Maruchan yakisoba, spicy chicken

It's not that spicy and there isn't much chicken.

I'm not doing much cooking right now.

I watched a video of two Japanese guys testing American instant ramen. This is their favorite of the ones that they tested. They both agreed the American versions have a lot less salt and no MSG. To them they taste like health food. That gets a big laugh from Americans in comments at YouTube.

I bought two cases of this type. I have two cases of another type. Nine cases total. Some cases have six lunch-cups, others have ten or twelve packages. It's a boatload of instant ramen noodles and I eat them twice a day and so far I haven't become tired of them.

But I also need to walk so I'm going outside to nearby restaurants. But not too far. Everything is nearby. I might start spreading out and driving, then park some distance away. The point is getting out and walking.

I'm just not in the mood for cooking and cleaning right now. These make things a lot easier.

And it might not be such a bad idea to record them. Each one is quite different. They all come from different places, The U.S., Japan, Korea, and Thailand. There are very many others available. Reviews on Amazon are mixed for all of them. So far I haven't had any that are actually bad.

Their cost also varies wildly. The ones from Japan are the most expensive. Korea makes very good ones. Other countries have their own favorites, curry mostly, Pho, and the like. Some are rice noodles, others are wheat noodles, some flat noodles, most are squiggly noodles. Some are like soup, other are not, like this one here, most have scant dehydrated vegetables, most have powdered stock. Some have packages of liquid flavorings. Some have one package inside others have up to five packages of flavorings.

This one is intended to be cooked in the microwave. Most are not.

I added habanero sauce and soy sauce to boost the intensity.

Chicken club sandwich

Chicken, bacon, cheese from Taste of Philly across the street from where I live.

Large meatball, pineapple, raspberries, blackberries

The meatballs are larger than regular meatballs. Shaped like a football. An Australian football.

The pineapple is fresh. Almost.

The berries are frozen. But by the time I get to them they're thawed.

I don't know why I put this off. I had frozen Hatch chiles that were thawed in the refrigerator and frozen onions. I added Hoisin sauce on impulse because I thought it was BBQ sauce, homemade bread crumbs that have cheese and bacon in them, and water. I added all that to the ground beef and it is delicious. The sauce is inside the meatballs.

Old Santa Fe Grille, Denver

When I graduated from High School I got an apartment on the west side of town with a Mexican restaurant nearby. They served Colorado-Mexican meals. 

I didn't know what anything on the menu meant. 

I didn't know what a tortilla is. I didn't know the difference between a taco and a burrito. 

So as I went in there I ordered everything on the menu one at a time. By way of experiment. To find out what all those words mean. 

That's how I discovered chile rellenos. They made them the egg roll wrapper way, not the true chile rellenos. They became my favorite thing and I ordered them everywhere. And that's how I discovered their true nature. More like a chile/cheese omelet. 

These use egg roll wrappers and they're filled with chicken. This restaurant doesn't offer plain chile/cheese rellenos but they're still excellent. Actually, every type that I tried is excellent. It's really hard to go wrong.

July 4th. The place was empty. The charge was $15.00 for meal with endless Coca-Cola and $10.00 tip.

Let me tell you about Denver grace.

I stepped outside my front door and street traffic was sparse. Even less people out on the sidewalks. 

I hadn't taken ten steps when a tall thin young man approached me and engaged in conversation. I stood there and spoke with him for a rather long while. I told him I was out for dinner. He walked with me down the street to the stoplight, then escorted me across the street taking the dangerous side. Then again across the cross street taking the dangerous side again. I felt no threat whatsoever from people or from traffic. All the way to the restaurant. He held open the door to the restaurant for me then excused himself. 

Apparently he didn't have anything else better to do.

Then after my meal, the hostess came around to the front and scooted ahead of me to hold open the door. All so that I could pass through without touching the door. 

That's how people are around here. All the time.

pizza, sausage, jalapeño, pineapple, various cheese