Hog-A-Mania!

Image by K. Todd Storch via Flickr

Anthony Bourdain is a traveling, boozing, foodie icon. Therefore when Mr. Bourdain speaks, I listen. So when he informed me in the June issue of Men's Health Magazine of "13 Places to Eat Before You Die," I said yes sir.

Number 13 on the list is a Kansas City BBQ joint called Oklahoma Joe's. Why it’s called Oklahoma when it’s in Kansas City? I have no idea, and to tell you the truth I stopped caring as soon as I was close enough to have the smell of tasty smoked meat waft my direction. It’s a smell that pretty much renders me brain-dead to any thought other than satisfying my appetite. After walking a full two miles to get there from my hotel (dumb idea, don’t ask why cuz I don’t know) I had mentally regressed to what I would imagine to be about the level of Neanderthal man.

Upon arrival, the line stretched out the door and into the parking lot of the gas station/BBQ oasis known as OK Joe's. This was discouraging but I was not to be deterred from my goal of consuming delicious animal flesh. The wait was actually relatively short and painless thanks to an efficient ordering system and a great staff.

Image by codooaustin via Flickr

When the time came for me to order, I froze. There were too many tempting dishes to chose from. I knew I had to do, work my magic and get the inside info. Long story short, I ended up getting a little ditty that’s not even on the menu. Yeah, I’m that good.

It is called the hog-a-mania and it is a plate of porky bliss. It consists of a hearty serving of smoked pork sausage, a heaping portion of tender pulled pork, and a quarter rack of BBQ pork ribs. All this was served atop two slices of buttery toasted white bread with choice of two sides, I had their famous fries and some baked beans that could almost be considered chili.

Image by Generation X-Ray via Flickr

When it comes to BBQ it’s all about the rub and the smoke, not the sauce. However, OMG the sauce at OK Joe’s is amazing. Cowtown Barbecue Sauce, as it’s called, is not vinegary, it’s not tomatoey, and it’s not syrupy. It is a beautiful balance of all of the above with the addition of some unique spices. To refrain from drowning out the flavor of the meat I went light on the sauce, until I hit the fries. Be careful when saucing the fries, it may get to the point that they have been sauced so much that they are too slippery for hand to mouth transfer. My solution, use a fork or get a bib.

Crickets, Bizarre Food or Garden Pest?

I am incredibly fascinated by the aspects foreign cultures that we call “weird.” That’s probably why I am addicted to Travel Channel and to TV shows like “Bizarre Foods.” So naturally, last fall when I got the chance to meet the host of “Bizarre Foods,” Andrew Zimmern, I couldn’t say no to the pack of Crick-ettes he handed me. Crick-ettes are a consumer friendly line of flavored cricket snacks. They come in sour cream and onion, bacon and cheese, and salt n’ vinegar flavors. I was offered the wonderful sour cream and onion variety. This was my first time eating a bug and I’ve got to say, it wasn’t too bad. However, it also wasn’t too good.

I was on my way to Bend, Oregon to visit my buddy Micah for Thanksgiving. Being the eccentric freak that he is, I knew he would appreciate this experience as much as me. So I saved my crickets for the celebration of my arrival in Bend after a 1700 mile drive from Iowa.

When we first broke the little brownish-green captives out of their consumer friendly packaging and saw them in their natural dead insect state, I began to lose my courage. Bugs lay scattered across the counter like some kind of infestation had been thwarted. Usually this would be grounds for a good full kitchen cleaning, but there I was about to ingest the pests. I reminded myself of the words of Andrew Zimmern, “If it looks good, eat it.” His advice does not apply to this situation. Finally Micah begins to taunt me for being a pussy and I quickly recover from my hesitation (thanks dick).

We grab the crickets by their hind legs and look them straight in the eyes. “Mind over matter,” I repeat over and over in my head. After a quick pose for the camera and a CRUNCH! I have a mouth full of dry bug parts. It’s not really as unpleasant as it sounds. The texture is kind of like a rice cake. The flavor is sour cream and oniony at the beginning with a lingering finish of 8th grade biology class. I popped one more for good measure and tossed the rest.

My overall rating on a scale of yuk to yum is, meh. Not extremely good or bad but defiantly worth the experience. I’m sure this is not the last time I will eat a bug but it’s defiantly a good warm-up for future exploration. I would recommend it to anybody.

To buy Crick-ettes and try them for yourself click here.

Belfast Fight Night

I finally got a copy of the fight I cornered in Belfast (Pubs of Belfast, Northern Ireland). Tom Ahrens vs. Peter Duncan is posted below. The promoters told us that it was the fight of the night.

I'm the taller guy in Tom's corner with the towel and water bottle in the grey shirt. If you listen close you can hear me screaming expletives from ring side.

MAX Xtreme Fighting Duncan v Ahrens
Uploaded by fjchrisk

Peter won the fight but in my opinion Tom is the on who put on the show. He wasn't given credit for winning a single round but if you watched the video it was really quite a close battle. To give you perspective on the mach up, here is a picture of the two after the fight:


























This is Tom with some young Irish fans

Issue Mock-up