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USCATX

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Posts posted by USCATX

  1. On 4/11/2024 at 12:32 PM, 83Horn said:

    After sitting idle since last November, I finally got these guys out of hibernation yesterday for a bit of exercise.  These pictures are a few years old, but the bikes are the same.  I was surprised at how easily they started up and how smoothly they ran after sitting for so long, especially the Suzuki, with its carburetors and all.  I am seldom ever as happy and content as when riding.  I need to do more of it.

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    I did about 32k miles on a Bandit 1200, they’re the best UJM of all time.  

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  2. 6 hours ago, brown water said:

    Been on a decent roll lately 

    Penelope 15 year light whiskey x 2

    Larceny BP A123 x1, B123 x3, A124 x2

    Little Book Chapter 7 (currently in play)

     

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    LB7 is pretty great, best in years.  

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  3. I’m on my second year of blackberries and they’re crushing it.  I planted 4 last year and another 6 this spring.  Also have a couple different blueberry varieties, one of which is producing in its second year. Also plenty of tomatoes, squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, and need to get some okra in.   

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  4. 1 hour ago, Txslnghrns said:

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    What should I choose? Blantons straight from the barrel is intriguing. I have a bottle of Stagg Jr but would like a backup. And I’ve never had the Hancocks.

    Stagg Jr and SFTB are the best value vs secondary, but that kosher rye is such a banger.  Hard pass on the Elijah tossed ass.  

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  5. 8 hours ago, CoachEmUp64 said:

    I passed on Magnus Cigar Blend sitting on the shelf for $225, price was firm. Should I have bought it? 
     

    I’m no expert but I’ve never seen it on the shelf before. 

    Quality has gone down, I probably wouldn’t pay much more than retail right now.  
     

    JD 12 is a banger, tho.  Approved.  

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  6. 6 hours ago, NoName said:

    depends on what you are in the mood for

    • "northern italian style steakhouse" - newest/hottest spot in FBG is Alla Campagna on Main. wife's favorite app in town is their roasted garlic & ricotta meatballs. highly rec the bucatini and wild boar paparadelle. had almost all of their pizzas, but the margherita is the one we go back to. i would skip the steak, it's good but not $80 good. sides are ok - charred broccolini is excellent. their tiramisu is the best dessert in Fredericksburg. if you want something to go, they have a side entrance off of Milam for to go orders - recent one from wife and I was to order the bucatini, add a couple of the ricotta meatballs + pizza and split it. highly recommend a reservation, they use Tock. probably want to sit inside based on weather.
    • live music, bar food and strong margaritas? Hondos - queso, grilled chicken sandwich, burgers, brisket mac & cheese are all great.warning: it's a self serve restaurant which bothers some folks but who cares. waiting list only, no reservations - you want to sit outside though.
    • if you want good food and a little less fancy, with outdoor seating and a more new orleans style flair? Granite House. all of their apps are solid to very good. best chicken fried steak in Fredericksburg, get the fried egg on top. they have a seafood pasta special every night that's very good. i like their shrimp and grits. waiting list only, no reservations - you want to sit outside though.
    • if you want good food and a little more upscale? Hill & Vine - carnita nachos, tri tip, redfish are all good. croissant bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts in FBG. i think they are waiting list only now, no reservations
    • If you want fancy and the items on the menu look appealing to you, but seems more expensive than it should be? Vaudeville -Mediterranean plate, chicken pesto pizza, charred octopus. reservations recommended, i think they use RESY.
    • If you want fancy and the items on the menu look appealing to you? Ottos is pretty well regarded as the "best" restaurant in FBG but their menu just never has pulled me in. had good experiences, but just not a menu that's for me. highly recommend a reservation, they use Tock
    • actual Mediterranean food? Cafe Dimona (new spot in town, where Emma & Ollie used to be - know some back of house folks, just started dinner service recently)

    no matter where you go you should finish at OroBianco Creamery (just opened in FBG, they have locations in Stonewall and Blanco): try all that you want to, but the cutrus crema is incredible, wife loves the mint stracciatella, and they have more seasonal flavors that are not on their website. also an affogato with their house made gelatos is a life changing experience https://www.orobiancomilk.com/products/

    here is where you shouldn't go and why

    • Sage: super fancy but not really filling or that good and obscenely expensive for what it is
    • Martini's: do you want a couple of hundred dollar seafood tower in Fredericksburg? what about fresh oysters? also this is the loudest place in town, and you support owners who are generally pretty shitty. avoid at literally all costs.
    • Jack's Chop House: owned by the same folks as Martini's, also very expensive for FBG so we have avoided it. it's evidently gotten better since it opened but i'll never know.
    • Burger Burger: so many better burger spots in FBG - Pecan Grove, Tubbys, Hondos,
    • Mamacita's Restaurant: go to Campo Azul if you want cheap Mexican food, it's significantly better in every single way
    • Altdorf: know a local who called it a freezer to table restaurant and that's basically what it is in my experience. lots of Chef Mike cooking things up in the back. very mediocre.

    couple of bonus spots for you

    • Caliche: best coffee in town and nothing else is close. can take your lady friend there for an excellent avocado toast - i usually get the green chile grits bowl if they have it on menu. next door to Alla Campagna.
    • Pritzers Sweet Shop: if you are walking around downtown this is a little tiny bakery that has excellent baked good. crossiants are great, large salted pretzel - go to are their cookies: cowboy, snickerdoodle or cinnamon toast marshmallow
    • Piccolina: italian ice spot downtown (main & lincoln) that's fantastic - use local produce as much as possible. try all their flavors, but the lemon is the best seller for a reason. https://www.instagram.com/piccolina.fbg/?hl=en
    • Pontotac Winegarten - like 2 doors down from Hondos and on the same block as Hondos, Alla Campagna and Caliche. cool spot off of Main that you can sit, enjoy some wine or their house made sangria. order the picnic packet which is some homemade pimento cheese, bread, olives, nuts, chocolate chip cookie, berries and sausage if you want to sit for a minute.
    • Woerner Warehouse: solid lunch spot, good sandwiches and salads - make sure you order the Key Lime Pie
    • Tubby's Ice House: behind the Nimitz off of Austin St. excellent burgers and very kid friendly if you need that. easy spot to sit outside and enjoy the weather if it's nice.
    • Prometheus Pizza: new york style pizza that's currently a BYOB food truck, with a B&M opening in the very near future off of San Antonio St. Breakfast of Champions (white sauce, mozz, potato, Force of Nature wild boar chorizo, fines herbes, black pepper, cured egg yolk) is a go to order. they also have great pepperoni that actually gives you pep cups.
    • Hilda's: get the breakfast taco only. they have a drive through. don't go for mexican food.
    • Pecan Grove: best burger for my money in FBG. it's north of town a bit and service is slow but you are drinking a beer in an...old pecan grove...and enjoying live music. much more of a locals spot than a tourist spot.
    • Eaker BBQ (off West Main): Top 50 BBQ joint with a Korean flair - can't recommend them enough but you are looking for dinner, which they don't have anymore sadly. their saturday special is typically a pork belly burnt end made one of a few different ways (hot honey glazed, gochujang glazed, raspberry chipolte glazed, jalapeno, mango habanero, etc) - great BBQ and even better people that own it. https://www.instagram.com/eakerbarbecue/
    • Der Lindenbaum - i don't eat German food but if you do, the only place to go

    happy to answer any specific questions/recs here or via PM!

    Ha, damn.  I think we’re done here.  I’d like to subscribe to your Fredericksburg Eats newsletter.  Thanks for the effort in typing this all out. 

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  7. What’s the best option for a dinner spot these days?  We’re staying at Barons Creek but figure we’ll need to come downtown for food.  
     

    I’m a little lost without Eater recs or a good Surly thread. 

  8. On 2/16/2024 at 8:10 PM, Hank Kingsley said:

    It has absolutely slowed down in Houston. 

     

    It’s definitely slowing down and the big players like Heaven Hill caught up a year or two ago outside of the Texas market.   
     

    Meanwhile, I’m wrapping up bangers I opened up 5 years ago.  Double digit MGP is properly rated as very excellent and I enjoyed this one from start to finish.  

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  9. 30 minutes ago, Txslnghrns said:

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    Picked this up Friday night. Just sitting on a shelf at Specs. I’ve a had a few of these bottles in the past. The 124.7 was really good IMO. The 5 malt made me question life itself. As long as this is better than the 5 malt I will be happy with it.

    I also picked up a Kentucky Spirit which I oddly had a hard time finding. I’m a big time fan of just about all things WT and was super jazzed to purchase one. Leads me to this question….when does total wine come out with their RR10 pick? I bought one years ago and I can’t remember what part of the year it was.

    Nothing is worse than the five malt, so you should be safe.  

  10. On 2/7/2024 at 3:31 PM, TxTower said:


    My guess is that they get a shit ton of Barton or other distillate bottled under their made up store brand names and then sell it as “hey this is just as good as (insert name here) but costs less”.

    Blanton’s.  It’s better than Blanton’s.  

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  11. 1 hour ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:

    Any way to choose the good from bad when it comes to MM private selects? I’m looking to add some barrel picks and MM private selects to my collection.

    They all seem about the same to me and the 101 is a better value.  There’s a lot more fun variation for the dollar in Elijah Craig. 

  12. 9 hours ago, TxTower said:

    Does anyone have an opinion on JD 10yr or 12yr? Don’t think I seen it mentioned here.

    JD 12 is beautiful, I love it.  Good value even at secondary.  

  13. Friday rye action.  The Jack is better than I remembered, Cornerstone is still pretty lame for a Master’s Keep bottle. Thin mouthfeel, ethanol nose and just not much going on other than rye spice.  

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  14. 29 minutes ago, ChickenNuggets said:

    I need an excuse to get a big boy revolver... how often do you go to Alaska?

    2-3 times per year.  The X-frames aren’t really that bad to shoot, probably even more comfortable than a Model 29 44 mag with classic wood stocks.  But will sure as hell put a smile on your face every time.   And if you get tired of the muzzle blast and expense of shooting 460 mag you can plink away with 45 lc at 1/5 the price. 

  15. 12 hours ago, Born to Run said:

    TLDR

    Spanish oaks?

    Nah, after a miserable performance in ‘21 we did pretty well in ‘23 and drama this go ‘round has been limited to a few customers with low/no propane.  Amerigas has them on individual tanks for now.  I got all the AE alerts about impending doom and outages in the area, which were triggering.   

  16. 46 minutes ago, ChickenNuggets said:

    Anyone still carry a revolver for concealed carry?

    I carry a 460 S&W up in Alaska, but that’s open for bear protection. I find them annoying for concealed when there’s always an easier to conceal and reload semi auto option.  You’re definitely not going to find an auto throwing out this kind of knock down power.  

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  17. 2 hours ago, Yev Kassem said:

    I’ve heard good things about that Old Overholt 10. Specs has had plenty of it in the shelf recently, so that’s promising. 

    It’s good, but I can’t wrap my head around it winning blind against the Parker’s.  I tried the Overholt later against Pikesville and would say that’s a very slight drop off for half the retail price.  
     

    I didn’t love the special release Jack Barrel Proof Rye, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt because my palate is definitely not always aligned with the average American on rye. 

  18. 56 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

    It's a great pour and prices seem to be going down. 

    I don't get it. SFTB could be in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and no one would bat an eye. 

    Nah, it’s more like EH Taylor Barrel Proof or Stagg Jr in quality, age and taste.  

  19. Long time no SFTB, it’s been open for years and is better than I remembered.  Or maybe I just haven’t been drinking much BT lately and the cherry note is making a comeback.  

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  20. On 12/31/2023 at 9:15 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

    He's making a joke. Dickel came out with a much hyped, well priced, 13 year old BiB a few years back, and it tasted like Flintstone vitamins. People weren't pleased. 

    It ruined Dickel as a brand for me. I'll try it again if they ever start giving it away it to people. 

    That first year (‘19 or ‘20?) of the 13 was straight trash, but the subsequent 11 was actually pretty great.  For a double digit bourbon the price is insane and I’m glad it exists.  The Blue Note 17 year picks are still the Dickel high water mark for me.  

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