This Blog Runs On Dunkin'

I'm giddy this morning. Why? It's simple and completely dorky. I've been tweeting with my current crushes @DunkinDonuts and @DCDunkin. Yes my search for Pumpkin Ground Coffee has led to some most wonderful tweets via the social media savvy folks at Dunkin'. The highlight? When I tweeted this pic of my at-home DD stock...

I received this tweet response...

And it doesn't get any truer than that. Just check out all the receipts from the 5 Dunkins between Baltimore and Syracuse. Then there's this...

That's right. The search for Dunkin' pumpkin grounds has now been named, by Dunkin, the 'GPC Mission'. My Dunkin'-obsessed parents will be so proud.  And please remember I'm always open to Dunkin' deliveries. I like my Pumpkin coffee with a little cream, no sweeteners.

The Greatest Bar-B-Que Show On Earth

Let me put it this way... if there was Dinosaur BBQ within an hour of Baltimore I would have had to put lose 100 lbs on my '30 by 30'.  Dinosaur may be just the greatest restaurant on my earth. I put it on my '30' even though I have been there a few times in the past few years (the Harlem Dino, not the Syracuse Dino). I actually figured I would make it to the NYC one this year and not the Syracuse one, but boy am I happy i hit up my original Dino. Not sure Dino NYC would have gotten this much of a cheesy reaction...

Only Dino Could Get This Cheesy A Smile

Some history: I love food (shocker!), especially barbeque. I went to Dino for the first time freshman year with my family. It was ridiculous. I didn't go too often until Jr and Sr year when it became a Thursday night tradition with some friends. I just love love loved it. The atmosphere is fun, the food is great, the beer selection is tremendous. The packed crowds make it even more fun. In a town where I honestly didn't like too much, I really liked this place. I had such high expectations for the Syracuse location that I was concerned it wouldn't live up to my self-inflicted hype. I was also concerned that ridiculously-health-conscious Liz would be disappointed. Turns out Dino BBQ actually surpassed high expectations! It was even better than I remembered. Not sure how this is possible, but it was just delicious. Our beer selection for Friday night dinner included Saranac Pale Ale (my traditional Dino brew) and Purple Haze (a tremendous beverage whisperer pick). Though I'd like to think I've had most things on the Dino menu, we were craving wings with our beer and picked the Wango Tangos. 

"They were the best wings I have ever had in my life. Sorry Kislings." -Liz

That's right, they were that good. So good that I bought Wango Tango sauce at Wegmans and am determined to start cooking with it immediately. Just check these out...

Wings & Beer Dino Style

The photo does not do them justice but the Wango Tango-y fall off the bone deliciousness was spectacular. For dinner I got my usual favorite ribs (an ambitious 3/4 rack), macaroni and tomato cucumber salad. It was amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. This picture makes me wanna hop in the car and drive on back. Yeah some food gets me excited.

What Diet?

Could not have asked for a better experience. I've enjoyed the NYC Dino the past few times I went, but the Syracuse Dino is the absolute best. Atmosphere, food, everything. Dino oh how I miss you.

Dino At Night

The Menu

Raspberry Beer Goodness

Back To The Big Orange

It's hard to believe I hadn't been up to Syracuse since my graduation in May 2004. That all changed this weekend! On a whim I decided to make the most of a regularly scheduled 3-day weekend (thanks to Redskins playing Monday Night Football) by conquering a few of the '30 by 30'. I convinced (again, quite easily) my girl Liz to come along. Since we planned it very last minute (like, Thursday) there was minimal expectationy pressure and more room for spontaneous fun. My goals for the trip were simple. 1) Go to the Toledo-Syracuse game and 2) Eat at Dinosaur BBQ. Anything else would be icing on the orange cake. 

We left around 11am on Friday. If you factor in the usual morning trip to Dunkin we really got on the road closer to 11:15. It literally rained the entire way up to Syracuse. Figures, right? The frequently monsoon-esque rains led to a few extra pit stops. They turned out to be quite entertaining pit stops, including a Halloween themed bathroom in a Hess gas station (pictured) and my 1st ever M-T-O at Sheetz (for me, not Liz, she doesn't do carbs). We finally rolled into Syracuse around 5:45 on Friday evening. A bit long for my liking but understandable considering it rained, hard, the entire drive. We drove straight to Dino and let me tell you it was freaking amazing. I'll do a separate post for Dino but yeah it was ridiculously great and lived up to everything I remember. From there we hit up the Wegmans (not sure anyone other than Rochester-native Liz could love Weggies more than me) for some Genesee Cream Ale and then basically called it a night. Kickoff for Toledo-Syracuse was 12pm so we started Saturday with another trip to Wegmans (shopping list included Dinosaur BBQ sauce and chocolate chip cookies), a trip to Dunkin, a stop by my old Syracuse house (pictured), a t-shirt purchase on Marshall Street (2 for $15, score!) and a stroll to the Dome. We bought tickets from a nice dude outside. $20 total for 2 tickets. Can't beat that. In some ways it was kinda weird being back in the dome for the first time in 8 years, but in other ways it was kinda comfortable like I never left. Game was a blast (helped that we won)! We ended the Syracuse adventure with a walk into Newhouse 3 (which was just a dream last time I was there), a quick trip by my favorite professor's office (too bad she wasn't in town, but I did leave a note) and then we hit the road. Less than 24 hours in the big orange but had a blast and was ready to call it a mini road trip. 

Turns out there was one last ridiculously fun surprise waiting for us. While stopped in a Dunkin/Citgo in Cortland, Liz found Dunkin Ground Pumpkin (pictured). I'm convinced this is counterfeit coffee considering we frequent lots of Dunkin and have never ever seen the Pumpkin flavored grounds. Just had some though and it is delicious so whatever it is and for whatever reason it's only in 1 Dunkin in the world, I'll take it. The drive home was a very easy 5 hours. And now I can cross Syracuse football, Dinosaur, and road trip off my '30 by 30'. I'll call that a very successful 32 hours. 

1st In-Person Look at Newhouse 3

A Bathroom. In a Hess gas station.

O-R-A-N-G-E

My Jr/Sr Year House. 708!

Found: Dunkin Pumpkin Grounds in Cortland, NY