Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Canadian/American Flavored Liqueur

      A week or two ago I decided to do some browsing in the hard liquor aisle at one of my local liquor stores.  I've seen various Dr. McGillicuddy offerings over the years, but I didn't really take much notice.  But this time I did.  And I saw that it was made in Canada.  Which is exotic enough, I think.  So I got one--the apple pie flavor.

     According to the label on my bottle, Aloysius Percival McGillicuddy was born in 1808.  He was a barkeep and part owner of the Shady Eye Saloon.  In his will he bequeathed his home, livestock, and half interest in the saloon to his 5th wife, Hermione, aged 22.  To his (unnamed) son, he left his watch, dueling pistols, and favorite pipe.  And then, to quote it exactly, "To the world I present the recipe for Dr. McGillicuddy's, whose refreshing taste has made me a bit of a legend in these parts.  To your fortune!"  The bottle also is embossed with "Est. 1865."  And the provided info on the official website adds that the "Dr." title might be honorific rather than literal.

     Except, none of the above is true.  Ha!  I had a little fun with you.  Dr. McGillicuddy is the invented character for a liquor brand.  The real history of the brand is much more murky than the fictitious one.  It started as Dr. McGillicuddy's Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey in the mid 1980's, for the Seagram company.  However, in 1989 Seagram sold it to the giant Sazerac liquor firm, of which I've reported on a few times before, on December 19th, 2020, and June 11th, 2022, and March 22nd of this year.  This brand makes quite a few flavored liqueurs, and some flavored whiskeys.  Examples of the former are root beer, cherry, peppermint, raw vanilla, coffee, mentholmint, peach, butterscotch, and wild grape.  Examples of the latter are honey whiskey, peach whiskey, apple whiskey, and blackberry whiskey.  Also, if you're curious about what you would look like with various old timey mustaches, the official Dr. McGillicuddy website has a "mustache machine" feature where you can see this, using 6 different styles, and several different hair colors.

Dr. McGillicuddy's apple pie liqueur:  It had a strength of 21% alcohol, or 42 proof.  The drink had an apple-y odor, and a yellowish hue, like apple juice.  It tasted....like apple pie.  It starts off tasting strongly of apples, and ends with a cinnamon, somehow pastry-like flavor.  So, overall it was very good and I quite enjoyed it.  I would recommend it to anyone wanting a different kind of shot, especially if they like apple pie.  (Which, when you get right down to it, doesn't pretty much everybody?)  So unless you really hate sweet alcoholic drinks or something, you'll probably like this.  I plan to try other Dr. McGillicuddy offerings in the future, as well.

     After I checked around a bit on the official website, I tried to figure out if there had been an actual person named Dr. McGillicuddy, or at least a historic inspiration.  And I think I have a good candidate.  There was a Valentine Trant McGillycuddy, who lived from 1849-1939.  He was a graduate of a real medical school, and spent much of his life as a surgeon.  He went into the American West, acting as a doctor, topographer, and surveyor, on various expeditions.  Initially he seemed unusually progressive about American Indians.  He tried to save Crazy Horse after he was mortally wounded, and lobbied the American government to treat Indians better.  Alas, later, when he was the Indian Agent at the Pine Ridge Agency (in South Dakota), his reputation with the Indians plummeted.  They accused him of mismanagement, and various forms of corruption.  Still later, in 1879, he was the first Surgeon General of South Dakota.  And in 1897 he was briefly mayor of the South Dakota community of Rapid City.  When World War I broke out McGillycuddy re-enlisted, and helped treat influenza patients in the Western states and Alaska.  I can't be positive that Dr. McGillycuddy was the impetus for the fictional liquor brand Dr. McGillicuddy, but the similarities sure seem suspicious. 

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Thai/American Fruits

      A while ago I was perusing the dried fruit aisle in my local Shop-Rite.  Something caught my eye--tangerines.  I've had them fresh, but I don't think I'd ever had them dried before.  Looking at the label I saw that they were grown in Thailand, so I not only got something to eat, but something I could post about.  I also picked up some coconut from the same company.  These were both from the Nutty & Fruity brand, out of California.

     It's getting to the point that I wonder if a lot of people who are put in the Federal Witness Protection Program then decide to start food or beverage companies.  Or, in other words, the official company websites for the products I bought contained very little information in general, and none on the company's histories and owner(s).  One of the websites for the parent Food Castle Inc. company had a "history" link, but selecting it led nowhere.  It was a cruel tease.  There weren't even decent product lists on these websites.  The Nutty & Fruity band one was one of those where they show most, or all of their products together in a big group photo, but it keeps switching to something else, so you only get a few seconds at a time to see everything.  The Facebook page for Nutty & Fruity was underwhelming as well.  The first post was from 2013, and the last one in 2018.  So, all in all, I'm not impressed with the company and brand's online presence.  After a lot of mostly unsuccessful searching on business-related websites, I was able to (possibly?) learn that Food Castle Inc. began in 2010, and its CEO is Eliyahu Levy.  But I wouldn't testify to this in court.  (One website indicated that Food Castle/Nutty & Fruity may be affiliated with the Paramount company, which I discussed before, in detail in my post on August 12, 2023.  Not shockingly, I wasn't able to get confirmation on this, so it may well be incorrect.)  Other Nutty & Fruity offerings include mangoes, kiwis, blackberries, several different forms of bananas, apples, hibiscus, pineapples, pomegranates, papayas, passion fruits, strawberries, oranges, and perhaps grapefruits.  (You may notice that this list lacks any nuts, but maybe it's incomplete.)  Other Food Castle products include several kinds of nuts, and other types of dried fruit.

     Moving to tangerines, this fruit's nature is also a bit imprecise.  Some classification systems have it as a subtype of a mandarin orange, while others categorize it as a separate, but related species of this orange.  Genetic testing revealed that it has some pummelo (see my post on February 20, 2014 for more information on this fruit) in its lineage.  Tangerines were first grown in the U.S. in the early 1800's, by a Major Atway, in Palatka, Florida.  In 1843 Atway sold his groves to a N.H. Moragne.  The name of the fruit was reportedly taken from the port city from which Atway first acquired it (the Moroccan city of Tangier), combined with the last name of the second owner.  Whatever their heritage, and true nature, tangerines are usually smaller and less round than mandarin oranges, and have a stronger, and sweeter taste.  China is the leading producer of tangerines, and it's not even close--China grows 25,000,000 tons of them annually, while #2 Spain cultivates 2,000,000 tons.

Nutty & Fruity coconut strips:  They were small, thin white strips, which kind of looked like pieces of onion.  There wasn't much of an odor.  They had a dry, chewy texture.  The taste was...like coconut, or good.  I like coconut in general, so this wasn't much of a surprise.  They were a nice snack.  Probably healthier than most snacks, such as chips, etc.  

Nutty & Fruity dried tangerines:  They were a yellow-orangish color, and were twisted into random shapes.  Their appearance was rather off-putting--they kind of reminded me uncomfortably of scabs.  There wasn't really a smell to them.  The texture was chewy and dry.  The flavor was really good.  Nicely sweet.  These "tangerine raisins" were quite tasty.  I've already bought them again several times.  I recommend the coconut ones, and highly recommend these tangerines.

     I did find one bit of dirt about Food Castle.  I read an intent to sue notice from May of last year, alleging that there was lead contamination in their chili tamarind bites.  I didn't see the upshot of this, so I don't know if this charge was proven or not.

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--An Italian/Austrian Cookie

      I went through my blog list recently, and saw it's been nearly a year since I last covered a cookie.  (On September 14, 2024, to be exact, and it was also from Italy.)  Fortunately, a little while ago I bought and tried some cookies, so this problem was easily solvable.  I sampled the dark chocolate flavored Quadratinis from the Loacker company.

     Loacker just recently celebrated their centennial, as the company was founded on April 3rd, 1925.  Alfons Loacker had worked at a local shop since he was a child, and in 1925 he was able to buy it, and run it as his own.  By 1940 the company was selling its first packaged baked goods.  In 1958 Alfons' son Armin took over as the head chef, while his daughter Christine handled the administration and distribution aspects of the business.  In 1974 the main facility was moved upward, to the mountain community of Auna di Sotto, on the Renon plateau in the Dolomites, which in turn are part of the Alps.  By 1975 Loacker products were exported to the Middle East, China, and Japan.  In 1984 the ads for the company began using the characters known as the Gnometti.  And in 1996 the third generation of the family took over, in the form of Andreas Loacker.  Aside from various types of wafer, Loacker product categories include exquisite patisseries, choco snacks, chocolates, praline dreams, gifts and seasonals, and duty free.  Currently the business employs well over 1000 people, and is exported to the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Israel, and China.  The cookies I had, Quadratinis, were developed in 1994, and come in many flavors, such as hazelnut, tiramisu, peanut butter, gingerbread, and coconut.  Loacker is also concerned with various causes and issues of the day.  They're dedicated to using sustainable supplies and packaging, maintaining climate neutrality, practicing social responsibility, while also allowing for "mindful indulgences."  Also, they do have another plant in Austria, which is where my cookies were made.  Hence the mention in the title.

Loacker dark chocolate Quadratinis:  They were squares, about 2 cm. (about .75 inch) to a side, layered, with 5 cookie/4 chocolate filling layers.  The outer cookie had the typical latticed wafer pattern, and the color of the cookie layers was light yellow, and the chocolate filling layers a dark brown, obviously.  They were crunchy, with a soft filling in the middle.  They were okay.  I probably would have liked them better if they were milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, but the wafers cut the dark chocolate bitterness decently.  Otherwise they were very much like other wafers, except for the added layers, and the smaller square shape instead of a rectangle.  So I would recommend these, especially for dark chocolate fans.  And I'll look for other flavors, especially for flavors I normally enjoy, such as peanut butter.

     The advertising campaign characters called the Gnometti have a fairly extensive back story and, well, fuller characterization than most of their kind.  There are 13 named characters, each with their own specialty and skills.  Mestolo is the leader, for starters.  And Quadratolo is a wafer engineer, who invented the Quadratini cookies.  Finally, if you're tempted to rip off the Quadratini concept, design, and the cookie itself, be forewarned--Loacker will come after you.  In 2003 police raided facilities in Lebanon and Syria that were infringing on Loacker's trademark product.

     

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--2 More Probiotic Drinks

      A little over a year ago, on June 8th, 2024, I reported on some probiotic drinks (and prebiotic).  Well, I happened to see a new-to-me brand of the same beverage type the other day.  So I decided to give this gut-friendly tipple another chance.  I had the blueberry lemonade and the berry cherry probiotic water flavors from the Karma brand.

     I went into a bit of detail about the nature of probiotic drinks in the previous post, so I won't repeat myself much here.  The official Karma website (drinkKarma.com) was one of those fairly terse ones, which mainly had product lines, and where to purchase them.  I had to consult other business-related websites to fill in even the most basic company history gaps.  Anyway, according to those, Karma was founded by CJ Rapp and Jeff Platt, in February of 2011.  Currently, Rapp is the CEO, Platt is the President, and a Lowell Patric is the COO/CFO.  The company's headquarters are in Pittsford, NY.  And that's about all I could find out about the Karma story.  Karma has two basic product lines--the probiotic waters, and the energy waters.  Aside from the two I tried, other probiotic water flavors were watermelon wild berry and strawberry lemonade.  The energy water choices are raspberry peach, blueberry watermelon, orange mango, and melon dragon fruit. The energy boost in these is provided by the old standby, caffeine, as well as cognizin citicoline.  Additionally, Karma has "stick packs," which are powdered mixes that the customer combines with water.  The flavors of these are berry cherry, blueberry lemonade, and strawberry lemonade, so it appears that they are powdered probiotic waters.  Karma is also very proud that their wares are free of GMOs, lactose, and gluten, and are relatively low in both calories and sugar.  They are appropriate for vegan diets as well.  And the plastic used for their bottles is free of BPA.

Karma probiotic water, blueberry lemonade flavor:  The bottle was 18 ounces/532 mL, and came with Karma's patented, protective push cap.  So, following directions, I peeled off the seal and then pushed down on the "button" underneath, which released the probiotics into the drink itself.  For this one the granules looked dark blue, or blackish in color.  The odor of the drink was slightly lemonade-y, and the color was clear, with just a little cloudiness to it.  The taste was very weak, only a tinge of fruitiness to it.  Therefore, as a beverage this one fails, as the taste is extremely lacking.

Karma probiotic water, berry cherry flavor:  The bottle was the same size as the previous one, and also had the push cap.  The only difference was that the granules were a reddish hue.  The odor was slightly berry-ish.  The color of the drink itself was pink.  And once again the taste was very disappointing--some hints of fruity flavor, but only hints.

  

     To sum up, then, as with my experience in 2024, I definitely didn't enjoy these as drinks. In some ways I don't understand why they bother adding flavor to these, since the results are so weak as to make no difference.  I'm assuming regular consumers of these only do so for the perceived benefits of the probiotics, and not the flavor of the drinks.  Maybe these quaffs are healthy, but they sure aren't tasty, or even mediocre.  Since my intestinal health seems okay in general, I don't plan on ever having these again.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Canadian/American, Basketball Player-Affiliated, Colossal Gummy Candy

     While browsing the candy aisle in my local grocery recently, I saw something new.  Shaq-a-licious XL sour gummies.  And I was intrigued.  I enjoy gummies in general, and sour kinds are usually tasty, too.  A bigger gummy just means more of a (potentially) good thing.  Finally, I usually find Shaquille O'Neal to be amusing--he was clearly a great NBA center, he has definite charisma, a solid sense of humor, and is an appealing and knowledgeable sports analyst.  So I bit, and brought home a bag, which of course was also larger than normal.

     Shaq-a-licious gummies are a new phenomenon, having started in 2024.  The regular ones are simply in the shape of Shaq's face and head, and come in three flavors--peach, berry punch, and orange.  The sour ones I tried are in three distinct shapes--a diesel truck, a cactus, and a shamrock.  I was initially puzzled by these last two shapes, but a little checking revealed that "big cactus" and "big shamrock" are two more in the long list of nicknames for Shaquille.  The actual maker of this candy is a bit convoluted.  According to the official website, Shaq met with candy experts, and together they decided on the exact type of gummy he wanted.  (Or, put another way, Shaq employed "gummi artisans, who worked exclusively in the medium of gummi."*)  But, the bag's label mentions that the candies are actually made in Canada.  However, the brand listed is Fantastic Candy Brands, LLC, out of Broomfield, Colorado.  Moving on, when you consult the official website (www.shaq-a-licious.com) it's revealed that the ultimate owner of this candy is the giant Hershey candy company.  Which, in addition to Hershey's chocolates, also owns many other brands, such as Reese's, Kit Kats, Twizzlers, Jolly Ranchers, Ice Breakers (a chewing gum), Payday, Dot's Homestyle Pretzels, Pirate's Booty, Fulfil, and One, among others.  Hershey's owns product lines in the chocolate, snack, sugar-free, fruity chewy and refreshing, and plant-based categories.  If you're curious, Hershey's was started by Milton S. Hershey in 1894.  He even founded the Pennsylvania town of Hershey for his employees in 1903.

Shaq-a-licious XL gummies:  I'll list the three different kinds separately.

"Diesel":  Looked like the front of a diesel truck, and was colored yellow, with white dusting on it. It measured about 3.5 cm. by 2.5 cm (about 1.5 inches by 1 inch).  It was sour, pineapple-y, and pretty good.  Very chewy, and I enjoyed it.

"The Big Cactus":  Was a purple cactus shape, about 1.75 inches by 1.25 inches (or about 4.5 cm. by 2.75 cm.) with a white dusting on it.  This one was also very chewy, and also very good.  Sour, and a strong berryish flavor.

"The Big Shamrock":  This one was a green shamrock shape, about 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches (or about 4 cm. by 4 cm.).  Had a sour melon-ish flavor.  Also good.  Which surprised me, since I don't usually like melons, or melon flavored foods.  But the sour flavor helped, I think.  Chewy and tasty.  So, all in all, I would definitely recommend these gummies, and all three of the separate sour kinds, as well.

     

     Returning to the namesake, Shaquille O'Neal has had a busy, exciting life.  He was a center in the NBA for 19 season, and was named to the Hall of Fame.  He was part of 4 NBA Champion teams.  Total, in 1207 games (1197 starts) he averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game.  Lifetime he's 11th in points scored, 16th in rebounds, 9th in blocked shots, and 13th in win shares, with 181.7.  Otherwise, he's been in a bunch of movies, sometimes as the star, and has been a successful sports analyst.  (It's a been confusing, but he's apparently been nominated for 3 or 4 Sports Emmys.)  Moving on, he's also been a podcaster, a philanthropist, and (along with this candy) a entrepreneur.  Shaq also has a doctorate.  I assumed this was an honorary one, but it's apparently legit, as he got a doctorate in education from Barry University.  Additionally, he was reportedly an undercover police officer, for a program targeting pedophiles.  Which sounds weirdly funny, as how could anyone not recognize a 7 foot, 1 inch tall, world famous athlete, but obviously this was Shaq trying to fool criminals online.  So good for Shaq--he seems to have used his athletic ability, and resulting fame to continue to bring joy to people, and to try to make the world a better place.  Although I don't hear great, or even decent things about his rapping.  And I think it's weird that some of his candy is shaped like his head.  But otherwise, good for him.

*  Simpsons ultra fans are correct--this is a reference to the "Homer Badman" episode, episode #9 of the sixth season, which featured a Venus de Milo made out of gummi candy.

Major League Baseball's Most Unbreakable Season Records

      Over the years, I've heard a lot of talk about baseball's most unbreakable records.  Off the top of my head, I'd say Fernando Tatis's record of hitting 2 grand slams in the same inning is a good candidate, since he's the only one ever to do this, and I certainly can't fathom anyone hitting 3 in one inning!  But, I don't want to discuss single game records here--they're too flukey, too often some mediocre, or worse player's one moment in the sun.  So today I'll cover single season records, since that's enough time to indicate real talent, and not some coincidence.  There is one big caveat, though--most of these records will be two holders, one for pre-1900 action, and one for after.  Baseball before 1900 was much different--different ball, different distance between the bases, different rules, on and on.  I personally regard the post 1900 records at the "real" ones, but I'll include the pre-1900s ones just for completion purposes, and to show just how different the game was.  Finally, there's the matter of different leagues.  Some of these holders played in other pro leagues, such as the American Association, or the Negro Leagues.  Some fans don't count games unless they were American League or National League contests.  But I'll include all of them, and you can judge for yourself.  Anyway, let's get to it.

1)   Most triples hit in a season:  36, by John Owen "Chief Wilson, of the 1912 Pittsburgh Pirates.  This is arguably the hardest batting record to break.  The next closest were Dave Orr of the 1886 New York Metropolitans (American Association), and Henry Reitz of the 1894 Baltimore Orioles (National League), who both had 31.  For comparison, the most in the 2000s was 23, hit by Curtis Granderson in 2007, with the Detroit Tigers.

2)   Most hit by pitch in a season:  (Pre-1900) 51, by Hughie Jennings, of the 1896 Baltimore Orioles (National League).  Jennings is also the lifetime leader in this category, with 287.  (Post-1900) 50, by Ron Hunt of the Montreal Expos in 1971.  Hunt also excelled in this "talent," as he finished with 243, or 6th all time.  Of recent leaders in this category, Ty France of the Seattle Mariners was hit 34 times in 2023.

3)   Most rbi in a season:  191, by Hack Wilson, in 1930 with the Chicago Cubs, in 155 games.  Next highest is 185, by Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees in 1931.  The more modern leader was the 165 total accumulated by Manny Ramirez for the 1999 Boston Red Sox.

4)   Most stolen bases in a season:  (Pre-1900)  138, by Hugh Nicol, for the 1887 Cincinnati Reds of the American Association.  (Post 1900)  130, by Rickey Henderson of the 1982 Oakland Athletics.  The next highest total was the 118 stolen by Lou Brock in 1974.  There hasn't been another player to steal 100 or more since 1987, when St. Louis Cardinal Vince Coleman got 109.  I think this record is particularly safe since modern teams, with the use of advanced sabremetrics, realize that it's unwise to attempt steals if you can't be successful at least 75-80% of the time.  Meaning modern teams don't try to steal nearly as much.

5)   Most runs scored in a season:  (Pre-1900)  198, by Philadelphia Phillie Billy Hamilton in 1894.  (Post-1900), 177 by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in 1921.  (Another pre-1900 player, Tom Brown, also scored 177, with the 1891 Boston Reds of the American Association.)  The highest amount in more recent times is the 152 scored by Jeff Bagwell for the Houston Astros in 2000.

6)   Highest batting average in a season:  (Negro Leagues)  .4711 by Tetelo Vargas for the 1943 New York Cubans, with 136 plate appearances.  .4659 by Josh Gibson, of the Homestead Grays in 1943, with 302 plate appearances.  (Pre-1900)  .4397, by Hugh Duffy of the Boston (no team name) team in the American League in 1894.  (Post-1900)  .4265 by Nap LaJoie of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901.  No one has hit even .400 since Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in 1941.  The highest more recent leader was the .394 hit by Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres in the labor-shortened 1994 season.

7)   Highest WAR in a season:  (Pre-1900)  20.2, by pitcher Tim Keefe for the New York Metropolitans (American Association) in 1883.   (Post-1900)  16.6, by pitcher Walter Johnson, of the Washington Senators in 1913.  The highest WAR for a position player is the 14.1 attained by New York Yankee Babe Ruth in 1923.  The highest more recent total is the 13.3 accumulated by New York Met pitcher Dwight Gooden in 1985.

8)   Most wins by a pitcher in a season:  (Pre-1900)  60, by Old Hoss Radbourn for the Providence Grays (National League) in 1884.  (Post-1900)  41, by Jack Chesbro of the New York Yankees in 1904.  For comparison, the last guy to win even 30 was Denny McLain in 1968, as he won 31 with the Detroit Tigers.

9)   Most losses by a pitcher in a season:  (Pre-1900) 48, by John Coleman for the 1883 Philadelphia squad (National League).  (Post-1900)  29, by Vic Willis of the 1905 Boston Nationals of the National League.  More recently, the last pitcher to lose 20 games was Mike Maroth of the Detroit Tigers in 2003, as he lost 21.

10)  Most innings pitched in a season:  (Pre-1900)  680, by Will White of the Cincinnati Reds (National League) in 1879.  (Post-1900)  464, by Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox (American League) in 1908.  For comparison, the last pitcher to throw even 300 innings was Steve Carlton for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, with 304.  The leader in the 2000s was Randy Johnson, with 260.

11)  Most complete games by a pitcher in a season:  (Pre-1900)  75, by Will White again, of the Cincinnati Reds in 1879.  (Post-1900)  48, by Jack Chesbro, in his sterling 1904 season with the New York Yankees.  The leader for the 2000s was James Shields, with 11 for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011.  The last guy to have 20 complete games was Fernando Valenzuela in 1986, with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  And the leaders in 2024 had a grand total of 2!

12)  Most shutouts by a pitcher in a season:  16, by two pitchers.  George Bradley had 16 for the St. Louis Brown Stockings (National League) in 1876.  Grover Cleveland Alexander had 16 with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1916.  Otherwise, the highs were 13, for Jack Coombs of the Philadelphia A's in 1910, and for Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968.  The leader in the 2000s was 6, for Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011.  The last guy with 10 was John Tudor of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985.

13)  Most fielding errors in a season:  (Pre-1900), 122(!) by two players.  Herman Long of the Kansas City Cowboys (American Association) in 1889, and by Billy Shindle of the 1890 Philadelphia Athletics (Players League).  (Post-1900)  98, by John Gochnaur for the 1903 Cleveland Naps (American League).  More recently, the 2000s leader was Jose Valentin, with 36 errors for the Chicago White Sox in 2000.  The last player with 40 or more was Jose Offerman, with 42 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992.

     So there you have it.  Forget DiMaggio's consecutive games hitting streak, I think these records are almost impossible to break.  Especially the pitching ones--with the way pitchers are used today, surely no one will ever pitch as many innings, complete games, shutouts, etc., as the pitchers in the "Dead Ball" error of 1900-1920, and never as many as guys in the 1800s.  As I hope I demonstrated with the more recent leaders in each category, it's almost silly to even consider it.  But, as usual, I would welcome dissenting opinions from readers.  I doubt you'll convince me, but you can give it a try.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Costa Rican/American Yuca Strips

      This one was a blast from the past for me.  Or, more accurately, an event from the past.  Whatever the intensity, I first had yuca over 11 years ago, and reported on it in my post on April 10, 2014.  This brush with yuca was in a canned form, and from the mammoth Goya corporation.  This time it was bagged yuca strips, from the relatively tiny Mayte brand.

     I went into some detail about the yuca plant in my 2014 post, so I won't repeat myself much now.  Briefly, yuca, aka cassava and manioc, is a very popular carbohydrate food source in the world, especially in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.  It's not to be confused with "yucca," which is an ornamental plant.  To add to the fun, dried yuca is often known as "tapioca," and is then rendered into the strange looking, eyeball-looking, pudding.

     The Mayte brand is plantain-focused.  The company makes many flavors of plantain chips--sweet, garlic, chile-lemon, salted, lime, sweet maduritos strips, and in strip form.  Additionally, Mayte sells "Danny's Roots," which is a bag filled with a combination of plantains, cassava (yuca), sweet plantain, taro, and sweet potato chips.  Other than these chips, and of course, the yuca ones I had, they also make dulce de leche (a milk chocolate spread) and a guava paste.  Mayte's wares are currently sold in Florida, Alabama, Washington D.C., New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and a few other places in New England.  According to the official website, Mayte was started in Miami, Florida in 2002, by a woman who goes by the same name.  She came to Miami seeking independence, and to strive to fulfill her dreams, and to liberate her true self.  Mayte is passionate about music, her roots (both literal plant roots, and her history, I think), and she likes to be the center of attention.  And that's all I could learn.  I couldn't even find out what her real full name is.  "Mayte" is a common nickname in Hispanic communities, as it's usually a shortening of "Maria Theresa," or sometimes "Maria Esther."  Reportedly it means "lovable" or "loved one" in various Spanish dialects.  And I guess Danny of the Danny's Roots product might be Mayte's husband, or father, or son, etc.

Mayte yuca strips:  These were thin yellow strips, with brownish cooked edges, and of various shapes and sizes.  They were dry and crunchy.  By themselves, they tasted kind of like bland potato chips.  Okay, but a little tame.  Combined with a good dip or spread they were much better.  So they were a decent canape or dip vehicle.  Therefore, eating them plain I wouldn't really recommend, but with a good dip they're pretty solid.  And I will try Mayte's plantain offerings if I see them, since it is their flagship product.

     A few weeks ago, in my June 14th post, I reported that one of my stories might be out in the first issue of Horrorsmith:  The Magazine, due out on June 30th.  This was a misunderstanding, as this issue did come out, but my story is not a part of it.  It will be in an issue of this magazine, but obviously in a later issue--perhaps the issue that comes out in late July/early August, or in late August/early September.  I'll try to find out and keep everyone informed as soon as I do.  In the meantime, I certainly recommend that folks give issue #1 a read.  There's no risk--it's free.  You can access it at the publisher's website, which is:   https://www.horrorsmithpublishing.com

     Finally, the other story I've mentioned recently is coming along nicely.  The edits are complete, and my author biography has been turned in.  It's slated for an August 2025 release at this time, in the Volume II anthology.  More info will be shared on this blog as soon as I receive it.  Stay tuned!