Midweek Munchies

Just a few "hump day" items……

From the Unfortunate Names File:

I don’t know which marketing genius decided on the names for this duo of snacks, but after seeing them at Nijiya(thanks for the reminder Clea!), I just had to buy them for the Missus(plus they were on sale, and really cheap).

Nothing like a snack of Cream Colon Collon:

Followed up with some Puka Pucca Chocolate!

Yes, now I can honestly say I had a snack of Cream Colon, with some Chocolate Pucca! How’s that for a conversation starter?

Actually the Cream Collon are thin, crisp, biscuit tubes filled with a light but very sweet cream filling…what else would you expect from a Collon? The Pucca, are fish shaped pretzels with a chocolate filling.

In this photo, it’s Collon’s to the left, and Pucca’s to the right:

A Day at the Races:

Well, since the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club race season is almost over, I thought I’d better do this post. I recently got an invite to a day at the races, and though the Missus wasn’t interested, I thought I’d check it out, for a couple of reasons. First, I’ve never been to Horse Races, and never to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Second, the invitation was for one of the Celebrity Suites, I think it was the Bing Crosby Suite("where the surf meets the turf in old Del Mar…"). Third, and most importantly, it was a lunch buffet. You know there’s a food angle, right? Because the invitation was for 2, I invited Captain Jack uber-blogger who does San Diego Restaurant Reviews. The suite thing was kinda interesting, this suite was on the Fifth Level, so you get a bird’s-eye view of the proceedings.

On this beautiful San Diego day, the track is quite a lovely sight.

The Celebrity Suites share their own betting windows(don’t ask how I did..please….), and more importantly, the bar:

What about the food?

I really didn’t expect much…..and it lived up to expectations.

This was called the "Little Italy Buffet" and consisted of Antipasto, Tortellini, and the like…..

The Sweet and Hot Italian Sausages with onions and peppers was probably the best thing…

Captain Jack said that the desserts were pretty good….though I did not partake.

Good looking stuff, and a nice selection.

Overall nothing to write home about, but this day was mostly for socializing and having a good time.

Sure seems like Akira and Reiko are having a good time with the desserts!

A few more photos…..

The Paddock area where the horses are saddled and paraded before each race:

All the bettors can check out the horses. We also noticed that some of the horse’s tongues looked like they were sticking out. One of the serious gamblers told us that the tongues of some horses are tied so that they aren’t swallowed during the race.

Kind of freaked me out a bit…..

We also checked out a race from the lower level.

Really hot and crowded, but pretty exciting.

And than there’s this. Any guesses?

No, its not some mind altering substance. This strange whitish substance is called Polytrack, the new racing surface that was put in to promote safety of both the Horses and the Jockeys. It is made up of recycled rubber, sand, and "other" stuff covered in wax-like coating.

Interesting stuff….

All in all, a nice time, mainly because I was able to chat and socialize with folks I hadn’t seen in a while, like the great folks from Metro Gourmet, I must’ve chatted with Cheryl for over an hour. It was a nice time, as you can tell by the expression on Scott’s face.

It was nice meeting some nice people like Dave as well!

Am I a Schmoozer?

I dunno, but I guess the "Steamy One", aka Jaden of Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen awarded me the "Blogging Community Involvement Award".

 

Hmmm, "the power of schmooze"? I’ve never considered Myself a schmoozer…..but at least I’m not alone. Jaden also awarded the "Blue Badge of Schmooze" to Luna Pier Cook, Big Boys Oven, 80 Breakfasts, Vanilla Garlic, and FOY(Friend of Yoso) Wandering Chopsticks(bummer, now I can’t award WC!). All great blogs, written by wonderful bloggers.

So who do I think are first class blogging Schmoozers?

Chubbypanda – Talk about a world class schmoozer!

Elmo of Monster Munching – The Schmooze Monster Himself!

Kathy of A Passion For Food – Always finds time to Schmooze.

Captain Jack – Since I needed to include someone from San Diego…plus He’s a lot bigger than me!

And a special hibernating Schmoozer award to Reid of Ono Kine Grindz who I hope will be back in schmoozing form soon.

Have great week!