With that said, I'm still a very amateur cook; but I really like food. Especially great food. One Block West is by far my favorite example of great food, and we're lucky to live close by; though frankly when we eventually move back to Fairfax County... we'll still come back if Ed's is still open. And if we ever move further away to NYC or elsewhere... we'll still come back every once in a while.

I should cook more myself, and really need to start. I find enjoyment in it and wish I was better at it. I need to take the time to do it every night. Of course that is hard when I work (and commute) all day, and know that I need to get to the couch to get more work done and kept on top of it in the evenings as well. I guess I don't NEED to do that, but I WANT to do that, because like I said early, I love my job, and know that if I'm working my ass off at least I get enjoyment and can hopefully keep things going well for an organization that is understaffed for a company (AOL) that I care about as well.

So, Food seems to be a topic that has popped up a lot for me recently. Food, Inc. is a new documentary that has been getting lots of press, and it is in our NetFlix saved list for when if finally ships on DVD/BluRay. Food, Inc. also sounds a bit like a recent documentary called King Corn that I caught last year. You have to watch it, then do if for no other reason that seeing what is inside of a living breathing cow eating way too much corn.

Eating local has also been a hot topic recently too. 100 Mile Diet looks interesting, though I just found that when I was looking for the Eat Local Challenge ... well, I think that was what I was looking for, I definitely knowing eating local has been a hot topic whether there was a specific movement I'm supposed to be into or not, I can't remember. I will say, I certainly agree with the sentiment, especially since I live in the Shenandoah Valley!

Another interesting Food topic just came up from the Business Insider blog that I read mostly because they come up with a lot of the rumors at AOL. It was a post on a Financial Times article entitled The Scandal of Food Waste, which is an excerpt from the book, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal. The author is from the UK and uncovers the amount of food that is thrown away from supermarkets, restaurants, and other food distributors that could be consumed or at least used as feed in a sustainable way. Really made me think about how much food we end up buying that gets thrown away because I have good intentions to cook more, but fail to make it happen.

Lastly what really got me on this topic today of all days was an interview (Relentless Idealism for Tough Times) from the June 2009 Harvard Business Review with Alice Waters about her restaurant Chez Panisse. I'm sure Ed from One Block West (OBW) knows of, hell, might know her... but for me, it was an introduction to someone who the year I was born opened a restaurant that sounds like everything I seek in a place to delight in a meal. Every bit of the interview reminded me of OBW and just made me salivate thinking about eating there tonight. I also cannot wait till the next time I'm in Berkeley to eat at Chez Panisse... hopefully in September. Mmmmm.

Of course the way food has most popped up for me, is that I eat too much of it and I must stop. Well, at least I eat too much meat/fat, and carbs. It is time to find the vegetables that I actually really like, but have seemed to have forgotten how much I enjoy them. I also know how much I like pasta though... so it is hard to remember the celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuces, greens, beans, okra, squashes, onions, and well... everything else I love.

Fortunately I don't like fast food so much. Chik-fil-A is about the only fast food that I'll eat, and fortunately my wife doesn't eat fowl, so we don't eat there. I will have a couple of bean burritos with rice and lettuce at Taco Bell every once in a while, but that is usually when I've stayed at the office way too late and just need a quick bite on the way home. Since I carpool these days, that doesn't seem to happen except for the rare times we drive separately.

So, as with a lot of blogs, there was no specific point to this entry. But I was able to get a lot of things swirling around in my head down in a post and out of my head.

Now it's time to fix my over consumption of fat and carbs, so I will. Also time for some exercise, so I will. At least I don't like fried foods or fast foods, now if I didn't love a filet mignon cooked in butter and served with melted butter overtop, it'd be even easier. Or fish cooked in butter. Or vegetables cooked in butter. Okay... maybe I see the real problem here... I need to not like butter!

PS: For the record my cholesterol is fine thank you. :)
PPS: I also love pinto beans over corn bread, chopped onions, and hot chow-chow relish with no extra butter!
PPPS: I'll post a real chow chow relish recipe like I like later. Should have known it wasn't universal.

Of course, the AT&T coverage map isn't updated yet, but it really is here! Yay! Searching the Internet I also found a new blog, GottaBeMobile. A local gentleman, who is the Artistic Director at a local theater in the area, is one of the editors there. Good to see other folks who love technology here in the valley.

Here's a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don't worry if you haven't, mind you; neither have I, though I'll be sure to work on it. Don't worry if you don't recognize everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here's what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you've eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

I also numbered the entries I hadn't tried yet. Those are the numbers to the right in parenthesis on some items. One item I couldn't find on the first page of Google results and the entry on Wikipedia seemed to indicate it was NOT something edible. I also added my own addition to the end which I think should have made the list.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea (1)
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (2)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (3)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche (4)
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (5)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (6) - Lots of other Lassi's though!
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea (7)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (8)
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (9) - keep meaning to do to this, only in US for a month and 3 month pre-order
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (10)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle (11)
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (12)
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (13) - What the heck is this?!? -- mineral possibly containing radioactive materials?!?
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (14)
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (15)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (16) - Amazingly this hasn't came up yet, it will I'm sure though
76. Baijiu (17)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (18)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. (19 -- or 18 since 84b counts for 1/2 IMHO)
84b. 12 Course tasting menu at a One Block West
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (20)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (21)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So 21 things I haven't had, one of which until I find out what it is, I WILL NOT plan on having. :) I'm pretty happy with that. I have to point Chef Ed at One Block West (best chef/restaurant in Winchester, and way up there including all of Northern Virginia) to this list and see if he can help fill in the missing items. :) I really need to make post a few blog entries describing the tasting menu Chef Ed did for my wife and I as well as a few of the special dinners that we've kept the menus for.

There was one thing that was not on here, that I'd have to add, because other than the radioactive mineral above (and several other non-food things) I've always said I probably couldn't eat. But I don't know, I might eat it. But for now, I'm planning on NOT eating it. :)

101. Balut