What's for Lunch?

It's Spring Break week. For many college students that means a rush to the south to hang out on the beach and do things that you forget later (or wish you could forget later), but as a Graduate Student, there is a greater realization that such trips cost more than student loans will allow, so we try to stay a little closer to home. Some of my fellow students have ventured to places like Lake Tahoe for a few days to enjoy nature and live out of a car for a few days others have gone home (apparently not everyone has their permanent address here in Berkeley).

I had planned to head to Minnesota to visit my new Nephew and Nieces, but alas the airline was too full and there was not room to squeeze me on. So, here I sit in Berkeley, in the rain trying to figure out how to occupy my day without doing anything productive (yes, I will do productive things if I have to, but I'm trying to avoid it). Did I mention that it's raining? That means no non-productive but interesting endeavors like bike rides or walks to 7-Eleven to get a Slurpee (mmm ... Slurpee).

So here I sit, with thoughts of food on my head (after all, a guy has to eat) so I ventured to the refrigerator to find nourishment. Today I found two pieces of leftover french toast, turkey lunch meat, cheese ... BINGO ... I could make my version of one of my favorite sandwiches, the Monte Cristo (yes, I am the king of leftovers, I always thought that I would go on the Food Network and compete for such a title and win it easily, but I digress).

As I prepared my Monte Cristo, I had fond memories of eating this favorite sandwich at Houlihan's ... a restaurant that is not found in every city, so when we found one in Huntsville, Alabama after watching hockey (yes another long story) I indulged in this deep-fried ooey-gooey-ness. My version was clearly healthier than the Houlihan's version, it was about a quarter of the size, not deep fried, and made with organic whole grain bread, free range turkey, and organic cheese (ah, eating in Berkeley). I also felt a little sad knowing that the Monte Cristo had been removed from the Houlihan's menu, I guess health-consciousness got to the regulars of that establishment.

Speaking of less than healthy food experiences, I got to thinking about Twinkies. I don't know exactly how my mind jumped there (it could be the Spring Break influence) and with a bit of free time on my hands I searched the Internet to discover that the Twinkie seems to be the most "scientifically" researched food on the net. There is no shortage of college students who would do their "duty" to research the Twinkie in all of it's strangeness. Here's a brief list of some of what I found:
Twinkies Project
Twinkie Trivia
TwinkieHenge
Twinkie Failure Testing
Yes, the Twinkie, a sure symbol of America ... terrible for us, lasts forever. I can't remember the last time I ate a Twinkie. The mere thought of it makes my stomach turn a bit. I would guess the last time I ate a Twinkie was when I was working at Olson's Kwik Food Mart (and full service gas station) and was offered a "day old" Twinkie (which in itself is a hilarious concept) from "Hostess Bob". "Hostess Bob" was the delivery guy who came by twice a week to bring us the "fresh" Hostess products (again, a hilarious concept). Bob was a little bit of a guy, always wore a smile, always had an armful of Hostess products to share! I wonder what Hostess Bob is doing today ... I wonder if he's still delivering "everlasting pastries" to convenience stores in Minnesota or if he has moved on to something else.