Meal:Lunch at Cunetto House of Pasta, St. Louis
Date: October 13 (afternoon before Game 2 of the NLCS)
Comments: Beef Parmesan with Garlic Angel Hair Pasta ($16.95) was a true winner, much like the 2004-5 Houston Astros. The delightful flavors of the red sauce mixed well with the very tender sauteed beef cube steak. The garlic and onions were fresher than Reggie Sanders trying to crowd the plate against my 98 MPH heater. Enjoyed the meal with a caraffe of their fantastic house wine ($18.95), which was whiter than Jim Edmonds’ face after a chin-grazing fastball up and in.
The Taste in My Mouth: Meaty, scrumptious.

Meal:Lunch at El Rey Taqueria, Houston
Date: October 17 (afternoon before Game 5 of the NLCS)
Comments: The Steak and Shrimp Fajitas ($17.95) delivered large portions, but the dry, medium-well steak and the somewhat soggy refried beans had me running to the men’s room faster than David Eckstein trying to beat out a slow chopper to second. For a side dish, the Layered Three Cheese Nachos ($9.95) certainly hit the spot, but the greasy cheese resulted in a somewhat unappetizing, shiny appearance. I haven’t seen so much shine outside of Larry Walker removing his baseball cap.
The Taste in My Mouth: Sticky, bitter.

Meal:Lunch at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, Chicago
Date: October 23 (afternoon before Game 2 of the World Series)
Comments: Their Large Deluxe Vegetarian Deep Dish Pizza ($21.95) was a huge disappointment. They call this deep dish? It was about as deep as a Jermaine Dye pop-up to the catcher. The service was slower than waiting in line behind Bobby Jenks at a buffet table. This was another bad meal in a series of them. I haven’t had a truly satisfying lunch in at least a week. Even my soda ($2.95) was lousy. That soda was flatter than a hanging slider on a two-strike count.
The Taste in My Mouth: Schwag.