Road Tips

Coney Island - La Crosse, WI

One of the better hot dog places I've eaten at over the years is the Coney Island in La Crosse, WI.  It's been in existence since 1922 when Greek immigrants Tom Sideras and Jim Kappellas opened on S. 4th Street in downtown La Crosse.  They continue to serve hot dogs in the original location today.

Tom Sideras died in 1962, and Jim Kappellas' son, Tom, bought the business in 1963.  Jim Kappellas officially retired at that time, but continued to help his son in the business up until his death in 1975. 

Over the years, Coney Island expanded to four locations and three of Tom Kappellas children manage three of the four locations around the La Crosse area. 

The Coney Island dogs are pretty thin and cooked on a flat stove top grill (very similar to George's in Sioux City).  The chili dogs are good, but the chili, in my opinion, is a little bland.  And it doesn't matter if you order a hot dog with or without chili - it costs the same. 

Over the years, Coney Island has added french fries (served in a cup), sandwiches (hot ham and cheese, grilled chicken) and gyros to the menu.  A guy told me when I was eating there one time that the place was better before they had the sandwiches.  I still thought the hot dogs were pretty good on their own. 

Still, with the history behind Coney Island in La Crosse, you have to stop in and get one (or two - they're small!) when you're in town. 

Tenuta's Italian Deli- Kenosha, WI

Tenuta's Italian Delicatessen in Kenosha, WI is one of those places that I could have categorized as a "Deli/Sandwich Place" or a "Wine and Liquor Store".  It is a little bit of everything. 

I was first in Tenuta's a few years ago after reading about it in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  It's primarily a deli, but it also has a great selection of beer and wine, plus it has a ton of Italian specialties. 

Tenuta's started in 1950 by John Tenuta and his wife, Lydia (see map).  Tenuta's originally was nothing more than a malt and ice cream shop that also featured a small deli.  John's son, Ralph, took over the promotion of the place and suddenly Tenuta's took off.  Tenuta's has expanded many times over the years and has a large selection of wines from all over the world, as well as a large number of Italian food items. 

John and Lydia Tenuta with their son, Ralph (right)

Tenuta's makes and markets a lot of their own spreads and condiments, such as their own muffaletta olive spread, giardiniera, and a hot olive/pepper spread.  You can order a lot of the things they sell directly from Tenuta's by clicking here.

Tenuta's deli area is very good with tons of great Italian meats and cheeses.  They make different style of panino sandwiches and also offer their own muffaletta sandwich called the Muff-a-lotta.  It's good, but not as good as the original muffaletta sandwich served at the now-closed (due to Hurricane Katrina) Central Grocery in New Orleans (considering that a muffaletta is more of a French/Cajun/Creole concoction). 

The Central Grocery in New Orleans before it was closed

When you walk through Tenuta's, you can kind of see where it's been sort of expanded here and there, as there isn't really any rhyme nor reason why some aisles stop and then start up again on the other side of the deli. 

Tenuta's is a neat place.  Check it out if you ever get up to the Kenosha area.

Bose

When I fly on planes or get to talking to people in bars or restaurants when I travel, invariably they ask me what I do.  I'm getting to the point that I tell people that I'm a traveling lingerie salesman because when I tell them that I'm a regional manager for a consumer electronics importer, more often than not, their faces light up and say, "Oh yeah?  What do you think of those Boze-y speakers?"

First of all, Jack, it's pronounced "BOZE" (long "O"), not Bozey, or Boise, or Bosey.  Secondly - what I tell people what I think of them usually pisses them off.  Especially if they own a pair or a set.  After what I get done telling them about Bose, they usually feel A) Foolish they bought a pair; and B) Pissed off that they may have gotten taken.

Bose loudspeakers were developed by Dr. Amar Bose, an M.I.T. professor of electrical engineering, back in 1964.  A number of years before, Dr. Bose was listening to what were then high fidelity loudspeakers and thinking that he wasn't getting the bang for the money he paid.  He spent a number of years studying psycho-acoustic analysis and speaker design working on the idea of "direct and reflect" sound.  He was the first designer to use the natural surroundings of a listening area to re-create a live performance when he brought out the first series of the highly popular 901 loudspeakers in 1968. 

The biggest problem with the 901 direct/reflect method is that in live concerts, most of the sounds come straight out at you.  They don't have driver or speaker cabinets pointed to the rear of the stage for sound to reflect off the front wall to you.  The reflectivity of the sound from the speaker is usually coming from the wall behind you - that is, if there's a wall behind you at all. 

The other problem I had with the Bose 901's is that the image of the performance was much larger than what should have been projected.  I used to joke that when I would play Linda Ronstadt on a pair of 901's it sounded like her mouth was the size of a 12" pizza (which Linda looks like she's been pounding down a lot of over the past few years). 

One of the biggest sellers in the history of loudspeakers have been the Bose Acoustimass loudspeakers.  They're the little cubes (shown left) that you can position for direct and reflecting sound, paired with a subwoofer.  More of these systems - or comparable Acoustimass systems - have been sold than any other loudspeaker in history. 

The biggest problem with direct and reflecting sound speakers is that you have to take the room in which you're placing the speakers in under consideration.  How far are the walls that are going to reflect the sound from the speakers?  What is on the walls is important - sheet rock, brick, wall paper, pictures, drapes, maybe your wall is a window.  Each of those surfaces have inherit characteristics that dramatically change the wave form once sound hits it.  If it's a window or a brick surface, the sound waves come off hard and bright.  If it's a drape or woven wall coverings, the sound gets absorbed.  If it's thick sheet rock, the sound wave coming off the wall is totally different than the sound coming off a wall of thin sheet rock. 

I always ask people, "What was the last time you went to a concert and saw a P.A. system with the speakers shooting directly out into the crowd, but then a number of other speakers shooting off a wall?"  That's right, you don't see that at a concert. 

The other thing that Bose does with their speakers is to fiddle with the internal equalization of the speakers to make the speakers more "forward" in the low-mid frequencies, generally the most prevalent of the listenable frequencies.  By bringing those low-mid frequencies forward - or louder, if you will - it heightens the sensation of listening pleasure.  To the vast majority of people, this is a much more pleasant listening experience. 

Think of it like this - you're looking to buy a television.  You walk into a store and there's 20 televisions on the floor lined up in a row.  You are automatically drawn to - anyone?  The brightest one!  Does that make the television the best in the store?  Absolutely not. 

The human ear can hear from approximately 20 cycles (very low bass notes - almost inaudible), to about 20,000 cycles (very high frequency notes - also almost inaudible).  That's why when you see specification sheets for audio gear, they measure the frequency response from 20 to 20K cycles.  (A cycle is how many times a wave form can complete a full note revolution at a given frequency in a second.  The slower the wave cycle, the lower the note.  The faster the wave cycle, the higher the note.)

Most people hear from about 35 cycles to about 13,000 cycles, which is where most every day sound and music is situated.  But there have been studies through the National Research Council in Canada, and through blind listening tests performed by many speaker manufacturers, that by heightening the volume in certain frequency ranges in the low to mid frequency range (approximately 200 cycles to 1000 cycles), the sound reproduction is more appealing to the listener.

Bose (and a few other speaker companies) do that.  I've been a proponent of "flat response" loudspeakers (such as the Focal speakers I sell) for as long as I can remember.  When an artist and/or producer make a recording, most of them try to make the sound spectrum as flat as possible without heightening certain frequencies.  (That isn't quite true with some rap recordings these days - but for the most part with other forms of music it's true.)

You, as the end-user, the listener, have the option of either lowering or heightening given sound frequencies either by using the tone (bass, treble) controls on your audio equipment, adding Digital Signal Processing (DSP) if it's available on your audio equipment, or getting an audio equalizer to target specific frequencies to heighten or lower.  A speaker, in my opinion, should never add to the music.  The response of a given speaker should be as flat as possible (by flat, I mean + or - 1 decibel of information above and below a reference point) when they introduce a frequency sweep from 20 cycles to 20,000 cycles.

Now, I will say that I've never seen documentation to back this up - that's because Bose does NOT publish any of their audio specifications.  If I did a sweep test on a Bose speaker from 20 to 20,000 cycles, I will almost guarantee you there is a significant bump in the Bose loudspeakers in the low-mid range frequencies.  I've been in the business for over 25 years and I think I know how speakers should sound. 

Now, that's not saying that's wrong - it's just not a doctrine that I subscribe to.  And it's not the way most loudspeaker companies "voice" their speakers. 

Given those arguments and examples, I usually get this from most people when I talk to them about Bose - "Well, if Paul Harvey didn't think they are such a good speaker, why would he say they are?"

I then explain that if I was paid $250,000 a year to say that Bose speakers were the best in the world, I'd be listening to nothing but Bose speakers in my house.  Then I normally get this incredulous look from the people I'm talking to.  "Paul Harvey gets paid to say Bose makes great speakers," they ask.  This is usually unfathomable to many people thinking that Paul Harvey would shill for a company.

Harvey does such a great job with his Bose "testimonial" commercials on his newscasts that he really sucks the listener in to make them think just that.  And that's the key with Bose - they are a marketing machine.  They do the best marketing of their product than any audio-video company on the planet.  Their speakers aren't the best, the direct-reflect technique is not the best (if it were, wouldn't you think that other companies would be doing direct and reflect speakers?), and their life-style systems aren't all that great.

But they pour MILLIONS of bucks into advertising each year, they have their own Bose stores in high traffic and high profile areas all across America, and they are sold virtually every where in nearly every audio video chain in the country (and around the world).  The Bose story is POUNDED into the minds of salespeople every where they're sold.  In fact, I've often said that the salespeople who work in the Bose stores are some of the best salespeople in the world.  They not only know how to sell Bose products, they know how to SELL, period.   

The Bose brand name recognition - even with people who don't know how to properly pronounce the name of the company - is one of the highest in the industry.  They make you think that owning Bose loudspeakers or one of their audio systems is the American dream.  They do an excellent job in that. 

A lot of people don't know that Bose also makes a number of commercial speakers and systems, they also have a highly successful automotive division that makes sound systems for a number of car manufacturers, and they are a manufacturer and supplier for test equipment in the biomedical field. 

But one of the biggest things that Bose is not very well known for, but it's a large part of their overall business, is the military application products they manufacture for the U.S. Government and other friendly nations.  They talk about a number of noise-canceling and clear voice products they've developed, but they also manufacture communication systems for military vehicles, planes and submarines.  I've been told by people who have either worked for Bose or who have visited the Bose factory in the past that there is a whole section of the factory that is off-limits and classified, guarded by military policemen.  Now, I don't know if that's for show or if it's for real, but the guards are supposedly there.

Bose speakers are OK, they're not the best out there.  They certainly have placed a lot in people's homes over the years.  I think there are a number of arguments that could be made against owning Bose loudspeakers, but I'm one guy.  The bottom line is that if it's sounds good and you're happy, fine with me.  I just think your audio money could be best spent elsewhere, that's all. 

Mississippi Valley Blues Festival - June 30, July 1-2, 2006

They've released the schedule for this year's Mississippi Valley Blues Festival which will be held this year at Le Claire Park in downtown Davenport, IA. 

The headliners for this year's festival will be Mavis Staples on Friday, June 30; Dirty Dozen Brass Band on Saturday, July 1, and Delbert McClinton on Sunday, July 2. 

The thing about it - I really don't want to see any of the headliners.  Mavis Staples may be somewhat famous as part of the renown Staples Singers, but no thanks.  The Dirty Dozen Brass Band?  As a headliner for the Blues Fest?  I guess I don't understand that one.  Delbert McClinton I've seen three or four times.  I don't really care to see him again.

Who I would like to see are Sonny Landreth, a great slide guitar player who has a somewhat successful solo career and who also plays with John Hiatt quite a bit.  I saw Landreth once before at Summerfest in Milwaukee three or four years ago and he was just smoking. 

Left to right - John Hiatt, B.B. King and Sonny Landreth

I'd also like to see James "Super Chikan" Johnson, a great Mississippi guitar player who I've heard play on CD, but I've never seen or heard in person.  Kenny Neal is playing in the tent area with his brothers on Saturday - but at the same time as Sonny Landreth is playing at the band shell.  Oh, man.  That's going to be a tough choice. 

Kelley Hunt, an up and coming blues pianist who grew up in Kansas City is playing on Sunday, as is the infamous Guitar Shorty.  Hunt I'd like to see, but I've seen Guitar Shorty a couple times before.  He's good, but nothing special to me.

Kelley Hunt

I still haven't see the full schedule as to who is playing at Summerfest, but they usually don't have those bands listed until May.  When we used to go to Summerfest all the time, a lot of the headlining and secondary bands that would play at the Blues Fest in Davenport would usually play in Milwaukee, so we'd see a lot of the music up there that we would have seen in Davenport. 

I don't know if we'll go up to Summerfest for a couple days or not - it depends on who will be there and when - and if Cindy want to go.  But if we don't go that weekend, we'll probably hang around Davenport and hit a night or two of the Blues Fest.

Bodega Brew Pub - La Crosse

I would have filed Bodega Brew Pub under "brew pubs", but they no longer brew their own beer.  Actually, they never did brew their own beer, even though beer was brewed in the place.  Huh?  How can that be?  Well, read on. 

Anyway, the Bodega Brew Pub in downtown La Crosse beckons me each time I go there.   

The Bodega Brew Pub is housed in building that was the home of the Bodega restaurant - a popular lunch cafe in La Crosse that began in 1897.  Over the years, The Bodega served thousands of people some good home-cooked meals.  When the downtown area of La Crosse began to suffer in the 1980's, the Bodega closed in 1984.  It reopened a short time later, but closed for good in 1989.

In 1994, Jeff Hotson, a former railroad worker; and Michael Breckel, who farmed and owned a brewery supply business, bought the Bodega building and began to restore it.  They opened not long after that featuring a number of upper Midwest microbrews and a long list of imported beers, as well. 

In 1999, Joe Katchever, a La Crosse native who had been brewing beer out in Colorado, leased the Bodega's basement brewing operation from Hotson and Breckel and began to brew the beer under the Pearl Street label.  Katchever's beer was good - I really like the Pearl Street pale ale - and it became apparent that he needed more room as he wanted to eventually bottle his beer.  In 2005, Katchever moved into part of the old La Crosse Footwear factory building.  Pearl Street is still available on tap at Bodega. 

The Bodega Brew Pub's beer selection is still very impressive.  They have a number of beers on tap and a much larger selection of beers in bottles.  I had to have a Pearl Street pale ale when I was in there and then I got a Pioneer lager from the Pioneer Brewing Company from Black River Falls.  Only I found out from the bartender that the Sand Creek Brewing Company recently bought out Pioneer. 

The Bodega Brew Pub is certainly a great little beer bar.  The thing I like about it is that it's a smoke free bar and they don't serve food.  They just do one thing - serve beer - and they do it right.  It's one of my all-time favorite places to get a beer. 

The Avenue Bar - Madison

I'm a little partial to the Avenue Bar in Madison.  It's run by a long time friend of mine, Paul Zach, who grew up in Oregon, WI, just south of Madison.  Paul and I met while we were going to school at the University of Iowa.  He played baseball there until he was injured, then he moved back to Madison to finish school at the University of Wisconsin.

The Avenue Bar has a long history.  Joe Keyes built the place in 1956 and it was nothing more than a bar with some pool tables and catered to the workers of the factory across Washington Ave from the bar.  Joe ran it until 1967 when he sold it to Homer Middleton.  Three years later, Middleton sold it to Skip Zach, Paul's dad, and his partner, Cam Hubanks, who began to serve dinner three nights a week. 

They billed their dinner as "Madison's Original Fish Boil", which is a cooking technique used in the Door County area of Wisconsin.  It was a hit and it's still on the menu today. 

In the late 70's, Skip bought Cam Hubanks out and he and his wife, Clare, became the owners.  Paul came to work for Skip and Clare in the mid-80's after he got out of school.  They expanded the restaurant by putting in a new kitchen area and doubling the size of their dining area.  Unfortunately, Skip passed away last year and Paul is now running the place.

I always eat at least one meal at The Avenue Bar when I go to Madison.  The fish boil (which is actually steamed fish) is always good and plentiful.  Paul said to me one time, "That fish boil is what made this place.  There would still be pool tables in this place if my dad and Cam hadn't started the fish boil." 

But the Avenue Bar also has good steaks on their menu, too.  They do prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights (they have a prime rib breakfast special on Saturday and Sundays which is great, as well).  And they have specials each day for lunch and for dinner.  I'm particularly fond of their reuben sandwiches and their homemade barley beef soup. 

Paul keeps a good selection of beers on tap and they're always cold.  He always has one of the Capital Brewery beers on tap.  The last time I was in he had the Maibock on tap.  It was great with my reuben.

Over the years, Clare has collected a number of antique clocks, kitchen accessories and containers, and put them on display throughout the restaurant.  They're pretty interesting to look at.

The Avenue Bar is an institution in Madison.  It's the type of place where you could have a highly elected government official sitting at the bar and next to him would be a coach at Wisconsin, the town drunk would be sitting next to the coach, and a college student seated next to the drunk.  It's such a diverse and loyal clientele that Paul has in the place.  He's always busy every time I go in there, but things get very hectic in the place on Friday and Saturday nights. 

Madison is such a great town with a lot of things to do.  The Avenue Bar is just another reason to go to Madison.

(Update October 2011 - The Zach family had been contemplating selling the bar since Skip passed away and in April of 2011 they sold the Avenue Bar to the Food Fight Restaurant Group who owns a number of very good restaurants in the Madison area.   Paul had offered to stay on and manage the place, but the new owners felt that would be a conflict of interest.  I was in having lunch there the fall of 2011 and I was asking one of the ladies who had worked for the Zach's for a long time how things were going.  She said that the new owners hadn't changed the menu or the way things are cooked.  "Why fool around with success," she rhetorically asked me.  I said that it was too bad that Paul wasn't around any longer and she said, "Boy, you're telling me.  We miss him everyday.  It was a tough, tough day the day he handed over the keys and walked out.")

Piggy's - La Crosse, WI

Piggy's was founded in the early 1980's, primarily as a barbecue joint in an old warehouse overlooking the harbor on the Mississippi River in downtown La Crosse, WI.   Cindy and I first visited the place in the late 90's when it was far from a barbecue place. 

Gary Roberts and a partner started Piggy's in 1981.  Roberts bought out his partner in the late 1990's - not long before we first went there.  He "gussied" the place up, upscaled the menu, and created a wine list that would rival some larger city restaurants.   In 2001, Chef Chris Rodriguez, who was the chef at the Radisson in downtown La Crosse, bought Piggy's from Roberts.  He made some changes, but kept a lot of the same featured dishes, including their wood smoked prime rib. 

Actually, the first time Cindy and I went there, she got the prime rib - which was hickory smoked.  I think I got the pork chops.  As it always seems to happen with us when we try a new restaurant, my pork chops were good, but Cindy's prime rib was outstanding.  Absolutely outstanding.  I had never tasted prime rib so good. 

We'd gone there a couple three times after that and we were sort of disappointed.  It wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't the same taste sensation we had the first time we visited.

I was in La Crosse recently calling on a potential new account.  I ended up inviting him out for dinner and I suggested Piggy's.  He jumped at that as he had to go downtown to the La Crosse Civic Center to drop some stuff off for the local home show where his staff was setting up a booth.

I drove downtown and I turned onto 2nd St. to go to Piggy's.  No Piggy's.  There was a new building in its place.  I drove up the street to the north and I'm talking to myself - "I KNOW Piggy's is down here.  I've eaten here enough to know it should have been back there."

I turned around and went back down the street.  I got in front of the Courtyard Marriott (by the way, Cindy and I stayed there about 4 years ago and I have to say it was the WORST Courtyard I've ever stayed at) and I just happened to look over to my left.  There was Piggy's.  Huh!  Well, I'll be damned!  Piggy's had moved (see map).

I parked the car and went in.  I got to talking to the downstairs hostess waiting for my dealer to show up and she told me that they moved in to this location almost a year ago.  The city of La Crosse owned the parking lot that Piggy's used at the old location and they didn't want to renew the lease because they wanted Piggy's to move out of there so they could put up the office building. 

The building Piggy's is in now is an old foundry and warehouse that is unique in its architecture.  The second floor is built on steel rods, similar to a suspension bridge.  The restaurant is on the second floor, while a large ballroom/reception room on the first floor has no support beams getting in the way. 

I went into the Smokin' Blues Lounge on the first floor to have a beer while I was waiting for my dinner guest.  The lounge was comfortable and cozy.  The lounge serves food, but it's more of a casual atmosphere with ribs and sandwiches.  They feature live jazz or blues some nights, primarily on the weekends. 

My guest showed up and I said, "I almost couldn't find this place.  It moved!"  He told me that he got to thinking as he was driving down if I knew that Piggy's had moved.  We had a beer in the lounge and took a look at the menu for the lounge and the one for the main dining room upstairs.  It was a no-brainer - we went upstairs. 

The dining room is large and room, darkly lit and elegant.  The biggest thing that is missing is the view of the Mississippi.  The old Piggy's had a great view of the river and the window tables were always the first to be requested.

Piggy's wine list was very good, I thought.  I know that Wine Spectator has given their annual "Award of Excellence" since 1999, so they're doing something right with their wine.  They had a little bit of everything including a pretty good reserve list.  In fact, they had bottles of 1997 Jordan Cabernet that was more than reasonably priced at about $95 dollars a bottle.

Since I didn't think I needed to impress this guy that much, we went with a 2000 Hess Select Cabernet that was also reasonably priced at $27 a bottle.  It was very good.  It's been awhile since I've had a Hess Select wine.

My dinner guest suggested an appetizer that was shaved smoked medium rare beef tenderloin on smoked crostini bread over boursin cheese topped with chopped tomatoes, basil and garlic.  It was fantastic! 

I ordered the prime rib - they changed it since they moved in.  They no longer smoke their prime rib with hickory wood.  In an homage to the area's apple trees - especially across the river over in Minnesota - they smoke a lot of their foods now in apple wood.  And apple wood is one of my more favorite types of wood to use for smoking meats on the grill. 

Before the main entree, we were served a Piggy's dinner salad made with their homemade dressing.  I had their blue cheese dressing - which was surprisingly good.  It came out as a creamy blue cheese (after I asked our waitress if they had crumbly blue cheese and she said, yes, they did).  Well, the dressing cream was light and didn't detract from the taste of the blue cheese they used in the dressing. 

My prime rib was very good.  It was served with whipped potatoes and a vegetable medley.  I could hardly eat the potatoes and the veggies, however. 

My guest got the pork tenderloin center cuts and they looked good (as I said, I had them before and they were good, but not as good as Cindy's prime rib that night).

Before we left, my guest said, "You've got to try the creme brulee cheesecake."  I said that I was nowhere close to being able to have dessert - I was stuffed!  He went ahead and ordered a piece and told our waitress to bring two forks.  I'm glad he did.  I think I had a couple three bites, but basically it's cheesecake with a custard topping and then carmelized like one would with a creme brulee.  It was very good.

Our bill at Piggy's - with tip - was just under $100 bucks.  I thought for as good as the food was, the ambience of the place and the service we received it was a good deal. 

Piggy's also has an extensive menu of fresh fish entrees.  The special the evening I was there was a chargrilled wahoo with a spicy pepper sauce drizzled on top.  I was tempted, but I couldn't pull the trigger over the prime rib. 

I don't know if this dealer is going to buy anything from me, but he did agree to bring in some samples.  And with the products I sell, I've found that once the samples make it in the door, they usually stay on the floor.  Of course, a nice dinner at Piggy's certainly helped grease things.

Bob Chinn's Crabhouse - Wheeling, IL

One of the more famous - and more fun - restaurants in the Chicagoland area is Bob Chinn's Crabhouse in Wheeling (see map). 

Wheeling, itself, boasts a number of great restaurants - Le Francais, Don Roth's Blackhawk Steakhouse, Buona Sera, Phil Stefani's Tuscany, just to name a few.  But the biggest and loudest (as proclaimed by the Guinness Book of World Records in the 80's) is Bob Chinn's.  (Update March 2012 - most of those venerable restaurants are now closed.)

There really is a Bob Chinn - he's a little Chinese guy from Duluth, MN who moved to Chicago as a young child with his family.  As a youngster, Bob helped out in his family's restaurant and learned the restaurant business at an early age.  He had a couple of Chinese restaurants, but envisioned doing a seafood restaurant someday.  Bob eventually became a caterer who specialized in Hawaiian luau parties.  To this day, people are incredulous that Bob Chinn was born in Minnesota and not in Hawaii (I certainly was when I first heard that). 

With the help of his daughter, Marilyn, Bob opened Bob Chinn's Crabhouse in 1982 with about 180 seats.  Since then, the restaurant expanded to over 650 seats and serves over 3000 guests each day.  Bob Chinn has semi-retired from the business and Marilyn is in charge of the day-to-day operations. 

The motif in Bob Chinn's is like you're in a East Coast beach front crab shack.  The walls and floors are wood so it can get pretty loud in there.  They have a nifty little enclosed porch area that allows you to dine in the sunlight on sunny days, if you wish.  The bar is good sized and offers plenty of room when you have to wait on a table (which occurs frequently on weekends). 

Speaking of the bar, Bob Chinn's is famous for their mai tai's - a fruit drink with lots of rum in it.  They serve them in souvenir plastic glasses and I'm tellin' ya - they sneak up on you.  You can have three because they taste so good, but then they start to hit you.  So don't say I didn't warn you. 

By the way, you can even buy the pre-made mai tai mix to take home with you.  Actually, one time, Cindy and I got four 8 oz aged NY strip steaks and a half-gallon of the mai-tai mix for something like $34.95 - we just thought it was an unbelievably great value.   

When they seat you at Bob Chinn's, they bring you out a basket of these garlic rolls that are dipped in butter.  Oh, man!  You gotta watch it.  You don't want to eat too many of those things because you won't want to eat your meal.  But they're hard to resist. 

I like starting off with their peel-and-eat garlic shrimp as an appetizer.  It's like heaven.  Or, get their seafood gumbo.  It's also very good.  Then after that, it's open warfare on great food. 

They usually have a nightly special of some seafood dish.  Bob Chinn's also has very good pasta and seafood selections (the stuffed shrimp and pasta alfredo is unbelievable).  And, of course, for the surf and turf fans, Bob Chinn's also has steaks.  Even though it's not on the menu, I've ordered the garlic shrimp/NY strip combo before and it's very, very good.  Bob Chinn's dry-age their steaks up to 4 weeks to make them very tender and very flavorful. 

Bob Chinn's is known for their crabpot varieties - steamed crabs, crab claws, crab legs, etc.  And they feature a "Catch of the Day" that you can pick to be cooked one of seven ways - Broiled, sauteed in lemon, blackened, grilled over charcoal, fried in a beer batter, stir fried or steamed.  The sauteed grouper is fantastic.

Bob Chinn's is one of the largest buyers of seafood in the United States.  They have seafood flown in daily from the East and West Coasts, as well as from the Gulf of Mexico.  Bob Chinn's also goes through about 400 steaks a day - that's more than many steakhouses go through in an average day!

There were two other Chinn restaurants that are connected to Bob Chinn's.  Bob Chinn's Chicago, which was run by Bob's son Michael; went out of business last year.  But Chinn's 34th St. Fishery near the Hyatt Hotel in Lisle, IL is still open (see map), and is run by Bob's nephew, Stanley Chinn.  Another nephew, Jimmy Chinn, had planned to open Chinn's Crab and Chop House in the Oak Brook area a few years ago, but Bob and his daughter Marilyn successfully sued them to not use the Chinn name.   

Bob Chinn's is the 4th highest grossing restaurant in the United States.  The food, for as large of a place it is, is excellent.  The atmosphere is fun.  And it's tough to beat the mai tai's.  I very much recommend a trip to Bob Chinn's Crabhouse. 

Old Style/Special Export

One of the more popular beers in the Midwest for a number of years is the Old Style brand that was originally brewed in La Crosse, WI.  Either affectionately (or derisively) called "Dog Style", Old Style's original recipe is as close to the original "farmer's beer" that was made in the 1800's in Wisconsin.  It happens to be one of my favorites. 

Gottlieb Heileman, a German immigrant who settled in La Crosse in 1852, and John Lund started their first brewery in 1858 at the corner of 3rd and Mississippi in La Crosse.  When John Lund left in 1872 to start up the Empire Brewery, Heileman took over the operation as the sole owner and expanded the business. 

Heileman died in 1878 and Reinhard Waecker took over the day-to-day operations of the brewery on behalf of Gottlieb Heileman's wife, Johanna.  In 1890, the G. Heileman Brewery incorporated and Johanna Heileman took over as president of the brewery.  She was one of the first women to head a company in the United States.  She was active in the company until her death in 1917.

G. Heileman Brewery brewed the first Old Style beer in 1902 based upon a shared recipe between a number of Wisconsin breweries that was devised in 1900.  When prohibition hit in 1920, the Heileman brewery did what a number of other breweries of its day did - they brewed near beer, root beer and soda pop.  When prohibition was repealed in 1933, Heileman recapitalized and expanded its beer production.  20 years later, the company was producing over half a million barrels of beer annually. 

In the late 50's, G. Heileman began to buy other smaller breweries in the upper Midwest.  They acquired breweries and brand names such as Heidelbrau, Pioneer, Gluek, Kingsbury and Wisconsin beers.  By the 1980's, the assorted G. Heileman breweries were the 4th largest in the world making over 17 million barrels of beer each year, including 5 million annually at the La Crosse brewing facility. 

The "World's Largest Six Pack" at the G. Heileman Brewery in La Crosse.  Actually, they are water holding tanks.  

The G. Heileman brewery brewed a number of beers over the years but their two biggest names were Old Style and Special Export.  Special Export, was more of a Northern European style of beer, very reminiscent in taste to that of Heinekin (in fact, I like to call Special Export "the poor man's Heinekin). 

In 1987, G. Heileman Brewing was sold to the Bond Corporation, an Australian holding company owned by the notorious Alan Bond.  With his business empire failing, Bond eventually sold the company to the Stroh Brewing Company, which in turn was taken over by the Pabst Brewing Company, which in turn was taken over by the Miller Brewing Company, which in turn was taken over by South African Breweries (S.A.B.). 

(Whew!  Did you get all that?  We're going to have a test on this next week!)

Through all of this, Old Style and Special Export continued their successful run and continued to be one of the more popular beers in the state of Illinois.  Thousands of "flatlanders" from Illinois had acquired the taste of Old Style and "Special Ex" during the years of vacationing in Wisconsin.  Old Style has been a constant feature in Chicago area bars since the 1940's, and Old Style has been available in Wrigley Field for Chicago Cubs games for over 55 years.  In fact, Old Style is so closely identified with the city of Chicago that many people thought it was brewed in the Chicagoland area.

The G.Heileman breweries around the upper Midwest eventually closed down except for the one in La Crosse.  In 1998, Stroh's/Pabst closed down the brewery in La Crosse - the first time in 140 years that beer was not brewed at the location.

A group of local investors and former Heileman brewery employees bought the brewery and started the City Brewing Company, makers of the La Crosse and City brand lager beers.  The City Brewery also contracts out to make beer for a couple of west coast beer companies, as well.  The facility now produces about 1.6 million barrels of beer annually, making it the fifth largest producer of beer in the U.S.

The City Lager brand, I've been told, is the original recipe for Old Style in 1902.  The recipe for Old Style has been tweaked over the years, but City Lager evidentially follows the original Old Style recipe part for part. 

The original home of Gottlieb and Johanna Heileman, located just across the street from the City Brewery, was used as the corporate headquarters of the G. Heileman Brewing Co.  It is still used today as the corporate headquarters for City Brewery.  The Heileman banquet facility that was used for many functions over the years in La Crosse has been refurbished and is still used for receptions, parties and meetings.

And the statue of King Gambrinus, the patron saint of beer, continues to stand in front of the brewery as it has for a number of years. 

(Left - King Gambrinus towers over the old G. Heileman brewery in La Crosse)

Old Style and Special Export are now brewed at Miller facilities in Milwaukee and in Michigan.  Old Style and Special Export are available in 20 states, mainly in the Midwest (but are available in Oregon and Arizona, as well.  Special Export is a lot tougher to find, but it is plentiful in Wisconsin and the Chicagoland area.

They're both two of my favorite beers.  I always try to have both Old Style and Special Export in my beer fridge.  There's nothing better than an ice cold Old Style on a hot summer's afternoon, or a smooth Special Ex with a big ol' steak. 

Oooo...  I'm getting thirsty just talking about 'em! 

Superdawg - Chicago

The world famous Superdawg drive-in at the corner of Devon and Milwaukee in the far northwest side of Chicago has been serving up hot dogs - no, wait - "Superdawgs" since 1948.

Superdawg was started by Maurie Berman, a World War II veteran who was studying to be an accountant at Northwestern University, and his wife, Florence, who had married Maurie a year prior.  Maurie and "Flaurie" wanted to have a summer business, something to occupy their time during the summer vacation season.

Maurie designed a little building and put two distinctive hot dogs on the top of the place.  He called it "Superdawg" as there was a proliferation of cartoon "superheroes" at that time.  Superdawg opened in May of 1948 with car hops going out to the cars to take orders. 

It wasn't until the early to mid-50's when two way communications for order taking had been invented and Maurie immediately installed a system at Superdawg.  Calling his two way system "Car Hop on a Wire", Superdawg began to grow tremendously.  What had started out as a part time thing to pass the summer months for Maurie (who had long since passed his CPA exam) and Flaurie, turned into a thriving year round business.

The trademark greeting of "Hiya!  Thanks for stopping!" is the first thing you hear from the Superdawg people when you hit the order button.  Each Superdawg comes in a box with an order of Superfries that aren't bad, but the hot dog is pretty damn good.  They serve the Superdawg "Chicago style" (of course) but instead of a red tomato wedge, they have a small green tomato wedge.  It's a nice twist on the traditional Chicago hot dog. 

You can still eat in your car, or you can go in and eat in a somewhat cozy dining area in the building.  It's still fun to order up a hot dog and fries and have it in your car.

Maurie, Flaurie and their children have been serving Superdawg's (made with secret preparations) for over 50 years.  It's not a hot dog, it's not a wiener, it's not a frankfurter, it's not a red hot. 

It's a Superdawg, and make no mistake about that.

St. Patrick's Day in the Quad Cities

When I first moved to the Quad Cities nearly 15 years ago, one of the first things I found out was that there is a large Irish population in this area.  And one of the biggest times of the year in this city is St. Patrick's Day. 

There are a number of good Irish bars in the city - Murphy's in Rock Island, Mac's Tavern in downtown Davenport, the Irish Garden and The Circle Tap in west Davenport, and Pat McGuire's and Kelly's Irish Pub in northern Davenport just to name a few.  They all get packed on St. Patrick's Day, packed to the point that there's too many people and it isn't very fun getting beer spilled on you and the line to the bathroom is 20 minutes long.

Still, that doesn't deter me from going out and having a good time.  Last night, Cindy and I went out to Kelly's to see Wicked Liz and the Bellyswirls, along with Spatterdash (playing their first gig since the death of their longtime bass player Randy Archer). 

Dan Kelly - the brother of Wicked Liz's Bob and Leo Kelly - is the managing partner at Kelly's.  They went all out for St. Patrick's Day this year.  Dan had a company put up a 60' by 90' foot big top tent in the parking lot in front of the place.  When we got there last night it was packed.  Leo saw me and said, "Hey, get up here and be our M.C. for the night!" I had no green on at all, but I do have green eyes.  Jerry Kelly - ANOTHER Kelly brother - gave an Irish toast, then I introduced the band and that was that.

I talked to Dan about 10:30 and he told me that based on the amount of wrist bands they gave out to people of drinking age during the course of the day, he estimated there were over 8000 people who came through Kelly's on St. Patrick's Day.

But the biggest event is the annual St. Patrick's Day parade - known as "The Grand Parade", which bills itself as the only Bi-State parade in the United States.  It's held on the closest Saturday to St. Patrick's Day and it's a big deal around here. 

Actually, it's more of a big drunken party than a parade.  Thousands of people begin over in Rock Island, then go across the Mississippi River on the Centennial Bridge and then end up in downtown Davenport - conveniently in front of Mac's Tavern and the other bars in the area.  But they're usually drinking heavily on the way over.  The only problem is that there aren't many bathrooms along the way, so they can't drink TOO much.      

There's local Irish clans and organizations that have floats and the like.  They throw beads and candy out to the crowds that are lined along the streets.  It's one of the few times the cops let people drink right on the street.  The annual St. Patrick's Day parade is a big party.   

After the parade, the crowd either goes to the downtown bars, or the other Irish bars in the area, and many go over to the big Post Parade Bash at the Col Ballroom just west of Downtown Davenport. 

St. Patrick's Day here in the Quad's is a big party and it's watched closely by the local police departments.  I was told one time by a cop I work with at a lot of events here in Davenport, Joe Blake, who heads up the traffic enforcement division for the Davenport Police Department that there are more people arrested for drunk driving on St. Patrick's Day than at any other time during the year - even more than New Year's Eve. 

Yes, I did drink green beer.  And Cindy did drive us home. 

Chuck's Italian and American Restaurant - Des Moines

Chuck's Italian and American Restaurant is an institution that has been around for nearly 50 years.  Located in the Highland Park section of Des Moines just north of Euclid Ave. on 6th (see map), Chuck's has some of the best pizza in Des Moines, if not THE best. 

Opened in 1956 by Chuck Bisignano, the brother of famed Des Moines restranteur, Babe Bisginano, Chuck's is one of the "old guard" Italian restaurants still in existence in the Des Moines area.

Chuck's is basically two sides with a party room in the back.  There's a bar that caters to the smokers and the non-smoker side, which is larger, that has the pizza kitchen up front.  In fact, the pizza kitchen faces the street and you can see the pizza chef making the pies as you walk by the place.

Chuck's pizza has a thin crust that is very tasty.  They use the freshly ground sausage (they grind it themselves) for the big chunk sausage that I like.  The sauce is sweet and zesty and the pizza really tastes great with a cold beer.

Chuck's also has great beer battered onion rings, the stringy kind that taste so great.  There's a little pepper in the batter so it adds a little zip to the taste of the rings.  They are sinfully great. 

One other thing I've had at Chuck's before is their lasagna.  Since they make their own sausage there, the lasagna is very, very good.  The portions are almost too big to eat in one sitting. 

Chuck's takes all major credit cards and is open until 10 p.m. thru the week and, I believe, to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.  There is some parking around, but you can park on the streets near the place, it's pretty safe and well lit at night. 

I have to eat at Chuck's nearly everytime I go to Des Moines.  It's worth the trip.

Hen House Markets - Kansas City

The Kansas City area boasts 13 eclectic grocery stores called Hen House Markets.  They are, simply, some of the finest grocery stores I've ever been in.   

Hen House Markets were first known as Ball's when the first one opened in the 1920's by Sidney and Mollie Ball in Kansas City, KS.  Ball's Food Stores, Inc. have grown today to include 15 Ball's Price Chopper warehouse-style grocery stores throughout Kansas City, and 11 Hen Houses on the Kansas side of Kansas City, with two more on the Missouri side.

You'll find the Hen House Markets in the more upscale shopping areas in suburbs around Kansas City.  They have a great meat department, great produce and a wonderful deli.  The shopping experience at a Hen House is one of a comfortable nature, mixed in with very pleasant surroundings.

But don't let the eclectic nature of the stores fool you - their everyday grocery items are competitive with the larger chains in the area.  They also offer on line specials that change weekly so you don't have to wait until the Wednesday ads come out in the local paper to see what Hen House has on sale.

Recently, Ball's Price Chopper stores have been feeling pressure from the two big competitors in the area - Hy-Vee and WalMart.  But the Hen House Markets all seem to be growing and getting stronger.   

Hen House Markets have specialty areas for pet food (with food and treats from the famous Three Dog Bakery in Kansas City), organic foods and a nice floral department.   

I wish we had something like a Hen House around the Quad Cities.  It's a pretty nifty place to shop.

   

My Chicken Parmesan for Two

I saw this recipe done one time on the Food Network show "How to Boil Water".  It's not tough, but it's not easy, either.  It takes about 30 minutes to prepare and about a total cooking time of one hour from the start to finish. 

I've tweaked the original recipe - added some things, substituted some others.  I've made it for my wife and myself a couple of times.  Chicken Parmesan has never been one of my favorites, but this is pretty damned good.

It's a two part thing - make the marinara sauce first, then work on the chicken part of it.

Here we go!

Marinara Sauce (Seriously - make this rather than buy the stuff in a jar at the store.  It's easy, fun and it tastes great.)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium white onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp Italian seasonings (See seasoning ingredients below)

1-28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes in puree juice (Dumb shit tip - that's the juice that's in with the tomatoes.  Don't drain that out!)

1 - 6 oz can of tomato paste

1 cup beer (American lager, such as Budweiser or Miller High Life)

1 tsp - sea salt

1 tbsp - cracked black pepper

Pour the tomatoes and juice into a large bowl and use a fork to mash and cut the tomatoes until they're a little chunky.

Heat the olive oil in a 4 quart sauce pan over medium heat.  When the oil is sufficiently heated, add the chopped onions, garlic and Italian seasonings.  (Actually, I add the chopped garlic first - I love the smell of sauteed garlic chunks.)

Stir all until lightly browned, about five minutes, tops.  Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil.  Add beer and tomato paste.  Lower the heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring every 3 to 5 minutes.   

Reduce heat and stir in the salt and the cracked pepper.  You can use the marinara right away or you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can freeze for up to 2 months. 

You'll have some leftover marinara after you use it with the chicken, so you can have a side of spaghetti and marinara with the chicken parmesan.

(As an aside - I ground up some pork butt and made my own Italian sausage recently.  I would LOVE to use this marinara with the homemade Italian sausage for spaghetti.)

(Also - here's a dumb shit tip.  Keep the 28 oz. can the tomatoes came in so you can pour the leftover vegetable oil into the can and then place the paper towels you used on top of it to throw into the garbage.) 

OK - time for the chicken 

2 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves (about 4 to 6 oz. each)

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups unflavored bread crumbs

4 tablespoons Italian seasoning (1 tbsp each dried basil, thyme, and oregano leaves, 1/2 tbsp marjoram, 1/2 tbsp sage - or you can buy Italian seasoning at most grocery stores in the spice aisle)

1 tbsp - Garlic powder granules

1 tbsp cracked black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour (for dredging)

1 large egg or 2 medium eggs, beaten

1 tbsp milk

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 cup grated Parmesan

2 cups fresh mozzarella or Italian blended cheese

Place each chicken breast between two folded pieces of Saran wrap (or equivalent) and pound them out with a wooden mallet.  (Two tips - if you don't have one, get a wooden pounding mallet for cooking purposes.  You can find them at most cooking stores.  Using a common hammer doesn't cut it - believe me.  I have a mallet that is flat on one side, but has a metal tenderizer on the other side.  Use the flat side for this.)

(Second tip - I like to put about a tablespoon of olive oil on the Saran wrap and place the chicken breast on it, then fold the wrap over before I pound it out.) 

Make sure the chicken breasts are pounded out to no more than 1/3 of an inch thick.  (You can do this well in advance and put the wrapped chicken in the fridge for the time being.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl whisk together 1 tsp of salt, 2 tbsp of the Italian Seasoning, 1 tbsp of garlic powder and 2 cups of bread crumbs and add the tablespoon of cracked black pepper. 

Place the flour on a large bowl.  In another similar size bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. 

In a medium to large skillet, pour vegetable oil to a depth of about 1/4 inch.  Heat the oil on medium high or until the oil gets to about 400 degrees.

Dredge a chicken breast in flour.  Dip the breast in the egg and milk mixture and then dredge through the seasoned breadcrumbs.  Transfer  the chicken breast to the skillet when the oil is ready to go. 

Drop one breast in and cook for about two to three minutes on each side until golden brown.  Take the chicken out of the pan with a pair of tongs, transfer to a baking sheet or to a plate laying on a paper towel.  Repeat process with second chicken breast.  Set breasts aside. 

In a 14" X 9" baking dish, pour extra virgin olive oil in the bottom and either brush or hand-spread the oil along the bottom and sides of the baking dish.   

Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of marinara sauce and place the chicken over the sauce.  Cover the chicken with another layer of sauce, then scatter the mozzarella (or Italian blend cheese) and the Parmesan on top. 

Place in oven on middle rack and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is browning.  About 25 minutes tops.  Let set for about five to ten minutes, then serve. 

Here's another tip - you're going to use a lot of bowls and plates.  I hope to hell you have a dishwasher.  But the time it takes to cook the Chicken Parmesan allows you to open a good bottle of red wine to let it breathe before dinner - preferably a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot - and to clean up the mess you made. 

Keep your wife or girlfriend out of the kitchen if they go ape shit over a dirty kitchen, because you can make it pretty dirty pretty quickly.  But if it's a first date or the first time you're cooking for your lady, they dig sitting in the kitchen and watching you cook.

But you bachelors be forewarned!  You have to love to cook!  Because if you don't like to cook, the girl you're trying to impress will think that you'll be cooking for her ALL the time.

Actually, as you can probably tell, I love to cook.  And Cindy likes it when I cook, too.  As I said, this is pretty damn good. 

Sonic Drive - In

I eat a lot of crap on the road.  Not necessarily bad food, but "bad for you" food.  I try to minimize the intake of bad food, but sometimes I find myself with a short amount of time between appointments and I have to get something in me, and quick.  And one of the places I seem to find when I'm traveling in Missouri and Kansas is a Sonic Drive-In. 

The first Sonic restaurant was opened in 1953 in Shawnee, Oklahoma by Troy Smith.  Actually, it wasn't called Sonic until 1959 - it was first known as the Top Hat Drive-In.  The Top Hat had a unique service where the people would stay in their cars and order their food off of a billboard menu via a car-side two way radio.  Then car hops would bring the food to the car.

There are now over 3,000 Sonic Drive-In's today.  And even though they tout themselves as being "America's Drive-In", they are only in 30 states, primarily in the south and western part of the U.S.    

I was first introduced to Sonic when I was working for a company out of suburban St. Louis.  One of the office guys, Steve Gollaher, who was a strapping and big 6'4", 225 lb. Missouri farm kid, went to Sonic for lunch one day and brought back his food.  Man, it smelled good (but, of course, at that point in time of day, even a shit sandwich would have smelled good to me).  But what he brought back about made me choke.  It wasn't how bad the food was - it was HOW MUCH food he brought back.  Just for himself. 

A "Super Sonic" Cheeseburger

He had a Super Sonic cheeseburger, basically two quarter pound patties with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and mustard on it; a foot-long chili dog (Sonic calls 'em "coneys"); a large order of french fries, and a 44 oz Dr. Pepper (their 44 ounce drinks are called "Route 44's").  And I watched in absolute amazement as he sat there and ate the whole thing before polishing off the last of the Doctor Pepper. 

I told him, "Jethro (that was my nickname for him because he could eat like Jethro Bodine on the Beverly Hillbillies), next time I come here and we do lunch, I'll buy the food if you go and get the same thing for both of us." 

And the next time I came back about three months later, I walked in the door one morning and he said, "We doin' Sonic today, boss?"  Abso-friggin'-lutely, Jethro. 

And he went and got the same thing - except I took a Coke instead of a Dr. Pepper.  Now, I can eat a lot but I was severely humbled that day. 

I got the burger down. I got the chili dog down.  There was no way that I was going to be able to even get CLOSE to begin on the fries.  So Steve ended up eating his large order of fries and MINE, too - in addition to everything ELSE he ate!  The guy was a true machine.

My normal guilty pleasure at Sonic is a Super Sonic Cheeseburger.  I always tip the car hops an extra buck when they bring the food out.  The burgers are very good for fast food.  They do remind me of a Whataburger or an In-'N-Out Burger.  The buns are toasted, the toppings are fresh.  The burger is hot and juicy. 

If I'm on the go and I need to eat, and there's a choice of Wendy's or Sonic, I'll always pull into a Sonic.  They're tough to beat. 

Italian Giardiniera

I've had a couple three e-mails from people who have all asked the same question after reading my Italian Beef Recipe, "What is giardiniera?"

Giardiniera (pronounced JAR-din-era, or if you're really Italian it's ZJAR-din-era) is nothing more than pickled vegetables in vegetable oil (or olive oil).  The primary ingredients are chopped baby carrots, green olives, cauliflower, celery and peppers - both sweet red peppers and the hot little bastards that really give giardiniera its zip. 

The giardiniera you find in Chicago and the Midwest isn't exactly like true Italian giardiniera, but everybody calls it Italian.  It was developed in the 1920's in Chicago by Pasquale (Frank) Scala, an Italian immigrant who worked at a bakery/deli.  It is as Chicago as the Cubs, Sears Tower or Michigan Ave.  Real Italian giardiniera doesn't use hot peppers or green olives, but they use onions and pickle the vegetables in pure white vinegar. 

Pascuale Scala in the Lucca Bakery and Deli, 1925

It's primarily used as a topping on Italian sandwiches, but I've heard that some people like to throw it on top of a slice of pizza, too.  I've never done that and as much as I do like giardiniera, it's something I don't know if I'd like it on pizza.

There are a number of companies in the Chicago area (and elsewhere) that manufacture mild and hot giardiniera - Marconi, Dell'Alpe, Scala's, Tenuta's, Il Primo, and Racconto, to name a few .  You can generally find giardiniera in the pickle aisle of most Midwestern grocery stores.  The mild giardiniera has a bit of a bite to it, but I like the hot better.  They add some of those little hot "sport peppers" (also known as "piquant peppers, found mainly in the Balkin region of Southeastern Europe) all chopped up in the concoction.  Sport peppers are the little peppers that they throw on Chicago-style hot dogs to give them that hot and spicy flavor. 

Years ago I worked with this old guy, Ben Klouda, would make his own hot giardiniera.  Except he would use jalapenos and those sweet cherry peppers in there instead of sport peppers, plus he would also throw in cubed up pieces of summer and Thuringer sausage.  Oh, man!!!  Was that stuff ever good!  Everytime he'd bring in a huge jar of that stuff, it would be gone in an hour. 

The problem with giardiniera is that if you let a jar that has been opened sit long enough, the oil starts to kind of crystalize and it really loses it's flavor.  I'd say that once you open a jar of giardiniera, it has less than 30 days of a shelf life in a fridge. 

I found a recipe once where you empty a jar of mild giardiniera and a jar of hot giardiniera in with a 4 to 5 lb beef roast in a crock pot and let it cook for about seven hours.  Oh man!  My stomach is doing jumping jacks just thinking about that!

But giardiniera is a great condiment to use on Italian beef sandwiches.  If you can't find any in your area, you can order directly from the manufacturer's whose links I've provided above. 

Geez, Italian beef sandwiches.  That sounds great for dinner!

Hampton Inn and Suites - Merriam, KS

I first stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Merriam, KS about a year and a half ago.  Actually, I had been staying at the Hampton Inn or the Hilton Garden Inn in Overland Park until I found out this one was much closer to my dealer.

I remember walking in and seeing at how nice the lobby was, thinking this place was brand new.  I asked the desk clerk how long they'd been open.  She said, "Oh, we've been open since 2000."  Nice joint!

I've stayed there three or four times.  The rooms are very nice, the staff is always attentive.  They've upgraded me to suites a couple of times, which are two rooms - a living room area with a little kitchenette with a bedroom attached.  They've got a nice breakfast spread in the morning - it's a great place.

But I'll never stay there again.

When I went to check in, they didn't have my reservation.  The desk clerk was very helpful, however, and called over to the one in Overland Park to see if I had a reservation over there. 

(As much as I travel, I make reservations days in advance and sometimes I forget where I'm staying.  I usually print out the reservation confirmations to take with me, usually to help remind me where I'm staying and on what night.  For some reason, I didn't print them out for this particular trip.)

It turned out that, yes, I was supposed to be over in Overland Park.  I was tired, I'd driven a lot that day, I needed to check e-mail and do some work, then go get something to eat.  I didn't feel like driving over toward Overland Park and going through the process again.  I asked if she had rooms - she did - and I asked if she could cancel my reservation over at Overland Park.  She did. 

I sort of wondered why I didn't make my reservations at this one in Merriam because I knew it was much nicer than the one in Overland Park. (I always try to get into the Hilton Garden Inn in Overland Park first, but because the Overland Park Convention Center is next door, it is usually sold out well in advance.)

Let me back up a bit - to get to the Hampton Inn and Suites in Merriam, you get off I-35 at 75th St., then you go west down a hill to the first stop light.  Take a right, then take another immediate right, go across some train tracks, then up an hill, around and down a frontage road.  It's kind of a pain in the ass to get to, and if it's dark and you've never been there before, there's a good chance you'd get lost.  Thankfully, the first time I went there, it was daylight and I'm usually pretty good with directions once I've been to a place. 

They put me in the back of the hotel, on the second floor.  Nice room.  Little fridge in the room, comfy king size bed, it's a great room.  So why won't I stay there again?

Remember what I said about going across some train tracks to get to the hotel? 

About midnight, I'm trying to fall asleep (I don't sleep well when I'm away from Cindy) and all of the sudden I hear this train coming down the tracks.  Being that I'm in the back of the hotel and closest to the tracks, it sounds like the friggin' train is coming into my room.  Then the bastard hits the horn - holy shit!!! 

I suddenly remembered why I didn't want to make reservations at this Hampton Inn. 

Well, it didn't happen just one time - it happened at least FIVE times in the middle of the night.  It turns out those are the Union Pacific tracks to Wichita and points south and west. 

One time, I think it was around 2:30 in the morning, another one came by and he just laid on the horn like he was saying, "Hey, folks!  It's 2:30 in the morning.  If I have to work and not be in bed like you people, I'm going to make you all suffer."  And the horn blast lasted about that long.  I'm serious. 

Now, we have friends - Mike and Gwen Schroeder - who live, literally, 30 yards from train tracks where trains go by their place in the middle of the night at 45 to 60 miles an hour.  We've stayed there a couple times and the trains have scared the living shit out of us.  But Mike and Gwen have lived there long enough that Mike says, "Awww, we don't even hear 'em any more when we're sleeping." 

As many airlines, hotels and car rental companies say, "You have choices."  I choose not to stay here again.  Nothing against the staff, the facility or Hampton Inn's, but with trains going by and slamming on the horn all through the night - and I'm not used to that sound in the middle of the night.  I'd rather stay in a more tired hotel than have to be subjected to that. 

The Longbranch Steakhouse - Overland Park/Lenexa, KS

Since 1986, the Longbranch Steakhouse has been serving some good steaks at some good prices.  One of the original owners was former major league baseball player and manager Lou Pinella.  The Longbranch has since gone through a couple of ownership changes and the two Longbranch's located in suburban Kansas City (Lenexa map - Overland Park map) are now owned by Dan Greet. 

"Sweet" Lou Pinella (left)

From the first time I went into a Longbranch, I always had kind of an affinity to the place.  The decor is sort of rustic, yet, sort of "frathouse-ish".  There are self-deprecating and rude-to-customers signage and shirts. It's not quite a steak house, but not quite a beer bar.  And it could be categorized as a sports bar, but they prefer to be called a steak house.

I will tell you, the burgers at Longbranch are very good - 1/2 pound of fresh ground beef on a toasted bun.  I like their Swiss-mushroom burgers the best.  Good, lean, yet juicy. 

And their chili is very good, too.  It's sweet and thick with a little hint of spiciness.  I always like to get it topped with onions, jalapenos and cheddar cheese. 

I had a dinner meeting scheduled one evening in Kansas City, but late in the afternoon the guy who I was supposed to go out to dinner with begged off - he had the flu.  I know that he had to have the flu - the steakhouse we were going to is one of his favorites.  And since I was paying, I knew that he had to be really sick to not garner a freebie meal from me. 

I was in the mood for steak all day, but I didn't want to go to that steakhouse by myself.  So, I decided to head over to the Longbranch in Lenexa.  Getting there was a major chore as they were working on the 87th St. overpass over I-35 and there were lane closures, detours and one lane roads.  I found my way there, but I thought I needed to get a prize for making it. 

Monday thru Thursday, the Longbranch has steak specials.  Stupidly, ridiculously, insanely low-priced steak specials.  I took the crew from Accent Sound to the one in Overland Park there one night and they had 16 oz KC Strips with steak fries for $8.99 that night.  There was nothing wrong with the steaks, either.  No major pieces of gristle, they were cut very lean and cooked perfectly. 

Tonight, they had an 8 oz. Flatiron steak (to learn more about Flatiron cuts, click here) and steak fries for $6.99.  Wow...  OK, sign me up.

One thing that I've begun to notice at restaurants lately - especially when you're sitting at the bar alone having diner.  The last few places I've been to, the bartender will take my drink order and then ask for my name.  They introduce themselves with their name, write my name down on my ticket and then they treat me like we're lifelong friends the rest of the night.  I'll tell you, it adds a couple bucks to their tip when they do it to me. 

Tonight, the bartender, Mandy, did the same thing.  She was very attentive and quick on the spot.  I asked her if I could get a cup of chili before the steak and an ice cold Boulevard Irish Ale.  She was more than happy to oblige. 

I hadn't had the chili for quite sometime, but it was exactly as I remember.  Good and thick, sweet and tangy.  Add a little Tabasco sauce and it was a spot-hitter. 

The Flatiron steak was a tad overcooked for a medium-rare, but for $6.99 it was still very good.  I only had about four or five of the thick cut steak fries (I really don't eat french fries that much any longer), but they were good, too. 

There are definitely better steakhouses in Kansas City, but there may not be any that are more fun than The Longbranch.  And it's tough to beat the weeknight specials.  My dinner with the chili, two 22 oz beers and the steak with fries came to just over $22 bucks.  With a five dollar tip for Mandy, I was out of there for under $30 bucks. 

The Longbranch is a good value for a steakhouse, if anything.  Give it a shot if you get to K.C.    

(Update 7-22-12 - Got a message from a liquidator that the Longbranch Steakhouse is now closed and they were selling off the fixtures.  So much for this place.) 

The Hibachi Hut - Manhattan, KS

One of my favorite cities to travel to is Manhattan, KS.  No, seriously!  Manhattan is one of those great little Midwestern cities that just happens to have a major college (Kansas State University) plunked in the middle of it.

I haven't been to Manhattan in over 15 years.  I used to love to come to Manhattan and spend both Thursday AND Friday nights!  It was just that fun of a place to come to.  The downtown area near the KSU campus - Aggieville - has a series of good little bars and restaurants.  And one of my most favorite places to eat on this planet is The Hibachi Hut.

The Hibachi Hut has been in business since the late 50's  The Hibachi Hut was more of a burger joint than anything else.  They were famous for their "Belly Bomb", a big burger that came with a variety of toppings.

In the mid-80's, John Heritage bought The Hibachi Hut and turned it into a Cajun-themed restaurant.   I got to know John very well in the mid to late 80's as John also ran The Sound Shoppe, an audio store in the Aggieville area that I called on.   

I would come to Manhattan on a Thursday, see John at the store, then we'd go to Rusty's (see a review of Rusty's as part of my blog of Sports Illustrated's Top 25 Sports Bars) across the street for a few beers, then go out the back of Rusty's and down the alley to The Hibachi Hut for dinner. 

John had a guy from Louisiana cooking for him by the name of Charles, a retired Army guy who was stationed at nearby Fort Riley for over 20 years.  Charles made some of the most phenomenal Cajun food I've ever had in my life.

But the great thing about The Hibachi Hut was Charles' blackened KC strip steaks.  When John knew I was coming down, he'd get these thick cuts of KC strips that were at least two inches thick.  Oh, man!  They were - at least - 24 ounces.  I've always been a big beef eater, but even I couldn't finish one of those things in a sitting.

Charles would cook them on the grill, then sprinkle some Cajun seasonings on the steaks, then throw them in a red hot black iron pan and cook 'em for about a minute a side.  Oh, I would just go NUTS every time he would bring them out from the kitchen.

Charles also made some of the best gumbo and jambalaya I've ever had.  It was such a treat to come to Manhattan.  Sometimes, I'd eat there on Thursday, then purposely stay over to eat there again on Friday.

In the late 80's, John took over the spot next to The Hibachi Hut and opened up a restaurant called Texas Star.  It was more of a Tex-Mex themed place.  And it, too, was very good.  After John opened that place up, I'd eat one night at The Hibachi Hut and the other night at Texas Star. 

Earlier this year, I put on a new dealer in Manhattan and I needed to go down and see him.  I decided to spend the night there and call on him first thing the morning.  The most important thing was going to The Hibachi Hut for dinner.

John had sold The Hibachi Hut and Texas Star in 2005 to Jared Becker, his brother, Kale, and their parents, Sandra and Bill.  They pretty much kept the same menu as it was before and I was hoping they'd have the same gumbo and the same good steaks. 

I went in and sat at the bar.  Mark, the bartender, was cordial and there was a lady, Julie Haynes, sitting at the bar who struck up a conversation with me.  It turned out that she owned The Rock-a-Belly Deli, a long-time bar/deli in the Aggieville area.  It also turned out that her father was from Davenport, but had moved to Manhattan years ago.  She said she still had two uncles and an aunt living in the Quad Cities.  Small world. 

She knew John Heritage very well and I asked what happened to him.  She said he was getting stressed out from running the restaurants and his real estate dealings and he had to unload the restaurants.  She said he was still in the area.  When she sees him these days, "he's a different person.  There's a lot of stress in running a restaurant, believe me." 

She then introduced me to Kale Bishop and his mother, Sandra.  Nice people.

Mark, the bartender, asked me if I needed some time to look at the menu and I said, "Nope.  This menu hasn't changed in 16 years."  I had the blackened KC strip (albeit a 14 ouncer this time), a side of jambalaya and a cup of gumbo instead of a salad.

While I was waiting for the gumbo, I asked Julie what happened to Charles, the former chef/cook.  I said, "I can't imagine that he's still here, he was well into his 50's when I was last here over 15 years ago."

She said, no, Charles was long gone.  She said in the early 90's, he was severely burned when some roux that he was making in the oven for the gumbo (at 500 degrees F) scalded him when he was transferring it to a big pot.  She said he was in the hospital for a long time, but when he came back, his heart wasn't in it any longer and he quit.  I said, "That's a shame.  He was a good guy and a great cook." 

The gumbo was exactly as I remember.  Large chunks of andoullie sausage and chicken with rice.  The gumbo broth is not as thick as you get in some Cajun restaurants, but it is very good and very authentic.

The steak was a perfect medium rare and the blackened spices were really a taste explosion.  With the jambalaya, I tried some of their homemade sauce - akin to Tiger Sauce.  It was snappy and very good. 

I topped it off with a couple of Boulevard Pale Ale's and I was in heaven. 

The Hibachi Hut's decor probably hasn't been changed since they opened in the 50's, but it certainly doesn't detract from the food.  I noticed that The Hibachi Hut was about half full, while there were only four or five people eating over on the other side at Texas Star. 

I really hope that my new account does a lot of business in Manhattan.  First of all, it's a great little town.  But most of all, I'll get to eat at The Hibachi Hut again.  And hopefully it won't be another 15+ years. 

Cosi Cucina - Des Moines

I was in Des Moines recently and met up with my daughter for dinner.  She's got a weakness for Italian food, so I took her to a place that I hadn't been to for a number of years - Cosi Cucina in suburban Clive (see map). 

Like I say, I hadn't been to Cosi Cucina in, probably, six or seven years, but it was just as nice inside as I remember it being from before.  It's cozy, comfortable (although the booths are kind of small) and they still serve good Italian.

Our waiter hadn't been there any more than about three months and he wasn't as polished as I've seen waiter at other similar higher end Italian restaurants.  But, still, he was pleasant enough and helpful. 

The menu had such a wide variety - especially with entrees mixed with seafood - that I had trouble figuring out what I wanted.  My daughter, who is allergic to seafood (I keep telling her she can't be my daughter if she's allergic to seafood), had limited options.  She ended up going for the grilled chicken in a pesto cream sauce over linguine noodles.  I went with the Malfadine con Aragosto - chunks of lobster over bow tie pasta with a brandy cream sauce. 

We both got the house salad, mixed greens with red onions and chopped tomatoes with a balsamic vinaigrette.  It looked very large when it was set on our table, but it was more poofy than anything. 

For our main entree, Leah's chicken looked a little over cooked, and she was having trouble cutting it, but she still said it was good.  My lobster pasta was very good.  There was something in the sauce that gave it just a little spicy bite that really added to the flavor. 

The owner, Devin Rowling, and head chef, Douglas Smith make up the team that has garnered Cosi Cucina numerous local awards for being the best Italian restaurant in Des Moines for many years.  The food is very good, the ambiance is very nice.  My daughter thought it was a little expensive - just under $70 for dinner, drinks and tip (the salads are ordered ala carte and are not part of the meal).  I've eaten in much more expensive Italian restaurants that aren't as good as Cosi Cucina.  It's tough to beat.

Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing

I was first exposed to Dorothy Lynch salad dressing by an old college buddy, Kurt Nyffeler, who grew up in Columbus, NE - the home of Tasty Toppings, the manufacturer of Dorothy Lynch dressings.

Actually, there was a Dorothy Lynch and she first made her homemade dressing at the restaurant she and her husband ran in St. Paul, NE.  After a time, the demand was so great for Lynch's dressing that people were coming in with glass jars and containers to take home.  She ended up selling the recipe and the rights to manufacture the dressing to Tasty Toppings in 1964. 

Dorothy Lynch salad dressing is a tomato base with an ample amount of sugar and vinegar.  There's other seasonings in there - mustard, garlic, celery seeds.  In fact, my friend Kurt could make the stuff.  He said that his parents knew someone who worked for Tasty Toppings who gave them the basic recipe for Dorothy Lynch.  His homemade Dorothy Lynch dressing was actually the first time I tasted Dorothy Lynch dressing. 

Dorothy Lynch is available in nearly every state west of the Mississippi and can be found in the Midwest at Hy-Vee stores and most Wal-Mart Super Centers.  Or if you'd like to get some directly from Dorothy Lynch you can click here.

It's good stuff to put on a salad.  We don't have it around here as much as we should because I'd probably eat more salad if we did.

Rib Fest Judge

As I've said in a couple of my earlier posts, one of the highlights of the summer around the Quad Cities is the annual Rockin' Rib Fest held the last weekend of August each year at LeClaire Park (right next to - and sometimes in - the Mississippi River) in downtown Davenport.

There are rib vendors from all over the US, as well as three local vendors, who come here once a year to offer some of the best barbecue one person can get in one place at one time.  It's a very large time. 

But the thing I like the most about the Rib Fest is the amateur rib contest.  About five years ago when Kristy Adams was the director of events for Davenport One, she came up with this great idea of having 15 to 18 local backyard barbecuers compete for the best amateur ribs.  Each contestant gets an identical slab of ribs from a local meat purveyor.  They start to cook at 8 a.m. and cook until 3 p.m.  That's when the judging begins. 

I sort of convinced Kristy that I should be one of the judges because I've eaten in a lot of barbecue places around the country.  She agreed and she put me on a panel along with one person from each rib vendor at the festival.  It has turned out to be great fun.

Some of the ribs we've had were pretty damn good, some just downright sucked.  But, after tasting 18 different styles of ribs, you're about ready to die, though. 

It became apparent at the 2004 Rib Fest that some of the rib vendor judge's "give-a-shit" factor was pretty low and I told Kristy's successor, Mark Holloway, not to have the rib vendors judge any longer.  The last thing these people wanted to do is eat ribs - and some crappy ones, at that.  I noticed that a couple of the judges were scoring the bad ones with high marks and the good ones with low marks.  That's just not right. 

Since the Rhythm City Casino was the major sponsor in 2005, Mark decided to have some of the people from the casino's kitchen and catering staff be the judges.  He left me out in the cold.  I protested because it was good fun and free food (and it also gave me ideas as to how to do some ribs at home).  But he said that his hands were tied.

About two days before the amateur contest, Mark came up to me and said, "Will, will you help us with the amateur contest?  I just realized that we don't know what we're doing."  I told him I would if I could judge and he said, "Oh, gosh, yes.  You'll be the head judge because no one from Rhythm City has ever judged one of these before."

Woo hoo!  Back in the saddle again!

We had the Rhythm City catering manager, his assistant, the head chef, the assistant head chef, and the restaurant manager as judges.  They didn't know what they were doing at first.  But after we judged a couple of the first entrants and told them about texture, taste and tenderness, they figured out what was good and what wasn't pretty quickly. 

As I said, some of the amateur entrants do some very fine barbecue. Others are downright inedible.  A couple of the entrants introduce too much smoke to the meat, it's like the continually smoke the meat for six hours just inches away from the wood. 

A couple others have their sauce so hot that it detracts from the taste, and a couple others have so much sugar in their homemade sauce that it completely kills the taste.  But it's interesting to get 18 different takes on how to make ribs.  And I've gotten some great ideas from judging the event over the years. 

First place is $250 bucks, second place is $150 and third is $100. Generally, I've found the same people score in the top three or four.  And, of course, some of the ones who don't place get pissed off and throw a fit (telling some of these backyard chefs that they didn't get in the prize money is like telling them their kids are ugly). 

But for the most part, there's a lot of good camaraderie between the entrants - most of them share bites, share tips and share beer while they're cooking.  A lot of them look forward to the amateur contest - as I do.

Another highlight of the rib fest for a lot of the workers, cops and department heads is the annual "leftover feasts".  Actually, there are two of them. 

The first one involves the leftovers from the main vendors judging contest on Saturday afternoon.  There's always a bunch of ribs and pulled pork left from the competition.  In the past, we'd wait for the word to go over to the old Union Station and grab some food after the judging was over, sometime around 1:30 p.m. 

It was always good.  I mean, this was the food the national and local rib vendors brought over for the judging, so it was the best of their best. 

Four years ago, a guy who was helping to coordinate the judging really "boned" the workers who looked forward to this by literally bagging a lot of the leftover food and only leaving the workers a couple bones of ribs and a little bit of pulled pork.  When we found that he was doing this, we were pissed.  He was the coordinator for a couple years and he did it both years. 

One of the department heads for the rib fest, Cleve Ray, decided that his days of being the "Head Beer Grunt" were over and he wanted to do something else.  He was put in charge of coordinating the judging.  And he remembered how mad everyone was when the old coordinator would bag the food and take it with him.  Cleve and his wife, Barb, who helped him with the work, made sure that there was MORE than enough food leftover for the crew of about 12 to 15 people to eat. 

Since they moved the amateur contest to 3 p.m. on Saturday, I couldn't partake in the Union Station leftover feast.  I mean, I would have been barfing up ribs by 3:30 if I had gone there to eat, then judged the amateur event. 

The other leftover feast usually occurs directly after the rib fest ends at 5 p.m. on Sunday.  There's always two or three of the rib vendors who has a big pan of ribs they didn't sell that they take over to the main beer tent and let the workers, volunteers and cops tear into it.  It's not as good as the stuff we've eaten on Saturdays, but, hey - it's free ribs and free ribs always taste good.

The Rockin' Rib Fest will be August 24-27 this year.  I always gain about 10 pounds that weekend, but it's damn well worth it.    

Fat Alberts - Gridley, IL

Fat Alberts in Gridley, IL (see map) is a somewhat famous place in a small town in central Illinois about 20 miles north of Bloomington/Normal. 

I met my buddy, Jim Kellogg, over there one day for one of their specialty burgers.  It's a double burger with one patty ground beef and the other patty ground pork.  Other than the usual condiments, they top it off with a special sauce that is a secret (the guy who cooked the burger said that he'd have to kill me if he told me). 

I liked the taste, but something about the burger didn't like me.  I didn't feel so hot after eating one and didn't feel good for a day or two afterwards.  Kellogg reported back to me that he felt "just fine" after eating there. Who knows?  Maybe I picked up a bug or something. 

The beer is cold, fried mushrooms were good.  Neat place.  Worth the drive.

My Italian Beef Recipe

A staple around our house growing up was Italian beef.  We'd even have it at Thanksgiving because it was so good.  Plus the fact that my siblings didn't care for turkey that much.

Over the years, I found a few things to add to the Italian beef that I make.  It's easy and it's pretty damn good.

My Italian Beef

1 - 3 to 4 lb. beef rump roast
10 garlic cloves or 1 whole garlic head
1 - 15 oz. can beef broth
3 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons basil
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder

Pour beef broth into crock pot and put on low setting.  Add the garlic and onion powder to the broth.

Cut up the cloves of garlic into halves or thirds.  With a paring knife, make 2 to 3 inch deep incisions into the beef rump roast and stuff one part of the clove into each incision hole.  I usually use a lot of garlic.  Any extra garlic you may have, you can put into the broth in the crock pot. 

Place the beef rump roast in the crock pot and add oregano, basil and parsley on top of the beef.  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours - until the beef can be easily pulled apart with two forks. 

You can either serve the beef at that time, or you can transfer to a container to keep in the refrigerator until you serve.  Be sure to keep the broth and transfer it with the beef!  You may get some flakes of fat when the broth and meat cool, but they'll warm back up just fine.  You can also freeze it for up to 2 to 4 months. 

Serve on Italian bread with mozzarella and Italian giardeniera. 

Daddies Brown Sauce

I was traveling through the Midwest with Dominic Baker, the British chief designer for Focal loudspeakers, a little over a year ago.  We had a lot of windshield time that we accrued over a three day period, so the conversations were a little all over the place.

I was telling Dominic about my love for HP Sauce and he said, "Really?  You can get HP sauce here in the states?"  I told him it was sometimes a chore finding the stuff, but, yes, it was here.

He said, "Well, if you really like HP, I'm sure you'd like Daddies sauce."

I said, "What's Daddies sauce?"

He said, "It's similar to HP, only different.  It's a little more vinegary than HP.  A little more of a bite to it.  They're owned by the same company, but that's the only thing I can tell you.  You'll have to try some for yourself."

Dominic tried to send me some Daddies sauce from England, but it never showed up.  We figured it got confiscated by customs when it got into the U.S.  He said he was going to bring me some when he came back for CEDIA this last September, but he wasn't in England before he came over for the trade show.

I was traveling from Indianapolis to Lexington, KY in the early fall and I decided to go down through Cincinnati and stop off at Jungle Jim's.  Geez, the place SHOULD have Daddies sauce, I thought. 

And they did.  I found Daddies sauce in the Great Britain aisle and I was absolutely floored.  I grabbed two bottles and went on my merry way.

That weekend, I made pork chops on the grill and got out both the HP Sauce (regular) and the Daddies sauce. 

The HP Sauce was a little more zesty, while the Daddies was a little more sweet and not as thick.   They both had the malt and vinegary taste sensations to them, but Daddies stood out in the vinegar.  But Dominic was right - they were both the same, but Daddies had a little more of that vinegar bite to it.

I e-mailed Dominic and told him that I was in possession of Daddies sauce.  He wrote me back and he was floored.  He said, "I can't believe that you found Daddies!  That's great!" 

I'm probably partial more to the HP Sauce, but Daddies is very good, as well.  It's just one more condiment that I'll have to put on my "must have" list.

Smith Bros. Fish Shanty - Port Washington, WI

Smith Brothers Fish Shanty is always a joy to go to - not only because the food is always good, but because it offers one of the best views of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin.

Located in the quaint downtown area of Port Washington, WI, a small lakeside town north of Milwaukee (see map), Smith Bros. Fish Shanty has been in existence since 1934.  Port Washington was once one of the largest commercial fishing ports on Lake Michigan and the Smith Bros. would sell fish out of their processing center (the original building is located behind the existing restaurant).  They began to boil some of their catch for the locals and the restaurant was born.

The restaurant is a casual place along the waterfront.  There's a formal dining area inside and a screened in deck for summertime dining. Also located in the front of the Fish Shanty is the Port Washington Brewing Company - a micro brewery that has been in business for about 10 years.  The full Fish Shanty menu is available in the Port Washington Brewing Company, which, effectively, is the bar area for the Fish Shanty.

And the menu is what you would expect for a fish and seafood restaurant - a lot of fresh and saltwater varieties along with steaks, chicken and sandwiches.  One of my favorite things to get is a chunk of fresh Lake Michigan white fish broiled on a cedar plank and drizzled in butter.  It's pretty damn good.   

In addition to the restaurant and brew pub, the Fish Shanty also has a fresh fish shop and deli so you can buy some of the same fish they use in the restaurant to make at home.   Port Washington Brewing Company beers are also available in the deli to take home.

Smith Brothers Fish Shanty is one of my favorite places to go to in Wisconsin.  The food is very good, the service is impeccable and the Port Washington beers are pretty good, as well.  I very highly recommend going to Port Washington - not only for the Fish Shanty, but because the town is pretty neat to see, too.  

(Update - Imagine my surprise when I pulled up to the Fish Shanty in the summer of 2010 and found it to be closed.  Turned out it had been out of business for a couple three years prior.  I was sort of shocked to see just this shell of a building looking back at me.  No brew vats, no bar, no tables, nothing.  Oh, well.  It was certainly very good while they were in business.)

Jim's Rib Haven - Rock Island, IL

Even though I've always thought of the Quad Cities as a "rib friendly" area, there aren't a lot of rib joints that do barbecue right in this town.  The one that definitely does it right - and is probably the most famous and the favorite of many - is Jim's Rib Haven in Rock Island.

Jim Overton is the Jim of Jim's Rib Haven.  Jim was a factory worker who used to make ribs in his backyard.  He opened his first rib place in 1967 in a small building that was take out only.  Jim worked during the day in the factory, then went to the rib shack and cooked ribs at night.  18 hour days for Jim weren't uncommon. 

His ribs became so popular, he ended up quitting his day job in 1972 to run the restaurant full time.  He moved into his present location in Rock Island (see map) in 1979. 

Located just east of the downtown area of Rock Island, the aroma of hickory smoke and cooking meat from Jim's smoke house just north of the restaurant across 5th Avenue is tantalizing on most days.   

About 20 years ago, a number of rib-hating neighbors complained that the smell of the hickory smoke was too much for them and the city of Rock Island made Jim put an extension on his chimney. 

It turned out to be the best thing for Jim's as it distributed the smoke over a wider area making more area residents drool over the aroma of his ribs smoking in the house. Plus the story of Jim going up against his neighbors made newspapers all over the United States.  You just can't buy advertising like that. 

The decor of Jim's is nothing fancy.  There are tables and booths and it's decidedly "60's-ish" in the place.  Jim's serves the usual barbecue fare of ribs, pulled pork, beef and chicken.  They have a couple of homemade sauces - both of which are deeply guarded family secrets - that they provide with the ribs. 

Jim's does not serve alcohol, but you can take beer into the place.  There's a convenience store next door and you can go and grab a 12 pack of beer to take into Jim's.  One night, Cindy and I were in there and someone actually brought a bottle of red wine in for dinner.  I'm not kidding!   Wine with ribs! 

The only problem I have with Jim's is that they tend to be inconsistent from visit to visit.  One Saturday night, Cindy and I went over and had dinner there and it was outstanding.  The meat was tender and moist.  The ribs were cooked perfectly.

The next evening, we were out and about and trying to figure out what to do for dinner.  Cindy said, "You know, Jim's was pretty good last night."

I said, "You wanna go there again?"  She said she did. 

And it was nowhere close to being as good as it was the night before.  The meat was tough and flavorless.  We couldn't believe it was the same place we'd eaten in the night before.

But more often than not, it's very good.

Jim Overton has sort of semi-retired and his son, Jim, Jr., is running much of the day to day operations.  Jim's nephew, Damion, runs the Jim's location in East Moline (see map).  You see Damion running the Jim's portable concession stand at a lot of the summertime events around the area. 

Jim's Rib Haven consistently wins the "People's Choice Award - Local Rib Vendors" at the annual Rib Fest in Davenport.  Damion's a great guy and it's always a pleasure to see him. 

There's also a Jim's Rib Haven in Omaha (see map).  I've never eaten there (it's in a not-so-nice section of Omaha), but I've talked to a couple people who have eaten in both Rock Island and Omaha and they said the ribs and the sauce were almost identical.  It turn out that it's Jim's daughter, Lois, who runs that one. 

Two things to remember - Jim's is closed on Monday's and they don't take credit cards.  Be sure to take a lot of money because the ribs aren't cheap, but most of the time they're very damn good. 

Randy Archer - Spatterdash

I heard today from Greg Hipskind of Wicked Liz and the Bellyswirls that Randy Archer, the bass player for Spatterdash, a great alternative band here in the Quad Cities who I've worked with many times, died yesterday evening of a heart attack.

Randy Archer

Randy had just finished giving a presentation to a large group at his job for Modern Woodmen of America insurance in Rock Island yesterday.  He sat down after giving his talk and a little later he slumped over in his chair.  They worked on him for about an hour, but they couldn't save him.  He was 46.

Randy was as good of a guy as he was a bass player.  He was also an accomplished wood worker, and he made a funky looking blue bass guitar that he was very proud of.  Unfortunately, it's not the one he's playing in this picture. 

I got to know Randy through working gigs that Spatterdash played for Street Fest and Rib Fest over the years.  However, we were bound together by one near disaster involving his homemade bass guitar that was averted by a quick hand.

A few years ago, Spatterdash was playing an afternoon gig at the Street Fest in downtown Davenport.  It was a very windy day - so windy that the stage tent was literally lifting the stage.  I was the stage manager that day and helping the band get equipment onto the stage.

Randy had just finished work on his handmade bass guitar and he was showing it to me.  I was very impressed with the craftsmanship he poured into making the bass.  I told him I would have never had the patience to do something like that.  He said making it was more of a stress relief for him than anything.

He put the bass onto the tripod stand holder on stage and we went back to getting stuff on stage.  Suddenly, a major wind gust came up and caught the bass.  In a moment of slow motion, we all sort of stood there and watched the bass begin to fall forward.  At the last moment - and I don't know how I did it to this day - I reached for the neck of the bass and caught it about six inches before it hit the stage.

Randy had this look of horror on his face, then one of genuine relief.  He took the bass from me and said, "Whoa, man!  That was close!  I haven't even played a gig with it yet.  That would have surely broken the neck.  I owe you, man!" 

So every gig that I worked where Spatterdash played, or if I ran into them when they were playing out and around in the Quad Cities, Randy would always bring up the great save I made on his bass that day years ago. 

Not to make this about myself, but I went in and got checked because I'd been having some discomfort in my chest recently.  Had my heart checked out and I passed with flying colors. (Or as my doctor likes to say, "You know, for the shape you're in, you're in great shape.")  It was more muscle discomfort than anything. 

I vaguely remember Randy telling me one time that he'd had some heart problems, but talking with some people today they couldn't confirm that he actually had anything wrong with him up to this point.  At least anything that outwardly caused red flags to come up. 

Randy was a good guy, he was always fun to talk to and he was a good musician.  The visitation will be tomorrow, the funeral on Friday.

He was only 46.  Man, that's too young.  Then again, life is too short... 

Ted's Montana Grill

Ted's Montana Grill began in 2002 as a joint venture between media mogul Ted Turner and longtime restauranteur George McKerrow (of Longhorn Steakhouse fame). 

Turner is one of the largest landowners in the nation, owning over 1.5 million acres in 14 states.  And he's also the largest bison rancher in the country.  And with that, Ted's Montana Grill serves bison on their menu, along with beef, chicken and seafood entrees.   

The first Ted's Montana Grill opened in Columbus, OH and there are currently nearly 40 restaurants in 17 states.  I've eaten at three of the Ted's locations - Omaha, Wichita, and in suburban Chicago.  Each one is very, very good.

I was told a couple years ago that Ted Turner's goal was to have 225 restaurants within five years.  They aren't growing quite that fast. I hope they don't grow that quickly as it will be difficult to keep tabs on quality control.

I've had bison steak before and I can say that I wasn't that big of a fan of it.  One of the biggest problems with cooking bison meat is that it is so lean a lot of the natural juices cook out of it making the meat tough and flavorless.  Ted's came up with a unique way to keep the juices from escaping during the cooking process.  They cook their bison meat on a flat grill at a high temperature and they put a lid over the top of the meat while it's cooking to keep the bison steak from drying out.

All the Ted's Montana Grill restaurants hand cut their own beef and bison in house.  They offer steak cuts and burgers in both bison and beef.  One person can have the KC Strip in beef, while the other can have it in bison. 

I was kind of skeptical of getting a bison steak at the first Ted's I ate at in Wichita about two years ago, but the waitress virtually guaranteed that I didn't have to pay for it if I didn't like it.  So I got the bison filet. 

She didn't have to pick up the check that night.  The bison filet was juicy and tasty, very much unlike the bison steaks I've had in the past.  And it's been that way at the other Ted's I've been to, as well.   

They also have pot roast and made-from-scratch meatloaf on the menu, although I've yet to try either one.  Maybe one night when I'm in severe need for comfort food when I'm near a Ted's I'll have to give them a try.

Ted's Montana Grill's decor is designed to make you feel like you're eating in a western lodge.  It's heavy on the woodwork throughout the restaurant.  The place can get a little loud so sitting in a booth is good if you're there for business or for conversation. 

There's a big bar in each Ted's that handles the overflow and people waiting for tables.  One of the best things about Ted's - all their restaurants are smoke-free. 

I've been told that Ted Turner personally inspects each restaurant and makes it to the individual grand openings across the country.  He's been known to show up unannounced for dinner at various Ted's, as well.  I suppose if the restaurant has your name on it, it's good to be checking up on them from time to time. 

Ted's is a unique place that keeps me coming back.  Besides, bison meat is good for you and Ted's makes the best.  It's definitely worth the visit if you get around one.