Tuesday Trivia, Part Deuxsie

Hey, hey, hey!  It’s that day of the week again, and this time I’m not letting it pass us by.

Today’s round of trivia is brought to you by The Moody Blues and their eternally cool ballad, “Tuesday Afternoon.”  Trivia questions begin after the video…

And now onto the questions:

1. Which came first: the chicken or the egg?*
2. What famous beverage was invented by a Benedictine monk named Pierre?
3. The asparagus, leek, and onion all belong to which plant family?
4. Which of these things is not like the other?  Peas, mung beans, lentils, castor beans.
5. Name the three principal emulsified sauces.
6. BONUS:  Which of these emulsified sauces is made using ingredients at room temperature?

That’s it, folks!  Good night and good luck.

*I’m quite serious about this.  There is an actual, scientific answer to this conundrum.

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Green Drinks and Ham

Wait…no.  No ham.  But there will be green drinks!

All summer long, Monica Pope and Beaver’s Icehouse will be hosting Green Drinks every Wednesday from 5pm to 10pm.  What exactly is Green Drinks, you ask?

Green Drinks is a happy hour that beckons you to nosh on some seriously yummy appetizers along with beer and cocktails from the inventive Beaver’s menu, such as a Pecan Old Fashioned (pecan-Infused Wellers Bourbon, Angostura bitters, sugar), a Forecast (habanero-infused Monopolowa vodka, cucumber, kaffir lime, lemon) or a Train Wreck (Remy Martin cognac, vanilla-cardamom gastrique, Angostura mist, flamed orange zest).  Beers include old favorites like St. Arnold and Shiner (or Miller Lite, if you’ve just completely given up on life) and exciting microbrews like Left Hand Sawtooth Ale and North Coast Old Rasputin.

Non-alcoholic offerings include mocktails like tamarind soda, coffee-cello (espresso mixed with lemonade) and St. Arnold’s root beer.  And, of course, the appetizers themselves include such drool-worthy offerings as sweet potato home fries, corn puppies and Texas beer and cheese dip.

But the coolest thing about Green Drinks isn’t the food or the drinks; it’s the fact that 25% of the profits go to support the Caroline Collective.  Appetizers are $4, cocktails are $5 and beer is a reasonable $3.50, which means that just a couple of appetizers and a cocktail will put $3.25 into the coffers of the Caroline Collective to help keep the lights on, the water running and the rent paid.  $3.25 might not sound like a lot, but if 100 people came to each Green Drinks happy hour over the course of four weeks, you’d be looking at $1,300 raised in just one month!  And you didn’t have to do anything except eat.  Check you out!

If you’re interested in supporting local community initiatives and start-ups while noshing and networking, then Green Drinks is for you.  Check out the flyer below for more info and hope to see you out there!

Want Some Steak With That Shake?

Yeah, I thought so.

I have it on good authority that none other than the famous midwestern / southern diner that is Steak ‘n’ Shake is opening up on FM 1960 and Eldridge this summer.  Which should be right about….now.

I know, I know.  The last thing that we need in Houston is another chain restaurant, let alone one that serves devilishly unhealthy diner food.  But I have a strange soft spot in my heart for good old Steak ‘n’ Shake.

I used to travel quite a bit for work, but never anywhere interesting or with remotely friendly people (ask me about my old job some time and why those people hated me so much…no, really).  Instead I was sent places like New Iberia, Louisiana; Valdosta, Georgia; Meridian, Idaho; and Greenville, North Carolina.  But it seemed like every random little Southern city I was sent to had a Steak ‘n’ Shake (along with the ubiquitous and despised Bob Evans).  It became a source of comfort when I was out on the road, knowing that I could always dip into the little diner no matter what time of day or night and find solace in a patty melt and a banana shake.

So, while Steak ‘n’ Shake may be just another diner chain and while it will never beat my favorite diner meal in the world — which, frankly, probably no one can beat since it doesn’t exist anymore (a butterscotch malt and a Ring Of Fire from 59 Diner; the malt still exists but the Ring doesn’t) — I’m still a little bit excited to see them finally come back to Houston after a long absence.