Pigskin Pursuit

A seventeen year odyssey across the backroads of America during the ultimate College Football roadtrip.

Category: Uncategorized (Page 19 of 42)

Runza – A Nebraska Hot Pocket

December 9, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Nebraska isn’t defined by a prevalence of regional or noteworthy cuisines, and outside of a hunk of beef, I couldn’t uncover any must try local delicacies in my research. The closest that I came was a place called Runza, a small regional chain native to Nebraska with about 80 plus locations scattered throughout the state. Founded in 1949, Runza specializes in a unique kind of sandwich, aptly named a “Runza”. The Runza is a bread pocket type sandwich stuffed with spiced beef or pork, cabbage and onions, and owes its’ origins to the Volga Germans that settled in the Great Plains. Though I normally avoid chains, an exclusive sandwich was something I felt compelled to try, so I put my biases aside and ambled in for a bite.

At the fast food style counter, I ordered up the Swiss Mushroom Runza on the recommendation of the cashier. Naturally, this included fries and I felt compelled to give the chocolate milkshake a run as well. The Runza can most appropriately be described as the fast food equivalent of a hot pocket. It was warm, doughy, moist and gooey inside and certainly good filler on a chilly afternoon. While in true fast food fashion the actual contents of the filling remain a bit mysterious, in addition to the cheese, mushrooms and beef I picked up notes of cabbage, onions, and some unidentified spices. The fries were standard variety, though surprisingly crispy, while the thick chocolate shake more closely resembled a Wendy’s Frosty (and hence perfect for dipping the fries).

Runza was an interesting stop, and I was glad to try one of the few foods native to Nebraska. At the end though, the sandwich is hardly remarkable from a hot pocket, and pretty standard fast food fare. It’s deserving of a taste from a curiosity standpoint, but hardly worth going out of your way for. I’d love to unearth a place that had a more inspired home made version of the sandwich. Interestingly, I discovered that they serve Runza’s in Memorial Stadium, and on a cold day in Lincoln they certainly make a better alternative than a hot dog.
http://www.runza.com/

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Texas vs Texas A&M – A Texas Turkey Day Tilt

December 8, 2010 / / 0 Comments

While many of you were lounging around with a five thousand calorie turkey hangover, I was diligently behind the wheel on my way down to see the most heated rivalry in Texas College Football. Unfortunately, all my favorite barbecue haunts were shut down for the day so in lieu of the turkey dinner, I opted for a chicken sandwich at the Whataburger during the three hour jaunt down to Austin. Ah, the untold glamour of the Pigskin Pursuit.

 

 

This was the first game of a three game, three day odyssey during Thanksgiving weekend that would take me to Austin, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska and Columbus, Ohio. That’s Texas, Nebraska and Ohio State for those of you following at home, not a bad way to spend rivalry weekend. Beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

 

Dating back to 1894, the Texas vs Texas A&M matchup is the third longest running rivalry in College Football. Although Texas owns dominance of the series with a 75-36-5 record, this is a heated rivalry that in the state of Texas has undoubtedly caused more than its fair share of family Thanksgiving dinner table squabbles over the last 116 years. In fact, in both school songs “Texas Fight” and the “Aggie War Hymn” each school makes a point to denigrate the other in the lyrics. You may recall our trip down to College Station for this game last year, and you can freshen up on it here:

 

 

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/12/normal-0-microsoftinternetexplorer4.html

 

 

While the Aggies have struggled against the Longhorns the past couple of years, this year set up to be something different. A&M was ranked in the top 20, held a formidable 8-3 record, and a win would put them in contention for the Big 12 Championship Game. Texas on the other hand, has stumbled this year, hampered by an interception prone quarterback, revolving door at tailback and unusually porous defense. Prior to the matchup they carried dismal 5-6 record into the contest, and a loss would knock the Longhorns out of bowl contention for the first time since 1997. Patience is growing thin with the Burnt Orange faithful in Austin, and fans are quick to forget their team played for a National Championship not even a year ago.

 

On an unusually chilly night in Darrel K. Royal stadium, the game lived up to the hype as both teams were embattled in a defensive standoff until late in the second quarter. Aggie running back Cyrus Gray then broke the game open with an explosive 84 yard touchdown run to knot the game at 7-7 heading into halftime. Gray would be a one man highlight reel on the day, as he would later scamper for another 48 yard touchdown run while racking up 223 yards on the ground. Between Gray and injured starter Christine Michael, the Aggie backfield will remain quite formidable for another year. On the Texas side of the ball, the Longhorns struggled to put together any momentum or sustain drives. Predictably, maligned quarterback Garrett Gilbert tossed a pair of interceptions, one of which was a critical game ending pick. Even the Longhorn crowd was discernibly flat on the night, reluctantly cheering meekly for the Horns and routinely being drowned out by the exuberant Maroon faithful and internationally famous Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.

 

 

This was my second year in a row spending Thanksgiving at the Lonestar Showdown, and I can’t think of a better way to spend it than under the lights of some premier College Football in Texas. Though certainly not as rewarding as sharing the day with family lounging around a crackling fire, you’re never alone surrounded by 100,000 or so other rabid college football fans. It’s what the Pilgrims intended.

Special thanks again to my friends Jared and Kimberly. It’s always a pleasure to meet up with them and their family for Longhorn games, and hopefully next year will be better fortunes for them in Austin.

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Fette Sau Barbecue – BBQ Brooklyn Style

December 3, 2010 / / 0 Comments

The second place that emerged on my barbecue research in New York was a place called Fette Sau BBQ, and came courtesy of Daniel again from Full Custom Gospel.Evidently his BBQ knowledge extends well beyond the confines of the Red River, because Fette Sau holds quite a reputation among Brooklynites.To verify its repute, I conferred with one of my closest friends and now Brooklyn resident Demetrios.No stranger to gut busting intestinal challenges, Demetrios and I share epic tales of dining hall conquests in our wild and intemperate youths, and I knew I could count on his final opinion.

 

“Dood, that place is awesome” he boomed into the phone, I needed little more confirmation and Sunday’s lunch was quickly decided.

After being greeted by an encouraging wood pile at the entrance, I crept inside Fette Sau and was relieved to find it nearly empty on an early Sunday.Apparently the place can be a bit of a logjam, but I strolled effortlessly up to the glass case and peered eagerly at the plethora of smoked meats tucked delicately beneath.I ordered up the usual three wiseman (brisket, sausage and ribs) and for good measure added a slab of beef rib onto the scale that had also caught my eye.

The sausage was not your typical BBQ fare, it was a much coarser grind with heavy Italian seasoning. Though untraditional, it was still tasty. The ribs were perfectly cooked with a deep pinkish smoke ring and well developed lightly seasoned crust. They were probably my favorite dish on the day. The brisket was smoky and tender with a thick charred crust to it, but had dried out a bit from sitting in the warming tray. The beef rib was similarly dry, and was served sliced off the bone (rather than bone in), though it too shared a wonderfully deep charred crust and robust smoke profile.

As if the meat weren’t enough, we stayed for a couple of hours chatting and working our way down the extensive row of beer taps lining the wall. Featuring an impressive selection of Brooklyn Ales, the bartender was cautious to pull on the wooden handles of the imposing cleavers perched on the taps. This was a clever detail for a barbecue joint, and I almost considered pulling up a tractor seat for a couple of hours to finish off the selection of well crafted brews.

In the end there isn’t much else to say about Fette Sau. They have excellent barbecue, an equally impressive array of beer taps, and I shared an increasingly rare couple of hours with a close friend. Fette Sau is well worth a trip across the bridge for that, and don’t let the Brooklyn part scare you.

 

http://www.fettesaubbq.com/
Thanks to my friend Demetrios for joining me, it’s always great to catch up and we need to do it more often. Now let’s get you down to Texas for the real thing, and bring your girlish appetite with you.

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The Meatball Shop

December 3, 2010 / / 0 Comments

If you follow the blog closely, you’d know that I am a rather ardent fan of a classic meatball sub.A seemingly simple affair, there is a subtle art to the perfection of a meatball sandwich, and I dedicated an entire blog post singing the praises of Polito’s in South Bend last year.

 

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/10/cloudy-with-chance-of-meatballs.html

 

Respectable meatball sandwiches, however, seem to elude the entire country West of the Mississippi and I have yet to find one suitable to the palette in Texas. A trip to New York came with a handful of culinary certainties, and a proper meatball sub was at the top of that list.

 

Now you can find a meatball sub on just about any street corner in Manhattan, and though certainly delicious, they are hardly distinguishable. But in the lower east side, a mere two blocks from Katz Deli, lies a place that specializes in these spherical delights. The Meatball Shop on Stanton Street is appropriately named because they serve nothing but meatballs and I salute the laser focus of their business plan. Given my energetic zeal for the dish, I decided to put these experts to the test.

There is some variety to be found at The Meatball Shop, and literally dozens of different combinations to choose from.It’s like the Baskin Robbins of meatballs.They have about five different kinds of meatballs ranging from traditional beef to lamb, as well as a half dozen different kinds of sauce.Furthermore, you can order them “naked”, on a bed of pasta, on a slider or in a standard hero type sandwich.

 

Being a staunch traditionalist, and wanting an apt comparison to other meatball purveyors, I ordered a typical beef meatball sub with classic tomato sauce.Out of sheer curiosity I also tossed in an order for a spicy pork meatball slider.The traditional sub was a classic delight with tender meatballs filling the crunchy baguette and oozing with reams of sauce and cheese.While I wished they had stuffed a few more of those house made meatballs into the roll, it was still pure gooey delight.The spicy pork slider lived up to its reputation, as the heavy red pepper notes came blazing to life and sent me reaching for the water glass with each bite to quell the flames.

Finishing off the meal, we talked ourselves into one of their enticing ice cream sandwiches.Similar to the robust meatball menu, The Meatball Shop offers a handful of different homemade cookies that can be paired with various ice creams for a scrumptious ice cream sandwich dessert.After considerable deliberation, some lively debate and extensive polling of the table next to us, we settled on this little peanut butter and chocolate delight that was quickly descended upon like a pack of rabid hyenas.

In the end the Meatball Shop was a worthy stop for my meatball sub fix in New York. I like the simplicity of their idea, and solute their dedication to the subtle craft of the perfect meatball. Now if they could only move to a roomier location, I wouldn’t have to rub elbows after each bite with the other patrons crammed in next to me. The lady next to me was rather fortunate I didn’t harpoon a few meatballs off her plate while she chattered away distractedly. Husky fellows like myself need our space to eat, and contact only slows me down…

 

http://www.themeatballshop.com/
http://www.themeatballshop.com/menu.html

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