A Word From The Other Parsimonious Chef...: IHop, I Used To Love H.E.R. A Letter To IHOP, I mean Hip Hop.... Steak & Eggs

Steak & Eggs With SmokeHouse Potatoes

"Yes, yes y'all and you don't stop. To the beat y'all and you don't stop. And to the knife Parsimony is the sure shot! Come On"

"I hit this spot when I was 10 years old , and what I loved the most it had so much soul!
Food for the soul when I was just a shorty. I knew throughout my life it would be there for me! On the regular, after clubs or skipping church this spot seemed secular. Didn't cost a lot pancakes and eggs served fresh for yah!"

"Now it's just a spot for late night gansta' dining. After smoking blunts and getting drunk, line wrapped around the corner so they whining. Stressing how hardcore and real it is, but it was good to go before they catered solely to the kids. I ate there not just to say I did it. But I'm committed, while so many others hit it. That spot's just not the same letting all these foodies do her. It even seems they open some new SPOTS in the sewer. But I'mma get back in it hoping that shit stop. Cause the SPOT, I'm talking bout is IHOP!"

I remember when I heard Common Sense's "I Used To Love H.E.R." for the first time. I also remember the day that I found out what a difference listening to lyrics really can make in the music that you choose. When I listened to this song in particular I felt like finally there was a measure of decipherable intelligence in hip hop that spoke to me and for me. I know, I know that there were many other intelligent rap songs that came before this one, like "The Message" from the Sugar Hill Gang but these songs spoke the raw truth as seen through that person's eyes. "Broken glass everywhere, people pissing on the stairs you know they just don't care!" no metaphor at all just the raw truth. While the rawness of the Message and other songs like it was great, I grew up in the suburbs of DC, Fort Washington Md. There was no broken glass anywhere unless we hit a baseball through a window. As far as pissing on the stairs, ha, maybe in Fort Washington Park b/c you couldn't make it to the bathroom across the way on the Fourth Of July. But Common's song was just what I needed to validate my love of Hip Hop. I'm not saying that Rap wasn't intelligent until then, of course it was but until this song it was spoken in a language that I just couldn't grasp so there was no way I could endear myself to it until that point. Now on to the IHOP or food portion of this week's entry......

Common - I Used To Love H.E.R.

When I first went to IHOP I was smitten. But then again why wouldn't I be? Pancakes, whipped cream, flavored syrup, OMG I loved the blueberry syrup. As a matter of fact they used to serve a very mean Liver & Onions with bacon and rice. To say I loved it is and understatement. Somewhere along the way either my taste buds or IHOP had changed and not for the better. When I was in high school and college it was the late night spot not only to coat your stomach from the copious amounts of alcohol consumed at the club a few minutes prior to, but it served as our very own FaceBook, Youtube, Instagram and Ghetto Hot Mess all rolled in to one. You could see couples making out, drug deals, cat fights and pistol whippings on a regular basis from 2-5 a.m. any day of the week there. There was always some sort of Spike-Lee-movie-type conflict that would go in part a little something like this: College Kids come in to eat, local yocals (drug dealers) take exception to the "Mission Mens" being there and having the audacity to breathe their air and hilarity (sometimes violence) ensued. Maybe that's what changed my taste? In the words of Sweet Brown "Who's got time for that, Sweet Jesus? " The funny thing was/is more and more IHOPs pop up in the most questionable places. It's almost as if "chalked outlines"and "yellow tape" are a precursor to an IHOP coming near you! There also seems as if somewhere along the line IHOP went all kid friendly and started re-naming some of their more classic dishes so comically that you were required to wear a Groucho Marx fake nose and glasses combo in order to pick it from a menu as an adult. Really???? Rooty Tooty Fresh & Fruity??? Man just give me some dayum pancakes and put the F#$%ing fruit on the side like I like. The heck with the childish names cause I damn sure ain't donning the fake nose and glasses just to avoid judgement and yes I am going to see "Wreck -It Ralph"sans kid as I don't have any....... I'm not sure of what your experiences where but these were mine. To be fair it's been a while since I went to one but my homemade breakfast is better than theirs anyway so I'll just share my breakfast recipes with you........

On the menu today: Steak & Eggs With Smoke House Potatoes....

For the Potatoes we will need:

Red Potatoes (6-12 ea)
Sweet Onions (1 ea)
Garlic (1 Tbs)
Oregano (2 Tbs)
Thick Cut Applewood Smoked Bacon (4 pieces)
Salt & Pepper (TT)

Start by dicing the onions, potatoes, bacon and garlic and mincing the herbs. Place the bacon in a heated saute allowing to slightly crisp-en and then adding the onions and finally the potatoes. Once the potatoes start to brown add the herbs and garlic and seasonings before placing in an oven preheated to 400 for 10-20 minutes or until tender. Stir the potatoes a few times throughout the cooking process.

For the Steak we will need:

Skirt or Sirloin (1/2 PP)
Olive Oil (1 Tbs)
Salt & Pepper (1 tsp)

Season the steak with oil salt and pepper and sear on each side before placing in an oven preheated to 425 for no longer than 10 minutes depending on the temperature you want your meat cook to.