Grease lightening!

I bet you thought I was going to write about the John Travolta movie right?  Based on the title, I totally would've too.  Well you are SO WRONG. Talking about John Travolta's Grease would be completely unrelated to my food blog and have you ever known we me to talk about things completely irrelevant?  Ok you have a point, I do that all the time, but I am so not all about talking about things completely unrelated to my blog TODAY.  Today I am going to stay focused; I am going to spend a brief time talking about grease and more importantly why grease is important.  So let's get started!

 Recently I earned a doctorate in the field of Fried Foods with a minor in Bacon Grease and Stuffed Jalapenos!  I know it sounds silly, but there was a ceremony and framed diploma so it's pretty legit.  Suffice it to say, I know a thing or two about grease!  Isn't it marvelous to be so well educated, about all things GREASY? Grease tends to have a negative connotation to it and is often blamed for such ailments as high cholesterol, obesity and heart attacks.  However, in moderation grease isn't so bad.  This Healthy Grease article talks about the many benefits of bacon grease and Olive Oil is even better for you!  I am not saying you should start drinking the stuff for breakfast or making it an everyday indulgence, but grease is okay in small doses.

One of my missions is to discover the best fried foods in West Michigan (I may have gone searching on vacation a time or too also).  Seems simple, but this takes true commitment; In order to do so I also have to be very committed to exercising so that I don't gain 300 pounds in the process and I have to be willing to experience occasional digestive discomfort. This is not just all fun and games.  So far, Turks has the absolute best onion rings in the world... possibly the universe although space exploration could prove otherwise in the future because I really don't feel NASA has focused enough effort searching the Milky Way for the best onion rings!  If you have never tasted a Turk's onion ring, please stop reading right now and drive directly to Turks to eat one and when you are stuffed so full of fried onions that you feel your stomach is about to burst come back...

Okay, All better now! You got your onion ring fix! (If you feel slightly bloated, that is totally normal.)  Great now I am here to tell you that a close second, in the realm of onion rings,  is The Stable Inn.  So the next time you are south of Grand Haven stop by to try those. We don't have time right now for you to go driving around to sample all the foods that it took me years to experience.  You will have to make a serious commitment like I did if you want to experience all of the best fried foods in West Michigan.

When I go out to eat at a new place, if the onion rings are home-made I have to try them just to see how they compare. So far from here to Alaska and all the way to D.C. I am yet to find a finer onion ring than the ones that are fried up less than two miles from my domicile at Turks.  This is both good and bad.  Good that their onion rings are so exceptional; bad that they are so close that I can literally be there to fetch my latest take-out grease fix in less than two minutes... To spare me further embarrassment, let's just say I am on a first name basis with most of the servers at Turks and leave it at that!  Last night I discovered another AMAZING onion ring at Pints and Quarts in Muskegon.  They are worth the drive!  I think I could probably spend the rest of my life driving around sampling onion rings and be pretty happy (as long as I got to run at least 3 times a week)...

So I have been really, really bad about dining on fried foods the past several months, but I have been really good about not shopping for unapproved items lately!  A girl can't be good all the time because that would just be BORING and I would have no stories worth sharing!

PS Grease is also very important to the proper functioning of automobiles and other motorized vehicles as well as to many mechanical systems although I honestly don't understand most of them very well.

That is all!

Vern Out