Day 11: How am I supposed to think of another 19 blog titles this month?

We still don't know who the culprit was,
but my money's on one of these clowns.

I got home from work exhausted and dreading a new recipe. I had already resolved to make leftovers and somehow spice them up (i.e. add a can of peas) so I had a decent story to tell, but all that changed when I walked in the door. I'll save you the gory details, but one of our three animals had a rough day while we were gone. There were not one but five different piles of - well, I promised I'd spare you the details, but needless to say the house smelled disgusting. Luckily, Scott had gotten home first and had to deal with the clean up (though he did say he considered leaving, waiting til I got home, and then acting surprised when he found me cleaning it up). Ah, the joys of parenthood.

Using the excuse that we had to go buy paper towels, we decided that we might as well go out to eat if we were already going to leave the house. My friend, Mel, had suggested (probably less than 48 hours ago) that we try the black bean burger at Wicked Hop, and I've quickly learned that Mel is always right when it comes to matters of food. After all, she was the one who suggested the Mac Attack at the State Fair - a grilled cheese made with ham, bacon, tomato, and mac and cheese. I just... I can't... I don't want to talk about that anymore.

We've been to Wicked Hop countless times. It's our go-to place when we have guests from out of town and want to show them a quality brunch. I'm vehemently against breakfast foods (eggs are disgusting, syrup smells like gut rot, and morning is for the birds), but Scott is madly in love with them. Wicked Hop is the perfect balance for us, because he can get whatever sort of vomlet he wants and I would get their sliders, because it's never too early for cheeseburgers. Plus they've got a great patio and their bloody marys come with a full meal of cheese, beef, and garnish on top. Ya know what? Let's not talk about this either.

It was our first time visiting Wicked Hop for dinner and - thanks to Mel - we barely needed to glance at the menu. We both ordered the veggie burgers and fries, him with peppers on top and me with sauteed mushrooms. They arrived in a hurry and looked as delicious as promised. The burgers were made of black beans and corn, and they rested on a fluffy, golden bun. Can I say definitively that the bun was 100% vegan? Not for sure, but don't take this away from me. The mushrooms were a genius addition (yay me) and I inhaled the burger at light speed. I mean that literally. The great thing about black bean burgers it that you don't have to bother with that whole chewing thing. Everything about it was amazing. We polished off the burgers and managed to eat the entire mountain of deliciously crispy fries they came with, despite protests from our ever-expanding bellies. It goes without saying that we were satisfied with our experience. Ten points for Gryffindor, Mel.