Eat, Play, Run

Fran's Chocolates

This little guy, for which the picture does not do it justice, is little piece of heaven. It's about an inch long, the width of my pinky, and it's packed with flavor.

What is it? It's called the "Gray Salt Caramel" from Fran's Chocolates. It's dark chocolate over a luscious, smooth caramel, then topped with gray salt. I picked this up at the shop under the Four Seasons in downtown Seattle.

If you ever want to torture me while I'm on my diet, put one of these in front of face. I'm most likely to punch you, then grab the chocolate and run.

Nike+ SportBand Watch, Take 2

A little while back, I wrote about my experience with the first edition of the Nike+ SportBand watch. To summarize, I thought that though it had plenty of shortcomings, the ease of use of the SportBand watch was unrivaled in a running watch... when it worked. Therein, as they say, lies the rub. It stopped working. The watch would no longer connect to USB port of my computer, thus rendering the watch useless. Without a USB connection, the watch could no longer be charged.

I nearly threw the watch away, but a commenter pointed me back to thread on the Nike site that said that Nike stores would exchange the broken watches when the new model arrived.

I was a little dubious, but you know what? Last weekend, the Nike Town in Seattle exchanged my broken watch for a new one, no questions asked. Talk about great customer service!

The watch? Well, it still has the exact same shortcomings:

1. If you run for longer than an hour, the seconds don't show up. Since there's limited space on the watch, I would prefer they take out the hour and just show minutes and seconds. I'm pretty sure I'd remember if I was on my second or third hour!
2. There's no backlight on the watch. Though, the background is much lighter, thus making the numbers stand out more. But, come winter, I still won't be able to read those numbers in the dark.
3. After calibrating the watch, if you deviate off the set pace, the watch isn't smart enough to adjust your distance. I've had other Nike and Polar watches that could adjust on the fly. Though, honestly, for $60, you shouldn't expect too much.

The watch is still easy and fun to use. After a run, you simply pop the face off and plug it directly into your computer. The Nike+ website really makes the watch worth it. You can upload your times, join running challenges, and easily create widgets to share your runs on you Facebook or blogs.

This isn't a watch for hardcore runners. There's no heartrate monitor, you can't set it up for multiple pairs of shoes, you can't have it break out intervals, it doesn't measure altitude... the list goes on. But, if you're a casual runner, or training for your first marathon, it does the trick. It somewhat accurately tells you how far you've run and how long it took you. At the end of the day, that's all that matters, right?

Pike Place Market: I Love NY Deli

If you're going to blow your diet, go big, right?

There are five foods I grew to love while living in New York:

1. Hamburgers-- Lunchbox Lab and Red Mill can quench my desire

2. Ramen-- Thankfully I live a couple of blocks from Samurai Noodle

3. Lobster Rolls-- From what I can tell, they don't exist here in Seattle

4. Cupcakes-- Cupcake Royale and Trophy are both excellent

5. Pastrami Reubens-- Here is where I had big problems... until today

The I Love New York Deli, a tiny stand, next to that mini-donut place in the market, just made me, uh, take a break from my diet. As I walked past, I saw the woman making a corned beef reuben. It actually looked like a sandwich you could find in NY: big, sloppy, delicious. I HAD to have one.

I ordered the Pastrami Reuben and waited for it to be built. The wait was definitely worth it. The light rye bread was nice and the pastrami and kraut were piled high. The Swiss cheese was melted perfectly, the Russian sauce delightful. I could only half the sandwich, but man it was good.

Add to the sandwich, Wise potato chips, found everywhere in the northeast, and for 15 minutes, I felt like I was back in New York. At $10.95 for the sandwich, even the price felt like New York.

Bellevue: boom noodle

I have been wanting to try Boom Noodle since I saw it about a month ago. It's located at Bellevue Square, facing Lincoln Square.

They have a pretty full menu, but all I was interested in was the ramen. As ramen goes, it was a total disappointment. Before I get to that, though, the restaurant itself is quite nice. There's a big bar and plenty of tables in the main dining room. It's a little too modern, but if you're into that kind of thing, I'm sure you'll like it.

The ramen. I ordered the Tokyo ramen, which is served in a chicken-pork broth. I didn't care for the broth at all. It was really salty, thin and lacked flavor. The noodles weren't great either, but compared to the broth, they were stellar. I actually left half my bowl. Maybe I'm spoiled from all those great NY ramen joints and Samurai Noodle down the street from my apartment. But, I didn't find boom noodle at all appetizing.

Food Fight: Longhorn Barbecue vs. Bronco's Barbecue

I need some help here. Where in Seattle can I find a good barbecue sandwich? I like both beef brisket and pulled pork.

I tried Longhorn Barbecue because I happened to stroll past it while walking through Pioneer Square on my way to Elliott Bay Book Company. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with the "hot" sauce. The pork was nicely cooked, very tender, and the sauce had good flavor, though not that much kick. 

I also tried Bronco's Barbecue a little bit by mistake. I was at Westlake Center and starving. Unfortunately, the food court kind of blows there, so I tried the beef brisket sandwich sandwich with 'hot' sauce at Bronco's. It was fine. Not spectacular, but it didn't blow, either.

I'll give the victory to Longhorn in a split-decision for atmosphere. There's really nothing worse than eating in a mall food court.

Like I said, Longhorn Barbecue is fine. But, I'd love to find a place that's outstanding. Any recommendations?

New York: Bar Artisanal

While in New York, my friend Laura scored us a reservation at Bar Artisanal, a new French Bistro-styled restaurant from Chef Brennan. Physically, the restaurant is in a really cool Tribeca space (click image to enlarge).

The food here is all top notch. Known for their cheeses, we actually dove straight into small plates and the main courses.

Our amuse bouche was grilled cheese bites. Yep, these are just quarters of a grilled cheese sandwich. Perfectly cooked, though, using three cheeses, these little bad boys had me wishing we would've ordered more.

For an appetizer we had Blue Prawns, served simply with garlic, olive oil and hot pepper. This is easily something I could make, will make. So simple, yet so full of flavor. Definitely on the spicy side. If you're adverse to hot foods, this may be too much for you. 

Next, we had an arugula salad, served with burrata cheese and caponata. I'm not sure I had ever had caponata, and I honestly didn't know what I was eating. At it's root, it's eggplant and olives. Though I don't especially like olives, I found it to be really good. 

OK, onto the main dishes. Laura ordered the hamburger and fries. I'll start with the fries. They're modeled after McDonald's fries, and they pull them off splendidly. Let's face it, McDonald's fries are the best in the world. These aren't that good, but they're pretty damn close. The burger itself was exquisite! Greasy, sloppy goodness. If I ever return here, I have to say, I'll probably order one for myself. Truly, one of the best burgers I've had in NYC.

I had the steak tartar. I don't order steak tartar often, but this is the best I've ever had. The only issue I had with it is that I wish there was more of it. The serving was about the size of a standard hamburger patty.

Finally, we each ordered desserts. Laura went with the cheese panna cotta, which is served with roasted rhubarb and strawberries. I love the texture of panna cotta and this one didn't let me down. It's ultra smooth. The roasted fruit was also interesting (in a good way), though the rhubarb was a bit tart for my taste.

The other dessert we had was truly great. It was a chocolate mousse. But not just any chocolate mousse. It was chocolate mousse, with a thin layer of hazelnut crunch and coffee granita, topped with chocolate foam. What made this dessert so special was the light, smoothness of the mousse and foam combined with the crunch of the hazelnut and course texture of the granita. This dessert is a chocolate lovers dream. Even if you don't eat at Bar Artisanal, you need to go to the bar and order this dessert.

New York: Ramen Setagaya

Instead of hitting my usual ramen joint, Ippudo, I went to one that has great buzz, Ramen Setagaya. I only knew of the location on 1st Ave. and 9th Street so I headed out there, only to find out later there were two other closer locations.

I took a seat at the bar and immediately liked the feel of the place. Separated by glass, the bar faces into the kitchen. Besides the bar, there are two or three tables and seats at a counter that face out towards the street.

The ramen is served hot and fairly quickly as far as ramen goes. I'm always somewhat suprised as to how long it takes to prepare a bowl of ramen.

The ramen noodles are quite good, served firm, which is the way I like them. The broth is lighter than I'm used to and a little on the salty side. But overall, it's nice. I prefer Ippudo, but if I'm in the East Village, I definitely wouldn't hesitate to eat here again.

Food Fight NY: The Double Shack vs. The Double Stack

Y'all know how much I love my Shake Shack. On my last trip to New York I went twice. But, on my second visit, I tried something new.

The Double Shack, a burger with two patties, lettuce, tomato, cheese and the secret Shack sauce is divine. For the money, the best burger I've ever had. But, the Double Stack, which adds the vegetarian option of a deep fried portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese to a Shack Burger has always tempted me.

So, how is the Double Stack? Well, I'll answer it this way. I won't be ordering another one. While the taste and execution are fine, it's just too much... both in size and flavor. A single "veggie" burger from Shake Shack is enough to give you a stomach ache. The portobello mushroom is huge, and the melted cheese on the inside seems to go on forever. It's a serious gut bomb. Add a burger patty and it's just too much. For the first time ever, I couldn't finish a hamburger.

The other issue is the taste. I love the flavor of the beef mix at the Shack. Unfortunately, the stuffed mushroom overpowers the taste of the burger. 

In the head to head competition of the Double Stack vs. the Double Shack... Double Shack wins in a knockout.

I'm on a Diet

On Monday, I decided to fix my diet. No caffeine, alcohol or fried foods. Add more complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, nuts) while eating less starchy carbs (rice, pasta, bread) and seriously cutting down on the simple carbs (sugar, glucose, fructose). Overall, I just want to eat healthier. In other words, my plan is to cut out everything I love in life. 

Caffeine and alcohol are fairly easy for me. I would drink an occasional beer, but I don't drink coffee at all. My caffeine comes in the form of Diet Dr. Pepper, Coke and chocolate. Lots of chocolate. In fact, therein lies the biggest problem... my insatiable sweet tooth. I can eat chocolate, candy, cookies, brownies, donuts all day long. In fact, I pretty much do... or did, anyway. My sweet tooth is somewhat legendary.

The other big problem is the starchy carbohydrates. Being a runner, I need carbs to sustain my energy on runs. Rice and pasta were a big part of my diet. It's safe to say that I would eat one or the other six nights a week.

So, can I pull this off? I've replaced my daytime sugar fix with fruit and nuts. I can't cut sugar cold turkey, so I figure fruits are a decent compromise. I've stocked my office with apples, bananas, plums and assorted nuts. I think I can actually do this part of it. In the evenings, I replaced potato chips and assorted crap with sunflower seeds.

The part where I'm breaking from this "diet", however, is being really picky with what I eat. While staring down at my salad on Friday at lunch I actually got sad. Like, it was so depressing I wanted to cry. At that time I realized it just wasn't worth it. I'm going to eat what I want, within reason, while cutting out the snacking.

What's the reduction in carbs done to my running? Well, running hungry is brutal. I go out with just a glass of water in the morning. This comparison won't resonate with most of you. But, a four mile run now feels like the last four miles of an 18 mile run... in other words, not good. Running without carbs, I can feel my body eating itself. I sweat more and every step is more difficult. While running without carbs is hard, it's certainly not impossible. In fact, I kind of like the challenge.

I've changed my training schedule from one that featured long, medium and short runs, five days a week, to six days on - one day off at a consistent distance. I started this week with four miles. Next week, I'll do four or five miles a day. Eventually topping out at six miles a day.

When I decide to do another marathon, I'll change my diet and running schedule again. But for now, I'm going forward with this. How long will it last? We'll see.

In case you're curious, I've lost four pounds in the first six days days...