the laanba blog

Burger Wars

   

 

Moving into town is giving me the opportunity to try more versions of one of my favorite things to eat, the hamburger.  Two chains that have recently moved into Houston are SmashBurger and Five Guys.  

I first tried Smashburger.  They get their name because the cooking method involves smashing the hamburger patty onto the grill.  The burger is hot and juicy and greasy (as a burger should be) and is very good.  I also really enjoyed their Smashfries.  Sometimes I can take or leave fries, but these fries are thin and are seasoned with rosemary, garlic and olive oil.  Yes please!  The first time I ate there I ate in the restaurant and the presentation is very nice for a burger place.  

I went to Smashburger a few more times before I tried Five Guys.  I happened to be in the neighborhood of one of their locations and I was hungry so I stopped in.  The Five Guys menu is much smaller and the whole feel of the place is much more stark versus the almost "restaurant" feel of Smashburger.  The regular burger is served with two patties and the fries are thicker and fresh cut.   I was surprised that I liked the fries as much as I did because as I mentioned I'm not a huge french fry eater.  I was halfway through the fries before I realized I was really neglecting my burger.  I'm not sure if that is a statement about the fries or the burger but I was not a big a fan of Five Guys as I was of Smashburger.  I walked out after my meal sure that I had a clear winner.

Yet, of course, things aren't always so cut and dry in life.  Last night I went to Katy to see a fellow photographer's photo exhibit opening.  After I stopped at the exhibit I needed to eat dinner and there was a Five Guys in the area so I decided to stop in.  I did not order the french fries this time and just had the burger.  Two bites in I started slowing down to savor each bite.  Halfway through I didn't want it to end.  It was good.  It was really good.

So now what?  They are tied in my mind, but I can see a day where Five Guys might pass Smashburger.  Regardless I have two wonderful new places to grab a burger.  So far my favorite burger in Houston has been at Christian's Tailgate, but since that is a bar you won't find me there very often (and never alone).  And of course I can just start working my way through this blog of burger places.  Sounds like a tasty, tasty plan.  

 

Lunch

Since I talked about breakfast, I might as well do lunch too.  Lunch is a difficult proposition.  My school is on a  block schedule so one day I have 20ish minutes for lunch.  It's really 30, but by the time the kids clear the room and I go down to the microwave and back I have 20ish left.  The other day lunch is at the same time as my conference period so I have lots and lots of time.  Too much in fact because it is easy to run off campus and pick something up.

I've been really working since the new year to bring my lunch, but like breakfast it is a struggle to get into a good habit.  I wish I was one of those people that could eat the same thing every single day.  They are out there, but I'm not one of them.  I want variety.  Another challenge is that I'm not a fan of the soup and salad lunch. That would be quick and easy to make, but nope.  So far what works best for me is bringing leftovers, but next week there are two days where I won't be able to make dinner the night before so I have to figure out what I'm doing for lunch.  It's a chore.

The one thing I have found that I really love is a chicken salad from HEB.  The spices are perfect. Of course there are no HEB's near me so I have to make a special trip to get it.  And even though Central Market is owned by HEB they don't sell this particular chicken salad there.  And even though I can eat it for a whole week, I don't know if I would like it quite as much if it was every single day.  

Why does all of this have to be so difficult?

Breakfast

I love breakfast foods.  Toast, biscuits, cereal, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, milk, juice.  Heck I even like breakfast potatoes in various forms and potatoes aren't usually at the top of my list.  Breakfast for dinner always feels like a comfort meal to me.  Something warm, cozy and simple.

The problem is that more often than not I skip breakfast on a work day.  We all know how important breakfast is to getting into a healthy habit and having a productive day. I just can't seem to get my act together to leave on time (or a close approximation of on time) AND eat a good breakfast.  The fastest thing to eat is a bowl of cereal, but in the middle of the day that just doesn't seem to cut it.  In Michael Pollan's new book I read the old adage "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper." That's all well and good, but I have the least amount of time for the kingly feast.  

What do you guys do about breakfast?

Farewell

I saw the writing on the wall, but I'm still bummed.  My prepared food place, Village Table, is closing.  The email I received blamed Hurricane Ike, but I think that things were already heading this way.  Ike may have just been the tipping point.  

They went from three locations down to one.  The services they offered were dwindling and their prices were going up.  Still, I liked being able to have easy to prepare meals ready in my freezer that were made from fresh ingredients.  I want to eat healthier and I want to stop eating out, but I don't like to cook.  It is a chore and a despised chore at that.  Now I'm going to have to come up with another solution.  Farewell Village Table.  I will miss you.

The Table

A long time ago I used Village Table for my meals. It was an on again, off again attempt to get my eating on track. I even wrote a post about it when I used to write for Metroblog (long, time ago... there are now three locations). That post has the nuts and bolts of how it works, so I won't go into it again here.

I'm not sure why I stopped using Village Table. Money, time, being a fussy eater. I still have all of those road blocks, but I think my attitude has changed. The first change they actually made, and it was to give a four meal option. The only options before were six or twelve. Four fits much better into my freezer, my eating plan and my budget.

Second, Village Table has nutritional values for all their meals and that now makes a difference to me. I need to watch what I eat, but it is quickly getting boring to fix things at my house with my limited cooking skills (sprinkle something on it and grill/bake it). I like the idea of having a variety of meals AND still being able to keep tabs of the fat.

Finally, was an attitude shift for me about my free time. I used to go to one of the sessions on a weekday night after work. By the time I got home it would be after 9 pm and after splitting the meals up it was time to go to bed. I never wanted to go on a Saturday morning because Saturday's are for sleeping in. That was my time. There is nothing better than waking up late on a Saturday. But it was so much better going this morning. I'm not trying to impress anyone there so I just threw some clothes on and went. I wasn't as exhausted as I normally was and now after having lunch I will be finished splitting up by 1 pm and I could even take a nap.

And to all this a bonus. Generally most meals feed about four people. I ordered four meals so I figured I could get about 16 meals out of it. $80 divided by 16 meals is about $5 a meal. That's pretty darn good. I will only have to buy some salad or vegetables as side items and meals for at least three weeks will be taken care of (there are always some days I can't cook at home because of work). But when I got there some of the meals had more portions. One of the four is going to into four as expected, but two of the meals are going to go into five and one is going into six! 20 meals averaging out to $4 a meal. Now I feel like I made a very wise choice.