Nice relaxing day today. Got caught up on some work, went out and had a delicious dinner. My friend left a long list of restaurant recommendations, and I have gone to none of them. It’s not how I like to travel.
I like to just kind of drive around and find a place that looks interesting, and if there are not many white people there, I go in. I don’t want to go to all THE BEST PLACES and do ALL THE THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO in a certain place. I like to do my own adventures and go off script.
More fun that way.
War for Ukraine Day 326: Tanks!
cain
offscript – kind of how you started off as a Republican and ended up being a dirty liberal. :-)
Catnaz
Absolutely the way to travel. Better eats and much cheaper.
Omnes Omnibus
Years ago (1992), a friend and I were skiing in Davos (yeah, I know) and we went to the recommended club. The cheapest drink was an $8.00 US Budweiser. It was Eurotrash central. Stay for the the one beer and then went looking for anyplace else. Walking past a rundown dive bar looking place, we heard Radar Love playing so we figured what the fuck and went in. It was one of the best ski town bars I’ve been to. Just a block or two off the main street, but miles away in character. Good, cheap drinks (for Switzerland) and people who had come to ski and have fun rather than pose.
ETA: Also too, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, is a great place for lunch.
Urza
You know, i’ve been reading this blog since Schiavo and I don’t recall what John actually does for work.
Raoul Paste
@Omnes Omnibus: “no more scones for me mater, I’m off to play the grand piano. I’m off to ski in Davos.”
Quinerly
@Urza:
Join the club.
Omnes Omnibus
@Raoul Paste: Come on, the Vaduz part was worse.
Chetan Murthy
@Quinerly: I figure Blogfather is the BOFH. *grin* [it’s a very honorable occupation, just to be clear, and I’m a *dev* [but have always found it more … congenial at the sysadmin table]]
Ohio Mom
@Urza: Cole decided a long time ago to keep his blog and his work lives very separate. Seems only fair, very few of us use our real names.
That said, you could try goggle.
gene108
So what fine dining establishment did you settle on, Mr. Cole?
Raoul Paste
@Omnes Omnibus: Hey, I don’t get much opportunity to use that Monty Python line. Truth be told, I would love to see Switzerland
James E Powell
Anyone watching football tonight? Not really a game.
Mother of mercy, is this the end of Brady?
Nicole
I’m glad the trip has turned out to be relaxing and fun after a bumpy start.
The rule I was told for finding the best food in a lot of cities in Europe was to look for the places that didn’t translate the menu into English. Resulted in a few, “Oh, so THAT’s what I ordered” when the food arrived, but generally a pretty solid rule.
satby
Sounds like a great way to find good places to eat locally. Glad things are going smoother and you’re getting the downtime you needed.
eclare
@Nicole: My parents always looked for local license plates on the cars in the parking lot when we traveled and went to restaurants.
Steeplejack
@James E Powell:
I’ve got it on in the background. The Dallas kicker seems to be having a psychotic break. He has missed all four extra-point attempts. (Five in a row, including one last week, apparently.)
James E Powell
@Urza:
I don’t know what most people here do. How often do we talk about our jobs?
I do know that there are a number of lawyers. Some of them, like me, no longer practice.
eclare
@Steeplejack: Wow! Is that some kind of NFL record?
Matt McIrvin
@Nicole:
We found a great one of those right next to our hotel in Valencia. Communicating with the staff was an adventure but we had a fantastic meal.
James E Powell
@Steeplejack:
And now the Cowboys go for it on 4th & 4 at the Tampa 18 instead of going for a FG.
ETA – They scored a TD on the play. Dude kicked the PAT.
Gin & Tonic
@James E Powell: Dude gave up a marriage to one of the world’s most attractive women for this?
Steeplejack
@eclare:
Dunno. Dallas just scored again, and he made the extra point this time. Yee-haw.
He might have gotten a wake-up call when the Cowboys kept him off the field on fourth and 4 and went for it instead of trying a field goal. They got a touchdown pass instead.
Mike E
He had missed 5 in a row before that made PAT. That also may be a record, not sure.
eclare
@Mike E: Thanks!
CaseyL
Who to root for?
Who do I dislike more: the Cowboys, or Tom Brady?
Decisions, decisions…
Chetan Murthy
@CaseyL: Yo dude, I’m *surprised* that you’re torn about this.
America’s TeamThe Cowboys, of course! Every right-thinkingCommieLiberalFully-Automated Gay Space Communist hates the Cowboys! Get with the program! [I grew up in Weatherford, 60mi west of those fucknuggets, so ….]CaseyL
@Chetan Murthy: Yeah, but Brady is a shit. Possibly, more of a shit his own self than the entire Dallas team.
…and it’s moot: Dallas won.
John, I am very glad to hear that, after the First Day of Vacation From Hell, things have settled down and you are having a good time.
My rule for restaurants: Don’t go if there are hardly any cars in the parking lot.
Chetan Murthy
@CaseyL: I can tell you didn’t grow up in and then flee from TX.
CaseyL
@Chetan Murthy:
You’re correct. The only time I’ve ever been in Texas was during a road trip West, back in 1976. We didn’t stop; just drove across the top of the state. I remember seeing vast expanses of nothing but dirt, and smelling cow shit, for endless miles and miles.
I don’t think there are any circs under which I would go to Texas. Never much cared for what I heard about the place, and after they’ve gone full feral fascist over the last few years, absolutely never.
Another Scott
+1
There are too many people traveling (and traveling in groups) now to go to the “best places”. Find new “best places” yourself.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Cheers,
Scott.
James E Powell
@Gin & Tonic:
My theory is not that Giselle divorced Tom because he was going to keep playing. It’s that Tom decided to keep playing because Giselle was divorcing him.
rikyrah
Glad that your vacation is getting better, Cole🤗🤗
kindness
Well just imagine Texas’ chagrin when the wine sipping 49ers beat their Cowboys this Sunday. As a Niner fan, beating the Cowboys is always extra sweet. And sending them home for the year? Chef’s kiss.
Jackie
@CaseyL: Same here. I chose rooting against the man who chose un-retiring over family.
I’m rooting for SF over Dallas next wknd.
Freemark
@Dan B: Yes, I know. Wasn’t sure how much detail he feels comfortable with on the blog.
eclare
@James E Powell: That’s what a good friend of mine thinks, Gisele was divorcing him, so he thought, fuck it, I’ll keep playing.
I still think if he had stayed retired, she would not have left. Who knows?
Chetan Murthy
@Dan B: OK, not gonna weigh in here, except to say that maybe we should, y’know, not discuss this. B/c Blogfather might want it that way. Sorry, just …. y’know, I think he might not want this discussed.
piratedan
@James E Powell: I wouldn’t be shocked to find out that Giselle was the adult and that Tom wanted to continue to be a little boy. Which would involve media appearances and lots of workouts to maintain his body which would mean that she would end up doing most of the parenting and sacrificing.
just a guess…. since he’s a GOP type, I suspect that the world should revolve around him….. I could be wrong, but there are lots of those folks that roll that way.
eclare
@piratedan: I think he would be a miserable person to be married to, with his strict training routine and absurd diet regimen.
Danielx
@CaseyL:
Another rule: don’t eat at anyplace called Mom’s.
Grumpy Old Railroader
I never talk about my job. Oh wait, I think I heard a train whistle for the crossing
NotMax
Color me gobsmacked.
Ordered something Thursday (non-Amazon, late in the day their time on east coast – Florida, so vaguely topical). Dropped off today (Monday) from USPS – on a federal holiday!
different-church-lady
My rule for dining in the south: the more it looks like a basement rec-room, the better the food is going to be.
NotMax
@Danielx
Nor at any establishment with Corral in its name.
gwangung
@piratedan: Quite possibly….but that would just mean he’s an ass, since Giselle is the power in the couple, as she’s made more money and is probably better known (and supermodels have to follow pretty strict regimens as well).
columbusqueen
@CaseyL: Not to mention little shit Brady played for Michigan.
[runs & hides from irate fans of TTUN].
scav
Quality of lists also depends on the quality of the friends leaving them. Any place my uncle suggested for example, automatic trip. Destination could be sporting anything from duct-taped plastic seating to hole in the wall elite. Although otherwise, exploration best. An odd heuristic that often works in Chinatowns: anyplace you had to ascend or descend steps to get to. Off alleys also rated higher.
Origuy
@Danielx: There’s a place in Julian, California called Mom’s Pie Shop that is an exception to the rule, at least for the apple and cherry pie I got last Friday. Julian is apple country and there are at least a half dozen places to buy apple pies in a four block area.
NotMax
@Origuy
“Only the very best fresh wholesome vine ripened apples.” Still makes me chuckle.
Doug
@Freemark: Which is why he is such an elitist snob.
You can tell that from his overalls!
Antonius
You rebel, you.
Shalimar
@NotMax: There is a restaurant near me called Hart’s Filling Station, in an old 1960s converted gas station building. i have not stopped to try the food.
NotMax
@Shalimar
“All Our Food Is Guaranteed Gas-Free.”
:)
BellyCat
Texans are like West Virginians, only vastly wealthier. And, as a result, feel more entitled to their narrow mindedness.
Four months spent there last fall, between Dallas and Fort Worth, learned me a lot. The brown people are despised because they’re busting their ass doing work outdoors in 112°F weather that no white person is willing to do.
The brown folks, all, were lovely people and full of optimism. That pisses off Texans, too.
lowtechcyclist
@CaseyL:
Tough call, but as one who stopped watching football roughly a decade ago, I’m just going: WTF, Tom Brady is still playing?! Isn’t he, like, 45 years old or thereabouts?
Nicole
@eclare:
Oh, that’s a good tip, too!
Timill
@lowtechcyclist: Yes, and yes.
cmorenc
@Nicole:
In France, it’s especially important to know what words like “reins” are on restaurant menus, and not confuse the word with “rien”. Trust me, you don’t want to make that mistake, it’s the sort of blunder you’ll be pissed with yourself for making.
Jager
John,
My Florida friends say this: If you see old Cuban men drinking coffee at a place, eat there. The Happy Hour at BJ’s in West Palm starts at 3 in the afternoon, the sliders are the size of a regular Wendy’s and they serve more fries than you can eat. There are a few decent BBQ joints. In the 90s there was a place on Clematis Street that was dog friendly. They used to serve my German Shepherd Beck’s in a saucer. I met my wife at the Leopard Lounge in Palm Beach, they won’t let you in wearing bibs. Before they turned the marina and park into an “Event Center” the old Riviera Beach Marina had a great little place to eat. While you’re driving around you’ll note the Palm Beach Yacht Club is in West Palm and seems to attract riff-raff of all kinds. If you hadn’t quit drinking. I’d hook you up with George, Reg, Ric, Big Bob, and a few others and suggest you all go out to eat, then get pissed up and drive over to Mar a Lago , stop the car and piss on trumps’ shitty beach house. Have fun, the best thing about my two years there in the Corporate office was meeting my wife, bumping into Hank Aaron while I was getting my car serviced, and sailing over to the Bahamas, and down to the Keys. BTW, sailing into Miami at night is incredibly beautiful. Biscayne Bay is just…
zhena gogolia
@Chetan Murthy: He’s talked about it on the blog before.
Miss Bianca
@different-church-lady:
That was certainly my experience! Best roadhouse food I have *ever* eaten was in a little dive in Mississippi that had peeling linoleum on the floors, walls that desperately needed some paint, iffy lighting, a pool table in the corner…and was *jam-packed* with people chowing down after church.
I had no idea meat loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans could be *so* sublime. :)
schrodingers_cat
People who like these offbeat and off the track places are either white and/or male. When you stick out like a sore thumb you don’t want to go these places alone or you may end up dead and no one will be the wiser. Especially in the south or the heartland.
I have gone of the beaten track in rural Maine and NY before the Orange Error’s reign but now I would think twice about doing that
My friend who looks much more typically Indian than I do (I can pass as Hispanic or from the Mediterranean) has some harrowing stories when she was in Ohio for a work assignment.
Sis
So glad you’re having a good time. You definitely deserve it.
cope
@piratedan: Since moving to the mountain time zone, I guess I am usually going to be late to some of these conversations.
I would like to make the observation, however too late it might be, that crypto began its precipitous decline in the spring and the couple filed for divorce in the fall. Coincidence?
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia:
He has talked about it on the blog before, but it’s kind of off limits now since some asshole on the blog managed to track down Cole’s boss and sent email trying to get Cole in trouble at work.
WaterGirl
@Chetan Murthy: You are correct.
Quaker in a Basement
If the sign says “Catfish Dinners Served Any Time,” do NOT go in there. Trust me.
Paul in KY
@eclare: One that won’t be broken for 80 or 100 years.
Paul in KY
@CaseyL: I rooted for Dallas (which I hate), but I hate the cheating Brady more.
Will be rooting for SF this weekend.
Paul in KY
@BellyCat: Some damn hard working people down in Dallas/FW area. Mostly those you spoke of.
Paul in KY
@schrodingers_cat: I’m very sorry you have to feel that way.