I'll play, golf that is.  After having some mediocre leftovers on Thursday I was ready for something better on Friday so I went to Kilbys and got my new favorite a Cuban with slaw.  Once again Ronnie and Blackman did great.
On Saturday I went down to Rose's Bourbon Rail and picked up some etouffee and mushrooms.  The etouffee was once again real good.  The mushrooms were awesome, probably the best around since El Greco closed their doors.  I had what was left of the etouffee along with some leftover grilled cabbage on Monday.
On Sunday I stopped by Molly's Pint for a couple beers while deciding where to get a sandwich.  I ended up getting an Italian sub at Martel's.  The sub was ok but not as good as I was hoping for.  If I get it again I'll pour some of the Italian dressing on it instead of dipping it.

Last Friday we went to long time favorite Gabby's in big part because I thought it would have a lot of shade on their patio (they did).  I ordered a cheeseburger and chips and the Glue ordered a Southern Fried Chicken sandwich and chips.  My cheeseburger was great and the Glue's chicken sandwich was even better and it came with gravy on the side for dipping.  The chips were good but I should have gone with something lighter.
On Saturday we went to Mase's Place for the first time in a couple years.  I got the brisket with a side salad and tator tots.  The Glue got shrimp which were good.  My brisket was decent but different than any brisket I've had.  The Glue said it tasted like Kilby's bbq.  The salad was good and the tots were real good.
After we ate we went on a drive up in Pine Hills and we circled back and went down Snake Road.  When we got back on the road we'd came in on it had rained a little and really settled the dust.  At one point the Glue wanted to stop so she could get a turtle off the road.  Of course she wanted me to get out and do it but I said it was all hers.  Instead of picking it up she watched it crawl of the road.  When it was about off a car came in the other direction and since I was blocking the road.  As we were passing each other I said we were rescuing a turtle.  The other car laughed and said they were too and showed us a turtle they had.  Joe's classmate Josh was the passenger and his family owns Mase's Place.  We finished up by going to Pomona and back home.

Yesterday we went to The Mill in Sesser primarily because it looked like they have a nice shady place to eat and they have draft beer.  The special yesterday was fried chicken with mashed potatoes but neither of us went with that.  The Glue got wings and pork rinds and I got a pork chop sandwich with waffle fries.
The pork chop was decent but was a little on the dry side.  The waffle fried were good and the Glue said the wings were good.  The pork rinds were some of the best we've had. 
They still had Shiner Bock on draft which is a delight and the Glue got a apple crown and sprite slushy to go that she really liked.

Yesterday we went to Old Route 51 BBQ in Cobden for the first time since they'd opened a couple months ago.  We were fortunate enough to sample some of his products before they opened and were very impressed.  Yesterday was no different.
I ordered a brisket sandwich with beans and slaw.  The Glue got pulled pork and potato salad.  They don't have beer but the owner never said we could bring our own as long as we didn't ask him so we never asked him.  My brisket sandwich was on point and had several slices of brisket.  The sauce was really good too.  Outside of Midlands the beans were probably my favorite around, the slaw was good too.  The Glues pork sandwich had a lot of meat on it and was real good.  She said the potato salad was good too.  Both of us ended up taking the bun off and just eating the meat which is how I prefer it anyway.
As we were finishing up the owner came out and talked with us for at least 30 minutes about various things.  Really nice guy.  When I mentioned this was unusual for me that I didn't have ribs the first time visiting a BBQ restaurant he went in and brought our three bones for us to try along with some of his peach BBQ sauce.  I like both the ribs and the sauce but like his regular sauce better.
If you're in the mood for good bbq this is the place to go in the area.

20mph winds with gusts of 3omph canceled my golf plans yesterday so after working around the house I wanted to go someplace we could be out of the wind and enjoy some food.  After looking at several options we decided on Jack Russell Fish Co. in Benton.  We hadn't been there in quite a few years.
They have a nice beer garden which is bordered by old buildings on three sides so it was somewhat sheltered by the wind.  I went with my plan and ordered catfish and the standard slaw but splurged and went with onion rings even though I knew I regret that much fried food later.  The Glue went with fried shrimp, red beans and rice and a salad.
My catfish was real good as were the onion rings.  The slaw seemed dry and wasn't very good.  The Glue's shrimp was good and the red beans and rice were real good but her  salad seemed small but was decent.  I did regret getting so much fried food too.
We took a random road out of Benton and wound through the countryside until we ended up in West Frankfort where we headed back towards Murphysboro.  In Hurst the Glue saw a sign for Big Muddy Hogs Farm Store and she wanted to stop in to see what they had.  Our nephew was right, it is tiny.  I don't like that the price isn't listed on most of the meat.  We did pick up some summer sausage that we really like.  We also got some sourdough bread and some rub from Flying Swine Seasoning.
Finally we decided to stop in at River Rats and have a beer.  We were the only people there so we sat at the outdoor bar and the Glue Immediately saw that they had Budweiser Copper Lager that is one of our favorites but is being replaced for the summer.  We ordered a couple of those and talked with the bartender and Luke the owner.  Luke said that the Copper Lager wasn't really selling and sold as a twelve pack for a dollar over cost but I gave him a twenty since that's what I paid at the liquor store.

Yesterday golfing buddy David who turned 81 a few days ago shot an 81 on the golf course.  He was in the group ahead of me so I didn't get to witness it.  David is a very interesting guy who is retired from SIU where he was a renown kidney expert.  He was born in London and remembers some  of WWII.  Congratulations David.

We made a long overdue return trip to Lisa's in Prairie du Rocher yesterday.  It was a great day for a drive and the trip there is about an hour or so.  The drive has a lot of farmland like all Southern Illinois but also a view of the Mississippi River and rolling hills and bluffs, really nice drive.
We got there and they their patio set up nicely with quite a bit of seating but we were the only people there.  A little while after we got there another couple came in and that was it except for a guy who wondered in and out a couple times.
We decided to split an order of all white fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and cucumber salad.  The fried chicken was awesome, probably the best around.  The mashed potatoes came with chicken gravy which was surprising and also very good.  The cucumber salad is what we normally call cucumbers and onions and was also on point.  All the portions were big and the chicken breast and wings were also. 
The only downside was that they weren't serving draft beer yet.  We got four beers and enough food to stuff us for $22.  We won't wait so long to go back the next time.