Good Veterinarians, Good Eats.

Rally, I mean Money Pit, is recovering down in El Paso at Crossroads Animal Clinic. We took her in this afternoon, and met Dr. Jim Koschmann, who's the closest thing we've met to Jim Radcliffe, the wonder vet, back in the East. He explained the procedure he would use to re-attach the achilles tendon to the heel bone. We like being treated like we're not stupid.

Dr. Koschmann called later this evening to tell us that the surgery was complete and Rally was resting, and that she'd "done quite a job in there". There was more damage than just the tendon, but he got it all together and stitched it up, although to hear him describe the procedure it sounded more like he was making a rug on a loom! And she'll have an external fixator holding everything steady for the next 6 - 8 weeks. Robodog.


The best part about the timing of this little errand to El Paso was that we were able to stop in La Mesa, NM and have lunch at a place that had been highly recommended by local friends- HT Val Koeppler- and also by the Sterns, of Road Food fame. Chope's Bar and Cafe is a true "hole-in-the-wall" gem. Chiles rule there, and their rellenos are their specialty. Very lightly breaded, and deepfried, in a combination plate with enchiladas, beans, and the best taco I think I've ever had. Magnifique! And, as always in this part of the country... lots of green chiles. Rumor has it that former Dallas Cowboys head coach, Tom Landry, used to fly to El Paso so he could eat at Chope's. The cheerleaders, too. They swear it's true. It's on my keepers list.

Making Great Dogfood.

Begin by having fast, agile, and long-winded hounds who can catch the second-fastest land mammal in America.

Then follow the steps in the slide show... (advisory: If you're used to getting your meat in a bag at a fast food drive-thru, or in the shrink-wrapped, styrofoam packages I mentioned previously, these images may not be your cup of tea)



For detailed step-by-step instructions, click on the slide show.

Must be a lot of tryptophan in jackrabbit. All the resident hounds have been sound asleep since dinner!

A New, Completely "Natural" Feed From Nutro?

Well.... no. Of course not. But soon, since I couldn't find a procedure anywhere on the Internet for dressing out these guys, (and being someone who doesn't mind getting his meat in the magic shrinkwrap and styrofoam packaging), I decided to have an expert, none other than author, fisherman, houndman, M. H. Dutch Salmon, show me how it's done. And since I have a camera, and know how to use it... you all will learn how, too.

This fella's documented from the chase to the dog food dish. Next jack, I'll try out Steve Bodio's recipe... I'm thinking I'm going to like it. Dogs are already half out of their minds here, and it's still outside in the crockpot.

That's coming up in a future post. Hang in there.

Hare-Brained Express Tour '08 Hits the Road

After a relaxing week spent parked at friends in the Houston area, the '08 "tour" logged its first 250 miles today. We're now parked in the RV parking section of that special hell known as a dog show. (Yes ma, I'll wear my galoshes!). Lucky for us, we're not here for the show, of course, we're here for the fun stuff! There's also a lure coursing trial as part of this show, so that's where we'll be tomorrow and Sunday. Glen Rose, Texas. One of these years, while we're here, we'll get over to the Dinosaur Valley State Park. It's supposed to be real cool.

Before we get too far from Richmond, I need to mention something I've let slide a bit recently: Food. We ate at two "Tex-Mex" joints and had barbecue from two places. Of the four, the Swinging Door Barbecue was the best. I like a place that keeps your options to a minimum. Pick a meat, pick a side, and order ya up a Shiner Bock. Or two. I ordered the Super Combo, choosing ribs, brisket, and turkey. "Vegetables" were cole slaw, beans, and potato salad. Check the menu... they were all beyond good. I loved the ribs but, considering the fact I'm not big on turkey as a barbecue item, this was the best I've ever had. Pecan wood smoked and oh, so tender. It was all good.

Today, at the suggestion of our hosts, we stopped on the way to Glen Rose, at Dozier's Meat Market and Barbecue in Fulshear. Sent Margaret in to get some goodies for the fridge; she outdid herself, bringing back pepper bacon, brisket, turkey, smoked sausage, and.... venison! We had cold brisket on bread as we drove, so a more detailed evaluation will have to come later, after we've heated some up and enjoyed it proper!

BLOG UPDATES:

Just need to point out a few new, and revised items on the sidebar. We've removed the AAWC March trial from the shooting schedule, because we found an excuse to stay in New Mexico an extra two weeks. Lure coursing and oval racing in Mountainaire! Looking forward to that. Beautiful location. We looked at some property there a couple of years ago. We'll also be checking out a friend's 40 acres near Deming. One of these years we'll go to New Mexico and not come back. That's the plan, anyway.

See the kinky new counter? Now we can see at a glance, how many are looking at the blog right now, and what country they're in. It's hosted in France. Click on it and see the other fun things they have. There's also a world map, with dots at the very bottom of the page.

And here's a "bleg".. (a beg on a blog): I've brought back the Google ads. I can't tell you to click on them, because that would violate the Google agreement terms, but there are some things on this blog that would help us out greatly if they got opened. Nobody says you have to look at 'em. And that's all I'm going to say about that. The tip jar is gone.

And I don't think I mentioned it on the last go-round of blog "freshening" but if you look almost to the bottom of the sidebar, you'll see the return of our old friend. We're almost down to a year, say hallelujah! Can I get an "amen"?!?!

Believe It: It's the Only Chicks These Guys Can Get.

P*TA is shipping inflatable sex dolls overseas, apparently for wild sex parties involving chickens, scalding hot water, and a goatee'd dead guy in a white suit. That's some rough sex.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, with reports of wild turkey attacks, and wild turkey overpopulation, it's hard to believe that at one time they were nearly extinct in America.

Patrick gives us a comprehensive background, as usual, on how at least one big government program worked. Maybe too well.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey.

PSA

Mine was negative, thanks, but in this case the PSA refers to "Public Service Announcement". I get a daily "Wiki-How To" on my Yahoo home page... some are very whimsical, like "How to Be a Drum Major", to plain old dumb, like "How to Clean a Suitcase" (valuable, I suppose, if one has been smuggling cocaine into the country), and some valuable How To's, like "How to Prevent a Hangover".

Today's Wiki-How To falls into the latter category, especially for dog owners, (who probably make up the bulk of readers of this blog). It's "How to Avoid Foods Dangerous to your Dog".

Most readers I know, are familiar already with most of warnings here, but it's worth reading again. I always used to give Randir a little beer on my finger, (never let him lap directly from the pint, though), and he's eleven years old and going strong so, some things in moderation are OK, I guess. If you know folks less "in the know" than you are, pass this on.

Heinous Crime!

It's not like I enjoy making fun of Georgians... they just seem to bring it on themselves.

This, That, and the Other Things

This is known as catching up on the odds and ends.

First, I want to tell you about a fun new group that Sally Papin at Windyglen has started up... (and foolishly made me a moderator of!). It's an old fashioned photography club, and anyone can join, (except for those lonely, or bored, young girls who have recently been sending me emailed invitations to look at their pictures). It's called CanineFoto_Boneanza, and you can just go to the link and join up, or you can email me and I'll send you a personal invitation to avoid the red tape. Any (or no) skill level is welcome, as is any equipment level... there's even a member who claims to have made a pinhole camera out of a pumpkin! Join the fun.. this weekend's project is "feet". Run with it. No pun intended.

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Restaurants and food- Well, we've stumbled on another jewel and, unfortunately it's one most of you will never get to unless you come to a BGCC trial near Columbia, KY. It's a bit out of the way, north of town on Hwy 55. It's a Mexican place called ...and it was surp.. no, stunningly good. Jalapeno's good. (If we haven't mentioned it before, Jalapeno's is our favorite Mexican restaurant in Lexington, KY.. we just stopped there the other day, in fact). When Steve said it was "better" than the other Mex place in Columbia I didn't expect much. What we got were Shrimp and Chorizo Nachos, and a plate of shrimp enchiladas... and the shrimp in both entrees were anything but.. shrimpy. Huge, perfectly grilled, tasty. And, as if it weren't perfect enough, it's all 15% off, all day on Wednesdays! I wish I could tell you I enjoyed it with a perfect margarita. Sorry folks... we'd have to travel 40 miles to Lebanon, or 75 miles to Bowling Green to partake in that, or any, alcoholic beverage. As one unaware couple at the trial found out when they inquired about finding the wine section at the IGA, "alcohol is for sinners!" (Insert appropriate ominous music here)

Our other find on this recent trip was during the trials at Old Fort Niagara in New York: Probably the best prepackaged marinade we've ever tasted. On Saturday night we parked the RV along with a dozen or so other folks at a house out in the country. Our host prepared about 40 chicken breasts to go with a potluck dinner on the deck. The number one question from most everyone who wasn't from the area: What is that marinade? Well, it's no secret now, it's Chiavettas. And Margaret picked up 4 gallons of the stuff at Sam's Club on the way out of town. We did discover later that if you marinade say, pork chops in it, and then you get invited to dine on something else that night, and you get back to the pork chops about 3 nights later? The flavor may be a bit too intense for your palate. Just a personal anecdote there. ;)

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Woes- A bit of our Karmic lustre seems to have worn thin lately. Some wear and tear is beginning to show on the Express. We had to have a mobile repair guy come out to Columbia while we were there to help get our rear view monitor to work, and our steps to retract when the ignition is turned on, and to find out why the front air conditioner (in the humid, 90 degree Kentucky Summer) was only putting out a gentle breeze. Then, when we thought we were leaving Kentucky, we suddenly lost almost all our power on the first gentle grade. Flashers on, get to the shoulder, creep up to the crest and over, then everything was fine again... until the next hill. We stopped, called our very good road service provider, found that the only place that could even look at us within 60 miles was 15 miles back down I-75... the way we'd just come. So it was off to Piles Chevrolet, (imagine the joke opportunities lost because it's not a Dodge dealer... think about it) in Williamstown. Two days and 9 bills lighter, with a new fuel pump, we finally left Kentucky. But not before we dunked the Nikon D200 camera and lens into the dog's water bucket; an event too painful to even go into the details here. It is currently undergoing extreme drying in a home made dehumidifier...

CW says to not even try to power it on for at least 10 days. Of course we didn't read the CW until we'd already broken that rule. It may be toast. I may be able to dry out fruit with this thing if it doesn't work out for the camera. :(

Life on the road. Usually it's fun.

Oh Nooo!

I had no idea my eschewing beer would lead to this drastic change in the marketplace. I feel so guilty. Well... it's Todd's fault too! =)

LUNCH So Good It'll Make You Weep...

OK... We gotta stop eating like this.

We're resting up after Silkenfest. Spending a couple of nights at the Pin Oak Creek RV Park in Villa Ridge, MO. Several of the Silken folk had somehow discovered The Hawthorne Inn during their specialty. They didn't say it was good or bad, just that it had a bar, and when the specialty was over, many of them needed a drink.

Well, this place is in Union, about 5 miles from the campground. Margaret needed to go to the post office, so we decided to have lunch there. What can I say? We keep bumbling into just the very best places. (So far, we've been lucky enough not to stumble into a place so bad I need to blog it... but believe me, I'll do it when it happens!).

Just plain outrageous presentation for lunch- (I'll have to start taking the camera to meals.. again, almost too pretty to eat). I had Grouper Diablo... a large grouper filet broiled and topped with a delicious scallion sauce. Margaret had Macadamia Mahi... yeah a Macadamia Nut crusted Mahi Mahi, smothered with a pineapple mango chutney. Both had shells in a creamy sauce on the side, and a really good dinner salad. Atmosphere was quiet, with dark wood, belying the fact that it was in a brand new strip plaza, in a very brand new commercial area of what was obviously not too long ago a quiet country village. Even the college across the road looks brand new. A well stocked bar, which we'll have to try the next trip.. (Margaret always talks me out of booze or wine at lunchtime.)

Tonight we'll be eating at Super Smokers,because the road goes on forever, and the party never ends!

Dinner So Good It'll Make You Cry.

Most, if not nearly all, readers of this blog, are sighthound owners; and as such, will have reason sometime in their lives to have to travel to Wheeling, WV. When that unlucky event happens, do not... I repeat, DO NOT.. leave Wheeling without eating here: The Metropolitan Citi Grill, on the corner of Chaplin and 12th, in the heart of downtown, right across the street from the Federal Courthouse.

While Rally was recovering from her ligament replacement surgery at Town & Country Animal Hospital, we went out to dinner with her well known surgeon and his wife. In the past, we'd always go to the River City Brewery & Pub... a very good place, with very good beer and food. But the Metropolitan Citi Grill had opened since our last overnight visit to Wheeling, and I must say, our brewpub days are probably over.

Simply put, this is the best food I've eaten in years... possibly ever! Seriously. Try Balsamic marinated Filets Mignon over bowtie pasta with some kind of really great sauce. And it didn't just taste good. The presentation almost made it too pretty to eat. And everything Margaret and Jim and Judy had was met with many satisfying noises. Normal conversation was generally replaced for a good half hour with "Mmmmmmm", and "Oooooh". I wish I could remember what they all had, but nobody was complaining. I'm trying to get the good doctor to send me a menu so I can do the place a little more justice.

Till then, this place will remain a big secret.. really. They have no website. There are no posts to ChefMoz or Chowhounds. I couldn't find a single newspaper review, and I even checked the Pittsburgh papers.

Anyway, take it from me. And from Margaret. And from Dr. Jim and Judy. This place is awesome. Especially if someone else buys. Next trip, it's on us... and I hope it's just a social call.

Potpourri

Schedule- coming up:

This weekend, Silkenfest; I hear tell they've got 48 pre-entries for their race meet on Sunday. Memorial Day Weekend will find us in Shawnee, OK for Indian Nations Basenji Club's AKC trials, followed by the ASFA II in Minnesota, and then the Saluki Club of America specialty in Lexington, KY. We've got some heavy travel in our future...

I also need to do a quick writeup on one of the best restaurants we've ever eaten at - in Wheeling, West Virginia!!! - and an update on Rally's foot surgery. The two are sort of related... . That will come after I figure out how to digitize her post-op X-ray. It's quite impressive. Maybe tomorrow.

Sighthound-free Content.

We're wrapping up a little over a week at Endgate Ranch in Ferris, TX. We decided to forego the race meet up in Oklahoma, which was promising to be sparsely attended, and stayed here to shoot something other than speeding sighthounds. This is a nice change of pace for us, and lets us get to see other breeds work, like the Briard, above, and the German Shepherd Dog, below. These folks rarely have an opportunity to have their dogs photographed, so we look at it as offering a valuable (for both parties!) service.

As usual, we also ate out a fair amount. Two places to recommend if you're ever in Ferris, (and since Endgate Ranch is the locale for Lone Star Whippet Club, Afghan Hound Club of Dallas, and Gazehounds In Texas lure coursing trials, I'm certain many of you will find yourselves here.)Right in downtown Ferris is the Fiesta Cafe. Very good, and imaginative Mexican and Tex/Mex food. Last week we went to "Fajita Wednesday"... probably as full as you'll ever get on $6.15. I had the combination fajita plate, with chicken and steak. It was sizzling, so it was good. Today I had the Combination Enchiladas-- four, count'em four enchiladas: chicken, "meat", potato, and spinach. I think the next time we're here, I'm going all spinach. It was very, very good. And it was fresh, not frozen or canned spinach.

Sunday night we went to the Rockett Cafe. In Rockett. Texas. There are some names in this state. Specialty of the house is CFS. (Anybody who knows "home cookin'" knows that's not "cystic fibrosis society", but rather Chicken Fried Steak.) Good coating, meat tender, gravy perfectly seasoned, with a huge baked potato. And a cold Shiner Bock to wash it all down.

Speaking of alcohol: Not in Ferris. Rockett is also dry, but The Rockett Cafe is a "club", so liquor is served to members. I've never been in Rockett before in my life, but I was already a member! Thanks to my Unicard, which I purchased some years back in some other dry, podunk Texas ville'. Better have one if you're coming to Texas, because over half the geographic area of this second largest state... is dry. (Of course, much of that "half" is unoccupied as well, but that's another post.)

We'll be leaving tomorrow, going south to Livingston, TX to Rainbow's End RV Park- the home park of the Escapees RV Club that we're members of. I may drive down to Gulf Greyhound Park south of Houston this weekend to shoot some greyhounds racing, at the request of one of this blog's readers. That will be new, too.

It's lambing season at Endgate, so how could I not close with an image of unbelieveable cuddly cuteness:
They're so much fun to watch... just like puppies.

New Mexico Reviewed..

We left New Mexico a little over a week ago. I was going to write a long review on the weather, the coursing, the eats, the touristy stuff and I realized I pretty much was doing that as we went along. Except for the eats, (and a couple other odds and ends). So briefly:


The Campos was apparently the place for us, this year, which is surprising, because we missed it completely last year. We more than made up for it this year, visiting at least 5 times. Might have been 6. The owner, Mr. Campo, is a former chef at the Double Eagle in Old Mesilla, near Las Cruces. He was delivering something to Deming several years ago, liked it, and started his own place. The menu is a fantastic fusion of New Mexican/Southwest/Cajun/Italian... If you can impress JoAnn Van Arsdale (with the Ceviche Zacatecas in this case), you're doing well. Very well, indeed. My favorites ended up being the Skilletini- a sizzling iron utensil filled with pasta, Italian and Cajun sausages, ham, and other tasty, heavily seasoned goodies, and the San Franciscan- one of the best "California" sandwiches I've ever tasted... smoked turkey, cheeses, tomato, green chiles and avocado with a spicy sauce, on very thick and chewy sourdough bread.

When going to The Campos it's best to ignore the ambience. There isn't any, other than the giant gourd on the north wall that's painted to look like a penguin. But we don't go there to be impressed by their interior decorator. The exterior, on the other hand is this masterpiece, which the painter (who's name I didn't get), was working on the whole time we were in Deming. The Campos doesn't have a website.. in fact, none of the places in town do, but you can find some great comments on all of them at ChefMoz.org.

In no particular order, we also went to our old standby, Palma's Italian Grill, a couple of times. Absolutely the best bread dipping sauce around... with excellent fresh bread. The Lasagna was still good, and the Tuscan Salmon was as good as we remembered it.. and still a steal at $9.95. And on Saturdays, the owner/chef still strolls around the dining tables with his wireless microphone, karaokeing Sinatra. You don't find that in the "big city".

El Mirador, is one of the many Mexican restaurants in town, and one that we hadn't visited before, but there always seemed to be lots of vehicles there during their two meals, breakfast and lunch. We had one of each, and they were real good- especially the huevos ranchero. Can't give a review on the menudo, but it looked good as it went by to the table behind us. The restaurant, (or one of the four that the same family owns in Deming), was featured in a 2002 issue of Bon Apetite, but I couldn't find anything online.

A name that always popped up in the polls on who has the best green chile cheeseburger, was the local (or regional?) fast food chain, Blake's Lottaburger, and since, coursing our dogs aside, green chiles are a big reason we keep going back to New Mexico, we thought we'd better give it a try. And it was damned good for fast food!

The night before the Pack Hunt, we met a couple of other hound folk, and Dutch and his family, at the Holiday Inn, so we finally were forced to eat at the Prime Rib Grill. I forget what I ate. It was a Holiday Inn, after all.

And on a memorable Saturday night, we drove to Silver City to meet with Dutch, Cherie, and Buddy, and Susan Trow (visiting from Canada), and we drove to even further altitudes to the Buckhorn Saloon & Opera House, in Pinos Altos. Entering into the saloon portion, built in the 1860's, we were warmed by a huge potbelly stove. We went to our linened and silvered table and enjoyed some of the best steaks anywhere- we had he special, New York Strip, smothered in melted cheese and, what else?, green chiles. It was all the more tasty, as it turned out, Susan wanted to buy! We relented. You never have to twist my arm much.

Our last week was in Roswell, and I can't tell much about the local cuisine; we ate at Chili's one night because we had gotten some gift cards for Christmas, and the Golden Corral on another night because, well... we just think the GC is a cut above most other steak buffet places. You ought to try it sometime.. especially for the dessert bar! I almost forgot- we did eat at a small chain steakhouse, The Cattle Baron, following the Saturday hunt. A memorable salad bar, and for some reason, I chose to have blackened Halibut- at a steak place. Was good, though. We also met for the draw on Saturday and Sunday at a former Denny's, now christened, The Cover Up Cafe. Very good breakfasts and free coffee with a meal.

That pretty much covers the food end.. we also enjoyed the "Dine In" nights at the Escapees RV part- every Thursday evening, volunteers put together some good home cookin', with salads, desserts, and drinks for a ridiculously low price. They also have ice cream socials every Sunday, and breakfasts on Saturdays if we could get up in time.

Deming also got us our cheapest oil change ever for the RV. $30 at Tinley Tee Tire Co. Also, helpful repair services can be had if your RV or big rig breaks down in the area at E&M Truck Service in Deming, and REMCO towing and Service in Roswell.

Speaking of Roswell, I also met another "living legend" of the New Mexico houndmen : David Hise. "I got rabbit dawgs, coyote dawgs, bear dawgs, hawg dawgs... I hunt everything. You wanna go chase some rabbits?" So we did, and I ended up breaking Rally good. But like another well known convert earlier, David began to trust the GPS when he was judging the hunt. I got made the huntmaster for the two final runs- promised a hare in 30 yards- and was wrong. It was 40.

We stopped, finally, at another Escapees park, in Lakewood, NM- there's a post office, and not much else, but it looks like you can walk out of the park and chase jacks. Something to remember for next year. The next morning, we cruised into Texas. And that's enough writing for now.

A Fish(y) Story.

Who doesn't love Grouper?

I thought I loved Grouper. But maybe it's farm raised Asian Catfish that I love. Or something called Painted Sweetlips. (I can't make this stuff up!).

NOAA investigators in Florida found faux Grouper being sold in 17 out of 24 restaurants that they targeted! But it's not just a Florida problem; they say this is happening all over America. Read the whole Washington Post story here. (You may need to register. It's free.)

NPR also covered this story today. Listen to it here.

Y'know, Asian catfish doesn't sound all that bad when you compare it to the two fish entrees whose DNA the investigators couldn't identify. That's scary.

Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances.

Pizza Hut It Ain't!

We've made our first pilgrimage into New Orleans in two years. To say that things look a little different, would be understating the obvious.

For the most part, this trip was pretty business-like. We spent a couple of hours on about a quarter-mile section of N. Peters Street.. the French Market area. We needed to restock on our- Oops! I almost let it slip.. a secret ingredient for my famous Bloody Marys, (available only at the French Marketplace Seafood Co.).

Then it was time for lunch. Prior to our visit I'd asked for recommendations for cheap eats in the Quarter. The recommendation was for the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, located in this building on the corner of Decatur and Barracks St., right at the end of the French Market.

Now, when I think of New Orleans, pizza (or Italian food in general) is not the thing that first jumps into my mind. After I thought about it a bit, though, I figured we'd get some local flavor even in a pizza joint. Was I right. The boys at PepsiCo just haven't got a clue when it comes to a "sausage-lover's pizza". Check out the Salciccia Marinara pizza on this menu. Now, that's a sausage lover's pizza! Margaret had the Crawfish Etouffe pizza.. actually, we shared. Washed down with a Turbo Dog. We will be back. And a HUGE Hat Tip to Matthew Mullenix for this recommendation!

We passed on the dessert at the Pizza Kitchen, and opted instead for a more "touristy" treat: Coffee and Beignets at Cafe du Monde. Picked up a couple of cool new T-Shirts at Jester's, some Mardi Gras masks to send to Margaret's grandkids, and we were ready to head back across Ponchartrain to Fountainbleu State Park.

We Eat, Therefore We Are... Sated.

We're in the midst of 10 more days in the Gulf Coast area. One thing that has been reinforced to us while here, is that this is where the food lives! Mostly seafood, but we also had to try out a place that kept turning up everywhere we looked, from the Stern's Road Food book, to Chowhound.com.


Doesn 't look like much, does it? But then, barbecue, more than any other cuisine, is immune to the glitz and glamour. In barbecure, rundown is good. When was the last time you heard of food that was transcendental?

"The Brick Pit was transcendental, Food Network worthy and them some in every respect. In a classic old fashioned building, slightly rundown and the bbq aroma permeating the air. Friendly service, a banana pudding that made me gasp, and then the bbq, and the sauce. It takes cajones to put out a sign that says best bbq in Alabama on your front door like the Brick Pit does. After eating there, I believe the sign."

That was "Big Milwaukee", writing in Chowhound. The Sterns were equally effusive in their praise.

We'll now add our voices to the chorus. Ambience, sch-mambience.. it's just like it looks in the pictures. Inside, the ceilings are low, the floor uneven. The walls are covered with graffiti.. mostly praising the food. The restrooms? Don't go there. Literally. The menu is sparse: Pulled pork, ribs, chicken. We didn't try the chicken... who the hell comes down here to eat chicken? I had the ribs plate, and Margaret had the pulled pork plate. Can we say "exquisite" about a joint like this? We will. I can't quite call this the best barbecue I've ever had... but I can't remember where I had any better. This was great. Terrific beans, and cole slaw with real bite. A great lunch, capped off by "Mrs. Waits's Banana Pudding". They couldn't tell us if she's Tom's mom. See the menu here.

That was Saturday, and that was the highlight of our week in Southwest Alabama, but we do want to mention a couple of other places worth visiting... Fish Camp, on State Hwy 59 right here in Summerdale was quite good for lunch, and they apparently have a seafood buffet for dinner. Sorry, no website that I could find.

Yesterday, we went to visit the USS Alabama battleship, which sits on Mobile Bay. I spent 4 years in the Navy; yesterday was the most time I spent on a ship in my life. On the information board showing a lot of Navy slang, I would qualify as a "landlubber". I'll post some pictures on another post, especially one showing a very scary room!

Following the tour of the ship, and the attached submarine, we had a late lunch at Felix's Fish Camp and Grill. This one had it all: Ambience, and good food. We had a sampler of the gumbo, crab, and turtle soups- all very tasty; a "camp salad", consisting of greens, artichoke, and hearts of palm in a homemade Italian dressing. This was followed by a couple of Po'Boys- one fried crawfish tails, and one half-n-half shrimp and oyster. All while sitting in the upper deck bar overlooking Mobile Bay, watching the gliding pelicans.

Ah... food. Tomorrow, we move on to New Orleans. There's no quit in us.

They Did, After All, Give the World Sweetened Iced Tea...

...and bad dentition. And the "Stars & Bars". I was googling "Classic Margarita Recipe", in an attempt to fine tune my own margaritas. I came across this atrocity from Southern Living Magazine, (What's wrong with this picture???):

Fresh lime wedge (optional)
Margarita salt (optional)
Ice
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons orange liqueur
2 tablespoons tequila
1/3 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Garnish: lime slice

If you chose "half a bag of sugar", go brush your teeth. Don't forget to floss. And who measures cocktails with tablespoons?? This thing has so much wrong with it. I'm surprised the Tequila isn't "optional". (Who needs it, long's ya gotcher sugar!)

For what it's worth, the best recipe I found was at "drinkboy.com" Check it out.

Getting Stuffed. Healthy Version.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Boy are we getting our share. On Saturday, we went to the Wolf Bay Lodge in Elberta, Alabama for the "best seafood" in, (depending on who you believe amongst the posters to Chowhound, Chefmoz, or Roadfood forums), the Gulf, the state of Alabama, the country, or the world! I knew we might be a little disappointed when we read the menu, noting that everything is "fried". For the healthy grilled versions, it would cost a dollar more. The restaurant also seemed to be filled primarily with families... not the "foodies" I would expect to populate the dining forums at the above websites; and weighted heavily toward the geezer class, (your author included).

At any rate, I opted for the West Indies Salad, a Mobile area specialty consisting of a whole bunch of marinated crabmeat mixed with sweet onions, sold at "Market Price", which on this day was 15 bucks. Margaret had the sampler platter with shrimp, stuffed shrimp, catfish, and oysters.

Now, being fried doesn't necessarily mean artery-clogging breading. The coating was very light and tasty. The stuffed shrimp and oysters were especially tasty. The salad was excellent. But how would we know this was the best seafood in (pick your geographical area) without something to compare it to?

So last night we drove the 12 miles to Fairhope, AL on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, to try out the Old Bay Steamer, where they also offer fried seafood, but the way everybody eats it is steamed. They also modestly proclaim to have the "best seafood on the Eastern Shore". Well- they don't lie. In fact, I would call this the best seafood in the world! And the only way to eat it is to get the "The Big Steamer" sampler for 2- a large bar tray filled with about 2 dozen (whole)giant royal red gulf shrimp, 4 snow crab clusters(about 20 legs and a couple claws), a half dozen steamed oysters, corn on the cob, red potatoes, and way more cocktail sauce and drawn butter than would be healthy. I washed mine down with an excellent Abita Restoration Ale from Abita Springs, LA. Be prepared to make a serious mess! Two rolls of paper towel are supplied to each table, and you also get a large fingerbowl with lemon wedges and warm water. We can't wait to get back and do it again.

If you find yourselves in the Mobile area and want to go to the Old Bay Steamer, go online first and print out the $10 coupon- (good on any ticket over $50- and trust me, it's real easy to go over $50.)

Now it's time to break camp and head to Georgia for the Holidays. Margaret's already left, so she can make it to grandaughter's school presentation tonight. I'm following in the morning.

I have one more day of WiFi here at Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, and may use it to catch up on all our previous travel.. I'll at least post some pictures from the last few weeks. What a long, strange trip it's been.