For Sale: Vintage Set LIBBEY Glass 12 Jigger Barware Shotglasses: SOLD

Here's another great addition to your vintage barware! This is a complete box of vintage jigger shot glasses.

The glasses were made by Libbey Glass and the 12 jiggers come complete with their original box. The box has nice retro graphics on it. The glasses each have Libbey "L" molded in the base and have a nice, unusual and eye-catching conical shape to them.

Condition

The glasses are a bit dirty from being stored for all these years but are in otherwise excellent condition. The box is also a bit dusty, but still suitable for storing the glasses, as well as being a display item.


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What's More Retro Than...Fine Dining 60's Style!

Maybe it was the new-found post-war prosperity.  Maybe it was the new-found tastes of soldiers returning home.  Maybe it was Julia Child.  But for some reason, the "fine dining restaurant" catapulted in both number and popularity from the mid-50's right through the 60's.

I wonder if she would have liked the dish we'll soon be talking about.

"Fine dining" was basically America's first-time, shotgun-blast exposure to foods and culinary creations not typically heard of in the US.  And such establishments, well, established many dishes we take for granted today. 

But I'm not here to discuss dishes from the 50's and 60's we all know and love.

I'm here to discuss one that may not ring any culinary bells.

So many good sounding dishes.  But I'm not too sure about this one...

I love this book.  It's from 1964 and features so many "new" recipes for dishes we take for granted today.

And yes, that Bananas Foster that guy's prepping on the cover looks mighty delicious, don't it?

But before dessert, how about a nice appetizer?

Say...broiled grapefruit...with a yummy chicken liver on top!!

BTW...this is still on their menu.

From Chalet Suzanne in Lake Wales, Florida, comes this delectable little dish.

I am not a chicken liver fan, nor a fan of liver in general.  The combination of grapefruit (yummy), topped with broiled, melted cinnamon sugar (good, too) and then a cooked chicken liver just sounds like an awkward combination.  Oh, and the liver gets more cinnamon sugar on top of it, too!  But I guess it's still quite the big seller, since it's still on the restaurant's current menu.

But to be honest, the picture above of the grapefruit kind of reminds me of the little pig cross sections we had to study in high school Biology class.  So perhaps that 60's photo doesn't do the dish justice.

But if any of you are brave enough (or perhaps this just sounds like a yummy combo to you) then here's the recipe. 

Bon Appetit!!

If you DO try it, PLEASE let me know how it was.  Perhaps I can find a few more interesting recipes for you to try.

(photo of Julia child from ABC News)

Dinner: Fat Heads in North Olmsted, Ohio

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After having a wonderful 7am to 5pm shift at work, I figured I needed a bit of a break. So, after running a few errands we decided on some dinner. Actually, we decided on some beer, but food would have been a welcome addition.

Hence...we wound up at Fat Heads.

Fat Heads in Cleveland sits in an old storefront in North Olmsted, Ohio. It used to be Danny Boys, an absolutely fantastic farm market until the local mega-grocery stores killed such local businesses. The building was turned into a micro-brewery/restaurant a couple of years ago and it's become quite a success story on the west side.

If you go to Fat Heads, you have to realize a few things:

• They're a micro-brewery, so expect some great (or at least interesting) hand-crafted beers
• They sell other beers, but don't expect to see Bud Light being offered
• If you plan on eating, be prepared to eat a lot or take a doggie bag home
• Expect to like the food which is pretty darn good.

Smoked chicken wings

If you ever get there, you should must absolutely have to try to smoked chicken wings. They are whole wings (not segmented) that have been smoked and coated with a seasoned dry rub. You can then get them in sauces from sweet to mild to fire-creating. I've had them about 6 times there, and every time they've been great:  moist, meaty, complex in flavor, and just plain finger-licking good.

(BTW, the beer next to the wings is their blueberry beer (look closely:  you can see the berries in the beer)...one of their "always available" brews).

We also had the French Onion soup (big thumbs up on this one, too) and the special soup of the day:  corn, chicken and sausage chowder (again...yummy).

My meal was the bbq pulled pork sandwich (something I seem always inclined to get, regardless of what other offerings the menu may have).

Sandwich big...sandwich good!

The sandwich (like most of their sandwiches) was big...as in "BIG".  The fresh potato chips it came with were...well...addictive.

I had a smoked porter with my dinner.  It was smoky (in both smell and taste), deep and delicious.  But I doubt I could drink more than 1 pint of it; it was good, but almost (I repeat: almost) overwhelming.  I probably should have started with a lighter beer first.

So if you ever get a chance to be in the Cleveland area, give it a shot.  Ah, I should also mention that they have another Fat Heads in Pittsburgh as well.

Chuao Chocolate Bar: Firecracker

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While I was debating on the bike I was going to buy I spent some time walking around Wally World and wound up in the food aisle.  Of course, the best way to celebrate getting a new bike and starting on your new-found path to fitness is to buy yourself some chocolate.  And that's when I stumbled upon Chuao.



Walmart had 3 different chocolate bars and the packaging looked impressive:  a matte blue foil wrapper with silhouette cocoa pods.  It said "try this chocolate" to me...so I did.  But which one?

I settled on the oddest one I could find:  Firecracker.

As you can tell by the name, it's got something do to with pepper.  And so it does.  "Dark chocolate bar with chipotle, salt and popping candy".

Yeah...chocolate, salt and pepper and Pop Rocks (though not the official Pop Rocks).  Sounded way too gimmicky...which of course meant that I had to try it.

 

First off, the bar is not scored in the traditional way; it's instead molded on the front with the same cocoa bean silhouettes as on the package, so breaking off "a square" ain't gonna happen, but you can a decent "square"

So, I broke off a piece.  Already, I'm impressed.  Cheaper chocolate sometimes bends, but this stuff breaks quickly and cleanly.  Try remembering how your last Hershey bar bent in your hand and you'll probably get what I mean.

I popped the piece into my mouth.  Again, impressive.  Clean, smooth melt in your mouth chocolate (although there was a slight waxy feeling for literally the first 1/2 second, just before it started to melt).  Not gritty...good (to use the proper term) "mouth feel".

The taste?  I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate, but this stuff could get me hooked.  Deep, very satisfying.

It doesn't take long for the pepper to kick in.  Give it about 3 seconds before you start to feel a decent burn.  It never reaches fire-extinguisher/clear-your-sinuses level, just enough to enhance the chocolate as well as give you the added taste of the peppers.

The salt?  Never tasted it.  It's like they forgot about it when they made the bar I got.  I wanted to taste the salt, but the flavor just never got there as much as I wanted (or it was overwhelmed, but I doubt it).

The pop rocks?  Just fun...nothing seriously being added here.  If anything it perhaps enhanced the flavor of the pepper and chocolate from the CO2 aerating the chocolate in my mouth.

Th feeling afterward?  No grit, no waxy build-up.  Just a clean, tasty light cocoa feel in my mouth.  A very slight pepper feel remained as well.

In all, this stuff is good.  So I don't get why Walmart is selling it.  But I have seen some more quality foodstuffs appear on their shelves, so maybe this is a decent sign.

Chuao makes different bars and you can see all they offer on their website.  The coffee and anise one may be my next one to try.