FlaSoxxJim

Yeah, I'm not going to tell my kids the Last Airbender ad is coming on during the Super Bowl, and it will be a nice surprise when they see it. Coming out at least 6 months earlier than originally predicted.

I always have a thumb drive close by, and that is definitely pretty dorky I know.

Good luck, Man!!

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 3, 2010 -> 02:04 PM) Revolution Brewery opens tonight in Logan Square. http://revbrew.com/ Cool! Give us the report. The brewer is going to be Jim Cibak (South Sider!) who did stints and Goose Island and Three Floyds, so I'm hoping he knocks these beers out of the park.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 3, 2010 -> 01:19 PM) The best time to get married is when you have the right partner to marry. I'm sure glad my wife didn't hold out for that guy.

Chicagoland's Polish American DJ - DJ Mark Skorusa 312-835-9509: http://www.djmarkskorusa.com "For those of you looking for a Bi - Lingual Polish American DJ, I can also speak Polish if your in need of DJ services for a Polish or Polish American event such as Chrzciny - Chistenings, Komunie - Communions, and Wesela - Weddings. I carry a large collection of Polish music including Euro and Disco Polo."

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 09:01 PM) My dissertation advisor got me 2 of Unibroue's Trois Pistoles and 2 of the Maudite as a gift for reaching a data collection milestone. I can't wait to give them a try! Phenomenal beers, both of them.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 03:19 PM) Actually all chaps are ass less. Its just weather you chose to wear pants under them or not. I don't know why i'm explaining this. Because it is critically important information if I'm going to be taken at all seriously as the New Cowboy in the upcoming Village People Revival Tour auditions. . . ?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 05:28 PM) I know we had a dumb things on facebook thread, but this was too good to not post "Keep a log". . . heh heh . . .

It's all about wearing down their defenses, and sometimes it takes time before they crack finally give in.

In honor of the double birthday, you should both get lost on Night Train. "Best Served Cold" Happy Birthdays!

QUOTE (Pants Rowland @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 12:18 AM) Spoken like a man who has been there and back and then gone back there again. Like too many return trips to the cheap buffet line, it rarely ended well.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 11:36 PM) Not that there's anything wrong with that... Ach, I dream of being able to drop out of society for a couple months and just do the Key West thing. Then again, I make a$$less leather chaps looks good, so it's just something I hate to waste.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 11:20 PM) I had no idea Walmart sold that stuff, I'm gonna have to try and find it there, cause I bet it'll be cheaper than at GFS. About how much is a can like that? The price doesn't show up on my cell phone, but I'm hoping it's not more than $6 or $7 bucks. I think it's more than that, but these are friggin' huge cans.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 11:00 PM) There are all those pretty oil rigs, and IIRC don't I have to get around to the east coast? I'll make it easy on you and meet you in Key West. Seriously. . . when do you want to meet up in Key West???

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 10:58 PM) Hey Flaxx, I miss getting the Labatt's 50-50's... What is the best Canadian beers like that I can get ahold of around here? I am a fan of Moosehead, but it isn't the same. Depends on what you are looking for in a "Canadian beer". For my money, I haven't tried anything that touches Unibroue which produces world-class Belgian style beers. That said, I have a soft spot in my heart (holdover from mis-spent youth) for a few of the more traditional Canadian lagers and "cream ales" — most of which are themselves actually over-sweet and over-carbonated lagers. Red Cap, O'Keefe, McAuslin (several), Robin Hood Cream Ale, and yes, the venerable Labatt 50 were college-day favorites because thay actually had a bit of character to them. There's a bunch of Canadian craft micros and brewpubs I'm dying to try and haven't yet been able to, so obviously there are huge gaps in my Canadian craft beer experience. ETA: And how did I miss the most important Canadian Brewery of all??

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 10:58 PM) Don't make me sail over there . . . I'd count on you getting lost a few times on the way over.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 10:51 PM) At the end of the day boys, there's a million women out there, so dont fret on just one that hurt you. Move on, odds are there is someone out there that wont f*** your world up . . . . For now anyway. Post needed serious fixing.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 10:53 PM) The stuff in the cans you buy in stores around here all require it. Basically the cheese is concentrated. At least there is some concentration going on in Texas.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 10:50 PM) Hey dude, do you remember how you used to prepare the liquid cheese from the big industrial cans? Did you just pour it into a pot and heat it up and serve it? Or did you have to pour milk in it, too? The reason I ask is because I never noticed anyone mix milk in with that stuff. The stuff we bought was strictly heat (and reheat and reheat and reheat) and serve. No added milk.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 10:49 PM) The ratios are on the can. And I've seen the stuff at my local mega mart and Wal Mart. It's with the 10 gallon 1,000 Island Dressing and the "Float a boat in it" BBQ sauce. And the garbage-can sized jars of pickled eggs and pickled pigs' feet.

Go to Wal-Mart and shop the industrial/food service aisle. You will find exactly what you are looking for in 5lb+ cans. The jalapenos are there too. http://www.walmart.com/ip/El-Mexicano-Nach...e-6-lb/10313275 Big honking can of nacho cheese ^^

QUOTE (G&T @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 07:06 AM) The beer has been cut down recently, but the bday lineup, which I haven't even finished off yet, was: Victory Storm King (in honor of the Siberian cold we had over the weekend), Saison Dupont: with best wishes (a favorite), Duvel for dinner (went to a restaurant and ate some Korean Pork belly with kim chi - one of the best foods i've ever eaten), and some Sam Adams brewmaster's collection for sessioning. Nice birthday beer menu. Dupont Saison is an all-time favorite, and there are not enough good things to be said about Duvel. This Ted Haigh cocktail book continues to be worth it's weight in gold. I got it primarily for the drinks that were not tropical/tiki or rum-based, but it has gone and cleared up a several-months' point of consternation for me on the rum punch front as well. There was apparently a long-time guru barman named Jasper LeFranc at a famous Montego Bay bar in Jamaica who concocted a secret syrup mix that made his rum punches absolutely sing. Like the painkiller, the Ray's Mistake, the rumrunner, etc., this concoction has been guessed at and approximated by several folks with varying success. I tried a few of these guesswork versions and they flirted with greatness but never quite came together to the point where they could have been the same stuff that made old Jasper famous. But now, right here in my new drink book, Mr. Cocktail spells out THE recipe for Jasper's Mix, and it ROCKS! Lime juice, sugar, grated nutmeg, and a fairly insane amount of Angoustura bitters (the missing ingredient in some of the other approximations). Equal parts Jasper's mix and Coruba creates a rich, complex planters punch, while equal parts Jasper and JWray Overproof makes a rum punch that puts some of my efforts to shame. Unfortunately, the stuff won't keep well with all the fresh lime juice in it. I think the secret is going to be knowing when you're going to want these drinks and to mix up a half-bottle batch beforehand. But, dang, I'd really like to keep this stuff on-hand in the fridge all the time.

Everybody pointing to the big industrial cans of liquid cheese is exactly right. I spent my high school years selling chips and nachos out of various concession stands at Lincoln Park Zoo, Bears games, etc., and that's what we used. You also need the big-ass can of jalapeno slices and then you are in business.

Diet be damned. My copy of Ted (Dr. Cocktail) Haigh's revised and expanded Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails arrived via UPS yesterday after a prolonged wait while Amazon tried in vain to locate the other drink book I ordered and finally sent this one along. Fabulous book. History, vintage photos of ingredients, barware, and mixologist manuals, and detailed recipes for 100 drinks lost in time that never should have been. Unlike most of my explorationst that are rum based, this book has had me mixing up many fine rye-based cocktails, had me reaching way back on the shelf for the neglected vermouths, and has me thinking I might actually like gin more than I usually admit. The recipes are alphabetical, and I'm invariably missing some key ingredient for most of the included cocktails, but I've mixed up several of the entries that I have had the ingredients for, and there hasn't been a bad one in the bunch. My new cocktail discoveries this weekend have included: • The Algonquin Cocktail — Rye, dry vermouth, and pineapple juice — really surprised how well the pineapple goes with the rye and vermouth. • Blinker — Rye, grapefruit juice, raspberry syrup. Traditionally this was done with pomegranate grenadine but the raspberry really makes it pop. • Curacao Punch — brandy, curacao, Jamaican rum, and other good stuff. • East India Cocktail — brandy, raspberry syrup, Angostura, curacao, maraschino liqueur — Drinking this one now. . . very nice and different. • Bronx and Bitters (aka the "Income Tax Cocktail") — The Manhattan's long-lost brother (all of New York's Boroughs had classic cocktails named in their honor), with gin, red and white vermouth, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and bitters, this is a drink Don Draper would love. • Japalac — named after a Glidden paint product of the 1930s (and not an ethnic slur), rye, vermouth, fresh orange juice, and fruit surup come together well in this short drink. I'm supposed to ba back on the Diet Train come Monday. But I'm only up to "J" in the book!!