MySideOfTheBar

25 years is a long, long time for any anniversary, however for a Restaurant it would be an eternity. In a day and age where restaurants seem to be opening and closing weekly it is nice to see one of our favorites celebrating their Silver Anniversary this past Sunday. This establishment has been locally owned and operated by restaurateur Jimmy Frantzè and we have been fortunate to visit JJ’s many, many times as it is the closest bar to our home. The bar here is absolutely quaint and the bartenders make an excellent Dirty Martini. The appetizer menu is very diverse and the dinner menu is something to enjoy. I would not rank JJ’s in what I term the Plaza’s Big Four, which includes Ruth’s Chris , The Plaza III , Starkers , and The Capital Grill . However JJ’s food quality is comparable and he prices are much, much less and the staff is always very efficient and friendly We were fortunate to attend the 25th Anniversary Party and enjoyed some good food, good drinks and some great music by T...

As promised in Infused Vodka Part I here is how to make a very easy infused Vodka and several flavors of it, cheap, quick and easy. This time we choose Wild Cherry and a new infusion of Werthers Carmel. The process of infusing candy is so easy I am almost embarrassed to share it. I first stumbled across this idea in Fort Lauderdale about a decade ago at Dan Mariano’s Steak House and Lounge. To infuse Vodka with a candy of your choice simple add about 18-20 pieces of Jolly Ranchers or as we did this time Life Savers Wild Cheery. You will need to have a jar with an opening large enough to fit the candy through, thus the Jolly Rancher works great as it will fit through the opening of a Vodka bottle. You can simply pour off the amount of Vodka that the candy will displace and let stand for about 8 hours. As I stated we choose Life Savers Wild Cherry and used one of our many decanters letting stand overnight. After the candy dissolves fully you can use this to make a variety of Martini’s ...

It is always good to get together with your old college buddies and last week here at MySideOfTheBar that is exactly what I did. I spent part of the week with two of my fellow college graduates J. and L. S. and Family and J. and H. E. and family, at the Tan Tara Resort on the Lake of the Ozarks. We have been doing this for about 5 years, however none of us can remember for sure and as C.O. will tell you I am never wrong so I am going with 5 years. We get together and tell stories, have some drinks and lots and lots of laughs. It is always funny to see how we have aged, well all except me as everyone knows I have not changed in years. We all graduated from College in 1998-1999 and without these two I may never have graduated. I was the elder of the group that also included a couple of genius twins brothers, J. and D. H., as well as L. P., E.O. and E.M. I was 35 as a freshman in college and my two buddies at the reunion were around your typical college age. We had some great times and w...

Eating and Drinking just seem to go together at MySideOfTheBar and I consider us to be fairly good chefs. Recently I had the opportunity to participant in the First Annual Baypoint Rib Cook-Off at the condo where Central Patti and I spend a lot of time in the spring, summer and fall months. You will remember Baypoint as it was the site of some of the most famous (or should I say infamous) events such as the Condo Crawl, the Baypoint Derby and Lake Week. Now I had never cooked ribs before, however I received some valuable pointers from S.O. (Yes the same S.O. who captains the Happy Ours) on cooking ribs. 1. Looking is not cooking 2. Use Apple Chips for smoking and get the ones you do not have to soak 3. Cook on very low heat for a long time (about 225) 4. Use a good quality rub 5. Only put sauce on the last 15 minutes or so and let it caramelize before letting the ribs rest. So with this in mind and the loan of some wood chips I entered the Cook-Off. I received assistance with the prepa...

In Case you missed the first two parts The Reluctant Hero Part I The Reluctant Hero Part II I awoke the next morning to an empty bed, the smell of coffee and the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. I got out of bed and poured myself a cup of coffee just as Patti emerged from the bathroom again, wearing only a towel. I smiled and said, “Hum.” “Don’t even think about it,” she said. “To late for the not thinking part,” I replied. “Care for some coffee?” “Please,” she answered. “Louis brought the pot up just before I showered.” “Good thing it was before, you would have given the old guy a heard attack,” I said with a laugh. I realized that I was standing drinking coffee naked . “Oh well off to the shower,” I said, while handing Patti a cup. We dressed casual as the last we had heard we were going boating. Maria had a pitcher of Bloody Mary’s waiting as we entered the patio, but there was no sign of either Nicki or Terrell. Maria must have sensed our curiosity and said, “Senior...

While sitting in one our usual hangouts a few weeks ago the topic of conversation around the bar was vacation. Now I realize that a vacation should be relaxing and restful and when you return to work you are supposed to be well rested. Such was not the case when we returned from Vacation Week at the Lake of the Ozarks. Central Patti and I spent 10 days at our condo over the Fourth of July week and here is the recap. Friday – We walked to Alhonna resort with S. and C. O. and had all you can eat Pango and many drinks. Saturday and Sunday – The Kids and Grandkids were in for a couple of days and we had a great time. We had a Luau on Saturday complete with grass skirts and a Limbo contest. We had Hawaiian pork chops with red peppers and pineapple. On Sunday we had the traditional Fourth of July meal, hotdogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob and watermelon. Monday – After lounging by the pool for a few hours enjoying cocktails we were invited to go out on the lake with S. and C. O. on their b...

A few weeks back we took the Amtrak from K.C. to Naperville Ill. and as usual we had a great time. If you have never taken the opportunity to travel by train you do not know what you are missing. I recommend for your first trip nothing over four hours just in case you may not enjoy train travel. Also this will keep the price at a minimum and I recommend choosing your travel dates that are not during the peek seasons. (From around June 15th to August 15th.) to avoid high ticket prices You will be pleasantly surprised by the size of the train cars and the size of the seats. The cars are two levels with the lower level where you put your luggage when boarding, handicap seating and the rest room/changing rooms. We generally sit in the club car (now called the observation car) where they have many booths and seats and then entire care is plexieglass so you can see the beautiful sites as you travel. You can even carry on your own food and drinks and yes this means you can carry on your own...