The Great Food Truck Race

When I think of restaurants, I don't usually think of trucks; those are usually reserved for carnival food, right? But food trucks are actually pretty popular in many areas of the country, and many of them look pretty enticing.

I don’t know if it’s because we’re just addicted to the Food Network now or because we just miss The Next Food Network Star, but my husband and I have been enjoying The Great Food Truck Race. I sure didn’t think we would; in fact, we didn’t watch the first two episodes, and only ended up watching them On Demand one day when we were just flipping through the channels. Now, because of this show, I really want to try a bahn mi Vietnamese sandwich, as well as some French food—two things that I’ve never really experienced before.

I’d also love to buy from a food truck. Though I live near St. Louis, I’ve never seen one in this area, and when I searched for one, I came up empty. If anyone knows of any St. Louis food trucks around here, I’d love to hear about them!

Anyway, back to the Food Truck Race. Tonight we’re going to find out who gets cut and which two teams will make the final episode. It’s between the Nom Nom Truck (my favorite!), Grill ‘Em All, and Spencer on the Go. Though I really like Spencer on the Go, I think all of us Truck Race fans know that they’ll probably be the ones to be cut—last week, they only won by a thin margin when they won a food tasting test. And poor Austin Daily Press—my other favorite truck—would have won had Spencer on the Go lost the tasting challenge. I was so sad to see them go—but even more sad to see Grill ‘Em All hang around.

Those guys have been whining and crying all along, and for being heavy metal guys, that’s pretty pathetic. Really, the front man is the big whiner—the rest of his team seems to be trying their best. When they form alliances, they ditch them as soon as they’re doing well, too, which also makes them look like jerks. I know the challenge is about food, not personality, but you can’t help but let that factor in when you watch the show—which is why Austin Daily Press was so awesome. They had the best attitudes, even when they were struggling, and it was so sad to see them go. I really wish it had been Grill ‘Em All.

Now, I’m rooting for the Nom Nom Truck, which has won every round. I don’t think they’ve won only on their food, either; they are absolute marketing geniuses. I only wish I could have had some of their talents and skills when I worked in marketing briefly—I could have made a killing! They also simply seem like a nice group, though we haven’t really been able to see their personalities shine through as much as some other teams. I think as long as Grill ‘Em All doesn’t win this race, its ending will be satisfying.

Who are you rooting for? Which truck is your favorite—and who do you want to see go home?

Starbucks Toffee Mocha

Every so often, Starbucks likes to launch a new coffee drink flavor, just to keep us on our toes.  

Some of these flavors wither on the vine, so to speak, getting the thumbs-down from internal taste testers before they even hit the market.  Such is the case with the banana mocha, which a super-secret source assures me was every bit as awful as it sounds.

Other flavors just don't seem to go anywhere.  The only place I have seen the dark cherry mocha offered is at the Starbucks near the Winco foods in Marysville, WA.  Do all Starbuckses carry the dark cherry mocha, and only that one mentions it?  Was it a super limited market test?  Or something they dreamed up at that particular store?  I don't know.  I could just ask, I suppose, but that kills the mystery.

A third category become instant favorites with the public, and are asked to return every season.  The pumpkin spice latte springs to mind, as does the gingerbread latte.

Into which category will the new toffee mocha fall?  It's hard to say.  I tasted one and I didn't like it, but I don't like caramel macchiatos either, so what do I know?

I should preface this review by explaining that I bought my toffee mocha at one of those grocery store Starbucks kiosks.  My understanding is that the free-standing grocery store Starbucks kiosk has very little to do with the actual Starbucks company, beyond serving their products and wearing their logo.  I don't think the kiosk employees receive official training, and I believe they are technically employees of the host store.  (If you know otherwise, please let me know!)

(This of course is in contrast to the in-store Starbucks store, which is a regular store that happens to be sharing space with the grocery store.  I know it's confusing.  Long story short, if it has a direct door to the outside, it's a Starbucks.  If it's completely contained within the store, it's not.)

I have noticed that the personnel at this particular kiosk tend to be heavy-handed with the flavors.  I assume it's a combination of not caring, and not wanting to get whined at by customers complaining the flavors were too light.  

Even mentally adjusting the volume of the flavors, I didn't care for this one.  

The initial taste was murky, almost muddy.  It had salty overtones, and a flavor which my mind insisted on identifying as "peanut butter."  It was like eating a Kit Kat.  Or, heaven forbid, one of those "Snickers mochas" that parking lot espresso stands are always hawking.

The toffee mocha comes with sprinkles on top.  These were cute at initial presentation.  But as you drink it, they blend in and turn the whole thing an unsettlingly pinkish shade of pale taupe.

After I passed the halfway point and was able to swirl it up from the bottom, the taste turned almost musty, like a mouse-ridden basement, only sweeter.  Not very appealing, right?

The entire experience, from the color to the strange salty taste, was so off-putting that I would actually make an effort to give this thing another shot.  I can't believe Starbucks would sell something this terrible, so I've made a mental note to try one the next time I visit a proper Starbucks store.

Folgers: Never Again

With the price of coffee constantly on the rise, I'm always on the look-out for a good bargain.  Which is the only explanation I can offer for why I bought a two pound tub of Folgers coffee last week.  It was a weak moment; forgive me.

Priced at a ridiculously low $6 for two pounds and shipped in its own molded plastic tub with a lid, this Folgers coffee was stacked at the grocery store end cap.  The lid boasts of "Aromaseal," which I imagine is supposed to invoke some kind of cryptic and highly advanced technology.  I'm pretty sure it just means "this closes."  Nice work with the typography, though; the tails of the R and the S swirl together to form a shape reminiscent of the top of a cup of coffee.

I pawed through the display until I found the most "hard core" of the coffee blends.  This was easy to determine, because the label helpfully provides a gauge from "MILD" to "DARK."  The only blend labeled DARK was "Gourmet Supreme."

I should have been warned away by the name.  I can think of two words that say less than "gourmet" and "supreme."  Put those two words together, and you may as well name your coffee blend "Noncommittal Shrug."

The ingredients specify "100% pure coffee," which is reassuring.  I remember I worked at a job about 20 years ago where coffee was purchased by the store manager.  He didn't drink coffee, and certainly didn't believe in wasting money, so he bought GBC Coffee exclusively.  The weird thing about GBC coffee is that it contains… chaff.  What constitutes the chaff, I cannot say.  It has the texture of ground peanut skins.  We used to try and blow it off the coffee grounds before sifting it into the basket.

At any rate, "it contains 100% pure coffee" is probably the best thing I can say about Folgers Gourmet Supreme.  The aroma released when you open the lid and take a whiff is aggressively acidic.  It has a bright note similar to ammonia, almost reminiscent of cat pee.  

When I brewed it at the specified strength (1 tablespoon per 6 ounces of water), I got a pot of coffee which could charitably be described as "dark tan" in both color and flavor.  Oil swirled atop the cup after pouring.  The cat pee note was still very much present.

For my next pot, I doubled the amount of grounds I used.  This generated a pot of coffee which was reasonably drinkable.  The cat pee flavor was nicely muted by adding a splash of milk.  Although distinctly "coffee flavored," this double strength brew was not remarkable.  It was no better or worse than the coffee you might get at any given restaurant that offers free refills.

The problems started soon.  Even at double strength, I started getting headaches about half an hour AFTER drinking the coffee.  Puzzled by this reversal of the usual, I experimented a little and found that I was having withdrawal headaches.  Having another few cups at the onset of a headache fended it off.  

Is there really so little caffeine in Folgers coffee?  Evidently so.  I triple-checked the label to verify that it wasn't decaf.

The other problem is the chronic and persistent heartburn from drinking twice as much of this at double strength.  

At this rate, between the antacids and using so much grounds, I doubt I've saved a cent.

Photo credit: Flickr/maxxum

Starbucks Via to Add Instant Flavors

Starbucks is going to be adding a few flavored options the the relatively new "instant" Via line - including vanilla, mocha, caramel and cinnamon. These new flavors will be hitting stores this fall and all are derived from natural ingredients. This is a big leap forward for the Seattle coffee giant who has been taking increasing market share for "instant" coffee since the Via introduction. This is great news, right?

Well... I don't know about that. I am actually not a big fan of this line because I can grind my coffee fresh from home using a very fancy coffee machine - so I might be a little impartial, but, to me it seems like they are doing the "one step forward, two steps back" approach to customer loyalty and retention. I understand not everyone has a coffee machine that will grind the coffee for them - but even the pre ground stuff is better than the Via (in my opinion). This company is built on fresh coffee, hand made products, friendly service, and great environment - the back bone to all of this being a very large fan base. In recent times they have made a few mistakes - like getting so large in such a short time, diluting the brand, and other big corporate no-no's.

Then it seemed like they reined it all in - slowed down the store openings, focused on the coffee and the customer again, and started to think about providing the service we had all come to know and love. With the introduction of the Via line I really feel that they are taking two steps back again - regardless of the brand name - "instant coffee" is a dehydrated and over processed product that will always be inferior to the original. Via might be slightly better tasting than the other offerings but it is still a highly processed product which steers clear of the core values of the company and at $1.19 per package ( $5.95 divided by 5 packages per box) you can get the same stuff FRESH - right from the store! Now they are going to add "flavors" to this frankencoffee - because adding your own sugar and flavorings in addition to the water is too difficult? I guess I just don't understand it all.

I applaud the company in most respects and I am thankful they are keeping a large portion of the Seattle area (and nationwide) employed - but this is just such a bad idea, that seems like it will only get worse.

Seattle Set Television Shows - an Accurate Portrayal?

Seattle, Washington is by all accounts a fabulous place to live. We have some of the lowest crime rates (among cities of similar size), a relatively affluent and well educated population, and for about 3 months of the year - fabulous weather (seriously - it is like perfect). As with every place one lives there are positive and negative aspects - but here in Seattle the negatives are few - in fact, I think if you were to do a poll, you would likely only hear about either the 9 months of gray, mild, weather or the "Seattle Chill" - which actually has to do with social custom rather than the temperature outside.

I often wonder, however, how the city is viewed by outsiders who have no experience with the city. They can get a glimpse of what it is like to live here by watching a variety of television shows or movies - or by reading - Anne Rule loves to set her stories in Seattle or the surrounding area. The city is a popular setting for numerous reasons but one thing usually stands out - the gray weather and rain - which can set a certain mood for romance or horror films.

How would the city be perceived by someone watching television, which for argument's sake, we will say is the easiest and likely only way we can be seen by the masses. We will take a small sample of shows to use as examples: Frasier, Grey's Anatomy, iCarly, any Kyle XY. If one were to watch all of these shows a few things about Seattle would become apparent - the people are smart, most are pretty well-off, the city loves coffee, and technology plays a big role in our lives - likely more than in the lives of others. Is this an accurate portrayal of Seattle? I think it is in a sense - but for reasons that are pretty shallow.

There is so much more to Seattle than the Space Needle and Pike Place Market and so many different colors and types of people who are often neglected to be shown. These shows also fail to show a side of Seattle that the real citizens deal with everyday - homeless residents - of which there are many. I love traveling to cities and have been to many - and there is no other place that I can think of (even SF) that has so many people without a place to live. I think in order for these shows (if still on the air) and future ones to be more realistic there should A) be a lot more walking - we like to walk here, B) after a character gets his skinny soy latte from a small locally owned cafe he should step over an unfortunate homeless person who might be dead to get to where he is going - it doesn't get any more real than that, and C) there should be more diversity - especially involving members of the gay community - liberal, left leaning, Seattle loves the gays.

TV executives: you can show all the gray you want - but if the characters are not walking (or biking) everywhere, supporting local business and social initiatives, and have a diverse group of friends - it should not be called Seattle. If you get to speak with wardrobe - please feel free to request someone wearing socks and Birkenstocks, pants rolled up into capri, or a North Face jacket - it will really help set the scene.

The Importance of Cafe Culture

Somewhere along the way during its development and expansion, America temporarily lost its sense of life as an experience. Our society put too much effort into speed, convenience and familiarity while ignoring the less concrete but still very important aspects of everyday living. Cozy grocery stores became supermarkets, boutiques became department stores and family restaurants became brand name chains. Thankfully, all was not lost for experiential business in America. The trend to speed up, dumb down and commoditize every shop and product arguably reached its peak in the 1990's and has since given way to the growing market for the local and personal. This is welcome perhaps nowhere more than the corner cafe.

I think the temporary loss of the quiet, welcoming coffee house in America has mostly to do with our skewed perspective on work and luxury. Americans work a lot, too much even, and this has amplified the appeal of fast, ubiquitous products and services. Our overworked and under-rested populace long ago forgot that coffee is a luxury, not an irreplaceable fuel for laborers. We wanted soldier's coffee, the freeze-dried instant stuff that sacrificed taste and aroma for an economy of haste and bulk-purchase. If people weren't going to enjoy their coffee they certainly weren't going to sit in a comfortable space where they could savor it leisurely. Thus came the fast-food coffee shop and its even more disturbing (yet more appropriate) counterpart the “java hut”, little booths usually located at gas stations and in parking lots that dispense sweetened human rocket fuel.

These franchise shops and java huts aren't exactly going extinct. There will likely always be a place for them in our culture, but they'll have to coexist with local cafes that service the coffee gourmands of the city. These true cafes, the warm hideaways good for reading, relaxing and chatting with friends, aren't even really competition for the quik-coffees of the world. They aim for a completely different demographic and offer what is essentially a different product.

As America embraces leisure and sophistication in all things, Americans can enjoy the simple pleasures of good, strong espresso, of flavorful Arabica beans and careful, gentle roasting. They can rediscover the soul-soothing experience of an iron table in a busy plaza in Springtime, the way biscotti softens ever just so in a perfectly spiced cappuccino, the way a coffee date is supposed to be relaxing and slow rather than quick and corporate. A real cafe serving proper coffee isn't just a quaint import from the Old World, it's an important supplement to one of the world's most distinct flavors.

Subway for Breakfast

Subway is one of those restaurants where I could eat every. Single. Day. I totally get you, Jared. And even though they always make fun of me for my weird sandwich (lettuce, cucumber, and cheese on wheat with some salt, pepper, oil and vinegar—yum!), I will keep coming back for my insanely awesome $5 foot long.

As you may have already been aware, Subway has been running a breakfast special for the past few months. According to the sub shop, the breakfast meal has been so successful with its egg and cheese muffin and flatbread sandwiches that plans for many more items—including select coffees!—will soon be available. Subway’s menu will soon be home to several yet to be disclosed breakfast choices that will offer early commuters something delicious and possibly more healthful to choose from.

According to Subway’s Research and Development project leader Larry Varvella, the plan is to run a bunch of new ideas for limited time offers and see what the people like. He also says that there are “lots of items in the pipeline,” which sounds exciting.

What is it about new! stuff that appeals to us, anyway? A lot of times when we select where we’ll be eating out during the week, I’ll ask, “Well, what do they have that’s new?” I’m sure I sound a lot like that snotty guy in Ratatouille.

Flavored coffees and espresso drinks may also be included in the new lineup, which will obviously be a part of a growing trend that many fast food joints are picking up on—the desire for dessert in the morning disguised as coffee. (Not that I’m complaining; iced coffee is one of my favorites, too—and the more whipped cream, the better!)

I really wish they’d have done this while I was in college! My junior year, I had an hour and a half commute from work to college, and would’ve loved this option after a long night shift. Instead, I was stuck with whatever I could remember to pack the night before or a convenience store cinnamon roll.

Today, when my family and I eat out, it’s usually for lunch; on the occasional trips we take early in the morning, however, we may just have to start stopping at subway if our daughter gets the munchies instead of picking up something mildly nutritious (a cereal bar, some peanuts) on the way. 

On the Grinding of Coffee

Once I discovered the joys of freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee, I was hooked. I went from brewing and enjoying pour-over coffee, to Krupps drip-coffee, to using a French press. For most of that time, I ground coffee using a small, under $20.00 blade grinder.

For the true coffee fanatic, I was engaging in rank heresy. The blade grinder, isn't technically a grinder at all. The blades whir rapidly and crush the beans. This is considered anathema because the beans aren't all crushed evenly, and if you continue grinding or "pulsing" the grind becomes finer, which is not what you want for the average drip coffee maker. You want the grains to be equal in size because you want the water to be equally dispersed throughout the coffee during brewing.

The true fanatic therefore favors a burr grinder, wherein the "burrs" crush the beans between them. You can adjust the fineness of the grind by using a dial, which works by adjusting just how close the burrs are to each other, or a stationary surface. The ability to control the grind is crucial, because different brewing methods require different grinds of coffee. You want very coarse for a French press, medium coarse to medium for drip brewing or vacuum pots (you will note that there are gradations of medium depending on the kind of filter you use), and fine for espresso, and very fine for Turkish style coffee. There's a good chart with images showing you various grinds here.

There are two types of burr grinders; those that use a very rapidly spinning wheel, and those that use a conical burr. These are slower, quieter, and more expensive. They also are less likely to overheat and add a "burned" flavor or aroma to the coffee—a problem that some coffee drinkers have with blade grinders as well, since the longer you grind, the hotter the grinder gets. There are those who object to the mess of the burr grinder—they need to be cleaned fairly carefully with a brush, and static electricity can cause a fine powder to adhere to the top, and then spread all over your counter. And sometimes a fine sediment collects in the bottom of a cup, or a carafe, which leads some to argue that you should only use a burr grinder with a brewing system that uses paper filters.

Now, here's where my New England frugality kicks in; the average blade grinder is under twenty dollars. The most often recommended burr grinders are over $100.00. The coffee grinders I hear mentioned most often are the BARATZA Virtuoso Burr Coffee Grinder at just under $200.00, and the Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder, at around $140.00. That's a lot of coffee I won't be drinking. While I'm attracted to the notion of a manual box grinder from Zassenhaus, they're imported from Germany, and the company is having some problems, so while they are usually around $70.00 retail here, you can't find them currently. That means that I'm looking very closely at the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill, which I'm seeing online for about $40.00.

Confessions of a Recovering Caffeine Addict

Caffei

ne is, by far, the most popular psychoactive compound consumed by humans. It exists in significant quantities in some of our favorite foods and beverages, including coffee, tea, chocolate and the soda-related kola nut. We've been downing the stuff since the Stone Age and today the average American adult consumes at least one caffeinated beverage a day. Caffeine isn't a particular dangerous substance, but it's not without its risks. It is a physically addictive stimulant that, when taken in sufficient quantities on a chronic basis, can lead to some pretty nasty health problems. There was a time when I consumed an unhealthy amount of caffeine every day and this led me to a struggle to curb my habit that lasted for two solid years. Here's the basic science and the subjective experience of caffeine addiction.

First of all, let's distinguish between the physiological and psychological aspects of caffeine addiction. The truth of the former is that it's really no big deal. Caffeine withdrawal (which we'll get to in depth later) lasts anywhere from one to five days maximum. The habits of addictive behavior can take a lot longer to beat. The physically addictive mechanism of caffeine is its role as a chemical antagonist to the neurotransmitter adenosine, the brain chemical that promotes sleep and fatigue so we don't over-exert ourselves. By more or less overcrowding adenosine with chronic overuse, caffeine forces our bodies to increase the number of adenosine receptors so we still experience the sensations necessary to get rest. When a chronic caffeine user suddenly removes the body's caffeine supply, all of those extra adenosine receptors are still active. The result is an unpleasant adjustment period of increased fatigue.

Behavioral caffeine addiction is sadly a major part of modern culture. We learn to flip on our easy-to-use coffee makers first thing in the morning. We are given free coffee and tea at work. For both lunch and dinner we mostly expect caffeinate to be part of the meal, whether it's a combo with a burger, drink and fries or another luxury with dessert. When we ask someone out on a date, what's the most common activity? Well, going out for a cup of coffee, of course. It's hard to shake the omnipresence of caffeine in our lives, though it's not impossible.

Thankfully, physical caffeine addiction isn't hard to beat, unlike more pervasive addictions like nicotine, once your body has readjusted to its pre-addicted state. You won't just tumble back into full-blown addiction with one cappuccino. You also won't be likely to court a caffeine addiction after going through withdrawal for the first time. Within 24 hours of cessation, those adenosine receptors will start doing their work. You'll feel tired, listless and generally slow-moving. The vasocronstictive properties of caffeine will become apparent when your now-relaxed blood vessels put an extra measure of fluid pressure on your cranium, resulting in a fairly nasty headache that will take a day's worth of painkiller use to combat. You may also experience joint pain for similar reasons. When all is said and done, water and juice start to look a lot more appealing.

But the real danger of caffeine abuse is in its common delivery devices. The highly acidic nature of coffee and tea can lead to stomach ulcers from chronic over-use while the phosphoric acid in soda can really wreck teeth. The best way to combat these problems is simply to treat caffeinated products like indulgences, not everyday items. There are better ways to wake up in the morning or get an energy boost in the middle of the day.

The McDonalds Mocha Frappe

I had my first McDonalds Frappe this weekend and I have to say, I was not impressed.  I want to say "Starbucks has nothing to fear," but on the other hand, McDonalds has made a bazillion dollar a year industry out of delivering bland over-processed flavorless fat bombs to the undiscerning American public.  So maybe Starbucks SHOULD be worried.

I was curious about how this thing would be made, but most of the process took place behind a big black and silver machine that was clearly meant to look like a proper espresso bar's espresso maker. 

This seemed a bit disingenuous to me; talk about mutton dressed as lamb.  If you buy your espresso drinks from McDonalds I don't think you're going there for the ambience.  

For all I know, this thing was dispensed into my cup from a pull faucet, just like a milkshake.  It came with a ton of whipped cream, and a big delicious blob of chocolate sauce atop that.  More than just a dash of sauce for color - this was a formidable amount of sauce.  

I identified the flavor - of both the sauce and the drink - immediately.  It is the exact same flavoring which McDonalds uses in their chocolate shakes.  I like their chocolate shakes a lot, don't get me wrong.  But it was a little disconcerting to be basically handed a chocolate shake and told it's a Frappuccino.

Speaking of chocolate milkshakes, the medium Mocha Frappe I bought contained 560 calories, 24 grams of fat, and 78 grams of carbs.  No one drinks a Frappe or Frappuccino thinking it's a health drink, and much has been made of the piggy stats on Starbucks' Frappuccino as well.  

Nevertheless, I feel obliged to point out that the Mocha Frappe has nearly the same nutritional profile as a chocolate shake of the same size.  A medium chocolate shake has 580 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 102 grams of carbohydrates.

The word which came to mind, as I slurped at my Frappe, was "insipid."  Insipidly sweet, insipidly homogenous, insipidly flavored.  It has no bite, which made me wonder if it even had any caffeine in it.  Of course, I'm accustomed to ordering a Frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso added, which definitely adds some body to the drink.  

The McDonalds Mocha Frappe resembles most closely the Starbucks bottled Mocha Frappuccino drink. Both are dumbed-down versions of the original, without any of that scary "flavor" or "texture" that apparently frightens the mocha-drinking masses.  Why do people so desire coffee drinks that do not taste like coffee?  It is a mystery to me, but there you have it.  

A lot of people seem to prefer McCafe drinks over Starbucks drinks because McDonalds lacks the pretention which so infuses Starbucks, and "the Starbucks experience."  Which, you know, fair enough.  I think it's a bit silly to fight your battles based on fast food outlets, but such is the nature of life in America in the year 2010.

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