About "The Monster"

My name is Alvin. I'm a professional BMW Certified Automotive Technician, Automotive Fanatic, and full-time Foodie turned nightime food blogger (I do most of my writing at night because that's currently the only time I have available). I started this blog to share my food experiences and love of food with the world in the hopes that others could benefit. If someone reads this blog and it encourages them to eat somewhere they wouldn't have eaten before or didn't previously know about then i'd call this blog a success.

The internet is swamped with food blogs of all shapes and sizes. Some written by trained chefs and authorities on the subject while others are authored by people that are merely passionate about food and the pleasures gained from eating said food. To which of these groups do I fall into?

Well, I definitely am not a formally trained chef, nor would I consider myself an authority on food or eating by any stretch of the imagination. I do, however, have 30 plus years of experience in pleasing my taste buds so I guess that puts me in the latter of the two aforementioned groups. Also, I pretty much need to feed what seems like every hour, on the hour so within those 30 plus years I have definitely racked up quite a number of meals. Hopefully that earns me a little bit of credibility on the subject.

What can you expect to find here on Foodie Monster? Well, for starters, I love foods of all types, shapes and sizes. I'll try anything once...twice if I like it and you can be sure i'll tell you, the reader all about it! I'll be reviewing all kinds of restaurants from the fine dining gourmet places to the total dumps and dives. Nothing is out of bounds. If I can get my grubby little hands onto it (and I LOVE eating with my hands!) you can bet it will end up on here sometime. I'll also be posting some recipes I love that i've picked up over the years as well as reviewing new recipes from various sources. Bottom line: I want to share my passion for food with the world and help others feed their inner foodie!

What's in a Name?

I sat in front of my laptop for quite a while brainstorming for name ideas for this food related blog. I wanted a name that was appropriate to the topic at hand (food) as well as something that relates to me directly. I also wanted a name with a little bit of humor built-in and something that was catchy and easy to remember. After sitting there for thinking about it for what felt like an eternity, it finally dawned on me! Foodie Monster!

"Why Foodie Monster?" you may ask. Well, I think the "Foodie" part is obvious. I'm definitely a foodie to the core. I don't eat solely as a means of sustinance...I eat for the sheer pleasure of the experience! I don't eat to live, I live to eat. I truly think that one of the finest, simplest pleasures in life is a good meal. And by good meal, I mean a meal that sings lullabies to your soul through your taste buds.

As for the "Monster" part...well, I kinda got that from my wife. You see, when I eat I have a propensity for eating with extreme brevity. In other words, I eat my meals really fast and that's the way I like it. I'm pretty sure if you went around and polled my friends to see who the "fastest" eater they knew was, it'd probably be me (not that that's something to be proud of). In addition, I also have a tendency to eat mass quantities of food as well. I swear I think i'm missing the part of my brain that receives the "stomach is full" signal and instructs the body to stop eating. Or, maybe i'm not missing it...i've just learned to supress it due to my penchant for good food. Now, during many of the meals that I have shared with my wife I've heard her say, "You're a MONSTER!" in reference to my fast and plentiful eating. So, I thought that would be a perfect complement to the "Foodie" term. Foodie Monster. Short, appropriate, and to the point. Perfect!