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September 20, 2010

Penguin Drive-in changes ownership
charlotte, Nc, September 20, 2010:  The Penguin Drive-In is changing ownership after 10 years of business in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood.  The popular restaurant was leased to current partners Jimmy King and Brian Rowe in 2000, who took the spot from relative obscurity to a thriving hotspot known for their handmade burgers and fried pickles. The Penguin has won numerous awards and received national recognition, including a feature on the Food Network’s series Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The building’s original owners, the Ballentine family, will not renew the current lease and will retain ownership in the building and the Penguin Drive- In name.

Partners King and Rowe have announced plans to provide many signature items in their new venture, The Diamond Restaurant.  The Diamond is a joint venture that includes Andy Kastanas of Soul Gastrolounge.  Located at 1901 Commonwealth, The Diamond is currently undergoing extensive renovations with plans to open as a 24-hour diner in late October.

Partner Jimmy King states, “We wish the Ballentine family the best in their endeavors and thank all of our patrons for 10 years of incredible loyalty.  We remain firmly committed to this neighborhood.  Regardless of The Penguin’s future, we will remain in Plaza Midwood and continue to provide the quality of food and service that we have since re-opening The Penguin in 2000.”

The Penguin Drive-In will cease to operate under the current ownership effective October 24th

And lunch … and occasionally, breakfast (Canadian bacon, anyone?).

But, a few weeks back I decided that, for one week, I, Shelly Shepard, was going to embrace vegetarianism.

My mom’s response when I told her about my plan? Well, let’s just say I can’t remember when I’ve heard her laugh so hard (she actually seemed to be giggling) or for so long.
My brain battled with my belly about the idea since I came up with it. I don’t know whether it’s possible to find a less-likely candidate for vegetarianism than yours truly. I grew up on a farm (with chickens, pigs and cattle) in Kansas and rarely went one meal, let alone 21 in a row, without eating something that had once clucked, oinked or mooed. My typical dinner plate was a resting ground for the leading characters in “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” And, although I was gleeful about it at the time, my mother’s reluctance to force vegetables past my childish lips did little to form healthy eating habits in me. Until I was 20 or so, my veggie repertoire consisted of green beans, corn on the cob and potatoes (yes, I know … a spud isn’t really a veggie).

I decided to tackle this a little differently than, say, how I’d approach starting a diet on a Monday. I hadn’t loaded up my fridge with “permissible” foods, although much of my usual groceries were “allowed” as a vegetarian. And I didn’t fill up on my favorite “meaty” foods before starting, although I did savor a lovely turkey wrap for supper.

And so, like any semi-intelligent Modern Day woman, I headed to the Internet for advice. Take it slow and ease into the vegetarian lifestyle, several sites advised (uh, sorry, one meatless week is the best I can commit to); experiment with a variety of vegetables until you find meals that you enjoy, other experts recommended (does portobello, cremini and shitake count as “variety”?).

But as V-Day loomed, several thoughts swirled through my mind:

What will my dog, Kosmo, do for entertainment without the hope of finding even the tiniest meaty morsel as he Hoovers the kitchen floor?
Without my normal protein consumption, will I have enough energy for a serious workout at the gym?

Will I have the fortitude to make this a healthy experiment, rather than turning it into a week full of nothing but fruit, smoothies and peanut butter?

V-Day arrives
I knew I needed protein to help power me through my day and to keep hunger at bay, so, this first morning I go with a whole-wheat English muffin and almond butter. The rest of the day, I’m too busy and stressed to think much about food (this is an anomaly for me – typically, stress tends to make me think of nothing BUT food).

While definitely skimping on the veggies, I don’t do too badly on Day 1: The rest of the day’s food consists of whole grains, low-fat cheese, to-die-for fresh peaches, a mushroom-cheese omelet (for supper!) with salsa and a small side salad.

The hardest part? Scouring the ingredient list every time I wanted to put something (other than a fruit or veggie) in my mouth. You never know what those sneaky manufacturers can slide in – things like gelatin (the colorless, tasteless protein made from collagen, typically taken from cows, and used in a variety of prepared foods) and rennet, which is curdled milk scraped from a cow’s stomach (now, doesn’t THAT sound yummy?) and used in some cheeses, just to name two.

I go to bed dreaming of the Chick-fil-A cow …

Day 2
This morning, I was actually excited about being a vegetarian. No, really! After breakfast, I was off to see The Wizard. I’m not sure whether he would appreciate the nickname, but that’s how I view him. The Wizard is Erek Walaszczyk, a deli assistant at Earth Fare in SouthPark. I struck up a conversation with him recently while doing a little reconnaissance at Earth Fare’s prepared-food counter. Erek’s been a vegetarian for 10 years. “Running dead animals … repeatedly over sharp metal so people can put it in their sandwiches wasn’t exactly a thrilling prospect for me,” Erek confesses. But the variety of vegetarian dishes offered at the store is definitely a nice perk, he says.

Erek quickly gave me a primer in the differences between a vegetarian, pescatarian and vegan. I’m embarrassed to admit that, yes, before my talk with Erek, I had foolishly hoped/thought that I could eat fish this week and still “qualify” as a vegetarian (nope – that would be a pescatarian. Damn!).

I asked Erek what the big vegetarian-friendly sellers are, especially for people who might be struggling with giving up meat. “The textured soy protein nuggets, definitely,” Erek tells me. I eye the baskets of tan, flat chickenless “nuggets” with suspicion.

“Hmmm. Ohhh-kayy …” I respond. “And which of these ‘nuggets’ (I’m tempted to wink conspiratorially or create air quotes with my fingers as I slowly enunciate the word) would you recommend, or say is the … tastiest (again, I can barely keep the sarcasm out of my voice as I mouth ‘tasty’)?”

He then proceeds to point at the different types of soy nuggets, indicating that the plain ones taste better warm. (Better than what, I’m tempted to blurt out …) The flavored ones, Erek says, are OK cold. I had to admit that the Pacific Rim soy nuggets with honey didn’t “look” half bad.

As I timidly took a nibble of the nugget sample that Erek offered me, I silently repeated to myself, over and over again like a culinary mantra: “It’s chicken. It’s chicken. It’s chicken.” My self-deception worked! I took a second bite, and a third. It’s gone! Woo-hoo! I actually ate the whole thing without, well, depositing it onto Earth Fare’s floor or, even worse, against Erek’s spotless display case.

The other most popular vegetarian dishes include several types of quinoa, Emerald sesame kale and cranberry broccoli salad.

I scanned the other offerings in the case, trying desperately to ignore the REAL chicken (I sensed the golden-fried chicken strips beckoning me, almost as if they were real fingers, motioning to me to come closer … closer.). But my resolve held, and my eyes landed on another familiar word: BARBECUE. My gaze screeches to a halt, however, as it slammed into the dish’s second word: Tofu.

Suspiciously, I question Erek: “What EXACTLY does this taste like?” Surely, I think, it can’t taste like barbecue REAL anything. (DISCLOSURE: As a native Kansan and former resident of Kansas City – and Dallas, Texas – I also don’t consider what North Carolinians pass off as “barbecue” to be REAL barbecue. But, that’s a topic for another day.)

“It’s pretty similar to egg whites,” Erek tells me. “But they’re baked a long time to try to get the tofu a little crispy. Then they’re mixed with barbecue sauce.”

My head (and stomach) started to feel a little woozy at the thought of mixing barbecue sauce with semi-crispy baked egg whites, so I politely passed on the offer to try it. The almond and apple quinoa did, however, look fairly appetizing. I bought a small container of it and ¼ pound of the Pacific Rim nuggets. I was feeling inordinately proud and pleased with myself, but … I was also feeling something else. And it wasn’t pride welling up inside, I’m afraid. I tossed my vegetarian-friendly purchases into my basket and power walked back to the restroom.

I had exercised for a solid three hours earlier in the day, thrilled that I’d had the energy and stamina for such a marathon workout. But I was definitely not feeling energetic anymore. My stomach was doing flip-flops and loopity-loops. I barely made it into the bathroom stall in time. I know that some people have “sensitivities” to soy products – I didn’t know if that’s what was causing my stomach upset and diarrhea, but it seemed like a possibility.

Much later that evening, my boyfriend, Ed, came over to the house. My stomach, after a few queasy hours, was pretty much back to normal at this point. It was kind of late by the time we were ready for supper. And although Ed will eat just about anything, I didn’t feel like forcing him to eat what I was eating tonight. After the earlier gastric gymnastics, I decided to just have some cheese and crackers. Ed was starving, so I naively offered to microwave some frozen Stouffer’s meat lasagna for him. Halfway into the cooking cycle when it was time to stir it, I was sorely regretting my generosity.

It … smelled … incredible! We sat down to watch TV as he began to eat. I didn’t know when my sense of smell had been nearly that heightened. Ed commented on how good the lasagna was. I hardly heard him as the gooey cheese and dripping red sauce mesmerized me. The zesty aroma drew me to him as much as (OK, more than!) any aftershave or scented soap he’s ever worn.