not just a knot anymore

Pretzels are very underrated. I have believed this for quite some time. As a kid I never liked them, of course the salty lure of fried potatoes was infinitely more appealing. I now find pretzels a great substitute for chips and fries, particularly while I am on the road, eating out for every meal. Normal pretzels are great, but my...I guess you could say, obsession, with honey wheat braided pretzel twists began in grad school two years ago. Whitney and her snacking roommates turned me onto these golden rods of deliciousness - but I must warn you, there is only one true top twist. As much as I dislike shopping at Wal-Mart, it was one of two market options in Athens, OH and the one thing I couldn't find anywhere else is Sam's Choice Honey Braided Pretzel Twists. Why this specific variety? Because unlike Rold Gold or other pretzel-makers' sub-par attempts that are made with honey wheat dough, the Wal-Mart twists are made with wheat dough (or maybe honey wheat, it has yet to be confirmed) and COATED with honey. This may seem like a small alteration, but it makes all the difference. Buy a bag of each and compare for yourself, I guarantee you will agree - in the fierce, cut-throat world of pretzels, my recommendation goes a long way.

This is all well and good, but I have yet another reason to love the pretzel genre - pretzel bread! It's not a new concept, considering hot pretzels are made from this, but applying it to sandwiches might be a hot, new trend. I don't remember exactly where or when I had my first pretzel bread sandwich - which was fairly recently - but I know my second was today. It seems like a simple idea, but it's not all that widespread...at least not yet. Pretzel bread is much more dense than a traditional baguette and tastes amazing with whole grain mustard, deli meats and sandwich fixin's. (This is a picture I'm "borrowing" from another blog, although it is the EXACT sandwich I ate today - and I know that because I got it from the Corner Bakery and they offered carrot sticks as a side) Once again, I highly recommend seeking out one of these scrumptious, Bavarian-style sandwiches.

Warning: I would roughly guess at least 46% of my posts to this blog will be food related. Potentially much more.

I ate Chipotle for the second night in a row - and loved it, again. I wanted Noodles & Company, but they were closed. I was able to re-energize myself for Thai food down the street, however I was rudely told the kitchen was closed at 9:21 despite the 9:30 closing time posted on the door. I reluctantly went back to Chipotle again, wary I could possibly become sick of eating there and not wanting to go back. That will never happen.

One other thing from today, completely irrelevant to pretzels. Every time I see a ShamWow! commercial, Vince nearly gets me to pick up the phone and order. In this comm-info-mercial (a brief info-mercial styled commercial), Vince make a very compelling case to buy this product while becoming oddly appealing and repellent at the same time. I find myself annoyed and reaching for the remote, but my fingers just won't press the buttons for reasons unbeknown to me. But why is he wearing a headset the whole time? Is he simultaneously answering orders while filming a commercial? Now THAT is a salesman!