When a co-worker (CJ) and I were in the kitchenette this morning, she saw two boxes of donuts on the counter and asked aloud, “Now who left these sinful donuts here?” Minutes later, a tray of brownies — the one pictured above was from that tray — appeared. The treats reminded me that grazing season is almost upon us. More on that tangent later.

CJ’s question also reminded me of an article I recently saw about someone who kept a McDonald’s hamburger since 1996. That someone would do so — even in the name of science — weirded me out to no end. Stranger still, the burger, despite drying out and smelling “odd,” pretty much looks exactly the same as the day it was made. Hell, it looks like one that just came off the griddle.

Further, the question reminded me of the article on the worst breakfast foods one can eat. For example, an egg and cheese Croissan’wich from Burger King has less than half the calories of a side of their hash browns. Talk about sinful!

And getting back to the season of grazing — known to most of you as the Christmahanukwanzaa season — lemme tell ya about the greatest sin of all: holiday creep. On a trip to Costco a couple of weeks ago, I saw that the warehouse store had all sorts of Halloween decorations out… and even more Christmas ones. Trees. Lights. Various inflatables.

I mean really, we were just a couple of weeks past Labor Day at that point. Why does the Christmahanukwanzaa season need to start earlier and earlier every year?

The photo at right was taken the day after Halloween at Montgomery Mall.

Two slices of New Haven style apizza and a pint of hard cider at Pete’s in Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C. (Photo: FredoAlvarez [flickr])

Despite my (thus far) 16-year stint in the D.C. metro area, I still consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker. Before my boss — also a native of the Big Apple — took off for maternity leave, we talked about the deli down the street from our office, and how they have some of the best bagels either of us have ever found in D.C.

I later found out from the owner of the deli that the bagels are delivered every morning from New York.

And as a native New Yorker, I’m also kinda particular about another food item: pizza. New York style pizza has always been a favorite of mine. A crust that’s thin, but not too thin. Crispy but still flexible. A lip that makes holding the pizza easy.

It wasn’t until after I met my ex that I was introduced to New Haven style pizza. Correction, apizza (pronounced ah-beets). The crust is thinner. There’s more olive oil involved. It’s good, but in my mind it never stacked up to my beloved New York style pies.

After a few hours of shopping in Columbia Heights yesterday afternoon, I decided to stop somewhere for a snack before I headed downtown. I’d heard about Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza from a couple of people — the ex included — and figured I’d stop in for a slice.

I wound up ordering two and a pint of hard cider. Much to my chagrin, I enjoyed it. Like, really enjoyed it. I’ve had pizza from several different joints in D.C. — chain and independent alike — and the slices I had at Pete’s were the best I’d had anywhere in D.C.

The ex is gonna give me a lot of shit for this entry. He’s from New Haven — the “center of the universe” as I sarcastically referred to it for years.

Of course, someone else gave me shit for this already, but for a totally different reason. He lives nearby and I didn’t contact him directly to find out if he was doing anything and wanted to grab a bite. I hadn’t originally planned to go to Columbia Heights, but I still could’ve made the effort.

At any rate, Pete’s is up for a second visit from me. Maybe next Sunday.

My friend Linwood wrote an entry in his journal with a headline that took me back about 25 years: “I ate all the Frusen Glädjé.”

Frusen Glädjé was an ice cream product from the 1980s with a series of goofy commercials, like the one below.

As the ’80s wore on, Frusen Glädjé evaporated from the super duper megamart freezer section. No one’s really sure how it disappeared, though.

Three trays of packaged kaiser rolls strewn about the sidewalk on 17th Street NW. (Photo: FredoAlvarez [flickr])

Curious the things you see when walking up the street. I’ve seen random furniture, an ironing board, and even exercise equipment. Never before, though, have I ever encountered three random trays of buns on the sidewalk without rhyme or reason. There was no catering truck or anything nearby.

In the 1980s, I saw this commercial for Polly-O String Cheese a lot. My cube neighbor Paul reminded me of it when I returned to my desk with a different brand of string cheese. (Mine was organic, but it’s just not the same as Polly-O’s — now Kraft.)

Like bukkake (link NSFW)? Now you can order it at a New York City restaurant (link via kottke).

Starbucks Coffee has apparently experienced a downturn in customers and is now looking for a way to woo them back. Their plan, to nix breakfast sandwiches. (I didn’t even know they had those, much as the concept makes sense.)

The scent of ham, eggs, cheese and bacon will soon stop competing with the aroma of coffee in Starbucks stores as hot breakfast sandwiches become the first casualty of the company’s battle to win back customers.

This leads me to think that if they’re gonna toss out sammiches, why not do away with the lunch ones? I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever see people buy those refrigerated sandwiches Starbucks offers for lunch. I see people go in for one thing always: coffee.

And maybe a donut.

A flickr user whips up some Super Mario cupcakes after finding some inspiration from “Super Paper Mario.” I’m about halfway through that game myself.

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