We went to Alongi's in DuQuoin this past week for the first time in a long time.  The Glue said pizza sounded good and wanted something different than our normal pizza stops.
At Alongi's it doesn't matter how many toppings you get on your pizza it costs the same so it was tempting to load it up with a bunch of ingredients but we stuck with pepperoni, italian sausage and mushrooms.  They also give you an order of bread prior to the meal.
Once the pizza got there it looked good but when we started eating it there was something we didn't care for.  The Glue thinks it was the crust and I'm inclined to agree but whatever it was it wasn't for us.

Me and the Glue opted to play the league tournament with our Monday night team Boro City Rollers for a variety of reasons however Roll'em If Ya Got'em remains our primary team.
The league couldn't have picked out a more perfect day for the tournament, sunny with the temp quickly warming up to a beautiful day.
In the first game we played Brick Dust Blues who were the number one seed in our pool.  They had the first of three poor games and we made a lot of good throws and ran away with it 9-0.  I never felt comfortable until Fred's last throw got the ninth point and the win.
In the second game we ran into Magnificent 4 who was the third seed and were finished in 24th place overall in the league.  None of that matter as they made clutch throw after clutch throw especially Bruce but also Clay and they beat us 9-3.
In our last game we played Old Rome Rollers who were the fourth seed and finished 23rd overall in the league.  However won this game would finish second in the pool and advance to the single elimination tournament.  The game went back and forth early but we moved slightly ahead and then with us on seven they left it open enough for Cathy to get a point and Fred to follow with another and the win.
In the single elimination tournament we played PBR who was the 25th seed overall in the league and who we'd beat every time we'd played them this year.  None of that mattered now though.  PBR continually knocked our ball out if we were close and if we hit their ball it just moved it closer and we lost 9-3.
PBR played Mag 4 in the semifinal.  Both teams only made the tournament because other teams couldn't or wouldn't play in it.  The 24th overall versus the 25th overall just shows how competitive our league has gotten.
PBR won but the cinderella story ended when they lost to Here For Beer in the championship

I'd been wanting to try the E Town Restaurant for quite some time and yesterday we finally decided to go down to Elizabethtown and try it out.  If I was ever in Elizabethtown it was when I was young and don't remember it and it's not an area of the state me and the Glue are very familiar with so got to see a lot of places we've never seen.  Some of the towns I'd heard of but many I hadn't.  Names like Herod, Rudement, Eichorn and others.  Once we got south of Harrisburg I had the Glue use her phone gps to get us to the restaurant and it took us on a lot of back roads and I think it ended up slower but it was nice to see the county and makes you appreciate how much farmland and forest area we have around here.
Anyway once we arrived at the restaurant the setting was awesome with it floating on the Ohio River but it had a noticeable list which was caused by the spring flooding.  For the third time in a week or so we went to a place that didn't have beer which is a shame because being on the water begs for a cold one.  For the third time in a week I ordered catfish but this time it was river catfish instead of pond raised and it came with baked beans, slaw, hushpuppies and choice of potato.  The Glue got fried shrimp which came with hushpuppies, slaw and fries.  My baked beans were below par and the slaw was just okay but the river catfish was outstanding and the tator tots were real good.  The Glue's shrimp was also outstanding and she liked the hushpuppies.  Awesome place for the atmosphere alone but the food is great.
Not having been in this part of the state we had to check out a few places on our way home starting with ETown Tap which is just up the hill for the restaurant.  A lot of locals and a lot of harassing each other going on.
From there we drove up route 1 and went to Old Shawneetown and found Nate's Bar & Grill which wasn't very had since it's not a very big town.  It's a deceptively big place and the waitress said they have bands a couple times a month.  We were the only one's there for a little bit but a few people showed up before we finished our beer.  We were told at our next stop that the food is good at Nate's.  Lot's of history in Old Shawneetown and we drove by a few of the markers there including a place that used to be a bank that the James Gang allegedly robbed.
Our last stop was in Shawneetown at the Lincoln Street Pub which is right next to the Dirty Bar according to the Glue but was actually the Diary Bar and was closed.  The pub was quite a bit different than the other places we were at.  Instead of being repurposed old buildings this was a new pole barn type building.
A very nice day in part of the state that we need to visit more often.

Sadly Roll'em won't be able to play in the towel tournament tomorrow.
Also me and the Glue decided to play with our Monday team for various reasons.  This was a tough decision and a lot of thinking went into it.

We went over to Sesser to try the Anchor Grille yesterday We'd heard a lot of good things about the place and I'd been wanting to try it for some time.
When we got over there I realized I'd made a terrible oversight, they don't serve beer.  Ouch.  We decided to stay and see how it was.  I went over wanting fried fish and I stayed with the plan.  They had all you can eat white fish but I prefer catfish so I got the delta fried catfish with a double side of slaw.  The Glue almost went with fish too but ultimately decided on grilled shrimp skewers with hushpuppies and fried okra.
My catfish was good but the creamy slaw was barely okay and the tartar sauce was bland.  The Glue fared even worse with her meal.  The shrimp skewers were also bland and the hushpuppies were barely okay.  Her fried okra seem fine though. 
Overall not a very good experience and while the waitress was timely she was not very friendly.
Since we didn't have a beer with our food I decided to stop at the Iron Horse Tavern which is down the street.  It's basically a dive bar that servers food.  We checked out the menu and we both wished we'd have ate there.  We'll most likely go back and eat there especially since the bartender was very nice and friendly.
We then went a couple blocks down the street to Double R Bar which is even more of a dive bar.  The barmaid and the people there were nice.  When we walked in one customer said he'd buy our beers since we are Packer fans and he is one too, needless to say I had on a Packer hoodie.
I then had the bright idea to go through Cuello and stop at the Italian Club where my first boss at SIU had taken us years ago.  The old club is gone and has been replaced with a lot nicer building and they had a real nice crowd.  The people sitting around us talked to us like we were regulars and it was such a good time the Glue wanted a second beer.  Another place we'll go back to and try the food.
Lastly we topped off a nice day, other than our food,with a beer at Molly's Pint and then it was time to go home.

In game one we played Coming In Hot and we decided to forgo the practice frames even though they had just got playing on the same court.  Unsurprisingly they got off to a fast start and Roll'em fell behind early.  They got a four point frame to move ahead 6-2.  We finally got hot and managed to close the score to 7-6.  Herbster got a close throw and they had nothing real close and we managed a three point frame for the win.
In the second game we moved to the Silkworm court to play #thankusforyourwin which is very hard for me to type.  I keep putting spaces between the words.  They came out throwing and we watch them jump out to a 7-0 lead.  They had another point when their last ball struck their point ball and we got two points.  We started chipping away at their lead but after one frame me and Herbster started shaking hands thinking they had won but after we ending just inside their balls and the game continued.  We kept making throws and closed to 7-6.  Their last throw knocked Herbster off the pallino but left it open and we got two more points to pull ahead 8-7.  The Glue put her first throw in front of the pallino about a foot and a half  away.  There four throws were not close enough and we escaped with an unexpected come from behind win which allowed Roll'em to end the season on a four game winning streak.

We had lunch today at Aban Kitchen which is a Yemen restaurant in Carbondale.  Neither of us knew anything about Yemen food but I've been wanting to try it but the Glue has been hesitant since it doesn't have beer.
We were the only people in it when we arrived and only one more came in before we left.  Once we finally perused the menu and after a few questions we finally decided on what we were going order.  I went with the beef shawarma and the Glue went with chicken kabobs.  Our top 20 card required the purchase of either a side or drinks so we decided to get hummus and bread which turned out to be similar to a pita.
I've never been a fan of hummus since I was young eating it at my aunt and her husbands house.  My aunts husband made his own hummus and I never cared for it nor did I care for the hummus my wife has me buy at the store.  I wasn't even going to try it while we were there but on the spur of the moment I decided to try some and I actually thought it was good.  My aunts husband would been proud of this moment.  I refer to him as my aunts husband because he would always introduce me as his wife's nephew, most likely to distance himself from me.  In reality he was my Uncle Taffie and we got along very well.
On to the entrees.  My beef shawarma was good but there was a spice that the Glue did not care for.  Her chicken Kabobs were real good and better than the shawarma but the veggies that came with it were too well done and mushy for either of us.  Both of us liked the yellow rice that came with it.
In addition to no beer the only downside was the person there was more interested in his phone than paying attention to the few customers who were there.  Overall though it was a good enough experience that we will go back in spite of not having beer.

On Friday we went to Mama Pang's which is in PK's on the strip in Carbondale.  They have a limited menu but have daily specials.  On Fridays they have a seasonal special which currrently is gumbo.
After fighting traffic from what must have been a long train and almost getting hit by an idiot who tried to go around us as we were making a turn we got to PK's.  The place was crowded for as early in the day as it was so we ended up eating at the bar which doesn't bother me but the Glue doesn't care for it.  We both had the gumbo and a Busch draft which was only two dollars.
The gumbo had a different appearance from what we are used to but it was very good and filling.  It had a pretty good kick to it but it wasn't overwhelming.  I can't wait to try their shrimp boil seasonal special which I think is after the gumbo.

Clutch had to work so we once again got Ted to sub for us.  In the first game we took on Bocce-licious on the Silkworm court.  They jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two frames, after that we made a small comeback with both teams trading points until the score reached 6-4 with us leading.  We made a couple big throws, one took them out of three points and gave us one and we ended up winning 9-6.
In the second game against Boccezilla we took a commanding lead and walked away with a 9-4 win.
Roll'em got a muched needed sweep to move to 9-5 on the season.

Yesterday was mine and the Glues 36th anniversary.  How did we celebrate?  We, meaning her, watched the grandtwins during the day which is always an experience.  I can hear it now "will the Hicks twins come to the office" echoing down the halls of whatever school they are in at the time. 
After the twins left the Glue decided she wanted to try Joe's Pizza in Herrin.  They have a nice selection of draft beer and we both opted for a tall Octoberfest from Sam Adams which tasted great.  We decided to get a chicago style meatlovers and they allowed us to substitute mushrooms for the hamburger.  They said the chicago style would take longer but it didn't seem like it was any longer.  The pizza was very good and had a different taste than others in the area. 
We'd tried the one in Pinkneyville but I like the Herrin one a lot better.  They have beer and a nicer place on the inside.  I'm sure we'll be back when we want a change from our other standby pizza places (Quatros, Cummares and Downtown Abbey).