White Boy Food

Oooh, can she say that? Yup. It isn't anything but a loose slang translation of the infamous El Guero Canelo in Tucson, home of the Sonoran Dog. (Guero canelo is more commonly translated as "cinnamon blonde", the haircolor of the its founder, but that isn't nearly as catchy.) Now, I most certainly am not the first one to become intrigued by this pork on pork porn. I first saw this place on a Travel Channel's Man vs. Food featuring the food of Tucson and knew this was a must try on my next visit. A bus, to a train, to a plane and I'm off to spend some quality time with Mom.

Heading to the original location, we drove 40 minutes on the I-10 to South Tucson, made a few turns and we found ourselves on S 12th Street in front of El Guero Canelo - basically two taco trucks and a grill all held together by a corrugated metal covered seating area. The parking lot was packed for 4:00 in the afternoon. Oh, that's right - did I mention the Travel Channel happened to be filming another segment on the Sonoran Dog for a yet TBD show? They had had so much positive response to the same show that I saw, they felt the need to come back for more footage. Who am I to argue with that?

Enough story and get to the good stuff right? OK, let me set it up for you: One standard hotdog, wrap it in bacon and grill. Insert the into a super soft, slightly sweet, buttery bun "envelope". Now top with frijoles, chopped fresh tomatoes and onions. Add a line of mustard and jalepeno sauce then criss-cross with garlic mayonnaise. I'm not sure how to describe it other than being a processed pork food treat and damn tasty.

Like many people, I have an "it" list of fast food I must have while visiting a particular city. These include Portillo's in Chicago, In-N-Out in LA and Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta. Luckily, I can find the last two and now El Guero in Tucson. Guess I need to visit Mom a bit more often.

Three B's at Sweet Iron Waffles

I once predicted in a tweet that there was a Brie, Basil and Bacon waffle in my future and today it came to be. My husband Rob and I went to Sweet Iron Waffles in downtown Seattle. Tucked away next to the Jimmy John's on Third Avenue between Seneca and Union is this small shop that cranks out a small part of culinary heaven, traditional Liege (leej) Belgian waffles.

Waffle schmaffle, why venture into the outskirts of Seattle's financial district for a waffle? Well, honestly, what first drew my attention to it is the fact that the little girl shown on the website happens to be the granddaughter of a woman I work with (no relation to the shop); second, it is the only place I know of that serves savory waffles. Hmmm, the thought of a savory waffle makes my heart go pitter-patter so, off we went.

My choice, the three B waffle was a tastebud treat. The traditional Liege waffle, for those of you that didn't follow the link, is made with a brioche type of raised dough that incorporates pearl sugar. So even though I chose a savory option, the waffle itself was sweet. The sugar also gives the waffle a glistening crunch that would stand up to a syrupy and fruity topping without sogging out ala IHOP, but I digress. Back to my waffle...warm, sweet and crunchy waffle topped with Val de Saone brie melting from the heat of the waffle, topped with fresh basil chiffonade and crispy Applegate bacon. In true male fashion, Rob chose the Bacon waffle. A perfectly simple concoction of waffle, topped with a generous portion of the aforementioned bacon and drizzled with pure maple syrup.

Portland favorite, Stumptown coffee rounded out our morning meal and helped our Sunday get off to a great start. Would I go there again? Yes, next time 'round I'm going for the date and blue cheese waffle. Simply and smartly decorated with three small tables and a coffee condiment bar, Sweet Iron provided a little ray of sunshine on a gray and rainy morning.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention they're doing their part to keep it green - TaterWare cutlery, compostable plates, everything but lids and straws.

Visual samplings provided by Rob's iPhone. He takes much better pictures than I do.