Road Tips

Stinky's Fish Camp - Santa Rosa Beach, FL

On our first night along Florida's Emerald Coast, I told my cousin and his wife that my wife and I really wanted fresh caught seafood for dinner.  They contemplated a number of places that proliferate the area, but decided that we needed to go to a place with a not too tantalizing name - Stinky's Fish Camp.  They said it was one of the most popular seafood restaurants in the area.  That sounded perfect for us.   

Jim Richard is a native of Lafayette, LA in the heart of Cajun country.  Richard came from a family of chefs and food purveyors - his family exported turtle meat, frog legs and rabbit back to their ancestral home in France.  Richard went to the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and ended up becoming the sous chef at the famous Commander's Palace in New Orleans.  

Along the way he met a young Mississippi born and raised chef, Brannon Janca, who learned the art of southern seafood cooking from his grandparents.  Janca went off to college, but he eventually dropped out to enter a culinary school in New Orleans.  Janca had previous experience at the famous Gautreau's Restaurant in New Orleans before he moved to Northwest Florida in 2001 to work at the Lake Place, a restaurant that Richard and he bought in Santa Rosa Beach.  

A devastating fire in 2006 wiped out the Lake Place and Richard moved his talents for a short time over to the Harbor Grille in Destin.  Along with chef Todd Meisner - also a graduate of the C.I.A. in Hyde Park - Richard and Janca opened Stinky's Fish Camp in 2007 in a small building that was next to the original Lake Place.  The trio formed the Word of Mouth Restaurant Group and started Blue Mountain Catering.  In 2009, they rebuilt the original Lake Place, but by that time the Stinky's Fish Camp name had stuck.  The called the new restaurant Stinky's Fish Camp and the old place Stinky's Bait Shack.  

Richard said in a magazine article that he never intended for the name Stinky's to stick.  During his days at the Commander's Palace in New Orleans, the kitchen was hectic, cooks came and went quickly, and there were times he didn't even know the names of people that he was working with.  Each chef was nicknamed "Stink", which, according to Richard, was part fun, part meanness, but sort of a camaraderie term of endearment.  When they opened the casual restaurant in the small building next to the old Lake Place property, Stinky's was supposed to be a temporary name until the new place was built.  Stinky's Fish Camp had taken off and they just went with it.  

The other part of the story is that Richard was going through some of his grandfather's things years after opening Stinky's Fish Camp and he found a menu for a restaurant by the name of "Skunk" where his grandfather was the chef.  It featured spicy Cajun food in the front and illegal gambling in the back.  Richard took this to be a message from his long-passed grandfather that he was on the right track.  

Famed chef and television star Emeril Lagasse has a home along the Emerald Coast and he hosted a program on the Cooking Channel called Emeril's Florida.  Stinky's Fish Camp has been featured on one of the show's episodes.  Here's a picture of Brannon Janca, Emeril Lagasse, Jim Richard and Todd Meisner.  (Photo courtesy 30A Eats.) 

Richard recently opened a new restaurant in New Orleans - Trenasse, a Cajun term for a waterway that leads to a fishing hole.  Trenasse is more upscale than Stinky's and features fresh Gulf seafood and traditional Cajun dishes including rabbit.  But some things that he's perfected at Stinky's - including the Stinky's Stew that is a combination of gumbo and cioppino - are on the menu at Trenasse.

Stinky's Fish House is located on the scenic 30A Highway that not only is the main drag through the beach towns along the Emerald Coast, but it also signifies a frame of mind - laid back, relaxing, no worries.  (See map)  After walking along the beach for a bit, my wife, my cousin John, and his wife Bonnie jumped in our car to head down 30A toward Stinky's.  However, the torrential rains that bore down on the Florida panhandle a couple three weeks prior had washed out a portion of the road along 30A.  We had to double back and take a detour up to U.S. Highway 98, then go back toward the beach from the western terminus of 30A.  It was a Sunday night and we didn't expect a lot of people at Stinky's, but the place was packed.  They offer free valet parking at the restaurant and we took advantage of that.  

We walked in the front door of Stinky's Fish Camp and were greeted by a couple young ladies at the hostess stand.  They told us it would be a 45 minute wait for a table.  We went to the bar and my cousin had a gift card for Stinky's and he used it for drinks at the bar.  I was surprised - actually more delighted - to see that they had Kona beers on tap at Stinky's bar.  But not the Kona Big Wave Golden Ale that is my beer of choice these days.  However, I did see that they had Sweetwater 420, a very good pale ale that I fell in love with a few years back.  My cousin was trying to get me to try a beer from the Grayton Beer Company, a small locally owned brewery just down 30A.  He said, "Sweetwater is out of Atlanta.  You can get that anywhere!"  

I said, "Well, I can't get it in Iowa, John."  He understood after that.  

On the wall near the bar were a couple posters for The Steenos, a husband and wife musical duo who are friends of ours that my wife and I met through my cousin when he lived in Milwaukee years ago.  Bob and Lisa Steeno retired about 10 years ago and moved back down to the Emerald Coast as Bob was in the stationed in the area in the late 70's. Accomplished musicians, Bob and Lisa regularly play a number of places around the Emerald Coast and have a standing engagement for Sunday brunch at Stinky's Fish Camp.  (Bob has a once a week solo gig at the smaller and more casual Stinky's Bait Shack next door.)  It was sort of funny and neat to see our friends on posters at Stinky's.  

We hung around outside for a bit before Bonnie made the suggestion to go over and hang out at Stinky's Bait Shack while we waited.  We took our drinks and walked across the parking lot and into the Bait Shack.  The decor was funky, but fresh.  A small area in the corner is where musicians - including Bob Steeno - would set up and play.  There was a bar and a few table set up in the area as you come in.  Toward the back and to the right, a large gift shop was in a spot that used to be a dining room of the original Stinky's Fish Camp before it moved next door.  

We were there for about a half-hour and I was ready for another beer.  I looked in their glass encased beer refrigerator and saw that they had the Kona Big Wave Golden Ale beers in bottles.  I was in heaven.  I immediately fell in love with Stinky's Bait Shack.  

Each year, Stinky's sponsors a pompano fishing contest.  Actually, I didn't know that there was a fish called a pompano, but I had heard of Pompano Beach situated north of Miami.  I was looking at the 2014 tournament results on a board behind the bar in the Bait Shop and it turned out that our friend Bob Steeno got second place and $400 bucks.  "Bobby won't say for sure, but he thinks the guy who won it may have cheated," my cousin told me.  "The guy who won it is a commercial fisherman and he came in a day or two before the end of the tournament (it runs April 1 thru May 15) with a bigger fish than Bob."  First place is $2500 bucks.  

Our buzzer lit up not long after and we were escorted into the dining room to a four-seat hardwood table.  We were given menus and not long after our server for the evening, Billy, came over to greet us.  I was ready for another beer and while I noticed that they had the Kona Longboard Lager and the Koko Brown on tap, I wondered if they had the Big Wave Golden Ale in a bottle like they did over at the Bait Shop.  Unfortunately they didn't and this time my cousin talked me into trying the Grayton Original.  It was a good beer, but not one that knocked my socks off.  

Billy rattled off a couple of their specials that evening.  The first was an appetizer plate of handcrafted charcuterie that featured housemade smoked andouille sausage, morcilla sausage (a Spanish-style blood sausage), and a country pâté jam made with rabbit and served with Creole mustard.  The dinner specials were a grilled Gulf cobia fish with crawfish maque-choux (mock SHOO - a traditional Cajun side with corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and sometimes with garlic and celery) and pepper jack cheese grits.  (Lots of places had cheese with grits along the Emerald Coast.  I like my grits plain with a little bitter mixed in.)  

The other dinner special that evening was a traditional surf and turf that featured tempera lobster meat with a 12 ounce ribeye steak. It came with roasted red and fingerling potatoes, roasted locally grown squash and served with a bearnaise and portobello demi glace.  Now, THAT sounded damned good.  As did a number of other things on the menu including the Oysters ALL WAYS - 10 different ways to prepare oysters including rare, steamed, with smoked bacon, with garlic, and gratin.  Oysters and shrimp sounded damned good to me. 

When Billy came back to take our order, Cindy got one of the catches of the day, the grilled red grouper; Bonnie got the grilled shrimp and angel hair pasta entree; John got the other catch of the day - grilled pompano.  The catch of the day entrees came with stir-fry veggies and Brabant potatoes - also a traditional Cajun side dish that features cubed potatoes - slightly boiled - then finished in a fry pan with butter, oil, onions, parsley, Worcestershire sauce and garlic.    

Me - I ordered a dozen oysters on a half shell and the peel-and-eat shrimp appetizers.  I also got a cup of their gumbo, too.  I wanted to get close to a crustacean and bottom-feeder overload as I could that evening.  

The gumbo came out first and it was a generous size for a bowl.  I like a good gumbo and this was some of the best I'd ever had.  It had a smoky flavor, but not overpowering.  Thick cuts of seafood, chicken and andouille sausage were mixed in.  It was simply outstanding.  

  The oysters were big and meaty, but they weren't from the oyster beds at nearby Apalachicola that are so famous.  Billy told us that they were Louisiana oysters. Years of drought in the Southeast coupled with water diversion upstream on the Apalachicola River has choked out the brackish water in which oysters thrive in Apalachicola Bay.  But it was no matter to me.  The oysters were thick and flavorful.  

Everyone's meal came out including my peel-and-eat shrimp.  There were just a half-dozen in the plate.  I immediately said to Billy, "Bring me another one of these right away."  The shrimp were good sized and boiled precisely.  They were fresh and just wonderful.  

 
Cindy's grilled red grouper sat on top of the stir-fry vegetables and the Brabant potatoes.  The fish was light and flaky and had a seasoning on the outer side of it.  Cindy declared her fish to be "wonderful".  She traded me a bite of her fish for one of my peel-and-eat shrimp and it was very good. 

John's grilled pompano was similar to Cindy's in appearance.  I had never had either red grouper or pompano before, but they seemed to be two popular Gulf coast fish.  Looking back, I wish I would have tried the pompano just once.  

 
Bonnie's grilled shrimp and angel hair pasta was topped with a toasted garlic pesto sauce and shaved pecorino cheese.  A small grilled fish filet came with it.  It was swimming a the sauce and looked excellent.  

After dinner - and I had nearly achieved seafood overload - Billy came back to tempt us with dessert.  I didn't want anything, nor did Bonnie or John.  However, my wife ended up ordering a piece of the key lime pie and asked for four forks.  The key lime pie slice had a small dollop of real whipped cream and was sitting on a squiggle of strawberry sauce with fresh cut strawberry slices on the side.  It was a nice presentation and an even better pie.  The tangy and tart key lime pie was a nice finish, even though I was only able to have a couple three small bites.  I was simply stuffed.

As we were leaving Stinky's Fish Camp, I gave my valet ticket to a young guy who ran over to get our car.  I gave him a five buck tip for bringing the car around and we got in and shut the door.  There was some horrific odor in the car and it was too late before I figured out that the valet had to have just left a horrible greasy fart in the car stinking up the environs.  I said, "My God, I think the valet shit his pants in the car!"  Had I known he had just flared out a smelly air biscuit before he gave us our car, I would have withheld the tip.  We all laughed and laughed over that.  I figured that was a signature of a place called Stinky's - to leave an eye-watering smell in your car courtesy of the valet.  

The valet farting in our car aside, we ate in a lot of very good seafood restaurants while we were on the Emerald Coast.  But my cousin and his wife spoiled us by taking us to the best seafood place we encountered on our first night.  I loved the food, the atmosphere, the service - everything about Stinky's was excellent.  We had contemplated going back there for at least lunch at some point - and we did a disservice to ourselves for not going back toward Santa Rosa Beach for dinner on some of our nights.  There were some very good restaurants that we encountered during our stay, but I can't think of one that was better than Stinky's Fish Camp.

Piece Brewery and Pizzeria - Chicago

I had an early afternoon meeting with a dealer in the Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago and finished up around 1:30 or so.  I hadn't had any lunch and I was thinking of getting something to eat.  When I turned onto North Ave., I passed a place that has been in the back of my mind since I first had their pizza about three years ago - Piece Brewery and Pizzeria. (see map) I found a parking spot down the way on North and went inside to have lunch.

The first time I had a Piece pizza was when I was at Music Direct in Chicago and I had them order in some food for lunch for the staff.  They got 8 large thin-crust pizzas with various toppings.  I immediately liked the pizza and asked about the place.  One of the guys at Music Direct said, "The place is owned by Rick Nielsen (the lead guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick).  It's great pizza."  It certainly was.  Ever since, I'd been wanting to get to Piece to try it out for myself.

It turns out that Rick Nielsen is only an active investor in the place.  The main guy at Piece is Bill Jacobs.  Jacobs is a native of New Haven, CT and came out to Chicago to visit friends over 30 years ago.  He soon found that there was a dearth of good bagel places in the area - especially in downtown Chicago.  Along with his brothers, Andy, the Jacobs brothers opened the Bagel Bakery in 1983. They were eventually joined in the business by their brothers Steve and Peter and they changed the name to Jacobs Bros Bagels.  Over the next 16 years, the Jacobs brothers expanded to 20 different locations around the Chicago area before they sold out to Big Apple Bagels in 1999.

Pictured right - Bill Jacobs 

Andy, Steve and Peter went off and did their own thing, but Bill Jacobs had an idea for a new pizza place in a city where pizza places were seemingly everywhere.  But Chicago didn't have Jacobs' beloved New Haven-style pizza - a thin crust with garlic, red sauce, olive oil and parmesan (no mozzarella) cheese and generally served on cookie sheets.  People told him that he was crazy and that a New Haven-style pizza wouldn't work in Chicago.  But he went ahead with the idea anyway.  

The other thing that Jacobs noticed was that Chicago didn't seem to have a lot of microbrews or brew pubs in the city.  There were a couple - including Goose Island - but brewpubs were opening at a dizzying rate nationally, but not in Chicago.  Jacobs enlisted the help of Jonathan Cutler, a Chicago native and graduate of Southern Illinois University and the Siebel Institute of Technology (where he learned the art of brewing beer).  Cutler had worked on the packing line at the Leinenkugel facility in Milwaukee before going on to stints at Goose Island in Chicago and Sierra Nevada in California.  When Cutler heard that a new brewpub was opening in Chicago, he contacted Bill Jacobs.  After an hour long phone conversation, Jacobs hired Cutler to be his brewmaster at his new brewpub/pizza place.  

Pictured left - Jonathon Cutler

Cutler had never commercially brewed beer before coming to Piece.  Today, he brews 8 beers in rotation with at least six beers on tap at any time.  He is a member of the Master Brewers Association and has won numerous medals in different beer categories at both the Great American Beer Fesitval in Denver and at the biennial World Beer Cup including the prestigious Small Brewpub and Brewmaster champion in 2006. 

Jacobs enlisted the financial help of Rick Nielsen (and others) to get his venture off the ground and Piece Brewery and Pizzeria opened in July of 2001 in what was formerly the garage of a roofing company.  Nielsen is far from a silent investor in the business - he actually came up with the concept for Piece's chocolate pizza dessert, an idea that he got when had traveled to Italy a few years ago.  You'll sometimes see Nielsen in the place, even participating in the live band karaoke on Saturday nights.  

In 2011, Piece was named "Independent Pizzeria of the Year" by Pizza Today magazine.  The single Piece location had topped the $6 million mark in revenues the year before.  

True to the New Haven-style pizza, Jacobs wanted a coal oven in which to cook his pizzas.  But finding that it was going to be nearly impossible to replicate the oven from the legendary Sally's Apizza in New Haven, Jacobs opted for a gas-fired Middleby oven with rotating shelf racks to get that New Haven-style crisp, yet chewy thin crust texture.  

It was well after the lunch rush when I walked into Piece.  The well-lit dining room was helped by a natural skylight in the ceiling letting the daytime light into the center of the room.  A long, curving bar was the most prominent feature of the room with a number of tables throughout the place.  The stage for regular karaoke (Thursday nights) and live band karaoke is to the right as you walk in.  A secondary dining room is on the other side of a wall that is adorned with Rick Nielsen/Cheap Trick memorabilia and pictures.  

A young lady greeted me and told me that I could sit anywhere.  I asked if I could get lunch at the bar and she said, "Sure!"  I sat at the bar and was greeted by a lady who would be my server/bartender who handed me a menu.  Looking over the beer list at Piece, in addition to the six beers they had on tap, they also had a number of regional microbrews to choose from.  I ended up getting one of Piece's "Golden Arm" beers, a German-style Kolsch beer.  

All the ingredients that they put on the pizzas at Piece are fresh.  And there's some pretty eclectic toppings that you can get.  They have pizzas that can be topped with clams in a white sauce (made famous by the legendary Frank Pepe's in New Haven), artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, sauteed mushrooms and even mashed potatoes.  I understand that the mashed potato topping is one of the more popular ones at Piece.  They have two sizes of pizza - a large 16" pizza and a smaller 12" pizza.  They also feature salads, appetizers and sandwiches on the menu including a roasted turkey breast sandwich and an eggplant parmesan sandwich.

But I was going to get a pizza and I asked my server if I could get a 12" Italian sausage, pepperoni and sauteed mushroom pizza.  She said, "Well, a 12" is pretty big.  We do have a single serving small pizza that's about seven or eight inches big."  She pointed it out on the lower part of the menu under lunch size pizzas.  I said that would be perfect.  I was thinking of getting it New Haven style with the parmesan cheese and no mozzarella, but I didn't feel adventurous on this trip.  Besides, I think I will be back at some point and bring my wife.  We can try a New Haven-style pizza then.  I just got a traditional pizza with the red sauce.  

About 15 minutes after I ordered the pizza, my server brought it out to me.  When she sat it down in front of me, I said, "This is perfect!  Exactly the size that I need!"  I didn't want to stuff myself on a larger pizza in the middle of the day.  

 
The pizza was cut into quarter triangles.  It had a bubbly crust like a Neapolitan-style pizza with plentiful toppings.  It wasn't slathered in mozzarella, but there was enough of the melted cheese to let you know it was there.  

The first bite of the Piece pizza brought back the initial memories of the first time I'd had a slice a couple three years previously.  Only this time it was better because it was fresh out of the oven.  The red sauce was tangy and not too sweet.  The sauteed mushrooms had a wonderful flavor as did the somewhat spicy Italian sausage and pepperoni.  The crust - well, I couldn't really tell what it was made out of.  I thought it may have been a cornmeal crust, which I don't care for - but will eat if it's forced upon me.  It was crispy toward the outer edges and more limp toward the middle - especially if the toppings had laid on it long enough for the crust to get saturated.  It was a very good pizza.

The Golden Arm Kolsch beer was also very good.  I like a good Kolsch from time to time because I sometimes like a little less bitterness from a Pilsner-style beer.  Kolsch beers are to Pilsner beers as what American Pale Ales are to India Pale Ales, it's a subdued bitterness on the tongue.  It was great with the pizza.   

Piece Brewery and Pizzeria has been wildly successful in its 13 years of existence.  It's so popular that they do not take reservations on Friday or Saturday nights as the place can get pretty packed. And I can easily see why.  First of all, it's a fun place, they have good service with great pizza and award winning beers.  By the way, Bill Jacobs announced earlier this year that he had taken over the space next to Piece that used to house a salon and will be putting in a bagel store using the same recipes that they had in the Jacobs Bros. Bagel stores.  Pizza and bagels are the only two things Jacobs knows.  Well, and beer.  I'm sure the bagel place will be as big of a hit as Piece is.  (Picture courtesy DNA Info/Chicago.)

4C BBQ - Defuniak Springs, FL

My wife is one of those creatures of habit when it comes to eating food.  I learned long ago that she needs three square meals a day.  It doesn't matter how much she had at breakfast, she needs lunch and dinner - even if it's just a little something.  As we were driving through Alabama to get to Florida for our vacation, I kept asking her if she was hungry.  After the breakfast we had early in the morning at the Loveless Cafe outside of Nashville (click here to see the entry on the Loveless Cafe), I certainly wasn't hungry and she really wasn't either.  Well, that is until we got into the deep southeastern part of Alabama around 2 p.m.  The only problem is that we didn't find anything worth stopping at.  We passed into Florida and we were going through the town of Defuniak Springs.  By this time my wife was crawling up the windows because she was so hungry.  It was around 2:30 and I happened to look over at a strip mall along the road and saw a sign that simply said "BBQ".  I turned around and went back to get something to eat at a place called 4C BBQ.  

4C BBQ calls themselves an authentic Texas barbecue joint.  The owners - Robin and Teresa Ford - are from Texas and got into the barbecue business when Robin, who was a deputy sheriff in Williamson County in Texas (just north of Austin), bought a smoker and would cook barbecue for co-workers, friends and family for these sort of "stress relief" parties.  Ford was a deputy for 10 years before packing his wife and two kids up and heading up north to Pennsylvania to help out some family members there.  The Ford's bought a convenience store in the small town of Claysville and set up his smoker one day for a local celebration.  He ended up selling just short of a couple hundred pounds of brisket that day and he was hooked as a barbecue entrepreneur. 

In 2006, the Ford's moved to the Florida panhandle opening a small place in Ponce de Leon.  The "4C" name comes from their devout Christian faith - 4C stands for "4 Christians for Christ".  In the heavily religious bible belt of the Southeast United States, they'd found a home.  Business got so good that the Ford's decided to move to nearby Defuniak Springs (a town I'd NEVER heard of until I drove through the place) in 2013 opening in a strip mall toward the south side of the town, not far off Interstate 10.  (see map)

The inside of 4C BBQ is a rather large and well lit place with a series of tables and booths throughout.  There's a stage on one end for bands and live events.   

 

The bar is located in the back of the space with the kitchen behind it.  Video games, dart boards and other games are back in this area, as well.  

We took a seat at a booth along the wall and a girl came over to drop off some menus.  In addition to barbecue, 4C also had a number of burgers, pork or beef steaks, grilled or blackened fresh seafood, and slew of appetizers.  

For barbecue, they had ribs, brisket, pulled pork and smoked chicken breast.  I found that they had a sampler platter consisting of 2 ribs and a 1/4 lb of both brisket and pulled pork with two sides.  I still wasn't overly hungry from breakfast, but I thought I could eat something.  When I proposed getting the sampler, Cindy asked, "To share?"  Absolutely!  She said that would be perfect.  We also got a choice of two sides that included a baked potato, seasoned fries, fried okra and something called corn nuggets.  Cindy decided on baked beans and cole slaw for the sides.  That was fine with me.  

I also decided to order up a beer for the meal.  After I found out that the owners were deep Christians I was sort of surprised that they sold beer in the place.  And on top of it, it was two for one "Happy Hour".  We only had about another 30 minutes of driving until we got to my cousin's place in Santa Rosa Beach, so a couple beers wouldn't be bad.  

The young waitress brought out the barbecue sampler and it featured two meaty ribs, a couple slabs of brisket and a small portion of pulled pork.  Two half slices of Texas toast accompanied the barbecue and the sides.  

The ribs were meaty, but I also found them to be a little fatty.  They had a nice smoky flavor and the thick housemade tomato-based with a nice sweet flavor was a nice complement to the ribs.  Not the best I've ever had, but certainly not bad.  

I tried some of the pulled pork and it was moist and tender, easy to consume.  With the barbecue sauce, it, too, was very good.  

But I liked the brisket the best.  It had a nice smoke ring on the outer edges with a spice-rubbed bark on the outer shell.  The beef was tender and had a wonderful texture, easily pulling apart with little effort.  The brisket was the highlight.

The baked beans were all right on their own, but were helped with a little bit of the barbecue sauce added.  The cole slaw was "Meh!"  It was pretty bland.  

For a quick find on the side of the road, 4C BBQ was a good choice.  It was reasonably priced and you can't beat two for one beer specials.  There didn't seem to be a lot of barbecue joints in the area, but I thought 4C BBQ more than held their own against other barbecue places I've been to.  

Laredo's Embassy of Mexican Food - Rosemont, IL

On a continuing food tour of restaurants near the hotel I stay at near O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, there's a small Mexican restaurant that I've seen many times that I thought I'd give a try one evening - Laredo's Embassy of Mexican Food - in Rosemont.  It's in the same strip center as one of my go-to Indian Restaurants in the Chicago area, Maharaja. (Click here to see my entry on Maharaja.)  Actually, I was planning on going to go to Maharaja that night, but decided that a margarita would hit the spot.  I went into Laredo's instead.  (see map)

There's not much information on Laredo's on the Internet.  I couldn't find out who the owner was, if there's any affiliation with other restaurants, or even the history of the place.  Some Mexican restaurants don't like to create a lot of attention for themselves for a couple reasons I can think of.  But Laredo's did have a pretty extensive web site that featured daily specials, a list of specialty margaritas and a full menu.    

I went into Laredo's around 8 p.m. that cold early spring evening when winter was telling people in Chicago that it was still hanging on.  Their cantina is to the left as you come into the restaurant.  Large columns were on the bar and the back bar had a sort of blu-ish backlit hue to it highlighting the numerous bottle of tequila they had on hand.

 
The main dining area is on the right as you come into Laredo's.  I was greeted by a young man and I was seated in a booth along a wall that was opposite another row of booths with a colorful painted mural on the wall.  There were murals throughout Laredo's including this rather disturbing one in a back dining area.  For even as late as it was in the evening for dinner, the place was about half full with more people coming in as I was there.  It appeared to be a pretty popular place.  My server for the evening, Nahum, came over to ask what I wanted to drink.  I ordered a Patron margarita - a big one.  

And he got me a big one.  It was rather interesting because it had an orange, lemon and lime wedge.  And it was chock full of Patron.  Whew!  It was packed with tequila!  Nahum also brought over some chips and salsa.  The chips were all right, as was the salsa.  But the margarita gave me a nice little buzz.

It's your typical Mexican fare at Laredo's - beef, pork, chicken and seafood - with the usual enchiladas, burritos, and tacos.  I was thinking about getting either a beef or pork enchilada, but they didn't seem to have them on the menu.  Oh, they had a beef tip and a shredded beef enchilada as part of an enchilada combination dinner, but not as part of a regular entree.  I saw that they had chicken enchiladas with the green tomatillo sauce, but not pork.  I'm sure I could have asked if they could have made them up for me and they would have complied, but I started to look at something else - the chimichangas.

The chimichangas were described as being made with a 12" flour tortilla and you had your choice of either beef tips or chicken for $10.50.  For $2.00 more, you can get steak in the chimichanga.  For $3.00 more, you can get grilled shrimp.  My wife and I had been to a Mexican restaurant in the Quad Cities a few nights before and she got a shrimp quesadilla with grilled shrimp.  I love good flat grilled shrimp at a Mexican restaurant and decided to get that.  

As I was finishing up my margarita getting ready to trade that for a Sol beer, I noticed a younger guy come out of the kitchen with a guacamole cart.  A couple had just sat down at a booth across from me and he wheeled it up to their table and asked them if they wanted any fresh guacamole.  I thought, "Well, crap!  I would have liked to have had some fresh guacamole made up for me!"  A group of three people came in after that and he wheeled the cart over to them.  It's a great selling tool at a Mexican restaurant - how can you say "no" to fresh guacamole made tableside?  I was actually a little bummed they didn't ask me if I wanted any.    

I guess I expected the chimichanga to be a little larger than it was.  And instead of whole grilled shrimp, they chopped the shrimp.   I wasn't certain it was a 12" flour tortilla to begin with, but it was folded under on the ends so it could have been before it was deep-fried.  

And the chimichanga was....  all right.  I mean, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I was quite expecting.  I didn't care for the chopped shrimp rather than the whole shrimp I normally see at other Mexican restaurants.  The chimichanga was also pretty cheesy in the middle covering the taste of the shrimp pretty well.  I thought back and should have ordered the beef tips in the chimichanga rather than the shrimp.  I popped some of the guacamole and sour cream on top to help with the taste, but I can't say that I was impressed with the overall taste of the chimichanga.

The beans and rice were pedestrian, at best.  But that's all right - I hardly ever eat refried beans and Mexican rice at restaurants any more.  I've gotten to the point that I tell them to not even bring the rice and beans because they won't get eaten, even if they charge me full price.  

Would I go back to Laredo's Embassy of Mexican Food?  Hmmm.... possibly.  For basic Mexican food fare, it was all right.  The margarita - I couldn't complain about one bit.  It was packed full of a generous pour of Patron.  The chips and salsa were, once again, just all right.  Laredo's didn't knock my socks off on my visit.  But in terms of average Mexican food, it pretty much fits the bill.  

Loveless Cafe - Nashville, TN

After getting into our hotel on the first Saturday night of our vacation, Cindy was looking something up on line.  She finally said, "OK, here it is.  I want to go here for breakfast tomorrow morning."  She was on the web site of the Loveless Cafe located on the southwest side of Nashville.  It turned out that it was about a 10 to 15 minute drive from our hotel.  I told her that we could certainly do that before we went on our way to Florida the next morning.

The Loveless Cafe is a culinary institution in the greater Nashville area.  Even though I'd heard of the place, I had sort of forgotten about it.  But seeing it on the Internet again, I remembered seeing it highlighted on food and travel shows on television and articles that I'd read in magazines and on-line.  I remember reading that their salt-cured country ham was world class.  

Lon and Annie Loveless lived in nearby Lyles, TN - a small town in Hickman County where Lon was once the sheriff.  In 1936, they opened the Beacon Light Tea Room in Lyles selling fried chicken and biscuits.  When Lon retired as sheriff, the Loveless' bought a house and motel a few miles away.  The house had a large wooden floor and it was known as the local "fun house" where people would come and dance in the 1940's.  The Loveless' began to make their fried chicken and biscuits and sold them out of the front door of the house to travelers who would eat the food on picnic tables in front of the house.  The Loveless' eventually expanded the house to include inside dining.

The kitchen and restaurant was run by Annie Loveless, but Lon Loveless took care of the small hotel on the grounds of the house.  It quickly became known as a "no tell" motel with garages attached to the rooms where people could drive in an conceal their cars.  The Loveless Cafe and Motel became a favorite of the stars of the Grand Ole Opry - both for the food and for the discretion shown by the Loveless' with the motel. 

Due to Lon Loveless' declining health, the Loveless Cafe and Motel was purchased by Cordell and Stella Maynard in 1959.  The Maynard's continued with Annie Loveless' fried chicken and mouth-watering biscuits for 14 years.  

In 1973, the Maynard's sold the business to Charles and Donna McCabe.  The recipes stayed with the restaurant and the McCabe's ran the place until Charles died in 1982.  Their son George had grown up with the business - mowing the grounds, cleaning hotel rooms, clearing tables - since he was 12 years old.  George partnered with her mother and took control of many aspects of the business, closing the motel in 1985, starting a mail order business for their country smoked hams and homemade jams, and turning the restaurant into a nationally known destination.   

It was during the McCabe family's ownership that a young 18-year-old girl by the name of Carol Fay Ellison came to work for the restaurant in 1979.  She started off as a dishwasher, but quickly figured out her way around the kitchen.  Carol Fay soon became known as the "Biscuit Lady", the person responsible for making the famous biscuits at the Loveless Cafe.  Carol Fay was sort of a character and she appeared on a number of national network and syndicated shows demonstrating how she made the biscuits.  She quickly became the face of the Loveless Cafe, continuing with the company when George McCabe sold the restaurant to health care realtor Charles Elcan and his wife Tricia, and managing partner Tom Morales in 2003.  Sadly, Carol Fay Ellison died in 2010 at the age of 48 after a short illness.  

After the new ownership group took over, they knew that the whole place needed a massive overhaul.  The Loveless Cafe was closed in January 2004 and underwent extensive renovations.  The old hotel rooms - once used as storage for the McCabe's - were turned into small shops and private reception rooms.  They built a smoke house, as well as a large barn in the back to handle weddings and corporate events, and expanded the kitchen to provide more menu items and  housemade desserts.  Today, the Loveless Cafe serves about 450,000 people annually.  

And because of that we didn't know if there would be a line when we set out for the restaurant just after 7:30 that particular Sunday morning.  The Loveless Cafe is located on Tennessee State Highway 100 just east of the northern point of the famous Natchez Trace Parkway.  (see map)  We pulled into the parking lot about 15 minutes later and found only a handful of cars in the parking lot.  We walked in and saw that there was no one waiting in the lobby area.  In the lobby, there are dozens of pictures from celebrities - mostly older Country and Western stars - plastered on the walls.  The Loveless Cafe has hosted musicians as diverse as George Jones to Paul McCartney and from Kenny Rogers to Robert Plant, as well as a slew of mainly "B" grade stars of television and movies.  I certainly didn't see many pictures of contemporary C&W artists on the walls.  But, then again, I wasn't looking hard.   

A guy came out to greet us and he showed us to a table in the small dining area to the right of the lobby.  We were given menus and a bit later our server, Amber, came over to greet us.  "Y'all ever been here before," she asked in a slight Southern drawl.  When we told her that we hadn't, she gave us a hearty welcome.  She told us a bit about the menu and some of the things that they were famous for, then she told us that she'd get some biscuits out to us in a moment.

The biscuits came out - 4 of them - and they were accompanied by small plastic containers, each with a different type of preserve - peach, strawberry and blackberry.  Now, I'm not much of a biscuit kind of guy - I find them to be rather dry and boring in taste.  But there is something about the ones at the Loveless Cafe that make them light and moist.  Adding the blackberry jam to the biscuits made them more than tolerable for me.

  The small dining room we were in opened into a larger dining room - quite possibly part of the room where they used to hold dances in back in the 40's.  It was a long and narrow room with artwork on the walls and French doors along the east side. Slat wood ceilings and large decorative beams hovered above the dining room.   

They served breakfast all day at the Loveless Cafe.  (The supper menu begins at 11 a.m.)  It's an extensive menu featuring just about anything you can think of for breakfast.  At the top of the menu are two dishes featuring Loveless Cafe's famous country ham.  But purchased ala carte, a half cut went for $6.95 or a full cut for $10.95.  I wanted to try some of the ham, but I was think more along the lines of getting French toast or an omelet and $6.95 to try the ham was sort of expensive.  

Cindy was also thinking about getting the ham and when Amber came back to take our breakfast order she got the half slab of ham with two eggs over easy.  She had her choice of grits, a hash brown casserole or home-fried potatoes for a side.  I wanted to try their grits, but she ended up ordering the hash brown casserole.  

I ordered the French toast and I asked Amber if I could get some blueberries with that.  (I figured a place like the Loveless Cafe - which had blueberry pancakes on the menu - probably had fresh blueberries.)  She said, "Ohhh, blueberries with French toast.  That sounds great!"  I told her that I wanted a small cut of the ham. "OK, tell you what.  Why don't you get the full cut with your eggs," she said to Cindy.  "Then you can just split the ham in half," she explained to me. "It's cheaper that way."  I also wanted to try some of their applewood smoked bacon.  

In one of the all-time quickest turnarounds from ordering to having the food to the table, Amber brought out our food.  Cindy's plate featured a full cut of ham that dominated the plate.  It was probably about 1/4" thick and was served with a small bowl of the red eye gravy - drippings from the ham, sort of like an au jus for beef.

  The French toast featured three thick cut slices of bread, batter, griddled and sprinkled with powered sugar.  An ample amount of blueberries in their natural juices came with in a small bowl along side the syrup. Three thick cuts of the applewood bacon was on the side. Amber wanted to know if we wanted more biscuits and I was tempted because the blackberry jam was pretty damn good.  But we said "No thanks" because there was a lot of food on our plates. 

I cut some of the country ham off of what was on Cindy's plate and put it on the side plate that I had from the biscuits.  The ham was somewhat salty and a little tough.  It was, well, just all right.  Honestly, I couldn't really tell if it was outstanding or not.  To me, it just tasted like any other ham that I'd get anywhere.  

The French toast was, also, just all right.  It was a little mushy - especially in the middle of the slices - and rather bland in taste.  The blueberries helped tremendously, but I wasn't quite blown away with the taste as I thought I would be.  

Cindy, too, thought the ham was "OK".  She also couldn't figure out why people would make such a fuss over the ham, so much that it's shipped all over the U.S.  She did like her hash brown casserole, however.  It's made with cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, onions and sour cream. (Click here for the recipe.)  I'm guessing you can add ham to it and make it a meal, if you want.  

My hands were sticky and I needed to use the restroom to wash up.  I went down the hallway toward the restroom and on the right was a large window that looked into the area where they baked the biscuits.  I can almost imagine the show that Carol Fay Ellison put on for the customers at the Loveless Cafe behind this big window.  A young lady was making the biscuits this morning, placing them in large pans. A young man was manning the oven, putting in and pulling out the trays of biscuits.  

After getting back to the table, a man - who I guessed was a manager - came over to see how our breakfast was.  After we told him it was fine, he asked where we were from.  After we told him we were from Iowa, he asked if we were in town for awhile.  I told him that we were just passing through going to Florida, down to Destin.  He said, "Oh, y'all are going to the Redneck Riviera!  You'll have fun down there!"  

After settling up with Amber, we took a look around the grounds of the place.  To the immediate west of the restaurant, the open pit smoke house that was built about 10 years ago was up and running.  The pit master was in there smoking pork ribs, pork butts and turkey legs.  The barbecue is ready at 11 a.m. each day and there's a couple parking spots near the building that are designated for people just stopping in to get barbecue only out of the smoke house.  

 
The smoke house has a rather large smoke pit with a back access to be able to put the hickory wood on the fire.  It was as impressive a smoking operation that I've seen from any restaurant.  

I wanted to pick up a jar of the blackberry preserves and they have a gift shop across the parking lot from the restaurant and smoke house.  Cindy also wanted to pick something up for my cousin's wife since we were going to stay at their house for a couple three days when we got down to Florida.  The sign on the door said that they opened at 8 a.m., but the place was locked up tight.  

 
We walked around behind and on the side of the restaurant to peer into the small shops that were part of the old motel which were also closed on that Sunday morning.  I don't know if the owners of the Loveless Cafe run these shops or if they lease them out to people.  But when the Loveless Cafe gets cranking, the overflow of people will spend their time looking through the shops waiting for a table.  

I will say that the Loveless Cafe was pretty interesting.  But the breakfast was pretty average and I'm still trying to figure out what was so special about the ham.  The service we got from Amber was very good and I suppose it was worth the trip this one time to see what it was all about.  But I can probably say that it didn't grab me enough that I'd have to absolutely go back at some point.   

The U.K.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the United Kingdom for the first time in my life.  I've always wanted to go to the U.K. and the opportunity arose earlier this year after my company was named the new importer/distributor of Naim Audio in the United States.  We knew that a factory visit to Salisbury, U.K. would be coming and it happened toward the end of June.

If you remember my earlier entry on why I wasn't in Paris when I should have been a month ago (click here to see that entry), United Airlines did their best to try and screw up this trip.  Whereas I will be going to Paris at some point later this summer, this trip to the U.K. was a one-off and I couldn't miss my flight out of Moline.  I had a 1:10 p.m. flight out of Moline to go to Chicago for a 3:40 p.m. flight to London.  I had finished a sandwich just before noon and went into my home office to get my cellphone.  About 10 minutes earlier, United had sent me a text message telling me that my 1:10 p.m. flight had been delayed - once again to a late arriving plane - to 2:20 with a 3:10 arrival in Chicago.  I knew that I wouldn't make my Chicago to London flight and I began to panic.  

I sat and figured the time it would take to get to O'Hare - usually about a 2 hour and 40 minute drive from my home to the airport.  I needed to be there at 2:40 for the latest chance to check in.  I figured that I could push the speed somewhat going into Chicago, so if I left right then at 11:55 I could possibly shave 10 to 15 minutes off the normal time and get in around 2:20 to 2:25 p.m.  My bags were packed and in the car already, I had enough gas.  I got in the car and took off.  Surprisingly, I pulled into the parking garage at O'Hare at 2:10 p.m. - it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes to drive from my house to O'Hare.  I got checked in quickly and for some reason I'm a TSA Precheck passenger (I never signed up for it, they just must have decided that I fly enough and have given them little problems) and I went right by the long lines and through security in no time.  I made it to my gate on the C concourse 15 minutes before we began to board.  

I never sleep on flights and when we got into Heathrow at 5:45 in the morning I was pretty tired.  It was 11:45 p.m. body time and I didn't know if I'd have the chance to get some sleep during the day or if I would just stay up as long as I could.  I chose the latter.  Or I should say that it was chosen for me.  

The new Terminal 2 at Heathrow - the Queen's Terminal as the signs said - had just recently opened.  Getting through customs was a breeze, unlike the horror stories I'd heard about the old Terminal 2 that opened in 1955. I had colleagues flying in from New York and Canada, so I took a seat outside the customs area and waited for everyone to show up.  After everyone arrived and we all got together, we met up with a couple drivers who took us to Salisbury, an hour and 10 minute drive from Heathrow.  

Salisbury is the home of Naim Audio.  It's most significant structure in the city is the Salisbury Cathedral, a medieval, gothic-style church that was primarily built in the 13th century.  The spire on the cathedral is 404 feet high and was finished in 1320.  It was - and still is - the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom.  You could see the spire just about anywhere you were in Salisbury as long as there were no obstructions.   It was a great point of reference if you were lost.  

After a factory tour and quick meeting at Naim, we were ferried to our hotel, the Lazy Cow.  It turned out that the Lazy Cow was just across the street from the cathedral's St. Ann's gate.  In fact, we were told that in the room directly above the gates, baroque composer George Frideric Handel stayed there in the 18th century when visiting Salisbury.

We actually got to the cathedral a little late - it closes at 4:30 p.m. to tourists - but the thing we most wanted to see was one of the only four known existing copies of the original Magna Carta.  The one at the Salisbury Cathedral is said to be in the best shape of the four existing copies.  It was in a glass-housed display case in a room in the cathedral and no pictures were permitted.  We found that out when one of my co-workers took a picture of the stained glass in the room.  An elderly gentleman sternly admonished my colleague for taking a picture in the room.  We all kind of looked at one another, smiled and shrugged our shoulders.  We couldn't quite understand why pictures weren't allowed, but we went with the old guy's wishes.  About five minutes after we entered the room, we were shepherded out as they were closing.  

Salisbury is also just 8 miles away from Stonehenge.  We had planned on going out to Stonehenge, but we were told that it was at least a two-hour visit and we didn't really have that kind of time.  It used to be that there was a narrow road that led to a small parking area that overlooked Stonehenge on its west side where you could see a good portion of it without having to pay a fee to get up closer to it.  However, not long ago they built a new visitor's center further away from Stonehenge and now you have to go through a lengthy program before you get on a bus and it takes you out to the stone monument.  And it costs £15 pounds (a little over $25 bucks) per person to get in.  So this picture was taken from a van going by Stonehenge on the motorway at about 50 miles per hour.   (We had also planned on going to see the Roman baths and ruins at Bath, about an hour away from Salisbury.  But time constraints - mainly in the form of trainings - didn't allow us to do that.)

One of the days we were in Salisbury, we took a full day to go up to a dealer event in Moreton-in-Marsh, a small hamlet in Gloucestershire.  On the way, we took a side trip to see another similar henge monument - Avebury. The rock formations and outer henge (or ditch) date back to 2600 B.C. and were most likely used for some sort of ceremonial ritual.  I've seen a couple different diagrams as to how archaeologists depicted the stone pillar circles at Avebury - one had three concentric rings starting with a small one in the middle, a larger one further out and the largest circle of stones on the perimeter just inside the henge.  Another showed two smaller circles side by side within the center of the large circle of stones. (Most archaeologists believe this formation to be the correct one.)  Either way, most of the stones were torn down and removed in the late Middle Ages to Early Modern Period for whatever reason.  The rest of the stones were dismantled in the 17th century after the site was mapped by a couple of historians.  

 

The Avebury site was "rediscovered" in the 1930's and archeologists undertook the task of trying to recreate the ritual circles with the remaining stones available.  Like Stonehenge, Avebury is owned by the National Trust, a government run organization that oversees historical sites back to prehistoric days.  It doesn't matter that a number of houses - including a great little pub - and farm land are in the middle of the Avebury site.    

Much of the stone structures are in the middle of a sheep field.  A very smelly sheep field.  You had to watch where you stepped in the pasture as there were dozens of sheep grazing - and crapping - around the Avebury stones.  A winding limestone path along the henge kept you clean most of the time, but it didn't matter where you walked.  The smell of sheep shit was burned into my olfactory system the rest of the day.  

Venturing on to Moreton-in-Marsh, we found ourselves at a dealer event hosted by Ultimate Home Entertainment Systems, one of the largest Naim Audio dealers in the U.K.  Dr. Norman Soloman, one of the partners in UHES, greeted us to his English country manor that also served as their retail outlet.  The dealer event was being held in conjunction with Bentley Motors, the high-end British automaker.  A number of Bentley cars were displayed on the front lawn of the manor, along with cars of UHES clients who have bought systems in the past from Dr. Soloman and his partner Ian Rocchi.  Naim Audio provides the sound systems for Bentleys.  I did get to sit in the front seat of a Bentley Mulsanne to listen to the system.  Then I found out later that the dealer on-site gave some of my colleagues a ride in the same car.  That's one car ride I'm sorry I missed out on.

The house featured a rock garden in the back and a gourmet kitchen along with four showrooms within the house.  We were able to listen briefly to the new Naim Statement amplifier along with a pair of the Focal Grande Utopia III's.  The system was a little too big for the room and the sound suffered, in my opinion.  

Here is the view past the stone wall in the back yard over the green and pleasant land of England.  Dr. Soloman told us that the previous house they had they their business in an old castle about 30 miles away.  However, it cost them something like £10,000 pounds (about $17,000 bucks) a month in the winter to heat the place.  They found this modern English manor on the Great Wolford area a year or so ago.  I wish I could say it was your typical English country home, but it was far from that.  

After our time with Naim Audio was over, we spent an extra day in the U.K. and traveled up to London as a group to go and do and see on Saturday.  If we had flown home on Saturday morning after the week long training it would have cost us each about a $1000 bucks more than what it ended up costing us by staying over on Saturday night.  Even with the cost of 8 hotel rooms at the equivalent of $150 to $200 each at the modern and stylish Holiday Inn Commercial Road in the east end of London - along with a nice lunch and a wonderful dinner - we ended up saving the company thousands of dollars by spending a day and a night in London.  

It was about a five minute walk from our hotel to the Whitechapel station on the London Underground.  We took the "Tube" along the District Line to the Tower Hill to take a look at the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.   (Tower Bridge is in the photo above this one.) 

Just west of the London Tower is this somewhat "walkie-talkie" shaped building became famous last year for melting part of a Jaguar as the sun's rays hit the parabolic-shaped windows and directed the heat down to the parked car on the street below.  They were in the process of putting up some sort of sheath on the outside of the building to block the rays of the sun from hitting the windows.  

 
After a nice lunch, we walked to Trafalgar Square and Lord Nelson's column.  We wanted to go up and touch the column - as I understand you're supposed to do - but they were having a Gay Pride program going on that day and there was a stage set up with performers and thousands of people milling about.  It continued to rain off and on, but that didn't seem to faze the people listening to the music.  

The stately Victorian buildings around Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross were wonderful to look at.  Unfortunately, thanks to the large crowd in the square, we couldn't see the fountains or the four plinths holding statues.  But it was still somewhat of a thrill to finally see Trafalgar Square. 

 
We took off down Whitehall and came across Old Scotland Yard, the Cabinet Office, the Old War Office building that was in use from the 18th Century to the mid-1900's, and also the entry to Downing Street (above right), which, of course, is home to the Prime Minister's residence.   You really couldn't see much of anything other than the big gate and a bunch of guards.    

At the corner of where Whitehall, Bridge and Birdcage Walk meet up, we found Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  The iconic clock tower with the adjoining buildings were something that I've seen for years, but finally I had the perspective of where everything was in my mind.  It was pretty cool to stand across the way in Parliament Square and get some pictures of the place.   

From there, we went down Victoria St. and came across Westminster Abbey.  This is a horrible attempt at a panoramic shot of the cathedral, but it was starting to rain pretty heavily at this point and my "give-a-shit" factor was getting kind of low.  Parts of the building date back to the 10th century and nearly every royal coronation has taken place in Westminster Abbey since 1066 and a number of royal weddings have taken place here, as well.  British monarchs from the 11th century up to 1760 are buried in Westminster Abbey.  Other notables buried in Westminster Abbey include Sir Issac Newton, Charles Darwin and author Geoffrey Chaucer as well a number of politicians, generals, and artists.  

After stopping in a wonderful little pub to get out of the rain and have a beer or two near Westminster Abbey, we ventured on to Birdwalk Cage and walked along St. James Park which took us to Buckingham Palace.  Coming around the corner, there was the palace.  The Union Jack flag was flying on the flag pole in the front and that signified that Queen Elizabeth II was, indeed, there at that time.  It was at this time that I lost most of the guys in my group as I was taking pictures of the palace from different angles.  I was able to catch up to them in front of the front gates of the palace.    

 
I walked across the roundabout to the Victoria Memorial to get a better look of the palace and back up toward the Mall.  The Victoria Memorial was dedicated in 1910 to Queen Victoria, the longest reigning British Monarch at 63 years, 216 days when she passed away in 1901.  However, if Queen Elizabeth II makes it to September 10, 2015, she would not only pass Queen Victoria as the longest reigning British monarch, but the longest reigning female monarch in the world.  I'm not betting against the ol' gal.   

Here is the panoramic view of the front of Buckingham palace from the Victoria Memorial.  The steady rain was making it very muggy, but it wasn't a cold rain.  Even with an umbrella, my clothes were pretty moist.

And here's a panoramic view of The Mall.  This faces northeast from Buckingham Palace toward Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross.  The Queen's Garden is on either side of the Mall, which is one of the most famous parade routes in the world.  

We went over through Green Park just to the north of the palace and had to stop off at the Canada Memorial just past the Canada Gate that allows you to enter into the park.  The memorial was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.  The memorial was especially significant for my Canadian colleague, Todd.  He was telling us that his grandfather was a twice decorated member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War I and a mustard gas survivor.    

 
After getting out of Green Park, there was some discussion of shopping and we ended up going over to Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street.  High end retail shops and boutiques, restaurants, hotels and other services lined both Piccadilly and Regent Streets.  The prices were, well, exorbitant.  I looked for a simple silk scarf for Cindy and the cheapest thing I found was £89 pounds ($150 bucks).  Uh, I love my wife, but even $150 bucks for a scarf was out of my league.  

And that was it.  We took the tube back to the hotel, enjoyed a nice warm shower, a little nap and then a great dinner that evening.  We all flew home the next day.  I don't know how many times I'll get to go to the U.K. for business - (we have Cambridge Audio that's based in London, but they've never had us over for meetings - they always come to North America, probably because the food is better!) - but for my first visit I liked what I saw.  There were times that I wished I wasn't with a group and had time to linger for a bit, but from what I experienced I was happy with what I saw.  And, quite actually, the food we had was pretty good - a lot better than I anticipated considering the stories I've heard about British food and restaurants.  I'll have some of the places we went to in upcoming entries.  

Mickey's Country Cafe - Pleasant Valley, IA

Always on the lookout for places to have breakfast not far from home, my wife has been wanting to try a place in nearby Pleasant Valley, IA - Mickey's Country Cafe.  We've driven by the place many times since they moved into their current location about three years ago. (see map)  On a sunny Spring Saturday morning recently, we decided to head out to Mickey's to give them a try.   

Mickey's Country Cafe is owned by the husband and wife team of Bill and Mickey Kosgard.  Their daughter, Kelly Langston, helps out at the restaurant that's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week.  

The Kosgard's opened their first restaurant in 1993 in Bettendorf and also operated Mickey's Valley Hall - a reception hall in Pleasant Valley - for a number of years.  Fire damaged the reception hall twice over the years, the second one coming in January of 2011.  The Kosgard's looked at that as a sign and decided that a change was needed.  They were leasing the spot where they had their cafe and they decided to move their restaurant into the reception hall building that they owned.  They moved Mickey's Country Cafe to Pleasant Valley in the summer of 2011.  Bill - a former trucker - runs the kitchen, while Mickey runs the front of the house.  

We pulled up to Mickey's around 9:30 that one Saturday morning and the parking lot was nearly full.  We stood just inside the door while we waited for about 10 minutes for a spot to open up.  We were eventually seated in a booth.  Breakfast menus were dropped off and a server was around with coffee for my wife.

The decor at Mickey's Country Cafe would what I would call "faux antique".  They had a number of signs that said things along the lines of "Will swap gossip for coffee", things that some people like, but it just makes me shake my head.  The dining room was bright and roomy, it had seating in booths and tables for probably 100 people.  It's the type of down home restaurant where the place mats have ads on them.  

In addition to breakfast, Mickey's also serves a full lunch menu and a dinner menu - alcoholic drinks are also available.  They're open most mornings at 5 a.m., closing at 8 p.m. Monday thru Thursday, 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.  

While we were looking through the menu, the staff was hurriedly putting together a number of four-seater tables into one long table for a group of 20 that was beginning to filter in.  And, of course, they were seated right next to us.  And the young lady server that was going to wait on us was going to wait on them.  We needed to make our minds up and quick.

They have a breakfast buffet at Mickey's Country Cafe.  Cindy went over to check it out and came back with a report that it was like a "hotel buffet".  "Scrambled eggs, small pancakes, fruit, the kind of things that you see at most hotel breakfast bars," she said.  She decided to pass on that and get something from the menu. 

There's nothing fancy about the breakfasts at Mickey's.  It's pretty straight forward - eggs, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, omelets, French toast - the basic breakfast kind of food that you'd expect from a cafe.  French toast sounded good to me and I saw that they have blueberry pancakes, so I guessed (correctly) that I could get some blueberries with my French Toast.  I also wanted to try their corned beef hash, but they didn't have it as a side.  But it turned out that they could get a side of it for me.  

Cindy was in a quandary - she wanted to try their pancakes, but was leaning toward just eggs and bacon with hash browns.  She ended up ordering the eggs/bacon/hash browns with toast, but then at the last moment she asked our server if she could get just one pancake.  She likes her pancakes cooked well and thin.  She makes her pancakes like that at home - I think they're the best pancakes I've ever had - and we've found that it's tough for a place to replicate her way of doing pancakes.  Too often they come out too fluffy and doughy.  

Our server was still taking orders from the big party seated next to us when another young lady brought out our breakfasts.  Half of Cindy's plate was full of hash browns with cheese on top, the other half had two large fried eggs.  Three pieces of thick bacon came with her breakfast. 

 
The pancake was huge - it covered the entire plate.  It was thin, but probably not cooked long enough for Cindy's liking.  (It was cooked good enough for me, but she likes them on the verge of being burnt - same as her French toast when I make it for her at home.)  It had a nice crispy edge.  We both shared bites of the pancake and it was about as close to the ones that Cindy makes as home as we've had at a restaurant.

My breakfast, as far as looks, wasn't much.  The French toast was made with Texas toast, so it was a little bready in taste.  I got a small container of blueberries for a 75 cent upcharge.  I don't know what they ended up charging me for the side of the corned beef hash, but it was enough for me to try.  I didn't want a huge plate of the stuff.  The French toast was all right, but lacked a little bit of pizazz that I was looking for.  But it was rich and filling.  The corned beef hash was a little salty, but not as salty as I've found at other places.  

Between the eggs, hash browns and bacon - along with the pancake - Cindy was having trouble finishing anything on her plate.  She ended up giving me a piece of the bacon which was thick and flavorful.  She finished her eggs and made a dent in the hash browns.  The corned beef hash I made quick work of, but I couldn't finish my French toast.  It was a lot of food for both of us.

Yeah, I'd say we liked our initial experience at Mickey's Country Cafe.  The value versus the amount of food we got was good.  The food was fine for what it was - although I'll think twice about getting the French toast when we go back.  And the service was fine, even though we were worried we'd get forgotten about with the large party taking up our servers time.  But others pitched in an helped her out.  Mickey's Country Cafe is one of those nice little down-home experiences that you'd expect in a Midwestern family-run cafe.

Blatt Beer and Table - Omaha, NE

I'd heard about a new place in Omaha that featured an impressive and ever-changing beer list and a menu that featured gastropub cuisine - including a pretty good burger - Blatt Beer and Table.  On a recent trip to Omaha, I found Blatt Beer and Table in the shadows of TD Ameritrade Park on the north end of downtown Omaha.  (see map)

TD Ameritrade Park is where the city of Omaha hosts the annual College Baseball World Series for two weeks each June.  The stadium was built to keep the College World Series in Omaha as the NCAA was making noises of moving the championship series to another city because of the antiquated nature of the former stadium, Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.  The stadium opened in time for the 2011 CWS and also is home to the Creighton Bluejays baseball team.  

In the area near the stadium, a handful of businesses opened up to cater to people going to the College World Series (the Centurylink Center arena and convention center is also within walking distance of the area).  Owners Nick Hogan and Anthony Hitchcock of the Flagship Restaurant Group, which includes Blue Sushi (click here to see my entry on Blue Sushi), Roja Mexican Grill, and Plank Seafood and Provisions, wanted to build a restaurant in the neighborhood around the stadium that was going to be open for the other 50 weeks of the year, as well.  

With Rosenblatt Stadium being torn down after TD Ameritrade Park was built, the owners wanted to recognize how much the stadium meant to the people of Omaha by naming their new pub Blatt Beer and Table.  (It's said that a grandfather of one of the owners threw out the first pitch at Rosenblatt Stadium after it opened in the late 1940's.)  They wanted the pub to be a place where friends and strangers could congregate at large tables to sit and visit over beer and continental pub food.  

The executive chef for the Flagship Restaurant Group - Tony Gentile - came up with the menu for Blatt Beer and Table.  The group hired Dustin Bushon - one of the owners of Krug Park, a neighborhood beer bar in Omaha that has been called one of the top 100 beer bars in America by Draft Magazine - as an advisor as to which beers they should serve at Blatt.  And after the Daily Grub closed in Omaha, the group hired its former owner, Ellie Lynch, to come up with an eclectic cocktail menu.  When all that was in place, Blatt Beer and Table opened in June of 2012 with a limited menu just in time for the College World Series.  They got up to running full bore later in the summer.    

Parking is available in metered parking spots in front of Blatt Beer and Table.  It was a nice day when I pulled up to the place - it's industrial facade included a garage door that was open to allow the warm spring air come into the bar.  I sat at a large table near the bar and was soon greeted by my server, Samantha.  I looked through the beer menu as they have 24 beers on tap and a number more in bottles and cans. I decided on getting an Anchor Steam in a bottle.  I found out later that they were featuring Wasatch beers, as well.  I hadn't had a Wasatch in a long while, but I had already ordered the Anchor Steam.  

To me, the place seemed more like a sports bar than a gastropub.  Flat screen televisions were hung around the place all turned to sports channels.  I was told the back patio area had been enclosed over the winter and it added double the dining space to the restaurant.  Many of the tables were high with metal stools with wooden seats.  They weren't the most comfortable.  They also have an upstairs patio that happened to be closed that day.  I'm sure there weren't enough people to warrant the rooftop patio to be open.   

 
The main bar is a rectangular, three-sided bar that features uncomfortable looking metal stools.  When they were moved, they made a loud screeching noise on the concrete floor.   But it was the type of bar where I could see myself sitting down with a friend and having a few beers.  I liked the sort of contemporary industrial mixed with old world urban architecture in Blatt Beer and Table.   

They had interesting snacks and appetizers on the menu including honey roasted peanuts sprinkled with a combination of ground chipotle chili powder, coriander, cumin and cinnamon; frites (French fries) served with a parmesan/peppercorn aioli and smoked housemade ketchup; and the Blatt Mac which features cavatappi pasta in a white cheddar sauce with smoked paprika and chopped green onions, then topped with a Panko breadcrumb and Havarti cheese crust.

The main menu isn't big, but it's certainly creative.  They feature just one burger, the Blatt Burger, on the menu.  They have sandwiches such as a Dixie-fried chicken sandwich, an Indian-spiced grilled chicken sandwich, and something called the Salmon Gravlox BLT - they take coriander and orange-cured Scottish salmon, top it with a lemon caper and dill whipped cream cheese, add applewood-smoked bacon with lettuce, tomato and cucumber, and serve it on mini pretzel rolls.  That actually sounded good.  

The main entrees list is also light, but interesting enough.  They have a bock beer-battered white cod fish with fries, down-home Southern-style fried chicken and waffles, and a Steak and Frites entree that features a Black Angus flat iron cut steak - a cut that got its push from the agriculture department at the University of Nebraska. 

The Blatt Burger featured a Black Angus beef ground patty, topped with the aforementioned parmesan/peppercorn aioli, Guinness stout-braised onions, lettuce, tomato and garlic dill pickles and served on a butter-grilled brioche bun.  For an extra dollar each, you could get white cheddar cheese and applewood-smoked bacon on top of the burger.  That's exactly how I ordered it from Samantha.  She asked me if I wanted a side with it.  I had a choice of frites, creamy cole slaw, dill potato salad, house-cut potato chips with either salt and vinegar or chive and sour cream flavoring, as well as a couple other sides that didn't thrill me too much.  I thought I'd try the fries, even knowing in advance that I probably wouldn't eat many of them.

I thought it took exceptionally long for my burger to get out to me.  It was well over 20 minutes from the time I ordered to the time someone other than Samantha brought my burger out from the kitchen.  I suppose good things take time.  It was served in a round metal pan with wax paper.  The burger looked kind of impressive with the garlic pickles, lettuce and tomato speared to the top of the brioche bun.   

 
Opening up the burger to add Blatt's housemade ketchup and mustard (served in glass bottles just like Heinz began to in 1869 to show how fresh the condiments were), it looked like a delightful mess with the criss-crossed bacon strips and the melted white cheddar cheese covering the burger.  The parmesan/peppercorn aioli was spread on the crown.  

The burger was... good.  Not exceptional, like I've had at other burger places in Omaha.  But it was good enough that I liked it.  The burger patty was thick and juicy, the white cheddar cheese and bacon went well with it, and I especially liked the spongy brioche bun.  If I were grading the burger, I'd give it a solid "B".  

The fries, however, were pretty much a throwaway.  They were way too salty for my taste.  They were crunchy on the outside with a nice potato flavor inside, but the salt was overpowering.  

You know, I did like Blatt Beer and Table.  I thought the burger was fine.  Samantha's service was prompt and friendly, but the burger seemed to take a long time to get out to me.  Still, I would recommend give Blatt Beer and Table a try.  I liked the concept and the atmosphere.  It's a welcome addition to that area north of the downtown area of Omaha.

Boshamp's Seafood and Oyster House - Destin, FL

While staying at the Hilton Sandestin Beach during our trip to the Emerald Coast of Florida, we went to see the concierge to pick his brain of places to get fresh caught seafood in the area.  While he said that most fresh caught places had limited hours, one place he recommended was Boshamp's Seafood and Oyster House along the harbor in Destin.  One evening for dinner, we decided to go give Boshamp's a try. 

Allen and Dee Phillips were long time members of the local restaurant scene in Destin opening their Flamingo Cafe in 1986 along the docks of Destin Harbor.  For about 20 years they ran the popular seafood place until they decided to retire.  The building became the Fish Bar and was in business until about 2011 before it shut down. 

The restaurant business was in the blood of the Phillips children helping their parents out in the old Flamingo Cafe for years.  Miller Phillips graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in restaurant and hospitality management and opened a franchised location of Another Broken Egg breakfast restaurant in Mountain Brook, AL.  His younger sister Ashley was the general manager and their mother helped with the decor.  When the Fish Bar shut down, Miller Phillips decided to sell his Another Broken Egg location and move back to Destin to achieve his lifelong dream of running his family's restaurant.  Ashley followed him back home. 

For over a year, the Phillips family transformed the building from a tired old building into a vibrant restaurant that paid homage to the older days of Destin when it was primarily a fishing town.  They put in new docks for boaters and jet skiers to gain access via the harbor.  They built a nice outdoor eating area overlooking the harbor and completely redesigned and refurbished the inner dining area of the restaurant.  They reopened the new Boshamps Seafood and Oyster House in April of 2013.  

Boshamps head chef Andi Bell has long been associated with the Phillips family.   Bell, an Alabama native, used to come to the Emerald Coast as a child with his family and moved there in 1991. Bell - a top honors graduate of the then Florida Culinary Institute (now the Lincoln Culinary Institute) - ended up as the chef at the Flamingo Cafe in 1996 and was named a "Rising Star of American Cuisine" by the James Beard Foundation in 2001.  When Miller Phillips opened Boshamps in 2013, Andi Bell was in place as the executive chef. 

With a dog in the logo, I figured that the name had something to do with a dog that Miller Phillips owned.  Actually, the name of the restaurant comes from the Phillips family's three Labrador's - Bobo, Otis and Shug.  Ashley Phillips added Miller Phillips initials and the restaurant became Boshamp's.  (When I first saw the name of the restaurant, I figured that the family's name was Beauchamp and that the name of the place was the American-ized phonetic spelling.  That's what I get for over-thinking.)  

Boshamps is located right along US Highway 98 in the heart of Destin.  (see map)  The parking lot was full when we pulled in around 7:30 and we ended up using valet parking.  Not having a reservation, we knew we'd probably have to wait at the bar for a bit.  We were greeted by a couple young ladies at the hostess stand who wanted to know if we wanted to eat inside, outside or first available.  Although we both wanted to eat outside, we knew that we'd have better luck if we said first available and if we had to sit inside, so be it.  We ended up going to the bar to get a drink.  

The bar is the centerpiece of the restaurant when you walk in.  It was a rectangular shaped bar with seating on three sides.  A young lady was one of the bartenders and she came over to take our drink order.  My wife said  that she wanted a rum runner - one of our favorite Caribbean-themed drinks that has, well, a ton of alcohol in it.  I decided to get the same thing.  

 
The main dining room had large windows that looked out on to the harbor area.  Rustic wooden planks adorned the walls along with dark walnut floors and a wooden ceiling.  The wood decor made for a pretty loud dining and bar area in the place.

We took a quick look outside and found out why everyone wanted to eat out there.  There was a large open air dining and bar area that looked out over the harbor.  A gentle breeze was coming in off the water and it was a great night to eat outside.  But looking at the number of people in the outdoor dining area we had pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we would be eating inside sooner than eating outdoors later.

 
We went back in to sit at the bar to wait for a table.  Our bartender struck up a conversation with us asking where we were from.  We told her we were from Iowa and she said, "Oh, hey!  I'm from Indiana.  Columbus, to be exact."  I asked her why she ended up here and she said, "I came down for vacation and always thought it was a nice place.  I just ended up moving down here awhile back. I miss Indiana, but I don't miss the winters."  After the winter we just had in Iowa, I know what she means.  

Our buzzer went off and we went over to the hostess stand.  One of the hostesses took us to a table opposite one of the large windows and dropped off some menus.  I was finished with my rum runner and I ordered another one when she asked me if I needed another drink.  It wasn't long before our server for the evening, Douglas, came back with the rum runner and greeted us.  

Douglas told us of their "Catch of the Day" specials that night, it was a red snapper with soft shell crab on top. He also had just a regular red snapper that could be cooked in various ways.  Red snapper has made a strong comeback in the Gulf after almost being fished out of existence a few years ago.   

We almost ordered some oysters on the half shell at the bar, but waited until we sat down.  Douglas said, "I'll get those going and let you two look over the menu."  

We noticed a lot of the red snapper/soft shell crab going by our table.  Cindy was eyeing that entree pretty heavily.  "That looks pretty good," she said as a server placed four of the special entrees on a table near us.

While the menu wasn't extensive, it featured - of course - seafood entrees, steaks, fried chicken and a lobster/mac & cheese entree.  The nightly special sounded good, but I was leaning toward getting a blackened red snapper.

  Douglas brought out the oysters that came with fresh ground horseradish, shrimp sauce and something that was called a "PBR mignonette".  "It's the chef's own concoction," he told us.  "He takes the regular mignonette (vinegar, minced shallots, cracked black pepper) and puts a little Pabst Blue Ribbon in it.  It's really good."  

These were some of the biggest and meatiest oysters that we had ever seen.  Cindy asked if they were local oysters and Douglas replied, "No, these are from Louisiana.  We used to get our oysters locally, but the oyster beds ran dry and the states of Florida and Georgia are in a lawsuit about it."  We had mentioned that we heard about this earlier during our stay in the area and he said, "Yeah, it's a real mess."  

He told us that he'd let have some time to take care of the oysters before he took our order for dinner.  That was a mistake.  During the time we were enjoying the oysters, they ran out of that night's special with the red snapper and the soft shell crab.  Cindy ordered that after we finished our oysters and when she was told that wasn't available any longer we both groaned.  We had seen a LOT come out of the kitchen as we were sitting there and Douglas was a little slow getting back to us as he was busy with other tables.  "Yeah, I was just told that we ran out," Douglas told us. "Sorry about that folks."  He later told us that they would have it again as a special on Saturday night, but we would be leaving on Saturday morning.  Oh well...

Cindy went back to the menu and found something called the "Original Snapper Destin" - jumbo lump crab meat, steamed Gulf shrimp, mashed red potatoes, locally grown braised greens and topped with a bearnaise sauce with honey roasted pecans.  She said, "Actually, that was going to be my other choice."  

I ended up getting the red snapper - blackened, of course.  I even told Douglas that the chef could "stomp on" the Cajun seasonings for me, if he wanted.  With the red snapper, it came with cheesy grits and locally raised tomatoes and okra in a Cajun maque choux.   I also got a cup of their housemade gumbo and I switched from the rum runners to a beer.  I selected one of the locally brewed Grayton Brewing Company beers - the pale ale.  I found their beers to be all right, but nothing that I had to take back to Iowa with me.

The gumbo had a very forward and smoky flavor.  Chunks of chicken and shrimp made for a fine complement to the gumbo broth.  I zipped it up with some Tabasco and it was pretty good.  Not the best I've had, but it worked for that evening.  

 
Douglas brought our food out to us and - as I asked - the chef covered the red snapper in Cajun seasonings before the blackening process.  It had a nice crust of seasonings on the outside and inside the fish was tender, moist and flaky.  It was very good. 

The cheesy grits (found that a lot of places we ate at in Florida had cheesy grits - I like just the regular good ol' grits) were all right as was the tomato/okra/maque choux.  Quite honestly, after the big oysters and the gumbo, I was pretty stuffed before the main entrees showed up.  I concentrated almost wholly on the delicious blackened red snapper.  

Cindy's dinner entree was very interesting - and very rich.  The lump crab meat, shrimp and everything was sort of piled on top of one another with the bearnaise sauce drizzled over the top.  She loved it tremendously.  We exchanged bites of our food and I had some of the crab meat.  It was very, very good.  She said, "Well, if I couldn't get the other dinner, this worked out fine."  

We were fully stuffed after the dinner was over and Douglas tempted us with dessert and this was one of the few times that we refused on our trip.  I was fully satiated and couldn't have even begun to think about having anything else at that point.

Things were winding down for the evening when Douglas brought us our bill.  Cindy asked him if he was from somewhere else and he told us that he had been in the Marine Corps for 20 years and retired to St. Louis after he got out of the service.  "My brother is the catering and beverage manager at the Hilton Sandestin (which was a coincidence since we were staying there) and I brought my family down here for Christmas about five years ago."  He said that while it was cold and snowy in St. Louis that day, it was 66 degrees in Destin and they were out walking along the beach in shorts.  "We moved down here not long after that and it's been great for my family," he told us.  "My son is high school age and he's more active here than he was in St. Louis, he was always playing video games.  He's always outside down here."  

After I paid Doug I thanked him not only for his fine service that evening, but for his service for our country.  "Thank you on both counts," he said as he bid us farewell.  "I appreciate it deeply."  He was a good guy and a good server.  

About the only problem I had with Boshamps is that we didn't get to eat outside.  Well, that and the special that evening had sold out by the time we were ready to order.  But the food was very good, Douglas' service was above average (although he did forget some Tabasco for the oysters and was a little slow getting back to us causing Cindy to miss out on the special that evening), the atmosphere was perfect as a laid back place to get some very good and very fresh seafood.  Boshamps was not our best meal during our trip, but it was a close second.  And that's saying a lot.   

Main Deli Steak House - Montreal

First a full disclosure about today's post - I really didn't come here.  But colleagues of mine did and got me a sandwich, so I believe I can still talk about the Main Deli Steak House in Montreal.  (Photo courtesy Trip Advisor/Canada.)

A couple months ago, I was working a dealer event in St. Louis with Costa, the V.P. for sales for Simaudio which is based in Montreal.  I told him that I was going to be heading up to Montreal the following week for meetings at our head office.  I mentioned that I was getting into Montreal around noon and that I would probably head to the iconic Schwartz's Deli for a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich.  (Click here to see my entry on Schwartz's Deli.)   

Costa said, "If you want to stand in long lines (like we did) at Schwartz's and get hustled in and out of the place, then that's fine. But where the locals go to is right across the street.  It's called Main Deli and I think they have better sandwiches than Schwartz's."

After Costa's recommendation, I looked up Main Deli and found that while it didn't have quite the long and savory history that Schwartz's did, it appeared that a lot of people liked the place more than Schwartz's.  Main Deli was founded in 1974 by Peter Varvaro, a son of Italian immigrants who grew up running to get his family Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches from local deli restaurants up and down Boul St. Laurent.  Varvaro immersed himself in Jewish culture as a young man and learned the art of making smoked meat which originated in Romania.  Peter Varvaro said that the secret wasn't so much in the spices and herbs that were used to help cure the meat before smoking, but rather the whole process of making the smoked meat - a family secret that was kept between Varvaro, his wife, his daughter and four sons, all of whom worked at Main Deli.  

Varvaro's initial restaurant - Main St. Laurence Steakhouse and Delicatessen - was a small place along Boul St. Laurent, regarded by many locals as the main street of Montreal.  In 1984, Varvaro moved to a larger, but still cozy place, right across the street from Schwartz's Deli.  (see map).  He renamed it Main Deli Steak House at that time.  Peter Varvaro passed away in 2013 at the age of 81, but the family still owns - and runs - the restaurant.  

Two of Peter Varvaro's sons have gone out on their own to open similar smoked meat restaurants in the suburbs of Montreal.  Oldest son Peter Jr. opened Smoke Meat Pete's in 1996, giving the restaurant his nickname that friends called him when he was growing up working in the family business.  And Philip Varvaro runs Delibee's, a full delicatessen that also serves Montreal-style smoked meat.  

I found this little five minute plus video on Peter Varvaro, Sr. that was made before he passed away talking about smoked meat and what little he says about his process of making it.  

On this recent trip to Montreal, it turns out that a couple of my west coast colleagues had taken red-eye flights to get into Montreal around 9:45 in the morning.  Two other colleagues had gotten in around 10:30 a.m.  I wasn't due in until around noon.  I had suggested all of us go to Main Deli for a sandwich, but then I got to feeling guilty that some of them would have to be waiting around a couple hours or more for me to meet up with them.  They all said they were up for a sandwich at Main Deli and suggested that I take a cab from the airport to meet them.  Once again, I didn't want them to wait for me - especially the guys who had taken red-eye flights into Montreal and who were, undoubtedly, tired and ready for a nap.  I said that I would just take a cab to our hotel and meet them there later on.

But my colleague, Ian, had a better idea.  He said that they would go to Main Deli, have lunch, then come back out to the airport to pick me up - and bring me a sandwich.  While I was disappointed that I couldn't physically go to Main Deli for a sandwich, I was somewhat humbled by the fact that they'd grab me a sandwich and come all the way back out to the airport to pick me up.  I work with a great bunch of guys.  

Right around 1 p.m. on a beautiful day in Montreal, the guys came around the pick-up lane in a van and picked me up.  In a small sandwich bag was an aluminum-wrapped sandwich.  It was sort of mashed and scrunched up, but there it was - a glorious pile of smoked meat sandwich slathered with yellow mustard placed between two thick (at one time) slices of white bread.  I took a couple pictures of the sandwich in the foil.  While I wish the sandwich looked like this one on the right, it didn't - thanks to the wear and tear of wrapping it up and traveling in a sack.  (I got this picture of a Main Deli smoked meat sandwich from Yelp.)  

The tender smoked meat was fabulous.  The seasonings were very discernible on the outside bark of the meat.  The overall flavor was outstanding.  I pulled a couple slices off the sandwich as we were driving down the road and savored the taste and smell of the meat.  I was in Montreal-style smoked meat heaven.

I have to hand it to Costa from Simaudio - he certainly had Main Deli and Steakhouse pegged.  I probably did like it better than Schwartz's, which has sort of gone commercial over the past few years.  (They're starting to sell Schwartz's packaged smoked meat in grocery stores around Montreal.)  While I can't comment on what the inside of Main Deli was like (I should have had the guys take pictures for me), all I can say that even going down a freeway eating a smoked meat sandwich from Peter Varvaro's original recipe made me especially happy.  I'd just love to get there in person at some point and get one hot out of the kitchen. 

Jack's LST (Locust Street Tap) - Davenport, IA

I got a new phone recently - a Samsung Galaxy S5.  I had a Galaxy S3 and while the camera on the phone was good, it wasn't as good as the one on the S5.  With double the pixels, the S5 can take better pictures in lower light.  Considering that I use my phone a lot to take pictures of the food that I eat on the road - and that most places have reduced lighting - I was eager to try out my new camera phone.  I met a buddy for lunch at one of my favorite burger places and a place that I needed to do a more in-depth look for Road Tips - Jack's Locust Street Tap in Davenport, IA.  

When I first started Road Tips eight and a half years ago, one of the first places I wrote about was Jack's LST (as it's known to the locals).  But it was along the lines of "Great burger, only if Karen makes it, though.  My wife hates the place.  Worth the trip if you're like me."  Not a Pulitzer Prize-winning post by a long shot.  

The Jack behind Jack's LST is the late Jack Nelson.  Jack was an entrepreneur who dabbled in real estate and sales before he started the Locust Street Tap in 1978.  He also owned two other popular bars/taverns in Davenport - The Gallery and Mound Street Landing.  His wife, Carolyn, ran The Gallery and his daughter, Gina, ran Mound Street Landing.  His son, Jason, helped him out at Jack's LST.  Tragically, Jack died after suffering a stroke in December of 2008.  (Click here to see my tribute to Jack.)  Carolyn Nelson and Jason Nelson own and run Jack's LST today.  Every time I have a Checker's chili dog (which isn't all that often), I think of Jack because he loved them so much. 

The aforementioned Karen is Karen Ryan, the daytime manager/bartender/cook at Jack's LST.  Karen has worked at Jack's for as long as I can remember going INTO Jack's - and that's been for over 20 years.  She works Tuesday thru Friday in the daytime up until around 3 or 4 p.m.  Karen's husband, whose not so worthy nickname of  "Pud" sort of sticks out, owns his own construction/carpentry business in Davenport.  He's a great guy and I've shared a beer or two with him.  (Although I've never come to ask him how he got the nickname of Pud.)

Jack's attracts both blue collar and white collar workers for lunch time burgers, pork tenderloins and chicken sandwiches.  At night, the place turns into a 20-something bar with loud music and lots of beer.  Jack's features a couple pool tables, a foosball table, some video and pinball machines, and a regulation shuffleboard table along the west wall of the place.  

My standard lunch at Jack's is a cheeseburger and fries with one or two beers to help wash it all down. Normally, I'm not big on chargrilled burgers in a restaurant, but Karen has the secret down with the old time gas grill she uses at Jack's.  She knows exactly how long to cook the burgers so they turn out juicy and flavorful with the right amount of melted American cheese on top of the burger patty.

The fries at Jack's are fresh cut, skin on potatoes that Karen slices with a cut press.  They're deep fried in vegetable oil to a deep golden color.  

There's no secret to the burgers at Jack's - they get their burger patties frozen from a local food wholesaler and Karen puts the patties on the grill frozen when the order comes up.  It's hard to believe that the burgers that they have at Jack's are as good as they are.  But, once again, Karen has the touch when it comes to cooking the burger patties.

My usual lunch of a cheeseburger and fries came to me about one and a half beers after my buddy and I ordered up.  (In fact, it's gotten to the point that when I come into Jack's for lunch Karen will place a beer in front of me and ask, "Having lunch today?"  After I give her the affirmative, she turns around and gets a burger and fries going for me.) 

 
The bun is basic, nothing fancy, but holds well together with the juiciness of the Jack's burger.  An onion slice - of which I use only the outside three or four rings - and a half dozen dill pickle slices comes with the burger.  After adding the toppings including ketchup and yellow mustard, the Jack's cheeseburger is ready to go.   (The photos were taken in a relatively low light - the Samsung Galaxy S5 takes a pretty good picture!)

Now, my wife doesn't care for the burgers at Jack's.  I think it has something to do with the fact that she'd never been there through the week with me when Karen's cooking.  The girls on the weekends and the part-timer on Monday's just don't have it down as good as Karen does.  While I may go into Jack's during a weekend I'll very rarely order food, unless they're having some sort of brat or hot dog special that coincides with a sporting event they're showing on one of the numerous flat panels they have hanging in the place.

As I said in my initial post on Jack's Locust Street Tap - don't let the "Warm Beer" and "Lousy Food" neon signs in the front windows deter you from stopping in.  It's a great little neighborhood bar that I've been going to now for over 20 years.  I don't even think of it as slumming when I go into Jack's LST, but it's more of a shot and a beer place with very good burgers.  Once again, I only go Tuesday thru Friday during the day and make sure Karen is cooking.  It's worth the stop. 

Wig and Pen - Ankeny, IA

On a recent trip to Central Iowa, I was forced to get a hotel room in the Des Moines suburb of Ankeny, just north of the city, because something was going on in Des Moines and all the good hotel rooms were full.  I found a room at a Hampton Inn in Ankeny and decided that I'd go get something to eat.  I looked up pizza places on my GPS and the Wig and Pen came up.  That's right - Ankeny has a Wig and Pen, just like the original one in the Iowa City/Coralville area.  I decided to head that direction for a late dinner.

The Wig and Pen on the border of Iowa City and Coralville (some say the boundary goes through the men's bathroom) is one of my all-time favorite places to go to.  (Click here to see my entry on Wig and Pen.)  They have a dish called the Wigatoni that is basically baked rigatoni in a meat sauce (spicy or mild - I usually get the spicy) with copious amounts of caramelized mozzarella cheese that on top.  It is truly to die for.  But their pizza is pretty good, too.  My wife and I met her sister there for dinner last fall and we got one of their deep dish pizzas.  It was as if we were transported to Chicago for the evening for a good Chicago stuffed pizza.  We like the deep-dish stuffed pizza a little more than their signature "Flying Tomato" deep-dish pizza that is garnished with tomato slices on the top. 

And this is what frustrates me - the Quad Cities sits 55 miles closer to Chicago than Iowa City and there are only one or two of what I would call "good" pizza places in the greater Q.C. area thanks to the proliferation of the ghastly Quad City-style pizza.  Iowa City has four excellent places for pizza - including a couple "Chicago-style" places that I can think of off the top of my head and if I searched harder I could probably find two or three more.  So when I found out that Wig and Pen had expanded 115 miles to the west in Ankeny about seven years ago, I was upset because they could have put a location in the Quad Cities and literally cleaned up.  

It was around 9 p.m. when I got into the Wig and Pen in Ankeny.  It's located in the corner of a new-ish strip mall on Ankeny's south side on S. Ankeny Blvd. across from the main campus for the Des Moines Area Community College, about a five minute drive from the hotel.  (see map)  There were only a few people in the place when I walked in.  They serve food until 10 p.m. through the week, so I was OK.  

The dining area at the Wig and Pen in Ankeny is different from the one in Iowa City/Coralville.  It's a little more spiffy and open in the Ankeny location than the well-worn, but warm feeling you get from the very cozy dining room in Iowa City.  

 
I ended up sitting at the bar and got a menu from the bartender/server, Katie.  She was efficient, but a little withdrawn and indifferent.  I couldn't tell if she was tired or if she was upset that I came in after 9 p.m. on a weeknight to get food.  Sometimes I get that vibe if a place has been slow and I come in to order food late.  

I was going to make it easy on her.  I just wanted a small, thin-crust sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza.  It had been a long time since I'd gotten a thin-crust pizza at the Iowa City/Coralville Wig and Pen and I wanted to try one that evening.  And it didn't take long to get out to me as I was - by that time - the only one ordering food in the place.  

Like the one in Iowa City/Coralville, the pizza was cut into square party cut - or some call them "tavern cut" - slices instead of the traditional triangle cuts.  Caramelized mozzarella covered the top of the pizza with large chunks of sausage, fresh mushroom slices and a good amount of pepperoni slices were included on the pizza.  

At first, I thought the pizza was overcooked a bit.  The crust was a little hard and crispy when I got the first bite.  But as I went on and the pizza settled a bit, the crust became more pliable and not as crunchy.  The sweet and tangy tomato sauce Wig and Pen uses on their pizzas in the Iowa City area was the same as the one I had in Ankeny.  As I said, it had been a long time since I'd had a thin-crust pizza at the original Wig and Pen, but the one that I had in the Ankeny location acquitted itself very well.  It's one of the wonderful pizzas that tastes great with a cold beer.  

Here's a note to the owners of Wig and Pen over in Iowa City - do yourselves (and ME!) a big favor.  Look toward the east and put a location in Davenport.  The Fieldhouse from Iowa City is opening a location in the North Park Mall and their food isn't even close to what the Wig and Pen offers.  I'm hoping that gets restaurant owners in Iowa City to consider going east.  If they can replicate the original Wig and Pen's food in Ankeny, they could easily do it in half the distance between Iowa City and Ankeny.  I'm not certain the people in Ankeny know how lucky they are have a Wig and Pen location.  But they're a lot more lucky than the people in the Quad Cities.

West Towne Pub - Ames, IA

Staying in Ames recently, very near the hotel I was staying at was a place that I'd seen before on visits to the area but had never been to - West Towne Pub.  I decided to have a closer look at the place before I left the area that particular day.  

West Towne Pub is a sports bar that also features a number of eclectic beers on tap and in bottles.  It's owned by Bryan Kinneer - a former sales rep in the medical industry who decided that he wanted to get out of the sales racket about 8 years ago and open up his own sports bar - and his wife, Shelley.  Along with Kinneer's brother, Kevin, they also own the nearby Perfect Games family fun center that features bowling, laser tag, video games and a pizzeria, Kingpin Pizza.  Both businesses are located in the West Towne development on the southwest side of Ames.  (see map)

Walking into West Towne Pub, you immediately see a ton of flat screen televisions throughout the place.  The decor is decidedly industrial with exposed support beams and duct work on the ceiling.  A cold slab concrete floor is on the main dining level while a step up bar area overlooks the dining room.  It was early and they had only been open for about 30 minutes when I stopped in.

I was greeted by a young lady who led me to a booth along the glass-walled south side of the sports bar.  She gave me a menu and told me that my server would be with me in a moment.  Not long after, a young lady by the name of Emily showed up.  They had a pretty impressive line-up of beers at West Towne Pub and I ended up ordering a Boulevard Pale Ale as I looked through the menu.  

The food at West Towne Pub is typical of any sports bar - the usual deep fried appetizers and chicken wings, a number of sandwiches, a few entrees including a pasta dish, pork chops and ribs, and a handful of hand-pattied burgers that West Towne Pub claims are 25% bigger than most places.  Even though I was thinking of getting Thy Reuben - their take on a reuben sandwich - or the Cuban sandwich (but I've yet to find a good Cuban sandwich outside of Miami), I ended up getting the Towne Bacon cheeseburger - called their signature burger on the menu.  It said that they spent a lot of money with consultants coming up with the burger's name, but I think that borders on hyperbole.  I had my choice of cheese - American, Cheddar, Swiss or Provolone.  I got the Swiss cheese to go along with the apple-smoked bacon.  A side of West Towne Pub's "Brew City" French fries came with the meal.  

The burger came with lettuce, onions and tomato slices.  The Swiss cheese was melted over the bacon and the burger patty.  It looked damned good.  

 
The burger was, indeed, huge.  The bun was thick and I was worried that it would be a little too much bun for the burger.  But the bun was airy and collapsed easily when you put your fingers into it.  

From the first bite I knew this was a winning burger.  It made me go, "Mmmmmm...." as I savored my first bite.  Juicy and flavorsome, the burger patty was cooked with a little pink in the middle - exactly how I like it.  The Swiss cheese had a wonderfully complementary taste to the burger without being overpowering.  And the applewood-smoked bacon was a great companion taste.  And the bun stayed together with all that was on the burger.  The key to a good burger is a good bun.  The bun on the Towne Pub cheeseburger was very good.   

The "Brew City" fries were crispy on the outside and moist inside.  They were good, but it was going to be all I could do to finish the large Towne Pub cheeseburger.  And as good as the burger was, I knew I wouldn't be eating many of the fries.

Many sports bars that I've come across in my travels usually have just OK bar food.  They just figure that if someone is going to come in and watch sports, they'll probably eat just about anything that the place puts on the menu.  But I could tell that they cared about the food at West Towne Pub.  The burger was excellent - one of the best I've ever had at a sports bar.  The fries, too, were very good - even though I didn't pay much attention to them.  The beer selection was good and I thought Emily's service was top notch.  I would have no problem returning to West Towne Pub for another burger at some point.