Big Star Food Review

Here's a pic from the glory days of last week. Photo by Ed White.

My week at the track was less than impressive: a second I should have won (I made some bad decisions and goofed it) and a third. I was so nervous the whole day, too. I don't know if nervous is the right word... I was dreading the evening. I just did not want to race, and had trouble eating. I wish I didn't get so worked up for races. Tuesday was especially bad because I had a 'streak' to keep going, and I felt like people were expecting good things out of me. If I didn't dazzle, I would be a one-trick pony that got lucky last week. Were people actually thinking that? Probably not. But I felt like a one-trick pony by the end of the night. I much prefer 12 hr mtb on the stress scale- it seems more to me like yourself against the trail, seeing how well you can do and how much you can improve from lap to lap.

I felt pretty good physically, but mentally I was all over the place. Teammate Michelle (http://nomorecheetos.wordpress.com/) and I tried to put together some tactics, but they didn't really work and we wound up pulling the rest of the girls around the track, which is always super frustrating. My head wasn't in it, and I was always trying to keep track of where Michelle was, even though she's a big girl and can take care of herself.

Hah! Speaking of 'big girl' my one sparkle of smart was when the women lined up to race the first race. There were quite a few- about 10, maybe(?). The announcer said something like "Well, we have a good-sized women's field tonight," to which I loudly quipped "Who are you calling good-sized?!" The announcer then joked about how sensitive you have to be with lady racers.

But what I really want to write about is how delicious and cheap the Big Star is. Sorry, The Spot, but it would appear you went out of business for a reason. The Spot was fun, but the food portions were skimpy and their famous 'grilled cheese' was not famous because it was good. The thing was made out of a hamburger bun and a slice of 'merican cheese microwaved to a sickening warm/soggy combo. An order of fries consisted of approximately 11 fries dusting the bottom of the paper dish. But let's not dwell on it.

Instead, let me inform you about the Big Star. First off: cheese fries for $2.50. A wonderfully large portion of fries with a suitably large portion of nacho cheese on the side. I usually end up with a perfect ratio. My other newfound favorite: corn dogs and hot dogs for $1.05. That's right. And you can't hardly mess up a corn dog and it's State Fair brand. Brand name corn dogs. It took a while for the guys to find the right burger, but I think now they're satisfied and have a regular order.

The only thing to complain about would have to be seating: we're not allowed to get out the chairs and sit in the parking lot by the cars. We got away with it for a few weeks, but recently the whip was cracked and our waitress (she knows to scan the horizon for us on Tuesday nights) told us we had to be either in the cars or at a special picnic area. Other than that, though, it's all good, and open 'til 11:00.