Thursday, August 30, 2007

Are you ready?

Since my Tigers appear to have already gone south for the year (15-26 since I posted about them having the best record in baseball), after struggling gamely with injuries and a makeshift pitching staff all season, it's time to turn our attention here at the Tower to football.

To those paying close attention, college football season already started last Thursday with a slate of Division II games. If you must know, the Glenville State Pioneers ran past the Bowie State Bulldogs 29-19 in the first official game of the season. However, the big boys start to take the field tonight with 18 of the teams from the division formerly known as I-A in action, including my alma mater Iowa State.

Tonight marks the first game of the Gene Chizik era. If they can't handle the Golden Flashes of Kent State (a middling 6-6 in the MAC last year), I have concerns for the rest of the season. Sadly, I don't have season tickets this year so the Cyclones will have to attempt to win without me.

Hushpuppies!

I was trying to think of some way to come back to the Tower with a splash, and it took care of itself when I had dinner on Tuesday night.

After three months of living in Minneapolis, I have finally been to Seafood To Go. Most who have seen the shabby facade, adorned with outrageously bright posterboard ads are afraid to enter (you know who you are), but not me. I snuck in the door Tuesday night right before the closing time of 8:30 to partake of some fine aquatic cuisine.

Ambience is not the strong suit at STG. The insides consist of a very small room, a counter where you order food, six chairs for waiting, and dozens more garish posters advertising the various contents of their menu. If I didn't think it was rude, I would take a bunch of pictures so you could see what I'm talking about. Instead, you'll just have to get food with me next time you're up in the big city.

I thought I had maybe taken a wrong turn at the ammo shop and gone to Jan's Chow Mein instead, as I was greeted at the counter by a small Asian woman. It turns out that STG has more worldly cuisine than you would expect. In addition to standard seafood fare (shrimp, fish & chips, etc.), there are Cajun, Southern, and Asian foods on the menu. They also claim to have the best chicken wings in the Cities since 1990. Here's the takeout menu as proof.


I'm a sucker for food from the American South, so I got the cajun red fish dinner with a side of one of my favorite foods in the world, hushpuppies. The fish was just so-so, but the puppies were dynamite. Even Meaghan agreed that we'd have to go back for more some time. When we do, I'll be sure to try those wings instead.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

On the Road

Well, I made it on the bus this morning. In fact, I'm writing this from my Wifi-enabled bus as we speak. How cool is that? There are only 9 passengers on this first day, but the administrator who took our pictures as we boarded seemed pretty excited. I'm fairly certain that I'm the only paying customer, as the 8 other folks are freeloaders from Mayo. (Boy, I wish my employer would pay for bus passes.)

Anyway, time to get that hour and a half of sleep I sacrificed to get on this thing.