Author Archives: Emily

Omnivore’s 100: Alligator tastes like Crocodile

The Omnivore’s 100 feature is back!  The reason for the long absence: Crocodile stumped me. I planned to buy this wild meat during the Texas trip.  San Antonio apparently had a famous speciality meats store, Exotic Meats USA. However, when I arrived and looked up their website, I found that the store had moved to Reno, NV. Foiled, [...]
Posted in DC Fringes, Omnivore's 100 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Help me craft the perfect Sirius presets

Many things annoy me. I hate when someone locks the laundry room door in my apartment complex and I have to juggle the detergent and dirty clothes while flicking through my keys.  I’m irritated by the chronically late, perpetually whiney and those who ask ”so what do you do?” I despise double parkers, left lane slow drivers and purposely late mergers.  But [...]
Posted in DC Fringes, Etc. | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Don’t Mess with Texas’ Beers

    When people think of the regions where great American craft beer is brewed, they usually think of the West Coast, the Northeast and the Great Lakes region.  Texas and the Southwest are typically not thought of as great beer regions. In fact when people think of beer in Texas, Corona, Tecate and Shiner Bock are [...]
Posted in Texas, beer | Leave a comment

More Texas Craziness – Castles of Junk

Wild animals sticking their heads inside your rental car isn’t the only odd part about Texas. Take a look at this three-story Cathedral of Junk we visited in the the suburbs of Austin. It’s part La Sagrada Familia, part ornate, suburban playground (the wooden kind that came into vogue in Ohio circa 1992).  
Posted in Texas | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Where Wild West Meets the Wild

  I’ve never been to Texas before. I had been warned that it is a country on to itself. When I visited my brother — a new San Antonio resident — over Christmas and New Years, I found that to be percisely true. The two hour drive from San Antonio to Austin showed us exactly the [...]
Posted in Texas | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Tis the Season for Tacky Lights

I like a little holiday magic -- as long as it doesn't involve ballet, the mall or It's a Wonderful Life. This rules out most things, of course, except Christmas beers and tacky lights displays. This week, we ventured to two of the more spectacular light displays in the Washington Metropolitan Region: Baltimore's 34th Street display and Gaylord Hotel's Christmas lighting/ snowfall display.
Posted in DC Fringes, Maryland | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Omnivore’s 100: We Like it Raw & Spicy

With venison and nettle tea out of the way, we move on the next foods on the list: Huevos rancheros and steak tartare. With the help of local ethnic supermarket, GrandMart, huevos rancheros made for an easy brunch. Steak tartare, the gourmet raw beef dish, was another matter. Would we risk food poisoning to continue this mission?
Posted in Omnivore's 100 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Outer Banks, Out of Season

It's too cold to swim. The bars and restaurants are eerily empty. The souvenir shops are shuttered. The Outer Banks may not be the most lively out-of-season destination. But there's plenty to do at this resort town, if post-apocolyptic-like desolation is your thing.
Posted in North Carolina | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Omnivore’s 100: A brush with bowel-cleaning super tea

I'm not a tea person. I've drunk coffee every morning of my life since high school. I have a caffine addiction -- the withdrawl headache sets in about 1 pm -- that led me to carrying around packets of instant coffee when traveling in remote regions of Asia. But I think I speak for tea drinkers everywhere when I ask: "What the hell is nettle tea?"
Posted in Omnivore's 100 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Omnivore’s 100: Venison down, 99 more to go

A few weeks ago, somone sent me a list of the 100 foods that every person should eat in his or lifetime. The list runs from the ridiculous (road kill) to the standard (a Big Mac meal) to the pricey (a tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant). For the next year – or however longs it takes – we will eat from one to 100. I will try to go in order, but I’m making no promises. First up: Venison.
Posted in Omnivore's 100, West Virginia | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments