Music Monday: Drake White

When I moved to North Carolina a few months back, it seemed like every night was spent at a concert, be it at a dive bar or the Durham Performing Arts Center. One day a co-worker asked if I had ever heard of Drake White. Nope. She went on to explain that her sister works in the music industry and is currently touring with Drake. They were coming to town in a week to open for Lynyrd Skynyrd at the DPAC and she offered to get me tickets. YOU BET!

Her sister scored us some great seats, we grabbed some beers, and settled in for a fantastic night. Drake was full of energy. He was all over the stage and had some of the best stage presence of any performer I've ever seen. After the concert was over, we met up with my co-worker's sister and helped load up the bus. Drake and the boys are some down right good guys making great music.

He's constantly posting pictures on Facebook of his latest hunting trip, hilarious videos, and other ways of showing that he is just doing what he loves. We should all be so passionate about our work! So it's only appropriate that today's Music Monday post is Drake's "Simple Life".

What'll you take?

The Bottle List

I love the movie "The Bucket List". Partially because Morgan Freeman is the man and his character is almost everything I aspire to be as a man. No, I don't wish to be a mechanic. I do, however, want to work hard for a living, provide for my family, and love only one woman.

It seems like everyone has a bucket list these days. I even remember doing a homework assignment in high school involving a bucket list. Let's see how un-original we can get:

• Go Skydiving (sure, me too...even though I'm deathly afraid of heights)
• Watch the sunrise (that's cute)
• Go running with the bulls
• Visit all 7 wonders of the world (got some big travel plans, do we?)

You get the picture. Those would be fantastic things to do. I'd do them. One of my favorite lists is Ingrid's New Year's Resolution list in the movie New Years Eve:

• Quit job 
• Save a life 
• Breakfast at Tiffany's  
• Taxi ride with no traffic 
• Go to bali 
• Walk through all 5 NY boroughs in a day 
• Be amazed 
• Kiss on new year at midnight 

Today, I'm here to give you MY LIST. This list is not to be taken lightly, no sir. Nor is it for the faint of heart. This is my "Bottle List". A list of all of the bars (and restaurants) I've challenged myself to enjoy by Thanksgiving. Now, as a disclaimer...I will be adding to this list and will only remove from the list if that establishment closes (permanently).

Restaurants

Hog and Hominy (Memphis, TN)

R'evolution (New Orelans, LA)
The Ordinary (Charleston, SC)

The Root (Little Rock, AR)
Acme Food and Beverage Company (Carrboro, NC)

GW Fins (New Orleans, LA)
Big Bad Breakfast (Oxford, MS)

Magnolia Grill (Durham, NC)

Bottega (Birmingham, AL)
Chef and the Farmer (Kinston, NC)

Husk (Nashville, TN)
Capital Bar and Grill (Little Rock, AR)
Snack Bar (Oxford, MS)

Sylvain (New Orleans, LA)
Rhubard (Asheville, NC)

Highlands Bar and Grill (Birmingham, AL)

City Grocery (Oxford, MS)

Petty’s BBQ (Starkville, MS)

Arnaud's Restaurant (New Orleans, LA)
Butcher & Bee (Charleston, SC)

Restaurant IPO (Baton Rouge, LA)
Dame's Chicken and Waffles (Durham, NC)
Little Donkey (Birmingham, AL)
Papa KayJoe's BBQ (Centerville, TN...try the Hoecake Sandwich)

Mateo Tapas (Durham, NC)

Bouré (Oxford, MS)

Poole’s Downtown Diner (Raleigh, NC)
Alzina's Kitchen (Galliano, LA)

Dat Dog (New Orleans, LA
Brother Juniper's (Memphis, TN)
Pinewood Social (Nashville, TN)

Bars/Breweries/Lounges

Fox Liquor Bar (Raleigh, NC)

Earnestine & Hazel's (Memphis, TN)
Ollie Irene (Birmingham, AL)

Carousel Bar & Lounge at Hotel Monteleone (New Orleans, LA)

The Columns Victorian Lounge Bar (New Orleans, LA)

The Easy Tiger (Birmingham, AL)

Wisteria Tavern (Pensacola, FL)

The Cave (Chapel Hill, NC)
The Crunkleton (Chapel Hill, NC)

Tujague’s (New Orleans, LA)

The Patterson House (Nashville, TN)

Tin Roof Brewing Co (Baton Rouge, LA)

The Hive (Bentonville, AR)
Josephine House (Austin, TX)

Blue Moon Saloon (Lafayette, LA)
Lassis Inn (Little Rock, AR)

Napoleon House (New Orleans, LA)

The Cove (Memphis, TN)

French 75 (New Orleans, LA)

Bluegrass Tavern (Lexington, KY)

Cure (New Orleans, LA)
2 Birds, 1 Stone (Washington, D.C.)

The Gin Joint (Charleston, SC)

Cane and Table (New Orleans, LA)

The Whiskey Jar (Charlottesville, VA)

Brothers III Lounge (New Orleans, LA)

Oak Bar at The Hermitage (Nashville, TN)

Maurepas Foods (New Orleans, LA)
Warehouse (Charleston, SC)

Branch (Hattiesburg, MS)

The Apothecary at Brent's Drugs (Jackson, MS)

So here's to the weekend! CHEERS!

 

Bull CIty

So I recently I was talking to my friend, Kaleigh, about our career goals. Kaleigh and I are both in sales and used to work for the same company. We reconnected when Kaleigh came to town and we started talking about our favorite magazine, Garden & Gun.

Now most people who have never heard of the magazine laugh when you recite the title. GUNS?

Calm down.

Kaleigh shared that she would love to work for Garden & Gun, explore and travel while taking in all the foods that come across her table. Who wouldn't? This leads our daily conversations to be a comparison of the foodie finds and drinks consumed.

I'm from Memphis, TN. As a foodie and musician, it doesn't get much better than the 901. The birthplace of rock-n-roll, BBQ, and the home of the blues...the Bluff City has a lot going for it. I recently moved to Durham, NC. I was aware that there are a number of breweries in the area (something Memphis didn't have a lot of when I left). I spend a lot of my time on Franklin Street at The Crunkleton, He's Not Here, and Top of the Hill. All fantastic places.

However, a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night when I got home from work and checked my mail, I found an envelope from my momma. She had sent me an article from Southern Living of the Tastiest Towns in America that named Memphis as #2 and Durham as #1. OH HAPPY DAY! So much for sitting around that weekend, I had exploring to do.

Now something you should know...I love exploring alone. Friends are welcome anytime BUT they must be able to keep up. I rarely meet a stranger and so I have never viewed it as eating or drinking alone. Additionally, several in my office would tell you that I'm the go-to person for food and drink suggestions in Durham/Chapel Hill in our department (all outside sales managers that relocated here for work).

So that Saturday morning I woke up and headed out to explore Durham. My first stop was lunch as Geer Street Garden. Some co-workers had recommended this place a week prior to take some new hires in the office. Fantastic little place. I perused the menu and ordered a Sweet Josie (brown ale by Raleigh-based Lonerider) and asked the bartender to scrounge me up something to eat...surprise me.

He brought me a plate of fried fish tacos. A bit overfried, but the slaw, salsa verde, pico de gallo, crema, & lime made up for it. Perfection. I looked up and saw some friends enter, grabbed a Bloody Mary and joined them in the covered outdoor patio area.

My next stop would be some sights around downtown Durham such as "Major", a bronze bull statue, Brightleaf Square for some shopping, American Tobacco Historic District for drinks at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe and Tyler's Restaurant &Taproom. 

Being the craft beer enthusiast that I am (just bottled a new batch of IPA on Saturday...FYI), I wanted to take a brewery tour. I settled on Bull City Burger and Brewery. The $5 brewery tour lasted about 2.5 hours and the tasting equaled just over 3 beers (I won't complain about a heavy hand). Not a bad deal. I learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed the passion that Seth exudes when he speaks of his establishment. He aims to be a green brewery...recycling brew water, sending spent grains to local farms, and sustaining his yeast for future batches. I made out of there with a growler of Littlen Horny which is already gone.


Following the brewery, I head back towards Geer Street to explore FullSteam Brewery  to try out their "Clack-A-Lacky" ginger ale. HOLY GINGER BAT MAN! It was fantastic! FullSteam is a very unique experience. This dog friendly bar features darts, ping pong, and an arcade. The noise from the arcade, littered with children, is dampened by glass walls separating it from the bar, where I was able to comfortably sit and take in my surroundings in peace.

Now, I'm new to town. But many people in the office, again, ask for advice about where to go. Where do I get my advice? My boss who was born and raised in Cary, NC. So the boss man followed my journey on FourSquare, texting me advice on where to go next. He claims I inspired a food-tour evening for him and his lady friend in Raleigh that night. The last piece of advice he gave me that day was the Food Trucks. The great thing about that part of town is the number of food trucks parked outside the bars. Too many to choose from. So after a few drinks, I stumbled outside to grab a moo-shu pork taco and a taxi.

Music Monday: St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Singer Paul Janeway and his band, the Broken Bones. Photo by David McClister

This band blew me away the first time I heard them. I first heard their soul full chorus on my way to the panhandle for a hunting trip in Lower Alabama. I was reminded of their awesomeness in the latest edition of Garden & Gun magazine.

Now this band is right up my ally for a number of reasons. I LOVE Otis Redding and enjoy quite a bit of Redding's "White Christmas" over the holidays. It is arguably one of the greatest remakes of that classic. But this soulful southern band has the look, vintage hipster if you will, to go along with the revival of southern greatness, including bourbon and bow ties. St. Paul and the Broken Bones have the entire package.

But look at Janeway. This picture shows that he likes to be soulful but in no way did that prepare me for what my ears heard.

In his interview with Garden & Gun, Janeway discussed his back ground with "Holy Roller" type testifying in church, growing up  forbidden from listening to secular music. Although, his parents have come around to Janeway’s way of preaching. He even found out his dad was to some degree a closet rocker, attending concerts by Elvis, Elton John, and Johnny Cash. “I think there was a sense of realism that came out when my parents split,” Janeway says. “They’re supportive, and now when I talk to my dad, he always starts the conversation with ‘What’s up, Elvis?’”