Anyway,  it was Friday,  so we figured that it was the perfect day for Pizza.  Hmm, now that I actually think about it,  any day is a good day for pizza!!  This led us to Oregano’s in Phoenix AZ.  This place is not very large,  but it is ALWAYS packed.  The advantage of getting off of work early is we usually beat the crowds, which is what happened tonight.  As usual,  it was very crowded when we left.

The few times that we have been here,  the staff has been awesome!  Everybody is really friendly,  greeting you as you come in.  Everybody is willing (and friendly) to help even if you are not in their section.

We started of with an ice cold one.  Beer, that is.  Frosty.  These ice cold beverages are just going to get better the hotter it gets outside.  Ok,  we are at a pizza place.  Drinking beer.  Getting ready to order a pizza.  So,  of course we have to order wings.  You would too!  Italian Gold was the name.  Honey Mustard BBQ sauce was the flavor.  Awesome!  You have to try them!  Crispy.  Just the right mix of honey mustard and BBQ sauce.

The last time we were here,  we ordered the thin crust pizza.  It was really good,  crisp crust,  great toppings.  But,  we ordered the Pan Pizza this time.  It takes a while to make, but let me tell you.  It is definitely worth the wait. Actually didn’t really notice the wait.  We got the 10 inch pizza.  There were two of us.  We each had two slices and were stuffed.  AND,  there are two slices leftover.  Now we just have to fight over the leftovers!!

Enough said.  Go get some pizza!

Dave 'n' Mike Be Textin'...

Twas a dark ‘n’ stormy winter’s night. Wind lashin’ at yer face. A chill sets in the bones long ‘fore home. The door shut ‘n’ me coat strewn on a chair, reachin’ for the cupboard o’er the coffee pot, pull down a mug ‘n’ fill ‘er with a healthy dram for some bloggin’.

This is a common scenario this time of year in the Phoenix metro area, with the exception of the storm, wind, chill and coat. Why it dipped down into upper-40s the other night. Brrr. It’s a good thing there is a bottle or two (or more) in the cupboard to warm up with (apart from snuggling with the wife, OF COURSE).

Aye, it be whisky nay whiskey night!

That was SO GOOD! Seriously. Click & see for yourself.

“What do you want for dinner?” A loaded question this can be. Make no mistake, proceed carefully with the response when the query is posed by your spouse. Do I suggest leftovers? No. Pick up something? Not tonight. Go out to eat? Usually a safe bet. Do we want to include friends? Yes! What do I feel like having? Oh my.

The decisions have only just begun. Chain restaurant? Local cuisine? American, Mexican, Italian, Greek, English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vegan (HA, made you look) or something else? Family friendly or not? Happy hour? Of course. Then there is the menu. More choices and decisions. It’s a wonder we eat at all. But when we do…

Where: Chelsea’s Kitchen in Phoenix, AZ

When: Friday after work

Who: Two couples and adult conversation (not to be confused with mature conversation, BTW).

Drinks: Dirty Martini, Gin & Tonic (Tanqueray), Zinfandel wine (Seghesio).

Dinner choices: Two filets of steak (tenderloin), roasted chicken and beef short ribs.

Dessert: Build your own sundae, key lime pie

Coffee: French press (of course)

After Dinner Drink: Double shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey, over ice (the look that the wives present when the whiskey is served – priceless).

Good food, drink and company! Good choices.

What’s for breakfast? Yet another decision that can wait until we are hungry. Only hours away, breakfast is.

2009 Seghesio Chelsea’s Kitchen

Now, you may have noticed a certain lack of gluttonous behavior here. The GBoys have been dieting. Well, it is partially that, and partially we have just been busy doing other stuff.

Ok, back to the baking. Let me tell you, it is great waking up in the morning to the awesome aroma of fresh baked cookies, and bread. Hopefully the house will smell this way all week.

All of this is a small price to pay for having to clean the kitchen! Honestly though, she does a pretty good job of cleaning as she goes, so by the time I have to clean the rest, it isn’t so bad.

The treats being baked today are: Comfort Cookies, which is a new addition this year. Others are chocolate chip pudding cookies, chocolate crinkles cookies, magic cookie bars, fudge, Amish Friendship Bread, and peanut butter kiss cookies, with dark chocolate kisses on top. Did I mention that I love dark chocolate? The. Best. All of them surely to reek havoc on the diet. But I can return when the treats are gone.

Oh yeah, while the cookies will be great for the guys and gals tomorrow at work, sneaking some when they are fresh out of the oven is the best way! Not sure if it is because when warm they taste even better, or if it is because I grabbed them when the wife wasn’t looking…

We have a day of sights and tastes planned, which include the Pima Air & Space Museum and the Titan Missile Museum. For those of us here at the GB office complex, an opportunity to experience marvelous feats of engineering AND enjoy some Sonoran Mexican food is an irresistible combination.

There are over 300 aircraft in five hangers and on display outdoors at Pima. Vehicles spanning decades of aviation history were everywhere! But walking around and under the SR-71 Blackbird made my day! It was the middle of the afternoon before we knew it and we found ourselves parched and famished.

For lunch we went to experience one of the Tucson culinary treats featured on the Travel Channel’s “Man v. Food” show. That treat would be the Sonoran Hot Dog that is served up at a taco stand in South Tucson called “El Guero Canelo” (ehl wed-ho khan-eh-loh). This location is literally a parked concession truck with a hut for orders and drinks with a separate grill cart. There is plenty of seating under a covered patio with picnic tables.

The place is bustling with locals. You know the fare is authentic border Mexican cuisine when you are in the minority standing in line to order. That’s right, some “gringos” found this place (note that 50% of the GB staff is Mexican-American, that means he can put this crowd at ease with a glance that communicates “These guys are cool”, “They don’t work for the Border Patrol” and “See y’all in church on Sunday”). I step up to the window and order a Sonoran Dog and a bottle of Coke, imported from Mexico, with a cup of ice.

Cokes and order numbers in hand we wade through the patrons and find a table. The speaker overhead crackles with periodic announcements that an order is ready. The numbers are called out in English and Spanish. I look at my receipt and note that I have number 279 or número doscientos setenta y nueve (dohs-see-en-toes seh-ten-tah ee nweh-veh).

My dog is ready. Fresh off the grill cart it is a bacon wrapped frank with beans, grilled onions, fresh onions, tomatoes, mayo, mustard and jalapeño sauce on a homemade “francesito” (frahn-seh-see-toh) french bread roll. The smell, flavors and textures combine to make a sublime scrumptious experience!

A bite of such a dog is usually followed by an ice cold beer. Alas, there was no beer cart or cooler at this place but we knew this going in, as their web site was devoid of any hard beverages listed. Upon sitting at the table we quickly produced a flask of Appleton Estate Jamaican rum and a plastic squeeze bottle of lime juice. With a quick glance around to see if anyone was paying attention, we combined the rum, juice and bottled Coke into the cups of ice to create “Cuba Libres” (koo-bah lee-brehs)! We are all about food and drink pairing, you know.

Next on the itinerary was the truly awesome Titan Missile Museum. The engineering effort to create this line of defense in the 1960′s (and operational for over 20 years) is amazing. The Titan II missile is 103 feet tall and had the largest single warhead deployed with a 9 megaton yield. This weapon would destroy everything in a 900 square mile area! The tour will take you down into the underground missile silo to view and participate in a launch demonstration. I highly recommend that you visit this museum if you find yourself in Tucson.

Just before leaving, we pull into “La Parrilla Suiza” (lah par-eeh-yah swee-zah), order a round of Negra Modelo (negg-rah, moe- alright, I’m DONE with the pronunciation tutorial) on draft with the “Queso al La Parrilla” appetizer; Melted cheese served on a table grill with flour tortillas. That’s right, MORE Mexican food. We reminisced, relaxed and ate. This day was great! We need to do this again.

El Guero Canelo  La Parrilla Suiza