My blog n'at

One thing that I’m bad at is remembering the year. I kept thinking it was 2010 for some reason and have no idea why 2012 doesn’t seem far fetched. Maybe I have a thing against years with odd numbers? This past year was eventful personally but when it came to blogging it was kinda meh. Either way here’s a quick recap so my kids don’t have to sift through archives.

January 2011
Year started off great with the Winter Classic (even though Pens lost) and spending the first 2 weeks home with my new baby. I also decided that I would attempt to go a full year without drinking a Bud/Miller/Coors product. Not to be some elite prick but to see for myself how tough it would be. With the amount of picnics we attended and moments of weakness for going cheap I’m proud to say I’ve made it a full year and some days.

February 2011
Kept the busy pace with a quick trip to Baltimore to pick up the first of what would be many awards for a website I made. Even thought it was winter I was falling in love with the city. I will be going back soon. I also hit my mid 30′s while only suffering a minor “oh shit, I’m getting old” moment and Teaspoon got his first haircut while hitting the terrible 2.

March 2011
2 things happened, we got sick and I ate a lot of fish.

April 2011
My mom wanted to know why I didn’t invent Facebook, the internet or cure cancer. I had some views on the sale of Iron City which turned out to piss off a bunch of yinzers and Pittsburgh purists. Eh, it happens.

May 2011
Should I Drink That turned 5 years old on the 5th and we had a whirlwind bash in Boardman, Ohio as we took over the Big Tap In after party. We cracked open a 101 oz bottle of Double Arrogant Bastard that we have been sitting on for 4-5 years. It came with a padlock. Nuff said. I figured out how you can take a trip with Megabus to Erie (or Pittsburgh from there) and have a very low cost time. I celebrated national Craft Beer Week and if you haven’t heard me talk about it yet, am on the planning group for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week coming in 2012. This month also was record breaking numbers as we raised money for March of Dimes which helps preemies such as my boys.

June 2011
After many years of hard work I graduated cum laude from college. It was incredibly stressful when I threw work and the family into the mix but the support was fantastic! I’ll probably have my student loan bills paid off when Teaspoon is starting school.

Last night my father in law treated us to Golden Corral for dinner since he knew with the boys we needed something quick and if it was tasty that would be a bonus. After being stuck in the house all day doing work we just needed to get out for the night.

I have never been to a Golden Corral before. In fact, I’m not even one for buffet style places because I really don’t eat a lot in a sitting (I’m not fat, I’m cultivating mass) but it is fast and easy for the kids plus my good friend Jimmy swears by them. This night would prove to be a lesson in people watching.

If you’ve never been to a Golden Corral before its a buffet style dining establishment where  you can start with salads, go to chicken, steak, seafood/pasta and finish on deserts (for their online menu click here). Sounds pretty basic and kinda like a Ponderosa right? Hold on buccaroo it gets better.

1. the price – children under 3 eat free (score!) and our dinners were about $11 an adult.
2. the food – I never question my F.I.L. when it comes to food. The man has the same palate as me so if he says something is good, I listen. The quality of food was rating high with me. The fried chicken was juicy and crunchy, I asked for a medium rare steak and for one of the first times in a restaurant I actually got it the way I ordered it. Bourbon chicken was a dropkick to the mouth of spice. I never made it past those because I kept going back for steak but the Shrimp Alfredo looked amazing along with mac n cheese.
3. the service – the place was jammed with holiday shoppers and our servers were a level of politeness I rarely see. One kid was being a jag to his table but others we encountered were top notch.
4. the customers – Now there were a lot of normal folks eating but this is where you’re going to get your bang for the buck. You know that site People of WalMart? Well there should be one for here. I don’t know if it was the holiday season but as I was told online last night “you go there when you want to feel better about yourself”. Last night was a collection of 70′s Steelers shirts with matching tats, nascar jackets, missing teeth and some serious hardcore yinzers with 6 kids. Oh yeah and I saw a guy with a Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket and hat. The highlight of the evening was the table next to us enjoying a family meal with a very “manly” aunt who didn’t wear underwear. We all had a show.

I had a fantastic time eating with my family and can see why friends of mine have raved about this place. Strap on the feedbag and go to town Johnny, this is a quality place I’m going back to!

It’s rare that I dedicate a post to any one place I’ve just visited but I have to admit that I’m still raving about it over 24 hours later. When we went to Oakland last night for a concert I had asked followers on Twitter and Facebook where we should go to eat. I haven’t lived in Oakland for over a decade and rarely do I even go to that part of town so crowd sourcing was my only choice. Overwhelming response had a 3 way tie between Union Grill, Fuel and Fuddle, and Lu Lu’s Noodles. In the end after much heated arguments (why do ppl have to be passionate about EVERYTHING. christ…) Union Grill won out.

We arrived at Union Grill and was greeted with “It will be 60-90 minutes.” Show started in 90 minutes so we needed to find someplace new. Could we have made reservations? Sure but honestly we didnt know until late and really it wasn’t that big of a deal since we got the lead on other restaurants. Walked down South Craig and hit up Lu Lu’s Noodles where the crammed entry was somehow only a 15 minute wait.

After we were seated I started my recon mission to see what other people were eating and, even if it was partially devoured, what looked good. The table next to us had a heaping bowl of Pho that can only be described as food porn. I knew that if I was going to stay attentive Pho would be a bad idea since I would fall asleep in a delicious slumber. We placed our orders of an eggroll, crab ragoons, spicy szechwan chicken and this:

This is Lu Lu’s Pan Fried Noodle and also one of my new favorite dishes. So much so I’ve been craving it again all day. Japanese shiitake mushrooms, asian greens, beansprouts, green onions, w/Lu Lu’s special sauce on top of crispy thin and pan fried egg noodles.

I took a couple bites and felt like I was bitchslapped by my happy place. The noodles were crunchy on the outside, warm in the middle and full of flavor from the sauce. The beef couldn’t have been more succulent and even the bean sprouts were amazing. We swapped dishes so we could try each other’s meal and both of us couldn’t believe what the other was eating. We knew that we had found our new favorite place to eat. Downside is that we don’t live by there anymore but that doesn’t mean we can’t get carryout or make it a special stop when taking the boys to the Carnegie Museum.

As if things couldn’t get any better, the entire meal plus 2 cokes was only $23. Oh yeah buddy, we’ll be back. I have a date with that Pho!

Did you think I was kidding?

Last Friday I opened the fridge at work and found 4 cups of various meats. I asked around and found out the collection of pepperoni, capicola, salami and mystery meat came from a leftover meeting.

Not quite sure what the deal was but by lunch time I had so much sodium in me I was delusional which could only mean one thing. The 4th cup was unicorn meat.

The only thing that would have made this better would be…

(You Tube link NSFW – swearing)

Tuesday was a day of burger enlightenment. It started with my observation that Consol Energy Center was was selling a $12.50 burger at a hockey game. Its bad enough that fans get gouged by high prices at sporting events across the country but even this seemed excessive.

At least this is what I thought.

Price is relative to your personal enjoyment and this burger changed the way I think. Most arena burgers are mass produced meat disks that even chains make fun of. That’s not the case here.

Commercial description:
8oz. Peppercorn Crusted Beef Burger with Horseradish Cheddar, Haystack Onions and Cabernet Sauce.

EIGHT OUNCES! That seems almost unheard of. The peppercorn crust not only added pop to my taste buds but locked in incredible flavor and juices. Horseradish cheddar provided a nice twang complimented by the Cabernet sauce. The addition of a generous serving of seasoned crisp chips makes this a complete meal.

Looking at the big picture $12.50 isn’t bad for a meal that will leave you stuffed in your seat. Throw in a root beer and you can gave an even $17.

You can pick this up at the Burgatory stand located by section 206 of Consol Energy Center.

I have this posted to my Foodspotting account. Feel free to nom it!

The weekend started out looking like it could have been quite miserable. My car was leaking radiator fluid last week so I took some time on Friday to tighten what I could. So far so good so keep your fingers crossed.

I also won 4 tickets to go see Yo Gabba Gabba Live! from Giant Eagle as part of a twitter contest. I’m tellin ya folks, social media channels are a great way to win free stuff! The plus side, The seats were a fantastic location and we even got 2 kids DVDs to go with it BUT I had to work Saturday and there was no way Lushie was going to handle both kids at that. Tickets ended up going to a very thankful co-worker of hers.

Saturday was an incredible day. I’ve been planning a concert for the last month and trying to get this to go smooth was an interesting task but always rewarding task. I booked Clarks frontman Scott Blasey as our kickoff act for homecoming this year which was also part of our year long 90th anniversary celebration. Needless to say there were some very distinguished people that would be in attendance.

Someone up above was looking out for me because the weather the entire weekend was 80F and sunny… in October… IN PENNSYLVANIA! Yeah that doesn’t happen. Scott arrived and we got him set up, I scheduled an interview with the radio station and we had the interview and concert recorded on video and audio. I’m geeking out over how the audio could turn out. He played 60 minutes of non-stop hits and the crowd was loving it. I sent someone to the back of the lot and found out people were dancing and singing by their cars. Show ended and Scott was generous with his time to sign every autograph request and pose for pictures.  Some people hate on the Clarks because WDVE has played them a lot over the last 25 years but Scott is a 100% class act. I’ve worked with performers in the past and not one was as professional and pleasant as he is.

Homecoming is always an exhausting day but I work with some incredible people whom make the event insanely fun and that’s what makes us successful. To celebrate I stopped and picked up bombers of Golden Monkey from Victory and The Great’er Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Heavy Seas. Both delicious choices.

Sunday was a great day. My brother called me earlier this week and asked if I would like free tickets to the Steelers game vs the Titans. Yeah like I would pass that up.

We walked across the Allegheny River from Point State Park and with the 75F temp and blue sky I took a moment to soak it all in because the view of the North Shore from the pedestrian bridge is breathtaking. Felt like the Regatta was going on with all of the boats on the river.

Our seats were on the 20 yard line, 12 rows back and as great luck would have it my bud Tall Cathy was sitting 2 seats down from me. Taunting each other wasted no time getting started.

Steelers won the game 38-17 but the story for me was in the craft beer served at Heinz field. In fact anything sold in general.  Stay tuned for that! Steelers also gave out a pink version of the Terrible Towel in honor of breast cancer awareness month. You can never have enough towels in the house.

On the walk back we decided to hit Primanti’s in Market Square for a Derda boys dinner. I went with my favorite Capicola and Cheese but they 1) ran out of bread for the sandwiches 2) it took 20 minutes for a server to come over to us 3) 30 minutes to get a glass of water.  If we weren’t exhausted we probably would have left. I was able to check out the changes that have been made to Market Square and I like it SO much better now with the center of the square being a common area. Very nice upgrades!

Everything that has gone on over the last few weeks made this weekend worth it.

Here’s a moment in the game that Steelers fans everywhere get chills over when you’re a part of it.

So, what’s next?

I am looking California but feeling Minnesota…

After I mentioned the Whopper in Dave’s Hot & Juicy I received a few emails asking me about the Burger King California Whopper because lets face it, I hate when people mess with my favorite fast food burger.

Commercial description: With the new California WHOPPER® Sandwich, the full-taste flavors of guacamole, swiss cheese and bacon collide! A ¼ pound of Flame-broiled beef topped with ripe tomatoes, crisp lettuce, guacamole, crispy bacon, melted Swiss cheese and creamy mayo all on a toasted sesame seed bun.

Nutritional facts: 820 calories | 18g sat. fat | 110mg cholesterol | 8g sugar | 50g carbs | 56g fat | 1g trans fat | 38g protein | 1400mg sodium
Drink: Dr. Pepper is king
Fries: dry, little flavor, barely any salt
Burger: meat seems thinner and the toppings are like biting into a balloon of guac and mayo
Price: $8.12 (medium sized with drink)

Watching the new commercials for Burger King you’d think they are working on a fresh and healthier new menu. Most east coast thoughts of Cali is that its a magical land filled with beautiful healthy people bouncing around on the beach all day and singing show tunes. Just because you put guacamole on something doesn’t mean its healthier, maybe more attractive but not better for you. It has bacon somewhere in it. I think. The only reason why I knew it was present is because I cut it in half but when you bite into this bastardized Whopper its nothing more than an ooze fest of guac and mayo.

Is it worth it? Well for the price I’d say pass and honestly I’m waiting to come down from being wired and take a nap so this may be the only meal you need for quite a few hours. I do feel kinda like this guy.

I had actually bought this the day it was released and have been slacking on getting it online. Truth is if a fast food restaurant comes out with a new burger I’m going to try it. I’m a sucker for burgers and have a great weakness for them. Take note: that’s the way to my heart. Well that and a stellar beer.

I first heard about this new venture from Wendy’s on Facebook when 1993 BET Rising Star artist Dave Hallewell posted about it. Come on, how can you not want something named “Dave’s Hot n Juicy” in your mouth? Apparently I wasn’t alone as the Wendy’s in Moon Township was packed (though I think I was the only person who ordered it).

The meal you see pictured was a medium sized #1 which is the 1/4 lb Hot N Juicy ($6.52 including tax). When I first opened the wrapping it was a big gooey mess and looks like my 2.5yr old son put it together. You don’t go to fast food for presentation but a little effort might have made it easier to eat. This could get interesting.

Drink: refreshing
Fries: salty, greasy and delicious. The way McDonalds used to be.
Burger: its the 3rd string version of a Whopper

Here is the commercial description of what to expect with Dave in your mouth.

New Premium Toppings – crinkle cut pickles, sweet red onion, thick hand sliced tomatoes.

Juicier, Thicker Beef – 100% North American, fresh never frozen beef, hot off the grill

Butter Toasted Buns – Soft, warm and topped with real butter 

When I took my first bite into Dave’s Hot n Juicy the butter on his buns made an instant impression. Soft, warm and buttery like the name suggests. Then came the explosion of flavor as I had Dave’s Hot n Juicy in my mouth. I almost choked but fought through and swallowed it down.

Go ahead and zoom in on that sandwich for a minute; this was after I put it back together. Look familiar? Take away the mustard, make it a size bigger and you have a Whopper. Size matters. I could probably down 2 of these no problem. I did like that this burger has much better meat flavor than their standard square grease bombs. The clincher for me was the pickles which reminded me of butter pickles grandma used to make. Cheese was good. Basically you have your standard backyard cookout burger.

Would I buy again? Not sure. $6.52 is a lot when I can get a Whopper for close to that price. Its worth a shot though and you should try it at least once. I wish this had bacon on it; you’d have a completely different review. Bacon would make this amazing.

This is the final installment of Friday Fish for Lent. Next week is Good Friday and hopefully we won’t be putting in a full day at the office.

Cost: $7.99

Bread (B-) Soft but not chewy. Great job holding everything together

Tartar sauce (C-) runny and little flavor

Toppings (C+) Lettuce was fresh but the tomatoes were a little hard. Altogether with the sauce though it wasn’t half bad.

Fish (C+) Its cod and comes in 2 6inch pieces. Turned off by appearance and when I bit into the piece I ripped off it was watery. I’m not talking juices here, it was flavorless but the fish packed a punch.

Overall today it was the combination of all elements that saved this sandwich. Fries weren’t anything special but come on, this is a lunch special. Added bonus was the heaping amount of Frank’s Red Hot I got to drown it in.

This week we go to a place that I frequent for great craft beer and kickass burgers but never have I tried the fish. Well, until today at least!  Bocktown is located in the Pool City Plaza (across from Target) in what a lot of people assume is Robinson but is really North Fayette. Visit them online at http://www.bocktown.com/

Cost: $8.99 ($9.99 pictured above with onion crisps and cheddar cheese)

Bread (B) Solid hoagie bun that was soft and yet toasted really well.

Tartar sauce (B+) Packed with flavor but a little on the thick side for me. Incredibly tasty!

Extras (A) I was really surprised how well the onion crisps tasted. Typically I would expect greasy bastardized onion rings that weren’t ready for the big leagues but, just like the fish, these were fried to perfection. Under the bun was a pickle slice that is staple with most meals and a tomato that served as a perfect compliment to the sandwich

Fish (A-) I don’t think I’ve ever had a piece of fish fried more perfect. Succulent meat and a perfect crust that burst with flavor. This would have been a complete home run except the left end was overcooked and chewy. There wasn’t that much of it though so it got bumped up from a B+.