Food – The Unvegan

10/7/2009 Reviews Boston

Dinner with Dunkin’ Donuts

While there is no shortage of donut shops in LA, in Boston you can’t walk for more than five minutes without seeing a Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s like the city runs on this doughnut franchise. So, before I parted ways with Boston, I made sure to stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Boston’s Logan Airport to grab something to eat.

I was expecting to be stuck eating a doughnut for dinner, but instead I found that Dunkin’s had started offering flatbread sandwiches, and for pretty cheap. None of them really had vegetables, but I ordered the Chicken Parmesan flatbread one thinking it was the most dinner-like of all.

Airports Boston Boston Logan Airport Chains Chicken Parmesan Dunkin' Donuts Fast Food Food Massachusetts Meat Restaurants Sandwiches Travel

10/5/2009 Rants and Raves

Vegans: Unvegan Heroes?

Not quite, but it’s definitely a fun idea to toy with. One aspect of veganism that I have always found entertaining is the general discord among vegans. From whether they can eat honey to whether they agree with radical PETA’s tactics, they seem to almost have as many schisms as Christianity. But I digress. Today I read an article, entitled “Vegans Against Veganism,” that blew my mind about vegans. Perhaps they aren’t the holier than thou radicals I have always thought.

Food Heroes and Villains Meat Vegans

9/25/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Sampling My Way to Rotisserie Works (CLOSED)

I love it when sides are bigger than the main course.

For a pre-movie dinner, I found myself at the Century City food court once again and looking for something new. Some of the competitors in the food court have found the best way to bring in new customers: sampling.

I will sample almost anything put in front of me, as long as it has no vegetable qualities. You wouldn’t buy a car without giving it a test drive, so why buy a meal without knowing how it will taste? Well obviously, this isn’t always possible, but when it is I think it’s great to take advantage.

The Rotisserie Works offered me a sample of their Hawaiian BBQ chicken and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a nice sweet BBQ taste with the hint of some pineapple-like fruit. After a few other tastes, I decided the Hawaiian chicken would be filling my belly that evening. The order of chicken came with two sides, and I looked at the menu with mild distaste. All but two of the sides had words like “squash,” and “spinach,” so I ordered their mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.

BBQ Century City Chicken Food Hawaiian Los Angeles Malls Meat Restaurants Rotisserie

9/23/2009 Heroes and Villains

Dogs: Unvegan Heroes

A man's best...meal? — A man’s best…meal?

A recent report from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has shed a new light on the history of the domestication of dogs in the world.

It seems that dogs weren’t originally intended to be man’s best friend. Instead, they were most likely domesticated to be man’s next meal.

According to the New York Times, “[a] single domestication event seems to have occurred in southern China…[where]there is a long tradition of eating dogs…”

Dogs Domestication Food Heroes and Villains Man's Best Friend Meat

9/8/2009 Recipes

Hitting the Big Time with Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Country Bob’s, Inc., a little company looking to get the word out on their sauce, Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce. They loved my blog (obviously) and wanted to send me some free sauce to write about. Being a shameless sell-out, I jumped at the offer.

I researched the company a bit (ie. checked the website) and found that Country Bob gave a whole lot of credit for his success to God. Hey, if athletes can do it, why not sauce-makers? I also found on the website that Christ himself had risen through the ranks of Country Bob’s to become CEO. I’m not sure if he usurped the title from Country Bob himself, but Bob seemed to have no problem putting “Christ is our CEO” on the website.

Love the presence of Christ. In my mouth.

After about a week, my package of sauces came in the mail. I decided a Labor Day BBQ would be the perfect chance to test out the sauce and to get a range of opinions, specifically from my Jewish friends. To complete the holy trinity of monotheistic religions present at the meal, I picked up some Halal ground beef to make burger patties.

BBQ Christ Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce Food Free Halal Jewish Labor Day Meat

9/3/2009 Reviews Manhattan Beach

Not Quite Sichuan at Szechwan (CLOSED)

Just gotta avoid the green onions. — Just gotta avoid the green onions in the Kung Pao.

For a little Chinese lunch, I headed to Szechwan in Manhattan Beach. It had come highly recommended, so I went expecting something pretty good. When we arrived, the restaurant was only about half-full, but we were still told to wait for a table. This seemed strange, especially when were standing around for five minutes looking like fools. Nonetheless we eventually took our seats and got the chance to check out the menu. The first thing I noticed that seemed off was that the food wasn’t quite Sichuan style (Sichuan being the way Szechwan is actually supposed to be spelled). Sichuan style is usually really spicy food and different from what we usually think of as “Chinese” food. Instead, the menu looked like any other Chinese restaurant.

Chinese Food Kung Pao Los Angeles Manhattan Beach Meat Restaurants Sichuan Szechwan Szechwan Restaurant

9/2/2009 Reviews El Segundo

The Habit I Can Get Used To

The most exciting food news to hit El Segundo since Chipotle is most certainly The Habit. Taking over the dilapidated former building of the Grand Cafe, The Habit put up signs months ago and began renovations. Just this week they opened for business, and I knew it was time for me to see what The Habit was all about.

When I arrived, the line was coming out the door. I hoped and prayed that the line would move fast and my wish was granted. In only five-ish minutes I was at the counter and ready to order. The menu is pretty basic if you stick to burgers, but they also offer salads and other non-burger sandwiches. On the menu, the burgers are called charburgers, which really leaves the impression that they will be overcooked. I hoped this wouldn’t be true and ordered the BBQ Bacon Char.

Bacon Burgers Charburger Chocolate El Segundo Food Fries Hamburgers Los Angeles Malts Meat Restaurants The Habit

8/18/2009 Reviews La Fortuna

Costa Rican Food Week, Part II: Lava Rocks

Another restaurant we found in La Fortuna was called Lava Rocks. This place a had a much simpler atmosphere than La Choza de Laurel, but that was fine by. I searched for my new favorite food, the “Tipical” dish and found that it was called Casado here. Further research has taught me that “casado” means married, because this is the type of meal that married men get at home. Thanks for the info, Wikipedia!

Although not married, I was happy to eat like a casado. I ordered my casado with chicken again. The nice thing about the dish is that no two restaurants seem to serve it the same way.

Arenal Volcano Casados Central America Chicken Costa Rica Food La Fortuna Lava Rocks Restaurants Travel

8/17/2009 Heroes and Villains

Greg Givan: Unvegan Hero

It takes a special type of person to realize the seemingly unlimited possibilities with eating meat. One of these special types of people is Greg Givan. Givan throws an annual barbecue, and this year his theme was “Grill around the Globe.”

The lineup sounds like an unvegan fantasy, “…Givan ordered yak (California), alligator (Louisiana), crocodile (Bolivia), elk (New Zealand), boar (Texas), llama (California and elsewhere), kangaroo (Australia), as well as antelope sausage.”

Alligator Antelope Boar Crocodile Elk Food Greg Givan Grill Around the Globe Kangaroo Llama Meat Yak

8/17/2009 Reviews La Fortuna

Costa Rican Food Week, Part I: La Choza de Laurel

Today is day one of Costa Rican food week, featuring highlights of my recent trip to Costa Rica. While traveling, I don’t really order my food without vegetables and just cross my fingers that my meal won’t require too much picking out. For this reason, I only rate the overall experience. Enjoy!

My first stop in Costa Rica was the tiny little town of La Fortuna, the closest town to the Arenal Volcano. Despite its small size, it still had plenty of restaurants to choose from and they all had English menus for the tourists. For our first dinner, we went to a fun-looking restaurant called La Choza de Laurel.

Arenal Volcano Central America Chayote Costa Rica Food La Fortuna Meat Restaurants Travel Yuca

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