Soda Shopping Surprise
Coffee. More than anything else, I drink coffee. Beer may be eclipsing wine these days. Seltzer is up there. Bourbon and gin make regular appearances on my weekly beverage intake list. Juice appears only in splashes to flavor the seltzer. Really, water should be higher up on that list. When I’m exercising, it certainly is. But we haven’t seen a lot of that lately and I’ve got the pizza judging gut to prove it.
Did you notice what was missing?
We really don’t drink soda. It’s one of those things I’ll keep in the house for emergencies. The “best by” dates on soda are years out, but we drink the stuff so infrequently that we’ve been known to blow past them.
It’s not that I have anything against soda. It’s just that I’d rather get my sugar in other forms. The idea of drinking liquid candy with my food isn’t generally appealing. Of course there’s the issue about soda switching from cane sugar to cheaper high fructose corn syrup. Caramel coloring isn’t great, but I drink so little of the stuff, I don’t particularly mind.
Funny story. Mrs. Fussy was hosting a party yesterday and she forgot to buy soda. So she sent me out to the store with some very specific instructions. Well, it looks like big soda has sunk to a new low.
Make it Fast
If you’ve been following the All Over Albany Tournament of Pizza, you know I’ve been eating like a beast unchained. It’s a lot of pizza. And sausage. And ricotta. Jon in Albany is doing an admirable job in following up the official posts with detailed notes from his seat at the judge’s table. Bless him and his pizza obsessiveness.
Me, I’m just feeling bloated and incredibly thankful that ouzo exists.
This weekend is filled with great stuff. There is Queen Mab’s Enchanted City over in Troy and then the Harvest Festival in Albany. Just over the border in Massachusetts there is a meat terroir dinner that sounds simply amazing.
As usual, I won’t be taking part in any of the festivities. Mostly because tonight marks the beginning of the Day of Atonement. Tomorrow, I will fast. And I can’t even believe what I’m going to be doing on Sunday.
Unburdening: 30 Minute Madness
Last week we took a break from the “Unburdening” project. Interestingly, it was last week that Vox ran a story on this same piece of research and interviewed one of the sociologists at North Carolina State University.
Reading it rekindled my desire to try and solve some of the problems that American families are having trying to put healthier food on the table. We’ve already smashed the idol of the ideal meal, tackled the strawman of lean meat, and exposed the fallacy of fresh veggies.
Today it’s time to address a big one, time itself. I hope you’re ready. Let’s start with the Mark Bittman quotation mentioned in the Vox interview.
October First Fest
October. Okay, now it’s pumpkin season. So drink that pumpkin beer if you want. Pumpkin lattes are still forbidden, not because it’s the wrong time of year, but because they are a crime against espresso.
Outside, leaves are turning. Leaves are falling. Autumn is undeniably in progress.
Every year around this time I recall the spring, when all the leaves looked pretty much the same. Tiny buds emerged bringing a faint hint of green to barren brown branches. Then impossibly small leaves unfurled, and grew, and grew, until the canopy was filled with a lush uniform greenness. But those same leaves, at the end of their life, all go out differently. Some turn early, some hang on. Some go out brightly, while others simply brown. Some fall while they are still green. Death is rarely as beautiful or poetic.
Okay. That’s about all the writing you’re getting out of me today, mostly because I’m getting sidetracked by a few pet projects. Nothing all that interesting. Just time-consuming. Which isn’t to say that I’m leaving you empty-handed today. I would never do that.
What I will do is this.
The Triumph and Tragedy of Mama Mia
Did you happen to catch the first installment of the 2014 Tournament of Pizza at All Over Albany yesterday? It. Has. Begun.
Officially, that is. Unofficially, it’s been going on for quite a while. The judges have been sneaking out with the AOA editors and forming a roving hoard of pizza eating fiends. It’s been so much fun, and Jon in Albany has been an amazing addition to the judging panel.
Yesterday, he wrote up a great story about his first official outing as a pizza judge. You should read it. His very presence at the table makes me a more mindful judge. And man, is he ever tough. That said, we don’t always agree, but we can still respectfully debate the merits of each other’s position. I love that.
Here was my takeaway from the outing. Mama Mia’s can make a delicious crust, which means they should be able to make a great pizza. The dough had deep flavor, it was well seasoned, the crust was cooked on the oven floor, some slices had great color, and there were crisp crust bubbles to boot. This should be the shop that made the semifinals. But it’s not.
Mostly because they did something unconscionable.
AskTP – Monthly
Bye bye September. That went fast. But I’m finally New York legal. Got the tags, got the new spiff drivers license, and got the official inspection. I’m judging pizza with AOA, I’m attending board meetings, I’m lunching with the Chefs’ Consortium, and I’m reconnecting with old friends.
It kinda sorta feels like I never left.
But through all the changes, the FLB keeps on ticking. Posts keep being written. Amazingly, people keep coming back to read them. And every now and again folks will ask a question. A long time ago, I committed to answering every question asked in the comments section, just so long as proper punctuation was used.
Today, we’ve got yet another installment of Ask the Profussor where I finally give each question its due. The answers may not be right, they certainly are not timely, and they might not even be helpful. But answers they are. Hopefully I won’t let a whole month slip by again before tackling the next batch. Now without any further ado, onto the questions.
How To Be a Pizza Judge in Two Easy Steps
Since I first read about All Over Albany’s Tournament of Pizza I was in love with the idea. There is a lot of pizza in the region, and not all of it is great. Most of it is decidedly not great. Yet people continue to hold up their favorite pizzeria as the best in the region, when really it’s often far from it.
The best way to gauge the relative quality of anything is to try it alongside something similar. Which tastes better, Coke or Pepsi? You may have some idea in your head based on brand preferences and past experiences, but how many people have ever sat down to try the two side by side? This kind of tasting is valuable experience, and I love to help people set up similar tastings with wine.
This year, I’m honored to once again be judging pizza for this auspicious competition. Let me tell you, it’s harder work than it sounds. The task has me and other judges questioning what we think we know about good pizza, and at times I’ve found myself voting for a pizza that lacks several key traits that I believe to be indicative of well-made pies.
One reason it’s an honor to sit at the judge’s table is that so many other people would love to have this opportunity. Well, this year the tournament organizers and its sponsor have come up with two ways for everyone to get in on this action.
Happy New Year… Again
[Note from the Profussor: If after reading today’s post you are feeling like it all seems strangely familiar, an almost identical story originally ran on September 29, 2011.]
It’s Rosh Hashanah, again. And thanks to the miracle of scheduled postings, you will see this on one of the three high holy days where I’m supposed to do no work whatsoever. However, since I only really celebrate two of them, and even then will drive almost thirty minutes each way to temple, you can probably guess I adopt a pretty liberal interpretation of the word “work.”
Still, I want to try and respect the spirit of the holiday.
Had I found a way to get ahead of my daily posting schedule, I could have written about Rosh Hashanah in more detail. For example, it’s no accident that the Jewish new year celebration comes before the Day of Atonement. I could have done a post on the symbols of the holiday meal. Some might even be curious about what I’m really required to do in the next few days and the spiritual significance of the season.
But I’m going to do none of that. Maybe next year. Instead, I have something that’s even less interesting. How’s that for writing into the jump?
Death at Double X Ranch
“Uh… Raunch”
~Holly Martins
I suppose congratulations is due to the Clorox company. While I worked with this West Coast based consumer packaged goods manufacturer for a few years during my advertising days, I never worked on their Hidden Valley Ranch business.
Man. This has got to be a marketing case study somewhere, because kids today seem to have gone apeshit for the stuff. It’s being served with wings, drizzled over pizzas, spread onto sandwiches, and I’ve even seen it on a hot dog.
Me? I can’t run away fast enough from the squeeze bottles, packets, and little plastic cups filled with this gelatinous white goo, bespeckled with flecks of dust that resemble seasonings. Honestly, I can’t even see what people could find appealing about this once great dressing.
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