Chris: 11/30/2008

Day 2 of the sickness, but on the plus side its been about 24 hrs since I last puked! Heated up this here can of chili for my meal (bad idea?), and it's tastin' right. Gotta go eat it & crawl back under the sheets...

Shawn: 11/30/08

Yes, I was swallowed alive by black Friday... It's been a long
weekend. Today I celebrated with some red elephant chicken wings and
onion rings... Their special sauce is bizarre and delicious!

Chris: 11/29/2008

I am totally SICK today, as of, like, 3:30 this morning. Been in & out of a zombie state since, drining loads of water, a smoothie, etc. This was teh first thing I attempted to eat today: a bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch. I used to eat this daily but now haven't had it in a year o something. Seemed like a good idea going in, but coming out the wee nugz scratched my throat. I'm gonna lay back down. Was Shawn swallowed by Black Friday? WTF dude!?

Chris: 11/28/2008

It's the day after & I'm really hungry. Had to go to work to print some stuff, had to go to the p.o. to mail some stuff & then I had to eat some stuff. Stopped by Potbelly Sandwich in Dinkytown to take care of that... I ate at this place a few times when I worked in DT Mpls and always dug it, and today was no exception. I got what they call "A Wreck," which is sort of an Italian sub with salami, turkey, ham, some other type of meat, and cheese. Got it topped w/ lettuce, mayo, mustard, and some mysterious / delicious seasonings. This place toasts their subs, which to me is crucial.... This lunch was most tasty.

Chris: 11/27/2008

HAPPY THANXGIVING!!!!!! I totally forgot about snappin' a pic of my meal until the point where all that was left on my plate was some remnants of mashed potatoes, some gravy, and a coupla stuffing nugz. So instead I present my contribution to today's feasting: a GIANT Rice Krispie turkey! I bought a RK Treat Sheet from an area gas station, then bought some icing & Reeses Pieces from the groc store to decorate. Sketched out the bird & carved it - my first-ever turkey carving - ASAP this morn. I guarantee that nothing more sugary than this exists (-ed). What can I say? The spirit of the USA runs thru my blood...

Shawn: Thanksgiving 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!! (who did it better?)

Shawn: 11/26/08

BUSINESS MEETING! Lunch @ Red Elephant. This should be the last interview for our practice.... had a chicken salad, nothing to write home about. HAPPY THANKSGIVING SUCKERS.

Chris: 11/26/2008

We have a small crew here at work today, and as usual (when that's the case) the bosses sprung for lunch. Since it was such a huge hit last time, we once again went with Crescent Moon & their Football Pizza®. We got one veggie and one "Afghani meat," and both were amazing. And again, they came to us with a spicy green chili sauce for drizzlin'. This was a totally amazing lunch, seriously. I sat around with my co-workers and talked about high school drug probz. Bring on turkey day!!

Shawn: 11/25/08

Today lunch was catered by a place called THE ICEHOUSE out of Dothan Alabama. It was STELLARRR. Fried chicken, baked chicken with juicessss, lima beans, cheesy hashbrown caserole, fried ocra, rolls then 3 kinds of pie: lemon, peanut butter (!) and chesse cake. Im sorry chris, but this is the best lunch i've eaten in 10 years.

Chris: 11/25/2008

I made dinner last night, like f'real made dinner (not a fro' 'za). Well, more f'real than a strictly frozen jam that is... Bought some more of that Smart Ground stuff (veggie ground beef stuff) to make burritos, cuz I hate cooking actual ground beef. So I cooked that up & embellished with cumin, pepper & other seasonings. Then I cooked up some black beans. Crammed those treats into some Matthew's (TM) tomato tortillas along with some cotija (sp?) cheese & salsa from El Burrito Mercado (in South St Paul). I loved it so much that I did it again today for lunch. The one addition for hte lunch version was to add some cheese & salsa to the top of the burrito... So tight. And spicy, tasty, lovely & maybe even a little healthy?? I win.

(as usual, click the pic for a mega-sized verz)

Shawn: 11/24/08

Homemade pumpkin pie bitch. Awesome as Hell.

Chris: 11/24/2008

I just really wanted some pizza today. Not sure why, but that's all I could think of. After some errand running I ran the ultimate lunch errand to get a slice. Went to Snap Pizza, ordered a sausage slice & a soda (dontcha love those classic Coke cups?), sat down and chomped. Totally hit the spot.

Chris: 11/23/2008

Got another gloomy Sunday on our hands here. What else is new? Nothing really, same old. To celebrate the foggy notion of daytime I bounced over to Cafe Latte for some of their most excellent chili. The kind I got was kind indeed: chicken chili wth loads of beans types, topped with cheese and "a little bit of sour cream" (my instructions). Some chips on the side (not sure why she put them in a cup) as well as a tasty sourdough roll. Hours have passed and I'm still fully full & satisfied from this thing.

Chris: 11/22/2008

Dang mang! Forgot to put this up yesterday, when lunch actually happened, for the first time in like forever, at NOON! Weird. So yeah n-e-wayz I went to Seward Cafe for the super red bean earth (hashbrowns w/ melted cheese, onions, ranchero sauce) & listened as the bike punks whispered "beogeoise" under their breaths while I snapped this photo. I woke up cravin' this thing, and in the most literal way possible, I fed the craving. FUN FACT: I spied Greil Marcus a few hours after this leaving the movie theater. This doen't correlate with the lunch, but it happened... Also, it's totally cold outside.

Shawn:11/21/08

BUSINESS MEETING!! And its a shame really, because I had a STUNNA LUNCH. Picture if you will something called the "Club Griller" from local restaurant the Red Elephant - Turkey, cheese, bacon, zesty sauce, all pressed between Texas Toast, with spectacular onion rings served with even more ZZEEESTY. God, it was good. Too bad no pic. What can I say. Things need to get done.

Chris: 11/21/2008

I haven't been very inspired this week with lunchin' for some reason. Not sure what the deal is, but it's true. I wanted to make up for it today - somehow, anyhow - when the thought of going over to Bulldog NE popped into my dome. Bulldog serves the BEST burgers in town, hands down. Their made with a lean domestic Kobe beef that marinates for 24hrs prior to been charred. I ordered the Junk Burg, which comes topped with roasted garlic aioli, bibb lettuce, bacon, cheese & onion. DEEE-VINE.

Shawn: 11/20/08

Chillis- buffalo chicken salad. Pretty ok

Chris: 11/20/2008

When in doubt, eat cake.

That's what I'm sayin' today, mainly cuz I'm too busy to eat lunch, but also cuz my boss made this righteous cake (for me, for some reason) and I hit 2 slices with extreme prejudice. The copious cups of coffee and water and diet coke are makin' me feel extra alright.

Shawn: 11/19/08

Sweet Teas... Chicken salad sammy. Good as fuck

Chris: 11/19/2008

AAAAAAHHHH! What is that??? Yeesh that's a bad pic!! Well what can I say, we all can't have iPhones (yet). So here tis... Went to Uncle Frankys after lookin' thru last week's lunches & got this thing I typically get here: the NORDEASTER, which is a grilled turkey sammie topped w/ grilled onions and pepper jack cheese. And there's some fab yellow mustard on the bun. Nice. Got a side o' fries as well but couldn't really jam 'em. For some reason I was unbelieveably hungry today. NOT NOW THO!

Shawn: 11/18/08

Applebees Chicken fiesta lime something or other chicken salad. Hope you like onions.

Chris: 11/18/2008

I've got a bit of a vodka hangover today & it's so cold outside (and in the office) & I really just wanna go home. But before that I gotta eat, right? My arteries were feeling fairly clean so I headed over to the grease pit that is Porky's for a burg. While I was at it, I ordered & ate fries as well, and washed it all down with a soda. Did I mention that I wanna go home? I wanna go home! And I win!

Shawn: 11/17/08

I know it doesn't look good to put up mostly eaten food, but I thought of the DLB right as I was finishing up. This was from Honey Baked Ham. It was aaaaaaight. About on-par with chris today.

Chris: 11/17/2008

Lunch shocker: I prepared my own today! Brought in some turkey & swiss from home, and made a stop at my fave Vietnamese-owned French Bakery (Trung Nam) for a mini french bread loaf. Crammed it all together in the toaster oven & viola! Lunch magic. I couldn't resist gettin' my desert into the frame, either (this place is teeming w/ Halloween candy remnants). Maybe I shoulda put the Reese's cup on the sammie? Regardless, this ruled.

Shawn: 11/16/2008

Chris: 11/16/2008

Twas a slow moving Sunday (so far) & by the time it was time for lunch time there was a hang-up about breakfast never happening, so brunch seemed like the way to go. And brunch happened today at Trotter's Cafe, which is always tasty. I got their special pancake of the day (maple cornmeal or something?), with a side o' taterz & some bacon. Way too much food, tho - I'm feeling nearly ill from the wad of pancake sitting in my gut.

Chris: 11/15/2008

Ran a bunch of errands today, including an EXTENDED visit to the Mall of America to try & find some wintery boots (no dice), and cuz of all the commotion I forgot two things: 1. my phone (left it at home) & 2. lunch! So I ate this lunch when I got home... It happened pretty late, but I'm still comfortable calling it a lunch. I reached deep into the freezer, plucked out a Connie's Fro Za & cooked it up. While it was in the oven I noticed that the "best by" date was actually a little over a month ago, so I'm hoping I don't puke in the night. Tasted great tho. And it looks great on my designated za plate.

Shawn: 11/15/08

The Cheese Barn - nachos. Always trust a restaurant with the word
"barn" in it. These were way good, and you won't believe it, but they
were $4! Interesting to note all the ingredients were seperate, making
it a bit difficult to eat, but come on, it's $4! Yum. Chris, you
should hit this place when you come. I win today.

Shawn: 11/14/08

Post number 100! So psyched! Publix italian sub and chips.

Chris: 11/14/2008

When I reflect back on this week of eating, I can summarize my efforts in three wee letters: Y-U-M. This is in part to today's lunch, which went down over at Be'Witched in the North Loop section of Mpls. They have a veritable plethora of sandwich & soup offerings, but what I got was the daily special: the beef brisket sammie. This thing had cabbage, lettutce(/mixed greens) and horseradish & was oh-so tight. On the side were pickles (no thanks) and a dab of potato sald (thank!). Delicious. The cookie for desert really propelled my happiness into another sphere. A fine way to end the work week. TGIF! Let's party in celebration of Shawn's lunch lameness!

Chris: 11/13/2008

Why is it so hard to photograph a falafel sandwich? WHY??? Maybe cuz I have a lame phone? Maybe cuz it looks weird, even when it looks good? Dunno. But I ate a KILLER falafel sammie post-bank trip from the holiest of falafel lands: Holyland. Got the manager's combo that includes a sode + hummus/pita on the side (took the hummus/pita to go for future eating). This thing was totally awesome. On a scale from 1 to 10 this was total infinity, baby. I went from being the hungriest dude around to being the most stuft. Riding high & the wave is crestin'.

Shawn: 11/13/08

So tomorrow, Chris and I celebrate our 99th & 100th posts on the Daily Lunch Battle (YEAAAA!!) We've come so far. Today, however, I have not come so far. I ate Chillis. Chicken Caesar Pita. As for Chilli's, its a pretty good item on the menu. Please keep in mind, Chilli's has won Tallahassee's Best Restaurant Award for the last 12 years or something.. Me and Chris used to rock it. I aint ashamed. Well, I aint ashamed of the past. Im ashamed today. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrffffffffffffffff. scuse me:: BAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRFFFFFFFFFFFF. Im sorry. BAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHRRRRFFF.

Chris: 11/12/2008

"Really, chic-fil-a, how do you do it? How do you master perfection like you do? How can something so simple taste soooo good? Chicken, bread, and pickles. Absolutly perfect! Nothing from a fast food chain should be this good, but it is. God bless America." - Shawn

I gotta concur with Shawn on this one: Total Perfection. I drove forth to the U of M campus to get a taste of a treasure today. It was a real delight. I even opted for the Coke Zero cup to complete my Shawn-like experience (was filled w/ DC tho). And I didn't get pickles, cuz I rule. Kinda like Chik-Fil-A.

Shawn:11/12/08

So, I have to admit, I have been kinda jelous of Chris's lunch on 11/09/08 at ZAPATAS...A chilito, the elusive chilli-cheese burrito, once popular at all Taco Bells, now a rarity in the forgotten corners of the world. Nearly impossible to find..Websites have been dedicated to its mystery (click here)..and as I wondered into my local Lynn Haven Taco Bell, I could not be prepared enough....THEY HAVE IT! THEY HAVE IT! THE CHILLI CHEESE BURRITO, THE CHILITO! THE RARIST OF RARE! THE GEM OF FAST FOOD! THE GREATEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL CREATION ON EARTH!! OH MY GOD, THEY HAD IT! OH MY GOD! IT WAS SOOOO GOOD! OHHH M Y G D OOOO DD!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHH THEY HAVE THE CHILLI CHEESE BURRITO IN MY HOME TOWN!!! OMG OMG 143! THIS IS BETTER THAN THE BIG KING ! The last time I encountered one was in Madison Wisconsin. Man, they hold up. Life is good. Chris sucks.

Chris: 11/11/2008

I braved the freezing rain / sleet / whatevz to head over to this other part of NE Minneapolis to see a group art show featuring my friend Rich's stuff. While I was at it, ummm, I had some lunch. Time was not on my side, so I cruised in to the friendly neighborhood Chipotle. Earlier today I was thinking "salad salad salad" but I ended up here. Thought I should stick with the orig plan, so I got this chicken salad. Includes grilled chick, salsa, cheese, black beanz & a sour cream drizzle. It was OK. Not great, but pretty tasty. P.S. check out that dude walking!!!!!

Shawn:11/11/08

Really, chic-fil-a, how do you do it? How do you master perfection
like you do? How can something so simple taste soooo good? Chicken,
bread, and pickles. Absolutly perfect! Nothing from a fast food chain
should be this good, but it is. God bless America.

Chris: 11/10/2008

Today I ran towards old friend for lunch: Uncle Franky's. Not that I really ever eat here with regularity (or for a very long time); I'm just always delightfully filled after eating here. I ordinarily get this grilled turkey sammie w/ melted cheese, etc, but opted for their special today - one all-beef sausage dog, fries & a drink. This sausage was totally tasty & a bit on the spicy side of things. Nice. Got a wee cup o' BBQ sauce for fry dippin'. Good times. I'm stuft.

Shawn: 11/09/08

I dont know if I could count this as a lunch, but I ate it around the time a lunch would be eaten, so its in my slot today. Me and Katherine went to Orlando this weekend to pick up a beautiful kitty for her dad...As you can see from my previous picture, saki was consumed. Then a couple Kiran's, some english whisky, some karaoke, and a very long night ensused...So eating food on the road was my last concern. Katherine has always sworn by the McFlurry as the ultimate hang-over cure, and I have always questioned it due to it being dairy, thinking the result could possibly kill me.... But today, i had to try ANYTHING...and let me tell you, she's right! I dont know whats in there to reverse the hell i was in, but this was like a blood infusion...So don't think of this as a 'lunch', but more like a cure.

Chris: 11/9/2008

HISTORY LESSON: Round about several years ago, there was a small MN-based mexi-chain called Zapata's. The geniuses behind the biz created a brilliant item - the CHILITO - that took the food world by storm. So much so that the corporate suits at Taco Bell decided to rip 'em off, name & all, for their own chili cheese burrito. Right around this time the Zapata's brass were getting serious heat for naming their establishment after such a rad(ical) dude. The biz changed to ZANTIGO, lost footing vs. TB & closed most of its stores. Its still around, though, god bless 'em, but the locations are scattered in various suburban locales in the area. The closest to me is the one in Woodbury, so I made the epic (10 min) trek out to experience the mind-altering brilliance once again. Brilliant indeed. I ordered two hot chilitos & a diet coke. The spicy-ness of the item is undercut slightly by the almost overwhelming flour-y-ness of the tortilla, giving this a pretty righteous balance o' flavor. As I sat & enjoyed (inhaled) my meal, I couldn't help but overhear customers come in & order their own chilitos w/ extra add-ons like sour cream, extra cheez, etc. My mind was aflutter with the infinite possibilities at hand. Next time, my friends. But this was most righteous. And I'm sure Shawn ate some Wendy's c-nugz or some such thing. Tevz. LOL.

Chris: 11/8/2008

OOPS!!! Forgot to post about this sweet, sweet meal yesterday. I totally thought that I did, so imagine my suprise when visiting this here blog to see that there's nothing to see. Bummer. OK, so it was Sat & I took advantage of brunch once again. Went to Zumbro Cafe in the bourgeoisie Linden Hills hood for this killer outing... Got two pancakes (buttermilk w/ cinnamon -- my favorite spice in the whole world), and a side o' sausage. Delicio-so. Slurped a coffee & water with distinction. Can't wait to return. Shawn is a turd.

Shawn: 11/09/08

Epcot Japan - bento box . The story of why I'm here will be explained
at a later date

Chris: 11/7/2008

Friday Friday Friday Friday Friday is just another LUNCH BATTLE VICTORY for me.  What else is new?  Today I ably jammed another sweet, sweet buffet, this one is called Q Cumbers.  It's a big salad / soup / hot bar.  Hopped to the hot bar first for some carnitas, beanz, ground beef, fried rice & for good measure, some pasta.  Went back for another round (soup) & of course I had to jam some soft serve.  Good times.  It's raining & snowing today so I thought it'd be best to pack it in (sans breakfast).  Shawn, how can you step this this level of eating?

Shawn: 11/07/08

Red Elephant - Southwest Chicken Sandwich + Fries. Today's lunch could not be photographed due to the fact that it was consumed in the middle of a very important business meeting that my company was conducting. I will ask that you please encourage yourself not over populate my comment box with statements such as "lame" or "sellout" or "little bitch"...that wont help the situation. I hope you will take my word that the Southwest Chicken Sandwich that I ate was in fact amazing, and way better than whatever Chris eats today. Please understand, its hard enough taking a picture of my food in front of my work-mates..let alone explain my food blog to bigwig suits. I know what I am - a lame, sellout, little bitch.

Shawn: 11/06/08

Firehouse subs - chef salad. I'm not gonna lie- this wasn't good

Chris: 11/6/2008

Rainy day weather & a general lack of dinner & breakfast pushed my attention today to the wonderful cornucopia at India Palace, where I feasted on saag paneer, chicken masala, some aloo dish, naan, basmati rice & a smidge of chutney. Goodness gracious this was delicious. I'm super full, high on life & ready to nap...

Shawn: 11/05/07

China Wok - Pork Lo Mein. God this was good. Rough day at work - still implementing the new system. Couldnt gloat in my happiness about the Obama win (Bay County was 70% McCain)..Loved my food. Chris sucks.

Chris: 11/5/2008

After an end to the anxieties surrounding elections & so forth, is there anything better than one submerging himself in a cup of chili? How about chicken chili? Yes and yes. Post post office I cruised to Urban Harvest to check out their soup selections. Of the many options du jour, I went with chicken chili cuz, well, its chicken chili. I wish this place was a little less expensive - it's still reasonable, but cheaper would be nice. This totally hit the spot. Got back to work to find a massive bag of kettle corn in the kitchen. Radness abounds. Obama is our prez. Shawn is lame.

Chris: 11/4/2008

Took an abbreviated lunch over at the U of M in the hopes of scoring some last minute Dylan tix for tonight (no dice), and stopped at the totally magical Raising Cane's for some lunch. Cane's is a chain version of the unstoppable Guthrie's (ask me about it anytime) & sadly it's not really on my radar. I went with some sorta 'broke student' meal deal jam: two fingers, a few fries, toast & a sauce for under $3. Ate in the car so that I could spend some quality time with the Obama/Franken flyer that was under my wiper this morning. Total terrific taste time.

Shawn: 11/04/08

Beef O'Brady's - grilled chicken salad. It's only tuesday and I'm
begging for the weekend. Can't say much about this salad here... It
was passable. Hopefully things go right in the election tonight.

Barack: 11/4/2008

chicken wings
(I voted)