Day by Day

Now we have one of the most exciting parts of our trip.
We had left Karnes City after dark and decided to stop at the next little town and get a motel for the night.
As we came upon the city limits of Kenedy, I spied an old building with an airplane as a sign for the place. Jerry B's. I told Lenora, after we are settled in lets go have dinner there.
We stopped at the Holiday Inn Express. Filled up???? Nothing in town???? Oh, no! the next stop was an hour away.
Wait, we found one. Have one room left. Only thirty dollars? Oh no! Their credit card machine is down. No cash, no problem, run to the ATM. How can the towns only two ATMs be out of cash?
Ah, buy gas and get cash back! Now we are talking!
Back to the motel and check in. OMG, what you don't get for thirty dollars now days. Oh well, just a place to sleep, right?
But I degrees.
We did get to go back to Jerry B's for our dinner.
The place was packed. They had a small group (Raisin' Kane) playing on the bandstand. Let me be a fanatic here. This band was great for this venue. I'm not much for a two piece band but these guys pull it off well. Be sure to see them if they come to your area. Hear them on their MySpace page.
Couples were sliding around the dance floor. Locals were hanging out around the bar. Families were eating at large tables. I was enjoying this more and more.

The waitress came by and was the friendliest that can be. We got our food. I have seen lesser restaurants base their entire reputation on a dish that keeps their customers coming back again and again. This was no exception. So far this place is really living up to our expectations. Then the bill came.
We were about to leave this place for under twenty dollars!!!! I called the waitress to make sure she hadn't given us separate checks. Nope, was there something wrong? Well, hell yes there was something wrong. You don't come into a place like this and only pay $20 for a meal for two.

The waitress brought the manager/owner, Allen Brown, over to our table. Get out! A real person? What a nice guy. He gave us a tour and told us the history of the place. I won't go into a lot of it because I want you to visit his site that his wife Lynn and Connie O'Brien has done such a great job on. Besides, their pictures do them a whole lot more justice because all of mine are night shots.

The decor was the typical but refreshingly done antique/barn wood effect you see at all the popular places. The patio is nicely done and seems like the kind of place you would want to bring the kids to for a picnic on Saturday.
At night it becomes a romantic hide away. Softly lit under large oaks, it is sprawling enough to find a quiet intimate spot to relax with friends.
He has plenty of room to expand. We took a look at the upstairs where he plans to open more seating as soon as he gets a dumb waiter put in.

We routinely drive to our favorite steak house that is 32 miles away. This is only 100 miles so I think we will be going back several times. Jerry B's is only 60 miles from San Antonio so you guys better visit soon before it is so crowded you need reservations.

Now I am giddy. This is one of those little undiscovered back places that people drive miles and miles to go and relax, have a great meal and be entertained. I will be writing to Texas Highways about this place tomorrow. I am sure you will see it in an upcoming issue.

A team of Iranian designers came up with this brilliant cooking idea which actually isn’t as disgusting as it first looks. Your car’s exhaust is used as a barbecue to grill your food!

That still sounds bad, but consider that the fumes don’t come into contact with the burger, the exhaust just heats the metal grill.
And think of the time you save whipping through those drive-in food places on your way to work.
In Texas, there could be other advantages. Hitting a deer at 55 mph could lose some of it's distressing emotional detriments if you knew you could take advantage of the fresh meat right then and there.

This was part of a Designboom contest titled "Dining in 2015"

Designer's own words:

Your car exhaust is a barbeque now.. Stop the car when you are hungry, install the device to the exhaust and back to drive,, You'll have a hamburger in no time. This way you don't need fuel for cooking while commuting and a large amount of energy would be saved.

A woman who saw Balducci's store in Greenwich Village advertizing hams as "Delicious for Chanukah.", took pictures of the signs and posted them on her blog.
Chanukah _ an alternate spelling for Hanukkah _ is the eight-day Jewish holiday that began Tuesday evening, and hams _ as well as pork and other products from pigs _ can't be eaten under Jewish dietary laws.
Jennifer Barton, director of marketing, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the signs were changed as soon as the error was noted.
She issued an apology on the company Web site, saying the company would be reviewing its employee training but I couldn't find the post.
Balducci's

Freelulu's Blog:
"Try this at home...

Bongo's Queso Blanco

1 Gallon of Milk
4 Limes

~ Line a colander with fine cheesecloth.
~ Heat milk to 180˚F while stirring constantly.
~ Mix with a whisk as you slowly add lime juice until the milk begins to curdle.
~ Stir for 15 minutes.
~ Pour the curds into a colander and let them cool for 20 minutes.
~ Tie the corners of the cheese cloth together and hang it to dry.

Try it with limes from the backyard. It takes 7 hours, so wake up early.

Bongo's Queso Blanco Coleslaw

Melt some White American cheese with some Queso Blanco, a shake of chilli powder, and a dash of cumin.

Mix in the following:

a head of cabbage; finely shredded
a carrot, grated
a red bell pepper, julienne
some green onions, chopped"