Beer Club 6!

This was our first weeknight beer club adventure!  Ok so we intended on going to Subway on April 15th--tax day, to buy one footlong get one free.  BUT, the Subway near our apartment was so f-ing crowded we didn't want to deal with it.  We made an honest attempt to go to the Subway downtown, but it was closed.
Lucky for us :) the Mellow Mushroom is about a block from Subway.  Plan B: Thursday Night Beer Club!

Beer #12: Sweetwater 420. 

Hi Mr. Waiter, I'll have a workin' man's beer, please, because I'm still in my work clothes. 

I'd never had Sweetwater 420 before and it was DEEE-Lightful!

Beer 13: Sweetwater IPA

Sweetwater is the 'brewery of the month' at the Winston-Salem Mellow Mushroom so their beers were cheap(er)!  Out of the two, I liked the 420 & Trey preferred the IPA.

Beer #14: Sam Adams Seasonal (Noble Pils )...and this is what I look like after work...BUT the beer was fresh and tasty.

Beer Club #5!

With it being almost 90 degrees outside, we decided it was time to participate in beer club again!  Nothing beats sitting outside in the warm weather, sipping on some delicious brews. 

Beer #9: Natty Greene's Buckshot Amber Ale.  Brewed in Greensboro, about 20 minutes from where we live, this brew was smooth.  Would I get it again? Yes, especially if it was a special like it was last night at the 'shroom.

Beer #10: Duck Rabbit Amber.  I've had this before in a bottle and thought it was just ok, but let me tell you, it is pretty dern delightful on draft.  Yet another North Carolina gem (....we <3 supporting NC breweries!). 

 

Beer #11: Rogue Dead Guy Ale.  Not a N.C. beer, but still good and went really well with our pizza!

 

...yeah I don't have a lot to say about these beers.  I'm no beer connoisseur, but none were the best I've ever had.  Don't get me wrong, I'd try all three of them again, though!

--Sadie

Barbecue Capital of the WORLD!

Lexington, North Carolina aka the 'Barbecue Capital of the World' is located a mere 20 minutes from my apartment and it took me almost a year of living here before I ventured out to this town (which I will now refer to as heaven).  Pulled Pork Barbecue is a serious thing in North Carolina--especially in Lexington where many claim to be the best.  There are probably 10 or 15 family-owned barbecue joints in this town alone, all of which have their dedicated fan base of clientele who have been eating at the restaurants for generations. 

To give you an idea...
Lexington-style barbecue is made with pork shoulder cooked slowly over a hardwood fire, usually hickory wood. It is basted in a sauce (called "dip" locally) made with vinegar, ketchup, water, salt, pepper and other spices. The actual ingredients will vary from restaurant to restaurant, with each restaurant's recipe being a closely guarded secret. While each is vinegar based, the taste varies widely from tangy to slightly sweet or spicy.

The most distinguishing feature of the "Lexington Barbecue Sandwich" is the inclusion of red slaw (sometimes called barbecue slaw). Red slaw is a combination of cabbage, vinegar, ketchup and crushed/ground black pepper. Red slaw is distinguishable from coleslaw because red slaw contains no mayonnaise. Many Lexingtonians (and visitors) consider red slaw a staple for a quality barbecue experience. Red slaw is commonly served as a side dish with barbecue, grilled poultry and other meats, and on hotdogs as a relish.

--Wikipedia

I am now on a mission to decide for myself which Lexington Barbecue Joint reigns supreme.  I am happy to report that my first Lexington Barbecue Restaurant, Barbecue Center, was a delight...no it was actually euphoric.  The pork had such a deliciously smoky taste that no extra sauce was needed.  The onion rings. OHHH the onion rings.  A lot of times, hand-battered onions tend to flake, but the batter on these onion rings was nice and thick and did not flake off of the onion.  The sweet tea had so much sugar in it, I am still feeling a sugar buzz (and I'm not complaining!).  The desserts. OMG.  They had banana pudding, chocolate pie, and ice cream.  Although the ice cream was not homemade, the things they do with the stuff is no joke.  I didn't order one but many patrons ordered a banana split and I kid you not, each scoop of ice cream was at least the size of a softball, if not bigger.  I just got a single scoop on a cone and Barbecue Center's single scoop was about the size of a large at Baskin Robbins.  ahhhhhhh I am still dreaming about the meal I consumed last night.  I only wish I would have ordered some hush puppies.

Here is a picture of part of my meal.  Unfortunately the picture does not even do the taste justice.
--Sadie

Beer Club #4

Same seat, different night, different beer!

Theme of the night: get what is on special because it is the end of the month and we don't have a lot of money.

Beer #7: Highland's Black Mountain Bitter-Organic Pale Ale. To my knowledge, I'd never had organic beer until then. At first, I didn't really like it...but it actually grew on me towards the end. It is bitter (hence the name) but for those who dig the organic, I'd recommend it!

Beer #8: Foothills Pilot Mountain Pale Ale. I've had this one before at Foothills, but I got it again tonight for three reasons: it was only $3, we hadn't checked it off of our 'Beer Club' list, AND I just got a new job in Pilot Mountain so I thought this would be an appropriate celebratory beer! Overall a delightful beer, but out of the four Foothills brews I've ever had, it is probably my least favorite (1. Sexual Chocolate, 2. Oktoberfest, 3. Hoppyum IPA, 4. Pilot Mtn Pale Ale). However, I'm pretty excited to try their March seasonal--Foothills Red!

--Sadie

21 Adventures

Yesterday was the big 21st birthday. Unfortunately school and snow prevented one of those sloppy birthday stories, but it could not have been a nicer day. I woke up to snow snow snow, we had a two hour delay, which later turned into classes being canceled and much excitement on my part. My friends and I planned on going to La Carreta, the local Mexican restaurant we visit regularly and I was able to have my first legal drink. I opted for the special, Dos Equis on draft. It went perfectly with my chicken quesadilla and complimentary chips and salsa.

I also got Flan!! This was my first flan too, I may have been more excited about that than anything.

--Jamie

BEER CLUB! part 2

We ordered the same thing each round again...maybe this will be our beer club tradition!?


Beer #4: Brooklyn Brown Ale. Pretty tasty, very smooth, would order it again. Bonus:it was the special for the night so it was a dollar cheaper than the others! I'm thinking a stop at the Brooklyn Brewery next July 4th weekend for a tour/tasting is in order.

Beer #5: Magic Hat #9....'not quite pale ale'. Just okay. I hear people talk about this stuff all of the time & sometimes even see it in the grocery store. It is a little on the sweet/fruity side. Trey really liked it but I probably wouldn't get it again.

Beer #6: SEXUAL CHOCOLATE. OMG. If you live anywhere in or around Winston-Salem, you know this beer is a big F-ing deal, so I knew I had to finally taste it during beer club. Foothills, our local brewery, makes it once a year and has a huge release party when they first put it on draft. They also sell it in limited-release bottles and people line up outside for hours to get theirs...and they sell out really quickly--like within a few hours. ahhh it was everything I thought it would be and more. I mean with a name like 'sexual chocolate' how can you go wrong?

Two big thumbs up.

Not in beer club but worth mentioning: Burke St. Pizza garlic knots. Oh lord. After our night of beer sampling, we needed some good greasy food to soak up the booze. Out of all of the foods I've eaten since living in Winston-Salem, I'd have to say that these garlic knots are by far the most delicious thing I've tasted yet. I'm telling you, I have had my fair share of garlic knots and items of the sort, but I have never in my life eaten any so delicious as this (not even in New York). After they take them out of the oven, the pizza makers literally dunk these things in a tub of butter/garlic/parmesan/olive oil while they are still warm. Ohhhhh, it makes me hungry even looking at a picture of them.

--Sadie

BEER CLUB!

Trey and I are officially card-carrying members of the Mellow Mushroom Beer Club. To be in the club you have to drink different draft beers at one Mellow Mushroom location. Once you drink so many different types, you get prizes (a koozie, tshirt, your name on the wall, gift certificates, and most importantly, self gratification and pride). We decided to document our Beer Club adventures so we can remember which brews we like the best for future reference. Follow our journey to Mellow Mushroom Beer Club infamy!

Our first Beer Club night, we decided to order the same thing each round:

Beer #1 to wash down our garlic pretzels: We chose the signature Mellow Mushroom Bogart Pale Ale for our first beer-club-beer. It was delicious! I have never had this before but will get it again once I conquer 99 other types of beer.

Beer #2 & hello, pizza: Battlefield Bock, brewed right down the road in Whisett, N.C. The brother beer to one of my all-time favorites, Red Oak, the Battlefield Bock was one of the better 'dark' beers I've had, with a nice coffee/chocolate aftertaste.

Beer #3 and a happy smiley face: Highland Gaelic Ale...also brewed right down the road in Asheville, NC. Least favorite beer of the night, but still delightfully tasty nonetheless. Would get it again...probably should have had it before the heavier Battlefield Bock.

Check back soon for the next installment of BEER CLUB!

--Sadie

facebook chat.

apparently our lives and conversations revolve around two things: food and big lots.



8:24pm Sadie
invention:
i made smores with chocolate cake icing
and it was the bomb dot com

8:24pm Jamie
YUM

i got iced oatmeal cookies yesterday at big lots
and i think i just finished the whole package
they are so f'ing good
i havent had them in 4ever

8:25pm Sadie
ohhh gahh i havent had those in yearsss
did u get sunday 20% off at BigLots?
i got it today

8:25pm Jamie
i havent checked yet
but probably.. the guy checking me out told me i would get one this weekend

8:25pm Sadie
it didnt come to my yahoo yet but it came to my hotmail
yesss cereal and soup stock up

8:26:pm Jamie
hell yes
i just went yesterday but i might go back and get more soup

8:26pm Sadie
mmmmmm
i'v had 2 of the best tomato soups ever from there this week
one creamy bisque and one organic

8:27pm Jamie
yumm
i just had a can of campbells chicken noodle
and it was delish

8:27pm Sadie
mmmmmmm

8:27pm Jamie
and i got cream of chicken because i've been craving rice and gravy

8:28pm Sadie
oh crap YUM

8:29pm Sadie
i've been making ghetto chicken sandwiches: 4 frozen chicken nuggets on arnold sandwich thins w/a little mayo
so good....today I had a left over BoJ's Honey Mustard on it

8:29pm Jamie
hahahahhahahaha
that sounds good

8:30pm Sadie
it is haha

Snow Day Food

Woke up to snow this morning, again.

In my 24.5 years of life on this earth I have never seen so much snow as this winter. I mean we were out of school for an entire week because of it. What do you do when you spend an entire week at home, trapped in because of snow? Why you eat, of course! And eat, and eat, and eat some more. I don't even know how many frozen pizzas and pans of cookies/brownies I made over the course of the snow-week. Hello overly-processed foods, goodbye girlish figure. Here is a little sampling of what my snow-week cuisine looks like:


Lunch: Sugar Cookies (which were also consumed for breakfast), Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast, Natural Light. Ya'll: If you have never had creamed beef you really have not lived. I don't even have a recipe to give you, it's just something you make...it involves flour, butter, milk, dried beef, and pepper...and it is heaven.


Supper: Scrambled egg with peppers and onions (finally something of nutritional value!) on a bagel, spicy store-brand funions (onyums or something?), and a little debbie chocolate cupcake. My friends, the little debbie chocolate cupcakes are a fairly new snack cake and they are divine.

--Sadie

Rick The Manager: Wing Bowl 2010!

He’s baaaaaack!
Rick “The Manager” Russo has qualified again for this year's Wing Bowl! This year, he’s outdone himself, qualifying with a feat that wowed the Wing Bowl sponsors and left others ready to jet-set on their own world tour de cusine. Initially, Rick wasn’t sure about competing this year, but with the announcement that no pros would be allowed in the contest again, he knew what he had to do. It was once again up to Rick to provide his friends with the opportunity to reunite in Philly for the party of the year. “I like the fact that I am able to provide these pros with the opportunity to enjoy an eating contest from a different perspective, the other side of the table so to speak”, stated The Manager on why he wanted to enter the Wing Bowl again this year.

So how exactly did Rick The Manager qualify for this year’s prestigious event? He knew that he had to come up with an over-the-top idea in order to qualify. To play up his idea, he called the radio station stating that “the Wing Bowl was bigger than Philadelphia, it was international”. Knowing that the Wing Bowl is more about flair and glitz as opposed to actually eating a lot of food, Rick proposed his idea to the programmers.

His idea? To eat seven foods from the seven different continents off of seven women. On the day of the qualification, Rick and his ladies showed up at the station in costume, prepared for victory. The women who represented each continent donned attire to match their respective locale (Antarctica=white furry bikini/furry white boots, Africa=tiger print bikini, etc.).
The foods consumed off of these lovely ladies were:
North America: Hot Dog
South America: Banana
Africa: Spicy lamb sausage
Europe: Bratwurst
Asia: Sushi Roll
Antarctica: Popsicle

Accompanied by two other eaters, Steakbellie and Gentleman Jerry, Rick The Manager successfully completed his stunt and made it into the 2010 Wing Bowl. Steakbellie provided color commentary to Rick’ performance and Gentleman Jerry acted as Rick The Manager’s manager. After Rick completed his stunt, he was told by the radio guys that presentation of food is very important in the culinary world. The radio personalities announced, “This was a global eating stunt and Rick had an incredible artistic display with his food presentation!”

Last year, Rick the Manager “officially” ate 69 wings, which was not enough to advance into the second round. This year, he hopes to eat over 80 wings for the first round to hopefully advance further in the contest. If you know anything about the Wing Bowl, though, then you know it really isn’t about the eating. With the Mardi Gras-like atmosphere, it is obvious that being allowed the opportunity to party with friends at 5am in Philadelphia is the major draw to the event.

Being creative and having a strong entourage are really two of the most important aspects of being in the Wing Bowl. Rick the Manager had a packed entourage last year, with members consisting of pro eaters such as Joey Chestnut, Humble Bob, Pat Bertoletti, U.S. Male, Steakbellie, Wing Kong, Crazy Legs Conti, and Badlands Booker. The entourage was appropriately named the Exiled Eaters Tour, as the pros were not allowed to compete. This year, Rick hopes to keep a similar entourage, but complete detail es will not be revealed until the event.

To catch the event on air, you'll have to listen to WIP Sports Radio online EARLY in the morning on Feburary 5th, 2010.

2k10 GOALS!

In the spirit of keeping up with our tradition...well I guess our 'every other year' tradition (2008 Goals) we've compiled a list of our goals for the new year.

10 goals for 2010
This year we hope to...

1: BLOG MORE (yes, we have been slackers lately)

2: Take a sisters trip back to Coney Island for the 4th. After attending last years festivities, we can't imagine spending our Nation's birthday any other way!

3: Attend the Lexington BBQ Festival

4: Be Krystal Bunnettes again

5: Go to Hickory Hops...beerfest!

6: Attempt the Big Cow Pile Ice Cream Challenge. Who knew that LINCOLNTON of all places had an eating challenge!?!?!?!?!?! And an ICE CREAM CHALLENGE?!? We are so there.

7: Celebrate Jamie's 21st Birthday in true HungrySisters style: a day of gamblin' and a night of pubcrawlin'/Go to Vegas for Jamie's second 21st birthday party at some point in the year

8: Eat at the Moose Cafe and indulge in everything southern.

9: Join the Mellow Mushroom Beer Club

10: Go to the gym every day to counter all of this food we are apparently going to eat/beer we are going to drink.

10.5: Be young, be foolish, but be happy.

Fast forward to 1:00 and see Sherri Russo!

Spaghetti Pie--Healthy HungrySisters Style

8 oz cooked whole wheat spaghetti
2 Egg Whites, beaten lightly

8-10 oz spinach, chopped (frozen or fresh, whatever)
A tablespoon or two of softened low fat cream cheese
1/2 lb browned ground turkey
16 oz spaghetti sauce...your choice!
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

-Preheat Oven to 350
-Mix cooked spaghetti with egg whites
-press into greased pie dish--making sure to go up the side of the dish too to form a 'crust'
-mix spinach and cream cheese (adding a little parm. cheese if you want to) & spoon onto 'crust'
-mix spaghetti sauce and turkey, add garlic to taste if you want to, spread over spinach mixture
-bake 30 minutes or so, top with mozzarella cheese, bake for 5-6 more minutes

EAT & ENJOY!

(It is actually even better the second day)

Salsa-holic

The Hungry Sisters have been known to be able to put down a lot of Mexican food. We are BIG fans of anything spicy, cheesy and drenched in salsa. We have searched high and low for the best mass-produced salsa and have finally found a winner:
On The Border Medium Salsa

Unfortunately, this fabulous find can only be purchased at Sam's Club (and you can't even find it at every location)...so when you do come across it, take our advice and STOCK UP. You will eat this stuff fast. I recently opened a 47 oz jar and within two weeks, I had single-handedly eaten its entire contents by myself. On top of nachos, mixed in tomato soup, or just sitting around eating chips and salsa, I can't get enough of it. The best thing I have made with it is a copy-cat version of the gone but not forgotten Wendy's treat: Chili, Chips, and Cheese (nacho chips topped with chili and lots of cheese; and in this case topped with On The Border Salsa too!)

I would be lying if I said I had never just eaten it by itself with a spoon. It really is that good. It is by far the most fresh, delicious tasting salsa you can buy (outside of going to a Mexican restaurant and buying the stuff they make there).

Pizza.

Yes, we have been busy and school and work has slowly consumed almost every ounce of fun as of late, but rest assured, we are still eating. Lately, it seems I have eaten pizza almost every day and have yet to tire of it. Everywhere I go, friends and coworkers seem to offer me a slice, or two, or five. Now, I am not a girl to turn down food, ever; so I gladly accepted every savory, delicious slice.

I'm pretty sure it is blog-worthy to describe my pizza experiences as of late.

These are the pizza's I have consumed within the past month, or as many as I can remember:
Little Caesars Pepperoni (free)- This past Saturday I spent seven hours folding never ending piles of men's jeans while being reprimanded by a customer who was unsatisfied by t-shirts that cost $1. As we were about to close, my manager told me that Little Caesar's from the K-Mart adjacent to the mall where I work brought them a free Pizza yesterday as an advertisement. My day was better. I actually may go by K-Mart tomorrow before work and buy a pizza for lunch. Seriously, $5 for a large pizza is a perfect treat.

Mellow Mushroom "Funky Q Chicken" (also free)- At my other job, on campus at UNCA at the Student Health Services, I have gotten a lot of free pizza this month. One of my coworkers brought in leftovers on a few occasions, and since I am the only student who works there, they feel sorry for me and give me food and buy me coffee a lot. Bless them. This pizza was particularly delightful. It had bbq chicken, cheddar cheese, carmalized onions and bacon; need I say more?

Pizza Hut (FREE!)- From the same job, a few weeks later, the same coworker brought leftover pizza from pizza hut. I had one slice of cheese with thick crust (pan, if my pizza hut crust knowledge serves me right) and a slice of thin crust that had meat and onions. I don't remember the exact on the meats, but I do remember bacon, and pepperoni. Pizza hut never fails me.

Papa Johns (free, thanks to Lindsey)- Last week, I had gotten the movie Shag in from Netflix. It is about four girls in the 1960s who had just graduated high school in Spartenburg, South Carolina and they go on a trip to Myrtle Beach. This movie is a requirement to watch for anyone who has ever been to Myrtle Beach, so I was shocked when I asked my friend, Lindsey if she had ever seen it. Anyway, she told me that she had ordered a pizza and needed help eating it (and do I ever say no to helping anyone eat anything?) so I brought the movie and we ate a quite peculiar pizza, but tasty nonethelsess. See, she does not eat cheese, so she ordered a thin crust, mushroom pizza sans the cheese from Papa Johns. I must say, Papa Johns has tasty sauce.

Papa Johns (I paid for this one)-So, apparantly with the first order you make online for Papa Johns, you get a free medium cheese pizza! So technically, I still got something for free with this experience too.... free is so fun. Anyway, since I knew I was getting a free cheese pizza, I had to order something that would put my order over ten dollars. I opted for a small, specialty pizza: Spinach Alfredo Deluxe. Not bad at all.

Papa Johns... again (and free, again)- My roommate ordered pizza the other night with his girlfriend. He told me I could have some. I ate a slice of pizza but I don't even remember what kind it was because I was mainly focused on the breadsticks. They were DELICIOUS and garlicky and buttery. He left the next morning to go to Maryland, and the pizza stayed out on the kitchen counter all day. I knew the pizza and breadsticks would just have to be thrown away if I didn't act fast; hello breakfast AND lunch!

I plan on reporting back about other places in Asheville that have pizza that is way better than these fast chains. There are a lot. I have eaten at most of them, and will eat at these places very soon, I'm sure. Stay tuned, Stay Hungry!


Jamie