a story of food and the evil temptation that is calico beans

So lent is over. My abstinence from meat was a complete success. I had but one close slipup, one major test and one item to end my run on Easter Sunday.

The near slipup came less than a week ago. We were over at a friends last thursday for drinks and this nice guy was going around offering up a platter of shrimp fresh off the grill. I wasn't going to eat any, but Noel assured me that shrimp were just bugs and didn't count. Standing in the darkness I grabbed one off the tray and almost had it in my mouth when I realized it was no common shrimp. Rather it was the lesser known, but just as tasty, bacon wrapped shrimp. Darkness went from foe to ally and in one swift motion I was able to discretely slip the bacon off as I popped it in my mouth. I then deposited the bacon in the grass as I grabbed for another beer. Hopefully their dog found it later on.

My major test came at DJ's Dugout in Bellevue last saturday with just one day left to go. It's safe to say that DJ's is not veggie friendly. I was simply looking for some lunch to sustain me while watching basketball. While I was hoping for a bean patty option amongst the long list of burgers and chicken sandwiches on the menu, I wasn't terribly surprised by the lack of one. I was, however, disappointed there were no fried mushrooms, jalapeno poppers or a bean alternative to beef/chicken for the nachos. My only options were onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and spinach dip (salad doesn't count) - of which we ordered all three (i was hungry). The onion rings were bland and had mushy onions, the mozza sticks were good but there were too few of them and the spinach dip was boring and not at all worth the inflated price tag. All in all I was rather disappointed in old Darwin and Joy. When surveying just outside the tiny town of DuBois Nebraska I was at least able to get some breakfast for lunch (and they don't take plastic).

It all came to an end sunday. At Noel's folks there was a bevy of veggie friendly foods. Noel and I took squash and our hearty bean dip. There was a corn/noodle dish, asparagus, homemade mac n' cheese, and a ton of deviled eggs. The ham sat there looking as good ham ought to. I like ham, I do. I just didn't have the urge to eat any to the point where it was almost unappetizing. So I didn't have any. Then there were the calico beans. This was a dish I could always eat as a child despite my finicky palate. It's been a while since I've had them, and I forgot all about the secret ingredient - bacon. Three spoonfuls in I saw the bacon, considered it briefly, continued eating and went back for seconds.

From hear out who knows. I don't plan on preparing any meat dishes at home. With Noel being a vegetarian it just doesn't make sense. I don't know if I'll be going back to DJ's so that won't be an issue, but in similar situations I'll probably order the wings.