Pigs in the City

We have wonderful friends, and while I don’t always get pictures of such events, we love spending time with them.

Especially when Hubby discovers a new BBQ restaurant that sounds right up our alley! We called up Ann and Ted to let them know that we couldn’t try Porkopolis without them by our side. Luckily, they agreed.

Friends don’t let friends try new BBQ alone.

Seriously, who could not love people who willingly stand in front of a Porkopolis sign to pose for a picture, and then offer to take a picture of us in front of the Porkopolis sign as well? Ted and Ann are our favorite people in Mesa. I’m just glad that they only live a few blocks away from us!

Porkopolis, on the other hand, was not just a few blocks away. We ended up driving about twenty minutes to get there for Date Night, just in time for half-price appetizers.

In case you’re wondering, it was totally worth the drive. I love me some good BBQ, but we don’t often try it here in Phoenix. We aren’t exactly known for BBQ, you know? This particular restaurant just opened up in Chandler, which is on the southeast side of Phoenix and is about nine miles south of our home in Mesa.

I loved the interior decoration and was happy to see that this place was so packed. It makes me happy when wonderful restaurants thrive!

The walls were adorned with some neat signs. Isn’t their logo awesome?!

I love old-looking anything, so this sign was just wonderful. Look how they spell “Cincinnati” in the bottom-right corner! And, apparently, way back when, everyone gave directions like we women prefer to give directions! “It’s near Brighton House…” by that red building near the pretty rose bushes with the cat out front.

The menu certainly didn’t disappoint, and I could feel us starting to salivate the longer that we read. I decided to order some fried pickles for the table to share, simply because that seemed like the right thing to do.

Because of their half-price promotion, we only paid $2.75 (you can check my math) for a whole basket of the little buggers!

For my meal, I ordered the BBQ nachos but switched out chicken for pulled pork. Everything is better with pulled pork. Do these nachos sound unique to you? The menu description wasn’t even close to what arrived at the table!

These were awesome, but I was surprised that Hubby wasn’t a fan. I am not that into pickles myself but love them in small doses when they are in fried form such as this. The southwestern ranch dipping sauce only made them that much better.

Ted and Ann split a three-meat platter and a few sides. I can’t say it enough how incredibly awesome the brisket was at this place…best I’ve ever had anywhere!

They also got some garlic mashed potatoes and baked beans. We all tried each others plates and enjoyed some lovely conversation to boot.

Good food…great friends. It doesn’t get much better than that!

This was Hubby’s dinner…the two-meat platter of brisket and pulled pork with baked beans and garlic mashed potatoes. I didn’t intend to try a bite of his brisket (cough cough) but was glad that I did.

If for no other reason, go to Porkopolis just for the brisket! Wow!

And finally, my “nachos.” I always think of melted cheese on tortilla chips, and the menu suggested that these were no different. But when they arrived, the chips were homemade kettle-fried potato chips with queso cheese on top. The pulled pork was delicious, but the rest of this dish threw me for a loop! It was still yummy…just different.

I am glad that the entire group helped me eat these. That’s what friends are for!

The whole evening was magical, thanks to BBQ and some great friends to accompany us. We really love Ted and Ann and feel so blessed to spend time with them. If smoked pigs happen to be involved, then all the better.

Time Spent with the Men in my Life

Just a few weeks ago, this guy celebrated a birthday. And I couldn’t be happier, since he is six weeks younger than me. Let’s just say that those six weeks around this place aren’t always pleasant…it is an awful feeling being the eldest in our home.

To celebrate, we of course took advantage of the free-$10-for-your-birthday deal at three of our local restaurants, all owned by the same people. In a surprising twist, Hubby chose my favorite of the three for our dinner date.

I’ve mentioned Liberty Market before. It is heavenly, especially when enjoyed with good friends. But right across the street is Joe’s Real BBQ. And, since we’re crazy like that, we went there for some takeout after we finished a delicious meal at Liberty.

Hubby thus had wonderful (did I mention free?) barbeque to eat the next day for lunch at work. It just made sense in our brains!

The last restaurant, Joe’s Farm Grill, is a looooooong way from our home. We don’t always get there to utilize the free $10. It doesn’t make sense to spend that much in gas to arrive!

Hubby is somewhat of a burger connoisseur. Meaning, it’s his preferred dish in almost every place that we eat. He makes exceptions in Mexican restaurants but usually gets a burger in every other eating establishment that we try.

This particular evening, he tried Liberty Market’s weekly burger special, which had spinach artichoke dip on top. Let’s just say that, while skeptical when ordering, he grew to greatly love and appreciate this piece of meat on a bun.

And he ate his vegetables!

I opted to get a grilled chicken sandwich, which turned out to be one of the best that I’ve ever had. Although it looked like a fried egg on top, it was just melted cheese covering a yummy chicken breast. Then, it was drizzled with a chipotle sauce before being cooled down a a dollop of guacamole.

Holy smokes. I rather enjoyed this entire evening! Hubby should have birthdays more often!

Hubby was spoiled rotten by my family in presents and lots of calls from his family. Since they usually only talk once a year, he enjoys the calls from his siblings. I love hearing him talk to them, too.

Happy Birthday, Hubby! Thanks for finally becoming as old as me. Other than the creaky old bones and the now-required use of dentures, it isn’t so bad, huh?

Just a few days after celebrating Hubby’s birthday, I got to spend the day with my Dad. Have you met my Dad? I like him.

We started our day with lunch at a place that I’ve been before…The Cornish Pasty Company. It’s fun, British food that has every flavor combination imaginable…stuffed into a pasty and baked.

Other than my father’s excellent company, this was my favorite part of the meal. The oven fries, I must say, were wonderful. And they were completely baked in the oven, which makes them completely calorie-free. They were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Wowsers, these were good. I think it helps that my Dad grew up in Ideeho and thus has a deep admiration for all things potato.

He obviously passed that gene on to me.

In a very un-British move, we ordered two pasties that had nothing to do with Shepherd's Pie or Bubble and Squeak.

This was the Chicken Alfredo Pasty, which was delicious. It was very mild and had yummy sliced chicken breast inside, as well as ham and a healthy amount of Alfredo sauce. I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy it but fell in love after its arrival.

There was a good chance that we were going to enjoy this one.

And I decided to order their Carne Adovado Pasty, which had simmered pork and Hatch chilies. Unfortunately, this was a little too spicy for my wimpy sensitive palette, but my Dad couldn’t get enough. I actually didn’t eat my half entirely, but Dad is a champ and polished it off for me. Isn’t he nice?

“We can’t leave food on the plate,” says he.

I have really enjoyed my Dad being home these past seven months. He had been living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico since 2005. This past winter, he decided to move back to Phoenix to be closer to family.

I’m so glad that he did. It has been really wonderful living in the same city as my Dad, which hasn’t happened since I was four years old. I love spending time with him, and he is a great conversationalist. I see so many traits of mine that I now realize that I got from him.

So, if you think that my house is too clean, now you know who to blame!

After getting our fill of pasties, we went to ICRAPPA to wander around for ideas for Dad’s new apartment. In the process, we saw these cool knives on display.

Did you miss it? Their perfectly-translated sign to keep people safe in their store?

You gotta those the Swedish people!

I love these two men and feel very blessed to have them in my life. When good food is also added to the equation, how can we possibly go wrong?

Book Review – The Book Thief

I think that it could be fun to start letting you know about the good books that I happen to find along my way.

A friend recommended that I read The Book Thief last week, so I put the digital copy on hold at the library and then waited my turn.

It arrived on Sunday, and by Monday evening, I had finished reading the entire thing. It was that good. From start to finish, I read the book in about seven hours.

I won’t tell you the entire story in hopes that spoiling it for you will not take place. I’ll just give a few tidbits to motivate you to read it as well.

With Death as the narrator, we discover Nazi Germany through the eyes of a non-Jewish girl and her family. It is an incredible narration.

Markus Zusak, who wrote this book and is getting much-deserved acclaim for it, found such interesting ways to describe things. At one point, when some Nazis knocked on the door, he described the door as “humming” afterwards because they had hit it so hard. That is just a small example of the thousands of ways inside the book that be brings things to life. It was magical to read because of his unique descriptions.

I’ve never experienced something written like this, and it was a sheer joy to read (other than the content subject, of course). I found myself wishing that I could write like this.

I really felt like I was there in the book with the characters. On Zimmel Street, in the basement, on the track, etc. You will experience the same thing, I hope.

And by the end of the book, I sobbed for the characters. It’s easy to love each and every one of them. Zusak is a true master at winding a story.

The story is clean with no language (at least not in English) and no physical interaction that made me want to skip ahead. I would recommend it for any age starting around twelve and up.

In fact, I wish kids and adults alike would read it. I think that we forget the horrors of war and often take our freedoms for granted. This story was a great reminder to me that freedom, or an impossible conquest to rule the world and eradicate “inadequate” races, for that matter, is never free. Someone has to pay.

When I finished, I found out that I needed to read more from Zusak. So I just began another of his books, I Am The Messenger.

Please read The Book Thief. You will be glad that you did.