Things I ate with Claire.

My beautiful sister Claire, a champion eater
and even better house guest!
(...and no, those are not her real glasses.)

Truth be told, I judge a person's character by what they eat. Perhaps saying I judge their character sounds a bit too harsh, but it is certainly legitimate to admit that I determine many things about a person based on what they eat and how they eat it, not to mention how they pursue food in general. My observations on this influence how I feel about the person.

I like big eaters with healthy appetites. I especially like big eaters that enjoy eating. I most especially like big eaters that enjoy eating AND take pride in what they eat by pursuing quality ingredients and notable meals.

For this reason, I can wholeheartedly say that I like my sister Claire.

She visited this week. She is on Spring break from her arduous academic pursuit of a nursing degree, so I wanted to show her a good time, and I think I succeeded. She had a blast, and I loved having her. In looking back at her visit, I realize that it was largely dominated by eating. We went a lot of places, many of which we prioritized because of the food. I think the best way to summarize her visit is by summarizing our eating. Below is an almost complete list of everything we ate, give or take some snacks here and there:

Chocolate Cupcake (from scratch)
Rosario's Top Shelf Margaritas
Rosario's Ceviche
Rosario's Tacos Nortanios
Azuca Mojitos
Guenther House Cinnamon Bun (more than one, actually)
Guenther House Sticky Roll
Starbuck's Honey Lattes (at least four of them!)
Ikea Ice Cream Cone (in honor of Dad)
Trudy's Stuffed, Deep Fried Avocado (yes, such a thing exists)
Hotel San Jose Sangria and Artisan Cheese Tray
Mars Cafe DELICIOUS Asian fusion Dinner
Chicken and Beef Fundito Taco (that means taco fillings served in melted Mexican cheese)
Whole Foods Picnic (the usual bread, cheese, and olives, plus homemade pudding!)
Homemade Granola with mango and plain yogurt
Chris Madrid's Macho Flaming Jalepeno Burger (that macho, not the regular)
Nordstrom Cafe Coffee Beverage
Guinness (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)
Liberty Bar Portebella Mushroom Sandwich
Panchito's Breakfast Tacos
Leftovers
Bread and Cheese with Wine
Lentil Salad with Roasted Beets
Homemade Rice Crispy Treats
Homemade Brownie Carmel Ice Cream
Homemade Fudge topping
Toast with Irish Butter
more Rice Crispy Treats (yes, with breakfast)
Cappyccino's Mediterranean Grilled Cheese an White Chicken Chili

I briefly tried to calculate the caloric value of our eating, but there was not enough space on my calculator for all the zeros, so I stopped trying. Let's just summarize by saying that I ate enough calories to fuel a whole helluva lot of fun. I love my sister, and her champion eating behavior just makes me love her all the more. Awwwww, hugs and kisses sis!

When I started to compile a list of everything we had eaten, Claire exclaimed that "Just because we ate a lot of things does NOT mean we ate huge quantities of it!" She is partially correct. It is true, we did not binge every singe meal. And Claire, to keep up appearances I promise not to tell anyone that I saw you eat three breakfast tacos on Tuesday...oh wait, I just told. Cat's out of the bag on that one. Well, I ate three too, and so did Sam. That's probably why I love these two people so much. They love eating breakfast tacos, and relish the experience enough to eat three in one morning. I also love them because they don't eat breakfast tacos every single morning. Nay, they eat them on special occasions like visits, lazy weekends, and post-party, mid-hangover mornings. They are not frequent bingers. No no, they are selective bingers which are the best type of binge eaters in my book.

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Well, it turns out the way to my heart is through your own stomach. Fill it enthusiastically with delicious food, and you will be forever more the object of my affections. I love you Claire!