Tag Archives: Carrabba’s Italian Grill

The Big One or: Five. Oh!

20 Friday Nov 2020

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Salutations­™!!

So, here we are. Fifty. Five. Oh. 5. 0. 49+1 and all that. On this day, at 636a 50 years ago, I was unleashed on the world. Half a century old, I am. Wow.

I am happy. I am healthy (as far as I know). I am in love with beautiful woman. I have an amazing son who is doing amazing things. I have fantastic friends. I have a wonderful family. Fifty is indeed nifty.

You can go back and search on this date throughout the years of me doing this blog (at least back to November 1, 2014) and read other things I’ve written about my birthday.

Me and my honey, not on my birthday but a few weeks back.

Since you already know that I’m back dating these, I will say that it was a fantastic day. We got up, I checked my restaurant list, had my TBD meeting, went to BLL Rotisserie Factory with The BCPF and Ma Mère, and Simone, the owner bought our lunch. We then went to Underdog Records and The BCPF had filled my credit up there so we bought some records. The BCPF took me to the ABC store and bought me some Ardbeg Scotch. We came home, listened to some records. We had dinner at Carrabba’s where my good friend Daniel bought our dinner. We came home, watched Will & Grace and I knocked out. All that… BEST! BIRTHDAY! EVER!!!

I didn’t worry about turning 50 like I did 35. In fact, I feel better about everything right now. See the second paragraph above. All those things still are true. Amazing time. COVID-19 sucks. It kept us from our original plan of The Beer Dads family going to Quebec City, Montreal and New York City for my 50th. And while that would have been off the charts, this was still an amazing birthday. And it goes on for tomorrow’s post. So, I’ll see you then!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Birthday Boy out!

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“Don’t just count your years, make your years count.” – George Meredith

The Butcher or: Piggyback the Bull

12 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by in Food, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

Mondays are usually chock full of podcasts but today, there was just one. That was The Man Who Ate the Town. No Fan Interference, no Beeswax Vinyl, no The Beer Dads.

Fan Interference has been on semi-hiatus for the summer with Hayley Brooke getting in the groove of her Master’s degree program. Really, other than off-season moves by NFL teams in anticipation of the regular season and baseball, nothing big is really happening in the world of sports. If there is, follow the Fan Interference Twitter account for up-to-the-minute updates.

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Wagyu Shoulder Tenders from Butcher & Bull

The Beer Dads and Beeswax Vinyl were thrown off by scheduling conflicts. But, hopefully, TBD will be back next week and BWV in two weeks.

The Man Who Ate the Town, however, has been busy all day. First, I wrote a blog post about The BCPF’s and my awesome “date night” tasting at Butcher & Bull in the Marriott downtown WSNC. You can read about that HERE.

The Kids In Need Foundation (KINF), a national non-profit dedicated to providing free school supplies to students most in need, will partner with Carrabba’s Italian Grill to host a Back-to-School Wine Pairing Dinner at over 200 Carrabba’s Italian Grill locations throughout the U.S on August 14. My pal, Daniel Butner says that there are 14 WSFCS teachers that are up for these school supplies for their classrooms. You can read more about that HERE.

Finally, Ray and I recorded TMWATT podcast. It was our first with Ray still in Mt. Airy. We talked about Butcher & Bull, the new Little Richard’s Bar-N-Que, Skrimp Shack, Abbott’s Frozen Custard, The Habit Burgers, and more. You can listen to that podcast episode HERE.

So, for the other podcasts, listen to past episodes and for TMWATT, I appreciate your support in reading and listening.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“A contemporary take on the traditional steakhouse, Butcher & Bull veers from the formal stereotype to provide Winston-Salem diners with an energetic atmosphere, authentic hospitality and adventurous dishes featuring the freshest ingredients possible.” – Butcher & Bull

Unchain the Chain or: Dat’s Good

04 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by in Food, Life as We Know It, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

Tonight, The BCPF, Beer Dad Paul, his wife Susan, Ray from TMWATT and his wife Whitney all went to hang out at Carrabba’s Italian Grill with my pal, the Proprietario Daniel Butner. You’ll read more about this later this week on the food blog.

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Daniel Butner

I want to say that yes, I have a problem with restaurant chains. I have for the last 10-15 years. There are many reasons why. Inferior food. Usually crappy service. The money is generally part of some corporate entity that ships a great chunk of the revenue the restaurant makes to someplace in the midwest, removing most of it from the local economy. And, probably the biggest problem is that the restaurant is only about money and not about the community.

I can tell you that while Carrabba’s is a chain, Daniel is all about the community. I know what you’re saying, sure, Sure he is. Well, let’s go with this, then. His last name Butner and his 3-4x grandfather was one of the Butners that moved from Pennsylvania to Bethabra and then on to form Salem. He was the founder of the bakery in Salem and his great-great-great something uncles were Butner’s Hat Shoppe owners. So, fast forward these many years and he is owning a franchise in the town that his family helped to found. And, he does a lot of charity work for non-profits and other community needs. He’s a remarkable man. And, he has a beard that even I am envious of.

I’ve not really touched on the food because I’m saving that for the food blog, as I said. I just wanted to talk about how this “chain” changed my mind on what a chain is, or in Daniel’s words, “what a responsible chain looks like.” I will be back at Carrabba’s soon. I recommend you try it, too. Let me tell you one thing, the filet is to die for!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Carrabba’s Italian Grill was founded in Houston, TX by Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola in December of 1986, who set out to create a restaurant experience where people felt like guests in their home.” – Carrabba’s