Cooperstown

 This week I finally found a restaurant where my eyes were bigger than my stomach.  Cooperstown is located in downtown Phoenix at 1st Street and Jackson.  This establishment comes from Alice Cooper who has created an atmosphere of extreme rock and roll memorabilia mixed with a sorts of sports memorabilia.  This makes a great place to get a drink and/or eat downtown before going to a game at Chase Field or US Airways center.  So if you do plan on coming here be prepared for crowds if it is a game day and come early enough to get a seat.
We did not come on a game so we were seated quickly and ordered our usual Coke products.  The size of soda was extremely large which makes it handy so you don't have to keep asking for refills.  While still uncertain about our entrees, we decided to start off with "Sparky's BBQ sliders".  The combination of sliders included two barbecue beef, two barbecued pulled pork and two barbecued chicken.
 These had a mild, sweet BBQ sauce with the beef being the most moist while the chicken being the driest meat of the three.  The buns were super soft and just melted into the barbecue meat.
Patti was feeling fat and felt the need to try a healthier option than she has had for the past few months.  She went with the "Bruce Lee" Asian Chicken Salad.  This is a typical Asian Chicken salad with mandarin oranges, a sesame ginger dressing and crispy rice noodles mixed with lettuce and grilled chicken.  The portion size was large enough for left overs.  The chicken was not as dry as the sliders but didn't quite melt in her mouth either.  The chef was reasonable when mixing the dressing thoroughly and was able to leave the lettuce flavorful but not drenched and dripping.  And yes, before you comment on the irony, Patti does realize that it is contradictory to have three barbecue sliders before having a healthy salad.

I, of course, was under no illusion of trying to eat healthy tonight.  So I decided to take on what is known as the "Big Unit".  Not just the typical "Big Unit" but the " Adam Richman's Bases Loaded Big Unit".  For those of you who don't know who Adam Richman is, let me fill you in.  Adam is a TV personality on the Travel Channel and known to be more stomach than man.  When it comes out of the kitchen, the staff ring a large cow bell and announce to everyone in the restaurant that the "Big Unit" is on its way. This entree consists of the "Big Unit" which is a full pound, 22 inches of Vienna Beef hot dog on a baguette roll and then loaded with "nightmare chili", bacon, cheese sauce, sauerkraut, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, diced onions, sweet relish and shredded cheddar.  And on the side it is served with a bunch of crispy french fries.
 Even with the large big mouth that I am, I had a difficult time shoving this into my mouth.  The hot dog alone is at least 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  With all the flavors that are loaded on top, some bites overpower others.  One bite you find is more like a chili cheese dog but the next bite might be more Polish sausage with onions and sauerkraut, while another bite might be full southwestern with jalapenos and tomatoes.  Plan on getting messy while eating this hot dog.  This takes two hands and should not be ordered if you are trying to impress a "first date".  I was able to polish off 7/8ths of this behemoth and enjoyed the flavors as well as the fun.  This is an excellent place to bring friends especially if they enjoy sports and rock-n-roll.  And if you have never tried a 22 inch Big Unit, try it now!