St. Louis/Chicago/Madison Trip

[Max Headroom]

This past week I had to drive down to St. Louis for a conference. Only took 9 hours to get there even with lots of stops.

St. Louis arch at night on the walk to Matthew Shannons where we had some crazy soup with a 16oz bone-in pork chop with 4 huge shrimp. Walking back to the hotel was a bit difficult.

Went to Budweiser and took the tour.

Little oops at the bottling line.

The main brewhouse.

Back to my hotel. I was on the 14th floor.

Gettin' ready for the Hawaiian night at the conference. Had to buy a stupid shirt to wear for it. First and only time I'll wear a Hawaiian shirt.

Dinner at Hopleft in Chicago.

Then dropped the car off at my hotel and headed over to Map Room for more beer. Closed the bar down and headed back to the hotel.

What better way to get rid of a little hangover then a Chicago style hot dog in Chicago? George's has been around since 1948 and he was still in the kitchen when I got there.

Back down the street to Map Room for a quick beer with a friend that works in the area. Then a quick trip to the liquor store and it was off to Madison, WI.

Time to head to Madison. What's that?! Medieval Times!

Late lunch at Old Fashioned, right across the street from the state capital. Nothing but tons of Wisconsin beer on tap and in bottles. Damn good food.

Gonna have to pass on that one thanks.

Over to Maduro for a cigar and a beer.

I realized it was Friday night in Wisconsin and HAD to find a place for Friday Night Fish Fry. Those that haven't lived or spent lots of time in WI wouldn't know but EVERY bar in the state serves Friday Night Fish Fry and it's been like that years and years (my grandparents use to have it when they were growing up there). So I found this h*** in the wall bar in the little town I was in (Lake Mills, WI).

Benji's going away party at Tyranena Brewing Co. Partied all night with lots of friends (brewer and staff).

Wisconsin state capital in the middle of downtown Madison.

Madison has the largest farmers market in the country. They have lots of killer stuff to buy so I headed over on Saturday morning. My friend Kathy was suppose to be working in the kitchen but failed to mention that it's not held around the capital in the winter but rather in the senior center.

Quick stop at Jenifer Street Market for beer. This small co-op off the beaten path has one of the best selections of WI beer around. The shot of the beer shows just one small corner of their walk-in cooler.

3.5 hour drive back home from Madison. Always a pretty drive but one I've done so many times it gets a bit boring (use to goto Madison every weekend in the summer).

My haul from the farmers market. 7lbs of cheese (including bacon cheese), a gallon of cider, a catnip mouse, bison sausage (incorrectly labeled "buffalo" sausage, we don't have buffalo in the US guys), and some fresh habanero salsa.

Fun time and great to see lots of friends. Would have been nice to have someone to ride along with me on all the long drives. Home now and glad to be. As much fun as it is to travel, it's even better to sleep in your own bed. I've been home less then a week all month. I'm ready to get back to normal.

[Max Headroom]

Will do. Not sure when I'll be back. This conference has been in St. Louis the last couple years but they're looking for a new location from the sounds of it. Maybe a warmer climate this time of year.

[Vivien V]

Oh wow - Blueberry Hills Chuck Berrys spot & pinup bowl is just amazing - if you find yourself back check those out :)

[Max Headroom]

Didn't make it either of those places. Never even heard of them.

[Vivien V]

Yea St. Louis! Hope you got to check out the pinup bowl & Blueberry Hill