Sunday, April 30, 2017

Billies Fine Foods: Revisited

Soooo… there is something about a Saturday morning.  Especially a Saturday morning where perhaps you might have over served yourself Friday night while friends were over and perhaps stayed up too late.  A Saturday morning which started around 1:00 AM when the thunder storms came in and had both dogs howling and mewling for hours.  A Saturday morning where you take your son’s dog the Beast, whom you are dog sitting for, back home and feed him medicine for his “intestinal issues” with peanut butter (which I despise) off of a spoon as their sociopath cat Henry stares at you suspiciously.  You (I) are soaked by the way because the rain has continued and you know the Cardinal’s day game that you were going to attend is (will be) certainly cancelled.  I love Saturday mornings anyway.  It is nice to have a brief period where there are no “have toos” and I can grab my newspaper, drive around, consider where I want to eat and drive around… looking at my town in a pouring rain and listening to “Weekend Edition” on NPR as they endlessly drone on about “what we have learned from Donald Trump’s first 100 days” (nothing is my guess).

Last weekend we had friends in from out of town and we got a deal and we all stayed at The Four Seasons down on the landing.  I highly recommend it if one gets the chance but it left me on my own then too and I remembered that I had not been to Billies in years and I went on Saturday and then took my friends on Sunday and here I was a week later driving around in the rain, looking at my town and evaluating options.  I live in Webster and had to take the Beast to Shrewsbury but from there I had no plan.  I drove in Landsowne and then down Watson/Chippewa...Gravois.  Considered going to “The Egg” but forgot that the fussy/hipster/poser breakfast place doesn't open until 9.  Who eats breakfast at 9...even if hungover? http://breakfastcamefirst.com/ This of course brought to mind the fussy/hipster/poser coffee place, “Sump” which opens...indifferently and whenever but certainly not in the early morning when working people drink coffeehttps://www.sumpcoffee.com/. Both of these places are fabulous in their own right but seriously...9 A.M. is way too late to open for anything but the jobless, the childless and the casually rich.
But that left me downtown and I got to think of my Billies double header from the previous weekend and without a plan…. I headed to Soulard.  I of course do not think of Soulard as being east of Broadway.  I think of east of Broadway as containing a couple of bars, a lot of industrial and warehouse buildings, a LOT of railroad tracks and crossings, occasionally a dead body and recently at risk for exploding and flying boilers which also evidently lead to sudden, somewhat cinematic death.
http://www.kmov.com/story/35059928/surveillance-footage-of-boiler-explosion-in-soulard-released But still...Soulard it is and on a day when it was not pouring I might have strolled through Soulard market and gotten a breakfast sandwich or a tamale and a beer and done a little shopping but alas...not today.

Billies… it does not look like much. It is officially on South Broadway but most of us would call 7th Street Broadway at this particular part of the road south of downtown.  Billies is a store front and you park in the street.  My guess is that you can park behind it but even at its most crowded times there is ample street parking.  Normally there is a police car or two out front during breakfast hours.  Personally I always take this as a good sign.  Say what you will about our police force but these guys know where to get a hot, filling meal….quickly if need be.  There is also generally a sketchy quality about sitting around where police are dining.  The police tend to be younger and a little boisterous and...they have guns.  But Billies is not a threatening place.  It’s beauty is in the fact that it is almost totally non-descript.  Oatmeal brown walls on one side and behind the counter some kind of ghastly green.  It all makes a statement but to me, from sad personal experience it is a statement of intestinal violence… but still, that is a statement. There is nothing fancy about it.  It has an excellent long counter for those dining alone and although they don't cook the food in fron of you, you can see back into the kitchen.  There are some St. Louis centric things hung sporadically on the wall and the decor says nothing so loudly as it it says, “we don't give a shit”.  There is also a small cooler where they can grab you a Busch tall boy to take the edge off a hard morning.  It is in all respects a beautiful place.

One of the best things about it or one of the things that make it a true “Diner” is its hours, proudly listed on the website and the door:
M-F 5 AM to 2:30 PM
Sat-Sun
Midnight - 1:30 PM
The staff at Billies in my recent experiences there has been excellent.  Friendly, attentive and helpful with menu advice if asked.  The iced tea is brewed (always important) and the hash browns are shredded though the dreaded potatoes O'Brien can be obtained (curse them!). The staff takes on all comers and there is a cooler where they will fetch a Busch tall boy, should one be required.  I do not think they serve mixed drinks but I have a powerful feeling that anyone on the staff, if you could get them a stalk of browning celery, could make you a killer Bloody Mary.  The staff looks like they might have a story or two to tell, but they don't.  God bless them.  They do order fast and courteous service and will engage with you as much or as little as you want which is really one of the hallmarks of a great place.

PLATE KILLING PANCAKES

You have to stare at it and think about to understand what the hours mean but they must do some serious traffic on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Now I love Soulard but I explain to folks that didn't go to high school here, “Soulard is where the French originally settled St. Louis, right along the river.  It is known for it’s New Orlean’s style architecture and heritage and more importantly, if you are an alcoholic you move to Soulard after you lost your license because you can walk to about 30 bars and conveniently catch a bus on Broadway to go to work.”  That might be harsh but I will stand by it.

The food can be described as nothing so much as classic comfort diner food. It is prepared quickly and efficiently and obviously with a proper grill and requisite tools. Aside from the pancakes above (which allegedly can sure the worst hangover I present to you, as proof:

THE BEGINNINGS OF A GREAT BREAKFAST!


BISCUITS AND GRAVY WITH HASH BROWNS AND EGGS!

IT ARRIVED ON TWO PLATES
PORK CHOPS BEFORE...
PORK CHOPS....AFTER.


PORK CHOPS AND EGGS...ALA BECKER!
I have some pics of the menu below but you can observe it in all of its splendor at:
http://www.billies-fine-food.com/Menu.html



Sooo...in summary... the thing about Billies is that it is special, in it's "unspecialness"(look it up!). It is unpretentious, unassuming and has awesome food.  Occasionally some of the patrons might seem to be on the down and out side but everyone seems happy to be in a nice, dry, clean place with some pretty fine food.  It is worth going a block off the beaten path or a few miles down the road to sit in a place with some people who are not at all like you.  Down and out people, cops, people who work all night... people who actually are just like you and just want some good food.  Go there.














Friday, April 28, 2017

41pJVNQjIHL.jpgSoooo….an author friend of mine chided me for not reading the collective works of Heinrich Boll prior to my 50’s...55 to be exact.  He told me that he broke up with a girl in college for not having read him.  Naturally this exacerbated my mid life feelings of inadequacy.  I then ran in to references of Boll’s work in some Latin authors and finally… I had to break down and see what all the hubbub is about… or was about.  I started with “Billiards At Half Past Nine”.  It was a difficult read but an excellent read.  A lot of complexity and flashing back in Germany pre and post war.  Beautifully written but hard.


It was good enough that I wanted more so the next time I went for “The Train Was On Time”.   Boll was born in 1917 and saw the rise of Nazi Germany and was later drafted into the Wehrmarcht where he served in eastern Europe prior to being captured by the Americans in 1945.  


The book...the book “The Train Was On Time” is a 133 page jewel of depression and hoplessness.  The story line could not be simpler.  A soldier gets on a train to go to the Eastern front.  He knows he is going to die at a particular place and time… and the whole trip is just he and the other children...traveling towards their and particularly his fate.  


I dont think I have ever read a story that so convincingly tells the tale of how was degrades and dehumanizes the participants.  The hopelessness of the whole enterprise for those actually called to carry it out.  He makes friends.  They ride on the train.  The sleep.  They drink Schnaaps.  The go places.  


All on a relentless journey as he remembers where he came from and moves towards his inevitable demise.  You crawl inside his head as he rides.  He remembers.  He describes the other soldiers.  He befriends two.  One of them a sergeant.  They travel together to Lvov.  Who knew Lvov actually existed.  A city in the Ukraine… occupied.  The sergeant takes him and he spends the last night of his life deconstructing himself in conversations with a partisan prostitute.  Devestating in its bleakness.  


This book is a great read because the story doesnt have any action.  It just has an internal monologue and some dialogue and the dialogue is sparse.  Our protagonist Andreas gets on the train in Germany, screaming out the window unheard over the screech of the train, “I DONT WANT TO DIE.”  And the you go on a ride to Lvov…

What could go wrong?heinrich-boll.jpg

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Jonathan Lethem: "The Gambler's Anatomy"


Soooo...this is a great book.

Lethem is kind of a wunderkind, god among men in my humble and very reserved opinion.  He has written a veritable plethora (God I love that word) of excellent fiction.

I confess that I have not read the first 4 books but I assure you that I will just to see how he game to his gifts of storytelling and commentary.  This book is just...powerful and creepy and compelling.  I was reading it while at the same time pre-reading Richard Dooling's new book which should come out late this year or early 2018.  it was nice to drop in and out of each. The thing about Lethem is no matter how mundane, provocative or tortured the subject matter... he amazes.  Not in the "look no hands!" type way of "look at me...LOOK AT ME!" prose but in a...wow...beautiful type way.  

So... a gambler?  Is there any more that needs to be said about this?  Can something more be gleaned from the subject that Dostoevsky or perhaps the movie "Rounders" didn't give me?  So, I was suspicious and perhaps even annoyed when I find out that the protagonists game of skill was...wait for it... BACKGAMMON!
I don't know if you have an opinion about backgammon.  It battles perhaps mahjong's for the sleepy, elitist factor but evidently... there is a lot more to it.  Additionally... evidently... a lot more to it.  Who new?  Who cares?  Well, you will.

Our main hero is a guy names Alex Bruno.  A rough and tumble quant from a single mom/addict/family in Oakland who hooks up with a gambling pimp of less than clear sexuality and they travel the world looking for whales who want the thrill of playing high stakes backgammon against the best in the world. 

it is vaguely interesting as a concept because it is so weird.  This is not a Vegas story.  This is not even "The Hangover" 2 or 3.  This is first class, brilliantly written literature... about backgammon.  Needless to say our hero is handsome, talented, leads a glamorous life and is deeply...deeply troubled.  In Thailand while fishing for a particularly evil whale he runs across and old high school classmate in the form of an ugly American traveling abroad with his somewhat hot (but way out of his league at first glance) girlfriend.  Some hi jinks ensue and we learn this guy, post high school blew up the gaming world and owns chucks of Oakland and has a fast food hamburger chain and a geeky gamer store and is worth...Trump like dollars (meaning hundreds of millions.  They part...oddly.

Our hero has been having some headaches.  He also has a gift of some minor mind reading which gives him something of an advantage.  he goes to Hamburg for his latest whale, meets a deeply troubled young lady and starts his game but collapses...has a seizure...goes to hospital... gets diagnosed with horrendous tumor and... loses everything.  Without giving too much a way there is another girl in Germany, a major surgery providing troubling results, a trip back to Oakland at the largess of his childhood acquaintance and a sick relationship/rivalry/employer/employee thing that keeps you reading.  The childhood friend is a beyond creepy, megalomaniac and is just...personally clueless evil to our protagonists blank slate.  Our hero is especially vulnerable post surgery and out of weird science experiment manipulation the childhood friend hooks him back up with the Hamburg girl for... oddness. The most intriguing character ends up being the Dude who cooks hamburgers at a local shop that competes with the other guys chain.  Things go down and down in Oakland where our hero continues his "losing streak" and it builds to a seriously ambiguous but exciting climax.

This book asks a lot of questions about money, aging, looks and life's big questions.  He does not provide the answers to the big questions but if you don't find yourself examining your own (or my own) mundane life a little more closely... well then you are just not paying attention.  Read this. It is just really well done and kind of fun...and creepy...and fun.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Soooo...last year my wife was having a minor (let’s call it minor) nervous breakdown related to, in no particular order:
1. Her parents and issues related to aging,
2. Her daughter with issues related to...marriage (to a nice boy),
3. Her marriage to a deeply and profoundly troubled man (me),
4. Finishing her Masters (forensic accounting),
5. Life.
It isn't a small list and those 5 were just the high points.  Anyway, in mid 2015 I ran across references to the OUTLAW COUNTRY CRUISE!  Outlaw Country is a brand of Alt-Country/Americana/Country promoted by SIRIUS Radio on their channel 60.  It is my type of music, twangy songs about drinking, love, death, sex, music, cars and existentialism.  Steve Earle is a DJ and Buddy Miller and Shooter Jennings and Elizabeth Cook and they play music by bands like… well I could go on an on but here is a sample from 2008:




The motto of the station is a rip off of “Blazing Saddles” which is “”No Fences, No Badges, No Borders and No Commercials.”  There is an ethos there… but I don't know what it is.  


Anyway, so my wife was having a breakdown and I saw Elizabeth Cook (who we had a mutual affection for) was going to be on a cruise and when I looked I saw Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams and The Mavericks and...I was intrigued and I forwarded the link and shortly thereafter got an email from my wife telling me that we were going.


I was taken aback that my sure thinking, accountant wife would act so hastily but upon reflection I realized that my wife was not necessarily the woman I had married and perhaps that was a very good thing.  So we went.  We had a blast.  I thought I blogged about it but when I checked back, apparently not.  I think my dad died shortly after we got back or something relatively trivial like that might have distracted me...maybe.  Or maybe I was just lazy.  I know I posted a lot of pics on Facebook but we had a blast and so we signed up to go on the second one.  Evidently we were on the inaugural cruise.  Apparently it is now a “Becker Tradition”.  #sad.


This year along with the usual suspects Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Elizabeth Cook and the Mavericks we were going to have my personal favorites The Old 97s and local favorites The Bottlerockets.  I was...really excited and so was Sandy.  


People who do not understand the concept always ask the same question when they hear you are going on a cruise which is, “where are you going?”.  This is a “tell” that they do not understand the concept and I have to explain that “nothing could make less difference than where it goes”.  Last year we went from Miami to the Caymans.  This year it was going to Cozumel from Tampa.  In each case you sail for two days, spend 8 daylight hours on whatever place your going and then sail back.  Meaningless.  They could (perhaps should) just go out and sail around for 4 days and not waste our time.


I enjoy traveling but I don't enjoy flying. I have no phobias about getting in an airplane and no worries about crashing but the lining up, the partial stripping, the showing of papers has all started to really freak me out. It seems somewhat dehumanizing and totalitarian. I realize this is childish but... I need too remember to talk to my doc about Xanax.

I had not been to Tampa in a long time and Sandy was not sure that she ever had the pleasure.  By the time we booked a hotel any reasonable place on the Bay was sold out so we stayed in an Embassy Suites out by the airport.  I like the Embassy Suites and my wife is happy with their breakfast but I was pleased by the existence of a near Waffle House. They are so beautiful. I think that there is a credible and cogent argument to be made that all Waffle Houses, wherever located, all be put on the National Historic Building Registry. I mean Waffle Houses are beautiful, they are architecturally significant and they have shaped our culture in ways much more meaningful than say...Mc Donald's.

We arrived on a Saturday and that night went down to Ybor City because it was the only thing I remembered from being there before.  I think it might have been some law/insurance thing and I think, perhaps I was over served.  In any case we Uberred (is that a verb now) down there from out by the airport.  I had jumped on Yelp or something and apparently if you go to Ybor you eat at Columbia.




Sometimes the Internet can get something so right.  We went there, they told us it would be a two hour wait, we said great and we walked up and down the Ybor strip, bought some cigars, had a cocktail and enjoyed the evening.  Apparently there had been a pre mardi gras street party down there.  The area is not particularly quaint but it is a slice of America and was entertaining to walk around during the day.  We got back to the restaurant and still had quite a wait but… what the hell.  Evidently if you go on certain nights or have a group you can catch Flamenco dancing.  We don't see a lot of that in St. Louis.  In any case, if you ever get a chance...go there.  Especially with your spouse or significant other.  Great people watching great ambience, GREAT FOOD!  So go there.  We had a blast. IMG_6596.jpg
The next morning we woke up and Uberred to the Tampa Cruise port.  It is like a cruise port.  We had a remarkably easy time boarding and then… you can go to your room right away but your bags do not show up for quite some time so we took a loot at our room, met Juan our steward and walked around.  There is something festive about being on a boat and it was pretty afternoon.  The main concert venue is always up on the pool deck so we found a seat up there (they are at a premium) and sandy needle pointed while I watched a band called Haybale and drank.  IMG_6615.jpgHay Bale is the Saturday night house band at The Continental Club in Austin.  If you don't know how or why that is so cool, I really cannot explain it to you but it was a great way to start the cruise.IMG_6622.jpgWhat is the start of an Outlaw Country Cruise without complimentary shot of tequila?


Tampa...it seems nice...from a boat.
IMG_6621.jpg


So we set sail...listened to a band...took a nap.   We also had the “muster” which is where they gather you and explain to you what to do in the case you are on the Titanic.  It is awesome.


The program looked like this:

IMG_6613.PNGThere are 5 venues on the boat and at least two of them have music at any given time so you get to wander around with a cocktail from place to place and see what tickles you.  Some of the venues are very hard to find a seat at and some of the venues like The Stardust almost always have a seat, even if it is off in the wings.  It is nice to see shows in the Stardust because it is more like a concert experience but one of the things about the cruise which matches a festival experience is the ability for the real frothing fan, which I can sometimes be to stand right up front so that the guitarist can indeed spit on you if that is what your looking for (and who isn't?).

After "muster" we went to see The Mavericks. Then back to our room to unpack our bags and meet our steward Jose. Jose rocked and kept our ice bucket filled as well as turn down of sheets and everything else. Here is what the view from the room looked like.


So you wake up the next day. We have a balcony. I have a judicial interview by phone. If you ever worry you will not be able to make a call from the boat and you are not certain your cell can work, you can always make calls...for $5.00 a minute. So I got up and had breakfast and there is always amusement at breakfast because you have a lot of hungover people and a lot of musicians, and sometimes their kids... waking up. On the boat you have no newspaper and a newspaper is somewhat integral to my waking up process. Fortunately I had the first 200 pages of Rick Doolings new book to take a look at and make some notes and I had a brilliant new book by Jonathan Lethem called "Anatomy of a Gambler". Reading books at breakfast is a growing experience. I still miss the newspaper. I also don't know why the cruise ship cannot:
1. Subcontract breakfast (and perhaps all meals) out to Waffle House; and
2. Distribute a shipboard news update provided by the Wall Street Journal of NY Times.
These are good ideas. Norwegian Cruise Lines..you are welcome.

Norwegian Lines seems very competent. In a lot of ways a boat is a boat but this is basically the same as last year. Last year, the Norwegian Pearl, this year the Norwegian Jade. We have been on Royal Caribbean Cruises but never on Carnival. The cruise ship staff is always competent, helpful and...foreign with passable English which

is really all that I have so it is all good. The food on the boat is good but gets boring really quick. There is a general cafeteria type places where everyone goes. You get saintlier sprayed on your hands on the way in, "washy-washy" and then get a plate and walk around 8 or so different food stations. The food can uniformly be described as "not bad" and that is saying a lot. We of course are spoiled and we like to eat and therefore we pay an "up charge" and go to the nicer restaurants on the boat of which there are several. We also bring several bottles of our own wine and you pay, I think, $15.00 dollars a bottle to bring it on board. You can consider trying to sneak your bottles on but I have been assured that they are rigorous about scanning bags for bottles and there is no sneaking. The bottles when you check in are tagged and cannot be uncorked by the restaurants or staff unless tagged. Night 1...La Cucina"!





As you can see it is a nice little menu and we brought a nice bottle of wine. The main thing you get on the Outlaw Country Cruise when you go to one of these places is privacy. Not many of the folks on the cruise pay the extra money so it is kind of nice and kind of romantic and I recommend it for at least a night or two on any cruise.


We finished the night at The Stardust seeing Lucinda Williams who put on a great show with a great show where she played new songs and old songs but always story telling songs. Evidently it is a struggle to grow up as somewhat counter cultural in the south but she tells the tales. After that we caught a late night set with the pride of the Festus Crystal City Metroplex...the Bottlerockets. It was in the smaller venue and there is just something great about seeing Bryan Henneman tell his stories up close and personal while he and the band strum and thrash away at their catalogue.

Then it was time for bed where our steward had turned down the bed and left towel statuary art!
So... not everyone has their beds turned down so I guess that is cool. The next morning I woke up and had breakfast and watched Rhett Miller eat with his wife two children. Was I creepy? Was I stalking them? Yes and maybe are the likely answers. I did my 20 minute interview phone call...nailed it (I thought).

I spent the rest of the morning reading and making obnoxious suggestions on a draft of Rick Dooling's new book. The book should come out this time next year and it will be...awesome. About 22 years ago or so I was another cruise with my wife and got to do the same thing with his book "White Man's Grave" so this was kind of a cool "redo". Very relaxing reading and making notes and unwanted observations. I was able to read while my wife was out getting her steps in because she needs to walk 10,000 steps a day and there is nothing weird or obsessive about it. So she walked, I edited, we ate lunch...and then it was time for more music.
 So Sirius channel 60 records some programs when we are on the boat and Steve Earle in one of the DJs and he recorded a show with Jessi Colter (Waylon Jennings widow), Shooter Jennings another guy who was taking the place of Billy Joe Shaver. Billy Joe was supposed to be on the cruise but directly prior to sailing, he fired his band and flew home to Austin. So they sat around, told stories and played songs and... there is something just awesome about them recounting all these songs. They were basically telling the tale of the recording of Waylon Jennings pivotal album, "Honkytonk Heroes" in 1973.
 Roger Alan Wade
 Rosie Flores
 A Masterson
The Stardust 
 Old 97s













SuperSuckers


Here is a complete list off all the bands on the cruise.
The next day....Cozumel!

Not that we cared.  Cozumel was mainly a place to get off the book and look around.  The cruise ports are awful...awful places.  Lots of shops, several bars and people hustling you all the time.  Hustling you to go into the shops, hustling you to go into bars, hustling you to rent a scooter or get a guide.  So it is annoying but we always walk into the town and find a bar and have a beer and look at the 250 emails that came in over the last two days...have a heart attack and then buy a couple of Cubans and head back to the boat.
I don't know what this is supposed to be but would like it recreated on my kitchen wall.
Pretty much you get off the boat, get swarmed by vendors, find a bar, check the Internet and drink.
The Happy Couple about to get back on the boat.




I don't really know what this was...pretend scuba?


Then you head back to the boat for a nap... and then dinner, and then some more music.
El Humongo Returns!

I forget who this was...


And another nice meal on the boat.
Some Band on the deck at night.

THIS...is Wanda Jackson!

Roger Alan Wade, Surius DJ, general hater. Sandy loved him.

The Old 97s, Daryl and Rhett tune up.

Darryl belts out "Mama Tried". But really there is nothing like seeing one of your favorite bands in the world from 3 feet away. I could have spit on man who proudly sings, "My name is Stewart Ransom Miller, and I am serial lady killer!" with a crowd of 150 other fans, at midnight, in the Gulf of Mexico. For me this was the best show of the trip. Sandy had gone to bed after a long day and I was only mildly drunk and there were competing popular shows which meant only the true believers in the OLD 97s were out and it was a drunk sing along and for me...magic!



Steve Earle at the begin venue, the Stardust. Steve always surrounds himself with masterful musicians and this Masterson guy on lead guitar was no exception. He tells stories about Nashville and Austin and people misconstruing his songs. He has a song called "The Devils Right Hand" which recounts a mother warning her son away from guns. When he wrote it, it was not an anti-gun piece. Then his teenage son found his handgun, hid it and would not give it back... and it became an anti gun song.


 We were given a bottle of champagne as a gift by the Sirius people and decided to take advantage of the fresh squeezed juices to kill it with fresh Mimosas! Blue Chip idea!
Roger Alan Wade with a Supersucker 
 LOOK! More wine!
 Steve Earle with The Mastersons
 Steve Earle recording his Sirius show with Jessie Dalton, Shooter Jennings and...someone else discussing recording of one of Waylon's old albums. Fascinating for the fan.
 Our personal favorite from East Nashville and the Grand Ol Opry, Miss Elizabeth Cook.


 Jesse Dayton


Old 97s on the Main Deck! 

Sooo... that was really it, but it wasn't. There was a lot more and I cannot say enough nice things about the whole experience. It was "immersive' and joyous and you did not get one day of news casts or information coming over the phone. Just music, with myself, my wife and a 1000 or so strangers. I will go back. I will love it all over again. In the meantime if you want to stick your toe into this type of music consider Twangfest 2017 at Off Broadway. Music can save your soul... believe it.

http://twangfest.com