I can waste time on the interweb...this is one of the many ways I do it...
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Thursday’s Musical Education - Oberhofer - Away From You
Yay for lo-fi! I like this kid (well, I guess guys since “Oberhofer” is a band), and if you are in the Spokane area next Wednesday they will be at the A Club. I hope to be there as well.
(Source: youtube.com)
I went for an easy spin this morning and I decided to ride up on N. Summit Boulevard which is in the West Central neighborhood. Summit is an amazing road with fantastic old houses that overlook the Spokane River valley. The big problem (as far as I see it) is that Summit is in West Central. Not the greatest neighborhood in Spokane. At the end of Summit you are greeted by Boris Borzum. I don’t know the whole story behind Boris but I’ve always wanted to take a picture of him…so I finally did. I really like the lighting, it just seemed to fit with this cool crisp fall morning. This will probably not be the last time I take a picture of Mr. Borzum.
Chicago hot dogs in Spokane? Surely you can’t be serious?
Heading back from a ride one day we noticed a food trailer/cart parked on a little lot on Government Way that said “Chicago Style Cuisine”. A few days later it was gone. It turns out the fine City of Spokane made “Big Red’s” move to an area that was zoned for his business. It’s now located at the Southeast corner of Sunset and Government way.
Last night we finally decided to give it a shot. The menu is small but very Chicago…and when deciding if something is truely Chicago style cuisine you always order a Chicago hot dog (with everything on it). Being from Chicagoland I know what a Chicago dog should look and taste like and Big Red’s hits it perfectly.
I talked to the owner (and I’ll assume he goes by “Big Red”) and asked him where he was from and sure enough he claimed Chicago. I asked where and he said Manteno (I’m pretty sure I remember this correctly). Now, if Manteno is Chicago, than I grew up downtown on Michigan Avenue and not the Northwest suburbs. But that does not matter. Chicago cuisine is far reaching in the Midwest and you know it when you have it and Manteno is still in Chicagoland (and yes, “Chicagoland” is a real term). I asked about his brand of hot dogs…since that would be the litmus test of how “Chicago” the food would be. He chooses Red Hots whereas I prefer Vienna Beef…but I’m okay with that since it still fits the bill of what a Chicago Dog is. Interestingly Vienna Beef is currently suing Red Hot Chicago. Bottom line, dude knows his Chicago food.
Whenever I head back to the Chicago area the first stop from the airport is Portillo’s where we scarf down a few Chicago hot dogs and occasionally an Italian Beef, its how all trips back to the mother-land start…and usually finish too. So how does Big Red’s hot dog stack up? Damn good. He chooses the larger 3.2 oz Red Hot which makes for a meal in itself. And that makes sense, if you look into how the Chicago hot dog originated.
I’ll be back there soon…and I’m getting an Italian Beef next time as I know he’ll do a great job with that as well. If you like “Chicago Cuisine” I suggst you head over to Big Red’s. It’ll be worth your trip. And if you complain that it’s too messy to eat or too much food…be thankful you live in Spokane and not Chicago…because you would proabbly get your ass kicked for being a wuss.
Last week, on a very warm, but blustery day Allison and I decided to forgo our planned bike ride and walk on down to the Flying Goat. Of course, the last sentence could describe a lot of days for us…but this day was different.
On this day The Flying Goat would be tapping a very small keg of the Sierra Nevada Ovila Dubbel. And by small I mean that there would be at the most 50 glasses poured. The Ovila Dubbel was collaboration between Sierra Nevada and the monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California. So this beer…should be exceptional. Or so we thought.
Bottom line…it was okay. Not earth shattering and I would consider it a toned down Belgian Abby. There was a fair amount of light carbonation it was almost effervescent. A lot of spice, a hint of citrus (though not from hops), it had a definite fruity flavor to it and I could detect a slight bit of clove as well. The mouth feel was different than most beers and there was a long lasting effect on my palate from it. It was a good spring time beer. Was it worth the money? No. I was much happier with whatever I had from the cask (which I can’t remember).
Still a fun evening at the Goat…as usual…and the only reason I posted this is because I like the picture I snapped of the beer.
We’ve all seen it before…but I still like it.
