Road Trip! Day 1: Candlelight Inn - Scarsdale, NY

I gave in to my thrill seeking adventurous side and therefore currently on a road trip from the east coast to west coast. I will be updating my blog with my tasty travels whenever possible. My focus for food destinations are inspired by Diners, Drive-ins and Dives as well as Hamburger America.

The first day brought me to the Candlelight Inn in Scarsdale, NY. My friend Jimmy who is from the area has talked about the quality of the wings numerous times, and I knew I had to try them out. I spent the night at his place and we took the drive to get those infamous wings.

Candlelight Inn itself is a hole-in-the-wall institution, with a dingy interior. We opted to dine in the outside area since it was a nice day. I didn't take a look at the menu as Jimmy already knew what to get; he ordered us a large wings of Hot and Teriyaki mixed and a small order of fries. The wings typically come partially joined; the joints that connect the "drum" and the "wing" are separated, but they are still connected by the skin. This makes the frying surface area that much larger which means more crunch. The sauce was one of the best sauces I've had ever. Most "hot" sauces only have heat while most "flavored" sauces lack heat; this sauce had the perfect mix of flavor and heat. Most of the wings were plump, but some of the wings that weren't joined were on the skimpier side and thus were more prone to drying out. Overall though, probably the best wings I've ever had.

The french fries were crinkle cut and actually tasted like potatoes. The first fry shocked me, since I was use to my fries tasting like oil and salt, but it was definitely a good change. The fries were just thick enough to have a fluffy interior while still having a crunchy exterior snap.

The fact that the Candlelight Inn isn't out of the way adds the convenience that will only assure my return in the future.

Failure

Failure is amazing. Failures are what make life interesting. Failure is a driving force people use to keep motivated (or rather the fear of failure).

The best part about failure though is you can see a person's true self at these times of need. When faced with failure, men who act big and tough reveal to the world that they are far from it. People who put on various faces and give the world false perspectives of themselves have their true colors shown.

What should you do about failure?

This is what I propose:

Most of the time failure isn't really failure; it's just a really tough challenge you have to overcome. If you are willing, there are many solutions that can and will bring you away from the prospects of failing. As my professor Babs always said, "Think entrepreneurially." You have to be creative and think outside the box. There will be a solution. This is what separates the weak people who give up at challenges from the dedicated motivated ones who refuse to give up.

(note: there is a fine line between being dedicated and being stubborn. Don't be stubborn. You'll look foolish and won't be liked. People might tell you to go home.)

So what if the situation is actually one that you can't work around and failure is inevitable?

First of all, take accountability. Then embrace it. Love it. Cherish it. You learn so much more from failing than from succeeding. If you've messed everything you've ever done in life, great news. If you are smart enough to learn from your failures, you won't make them anymore. (Granted if you aren't smart enough to learn from past failures, there's not much I can really say or do for you...) If you aren't willing to take accountability, you definitely won't be willing to try and learn from your mistakes either. Anyways, eventually you'll have failed so many times you can't fail anymore and everything you do will be a success!


Don't be weak. And don't whine about it or find excuses. No one likes a weak excuse-finding whiner.

EB