Colonial Gardens

While surfing some sites, looking for historical landmarks in Louisville, Kentucky, my hometown, I came across a picture of the Colonial Gardens. The Colonial Gardens was one of my favorite night spots to visit back in the day. The Inn featured some great entertainment, both local and national as well. The building was large enough to accommodate a decent size crowd and the prices (cover charge, drinks and food if I recall correctly) were reasonable compared to some nightclubs in town. The article accompanying the picture mentioned the possibility of making the Colonial Gardens a historical landmark. The cost to restore the building would be considerable, but there seemed to be some interest from various groups to proceed with the project. People who opposed the project felt that the building needed to be torn down. They mentioned their concerns about the safety of the structure and the high cost to bring the Gardens up to current building codes. I don't know if anything has happened, one way or the other, but I plan to drive by the location the next time I visit Louisville, to see if the building is still standing. I hope so. The Colonial Gardens holds an abundance of fond memories for many folk who grew up in Louisville.

Ruth's Chris Meal

Dave gave us a great Christmas present this year - a gift card for Ruth's Chris. We have eaten at various Ruth's Chris over the years and we decided to make a return visit to the Pavilions restaurant a few days ago. Ruth's Chris is one of my favorite restaurants, particularly for a steak meal. The attention to detail is what differentiates Ruth's Chris from other restaurants. Every aspect of the meal is carefully attended to - from the preparation of your appetizer to the final sip of coffee after dessert. The service is very attentive, but not intrusive and you are never rushed at any time during your dining experience.

I decided to try the rib-eye steak on this occasion. It proved to be an outstanding choice. Nancy likes the stuffed chicken breast and as usual the meal met her expectations. All and all, just a great dining experience. Thanks for the much appreciated gift, Dave. We really enjoyed our outing to the Fair Oaks Pavilions Ruth's Chris restaurant!

Super Bowl Sunday

A terrific - nail biting, fourth quarter heroics, run Forrest run, etc. - Super Bowl was played this year. Just the way we like it! Seven of us guys got together and rooted for our favorite team, even if most of us hadn't watched a pro football game all year. After all... it is the Super Bowl!

This is the first year we watched the game in HD. I guess the 52 inch Regza provided satisfactory picture quality. At least I didn't hear any complaints. However, I did forget to DVR the game, so we missed some of Bruce Springsteen's halftime show. We shoot hoops during halftime. Our previous game of H-O-R-S-E has been reduced to P-I-G. We're now all of an age that we would be on the court to the middle of the fourth quarter if we played more than just three letters. Besides, we needed to leave enough time to have our dinner meal after working up an appetite from playing hoops!

Food-wise, we always start with a delicious bowl of my famous road kill chili (Beales description) - slowly cooked to perfection the previous night. The chili, along with various snacks, gets us through to halftime. After hoops, we have a dinner meal that usually consist of roast beef or steak. This year I decided to serve a Harris Ranch cross-rib roast, purchased at the Nugget Market. The Nugget has really good beef. Nancy whipped up some mashed potatoes and gravy, along with green beans, to accompany the roast. For dessert, Dave Whiteside brought a chocolate treat that his wife, Eilene, had made from scratch and we had a store bought strawberry cream cheese cake as our other choice. No one left hungry!

So, another great Super Bowl game, that was shared with great friends and good food. What more does a guy need? See you next year!