Tag Archives: AUstin

Pick It and Stick It: Crispy Flakes Of Leaves

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Yes it’s that time of year when the leaves start to turn and when, in Austin, the temperature actually falls below 50 degrees at night.  Yup, time to round up the slippers, warm up the pumpkin spice whatever, pop on your favorite pullover, and watch some college football all crispy and fresh air like.  And my, what a week to watch, too.  Kansas State is back, we’ve got some proving grounds to cover for Texas Tech, and a whole bevy of top 25 match ups. Continue reading Pick It and Stick It: Crispy Flakes Of Leaves

Football Feedings 2013 Week 08: Bacon Bashed Potato Waffles

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After a rough week at ACL last week I’m back with some tasty college football feedings.  We’re getting a little weird here in Austin what with the weather dipping below 50 degrees and myself sporting sweatpants and hoodies.  Fortunately, Kansas State is not playing so Uncle Billy can’t witness the weirdness.  What will he miss?  Mashed potatos fried in a waffle grill.  Let’s let that sink in.  And let’s sink our teeth into it.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups mashed potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons chopped chives
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 8 slices of HEB jalapeno bacon
  • 1 cup sour cream

Directions

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I essentially nabbed the recipe form Joy the Baker’s idea but added my own twist: cooked bacon.  Yup, you mash the taters and then you mix in the flour, but you also added some crumbled up cooked jalapeno bacon.  Get that all to a crisp and continue on with the recipe.  Which is just taking the completed tater waffles and broiling them to melt the cheese and chives on top.  I also opted for some sour cream to add instead of syrup.  Although I might try that.

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So earlier in the week, I went to Dorkbot here in Austin and had a tasty Ten Fidy to start out on.  I brought it back this week because it was so sweet and so stout.  Sometimes you can can have stout without the twang.  And no, I’m not talking about the stupid beer salt.  Give it a go if you get a chance to get it.  Now let’s see how it paired with the Bacon Bashed Potato Waffles.

Let me tell you it was a total surprise on how tasty the potato waffles were.  The batter mixed with the taters provided a fluffy chunky base to mix with the chives and jalapeno bacon.  Seriously.  The spices in there with the melted cheese on top hit a home run.  Even the sour cream dob on top mixed well.  It was like a baked potato from heaven.

The Ten Fidy rocked it as well.  The motor oil thick beer poured slow and created an almost chocolate mouse type head in the glass.  The stout kick up front gently gave way to a sweet back taste.  That sweetness rocked the heavy-ish feeling of the potato waffle.  Baked potato and stout beer are a match made for great food finders.  The Oskar Blues Ten Fidy is a sweet version of the standard Imperial Stout and everyone should take a chance to get a sip.

I took a chance on this type of food this week.  I deviated from the original recipe and added the jalapeno bacon just in case.  I didn’t need it.  It would’ve been awesome anyway.  But the bacon came through about as sweet as the Ten Fidy.  Another week is in the can so now it’s time keep the recovery nap rocking from this kick ass meal.

Purple Yeti Roar 87: Congrats Longhorns, I Hope You Keep Mack

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In a week where there were no real matchups to watch, I found myself off at Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium to watch my Kansas State Wildcats take on the Texas Longhorns.  It didn’t get exciting until the end but the whole stadium experience made up for it. Continue reading Purple Yeti Roar 87: Congrats Longhorns, I Hope You Keep Mack

Football Feedings 2013 Week 03: Godzilla Gumbo

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So it’s the game of the century this weekend and I decided to kick it up a notch by cooking something that both Texas A&M and Alabama can share.  Well, also it’s a victory lap for Kansas State’s win over Louisiana-Lafayette.  Yup, I’m cooking some cast iron Godzilla Gumbo.   Maybe next week it will be some clam chowder for the Wildcats win over Umass.  Who knows?   What I do know is that the saison from South Austin Brewing Company made gumbo so sweet.  On to the ingredients. Continue reading Football Feedings 2013 Week 03: Godzilla Gumbo

Purple Yeti Roar 04: West Virginia, Mountain Momma

Ah yes, another Purple Yeti Roar is in the house!  I’m still recovering from the copious amount of beer and bar food from yesterday’s Super Bowl, but I had enough time to sit down and roar out my thoughts about college football for the week.  Yes, National Signing Day came and left (with a hunger for Chic-Fil-A as well).   Most of the news for the week, however, revolved around West Virginia’s maneuvering and game cancelling.  Interesting indeed.  Cue the John Devner!

Continue reading Purple Yeti Roar 04: West Virginia, Mountain Momma

Wet and Wild at Little Woodrow’s

It was a dreary last week of Barspotting but we forged ahead.   It was also a wet day for Kansas State, so it was quite alright that we were late to Little Woodrow’s in Southpark Meadows.  It was Championship Weekend and the cards played out, with the bowl season right at our front door now.  Every game had a championship feel except for Farmageddon because when Kansas State and Iowa State get together, it means so much more.  So how did we survive the first real wet weekend here in Austin, Texas?

As I mentioned we got in a little late but that was also because we thought Little Woodrow’s opened up at 11:30 AM.  We lapped the place to finish our coffee and headed in, with the place being open shortly after 11.  The 6th Street version of Little Woodrow’s was a little short ceiling wise and felt somewhat cramped.  The Southpark Meadows variety was tall and open.  That helped facilitate a giant projection screen in the middle of the bar.   But there was so much more there.

Walking up to the joint, I could tell right away that there was a huge open patio area.  I think South Austin reigns supreme in bringing not only a sports bar feel but a backyard feel to spectating.  Although it was raining, I could tell that they had plenty of bags, horseshoe, and washer courts built in, not unlike Doc’s Backyard. Inside, there of course was the big projection screen television, but also large flat screen hd televisions.  The bar section was wid open and had plenty of seats, the table area looked comfortable.  I’m a little worried that the screens were too high.  That’s fine, they had a bunch of other things to keep my attention at bay.

Wireless internet reigned supreme for me while I checked up on scores as well as email.  The games inside were decent.  Little Woodrow’s has Golden Tee, Silverstrike Bowling, and some Buck Hunter.  I missed out on the shuffleboard table at first sight but caught it on the way out.  I also caught their themed Christmas, which saw beer bottle trees, wrapping paper decor, peppermints, and hanging clothes.  Apparently, it was part of their redneck Christmas celebration.  Oh, also at the bar, there was Mega Touch.   I haven’t seen that around these parts.

So speaking of the bar, the service was decent.  The lady that tended to our needs most of the day was mildly attractive and kept calling us sweetheart.  I dug her sense of humor so it wasn’t too much of an issue.  What I did have an issue was that she messed up our order.  The bar was fairly empty because Texas hadn’t started so it should’ve been easy to take down the correct order.  I also had some issues getting the Kansas State game on television because she was convinced it wasn’t on there.  Even after inspecting the line up sheet, she reluctantly changed the channel to the game.  I didn’t make her eat crow on that, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

It turns out screwing up the food order helped me out.  I opted for the their chicken sandwich with swiss cheese and bacon.  Now I ordered the Little Woodrow’s homemade potato chips but they brought out fries instead.  The bartender fixed the order and I got both.  Both the fries and home-made potato chips were very delicious.  I think it was the oil they cooked it with.  The sandwich itself was okay, but nothing worth the price they were charging.  I washed the thing down with a fairly tasty Fullers ESP.  It tastes like a heifeweisen but was just a little more fruity.  That light blend worked well with the chicken and juicy bacon.

Now on to the games.  It was championship weekend and it should’ve been renamed blowout weekend.  Most of the conference championship games were blowout snooze fests (sorry Big 10, I just don’t care about you).  Southern Miss pulled the upset over Houston in the Conference USA game.  LSU took care of business against Georgia in the SEC game.  Clemson got revenge on Virginia Tech in the ACC game.  The games themselves were not that exciting, but it did have some hefty effect in terms of BCS allotment.  Especially that Houston and Virginia Tech loss.  It helped  make a case for Oklahoma State.

Yes, Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma for the first time in forever for Bedlam.  Now, it wasn’t a conference championship game but it ended up being that way for the Big 12.  Whoever won that game would have the title or at least the greatest share of it.  The ghost of Sooner past didn’t scare the Cowboys away this time.  They came out the gates firing and didn’t let up one bit.  Oklahoma looked sloppy, especially on offense.  I swear the defense might have scored more points than the offense in that game.  Congratulations on the Big 12 Conference Championship Oklahoma State.

Kansas State was the team I came to Little Woodrow’s to see and they finished out the regular season like they do with every game this year: by nearly giving me a god damned heart attack.  It was close, thanks to Paul Rhoads and his rag tag bunch of Iowa State Cyclones.  Farmageddon always had a history of close and exciting games and this one came through.  Now Collin Klein will get the rub for the victory, but John Hubert’s stiff arm from hell toward the end of the game made him the top performer for me.  That last touchdown run sealed it after Iowa State had multiple winning gambles on the drive to tie the game.

So that was the last barspot.  To tell the truth, I am still disappointed that I couldn’t get a game of washers in.  I drowned my sorrows quickly with some homemade potato chips and malt vinegar, however.  Little Woodrow’s was a decent time, but not the best.  It could’ve been the rain or the  sub par service, I’m not sure.  What I am sure of is that if the sun is out and your favorite team is on, head out there to relax and enjoy the outdoor patio.  It will most certainly be more relaxing than watching a Kansas State game or dealing with BCS math.

GameDay: Watching My Team

You know, I came down to Austin for a new job and now I’m trolling town trying to find a place to watch my Kansas State Wildcats.  The initial feeling I had coming from Kansas City was that it would be almost impossible to watch a Big 12 ‘North’ team down here in Longhorn land.  This whole fist month of college football for me have been about expectations.  I think after today, it’s safe to assume that I can watch my team just about anywhere in Austin. Continue reading GameDay: Watching My Team

GameDay: Covert Ninja Football Watching

Welp, we are we are in week three here for the new barspotting and college football season. The first one was easy because I was watching Kansas State online. Kudos to being ahead of the curve, alma mater. Last weekend, I was back in Kansas City plus the Wildcats were not playing, so that was an easy week. This week presents a bigger challenge. It’s the first real test of going out and finding a place to watch my team that is not a local team. Continue reading GameDay: Covert Ninja Football Watching

GameDay: That Same Old Feeling

Oh yes. It’s that time of the year again. That time to get up on a Saturday and deluge yourself with the best sport ever: college football. Although, this year is a little different. I’m in a new town. Will things be just like it was in Kansas City? Or would there be something completely different than what I’m used to. I can say after only one half of a day, that it’s that same old feeling. Continue reading GameDay: That Same Old Feeling

Throwing Darts in 2011: Prediction Time

Here we go on my annual predictions for the upcoming college football season. I peer into my crystal viking horn and blow out what I think will happen for the year 2011.  From the BCS Championship Game to what color socks Oregon will wear in week 10, I throw it all on the board and see what makes triples and doubles.  So what do I think will happen?  Let’s find out:

  • Going big, the BCS Championship Game will be between Alabama and Oregon.  Alabama’s avoided the NCAA cartel but Oregon hasn’t as much.  I’m taking a risk on Oregon, but I don’t see any other team outside of the SEC that is title worthy.  Sure there’s Oklahoma but man I’ve been burned by them before.
  • Texas A&M will leave the Big 12 to go the SEC.  The SEC will poach and ACC, probably Florida State.  The Big 12 stays in Texas and nabs either SMU or Houston.
  • Mike Leach will show up in a pirate outfit on Halloween.  I’m not sure where, but it will be damn scary.
  • The NCAA hires enough people for them to actually do their job.  This is a big guess.
  • The first ever Big 10 Championship Game will feature new member Nebraska and current NCAA crosshairs, Ohio State.  Ohio State wins it and causes everyone to freak out.
  • Like I said before, Oregon will win the inaugural Pac 12 Championship Game against Arizona State.
  • Tyler Gabbert will not be a starting quarterback.
  • In my Big 12 preview, I picked Oklahoma to win the Big 12 but they will not be undefeated and will choke against somebody.
  • Super recruiter Willie Lyles will be paid even more money by selling recruiting tapes of a young breakout by the name of Hershel Walker.
  • I have no friggin’ clue who will win the Heisman this year.  Probably LaMichael James, he was a finalist last year.  Yeah, so was Andrew Luck but I’m picking the Ducks over the Trees this year.
  • Notre Dame gets on the winning track this year by displaying a tall video tower at the end of the opponents field for each home game.  They may, by the grace of God, make a BCS bowl this year.
  • Penn State head coach Joe Paterno will NOT die on the field this.  I’ve tried hard with this in the past but I need my prediction average to go up.
  • Kansas fans will start asking about basketball season after the 1st quarter of the first football game this year.
  • The Longhorn Network will not be successful to begin with.  Texas finishing in the middle of the Big 12/10/9 will force ESPN to dump a bunch of infomercials on it.  Hook ‘Em Horns Turbo Snakes anyone?  There’s already Snuggies.
  • TCU will step on Boise State’s neck the only year they are together in the Mountain West Conference.
  • This whole mess with players not getting enough resources to go through college will stop.  We’ll see at cost scholarships show up so the players can get a stipend to pay for laundry and lap dances.
  • One of the Brown brothers will do good, the other one will be mediocre for Kansas State.  Still, the Wildcats make a bowl.
  • Craig James will still be a douche.
  • Erin Andrews will get bumped off the top sideline hottie list.  At least there’s naked pictures of her online.
  • The Ivy League, after limiting collision practice and targeting head injuries, will be the first conference to go all flag football.  No one will care.
  • And finally, I will get used to being in a different town.  Kansas City was nice and Austin is turning out to be pretty cool.  I also predict that I will not miss the snow but will miss the snow days.

Welcome to KC College GameDay – In Austin!

Okay yeah there’s not that much change around here.   For those of you that don’t know, I moved from Kansas City to Austin earlier this year.  I’m finally getting on my feet here but this blog is one of things I need to settle now.  The whole point of this blog was to go around Kansas City and find the best sports bars to watch the best sport, college football.  Well life changes can jack things up a bit so now I’m unjacking this part.  I thought long and hard and decided to keep on doing what I’m doing.

Continue reading Welcome to KC College GameDay – In Austin!

Mascot Monday: The Cavalier and CavMan

Happy Independence Day to everyone here from the KCCGD blog.  Even though it says Kansas City, I’m down here in Austin for good but it doesn’t matter because it’s all American baby.  More on that change here in a couple of months.  In the meantime, I was going through the mascots that I’ve yet to look at from this year’s Phil Steele’s Top 50 list, but since today is a very special day we are going to forgo that and head straight into a patriotic mascot.  What I pulled out of my stars and striped hat was the Virginia Cavalier and CavMan.

Continue reading Mascot Monday: The Cavalier and CavMan

Crib Sheet: Saddling Up and Settling In

I’m sure you’ve seen my previous post about the major move down to Austin yesterday.  Yeah I’m still pretty shocked myself and I’m the one that knew about it for over month.   Never fear, we’ll still chug along and it continues today with this week’s Crib Sheep:

  • Missouri players get together and bond by paintballing.  I’ve never done it myself but I imagine pelting someone square in the chest with a faux bullet brings some sort of joy.
  • Even though there’s a contest at quarterback this spring for Kansas State, Collin Klein shoulders all of the expectations going into next season.  Meanwhile, Bill Snyder 2.0 is trying to use that competition to blow the steam off of former #1 recruit Bryce Brown.
  • They already are bucking tradition by introducing a championship game, so it makes sense that Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delany is trying to push for later start times on games.  Everyone knows the Big 10 starts mega early, with the Big 12, so why go and change it?  I want to maximize my football watching day.
  • Speaking of the Big 10, Nebraska lost its AAU membership.  Ho man that just made my week.  One of the strong points for Nebraska to move was its AAU membership.  Now both the Cornhuskers and the Big 10 look dumb.
  • Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tubberville offered his viewpoint on the whole ‘birthers’ debate.  It’s few and far between when football comments on politics.  I’d rather have that then the other way around.
  • The BCS set the dates for the bowl games next year, but they have to wait until the NFL cleans up its mess before they can lock it down.  I’m not sure how long they will wait, as the NFL can bump a month and still have a full season.
  • It looks like being a part of the big boys for Boise State means having a couple of NCAA violations attached to their program.  Its secondary so they won’t suffer too much.  Welcome to big time, guys.
  • The Pac 12 will get a mega buck deal from Fox and ESPN, much like the Big 12.  Except it’s the biggest deal in history.  Too bad they have 2 more teams to split up the costs with.
  • The tornadoes last week missed me while I was driving down and it missed Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.  The Crimson Tide’s long snapper Carson Tinker was injured, however.  Auburn is even reaching out to help the area recover from the nasty storms.  Just goes to show that heated rivals will always team up against mother nature.
  • No more new bowls for the next three years.  The NCAA will review the licensing process in that time to determine if enough is enough.  Three years is plenty time for the FBS to expand so that the bowls can expand without leaving the chance of a school with a losing record in on the fun.
  • ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit is taking some time out from Twitter because his Ohio State homies are bashing him for being fair.  The Internet is a cruel place, Kirk.  A cruel, cruel place.

So Long KC, Hello Austin

I’ve been searching for the words for the past month and all I’ve mustered is a bunch of put offs and teases.  So here it goes:  I found a job in Austin and moved there from Kansas City.  What will that do with the blog?  I’m not sure yet.  I always iterate every two years on the design but this kind of change warrants even more.  One thing I can assure you is that I will continue to write in some form.  Whether its under the KCCGD moniker or something else, there will always be a place for ramblings on college football.

Continue reading So Long KC, Hello Austin

Crib Sheet: College Town World Tour

So I’m just now getting back into the swing of things now that I’m back from the SXSW conference.  The yearly Music/Film/Interactive conference can take a toll on your body and even though I got back Monday, I’m still feeling the effect.  The drive there uses I-35 and actually hits up a couple of college towns.  Big 12 wise, we sped through Oklahoma’s home in Norman and landed in Austin, the home of the Texas Longhorns.  Which one is better?  It’s not fair, really.  The conference was in Austin and I only drove through Oklahoma.  Now here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • Speaking of Texas, apparently they are hitting the eiquette skills as well as the plyometric skills down in Austin.  If you are going to be a football dignitary, the I guess you would need to know how to flaunt elitist like chops.  Do they really need to know how to hold a fork right when tearing into some ribs from the Salt Lick, however?
  • Much ballyhooed recruit Bryce Brown has left the Tennessee program, due to either personal issues or the fact that Lane Kiffin left.  So let the rumor mills begin again!  First one out of the gate:  Bryce’s brother left Miami and is heading the K-State.  So that means there may be a chance Bryce will come play for Bill Snyder 2.0 and the Wildcats.  I hope the second round of hype around Bryce is faster.
  • Weakened and ill coach Urban Meyer returned to the Florida Gators and practice last week.  If you remember he quit the team due to health reasons but then came back when he realized that he could get better.  Or at least put on some poundage.  This year will be a nice off year for Meyer so he can reload next year, both on football and his health.
  • Just like when baseball’s Chicago Cubs shocked everyone and had its first ever night game a decade or two ago, now the Big House in Michigan will be doing the same.  What better way to do so than against the Notre Dame Fighthing Irish?  This should be a close game, with a new coach on one side and another almost on the hot seat.
  • Nick Saban is your first ever Bobby Bowden national collegiate coach of the year.  The Over the Mountain Touchdown Club is in Bowden’s home town of Birmingham, Alabama.  Not much surprise here.  The coach that wins the national title for the school in the home state of the award title’s name.  Zlam Dunk.
  • Expansion or not, the Pac 10 may be looking into instituting a conference title game.  Commissioner Larry Scott mentioned that when going over all expansion possibilities with CBS Sports.  There’s an NCAA rule that states you need to have 12 teams to have a conference title game.  So if they do want to do it without expansion, then they need to change that rule.