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

Memorial Day Weekend

T Minus 1 hour until we begin our journey to Chicago for the weekend. I recieved an email this morning that truley shows what has become of the patriotism in this country. The picutre above shows not only the lack of respect for each other and our soldiers and country, but in my opinion, the plain ignorance of everyone. Teach kids in school about thier country and whats is proper and forget the long division, no one uses that anyways, we have calculators or our phones for crying out loud. All i'm saying is this is disgraceful. Knowlege is power. Ignorance may be bliss, but it sure makes you look dumb.

Have a good weekend all and be safe
Much Love

P'schetti's

I am back baby. I bought a new computer and it gets juiced up with internet later this afternoon.

I thought i would share a wonderful exprience Courtney and I had last night. We got carry out from P'schetti's, an italian restaurant. 1 word...Fantastic. We had a Meatball Sub, garlic cheese bread, pizza bread with pepperoni, and toasted ravioli. ok...i know what you are thinking, thats a lot of bread, and my answer is yes, it was a lot of bread, good bread. I recommend this place to anyone who likes to eat. I don't know if i'd sit down there and eat but i'd surely take it with me and pig out at home. P'schetti's has now moved into the coveted top 5 spot of mine. I plan to run through their menu like a 26.2 mile marathon...without stopping and with the occational sips of water. P'schetti's you do it right.

http://psghettis.com/
This is one place where the pictures DO do it justice.


Much Love
Eat Well

Wedding

There is so much to say about how happy Courtney and I are to have found each other and to now have each other for the rest of our lives. She is the love of my life, and I still get butterflies in my stomach when i wake up to her next to me, or see her walk through the door to me. Thank you to all of you who made it to the wedding it was the best day I've ever had. From the rehearsal dinner to the reception dinner it might have been the greatest two days of feasting i've ever been a part of.

I have my wife and a full belly always and nothing makes me happier. I was going to upload a bunch of pictures but blogger couldn't handle the size of the picture. shame shame. here is something else to look at....i had this for lunch today....2 of them.....Mobile on the Run hot dogs! great stuff

Much Love

Event

Hello to all my faithful readers. I will make no indication that this post is being made. Only the few people who still have faith in "the blog" will have the pleasure of reading today.

So much has happened that i'm not quite sure where to start...

Well here is a good spot to begin....dinner....not just any dinner, but a carryout of feasts fit for a king and queen. We started our journey at Schnucks to pick up ingredients for Courtney and Libby's Holly Cookies. We then progressed to two simple phone calls, strategically placed of course. One to Dewey's Pizza in Kirkwood and one to Fortel's Pizza Den in Kirkwood. We promptly ordered 2 Calzone's with Ricotta Cheese, Extra Mozzarella, Pepperoni, and Roasted Red Peppers, as well as a Peppercorn Ranch Salad from Dewey's. We then placed an order for Mozzarella Stick at Fortel's. Being that we are pros at this type of "carry-out" ordering, as i walked into each place the Cazone's popped out of the oven and the mozzarella sticks were dripping from grease from the fryer. This type of order is tough to stand the ride all the way home, but we fought the urge to dig into the bag for a quick stick. This meal all in all was fabulous, just the right amount of food, and i am now smelling cookies baking as i write, amazing,

More to come, stay with me now, i have to get something to eat...

Much Love
eat well

New Orleans

New Orleans

Life Goes on....

A special thanks to the insightful words of Big B. He obviously took time to spellchekc and grammar check his post and that is NOT what this blog is all about. I’ll tell you this though; it does make for a nicer read! The trip down to New Orleans was one for the books, from Kegs to Beers, Absinthe to Slushies, Hand Grenades to Atomic Wedgies, I was quite happy. Even though he booked my bachelor party on the GAYEST weekend in New Orleans, it was still a blast. The teams were picked and we stayed shirts and everyone else went skins. From a guy getting off the elevator peeling an orange stopping and saying, “oooooo you’re cute…” to a 5am shirtless passerby asking Jason Brad and I if, “Ya’ll Queer,” we simply replied “no thank you.” A bum exclaimed to me at one point that, “My Cat Had Puppies!” I told him congratulations of course (didn’t want to be rude) and moved on and he chuckled to himself as he smiled a 2 tooth smile and took a sip of his Colt 45 40oz.….classic. I will say this I had so much fun, and would go back in a second. Having an upstairs balcony bar to ourselves our own music and a personal bartender a nice touch. I will tell you it is quite a sight to see 9 guys drool over one chick that they all knew they had no chance with. Although this “Allison” is the love of all of your lives you must press on to greater women who don’t have 2 kids and are divorced and live in New Orleans. My voice was shot by day two from smoking so many cigs which I vow to never touch again. “Give it all you got!” “Give it all you got!” Here are a few more food critiques that I experienced below….enjoy….thanks for the ride boys on the bigger and better things…Who is next...?

In addition to the crawfish pie and soft-shell crab po-boy I enjoyed a few different items that were quite good. 1. Crawfish po-boy: what could be better than a sub style baguette, with fried crawfish with peppers onions an cheese, man that was good. 2. Fried Gator po-boy: Man was this good, taste like chicken with a zing of Cajun spices. The kicker was that in the basket of fries were hidden gems (gator bites that fell out into the fries). 3. Dirty water Hot Dogs: who could pass up a hard working street vender for an 8 inch hotdog with chili cheese and relish? NOT ME. I had about 3-4 that I can remember. Food at its best. Now I’m not a relish eater, but I thought I’d give it a whirl since that’s how he prepared it and I had no choice! I was pleasantly surprised at the explosion of taste that took place. What could be better to wash it all down than a nice Hurricane or the ever dangerous Hand Grenade?

Gentleman,

We must go onward to the Rehearsal, the Rehearsal Dinner, the Wedding, Pictures, and Reception. An I’ll be thinking of you all when I am laying on the beach in the Dominican eating pounds of Pineapple drinking ridiculously fruity drinks, and you can use your imagination…

Much Love All

The best man's view...

Dear Blog Readers,

Let me start by saying what an honor it is to be featured as a guest writer in Tony’s blog. I think I might be the first one? I know you all come here for Tony’s unique brand of humor, insight, and storytelling. But guess what….today you’re stuck with me.

Despite the different types of observations & tales that are told here, this blog was founded largely as a forum for food critique. Countless times we have read intently as Tony regaled us with stories of his latest pasta dish or meatball sub. And while I don’t purport to come close his mastery of eating, I am here today to try my hand at my own little food review.

As most of you know, some of us recently got back from Tony’s bachelor party in the Great City of New Orleans. And while the city is famous for many of its different attractions (read: drinking establishments), one cannot truly say they have experienced the Big Easy without sampling the traditional Cajun cuisine. For those of you who have never had the privilege, I will attempt to convey to you the highs and lows.

I was only able to have 2 truly “Cajun” meals on this trip. Mostly this was because I quickly went broke and Krystal burgers were all I could afford by the end. But the first morning the entire group went to a little place near Bourbon St. for lunch. First of all, I should qualify everything I’m about to tell you by saying I was pretty hung over from the night before so my perceptions might have been a little altered. But I remember the atmosphere being just so-so; there was a miniature bowling alley inside which was pretty strange to me. I decided that the only cure for what ailed me was a little “hair of the dog” so I ordered myself a Screwdriver to start. This was not a wise choice. After throwing up in the bathroom for several minutes, I returned with a completely empty stomach that I intended to fill with bayou cuisine. Pat Dolan and I both ordered “crawfish pie” as an appetizer which was simply delightful. This was a small morsel, in a pot-pie like pouch filled with spicy crawfish & rice. Pat and I agreed it was delicious. For an entrée I got a soft-shell crab Po’boy which was not nearly as good, however. It was basically an entire crab, deep fried with the shell and everything, served on a bun with fries. The fries were okay, but chewing crab shell was not my idea of good hangover food so I only ate about half. Overall score: 4 Mardi Gras beads (out of a possible 10).

I ate my second Cajun meal at lunch the following day, also with a pretty impressive hangover. This was a little place near our downtown hotel, and the atmosphere was much more authentic: Dim lighting, old wood tables, local decorations on the walls, a menu written in chalk and a wall full of dollar bills to the left (explained below). Pat and I were greeted upon arrival by the owner, an elderly gentleman who had lived in N.O. all his life. We were just about the only people in the place. He sat us with a bit of a condescending and sarcastic attitude, but I think it was just part of this guy’s act so it was all good. Shortly after, Tony arrived and this guy gave him the same attitude. At first I thought Tony was going to 1) walk right back out of the restaurant or 2) punch this guy in the face, but I calmed him down and we ordered our food. I got the gumbo, of course. This was unlike any gumbo I have had at home: Very dark rue, extremely salty, large chunks of beef (no seafood in this one). While I was thrilled to be eating gumbo in the land of its birth, I hate to say I prefer the stuff at Jazz in Columbia, MO (great place!). It was just too salty for me. We had some French bread to dip in the rue, which is apparently the way the locals eat it, but I was still not a big fan. Before leaving, I wrote on a dollar bill and Tony got to staple it on the wall – a tradition started by sailors at this place many years ago. If I ever return I will look to see if it is still there. Overall score: 5.5 Pat O’Brien’s Hurricanes (again out of 10).

So that’s it for my one (and probably only) blog post. Thanks for taking the time to enjoy this long read. Next time you are in New Orleans, be sure to try the Cajun food for yourself. I’m sure you will have more luck than I did. And stop in at the second floor of Beerfest on Bourbon St. and get 3 beers (has to be 3) from Allison. And tell her Brandon says hi.

Peace & Love,
BH

Blogs to come...

Everyone stay tuned for my New Orleans Blogs....i'm waiting for Brandon to give me his thoughts, and will be posting something for him soon.

Much Love to all, and woe betide all who are against us....

Cold as ice

Refrigerate everything.  That is my stance.  There is not much that I can think of that I’d rather have room temperature compared to nice and cold.  Here are a few examples: Peanut butter, bread, milk, any beverage, chips, crackers, I don’t care what it is it needs to be cold.  The whole soda without ice thing is not for me.  People say they get more, but usually refills are free anyways….idiots.
 
Much Love
 

Another Week

From Enterprise to Red Lobster, what a mix. I will be mixing drinks tomorrow night at Red Lobster from 4-close if anyone wants to drink some draft beer at a cheep price. It will be a long day, 7am-330 at Enterprise and straight to the Lob from 4-1030. Man o man i'm be tired. Anyways i haven't written in a while and i'm kind of sad about it. I haven't really had the urge. Anyways i'm really ready for the lottery to pay off then i can relax a bit....

Much Love

Froyo

Court and I went to a frozen custard place in the Loop yesterday night, and it was fantastic. Froyo is the name of the joint. You walk in and dispense your own frozen yogurt then add the toppings from assorted fruits to cheesecake bites and cookie dough, and all the normal sprinkles and fixings. They then weigh you overstuffed cup of ice cream magic. Now don't get too greedy because its 40 cents and ounce, so if you are a fat ass and decide to pile on everything, you'll pay. I suggest this place to everyone and we will surely return for more in the near future.

Much Love
Eat Well

Public Restrooms

I think most know how I fell about restrooms in public places. From my hatred of urinals to non washers to Elliot Spitzers(sp?). I'm not really talking an attempting to mingle with a little tap, but simply the people who entr your territory. When someones shoe is under your side of the stall I'm outa there. Especially a shinny shoe. If you need some serious space use the handicap stall,y favorite. I fell like I'm perched on the top of a builing like a gargoyl on that toilet it so high (George Costanza,Seinfeld). Anyways. I hate them and that's it. By the wayy mom said she saw someone once that can out of a bathrom with their arm in a chetetos puffs bad and offered her some as he was licking his fingers (pause for vomit).

Much Love