The once and Future King...

Final thoughts of The Kingdom are that I will totally be going back... but Im gonna stick with the queenburger next time. Honestly, the meat was perfectly cooked to my liking and had a real nice flavor, not to mention the rustic and homemade feel of said burger. All these reasons attributed to yours truly setting a new RECORD for the Doomsday's consumption (11min 32sec... BEAT THAT MAN V FOOD!) *note - Man v. Food will be coming to the Kingdom on 2/3/2010!* Basically, the burgers make one remember how homemade burgers taste... giving someone the taste of home. Now, the fries.... im not gonna lie i expected more. They were nice and well seasoned with something that tasted like a garlic/herb blend, but they were a bit too dry for my liking... i like my fries like my women; thick, hot and covered in cheese. The onion rings, however, were totes on point. cornmeal encrusted and seasoned with the same blend. The only warning i wil give you is that the crunch that comes with these bad boys has the 'Cap'n Crunch' effect and the roof of my mouth is not doing so hot at the moment.

The service was almost better than the food. I dont know if we just had an awesome waitress or she was just astounded by the eating of the doomsday... but our waitress (Stephanie) was a friggin angel. She even shared her wings with Matt and I! She was also extremely attentive considering she was the only one there.

In the end, Matt and I already have plans to go back as The Kingdom is totes a winner! from the service to the food everything was on point. If there was a downside its that it might have been a little too loud inside for the general conversation... but how will you realize that when your bust taking down a friggin awesome burger.

The Kingdom 3.5/4 Pancakes

Well, ladies and Gentlemen, there you have it. Tune in next time for more happenings in South Florida food and, hopefully, the report about how children have been made happier through Quickies Toy Drive... not to mention 'Feeding South Florida'. Until then this is Panclayke reminding you that 1lb = 12oz.

Terminator.... I hardly know her.

The discovery and the challenge is presented.

This is what we were dealing with. People often ask why Mt. Everest was climbed, and the answer was "Because it is there". Well, its time to eat this bad boy... because its there!

There were still a couple more Dedications... the sheer volume of the cake necessitated more people i suppose.

Dear PanClayke... you know your in trouble when Dad and Grandma have both finished their meals and your still tucking into it. Also.... when grandma is worried your going to die.

-Yours truly was feeling strong and was seemed to have this in the bag. Then i realized what the preverbial ' wall' is, you know... the one that marathon runners talk about when they get to the last mile/half mile. For me, however, this came about 60% into the cake. Now keep in mind, not only was this 60% of a 24'' pancake that must have been an inch thick, but i had also chosen today as 'non-vegan day', giving myself the chance to see if i actualy prefer the taste of meat and dairy and went vegan only to jump on the bandwagon of the 'Skinny Bitch' hype. Believe me when i say... while it may have been a hype decision before... it is anything but now. Bite after bite just made me question every decision i had made within the last three hours. My stomach was hurting and I could barely speak above a whisper. I tried all the tricks i could think of (food combining, dipping the pancake bites in coffee, alternating between meats and carbs... however, not only was everything tasting the same after a while (salt, salt and more salt. Even the coffee tasted like salt!) but i questioned the reasons i was even still doing it. It was only for those waitresses in the restaurant and the readers in the blogsphere.

Now, know that i love you all (you know that right?) but even all the love in this little chefs heart couldn't bring him to take another bite this time around. I kid you not when i say that when i left I felt like the bottom of a shoe after one walks through a porno theater... sticky and weird. And apparently, I was not the only one...

Now, to be honest... i do not feel worthy to be called PanClayke at the moment. I know this was a task that is and will be attempted by the truly insane but that still does not stop me from feeling a sense of failure. However, im sure this will be gone once i get some fresh fruit in me (once this massive 'food baby' decides to be delivered).

Now, the final thoughts: Will i ever attempt the terminator again? Maybe in another year on non-vegan day. However, i know my body will start to remind me of how crappy i feel after taking in all the animal product and it might persuade me to do otherwise. However, i may just get on the horn with a vegan friendly diner and see if we can work something out.

Was going vegan the right desicsion? YES!!! My grandma kept telling me that my ody was not going to be able to handle it since i was used to eating so well (i opted to not listen since i am the quintiscential 'man'). But I would have to agree. After a while i noticed i was leaning more towards eating the potatos and sipping the water, even eyeing the left overs of my grandmas greek salad thinking about snagging a tomato. Evidently... it was my subconcious trying to get some actual nutrition in my body. Afterwards... i felt i could have taken it down and was actualy starting to get mad at my 'partners' for rushing me to get out of there. Then, i took a breath and asked myself why i 'wanted' to put my body through something like that? I think it was just because i really wanted one of the apples i picked up at WF yesterday, or maybe a banana fresh fron the freezer after being put in there 10 minutes ago. Uggh, i cant even think about that now though. For now it is time for a walk and then a morning wake up call to greet the radio listening masses.

Until next time this is PanClayke reminding you that there is, sometimes, too much of a good thing (Even pancakes). Tune in next time for the pancakes of the weekend and a review of Whip IT!

Pie, or cake?

Okay, so I have been following that show "Man vs. Food" prety carefully since it first came out. The fact that this normal guy who has supposedly held 'every job in the kitchen' is getting paid to travel to these awesome places throughout the U.S. eating all this wonderful food and getting new T-Shirts along the way makes me both laugh and cringe at the same time. Laugh because.... well, a man going into a self induced food coma is funny. And cringe because I would be kicking those challenges in the face while being just as entertaining (if not more... i do sing as well you know). I think its safe to say the Adam Richman is my definition of an 'American Hero', someone who uses a niche (no matter how obscure) and uses it to educate as well as entertain...... sacrificing his body one dish at a time.

This led me to think, how could this humble cake-head solidify his status of heroism in such a way. Well, i like food.... i love Florida....and (though it may not look it) i can put away a whole lotta foodening. The answer? Pick up a fork and be your own hero!

This motivated me to jump on the interwebs and search out the challenges of Florida that i was yet to be familiar with. Two have popped up that are pretty local: one being seemingly daunting and the other being perrrrrrrfect for our purposed on this day.

Daunting- "Pizza Rustica"= a 24'' x 16'' pizza (that can be made vegan!) which takes four people to complete! I have already enlisted assistance from the pizza lovers/food movers in my circle and they are so down.

Perrrrrfect-"Shelby's Diner"= a 24'' pancake known as the 'terminator' covered with eggs, homefries, toast and bacon. A giant pancake! I would have to be insane not to do this.... but it is a solo challenge. Could one do it on their own? Also, this dish cannot be vegan friendly, which leads me to some serious decisions about the choice to make the switch (more to come on that later) However, if i need to... im going to whip out a giant sheet pan and make my own pancake "Uncle Buck" style.... cause im totally jonesing for a giant pancake right about now (I should snack before work tomorrow).

Well, the question then is: 'Cake or Pie', sweet or savory.... the eternal struggle. I pose this question to you and await the answer.

(*note; the picture at the top of the post is a 24'' pizza pie. Just to be used as a comparison. Compare it to something like........... a human baby. Scary, no?)