Girls' First Deep Frying Pan

While browsing the local Tuesday Morning with my wife and kids, my daughter stumbled upon a fancy pink toy. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was a girls' deep frying pan toy. The store must have had a dozen, and I'm sure every Tuesday Morning in the country has the same amount.

I wonder if the manufacturer sold these directly to Tuesday Morning. After all, how could they have persuaded any "first-run" retail stores to stock these things?

The abscess has returned

One night in college, I was lying in bed, tensing about some upcoming exam. Somehow, I pushed my teeth in a way that created a abscess in my right lower central incisor. Whenever I would bite into a whole apple or a sandwich with thick bread, it would aggravate it such that within a day my entire gums would be inflamed. The tooth itself was more sensitive and always felt loose.

After moving to Chicago, I found a great dentist who performed a root canal on this tooth. It was relatively painless given the location of the tooth, and it worked like a charm. On some occasions, like changes in weather, that tooth would feel weird, but it would never hurt.

Some eight years later, I seem to have done it again, possibly after biting into a whole apple, which I was able to do in the years since the procedure. This means I can't really enjoy any sandwich that has thick or tough bread without feeling the consequences afterwards. On Monday, after enjoying yet another JoJo from Caffe Rom, I could feel that tooth getting angry. Fortunately, my entire gums haven't inflamed yet.

My present employer doesn't have dental insurance, and I completely understand why, but now I have to figure out what to do. I suppose I'll wait until after the bonus at the end of the year.

What the iPhone price cut really means...

Dropping the 8GB iPhone to $399 should put to rest all of those rumors about an iPhone nano. Of course, Apple could be cooking one up right now to further fill the pants of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola, but it seems like too much. Apple is very strict about feature set and price points. An iPhone nano would confuse the hell out of the whole lineup, and it likely wouldn't be much more than a phone, albeit one with a much sleeker interface. When the iPod touch replaces the iPod classic (more on that in another post), the handheld device lineup will be just right.

News today says that Palm and Motorola are now on the defensive after this price cut. Good. Both brands are as boring as the Dell under your desk.

Palm has essentially become another slave to Microsoft, and they'll likely finally die if Microsoft buys RIM. Yes, having a physical keyboard is a slight plus, but when the next generation of iPhones sport a tactile feedback display and possibly some sportier improvements to the interface, physical keyboards aren't going to look so great. Palm is just Dell in your hand, owned by boring suits and supported by boring IT departments.

Motorola continues to show the world how completely irrelevant they are. Motorola is a joke. Their phones are terrible. For all the hoopla of the RAZR, it's just a slimmer, sleeker version of phones that came before. Motorola is the best example of the worst of old school telecom. It has decided to rest on a dated product in favor of maintaining a bloated organization with groups that compete each other and vie for power on a daily basis. That Motorola continues to exist is a testament to how stupid and slow their telco clients are.

Ron Paul Sandwich

sourdough bread
goat cheese
avocado spread
thinly sliced roast turkey
pesto

Sandwich Report: Monday, 2007-08-13

My esteemed friend and fellow sandwich lover Mr. Java says that the Heidi's at Denver's international airport has a good chicken salad.

No, Dear Reader, I won't pay for your ticket.

I violated the First Law of Sandwiches

The First Law of Sandwiches:

A sandwich made by a given person will not taste good to that same person.

Check this... I toasted an Einstein's asiago cheese bagel, spread on some goat cheese and Trader Joe's basil pesto. I then followed with Trader Joe's roasted chicken breast strips. It was close to gastronomic nirvana.

I think I can improve upon it. Next time, I'll bake or toast it open face a second time after putting on the pesto, cheese, and chicken. Stay tuned!

T-shirt

This is my kind of shirt.

A hero from a hero?

From Defamer:

Dania "The One Who Drove AJ Soprano To Suicide" Ramirez will join Heroes as a series regular. (Hey, she's got mutant experience from X-Men 3.) While her "powers are being kept under wraps," producers are rumored to still be deciding between superhuman Rollerblading skills and the ability to make the world's most delicious sandwiches.

Nothing doing

Sandwiches have been few and far between of late, as have chunks of free time to devote to this blog, but I still love all zero of you who read this. This week I revisited the beauty that is the JoJo.

I think I've listened to Great Northern's "Home" about 7,415 since downloading it for free from iTunes last week. (I'm going to purchase at least the more recommended tracks from their debut album, Trading Twilight for Daylight, I swear.) Repeat play of songs is what put me in trouble with some of my roommates in college. It might not have been as bad if iTunes and iPod were available in the mid 1990's, which is the last time I was devouring music in large quantities. Needless to say, my iPod is a bit stuffed with U2 and Collective Soul.

Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah... Great Northern's bassist is hot.

Taste Test

I'm certain McDonalds, Subway, and Starbucks don't mind how their brands transcend their respective markets. But I find it a bit weird that each offers a product with a unique set of flavors and textures. McDonalds tastes like McDonalds, Subway like Subway, and Starbucks like Starbucks.

I'm not saying we should shun uniqueness, brand success, or variety, but the ubiquity of these three companies have skewed consumers' expectations of food. When I want a real hamburger, I don't go to McDonalds. The same goes for real sandwiches and McDonalds and real coffee and Starbucks.

Splinter, rafter

Politics tickles my funny bone when it's not tickling my angry bone.

Our newly blued House of Representatives, channeling public (or, rather, publicized) frustration as gasoline prices might soon surpass their inflation-adjusted highs of the early 1980s, narrowly passed a bill that would somehow protect us all from price gouging in the energy market. I find this whole exercise a waste of time.

I'm shocked - SHOCKED - the House didn't turn its attention to the taxes federal, state, county, and city governments add to every gallon of gasoline sold. I imagine it's easier and quicker to fold to the pro-government lobby than to the pro-oil and pro-auto lobbies.

Sandwich Report: Tuesday, 2007-05-22

Jimmy John's (Loop: Monroe)

Beach Club (#12) on Wheat
Sweet & Sour Chips

How can you beat fresh sandwiches with great bread? Jimmy Johns has been my de facto lunch for a while, supplanting Potbelly's for the time being. I only wish I could get the wheat bread after 1:00pm. The french roll is good and soft, but the wheat is something else.

Pushing the sandwiches over the edge are the fresh trimmings like tomatoes and avocado spread. Jimmy John's doesn't use the same pitiful pale tomatoes manhandled by those "sandwich artists" at Subway.

I recommend any of their chips. Their cookies are decent, but not quite as good (or as fresh) as Potbelly's.

Sandwich Report: Monday, 2007-05-21

RŌM (Loop)

Milano (mozzarella, artichokes, red peppers, tomatoes, basil)
Iced Coffee

Okay, you get it. I love this place. I never thought I'd be this pumped about an offshoot of the overpriced Caffe Bacci.

National Bingo Night

I will admit right now that I only watched portions of the last half hour of ABC's National Bingo Night on Friday. I can usually pick up on a game show's rules with the same amount of attention. That's how I picked up the rules to Deal or No Deal, 1 vs. 100, and that haphazard Show Me The Money. I couldn't tell you anything about this new show aside from, "There were some colored balls, some other balls with letters, numbers, and arrows, and a bride and groom walking down the aisle."

More disturbing than the insane setup of the game was one female contestant. She was a heavyset woman sporting a fanny pack she wore on the front. When the time came to ... uh ... do something that would help her win money, she would ... ahem ... reach down and rub her fanny pack vigorously. Not helping matters was the camera that would pan down and zoom in on the hot, hot fanny-pack-rubbing action. I hope ABC has the decency to fine itself rather than wait for the FCC to respond to that lone complaint from Granny Highpants or the Moral Police.

Sandwich Report: Wednesday, 2007-05-16

RŌM (Loop)

Roma (salami, mortadella, capicola, provolone, tomatoes, mild giardinara)
Nocciola (fancy beverage with Nutella, condensed milk, espresso, whipped cream, nuts)

As a "classic Italian" sandwich goes, this one did not disappoint. The giardinara made the eating experience a bit messy, but it was well worth it.

The Nocciola falls under their house category of "coffee as art." It's served in a small clear parfait cup and is meant to be eaten with a spoon ("scoop down and then up the side"). I can't say I'd ever have it again, especially since it was close to $4, but I don't feel like a fool for trying it once.

I visited their cafe again in the late afternoon when my wife stopped by the office on her way to a The Knot of Chicagoland gathering. She tried the Chai Tea Latte. I ordered yet another Iced Coffee. Both were excellent. They use Caffe Umbria coffee, and while they sell Bodum presses, they offer no freshly pressed coffee for sale, which I can understand, but I'd still love the chance to buy it on occasion.

With several alternatives to Starbucks in the Loop, I've learned that Starbucks is really not that great a coffee. If I must have some kind of coffee drink, I'd prefer Caribou, McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts, Peet's, or RŌM. Anything but Starbucks.

Sandwich Report: Tuesday, 2007-05-15

RŌM (Loop)

Grilled Napoli (mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, balsamic dressing)

RŌM is a recent addition to the Loop. It bills itself as a "Modern Italian Cafe." This is my second sandwich following their awesome (but pricey) JoJo.

As Napolis go, this is pretty good. The bread did not disappoint, and it did not crumble under the panini press, unlike some sandwiches. (I'm looking at you, Pazzo's.)

Sandwich Report: Monday, 2007-05-14

Uncle Abe's (Loop)

Meatloaf on sourdough + lettuce, tomato, ketchup
Chicken broth soup with pasta shells
Pickle spear

At $6.00 before tax, this Daily Special is probably the best deal at Uncle Abe's. The portion of meatloaf was ample, but it compromised the integrity of the thin sourdough bread. On the upside, the meatloaf at Uncle Abe's is tasty and just the right texture and moisture -- not too dry, not too messy.