More breaking news--MS still fat

I'm sure Nunnrey would have posted something about this if he knew how to work this fancy blogger thing.

Study: Mississippi Still Fattest State, But Alabama Closing Gap

Leaving One Day Early

Sitting here at the airport waiting on my delayed flight back to Austin. Just read about the Mississippi Picnic in Central Park at SunHerald.com. Too bad I'm not staying one more day so I could go enjoy some fried catfish and sweet tea.

Pizza in NYC: Part II

Back up in NYC this week and since getting in last night I've hit two places (imagine that).

Last night I walked from the hotel and grabbed a slice over at Redstone Pizzeria. Not too shabby, but nothing to call home about. I would say it was better than the slice I had last time though. The crust was a little to crisp for my liking.

Today we had lunch at Piola. Now that was a good slice. I had the Honolulu which John wouldn't like because of the delicious pineapple on top, but why would you want to take pizza advice from a dude sharing beauty secrets anyway? I'll report more if I get the chance.

Pizza in NYC?

I'm staying in NYC near Rockefeller Center.  Any good recommendations on where to get my slice tonight?  I'm on W. 51 St. near 6th Ave. if you are trying to pinpoint.

I've seen some dumpy looking cafe's, a couple of Pronto Pizza places and I know there are a couple variations of Famous Original Ray's Pizza withing a few blocks.  I'm open to other suggestions.

Nunnrey is a Bia - Reason #24

Remember back in March when John mentioned the beginning of chicken wing madness?  No...here's a refresher:

• Feb 2008 - JT, John, Nunnrey, me embark on the 2008 challenge to visit 25 of the restaurants so we can have the wing parties.  Can read the details in my original post from June.
• Nov 2008 - I receive completed passports in mail from JT as documented here.
• Nov 2008 continued - I fill out the required forms and go submit the completed passports via certified mail for John, Nunnrey and myself.
• Dec 2008 - Everyone receives certificates for their wing parties which must be completed by March 31, 2009 (this is key)
• Mar 2009 - JT kicks off chicken wing madness with the first party in Minnesota (although he didn't report it to any of us).  John has his party the following week.  I have mine two weeks after that.

Which brings us to now.  

Backtoms: But James...looks like you missed listing when Nunnrey had his party.  

James: Oh, I didn't miss anything...Nunnrey conveniently waited until the last day of the promotion and was unable to have a party.

Backtoms: But why would anyone give up a party for free chicken wings.

James: That is a good question.

So if you needed another reason about why Nunnrey is a bia...here you go.

Challenge: Grilled Cheese

Back at MSU, I remember a day enjoying lunch at the Lamma house when Daniel challenged me to a grilled cheese sandwich eating contest.  How could you turn that down?  And so it began.  I don't remember exactly how many we ate, but for some reason I think I had around 6 or 7.  Daniel on the other hand was a machine and easily beat my number and I lost my first grilled cheese sandwich eating contest.

Today I read in the Austin Business Journal that we are getting a Chedd's restaurant which specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches with 35 varieties of cheese and 8 different breads.  Daniel, would you care to come down for a rematch?

Breakfast Idea

I wish I would have gotten a picture of this, but it was too early in the morning for me to be thinking clearly.  Last weekend in Starkville, John made me take him to Zaxby's at the end of the evening for a late night snack.  He was "asleep" before we I pulled out of the parking lot and pretty much stayed that way until I woke him up when we got back to the hotel.

Once we got into the room I proceeded to chow down on my chicken strips and John went directly to the bed.  Being the good brother I am, I put his meal in the refrigerator so he could potentially enjoy it later (or the next day).

When we woke up in the morning I told John that his Zaxby's was in the fridge and he immediately went for it.  I asked if it was still good and he told me it was frozen.  I guess the fridge must have been jacked up a little too high, but this did not seem to deter him too much as I could hear him crunching the fries.  John decided to let the rest of the food defrost while he showered and I went to check out the breakfast provided by the hotel.

When I came back to the room, I told John that they had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and that maybe he should try some of the hot gravy on his chicken tenders to counteract the coldness.  He did and I sat jealously watching.

So if you ever have some frozen Zaxby's chicken tenders be sure to try them covered in the gravy from the Comfort Suites breakfast.

Let Me Post That For You: Bacon Explosion

I'm posting this one on behalf of Nunnrey and JT.

JT: gonna have to make this.... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html?no_interstitial

Nunnrey: I like the tight cross hatching of bacon used to create a blanket that gently swaddles its pork based innards.

James: I'm a little surprised Nunnrey is content not throwing some chicken in the mix.

Pig Butchering Guide

Nunnrey is too busy (maybe eating or testing out bathrooms) to post this for you guys, but I thought I'd share.  I know I know...why would the chicken lover be interested in this?  My guess is that while chicken is #1 in his heart, it's probably wrapped in bacon.

Afternoon Snack

The turbaconducken looks promising.  I'm wondering if this is what Nunnrey will be cooking up on Thanksgiving to go with his Luther Burgers.  Would be even better if they could figure out a way to chicken fry it.

JT Rocks

Nice wrap up to the weekend:

• Our Dawgs were able land a W and break the mind control Arkansas has had over us.
• While going through my mail yesterday I had a nice surprise package from Minnesota.  It contained our Passports.  Now I'm waiting on JT to update his map.  I had some Hooters last night to celebrate.  Those Daytona wings are pretty damn good.
• Had an unexpected visit from Mark B. Thursday night.  He was in Houston for some work stuff and he swung up to Austin for the night.  He's got all kinds of exciting news to share...maybe he'll share on the blog so I don't have to steal his thunder.
• Now I guess off to the grocery store to pick-up some items for the feast later this week.

Anybody have any good or bad info about that AT&T U-verse?  Was thinking about switching over to save a few bucks.

John ate his liver

Yesterday, we had some Chicken Express for dinner.  Every time I see their logo it makes me think of Nunnrey.  The chicken tenders are great, but I would still prefer some Raising Cane's sauce over the white gravy.

Anyway, Shey for some reason has a liking for fried chicken livers.  I learned this on a trip to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.  I'm not a huge fan of the livers as I think they are a little gritty, but since I saw them on the menu at Chicken Express I decided to pick some up (specifically for Shey) to go with our chicken and catfish dinner.

John claims he's never had liver so I told him he should try one.  He refused, but Shey called him a sissy so he gave it a whirl.  There were no fava beans or Chianti for John's Hannibal meal, but he did have some sweet tea with vodka (not to be confused with The Sweet Tea Vodka).  Once John got through the fried goodness and his teeth sunk into that liver he started whining like a little girl about how gross it was.  

I'm not sure if he actually swallowed it or not, but this one goes up there with his fear of roaches for how much of a little punk he is.  I assume this means you'll never see John on any survival shows in the future.

Sonic Polls: Analysis

Do you tip your Sonic carhop?
6 responded yes
5 responded no

Do you use the Sonic drive thru option?
2 responded yes
8 responded no

Some of my general thoughts on the topic:

• I didn't expect such a close call on the tipping question. I was under the impression that more people tipped their carhop. I'm not hatin on you for not...just thought it was common practice.
• During a team lunch a couple of weeks ago only the females responded that they did not tip although one of them said that this is a point of contention with her husband. She said that she typically will go through the drive thru for the sole purpose of not having her husband tip the skinny, b!tchs on rollerskates. I am now assuming that some of the other guys that I work with do not tip either, but they responded yes so they would not be outed as a cheap bastard.
• I don't quite get the drive thru as a viable alternative to the drive in UNLESS one of several criteria are met:
• You have a wife that makes you choose the drive thru to avoid tipping.
• There are no drive in spaces available.
• There are no vehicles in the drive thru line (but even then this is questionable).
• Your vehicle does not have reverse.
• None of the males I worked with admitted to using the drive thru option. Again, I have a feeling they were not completely honest.
• One female in my work discussion said that it was faster to use the drive thru. I beg to differ. We even laid out a scenario where there were already two cars in the drive thru; she would still choose to wait in that line as opposed to pulling into a drive in space and placing her order immediately.
• Michael, do your carhops often give you small talk when they deliver your order?

What are your thoughts or comments?

Sonic Polls

Come visit the blog website and vote in our poll about Sonic. There are two questions out there right now:

1. Do you tip your Sonic carhop?
2. Do you use the Sonic drive thru option?

I am curious to see your habits and we can discuss further after the polls close.

Bonafide Jackpot

I hit a bonafide jackpot today at lunch. We rolled up to Popeyes and I ordered a spicy 2-piece (breast and leg) with mashed potatoes and gravy. While waiting to pick up my order the clerk called customer #61 (that's me) up to the counter. She said they were out of spicy legs and asked if I would be interested in another spicy breast or a wing instead.

Are you kidding me??? Of course I would love to have another spicy breast. Today must be my lucky day. I think I'll pick up some lotto tickets on the way home. Love that chicken from Popeyes...it's bonafide.

Mississippi doing fine without us...

Mississippi remains most obese state, CDC reports