what happens if gas reaches five bucks?

Has anyone else been forced to change their eating habits based on the high price of gas?


I find myself making consolations left and right to adjust for my seemingly out of control petrol habit.


To make matters worse, most of the things I like to eat are increasing in price at a rate that rivals the pump!


Here is a short list of things I've had to reconsider recently:

• Bread. I really like good bread, but I think it should cost $4 or less per loaf. As it approaches/crosses the $5 mark I look for substitutes and start considering the store-brand wheat bread at $2.79


• Milk. I used to buy the cheapest gallon of milk I could find ($1.99 or so) now the prices have gone way up AND I have a newly acquired taste for things that are hormone free/organic. This means my average 1/2 gallon of milk is $3.79 or 3.8X as much as i used to pay. I wonder how my bone density will fare if I pull back a bit on the milk?


• Far flung restaurants. Living in suburbia has pros and cons, but one painfully clear fact about living where we live is a complete lack of interesting food (sorry Mia Roma.) In years past we would simply drive to the purveyors of our favorite (name your food category) whether they were located in West Seattle, Maltby, or Ballard. Today we factor in both the time and escalating cost to drive to our far-flung faves. Bummer.


• Beer. I have a very simple system for assigning value to beer; "good" beer has flavor, substance, nuance, and is often made in smaller quantities. Some examples of this are Elysian beers, Rogue, and Maritime Pacific. "Commodity" beers are those that come in packs of 24 and up, differentiate on the can liner, and are promoted on large plastic signs around the country. "Good" beer should cost between $1 and $1.25 per bottle or $6- $7.50 per six pack. Today I pay as much as $10 per six pack or $5 for a 24 oz bottle of the stuff. Commodity beer is up as well, but I don't buy much of it anyway.

Now the good news! There are some things that have not risen dramatically, and in fact pack some serious value for you bargain shoppers out there!

• Today I can fuel myself at Aca Las Tortas for the same five bucks I could a year ago. Same great ingredients, same great price! This keeps me going all day which is more than I can say for $5 worth of gas.


• Pagliacci Pizza. This is not the world's cheapest pie, but it is my favorite and it seems to be holding steady. They make the pizza and salad just the way I want **almost** every time, and if they don't they send me a certificate for a free one next time.


• Pearson's Nut Rolls are without a doubt one of the most perfect foods known to man. Salted Virginia peanuts, nougat, caramel...damn those are good. Next time you're on a roadtrip and the sting of buying gas has got you down...get a king size Pearson's Nut Roll and just try not to smile. They're tasty!

So here's my plan of action for the looming five dollar gas demons

1. ride my bike
2. grow edible stuff in my yard (well, my wife will do that and I'll eat it)
3. eat at home even more
4. steady diet of mexican sandwiches and nutty confections

the weather is messing up my program

One of the only ways I'm forced out of a culinary rut is by the changing seasons.

If it were always summer I'm pretty sure I'd be grilling salmon in my shorts, alternating between pinot noir and sauvignon blanc every other day.

If springtime were permanent I'd have a nice mixture of dishes and the excitement of a fresh crop of vegetables and fruits to enjoy.

Unfortunately we seem to be stuck in a never-ending '07-'08 winter cycle in the Pacific Northwest and its got me stuck in a rut that I can't seem to shake...

So what is my winter rut you ask? I'm pretty sure I can break it down into four bullet points:

• My own homemade spicy red sauce
• Big, bold red wines
• Thai food from Pen Thai
• Pagliacci pizza

This is a great rut to be in from a sensory point of view...you've got all the major food groups (spicy, meaty, tomato-y, and wine) but it tends to put me in a "sit on the couch and watch Entourage repeats again" mood

if I'm ever going to fit into my speedo this summer I need the gods to comply with my request to change the freakin season so I can eat some other stuff.

How are you?

Its been some time since my last post. I attribute the gap to a couple things including a hectic lifestyle, some laziness, and a lack of culinary inspiration.
Sometimes I wish I didn't know about great food and drink. Imagine if it were possible to ignore Whole Foods, Pete's Wines, or your favorite sushi joint.

I recall a day not too long ago when my trips to the grocery store involved large packages of mass-produced tortillas, a five pound brick of Tillamook medium cheddar, a massive jar of salsa, and some sort of macro-brew (preferably with a nice can liner to impart that bottled taste.)
Sounds boring, yet to the early 20s Scott this cheezy-spicy-light beer combo was pretty damn good morning, noon, or night!

Somehow along the way I was introduced to new foods...and it didn't happen all at once. It was a gradual transition that led me from the simple, easy to find joy I had at Rosauer's to the hard to find, difficult to pronounce, and wallet-taxing experiences I have at Whole Foods today.
If you're not following what's happened, here is a simple "before and after" chart that should illustrate what used to be a staple in my world to what I'm enjoying today:

Carl Buddig proccesed "ham food" => sliced Safeway Select Turkey => Wine cured Proscuitto

Tillamook "baby loaf" => Irish cheddar => Ridiculous cheese habit

Tap water => bottled water => tap water (I'm not playing that any more unless forced)

Keystone Light => Red Hook => Rosemount Shiraz => Start a food and wine company

Iceberg lettuce=> Romaine => organic baby greens

Grocery store wheat loaf => baguette => kalamata olive bread

White mushrooms=> portabellos=> chantarelles=> morels

I could go on and on, but I think the bottom line is I have (with the help of shrewd grocery marketing gurus) slowly changed my taste across the board. The end results are pretty interesting. I am harder to please, I have to search harder and go to more places for the specific items I'm after, I spend WAY more on the most basic of items, and above all I absolutely love a good meal more than ever.

I hope you're enjoying whatever it is that you're eating today.

Have you been to Utah recently? Yeah, me too...last weekend.
Having never been to Ogden i didn't really know what to expect. What would it be like? Is a "dry" cold better than a "wet" cold? Is there such thing as "traditional Mormon food?"
So let me address these points before I drone on any more:

1) What was it like? bland. its like any other third-tier western city...only whiter
2) It doesn't feel as cold when the humidity is low
3) No, there doesn't seem to be a high profile Mormon food, but I hear lime jello may be a contender

While in Ogden I had the pleasure of meeting a whole slew of nice people and sampling some local fare. I'm not going to highlight any particular establishment in this rant, but I will say Ogden has all the same sorts of restaurants we enjoy in major metropolitan areas, but without the high prices or tasty ingredients. The culinary focus is not on creating interesting tastes and textures, but rather filling your plate for $8.95.
here is a handy reference you can use to decode the somewhat **tricky** Ogden fare:

Bolognese = Ketchup and ground beef
Gourmet Pizza = doughy bread and greasy cheese
Butter = "gold n soft" margarine
Phad Thai = oops, sorry...no Thai food
Pint of Pale Ale = $4.00 to join a "private club" and $3.50 for a bud lite tall boy

There is one standout food experience I need to share in the Ogden area, and its actually located about 20 miles away in tiny Huntsville, Utah. The Shooting Star Saloon is as old as dirt (and seems to be covered in a fine layer.) We went for lunch and enjoyed a surreal meal in this seriously old school saloon. The food options are limited (you can have a burger, a cheeseburger, a "mini star" burger, or a "star" burger, the last two include a nice knockworst on top of your patty! Don't ask for substitutions, don't ask for table service, and bring cash...cause they don't take American Express.

On a completely unrelated note, I have added another "favorite" torta joint to my list. Its simply called "Aca las Tortas" in Canyon Park and it is run by the same bunch that make my Tortas at the Kenmore roach coach at 80th & Bothell Way. They literally have 22 Torta options so it can be a bit overwhelming...but you'll get over it. Check it out yo.