Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too.
1) Underrated Candy
We are nearly a week removed from Halloween, which means the stashes our kids brought home are likely dwindling and you have already picked out all candy you like. Here’s what I discovered this year: kids like terrible candy leaving the good candy for me! They like garbage like Sweet Tart ropes and Nerd clusters while ignoring Reese’s and Snickers and Milky Way. Those are all properly respected in the candy world. We are here today to talk about three underrated candies, candies that deserve far more respect and a far wider reach: 100 Grand, Baby Ruth, and Payday. Each of these is an absolute all star candy. Each brings something unique to the table. And, dare I say it, each of them is better than most their more widely accepted peers. What is sad is how few of these are distributed on Halloween. (My son came home with more spinny toys and slime than 100 Grand bars; America is in rapid decline.) They deserve our respect and our consumption. They desrve a place alongside Snickers and Reese’s. And they deserve to be distributed to children on Halloween so parents can eat them.
2) Campione’s Taste of Chicago
I lived in the Chicagoland area for twelve years from age eighteen to thirty. During that time I developed an unhealthy affinity for Italian beef sandwiches and tavern style pizza. Or maybe I should say I developed an deep affinity for unhealthy foods like Italian beef sandwiches and tavern style pizza. Chicago, like all cities with regional culinary specialties, is loaded with places that serve these and about which locals debate which is best. I have lived in the Nashville area for the last thirteen years, and it would be accurate to say that Nashville is . . . not loaded with places that serve these delicacies. And I have been in almost perpetual withdrawal. So it was to my initial skepticism and then profound delight to discover Campione’s in Gallatin, TN (they also have a Mount Juliet location). My skepticism was based on the fact that most people outside Chicago can’t do Chicago food right (just like no one outside of Nashville can’t do hot chicken right). My delight was in the fact that walking into Campione’s and dining there was like walking into a joint off Ontario Street or in Schaumburg or in Wrigleyville or in Hyde Park or in Oak Park. It is a taste of Chicago. Their Italian beef is fantastic. Their Chicago style dogs are fantastic. And their Tavern style pizza will transport you to the Windy City.
3) “Misery and Gin” by Merle Haggard
I recently ran across a video of Zach Top covering this song (exceptionally well), and it reminded me how awesome Merle was and how brilliant song writers used to be when they weren’t bound by convention.