The Original French Dip

Legend has it that a cop went into Philippe's and ordered a sandwich.  Before he could get it, the sandwich fell into the meat drippings.  He was in such a hurry that he took it the way it was; The French Dip was born!

Philippe's, in Los Angeles, has been making their French Dips ever since.

On one of my last trips to L.A. I knew Philippe's was a must.  We got there right in the middle of the lunch rush.  Once inside we quickly evaluated which one the many lines to join.  There were so many long lines heading to the counter, it looked like a bunch of dairy cows waiting to get milked.

I was impressed with how quickly our line moved.  Once you get to the counter, you order and watch as they make your sandwich.  I got the roast beef, dipped once, meaning they dip it down into the drippings only once.  My friend, Chris, got the lamb, dipped once.  I heard people on both sides of me order their sandwiches twice dipped.  When I heard "twice dipped" I thought it would be soggy.  But when I ate mine, I realized I could have gone for some more juice; I should have ordered twice dipped.  The flavor was amazing.

Finding an empty place to sit and eat was a challenge during this time of the day until we discovered they had an upstairs with plenty of open tables. 

If you want an amazing French Dip, you got to try Philippe's, and get it twice dipped.

Interesting Super Bowl Stats

With Super Bowl XLVI happening later today, I thought it was appropriate to share a few stats I heard earlier in the week.

Did you know?...

15% of adult Americans surveyed would miss the birth of their child to watch the Super Bowl
19% of adult Americans surveyed would miss the funeral of a loved one to watch the Super Bowl
20% of adult Americans surveyed would miss the wedding of a close friend to watch the Super Bowl
67% of adult American men surveyed plan to watch the Super Bowl
46% of adult American women surveyed plan to watch the Super Bowl

Would you really miss the birth of your child, a wedding or even a funeral?...to watch the Super Bowl.  I like watching the Super Bowl as much as the next guy, I especially like all the food to eat as we watch, but it's not worth the grief I'll get in return for missing an important event.

New Addition Takes up Our Time

After years of begging by our children, we as parents finally gave in...we got a puppy.  For so long, I tried to tell my children how time consuming and what a huge responsibility it is to have a dog.  They didn't believe me until 2-3 days after getting him. 

It's definitely not a one person responsibility; My oldest daughter swore she would do everything to take care of it.  She quickly learned that it takes a village to raise even a puppy.

Naming him was a challenge.  All the names we previously picked out didn't seem to fit him.  We then agreed on Indy...short for Indiana Jones.  Although sometimes I think Marly would have been a more appropriate name.

Because of this new addition to our family, the Holidays and a few other things that snuck up on us, I've neglected my blog.  I hope to say I'm back, and won't be leaving anytime soon.

Finding William: Pumpkin People

Finding William: Pumpkin People: I finally saw some pumpkin people in real life, and not in a picture sent in an email or on the Internet. While on one of my recent adven...

Pumpkin People

I finally saw some pumpkin people in real life, and not in a picture sent in an email or on the Internet. 

While on one of my recent adventures to Oregon, my daughters and I were scootin down the highway when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a pumpkin couple.  You know, the hybrid scarecrows with boobs and butts made of pumpkins.  I did a U-turn right there on the highway and went back to get a better look.

If you're gonna make one of these, please make sure the boobs aren't up so high like these are.  Also, the butt pumpkins were bigger than the boob pumpkins...you might want to switch them...just sayin.

Finding William: Eating Where Bella Ate

Finding William: Eating Where Bella Ate: Being the only male in my house, you can imagine the Twilight books and movies have been around me for a while now. Although I never did su...

Eating Where Bella Ate

Being the only male in my house, you can imagine the Twilight books and movies have been around me for a while now.  Although I never did succumb to reading the books, I did watch a few of the movies. 

My daughters have wanted to visit the town of Forks, Washington ever since watching the first movie.  On a recent trip to Portland, Oregon with them we learned that a few of the movie sites were in the Portland area.

My sister-in-law knew of and took us to the famous cafe from the first movie, in Damascus, Oregon. 

Carver Cafe certainly looked like it did in the movie, however, the movie made it look much more roomy.  The corner table were Bella and her father, Charlie, sat in the movie was occupied.  We had to settle for a different corner.

The food was acceptable, nothing special; the service was slow.  I guess that's what you get when the sole reason you went there was because it was in a movie.

If you're a huge Twilight fan and will be in the Portland, Oregon area, head on over to the Carver Cafe.  Maybe you can eat up at the bar where Stephenie Meyer ate.