Hi everyone! My name is Tim Reynolds, and yes, my username is my real name. I'm part-owner of a small food establishment called The Little Lunch Box, nestled in the heart of downtown Corvallis, Oregon. We are fortunate enough to be nearly in the center of the solar eclipse's path of totality along the United States, meaning we get to experience a total solar eclipse, not just a partial one like most of the rest of the world will enjoy.
Here in Corvallis we will be in a full eclipse for 1 minute, 55 seconds. The longest it will be completely blacked out in the United States will be in Carbondale, Illinois for 2 minutes, 40 seconds. The path of totality is a thin band about 70 miles wide; the closer you are to the center, the longer you'll be in the path of totality. Outside this 70-mile wide stretch you'll see a partial eclipse, which you see less of the further north/south you are from the path of totality.
Thanks to being nearly in the middle of the path, our small city of 55,000 is estimated to being host to over 50,000 visitors for the weekend of the eclipse, doubling the population. The few hotels that have availability are charging approximately $1000 per night to stay that weekend, most with three night minimum reservations.
The town has been abuzz about it for weeks, and many locals are planning to not go out much that weekend because they know that stores will be packed and traffic will be slow. So that got me thinking; what kind of special thing can we do to commemorate this event?
The obvious answer? Black out the food.
But then I got stuck on what to do to make that happen. So, like any other smart person, I turned to the wonderful people on the PLA discord chat room. Lo and behold, suddenly the idea of the Eclipseadilla was born. Thanks to 
Since we have a couple weeks to go, I figured I would work on the Eclipse menu and share my results as I do them. First up; the Eclipse Dog!
For the Eclipse Dog, I whipped up a batch of black ketchup. The ketchup was made simply with some black food coloring, but it came out great and doesn't stain your teeth or mouth at all. After the ketchup, I add some sliced black olives to help finish blacking it out.
This is just a prototype though; I've already got one suggestion to put cheddar cheese underneath, so it's like the Sun is getting blacked out. If you have any suggestions to improve the Eclipse Dog, please leave it in the comments, and the best ones will get made and pictures provided in the second part of the series!
The next Eclipse food I'll be making will be the much anticipated Eclipseadilla! This one will be a bit more effort, as it looks like I may be making my own corn tortilla shells if I can't find any pre-made blue corn tortillas. I'll probably try making regular corn tortillas and just add the black food coloring, that way it's true Eclipse food.
If you happen to have any ideas for Eclipse food, just leave it in the comments below. If it works out and tastes great, your idea might just be added to The Little Lunch Box menu for the Eclipse weekend!
(Please remember that we are a small shop with limited options, and even more limited storage. The simpler the better!)
Thanks again to
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