However. Portland on the left coast has Indy beat. They have a place called Voodoo Doughnut.

Voodoo Doughnut

It lives up to it’s reputation.

Honestly, I felt a little overwhelmed when I walked in – it was a combination of the decor, the visuals of all these donuts and the actual names. I was confronted with doughnuts titled Bacon Maple Bar, Triple Chocolate Penetration, Diablos Rex, Gay Bar, No Name and Cock and Balls to name a few. There are plenty more and I suggest you browse their menu.

I'll take one of everything

Like I said, the selection was pretty overwhelming.

You’ll be surprised to learn that I only bought one. But it was duesy. I asked what peanut butter options they had, and I must have entered a trance-like state as the woman behind the counter uttered some of the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard in my life -

The Old Dirty Bastard – Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreo’s and peanut butter.

Old Dirty Bastard Donut

I paid my $1.75, asked if I could take some photos and walked back onto the streets of Portland, passing by Chinatown, which all seem to make sense. And I inhaled the bastard. It was the greatest donut I had ever eaten.

From this point on in life, I’ll be looking for a better doughnut, but I’m not optimistic.

I felt like I had met my match. It reminded of the Johnny Cash lyric from A Boy Named Sue -

I tell ya, I’ve fought tougher men
But I really can’t remember when…

It just reminds me of that donut.

For someone that liked to change names often, I think Russell Tyrone Jones, aka, ODB, Osiris, Big Baby Jesus and so on, would be pretty proud.

Old Dirty Bastard is a legend.

It was a good time. A confined space (essential with him). Lots of coffee. And music. What a way to start the morning. And we both needed the sounds of hip hop – starting with A Tribe Called Quest, moving onto Method Man, Jay Z, INI, Notorious B.I.G, De La Soul and People Under the Stairs. I recited lyrics to him. We both danced. We both stirred the soup.

Quite possibly, the opposite of soup

Then I thought, how come there isn’t a hip hop inspired cooking show on The Food Network? It seems like a good idea to me. You have a host/chef, a DJ, special guests, lots of food and a hungry audience. It would be called Hip Hop Chop.

It’s a simple recipe. Take a talented, skilled chef/host – who also understands the history of hip hop. Add in a DJ. This needs to be someone that can match the right song or beat to the right recipe. Then, bring in a special guest – someone from the hip hop community. This VIP picks his/her favorite recipes for the chef to create. The show’s flavor becomes original interpretations of dishes, incredible beats and sincere banter. And everyone eats.

So that’s my pitch Food Network – I don’t have to be the chef/host – executive producer would suffice. Step outside of your traditional programming and bring us foodies and hip hop enthusiasts what we’ve all been craving.

Hip Hop Chop.

Pretty Singaporean Sandwiches

As I often do – I use these posts to highlight images from my Flickr account. So that’s what I’m doing to day. It’s a fluff post, with me showing off some of my fave food pics. Hopefully with some witty banter thrown in.

Trifle

Trifle is one of the greatest desserts in the world. It’s also British and I have perfected the art of making it. So in yo face. I make it annually.

Prawn Cocktail Crisps

Crisps (or chips) are tasty. England also makes the greatest crisps in the world – including my favorite flavor, Prawn Cocktail. Delicious with a Pimms cup.

Spanish food

Everyone always says how great Spanish food is. I don’t understand that statement. It’s pork hyperbole. Plain and simple.

Dino Egg

I love eggs. I love dinos. I love this image. I’ve written about this pic, here. That’s all.

Those are some of my food rants. Do you have something to say?

I also created a Flickr group called I love to eat! Check out the slideshow.

My mother-in-law and I are hosting a small football party today. This is Indianapolis. It loves football and I love cooking and food, so a perfect activity for Sunday.

I’ m not really doing any of the cooking – Nancy is, and she’s an amazing chef and very kind to run with this idea today. Especially since she’s doing all of the work as I type.

So here’s what’s on the menu today. My friend George Greco always said, “It’s not tipping I believe in, it’s over tipping.” We’ve employed a similar approach to the menu. Overthetop.

Texas Sausage Balls – “Texan woman moves to New Jersey to hit the big time.”

• 1lb Jimmy Dean Sausage HOT
• 1.5 cups of Bisquick
• 2 cups of finely shredded mild cheddar
• Make ‘em into balls, about the size of a walnut
• Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, deep in the heart of Texas. Don’t mess with it.

Nancy’s Sweet & Tangy Potato Salad – “The key is miracle whip!”

• 6-7 Russet Potatoes – peel and par-boil, chunk it
• 5-6 chopped celery stalks
• 5-6 chopped carrots
• 1 medium onion – slice and dice people
• 12oz of miracle whip
• 3 tablespoons of sweet relish
• 4 hard boiled eggs (3 in it, 1 for garnish)
• 4lbs of paprika (or a couple of dashes)
• Mix it all together with love.

Nancy’s Nacho Layers of Love – “Some like it hot.”

• 2 bags of large tortilla chips (none of that lime crap)
• Chopped and sauteed onion
• Can ‘o green chiles
• Yellow or Red bell pepper, chopped and sauteed with onion and chiles
• 6 Jalepenos (throw ‘em in the sauteed mess)
• Some chipoltes – throw ‘em in
• Can of drained black beans
• Add chile powder, salt & pepper cumin.
• Layer all of this crap on chips. Add cheese. Add More chips. Repeat.  It’s a layered nacho experience. Unforgettable.

Corporate Toll House Derby Pie – “It tastes good, despite it’s corporate origins – and because of that, no photo.”

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup softened butta
• One 6oz package of Nestle semi-sweet morsels (it HAS TO BE Nestle or you will get sued)
• 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell.
• Mix it all together, blah blah blah. Add to pie crust. Zap it at 325 for about an hour. Cool before cutting. Or else.

Big Bubba’s Brisket Bunz – “A modified Paula Deen recipe”

Since I provided a link to the recipe, I’m not going to list everything. I will say this. The dry rub is one of the most under-appreciated parts of cooking meat. I’m not kidding. So we’re going with a char crust rub – including salt ‘n peppa, sugar, chiles, mustard and so on. Plus some top secret sh*t I’m not divulging that may or may not involve coca cola.

Instead of serving this formally, we’re going with brisket sandwiches to mix and play with potato salad and chips and beer and so on. It’s for sitting on the couch holding a beer and shouting at the TV. The toppings offer guests the opportunity for creative consumption – going with a cole slaw or horse radish perhaps?

We cooked 3.25 lbs of brisket – emphasizing the natural meat flavor…and you guessed it, da rub!

So there you have it.  Sorry you didn’t get the evite. It was delicious! And thank you Nancy!