The Unvegan

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10 Years of Unvegan
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Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘California’

3/25/2009

Breakfasting at McDonald’s

The mysterious breakfast of McDonald's
The mysterious breakfast of McDonald’s

As I developed through my adolescence, McDonald’s made a descent to the bottom of my fast food choices. I can offer no clear reasoning for this except that their food just rubs my tastebuds the wrong way. In fact, I am sometimes proud to say that the only time I eat McDonald’s is outside the country. This statement, however, has a minor disclaimer. And that disclaimer is the McDonald’s breakfast.

McDonald’s breakfast has always been something of a mystery. Few people, if any, know when they stop serving it. Sometimes I wonder if even the employees of McDonald’s have a set time that they know when to cut breakfast off. The breakfast is so rare that when you do see one, you almost feel forced to partake in it, whether you’re hungry or not.

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3/17/2009

But is it Good For People?

What if none of these came from California?
What if none of these came from California?

According to an article in the New York Times, rural farmers of California have begun a movement to secede and create a second California. This is due to the city folk passing measures to regulate the conditions of animals on farms. It is clear that these city folks do not understand what it takes to be a farmer, to live off of the land. As a city folk myself, I can only imagine the hardships of life on the farms. The people passing these measures are putting the welfare of animals above the welfare of people, because if a farm is unable to maximize profit, they will not be sustainable and then the farmers will suffer.

Besides, the grocery stores that used to get their meat from California farmers now have to buy it from other states where the cost of production is cheaper.

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3/2/2009 Palm Desert

The Desert Willow

What the hell is that green stuff?
Why is there green stuff on the top left?

On the beautiful grounds of the Desert Willow golf course, there lies a happy little restaurant with an awesome view. The only thing that gets in the way of the view is the actual golf course.

The menu looked pretty good and I had a hard time choosing, before finally settling on the Turkey, Bacon and Avocado melt. I ordered mine without the “vine ripe tomatoes.” It’s like they couldn’t think of a good way to describe the tomatoes, so they wanted to make the customer feel as if being ripe from the vines would make the tomatoes taste slightly better than terrible.

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2/27/2009 Rancho Mirage

Piero’s Acqua Pazza (CLOSED)

That steak's got balls...of mashed potatoes.
That steak’s got balls…of mashed potatoes.

It seems that the only three things to do in The Desert are swim, golf and eat. This is by no means a bad thing, as there is no shortage of good restaurants.

With my father and two grandparents, I went to Piero’s Acqua Pazza, an Italian-ish restaurant. I say “-ish” because they offer much more than traditional Italian food. The night I was there, they had a three-course special, which included a starter, main course and dessert. The price was unbeatable because it included the filet mignon, which actually cost more on the regular menu without the other courses. A true meat-loving family, we all wanted the filet. After making that choice, I checked out the starters, which to my behest, only included vegetable dishes. I scoffed at this and decided it was still worth the three-course meal.

There was still one last hoop to jump through, the filet came with a side of mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. 

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2/9/2009 Buellton

The Hitching Post II

It's not BBQ, but it sure is a steak.
It’s not BBQ, but it sure is a steak.

Hidden away in the city of Buellton in Santa Barbara County is popular little restaurant called The Hitching Post II. This, of course, is the sequel to The Hitching Post I. I don’t know when restaurants started getting sequels, but I hoped this sequel was more along the lines of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze than Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.

They claim to have the world’s best BBQ, which I had my doubts about, having eaten BBQ in Kansas City. Nonetheless, I ordered the 10 oz. Prime Top Sirloin Steak, cooked medium, which is from Cornfed Midwestern Beef (does this make the meat eerily similar to corned beef?). The steak came with a choice of rice pilaf, mashed potatoes and french fries. I went with the fries because of of the winos from nearby Los Olivos recommended them. Next was the tricky part, because it also came with a choice of soup, salad and shrimp cocktail (I got to choose two).

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