So there's a lot to talk about this week - enough to justify my time at the keyboard typing it up (but maybe not enough to justify your time spent reading - HA!)
I spent last week in Houston Texas - as you can see from the pictures above, I had a few chances to sample the local BBQ fare - and like always, quality ranged to both ends of the spectrum! Check out the reviews in the Restaurant section of the site. As I flew in, sitting in my upgraded seat drinking a complementary beverage, I thought about the last time I had been here. If memory serves, I was single, and was taking some advanced Novell training. I remember spending the week partying with my friends Gary Clark and Sally Specker. At one point I was so drunk that I spent 30 minutes trying to get my car key to open the wrong car - "Are you sure that's your's Bob?", "'Course it is, I distinctly remember parking my red rental right around here …" once I figured it out and found my own car it became - "Are you sure you're okay to drive Bob?", "'course I am - gotta drive, too drunk to walk!"

The funny part of this story is that less than a year later Gary Clark was interviewing me for a position with Novell and all I could think was "does he remember me trying to open someone else's car?" Apparently he was as drunk as I was cause he hired me :)

Anyway - I like Houston. It's kind of like a hot and humid Minnesota city - it's spread out, has lots of green areas, supports a very active service industry, and still manages to have a large high-tech population.
One of the best parts of traveling is that you get to take in a few local experiences while you're there. One of my favorites is to get a cheap ticket to a local baseball game. I've been in a bunch of real cool stadiums. Houston's Minute Maid Park is no exception! This place feels like old time baseball, but has a roof and is very well air conditioned (sorry you "outside game" fanatics - when it's 95 (degrees *AND* humidity) you appreciate this! The seats were comfortable - and they still have lots of seats below $25 - I bought a $10 ticket and was perfectly happy (of course I moved around the park at will - but that's beside the point.)

I always try to sample the signature food items at any park I visit. In Houston the signature food would either be the BBQ or the Tex-Mex fare. Being BobTheGrillGuy puts a little pressure on you, so yes, I tried the ballpark BBQ. It was exactly what I expected - plain, dry, and barely average, brisket. I guess not *ALL* Texans know what to do with a steer :)


Next up was the Tex-Mex. Now here the park shines! I had the beef and it was spicy, well flavored, moist and wrapped in a fresh tortilla. Under the two tacos was a heaping pile of chips, along with a container of salsa. This was worth the $11 it cost!


Last stop - I couldn't pass up a place called "Princes Hamburgers" - both for the Minnesota connection (that short purple guy) *and* the fact that I'm the prince of the "King" family. Besides, it had to be good since it's been in business since 1934 - right? Well - almost. It wasn't bad, but I was full enough (see above) to leave half my burger in the wrapper ...
Well that's enough for now - I'm competing in my first rib cook off in a *long long* time this Saturday, Hopefully I'll have good news to talk about by next week :)