WORLDS ARE FORMING

I Love New Jersey Diners.

I haven't visited many diners during my sojourn in New Jersey, but this morning after church, a few of us went out to the Crystal Diner in Trenton.  (Don't be fooled by the fancy website.) This place was a cultural experience. 

A few friends have some standards that they expect their diners to meet:

1. Surly waitresses?  (Check.)
2. Lots of mirrors? (Check.)
3. Personal jukeboxes at each table?  (Check.)
4. Menus with anything you could ever want on them?  (Check.)
5. Open 24 hours?  (Check.)
6. Cheap?  (Check.)

OH.  Two favorite things.  One: our waitress did not like Gary, who is quite possibly the nicest man in the world.  Two: the Crystal Diner, in the Spring of 1997, was visited by one George Clooney, as evidenced by the three yellowing newspaper articles heralding his visit.  George gave his waitress a 25% tip.  Way to go George.  Maybe Gary needed to follow suit.

Orbit Citrusmint.

This summer, a friend introduced me to Wrigely's Orbit Citrusmint sugar-free gum.  (For that just brushed clean feeling.)  I had a piece or two this summer, then I forgot about it.  Until...I was at Wawa yesterday, and needed some gum.  What did I purchase?

Citrusmint.  Citrus + mint = Citrusmint. 

It sounds crazy, I know. I cannot decide if this is my favorite new taste in the world, or if it is gross.  It is remarkably citrus-like AND minty...all at the same time. 

I fear that I have an addictive behavior when it comes gum.  As a kid, remember Bubble Yum Cherry 7-Up gushing gum, circa 1987?  How about the timeless Hubba Bubba Watermelon?  Or, in its own class, Big League Chew.  Period.  To all of those, I think I may have been addicted.  I have yet to decide if Citrusmint is in the land of "kid" gum or the land of "big kid" gum.

Does chewing four pieces of Citrusmint consecutively put me on the addictive train towards Addiction Central Station?  Only time will tell.

Favorite Coffee Shops?

Speaking of coffee...last week I asked about your favorite coffee blends.  Thanks for the ginormous amount of tips.  I'm going to try some out!  And, as much as I love coffee itself, I think I love coffee shops even more.  I am always up for trying a new one out, too. 

So, please, wherever you are, tell me your favorite coffee shop/s and the location*...

My Top Three:

1. Progress.  Austin, TX.
2. Victrola.  Seattle, WA.
3. Failte.  Hopewell, NJ.

(*Though frowned upon, chain shops may be included.  Just share the coffee love, already.)

Cleveland Men: Cravings and Creativity Abound!

My Dad and I spent the day working on a section of the Cleveland yard that has been neglected for 29 years.  We have always meant to do something with it, but just...haven't.  Sure, it had grass at one point, then it stored a mountain of rocks, then weeds, then tools and yard equipment.  It is the last part of our yard to be conquered.  Today, we conquered it.  (Well, 75%...we'll finish soon.)

So, after a long day's work playing in the dirt, and after dinner, while watching the Seahawks beat the Raiders, my Dad declared, "I'm still hungry."  I concurred.  We both have serious sweet tooths...genetic, I think.  A few seconds after he got up to sojourn into the kitchen cupboards, I heard him rifling, then... "Do we have any marshmallows?"  I did a mental check.  I knew we had chocolate bars.  I knew we had graham crackers.  Marshmallows, of course, would be the key ingredient...S'mores.  Cleveland men are thrifty and creative.  We do what we need to do when we need to do it.  So, I ran into the kitchen (no really, I ran) to look in the marshmallow storage spot (where children in the family know where to look, but fathers generally do not).  Score.

The following pictures show the different ways in which Cleveland men choose to do indoor S'mores concocting...both leading to delightful end results.  (Sorry for blurry pictures.  Come on, I was in a S'mores FRENZY!!!)

            Dad's Method                     My Method (yes, scissors)                        End Result


The whole experience lasted less than five minutes.  But, they were five minutes of greatness.  Three cheers for things you don't do every day, and fun times with Dad, for sure.

Homegrown Tomatoes! Lycopene Galore!

This summer, I have enjoyed getting my hands dirty by helping my parents tend the garden. For the first time, we planted tomatoes, and as August has come and gone, it has been sweet to reap the harvest.  Homegrown tomatoes...nothin' like 'em.  (And we men need our lycopene...so I figure, why not eat 'em up?) 

The words of Guy Clark's Homegrown Tomatoes have been sung throughout the Cleveland home  and garden for the past few weeks, and rightly so...

Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden
Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one

Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies. Trenton, NJ.

Josh, Nick, and I went to DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies on Hudson Street in Trenton tonight to enjoy some dinner and to celebrate life together.  Over this past school  year, I've been there prooooobably about 10 times or so. 

Huge tomato pies (different than pizzas, mind you).  Super fresh ingredients.  Thin crust that doesn't make you feel gross...like you would after Papa John's.  All in all good.  The service exhibited the extreme Jersey customer service mindset of, "Oh.  You're here?  So what?  I care, because?" That's part of it's charm.  I love it.

Pizza of choice: Large Sweet Pepper or Pepperoni.  My mouth is watering just thinking about those bad boys. About $10 for a small, $13 for a large. DeLorenzo's was recently crowned #2 tomato pie in America.  If you are in Jersey, take some time to head over to DeLorenzo's on Hudson.

Fat Tuesday: JBC's.

Today is Fat Tuesday. On this day, several men journeyed to their local Wendy's to embody the fatness.  Rules...Consume JBC's (Ninetyninecent Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers) and anything on the Ninetyninecent value meal.  Totals...Men: 7.    JBC's: 14.    Frosty's: 5.    Fries: 2.  Darn our being worried about our health and weight!  We are getting old.  We all agreed that we could continue the festivities for much longer, but chose to embrace subtlety and health above all.  A glorious tradition.

NEW FAVORITE: Teavana.

I know, I know...I often say that something is my "new favorite." It seems to happen once a week, or once every other week. 

But this time, this time, it's true.  New favorite: Teavana.  As I was waiting for my computer to be finished the other day, I had to walk around the mall, and stopped in to Teavana.  The store is full of tea pots, cups, etc.  Then.  Then, you see the wall covered with tins, full of tea.  Hundreds of kinds of tea.  A bit overwhelming. 

You know, I've been having something of a tea renaissance in recent weeks, so this was right up my alley.  Vanilla Bean with raw rock sugar, cheap!  Delightful. 

If you find a Teavana in your neck of the woods, check it out!

Living in community with a pyromaniac.

So.  I live in a dorm.  That means we share things...bathrooms, hallways, laundry rooms, and kitchens.  Let's talk about kitchens (or, in our case, kitchenettes).  We have a small one on my floor, where all sorts of smells (mainly shrimp and fish and burned popcorn every other day) like to permeate the hallway.  That's fun. 

What's not fun: our microwave.  This little gem is circa 1998, $9.99 Wal-Mart special.  It really is good for nothing.  Or...almost nothing.  What it IS good for is scaring me.  Last week at Target I bought a box of popcorn, and have been popping a little bag every day or two. 

Here's the deal. Ghetto-microwave must have been born on the fourth of July.  It likes to spark and shoot flames once in awhile.  Not every time, not all the time, just sometimes.  Keeps me on my toes.  It really scares me.  I have to run out of the room whenever I am popping my bags of corn delight. (Hey, I have to have my popcorn.)  It can't be safe.  And, as much as I like fireworks, I've put in a request to get a new, 2006 Wal-Mart $15.99 special.  (Only the finest here at PTS.)

Click the link below to see my favorite moment of tonight's popping adventure...

Morsels of goodness / How to change my life.

Last December, while walking home from studying, a friend who just got off work at Thomas Sweets walked up to a friend and me, and handed us a brown paper bag...of pure goodness.  The bag contained mounds of fresh raspberries dipped in chocolate.  I generally do not like the combination of chocolate and fruit, but then and there, I converted.  I have thought about the goodness of that concoction several times in the course of the past year, drooling, and plotting how I could get more free chocolate covered raspberries.  SO GET THIS. Last week, while walking home from studying, walking with the same friend, this same Thomas Sweet-working friend was walking on the same street, towards us, and handed us yet another bag of said morsels of goodness...and my life will never be the same.  I love that it happened two years in a row.  Small graces, simple pleasures.  Gotta love it.  (If you haven't yet noticed, I am a HUGE health food fanatic.)