I Did A Bad, Bad Thing

I finally succumbed to the Angry Whopper yesterday.

It's all Catherine's fault, really. I was vaguely amused by the commercials but not all that tempted--until I read her article, that is.

This mega-sandwich (I had the single burger--I cannot imagine anyone being able to consume the triple)--is a hamburger patty topped with pepper jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, mayo and spicy "Angry Sauce."

It was pleasantly spicy, and very filling. There was a lot going on, though. I didn't even notice there was cheese--I only read about it afterward. The mayo, angry sauce and various bits plopped out and slid down my wrists. Normally I'd count this as a good thing, but this time the dripping innards made it difficult to snarf this unruly beast.

Even so, I liked it.

You can expect horrific nutritional value in such a monster. Behold:

The single angry whopper has 880 calories, 55g of fat (of which 18g are from saturated fat and 2g are trans fat), 110mg cholesterol, a whopping (pun intended) 1670mg sodium, 59g carbohydrates (3g dietary fiber and 13g of sugar--where in the world they put sugar I'll never know) and 37g protein. It's not as bad as my long-lost beloved Thickburger, but close enough.

It's a good thing we walked, huh?

I can't say that I'll eat it again anytime soon, though. Perhaps if they offered the same sandwich in their Junior version I'd go for it--this was just too much.

A Nice Day

Yesterday was Columbus Day. In honor of Mr. Columbus' discovery of the New World, the U.S. designates the first Monday in October a federal holiday. As such, Mr.W was off from work, and we were able to take the opportunity to get away from our little city for the day.


The fall color is really starting to come in. It was raining or drizzling most of the day, so it was rather wet and chilly, but it didn't detract from nature's beauty.

We arrived at around 9:00am in Little Falls to look at the tiny rapids. It's nestled in a small nook in the rocks along New York's Mohawk River.


This little park is next to the river, where people can dock their boats. Alongside is a 2-mile walking trail, which was the river's original towpath, from back when packet-boats were pulled along the water trail by horse or mule cart. So it was very nice at the waterside. That is, until we turned around.

Directly across the street from the pretty little waterside park is this dilapidated building. I can only speculate as to how much money would be required to restore this to its former splendor. Even the bridge we were standing on had caution signs, warning people not to park on the bridge. Barrels and rusty chains kept pedestrians safely away from the handrail, which appeared to be separating from the bridge itself and precariously leaning over a 50-foot drop.

It seems, though, that Little Falls is attempting a facelift, but they have a long way to go. Criss-crossing bridges and roads mar the view significantly, and dilapidated bulidings are everywhere. One tiny fashionable strip mall recalling a more genteel time along with the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen are the best Little Falls has to offer.

So we ate breakfast at McDonald's and left Little Falls with nary a backward glance.

We drove into Herkimer, NY for some antiquing at one of my favorite junk shops--The Valley Exchange. Mr.W rifled through the book section, and even found a Barry Manilow LP that he insisted he wanted.

"But we don't have a record player."

"But he writes the songs that make the young girls cry!"

Who can argue with that logic?

We bought a few things and headed into Ilion to meet up with some friends; the group of us drove back into Herkimer for a lovely lunch at one of my favorite hideaways: Brian's Roast Beef Deli.

Brian's is a veritable hole in the wall--but the food is fantastic. Ignore the dark burgundy velvet-flecked wallpaper and dark panelling. Order the steak or fish special. Or a sandwich. It's ALL good. I had the covered sausage and peppers sandwich--sans bread. Yum. And sweet potato fries. Double yum.

On the way back, we stopped at my favorite farmer's stand for another peek at what yummy items they have for sale. I indulged in some butter & sugar corn and a butternut squash. They'll be closing in a couple of weeks until spring, so I need to get what I can get now!


The day continued at our local Barnes & Noble... coffee & some light reading... then home to crash with a mug of hot escarole soup in front of the tv, just in time for Prison Break and Heroes. Aah, it's good to be home after all.


Mrs.W

Guilty Pleasures

After all of my recent cooking, I'm taking a bit of a break. Yesterday was a day of fast food--one of my guilty pleasures. I know it's not good for me, but what the heck! It's okay to indulge sometimes.

So my husband surprised me by bringing home some McDonald's take-out. He knows about my life-long affair with the Filet-O-Fish sandwich, beginning even before my birth! The Filet-O-Fish was the one thing my mother craved regularly while pregnant for me--and while in labor and en route to the hospital, she stopped off for one more McD's fish sammy before giving birth to me.

Clearly those were the days before they told you not to eat once in labor.

But I digress.

Imagine my surprise when, upon opening up my luscious little fast food bundles, there, looking up at me, were two sesame-seeded buns, which do NOT normally appear on the Filet-O-Fish.

Now, I'm a bit of a tattle-tale when it comes to mistakes in big fast food. More than a bit, actually. Our local McD's is TERRIBLE with service and quality control; there are consistent mistakes in the drive-thru--you have to go in if you want your stuff done right, and check it before you leave the counter. So I emailed McDonald's customer service with the picture, insisting that they re-train the entire staff of this particular store. Hopefully they'll send me some coupons or something.

*Sigh*

I guess that's what happens when your workers are too young, or too uneducated, or too underpaid to care.

And yes, I like ketchup with my fries, as evidenced by the blob in the photo. I snarfed them up first, before even taking the picture. Me likes 'em HOT.

My sister and her boyfriend are coming for dinner tonight, and I'm preparing a spiced chicken dish with roasted cauliflower and glazed sweet potatoes. Loosely inspired by caribbean flavors, the chicken is infused with allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple cider, curry powder and and a carefully seeded and chopped serrano chile.

I don't usually experiment on dinners with company, but this one sounded safe enough. I'll do a more thorough post on it soon.

For now, however, housework chores beckon.

Be well,

Mrs. W