Weekend Recap: Austin

To Austin I went. I had no real plans set in stone...just wanted to see some family and friends I hadn't seen in a while.

Friday night I went to Pappadeaux with my mom and some friends. I polished off a couple Hurricanes along with some fried alligator (tastes like spicy chicken if you've never had it) and one of my favorite meals there, the Crawfish Trio. It's not on the menu but its basically fried crawfish, crawfish etoufee and sauteed crawfish. We sat up and drank and laughed about random stuff and it was just an overall good time.

After dinner, my boy Kevin and I went out. This was the first time I'd actually been to 6th Street in a LONG time so I was curious to see how it would go. It was good to catch up with Kevin and chop it up. Our schedules are so hectic that between our jobs and me living in Grand Prairie now (and most of my friends still living in Austin or Houston), I don't get to see everyone as often as I'd like to. That all being said, 6th Street is NOTHING like it was when we were in college. Sure there's plenty of bars to still hop to and from but they just aren't of the same quality. I remember going to Daiquiri Factory, Amazon, The Drink (ahhhhh The Drink) and Colorado Room (which became Zero Degrees which has now turned into God knows what). There just aren't any real go-to spots these days. I actually prefer the Warehouse District anyways as of late. All the same, we had a good time and bumped into a couple of my college teammates that were in town so that's always a plus.

I'd heard good reviews about VY's restaurant and my mom kept asking about it so we decided to check it out. A friend hooked us up with reservations in the Perfect 10 room (thanks Bita) so my folks, my Auntie Donna and my grandpa (we call him Paw Paw) were all able to enjoy a nice evening at Vince Young Steakhouse. I plan on bringing my brother back here during Texas Relays (he had to work and couldn't come with us this time around). It's really great to see my teammates step out into other endeavours so I always try to support them whenever I can.

We were seated right away and Paw Paw and I decided on having a few inVINCEables (Patron Silver, Patron Citrouge, agave nector,
fresh lime and citrus salt rim).

My mom and Auntie Donna settled on Burnt Orange-Tinis (Savvy vodka, pomegranate liqueur, fresh orange and candied orange garnish). My pops settled on some H20 on the rocks.

We all shared some lamb chops and calimari for an appetizer while trying to figure out what we'd eat as a meal. My mom went with the 12 oz Filet Mignon and Auntie Donna went with a Grilled Caesar Salad (she added chicken to it). Paw Paw went with the 16 oz Prime Rib Eye Steak and my pops and I went with the 22 oz Prime Bone In Rib Eye Steaks. I topped mine with blue cheese crumbles.

We ordered a bunch of sides so we could all have some: Bacon Mac and Cheese, Brocolli and Cheese and Spinach Two Ways (Sauteed and Creamed). We left just enough room to share some Chocolate Cake and Crème Brulee before we called it a night. All in all it was a great evening and we really enjoyed the meal. Real relaxed atmoshphere and great service.

Sunday I just lounged around a bit. For whatever reason losing that hour when we spring forward each year always seems to take a toll on me. Watched some TV and went to my Auntie Donna's house for a bit before heading back home to Grand Prairie. I got home just in time to watch the Fab 5 documentary on ESPN. I remembered watching them in the early 90s like it was yesterday. This was actually the first time I ever saw that Chris Webber was actually encouraged to call a timeout by people from his own bench. I became an even bigger fan of Jalen Rose too. I'm not going to go too in depth with my Jalen Rose commentary just yet because I want to do a blog about some comments he made (and some of the reaction received) tomorrow. It was a great documentary but at the end of the day I still think the 30 for 30 documentaries about The U and The Two Escobars were better.

Pretty good weekend if I do say so myself. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

-M.G.M.

Teleras Bread, Korean BBQ Tacos, City Meat Market, & H-Town

This past weekend was a pretty good one.  I woke up Friday morning and decided I wanted to snag my latest breakfast addiction.  There's this place called Fuzzy's Taco Shop off of Abram in Arlington that I like to eat breakfast and lunch from time to time.  For the longest I'd been wanting to try one of their breakfast sandwiches because its on this bread called Teleras bread.  Well let's just say the sandwich didn't let me down.  Bacon, eggs, cheese, jalapenos and cilantro on Teleras bread with a side of Latin fried potatoes.  Doesn't get much better than that.  Took it back to my office and grubbed

Fuzzy's Breakfast Sandwich

I managed to make it through my day and left work around 3pm.  I ran home and played a quick game in my Orangebloods Online Dynasty in NCAA 2011 and then packed a bag because I was heading to Austin for the weekend.  Initially I was just going to ride down to Austin with my best friend Torre.  He wanted to go out and watch some DJ's mix in Austin because he's trying to get in DJing.  I ended up decided I'd just go ahead and drive myself because I needed to be able to get around and do a few things while I was back home.

Torre met me over at the crib around 6pm and as we got ready to hit the road I couldn't find my wallet.  I looked everywhere and it was nowhere to be found.  Where was the last place I saw it?  Fuzzy's.  I called the shop and they said they didn't have it.  I checked online and didn't have any new charges so I'd resolved that maybe I'd just left it in my office.  Luckily I had my CHL and a credit card so I decided I'd just go ahead and hit the road.

Once we got to Austin we chilled for a little bit before hitting the town.  I had to borrow some cash from my mom because where is my wallet?  Somewhere in Dallas.  Another really good friend, Aleise, decided she'd roll with us so we went to this spot downtown called Karma Lounge.  We've been going there for years now and are friends with owner so we always have a good time.  The scene has really changed in the last two years though and unfortunately not for the better.  All the same, my boy Donte was DJing that night so at least we knew the music would be legit.  At the end of the night when the clubs let out I wanted Torre and Aleise to try this spot I discovered with my boy Kevin last time I was in Austin.  Almost like it's straight out of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives was one of those truck stands.  This one was different than any other I've had: Korean BBQ Tacos.

Korean BBQ Tacos

 Now usually I'm pretty skeptical of something like this but as you can see from the line, it's pretty popular. We each had one beef and one chicken taco and I also had something they call Kimchi Fries that had some kind of spicy cabbage type relish and chicken on it.  Out of this world.  My poor camera phone image doesn't do it any justice.  All in all we had a successful night.

Kimchi Fries

 The next morning came way to fast.  My dad is a morning person.  I'm not.  Ever since I was little my dad has always felt as if everyone should be awake when he is so he made it a point to be extra loud and wake me up.  This particular morning was a little bit different though.  My brother and I had been wanting to get my dad a new barbecue pit for a LONG time.  He really needed it because he loves to barbecue and well...this is what his old one looked like:

My brother found some guys in Houston that would make a pit the way my dad wanted it and do us a solid on the deal since it was a friend of a friend kind of thing so we made a family road trip out of it.  My dad, mom, brother and I piled into my truck and decided to hit the road to H-Town but not without first stopping at City Meat Market in Giddings along the way.  If you ever are near try their Boston Butt.  No pun intended.  We grubbed.

City Meat Market - Giddings, TX

The Menu

My brother ready to grub

Before

After

After we were good and full we were back on the road.  Had to make a quick pit stop at my favorite "store" - Buc-ee's.  I say "store" because it's a gas station, deli, sandwich shop, craft store and outdoors store all wrapped in one.  If you ever see one, stop.  You will not be disappointed.

Buc-ee's

 We got back on the road and finally made it to Houston.  We went straight to the place to pick up my dad's BBQ pit and the second we turned in there my dad started grinning from ear to ear.  His pit turned out to be a flat out beast.  The guys who made it were real cool and reminded me of just some good ole country boys from back in East Texas where my mom's side of our family is from.  We talked to the guys for a little while and finally hooked the pit up to my truck and made our way back to Austin.

My dad (left), folks who made the pit and my brother (middle)

Hooked up to my truck and ready to roll

Back in Austin getting it into the backyard was fun

 My dad through some meat on there for a test run and it turned out pretty damn good.  I'm just glad we cook put a big smile on my dad's face.  He's the hardest working person I know and rarely let's us do anything major for him so to allow him to be able to enjoy barbecuing the right way is priceless.  

I loaded up and hit the road back to Dallas so I could get home in time for the Cowboys/Bengals preseason game.  I'm not even a Cowboys fan but it was live football that I've been without for 6 months so I wasn't about to miss it.

All in all in was a very productive and personally rewarding weekend.  Teleras Bread, Korean BBQ Tacos, City Meat Market, H-Town.  Not bad at all.

-M.G.M.

G.O.A.T.???

Greatest Of All Time.

G.O.A.T.

It’s often thrown around and to me there is no competition. There is only one G.O.A.T. when it comes to basketball and that is Michael Jordan. MJ.  23.  Whichever you prefer.  We all know (or should know) what he did so for me it’s not really worth even beginning to detail. But then you have the constant debates of who can possibly challenge MJ for the title. Some will say Kobe. I disagree and for the purposes of this entry I’ll stay away from why.

What got me thinking about the title for this entry was a quick comment my boy David made to me via Twitter regarding the rumors of Lebron and Chris Bosh to Miami to join D Wade: “…nothing confirmed...but if it happens...LEBRON can never be considered the best...in my opinion.” I got to thinking about that statement and as big of a Lebron fan as I am, I can’t help but agree. Let me shed some light on that statement: I’m from Austin, TX. The pro team in Austin is the Texas Longhorns so I’ve never had true affiliations. Basically I’ve just always enjoyed good sports and to a further extent, I’m a bigger fan of players than I am teams. So as a result, whenever the Lebron hype started in high school, I started to follow him and have become a big fan.  So back to the topic at hand…  For me, no matter what Lebron were to do going forward it would be hard for me to even consider him as a candidate for the G.O.A.T. title because he’d be going to a team with other superstars for the sole purpose of winning a championship.  Not saying there is anything wrong with wanting to win a championship.  Nothing wrong with that at all.

This is about his legacy more than anything. For me to consider you as the G.O.A.T.-to-be I need to see the ability to bring a team from the ashes and turn them into a champion. A true powerhouse. I always thought Lebron was on the right track in doing that in Cleveland and secretly hoped he’d just stay there and get a piece here and there and develop them into a champ. Instead it seems as if the dollars and the need for a championship right now is driving him. I can’t say I blame him necessarily but I do think it makes his legacy take a hit if he does what most think he'll do.

As a friend pointed out when I raised the “issue” in a recent Facebook status: “If Lebron, Bosh and Wade all end up on the same team, they are only two players short of an Olympic squad.” It seems like it’d just be too easy to go that route. I want the person that is coming for MJ's title to grind it out. Whether that’s fair or not, I can’t say. I’m only speaking from what I personally want to see. I may never see it because these days anyone with enough money and cap space can pretty much go out and buy championships in the NBA. Ask the Lakers and Celtics in recent years.

So if Lebron reads this somewhere (yea right), go for the rings. Go for the money. I don’t blame you. But don’t expect to be considered the G.O.A.T.

Ever.

At least not in my eyes.

-M.G.M.