Planet Stahl

From August 2010

First day back to school for the Stahl kids!

From August 2010

Denver was brilliant!  We were not there long enough…  But I can tell you that we packed a lot in for the few days we were there.  It was getting to the point where I was going to have to stay back at Don’s place and rest a day if we kept it up!  My legs were killing me. 

I asked the kids a few times over the trip if they were sore from the mountains… Or winded… Or whatever.  They acted like I was crazy.  “Nope, I feel fine” was the general response.  Man… To be young!

Bro’s, from August 2010

I loved having the chance to hang out at Dawn and Don’s new pad.  Johnny came up for the weekend as well.  We had the best guides in the world when the family took us all over the countryside.  I mean ALL OVER!

I have added a bunch of pictures to the Picasa site.  Check them out there.  http://picasaweb.google.com/grouchomarkks/August2010?feat=directlink

I had some thoughts on Denver… Not sure if I should sit on them and let them filter out with some thought… Or just spit out thoughts recklessly.  You know me… Holding my tongue is never easy.

Dawn and Dexter, from August 2010

Really.  There is nothing bad to say.  Denver is far more spread out than I expected.  It has that urban sprawl thing that I hate.  But, what can you do about that?  Everybody wants to be there!  Can you blame them?  It was 90 degrees the days we were there… And none of us REALLY cracked a serious sweat when we were out hitting the rocks or hiking.  The biggest problem I had was keeping my lips and nose from drying out and cracking off bit by bit.

It was athletic central.  There are bikers everywhere… I have NEVER seen so many people on bikes in my life!  Which is totally cool.  I think its a great way to exercise.  I read or heard somewhere that the population of Colorado is the fittest in the nation.  I think there must be a lot of peer pressure there!  You see all these other people doing things, and you are inspired to get up and do them as well.  I myself know for a fact that Ang would set up a schedule to climb all 50 some 14ers in the span of 5 year if we lived there!  Then, you have all the water sports stuff you could do… It just keeps you busy!

Its the land of old 4Runners.  I swear Toyota must have 50% SUV penetration in that market.  Wow!  I loved seeing all the old Runners driving around with roof racks full of stuff.  Kayaks and bikes were loaded on almost every one!

I can see why Don moved there.  Its a great atmosphere.  Awesome views.  The metro center has everything you could want culturally.  Its has a feeling of youth and adventure.  Whats not to want about that?

We’ll be back.  Dan doesn’t know it… But we are dragging them out as well!

Hike to Emerald Lake at Estes National Park.  Ignore the straight line at the bottom.  The zig to the right must have been when we were in the woods… Sometimes it loses track of where we are.

Garden of the Gods

From August 2010

Click on the link above to see all the pics from our recent trip to Colorado.  Its ongoing… So, more are on the way.

A few years ago I had a brilliant trip abroad to the Eastern countryside of England… The Cotswolds. Every preconceived notion I had about England and food were shattered on that trip… We walked between villages during the day and stopped at local pubs to grab a great beer and a bite. At night… These same pubs would turn their menu into a fine dining experience. Great local beers and awesome local meat and produce all worked together to provide some of the best meals of my life!

I left the English countryside content that this type of establishment will never be reproduced in Central Illinois. If its not all you can eat walleye or fried chicken… What chance could it have?

5 years ago… If you would have recommended a small Central Illinois town as a great place to have near gourmet food and craft beer… I would have laughed off this blog!

Then someone recommends this new restaurant in Delavan… The Harvest Cafe.

Delavan is a small town tucked away off some country roads between Peoria and Springfield IL. Its one of the countless towns that dot the Central Illinois landscape with populations of under 2000 people. Communities this small usually pride themselves on whether they have a Casey’s General Store or not!

So, you can imagine my trepidation when I started hearing rumors of a great dining restaurant in Delavan. No slam on the town… But, I was really expecting to hear about awesome fried chicken or some deep fried appetizer!

The Harvest Cafe is the latest addition to downtown Delavan. A downtown, that like many small rural towns is struggling to keep vital and alive.

We snuck in for breakfast a few weeks ago… Just to get an idea of what was going on. To my pleasant surprise… We were greeted by a beautifully restored exterior. It would have made 1910 Delavan as proud as the 2010 population. The interior is more modern, but had some classic touches to remind you that you are in an old building.

Breakfast turned out great. I had some Cajun grits with shrimp. Ang had some biscuits and gravy. Summer was overloaded with 2 of the biggest pancakes she has ever seen in her life! They were served with a side of amazingly flavorful sausage.

We asked for a dinner menu, just to get an idea of what might be in store if we came by later. After checking the menu over… It was decided that a future dinner was probably in order.

Breakfast for the family and grandmother was a healthy 40 bucks. I was a little put off by the price for a breakfast. But, if it were Bob Evans in Pekin… Would it have been any less? Probably not.

Return Dinner Visit:

Ang found it very ironic that we would be heading to Delavan for our anniversary dinner… After all… We have made a habit of driving to more upscale establishments in Peoria and Bloomington over the years for that one evening a year without the kids. Jonahs, The Fish House, Alexanders, Kobe etc are the normal haunts.

It was a Thursday night… So, I was not surprised to see that they had plenty of places to sit. We grabbed a table off to the side and quickly ordered some beer and a Blue Moon mussel appetizer. Holy smokes! The mussels were a bargain for the portion, and had some kind of amazing lemon cream sauce. I mean amazing! Very nice.

The beer on draft was Goose Island Matlida. Yes, Matilda! That’s something special when you see it on Kelleher’s epic tap list in Peoria. The Matilda was served in a pint glass that was frosted. I was half tempted to say something to the waitress… But she looked really young and I thought it might be more hassle to explain about the glassware than it was worth. (Frosted glasses should be saved for the Bud and Miller drinkers. Reducing the temp of a good craft beer actually takes away from the flavors and esters that make craft beer great)

For dinner, the wife and I split a rack of ribs and one of the Italian themed pizza’s. The ribs were already cut, so we didn’t get all messy eating them. You could tell the ribs were slow cooked in some fashion, the menu was kinda vague on those details. They were served with a splash of a spicy mustard and some homemade slaw. Overall they were delicious.

The pizza was good. The slices of prosciutto were generous and gave the “za” a little more flare.

I ordered the other Goose Island beer they had on draft, Pierre Jacques. This time asking the waitress to hold the frosted mug. Ahhhhh… That was much better.

Desert would have been overkill. They had an offering of cobblers and pies that sounded great. But we were already going to be taking food home as it was!

As we sat and picked at this mass of food… We became more and more convinced on how needed this place was in a small town like Delavan.

When the check arrived… I had to do a double take. We ate like royalty… Ordered tremendous food and drinks… And were left with a very reasonable bill of 40 bucks. Far less than our average on Anniversaries past. You know, if we had gone to Peoria for this same dinner… It would have been 80.00 to 100.00 for the 2 of us.

At this point… I am sold on going Delavan for some great food and drink. Will we ever get to that point where every town has a “pub” like this? I can only hope! You see all these trends for folks eating more local and fresh food… It seems odd that areas like ours that are surrounded by it are the last ones to catch on!

Cheers to The Harvest Cafe! Its worth the trip! Get down to Delavan!

Link: http://harvestcafedelavan.com

Side notes: First, let me just say that I am NOT a food critic by any stretch. But I really felt that this is a place that should be shared and celebrated. After seeing great places come and go over the years… You have to try and support the ones that are truly special.

Plus:

• Plentiful and friendly staff.
• Great beers on tap and in bottles.
• Simple classic menu items.
• Great atmosphere and style.

Minus: (I really had to dig to find much to complain about)

• The mussels could have had a bit larger portion of bread. But the appetizer price was so reasonable that I really cant complain.
• Craft beer served in a frosty glass.
• Not enough info on the menu about where the food is coming from locally. Even a chalkboard on the wall or table card proclaiming where some items came from would bring the food full circle.

You know… When the weather man says its gonna be 99 degrees… And you dont really have any plans for the weekend… I say that’s a good excuse to get out of town!

From July 2010

That’s exactly what we did this weekend.  I told Ang Friday night that I thought it might be a good weekend to head up to Lake Michigan (On the Michigan side) and chill on the beach if it was going to be that cruddy out.  If its gonna be 90… Give me a beach!

So, thats what we did!  Although, Mother Nature had us gambling on the trip till the last second.  There were massive storms in Chicago that morning.  We had no idea if that would carry over the lake.  So…  We risked it!  It paid off this time.

From July 2010

We set the car GPS for Warren Dunes State Park.  Left at 8 AM, got detoured for some shopping at Cabela’s and lunch at White Castle…  We still arrived and were at the beach by 1PM.

From July 2010

The water was more brown and choppy than I recall from previous visits. I have to blame that on the rough and stormy weather leading up to this weekend.  By Sunday morning it was clearing up, though the wind was still pretty strong.

From July 2010

On the way home we picked up some realty guides…  I think we need to have a second home here!

Dang! Thats Good!  From July 2010

This is one of my favorite places on earth!

From July 2010

Celebrated Summer’s birthday at Mom’s house last night.  She did pretty well for only having 6 people present! 

Sunday night is the big pool party in Pekin.  I am hoping its a mad house of kids running and around and screaming…  It just adds to the fun!

From July 2010

Something is kicking the crap out of my trees! Neighbor says coyotes wont do this… Think I have bears?

Won some preview event tickets from Lite Rock 107 last week…  And that meant we could see the movie before it was released tomorrow.  Totally cool.

Even more bonus.  We got to see it in 3D.  I normally stay away from the 3D versions of movies.  But, I was pleasantly surprised at how good this movie was.  I had low expectations for animation and story.  Seems like the franchise movies get all the budget for that stuff.  Not the case here.  Great animation.  A story with heart.  And some very good 3D animation.  (The roller coaster was a highlight)

Highly recommend this movie if you have kids!

At the Rave waiting for the lights to go down.  From July 2010