Fireside Grill

We are having our monthly dinner of The Rambling Roosters at The Fireside Grill. This is a true neighborhood Bar & Grill, located 1 mile inside Fish Hawk Ranch, mostly, only residents know of this place. It has and outside fireplace with big screen TV above it where you can have a drink while waiting, Lots of outside patio area on front & side. Full liquor bar where the locals hang. Table and booth seating inside. Our party of 23 set up tables in a square without being cramped. Special of day-sauteed Red Fish covered with shrimp and crab and beurre blanc with Grand Marnier sauce. We had appetizer of home fried chips with balsamic and blue cheese crumbles started us off, Thanks Howie and Vicky. Some crab cakes and chicken skewers that I don't know who bought. House salad or caesar both a good choice. 15 specials of the day arrive hot with side of fresh green beans and garlic cheese risotto. Sinful. Other entrees, slow cooked 3/4lb meatloaf with mushroom beef gravy, BBQ porkchop, 10 oz sirloin, Pesto chicken and ravioli. A custom pasta dish for Sue, It was hard to decide what was the best. Thanks to Jose and Susan we had great service, they kept our glasses full and served 23 meals promptly, OK 22, but they fessed up to Sherry for their mistake and promptly brought out her meal. To get everyone served at the same time requires a great kitchen and I'll give this one a 10. Fresh fish & great sauce and topping a 10. Meatloaf a 9, Pork Chop9, Pesto chicken a 10. Good friends we have not seen in 2 months PRICELESS. It's good to be back Home.

Road Trip 04-27-09

04-27-09
We decide to head back home. This eating and drinking for a solid month is hard on a body and we need some home time, it's time to see our friends again. We leave out early 8:45 and get to our driveway at 8:30. This has been a long day of driving, almost 12 hours and 700 miles. We snack food our way home and are starving so we rummage thru the pantry and come up with our old stand by, peanut butter sandwich and chicken with rice soup. Be it ever so Humble there's no place like home. Can't wait to see you all again. See Ya, Brian

Road Trip 04-26-09

04-26-09
I have to walk to the office as the only place with internet is there. OK there is no internet there either and no one speaks anything but Rural Kentuckian. I decide that it does not matter. The spots at the Campground are not very level and as I said before the large RV's barely fit onto the sites. Yesterday when we pulled in I leveled the Coach and no matter what I did the back end was still a little too low, whatever, close enough for government work. When we wake up the right rear is about 4 inches lower since the ground below it could not support the weight of the coach. When I was at the office I talked to the guy that shows you the spots and he brought me some extra lumber to lift the coach. We look like the leaning tower of Piza but we are chocked and stable, after 30 minutes of experimenting with different combos of lumber. If OSHA inspected campsites we would be in trouble. We go to lunch at Calhoun's On The River. It is downtown on the Tennesse River and we bypass the formality of the inside, the outside deck is open and we find a table with a view. Service is slow since the waiters are wearing long sleve shirts and it's the first day of 80 plus temps and they are sweating like pigs. Brent the waiter finally comes over, we order 2 Ultras and check out the menu. Both of us pick chicken salad me the sandwich Dixie the Salad. We decide to get two different things, so Dixie gets the chicken salad salad and I get BBQ. The food looks great but it's missing something in flavor.They are selling the view and if you like the view of the River and the Hospital you will like this place. Parking is limited and you have to feel lucky to find a space. We are looking for some local hangouts. Can't find jack shit so we head to the Smoky Mountain Harley D. dealership and there are quite a few people actually buying stuff inside. I spent 30 seconds picking out a T shirt and go to the outside bar for a draft. Dixie spends 45 minutes picking out a shirt for herself. I strike up a conversation with some locals and they tell us about some local biker bars. We search for them all day and decide that this day is shot and head back to R & R at the Coach. We are cooking at home tonight. We are cooking 99 cent frozen pizzas tonight experimenting with the Convection part of our microwave. First one comes out and it's cooked but not crispy. Pizza #2 we pre heat the oven and cook it on a corell plate and its much better but still not perfect, we'll figure it out. We are watching the food channel and what they have looks much better than what we are eating. That's life, I'll quit bitching. The last two cupcakes are dessert and still as great as the day we got them. We don't have a plan for tomorrow, we'll see what daylight brings. See Ya, Bria

Road Trip 04-25-09

04-25-09
We are preparing to leave for Knoxville. I get up early, 8:30, and walk Peanut and when I get done I hook up the Jeep to be towed behind the coach. We have not had anyone behind us while we have been in the park for 5 days. I write my blogs get everything else ready. I like to take my shower after all the prep is done so that I'm not sweaty, it's 10:45 and I'm in the shower and a knock on the door, they have put a Rental RV behind us and we have to move or unhook the Jeep and move it. I tell Dixie I'm not cutting my shower short and ask her to move the Jeep. Well I get all ready and get outside, and the rental RV has not even hooked up to electric or water or anything. Those bastards could have saved me a whole lot of agravation by just parking on the space ten feet further forward. I believe that life is a circle and that they will get theirs eventually. I used to believe I had to get even myself, but I now know that eventually someone else will take care of that for me. I have now calmed down and we are cruising to Knoxville after eating one of the most delicious cupcakes from Cupcakes Collection. Dixie had the Italian Wedding cake and I ate the Chocolate one, so that is our breakfast and lunch. We drive to Knoxville and we are close to the campground however the GPS puts us in a difficult place, we have to negotiate a 2 lane road made for horse carriages rather than an 8'6" wide coach,and traffic coming at you from the other direction and with tree limbs hanging over threatening to tear off the top part of the RV, parts of asphalt missing on the road, we make it intact. We wish there was a setting for RVs or Big trucks on the GPS so that it does not take us down roads made long ago. We get to Southlake RV Park. It is advertised as the closest to downtown Knoxville, so we check in. This park is not really designed for large RVs, but what a great place. We are right on a lake right off the Tennesee River, it's lightning bugs, campfires,families having fun, tenters with babies and dogs. We went to have some food about 15 miles from the campground to a place called Litton's. It's a hamburger, steak,seafood place. No kidding they are a butcher shop, bakery and kitchen all rolled into one. They sell it to eat there or to go prepared to cook at home or already cooked. They are not cheap. We order burgers because that is what they are famous for. There is a waiting list for a table,so we eat at the counter where Donna takes our drink order of two Ultras on draft. $2.25 for a beer or a soda, you know what we chose. Dixie orders the Thunder Road, a cheese burger with 1/2 pound hand formed ground fresh daily beef served on their homemade bun with pimento cheese, sauteed onions, whole jalapeno pepper, and Dixie got a side salad with Newmans own balsamanic vinegerette dressing. I got the basic burger with american cheese and bacon and a side of hand cut fries. They were both good but the bill was a little on the high side for burgers and beer, $26. without tip.They have a cool way for a waiting list and there is usually a waiting list for a table, there is a chalk board and you write your name on it with how many in your party and then they take you as tables open up. We didn't have dessert but what a choice they have,not cheap,but what a choice,see the display case. A whole pie is up to $95. That's not a misprint that's up to $95 for a pie. For that kind of money you could buy some hair pie.If you just want a slice it is between $5 and $7 for a slice, this had better be good dessert.This is the first day that we have only had one meal and that is a good thing. We are walking around the campground trying to get some exercise and walk off a few pounds and there is one space that has a fire going and a waterfall, it is pretty cool. There are very few transient spaces in this park, looks like most spaces are taken not by live ins,but by people that keep an RV on a space all year but probably use it as a summer cabin. We are planning on chilling out for a few days and just hanging out and resting rather than going a hundred miles per hour, but who knows. See Ya Brian

Road Trip 04-24-09

04-24-09
Our last day in Nashville.We are headed to Monell's for lunch. Monell is located in Germantown in a residential neighborhood.You pass thru the side yard with ponds and a tree shaded courtyard to enter.Family seating ie. 12 to 14 people sit at the same table and everyone sits at the same time. When you are seated the salad meal is on the table waiting for you, pickled cucumbers squash and tomatoes, cole slaw, brocolli salad, and banana pudding. You serve yourself and pass to your left. Start eating right away, even though your meal is not all there, because everything is brought out when it gets ready in the kitchen. Next the best Biscuits in the world. They do not even need butter, they are hot and almost fall apart in your hand. Then spinach lasagna,real mashed potatoes, then comes sweet corn pudding,white beans,turnip greens, keep eating, finally the pan fried chicken and fried catfish arrive 5 minutes later.It's like you went home(Time warp to 1960). The menu changes everyday. $12 per person for lunch.Homecooking at its best. We leave Monell's and are walking back to the car when we pass "The Cupcake Collection". We were already stuffed from eating at Monell's, however we were drawn into this place. It is a bakery inside a house. The owners came fron NewOrleans fixed up the house to live in and for the bakery in front. The cupcakes are fresh made and a new kind keeps coming out during the day. There is a chaulk board with the daily menu. We got a six pack, coconut, strawberry,chocolate,red velvet,carrot cake and wedding cake. Yum yum. Every cupcake blasted the flavor into your mouth.The strawberry was my favorite right after the chocolate, I just finished 2 for breakfast as I am writing this review and am trying to control myself and not eat another. Too late another one met its demise. We figure that it is time for a brewery tour so we head to theYazoo Brewery, we find out they only give tours on Saturday, there goes that plan for free beer. We are now off to the west end of Nashville near Music Row to a Pub called Dan McGuiness. As the names implies it is an Irish Pub and they pour a LOT of Guiness. Almost every beer poured was a Guiness. We got the Dan McGuiness Light, their own house brew. A suprisingly light beer. This is where locals hang out. When we were there two guys,both named Todd, reunited, they had not seen each other since High School 1983. Kelly the bartender knew how to keep everyone happy and could pour a Guiness like the pro she is. Either the outside deck or the inside will make you feel right at home. They have a great Happy Hour, half price appetizers, $1.75 domestic bottles or 20oz, Drafts for $2.75. We go back to Broadway for our last visit of this trip. We have decided that Tootsies is the best bar. Always the best bands and always the best friendliest crowd. I got to talking with the bathroom attendent, his name is KuntaKinte, like from the movie Roots. He makes his living on tips as do the bartenders and the bands, so when you are in Nashville have a stack of dollar bills and don't be afraid to share them. Time for dinner and we are headed back to Music Valley to a restaraunt we have eaten at before. The Santa Fe Cattle Co. This place packs them in with cheap prices cold beer and the best Margarita in town. Don't get their special millionaires Margarita or Outlaw Rita. When you are at the bar Chad the bartender will fix you what he calls the Chadaritta. Get it, it's $9 and worth every penny. We decide to eat at the bar. It was as good as we had last time, both of us had tender tender filet mignon, they have a tendency to under cook the steaks in this place so order accordingly. A Good ceaser salad, loaded baked potatoe for me, and a sweet baked potato for Dixie finished the meal. Nothing at all to complain about with this place. This place is consistantly good and we make it a must stop at place in Nashville. We head back to the coach and our new neighbors (nice thing about RV parks you get new neighbors almost every day) have a brand new beautiful 600HP Coach that make ours loot tiny, it is 46' long, this is a big rig. The 4 of them are from near Lafayette La. and they knew about Fred's in Mamu so we chatted about the places we have been and then, Out the door we went. Time for bed, we are beat. Headed to Knoxville tomorrow. See Ya Brian

Road Trip 04-23-09

04-23-09
Today the wifi is not working worth a crap. We leave out for lunch to Prince's Hot Chicken in the hood with rap music coming from a stereo store with every foul word I have ever used. We go inside and there is a line to wait in and there were about 8 tables and all were waiting for food, we decide it would take too long so we move to plan B. We go to "The Hermitage" which is is Andrew Jackson's home. We are starving so we grab a lunch of potato soup for Dixie and a piece of carrot cake for me. Jackson had it tough as a kid, all his family died, during the Revolutionary War he worked delivering messages for the troops(he was only 13). A hero of the war of 1812. The 7th President. Widower, his wife died while he was in office.The owner of 140 slaves. He authorized the Trail of Tears moving the indians west. An adopted son that drove him to financial ruin not only once during his life and then after his death the kid lost everything again.The Hermitage shows Andrew's home and working plantation. You see how they lived in rural America,from both the white and black perspective. The mansion, its gardens, the family grave site. the slave quarters, the smoke house and the kitchen.The cotton fields.The self sufficiency that was required in that day. The house really needs some reconditioning as it's wood, and a lot of the exterior is peeling and needs painting. Money must be tight even though it costs $54 for 2 adults to see the Plantation and it's grounds with the wagon ride. They do not get money from the government to keep up the place. You can save $20 and not take the wagon ride but consider it a donation and a place to sit down and rest for 25 minutes. We spent 3 hours there. We are pooped and decide to go back to the Coach and have happy hour there then go out to eat around 7:30. We are hundry and go to a small bar "John A's". Tanya the bartender gets us 2 cold bud lights on tap. The place is owned by the former owner of The Nashville Palace who had a lot of new talent play there before and after they were famous like Randy Travis, Boxcar Willie, Porter Wagner, Ricky Van Shelton, you get the idea he has had many good singers at his last bar. The band playing tonight did not live up to his reputation for showcasing new good talent. I won't say they sucked, but we didn't stay long after we finished our meal. The food was good bar food. I had the "best rubin in Nashville", It had cornbeef on it, a 1/4 thick cut of tender beef (not the thin sliced hard), with lots of sauerkraut, thousand island dressing on grilled bread. I ate it all. Dixie ordered the chef salad, everthing fresh and crisp like you would expect. Typical bar food, good and fresh. The place had a respectable amount of people eating and drinking at the bar and the tables. Everyone friendly, lots of laughter. I struck up a conversation with John at the bar, a friendly traveling salesman from St Louis, he's now on the Roat Trip email list. I hope everyone has added http://iamhavingagreatday.blogspot.com their list of favorites. See Ya, Brian

Road Trip 04-22-09

04-22-09
So I go to the RV office and pay for 2 more days here and to find out about the driver Jerry and his schedule. Turns out Jerry is a sub contractor and usually running every night but we were the only ones using him so he called it a night. We'll just use a cab again, it is just more convenient, come and go as you please. We go to downtown looking for a place to eat lunch and and when we get there it is out of business. We park the Jeep and we find another place called 417 Union. It looks to be an old ice cream parlor (the old soda jerk taps are still behind the counter). Kevin our waiter comes to the table and we order our drinks and figure out what to eat. Today's special is open faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and green beans and I decide to order it, Dixie wants the House speciality 'Rattle Snake Chicken'. When Kevin arrives Dixie orders, I say that I want the roast beef, Kevin suggests that I don't and recommends that I order the open face turkey sandwich instead, I take his advice. The food arrives and my smoked turkey is as stated and with cranberry sauce $8 and is wonderful, however Dixie's pasta dish blew mine away. It was penne pasta in a cajun cream sauce with mushrooms, fire roasted red peppers and blackened chicken on top. 2 slices of garlic toast for pushers. $10. We have decided to go to the Country Hall Of Fame Museum. They have different selections of passes, get the regular but with the audio device which adds $2 for a total of $22 per person. We were told to alllow 1 1/2 hour for the tour, it's 2 o'clock. This is a BIG place. They have one, two, and three head guitars, movies, display cases, Elvis's Gold Caddy, Elvis's Gold Piano. Webb Pierce's silver dollar Bonneville, hundreds of Gold and Platinum records, Johnny Cash,Porter Wagner, Bonnie Dodd. Everybody from the beginning of Hillybilly Music to Today's is there. And there is a lot there. If you are a fan of Hank Williams and Jr. you will love this place, there is a huge area devoted to them. Item of note Jr, grew his beard to hide scars from a mountain climbing accident that almost killed him. Obviously this is a must go to place. At the end is the Hall Of Fame Room with all of the recipients placques hung on the walls. At 5 o'clock they throw you out so make sure you allow 4 hours or more for this informative and entertaining excursion. We have decided that we will have happy hour on Broadway and then have dinner at a restaurant close to theRV park. It's 5:30 and we are thirsty, we drive to Broadway and the first stop is Robert's Western World. It is a bar and they also sell Boots, I think mostly it is a bar. They have a 3 piece band playing and we like so we get 2 Ultras. They have a 2nd story bar that they call the Sho-Bud. Go there to find out why. The one girl working the bar serves the drinks and also cooks the hot dogs, burgers and such, they have what they call Robert's Western World Stimulus package. This is a Hot Dog, a Busch Beer, a Lay's Potato chip and a Moon Pie, all for $5. I think that meal covers all the food groups. We throw in a tip for the band out the door we went. Next stop is the Stage, big stage with 6 piece band playing, decorations of guitars, western stuff etc. This place once held an informal Grand Ole Opry performance when Dr. King was killed and there was a curfew in effect in Nashville and the Opry cancelled its live performance for the first time in 47 years. All the bars on Broadway that back up to the Opry have a back alley that the entertainers could use the back doors to enter the bars from the Ryman auditorium which is right across the alley. The girl singing is great and she is also a bartender at The Stage. She sings 3 songs, The other female singer with the band is passing around the tip jar while she is singing. It is her day off so she is sipping a drink after she sings. The band's regular singer gets on stage and she really has a voice and uses it for about 4 songs and then they pack it up. We finish our beers and out the door we went. Next stop is The Bluegrass Inn. The bands playing, 4 females and 2 guys with a drummer that looks like Forest, good solid music. They are playing their set when 3 guys come in, they must have been record producers or scouts because the band knows them and then all of a sudden you could feel the pressure on the band to perform. They are trying too hard and the stress shows in the singers voices. They are screwing up by trying too hard. The 3 guys don't finish the PBR's that they are drinking and leave, the band knows that they blew it. Of note, all the bands playing in these bars are all working for tips, they do this for the practice, the exposure and most of all they are waiting to be the next big act to be discovered. This band will have a long time coming before they have a shot. The rush hour traffic is over and we get back to the coach at 8. We fix a drink in a to go cup and walk to (I have been waiting since I first saw the sign to review this restaurant) The 'Cock Of The Walk' Restaurant. It is only about a 1/4 mile from the park. We get to the Cock at 8:10 and they close at 9 so it is basically empty of customers. It is a large restaurant that is divided into small rooms and it's like everything is set up like they do with the sit down restaurants at Disney. Even the lights over the tables have 'Cock of the Walk' punched into them. A very limited menu, everything is prepared ahead of time. They have seated us in a room right next to the kitchen, there is no one else in the room with us. On the menu they have conCOCKed a story about how they named the restaurant. We order a pitcher of beer that comes in a tin pitcher and two tin cups to drink from. Their specialty is catfish (Their sign says 'World's Best Catfish') so I order it, Dixie orders the Filet. The food arrives on tin plates. On my plate, 4 pieces of cornbread coated catfish with hushpuppies, french fries and 2 tarter sauces. Dixie's plate the filet mignon, toasted texas bread, a baked potato with butter and cheese on it and a sour cream container. Side dishes of pickled onions and cole slaw and corn bread. Dixie's salad comes still covered with saran wrap. I went into this review planning on making fun of this place but for the money it was a good deal. Dixie's steak was good and cooked correctly, her salad fresh even if it was packaged blue cheese dressing, her baked potato loaded. The catfish, I have never really thought farm raised catfish tasted like anything, and this catfish had no flavor either except for the corn bread coating, they were cooked crispy the way I like it, the huspuppies were great, the coleslaw came in a crock and was delicious, a whole plate of cornbread in a cast iron skillet was good, pickled onions something different and good. This is a place that will never have a 5 star rating but if you are looking for a lot of good food that won't break the bank this place will suit you just fine. We finish our meal, and out the door we went. See Ya Brian

Road Trip 04-21-09

04-21-09
We went to Rotier's Restaurant for lunch today. It was 12:30, busy lunch time. Eddie our waiter called us over to a table where we were seated immediately. We ordered a Cheeseburger the way Eddie likes it, toasted French Bread, grilled thick juicy burger, mustard, pickle, tomato, grilled onion. It came with a side, 1/2 fries 1/2 onion rings. We also got the Tuesday special, a little chewy chicken fried steak with a brown gravy, lima beans, wonderful fried okra, and dried out corn bread. The BEST HAMBURGER. even if it could have been a little rarer. The place is like an old NY diner, small booths, counter with stools. Go, it's good. I go back to the coach and Dixie goes to the mall. Believe it or not Dixie is still on her diet (mostly) and she has lost so much weight she needed to get a smaller bra, curse this weight loss it always goes from the best part. I take a nap, it's the pressure of being on the road, I'm always tired, my digestive track is always working so blood is going from my brain. We are getting ready for a 7 o'clock show, we have to be at the clubhouse at 6 to be picked up, it's now 5:19 and someone knocks on the door and says that the bus is leaving at 5:30 not 6. Time to put things in haul ass gear, we manage to get there on time as the bus is loading, and off we go. We have tickets for The Grand Ole Opry tonight. We have been to the new one (it's now 35 years old) but the performances tonight are at the original Ryman Auditorium. We get there and find out that tonight is Gospel music night. So instead of ordering a Jim Beam on the rocks I order a "Makers" Mark on the rocks. The theater is much smaller in comparison, much more intimate. I'm taking a few pictures of the place and Dixie notices that Hal Ketchum is playing, we love him. I'm watching some people take pictures and naturally the picture taker never gets to be in the picture so I offer to take a picture with all of them in it, they were glad that I offered, this is a good thing to do, it also opens the path for conversation if you want . Back to the show. John Conlee comes out to start the show, great voice. Then Hal comes on stage, Dixie and I give him a standing ovation, everyone else looked at us like we were crazy. He comes out with his young daughter (6?, look out Hannah Montana) who plays bass guitar. Hal sings three songs, 'I know where love lives', 'Five o'clock world', and 'I miss my Mary'. His daughter is jamming on the bass, he is belting out the songs and Dix and I are singing along. He gets done and everyone gives him a standing ovation, funny how things can change in 15 minutes. Some history, the Opry is a LIVE radio show and is the longest running radio show anywhere, 83 years. The Ryman theater was built by a rich riverboat Captain named Ryman as a church and then converted for the Opry (you can see that the stage area and walls on either side were added). The seats are the old pews, not very comfy. They were there untill they moved to the new larger building 35 years ago. The radio control room is in the back with the "On The Air" light is still there. After Hal's performance The Whites, Points Of Grace, Bill Anderson, The Grascals, Connie Smith and Mercy Me perform. A great evening starts at 7 and ends at 9. $41 per person including transportation. It was worth it just to see Hal. So we're ready for dinner. We walk to the "Printer's Alley" area. A small alley with a few clubs, everyone singing Karaoke, they even had a place with Nude Karaoke. I'm thinking this might work at Dixies Dockside. One place has a band starting at 9:30 and has a cover (we NEVER pay a cover in Nashville) so we walk 2nd St., where a few more places are, shit they even have our nemisis Hooters. Still nothing we want, so we're now back on Broadway. We decide on Merchant's. We go in they seat us at a great table by the window. Jamie takes our drink order, Blue Moons and I order the crab cake appetizer to get started. Beers come and we order a Caesars salad and Chicken Cordon Blue, with cheese grits casserol and spinach, both to split. Bread comes with oil and spices, finally a place that realizes that salt is not the main indredient in the bread dip. Appetizers arrive, Holy Crap they look great. Two huge cakes loaded with crab with tons of dill sauce to kill for, with enough greens that we didn't even need to order a salad. The BEST crab cakes we have ever had, this is twice BEST in a day. The salad comes and we were warned that it was heavy on garlic, we like it that way. It too is huge, we split it onto the 2nd plate that they brought, We couldn't even finish, it was so rich with the dressing and shaved parm. The meal arrives with two plates and it is huge and, dare I say, dare I must, I say, one of the best presented meals ever to be served. We quickly split up the meal, so much for the presentation. The pecan breaded breast stuffed with country ham and swiss cheese and sage melts in your mouth. The andouille sausage cheese grit cakes were a mouth watering meal in themselves and oh yeah they had to have some greens so it comes with fresh sauteed spinach, lots of garlic, delicious. We are stuffed. $55. That's all, unbelievable. We need to walk this off. Two stores down we go into "Nashville Crossroads" Bar, get two ultras and sit at the bar. There is a 5 piece all girl band playing, really nice with a range of everything not just country. I drop a tip in the jar after I get a beer because they are good. The drummer we thought was a guy, if it sings like a guy, if it looks like a guy, dresses like a guy, looks like that theory is down the drain. The place is narrow and long, cowboy hats on the ceiling for decoration, 2 guys tending bar, they had to throw out a wierd drunk guy trying to get up on the stage. It's a pretty good crowd for a Tuesday. Some guy talks to me, we both have shaved heads. After a while another guy with a shave head comes in, and the unwritten rule is only 2 bald guys in a bar at a time so Dixie and I move on. I drop another tip as we are leaving. We go to" Wheels" bar a few paces down. They have a 4 piece band playing mostly rock and roll and a little Blues. I drop a tip in the band bucket as we enter. They look like a cross between Buddy Holly and DEVO without the hats. The place has 4 machines behind the bar, sort of like the Jaggermeister machine. They chill the shots, each machine has like 3 or 4 boozes in it, Patron, Fireball, Quervo, Goldschlager,honey, you get the idea. We get ultras and the crowd is a little thin but we hang in because the band is good, and the place starts to fill up. A guys comes in from Scotland and the band lets him play lead guitar with them for 2 songs, and this guy "PLAY GUITAR". Dixie gets them to sing a Blues song. We finish our 2nd beer, I drop another tip in their bucket and out the door we went. The next place is across the street. We have been to The "Legends Corner" Bar many times before during our last trip to Nashville. The place is a main stay and everyone ends up there sometime during their visit. It is located on the corner and you can't miss this place. Unfortunately the Band SUCKED so we do not even finish our beer, and out the door we went, no tip for these suckers. We moved to "Tootsies" This little place is packed. We luck into a space in front of the bar and get a couple of ultras. The band is good, we are right next to them, and the speakers are in front of us so we can hear the band and still talk. Some girl starts talking to me, girls loved shaved heads, she is with a date but asks me to dance. So we dance to who knows what Aerosmith song. It's now 12:59. I drop a tip in the bucket and, say it with me, out the door we went. I call the guy from the RV park that is supposed to pick us up. Jerry answers the phone, I can tell he was sleeping and he says he can't, or won't, pick us up, I tell him I'm dissapointed and I'll talk with the people at the office tomorrow morning, but I'll call a cab. You know I'm mellowing out when, here I am drunk and not going ballistic when I get screwed over. So we get a cab, Mike the driver is chatty, I have no idea what we talked about, we get back at the RV park , $25 for the ride $6 tip, he also showed us a much faster way on the highway than we have been using.

Road Trip 04-20-09

04-20-09
We are off to Nashville, we have to back track through Memphis so hopefully we can make it without stopping. We get to Two Rivers RV Park. This place is close to the Grand Ole Opry. They have a nice store with a little of everything, should you need something. The Best part is that they sell tickets to the Opry and give you FREE transportation to the Opry. Something that they have added since our last visit is FREE shuttle service till 3:30 in the morning to the District Area. This is where the bars and music is happening. This should be very helpful for us. The spaces are plenty wide with mature trees for shade and full hook ups (wifi but no cable, the regular antenna picks up the local stations). There is a pool but not warm enough for it to be open yet. It is within walking distance of a Camping World. They also are the least expensive in the area $45.50 per night, welcome to Opry land.They have a nice dog walk area with dodo bags provided. Our dog Peanut gives this place 4 paws. We are going to town tonight by Jeep so we can check out things on wheels rather than just hopelessly walking around. We'll take the shuttle tomorrow. The wifi is not the best at our coach but it does work. We get to town and it is much further than I remember, about 12 miles. We find a place called COCO Cafe. We find it as a coffe house with healty drinks and no beer, we don't stay. So we end up on the main drag in the DISTRICT. Walking with no purpose and tired from the weekend. We look at Merchants Restaurant and Grill and decide that we do not want to spend a C note on dinner. We see lot's of musicians setting up getting ready to play so we pick the only place in town without Live Music. We be stupid. We were hungry and walked into a "70 beers on tap" kind of place. We Go to the Broadway Brew House. They had a flank steak in pita special and we split one and also split a Big Daddy Chicken Burrito. They are huge and look marvelous. They should have called the burrito the chicken "hide and seek burrito" because we were seeking the chicken and it was hidnig someplace beside the burrito. The pita was pretty good and the sauce that came with it was spicy and flavorful. This is like every other multi tapped bar, bar food, and ready for every tourist dollar they can snag. It was a cheap night $30. I'm sure it could be a happening place but come on LIVE music should be mandatory in a Nashville Bar in the District. It's 8 starting to rain and tonight was just a scouting night so the Indians head back to the Coach to plan tomorrow. See Ya, Brian

Road Trip 04-19-09

04-19-09
Yesterday I lucked into an internet wifi connection in the morning at the campground. We wake to pouring down rain, the place is under water, the lake has expanded to the parking lot. The tenters moved to higher ground so they are OK. A lot of people are leaving due to the rain, there are still a lot of bands playing today so we are staying, We've got umbrellas and rain gear and I'm sure we'll find a good band and a cold beer somewhere. We go to lunch at Abe's BarBQ. Situated right behind the Delta Donut shop is fine BarBQ restaurant. Located at the intersection at US 61 and US 49, THE Crossroads. Abe's has been in business since 1924 and unlike Robert Johnson who sold his soul to the devil to get out of here you would sell your soul for their tamales. BBQ was good but the tamales are to die for, I don't know if they are worth eternity in hell but definitely an hour or so. So we head into downtown Clarksdale for the last hurrah of the Juke Festival and go to "Cat Head", for the mini Blues Festival where we listen to Big George Brock, and Honeyboy Edwards singing the Blues. This is a place that puts on their own festival after every major event that happens in Clarksdale, I don't know how they make money at it since they don't sell beer or food. Well once they get done playing it's like they pulled the plug as the town is now a ghost town. Everbody is spent from 3 days of party party. We head back to the coach and experiment trying to perfect our Rum Ramsey drink, Dixie has it just about figured out. Folks, next year the festival is April 17th 2010. Put it on your calander because everyone says that it gets better every year. Get there a day ahead. The Blues are not just about the music. Anyone can listen to a CD and say "that music's OK", but to listen to the Blues, you have to use all of your senses. You have to experience the BLUES. You hear the BLUES, the bass guitar's beat, the harmonica, the screaming guitar, the singer revealing his soul. You smell the BLUES, the sweat of the singers and the audience the smell of cigarettes and stale beer. You feel the BLUES in your body, it touches you to your bones. You even see the BLUES, the clothes, the band, the stage, the bar, you'll see it in your dreams. The blues are not about quantity they are about quality. We decide to stay in for the night and actually I have cooked us a perfct meal of ravoli. I opened up the can of Chef Boy R Dee extra stuffed ravoli and boy o boy it was good. If you don't believe me try a can of this stuff put it on a nice plate and present it properly and you will think that you are eating 1st class. Really this shit is good, extra stuffed either in beef or sausage they both are good in a pinch. We are off to Nashville tomorrow and it's about 300 miles so we'll be leaving out early. See Ya Brian

Road Trip 04-18-09

04-18-09
There is a big disparity in the accomondations at this park, next to us is a mini camper, then a wreck of a camper that a guy and girl live in then a half millin dollar Coach then tents. They are all here. I just heard that we are due for 2 to 3 inches of rain tonight, there are going to be some wet tenters for sure as some did not pitch on the high ground. We decided that it was time to go to the CROSSROADS where highway 49 and 61 intersect. This is the place where you decide whether to stay where you are or try to move on to better things and if you are willing to sell your soul to the Devil to make sure that you become successful. We take pictures of the sign marking the location and drive away, yes we still have our souls. We are back on the Delta, that's the name of the main drag where the Clarksdale Juke Joint Festival is taking place. Listening to street musicians playing outside the little shops. We are hungry and thirsty, so we sttop in at a place called RUST. They are not open inside but like everyone else they have an outside venue serving beer and, 7 BBQ shrimp with a piece of french bread for $12. Weat and drink and move on, I'm still hungry so I get a BBQ sandwich with coleslaw on it $5. So we had lunch and Ground Zero just flat out has the best musicians playing so we go back there to listen. They have a small sign on the bar "No Bar Too Far" this might be our new motto. We got a couple of Ultras and go outside to sit on one of the couches and listen for about 3 beers. It's been raining on and off all day. We go driving around looking for a place that has wifi, nope no luck. So after our nap and it pouring down rain it's 7 and time for some dindin. We find a place to park as the amount of people has dwindled due to the rain, We go into "Madidi" really the only high end restaurant in town. We don't have reservations and none are available for dinner but they suggest that we sit atthe bar and get a drink and appetizer, which is all we wanted anyhow. This place is owned by Morgan Freeman the actor, as is Ground Zero. He did not grow up in the town but likes the area and is putting quite a bit of money into the town to help rejunivate the town. Back to the food. We order some beers and three appetizers. The first Ahi Tuna, seared sesame and coriander Crusted Tuna with wasabi and soy, also Shrimp and grits, large prawns, local delta grind grits and onion tasso ham gravy, lastly the Jamie Jack's Pear Salad,spinach pear, spiced walnuts FRIED BLUE CHEESE, and ruby port dressing. All first class and all delicious. Total bill $46. good deal for what we got. We move off to where we hear the next band playing, they are at the Blues Music Museum and they are under a stage, it is drizzling so we look for a place inside. OK so we're back at Ground Zero, now I know why they named it that. We just happen to get a space at the same table but this time we are on the upwind side of the smokers and everything is cool. The people that we are sitting with are 23 to 25 and having a good time just as much as us. The 10 oclock act comes on and and Dixie says that the drummer looks really young. We find out this is a family band. The father, harmonica player and manager, introduces the drummer as his 10 year old daughter, bass player as his 14 year old son and lead guitarist and vocals his 17 year old son. They start playing and blow the house down. They are good. They have just finished their 2nd album. They are so hot their guitars have dual exhaust on them. The name to remember is "Homemade Jamz Blues Band" these guys are great. They perform like seasoned veterans. The main band "Rev. Peytons Big Damn Band is not even starting until midnight and we are about done so back tobus we goes. See Ya Brian

Road Trip 04-17-08

04-17-09
We're off to the Juke Joint Festival, it's only about 80 miles away but first we have to fill up our propane tank so a detour is in order. We find Gibson Propane and I go to pull in and find out that I'm Seriously dragging the hitch due to the dip in the road, at least we did not have to get pulled off like we did once before. Naturally the area is blocked with a tanker filling up, this is a big place, since I can't back up flat towing the Jeep, I have to unhook the jeep then rehook it up. Today the weather is just below 80 so now i'm on my second sweat now. We get the tank topped off, 21 gallons and we're on our way. Driving down 61 is like driving in the midwest but instead of miles after miles of corn there is miles after miles of cotton fields. Nice easy drive with the wind blowing a constant 20 mph from abeam. Speed limit is 65, we ran 55 all the way, hell what's the hurry? We get to the place we were told where there are 400 sites. It is a field in BFE. This is bad info, we manage to find a place to 180 without unhooking and call to find out where the campsite really is located. We get rerouted and are going along just fine when we have to go under a bridge that has a 10'6" clearance, we are 12'4" tall and I like the top of our Coach as much as the bottom. I'm past the point of a turn around so it's time to unhook the Jeep again and back up, naturally the small road is like Grand Central Staion all of a sudden. Dixie backs the Jeep up and I follow her untill we can turn onto a side street to find another way around. Dixie takes the lead after getting clear and just happens to luck into the right steet for the campground. It's first come first served, and pay $15 a day for any site. We get set up at a fairly level site hook up the water and 30 amp electric thinking we lucked out having power and water. We start talking to the neighbors and I take a short walk and notice that all of the sites across the road have SEWER also, time to break down and move again. We are finally set up and hooked up and everything is good. Ok I'm going to make a quiz out of where we ate for lunch today. Here are the clues. Steak tips, Dixie's cooked a perfect medium rare, mine a perfect medium. There was at least 10 oz of sirloin tips, seasoned and tender without a spec of fat on them. Next a real baked potato salt rubbed with butter, cheese,bacon,sour cream, and fresh cut chives. The tips came with a side of sauteed onions and green peppers. Two diet cokes with refills. Delivered to your table. How much would you pay. $15.90. Not each, but both. This was the special today usully it is plus the drinks. If you remember our blog from 2007 we stopped at one of these places. Put your thinking caps on, I want you to guess where this place is, yes it is a chain but we do not have one in Brandon. That's the last clue. When we get back (middle of May) the first person that guesses where we ate lunch I will buy a bucket of beer at Dixies Dockside. Only one guess per person. Speaking of Dixies I heard that the weekly Saturday Night Fights have been cancelled. Jeff is now the sole owner, and I hope everything is going along smooooooothly now. We go to downtown Clarksdale and just about everyplace has a blues guy, band , playing either inside or outside.. Tonight there is a cover but today everything is free so we bar hop along and listen and drink. We stop by The Delta Amusement Cafe where an old hippie is belting out blues, he's a one man band plays guitar harmonica drums and sings all at the same time, he's got amps and he's loud,drawing a crowd. We walk around the block getting the lay of the land, drinking our beers, no one seems to know if it's OK to have open alcohol but we walk past a cop and nothing is said so for the festival I guess it's OK. Next stop is The Original Groud Zero Blues Club, they have been alternating bands all day and everyone is good, they are working for tips so naturally we are tipping each set. The bartender "Page" is handing out cold Ultras for ony $2.50. Cheap considering there is no cover until tonight. Tomorrow is wristband night, for $10 you can go in anyplace without paying the individual cover. We get two and a Juke Joint Festival T shirt for me. Tonight should be a long night so after 3 hours we go back for a nap and a shower and I'm writing this part of the blog. Dinner for me is a Can of Campbell's Healthy chicken rice soup and a peanut butter sandwich, now we're back to basics. We get back to G.Z. and the place is popping andthey still have $2.50 beers so we get a seat at a table where we have a good view of the stage and doesn't it figure we sit next to the only 5 people smoking and it's blowing right in our face, we move but don't have as good of seats, we did get to talk with some locals, and some other people even some visiting Japannees. We hang out for a while and they finally collect $10 each for a cover. We are waiting for the headliner Super Chic kin. We listen to his first set about an hour he's good but really Blues and then move on to The Bluesberry Cafe where Delta Highway is playing. This is a really small place owned by Art and Carol from Miami, apparently they were the last English speaking Americans there because they said that they DID take the flag with them. They don't make a living at what the do selling bakery goods to local patrons but rather they specialize in non sugar pastries that they sell wholesale. The place is set up with a small stage where D.H. starts playing a little after 10. They are just jamming and working for tips playing NEW songs from their NEW album before playing to their regular larger crowds, about 12 a new guy "John" ? joins them and he's got a great voice and a even stranger guitar. Sort of Bluegrassy. All or them jammin but it's 1 and we are beat. And as George Thoroughgood says "and back to the bus we goes. See Ya. Brian

Road Trip 04-16-09

04-16-09
Today is laundry day. I'm doing the wash and this lady comes in and we start talking, she is from Canada. They have been on the Road For 2 months and are now headed back home. They have been staying in a Hi Top Van type RV. Way too small for extended stays. She is about our age, I meet the husband and he's in his seventies. I guess she was the Trophy wife at one time, the next decade she'll turn into the nurse that takes care of him. We go to lunch to Buntyn Restaurant about 15 miles away and when we get to the location, it is packed. However the name says "Patrick's". We found that if it's packed it's usually good, so we go in. Country cooking type place. I get the daily special, turkey with dressing and cranberry with mashed potatoes and corn. Dixie a nice sensible 4 veggy dish of spinach casserole, limas, black eyed peas and corn. Cornbread served with the meal. Cormort food you love it but it sure likes to stay with you. We're stuffed and go back to the Coach, because I had to send out yesterday's blog. Oh, we threw out the piece of shit compass because it did not work worth a shit, that's $2.39 down the drain. So I'm walking Peanut and finally look up from where I have been 5 times and realize that the sign for the Missisippi River Rv park that we are staying at is an old Rv that they have hung 40' off the ground. And I never saw it all these days. OH YEAH, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY KAY. This afternoon we went back to the National Civil Right Museum at 3 o'clock. It is the story of Blacks basically from slaves arrival untill present day with emphesis on Dr. King. We figured 2 hours would be enough but you should plan on at least 4 hours for this tour. We did not get them, but I would definately recommend getting the head phones for $2 extra, this will save you at least 2 hours of reading. It tells of the struggles and tribulations of Blacks and everything, but mostly of Dr. King and his life. A truly incredible guy, not like the douche bag Jesse Jackson who tries to make everything about him. Dr King did and still is making a difference in all of our lives even if we don't know it.. Too bad for his demise because life would be much better for all of us if he had lived. I was humbled after the visit. I was ashamed after the visit, and most of all I will remember that all of us are equals. OK enough about stuff I can't control. We go for a drink back at Beale St. at Alfred's, we wanted to bask in the sun on their 2nd story deck. Had a few beers and decided that I wanted to get Pizza. Memphis has BBQ not PIZZA. We finally found, after 4 other stops where the place was not only not in business but the buildings were torn down,"Coletta's". Dude this place in the hood is great. The place looks terrible from the outside, the parking lot is an old gas station and the main building could use an update. We walk in and sit at the bar and Joan sets us straight on what we need to order, don't get glasses of beer get 1/2 pitchers. The beer is cold the bathrooms are spotless and the pizza is to kill for. We were going to get plain pizza when Joan said that they made their own sausage so of course we got sausage pizza, medium size. It was great. I could have just had the sausage but as luck would have it the cheese and crust was just as good. This place is a little out of the way but worth the trip. Don't be afraid of the looks as everyone inside was great to us, I would say that if you want pizza in Memphis Go to "Coletta's". This is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Memphis, in Memphis the whole city. It started as an ice cream parlor. And as every successful place does, they expanded their horizons to where they are today. The reason that they are still open is for sure the people that work there, everyone made us feel at home. Elvis used to eat at Colletta's he loved their Bar B Que pizza, so of course they have an Elvis Room. I can't figure out how Elvis put on all his weight. We're back at the Coach early and glad. I need a rest. We are moving to Clarksdale for the Juke Joint Festival tomorrow so I do not know when we will have internet service again. See Ya , Brian

Road Trip 04-15-09

04-15-09
We had lunch at "Leonard's Bar B Que". They are famous for putting cole slaw ON the sandwich. That's ingenuity. The place is fairly large it seats about 200 or so in 4 different rooms. Every room was pretty well filled up when we got there at 12:20. We had to wait about 10 minutes and then we were seated right next to the meat portion of the buffet. They have several stations, like on a crusie ship, one for the salads, one for the sides, one for the meats, and one for the desserts. Every station had a wide selection of everything and everyday they vary the items a little, all priced about $10 for all you can eat, good deal. We chose the menu item of small bbq pork sandwich platter with beans and fries and a small beef brisket sandwich. 2 ice teas unsweet. The pork sandwich was great probably a little too much cole slaw and not enough meat. The beef brisket was a little tough. I always compare everybodies beef brisket and compare it to Fred Walden's, Fred's is the best , moist, flavorful, and TENDER. Leonard's had everything but the tenderness. Everything was good but nothing outstanding. If you are hungry choose the buffet. Drove to the Sun Studio and I forgot to recharge the camera battery so naturally it went dead right after we arrived. Got two pictures of us outside and that was it for the battery. We said we'll go back and take some picture, I doubt it, but we said it. The original Studio is in the left half of a building. It still has the original greeting room, then the studio where Elvis,Jerry Lee Lewis,Johnny Cash,Carl Perkins, and many others cut their records, and then the control room where Sam Phillips recorded the music. The right side was a boarding house and cafe where a lot of the musicians hung out and stayed while recording. Sun studios stopped using the building in 1960 and moved to bigger digs behind the studio. The amazing part is that even though the rooms were rented out as a barber shop, even a dive shop throughout the years no one ever remodeled, they kept the original sound board walls and ceilings intact, so we get to see it as it was in 1956. The building has been declared an historic landmark so you can go see it forever. The tour is done by the good looking young tall girl (not that I really noticed her) that sells you tickets $12 each, she does a great job of bring back the enthusiasm that must have been there in it's heyday, make sure you tip her. There is an upstairs museum and the studio downstairs that would be nothing without the narration. When we were there we saw two Elvis impersonators, ground zero for Elvis sightings. We are officially old now, we had to buy one of those little compasses that you stick on your windshield so that you know which direction you are going, I guess I can apply for my handicap parking sticker tomorrow. We went by the "Loraine Motel" where Dr. King was assinated in 1968 over 40 years ago, fourty years, god I am old. They have set the motel up as a museum, we went to go in at 4:30 but they close at 5 so we'll go back tomorrow. We also went by the "Burke Estate" that was used for the underground railroad moving slaves to the north. Same dealeo on that, they closed at 5. So now it's happy hour, yeah somethin that we are good at, got to find a place, we go to a place that over looks the Missisippi River "The Pier". We check it out and nothings going on, when we are leaving this guy back into a cars side quarter panel he looks at it and then just drives off. We got his tag number but the car he hit already had damage everwhere else on the car we figured it did not matter if he had another small hit. We then go to a place called The Blue Monkey, it's slow there also The bartender Becca said it has been slow at night lately but good for lunch, we had driven by it several times and it never looked busy. We then find out why no one was anyplace but Beal Street. Tonight was their first wednesday bike night of the year and the place was packed. Thousands of bikes, they had 3 motocross riders jumping over jumps OVER Beale St. doing flips, 360s and every thing else. Pretty cool. We hung out at The Patio, had a few Big Ass Beers and listened to their band, it's an outside bar with $4, 24 oz. miller lites and a good blues band but they keep trying to sell their CDs to you, we did not buy any. So now it's 9 oclock and we're hungry so we go to Gus's World Famous Chicken. Our GPS, when we arrived says we are at Gus's World Famous Chicken, it must be famous if the gPS knows it. We walk in and the first thing you know your nose goes into overdrive, the aroma is delicious. They only cook chicken, nothing else, no beef, no pork, chicken only. We both ordered the 3 piece white meals with beans and slaw and fried rice. We are watching our cals so we order ultras. What can I say Great moist, midly spicy chicken and sides. Dixie brought one of her breast home for breakfast. I ate them all, how can you just eat 1 breast when 2 of them are staring at you, and they were really BIG BREASTS, I just love saying that. That's why they are world famous. Time to head back to the Coach and chill out. See Ya Brian

Road rip 04-14-09

04-14-09
Some of you have not gone to sign into the blog site, so do it now. Copy ( http://iamhavingagreatday.blogspot.com ) and do it now. We are still experiencing weather for other people, this is not the great weather that we want when traveling, Oh Well, roll with the punches, still cold 50s and 40s and damp and wet. Checked into the Clarksdale Juke Joint Festival for this weekend, found out the Chamber of Commerce has over 400 RV sites so we'll be headed there on Friday. Went to lunch at The Cupboard. It's a family eatin' kind of place, like Ben's Restaurant in Brandon. Diner roll AND corn rolls arrive immediatly after we order. I got the meat and 3 sides $8.95 Dixie the 4 veg platter 5.95. The specials today were Meatloaf, mac and cheese, lima beans, and carrot souffle for me. Dixie got lima beans(we forgot to get something different), fried green tomatoes, field peas with snaps, and rice and gravy. Everything and I mean everything was perfect. Nothing left on our plates except some lima beans. Two unsweetened ice teas washed it down. The carrot souflle was our dessert it was so sweet and creamy, the mac and cheese was exactly like my Mom used to make less the baked breadcrumb topping. I have got to say something about the service. We were in a section that had a plaque about waitress of the year, Elsie? I think that was the name. She never missed a beat, rolls, dinner, drinks and refills there was not a second we waited, she had everything under control. Everyday there is a different special so you could eat here everyday. $21 for everything, plus tip. When we checked out, I have found that if they have York Peppermint Patties, you know you are full, but you know you got to get one, they're great, we did. We decided to go to The Sun Studio for the tours however a tour bus was there and we did not want to wait for 50 people ahead of us, we'll go tomorrow. Went to Wallyworld bought some shit that cost over $200 have no idea what it was. OK, Pay attention this is the best Restaurant we have been to so far. It is called FLIGHT. This is a collaboration of two guys Tom Powers and Russ Graham, the restaurant only opened yesterday. Their idea is unique and probably the next new idea in dining-drinking and desserting. Flights features flights of wines( we have all heard of flights of wines where you sample 3 different wines for one price), flights of salads, flights of soups, flights of meats, flights of desserts, flights of after dinner drinks, flights of scotch. This is like an idea that has been waiting to happen. These guys have truly let you 'have it your way'. OK here's what went down. Owner Russ seats us, tells us the concept, we like. David our waiter takes our order of a "call me a cab" (Cabernet wine) and an appetizer of baked brie with a topping of light honey and almonds, with strawberries and crostini. Sooner than we expect the Flight of Cabs consisting of Root:1,Educated Guess, and Fritz arrive. They come in a custom made serving wood tray with 2 oz of each in a small wine glass with a card explaining each of the wines. We debate, we drink, we eat the appetizer and then finally decide on ordering a full bottle of the Fritz with our meal. We then ordered the flight of salads. The best was Feta and watermellon salad with fresh mint, red onion, and extra virgin olive oil, this salad alone could make you think about turning vegitarian. The next salad was Orange and avacado salad, consisting of spring lettuce and citrus grain mustard vinaigrette topped with toasted almonds. Last but not least, was baby spinach salad with bacon, red onion, with vinaigrette. That's right we didn't have to choose one we got them all. We knew this was a ton of food so we passed on the soups tonight, even though they all sounded terrific. For our entrees Dixie selected the Beef flight. Filet of Beef, fondant potatoes, shitake mushrooms,and bordelaise. 2 die for, our fave. Deuce was flat iron of beef with mushroom risotto and red cabernet sauce. Oh yeah, then to complete the trio, a ribeye, with 'house made' worcestershire sauce. You know there have been people that have sold their soul for less than this, but we got it all without going to Hell, thank god we didn't have satan as a server or he would have chalked up two more souls. I ordered the flight of Feathered. 'Ashley Farms' Chicken Breast with fingerling potatoes in a mouth watering madeira sauce. Of course there was the Pistachio dusted quail breast. Of course it was yummy. The holy ghost of this trio was the Duck breast with sweet potato and confit hash with pomegranate reduction sauce. This did NOT suck a duck. I'm not kidding you, we had 6 different type meats. Then came the desserts flights. We didn't have room for, but we managed to eat, a grand marnier creme brulee, a milk chocolate parfait, and a killer chocolate caramel pecan cheesecake. A white chocolate martini for Dixie and a Grand Marnier for me finishes off this repast.This is the trinity of the devil, as Flip Wilson said 'the devil made me do it'. This place, this idea, this restaurant is going to be BIG. If you have money, invest in this place. If you have a credit card go eat there, they take them all. We will be back. Thanks for having us Tom and Russ and GOOD LUCK with your new venture. We decided not to check out the two other bars that we had for tonight and went back home to recover from the meal of a century. $250 including tip. All you foodies, write this place down and pass it on to your friends. When in Memphis take a flight to FLIGHT. See Ya Brian.

Road Trip 04-13-09

04-13-09
Another Shitty Day In Paradise. Dixie is cutting Peanut, with the rain we realized it was time for his summer haircut. Dixie Cuts but I have to bathe him. That was a chore and now peanut is half his original size. Our plan is to do stuff inside, See Stax . And it is raining, still, and cold, still. For lunch we head to "The Little Tea Shop". It's been on our GPS as locations to see. It's a small breakfast lunch joint that's been there since 1918. A lot of Judges, politicians and the sort hang out there, or used to. We get served corn muffins naturally in the shape of corn. The best corn muffins we have had , moist and cracked corny. They only have a limited daily specials available. You take the order sheet check what you want and they bring it to you. I got "hamburger" it is really a meat loaf shaped like a burger covered with dark sweet mushroom beef gravy, extra gravy comes with the order, two sides fresh green beans and smashed potatoes. True COMFORT FOOD. I did have a diet coke to offset the cals. Dixie hit upon the really good special. Chicken breast between corn bread, covered with a nice gravy with a side of rice and yellow squash. You have to have their homemade peach cobbler to finish off the meal. We are now ready to check out Stax record company museum, even though they went involuntarily bankrupt in 1975 due to comporate greed there still was enough of their original stuff donated back to open this landmark museum. Lots of groups were produced by Stax, Ike Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Issac Hayes, Sam and Dave, Booker T and The MGs, Mar Keys and a host of other successful people. They were the melting pot of music companies. Black or white they all worked together playing music until the uprising with Dr. King's assination. They screwed up and sold exclusive distrubition rights to CBS, however CBS would not put out their records and the ones that they did they did not pay them for, years of legal hassels and they are gone, too bad for us. There's enough storied walls, memoribelia, clothes, recording equipment etc. to keep us busy for few hours or so. We have to go to Kinkos for some business and then to check out a place called the Bardog. The Bardog Pub is a little pub with big city prices on their beer,16 Oz. Draft beers in frosted mug $5, Their appetizers and food pricing is more reasonable we had 4 small meat balls and bread with a nice marinara sauce $5. They have the ceiling paddle fans that work on a single motor and are belt driven. I couldn't help but notice the vice grips holding the pully onto the motor. The barmaid Melissa was friendly she told us about the roof top parties at the Peabody and the Madison Hotels on Thursdays. She said that the rooftops close down at 11 and then theBardog packs out. It looks like a slow monday, I don't know if it's becauce it's Monday or the pricing on the beers. 4 beers and a small "tiza" $30 with tip. If you are having dinner their pricing seems reasonable if you average drinks and good food. They do not even have any signage outside so they must be doing something right. It's 5 so we head back to get cleaned up. There is a group "Delta Highway" that Is playing at the Rum Boogie Cafe that we have seen before that is playing tonight at 8. This band has a great harmonica player, he's even better than Clinton. The bar has the largest collection of signed guitars from no bodies to Stevie Ray Vaughn. They also have the original STAX sign. We get to town and since it's a Monday there is free parking and no cover charges anywhere, there are also a whole lot fewer people, which we like, how's that for a run on sentence. Rum Boogie Cafe has more than just bar food it has full meals. We are not very hungry so Dixie orders a bowl of red beans and rice and I order the gumbo with alligator,shrimp,sausage and tons of spices the menu says. Two bud light beers ($5 each, priced right due to the entertainment) to get the food and music flowing. The Blues Band Delta Highway is one of the few Blues Bands that still sing Blues Type music,much of it their own original songs, great harmonica and lead singer, great lead guitarist. Bass and Drums can even sound good playing by themselves. The food comes and quantity is not the problem for me. It may have been late in the day and all the good stuff was scooped out as I counter only 1 small shrimp, 1 piece of sausage, and the alligator must have been out on strike. The spiced gumbo sauce was great I just wish it had some meat in it. Dixie's was great and way too big. Two more bud lights the band goes on break so we switch over to the other side of the bar to listen to The Dr. Feelgood Potts Band. An OK group but you could see that they were just not into it tonight. The D.H. bass guitarist was having a shot of whiskey at the bar and we got to talking. He told us that in Clarksdale there was a big Blues Festival this coming weekend. We are going to try to find a place and move the Motorhome there Friday. Got a Blue Moon and went back to the other side and listened to the 2nd set of D.H. Now it's 12 o'clock and time to go home. See Ya Brian

Road Trip 04-12-09

04-12-09
Once again I have lost a day somewhere but this blog is really for 4-12-09. I have set up a blog page so please add this to your list of favorites and share it with your friends. It is easier to make comments in the blog. Thanks Brian. http://iamhavingagreatday.blogspot.com, after you sign on, you just click and subscribe to the feed, I am still setting this blog up so until I have it under control I will continue the emails as well. I'm still trying to figure out how to add pictures etc. It's Happy Easter Day, Cold 50s and blowing and rain expected. We find out that the internet we get works if you hold the computer a certain way and add some tin foil and stand on one leg holding the computer over your head, we can only get it to work if I go outside the coach with the computer. We are going to Clarksdale in the "Delta", home of the blues, it is about 80 miles away. We wanted to just check it out even though we knew that everything was closed for Easter. There is another "Ground Zero Blues Club" in Clarksdale, it's an old warehouse type building with old couches and chairs to sit on outside. It is across the street from the Delta Blues Museum in downtown Clarksdale. They have an old limo there to take the local drunks home, how cool is that. It's 1:30 and we're hungry and we already know that there is not much on the way back to Memphis. We see a Taco Bell and we were going to just get us two soft tacos to hold us over and then we find out it was closed. We circle back a few blocks and stop at Atzimba Mexican Restaurant, we order two 16oz margaritas and they bring out delicious chips and homemade salza. I get the #3 combo it has a spiced beef enchilada and burrito, and a double cheese chili rellano covered with cheese and sauce. Absolulety wonderful but the beef could have been more seasoned for my taste. Dixie's Burrito with tender chunked beef, beans and rice, sour cream and guacamole just as good. Needed a bud light to wash it all down. Total bill $25. Good deal anywhere and we're glad Taco Bell was closed. It is pouring down rain and "windin" on the trip back. We check out the casinos in Tunica and we still can't believe anyone would waste their time away in them. CCR is supposed to be playing at one this Saturday so we stopped for tickets and naturally they don't sell tickets on Sunday or Monday. It just won't stop raining so we decide to eat the Neely's BBQ leftovers for dinner and stay in and watch TV. Any body with experience in setting up a blog, please email or call me. Thanks See Ya Brian

Road Trip Pre 04-12-09

This email is coming to you now that Dixie and I do not own Dixies Dockside and we are now able to travel again.
To those of you that have not been on my Road Trip email list before, what I do is send a mostly daily blog about where we are traveling and what we do and what we EAT. We will be traveling the USA, east of the Mississippi during this trip. I hope you enjoy my rantings and descriptions of areas we are visiting. If You wish to not receive the Road Trip emails let me know and I will tell everyone that you are a queer and eat your boogers.
03-05-09
Getting ready to go to Bike week In Daytona, have a place for the Coach in Beverly Beach, should be a fun 3 days before we head to Fayetteville to see Tara after she has her baby, she is due on the 12th. All the plans made when Tara calls at 9 and says her water broke. I told her to call a plumber, apparently different kind of water. Well change of plans so we get packed up for the 604 mile trip to the campground that we will be staying. Start out at exactly 12 noon and arrive, with one stop for fuel and two P breaks, at 9:30 P.M.. 604 miles divided by 9.5 hours = 63.57 miles per hour. For a house that weighs 28,000 lbs and pulling a jeep that's hauling ass. OK so we get to the hospital at 10:15, perfect timing as Tara delivered at 8:45 and by that time everything was cleaned up the, baby had been fed for the first time and they let everyone in to see the new delivery. A lot of you know me as really not "the baby type" well seeing Emmalyn made me change my mind. Bear in mind I have NEVER held a baby before, Never. When I held her, you know, well what can I say I'm now "Papa Brian", When I saw her little feet, hands, arms and legs I wondered how humans walk upright. I guess after being in a ball for 9 months makes your arms and legs a little curved to say the least, a little cone head but not much. The nurse says she is perfectly normal. She is a beautiful baby. We left them and went to waffle house, it was the only place open at 12:30. Had a wonderful fat waitress that took our order with a snear, did not refill our drinks even once, luckily the cook did. She was too busy yacking with her other fat friend smoking a cigarette when an even fatter friend came in wearing flip flops and a mu mu type dress. Her legs could not even lift her legs as she had to shuffle her flip flops instead flip flopping she sloshed sloshed along the floor. Luckilly she had a cigarette to help her keep moving, she was like the train I think I can I think I can. Fayetteville after dark will never make it as a TV show. That's all for today. I promise I will only send one picture as I know that to other people every baby looks the same. See Ya. Brian
03-06-09
Today was catchin up on sleep, woke at 8:30 and walked the peanut boy, he seems to have found a new love with any tree that he comes across. The RV park is OK, nice big pool,closed till warm weather arrives, and a stocked lake for fishing. Just 45 spaces with mostly live aboards for half the spaces. America is becoming the land of the fifth wheelers. As all good RV parks are, and this one is no different, it is in the airports flight path, this one is so close that the i.l.s. landing lights are actually on the property. No alarm clock necessary when this is the case I broke down this week and bought a bottle of Grand Marnier, screw France but America does not make anything close, and it sure goes down good after a long day of, has the baby pooped yet?,has the baby smiled yet?, is that a rash on the baby's bottom. I'm beginning to think it may not "be just about Brian" what's up with that shit. Visited Tara and Chris 2X today. Oh yeah every time, that's right every time you go into the Base your car gets searched, Open the trunk, open the HOOD, open the glove box, open the console. Still no hidden atom bombs so you can pass. Every time, I can not tell you how much safer everyone feels with this security in place at our military bases. Tara and Chris and Emmalyn should be leaving the hospital tomorrow . They are all ready to get home. Emmalyn is now attracted to breasts almost as much as I am. We went to dinner at a place sort of like "Hops", local brewery that serves only their own beer. Had a great home brewed hefeweizen beer "blue moon,shock top" type beer, really good at special price of $2.50. Had a FEW before and after dinner. Dixie drove home. Dixies Filet was perfect, pittsburg rare with just the right amount of crust and I had the best meat loaded thin crust pizza I have ever had, there was so much that we both have the other half for lunch tomorrow, who knew they knew how to make killer pizza in North Carolina. Did I say Dixie drove home. I'm having a G.M. now and everything is SMOOOOTH. Looks like I will be leaving Sunday morning to go home, I am really looking forward to driving the Jeep wrangler 600 miles, did I mention no cruise control so I guess i'll be the idiot that's ahead of you that can't seem to hold the speed limit.. One of these days I am going to kick myself in the ass for cheaping out on some things. I'll be home for about 4 weeks by myself while Dixie stays here to help Tara out with the baby, so make sure that you invite me over or out for dinner. One thing that the front page of the local paper is complaining about is that the house prices are RISING. They are also complaining about the increase in taxes due to this fact. I guess nobody is happy about their housing crisis. Well that's all for now, See Ya. Brian
03-30-09
To catch you up. I went home on the 8th and Dixie stayed in North Carolina to help out with the baby and Tara. It was a 604 mile trip with the wind blowing the Jeep all over the road and no cruise control. At home I have been doing spring cleaning at our house, pressure washing, cleaning outdoor furniture etc. Today Monday the 30th, I packed up my stuff and drove back to North Carolina to be with Dixie. Sounds easy. This morning I was putting the bike carrier on the Jeep to bring the two bikes with me, It is a bike rack that goes into the Jeeps trailer receiver. I hooked it up and had the two bikes secured when I put the lock to secure the hitch I lightly pulled down on the bracket and it broke, thereby rendering the rack useless. I had to unload the bikes and the broken hitch. I dropped a small part and reached down to get it and when I got up, the car door had opened without my knowledge, I hit the bottom of the door on the way up. I saw stars like you see in the cartoons. I am now sporting a gash on my head. We won't have bikes on this leg of the trip.The trip back in the Jeep was not as bad as the return trip. I hooked up my "Redneck Remote Cruise Control" a stick that I could put between the gas pedal and the seat. It worked great just like in 1971 when I traveled from Tampa to Staten Island during my College days. I was cruising around 80 most of the way and making great time, the GPS said I would get there at 5:20 P.M. Just a little after entering N.C. on I95 they had a sign saying to expect an hour delay. I quickly took a detour to 301 and bipassed the delay. On 301 which used to be the main artery North and South. I passed dozens of old Motels that we all used to stop at when traveling, They had all deteriated and were abandoned after I95 opened up. I passed through a town lost in time with an actual Main Street and no Mall, I think the name of the town was Latta, it could just as easily have been Mayberry. I wished I had time to stop and check out the town but Dixie did not know I was coming and I wanted to get to the Motorhome before dark. Well I made it about 7 P.M. and I knock on the door and Dixie did not recognize me, she had not seen me with my head shaved or my new glasses, she asked herself what the hell is Evan doing here? I had not had anything to eat all day so we stoped off at Wendys and I got two of their 99 cent special cheeseburger with bacon and tomato and lettuce. 99cents, how can you beat that?, and we went back to eat the burgers and have some wine. It was great to see Dixie again, you know what "they" say, absence make the heart grow fonder. It is true. We have been visiting Tara Chris and the baby for a few days but now it is time for the traveling to begin. We will be leaving Fayetteville on Friday for areas still not known to even us. Let the games begin. See Ya Brian
04-04-09
Well we left Fayetteville for Columbia S.C. it is only 170 miles away but the wind was blowing 30 mph and gusting to 50.. The shoe box we were driving was pushed all over the road. Got to the downtown Walmart, we were going to stay in the parking lot since it was cool during the day 60 degrees. The gps showed the Walmart, unfortunately it did not know it was closed and that it had moved, so after driving through dowtown rush hour traffic and every road also under construction we went to the RV park with 1,100 spaces. They were filled up, so we just dry camped on their grass area. We went to downtown in the jeep and rode around, nice town, really a just college town for young kids even if it is the State Capital. Went to the Vistas converted railroad area, lots of bars and restaurants. 1st bar we had blue moon and bud light and then found out from Ann our waitress that mich was on special for $1.50 for 16 oz draft. At the 2nd bar, MacDougalls, we had GREAT crab cakes and $3.75 PITCHERS of Bud Light. Now we're home. Had 2 pitchers and talked with Hillary about where to eat. Just had to walk across the street to the Liberty Tap Room And Grill for the best Filet Mignon that Dixie has had in a while, it came with homemade sweet mashed potatoes(Bill where were you?), we split the meal. Miller light was the only Beer that I knew on tap, they had 50 different types. Got back to the Motorhome and got to bed early because we were going to get on the road early. Well it was 36 degrees when we got up, Time to head SOUTH. We are now in New Orleans, 650 miles in one day but it is now in the 70s as I am writing this column. Gereral Sherman was not the only person to move quickly through the South. Wind was calm so we were able to haul ass. We are staying at The French Quarter RV Park. We can walk to everywhere, at night time we will get a taxi as it is, as all RV parks in town ,in the hood. Dixie is done showering so it is now my turn. I'll let you know tomorrow if New Orleans has regained its Pre Katrina Food, Fun, And Drinking. I'm hungry and thirsty. See Ya Brian
04-05-09
Looks like we made the right decision to go south, we were going to head to Memphis and just found out that they now have SNOW in the forecast. I'm glad that we're in New Orleans, The Cresent City, The Big Easy, I guess they couldn't decide on just one nickname. It's 8 AM and we do have heavy fog and a 50 % chance of rain but at least it is going to be in the 80s. Last night we walked to town at 9 P.M. The Police station is mid way so we figured we were safe, then again the cops have guns. We were hungry so Food was on the front burner. We went to the Gumbo Shop but the line was out the door so we went around the corner to The Chartres House. I had the Gumbo which was far superior than The Gumbo Shops Creole version, It was a spicy BROWN/ BLACK Cajun sauce mixed with chicken and andouille sausage cut in small 1/2 inch pieces. Really good and served with a loaf of French bread cut longwise. Dixie had the jambalaya which was just plain plain. We got the local beer Abita, Dixie had the sweet amber and I had the IPA, 20 oz drafts. They also had something I have not seen before. Vodka, Bourbon, and specialty liquor on TAP. The Taps are Frozen so when they pour the shots it is ICE cold, no watered down drinks here. We had to maintain so we passed on the shots. We walked around, and as anyone who has been to the FQ knows, it has it's own aroma to say the least. It was only around 11 and the stinky garbage cans, horse crap, urine and barf truly mixes and makes for a unique New Orleans experience. We have been to New Orleans FQ many times before since 1992 and have seen the place change. Earlier on, the live music blues and jazz was in most bars, there was the 711 club where our favorite Lenny "LaFever" McDaniels played, The Abseinthe House with Local great bands playing every night every week. The Al Hirt, Louis Armstrongs and Jazz Blues Bands do not seem to command the atttention of the current clientel. The bars usually did not charge a cover but you had to buy 2 high priced drinks per set. Then we saw Karaoke take over the bars. Now it's DJ rappin that seems to have taken over. There are still some places that have live local music. Naturally the sex shops and Larry Flint peep shows are still there, even Chris Owens is still there, hard to believe she is still alive. I hope that the evolution of Bourbon Street proves that life is a circle and "once again the old is the now the new new. You can walk around with booze on the streets so naturally they sell it on the streets, how convenient. We bought a couple of beers on the street and walked Bourbon to plan tomorrows plan of attack of late night fare. A lot of our regular haunts have closed so we'll be checking out new ones. We did walk back to the park with not a mugger in site. We are going to drive around and see what is left of the Katrina mess. Driving down we did pass at mm 50 on I59 in Mississippi, about 100 miles from NewOrleans, thousands upon thousands of stored FEMA trailers, hopefully people are in their new houses and apartments, since the trailers are not being used. Bye for now. Just found out that B.B. King is playing tonight at The House of Blues, we will see if we can get tickets, I would love to hear him and "Lucille". Shit! just went on line and BB was cancelled. OK so we go out for breakfast to Cafe Atchafalya (just like it sounds) in the Garden District, this place is mixed in the residential area and a little off the beaten path. We find a parking spot and go inside. Chris the bartender/waiter got us started wiith a minosa and a Screwdriver, just to take the edge off of last night. I should have taken a picture of the food as it was unbelievably delicio. I got the "Eggs Atchafalya" - here we go- Poached eggs on top of perfectly fried green tomatoes with LUMP crab meat with hollandaise sauce to top it off. Dixie got the Bananas Foster French Toast with sauteed bananas in a Rum sauce. We split it up evenly. OMG screw the diet this is worth it, this is worth your first born child. After that we checked out several other restaurant locations we will be eating at during this trip, they were closed since it was Sunday. The town had a Ironman contest today and there were athletes from all over the country, so traffic was screwed up to say the least, funny part was we watched the people coming in after completing the 1.5 mile swim, 100 mile bike ride and 26 mile run, none of them were even sweating. If I was in it I would be gasping for air and have paramedics following right behind me, hell i'm tired from just walking around today. I guess in my next life I'll take better care. They also had a Pirate Day and now they are hand rolling cigars, sounds like Tampa if I ever heard, They are trying to steal "Our" tourist thunder. OK, we had to check out the damage done by Katrina. Dude it is almost 4 years later and this place is still a mess. We drove through neighborhoods that only 1 in 3 houses were being lived in, and almost all are still in some stage of repair, there are still FEMA trailers on houses that people were working on fixing up. There a plenty of "for rent" signs on the fixed up houses so I guess a lot of people never returned. In some places it is hard to figure out what Katrina did and what years of neglect did to some of the houses. One thing for sure is that the Lower Ninth Ward took a catostropic hit. The houses are at least 15 feet below the dike that overflowed. There was not a chance of saving any of those houses, even miles away houses had 6 to 8 feet of water in them. The residents should have heeded the warning to evacuate, however looking at the dike and its height I never would have guessed it to overflow, then again I wouldn't build any house 15' below the water level in Tampa. I sent a picture of a new house in the 9th ward with a picture of the dike behind to put in perspective the height differences. If we get an order to evacuate in Tampa, I'm out of there.They are just now building new houses in the Ninth Ward, hope they got the dike fixed right this time. After driving around we found out that 95% of New Orleans is in the hood so we feel really safe at our campground and every other place, it's just different being the minority. We walked around some more, had a beer here and there, and then we wanted a snack so we went to the Cresent City Brewing House. Like a Hops they make their own beer, we had baked Brie with fresh roasted garlic, grapes and fresh hot french bread. Everything was great but a little expensive for the beers, $15 for 2 beers, they must be using very expensive hops. Have to feed Peanut and take a nap and get ready for tonight. We are now outside the motorhome chilling out, there was no rain today, the skies cleared and it was 82 degrees, life is Good. We might even wussie out and just hang by the RV all night, we've got nothing but time. See Ya Brian
04-06-09
We wussied out and did not hit town last night. This is the first time we have been to New Orleans with a vehicle to drive around so we planned on checking out more places outside of the French Quarter. It is 40 degrees this morning with a freeze warning for tonight, I guess the only place that's hot all the time is Hell. We went to go supply shopping at Wallyworld this morning and the Jeep decided it was cold and that it would be needing a AAA infusion of 12 volts to get started. We are waiting for them to show up. The nice guy shows up in 15 minutes and determines that the battery will start if jumped but needs to be replaced, he has the battery $179. I told him I was headed to Walmart and he told me about Autozone 3 blocks away and got the battery for half price same warranty. Well after the delay it was lunch time, we decided to eat. We went to "Willie Mae's", they are famous for fried chicken, every foodie has done a story on the place. There was a restaurant full of people, you could see that they just opened as almost everyone was waiting on their food. We were put on a waiting list and told to wait outside and that they would call our name when it was our turn, after 35 minutes we were seated. We both ordered the Chicken dinner, and waited another half hour for the food to show up, mine came 5 minutes before Dixies. I like chicken but come on chicken is chicken. The meals were expensive for the clean little restaurant, $10 for 3 pieces and one side, watered down ice tea with no refills $2 each, so so potato salad a mediocre side at best, total bill with tax $26 plus $6 tip and Cash ONLY. Eating Fried chicken at Willie Mae's PRICELESS. It might have sounded like I did not like it, but the chicken alone was worth the $32. I NEVER, NEVER, eat chicken skin, but the chicken after being cooked at Willie Mae's is juicy, tender and, this is the most important part, the skin magically morphs into something between heaven and the carmelized top on a creme brulee. It is not like any chicken skin I have ever tasted. This Chicken is indeed the best that money can buy. I will always eat there whenever I return. Once again I focused on eating the food and forgot to focus and take a picture for you see. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Wallyworld. Peanut is fed and we're off to feed ourselves. We fixed our first drink of the day and are just walking around trying to figure out where and what we wanted for dinner we are still stuffed from lunch so we figure we would go light and cheap. Our plans changed when we found Bon Tons, sometimes plans are meant to be changed. We are seated at 7:30 right before the place fills up. They are only open for lunch from 11 to 2 and dinner from 5 till 9:30 Monday through Friday. As unheard of for any restaurant they are CLOSED on Saturday and Sunday. The owners that are running the place now have only had it since 1952, but they got it from the original owner who opened it in 1900. Not a lot of turnover in the staff, judging by the age and proficiency of the wait staff. We order their specialty drink the "Rum Ramsey Cocktail" the recipe for this is kept secret and was passed down to the current owners from the original owner. The smoothest and easiest drinking rum cocktail on the planet. Not too sweet not too tart, this one is just right. It was so good we ordered another one along with a bottle of sangiovese cab mix wine. I start off with turtle soup, sherry is brought to you to top off as you like in the soup. Dixie orders the shrimp okra gumbo. For our meals I order red fish in butter sauce covered with lump crab meat and topped with two onion rings, my side was creamed cauliflower. Dixie has medium shrimp in a creole sauce. For desert we split a bread pudding in a butter run sauce. If you notice this time I did not use any adjectives in describing the meal, it is because I could not think of any that would not do this food justice. The pictures are worth a thousand words. We are still smiling over this meal. We walk to Bourbon Street and since it is Monday the place is much less crowded, we like. We are looking for live music and find Fat Catz and Bourbon Street Blues Company, they are across the street from each other. Fat Catz has a 10 piece band with a singer that looks like a cross between Gary Coleman and Stevie Wonder and can belt out the oldie songs. The BSBC has a rock band with a drummer with extreme talent. Finally it's 1:30, the time must have changed on us because last time I looked it was 10:30. We drag our sorry full drunk asses to bed. The end. The pictures, the pictures, look at the pictures, you might gain weight just by looking at them but it's worth it. See ya Brian
04-07-09
We decide to stay yet another day in New Orleans at the FQRV. It is 43 degrees when we wake up, it is supposed to warm up. This is one of the RV parks that charge more than we normally pay however it does not require us to drive after drinking, so it is worth it. The usual rate is between $20 and $35 this park is $69 PLUS tax =$83 per day. When the prices are this high you usually see mostly high end Motor coaches, however this park has mostly lower end trailers and motorhomes. These are people ready to go out and party not stay in their motorhome. We are running at half speed today after last night but that doesn't mean we're not looking for a place for lunch. We found out that 2 of the 3 possible spots for lunch had closed down so we went to "Mother's Restaurant". We've been there before for breakfast but this is the first time for lunch. We split a"Ralph" Poboy and a shrimp creole. You wait in line to order what you want and then find a table to eat at and then they bring it to you. The Ralph is a combo roast beef and their "world's best ham" swiss cheese on french bread and is supposed to be covered with gravy but ours came out with the standard mustard and mayo and pickle instead. The food was standard fare, why the lines are out the door is beyond me. We won't be back. We have been tyrying to walk off our meals but I don't think there are enough hours in the day for that. We walk through the Riverwalk and Jax Brewery, half the stores in both places are still closed down from Katrina. We walk through the park in front of St Louis Cathederal in Jackson Square and we decide that we are both still hung over and need a nap. Dinner is at Jacques-Imos Cafe recommended by my sister Karen. It's in the garden district, we luck into a parking spot right in front of the joint. It's a shot gun type building with a Key Westy, Bohemian, Fishing Shack kind of a theme. Their motto is "Be Nice Or Leave". We start with a mojito while we are waiting for our table. We split an appetizer. The alligator, shrimp, sausage, cheese cake; sort of like a quiche, with creole mustard sauce on it (absolutely fabulous!!). We also split a fresh blackened redfish with a shrimp chili horseradish sauce on top, dinner also came with a salad that they split for us and each one came with a fresh fried oyster on the plate. two sides came with the meal we got the mashed swet potato and a creole corn. Then we finished with bread pudding, that was even better than last night, less the rum sauce. Total bill with 2 beers with dinner without tip $45. Not bad for great food. We have decided that if we are going to continue eating like this we need to cut down on the portions so we will now be splitting an appetizer and a meal. We are back at the coach chilling out tonight. The weather is getting warmer tomorrow so we'll be here one more day and then moving out on Thursday. See ya Brian
04-08-09
It's a very comfortable 57 degrees today going to 75, perfect weather. Our electric motor that opens and closes the automatic stairs takes a dump so I order a new one on line from the manufacturer and I have had it shipped to the Memphis Campground where we will be on Friday. We are leaving for Jackson Mississippi tomorrow. We are going to check out the kinder gentler side of New Orleans today. We went to the Faubourg Marigny side of the French Quarter, Just East of where everybody else usually hangs out. This is a more residential side and the bars cater more to the locals and the visitor that likes the "off the beaten path" areas. We first cruised the area in the jeep and then parked. For lunch we ventured into "Coop's Place". Laurie the bartender got Dixie a strawberry Abita and a me a Purple Haze Abita (a Raspberry Wheat Brew) we wanted something different, both were very drinkable beers. The place has the bartender getting beers, cooking rolls, serving meals; and what meals they were. I know we said we were going to split meals but I guess I'm a liar. Dixie got a pork chop with red beans and rice, a flavorful fresh chop with great homecooked beans. I got the Chicken Tchoupitoulas ( the T is silent) the flavor is screaming at you. It's a perfectly grilled chicken breast over a bed of white rice with shrimp and tasso(heavily seasoned spiced smoked ham) all smothered in a delightful butter cream sauce and fresh cajun green beans. Both served with roll of the day. Too good. There's a bunch of locals and two big boned black girls from SanFransisco sitting next to us ordering everything on the menu. We talked with them during the meal and had a great time. Total bill, 2 meals and 3 beers $35. We had to walk it off, so we're just walking around until "Harry's Corner Bar" starts calling our name. Ronnie the bartender gets Dixie an Ultra and I order a Jim Beam and Gingerale. I hit the head and they have a "trough" to P in, with ice in it instead of a urinal. I get Dixie to take a picture of me P'n in the trough. Any girl that wants a picture reply to this email and I'll send it to you. We head back to the Jeep and back to the Coach to chill and feed Peanut. Dixie wasn't crazy about Harry's but I thought it was the perfect seedy bar without getting shot. So we are walking around as usual trying to figure out where to eat, go cheap? go classy? Last night go classy. We are debating between Antoine's, K pauls, and NOLA. we walk back and forth looking at each one's menu. We decide on NOLA (Emeril owns NOLA which stands for New Orleans Louisana). We don't have reservations so we go to the bar and order mojitos, 5 minutes later we have a table. The nicest biggest black guys you have ever seen are our waiters. Adrian and John decide that they like us and are going to tell us the good stuff to order. We split a Nola regular salad consisting of mixed aruluga greens, goat cheese encrusted with pecans, blackberries, bacon and raspberry vinegerette. You know that did NOT suck. We order a red wine a "ARBIOS" from Alexander Valley, California, a 2003 Cabernet, we now call this the working man's Opus One, just as good at a 1/5 the price. We split an appetizer consisting of killer crab cake topped with roasted eggplant with spices and hot sauce mixed in (kind of like a tomatillo sauce) and kalamata olives and feta cheese, You know that did NOT suck. For our meal we got shrimp in grits. Now for people that have never had shrimp and grits you do not know what you are missing. From the time I first had them at Tara and Chris's engagement party in South Carolina I have been hooked on them. I have had them many times since. However I have not ever had them as good as tonight. The cheddar grits melted in your mouth, the bacon debris was evenly mixed in, the shrimp was not overcooked and perfectly spiced. You would think that, that was enough for any normal human being, and it was, however Adrian said that we needed to have the chocolate encircled brownie pecan cake and home made cinnamon SWEET POTATO ice cream with two pieces of a dark chocolate encrusted pecan candy, who were we to argue?, he has not been wrong yet. I suggested to perfect the night that he also bring a Grand Mariner as well. We finish off dinner and I was thinking about asking for the bill when it appears without me having to ask, I check over the bill and put my credit card in for it to be picked up just when I thought it was about time for Adrian to pick it up he was bringing it back already. It was spooky, it was New Orelans Vodoo. No it was just GREAT SERVICE. Oh yeah total bill with tip $150.You think it and it was done. Needless to say that was all for us tonight. I hope that you have enjoyed New Orleans with us. The places we went to are just a sampling, however the ones we liked you have read about. Make sure you get your ass in gear and see for yourself. We're headed out for Mississippi in the morning, and then to Memphis. I am sending this out tonight because I am not sure if we'll have internet tomorrow. Hope you like the pictures. See Ya Brian
04-09-09
We arrive at Jackson Mississippi 1PM. We go to the RV park and it is really a mobile home park and we go to check in and the office is closed because the person in charge is at lunch. I unhook the Jeep and Dixie says that she found another park even closer to where we wanted to be, so we book it back to "Lefleur State Park campground". It is about a mile trip over a well graded road of rocks to the campsite, there is a ton of dust since they have not had rain for a while. I'll probably have to buy new air filters for the coach and Jeep. It cost $16 and we have a beautiful lake around us, only 30 spots and no one to bother us, we walked peanut around the camp and we have no idea where everone is because there are campers but no people, very strange. We get set up and go out for lunch. Dixie found a little restaurant called "Walker's Drive In" it is not a Drive in, it is an upscale chic mini Mise en Place. We get there and they just closed lunch, they will reopen for dinner at 5:30. It's around the College so there are a lot of other little places. We eat at a place called "Que Sera Sera standard food nothing special. The girl next to us suggest a local Missississippi beer called "Southern Pecan" a little too heavy for me but if you are only having one it's nice. When have you ever heard of us only having one. We find a small ART shop, took a few pictures, sort of like Mardi Gras theme everything they have. We go back to Walker's and find out that their dinner menu prices are double what they are for lunch. We get a bottle of wine and two appetizers. $58 with tip. The wine "Redtree" 2007 a very mild cab that grows on you with every sip, we split a breadless jumbo crab cake and tamales. Dixie especially liked the tomales and I love the crabcake. Between trips to Walkers we checked out downtown, and it is a lot like Tampa, lots of people with no place to go. Conclusion: Jackson is a town that time forgot. Nothing going on. Big capital building, a couple of museums, subburbs just developing so it is time to move on. Memphis here we come. See Ya Brian.
04-10-09
Left out 9:30, no shower. Cloudy skies wind howling at 30 gusting to 45mph, seemed like a 100. A good trip but could only go 55 due to wind. Got to the "Mississippi River RV Park" only a mile from downtown Memphis and only $26. We get to the park at 1 PM and it has a sign saying that she will return at 4:15, Dixie calls and she tells us which spot is ours. (All of the reviews on this park say that it sucks, it's just a parking lot and that there is nothing for kids to do.) We find the place secure, clean with quite a few friendly live ins, close to everything and cheap, Well that's the place for us. We went to the Arcade Restaurant for lunch. The Arcade is the oldest cafe in Memphis, everyone form Elvis to Jerry Lee has eaten there along with countless movies filmed in and outside the place. It's 2 in the afternoon and the place is packed on both sides. Nicole our waitress gets Dixie her unsweetened Ice tea and me a diet coke, we have got to cut down on calories somewhere. So Dixies orders "The Main Street" it's real ham, brie cheese, pear, with creole mustard. I needed some basic food, so I order country fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, baby lima beans, with gravy and a corn muffin, with gravy. So much for calorie cutting. It was great and we are headed back to the RV to get cleaned up. Dixie goes to the office to check in she tells the lady that we do not know how long that we will be staying so she says to just pay her, when we leave, how about that for trust. Also UPS has delivered the motor to the office for the electric stairs so I know I have a job for in the morning. We're in town now and stop off for a beer at "The Flying Saucer" They have like a gazillin beers from all over the world. Jeremiah our bartender is friendly and knowledgeable about all the beers, so Dixie orders a Southern Pecan and I order a local beer, a Ghost River Pale Ale. It's happy hour until 7,you get 20oz for the price of 16oz, these are potent beers. We split a nachos with queso and chili and salza, absolutely the worst chips come with the great queso. We barely touch them since the chips were so bad. I had Jeremiah let me sample a "Woodchuck Pear Cider" made in Vermont, it is super sweet and it does not even taste of alcohol so I knew you could end up with a hangover real easy. I decide on a "Seadog Blueberry" beer made in Maine and Dixie gets an Abita Amber so I have a pretty good beer buzz going on. Tell Eddie I had Booberry. We decide to walk off the buzz and we check out town, a lot of the places that we knew have closed with new ones in their place. We go by the Peabody Hotel, we wanted a current map and tourist guide so I ask the concierge for one(I had an old one from 2 years ago, and showed it to him), he said that the hotel did not have those but he had a copy for himself that he gave to me. Pretty nice guy. We have a drink at their bar and plan our attack. We are hungry and want a place that has live music and food so we find "Ground Zero Blues Club". Two guys are singing and another larger band is setting up to play when they got done, the lead guitarist looks like Joe Melnick, the famous race car driver but with a mustach. I order a bud lite also a pork bbq sandwich with cole slaw on the bbq with beans and mac and cheese, can't go wrong with the basics. Dixie gets a miller lite and Mississippi caviar (black eyed peas, tomatoes, spices, garlic, onion) with chips, yummy. We finish our meal and another round and decide to move on. Lots of carriages hauling lovers around with lights all over them. We find "Automatic Slims" a sort of martini bar with food. The 3 man band drew us in, they played the classic oldies from the 70s and 80. Dixie decides on a snickers martini and then a butterfinger martini and nobody had better try to take that butterfinger. I'm sticking with beer. Bob the bartender was busy but found time to talk with us, nice guy. I ordered a snack of ravioli, 4 cheese raviloi covered in a pesto sauce, I loved them Dixie thought that the pasta was a little thick. It's now getting close to the other 12 oclock, so we call it a day. Our internet is not working so I do not know when this will go out. See Ya Brian 2009 Road Trip 89 80 69 65 64 53 54 55 56
04-10-09
I got the date wrong on yesterday's blog in the subject area. Today it is going to the mid 70s and clear skies, the wind still makes it feel cold. Dragged out the tools to change the stair motor, the guy that I ordered it from told me it was an easy job, and by golly he was right. Half an hour later I'm done, I like to think it is because of my knowledge, dexterity and skill, but I think they made it so that any monkey could do the job. A guy comes by that lives in the park and says hi and to see if I needed any help, I told him I had it under control but thanks anyway. We are in the coach planning our day. Before we go out we stop by the office and tell Huguette the owner that we will be staying for a week so it is only $160 for the week. We also find out that she has internet that we should be able to use for free. We decide to go to Neely's (The Neeley's on the Food channel) Bar B Que. We order the Neely's Pulled Pork Platter. The menu says heaping amounts of hickory smoked pork cooked to tender perfection and drenched in barbeque sauce. They will never be sued for false advertising, it is as stated. I will add, delieriously delicious and the most moist pulled pork I have ever tasted. We got baked beans and coleslaw and a basket of soft dinner rolls. We got the large $10.50. We also tried the barbeque spaghetti. It's a mix of regular spaghetti sauce and their barbeque sauce poured over pasta with lots of pork mixed in. We got the large $3.79. Bobby K you will be proud of me I ordered a Dr. Pepper, not even diet. Dixie an unsweetened tea. Katrina our waitress took great care to be courteous and efficient. We took home more than we could eat at the restaurant. Good Bar B Que cheap, that's how you get on TV. We found out that they are having a crawfish festival at Overton Square. We drive over and there are a few venders and it's in the parking lot of Bayou Bar and Grill. They are selling crawfish and beer. We get a beer. We both thought when it said "Overton Square" that there would be like a park with grass to sit down on, there was not anywhere to sit and chill. They have a decent band set up on stage and we listen for an hour or so and then go back to the coach. I wash the coach and the jeep and Dixie cleans the inside, that takes care of 3 hours and the got to do things for a while. We are starting to get hungry again, imagine that, so we're off to town. We walk the whole district and can't figure out what to eat so we go to a hamburger place "Hueys", it was after 9 so at least it isn't loaded with kids like it was yesterday. They claim the best hamburger in town award since 1984. I order a burger and beer Dixie gets a salad and beer. The burger arrives and the sour dough roll is old and soggy and Dixie's salad is just OK. I don't know who does the voting but I've had better burgers almost everywhere. We finish up and decide to just get a huge beer and hang out on Beale and listen to the bands without paying a cover. We quickly realize that it is colder than we thought and decide to leave and check out The Blue Monkey a couple of miles away on Front Street, we drive by and nothing is happening, it's an omen for us to go home. See Ya Brian 2009 Road Trip 88 87 86 85 57