DiPasquale's--Is that lasagna or is it a brick??

Welcome back to Baltimore!! If I haven't said it before (and if I have it really bears repeating) Baltimore is one of--if not the--best Triple D town we've done so far. Don't get me wrong, I love Pittsburgh, and we found some amazing food, but there were some bumps along the way. Baltimore (Bal-more for you locals) has never failed us. It is a full 6 for 6 and I only wish that Guy would go back so we could keep exploring, but alas we work with what we've got. So today I bring you Part 1 of Baltimore 2.0. This was a Happy Valentine's Day trip for us, right after the insanity of Snowmaggedon out here on the East Coast. We headed out on a brisk February morning in search of good old fashioned comfort food, and we most definately found it...in the form of real deal Italian at DiPasquale's.

DiPasquale's had a reputation to live up to, because they were featured on the same episode as LoBello's (Real Deal Italian), so naturally we were going to compare and contrast the two, and since we loved LoBello's so much (Ben's actually heading back there this weekend...lucky dog) we had to wonder if this place would pale in comparison. We could not have been more wrong. As you know we're always looking for firsts in our Triple D adventures and DiPasquale's wins the prize for oldest joint visited yet...this was the first time we have been somewhere that's been open for almost 100 years. 2010 marks 96 years in the B-more for this place, so they've obviously been doing SOMETHING right to have stuck around that long. We don't see things like that anymore in America it seems. Family run places seem to be fading into the background. Everyone wants to follow their own goals and dreams and create something just their own, regardless of what Mom and Dad did--we just don't see multi-generation restaurants as often anymore. Fads are changing so quickly and everyone wants something fresh, new and different that the old landmarks get shunted off to the side. Thank God for the loyalty of Baltimorians though because this place is an institution that should never close.

While they aren't in the same location as the original DiPasquale's (for shame their like 3 blocks away now! LOL) it's still run by the DiPasquale family. The current owners are the grandkids of the original owners and they have been keeping things just the way Grandma and Grandpa intended with maybe a few new twists here and there. We've finally branched out from the Fells Point community of Baltimore and expanded out to Highlandtown, an older section of the city, with plenty of ethnic restaurants and markets to satisfy any craving. DiPasquale's is an unassuming, gorgeous, brick building that does take a little manuevering to find, but once you're there you're in heaven. The place packs a lot of stuff into such a tiny space. They've got a full Italian market with any product you could every hope to find, from huge gallons of olive oil to anchovies...if you're looking to do some authentic Italian cooking they can hook you up. Then on top of that they have a full service deli counter where you can get stuff to take home...so your meats, your cheeses, a bagillion kinds of olives (Ben got some to take home), any kind of cold salad you could want, plus deli meats. They wouldn't even need a restaurant really, you could find plenty of food at the deli to eat. BUT! They of course have a full scale restaurant here too. You can get it to go or find a seat at the one of the 8 or so tables they have tucked into the corner. I'm tellin' ya you'd think this place was huge, but it's pretty much the size of a standard store. Oh and I forgot they also have a full wine section for purchase.

We spent a good twenty minutes just wandering around the store looking at all the stuff they have, but then we finally got down to the business of ordering...which was no easy task. I had honestly planned my order in advance. If you remember way back when, when we talked about Big Jim's in Pittsburgh I mentioned that I always want lasagna but never order it. So I declared that this was the place to break that trend. This was where the lasagna drought ended, because when Guy had it on the show, it looked nothing short of amazing. I actually had to NOT look at the menu so I wouldn't be deterred from my plan, because trust me there was plenty of options that could have distracted me. Thank God I didn't give in. This lasagna was literally the size of a brick and easily, EASILY at least 8 layers if not more. Plus it came with homemade bread. Ya know how sometimes when you cut into a piece of lasagna all the stuff oozes out? Not here. This stuff is so dense it stays intact. From the slightly spicy sausage, to the creamy ricotta, down to the homemade sauce and pasta, this stuff was nothing short of incredible. I mean honestly there were no words. Ben went the sub route, but these weren't your stereotypical subs on Italian bread. No, no, no. They take literally a mini loaf of homemade Italian bread, and instead of cutting it in half, they cut off one end, pull out the middle, stuff the bottom with sauce and homemade mozzarella, load in the filling, and cover the top with the end of the bread. Ben went for the meatball, and he was in heaven. It looked like he was eating a meatball ice cream cone. That's really the only way to describe how this thing looked. It was kind of hilarious honestly. Now, Ben really was the lucky one here, because he got to have dessert. Unfortunately, we timed our trip during Lent and I give up sweets during Lent, so no dessert for me, but Ben went for their homemade, filled to order, cannoli. He got just a plain shell, even though they come chocolate covered too, and he said it was pretty awesome, but really I was so jealous I couldn't look at it so I can't describe it too well haha. Overall, this place stacked up to LoBello's beautifully, and for as much as I loved me my ravioli there, I think this place gets the edge. I can still remember what that lasagna tasted like...months later. BUT we aren't done with DiPasquale's yet. We'll hear from them again when we get to Baltimore 3.0...but not in the way you'd probably expect. For now...check back later for Baltimore 2.0 Part 2, where we'll wander to handest down the oddest location for a Triple D joint yet...

In the meantime...check out DiPasquale's revamped website. You can even see pics of the DiPasquale's who started the place 96 years ago...

www.dipasquales.com/home

Silk City Diner--Everything Old is New Again

So I just finished watching the latest Triple D episode which featured a couple who recently made their 100th stop, yes you read correctly 1-0-0. At first I was disheartened, because let's face it we aren't even close to 100, and we will never actually be on Triple D, but then I started thinking...this is exactly what Triple D is about. What what we're doing is unique...it's unique within a community. There are tons of people who are out there doing exactly what we are, and there are some people who are at 100, but there are also people who are at 5 and are just as ecstatic. In the grand scheme of things, these people hittin' 100 are retired and have all the time in the world, and here Ben and I are both juggling grad school, living on opposite sides of the state, without excess time on our hands, and yet next Friday we'll be walkin' into numbers 30 and 31. In about a year and four months we've been able to hit up 29 places across 10 states! Holy crap I just realized we've done 10 states--only one is fully complete--but still 29 spots in 10 states in less than a year and a half...I must say it's impressive and it's been a blast. If this summer hadn't gotten so complicated we'd probably be near 40 but you do what you can and we've got upcoming trips planned, so I must say I salute the Holms' and their 100th visit (Hillbilly Hot Dogs was the big 1-0-0 for them), and I hope they enjoyed their hot dogs as much as Ben and I did when we were there. But for now...the blogging continues despite being a bit behind...so without further ado here's number 17...the Silk City Diner in the heard of Philadelphia (and thank you for listening to my digression)

If Daddypops was the uber traditional, classic silver car diner, then the Silk City Diner is silver car dining for the millenial generation. They're both beautiful silver cars, only 15 miles apart, and yet it is a completely different experience going to them. Walking into the Silk City is like night and day compared to Daddypops, which made it kind of awesome to do them in the same day. It was like a microcosm of what Triple D is all about...here were two owners who both were dedicated to keeping silver car diners alive, and yet they were doing it in their own unique, awesome ways, both cranking out amazing food, but from completely different angles. Don't walk into the Silk City expecting a stack of pancakes and a cup of coffee...walk in expecting Asian flair, kicked up French cooking, and old school classics with the slightest twist that blows your mind--I guess that's why their slogan is "Everything Old is New Again."

The Silk City is right in the heart of central city Philly, and believe me if you drive by you'll notice. The place is a blaze with neon, and honestly if you go at night it's pretty frickin' beautiful. Taking up easily half of a city block, the Silk City is the quintessential silver car diner, but they've added on to it with a nice big brick addition which holds the bar with a huge dance floor and has much more of a lounge feel. It's like two restaurants in one. You go into the silver car and you get the ambiance of a diner, while the other side is more like a club--not what you'd expect from a traditional diner right? Now--before we break this place down a word of logistical advice--parking at the Silk City is purely street parking and in Philly that's no pretty picture. However, if you are so fortunate as to find a spot outside of the restaurant, MAKE SURE TO PAY YOUR METER! I don't care what time it is, even if it's 5 minutes until the end time of meter paid parking--put your money in. Can you get the sense we learned this the hard way? Yes indeed...while we left with our stomachs full of amazing food, we also left with a beautiful parking ticket. So...you have been warned. Anyway--what does this place look like?

We only hung out in the silver car side of the restaurant, and it was almost surreal. It was practically completely dark inside, with the entire interior lit by Christmas lights around the booths and the counter, along with neon lights running along the ceiling. Their menu board even had neon marker. I'm tellin' ya if it wasn't for the vinyl seating in the booths, you'd never guess that you were sitting in a diner. This place has the feel of a hip, apres work hangout, rather than your grandma's nostalgic silver car. It was almost jarring going from Daddypops to here, but it was also awesome, because it was like we were traversing the silver car spectrum looking at just what you can do with a diner. Diners can't be pigeon-holed when there are places like the Silk City out there. There is nothing about this place that's stereotypical from the decor down to every ounce of the menu. If you're looking for spicy, funky, tricked out food then I'm tellin' ya head to Philly and good luck deciding what to get because the menu is insane.

So as you all know by now...we love our wings right? Right. Well, welcome to the home of the best wings of the Triple D gamut thus far. No joke. Best. Wings. Yet. and they're going to be pretty tough to top. They were really what made this one of the first joints we wanted to visit from Triple D--it just took a bit longer to get it on the schedule than we anticipated. Guy raved about these bad boys and man he wasn't kidding. They've got two options--Spicy Buffalo or Thai Chili glazed. We hands down went with the Thai Chili and I would recommend them to any future visitors. They're spicy, they're sweet, they're crispy, they're flat out, crazy good. They come completely coated in sauce and dusted with sesame seeds, and their homemade bleu cheese (yeah you read that right, homemade bleu cheese--I told you this place is crazy). The only thing I can compare these things too is like sesame chicken from a Chinese place. That's the flair they have and it's perfection. Probably one of my favorite things we've had ever, not just in the wing category. For my meal, I went for a smattering of appetizers--but the serving size was no where close to appetizers, these things were entree size. The highlight of my meal was the baked mac 'n cheese which is covered in a garlic bread crust. Wow. All I can really say. It's crazy creamy, with a little bit of a cayenne kick to it. It came out in a huge crock (kinda like what you'd serve French Onion Soup in) and the sauce was their homemade cheese sauce. Ben tried to steal it from me, but I didn't let that happen. I also got a "side" of fries, and when they say "side" they mean a bowl as big of your head...which also comes with 2 homemade dipping sauces--their cheese sauce and chipotle ketchup (also homemade) and then they're sprinkled with scallions. I could not finish these things...I desperately wanted to, but I'm tellin' ya the serving was so huge it was impossible, but they were so good I felt guilty leaving them on the table. Ben conceded that I won this place for best meal. We tend to compare and see who made the better choice and here I definately won. Ben's meal was good to, but how can you compare with mac 'n cheese right? Well, he tried by countering with their roast beef sandwich. It sounds so tame right? Wrong. Crunchy French bread, gruyere cheese, and black pepper horseradish sauce, oh yeah and a homemade French dip sauce. Sure that sounds just like a plain ole' roast beef sandwich. We were so full when we left we could barely move, and dessert was almost impossible to resist, but we did. The next time that will not happen. Not when there are options like hurricane key lime pie with pomegranate drizzle and banana praline gelato. Seriously...gelato...at a diner. This place takes tradition and throws some neon lights across it and coats it in thai chili sauce...off the hook. Go. Get in your car now and go. They're open until 2 am every night you could still make it.

Don't believe the hype? Check it out for yourself...

www.silkcityphilly.com/

Daddypops--Kick back in the barber chair like it's 1950

We have hit a part in the Triple D road trip where things have turned much more intentional, more planned out trips, more visits to cities specifically for Triple D, because once I moved out of Pittsburgh at the end of last summer and went back to school, we needed to start planning a bit more carefully. So round about November, we were starting to really hit Triple D withdrawal and decided to plan a day around the side of Pennsylvania we had yet to explore for Triple D--Philly. So we ordered some Sixers tickets, because really we felt like we needed more to do than just eat after driving all the way there, and we decided out of the three stops in Philly, which two we were going to head to for the day. What's kind of cool about Triple D Philadelphia style is that all three restaurants are variations on old silver car diners, so you get to really see how different restaurants treat the heritage they've inherited by buying a silver car diner.

We headed out from the Harrisburg area early, with the intention of wandering to the Philly suburb of Hatboro for some good ole Mom and Pop breakfast. Hatboro is a tiny hamlet north of the city that has a really strong, small town feel, even though you aren't that far from Center City. Serving as a centerpiece to that small town feel is the local diner: Daddypops. It's a Hatboro staple, serving up simple, just what you would expect from a silver car diner fare. Now I'll admit that we had a bit of trouble finding it, even though it's on the main drag of town, so if you're wandering out that way and think you've gone too far, keep driving, and eventually you'll reach the corner home of this quaint little diner. The outside makes you think that you've stepped back into the 1950's with it's big, wrought-iron clock, and a cute little well with Daddypops emblazoned across the top. The owners of Daddypops are silver car owners who have decided not to mess with the classics. They've fully renovated it to look like it did in it it's hay day. It's gleaming silver with green accents, and it is the type of place that is giving a new generation the hometown experience their parents had growing up. The inside makes you feel like you've stepped into your mom's kitchen and that everyone there loves you and wants you to sit down and have a good meal. They only have 7 or 8 booths inside and then seating at the counter so you might have a bit of a wait, especially if you're there at prime breakfast time like we were, but we were still seated quickly. While you wait though take advantage of soaking up the ambiance. While Daddypops is traditional, it definately has it's own little quirks that give it it's own special flair--from the fully restored jukebox and the two 1950's barber chairs that hold down the fort at both ends of the counter to the cove behind the counter that stores all the regular's coffee cups--this place makes you feel at home. They also have a huge old fashioned phone booth in the back by the restrooms which seems very random, but again adds to the fun atmosphere of the hometown joint.

Now since Daddypops is a traditional diner, don't go in expecting a huge, crazy menu. It's simple. It's full of homemade classics. The only unfortunate part about Daddypops for the Triple D enthusiast is that--like the Central City Cafe--they were featured on the rare 4 joint episode, and were the outsider that got the tiny 3 minute slot at the end. So because of that, we don't really get to see a ton of what Guy sampled, and unless you're an adventurer and want to experience the Pennsylvania Dutch "treat" of scrapple (all the parts of the pig that are left over in the form of a patty and then slapped on the griddle), then you're pretty much on your own for ordering. For me, this isn't difficult at a breakfast joint. As we've talked about I LOVE breakfast, and say it with me...Ben HATES breakfast. Given the spirit of the place we went with classics when we ordered. Ben opted for a monterey jack omelet with home fries (which he let me eat since he doesn't like them) and I went for their pancakes. Ben liked his omelet, but again since breakfast isn't really his thing he didn't have much to say about it. Guy had also tried their home fries, and I will tell you they were pretty darn awesome. They mix in lots of butter (always a sign of good food) and some onions for an added crunch and serve them up nice and hot. They were exactly what you'd expect from a diner wanting to do things the right way. If you want something to rave about though, go with the pancakes. They come out with a light coating of powerdered sugar, and even though I was supposed to get 3 with my order and only got 2, those 2 were plenty. These weren't your run of the mill flat pancakes. They were nice and fluffy with the perfect density, so you really felt like you were getting about 4 pancakes. They had the right amount of crisp on the outside from the griddle but inside were so soft and airy that they were perfection. One of their secrets to serving a great pancake though is that they mix in the slightest hint of nutmeg to their batter so you get this nice little nutty aftertaste that really makes them over the top.

Overall, there's a lot to love about Daddypops. It's simple. It's hometown. It's classic. It's tradition. It's doing everything right. If you're one of those Triple D-ers only looking for the eclectic, the crazy, the never before experienced, then Daddypops might not be your cup of tea, but if you're around Philly and you want a taste of home, head to Hatboro and have a cup of coffee and breakfast made from the heart.

No website kids so you're on your own to discover silver car dining done right.

Brick Oven Pizza--From Zero to Pizza in .2 Seconds

Baltimore Take 2...after a lovely afternoon spent walking around the Inner Harbor and watching the O's cream the Indians we come upon our second Triple D stop of the day. Literally if you walk 1 block down and 1 block to the right of the Blue Moon, you will find yourself standing in front of a corner brick building with the heavenly smell of fresh baked pizza crust emanating from it. Welcome to Brick Oven Pizza. While the Blue Moon is kind of on the outskirts of Fells Point, B.O.P is right in the heart of it, and is a kind of landmark in the neighboorhood. This is one of those instances where widely popular opinion and Triple D meet. Most of the time Triple D highlights those places that are a a cross between diamond in the rough and local haunts, that people only know about if they've lived in the area for ages. That is not the case here. This is one of the most widely known places we've visited thus far. Their reputation would precede them, even without the bump from Food Network exposure. They have regularly been voted the Best Pizza in Baltimore by multiple magazines and are a hot spot for celebrities who are cruising through the area. One of the signs on the front of the building plays host to quotes from celebs ranging from the late, great George Carlin to Kevin Bacon all praising B.O.P for their awesome pizza.

You feel like you're at home at B.O.P. It rides the line between being a small, intimate, neighborhood restaurant and being a vastly popular late night hang-out perfectly. You get the sense that if you were to wander in around 1 am (and yes they are open that late) you would find the place packed, with everyone inside have a great time, ready for more food. The building itself is cute and quaint while also fitting into the old-fashioned feel of the neighborhood architecture. For appearing small on the outside, inside there are plenty of tables, and with how fast they crank out pies you will probably never be waiting too long for a table, if you have to wait at all. This place is colorful and full of excitement, it lives and breathes the city...from the huge mural of the neighboorhood on the wall to the maps of Fells Point which are the table tops, you feel you're experiencing Baltimore from the moment you sit down. There's so much to look at on the walls, from celebrity signed pictures to all the write-ups they've had in local and national magazines that you can get lost in everything and forget to order your pizza. This place is dominated by it's crown jewel...a huge, gleaming brick oven with huge gold B.O.P letters attached to the front. It's the first thing you see when you walk in and it really is one of the highlights of the restaurant, since it is so out in the open, right behind the counter.

Now, let's face it, this is a pizza joint. You're probably expecting a standard menu, nothing spectacular beyond the fact that Guy thought the pizza was better than others. On the contrary though, B.O.P is NOT your usual pizza parlor. The menu is in a word...huge. Huge to the point that it took Ben and I almost 15 minutes to decide what we wanted to order and we're usually pizza purists--pepperoni and bacon, no questions asked. At B.O.P though the options are endless. They have upwards of 50--yes 50!--toppings to choose from, on top of a great selection of specialty pizzas. If you're feeling crazy you can go for their Mac 'n Cheese pizza or for their true specialty--SPAM pizza. Ben refused to wander down this path, despite my desire for it, because my family is odd and I grew up living for the weekend and the joy of homemade pizza Friday nights where my Dad would make the most incredible pizza that was oddly enough topped with SPAM. But Ben turned me around from that trip down memory lane, and we faced a struggle between two choices...the 7 cheese or the Meat Lovers. We ended up going for the Meat Lovers and believe me this wasn't just your run-of-the-mill pepperoni, bacon, sausage pizza. No, no. This thing was laden down with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham, hamburger, and possibly some other toppings I'm forgetting. Given the blazing brick oven, our pizza literally went from ordering to our table in about 5 minutes flat. The oven gets up to 700+ degrees and trust me that makes for some quick pizza. Other than the oven, one of the characteristics of B.O.P pizza is the cornmeal on the bottom of it. It helps make the pizza not burn in the oven or stick to it, and the crunch that this adds to the crust is simply...incredible. If you don't like cornmeal, I would beg you to try it out just once because it just gives this pizza an extra kick. B.O.P also has a fair number of dessert pizzas but when you're only 2 people it really limits how much of the menu you can sample when it comes to pizza so we weren't able to try this out, but believe me it looked good! One of the other cool things about B.O.P is that they have about 50 options for flavors you can get infused into your fountain drink for free...I mean we're talking from plain ole vanilla (which Ben and I both went with because we're dull) all the way to bubble gum, so that's just a fun little quirk, on top of the fact that they have both Coke and Pepsi fountains which is simply amazing for a Pepsi person living on an East Coast obsessed with Coke products.

Pizza places are tough to write about because, like I said, you only sample a small slice (no pun intended) of the menu, but this was one of those places that I really look forward to going back to, hopefully with a larger chunk of my family so that way we can try out a few more pizzas. So either way, whether you're a pizza junkie or just enjoy the occasional slice, check out B.O.P and you'll never think about pizza the same way again.

Per usual: http://www.boppizza.com/

Blue Moon Cafe--You and the Cap'n Make it Happen

What do normal couples do on their 5 year anniversary? Well there's usually wine, roses, big fancy dinner, nice clothes, the whole nine yards. What do Ben and I do? We toss on our best jeans and t-shirts, go to a baseball game, and make it a Triple D double dip. Eh whatever, we admitted a long time ago that we aren't a normal couple. Baltimore has kind of become our mecca for Triple D days--it's a short drive and there's enough to do that you can fit in two meals with enough stuff in between so as not to be so ungodly full after your first meal that you never want to think about dinner. So for our 5 year anniversary at the end of August, we bought some O's tickets and planned a nice day in Baltimore sandwiched between breakfast at the Blue Moon Cafe and dinner at Brick Oven Pizza (check back later for that post).

The Blue Moon is in one of the most laidback, indie, trendy areas of Baltimore. A few miles east of the Inner Harbor is Fells Point, an eclectic li'l neighborhood full of tiny cafes and shops, plus a huge bread factory, which leaves the whole area smelling heavenly for most of the morning hours. Fells Point shares "borders" with Little Italy, which you have to drive through in order to actually get to Fells Point so there's always the danger that while driving with the best intentions towards this area of town for dinner or lunch or whatever, you'll detour into a little Italian eatery and you'll never get to experience the joy that is the Blue Moon Cafe. The Blue Moon was another re-visit for us. It was one of the 3 places that we had gone to before officially starting out on this crazy adventure, so since we've already covered Big Jim's and Blimpy's, the Blue Moon (apparently we only went to places that started with B before we started actually recording our visits) is the last on the short list of places that helped really spur this journey. What's also kind of cool about the Blue Moon is that it helped contribute to us almost completing a full episode of Triple D because it was featured on "Comfort Food" along with Grampa's and the Central City. If it had been a normal episode we would have completed it, since most episodes are only 3 visits, but of course, this was one of those rare episodes with 4, so alas we are still in search of completing a full episode, since we have yet to wander down to Texas to visit the Tip Top Cafe, which would make "Comfort Food" complete...but I'm getting off track.

It's kind of hard to not notice the Blue Moon when you're driving through Fells Point--not because it has some kind of crazy exterior or because it's huge or anything like that--no you notice the Blue Moon because of the massive throng of people always outside of the building any day of the week between the hours of 9am and 2pm. This is hands down the most popular place we've visited. When you combine amazing food, with an extremely tiny seating area (seriously we're talking like 7 tables), and a very very dedicated fan base the result is a very long wait. If you're planning on making the jaunt down to Baltimore plan your entire morning around the Blue Moon. Average wait is around an hour/hour and 15, longer if you've got a big party--honestly I would probably say if you have more than 4 people I wouldn't even try in the morning because they'll probably just tell you to come back later. Most of the time they tell you to wander around the area and go shopping and then check back, it's just that popular. Ben and I have taken to bringing books with us and sitting on the sidewalk outside while we wait, and I'd highly recommend that tactic. The Blue Moon is an experience, and one that you'll enjoy only if you go into it willing to wait and with patience. There's something oddly comforting about standing outside a restaurant with ten to fifteen other people all just waiting to eat, it makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself, and it also makes you feel like you're in on a big city secret, because people will drive by and look at all of you like you're crazy for waiting that long for food, but you know it's totally worth it and they're missing out. Plus, with that many people waiting there's guaranteed to be other Triple D visitors--it's happened both times we've visited, which makes for some interesting conversations and a great opportunity to swap stories about all the places you've visited. Believe me when I say though that the wait is worth it...when the wait is over an hour and people are willing to do it without a care in the world you know there's something good on the other side of that wait...and ya know what that is?? Cap'n Crunch French Toast.

This was once just a special at the Blue Moon--one of those things only on the menu..wait for it..once in a Blue Moon (ba-dum-bah), but it has become a standard on the menu because it's just that popular. If you haven't learned by now, I don't deviate when I find something I like, and that's why no matter how many times we have gone and will go to the Blue Moon I will always get this french toast. My good God is it good. I don't even use syrup on this stuff, and I love syrup so believe me it's not needed. 3 thick slices of Texas toast, coated in crushed up Cap'n Crunch and then cooked on a griddle so they get all crispy and carmelized and delicious. Then if that wasn't enough they top it with homemade whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries. This is honestly probably my favorite meal I've ever had at any Triple D stop. I'm a sucker for sweet breakfast (pancakes, french toast, I'm sold), but this was beyond anything I've ever eaten before. Now my darling Ben kind of hates breakfast--especially sweet breakfast, so he always has a bit more of an issue ordering at places like this. However, he loves the Blue Moon because they have an awesome menu when it comes to breakfast gone Mexican. He's at various points gotten their breakfast burritos--which were huuuuge, to the point that he couldn't finish them because yes there were two--and their Mexican scramble, which was eggs, cheese, peppers, chorizo, salsa all that good stuff. For it being breakfast, he loves their food! When you order off of the menu, you get their homemade biscuits too, which are big, fluffy, and moist, essentially they're perfect. Now Ben's a wonderful boyfriend and since he knows I love bread, he let me have his biscuits, but I share as much as I can. Lastly, a ritual for us at the Blue Moon is ordering one of their plate size homemade cinnamon rolls for a kind of appetizer. They warm them up for you, and they're gooey and every ounce of them is homemade down to the filling in the dough. They are like Grands Cinnamon Rolls times 100. In some ways they're my favorite part of the meal, because they are just that good. Hopefully, that gives you a clue as to why this place is worth the wait. I would wait hours for my french toast and cinnamon roll...sometimes good food just takes patience, and that staff appreciates that you've waited that long so they don't rush you, they make sure your food is great, and that you enjoy your time. They give you a quality experience because they know how long you've waited to be there. They are nothing short of gracious, which is sometimes rare in places this busy.

Just a few more tips other than being willing to wait: they're only open until 2 in the afternoon most days, and then sometimes they re-open at like 7pm, but we've only ever gone in the morning, so plan accordingly. I would recommend giving it a morning visit. Also, parking is on the street, so have someone who doesn't mind parallel parking. Lastly, like I said before, bring a book!! It'll make the time go faster I promise.

No website for them--it helps them keep as low a profile as possible...being on Food Network doesn't really help that much :-)

Krazy Jim's Bilmpy Burger--Forever #1

The Triple D road is long and winding, criss-crossing the country, moving from small--almost invisible towns--to the largest cities in America. This process will most likely be one that Ben and I will be pursuing for the rest of our lives (a fact we are not afraid to admit), so it may seem a bit premature to proclaim that we've found the place that will always be #1, but trust me when I say, I don't see it changing. It won't change because Blimpy's holds a special place in our world for multiple reasons, the main one being that it's where this whole crazy thing started. Flashback with me to the early months of 2008, the beginning of our final semester of college. We'd taken to watching Triple D a little bit more frequently than usual. Food Network used to simply be what we turned on at night, but with little regard for what we were actually watching, but somewhere along the way we become Triple D fans, and then one night it happened. We were watching a particularly yummy episode (Burgers, Rings, and Fries to be exact) and what we saw was the most incredibly, greasy, delicious looking burger shack we'd ever seen. Now if you haven't noticed by now, Ben and I are suckers for grease. I'll admit it, even if the woman in my head who controls keeping track of my Weight Watchers points wishes she could kill this part of my personality. We love greasy food. It's actually one of the things that we bonded over when we started dating--Ben loved that I wasn't afraid to finish a meal in front of him (little did he know the life he had ahead of him with me constantly intoning "but I'm on points" but I digress...) . Now as we're watching I realize (and say out loud) "That girl is wearing a Michigan shirt!" which was then followed by "OH MY GOD IS THIS PLACE IN ANN ARBOR!?!?" Cue immediate jumping off of the bed and cueing up Google as quickly as possible (God bless the internet) and there it was....Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger S. Division St., Ann Arbor, MI. My beloved Ann Arbor. My favorite city in the world to hang out in was home to this burger mecca. "HOW HAVE I NOT HEARD OF THIS PLACE?!?!" I immediately made plans to seek this place out over Spring Break...and thus the Triple D adventure began.

Yes, I went to Blimpy's for the first time without Ben...I'm not proud of it, but hey you do what you gotta do for a good burger, and now over 2 years later, it is our most frequented Triple D spot. It's a go-to whenever we wander back to Michigan. It's like a cosmic pull on my car whenever I go to Ann Arbor...and it's just that good...trust me. It's true from the outside, hell from the inside, Blimpy's looks a bit odd. It's not creepy--it's not near as creepy as some places we've been, but it's tiny, it never ceases to be hot from the grill that is always going in, and it's always busy (expect a line people), and let's face it, it's a dive. It's not fancy, it's not designed for comfort or convenience, it's there to give you a good burger, fast. Blimpy's is not a place for the faint of heart. The cooks yell, they get frustrated, and you see your burger getting banged out on the grill in front of you--so if you're one of those people who can eat greasy foods as long as you don't have to see how greasy it really is, don't go, plain and simple. Here's what I would honestly advise...if you make the trek to Blimpy's use the buddy system, preferably with a Blimpy's veteran. If you don't know anyone in the good old A2, then watch the Triple D clip (it's on YouTube) and take notes, or check out their website and take notes. No I am not screwing with you. I'm being honest to God serious, take notes. The first time I walked into Blimpy's I had notes written on my hand on how to order, because honestly it's a strict process....

Blimpy's niche is sliders, you don't just order a burger (you have to be under the age of 7 to get a single patty burger no joke), you order a burger by the number of tiny patties you want on it, they'll go up us high as you want even though I think beyond 10 they might question your sanity. BUT again it's all part of a process so I'll walk you through the steps.

1.) Get a drink. It'll be the first thing you pass in line, so decide if you want a fountain pop or one of the umpteen bottled pops they have (I always go with IBC Cream Soda, Ben Stewart's Key Lime).
2.) Ask yourself: Am I eating here or getting it to go? I would advise eating there, unless you aren't travelling far. Travel too far with your burger and the grease becomes a bit of an issue when it comes to soggyness, I've done it once and it was my least favorite Blimpy's experience to date). IF AND ONLY IF you are eating THERE: Grab a tray. Getting it to go? DON'T TOUCH THE TRAYS. (You think I'm kidding about the rules? I'm not. Don't believe me? Try to screw with the process and see what happens)

3.) Do you want anything fried? They'll ask you if you want anything from the fryer. We loooooove their onion rings, they seriously take 3 days to make and they're friggin' amazing. But they also do all forms of veggies (mushrooms, zucchini, etc.) and of course fries, but we've only ever gotten the rings.

4.) Now it's time for your burger...PAY ATTENTION!!! You order the number of patties (double, triple, quad, quint, etc...), the type of bun you want (regular, onion, pumpernickel), and if you want anything grilled on it (bacon, onions, mushrooms, egg). DO NOT I repeat DO NOT talk about cheese at this point. I have seen many a poor soul get yelled at for ordering a bacon cheeseburger in line. They will ask you about your cheese before your burger is done...let them ask you.

5.) Cheese: like I said someone will ask you if you want cheese, just wait for the question.

6.) The guy at the end of the counter will ask you about other toppings: give him your wet ones first (mayo, ketchup, etc.) then the dry (lettuce, tomato, you get the picture).

Then you're good to go, but beware they only take cash!!! No credit cards here people! And expect to be handed your change in 50 cent pieces and $2 bills (again I'm not kidding). I know it seems complicated but it's worth it and after the first trip you'll be good to go and ordering will be as easy as riding a bike, just push through that first time. My ideal Blimpy's meal? IBC Cream Soda, onion rings, and a triple on a regular bun with bacon, grilled onions, cheddar cheese, ketchup, mayo, and lettuce. It's heavenly. If heaven is a big ball of grease in the sky that is. I've never deviated in my order...ever. Same thing every time. Ben has branched out...he's even gotten a quint--yes that's 5 sliders on a bun and yes he did finish it, it was nothing short of impressive. Don't plan on having a big dinner after you eat at Blimpy's, believe me when I say you won't need it. And one last thing, don't be intimidated by the process, don't be intimidated by the line. Because of the strict ordering, things move quickly, and they mean business so the line will dwindle fast, don't walk out because it's busy, you might never eat there if that's the case because it's always busy. If you are looking for a convenient time here's what I'd suggest: go in the summer. This place is a haunt for U of M students because it's in the middle of campus. If you go in the summer you cut down the number of people a ton. And again with a huge DO NOT!! go in the fall on a Saturday when the Wolverines have got a football game at home...it's a bad idea. So if it's a Saturday between September and November, check U of M's football schedule first, trust me. So is it hard to believe that after all rules that this place is our favorite? Maybe...but doesn't that tell you just how good the food is???

As usual here's the website, much more user friendly in the post-Triple D days...

http://www.blimpyburger.com/ (notice there's a tab on ordering...they are getting nicer believe me)

Nadine's--"It's a scuzzy bar..."

For those of you who watch Bones, you'll hopefully recognize fairly quickly that my title is an homage to one of my favorite episodes, an oldie but goodie from Season 2. The joy here is that when you are so invested in so many facets of pop culture, eventually there will be realms where your some of your loves collide, and this would be one of those moments, because no matter how many times I tried to think of a better title for this place, all I could here was Sully in my head telling Brennan he was taking her to a scuzzy bar. As it happens, one fateful day near the end of July, I think I was about 3 days away from finally finishing my hospital work in Pittsburgh, our date night (which was more of an afternoon in this case) ended up being to a scuzzy bar. Now, I'm sure that most people would read that and assume that either the food was total crap or the place was scary enough that we would never darken the door again...ya know the things we do for Triple D. However, while yes I'll admit I was a bit terrified when we stood outside Nadine's, it has become something of a haunt for us now. It's a bar, that oddly enough cranks out some of the most honest to goodness comfort food, that makes one forget that they're sitting on a squeaky, plastic covered bar stool, but rather leaves one imagining that they're sitting at their grandmother's kitchen table eating a big family dinner.

There is little to commend Nadine's to the mere passer-by unless you are one of two things (or possibly both): a. A local who has known about this place since you were 2 or b. A Triple D addict. Seeing as Ben and I fit one of those categories, we approached Nadine's, after an unbelievably frustrating 20 minutes spent searching for parking in Pittsburgh's Southside construction hell-zone. In all honesty, one would probably never simply pass by Nadine's. It's tucked away on a side street, surrounded on both sides by streets filled with cute little pizza places and eateries. Needless to say, in this part of town if you're looking for food, Nadine's probably wouldn't be your top choice. The outside is unassuming and the sign on the front reading "No one under 18 admitted" isn't exactly welcoming, but trust me on this...push on through. Fight off your tendency to judge a book by it's cover and believe me you'll be thanking me...if you like hot roast beef sandwiches that is.

Nadine's is run by a little, tiny, Italian fireball of a woman...Nadine (obviously). She runs the place with her kids and their significant others, and regardless of whether you're actually related to any of them, once you walk in you're treated like family. What makes Nadine's unique is that while there's a set menu, you don't really ever look at it. No, the second you walk in you look to the specials board on your left next to the door. That's what makes this place a diamond in the rough. Everyday they crank out 4 or 5 of their 11 specials, and once they're gone, they're gone, and when you're competing with hungry construction workers, you better get there at a decent time if you want to find some food. If you saw the show, you know that they cook all their food from two ovens, one of which is literally held together by string, but I'm tellin' ya that might just be the secret to their success. The first time we went we had a pretty broad range of specials: Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Mashed Potatoes, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Meatball Hoagies, and Chicken Salad Sandwiches. The roast beef is where you want to go, I promise. Guy loved this stuff, and so did we. Now I'll confess, I can be a picky eater, ESPECIALLY when it comes to soggy bread, so usually the whole hot sandwich and gravy thing is something I avoid, but for the sake of Triple D (and how good this stuff smelled) I went for it and oh. my. God. The helpings are huge and if you didn't get enough to eat on the first go round, they'll give you seconds. Yes seconds. For freakin' free!!! Ben, of course, took them up on this and to give you a glimpse of the type of woman/mom Nadine is, here's how that conversation went:

Ben: Do you do seconds on the roast beef?

Nadine: You want some more? Are you still hungry? (said like a total sweet Mom)

Ben: That's be great.

Nadine: You better eat it all or you'll be back here doin' dishes."

And I'm telling you she wasn't kidding, and yes she did check to make sure Ben ate all of his second helping. And if the second helpings weren't enough to add to the familiy feel, there's a big "Happy Birthday" banner that hangs over the bar with a detachable end, where they stick the names of regulars when it's there birthday. It was Joe's birthday when we were there, and it was just one of those unique little things that you find at Triple D places that just makes them all the more awesome. 'Cuz that's really the thing about Triple D...it might not be hard to find good food, especially in a city like Pittsburgh, but it isn't all that easy to find a place that knows it's customers birthday's by heart and is willing to feed you until you're full. The unique twists are what make Triple D places great.

Here's some tips for you though if you're planning on visiting Na's in the Southside:

1. Be prepared to fight for parking and walk. There's always a ton of construction so parking is a bit of a pain in the ass.
2. If you don't like smoke, don't go. Nadine's is a bar after all and they still are a smoking establishment, so just be prepared.

3. Be ready for it to be packed (you'll get a table) but it is a bar and they'll take care of you like you're one of their own, but don't expect an intimate setting.

4. If you want to change the TV channel or adjust the volume, check with the guys at the bar and then go do it yourself.

5. Again! Don't judge a book by it's cover. I'm tellin' ya the place is awesome.

We've also tried a couple of their appetizers on our various trips. Their wings are alright, they aren't great. They aren't covered in sauce, you drizzle it on yourself so these aren't your stereotypical wings. We've also gotten their fried mac 'n cheese which is quite awesome, but a little pricey compared to the specials. Personally, I'd say just stick to the specials board and it'll be smooth sailing. The prices are insanely cheap and the food's awesome, you really couldn't ask for anything more.

Per usual here's the website so you can judge for yourselves:

http://www.nadinesbar.com/

Kelly O's--Triple D goes to the Strip Mall???

If you want to see two people disagree about a restaurant, bring up Kelly O's in front of Ben and I. This was by far our most contested visit. Usually our impressions of a place are pretty similar--it's rare that one of us walks away having hated our meal and the other loving it--that's part of the fun of Triple D is that our taste in food is similar enough that it's rare one of us is left disappointed. This, unfortunately, was not the case when we decided to head to the North Hills of Pittsburgh to discover the hidden diner among a cluttered strip mall...welcome to Kelly O's.

We had spent a long day at Kennywood in the indecisive weather, which fluctuated all day between blistering heat and torrential down pours. We knew we were getting to the end of my summer working in Pittsburgh, and still had two more stops to make if we were going to get through Pittsburgh Triple D before I left to go back to Michigan. So we decided that we would bug out of Kennywood early and make the trek up to the North Hills in an attempt to make it to Kelly O's before they closed at 5. Now what made this a tough trip was that neither of us were particularly looking forward to it...in all honesty we were more nervous as odd as that may sound. Guy sampled a curious range of things at Kelly O's--none of which were overly appealing for us--mush (bad for Ben), polenta with veal bolognse sauce (bad for me), and Haluski (something neither of us had heard of). So we headed up with some hesitation...Ben more so than me, because here's the thing...I was intrigued by the Haluski, Ben however, hates cabbage and was wondering if he was going to be screwed out of a good dinner.

What's most impressive about Kelly O's though is that Kelly O'Connell has developed a popular diner in the middle of a strip mall, with ZERO restaurant experience. She just decided after years of waitressing that she wanted her own place, so she got a loan, and started her diner. Now she's a member of a group called the "Diner Ladies..." 3 or 4 women in Pittsburgh who all own diners and are doin' things their own way. Kelly O's is hands down the winner when it comes to the restaurant that has embraced it's Triple D affiliation the most. They have signs all over the place, it's on their shirts, they have a collage of pics from Guy's visit, a shirt he signed framed on the wall, and little mini menus on the table of just the stuff he featured. They love that Triple D has put them more on the map than they already were, and you can tell they're grateful. One word of advice I'd give to future visitors though...for a full Kelly O's experience...go early in the day, because then you won't be the only people in the place. At 4:30 on a Saturday, a half hour before closing, we were the only people there, and our waiter knew from our order that we were Triple D trekkers. The place is really cute though, with a classic diner bar with silver bar stools and black and white checkered tile. It feels homey. What was really cool was that they have a guest book for people to sign, and it was here we got to really see that we were definitely not the only people making the Triple D rounds. It makes you feel a bit connected to something outside of yourself--I know it sounds corny, but we've actually met some pretty cool people at places just from talking about Guy. Alright, so let's get down to it...what happened during this divisive dinner???

The menu for lunch/dinner is small (if I could ever convince Ben to go back-I'd go for breakfast, another piece of advice for future visitors). We ordered dominantly off of the Triple D menu, and like we've talked about before we're becoming soup people thanks to Triple D. Kelly O's speciality is Turkey Pot Pie soup, and it's exactly what it sound like. Homemade crumbled pieces of pot pie crust on top of a thick, creamy soup of peas, carrots, and chicken. We both agreed on this part of the meal that it was really, really good. For me, anything with crust on it is a-ok so it would've been tough to displease me. So here's the deal...like I said...I was intrigued by the Haluski. Ben's usually the adventurous eater out of the two of us, I like to play it safe. What I love about Triple D is that it makes me expand my culinary boundaries, and at Kelly O's I decided to do just that. It's not that Haluski is particularly crazy, but for me it's out of the normal realm of dinner choices. A Polish staple, at Kelly O's it's made with egg noodles, cabbage, onion, bacon, asiago cheese and a lot of butter. This was honestly probably the biggest serving of food I've ever gotten at a Triple D restaurant (just look at the picture!! Ignore my hair--remember blistering heat and rain earlier, it doesn't make for a great picture) I couldn't finish my dinner. It was actually really, really good, but it was one of those meals I didn't appreciate until I'd had some distance from it. I didn't realize until the next day, when I was still thinking about it that I realized I had really liked my out of the ordinary pick. Ben, however, was nothing short of unimpressed. He got a cheesesteak and fries, nothing too crazy, but then it ended up being not too great either. It wasn't bad...but when you've been spoiled with meals like we've had at other visits, it was kind of a let down. It was a visit that didn't go quite as planned, and it was a bit disappointing, but it did leave us with some great Triple D swag...they loaded us up with bumper stickers, pens, all sorts of stuff they'd gotten made after Guy's visit. So if you were to ask me if you should visit, I'd say yes. Go try the Haluski or go for breakfast and see if Kelly O's lives up to it's "Nice Eggs" motto emblazoned on their t-shirts, form your own opinion, maybe we were there on an off day. If you were to ask Ben...well, it wouldn't be a great response, but here's what we both figure...this is a long road trip we're on and not everywhere is going to be perfect, but if we were to skip them the trip wouldn't be complete...and hey I tried something new which made the trip worth it for me.

Form your own opinions folks:

http://www.kellyos.com/

Hillbilly Hot Dogs--"We've got the weenies!"

It has been far far too long...For those wondering if I'd simply jumped ship, fear not, I simply allowed myself to slack off far too much...if you were wondering if the road trips has ceased, again fear not. It is February 21, 2010--and we have just come off a Triple D day yesterday, and our next stop will be a watermark for us...for alas our next trip will bring us to restaurant #20. That's right, in less than a year we will have reached 20 spots--assuming all goes as planned, which hopefully we will. Reinspired by this upcoming milestone, our day spent in Baltimore re-invigorating our love of Triple D, and a first time viewing of Julie & Julia, I am re-committing to this joyous ride that has taken us to places we never quite expected. So...previously I had left us wandering around the streets of Huntington, WV after an extremely low-key meal at the Central City Cafe. In pure Triple D fashion, our next stop in West Virginia--the only other Triple D joint in West Virginia--took us to what is still the strangest, most unique, and quite insane place we've been thus far. This place was really the reason for the road trip in the first place. If you travel about 20 miles north of Huntington, you will see a highway exit for the small town of Lesage. I can't say for sure whether we actually say the town of Lesage, but we for sure saw one of it's claims to fame--possibly it's only claim to fame. If you weren't paying attention you would probably pass by the road side shack (that truly is the only word for this place) and possibly question what on earth was that place with all the junk in the front yard...but if you know what you're looking for you will find yourself in the gravel parking lot of Hillbilly Hot Dogs...the original hot dog stand that now has outlets in Huntington and LaValette.

If you watch Triple D, you may remember this place as the home of the HOOOOOOOOMEWREEEECKER where everyone eats inside of old school buses covered in graffiti. If you don't watch Triple D, let me try to explain. Hillbilly Hot Dogs is the brain child of Sonny and Sharie. Sonny's a West Virginia by birth, and when he moved to California he met Sharie. They decided after they got married that all they really wanted to do was head back to West Virgnia and do something where they could simply be together. The result a 12x16 shack that they affectionately labeled "The Weenie Stand." Opened on September 6, 1999--Hillbilly Hot Dogs was so named because they wanted something that epitomized hillbilly kickin back, taking it easy, and loving life. They wanted their customers to be comfortable, to relax, to not feel constrained by typical restaurant stuffiness. So the bought a couple old school buses, attached them to the shack, and they had instant seating. They put any and every kind of scrap antique and collectible they could find inside the shack and when that was full they started putting stuff outside. From the wall covered in 8 tracks to the tree outside completely covered in license plates it's hard to miss this place. They decided to let their customers leave their mark, so they started laying out permanent markers and letting people go to town. A decade later--there isn't an inch of space on any surface of the place that hasn't been enshrined with the names of happy customers. This is by far the most laid back, comfortable place we've ever visited, and they're more than happy to embrace the publicity Triple D has given them--from the place on the front door where Guy signed his name and wrote in big letters, "DINERS DRIVE-INS AND DIVES WAS HERE" to the continuous loop of their clip, Sonny and Sharie are nothing short of grateful for all the people the show has guided to their little place. We met a few other people who were there because of Triple D, including a couple celebrating their 10th anniversary with a Triple D trek. We goofed around with Sonny, who when asked if they took credit replied they took anything from spare tires to chickens. When Ben asked if they took girlfriends, Sonny gave me a wink and said sure, I could use another one with Sharie. The menu is impossible to choose from, but it's so cheap (the cheapest we've found in fact) that you can order 3 or 4 different hot dogs and not break the bank.

Now HHD is famous for the Homewrecker--featured on Travel Channel as well as Food Network. It's a 3 1/2 pound hot dog loaded with every topping they have and if you finish it in 12 minutes or less you get a free t-shirt. Now in all honesty, we debated it, but we decided we'd rather explore the menu. We went with an order of beer battered onion rings to split--which were thickly breaded, hot, and yuuuuummmmy. Honestly probably the 2nd best onion rings I've ever had (gimme a couple more posts and you'll see the best). Then we both got 2 dogs each, allowing us to sample 4 from their menu of over 20 options. Ben went with a classic and with a crazy--The Out Wayne Dog and the Taco Dog. The Out Wayne is a bit more traditional, but still a bit nuts, covered in nacho cheese, homemade chili, bacon, onion and jalapenos. The taco dog is exactly what it sounds like--jalapenos, nacho cheese (can you tell he likes nacho cheese??), crushed nacho chips, homemade chili, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, and shredded cheese. Essentially a taco on a hot dog, and amazingly it was really good. I went with a classic and then broke out of hot dog tradition--The West Virginia Dog and Pistol Pete's Chicken Parmesan. The West Virginia dog is a classic in the world of hot dog stands--homemade chili, mustard, onions, and cole slaw. Now I usually can't eat hot dogs without ketchup, but this absolutely didn't need it. The cole slaw was cool and creamy, and gave the dog a nice crunchy texture. The only warning I would give is, if you don't like your hot dog buns mushy, eat anything with cole slaw first, because it gets mushy quick--I made that mistake. My other choice was out of the ordinary, but sounded too good to pass up. Pistol Pete's dog is a chicken tender on a hot dog bun, with a mozzarella stick, marinara sauce, and shredded cheese. It sounds crazy, but honestly this has been one of my favorite things I've ever eaten courtesy of Triple D. Hey anything with a cheese stick on it can't be bad right?? We ate in the middle of a school bus and etched our names on a window and on our table. It was crazy and fun and weird and soooooooooo good. Ben still talks about driving the 4 hours from Pittsburgh just to go there again...it was that good. So if you're in West Virginia looking for a place to kick up your heels and tap into your inner hillbilly, go visit Sonny and Sharie and write your name inside the bus!

Don't believe how crazy this place is, see for yourself...

http://www.hillbillyhotdogs.com/