New Blog at Blogger

We’ve eaten our way to an entirely new web address. Check out the new blog at:

http://theworldsayseatme.blogspot.com

3rd Tour Coming Soon!

I haven’t done much on the blog since spring but it will soon wake up with info on the upcoming The World Says Eat Me 3. Our tour begins again on the first Wednesday in November and will run for six consecutive weeks. Look for the official tour stops to be posted about mid-October and BE SURE to lock in those Wednesdays! Only giving birth and turning in your winning Powerball Ticket are legitimate excuses this time around. More to come!

TWSEM Mystery Wednesdays!

I’ve sent some recent emails but failed to add them to the blog: Here’s an update:

Posted April 12

A couple of weeks back I wrote:

“I have a yet-to-be determined plan for Saturday, April 17, 4PM – 6PM, for our wrap-up dinner. Please keep the date open and trust that I’ll come up with something worth your while….”

Well, you shouldn’t have trusted me because I just couldn’t come up with a “hook” for a wrap-up party that felt right. Looks like 4/17 is open on your calendar once again. The bottom line is we need something new and different and try as I might, the party idea just didn’t come to me. But, something else did…

After a month I started missing the weekly dinner and seeing all of you crammed into some out-of-the-way place. There’s still plenty of places calling so why not keep this thing alive until the next full-blown tour next October? I have an idea to keep things going for the next six months if I can get some form of commitment out of you folks. Here’s the idea, let me know what you think:

FWSEM Mystery Wednesday!

7-10 days in advance I’ll email a date for a mystery Fort Wayne destination (hence the slight name change to “Fort Wayne Says Eat Me”). Within three days of the mystery date you’ll need to email/call with confirmation of attendance.  This confirmation is critical.  At 4:30PM on the date in question check your email &/or the TWSEM blog for the time, location, and directions. It could be a restaurant, a drive-in, a picnic, a church supper, street fair, or backyard barbecue.  Anything goes – as long as food is involved! And for an added twist, it might not even be a Wednesday!  That way, all those folks with Wednesday Tai Chi and Sculpting with Fruit classes will still have a chance to join us.  I’m tentatively thinking 6 weekday dates through October. In that way we might still be able to place names with faces until we tour again in the fall.

Get back to me with your thoughts and I’ll follow-up. I sure hope ya’ll bite on this one – I kinda miss you!

Posted April 15

Okay, nobody said “no!” so I’ll get the plans in motion for the first mystery date…actually I already have. Remember the rules:

1. You’ll be given a minimum 7-day advance notice of date & time.

2. 3 days before the mystery date you MUST confirm or decline.

3. At 4:30PM on the date in question check your email for the location & directions.

4. Have a great time.

I’m looking into the possibility of text messaging to your cell but in the meantime make sure that email account is up and running!

The Final Stop…’til We Meet Again!

As you’ve heard so many times, “…save the best for last.” I think we managed to do just that with our sixth and final stop on the TWSEM Dos! Tour. It was a fantastic mix of nice weather, fine folks, and fantastic food. The extended Graber family set a beautiful table (three of them in fact!) and served old time favorites that were so good you almost wanted to cry. I am a hater of creamed corn, but to be courteous, I put a spoonful on my plate…and then tried that spoonful…and then another…and another.  No longer am I a creamed corn hater – I’ve been reformed!  The fried chicken and grilled pork tenderloin were soooo good as were all the other sides. And then dessert….apple, strawberry, and sugar cream pies. I think a lot of folks just had to try all 3!

Hats off (or hat’s on) to Terry, George, Rick, Deb,  and Roger for earning their safari hats by successfully navigating all six stops on the Dos! tour. And a special tip of the hat to Kayla and Mark who earned a perfect 12 by hitting all the stops on tour 1 & 2. I bet they’re still proudly wearing those beautiful trophy hats to work each day!

Thanks again to all of you for making the tour the highlight of my winter. Those cold ugly days really flew by for me – I hope for you too. I have a yet-to-be determined plan for Saturday, April 17, 4PM – 6PM, for our wrap-up dinner. Please keep the date open and trust that I’ll come up with something worth your while. More to come…

Sayonarra Tokyo, Howdy Allen County!

Hard to believe we’re on the final leg of the tour already, and it does look like the final leg. Last words from our Burmese hosts were not encouraging so the 7th stop just may not happen. But, we still have Stop 6 and it looks like its gonna be a full house. As of tonight, Thursday, at 8:30PM I have 53 confirmed. That leaves us with seven possible additions. If you have a friend in mind let me know. I’ll fill the spots in the order the emails arrive but note I will give a preference to prior attendees. I’m still hoping to hear from a handful of  earlier travellers…

I will be out of town for a couple of days. On my return I’ll forward further information on our visit to the Graber’s. I’ll get last minute instructions, check for any special courtesies, and forward directions. I’ll also find out just how to handle the donations. They may need payment prior to in which case you’ll be paying me on Wednesday.  For those of you with Garmins, TomToms, Google Maps, or a photographic memory of an Allen County map, the address is:

Melvin & Delilah Graber, 10108 Graber Road, Grabil, IN 46741

More info to come…may you enjoy this weekend’s preview to our coming spring. May the weathercasters be right!

Adios Havana, we’re landing in Tokyo!

I finally remembered my camera only to discover that I am near the end of available storage space so I’m unable to upload all the images. I’ll check out my options to see if I can figure a way to get them all posted.  If you weren’t there you’ll just have to take my word for it, we were packed!

(Update: Problem fixed, see pix at Wk 10)

47 folks made the stop at Caliente 2. It only seems fitting that our largest crowd to date appeared at our smallest tour stop to date. It took a while, but eventually everybody had the chance to try Caliente’s awesome sandwiches.  Those of us who hung on to the end had the extra treat of flaky, guava-filled pastries for dessert. The large crowd included nine new members who joined us after reading about our exploits in the newspaper a few weeks back. Welcome aboard and I hope you ride it out with us through the closing weeks.

If you have not already, please get back to me with your plans for the Week 11 stop at Sakura. You can confirm your attendance by responding at the blog or by replying via email. Also note that we have space remaining for the last tour stop at the Graber home for our closing traditional Amish meal. I confirmed an attendance of 50 although I am currently far short of that. Please get back to me with confirmations and feel free to invite a friend – just let me know as soon as possible. Remember, our maximum is 60. Cost is $15 per traveler.

Finally, you may have noticed Ryan Duvall’s review of our Tour 8 stop Tropic Chicken.  We were ahead of the curve on that one. We got a jump on a lot of other folks, plus, we were lucky enough to have the chicken available for our visit. It’s yet another benefit for all the adventuresome travellers on the TWSEM DOS Tour! See ya’ all Wednesday!

Adios Mexico City, Hola Havana!

Great food once again on our last visit. The 30+ folks who turned out at los Alambres were treated to a number of unusual items including the awesome Sopa Azteca soup pictured above. If you weren’t with us last week be sure to add this place to your lunch or dinner plans. But beware, as Em and I have discovered, you’ll find yourself coming back, and back, and back…

We are set for this coming Wednesday, 2/24, at Caliente 2, on the corner of Brooklyn and Taylor.  We only have room for 40 so please get your reservation in early. They’ll have their usual sandwich menu but will also have a few non-menu items available for us. They’ve assured me we’ll have enough parking available to us up the alley behind the store front. In the event that fills up there should be some available space in the gas station lot next door.

In the event you missed our recent brush with fame you can check out the Emma Downs article in last Wednesdays Journal-Gazette.  Hopefully, this link is still active to the article:

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100217/FOOD/302179949#

Emma let the outside world in on our little not-so-secret secret. The Rieckens, featured in the story main photo,  have fended off adoring fans all week and have found out the curse to a celebrity lifestyle.  Meanwhile the blog got over 500 hits as well as a number of reader requests to join the tour. Bask in the limelight, and look for some new faces this week and the weeks ahead.

Bad news on True Friends Tea House. Apparently they have bigger than expected issues with their facility and may not be re-opening in time for our 3/17 visit. I’ll stay in touch but its looking like we may have only a 6-week tour after all…

Finally, and most importantly:

AMISH NIGHT RESERVATION NEEDED BY 2/25

I need to confirm attendance for our 3/10 visit to the Graber homestead by this coming Thursday, 2/25.  Our hosts are comfortable with a maximum of 60 so we should be able to accommodate  all – but PLEASE get back to me. Unlike the restaurant visits, we won’t have the flexibility for late commitments. You can confirm your attendance as a post to the blog or simply by replying to the email copy of this post that I will be sending out. 

Well, that’s it for this week. I look forward to seeing you all in Tiny Havana, aka Caliente 2,  Wednesday, 2/24 at 6:30PM.

G-Bye Mon, Hello Mexico City!

Thanks for the flexibility to bend your schedules to make it to the rescheduled tour stop at Tropic Chicken. There were some difficulties getting the order straight but I think I would have had trouble handling 35 at once too… I absolutely loved my monfongo. I saw most left some remainders of the “cup” of mashed plantains, garlic, and pork rinds but mine didn’t have a chance…nor does my heart! Franklin, Lucy, and family say thanks, and hope you make it back for “The Best Chicken in Indiana”…

As mentioned, the Burmese True Friends Tea House is off the schedule for this Wednesday due to problems with a gas line. The restaurant will be closed for at least two weeks. Rather than alter the schedule for the remaining stops I’ve added a stop and moved the Tea House to Wednesday, March 17. Yes, March 17,  St Patrick’s Day, a date important in Burmese history. Few people are aware that when Saint Patrick chased the snakes from Ireland he sent them to Burma. Be sure to join us for a celebratory early evening meal before heading out for the green beer and the eventual meeting the next morning with the Porcelain God.

In place of True Friend’s Tea House I have scheduled el Ahlambres Grill, a place I mentioned a few weeks back that features favorites from Mexico City. I tried a few more menu items last night that are not a usual item at other local Mexican restaurants.  The Pambazo, a toasted sandwich stuffed with potato and chorizo, and the molletes, an open face sandwich with ham and pico de gallo, were unique and tasty. Along with the ahlambres, sopa Azteca, and pastor tacos, you’ll find a number of unique items. Portions are generous so sharing items is a must! The restaurant is located in the North Anthony Shopping Center, across the street from Jamison’s and The Firefly. There is plenty of parking out front and a lot of room for us inside. We should be seated close and chummy this week…

As usual, try to let me know you’re coming or if you’re missing for some legitimate reason like surgery, an IRS audit, or a visit to the Lottery office to claim your Powerball jackpot.  Hope to see you Wednesday!

One last note: National recording artist Peter Mulvey is performing tomorrow night, Sunday 2/14 (That’s right Jan, the 14th!) , at Come2Go with a number of regional and local musicians including Ralston Bowles, Rachel Davis, and Sunny Taylor.  You can check out Mulvey at his website:  www.petermulvey.com.  Click on that little logo next to the Facebook logo to go to his My Music My Space page for some samples. His next show is in NYC. We’re lucky to have him here. Showtime is 6PM so that school teachers can get home early and be fresh for the classroom the next day…

Winter Storm Delay for Week 8

Our visit to Tropic Chicken has been delayed by one day due to the Winter Storm Warning in effect through Wednesday evening. We’ll be going to the same place at the same time on Thursday, 2/11. Please email or post whether or not your able to re-schedule to Thursday…or if you need to call me with that info you can get me on my cell: 260- 452-5501

A Great Start!

Week One started with a great crowd at Switta Thai. We welcome newcomers George & Terry, Doug & Karen, Steve, Don , and Jim – we hope to see more of you over the next five weeks…

We also crowned Queen Deb The Forgotten One, who wore her crown gracefully all evening long. Deb was overlooked for her spotless attendance the first go-around so she was belatedly crowned the Queen of TWSEM One.

The food and company was enjoyed by all but you’ll have to take my word for it – I forgot the camera so the evening lives on in our memories only. I hope you din’t miss the elegant presentation of the desserts.

Feel free to leave some responses and remarks on the food…and circle next Wednesday for our visit to the Caribbean…one stop down, a world left to conquer!