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The Ideal Brain Tonic
It was difficult to take a picture of the image that was only on our screen for a split second during a commercial in the AFC Championship game. Now that my wife and I have captured a slightly blurry photo of Coca-Cola’s secret formula, it’s only a matter of time before we can have our son, the chemical-engineering major, whip us up some homemade soda that’s just as good as the real thing.
Show Me the Funny
Kathleen Madigan is complimented when people think she looks like an older Emma Stone. The same thought crossed my mind while watching and laughing at “Gone Madigan” on Showtime. The video was released this month on DVD and the audio on MP3.
Madigan dares to poke fun at Oprah with hilarious results. She takes on some easier targets like Sarah Palin and Paula Abdul too but with clever twists. The best stuff is when she talks about her family and her Irish heritage. At one point she said, “When people say, ‘oh how do you write a joke?’ Most of the time I don’t, I just call home and I say, ‘what are you guys doing?’ and I repeat what they’ve said to me and I make money.”
Madigan is from St. Louis and has a funny chunk comparing the habits of Missourians to Californians. She is one of my favorite comedians and I hope she gets a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame someday soon.
Spaced Out
Part of the fun of road trips for me is stopping off at convenience stores along the way. I like spotting new and unusual items. Last weekend on the way home from St. Louis, I saw something for wannabe astronauts and something for wannabe potheads.
Applesauce on the Go looks like you could eat it in zero gravity without spilling a drop. Lazy Cakes is for those who want to try marijuana brownies while still saying no to drugs.
Head Lines
The package from Fox looked ominous. The labels “Property of Walter Bishop” and “This Side Up” immediately had me thinking the box contained a replica of a human head. After all, the network once sent me an awesome replica of a skull to promote “Bones.” Whatever was inside the box would serve to remind me that “Fringe” is moving to Friday nights. Walter Bishop is the mad scientist on “Fringe” who is often eating while examining a corpse. He gets the best lines of dialogue and has inspired several web pages that accumulate his quotes.
Instead of a body part, the box held a tub of Red Vines, one of Walter’s favorite snacks. Red Vines developed a bit of a cult following when they were only sold in the West. When former KROQ program director Andy Schuon moved from California to New York to program MTV, he would have tubs of Red Vines shipped to him. I’ve been known to import gooey butter coffee cakes from St. Louis among other treats. What regional foods do you have shipped to you?
Collaborate and Listen
One of the suggestions during this week’s Einstein Simplified show was “world’s worst ice sculptor.” While pantomiming some jokes onstage, my mind went to the actual ice carvings I saw on Sunday night in St. Louis. The creations were still on display from The Loop Ice Carnival the day before. Here are two of the best:
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The Fountaineer
After hearing a gospel reading about John the Baptist, we weren’t ready to dine on locusts but we did dine on Locust Street. The Fountain on Locust got on my radar when it won the America’s Best Restroom contest last September. I made plans back then to visit the next time I would be in St. Louis. My family and I had a great lunch at the Fountain after church on Sunday.
The restaurant offers an interesting combination of food, ice cream and cocktails. I had the Mixed Salad Sandwich with chicken. It contained lettuce, tomato, roasted red pepper, onion and artichoke. There was just enough cheese to add flavor without overpowering the vegetables. My wife and son had the Pesto Chicken, which resembled a pizza on foccacia bread because it was smothered in mozzarella, as promised on the menu.
For dessert, my son enjoyed the Chocolate Brownie Cake in a Cup. My wife and I split a sundae, choosing Zanzibar Chocolate ice cream topped with Signature Hot Caramel sauce and pecans.
The space was once a showroom for Stutz Motor Cars. It has a retro art-deco style that works well. Radio personality Joy Grdnic opened it as the Fountain on Locust three years ago. I wish I had known about the restaurant sooner but I will make up for lost time on future visits to St. Louis. I especially loved the antique radio just inside the door. It appears to be the exact same model as the one my wife and I received as a wedding gift from my sister. And yes, it was already an antique way back then.
Pappy Meal
There are so many food shows on Travel Channel and so many travel shows on Food Network that it can be difficult to remember which channel you’re watching. During a “Man v. Food” marathon on Travel Channel, I set my DVR to record the episode shot in St. Louis. In it, Adam Richman visited someplace I’ve already been and he inspired me to try someplace new.
On Saturday, my family and I went to Pappy’s Smokehouse. I had no interest in attempting the Big Ben, which Adam ate on the show and then added to it to create the “Adam Bomb”. I just wanted to enjoy the taste of some award-winning BBQ. My wife and I ordered salads with pulled chicken on top. Our son ordered a slab of ribs with the intention of sharing a tasty rib or two with his parents. I also sampled a couple of his sweet potato fries, which were amazing.
We had been warned to get there early because they do sell out. We were also told that the line would be out the door. Once we got inside, the line snaked down a hallway and back. It was reminiscent of waiting for ride at Disneyland. Once we got into the actual restaurant, there was a still another line. It took us about an hour to get to the counter to order but only a few minutes for our food to be delivered to our table. One of the guys told me that their business has doubled thanks to “Man v. Food.” They now get a large percentage of out-of-towners, especially on weekends.
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