If you are in Dallas and you eat meat, you have to go to Mac’s. The owner’s father started the place in the forties, so they’ve had a little while to get it right. This place is the real, paper-napkin, formica, regular-named-earl (not kidding) deal.

3933 Main St, Dallas TX 75226

That’s all for now, I gotta pack.

Sorry, Seattle, you’re too far from work, a little too dark and rainy and P would probably end up working at Tully’s.

And I have to admit that even though Los Angeles makes me want to stab myself in the eye somtimes, I feel very much a Californian these days.

So I’m headed to the city by the bay this weekend. I’m looking up some old friends and acquaintances, and hope to meet some new ones. I’ll be analyzing cities, neighborhoods and restaurants, and sniffing around the food microcosms I know are all over the place up there.

If anybody wants to have coffee or has a recommendation, as always, click “contact me” at the top of the page.

Listening: Whatever hipster music is playing here at Groundworks Coffee in Hollywood. They played “Fade Into You” earlier; very nostalgic.

I even learned a new word for when the first day of the load in melds with the next: Smonday.

I am pretty much spending today eating, so I’ll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, [here's a pretty funny explanation of why your pancakes might suck](http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2009/03/19/light-lemony-luscious/) from the always – a – chuckle PJ Hamel.

Breakfast Radishes

Many years ago- for a very brief time- I lived in the [San Joaquin Valley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Joaquin_Valley), near the foothills, among thousands of acres of peaches and plums. We had all sorts of flora and fauna there, not the least terrifying of which were black widow spiders. ”Oh, just don’t bother them,” my ex told me confidently, as if I were about to cover my wrists with pig’s blood and run into the webs.

Well, I killed a pretty sizable spider *a casa* the other day, not a black widow, but gray, hairy and with discernable incisors.

So, I guess what I’m saying is, we have spiders.

More interestingly from a gastronomic standpoint, though, we also have snails. Neither I nor my neighbor use any sort of chemicals in our gardens, so they’re presumably safe to eat. I even cleaned fresh snails once, a million years ago. You put them in a bowl and cover them with cornmeal so they purge whatever they’ve got in them, and after a while you boil them, then drag them out of the shells with a pin. I’m sure there’s more to it than I remember, but i’ll find that out.

On the flight here (we’re broadcasting from the East Coast today), there was one of those Jet Blue NY Times Presents things, which sometimes are interesting and sometimes a total bust. On this trip, it was a fascinating panel discussion between [Dan Barber](http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/sb_about/staff.aspx?ContentID=12), Rick Schneider- CEO of SYSCO, [Nina Planck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Planck) and someone else who has slipped my mind; moderated by former NY Times food critic [Amanda Hesser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Hesser) (who, regardless of how I may feel about her, did an ok job).

I’ve been thinking about doing a podcast. Any thoughts?

Oh jeez.

Maybe I’ll go to [Wallse](http://omnivorousfish.com/node/17)!

Do I sound excited?

I’ve had a decent meal and two decidedly mediocre ones, though lunch today seems promising. As always, keep the suggestions coming. There are 2 starbucks, but not nearly enough. It’s funny how much I hated them when they first appeared in New York, and now they’re the only consistent symbol of civilization I can name in the country.

So far, I can tell you that if you’re stranded in downtown Nashville, Merchant’s is a safe bet. And, somehow, there are NO cute boys hanging around the American Apparel, which makes me wonder: if there is an American Apparel, and there are no hot guys in it, is it still there?

Happy Halloween, by the way! I used to give great spooky-themed dinner parties on halloween. We’d make pumpkin soup and carve Jack O Lanterns and I’d make some weird cookie, like the typically moribund *ossi dei morti*, the bones of the dead. It’s a crunchy meringue cookie that’s bound with almond flour and partly dipped in chocolate. It looks like a dried bone. Sicilian people are crazy, but the cookies are great.

Hope you’re having a good Holiday.

San Rafael Swell

In 1893, an English teacher named [Katharine Lee Bates](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Lee_Bates) went to Colorado by train and was so overwhelmed by what she saw, she came down from the mountains and wrote the poem that would go on to become America the Beautiful. All I can say is it’s a good thing she didn’t make it to Utah, because her head would have exploded.

It’s over. 3 days, 2800 miles and- I’m happy to say- only 4 advil. Here’s a little chart of what got eaten by mileage. This was supplemented by Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bars and the old trucker standby, sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds? Yup, they’re sort of neutral, interesting to chew, and when you’re body is digesting, you’re more alert. So, when you’re getting a little hazy on the road, munch on something with a lot of fiber in it. It’s better for you than coffee from a truck stop.

I know you’re all going to die when you see what I ate, but I challenge you to drive from New York to LA in three days and find something decent to eat that you haven’t brought with you. I don’t know what the final odometer reading was, but I’ll post it when I go out to the car.

Thanks for all the phone calls and text messages along the way. They really helped. Special thanks, also, to Jim Dale, for reading the 2nd and 3rd Harry Potter books to me. Have a good Middle Management Barbecue Day!

South Orange, NJ 0 Oatmeal Cookies
Lamar, PA 194 Hot dog with kraut and hot peppers
Broadview Hights, OH 432 Panera Chicken Sandwich
Elkhart, IN Starbucks Latte and brownie
Geneseo, IL 895
Walnut, IA 1174 McDonalds hamburger
Lexington, NE 1437 Arby’s roast beef
Wiggins, CO 1690 Banana
Aspen, CO 1912
Salina, UT
Washington, UT 2378 Wendy’s chicken sandwich
Yermoca, NV 2638

rte66

As I mentioned before, I’m moving to Long Beach. Well, guess who’s going to need a car in LA. Tomorrow morning, before most of you are awake, I’m getting in the old truck and heading out to the wild blue yonder, solo. In a perfect world, this trip would take weeks, and meander around every ham hock, watermelon slice, hot dog and pie in the lower 48, but I’m taking the express route: NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, CO, UT, NV, CA (I’m proud of myself, I only had to look up Iowa). Four days, three if I get nuts, with a fifth day built in to the schedule just in case.

This time next week, KCRW and KPCC will be begging for my money, and WNYC will be a distant memory, however fond.

You haven’t heard much from me due to psychotic renovation so I could sell the place in New York. For those of you who’ve seen the Before, here’s the after:

foyer1foyer2livmission control

I’m in beautiful Winchester, VA, home of… well, home of something I’m sure. Right now it’s the home of my oldest friend, and I’m visiting. He’s embracing the simple life, so I’m posting this from [enemy territory](http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?).

We’re headed to the local shops to pick up some homey touches for his new place and some makings of a meal or two. More on that later.

I know the area produces lots of grapes, peaches, apples and- like all of America- corn. Let’s see what we see.

Last year we went out earlier, and in addition to helping out, we cooked dinner the days leading up to the main event. This kept me in the kitchen almost the entire trip (until the panic attack that left me immobile Thursday night) but it was actually great, since it centered our activities. I like when everything happens in the kitchen.

I haven’t slept in a while, so I’m off to do that now. Updates are unlikely until we hit Cincinnati, so have a great Turkey if I don’t read you.