Unsystematic Chow Snippets

Not much to write about this week. I’m pretty impressed I came up with 3 or 4 posts in the course of a week back there. I doubt that level activity will be happening any time soon. But surely, I’ll pound out some randomness…

The Name
Sometimes someone somehow left a comment (it has happened) wondering where FireFlyFiftyFive came from. It’s a relatively new online alias for me. On Chowhound, I saw a review about a San Francisco restaurant called Firefly. I liked the name and I’ve already used “55” in a name before, though I am not 55 (I’m younger) nor was I born in 1955. I thought that would make a good name with so many F’s. Thus, FireFlyFiftyFive was born.

Beef Eats
Had a very filling meal at Ruth’s Chris Steak House on the bay in San Diego. It was a work night out with over a dozen others so it was a fixed menu (with several options). It’s rare that I can’t eat everything that is set in front of me – but it happened that night. Everyone else was completely stuffed also. I had the Lobster Bisque (very good – a few pieces of lobster), Petite Filet Mignon and Chocolate Sin Cake for dessert.

Bisque was very good – a few pieces of lobster. I had a fine piece of steak – I wasn’t exactly wowed by it – but it was a generous piece and tasted pretty good. (I always consider the best tasting steaks the ones that my Dad made on the outside grill at home.) Of course, the plates were very hot – splattering butter about the table. As a guy, I guess I am supposed to like steaks – but I’m finding myself to be less and less of a “steak guy”. And the sides – some of which went nearly untouched – were Potatoes Au Gratin AND Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus (plain – I didn’t see any hollandaise as the menu advertises), “Cheesy” Broccoli (absolutely covered in chedder like the au gratin potatoes – you want some broccoli with your cheese?) and finally sautéed mushrooms (whole mushrooms - nice). And the whole thing started off with Shrimp Cocktail and Crab Stuffed Mushrooms. Everything was fine and tasted as you’d expect them.

Wow. That is a lot of food! I was stuffed halfway through my steak. And then dessert, the chocolate sin cake was a small pie shaped dark thick cake. Delish! The menu states that there is a shot of espresso in there too. (Another option was a cheesecake that was huge – a full round 5-inch cheesecake.)

Good eatin' in AZ
Blogger Seth in Arizona has a great report on the Heart Attack Grill in Phoneix. Look at that burger. It's the Triple Bypass Burger™! That is the shit! And I mean that in the best possible way. I don’t know that San Diego is a great place for burgers but there must be some – any suggestions? In-and-Out, doesn’t count. Yet, I don't go out of my way for burgers - plus again, the best can be made at home on your own grill. I know I had a pretty good one once at the Aussie Pub in PB. (Aussie Burger - hamburger patty, with a fried egg, cheese, bacon, grilled onions, beets and pineapple.)