Road Tips

Mikado - Indianapolis

It's a treat to eat sushi on the road and I treated myself after a long day of traveling recently by having sushi at one of my favorite places in Indianapolis - Mikado.  Owned by master sushi chef Umay Kubokawa, the upscale Mikado is a great place to eat seafood in greater Indy. 

Mikado is located downtown in the heart of the entertainment and restaurant district of Indianapolis (see map).  I first went there about nine years ago and fell in love with the place.  I've eaten at sushi restaurants on both coasts and I have to say that Mikado rivals the fresh and flavorful sushi I've had in those restaurants. 

I had just driven from the Quad Cities to St. Louis, then from St. Louis to Indianapolis one day recently.  I was tired and just drug out from the road when I made it into Indianapolis about 9 p.m. local time.  I decided to get something lighter since it was late in the day and Mikado came to mind.  There's plentiful parking in the parking ramp across from Circle Center Mall in downtown Indianapolis.  Go down the stairs of the parking ramp and come out on Illinois Ave. and take a short walk to the south to Mikado.

Mikado has a nice sushi bar as well as tables and booths.  They also have some private rooms for larger groups.  I ate in one of those rooms one time a long time ago, but I prefer sitting at the sushi bar at any sushi place I go to. 

It was just me and another couple at the sushi bar that Wednesday evening.  Mikado closes at 10 p.m thru the week, so it wasn't all that busy.  I ordered up a tall Asahi beer and ordered some smoked salmon, shrimp, salmon and tuna sushi and a spicy tuna roll.  It came to me pretty quickly and I eagerly dug in.

Now, Indianapolis is a long way from the ocean, but I have to say Mikado's sushi is the freshest in the Midwest.  The only place I have to say rivals the freshness and full-flavored taste of their sushi in the region is at Haruno in Springfield, MO - a town that is also very far from oceans.  I really liked the spicy tuna roll and the smoked salmon sushi from Mikado.  I had to get two more pieces of the smoked salmon.

The only problem with Mikado is that it is not cheap.  For ten pieces of sushi, a spicy tuna roll and a couple Asahi's, the bill came to $45 dollars before tip.  And I wasn't even stuffed.  That's the biggest complaint I've heard about Mikado is the steep prices.  But it's damn good. 

I'm sure there are good sushi places in Indianapolis that are significantly cheaper than Mikado, but I don't think any of them could rival the flavor.  Mikado is a nice place with very good seafood in addition to their sushi.  And it remains one of my all-time favorite sushi places.   (Photo courtesy Indianapolis Fun City Finder. com)

Nick's Chili Parlor - Indianapolis

Since 1974, Nick's Chili Parlor in Indianapolis has been serving up some of the best chili dogs in the city.  Located near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (see map), Nick's has garnered a number of awards over the years for having the best chili dog/hot dog in the Indy area.

While opening up a new dealer in the Indianapolis area recently, I was talking to one of the sales guys at the dealership.  We got to talking about "road food" and some of the fun things to find on the road.  He mentioned that he used to live in Cincinnati and I told him I had an affinity for Cincinnati-style chili dogs.  He told me that he thought Nick's had the best chili dogs in either Cincinnati or Indianapolis.  He said, "Before you leave town today, you really need to stop by and give one a try.  Then call me and let me know what you think." 

Nick's began over 30 years ago when Nick Ferris (right) and his father, who both had been in the wholesale food business, recognized a need for a good ol' fashioned chili parlor in Indianapolis.  They opened up the restaurant and began serving their chili from a recipe Nick worked with and perfected.  They also serve a number of other items from their menu including burgers, chicken sandwiches and an Indiana staple - the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, which they call "The Bun Buster".    

Although Nick's Chili Parlor borders a not-so-nice area of Indy, the big building with a big parking lot came up on my left as I was heading down Lafayette Rd.  I pulled in and went inside to order.  There, I saw a sign that said Nick's was "The Home of the 'Not Yet World Famous' Chili".  I thought it was pretty clever, since a lot of chili places call their chili "World Famous".   

I ordered two chili dogs, one with cheese and one without.  I got a small drink and took my chili dogs back to a counter along a window and sat down to give 'em a try. 

Nick's chili is not like Cincinnati-style chili where they have a hint of chocolate and cinnamon in the mix.  It's more of a conventional chili, but not too spicy and with no beans.  It didn't seem to have the hearty chili powder flavor to it, either.  But with the hot dogs, which were meaty and had a nice "snap" to them when you bit into them, it was a great combination.

But like Cincinnati-style chili dogs, adding the shredded mild cheddar cheese to them really detracted from the taste of the chili and hot dog.  I definitely liked the one without cheese much better.  And I wasn't full afterwards - the hot dogs at Nick's aren't that big.  But for a late afternoon snack (4:30 p.m.), it was enough to keep me satiated for the ride back home.    

There used to be a place in downtown Indianapolis called Hard Times Cafe, an old fashioned chili joint chain from out east.  They served four different types of chili - Cincinnati-style, Texas-style, Terlingua-style (which is more spicy than regular Texas-style), and Vegetarian.  Hard Times was one of those place that called their chili "World Famous."  I'm sure his chili "Not Yet World Famous" was a poke by Nick toward Hard Times.   

Hard Times had a good chili dog - a huge 1/4 pound hot dog smothered with your choice of chili.  It was good, but I think I like Nick's better.  Although I'm sort of sad that Hard Times is gone, I'm glad I found Nick's.  Even with some of the other Cincinnati chains in the greater Indianapolis area, I'll go back to Nick's if I need a chili dog fix when I'm in Indy.         

The NFL Blinks

Late yesterday, the NFL announced the game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants this coming Saturday will be simulcast by both CBS and NBC.  Originally, the game was only scheduled to be seen on the NFL Network, the league's television channel. 

Given the historical implications of the game - the Patriots are going for the first unbeaten regular season since 1972 - a lot of people were in an uproar that they wouldn't be able to see the game.  The NFL Network is only available to about 43 million of the American public, mainly on DirecTV and Dish Network, as well as a number of smaller cable companies across the nation. 

Many of the big cable companies, such as Time Warner, Mediacom and Cox, do not carry the NFL Network because of high per subscriber fees the NFL demands.  Plus the NFL doesn't want to allow cable companies to add the network to sports-tier programming, rather keeping it on a basic tier.  However, earlier this year, Comcast won a court ruling that allowed them to add the NFL Network to some of their system's sports-tier programming.

This Saturday's game will be the first simulcast of an NFL game since the very first Super Bowl in 1967 when both CBS and NBC broadcast the game.  However, for those broadcasts both networks used their own announcers and production staff.  For the Patriots-Giants game, the NFL Network's Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth will call the game for all three networks. 

(As an aside, Gumbel has been getting brutal reviews for his broadcasting of NFL Network games.  This should give much of the country who hasn't seen an NFL Network game a chance to make up their own mind as to how well Gumbel does behind the mike.)

Reportedly, NBC and CBS had been in contact with the NFL since earlier in the fall when it appeared the Patriots could end up going into the game undefeated.  Both networks were looking at the potential of record ratings for the game, considering New England has been involved in three of the highest-viewed NFL games this season.

According to NBC Sports head Dick Ebersol, as late as last week he didn't believe the NFL would allow the simulcasting of the game on any over-the-air network.  However, the NFL contacted NBC and CBS earlier this week about both networks simulcasting the game.  Both networks jumped at the chance.

What could have caused the normally hard line NFL to do an about face and allow this weekend's simulcast?  An NFL spokesman said it wasn't because of mounting pressure from Congressional leaders -especially delegations from New England - that made them do a quick about-face in allowing the simulcast of the game.

Well, my "bullshit detector" went into hyper-drive when I read that this morning. 

Rhode Island and Connecticut congressional delegations protested to the NFL that because of their proximity to both New York and Boston, many fans have loyalties to one team or the other and were being left out in the cold when it came to watching the game.  They were upset with the league's definition of "home markets", which narrowed the area as to who would be able to get NFL Network games of local interest broadcast on a local over-the-air station.

For the Patriots-Giants game this Saturday, the NFL had designated greater New York and Boston as the home markets.  That would have added nearly 11 million homes to the total that normally get the NFL Network.  But it would have left out viewers in parts of New England and New York who consider themselves fans of the teams.

Also, the NFL was warned by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont - the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee - and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who is the ranking member of the committee, that it was “exercising its substantial market power to the detriment of consumers.” Both Leahy and Specter cautioned that the NFL's strategy might lead to a re-examination by Congress of the league’s exemption from anti-trust laws regarding the joint negotiation of its broadcast television rights.

Earlier this month, the NFL announced they were going to make the NFL Network available for free for a week after Christmas to any cable company who would agree to going to a third-party arbitrator to settle the dispute between the league and the major cable providers.  Not one of the cable companies agreed to do so.  The NFL is still pushing for Congressional hearings over the ongoing disputes between cable operators and television networks.

Through all of this, I'm sure Big Ten Conference head Jim Delany is watching these developments with the NFL Network.  Given that the Big Ten Network is wanting even higher fees per subscriber than what the NFL Network is pushing for, there has been little to no movement from any of the major cable providers in the Midwest to pick up the network channel any time soon.  And with the start of the Big Ten basketball conference season coming next week, a lot of fans in the Midwest will not be able to see their favorite teams play when most of them were able to in the past.

The NFL Network may be a very narrow niche network in the eyes of many people, especially those within the cable community.  But the Big Ten Network is even more narrow of a focus and definitely doesn't have the marketing clout or the national appeal the NFL possesses.  I think it's going to be a long winter for the Big Ten Network.  And it will be interesting to see just when they blink. 

Dave and Buster's - Addison, IL

Dave and Buster's is a chain of what I would categorize as a "Chuck E. Cheese for adults".  Not only do they feature a full serve restaurant with pretty good food, as well as a full service sports bar, they have a number of games and such geared for adults.  It's a pretty cool place if you've never been to one. 

I've been wanting to write about Dave and Buster's since we went out to Indianapolis last fall and had dinner at Jillian's, an adult playground very similar to Dave and Buster's.  But I hadn't been to a Dave and Buster's for a while.  That is, until I was in Chicago recently and staying out in Addison.  There's a Dave and Buster's near the hotel I was staying at (see map), so I went over for dinner.

In the 70's, two guys - Dave Corriveau and James "Buster" Corley - owned two separate establishments side by side in an old train station in downtown Little Rock.  Corley owned a restaurant - Buster's - and Corriveau owned "Slick Willy's World of Entertainment", a 10,000 square foot emporium of pool tables, video games and pinball machines. 

The two saw that they shared a lot of the same clientele and wondered what it would be like to have the two places under one roof.  First of all, they wondered how big that roof would have to be.  After working on rough designs and plans for a year, Corriveau sold Slick Willy's for seed money and the pair moved to Dallas to hunt for a location.

The first Dave and Buster's opened in Dallas in 1982 in a 40,000 square foot former warehouse.  The place was an immediate hit with the young adults in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.  They tweaked the concept over the next few years and opened a second - equally large - location in Dallas in 1987.  Seeing that location go over in huge way, both Corley and Corriveau wanted to expand their concept to other markets.  The only problem was the lack of capital to do so.

In 1989, Edison Brothers, Inc. - a St. Louis-based corporation who owned women's apparel and shoe stores around the nation - bought controlling interest of Dave and Buster's, and the expansion was on.  They built new locations in Houston, Atlanta and Philadelphia and looked to expand even more.  But the expansion was a drain on the Edison Brothers company, whose clothing and shoe stores were not doing well.  Edison Brothers spun Dave and Buster's off in 1995 to a number of investors.  Today, Dave and Buster's is traded on the NASDAQ exchange with Dresdner RCM Global Investors of San Francisco the largest investor.

In 2005, Dave and Buster's bought nine of the Jillian's locations in the U.S. Today, there are 49 Dave and Buster's locations in 18 states, Canada and Mexico.  They've also licensed the Dave and Buster's name to corporations in Great Britain and Asia.

The first Dave and Buster's I went to was in suburban St. Louis a few years ago.  We actually went in for the food, but ended up playing games in their "Million Dollar Midway" full of arcade games, simulators, and sports-themed games.  They also had a great billiards room with very expensive pool tables.  It was really quite fun.

When I first started to go to Chicago on a regular basis, I ate at the Dave and Buster's in Addison a couple three times.  It really wasn't bad - in fact, it was quite good.  They have a full menu of good entrees from steaks, pasta, seafood, chicken, ribs and sandwiches.  Pretty much about anything your heart desires you can find at Dave and Buster's.

I got into the place about 8 p.m. and went to the "Good Sports" bar area.  It was a Tuesday night and it was pretty dead in the place.  The bartender told me that she didn't know why it was so dead that particular night.  She said, "You could hardly move in here last Tuesday night, it was so packed."

I got a menu and a beer and looked things over to see what I wanted.  One of the good things about Dave and Buster's is that they do have a varied menu and if you walk in not exactly knowing what you want, you can usually find something pretty good to eat. 

I thought about getting something I've gotten before - the Cajun Shrimp Alfredo, large shrimp sauteed in a Creole spice mix and served with a spicy Creole sauce with tomatoes and mushrooms over linguine.  It's very good. 

I thought I'd try their steaks that night, however.  I went with the Peppercorn Ribeye - a 12 oz. ribeye topped with a soft boursin cheese and herb combination, and their "frazzled onions" (thin onion rings).  They then top that with a peppercorn sauce and serve it with a side of mashed potatoes.   OK, I'll try that. 

After about 20 minutes, my bartender brought my steak to me.  I gave it a try and it was good.  Very good, in fact.  Surprisingly good.  The steak was moist and tender, cooked to a perfect medium rare.  The boursin cheese was not overpowering.  I was a little worried about that.  As much as I like blue cheese, when it's put on steak, it almost overpowers the taste of the meat.  And the peppercorn sauce was good, too.  It had that forward peppery taste that I really enjoy. 

Having eaten at a Dave and Buster's four or five times now, I have to say that I've never gotten a bad meal any time I've been there.  And the food is surprisingly good.  Plus, it's a fun atmosphere at Dave and Buster's.  Go for the food and stay to play some games in the arcade area.             

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Chicago!  Actually, we've been here for the past couple three nights with our son, Eric, just hanging out, seeing the sights and eating good meals.  We're going to be home tonight.

The weather here hasn't been too great - not as nice as the last couple of years we've been in here for Christmas.  It was actually nice the first evening with temperatures in the upper 40's.  But that night, a strong cold front accompanying a winter storm came through the Chicago area knocking temperatures down some 35 degrees in the space of 4 hours.  It was cold and blustery the last couple of days.  It wasn't too fun walking around like it was in the past. 

In the meantime, there's been this phenomenon known as "Elf Yourself" which is a web site that allows you to take head shot pictures of people and upload them onto the bodies of between 1 and 4 dancing elves.  Here's an example of what it looks like, although I'm sure everyone has gotten at least one of these stupid things by now.  These elves will then dance - with the picture of the person's face you uploaded - to the tune of "Jingle Bells".  It's actually rather ingenious.

The first time I got one, I thought it was kind of cute.  Then I got over a dozen of them from a number of different friends in a two week period before Christmas.  It's gotten to the point for me that after the first two I was like, "OK, that was neat."  Then it was "Jesus, everyone is doing this," when I got the next six.  Finally, after getting one from a friend about two weeks ago, I said to Cindy, "I am so SICK of getting these frigging dancing elves!  I wish someone would hack into that web site and shut it down!"

Well, about ten days ago, my ex-sister-in-law, Becky - who I thought still loved me - sent me a Dancing Elf greeting.  Only it was with MY HEAD ON THE FRIGGING ELF!!!  Oh, I was so pissed.  I was sure Cindy was behind this, probably telling Becky to make one up with my head on the elf.  Man, I was just beside myself with the horror and shame of seeing it on my computer.

OK, if you want to see the stupid elf with my head on it doing the stupid dance, click here.  All I know is that I now have this major phobia of elves.  I'm scarred forever.  And as I don't do Christmas very well in the first place, I'm sure I'll have to seek professional help over this. 

Burt's Place - Morton Grove, IL

First of all, a Happy Birthday to Marcia Schroeder today.  And in her honor I'm going to write about the night we went to Burt's Place in suburban Morton Grove, IL. (see map)

Marcia and her husband, Scott, as well as Dave and Pat Heusmann, went into Chicago with us for the Iowa/Northwestern football game one weekend earlier this fall.  I had been talking about going to a pizza place on the Friday night before the game and suggested either Pequod's or Burt's Place.  Everyone was saying, "Whatever, you're the driver."

So we went to Burt's.  I have been to Burt's a couple times prior to our visit a few weeks ago.  Compared to many other Chicago area pizza restaurants, Burt's is pretty obscure.  But he may have the best pizza in Chicagoland.

70-year-old Burt Katz is a legend in Chicago pizza history.  Ike Sewell is credited with coming up with the first deep dish pizza in Chicago at Pizzeria Uno.  But Burt came up with his own way to may deep dish pizza in the early 60's when he was a pizza chef at a place called the Inferno in Evanston.  When everyone else was making their pizza crust come up all the way to the top, Burt decided to make the top of the crust out of cheese, which would caramelize during the baking process.  It was an immediate hit.

Burt started two other restaurants that still use the caramelized cheese crust recipe today - Gulliver's Pizza and Pequod's.  Burt sold Pequod's in 1986 and opened Burt's a couple three years later, literally just around the corner from Pequod's, in an old pizza restaurant that used to be called Starback.  Burt's pizza isn't as deep as you'd find with other Chicago area deep dish pizza places.  And the caramelized cheese crust on the top is to die for.

The other key feature of Burt's pizza is the freshness of the ingredients.  Each day, he gets the freshest possible toppings and sauce for his pizza.  The sausage he uses is some of the best I've ever tasted.  I'm still trying to figure out where he gets his sausage.   

Burt's Place is literally in a residential neighborhood.  If you didn't know Burt's was there, you probably would have trouble finding it.  It's three blocks off of Dempster Ave. near the Metra train station in Morton Grove.  It's situated in an old building on a corner and it's not very big.  There's no parking lot at Burt's except for in the street. 

Six of us walked into Burt's Place around 8:15 on a Friday night not knowing if we'd have to wait a long time or not.  Burt's doesn't accept reservations - heck, he doesn't even have a published phone number.  And here's also a big tip - don't forget to bring cash.  Burt's doesn't take credit cards.

We stood in the small vestibule and Burt, a skinny man who has a long beard and balding head, came over and said, "Folks, I'm sorry but it's going to be about a 45 minute wait."  We agreed we were going to wait. 

I said, "Hey, Burt, is it possible to get some beer while we're waiting?"

He turned around and asked in an incredulous tone, "You want to stand while you're drinking?" 

We all kind of looked at one another and collectively said, "Yeah, sure!"

A couple of the ladies in our group were wondering why we couldn't sit down.  There was a number of booths open and there was a big table in the middle of the room where no one was seated.  I had to explain to them that it was just Burt and his wife running the place.  The oven can only handle so many pizzas and Burt makes 'em all by hand. 

Then Burt's wife, Sharon, who is the defacto waitress, brought out a couple deep dish pizzas and set them on the big table in the middle of the room.  Pat Heusmann said, "Oh, that's why we can't sit at that table.  They use that as a serving table."

The inside of Burt's is funky and cozy.  He has a number of antique radios throughout, as well as calling cards for a number of ham radio operators that Burt has, no doubt, conversed with in the past.

In addition to the radios, he has old phones, clocks and other antiques.  There's a propeller from a bi-plane hanging on the wall.  He also has this huge whisk hanging from the ceiling area.  I should have asked where he got that, but it was just fun to see it. 

Burt's also has a number of pictures of celebrities adorning part of the wall.  Here's a picture of Arden Weiner, the daughter of my friend, Steve Weiner, who first turned me on to Burt's four or so years ago.  Arden has starred in commercials and even had a bit part in a movie about three years ago.  I thought it was funny that her picture was up there as she was, by far, the least known of the people whose picture was on the wall. 

Burt's pizza was featured on the cover of Saveur magazine for the October issue this year, along with an accompanying article.  Since the magazine came out, Burt told me that he's had people come from as far as Pennsylvania to try his pizza.  For a guy who eschews publicity, Burt seemed to be reveling in the hoopla as he had reprints of the Saveur cover all over the restaurant, including a huge reprint on the wall next to the kitchen entry way.    

We finally sat down around 9:00 p.m. and Sharon was still trying to keep up with the three or four other parties in the place.  We knew we were still 45 minutes from eating so we ordered our pizzas up as soon as Sharon was ready for us.  Each of us got the 12" medium deep pan pizza.  We figured we could eat a couple pieces each and have the leftovers for breakfast. 

While we were waiting, we just kept having Sharon bring us pitcher after pitcher of beer.  The anticipation of having arguably the best pizza in Chicago was the thing that kept us going. 

Finally, Sharon brought out the first pizza, followed by the other two.  She set them on the big table in the middle of the restaurant and served us our pieces.  Cindy and I got a sausage, pepperoni and garlic pizza.  It was as good as I remembered it from before. 

I think the others were a little curious how the caramelized cheese crust would taste.  But from the exclamations of how good the pizza was, I could tell they were digging it. 

Here are the pizzas lined up on the table after Sharon had dug out a couple pieces for us.  Just as we all thought, we each had a couple pieces each before the night was over.  It was more than enough.  They look pretty damn yummy, don't they?

Cindy made the mistake of asking Burt how he made his sauce.  He gave her the same answer that he gave me when I asked him about his sausage the first time I came in: "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." 

Here are the satiated diners still working on the beer after the dinner.  I got a 100% satisfaction rating by all on the pizza from Burt's.  Check out some of the old antiques he has on the wall and shelves. 

Burt came out and sat at the booth behind us in front of the big poster of the Saveur magazine cover.  We kibitzed back and forth with Sharon and him, and I took this picture of the couple before we left.  Burt is a crusty old hippie and if you get past the gruffness of his exterior, you'll see a guy that loves his craft.  And Sharon - God love her - she's going to heaven just for putting up with Burt. 

With tip, the bill came to about $140 bucks.  We had the three pizzas and 6 pitchers of beer.  The beer added up fast at $11 bucks each.  But we didn't care, it was great fun and great food. 

Here are some insider tips - if you ever want to get a pizza at Burt's it's best to call ahead and order.  And here's Burt's phone number - 847-965-7997.  Burt or Sharon will tell you how long it will be and when would be the best time to come to eat it. 

Burt's is open for lunch Wednesday thru Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and open for dinner Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 4:30 to 9:00, and to 10:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.  He's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  And don't forget - bring cash.      

Burt and I are best friends now, once I told him that I'd been in with my buddy, Steve, a couple times before, then brought in my wife and friends this time.  In fact, I think the women even hugged Sharon before we left.

Burt's Place is hard to find, but well worth it the trouble.  I've had a lot of pizza from the Chicago area over the years, but Burt's is arguably the one of the best - if not THE best - pizzas in town.            

Front Street Brewery - Davenport

The Front Street Brewery on River Drive here in Davenport (see map) is a place that Cindy and I like to go to from time to time.  And, quite frankly, I'm surprised I haven't written about it before.  The food is good, the beer is good and it's one of those very underrated places in the Quad Cities. 

First and foremost, Front Street Brewery is a brewpub that makes some pretty good beers.  But they are also a surprisingly good little pub that has some good dinner specials.  On the weekends, they usually have a prime rib special.  But the rest of the items they have on the menu are pretty good.  I can't say it's outstanding, but it's good for brewpub food.

Front Street Brewery is within walking distance to many of the entertainment venues in downtown Davenport.  There's a large parking lot across the street from the brewpub that belongs to the Rhythm City Casino, but we've parked in it many times in the past when we've gone there.   

Steve Zuidema and Randy Junis opened The Front Street Brewery in October of 1992.  Zuidema was the brewmaster and Junis would run the restaurant's operations.  They sunk a lot of money into the gutting of an old warehouse and turning it into a brewpub. 

The following April of 93, the first big flood of that spring forced them to sandbag to keep the Mississippi waters out of the place.  They were successful in fighting that flood, but later in the summer the Great Flood of 93 hit.  The river was seven and a half feet over floodstage and it literally wiped out The Front Street Brewery.

But Zuidema and Junis cleaned things up and reopened by that fall.  There's been a handful of floods since then, but nothing compared to the one in 1993.  To see how close Front Street Brewery is to the Mississippi, click on the above right photo. (Photo courtesy of Google Earth)   

A few years ago, Zuidema's wife, Jennie Ash, came in to run the day-to-day operations.  Zuidema continues to be the brewmaster today.  And one of the great things about The Front Street Brewery is that it's a smoke free restaurant and has been for over a year. 

There's a nice little patio out back that's nice to sit in on warm summer nights.  But we usually opt to sit inside in the big wooden booths that line the west wall opposite the bar. 

Before going to see Sonny Landreth a while back at the Redstone Room in downtown Davenport, we met my buddy, Randy Adams, and his girlfriend, Laurie, at Front Street for dinner.  Like always, I got a glass of their Raging River Pale Ale, an English-style pale ale that is smooth and has the hoppiness of traditional pale ales.  The Raging River Pale Ale is named to commemorate the Great Flood of 93.  It's an above average beer, but not as good as other pale ales that I like.   

We ordered an appetizer of spinach/artichoke dip served with small pieces of toasted bread before ordering our dinner.  The bread and dip came out on a plate with the hot spinach/artichoke dip in the middle.  We've gotten it before and it's very good.  In fact, Cindy's addicted to the stuff.  It's too filling for me.   

For dinner, Randy and Laurie ended up sharing a plate of beef nachos; Cindy got the teriyaki grilled chicken sandwich and I got the shaved roast beef sandwich.  It was busy as it was a Friday night, but we got our food in about 20 minutes. 

Like the beer at Front Street, the food is above average.  It's not quite as eclectic as what you find across the river at the Blue Cat Brewpub, but for basic American food, it's good.  My sandwich had a lot of tender shaved roast beef in it, and it was just enough to keep me from being way too full.  Cindy pulled her bun away from the chicken breast and ate it with a knife and fork.  She's been trying to cut down on eating breads lately.  And Randy and Laurie said their beef nachos were "top notch, buddy". 

Front Street Brewery isn't all that expensive, but it isn't cheap food, either.  And it shouldn't be as the food is very good.  We've never had a bad meal in the place for as long as we've been going there.  And the beer is more than drinkable.  Like I say, The Front Street Brewery is one of those very underrated gems here in the Quad Cities.         

Agio - Indianapolis

While in Indianapolis recently to have a meeting with a potential new dealer, I took the dealer, one of his minor partners and two of his salespeople to a neat little restaurant that I've been to before called Agio.  Located along Massachusetts Avenue just north and east of downtown Indy in what is known to the locals as the "Mass Ave Art and Theater District" (see map), Agio is an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant that features a number of eclectic items to choose from their dinner menu.

Executive chef Joseph Heidenreich and general manager Jeff Wright are the co-owners of this trendy little restaurant that I first went to about 8 years ago.  When the dealer suggested Agio for lunch, I jumped at the chance to revisit the place. 

We made our way into the elegant art deco-type dining area and took a table along the wall.  It was a little cramped, but we made do. The lunch menu at Agio is significantly pared down from the dinner menu.  They did offer a couple of specials including their made-in-house cioppino, a seafood-based stew that was first made by Italian immigrant fisherman in San Francisco in the 1800's.

I went with the Italian beef sandwich - a baguette sandwich with tender beef, Fontina cheese, peppers and and onions, except I had them hold the onions.  The minority owner went with that, as well.  The owner of the dealership went with the Agio Caesar salad with chunks of grilled chicken.  One of the sales guys got a half order of the spaghetti marinara with baked egg plant parmesan. 

The other sales guy got the spaghetti marinara with grilled sausage and peppers.  I almost went with that, but then remembering this was a business lunch and the less messy the food, the better the chance that I wouldn't "smeg" on myself, I opted for the more pristine sandwich.

And even though this was a business lunch and we weren't drinking, I asked to look at the wine list just for my own enjoyment.  Actually, it's a pretty nice wine list for the size of the restaurant.  And nearly each of the wines listed are available by the glass as well as by the bottle. 

We were talking business up to the time we received our lunch.  But then the talk turned to food while we were eating.  The Italian beef sandwich was wonderful.  The Fontina cheese was a wonderful unexpected addition to the sandwich.  The beef was very tender and the baguette bread was soft and flaky. 

The one guy who had the spaghetti with grilled sausage and peppers in the marinara sauce proclaimed it to be wonderful.  It looked out of this world.  But, then again, I had to be prudent not to throw marinara sauce on the front of my blue dress shirt.

All in all, everyone liked their meal.  The owner had been there before and he was impressed that I knew the place.  The other guys had never been there before.  I offered to take them back to Agio for dinner and good wine some evening if we were able to consummate a deal. 

With drinks and tip, the meal at Agio came to just under $80 dollars.  I thought it was a good investment, because back at the store the dealer agreed to take on our Cambridge Audio line of electronics and agreed to a full line demonstration on our Focal loudspeakers.  That really excited me because I haven't had much business coming out of Indianapolis and I really like going to the city.  Now I'll be going a little more often than I have.

And I'm glad we went to Agio.  I think it helped seal the deal before it was actually done.   

(Update - Agio closed in the summer of 2011.  I looked into doing a company dinner at Agio during the CEDIA Expo in September, but found out that they had closed.  No word as to if they were going to reopen.)

Naples 45 - New York

After getting everything packed up into the shipping crates after the AES Convention held recently in New York City, it was around 9 p.m.  We were dirty, tired and hungry.  I suggested a place where we could get a pizza and drink a couple beers for our last meal in Manhattan.  Todd says, "How about we get three pizzas and drink a LOT of beer?"

I wondered why that I like that guy so much.

I suggested a couple places down in the Greenwich Village area that I was told have great pizza - Lombardi's and John's Pizza.  Simon balked at that saying that he wanted to go back to the hotel and clean up a bit and then eat.  "It's a 10 minute cab ride back to the hotel, then it's a 20 minute cab ride down to the Village.  Let's see if we can find something close to the hotel." 

We got back to the hotel about 9:15 and cleaned up a bit.  We met back up around 9:30 in the lobby and asked one of the bellmen at the hotel where we could go get a good New York style pizza and lots of beer.  He said, "Well, most of the places in Midtown close up early because of all the office workers here."

He talked to one of the other bellmen for a moment and the other guy said, "There's a place just down and across the street called Naples 45.  But I think they close at 10, so you'd better hustle."

We walked east of the hotel, across Lexington Ave. to the Metropolitan Life building, just north of Grand Central Station.  There was Naples 45.  We hoped it wasn't too late as we were walking in at 9:40 p.m.  The maitre d' greeted us and I asked if it was too late to get some pizzas and lots of beer.  He said, "Oh, no, no, no, sir!  Please, come on in and we'll get you fed and some beer in you."

Naples 45 is famous for their Neapolitan pizza baked in a wood fired oven.  In fact, cookbook author John Mariani, who also authors an on-line newsletter "The Virtual Gourmet", called the Naples 45 pizza as one of the 10 Best Pizzas in America.  Mariani also lists John's and Lombardi's as part of the 10 best in the country. 

There weren't a lot of people in the place, being that it was so late.  But the decor was very nice and comfortable.  It reminded me of an old world Italian restaurant.  It had a nice bar area and a couple people were seated there watching the Monday night football game.

It turns out that Naples 45 is part of the Patina Restaurant Group that has a number of restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles.  Many of the company's restaurants are at famous destinations and venues such as Grand Central Station, the Met Life Building (as this one was), Rockefeller Center, Macy's, Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. 

There was an interesting place just down the street from Naples 45 that was also owned by the Patina group called The Beer Bar.  However, it was closed when we walked past.  We said we needed to try that sometime when we all came back to New York.   

The waiter came over and gave us our menus.  We were pretty much set on getting pizza, but they didn't have an a la carte pizza menu where you could get a pizza and pick your toppings.  OK, we'd work around that.

Actually, pizza was just a small part of the restaurant's dinner menu.  They also had pasta dishes, along with steaks, chicken and seafood dishes.  They also had a pretty basic selection of wine to choose from, but that was OK with us.  We were drinking beer.  They even had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap at the bar.  We were fine and dandy with that.

I saw on the menu they had a pepperoni pizza that said something about sausage.  I was thinking that it came with Italian sausage so I ordered one of those.  Simon thought that sounded good and asked if we wanted to get a large.  The waiter said, "Well, that's about 18" in diameter.  If all three of you would want the same, you could do that.  Two guys, that's a lot of food."

Todd wanted a margherita pizza, so Simon and I ordered two of the pepperoni sausage in the 10" personal size.  Todd got his margherita and he wanted a salad along with his meal.  Simon and I decided to get two orders of the caprese salad for our last meal in New York City.  And we ordered more beer. 

We got our salads and finished them pretty quickly.  The waiter came back over and said, "Gentlemen, the bartender is leaving at 10 p.m., so if you want more beer you'll need to order it now."

I was kind of incredulous with his statement.  I said, "No one else knows how to pour beer around here?"

He said, "The wait staff is not allowed to pour alcoholic beverages."  I wondered if that was a state law, a city law or what.  He said, "No, it's a company rule.  But I've worked other places over the years where the wait staff was prohibited from being behind the bar at all times, as well."

We just shrugged our shoulders and I said, "OK, give us a pitcher of the Sierra Nevada."

The waiter said, "We don't do pitchers of beer, sir." 

I kinda laughed and said, "OK, well, then bring us six glasses of Sierra Nevada," even though we each had about a half of beer in front of us. 

Before our beers came back, another waiter brought us out our pizzas.  Well, I found out what they were talking about as their sausage was on the pepperoni.  To Neapolitan Italians, pepperoni IS a spicy sausage, but sliced into small discs and served on pizza.  Simon and I didn't care - we were hungry and dug in.

And the pizza was fabulous.  Light crust that had a nice crisp bite to it.  Good spiciness to the pepperoni.  The sauce was tangy and the mozzarella cheese was fresh and flavorful.  God, it was good.

It was exactly what all three of us were looking for.  Great pizza, great beer, and a nice relaxing atmosphere after a long show.   I don't think we said six words between the three of us for the first five minutes we were eating the pizzas other than, "Ummm..." or "Oh, man..."

We finally finished up about 10:20 and apologized to our waiter for keeping him so late.  He said, "Oh, don't worry a thing about it.  We have to get the place ready for the breakfast staff tomorrow, so we're always here after we close."

Todd said, "You guys serve breakfast here?"

The waiter turned and pulled out a breakfast menu and handed it to Todd.  It wasn't all that extensive, but had the basics for breakfast.  And the prices seemed very reasonable for New York City.  Todd said, "Wow, we could have come here for breakfast, too." 

Next time...

The bill with the pizzas, salads and beers came to $130 bucks before tip.  (At $6.00 a beer for a pint glass, it added up quickly.)  I plopped a $30 buck tip on there for the guy who, other than making us order beer before the bartender left, gave us perfect service all night.  And even though he said he had to stay, I could see that a couple of the other people in the restaurant were waiting for us to get out.

I would still like to try John's or Lombardi's at some point in time, but if Naples 45 is indicative of some of the best in the U.S., I'm mightily impressed.  It was nothing like I'd ever had before and I can't wait to get back to New York to try a great Neapolitan pizza again.   

Salerno's - Chicago

I was in Chicago recently for a training session at a new dealer on the near west side of Chicago.  For lunch, we went to a place called Salerno's on West Grand at Racine.  (see map)  My new dealer said, "Their pizza isn't too bad." 

That was an understatement.

Arnie Salerno came to the United States from Italy in the late 1950's.  In the mid 60's, he bought a bar in Berwyn, mainly because it had a place to live in the back.  At first he began to make sandwiches at lunch.  Then he decided to make pizzas from an old family recipe back in his native country.  The pizzas were a hit.  Salerno's Pizza on Grove is still there today. (see map)

Arnie's brothers opened their own Salerno's pizza joints in different parts of the city under a franchise agreement with Arnie.  Joe Salerno opened the one on West Grand in the late 60's and it's been there ever since.

I was told there are something like eight Salerno's around the Chicago area.  Most are franchise's, but the ones that are the best are the Chicago location, the Berwyn location and the Salerno's Pizzeria in Mount Prospect (see map) that's co-owned by Arnie Salerno and Frank Rossini. 

There were six of us who went to Salerno's for lunch that one day.  Even though Salerno's has a wide and varied menu including a lot of Italian specialties, a couple of the sales guys said the pizza is the best.  The sales manager for the dealer told me, "Yeah, even though I've never gotten a bad meal here, the pizza is the best."

We went with two Extra Large pizzas - 16" in size.  On one we took the old standby of sausage, pepperoni and mushroom.  The other we got just pepperoni.  Salerno's has a thick crust pizza (not Chicago deep-dish style, but a thicker crust), and a thin crust.  We got thin crust for both. 

When the pizzas came out a little less than 20 minutes later, I immediately began to salivate.  I wasn't all that hungry coming into the meal as I had breakfast earlier that day not knowing if I'd have time for lunch.  But when they set the pizzas down on the table on a double-decked pizza holder, there was no doubt I was going to be eating a lot of pizza.

First of all, Salerno's pizza crust is light and chewy.  It's not paper thin like you'd find in St. Louis-style pizza, but very flavorful.  And the toppings were absolutely wonderful.  The sausage on the pizza were the big chunks with great flavor and freshness.  The pepperoni was absolutely fresh and authentic, not the processed pepperoni you buy at the store for homemade pizzas.  And the mushroom slices were big and flavorful.  The combination of the cheese and sauce, and mixed with the meats on the pizza, it was damn good.

Salerno's cuts their pizzas into little squares - the way I like it.  And the "honey cuts" in the center of the pizza (without any edging crust) were the best pieces.  Oh, man.  My stomach is doing jumping jacks just thinking about it. 

I really liked the Salerno's pizza, eating a lot more pieces than I planned on.  I'm sure I embarrassed myself in front of these guys as I just couldn't quit eating the pizza, it was so damn good.  And I'm definitely going to try the original Salerno's out in Berwyn sometime.  If the original is even better than the one on West Grand, it's going to be the best pizza I've ever had because this one was absolutely fabulous. 

(Update - After many subsequent trips to Salerno's on Grand, it continues to be my gold standard for thin crust pizza.  It is simply the best pizza I've ever had - anywhere.  The other Salerno's aren't as good and you have to make sure you order the thin crust and not the original.  The original is too thick and chewy for me.  My wife thinks it's the cheese that makes Salerno's pizza the best.  I like the sauce and the sausage.  I have turned a number of people on to Salerno's and many of them agree that Salerno's on Grand is tough to beat.)

The Roosevelt Hotel - New York City

As I've mentioned in some of my previous entries of my trip to New York, we stayed at the stately Roosevelt Hotel in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.  Located on 45th St. at Madison Ave. (Fourth Ave. - see map), the Roosevelt has just over 1000 rooms with 52 suites and a 3200 sq. ft. Presidential Suite.  Built in 1924, The Roosevelt has long been one of the upscale hotels in New York City. 

The Roosevelt is named after the 26th President of the United States, Teddy Roosevelt, a New York City native who died five years prior to the hotel opening.  In 1995, The Roosevelt closed to undergo a complete upgrade and restoration.  It reopened two years later and today it continues to hold onto its title as the "Grand Dame of Madison Avenue." 

The hotel lobby is one of most magnificent features of the hotel.  After entering on the street level, you walk up a flight of stairs and it takes you to the expansive and elegant lobby.  It's what every old time hotel lobby should be like - ornate and majestic.   

The rooms are what I would call elegant with a historical theme.  They aren't all that large, but comfortable enough.  The bathroom was small and didn't have a lot of shelf space.  Trying to accommodate toiletries for two people was a pain in the butt.

Given the location of The Roosevelt Hotel, we found a lot of both business travelers and tourists staying at the hotel the week we were there.  We heard a lot of foreign dialects while riding on the elevators or going through the lobby.  And considering it was the long Columbus Day weekend while we were there, there seemed to be a lot of families staying at The Roosevelt.

As I said in an earlier post here, we didn't eat any meals at the hotel's restaurant, The Roosevelt Grill.  The prices on the dinner menu were sky-high, and there wasn't much to choose from.  Plus given the fact that we were in one of the gastronomical capitals of the world, we weren't going to be wasting our time on hotel food. 

And as I said before, the prices on the breakfast menu were even more outrageous.  For two eggs with potatoes, bacon or sausage and toast it was $24.95!  I'm not shitting you!  Click on the breakfast menu link above and take a look!  You can get the same thing on weekdays at Harlan's here in Davenport for $2.99!

The Madison Lounge, however, was a pretty nifty place to have a drink.  But, oh my God, was it also expensive.  It was $8.25 for a pint of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale!  Simon and I had a beer one night there after dinner.  After the bartender told me it would be $16.50 for the two beers, I said to Simon, "Jesus, I didn't want a case of beer, I only wanted a couple!" 

The Madison Lounge had this long walnut bar and it was very comfortable.  They also had a limited dinner menu including a $16.95 cheeseburger.  Once again, no, I'm not kidding.

But, still for being in the heart of Manhattan, and given that The Roosevelt is a very nice hotel, it wasn't that bad of a deal for $229 a night.  At least for New York hotel prices, it wasn't bad.  And they treated us very well.  When we were getting ready to go to the airport on the morning we were leaving, they got us one of their hotel courtesy cars to take us to LaGuardia.  It was $42 including tip, but at least it was in a nice limo and not a cab. 

There's lots of places to stay in Manhattan, but I was satisfied with The Roosevelt Hotel.  It was elegant and had an old time charm to it.  And it's right in the middle of Midtown Manhattan, within walking distance to many of the sights of the city.  I'd take a look at staying there again if I could get a good rate compared to other hotels in the area.         

Amada's Cafe - Addison, IL

You ever drive by a place time after time and think, "I wonder how the food is in there?"  There's a small Mexican/Cuban place on the Lake Ave. restaurant corridor in suburban Addison, IL called Amada's Cafe (see map) that I've passed dozens of times wondering just that.  I finally stopped in for a meal on evening during a recent trip to Chicago.

Now, there's a number of what appears to be these little authentic Mexican restaurants up and down Lake Street in Addison.  There's a large Mexican population in the area.  Amada's is one of those little places that just looks interesting.  I thought, "Well, I may as well give it a shot.  I've always wanted to."

It was around 8 p.m. when I got into Amada's.  It was typical of most Mexican restaurants I've been to - medium lighting with bright colors.  I was seated at a booth toward the back of the restaurant and given a menu.  My waiter came out with homemade corn chips and homemade salsa.  I ordered up a Sol beer while looking at the menu.

Most of the food on the menu was the typical Mexican fare.  But they also had a page of Cuban food, as well.  I was tempted to try the Cuban food, but I reminded myself the only good Cuban food I've ever had was in Miami.  And there's nothing better than Cuban food when it's authentic. 

I decided to give a couple items a try.  I ordered the beef enchilada - machaca-style shredded beef in a soft flour shell covered with a red sauce.  And I wanted to try one of their pork tacos with the soft corn shell.

I got the pork taco before the enchiladas.  The chunks of pork were tender, but not big on flavor.  Still, it was good to eat.

The enchiladas followed soon thereafter and the shredded beef was a dark brownish-red in color.  I thought, "This looks interesting."

But from the first bite, it went downhill from that.  First of all, the meat was very salty.  I usually don't salt any of my foods, and if I do it's sea salt.  But this was an abnormal (to me) amount of salt in the meat.  So much that I didn't finish the second enchilada. 

I was disappointed in my food at Amada's Cafe.  I'd like to go back and try some of the Cuban food sometime, but I'm afraid that I'd be just as disappointed in that as I was their Mexican food.   

Ya Gotta Have (a) Heart

Opening up the book to my personal life a little bit more today, I went in for an angiogram earlier this week.  I suppose it's one of those rites of passage once someone hits 50 - prostate exam, colonoscopy, stress test, angiogram, etc., that sort of thing.

Now, God knows - and you do, too, if you read this blog with any regularity - that I eat foods that aren't good for me, that I over-indulge in adult beverages, and that I'm a tad overweight.  Plus my father had a couple three heart attacks - the last one killed him a little over four years ago.  So there is history in our family.  Given that profile, if there was ever a person who was on the freeway to a heart attack, it's probably me.

Before I turned 50, I thought, "Well, I'm going to have to do an amazing turn in my personal habits when I hit the milestone."  But for some reason, nearly two years later, I'm still doing what I've been doing.  I guess I haven't had the scare yet.

Until now.  Here's the story:

First of all, I slipped on our front steps about nine years ago and thought I broke my leg.  Turned out that I tore a quadricep muscle in left leg.  The orthopedic doctor who I saw the next day was looking at my x-rays and he asked me, "Has your left hip ever hurt you before?"

I told him that when I was in shape and used to play a lot of basketball years before, it used to hurt a lot after I'd get done playing.  He pointed to my hip joint in the x-ray and said, "You've got bone spurs in your hip.  You'll have a hip replacement by the time you're 50."

Well, I'm past 50 and still no hip replacement.  But while in New York recently, the hip began to hurt me to the point that I knew a hip replacement was around the corner. 

I went to see my regular doctor to tell him that I needed to get stuff set up for the hip replacement and what did I need to do.  The first thing he said was, "You've never done a stress test, have you?"  No, I sure haven't.  So, he set up an appointment for me to go to Genesis Hospital here in Davenport for a stress test.

Now, there's two different types of stress tests - the one where you walk on the treadmill, or one that allows them to administer a drug called Dobutamine that radically stimulates the heart to the same level as what you'd be doing on the treadmill.  My doctor thought with my hip condition that going with Dobutamine would be a better way to go. 

I went in and did the tests.  Basically, you do a resting test after they shoot you up with Technetium, a radioactive liquid that allows for a camera to see the flow of blood to and from your heart.  After about two hours, they do the stress test, injecting you with the Dobutamine and monitoring your heart, breathing and blood pressure.  Then you go back in about an hour later to get pictures taken of your heart again and that's it.  They told me that if anything bad was taking place, they'd be in touch with me within the next couple days.

Well, nearly three weeks went by before I got a call from my doctor's office.  The nurse told me the stress test showed "a couple of wierd things". 

I said, "Wierd things, like what?  Is it life threatening?" 

The nurse wouldn't give me the full details (they never do), but she did say that it wasn't life threatening.  My doctor wanted me to go in and talk to a heart specialist at Genesis.  They set up the appointment for me the following week.

I went in to meet with Dr. Witzik, one of the heart guys at Genesis.  He sat down and said, "So, what brings you in today?"

I looked at him incredulously and I said, "Well, you tell me!"  He had no idea why I was there.  Frankly, I began to wonder why, myself. 

He went through my file, did a quick exam on me, asked me some basic questions about whether I'd had these or those symptoms, looked at the file again and said, "Well, from this quick check everything seems to be flowing normally.  But it appears from the stress test that there may be some blockage in one or more of your arteries.  I want to do an angiogram."

As he was telling me of the angiogram procedure he'd do on me - putting a hole in an artery in my groin area, running a microscopic camera up the artery to check the arteries and the heart for blockage or damage.  Well, I almost fainted.  I mean, I can't even watch them pull blood from me for blood tests.  Then he said that if there's more than 70% blockage of an artery, he'd have to do an angioplasty and then place a stent in the artery. 

Then he started going over the risks.  Oh, shit.  I about passed out again.  Possible heart attack, possible stroke.  It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.  I was thinking, "OK, man.  Here's the wake-up call at 50 that I knew I was going to get."

But he had to do that.  I believe the technical term they use in the medical field is called "covering your ass."

They set up the angiogram for earlier this week at Genesis.  The doctor said that if no angioplasty and stent were needed, I could go home the same day.  But if a stent had to be inserted, I had to stay the night.  Oh boy...

In the meantime, I didn't really tell a lot of people about this.  I didn't want people to be worried or make a fuss.  My family, except for Cindy, didn't even know about this.  I had to tell my boss because I was going to have to take a day or two off from work.  But other than a couple three other people I talked to about it, I didn't want anyone to know.

One person I did contact was my buddy, Dave Heusmann, who suffered a heart attack earlier this year and who had to go through the angioplasty procedure because one of his arteries was 90% blocked.  Before his heart attack, Dave is a picture of health.  He lost a bunch of weight a couple years ago, and if you'd see him you'd think he was the last candidate for a heart attack. 

He told me that, really, the toughest thing about the angioplasty/stent thing was having to lie completely still for 4 hours after the stent was put in place.  Dave's the kind of guy who can't sit still for 10 minutes, let alone lie there for 4 hours.  Me?  I'm a slug.  I can lie perfectly still - as long as I'm comfortable - for 24 hours. 

But Dave told me that after the procedure he felt 100% better, and he's felt great ever since.  And his doctor has him on no restrictions - diet, exercise or otherwise. 

I checked into the hospital at 9 a.m. Cindy met me at the hospital and stayed with me the whole time.  Bless her soul.  She knew I was worried about the procedure.  I hadn't been sleeping well coming up to the day.  I wasn't worried about the procedure as much as what I was afraid they'd find.  I was worried they'd find a cheeseburger in one artery, a chunk of pork in another one, and a stick of butter in another.

They took me to my own room and got me in the hospital gown - the first time I've ever worn a hospital gown.  Hell, it was the first time I'd ever been in a hospital bed since I had my tonsils out when I was three. 

And then it was...  Wait.  And wait.  And wait.

I had three different people come in and explain the procedure to me.  It was pretty much the same as what the doctor explained to me the week before.  Except this time I was ready for it and didn't feel faint. 

Well, it turned out that Dr. Witzik had an emergency that he had to do first thing.  Then the first person he did an angioplasty/stent on in the morning had to go back in because something wasn't right with his electrocardiogram.  By the time they came to get me, it was 2 p.m.  Cindy was more antsy than I was.  She was hungry and bored and wanted to go home and change clothes.

The surgical nurse came and got me and we walked down to the Cath lab where they prepped me.  They were asking me if I'd ever had an angiogram before and I said I hadn't.  They began to joke, "Oh, a virgin, huh?"

I said, "Do you get people that come in for more than one angiogram?"

They all began to laugh and one of the nurses said, "We have people that come in here so often we know the names of their pets and grandchildren." 

One of the nurses said, "OK, Will, do you understand the procedure?  Has anyone talked to you about what we're going to do?

I said, "I've heard about the procedure so many times from so many different people that I could probably do it myself." 

Then one of the nurses put this wonderful drug in my IV that literally knocked me out, but it was like I was conscious the whole time.  Dr. Witzik came in and said, "Ready for this, Will?"

I said, "Yeah, let's do it." 

Well, I don't remember anything for the next 30 minutes other than, "OK, Will, that's it." 

I sort of snapped out of it and said, "That's it?  Did you put a stent in me?"

He said, "Nope, there was very minimal blockage and you've got a strong heart." 

They wheeled me back into the room and Cindy was sitting in there waiting for me.  I was still a little loopy when they transferred me to my bed, but I was fine. 

The doctor came in and sat down and talked to us about the procedure.  He said there was a little plaque in places, but nothing bad or to be worried about.  He said, "I've seen a lot worse in guys younger than you and in much better shape." 

He said that everything turned out great.  He said stress tests are correct about 85% of the time, but mine did show some problems and he's an advocate of "better safe than sorry".  But he said that my heart was very strong, everything was pumping as it should and I had great blood flow through my body. 

I asked him if he could give me a percentage of blockage in my arteries and he said, "Oh, gosh, it was so minimal that I can't even put a percentage on it.  Everything was fine."

Wow!  Even with all the crap I eat, I must be doing something right.  And I'm glad Cindy was sitting there because if she didn't hear it directly from the doctor, she would have thought I was lying to her.  Even she was amazed! 

And, of course, before I could be cut loose to go home, I had to have the nutritionist come in and talk to me about my diet and such.  Now, this was a chubby nutritionist.  I don't know if I should trust an overweight nutritionist.  I suppose it's one of those, "Do as I say, and not as I do" scenarios.

And, unfortunately, Cindy was sitting there and taking in every word and admonishing me - along with the nutritionist - about the hazards of cheeseburgers, pizza, hot dogs and beer.  Fun haters. 

The nurse came in and checked my incision where they did the angiogram, pulled my IV from my hand and said, "You can get dressed.  We'll send a guy with a wheelchair to take you downstairs here in a moment."

Cindy went to get the car and I was talking with the guy who was wheeling me down.  He was an older guy and he asked me what I was in for, so I told him.   He said, "Angiogram, huh?  How did you do?"

I told him I passed with flying colors.  He said, "Well, I had a massive heart attack about five years ago and I had to retire from my job as a freight dock supervisor.  I have 12 stents in me."

I said, "12?!  Geez, buddy, I ought to be pushing YOU around!" 

He said he was bored lying around the house and he decided to come to work at Genesis on a part-time basis to be a transport person.  He said, "The way I look at it, if I have a heart attack pushing someone in a wheel chair at a hospital, it's probably the best place to have a heart attack."  I liked his attitude.

I have to take it easy for a couple days, no heavy lifting, monitoring my incision and such.  But other than it feels like I pulled a groin muscle, I'm fine.  And relieved. 

I've had several physicals and tests with my regular doctor and each time I've come out of them with no problems.  As he's told me many times in the past, "For the shape you're in, you're in great shape."

So, I'm sort of working up to the hip surgery with the angiogram, and now the next big thing is the colonoscopy.  That ought to fun.  Then I'll probably have to do the hip surgery in the spring.  Stay tuned...      

Internet Radio

I've found myself getting more and more into Internet Radio over the past few months.  With the proposed merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio about to become a reality, one of the bigger arguments proponents of the merger have been making is that Internet Radio is making a strong headway into the mainstream listening habits of people at work and at home. 

And with a new DHTML code coming that was created for Windows Mobile Internet Explorer, people will be able to enjoy Internet Radio through their mobile phones via Internet Explorer.  And there's a good possibility that Internet Radio will be available in cars sometime down the road. For me, I'm just happy to hook my computer up to my upstairs sound system and have Internet Radio available throughout the house. 

Internet Radio had a set back a couple three years ago when the FCC prohibited radio stations from streaming their content on line as long as they played commercials on the stream.  However, many stations were able to get around that by either blacking out commercials or running public domain musical content during the commercials. 

Now, a number of stations have begun broadcasting in HD Radio, a digital signal format that promises more clear reception and better sound. Over 1200 stations are broadcasting in a digital format with another 500 or so FM stations broadcasting multi-cast channels - offering another up to three more stations under that one stations umbrella.

OK, got all that?  We're going to have a test on this someday.

With that all said, I wanted to tell you about a station out of New York City that I've found myself listening to a lot on my computer since I got back from the AES Convention a couple months ago - WAXQ - Q104.3. 

Q104.3 is a classic rock station that I fell in love with when I was out in New York.  During set up for the AES Convention, one of the union guys had a boom box playing right next to our booth.  The songs and artists they played were absolutely incredible.  It was one great 70's and 80's hit after another, played by artists that had played at one time or another at Madison Square Garden.  I asked the guy what he was listening to and he said, "I don't know.  I think it's Q104."  Sure enough, that's what it was.

I checked the web site when I got back home and found that they had streaming capabilities.  So I clicked on the "Listen Now" on the top banner of the web page and about 30 seconds later I was listening to great classic rock from a lot of various artists.  I was amazed as to the songs they were playing.  It was almost mesmerizing as I was sitting there and listening just like I was in New York. 

A few days later I was going through the web site and saw a click on button for "Deep Classics" under the web sites main banner.  I clicked on that and found that it was Q104.3's HD site - a nearly commercial free channel that played even MORE obscure classic album songs from great artists in the 60's, 70's and 80's. 

After clicking on the "Listen Now - WAXQ - Q104 New York Deep Classics", I was listening to an old Allman Brothers song, followed by an early 80's Kinks song, followed by something off of Pink Floyd's "Animals" album.  Oh, man.  This was heaven to me.

And while you're on the Q104.3 HD web site, they have a listing of a number of other HD radio stations around the U.S. that stream their programming via the Internet.  Anything you want - country, oldies, soft rock, hip hop, etc. - they've got it listed and it's all just a click away.

Right now, I'm listening to Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz".  I just reduce the window the radio is playing in and I'm able to use my computer just like I've got the radio playing in the background.  Considering that most of the local radio stations around the Quad Cities are being programmed by people who are no where close to this area, it's very refreshing to listen to a radio station that doesn't follow a set play list that someone in Texas or Florida says that station should play. 

The merger of XM and Sirius will allow me to get programming in my car that I normally wouldn't get.  But when Internet Radio is available in cars, I'll deep-six the satellite radio.  And, quite honestly, Mobile Internet Radio may come much sooner than later.

Oh my God!  They're now playing Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida"!  And it's the long version!  Where's my bong and bell bottom jeans?    

La Vineria - New York

My first meal in New York came moments after we checked into our hotel.  My colleague, Todd, lives in Montreal, but has New York City for his territory.  Along with our colleague, Simon, we took a quick walk up Fifth Avenue and ended up walking down 55th St. and into a little Italian restaurant called La Vineria. (see map)

Chef Andrea Giacomoni is the owner of this little quaint place in the middle of Midtown Manhattan.  It's small and cozy.  It would be a romantic place for dinner and it's a great place for lunch. 

La Vineria (which means "The Vineyard" in Italian) has a number of wine bottles lining the walls of the place.  The kitchen is open in the back and you can look in and see the chef and sous chefs preparing the meal.  La Vineria features a brick oven for their signature pizzas and a number of their main entrees. 

The menu for lunch was similar to the one they have for dinner.  Many of the menu items are based on rural Italian dishes including fish, poultry, and wild game.  The special for that day was a venison roast cut into cubes and served over potatoes and carrots, and topped with a venison sauce that was really just gravy. 

We took a few minutes to look things over, but Simon declared that he had to have a caprese salad with fresh basil, tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella.  I said, "I'd help you eat some of that."

So we got two orders for the three of us.  We could have easily gotten a third one, it was so good.

For lunch, Todd ordered the venison special, Simon ordered the Pappardelle with duck ragout and seasoned mushrooms, and I got the Pizzelle pasta with spicy Italian sausage and broccoli.  We also got a basket of assorted homemade breads for us to snack on while our food was being prepared.

When our lunch was brought out about 20 minutes later, we were ready to eat.  My Pizzelle and Italian sausage was wonderful.  The Pizzelle were small, flat pasta shells, not like the Italian cookies most people think of when they think of Pizzelles.  And the Italian sausage had a wonderful spiciness to the meat.  Even with the broccoli in a red sauce, it worked. 

Todd offered me a bite of his venison.  I'm not big on game food, but I took a bite of one of the venison chunks.  The brown sauce that went with it was very good - it had kind of a peppery taste to it.  And the venison was moist and tender, but I still didn't care for the overall taste of the meat - even with the sauce.

Pappardelle pasta with the duck ragout and mushrooms was given a "thumbs up" by Simon.  After he finished, he said, "That was great, but I really think I could have more of that buffalo mozzarella."

With three glasses of wine and lunch, the bill came to just over $70 bucks.  My first experience of eating in New York was just what I expected - good and expensive.  Todd said, "There's a lot better restaurants in this town, but I like this place.  It's got a great 'homey' feel, the food is good and the service is great."  But like Todd said, there's hundreds of these little Italian restaurants all throughout New York.  The restaurant competition is heavy.  If a restaurant wasn't good, it wouldn't be in business very long.

Well, La Vineria certainly has been here awhile and it isn't likely it will be closed six months down the line...

(Update October 2011 - Well, La Vineria probably wasn't closed six months down the line, but on my recent visit to New York I was told by my colleague, Todd, that his favorite little Italian place was, indeed, closed.  Just like a number of restaurants of its type, La Vineria succumbed to the economic downturn.  Too bad.  It was a cool place.)

Winter's Here!

It's December and right on schedule the first major winter storm of the season is bearing down on the Midwest.  We're getting snow now, but freezing rain is expected later today before the temperatures warm up and the precipitation turns to all rain.  Weird weather, to say the least.

I've often said that Iowa is a great place to live for nine months out of the year.  But from December 1 to February 28 - the Meteorological winter - it's not too nice.  As much as I hate the snow and ice and the cold weather, I like the other months enough that I don't want to move.  I'll grudgingly put up with the crappy weather for the next 13 weeks just to continue to live in my own little slice of heaven.

I've been trying to hang on to fall just a little bit longer this year for some reason.  But I'm afraid we're in for a long winter that will probably stretch well into March before we see nice weather again. 

Yuck...

Well, I guess I'll just make a fire in the fireplace, start a big ol' pot of my Vegetable Beef Soup and hunker down inside all day today.