Still Life in Deep Fry: Segment One

I'm hungry. Damn hungry, but have no idea what strikes my fancy right now. Apparently this starts making one nostalgic for the bits and pieces of culinary delight that may or may not still reside in some dark corner of one's small intestine. I started ruminating on the many places I've lived and the food that defines them. It's amazing how we use our senses connect with memory, so I decided to write about some of the places I've eaten that mean the most to me. Places that, for one reason or another, stand out in my mind. My life in food, so to speak. Now, I couldn't hit 'em all, but you'll get the picture from the highlights. I'm also a big fan of Top 10 lists, but this was too big for one post, so ya get 1-5 for now. Stay tuned for Segment Two; it promises to be equally as salivating. Or repulsive. Your choice. Mangia!

1. Ole's Waffle Shop, Alameda, CA.

One of the first places I remember eating; my pops used to take us here on the weekends. I remember hot syrup on the table and waffles bigger than my head with melting pads of butter that looked like ice cream scoops. Iconic & Rockwellian...what's not to love?

2. Goode Company BBQ, Houston, TX.

Classic Texas. Loud & proud. Best restaurant BBQ I've ever had. Pulled pork & ice cold Shiner Bock on a humid Houston night does a pretty good job of reminding you that everything's bigger in Texas. The one thing I miss about my miserable years in Texas is the down home cookin.' And my buddy John, who introduced me to this joint and made my stay in TX worth the while.

3. Fox & Goose Public House, Sacramento, CA.

I always loved this picture. And not just because of her furry jumper. I oft frequented this haunt in my English-majorhood for a game of darts & a pint or few. Still the best Sunday brunch on this side of the pond: Bubble & Squeak, bangers, Welsh rarebit, strawberries & Devonshire cream, and a proper pot of tea. And beer. Can't forget the beer. This probably sparked my strange affection for all things British. Even that impishly charming yet bumbling idiot (see 'character actor') Hugh Grant. Yeah, I just admitted that.

4. Noah's Bagels, San Francisco, CA.

Home of the Egg-mit & other fine bagel related stuff. I find it ironic I ate 100% more bagels while living in SF than in NYC. That's just mashuganah! Although, Noah's has nothin' on any really good Kosher deli in NY. See Katz' Deli for inspiration...or watch that scene from The Princess Bride about the MLT. When the mutton is nice & lean...no patschkiening...

5. The Little Nugget Diner, Reno NV.

How can you not love a place that's home to the "Awful Awful?" For those of you not in the know, that's an awful big & awful good burger. What I love about the Awful Awful is that it captures excess in a town bred of excess. Finding yourself here at 2am on a Saturday night likely means you have been partaking in said excess, and can are in serious need of some good ol' fashioned grease to coat the lining of your stomach...not my favorite dive in Reno, but definitely one to remember. I think.

As promised, Segment Two (5-10) will include clogging arteries in NYC, Philly & beyond...until we next meet around the deep fryer, my culinary compadres...

And feel free to add your fav's to the list if you're feeling inspired!

I Think We're in for a bit of a Rough Ride

“If there is one tendency of the day which more than any other is unhealthy and undesirable, it is the tendency to deify mere "smartness," unaccompanied by a sense of moral accountability. We shall never make our republic what it should be until as a people we thoroughly understand and put in practice the doctrine that success is abhorrent if attained by the sacrifice of the fundamental principles of morality."

--President Teddy Roosevelt--

I'm not much to rant on politics or politicians, but I happen to have a deep affection for Teddy Roosevelt as a man, leader, conservationist, and American. While this quote seems to embody much of the turmoil of today's American angst, what I want in our short time together is to hone in on the idea of morality in the modern world.

Morality, in this sense, is the perceived obligation we all have to think outside the ego, to act upon the best interests of both ourselves and our community whether great or small. To act within the confines of social obligation--to let it guide our decisions. What I want to know is: what the hell happened to our sense of morality? I'm not speaking on behalf of the "occupiers" of American financial and political institutions, but rather for our general sense of abiding by the golden rule in the treatment of each other and the re-instillation of this value within our society.

Look in the news today: corporate greed, political malaise and corruption, senseless murder suicides, unspeakable deeds committed in our universities, The Kardashians. You name the forum, moral evasion is omnipresent. It's heading to the top of the charts...with a bullet.

I'm far from a traditionalist, not The Lorax who speaks for the trees, no bible-thumper, not batshit crazy Dr. Bronner with his "Moral ABC's" and certainly not a politic, but I'm concerned. Nay, scared shitless at the direction our social machine is heading. When will the little sense of morality we possess as a society cease to exist? In my time? My children's time? What can we do?

That's when I think about Roosevelt. As you can guess, he is my favorite president, and for good reason. A dreamer, a radical, a rugged individualist, a conservationist, a 'pull yourself up by the bootstraps' kinda guy, a man who wasn't going to take shit from nobody. A man with high expectations of himself and others. A man with a conscience: a man with a moral conscience. An American.

Now, I always come down on those who lay blame without a proposed solution (much like Teddy would). So what's the solution? I don't fucking know. What I do know is our sense of moral obligation begins within ourselves and the values we instill within our kids. I ask myself every day: What am I teaching my children? To think beyond themselves and consider others first. To consider the consequences of their actions and realize the butterfly effect they can and will have. To act with a clear idea of the outcome. That being a member of a successful community (great or small) is dependent upon the actions of its members. Does this mean my kids will grow up to be fine, upstanding citizens? Win Nobel prizes? Meet the Dalai Lama? Host the Oscars? Perhaps not, but not for lack of effort on my part.

I guess my point (finally, the point!) is that I hope each of us, whether leading a great corporation or keeping the home fires burning, is acting with a sense of conscience and obligation to each other, and that we are sending this message to our kids. That we will grow out of this mess by using our minds to create equitable solutions to the very real problems we face as a society and culture. That we can find common ground in our ties as Americans that bind us together and cease to fragment our culture. Whether you believe in Teddy's teachings, Occupy Wall Street or Elvis, it's food for thought.

I hope we can create a society for our children worth preserving. Not some crazy utopia, but a working machine that is built on solid foundation; a society that values the simple law of physics that states: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Well, I think I've about fulfilled my rant for the week and hope I've given you something to consider while you're stuck in traffic, stuck with your nose in the tall-guy's-armpit-who's-not-wearing-deoderant on the subway, or just plain stuck.

And you thought all I was going to talk about was bicycles...

A Sort of Homecoming

For a while now, I've meant to start writing again, so I dug up my old blogarific moniker: The Concrete Sage. Apparently it's been a busy few years, because my last post was in 2008. My intention is to write one post a week about whatever is going on in this noodle bowl of a brain I own.

My hope is that I can gain some catharsis and entertain you folks in the process. There's a lot going on in our collective consciousness that is worthy of analysis, anecdote, or simply giggling at the asinine.

I hope you all enjoy the posts and I look forward to any comments and feedback you would be inclined to give. At times I may keep it a little too 'real,' but my goal is not to offend or distance you: rather to provide you some food for thought. I pull no punches, just call 'em as I see 'em. And I promise not all the posts will involve bicycles...

Cheers!