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Man, lots of food at Sagra's with the Pilots and emjey. Tuesday is all-you-can-eat-mussels night and I had eight plates but emjey had to show me up and have ten. The waiter had said the record was six which I can't imagine. Whatever, I just wish I had stopped with just the excessive eating but the booze flew like wine. And sambuca. And then some beers at the Flying Saucer. And maybe a bourbon at my house. And now some pain this morning.

Labels: drinking, emjey, food, pilots

How to kill a Sunday afternoon? By catching up on stuff on my DVR, of course. I taped some stuff while I was gone and 1408 was sitting there waiting for me. I'm not a fan of the horror genre, in genre, but I make certain exceptions for Steven King flicks. Add to that, my boy John Cusack and we have a weiner. There wasn't some deep answers, just a nice blend of story and good acting coupled with briefness.

Oh, and I discovered these wonderful cookies from Border Biscuits. I didn't realize they were a Scottish company or I wouldn't have waited until tonight to try them out. I had the butterscotch crunch but am thinking all the flavors will be equally wonderful. Try them with some ice cream or with milk! Or just by themselves, they are just too wonderful for words.

Labels: food, movies

My boss came up from San Antonio today and we met up tonight, conveniently near where I'm going tonight for an event MECA's putting on at Kenobi. He was his typical self but the food at Serranos was good. And prettty quick. Too bad the company blew.

Labels: drinking, food, work

Not only might this possibly be the greatest sandwich ever conceived but I actually exceeded during the execution creating something beyond my own imagination. We've got turkey, roast beef, bacon with tomato, lettuce, hard boiled egg and home-made guacamole. I don't know if I could've done this without being in a food-deprived coma so I was in a bit of a zone creating this masterpiece. That and I basically finished work 20 minutes ago before I started this up so needed to get my head off the paycheck-getter. And it was well worth it. It is so good I believe I'll have this on the day of my execution.

Labels: food, work

Aces sent me an email about Pok-e-Jo's having a 30th anniversary sale: all prices to 1970 levels. So I got a sandwich with a side, two meat plates with two sides for $13. Plus they had 70¢ beer so I had a couple of those to boot. Who can turn that down? Though I think between my pizza for breakfast and this, I've gained like 5 pounds today.

Labels: aces, food

Basically just picked up veggies and beer.  Grand total: $86! Partying like a rock star ain't cheap.

Labels: events, food

I couldn't not stop at Carl's Jr. on my way to Houston.  A new location in Bastrop I had to hit on my way to Houston. I'm per my normal pattern an hour or so behind schedule but at least the temperature is bearable.

Labels: food, travel

The day blended into night about the way one would think when I was asked to sit outside (the heat had lessened and I had a few less articles of clothing (on)from caring). Meaningful conversation was had, at least on my part, between big hits of beer. And then a tray of deviled eggs magically appeared (there is little in this world that I stop a train for and one of them is deviled eggs). I ate probably a dozen (they were exquisite, some fancy recipe that I can only hope to someday acquire) plus there might've been an over-stuffed spinach quiche but don't quote me on those (ok, overstuffed and GOOD). Either way, I'm home and hoping nothing else hits me in the head between now and Thursday.

Labels: food, minutia

Man, these guys disgust me. I can't imagine ever getting involved with somebody to such an extent that I'd feel like it was ok to dress with the same shirt. Relationships aren't like being on a sport's teams. Fools, damn fools, I say! And their stupidity is disturbing my cooking class (Food & Wine from Italy) down at Central Market. But there's pasta, soup and more lamb on the menu so I might be able to survive.

Labels: food, minutia

Lamb pastrami sandwich with horseradish cream sauce, tomato and arugula on focaccia.

fennel braised lamb shank with creamy polenta.

Rack of lamb with garlic mashed potatoes. Spectacular.

Labels: food

Just got back from a cook class at Central Market, Burgers and Beers, and I'm chock full. Jesus, did they give us a lot of food. Six different burgers accompanied by six different beers. I didn't drink the last two beers nor did I finish the last two burgers (the first part is the most shocking part, in my opinion). I haven't had a class with that much food in years, and, frankly, I hadn't missed it. All the burgers were good, but it is tough to differentiate after the third or fourth.

Labels: food

I'm up at the Daily Grill up in the Domain and unable to eat much for lunch so I'm sure this pot pie will join the artichoke dip already not eaten.  Though I should eat since I basically partied it up all day yesterday around the house, even the neighbor came by and was telling Vietnam stories. Interesting times.

And in case you're concerned, that Johnny Walker in the left corner will be taken down.

Labels: drinking, food

I've got a package load of stuff here from Omaha Steaks, good times ahead!

Labels: food

Sagra, again.

Labels: food

Killing some time in Clio, MI with S. Money and playing with the restaurant's toys between courses.

Labels: food, s. money

I landed in Michigan about an hour ago to a heat wave of 40 degree temperatures. After getting my car, I've already done (and pictured) something I wasn't planning on, White Castle. Conveniently the only location I know of is still there in all its glory. I'll be feeling this for a few days. As will others.

Labels: food, travel

Another Sunday, another brunch at Sagra! My once a month tradition, possibly. This time I had the carbonara. And I tried nearly everything and it was all great. But not nearly as great as Tuesday when the offer all-you-can-eat mussels. Ah yeah!

Labels: food

After my trip to check out the MetroRail, I decided to venture down south to Austin's first Carl's Jr! And they nicely have the wall painted to make it a little more Austin authentic. So I strayed from my normal Ranch Crispy and got a grilled version instead. That was still excellent. Now I'm considering having something besides chicken next time. Maybe a burger...

Labels: food

Oh, it is sad when I sleep in until 9 and I think that's fine. All that crazy training all week hopefully doesn't have me accustomed to getting up early.

Anyways, got some drinks after my session with the crew down at Hula Hut for some mediocre drinks. Then we decided to blow that popsicle stand before we gave them any more money. I suggested Texas Chili Parlor and am glad for it; that place is damn good. After that, we grabbed a couple more drinks at Dog & Duck Pub (which is owned by the same guy who owns Billy's on Burnet so I'm keeping it in the family this week). And I was still in bed before 11 PM. What a night!

Anyways, better to get on with my day.

Labels: drinking, food

A friend of mine was in town and we felt like getting some barbecue so we went down Barton Springs way and Uncle Billy's (not to be confused at all with Billy's on Burnet where I ate earlier in the week). I would say that the food was good, but nothing spectacular. But I didn't pay for it and I've got leftovers for lunch tomorrow so that's good. They're a brewhouse, too, but I chose to not partake in any of the homemade liquid refreshments.

Now I'm to bed; my last day of training starts at 7:30 am!

Labels: food

The second day of training has definitely gone better than the first, but maybe that's because I took a buddy of mine to Billy's on Burnet. I always forget how good their burgers are and was happy that my friend was pleased with the food and ambiance. I got the L.A. Jay but everything I've had is exceptional. A while back I even hit one of their lunch specials and was happy with the meatball sub I got. Definitely a good place to grab a bite.

Labels: food

I'm on a break from this crazy training but at least I got a gyro from Arpeggio Grill. I'll be all oniony for those surrounding me. OK, back to the grind; only another seven hours to go!

Labels: food, work

A pretty quiet weekend, but I did get to introduce some folks to Shady Grove. I broke from tradition and got a chicken sandwich instead of my standard chicken fried chicken. The latter might've been better to have some leftovers for the week. Especially as I've got a long week ahead: training from 8 am to 7 pm all week except Friday where I get to go from 8 to 4. Tons of fun.

Labels: food, work

I had a great lunch of leftovers from Superbowl Sunday.  A nice meat sauce with pork, sausage and meatballs.  Sunday it was accompanied with a a baked ziti and I gorged myself. Today I topped it over some spinach linguine with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Delicious!

Labels: food

A work trip to San Antonio gave me time to sneak out for a glorious visit to Carl's Jr. They still appear to be pretty rare down here because I had to drive 15 minutes to find this one. Since they are relatively close by now, I almost decided against the Ranch Chicken. In the end, I went with the old faithful but I can't promise that will be the case next time. The burgers look pretty darn tasty! And the fried zucchini will have to tried, too.

And with that, I'm out of here. Time to head back to Austin.

Labels: food

I just got back from a great brunch at Sagra Trattoria. I had the polenta with fried eggs but the key was the 75¢ mimosas and bellinis. Who can turn those down? I chose the bellinis and drank like 10. And the food was great. I had the fried eggs with polenta, but there were plenty of items on the menu for another time.

Labels: drinking, food

In the process of cleaning up some old posts/updating pictures I found an old one regarding Carl's Jr. Turns out there's a newer one in Austin. Well, south Austin but that's still closer than San Antonio. I've had a love for the Ranch Crispy for years (though they have varied it slightly over time). During the dark days of dmt, I actually made it to the location in San Antonio, but to have a location within 15 miles?! Exciting times for sure! I might even contemplate moving to the dirty, dirty south. Now I just need to find a time to go. Soon, it has to be.

Labels: food

I had dinner last night at Perry's Steakhouse. It is relatively new steakhouse to Austin. The had steak options ranging from your not-so standard cuts of beef that were all dry-aged. Variations existed for the ribeyes and NY Strips, plus filet mignon (I really would've like to get the Chateaubriand for two but just for me though that might've been a bit too gluttonous). I narrowed my choice to the lamb chop and pork chop, but the pork was cut tableside so I had to get that.

The chop I had was good but when you're dropping around $60 for dinner with a pre-dinner whiskey at the bar and just a glass of wine with dinner the value wasn't so great. And it was a bit too hoyty toyty for me. They have some deal for lunch that I may have to check out.

Labels: food

So here's what's on the menu for Christmas dinner: citrus roasted turkey breast, ham, horseradish mashed potatoes (plus a sweet potato) and stuffing. All but the ham is my responsibility, though I have a very respectable sous chef helping me out. I've learned from my Thanksgiving day nightmare and the turkey is in the oven with plenty of time to spare. Since I've got a couple hours before the turkey is done, I'm heading down for some light frolicking.

Labels: cooking, food

A Christmas Story is on TBS! I can't remember not watching this on Christmas. Though it is more accurately Christmas Eve. Perfect timing, too, as I'm still recovering from stuffing myself with the dinner of ribs, baked potatoes, and veggies. Not the normal holiday dinner but damn good.

Speaking of traditions, I need to get my second wind before we start playing cards.

Labels: food, movies, sports

Funny thing, I was wondering if my folks would notice any of my latest scars and was wondering if I should bring it up or something. Well, my mom was looking at me and wondered what happened to the right side of my jaw. That was from my accident a few years ago so I think I'm good for a while before she notices these fresh ones.

Ok, time for spaghetti and meatballs!

Labels: food

This is just one sampling of the abundance of food my mom's been giving to me. Yes, that's four pieces of bacon with my eggs. And she thought I needed more toast.

Labels: food

This is awesome, there are three Carl Jr.'s in Hawaii. Only seven months away! Though I should head down to the one in Van Ormy. That's in Texas, in case you were wondering.


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Labels: food, minutia

neolefty sent me a pic from outside In-N-Out Burger and it made me realize how much I miss Carl Jr.'s. And it made me wonder why there isn't a Carl's here. And then it call came back to the difference between the West Coast Carl's Jr. and the East Coast Hardee's. Take a look at the maps of both locations.

Carl's Jr.

Hardee's

Notice how they have no crossover, but still there isn't one of either within 90 miles of ATX.

Each restaurant is part of the CKE Restaurant chain but the menus aren't the same, but the web sites are strikingly similar. And Hardee's is more of a breakfast place where Carl's Jr. is lunch/dinner city. Regardless, if only they both had the Ranch Crispy sandwich. I love that sandwich and I think its only gotten better; now it has Swiss cheese and bacon. Got to love that.

Labels: food, minutia, neolefty

Funny thing, my turkey is still warm. And its been out of the over for like 3 or 4 hours. Tin foil to the rescue!

Speaking of food, lots of stuffing and potatoes left over.

Labels: food

with a pseudo fried egg. Down at the place across from Lavaca Street.

Labels: drinking, food

I'd put up a pic of the cooked up (and delicous!) ham and cheese casserole but the pic ain't all that appetizing. All these damn pictures have a green tint to them.

Now emjey and I are off to watch some baseball at Sherlock's. I'll mess around with the phone there because I need to be able to take non-green photos in Vegas.

Labels: emjey, food, travel

Making a ham and cheese casserole. The first pic is the macaroni with the hunks of ham, the second is with the cheese. And now its off to the fridge for tomorrow. And, yes, that's my new casserole dish.

Labels: cooking, food

King Ranch Chicken with lots of green peppers, red onion, cheddar cheese, and chicken. Added to that a can of creme of mushroom soup, cream of chiken soup, a can of Rotel diced tomatoes, and a couple cups of chicken broth. Layer that between two layers of tacos and you're good to go.

Labels: cooking, food

I made up a roast and then returned it to the sauce.

Labels: cooking, food

Worked from home today and got two things done that I had been putting off. One is painting some trim in my kitchen that's been there, I don't know, at least a year and the other has been put off even longer. Longer!

And I got to have an excellent lunch at Mandola's. I'll have to remember not to drink there because the wine ain't cheap.

Labels: food

That's the lasagna my brother made on Sunday.

Labels: food

The world is about to come to an end: I just came back from McDonald's. I felt like a Big Mac yesterday so figured I'd go grab one today. And instead of fries, I got a spicy chicken sandwich. Then I saw they had sweet tea, so I had to get a 32 oz. one of those. They thought I ordered a combo so they gave me an order of fries (I told them their mistake and they just gave me them). Then that Monopoly game was going on and I won a McFlurry. All of this for $5.20. No wonder America is so fat. And that I'm fat.

Labels: drinking, food

Just got back from Houston and my brother's made a lasagna fit enough for a dozen people. I wish I hadn't eaten on my way back or I'd have had a hunk.

Now, back to football!

Labels: food, sports

Not much going on yesterday though I did get a late breakfast at Austin Java. And now I'm off to work!

Labels: food

Glad i got these chips when I did! The timing is perfect.

Labels: food

Just got home. Kreuz Market is closed on Sundays, so I found this nice place called Black's BBQ. Great stuff and pretty darn cheap.

Labels: food

Made myself some guacamole (with corn and red peppers), added some chopped up shrimp and a made a sammich out of it. Oh, added gouda cheese, slices of chorizo and some lettuce to boot.

Labels: cooking, food

I've become addicted to tin foil. I've been making sandwiches that I've been tossing into the toaster oven, all courtesy of tin foil.

Labels: cooking, food

Cooking up a stew almost like neolefty late, late, late.

Labels: cooking, food, neolefty

I decided to help out at a cooking class tonight and picked the right one. Man, lots of great food. This is the sampler! All spicy.

And rumor has it there is lots of stuff to take home from the past few days classes.

Labels: food

So I've had a small side salad, baked ziti, a turkey wrap, a piece of flan, a ham sammich, and two cookies for lunch. That was a disgusting amount of food.

Labels: food

There's my late lunch.

Labels: cooking, food

Along with the sauce with some macaroni, I made up a combination of yellow squash and zucchini and some garlic bread over to a friend's place. Now, I'm heading down to Cedar Street to see The Spazmatics. Hopefully I don't regret leaving the Tigers game.

Labels: baseball, cooking, food, music, sports

There is the nearly finished product. All it needs is time and a can of sauce.

Labels: cooking, food

Some of the ingredients, some chianti and two types of tomatoes (fire roasted and San Marzano tomatoes).

Peppers combined with the carrots and onion.

Labels: cooking, food

There are the peppers. I've got red, green, & orange peppers in there. And look at the nice chopping.

Making up a sauce, a huge sauce. HUGE. And it all starts with chopped onion, garlic & carrot. Sweat those down with some olive oil, red pepper flakes and dried Italian seasoning.

That's ground beef, veal and the, other white meat, pork. I'm going to cook that up first then remove it (and the grease). Then in the same pan, I'll cook up the vegetables.

Labels: cooking, food

Well, it has been long in coming, but I'm going to Carlos'n Charlie's after work for an early dinner. And it can't come too soon as I'm starving. Friggin starving, I should say.

Labels: food

The mini meatball sub, a miracle!

Labels: cooking, food

Well, I decided to cook up some meatballs at 10 PM. Not the smartest of times to start, but I've never been accused of being a smart man.

Labels: cooking, food

I'm shockingly feeling worse today than yesterday. A long night, starting at Matt's El Rancho with friend's of the bride before meeting up with The Saw et all at Draught House to escape only a few minutes before closing. I've been battling passing out all day but the chili cheese burger with bacon from Boat House Grill seemed to have revived me.

And tonight's the rehearsal dinner. Hopefully that will be somewhat tame, though I think the out-of-towners were talking about going downtown.

Labels: food

Our meals from tonight's dinner. I'm not sure what they all are exactly, but I know one to the far left is the cochinita pibil and the far right is chile relleno. I think the middle one is a some kind of enchillada in salsa verde.

Labels: food

I like having people in town: I showed up around 11 am and am leaving at 5:01. It would've been sooner, but somebody scheduled a call with me for 4:30 (though they are late to the call). That's not stopping me from leaving, that's for sure. Heading with neolefty to Fonda San Miguel for another certainly good meal. Well, hopefully I didn't jinx things.

Labels: food, neolefty

I had some leftover stir fry in the microwave and somebody was in the kitchen waiting for my food to finish. She said my food looked much better than hers. Her food was four or five chicken nuggets. I didn't want to be blunt and tell her it was obvious my shit was better looking (and smelling and tasting) than her food, but I thought I'd be nice.

Labels: food

Man, I've got it pretty easy some times. One of my bosses is involved with this center for disadvantaged children so there was a charity event last night at Brentwood Tavern. This all started at 6 and I offhandedly mentioned to another boss that it would be difficult to drink much prior to the event. She said we should avoid traffic and leave work at 4 to go drinking. I offer up Ginny's as she had never been. Anyway, this allowed me to do one of my favorite drinking activities: drinking when the sun's up. We had a few at Ginny's before getting to Brentwood right in time to get a few rounds before happy hour ended. And then there was the free drink coupons. Good burgers at that place. Good buns, too. It's like an up-north version of Shady Grove with all the outside seeting.

Anyway, I'm feeling a bit run down today, but I did get to bed by 11. I've been up since 6 and I'm pretty sure I'm going to not make it to the office before 10. I've got to rest up for tonight's drinking. Yep, pretty easy.

Labels: food

Lunch time with some mac and cheese. If this time is anything like the last, I won't be eating for the rest of the day.

Labels: food

Great food in my class tonight at Central Market but none better than this rack o' lamb over risotto. It almost makes me forget I've had to leave class twice for stupid work calls.

Labels: food

A shit storm of weather greeted me into Orlando, but my reward was meeting Yo!'s live-in girlfriend and the some of the best German food I've ever had. If you're ever in Sanford, Florida, check out the Willow Tree.

Now I've got to get over my sleepiness and get up to Jacksonville to meet up with my college roommate. I'm hoping to stay not too drunk again.

Labels: drinking, food, weather, yo

neolefty sent me this great spot about Buenos Aires restaurants: "Serious carnivores should head to La Cabana, where Argentine beef, Japanese Kobe beef, you name it - will land on your plate in whatever weight you desire. In fact, you don't have to name it - your beef is so personalized, it arrives with a certificate giving the birth date of the cow, the name of the ranch where it was raised, its vaccination records and should you want more information, you can go to La Cabana's computer and look up the type of feed used and more."

Labels: food, neolefty

I tried to go tailgating, but it seemed like too much a pain in the ass to park so I called up The Saw and followed him to his brother's place. His brother was smoking some brisket and ribs and I'm pretty confident that I won't need to eat again today. Maybe even tomorrow. Now I've got to rest up to be able to have the energy to go downtown to drink beer.

Labels: drinking, food, the saw

I broke down and bought a frozen turkey breast already with gravy, but it didn't have any stuffing or taters. So what's a boy to do? I made some stuffing with corn, carrots, and chopped up ciabatta bread. Hmm, hmm, good. Like Thanksgiving in prison used to be.

Labels: food

I was really pretty ambivalent towards this World Cup final, but then I saw that French dude headbutt the guy on the other team and gained a modicum of interest. Just a modicum.

And I celebrated the Italian victory by eating some meatballs and vacuuming my pool. I'm hoping that the most exciting thing I do for a while.

Labels: food, sports

First the Asian market, next potstickers. Pretty darn good, though a lot of effort without any food for lunch tomorrow. That could add a wrinkle tomorrow.

And at least the Pistons offset the Red Wings loss earlier today. Friggin Red Wings.

Labels: basketball, food, hockey, sports

Me and Aces spent like $35 combined out, I love college towns in the middle of the week. Bookend the fun with dinner at Hut's Hamburgers then late-night snack at Magnolia. Too bad its like 3 am. But I'm full!

Labels: aces, drinking, food

I had this crazy crock pot cooking class tonight. I should've known better for a variety of reasons: 1) the main claim to fame of the crock pot is its simplicity so spending $40 on a class is silly and 2) I don't own one. But I signed up and figured I might learn something to convince me to pick one up. And it did have its quality moments.

So I show up amidst the oncoming bad weather. And I noticed something indeed odd: an attractive woman in the class. Some might think that these cooking classes should be chock full of beauties, but that's a misconception I learned early on in these classes. If you're out to meet unattractive (in all aspects of word), older, or married, this could be for you. I'm there for the cooking and anything else is just gravy. Anyway, she said in the row in front of me, one seat to the right over.

The class starts up and the instructor is fourth tier at best (I know him from other classes where he's the assistant). He started, and continued, to pepper is session with little cooking tidbits that should've been obvious to everyone (but everyone took this as gospel). First thing on the menu was a spaghetti sauce with shrimp. This wasn't setting a good mood for the night as I need very little help with marinara sauce, but I don't think myself so high and mighty that I can't learn something.

Well, while the dude went through the paces of showing how to put the sauce together, the wine came out. First mistake was not taking the wine that comes along with the class. I figured (and rightfully so) that I still have had enough booze after last weekend's odyssey that I can take another night off. But the funny thing about the wine is what I saw from the attractive woman sitting in front of me because I swear I saw a nipple.

Now the casual observer will think: "Cooking class? Nipple?". Well, I'm right there with you and wasn't sure if what I thought I saw was what I saw. See the girl had some low cut top on which usually doesn't work out so well for people behind to see anything, but when she lifted up her wine glass I could see right to the side of her breast and what may or may not have been a nipple. I thought it best to avoid this as much as possible.

So the shrimp and spaghetti comes around and it is HORRIBLE. I ate the shrimp on principle, but the sauce was just so acidic that I couldn't tolerate it. And that's when something else shocking happened: nearly everyone was killing the stuff and saying how good it was. I can only imagine how my sauce would do with this crowd.

Next up was some chili (which the instructor had a tough time explaining why he browned up ground beef, removed the grease then browned up the onions. Some people need to be eliminated, but that's another story) then corn bread then tamale pie, all somewhat decently tasting, but all through that is avoiding the woman in front of me. Granted all I wanted to do was lay on the table and moo, but I was at a table with other people and the last thing I want to do is get banned from the cooking school for molesting some large breasted bandit. And I assure you, no court wold've convicted me.

Eventually it all ended. And I went home, but I'll always have the...

Labels: food, minutia

A great day going so far around here: Fat Boy came by and we had a nice lunch by the pool; he then tracked down a piece that came off the Polaris down at the bottom of the pool; and now that thing's running around picking up all the small shit at the bottom that you can't quite see. It's running like a champ, a mo fo champ!

And between it all, I've managed to actually get some conference calls in.

Labels: food, house, work

A friend recommended someone to take a look at the pool and they came by around 9 this morning. I was passed out as much as possible before and almost immediately afterwards. I'm hoping this will be the fix of fixes.

Bubba interupted that last portion of sleep and and we went to grab some food. We were total gluttons at Shady Grove, though we made up for it by walking about 5 miles down at Town Lake. As a result, I only felt half-way like shit afterwards. We did manage to avoid the rain.

Labels: bubba, food

Crazy bit of time it has been. Back home in the ATX after meeting up with Yo! yesterday. Crazy thing it was as we met at the exact same time at our chosen meeting place even though we left from different places a couple of hours apart. Then we went to see Fantastic Four, then we did the unthinkable: drinking around town (though we didn't close out the bars; that whole 7 am flight threw a wrench in that time honored tradition of getting loaded until they throw us out. Maybe this is a sign that we're maturing but I doubt it. Seriously doubt it).

In the bar hopping we did hit this great place for some grub, Brass Ring Pub, in North Palm Beach. We had awesome service: we had a pitcher of beer at a table with a bag of ice to keep it cool, but the special thing was the bar staff changed our individual mugs to ensure we had ice cold glasses. Add on top of that the chicken sandwich I had. It was very similar to the Triple Crunch Zinger at KFC, but with better quality breading on the chicken strips. Yo! got this bleu cheese burger with the cheese inside the burger (like I had thought about doing for my party). All very good. If you're in the neighborhood, you might want to check it out. Nothing fancy looking, just great bar food.

Anyway, I left his place with about four hours sleep, barely got out of a gas station after being thought to be in the midst of some minor crime, personally willing my flights to Austin, and getting home. And then going for a three mile walk with Chilly. Of course I then took a nap so I won't be able to sleep tonight, but something's have got to stay the same.

Labels: chilly, drinking, food, movies, yo

Jebus, I need to get off this drunken roller coaster. Or get another beer, I'm not sure.

I was thinking last night would be quiet, but I ended up going to Red Fez with a bunch of folks, nearly killed myself walking across a table, and for good measure invited half the bar came back to my place afterwards. It wasn't until we all got back to my place that I realized that it was nearly all dudes. Not the best of calls on my part, but stopping drinking at 2 am just wasn't in the cards. I mean, why should Sunday have been any different than Friday or Saturday night?

And all those brave soldiers did die so I could get loaded frequently and with reckless abandon, didn't they?

Well, I had better rest up for this last minute BBQ at Ace's place.

Labels: aces, drinking, food

Made some last minute plans to hit and then Stubb's Bar-B-Q for a free KGSR show with Bubba and Mrs. Bubba. I was obsesses with getting free t-shirts after my loss of one years ago on a tubing trip. So now I have three to lose (well, two until I get the other two back from the Bubba's).

After seeing a couple songs by Chilly's fav Jimmy Lafave. Then I ran into Less Crazy at 219 with some friends from out of town before the Bubba's had to leave (with the shirts safely(?) in tow). Bar hoping in the rain ensued before LC gave me a ride home. And then I decided to follow them back up to his place where we played this cool card game the name of which escapes me. But it was sort of fun.

And now I sleep.

Labels: bubba, chilly, food, music

But not before I in back to sleep. We ended up getting some grub at Denny's after the GD service at the Golden Horseshoe forced us to leave. We stuffed ourselves like Kings then stopped of for some brews at the strangest place here: greasy spoon slash find store slash liquor store slash overall shit hole. But it then I realized my dining mistake when I say Carl's Junior. I almost stopped in for a Ranch Crispy just cause. So I think the strip eventually today, but now sleep.

Labels: food, minutia, travel

Two days of working outside on the yard, this house stuff is for the birds. I have a convenient break, though, because Chilly owes me lunch for something and he's making good on that today. We're heading to good ol' Shady Grove.

Labels: chilly, food, house

Holy shit it was busy around these parts yesterday. I made the mistake of going out with Bubba for lunch (to Boat House Grill, of course) and came back to insanity. I needed a document approved that hadn't even been written so I had a bunch of people, primarily myself, running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I could have seriously been to the office late last night, but I had a Filipino Knife Fighting class so I had to leave at 6:00 PM. Good thing my brother's able to entertain himself (and rake the hell out of the backyard). If only I could somehow get that bathroom in my room done then I'd turn it over to him for painting. Oh, painting.

Labels: bubba, food

Third place! Excerpts from my acceptance speach: "Who would have thought that a Midwesterner would be standing in such a dominant position over you? This was all made possible by a combination of spices, meats, and vegetables blended to perfection. Thanks to Queen Q for the crock pot loaner. And a special thanks to neolefty who made me see that making the chili on Saturday is much better than on Sunday morning. Oh, by the way, the two ahead of me weren't as good as mine. Thank you, thank you very much."

Labels: food, neolefty

One of the designers is leaving so we went to lunch where? The Boat House Grill, where else? The bacon was the crispiest I've ever had with the chili cheese burger. This could've been the best of the four weeks in a row except I ventured out and got hush puppies. They were substandard.

Tonight me and JMVC are hitting an Austin Wranglers game. Kick off at 7:30 PM. The first score at 7:31 PM.

Labels: food, jmvc

Another trip to the Boat House Grill. This is the third time in three weeks that I've been fortunate enough to have the chili cheese burger with bacon. This time, I went and got food for my boss. I'm playing some hold 'em tonight and the venue makes it more logical for me to hit from work versus from home (especially when you fart around the office like I did). I've got to defend my title.

Labels: food

I just came back from the best cooking class ever, Contemporary Celtic Cuisine. There was a appetizer plate with salmon, assorted cheeses, and bread to start off with. Then there were mussels cooked in cider. And for the main course, stuffed chicken with colcannon.

But what made it truly good? Pints of good strong beer.

Labels: drinking, food

So it's late in the year 2004 and I'm signing a professional person's time card that he filled out by hand. That's the system. And we're in an IT group.

Oh, Incognegro says that I shouldn't have had butter on the chicken biscuit. The chicken is apparently greasy enough without the buttered biscuit.

Labels: food, incognegro

Chick-fil-a for breakfast, too. From not going to fast food places in months to twice in a two days. I need to cut that out. Anyway, Incognegro swears by the breakfast chicken biscuits, but he can have them. I'll stick to breakfast tacos.

360 continues to be shit with all this construction. I don't want to see all the dings on my car from the pebbles flying up from the road crews half-ass attempts at fixing that thoroughfare. I love roads being worse than when the work started.

Labels: food

With all the crap that was in my storage locker, it's amazing what wasn't there: not much worth a damn to sit on. I have S. Money's "loaner" papasan chair, but nary a thing past that. So I've spent the past couple of days shopping for stuff and I've learned one thing: furniture is not cheap (I feel pretty smart using two colons in the same paragraph, btw). I did end up with a new sofa, coffee table, dining room table, and chairs. That'll be good for a couple of months.

And if that wasn't bad enough, my folks and I headed from shopping to Shady Grove where mom & dad got a second wind. I need to hire somebody to do all of this stuff for me.

Labels: food, house

Fat Boy didn't come in today so I was on my own for lunch. I went against all my better judgment and went for fast food. I've avoided fast food since I've worked here (and only half-a-dozen times since I've moved to Austin) but that Smoky Mountain Chicken Sandwich at Wendy's sounded goood. So I go and wait in the drive-through line listening to Rome. Turns out that sandwich isn't there anymore so I get the spicy Chicken Filet. Got that back to the office and realized it had mayonnaise on it. That's just plain wrong. Bubba would go ape shit.

Labels: food

I guess I brought the cold weather with me as it's supposed to get into the low 50's this weekend. It wasn't too bad when I ran out for my quick-hit shopping. I can't believe how insane it is out. No wonder I never go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. And since when has it been referred to as "Black Friday"?

I had planned on heading up towards Orlando tonight before watching the FSU-Florida game tomorrow, but I took my folks to Carrabba's instead. Too much food at Carrabba's to allow me to take a two hour drive.

Labels: food, football, sports

Well, PC and The Player were left behind to get their flights back to the USA. The rest of us took the ride of a lifetime down to Buzios. And I don't say because the viewing during the trip was beautiful (which it was) or because the remaining five had a great time for the three hour trip (which we did) or because of the excitement of seeing a new part of Brazil (which I was). Primarily it was the driver of our van was fucking crazy and only the presence of his wife kept us alive. Thanks for tagging along Sonia.

It took a bit of time to track down the place, but it was worth it. At first. The house the guys had rented looked great. It had a view of the bay, four rooms, and a maid/cook. Things started going downhill when we walked downhill (to town). Buzios was sleepy and expensive, not a good combination for a mad quintet of guys still high off the experience of Rio. After taking some pictures and doing some bar hopping, we headed back to the house for dinner. Black beans, rice, freedom fries and fried chicken (wouldn't PC be jealous?). After that we hunkered down for an easy Saturday night, though I did stay up to see the seven OT thriller between Arkansas and Kentucky. Thank God for satellite tv.

Labels: food, travel

So I wander into the office at 9:30 and run into one of manager's peers on the way out. She was on her way to a developer's meeting at Magnolia and invited me along. I obviously refused, but that didn't stop her from saying "You don't need to go up there, nobody else is there." But I was steadfast. And what did my unswerving nature get me? Breakfast tacos had been left at my desk for me. And you all get a post. We're all winners!

Labels: food

I've got all these movies and no idea where half of them came from, but when you've got three days of comedies end with Monty Python and the Holy Grail you're doing something right. And I don't think I'll ever get sick of saying it (though people will get sick of hearing it) but my tv's bad ass; everything looks great on it (even the sunglasses I left on the right corner).

Before the movie I went down and checked out Reckless Kelly at Shady Grove. It was a pretty good show, but I like pretty much any show that has a Rolling Stones' cover. Pus the show finished just in time for the rain to pour.

Labels: food, movies, music

I don't know who's weaker, me or Bubba. Either way we went to Antonio's and gorged until we couldn't gorge no more. I feel like a cement truck dropped its fill in my stomach. I haven't run in a week and I'm now eating as if for two. Good times!

Plans are getting all firmed up for the weekend festivities. will be down for a couple days, but I'll make sure to keep track of the activities.

Labels: food

As I have so many pictures of him, apparently I have an unhealthy obsession with JMVC. Or so some of his friends think. I guess I'll just be totally narcissistic and vain and dedicate 100% of the site to myself. Maybe I'll get a reputation for having an unhealthy obsession with myself. Let's hope so!

Anyway, a huge group made its merry way from Austin down past where Mo-Pac disappears and hit Salt Lick for the first part of J-Saw's birthday celebration. JMVC and I had been quadruple booked, but it ended up being only triple booking. MT was back up from Houston with his girl, so I met up with him at Iron Cactus before dropping him off down 4th (sorry, no pictures). After that, I joined up with JMVC at Lucky Lounge for another of his friend's birthday parties (August is the birthday month).

It was around 1:00 am when we headed to part two of J-Saw's birthday party. The kids were finishing off the beer to flip cups. That game is the worst example of a drinking game ever designed by man, woman, child or ape. I tried to entertain by telling worthless (or nearly worthless) stories, but the subject of “milk” stumped me. Oh well. J-Saw's roommate must not have know who he was dealing with as Sparty made the mistake of displaying Oklahoma colors. And then only a little bit of urine was spilled on an OU hat before we headed out.

Labels: drinking, food, jmvc, the saw

Well, I got the gyro special at Austin Taco & Deli and am now paying the price. Don't get me wrong, it was good. I just stuffed my face too much and all the Code Red in the world can't keep me from being drowsy. It probably would have been enough just to have the gyro but they had to toss in cheesecake, too. I'm a sucker for cheesecake; it's like my Achilles' Heal. Anyway, good food and I now pray for a nap. And if you think I look bad (well, imagine you can see me), you should see Bubba. Looks like a gorilla threw him around.

And speaking of Bubba, the Rain Song was on the radio (do you italicize songs or underline them? I don't know) and he criticized Robert Plant. And then he readily admitted he didn't like Led Zeppelin. I almost through him out of the car. Something's not quite right with that boy. I really should have threw him out the car.

For those of you tracking my movements, I'm going to Michigan in a few weeks. Make alternative arrangements for September 18 - 22. Besides seeing a Lions' game, I've got to get my winter garb to try to compete with JMVC.

I'm heading to Blues On the Green down at Zilker Park tonight. Doyle Bramhall and Los Lonely Boys are playing. Now I don't know anything about this dude Doyle, but Los Lonely Boys are real good. It should be a good show.

Labels: bubba, food, football, jmvc, sports

Ever have a muffuletta? I had one for lunch. Black olives, green olives with ham and salami. And soaked in olive oil. Now that was good.

Bubba and I took a break a while back and we discussing Saddam Hussein. For those uninformed, he wasn't such a nice guy. Well, Bubba mentioned something about Saddam's top lieutenant for torture. The guy kept having to top himself (in terms of brutally destroying people's existence, that is) to keep Saddam's favor. Next thing I know Bubba and I are tossing out different strategies and techniques, almost as if we were applying for the job. It was at this point we both realized that, besides the muffulettas, are days hadn't been going so well.

And tonight could be a key even in the future of the site. JMVC and I are to check out some metal bands. Perhaps a few pictures of some death metal bands will liven up my so-called site.

Labels: bubba, food, jmvc

Well, that was a full couple of days. Getting lost on land and in the water; getting bloody and bruised; and spending a night under the stars. What more could a boy ask for?

But first I got to finish up work. I had worked with this developer all day Thursday and Friday trying to get him set up to do some weekend work. If somebody's working the weekend, I feel obliged to get them everything I can to get them on track (or in this case, back on track). Well, unfortunately, he was in no position to do anything and I got to spin my wheels for another majority of a day. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Dealing with incorrigible developers has me thinking of going back to coding. I may not be that good, but I knew enough to get with people when I was screwing up.

One final task to do before I left on a personal level. An email cutting a cord. Tough to do but it had to be done.

After that insanity, I rushed home to get ready for the trip. I really wanted to get out of town. Chilly D had just got back into town so we had some food and headed south (or I think it was south). We headed out a bit later than we should as J-saw was already there holding down the fort. A couple of wrong turns later got us to the campsite around 9:30 pm. SL's crew arrived about an hour later and the fun began.

I've never voluntarily exposed myself to nature before. My notion of "roughing it" is sleeping for an hour on my enclosed porch. And that only for a couple of hours for fear of being carried away by wandering animals. I know I live in a city and that chance is remote but that doesn't lessen the fear. Anyway, campsite was set up, food was eaten, drinks imbibed and social formalities conducted. And, of course, pictures taken. SL's group contains a lot of good eggs so it was a good time. He and I hadn't spoken at length in a few weeks, so we ended up chatting about stuff until past four. NGF, last man standing.

Pan to Saturday morning. I awake to the smell of pancakes. J-saw had woken up and was cooking up food for everybody. Mental note: Never don't camp with J-saw. A couple pancakes and a breakfast taco and I'm good to go to the river. Slight problem, it's 9:30 am and the rest of our group isn't supposed to arrive until 11:00 am (Some friends of J-saw are coming tubing for a birthday). Our group is around 8 already. That's well past an acceptable number for a cohesive group. Past four is usually trouble.

We ended up in the river a bit past noon. We almost immediately lost the rest of the group. No big deal though J-saw was also lost. Woe is me. Lots of good pictures taken, though we'll see if that waterproof camera comes through.

Lots of funny stories from the trip but nothing tops the loss of NGF. I went back off the tube to chat with some people. OK, they were funneling beers and I wanted to funnel one, too. Anyway, after that I couldn't catch up with the group. This was towards the end so I assumed there would be plenty of indicators (signs and such) letting me know where the pick up place was. I see nothing, but I'm not too concerned; I talk to people floating by and nobody knows where they are going and are not concerned. So it wasn't until the water starting feeling cold and the sun was going down that I changed my outlook.

I realize I have to be pretty much down when I see a place called "Jerry's Last Stop". I fumble out of the water cutting up my knee and feet to get out of the water. I had apparently entertained some of the attendants of a tube-return station. I dedicate my blood loss to them. They did inform me I was almost as far away from where I needed to be as possible. Next time I won't stop until I see oil rigs in the Gulf.

Oh, did I mention I didn't have anything on my feet? Not a good call on my part.

Well, I meandered for a bit before I found some Rastafarian dude who drove me back to the campsite. Though I insisted the campsite wasn't the campsite and I had him continue on for a bit. I told him do go to my website and email me if he ever came to Austin. He didn't think I was the death metal type. I figured I'd give him a crumb and gave him a recap of the deathmetalthunder.com origin's issue. He didn't get it.

SL's crew was still around. Chilly and J-saw had headed back. I told my tale and got the hell out of Dodge. A couple of phone calls to clear things up along the way but my primary mission was getting back to my bed and some desperately needed sleep.

Labels: chilly, drinking, food, stupidity, the saw