now I'm hungry

Recently Robert and I became fans of the television show, “The BestThing I Ever Ate,” which is a show with a bunch of chefs talking about their favorite places to eat particular types of food. Tonight we watched one about their obsessions and I couldn’t help but think of a few of my obsessions. Although I am definitely not a chef I like to think that, as a pickatarian, I have darn good taste. I have a few obsessions, but if I have to narrow it down my two greatest obsessions are definitely Sister Mary’s Righteous root beer and a special kind of baked tofu, but I’ll give you a list.

Mccoys, KC, MO – Sister Mary’s Righteous root beer. It is like a root beer float without the ice cream. There’s some kind of magic that they do to their root beer (they tell me it’s almond extract). It’s as if they make a root beer float and then wave a magic wand over it and POOF, no ice cream. The best part is that they serve it in a frozen mug. It’s fantastic.

Chopped – This is a popular place in Tucson, AZ. So popular that they have two! You walk in and take a card and check off all the things you want on your salad (they have everything you can imagine), and then they chop it up into super duper tiny pieces. Because of this it blends into what I like to call salad soup. Interestingly enough they do not chop up their grapes, which is perfectly fine, because they become these little jewels in your salad. Each time you find one you feel victorious! My most favorite thing about Chopped, however, is their baked tofu. I have dreams about this tofu. The texture is very dry, and the taste is a very explosive kick of soy sauce. It’s this beautiful blend of rich and simple. I order it on the side, because as much as I love the salad, it definitely takes away from the beautiful simplicity of the tofu.

Si Senor – thankfully there are two of these, one in Chandler, AZ, and one in Las Cruces, NM. This place is so good that Robert and I have gone out of our way to stop at one when we’re out on a road trip. And it’s probably our favorite place to eat, which is an amazing thing, because he’s a diehard meat fanatic and I’m a picky semi-vegetarian. Their chile relleno is the best I’ve ever tried, and I’ve tried a lot. It’s simple too, nothing fussy or fancy about it. It comes with a few other things on the only vegetarian platter they have, and to be quite honest it’s so good that I don’t have a darn clue what else is on the plate. I always choose the green sauce over the red, because the chile relleno has a kick to it. And even then I typically scrape the sauce off. It’s that good.

Loving Spoonfuls – This is a vegan restaurant in Tucson, AZ, but unlike many other vegan places it serves the plain ol’ hamburger and carrot salad in addition to the fancy stuff. At most vegan restaurants I’ve been to there isn’t anything simple. It’s all a bunch of indecipherable fancy pants stuff. Sometimes even a vegetarian wants is a damn hamburger. We’re humans too. But even though their hamburger is quite extraordinary, it isn’t an obsession of mine. My obsession is the chocolate peanut butter shake. It must have crack in it because no matter who I am with, I always end up fighting for it. My mother somehow always makes off with most of it! It is this perfect blend of smooth and chunky. It is super thick with peanuts that are so big they get stuck in the straw. Usually vegan shakes are chalky, but this one is incredibly silky. And because the people at Loving Spoonfuls are so friendly they will even make one for breakfast!

Blue Koi – Two words – lettuce wraps. Oh holy wow, these are the best lettuce wraps out there. You have not lived until you’ve tried them. Don’t forget the drizzle of hot sauce.

Now, l do have a couple of cheap obsessions. First, I have an incredible obsession with Auntie Anne’s plain pretzels. This is my weakness. Once a year I will sneak into a mall dressed completely incognito with sunglasses, a hat and a little mustache (j/k!) and grab one of their pretzels and race back to my car to eat it in private. There is something about a plain ol’ Auntie Anne’s pretzel that speaks to me. It is 310 calories of pure carb fantasy. I know that when God made me he gave me the weakness of carbs. I can say no to a margarita or chocolate fudge brownie, but I can’t say no to bread. Or cereal. If I could eat with no regret I would have rye toast and bran flakes every morning for the rest of my life. But back to the pretzel. If someone could figure out a way that I could eat one every day without having to run 10 miles and do 2,000 squats each time then I would marry them. No questions asked. My other cheap weakness is Juice Stop. Just typing those two words makes me want to get in my car and drive to Lawrence, KS right now and wait for them to open tomorrow. They have this drink that Josh and Robert have been getting for years. They’ve changed the name a few times so I’m not exactly sure what it’s called right now, but Josh and Robert have always lovingly referred to it as the triple crown. It used to be orange juice, frozen yogurt and milk, but recently, since I’ve become a fan, they’ve taken out the milk and added ice, which is probably why they’ve changed the name again. It is PHENOMENAL. I had it exactly three times last semester and I remember each occasion right down to the outfit I was wearing when I drank it. It’s like orange heaven in a cup. Each time we went it was after a long day of school and Robert always ordered the most gigantic size and we would share it on the way back home. An hour of unbelievable joy for the taste buds. I can’t wait for the fall semester.

What are your obsessions?