Milford’s On Third (Baton Rouge, LA)

When we were recently house hunting in Louisiana, we drove through the state capital of Baton Rouge. With a population of 1/4 million and the home to LSU’s ~30,000 students, you’d imagine the food between New Orleans and Lafayette (the heart of Cajun country) would be pretty good. It is. Unfortunately, there are a lot of very popular and extremely busy seafood restaurants and when you’re traveling, you don’t have time to wait for an hour or two. We didn’t even have enough time to find parking for those spots. After checking Yelp, we headed to the more historic downtown area, easily found a free parking spot in front of a beautiful church and walked in Milford’s on Third.

Nov052017

Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? The Final Answer is Here!

Before you read any further, skip all the way to the comment section below and leave your answer to the question, is a hot dog a sandwich? Then, when you’re finished reading, go back to your comment and reply to it… if you changed your mind or feel any differently about the matter.

This all started when an old teacher of mine presented the question on Facebook as a result of a discussion that began in his English class. This individual teaches just outside of New York City, in New Jersey, so you’d imagine that everyone he knows is relatively familiar with high-quality sandwiches. (New York and New Jersey have some of the best sandwiches… period!) Without sharing too many opinions, Facebook was clearly divided. People were getting particularly picky with naming conventions, essentially stating that anything with its own name (burger) isn’t a sandwich. Others were quite clear that anything between two slices of bread was, in fact, a sandwich. Someone even went far enough to provide Webster’s definition of sandwich, which states a: two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between; b: one slice of bread covered with food. Clearly, the folk at Webster’s are big fans of open-faced sandwiches.

Image source

After over 80 comments, someone stated that Rutt’s Hut (one of the most iconic hot dog eateries in the country, founded in 1928) doesn’t list hot dogs under the sandwich section. This idea led to the teacher physically going to Rutt’s Hut and recording the man himself give his two cents. The verdict: the hinge of the bun makes it one piece of bread, so he doesn’t consider it to be a sandwich. Still, he sounded very understanding of those that did.

Throwing my own opinions aside from the start, I decided to take this to some heavyweights in the world of sandwiches, since the teacher took it to a heavyweight in the world of hot dogs. Not only did I get clear-cut answers from both of these gentlemen, but one of them seemed fed up with the question, as if he was sick and tired of answering it over and over again. Hopefully, this prevents people from asking him… as long as they see this first.

Eric Greenspan, also known as Chef Greeny, is an LA-based celebrity chef who has made countless appearances as a competitor and judge on Food Network. Since we’ve seen nearly every episode of everything ever on Food Network (the good stuff), we’d go as far as saying Greeny is arguably the greatest competitor in the history of Cutthroat Kitchen. His resume doesn’t need anything else, but we’d love to let you know that he is the king of grilled cheese. We’ve had his grilled cheeses many times over on Melrose Ave. When I asked Greeny his thoughts on the matter, he got right to the point. “I’m saying yes. Stuff between bread. End of story.”

Jeff Mauro, who is the host of Food Network’s The Kitchen and Sandwich King, is a self-proclaimed professional combiner of meat, cheese, and bread. While Jeff didn’t attend Le Cordon Bleu like Greeny, he strong-armed his love for sandwiches and used that force to win the 7th season of the Food Network Star competition. Jeff went on to defend the need for a sandwich only show and now appears in Subway ads. This guy, who is extremely likable and charismatic, has made a living from sandwiches. Taking all of that into consideration, are we surprised by what Jeff had to say? Not really, he agreed with Greeny and even stated, “End of story for the love of God.”

After presenting all that information, we only have one question for anyone who denies that a hot dog is a sandwich. If you’re clinging on to the one piece of hinging bread argument, what happens when the bun tears in half? Stay hungry and fit!

Aug102016

Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches

The final piece of our Downton Abbey party is here…the curried egg salad sandwiches! This one is the one I got most creative (aka deviated from the recipe found here: The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, Revised Edition: From Lady Mary’s Crab Canapes to Daisy’s Mousse au Chocolat–More Than 150 Recipes from Upstairs and Downstairs (Unofficial Cookbook) ) with. These were also Hungry’s favorite! The eggs and the curry make a wonderful pair. The mayo gives it that creaminess that you just sink your teeth into. All together, it’s an unbeatable sandwich. This one, if not the others, will be a repeat I make very often. Let’s get to it.

Oct232014

Pack a Sandwich!

A short post that is to the point! You need to eat! Whether you are trying to gain, maintain, or lose weight, eating consistently is important. You have to continue to provide your body with the proper macro and micronutrients. Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, etc. Those substances help you live a healthy life with body systems that function properly! Now, if you don’t have a specific goal or program, keep reading because this is for the people who just want some general guidance in their eating. Since I am telling you that you need to eat, now I will tell you how to construct a simple sandwich that will help you get through the day.

Yes, that is a sandwich.

Step 1: Bread

Try to steer clear of anything that has your typical “bad” ingredients. The less ingredients, generally, the better. (Remember that) Stick to breads that have a lot of whole grains to regulate your digestion. Look for whole wheat and nuts or seeds if you can tolerate them.

Hungry’s Choice: Rudy’s Honey Sweet Whole Wheat

Step 2: Condiments

I love mayo, but mustard is a much friendlier option for your body. It should really only have mustard seed and vinegar, too much more and it’s a bit over-processed. Again, look for whole grains for some texture and don’t be afraid to try something spicy. Remember, nutritionists say that spicy foods actually help you burn calories because of their heat-bearing properties.

Hungry’s Choice: Inglehoffer Stone Ground Mustard

Step 3: Cheese

My favorite! Please don’t be afraid to eat some cheese. It may not be a primary source of protein, but good cheeses contain some healthy-ish fats. And we need fat. Cheese will be the main source of fat on your sandwich, so don’t feel too bad about it! If you’re not on a super tight budget, try to splurge on a higher quality cheese… it’s less processed and the proteins haven’t been denatured as much, often.

Hungry’s Choice: Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese

Step 4: Meat

Who doesn’t love bologna, taylor ham, salami, or any other fatty meat? I certainly do, and while a slice or two may find its way onto the sandwich for some extra calories… we all know that lean meats should be your primary protein source. I’m looking at you turkey and chicken breast. (Or tuna for the fish eaters. Or big mushrooms for the veggies. Or Morningstar products for whoever wants those!)

Hungry’s Choice: Columbus Cracked Peppered Turkey Breast

Hungry’s Spurge: Hormel Di Lusso Genoa Salami

Step 5: Vegetables

Yes, pickles count as vegetables! But you should have some more nutritious ones as well. Darker leafy greens are a good source of iron and help add that fresh taste. Spinach is a front-runner but arugula gives you that bitter bite. Also, consider using kale since it’s just so popular now!

Hungry’s Choice: Organic Baby Spinach

Hungry’s Splurge: Bubbie’s Bread & Butter Chips

OH, and here is my game changer to the sandwich game. I only put mustard on one slice of bread. On the other, I put HUMMUS. TAKE THAT! Whatever it may be, make your sandwich something you want to eat in order to keep that fuel tank running! Make sure to use whole grains when you can and make it healthy! And as always, stay hungry and fit!

Jun272013

My Hell Week is Over

Disclaimer: I would never suggest this “diet” to anyone else. For me, it was just a willpower test I’ve wanted to try. I am highly against crash or fad diets.

Second Disclaimer: This is kind of a long post, but only because it means a lot to me.

I did it. I did it! I did it! If you’re wondering why I’m seemingly raving mad right now, direct yourself to this post. If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing (even though it’s short), I’ll give you a little summary. I did a crazy thing of subjecting myself to 7 days of 560 caloric hell. The actors from Spartacus did this to get lean and in slave-gladiator-like shape for their show. It was a prescribed four water protein shakes a day. That’s it. For an entire week. And that was while they were at “Gladiator Camp” doing 4 hours of combat work each day. I unfortunately had no such camp to attend, so every other day I completed the hellish Spartacus Circuit (3 times over). And on the other days, I did other cardio and strength exercises.

Working hard during a Spartacus circuit

So last Wednesday I forwent food, subsisting on only 4-5 protein shakes a day (water mixed with protein powder). If any of you know me, I am hungry most of the time. Why do you think we named this blog Hungry and Fit? I didn’t choose to do this to lose weight or lose inches (even though I am doing this contest), I did it for the sole sake of testing my willpower. And I did it. I didn’t touch any food for that entire week though I drooled and craved it constantly. I’m waiting for someone to send me my “Willpower Extraordinaire” plaque, but I guess it takes time to mail.

I am very proud of myself and happy I pushed through. Water, gum, and ice are the three material things that really helped me get through it. Oh, and video games. Thanks, nerdy side of myself, for helping me get lost in that while I wasn’t working out or working. More than those, Chris and friends really supported me. Chris was there for me every step of the way and my friends would text me each morning say, “Alana, still staying strong?!” I appreciated it more than they know. Because I was definitely an infinitely more grumpy person during that week. You can especially ask Chris, but also my workmates like Daisy or Kim too.

How I felt

Again, I would not suggest this to anyone. After only consuming 560 calories a day, working out every day, and continuing an active-paced job, I lost ten pounds (I know my mum is yelling at me right now back home). Ten pounds in a week is NOT GOOD. Listen to me, I’m a trainer. That’s what you call a bad crash diet. Again, I want to reiterate, I did it for the willpower test, because for me, I think at the end of the day, if you don’t have your willpower, you don’t have anything. It was extremely rough the first few days–who am I kidding, it was rough for the entirety, but I started getting used to not consuming food. However, by the end, my body was pretty mad at me, making me a little sick and weak. Again–DON’T do this. I’m just sharing my achievement. It ended up de-motivating me for my contest because I was so miserable without food and feeling weak.

“Before”

“After”

I’m showing you pictures of how my body slightly transformed, not as motivation, but to document how this affected me.

You can imagine how blissfully amazing this day of rebirth into food has been (if you think I’m being dramatic, blame my dad, he’s an actor). I had my meals planned days in advance (because what do you do when you can’t eat? You think about food!). I was in such a better mood than I had been all week and I was just happy because I did it. I accomplished something I had wanted to for a long time now. I’m all for celebration, but I’m still on track for this contest. And although today is a “cheat” day (you’ll get descriptions and pictures after this of my meals today), I’m going right back to strict eating of lean proteins, veggies, fruits, and complex carbohydrates to get to my “extremely fit” goal with Chris at my back as a coach.

This wasn’t even close to my cheat day before the Spartacus Hell Week (in terms of bad food), but it was cheat enough for me because it was real, beautiful FOOD. Let’s look at the menu.

For Breakfast: Dot’s Diner

Small House Breakfast…that’s fake meat

I really tried slowly eating, but you can’t understand my excitement and happiness. I ate most of it, but not the whole biscuit. Stomach felt funky for a few hours, but it just needs to get used to solids again.

For Lunch: Snarf’s

Tuna sandwich…mmmm

Face of bliss

The mouth-watering in this situation happened to be ridiculous. Again, tried to take my time.

For Dinner: Korea House

Korea House in its amazingness…we would eat here every night if we could afford it

Happy last meal

I wasn’t going to (or supposed to) have any thick dairy like milk or ice cream, but we were served it by our favorite Korean chef and we always put respect, honor, and morals before anything else.

All in all, I’m glad I did it. I’m proud of myself. But I will never do it again. I only wish to inspire people to try to reach higher and higher, because you never know what you’re capable of. Wish me luck on the rest of my 5 weeks til the end of the contest! Going to be on an eating plan of tuna, beans, rice, vegetables, grapefruit, banana, fish and oatmeal! Use your willpower to stay hungry and fit!

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Apr192013

Hungry Reviews… Snarf’s (Boulder, CO)

It’s safe to say that I haven’t tried every sandwich in Boulder. We’ve only been here so long and there are lots of places to eat so it’s hard. I have had a fair share of sandwiches from Deli Zone, Cafe Food, and Snarf’s and only one place knows how to put together a sandwich.

Cubano sandwich (Snarf’s)

Cafe Food is oversimplified to the degree that I can’t distinguish the egg from the mayo in their egg salad, which the owner claims is the best in Boulder. He claims everything is the best there but after the tuna salad and egg salad a few times, I decided there’s no need to return… ever. Deli Zone offers the best bang for your buck as there are plenty of large sandwiches at very reasonable prices. However, they fail to execute on more complicated orders than your basic sandwiches. I’m not talking about gastronomical creations either, just basic stuff like the reuben. Still, it’s on par with Cafe Food food-wise but the customer service puts it slightly ahead.

Then there is Snarf’s. I frequent the one on Pearl, at least once a week. I’ve had it as many as four times a week… and I’m a sandwich snob from the melting pot of great heroes, subs, and hoagies. Sure, Snarf’s is the most expensive of the three but it’s well worth the extra that you pay.

Stack of awesome chips

They offer simple dishes and complicated pieces as well. I usually get the French Dip at least once a week because it is extremely filling and because the au jus is delicious. I recommend not getting many toppings on your order because it distorts the natural flavors of their creations. My typical trip involves a bag of Zappo’s Voodoo Style Potato Chips, a 12″ Pro French Dip with no topping on white bread, and a black and white milkshake.

Amazing milkshake

Zappo’s Voodoo chips

Snarf’s sandwich

It costs a bit but fills me up, makes me feel good, and tastes great. I rarely have been given anything bad there, especially for the amount of times I have been. You have to get used to the crew that works there, and some can get on your nerves, but most of them are great. Snarf’s on Pearl gets Hungry’s seal of approval. Go there and you can stay hungry and fit.

Alana’s choice…Tuna Melt with everything from tomatoes to lettuce to hot peppers

Another tuna melt from another time

Note from Alana (and shout out to Santa Monicans): If it were a competition, Snarf’s could rival my favorite sandwich place from home, Bay Cities. Different vibe, but delicious sandwiches.