love it: spud ranch

With a name like Spud Ranch, you know this place has to be good. And it is. Casual, inexpensive, big portions, and delicioussss.

It has locations in San Marcos and New Braunfels. I first got hooked when I was as undergrad at Texas State. I went to the NB location for the first time today and am happy to report their second location hasn't lost any of that good mojo.

spicy chicken spud

My favorite menu items? The Cajun spud (andouille sausage, bell peppers, sauteed onions, butter, cheese, & Louisiana hot sauce), the Hot Wing spud (mild Buffalo-style hot wings, butter, cheese and ranch or blue cheese), the Classic (bacon, butter, sour cream, chives), and the fried pickles.

Don't like baked potatoes, weirdo? Well, they have sandwiches, salads and soups. Although you'd be better off going to Jason's Deli for that stuff, because Spud Ranch is all about the taters.

Check it out! 

the rum is for all your good vices

Rum has a special place in my heart because it has a special place in Jimmy Buffett's heart, and also because I like to think I was a pirate in another life. Unfortunately, rum isn't exactly a beverage that lends itself to high-quality production. When you mostly mix it with super fruity, syrupy drinks, there's really no need to make it very good. Now, some of you may know that I can be a bit stuck-up when it comes to liquor. I usually turn up my nose at anything that isn't top-shelf: I tend to think that, when it comes to booze, you should avoid the cheap stuff at all costs. (Within reason, of course. I obviously don't have $600 bottles of scotch laying around my house or anything...but one can dream.)

But there are exceptions to every rule and I think I've found one: Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum, which runs for about $13/bottle and is a new favorite of mine. I like spiced rums a lot because they actually have some oomph to them, unlike most silver/light rums that get totally lost in fruity cocktails. (Spiced rum, as you may know, is basically a gold rum that's had spices added.) Cruzan's nine spices include allspice, vanilla, nutmeg, pepper, clove, mace, ginger, cinnamon, and juniper berry, hence the  name. And it's delicious!

Cruzan itself is a pretty cool rum producer, with an 18th-century distillery in St. Croix that I fully intend to visit one day. I've only tried Cruzan 9 so I can't vouch for their other products, but I'm assuming they're pretty good. The website is fun to look at, especially if you're curious about rum production and recipes: Check it out. (And no, I'm not on their payroll. I just get excited about good quality, inexpensive liquor because it is so dang hard to find.) I think I'm going to bid farewell to the weekend with a Cruzan 9 and Coke on the front porch. Holla.

where the gin is cold but the piano's hot

It's the holiday season, and I want to share something marvelous with you: the gift of gin. What do you think of when someone mentions gin? I automatically start humming "All That Jazz." (No? Nobody?) Whatever it is you think of, it probably has something to do with old people. You are missing out, my friends. Here is a quick beginner's guide to gin-drinking.

Gin is not a very restrictively defined liquor. The number one requirement: It must be predominantly flavored with juniper berries and taste of juniper, although distillers often throw in anise, caraway, coriander, and other botanicals to achieve unique flavors. The vast majority of widely-available gins are made in the London dry style.

"Gin Lane": an 18th-cent. William Hogarth print

A Dutch doctor is credited with inventing the spirit as we know it. Its initial purpose was medicinal: The botanicals in the liquor were thought to treat a variety of illnesses. (Juniper-flavored liquor itself was used centuries earlier as a remedy for the bubonic plague, although we all know how well that one turned out.) Gin is cheaply and easily made, and became especially popular in England among the poor and degenerate during the 18th century. Concerned citizens were convinced that gin would destroy British society. Although it has declined in popularity, the word's negative connotations are still around, especially in the U.K. (Hang out with a poncy Brit  long enough and you're bound to hear him call someone a "gin-soaked trollop" eventually.) The ease of production also made gin a highly popular speakeasy drink in the U.S. during prohibition. So when you drink gin, you're actually participating in a long and illustrious tradition of debauchery.

Disclaimer: Gin IS one of those drinks that you'd better buy top-shelf or not bother drinking at all. When it's bad, it's really bad. Also, if you're a party girl that drinks just to get wasted, stick to the cherry vodka sours and shame on you. But if you like to have one or two good cocktails every now and again, I'd highly recommend you try one of the following:

Bombay Sapphire martini. Most people prefer their martinis with vodka, but I think that gin martinis are about a million times better. I've discovered I like mine extra dry with no olives, but to each his own.

Citadelle on the rocks. This French product is one of the best moderately-priced sipping gins out there. It includes 19 botanicals from all over the world (cardamom from India, lemon peel from Spain, grains of paradise from West Africa...you get the idea). Pour it over ice and enjoy.

Gimlet. This tasty little cocktail (basically liquor and lime juice) is good with any top-shelf London dry gin, or Plymouth gin if it's available. This one is good if you're feeling kinda noir; it was Raymond Chandler's drink of choice. Gimlets can also be made with vodka - Don't do it!

Tanqueray and tonic. This is the most classic gin cocktail and probably the biggest crowd-pleaser. Tanqueray is the best with tonic in my opinion. (Tanqueray Rangpur, which has a much limier flavor, is really great too, but most places around here don't carry it, alas.)

Fun fact: The gin and tonic has its roots in colonial India, where the British would mix quinine with carbonated water and gin to help protect themselves against malaria.

save the planet. drink scotch.

Interesting news from one of my very favorite places in the whole world: Drinking Scotch can help the environment. Yes, yes, yes - This is what I'm talking about.

Well, maybe not exactly. Turns out that two byproducts of the distilling process (pot ale and draff) can be used to produce a biofuel. And that biofuel can be used to power cars without even adapting the engines. Here's the description from the UK Guardian article, "Scottish scientists develop whisky biofuel":

The new method developed by the team produces butanol, which gives 30% more power output than the traditional biofuel ethanol. It is based on a 100-year-old process that was originally developed to produce butanol and acetone by fermenting sugar. The team has adapted this to use whiskey by-products as a starting point and has filed for a patent to cover the new method. It plans to create a spin-out company to commercialise the invention.

Don't get it? Me either. But who cares. This is sheer brilliance. And a great reminder of why I love the Scots so very much: Eventually they will find a way to incorporate whisky into every single aspect of daily life. Including driving to work in the morning. So, people, do  your part: Buy plenty of imported Scotch whisky to ensure these brilliant scientists have all the pot ale and draff they could possibly need in order to complete this important research.

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On a side note: I have long been confused about the correct spelling of "whiskey." I've always spelled it with an 'e', but I've seen it both ways. I finally decided to look it up, because it is very important to know these things. Here's the difference according to whiskydistilled.com:

You see, whisky (plural whiskies) shows that the product was made in either Scotland, Wales, Canada or Japan, whereas whiskey (plural whiskeys) shows that it was made in either Ireland or America.

So there you go. And feel free to speculate about why the spelling of this word is something that I've spent a lot of time thinking about.