With our area in another shut down we went to the Dew Drop Inn in Bloomsdale Mo yesterday.  We'd been told of this place when we went to St. Genevieve a little bit ago and had been wanting to go there.  We almost went last weekend but went to the Eagles Nest instead.  We saw later some friends from Murphysboro were there and had a good time.
We finally got a break from the clouds and the rain so it was a nice day for a ride and route 3 is always a good ride.
When we got to Bloomsdale we saw this redneck looking place and it was the Dew Drop Inn (thanks CDB).  It really wasn't a redneck looking place just had to use it.  There are two restaurants in the building, the Dew Drop and the Kozy, plus a banquet room called the Mill Room.  The Dew Drop had a really nice bar and 16 taps so we knew it was our kind of place.  We got a table and ordered a couple drafts, Amberbock for the Glue and Southern Pecan for me while we look over the menu.  I'd seen they fried ribs which I've been wanting to try so we got some of those.  Once again I was swayed by fried catfish and the Glue got a bowl of chili.  They let us sub grilled brussel sprouts for the fries. 
The catfish was very good and so were the sprouts.  The slaw was a creamy style but I really liked it.  Only downside is that we didn't get the hushpuppies we were supposed to get.  I'm not a big fan of them but the Glue likes them.  The Glue said her chili was good but it need to be hotter.  The fried ribs were interesting.  We got them with sauce on the side but the sauces were their wing sauces.  I got the BBQ sauce and the Glue got hot which she said was basically Franks Red Hot.  Overall I like the fried ribs but probably prefer regular ribs.
We debating go to Perryville for a drink but ended up having one at the bar at the Dew Drop.  While we were sitting there a guy came in and asked if we owned the El Camino sitting outside.  He was a used car dealer in Jackson and Farmington and was a big time car guy.  He talked cars which neither of us really know much about them but he happened to mention something about smoking BBQ.  I told we could converse on that.  He seemed more interested in talking about what he did than what we knew.  He mentioned he uses Mike Mills cookbook a lot and really likes stopping there when he's close.  We got sidetracked into talking about chili and he seemed a little put out when I mention the Glue was 5 time chili champion at 17th St.  Overall it was a nice conversation and he told us a couple places in Farmington to try.  We had more than we planned there so we had to head home with a few detours onto back roads.

Yesterday we finally made the trip to Addieville to try the Eagles Nest.  We'd heard several people say how good it was and they were right.  They had a limited amount of taps so I decided on a Michelob Golden Draft and the Glue went with a Blue Moon.  Both were good and cold but only 10oz.  They have a very nice menu and we decided to split an appetizer of catfish cut ups and fried chicken.  They let us sub onion rings for the fries and it also came with slaw.  It was a toss up between which I liked better the catfish or the chicken, both were outstanding.  The onion rings were also very good but with everything being so good I didn't eat much of the slaw but it seemed pretty good.  Kudos to the waitress who gave us  some good recommendations on what to get.  Only downside is that it wasn't very warm in the building.
After we left there we went to New Memphis Station for a beer.  No drafts there and it was really dead but seemed like a nice place.  They were setting up for a wedding so the door was open a lot and it was bordering on cold so we didn't stay very long. 
The only other person at the bar at New Memphis Station said there was a bar in Venedy called Seg's but he thought they smoked in it.  It was on the way so we stopped to give it a sniff test.  The owner/bartender said they didn't allow it but there seemed to be a faint smell of smoke, maybe they smoke at night or it's leftover from a lot of years of smoke.  The bar was your typical repurposed small town bar.  There was a family finishing up their meal and several regular type patrons at the bar.  The bartender said they just got rid of their drafts recently because of the shutdown and a co2 leak.  The people at the bar were very nice and willing to talk to you. 
One of the guys at the bar told us about a new place just north of Coulterville called Coon Dogs.  Once again it was on the way home so we stopped in.  It's a really nice place and there were a few other day drinkers in there.  We said we were from Murphysboro and one guy said he was born there.  He was there with his son and they were related to some of the people we know.  They didn't have drafts but they did have Busch Light in the aluminum bottle things.  It was a really nice stop and I could have had a couple more but decided heading home was a smarter decision.

We went to Whiffleboys on Tuesday for a sandwich and wings.  We ordered a pitcher of Amberbock but they had trouble with the tap and couldn't pour it.  We got Busch Light instead and they gave us what they'd managed to get out of the Amberbock.  We split an Italian beef and 2 pounds of Italian wings. I told them I wanted the wings crispy and when they brought them to the table they said they'd run them through three times.  The wings were nice and crisp and tasted very good.  The sandwich was good too but we should have ordered the smaller size, just too much food for us.
With another shut down of inside dining coming the next day we decided to go to 17th Street on Wednesday.  I ordered a double cheeseburger and the Glue ordered pulled pork and pork rinds.  Pork rinds haven't been one of my favorites since I ate a bunch and then had a gallbladder attach that night but these tasted pretty good.  My cheeseburger was great, nothing fancy just a nice cheeseburger that rivals Sandy's as the best I've had since Jacks burned.  We've ate so much of pulled pork at cookoffs and other events that it isn't something we get when we're out.  The Glue's sandwich was very good though and worth getting again.

Saturday we went to 618 Tap House.  On the way there we passed the Trump parade that was going from Marion to Murphysboro.  The line of cars stretched from the edge of Carbondale to the Marion airport, very impressive.  I was worried when we pulled in because there were several cars with Trump flags and stickers in the parking lot but there were a few empty tables,
I ordered a burger with house chips and the Glue got a quesadilla with chips and salsa.  They really didn't have any beer that interested me other than a couple Octoberfest so I got a Sam Adams.  I ordered my burger medium but it was closer to well done and not all the good.  The chips were ok but nothing special.  On the other hand the Glue's quesadilla was very good.

Since the Glue didn't fix the turkey pot pie I was hoping for yesterday I picked up from Just Good Soul Food & BBQ food truck.  I ordered a two sandwich combo with one being pulled pork and the other being brisket with a side of grilled cabbage and another of collard greens.  I also ordered rib tips with no sides.  My order seemed to confuse them and it took an extraordinary amount of time to get my food.  At one point the cook was going to refund my money but said no.  Another down side is they only had a few items from what is listed on their menu.  After finally getting my food I took it home with very little hope of having the right food however everything seemed to be there.
Both our sandwiches were good and the rib tips were very good.  I'm no collard green connoisseur but they seem ok to me however the grilled cabbage was a disappointment.  I also thought I was getting corn bread but there wasn't any.
Overall it was a mixed experience.  The BBQ was good enough to go back for but not to wait 45 minutes or so for and the sides were a disappointment.

Yesterday we went to Backwater Brewing which is a new brewery in Carbondale.  It doesn't open until 3pm so we took a little ride to blow time.  I went down memory lane with a little trip around the SIU campus.  I hadn't really seen the sports area behind the arena and it looked very nice.  We drove around a portion of campus lake and by the Wham building where I worked for 20 years but not by Lentz where I finished up my time there.  I also went by Pulliam Hall where I went to grade school.  Overall the campus looked really deserted even for a Saturday afternoon.
We got to Backwater just as they were opening up and were told the kitchen didn't open until 4pm.  While we were getting a beer and deciding what we would do we were told that the kitchen was ready and we could order food.  We decided to split a meatlovers flatbread pizza and a bucket of wings.  The wings came with two dipping sauces, an Alabama white sauce and a sweet Thai chili however I preferred them plain and they were outstanding.  The pizza was also very good but getting both of them was too much food.
While we were there the owner told us he's hoping to start brewing his own beer by the end of the month.  The federal office that issues a brewing stamp has been shutdown for several months but is expected to open back up soon.
By the time we had finished the clouds had cleared off so we went for a ride around Giant City and down through Cobden and Alto Pass before heading home through Pomona and those back roads.

With the chance of rain over the weekend I decided to golf Friday before we went on our Friday fun day.  We decided on Sandys in Benton over Bluefish since we could go to Pheasant Hollow afterwards. 
We'd been to Sandys a few weeks ago and the smell when you walked in made us want to return.  I ordered a double cheeseburger with swiss, pickles, mustard and Ketchup along with sidewinders which are a thick twisty fried potatoes.  The Glue went with chili and a grilled cheese.  My cheeseburger was awesome, best I've had since Jacks burned down.  The sidewinders were good too.  The Glue said her chili was good but it had more beans than she likes.  She barely touched her grilled cheese but it's just a grilled cheese.
We went to Pheasant Hollow and both of us were disappointed.  They were out of Drunken Piper and they didn't have the kind of slushys that the Glue had mixed last time.  We did run into my long time doctor who I've known my whole life and his girlfriend Randi who the Glue said we've met before but I didn't remember.  As we were leaving we had a nice discussion with them about places we've been in the area.  We had a discussion in the car about how nice and laid back the atmosphere is there.
We then were going to the Hop but it wasn't open yet so we went around the corner to T Street for a beer.  T Street is always an enjoyable visit but we only had one and then went back to the Hop.  The didn't have sangria slushy the Glue liked so much so we both had a red wasp.  We also ordered a four pack of crowlers of it to take home.  They ended up having trouble with the machine that seals them so they subbing us a growler of it but didn't charge us the $10 charge for the growler itself.  Just before we left the owner came in and got the machine working and handed us two crowlers at no charge. 

On Saturday we continued our anniversary extravaganza with a trip to Route 51 Brewery for a late lunch.  We both got their version of an Octoberfest which we really liked.  The Glue ordered a caprese grilled cheese with no fries and chicharones.  I got a rueben and fries which was the weekend special.
My rueban was real good and the fries are some of the best around.  The Glue like her grilled cheese but didn't care much for the chicharones.  She'd liked them before but said they were different.  It was very disappointing that it cost the same for the Glue's grilled cheese than it would have if she'd have gotten fries, doesn't seem right.
They also had a dopplebock on tap which I sampled and liked but it was 9.0% abv and decided getting a crowler for later was a better option. 
We then headed to the Hop for a couple drinks.  They also had an Octoberfest but we both went with a Red Wasp.  It's an Irish Red and probably my favorite beer from a local brewery.  I had a couple of them but the Glue got a slushy instead.  When we got ready to leave I got a crowler of Red Wasp but the Glue got a double slushy for the road.
Sunday was a day of watching football and taking it easy.  The Glue made some really good beef stew and homemade biscuits and that was the end of our extravaganza.

As a sort of belated anniversary trip on Friday we went down to Gordonville Grill which is obviously in Gordonville Mo.  It's about 10 miles west of Cape and wasn't too difficult to find.
One of the reasons we chose there is that they are back to having their full menu which includes a couple cajun dishes which is always attractive to both us.
Inside it has a bar side and a restaurant side and both were busy since we got there over the lunch hour.  They had four taps with three of them being from Mothers Brewery and one your standard Bud Light type.  We both got Mothers Three Blind Mice which is a brown ale and very good.  I was tempted to order the catfish but we decided to split an order of etouffee with a side of jambayala and an order of catfish nuggets.  We were sadly disappointed with the etouffee which looked a lot like jambayala.  The jambayala was a little better but looked like gumbo.  The catfish nuggets however were very good. 
In spite of not caring for the cajun dishes much it's a place we both want to go back to and try some other things on their menu.
Our original plan was to check out The Southerner and Rosati's for future reference but I gave the Glue an option of taking a slow trip back on back roads and she opted for that.  Once we got back in Illinois we went up in the LaRue-Pine Hills road and took in some of the sights.

Last Thursday was our anniversary and for the first time in 37 years I forgot it until I saw the Glue's Facebook picture.  In my defense I thought there was one more day in September and I found out before she woke up.
Anyway after the twin terrors left the Glue wanted chicago style pizza so it was between Tower Square and Joe's in Herrin.  We'd gone to Lisa's a couple weeks earlier so it was only right that we went to Joe's this time.  They had Sam Adam's Octoberfest on draft and it was nice and cold and very good.  We ordered a chicago style pizza with pepperoni, italian sausage and mushrooms.  I was only going to have two slices but it was so good that I had a third.
We decided to get closer to home and have another beer so we ended up stopping in the Rome.  It'd been quite a while since I'd been there and we used to go there quite often and they still had Amberbock on draft.  Thee Mr Hall, Joey and Harold were at the bar so we sat by them and had a nice time talking.  Harold and I talked quite a bit about our old softball days when we used to play against each other.
Nothing to exciting about our anniversary but it was a nice time.