Is there such a thing as '"leftover bacon?"

After a hard grub of bacon and eggs on a recent rough business Sunday, I was left with some extra bacon in the fridge come supper time.

Soy and Garlic clove marinated steaks a la Foreman Grille was on the menu, and a lightbulb popped over my head, or was it that my Spidey sense went off?

The urge to "Double Up" was strong!

"I''ma wrap this steak in the bacon", my internal and external dialogue screamed, loudly.

The side is some chicken Rice-A-Roni with fresh string beans.

Standard loaf of french bread to soak up the delicious beef and pork juices from the plate.

 

Mandy & Joes, Brighton, MA

328 Washington St
(between Academy Hill Rd & Waldo Ter)
Brighton, MA 02135

(617) 254-9843

Being absolutely jealous of all of the HG options in New York and Chicago at all hours of the day, it inspired me to see what was close by in my neighborhood for some good, hard, deli-style grubbin.

I celebrated a rare weekday off by first going to the dentist, going to lunch, and going to get my taxes 'did.' Let me just say, lunch was the only part of the day where I felt like I wasn't getting my teeth yanked out!

There was an overcast to the afternoon, and the rain started to spit after the dental appointment. Here I was, on Hump Day, just barely holding on to cracking a smile. Mandy & Joe's was a beacon of sunshine on this dreary day.

I mean, look at this 'grandparent's basement' decor: How can this not bring you back to watching Wheel of Fortune with Nana on a February vacation Monday in Wilkes Barre, PA?

I sit down at a low counter at a place frozen in time. I feel I could just say "Malted!" to Brian behind the counter here, and he would say "I thought so, and your usual grilled cheese with a dry tomato and brown mustard, how you like it as well, sir?"

I'd reply with a "'Suppose so...," and this dude already has a blender and his spray Pam both at full blast.

Old men that admire Ian Fleming novels and consider Sean Connery as the 'new' James bond are talking tough stuff in here.

Check out my brah grubbin on eggs here. Fast forward 45 years and this is old Clay grubbin on some yellow scramble.


If you think I'm disrespecting this guy by snapping pics of him at Mandy & Joes, then I applaud you. It's practically all I can think about. This is all about respect and hard grubbin, I am not exploiting my friend here, he just wouldn't be able to understand that if I tried to explain.

I decide on the corned beef when longtime customer Phil walks in and is greeted as I described earlier. "Hey, Phil. We got pie today."

Phil casually, and I am almost certain non-verbally, orders his usual. Phil trades in 2 dimes and a nickel for a fresh quarter and after a trip to the news box, Phil is cracking open the Boston Herald morning edition.

Nostalgia and wondering why people aren't smoking cigarettes in here are not not the only charms of this hallowed diner. Breakfast all day is a major selling point, and there are couples, families, doctors, and regulars filling the seats here daily. I'm sure the menu has not changed in over 10 years, on the philosophy , "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Good strategy.

My sandwich comes. It's a simple thing, really. Corned Beef marbled with fat, my choice of yellow or brown mustard on a similarly marbled rye and white bread. Think pastrami but cold, and picture it on a plate that you remember eating Hostess chocolate cupcakes off of when it was your birthday in fifth grade. I second guess, and fear I may have made great missteps getting to this point in the meal already, but there was no turning back to get the open face turkey plate or a feta omelet. This is exactly what I want. This is exactly what I need. The 4 pickles are enough (though I usually demand more).

What better way to celebrate a good tooth cleaning than drinking coffee with white sugar and gumming up the in-betweens with salted meats and soft bread? I cannot think of a better way.

A quick call over to my H&R Block rep and I realize I have to bounce. The sandwich made it's way into my belly and I'm leaving an 18% tip for Brian before I ride the bike home to get my papers, full of food, and full of an honest nostalgia.

Late Night Hard Grubbin-Chicago Edition

Village Pizza

Corner of Chicago and Western

I was planning to post on this place in the future, but when I noticed the new series on late night hard grubbin I figured this would be the perfect forum.  Let me first say, as this post is about pizza, a late night hard grubbin staple, do not let this deter others from posting about pizza in other cities, as many of you know I am quite fond of the NYC late night cheese slice.  

 

So let me get to Village Pizza.  First, you will notice that the photo above is lifted from another site, as usually when you wander into Village Pizza you are in no state to be snappin pictures.  Village Pizza after a late night is truly amazing.  First, the experience.  Like mentioned below, any late night hard grubbin place is jam packed with assholes, and this place is no exception.  Take for example last night, when I happened to wander into Village at about 2 in the morning.  Behind me walked in this dude that screamed at the top of his lungs "PIZZA MOTHERFUCKERS!!"  Then he saw his buddy, who was already jammin a slice, and screamed at him "YEAAAAHHHHH PIZZZZZAAAAA!!!, HEY BITCH, YOU NEED ANOTHER SLICE?!?"  These kinds of interactions are par for the course at Village.  In addition to the asshole, you will always see the absolutely destroyed hipster sitting by himself in the corner eating an enormous piece of pizza with the concentration and dedication of a brain surgeon.  Very frequently you will see cops enjoying a slice here, which may cause some undue stress to the late night HG fanatic.  For example one night I was in there with a buddy who was not even drinking, but would not drive away from Village until the cops left.  This was because he was certain he would be pulled over immediately because he believed that any cop that sees a car pull away from Village is a certain DUI.  

 

Anyways, the food.  Its great for what you are looking for.  The pizza is great, delicious sauce that tastes a combination of sweet and savory.  But be warned, it is not as good as what you may find at a late night place in NY, but at 3 am when you are wasted, for 4 bucks, who cares? The slices are huge, and you may look at one and and wonder if it is possible to finish it, but yes you can.  Each slice comes with "free soda" which is a 6 oz cup of fountain soda.  This HG reporter suggests you just leave the soda, and have a big glass of water with your slice, you are going to need it.  In addition to the pizza, the menu has a large variety of fantastic sandwiches including the classic meatball, italian beef, and if you are feeling really adventurous, the combo italian beef and sausage dipped, with hot peppers.  Although Village does not offer much in terms of creativity, as does the deli sandwich or the crepe, I'm sure you can find something that will satisfy that late night hunger.  HG highly recommends.

Straight Hard Grubbin' on a spicy beef noodle soup...

Straight Hard Grubbin' on Spicy Beef Noodles

With the current economic situation out there, I can't see myself droppin' some cash out at the restaurant, Papa Johns, or IHOP every damn day. Occasionally, after a day at work, I pop over to my Stop & Shop (I have a card on my keychain...official). Tonight I went and found me some strip steak, about 3/4 lb. Went over to the veggies, copped 1 red bell pepper, and a big stalk of broccoli. At this point I am pretty sure I am getting into a stir-fry situation. What troubles me is that I am seriously out of soy sauce at home, and the ancient bottle of mushroom soy sauce at the crib is mad sketchy. I hadn't bothered to grab a basket, so this is going to have to be quick. I dip on over to the Asian food aisle and get the rest of the ingredients. My mind is flowing with possibilities over here. All manners of sauce, stir-fry sauce, sesame oil, ect. are in front of me. "Slow your roll..." I quietly tell myself, drooling.

"We're gonna need this...















some of this..




















and most definitely...some of these!"




















I know this is 'American Chinese Food', and I am OK with that, considering that I'm the chef tonight. I'm also going to cheat a bit to make this into more of a soup. I don't feel guilty about getting all Rachel Ray on this recipe!

At the house I get out two cutting boards, one for the veggies, one for the protein. First, finely chop 2 cloves garlic, and pop into a (med-high heat) hot wok with 2 tbs. of oil (olive, sesame,
or vegetable). Brown the garlic and sprinkle red pepper flakes or powder into the hot oil.

Turn heat to medium. Slice your strip steak, or buy the stir fry beef from the market, and place in the hot oil, about 3 minutes each side, or until both sides are cooked.


While the meat is sizzlin', chop up the red pepper into cubes, and your broccoli to a desired size.
Add to wok, with 2 tbs. of stir fry sauce or 1 tbs soy sauce. Cook veggies and meat for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

Open up those cans of mushrooms and water chestnuts! Drain both cans. This time, I chopped the water chestnuts to about half size, but I don't think I needed to in hind sight. Add to stir fry.

Oh, wait...what about these chilis from last week?
Slice as desired, and for less heat, ditch the seeds (HG recommends seeds!)

Return heat to medium-high and simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Remove wok from heat.


I bought a hot and sour rice noodle ramen bowl at the market as well.

No shame in saving some time here! There may have been a better alternative, but I wanted a meal closer to soup and more exciting than the standard stir fry. I boiled water and emptied the spice pack and sesame oil packet, and waited 3 minutes for the noodles to soften.

Serve in a bowl, meat and veggies first. Top with broth and noodles from the ramen. Top generously with Chow Mein noodles, insert chopsticks and HUZZAH. Enjoy. Serves two.

Blah-Damn




UPDATE: Leftover Lunchin' It: