tasty bits

There are a few tasty bits to nibble on this Toothsome Tuesday. Let's begin with the joyful announcement that the McRib is back! Along with its 'quirky sense of humor,' it's weird spongy, boneless texture and pickles (!) make it the best transient LTO chain food item ever (except maybe the never ending pasta bowl at Olive Garden). I've had the link to this McRib locator map saved in my draft email box for 2 years now, so it's time to dust it off: Find your next McRib now!

(photo cred: David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Next up: I missed Food Day yesterday and all of its events. Maybe next year.

Thirdly: Speaking of McRibs, I'd love to shove one in this man's mouth - Michael Pollan is going to be speaking at the Strathmore tomorrow night for over $30 a ticket. Who would pay that and why? If you just flipped through his annoying Food Rules book, you should realize that it's all common sense...but maybe I'm overestimating the actual proportion of people who were raised with high dietary standards in the home. It's sad that Pollan can just pen up a list of things you should have been taught as a child and make money off it, or maybe he's just smart and banking on his yipsterhipsterfoodiegroupies, knowing that this audience would pay for it. They would, after all, pay $100 to ride a horse at a diner pop-up 90's party (anyone else watch 2 Broke Girls?).

...but back to the idea of Food Rules - I'll give the man some credit for enlightening those who were unfortunately not taught by their parents how to eat nutritiously. I guess I am just lucky. I suppose one thing that bothers me about Pollan, and this is probably what bothers me about Alice Waters, is his preachiness. Pollan preaches against eating processed foods. Sure, unprocessed foods are preferable and more nutritious, but the reality is that they're not going away. They're convenient, often practical and affordable. So instead of telling people not to eat them, why can't he instead use his public and influential voice to support, say, the sodium reduction effort the FDA and USDA are mulling over? (yes, that was a shameless plug) Rather than badmouthing processed foods, why not support making them better?

So anyway, buying the book is bad but paying for a ticket to listen to Pollan preach for what an excellent meal would cost is worse, because if you're contemplating going to the Strathmore, you probably already know what he's going to say and agree with it anyway.

Fourthly: We finally went to Fast Gourmet last weekend and success! Even though I regretted what I ordered (check my Foodspotting roll for pics - I'm too embarrased to write what I ordered. Eddie Huang would poopoo my choice. My justification is that I had lots of meat the night before and was seeking something without meat, and buckled at the pressure of ordering in a hurry), I thoroughly enjoyed the huge fried yuca rods and the dipping sauces (we mixed the spicy green sauce from G's falafel with the pink mayo-based yuca sauce). I also really enjoyed the empanada (it had egg! and no raisins!), even though it was hella pricey for a small empanada. We plan to return to eat some of the more enticing, meaty items on the menu, but also leaving room for some stall food from the DC Marketplace across the street, since we'll probably go back on a weekend.