DBA Barbecue...next stop on the journey

On the next step of our bbq tour of Atlanta we had dinner at DBA Barbecue in the Virginia Highland area in Altanta off of N Highland. Another great little spot that was great versus going to a typical chain restaurant. In warmer months would be a good patio spot, they had a good size covered patio when you walk up. The inside had booth against the walls, a bar up front and tables throughout. They had an open kitchen and you could smell the bbq as you walked up. They are having a fish fry in February, might have to venture back over for some fish and hush puppies.

DBA had a pretty cool menu and full bar with again a good selection of beer. They even had some pretty good sounding burgers on there as well. We started off with an order of sweet tater tots and fried pickles/bacon with ranch. The tots were just okay, but the pickles/bacon were good. The bacon was literally just rolled in what looked like catfish batter and deep fried. The table was split 50/50, but I thought it was pretty damn good.

As far as a meal, I went with the old standard and got a chopped brisket sandwich with a side of mac 'n' cheese. The meat again was tender, but a little dry. The mac was really good and it was definitely made from scratch. John had one of the most incredible sandwiches I have ever heard of. It was called "The Archie Bunker." It is Texas toast with smoked pulled pork topped with mac 'n' cheese, sweet bbq sauce and jack/cheddar cheese.

Overall a 4 beers out of 5. Will definitely return for some grub.

Just Fry It...

In looking around for local restaurants I came across one near our house and their dessert specialty is fried Snickers. I definitely need to get over that way to try it out, it is at a food stand on W Marietta called The Corner. If it is half as good as it looks in the pictures below it must be incredible.

That got me to thinking so I did some research of the unique fried foods, surprise that most of them are from state fairs. Disclaimer, I would no doubt try all of these.

Twinkies

Oreos

Coca-Cola

Cheeseburger

PBJ

....and the winner is, Fried Beer (Guinness)

Come to find out there is a contest every year at the greatest state fair in the world, State Fair of Texas.
The winner is announced at the Big Tex Choice Awards!!

Past winners:

2005 Most Creative         Viva Las Vegas Fried Ice Cream
2005 Best Taste             Fried PB, Jelly and Banana Sandwich
2006 Most Creative         Fried Coke
2006 Best Taste             Fried Praline Perfection
2007 Most Creative         Deep Fried Latte
2007 Best Taste             Texas Fried Cookie Dough
2008 Most Creative         Fried Banana Split
2008 Best Taste             Chicken Fried Bacon
2009 Most Creative         Deep Fried Butter
2009 Best Taste             Fernie's Deep Fried Peaches & Cream
2010 Most Creative         Fried Beer™
2010 Best Taste             Texas Fried FRITOS® Pie

BBQ in the ATL...Up First, Fox Bros.

Being from Texas I think I can be picky about my bbq. So with the help of some buddies we are starting our tour of the Atlanta bbq joints. After we have completed our journey I will post a final top 5 in the ATL.

To kick off our quest we started at Fox Bros. This place had been talked about like it was the best restaurant in Atlanta so a great place to start, not to mention that 790 the Zone talks about it a lot, so it was worth a shot. Let me start by saying this, after all the hype the food did not disappoint. A lot of times you hear about something and how great it is and you are disappointed, not in this case for sure. I guess it doesn't hurt that they were also voted by many the best bbq in Atlanta (AJC, Zagat, etc.)

First, you know it must be pretty good when you cannot find a parking spot and people are parking 5-6 blocks down the street. Second, it is a perfect setting, a bunch of tables in a comfortable spot where you know it is all about the food.

Our table (right side)

Their menu is pretty extensive with the standards and a few twists on old classics. They also had a full bar with a good selection of beer. I had a sliced brisket plate with mac 'n' cheese and jalapeno cornbread with honey butter. The mac was awesome, it was made with large pasta shells and was way too much for a side. The meat was also great and just fell apart when eating it, not to mention it is served on top of toast, good surprise. The cornbread was the gigantic and with the butter was again awesome. The picture is not from my meal, but shows the mac and cornbread.

Overall I give the visit 5 out of 5 beers and will return to try the other stuff. Pretty good shot this makes the top 5 for sure!

Top 10: Best NFL Uniforms (5-1)

5. Oakland Raiders (1963-1981, 1995-present) A great look and one of the best in all of football for sure. Even when they were the LA Raiders they looked the same. The NFL is better when the Raiders are winning so that puts them further down on my list for now.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (1962-present) Another team that everyone recognizes, a great uniform and very unique with the logo on only one side of the helmet, they were testing out the new logo and the team manager was instructed to only put it on one side to see how it looked. Needless to say people loved it and it has stuck ever since.

3. Atlanta Falcons (1966-1970) I am a fan of the current Falcons' uniforms as well, but if I had to choose one this would be it for sure. I like the red helmet and the old logo.

2. Dallas Cowboys (1964-present) Let me start by saying what a great picture, brings back great memories from my childhood cheering on my Cowboys back in Texas. The Cowboys are like the Yankees everyone knows the uniform and you either hate them or love them.

1. Cleveland Browns (1946-1995, 1999-present) Even though I will always be a Cowboys fan, these uniforms are as classic as it gets.

Top 10: Best NFL Uniforms (6-10)

Thanks to a comment I received, I went through and here are my all time Top 10 favorite NFL uniforms.

Honorable mention: Houston Oilers (1960-1996) Great all around.

10. New England Patriots (1971-1992) - This is by far the best look for the Patriots, I am not at all a fan, but love the logo, uniforms, etc.

9. New York Jets (1964-1977, 1998-present) Again by far the best Jets' logo, as seen in my earlier post about the worst uniforms, they made it multiple times. Teams like this with tradition should stick with their original logos and uniforms.

8. Green Bay Packers (1961-present) It was hard for me to add the Packers to my list since I despise them so much, but they definitely have one of the better uniforms and have stayed true to their tradition and do not change what they do. They also created the logo now used by the Georgia Bulldogs.

7. Kansas City Chiefts (1963-present) The Chiefs are another one of those teams that you automatically recognize when you see them on tv. They have not changed a lot other than their helmet logo since they were the Dallas Texans from 1960-1962.

6. Denver Broncos (1968-1996) Another example of do not change a good thing, their new uniforms are not too bad, but these have an old school traditional look.

Best College Mascots

With the college football season coming to an end, here is my list of best college mascots. For this list I only put them on the list if they were a real-life mascot.

Ralphie the buffalo-University of Colorado Buffaloes, little known fact Ralphie is a female.

Mike the Tiger-Louisiana State University Tigers

The Bird-United State Air Force Academy Falcons



War Eagle-Auburn University Tigers

UGA-University of Georgia Bulldogs

Christmas Shants

Christmas Shants submitted by an anonymous emailer. This is the way to celebrate the season!!

Top 10: Pro Football Helmets

The helmet is a crucial part of a team's uniform, here is my list of top 10 pro football helmets of all time.

Honorable Mention: Dallas Vigilantes (Arena Football League-Great helmet, love the Texas flags on the grips of the guns.

10. Iowa Barnstormers (Arena Football League)-Great helmet named after a profession where it actually looks like someone is performing that profession while hearing it. Not to mention is has a Snoopy feel to it too.

9. Dallas Texans (American Football League)-Texas, enough said.

8. San Diego Chargers (NFL)-first helmet to use both the logo and the number.

7. Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL)-Great helmet, which is hard to say for the USFL.

6. San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL)-Only other helmet worth a damn from the USFL.

5. Chicago Fire (World Football League)

4. Philadelphia Bell (World Football League)-A helmet and logo that fit the city better.

3. Toronto Argonauts (CFL)-Do not know why, but like this helmet from one of the oldest teams in North America.

2. Amsterdam Admirals (NFL Europe)

1. Dallas Cowboys (NFL)-Everyone uses circles, squares, etc. The Cowboys own the star.

Fashionable in Aspen...

Received these photos from Brian and Karen, they got these while waiting to return from their honeymoon in Costa Rica.

Change Your Name

I get asked a lot about why certain teams have certain mascots and some of them I must say I do not know why, because they just don't make sense. Some franchises have learned to change their name to better represent the new city they move to, however some just figured what the hell. Here are a few that just don't make sense at all.

Los Angeles Lakers-Moved to LA from Minneapolis in the 1960-61 season. Originally named the Lakers to honor Minnesota's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes." The Lakers have been one of the best sports franchises over their history, however their name does not make sense, especially in LA near the ocean.

Utah Jazz-This one goes without saying, especially once you know that the team moved from New Orleans after only being there for 5 seasons in 1979. I don't recall Salt Lake City being the jazz capital of the US. Should have changed this one for sure.

Memphis Grizzlies-Moved to Memphis in 2001 from Vancouver. The team was originally supposed to be te Vancouver Mounties, but changed to the Grizzlies because the grizzly bear is native to British Columbia. I have been to Memphis and do not recall seeing any grizzlies.

30 for 30...Underrated

Just finished watching the last ESPN film, "Pony Excess," as part of the 30 for 30 series. I probably watched over half of the films and must say ESPN and everyone involved did an awesome job. My favorites are listed below and are must see for sports' fans. Hopefully they continue this series sometime in 2011 with new ones. The first half of the series just came out on DVD, the website below has the schedule of when they are replaying them on the ESPN family of networks.

Run Ricky Run
Pony Excess
Tim Richmond: To the Limit
Kings Ransom
Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?

http://30for30.espn.com/