Thursday, September 24, 2009

Bubbalou's Bodacious Barbeque

I know I have posted before regarding Bubbalou's Bodacious Barbeque, but I have to tell you about my experience today. I had to run to Orlando to do some banking and decided to call my brother and see if he could do some lunch. He said he was available and suggested we go to Bubbalou's. If you read this blog often enough, you know I was down like Charlie Brown for that. When I get there my brother is waiting and he immediately tells me, "We are going to have to sit outside." I ask him why, since it seems there are tables available inside and he tells me, "If you sit inside your clothes are going to smell like smoke." Now I'll take this moment to tell you that my brother is my younger brother. I know he has to go back to work, but I am unemployed with no prospects and nowhere to be. I choose to wear the cologne of hickory smoke like a badge of honor. You get all smoked up at Bubbalou's for lunch and people smell you later, they think you are the man! Needless to say, we sit inside.

At this point, I should tell you that one of two things need to happen in my life. Either (A), I stop watching Man vs. Food, or (B) I stop trying to match challenges I see Adam Richman doing on the show. I recently saw Adam do a wing challenge with sauce so hot, he could eat only two of the wings out of the ten presented. He was in serious pain. I have eaten hot stuff before and love it. However, I have never been in pain from a hot sauce before. With this in mind, I order a pulled pork basket with fries and beans. The pulled pork basket is a sandwich with the sides.

When you sit down at the table, they have the sauces right there ready for you. They have mild, sweet, hot and killer. The killer is really hot, but I have eaten that so much that it is like ketchup to me. The server brings my food and I look at him in the eye and say, "Can you bring me some psycho sauce please?" He looks at me with a quizzical look and says, "Psycho sauce, really? Sure!" He comes back and places it on the table. He looks at me and says, "Enjoy," with a funny smile on his face. I am laughing to myself as he doesn't know that I have had the psycho sauce before.

The first time I had the psycho sauce I will admit I was a little bit scared, so I went in with just a few drops placed strategically on my sandwich. This time I was like a gambler in Vegas holding a straight flush. I went all in! I coated that pork with psycho sauce to the point that it was dripping out of the sides. I put salt on my fries, pepper on my beans and was ready to go. I am so hungry, I cannot wait to dig in.

I grab a fried, eat a fork full of beans and then take my first bite of the sandwich. That first bite hit me in the face like Hacksaw Jim Duggan swinging a two by four. It completely took my breath away. I started coughing and my brother started laughing. He had warned me not to do it, but my pride was on the line. Dammit, I want to be like Adam Richman. I continue to eat my food and start sweating. I have been in this spot before, but I notice something strange. My head isn't sweating. Only my face. Usually, I have sweat pouring off the back of my neck and down my back, but not this time. What I do have is an inferno relegated mainly to my mouth. I am at the point where I cannot taste anything. My tongue at this point is just a chunk of meat in my mouth with no real purpose but to torture me. I go through my first large sweet tea like Grant went through Richmond. My brother says he'll go get more drinks, but is stopped by the server who says he will get them. Now I know I am in trouble as this guy can't possibly be moving fast enough. I want to scream out, "How long does it take a person to get a glass of tea?!?!?!" Finally, he comes back and I get after it. I drink about half of the drink and I am only about four bites into this sandwich. I now realize I am in big trouble.

If I have never said it before, Bubbalou's serves great fries and beans. However, I wouldn't really know this day as everything I put in my mouth now is like somebody is shoveling hot coals into my mouth. I want to eat the fries and the beans, but I cannot physically do so. I try to continue, but with about three quarters of my fries gone and half of the beans gone, I call it quits on the sides. I just want to see if I can finish this sandwich. At this point, I take matters into my own hands and go to the counter to get my own refill of tea. The guy fills it up and treats me like the bartenders at the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Centers. He gives me my tea and tells me, "Have a nice day." That is the sign at A-B when they let you know you have reached the number of free beers you can receive for the day. I ask my brother if he thinks that is what is going down and he assures me I can get all the free refills I need. I feel a sense of relief as I know this recent 32 ounces is not going to get it done.

I look at my sandwich and figure I have about three regular bites left. But I am not in a regular frame of mind. I feel as if the entire world is against me and there is only one thing I can do to get this over with. I take the last three bites in one swell swoop and think it is over. At this point, I feel as if I could help Iran further their nuclear enrichment program. I am seriously on fire. My brother announces that he needs to get back to work, but I don't feel as if I can move from the table. I wipe my face with what has to be the one hundredth paper towel and start to leave. The server says to me as we are leaving, "You're the guy that wanted the psycho sauce right? How are you doing?" I tell him, "It blew me up, but I love it." If you don't like hot stuff, you can never understand what I am talking about. I am on an endorphin rush at that moment that you would not believe. It must be like what it feels like to summit on Mt. Everest.

Now I have to share with you what I experienced after leaving the restaurant:

* I get in the car and the heat moves from my mouth to my torso. My chest and stomach are now on fire. It is the strangest feeling I have ever had.

* I want to call Julynn to tell her what is going on, but my tongue is filling my mouth and I cannot talk.

* On the way home, I have to stop at two rest stops to wring the sweat out of my shirt.

* My hair has fallen out in a pattern I can only describe as a reverse Mohawk. I am hoping it will grow back before I have another job interview.

* Hair that used to grow in my ears has now fallen out, so I don't have to worry about that anymore.

* When I was a kid, I had the mumps real bad and lost the high pitch tone in my right ear. I am happy to say my hearing is now back. In the immortal words of Carl Spackler from Caddyshack, "I've got that going for me, which is nice."

* My blood pressure is now 1000 over 560.

* My resting heartbeat is that of a hummingbird. 1,400 bpm.

* I had a doctor's appointment and he told me I cannot have any more children. Seems I am the first documented case of vasectomy by capsacin.

* The interior of my car is black, but the driver's seat is now a burnt orange.

* I got a call today from the waste water treatment plant telling me they have to charge me $1,500 for the nuclear material I dumped down the toilet and the Haz-Met team that has to clean it up.

* Finally, Julynn says I have to repaint the walls in the master bathroom. Looks like I won't be watching football this weekend.

If you like really hot stuff, I encourage you to ask for the psycho sauce at Bubbalou's. However, go easy on it and don't say I didn't warn you.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Famous Philly's


Yesterday I got a phone call from Gary wanting to do lunch. He suggested we take it to Famous Philly's for some cheesesteak sandwiches. I was more than game for that since I have been seeing Adam Richman of Man vs. Food talking about his next cheesesteak sandwich challenge, which comes on tonight on the Travel Channel. You can check out more of Adam Richman and his show at www.travelchannel.com.

As we are driving to the restaurant, I tell Gary I am thinking about trying their cheesesteak challenge which is a 22" cheesesteak with three pounds of meat. There is no way I can do it on that day, but want to work my way up to it. With that said, I decide that I am going to do two seven inch sandwiches. The cheesesteaks at Famous Philly's come in 7", 9", 18" and the 22" Belly Buster. I figure 14" for my first time out will be a good test. I am also thinking I want to try a couple of versions, so I order one with Cheez Whiz and onions and the second with mushrooms and cheese. The regular cheesesteaks at Famous Philly's use white American cheese. So good!

Gary ordered the 9" cheesesteak special with the spicy peppers, french fries with malt vinegar and a hot dog for his son Vuk. Now this is where I became totally enamoured with our waitress. When I ordered my two sandwiches she actually had the wherewithal to ask if I wanted them both at the same time, or should she stagger them? Are you kidding me? That is huge for her to even come up with that without being told. At first I told her to bring them both at the same time as I felt when I finished the first one, I would need to go directly to the second. I told her if there was a lag time, I may not be able to finish the second one as I would feel full while waiting for it to arrive. She told me not to worry as she would watch my progress and tell them to cook the second one so that it comes out right when I finished the first one. At this point I am thinking if I wasn't married I might actually ask this chick out. She obviously knows how to get it done.

Gary and I sit there watching replays of the Dolphins/Colts game while waiting for our food and he is just getting more and more upset. Just when he is thinking the Dolphins need to waive Ted Ginn, the fries arrive. They are hot and crisp with a wonderful taste of malt vinegar. I have a couple, but I know I cannot fill up on French fries. I have two sandwiches on the way. The food arrives and I start to get after my first one. I asked for the cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and onions to come first. I usually don't eat Cheez Whiz, so I figure that is best to get down first. The meat is so moist and juicy that it is clear this first sandwich is going to go down easily. Gary's sandwich is stuffed so full of meat that he has to start with a fork. The 9" bun he has holds a lot of meat and it is steaming hot. There is no way he can pick it up at this early stage. I power through my first sandwich and as promised, the second shows up right on schedule. I am thinking this is not going to be difficult at all.

The one thing that I do is cut each of the sandwiches in half, thus giving me a three-and-a-half segment to eat. To me, that makes it so much easier to handle mentally. I find the second sandwich goes down just as easily, but the mushrooms and white American cheese are much more tasty than the Cheez Whiz. I now know what I will be having from now on. I make it through the two sandwiches and feel pretty good at that point. In my head, I am thinking, "Could I do another 8" of cheesesteak?" I couldn't do it yesterday, but I think that I can at another time and with some planning.

We are now both full and ready to get out of there. The food and service were great. We were very pleased with our meal. For this visit to Famous Philly's I have to give them four Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Monday, September 21, 2009

Bud Light


I woke up around 5:00 this morning and turned on the local news. While lying in bed and reading a magazine, I heard the news anchor discussing a major accident on I-95 just south of LPGA Blvd. I live in the LPGA, so this was interest to me since I was taking my daughter to school this morning. Her school is located north of LPGA, but you can still get jammed-up by all of the lookie-loos along the way. We got through the traffic in a timely manner and I was able to get her to school post haste.

Forward eight hours later and I see on the news that the tractor trailer that overturned was carrying a full load of Bud Light. Even more important is that it looked as if most of the load was unharmed. However, I have heard if a truck is involved with an accident of this nature, they destroy all of the beer on the truck at the time. Little did they know that I was right around the corner and would have been happy to have helped them clean up this mess.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Hooter's

Hooter's
2100 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386)238-0650
www.hooters.com

If you don't live in Florida, you probably did not hear about the guy arrested for DUI last week while riding naked on his motorcycle. When stopped by Melbourne police, he was asked where he was going. His reply to the officer was, "Hooter's!" Now I don't condone drinking while driving, nor do I condone driving while naked, but given that I have not been to a Hooter's in close to three years, I felt I needed to go to see what they were now cooking to cause such behavior.

It should be noted that I go to Hooter's for the wings just like some guys buy Playboy for the articles. I mean c'mon, you can get wings just about anywhere nowadays and in many cases you can find wings better than Hooter's. The main reason to go there is for the scenery. Hooter's has developed a business model to serve good food delivered by beautiful women and it seems to be working.

I met a buddy of mine there and got there a little bit before he did. I already knew I was going to have wings, so I didn't bother with the menu. However, after he arrived and the waitress asked what we would be having, I decided to take a quick peek at the menu. I have to tell you I was quite surprised. Their menu has really changed since my last visit. They have added a couple of new burgers, steamed clams, new salads, a rib appetizer and I even noticed they now sell fried pickles as an appetizer. If you have been reading this blog, I think you know where I stand on the fried pickles.

My buddy Ryan ordered the cheeseburger, I ordered 10 wings hot and breaded, though in hindsight I should have gotten them naked in homage to the motorcycle rider from Melbourne. We decided to split an order of fries. As we sat there waiting for our order to arrive I couldn't help but notice that our waitress was being shadowed by what I assume was a new employee. I noticed that the shadower was not as, how should I say this, "well endowed" as the shadowee. That got me to thinking. As part of their benefit package, does Hooter's offer employees partial payment if they decide to get some body enhancements? I told Ryan that I bet if you come back to the restaurant in about a year, our second waitress would probably look very different than she did that day.

There was also a young lady that came in and asked for a job application. The bartender told her they were out of applications, but were expecting to get some more in next week. I found this to be funny as I thought a potential employee probably came in, the manager checked her out and said, "Yeah, you're hot. When can you start?" How complicated can it be? "Bambi, wings are up! Pick'em up!" Given how tough our economy is right now, I felt bad for the young lady not being able to apply for a position that day. Let's just say, she seemed to be well qualified.

Anyway, we got our food in a timely manner and I have to give them props, it was good. My wings were very hot and tasty, and the fries were crisp and hot as well. I asked Ryan how his burger was and he stated, "It's great!" I have had their burgers before and have always found them to be pretty tasty. At the end of the day, Hooter's does pretty good bar food. They have also gone on to add a full bar for people wanting something more than beer. It is one of those places where you know what you are going to get when you get there. There aren't a whole lot of surprises. Since they have a lot of televisions, I wonder how big their crowds are on Saturdays and Sundays during football season. Maybe I'll go there and check them out sometime.

I liked my wings and Ryan liked his burger. For our visit to Hooter's last week, I'll have to give them a solid three Stiffy's. If you don't like wings or burgers, I strongly suggest you try the hot dog.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Carrabba's Italian Grill


Carrabba's Italian Grill
2200 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386)255-3344
www.carrabbas.com

Tonight I hooked-up with my main girl, Julynn to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. I swear, I don't know where the time has gone. She wanted to go to Carrabba's since my other main girl never lets us go there. For some reason, whenever we go out our seven-year-old never wants to go to Carrabba's, so we hadn't been in a while. I should feel bad about letting a seven-year-old control this part of my life, but you can't argue with a person that was instrumental in the closing of the Sanford Bennigan's.

Originally, I was a bit hesitant about going to Carrabba's at 6:30 on a Friday evening. Usually, they have lines out the door as early as 5:00 on Friday's. However, on this night it is clear the economy is taking its toll on people. We walked right in and got seated without a wait. I was quite surprised.

For the second time today, I got a little jammed-up at my table. We were at the first table from the kitchen. Carrabba's has an open kitchen so people can see their food being prepared. Being near the kitchen was not what got to me, but the smell once we sat down. I think the towel the busboy used to wipe the table was sour. It smelled horrible. Either I got used to the smell or it went away when the table dried after he wiped it. Whatever the case, it was rough going there for a minute.

I had a tough time choosing an entree. Because I had done Longhorn for lunch, I didn't feel hungry. After going over the menu about five times, I finally decided on the grilled salmon with garlic mashed potatoes. Julynn went with their special grill menu, which included a soup or salad, entree and dessert. She had the tomato salad, chicken arugula and the banana brulee. When I ordered my salmon, the waiter asked if I wanted a salad and dessert as well. I told him, "No, I'm not that hungry." Again, our service was impeccable and the food got to the table in a very timely manner. I'm starting to think something has got to go wrong as I am now officially on a winning streak. Three restaurants in a row with no issues.

Julynn and I both enjoyed our meals and I found my dish was not too filling. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the garlic mashed potatoes were so light they can only be described as airy. They were full of flavor and practically melted in my mouth. The humorous part of the meal came when the waiter delivered Julynn's banana brulee. As God as my witness, the dessert was served in a shot glass. It was one of those square shot glasses. It had a little bit of cake on the bottom, cream in the middle and a slice of banana on the top. Take note that the banana was not sliced longways, but about the size of a quarter. If I would have been drinking my beer when he set it on the table, I would have spit it out. I really didn't think the spoon would fit in the glass. I laughed my butt off and thought this a great ending to a nice evening.

While I ate the salmon tonight, Carrabba's really has some excellent Italian dishes that I would have preferred had I been hungrier. Give them a shot the next time you are in the mood for a nice Italian meal.

For my 10th anniversary dinner, I am going to give Carrabba's five Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Friday, September 4, 2009

Longhorn Steakhouse


Longhorn Steakhouse
2504 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386)258-3313
www.longhornsteakhouse.com

Today, I met up with my other girl, Katie for lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse. Katie and I have met here for lunch before and enjoy it quite a bit. Katie got there first and when I came into the restaurant, she had already been seated. She was sitting at one of those tiny booths they have for two people right at the kitchen door. It is obvious she doesn't spend as much time around me as we used to have when I worked at International Speedway Corporation along with her. I wasn't even in the restaurant good and I am already jammed-up. I hate those tiny ass booths and then to make it the one right at the kitchen was just about all I could handle. When I sat down, she actually asked me, "What's wrong? Are you OK?" Again, I just sucked it up and said I was fine. No need in getting worked up over something so small.

Again, for some reason I was not that hungry and had a hard time picking something from the menu. I did order the raspberry iced tea, which I think they do very well. After the waitress came to the table a second time, I felt bad and decided to go for a chicken sandwich. I ordered the Parmesan crusted chicken sandwich. This sandwich comes highly recommended from my buddy,Fourth Meal whom I worked with at JumpTV. He used to order it all the time and he knows good food. Katie ordered the shrimp skewer with a salad and side of mushrooms. That is her usual when we visit Longhorn.

While the restaurant was busy today, our food came out in a timely fashion and looked great. I was pleasantly surprised at how good my sandwich was even though I had been hearing about it from Fourth Meal for a while. The chicken breast was grilled to perfection. It had a nice Parmesan crust on the outside and was juicy on the inside. Again I went fries as my side and they too were perfect. Katie was pleased with her shrimp, salad and mushrooms. It was great catching-up with her and having such a good meal. I have always found Longhorn Steakhouse to be consistent, but was pleased that my decision to try a new sandwich turned out so well.

For my visit to Longhorn Steakhouse, I have to give them four Stiffy's. Try this sandwich the next time you go. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Daytona Ale House


Daytona Ale House
2610 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386)255-2555
www.millersalehouse.com

I have been trying for some time now to get up with my girl Kim to grab some lunch and catch-up. She actually canceled on me about two times over the last couple of weeks. I cannot blame her as she has a job and I am still hunting for one. That's the one thing us unemployed people have is a lot of time, so her cancellations were not that big of a problem for me.

We finally got it together and I let her make the choice of a restaurant. She chose the Daytona Ale House. At first, I wasn't excited about her choice, but I decided to suck it up and make the best of it. I usually go to the Ale House to have a couple of beers with friends, but have never been overly enamoured with their food. For the most part, they do a good job, but the problem I have is finding something that is not such a big meal. I know I am a big guy, but sometimes I cannot power down their big meals. I am warning you now about the size of their nachos. You better have an appetite or about four people to finish this dish.

Usually, I would go for their chicken wings plain with no sauce, but we had chicken for dinner the night before. I opted for the British burger with Swiss cheese and bacon. Kim ordered a grilled chicken salad with French onion soup. It wasn't really busy that day, so our order came out very quickly. My burger was cooked perfectly to the medium-rare I had requested and the fries were hot and crispy. Kim said the salad and soup were both great.

Everything during this Ale House visit went smoothly. I didn't get any tepid soup, which has happened in the past, so I was really pleased. The Ale House offers daily lunch specials for $4.95, so be sure to check those out when you go. Also, with the college football season kicking-off this weekend and the pros next weekend, the Ale House makes a great place to watch the games. They have a ton of television screens and fans usually show up in droves on Saturdays and Sundays.

For this visit to the Daytona Ale House, I'll have to give them four Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry.

Harry

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Pirate's Gold Marinade


More big props going out tonight, but this time it is to my boy Gary for turning me onto Pirate's Gold Marinade. He had mentioned this to me before, but I really didn't take notice until he told me the other day that they also make an inferno version. I felt like I had to try it.

Like Gary, I figured I would try it with some wings. It says on the bottle that the longer you marinade your meat, the hotter it will be. I put my wings in with the marinade and let them go for 24 hours. The marinade had a good opportunity to get into the meat and deliver all this great flavor. I put them in the oven at 500 degrees for about 30 minutes. I felt the increased heat would make the crisp up really nice. While that did happen, I shouldn't have put them in a regular pan. I would suggest putting them on a broiler pan so the juices can drop below them and the chicken wings are not swimming in the sauce and grease rendered from the meat. My wings were crispy on the top, but soft on the bottom.

The marinade really did permeate the meat. The first couple of bites provided great flavor, but as I continued to eat the wings, the heat began to make itself known. This heat is a slow and latent heat. It isn't uncomfortable, but my lips were soon tingling. I didn't reach the sweating point, but my nose did start to run a bit. I let you know all of this so you can decide if you think you can handle the heat at this level. As a person that eats and likes a lot of hot food, you should be able to judge for yourself what you are able to endure. Pirate's Gold also comes in a regular version as well. If you like the heat, I would tell you to try the inferno. It is not as bad as you would think, but is loaded with great flavor.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Homemade Chili


I made a pot of chili last night and busted up my wife pretty good. I didn't mean to do it, but figured if it was too hot, she could add more sour cream to cool her off. In theory that would have worked, but we didn't have enough sour cream. Oops!

I made the chili as I usually do with the spice bag I purchased at Publix, but this time I had a can of diced tomatoes with habeneros that I added to the mix. I think this is what put her over the edge. Admittedly, the chili was hot, but I didn't think it was too hot. I mean I was sweating a little bit and my nose was running, but that isn't that bad is it? Actually, if that is what happened to me, I cannot begin to understand what she must have been feeling. She doesn't eat hot stuff the way that I do at all.

I have to show her some love though as she did power on through the bowl she served herself. The next test will be to see if she eats any of the leftovers. Nothing like letting those flavors marinade and settle into the mix in the refrigerator. My guess is this chili will be kicking when I try my second go around tomorrow.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

McDonald's Big Angus


Ok, one more post about McDonald's and their Big Angus burgers. Big props have to go out to my boy BK for hitting me up about the Big Angus. Seems he hadn't read the blog in a while and he hit me up telling me I had to try one. He was headed to visit his boy Phil and stopped at a McDonald's and decided to try one. He was so blown away that he had to get one on the way back from his trip as well. He told me all about the size of the pattie, the great taste, the great price and the soft bun. All of this I already knew, but was happy to have him confirm what I had already said.

I am telling you. If you haven't had one yet, run, don't walk to your nearest McDonald's. This burger will change all of your thoughts about fast food.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Under Pressure


If you read the blog recently, you saw we had dinner with Ronda and Jeff at Gene's Steakhouse a week ago. My wife told Ronda she had made the blog after our dinner and she read it. She liked what I wrote and then told my wife I hadn't written anything in a day or two. Seems I may have gained another reader, but do I need that added pressure to go out everyday and eat something new? It is obviously going to be tough given my employment status right now, but I promise to do the best I can.

Watch for posts about food cooked at home as well as restaurant visits in the future. I look for Ronda to leave a comment to let me know if she agrees with the number of posts that go up in the future.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Smokey Bones


Smokey Bones
1000 WP Ball Blvd.
Sanford, FL 32771
(407)688-8227
www.smokeybones.com

I went to Smokey Bones in Sanford the other day with my boys Fourth Meal, Hulk, Seabass and Andy (no nickname yet). I have to tell you, I don't know what Smokey Bones is trying to do or who they are trying to be.

When Smokey Bones first started they were a barbecue restaurant and sports bar. They had a ton of screens and speakers available at each table allowing you to choose a screen to watch and you would be able to hear it at your table. As far as I know, you can still do this, but I have not been there during a major sporting event, so I don't know for sure. As we were waiting to be seated, I see that Wednesday night at Smokey Bones is Ladies Night and they have a DJ. What the hell is that all about? I can't see myself saying, "C'mon baby, we're going to Smokey Bones for some barbecue and some dancing." I remember when they used to focus on their barbecue skills and it was all about the food. I think their problem is they are trying to create a "gourmet barbecue" experience. In my mind, "gourmet barbecue" is an oxymoron. Barbecue is the people's food and should be good and affordable. I feel Smokey Bones is pricing themselves out of the market as their food is not that much better than other local barbecue places that are in the area. In fact, I think there is better barbecue at a more affordable price at Keller's in Lake Mary. Just my opinion.

We visited the other day for lunch. It was unusually slow in the restaurant for a Friday. My guess is the economy is having an effect on their business. Seabass and Andy were running a little behind us, so we decided to go ahead and order our food since Fourth Meal and Hulk had to be back to work for a conference call. Seabass and Andy show up about 10 minutes after we place our order and are still not ready to place their order yet. The waitress gets their drinks and then takes their orders. As you might have guessed, a woman shows up about 10 minutes later with the food for Seabass and Andy. We are perplexed at this point. They tell us our food will be out shortly, but this is obviously a major fas paux. Our food finally arrives and everything looks good. I went with the Smokehouse Chicken Sandwich, Fourth Meal got the Smokehouse Turkey Sandwich, Hulk got the Smokehouse Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, Seabass got the Flippin Fingers (chicken fingers) and Andy got the Pulled Pork Sammy. Once everybody got all of their food, things seemed to be all right. That is until I praised the Hulk on this choice of mashed potatoes and gravy as a side. At this point, he told me to try them. I wouldn't as I had enough work to do with my chicken sandwich and baked potato, but it was then why he told me he wanted me to try them. They were stone cold. He knows how I feel about cold food and thought I might be the one turning green instead of him. Since they were already running late, he sucked it up and just ate them without sending them back. That is too bad since the restaurant was not that busy and they had screwed-up delivering our order already. No way should he have gotten cold food.

Overall, the food was all right, but I am still wondering where this chain is headed. I would like to see them concentrate on delivering real good barbecue at a good price. Forget the sports stuff and ladies night. Getting women to come in for free drinks and men to look at them, will not convert barbecue lovers in the long run. Serve great barbecue at a great price and you should be fine.

For our visit to Smokey Bones last week, I have to give them three Stiffy's.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry