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We’ll leave it to Andrew Zimmern to dig slimy creatures out of tree trunks and claim they are food. Here we are talking about food the average American might encounter in everyday life. I believe we should appreciate the abundance of good food that we have. That appreciation is only enhanced by recognizing the awful stuff that we are fortunate enough not to have to eat. Here is my list.
Chicken-Fried Steak on the Road
If you draw a line across the United States and travel anywhere south of that line, every truck stop you encounter is guaranteed to have chicken-fried steak. It’s available other places as well, although not so much at those chain restaurants. As far as food goes, chicken-fried steak is the embodiment of evil. It is beef dipped in batter, deep fried, and served up with cream gravy. A magnificent triple load of grease, cholesterol, and calories. That’s real American.
Burger and Pie at the Mile High
I first visited Jerome, Arizona, on a hot day last July. Jerome was once a mining boom town, dubbed “the wickedest town in the West” by a New York newspaper in the early 1900s. Jerome now has a new life as a funky artists hangout and tourist town. Jerome has eateries with character. We moseyed into the Mile High Grill for lunch. This is, after all, a part of the West where moseying is expected. The Muma burger on the menu caught my eye.
Humble Fog Cheese at the Camelback Inn
The Camelback Inn is a Marriott luxury resort in the Scottsdale area, north of Phoenix. They started serving Sunday brunch again in September. They were closed for however long it takes to spend $50 million remodeling the building having the restaurants and the registration desk. Brunch at the Camelback Inn was long fabled as a place where important people enjoyed fine food. G. Gordon Liddy and Sandra Day O’Connor are said to have dined there, although not necessarily at the same table.
Grilled Beef Tongue in Matsushima
I’m used to tongue being boiled, then sliced up deli style and served with mustard. The Sendai regional dish is made by slicing the raw tongue in scant quarter-inch slabs and grilling it over charcoal. It tastes much like grilled beef steak, but with a different texture and with a beefier flavor from the fine marbling of fat. Try it, and soon you’ll be inviting friends over to throw some tongue on the barby.
