Well, after having enjoyed more than my fair share of smoked foods compliments of my boss, I decided to give the smoker another go. I bit the bullet and bought my very own Big Green Egg.

The Big Green Egg is truly impressive. It weighs in at nearly 150-pounds. The range of use is phenomenal - it will smoke "low-n-slow" (at 220F) for hours on end, without having to babysit it or restock the charcoal. Open-up the vents, remove the diffuser and it'll rocket up to 1000F.

It's efficient; a single load of hardwood lump charcoal (about 3-4 lbs worth) has lasted through 4 sessions of grilling and/or smoking. It produces almost no ash as the lump charcoal burns.

I guess that's what you get when you make a smoker from solid ceramic. :-)

Here's the Egg in action - this was from my first session:

And, unlike that tin can Brinkman smoker from before, my first session with the egg when unbelievably well. I cooked-up some boneless skinless chicken breasts and literally squealed when I sampled the results. I've never had chicken that was so moist, tender, and delicious. Wow.

So, last weekend, I really put the Egg to work. I had purchased a few additional upgrades for the Egg; a set of heavy duty, pre-seasoned cast iron cooking grates (they weigh-in at 21-pounds), and a super precise dual-zone remote thermometer set from ThermoWorks.

On Saturday night, I threw in the cast iron cooking grates, added some hickory lump wood, opened-up the vents, and let the Egg get up to around 800F. The room temperature tenderloins were salted, peppered, and ready for the heat.

Within 6 minutes, the steaks were done to a perfect medium rare. I closed the vents on the Egg, tossed on some asparagus, let it cook/sear for 2 minutes and enjoyed a stellar dinner.

On Sunday morning, I woke-up fairly early and prepped the Egg by removing the cast iron grates, installing the "place sitter" - a large ceramic diffuser plate, and setting the original stainless steel cooking grate in place. In went a handful of apple wood chunks, and I brought the Egg up to around 280F.

A well seasoned 5-lb pork shoulder went onto the grate, temperature probes were inserted, the dome was closed, and I went about the rest of my day, which included a nice 3-hour bike ride, some running, and some weight lifting. Thanks to Ian, I was able to have him make some critical temperature adjustments while I was out and about.

I returned home, checked the temperatures of the pork and the smoker, and made a few vent adjustments. This is the intake vent opening - as you can see, the vent is only open about 3/8" of an inch:

And this is the top vent - it's barely even open:

Even with those vents just barely open, the smoker was still running a touch warmer than I would have preferred - here, you can see that it was sitting at around 300F inside of the dome area. I would've rather had it at 275-280, but oh well.

The shoulder was close to being ready, but the anticipation was killing me. It was all I could do to keep from lifting the dome and sneaking a peek, but I resisted. The only thing I could do was make the wait a bit more tolerable by grabbing a beverage and taking a seat on the deck. Thankfully, the weather was awesome.

And, before I knew it, the pork shoulder hit a wonderful 195F, so it was finally time to open the dome and inspect the results.

Doesn't that look amazing?

I carefully removed the shoulder from the grate, wrapped it in foil, and let it rest for a good 30 minutes. When I unwrapped it after the rest, the bone literally fell out on its own. Oh man...

A couple of forks made short work of the shredding duties, and before I knew it, there was a full plate of incredibly succulent pork shoulder waiting to be devoured.

It was so moist and so flavorful that there wasn't a need for any sauce. I measured-up a 5-ounce portion and literally inhaled it. It took some serious will power to keep from eating the entire plate...

The leftovers were quickly consumed - a few salads topped with pork and a few lunches with pork and steamed veggies emptied the yield. :-)

I think I'm going to smoke a turkey breast this weekend, and will probably grill up a few other goodies as well. I can't wait.

It just goes to show you get what you pay for... a $59 electric smoker can't compete with something like the Green Egg... If you enjoy grilling, do yourself a favor and investigate a Green Egg for yourself.

After nearly a year of sluffing off, I figured I should try to get a little serious about maintaining my health (and girlish figure), so I registered for, and managed to wake-up in time for, the Crazylegs race.

The Crazylegs event is hosted by the UW-Madison Athletic department, with benefits and proceeds going to the school. It's named after Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, an infamous running back for the Badgers who eventually became the athletic director for the university. He advocated for general health and wellness; in 1981, the race was started, and it has been run each and every year since.

April in Wisconsin can be a dicey time to hold an outdoor event... and this year, the weather proved to be sketchy, at best. I awoke at around 7:00am on Saturday morning, and was greeted by a steady drizzle. The outside temperature showed just 36F... nice.

Undeterred, I suited-up, grabbed a container of water, and made the drive up to the capital square. The event draws nearly 30,000 participants, so parking was a bit of a challenge. In a brilliant move, if I do say so myself, I parked at a location that was about mid-way through the course... I had a mile-or-so warm-up walk/jog to the starting line, and a mile-or-so cool-down run from the finish line. Nicely played.

When I arrived to the square at 9:45am, I saw the crowds were already assembled...

The challenge with organizing an event with 30,000 people becomes evident when you try to start the race... the race was scheduled to start at 10:00am, and it did, but I didn't hit the starting line until around 10:20am... I was in wave "X," so I got to spend a lot of time in the rain and wind waiting to start my race.

While waiting, I ran into my coworker, Brian. He was racing with his wife, who was racing with a group of her coworkers. They all had team t-shirts; Brian took the opportunity to modify his as shown here:

From left to right, that's: Brenda (Brian's wife), Brian, and Katie (Brenda's coworker).

We all shuffled our way to the starting line, and before too long, we were able to see the actual starting point. There were tons of Badger players high-fiving and encouraging everyone as they approached the starting line. The UW band was playing, and I think I even spied 'ole Bucky himself running around in the crowd.

Brian and I ran together for a bit. I don't normally run with people, so it was nice to chat and joke with him as we made our way around the square, down Langdon, and up Observatory Drive. I managed to snap a photo of us running - it turned out decent, considering we were cranking along at an 8:00/mile pace.

Like the considerate husband he is, Brian decided to circle back and run with Brenda, so I bid him farewell, and told him I'd meet them once at Camp Randall (the finish line). I ran the rest of the race in good form - it was 5.02 miles from start to finish, not including my warm-up and cool-down.

Madison races tend to follow the same course... they run you through the campus area, out to picnic point, and back toward the arboretum area. This means part of the course is an "out-and-back" - something that I'm not really a fan of, but Crazylegs keeps it interesting, because in the out-and-back section they have some interesting characters, like this Uncle Sam that's on stilts.

Before I knew it, the finish line was in sight - here's Camp Randall from the outside:

And shortly thereafter, I was inside Camp Randall, approaching the finish line. According to my GPS watch, I ran the 5.02 miles in 40:08; according to Crazylegs official time, I was at 41:00. Not sure how or why there was a discrepancy, but oh well.

It was an interesting finish, to say the least... shortly after I snapped the following photo, a kid went sprinting by me, puking as he dashed past. Once across the finish line, he vomited the entire contents of his stomach... His dad (I assume) was behind him, and I overheard him say, "Good job! That's finishing strong!"

Seriously?

When the weather is cooperating, the after-party for the Crazylegs event is usually a good time. There are bands, free beer, and people mill-about Camp Randall, enjoying the afternoon. As it was still only 45F with a brisk north easterly wind, I didn't really feel much like hanging out in the outdoors, but I did wait for Brian, Brenda, and Katie to finish.

With everyone across the finish line, we made our way up to the one section that was offering concessions, and were shocked by the massive line of people, all of whom were waiting for their free beer (and avoiding the cold). We stood in line for nearly 20 minutes...

I "enjoyed" my 4 ounces of Capital Amber while shivering outside before hitting the bike trail back to my car. As mentioned, it was about a mile or so from Camp Randall, and it proved to be a perfect cooldown run.

Once inside the car, I immediately proceeded to fog all of the windows... from there, I headed home for a warm shower and some quality couch time with my pal.

Oh, New York. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: the vibe of the city, the hustle and the bustle, the awesome pizza, the even better bagels, the infamous landmarks, the great public transit system, the beautiful parks, the eclectic mix of people... It's such a great city. If I only could make $500,000+ per year, I'd probably really enjoy living there.

But, since I don't make anywhere near half-a-mil per year, I have to make do with a company-sponsored visit. I was in New York for a training class last week; I got to spend a full five days in the city, and I did my best to take as much of it in as possible. Allow me to share the story.

My adventure began at the Milwaukee airport, where I boarded a direct flight to LaGuardia. While waiting for the plane, I couldn't help but notice how dumb our society has become... case in point:

Seriously - who tries to cram a water bottle into a newspaper recycling slot? While my camera's lens wasn't quite wide enough to show it, there was a plastic bottle recycling bin directly next to the newspaper bin shown above. Ugh.

The flight to New York was uneventful - we arrived a full 25 minutes early, which was nice, because the less time one has to spend on an airplane crammed full of east coasters, the better. At times it felt as if I was trapped in a casting call for the next season of Jersey Shore... nearly everyone was loud, self-absorbed, and obnoxious. Thankfully, I had an entire row to myself, so I was able to don the headphones and immerse myself in an Adam Carolla podcast.

I purposely packed light - a backpack only - so after exiting the tarmac, I was able to make my way to the ground transportation area, where I purchased an unlimited MTA MetroCard. The card would allow me unlimited use of the bus and subway system.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Google, I was able to chart a public transit route from LaGuardia to Wall Street; I took the M60 busline to 125th and 3rd, then hopped the 5 train south to the Bowling Green stop. Total time to destination: 50 minutes. Total cost: included in my $29 unlimited ride card. Compare that to a 1.5 hour taxi ride at $60... not bad.

I checked-in to my hotel, and made my way to the 44th floor, where my room was located. I opened the window shades and enjoyed this view -

My hotel was on the southern tip of Manhattan, directly next to Battery Park. That's the Statue of Liberty in the background - if you look closely, you'll see it (it's near the top left-center of the photo).

The southern end of Manhattan is known as the "FiDi" area (Financial District). There are brokerage firms, the NYSE, and tons of bank headquarters. It's also just a few blocks south of the new World Trade Center. While on a walk that I took later in the day, I snapped this photo of a church, with the new World Trade Center in the background. You can see that they're making great progress on it:

After settling in, I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and went for a run. I started my run in Battery Park, then worked my way up the Espalande trail. The Espalande trail follows the Hudson river and is absolutely spectacular. It'll take you from Battery Park all the way north to about mid-town. The trail is completely closed-off from traffic, so it's a haven for walkers, runners, bikers, and skaters.

After a 4-mile jaunt, I went back to the room, showered, and then set-out on foot to find some authentic New York pizza.

I worked my way up Broadway until I hit Canal Street, where I turned east and wandered through the infamous Canal Street shops. If you're in the market for a fake Louis Vuitton purse or a fake Rolex, this is the place for you. There are countless shops full of counterfeit goods. Here's a photo that I snapped while inside one of the shops - no idea who the people next to me were, but note the return policy that's written on the piece of cardboard under one of the purses:

I kept walking down Canal Street until I hit Allen; Allen is where Chinatown and Little Italy meet. I turned north onto Allen and walked another mile or so until I was deep in the heart of Little Italy. The smell of pizza, lasagna, ravioli, basil, and other Italian goodness filled the air. My olfactory senses were overwhelmed... each restaurant smelled better than the next; I eventually settled on a place called "Lil' Frankie's" - it looked authentic and there wasn't much of a wait for a table.

Lil' Frankie's didn't sell pizza by the slice, so I was forced to order an entire pizza. But the great thing about most New York pizza places is that their pizzas come in a reasonable size - I'd say they average around 12", so as long as you don't scarf down the entire pie, you're not too glutinous by enjoying half-a-pie by your lonesome.

I browsed the menu and decided to try the classic pizza - a Margherita. Topped with fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and tomato slices, it's the yardstick by which all pizza is measured. In went my order, and within 10 minutes, this piping-hot beauty arrived.

It was extremely dark inside of Frankie's, so the photo is a bit dark... apologies for that. Alas, the pizza was superb. The crust was perfectly crispy yet chewy. The toppings were fresh and tasty. Along with two Brookyln Brewing Company beers, the meal was a hit, and it only cost $25. With my belly full, I hit the sidewalk for the 3-mile walk back to my hotel.

I took the Allen/Canal/Broadway route once again, and was tempted to buy a fake Rolex, but resisted. These guys didn't look quite as trustworthy as the small shop owners.

Once back at the hotel, I crawled into bed and slept like a king. The room was surprisingly quiet, thanks largely to the $350 fine for anyone caught honking a car horn in the FiDi area.

The next morning arrived and I woke up early to run before walking over to One New York Plaza, where my class was being hosted on the 31st floor of the building. 1NYP was built in 1969 and hosts a ton of businesses and educational facilities. As you can see, the day was absolutely perfect - not a cloud in the sky.

I made my way up to the 31st floor, checked-in for my class, and took a seat in the classroom. The school was offering a free "breakfast" with class, although it wasn't much of a breakfast... Eggo waffles, donuts, bagels, and granola cereal... not too healthy, to say the least. I opted for a cup of coffee and browsed around before the class started.

I spotted a heli-pad on the bay - apparently, this is a "commuter heli-pad" - executives and power-types fly-in to work on their own helicopters... during peak commuter times (7:45am and 3:30pm), the heli-pad is completely full, with other helicopters hovering nearby waiting for an opportunity to land. It must be nice to be able to take a helicopter to work each day...

The first day of class went really well - we had a group of about 11 in our class, and the subject matter was interesting and engaging. Class wrapped-up promptly at 5:00pm, which left me plenty of time to wander the city.

It turns out that Parmilla, a family friend from Malaysia, recently moved to New York, and she contacted me to see if I'd like to join her and her husband for dinner at an infamous Fish-n-Chips joint in the Greenwich neighborhood. Not one to dismiss an opportunity for Fish, I jumped at the chance, and made the 3-mile trek north to Greenwich village.

I love the neighborhoods in New York - this was taken just south of Greenwich:

And for some reason, this intersection reminded me of the Abbey Road album cover for the Beatles...

I arrived to A Salt & Battery, the little fish-n-chips place that Parmilla and Daniel had agreed to meet me at. The place was t-i-n-y small... literally standing room only with 5-6 barstools against the window.

Everyone in the place spoke with a thick British accent, further lending to the authenticity of the place. The menu options were limited - 4 types of fish, chips, and British beverages only. I placed an order for haddock with chips and a Moorehouse Witches Brew beer.

I chatted with Parmilla and Daniel, and caught-up with them and their NYC adventures. As luck would have it, their apartment was near the corner of 125th and 3rd; if you'll recall, that's where the M60 bus dropped me off so that I could take the 5 train south to Wall Street... how crazy?!

Our fish was soon ready, and it looked spectacular:

I'm pleased to say that the taste matched the looks. And for good reason - the fine folks at A Salt & Battery recently beat Iron Chef Bobby Flay in a food challenge competition for fish and chips. The fish was absolutely divine - flaky, fresh, and clean, with an expertly applied batter that was almost to die for. It was so good, in fact, that I bought a t-shirt from the proprietors. I can't wait to wear this to my next Wisconsin-based fish fry adventure...

After inhaling our fish, we walked over to a small pub called "Fiddlesticks," where we had an after dinner drink and a small dessert. The dessert looked awesome - a flourless chocolate cake with a tres-leches ice cream. While I didn't partake, it looked fantastic.

After the fish and drinks, I walked back to the hotel - nothing like a 3-mile walk back to the hotel to help work-off the greasy goodness of a fish fry. :-) Along the way, I passed Maserati of Manhattan, where I spied my next car:

Yummy.

Parmilla made a collage of photos from our visit to A Salt & Battery and sent it to me the next day; she used her iPhone to take the photos, edit them, and assemble them into this neat presentation. I've since downloaded the photo applications as well - I can't wait to start using them.

Thursday arrived, and it was one again time for class. Only this time, rather than suffering through the "breakfast" at the class, I stopped by Leo's for a breakfast bagel. Check out this monster - it's an everything bagel with an egg, turkey bacon, and Vermont cheddar. It was darned good, if not too big to eat... I had to remove one half of the bagel so that I could eat it.

Just like A Salt & Battery, Leo's was a tiny little place that was packed with people. I was able to make my way through the line in almost no time, and was shocked that my breakfast, along with a 1-liter of water only cost $7. And here I thought New York was pricey... I guess so long as you know where the good "local places" are, you'll be OK.

For lunch, I wandered over to Crumbs Bakeshop... I'd heard of Crumbs while listening to the Howard Stern show on Sirius, and had wanted to sample their cupcakes for quite some time... the case of goodies looked promising:

I selected a small lemon cupcake (only 300 calories!!) and then walked over to another local pizza joint called Underground Pizza. A few locals had tipped me off to this place, and am I grateful for the suggestion. The pies looked amazing:

(Thank goodness I was running each morning and walking everywhere)

I ordered a slice of sausage pizza and enjoyed it, along with my cupcake from Crumbs Bakeshop.

Talk about tasty. I think the Underground Pizza was better than the pizza from Lil' Frankie's - it seemed more authentic and true to the NYC style of slice. I folded it like a pro and enjoyed every bite before returning to class.

After class was done for the day, I returned to the streets, where I wandered around a bit. I walked past the infamous Wall Street Bull...

And then I worked my way up to the SoHo district, where I stumbled across the headquarters for my favorite cologne/perfume shop - Bond No. 9.

I was excited to sample their latest fragrances, but didn't purchase anything - there weren't any intriguing new scents, and I've been pleased with my current collection, so I saved my sheckles and kept on walking. Many thanks, however, to the friendly and helpful folks at the Bond No. 9 store - I appreciated their time and patience as I sniffed and sampled countless fragrances. :-)

By around 8pm, the 'ole food pit was grumbling, so I started investigating food options. After a few misses, I landed at the Fraunces Tavern and Restaurant. The place looked good, and the Yelp reviews were favorable, so I wandered in and requested a table for one. I was promptly seated and presented with a massive beer menu.... I decided on a porter, and also requested a side of "bourbon-ginger roasted mixed nuts."

The porter was good, but the mixed nuts were extremely ordinary. They didn't taste any different than what you'd find in a regular can of Planters mixed nuts... my server returned and asked what I'd like for dinner, and based on her recommendation, I went with the fish-n-chips.

And boy, am I glad that I did - they were stellar - perhaps even better than the stuff from A Salt & Battery... the fish featured a crispy Guinness batter that was as flavorful as it was plentiful. Wow, was it good. I only wish that I hadn't been sitting directly beneath a huge red neon sign, because I wasn't able to capture a good photo... this is the best of the bunch...

After dinner, I returned to my room, watched some television, and called it an early night. My final day of class was on Friday... I had planned to skip the last half so that I could browse around Manhattan, but the class was so good that I decided to stay until the very end.

At the end of the day, I received a text from Parmilla, who invited me to join Daniel and her at a little pizza place near mid-town. Once again, I laced-up the walking shoes and trekked the 4.1 miles north to 53rd street, where I met them at Don Antonio's for pizza.

Along the way, I passed several cool places, including this doggy day care:

And the infamous New York Times headquarters:

But enough about that, let's get back to dinner... :-)

Don Antonio's features some interesting pizza options, including a pizza that is partially deep-fried before being finished in a wood-fired brick oven. Parmilla, Daniel, and I ordered like kings - we started with caprese, which featured house-made mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and fresh basil. It was divine:

Before long, our first pizza arrived - it was the aforementioned specialty pie... by par-frying the crust before baking, the dough puffs up and becomes slightly pastry-like. It was topped with smoked bison mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. It was delicious.

To follow-up the specialty pizza, we ordered a sausage pizza and a margherita pizza. Both arrived, and both were spectacular, although I think the sausage pie stole the show.

With our gullets full of pizza, we took a walk toward Times Square; the crowds were unreal.

We also walked past several infamous landmarks, including the Ed Sullivan theater, which hosts the Late Show with David Letterman. As it was a Friday night, the show wasn't active, but that didn't prevent me from snapping a photo of the marquee.

While walking around the Times Square area, we spotted this little beauty - a Lamborghini Gallardo convertible. Nothing like seeing a $200,000 car casually rolling around the busy streets of downtown Manhattan... on a Friday night, nonetheless.

Seemed like such a shame to have a 550-horsepower, all wheel drive, clutchless manual transmissioned beast like that in the city. I'm guessing it spends the majority of its time idling around, stuck in traffic. If the owner of that fine automobile is reading this, I'd be happy to help it stretch its legs out here in Wisconsin.

We kept walking around midtown - the area is almost surreal. There are so many signs, lights, businesses, and people...

Parmilla led us to the "2-month store" on 42nd Street; this store changes every two months, based largely on current events. As luck would have it, the store was set-up for the pending NFL draft day - the draft would be held at this store in New York. They had tons of NFL gear, including all of the new jerseys/uniforms on display:

More interestingly than the jerseys were the game shoes that were on display - these were actually worn by folks like Tom Brady, Cam Newton, and so on. Here are Cam's kicks:

Upstairs there was an interactive exhibit; the fine folks from Wilson were on-hand to demonstrate how they manufacture footballs. Wilson is the exclusive supplier of all footballs to the NFL, and they brought actual employees and equipment to demonstrate how footballs are assembled. It was pretty interesting watching them cut the leather blanks, sew them together, insert a bladder, lace the ball, and then inflate and test it. Here are a few pictures from the process:

The lady in that last photo (lacing the ball) has been lacing footballs for Wilson for 35 years. That's unreal!

And finally, we got to see the actual Lombardi trophy. This wasn't the copy that each team receives after winning a Superbowl, but instead, was the original trophy. It weighs 15-pounds as is crafted from solid silver. This is the trophy that you'll see on TV right after a team wins the Superbowl; after the game it returns to NFL headquarters.

After wrapping things up at the NFL Draft Store, we continued walking south toward Union Square. We stopped-in to Mario Batali's Eataly, which is like a self-contained food court, grocery, and wine store. Inside, we found four different restaurants, a massive grocery store, dessert retailers, a pasta counter, a butcher shop, and more. To say it was impressive would be an understatement. Here are some photos from inside the place:

Those are imported olive oils - there were several rows of shelving like that full of olive oils.

That's one of the common eating areas... after you grab your gelato, desserts, wine, and sandwich (or pizza, or lasagna, etc) you can assemble in the common area and enjoy your bounty. As mentioned, there are also 4 "sit down" restaurants inside as well.

A row of scrumptious looking desserts...

We left the crowded Eataly venue and continued over toward Union Square, where the Occupy Wall Street group was in full effect. It was amazing how busy the area was, especially considering that it was nearly 10:00pm...

We took a peek at the national debt clock and quickly became depressed...

Having walked nearly 8.5 miles, I decided to call it a night. Parmilla, Daniel and I all bid each other a farewell, and then I boarded a train for the FiDi. It felt good to sit down and relax for a bit; between the running and walking, I managed to log nearly 13 miles that day... not bad.

Before I knew it, the train had me back near the hotel.

I made sure to pack my bag that night - I had to be awake and on the train by 7:30am the following morning so that I could make my 10:05am flight from LaGuardia back to Milwaukee. My poor backpack didn't know what hit it - to say it was stuffed full would be an understatement:

Saturday morning arrived far too quickly; I took a shower, grabbed my things, paid my hotel bill ($1672 for 4 nights!!!), and hit the street. I made one last stop at Leo's for a final breakfast bagel:

I shared my bagel with a flock of birds while sitting on a bench near Battery Park. I think they were grateful for my generosity; there was no way I could eat the entire bagel, so I gave them the half that I couldn't fit into my trap. :-) There's something so great about sitting in downtown New York on a Saturday morning... it's eerily quiet and relaxing.

With breakfast in my belly, I walked over to my local train station, where I planned to take the 5 train north to Spanish Harlem, where I would pick-up the bus to LaGuardia.

There was only one problem with my plan: the lower Manhattan trains were all closed for maintenance work... yikes!! I quickly consulted with my Google maps and found that I could catch a northbound subway from Canal Street... some 1.25 miles north. I hoofed it up to Canal Street, got on the 2, and after 45 minutes arrived near 125th street. I hoofed it some more and found the M60 bus near Lexington, boarded and breathed a sigh of relief.

The relief was short-lived; I had less than 1 hour to get my plane ticket and make it through security. Thankfully, everything went smoothly - I made it to my gate just as they were calling for "last chance" to board the plane. I'm so glad I didn't have a suitcase to worry about!

I hopped on-board, took my seat, put in my earphones, listened to some more Adam Carolla, and enjoyed the return flight.

Back in Wisconsin, I drove to Watertown to pick up the love of my life - Flea. It was good to see her, and I'm guessing she was happy to see me as well... she wouldn't leave my lap during the drive home:

I also made a detour while heading home so that I could enjoy a dinner with Dan & Tara - we ventured over to Crawfish Junction to catch-up with one another. It was a stellar dinner, although it wasn't real good for my waistline... here's the "burger" that Dan and I split:

That beast was called "The Hangover Burger" and featured a deep-fried 1/2-lb patty of beef, along with onion strings, bacon, a fried egg, "funeral potatoes" (cheesy hashbrowns) and barbeque sauce... I'm not sure if it's meant to help cure a hangover or if it's supposed to induce a food hangover... I definitely felt a food hangover after eating half of it.

We called it a night, and I called the whole week "great." I can't wait to get back to New York - I absolutely love it, and was thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit again. If you've never been to New York, you must go. I'd recommend staying in the Financial District - I've stayed uptown, midtown, and downtown... I like the FiDi best - it's reasonably priced and thanks to the subway, you can get anywhere quite easily. The walking isn't bad either - just bring comfy shoes.

Our small group of four diners made the 15-minute trek north to Roxbury, put-in our names for a table, and bode our time at the Dorf Haus' excellent bar. Spaten Optimator, Oktoberfest, and Pilsners were ordered and consumed. Dishes of the cheesy bar mix (pretzels, Cheetos, Doritos, and rye chips) were demolished. Fun conversations filled the air.

After waiting for nearly two-hours, our names were called and we were led by the hostess to the infamous "banquet hall" area, where a fireside table awaited us. A friendly waitress stopped by to inform us of the special - snapping turtle - and to inquire as to whether or not we required refills.

Intrigued by the turtle, we placed an order for a plate, along with two rounds of AYCE (All You Can Eat) cod, a chicken sandwich, and an order of broasted chicken (we had two non-fish aficionados with us). Our waitress trotted off with our order, and returned with the Dorf Haus's notorious "easter egg" (a term used by video game fans that discover hidden gems within a game) - the pre-dinner fritters.

Those golden-fried puffs of airy dough are simply delicious, especially when dressed in a shot of local honey.

After a brief wait, our food arrived, and things looked as stellar as usual. The AYCE code plate featured several large pieces of delicious fish:

I immediately tore into the plate and in doing so nearly melted the skin from my fingertips. That fish was fresh from the fryer! The Dorf Haus uses one of the best batters in the biz - it's light, clingy, crispy, and flavorful. There's just a hint of salt, and it's backed-up by wafts of corn and beer. It's so good.

The batter surrounds some of the area's best cod; the fish is creamy white, firm, flaky, moist, and robust. There's never a soggy piece; there's never a chewy piece - it's perfect every time. Exactly what you'd hope to find in a quality fish fry.

The accompanying fries were excellent as well; they have that "steakhouse" flavor, and are fried to a perfect golden brown. I don't imagine they're homemade, but it doesn't matter. They're excellent, nonetheless.

Our surprise guest (the snapping turtle) looked extremely interesting... it didn't resemble turtle so much as it did a beef pot-roast:

And the flavor matched the looks; it honestly tasted almost identical to a beef pot roast. The only discernible difference came by way of a bunch of unexpected bones. The dice-sized bones were a complete surprise... but they didn't affect the overall experience - I'd order turtle again.

Our waitress stopped-by several times throughout the meal to refresh water glasses and plates of fish - and each additional plate of cod was better than the last. How they can maintain such high quality while serving what has to be thousands of plates of fish is beyond me.

Dorf Haus = WIN

Food = 4.5 stars
Service = 5 stars
Value = 4 stars
MISC = 4.5 stars (atmosphere, brews, fritters)

The Dorf Haus continues to maintain it's strong showing in the ranks here at Geekysteve's Wisconsin Fish Fry Reviews. :-)

The only downside? The long wait, but that's not really so bad, especially when it's so enjoyable to spend time at this place.

Go. Order the fish, and don't be afraid to try the turtle if it's on the menu. Seriously.

When I moved back to Wisconsin, one of the first things I noticed about the water was how "greasy" I felt while rinsing myself off in the shower. That's a side-effect of soft water, I suppose. I also noticed that the faucets in the kitchen of my apartment were covered in mineral deposits, and, that the water tasted odd. I chalked a lot of that up to the old age of my first apartment.

Apartment #2 had a refrigerator with a built-in water filter. That helped with the taste of the water, but I noticed the same mineral deposit build-up on the faucets, and, I found that I had to replace my water filter every two months or so - the water would slow to a trickle as the filter clogged with sediment.

The new house here doesn't have a water filter in the refrigerator, so I went back to drinking tap water. And, well, it stunk - both literally and figuratively. Some days it would taste literally like fertilizer. Other days it tasted like pure metal.

Having given-up diet soda in February, my beverage options are quite limited - water, unsweetened tea, and the occasional carbonated mineral water. I spoke to some neighbor friends about the drinking water, and all agreed it was of dismal quality. I mentioned it to my good friend Chris from work, and he told me that he "makes" his own reverse-osmosis-filtered water for his massive salt-water fish tank.

He showed me his water-making set-up, and I was impressed. It had a really complex-looking filtration system with large tubs of water, sand filters, pumps, coral pools and more. He needs to clean, treat, and prep the water so that his fish will stay alive. If that doesn't say something about the water quality here, I don't know what else does.

So, I asked Chris for some help with a water filter system at the house, and he suggested a system from Spectra Pure - the same company he uses for his tanks and his drinking water.

The price for this stuff was a bit shocking - it's not your $19 Brita or Pur system - but, it's effective and is the real deal. So, I bit the bullet and placed an order. Within a few days, the system arrived, and I was ready to install it.

Here's what the kit looked like after I unpacked it from the shipping containers:

Four cartridge filters, including a reverse-osmosis membrane, a pressurized storage tank, a faucet, and a bunch of lines. Good times were in my future.

The system is sold as an under-the-sink unit, however, I thought it would be best to install it in the basement and then run the supply line up to the sink. However, upon closer inspection and in talking through it with Chris, it made more sense to install it under the sink. So, I cleaned-out the cabinet under the sink, made a mark for drilling the faucet hole, and got to work.

I had to buy a special drill-bit to cut through the stainless-steel sink, and boy was that money well spent - the bit made short work of the stainless.

With the hole cut, I set about preparing the sink connections - I had to insert a supply-line ball valve, cut a small hole in the existing drain pipe, and run all of the lines.

The only downside to my new filter kit was the inclusion of some super cheap-o compression fittings. Rather than including copper fittings, the company used these skimpy plastic fittings that failed with every attempt to create a leak-free connection. One particular fitting failed in spectacular fashion - spewing gallons of water around the kitchen at around midnight. Ahh. Good-times.

The next morning, I stopped at the hardware store, purchased $0.92 worth of copper fittings, and within 30-minutes, the system was live.

The supplied faucet matched the sink fairly well (although it didn't match the goldenrod wallpaper). :-)

After draining and filling the system a few times to flush the new filters, I was able to enjoy the fruits of the new system - a fresh, clean, clear, and completely tasteless glass of pure water. Ahhhh.

Guess who is forty (40)?!

I cannot believe it, myself. I don't feel as though I'm that old and I certainly don't act like much of an old man... If someone would have told me that I'd feel virtually the same at 40 as I did at 20, I would have suggested they seek mental health advice. Granted, I don't feel as spry or healthy as I did a year or two ago, but I have no one to blame other than myself for that - eating like a jerk and not exercising much will do that to a guy.

I find myself heavier today than I have been since December of 2008... that's a bad sign, especially for someone my age. I'm as serious as a (pending) heart attack when I say that I must get back on-track with some sort of responsible eating pattern and workout routine. My face looks so unbelievably chubby in this photo, it's embarrassing.

But enough about my poor eating choices and lack of exercise. I'd rather (at this moment) talk a bit about the excellent birthday party from this weekend. I truly do have a marvelous bunch of friends - from life-long pals like Dan and Tara to my co-workers to my friends from around Madison - you're all a great bunch of people. Thank you so much for attending the get together, for the good times, the cards, and for the well-wishes.

I have to extend an extra round of thanks to Steve and Molly - they played hosts for the shindig and they did an amazing job in every respect. Regular blog readers will recall that Steve has a great house, the Green Egg smokers, and an excellent selection of whiskys, scotches, and bourbons, so when he offered to host the event, I jumped at the chance. Thank you!!

It's hard to say which items were most popular at the event, but it's probably safe to say that the smoked turkey and baby back ribs were near the top of the list. Here's the turkey and one set of ribs, fresh from the Green Egg smoker:

That, my friends, is a 10-lb bone-in turkey breast and 5 full racks of ribs; another 5 full racks were still smoking in the Green Egg. At the suggestion of a coworker, we tried Famous Dave's Rib Rub on the ribs, and it was phenomenal - super good stuff. For the turkey, Steve used a poultry rub from Whole Foods - another win.

I was a bit nervous that we'd have too much food, but we managed to get nearly 30 people at the party, so the food went quickly:

Both the turkey and the ribs were unreal. They were perfectly cooked and featured a delicious smokey flavor; the turkey was incredibly moist and the ribs were super meaty - they were more like little pork chops than ribs... Accompanying the ribs and turkey were some grilled chicken breasts:

We also had a plethora of dips, chips, salsas, guac, and other goodies - here's an avocado black bean dip/salsa that Ian's fiancee, Mandy, made for us. It was super delicious - people plowed through it almost as fast as they did the meats:

I ate a boatload of turkey, ribs, and that dip. So much, in fact, that I've surely met my smoked food quota for the year. :-) That said, there was still room for some Craig's Cake Shop cake:

You're looking at a chocolate cake, with raspberry buttercream filling, covered in Craig's signature white chocolate flake frosting. And here it is after we tore into it:

I snapped other pictures aside from the food - here's a photo from the kitchen, where a few people were hanging out.

If the weather had been a little nicer, we would've spent more time outdoors. Odd as it sounds, as the night wore on, the weather seemed to warm-up, so by 9pm, we were outside sitting around the fire pit, making s'mores.

One of the highlights of the night was receiving a homemade card from Kate and Michael - they're my coworker Brian's kids (you may recall seeing them in the Livestrong fundraiser event photos from October of 2011). They crafted this awesome card that featured Luke Skywalker (dressed as a ninja), fighting General Grievous, with Yoda assisting. Accompanying the card was a custom-made bottle of "Colt 40" (it's normally Colt 45, but it was my 40th, so Brian made some edits to the 40-ouncer). If you look closely, you can see Brian's wife, Brenda, in the background with Michael and Kate.

And lastly, I managed to snap a photo with a group of my pals - you'll definitely recognize Tara in the photo; she's flanked by Chris (next to me), Bryan and Josh. I'm fairly certain this photo was taken rather late into the evening, so that help's explain the fun expressions.

So, there you have it. 40 years old. A wonderful party with close friends, great food, and good times. There's not much else to say, other than "thank you" to everyone who attended, and a huge "thank you" to Steve and Molly for the hospitality.

Oh - I almost forgot... the first two photos were taken by another good friend of mine, Jackie. She is a photographer and did an (dare I say "killer") awesome job with the photos. If you like her work, she has a website - be sure to check it out.

There were a few other photos that she took, including this one:

Thanks again to everyone. Now it's back to the workout and eating-like-an-adult wagon.

Sometime around October of last year, we discovered an event known as Whisky Fest - it's hosted by three cities in the United States: New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. Without much hesitation, we decided to purchase VIP tickets and attend. We bought our tickets as soon as they went on sale, and it's a good thing we did - the entire event sold out within a few days, VIP and all.

Whisky Fest is a whisky-lovers dream. It attracts more than 100 distilleries from around the world, offers more than a dozen educational classes, serves-up delicious food, and provides a chance for people to rub elbows with some of the world's finest whisky makers and master distillers.

The actual Whisky Fest event was held this past weekend, so we loaded up our cars and drove to the outskirts of Chicago, where we parked and boarded "the El" (Chicago's train system). I insisted that we stop for some lunch along the way, and what better place than Big Star tacos in Wicker Park?

That's a view of the Wicker Park neighborhood as seen from our train. Wicker Park is one of my favorite areas in Chicago - it has a lot of cool houses, quaint neighborhoods, and awesome shops. It also has one of the best taco joints I've ever been to... so, we met-up with my friend Steve W and we gorged ourselves on tacos. Here's one of the plates we enjoyed:

Clockwise, from lower left, we have: pork belly taco, pork shoulder taco (with pineapple), another pork belly taco, and a fish taco. They're all so simple, so clean, and so tasty. It was great to see Steve again, and we were lucky to have Sandra (his wife) join us as well! I hadn't seen Sandra in almost 10-years, so it was great to catch up with her and Steve together.

After chatting and eating at Big Star, we boarded the El again and made our way into the downtown loop, which is where the event was hosted. We made a quick stop at our hotel and then walked the mile-or-so to the Hyatt Grand Regency.

Once inside, we were directed to the lower ballroom; two escalator flights later, and we arrived to discover a significant waiting line:

That was the "pre-entry" line for the VIP folks. We arrived a full 45-minutes early and were shocked by the number of people that had accumulated out-front. After about 30-minutes of waiting, we were allowed to enter into the registration area.

The registration area is where you exchange your ticket for your gift bag and sampling glass. While standing in line for our turn at the window, we observed some really nice appetizer tables - there were incredible cheeses, gourmet crackers, ice sculptures, and more. This was going to be a solid event - definitely more fancy than the local beer tasting festivals...

We made our way to the registration window and within minutes, I had my gift bag and sampling glass.

With glass in hand, we made our way to yet another waiting area, located just outside of the grand ballroom. The time was nearly 5:20, so we had to kill 10-minutes or so. We reviewed our plans - the VIP ticket allowed us to enter the event one hour prior to the general admission ticket holders, and also allowed us to sample some really exotic (and expensive) beverages.

Before we knew it, the doors opened, and the race was on - literally. Our plans went completely out the window as hordes or people rushed past us and literally mobbed the various distillery booths.

Who knew that so many middle-aged, overweight, business types (complete with $2500 suits) could move so quickly? I guess when there's a $1700 bottle of whisky to be sampled, they don't hesitate.

Our first stop was to the Classic Malts booth. Classic distributes many different scotches, whiskeys, and borubons, so we figured it would be a good first stop. Here we are at their booth:

I'm not even sure what I sampled at this booth; I asked for their VIP-only offering, and was poured a 0.25-ounce sample of it. WOWZER - it was smoky! I forgot that I normally "enjoy" (that's a generous word) my scotch/whisky/bourbon with a touch of ice to help dilute it a bit. Tasting it "fully leaded" reminded me of just how potent that stuff can be, even the good stuff. :-)

From the Classic Malts table we made our way to the Glenmorangie table, where we sampled two truly outstanding beverages - the Signet and the Quarter Century.

The Signet sells for around $200/bottle; the Quarter Century around $600. Both were excellent - very smooth, very drinkable, and not at all like the first one I had sampled. I actually appreciated both of these.

We chatted with the folks from Glenmorangie for a bit, thanked them for the samples, and wandered over to Dalmore.

Dalmore had one of their finest available for sampling, the "King Alexander." The bottle was quite cool, as was the presentation box. This photo is a bit blurry, because this booth was extremely popular; I was getting jostled about while trying to photograph and sample the single malt scotch.

With four quarter-ounce samples under my belt, I decided to take a little break. True, the VIP event was only an hour, but I'm definitely not a seasoned imbiber of whisky, so I needed a breather. I grabbed a table near one of the food tables and then took a browse of the food offerings. This was one of the tables near me:

It featured prime rib (done to a PERFECT medium rare), sushi rolls, potsickers, chicken wings, General Tso's chicken, succotash, grits, pulled pork, and a number of other goodies. I made myself a little plate, as shown here:

The plate featured (clockwise, from left): shrimp potsticker, poached salmon, tuna sushi rolls, a Peking duck pancake, and prime rib (center). Yum. It hit the spot - everything was of super high quality, and was hot and fresh.

Here's what the VIP event looked like, in terms of people in the grand hall (remember this for later in the entry):

After sitting for a bit, I made my way back to another booth or two. I liked how all of the distillers wore traditional Scottish apparel - kilts and all. Here's one of the distillers pouring a sample for someone:

I also loved all of the accents - there's something awesome about a thick Scottish accent - although anything beats my nasaly midwestern accent, I suppose.

By the time 6:30pm rolled around, I had sampled my fair share of expensive scotch and whisky, and I knew one thing was for certain - I'm not a connoisseur of single malted beverages. While the Glenmorangie and Dalmore offerings were truly delicious, the others tasted simply "good" or "bad." It wasn't like a wine or a beer, where I can pick-out distinct flavors.

When the bell struck 6:30, the really good stuff was put away, and the masses moved in. Here I am at the same location as before, but with the general admission folks in view:

One of the booths that we just had to visit was the Rip Van Winkle booth. The Van Winkles operate a very small, family owned-and-run distillery in Kentucky, and they produce some superb bourbons. Their flagship offering is the 23-year old Grand Pappy Van Winkle, at $220 - $240/bottle. If you have an opportunity to try it, do it. Here's the father and son, pouring samples and chatting with people:

By 7:30pm the event was so full that it was difficult to navigate around. There were so many people in the ballroom, and the booths were so close together that it made for tricky maneuvering. Thankfully, the last item on our agenda was to attend one of the educational classes.

We decided to sit in on the 8:30pm session hosted by two master distillers from the Classic Malts group. The class would teach you how to pick-out and identify unique scents and flavors in various common scotch and whisky offerings.

We grabbed a front-row seat and settled-in for the class. Here are the distillers, in their kilts, with our sampling glasses lined-up in front of us:

The glasses were filled with five different beverages: pure grain alcohol (the base for all spirits), a 10-year old scotch, a 12-year old scotch, a 14-year old scotch, a sherry cask-aged scotch, and a peat-aged scotch. There was also a bottle of water and a spittoon.

The distillers were great guys - very funny and informative. They made the hour-long class fly by, and I learned a lot in the process. One of the funnier moments was when they were demonstrating what "not to do" when tasting a new beverage:

They said that while it's important to look at the color of your beverage and to take a strong smell of it, it's does no good to hold it up to the light, swirl it in a clockwise motion for minutes on end, and then comment that you detect "notes of citrus, grass, and flower" - doing that is guaranteed to make you look incredibly obnoxious:

...as shown above (they made us all imitate them before telling us it was all fake/wrong).

With the class complete, we made one last quick pass through the hall, where we snagged a few dessert offerings - this table was the "chocolate decadence" table, and featured brownies, flourless cake, opera cakes, truffles, and a slew of other goodies.

After the Fest was over, we walked over to a restaurant for a proper dinner, and then back to the hotel for some well-deserved rest. Here's the Chicago Tribune building at night. I wish the streetlight hadn't been dead-center in my picture... oh well.

The next morning arrived and I felt great, thanks to my very light imbibing and the buckets of water I drank throughout the event. We got ready and then boarded the El for our return trip to where the cars were parked. After picking-up the cars, we stopped for a bit of breakfast - the kitchen goofed-up my order, and I wound-up with a Belgian waffle (not my favorite item)... :-(

Oh well - it was the only downside to the entire event, so I can't complain too much. I did get a kick out of this video store, which was located near the breakfast place. I wonder if the owners felt that adding the word "cobra" to something would make it more edgy and/or cool? In most cases, it probably does - like the Ford Mustang Cobra - that sounds really cool. For this venue, however; I don't think the effect is as solid.

--- unrelated ---

I made some stellar meals this weekend, including some french toast, steak, and dessert. Here are a few photos:

That's cinnamon french toast on challah bread with roasted Neuske's applewood bacon.

Hickory-smoked and grilled fillet, with oven-roasted purple fingerling potatoes (dressed in shallots and black pepper), rosemary-roasted portobella mushrooms, and nutmeg-dusted roasted parsnips and zucchini.

And lastly:

Grilled pineapple slice with Sassy Cow ice cream and maple syrup and rum caramel.

...and yes, I made all of the stuff from scratch.

Fifi isn't a fan of the cold weather - that's no surprise, given she's all of five pounds, hails from a tropical climate, and spent all of her adult life living in Southern California.

Thankfully, this year's winter was quite mild; however, I did try to find a suitable sweater and jacket to help her cope with the cold. Unfortunately, she's such an alien that I wasn't able to find anything "off-the-rack" to fit her.

Fifi has a large head, skinny neck, large chest/rib cage, and a tiny waist. She reminds me of a bobble-head doll... So, every sweater or jacket that I tried was either too tight, too loose, or too short for her to benefit from.

So, I set about searching for custom-made dog apparel. After doing some serious digging, I stumbled across two vendors: Blue Willow Dog Coats and De-Re Dogs.

Despite ordering two very similar pieces of apparel from two custom-made clothing service providers, the two experiences could not have been more different. Let's start with Blue Willow...

Blue Willow Dog Coats makes dog coats intended primarily for greyhounds, Italian greyhounds, and whippets. They're located near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the jackets are all custom-made, hand-fabricated using extremely high quality materials, like GoreTex equivalent shells and Primaloft insulation. If The North Face or Arc'Teryx made dog jackets, these would be them.

The ordering process begins with a very thorough measuring of your dog. I took eleven measurements of Fifi, triple-verified them, and input them into BWDC's website. Because I wanted to make certain the folks at BWDC understood exactly how oddly-shaped Fifi is, I followed-up the order with an e-mail, photos, and additional information.

I didn't receive a reply.

I waited two weeks and followed-up again. After several days, I received a short message stating they had my information and that everything would be fine.

I waited another four weeks - I heard nothing the entire time. To say it's a bit unnerving or stressful to know that you just spent nearly $300 on a dog coat and haven't heard a peep is an understatement. It may also say that I'm insane, but that's another story.

After nearly seven wintery weeks of waiting, I sent an e-mail inquiring about the status of my jacket. I received a reply stating the jacket had shipped and that it would arrive soon.

Communication isn't their strong point... I did some checking, and their facebook page has more than a few complaints and questions from customers inquiring about the lack of communication.

The jacket arrived and I could immediately tell it was too big. I took it home, put it on the Fleef, and yep - it extended beyond her backside by a solid 5-inches, and hung down too low on her by about 2-inches. UGH.

Before contacting BWDCs, I went back and re-checked the numbers that I submitted - they were spot on. So, I took more pictures, and sent another e-mail to BWDC. A few days went by and I didn't hear anything (detecting a theme?). So, I followed-up again.

An e-mail arrived, and I was told to return the jacket, and they would resize it. I returned the jacket and waited. I checked-in after two more weeks and was told the jacket was almost done, and that it would ship soon. Oh, and that I owed another $25 for alterations... Wow.

The jacket arrived and after the second try, it was spot-on. Here's the Fleef, modeling the jacket (under protest, as it was 80F when I took the picture):

The jacket really is quite nice. I can tell that it's going to be absurdly warm and protective, and after the resizing, it fits literally like a glove. It was insanely expensive, and I think it's worth the money... but the communications process was absolutely terrible, and charging to correct something that they misbuilt is really troubling. I'd be hard-pressed to use them in the future.

===

And now for the good...

De-Re Dogs gives "unwanted sweaters a second chance at life" - the proprietor, Dawna, takes people's sweaters and converts them into dog sweaters. It's a neat concept because it recycles quality sweaters into quality dog apparel.

I browsed De-Re's selection of sweaters, and found one that I thought would work really well for Fifi. I contacted Dawna to inquire, and she immediately responded with some ideas and suggestions. She stated that she was working on finalizing a merino wool sweater that might fit Fifi. She also offered to custom make a sweater for her from one of my existing sweaters.

I took her up on both offers; I asked her to send the red merino wool sweater to try, and in turn, I sent her one of my beloved Icebreaker tops to cannibalize and convert.

Within a few days, the red merino sweater arrived, and it looked awesome, but it was too small (as we suspected it would be). I sent her the measurements that I took for the BWDC coat, and Dawna said she would make two sample shirts to try.

After a few days, she e-mailed to inform the shirts were ready and that she would send them that day. The shirts arrived, and one of them was a perfect fit:

I replied to share the good news with Dawna, and to offer to return the sample shirts. To my shock, she asked me to keep them or to recycle them. I felt guilty keeping them, but honored her request.

With confirmation that the test shirt fit, Dawna set to work on the custom Icebreaker sweater. A week went by, and I received another message from Dawna - the sweater was done, and it would be sent that day.

The sweater arrived within two days and it fit like a glove. It's absolutely perfect.

Merino wool is such an awesome material - it's not itchy, it doesn't hold odor, it breathes well, and if it gets wet, it won't sap your body heat. The Feefer really seems to like the sweater, even if it has been 75-80F outside lately.

Dawna's communications were prompt, professional, and helpful. I was never left for wondering, nor did I ever feel "lost" during the process. And the bonus? This custom-made sweater cost about 1/10th to make and deliver from what the BWDC coat did.

I'll definitely order more sweaters from De-Re - I'll just wait until we get closer to the fall/winter season. De-Re is definitely top-notch!!!

So there you have it - a tail (or tale) of two dog "coats" - one very expensive, frustrating, and time consuming; the other enjoyable and delightful and very inexpensive.

We arrived to Adler's at around 5:00pm on a Friday night and quickly scored a table in the bar area. A very friendly waitress stopped by to take our drink orders - a New Glarus Cabin Fever for me, and a Spotted Cow for Chris. She also dropped a pair of menus and informed us that the happy hour would end in a few minutes.

We browsed the menu, but not for entree options - Chris was in the mood for an appetizer, and who was I to resist? He went with the bruschetta; I opted for nothing.

Within a few minutes the bruschetta arrived, and I must say that upon first glance it didn't inspire confidence... the bread was bleach-white, barely toasted, and uninspiring. I had envisioned a golden brown, nicely toasted, cut-on-the-bias loaf of french bread, rubbed with garlic.

The accompanying tomato/basil/mozzarella mix looked pale and drab as well. But despite the appearance, the bruschetta was tasty - I sampled a piece and was surprised by how flavorful the dish was.

We nibbled on the Italian appetizer while enjoying our microbrews, and before I knew it, an hour-and-a-half had gone by. The place had filled-up; it was literally standing room only. At the next opportunity, we placed our dinner orders - I opted for the bluegill, Chris the lake perch. Our waitress hit the kitchen, order in hand.

When the fish arrived, I was thrilled with what I saw. The bluegill plate featured several pieces of the petite, freshwater fish. The lake perch plate boasted thick, meaty cuts of fish, covered in a delicious looking batter. My salivary glands went immediately into code red status - man the battle stations!

Here's what the bluegill plate looked like:

Friends, that is a heaping helping of bluegill! And I'm happy to report the quality surpassed the quantity - the bluegill had an incredibly delicate flavor that received a slight boost from the breading. The breading appeared to be made from a cornmeal base, and featured a salty and slightly peppery accent. The fish was firm, perfectly chewy, and simply delectable.

The boiled baby reds were a nice option, and were served in a perfect quantity. Preceding the fish was RP's customary pretzel roll, which really hit the spot as we waited for the fish to arrive.

I cannot recommend the RP Adler's bluegill enough - it was superb.

Here's what the lake perch looked like:

Just like the bluegill plate, the perch plate was packed with fish. The batter was obviously beer-based and it clung to the perch with a pit bull-like tenacity. The batter was crispy, delicious, and perfectly proportioned. The perch was absolutely top-notch - perfectly chewy and just enough fish flavor to remind you that you were enjoying a quality plate of fish.

Chris reported the slaw had an unusual flavor; I'm not so certain he enjoyed it.

By 7:00, our meals were complete, and we asked for the check. The price was more than reasonable; the monster plate of bluegill rang-in at $16.95; the perch $15.95. Quite fair, given the huge portions and the complete quality.

RP Adler's = WIN

Food = 4.25 stars
Value = 4 stars
Service = 4 stars
MISC = 3 stars (I like the bar area, but the dining room leaves much to be desired)

Summary:
I really need to get out and revisit some of the original top-10 places on our list... I believe RP just stole the #10 slot from the Draft House...

What Really Causes Heart Disease.

...this post will seem especially ironic in a day or so, as I have another fish fry review pending...

When you live in Madison, you're surrounded by a seemingly endless number of microbreweries. From the top of my head, and limiting the radius to a distance of around 30 miles, one could visit the following breweries: Ale Asylum, Capital, Essers, Furthermore, Grays, Great Dane, Grumpy Troll, Hydro Street, New Glarus, and Tyranena. I'm sure there are more - but these are the better-known breweries... For those not keeping tabs, that was 10 breweries within 30 miles of Madison. Yikes.

Most of the breweries deliver some excellent brews, and nearly all of them do something to support their communities, either by way of "giving back" or hosting special events with proceeds going to a charity or organization.

One such event has become quite popular over the years, and it's known as "Bockfest." For the past fifteen years, this annual event has been organized and hosted by Capital Brewery, and has built-up a cult-like following while attracting a ton of people from all over the state. The event is so popular, in fact, that the brewery must literally ration ticket sales; the tickets are offered for sale on a certain date at select locations, and they sellout immediately.

I was lucky enough to score two tickets to the 2012 Bockfest event, so I grabbed my friend Chris (from work), and on Saturday, February 25, we attended our first-ever Bockfest event.

We began our day with an early morning breakfast at the Prairie Cafe & Bakery. Chris went with a big omelette, some hash browns, toast, and an orange juice. I went with a blueberry pancake and a scrambled egg with coffee:

That may have been one of the best pancakes I've ever had in my life. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and loaded with fresh blueberries - I barely added any syrup, it was that good. The only bad thing about the Prairie Cafe? It's cash only. Oh well.

With our bellies stuffed, we drove over to the Capital Brewery and tried to find a place to park. Despite arriving a full hour early, parking was nearly impossible to find. We parked close to our office and used the walk to help settle our over-filled guts. Once to the brewery, we hopped into line and began the wait. This picture was taken at around 10:00am - the entrance to the brewery was about 1/4-mile away...

While it was a sunny day, it wasn't particularly warm... I'd say the temperature was around 25F with a strong and persistent wind. I wore my Sporthill 3SP pants under a pair of blue jeans, along with Icebreaker wool socks and Salomon prima-loft boots. On top, I wore a wool t-shirt, a 320-weight wool long sleeve, my Sporthill 3SP jacket, and my Columbia Omnitech jacket. The system worked - I was plenty warm all day.

Within an hour-and-a-half, we were finally able to enter the brewery grounds. Here I am, standing in-line for my sample of Capital's Blonde Dopplebock - you can see how many people were at the garden:

Bockfest celebrates the beginning of spring with the release of Capital's infamous Blonde Dopplebock. It's a super-smooth beverage that's only available for a limited time; it also packs quite a punch - so much so, that the brewery limits the sale to one per person. You're given a wristband with a tag; the tag is used to redeem/buy a Dopplebock. Once the tag is gone, you're not allowed to buy any more Dopplebock.

The event was fun and surprising. Fun, because there were a ton of people, all socializing and enjoying a live band (which was quite good).

Surprising? Yep. While making my way into the brewery to use the restroom, I was nearly run-over by a group of cross-dressing men, complete with huge blonde wigs. Apparently, part of the event includes a 1K "race" that they call "The Running of the Blondes."

The other "fun" part of the event involves trying to catch fish being thrown from the roof of the brewery by Capital's brewmaster, Kirby. I don't have any idea where this tradition started, or what relevance it has to the event, but everyone seemed to know what to do...

At around 2:00pm, Kirby rode a large dinosaur to the edge of the brewery roof and began tossing smoked smelt into the crowd. People were literally diving for the fish... I managed to catch a part of a fish... Not sure what to do with it, I tossed it into the garbage.

We also ran into several other friends while at the event - I had a chance to see my pals from the Capital Brewery Cycling Club - we had a great time catching-up and chatting. It was good to see you guys (Mike, Ginger, Paul, Sally, and Helene)!!!!

The event was scheduled to end at 5:00pm, but by 2:30pm, we were tired and ready to head for home. We went back to the house and watched Tower Heist... I wasn't really a fan of the film - it seemed rather lame - so if you haven't yet seen it, save your money.

I was happy to have gone to Bockfest, but am not sure if I'd need to go again... it was an experience, but it was also sort of cold, very crowded, a little chaotic, and a little long. If I do go again, I'm bringing a camping chair and a cooler with party favors and snacks.

== Next Story ==

I've been spending a lot of time in Chicago, thanks to my latest work project. I typically drive down to the office on Sunday night and stay through Friday morning... our office is located near O'Hare airport, so I've grown used to seeing low-flying aircraft at all hours of the day. This photo doesn't do the proximity any justice, but the building to the right is a 15-story building...

With the weekly travel, I've managed to accumulate a lot of points with the local hotels... I've also reacquainted myself with tricks for traveling - I take a full case of water with me for each trip, I've purchased suction-cup-activated clotheslines to line-dry my running gear, and I bought a small humidifier for the hotel bedroom (I stay in a 3-room suite). This little thing has made a huge difference in how I feel in the morning:

While the humidifier was my secret weapon, on the last visit, this electronic door lock served as my arch nemesis. This thing was the bane of my existence:

No matter what I did, the key never seemed to work in this particular room... The hotel sent maintenance at least five times - they replaced the lock's batteries, they cleaned the assembly, they re-coded it, and did a bunch of other things with it. I would've taken them up on their offer for a different room, but I had unpacked and cleaned the room with Lysol wipes, and I liked the location... so I suffered through it. :-)

My hotel and office are not only located near O'Hare, they're also located right "on" the Blue Line for the Chicago El (train) system. With each trip, I've been venturing out on the El and checking out various downtown neighborhoods. Thanks to the suggestions from friends and co-workers, I've fallen in love with the Wicker Park area. It's got a great selection of restaurants, bars, and shops - it's a really cool area.

One of the best places I've been to in Wicker Park is a taco place called "Big Star." Their menu is small - there are four or five tacos to choose from, along with guacamole. But the place doesn't need a huge menu because those few items are absolutely fantastic.

I met a few coworkers at Big Star last week - here's one of the plates of tacos:

I believe that plate has a fish taco, two pork belly tacos, and a pulled pork taco... all were unmistakably delicious. They're simple, fresh, and tasty. They're also reasonably sized and priced. Double-win.

After enjoying some tacos, we headed over to a little bar called The Blue Line Lounge and Grill. The place reminds me of something from the Rat Pack era; it could easily stand-in for the set of Swingers or Goodfellas. It's located directly under the El's Blue Line track, so the name is appropriate. Here's a shot of it from the outside:

I was incredibly lucky to catch-up with one of my old friends from my home town - Steve W. I had an absolute blast chatting with him while at the Blue Line; it's like we never missed a beat, despite not having seen each other for at least 6-7 years. Steve W is a super interesting and cool guy - Steve, if you're reading this, let's get together the next time I'm in Chicago!

On another night, I ventured back down to the Wicker Park area to sample some of the pizza from the infamous "Piece Pizza & Brewery." The venue was small and completely packed; when I stepped foot into the establishment, I was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with nearly 200 people. Yikes!

After a fairly substantial wait, I was able to score a small table and promptly ordered some pizza and one of their brews. While I wasn't a fan of the brew, I did enjoy the pizza. It was a New York style pizza - the crust was chewy but nicely charred, and the toppings were very high quality. I opted for jalapeno, sausage and onion. A spicy combo, but it was delish:

And finally, while visiting Wicker Park on yet another evening, I encountered this wonderful little guy.

His name is Louie, and he's a handsome 2-year old American Staffordshire (aka "Pit Bull"). He was being walked to his socialization and training classes by a nice lady who stopped to chat with me about him. He's available for adoption and currently lives with a Chihuahua and a few cats (sounds familiar, eh?!). He was so sweet - I wish I could've taken him home with me, but I think I've got my hands full with Feef.

As if I wasn't tempted enough by the fine dining and wonderful bars down in the Wicker Park area, one of my project team members brought these in for the last day of our last working session...

Those devils!! I resisted, but it wasn't easy... they looked and smelled as if they could've given the Greenbush Bakery (in Madison) a serious run for its money. ARGH.

I returned to Wisconsin on Thursday night and was greeted by an awesome surprise snow storm on Friday... there wasn't any mention of snow while I was in Chicago - I guess they may have been spared. We, however, took the brunt of the storm - 5-6 inches of heavy, wet snow landed by 5:00pm on Friday. Here's the view from my car as I left work on Friday:

Nice.

== FINAL STORY ==

With the fresh snowfall, I was able to get out and snowshoe for a bit. It was the first time I had been able to go this year; we've had a very mild winter, so I was actually happy for Friday's heaping helping of crystalized water...

I did a nice 3-mile hike in the snowshoes today - the weather was perfect, and the wet snow made for easy hiking:

After finishing the snowshoeing, I grabbed Feef, and we took a trip into town for some cat and dog food. Here she is, riding in the car - she rides like a champ and can never wait to hop-in the car with me:

...and finally... holy cats, I'm exhausted after writing this entry...

I've given-up diet soda. I quit it cold-turkey in mid-February, and haven't missed it since. I figured it would be much more difficult to quit drinking it, but I find that I really enjoy a glass of water or a glass of unsweet tea as much as, if not more than, a diet Mountain Dew or a Diet Coke.

The nice thing about quitting soda is the amount of room it clears in the refrigerator. Here's what my fridge looks like after dropping the soda.

No Chicago trips this week; it'll be nice to stay home for a bit and enjoy the home turf. Especially this little thing:

My, how quickly time flies... it seems like only yesterday when I was at St. Peters in Ashton, enjoying their wonderful fish fry... looking back, it wasn't "yesterday" - it was nearly two years ago!

Yikes!

I had the chance to revisit this fish fry a few weeks ago, and I'm proud to report that little has changed from the last visit. The fish is still awesome, the venue is still the same, it still only cost $11, and you will still require some patience...

When we arrived a few Fridays ago, we were greeted by a looooong line - so long, in fact, that we were required to begin our wait OUTSIDE of the church:

Thankfully, it was tolerable outside - the weatherman said it was something like 30F, and the winds were manageable...

Once inside, we purchased tickets and settled-in for our long wait by purchasing several $2 adult beverages. It floors me that you can buy cans of Miller Lite, Bud Light, and MGD while standing in a church... when we purchased our tickets for the fish, the kind gentleman who took our cash suggested that tonight's line was a "4-5 beer line" - that told us we should probably "stock-up" for the wait. In addition to the adult varietals, we purchased a few sodas and waters to help balance things out.

Here's a picture of the line... at this point, we had already waited for a solid hour:

As mentioned, the Ashton church fish fry will set you back about $11 per person... but be prepared to wait for your turn at the table. To say that this fry is popular would be like saying that Michael Jordan knows a thing or two about basketball... it's an absolutely crazy event. It doesn't help that the church only offers the fish fry on a handful of dates; it starts in late October, and averages one-per-month through April.

To help pass the time, there are numerous excellent art-exhibits, compliments of the students. You may or may not enjoy this art as much as we did:

Standing in line for nearly 2 hours will do strange things to a person. As we approached the dining area, I began to feel delirious - was it the excitement of knowing that succulent fish was waiting for me? Was it the influence of several beverages? Or was it the fact that everyone, including the numerous pictures and statues were giving me "the eye"?

Ok... so, that may not win me any favors with "the big man," but oh well. It's all in good fun.

Soon after taking that photo, we could see the dining area... this place knows how to pack-em-in... these are tables full of lucky souls, all enjoying the wonderful deep-fried cod from St. Peter:

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, we were lead to our table, where we were seated with 8-9 complete strangers. Waiting for us at the table were plates of fresh-fried cod, piping-hot fries, warmed green beans, and homemade bread.

By luck of the draw, we were seated with a complete fish-fry-animal... this "gentleman" looked like something from a ZZ Top video and was obviously there to inhale as much fish as humanly possible. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he honestly took 8-9 pieces of fish from the first plate, and that he lunged at people who dared take a piece for themselves.

As such, my fist plate looked like this:

...and that would be the theme for most of the meal... the hostesses would bring out a fresh plate of steaming-hot fish, and Mr. ZZ Top would promptly commandeer the plate, take 6-7 pieces for himself, and then begrudgingly relinquish the plate to the rest of us...

The fish itself was decent. Certain plates were phenomenal - fresh, flaky, lightly battered, fully flavored, and absolutely succulent. Other plates had clearly been over-cooked... the fish was dry, rubbery, and lifeless... it's probably the nature of the beast when you're trying to serve fresh, hot fish to a few hundred people at a time. I'm guessing certain plates sat longer than others prior to being served.

St. Peter's does nail the batter - every piece of fish featured the perfectly applied batter, with a hint of salt and pepper. It was never too thick nor too thin, and it clung to the fish without fail. The fish itself was also delicious - nary a sign of grease, and the fish was extremely mild yet flavorful. Quite honestly, the only thing that was occasionally "off" was the texture, and I blame that on the church trying to crank-out so much fish at once.

So, it goes to prove - it you land a good table with ordinary (read: human) people, and you can manage to snag fresh fish, you'll be in good shape at Saint Peters. But, if by some stroke of bad-luck, you happen to land at a table like mine, you'll suffer.

The fries - decent. Crinkle-cut, nicely fried, lightly salted. The canned beans - canned. Watery, warm, just like you had in the old grade school cafeteria. The bread -acceptable. I'm told the coleslaw was "passable."

At the end of our meal (Mr. ZZ-fishzilla was still going strong after 30-35 minutes of pounding fish), we accepted a small dessert - this piece of strawberry cake hit the spot:

Simple, and obviously homemade, it was the perfect end to our evening.

Despite being seated with Mr. Fish, I still endorse this fish fry with complete confidence. Its standing in the overall ratings stands strong.

St. Peters = WIN

Food = 4.0 stars
Service = 5.0 stars
Value = 5.0 stars
MISC = 3.0 stars

They only serve it once a month (on average) and they only serve for a few months per year, but it's worth the wait and price. Not every plate will be perfect, but all things considered, it's a damn solid fish fry (eeek! did I just just say that about a church-sponsored fish fry?!)...

"When I walk on by, girls be looking like 'damn he fly'
I pimp to the beat, walking down the street in my new L.A. Freak, yeah -
This is how I roll, animal print, pants out control,
It's RedFoo with the big afro
And like Bruce Lee I've got the claw...

Girl look at that body, Girl look at that body, Girl look at that body -
I work out"

What? Oh no - I'm not talking about me... I'm talkin' about Shiloh. He's been hitting the gym, cutting back on carbs and really focusing on his abs. See?

HA.

And truth #2 - that's not actually Shiloh; I saw the picture on woot.com's message boards today and just about spit coffee all over the place. Someone at work mentioned it looked like Shiloh, so I figured I'd share it with everyone.

Enjoy.

....tell me I'm wrong.

That's not to say I haven't taken my aluminum-framed bike out on a trail or two, but I'll be the first to admit that those rides were definitely "white-knuckle" all the way... when you're working with about 0.75" of tire tread width and riding on crushed pea-gravel, things can get interesting.

I had been contemplating purchasing an off-road bike; I researched mountain bikes, but ultimately decided against one as I didn't need (or want) a bike with suspension (shocks). Shocks sap a lot of your pedaling power; the super-fat tires on a mountain bike also add to the efficiency-suck.

As keen observers will recall, I test-rode a Ridley Cyclocross bike almost a year ago, and really liked it. A cyclocross bike offers the best of both on- and off-road worlds. You get a lightweight, stiff, efficient frame (great for road riding and putting down some serious power) along with the versatility of a wider (about 1.375") tire, off-road capable brakes, all wrapped-up in a riding position and style that mimics a traditional road bike.

So, I knew that I wanted a cyclocross bike. But, I didn't want just any cyclocross bike. No sir. While it's true that I'm a complete sucker for carbon fiber frames, quite honestly, they scare me. Carbon fiber offers tremendous stiffness, rigidity, ride compliance, and light weight. It is, unfortunately, very vulnerable to impact strike damage.

Your carbon fiber bike tipped over? Whoops - you'll probably need to replace the frame. My Cervelo's frame cost just about $3000...

Based on my carbon love/fear relationship, I figured I would sleep much better at night if I had an aluminum (or titanium or magnesium or chromeoly) framed cyclocross bike. You don't handle a "cross bike" with kid-gloves... they're meant to be punished.

I also wanted a good groupset. The groupset consists of the components that attach to the frame and fork - i.e., shifters, derailuers, cranks, brakes, and hoods. I knew that I wanted "middle-of-the-road" components... I didn't need a $2500 DuraAce set, but I also wanted to avoid a $300 disposable set.

So, my options were limited. I spent several weekends researching and checking out bikes from: Cannondale, Specialized, Trek, Salsa, Ridley, and Kona.

After scouring countless forums, articles, and stores, I narrowed my decision to the Ridley X-Bow or the Kona Jake The Snake. I ultimately decided on the Kona because it was quite a bit lighter and featured a better groupset and wheel set.

I drove to Milwaukee where a little shop called Cory The Bike Fixer had a nice selection of Kona bikes, Salsa bikes, and Surly bikes. The folks there were super helpful and accommodating, and after a few hours of test-riding, swapping pedals, clamping in-and-out of the trainer, and sharp negotiating, I was heading home with this in my car:

Oh, whoops!

Truth be told, Fleefer did ride along with me yesterday - she made a great co-pilot and companion. But to get back to the story, at around 4:00pm, I had this beauty sitting in the back of the 'ole Prius:

I can't say enough great things about Derick, Cory, and the fine folks at Cory The Bike Fixer - they were super cool, non-pressuring, and extremely helpful. The shop was busy, yet they took excellent care of everyone that ventured in to the store. It's so refreshing to find shops like Cory's and Cronometro - both are true gems.

Once back at the house, I spent the majority of the evening dialing-in my fit by adjusting the seat height, seat angle, seat-to-bar distance, bar height, and cleat positions, all in the name of getting a safe, efficient, and comfortable fit. While I really dislike my trainer, it does help when setting-up a new bike's geometry. You can hop on-and-off, ride, adjust, and repeat as necessary.

I snapped one quick picture of the bike at around 10:30pm, just before heading to bed:

Sunday came along, and I spent the morning cleaning the house, doing laundry (all bedding, quilts, blankets, etc), and running errands. I then snapped a series of photos, which I'll post here with minimal description/info:

Left-side profile:

Monster headtube assembly:

Great paint scheme:

Hidden cables (they run inside of the tubing):

Compact crankset with BB30 and some new Crank Bros. "eggbeater" pedals:

If you look behind the sprocket, you'll see the fluted (for strength) chainstay:

Ultegra rear derailuer:

Cantilever brakes allow for lots of clearance; these are nice Avid Shorty 6s:

Shimano wheelset (I just liked the angle of this picture):

4-season tires! Trail, snow, rain, mud, road - nothing to stop me...

Despite it being rather windy today, I decided to layer-up and take the new steed out for a ride. I threw on a long-sleeve Smartwool NTS wool base shirt, some riding bibs, and my matched-set of Sporthill 3SP pants and top. That Sporthill stuff is stellar - windproof to 35mph and warm to 20F. I doubled-up on gloves, put on a pair of IceBreaker wool socks, and hit the road.

The road ride was fantastic. The bike was smooth, responsive, and "zippy" - it didn't feel like a big slug on the dry pavement. I made my way to a nearby trail and hopped-on. The new bike handled the combination of mud and snow without any problems - it was stable and sure-footed, predictable and comfortable, although a few spots of the trail were extremely rough, and I got a good "shaking" at times.

And a quick picture of yours truly, all bundled-up:

I rode a wonderful 22-miles in just under an hour-and-a-half. Even though it was only 30F and the winds were gusting in excess of 20mph, it felt g-o-o-d good to be outside riding, rather than stuck on the trainer. After the ride, I donned the running shoes and went out for a 4-mile run. Not a bad day, especially for a cold, mid-February day.

The only downside to winter riding? The mess. :-)

I think I'll buy some fenders for the new ride... right after I give it a bath.

Oh, and for anyone that may be interested in a cyclocross bike, check out the Ridley X-Bow that's over at Cronometro. It is an absolutely superb bike, and I was honestly this close to going with it instead of the Kona. Call and ask for Scott, and he'll be more than happy to help you out. The guys at that shop are absolutely TOP NOTCH - you'll be in good hands. As I mentioned earlier, there are few shops that I trust and appreciate - Cronometro and Cory The Bike Fixer are definitely on my (very) short list of "good guys."