Being new to East Central Illinois, we’re playing catch-up on some of the amazing and unique things in the area. One that I’ve been hearing about for a while is Moonshine, Illinois and its burgers despite the town only have a population of 2.
Archives For Food
Location: Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana
When: Thursday night dinner
What we got: Stuffed Chicken Breast, Potatoes Au Gratin side, Barbecued Shrimp
Website: http://www.ruthschris.com
To break an awkward silence, I learned an important technique – pose a conversation that draws further comments, not simple yes/no answers. For example, this topic taken from Voltaire was the go-to ice breaker:
The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Discuss.
However, in recent years, I’ve heard a new one.
McDonald’s McRib debuts when pork prices are low and disappears after McDonald’s demand for pork increases the price. Discuss.
Location: Downtown Indianapolis
When: Friday lunch
What we got: Chili of the day (Cincinnati style chili with some chocolate powder), Slow-smoked Pulled Pork, Wisconsin Kettle Burger, Kettle chips as sides
Website: http://www.webergrillrestaurant.com
Location: Inside Days Inn in Mattoon, IL on Broadway Ave
When: Saturday night dinner
What we got: People Pleaser (appetizer sampler with mozzarella sticks, onion rings, fried mushrooms (got these instead of the listed egg rolls?), chicken tenders, chicken wings (with your choice of 6 sauces, we got mild buffalo) and All You Can Eat Ribs (Saturday night special) with skewered vegetables and home-made chips
Website: http://cityscapesrestaurant.com/
I was recently frustrated in the supermarket aisle, which happens somewhat frequently, but this time I was looking in the fruit cup aisle. Looking for alternatives from heavy or light syrup, I thought I had found some good fruit cups to take in my lunches. They were clearly labeled “No sugar added”. Instead though, they were artificially sweetened with Splenda or aspartame or such. It doesn’t make sense. It’s fruit. It has natural fruit sugars. I don’t need the fruit to be sweetened beyond its natural delicious flavors.
Instead of the “No sugar added” fruit cup, the actual solution came from Del Monte and their fruit naturals line. They have a variety of fresh fruits like:
- Cherry mixed fruit
- Citrus salad
- Mandarin oranges
- Mixed berries
- Peach chunks
- Red grapefruit
- No sugar added peach chunks
- No sugar added red grapefruit
- Pineapple chunks
- Tropical Medley
The secret instead of using sugar or artificial sweeteners is that Del Monte uses 100% juice to suspend the fruit. The trade-off is that the fruit cup must be refrigerated but that seems to be a small price to pay in order for a delicious, healthy snack without the high fructose corn syrup. The half-cup snack is only 60 calories and boasts 100% daily value of Vitamin C.
Since the Del Monte fruit naturals fruit cup has to be refrigerated, you will find it in your grocer’s refrigerator section.
Del Monte also has some canned fruit products stored in 100% juice.
