Shop 6 Cass Street

A small place we probably wouldn't have ventured into if not for our 'guide'.  It suggested you'd get a great pizza and if you could handle a few seagulls would benefit from enjoying it on the beach just a few paces away.  We agree it's a great pizza, but we didn't want to handle the birds choosing to sit inside (although had the outside table been available we would have made use of it) and we're not sure we would have been allowed to take a beer with us - admittedly, we didn't ask. 

It's just a counter, a couple of tables, a big logo on one wall, menu on another and a TV doing the music video thing on the last wall.  It's a big picture window out on to what is probably known as the main street with the door wide open, but there wasn't much to see going by this day.  Our 'guide' said wood-fired, but I didn't see a wood fire - fortunately no harm done on that front.

On the Tuesday after a holiday weekend I guess they weren't expecting much of a crowd as it was a one man show - he was bussing when we entered, came over to take our order, then disappeared out back to do the pizza construction, and finally delivered it to us.  We saw this repeat a couple of times as we ate.

It's a blackboard menu which is easy enough to follow along with the pizzas sort of sectioned up into different price points and they do offer thin or deep pan crusts, but don't be thinking Chicago Deep Dish - they have a much more pleasant interpretation.  They also offer a couple of specials at various times during the day and / or week, but they're sort of secret so we didn't know about them until we were way into our beers.  Oh well.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Macs Hop Rock Pilsner - quite gentle
• Macs Sassy Red - a little less gentle.
• Smoked Chicken and Cranberry Pizza with Onion and Avocado - great crust, great toppings, just the right amount of cheese.  Just the right amount of food, and we 'only' got the small one.

If not for our morning activity allowing us a stopover in Russell we probably would have missed out on not just the yummy pizza but a fun and rewarding walk just outside of town (and down into the water - we took a low tide short cut when the tide was only part way out...).  I love it when a plan comes together!  Thanks nice tour boat company!

Stay JOLLY!
D

1171 Coatesville-Riverhead Highway

We were bummed a little that there was a big Holiday Surcharge sign taped to the Host Stand but as we were now seeing a pattern, less so than when we first encountered it the evening before A Previous Article.  We chose Hallertau because our 'Guide' had it listed as 1 of the Top 10 Micro Breweries in the country and we were more or less scheduled to be passing it at lunch time.

The place was jamm'n (including the car park where I had to mostly invent a spot to park) but it would have to be jamm'n a whole lot more for us to have not gotten in.  It has a whole range of spaces, from a sort of bistro type feel place we were in just inside the door that had booths and tables, a lounge with a fireplace (probably won't be on for a few more months...), a tasting area, a kids playroom (we probably would have left had that been the only option left...), a bar, the patio, the other patio and some other patio that's way out the back.

I'm assuming mostly local, relatively recently released music which was at the boppy end of the scale, but totally foreign to us both. Bright and airy with the front door wide open it was not entirely what we expected but it was what we were looking for.  Each space had it's own 'theme' and the nature of the crowd sort of changed to match.

The host (probably manager) seemed a little tighly wound up (probably from having to constantly defend the surcharge?) but after he got us sat didn't have anything directly to do with us.  Our Server was nice enough, and appologetic re the missing menu items and was able to answer our questions.  I don't think we asked him for a recomendation, so we didn't really have to chat much with him.  It took a while for our first beers to arrive (probably not directly his fault?) but even longer for him to come by when we were ready to order another.  We weren't really in a hurry, but...

A pretty focused menu with a couple of gaps due to what they told us was a busier than expected weekend.  We were never going to have trouble finding a backup to enjoy from what was offered.  They also have a Grazing menu which I imagine would come in handy if you were planning on sitting on the deck for a good part of the afternoon, knowing someone else was driving you home.

Our meal went a little like this after we learned that the Mussels were no more:

• Hallertau Luxe "1" (Kolsh) - advertised as refined, I'd just go with refreshing.
• Hallertau Statesman "2" (Pale Ale) - quite hoppy.
• Chicken Snitzel, creamy mashed potato, peanut coleslaw - declared the best ever. A not too big juicy snitzel with really yummy potatos.  Served on board, kind of like a cheese board.
• Venison Burger, red cabbage slaw, onion jam, fries - a pretty good burger on a really really good bun. Slaw for the side, but get jam on the burger, definitely.
• Hallertau Deception "4" (Schwarzbier ) - a dark beer, almost chocolately.

We're glad our 'Guide' pointed this out for us as it's unlikely we would have found it on our own - after getting a little lost leaving our morning activity who knows what shiny sign would have grabbed our attention had we not had a destination in mind...

Stay JOLLY!
D

124 Victoria Street

We had no official say in where we dined this day other than to agree that whatever was chosen we'd have no reservations joining in.  It's a good thing, because had we been in charge of dining location African Taste would never have been on the list.  Now, that's not because we don't like / do African, but because this is a tiny neighborhood storefront place that unless you walked right by the front door would struggle to realize it exists.  Not the same, but sort of the same in that sense as a place right by our house A Previous Article which we missed out on for far too long by not opening our eyes properly.  Our friends are clearly more clever (and have wider eyes?) than us.

A husband and wife team.  It's the wife who greets you from behind her small dessert / coffee counter and then does everything else needed out the front, with the husband in the kitchen doing his thing (I would not be surprised to learn he was the only person back there) and popping out with a dish in his hand every now and again.  All smiles, clearly happy that you've chosen to come dine with them (and double happy that our friends were returning again) this is probably the closest I've felt to eating in someone's home while at a restaurant. 

It's a simple space with a couple of small tables outside (probably perfect for coffee, but not so much for dining) with neat and tidy tables and chairs set up to give options for different sized parties.  For lunch it was quite brightly lit due to the picture windows taking up all of the front and (I guess) depending on which way the wind blows a pleasant spicy aroma keeping us company.

Our Server (and everything else) was patient with us figuring out what we wanted and very helpful in explaining what we could expect from different dishes. We made good use of the explaining as everything was new to the two of us.  She (or they?) is perhaps a little defensive on how spicy hot to make things, which in general is for my palette a good thing.  Anything that has a bit of heat she confirmed how hot we would like it which I really appreciate, but the one dish that was asked for to be quite hot was described as hot, but not that hot.  She also allowed us to take our time deciding on, consuming and then resting for our dessert / coffee course.

It's not a big menu, but there's plenty to choose from if you're new to the cuisine.  It seems most wine comes in BYO? - the Wine List was described to us and we actually got the last bottle of something.  Absolutely no drama with this approach!

Our meal went a little like this:

• Amiri Sauvignon Blanc - this is a sit in the sun type wine, which was just fine as we were sitting in the big open front window with the front door open beside us.
• Katega (an African bread, heavily seasoned with customary herbs, garlic and clarified butter) - really heavy on the spice crust the first bite is a bit confusing but it's ultimately really enjoyable.
• Crambpd Cauliflower (crumbed with herbs, egg and flour) - a fun appetizer, crisp and soft at the same time.  Not hard to see why it's listed as one of the most popular items.
• Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc - perhaps a little more nose than the other, but equally enjoyable with this meal.
• Traditional North African Seafood (prawns, fish, mint, coriander, chilli, saffron rice) - a bit paella like, but not paella.
• Tibes (lamb, onion, garlic, chilli, coriander) - a great lamb dish, mild flavors, but interesting flavors with a couple of spices in there too.
• Doro Tibes (chicken instead) - something different to the lamb, probably the spices changed a little?
• Injera (it's a bread that is offered with each main course or rice is the alternative) - soft and chewy it's a great vehicle for getting your meal to your mouth - no forks needed if you go with this option, and it makes your meal last a bit longer as you (well, certainly me) continually drop things back to your plate...
• Coffee - short, long, whatever you feel like
• Baklava - sweet enough that one per person is going to be too much, but not that evil too sweet you often get in cafés.

The final scheduled it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat-as-long-as-it's-with-you A Collection of Articles event!  Each one special in its own way, this one was no less special, but certainly the most pleasantly surprisingly enjoyable.

If you're looking for a store front restaurant, run by a very friendly husband and wife team, perhaps only a few more than 20 seats, a wine list that is so short it's dictated to you, a menu that is focused in what it offers but diverse compared to what you're probably used to and the knowledge that it all tastes great.  Then this is probably is the place for you.

Stay JOLLY!
DHelen & Terry

1333 Mornington Flinders Road

We were just looking for a lazy(ish) lunch where we could get a glass of a wine with a view of the vineyards the wine came from.  We're ultimately ok that our first choice was obnoxiously* full and we were forced back into the car for the what turned out to be a 2½ minute search to find this place. 

We almost didn't stop because the Restaurant part of the sign was down the bottom and it took us a bit to take it all in and decide it was worth a look - we had to turn around and go back...  A small awkward parking lot, an obvious front door and an old and well used (we assume) tractor make up the street view.  Can I guess that this is the tractor it took 10 minutes to get somewhere?

Inside there's a small tasting area and cash register.  Keep going past this and you get to the Restaurant part which overlooks the vineyards on the slightly sloping hill - an area they're happy for you to wonder around in [our case] after your meal and we even found their herb garden with some artichokes in full bloom.  Out the other door is the Patio area where there's not much of a view, but you do get the fresh air.  We opted for outside, but I suspect that was really our only option as we were dressed for touristing, not fancyish dining.  Also, it looked pretty full so maybe dress mattered less than having a reservation?  If you include bathroom amenities in your Restaurant Selection process, these are pretty nice, even before you realized you get real towels for hand drying.

Typical outside, mostly, with lots of green things, some offering shade some not, but all doing a pretty good job of keeping the highway out.  Rustic looking tables of varying sizes (I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of the bigger ones help strangers become friends subject to the demands of the day) and a few umbrellas whose usefulness clearly varies as the day progresses.  The not so typical thing was the chef station where one chef was kept pretty busy the whole time we were there - he has a much more consistent umbrella arrangement...

One Server to keep an eye on all 20 or so of us.  She was busy, but not crazy and although it took a little bit to see her the first time there was nothing to bother us for the rest of our time here.  She chatted a little when we asked questions, but she's not an expert on the menu.  She's good enough to offer opinions of what you might like, but not good enough to clarify what all (most, just not all) the different components of our dish are - good thing the chef was working just behind us.

A nice outdoors type menu of salads and platters, and all pretty good for sharing.  I guess I could have asked, but I suspect the inside diners get a different menu to what we got.  The wine list has their own wines front and center and on a day where a glass each with lunch was all we sensibly should have we were always going to select one of their own by the glass.  But, the full list has a really good range of local and not so local things to choose from - if you really want to, you could drop a car payment on a good selection of bottles.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Ten Minutes by Tractor Sauvignon Blanc - a little bit of sweetness, a little bit of acid, ultimately nicely balanced.
• Ten Minutes by Tractor Rosé - light and fruity like you'd expect from most Rosés but also at the drier end of the scale.
• Smoked Chicken Salad, bacon, potato, green beans - a gentle dressing brought it all together nicely.
• Charcuterie Platter - if you're just after a light lunch this could easily work out for 2 people.  It's not really about the condiments, obviously, but they were there to help out when the urge was felt.  Not even a crumb was left behind...
  
  • Rabbit & Pistachio Terrine - to be fair, if you didn't tell me it was rabbit I probably wouldn't have known, but it was yummy with just the right amount of nutty crunch.
  • Rare Roasted Sirloin - didn't expect to see this on our platter, but pretty happy that we did.  A beautiful piece of meat that did not need anything to keep it company - just cut off a bite and enjoy
  • Smoked Ham - off the bone we're assuming based on appearance.  The lightest of all the meats provided.
  • Salami - a few peppercorns along for the ride.
  • Wagyu Braciola - quite strong flavors from a relatively delicate piece of meat.
  • Pancetta - a little bit of salt going on, as you'd expect.

Not our plan when we departed on our travels a couple of hours earlier, but we really enjoyed our sit in the sun, our meal and our wine!  A very pleasant surprise find, and absolutely totally un-obnoxious at all levels.

Stay JOLLY!
D 

* - just to be clear, our failed place was not obnoxious, on the contrary we really do want to go back and give them a try (although, we're not holding our breathe because of the whole Antipodean thing we have going on) not just because of the recomendation that sent us towards it, but also what we saw go whizzing by with the Servers looked and smelled great.  It was the crowd this day that was quite obnoxious.

403 Wendouree Parade

This was another meal A Collection of Articles that was much less about the venue and what the menu had to offer than it was about catching up with an old friend.  It was definitely a bonus to be sitting outside at this very picturesque site with tasty treats coming our way - and just a little too much sun and not enough hats and / or sunscreen.

Apparently well known for doing weddings and other important parties (it's across the road from the Botanical Gardens and on the shore of the lake) they've figured out that there's a few people who like to sit by the lake for their lunch, although on this day which was kind of breezy (I think that's why we got tricked by the sun) inside was jamm'n and we had our pick of half a dozen tables outside.  It's an interesting building that certainly has character, and probably has some age to it but you'll need someone cleverer than me to tell you what style it's in.  It suits it's spot, if nothing else, but really there's more to it with lots of iron works and red brick.  But having said that, I've got no recollection of the inside as we just walked straight through to the deck.

You don't get a Server as it's order at the counter when you're ready so you're left to figure out the menu on your own (which is not hard with very clear descriptions) and if you have questions save them for when you get up to order which of course means you may have to make quick fire adjustments based on the answers.  I don't think we had any issues in getting the orders in, but the way they take the orders and then share them with the kitchen meant that our meals came out at odd times.  Not the end of the world, but not quite right. 

I'm not sure what the official policy, but our friend told us she thought this place would suit as we'd be allowed to take our time and even lounge around a bit after we were done with the eating part.  She was right.  Because it's order at the counter there was no overt pressure to get us to order, and when we were done they cleaned our table up but never suggested we had to pack up and leave.  Perfect for our catching up goal of the meal!

The menu has a good selection of small and big plates to choose from, but they also offer a limited selection of big plates to choose from at a set price which did appeal to us in principal.  However, they were also offering a glass of wine with all big plates which seemed to suit us better...  There's a short but at a quick glance (we did the deal, remember) appears to be useful Wine List and a list of beers to amuse too.  Oh, and a help yourself water station.  

Our meal went a little like this:

• Sauvignon Blanc - House variety, not really bothered but hoping it's regional.  Crisp enough to be out on the deck with us and with enough acid to be ok with all our dishes too.
• Sourdough with Meredith Feta and Marinated Olives - without doubt the best feta we've ever had, yummy bread and fun selection of olives. I think we were told Meredith is just down the road.
• Chips with Garlic Aioli - great chips, double great dipping sauce.
• Pork Schnitzels, fresh breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley, creamy mash, broccolini, apple compote and jus - perhaps a little too big for lunch, but too yummy to stop. Everything great on it's own, but a little bit of everything on a bite way way better.
• Barramundi Fillets, beer battered, garden salad, chips, lemon and tartare sauce - not the first fish you'd think to 'fish & chip' but it's a great piece of fish and was definitely treated a bit more gently than your average flake.
• Chicken and Mushroom Gnocchi, bacon, spinach, creamy sauce with basil, pesto and parmesan - looked good across the table, all consumed.

We enjoyed our lunch, we enjoyed the view but we enjoyed being with our friend a whole lot more.  If we're in the area again (unlikely anytime soon, but never say never, right?) and in need of a very laid back lunch we'd certainly have Pipers close to the top of the list of possibilities.

Stay JOLLY!
DKaren

214 Little Bourke Street

Not our normal dining out experience today - we had 3 of the nieces and nephews in tow as part of 'take them for lunch and a show day' in our attempt to maintain bestest Aunt & Uncle status.  Our goal for the eating part of the day was to get them in to a 'real' restaurant and hopefully have them try something new. Goal achieved - although the tried and true favorites still are.

Our decision to enter this place as opposed to the other 287 (or thereabouts) choices China Town has to offer was based on a couple of simple criteria.  Chinese.  Menu in window looked child friendly (without actually being a kids menu).  Not too prim and proper looking.  And most importantly, no panicking from the Host when we opened the front door with 3 kids under 10 charging by.  Check x 4!

Inside there's a lot of pictures!  Yep, of Deng Xiao Ping.  I've got no idea how his leadership of China worked out, but these guys seem to think he did a good job.  There's also a bunch of pictures of random important Australians (I might argue not so much...) up too.  There's a number of fish tanks up and running, but not for being pretty.  Only one had lunch options in it, but I expect that changes based on anticipated demand.

Our Server got our order right and was patient with the kids, but that's about it.  It seems they assume that you know what everything is and that you know what you're doing - that would be a negative on both counts for our group.  Certainly no polite chatting, just give me your order and I'm off, and if you really struggled to figure out the menu you might also struggle with the English being used.  We ordered a bunch of stuff, and one repeat a little later on, but it doesn't really matter when or how you order because the food just comes out when it's ready so if you weren't planning on sharing someone(s) is going to have to wait a bit.

The menu is pretty extensive, and if you like your fried rice there's a full page (of a fairly large menu) dedicated to the options.  Quite a few duck options scattered through out all sections.  Lots of seafood to choose from, which is consistent with the fish tanks.  We skipped over a lot of what was to offer as we negotiated with the kids and looked for a couple of things we thought we could have them try.  There's also a Yum Cha menu offered but we weren't in a position to try it and we actually didn't see any evidence of anyone else doing it either so not quite sure how it works.    No matter what you order, it can be shared - which is our favorite, but also works well with kids.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Water - yeah, we kept it simple for the kids (we got them hopped up a bit later on in the day with ice cream and soda...)
• Prawn Crackers - a hit with the kids (and non-kids) with their crackle and melt on your toungue tingling.  Complimentary and they just keep coming.
• Prawn Dumplings - as you would expect if you're not <10 years old.  Kids tend to like their prawns to look like prawns it seems...  
• Scallop Dumplings - as for the Prawn version, except more Scallopy tasting...
• Spring Rolls - crispy and yummy and more were required.
• Wonton Soup - did you know that you can use Prawn Crackers as an edible scoop?  You learn this sort of stuff when you dine with kids and not their parents...
• Special Fried Rice - a little bit of everything in it, all consumed.

Considering the average age of our group was way lower than normal, this worked out really well. The kid were extremely well behaved (as were we!) and the Servers still let them be kids - the table was just a little bit messy (mostly in front of the kids!) when all was said and done.... 

If you're out on a date, you probably don't want to stop here, but if you've the need for a quick lunch you'll be just fine.  We had the kids, but the bulk of the lunch crowd appeared to be office people dashing out for lunch.

It's unlikely circumstance will get us back, but we'd certainly be up for trying more of the menu if we did.

Stay JOLLY!
DTabitha, Scarlett, Sebastian

PS.  If you ask the kids what their most memorable part of the day was we'd hope it was the show, but they'll probably tell you about how I got us all on the wrong train going home.

1578 N Clybourn

As part of our celebratory afternoon we actually did dessert first A Related Article and that was a good thing, because we easily could have found more to eat here and had absolutely no room left for dessert (assuming shakes don't count as dessert) - which would have been sad on a couple of levels.

It's a pretty large space sort of broken into two areas but I don't think there's any difference other than one side having the bar and the other side having the photo booth - apparently there's some way to get your mug up on the wall over the kitchen.  A mixture of booths and tables and it's all quite brightly lit due to the very large glass windows facing out on to Clybourn.  There's some art work going on made out of what I guess are old signs, but I don't really get it, but it also causes no harm.

We did turn up at a non-traditional meal time due to the pre-lunch dessert we had just had so got in right away, but it was still pretty busy and therefore we're asuming at the 'correct' meal times it's probably really really hopping.

Our Server may have been a bit frazzled when we first sat so we had a bit of a delay getting our beer orders in, but he calmed down and when we were chatting he certainly new both the menu and the beer menu and was able to offer sensible recomendations - apart from trying to talk us into a shake for dessert (but to be fair, he didn't know we'd already eaten a good amount of Frozen Custard Pie).  He certainly didn't rush us, which we always appreciate, he didn't mind putting in the Mac order ahead of the Burgers and he wasn't too far away when we felt the urge for an extra beer.

The menu is easy enough to navigate, with a good range of Burgers and non-Burger type arrangements.  Some thought has been put into the burgers so don't go looking for your basic everyday cheeseburger like ma used to make - you might not be all that happy.  A big beer list, mostly in bottles but enough on draft, that seems like it changes a lot - no bud or miller as far as I can tell, just fun crafty type things which there's a good chance you've never heard of.  They do give descriptions of what you might expect of each beer so you're not going in totally blind.  There's also a shake menu, and they did look pretty good from a far, but we just couldn't do one this day.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Domain DuPage 
• Robert the Bruce - worst case it's just fun to say, but it's actually fun to drink too!  Malty, but not to malty.
• Pulled Pork Mac - definitely mac-y, definitely pork-y.  A tasty start.
• Tur-Duck-En Stacker, turducken patty, arugula, turducken sausage, brie, cranberry / cherry chutney - a lot going on, but not too much.  Take your time eating it and enjoy it all!  And if you don't know what turducken is, well, ask someone...
  
  • Truffle Fries - for a buck extra how could you ever not upgrade?  Not the best truffle fries ever, but better than any other 'ordinary' fry you will ever see.
• Elk Burger, andouille sausage, pepper-onion relish, smoked gouda, chili aioli - a little bit of heat, a little bit of gamey, a little bit of sweet.  A great combination.
  • Sweet Potato Tots - for a couple of bucks extra how could you not upgrade?  A fun version of the classic you know you love.

It's another place that's not overly convenient for us to get too, but we'd be back often if we were clsoe by.  If we're in the neighborhood and in need of a relatively quick and easy meal we've now got a burger place to add to our dog A Previous Article place.

Stay JOLLY!
D 

1863 N Clybourn

Nothing has changed since we were last here A Previous Article not all that long ago, well outwardly, that's for sure.  The menu board probably has, but we don't know it well enough to be sure.  But, having said that, it seems that there's some sort of monthly contest between two 'guest providers' which has to have changed because we came back in a different month...

As promised, we'd try a little bit harder to get back here and seeing we were in pretty much the same situation (activity wise we'd just been doing some competitive running - well ok, not that competitive, but someone was keeping time...) as last time and as it wouldn't take much of a detour off we headed.  Catch is, we got there 15 minutes before they opened.  No drama there, as it's certainly worth a 15 minute wait in the comfort of your car even while wearing your post run outfit.

We thought the ordering part might go much quicker the 2nd time there, but we were wrong - there's a lot to take in and it all sounds so good.  Perhaps the 3rd time will go quicker...  This time we went with mostly new stuff.  We chose Sammy Sosa (great pic taken about the same day he quit on the Cubs...) to keep us company from their table 'number' board.

Our meal went a pretty much like this:

• Soda
• Truffle Mac 'n' Cheese (parmesan béchamel sauce, white truffle oil, brioche bread crumbs & thyme) - Yummy!
• Triple Truffle Fries (yukon gold waffle cut fries, truffle oil, truffle butter, truffle salt) - still the same great fries that may be the best I've ever had.
• Tur-Doggin (turkey & date sausage, crispy duck confit, herb garlic aioli, pickled onion relish & pickled carrots) - if you just got the dog on a bun with nothing else you'd be very pleased. Jam all the rest in there and you're double triple pleased.
• The Southerner (pork loin & caramelized onions sausage, corn bread, cherry bourbon BBQ sauce & scallions) - great sausage, fun with the corn bread, rich but not too rich sauce. Combined an awesome dog.
• Truffle Mac 'n' Cheese (parmesan béchamel sauce, white truffle oil, brioche bread crumbs & thyme) - So good, we had some more for dessert!

A great lunch!  We'll be back!  There's still more to try, including a flight of dogs and platter of corn dawgs.

Stay JOLLY!
D

5835 Lamar Avenue

This was not the only A Previous Article BBQ place we'd decided was worth a visit based on our very in depth research of local area 'joints' before we got on the plane.  It's actually pretty hard to pick a couple of the many many that the TV hosts / chefs / faces think are their favorite and ultimately they're all doing pretty much the same thing (certainly to our non BBQ-connoisseur musings) with personal tweaks to rubs and sauces being the obvious differences. 

We only found reference to this joint in one place, but it caught our eye because it was clearly doing BBQ differently to all the others - technically they're doing the BBQ part just about the same as everyone else, but what they put in the smoker, and what they do with it when it comes out is clearly different. 

We had to hike all the way across the border, ultimately an easy drive if you follow the directions provided by google correctly (yes, we zigged when we should have zagged...), but it's nowhere near any tourist places that our guide books told us about.  Once the zigging was sorted out you can't miss it with a big sign, but only a few parking spaces out front.  Not knowing the place, we didn't know the real parking is out the back until later, so it's possibleprobable that we were parked 'illegally' in one of the spots reserved for the to-go crowd.  Sorry!

We got there about 11:3012:00 (remember the zigging and zagging?) and they were still serving breakfast; yep BBQ breakfast.  We were curious, but we had our heart set on a couple of non-breakfast dishes we'd seen on the TV.  The place was never jamm'n but it had a steady flow, both in the Restaurant and through Carry Out.  Inside it's a simple enough room with a bar right in the door and tables all around.  Nothing particularly memorable decor wise, just about what you would expect from a BBQ 'joint'.  One end has a small Carry Out section and we learned later they have a patio type area (that perhaps has more seats than the restaurant?) downstairs and out the back they open up most evenings and have live music there from time to time.

We wonder if Bob has his kids and their friends working the floor - politely of course?  Our Server was fine, and he was perhaps a little bit above the average age (by our observations and interpretations only) of College Freshman.  He got us everything we needed, he answered all our questions, he helped with a kitchen negotiation and he was patient while waiting for us to come up with a replacement for something that was not available (alligator eggroll - drat!).  He also seemed very rehearsed in what he said to people, particularly as they sat down, but if that's the worst thing we can find clearly he did a good job.

There's plenty to choose from on the menu, it's easy enough to navigate.  If we didn't have a couple of things mostly pre-selected it might have taken a bit longer with takes on the 'regularly' expected dishes, great sounding sandwiches and fun BBQ type salads to keep you amused, and it would have gotten a bit harder had we considered the breakfast options.  And, as far as we can tell consitant with the KC BBQ philosophy, it's sauce on the side.  There's their regular and their spicy versions.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Lemonade
• Soda
  
• Bison Empanadas - a different way to start a BBQ meal, but no regrets, no complaints.
• RJ's Signature Brisket Soup - yes, you read that correctly!  When push comes to shove, I think you could argue it's closer to a stew than a soup, but I'm not pushing or shoving!  By serving as a soup it's so much easier to grab up a cup and not feel too guilty about eating soooo much food for lunch, and more people would miss out.  Really good!  Really Really good!
• Denver Lamb Ribs - Not sure what makes them Denver, but RJ's sure makes them good.  Maybe the best ribs I've ever had, any where, any style.  You shouldn't compare them directly to 'normal' ribs, but you should try them.
• Burnt Ends - you can have beef or pork, but a quick negotiation got us about half and half.  Perhaps liked the beef ones a bit better.  Every thing we saw on KC BBQ before we came mentioned the Burnt Ends.  I probably don't need to have them again, but I'm glad we had a successful hunt.
  
  • Cheesy Corn Bake - not sure exactly what we expected, but it's probably in the mac and cheese family. Definitely cheesy, definitely corny.
  • Sweet Potato Fries - crunchy and piled high.

Again, happy with the place and would return (if for no other reason that to try the brunch, but really there are many reasons) if the opportunity presents, but realistically not a lot of chance that opportunity will present.  We congratulate Bob on his creativity, execution and fun menu and will do our best to mention him to anyone we know is visiting KC.

Stay JOLLY!
D 

2450 Grand Avenue (Crown Center)

On a day where we found ourselves in a Mall as we got hungry and with the goal of avoiding Fast Food type stuff as much as possible while traveling, we lucked into the Streetcar only seconds before we caved and lined up with the masses.  Ultimately a simple meal where we got to sit down, watch the tourists and relax a bit before heading off on our next adventure.

No idea the validity of the story, but apparently the section we sat in was an actual Streetcar from times past that had been relocated a couple of times before ending up as the front of a Mall Restaurant.  Perhaps it really was called Desire?  The rest of the place is just a restaurant, nothing special, nothing bad to look at.  A couple of TVs around the place, a large 'patio' out in the Mall and an arrangement of tables (most of which are designed for rearranging to meet the size needs of various parties) and booths.

Nothing complicated about the menu especially when we were barely looking past the salad and sandwich section.  It does have to be noted that we blinked more than once when our Server went through the list of Sides to join our Sandwiches and one of them was Cottage Cheese.  Umm?

Our meal went a little like this:

• Boulevard Bully Porter
• Boulevard Pale Ale
  
• Ham & Cheese - optional dressings, went with the Honey Mustard but more for French Fry dipping...
• Tuna Salad Sandwich - some of the previously mentioned Honey Mustard Dressing found it's way on to the Sandwich and everyone was happy.

It served our needs, and we sure could have done worse had we been just a little more hungry and less patient...

Stay JOLLY!
D

3002 West 47th Avenue

Although technically not on our to-do list The List... we did arrive in KC knowing we'd be stopping by.  I think everyone knows that you have to do some Barbecue whilst in town so we spent some time with the TV chefs / food hosts looking for their opinions and more than one rates this as the best BBQ ever - one even put it on his list of 13 places you must eat before you die.

It is a place you'd be exceptionally lucky to find by driving by.  The building certainly won't catch your attention - it's a gas station and not a converted gas station, but a working fill up your tank one.  It's not out of the way, but it's certainly not in a tourist part of town and even if you noticed the sign mentioning BBQ you probably wouldn't put 2 and 2 together.  Oh, and you need to be a little bit creative and / or brave to find a spot in the parking lot.  The smells may get your attention, I guess depending on how the wind is blowing. 

What is most likely to get your attention though, is the line out the door.  We arrived a little before 11:30, and not because we knew the line can be out the door, but because we had an early flight and were hungry.  The place was packed, the line was to the door (perhaps 40 people in line?) and growing.  Normally, lines annoy us but based on a low stress schedule for the day and recomendations from TV and beyond we joined in.  On the plus side everyone in line was happy and patient and mostly followed the rule of not finding a table until you had your food in your hand (the bigger the group, the more likely to cheat...).  And on the double plus side it moves pretty quick.  When we left a little after 1pm there were perhaps 20 people in line outside the door too where it had hovered at least the whole time we were seated.

If you want to be pedantic, it's not really a restaurant.  It's a takeout place with some figure-it-out-yourself seating.  While we were in line, I'd guesstimate 75% of the people ahead of us did carry out (which is kind of odd because they have a call ahead for carry out section and that line was mostly empty) meaning the panic we had relating to not being able to dine in was unnecessary and once we had our trays in hand we went straight to a table, even having a choice of a couple.

In terms of getting your meal, it's cafeteria like.  Get in line, change your mind 5 or 8 times as you move through the line, order with the order taking dude, listen to a whole bunch of holler'n as the order gets disseminated to the people who do each part (ok that part might not happen in a cafeteria), shuffle down to the cashier, select a beverage, confirm that all the holler'n was holler'd correctly, pay (and not a whole lot, really!), muddle through the soda machine and then find a table (which already noted was no drama).  In general, tourists inside, locals back to the office...

The menu is easy enough to navigate, easy enough to understand and certainly has enough options to choose from if you decided to make this a regular haunt.  It looks like there's a daily lunch special (perhaps a dinner special too?) and it seems that the people who looked like the regulars tended to gravitate towards.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Boulevard Wheat - The local brew, not all that wheaty but fine with my lunch.
• Boulevard Pilsner - Another of the many from this brewery.  Probably our favorite of the 2.
• Side of Smoked Chicken Gumbo - It comes in 4 sizes.  We got the smallest (called a side) and if we had have gotten the biggest there's no way we could have had our other stuff.  It's rich, and Gumbo like, and rich, and smokey and meaty.  And good!
• Hog Heaven (Pulled Pork and Sausage Sandwich) - Don't eat this wearing a white shirt.  It's a little messy, but a lot tasty.
• 2 Meat Dinner - a nice way to increase the variety and not so much the waist line
  • Brisket - dry rub only, sauce added at service time.  It looks the way it should with that smoke ring everyone wants to see.  Cut thin, but not too thin, tender and juicy and yummy.
  • Sausage - definitely smoked sausage, but not too rich.  Goes well with the sauce.  Might be fun to eat in a brat sort of way, rather than with a fork and knife?
  • Fries - seasoned heavily with something secret.  Quite rich and almost hard to finish the whole bag when combined with everything else we had.

So, would I put it on my list of 13 places to dine before I die?  Probably not.  I'm certainly glad we got to try it out, but I don't think I'd feel a life unfulfilled without it.  I do get that not all 13 places should be / need to be crazy expensive and crazy particular and crazy snooty and crazy exclusive and crazy hard to get in to so I'm quite happy to agree to say that a BBQ Joint should be on that kind of list.  You can decide on your own which one, but you probably should get Oklahoma Joe's on your short list of BBQ Joints as you work towards that final 1 (perhaps 2) that makes your ultimate 13...

Would we go back?  Sure.  Will we?  Unlikely - that whole being in a different State thing causes a problem.

Stay JOLLY!
D

The Pier

We arrived in Tobermory for our relaxation weekend.  After we finally found a B&B (a 5 minute drive away from the town center) we drove back down to find a place to eat.  We originally were going to go with a sandwich until we saw the Fish Stand with a nice little line of people waiting to get their fish and chips.  The Fish Stand is right on the pier so the fisherman don't have far to go to deliver the days catch.  It appears that two ladies own? and work the counter.  Since it was around 2:30pm, we opted for the small fish and chips which was still a nice piece of fish with enough chips to keep us going until dinner. 

A849

From the outside it wouldn't be hard to miss that you're standing in front of a bar.  Inside, there's the bar section that does look like you'd expect your small village Pub to look like, but there's also a dining room (that from all accounts is jamming during the Summer) that looks more like a modern(ish) cafeteria.  An enigma all in all, I think. 

It's order at the bar (a very small bar right in front of the door), so no Server to keep us company.  The bartender was friendly enough to us and extra friendly to a couple who came in just as we were finishing up but after the kitchen had closed.  They were disapointed and hungry, but not cranky.  The bartender said she might be able to get them soup (which she was) which made the couple so happy.

The menu was very much a bar menu and surprisingly none of the Seafood we'd seen just about everywhere we'd been (or checked out their menu) appeared.  Maybe there's a different menu during the busy season?  We were able to find something to keep us going and have no reason to complain with it's quality.

Our meal went a little something like this:

• McEwans (blue)
• McEwans (red)
• Crispy Chicken on Baguette - surprisingly good bread, chicken that's actually chicken
• Crispy Chicken with Chips - yep, same chicken that's on the sandwich

I admit that this wasn't our first choice (and if time prevailed) wouldn't have been our second either.  It provided us a place to sit down and have a non-Subway type lunch (not that Subway was an option in this small village and we ulitmately had a sandwich) with a beer and a fireplace.  Not what we thought we'd be having when we started the day, but we could easily have been eating crisps and a candy bar instead.

Stay JOLLY!
D

11-13 Kirkmichael Rd

Our guidebook had recommendations for where to eat no matter where we happened to be when we were hungry.  Generally, if we end up in a recommended place, great, but we don't usually seek them out.  Moulin Inn we did because it was the "best Pub in Scotland" - well it was a few years ago, but still seemed worthy.  Our guidebook wasn't crystal clear on how to find it, but fortunately we figured it out only minutes before we would have switched to Plan B.

It's definitely what you think of when you think of a Pub.  Old building (built right up to the road - really, right up to the road with not even room for a sidewalk), big stone bricks, short heavy entry door, low ceilings, big blaring open fires (blaring so much I had to beg ask my wife if we could move from right in front of one), dogs welcome inside, small but very well stocked bar, lots of trinkets around the place (I would not normally have expected stained glass, but there were quite a few pieces), small tables and local comfort food on the menu.

You order at the bar, so no Server to keep us company but the Bar Tender was friendly and must see a lot of us tourists because she had no trouble with our accents - thanks.  The hardest part was figuring out if our food should be delivered to Table 6 or 9 - it was 9.

Until the Moulin Inn, we had only tried the Scottish Lagers, but when a small Pub brews their own beers, it's a pretty easy choice what you're going to be drinking - even if it's of the Ale variety you don't normally consume.  As is the way, the Ales are hand pumped which makes for a slightly more interesting trip to the bar - for us anyway.  As it turned out we ordered everything off their Specials Boards, even forgoing the Seafood Pancakes recommended in the same book that got us here.

Our meal went a little something like this:

• Ale of Atholl - Reddish in color but not too heavy for lunch.
• Braveheart - Per the board on the wall, the lightest of the 4 they brew.  We'd have to have tried the other 2 to know for sure...
• Rabbit Casserole - A great hearty meal, perhaps even a little too much for lunch.  But yummy.  It may have included some of the 'nasty bits' but we didn't ask, just enjoyed what we had.
• Mushroom & Chestnut Soup - Hearty in a different way.

It's kind of a bummer we were only here for Lunch.  We basically ate lunch and left, but it feels like a place we could have come for an ale, settle into a corner, stay for dinner, have a few more ales, get a little too warm by a fire, probably make friends with a local or two and end up having one ale to many.

Stay JOLLY!
D

167 Canongate

We still weren't quite on Scotland time, so sleeping in a bit, being tourists and taking awhile to get hungry caused us to not be up for lunch until almost 3pm.  We just barely made it in the door with the kitchen still open but after agreeing we could still eat we weren't made to feel unwelcome as the only diners at that time.

Although still in the tourist section, we weren't in the jam packed souvenir trinket shop section of the Royal Mile.  This is a really old building - the menu says 1664 and the clock out front has 1884 on it.  It's on a couple of levels, smallish bar at the front with a few tables and then the restaurant section in the back. Relatively new furniture and furnishings, but in a style keeping with the old pub.  No doubt you're in a building made of big stone blocks.

We thought we'd just sit in the front but they 'encouraged' us to sit in the back saying it's easier - we boggled but whatever.  Actually, it became clearer when our food arrived.  Apparently the kitchen is in the basement (or lower?) and the food comes up in a wee little elevator which is right at the back of the restaurant section.  I guess walking from the elevator, down a half dozen steps and into the bar is hard work...

Our Server may have had enough of tourists already for the day so she wasn't initially very talkative but she opened up a little as we asked questions.  I jokingly asked if the chips were the best in Scotland and she said yes, but later came back and said maybe not in Scotland, but probably in Edinburgh.  They were pretty good.

Individually packaged condiments on the table included something called 'Salad Cream'.  It's in the mayonnaise family I guess, but definitely not mayonnaise.  Although we had no salad we cracked it open to sample - no need to open another...

Our meal went a little something like this:

• McEwan's Lager
• Pie & Chips - beef with an awesome beer gravy.
• Fish & Chips - a generous piece of haddock and lots of peas.

A 'Pub Food' meal was just what we were after so the Tollbooth Tavern was the perfect place to stop for our late lunch.

Stay JOLLY!
D