"Harold's Barbecue To Close Next Week"

Thanks to Facebook-still free and always will be. Or so the story goes. Where I saw this!
 

A sad bit of news as Harold's, an icon of Atlanta barbecue, is closing May 3rd. Famous for it's brunswick stew and cracklin' cornbread. the store is closing due to the economy. 

Most news stories on the tube and radio these days mentions how people are suffering. Some poor Wall Street guy said it was tough trying to manage on $350,000 a year.And Harold's was a victim ....."people are carpooling and not eating out as much. It's the economy." 

 When I was 9 years old, me and Bogus Bob, my childhood chum, bought cigars at Harolds. I'm going out on a limb here, but there must have been no age restrictions to purchase tobacco back in the hazy days of my youth. We soon graduated to buying packs of filter Viceroys. At 25 cents a pop, I'm guessing we robbed our piggy banks to pay for our adolescent pursuits. Plus, Bob's Dad, Sweet Lucy, was getting wise to his non-filter Chesterfield Kings disappearing.

 I also remember working for A Delivery Service during one summer on leave from Truck University. Harold's was just down the road, and we would usually go there for supper. They made a great flame-broiled burger with fries and cole slaw. Or maybe it was chips. Time fades away as Neil Young once penned. 

 I haven't eaten at Harold's in a long time-years-but the last time I was there, I remembered the same faces that had worked there when me and Bob,as dumb little adolescents. were buying cigarettes  I don't think we were calling them fags then, as we later used that term in high school-Rowdy High-and college. I forget when we discontinued using the terminology-perhaps our politically-correct consciousness kicked in.

 Harold's was a hole-in-the-wall Mom and Pop restaurant. No flash and pizazz. Just wooden tables and chairs and red-checkered tablecloths. It is a part of Americana that is dying. Just as with drive in movies and land line telephones. I would like to go one last time and savor the ambiance, the dying ambiance. Of a world gone away. 

So make room for Smokey Bones and the like, where the brisket surely comes in a bag and is heated up by the staff. It's lousy, and I haven't taken the time to voice my displeasure with it to the proper channels via email. 

But say it ain't so Joe. Harold's closing. I'll miss the owners and staff that have gotten older just like me and Bogus Bob. I'll miss the proprietor with his dirty meat-stained apron, and the dangling toothpick which was his trademark look. I'll just miss the place period.

It's a sad day in Mudville. But I want one more stab at the stew and hamburger. The slaw was pretty darn good if I recall. Farewell and Adieu.

"Harold's Barbecue"

 

These are comments from the peanut gallery, apologies to Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody. These comments are from Yelp! Maybe it ain't just the economy!

I heard this place was the 'place' for barbecue in Atlanta but when I pulled up in the parking lot I thought this place looked like a dump. Once I walked in though the place was clean enough and the staff were very friendly. I ordered a standard pulled pork sandwich, which came quickly (roughly 5 minutes). I was expecting the taste to be exceptional but it was more tending towards mediocrity. Don't get me wrong it tastes good but I can find that taste in loads of other joints. All in all, this place is pretty good for a quick lunch but I think its quite a bit hyped up.

Barbecue- Excellent. Great, classic non-fussy barbecue. Great cornbread. Great Brunswick Stew. Great sweet tea.
Service- Insanely slow, and bare. I've been twice, and the first time, I waited 30 minutes for a BBQ sandwich and was the only other person in there. The second time, it was a little better, by maybe 5 minutes. I think it's met it's hayday, and I hate that. Because this place is part of not just Atlanta, but Georgia barbecue history.
And the last time I went there, it was raining, and the roof was leaking all over the place, even on the table next to us. The place is in sore sorts.

i've always figured  that the best barbecue is found in places you wouldn't visit after dark, where they have bars on the windows and just enough grease on the tables to write your initials...   if that's the definition, then Harold's ought to be World Class - but it isn't.

This famous Atlanta landmark stands in the shadow of the federal prison and has become a shadow of its former self.  All that's left is some still very good Brunswick Stew, excellent sweet tea, and nearly seven decades in one spot.

Used to be they were also known for their cracklin' cornbread - but it's turned dry and the thin slivers of fatback meant to add moisture and flavor are hard to find.

The pork is chopped behind the front counter (was that a pistol in the pocket of the guy doing the chopping?) but is devoid of any fat and the flavor smoke imbues in fat that provides pulled or chopped pork its real flavor. The ribs (baby-backs) were only a tad better.

Many members of the staff seem to have reported for work there on opening day and never left.   To be fair, they're great folks, true southerners who deserve to be able to serve  better.

You  want good Brunswick Stew, give Harold's a try, or take a road trip on I-8u5 to Rogers in Hogansville.   Ribs?  Give 'Cue in Alpharetta or DaddyZ' in Atlanta a shot. Chopped pork? Virtually any place else will be better.

As Neil Young once penned "a new design, a new design."  

Mo. woman wins $5.8M in 'Girls Gone Wild' case

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The company that makes "Girls Gone Wild" DVDs is seeking to overturn a verdict awarding nearly $6 million to a St. Louis-area woman who claims her bare breasts were recorded without permission.

St. Louis Circuit Judge John Garvey last month sided with Tamara Favazza in her suit against Mantra Films Inc. and MRA Holdings LLC, awarding her $5.77 million. She was a 20-year-old college student in 2005 when someone lifted her tank top during a party at a St. Louis bar, exposing her breasts. Another person filmed it. She later discovered the recording was part of the "Girls Gone Wild Sorority Orgy" DVD series.

Favazza claimed in the suit originally filed in 2008 that she did not give consent and the resulting DVD damaged her reputation. A St. Louis jury sided with the DVD makers in 2010, but a retrial was granted....

I like this comment from one of the readers, always the best part of these stories. From Mark ( Mark  •  7 hours ago )

Since it was ruled that she was an 'unwilling participant'... does that mean I can sue the video company for false advertising since she technically hadn't "Gone Wild?"

"Obsession or What?

 

"20 Footer;" "25"

 

Chipper Jones pauses to reflect on his career during final visit to Dodger Stadium

Enjoyable article on Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves 3rd baseman. Who is retiring at the end of the season.

LOS ANGELES – Forty years in, nearly half of those in the big leagues, Chipper Jones is in the midst of one final pass through baseball. 

His eyes say he'll miss it. His body, certainly from the hips down, says, "Run." You know, if he still could....

Best right-handed pitcher faced: 

"Roger."
Clemens.

Best left-hander faced: 

"Randy."
Johnson....

Best clutch pitcher: 

"Smoltzy."
John....

Best team he played on, regardless of result: 

"Yeah, I'd have to say '95 was it. The simple fact we had the big three (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Smoltz) and, man, we were solid one through eight....."

Guy he would have wanted to play with: 

"Mickey Mantle. Awesome. I would even have hit second and let him hit third....."

If not this era, then which one: 

"Mantle's. I would've wanted to have played in that Mays, Mantle, Aaron era. That's when baseball icons truly were baseball icons." 

Best hitters' park: 

"I gotta say Phoenix right now. Me, personally, I like Minute Maid. But I think Cincinnati is the best hitters' park.

Worst hitters' park:

"I will be in the front row when they blow up Wrigley Field. The ballpark is awful."

Paula Deen's English Pea Recipe Mocked Online

For those of us who can't even boil water, online recipes are a lifesaver. But when is a simple recipe a bit too simple? Perhaps Paula Deen knows. We recently came across this recipe for English peas on her official site. 

Here, word for glorious word, is Paula's recipe: "Melt the butter in small pot and add the peas. Cook over medium heat until peas are warm." Below those words of wisdom is a link that allows you to print the recipe. You know, in case you think you might forget a step.

Commenter tr1cky1 wrote, "I clicked on the "Print Recipe" link for this recipe, but my printer only printed out a sheet of paper that read, "Your An Idiot!"...and I can't even reply to it to tell it that it misspelled "you're". Help!"" Commenter mikwitcher posted, "This recipe was really tricky to master, but once I figured it out, it was divine! The secret is to NOT use a cardboard pan to heat the peas." Another wrote, "Come On! How do you open the can??? and do I use salted or unsalted butter????" 


To read the rest of the article click here!

The comments are funny. A sampling:

My ex wifes recipe. Put peas in pot with water. Place on stove on high. When pot boils over and house is thoroughly stunk up, peas are done.

She's got another recipe on how to make a bowl of cereal.

SHHHH...Don't tell Paula, but you can use the same recipe for canned green beans, too.
Just omit the peas.

I am working on a recipe. 4-6 ice cubes ( crushed ok ) in a glass.. Add bottled water or any liquid of your choice. Voila!

Can we get a recipe for buttering bread?

"Where do you park at the car show?"

"Go Fly a Kite"

I was in my back yard trying to launch a kite.



I threw the kite up in the air, the wind would catch it for a few


Seconds, then it would come crashing back down to earth.


I tried this a few more times with no success.


All the while, my wife Karen is watching from the kitchen window,


Muttering to herself how men need to be told how to do everything.

She opens the window and yelled to me,


'You need a piece of tail.'


I turned with a confused look on my face and yelled back,


'Make up your mind. Last night, you told me to go fly a kite

 

"Outside Abbey Road Studios....Preparing For the Famous Street Photograph"

 

Yardsellr Beatles Block is the name of the site which was on my FB page. And from whence the photo came. No wonder FB is free and always will be. Or so the story goes.

"Another Attempt at 2nd Base?" ( Jennifer Hudson )

 

McDonald’s Worker Spits in Tea: How Gross is Fast Food?

Police in South Carolina say that a McDonald's worker spit in two customers' cups of iced tea after they returned them because they weren't sweet enough. A video shows the employee,19-year-old Marvin Washington Jr., leaning over the open cups before giving them back. The fast food chain patrons claim they discovered phlegm in the drinks when they removed their tops. He was arrested Wednesday and charged with malicious tampering with food.

 Eating out can be an exercise in suspended disbelief. Wide eyed, we assume the food is fresh and wholesome and that workers have followed the "employees must wash hands" decree posted in the bathroom. Nevertheless, the McDonald's incident is so sickening because it actually bears out the urban legend that a disdainful waiter can and will contaminate your food if you tick him off. 

 Chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain's bestseller, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, exposed the grungy side of the culinary world over a decade ago. Not only is the book a rollicking memoir about coming of age in the 1970s and 80s, it's a veritable primer for how not to get food poisoning on date night. Bourdain rudely threw open the kitchen doors and exposed restaurants' dirty little tricks such as filtering cigarette ash out of used butter to make a sauce and serving old beef to the customers who ordered it well done. 

It continues-green chicken at KFC, etc.    

One of the worst I saw was when my(?) fry cook used his spatula to unclog the floor drain and then returned it to the grill. Never washing it. 


My first manager at Mickey D's circa 1968 was a young 20 year old recently transplanted from California. He had worked at a pizza restaurant prior to moving to Georgia, and said the cooks would give the pizza extra toppings by picking their noses. Urban myth? Who knows!

"Second Base"

 

"Encore"

 

"Hitchcock Collage"

 

"'Faces' to be Inducted into the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!'"

 

I was a big fan of Rod Stewart back in the haze of my youth. He began with Jeff Beck and soon went solo. He was with Faces from 69-75. I had two of the lps. The bassist, Ronnie Lane, who helped write some of the songs contracted md in the 80's and soon died. And Ron Wood is still playing with the Rolling Stones.

"Everest"

Abbey Road was originally slated to be called "Everest." I hear you!


What a treasure-the following video. Paul may not be able to warble out those high notes like he once could, but who the fork cares.

"Middle Age" or a Euphemism for 'one foot in the grave'"

 

"Petrino Fired at Arkansas"

 

As you read this, the damage is now spreading out in waves. From Bobby Petrino's entitled mind to a community that adores its Hogs to a state that does the same. The damage is significant and lasting and won't end with a Tuesday press conference announcing Petrino's firing. Start with this unassailable fact: For most of its 20 years in the SEC, Arkansas has been a mid-level program. It scrapped and sweated and worked to be better. Most of the time it wasn't. This was going to be the year. Look at the schedule and the talent. The program had momentum. Look at the coach. It was all in place. Petrino lit a match to the whole thing. His incredible selfishness and unmitigated entitlement will affect Arkansas for years to come. You think not? Name the Arkansas coach with the highest winning percentage since Frank Broyles. It was Ken Hatfield (55-17, 1984-89), the last Hog coach to win a conference title. In terms of that winning percentage, Petrino wasn't even Ken Hatfield. The man who dared challenge the SEC elite and elevate Arkansas to something it has seldom been, also led the program through perhaps its most disgraceful week. If not for AD Jeff Long's for-the-ages presser we'd be picking through burning embers....

"Marlins' Ozzie Guillen apologizes over Castro flap"

 

MIAMI (AP) A contrite Ozzie Guillen sat in the heart of Little Havana seeking forgiveness for what the Miami Marlins manager called the biggest mistake of his life - saying he admired Fidel Castro.  

This wasn't some offhanded insult about a sports writer, the type of thing that got the outspoken Guillen in trouble in Chicago. This was personal to the fan base that the Marlins rely on so much that they built their new stadium in the middle of the city's Cuban-American neighborhood. Castro is the sworn enemy of those fans. So after being suspended for five games Tuesday, the Marlins manager tried to quell the tempest.

 ''I'm here on my knees to apologize,'' Guillen said. ''I'm very sorry about the problem, what happened. I will do everything in my power to make it better. ... When you make a mistake like this, you can't sleep.''

 A chastened Guillen, who has a history of polarizing comments about gays and immigrants, among others, spoke without a script and made no disclaimers. He said he'll do whatever he can to repair relations with Cuban-Americans angered by his praise of the Cuban dictator, remarks he said he didn't mean. Guillen, who is Venezuelan, told Time magazine he loves Castro and respects the retired Cuban leader for staying in power so long.

 In response, at least two Miami politicians said Guillen should lose his job. Callers on Spanish-language radio in Miami agreed and 100 demonstrators picketed Marlins Park toting signs like ''NO APOLOGIES FIRE HIM NOW....''

 

 

"Still on my Beatles Kick"

 

 

While crafting the song, John told George Martin, their producer, he wanted to "smell the sawdust." 

I can smell it!

"Yahoo's 100 All Time Greats"

 

"Another Collage"

 

"The Last Puff"

 

"Bad Hair Day"

 

Perhaps the Donald should try Brylcreem, a little dab will do ya. On second thought he needs more than a dab.

James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’ Movie Mistake

Despite what loyal “Titanic” fans may believe, the original version of the film isn’t entirely perfect. 

  Director James Cameron, notorious for his excruciating attention to detail, admits he did make one mistake in the 1997 release, but feels audiences won’t notice the change in the 3D reboot.

 “Oh, there is one shot that I fixed,” Cameron revealed to Britain’s Culture magazine.

 “It’s because Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is one of the U.S.’ leading astronomers, sent me quite a snarky email saying that, at that time of year, in that position in the Atlantic in 1912, when Rose is lying on the piece of driftwood and staring up at the stars, that is not the star field she would have seen, and with my reputation as a perfectionist, I should have known that and I should have put the right star field in.”

 Cameron added, “So I said, ‘All right, you son of a [expletive], send me the right stars for the exact time, 4:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, and I’ll put it in the movie.’ So that’s the one shot that has been changed....”

  P.S. Thank goodness he got it right this time.