Muss & Turner's Dessert

Because of the fact that it looked so good and we were a little tipsy, I had to take an artsy close-up shot to capture the non-traditional look of this delicious Boston Cream Pie. It was paired with a nice Finnish Porter named Sinebrychoff Porter.

Muss & Turner's Soup (First Course)

Puree of Celery Soup with Truffle Walnut Compote - Scott had this & he said it was good even though he combined his Rare Vos with another beer he had before into one glass. Drunk people make mistakes...oh well.

Muss & Turner's Third Course

Kamado Grilled Veal Chop with Brown Butter Roasted Winter Squash and Lacinato Kale paired with Rogue Brutal Bitter from Oregon. Probably one of the best chops I have ever had. The pairing worked well and brought out the grilled flavors of the meat.

Muss & Turner's Second Course

Technically the First Course - Salad of Endive, Arugula, Fourme d'Ambert (Blue Cheese), Pine Nuts, with a Sherry Vinaigrette Dressing

Muss & Turner's First Course

Amuse Buche - Duck with balsamic apricot reduction. Nice beginning to a good meal complete with beer pairings. We started out with some beers of our own including a Brooklyn Chocolate Stout and a delicious Belgian Winter ale named de Doelle Still Nacht. It had 12% alcohol and I felt it.

A Very Hanky Xmas

Pepper & his brown friend. He looks thrilled, huh?

Xmas Coon

I have no idea how he got up there but maybe Pepper scared him up the column. Eeeek! Sometimes it is better to not know why. My hope is that he did not leave rabies on the porch. :-o

Happy Holidays!

Cupcake moose herd makes me smile:-)

Logo for Pizza Chicken Love Letter

The name is weird but it is great!

Love Letter Pizza Chicken

Korean pizza + chicken while watching a TV show about magic makes it cool. The chicken is spicy + the sweet potato pizza are great!

Leaving Chicago

I won't miss the cold. The arriving flight on Tuesday was rough because of an aborted landing but the flight home to the balmy heat of Atlanta was much prettier and peaceful.

Bistro 110 - 3rd Course

Meat and pomme frites (pomme frites were relative). I just noticed it was a bit blurry but rest assured that it is meat with herb butter and not a waffle house steak and has browns.

Bistro 110 - Second Course

Roasted garlic and fresh bread was served as an appetizer. I hope to breathe on people but the cold weather should keep any odors at bay.

Bistro 110 - Beer Course

First course beer was a Maredsous Belgian Beer. I have never seen it in draft and it was a very sweet beer.

I am a nerd...

That takes pics of Lego Darth Vader! The Lego store in Chicago is my favorite because I am still 8 years old and take the advice of Yoda on all matters of career and beer selections. Darth Vader being paired with R2D2 seems wrong. What would C3PO think?

Chicago - John Hancock Tree

Better than NYC! The tree wasn't surrounded by dopey people taking pictures of their velveeta eating, Wii playing children screaming about their lack of time in the Disney Store.

Chicago - German Christmas Village

Better than Germany but twice as cold. Apparently Chicago sets up an authentic Christmas village run by real Germans every year. They do neat activities like serving mulled wine in boots and selling chocolate that is labeled all in German. I saw stuff there we did not see in Germany but the coolest was the Kinder egg advent calendar. Definitely worth a return visit!

Chicago - German Christmas Village Video

Hopefully this will give you a better idea of the atmosphere...

Cold in Chicago

My view from the W Hotel - Navy Pier. The lake looks a little snowy on the shore and the park area has a little snow.

Columbus Circle - NYC

Bouchon & J Crew - Yay! Columbus Circle always seems to be a stop for us to pay our respects to Thomas Keller. It also has a tremendous J Crew that always has stuff in my size. Ironically, the more Bouchon I eat, the less my J Crew clothes will fit. Foie gras and butter do not make for a proper fitting of pants!

Central Park - NYC

I blogged this one minute after I took this - technology is cool. My giant coat looks like I am 6 years old playing businessman. The coat will have to do for now. The park looks great and there was no snow or ice. Still walkable and usable for now...

Madonna Rocks!

Nothing like a Madonna wannabe. We waited for a train for about 10 minutes and got to hear most of her catalog. You too can be a star with a karaoke machine and big dreams!

Mmmmm Cupcake...

Crumb on 3rd Avenue. They are hidden and have much better cupcakes than Magnolia Bakery. Their flavors include "Chunky Monkey" and do a nice spin on the standard cupcake.

Rockefeller Center Tree

All the beauty without Al Roker's dumbass comments.

Seeing the tree is nice but the throngs of tourists breathing in with their mouth make it difficult to see it fully. It is worth seeing it once but NYC is better when you can experience the city without morons.

Merry Christmas

Crowds + NYC + Tourists Looking in Barneys = Fun

Next stop Anal Street...

Welcome to NYC!

Anal Street is north of Rectum Avenue.

Beer, Pretzels, & Goats, Oh My!

Pretzels, beer, goat cheese, and chili.... This little Nashville brewpub named Blackstone serves up some good grub including their 6 rotating brews ranging from a light lager to an oatmeal porter. The highlights in my opinion are the homemade pretzels with their specially made grain mustard. The picture shows them half eaten because I was too excited and did not remember to take a picture. The goat cheese salad on frsh greens with dried cherries and vinaigrette is a nice balance that works well with the lighter beers. The chili is also good but does not hold up to my twisted knots of gluten.

Camo Crock?

At Bass Pro Shops, you too can crock in disguise! In one of the more unusual findings in the Nashville Mega-Branch of this redneck's mecca, you can crock your deer, squirrel, or raccoon in this classy device. I think the settings "Off, Low, Medium, & High" should be replaced with "Nah, Lil', Bit' Mo', & Earnhardt".

Driving to Nashville

On the way to Nashville, I was behind this truck for a few miles and was tempted to follow. The hypnotizing head of the floating pig was drawing me in. Should I follow or move on to my destination?