The Hardhat Cafe is a local restaurant that I pass all the time. It was a gas station/convenience store at one time, and still has the island for the pumps out front. The only advertisement that I have seen is "BBQ on Saturday". Well that is enough to get my attention. So I had to try it. Since then, I have been back several times, mainly because it is so close to my house. The restaurant offers a small buffet or one can order from the menu. The buffet (at least on Saturdays) has fried chicken, BBQ pork, BBQ chicken, BBQ ribs, hushpuppies, corn, rice, tomatoes and okra, cabbage, green beans, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, slaw, potato salad, and banana pudding. I think they have a loaf of bread too. The fried chicken is good (how hard is that to mess up) and the sides have a good flavor without being oversalted or have too much grease added. The atmosphere is a little lacking, and the restaurant is decorated with industrial safety equipment, as the name implies. The workers are friendly though and the service has been good for me.
They have three BBQ sauces, a mustard based sauce, a spicy red sauce, and a normal red sauce. The mustard based sauce is sweet and rivals any mustard based sauce I have ever had. I really like it. The red sauce is pretty normal, fairly thick and sweet and tangy. The spicy red sauce is thinner and has a lot of pepper seeds in it. I am guessing it is vinegar based.
The BBQ pork is chopped to about an inch long. It does not have a very strong red color so I am guessing that it is cooked on a gas grill. It does not have a strong smoky flavor either. It is, however, very juicy and has good taste. It appears that most of the undesirable parts of the meat were removed before it was chopped so it is very appealing. In my opinion, it is some of the best non-smoked, cooked over a gas grill BBQ I have had.
The BBQ ribs are pre-cut before hitting the buffet. They use the full ribs, not the baby back ribs. The red sauce is basted on the ribs and is sticky and sweet from the cooking process. The meat is pretty tender and has little bit of a red color than the BBQ pork. I guess this is from spending more time on the grill, but could be due to the sauce being mopped on it. The ribs are excellent. Every one I have tried has fallen off the bone. They could use a better cut of rib or either cut the ribs better, but that is sweating about the small stuff.
I have eaten there last weekend and the weekend before, as well as a couple of other times. I plan to eat there again.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Should I feel bad for thinking this is funny?
Last year, my father-in-law and I went backpacking at the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, which contains the familiar Caesar's Head overlook. Since I met my wife, he and I have been backpacking several times a year. On this particular trip, he and I hiked to camping spot D5, which is down on Marshall's Creek. Upstream of us was Raven Cliff Falls, another really popular destination for day hikers. The trip down the mountain to the campsite was obviously easier than the trip out. We took the long way out which took us back up the mountain on the other side of the river and then to the swinging bridge over Raven Cliff Falls. We had taken this trip before but did it in reverse, where we came down the mountain from Raven Cliff Falls. We knew that this way would be tougher. One of the first obstacles was a wire "bridge" strung across the river. This consisted of one wire to step on and one wire to hold on to. That was exciting and fun with a full pack on (even though the "full" pack for us on this trip was less than 20 pounds since we were thru-hiking). After a full morning of hiking, we made it to the top of the falls. We decided to eat lunch here and found a secluded spot next to the river to sit and rest. We took our boots off and enjoyed the cool water too. We had finished eating and were resting before the rest of the 12 mile trip to the next campsite.
Thats when it happened. This guy and his family decided that where we were was the perfect spot for them to eat lunch too. Literally, with all of the space on the river, they park between me, my gear, my father-in-law, and his gear. He was a jerk too, was rude to his family and he overruled his wife's concerns about parking right in the middle of where we were. We thought it to be quite rude. We took a little consolation when he slipped on the rocks and took a really hard fall right on his butt. We promptly started packing our things. Then, the guy had the nerve to ask us about the trails. He didnt get the 2 dollar map? We told him that the hike ahead was long and strenuous. He decided that he would continue going forward and that his family would backtrack to the car and drive down the road to where the trail met the road. This idiot (if you allow me to call him that with the little knowledge I know of him) did not have any hiking gear and had drank half of his water already. Personally, I dont think he had enough water to take the backtracking route. We voiced our opinion about how difficult and long the trail was (since we had just come from that direction and had taken it in the other direction during a previous year. He insisted on going forward.
Fortunately, with his decision we had our leave and headed on down the trail. I guess I took a little solace in knowing that he was going the opposite direction and that his family would have no chance of catching up to us. We made our way to the next campsite just before dinner time and settled in for the night. We were very tired and had covered about 20 miles in a day and a half. We chose this spot (#18) since it was only 1 mile hike back to the truck (even if there was 800 feet elevation change to go up). The next morning we were ready to head home and got up earlier than normal and got out of dodge.
I dont want to spoil the ending, but, the road we were heading down crosses the trail that the idiot had left for. We were going to pass by the spot where his family was supposed to meet him. For a moment, my father-in-law and I joked that he would have not completed the hike by dark and that he would be coming out of the woods this morning. We both were anticipating the sign indicating that the trail crossing was ahead. We would not be dissappointed. What luck in timing. The idiot was hiking up the road back to Ceasar's Head only a few hundred feet from the trail. He had just made it to the road. He was wearing shorts and as I mentioned before, did not have any gear. He must have had a miserable night with no water, the mosquitoes attacking, and then the temperature dropping to 40-50 degrees. Fortunately for us, he wasnt far from the ranger station and we didnt feel the need to stop and help him. I would have enjoyed telling him "I told you so" though. But, we laughed really hard and discussed his misfortune all the way home. I am laughing now. Should I feel bad for thinking this is funny?
Thats when it happened. This guy and his family decided that where we were was the perfect spot for them to eat lunch too. Literally, with all of the space on the river, they park between me, my gear, my father-in-law, and his gear. He was a jerk too, was rude to his family and he overruled his wife's concerns about parking right in the middle of where we were. We thought it to be quite rude. We took a little consolation when he slipped on the rocks and took a really hard fall right on his butt. We promptly started packing our things. Then, the guy had the nerve to ask us about the trails. He didnt get the 2 dollar map? We told him that the hike ahead was long and strenuous. He decided that he would continue going forward and that his family would backtrack to the car and drive down the road to where the trail met the road. This idiot (if you allow me to call him that with the little knowledge I know of him) did not have any hiking gear and had drank half of his water already. Personally, I dont think he had enough water to take the backtracking route. We voiced our opinion about how difficult and long the trail was (since we had just come from that direction and had taken it in the other direction during a previous year. He insisted on going forward.
Fortunately, with his decision we had our leave and headed on down the trail. I guess I took a little solace in knowing that he was going the opposite direction and that his family would have no chance of catching up to us. We made our way to the next campsite just before dinner time and settled in for the night. We were very tired and had covered about 20 miles in a day and a half. We chose this spot (#18) since it was only 1 mile hike back to the truck (even if there was 800 feet elevation change to go up). The next morning we were ready to head home and got up earlier than normal and got out of dodge.
I dont want to spoil the ending, but, the road we were heading down crosses the trail that the idiot had left for. We were going to pass by the spot where his family was supposed to meet him. For a moment, my father-in-law and I joked that he would have not completed the hike by dark and that he would be coming out of the woods this morning. We both were anticipating the sign indicating that the trail crossing was ahead. We would not be dissappointed. What luck in timing. The idiot was hiking up the road back to Ceasar's Head only a few hundred feet from the trail. He had just made it to the road. He was wearing shorts and as I mentioned before, did not have any gear. He must have had a miserable night with no water, the mosquitoes attacking, and then the temperature dropping to 40-50 degrees. Fortunately for us, he wasnt far from the ranger station and we didnt feel the need to stop and help him. I would have enjoyed telling him "I told you so" though. But, we laughed really hard and discussed his misfortune all the way home. I am laughing now. Should I feel bad for thinking this is funny?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Chicago, Part 1...working in Wisconsin
The next trip that my wife and I took was to Chicago. I had to go for work and the trip began in Milwaukee. We stayed at the Comfort Suites Airport because they had upgraded me to a suite other times I stayed there. Well, all of the suites were taken when we were ready to check in. But, the deskclerk asked if we wanted the presidential suite. Sure, why not. So, we took it. As we entered the room, there was a large king size bed in the first room and big screen TV. In that same room was a little kitchenette. A hallway, which was where the bathroom was, led to the "living room" which had a couch, loveseat, easychair and another TV. Beyond that was a doorway to the balcony that overlooked the indoor pool. I was kind of dissappointed since this was the same as all of the other suites that I had stayed in before, what made it "the presidential suite." As I went into the living room, I saw french doors where the wall should be. There was another room. This room was larger than the normal suite. Inside was another king size bed, big screen TV and a 4 person jacuzzi, not one of those bathtub things but a full size jacuzzi. Attached to this room was another bathroom. This bathroom was about the size of a normal hotel room. It had a two person walk in shower, a bathtub, a seperate room for the toilet, and a ten foot long countertop with two sinks. Seriously, two and a half hotel rooms at least. So, enough about the hotel room...
We spent two nights in Milwaukee. I had to work and drove to several work locations between Milwaukee and Green Bay. While I was at work, my wife took the bus downtown Milwaukee to check out the Milwaukee Public Museum and some other locations downtown. I think it was a great warmup for Chicago. That night we went to eat at MOCEANS, a trendy place that had opened shortly before our trip. While I dont remember what we ate, I do remember the desert. My wife loves creme brulee. I hate creme brulee. But, MOCEANS offered a regular creme brulee and a chocolate creme brulee. Perfect for sharing.
The next day I had to work in Cuba City, Wisconsin. That is way down on the southwest corner of Wisconsin. So, we took a road trip. My work only took two hours, so we went "downtown" Cuba City and checked out some antique stores and ate at a local diner, Nick's Cafe. Had to get cheese curds and they didnt dissappoint. Cuba City is known as the City of Presidents. Check them out online at http://www.cubacitywi.com/. We left Cuba City and drove back to Chicago, starting our 4 day weekend in the windy city.
We spent two nights in Milwaukee. I had to work and drove to several work locations between Milwaukee and Green Bay. While I was at work, my wife took the bus downtown Milwaukee to check out the Milwaukee Public Museum and some other locations downtown. I think it was a great warmup for Chicago. That night we went to eat at MOCEANS, a trendy place that had opened shortly before our trip. While I dont remember what we ate, I do remember the desert. My wife loves creme brulee. I hate creme brulee. But, MOCEANS offered a regular creme brulee and a chocolate creme brulee. Perfect for sharing.
The next day I had to work in Cuba City, Wisconsin. That is way down on the southwest corner of Wisconsin. So, we took a road trip. My work only took two hours, so we went "downtown" Cuba City and checked out some antique stores and ate at a local diner, Nick's Cafe. Had to get cheese curds and they didnt dissappoint. Cuba City is known as the City of Presidents. Check them out online at http://www.cubacitywi.com/. We left Cuba City and drove back to Chicago, starting our 4 day weekend in the windy city.
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