Get Off Your Ass!

Seriously, tomorrow is Super Tuesday.  Quite possibly the most important election of my life thus far.  It is the Primary Election to see who will be our final candidates for President and still I know way too many people that won't even bother to vote, or much less haven't and most likely wont register to vote.  WHY???!!!
How can you go through life not giving a shit to the extent that you will sit idly by as people are killed all over the world for nothing more than the all mighty dollar.  And while their deaths and our tax dollars make a select few extremely wealthy while dragging yours and my name through the mud I am sick of it.  I have no interests in the middle east, do you?  Saddam Hussein wasn't the greatest of guy, but look what we ended up with.  Then there was Gadaffi,  again, horrid person sure, but now where are we in regards to Libya?  President Obama wants to depose Assad in Syria.  Another regime change?!! Have we not learned our lesson?  I am sick and tired of living in a nation that is constantly at war.  We have to think before we act. We should not be responsible as a nation for all peoples of all nations. When did we sign up for that? Oh yeah, the minute people realized we could get rich off of it. Don't get me wrong, I wish I had stock in Lockheed Martin and General Electric all through the 90s up until now, but I don't.  I don't want to be the bad guy anymore.
Then there is this entitlement mentality that has everyone so confused.  Yeah sure, I hate deadbeats, who doesn't, and lord knows there are plenty of them.  But they aren't where all your tax dollars are going.  And drug testing them just costs more tax dollars, I don't understand how that fact escapes people.  "Socialism doesn't work", "Stalin", "Mussolini",... roads and highways, public schools, public sewer, water, channels, medicare, social security.  Just because some people have done horrible things while involving themselves in a certain type of government does not make all aspects of said form of government evil.  I hear these criticisms everyday about "Socialist" and we aren't a socialist country.  First, yes, yes we are.  I could elaborate on where I took that previous run-on sentence but you get the drift.  Second, there are no Socialists running for president.  If their is one thing that I regret for the Bernie Sanders Campaign is the fact that he self identified as a "Democratic Socialist".  What does that mean or how does it differ than regular old Socialist, you say? Who cares! Words are just words. They can have a multitude of meanings depending on who is using them.  If anyone would examine the policies put forth and the panels he has worked on in the past everyone would agree that he executes the policies of a capitalist.  His policies of government funded tuition and health care are good decent policies with plans included on where the funds come from and how they are allocated.  99% of my people would not be affected in a negative financial manner.   He wants to rebuild America, lord knows my commute is full of potholes.  Lets get some jobs out there, lets fix this place up.  Look like you give a damn about your neighborhood and how it reflects upon you and your neighbors.  We need to focus on the domestic policy and quit working on trade deals that don't benefit the American worker.
I mean I guess we could go for the guy that wants to build a giant wall.  That's jobs right? Oh wait, he is going to have Mexico do it. Right away, there go your jobs.  Or we could have the guy that the lord led to office to show us the true meaning of christianity.  Then there is that guy trying so hard to fit in, he can't help but to be endearing.  All of these guys want to carpet bomb Syria, yet doesn't feel responsible for its refugees.  Do you? I am going to leave you with that.  I am voting for Bernie for hope in this the United States of America.

Check the facts:

https://berniesanders.com/issues/

A MISSION WORTH DYING FOR!

Recently I had the wonderful occasion to visit Mission Barbecue for a second time.  Only word to describe this place is "Stupendous"!  Now, I will admit, I am a sucker for some good barbecue but they got it done and they got it done right. I have now had the luxury to sample the pulled pork, brisket, smoked turkey and traditional sausage.  All of the meats are amazing, sides are classic country fare and delicious.  You order at the counter and the food is ready STAT.  You can get a two-dollar beer or choose from the many sodas in the pop cooler that you walk by on your way in.  The staff is super friendly and accommodating.  They have taken the old Growler's as well as the former Big Daddy's Brewing company space and combined it in to a stunning open area that pays tribute to our service men and women.  My only negative take away was the disposable nature of everything.  All the sides come in disposable plastic ramekins and the cutlery was plastic as well.  While I am unsure of the cost/benefit ratio of this aspect to the business compared to say a dishwasher and employee to operate one.  I know one thing is for sure, disposables are bad for the future of our planet.  But even that is not enough to keep me away from such well delivered and delectable BBQ! A+ for these guys. Highly recommended by the Foulest Mouth!

Its all better Outside

Inside,
Outside,
it is all the same.
Or at least it should be.
I want the outdoors in.  
I want to hear the crickets chirp.
I want the breeze to blow, the sun to shine and the stars to twinkle.
So much of our lives wasted indoors, under the artificial light we have created and the environment we have mimicked only to fail in such a devastating way.
When reflecting on how many hours I have spent indoors I am blessed with knowing I have had an abundance of experience outdoors and it is only here as of late that I am feeling that I am neglecting the Outdoors.
Not so much that it is neglecting me, for it is always there.
 It has no obligation to us, it cannot come inside and plop down on the couch and binge watch the next mediocre thing to hit Netflix.  
We must not only be stewards of the environment but stewards of ourselves so that we may reap the benefits of a life outdoors.
We all know it makes us feel better yet how often do we make time to appreciate it?
If we love ourselves then we love the outdoors because of what it does for our mind and body.
 So put the IPhone down get off the couch and go for a walk, stretch on the porch, take some deep breaths and reflect.
It is all better outside.

Growing Pains

So second try on opening week for the Town Center Tap House in Daleville,VA. The first time was just for a couple of drinks after dining with a large party at a corporate restaurant in Roanoke and finding out that even though I had quite the delay at my restaurant closing out 17 tabs my friends here were still yet to be served their entrees even though they arrived nearly the same time with their four top as my 20 top in Roanoke 15 minutes a way. So we made a break for it! New bar? In Daleville?! Hell yeah,  I need to check that out.  So we made the drive to find them finally with food only to ask if we should go to the bar for a drink only to be assured that the service was the only redeeming quality in this place thus far. After 15 minutes I get up to go order my own drink and have my friend stop me and go fetch his waitress.  Well he bought our drinks that was a plus.  My glass was empty for periods longer than I prefer on each occasion, with a mis-ring/ double pour arriving at our table only to be not at all what we ordered.  That was Friday night.

So here it is Sunday afternoon and I am feeling like getting out of the house for a bite.... Tap House! Lets give it a solid try, it is Sunday they should have their ducks in a row by now. I mean if you run out of food on a Thursday to the extent of not being able to open for lunch on Friday, you would fix that right?  

I roll solo thinking this is just a quick bite, maybe I will have a beer, give it a once over and be out. Not so likely. I am greeted by three bartenders standing around bullshitting all friendly and hospitable, but unfortunately the first thing they have to say when asked for menu, is "I can tell you what we have to offer, unfortunately we are sold out of most everything, growing pains you know." So between the buffet sans meat or nachos or crab dip I went with nachos. Other than the hair I immediately retrieved from atop of them, they were delicious.  I constantly wanted to give them shit for the building of them but in the end slop equalled chips so they get a pass on that.  

So while I will continue to give the bar in my back yard a shot to work out their growing pains, it just goes to show, don't underestimate your appeal. I would rather throw away food I didn't sell, then appear unprepared. While I feel I am being lenient for the fact that they are in my backyard, this place has work to do. Learn your POS system, know your product and quit staffing from Blacksburg, and maybe you won't have to make lame excuses to your clientele about how just because you run the joint doesn't mean you can handle a cooks line when 3 out of 4 call in opening weekend.  But honestly I will go back, everyone was friendly they fed me full of free beer ( again, not how you make it in this biz) and they are local. My number one true complaint is that one of the drink jockeys talking to an out of towner referred to Daleville as the new Salem. Lets get something straight real quick: Daleville was cool long before the Tap House showed up and will be long after it is gone. Salem... Can eat a dick.

Jack Brown's: This is what you get.

Jack Brown's on Market was hailed as the Best burger and beer joint in Harrisonburg so they brought one to the Noke.  For 3 o'clock on a Sunday this place was packed not a hard feet seeing as it seats less than 30.  But better to be a small packed joint than a large empty one.  The decor was totally my speed complete with shot up tin cans as light fixtures.  Burgers and beer is all you get. So don't go expecting a chicken sandwich.  The food was simple, no add ons allowed, only because there really weren't any to be had.  So all in all the food was what it was, decent and well made.  Be warned temps were not asked for and the burgers were medium rare.  Fine by me but not at all ok with my dining companion.  Also the only place to ever serve crinkle cut fries and actually serve them done.  So end result: pleased with my food, pleased with the atmosphere, somewhat displeased with the lack of detail to our check.  Believe to have been mischarged.  Still 4 out of 5 from The FoulestMouth.

So Good My Ass!

Thelma's Chicken and Waffles is Fucking gross!  I have never been served such crap by such a shitty staff in my life.  Now don't get me wrong, I love soul food, I gave them 3, count em', THREE strikes and they are out.  After my third experience where on an early friday night we were dealing with horribly spent fry oil and I was served fried green tomatoes (literally).  They dropped tomato slices in a deep fryer and served them to me.  I felt like I should have left a recipe for them on the table.  GROSS.  Horribly displeased with the service or lack there of all three visits.  The only redeeming factor of this place is they typically get the waffle right.  But I will never go back, not even to see a band.  Roanoke needs a good soul food spot, Thelma's is not it.  Surely to be another failure in that supreme location on Market.

Hope Re-kindled

In the abyss of devastatingly horrible restaurants that I have come to know as Roanoke, I find a beacon of light, a skill not forgotten, a challenge overcome, and one of the best efforts put forth in my presence by a kitchen in Roanoke lately. Blue 5 on Second Street Downtown definitely didn't pull out all the stops for our meal there this past Thursday. They didn't have to, we ordered an appetizer and sandwiches; not exactly, or maybe just exactly, giving it the college try.  The food was on point. They offered us a little Pre-App as our waitress called it.  Nothing fancy, just four little corn muffins with melted butter, but already I was smiling, I'm a sucker for freebies.  Freebies can be the life or death of a restaurant, but a little cornmeal and butter isn't going to break the bank.  It made me feel as if our patronage was appreciated, even if we were just getting sandwiches.
We started our meal with the fried green tomatoes.  Served with a slightly spiced shrimp remoulade with endive and parmesan, and they were perfect.  I then had a crab-cake sandwich with asparagus and part of my guest's chicken sandwich.  While there was a rather large chunk of shell in my crab-cake, it was delicious and so it was easily overlooked.  The asparagus was cooked perfectly and the chicken sandwich was huge and tasty.  All of this accompanied with a couple of Arrogant Bastard Ales and I was in bliss. Throughout the meal there was also an extremely attentive porter whom I have to guess had a greater purpose there, like a kitchen manager or chef. He observed the room allowing no empty dishes to accumulate. I liked that. In times like these where money doesn't flow as free as it used to, it is the little things that stand out and people remember.  A clean, welcoming restaurant with an invested and attentive  staff will win over the repeat customers every time.
This experience was the perfect start to an amazing evening that included the Blue Man Group at the Roanoke Civic Center, and Welcome to Hoonah at the Cornerstone.  We will definitely be coming back.  It has been too far between my visits to Roanoke restaurants that I find a kitchen that does what is expected of it, and cranks out a fabulous meal.  Good to see a crew good at there job.  Blue 5 is also a great venue to check out Blues bands and craft beers.  I believe I even walked into a Salsa night there once.  While I am disappointed that it took me so long to finally check out this place, I am certainly happy that it is on my list of stops now.  I am highly recommending this joint for any occasion, big or small. You won't be disappointed.
http://www.blue5restaurant.com/