Author: Andy Labis

By:

The Dude on the Right
Maybe it’s the cold weather, maybe it’s something I ate, but for whatever reason
I find myself sidelined from my Super Bowl watching plans by some kind of
stomach flu, complete with a slight fever. So as I’m curled up here on my couch,
waiting for the game to start, I am forcing myself through the pre-game
coverage, and figured I would type a quick blog.

My Super Bowl viewing plans
were pretty simple, and pretty much the same as it has been for the last half a
dozen years: Hop in the dude-mobile and watch the game at Dewey, my
accountant’s, house with his friends and family. I even had some hors ‘d oeuvres
to bring, and had I felt better yesterday, I probably would have attempted this
fabulous peach cream cheese cake/pie thing. So, instead, I’ll probably heat up
the hors ‘d oeuvres for myself, so I don’t have to cook, and just stay curled up
under a blanket on my couch.

But a couple of observations I have had while watching the pre-game coverage
have really struck me. One is, and no breaking bad on Stevie Nicks, but what the
hell was she doing there, singing "Stand Back," which is from like 1983. I also
hope some producer or director is getting chewed out for the ending of the
"Baghdad Bowl" segment. All was going well, we got to see the soldiers playing
some flag football, then there was the nice "letting some of them give
shout-outs back home," and as Randy Cross was introducing the climactic moment
of the segment, with all of the soldiers yelling "Hello back home, we love you!"
someone cut back to James Brown, asking an inane question if any of the soldiers
might want to be football players, then cutting back to the soldiers, then Randy
Cross doing his best to wrap-up the segment. Randy Cross had the perfect ending
for the segment; too bad J.B. couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

And finally, a message to Bobby Flay, who was doing the food segment. First
off, from everything I’ve been able to find on the Internet in my two minute
search, Indianapolis is famous for its breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. You
came up with corn, proceeding to now highlight a corn-dog, and I believe it was
a butterscotch pie. Then you moved to Chicago, where you spotlighted the
Italian beef
sandwich and the
Chicago
Style Hot Dog. Both good choices, but in my now 21 years living in the
Chicago area, I have never heard of putting mustard, nor red peppers on the
Italian beef. From what I know there are only three things you add to your
Italian beef: Green sweet pepper slices, hot giardiniera, and/or more juice. And
I don’t know what bread you were using, but it also isn’t served on bread/roll
that is sliced all the way through like a submarine sandwich, it is sliced
half-way through to conveniently hold the beef and peppers, until, of course,
the juice soaks through, the bread disintegrates, and the beef and peppers end
up on your plate or tie. And your Chicago Style Hot Dog needs some work, also.
You do not put chopped tomatoes on the hot dog, you put tomato slices, and you
also forgot two other major ingredients, the Kosher dill pickle spear and the
sport peppers. And you also forgot to mention that in no instance are you to add
ketchup to the Chicago hot dog.

Well, I should wrap this up and get wrapped back up on the couch. And Bobby
Flay, can I recommend two things? One is Google (look up "famous Indianapolis
food") and Wikipedia, which gives detailed info on both the Chicago hot dog and
the Italian beef, as well as that breaded pork tenderloin.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!