In my perfect world, I don't spend so much time or money eating at restaurants. I become a vegetarian, buy healthy and organic food and cook it at home. And, when I eat too much, I hop on the elliptical machine and work it off.
But who am I kidding? Some days, I eat two or three meals a day at restaurants, and they're not always the healthiest. Thus, I submit my five most guilty dining pleasures for your ridicule and amusement:
- Serving size: When I go to a restaurant, I'm on a "see food" diet. When I see food, I eat it. I once thought I was doing the right thing by studying up on the nutritional info on the chicken Szechwan stir fry at Chin's Asia Fresh ... that's until I learned that each plate contained two servings. Come on, that's just not fair.
- Bagels: I could eat them every meal of the day, seven days a week. Fortunately, I've curbed my addiction and only indulge in a bagel and cream cheese on weekends, if that frequently. But with a strong, black cup of coffee, no rounded mound of carbs could be finer.
- Taco Bell: What can I say? I like T-Bell. Yes, I like real Mexican food more. But I stop at Taco Bell almost every time I pass. Grilled stuffed burritos, quesadillas, nachos, you name it. Guilty as charged.
- Qdoba / Chipotle: (See Taco Bell ... but with 1,400 calories and 50 grams of fat.)
- More coffee than any man, woman or child could need: I could just drink it in the office, too. But my morning routine isn't complete without a quick run to Whole Foods or Alterra with a colleague. It's such a great way to start the day, and it shakes the cobwebs from my sleepy head. But it also becomes a law of diminishing returns. Too much java makes me shaky and worthless, and probably isn't terribly healthy, either.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
