Real Mascots: NFC South

[Hoagie Central makes no statement regarding the sainthood and sanctity of the man pictured.]

hockey highlights

I wanted to find Gretzky videos, particularly of great assists, but couldn't find any good ones, especially with the poor video quality of 80's stuff on youtube.

Real Mascots: AFC East

Denver Barbecue Review: Yazoo (on Arapahoe)

My second barbecue experience in Denver was at Yazoo. It was convenient to go to this newer location near my hotel, not their original location.

First sign that something's not quite right...their house specialty is a Bob...a chicken dish.

Now I saw a bunch of people ordering it. It looked good. Chicken with jalapenos and bacon on skewers. But it's chicken. Barbecue places all over the country feature pork, brisket, ribs as their signature dish...but chicken?

Anyways, I got the 1/2 pound pork sandwich with beans.

The pork was dry and not that flavorful. Luckily, they had an assortment of good sauces, so it was an enjoyable sandwich.

But as far as barbecue goes, I wasn't impressed. Maybe I'll have to try the Bob, sometime when I'm in the mood for chicken, just not barbecue.

Pork Sandwich: B-
Beans: B
Overall: B-


- - -

For The Record:
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (11/22/10): A+
Arthur Bryant's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/21/10): A+
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (2/13/09): A+
Jack Stack, eat-in, Overland Park (11/21/10): A
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (10/6/07): A
Gates, stadium, Arrowhead (10/7/07): A
Gates, eat-in, Kansas City, Kansas (6/4/11): A-
Jabo's, eat-in, Denver, (12/1/10) A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Overland Park (10/6/07): A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/23/10): A-
Corky's, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): A-
Carsons, eat-in, Chicago (2/7/09): A-
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (2/13/09): A-
Smokehouse BBQ, eat-in, Overland Park (2/14/09): A-
Zarda: eat-in, Blue Springs (6/10/11): B+
Smoke Daddy, eat-in, Chicago (5/23/09): B+
Rum Boogie Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B+
Neely's, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B
Yazoo, eat-in, Greenwood Village (6/9/11): B-
Famous Dave's, eat-in, Peoria (11/26/10) B-
LC's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/24/10): B-
Blues City Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): C

KC Burnt End Double Review: Gates (again) and Zarda (for the first time)

Easily the best part of the trip from O'Fallon, Illinois to Denver, Colorado is the barbecue pit stop in Kansas City. (pun intended)

The day was June 4, 2011. I had my choice of any place I wanted to go. The answer was Gates.

Previous visits had taken us to the Gates in Overland Park based on where the cheap hotels are. This time, on I-70 West, we pulled into a Gates on State in Kansas City, Kansas.

I would have liked to get a combo plate, to taste multiple meats, but the only variety plate they had was $17 and I assumed enough for two people.

So I ordered what I loved last time: Burnt End on Bun with fries.

Here's what Gates' burnt ends look like:

This was the sandwich that just 8 months ago I rated A++.

This time...I wasn't as impressed. Which surprised me.

Perhaps it was the high expectations. Perhaps it was the different location. (Though the sandwich looked the same. I thought the fries were as good as always.)

But the meat didn't wow me. Again, I think this was largely my own expectations vs reality.

In the two weeks since, I've reflected how the first time I got pork burnt ends at Jack Stack (October 07) was way better than the second time (February 09). So maybe the lesson is to always try something new.

Regardless, I enjoyed the food. It's good quality. A real nice dinner. Just not world-class.

Burnt End on Bun: A-
Fries: A
Overall: A-

- - -

Coming back on June 10, I wanted to try a new place. We pulled into the Zarda BBQ in Blue Springs, on the Missouri side of Kansas City.

Again, I looked for a way to order multiple meats but settled for a burnt end sandwich. Here's what Zarda serves up:

The sandwich comes on a smaller, circular bun here. And the meat comes in solid chunks, not shredded like at Gates and Arthur Bryant's. They had a good variety of sauces which you can see sampled on the left side of my plate.

Suprisingly, my reaction was similar to my Gates review. Good, nothing special. The sides were good. But the meat wasn't blowing me away. The texture wasn't my favorite. I've had big chunks of burnt ends before. Jack Stack serves up this style, but the meat is tender and you could shred it with your fingers if you wanted to. At Zarda, the texture was more solid.

This place was good enough that I'd try it again one day, but I wouldn't order the burnt ends. 

Burnt End: B+
Fries: A
Beans: A-
Overall: B+


- - -

For The Record:
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (11/22/10): A+
Arthur Bryant's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/21/10): A+
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (2/13/09): A+
Jack Stack, eat-in, Overland Park (11/21/10): A
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (10/6/07): A
Gates, stadium, Arrowhead (10/7/07): A
Gates, eat-in, Kansas City, Kansas (6/4/11): A-
Jabo's, eat-in, Denver, (12/1/10) A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Overland Park (10/6/07): A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/23/10): A-
Corky's, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): A-
Carsons, eat-in, Chicago (2/7/09): A-
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (2/13/09): A-
Smokehouse BBQ, eat-in, Overland Park (2/14/09): A-
Zarda: eat-in, Blue Springs (6/10/11): B+
Smoke Daddy, eat-in, Chicago (5/23/09): B+
Rum Boogie Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B+
Neely's, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B
Famous Dave's, eat-in, Peoria (11/26/10) B-
LC's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/24/10): B-
Blues City Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): C

Behind the Scenes of the TU podcast

Here's how the sausage gets made. (Or not made in months.)

Elevation from Denver to KC

When I was a kid and I heard about the mile-high city, I imagined Denver on top of a giant cliff. But that's not the case.

When you drive it, it feels pretty much flat. And then you're a mile up. (What nobody tells you is that the Midwest is already about 1000 feet above sea level.)

Game 7

Canucks have been outscored 19-8 in the Finals, and yet with home ice for game 7, I'm expecting them to win. Should be a good one.

medium image dump

Doritos Collisions: The Mystery Behind History's Greatest Doritos

I was going to write a long post about Doritos Collisions. It would have included sentences like the following: 

There have been three truly great ideas of the 21st century (to date): buying Google stock, killing Osama bin Laden, and putting two different Doritos in the same bag. 

Instead I came up with a snazzy title and am just going to post a giant image of my favorite Doritos flavor ever. They are discontinued. 

Yes, I am mailing it in. But is this any different than most articles these days? At least it's not a 10-picture slideshow.

stupid thought

It would be fun if the Tampa Bay Lightning changed their name to the Tampa Bay Destroyers. That way when you look at a playoff bracket you could have a team like NYR vs TBD.

TBA would also be funny.

I know the used to be called the Devil Rays. But I never heard anyone make that comment then.

nba finals thoughts: part 1

I don't have TV and I haven't read anything yet. There seems to be a few obvious thoughts here so I'm sure that I'll reiterate what someone else said or will say.

Good matchup.

If you're a Dallas fan, you have to be thinking about the last time Dirk & Co. got to the finals, got up 2-0, and then lost the next four games. Where Dwayne Wade got all the calls, deserved or not.

If you're a Miami fan, just kidding, I know there aren't any.

If you're a Cleveland fan, you've already blown your brains out.

So we've got a Big Two + Bosh on one side and Mark Cuban. Most interesting owner vs most interesting stars.

Either Dirk or LeBron will win their first title. I think that's nice. Always fun to see stars who have been chasing a title for years finally get one.

I made a bet with Mark before the season started that Miami would win it all. He took the field. We shook on it. We never came up with stakes and at this point it wouldn't be fair. When Miami wins, I'll probably just make a post titled Mark Blows.

Despite my prognostication, I think it would be better for the league if Dallas wins. After the Boston Big 4 title, if they Heat win it will only exacerbate the trend of stars jumping to select teams. But even if Dallas wins, the model still worked and I expect the trend to continue.

Real Mascots: NFC East

Installment #3. Finding a photographed approximation of a fictional being proved difficult, but I figured the tallest man in the world was the best I could do. Also, I researched that Washington's team name was based on a coach that claimed Sioux ancestry, so the picture represented here is a Sioux.

Real Mascots: AFC North

Back by popular demand (not really) here's installment #2.

Real Mascots: NFC North

This is the first installment of a new project. I think it would be fun to do all 32 NFL teams and possibly other sports, but finding good pictures for every team is hard. (Green Bay was almost impossible.)