Zeke's

Zeke's Roadhouse is a great place to people watch in South Beach. It is located right in the heart of Lincoln Road and has the cheapest beer that I know of for this type of selection. They have literally hundreds of beers to pic from that are from all over the world. They sell draft beer, bottled beer, and few basic food items: hot dogs, popcorn, and something else. I believe any beer they sell is now at $4. Make sure each person in your party has their ID.

This is a picture a few months back just before they opened on a Sunday.

And this picture was a few minutes later after they opened.

The Vortex Bar & Grill

I went on my annual away game trip to Tuscaloosa, AL this past weekend only to watch the Gators get beat pretty bad. Since we were flying back south from Atlanta airport we tried to bring some life back into our deflated weekend by trying out The Vortex, a burger recommendation I received a couple of weeks back.

The guys I was with opted for The Vortex location closer to the airport in Midtown. I bring this up because apparently the other location in the Little 5 area is the original. Upon arrival, this restaurant's character starting shining through right away. The entire inside of the Bar/Restaurant was filled wall to wall with cool signs, souvenirs, antiques, and knick knacks. Not like the layout and assembly that you might find at a T.G.I.Friday's either. The closest place that I can resemble it to is one of the three Barney's Beanery locations in the L.A. area.


I scanned the menu for their burgers and found a whole page long list. You can look up some of the others on their site. I am just going to tell you about my meal: the Coronary Bypass. I was going to go for the regular burger before I scrolled my eyes to the bottom of the menu and located this beast. It came with a half pound tasty sirloin patty, topped with a fried egg, three slices of American cheese, and what looked like 6 pieces of nice bacon. The bun was a sesame seed, with lettuce, tomato, and onion presented on top. I opted for the side of fried plantains and asked them to leave the mayo in the kitchen. I'm sure this may seem a bit weird for some of you a bit farther north, but for me, this is an tasty side often available in the Miami area.

As soon as it arrived I carefully placed the condiments atop the fried bacon and then folded over the bun top in order to get to work. I grabbed for my knife, stabbed the center of the bun, and cut it in half. I stuffed the edge of burger in my mouth immediately instead of wiping the drool from my face. The burger was great. Perfectly cooked, and tasting better than every component that my eyes just ran across.


I am so happy that I followed up on the recent recommendation. The Vortex Bar & Grill is a place I'd recommend as well. It looks like a great watering hole too.

Another Nice Cruiser

It appears that Giant is still producing their Simple series of Cruisers. When I was shopping a few years back I was told these were discontinued. Apparently they are producing them again. Not only do they look sweet, they are aluminum with 3 piece cranks. You can check them out here.

Matchbox

I am the DC area for work this week and met up with a friend in the Chinatown area (not much of a town, really just an archway) for dinner at Matchbox. We went there for some pizza and I inquired about the 3.6.9 on the menu and learned that you can order 3, 6, or 9 mini burgers as an appetizer.

The picture I have is horrible as I forgot my camera. But the burgers were awesome. The presentation was really cool with a heaping of onion strings in the middle. Each of the buns was sprinkled on the top with cheese too.

Matchbox was a great spot to meet up and eat.

Theater Square Marketplace

I had eaten at Theater Square Marktetplace in Louisville, KY a few times but didn't try the burger until recently. Note that I have been sitting on this picture for a few weeks so my commentary is quite short and no longer fresh.

About all that I can report is that the burger, restaurant, presentation, and server were all quality - I do remember that much. A great burger for lunch but not a top 10 in the country or anything to drive to Kentucky for. The place is more of a nice restaurant and far from a burger stand. Quality ingredients and quality staff. Did I mention quality?




These pics are over a month old and were taken from my iPhone.

Habitat for Humanity

I recently transitioned jobs and during the time in between I was finally able to check something off of one of my 'lists'. I have wanted to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity for some time but just could never fit it in. So I finally did it. I signed up online and helped work on a local house in a Habitat community off of Oakland Park Blvd West.

Here are 2 pics that were taken with my iPhone at the end of the shift.

Me and the Site Manager.

Me and the 2 guys that I worked with.

Here is a link to the local Broward County chapter if you are interested in donating your time. Habitat Broward.

Big 10 or BigTwelve?

While I was on my honeymoon a few months back some of the more prestigious NCAA football conferences attempted some major adjustments. The PAC10 ended up adding 2 teams and is planning to rename and re-brand their conference so they can finally have a conference championship like the SEC and Big 12.

What I am very curious about is the potential renaming of the BigTen and the Big 12. I bring this up because the BigTen already had 11 teams and has now added one more. So will it now become the BigTwelve? And a bit down south, the Big 12 had twelve teams and now will have 10. Will they then change to the Big 10?

Overall, the changes for the BigTen and the PAC10 should definitely help college football.