Dinner and a movie

Posted on October 18, 2011 by adevaughan

After another day of work here in Decatur, I had dinner at a chain BBQ restaurant (Hickory River Smokehouse). I didn’t realize it was a chain until I got in the place. I usually avoid chain restaurants when traveling for work as I like to sample the local flair. However, I was already in the place and didn’t feel like coming up with plan B. It was not bad but I wish I had gone somewhere else. I had the pulled pork with a mix of regular BBQ sauce and some spicy BBQ sauce. It tasted like BBQ but I find it hard to believe it was “award winning” unless it was the only entrant. The applesauce on the side was very good and had nice chunks of real apples with just a touch of cinnamon.

After dinner I took advantage of being at a hotel right next to a movie theater (or is that theatre?) and saw a first-run movie on the big screen. I paid $8.50 (yeesh) to see “Moneyball.” This is based on a book describing (with some creative license) how Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane put together a low-budget baseball team in 2002 which captured the American League West title. I enjoyed the movie and was impressed with Brad Pitt in the starring role. Philip Seymour Hoffman played A’s manager Art Howe which was a surprise for me. He looked nothing like Art Howe and brought a strange aura to the role. I usually enjoy PSH in movies but I didn’t think this was his best work. I will give him a little slack as he may have done the best with what he was given. Despite that casting choice, I enjoyed the movie and think it was probably worth the $8.50 I paid. I do remember why I don’t see many movies in the theater. The movie’s advertised start time was 7:00pm. The movie actually started at 7:23pm – 16 minutes of commercials and annoucements to silence your cell phone followed by 7 minutes of previews. No thanks. I think I will go back to Netflix and my 46″ LCD.

As always, thanks for reading. Eh, who am I kidding. Nobody but web crawlers and blog spammers read this. Thank you and good night.

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Decatur

Posted on October 17, 2011 by adevaughan

With the change in the weather comes an increase in my travel schedule. This week I am in Decatur, Illinois. For those of you who don’t know (or are too lazy to do a little looking), Decatur is about two and a half hours from St. Louis. Decatur is known by many folks as the Soy Capital of the World. ADM is headquarted here and there is a large soybean processing facility on the outskirts of downtown. If the wind is blowing the right way, you can smell the plant anywhere in town. It is hard to describe but imagine the same smell as a large brewery (ex. Anheuser-Busch) but with a more “burnt” smell.

After an early drive and a day of work, I am relaxing at my hotel watching MNF. I really have no interest in the Jets or the Dolphins but the game is providing a distraction to keep me awake.

I did have an enjoyable dinner at Corona’s Mexican Restaurant. I had the Shrimp Fajita Taco Salad and it was very good. What makes it even better is it was only $5.99! There was plenty of shrimp and the other ingredients were mixed to perfection. I paired the taco salad with a Dos Equis Amber. It is always good to keep your dinner under $20 when you have a per diem. It puts more cash in my pocket on payday.

I seem to be loosing the battle with Mr. Sandman. I shall cut this short and resume tomorrow – not that anyone is actually reading this.

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Pekin

Posted on May 24, 2011 by adevaughan

Tonight is my last night in the booming metropolis of Pekin, IL. Pekin is a town of about 35, 000 residents located 20 minutes south of Peoria. I am on yet another business trip. This is one of the joys of being an IT auditor. One more exciting trip up I-55 from the Gateway City.

I wandered over to the Firehouse Pizza located near my hotel. It looked like a good place on the website and seemed to have a decent beer selection. To my surprise, I asked for a pint of AmberBock (as mentioned on the menu) and was told this location didn’t have any alcohol anymore. It seems the Firehouse Pizza in Pekin has lost its liquor license. I was not pleased. I just checked again, and the website menu claims “full selection of beer and wine available for dine in”. I expressed my disappointment to my server and asked for a glass of water. Little did I know this was to be a portent of things to come.

The server was a nice young lady but seemed to be a little on the spacey side. I ordered the “Spicy Sicilian” sandwich as I wasn’t in the mood for a full pizza. After I had eaten a bit, the server asked me how it was. I explained it was tasty and then she said, “I’ve never seen anyone actually eat that before.” This is not what you expect to hear from your server at a restaurant. I realize she meant she hadn’t eaten that item nor had she served it to anyone before. However, it sounded like I had made a big mistake ordering the sandwich. The “manager” who handled my paying the bill also asked how the sandwich was and claimed it was too spicy for him. Considering it didn’t taste that spicy to me, I figure this management crew was pretty green. Perhaps the loss of the liquor license had an effect on the staff and a new team was trying to make the best of things. I don’t foresee a long future for this Firehouse location. I may try this chain again in a different city but don’t intend to return to the Pekin location.

Oh well, not all dining experiences in a new town turn out well. At least the meal was pretty cheap. I consoled myself with two thick chocolate chip cookies from Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe on the walk back. I figure the calories in the cookies replaced what I would have had in two pints of beer.

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Champaign

Posted on March 21, 2011 by adevaughan

I am in Champaign, Illinois for three days this week on business. The bad part about traveling is getting up really early (4:30am) so I can be on the road. It is a little over three hours to Mahomet, Illinois where I had to be at 9:30am for a meeting. Once again I traveled up I-55 from the Gateway City. I am getting tired of the same old billboards. I guess I could have taken I-70 to I-57 and then backtracked a few miles on I-74 but that seemed silly. Mahomet is a small town (7,300 or so) located about 10 miles NW of Champaign.

Having to drive early in the morning and then work most of the day before heading to the hotel is a little tough. Fortunately, there was a very tasty restaurant near my hotel. Old Chicago Pasta and Pizza is about a half a mile up the road and is a nice place. Like my favorite pub, Old Chicago has about 100 beers on tap/in bottle available. The bonus for me was getting to have two Warsteiner Dunkels with my strombolli. I don’t often find that beer at a restaurant so I decided to forgo my usual rule of trying the local draft brew so I could enjoy one of my favorite beers with dinner.

My hotel looks much nicer than where I usually stay. I try to keep the cost reasonable so my client doesn’t get socked with a huge bill after the job is done. This is a newer hotel in the Wyndham family and it shows. It has a nice indoor pool with jacuzzi, decent fitness room and just looks clean. I hope the hot breakfast doesn’t disappoint in the morning.

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Ska & Dundee

Posted on February 28, 2011 by adevaughan

I went to Growlers for our somewhat regular Sunday dinner. We go on Sundays because neither of us wants to cook and the kids can eat free. We ask for our favorite server (J) and I get to enjoy two frosty beverages since I don’t have to worry about driving home.

This time I had the Ska Buster Nut Brown Ale (#65 for those of you keeping track on your beer card) and the Dundee Honey Brown Lager (#66). I have enjoyed the Ska brew before and it was as tasty as ever. I am a big fan of the brown ales as they are on the darker side without being really heavy like a stout. Don’t misunderstand me – I like the stouts. However, sometimes I want to go a little lighter without dropping all the way down to a pilsner (yuk). The problem with brown ales is they tend to go down really easy. Before you know it, you have had your two and dinner isn’t served. I hate when that happens.  Not only is the beer very tasty but the artwork on the label is really well done.

The Dundee was not bad. I am not sure it is really a lager as it tastes more like an amber ale. It has a nice copper color and is easy to drink. Not one of my favorites but certainly better than almost anything mainstream in my city (the city that used to have the largest American beer company).  I am not sure I would choose it again but if it was offered, I would certainly drink it without complaint.

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St. Louis Gast Haus

Posted on February 19, 2011 by adevaughan

We went to the St. Louis Gast Haus for dinner today with friends.  This is the only true German restaurant in St. Louis.  The food and drinks were excellent as usual.   However, the service was sluggish.  This seems to be a common theme at the Gast Haus.

Tonight the restaurant ran low on menus. Really?  How do you run short of menus when there are only 30 people in the restaurant?  The waiter (or is it server now?) apologized and gave us the list of drinks which got us through the 10 minute wait for a menu.  I enjoyed a liter of Warsteiner Dunkel which is my favorite beer that is available in this area. The beer was accompanied by the Jagerschnitzel with Spaetzle and vegetables.  The portion of meat was a little small but tasted wonderful.

One of these days, the Gast Haus will figure out their procedures and turn themselves into an amazing restaurant.  The food is there, the right people are there, they just can’t seem to get it all together on the same night.  I encourage you to go give them a try.  Just don’t be in a hurry.  Patience is a virtue and the food/drink will be worth the wait.

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Hofbrau Hefe Weizen

Posted on February 19, 2011 by adevaughan

I enjoyed a Hofbrau Hefe Weizen yesterday after work.  I stopped in at my favorite watering hole, Growlers Pub.  I had forgotten it was Guinness Toast day so I was momentarily surprised when the place was pretty full at 4:00 pm.  Fortunately, I was able to grab a spot at the bar and enjoy a tasty brew.  It seems strange to be now one of those people I remember hearing about as a kid – reading the sports page of the paper while enjoying an after work drink.  The Hofbrau was good.  I am not usually fond of any kind of fruity taste in beer but this was acceptable.

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Welcome

Posted on February 13, 2011 by adevaughan

I have started traveling more with my job and find myself having more time to think about life, the universe and everything. I don’t expect anyone to read this but that doesn’t bother me. This blog will give me a place to record my musings. My musings will most likely be about hotels, food and beer with the occasional sports related post.

I will most certainly not have as profound posts as my friend R. He is much better at meaningful posts that really make a person think. He doesn’t post that often but every post is worth reading. Look for the “Of Saltpeter and Pins” blog on WordPress.

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