Falcons stadium (The Georgia Dome) is about middle of the road as far as stadiums go. Parking access is excellent (well except for all the construction in the area) and access to the stadium from parking is quick and easy. We had club level seats in the Verizon Club. The club is nothing special and actually fairly poor as far as clubs go. Concession choices are minimal, hotdogs, hamburgers, tacos, nachos, bbq pork and loaded mac and cheese (mac and cheese with bbq pork or chicken). Food quality was fairly poor and seating was limited to a few small tables and basic metal legged hard chairs. Seats in the stadium were basic and sight lines were good. This was a classic type of stadium with all the seats getting farther and farther from the playing field as the stands go back. Newer stadiums go higher quickly instead of farther back which may be why the Falcons are building a new stadium right next door. This is also why there is so much construction in the area. All in all the stadium was not bad, not great and falls right in the middle of the pack as far as stadiums we have seen thus far are concerned.
Now on to the fun stuff. Bears fans - Bears Fans Everywhere. At the start of the game the stadium was probably 20-25% empty, which is very strange given it was the late afternoon game on a Sunday. We have come to expect that kind of lack of on time crowds from Thursday and Monday games and sometimes from the early game on Sunday, but never the later game. Ultimately the stands ended up filling in midway through the first quarter and on into the second quarter finally ending up at about 10% empty. Then of course they started emptying out again, but we will have more on that in a moment. But the Bears Fans were there from the start. Loud and Proud and determined to make life as a Falcon as difficult as possible. The crowd was loud. I dare say we were close to as loud as the Falcons fans during most of the game and FAR FAR louder come the fourth quarter. I think Jay Cutler may have summed it up best "I'm almost positive that we had more Bears fans than Falcons fans there. I'm serious. Atlanta was in silent count. We were both on silent [count]. They were in silent count like [in the] second quarter. I saw [Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan] him kicking. I was like, 'What the hell is he doing?' Then I realized it's loud in here."
Yep that was us Loud and Loving it. Hey let me brag a bit. It is not often you get the home team to have to take a time out because of the noise the visiting team's fans are making.
The game itself was great, the presence of so many Bear's fans to enjoy it with was icing on the cake.
Somewhere around half time the Falcon fans started leaving. Not sure why that was as their team was not that out of the game Well not yet anyway. By the mid third quarter it was a stream, by the end of the third quarter a torrent. It slowed down in the fourth quarter. It had to. They were running out of fans in the stadium. At this point there were about 80% Bears fans and 20% Falcon fans. We were shouting and chanting our fool heads off. I only hope that some portion of the noise made it through to the viewers at home. Certainly the team seemed to appreciate it. I mean how often do you get to see visiting team defensive lineman urging on the crowd to make more noise.
Leaving the stadium was about as easy as you can imagine. Of course at that point over half the stadium had already cleared the roads and it was only a few hapless Falcon fans and a rowdy group of happy Bears fans left.
We tried to go to one of the restaurants in the area, but they were only serving a limited bar menu. All the other places were packed and so we headed back towards the RV. The Coach found a restaurant out that way called Son of a Greek. So that is where we headed. I will give you a foreshadowing of what is to come. The Coach is no longer allowed to select restaurants. She had selected the Varsity and now this one. Two strikes and she is out of the running for any more selections. I don't think my digestion will survive a third strike.
Son of a Greek is set up like a sports bar with many TVs. The staff there spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get the TVs turned to the Sunday night game. This is after we spent 10 minutes or so trying to explain that we meant football, NFL football, professional football. The game that is on every Sunday night. That game. Eventually they understood that it was not the replay of the college game that we wanted. And that if they did not turn off the Rap music that was blaring from the speakers that we would not be able to hear the game.
Son of a Greek has about 4 "Greek" items listed on the menu. They mostly serve Italian food and Pizza. Apparently the Coach guessed correctly because the chicken alfredo was only bad. And that mad it the best dish we ordered. The Gyro platter was served with tomatoes that past their prime the week before and onions that were halfway fermented enough to be wine. The pizza was thin/thick crusted. On one side the pizza had a thin crust. On the other it was close to half an inch thick. And somehow they managed to cook this without making the thin side crisp. The toppings of the meat lovers pizza might have been meat, the cheese probably was not derived from any dairy product and the sauce needed to improve to make it to really bad.
But we were in a good enough mood that even this disaster of a meal could not dampen our moods.
The next morning we aimed the RV for home so we could get there to watch this weeks trouncing of Miami. Then next week it is off to New England for the last of the road games we will be going to this year. The last three road games are against the Packers, Vikings and Lions and we have been to those stadiums before so we won't be going back to them until the Vikings build their new stadium and we can see the Bears beat them there.
As a footnote, the drive back from Atlanta was a nightmare. Rain, Storms, Tornados and more Rain. At least it provided a distraction from all the construction.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Plucking the Falcons - Day Minus 1
Today we thought we would go visit the stadium and get the lay of the land so to speak. We do this so we know where we are going on game day and don't have to fight the traffic to explore around the stadium. Note to future self, always check if the stadium is being used for a college game on the day you go to explore, oh and also check to make sure there is not another college football game being held at another stadium a few blocks away, oh and make sure there is not some convention going on in the convention center adjacent to the stadium you are looking to explore. So after a couple of hours of fighting traffic, I can tell you virtually nothing about the stadium. Guess that will have to come tomorrow when all I have to deal with is just one NFL game and traffic will be much lighter.
On the way to visit the stadium we stopped at an Atlanta institution, THE Varsity. (Yes apparently you must say it with capitals on the The and with authority.) The Varsity is the worlds largest Drive Inn. It currently covers about 5 acres and can accommodate about 600 cars. It has been around since 1928, which is a very good thing because there is no way a place serving food this awful would be able to make a start today. They specialize in chili cheese dogs and greasy fries. The dogs are worse than oscar mayer, the chili is dry and tasteless and the fries are so greasy that they cannot be held by one end and have them stand up. They fall over to the side limp with grease running off them. The onion rings are so greasy that they serve them in a cardboard bowl inside the box they put them in. This keeps the grease from soaking though the service box. By the way if you ignore my advise and actually go there please order Coke. I was tricked into ordering a pepsi product and was given a lecture by my 80 year old car hop on how Atlanta is a COKE town (this included pointing to the Coke name on a local building) and they don't allow pepsi (yes you must say it with all small letters) products. Oh, and just for the record, the chili burger is far worse than the chili dog which is just bad.
After these two wonderful events we decided to regroup and head out later for a dinner at a Southern/Korean fusion restaurant. It was every bit as good as THE Varsity was horrible. The restaurant was named (well is still named) Sobban and it was a wonderful experience. It is located in the building that was the former first Arby's and trust me as an Arby's the building never experienced food this good. We were assisted in our ordering by the Beverage Manager, Daniel. While he is a Falcon's fan and that counts against him, he was wonderfully helpful in suggesting great dishes and wonderful drinks. He is very well versed in the Sake's they sell and made a great suggestion. (Gonna need to get me some more of that Sake when I get home.) The rest of the servers there were friendly and helpful as well and I can't speak highly enough about them. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a good meal and something a little unusual. The coach was particularly impressed with the shrimp and rice grits. I loved the three chili chicken and the rest of the party enjoyed their meals as well. The appetizers that were best loved was the spicy squid with rice cakes and the spreadable salami with kimshi relish. Definitely need to get me some more of that Sake.
So now we are all set for tomorrow to watch the Bears take on the Falcons. The consensus of opinion of both the Bears' fans as well as the Falcons' fans is that this is going to be an offense heavy game. This opinion may be influenced by the general belief that between the two teams they can't field one defense.
Tomorrow will tell - GO BEARS
Plucking the Falcons - Day Minus 2
Tonight we decided to try another interesting Atlanta restaurant. This one was dim sum meets modern cuisine. The restaurant is called Gunshow and has an interesting twist. The seating is again large community tables and we were fortunate to meet some very interesting people at our table. We spent quite a bit of time discussing football and food. Two of my favorite topics. We exchanged names of great restaurants and discussed unusual food. They were a mixed couple - one falcons fan and one saints fan. It is the southern equivalent of a Bears/Green Bay couple.
Anyway, back to Gunshow. The interesting twist of this restaurant is that each of the cooks brings the dish he/she has prepared and presents it to your table and explains it to you. If it sounds good he leaves it for you and if not takes to to the next table to present it. You can ask about how it was prepared, what is in it, and anything else you would like. And the food is overall quite good. As with every restaurant there were a few dishes we didn't like (yes we tried them all), but the great majority were quite good. I would strongly recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun place in Atlanta. But make sure you bring a credit card with a good sized limit. It is not cheap by any stretch of the definition.
Once again we have met up with other Bears fans here in Atlanta. Not quite as many as in some other cities, but we did meet the one from the farthest away yet. Our waiter was from France and a die hard fan.
So GO BEARS
Anyway, back to Gunshow. The interesting twist of this restaurant is that each of the cooks brings the dish he/she has prepared and presents it to your table and explains it to you. If it sounds good he leaves it for you and if not takes to to the next table to present it. You can ask about how it was prepared, what is in it, and anything else you would like. And the food is overall quite good. As with every restaurant there were a few dishes we didn't like (yes we tried them all), but the great majority were quite good. I would strongly recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun place in Atlanta. But make sure you bring a credit card with a good sized limit. It is not cheap by any stretch of the definition.
Once again we have met up with other Bears fans here in Atlanta. Not quite as many as in some other cities, but we did meet the one from the farthest away yet. Our waiter was from France and a die hard fan.
So GO BEARS
Friday, October 10, 2014
Falcons Plucking - Day Minus 3
We have arrived in Atlanta, settled into our campground and went out to explore the Atlanta culinary scene. We landed at a place called Holeman & Finch Public House. This place is known for the exotic foods they serve in a friendly pub atmosphere. They are not know for their signage mostly because they barely have one. Just a small stylized H and F on a black background. We were parked next to the restaurant and didn't know it was there. It looks like a bar in the lobby of a hotel. But it does not matter because there are 30 seats in the main restaurant and a large bar area that had 40 or so people in it and the place was packed. It stayed that way all night long and at 11:00 on a Thursday night they still had crowds of people coming in to eat. About half the seats in the main restaurant are at one communal table, the rest are small 2 person tables and a couple of booths. All of them are close together enough that were you inclined you could sample something from 1/2 the tables without leaving your chair. I suspect had anyone tried they would have gotten their hands stabbed by a fork. No one seemed inclined to want to give up anything they had ordered. They are also known for an unusual practice. They serve burgers. Not a lot of burgers. Exactly 24 cheeseburgers served at 10:00 each night. You need to reserve one of these burgers during that night's service prior to 10:00. We were lucky enough to get the last two reservations - at 8:45.
So we started with some drinks - mine was a very refreshing concoction that tasted of spring and figs. Then we had a few small dishes to while away the time. We had duck ham, veal bunderfleisch, lardo, and parts. Parts are just what it sounds like, Veal Brains, Lamb Testicles, Veal Sweetbreads and Roasted Marrow Bone. There were many others and I only wish I could have had the room to try some others. They were all very good, small portions so you could try many of them and relatively inexpensive. Their main menu had a dozen different items that all sounded great that I was not able to get to and these also are served in a tasting portion size. The most expensive item on the menu was $14 and most items were in the $5-$7 range. Think Tapas or dim sum.
And then came the burger. At 10:00 one of the cooks comes out of the kitchen and in an incredibly loud voice announces through a megaphone that it is BURGER TIME. He repeats BURGER and the crowd responds TIME, and this chant is repeated several times until all who have burgers coming are drooling in anticipation and those who have missed out are contemplating ways to sneak one off of the table of those lucky few.
So, can any burger be worth this hype? Is this all show and no substance? My friends I am here to tell you that this was the best cheeseburger that I have ever had. It was the epitome of the burger art. I have eaten Michael Simon's burgers at B-Spot in Cleveland and have driven out of my way to go back to Cleveland to have them again. Did you here that, driven out of my way to go to Cleveland. I have eaten at the "Best Burger Cafe" in Iowa where they claim to have changed the name of the restaurant because everyone said they had burgers that were that great. I have made burgers in restaurants, at home, and at tailgates and I consider myself a fairly good cook. I have never had anything like this piece of burger delight. The perfect patties, the ideal homemade bun, fantastic tasting american cheese melted just the right amount, great onions that were not too sweet and done just right, 2 slices of pickle because that is the perfect amount of pickle to balance out the other tastes in the burger. I am sitting here now wondering if anyone would think I was crazy if I drove the 45 minutes to the restaurant and put my name on the reservation list for tonight's burger time. Oh and that would also mean sitting there for the next 10 hours. And I am wondering if I care if people would think I was crazy. It was that good!!
Tonight we try a restaurant called Gunshow. I will give a full report tomorrow about that experience and from everything I have read it should be wonderful. But I know, in the deep dark corners of my mind, that I will be wondering if it is too late to run over the H&F and get on the list.
And so now my final parting thought. If we offered these Burgers to the Bears after every victory, would the '72 Dolphins have to stop opening those bottles of Champaign?
So we started with some drinks - mine was a very refreshing concoction that tasted of spring and figs. Then we had a few small dishes to while away the time. We had duck ham, veal bunderfleisch, lardo, and parts. Parts are just what it sounds like, Veal Brains, Lamb Testicles, Veal Sweetbreads and Roasted Marrow Bone. There were many others and I only wish I could have had the room to try some others. They were all very good, small portions so you could try many of them and relatively inexpensive. Their main menu had a dozen different items that all sounded great that I was not able to get to and these also are served in a tasting portion size. The most expensive item on the menu was $14 and most items were in the $5-$7 range. Think Tapas or dim sum.
And then came the burger. At 10:00 one of the cooks comes out of the kitchen and in an incredibly loud voice announces through a megaphone that it is BURGER TIME. He repeats BURGER and the crowd responds TIME, and this chant is repeated several times until all who have burgers coming are drooling in anticipation and those who have missed out are contemplating ways to sneak one off of the table of those lucky few.
So, can any burger be worth this hype? Is this all show and no substance? My friends I am here to tell you that this was the best cheeseburger that I have ever had. It was the epitome of the burger art. I have eaten Michael Simon's burgers at B-Spot in Cleveland and have driven out of my way to go back to Cleveland to have them again. Did you here that, driven out of my way to go to Cleveland. I have eaten at the "Best Burger Cafe" in Iowa where they claim to have changed the name of the restaurant because everyone said they had burgers that were that great. I have made burgers in restaurants, at home, and at tailgates and I consider myself a fairly good cook. I have never had anything like this piece of burger delight. The perfect patties, the ideal homemade bun, fantastic tasting american cheese melted just the right amount, great onions that were not too sweet and done just right, 2 slices of pickle because that is the perfect amount of pickle to balance out the other tastes in the burger. I am sitting here now wondering if anyone would think I was crazy if I drove the 45 minutes to the restaurant and put my name on the reservation list for tonight's burger time. Oh and that would also mean sitting there for the next 10 hours. And I am wondering if I care if people would think I was crazy. It was that good!!
Tonight we try a restaurant called Gunshow. I will give a full report tomorrow about that experience and from everything I have read it should be wonderful. But I know, in the deep dark corners of my mind, that I will be wondering if it is too late to run over the H&F and get on the list.
And so now my final parting thought. If we offered these Burgers to the Bears after every victory, would the '72 Dolphins have to stop opening those bottles of Champaign?
Monday, October 6, 2014
Panthers Game - the day after
Well I woke up this morning and double checked the date. Nope, yesterday was not a nightmare and the Bears really did give up the game. This called for a day of relaxation and forgetfulness. So away we went to see some of the less significant sights around Charlotte. And when I say less significant I am being so kind to these attractions.
We started out heading for Thomasville, NC. This is the home of the Worlds Biggest Chair. A chair with historical significance. A chair that has been the resting place of President's bottoms. How can you pass up an opportunity like that.
Well on the way we came across the historic town of Salisbury. It was coming up on lunch time so how could you not go to a steakhouse and have a famous Salisbury Steak. Well more disappointment. Salisbury apparently is not the home of the dish of so many TV diners, but instead is know as the home of the Confederate prison where over 11,000 union prisoners died and were buried in 4 trenches dug in a nearby cemetery. So sad, I meant the steak, but the prison and prisoners too.
So on to Thomasville, and here is the Chair.
So on to the next attraction. This is the worlds largest chest of drawers located in High Point, which also has dozens of furniture stores, outlets and other home stores. On the way there we stopped at a local diner. It was quite the spot, friendly service, good food, great local gossip and the local hot spot. There must have been 40 people who came in and ordered in the time we were sitting there. So once again the rule, go to the place where lots of local cars are parked to eat held true. Oh, and then we were on to the Worlds Largest Chest of Drawers. I know you have all been waiting so here it is.
Tomorrow is another day and as Belichick said (well he would have said if he was the Bear's coach) there is no Panthers, there is only Atlanta.
On to Atlanta - go Bears
We started out heading for Thomasville, NC. This is the home of the Worlds Biggest Chair. A chair with historical significance. A chair that has been the resting place of President's bottoms. How can you pass up an opportunity like that.
Well on the way we came across the historic town of Salisbury. It was coming up on lunch time so how could you not go to a steakhouse and have a famous Salisbury Steak. Well more disappointment. Salisbury apparently is not the home of the dish of so many TV diners, but instead is know as the home of the Confederate prison where over 11,000 union prisoners died and were buried in 4 trenches dug in a nearby cemetery. So sad, I meant the steak, but the prison and prisoners too.
So on to Thomasville, and here is the Chair.
So on to the next attraction. This is the worlds largest chest of drawers located in High Point, which also has dozens of furniture stores, outlets and other home stores. On the way there we stopped at a local diner. It was quite the spot, friendly service, good food, great local gossip and the local hot spot. There must have been 40 people who came in and ordered in the time we were sitting there. So once again the rule, go to the place where lots of local cars are parked to eat held true. Oh, and then we were on to the Worlds Largest Chest of Drawers. I know you have all been waiting so here it is.
Tomorrow is another day and as Belichick said (well he would have said if he was the Bear's coach) there is no Panthers, there is only Atlanta.
On to Atlanta - go Bears
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Panthers Game Day - Bears Fans Show Up - Defense, not so much
Those of you who read this on a regular basis know I don't comment on the Bears performance or the game itself. That being said, the Bears need to figure out how to play in the third quarter or there is not a chance for any success this season.
Ok, I am done with that. Bank of America stadium is a reasonably good stadium. Nothing special, but nothing terrible either. Parking is fairly sparse, but they make it work. Entry to the stadium is quick and efficient and exiting is about the same. There are multiple ways to get to the stadium so traffic is light coming in and going out. The club is nothing special. Basically some seats and tables, and a few basic concession stands. Burgers, fries, fried chicken sandwich, nachos and personal pizzas. Apparently they used to have four very nice restaurants with views down to the field, but people used to sit in them for most of the game and use them like "poor man's suites" or so we were told. So they ripped them all out and replaced them with real suites that they could then sell. The only slightly unusual offering was a Krispy Kreme donut stand.
Seating was good for the game and for the most part the fans were nice. Concessions in the stands were varied and unobtrusive. About the amount of taunting you would expect from fans who like their team. The stadium was about 20-25% empty at kickoff and by the end of the first quarter maybe another 10% had come in. They claim to have had 119 consecutive sold out home games, but if so their attendance percentage is terrible by comparison with other stadiums. The best feature(s) about the stadium is two very large screens in the end zones. Well that and the cheerleaders.
The Bears fans were out in force and during the third quarter a rousing cheer of "Lets Go Bears" originating in the south end zone and spreading through the stadium was largely ignored by the team. But we fans at least felt like we were doing our part.
As we look forward to Atlanta - Please Lets Go Bears?
Ok, I am done with that. Bank of America stadium is a reasonably good stadium. Nothing special, but nothing terrible either. Parking is fairly sparse, but they make it work. Entry to the stadium is quick and efficient and exiting is about the same. There are multiple ways to get to the stadium so traffic is light coming in and going out. The club is nothing special. Basically some seats and tables, and a few basic concession stands. Burgers, fries, fried chicken sandwich, nachos and personal pizzas. Apparently they used to have four very nice restaurants with views down to the field, but people used to sit in them for most of the game and use them like "poor man's suites" or so we were told. So they ripped them all out and replaced them with real suites that they could then sell. The only slightly unusual offering was a Krispy Kreme donut stand.
Seating was good for the game and for the most part the fans were nice. Concessions in the stands were varied and unobtrusive. About the amount of taunting you would expect from fans who like their team. The stadium was about 20-25% empty at kickoff and by the end of the first quarter maybe another 10% had come in. They claim to have had 119 consecutive sold out home games, but if so their attendance percentage is terrible by comparison with other stadiums. The best feature(s) about the stadium is two very large screens in the end zones. Well that and the cheerleaders.
The Bears fans were out in force and during the third quarter a rousing cheer of "Lets Go Bears" originating in the south end zone and spreading through the stadium was largely ignored by the team. But we fans at least felt like we were doing our part.
As we look forward to Atlanta - Please Lets Go Bears?
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Panthers Game Day Minus One
We are comfortably settled down here in Charlotte, NC. Actually we are about 10 miles away which puts us in SC, but who wants to quibble. We have tried the BBQ here and while quite good, it did not blow us away. We have tried the fried chicken here at Prices Chicken Coop. Prices is regarded as having the best fried chicken around. Again, very good, but to be honest the chicken we had with the waffles at Maxine's in Indianapolis on the way down was better. We went to try the signature dish of Charlotte, but apparently they didn't have one until 2012. In 2012 they decided to have a contest to find the signature dish for the city and the BellyBun Sandwich, made of pork belly marinated in dark (local) beer and a variety of spices, and served on cheesy cornbread biscuit bread, rather than a traditional bun was selected. Not because it was served anywhere, but because it seemed to have "Charlotte-ness," and it used local ingredients. I believe it was added to the menu of a restaurant, the Harvest Moon Grille, but to my thinking that does not qualify it as a signature dish for a city or a region.
We drove over and checked out the stadium and it seems nice enough from the outside. I will give you more details tomorrow after the Bears crush the Panthers. Until then I will leave you with something to ponder. Every time we have gone anywhere in the area we have run into Bears fans. Sometimes many of them together. We also have talked to a lot of people in the area who asked what we were in town for and when we said "The Game" they didn't understand or know who the Panthers were playing. Many of them assumed we meant one of the college games. If a town has that much apathy towards their football team, do they even deserve to have one? Granted they have managed to sell out most of their games for many years, but at this moment there are still a couple of hundred seats left for sale on Ticketmaster. About 1/2 of those are single seats, but there are blocks of 2, 3 and 4 seats together available. By contrast there are 18 tickets available in total for all the remaining 6 home Bears games. 6 of those happen to be in 3 blocks of 2 and are all for the last home game. All the rest are single seats. And I doubt you could go into a dozen different places in Chicago and talk to 20 people between them and not have any of them know who the Bears were playing at home that weekend and if you were wearing the opposing teams Jersey not know what "Game" you were talking about if you said you were in for the game. Maybe I am wrong. I would need someone with a jersey for another team to test this theory.
Anyway, time to sign off - Go Bears
We drove over and checked out the stadium and it seems nice enough from the outside. I will give you more details tomorrow after the Bears crush the Panthers. Until then I will leave you with something to ponder. Every time we have gone anywhere in the area we have run into Bears fans. Sometimes many of them together. We also have talked to a lot of people in the area who asked what we were in town for and when we said "The Game" they didn't understand or know who the Panthers were playing. Many of them assumed we meant one of the college games. If a town has that much apathy towards their football team, do they even deserve to have one? Granted they have managed to sell out most of their games for many years, but at this moment there are still a couple of hundred seats left for sale on Ticketmaster. About 1/2 of those are single seats, but there are blocks of 2, 3 and 4 seats together available. By contrast there are 18 tickets available in total for all the remaining 6 home Bears games. 6 of those happen to be in 3 blocks of 2 and are all for the last home game. All the rest are single seats. And I doubt you could go into a dozen different places in Chicago and talk to 20 people between them and not have any of them know who the Bears were playing at home that weekend and if you were wearing the opposing teams Jersey not know what "Game" you were talking about if you said you were in for the game. Maybe I am wrong. I would need someone with a jersey for another team to test this theory.
Anyway, time to sign off - Go Bears
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