Dinner of Champions

I've been through the Culver's drive-thru about 8 million times. But I had never gone inside the place. A few weeks ago, Jackie and I decided to try the sit-down version of our favorite frozen custard joint. It was also the frist time we ever tried anything other than the frozen custard, actually.

We both got signature Culver's 'butterburgers' and they were excellent. Then we hiked back up to the counter for a single scoop of the flavor of the day, or "FOD". You can never go wrong with the FOD. I usually don't even ask what it is, I just order it, because there's no way it's gonna be something I don't like, I mean come on. On that particular day the FOD happened to be bananas foster. We asked the acne-factory teenager waiting on us what exactly was in it, and his response was: "Bananas...and...um...foster sauce?". OK. Foster sauce? It was CARAMEL! Anyway it may have been my favorite FOD to date, even better than the caramel/fudge/cookie dough of a few weeks ago. Now our only complaint with Culver's is the lame church music they play in the store. I'm much more partial to listening to 80's, 90's and Today while dining on fast food.

After we finished our food, a funny thing happened. We were actually inspired to turn a kick-ass package on a completely worthless story. Really. It was about a 'campus alert' where a student was grabbed by the backpack and flung against the side of a car. The end. No injuries. So since we were all hopped up on butterburgers and creamy delights, we were like what the hell, lets blow this story out of the water. It turned out great, we got lots of sound with 'panicked' students, I irised down a bit so it looked darker than it was (and therefore scary), and I got some pretty creative shots I think. Jackie and I were shocked at the power of Culver's to transform us into newsgathering masterminds! You see Kasey...THIS is why we must ALWAYS get a dinner break, not because of stupid overtime worries.

Ice Cream in the Live Truck

On Friday we had an ice cream party at work.  I don't know if it was intended to motivate us for the May book, or to congratulate us for the results of the March book.  We got an email Thursday telling us of the creamy treats we could expect on Friday at 3pm.  When I read this email, I immediately knew what would happen.  

I would arrive to work at 2:30.  At 2:59 I would be sent to miscellaneous 'breaking news', moments before the ice cream would get brought out for all but me to enjoy.  OF COURSE, this exact scenario became reality.  I was about to launch a massive temper tantrum (I really love ice cream), but Adam, that quick thinker, volunteered to grab a couple bowls 'to go' as I loaded the live truck.  Brilliant! 

 1 bowl.  2 spoons.  4 scoops.  

I managed to hit all the red lights on New Circle Rd. and successfully wolfed down about twice as much as Adam who wasn't driving.  Later that night after dinner, it occurred to us to check the freezer for leftovers, and we were not disappointed!  Pictured is bowl #2 on the day.  It is fudge stripe with caramel sauce.  The station got us all kinds of flavors and toppings.  It was an awesome treat on a lovely Friday.  I remain realistic though, and realize that this was only a fluke.  Next time there is food at the station, I will probably miss all of it as usual.  That's the night-sider's plight, folks.

Little Burgers, BIG Hit

Almost every restaurant in town now serves some form of mini burgers. They taste the same as regular burgers, but for some reason we go crazy over the teeny tiny verzion. I think you end up eating more bread with the little ones. Was White Castle the creator of the original little burger? I'm not sure, but I have tried almost all the tiny burgers Lexington has to offer, and here is where they rank:

Buddy's: They call them 'sliders' and they are great!

Harry's: a little more expensive, but they taste like it. very good.

Chili's: Not so hot. very high ratio of bun to meat and the 'patties' were triangle shaped. wtf?

Steak 'n Shake (pictured): well, you will have to ask Adam. I didn't try them. He seemed pleased though, especially with the fact that they came in tiny little sleeves. Plus they come in 5 flavors such as chipotle, frisco, and A1.

Burger King: they are marketing something called a 'burger shot'. Thai and I tried to get some one night after the bar, and they were OUT. WHY does this keep HAPPENING to me?!?!

Ruby Tuesday's: Quite good, very tasty. And you can get salad bar instead of fries...yay!

Krystal: Super, as far as fast food goes. The little boxes they come in keep them steamy!

Those are all the ones I can think of right now. Anyone else have any great mini-burger finds?

The Cookie Truck

Who hasn't seen the Insomnia Cookies truck around town? Apparently these people will deliver cookies to you at obscene hours. You can't get much more 'pothead business owner' than this. Paul took this pic on Winchester Rd., but I have usually seen the truck parked outside the campus bookstore on Limestome. You can walk up to the window and buy cookies or have them delievered to you. I realize that this makes me a food-blogger failure, but I have yet to sample their treats. But I hear they are really good!

Zaxby's Redemption

I know it seems like I rip on Zaxby's a lot. But I actually really like the place. Seeing Smitty eat his zandwich tonight made me realize how much I do like eating there, so I thought I'd say something nice. One of the best things about Zaxby's is that they have cherry Fanta on tap. That is major, as it is Pam West's favorite. Keep up the unique soda selection, Zaxby's, and maybe I'll let the next boneless wing disaster slide.

"Part pizza place, part hippie commune"

The only good part about covering tragic news in the gorge is the possibility of hitting up Miguel's Pizza afterwards. You can get pizza by the slice, and the toppings are really unique (and of the hippie persuation). Zach says he likes it because you can get pasta on your pizza!

The food is great, but it's really about the atmophere. The restaraunt doubles as a climbing gear store. It is a main stop-off for climbers who come from all over the country (and Canada too) to climb the cliffs of the Red River Gorge. There is a little clearing behind the store where you can camp if you like. Inside, a sign made out of a paper plate advertises showers for a dollar. It's kind of stuffy inside, but it's not a big deal because you can take your pizza outside. The pizza crust is whole grain, and the sauce if very sweet. Very delicious.

This is my only complaint: I can't freaking stand white people with dreads. To me, it's just wrong. These are usually the same people who bring their dirty, half-clothed children with them as they follow Phish around the country and leave their dogs tied to their car bumper during the shows. Miguel's attracts this kind of people.

It was spring break week when Jackie and I first tried Miguel's. There were tons of people inside and out, and table space was limited. This led a group of 4 or 5 climbers to ask if they could sit with us. Of course you can, we said! Somehow we got to talking about news, they were very fascinated by our jobs. We gave them business cards and they promised to call if they knew of anyone getting tragically maimed by the gorge. SCORE!

Miguel's is only open from March-November or something like that, it's closed for the off-season.

Bone-LESS

Zaxby's, you fail us again.

A couple weekends ago, Adam and I climbed into the truck after about 15 minutes at work, and immediately started talking about what we wanted for dinner. Adam tells me that he's really craving some boneless wings from Zaxby's cause they've been showing the commercial non-stop and he just can't take it anymore.

We shot a couple stories, and then aimed for the New Circle Rd. Zaxby's. Then we heard the bad news. They were out of boneless wings. OUT. How can this be? Adam begins to pout, so I appologize to the guy taking our order and head for the door, promising Adam we'll try the Leestown road branch. We walk through the door of Zaxby's #2 in a good mood, ready to enjoy our hour-long uninterrupted dinner break, when we are dealt the second devastating blow of the day. This Zaxby's is out of boneless wings too. WTF?? We explain to the guy how we just came from the other store and they were out too, but he really doesn't care, and why should he? He's not the IDIOT who didn't get enough boneless wings shipped in! But in case you want to go to Zaxby's soon, pick the New Circle one over the Leestown one, they were much more understanding of our pain.