ooooh, that sounds nice!!! I just went back home to KC for a bit and gobbled up as much barbeque as possible!
And thanks. I miss her little face at my window so much. Hate knowing she suffered from a trauma in the end. Still breaking my heart. I'm trying to focus on her coming to me for help and comfort.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T20:20:12-04:00
Aaw! Scrunchie is so cute. Who's Kitler in the back of that picture?
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T20:20:46-04:00
My Crate package is at home now, so whenever someone can bring it into town I'll get mine.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T20:22:56-04:00
All the barbecue stories on here make me really want some good barbecue! Dang, maybe I should hit up Famous Daves; it's the best around here you can get whenever and it's one of my favorite restaurants at all.
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T20:34:25-04:00
Oh Zem..... Please, don't. Friends don't let friends eat famous Dave's. Look around. What you want is a little hole in the wall kind of place. The grungier it looks, the better. And if they don't have a sign that says in effect "When it's gone we close", don't bother. I have eaten more barbeque, both good and bad than you could imagine, this is the voice of experience.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-11T20:39:40-04:00
Next meet up (meat up?) is at PoT's house! I'm so jealous! Good southern bbq is hard to find around here, go figure... Why oh why did I ever try it? I need a smoker bad. When the time comes, I'm getting advice from you PoT!
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T20:43:16-04:00
Back to the restaurant...
I was amazed at the quality of their food. Everything, right down the pasta, is made from scratch, in house. I had a duck comfit ravioli I would beat your mother to get to. My wife had the spaghetti Bolognaise, I can never make spaghetti for her again.
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T20:48:06-04:00
Stump's. Look 'em up on the web. Excellent quality, well built. If you want to save some cash you can easily build a good can smoker for about $150. Or you can buy Brinkman's offset for about the same. It ain't the equipment. It's the pit master. Better equipment means you get to sleep some at night, or relax a bit during the day. Meat, smoke, spices. That's what matters. We started cooking on Brinkman's years ago, then we built cans, now we have a Stump's. It just means we get more rest. Our food has improved, but not because of the equipment.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T21:13:08-04:00
PoT unfortunately, there's almost none of that this far north and west and in the middle of nowhere. If we travel, hell yeah. But here, the options aren't that varied. Also, yes huh Daves is that good! Trust me, it was a HELL of alot better than anything we had in all of even Memphis!
Though the best is, what is it, Joe's I think? The gas station one. THAT is the absolute best restaurant barbecue I've ever had! It easily lives up to the hype!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T21:15:17-04:00
I second that, BaKhan! I can drive to Illinois. Plus, barbecue!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T21:34:33-04:00
On that note, Memphis was a letdown. Never go there. It's not worth it. Beale street was interesting, but that was it. Just walk down it once. Hell, walk down Bourbon street and you've seen Beale, just with more strip clubs. And it's not literally 2 blocks of some cool looking tourist trap letdowns.
Though to be fair, there was a pretty cool homeless dude there.
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T22:21:20-04:00
See, there's the difference between us Zem. :)
I thought Beale street was a huge disappointment, nothing but dive tourist traps, the barbeque we had was pretty damn good, but we followed my simple rules for finding good barbeque (and a list of the best barbeque joints in town) and, the night I was feeling off, my wife and friends hit Gus' Fried Chicken, rated by them as the best fried chicken ever.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T22:33:53-04:00
Maybe off of Beale you could find great barbecue. I'm pretty sure we did find one place, actually, a ways away from there that was amazing, but it's hard to remember. Anything on that street, though, was just overpriced junk. I remember there was another place that had one of the highest ratings for all of Memphis, but it was also fairly expensive and we didn't have time that day, but maybe someday... I'll go to Nashville instead. I've seen stuff about some of the places there!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-11T22:40:04-04:00
*waves at PoT*
How are you doing? Last time you posted, you were competing against this other team. I believe you mentioned that they were doing a lot of stuff wrong and you felt kinda sorry for them. Did they come in last place?
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-11T22:43:21-04:00
Re: Famous Dave's
About three years ago, we had a D.C. bbq cook off and Famous Dave was competing. Let's just say that Dave wasn't looking to good health wise. Really over weight and in a moterized wheelchair
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T22:53:50-04:00
One thing I will say about Memphis, though: Graceland was TOTALLY worth checking out!
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T22:57:34-04:00
@Zem. Beale street is about nothing but emptying tourists wallets, food, drink, and entertainment are overpriced and generally sub-par. The only places we went to in Memphis are in an insiders guide to local barbeque and ALL met my simple rules for a place to get barbeque (BTW, extra points are awarded to places with slippery floors in the dining area, I don't know why but it is a mark of quality).
@Geist, Hiya! We walked all over him with golf cleats, wasn't even a contest really. Our briskets were as close to perfect as we could ask and as a little bump I made my special smoked strawberry jam as a condiment for the handmade rolls that were served.
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T23:02:47-04:00
Oh and BTW, I will be posting here when we figure when the house warming will be. My plan is to do it over a weekend, from Friday afternoon through Sunday night. And my team has committed to coming to cook for the entire time, Chicken Friday, Pork Saturday and Brisket Sunday.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T23:04:31-04:00
Brisket?!... Hmm... you only live about 11 hours away if I remember correctly...
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T23:04:53-04:00
And on that note it is time to sleep. G' Night all.
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-11T23:05:42-04:00
And worth every minute of the trip if I do say so myself.
G' Night.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-11T23:52:03-04:00
Just looked it up: 7 1/2 hours?! Now I'm actually considering it! If you pay for gas... ;)
But then again, from what you say about that brisket of yours...
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-12T00:04:44-04:00
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T03:11:14-04:00
@PoT: You give me the date & I will be there. Good bbq is so worth it
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T09:43:08-04:00
Morning Kittens!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T09:48:36-04:00
Happy Poopy Chaos Tuesday.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T09:52:50-04:00
@Pot, thanks for the advice! I'll check it out! I'm well aware that equipment does not a master chef make, however, I am hardly a cooking novice! ;) I wouldn't dare compete against someone like you when it comes to a technique I've never used such as smoking, heck thats why I'm asking you for advice! But, on a regular gas or charcoal grill, or heck even a fire pit, you'd be up for some competition! I'm not saying I'd beat you, I honestly don't know, but I think I could surprise you. During the summer time I rarely cook on anything else, and once I convert my bbq to natural gas and move it up on my deck (which is where the hook up is) I can do it pretty much year round (baring the coldest of the winter, cause yes, I'm a wimp and I hate the cold!). ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T09:53:42-04:00
@Geist, that good eh? Well, its not month end, so maybe its the weather? At any rate, I hope it gets better for you! ;)
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-12T10:03:54-04:00
Great way to start off the day: super hungry from all the barbecue talk!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T10:07:11-04:00
@Zem, I hear that! All I can think about right now is smoked brisket and how I don't have any! This might be a good excuse to hit up the smoke shack by my work for lunch! Its as close to southern bbq as you're going to find in Calgary, IMO, they use their own spices and they make 12 different sauces themselves. I've never seen them run out, but its pretty much first come first served and if they do run out, you're s.o.l. ;) They've got some great bumper stickers in there too, my favourite is "Why part of pork don't you understand?". Yep, brisket it is! Only three hours to go... ;)
All of you talking about brisket last night makes me want to cook some. I would LOVE to smoke it...but we don't have a smoker, and our fire pit needs a bit of work before we can use it.
@Creeper: Scrunchie was definitely a pretty lady.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T10:45:42-04:00
@BaKhan: You got that right.
Which reminds me: when choosing a flight, how early can I arrive in Calgary? Would 8 am be too early? Would 11 pm be too late?
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T10:48:49-04:00
I'm gonna have to make a quick trip to PoT's house warming if he is actually gonna have a bbq weekend.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T10:50:10-04:00
@Geist, its up to you really, as long as I know when it is, I can arrange to be there to pick you up! I normally get up at 5am and to bed by 11pm (normally 10pm) but, once I know for sure what dates I need to be available for I'm planning on taking that time off. I normally take a few day prior to Halloween off in order to prepare for the party anyways. So it won't really make much of a difference to me either way.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T10:56:16-04:00
Wonderful! Then come June, I will buy the airline tickets and submit my passport application. It's early enough that I should be able to get my passport before the end of October.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T11:16:55-04:00
Thats great! I'm really looking forward to this! I can't wait to have you all up here and celebrate KC style! ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T11:46:56-04:00
I'm going to need the dates that people are planning on coming up so that I can arrange the schedule to entertain, and still get stuff done! ;) So I realize that we're still 6 months away, but as soon as everyone who is planning on coming can, please let me know your schedules! Thanks! ;) Also, if people could let me know of any food allergies or aversions, that would be great!
Mike Kabala 2016-04-12T11:54:03-04:00
Hello kitties. Sorry I missed the BBQ discussion. What I miss is grilling in the midwest. When I lived in Sioux City, there was a beef processing plant just across the river and a restaurant, called Hungry;s that served the best grilled steaks I have ever tasted. The owner knew somebody at IBP, so he always had a great supply of top quality beef aged to perfection.
They don't seem to know what good meat is in Charlotte. I can pay twice as much and still get a scrawny steak filled with gristle.
And pork. There was a restaurant called Iowa Machine Shed that grilled the good, thick cut Iowa Chops. Pork chops around here are way too thin.
Lord Zombitten 2016-04-12T12:24:42-04:00
I use a Brinkmann's Smoke 'n Grill. It was about $30. It's not the greatest, but I make it work. I would like to have a better setup, but I don't have the money yet.
Lord Zombitten 2016-04-12T12:30:54-04:00
Really, what I want to do is build a brick smokehouse with attached grill. I want the smokehouse to be warm and cold smoke capable and have chutes available for adding coals, water, wood chips, etc. as necessary. It would also be nice for it to have electric assistance to help keep it at the right temp when it's cold out. Smoking a turkey on Thanksgiving with my setup sure was a chore. I had to monitor that thing near constantly for ten hours.
Lord Zombitten 2016-04-12T12:31:59-04:00
Of course, with the brick walls, electricity would probably only be necessary when I'm sleeping and can't add coals to maintain the temperature.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T12:50:08-04:00
@LZ, you should see about automating it with a feeder, like they do for wood fired boilers. They have an automatic hopper that adds wood on a timer. Once you know the frequency, it just happily dumps wood until you tell it to stop, or it runs out. Might be worth looking into.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T14:12:02-04:00
Ok, so I went and got my brisket fix! And a black cherry pop shoppe pop! Whoo hoo! So good!
Lord Zombitten 2016-04-12T14:32:36-04:00
BaKhan, that's a good idea, particularly if I'm going to be doing it overnight with an electric element. Of course, having an automatic means of dumping ash would be great, too.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-12T14:34:49-04:00
@LZ, again, easy peasy, use an old auger and just keep it spinning very slowly, that should do it! Like a dirt screw.
Welp, one of my favorite creators is at it again. They just LOVE sucking money from the people who love their products.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T15:00:10-04:00
I had some Nando's chicken for lunch. Very very tasty. I don't feel too bad about the calories since I had a green smoothie for lunch and I still have a salad to consume for dinner.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T15:01:14-04:00
Like a dirt screw.
Aren't those the best kind?
Sorry. I couldn't help myself. It was the Nando's chicken that made me do it.
@LZ: No, The Kit 2.0 by Allegory. It's a handcrafted leather wallet. All their products are handcrafter, and made in the Boston area.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-12T17:13:48-04:00
@BaKhan: To quote from Monty Python: "I'm pass my prime".
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-12T17:29:44-04:00
So it's settled? Corps meetup part 1 at PoT's barbecue-... I mean house warming?
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-12T18:59:38-04:00
One of the things I especially wanted at the new house was a brick offset smoker with a grill on the other side. I took my plan to the mason who set the stone on the front of my house, he quoted me $10K. I can buy a VERY nice Stump's for a lot less money, so that's what I'm gonna do.
Lord Zombitten 2016-04-12T19:09:34-04:00
PoT, Twitter user @unreticentmind is offering bribes to Crate people willing to let her play with the expansion. She lives in Downers Grove. I don't know how far away that is, but I figured I'd pass it along.
Lord Zombitten 2016-04-12T19:10:24-04:00
$10k for a brick smokehouse is a ton. I may not do that even after I make hot sauce millions...
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-12T19:10:59-04:00
That's not far from me.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-12T20:09:50-04:00
Only $10 for a smokehouse? That's a good deal, actually. $10K, though... I mean, it'd probably turn out to be well worth it, but it doesn't matter if it's worth it if it's more than a single-digit percent of your paycheck anyways.
Wait, I don't know, maybe you do make enough to throw that away. It's still a hell of alot, though.
In regards to cooking, my Chef gentleman friend also has a Barbecue cookbook and used to work with the Weber family.... he has YET to cook for me though...
@GM - Re: Scrunch - Thanks. She was such a little cutie. Pretty small compared to some kitties. Why we called her scrunchie - her legs were all stumpy. SHe just looked scrunched up. :)
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-12T22:14:00-04:00
I'm doing well.
That's interesting.
Haha!
`
Well, caught up now! *claps dust off hands*.
`-...
Wait a minute... someone else at this time?! I rule the night (of the EK comments)! Nobody's ever here.
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-12T22:58:38-04:00
It isn't even as large as the Stump's my team uses, capacity wise. AND that price didn't included the doors for the firebox and smoke chamber I would have had to get custom made. Bullsnot. I'll either buy the Stump's or build it myself.
Powers of Tesla 2016-04-12T23:00:22-04:00
Anyway... Another big day at the house tomorrow. I'm logging off.
Good night.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-12T23:36:17-04:00
G'nite, Pot.
Mmmmm... dang it! Too much barbecue talk lately!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T09:39:18-04:00
Good morning kittens!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-13T10:00:58-04:00
Good morning, Vietnam!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-13T10:03:43-04:00
Morning BaKhan! How is the puppy holding up?
Regarding the dates for me getting to Calgary: I was thinking of coming on October 28th and leaving November 2nd. How does that sound? I could help with the party prep and clean up in exchange for me crashing at you and the missus house.
Nothing like a Wednesday where you only need to get signatures from two people...and they're both busy. At least I have until 1pm to get those. Mind you, I could have gotten the signatures yesterday anytime, but decided to wait in case there was a change.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-13T11:25:25-04:00
but decided to wait in case there was a change.
Hmmm. Maybe should have gotten the signatures first. Granted, you'd still have to wait if there were changes but I think the chances that there would be none were greater.
WOO! Love when I have solid evidence, with signatures, to backup why someone is getting paid what they are getting paid, rather than the amount that they say they should be getting.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T12:28:54-04:00
@Geist, the pup is still doing good! He's beeing uber fussy about eating though, which is concerning. I've been trying everything but he just doens't show any interest in his food. Right now I'm giving him 1 cup of his dry food, mixed with half a container of wet food (the fancy Beneful stuff), and around a cup of boiled hamburger with rice, twice a day. Even with the hamburger and rice, he only really gets excited if its spiced properly and its fresh from the stove. After its been in the fridge he loses intrest, even if I heat it up in the microwave first. I've got a seriously spoiled, gourmet puppy!
As far as your arrival and departure times, Friday is going to be mega hecktic, so we won't have much time to sit around and such. I hope you're serious about helping out, cause I'm sure we could use it, theres going to be lots of cookies and cupcakes etc, that will need decorating! ;) We're both excited that you're coming, so you don't need to worry about the hospitality! ;) My wife loves decorating and dressing up and I love cooking and baking, and we both love hosting, so it works well for us! ;) As far as Nov.2 for the departure date, that works well because you'll be here for Dia de los Muertos! Yay!
I would be able to help out on the 28th, since I can take that day off. But unfortunately, with it being the big payroll starting on the 31, I won't be able to take any days, other than maybe the 3/4 off.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T12:49:40-04:00
@GM, what about the Sunday, the 30th I believe, we could try to plan Banff or Drumheller for that day, then you would be able to come with? I'd hate for you to miss out on everything but the party... :(
Yeah, the Sunday I could definitely come. I only work Mon-Fri, so weekends are completely open for me. I *might* be able to convince my manager to let me take the 31st off, since as it sits right now, I can do the entire payroll in 1.5 days if I have to. But that's with our currently reduced field work for the guys.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T13:00:24-04:00
@GM, I think you should see now, if you can get the 31st off. It will make it easier to plan and make a schedule. I just don't want everyone coming up and then getting bored sitting around my house. I've got lots of stuff to do, but I don't think I can keep everyone occupied the whole time on my own! ;) I think that if we had two day trips, planning on Banff and Drumheller, that would take some of the pressure off. What do you think?
I'll see what my boss has to say, just going to wait until I have a few items dealt with before I go to her with it. Especially since she is also a little busy due to all the lay offs(Canada and US termination/severance/lay off legislations are very different...and confusing)
Mike Kabala 2016-04-13T14:00:13-04:00
OK, I've started adding details about the October event at www.kittencorps.com via the link shown below. Any help with the details, etc. would be appreciated.
@CB, awesome! The only thing is the Halloween party is on the 29th. As I get more stuff figured out I will definitely update. As of right now there is a day trip to Banff planned tentatively for the 30th. I was also thinking a day trip to drumheller would be fun as well. I'm still looking for feedback from the corps though. As well as any other ideas peeps may have!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-13T14:13:56-04:00
Wait. You have a Day of the Dead Celebration?! I am so down for that. So I won't be leaving until November 2nd.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-13T14:14:53-04:00
@BaKhan: Why can't we go to both Baniff and Drumheller?
Mike Kabala 2016-04-13T14:16:54-04:00
@BaKhan, thanks. The page has been updated with your current in of.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2016-04-13T14:18:02-04:00
Re: helping out
Are you serious? Of course I'll help. It would be my honor. You and your wife are very gracious to open your home to a stranger. The least I could do it help set up, bake, decorate and clean up afterward.
You're still going to make the special short bread cookies, right?
Mike Kabala 2016-04-13T14:18:04-04:00
BTW, I have Dia de los Metros playing cards from the Edgy Brothers KS. Better plan on bringing them.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:25:01-04:00
@Geist, as far as I'm concered we can, and should, because they are both very cool places to go! I just think that depending on what everyone wants to do, I wanted to keep it open. We couldn't do both places in one day, there are too many things to do and see in each place as well as they are far apart. Banff is about 1 -1.5 hours away to the west, Drumheller is about 1.5 hours to the north east. Each one would take about 4-5 hours to see everything. Banff is a cool little (tourist trap) mountain village with lots of cool shops, natural hot springs, a gondola ride to the top of a mountain, and lots of other naturey type things to do. Drumheller is the bad lands, its where the dinosaurs did their thing. Theres lots of cool scenery to look at, the horseshoe canyon, the hoodoos, etc., and as far as I know the largest dinosaur museum anywhere! The Tyrell museum is a pretty spectacular thing to see and experience!
As far as the Day of the Dead. we don't usually do anthing too special, we just revel in the fact that we can have another full day of halloween and get away with it! ;) I do typically try to cook up a few Mexican type treats for the day. I make a mean tortilla (for a Canadian...)! ;)
Also, if there is anything else that you, or any other corps members were interested in doing, let me know, if I can accomodate it, I will!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:27:06-04:00
@CB, thats awesome! I was looking at some a while ago on ks and almost went for it, but we (my wife and I) rarely play cards. I think cards is too slow for her. She does love some EK though... ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:29:41-04:00
@Geist, don't worry, we'll make some "special" cookies, my wife likes them too! ;) And any help would be greatly appreciated! I just don't want to work you too hard, you are visiting after all! ;) I think you and my wife are going to have a great time talking costumes, halloween, and day of the dead! I can't wait for you to get to meet her! She is my special lady!
@BaKhan: I already told Phil about the party, and when it is. He is planning on coming. And possibly even the day trips.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:37:18-04:00
@GM, thats great, everyone loved having you both at the party last year. Lots of positive comments about both of you, also why I've tried inviting you to some other gatherings... ;) Misty was actually saying that her sister thought you were both great! Way to represent the KC, and random internet folks as well! ;)
Mike Kabala 2016-04-13T14:38:06-04:00
Man, it feels good to be adding stuff to the website again! :-)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:38:32-04:00
Also, if Phil comes then we potentially have another vehicle right? My wife camero really only takes one passanger. Might be able to fit a couple of kids or midgets in the back seat.... maybe. ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:39:41-04:00
@CB, have I told you that I appreciate everything you've done for the corps? Cause I do! I can't tell you how awesome it feels to be planning this right now! Getting a little choked up... ;)
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-13T14:40:53-04:00
Banff sounds awesome, and Drumheller sounds like what we do on vacation! (i.e. road trips, but stopping at places like that with trails and museums. Sounds like alot of fun to me!)
Again, still can't be 100% sure about going, but I'm 110% positive and would love to go! I found out I have a really easy semester anyways, so I really won't miss too much if I take a few days off.
`
On a related note; DAMMIT! Fall break is Oct. 17th and 18th! So close!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:47:46-04:00
@Zem, if you can swing it, we would love to have you! I think we would have some pretty awesome conversations! Also, we could get you legally drunk, how could you pass up on that? ;)
@BaKhan: That was what he said when I told him about when it was, and that we were planning day trips. So there's his Mitsubishi Outlander, and once I get my license, I will convince my mom to let me use her Outlander(exact same year as Phil's, just we got our a few months before he got his). I would use my dad's Jeep Patriot, but I cannot for the life of me fit behind the wheel comfortable(my knees dig into the steering column, no matter how I adjust my surroundings).
@Zem: You could always bring your school stuff and study a bit in the downtimes.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T14:50:36-04:00
@GM, that would be great!!! Thats the only part of the logistics I've been struggling with!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2016-04-13T15:23:59-04:00
GM, I'm taking physical chemistry next year, a class so terrible a guy who goes through all of his higher level courses without any effort and gets A's like I did in high school was driven to drinking over the stress. Well, I mean he drank already, but everyone in that class who's able goes straight out to the bars at like 4pm fridays when it gets out. So... yeah, if I don't bring my school stuff, I'm screwed. No way I'd catch back up if I left school all at home.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2016-04-13T15:45:48-04:00
@Zem, we can definitely find a quiter place for you to study, etc., you could probably sweet talk my wife into using her office... ;)
ooooh, that sounds nice!!! I just went back home to KC for a bit and gobbled up as much barbeque as possible!
And thanks. I miss her little face at my window so much. Hate knowing she suffered from a trauma in the end. Still breaking my heart. I'm trying to focus on her coming to me for help and comfort.
Aaw! Scrunchie is so cute. Who's Kitler in the back of that picture?
My Crate package is at home now, so whenever someone can bring it into town I'll get mine.
All the barbecue stories on here make me really want some good barbecue! Dang, maybe I should hit up Famous Daves; it's the best around here you can get whenever and it's one of my favorite restaurants at all.
Oh Zem..... Please, don't. Friends don't let friends eat famous Dave's. Look around. What you want is a little hole in the wall kind of place. The grungier it looks, the better. And if they don't have a sign that says in effect "When it's gone we close", don't bother. I have eaten more barbeque, both good and bad than you could imagine, this is the voice of experience.
Next meet up (meat up?) is at PoT's house! I'm so jealous! Good southern bbq is hard to find around here, go figure... Why oh why did I ever try it? I need a smoker bad. When the time comes, I'm getting advice from you PoT!
Back to the restaurant...
I was amazed at the quality of their food. Everything, right down the pasta, is made from scratch, in house. I had a duck comfit ravioli I would beat your mother to get to. My wife had the spaghetti Bolognaise, I can never make spaghetti for her again.
Stump's. Look 'em up on the web. Excellent quality, well built. If you want to save some cash you can easily build a good can smoker for about $150. Or you can buy Brinkman's offset for about the same. It ain't the equipment. It's the pit master. Better equipment means you get to sleep some at night, or relax a bit during the day. Meat, smoke, spices. That's what matters. We started cooking on Brinkman's years ago, then we built cans, now we have a Stump's. It just means we get more rest. Our food has improved, but not because of the equipment.
PoT unfortunately, there's almost none of that this far north and west and in the middle of nowhere. If we travel, hell yeah. But here, the options aren't that varied. Also, yes huh Daves is that good! Trust me, it was a HELL of alot better than anything we had in all of even Memphis!
Though the best is, what is it, Joe's I think? The gas station one. THAT is the absolute best restaurant barbecue I've ever had! It easily lives up to the hype!
I second that, BaKhan! I can drive to Illinois. Plus, barbecue!
On that note, Memphis was a letdown. Never go there. It's not worth it. Beale street was interesting, but that was it. Just walk down it once. Hell, walk down Bourbon street and you've seen Beale, just with more strip clubs. And it's not literally 2 blocks of some cool looking tourist trap letdowns.
Though to be fair, there was a pretty cool homeless dude there.
See, there's the difference between us Zem. :)
I thought Beale street was a huge disappointment, nothing but dive tourist traps, the barbeque we had was pretty damn good, but we followed my simple rules for finding good barbeque (and a list of the best barbeque joints in town) and, the night I was feeling off, my wife and friends hit Gus' Fried Chicken, rated by them as the best fried chicken ever.
Maybe off of Beale you could find great barbecue. I'm pretty sure we did find one place, actually, a ways away from there that was amazing, but it's hard to remember. Anything on that street, though, was just overpriced junk. I remember there was another place that had one of the highest ratings for all of Memphis, but it was also fairly expensive and we didn't have time that day, but maybe someday... I'll go to Nashville instead. I've seen stuff about some of the places there!
*waves at PoT*
How are you doing? Last time you posted, you were competing against this other team. I believe you mentioned that they were doing a lot of stuff wrong and you felt kinda sorry for them. Did they come in last place?
Re: Famous Dave's
About three years ago, we had a D.C. bbq cook off and Famous Dave was competing. Let's just say that Dave wasn't looking to good health wise. Really over weight and in a moterized wheelchair
One thing I will say about Memphis, though: Graceland was TOTALLY worth checking out!
@Zem. Beale street is about nothing but emptying tourists wallets, food, drink, and entertainment are overpriced and generally sub-par. The only places we went to in Memphis are in an insiders guide to local barbeque and ALL met my simple rules for a place to get barbeque (BTW, extra points are awarded to places with slippery floors in the dining area, I don't know why but it is a mark of quality).
@Geist, Hiya! We walked all over him with golf cleats, wasn't even a contest really. Our briskets were as close to perfect as we could ask and as a little bump I made my special smoked strawberry jam as a condiment for the handmade rolls that were served.
Oh and BTW, I will be posting here when we figure when the house warming will be. My plan is to do it over a weekend, from Friday afternoon through Sunday night. And my team has committed to coming to cook for the entire time, Chicken Friday, Pork Saturday and Brisket Sunday.
Brisket?!... Hmm... you only live about 11 hours away if I remember correctly...
And on that note it is time to sleep. G' Night all.
And worth every minute of the trip if I do say so myself.
G' Night.
Just looked it up: 7 1/2 hours?! Now I'm actually considering it! If you pay for gas... ;)
But then again, from what you say about that brisket of yours...
"What springtime means in Canada"
I think you'll like this one, Geist!
http://9gag.com/gag/aKqL4LO
@PoT: You give me the date & I will be there. Good bbq is so worth it
Morning Kittens!
Happy Poopy Chaos Tuesday.
@Pot, thanks for the advice! I'll check it out! I'm well aware that equipment does not a master chef make, however, I am hardly a cooking novice! ;) I wouldn't dare compete against someone like you when it comes to a technique I've never used such as smoking, heck thats why I'm asking you for advice! But, on a regular gas or charcoal grill, or heck even a fire pit, you'd be up for some competition! I'm not saying I'd beat you, I honestly don't know, but I think I could surprise you. During the summer time I rarely cook on anything else, and once I convert my bbq to natural gas and move it up on my deck (which is where the hook up is) I can do it pretty much year round (baring the coldest of the winter, cause yes, I'm a wimp and I hate the cold!). ;)
@Geist, that good eh? Well, its not month end, so maybe its the weather? At any rate, I hope it gets better for you! ;)
Great way to start off the day: super hungry from all the barbecue talk!
@Zem, I hear that! All I can think about right now is smoked brisket and how I don't have any! This might be a good excuse to hit up the smoke shack by my work for lunch! Its as close to southern bbq as you're going to find in Calgary, IMO, they use their own spices and they make 12 different sauces themselves. I've never seen them run out, but its pretty much first come first served and if they do run out, you're s.o.l. ;) They've got some great bumper stickers in there too, my favourite is "Why part of pork don't you understand?". Yep, brisket it is! Only three hours to go... ;)
Morning kittens.
All of you talking about brisket last night makes me want to cook some. I would LOVE to smoke it...but we don't have a smoker, and our fire pit needs a bit of work before we can use it.
@Creeper: Scrunchie was definitely a pretty lady.
@BaKhan: You got that right.
Which reminds me: when choosing a flight, how early can I arrive in Calgary? Would 8 am be too early? Would 11 pm be too late?
I'm gonna have to make a quick trip to PoT's house warming if he is actually gonna have a bbq weekend.
@Geist, its up to you really, as long as I know when it is, I can arrange to be there to pick you up! I normally get up at 5am and to bed by 11pm (normally 10pm) but, once I know for sure what dates I need to be available for I'm planning on taking that time off. I normally take a few day prior to Halloween off in order to prepare for the party anyways. So it won't really make much of a difference to me either way.
Wonderful! Then come June, I will buy the airline tickets and submit my passport application. It's early enough that I should be able to get my passport before the end of October.
Thats great! I'm really looking forward to this! I can't wait to have you all up here and celebrate KC style! ;)
I'm going to need the dates that people are planning on coming up so that I can arrange the schedule to entertain, and still get stuff done! ;) So I realize that we're still 6 months away, but as soon as everyone who is planning on coming can, please let me know your schedules! Thanks! ;) Also, if people could let me know of any food allergies or aversions, that would be great!
Hello kitties. Sorry I missed the BBQ discussion. What I miss is grilling in the midwest. When I lived in Sioux City, there was a beef processing plant just across the river and a restaurant, called Hungry;s that served the best grilled steaks I have ever tasted. The owner knew somebody at IBP, so he always had a great supply of top quality beef aged to perfection.
They don't seem to know what good meat is in Charlotte. I can pay twice as much and still get a scrawny steak filled with gristle.
And pork. There was a restaurant called Iowa Machine Shed that grilled the good, thick cut Iowa Chops. Pork chops around here are way too thin.
I use a Brinkmann's Smoke 'n Grill. It was about $30. It's not the greatest, but I make it work. I would like to have a better setup, but I don't have the money yet.
Really, what I want to do is build a brick smokehouse with attached grill. I want the smokehouse to be warm and cold smoke capable and have chutes available for adding coals, water, wood chips, etc. as necessary. It would also be nice for it to have electric assistance to help keep it at the right temp when it's cold out. Smoking a turkey on Thanksgiving with my setup sure was a chore. I had to monitor that thing near constantly for ten hours.
Of course, with the brick walls, electricity would probably only be necessary when I'm sleeping and can't add coals to maintain the temperature.
@LZ, you should see about automating it with a feeder, like they do for wood fired boilers. They have an automatic hopper that adds wood on a timer. Once you know the frequency, it just happily dumps wood until you tell it to stop, or it runs out. Might be worth looking into.
Ok, so I went and got my brisket fix! And a black cherry pop shoppe pop! Whoo hoo! So good!
BaKhan, that's a good idea, particularly if I'm going to be doing it overnight with an electric element. Of course, having an automatic means of dumping ash would be great, too.
@LZ, again, easy peasy, use an old auger and just keep it spinning very slowly, that should do it! Like a dirt screw.
Welp, one of my favorite creators is at it again. They just LOVE sucking money from the people who love their products.
I had some Nando's chicken for lunch. Very very tasty. I don't feel too bad about the calories since I had a green smoothie for lunch and I still have a salad to consume for dinner.
Like a dirt screw.
Aren't those the best kind?
Sorry. I couldn't help myself. It was the Nando's chicken that made me do it.
@Geist, I think you need a bf, like badly... ;)
GM, are you talking about the new Rum 'n Bones?
@LZ: No, The Kit 2.0 by Allegory. It's a handcrafted leather wallet. All their products are handcrafter, and made in the Boston area.
@BaKhan: To quote from Monty Python: "I'm pass my prime".
So it's settled? Corps meetup part 1 at PoT's barbecue-... I mean house warming?
One of the things I especially wanted at the new house was a brick offset smoker with a grill on the other side. I took my plan to the mason who set the stone on the front of my house, he quoted me $10K. I can buy a VERY nice Stump's for a lot less money, so that's what I'm gonna do.
PoT, Twitter user @unreticentmind is offering bribes to Crate people willing to let her play with the expansion. She lives in Downers Grove. I don't know how far away that is, but I figured I'd pass it along.
$10k for a brick smokehouse is a ton. I may not do that even after I make hot sauce millions...
That's not far from me.
Only $10 for a smokehouse? That's a good deal, actually. $10K, though... I mean, it'd probably turn out to be well worth it, but it doesn't matter if it's worth it if it's more than a single-digit percent of your paycheck anyways.
Wait, I don't know, maybe you do make enough to throw that away. It's still a hell of alot, though.
Hope everyone is doing well!
In regards to cooking, my Chef gentleman friend also has a Barbecue cookbook and used to work with the Weber family.... he has YET to cook for me though...
@GM - Re: Scrunch - Thanks. She was such a little cutie. Pretty small compared to some kitties. Why we called her scrunchie - her legs were all stumpy. SHe just looked scrunched up. :)
I'm doing well.
That's interesting.
Haha!
`
Well, caught up now! *claps dust off hands*.
`-...
Wait a minute... someone else at this time?! I rule the night (of the EK comments)! Nobody's ever here.
It isn't even as large as the Stump's my team uses, capacity wise. AND that price didn't included the doors for the firebox and smoke chamber I would have had to get custom made. Bullsnot. I'll either buy the Stump's or build it myself.
Anyway... Another big day at the house tomorrow. I'm logging off.
Good night.
G'nite, Pot.
Mmmmm... dang it! Too much barbecue talk lately!
Good morning kittens!
Good morning, Vietnam!
Morning BaKhan! How is the puppy holding up?
Regarding the dates for me getting to Calgary: I was thinking of coming on October 28th and leaving November 2nd. How does that sound? I could help with the party prep and clean up in exchange for me crashing at you and the missus house.
Morning kittens.
Nothing like a Wednesday where you only need to get signatures from two people...and they're both busy. At least I have until 1pm to get those. Mind you, I could have gotten the signatures yesterday anytime, but decided to wait in case there was a change.
but decided to wait in case there was a change.
Hmmm. Maybe should have gotten the signatures first. Granted, you'd still have to wait if there were changes but I think the chances that there would be none were greater.
WOO! Love when I have solid evidence, with signatures, to backup why someone is getting paid what they are getting paid, rather than the amount that they say they should be getting.
@Geist, the pup is still doing good! He's beeing uber fussy about eating though, which is concerning. I've been trying everything but he just doens't show any interest in his food. Right now I'm giving him 1 cup of his dry food, mixed with half a container of wet food (the fancy Beneful stuff), and around a cup of boiled hamburger with rice, twice a day. Even with the hamburger and rice, he only really gets excited if its spiced properly and its fresh from the stove. After its been in the fridge he loses intrest, even if I heat it up in the microwave first. I've got a seriously spoiled, gourmet puppy!
As far as your arrival and departure times, Friday is going to be mega hecktic, so we won't have much time to sit around and such. I hope you're serious about helping out, cause I'm sure we could use it, theres going to be lots of cookies and cupcakes etc, that will need decorating! ;) We're both excited that you're coming, so you don't need to worry about the hospitality! ;) My wife loves decorating and dressing up and I love cooking and baking, and we both love hosting, so it works well for us! ;) As far as Nov.2 for the departure date, that works well because you'll be here for Dia de los Muertos! Yay!
I would be able to help out on the 28th, since I can take that day off. But unfortunately, with it being the big payroll starting on the 31, I won't be able to take any days, other than maybe the 3/4 off.
@GM, what about the Sunday, the 30th I believe, we could try to plan Banff or Drumheller for that day, then you would be able to come with? I'd hate for you to miss out on everything but the party... :(
Yeah, the Sunday I could definitely come. I only work Mon-Fri, so weekends are completely open for me. I *might* be able to convince my manager to let me take the 31st off, since as it sits right now, I can do the entire payroll in 1.5 days if I have to. But that's with our currently reduced field work for the guys.
@GM, I think you should see now, if you can get the 31st off. It will make it easier to plan and make a schedule. I just don't want everyone coming up and then getting bored sitting around my house. I've got lots of stuff to do, but I don't think I can keep everyone occupied the whole time on my own! ;) I think that if we had two day trips, planning on Banff and Drumheller, that would take some of the pressure off. What do you think?
I'll see what my boss has to say, just going to wait until I have a few items dealt with before I go to her with it. Especially since she is also a little busy due to all the lay offs(Canada and US termination/severance/lay off legislations are very different...and confusing)
OK, I've started adding details about the October event at www.kittencorps.com via the link shown below. Any help with the details, etc. would be appreciated.
http://www.kittencorps.com/kittencon/kittencon.html
@CB, awesome! The only thing is the Halloween party is on the 29th. As I get more stuff figured out I will definitely update. As of right now there is a day trip to Banff planned tentatively for the 30th. I was also thinking a day trip to drumheller would be fun as well. I'm still looking for feedback from the corps though. As well as any other ideas peeps may have!
Wait. You have a Day of the Dead Celebration?! I am so down for that. So I won't be leaving until November 2nd.
@BaKhan: Why can't we go to both Baniff and Drumheller?
@BaKhan, thanks. The page has been updated with your current in of.
Re: helping out
Are you serious? Of course I'll help. It would be my honor. You and your wife are very gracious to open your home to a stranger. The least I could do it help set up, bake, decorate and clean up afterward.
You're still going to make the special short bread cookies, right?
BTW, I have Dia de los Metros playing cards from the Edgy Brothers KS. Better plan on bringing them.
@Geist, as far as I'm concered we can, and should, because they are both very cool places to go! I just think that depending on what everyone wants to do, I wanted to keep it open. We couldn't do both places in one day, there are too many things to do and see in each place as well as they are far apart. Banff is about 1 -1.5 hours away to the west, Drumheller is about 1.5 hours to the north east. Each one would take about 4-5 hours to see everything. Banff is a cool little (tourist trap) mountain village with lots of cool shops, natural hot springs, a gondola ride to the top of a mountain, and lots of other naturey type things to do. Drumheller is the bad lands, its where the dinosaurs did their thing. Theres lots of cool scenery to look at, the horseshoe canyon, the hoodoos, etc., and as far as I know the largest dinosaur museum anywhere! The Tyrell museum is a pretty spectacular thing to see and experience!
As far as the Day of the Dead. we don't usually do anthing too special, we just revel in the fact that we can have another full day of halloween and get away with it! ;) I do typically try to cook up a few Mexican type treats for the day. I make a mean tortilla (for a Canadian...)! ;)
Also, if there is anything else that you, or any other corps members were interested in doing, let me know, if I can accomodate it, I will!
@CB, thats awesome! I was looking at some a while ago on ks and almost went for it, but we (my wife and I) rarely play cards. I think cards is too slow for her. She does love some EK though... ;)
@Geist, don't worry, we'll make some "special" cookies, my wife likes them too! ;) And any help would be greatly appreciated! I just don't want to work you too hard, you are visiting after all! ;) I think you and my wife are going to have a great time talking costumes, halloween, and day of the dead! I can't wait for you to get to meet her! She is my special lady!
@BaKhan: I already told Phil about the party, and when it is. He is planning on coming. And possibly even the day trips.
@GM, thats great, everyone loved having you both at the party last year. Lots of positive comments about both of you, also why I've tried inviting you to some other gatherings... ;) Misty was actually saying that her sister thought you were both great! Way to represent the KC, and random internet folks as well! ;)
Man, it feels good to be adding stuff to the website again! :-)
Also, if Phil comes then we potentially have another vehicle right? My wife camero really only takes one passanger. Might be able to fit a couple of kids or midgets in the back seat.... maybe. ;)
@CB, have I told you that I appreciate everything you've done for the corps? Cause I do! I can't tell you how awesome it feels to be planning this right now! Getting a little choked up... ;)
Banff sounds awesome, and Drumheller sounds like what we do on vacation! (i.e. road trips, but stopping at places like that with trails and museums. Sounds like alot of fun to me!)
Again, still can't be 100% sure about going, but I'm 110% positive and would love to go! I found out I have a really easy semester anyways, so I really won't miss too much if I take a few days off.
`
On a related note; DAMMIT! Fall break is Oct. 17th and 18th! So close!
@Zem, if you can swing it, we would love to have you! I think we would have some pretty awesome conversations! Also, we could get you legally drunk, how could you pass up on that? ;)
@BaKhan: That was what he said when I told him about when it was, and that we were planning day trips. So there's his Mitsubishi Outlander, and once I get my license, I will convince my mom to let me use her Outlander(exact same year as Phil's, just we got our a few months before he got his). I would use my dad's Jeep Patriot, but I cannot for the life of me fit behind the wheel comfortable(my knees dig into the steering column, no matter how I adjust my surroundings).
@Zem: You could always bring your school stuff and study a bit in the downtimes.
@GM, that would be great!!! Thats the only part of the logistics I've been struggling with!
GM, I'm taking physical chemistry next year, a class so terrible a guy who goes through all of his higher level courses without any effort and gets A's like I did in high school was driven to drinking over the stress. Well, I mean he drank already, but everyone in that class who's able goes straight out to the bars at like 4pm fridays when it gets out. So... yeah, if I don't bring my school stuff, I'm screwed. No way I'd catch back up if I left school all at home.
@Zem, we can definitely find a quiter place for you to study, etc., you could probably sweet talk my wife into using her office... ;)
Now, the biggest challenge...figuring out what to dress up as for Halloween.
lol! Too bad you already used up that lumberjack costume! ;)