Graziano Brothers: 100 years, 100 flavors, 100 things to try.

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Graziano Brothers,a south-side Italian grocery celebrating 100 years of businessthis past April, is well known around the city for their freshground pork sausages, with andouille,garlic, sweet, and their most well-known and popular: medium hot.

Graziano's sausages have been available in a number of Metrochain-grocery meat departments for quite some time, but how manypeople have ever visited their small Italian grocery on the cornerof Jackson and South Union?

Several decades ago I shopped at a mom-and-pop Italian grocery onE. Fifth called Italian Importing where City Bakery now resides.After they closed I gravitated to Graziano Brothers. When Imoved downtown seven years ago I started frequenting Graziano'smore often, and have come to depend on them for a number ofstaples including deli meats and cheeses, roasted red bellpeppers, olive oil, meatballs, breads, lasagna sheets, and SanPellegrino sparkling water, just to name a few.

Graziano's offers one of the best selection of spices in theMetro, sold in bags of varying sizes, and a darn sight moreaffordable than what's sold at either the chain or hip-and-trendyspice shops in more affluent environs. And it should go withoutsaying that Graziano's also sells a wide variety of pastas, tomatoproducts, and tasty Italian sweets.

When the weather is pleasant and free time plentiful, I'veenjoyed simple lunches from the various items one can buy there.On one occasion when I piled up eats for a meat and cheese tray Iwas particularly smitten with the hot salami. A little morechewier than pepperoni I suggest ordering it sliced thin. Prettygood in a sandwich or on its own, I would snip it up further for azesty pizza topping.

Graziano's is also known for their spiced green olives. I can eata bowlful. I'm also fond of their oil-cured black olives, butthey're a little hardcore for most palates. I like to use them asvegetarian alternative to anchovies.

On a recent visit I picked up a trio of items for lunch alfresco: spiced olives, thick-cut link pepperoni, and Il Tarallo,a cracker-crisp breadstick. Briefly boiled before baking givesthese savory breaksticks a unique texture that's hard to describebut a joy to nosh on.

I highly recommend a visit to Graziano Brothers. You never knowwhat you may find, that like I, you cannot imagine being without.

Clockwise from top left: Pepperoni, hotsalami, garlic salami, smoky cheddar; Spiced greenolives; Link pepperoni; Il Tarallo.

Last day at the 2012 Iowa State Fair

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Returning to the Iowa State Fair since my visit on opening day [seeblog post]  I resolved to try some otherfood items I had not eaten before at the Fair.

Having tried the Polish with everything at Hardenbrook's sausagestand, I had to try a foot-long hot dog with the same treatment:loaded up with kraut and grilled peppers and onions. In alllikelihood the best foot-long on the grounds, but next year I'llreturn for the Polish sausage, or better yet sample the bratwurst.

Nearby, another stand offered foot-longs but with the added bonusof chili for a topper. The chili is innocuous enough and quitebeany, but the wiener pales in comparison to Hardenbrook'ssuperior product.

I stumbled upon one of Colonial's nut roll stands on the Triangleand tried their dark chocolate-dipped cashew roll on-a-stick: awad of chewy nougat speared on a stick, dipped in caramel, rolledin cashews, then finished with a dip in chocolate. Extraordinarilygood!

On a lark I sought out the hard-boiled egg on-a-stick, offeredfor free in the Agriculture Building. I sprinkled some of Cookie's zesty FlavorEnhancer seasoning and tucked into aperfectly-cooked egg with none of that greenish hue around thesurface of the yolk, an often seen result of overcooking.

Lastly I sauntered up to Crescenti's for one of their fry breadsandwiches, this one with salami and shredded mozzarella tuckedinside. The fry bread was neat to eat but the salami and cheese,both still chilled, were a disappointment. Had the salami beengrilled or at the least microwaved the cheese could have meltedand made this sandwich noteworthy.

A Tale of Two Breakfast Burritos

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Curious about the breakfast burritos at BanditBurrito in Johnston, I took a long stroll up Merle Hay fromMadison one sunny Sunday morning to give them a try.

Bandit builds their burritos with moist scrambled egg, shreddedcheese, substantial cubes of potato, green chile sauce, andbreakfast meat du jour. On this visit it was huge, tender chunks ofmeaty ham.

Having enjoyed burritos from train-side vendors in El Paso,Albuquerque, and Las Vegas, N.M. I can testify that the greenchile served here is very comparable in texture and consistencyas the burrito I enjoyed in sleepy Las Vegas. However I much preferthe burritos from the bigger cities where they employ chopped androasted green chile instead of chile stew.

Nonetheless Bandit's green chile sauce, made with chiles, pork,and stock is excellent. A chunkier variant would make afine stew, perfect a classic New Mexican smotheredburrito.

I also tried a breakfast burrito sans the ham but with theaddition of watermelon salsa. Tasty but a little watery withoutrice to soak up the juice.

A few weekends' later I found myself stranded in Valley Junctionand was crestfallen to have found one of my favorite haunts – GiffWagner's 5th St. Pub – had changed ownership and was now G. Mig's 5th Street Pub. I waspleased to find little had changed inside, except for behind thebar where the kitchen area had transformed from a small grill and a duo of stackedconveyor ovens to a full-fledged grill and stove-top.

Along with the upgraded cooking surfaces, the menu too hasundergone a transformation. The new weekend breakfast menu offers upsuch familiar standards as omelets, pancakes, eggs, meat, hashbrowns, toast, biscuits with sausage gravy, and a top-notchbreakfast burrito.

Migsie's Burrito features a jalapeño-cheddartortilla filled with sliced links of chorizo, a trio of scrambledeggs, a plank of crispy hash browns, cheddar-jack cheese, slicesof avocado, poblano chiles, green onions and a chipotle aioli. Theburrito packs so much flavor into its tidy package that it rendersthe sides of sour cream and salsa unnecessary. It's an awesome,unique burrito and a serious contender to my favorite breakfast intube form, Abelardo'shash brown burrito [seeblog post].

Other breakfast itemsat G. Mig's: Biscuits and gravy; Eggs, bacon and hash browns.

Recent eats: NYC Pizza Cafe, Angelo's, Famous Dave's

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Tradition dictates that taco pizzas be covered in a salty heap ofcrushed nacho cheese-flavored tortilla chips. I for one, prefercrisp lettuce and juicy tomato as the only additions.

I had a delightfully unique Taco Pizza from NYCPizza Cafe recently, once I scratched underneath thesurface. NYC's pizza starts off with their tender crust, then slathers the surface with a savory refriedbean sauce. Topped with ground beef, diced jalapeno andcheese, then baked, and finished with chopped lettuce, tomato and theomnipresent crushed tortilla chips.

After I polished off a slice to sample the full treatment, Iscraped off the chips, lettuce, and tomato and ate them separatelyas a salad, with copious amounts of packet taco sauce as an ersatzdressing.

Then I was able to enjoy the pizza as it had come from the oven.The seasoned bean sauce is quite delicious. Without the lettuce,tomato and chips, more jalapeño and a smidgen more beefwould be welcome, but otherwise a fine pizza worthy to revisit. Infact I almost did recently until social dinner plans forced me tosettle for a plate of Italian Nachos at Old Chicago.

I've heaped enough praise upon personal favorites Mr.Filet and Angelo'sPizza, to the point where some of you are probablylamenting, "Enough already!"

I agree, but first I have to mention the B.L.T.pizza I enjoyed a while back. It's a simplebacon pizza, built on Angelo's thin, crispy, charred crust; toppedwith lettuce and tomato. Sound good enough? But wait… "Where'sthe mayo?", you say. Ah, I will tell you.

Angelo's paints a veneer of mayonnaise on top of the cheesebefore loading on the L. and T. The mayo helps to glue down thelettuce; You can taste the flavor, but its not overbearing.

I have a fondness for FamousDave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que's sauces, link sausage, WilburBeans, and their sweet cornbread muffins. On my lastvisit to load up on a double portion of sausage, I also shared aplate of Not’cho Ordinary Nachos with my tablemate.

Dave’s version piles on Wilbur Beans, chili,sliced jalapeños, shredded lettuce and cheddar cheese,chopped tomato, drizzles of sour cream and Rich & Sassysauce, and your choice of beef brisket, chopped pork or pulledchicken. We sampled the tender brisket.

A fun, imaginative build! I could have eaten the whole platealone as a meal, but then I wouldn't have had room for my sausage,and healthy doses of Dave's Wilbur's Revenge hot BBQ sauce.

Greetings from Jersey Guys Pizza.

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I paid several visits to JerseyGuys Pizza in Beaverdale last month to see what thesepurveyors of NewYork-style pizza and Philly cheesesteakshad to offer us Midwestern heathens, wallowing in our thin-crustpizzas and loose Italian sausage grinders.

On my first foray into their small strip-mall pizzeria I saddledup with a large meatball and mushroom pizza. Boasting a soft,foldable crust, the easy to chew rind exhibits a hint of crunch.First and foremost for toppings was the generous house blend ofcheeses.

The house-made meatballs are tender and delicious, but being sofinely chopped along with the competing taste of earthy mushrooms their flavor issubdued. My fault for such a pairing, and not the first time I'vemade such as mistake [seeblog post]. The tomatoey pizza sauce is smoothwith an appealing sweetness. A simple cheese pizza would beexceptionally kid-friendly.

The Jersey Guys score bonus points for offering shakers of notjust Parmesan and crushed red pepper, but also dried oregano andgarlic powder. When I don't feel compelled to sample a pizza nude,that is without added seasoning, I can literally encrust a pizza.

Intrigued by their sandwich offerings I returned a few weekslater and ordered up a couple. Bedazzled by their size – eachsandwich built on a foot-long hoagie roll – I first tucked intothe Cheesesteak. Adorned with a schmear of processed cheesesauce, then chocked full of juicy, finely chopped beef and thinstrands of fried onion. All these familiar and comfortingflavors, tucked into a soft, slightly chewy loaf. In the words ofJane Seymour, in some voice-over on an otherwise unremarkablefurniture commercial of a few years back, "The seduction wascomplete."

My second sandwich, the Meatball Parm, was arevelation with firm, tender meatballs, and a bright, abundantmarinara, both house-made. On this sandwich the hoagie sports anappealing toastiness, just perfect for this build.

I'm impressed with Jersey Guys' pizza and sandwiches, and with their reasonably affordable prices. A 14-inch pizza starts at$9.99 with the 16-inch only a couple bucks more, and huge 12-inchhoagie sandwiches hovering around seven bucks. Other items on themenu include cold hoagies, hot sandwiches with either chicken orsausage, chicken cheesesteaks, fries, rings, mozzarella sticks,chicken tenders and wings, and a selection of Coke products incans and bottles.

I'm pleased to note that Jersey Guys recently married cheesesteakto pizza with their new Cheesesteak Pizza: a16-inch featuring finely-chopped beef steak, fried onions, andprocessed cheese sauce on top of theirshredded cheese blend for $18.50. I hope to sink my teeth intothis delight soon.

Make Sure Holiday Decorations Won't Hurt Kids, Pets

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Spring is here, and With It Comes Easter - a great Reason to fill homes with fresh colors and Whimsical accents in anticipation of a visit from everyone's favorite bunny.
Colorful eggs, chocolate rabbits, marshmallow chicks and are Tempting To All and Irresistible Thurs kids - But They're Not Always Safe.
Krista Fabregas, founder of the KidSmartLiving, Offers These Tips To Make A Family Easter Activities fun and worry-free.

read more at http://www.turnto23.com

Where's My California Unemployment Check?

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Have you recently applied for California unemployment insurance benefits and you're wondering where's my California unemployment check? The easiest method for finding out the answer to where's my California unemployment check is by calling the state of California's Employment Development Division in order to request information about the status of the check. Bear in mind that if you filed an initial application online for unemployment benefits, it can take up to 10 days before you receive any kind of information about your account or a check.
If you use the phone system to contact the California EDD or Employment Development Division you'll need to use your PIN to do so. If you use the telephone system to file an initial claim, you already have a personal identification number. If not you can use the same system to create a PIN which you will use to access the system each time you use it. You can contact the appropriate telephone number for the division anytime between 6:00 am and midnight, Monday through Saturday, and anytime from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm on Sunday Pacific Time.
Telephone numbers are offered in Vietnamese, Chinese, Spanish, and English. The English telephone number to call the department is (866) 333-4606. The Spanish telephone lines to contact is the same number as the English line. These lines are automated telephone lines so you will need to follow the voice prompts to get the information that you require. If you're looking to speak with the customer service representative you will need to contact the English line at (800) 300-5616; the Spanish line at (800) 326-8937; the Chinese line at (800) 547-3506 or (866) 303-0706, and the Vietnamese line at (800) 547-2058. If you are hearing-impaired you'll need to contact the TTY line at (800) 815-9387 to inquire about the status of your unemployment check and claim.

Paul Ryan is Mitt Romney's VP Pick

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“Romney will announce his choice for Vice President in Norfolk, Virginia at 8:45am EST,” Romney campaign spokesman Lenny Alcivar told reporters in an email this evening.

The announcement is being made at the USS Wisconsin.

It’s still unclear whom he will choose, but the odds that it is Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), seemed to increase when National Review’s Robert Costa noted that a charter plane flew from Boston to Ryan’s hometown of Janesville, Wis. today.

Three sources at NBC also confirms that it is indeed Paul Ryan, the man who wants to kill Medicare as we know it. The man who used Social Security death benefits to fund his college education , but wants to end Social Security for the disabled and elderly...calling them "entitlements".

My Posts on Paul Ryan:

• Saint Paul Ryan
• Paul Ryan and GOP Promotes Class Envy
• Paul Ryan and the GOP has Waged Class War with Food Stamps
• Paul Ryan Hates the Unemployed and Poor
• Paul Ryan's 'New and Improved' Path to Austerity
• Paul Ryan's Holy Bible

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Today's CEOs are People Without Virtue or Honor

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From the HuffPo Hill newsletter: "The Heritage Foundation has discovered another example of President Obama helping poor people slide into lives of sinful dependency, this time by waiving food stamp time-limits for able-bodied adults who have been unable to find jobs. If only Americans would just get back to work already, America's future would be so much brighter!"

The right-wing Heritage Foundation reports that "the number of able-bodied adults without children on food stamps has doubled, increasing from 1.7 million people in 2009 to 3.9 million in 2010."

Maybe the Heritage Foundation has never heard of the Great Recession, a historic time in American history when millions of Americans were laid off from their jobs through no fault of their own because of greed in the financial industry.

The Heritage Foundation's biggest concern seems to be, not so much about poor or hungry Americans, but about the scheduled modest cuts in spending to the military-industrial complex. They write, "Defense would bear as much as 43 percent of total sequestration cuts, even though it makes up only about 11 percent of total federal spending." (What? Only 11%?)

They go on to complain that, "On the other hand, entitlements, which comprise over half of all federal spending and are the fastest growing part of the budget, would remain essentially untouched, receiving only 15 percent of the cuts. But this would be a reduction of less than 1 percent of all entitlement spending."

OK, so let me get this straight: It's more important to Heritage Foundation to keep the CEOs in the defense industry fat and happy with their multi-million dollar salaries every year, at the expense of poor and hungry American children?

Are the poor, disabled, elderly, retired and homeless people in this country so concerned about a foreign invasion, that they'd rather build more tanks, jets and submarines, rather that have food, shelter, and healthcare?

But this type of corporate greed (enabled by crooked politicians who are influenced by right-wing "think tanks) hasn’t always been popular in Western societies. Societies in medieval Europe would find this type of greed today “blatantly selfish economic behavior,” says Stanford University historian Linda Stokes, “and simply unacceptable.”

What would the entrepreneurs of those medieval times think of our contemporary CEOs today? Observes the Stanford researcher, “A medieval businessman would surely be impressed by the successes of his modern descendants, but he would also despise them as men without honor or virtue.”

Here's a short list of those people "without honor or virtue" that I despise.

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Veteran's Workforce Program Florida Veterans

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Search Veteran's Publications
MISSION
The mission of the AWI Veterans' Program is to promote and maximize the employment of Florida's veterans, especially veterans with barriers to employment, utilizing the complete menu of One-Stop Career Center resources.

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DVOP/LVER STAFF
Florida ’s One-Stop Career Centers are staffed with a network of professional Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialists and Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER) staff who are tasked to provide priority workforce services to veteran customers.  DVOP staff focus on providing intensive case management services to veterans with barriers to employment, disabled veterans, etc.  LVERs conduct outreach to employers and engage in advocacy efforts with hiring executives and managers to increase employment opportunities for veterans.  LVER staff are also responsible for ensuring that veterans are provided the full range of priority workforce services in the One-Stop Career Center, providing functional oversight over the one-stop Veteran's Program and service delivery strategies and services targeting veterans.

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FLORIDA VETERANS' RESOURCES
•RWB Veterans' Program Websites
•County Veteran Service Officers
•Florida Veterans' Program Staff Directory
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Veteran's Program additional program information:
•Employment/Training
•Legislation/Prog Letters
•Memos of Understanding
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