Fine art, crafts, wine and beer at American Harvest

Before I leave for Memphis with a mysterious and exotic Gypsy, I promised myself I’d get a little caught up on my blogging and in particular do a little summary of Gypsy’s most recent exhibition of her jewelry.    

We have become fast fans of American Harvest Eatery here in Springfield, Ill., and as fate would have it they sponsored an art and craft show for their 1^st Birthday Extravaganza on April 22.  Gypsy had been working her networking magic at a previous American Harvest show and was invited to participate in this one. 

Munching on a muffuletta

I have to be completely honest. 

As much as I’m looking forward to going back to Memphis this weekend for the Beale Street Music Festival, I really hate to miss the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.  This year’s Jazz Fest line-up, especially last weekend’s, was especially loaded to suit my musical tastes.  I had toyed with the idea of doing both (Jazz Fest last weekend and Beale this weekend) but gypsy and I had a wedding to go to, and it really wasn’t economically viable anyway.  But I would have loved to have seen Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Dr. John and Bruce Springsteen, just to name a few.

OK, what does this have to do with a muffuletta?  And what is a muffuletta anyway?  It may, in my humble opinion, just be the best sandwich in the world.  And for anyone who is visiting New Orleans for the first time (and I know a few who are during Jazz Fest), getting a muffuletta and the best place to get one in the Big Easy is a must-do.    

The story of the muffuletta begins and ends at Central Grocery, 923 Decatur Street, in the heart of the French Quarter.  It may be an unusual place to find an old-school Italian grocery store and deli counter, but it’s a New Orleans institution.  And as the birthplace of the muffuletta, they’ve been serving their signature sandwich since 1906.  In fact, it’s just about the only thing you can get at their deli.  But what else do you need? 

Pub crawl by bus to Fast Eddie's

It started as a relatively innocuous Saturday a couple of weeks back, with no plans to do anything out of the ordinary except get caught up on some rest.  But I don’t do nothing for very long, and I don’t do it well.  At least that’s the opinion of my Gypsy roommate, who I was apparently driving crazy and preventing her from concentrating on making jewelry in her Gypsy workshop.  So, she shipped me off for the evening.  And fortunately, I knew of the perfect time-killer – a pub crawl by bus with the final stop being Fast Eddie’s Bon Air in Alton, Ill.

I had already turned down the opportunity to join several of my friends on this trip, but fortunately they were able to get me on last-minute for a $30 fee.  Consider this:  You’re on a nice comfy motorcoach round-trip, you can BYOB (and everyone did in generous portions), you’re making three bar stops along the way (and a casino if you desire), and you’re entertained for nearly 12 hours (especially if you’re the self-entertaining type).  Yes, definitely worth hoping on the bus and enjoying the ride.  

Here’s the inside of the bus as we pulled out of Springfield.  It didn’t stay that subdued for long.  One of the organizers of the trip (standing) was passing out shots before the left the city limits. 

Don't look behind you, but business is about to pick up!

A Commoner Reviews Chick’s on the Square, Macomb, Ill.

As I wrote in my last blog entry, I recently accompanied my son, the Young Curmudgeon, to Macomb, Ill., to tour the Western Illinois University campus.  Before we left town, we decided to grab an early dinner.  We chose a place I had not been to, and one that had not existed the last time I was in Macomb – Chick’s on the Square.

The Macomb Square is literally the center of the old downtown and still very vibrant.  Many boutique shops line the city’s square, which surrounds the McDonough County Courthouse.  And currently, the southwest corner of the square has a good variety of places to eat and drink, even more so than when I lived there. 

Chick’s is right off this corner on the south side of the square.  You can’t miss it.  The big yellow awning greets you.

This big yellow awning