Ritz Crackers

Today I was chatting with my buddy Nick on IM and told him I had a lunch meeting at Five Guys and would blog about my experience this evening to tell everyone how things went. I fully planned to do so, but quite honestly, I am so tired I can hardly hold my eyes open. However, I just experienced something that made me have to write tonight even in my beaten state.

Do you remember when you were a kid playing with your brothers and sisters in the yard at your grand parents house? You may have been playing football, wiffle ball or just throwing around a Frisbee. Do you remember how huge that yard seemed to you? Then when you went back twenty or thirty years later that damn yard seems so small that you cannot imagine how you ever played and had so much fun in that yard? Well, that is what I experienced tonight in a gastrinomical way.

I went to the store yesterday and was cruising the aisle to pick-up my daughter some snacks and noticed they had Ritz Crackers on sale. It has been a while since we had any Ritz Crackers in the house, so I decided to pick up a box. As I stated previously, I went to Five Guys and had a great burger and fries today with my friend Kelly, so I wasn't that hungry tonight. However, after sitting here reading the newspaper and taking care of some work things on the computer, I felt I needed a snack.

I decided to have a couple of cheese and crackers to tide me over until morning. When I opened the sleeve of crackers, I swear those damn crackers have gotten smaller. Has anyone had Ritz Crackers recently and noticed this change? I very well may be wrong, but swear they are smaller than they used to be. Surely, you have all heard that ice cream packaging has gotten smaller recently, but the price has stayed the same. I think this is an inside conspiracy by these food companies to increase their revenues without us noticing.

Let me know your thoughts on what I am now calling the "Ritz Reduction Conspiracy" and let me know if you think I am off my rocker.

Look for those promised blog posts tomorrow night for Five Guys and other local restaurants I have visited lately. I am out!

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Maria Bonita

Maria Bonita
1784 S. Ridgewood Avenue
South Daytona, FL
(386)767-9512

I recently had one of my readers ask me how much weight I had lost recently and I asked her what she was talking about. She said I must have lost a ton of weight since I hadn't been blogging about any meals I had eaten recently. Truth is, I am still that same fathead I have been, but just have not been going out as much as usual. I am currently trying to get two new businesses off the ground and it has been challenging to say the least. So I am finding myself trying to save as much money as possible.

However, a couple of weeks ago I did have the opportunity to go to Maria Bonita in South Daytona Beach. The specialize in Mexican and Cuban food. I love both and had heard good things about this restaurant for a long time, but had never been there. My friend Kelly convinced me to meet her there and I am happy I did.

We got there around 12:30 and the restaurant had a pretty good crowd. Seems a lot of the folks from the courthouse visit the restaurant as Kelly heard a table of lawyers speaking to some judges that had arrived for lunch. We sat down at a nice size booth and were immediately given chips and salsa. The chips were hot and crispy with a very fresh, spicy salsa to accompany the chips. Kelly ordered the tacos and I went with the burritos. Each come with yellow rice and refried beans. Kelly made a special request regarding her beans, which I don't quite remember, but she ended-up with way more than she bargained for. These guys serve a tremendous amount of food.

Our orders came out in a timely manner and were spaced just right, given that Kelly's order included soup to start. Both of us were pleased with the amount of food we received and how fresh everything seemed to be. My burritos were filled with spicy ground beef and covered with ranchero sauce and cheese. The rice was fluffy and flavorful and the beans were great. This is truly authentic Mexican food.

I hope to get back to Maria Bonita soon to try some of their Cuban dishes. I want to go there at least once in the evening to see how things change at dinner time. My guess is it is a lively crowd in the evening and the dishes are even more bountiful than what they serve at lunch.

This is really a little slice of Mexican heaven in Daytona Beach. For my first visit to Maria Bonita, I have to give them four Stiffy's. I urge you to visit if you like Mexican food in a nice, casual atmosphere.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry