Justin's Condiments

I love condiments, so I bought a lot in Colorado - even though some of them are readily available in New Mexico.

Merf's Condiments

If Murph liked condiments, I would buy him some Merf's Condiments. 

But Murph hates condiments. Even Merf's condiments. 

Almost Always The First Stop

 

An early lunch on the patio with Pike's Peak in the background. My guest number was 17 - my favorite number. 

I knew it was gonna be a good day. 

I Will Never Get Tired of Seeing This Sign

Argyle, Castration, Murder, & eBay

A dozen years ago, I was living in New York City. Those of you reading this in California will not be surprised, as you knew me then and know the reason why. 

Those of you reading this in New Mexico will likely be shocked, as you know of my love for the mountains and loathing of cities. 

But that was then and this is now, and there is no need to go into more details, but I will share this little memory:

One August morning, I took my kitten to get fixed at his vet and decided to spend a few hours sightseeing - including a visit to the Empire State Building, to which I had not been since I was 10 years old. On the way there, dozens - perhaps hundreds - of police cars descended upon the scene. 

There had been a shooting at the Empire State Building.

Loudspeakers everywhere advised those of us walking around to seek cover wherever possible because there was "an active shooter." 

(There actually wasn't; the killer was a recently-fired employee who had shot the coworker he blamed for his firing, he did not attempt to kill any random people, and he was quickly shot dead by the police - WHO ALSO SHOT NINE BYSTANDERS in the process, which is just about the most NYPD thing imaginable.)

I ducked into a giant JC Penney (the site of the former Gimbels), where I hung out for 20 minutes until it became obvious that the situation wasn't all that dangerous. While there, I bought a beautiful purple and grey argyle zip-up sweater, because why not. 

I lost the sweater many years ago, perhaps on the move back to California, perhaps on the move to New Mexico, perhaps on a drunken night in some end-of-the-world dive bar where I decided wearing argyle might get me stabbed. 

The other day, I was wearing an argyle sweater and a friend of mine complimented it and we started talking about argyle. I remember that sweater from all those years ago and went on eBay and bought it again.

My Favorite Part of Game 1

Was this commercial. 

What the ever-loving fuck is going on here? 

Genio Della Pizza Margherita

I am not sure how many TV shows I have turned Murph on to over the years. A lot. 

But the number he has introduced me to is much smaller: one. 

Billions. 

Anyway, this is the frozen pizza from the show. 

It is also, more importantly, the frozen pizza launched by Anthony Mangieri, the owner of Una Pizza Napolentana in New York, which has many times been awarded the title of "Best Pizza in America."

And it was indeed very good. 

For frozen pizza. 

I will take one of my lavash over it any day. 

Autumn Under the Aspens

LAOBAN PORK SOUP DUMPLINGS & LITTLE ALLEY SCALLION PANCAKE

These dumplings were not as good as the larger, ginger ones I wrote about yesterday. I will not be getting them again.

The scallion pancake was fantastic, though. 

LAOBAN GINGER CHICKEN DUMPLINGS

These were delicious. I wish the flavor of ginger had been more prominent, but then again I served them in a spicy Szechuan sauce so even if it had been more gingery, I probably wouldn't have noticed. 

The Disrespect Is Staggering

Hot Mustard is still not mentioned. 

What the fuck? 

It is one of the greatest condiments of all time. 

Not McDonald's condiments. 

Not fast food condiments. 

Condiments. 

All condiments. 

This guy knew what he was talking about. 

Saturday

As often happens on Saturdays (and Sundays) in October, there were a lot of good games to watch.

For breakfast, I had Trader Joe's hash brown patties and maple chicken breakfast sausage, with some of the condiments my coworker brought me from Texas. 

For lunch I just snacked on chips. I know that's not fancy but I don't care: I love these chips and I had not seen them on shelves in years until a couple of days ago. 

I thought about going to the store but it was pouring all day so I just stayed in sweats and watched sports. 

I didn't even go out for the mail. Poop Dog sat by the window all day wondering when we would go outside. I told her "We're not going out today because you're a bad dog."

For dinner, I had a protein-style burger with steak fries. Again, not fancy, but I didn't care. 

What a great day. 

KFC Original Recipe Tenders

It's no secret that I do not think much of KFC. 

But I read a review comparing these chicken tenders to the nuggets that KFC used to serve more than 30 years ago. 

Which I loved. 

So I decided to try them, and indeed, they taste very similar to how I remember those nuggets. 

However, they were perhaps the saltiest fried chicken I have ever tried. Were those nuggets all those decades ago this salty and I didn't notice or care? 

Probably. 

Will I ever get these again? 

Probably not.