Well, this is the beginning.   A brief introduction.

My name is Mike and I am a food dork.  Some people say “I work to live, not live to work”.   For me, “I live to eat, not eat to live”.  In the past year, I have relocated to the United Arab Emirates in the emirate of Sharjah.  Sharjah is adjacent to Dubai and Dubai is a 5 minute (no traffic) drive from my flat.

A little history about myself.  I grew up in the Midwestern U.S. in a small, lonely town.  I was exposed to some culinary goodness, but I started to get involved with expanded my “food horizons” when I became a vegetarian.  Being a vegetarian lasted about 8 years, but my cooking expertise expanded enormously due to having to find alternatives to animal products.    Then, I fell off the wagon so to speak.   Super Bowl + beer + chicken offals = whole new world.   I had had chicken offals before, but this was the start of…where I am now.

After many years of exploring, I have made my own beer, made sausage, ate pretty much every part of a pig, cow, lamb, chicken, and fish (and more animals - but more on that in time), baked, fried, poached, sauteed, and boiled.   I love food.  I’ll try anything.  I’m always on the hunt to try new local dishes/drinks.

Moving from Denver, in the United States, to Sharjah/Dubai has opened my eyes a bit more to the food world.   I named this blog “Shawarma and Juice” in honor of the (sometimes) excellent fast food cafeterias in and around the area.

So…this is the beginning.