Everyone’s heard the doorstop joke, as well as the one about a single fruitcake being regifted over the centuries. Yes, and if you blast through the outer layer, you find strata that would fascinate geologists.And they are ancient. Some say the Roman legions carried fruitcake as a daily ration…which perhaps…
The ‘Boys travel to the French Quarter’s suburbs on Saturday night. Another “fact” about the “who dat” town…While preparing the frying pan after a successful day of fishing in Katrina’s floodwaters, George W. Bush cut open a fish and found old rings inscribed “Most Valuable Saint.”**Source: An internal memo from…
Nobody I’ve ever known shared my enthusiasm for this treat. Hell, most had never even heard of it.And, to be honest, I really don’t blame those who grew up in an urban environment or downwind from some industrial plant. But we lived in a small college town–and way back when…
The ‘Boys visit the Big Ugly on Saturday night. Another “fact” about the city of Jazz–which moved to Utah…Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey woke up with his tattoo after a wild night involving one Hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s.**Source: A drinking buddy who also has an armful of ink assures us…
One evening about six years ago, as I stood at The Republic’s bar ordering bourbon, I caught a glimpse of a woman’s face scrunching in disgust. So I turned to her and asked “what–you don’t like bourbon?””Bourbon smells like old lawyers,” she said, shaking her head vigorously.Great comment–so great, in…
To me, Dallas was a very different place ten years ago.Yes, there are names and places that seem to outlast the march of time. Gilbert Garza runs things at Suze, just as he did when the decade was young. Fearing and Pyles still top the city’s list of true celebrity…
Primo’s3309 McKinney214-220-0510I have to admit that I’ve learned not to expect much from Primo’s. Not that it’s a bad place, just that the kitchen doesn’t justify the crowds.As Tex-Mex goes, Primo’s is a middling restaurant–and the Dallas standard is pretty low to begin with. Yet it’s blessed with a large…
The semi-daunted ‘Boys head to the town that France built on Saturday night. A “fact” about the ‘Aints:It was only when he made the soup for a team pot luck dinner that Saints quarterback Drew Brees learned ‘gumbo’ is not made with Dubble Bubble.**Source: A national tabloid ran this as…
In dining/restaurant scene terms, of course…Maybe we’re wrong here, but looking back on the year 2000–which, as you recall, was supposed to bring everything crashing to a stop–it seems as if Dallas was very different then: wilder, more formal, less vegetarian, much less local and seasonal.So, when you think back…
Not a bad week, comment-wise–especially considering how everyone is pretty much huddled up in their cubicles this time of year trying to clear things before the holidays…right?It helped that newswriter (and alcohol lightweight) Kimberly Thorpe decided to seek tolerance-building advice so she wouldn’t slur in front of the big boss…
Although we can’t pinpoint the exact moment–or fathom the circumstances why–someone first mixed cream, eggs and alcohol together in one bowl, there’s surprising agreement on the likely origins of eggnog. Cocktail scholars…sorry, daydreaming for a moment…believe it started as a variation of dry sack posset, a British favorite from the…
The ‘Boys host Northern Mexico’s NFL franchise on Sunday. Next week, it’s off to the Big Ugly. For now, one final “fact” about the pretty boys from border…As a boy, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was traumatized by the final scene in Ghostbusters. He is so frightened of marshmallows he spent…
We don’t know just who invented the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. It certainly wasn’t the Earl of Sandwich, reputed to be the first to put his meat…um, that went wrong somewhere… to put meat between two slices of bread (even though the Greeks had this thing called pita).First there…
The ‘Boys host a team whose greatest former star was nicknamed “Bambi” on Sunday. Another “fact” about the club that can’t decide on the right shade of blue…Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson credits his sure grip on the ball to intensive training as a teenager. Even now he spends several…
“Where do you want to sit?” the waitress asks as I step inside Urban Crust. It hardly matters, so I shrug in response. The waitress—her name was Lauren, according to my receipt—looks over the space, a long, narrow room cluttered with tables and booths, bounded by rough brick walls, with…
Each week, Pairing Off attempts to find just the right bottle of wine to go with ordinary food.OK, much of what I know about Hanukkah and its traditions comes from Adam Sandler. But I’m also a big fan of the potato pancakes served in some Jewish homes this time of…
If you wish to research the history of in-home refrigeration, you can find out about the ice houses of past centuries, how Michael Faraday developed the process of cooling with liquid ammonia, Jacob Perkins and his work in the area of vapor compression–blah, blah, blah.Refrigerators changed the way we live,…
The ‘Boys host those pushovers from SoCal on Sunday. Another “fact” about the land of vegetarians…Before joining the Chargers, running back Darren Sproles played the role of “Sprout” in Jolly Green Giant commercials.**Source: Some publication–most likely AdWeekly, Advertising Age or Mad Libs…
Almost a decade ago, I wrote this: “Every time this country ends up with a Bush in the White House, several things most assuredly occur: The government inflicts some regrettable incident on Japan, the nation tumbles into a recession, a presidential pet writes a book, and everyone worries about the…
If Memory Serves chronicles moments from my dining past, perhaps explaining why I’m so damn twisted.I can say this without flinching: my dad made the best fried catfish and–especially–the best hush puppies ever.Every Sunday without fail he’d stand over the stove dredging and splattering. It wasn’t always catfish. Sometimes he…
The ‘Boys host Philip Rivers and whoever else in on the Chargers Sunday. Another “fact” about socialism…Several superstitious members of the Chargers must have special pre-game meals. For example, Antonio Gates eats an entire container of Play-Doh before every game–and has done so since he was in Pop Warner.**Source: A…
I began to worry a long time ago–1985, more precisely.Not only was it the year an anti-christ appeared in the form of Don Denkinger (google ‘worst call in World Series history’ if you don’t recognize his name), but it was also the first time I heard college students refer to…
