On a whim this past Friday evening, we treated ourselves to a spontaneous date after a grueling week deep in the coal mines.
My old lady picked the movie (Ironman) and I chose the restaurant. Having seen that the former Bobby K's Embers in Chaska had taken on a new image and name, I suggested it and before I knew it, we were waiting for a table.
Before I get into the details of the food, I'd like to give the owners my approval on the decor. Literally from floor to ceiling, they captured the essence of what a modern day diner should be. The pattern and colors used for the floor (black, white, a bright blue and a bright green) offer up a throwback to the glory days of the American diner with a modern twist. The booths (we sat in the Chestnut St. side) are large and comfortable and use the bright blue color for the seats and backs. Nice touch for continuity's sake.
Even the ceiling was striking to me. No crappy dropped tile ceiling here. Strictly black painted ceiling letting all of the formerly hidden features hand out for the world to see. I can tell that there was a lot of planning put into this effort because from an aesthetic standpoint they nailed it!
Then there's the food. I wish I had brought my camera but you can trust my descriptions. The signature item is the house french fries. Cut in-house and served with a special dipping sauce which isn't ketchup but certainly contains ketchup wasn't my thing but I think that my old lady scraped the remnants out of the cup and into her pocket to have at the movie later. The portion size is another thing that the folks at Mix nailed. No enormous portions for the sake of size alone here. I had a hamburger with bacon and it was the perfect size (probably around 5 oz.) which again harkens back to days past. My dining partner had a turkey club which satisfied her erratic appetite and then some.
My only gripe has to be the prices. I'm not going to say that my hamburger plus bacon was worth a solid $8.50 because it wasn't. I could have driven up Hwy. 212 to Lion's Tap and while the menu would have been much more limited, the hamburger would have been far superior.
Without any more blathering, the grades.
Atmosphere: A+ Food Quality: B Price: C- ($2.50 for a Coke?)
Overall grade: B-
This is a much-needed dining option in Chaska and while the prices are high, keep your dining dollars local and I'm sure they will adjust prices accordingly in the future.
Hot damn! It's the official video from Weezer for their first new single, "Pork & Beans", from their upcoming 6th studio (and third self-titled) album. Lookie here, a link to the lyrics as well. (Thanks to MNSpeak and its commenters for the links)
It's a mash-up of the band recreating a ton of YouTube clips which are linked to below. Watch it, rate it, check out the "inspirational" clips.
Sometimes stereotypes are just wrong. Other times they are just too spot on to ignore. Take, for instance, a stereotype about country music fans being prone to living in trailer parks in the middle of tornado alley. Sometimes popular media takes a stereotype like that, runs with it and makes it reality.
CMT, the cable channel that morphed from playing country music videos to immersing viewers in the country "culture", has either proven a point or made a mockery of country music fans across America.
As I perused the listings for new episodes on TV tonight, I found a show on CMT entitled "Mobile Home Disaster". Even the logo for the program looks to be a touch redneck. They are definitely walking the line between immersion in the country culture and mocking country music fans and portraying them as a bunch of inbred NASCAR fans who seem to be rejects from the casy of "My Name is Earl". If you are a country music fan, I'd be interested in knowing if this sort of programming (essentially a countrified version of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition") appeals to you. To others, would a program mocking your way of living offend you or entertain you if the offending style was done in a backhanded fashion?
Another day brings another record high oil price. This time it's due to some bullshit "logic" about impending shortages in the supply. The funny thing about that is that unlike when "shortages" existed in the 1970s, there aren't lines at gas stations or gas stations closing because they can't get any petro in the tanks.
Another funny coincidence is the timing for these record high prices. Not just the fact that this is happening mere days before Memorial Day and the unofficial start to the summer driving/vacation season but that prices only began escalating after our military entered and occupied Iraq. I am aware that Iraq's pre-war oil production is fairly insignificant but its loss provided a reason to begin escalating prices. Couple that with rabid development in India and China as well as increasing consumption (until recent months) in America and there's your reasons. Add in the fact that market speculators continue driving up futures prices and you have the magic formula for $4.00/gallon gas within weeks (definitely by July 4th, possible by June 15th).
This comment from here puts things in perspective.
Now is not the time for petty bickering It is abundantly clear to anyone paying attention - we have to detach our reliance on petroleum and coal, and fast. The reasons are too numerous to even list here. Petroleum and coal served us well in the past, but the party is over. I like the idea mentioned in a previous post about forming a Manhattan Project for alternative energy research. But this will not be easy. The petro and coal industry will fight this tooth and nail. They will lie, spread false information, attack the messenger - and worse - to maintain their massive profits. They are the only ones that stand to lose if we break our dependency on fossil fuels.
It's not the time to view things in the negative. When times are toughest, innovation is where America shines (or used to). In an unstifled environment, anything is possible and many decades ago our country developed both nuclear weapons and space travel. I know that we, as a country, can overcome the current energy predicament and will come out on top. Now is not the time to take a wait-and-see approach. Now, more than ever, is the time to take chances, innovate and develop new ideas and break free from stale ways of thinking. Am I turning over a new leaf? Is it possible for America as a whole?
I am a big fan of signage. Unfortunately, I don't always have my camera with me to capture them because I don't bring my backpack everywhere. Fortunately, others have taken it upon themselves to photograph some of the best signage my old hometown (Austin, MN) has to offer.
Behold... The Tranny Shop (via) The old as hell Apollo Superette sign on Oakland Ave. W. (via) An ancient McDonald's sign a couple blocks from Apollo (via) And the much talked about (by me) Piggy Blues BBQ on N. Main St. in Austin, MN (via) If you're down by Iowa, stop in (closed Sundays) and say Hi to Josh and Andrea.
Cool signs like these seem to be vanishing even though upon closer inspection Austin, Minnesota seems to be a haven for cool, historic and unique signage. What cool signs are their near where you reside? Have you seen any other McDonald's signs like the one here? Am I a total nerd for finding signs cool?
Yes, you read the title correctly. I have found Jesus. He was actually buried in my front yard. And that is the best photographic evidence I could get so all you doubters and naysayers out there who think Sornie is crazy can see that obviously I am not crazy. I am actually very sane. Has anyone else found something odd buried on their property? Just try to trump plastic Jesus!
Early last year, I was mildly obsessed about where best to find great barbecue in both the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. Frankly, it was starting to get expensive to drive nearly 100 miles south to Austin to eat with friends and a friend's barbecue restaurant. Don't get me wrong; his restaurant, Piggy Blues BBQ, is heads and tails above anything I've ever eaten. And if you ask me "Why don't you go to Famous Dave's?" I will surely respond by saying "Famous Dave's is to BBQ what Taco Bell is to Mexican food. I'd sooner eat McDonald's for a week."
It was about 13 months ago, thought, that my wife came through big time with a smoker for my birthday. Sure, others would ask for a flat-screen TV or an XBox 360 but mine is the gift that keeps on giving. In fact, it seems to give about once a month.
Saturday was one of those giving days. After testing a cut of pork I grabbed at the cesspool of all supermarkets; Cub Foods; a few months ago in the crock pot in April, I was ready for the smoker. I'll spare you a lot of the details but I will say that I had the fire going by 11:00 AM and that the dry rub consisting simply of black pepper, chili powder and red pepper flakes stuck nicely to the mustard I slathered on to the pork.
Don't worry, the mustard's flavor vanishes and leaves the dark skin which seals in the flavor and juices. All told, I pulled the roast from the smoker around 6:30 PM after slow roasting over both traditional charcoal and wood lump charcoal at around 250 degrees while adding in a few chunks of Mesquite for smoky flavor. I am slowly perfecting it and it's becoming a decent substitute for my friend's distant restaurant. What other summer delights should I try? Either on the smoker or the grill.
Why do the greats never get the attention they are worthy of?
I ask this because in many ways, America seems to refuse to experiment. Are we truly a nation that has become afraid of trying something new? Are we a collective of people so ingrained in our ways that we are unable to move forward?
Today I encourage you to push yourself and try something new over the weekend. Report what you did to break out of your current mold. It doesn't have to be something earth-shattering. It can be something as small as watching the following video from Girl in a Coma entitled "Clumsy Sky".
When I attend the Minnesota State Fair, I love to wander through the "varied industry building" or as I refer to it as "people peddling crap that doesn't deserve shelf-space at the As Seen on TV store at the Mall of America building". The brief headline on MSN stating "Meet the Next Great TV Pitchman" is what made me click to the story. The video, though, is what made my mind click.
I remember being oddly captivated, too, by this very same product (although with far less suave pitchmen and women) at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. I even thought about buying one because, hell, who's stupid enough to pass up an offer where you get not one, but TWO fucking wonder towels. But buy them at the state fair and they'll generously throw in a third and fourth cloth in convenient carry-along size. Oh, put your cash away folks because it gets better. Today ONLY with your purchase you get a giant miracle cloth that is capable of soaking up a whopping 55 gallons of light sweet crude oil. And for how much? How's about $19.95?!?
I walked away only because for watching the five minute demo, both my wife and I received a couple "samples" of the product.
My grand scheme was if we each spent about 20 minutes throughout the day watching a demonstration that we'd have enough samples to equal the size of one or maybe even two super rags. Needless to say, my plan failed and I bought a fried Snickers bar instead but the amaze-o-product lives on... complete with a jackass sporting a headset.
A change is a comin' and I am getting what must be at least a two week jump on it with the image to the right showcasing how I will finally make my fortune. Next time you drop 75 bucks filling up the tank on whatever brand of automobile you drive, take a gander up at the streetside sign telling the price. Take notice of that price and then guess what my varied selection of numbers to the right is for.
As you can see, I have a wide variety of options mocked up and creating the numbers in other colors is easy. Plenty of the places where these numbers would be used have an existing color schme involving either blue or red. And as for the electronic versions of these numbers which you see at many places, I am not worried. Let me just say that I have a solution in mind that involves a bee-bee gun, wire snippers and a bolt cutter.
The only problem is that one of the number 4s I designed seems out of place. Can you spot it?
Sex education is that one topic that makes school-age children squirm and giggle. It's also one of the most avoided topics in schools in the age of abstinence-only education but if the films shown were of this caliber, I'd even pay attention.
And no, that isn't me in bed or in the superhero costume.
Everyone has random, sometimes weird thoughts. Most people shove them aside and focus on real life. Few actually act out on these bizarre thoughts but what if you could act out on these sometimes forbidden thoughts? What if there were no repercussions for your actions on these sometimes dangerous thoughts? What would you do?
I know for one thing I'd never go as far as wanting to see what it felt like to be shot somewhere in my body or stabbed somewhere either. Robbing a bank for the pure adrenaline rush might make my list but I'd probably end up vomiting on someone, thus ruining my perfectly executed heist.
Other random thoughts include running a car through a large plate glass window late at night, backing out and leaving a witty apology note which appears to be written by a well-known elected official.
Of course being given permission to break someone's arm would be interesting (do I have the strength for a nice, clean break) but having broke my small toe three separate times, broken bones aren't my cup of tea so this one's likely off my list as well.
I would like to build a catapult and try launching someone across a river but haven't the Mythbusters already done that?
Maybe all the good, random ideas have already been done but I have to wonder how random and reckless my readers are. Would you gun down that neighbor you despise? Laxative brownies anyone? Spill your most bizarre thought that you would follow though with if there were no repercussions.
Perverts exist in all corners of the world. Some are content with ogling women from a safe distance. Others aren't happy until they've climbed a rickety peach create and peered through a bathroom window to see 57 year-old Gertrude putting on her terrycloth nightgown.
Others snap thousands of photos of the rears of female tourists in Venice, Italy and land in jail for doing so.
Yeah, apparently relentlessly snapping butt photos (to the tune of 3,000) will grab some attention, get you billed as a pervert and ultimately get you arrested. Of course it's even more troubling when the guy has essentially been filming up-skirt videos and has a cache of DVDs full of footage that would make the Girls Gone Wild loser blush.
At least the crime doesn't happen in my neighborhood but I'd hate to be this guy who was featured in a TV news story washing blood off his front steps. It's weird because while I've never thought of Burnsville as a crime-ridden craphole of a suburb, there are a few areas I'd avoid but to be stabbed in a relatively normal residential neighborhood after a home invasion and then have your house set on fire, that's truly adding insult to injury.
Trousil opened the door to find her next-door neighbor, Paul Traub, leaning against her home, his face covered in blood as it dripped and splattered onto her porch in the 13600 block of Knox Drive.
Try selling your house after a news story like that aired. Any web-savvy house hunter should at least Google the residence they're looking at and that same web-savvy person would immediatelly put the pieces together to realize that, "Hey, this is the house where the stabbed dude dripped blood on the front steps."
Deal's off.
Thankfully, nobody has ever dripped their stab-induced blood on my front steps and I'm fairly sure that nobody has ever died in my house either. How about yours?
Every three-hundred years or so, a television show comes along that redeems the entire genre of television itself. That happened last night on NBC as 30 Rock bowed for the season with a finale that included bull semen, the George W. Bush administration, pregnancy and the olympics as laugh-inducing plotlines. I also have to say that if the bumbling and sad Liz Lemon (played fabulously by Tina Fey) is desperate for a baby that I am available.
With that being said, watch the season finale below and start counting down the days until the third season debuts this autumn. I am curious, too, if this show does truly have the possibility for wider appeal or is the humor too odd to appeal to the masses?
1. I can't bring myself to buy hamburger in those ridiculous 1 lb. tubes. Hamburger, or ground beef to you uppity bastards, shall be sold on styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic.
2. Driving with two hands is for bingo hall grannies and nervous teenagers. My driving hand can be spotted anywhere between the hours of 11 and 8. Even careening down an ice-coated two lane highway in whiteout conditions warrants just one hand on the faux leather coated steering disc.
3. I prefer Gardettos over Chex Mix.
4. I could sussist for weeks at a time on nothing but tacos, pizza and bananas.
5. My shoes needed to be retired a year ago.
6. I have never charged anyone the hourly rate I quote them.
7. My desk at the office scares me with its constant state of disorder.
8. The lowest hourly wage I ever earned was a paltry $4.25.
There is a motel near my office doing a major remodel and this morning was apparently delivery day. I figured this out as the semi emblazoned in some random freight company's name and logo attempted no less than a half-dozen times to back into a poorly designed driveway for this motel which has a number (not 6) in its name.
This maneuver, coupled with the 8:12 AM time displayed on my cell phone, created what some call a "traffic tie-up" or a "fucking inconvenience" as other, less calm people call a poorly planned execution such as this.
I have to wonder if the company doing the motel remodeling job demanded that this semi load of materials (likely furniture and decorating accessories) arrive PRECISELY at 8:12 AM. This couldn't wait 30 minutes until traffic became far lighter? I know that our country DEPENDS on semi traffic and deliveries stemming from them but plan ahead. Please.
Hey, at least I wasn't dealing with the overpowering stench of sewage.
The latest round of political shenanigans (I'll refer to it as bullplop from here on) centers around a couple of presidential candidates (I'll call them Hillary Clinton and John McCain) pandering for votes on the basis of a gas tax holiday that will never see the light of day. Of course there are plenty of mouth breathers around who hear the phrase "gas tax holiday" and jump for joy only to tear the crotch of their 1991-vintage Zubaz. Those same mouth breathers think that the amount of gas taxes that would be rolled back for the summer months would equate to financial freedom forever. These people, too, are what I refer to as "stupid". The average amount saved (see story & chart here) by a Minnesotan if this fantasy were to happen is a mere $55! Take note and don't let a hypothetical, vote-pandering $55 "gift" sway your vote.
And in more mind-numbing economic babble, now that the "gift from God" checks are arriving from big brother (A.K.A. borrowing from our future or China) people are writing and asking readers what their plans are for this money from above. The most interesting I stumbled upon was this guy's well thought out approach to not spend the money at all.
The IRS has a schedule posted as to when the masses will get their checks and amazingly, if you have love for direct deposit, you'll be lining your pockets within the month of May.
My thoughts on spending the money are to not spend it on purchases but to save it or invest it. One can never know what the future brings but those who save are at least prepared. Others suggest purchasing Halliburton stock and a pair of Bumper Nutz. And lastly, don't buy in to these myths about the gift from above.
As for me, I'd love to blow this money on a robotic lawnmower just so I can drink a frosty Pabst Blue Ribbon while my mowerbot cuts the grass. Feel free to fantasize, what kind of crazy crap would you do with the BushGift if reality was taking a holiday?
Posts
