BBQ, LeslieSue, and You

Food, cooking, and baking from a southerner who has lived in Atlanta, Athens, Nevada, Michigan and is now back to the South AND the happiest place on Earth--Orlando.

[lesliesue-blog]

Image Mapping Tool

This allows you to map an image easily. Mapping requires content links though, so you'll need to write content to link to. You could also link to outside websites, i.e. OWL at Purdue, or something that you think is a precedent (like the images of Mao and Che Gueverra in the Shepard Fairey example).

http://www.image-maps.com/

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Disney Half and of course, the resolutions

I've been thinking about keeping track of my running and racing online for a while, but never have because I'm not very fast and I'm motivated occasionally, driven by competitiveness occasionally, and injured a lot.

But.

I am trying to improve speed and fitness AND prevent injury this year in a sustainable way, as well as the big challenge--doing better with eating. So here's to public accountability as motivation, starting with a little story about a big race.

I signed up for the Disney Half Marathon almost as soon as we moved to Florida. I thought it would be good motivation to keep running, and it was a Disney race after all--I had never done one of those.

Well, it took me a long time to get used to the Florida heat and humidity. I ran with two colleagues a couple of times a week, but we were all getting used to new jobs and the new climate, so our training was not too regimented.

Long story short, the longest run I had done since, oh, March leading up to this race was 9 miles.

Here's a short recap of the Disney half. I woke up at 2 a.m., had coffee and a shower, and my dad and I left my house about 3 a.m. We were at the entrance to Epcot by about 3:30 and parked by 3:45. Made a bathroom stop then headed back to the car for a bit--I kind of wanted to go back to sleep but knew that might be a bad idea. About 4:30 I decided to make my way to the start line (the race started at 5:30 a.m.--ouch!) because they said to allow 20 minutes to walk to the start.

Well, it might be a 20 minute walk for 1 person, but for 26,500 people it was at least a 45 minute shuffle. The access and maintenance roads around Epcot just aren't big enough for that many people! Luckily, I made it to my corral by about 5:25, and was able to see on the big screen the wheelchair start and the "A" group start.

I started with the B group, and started at a sensible 10:30 pace after passing race ConDUCKtor Donald  :). I stopped at a porta potty before the first mile was over, and had to wait a bit. Then I picked up a nice 9-10 minute mile pace for the next few miles, then remembered what any long-distance runner knows: start SLOW. But the marching bands, cheerleaders, and occasional character made it very hard to do that. By about mile 7 I knew I was in trouble, but I also knew my dad was going to be in the 8-mile spectator area. So walked a couple of 30 second breaks, but kept jogging until I found him at the Polynesian resort.

My pace was definitely slowing by that point--closer to a couple of 11 minute miles, which I was kind of bummed about. I was also developing blisters. The last half of this race, I think, has all the hills. I decided on a run 5 minutes, walk 30 seconds approach, which helped some. Then I discovered two more things: one, my stomach was not happy (It turns out my whole household had a case of mild food poisoning--that's the last time I will ever eat out before a race! I should know better) and my right quad started seizing up.

None of this should really have been surprising--I had been having trouble with my feet at miles 7 and 8 of some runs, and hadn't trained the full distance. But it was still sad to be the one struggling through the lovely sunrise finish to the race, and not enjoying the characters as much as I should have been. I came to a run 2 minutes, walk 30 seconds, I mean 40, I mean 50 seconds, pattern, which I held until I reached the one mile mark, where I just forced myself to jog. Around 2 miles to the finish you go over two big overpasses, then you come up through the Epcot parking lot, enter on the right side of the park and make a bit loop around Future World and come back out on the left hand side to run through the finish. It's a fun finish with LOTS of fans, and I broke into a huge grin when I got to high-five Mickey and Donald at the end.

Total time for the race was about 2:26, which was many minutes more than I had hoped. But that included a lot of pictures of fun things along the course, some porta potty side trips, and some hobbling along on blistered feet.

So here's to the next race, where I'll eat better, wear better shoes, have negative splits! You can hold me to that--it's going to happen.

(Pictures are forthcoming)

Oh--I almost forgot. In addition to the big race revisions above, here are this year's plans:

Run a second half--probably the Orange Blossom on March 4.

Race a sprint, Olympic, and hopefully a half iron triathlon this year.

Improve running pace back to what it was earlier this year--in the low 9's.

I'd like to run the Peachtree again--I missed it for the first time in a long time last year. I'd also like to run it in less than an hour.

Resolve / continue to do prevention on IT/knee injuries.

Built up core strength and balance leg muscles for the above reason.

Continue with the Y masters' swimming group or switch to the tri training group here (there are so many training groups here in Florida--it's amazing!)

Eat better; specifically, at our house we are going to be weekday vegetarians with a few weekend splurges; and my big goal for the year is portion control and moderation.

Find a really good yoga class and attend at least once a week--we really miss Hilltop in Lansing but it's time to move on!

[lesliesue-blog]

Oh, King Cajun.

Your food is so tasty, but your oysters should not be eaten. Luckily I was not the one that had to learn that lesson.

Shortly after moving here we ventured over to King Cajun, which is a small informal space that seems to be run by a single Vietnamese family. Service was quick and informal--everything came on styrofoam plates. We felt adventurous ordering a pound of crawfish, until some seemingly slender teenagers who came in after us ordered ten pounds of them... and for every five pounds, you get a free basket of low country boil. Next time we'll know.

We also ordered several kinds of po boys, shrimp and fish, and a plate of fried everything. I think the po boys took the prize followed by the crawfish.

We've also been back for lunch specials which were well priced at around seven dollars for soup, sandwich, and drink. In fact, if he had it his way I think D might go there at least once a week.

But I highly recommend the gumbo, the sandwiches, and I can't wait to try the beignets. But beware, and perhaps only eat certain foods that end in "r" in months that also end in "r."

King Cajun

914 North Mills Avenue Orlando, FL 32803

[phone]

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So there is a lot of catching up to do. We've moved South. Waaayy south, to Orlando, Florida. There's a lot to eat here. And one of the better things we've had was an early lunch at a place called Four Rivers barbecue.

There was a line out the door, but the line was cooled by a fan with a spray of cool water as well as dispensers of free lemonade and iced tea. I couldn't decide as we moved through the line if it was a kind of cheesy corporate barbecue place trying to look homey, or a place whose popularity had outgrown its space (had we gotten there a few mintues later I would have given up due to the parking situation).

The line progressed pretty quickly and I ordered my standard: a pulled pork sandwich (pictured). It was pretty good, though they didn't have the North-Carolina style sauce that I like. One pulled pork came with the option of coleslaw and pickles and other toppings; I don't know why people do that.  The sides were ok; baked beans were good but very sweet, and the corn, also pictured, was surprisingly good--flavored with peppers and spices.

A friend went later and said the brisket was excellent, and brisket is what 4Rivers likes to brag about. Guess we'll have to go back...

The Four Rivers we went to was here:

2103 West Fairbanks Avenue Winter Park, FL 32789-4507 [phone]Open Weekdays 8am-8pm; Sat 9am-9pm

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Running and fuel

Ok. So I have about a thousand food posts to do but I think I am adding triathloning to the barbecue reporting here. I just can't handle having another blog so this one will do double duty.

And, since Doug always asks how I don't weigh half a ton considering the amount of time I talk about, photograph, prepare, and did I mention talk about food, I figured I should share the other half--the tri training.

Today we ran a slow medium speed ten miler in snow and ice. I think that I am getting better at goal setting each year that I do this stuff, but it is still hard.

Running friend Jason and I both won our age group in a very small 10k here last month, and that gave me way more of an ego boost than it should have. Doesn't matter that my time was average... I kind of, sort of won something.

That's what got me into trouble with triathlons--I got a third place AG finish in my first ever race (slow AG that day) but it got me hooked.

So... I am sharing my goals here so that I feel compelled to meet them. Or shoot for them, at least.

Martian Half Marathon, Dearborn: Under 2 hours. There are hills there. We don't have hills here. Should be interesting. Also first half marathon.

Hawk Island Triathlon sprint: 1:05 or less (but realistically, 1:08 would also be good).

A half ironman. 6 hours? maybe? I'll get back to you on this one.

And food wise, found a fun recovery food today: farfalle pasta with tuna, olives, feta, onions, and mushrooms. Yummy!

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Last time I was in Atlanta we visited  Flip Burger Boutique (famously associated with Top Chef runner-up Richard Blais), which is actually one of a trio of restaurants, two in Atlanta and one in Birmingham, AL.

We took my mom there for her birthday, which was clearly a gift from an only child--this is somewhere I had been wanting to try and she doesn't even always love burgers.

But. We found it with little trouble (the location we went to is described on the restaurant's website as "West Midtown,"--what's that?) had only slight concern about parking in a no-parking tow-away zone at a car repair place across the street, and we headed inside to the super-trendy red and white, slick, loud dining area.

We settled ourselves at a high table, and ordered drinks--one of which is pictured above. They were fine. We also ordered, between us, three different burgers: the farm burger, crab burger, and the veggie (which comes with "miracle flip). I got lucky--I was the one that ordered the farm burger, and though it was the simplest burger it was also the best. High quality beef, a very thick burger, and yet again, a sauce (smoked mayo? doesn't seem that complicated) that really pulled it together. The crab was pretty good, according to the birthday girl, but after giving her one bite of mine she thought she'd return for a real burger. Veggie was deemed a "sink sandwich" (messy) but otherwise quite good.

I also just had to add the fried okra, and we got an order of fries. It is possible that some onion rings also showed up at our table--there were three of us, after all. All of the sides were pretty good, largely due to the infused dipping sauces listed next to each side on the menu-- but honestly the fries were the best. Freshly cut, crispy, salty, just greasy enough so you knew they were fries... I don't think we left a single potatoey morsel behind.

The rub: 65 bucks, plus, for three to eat a burger and a side, and for two to drink. Worth it? Not sure, but it sure was a tasty burger.

Flip Burger Boutique

1587 Howell Mill Rd

Atlanta, 30318

404-352-3547

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Barbecue, and judgment

So, apparently NYTimes likes Detroit now, which is nice, and there's this super interesting guy who started a restaurant named Slow's Barbecue, which would be nice in itself, but it is also downtown in an oft-ignored area and he's super involved in the community and a cool hipster. (see the article here)

So that's good.

But the thing is...   shhh...

the barbecue's.... okay.

The sauce is not even really ok, it's rather sugary and thick and the mustardy one is super mustardy without much else.

The mac and cheese is rich, and the bar seems to have some good beers, but the barbecue is not that good. There, I've said it, and twice.

What I'm wondering is if this is simple regional snobbery. There's a guy here in Lansing that sells barbecue out of a truck. His name is Curtis, and he calls his business Curtis Barbecue. He usually has a side or two--red beans and rice, often, and sometimes slaw or potato salad. But his 'cue is GREAT! And he makes a good Carolina Vinegar sauce.

So. Besides gathering opinions on Slow's, I am curious: would you support a restaurant where the food is alright but the owner is a great community activist? AND: what does your perfect barbecue look like?

[lesliesue-blog]

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Back in the spring, we made a trip to our family-favorite theme park in Florida; I'll let you guess which one.

While there, we did something we haven't done much in the past--we ate at one of Epcot's fine dining establishments, Bistro de Paris. It's the upstairs restaurant in the France pavilion, and it is possibly the longest and most attended-to meal I've been a part of.

We started with an amuse-bouche (first time for everything) of a lobster puree over a rice-like grain and under a dollop of very rich cream. Though we might have been a bit uncomfortable with the overly-attentive young waiter, there wasn't a thing to change about that first bite.

We then moved into salads and soups and such--I started with escargot, because it was France at Disney and it seemed the appropriate if slightly tongue-in-cheek order.  The snails themselves were alright; but again, the cream sauce! I sopped it up with bread until it was all gone.

Finally, our main courses came. I had the rack of lamb, which was wheeled out on its own cart and carved in front of us. It was cooked rare, and I might have been caught scraping every last bite off of the bone. My mom had scallops with many accompaniments, and I can't remember what the third main course was.

But, as you can see, the food just kept coming. The shared desert was variations on the theme of chocolate, and it, too, was lovely.There was chocolate to be eaten with a fork, and to be poured with a small pitcher.

As for recommendations? Sure, the food's worth it, though the wait, the crowd, the sometimes snooty waitstaff can all subtract from the experience. Oh, and don't even try to walk in-- call ahead, make your reservations when you reserve your hotel or otherwise start planning to head down there. Why else would you be in Orlando, after all? :)

Bistro De Paris

Epcot

Walt Disney World, Florida

[phone]

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A fun visual. You can check out MREs and their equivalents and contents in 13 countries in addition to the US. I think I'd go with the Italian selection had I the option to choose... Not enthused about Sweden or South Korea's choices.

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I have long heard rumors of good junk food in Chicago, but recently I had the opportunity to meet it myself. Doug and I went over for a quick trip--to watch his beloved Cubs lose (and to add insult to injury during that game they were trading their second best player to the Braves) and to eat.

We knew we needed both hot dogs and hot italian beef sandwiches (Doug's father's favorite) so we headed to Portillo's--famous for its Chicago dogs.

We shared three things: A Chicago Dog (pictured), a polish dog (oops, ate it before I could snap a shot!) and a hot italian beef sandwich. As you may know if you've ever had a chicago dog, that one came complete with a whole pickle spear on top as well as sliced tomatoes. It was pretty good--but I was starving. The combined crunch of crispy pickle and the snap of the hot dog was rather satisfying, I have to say.

But. Oh man. The hot italian beef. I've heard it described before, and, well, it sounded boring. Beef and sandwich bread. But it must be the way the beef is cooked--and the right ratio of sauce to bread, and the jalapenos helped too. Doug said I had to take a bite before the bread fell apart, but I took 6 or 7 before he snatched it back from me.

Go--try one--or three, or seven. It's worth it.

Portillo's - Chicago, Illinois 100 W. Ontario Chicago IL 60654 312-587-8910

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Oh No!

Just saw this article in the Lansing State Journal about the Traveler's Club and Tuba Museum in Okemos:

Travelers Club, Triple Goddess and White Bros. Music in foreclosure

where will we find indonesian peanut stir fry? And beers from around the world?

Here's to hoping the owner can work something out.

[lesliesue-blog]

You know that little Mexican place around the corner? You don't? Well I think the new owners of a Mexican place in Frandor (Lansing) are hoping you'll start talking about their homey foods served quickly in the storefront that not so long ago was occupied by a Quizno's.

We went in with low expectations-- we have had our share of amazingly bad mexican here in Lansing (I won't name restaurants, but if you have to stick a dozen little paper flags in a dish to assure me it's Mexican, maybe your priorities are a bit off). But, to our very happy surprise, this place had some quite tasty and, dare I say the A-word--authentic? mexican fare.

Doug had the ginormous burrito pictured above, which despite its size had well-cooked (but not overcooked) chicken, lots of good gooey fillings, and plenty of beans and rice on the side. We both got the spicier salsa option, which was a slightly chunky green salsa, with a good kick.

I ordered what the restaurant described as "Mexican Enchiladas" though I can't remember the title they gave the dish. They involved corn instead of flour tortillas, I believe, and they too had nicely-flavored chicken with a just-spicy red sauce and cheese on top. 

We'll be going back to that place. You know, that little Mexican one at Frandor.

That Little Mexican Place

310 North Clippert Street Lansing, MI 48912-4694 [phone]

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First, please excuse the grainy blackberry pics. I promise to keep my camera in my purse at all times, because you never know when you'll run into Lansing's only (!!) dedicated smoothie restaurant.

I was bemoaning the lack of quality smoothies here and friend and long-time local Melissa mentioned that Eden's just opened up downtown. And indeed they have and what smoothies they offer!

You can get an "Intelligent" smoothie or a Good Morning America (featuring strawberries and orange juice) or mango-centric smoothies or all kinds of other flavors. Into each you can add your choice of nutritional supplements including those that focus on women's health, fiber, (more) brainpower, or simple vitamin mixes. They serve every smoothie with a little treat--ours was poppyseed cake and it seems that the owners try to make sure that everything they use is as free of additives and chemicals as is possible.

The owners were there when we stopped by a bit mushy-brained today after a too-long swim workout and had lots of recommendations AND they let us try several smoothie flavors.

Plus there is an adorable seating area for two rather tiny people. What more could you ask?

http://www.edensjuice.com/

111 S Washington Sq. Lansing, MI 48933 (517) 372-7700

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We returned today after a long hiatus to the Traveler's Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum where I had my favorite tofu dish of all time, their Indonesian Peanut Stir Fry (pictured). The deep-fried tofu is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the accompanying cabbage, carrots, peppers, broccoli, and rice are all drenched in a lovely peanut-y spicy sauce. It's about twice as much as even a very hungry woman can eat (though if challenged I could, technically, conquer the whole plate) so there are even leftovers.

If you haven't been or heard of them, they also have a many-pages long list of international beers and a rotating monthly special that focuses on one region of the world. Today the special was Caribbean pork with black beans and rice, and the beans had Doug wondering what magical ingredients were in them (I told them they were Carib-beans but he did not find that amusing).

Anyway. Great food, consistently, and they have great desserts like peanut-butter-and-jelly ice cream sandwiches.

Traveler's Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum

http://www.travelerstuba.com/

2138 Hamilton Road Okemos, MI 48864-1744 (517) 349-1701

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I spent some time at Tybee Island recently and on the recommendation of cousins who live there, went to check out Social with my mom and my cousin Amy.

Social has a pretty limited menu of tacos and more tacos. We started with three: an orange-pork taco that also had raisins, a steak and arugula taco, pictured (the steak and the pork taco came on thick pita type bread) and a more traditional fish taco. We also ordered Social's guacamole and shrimp ceviche. The appetizers were probably the favorite at our table, particularly the limey shrimp ceviche.

The tacos were interesting, and once you got used to them quite good. I think there were at least 9 or 10 on the menu, and each of the ones we tried was surprising in its combination of ingredients (steak + arugula? fish+bacon=WIN). Also, the tacos are pretty large--sharing three was plenty for three adults.

We did spend some time talking about the ways Tybee has changed over the years--and this place is definitely more new and trendy than Earl's olive burgers.

Tybee Island Social Club

1311 Butler Ave.

Tybee Island, GA 31328 912.472.4044

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So I have a lot of catching up to do here, but I'm going to start with fish.

Because thanks to my Uncle Johnny, I brought all these guys in the photo home, and now I have to figure out how to cook them. The catch includes: black sea bass, beeliners (sp?) aka vermillion snapper, grouper, triggerfish, charleston snapper and silver snapper and mahi mahi. We also caught perhaps every teenaged shark in that part of the ocean, but we didn't keep them. Thank goodness-I am not quite ready for shark fin soup.

Anyway, here's the question of the day. What's your favorite fish recipe, and will it work with these guys? I have already done ginger-soy mahi mahi with brown rice, which I'd say was quite a success. Now only about 30 more to go. Help!