monday munchies: basketball food

If you are smart, and I believe you are, you've likely guessed that I haven't spent much time in the kitchen lately.

While the majority of the food I ate this weekend wasn't the healthiest, I did succeed in a couple culinary adventures.

I ate child-friendly food on Saturday, which was a first for me since possibly my babysitting years. My friend Michelle brought her adorable kids, Ally and Owen, downtown for a playdate. We had all sorts of healthy veggies to dip in "Wild Tomato Hummus Dip." See I just need a mom to cut up peppers, carrots, broccoli and celery (or SELLRY SELLRY SELLRY!!! as Owen kept singing) for me. Michelle also brought a selection of fancy cheeses from Sendik's for the grown ups to enjoy -- veggie colby, stout cheddar and good ol' brie. Delicious with Kashi crackers!

I grabbed an iced mocha from Espresso Christoph on my way back from the Cathedral Square to get energy for my afternoon of March Madness.

Of course, I negated the healthy snacks, by promptly heading out to Hooligan's on Saturday afternoon, where I enjoyed a Bloody Mary (or two), some Strongbow, various Lakefront Brewery products and a Spotted Cow somewhere in there too while watching a solid seven hours of college basketball. I repeated the same liquid menu on Sunday, but to a lesser extent, although my beloved Marquette's loss called for some unplanned sorrow-drowning.

Hooligan's does have pretty tasty food, and over the course of the weekend I indulged in chicken tenders (with a healthier option of a side salad in lieu of french fries), and split some orders of nachos, spinach and artichoke dip (with divine garlic bread!) and mozzarella marinara. Thank goodness I don't watch sports incessantly throughout the year.

I did have a brief respite from the artery-cloggers yesterday when my friend Kim and I decided to check out The National, a new coffee shop on National Avenue. My friend Wren recommended this place, and I'm grateful for that. Not only was the place adorable, but their food and beverage was delicious. I had a mocha and a bowl of very unique Tomato Walnut Pesto soup. Tasty! This joint plays excellent tunes and is really into supporting local artists and local food suppliers. Now that my bike is getting its yearly tune up at Cory the Bike Fixers, I foresee a ride there in the near future.







Of course I was back on the greasewagon tonight, as I am at the tail end of my paycheck (much of which went to March Madness beverages) and had a coupon for a free Culver's value basket thanks to Twitter. I had their blackened chicken sandwich, fries and a lemonade. Delish!