My own personal cliche

Most of you know, I have a tendency to be a bit of a food/wine snob. Foodie, wine-o, whatever. A gregarious gourmet of the vino and a dissector of the delectable. I found myself reading a funny-enough article on "The Price of Good Taste." It's basically an article asking - at what threshold does a foodie give up their preferences? Since the prices of food continue to escalate, along with gas prices...and well - the prices of everything else, where do I draw the line? Do I say goodbye to all-natural chicken just to save a few dollars and have chemically-pumped and hormone-injected chicken? No. F no. How about switching to $0.99 Iodized salt instead of Sea Salt or Kosher Salt that runs $3-5? Again, no. But what it does alter is where I may buy it or how much of whatever product I want that I buy. Will I move to processed American Cheese? I hope not. Prices may rise, and it may become more expensive for a good olive oil, but do you sacrifice taste for the bulge in your wallet?


Some of the analogies are spot on. If I can make something or have consumed something that's delicious, I'll let people know about it. It's just how I am. Irritating to some but informative to others. If I have a good wine - I'll let my wine-drinking friends know about it. For example - the other night Kim and I had a fun bottle of wine that was good, but more fun to open than it might have been to drink. Plungerhead. The bottle has an interesting cork system and the wine (once you let it open up for at least 30 minutes) was

delicious. You unwrap the cork. It's this red plastic, almost wax-like cork. Once peeled back, the cord is somehow pressured into the bottle. It's pretty unique, and like the wine is called, a very plunger-esque approach. Old vine Zins, or any Zin for that matter, are always a safe and delicious choice.

Though - when it comes to beer, there was a time (a year ago or so) where I only wanted to consume the Belgian monk-made brews. Um, no. My wallet can only take so much of a beating from alcohol. The folks at Binny's already know us by name. We're never there for less than 30 minutes discussing life, wine and what I should buy next. So with beer, we're rarely drinking it (friends and co) for the mere enjoyment of the hops, barely and rye's. Usually, it's for it to taste bearable enough to choke it down, have another and forget our names. Or - for some friends - get nekked and play on the playground...


Chimay was replaced by PBR. The Happy Monk replaced by Miller lite. And Brother Thelonious took a back seat to Blue Moon. Does it make me sad? No. Do I still drink beer? Yes. The good ones? Only occasionally. Oh well, it's only helped me dive deeper into my asshole-ness of being a wine-o. Kim and I are constantly given double takes at wine tastings. We get looks wondering if we're in the right place or how we know things about wine since we're only in our 20's. Most people our age say, "OMG, I love Merlot (how? at our price points, it's pretty shit)" or "Chardonnay is the best wine ever." To each their own. It's cool people are in to it. My point is - when we roll in to a wine tasting - I'm asking for the off-the-beaten-path wines, Zins galore, Malbec, granache, Oregon Pinot's and so on. I'm not much on whites (haha) but a good, sweet dessert wine can always be a favorite. Something with layers. Anyway, I digress.


So, I'm reading this article and agreeing with what this guy is saying only to realize I constantly cliche myself so bad that I sound like a fat guy preaching the ways of low-carb dieting. I'm not in a financial position to foodie myself on every meal or to drink good wines whenever I choose.


Take tonight for example. Tonight is "Let's go to the Cubs game...in my living room" night. It's warmer than Wrigley. To make it more realistic, I might open the screen door to chill the whole place down. It's cheaper. Better seats and the ability to change channels if it becomes dull (or Top Chef comes on). To make it all complete, we'll be having hot dogs, peanuts, bad beer and whatever else you'd see at a Cubs game. Maybe even some make-shift super ropes (red vines anyone?). So on one end I talk about how great a meal of braised lamb with a pinot noir reduction would be and a dessert of passion fruit creme brulee or homemade chocolate mousse...then tout how well I could make it or a restaurant where I know it's made well...to turn around and have me some hot dogs. MMM HOT DOGS. Processed, nastiness of the piggy's left over parts...all rolled into their intestinal tract, made into a hot dog shape, boiled, dolled up and tossed in a sesame seed bun. YES. It's a good contradiction between what I can preach and what I eat sometimes.


But - don't think that I'm abusing my body with your generic, run-of-the-mill, pig-parts-from-a-dirty-bucket hot dog (ie Oscar Meyer). No thanks. All Beef, baby. Kosher style. Vienna. Someone who knows how to make a hot dog look meat colored. Not that opaque, old lady, wrinkly skin color from the bottom of her feet look. They're slimier than a Hannah Montana pedophile and more disgusting to taste that spoiled Budding's Bologna (only 99 cents). I'm going to at least treat that dog to a sesame seed bun, not a completely enriched, bleached white flour death bun. And the fixins will be fresh (onion, tomato, ketchup, and so on - you know the drill).


So - where I may deviate from quality, I still don't get all ALDI on myself. Are they good for me? No. But then again - neither is a 5-meat lasagna, Colorado Lamb, or a 16 oz NY Strip Steak. Every now and again - you need Velveeta Shells and Cheese, hot dogs, cupcakes, Nutty Bars, and Buffalo Wings.


Point is - it's amusing to me. Fancy one minute and all cliche the next. On any note - I'm pumped for Hot Dog night and the cubs game, followed with Top Chef. Wednesday couldn't get much better than that. Damn...now I want some wings.

I'll work to get some fun videos up today or tomorrow.