MrBnB

That makes the pumpkin waffle I had this morning look like a really wimpy breakfast!

Ah, if only that had been my breakfast here today. It would have made kind of a crappy day at work a little better. Or at least maybe a little blurry.

Happy birthday, Brian!! Sending a round of these your way:

 

and since it's YOUR birthday, tonight you get to choose any Rock Band instrument you want:

 

 

That looks tasty.

And as much as I'd like to be able to cover the drums, I appear to be vastly uncoordinated.

And lets not even discuss the singing.

I hope you have a great day, and that the birthday fairy brings you

 

 

Now that's a birthday fairy I can respect.

Iced coffee: I brew 10 cups of strong coffee and when it's still hot mix in 1/2 can condensed (not evaporated) milk, and 1/2 C regular milk. Chill. It's not as sweet as Frappuchino. I drink it every morning.

 

Green tea: Very important part of brewing green tea is not to let it steep too long. 3 MINUTES MAX! Any more than that, the tannins are released, making it bitter on the tongue.

Another thing you can do to make good iced coffee is try the cold brew/toddy method. This is an article Robin wrote about cold brewing. The photos are from a batch I made. I wanted to try the results without coughing up for the toddy brewer. It makes wonderfully rich and smooth coffee. We been using the concentrate to make hot coffee, but it'll make ice coffee easily, too, and it doesn't melt the cubes and dilute the drink.

My coffee pot at work died, so I ended up mixing the concentrate 1:1 with milk, adding just a touch of sugar to brighten the flavor up some and bringing it in to the office. There, I just use the instant hot water doohickey in the break room, mixing it about 1:1 with my mix, and it makes a fantastic cup of coffee, and takes about 30 seconds to go from empty cup to having a sip.

Oh, and one bonus thing, this process leaches out less of the acid and makes a much better cup than you would get with a hot brew method. I think the batch in the photos was from 3 packets of Ronoco.

I think that may be more about the espresso drinks and frappuccinos than drip coffee. Coffee and tea prices do seem standard to market, but it's what, close to $5 for a venti caramel frappuccino? Of course local coffee shops probably aren't much cheaper for those in-house huge mugs of latte...

 

 

I read somewhere that Starbucks uses slightly inferior beans and roasts them extra-long to extract more oil -- that's why it has the burnt taste. Maybe MrBnB (coffee expert extraordinaire) can chime in?

It's called Charbucks by many for a reason.

They do a decent, consistent job with latte's and such (though the one in the LAX terminal I used to frequent was only barely drinkable even as a mocha with a shot of syrup), but I've never had a cup of their coffee that didn't smell and taste burnt. I do hear the new blend/roast they have is better.

I requested "Misunderstood" for the first night because I'm a smart ass and thought it's be a great way for Jeff to come home. That, and I love the song.

 

 

 

And you planned your bourbon tour with your new girlfriend!

If only there were bourbon here today.

Of course, I have been listening to the first night of the Residency while I walk around pretending to not be bored, so that's helped.

Not even a tiny little bit disappointed with the shows, repeats or not.

Met some awesome folks, had a great time before and after the shows, and 2+ hours each night of a show that is so enjoyable that you're suprised when it's done.

I noticed that Tweedy had a Booche's shirt after the show. I haven't been there in a zillion years.

 

We pass through Columbia fairly often, since my parents live in Sedalia. However, with the insane gas prices, we're going to be taking Amtrak which means fewer stops in Columbia for pizza and Lakota. Although I've heard that there's a place in St. Charles that's selling Shakespeare's. But that would mean going to St. Charles.

 

That show last fall was just an all-around good time. Even with driving to Columbia that morning and driving back to Illinois afterwards.

 

As for Stag bottles, you've gotta come to Belleville when you're in town for the St. Louis shows. Every bar over here has either Stag bottles or, even better, Stag on tap. Oh yeah!

I think there's a sign for 16 oz Stag draft for $1.25 at one of the bars down the street from us.

Another suggestion for those getting a hotel. If you stay near the airport, I think most of the hotels have a shuttle to the airport so, as long as the shuttle is running, you could take the shuttle to the airport, 'Link it down to Delmar, enjoy the show, then 'Link and shuttle back. You could easily get by without renting a car if you had to. Certainly worth checking with your hotel.

It's nice having the 9:30 Club concert available on NPR. I can't listen to the Roadcase concerts at work due the firewall, but I can listen to the NPR one just fine.

They wrote the Waffle House songs, too. DO they have Waffle Houses in IL?

There's a couple on the IL side of the river, and many more on the MO side.

Pac Man - "Pac Man Fever"

Buckner and Garcia Rocked!

I'm amazed that "Do the Donkey Kong" never made it big.