Lunchbox Laboratory Is Where Your Meat-Eating Dreams Will Come True

You know those ideas that come up when you're sitting around with friends while drinking, and pretty soon people are coming up with more and more outlandish things to pile on top of the original idea? For example,

"Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we opened a burger joint? One that specialized in burgers and went all out?"
"Yeah! But not just beef. Buffalo, pork..."
"...and duck! Maybe duck-pork?"
"And what if we served cool sides like tater tots, and milkshakes in lab beakers?"

"Yeah!" everyone would shout, take a swig of their drinks, and move on to other ideas.

Well, Lunchbox Laboratory to me is one of these outlandish, yet wonderful, ideas come to life. Run by Chef Scott Simpson of Fork fame, who's been through a lot in the past several months, this place is a burger joint to end all burger joints.

The basic gist is this: you pick a meat (beef, duck-pork, buffalo, among others) and a sauce (simple like ketchup to fancy like an aioli), and then add extras (cheese, bacon, olives). Tack on a side if you wish (tots, fries, topped with interesting things like bacon salt). Don't forget the milkshakes. While you wait, find a seat on a bench or chair and study all of the quirky Americana antiques on the wall, including the lunchboxes under the counter. In a few minutes, you get a giant, steaming burger, fries, and thick shake at your glass-top table. Dig in, and throw your granola-flax conscience out of the window for a glorious respite of meat-eating fun.

One word of caution: the burgers are large. Quite large. We ordered two, plus a side of fries and one shake, and were stuffed. Light eaters may wish to split one burger.

Lunchbox Laboratory will be even better as the weather improves in Seattle. While seating is limited inside the small building, they have several seats outside that will eventually be great to take in the summer weather, sip a cold soda, and bite into a juicy burger.

Another Reason Why I Don't Eat Beef

There was one reason a while ago. Now there's another.

Yes, this is just a fraction of the annual US beef production. But I believe there are many more cases of tainted beef that go unreported.

Bacon + Chocolate = Pretty Good

So you may recall me blogging about Vosges's Bacon Chocolate Bar. Well, my wife bought me some for the holidays as a stocking stuffer. And, naturally, we tried it just as soon as I pulled it out of the sock.

Here's the play-by-play:

• Smell: more or less like regular chocolate. Maybe a hint of smokiness?
• First taste: pronounced milk chocolate flavor. Smooth, well-tempered.
• As it melts: bacon taste and saltiness start to build.
• Some mild chewing later: more bacon, mixed with chocolate.
• After a swallow: lingering smoky, salty taste in the mouth.

Sound weird? Well, you kinda have to like bacon, and be OK with mixing sweet and savory together, to enjoy this bar. Both of us like bacon, so we enjoyed this chocolate. We let my sister and brother-in-law try it over the holidays, and they didn't care for it so much. Your mileage may indeed vary.

Cupcake Royale Fall Flavors Arriving Soon

Seasonal cupcake flavors are arriving soon at your nearest Cupcake Royale
. Pumpkin, Apple, and Carrot (Cake) options will make the cooler weather a bit more worth it. And, to kick things off, the Ballard shop had some baby cakes available in these flavors, to get everyone in the mood.

Greek Festival = Greek Eats

This weekend was the annual St. Demetrios Greek Festival. The festival is a great chance to get together, learn about Greek culture, see some people dance and play music, and have a good time out of doors.

OK, but the real draw is the Greek food. Roast lamb sandwiches, souvlaki, gyros, and pastries of all sorts.

True to form, we started with the pastries this year as we were waiting for people to arrive. We shared a flaky, moist Kataifi and a nice Galatoboureko. After various savory dishes, we ended with some Loukoumathes and took some Melomakarona for home (so what if it isn't Christmastime?).

Every time I attend a festival, my baking aspirations wake up a bit. Then, I realize it takes a good bit of time to make all of these sweets. OK for a weekend here or there, but those tend to fill up quickly with other activities. What is an aspiring baker to do?

I know. Blog about his delight at eating Greek food yesterday, while stuffing his face with those leftover Melomakarona. Στην υγειά σας!

Aww, Shucks

OK everyone, put down those shucking knives. Looks like the great State of Washington has produced oysters contaminated with poisonous bacteria. From the report:

How does V. parahaemolyticus cause illness?

If you become infected you will most likely have watery diarrhea, accompanied with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, a high temperature and chills.

Mmmm, that's a great thing to look forward to after a half dozen on the half-shell..

Vosges Creates Bacon Chocolate

It's a Southerner's dream come true: applewood smoked bacon, chocolate, and a bit of alder smoked salt come together in Vosges new Bacon Chocolate Bar.

Before any non-believers start scoffing at this marriage of flavors, consider this: have you had bacon on a plate with maple syrup that's spilled onto it from the pancakes? Not bad, right? Or better yet, have you ever had bacon pancakes? Delectable. And I predict this bar will be just as tasty.

The Whole Foods near us carries Vosges; I wonder whether they have this particular bar in stock. If not, there's always mail order, though I do worry about melted chocolate in the summer.

Quitting Caffeine

This past holiday season, I decided to wean myself off of that most common of drugs: caffeine. While I admit I didn’t quit it cold turkey, I can say that I’ve pretty much eliminated the dependency on caffeine to get through the day. Yeay me.

So why quit caffeine in the first place? Simple: I was dependent on it. Not DT, cracked-out, gotta-have-it-to-function dependent. But if I didn’t have it by midday, I would get a headache and I became irritable. If I then downed a cup of coffee or had some black tea, I was better in a matter of minutes. I decided that while this was a sustainable way to live, I didn’t really love the fact that caffeine had become a sort of chemical overlord over my mood.

So, over the holiday, while we were back east visiting family, I decided that this was a long enough stretch of time to try to kick the habit, and see how I fared.

Day 1: The first day wasn’t great. I felt groggy all day, and I had an on-again, off-again headache. Fortunately, we didn’t have much to do beyond eat holiday dinners and sit around and chat with family and friends. Still, I can’t say I was the happiest of campers. I did consider having a bit of tea in the afternoon, but resisted.

Day 2: The next day was worse than the first. My headaches had gotten worse, to the point where I needed some over-the-counter pain killers to dull them. Irritability and grogginess went up a notch. In the afternoon I was definitely ready for a nap. Still, I didn't ingest any caffeine.

Day 3: On the third day, I woke up dreading the worst. Instead, I was...fine. No headaches. No grogginess. No irritability. I went through the day without any

Now, I didn't kick caffeine completely out of my lifestyle. It's hard to (I'm not giving up foods like chocolate, sorry). But I don't drink beverages containing it during weekdays, and I have an occasional coffee or black tea on the weekends, which doesn't relapse me.

I know I probably had it easy; there are people who drank much more caffeine per day than I did, and I imagine their withdrawal symptoms would be worse. Still, in the end I found that it was worth it. My mood and attention level, while different than when I was on caffeine, are fine. And I don't really crave it during the day.

Apparently, caffeine withdrawal is seen by some as a disorder, both mental and physical. Wow! I should have checked into rehab!

Water + Juice Box = ... Water!

Do your kids have problems drinking enough water? Well, why don't you get some Wateroos! It's water...but it's in a juice box! Your kids won't know the difference! And for the smart ones that notice something's off, there's apple-flavored water.

I love the site's pitch: "No sugar, no sweeteners, no artificial ingredients...". They go on and on about the wonders of water (which is pretty wondrous, I agree). But all they're really selling is the packaging.

What gives? Why not just fill a juice cup with water and go with that? Why is a cartoon penguin and a wax paper box that compelling?

Guacamolito!

If you watch SNL, you probably have seen the fake commercial from Taco Town featuring an ever-growing monster of a food. It includes layers of taco, beans, cheese, a crepe, a pizza, a pancake, and, oh yes, there's more.

Sarah Gilbert over at Slashfood recently wrote that she'd try to make one of these "pizza crepe taco pancake chilibags". Then, she charted out her shopping list for this endeavor.

Wow. Can you imagine actually cooking that? I'd love to see that during an Iron Chef America show.

Pass the guacamolito sauce!

GiveLobster.com: In The Running For Worst Christmas Present Of All Time

I have to hand it to the people at GiveLobster.com. They're really (I mean really) into lobster. And, for a mere $99 plus shipping, they'll send a six pound live lobster to your friends and family.

I don't know what's worse: the fact that the recipient of the gift will unknowingly open a box to find a big crustacean staring back at them, or the fact that the recipient now has to prepare the lobster (not something most home cooks are versed with).

Thanksgiving Baklava

This evening we're heading over to a friend's place to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner. Granted, this is an American holiday, but what better excuse than the National Excuse To Be Gluttonous day to make a pan of baklava?

It was easier this time than last time I made it, and it turned out quite well. I eased up on the syrup this time so the top would remain crisp while the bottom absorbs the syrup.

It's currently sitting on the dining room table, its buttery honey vapors wafting through the house. It's taking quite a bit of self control not to devour several pieces in advance of dinner.

Fish Flavored Ice Cream

What is up with sweet foods and drinks going seafood? I just posted about salmon soda when I come across this post about seafood ice cream. Liny Hsueh must be stopped.

Salmon Flavored Soda

Thanks, Jones Soda. I knew there was something missing in my soda options. That is, until you produced sodas with flavors such as Smoked Salmon Pate, Corn on the Cob, and Wild Herb Stuffing.

Quick, go suggest a flavor. Maybe Fraser Fir in time for Christmas, Boiled Egg for Easter, or BBQ in time for July 4th?

So Long, Vanilla Coke

Due to declining sales, Coca-Cola has decided to pull their roughly three-year-old Vanilla Coke and Diet Coke with Lemon flavors. From the article:

Analysts have said that one of the keys to the company's future is to
innovate new products that will help Coca-Cola capture more consumers who have
moved away from sugary soft drinks to diet versions, or to healthier low-or
no-calorie beverages such as water and orange juices with reduced sugar.

I wholeheartedly agree. It's novel to get a familiar cola flavor mixed with something new, like lemon, lime, orange, vanilla, cashew, spaghetti, or prosciutto. But, after the novelty wears off, you're either purchasing the variant along with the regular flavor, or have forgotten the variant and have moved back to regular cola.

Coca-Cola's #1 in the cola biz. Sure, it feels threatened and wants to match PepsiCo when Pepsi reveals they have a variant cola. But it's new and budding beverage markets where Coca-Cola will make head-way, not drag-racing with other companies on the best way to mix cola and Nutella.

Oh well, if you're truly addicted to the vanilla sugar water, you can always purchase the regular stuff and add some vanilla syrup to it.

Lappert's Ice Cream May Be Diseased

We're big fans of Lappert's Ice Cream. They have great flavors, use good ingredients, and offer a nice variety of unconventional flavors.

Recently, while going to QFC to purchase some ice cream, we were surprised to see the shelves cleared of all Lappert's stock. We were a bit miffed at the possibility that QFC had decided to stop carrying our favorite frozen treat.

Today, over a week after the clear-out, Lappert's is back. OK, we thought, it's not QFC's fault. On one of the freezer doors, a sign was posted explaining the temporary disappearance of the ice cream. It seems a recall was in effect of Lappert's Ice Cream because of a Listeria scare. Sure enough, an article confirms the recall for all Lappert's Ice Cream produced through August 4th.

Listeria isn't a good thing. Gastrointestinal mischief is apparently just the start. Pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems are especially susceptible.

If you've got an old pint of the stuff, check the date.