sports bar – Loving Food, Fashion, & Life

Oh, That Sports Bar Food

Posted on January 1, 2015 by LFFL

Smokey Chicken Pasta with garlic bread; Maytag Potato Chips with smoked bacon & green onions; and Irish Nachos made with fried potatoes, jack & cheddar cheeses, bacon, green onions, and ranch dressing.

This sports bar has been in town here for a while but I never had a chance to try it out. So when they opened another new location closer to my whereabouts here, I decided to head down to try it out.

I loved the atmosphere and it’s a great place to watch sports—but I think I like my other sports bar better that I frequent.

The food was pretty good. But to tell you the truth, I wasn’t that thrilled with the appetizer potato chips. I did, however, fall totally in love with the Irish Nachos. Oh my goodness—they were delish! I had to get a second order of those suckers to take home with me since the ones on my plate didn’t last but a hot second.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, get a plate of those Irish Nachos from somewhere in your town. I’m tellin’ ya.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Don’t wait on folks to go out to eat with you either. The good thing about it is you get to eat all that marvelous food by yourself. There’s no such thing as ‘sharing’ when you’re eating out by yourself. Take advantage of it while you can.

The Non-Date From Hell

Posted on September 12, 2014 by LFFL

(I swear this is all I wanted.)

There are all kinds of people who are “accepted for who they are.” Even Charles Manson had people who “accepted him for who he was.” He continued to hang around these people who “accepted him for who he was,” in part, because he could treat them any way he chose to since they allowed him to do so. Doesn’t mean it was right. It just means he found people that let him treat them that way. At what point do you say, “Hey, this is really WHO this person is and I know I deserve WAY better than this—especially when you’ve HAD way better than that before?”

I have gone out from time-to-time with gentlemen suitors on occasion that run the gamut of all nationalities, shapes, and sizes with ages ranging from 20’s through 60’s. I mean, I don’t discriminate—if you’re nice, you’re nice.

But the men vs. women world can fascinate me at times and I’d LOVE for anyone to give me their honest opinions on this because I, for the life of me, can’t figure it out. And, by all means, if you think there may be something wrong with my way of thinking—please feel free to let me know or explain your side of it to me. I’m all ears and won’t take offense.

Three weeks ago, I had two different dates lined up with two different people:

A. The first guy—I had formally met just the day before the date and is someone in his mid-20’s and from a foreign country. He told me he remembered me from a whole year ago when I made a brief stop at a store he worked at part-time but I hadn’t really seen him since. He told me every item of clothing I had worn that day when I came into the store and it triggered my memory.

Long story short—he called me the very next day and wanted to go for a run in a park that afternoon. The weather was beautiful, people were all over the park, and I thought it was an awesome first-date type thing to do—with the exception that we decided to walk around the park because I get winded too quickly. Seriously? Run?! Who are we kidding? Let’s get real.

Two hours later we parted ways when he had to go to work and only 15 minutes later after he arrived at work he was kind enough to call to thank me for meeting him out. A SIMPLE AND UNCOMPLICATED DATE, I TELL YOU!

B. The second guy—I have known for a few years and is much older and in his mid-50’s. I’ve been out with him several times before—off and on. It’s nothing serious and we’ve talked on the phone many times. He always asks me what types of things I like. Since he doesn’t like to “guess” what a woman likes—he’d prefer women tell him straight out. So I’ve done this on several occasions. I’ve also mentioned things I like or want to do even when he doesn’t ask me what I like. He’s generally smart enough and pays attention.

BUT HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED IN A SPAN OF A WEEK WITH THE SECOND GUY:

Continue reading “The Non-Date From Hell” →

A New Sports Bar In Town

Posted on August 30, 2014 by LFFL

Chicken Tenders with honey mustard & barbecue sauces and a side of Macaroni & Cheese.

I love meeting girlfriends out for lunch any chance I get. You can always get in good food and good gossip all rolled into one.

We decided to try a newly opened sports bar in midtown—and, boy, was it loaded with some good food. I really couldn’t make up my mind what to try on the menu. (Story of my life.) But after hours of analyzing it, I ended up going for the basic chicken tenders and—OH—they were amazingly good and crunchy.

It doesn’t take much for me to fall in love with a food item.

Pulled Pork Sandwich with fries.

Taxidermy.

Alcohol wall.

I always seem to order macaroni & cheese everywhere I go, too. I just like trying out different mac & cheeses because some definitely taste better than others—and, who are we kidding, it’s one of my favorite foods ever to eat in life.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, meet your friends out for lunch at a newly opened food spot.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Anytime macaroni and cheese is on the menu any place you go, definitely get a side order to go along with your meal. You can’t go wrong.

Chicken Bacon Cheddar Philly

Posted on July 12, 2014 by LFFL

Made with chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese, onion, peppers, and ranch dressing; served with onion rings.

Today was a bright, beautiful, sunny, and fabulous day! Though I didn’t have the highway all to myself today, I enjoyed my drive nonetheless as I was on my way to enjoy some much-needed girl time. With drinks, lunch, and a good game today—how could I go wrong?

I tried something new on the menu today—a chicken bacon cheddar philly sandwich. Once I smothered the ranch dressing all over it, I pretty much devoured the entire thing. It was that good!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, have a day out with friends and try a chicken philly sandwich out on the town or get creative and make yourself one at home.

Take-Away Life Lesson: There’s nothing like introducing yourself to a variety of new menu items that pop up out of nowhere.

Two Games In One

Posted on July 4, 2014 by LFFL

Today was a beautifully sunny day and the weather was perfection. So I decided to go out gallivanting to watch a game or two and have myself a nice lunch late this morning.

Low and behold, I found the perfect spot at this sports bar right directly at the bar itself (rather than a table)—front and center of two televisions just for me. A soccer game on one and a little bit of a Wimbledon tennis match on the other.

Could life get any better for me at this moment other than having the food I ordered in front of my face? Ahhh, the loveliness of life.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, I’d highly suggest you take some time out for yourself to get out of the house on a glorious day and enjoy watching a sport or two or three all at once with a few tellies surrounding you—and your own personal bartender to top it off.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Nothing like having a nice and somewhat quiet bar practically sans people all to yourself while you enjoy a few matches and food.

A World Cup Watch Party

Posted on June 29, 2014 by LFFL

Bread Pudding topped with caramel sauce; served with vanilla ice cream.

Another World Cup gathering and, naturally, I couldn’t resist having some good food. I started with a chicken quesadilla which was crunchy amazing. I just love a crispy tortilla. Then I had to move on to dessert—bread pudding.

This bread pudding was so huge in comparison to the bread pudding I normally get from my hometown diner. It was wonderfully delicious and helped with my nerves while watching a close game.

USA vs. Germany game outdoors.

Marinated & grilled chicken, onions, pico de gallo, and pepper jack cheese in a crispy tortilla; served with salsa & sour cream.

USA vs. Germany game indoors.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, enjoy a good game with good food along with other rambunctious people.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Loads of good food can always help when your nerves are shot.

The World Cup Excitement!

Posted on June 27, 2014 by LFFL

Ready for the game & some good food!

The GOAL dance!! Yeah, baby! Score USA!

I just love, love, love when the World Cup rolls around every four years! I actually wish we could enjoy it every year—I mean, four years is a long time to wait for the World Cup to roll around each time. Geez!

But when it does—I’m all over it! There’s so much excitement and adrenaline going all around. I love it! And to think it goes on for an entire month! I turn into a crazy person hooping and hollering all over the place jumping up and down—some of you would never claim me as your own.

These are times you have to plan your days off work so you can watch the games “live”—because, God forbid, you hear about what happened before you’ve had a chance to watch the game you taped before you get home. That’s the worst part, trying to avoid the media and people around you talking about it when you haven’t even seen it yet! So to avoid that problem—it’s much better to watch the games “live”—and it’s more fun that way anyway.

Vacation Martini made with Malibu Red, Hirman Walker Peach Schnapps, pineapple juice, and strawberry puree.

Potato skins topped with bacon, cheese, and scallions; served with sour cream.

Beef sliders with onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and cheese.

Chicken sliders with lettuce, tomato, red onions, cheddar cheese, bacon, and pickles; served with chipotle ranch.

Chicken Quesadilla made with chipotle tortilla with three cheeses, pico de gallo, and grilled chicken; served with chipotle ranch & fresh salsa.

Seasoned hand-breaded chicken tenders; served with macaroni & cheese, and onion rings served with ranch & honey mustard sauces.

Monte Cristo Sandwich made with sliced turkey, ham, and Swiss cheese on yellow bread dipped in egg batter; served with raspberry aioli sauce.

Vanilla ice cream ball rolled in cinnamon & crunchy topping, topped with honey & whipped cream.

Full slab of baby back ribs topped with barbecue sauce; served with loaded mashed potatoes, and macaroni & cheese.

I always hope the USA and England are two of the top 32 countries that make it to the World Cup to begin with—and, if so, I’ll start by following them. If and when the teams I follow drop off, I’ll start “picking” other teams to follow that I’d like to see win.

Sometimes it’s hard choosing because though I like to see the top playing “well-known” teams win, I also sometimes root for the underdog because those teams hardly ever win anything and aren’t as “popular.” I start feeling bad for them sometimes. It’d be amazing to see a small, lesser-known country beat a popular top-playing country that always seems to win. But I’m always USA and England first and foremost.

So far, I’ve been going to local sports bars to watch the games so I can enjoy some fabulous eating as well. As you can see, there was no shortage of food around me—and you know how I love being surrounded by food!

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was a vision of loveliness.

USA vs. Portugal game.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, pick a team you’d like to see win and follow them throughout the World Cup. If they drop off the map, pick your next favorite team and follow them. Keep doing this till the very end. You may be overly surprised by how much you actually enjoy the World Cup even if you’ve never been a big fan.

Take-Away Life Lesson: When you act like a crazy person over the games, your friends, family, and co-workers may not claim you as their own—especially if they don’t “get” what all the fuss is about. But WHO CARES?!! You’re enjoying life, BABY!