JOINTS: Layne's Chicken Fingers

Pops and I were in College Station yesterday getting some post-Christmas stuff, and we were hungry. The first place that popped onto our radar was C&J's BBQ, which is good, but I wasn't feeling it. He then suggested Jason's Deli, and I figured, that'll be good. I can get a salad and some soup, maybe half a Beefeater. But as we were driving to our destination, what should we drive by? The (in)famous Layne's Chicken Fingers.

Now, those that haven't had the privilege to go to Texas A&M or spend any amount of time in College Station will probably know NOTHING about Layne's, but it was a staple of my diet during my college years. Their menu is simple...chicken fingers. And fries. And toast. And sauce. And that's it.

I know what you're going to say. "Chubby Kid, that's the same thing as Raising Cane's" I digress. Yes, it is VERY SIMILAR. And even the College Station Raising Cane's is right next to Layne's. And I've heard that Raising Cane's has been around longer than Layne's. But f' that. I'm all about the Layne's. And, according to the Raising Cane's and Layne's websites, Layne's beat out Cane's by two years. TWO YEARS PEOPLE!

Now, while Layne's might not have the franchise opportunities that Cane's has, what it does have is attitude and atmosphere, which you'll find on their website, in their restaurant, and especially with their food.

If you're ever in College Station, and the need for chicken fingers hits you like a whiskey bottle in the colon, I suggest you bypass the chain chicken finger place and head on over to Layne's. And they now have two locations!

JOINTS: Mai's Vietnamese

Yesterday, I found myself debating with a co-worker as to where we'd go eat around the noontime hour. This process usually takes about 20 minutes or more out of my work day, but it seemed like the fates smiled on us and popped the idea of Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant in east Dallas into both of our minds. Mai's is a favorite of ours, because their fried rolls and Imperial rolls are some of the best in Dallas, and it's not too expensive.

We both ordered five rolls each, and they came out fairly quickly. I went for the #25A, which was the Garlic Chicken Bowl. My co-worker went with the Wonton Soup, which looked pretty good itself. Again, the food came out pretty quickly, and was delicious. I don't know what spice they had in the Garlic Chicken Bowl, but after a dousing of peanut sauce, I had myself a tasty little meal. And, we got out of there for under $10 each.

Don't go into Mai's thinking it's a five star place. What they lack in atmosphere, they make up for in their food, much like my favorite Chinese food place, Fang Fang Chinese Cafe in east Plano.

NOM NOMS: Hormel Always Tender Peppercorn Flavored Pork Tenderloin

click on the photo for more information

When I get home from work, I usually don't want to cook myself a huge dinner. For one thing, I don't have the energy. For another, I usually make too much food. I found that if I just cook myself a protein, or a side, then I'll eat that instead of eating an entire meal.

Tonight, I was rummaging around in my freezer, looking for something to eat, when I spotted this tasty morsel. I had picked it up a few weeks ago, when I first moved into my apartment, and it had sat unmolested in my freezer ever since. I took it out, defrosted it while the oven got hot, then threw it in there for 30 minutes.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. God, it made my whole apartment smell good. And even though I thought I cooked it too long (when dealing with pork, I tend to overcook rather than undercook. Blame that on a unfortunate childhood cooking incident involving raw sausage), it was still moist and delicious.

Without even noticing it, I ate almost half of it. Now, I've got something to make tacos for lunch tomorrow, and I can feel the first waves of my food coma coming to envelop me.

If you want to make something that is easy, delicious, and fast, I can't think of anything better. They have a couple of different flavors, which are all delicious.

JOINTS: Fat Daddy's Burger House

Since I moved into my new apartment, I've driven by Fat Daddy's Burger House probably 100 times, and yet I've never stopped in. I was either not in the mood or it didn't look appealing. That all changed tonight when I had a decision to make....do I want to go to the store and spend a bunch of money to make myself some hamburger sliders, OR do I want to just go get a hamburger at this place that I keep seeing? After doing the math, I decided to try out Fat Daddy's.

I had read some positive reviews about the place, so I called in my order for pick up. The girl on the other end of the phone seemed distracted (and she was, evidently there was a lady covered in gasoline standing in front of her when I called, she told me later) but she got my order. I figured I'd get a normal burger, fries, and some guacamole and queso, which the review said was good. I picked up my burger, loaded up an extra box with some pico de gallo and jalapenos, and headed home.

First off, the smell of the burger was salive-inducing. My jeep smelled heavenly as I drove the few blocks home. I wasn't too impressed with the sweet tea, it tasted more like sweet brown water. When I got home, I took a bite from the burger (1/2 lbs, with pepperjack cheese). This was a damn good burger. The patty was slightly smaller than the bun, and you couldn't really taste the cheese, but the addition of the guacamole, pico and jalapenos made this one of the better burger I've had in awhile.

The queso was pretty damn good too, almost as good as mine (ALMOST), and so I dribbled a bit on the burger...yep, pretty much AWESOME. I ate the burger way too fast, and then proceeded to dip my fries (which were stellar by themself) into the queso until there was nothing left.

I'm now t-minus 30 minutes from slipping into a food coma, but I definitely give Fat Daddy's Burger House two chubby thumbs up. And one extended belly.

Welcome to my new blog Chubby Kid Likes To Eat. Since I consider myself a bit of a foodie, both as a consumer as well as a chef, I thought I'd put together a little food blog. I'm going to try and keep this blog updated with my thoughts on area restaurants, as well as dishes I've tried to make. I hope you enjoy it!