Eggroll

Eggrolls... pretty typical Chinese-American fast food fare in the U.S. They often come with an order of Chinese takeout and are always at Chinese buffets... however, Mandi had her first eggroll just shy of her 27th birthday (and her wedding!) at the Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills, Maryland. She did end up liking it, but she did not have any duck sauce or sriracha sauce on it.

Slurpee (and the start of a tradition)

      Ah, the Slurpee/ Slushie/ ICEE, whatever you call it - it's a childhood elixir for a hot summer day, some might even say it is a rite of passage... except for Mandi. You might respond "oh, well she probably didn't grow up near a gas station." You would be wrong, my friend - she grew up maybe a mile or two from one. (She just corrected me - it was ".7 miles away" from a gas station where she grew up). You might also say "Slurpees are the only edible thing at a gas station!" to which I'd agree with you pretty much. 

    With that said, this chain in Texas called Stripes has (had?) a deal while we lived there if you buy a 64 ounce mug (everything is bigger in Texas, right?) it was something like a dollar to refill it for the life of the cup with whatever slushed ice product you want. We would usually split it 3 ways with our other roommate at the time. Anyway, a hot, south Texas summer day occurred (what a surprise!) and we asked Mandi if she wants to have some... hesitantly (do you think any kid would hesitate at a blue or red looking icee?!) she asks what it's like which made me realize I could add yet another food to "the list of things Mandi has never tried before meeting me," upon which we force her to try some. She enjoyed it and we had a few more that summer.
 

    This also started a tradition when I took this picture... Mandi is so petite, she looks hysterical when given an over-sized object to consume. This tradition continues today - she recently went out with a friend to a Hooters and upon getting her beer, realized it needed an immediate photograph because of its relative size to her. Here's that picture:

Introduction

     Some of you may know us from Baseball Dates where we've brought you our reviews and experiences from around the world country with the focus 95% of the time on one great American past-time: Baseball. This blog deals with another great American past-time: eating. We all do it, we love it, there are magazines about it and billions of dollars every year are spent marketing it. However, this blog will focus on our food (maybe we'll throw in a recipe here and there about something we ate), but the emphasis will be on Mandi's first time trying things.
     See, when I met Mandi, it was clear to me that her Mom knew how to cook, but was limited by the rest of her family's fear of certain foods, if not downright refusal to eat certain things. Add in the fact that Mandi doesn't do spicy foods and I think previous to me thought that "spices" in food always meant they would be spicy. Mandi also claimed she didn't like chocolate (which, has proven largely true, at least in large quantities), so at last, we arrive at this blog which documents Mandi's first time trying foods, many of which I think most readers will have had, or at least tried for as long as they can remember.

    Here are two photos of Mandi's first time eating a cherry. That's right - the fruit. A cherry. The first one she had was a little less than ripe, hence the sourpuss reaction, but the next one made her realize what a wonderful fruit she had missed out on the first 25 years of her life. I wish I was joking... but then again, I wouldn't have a blog for this kind of thing without it.