Weenie on a Bun

Finals were stressing me out.  Needed a quick study break and ANYTHING to get me out of the apartment.  After a hard day of studying I started craving a sausage.  I ventured to Little Tokyo with Kevin and Chad, two of my friends from the team.  We were in search of a sausage fix and ended up at Wurskütche, the German Sausage joint.  To me, the most impressive part of the restaurant was the design.  I love the outside decor that makes it look very industrial.  The red and yellow diagonal stripes almost look like you're entering the tunnel of a subway.  The front of the restaurant, where you order, looks like a small to-go restaurant.  The grill is visible and all the different sausages are on display.  Reminded me of a street vendor.  The back of the restaurant follows the hip LA scene with dim lighting and lots of long wooden community tables.  Overall it looked more like a bar than a restaurant.  In fact, there was a bar, and I would totally consider going there just for drinks.  We sat ourselves at a table in the back and waited for our sausages with our order numbers.  I grabbed some of the large mustard tubes while we patiently awaited our sausages.

Chicken, Apple, and Spices- chunks of apple
and specs of cinnamon

I ordered the Chicken Apple and Spices sausage with caramelized onions and sweet peppers.  The sausages were moist and juicy, but they were not specifically bursting with flavor.  I couldn't really pick out the apple or the cinnamon flavor.  The bun was sweet and soft, reminded me of an umami bun.  Personally, with hot dogs I like my bun toasted, but I see what they were going for.  The caramelized onions and sweet peppers were great on top.  I also used the whole grain mustard, definitely a good combo.   Chad and Kevin both ordered the Belgian fries.  Those were probably the highlight of my meal, when they weren't guarding them with their long swimmer arms.  I liked dipping them in Chad's Chipotle Aioli. Not a big fan of Ranch-what Kevin ordered.
After dinner my sweet tooth was acting up and I really wanted to go to The Pie Hole across the street.  Unfortunately it was closed! Before 10? I thought it was a late night joint? Anyways, I'm sure I'll blog about their mexican chocolate pie sometime soon.

Insomnia Insanity

You might think I'm insane.  I start by explaining the circumstances, so I don't seem completely out of it.  Yesterday I had a really big lunch around 3:00pm, it wasn't that good, but I was starving.  Around 9, when I was getting ready for bed, (yes it was early, but I was tired), I just ate a small salad and then some peppermint pretzel slims from Trader Joes (They are amazing by the way!).

After starting to watch a movie, I fell asleep around 10.  Then, around 2:00 am, I woke up dying with thirst.  I went downstairs, got some water and went to the bathroom as well.  Then when I tried to go back to bed, nothing was working, I just kept tossing and turning with one thing on my mind.  I was hungry.  I knew if I went back to sleep and woke up at a normal hour I would be fine, but I couldn't stop thinking about breakfast! I had eaten a lot of salty food in the past two days (korean BBQ and a fried chicken sandwich, and I was just craving something sweet).   I went on Facebook and even watched another 30 min of my movie, but nothing seemed to work.  Around 4:00am, when it started getting ridiculous, and I realized I was completely awake, I got up and dressed. Got in the car and headed downtown to The Original Pantry Cafe.  This restaurant is open 24/7.  If you pass it during the normal hours of the morning there is usually a line out the door and around the block.  I walked straight into the diner and sat at the bar.

I took this opportunity to get a good real meal, because I usually don't get the chance to eat decadent breakfasts (crazy diving schedule).  I ordered the 3 pancakes, and an orange juice (needed the vitamin C because I've been feeling a cold coming on.  The restaurant had a good 15-20 people in it, but my pancakes still arrived with 5 or so minutes.  They were light and fluffy but still very filling.  I asked if they had any chocolate chips or bananas to put on top, but it was an unfortunate no.  I smothered them in butter and about 1/3 of the syrup dispenser.  When they first arrived I asked my stomach if it was actually hungry at 4:15 in the morning.  I actually kind of hesitated, but once I took the first bite I was able to finish the rest within about 20 min.  I had a really relaxing breakfast, surrounded but he other interesting 4am crowd, but never less enjoyed it.  I drove back to my apartment (must have been tired because I started driving on the wrong direction on Fig, a one way street), then did some laundry and wrote this blog.  Maybe I'll try and start studying for finals, or watch the rest of my movie? Either way, my stomach is satisfied with the breakfast that I was craving.