is cooked INSIDE the waffle. Do you see that? The bacon sticking out of the corner of the waffle? Genius!

And then my order came out: one of their One-Pound Burgers. There are a variety of their burgers, but I went with the Apple Smoked Bacon and Mashed Potatoes one (12.95).

Doesn't that look super yummy?! That is a thick sprig of rosemary and a giant steak knife stuck in the middle of the burger to hold it together. And the contents, from bottom to top:

Bottom bun - leaf of lettuce, slices of red onion, slices of tomato, slices of pickles, a juicy beef patty, a layer of tasty mashed potatoes, several slices of thick crispy bacon, another layer of juicy beef patty, and the bun top. As if that entire combination wasn't jaw-dropping enough, I had a piece of the top bun by itself. It tasted like a doughnut. No joke!

We finished almost half of our meal for lunch. We attempted to finish the remainder for dinner. That means we officially had 2 meals the entire weekend. I [heart] Vegas - see you again real soon!

Diablo!

We finally did a little weekend road trip out to see the Grand Canyon (quite worth it even though all you've got to do there is to look at the canyon) and stayed in Flagstaff for the evening. For dinner, we swung by this new burger joint that Ed found called Diablo Burger and oh yeah... it was good. It took a little time to find, only because it was tucked into a little corner next to another (larger) restaurant.

Their deal is that everything be local. So the beef is local, the veggies they use are all local... bottom line is, the food is fresh. And tasty!

Served on toasted (and branded!) english muffins instead of the typical hamburger buns, they fill it with beef patties (cooked your way) and the toppings for your particular burger. A spring salad mix and tomatoes are on the side to fill if you'd like, as well as a pickle wedge... and everything sits atop their delicious home-made (er, restaurant-made?) rosemary fries.

I chose the Blutarksy Burger... (supposedly in honor of Animal House) with the beef patty, bacon, sharp cheddar and their Holy Guacamole! Normally I shy away from "guacamole" topped burgers because I've had so many instances where it was not what I would call guacamole... instead it would be like a weird tangy avocado puree that would always leave me feeling sick to the stomach. But I decided, I'll try it anyway. And my goodness!!! Fresh fresh fresh and yummy! Guacamole done right! Everything seemed just right. The english muffins, toasty and crunchy but not overbearingly bready like buns can be... the meat thick and juicy and even though it was more pink than I usually care for, this time I didn't care. It was that good.

The hubster ordered the "DB House" burger: the patty, topped with a fried egg and homemade pesto sauce. I didn't have a bite (too busy drooling over my own burger) but it looked scrumptious... and he devoured the entire thing. Including the fries (which he normally doesn't)! So I am taking that the burger was as good as it looked. Or better.

*I forgot to mention the burgers were about $9 each (includes fries) which do sound kind of pricey, compared to say, a value meal at Mickey Dees... but they are so good, you don't really care!

Kids menu, please

It was Friday, February 12th. The last Friday before Lent. The last Friday I would be eating meat for awhile. We had plans.

At noon, I grabbed my coupon for "make it a meal" and met Anna at the Carl's Jr. that sits at the intersection between our two offices. Having been bombarded with all of the commercials, we just needed to know more about this "adult" Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

I went ahead and ordered the Six Dollar Burger (as shown in the ads) version of the sandwich. Anna ordered the single. The third option was a double. My sandwich came out first in the big Six Dollar Burger box, and an hour later (it wasn't really an hour, but for some reason it took awhile) Anna's burger came out wrapped in paper... And the two looked exactly the same. So I can't tell you what the difference between the Six Dollar Burger version and the single version is... but I do know that... afterwards I wanted a real (basic) grilled cheese sandwich.


The bread tasted dry (yet left your fingers completely greasy) and the meat was rather dry as well. And don't get me started on the fries... why all these places choose to go with the "natural cut fries", I don't know. Is it healthier? I am going to venture out and say, Heck no. Is it tastier? Heck no. I like McDonald's fries, Claim Jumper fries, Ruby's fries, and Red Robin fries. All you other fries... you know where to go.

Anyhow. The end of meal was a highlight not only because I had satisfied (unsatisfactorily) my curiousity of this grilled cheese burger, but I had dessert! Earlier that morning, I arrived to a pleasant little surprise at my desk. Candice had thoughtfully handmade everyone cute little Valentine's Day cards accompanied with a package of Valentine's Day ding-dongs... So sweet! I had to resist temptation all morning to not scarf the little cupcakes down in one breath.


Happy Valentine's Day!


- Posted mobile-y (please excuse the typos!)

Widowmaker for the hubster

The hubsters's birthday fell on a Thursday this year, and we were planning a party for him for Saturday... so we decided to go out and have a nice but normal dinner. I let him choose, expecting him to say, "Lets have pho!", but instead, we ended up at Claim Jumper at South Coast Plaza. I have to admit, I was pretty surprised, but I love Claim Jumper so did not voice any objections.

I quickly flipped through the menu, already partly knowing that I was going with the Country Fried Steak with side of mashed potatoes and gravy and biscuit with honey butter... and naturally it did not diasappoint (I went with the 1/2 order which I believe is $12.99?). The steak seemed a little thinner than usual to me, but I was fine with it, I actually prefer it not too thick.



The hubster decided on a burger. But not just any burger, the Widomaker! (9.99?) ...I hope he wasn't trying to tell me something...? It was filled with everything. Meat (medium), cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado... what else??? I should have put a ruler next to the burger, it must've been at least 6" tall. But believe it or not, that wasn't the biggest burger. The Motherload would be the position holder there... Filled with not just beef, but pork AND chicken (I think)!



I could use one of these right about now. Perhaps my days of going vegetarian have outnumbered themselves...

- Posted mobile-y (please excuse the typos!)

Last (meat) Feast

I've failed to add stuff from over the past couple of weeks, but I'll post one today, in honor of Mardi Gras and the quickly approaching Lent season.

Although I'm not a regular church-attendee (forgive me!) I do have my beliefs and I do classify myself as being Catholic. As a kid, I always followed my parents' rules that from Ash Wednesday until Easter, you don't eat meat on Fridays, and I just accepted it. It wasn't until I started my religion classes that I understood why (but please don't ask me to explain in detail), and that in addition to not eating meat on Fridays, it was customary (or I suppose a better word would be 'respectful' or something of that sort) to give something up. As kids it seemed the most common thing to "give up" was soda. Or candy. Something like that. 

Coming out of those years of classes, I learned it as making a "sacrifice". So I altered my "giving up" list to a "sacrifice" list, something that would be a serious challenge (as I don't really have a sweet tooth). Meat. I love meat, I crave meat, the smell of meat cooking calls for instant salivation. Meat. That is my sacrifice.

And I don't mean just red meat. I mean all meats. Beef, pork, chicken... any type of animal. Although I will make the exception for dairy and eggs. So in a matter of minutes, the clock will strike midnight and it will officially be Ash Wednesday. And meat will be off-limits to me until Easter Sunday. I know I can do it, and I've done it for the past several years, but it still doesn't make it any easier to visit Ruth's Chris website.

As I left the mall this evening (making a quick stop to Sanrio), I eyed McDonald's from the escalator. A giant image of the new Mac Snack Wrap called to me. Try me, it said. You know you want to. C'mon, what are you waiting for? It's Mardi Gras. No meat for the next month and a half.

You had me at "Mac Snack Wrap". And, what the hey. Toss in a cheeseburger and an order of fries. Yum. 

The image doesn't really say "yum", but it really was. Something about it... doesn't look all that great but the taste does it. Maybe it's all the processing. That's some good processing. And you know what? The Mac Snack Wrap really did taste like a Big Mac. Except for the tortilla part. It has too much of it's own flavor to remind you that you aren't really having a Big Mac, but in fact, a wrap.