Hey. My name is Heath Saraceno. I play guitar in Senses Fail. I go on tour. I eat food. This is the food that I eat while on tour.

Email suggestions to heathlovesfood@gmail.com if you know of a sweet spot I should try.
April 20
APRIL 13, 2009 Winnipeg, MB THE BUS - TURKEY MELT WITH CHEDDAR AND BALSAMIC DRESSING We as a band are big fans of cold cuts.  Having grown up in New Jersey, we are accustomed to high quality deli meats such as Boar’s Head and Thumann’s.  On our tour rider (a list of things that the promoter or club has to provide for us when we play a show) we specifically request Boar’s Head meats, even though we hardly ever get them. Usually, we get some budget, low quality meat where the turkey and ham are almost indistinguishable from each other.  Such was the case in Winnipeg. Being that I, and the rest of my bandmates, am a cold cut snob, meats like those we received in Winnipeg don’t really measure up to my standards.  These low quality meats are usually slimy, cut too thick, and give off an unappealing aroma.  Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures, and when hunger sets in late at night and there’s no chance to stop for food I have to figure out a way to make a sandwich with this stuff somehow palatable. I’ve found that heat helps.  Surrounding an offensive meat in cheese and bread and throwing it on the Foreman grill can sap the nast off of even the most suspect turkey.  Adding a strong dressing (such as Ken’s Balsamic Vinaigrette) can make it even better.  I tried this on a whim tonight and was not let down.

APRIL 13, 2009

Winnipeg, MB

THE BUS - TURKEY MELT WITH CHEDDAR AND BALSAMIC DRESSING

We as a band are big fans of cold cuts.  Having grown up in New Jersey, we are accustomed to high quality deli meats such as Boar’s Head and Thumann’s.  On our tour rider (a list of things that the promoter or club has to provide for us when we play a show) we specifically request Boar’s Head meats, even though we hardly ever get them.

Usually, we get some budget, low quality meat where the turkey and ham are almost indistinguishable from each other.  Such was the case in Winnipeg.

Being that I, and the rest of my bandmates, am a cold cut snob, meats like those we received in Winnipeg don’t really measure up to my standards.  These low quality meats are usually slimy, cut too thick, and give off an unappealing aroma.  Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures, and when hunger sets in late at night and there’s no chance to stop for food I have to figure out a way to make a sandwich with this stuff somehow palatable.

I’ve found that heat helps.  Surrounding an offensive meat in cheese and bread and throwing it on the Foreman grill can sap the nast off of even the most suspect turkey.  Adding a strong dressing (such as Ken’s Balsamic Vinaigrette) can make it even better.  I tried this on a whim tonight and was not let down.

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APRIL 12, 2009 Saskatoon, SK CLURICAUNE IRISH PUB - BURGER SPECIAL Today was a day off in Saskatoon and we were parked about 3 blocks from our hotel.  I gathered my belongings and headed off to take a shower.  On the way into the lobby I saw Indy, our tour manager, and inquired about food.  He said that he and a few others had just ordered lunch at the Irish bar attached to the hotel.  I temporarily put aside personal hygiene to grab a quick meal. Our waitress advised us of the lunch special - for Canadian 7.50, they give you a bacon cheeseburger, French fries and a beer!  Always one to take advantage of a good deal, I ordered it without even looking at the menu. It was a little weird.  First, the bacon was totally different from what I was expecting.  It wasn’t smoky at all, it just tasted like salty, cured pork.  After a bite or two, I pulled the rest off my burger.  I thought that would get rid of the weirdness, but it did not.   The burger itself had a strange flavor which I couldn’t pinpoint.  It took me about 6 bites to figure out what it tasted like.  Then it hit me… Hot dog. The burger tasted like a hot dog.  I had had enough.  Not sure if I was full or just kind of put off, I gave up on the burger, finished my beer, and went upstairs to shower.

APRIL 12, 2009

Saskatoon, SK

CLURICAUNE IRISH PUB - BURGER SPECIAL

Today was a day off in Saskatoon and we were parked about 3 blocks from our hotel.  I gathered my belongings and headed off to take a shower.  On the way into the lobby I saw Indy, our tour manager, and inquired about food.  He said that he and a few others had just ordered lunch at the Irish bar attached to the hotel.  I temporarily put aside personal hygiene to grab a quick meal.

Our waitress advised us of the lunch special - for Canadian 7.50, they give you a bacon cheeseburger, French fries and a beer!  Always one to take advantage of a good deal, I ordered it without even looking at the menu.

It was a little weird.  First, the bacon was totally different from what I was expecting.  It wasn’t smoky at all, it just tasted like salty, cured pork.  After a bite or two, I pulled the rest off my burger.  I thought that would get rid of the weirdness, but it did not.  

The burger itself had a strange flavor which I couldn’t pinpoint.  It took me about 6 bites to figure out what it tasted like.  Then it hit me…

Hot dog.

The burger tasted like a hot dog.  I had had enough.  Not sure if I was full or just kind of put off, I gave up on the burger, finished my beer, and went upstairs to shower.

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APRIL 11, 2009 Edmonton, AB BRIXX - CAJUN CHICKEN ALFREDO I woke up feeling like a total disaster this day.  We had a bunch of good Canadian beer the night before, and in the morning my stomach felt like a pit full of garbage.  From all the acids in my system, I was craving a pasta dinner. After soundcheck, a few of us stood by the door to Brixx waiting for it to open its doors.  As we were waiting, the crew started wandering in.  The cook was one of the last to arrive, and he offered up without any prompting that he had a long night and was really hungover.  Any other time this would have been a sign to walk away and try somewhere else, but since we were also hungover, it made sense to stay and stick it out with this kindred spirit. We sat and ordered our food.  I chose the Cajun Chicken Alfredo.  Fettucine Alfredo is not one of my favorite meals, however, the first few bites of it are always awesome.  Any more than a few bites and it starts wearing out its welcome.  Our hungover cook was in no rush to make our food.  We sat and waited for almost an hour before our four meals came out. This dish was pretty basic.  Spinach fettucine, Alfredo sauce, diced cajun chicken and some tomatoes.  I would have preferred bigger chunks of chicken and regular fettucine.  Maybe the green color just struck me as odd because I wasn’t expecting it, but it wasn’t appetizing.  The tomatoes were a nice touch though, adding not only a bright color to liven up the dull, olive green that the pasta supplied, but also a fresh, light flavor on top of all that heavy sauce. This meal definitely helped me out.  It filled my rumbling stomach and helped me get on with my day.  I should have suggested it to the hungover cook.

APRIL 11, 2009

Edmonton, AB

BRIXX - CAJUN CHICKEN ALFREDO

I woke up feeling like a total disaster this day.  We had a bunch of good Canadian beer the night before, and in the morning my stomach felt like a pit full of garbage.  From all the acids in my system, I was craving a pasta dinner.

After soundcheck, a few of us stood by the door to Brixx waiting for it to open its doors.  As we were waiting, the crew started wandering in.  The cook was one of the last to arrive, and he offered up without any prompting that he had a long night and was really hungover.  Any other time this would have been a sign to walk away and try somewhere else, but since we were also hungover, it made sense to stay and stick it out with this kindred spirit.

We sat and ordered our food.  I chose the Cajun Chicken Alfredo.  Fettucine Alfredo is not one of my favorite meals, however, the first few bites of it are always awesome.  Any more than a few bites and it starts wearing out its welcome.  Our hungover cook was in no rush to make our food.  We sat and waited for almost an hour before our four meals came out.

This dish was pretty basic.  Spinach fettucine, Alfredo sauce, diced cajun chicken and some tomatoes.  I would have preferred bigger chunks of chicken and regular fettucine.  Maybe the green color just struck me as odd because I wasn’t expecting it, but it wasn’t appetizing.  The tomatoes were a nice touch though, adding not only a bright color to liven up the dull, olive green that the pasta supplied, but also a fresh, light flavor on top of all that heavy sauce.

This meal definitely helped me out.  It filled my rumbling stomach and helped me get on with my day.  I should have suggested it to the hungover cook.

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APRIL 10, 2009 Calgary, AB PITA SHACK IN THE COLLEGE FOOD COURT - FALAFEL PITA We played at some college today which was pretty far outside of town.  Being that we are in a bus and have no transportation of our own, we were stuck with whatever the food court had to offer. On any usual day at whatever college this was (I know, I need to take notes), there are about 20 different options ranging from an A&W Root Beer Stand (burgers, chicken fingers, fries, etc) to a Vietnamese bakery.  Since it was Good Friday, most of these were closed.  Our choices were narrowed down to 4 or 5 out of the 20 usually available. Whenever there’s falafel around, nine times out of ten I will choose that over anything else.  It’s just such a comfortable meal.  People will say about pizza that even when it’s bad, it’s still good.  I feel that way about a falafel pita. This one had some flaws.  For example, the falafel balls were cold.  Most places will fry the falafel then put it in a fridge or whatever until someone orders it, then they’ll heat it up on the grill and pop it into the pita and build from there. The real problem was that there was a language barrier between me and the woman who assembled my pita.  She asked what sauce I wanted, and I said that I wanted tahini.  I also asked if there was hot sauce, and if there was that I’d like to apply it myself.  She only replied “yes” to what was clearly a two-part question and I knew I was in trouble. She handed me back what would turn out to be the spiciest falafel I have ever attempted to eat.  I enjoy spicy food.  I really do.  But I also like to taste my food.  This was so spicy that there was no flavor, just heat and burning.  I had to abandon it after about 5 bites. If it wasn’t so spicy, it would have been fine.  Not great, but definitely acceptable.  The heat put it way over the line and ruined it for me.

APRIL 10, 2009

Calgary, AB

PITA SHACK IN THE COLLEGE FOOD COURT - FALAFEL PITA

We played at some college today which was pretty far outside of town.  Being that we are in a bus and have no transportation of our own, we were stuck with whatever the food court had to offer.

On any usual day at whatever college this was (I know, I need to take notes), there are about 20 different options ranging from an A&W Root Beer Stand (burgers, chicken fingers, fries, etc) to a Vietnamese bakery.  Since it was Good Friday, most of these were closed.  Our choices were narrowed down to 4 or 5 out of the 20 usually available.

Whenever there’s falafel around, nine times out of ten I will choose that over anything else.  It’s just such a comfortable meal.  People will say about pizza that even when it’s bad, it’s still good.  I feel that way about a falafel pita.

This one had some flaws.  For example, the falafel balls were cold.  Most places will fry the falafel then put it in a fridge or whatever until someone orders it, then they’ll heat it up on the grill and pop it into the pita and build from there.

The real problem was that there was a language barrier between me and the woman who assembled my pita.  She asked what sauce I wanted, and I said that I wanted tahini.  I also asked if there was hot sauce, and if there was that I’d like to apply it myself.  She only replied “yes” to what was clearly a two-part question and I knew I was in trouble.

She handed me back what would turn out to be the spiciest falafel I have ever attempted to eat.  I enjoy spicy food.  I really do.  But I also like to taste my food.  This was so spicy that there was no flavor, just heat and burning.  I had to abandon it after about 5 bites.

If it wasn’t so spicy, it would have been fine.  Not great, but definitely acceptable.  The heat put it way over the line and ruined it for me.

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APRIL 9, 2009 Salmon Arm, BC HOME RESTAURANT - POUTINE The idea of Poutine is a familiar one to me.  Back home we call these “Disco Fries” and you can get them at any diner.  They’re a great post-show, or post-bar meal, and generally they’re not to be eaten at any time before 1 am. French fries, gravy and cheese.  We do Mozzarella in New Jersey, and I was told that in Canada they use a mild cheddar cheese curd.  At Home Restaurant however, they use a blend of what appeared to be cheddar and mozzarella.  The best of both worlds! Well, not really.  First off, the cheese wasn’t really melted.  For some reason there were thick slices of a mild cheddar-ish cheese thrown around on top of the plate.  Maybe it was to add a little color to the dish?  Whatever its intended purpose, it ended up adding only confusion. Why would you add a cheese that obviously needs a higher temperature or longer exposure period to a dish when you’re not going to give it the extra time it needs to melt and blend?  Was the orange cheese an afterthought?  Was the whole thing just taken out of the heat too soon? It just missed the mark.  Maybe Poutine isn’t a western Canadian staple?  I think I’ll try it again when I get to Toronto.

APRIL 9, 2009

Salmon Arm, BC

HOME RESTAURANT - POUTINE

The idea of Poutine is a familiar one to me.  Back home we call these “Disco Fries” and you can get them at any diner.  They’re a great post-show, or post-bar meal, and generally they’re not to be eaten at any time before 1 am.

French fries, gravy and cheese.  We do Mozzarella in New Jersey, and I was told that in Canada they use a mild cheddar cheese curd.  At Home Restaurant however, they use a blend of what appeared to be cheddar and mozzarella.  The best of both worlds!

Well, not really.  First off, the cheese wasn’t really melted.  For some reason there were thick slices of a mild cheddar-ish cheese thrown around on top of the plate.  Maybe it was to add a little color to the dish?  Whatever its intended purpose, it ended up adding only confusion.

Why would you add a cheese that obviously needs a higher temperature or longer exposure period to a dish when you’re not going to give it the extra time it needs to melt and blend?  Was the orange cheese an afterthought?  Was the whole thing just taken out of the heat too soon?

It just missed the mark.  Maybe Poutine isn’t a western Canadian staple?  I think I’ll try it again when I get to Toronto.

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APRIL 8, 2009 Vancouver, BC THE KING AND I - BEEF SATAY WITH RICE NOODLES This was the first day of our Canadian mini-tour.  We had a week and a half to kill in Canada before flying off to Brussels, Belgium to start our European tour.  For dinner, a couple of us tried to get sushi, but since the restaurant was incredibly packed and we had little patience, we left and went somewhere less crowded. That place was King And I.  It was a bad choice.  We kind of knew that it wasn’t going to be good when we walked in and were the only people there.  This was truly an act of desperation, and luckily it didn’t give me food poisoning.  That’s one of the the only positive things I can say about it. The beef was probably about as good as cat food.  No, dog food.  Exact pet aside, it definitely was not fit for human consumption.   I tried to bury the beef under the noodles so I could forget that it was even there. That left me with the other main part to my dish, which was the noodles.  Maybe I just don’t “get” rice noodles.  Are they supposed to be slimy?  Are they supposed to repel sauce like rain on a Rain-X’ed windshield?  Are they supposed to be devoid of any flavor?  If so, then they did their job. I definitely blew it.  Maybe this will teach me some patience.

APRIL 8, 2009

Vancouver, BC

THE KING AND I - BEEF SATAY WITH RICE NOODLES

This was the first day of our Canadian mini-tour.  We had a week and a half to kill in Canada before flying off to Brussels, Belgium to start our European tour.  For dinner, a couple of us tried to get sushi, but since the restaurant was incredibly packed and we had little patience, we left and went somewhere less crowded.

That place was King And I.  It was a bad choice.  We kind of knew that it wasn’t going to be good when we walked in and were the only people there.  This was truly an act of desperation, and luckily it didn’t give me food poisoning.  That’s one of the the only positive things I can say about it.

The beef was probably about as good as cat food.  No, dog food.  Exact pet aside, it definitely was not fit for human consumption.   I tried to bury the beef under the noodles so I could forget that it was even there.

That left me with the other main part to my dish, which was the noodles.  Maybe I just don’t “get” rice noodles.  Are they supposed to be slimy?  Are they supposed to repel sauce like rain on a Rain-X’ed windshield?  Are they supposed to be devoid of any flavor?  If so, then they did their job.

I definitely blew it.  Maybe this will teach me some patience.

April 10
APRIL 7, 2009 Portland, OR GALAXY KARAOKE BAR - POPO PLATTER That sandwich filled me up a lot more than I was expecting it to, but around 9:00 a few of us started to get a craving for Chinese food.  We opened up our computers and searched google maps, but the closest actual Chinese restaurant was at least 2 miles away from where we were.  In all of our searches, the karaoke bar from across the street kept popping up.  I called over there, and it seemed pretty legit so we walked the 200 feet to Galaxy. I wasn’t really hungry for a full meal, or anything with rice or noodles, I wanted a Popo platter.  I used to order these a lot as a kid because I thought the name was funny; the restaurant we went to spelled it as “Pu-Pu Platter”.  How could a kid not want to order something like that?  Even as a grown man, I still find it funny. Anyway, this Popo Platter had some really great stuff to offer.  The Beef Satay had great flavor, a little sweet but still with the charred flavor of the beef itself.  It was a little tough, but still in the acceptable range for skewered grilled beef.  The pork was the exact opposite of the beef.  It was so tender that I felt like I was biting through a soggy piece of meat.  The texture really turned me off and I gave up on it after the first bite.  Soggy meat is no good. The tin foil thing in the back of the picture was called Paper Chicken.  It was basically shredded chicken coated in some sweet barbecue sauce which was then cooked in the foil.  This was really good, and reminded me of the chicken that comes with lettuce wraps.  The rest of the items were deep fried standard appetizers.  The eggroll was decent, though not so good that I wanted to hoard it.  I did hoard the wontons, which were possibly Galaxy’s version of crab rangoon.  They didn’t have much flavor of their own, but their texture lent itself well to be a vehicle for the table sauce and hot mustard.  The fried shrimp didn’t really add much to the plate either. I like the variety that the Popo Platter offers.  It’s never really good for a full meal, but if you happen to be uninspired by other menu offerings, it’s usually a good place to start from.  There’s bound to be at least one item on it that is really good.  In this case I’d say there were two - the Beef and the Paper Chicken.  I’ll keep those in mind next time I find myself in Galaxy.

APRIL 7, 2009

Portland, OR

GALAXY KARAOKE BAR - POPO PLATTER

That sandwich filled me up a lot more than I was expecting it to, but around 9:00 a few of us started to get a craving for Chinese food.  We opened up our computers and searched google maps, but the closest actual Chinese restaurant was at least 2 miles away from where we were.  In all of our searches, the karaoke bar from across the street kept popping up.  I called over there, and it seemed pretty legit so we walked the 200 feet to Galaxy.

I wasn’t really hungry for a full meal, or anything with rice or noodles, I wanted a Popo platter.  I used to order these a lot as a kid because I thought the name was funny; the restaurant we went to spelled it as “Pu-Pu Platter”.  How could a kid not want to order something like that?  Even as a grown man, I still find it funny.

Anyway, this Popo Platter had some really great stuff to offer.  The Beef Satay had great flavor, a little sweet but still with the charred flavor of the beef itself.  It was a little tough, but still in the acceptable range for skewered grilled beef.  The pork was the exact opposite of the beef.  It was so tender that I felt like I was biting through a soggy piece of meat.  The texture really turned me off and I gave up on it after the first bite.  Soggy meat is no good.

The tin foil thing in the back of the picture was called Paper Chicken.  It was basically shredded chicken coated in some sweet barbecue sauce which was then cooked in the foil.  This was really good, and reminded me of the chicken that comes with lettuce wraps.  The rest of the items were deep fried standard appetizers.  The eggroll was decent, though not so good that I wanted to hoard it.  I did hoard the wontons, which were possibly Galaxy’s version of crab rangoon.  They didn’t have much flavor of their own, but their texture lent itself well to be a vehicle for the table sauce and hot mustard.  The fried shrimp didn’t really add much to the plate either.

I like the variety that the Popo Platter offers.  It’s never really good for a full meal, but if you happen to be uninspired by other menu offerings, it’s usually a good place to start from.  There’s bound to be at least one item on it that is really good.  In this case I’d say there were two - the Beef and the Paper Chicken.  I’ll keep those in mind next time I find myself in Galaxy.

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APRIL 7, 2009 Portland, OR DOUG FIR - BLACK FRIDAY MELT One of the things the Doug Fir does well is that they offer a great happy hour menu.  All draft beers and well drinks are $3.  In addition to the drink specials, they offer a separate menu of bar items that are also available for $3.  The rest of the dudes went to the bar to take advantage of this special, so I followed along. I knew this was my last day in the states and so my last chance to enjoy a nice, cold Fat Tire.  Fat Tire is my favorite beer in the country.  It is brewed by the New Belgium Brewing Company of Fort Collins, Colorado.  Unfortunately, it is not available where I live so the only time I get to drink it is on tour.  I’ve never had a hard time finding it anywhere west of Illinois, but trying to find it east of there is an impossible task.  So, I savor it whenever I can. Fat Tire was awesome as usual.  I figured that it needed a buddy though, so I ordered the Black Friday Melt, in honor of the Steely Dan song of the same name.  I doubt that the song inspired the name of the sandwich, but it was enough to make it jump off the menu and onto my plate. This sandwich consists of turkey, gruyere cheese, sauteed mushrooms and onions on grilled white bread.  It came out of the kitchen really hot, and I kind of burned my tongue on my first bite.  I was too eager I guess, but it smelled so good that I couldn’t wait. No complaints about this at all.  There was a nice smoky flavor that permeated every bite, the gruyere was gooey and held all the ingredients together like glue, and there was even some cranberry and orange relish to use at my own discretion.  It was a nice little sandwich, just enough to hold me over until dinner.  The pickle was interesting too, as it had a mild fennel flavor to it.

APRIL 7, 2009

Portland, OR

DOUG FIR - BLACK FRIDAY MELT

One of the things the Doug Fir does well is that they offer a great happy hour menu.  All draft beers and well drinks are $3.  In addition to the drink specials, they offer a separate menu of bar items that are also available for $3.  The rest of the dudes went to the bar to take advantage of this special, so I followed along.

I knew this was my last day in the states and so my last chance to enjoy a nice, cold Fat Tire.  Fat Tire is my favorite beer in the country.  It is brewed by the New Belgium Brewing Company of Fort Collins, Colorado.  Unfortunately, it is not available where I live so the only time I get to drink it is on tour.  I’ve never had a hard time finding it anywhere west of Illinois, but trying to find it east of there is an impossible task.  So, I savor it whenever I can.

Fat Tire was awesome as usual.  I figured that it needed a buddy though, so I ordered the Black Friday Melt, in honor of the Steely Dan song of the same name.  I doubt that the song inspired the name of the sandwich, but it was enough to make it jump off the menu and onto my plate.

This sandwich consists of turkey, gruyere cheese, sauteed mushrooms and onions on grilled white bread.  It came out of the kitchen really hot, and I kind of burned my tongue on my first bite.  I was too eager I guess, but it smelled so good that I couldn’t wait.

No complaints about this at all.  There was a nice smoky flavor that permeated every bite, the gruyere was gooey and held all the ingredients together like glue, and there was even some cranberry and orange relish to use at my own discretion.  It was a nice little sandwich, just enough to hold me over until dinner.  The pickle was interesting too, as it had a mild fennel flavor to it.

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APRIL 7, 2009 Portland, OR DOUG FIR - BURNSIDE BISCUIT w/VEGGIE SAUSAGE We were back in Portland again on the second straight day off on our way to Vancouver.  We were all happy to be back at the Jupiter Hotel and its attached restaurant, The Doug Fir Lounge.  I woke up, threw some laundry into the machine, and wandered into the familiar restaurant. Remembering my bad experience last time, I knew I had to switch it up and go with a different option.  It was still early in the day, so I was craving breakfast.  Thinking “how bad can you mess up a breakfast sandwich anyway?”, I ordered the Burnside Biscuit with veggie sausage. Surprisingly, there is more than one answer to that question.  One way to ruin a perfectly good breakfast sandwich is to deep fry the veggie sausage.  These were DEFINITELY 100% the same exact Morningstar veggie patties that I buy in the supermarket.  Only, I don’t deep fry them at home, I microwave them for about 20 seconds and then heat them through in a skillet.  These were burned to a deep crisp and left totally flavorless. Another way to ruin a breakfast sandwich is to have your ratios totally off.  There was enough egg on that sandwich for two biscuits of the same size.  This left me with severe egg overhang.  Thinking of the image of floppy eggs hanging off my plate kind of makes me want to gag. Cheese selection and distribution is also important.  The cheddar cheese was sparse and bland.  I guess if there was less egg involved it may have been fine, but it just seemed like the cheese was an after thought and was thus sprinkled lovingly on top - totally unacceptable. O yeah, and the potatoes that I liked last week, besides the extraneous whole garlic cloves, tasted like fish today.  Maybe they were cooked in the same vessel that had been used to cook fish earlier in the day and had not been cleaned out?  I don’t know the exact reason for it, but it was enough to make me ask for my check.

APRIL 7, 2009

Portland, OR

DOUG FIR - BURNSIDE BISCUIT w/VEGGIE SAUSAGE

We were back in Portland again on the second straight day off on our way to Vancouver.  We were all happy to be back at the Jupiter Hotel and its attached restaurant, The Doug Fir Lounge.  I woke up, threw some laundry into the machine, and wandered into the familiar restaurant.

Remembering my bad experience last time, I knew I had to switch it up and go with a different option.  It was still early in the day, so I was craving breakfast.  Thinking “how bad can you mess up a breakfast sandwich anyway?”, I ordered the Burnside Biscuit with veggie sausage.

Surprisingly, there is more than one answer to that question.  One way to ruin a perfectly good breakfast sandwich is to deep fry the veggie sausage.  These were DEFINITELY 100% the same exact Morningstar veggie patties that I buy in the supermarket.  Only, I don’t deep fry them at home, I microwave them for about 20 seconds and then heat them through in a skillet.  These were burned to a deep crisp and left totally flavorless.

Another way to ruin a breakfast sandwich is to have your ratios totally off.  There was enough egg on that sandwich for two biscuits of the same size.  This left me with severe egg overhang.  Thinking of the image of floppy eggs hanging off my plate kind of makes me want to gag.

Cheese selection and distribution is also important.  The cheddar cheese was sparse and bland.  I guess if there was less egg involved it may have been fine, but it just seemed like the cheese was an after thought and was thus sprinkled lovingly on top - totally unacceptable.

O yeah, and the potatoes that I liked last week, besides the extraneous whole garlic cloves, tasted like fish today.  Maybe they were cooked in the same vessel that had been used to cook fish earlier in the day and had not been cleaned out?  I don’t know the exact reason for it, but it was enough to make me ask for my check.

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APRIL 6, 2009 Sacramento, CA OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE - 12 OZ SPECIAL SIRLOIN This was our first of two sequential days off.  We had a 1400 mile drive from San Diego, where the Saints and Sinners tour ended, to Vancouver, BC where we were to start our own cross-Canadian headlining tour.  Needless to say, we had to stop a couple times on the way. Our first stop was in Sacramento, which happened to be on Garrett’s 24th birthday.  Our good friend Cody (canigetakindness.tumblr.com), who was on tour with us for a week just to hang out, came back to help celebrate.  We ended up taking the hotel shuttle, driven by a fine gentleman named Ron, to the closest Outback Steakhouse. I started out with an ahi tuna appetizer which was a lot better than I was expecting.  Usually at chain restaurants like this, the portion for an ahi appetizer is 5-8 pieces of thin sliced tuna.  Outback was a lot more generous, and gave both Indy and I about 12 pieces  each.  There were also 2 dipping sauces, one of which tasted eerily like Italian dressing, and the other similar to a thinned out blooming onion sauce.  Neither of which were delicate or mild in the least bit. I used to be a big fan of the N.Y. Strip at Outback, but the last N.Y. Strip I got there was really bad.  It was really tough, to the point that it was hard to chew, and it was overcooked.  Because of that bad experience and the recommendation of a good friend, I decided to try something different - the 12 oz. special sirloin. The first thing that stood out about this steak was that it didn’t look appetizing at all.  It looked bloated in the middle, like it had been cooked at too high a temperature too quickly.  Besides the bloat, it was also about twice as thick as it should have been.  And it was tough and bland.  I even tried the last salvation of bad steaks, A-1 steak sauce, and I still couldn’t enjoy it.  Not a good steak.  Even our sound dog didn’t like it, and he ate over 26 ounces of steak that night! Bad steak aside, it was still nice to get everyone together for a meal.  We spend a lot of time together, but it’s usually in this big black can on wheels.  It’s nice to get out and into the world, even if we unknowingly offend the locals.

APRIL 6, 2009

Sacramento, CA

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE - 12 OZ SPECIAL SIRLOIN

This was our first of two sequential days off.  We had a 1400 mile drive from San Diego, where the Saints and Sinners tour ended, to Vancouver, BC where we were to start our own cross-Canadian headlining tour.  Needless to say, we had to stop a couple times on the way.

Our first stop was in Sacramento, which happened to be on Garrett’s 24th birthday.  Our good friend Cody (canigetakindness.tumblr.com), who was on tour with us for a week just to hang out, came back to help celebrate.  We ended up taking the hotel shuttle, driven by a fine gentleman named Ron, to the closest Outback Steakhouse.

I started out with an ahi tuna appetizer which was a lot better than I was expecting.  Usually at chain restaurants like this, the portion for an ahi appetizer is 5-8 pieces of thin sliced tuna.  Outback was a lot more generous, and gave both Indy and I about 12 pieces  each.  There were also 2 dipping sauces, one of which tasted eerily like Italian dressing, and the other similar to a thinned out blooming onion sauce.  Neither of which were delicate or mild in the least bit.

I used to be a big fan of the N.Y. Strip at Outback, but the last N.Y. Strip I got there was really bad.  It was really tough, to the point that it was hard to chew, and it was overcooked.  Because of that bad experience and the recommendation of a good friend, I decided to try something different - the 12 oz. special sirloin.

The first thing that stood out about this steak was that it didn’t look appetizing at all.  It looked bloated in the middle, like it had been cooked at too high a temperature too quickly.  Besides the bloat, it was also about twice as thick as it should have been.  And it was tough and bland.  I even tried the last salvation of bad steaks, A-1 steak sauce, and I still couldn’t enjoy it.  Not a good steak.  Even our sound dog didn’t like it, and he ate over 26 ounces of steak that night!

Bad steak aside, it was still nice to get everyone together for a meal.  We spend a lot of time together, but it’s usually in this big black can on wheels.  It’s nice to get out and into the world, even if we unknowingly offend the locals.