Does Tube Steak Count?

I had one of my periodic moody evenings last night. Every so often my skivvies get twisted up in a wad, and I spend a couple of hours driving around aimlessly trying to decide what to do with the evening. Ever hear the joke about the burro that couldn't decide which pile of hay to take a bite out of, so it ended up starving to death? That's really about me.

Laurence from IFOC was hosting a shindig for the Anti-PETA Meat-O-Rama last night over at Rajun Cajun, but I got off work a little late, and I wouldn't have gotten there until everyone was half in the bag. Plus, with the Texas Blogfest this weekend, I'm beyond my comfort limit for social events. I've never been one for gathering up friends & acquaintances by the bushel basket, preferring instead to acquire them slowly over time. Jumping headfirst into the blogfest, and also coming out from behind my semi-anonymity is giving me a case of the screaming fan-tods. Hopefully, it'll end up with me doing a Sally Field moment, not getting run out of Dallas by an angry mob armed with torches and pitchforks.

At any rate, I ended up moseying around the 'hood looking for something that tweaked my appetite. The problem with extended bachelor-hood is that you inevitably get tired of your own cooking, and then get bored with all the local eateries. It was just one of those nights where nothing sounded good at all, and places I might have ventured into were all had their parking lots just stuffed to the gills. I'm not shy about dining alone, but I much prefer to do it in a spot that's not packed cheek-to-jowl. The local taqueria I hang out at just replaced the cute little chiquitas who waited tables with a couple of surly crones, so it's lost some allure. Plus,I just ate there the other day.

I finally ended up at James Coney Island, where my addiction to Chicago-style hot dogs leads me upon occasion. It was mercifully free of the soccer-moms and their hyperactive sprogs that usually infest the joint, and I indulged in a couple of New York style dogs with mustard & kraut, and a couple of chili dogs for dessert. OK, not exactly the big juicy steak I was hoping for, but eating ground up, pureed & stuffed-in-a-sausage-casing animal flesh still counts!