Christmas to Memphis

Last weekend, I ventured up to Memphis. My cousin got a job and moved there this year. He's originally from Kentucky so this way, I actually get to see him a little more. Now, we usually go up to Kentucky every Christmas, but this year I am unable to go. My family is actually on there way right now as I type. Me, I had some duties at work to perform that just couldn't wait, and before anybody gets mad about that. Before anybody says that I need to get my priorities straight and all. Well, you're probably right, but there was some stuff that I needed to get done while everybody else was gone. I'm in the IT biz and sometimes you just gotta do things when nobody else is there to mess stuff up.

Anyway, where was I in my story. That's right, I went to Memphis instead this year. That way I could at least see my cousin and his wife. Friday, we went to an Indian restaurant to eat. Nothing says Christmas like Indian food let me tell you. We took the leftovers and made a scrambled egg su fle (spelling?) the next morning. It was delicious. Saturday, we went to a BBQ place right next to Christian Brothers University. It was highly recommended by my cousin's and Memphis is supposed to be the place to go for BBQ. The place was called Central Barbeque. I had the pulled pork sandwich (my favorite BBQ dish) and greens. The BBQ was pretty good. I also had a new beer. It was called Ghost River. I had their Glacial Pale Ale and the Black Magic. They were both delicious. I highly recommend them.

Next up, we went to BB King's BBQ and Blues. They've got some BB King beer there. It was alright, not quite as good as the Ghost River. We listened to some music for a while, but then we left to wonder Beale Street. Now, I've been to Beale St. twice now since turning 21. And maybe I'm not giving it a fair shake, but so far, unimpressed. Maybe it's because I'm trying to compare it to Bourbon, but still I expect a little more. There was nothing going on in any bar. There might have been 30 people walking around total down the whole stretch. The bars all had 10 or 12 people maybe in them. It was vacant. I guarantee you that there were more people out and about here in Little Rock at the River Market than there were on Beale Street. We ended up just giving up and going home to watch Batman Begins.

The next day we went to Jim and Nick's BBQ. I got some kind of smoked ham plate again with greens. It was tasty, but nothing special, except for the sweet cornbread was delicious.

All in all this is what I concluded in my venture:
Beale St 0 in 2
Memphis BBQ: Great, but I have had plenty of BBQ here in the Natural State that's' just as good.
Ghost River Beer, Delicious.

Oh, and I got to see snow. It dusted Friday night.

Oh yeah again. I saw Tron. It's awesome, amazing. I wish that I could enjoy 3D movies, because this would be the movie to see in 3D.

Hot Winter

Another food related story. Not a lot of exciting things going on lately. Friday, I ended up at Vino's. I ordered my favorite, a Pizza Margherita. It has Roma Tomatoes, garlic, mozzarella, and olive oil instead of sauce. Vino's is probably the best micro-brewery here in Little Rock. We had the Firehouse Pale Ale which is a delicious brew.

Sunday is where the real story is. I was challenged once again. This time the enemy was heat. My friend John who dominated the Midtown Burger challenged me in the Buffalo Wild Wings hot wing contest (I don't remember what it was called). Now, if you're going to do a challenge, this is not the one to do. Not only do you have to pay for the wings either way, but you also have to pay $15 for the T-shirt that says you did it. I mean come on, at least throw in the free shirt! Anyway, here's the deal: You must eat 12 spicy wings coated in Habanero Chili Sauce in 6 minutes. That's 1 wing every 30 seconds. Again, I failed. I was a little pissed at this loss though, because it had nothing to do with the spiciness. Don't get me wrong, these wings are very spicy. but I eat spicy food all of the time. My eyes were tearing, and my whole body was shaking but I can block out the pain. What I couldn't block was the temperature of the dang things! They pulled them out of the oven straight to our table. It was like somebody telling you to chug a full pot of coffee. Sure you could do it, but you would burn a hole in your throat doing it. Not only that, but you've gotta really put those things away quick to eat all 12 in under 6 minutes. I would have trouble with 12 honey BBQ wings in 6 minutes, especially when every bite scalds you mouth. Next time, I will ask to have them sit out for 10 minutes or so.

So, yeah. I only got 9 wings down in the 12 minutes. Of course John somehow stuffed them all down, but I didn't let running out of time stop me. I gave 1 wing away to somebody who wanted to try the Spicy Wings (they took one bite and couldn't handle any more) and I ate the other two no problem. I knew because I had already eaten these wings before that the real challenge had just started. The Habenaros don't just give up after you eat them. They burn in your stomach all night. You can actually feel the sauce move through your intestines as as it burns its way out, and eventually you must expel it where it is just as spicy as the first time. This part is not fun, but it is the price you have to pay.

I'm coming for the Shutup Juice.