Road Tips

Springfield Brewing Company - Springfield, MO

The Springfield Brewing Company in downtown Springfield, MO - (which has the smallest and most underwhelming downtown area for a city the size of Springfield - about 150,000 people) is one of the more unique brew pubs in existence today.

First of all, the brew pub was built in the mid-90's as a research and development wing of the Paul Mueller Company, one of the largest manufacturers of stainless steel food and beverage equipment in the world.  With the upsurge in micro-breweries, the Paul Mueller Company developed a number of tanks, mills and mashers to sell to micro-breweries.  They use the Springfield Brewing Company as a state-of-the-art showcase to demonstrate Mueller's equipment. 

The brewpub is housed in an old warehouse that was completely remodeled specifically for the Springfield Brewing Company (see map for location).  It has a huge bar and a spacious dining area.  Actually, it's one of the nicer brew pubs that I've ever been in.   

Springfield Brewing Company's beers are named for Mueller and are ably brewed by master brewer Ashton Lewis.  The Mueller beers have won a handful of medals in the Great American Brew Festival held annually in Denver.  The Mueller beers are available in bottles as far away as Kansas City and St. Louis. 

I like their Pale Ale - a hoppy and spirited beer with a good clean finish.  Their Lager is also very good - it has a rich and toasty taste to it.  And their Oktoberfest fall seasonal beer is now available. 

The food at Springfield Brewing Company is also very good.  I've eaten there three times now.  I was in Springfield recently and took one of my dealers out to lunch.  The menu is varied from standard bar food favorites such as burgers and appetizers; to a good number of upscale entrees such as steaks, pastas, and chicken dishes. 

I'd been on the road a lot lately and I needed some comfort food.  So I went with their Redbird Pie - a knock-off on the old Irish Shepard's Pie with seasoned beef, onions, potatoes, corn, green beans and gravy.  My dealer ordered the fish and chips, or as he explained to me, "I don't know why, but fish and chips just sounded good." 

Well, my Redbird Pie was very good.  A "spot hitter" to the nth degree.  Coupled with a Mueller Pale Ale it was a great lunch.  My dealer went with the Oktoberfest and he said it was very good - a little stout paired with the fish - but he said it was still good.  It looked like his fish was over-cooked, but he said that the batter was very good and the fish was cooked perfectly. 

Springfield Brewing Company is a wonderful place to go for food, beer and relaxation.  The beer is above average as is the food.  The atmosphere and surroundings are very comfortable.  If you're ever in Springfield - which really is a nice city - I'd highly recommend the Springfield Brewing Company.   

Sam and Gabe's - Urbandale, IA

I recently took my big Des Moines dealer and his wife out for dinner at a great little place called Sam and Gabe's Italian Bistro in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale (see map).  They said it was one of their favorite restaurants and I said that sounded good enough to me. 

Sam and Gabe's was started in 1996 by the brother and sister team of Jerry and Julia Talerico (right).  The Talerico family has been involved in the restaurant business in the Des Moines area since the late 30's.  Their father, Vic, owned Vic's Tally Ho Club, a very popular supper club located not far from where Sam and Gabe's is today.  Jerry and Julia both worked in their father's restaurant when they were younger.   

The original Sam and Gabe's opened in the former location of Raul's westside location in West Des Moines when Raul's moved to a newer and bigger location.  The Talerico's moved into their current location four years ago.  Considering where they were before - the old Raul's location was sort of hidden in an industrial strip mall - the move was a definite step up in digs. 

The main dining room is heavy with dark wood paneling and it kind of has a supper club feel to the place.  There's a nice bar area to wait in when the place gets full.  And that happens quite frequently - our wait on a Tuesday night was about 30 minutes.

And the wait was worth it.  We started off with a great appetizer - Italian Nachos.  They were like regular Mexican nachos, but they topped them with Italian sausage, banana peppers, asiago cheese, their white sauce and baked in the oven for about 10 minutes.  They were out of this world, but very, very rich.   

They had a pretty good wine list, except the first wine that I ordered - the 2001 Franciscan cabernet - they were out of.  So I decided to step up to the more expensive 2001 Silver Oak cabernet.  It was a great choice. 

Their dinner menu was widely varied.  You could choose between beef, pork or chicken dishes.  They also had a variety of pasta dishes, as well as fish entrees.  Seriously, it was tough to choose.

For dinner, both my dealer and I went with the Chicken Asiago - two small chicken breasts, breaded and sauteed in olive oil, then topped with either a red sauce or a white sauce (or both - that's the direction I went), and topped with Asiago cheese.  My dealer's wife got the baked salmon, topped with a cream caper sauce. 

The bottom line - my dinner was outstanding.  But, oh!  So rich!  I couldn't finish my dinner, it was so rich.  (I suppose eating the Italian nachos before dinner didn't help either.)  The chicken was cooked perfectly and the combination of the red marinara sauce and the white cream sauce topped with the asiago cheese was a pleasantly surprising great tasting blend. 

My dealer's wife raved about her salmon.  It did look great, as well, topped with that cream and caper sauce. 

For dessert, they had a tempting lemon mousse cheesecake (two of my favorite things in life - lemon and cheesecake).  They also had tiramisu, a white chocolate bread pudding and an espresso chocolate tort.   I was so stuffed that even the lemon mousse cheesecake couldn't get me to jump on that.  But my dealer's wife had to have the creme brulee.  She said it was one of the best she'd ever had. 

So, she ordered that with three spoons.  I protested, saying that there was NO WAY I could even take a bite, I was ready to burst.  When the waitress brought out the creme brulee it was too tempting.  I had to have a bite.  And it was good.  I don't know if it was the best I'd ever had, but it was very good.  Oh, but so rich, again! 

Our waitress was pretty good, although she did sort of forget about us after she served us our Italian nachos.  It was about a 20 minute interval from the time we finished our nachos to the time we finally ordered our entrees.  But it was very busy that night so I understood that.  But she could have stopped briefly to check on us - she didn't even do that.

Sam and Gabe's has a small area in a lower area of the restaurant for a lunch time crowd.  Their lunch menu consists mainly of salads, sandwiches and some pastas.  The lower area room is not open for dinner, but it used for parties and receptions during the evening.

Most of Sam and Gabe's entrees are moderately priced, but with the Silver Oaks bottle of wine our bill with tip went over $200 bucks.  But my dealer does a lot of business with our company, so it was well worth the price.

I would definitely eat at Sam and Gabe's again...

Swordfish with Grapefruit Salsa

Here is a great swordfish recipe courtesy of my brother-in-law, Vic Geiger, who is a damn fine cook in his own right.  He's the guy who taught me that it's great to mix ground horseradish in a bloody mary, who taught me how to perfectly marinate and season a large beef tenderloin, and who taught me there is only one Worcestershire Sauce that you can use - Lea and Perrins.

                                                                                                  

SWORDFISH WITH GRAPEFRUIT SALSA

 

Serves 4

Grapefruit Salsa

4 – 6 ruby or pink grapefruit

1 lime

½ green chile, seeded, thinly sliced

1/3 cup chopped scallions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons Pepe Lopez Tequila (or similar tequila - Pepe Lopez is distributed by a company in Louisville, KY, where Vic and my sister, Nan, live.)

Swordfish

4 (8-ounce) swordfish steaks

4 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Freshly ground pepper to taste

 

  For the salsa, grate the zest from the grapefruit and lime with a zester and combine in a bowl.  Squeeze the juice from the lime into the bowl.    

  Section the grapefruit, discarding all the pith, and add to the bowl.  Add the green chile, scallions, cilantro, sugar and tequila and mix well.

 

  For the swordfish, combine the lime juice, olive oil and pepper in a shallow dish or sealable bag.  Add the swordfish and coat well.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour; drain.

 

  Grill over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through, or broil for 4 minutes on each side.  Serve with the salsa.

 

  (As an alternative to the salsa, serve the swordfish with Ginger Cilantro Butter.  Combine 2 tablespoons softened butter, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon grated gingerroot and mix well.  Spread over the hot swordfish and garnish with cilantro sprigs and lime slices).

Hilton Garden Inn - South Holland, IL

I've just crossed another hotel off my list - the Hilton Garden Inn in South Holland, IL on the far south side of Chicago.  I've stayed there a number of times and I always got a good rate (about $100 a night - which is great for a Hilton Garden Inn).  I think I finally figured out why the rooms are so cheap the last time I was there.

I got into the hotel around 8:30 on Tuesday evening earlier this week.  I was listening to the World Series in the car and was looking forward to taking a couple beers from the pantry they have down in the lobby up to my room to drink while I was watched the game.

I got checked in and went straight up to the room.  I turned on the TV and tried to find the game.  Nothing.  They didn't have the local Chicago Fox channel on the television system at the hotel. 

Strike one.

I was just incredulous when I couldn't find the game on TV.  Hell, even some of the other channels they had - Cartoon Network and ESPN2, to name a couple - were actually channels that had info-mercials playing on them.  HBO was coming in all fuzzy (I remembered that from before) and the local CBS affiliate was also almost non-watchable because of the video distortion.

I had some work to do, so I just decided to get that taken care of.  I still wanted a couple of beers.  Every Hilton Garden Inn that I've stayed at have pantry areas that sell individual bottles of beer.  I went down to get a beer and I went to the refrigerator in the pantry.  No beer.  I turned to the night clerk and said, "Don't you guys sell beer?"

She said, "South Holland is a dry community, sir."

I said, "You're kidding!  I didn't know there were dry communities any where around the Chicago area."

I guess I never wanted a beer when I stayed there before.  I never knew. 

Strike Two.

So, I decided to do some work and try and listen to the game on the radio.  Couldn't get the game on radio - lots of static. 

Not quite Strike Three, but that one was fouled off.

So I got on line and tried to return e-mails.  Only their server didn't like my computer and they wouldn't let me send any e-mails on the two accounts that I have.  And the speed for their high-speed service was slow.  It was taking forever for our company's service site to come up.  I just gave up.

Strike three. 

The only problem is that I have a dealer who is located just down the road from the Hilton Garden Inn in South Holland, and it's a convenient place to stay.  But, quite honestly, there are no good places to eat at around here - you have to drive at least 15 minutes to find any thing other than crappy family style restaurants. 

The next time I have to stay on the south side of Chicago, I'll stay further down the road in Tinley Park.  There's more hotel choices and many more choices for restaurants.  And they're a little more work friendly than this hotel was. 

Smokin' Al's Barbecue - St. Louis

I got into St. Louis one night recently and I was tired and hungry.  I decided to give Smokin' Al's Barbecue a try, given that it was just around the corner from my hotel. 

Smokin' Al's is located on Hampton Ave. (see map) near Forest Park.  They've been in business for about five years and have won the best barbecue in St. Louis for four straight years in a poll conducted by the local restaurant review magazine, Sauce. 

Smokin' Al's is a funky little place, not much to see on the outside or the inside.  They have two cookers set up outside.  One is out in front, the other one - much larger - is in sort of a recessed pit along the back side of the building.  The wood they were using was sort of a sweet smelling wood.  Definitely not hickory or mesquite.

Their menu is typical for most barbecue places.  Slabs of ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken - things like that.  And, thank God - they serve cold beer. 

It was getting late when I walked in - about 20 after 8.  They close at 8:30 thru the week.  You have to order at the front counter and I asked if I had to get this to go.  The girl behind the counter said, "Oh, no.  You don't have to leave.  We'll be here cleaning up well after 8:30."

I ordered the combo platter of pulled pork and brisket, and got a two rib sampler to go with it.  I got two sides with the combo platter so I went with their baked beans and french fries.  And I got a couple of ice-cold Budweiser's to go along with them.

Smokin' Al's serves their ribs in what they call "St. Louis-style", with the sauce on them.  Actually, I was led to believe that St. Louis-style ribs were they way they cut the ribs and not how they served them.  OK, whatever.  It furthered my contention that there are no such things as St. Louis-style ribs. 

The girl called my number and I went and got the food.  The brisket and pork were piled high on buttered Texas toast, and the two rib sampler was laid on Texas toast, as well.  They were covered with Smokin' Al's hot "Wolf Sauce".  The sides of baked beans and french fries were generous, too. 

But the one thing it lacked was a zip to the sauce.  It was sort of vinegary, but didn't have the zest that I like in a barbecue sauce.  The beans were completely different from the sauce - they were swimming in a brown sauce, heavy on molasses. 

The pulled pork was good, the brisket was better.  The ribs were, well, I've had a LOT better ribs than what they had at Smokin' Al's.  They weren't too meaty, and they weren't very tender.  The smokiness in the meat wasn't as much as I thought it would be.  And the sauce, I felt, was a little too neutral with the ribs.

Actually, I thought the best part of the meal were the french fries.  They had some sort of an herb on them and they were cooked to perfection.  You got the full potato tasted to them and they were hard not to eat.  I usually don't eat french fries, but these were damn good. 

The meal with a couple of beers came to about $16.75, which I didn't think was too bad.  But if people in St. Louis think that Smokin' Al's is the best barbecue in the city, I think they're sadly mistaken.  My next trip to a barbecue place in St. Louis will be to Super Smokers.  Hands down, the best barbecue in St. Louis, in my opinion.

(Update - Smokin' Al's didn't make it.  I went to get some barbecue there recently and found that they were closed.  Their web site is still up and I'm wondering if they do catering work, but the restaurant is definitely closed.)

Backyard Burgers - Lincoln, NE

A shout out to my friend, Tim Lake, who recently moved to Alabama and suggested I try Backyard Burgers if I could find one in my travels. 

Actually, I wouldn't call Backyard Burgers a burger joint any more than I'd call it a fast food place.  Supposedly, all burgers are cooked to order after you order them at the counter, then they have a staff member bring the burger out to you in the dining area. 

Backyard Burgers started in 1987 in Cleveland, MS.  Local grocer Lattimore Michael (right) was making burgers on his grill at his store when he decided to open a drive-thru location because his burgers were so popular.  The original idea of Backyard Burgers was to be primarily a drive-thru concept, but as they've grown over the years they've added restaurants that offer inside seating.  There are now nearly 180 Backyard Burgers in 20 states - primarily in the southern part of the U.S.

I was in Lincoln, NE recently and found that there was a new Backyard Burgers restaurant there (see map).  It was lunchtime, I was hungry, so I went in.

Actually, the dining area of the Backyard Burgers in Lincoln is very nice.  It kind of has the feeling like you're actually eating inside an old outdoor brick grill. 

Backyard Burgers char-grill their burgers over an open flame.  The burgers are billed as 100% Black Angus burgers and are garnished with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, ketchup, mustard and pickles.  You can add any type of four different cheeses to the burger as well.

They also have a number of "specialty" burgers - Mushroom Swiss, Bacon Cheddar, and something called the Miz Grazi.  It's a basic cheeseburger topped with a spicy pepper sauce that is supposed to open up your sinuses pretty quickly.  It sounded tempting.

They also have grilled chicken selections, BLT's, hot dogs, salads, and other foods.  Check out the menu here.

However, just like any first visit to a burger joint, I went with the basic cheeseburger - only I did have them put pepper-jack cheese on it.  I usually don't order french fries, but their waffle fries looked pretty good.  So I got an order of those, as well.

As I said, you order at the counter, they give you a number, you sit down and they bring your food to you.  It wasn't much more than 4 minutes after I ordered and an employee brought out my burger and fries in a little basket.    

The burger was - well, it was a little dry and overcooked for my tastes.  Actually, it sort of reminded me of the Bubba Burger patties that I got recently.  The Backyard Burgers patty had kind of a weird shape to them - same as the Bubba Burgers.   I had a little trouble tasting the meat with all the toppings on the burger.  I should have just ordered a plain cheeseburger and gone from there. 

The waffle fries were good, though.  Big and fluffy, they definitely tasted like potatoes and not the oil that they're cooked in. 

Along about 3:30 p.m. later in the day, though, I began to feel a little sick to my stomach.  I don't know if it was the Backyard Burger or the fact that I've been on the road so much lately and my body was telling me to quick eating crap.  A couple bottles of water settled my stomach down.

I may try Backyard Burgers again if I run across one.  They're OK, but the one I had in Lincoln didn't have me yearning for another one. 

(Update - I had another Backyard Burger at a Louisville location.  Once again, it was just OK.  They really put too much smoke in the burger during the cooking process.)

Jillian's - Indianapolis

Jillian's is one of those places that is tough to categorize.  Although it's a sports bar with a full menu and a number of great beers and mixed drinks to choose from, it's also a destination for fun and play mainly geared for adults ages 25 and older. 

We were in Indianapolis a few days ago with our friends, Scott and Marcia Schroeder; and Dave and Pat Heusmann.  It was a Saturday night and the St. Louis Cardinals were playing the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series and Scott wanted to go somewhere that had food, beer and a lot of TV's.  Dave, on the other hand, doesn't care for baseball, but wanted to watch college football that night.  Me, who likes both college football and baseball, had to come up with a place that was appealing not only for the guys, but for our wives, as well.

I had a lot of options for sports bars in downtown Indianapolis we I settled on the Jillian's near Conseco Fieldhouse.

Jillian's motto of "Eat! Drink! Play!" has been in effect since the first one was built in 1988 in Boston during the height of the billiards craze that was beginning to sweep the nation.  Nearly each Jillian's features a full menu restaurant, sports bar, private party rooms, a specialty restaurant, a dance club, a bowling alley, a billiard area, and all kinds of amazing video simulation games and old favorites that are geared to an adult crowd.  Here's a map of the three floors of the Indianapolis location.

After 8 p.m., most Jillian's game rooms and bowling alleys are only open to patrons 21 and over, keeping the rug rats out of the way when you're trying to impress your wife or girlfriend at how well you're able to blast alien warships out of the sky.  It's nice to not have some little 12-year-old smart-ass show you up by getting 100,000 points after you'd just got your all-time high score of 7200 points.       

Jillian's is a lot like Dave and Buster's, a similar chain of adult-themed restaurant and gaming areas based out of Texas with over 40 locations across America.  In fact, nine of the Jillian's were acquired by Dave and Buster's, Inc. through auction when Jillian's parent company - JBC Entertainment - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over two years ago.  Dave and Buster's also acquired the rights to Jillian's name and the "Eat! Drink! Play!" motto.

The Indianapolis location, as well as 17 other locations, are owned by Jillian's Billiard's, Inc., of Louisville, KY.  Dave and Buster's, Inc. has rolled all but three of the acquired Jillian's locations into Dave and Buster's.  The remaining three - outside of Atlanta, in Houston and in Phoenix - will become Dave and Buster's shortly.       

But for the meantime, the one in Indy was going strong.  We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table in Jillian's Video cafe, the restaurant was that busy.  But that was OK - the girls sat at the bar drinking and talking, while the guys stood and watched a variety of college football games and the baseball game. 

When we finally sat, we were still able to catch the sports action on the 40" television sets they have throughout the restaurant.  The guys were happy campers and the girls were just happy to be getting something to eat.

The menu at Jillian's Video Cafe is standard sports bar fare - nothing outstanding, but nothing bad.  I went with the Buffalo chicken tenders - small cuts of chicken breasts cooked in hot and spicy buffalo wing sauce.  Cindy and Marcia went with the grilled lemon chicken over fettuccine.  Pat had the chicken breast with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, Dave had the Philly cheese steak sandwich and Scott had the peppercorn encrusted blue cheese burger. 

My dinner was OK, they gave me a lot of spicy chicken tenders.  (A tip - get the hot sauce and not the extra hot on the chicken tenders.  I like hot but those were bordering inedible.)  But they were a little cold as they probably sat under the warming lamps waiting for everyone else's dinners to come up. 

Cindy and Marcia really liked their meal, as did Pat.  Dave devoured his Philly cheese steak and said it was great.  Scott sort of picked at his burger, but when I looked up after I tried to finish all of my chicken tenders and he was just finishing off his burger.  He said it was good, as well.

After dinner, I took everyone up to the arcade on the second floor and Scott and Marcia watched the rest of the baseball game, while the rest of us watched Dave play some of the machines.  It was kind of nice not having a lot of little kids running around in the place, but at the same time it was rather busy with all the activities going on. 

I took Dave, Pat and Cindy up to the bowling alley on the third floor and they were having "glow-bowling" - bowling with fluorescent balls and pins under black lights.  One of the neat things about the bowling alleys is that they have four 80" projection televisions on the wall above the pin boxes so you can watch the game while bowling at the same time. 

Jillian's is a neat place, but I like Dave and Buster's better for both the food and the entertainment.  There's a Dave and Buster's near where I stay at in the Chicago area and I'll have to go in and have dinner there sometime soon and report back on that.   

(Update January 2012 - Jillian's in Indianapolis filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and closed in October of that year.  There is now a Tilted Kilt in Jillian's old location.  I don't know if they still are using the arcade and the bowling alleys on the upper floors.)

Bistro Vendome - Denver

The last restaurant we ate at while we were in Denver for the annual CEDIA Expo was a neat little French restaurant called Bistro Vendome in the Larimore Square area in the downtown area. 

Bistro Vendome is owned by the same team who owns Rioja - Jennifer Jasinski (right) and Beth Gruitch-Verucchi.  In fact, Bistro Vendome is located just across the street from Rioja (see map).  They bought Bistro Vendome from chef Eric Roeder and partner Scott Tallman earlier this year. 

Roeder and Tallman opened Bistro Vendome in April of 2003 and were credited with bringing "French soul-food" to Denver.  But Roeder also had a hot temper and would regularly berate his staff in full view of patrons.  His business began to fall off and he sold to the Rioja owners. 

Jasinski and Gruitch-Verucchi sharpened up the menu and went with a more true bistro style of French food that features a number of local and seasonal items. 

Bistro Vendome is not a large place with seating for less than 50 in the main dining room.  They have an outdoor garden area that is open during the summer.  They also seat about 20 people in the breezeway area outside the restaurant and they have a small wine room they use for private dining.

The wine room is where they sat our party of 11 that evening.  In the wine room, they have a huge rack of French wines from nearly every region in France.  Jacques Mahul, the founder and owner of Focal loudspeakers, picked out a great red wine and a wonderful white. 

I started off with the fois gras that was served on a nice toasted brioche and topped with a carmelized onion and orange marmalade.  My main entree consisted of the Steak Frite au Poivre - an 8 oz. beef tenderloin grilled to a perfect medium rare, covered with a creamy peppercorn sauce and a side of French fries.  It was just outstanding. 

A couple of my colleagues went with the Magret de Cunard - a seared duck breast, baked in confit.  I had a bite of one and it was out of this world. 

Jacques went with the Salmon Poele - a citrus marinated salmon filet topped with a Grand Marnier hollandaise.  He said it was outstanding.  This is a guy who has eaten at some of the greatest restaurants in the world, so if he said it was outstanding, it was.

The desserts were tempting, but I held off on getting my old stand-by - creme brulee.  Instead, I went with the lemon sorbet topped with fresh blueberries.  It was very good, but the blueberries were tart and rich.

The food and service at Bistro Vendome was just wonderful.  Being in our own little room helped the experience tremendously.  But I'm sure a table in the main dining room would be a great experience, as well.   

If you want a great meal in Denver with no holds barred, Bistro Vendome is the place.      

The Claddagh Irish Pub - Indianapolis

During a recent trip Cindy and I took to Indianapolis with our friends, Scott and Marcia Schroeder, and Dave and Pat Heusmann, we had one last late night beer at The Claddagh Irish Pub in downtown Indianapolis (see map).  I've been to The Claddagh (pronounced CLAW-duh) a couple times before, but this was the first for the others.

The Claddagh Irish Pub started in Indianapolis in 2000 by Kevin McDonagh, an Irishman who owns the Supermacs fast food chain in Ireland; and Kevin Blair, an American who was McDonagh's operations manager for Supermacs.  Blair went to Ireland in the mid-90's to work for McDonagh at Supermacs and he was intrigued by the quaint Irish pubs that he went to and unwind with his wife and small children. 

Even though he knew there were a number of authentic Irish pubs in America, Blair wanted a pub that "reeked" of Irish heritage and culture.  The Irish have a term called "craic" (pronounced crack) that is used to describe a place that is fun, lively and friendly.  Blair wanted to bring that "craic" to America, and with McDonagh's help he was able to open The Claddagh Irish Pub in Indianapolis (right). 

The Claddagh was named after the legendary Irish fishing village of Claddagh which is now surrounded by present day Galway, Ireland.  The Irish Claddagh attracted many visitors to the area - many of whom were writers - who wrote about the charm of the town and the friendliness of the Claddagh people.

The Claddagh Irish Pub soon began to expand into other larger Midwestern cities and there are now 17 different locations (with three more slated to open) in 7 states.  Blair and O'Donagh made each Claddagh unique in layout and design, and put them in locations that would be easily accessible to most people.  And each Claddagh is decorated with authentic Irish fixtures and furnitures sent over from Ireland. 

The menu at The Claddagh consists of authentic Irish cuisine with a number of American favorites with an Irish bent added to them.  I had the melted Irish meatloaf sandwich one time at The Claddagh and it was outstanding.

But the place is more of a true Irish public house with a large variety of Irish beers on tap and in bottles.  Even though it was late and we were tired, we had to go in for the one last beer of the evening.  We sat at a short table with short stools right near the fire place.  It was great having a late night Smithwick's with my wife and good friends in a great place like the original Claddagh.

I travel to many of the cities in which other Claddagh's are located.  I'll have to check a couple three of them out to make sure they have the great ambiance and "craic" of the original in Indianapolis.

Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City, MO

Baseball season usually ends for me once the regular season is over.  It's maddening for me to watch the baseball play-offs on television, mainly because the commentators dumb down their analysis for the casual baseball fan who tunes in only during the play-offs. 

With that said, I still love baseball and still love going to games.  With freezing temperatures settling in and effectively ending the summertime warmth, I want to remember the trip we took to Kansas City and our visit to Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.

I've been to Kauffman Stadium (named after the Royals long time owner Ewing Kauffman) many times in the past.  Built before the 1973 season, the stadium seats a shade over 40,000 people.  It's situated next door to Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, and is part of the Truman Sports Complex on the east side of Kansas City (see map). 

It was a warm August evening when Cindy and I went to the see the Royals host the Boston Red Sox.  I mean, it was oppressively hot - game time temps were 101 degrees and there wasn't much of a breeze.

Here's a picture of the opening pitch of the game.  Our seats weren't too bad - they were up a ways behind the first base dugout.  There were a lot of Boston fans in the crowd, including about 8 in a row in front of us.  I didn't mind, I wasn't pulling for one team or the other.  I'm there for baseball. 

Kauffman Stadium is famous for their fountains (keeping in step with the rest of Kansas City) in the outfield.  The fountains sort of bubble during the game, then they cut 'em loose between innings.

Hang on - got to satisfy my scoreboard fetish while we're at it.  Actually, the scoreboard at Kauffman is the tallest in major league baseball.  It towers 12 stories high and even though it isn't as large as others I've seen, it's still pretty impressive.

For my friend, Greg Hipskind, here's a shot of his favorite Red Sox player, Manny Ramirez.

The concourses at Kauffman Stadium are somewhat of a problem.  Typical of stadiums built in the 1960's and 1970's, the concourses are narrow and get crowded in a hurry.   With concession stands and beer stands set up along the way, the congestion can get pretty bad.  I understand that they're looking to do an upgrade to the stadium in the next couple of years that should take care of the narrow walk ways.

With the Red Sox in town and less than two years removed from their World Series crown, there was a pretty large crowd at Kauffman that evening.  Actually, the sight lines at Kauffman are pretty good so there really isn't a bad seat in the house. 

Here's a great picture of the rising full moon behind the American flag.

All in all, Kauffman Stadium is a nice place to see a ball game.  There's plenty of parking, it's pretty easy to get in and get out of the parking lot, the stadium has all the amenities for the regular fan.  If the Royals would just get a team to put on the field that would be competitive, it would be even more fun to watch a game there. 

Bubba Burgers

Actually, this isn't really about a burger joint.  You can't get the Bubba Burgers I'm going to tell you about at a restaurant.  And don't confuse these with the Bubba's Burgers from Hawaii. 

These Bubba Burgers are found in the frozen food section at a number of grocery stores across the Midwest.  You buy them, take 'em home, and cook them there.  Click here to get a list of stores that carry Bubba Burgers.

The story behind Bubba Burgers is pretty simple.  Walter "Bubba" Eaves came up with an idea to create the best burger possible.  He invented a process that allows the burger patty to be frozen and then cooked without thawing the meat.  Bubba Burgers began small and were distributed through the Publix chain of grocery stores in the Southeast.  In 2000, "Bubba" brought in new partners to help with a nationwide distribution of the burgers.

Other than just plain burger patties, Bubba Burgers also make flavored burgers such as Sweet Onion, Jalapeno, and Reduced Fat.  But the ones I bought were the Original, and since then I've found out that they also make an Black Angus Certified Beef Bubba Burger.  It kind of makes me wonder what the hell the Original Bubba Burger is made of. 

I've been hearing the ads for Bubba Burgers on Chicago area sports talk radio stations.  I thought, "Huh!  Well, I'll have to find some while I'm here in Chicago."

I did find some at a Dominick's store in the far northern suburbs of Chicago (I always take a cooler with me when I go to Chicago).  They weren't cheap - six 1/3 pound patties (pre-cooked) were $7.99.  Holy crap!  Bubba was pretty proud of these burgers!  They'd better be good.  I kinda got to wondering what the price of the Black Angus Certified burgers would be. 

The weekend after I got back from Chicago, my wife wanted me to cook some burgers on the grill for lunch.  I thought, "What a perfect opportunity to give them a try."

In the meantime, a good friend stopped over and was on his way up to the bar to get a burger for lunch.  I said, "Hey, let me throw a burger on for you."

The way to cook Bubba Burgers, according to the package, is to put the patties on the grill over the open flame (or on a hot frying pan).  When the top of the burger begins to to pool up with juices, turn it over and cook it for another minute for medium, another two minutes for medium-well and another three minutes for well.  So, I tried it that way. 

Along with grill toasted garlic/onion buns, we had the Bubba Burgers.  They were - OK.  Nothing special.  I probably cooked 'em a little too long as mine was not too juicy.  Now, my wife downright hated 'em.  She said she was burping the taste of the burger up all afternoon long.  My buddy thought they were just "OK", as well.  So much for that round of Bubba Burgers.

More recently, I was home and my wife was out at a study group for the evening, so I decided to cook up a couple of Bubba Burgers for dinner.  This time, I didn't throw them directly over the fire, opting for the indirect method of cooking that I've come to enjoy on a Weber grill. 

I let the burger patties cook for about 10 minutes indirectly at 350 degrees, then I put them over the fire for a couple of minutes.  I pulled them off, turned 'em over and let 'em sit off to the side of the heat for about five more minutes.  Then I let them sit over the fire for another two minutes before pulling them off. 

This time they were a little more juicy and tender.  They were definitely done, but they weren't as overdone as the last time. 

The bottom line - Bubba Burgers are great for a bachelor who has been out all night long and wants a late night snack.  I just wonder how many guys have passed out making a Bubba Burger after getting home from the bars after 2 a.m.  But they're too expensive.  You can get a better burger by buying a pound of 90% lean ground beef from the meat case and making hand-pattied burgers yourself. 

I probably won't be going out of my way to purchase Bubba Burgers again...   

Oktoberfest - La Crosse, WI

One of the biggest happenings in the upper Midwest each fall is the annual Oktoberfest celebration in La Crosse, WI. This year marked the 46th annual Oktoberfest in La Crosse, which ran from September 29 thru October 7 this year.

In conjunction with the old G. Heileman Brewery, the city of La Crosse started Oktoberfest in 1961 to showcase the greater La Crosse area and scheduled the event to coincide with the changing of the leaves in the area. Oktoberfest is actually privately owned by a La Crosse Festivals, Inc. which has sponsored and coordinated the festival since 1965.

When I was in La Crosse recently, I took the time to go to Oktoberfest for a short while. It was during the late morning hour, so a brat and a beer were in order. It usually costs $5 bucks to get in (you actually buy a button for $5 bucks or you buy an Oktoberfest hat for $20 bucks). That gets you in to the grounds, I believe for any day you want to go. However, that day, it was free admission.

My first stop was the beer tent. Actually, it was more of a beer lean-to. Since it was still in the morning and there weren't a lot of people there, only one guy was working the tent. He wasn't all that busy.

The beer sold at Oktoberfest is all brewed in La Crosse by the Pearl Street Brewery, a small micro-brewery; and City Brewery, the brewery that grew out of the old remnants of the G. Heileman Brewery when it closed up a number of years ago. I ordered up a Pearl Street Pale Ale and got to talking to the bartender.

He told me, "Well, you certainly came on one of the two slowest days of Oktoberfest." He said the busiest days are the first two days when they have crowds approaching 10,000 people that crowd into the south festival grounds (they have a north festival grounds that is more family oriented and only open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.). He said that the Tuesday and Wednesday are the slowest days and there's usually no admission those days.

They have a huge beer hall on the south grounds that it big enough to have two stages in it. The bartender told me that they'll have bands come in and play and it's usually a regular zoo in there.

He said that they have a huge torchlight parade on the Thursday night of Oktoberfest. He said they start out around sunset (about 6:30 p.m.) and travel through the streets to the north festival grounds. He said, "It's too bad that you aren't going to be around. It's quite the sight."

Here's some of the local guys dressed up for the occasion having a cold one at 11:30 in the morning. My kind of guys.

I stayed there long enough to talk to him, garner more info on Oktoberfest, and then order another beer, this time a City Brewery Pale Ale. I tried to give him a tip and he pushed the money back at me and said, "Aw, man. I don't need the tip. Just have fun."

Here's a couple that was standing next to me at the beer tent. I'm tellin' ya - they really get into it at Oktoberfest.

They had a band playing on the stage in the beer tent area. These guys were called the Jim Bee Three (right) and they were actually pretty damn good. They played a lot of 60's and 70's tunes and a couple old standards. They worked the crowd pretty well. Well, what there was of a crowd there.

I had to have a brat to go with my beer. Here's the brat house that served some great brats with sauerkraut. I'm glad I got there when I did, because the noontime crowd was just beginning to show up and with free admission that day, the line at the brat house got to be pretty long rather quickly.

And here's what an Oktoberfest brat and a half drank glass of City Brewery Pale Ale look like. It was damn good.

I walked around the grounds for a little while getting some shots. Here's the main walk-way going down to the rides in the midway. Like I said, the north grounds about a half mile away are more family oriented and they have more rides.

But there are a bunch of places to eat if you don't want brats (which, at Oktoberfest, I wouldn't see why they wouldn't want to eat brats). Of course, there's cheese. Here's one of the guys from the fried cheese curd place (right). I loved the apron.

Here's the main tent (left) where people would eat their brats during the lunch hour. Actually, it was a beautiful day and I don't know why they'd want to sit under the tent.

I actually got to meet Miss La Crosse, Kristina Smaby (left). Not only does she get to be Miss La Crosse and vie for the chance to become Miss Wisconsin in the Miss America pageant, she gets to be Miss Oktoberfest. She said that Miss Oktoberfest is a better gig than trying to become Miss Wisconsin. (Update - Kristina did eventually win the 2009 Miss Wisconsin pageant and represented the state in the 2010 Miss America pageant.)

But, I had to get rolling so a brat, a couple beers and a few pictures were all I could go for. Although Oktoberfest during the weekday isn't close to the excitement and fun that you'd have on the weekends, at least I was able to go and have a small slice of a great tradition in La Crosse. I'm not certain that I could handle a crowd of 10,000 drunks in such a small area, but it may be fun to try.

Kinnick Stadium - Iowa City

We went to see the Iowa Hawkeyes play the Purdue Boilermakers last Saturday at the "new" Kinnick Stadium.  Actually, it's the same stadium that has been around since 1929, but it's been updated with a new press box/suites, new bathrooms and concession stands, and larger seats for people's bigger butts. 

Kinnick Stadium is named for Iowa's only Heisman Trophy winner, Nile Kinnick.  A statue of Kinnick on the concourse outside the south end of the stadium is shown at right.  Kinnick was truly a student athlete and went on to enter law school at Iowa.  When World War II broke out, Kinnick left law school at Iowa and entered the Navy.  He was training to be a fighter pilot when his plane went down off the Venezuelan coast in 1943.  His body was never recovered. 

From 1929 thru 1971, the stadium was known as Iowa Stadium.  In 1972, University of Iowa officials officially renamed the stadium in honor of Nile Kinnick.  Through the years, it's steadily grown in capacity and it now seats 70,585 and is sold out this season.

Actually, we'd been getting season tickets through my buddy, Jim Kellogg for the past six or seven seasons.  This year, they were asking for increased contributions from the fans to help pay for the $77 million dollar face lift of the stadium.  If we were to keep the same seats that we had all those years, we would have had to pony up about $800 to $1000 dollars above and beyond the approximate $400 per ticket season ticket price.  We didn't quite have that kind of money lying around, so we passed this season.  Besides, most of the games are on TV around here, so we can watch 'em at home. 

My cousin, Jim Balmer, had two tickets that he wasn't going to use for the Purdue game, so he offered them to Cindy and me.  We took 'em and went to the game.

Jim's tickets aren't bad - about halfway up and on the 45 yard line.  Here's a few pictures from the game:

It was Homecoming at Iowa this weekend and they were honoring two of the Iowa Rose Bowl teams - the 1956 Hawkeye Team and the 1981 Hawkeye Team.  The 1981 team came out first and was led by former head coach Hayden Fry (in tan suit).  Here's a picture of Fry with one of his top assistants during the 1981 season, Bill Snyder (in dark suit).  Snyder went on to coach at Kansas State and led the Wildcats to an improbable turnaround from an annual doormat to a national power in a few seasons. 

The honorary captain for the game that day was former Iowa All-American quarterback, Kenny Ploen.  Ploen was a standout Canadian Football League player who led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to four Grey Cup titles in his 11 year career. 

Here are the Hawkeyes entering the stadium with their ritual of huddling together as they run on to the field, also known as The Swarm.

Kickoff at Kinnick Stadium on a beautiful fall morning in Iowa City.  Temperature at game time was around 65 and it got into the mid-70's later in the game.  Perfect weather.  Here's a good shot of the west grandstand crowd and the new press box and luxury boxes with club seating. 

Here's a shot of the great Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz on the sidelines.  Although roundly criticized when he first took over, Ferentz may end up being the best coach in Iowa football history.  Not only is Ferentz a great coach, but he's a great guy, too.  He's classy and down-to-earth.  He's a true credit to the University of Iowa. 

Once again, satisfying my scoreboard fetish, here's the main scoreboard at Kinnick Stadium.

Here's the Hawkeyes running the ball in the first quarter of the game.  Iowa made pretty easy work of the Boilermakers beating them 47-17.  It was the worst beating at the hands of Iowa for Purdue.  Usually, Purdue and Iowa play some pretty close and entertaining games.  Iowa just beat them in all facets of the game today.

Halftime and that means entertainment by the worst marching band in the Big Ten - and possibly in the country for Division I-A football schools - the Hawkeye Marching Band.  We've seen a number of other school's marching bands and they absolutely blow the Iowa band out of the water.  I know these kids try their best, but the band directors have got to be the most unimaginative musical directors I've ever encountered. 

However, the one highlight of the band is their Golden Girl - Diana Reed.  The Iowa Golden Girl has been a tradition with the band for a number of years and they usually are pretty damn good baton twirlers.  Reed has been the Golden Girl for five seasons - that has to be some sort of a record.

And here's a great picture of the Golden Girl being held up by Drum Major Jason Hillenbrand.  To get shots like this sometimes you just have to be more lucky than good.

All in all, the "new" Kinnick Stadium isn't much different from the "old" Kinnick.  It's still a good place to see a football game and it holds a lot of history.  Yeah, I miss not seeing all the games, but I don't miss the empty hole in my pocket after a "Football Saturday" in Iowa City.    

Davanni's - Twin Cities

I don't eat at Pizza Hut any longer.  One of the big reasons (other than their pizza sucks) is that they no longer serve their "hoagies" - a sandwich with Italian meats, topped with mozzarella cheese, Italian dressing on Italian bread, then baked for about 10 minutes in an oven.  They were absolutely great. 

It's tough finding a good old hoagie like the ones they had at Pizza Hut.  But I think I found something close at Davanni's located throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. 

Actually, I had seen the Davanni's restaurants before in my travels around the Twin Cities, but I'd never stopped in.  I was recently reading a Sports Illustrated article on Joe Mauer, the very good young catcher for the Minnesota Twins.  Mauer, a bachelor, said that one of his favorite post-game meals was picking up a hoagie from Davanni's and taking it home.

On my recent trip to the Twin Cities, I was in between appointments and hungry at lunchtime.  I found a Davanni's in suburban Plymouth and stopped in.  At Davanni's, you order at the front counter and they take your name to call you when the food is ready. 

I ordered an Assorted hoagie - ham, salami and smoked ham with mozzarella and Italian dressing on Italian bread then baked.  I got the Assorted "Whole", which is basically two five inch submarine style sandwiches.  You get your choice of bread and I usually get mine on the regular white hoagie bun.

About ten minutes after I ordered they called my name and I went up to the pick up counter and got the sandwich.  I took it back and dug in. 

It was everything that I remember about the old Pizza Hut hoagies.  The bread was crisp and warm, the meat was plentiful, the Italian dressing was tangy - it was a very good sandwich.   

Davanni's also serves pizza, lasagna and calzones, along with a number of assorted hoagie-style sandwiches.  Honestly, from the pictures at the restaurant that I saw, the pizza, lasagna and calzones didn't look as good as the hoagies. 

Davanni's Assorted hoagie was a definite "spot-hitter".  I've been back to Davanni's many times and I usually eat at the one in Edina, the location in Bloomington, or the one in Eden Prairie.  Actually, all of the Davanni's I've eaten at are basically the same.  The Assorted sandwich is always great.  

Ramada Mall of America - Redux

I wanted to briefly mention that I once again stayed at the Ramada Mall of America hotel in Bloomington, MN (see map) next to the Mall of America a few days ago.  It's getting to the point that Hilton, Marriott and Holiday Inn properties (the three chains I usually stay at, in that order) are becoming outrageously priced in the Twin Cities.  Even though I don't belong to any Ramada club or frequent stayer program, the Ramada Mall of America is quickly becoming one of my more favorite hotels to stay in. 

As I said in an earlier post, the Ramada Mall of America is the old Thunderbird Hotel that was situated across from the old Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of both the Minnesota Twins and Vikings.  My first visit was nice - it was comfortable, the rooms were decorated tastefully and the experience was more than pleasant. 

This visit, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had suites starting at $96 dollars a night plus tax.  Considering that most rooms at basic Hampton Inns in the area were starting at $124 a night, I thought this to be a great deal.

When I arrived, they sent me to the Comanche suite (the hotel specializes in Native American decor and artifacts) that was situated next to the circular area that houses their indoor pool.  While the room was a little tired (a couple spots on the wall, some wallpaper peeling away in another spot), it was spacious. 

No, it was more than spacious - you could have played five-on-five basketball in the room.  In fact, it was probably too big. 

There was a refrigerator and a microwave, a nice desk area, a very uncomfortable over-sized chair, and a very comfortable king-sized bed.  The television and stand were a little awkward - the television sat on a stand near the center of the room, out away from the wall with a number of wires just hanging in between the TV and the wall.  There was no swivel on top of the stand so you had to move the TV if you wanted to watch it from either the chair or the bed. 

Even with some of the weirdness in the room, I still managed to get a great and restful night of sleep, something I don't do very well when I'm on the road.  In fact, a severe thunderstorm came through during the night and I didn't even hear it. 

For $96 a night, it was worth it.  I like a room with a lot of space in it.  It was quiet, comfortable and somewhat homey.  Even with some of the tiredness shown in the room (and especially in the hallways around and near the room), for the money it was a great deal.

As an aside - I accidentally left a dress shirt in the closet.  I called the hotel and they put me in touch with the person who takes care of lost and found.  I've left items in hotels before and sometimes it's a pain in the ass to get them to send them back (plus having to pay for freight and handling charges).  Steve, the guy who took care of me, said that he had the shirt and he'd put it in an big envelope and send it to me.  At no charge and with no bitching.   

Well, I guess this post wasn't all that brief after all.  But I will say that the Ramada Mall of America will be my first choice from here on out when I travel to the Twin Cities.   

Manny's Cocina - Onalaska, WI

I'm in the process of putting on a new dealer in La Crosse, WI and I've been up there a couple times wining and dining him to get him to take one of my lines.  It's pretty much a done deal, but we had dinner at a pretty good local Italian restaurant a couple months ago (Ciatti's - a chain of franchisee owned restaurants that are mainly in Minnesota).  My new dealer candidate told me the next time I came up, we had to go have dinner at Manny's Cocina.

I was in La Crosse recently and stopped in late in the day to see my new prospective dealer at his new location.  After going over some of the new products that we unveiled at the recent CEDIA Expo in Denver (he didn't attend - he was moving to his new location), we decided to go out to dinner.  He said, "Anything you looking for tonight?"

I said, "Well, yeah. You told me that we had to go to Manny's for dinner the next time I came up." 

So I followed him to Manny's up in the La Crosse suburb of Onalaska (see map).  And as a nicer surprise, it was right across the street from the Hampton Inn I was staying at that evening. 

Manny's is run by Manny Rivera and his family.  They were in a very small building in La Crosse for a number of years.  My dealer told me that it may have had six tables in the place, and it would get so crowded some nights that they would tell people waiting for a table to go to the bar a couple doors down and they'd call the bar when their table was ready. 

Manny's original location caught fire and burned down a couple years ago.  They were so popular in the community that they had little to no trouble securing financing to move to a former Bob Evans restaurant along Interstate 94 in Onalaska.  They opened a little over a year ago and have been doing gangbuster business ever since.

The decor in Manny's is typical of a Mexican restaurant.  There were a lot of little rooms and alcoves throughout the place and we were seated in a small room with four other tables (and no other customers).  The first thing we did is order a couple beers - they had Sol on menu, which is a major plus in my book in regard to any Mexican restaurant.  My dealer told me that their margaritas were to die for.  I said that I'd try one after I finished my beer - and that wouldn't take too long. 

Manny's is known for their Mexican seafood dishes.  In fact, the majority of their entrees are seafood dishes with a Mexican flair.  My dealer told me that their Seven Seas Burrito was a favorite of his, but he liked four or five things on the menu equally as well.  I told him that was good enough for me.  When the waitress came back, I ordered a Seven Seas Burrito and an "Ultimate Perfect Margarita" - a larger margarita with Grand Marnier and Reserva Jose Cuervo Anejo tequila. 

The Seven Seas Burrito has broiled shrimp, sea bass, scallops, and white fish with a creamy goat cheese sauce on a bed of rice rolled up in a burrito and topped with more goat cheese sauce.  My dealer got the Seafood Lovers Burrito, pretty much the same thing without the rice. 

The food - and the margarita - were, in a word, fabulous.  It was such a welcome change from the normal fare you get in most Mexican restaurants.  The seafood tasted fresh and was cooked perfectly.

And the margarita was great, as well.  I'm glad that I didn't have to go any further than just across the street, though.  It was that packed with liquor. 

Manny's is worth the stop if you're in the La Crosse area.  In fact, it would be worth the stop even in you're NOT in the La Crosse area.  I may have to take my wife up there for a meal sometime some weekend we want to do a little road trip. 

Ted's Montana Grill - Wichita, KS

You know, I'm not big on chain restaurants, but I have this thing about Ted's Montana Grill steakhouses.  The food is consistently good, the service - while it may be over the top at times - is good, as well.  If I'm hungry, but not in the mood to go out and try and find some place to eat that I'm not familiar with - and there's a Ted's in the area - I'll go there. 

However, I had gotten kind of stagnant in my ordering at Ted's Montana Grill.  It seemed all I ever ordered in the past was the bison filet with the garlic mashed potatoes.  The night I went to the Ted's in Wichita, I was in the mood to try something different.

Ted's Montana Grill actually calls themselves a classic American grill that specializes in comfort food.  Although I can't say that steak is what I would call comfort food, they do have comfort favorites such as pot roast, slow roasted pork, country fried chicken and some other "stick to your ribs" meals. 

However, they also have a variety of both bison and beef hamburgers on the menu.  I'd heard they cooked a pretty good burger and I was kind of in the mood for a good burger that evening.  So I sat at the bar and ordered just a good ol' fashioned cheddar cheese bison burger with a side of their "salt 'n' pepper" onion rings. 

Actually, I ordered the burger medium rare - worried that it would be overcooked and not too flavorful.  However, I forgot that this was Ted's, the place that makes thick bison filets nice and juicy.  It was a little undercooked, but edible enough. 

And it was good.  It would have been better had it been cooked about another two minutes on each side, but it was as good as advertised.  But it wasn't cheap - with cheese the bison burger was $10.59. 

Once again, the service was good, but a little too fake.  The two bartenders were attentive, but a little too scripted to be sincere enough in their service. 

Next time I go to Ted's, I'll have to try the pot roast or some comfort food and then report about that in the "Comfort Food" category.  But for now, the bison burger was very good and I'd highly recommend it.  Just be sure to order it medium...

(Update - In the fall of 2010, Ted's Montana Grill closed a number of restaurants in the Midwest including the one in Wichita.  I'm sure the economic stress over the past couple of years had something to do with it, considering how the aerospace and aircraft industry had taken a hit during that time.  And since that's Wichita's largest economic sector, I'm sure places like Ted's suffered.)

Tula - Denver

In what has been sort of a tradition for some of my colleagues the night before the opening of the CEDIA Expo, we try and find a good Mexican restaurant.  When CEDIA was held in Indianapolis, it was easy - El Sol de Tala.  With a large Mexican population in Denver, it was going to be a little more difficult to choose a good place.  On the recommendation of the concierge at the Loews Denver, we settled on a hip little place called Tula.

Tula is in the Cherry Creek area, just around the corner from Duffy's Cherry Cricket (see map).  The space Tula occupies has been sort of a "kiss of death" for three or four restaurants that inhabited the place before Tula.  Even though there wasn't much of a crowd for a Wednesday night at Tula, I think they may make it longer than their predecessors. 

Tula is owned by the husband and wife team of Chris and Kerri Douglas.  The cuisine could safely be described as upscale modern Mexican.  The decor is kind of a contemporary art-deco, yet sort of rustic at the same time.  The main dining room is open and roomy.  Even though there wasn't much of a crowd when we were in there, we could tell it could get loud if there was a large crowd in there. 

First of all, the margaritas.  The list of margaritas was long and interesting.  There was a group of us and we went with two pitchers of their Grand Marnier and 1800 Respado tequila. 

Tula also has a very nice wine list, mainly from South America.  My boss and the owner of Focal Loudspeakers, Jacques Mahul, were with us and they didn't want the margaritas, but wanted wine.  The only problem is that they weren't familiar with South American wines.  Jacques asked me to take a look at the wine list and pick something out that I was familiar with.  Thankfully, I found a Chilean cabernet that I was somewhat familiar with.  It turned out to be a good choice. 

The main entrees that we had were interesting, to say the least.  I had a seafood enchilada that was very good, and one of my colleagues got the smoked pork chops that he said were good, as well.  Two of my colleagues next to me had a spicy burrito dish that was topped off with a hot pepper.  It wasn't a habanero, but it was spicy, nonetheless.  Some of us took a small bite out of the peppers and it was slugging back water and margaritas for the next 15 minutes.

Service at Tula was OK.  It wasn't as polished as the service at an upscale restaurant should be, but it was tolerable. 

I hope Tula stays in business.  We were, by far, the reason the restaurant made money that evening.  If we hadn't come in, they may have only had about 16 people in there all night.  I'm guessing that it would take many more table turns than what they had in there that evening to make a go of the place.  But I'd go back in a heartbeat. 

(Update - Well, Tula didn't stay in business.  The location must truly be haunted because after Tula closed up, a place called Juicy Lucy's opened in its place.  Juicy Lucy's didn't last either.  By my count, the property at 250 Josephine has claimed at least six restaurants over the years.

Carson's - Deerfield, IL

Since 1977, Carson's has been serving barbecued ribs, chicken and pork chops to hundreds of thousands of Chicagoland people and tourists.  I've been by the Carson's downtown on North Wells a number of times, but had never tried them.  Until recently, that is.

Carson's was founded by Dean Carson who used a family recipe for ribs and sauce and has turned the combination into an institution known nationwide for Chicago-style ribs.   

I was out in Deerfield in the far north suburbs of Chicago recently and it was getting late in the day.  My last stop around 7:30 that evening put me right around the corner from Carson's Deerfield location of Waukegan Road (see map). 

The Deerfield location is spacious and well lit, with a very nice outdoor dining area with a centralized gas fire pit to help keep people warm on cold evenings.  As it was sort of spitting rain and the temps in the mid-50's that evening, there weren't a lot of people in the outdoor area.

I went to the bar area, much more dark and cozy than the main dining area.  There were autographed pictures of famous celebrities and sports stars who have eaten at Carson's all over the walls.  (A lot of current and former Chicago Bulls were featured on the wall - their practice facility is literally around the corner.)  I saddled up at the bar and the bartender gave me a beer and a menu. 

In addition to ribs, Carson's does seafood, steaks, pork chops and chicken.  But I had to try this barbecue that people from all over the U.S. will overnight ribs to their homes or businesses.  I went with the combo of a half rack of baby back ribs and a boneless pork chop. 

About 15 minutes later, out came a small rack of ribs and one of the thickest center cut pork chops I've ever seen in my life.  It had to be, at least, two and a half inches thick.   On it's own, the pork chop was enough for one meal.  And they serve two of 'em when you just order the pork chops on their own!

The ribs were OK, nothing special.  Not too meaty and the sauce was OK.  The sauce was very sweet and full of molasses.  It made your hands very sticky.  But I've had much better barbecue sauces. 

And, unfortunately, the pork chop was over done and a little dry.  I was disappointed because the pork chop looked like they had a lot of potential.  Even adding the sauce to them to help wet them down didn't help that much. 

OK, so I've been to Carson's.  I don't know if the one downtown is any better.  Carson's says that they cook their ribs at both locations in identical cookers.  Like I said, the food was all right - I'd give it a C grade if I had to grade it.  But, if the food at the downtown location is the same as the one in Deerfield, I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon. 

Spicy Italian Beef

I found a similar recipe for this in the Chicago Tribune.  It's basically the same thing as my Italian Beef recipe that I posted back in March, but with some giardiniera added for a little "zip". 

I tried it recently and it turned out pretty good.  I think I like my regular Italian Beef recipe a little better, but this is good if you want to shake things up a bit.  The oil from the giardiniera actually helps the beef become more tender more quickly.   

Spicy Italian Beef

1 - 3 to 4 lb. beef rump roast
10 garlic cloves or 1 whole garlic head
1 - 15 oz. can beef broth

I - 8 oz. jar mild giardiniera

1- 8 oz. jar hot giardiniera
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.  Add both jars of giardiniera on top of that.  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.  It will keep in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, or you can also freeze it for up to 2 to 4 months. 

Serve on Italian bread with mozzarella cheese. 

2006 Amateur Rib Cook-off Competition

I had the pleasure of being the head judge once again for the fifth Rhythm City Casino Rockin' Ribfest Amateur Rib Cook-off competition (whew - that's a mouthful).  I like doing that because I get to learn some things from some of the amateur

Now, everyone who barbecues thinks their ribs are the best.  This competition gives the common person the chance to show off what they know about ribs and barbecue.  Many of these people take it very seriously.  But at the same time, many friendships have evolved from the competition. 

The day of the event, it began to rain around 8:15 in the morning.  And it poured for a good portion of the morning up to about noon.  But it didn't deter the 18 people (or teams) who were in the event.  Many had tents or tarps to cover their smokers and cookers.

It's interesting to see how some people barbecue.  No two people are exactly the same.  I get a lot of ideas from the event.

But I also get a lot of ideas as to what NOT to do - such as use too much wood or smoke the meat too long.  Sometimes the meat tastes like you're biting into a hickory log.  I don't know how people can think that tastes great - it's detracting to the taste of the meat.

For the second year in a row, 5 members of the Rhythm City Casino's kitchen staff were judges with me.  I always instruct the people judging that we're going primarily for the taste of the meat and how tender it is.  Does the sauce help the taste or detract?  Is is too smoky?  Is the meat too tough or is it so tender that the contestant has boiled the meat in water before cooking on the grill?  (Parboiled ribs really zap the meat taste out of the ribs, and then the cook usually slathers 'em up with a smoky/sweet barbecue sauce to hide the lack of taste in the meat.) 

For example, if someone parboils their ribs, you've got to give them a high score for tenderness, but I always give them low scores on taste. 

This year, at least three of the 18 contestants parboiled their ribs.  Even the sauce on a couple of them couldn't save them.

With a couple of other contestants, their ribs tasted like they used fire starter logs to smoke the meat with.  There was a horrific kerosene taste on both of them. 

One person had kind of a mango chutney barbecue sauce, that wasn't all that bad.  Another contestant had a sauce that was a vinegar base that was very good, as well.  And there were two or three where they just used a rub. 

On the other end of the spectrum, one contestant had a barbecue sauce that tasted like he just poured ketchup over the top and served 'em like that.

We get the ribs (which are cut) given to us in a styrofoam container and that's how they're presented to the judges.  No big show, no garnishes.  Just give us the ribs. 

One of the things that you have to watch out for is eating too much.  If you sit and gnaw on a bone and get all the meat off of it, after about 10 of those and you're full. And you have 8 more ribs to judge.  So you have to watch the amount you eat.  About four or five of them that I had I took one bite and that was all I needed. (With one, I had to spit it out - it was one of the kerosene tasting ribs).

I don't know if it's me or if my taste in ribs is getting more refined, but I didn't think that really any of the contestants had what I would call great ribs this year.  The rain may have had a little bit to do with that.  There were 8 to 10 that were good, but not good enough and the rest, well, they sucked. 

But three really did stand out. 

Brian Hollingsworth (helped by his father, Fred) took first place honors and a $250 check this year.  Brian has been in the competition for the last couple years but never placed.  He said that his father found some spices up in Wisconsin to help with the taste.  Tenderness has never been problem for him, he said.  But he wanted some pizazz.  His ribs were ones that used just a dry rub.  They were good - I had him second on my list.

Dick Bakeris - who has either won or placed in the top 3 each of the 5 years of the competition - won second place and $150.  Actually, I voted Dick's ribs as the best.  But picking between Dick's ribs and Brian's ribs, that's like saying what's better - chocolate or vanilla?  They're both very good.  Dick has a good mild sweet sauce that he puts on the ribs.  It has a good taste to them.

And Jeff Gasper and Judi O'Neal, who have won it all three of the past four years, picked up 3rd place honors and $100 this year.  Jeff took 3rd place with dignity.  "There's a lot of good cooks out here.  To be in the top three every year has been an honor."  Jeff and Judi have the most tender ribs without parboiling.  They use a fruity sweet sauce, but I like Dick's sauce a little better.

It's fun to do the judging.  I think I know good ribs and I always take away an idea or two for something I'd like to do with mine sometime down the line. 

Gold Coast Dogs - Chicago

Airports are nothing but glorified bus stops with bad food.  But every once in a while you stumble across a good little place that you have to go back to when you fly in or out of an airport.  And at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago one of those places is Gold Coast Dogs. 

Gold Coast Dogs has been in business since 1985 when Irv and Thelma Potekin scraped together their last few dollars to open a hot dog restaurant on North Wabash.  They wanted the restaurant to serve the highest quality food with great service for a fast food joint.  They named their hot dog place after the ritzy "Gold Coast" neighborhood of Chicago just north of the downtown area.  After awhile, their reputation began to get out and today they have 13 Gold Coast Dog locations across the Chicago area. 

The Gold Coast hot dogs are a little different than most of the others in the Chicago area.  Not only do they steam the all-beef weiner, but they also offer a char-broiled hot dog with the same toppings as a typical Chicago hot dog.  It has a distinctive taste to it - one that I kind of like.

Gold Coast Dogs also offer burgers and Italian beef sandwiches, although I've only tried the hot dogs when I go to the one at O'Hare.  Actually, I get one steamed and one charred.  The taste of the two are sort of 180 degrees away from each other, but they're both very good. 

If I'm flying American Airlines through Chicago, I try to stop and get a couple hot dogs at Gold Coast Dogs in the Halsted Street Food Court in Terminal 3.  It's sort of tough to find, but it's worth going a little out of your way for a great Chicago hot dog. 

Update - Gold Coast Dogs closed their O'Hare main terminal location much to my unhappiness.  However, they still have a location open in the International Terminal (Terminal 5) at O'Hare and at Midway Airport.  But since I usually don't fly through Midway - ever - I'll have to go to one of their other free standing locations when I want a Gold Coast hot dog.)

Rioja - Denver

One of the restaurants we went to while in Denver was a funky downtown place in the Larimer Square area called Rioja.  It's named after the famous Rioja wine region of Spain and is a Mediterranean style restaurant with an emphasis on seasonal and local foods. 

Rioja was opened in November 2004 by Beth Gruitch-Verucchi and executive chef Jennifer Jasinski (shown at right).  Both women had extensive backgrounds in the upscale restaurant industry - Gruitch-Verucchi with the Levy restaurant group; and Jasinski worked with Wolfgang Puck in a number of his restaurants.  Gruitch-Verucchi and Jasinski met in the late 90's when both worked at Panzano in Denver (and a place I want to try the next time I go to Denver).

Rioja is situated in an old building near the Lower Downtown area of Denver - or simply known as "Lo-Do" to the residents (see map).  The decor is the original brick from a building that has been there since the early 1900's with some casually hip features to make it less pretentious.  It's loud in there, though.  The wood floor and brick walls make it a big echo chamber so don't think you're going to go have a quiet meal. 

As I said, the menu slants toward a Mediterranean style - lots of herbs and fresh veggies - but not only features a number of seafood and pasta dishes, but steaks, pork, lamb and chicken grown in Colorado.  I had the grilled rib-eye - a nice piece of meat marinated in herbs and cracked black pepper.  Many went with the duck, cooked two ways - a seared breast and a baked breast stuffed with wild mushrooms, asparagus, basil, pearl onions and teardrop tomatoes. 

A couple others close to me went with the smoked pork tenderloin.  It was served on a bed of risotto and had a mushroom and pancetta compote with it.  It looked damn good. 

Most of the wines on the menu came from Spain.  I've been into Spanish wines since my daughter brought back a couple great Rioja's from her first trip to Spain a few years ago.  They had a 2001 Marques de Riscal Reserva Rioja that I was somewhat familiar with and I suggested that.  It was a great suggestion as the wine was superb with our meals.  It was full-bodied, had a great flavor to it after it opened up and had a very nice finish.  Everyone was pretty impressed with my wine selection!   

For dessert, I couldn't say no to the lemon/blueberry brulee - a lemon ricotta brulee with blueberries.  Oh man!  Was it out of this world!  Two of my most favorite flavors on earth - lemons and blueberries - packed into one sinful dessert. 

We had a big group - 11 people - for dinner and we had one waitress.  But she was ably assisted by a number of other people and the service was absolutely top notch.  She did a killer job in taking care of us.

Rioja isn't cheap, but the prices aren't stratospheric, either.  The food was great, the service was top notch, the wine selection was very good (they were awarded Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for 2006 earlier this year), and the ambiance was very upbeat.  Rioja is highly recommended if you want a great meal in Denver.