The Elvis Sandwich @ Peanut Butter & Co., NYC

Last Saturday would have been Elvis Presley’s 76th birthday, and though we didn’t get to celebrate his big day like we usually do, we did ring in Elvis’ 75th birthday in high style last year. So, let’s just consider this post my 2011 birthday tribute to the King. Happy birthday, dude!

Last January 8th, Christine, Greta and I had just arrived in New York City for a friend’s wedding. There was snow on the ground and a definite chill in the air, but, it was Elvis’ birthday and we were determined to try the Elvis sandwich at Greenwich Village’s legendary Peanut Butter & Co..

I mean, sure, we’d had peanut butter and banana sandwiches before (at Graceland no less!) but the fine folks at Peanut Butter and Co. add two key ingredients which really set that freaking sandwich on fire: honey and bacon. It sounds kinda weird, I know, but, trust me when I tell you that this tasty-ass sandwich is a thing of rare beauty, amigos. Incredible!

Washing the whole thing down with a truly decadent Fluffernutter Shake — which consisted of peanut butter, milk and Marshmallow Fluff! — we scooped up a few jars of dark chocolate and honey-infused peanut butter to go, wished the King a happy birthday and set about touring Manhattan.

And when it came time for our last meal in NYC a few days later, guess where we headed? You guessed it, right back down the street to Peanut Butter & Co. for more of their savory/sweet Elvis-y goodness.

Now, if book-ending your first big family trip to New York City with Elvis sandwiches doesn’t spell true fan devotion, well, I don’t know what does.

Happy birthday, EP. We love you!

Marini’s Chocolate Covered Bacon

One of our first stops whenever we hit Santa Cruz is Marini’s at the Beach on Pacific Ave. Not only does Marini’s have the raddest selection of candy, salt water taffy and other assorted sweets on the planet, but now they also offer…ta da, Chocolate Covered Bacon.

That’s right, amigos, Marini’s has found a way to merge two of Christine and my favorite food groups into one. And though Chocolate Covered Bacon sounds awesome in theory, it pains me deeply to tell you that the actual result is a bit odd. That said, I am glad we sampled it at least once.

It’s not that it tastes bad, because, well, bacon never really tastes bad. But the biggest problem I had with this concoction is that is was cold. I know that’s the only way to keep the chocolate from getting all melty and everything…but, I’m sorry, cold bacon is just not the same as the warm stuff.

And though the chocolate coating is delicious, it also seals the grease onto the bacon when it chills, which is even more off-putting. I left my piece out for a while and I think it tasted much better at room temperature. True, the chocolate was all goey by then, but the bacon was much more palpable.

So, if you do decide to check out this strange marriage of flavors for yourself, I have two suggestions. One, call the folks at Marini’s up and order it ahead of time. They sells out of their Chocolate Covered Bacon every day, usually before noon, so, plan ahead.

And two, and this is a biggie, do not order more than one piece of bacon per person in your party. We got all greedy and ordered a half pound — which wasn’t cheap considering the whopping $9.00 per pound price tag — and that turned out to be way, waaaay too much for the four of us to consume. Seriously, one large piece of bacon is more than enough for a party of four. Hell, one bite per person would have been enough.

And while Marini’s doesn’t offer suggestions for accompanying drinks or anything, I recommend washing your bacon down with something nice and bubbly afterwards. We had a round of ice cold Cherry Dr. Pepper’s with ours, but, honestly, any carbonated beverage will fit the bill.

Um, you know, as long as it doesn’t have any bacon in it…

UPDATE: Free Grand Slam Day at Denny’s!

I hope you all took advantage of Denny’s gift to America yesterday and got yourself a free Grand Slam Breakfast, but for those of you who missed out, never fear, because…as always…I took plenty of pictures!

It all started at 10AM when my friends Mike and Patty and I met up in the parking lot at the new Denny’s near the Burbank airport and found ourselves a place in line. Yes, there was a line, and it was long as hell, but hey, the food was free and the crowd was in a great mood…so, we had fun.

I think we waited in line for about half an hour — a small price to pay for free grub at the what I consider the best Denny’s in L.A. County — but once we got a table, our piping-hot food was up and ready quicker than you can say: “a side of hash browns for 99cents”. Seriously, the service was fast, man.

And while I’ve heard some grumblings from haters who didn’t think the line was worth the wait, I gotta tell ya from years of experience, free food events are not about the wait or the food…they are all about the experience.

And in today’s cruel economic climate, I can’t think of a better experience than a rocking free breakfast with America…so, thank you, Denny’s!

Free Grand Slam Day @ Denny’s!

Hopefully, you guys will read this in time to take advantage of this sweet-ass offer…but today only, February 3rd, from 6AM to 2PM, the kind folks at Denny’s are giving away free Grand Slam breakfasts! Yep, I said free…as in, all you gotta buy is your coffee. Pretty cool, huh?

I’m sure this killer offer is not news to anyone who watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, but seeing as Christine and I were otherwise engaged (and just now finished watching the Bowl commercials on Tivo) we just heard about the Denny’s deal of the decade last night.

And in case you were wondering, I did read the fine print on the website, and unless you live in the town of Baker, California or Las Cruces, New Mexico, the Grand Slams will be free at every single Denny’s in the United States. AND from what I’ve read on a couple of other sites, you can add another two items to your breakfast for only 99cents each. If that’s true, then…wow, I’ll stay there all day.

Ooo, speaking of…if I go to bed right now, I can squeeze in a good five hours of sleep before my free breakfast. Later…