<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564</id><updated>2012-02-16T14:24:50.868-06:00</updated><category term='malaysian'/><category term='BYOB'/><category term='Turquoise Grill'/><category term='Houston'/><category term='Pink&apos;s Pizza'/><category term='montrose'/><category term='No knead'/><category term='bread'/><category term='pizza Houston'/><category term='Jim Lahey'/><category term='Allied Kenco'/><category term='Banana Leaf Cuisine'/><category term='sausage'/><category term='Luigi&apos;s Pizzeria'/><category term='Recipes'/><category term='pizza quest'/><category term='Mid Town'/><category term='last meal'/><category term='Leeks'/><title type='text'>jon ross in digestion</title><subtitle type='html'>food goes in mouth.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>14</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-4404950535284338208</id><published>2010-05-17T14:44:00.023-05:00</published><updated>2010-05-17T17:34:51.753-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Allied Kenco'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sausage'/><title type='text'>in sausage</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GiNxOdKPI/AAAAAAAAALM/OeiPRnEhBGA/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GiNxOdKPI/AAAAAAAAALM/OeiPRnEhBGA/s320/DSC_0063.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472333379667831026" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GjyJSyyuI/AAAAAAAAAME/mY_jDRWYzj4/s1600/DSC_0031.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GjyJSyyuI/AAAAAAAAAME/mY_jDRWYzj4/s320/DSC_0031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472335104115395298" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;After too much conversation and little action, I finally made my first sausage.  With the help of the one and only Sean Fenton, the whole experience turned out to be really awesome with an excellent product in the end.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you ever need anything for cooking, curing, drying, frying, boiling, or anything to do with meat then go to &lt;a href="http://www.alliedkenco.com/"&gt;Allied Kenco&lt;/a&gt;.  Actually, if you aren't doing anything after you read this, then you should go to Allied Kenco.  The place is amazing.  It is a Vegetarian's Hell and my Heaven.  Located just off I-45 N above the loop, Allied is inspiring, intriguing and makes you appreciate being on top of the food chain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think the most important lesson that came out of this first run is that sausage is easy to make, but really easy to screw up.  There are a lot of rules to be followed and a good deal of time and attention is a must. It is so worth it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_Giql6d33I/AAAAAAAAALU/tpJreimXxgc/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 208px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_Giql6d33I/AAAAAAAAALU/tpJreimXxgc/s320/DSC_0016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472333874847407986" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GjxMJUoyI/AAAAAAAAAL8/swlcw_0lsAs/s1600/DSC_0028.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GjxMJUoyI/AAAAAAAAAL8/swlcw_0lsAs/s320/DSC_0028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472335087701107490" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I decided to make a kind of Cajun sausage recipe I found-- with some alterations.  The day before I completed the sausage, I bought a couple of pounds of pork butt cuts and some other fatty cuts.  I chopped this all up into 1-inch cubes, mixed in minced shallots and garlic, and  my choices of spices and fresh herbs went in before chilling for 24 hours.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GjybyMM3I/AAAAAAAAAMM/5WKuG6Z0Jjc/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GjybyMM3I/AAAAAAAAAMM/5WKuG6Z0Jjc/s320/DSC_0035.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472335109078922098" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GkwOHaD-I/AAAAAAAAAMU/AshP85_EgwY/s1600/DSC_0042.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GkwOHaD-I/AAAAAAAAAMU/AshP85_EgwY/s320/DSC_0042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472336170561703906" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The next day Sean and I went to Allied Kenco to get our pork casings, stuffed them with our ground up mixture and into the Ol' Smokey it went for 6 and 1/2 hours of hickory smokin'.  We took the sausage to a friend's BBQ later that evening. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Deep down I was really nervous about tasting it, especially after reading a bunch of literature about how easy it is to spoil the meat if not smoked properly.  I cut it open and took a bite...hell yes.  These links were really juicy with a great smoky, garlic taste and just the right amount of cayenne.  The only complaint I had was that I used too much clove, which was a bit over powering.  Other than that, it was a success and I can't wait to get at it again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I did not mean to write this much-- I just wanted to share the pics, really.  But if you are reading this, thanks.  We are going to keep making sausage and play with some recipes.  Maybe a Sausage Fest?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-4404950535284338208?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/4404950535284338208/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/05/in-sausage.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/4404950535284338208'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/4404950535284338208'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/05/in-sausage.html' title='in sausage'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GiNxOdKPI/AAAAAAAAALM/OeiPRnEhBGA/s72-c/DSC_0063.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-3922199446033573556</id><published>2010-02-01T21:24:00.007-06:00</published><updated>2010-02-01T21:53:04.947-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='last meal'/><title type='text'>the last supper</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S2ehPY0IVcI/AAAAAAAAAKU/82xZGRbXBQQ/s1600-h/the_brick_testament_-_the_last_supper_-_800x346.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 138px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S2ehPY0IVcI/AAAAAAAAAKU/82xZGRbXBQQ/s320/the_brick_testament_-_the_last_supper_-_800x346.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433488761177003458" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Two days ago the lady and I went to Whole Foods to get dinner.  We couldn't decide on a single idea, so we did what my mom used to call a "hodge-podge" night, and just grabbed what we desired:  Crab cakes, garlic hummus, pita bread for the hummus, squash and carrot cake.  This led us to a discussion; topic: the last meal.  The Question we asked each other was, "If you could have anything that you wanted in the world to make a three course 'last meal,' what would it be?" Damn.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It took me a day to come up with my answer:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Appetizer- Fresh oysters in the shell with garlic and a little oil.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Main- Jambalaya with smoked chicken, crawfish, and shrimp.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dessert- Tres leches cake with a raspberry sauce.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also, I thought about what restaurant would I like to eat if it were my last meal, and I think it would be at the bar of Restaurant Desire in New Orleans.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But that is for now.  Who knows whats next.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So if you have read this far then answer the question: What would be your last meal?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;jon ross&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-3922199446033573556?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/3922199446033573556/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/02/last-supper.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/3922199446033573556'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/3922199446033573556'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/02/last-supper.html' title='the last supper'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S2ehPY0IVcI/AAAAAAAAAKU/82xZGRbXBQQ/s72-c/the_brick_testament_-_the_last_supper_-_800x346.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-413243587315538523</id><published>2010-01-17T13:34:00.011-06:00</published><updated>2010-01-20T13:45:50.539-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Mid Town'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Houston'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='BYOB'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza quest'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Luigi&apos;s Pizzeria'/><title type='text'>Pizza Quest: Luigi's Pizzeria</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S1cnoHyOWCI/AAAAAAAAAKM/zGdGWdjvnMg/s1600-h/pizza3.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S1cnoHyOWCI/AAAAAAAAAKM/zGdGWdjvnMg/s320/pizza3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428851446056376354" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S1cnn6L7PVI/AAAAAAAAAKE/986sZuVpk2U/s1600-h/pizza2.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S1cnn6L7PVI/AAAAAAAAAKE/986sZuVpk2U/s320/pizza2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428851442406079826" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S1cnguI_rJI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/2nuhPvXF3NE/s1600-h/pizza1.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S1cnguI_rJI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/2nuhPvXF3NE/s320/pizza1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428851318913477778" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Located in the shadows of midtown, &lt;a href="http://www.luigipizzamidtown.com/Luigis-home.html"&gt;Luigi's Pizzeria&lt;/a&gt; is currently the love of my pizza life. My lady and I met some friends and family in the small, cozy, building that is Luigi's this past Saturday night.  The owner, Brad Ward, was leaning over the cash register with a confidence about him; it's like he knows that he is about to give me a pizzagasm.  His Italian wife, whose presence is so comforting, like a sweet-smelling grandmother, instantly came rushing to us, pushing the small tables that her family was sitting at out of the way to accommodate us, because we are just as important to her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I could go on and on about how much I love when families are involved with restaurants, and how I prefer those places to any other, but then you'd probably just stop reading it and call me a homo and stuff.  So moving on...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ward and wife have an excellent menu of specialty pies, which I intend on eating, but we decided to order a few custom pies topped with out favorites.  To me, the true test is of a kitchen's ability to deliver a special order.  If the cooks can adjust to a customer's desires, and still create an excellent dish consistently, that's when you know.  Luigi's went beyond that.  The pie I ordered was a large thin crust with feta, artichokes, garlic, and spinach.  Without going into too much detail, every bite was flavorful, crunchy, cheesy...just really, really good.  What made it even better was that Luigi's is BYOB/with no corking fees, and the beautiful regulation-sized bocce court, on which it appeared they spared no expense.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The pizza was great and the atmosphere is even better.  When the weather gets a little better here in Houston I expect to be spending a lot of time at Luigi's out on the patio next to that bocce court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"&gt;Luigi's Pizzeria&lt;br /&gt;3700 Almeda Road&lt;br /&gt;Houston, TX &lt;/div&gt;&lt;table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; font-weight: bold;" class="ts"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style="line-height: normal;" valign="top"&gt;&lt;nobr&gt;(281) 793-3333&lt;/nobr&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-413243587315538523?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/413243587315538523/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/01/pizza-quest-luigis-pizzeria.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/413243587315538523'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/413243587315538523'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/01/pizza-quest-luigis-pizzeria.html' title='Pizza Quest: Luigi&apos;s Pizzeria'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S1cnoHyOWCI/AAAAAAAAAKM/zGdGWdjvnMg/s72-c/pizza3.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-5201956944664547199</id><published>2010-01-13T08:57:00.007-06:00</published><updated>2010-01-14T17:31:06.984-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='No knead'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Jim Lahey'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bread'/><title type='text'>On the Rise.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S03lC7hthtI/AAAAAAAAAJk/pnRNfgVHdwQ/s1600-h/mybread.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 305px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S03lC7hthtI/AAAAAAAAAJk/pnRNfgVHdwQ/s320/mybread.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426244964552902354" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bread.  Over the holiday season, my lovely lady bought us a really great book called &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;My Bread&lt;/span&gt;, by Jim &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Lahey&lt;/span&gt;, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York.  I had heard of the guy before, but now I have a little bit of a temporary man crush on him.  In his book, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Lahey&lt;/span&gt; lays out his "no-knead" method to baking. After years of studying the art of baking, Lahey has concluded that this is the easiest and best way to make a bread.  The idea is to let the yeast and other elements in the dough do their &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;thang&lt;/span&gt;, and to not disrupt the natural processes that occur.  The method is INSANELY simple.  It takes a few minutes to make the dough, a little patience for the rising,  and just over an hour in the oven.  Check it out. Try it out.  &lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html"&gt;Here&lt;/a&gt; is an article in the Times giving the recipe for a plain-ass loaf.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The lady and I have been making the whole wheat loaves (as seen above) which probably costs less than a buck to make, which tastes, feels, and smells just as good, if not better, than anything we could buy.  We also have tried a few specialty loaves that &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;Lahey&lt;/span&gt; recommends in the book that are all super easy and amazing.  I especially like that the last chapter of the book is dedicated to meals that can be made with stale bread.  We haven't had a chance to get around to those, yet.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-5201956944664547199?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/5201956944664547199/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-rise.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/5201956944664547199'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/5201956944664547199'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-rise.html' title='On the Rise.'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S03lC7hthtI/AAAAAAAAAJk/pnRNfgVHdwQ/s72-c/mybread.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-3442435879276525573</id><published>2010-01-04T22:00:00.009-06:00</published><updated>2010-01-05T16:03:34.898-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Pink&apos;s Pizza'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza Houston'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza quest'/><title type='text'>PIZZA QUEST BACK ON: Pink's Pizza Montrose</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S0LCSnBEqwI/AAAAAAAAAJU/QgiVqvOya6w/s1600-h/PinksPizza.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S0LCSnBEqwI/AAAAAAAAAJU/QgiVqvOya6w/s320/PinksPizza.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423110526274415362" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What it do.  I have been away from this for a bit.  Not that anyone noticed probably, but I am back now.  No need to explain that I lost focus and interest because I felt that my thoughts and feelings about food were of little significance...but I guess that is that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Happy New Decade!  This past New Year's weekend I unfortunately spent in a near drunken &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;stupor&lt;/span&gt;/two-day, frat-douche keg party that my little brother threw...at our parent's house.  Saturday morning I woke in a bed of self-loathing, and after a few hours showering off the filth of sour keg beer and disappointment, I decided that it was time to get back on track.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Forward motion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Last summer a few friends of mine pleaded that I try &lt;a href="http://pinkspizza.com/"&gt;Pink's Pizza&lt;/a&gt;  for the quest.  I heard of the place but never had tried it.  I nearly forgot about it until later in the Fall a seven-foot, drunk, white guy at Cecil's Tavern screamed,"PINK'S!" at me for a good 15-20.  It should be noted that this was the only English that he spoke to me that evening.  He decided after meeting us that he would only speak in Spanish.  I studied French.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With a slight hangover the day after New Year's, and a lust for grease and bread, I decided I had put Pink's off for too long.  The lady and I stayed in our nighties and called for delivery. The menu is mouth watering and makes for a tough decision.  We went with the Deuce: goat cheese, mozzarella, spinach, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;portobello&lt;/span&gt; mushrooms, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;roma&lt;/span&gt; tomatoes and garlic with a pesto sauce.  I have recently found a new love for goat cheese, and I appreciated it even more with their pesto sauce, which wasn't too overwhelming nor oily.  Another thumbs up goes to the mushrooms, which were cooked well enough so that there was a good flavor and aroma about them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But unfortunately I have to say that this pizza was only just  slightly above average.  There were two problems I had: first, the crust was a little too soggy which if you have read past "pizza quest" entries you'd know that s*** don't fly with me; and second, the mozzarella was cooked for too long and it gave it a gummy, chewy bite to the pizza, which is something I expect from Domino's.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am dedicated to try another one of Pink's pies, though, because I love that with only two locations withing a square mile of my place, it is like our own neighborhood pizza joint.  But for now, I am still in the hunt, like a sexy lioness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P.S.  This year I have many personal culinary goals, including producing my own sausage, perfecting fried chicken, and working on &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;Frexican&lt;/span&gt; food.  If these things interest you, then please keep up.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-3442435879276525573?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/3442435879276525573/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/01/pizza-quest-back-on-pinks-pizza.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/3442435879276525573'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/3442435879276525573'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2010/01/pizza-quest-back-on-pinks-pizza.html' title='PIZZA QUEST BACK ON: Pink&apos;s Pizza Montrose'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S0LCSnBEqwI/AAAAAAAAAJU/QgiVqvOya6w/s72-c/PinksPizza.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-8717129570310987775</id><published>2009-07-10T15:09:00.006-05:00</published><updated>2009-07-10T16:07:35.822-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza Houston'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Turquoise Grill'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza quest'/><title type='text'>Pizza Quest: Turquoise Grill.  whaaaaaaaa!!!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SlegfZ2ioMI/AAAAAAAAAIY/RKwQ13jBz8c/s1600-h/IMG_0288.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SlegfZ2ioMI/AAAAAAAAAIY/RKwQ13jBz8c/s320/IMG_0288.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356926743156531394" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SlegfmsbZrI/AAAAAAAAAIg/UN1KIpSfE4s/s1600-h/IMG_0289.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SlegfmsbZrI/AAAAAAAAAIg/UN1KIpSfE4s/s320/IMG_0289.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356926746603775666" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/Slegf8uVoiI/AAAAAAAAAIo/9xWNS6AcBCE/s1600-h/IMG_0290.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/Slegf8uVoiI/AAAAAAAAAIo/9xWNS6AcBCE/s320/IMG_0290.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356926752517366306" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What it do.  It has been a week or two since my last post.  I am currently in school, and pizza quest proves to be a little more difficult when you have little time (and little money).  My latest pizza experience happened on accident.  And what a wonderful accident it was.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My father's piano store, so cleverly named The Piano Store by yours truly, was located near the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;intersection&lt;/span&gt; of Richmond and Kirby until it was closed.  In the same building there is a little Turkish-&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Mediterranean&lt;/span&gt; restaurant called Turquoise Grill.  Sometimes my father would have events and the Turquoise Grill would cater and serve a bunch of snobby people listening to excellent pianists.  The first thing you should know about Turquoise, if you have never been, is that the moment their food enters your life you are treated like a part of the family.  It is the same in the cafe as it is when they cater snobby events.  The Turquoise staff caters to your every need and desire, going beyond food.  Few &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;establishments&lt;/span&gt; even try to do that.  I also love the pride they have for their food.  It is their passion and they tell you all about it without hesitation.  It makes me feel all gooey inside.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Friday, June 3rd, the lady and I were dropping off the rent check across the street from Turquoise and decided not to f- with going home, and just eat out.  We walked in to the late afternoon crowd of five or six.  The color pallet inside is as charming as our server.  He walks over and begins to woo us with his &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;recommendations&lt;/span&gt; in a soft, alluring tone. I have eaten the food of Turquoise many times, but for some damned reason I have passed over the Turquoise &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;Lahmajun&lt;/span&gt; every time.  I asked him about it.  He goes on to tell me about how it is prepared and that it is Turkey's version of pizza, but better.  It is a thin crusted pie with ground beef, onions, red peppers and spices.  I had a knee-jerk reaction at first to say "no," but I went ahead and ordered the pizza along with salad.  "Why JR?" you ask,  "It's pizza."  For all future purposes, I generally hate ground beef on pizza.  It is never of good quality nor flavor.  But I have a quest, right?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The pizza takes a while.  The salad comes out first, which is below par, served with wonderful fresh baked flat bread.  Turquoise also serves the Turkish beer &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;Efes&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;Pilsen&lt;/span&gt;, which is the the big name in Turkish beer.  It is very tasty, hoppy and refreshing.  A good summer beer.  As I finish off the beer the pizza comes out.  The lady and I share the 12" seen above.  Our server explains that the best way to eat it: put the fresh shredded lettuce and cabbage on top, add some lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, then fold it up and eat it like a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;tex&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;mex&lt;/span&gt; fajita.   "This is as they do in Turkey, " he says.  So I did as they do.  Best pizza I have had so far on my quest.  The ground beef, spices and oil, along with the lemon, red pepper and cabbage had me regretting only ordering one. And the crust was a dream-crust: thin, crunchy but not too dry and a little smokey flavor. I was destroyed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Head over to Turquoise Grill.  Order this pizza and an Efes and tell me I am wrong.  I can't wait to go back and try the rice pudding which is said to be the best in Houston.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pizza Quest continues...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia; font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;Turquoise Grill&lt;br /&gt;3701 Kirby Dr #160&lt;br /&gt;Houston, TX 77098&lt;br /&gt;(713) 526-3800&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-8717129570310987775?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/8717129570310987775/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/07/pizza-quest-turquoise-grill-whaaaaaaaa.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/8717129570310987775'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/8717129570310987775'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/07/pizza-quest-turquoise-grill-whaaaaaaaa.html' title='Pizza Quest: Turquoise Grill.  whaaaaaaaa!!!'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SlegfZ2ioMI/AAAAAAAAAIY/RKwQ13jBz8c/s72-c/IMG_0288.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-2183403025391482320</id><published>2009-06-19T17:20:00.014-05:00</published><updated>2009-06-25T15:08:29.653-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Banana Leaf Cuisine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Houston'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='malaysian'/><title type='text'>Banana Leaf</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWeW9n1FI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/jQCS7tDjxNQ/s1600-h/DSC_0263.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWeW9n1FI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/jQCS7tDjxNQ/s320/DSC_0263.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351004755573855314" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:courier new;"&gt;woman w/ coconut&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWAl-IMaI/AAAAAAAAAH4/J4CD2tO3d_s/s1600-h/DSC_0259.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWAl-IMaI/AAAAAAAAAH4/J4CD2tO3d_s/s320/DSC_0259.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351004244206432674" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:courier new;"&gt;shrimp puffs&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWAVgDhNI/AAAAAAAAAHw/bnAPTMqpABo/s1600-h/DSC_0258.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWAVgDhNI/AAAAAAAAAHw/bnAPTMqpABo/s320/DSC_0258.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351004239785329874" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:78%;"  &gt;ginger chicken&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWAJUqzJI/AAAAAAAAAHo/9cCVcNKJ8_0/s1600-h/DSC_0251.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWAJUqzJI/AAAAAAAAAHo/9cCVcNKJ8_0/s320/DSC_0251.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351004236516347026" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:78%;"  &gt;calamari&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWONGmMFI/AAAAAAAAAII/gnb-T2rpFyU/s1600-h/DSC_0257.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWONGmMFI/AAAAAAAAAII/gnb-T2rpFyU/s320/DSC_0257.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351004478049235026" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:courier new;"&gt;salted fish, tofu and chicken casserole&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Last week I put my Urban Spoon iPhone app to use. Scrolling through the different styles of food and Malaysian caught my eye.  I have seen Anthony Bourdain in Malaysia, and other Travel Channel specials, but what is Malaysian food like, really?  And what is it like in Houston?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately, only a few places pop up in the Malaysian category in Houston. Whaaaa?!?!  &lt;a href="http://www.bananaleafhouston.com/"&gt;Banana Leaf&lt;/a&gt; was one of them.  Coincidentally the Texas Monthly that my lady just purchased had a review of Banana Leaf as being one of the best new restaurants in Texas.  I did not even hesitate.  I called up my life-long friends, the Brown's, and set a date.  We met in a ginormous strip center off of Bellaire at Beltway 8, right in the heart of Asia-town.  I had  half a seizure processing this place.  It looks so unnatural. I associate Asian script with pictures I have seen of Korea, and of course in &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Lost in Translation&lt;/span&gt;.  Combining the bright Korean and Chinese with the  lifeless, concrete shopping centers that make up most of Houston, I got really messed up for a minute.  I was dazed AND confused. McConaughey is great...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Inside, Banana Leaf is a charming little room with bamboo mat walls.  There are 12-15 crammed tables, two sweaty servers and an exposed kitchen.  There are many cooks in the back making sweet Indian pancakes, tossing them like pizza dough.  Every now and then the charming, bald head-waiter quickly goes to the back, grabs a coconut and with one movement, chops the top off,  stuffs in a straw and serves it fresh to his customers.  This place is producing some of the best food I have eaten in this city.  It is fresh, healthy and full of interesting flavors.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I had to go over the menu about six times.  This thing is monstrous.  It is a novella.  Immediately I see that there were two dishes I HAD to get: the Banana Leaf House Special calamari and the shrimp puffs. The calamari... I can't even explain what is all going on in there.  It hits so hard. The shrimp puffs are one of the reasons God gave us shrimp.  It is minced shrimp, wrapped in bacon, and then deep fried.  For my main I choose the salted fish, tofu and chicken casserole.  The salted fish is very dominant.  It is very salty, which I love, and the texture of the tofu adds a cool element.  The Browns and I also share some curry chicken, which I enjoy, and some ginger chicken.  For dessert we devour one of the Indian pancakes that is folded over with banana and butter inside of it.  I can't wait to go back.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;Banana Leaf Malaysian Cuisine&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"  &gt;9889 Bellaire &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"  &gt;Houston, TX 77036 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;P.S. Per Sam Brown, aloe juice and vodka martinis are popular in Korea, and they are good.  I'm trying some this weekend.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-2183403025391482320?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/2183403025391482320/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/06/banana-leaf.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/2183403025391482320'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/2183403025391482320'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/06/banana-leaf.html' title='Banana Leaf'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SkKWeW9n1FI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/jQCS7tDjxNQ/s72-c/DSC_0263.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-4974227943612790428</id><published>2009-06-14T13:25:00.005-05:00</published><updated>2009-06-15T14:36:37.443-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Recipes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Leeks'/><title type='text'>loving leeks</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"&gt;Leeks&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SjFM4C2o4SI/AAAAAAAAAGs/esIiz1cxlX4/s1600-h/leeks1x.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 120px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SjFM4C2o4SI/AAAAAAAAAGs/esIiz1cxlX4/s320/leeks1x.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346138758387917090" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SjFM4EmI7VI/AAAAAAAAAG0/4RdIJQziCkA/s1600-h/IMG_258.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 250px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SjFM4EmI7VI/AAAAAAAAAG0/4RdIJQziCkA/s320/IMG_258.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346138758855585106" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lately, I have leeks on my brain.  They are one of the most influential  flavors of Loire Valley in France, located just west of &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;le&lt;/span&gt; Centre where Paris lies. The western sea breeze creates an ideal climate for vegetation in the Loire Valley and it's reflected in the cuisine. I fell for leeks during my stay in France in the Summer of 2002 with my good friend Arthur. A combination of being young, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;emo&lt;/span&gt;, and a month long wine and cigarette infused buzz made me fall in love with everything French.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My hosts cooked nearly every meal I ate. Many of the dishes use fresh lettuces, carrots and of course leeks. The smell of the leeks cooking in butter on the pan sends a cozy feeling over me every time. The taste makes me lose my head for a moment and reminds me of riding motorbikes in the salty air along  the Brittany seawall, the warm sun and sounds of &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&gt;Solidays&lt;/span&gt; Music Festival, and the bitter  grapes off Champagne vines.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While grocery shopping last week, I happened upon some robust leeks that couldn't pass up. To me,  leeks are a very intimidating vegetable.  Every time I come across them I slow down and give them a good look over.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On this day, I took a deep breath,  wrapped up a stalk and checked out. I consider my options: mushroom and leek risotto, vichyssoise, or a scallop and leek tart.  But it takes a real commitment to buy leeks.  There is no such thing as spontaneous cooking &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;when &lt;/span&gt;leeks are involved.  Most dishes must be  thought out and well prepared to appreciate the flavor of this vegetable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I decide to make something familiar.  I prepared &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;rotini&lt;/span&gt; whole wheat pasta with a leek and scallion sauce topped with sun dried tomatoes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The sauce:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1 &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;tbspn&lt;/span&gt; butter on pan; cook diced leeks and chopped scallions until soft and brown;  add 1 &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;tspn&lt;/span&gt; of diced garlic and let it cook 3-5 &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;mins&lt;/span&gt; (add more butter if &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;necessary&lt;/span&gt; to keep from burning); pour in 1 cup of heavy cream; bring to a simmer and allow it to cook for 15-20;  salt and pepper to taste. &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Pic above&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I toss the cooked &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;rotini&lt;/span&gt; in the sauce and then add the tomatoes.  It rules.  It's a simple dish to prepare with a lot of flavor.  Easy for the Russ Willis' out there who complain about cooking for one.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leeks are a wonderful veggie that I think people should use a little more. There's a ton of great, simple recipes using leeks--I'd love to hear your favorites.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;A little background...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leeks are a relative of the onion and garlic species. It grows on a stalk on a bulb, and has a very unique and distinct taste. They also have a very rich history, as far as vegetables go. Leeks date back in time to ancient Mesopotamia. It is one of the few mentioned vegetables in the Old Testament as a food commonly eaten by the Egyptians. The ruthless Roman Emperor Nero would eat leeks in oil at nearly every meal, because it was thought to enhance your singing voice. The leek is also a long standing symbol of Wales, England, dating back to Henry V.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-4974227943612790428?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/4974227943612790428/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/06/loving-leeks.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/4974227943612790428'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/4974227943612790428'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/06/loving-leeks.html' title='loving leeks'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SjFM4C2o4SI/AAAAAAAAAGs/esIiz1cxlX4/s72-c/leeks1x.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-4967096755803644224</id><published>2009-06-09T09:36:00.019-05:00</published><updated>2009-06-15T14:37:05.045-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='montrose'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza quest'/><title type='text'>Pizza Quest Houston: Pizza Rome</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" &gt;PIZZA ROME&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My &lt;a href="http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/pizza-quest-begins-raias-italian-market.html"&gt;quest&lt;/a&gt; continues. Let me start by saying that this search for the best slice in Houston isn't to restate what we already know.  Star Pizza is tops.  Barry's Pizza downtown has a great deep dish!  I'm searching for the places we don't have on speed dial.  These might not be new to some,  but there is just too much out there.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;.............&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I come across Pizza Rome by accident.  Formerly Pizza Venise, Pizza Rome is a small sliver  between a Smoothie King and probably a tanning salon at Montrose and Hawthorne.  To be honest, I am turned off when I first see it. Then I remember that one of my all time pizza eateries is located in a little strip mall in San Marcos, TX (Zen's Pizza WHAT!).  I will give it a go.  The parking lot is tiny.  I don't understand what these property owners were thinking when they developed  the parking situation. I bail and plan on ordering via delivery.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;First thing  first:  It's f-ing 2009.  Get a website!  That is my only beef with Pizza Rome.  I appreciate taking me back to 1995 when I would only rely on word-of-mouth when it came choosing restaurants, but for realz.  So I called up the other members of Pizza Pizza Pi  to gather at my place for the second leg of Pizza Quest 2009.  &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;{Editors Note: Pizza Pizza Pi is a two-man pizza fraternity created in San Marcos,  Texas in the Fall of 2003}&lt;/span&gt; My Pizza Pizza Pi man comes over with a couple people bearing gifts in the form of New Belgium Abbey. I accept.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With no menu to chose from, I dial and have the poor girl go over every specialty pie the restaurant offers.  She goes over the basics and continues to rattle off recent custom orders.  What a sweetheart. As she runs through her list, blue cheese catcches my ear's eye.   I order the ROME PIZZA and the SUPREME PIZZA.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Rome Pizza is where its at. The blue cheese and artichoke heart combo, on its own, make me want to vomit each slice up and eat it again. It is packed with black olives tomatoes, purple onions and mozzarella. I can't get enough...and I have to share.  Sucks.  The Supreme is the typical supreme.  It's a good pie, but nothing special: sausage, pepperoni, black olives, green peppers, onions and mozzarella.  The crust is a little droopy for my liking,  I wish both had  more time in the oven.  But where the crust lacks,  the toppings deliver, pun intended. Both are fresh and plentiful.  I appreciate the top heavy pizza.  Don't we all.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hear the lunch specials are great.  Need to tap that.  If you live near or around the Montrose area and you are planning a night in, call up Pizza Rome and have her read you the menu.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/Si815kTReMI/AAAAAAAAAGk/1ybGrk7vk38/s1600-h/IMG_0263.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 310px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/Si815kTReMI/AAAAAAAAAGk/1ybGrk7vk38/s320/IMG_0263.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345550545825396930" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;                                                                        &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;Pizza Rome&lt;br /&gt;3407 Montrose Blvd&lt;br /&gt;Houston, TX&lt;br /&gt;713.520.9090&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P.S. I promise better pictures from this point forward.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt; &lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;                                                                        &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt; &lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;                                                                        &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt; &lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;                                                                        &lt;/div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;                                                                        &lt;/div&gt;&lt;table class="ts" style="margin-top: 6px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style="line-height: normal;" valign="top"&gt;&lt;nobr&gt;&lt;/nobr&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-4967096755803644224?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/4967096755803644224/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/06/pizza-quest-takes-me-to-rome.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/4967096755803644224'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/4967096755803644224'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/06/pizza-quest-takes-me-to-rome.html' title='Pizza Quest Houston: Pizza Rome'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/Si815kTReMI/AAAAAAAAAGk/1ybGrk7vk38/s72-c/IMG_0263.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-6630602254187654770</id><published>2009-05-25T21:15:00.046-05:00</published><updated>2009-05-30T15:32:47.739-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Jerusalem.  Austin, TX</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGS6x8iUEI/AAAAAAAAAFE/81k5Bzewj9w/s1600-h/DSC_0094%282%29.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGS6x8iUEI/AAAAAAAAAFE/81k5Bzewj9w/s320/DSC_0094%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341712171575431234" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGTIFy8c6I/AAAAAAAAAFM/G5lOMKPpl2g/s1600-h/DSC_0104%282%29.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGTIFy8c6I/AAAAAAAAAFM/G5lOMKPpl2g/s320/DSC_0104%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341712400242209698" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGTIRQzJZI/AAAAAAAAAFU/lV_wum2aGL8/s1600-h/DSC_0106%282%29.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGTIRQzJZI/AAAAAAAAAFU/lV_wum2aGL8/s320/DSC_0106%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341712403320219026" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGTInIS2LI/AAAAAAAAAFc/CrNIALYxl1U/s1600-h/DSC_0116.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGTInIS2LI/AAAAAAAAAFc/CrNIALYxl1U/s320/DSC_0116.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341712409190127794" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I spent the '09 Memorial Day weekend in Austin catching up with good friends and saying goodbye to Miss &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Dyer&lt;/span&gt;, a great friend, who is moving to San Francisco.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can't get around eating out for every meal while I'm out of town. I make sure to make the most of it. My girlfriend and I were searching for &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Pho&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, and we happened upon a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Mediterranean&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; joint called Jerusalem.  It's a dull space in the middle of a run down shopping center on E. &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;Oltorf&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, owned by an older Arabic woman on the grill (who preferred not to be photographed) and her two sons who serve as her translators and busboys.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We split fresh &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;dolmas&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, a flavorful chicken &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;shawerma&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; wrap, and a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;kibbeh&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; plate. The chicken &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;shawerma&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; wrap tastes excellent; great use of cumin, along with cabbage and a mild yogurt sauce.  The chicken is perfectly cooked.  The wraps are the way to go, all around $5, and huge.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We finish the meal with crispy, homemade baklava and &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;Arabica&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; coffee.   I thought I had good &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;Arabica&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; coffee before.  I was wrong. Ten minutes after I order my coffee,  I ask if they &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&gt;remember&lt;/span&gt; that I requested it.  Her son insists that she is making it, and he simply explains, "It's not American coffee."  He finally brings it out to me, and it's worth every minute.  The drink is thick, black and smooth.  It's pressed with &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"&gt;lavender&lt;/span&gt; which shocks the hell out of my coffee buds.  Yes, I have those.  At the end of each sip I feel a little honey slide down my tongue, which is comforting.  &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The cook takes her time on each dish.  It's as if she adopted us for an hour to cook us a meal with all she could give us.  Jerusalem isn't just a Mediterranean restaurant.  This place is  While a black and white Arabic movie plays in the background,  I think about how this woman's life for a moment.  She is probably a first generation to America and how difficult that must be.  She  knows little English and keeps herself hidden in the back behind a curtain most of the time.  I can't imagine being in that position.  Being, in a place that is filled with millions of people living at a constant 70 mph, consumed by themselves and &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&gt;not&lt;/span&gt; slowing down for finer things.  But she had her food. That's what I enjoyed most about Jerusalem.    It was hers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Jerusalem Grill &amp;amp; Market&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;1931 E. &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"&gt;Oltorf&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Austin, TX&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGUGsB0JqI/AAAAAAAAAFk/HTPD-b2wqNE/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGUGsB0JqI/AAAAAAAAAFk/HTPD-b2wqNE/s320/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341713475657016994" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" &gt;                                                                       blanton museum&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P.S. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;During the weekend&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;the g.f. and I went sky diving at &lt;a href="http://www.skydivesanmarcos.com/"&gt;Sky Dive San Marcos&lt;/a&gt;.  I know is probably annoying to hear from EVERYONE you know who has, but you should do it if you haven't! We also went to the&lt;a href="http://blantonmuseum.org/index.cfm?CFID=12651713&amp;amp;CFTOKEN=36359611"&gt; &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"&gt;Blanton&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; Museum of Art &lt;/a&gt;for the first time. Add that to your &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"&gt;ATX&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; list when you visit.  Some really great contemporary pieces, as well as really cool ancient Greek pottery and European art collections.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: right;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;all photos by Bruce &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"&gt;McClendon&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-6630602254187654770?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/6630602254187654770/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/jerusalem-austin-tx.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/6630602254187654770'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/6630602254187654770'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/jerusalem-austin-tx.html' title='Jerusalem.  Austin, TX'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SiGS6x8iUEI/AAAAAAAAAFE/81k5Bzewj9w/s72-c/DSC_0094%282%29.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-993631237579180089</id><published>2009-05-19T13:24:00.008-05:00</published><updated>2009-05-19T13:59:30.144-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza quest'/><title type='text'>pizza quest begins: Raia's Italian Market</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/ShMA8Xfr97I/AAAAAAAAACk/wIuHaAvaLug/s1600-h/Raias"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 158px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/ShMA8Xfr97I/AAAAAAAAACk/wIuHaAvaLug/s200/Raias" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337611020463241138" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial;"&gt;                                                                                                            pic from heights blog&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My search for the best pie in town starts at 4500 Washington.  &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Raia's&lt;/span&gt; Italian Market is stuck in the middle of a new, stucco shopping center.  Inside, it's a charming little market filled with imported sauces, wines and sparkling waters, dotted with red and white checkered tables that are warmed by the brick oven in the corner.  &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Every time&lt;/span&gt; I see a brick oven in the room I am supposed to be  eating in, I give a that a "0&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;oohhh&lt;/span&gt; hell yeah" to the pizza.  We opted to skip the wait and sit outside, it was a decent enough evening after the rain cooled the air...so &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;WTF&lt;/span&gt; not.  We talked about all the things that happen when you get old: forgetting everything, hurting all the time and pooping yourself. The first thing to know is &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;Raia's&lt;/span&gt; makes an excellent thin crust.  Crust is key for me.  The only difference between pizzas are the crust.  You can apply the same toppings over and over, but a good crust is what separates perfection from street vendor pizza.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/ShL95775X8I/AAAAAAAAACM/7TrlSg3fbKc/s1600-h/IMG_0223.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/ShL95775X8I/AAAAAAAAACM/7TrlSg3fbKc/s200/IMG_0223.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337607680170745794" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I had the &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;Rotunno&lt;/span&gt; pizza, topped &lt;span class="fullmenudesc2"&gt;prosciutto &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;di&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;parma&lt;/span&gt;, arugula, fresh mozzarella, shaved &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;reggiano&lt;/span&gt;, &amp;amp; marinara &lt;/span&gt;. The prosciutto was tops, but all in all a little too leafy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/ShMADZKX7fI/AAAAAAAAACU/so7K7ET7100/s1600-h/IMG_0227.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/ShMADZKX7fI/AAAAAAAAACU/so7K7ET7100/s200/IMG_0227.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337610041658174962" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was drawn to @&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&gt;delucasounds&lt;/span&gt;' Carl &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"&gt;Raia&lt;/span&gt;/olive pie.  It kicked mouth's ass.  I am not the biggest fan of olives, but this was a great flavor combo: &lt;span class="fullmenudesc2"&gt;artichoke hearts, basil, black olives, green olives, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"&gt;Italian&lt;/span&gt; sausage, mozzarella &amp;amp; marinara.  The salty sausage and artichokes made me happy to be eating olives.  Never happened.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So kudos to &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"&gt;Raia's&lt;/span&gt;.  The pizza ranges from $9-12 and with a appetizer can easily feed two, so go check it out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-993631237579180089?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/993631237579180089/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/pizza-quest-begins-raias-italian-market.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/993631237579180089'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/993631237579180089'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/pizza-quest-begins-raias-italian-market.html' title='pizza quest begins: Raia&apos;s Italian Market'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/ShMA8Xfr97I/AAAAAAAAACk/wIuHaAvaLug/s72-c/Raias' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-5761405379732400795</id><published>2009-05-16T12:51:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-05-16T13:18:49.271-05:00</updated><title type='text'>da yutes</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/16/269.jpg"&gt;&lt;img src="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/16/s_269.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" align="left" border="0" height="281" width="210" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mr. &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Deluca&lt;/span&gt; graduated from U of H law school this past week. Last night his &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;wonderful&lt;/span&gt; grandmother threw the graduation party of my dreams. Best grad spread ever. Included hummus, olive salad, Italian sausage links, fresh baguettes, vinegar-soaked  potato salad, and a sin filled cheese plate were a few of the items. What did it for me was the endless supply of cashews, my favorite nut. They ain't cheap.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/16/270.jpg"&gt;&lt;img src="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/16/s_270.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" align="right" border="0" height="281" width="210" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Grandma also prepped an assortment of jello shots, which were a hit with the older crowd, and gave us a few laughs. A friend of the family brought THE best sangria I've ever had. She added apricots to the wine and brandy mix, as well as fresh citrus fruits which were nice to nibble on at the end of the night.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Going to have some pizza tonight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;from stomach&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-5761405379732400795?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/5761405379732400795/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/yutes.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/5761405379732400795'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/5761405379732400795'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/yutes.html' title='da yutes'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-1644498796496191359</id><published>2009-05-13T17:02:00.010-05:00</published><updated>2009-05-13T17:56:02.474-05:00</updated><title type='text'>its always sweeter</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SgtHGhoTC9I/AAAAAAAAAB8/U2Ir7K_utwI/s1600-h/IMG_0215.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 179px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SgtHGhoTC9I/AAAAAAAAAB8/U2Ir7K_utwI/s200/IMG_0215.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335436360982662098" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;For those of you that don't know I am a special ed sub in Sugar Land.  Shit is bananas.  I found myself stopping in for coffee at &lt;a href="http://www.minuticoffee.com/home.html"&gt;Minuti Coffee&lt;/a&gt; on Highway 6 a few weeks ago to meet a friend.  It is a new, but familiar coffee bar specializing in espresso drinks made with &lt;a href="http://www.caffemolinari.com/index2.htm"&gt;Caffe Molinari&lt;/a&gt; beans,  a brand out of Modena, Italy that has coffee shops all over Europe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SgtHkQVurFI/AAAAAAAAACE/D-WXRz9n6ls/s1600-h/IMG_0218.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 162px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SgtHkQVurFI/AAAAAAAAACE/D-WXRz9n6ls/s200/IMG_0218.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335436871737453650" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;This shit is legit.  Very good espresso.  The environment in Minuti is a bit annoying, filled with a bunch of Sugar Land business men and students putting off a, "I'm cultured now" vibe while staring into a blank Word doc on their new Macbooks.  Pshhaaaaaaa....They also have your standard muffins and tarts, as well as donuts which aren't too shabby.  They recently added an adult drink line-up which includes my beloved Italian export, Peroni.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What keeps me comin is their Bioespresso Yogurt drink.  It is a frappe drink with a few shots of the dark stuff, ice, and vanilla yogurt instead of your traditional cream or milk.  This drink does two things for me: 1) Ends the struggle at the end of a blended drink, where you are forced to remove the lid and stir the ice around, looking like a little fat, desperate kid breathing all heavy and 2) It is an endless mystery.  What I mean is it is like the first time I had generic Post Bran Cereal.  I had some,  didn't know if I liked it or not, so I kept eating it.  Every sip is an epic battle between taste buds and "favorites folder" of the brain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are in Sugar Land, go try it.  If you are in town, rumor has it they are to open a location later this year in the mid-town area.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;from stomach&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-1644498796496191359?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/1644498796496191359/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/taste-of-what-america-thinks-italy.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/1644498796496191359'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/1644498796496191359'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/taste-of-what-america-thinks-italy.html' title='its always sweeter'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/SgtHGhoTC9I/AAAAAAAAAB8/U2Ir7K_utwI/s72-c/IMG_0215.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8889945588317670564.post-6304381702234691145</id><published>2009-05-10T09:40:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-06-12T12:26:44.296-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pizza quest'/><title type='text'>senses failed</title><content type='html'>This is my debut entry. Thanks to @explauren and two others for telling me to aim low, it was the confidence boost I needed to get started.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/11/161.jpg"&gt;&lt;img src="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/11/s_161.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" border="0" height="281" width="210" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Saturday evening was spent at Tacos A Go Go. With juices from the smokey barbacoa taco rolling down my hand, which is a Go-Go's best, I realized that the mood at our table of 10 plus was g.d. depressing. I didn't hesitate to mention it, which I think made the sitch worse being that it was a friend's birthday celebration.  It took me a few but it eventually hit me...f-ing "Free Bird."  It was on the loud speakers. The song is a classic, but it pisses me off when people think that it's so good it should be played constantly.  It was followed by depressing 80's heart-broken themed songs, one after another. There seemed to be no end, that was until we walked out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Music  is a huge part of food for me, especially when dining out. There are food genre codes, and these must be followed religiously.  The Carpenters shouldn't be playing with a full stack of ribs and Austin baked beans,  Sinatra doesn't pair up with spinach enchiladas, and if I ever hear Nickleback, ever again, in any situation really, I will put out a $27 reward for Chad Kroeger's heart, in a Kroger's plastic shopping bag.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am going to start a food quest.  I am in search of the best slice of pizza in town.  Any suggestions?  Also, I would like for this blog to stimulate some conversation. If you are reading this far, cool. Comment back. Come up with worst song and food pairing, or something.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;a href="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/11/162.jpg"&gt;&lt;img src="http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/09/05/11/s_162.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" border="0" height="281" width="210" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From stomach&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8889945588317670564-6304381702234691145?l=jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/feeds/6304381702234691145/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/senses-failed.html#comment-form' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/6304381702234691145'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8889945588317670564/posts/default/6304381702234691145'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://jonrossindigestion.blogspot.com/2009/05/senses-failed.html' title='senses failed'/><author><name>jonross</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/09231963399318132909</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sHNev7yemGk/S_GcnI9TVUI/AAAAAAAAAKs/4Z4ULNKHMgs/S220/DSC_0038.JPG'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry></feed>
