Sometimes I wonder if we are spoiled here in Raleigh with great local restaurants and a blend of culture that allows the new to neatly and often seamlessly weave into the old.  This past Friday we experienced some of the best both worlds have to offer – on the new side Martin Street Pizza and on the classic side 401 Par Golf and Pelican’s SnoBalls.  Martin Street Pizza was a great find – they sell pizza by the slice in the evening and they have terrific salads.  We stayed pretty basic on the menu but a lot of what they had to offer sounded good – we’ll definitely be back.  The bar looked good as well with several beers on tap.  It wasn’t too busy on a Friday evening so the service was quick.  Overall I thought the food was definitely on par with some of my favorite pizza places in Raleigh and including Moonlight.

401 Golf was the site of the highly anticipated McLeod/Potichko Mini-Put challenge.  Delayed by rain and out of town trips this match was anything if not cut-throat.  I’ll spare you the 14 hole (yes 14 holes) play by play but when the final ball was hit the score was team McLeod +7 and team Potichko victory.  To say that this game win or lose didn’t have a sweet ending would be wasting an excellent play on words because the next stop was Pelican’s Snoballs – we loaded up on the best shaved ice in the triangle and were treated to Monster’s Inc playing for a small crowd behind the shop.  Classic family entertainment at its best.  From what we were told by a lady in line that was definitely a “regular” the movie night is moving to Saturday this fall and will start earlier as darkness comes earlier.

Anyway – good times – not a ton of pictures just a new place and a couple of classics for you to check out if you are out and about in Raleigh.

We have had and seen many great challenges in our day – The Little Debbie Challenge, The $1 Taco Challenge, The Krispy Kreme Challenge.  All exciting challenges testing our bodies (mostly our colons) and pushing ourselves to the limit of what is sensible and sometimes healthy.  This year in honor of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest and the greatest Hot Dog eater ever (all apologies Joey Chestnut) the supreme event of challenges was born – welcome to the First Annual Great Raleigh Fourth of July Kobayashi Hot Dog Challenge.

The Challenge started at noon coinciding with ESPN’s coverage of that other contest and began with the ceremonial throwing out of the first dog.  And it wasn’t just any old dog – it was a Ball Park Beef Frank grilled and wrapped in bacon.  We aren’t taking any chances here.  From there the 12 hours of hot dog eating began.  The rules were simple – all hot dogs had to be eaten with a bun and as such were awarded a single point.  Hot dogs that were taken from another party held a value of two points but only the first one per party.  Vomiting hot dogs resulted in a five point penalty and fortunately common sense or too many side dishes prevented us from reaching that point in the game.

The results are as uncertain as an Iranian election but prior to the end of the event Brent was named the winner.  We can’t be 100% certain he ate the most hot dogs but we are fairly certain that if he didn’t he overcame an hour plus head start from his competitors and yes – he did run 10 miles that morning.  Final scores – Brent 10+, Anthony 10, BobG 8.  Honorable mentions go to Cara for scoring the only 2 point dog and Mark for keeping up beer to dog throughout the day.

An evil ploy to caffeinate the world!!!!!

That’s right that is what I said – What no decaf coffee after noon! Imagine my shock and amazement after learning about this policy at Starbucks. It was 5:30 and I had to work late so I thought I would get a half caff/ half decaf.

No such luck any more! The woman behind the counter explained that it was a way for Starbuck’s to cut back since they did not receive that many requests for decaf coffee after noon.

That seemed like a rational excuse however I think the new policy may be Starbuck’s evil ploy to caffeinate the world and get them hooked on coffee.

The Krispy Kreme Challenge is an annual, student-operated race in Raleigh, North Carolina benefiting the NC Children’s Hospital. The basic idea is you run from the NC State Belltower to the local Krispy Kreme and back a little over four miles – oh – and you try to eat a dozen doughnuts at the turn.

I love Krispy Kreme doughnuts and being from Winston-Salem I was raised on them, sugar cake, and Moravian Cookies – wonder why I am not a little guy all you want – I think I have an idea. That being said doughnut #5 was my stopping point.

The winning time was 29:50 and that guy ate a full dozen – that’s right he averaged around a seven and a half minute mile not including the doughnuts. Odds are he was done with the race before I started running back to the Belltower.

This is one of the most fun races I’ve run because no one is really taking it serious. I put this race in the category of the Skirt Chaser 5k where the focus is on the fun and spectacle of the race as much as it is the run itself. To answer the tough questions – yes – I both saw people puke and saw where people puked. No – it was far less than I would have thought. Yes – you could do it – a lot of people weren’t running and I’d guess most didn’t eat the full dozen.

Rumor is this commercial was banned from the Super Bowl. I am guessing basic cable vegetable porn is a no-no when selling ads at the game every one watches just for the commercials. Remember when you had to watch something like this through snow and with no sound? Wait – I really was the only kid in middle school without Cinemax wasn’t I? Conservative parents create warped kids 9 out of 10 times. Congrats to PETA for making a commercial worth watching and then ruining it with a “message.” Congrats to NBC for realizing the Beef – “It’s what’s for dinner” people had more money and more effective lobby. More ads from this series after the jump.