I took my journalism class on a field trip to a local newspaper today. They got to tour the news room, the advertising department, the press room and more. After the tour we were to eat lunch. The students talked about a lot of restaurants, but in the end they decided they wanted to go to a food court at a nearby mall.

I walked up and down the rows of food stands looking for something Type O. One place had signs bragging about their salads. But as I got closer I saw that all the salads were pre-made and all were topped with croutons and cheese. Chinese is usually a good O option, but in this environment all the food was already covered in sauce, which would be wheat or corn based.

Then I saw a place that specialized in Philly steak sandwiches. OK, I know that getting a real Philly steak sandwich in Texas is as likely as my getting real Mexican food in Pennsylvania. However, I stopped to look at the menu. Two things attracted my attention. First they had a Philly salad - Romaine lettuce, tomato, steak, onion, and cheese. Second, the grill was not hidden in the back, but was right behind the counter so you could watch the cook chopping and grilling your meal.

I ordered a Philly salad with no cheese and no dressing. As I made my way to the other end of the line, I watched the cook prepare food for the people in front of me. When he got to my order he said, "Are you sure you don't want cheese." I asked if he had real mozzarella and he said he did. So I said yes to the cheese.

The salad was very good. I'm going to see if I can copy it at home.