Recently, Forbes.com listed America’s top 5 fastest roads, and guess what… one in OKC was on the list. It was a really interesting article, but I have one problem with it: they didn’t dig into WHY people sped on these roads. Before I get into that, here are the deets on how they determined the fastest. Forbes first looked for “stretches of roadway where motorists routinely floor it, then it found the speed range at which each roadway’s fastest 5% of drivers travel.” They then “multiplied that figure by the length of each road to decide the final ranking.” I know, there’s math, but you can keep reading, it’ll get easier. The result was a list of roads where “drivers put the pedal to the metal over fairly long distances.” Okay, now that I’ve fried all your brains with that crazy thing called math, here are the 5 fastest roads in America: 5. Arizona State Rte 77 - Heading N out of Tucson up the AZ-76/Redington Road near San Manuel Airport Average speed of fastest 5%: 81 mph Top speed clocked by INRIX: 81 mph Length of corridor: 4.8 miles 4. Eastbound MI-5 Michigan Hwy - Heading into Detroit from the I-275/I-96 interchange to Telegraph Rd Average speed of fastest 5%: 81 mph Top speed clocked by INRIX: 83 mph Length of corridor: 4.9 miles 3. California State Route 73 - In both directions between Moulton Parkway and Bear Street Average speed of fastest 5%: 81 mph Top speed clocked by INRIX: 85 mph Length of corridor: 14.8 miles 2. Oklahoma State Highway 33 - In both directions just Northwest of Oklahoma City Average speed of fastest 5%: 83 mph Top speed clocked by INRIX: 87 mph Length of corridor: 24 miles 1. Northbound Arizona State Route 79 - Between Saguaro National Park and Phoenix Average speed of fastest 5%: 88 mph Top speed clocked by INRIX: 94 mph Length of corridor: 17.6 miles I don’t know if we should be proud or ashamed that we’re clocked in at #2. On one hand, we should never drive recklessly. On the other hand, some of the greatest fried chicken to ever grace the planet is on the other end of that road. This may be over-simplified, but Eischen’s the reason why we drive 87 mph. The chicken is divine… it’s the Oklahoma ambrosia of the Gods. It’s so good that people don’t care that they only take cash. It’s so good that women are willing to forget their diets for the night. It’s so good that people are willing to risk major fines for speeding. Seriously, y’all, this fried chicken is amazing. The chicken here has been described as “the best fried chicken I've ever had,” “freaking AWESOME!!” “Delicious. Never have I had such juicy, flavorful, crisp, melt in your mouth chicken as I did here.” I’m not making these up. I could, but I don’t need to. It has been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and Guy Fieri practically drooled over it. Granted, with the outfits he wears, I question his taste in general, but he isn’t wrong in this case. Eischen’s is a mecca of fried-chicken awesomeness. Here’s the best review of Eischen’s I could find: ”Eischen's Bar is the perfect place to unwind and soak in the Oklahoma glory. The ride to the small town of Okarche yields abandoned buildings along the highway, cows standing in groups in the shade, and a cowboy couple riding their trusty steeds in the late sunlight. Yee haw! Eischen’s is the cherry on the Midwestern sundae, the creme de la creme of the red dirt state, the de facto standard of all bars Oklahoman.“
Oklahoma City loves Eischen’s, and we’re willing to risk it for the juicy goodness. Now, I can’t tell you why the other locations were listed, but I can guess. More than likely, the locals know there’s a great local restaurant on the other end and have to hurry before all the tables are gone. Really, Forbes, I expected more of you. As I would tell my students, “You need to dig a little deeper, you’re just skimming the top of the story.” Great, I’m craving the finger-licking goodness. There goes my diet.
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Two of my favorite things are food & fashion. I love and need both of them in my life. Normally, I would try to save my pennies, but it seems like the cosmos is telling me I need to go to this. First, I run into Johnathan Kayne at the art museum. Then, I run into a lady whose agency is producing the show... yeah, definitely needing to go to this. Anyone else wanna go?
Here are the deets: "Project-Runway-famed fashion designer, Johnathan Kayne, will host the exclusive Fashion for Food Fashion Show at the Regional Food Bank on Saturday, September 25th from 6:30 to 10 p.m. The custom Johnathan Kayne pieces featured in the finale will be available for purchase in a live auction at the event. Additionally, a number of silent auction items will help to raise charitable dollars. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Regional Food Bank's Food for Kids program. Kayne hopes to provide Food for Kids backpacks to 150 chronically hungry elementary school children. Food for Kids provides chronically hungry elementary school children with backpacks filled with non-perishable, kid-friendly food to eat over weekends and holidays. Food for Kids serves 305 elementary schools in 42 counties across central and western Oklahoma, providing backpacks to nearly 8,000 chronically hungry children each week during the school year. There are currently 25 schools on the waiting list to join the program. Tickets go on sale to the public August 31st. Seats will be limited. General admission tickets are $75, and front row seats are $100. Mark your calendar today – more details later!" http://www.regionalfoodbank.org/Event-Calendar/Fashion-for-Food Yeah, I'm totally going. I’m a big fan of figuring out healthy meals. I don’t necessarily need a recipe, I just come up with things that sound good and inspire me. Today’s meal was inspired by… the random items in my fridge. Wild, I know. So, here’s my Turkey Asparagus Pasta. (Yes, Mom, I ate asparagus. No one forced me.) Food: 1 package ground turkey 2 Tablespoons Rasberry Wasabi mustard (or spicy creole mustard) 1 bound stalk of asparagus 4-5 roma tomatoes dollop of olive oil 2 cups pasta (uncooked) Lemon Juice 3 garlic cloves Parmesan cheese Dishes: one pot, two skillets Boil pasta in the water. When the pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Dice the garlic (keep one clove separate) and roma tomatoes. Chop the asparagus into 1-inch sections. Add a dollop of olive oil and lemon juice into a skillet, put on medium heat. Add the three garlic cloves, tomatoes, asparagus to the skillet. Let the vegetables sauté together (about 5 minutes). At the same time, sauté the ground turkey in the second skillet. Add two tablespoons of raspberry wasabi mustard* and the final clove of diced garlic into skillet. Once thoroughly cooked, add meat to sautéing veggies. Let simmer for a minute, then add pasta. Toss and plate. Add parmesan cheese to taste. Serves 2-3. And just so y’all know… It was delicious. However, I did burn my tongue because I was impatient. Dang it.
*Random food item in my fridge, but you could use spicy creole mustard as a substitute. There are some wonderful benefits to being done with your dissertation (yes, I still have a few edits to make, but...at least I have time to breathe now). The sky is bluer (despite the crazy tornadic weather the AL/MS area seems to be having), the days are warmer (or maybe that's summer coming), I get to sleep more (or maybe that's the tonsillitis I am currently fighting). There are a ton of benefits... really. One of them is that I actually can enjoy cooking again. Have I mentioned that I like to cook? No? That's because I've been dissertating for the past 6 months... nonstop. But, we've survived that, and I'm getting back to me. Slowly. Like I said, one of the things I love to do is cook. I'm no expert, but I love to come up with recipes, try new things, and make my friends join me for dinner. It relaxes me. I'm sort of like Bree Van De Kamp that way. I'm happiest serving others... especially if it means making some skinny girl eat something. Okay, so the picture doesn't exactly suite, but it cracked me up... and I couldn't find one that she didn't look a little crazy. Now that I think about it, maybe Bree isn't the best example. Hmm... Anyways... here's a little something that I whipped up while watching that tornadic weather the other day. I didn't exactly have a recipe, but I was inspired by my friend, Kate, and her blog about the Paleo lifestyle. I changed her recipe up for my preferences and here's what I came up with. Tomato, Feta, & Spinach Stuffed Chicken 1-2 lbs chicken breast (thawed) 2-3 Roma tomatoes - chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 6 oz spinach 1/4 cup cilantro 1/4 cup crumbled feta Olive Oil lemon juice (or lime juice)
It was a totally new recipe for me. And I must admit, it was as good as it looked.
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About the AuthorI'm a Ph.D. in Mass Communication, PR Consultant, SM junkie, fashionista, Space Nerd, Food Lover, Bama Fan and friend. Roll Tide! Archives
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