A new day in Food

Well, with various job and family obligations, obviously it's been ages since Adventures in Food was updated. I would like to apologize for that. I haven't given up a passion for fine or funky cuisine, just never seemed to have time to write about it. However, His Royal Majesty Greg and the ever marvelous Alton Brown have inspired me to start afresh. A new foodie friend (say hi to Holly everybody!) and I are traveling to Atlanta later this month to be a part of history - Alton's 10th anniversary Good Eats live episode. It's the kind of thing you dream about..or at least I do.

We've been promised cast members, props, puppets and a "Good Eats musical interlude." I can't wait.
Naturally we'll be sampling the local cuisine. So far on the testing list is the funky Flying Biscuit Cafe. http://www.flyingbiscuit.com A small chain apparently, but with a name like that, who can resist?
And short of the Bonnie Blue flag, what could be more regionally appropriate than Sautéed Shrimp & Scallops over creamy stone-ground grits with garlic gravy or Buttermilk Fried Chicken and buttermilk whipped potatoes overflowing with bourbon gravy. South City Kitchen sounds like a definite stop. http://www.southcitykitchen.com/midtown/
Also, I think we'll try to spend some time at the Dekalb Farmer's Market (there is a bakery, yay!). Any Atlanta natives or frequent visitors have any culinary suggestions for us?
Oh Atlanta! I hear you calling...I'm coming back to you one fine day...

The Food, Glorious Food of My Youth

By Greg Giordano, The Scrapple King

I just heated up a can of Spaghetti-O's for lunch. I know that this sort of food would be something that my kids like to eat, but for a parent of three who is getting a little gray around the temples? Nah. But, I confess, I still eat the little pasta rings with meatballs, although I do like the ones with sliced franks as well. When I share the fact that I like Spaghetti-O's for breakfast I usually get "uugh" sounds and faces contorted into grimaces from my peers. Most also dismiss my enjoyment of cold pizza as my morning meal as "weird."

As we discuss the subject of munchies I must, of course, reveal that I still like Cap'N Crunch cereal and Froot Loops for breakfast. Although I admit I do try to eat more Shredded Wheat and Raisin Bran in recognition of the fact that those foods do serve a more practical purpose for one of advancing years (I have not conceded the need to eat Grape Nuts, though, and probably never will). Speaking of breakfast cereals, does anyone remember Quisp? I have found but one person in my age group who recalls this unique spaceship-shaped delight from the early 1970's. Please let me know. Perhaps we can start a fan club.

Moving on to snacks, I like Oreo's and Nutter Butter cookies, yet another joy from my childhood. I still like Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, especially the pizza flavored ones. One thing that I have not been able to stomach, however, is Gummi Bears nor their various incarnations such as Gummi Worms. My kids have a taste for those delicacies so I suppose that will help to perpetuate their existence into the next generation.

Having just laid out for all the world to see what sort of culinary delights I enjoy I can only hope my children will make better diet choices than I. One only knows how much my wife has tried to introduce me to more healthy foods, which I usually rebel against (I really do like Spam). Not all is lost, however. I eat more fresh vegetables than ever before. I love no-fat Snyder's pretzels and could dine on sushi every day of the week if I could afford to do so.

I expect there will always be a place in my life for the not-so-good foods of my youth. If nothing else they remind me of a simpler time before worries of cholesterol levels and body fat ratios were in mind. Boy, all this talk of food has made me hungry again. I think I'll pop open another can of those round little pastas and start munching!

Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinprick/ for the photo / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0