Platypus

A night to remember. I'll do so before it fades...Puttshack was the start, where it was quite clear Mario was determined to meet/share the evening with anyone and everyone daring enough to give him a second glance. His personalitly knows no bound. A man of all people...to the officer/rent a cop on his phone "i appreciate you," to the groups of people enjoying a night out... 10 seconds of shock on faces to.. chants of "Mario, Mario" echoing off the high ceilings and cheserfield blue bench seating arrangement... The dread of seeing a tray of Matthew McConnehy's(sp?) bourbon arrive, with expectations of consumption as we plea for mercy at inky the 8 o'clock hour. We all ingest it with dismay however understand the noatagia it brings to the lives of aging friends, that recall "mad dashes" with luke-warm Heineken & stale cigars. Moving onward to The Armory where a reminder of the old Harry's Downtown jolts the crowd with familiar covers by Dr Zhivegas. Let me frame it like this... the range of attendees was vast... young to old...mingling among those taking turns on the giant seesaw. Hoping to see a real show when a little person hopped on; unsure if the higlight of the night would be a toss across the areana like enclosure or simple astonishment of the ocassion. Alas another beer and talk of chicken, made like popcorn, grew in lore... Talks of go pros and button cameras grew as the comverstions logged for Mario mounted to hieghts never acheived by the common man over the course of years.. No man left behind ..until food was presented... to the Platypus in the Grove for none other that a spiced enriched batter coating peices of chicken accompanied by dipping options. This spread was fit for an accomplished D.C. Politician..bo unlike our Mayor-like companion Mario. Drawing his endourance from his magical dense beard he is the next great baby kisser of our generation. Mario 2024. He was left behind, however managed to get a free ride from an old friend, to continue the capades like performace that proved to outlast all.. With a quick arrival, we were greeted by a creater name Brent who was responible for said popcorn chicken. After yet another obligatory spirt washed down.. we retreated into a booth peering at this diverse scene we had burst into. Soon after, like VIPs being catered to, the popcorn appeared, with fries that others understood were prepared in a style I had never heard. They(the fries) were correct. The suprising delight of the additional offering of brussel sprouts dispersed into a paper lined basket brought a smile to our faces and we declared this celebration of Brads birthday a success. The hit for Mike and I was really the BBQ sauce that not only stole the show, but opened my eyes to soemthing BBQ flavored that didnt offend but caused great return and acceptance. What a great night.. watching old friend age with as much dignity as they can... Much Love

Hall Of Fame STL

My family celebrated my fathers 60th birthday yesterday by bringing him down to Ballpark Village and exploring both the Hall of Fame as Well as the Budwieser Brewhouse. I must say that the HOF was much more than I expected, with so much that caught my attention. John was our guide if you will, but in all reality we we just the only people there so he gave us a lot of attention. I got to hold Stan the Man's bat and was able to take a few great pictures of the memorabilia. After spending maybe a hour in there the family adjourned to the Bud Brewhouse. We deliberated for a few minutes in what to order as far as drinks and light fare before heading to Mike Shannons for dinner. Mom, Dad, and Gina all ordered a 32 oz mug of shock top, Court ordered a Schlafly Pumkin beer and I rounded it out with a Busch. We decided on egg rolls, fish tacos, and pretzels with cheese. All of these were perfect finger foods of conversations and sipping our beers. I can say that the egg rolls were gone the quickest, and the fish tacos were worthy of a taste, but I wasn't needed more. I will say that while pretzels are always good, they are really starting to bore my taste buds. Brewhouse is ok, a soso bar and grill that is simply in a location that will continue to afford them the traffic necessary to survive. Convenience is king... We stumbled from BPV to Mike Shannon's which let to sharing stories and laughs at the table as another meal began. Wine and beer were the drink of choice as the we commenced. A few salads were ordered and brought out in a nice delay. Pops ordered a stip steak, mom ordered shrimp scampi, Gina grilled shrimp, while court and I went for the burger. Although pricey from the start as everything is a la cart, it was all prepared with great attention. Dads strip did appear a little rare for his taste, but as a mountain man, he didn't grumble and still enjoyed it. I didn't try any shrimp because it didn't last long enough, which is always a great sign. The burger was topped with melted housemade American cheese, lettuce, red onion, and tomato. I ordered some mashed potatoes, and court ordered the fries. We were full and happy, when a Chocolate Dome was brought out for the birthday boy, and of course this put us over the top. Please note that the manager did stop by to wish my dad a happy birthday, and this art of simple acknowledgment has been lost of some of the restaurant managers over the years. We had a nice time, and I will return especially if someone else is buying. Much Love

The King and I

Well I suppose I'll start at the beginning...I began with an urban chestnut beer, one of the fine selections from a good buddy Bradley given as a gift to the close knit group of friends standing with him at his wedding.  I pryed open the top and took a sip and found the first bit unbearable, another sip, nope no good, then I did what any self respecting drinker would do and grabbed a frosty glass and poured the beer.  I let the foam settle and went for it again.  Yep that's the ticket!  The flavors simply needed a better canvas for its showing.  I give half crown a full thumbs up, and as an IPA drinker this was deliciously superb.  As I sit patiently waiting for the wife to style herself into the fox she is, so that we could head to the Fabulous Fox, I popped a cheesecake into the oven.  Did that catch you off guard, because it's the truth. Cheesecake, ipa, and a go day to die hard, trifecta. The timing couldn't have been better, finished my brew, cheesecake done, and a lovely wife beckoning to me to come with her. We jumped into the car and raced to meet our reservation at 6:30(it was 6:25 of cours.). We sat in traffic as if surprised why everyone was having so much trouble navigating rush hour in the rain. We make it to our exit and head to south grand peering through the water sprayed windshield and the street names. There it was, The King and I, a little Thai food just for us. I dropped Courtney off at the front so that her time spent getting ready wasn't spoiled. We were greeted by Yuli at the table explaining the drink specials... Mai Tai, Zombie.....yada yada. Water would be great. After we discussed strategy we settled on the Crispy Spring Rolls which were stuffed with bean thread noodles, cabbage, carrots,, cilantro, and green onion served with a sweet and tangy plum sauce. I feel, and I know Courtney would agree a great test of egg rolls are the veggie, leave the meat for the main course. The cigar rolled pockets we right out of the frier and straight to our table with much hast. We asked for some with rice and devoured these almost a quickly as the arrived, with a little plum sauce and soy, this was a great start. Now I will preface this next section with some dismay... We chose two dishes to share, the Pad Thai (no tofu sub chicken) and the Thai Fajitas. Court asked for exta peanuts for the Pad Thai and we decided on a medium level of spicyness on the Fajitas. The Fajita arrived with tortillas and more white rice, and so it began. The favors were as expected and quite good, and medium spiced seemed to lead me more towards extra spicy, as it felt like the heat was "turnt up" as the kids these day proclaim. Soon after the first few bites the Pad Thai arrived. The service was great as far as our water glasses being refilled up to four times during our jouney. Courtney dove in and enjoyed every last bite she took, I however was overpowered by the extra peanuts so much that I withdrew from that dish completely. I felt as though we had noodles with a peanut paste sauce, it had zero other flavors that were able to impact my palate. The fajitas and spring rolls will steer me back to this establishment, and knowing the Pad Thai was altered at our request drives me to give it another shot in the near future. I give the King and I a 4 out of 5 and will try another specialty dish sooner than later that will no doubt move this up a half point. Much Love

Seoul Taco

Not many of my recent food adventures/tastings have compelled me to write on the good ole blog as my most recent ingestion. From ingestion to inception, this opens a brave new world of flavor that I have simply been missing out on not really knowing what Korean BBQ meant. I can quickly define Seoul Tacos Steak Burrito with three words, “The Bomb Diggity.” The initial inspection: This “football size” burrito is what Americans come to describe now a days as normal. No sides, no appetizer needed here. I caught myself rolling up my sleeves for this one…to prepare to handle the sheer size and shape of this monstrosity. First Bite: I didn’t waste any time and raised the burrito up (realizing this was in fact the act of “working out,” because of the easily 2 lbs. filled tortilla) and took my first bite and instant reaction of flavors that blended together but stood out on their own with such distinction. Perfectly cooked steak, kimchi fried rice, lettuce, cheese, carrots, sour cream and seoul sauce….wow. Knowing that the marinating process is quite lengthy is impossible to ignore and quite evident, well played David Choi (owner and founder.) As I am processing the first bite, with a constant nod of approval to the corner of my cube, I soon realize that this small bite has instigated a chain reaction of taste buds awakenings for the first time that have yet to have been utilized. To say I was a bit overpowered by the spiciness would be an understatement, considering I immediately went to the water cooler to fill up with a glass of water. I enjoy spicy food greatly, but I am the first to admit that I break out into an immediate sweat as tears of joy married with beads of sweat ran down my face. Ok I’m exaggerating a bit (as usual.) I soon after was prepared with my water and napkin to plunge into and add the Seoul Sauce ( I taste you sriracha.. ) as well as what could best be described as a the Wasabi sour cream. Not only did these sauces enhance the flavor to another level but balanced the heat in just the right manner. Needless to say that Steak Burrito didn’t stand a chance and this is a serious must have. Seoul Taco will be added to my rotation of Friday night carry-out routine with much delight. I think next time Courtney and I decide on Mexican for dinner to pick up, I may swap the Chipotle burrito with the Seoul Burrito and experience enamor that I know will overcome my wife when she takes her first bite. Much Love Eat Well

String Cheese

Its the little things in life that seem to annoy me the most...

I witnessed someone eating lunch today. It seemed like any normal lunch hour when all of a sudden I saw one of my favorite snacks, String Cheese! I happened to bring string cheese today as well, and was pleased to see that I am setting trends. I look back and see something terrible. The person eating the string cheese is taking bites of the whole cheese stick. One, two, three, gone.... They didn't pull/peel it off in strings! My first thought was, "what an idiot, don't they know how to eat!" Then my second thought was simply confirming "yes an idiot." I though this was a tragedy, and the world should know that string cheese should be eaten with a little more care.

Much Love

1year

It's almost been a whole year since Court and I were married. Let me put that in perspective for some of you... That is equal to aprox. 365 days, or 104 pickmans sandwiches at 2 per week (which is what I shoot for.) That's a long time to get to know a sandwich and a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with your best girl. I know I can count on the #11 and more importantly they both have never let me down and I know I can count of both. In all seriousness I am the luckiest guy to have such a wonder loving loyal wife like Courtney to myself.

Much Love All
T

The Reeling Gilly

Tonight we will explore an establishment downtown, called the Tin Can. The Reeling Gilly band will be performing their hearts out as always. The preferred beverage when listening to them, for me, is whiskey diets tall. This some how completes the Gilly experience for me. So everyone come out and join the experience.

For a preview or to purchase their cd go here http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=306228450&s=143441

Much Love