Steamer Pack Sighting

Today while riding through Hickory, NC a strange thing happened. Going down Highway 70, I noticed a piece of trash floating underneath cars ahead in the distance. As we got closet to this item, I realized it was something familiar to me but something that had no logical reason being in this area. It was an empty Krystal Steamer Pack box. With the closest Krystal being about 50 miles away in Gaffney, SC, why in the world would this mysterious piece of trash be in Hickory? Is there a mystery Krystal somewhere closer that I don't know about? Is there a location in North Carolina not listed on the website? I would expect to see McDonalds bags or cups from Cookout, but a Krystal box!?!? I've never been so baffled yet teased by someone's trash.

It is a mystery.


--Sadie

I love this:

via Facebook update from Ben and Jerry's:

A pint is still a pint!
From Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc.
Today at 8:48pm
One of our competitors (think funny sounding European name) recently announced they will be downsizing their pints from 16 to 14 ounces to cover increased ingredient and manufacturing costs and help improve their bottom line. At Ben & Jerry's we think downsizing pints is downright wrong. We understand that in today's hard economic times businesses are feeling the pinch. We also understand that many of you are also feeling the same, and think now more than ever you deserve your full pint of ice cream. We are even more committed today to lead with our values through the quality of our ingredients and how we source them to make the best ice cream possible. So, while our competitor may be experiencing a bit of shrinkage, rest assured that your Ben & Jerry's will still be standing tall in the freezer.

Ben & Jerry's is dedicated to making the best ice cream and giving our consumers full value in every spoonful!

Enjoy and Thanks, from all of us at Ben & Jerry's!


Ben and Jerry's is the best. Hands down. Bottom Line.

--Jamie

Our Favorite Food #3: The Blizzard

It is fitting that I write about something named after a snowstorm since it is snowing in Asheville right at this moment. The kind of blizzard we so love is definitely NOT the snowstorm. I speak for Sadie and myself when I say that we are warm-weather ladies who are ready for summer and ashamedly like the effects global warming has instilled in the planet for the sole fact that we LOVE the summer.

Enough talk about snow. The Blizzard. We have written about Dairy Queen and their flagship concoction known as the Blizzard in many a blog-post, but we absolutely cannot compile a list of our favorite foods without what could possibly be our number one favorite food of all time. A blizzard (according to the number two definition on urbandictionary.com) is:

2.	blizzard
	A great dessert from Dairy Queen. This is the first, the original of ice cream desserts. Long before Sonic's Blasts or McDonald's McFlurries, there was the great. The Blizzard is still the best, don't be fooled by the cheap imitations!

This simple definition sums it up. "The Blizzard is still the best" and that is the damn truth. There are all kinds of blizzards. Too many for me to list off right now, but a few favorites of mine are: oreo, chocolate extreme, Georgia mud fudge and cookie dough; although none can compare to the greatest of them all: The Brownie Batter Blizzard.

I'm not going to go into great detail about the Brownie Batter Blizzard because one of our first blog posts is a narrative Sadie wrote in college about BBB's and it is very detailed and long and describes everything about it. The experience, the taste, and the emotional attachment we have to this dear, sweet ice cream concoction. You should read it.



--Jamie

Our Favorite Foods #2

Tacos.



--Couldn't have said it better myself.

Few things excite me more than tacos. Crunchy tacos to be exact. I just can't get enough of them. Growing up, at least once a week we would have a make your own taco night in the Carpenter household consisting of crunchy taco shells (Old El Paso brand), ground beef, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and of course salsa (we went through the largest bottle of Pace Picante Mild sauce about once every two weeks on average.) Upon my arrival at college last year, I was thrilled to discover that once a week the cafeteria had the exact same buffet of taco amenities. Needless to say, it was my favorite meal.

There is just nothing like biting into a crunchy shell filled with your favorite fixings and experiencing the pure ecstasy that makes up this simple, Americanized-Mexican entre. Sadie and I have both expressed that if we would be the best eaters of anything, it would be crunchy tacos despite their subsequent danger in cutting your mouth and throat with the sharp edges of the shell.

Stay tuned for future discussions of favorite food which will most likely include many, many more Mexican dishes: Salsa, burritos, quesadillas... okay maybe we'll just make another entire blog about Mexican food; the possibilities are endless.

--Jamie

Our Favorite Foods #1: Pimento Cheese, a true southern delicacy

Pronounced 'minna cheese here in the south, pimento cheese is a cheese spread which is best enjoyed (in my opinion) between two slices of white bread, cut diagonally down the center. You won't find many households around here that don't have a container of pimento cheese sitting in their refrigerator. It is a very versatile, easy, cheap, and oh-so-delicious meal. Visit any southern church covered-dish potluck lunch and you will find plates full of quartered pimento cheese sandwiches.

Our granny makes her own pimento cheese. Once on a camping trip through New England, she wanted to make some pimento cheese sandwiches in the RV but couldn't find it in any grocery store. She decided she'd take matters into her own hands and make her own pimento cheese. From that point on, she decided she would stick to making it herself, using the basic ingredients: grated cheddar cheese, diced pimentos, mayonnaise, and salt/pepper to taste.

Besides eating it on your basic white-bread sandwiches, there are many other ways to enjoy pimento cheese:
-using it as a dip for bell peppers, celery, or crackers
-replacing it for sliced cheese and making a grilled pimento cheese sandwich
-topping a hamburger with a big glob of it
-even making Pimento Mac and Cheese (I haven't tried this yet but think it would be awesome!)
....pretty much anywhere you can use your basic cheese you can use pimento cheese.


Actually, for my lunch today I packed a pimento cheese sandwich. I slathered a little bit on some whole-wheat bread and topped it of with a hand full of baby spinach...so actually pimento cheese can even be a part of a healthy, well balanced meal!

Someday, I'd like to come up with my own pimento cheese recipe and share it with the world, but for now, I'll stick to my grocery store staple: Ruth's Hot Pimento Cheese.

--Sadie

A New Segment

Since we don't really have anything competitive-eating related to talk about right now we've decided to start a new feature for our blog: "Our Favorite Foods"

Every week, we will satisfy your palate by giving you the 411 on our favorite foods, meals, and restaurants. Talking about food is one of the main reasons we started writing on this thing anyway. We love food. Our whole lives have been centered around a good meal so why not share this love with the rest of the world?

Is Burger King trying to be the next Krystal?

From Yahoo! News: Burger King Corp. Boosts Menu with New BK BURGER SHOTS and BK BREAKFAST SHOTS

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Burger King Corp. (NYSE:BKC - News) adds two charming, bite-sized menu additions with new BK BURGER SHOTS™ and BK BREAKFAST SHOTS™. Full of mouth-watering flavors, the new sandwiches are ideal as a snack or a meal.

Available in a two-pack or a six-pack, BK BURGER SHOTS™ offer a hot and juicy flame-broiled burger topped with mustard, ketchup and two crunchy pickles between a bakery-fresh bun without sesame seeds.

Another mini menu addition is BK BREAKFAST SHOTS™, which feature the choice of thinly sliced ham, crispy bacon or a sausage patty with a fluffy egg, a smoky cheese sauce and melted American cheese served on a bakery-fresh bun. BK BREAKFAST SHOTS™ are available in a two-pack or a four-pack.

“BK BURGER SHOTS™ might look small, but they are full of the big, flame-broiled taste our guests love,” said John Schaufelberger, senior vice president, global product marketing and innovation, Burger King Corp. “In addition, BK BREAKFAST SHOTS™ round out the breakfast menu with a hearty and fun-to-eat morning option.”

BK BURGER SHOTS™ will be available in a two-pack or a six-pack portion for a suggested retail price of $1.39 and $4.09. BK BREAKFAST SHOTS™ will be available in a two-pack or a four-pack for a suggested retail price of $1.49 and $2.89 during BURGER KING® restaurant breakfast hours.

Check out BK.Com for more info.

I must argue...

After reading Sadie's Super Bowl blog about her favorite frozen pizza, I feel that I must defend my number one choice. The ever so classy: Totino's Pizza. There are a lot of different flavors and combination's; all of which are delicious but my particular favorite is the Mexican Party Pizza. Yes, yes. I know you're probably thinking.. TOTINO'S?!?! They have had a recent bout of E. coli in November of 2007, who's to say it won't happen again. Maybe I feel invincible. I have never had a bad experience with food, and the poor preperation or diseases that are often involved with it. As a matter of fact, I have probably developed an immunity to food poisioning because all of the dirty food and perservatives I have consumed in my lifetime.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Totino's Mexican Style. At $1.25, its affordable, tasty, quick and filling. I love this pizza. (also try: Supreme, Combination, and the many different styles of Pizza Rolls)

In other news, I'm not sure if its the excitement of the Wing Bowl that has enhanced it, but I have been especially obsessed with buffalo wings (with or without bones) as of late. I must say that Pizza Hut is superior to Papa Johns, but the best I've had in Asheville are at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company AKA "The Brew and View". If you are ever visiting the area, I recommend this establishment. Located on Merrimon Avenue, the Brew and View is not only a restaurant but an experience as they show second run movies ($3) and serve pizza, sandwiches, nachos, chicken wings and everything else including microbrews by the pitcher (which I will definately take advantage of in approximately one year and one month). The "FIRE" wings are to die for.


-Jamie

Super Bowl 09

In honor of the Super Bowl (which is basically serving as a background noise for my boredom-caused facebook addiction) I thought I'd give a quick review of the best frozen pizza ever.

A few weeks ago, Trey and I went to the grocery store to get a frozen pizza to eat for dinner. We stumbled across this gem of a find...the Tombstone Garlic Bread Pizza. I have always thought frozen pizza was okay; I'd prefer pizza from a real pizza place any day but when in a hurry and on a budget, pizzas of the frozen variety have to suffice. Anyway, we picked up the Tombstone Garlic Bread Pizza and were pleasantly surprised at the taste of this pizza. It is really garlic-y which makes it REALLY good! The crust isn't too thin like a lot of frozen pizzas are, it has a nice, thicker consistency. For the past month, we've had one of these pizzas every weekend and I can't seem to get enough of it. It comes in cheese, pepperoni, and supreme, but we've only had the cheese due to the fact that Trey won't eat supreme and I'd just rather have cheese for fewer calories. Dumb isn't it?... I'm worried about just a few extra calories when I sit and eat half of a pizza in one sitting. Ah well, such is life.

We're going to Sims Country BBQ this weekend which is quite possibly the most awesome place in the world, so I'll be sure to post some pictures.

--Sadie

Competitive Eating Manager Turns Competitive Eater

(Rick "The Manager" at the 2008 Wing Bowl)



There is something magical about the beginning of January. A new year has just begun, football excitement is in full swing, and the city of Philadelphia is getting ready to become bombarded with scantily-clad women and carnivorous lovers of the almighty wing. Locals and out-of-towners alike look forward to the Wing Bowl every year as it glorifies indulgence; a time when it is not only accepted but expected to eat, drink, and be merry for a night in the City of Brotherly Love.

No one could be more excited for the Wing Bowl this year than Rick “The Manager” Russo, who qualified today to be a competitor in Wing Bowl 17. Russo, a Royersford P.A. resident has had many roles in the Wing Bowl in past years—duties which have included participating in eater entourages and even managing some competitors.

Although “The Manager” rejoices tonight in knowing that he will be competing with the elite wing eaters of the Philadelphia area, his journey to the table didn’t start out so optimistic. The year began out in chaos when 610WIP announced that they wanted to keep the contest only open to local competitors. Automatically, big named eaters such as Joey Chestnut and Pat Bertoletti who dominated Wing Bowl’s past were turned away from the competition. Along with the ‘keep it local’ mentality, Wing Bowl organizers also decided to eliminate all professional eaters, meaning that even the local pros such as Wing Kong, Steakbellie, and Humble Bob would not be able to compete.

With the omission of his seasoned eaters-friends from this year’s Wing Bowl, Rick “The Manager” almost lost all hope in being in the hullabaloo of the 17th Wing Bowl. Adding to the fact that his professional eater friends could not participate, Dave “The Dumpster”, an eater Russo manages and has been in the Wing Bowl the past few years decided to opt out this time around. Leaving “The Manager” without an entourage to join or an eater to manage, Rick was determined to find a way to place an eater in the contest…until he got distracted.

Rick’s wife Sherri found out that she had a cancer on her thyroid that had to be removed. This immediately made “The Manager” forget about trying to place an eater in the Wing Bowl and turn his entire focus on helping his wife get through her surgery. Luckily, Sherri made it through her surgery and is recovering well; able-bodied enough to decide it was time to live her dream of being a human plate.

Wait a minute. Rewind. A human plate? What is a human plate you might ask. Well, it is exactly what it sounds like. A human (preferably a woman) places food on her body (preferably not wearing a lot of clothes) while someone (usually a man) eats food off of said woman. While watching T.V. one night, the Russos stumbled across one of those “Las Vegas: Exposed” shows on the Travel Channel and discovered that one of the sexiest jobs in Vegas was to be a human plate. Mrs. “The Manager” Sherri thought it would be fun to try and be a human plate someday, which got gears rolling at full speed in Rick’s mind.

A few nights later while “The Manager” was taking a shower, a light bulb went off in his head. Rick still had it in the back of his mind that he would try to place an eater in Wing Bowl 17 but was unlucky at doing so. But after thinking about this fact for a minute, and remembering Sherri’s new-found dream of being a human plate, Rick “The Manager” had an epiphany. He, himself would qualify for the Wing Bowl by eating food off of a human plate; his wife. But what food would he eat off of this nearly-naked woman? He racked his mind trying to think of the perfect human-plate-food…first toying with the ever-so-Philly idea of cheese steaks, but that just wasn’t sexy enough to be eating off of a hot girl. Finally, “The Manager” decided on the epitome of sexy food to use for his stunt: Sushi.

The plan was set. To finalize this dual dream--one of being in the Wing Bowl and the other of being a sexy human plate, Rick “The Manager” Russo called in to 610WIP last week to propose his idea to the Wing Bowl promoters. His stunt: eating 4 feet of sushi off of two women wearing only Victoria’s Secret lingerie. Ingenious. How could one turn down a stunt involving sushi and women in underwear? “The Manager” practiced his stunt once, actually eating 5 feet (in length) of sushi and sashimi in 2 minutes and 38 seconds, surpassing what he had assumed he could do. Today, to qualify, he was actually given 6 minutes by the radio station to complete his stunt but definitely surpassed his practicing time. As far as preparation for the big day, Rick plans on practicing various eating techniques, but for the most part, he says he'll just 'wing it'. He is has high hopes of doing quite well in this contest and is excited to participate knowing that no matter what happens in the end, someone from the ‘home team’ of Philadelphia will bring back the title this year.

With a new-found talent for an already established interest in competitive eating, I think this will be the first of many contests in which “The Manager” is a participant instead of a spectator. Encouraging all he encounters to "Eat Each Meal Like It's Your Last," Russo seems like he is ready to enter the elite competitive eating game with full force. Keep a look out, Rick “The Manager” Russo might be dropping that nickname for one more suitable of a professional eater.

Happy Birthday, Joey Chestnut!

Well, it has been quite some time since we have had anything food-wise to discuss. I say this with much dismay of course. Too bad the Competitive Eating world goes on a bit of a hiatus after Krystal, or at least contests within driving distance.

I did, however do a presentation for a Foundations of Management class on the compeitive strategies of the I.F.O.C.E. I believe the class was relatively interested in my presentation or slightly confused with how I got interested in such a sport.

That's all for now, maybe we will have more to talk about after we gorge on turkey, sweet potato casserole and whatever else Thanksgiving delights that may cross our paths.

Jamie

newsflash

I just received a call from my wonderful roommate to inform me that she just saw Crazy Legs Conti on Discovery Channel's Cash Cab. Lo and behold, I turned on my TV and saw Crazy Legs and Eater X Tim Janus win $1600 by answering a question about deep dish pizza!

Jamie

Pics & Vids

Krystal!!!!


Our traditional chocolate chip pancake breakfast

Jamie, Badlands, and Sadie

Kobayashi & his bunnette, Sadie!


More Pictures (I will try to post more pictures directly to the blog but it is going at an ungodly slow speed right now, so click on the link if you want to see the rest)

Our videos from the weekend:

Eater Introductions

The Krystal Square Off 5

Badlands Booker's 2nd Song

Krystal Square Off 5

Re-Occurring Themes of our Krystal Square Off 5 Weekend:
gasoline, food, meeting cool people, and oh yeah… KOBAYASHI!

Our journey to Chattanooga started on Friday morning when Trey and I left Mooresville in the pouring rain to head towards the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Well, I guess the real journey started a few days before when we went through the emotional torment of deciding whether the gas crisis in Charlotte was going to keep us away from Chatty…obviously it did not.

Anyway... Trey and I picked up Jamie in Asheville around noon on Friday and set out on our second annual expedition to the Krystal Square Off. Since the Asheville Krystal had recently closed, we had to snack in the car to hold our hunger until we found a Krystal—which to our luck, would only be about an hour away in Newport, TN. The Krystal in Newport was cool--kind of like a Cook Out or Checkers if you are familiar with those--there was no dining room and there was a drive in on both sides of the restaurant. Bottom line of our lunch stop: We ate lunch in Newport, God's Storehouse is in Newport (see pictures), we found a gas station in Newport, the rain stopped in Newport and the sun started to shine a little. We love this town!

After a few hours of driving, we finally arrived in Chattanooga and checked into the Day's Inn and tried to figure out how we would spend our time in the city. After checking out some websites (chattanoogafun/eatfeats/etc.) we just decided to have a fun night out in Chattanooga on Friday. There was some motorcycle thing going on Friday night so we saw what that was all about out on our way to the Big River Grille/Brewery for some food and drinks. The food was ok, but the Oktoberfest beer was divine.

On Saturday, we went to the Krystal on Cherokee Ave (which is the oldest Krystal still open, we think) and ate breakfast and decided to explore Chattanooga some more. We found this cultural fest going on near the water front and spent some time hanging out in the North Shore district of the city, which is really eclectic and interesting. The highlight of Saturday, however, was going to the Hixson Krystal (a few minutes outside of Chattanooga) for an eater autograph session + some free food samples!

We were pretty freaking excited going into the autograph session, because we knew that the time had come for us to finally meet Takeru Kobayashi. We've met most of the other eaters before at some point in time, but this was the big one, the one we have been wanting to see in real-life for a long time; we were finally going to meet the guy who ignited our interest in competitive eating. We got to the Hixson Krystal before the eaters did so we just hung out and sampled some milkquakes and stuff. We when they arrived, some pictures were taken and then Kobayashi, Pat Bertoletti, Joey Chestnut, and Humble Bob signed some autographs. We got in the autograph line (ok...we kind of started the line I guess…) and met Takeru Kobayashi and even got him to sign our Kobayashi trading cards. It was pretty thrilling. We also got to see the other eaters—-who we also really love :-).

One of the turning points of the day, though, was when I met Tiffany, who works for Krystal. Tiffany was helping with the autograph session in Hixson, and coincidentally, was the person who was in charge of the bunnettes. I was able to talk to her at the autograph session and asked her who I would be flipping for at the Square Off. She asked me who I’d like to flip for, I said Kobayashi, and the rest is history. September 27th, 2008, I became Takeru Kobayashi’s official 2008 Krystal Square Off Bunnette and I will forever live my life by the mantra: ask and ye shall receive.

I spent the rest of the day doing whatever I could to get my mind off of the Krystal Square Off because I was really getting anxious and nervous about being on stage (and behind a legendary eater, nonetheless). So, we ate some DELICIOUS pizza at Lupi’s downtown, had some Chocolate Therapy at Ben & Jerry’s, and checked out a band, Harper, on the waterfront. The band was actually pretty cool—the lead singer was Australian and played a didgeridoo, which ruled. We called it an early night and watched Sister Act 2 on TV. I doped up on some Advil PM and slept like a baby.

Sunday morning, Trey, Jamie, and I went to the City Café (adjacent to the Days Inn) for our second annual traditional Pre-KSO Breakfast of Chocolate Chip Pancakes. They were quite possibly some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life, but I was pretty anxious to get the day started so I couldn’t finish them. Jamie, the president of the Clean Plate Club/amateur competitive eater, ate all of hers. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, packed up the car, and made our way down to Ross' Landing.

I hung out with Jamie and Trey for a while, scoping out the activities of the event, and went with them to find an up-close seat for the contest. After we sat down, we realized we were right behind Val, another competitive eating fan, who drove 10 hours just for the contest! It was nice to finally meet her in person after reading her stuff and looking at her pictures for a while. It was also fun to hear/see the Marshall Tucker Band play before the contest (ok it was also fun to see the mullet-clad MTB fans there too. Can I get a hell yeah for southern rock!?)

My bunnette duties officially started at noon; I helped hand out pompoms and thundersticks and balloons to the eating fans. Around one, we went and met the eaters on the water front to cheer them on as they walked to the stage for their introductions. I thought it was really cool that they came in by boat...it just kind of made me concerned for the ones who may get motion sick. ah well, it probably wasn't a long boat ride.

One of the highlights of the pre-contest was Badlands Booker's rapping! Until Sunday, I'd never gotten to see Badlands perform in real life so it was cool to see him from backstage. We were really excited to meet him too, and I must say...he is one cool dude.

The contest itself is all kind of a blur to me; it came and went so fast. I mean, at one point I was standing in the line getting ready to get on stage after the eater introductions, and the next thing I knew, I was up there flipping numbers to 86 (which was later reduced to 84). Thank goodness my wonderful husband Trey was there to video. It was so awesome to be on stage, though, being right in the middle of the action. Joey ended up winning, Pat came in second, and Kobayashi came in third. I was disappointed Kobayashi lost, but honestly, the whole thrill of just being there really overcame the disappointment. From what I could tell from behind the eaters, it seemed to me that Joey was pushing through faster and was on the track to winning throughout the whole contest. I was surprised, however, that no one beat the 100 mark; I expect to see 110+ burgers eaten next year!

After the contest was over, Trey, Jamie, Val, and I hung around to take a few more pictures. We also got to meet Rick Russo and his wife Sherri, SuperPaul, and a few others we hadn't yet met in real life. It sucked that we had to run off so fast after the contest; we'd have loved to spend another night in Chattanooga, but we had to make the 7 hour drive back home, back to the real world once again.

Overall, it was a great weekend; maybe the best weekend I've had in a while, but how could it not be good when it is based entirely around the mass consumption of burgers? This weekend couldn't have been possible without the fine folks at the Krystal restaurants we stopped at throughout the weekend, Brian and Tiffany who hooked me up with the bunnette gig, the people at Ford for building a car that can take us to many eating contests on decent gas mileage, and most importantly, Jamie and Trey my two compadres/fellow fans/sister & husband being the best travel buddies ever. I already can't wait until next year! Check back in with us soon, maybe Jamie will post with her opinion/thoughts from an audience point of view :-)

Sadie