(Another) Burger to Die For

The wedding Saturday was in town at our church. We headed 15 miles or so to East County for the reception. There was a long break while the wedding party had pictures taken (and got thoroughly lost enroute). In the interim we went exploring for a lunch diner/dive out in Lakeside.

We scored at a no-name joint on the Lakeside main drag. They're stuffed in between a car wash, custom fishing pool store and steel contractor (same one we're using on our pool). The parking lot was full at mid-afternoon. That was all the decision support I needed when I spotted it.

Wah-hoo-ah! The bacon and avocado burger was a winner.



TWSO flipped for the onion rings I got myself. She did my waistline a favor by swiping more than a few. Best ever -- she said. Yeah, they were good. I liked them just fine. She likes 'em softer/better cooked than I do.

I'll keep Angelos in my personal stop slot. I like mine naaasty!

A Burger to Die for

My favorite burger place, Hodad's, is in San Diego's Ocean Beach neighborhood. For my money they've got the best burgers (single bacon cheese please) and 2nd best onion rings in town. Best onion rings honors goes to Angelo's up in North County on the PCH. You might call it different on the O'rings and I'd understand.



Excuse my French, but, if that ain't the closest thing to sex in a plastic basket I don't know what is.

If you like purty perfectly formed onion rings then you might vote Hodad's the top spot. Hey, they put a consistently excellent onion ring on the table. Me? I like my onion rings nasty, varied, misshapen and with funky flavors from sharing the deepfryer with the Greek and Baja-Cali-Mex stuff Angelos also serves. All served up in a grease soaked brown paper lunch sack. Yeah BABY!!! Call 911. Get me a cardiologist!

Well, this burger joint vid from Arizona got sent along by an old buddie.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Looks like I might have to head east to do a proper comparison with Hodad's burgers.

Anyone up for a roadtrip?

Puckered up for Pickles.

Just thinking about home canned pickles and my mouth waters...


My adopted grandma was the mad pickler of Cooks Hill. She put up an amazing qty of pickles each year well into her 70's. Everyone wanted to be on her Xmas gift list. Between her pickles and sweets she made a great gift basket. Her fudge and dip chocolates were legendary too. She'd worked as a confectioner as a young woman in the 20's and 30's before losing the farm in the dustbowl and moving west. Oh my achin' arteries...

I can't even remember all the types of pickles she'd put up: dill, sweet, bread & butter, cocktail...

If I recollect the whole back wall of her 2 car garage was floor to ceiling 10" shelve cabinets of pickles. Down one side wall were cabinets with other preserves (fruits, jellies, jams, etc).

How many cukes mounds did she plant? I don't trust my memory that well and you'd think I was crazy if I told you the number I'm thinking.

Spring thru fall she worked all day in her flower and vegetable gardens. We'd sometimes get paid with a giant dill pickle for helping her trim the Iris or for wheeling mulch/sawdust out into the flower beds.

Those dills were to die for. Don't ever bite one unless you wanted it to bite you right back. My older sis has promised to send that recipe my way.

An online acquantance sent along this note:

Great pickle recipe...

Do what you have to prep them and into quart sealers place 3 sprigs of fresh dill, 4 whole garlic cloves and vinegar (White Pickling)...Kosher Dills...but they have to sit, darkened space for at least two weeks longer then any other dills...One aunt adds a teaspoon of sugar as well...try both ways and see which you prefer!

After eating all the cukes from the jar, blanche cabbage leaves and put into the leftover brine and wait 5 to 7 days--Sauerkraut...You can do this two maybe three times then the potency is faded…then take out the garlic cloves and eat them while drinking the juice…very healthy!

I'm having for lunch both cabbage and pickles with venison burgers, homemade ketchup, relish and mustard but store bought tomatoes and lettuce...

He's Jewish so I'm guessing they'd be tasty AND kosher. :-)

All done...

right at 3 1/2 hours. By the looks of the white meat might have left it on a bit long -- even for a 20 lb'er.


Table cleared and clean. Everyone a bit glassy eyed from all the calories. Bird picked clean and packed up for the fridge...

20 minute bird setup

First clean up the briquets that busted out of the bag bottom...

and get them set up for indirect heat of the bird...


get a little crazy with the starter fluid...


Wash and salt the bird down in and out.
Cover the wings and drumsticks w/ foil to keep them from cooking to fast and drying out.
Insert thermometer in the turkey breast.


Drip pan under the bird if you like...


Fire and forget. I'm guessing it'll be hitting 180F in about 3 1/2 hours.

Chew 100 times

Ever try eating the recommended 5-10 daily servings of vegatables? Yeah RIGHT! That's a pile 'o veggies! Just stake me out in the pasture will ya?!

Well then, here's a little morning goodness for you. Blenderize your veggies and get ~80% of the food value out of them vs the 20% you'll get from eating them the old fashioned way. That's like you're getting 4 servings for every 1 serving eaten normally. At least that's what I've been reading lately. It has something to do with the blenders more complete "mastication" of the cellulose in the veggies. The claim is that "chewing" with the blender allows more of the veggie's goodness to come out in digestion.

That witches brew right there is a couple carrots, a couple sticks of celery, a handful of frozen berries and a coffee grinder capful of freshly ground flax seed.

YUMMMMY!