Sad indeed,  Due to some unforeseen circumstances The Grumpy Shillelaghs will not be able to play in the St Patricks day tournament ending a long string of participation.
Furthermore Roll'em If Ya Got'em will not be playing in the spring season this year due to the same circumstances.  This is the first spring or fall season we haven't played since the team was formed in 2013.  We did take a couple summers off due to other commitments.
Hopefully we can get back on track next season.

Lisa is getting her appetite back but still not ready to go anywhere so yesterday she said an italian beef sounded good.  After mentioning a few places she said Dale's have good ones so off I went.  I got a large and Lisa got a medium and both of us got a large cup of au jus.  I also got some peppers which turned out to be giardiniera.  
Both sandwiches were really good, one of the best italian beefs around and the au jus really complements it well.  The giardiniera was hot but Lisa ended up liking it.  Only downsize is that it was very expensive for two sandwiches and we'll both get a smaller sandwich next time.
Saturday I went to Game On by myself to try the fish.  I sat at the bar to eat for the first time in many years since Lisa doesn't like to eat at the bar.  The fish was good but not as good as the fish bites.  Both the baked beans and slaw were solid, not great but good.
Last week I went to China Buffet again since Lisa really liked to rice noodle.  I got chicken and broccoli which didn't have much flavor, I didn't try the chicken rice noodle this time in case Lisa wanted it left over.

Catching up a bit with some places we go a lot.
With Lisa not feeling good yesterday and it being valentines day we chose to stay at home, not unusual for us to avoid crowds.  Soup sounded good to her so I picked up China Buffet.
I ordered shrimp mei fun and spring rolls and got her egg drop soup.  I googled Mei fun and it's just rice noodles. So why not.  Lisa said the soup was good and it was hot this time, several places lately haven't been.  Their spring rolls are good and only cost $2.  The shrimp mei fun was very very good, Lisa said she may have found her new go to there.  All in all it really hit the spot.
Earlier this week we went to Game On for what seems the 100th time, it's close and good so there.  We got the in house mushrooms and they were spectacular.  We both got smash burgers but I got a double and she got a single.  Both were really good, true smash burgers.  I had the apple salad and I really liked it, nice to have a side option that's not fried.  Lisa had the chili and liked it in spite of the beans.
We went to Quatros and Bottoms Up last week.  At Quatros we got a veggie chef and a meateaters pizza.  The pizza was like old times, wonderful.  The veggie chef was a lot better than the dinner salad we'd been getting and not much more.
At Bottoms Up we got the usual two side salads and half chicken all white.  Lisa said hers seemed dry and the first two or three bites of mine were dry but then okay.  A rare miss there.

We had a hard time deciding where to go yesterday.  I wanted to stay close but finally Lisa said Kretzers mainly to spite me since I wasn't suggesting anyplace which is usually what I get stuck with.  The bar area was full so we had to sit in dining area.
Anyway I went up thinking of alternatives to the fish but in the end I went with it and had a salad and baked potato as sides.  Lisa went with the salad bar and Mike got chicken and Debbie also got the fish.
As I've mentioned before the salad bar is impressive, lots of options but I went with a standard salad and french dressing.  The fish was as good as always, maybe the best around and I like that it's in smaller pieces.  The baked potato was a good alternative to fried stuff and was good.  Lisa like the stuffed pepper soup on the salad bar.  The small taste I had of Mike's chicken was very good and will be what I get there next time we're there, unless  I back out once again and get fish.
On the way back we stopped at the Blue Room for a quick drink, it was packed and is becoming too popular for me.  Way too noisy.
We stopped in a Game On for a drink but as always there we ran into someone we know and ended up drinking more than one.  This time it was Scott and Angie who we hadn't seen in a very long time so it was nice catching up with them.

We went to Game On again yesterday, really wasn't my choice since we've been there a lot lately but Jeff wanted to try it.  Not a big deal since we really like the place but don't want to get burned out.
Mike ordered two orders of the buffalo rangoons and Jeff ordered jalapeno poppers.  Me and Jeff ordered wings, Mike and Debbie ordered burgers and Lisa ordered nachos.
I didn't eat any appetizers, trying to cut down fried food some plus not really in my wheelhouse.  Mike really likes the rangoons, some would say he's a rangoonian (sorry).  My wings were different but good.  I ordered roasted pepper garlic sauce on the side and it was okay but I asked for bbq sauce and I liked it better.  Lisa wasn't real wild about the nachos but I thought they were okay.  The burger eaters seemed to like burgers and the fries.
After leaving there we went to Big Muddy for a Red Devil Red and they had a decent crowd.  Next we went to Brews Brothers and it was dead, only one person who was talking to the bartender.  Lastly we went to the Elks and there wasn't anyone there until a couple walked in just before we left.

I finally managed to get Lisa out of the house yesterday for the first time since it snowed.  For once we didn't have a big discussion on where to go, I said it's a new business and with the weather they need support so we went to Game On.
We ran into several friends and it took a while to get around to actually ordering, I did manage to order an appetizer of their "in house" mushrooms.  I thought they were very good and so did the other people that tried them.  They have another kind of mushrooms that Mike and Pam said weren't near as good as the ones we got.  Thanks to the owner Tracy for telling us this on our first visit.
Once we got around to ordering I ordered the fish bites appetizer and Lisa got slider sandwiches and a cup of chili.  The fish bites were really good but were a bit too salty for Pam but I really liked them.  Lisa like her slider but wished they had a burger sliders instead of chicken strips.  Unsurprisingly she liked her chili but it needed to be warmer.  She's had chili she doesn't like but it's rare.
Game On is rapidly becoming our go to place.
We stopped in River Rats for a beer just because some of the people from Game On were going there but as we walked in my old friend KB was at the bar so I mainly talked to him and my former english teacher while Lisa sat at table and talked to Pam.  Nice finish to the day.

I'd been wanting to try the fish sandwich at Southpaw since it was put on the menu so Wednesday we finally made it out there.  It's battered not breaded like most of the fish around here.  Tammy had warned me to get the sauce on the side since they loaded hers up so I did that and also got the slaw on the side along with no tomatoes.  The sandwich was good but it's cod and I really prefer catfish.  I did like that it was battered but didn't care much at all about the remoulade sauce, I ended up dipping it in catsup.  The chips were once again good and Lisa liked her burger.
Yesterday we had to go to St Louis for an early appointment, when we were done we decided to go to Perryville to try Mary Jane's mardi gras menu.  Of course Lisa had to go to Stonies for beef jerky so we went there first.  The last couple times there I haven't been impressed with their beer menu, nothing really in my wheelhouse.  
We split an order of gumbo and an order of etouffee.  Both were a lot better than expected but I probably liked the gumbo better.  We should have got gumbo and alligator tacos.  

After going to Game On Saturday I couldn't wait to get back down and give the food a try so we went there yesterday.  We saw several people we knew and the place was about half full.
After considering most of the menu I finally decided on a smash burger and fries.  Lisa opted for italian beef with dill pasta salad.  While we were sitting there Johnny then Bruce came stopped by our table and Johnny decided to order a fish appetizer while he waited for Carolyn to get off work,.
My burger was good but could have been warmer and I probably should have got a double.  The fries were also really good.  Lisa really like her italian beef but neither of us cared for the pasta salad.  I tried a piece of Johnnys fish and it was very good, probably the next thing I'll get there.
Good time talking with everyone and we stayed a lot longer than we intended.

Yesterday we went to Smoking Ks to get some cajun food.  They've remodeled since we last went there and it's a lot nicer.  There were a lot more people there than I've seen before and we just beat a big group.
We ordered gumbo with fried okra and etouffee with a side of dirty rice.  The food got there a lot faster than I expected with the amount of people there.  Oh and both dishes came with cornbread .
The okra was excellent as it has been every time we've been there.  The gumbo was also excellent and both are quite possibly the best I've had.  The etouffee was good but some of the rice were crunchy as if they weren't cooked long enough.  This really took away from the dish.  The dirty rice was really good too.  We didn't eat any of the cornbread.  There was plenty left to bring home too.
On the way home we stopped at the new bar and grill, game on, to check it out.  We only had beer but the food looked good and the people we talked said it was.  We had a great time sitting at the bar talking, it's been a long time since we've really done that.  I can't wait to try the food.

Yesterday we decided to go to the recently reopened Bandanas, had we known Game On was open and serving food we probably would have gone there.  Anyway the first thing we noticed was they have streamlined the menu and of course raised prices but so has everyone else.
We decided to go with a three meat combo with turkey, ribs and brisket, I changed to brisket from chicken as we were ordering.  We chose fried okra and slaw as our sides. As we were sitting there Robyn and Dan came in who were a couple years ahead of me and D comes to cards on Monday.
The turkey was really good but not much of a bbq flavor which is okay by me.  The ribs were a nice bite through rib instead of the normal overcooked fall of the bone however they didn't have a lot of flavor but were decent.  The brisket was also okay, not bad but nothing special.  The slaw solid and the okra was good but not as good as some other places in the area.
Overall it's much better than the previous incarnation there.   We'll add it into our local rotation of places to go.

Catching up a little.  A few days ago we ordered Martels for the first time in a long time, in fact we weren't aware they didn't have chicago style pizza anymore.  We decided to go with a medium meat deep pan.  The pizza arrived relatively fast and was really good.  
On Wednesday we had some free time before having to be home for the twins to get off the bus so we went to Frenchmans Widow.  Both me and Debbie got cubans and Lisa got a chili and an order of pretzels, Mike got a burger.
My cuban was good but not as good as it was before.  The fries were once again really good.  Lisa liked both her chili and pretzel.  Mike and Debbie both liked their food.  
On the way home we stopped at the American Legion and Elks so I could pay my dues at both places.  For the first time in a long time I wasn't late with them.

We had a few free hours yesterday so we decided to try out the Tomahawk bar and grill in DuQuoin.  It was previously the Salty Boar and we were not impressed with it so it took awhile before we finally went to the new place.
Same basic inside but a much better menu than previously, at least what I can remember.  We both ordered Yuengling drafts and then found out they were a $1 off, woohoo.  After much perusing of the menu we finally ordered an appetizer of mushrooms.  I ordered a breaded pork loin sandwich with slaw while Lisa ordered a gyro and house chips
The barmaid didn't think the mushrooms were handmade but when they got there they sure seemed like they were.  Really good but not quite as good as what we had at brunzeez.  The breaded pork loin was also really good, the pickles, onions and mustard complemented the sandwich really well.  My slaw was vinegar based but different from other that I've had, having said that I really enjoyed it.   Lisa's gyro was burned but the inside was very good.  The chips were cooked well but didn't have any seasoning.
Good stop that we'll have to try again.

On New Years eve day we went down to Bottoms Up for a quick meal.  The twins were at a movie so we had Dooter with us.  As usual we got 1/2 fried chicken all white and two salads.  We also got fries for Dax and the staff was kind enough to bring out cherry tomatoes for Dax who loves them.
My chicken breast was a little drier than usual but still good and the salads are real solid.  We also had a variety of fried food, chips, okra, onion rings and two kinds of fries.  As always we had a great time there.
Yesterday we went to Emily's for a late lunch.  After much contemplation I got a shrimp po boy and onion rings.  Lisa went with a salad and soup while Mike and Debbie both got smash burgers.  
The shrimp on my sandwich were overdone, just short of being burned which was also the case with my onion rings, they were much darker than Debbies.  Disappointing.  Lisa's salad was real big and there was a lot of soup too.  The soup needed to be hotter but she said it was good as was the salad.  Both Mike and Debbie said they liked the smash burgers.
Overall a disappointing stop for me. 
We stopped in a the Vet for a beer and then stopped at Da-Nite for a couple.

I've been wanting fried chicken lately but didn't want to drive very far for it so with Botoms Up closed I decided on Gabbys.  Lisa mentioned Brunzeez mushrooms on the way up and that's all it took to change my mind.  As I've mentioned before we rarely go someplace that doesn't have beer but we went anyway.
We ordered a 4 piece all white and finally decided on two sides of mushrooms.  It's a bit of a wait for fried chicken but they say that beforehand so you're aware.  The chicken was very good but the mushrooms were even better plus there's a lot of them.
Overall a great choice.

On Thursday Lisa wasn't feeling good and said that soup sounded good so after going through several options decided on El Jalisco to get the caldo de pollo that my cousin Joey turned us on to.  After checking out several options I saw steak tapatio which comes with a skewer of shrimp, street corn, grilled veggies and rice plus a sauce to put over the steak.
I called it in and they said 10 minutes and it was almost ready when I got there.  First for the bad, the steak tasted about what you would expect from a mexican restaurant.  Tough and not much flavor.  Not for the good.  The shrimp and corn were great and the veggies were also good.  With all the other food I only had a bite of the rice and it seemed okay.  Lisa's soup was real good but had way too much rice in it.  Next time we order it I'll see if we can get it with no rice and extra broth.  I doubt I order the steak again unless I could sub a couple more shrimp skewers instead of the steak.

We had to go to Menards yesterday and had some time before we grabbed something to eat so naturally we went to 618 Taphouse.  We'd originally planned on going to Sam's but just didn't feel like it so Taphouse won out.
While we were there we decided to get Popeyes and bring it home.  Popeyes used to be one of our favorite places but Carbondales shut down and wasn't very good before that plus they always seemed to be out of things we liked.  I looked online and saw they had a 5 piece chicken all white for less than $10 so we got that and two large red beans and rice and a large coleslaw.  When we went through the drive through I didn't see the five piece so I parked and ordered online.
When I went in the lady started working on our order and it was a good thing I was there because the chicken and red beans and rice would have been wrong.  Once we got home it was still warm enough to eat.  The chicken was good however the slaw wasn't.  I didn't think the red beans and rice were all that good but Lisa did and she's the main reason we got two orders.

Yesterday morning was a lazy kind of morning but we finally got motivated and went to Moonshine Run for a late lunch.  It has become one of my favorite places due to it's menu and quality of food.
I went over thinking ribeye but I changed to a cheeseburger and onion rings.  Lisa hasn't been feeling well but she got an italian beef and side salad.  Mike got a burger and Debbie got a steak sandwich both got fries.
It took an inordinate amount of time for our food to arrive.  With the temp dropping this wasn't a good thing.  When the food arrived mine and Mike's burgers were mixed up, I'd ordered medium and him well done.  We couldn't change because I'd ordered grilled onions on mine and he doesn't like onions.  I didn't care much for the burger, it was dry and the cheese wasn't real great.  My onion rings were great though.  Lisa's italian beef was okay but different from when she got it last time and I didn't think as good.  Debbie said her steak sandwich was okay but I don't think she loved it.  Mike liked his burger and the fries were real good.
Overall my first subpar experience there, hopefully it will be better next time.
On the way home I was worried about black ice and my windshield kept freezing making the long wait for food worse.

Since we were on the other side of Carbondale yesterday we decided to go to Frenchmans Widow only to change our minds on the way over and go to Champs.  We hadn't been there in a while and it seems like they've gone through a lot of new management changes.
When we walked in the place has undergone some renovation with new booths and new floor being the most noticeable.  The booths were not real comfortable so we moved to a table that had a bench on one side and chairs on the other.  I finally decided on fish and chips while Lisa went for the italian beef and onion rings.
When the food came to the table mine was a fish sandwich not the cutups.  I didn't want to wait so I said it was okay but it was mediocre and the fries were what appeared to be frozen crinkle cut.  Once again the fries were just okay and the sandwich was very sloppy, falling apart as I ate it.  Lisa's italian beef was really good as were the onion rings.  The italian beef could have used more au jus though.
In retrospect I should have gone with one of the burgers.

Yesterday we went to long time favorite Quatros which is something we've done quite often on the day before Thanksgiving.  I've been going there since shortly after it open 50 years ago.  
We've been getting a large dinner salad and a small deep pan meateaters lately.  After the waitress took our order she said we had to get a medium to get a $5 picture, that's a long way from the 99 cent pitchers we used to get.  We'd had a couple pizzas from there lately that just didn't seem the same, this one did and it was very good.
The waitress I mentioned, we only saw her to get our order, bring our food and bring the check except the one time I flagged her down to bring us a couple napkins.  The place wasn't busy and the downstairs was closed off.  She used the downstairs to be on her phone most of the time we were eating,  Very disappointing service, not the worst we've had there but it wasn't good.
Oh well.  I'd rather have good pizza and poor service that bad pizza and good service.

We had to go to Sam's to get some stuff for Thanksgiving.  Naturally we'd go somewhere for lunch while we were out.  Of course when going to Sam's you'll buy more than you intended and this time was not exception.
Monday is very limited on places that are open so we finally decided on Moonshine Run.  They were training a new person so service was a little slow but not terrible.  We finally decided to split 1/2 fried chicken all white and both of us got side salads.  The salads were a nice size but I didn't care for the tomatoes in it.  I got french and it was good while Lisa got their made in house ranch.  I'm not normally a big fan of french but this seemed really good in the bite I had.  The fried chicken was very good, maybe not quite as good as Bottom's Up but close.  
As we both said "we'll have the chicken again soon".  Moonshine Run is turning into a regular stop since a couple others have gone ob or changed.

We haven't been going too many places lately, no particular reason just haven't been going out as much.  Yesterday we decided to go out and since it was Debbie's birthday weekend she got to chose the place.  After going through several places she said let's give Cross Eyed Bear a shot since we hadn't been there so off we headed.
It's a small dining area in a marina on Lake of Egypt, I really don't think I'd ever been to Lake of Egypt before which kind of surprised me.  We went earlier than normal but the place wasn't too crowded.  We found out the menu on their website isn't right and that they change it every few months.  
We started out by ordering garlic cheese curds and they were spectacular, really good.  I finally decided on a steak sandwich instead of wings while Lisa got soup and salad bar.  Mike also got soup but with a grilled cheese and Debbie got a sandwich with fries but don't remember what sandwich.
I'd opted for sweet potato fries and they were very good but I really didn't care much for the steak sandwich.  It was supposed to be swiss cheese but didn't taste like it.  Lisa and Mike both liked the soup but said it needed to be warmer.  I'd ate way too many cheese curds and only ate half my sandwich and about half my fries.  Really friendly place.
We got stopped by a train and so I went down a side road with no idea where it went.  We got to see some of the lake and surrounding area before we finally got back on track.  
We made a brief stop at Honker Hill where there was a party bus with some very "happy" people on it.  All of us had some punch that was good but sweet.  
After a trip around Giant City we went home to take it easy.

I haven't played much golf this year but I took advantage of a beautiful November day and played 18 yesterday.  It wasn't pretty but there were some good holes too.
Lisa is shopping with Bailey so after golf I went into the clubhouse and ordered some catfish to go.  The fish there rivals any other place around and Deloras makes sure to put plenty in.  Before she left Lisa made some homemade tartar sauce in case I got some fish after golf.
The fish was once again on point and really hit the spot after a round of golf.  Try it before they close for the season at the end of November.

Saturday we had Greyson most of the day and all night.  He's been asking about when the garden would get torn out so we did that first.
Next he mentioned he wanted to go on a hike so off we went to Giant City.  I'd called to see if there was any hunting on Indian Creek Shelter trail and she said there were some archery hunters there so we finally decided on Devils Standtable.  It's a short trail but has a lot of bluffs and boulders that he enjoyed climbing on.  There were some kids learning repelling up and down the face of the bluff which was interesting.  
After a stop for him to go to his cousins birthday party we went to Southpaw mainly because he wanted to play the machines.  I got a mushroom swiss burger while Lisa got a Cesar salad and Greyson got some boneless wings and fries.  
My burger was solid and the tots I got with them were really good.  Lisa was just okay with the salad and Greyson surprisingly ate almost all his wings after having two pieces of pizza at the birthday party.
We went through way too much money on games for Greyson but it was enjoyable.

Wednesday we decided go to Emilys Eatery in Dowell since we hadn't been there in a while. 
I ordered the catfish special but subbed out a side salad for the fries. Lisa ordered their new Korean wrap special.  The waitress came back a little later and said the cook who knows how to make it was gone so they couldn't make it.  She then ordered a club sandwich and chose potato soup as her side.  I also had a Yuengling while she got an Modelo Negra.  
When mine came out were fries with it instead of the side salad I'd ordered.  The catfish was okay but nothing special.  The fries were your typical crinkle cut frozen fries.  Lisa's said her sandwich was good.  She said the potato soup was real good but not very warm.
After we left we went next door to the Vet for a quick beer then headed home so we'd be there in time for the twins to get there.

We hadn't been to Southpaw in a while so we decided to go there yesterday since we couldn't go anywhere very far from Murphysboro.  There always seems to be a few tables with people at them when we go not matter the time.
Anyway I ended up deciding on wings instead of a burger.  I ordered the wings plain with a side of bbq sauce.  Lisa wanted screwballs which is a corn ball filled with stuff.  I wanted some so we got an app instead of a side.  She also got a kids burger with tots.
Everything was hot when it got to the table, in fact it was so hot we had to let it cool off some just to eat it.  The screwballs were better than I remember but my wings weren't.  Don't get me wrong they were still real good but something seemed off from before, I guess it could have been I got them plain.  Lisa's burger was a nice size for her and the bites I tried were really good plus the tots were great.
We ended up with a lot of food left but when we got home the twins and Bailey took care of a lot of it.  As fate would have it they released a new menu today that had a few more options on it but I wish they would add a few more items to the menu.