Bill Belichick is getting a LOT of flak from people saying that he made the wrong call last night in Indianapolis’ late win against the Patriots. I think the call was perfect, and here’s why.

Coach Belichick decides the game, and doesn’t let Peyon Manning. At this point in the game (little over 2 min. remaining), the Patriots had gone from controlling the game to losing it all. The Colts had scored twice in the quarter and Manning was EN FUEGO!

I say this a lot, but it’s really true with Peyton Manning. You really don’t want to give him 2 minutes, and 80 yards to win the game. He’ll take it every time. Let’s face it, punting to the Colts right then was admitting defeat; they might as well have walked off the field then. Manning was going to score if he got the ball.

The only solution: take the game into your own hands. 2 yards and you win the game. They got 1 1/2. Shit happens.

Rosie’s Italian Grille located just south of Dorr Street on McCord Road has been one of my more favorite Italian places for the last few years. The setting was always intimate, with great food; an excellent person to take a date who wants Olive Garden.

My recent visit though was somewhat of a disappointment though. Firstly, the atmosphere. As it being late fall, the patio is enclosed, with a helluva overabundance of space heaters out there. It was so incredibly hot, I was forced to take my pants off. Secondly, one of the great things Rosie’s did was fresh bread with an infused olive oil. It was placed on your table with the water. Well they don’t do it anyways. Fuck.

Let’s talk food. Not being rather hungry, I took this opportunity to try a pizza. Nothing is more Italian than pizza Margherita. Fully expecting a delicious medium crust, with fresh tomato sauce, slices of mozzarella, and fresh basil, here’s what I got:

You may notice the irregular shape of the pie. That’s good! If you’ve ever tried to hand roll any dough into a circle, you’d know that it’s impossible. Absolutely impossible. I’ve seen some good attempts, but this shows me that it’s hand tossed.

The cheese. While the cheese was fresh mozzarella, I was expecting a more traditional sliced cheese rather than the shredded stuff I got. Speaking of the za being slightly non-traditional, I was also expecting full basil leaves. Instead I get a chiffonade.

As far as the crust itself. While it was good, it was limp and extremely thin. I would have rather had a little more thickness, OR some crispiness. All in all, it’s good, but not great.

As far as the rest of the dinner. The crab cakes were decent, although the horseradish mustard sauce was excellent.

The salad was limp and over dressed, and the risotto was simply mushy rice; it had no creaminess.

All in all, I was quite disappointed and it will take a really good next visit to get me turned back around on this. More to the point, they had a really nice, elegant website, which they’ve recently turned into this mid-90s esque bullshit Flash driven web vomit.

Poor taste…for shame.

C-

Snapped this guy coming into tailgate before a UT football game.

Subliminal Message Found in Jay-Z “Run this Town”

By far (for some reason), the most popular page on this blog is my recipe for andouille sausage chili. So, help you guys out even more, I’ve recently made the chili again. This time, the cameras were rolling. Enjoy!

Chucks Bar, located on Monroe just east of Secor is a place that I have many memories with. The place used to be dive; really dive. We used to frequent the place, addicted to the signature shot of a particular bartender there: More than a Mouthful. The shot was all booze, and so many different types that at least 4 needed to be ordered (no problem). I’ve offered my share of vomit to that establishments sewer.

The menu was simply sandwiches and lots of fried foods. While the fare was standard and greasy, it was expected, and enjoyed. Some two (three, four maybe) years ago Chucks underwent a huge renovation. The bathroom went from a two seater with no doors to a place that I expected a servant shower me in expensive fragrances. The slab of wood that they called a bar was replaced by a fancy schmancy “real” bar. The managers: gone. The Chucks that was essentially our “first” dive bar was gone as we knew it.

We stopped going. The crowd got bigger…and weirder. But I digress. I happened to stumble there for lunch today, and was…pleasantly surprised. While I’m told that the menu does feature some rather mundane food, my burger was done nicely.

Chucks Burger/Fries

The burger was a 1/2 lb patty that had the characteristic smell and texture of a flame grilled piece of meat. It was seasoned nicely, and the sandwich came with onion, tomato and Bibb lettuce (Bibb, really? ooo la la). The fries weren’t as good. They were handcut and cooked perfectly, fluffy in the middle and crispy on the outside. However, the heavy-handing of their seasoning salt really kinda ruined them.

Either way, the total including tip for this lunch was just over $7, but expect to pay a dollar or two more for any other sandwich. The portion was just right for lunch. Lunch was pretty speedy and the place had a decent lunch crowd.

All in all, it’s a good place for lunch. The lights behind the bar are pretty annoying, but those are annoying even when there drinking. Definitely stop in and see what you think.

Inkys Italian, located on North Detroit Avenue have been in business for more than 50 years. This is a place that I had heard about on numerous occasions, but have never made the trip over to it.

So, when some coworkers wanted to go for lunch, I jumped on it. I was told the pizza was unbelievable. The secret: an optional meat sauce.

The place was small, had a very local vibe and feel. Most booths and tables were full, a sure sign that you’re in the right place. The wait staff was sluggish, but eventually I ordered a large pepp and mushroom.

I had very mixed feelings about the pizza. First off, let’s talk about the meat sauce. It was delicious. I’m a little concerned that more people aren’t taking the opportunity to place more meat in their pizzas.

The bad: the crust. The crust has a Chicago deep-dish style texture to it. By that I mean it almost has a flaky pastry feel to it. While that type holds up well to 3 inches of sauce and deep toppings, for a normal style pizza such as this, I was kind of disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, the pizza was good. The toppings were good, the cheese was great. The meat sauce was outstanding, but the foundation of the pie, the crust, left me wanting a more traditional type.

Either way, this place is definitely worth the drive, even if it to is a somewhat rough part of town. From what I hear, the lunches are fantastic, as is the standard Italian fare. Come early or plan late though. Our lunch took almost an entire hour and we didn’t have to wait for a table, which you might.

Alice in Chains
Black Gives Way to Blue

Overall: C+

Alice in Chains. What can I say? Their Unplugged album perpetually stays on my DVR, just in case I want to watch, and I consider it one of the best albums of all time. Let’s just say that I’m a bit of an AiC homer.

Having said that, I regretfully say that their first studio release in almost 15 years is disappointing. The first thing that gets mentioned is, “Is that guy just not as good as Layne?”

Let me just say that William DuVall is a GREAT vocalist, and nothing is lost between him and Layne. Remember that Jerry Cantrell is still there, and he contributed a LOT to vocals before anyways.

OK, so the album. The album starts off very strong. The opening track, All Things Known, has this delicious dissonant sound that really just almost gives you the creeps, but in a very good Alice in Chains kind of way. That slips right into their first single, Check my Brain, which has a hook that might let it be big on the radio.

The middle of the album has a few slow songs, but nothing that can really compare to previous work. Unfortunately that’s the last decent moment. The end of the album really just drags on. Each song on its own right is decent, but each song lacks any kind of individuality. No chorus really pops out and grabs you.

So, while it’s great that Alice in Chains is back making music and touring, I just really wish their first album in a decade and a half had a little more creativity to it.

I recently visited the Beruit restaurant (Toledo, OH) on Monroe. This is a place that I’ve been to few times as we work with a Lebanese person. The schwarmas, gyros, salads, everything that I’ve had has been fantastic. One the most recent visit though, we had to get a special dish. It’s called Kibbeh Nayyeh and it’s not on the menu. Perhaps because it’s not much more than raw ground lamb.

The dish is very labor intensive, as the meat is mixed typically with bulgar or some form of cracked wheat. Spices are added and served as is; ours came with onion and cucumber, along with the ubiquitous pita bread.

The food is to be eaten completely by hand. One tears off a piece of bread and uses it to grab some of the lamb. Onion/cucumber may be placed on as desired.

I personally found the dish…odd. The meat starts a little bland, but the unmistakable taste of lamb comes on with a very strong aftertaste. The texture is very mushy. The main problem I had though was with the thought of it. You’re eating raw ground meat. Mentally, my brain was telling my body that I shouldn’t be eating it. I simply couldn’t get past this fact.

The taste was decent, but this is definately not for the faint of heart. I’m glad that I tried something new, but it is not something that I’ll be trying again.

This truck bed was rubbing the passenger rear tire. I know this because it could only go 10 mph…down two-lane Jackman, for two miles.