Tag: david dondero

Categories
bar/drinking

Bombay Sapphire Cocktails at Todd English’s Olives Restaurant at the W Hotel

Todd and I stopped by this Bombay Sapphire event (at Olives at the swanky W Hotel – Union Square) before seeing David Dondero‘s show at Joe’s Pub. For some reason, there were a lot of skanky dressed women in the lobby. I just assumed that’s how posh girls dressed. Todd assumed they were all escorts. Turns out they were casting a reality show called “Love Broker”.

The cocktails were good and strong. I felt it. Or maybe because I had four. Everyone’s favorite seemed to be the East Side Smash (Bombay Sapphire East Gin, lemon, orange, mint, basil, black peppercorn and syrup, Garnished with mint sprig.) Nice! I need to start drinking more gin.

Celebrity Chef Todd English was there and we had some bites. I like how he did some exaggerated kung fu moves when the camera was on him. He knows what the people want. I always do the pointing thing to the camera, but I need to change it up. He gave me some ideas. Also he kind of reminded me of very positive Dave Dondero in his speech and mannerism, who we were about to see. That was interesting.

By the end, I was thinking I should of tried out for that reality show.

Olives – The W Hotel. 201 Park Ave S New York, NY 10003
http://www.bombaysapphire.com

Categories
mexican street taco travel

Dining with Dondero: Izzoz Tacos (Austin, TX)

American singer-songwriter, David Dondero, is reporting in his meals from his current tour. He’s living my dream of playing music and eating on the road. Here’s Dave at Izzoz Tacos in Austin, Texas.

Austin, TX is one of my favorite towns on this planet to eat.   Breakfast tacos are very popular and can be found pretty much anywhere around the city.  In the past several years the food trailer trend has taken off like so many other places around the country.  On South 1st, my favorite trailer had recently moved to a new location.  They always blast terrible alternative modern rock like Puddle of Mud or some other similar shit.  They have the best tacos though so it’s worth suffering through their horrible musical taste.  Even better than Torchies.

They have a taco called the Bac Spin.  It’s scrambled eggs, bacon bits and spinach on a flour tortilla.  Their salsa is really distinctive with a more smokey flavor.  The price is cheap.  One taco fills me up for $2.25.  Their queso is also great.  That’s only if i’m really hungry.

I ordered the bac spin again and sat underneath a shade tree in the 105 degree heat.  This time i ordered 2 of them and was only able to finish 1 and a half.  I like Topo Chico sparkling Mexican mineral water to wash it down.  A nice way to start the day.  I wait at least 30 minutes before diving into Barton Springs.

Izzoz Tacos - 1503 S 1st St. Austin, TX 78704

David Dondero is one of the hardest working touring folk singers in America. Once named one of the Best Living Songwriters by NPR, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Paul McCartney. It’s a privilege to have him part of Me So Hungry.
http://www.daviddonderomusic.com/

Categories
sandwich travel

Dining with Dondero: Timeline Saloon & BBQ (Bonduel, WI)

American singer-songwriter, David Dondero, is reporting in his meals from his current tour. He’s living my dream of playing music and eating on the road. Here’s Dave at Timeline Saloon & BBQ in Bonduel, Wisconsin.

West of Green Bay on the hwy 29. I pulled into the Timeline Saloon and BBQ. It was pouring rain all the way from Duluth. Going into this place felt like stepping into John Cougar’s “Hurts so good” video in 1983. I thought he’d come out from the kitchen at any moment with a group of bikers in leather chaps. Instead the owner came out carrying an alligator. I thought it was fake at first but it was real. Turns out he has 5 of them and he’s carrying around the baby. He also has many other interesting animals behind the restaurant and motorcycle shop/museum. He’s got a camel, ostrich, long horn cattle, buffalo and a giant turtle. The place turned out to be much more interesting after a closer look.

I ordered up the usual.. Miller Lite “union made in Milwaukee” and slow cook brisket dip. This was succulent beef slow smoked/bbq’d with carmelized onion, sautéed mushrooms and provolone cheese served on toasted fresh French bread. A dipping au jus was on the side and ruffles potato chips. This sandwich was amazing. The best French dip I’ve ever had. It blew my mind.

The biker chick bartender asked “wanta play the pull tabs for a free beer?” I said sure.. So she hands me a jar full of pull tabs so I try my luck. If you’re not familiar with pull tabs they are common in parts of the Midwest and Alaska. It’s a form of gambling. A small piece of card stock with a tab you pull to reveal whether you won the prize.. Sometimes It’s cash,, sometimes free beer etc.. I pull mine and It says “half off beer” she says “it’s better than no off” I say your damn right. Thanks for that.. I pay up and tip her well. She wasn’t overly nice but just nice enough.

I checked out the motorcycle museum. There was a 10 seat extendo Harley bike that the owner built. I think it’s a world record. This place was totally great and I want a try more of their food.

Timeline Saloon @ BBQ – W2707 State Highway 29 (18 miles West of Green Bay), Bonduel, WI 54107

David Dondero is one of the hardest working touring folk singers in America. Once named one of the Best Living Songwriters by NPR, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Paul McCartney. It’s a privilege to have him part of Me So Hungry. http://www.daviddonderomusic.com/

Categories
seafood

Dining with Dondero: Lake Superior Chubs

American singer-songwriter, David Dondero, is reporting in his meals from his current tour. He’s living my dream of playing music and eating on the road. Here Dave talks about Lake Superior Chubs (smoked fish).

If travelling around Lake Superior you will come across various smoked fish shops.  My favorite Lake Superior smoked fish is the Cisco or Chub.  They are usually really cheap and are around 10 inches in length. I got 2 of them for under 5 bucks.   They are an oily fresh water white fish.  Another Scandinavian favorite.

The last couple times i tried to get them on the North Shore of Lake Superior they were unavailable. I could not find them in Duluth, MN either this time around.   I’m not sure if they were depleted due to overfishing or if they got sick and died off.  Well they are definately still around certain parts of the lake and i found some in northern Wisconsin.  The town is called Bayfield and it’s on the northern peninsula of Wisconsin.  The finger of land which juts out into Lake Superior.

When i get them I usually eat them right away with my hands.  They smell pretty strong so the odor stays with you all day.  It’s wise to throw the left over carcass away and not keep it in the car.  It will smell for a week.

So here they are.  These little golden Lake Superior beauties.  I bought them at Newago’s Fish Market off   Rte 13.. Bayfield, WI  .. delicious.

Newago’s Fish Market - 707 Old Military Rd. Bayfield, WI 54814

David Dondero is one of the hardest working touring folk singers in America. Once named one of the Best Living Songwriters by NPR, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Paul McCartney. It’s a privilege to have him part of Me So Hungry. http://www.daviddonderomusic.com/

Categories
seafood

Grand Seafood Feast

Ben and I ran into this guy on the street. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any cupcakes with him.

Then we grabbed some grub at Grand Seafood Fish Market right off the Grand L stop. I’m a big fan of their free steam. I had just gone there a week earlier with Rusty and Dave Dondero for some steamed clams and shrimp. Such a great deal. A dozen clams for $6. A pound of shrimp for $7. You’re literally paying market prices.

Their fried fish sandwiches are good too. We split the flounder and whiting sandwiches. Ben and I both agree, fried whiting sandwiches on white bread kicks ass.

Grand Seafood & Fish Market – 98 Bushwick Ave (@ Grand St) Brooklyn, NY 11206

Watch Ben’s show –Hook, Line & Dinner on the Cooking Channel!

Categories
seafood travel

Dining with Dondero: Buffalo House (Proctor, MN)

American singer-songwriter, David Dondero, is reporting in his meals from his current tour. He’s living my dream of playing music and eating on the road. Here is Buffalo House Bar & Restaurant in Proctor, MN.

The Buffalo House in Proctor, MN.  Just up the hill from Duluth, MN where i was born..  I used to go there as a kid back in the 70’s.  I remembered riding down the roller coaster dirt road between fences and white birch trees.  Inside those fences were hundreds of buffalo.  The Buffalo House sold the meat from the herd.

I returned last week to check it out again after over 30 years.  Much has changed.  The buffalo herd is gone and the pasture is now a baseball and volleyball field.  They’ve added an RV Campground and it’s now in a completely different new building.  Not sure if the old place burned down or was torn down.

I dined with my Uncle Bob and we decided to split 2 entree’s.  I got the Buffalo Steak with waffle fries and chicken & rice soup on the side.  Uncle Bob got the fresh Lake Superior Walleye grilled with Cajun spice and garlic mashed potatoes.  We split both dishes.

Uncle Bob raved about the rolls at the old Buffalo House.  The rolls came out but i could tell right away they weren’t the same.  “They used to be fresh”   he said..  “It was one of the best things they had..”  not the same now.  They were okay.. kinda like rolls from the high school cafeteria.

The soup came next.  Chicken and wild rice.  It was not really soup..  It was more like a gelatinous clump with bits of chicken and swollen white rice.  You could eat it with a fork but was really bland.  I had to add alot of salt and pepper to give it any flavor.  It was like the soup at the senior citizens home I used to work at.  It was horrible.  Uncle Bob seemed to like it.

The main course came up and the lady plopped it on the table like returning bowling shoes at the bowling alley.  Then she clomped off in her Buffalo House t-shirt.  The Buffalo steak portion was tiny.  About the size of a hot dog.  I ordered it rare but it came out medium and was hard to cut through with a steak knife.  It was tough meat.  Not horrible, just not very good.

The only redeeming quality to the meal was the fresh Walleye.  That was delicious and i wish i ordered it too.  Basically grilled with cajun seasoning sprinkled all over it.  It’s not hard to go wrong with that.

They had 64 ounce beers but I got my usual Miller Lite long neck vortex bottle to wash it down.  It was great catching up with Uncle Bob and he paid for the meal.  Thanks Uncle Bob.  It wasn’t his idea to go there by the way.  He said he hadn’t gone there in 15 years..  It was nice to see the new Buffalo House but probably wait another 35 years to go back.

Buffalo House Restaurant – 2586 Guss Road, Proctor, MN

David Dondero is one of the hardest working touring folk singers in America. Once named one of the Best Living Songwriters by NPR, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Paul McCartney. It’s a privilege to have him part of Me So Hungry. http://www.daviddonderomusic.com/

Categories
mexican taco travel

Dining with Dondero: Taqueria Lupita’s (Detroit, MI)

American singer-songwriter, David Dondero, is reporting in his meals from his current tour. He’s living my dream of playing music and eating on the road. Here is Taqueria Lupita’s in Detroit, MI.

Mexican Village, Bagley and 18th. Detroit, MI. Wow who would have thought Detroit could bring it with the Mexican food. I went to a place called Lupita’s which claimed to be the house of the original Mexican taco. What attracted me to having Mexican food in Detroit was the fact that the flour tortilla factory was just down the street. I prefer tacos on flour tortillas so I was in. Not sure what part of Mexico that comes from but they offer that option here. I ordered 1 carne asada and 1 pollo asada.Plus a coctel del camaron. All this for only $8.48.

First I got the tacos. The carne asada seemed fresh but the pollo was dried out like it’s been sitting on a prep line for 5 hours. Traditional tacos served with onion and cilantro.. plus the various salsas which came with the chips when I sat down. I give the carne asada a B+ and the pollo asada a C+. The flour tortillas were obviously just made and excellent. They made the whole dish a grade higher. A+ plus for them.. The service was really quick. I got the tacos about 3 minutes after I ordered them.

The shrimp cocktail came after I finished the tacos. This was basically shrimp, avocado, onions, and cilantro in a watery brine served with crackers.. I usually avoid seafood on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Due to most restaurant delivery schedules. A chef friend of mine told me once that most restaurants get their fresh seafood deliveries on Wednesday or Thursday for the upcoming weekend. Thus if you order it Sunday-Tuesday chances are higher of being spoiled. Not sure how true that is and I’m sure it varies wherever you go. The finer restaurants probably get it delivered daily. The cheaper restaurants don’t especially if not by the coast. This was a Sunday but I took a chance on the shrimp which were probably frozen anyway. I’m glad I did. I fished them out with a spoon and put a little ketchup and hot sauce.. then salt and pepper on a cracker. It made for the perfect lunch. Not too much food and not too heavy. I was happy and I’d go back there.

Taqueria Lupita’s – 3443 Bagley St. Detroit, MI 48216

David Dondero is one of the hardest working touring folk singers in America. Once named one of the Best Living Songwriters by NPR, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Paul McCartney. It’s a privilege to have him part of Me So Hungry. http://www.daviddonderomusic.com/

Categories
bar/drinking travel

Dining with Dondero: Happy Dog (Cleveland, OH)

American singer-songwriter, David Dondero, is reporting in his meals from his current tour. He’s living my dream of playing music and eating on the road. Here is Happy Dog in Cleveland, OH.

“The Happy Dog in Cleveland, OH. I came here a year ago for the first Weapons of Mass Creation Fest. It was the best closest bar to the church I was playing in. Turns out they do shows there too and serve great hotdogs with the most bizarre additions. The first time I ate at Happy Dog was with professional pinball champion Darren Hanlon. I had my hotdog with kim chee, a fried egg, tomatoes, bacon, Cajun mayonnaise, yellow mustard, chipotle ketchup, smoked gouda cheese and some crispy fried onions if I remember correctly. I think the Dazzler had the same or something close. My memory is a little foggy because this was last September and I’m just now looking back at the pictures from my first encounter with the Happy Dog. They’ve got pinball in the back corner of the this classic Midwestern corner bar. Here’s a picture (below) of Dazzy Hazzlon “the pinball millionaire” practicing for upcoming world championship competition. We both left stuffed and happy. Plenty of fuel any person looking to ramble and rock out.

My second visit to the Happy Dog happened just last night for the 2nd annual WMC fest. This time was packed full of concert goers but the service was great and fast. Everyone extremely friendly. I got my hotdog with bourbon baked beans, wasabi peas, bacon spiked southern style greens, cucumbers and Cajun mayo. My buddy Chris got his with red pepper relish, raspberry crunch mustard, Oaxacan red chile and chocolate mole, habanero pickled red onions, smoked gouda and chorizo chile. Each hot dog only 5 bucks. Eat it with a fork and a knife. Mine was great the first visit ,,, last night was good but my bun was a little stale. I can overlook that. Sometimes you get to the tail end of the bun bag and it comes out stale.” –dd

Happy Dog – 5801 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, OH 44102

David Dondero is one of the hardest working touring folk singers in America. Once named one of the Best Living Songwriters by NPR, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Paul McCartney. It’s a privilege to have him part of Me So Hungry. http://www.daviddonderomusic.com/