Friday Food Tour 10.14.11

Another weekend upon us already - do you have big plans? This week Grant dug a big pit in our backyard and will be treating us (and some guests) to authentic Cochinita Pibil. This is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatan Peninsula where the meat is buried in a pit with a fire at the bottom to roast it - we had some on Isla Mujeres last winter and it was soooo good. Sheesh, like that boy needs more to do.

I was quite interested in this post from the Datebook Diner -"What Should You Do When a Server Doesn't Write Down Your Order?" This is one of my biggest pet peeves when dining out, but it seems many restaurants have decided this is the "best" way to serve customers. What's your opinion?

Just in case you missed it, Iowa Girl Eats has hit the big time! Last week Kristin had a live cooking demo on KCCI-TV and she was fabulous! Take a peek at her backstage photos and video here.

The Cityview Ultimate Pizza Challenge is over and the guys at Gusto Pizza were voted the best pizza in Des Moines. You can read Food Dude's wrap up here. We really liked Gusto Pizza when we visited - you can see our post here.

As you know, breaded tenderloins are near and dear to my heart, so I wait with anxious anticipation every year for the Iowa Pork Producers to announce the winners of the Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin contest. And this year's winner is Gramma's Kitchen in Walcott! Located near the World's Largest Truck Stop on I-80, Gramma's recently received a check for $500 and a plaque from the IPPA. And I'm off to make road trip plans.

Do you drink vodka cocktails? Well, I do. In fact, my love for vodka and Jarritos Toronja soda is well documented. So this post from Serious Eats on Five Essential Vodka Cocktails got me thinking that I need to have a Moscow Mule over the weekend. And that Cake Vodka? Don't get me started. It's Vodka. That tastes like cake. Seriously, that's dangerous.

Let's get the weekend started.