Daring Dining! ~ Lil' G's Kajun Restaurant

Belle Chasse, LA
Hello Friends and welcome again to Daring Dining! Where I boldly try local culinary flair and pray it all works out.

So we can practailly throw a stone into the Gulf of Mexico here, so we thought it would be best to try some Cajon, I mean, Kajun cooking this week and low and behold we stumble upon a family owned creole restaurant Lil G's Kajun Restaurant .



From the outside the place doesn't seem that impressive and the inside stayed the course. I should take that back, the inside was lined with every kind of fish you may find in the local waters stuffed and mounted on the walls and there was even a gator head smiling at us the whole meal. It firmly establish that neither I nor Mandi would be taking a dip in a pond anytime soon.

If there was one word to describe the food at Lil G's (we assumed the "G" stood for gator) would be fried. Everything was fried, the pickles (though they were a guilty pleasure) the shrimp, and of course the fries. Now I could have gotten something else then the fried shrimp, in fact I thought I ordered grilled shrimp, but it was fried to death and I could now go without shrimp for awhile because of it. Mandi had a cheesy krab (yes krab with a k) and potato bake with broccoli. She said it was good and she would have it again.

The service was slow yet friendly. We chalked it up to being close to closing on a Sunday. I couldn't help but wonder if they are now getting their seafood products elsewhere because of the spill. The reader board out front even read "Yes we do have seafood!" as if people had asked the question many a times.

It is interesting to have seen and read many stories about the oil spill for weeks and now to actually be in a community that is being deeply affected by it really puts things into perspective.

At any rate while I didn't enjoy the food too much, I hope this Ma and Pa seafood shanty can weather the coming storms of seafood scarcity.

The Adventure Continues - ML

Ducks, Drives, and Everything in Between

Belle Chasse, LA (About 20 miles south of New Orleans)
Hello Friends!

Greetings from the Pelican State! I write to you from another room in the long line of Navy Inn's I will be staying on this tour. I am happy to report that I have not seen nor been stung by a wasp since arriving on this installation. Things are looking up. Let's back track shall we.

Friday after rehearsal Mandi and I headed into Memphis, TN to see the sights of the city. The sights of Memphis being Beale Street and the Peabody Ducks. For those not familiar with the Peabody ducks, the short story is as follows: back in the day two drunk hunters thought it would be fun to put live ducks in the fountain of the fanciest hotel in Memphis. When they staggered out of bed the next day the ducks had drawn quite a crowd and the rest is history. Here is the long version. It was a lot of fun to see a packed lobby and an entertaining Emcee tells us the history of the ducks and their lives, and sure enough, at five o'clock the ducks walked the red carpet and were escorted to an elevator and taken to their duck palace on the top floor. It was rad.

Beale street was only a block away and little did we know that it is was s smaller version Bourbon Street. The sidewalks were lined with with beer vendors while restaurant barkers tried to coherse us into their establishemnts. Every place had live blues of some form playing and police were everywhere (this was around 5:30 on a Friday night and things were starting to get busy). We didn't stay too long and choose to eat elsewhere. However it is defianetly a place I would like to experince when I can stay for awhile and not have a cast of a children waiting to work with in the morning.

Our first week of Beauty Lou and the Country Beast went very well. Mandi did a great job on-stage for her first outing as Buckaroo Bonnie (I will be Buckaroo Bob in a few weeks, that's going to look great on the old acting resume!) and the kids, while a very young cast, did quite well. Mandi and I enjoyed a nice evening of pizza and Tim Burton movies on TV but not before I was stung AGAIN! Ugh... wasps...

Sunday we headed to Graceland (it was on the way), home of one Elvis Presley. It would have been $35 each for us to go in. So we went to the free gift shop and promptly left. I recommend you do the same.

We then went south on I-55 to New Orleans and ultimately Belle Chasse. I have been to Louisiana before and I am still amazed at how different the landscape is down here. A good chunk of 55 (and I-10) in Louisiana near New Orleans is on an elevate highway over bayous, it is wonderful. Our contact meet us at the gate and we got settled in our rooms nicely, we even got nice SWAG bags full of goodies such as mints, a coffee mug, totes and so on. SWAG standing for Stuff We All Get that is usually associated with expos when you collect a lot of free stuff, I have had to explain the term a lot these past few days (The more you know!) It made us feel very welcome and with one day done, the week is off to a great start.

This week we will be going to the Big Easy and seeing the sights and experiencing some wonderful thunderstorms and Cajun eats and we even may see our first sights of some oil spill. Anyone heard about this?

The Adventure Continues - ML

Daring Dining! ~ Old Timers Restaurant

Millington, TN
Hello Friends and welcome to another episode of Daring Dining! Where I recount the highs and locals of local cusine.

This week finds Mandi and I at Old Timers Restaurant located right next to the train tracks in Millington. The restaurant itself was the original train station of the town and has been convereted into a sit down southern comfort food establishment. The insde was very nice and the walls were lined of old photos detailing the towns history.

We got there 5PM as it opened for dinner service (it closes after the lunch "rush") as did most every senior citizen in town. The wait staff knew every customer and everybody seemed to know everyone else We over heard lots of talk of relatives, crops, and of course the blistering heat we are experiencing. We are defiantly in the south.

The menu had a small range of basic choices (sandwiches, fried chicken, steak). However Mandi and I opted for the dinner specials; she a half slab ribs with one side (these are famous mind you, of course everyones ribs here are famous for something) and for myself a stuffed chicken breast with a garlic hollandaise sauce with two sides. Mandi also ordered the soup of the day, chicken and sausage gumbo.

The gumbo was very soupy and bland, but not awful, thankfully our meals made up for it. Mandi's ribs were served with a dry rub and her side was a sweet potato. Mandi didn't say much when she was eating the ribs which means they must have been good. I had a bite and didn't care for the smoky flavor, but then again I wouldn't know good BBQ from bad BBQ. My "stuffed" chicken breast wasn't "stuffed" per say, it was more like a chicken sandwich with chicken for buns and things in-between (think KFC double down (shudder)). The grilled chicken had a garlic cheese in the middle (cream cheese I think) and was topped with very tangy hollandaise sauce. It was actually quite good and my southern greens beans (served in a dish full of pork grease) and mash potatoes made for excellent sides. Please note that this picture was NOT taken by us, but pulled from their webpage, hence the lack of customers. Trust us it was crowded.

The meal was also served with fresh corn bread buscuits and yeast rolls, delicious!

We ended the meal by splitting a peach cobbler (all the locals told us to get dessert) and it was AMAZING! By far the best cobbler I have had. I think it help that the dessert was more cobbler then peach and it was served gooey warm. The meal was quite cheap and the atmosphere very southern.

While this is a far stretch from fine dining, it was very wholesome and filling and I would happily go back again. Best part - they have a facebook page and a webpage!

The Adventure Continues - ML

All Those Things that Turn and Make you Real

Millington, TN
Hello Friends-

The heat continues in Tennessee and the show is coming along great! Easily one of the higlights of my three stint in Portland, OR was being part of an original adaptation of Pinocchio at Northwest Children's Theater and School. It was a steam punk version where Pinocchio was a boy made of metal and his conscience Crick was a gaint wind-up cricket toy (that was me). The musical had great original music and every just fit so well with the cast, creative direction, sets, props, costumes, and and and. It was a very special show, one that is easily in the top three I have ever been in.

The reason I am taking this nostalgic trip down memroy lane is that it is theatre award season in Portland right now and Pinocchio was won EIGHT awards! Two from the Portland Drammys and six from the Portland Area Musical Theater Awards (www.pamtawards.com). Awards ranged from costumes to best original musical to acting awards as well. While I was not individual awarded anything, it is wonderful to know that I was part of somehting that was recognized for excellence in an original production. It is quite special.

Picture here is Pinocchio (Lea Z.) and Crick (ME!) in our (now) award winning costumes. Lea took two awards for outstanding youth performer one from each ceremony. I learned so much from working with her (and the entire ensemble for that matter) Seeing her focus and dedication really ignited my passion for youth theater. I truly consider her one of the greatest actors I know. Keep an eye out, she will be on stages and screen before you know it. Also the title of this blog entery was the last thing sung in the show.

Congratulations to NWCT, Milo and Rody for their amazing script and score (They are adpating Snow White for NWCT next season) and a big congratualtions to Pinocchio's crew and cast for an amazing experience. Here's hoping it gets remounted!

The Adventure Continues - ML

2,155 Miles Later

Millington, TN
Hello Friends,
Still having trouble with spell check... Thank you for your patience.

Greetings from the South! This week finds us on Mid-South NAS Base (I believe that stands for Naval Air Support, which would make sense since there is no port or even a body of water on this base) in a the quite berg of Millington, TN - about 20 miles north of Memphis. Mandi and I left Missoula last Tuesday and made quite a trek to get here. So, lets begin-

Tuesday we went from Missoula, MT to Rapid City SD. Mandi (that's my tour partner BTW) grew up there and has a lot of friends and family in the area, so we decided to spend Wednesday there as well thanks to our gracious host Erin (one of Mandi's BFFs) for allowing us to stay two nights on her couches. On Wednesday we went into the Black Hills known for Mt. Rushmore. Having been to Rushmore twice in my life we opted for the summer towns of Keystone and Deadwood to pass the time. Keystone is nestled at the base of Rushmore (you could even see the moutain from the streets) and is lined of numerous shops selling mainly western wears and candy. We picked up a belt with our characters' name on it for the show, some taffy, and some postcards and made our way to Deadwood.

I had been to Deadwood once in my life with my mother when we drove cross country for some reason. I remember not being allowed to touch any machines, being able to drink all the soda I wanted, and getting lots of quaters from my mom to play video games. Needless to say things were much different this time. First off I could now play those machines my mother was playing and second I am a big fan of the Deadwood series that ran on HBO and to actually be in the town the show took place in was awesome! Even better Mandi sepnd a summer playing Clamity Jane in the summer rein-actors and she knew a TON of history about the town. It was like being part of live action History Chanel - I loved it. Deadwood is the original Sin City and has full on Casinos EVERYWHERE. We spent $3 and made $33, so I couldn't complain too much.

After a quick stop to see some of Mandi's kinfolk, we headed back to Rapid City for a night on the town. Rapid City is a neat town that is very liberal for South Dakota. A lot of brew pubs and art galleries abound. It is also the city of Presidents, and at many intersections of the town you will see statues of Presidents (I think it goes with the whole Rushmore thing). Pictured is Martin Van Buren and I. I am pointing at his book, don't be gross.



On Thursday we headed off to Beresford, SD about 30 miles south of Sioux Falls, SD. There some more MCT folk were staying. We drove across the great state of South Dakota in one gnarly windy day. I spent about an hour and a half holding the wheel ascew just to keep the truck on the road. It wasn't fun, but I will take it over snow driving. We stayed up way too late with other MCT folk and got a later start on Friday morning.

So it is called SOUTH Dakota, but in reality it isn't that far south in the nation. I say that because we were to meet up with another tour team in Forrest City, AK on Friday. I thought to myself "Well we are in SOUTH Dakota, so it can't be far away..." Oh I was wrong. I take for granted how large western states are compared to eastern states which I shouldn't because one I have toured before and two I am from the west, but somewhere in my urban vacation I had forgotten. Our trip from Beresford, SD to Forrest City, AK took 16 hours, just 2 hours shy of the MCT driving limit. We got in at 3AM, I do not recommend that to anyone. Thankfully the weather was clear and the driving smooth. Missouri, you are one big state...

Saturday we took in our dear MCT friends Dave and Calida's show of Red Riding Hood at Forrest City. The show was great and they performed in a beatiful performing arts center on a local community college campus. That night we spent enjoying each others company and going to a carnvial set up just down the road from the hotel. There is something to be said for going outside at 10PM and it still is 85 degrees and muggy out. The carnival is just what you would think it would be - sketchy and full of horrible food. It was a great adventure.

Sunday we packed our bags and two MCT Fords headed to Memphis for some good ol' Southern BBQ. We made our way to a Memphis staple - Neely's, which, if I remember correctly are known for their families show on the Food Network. I enjoyed the pulled pork doused in sauce, the ladies enjoyed a three pound platter of mixed meats in sauce while Dave played it safe with BBQ Spaghetti. The food was good and very rich and nice way to get acquainted with southern cuisine. We said our goodbyes and Dave and Calida headed off to Eastern Arkansas and we made our way up north to Millington.

Upon arrival atthe gate we were promptly told to come back tomorrow to get the proper paperwork. This of course was a problem as we were staying ON base that night. And here begins our ordeal with base residencies. Our contact did a great job a getting all the ducks in a row for our arrival, unfortunetly it seems the weekday security staff and weekend staff do not share the same information. Thankfully after some calls we were able to get on base (though we almost had to unload our entire truck for a security inspection) and made our way to housing. This is where we were met by a young employee who did not know how to check us in nor did we know our reservation information. This took another hour yet thankfully we made it to our rooms by dinner time, the whole process took about two hours, but hey, we got here.

Today was my first MCT audition in three years and went very well. The kids are great and we are getting the show under our belts, its nice to be on the road again. The only downside of the day was being stung in the face by a wasp right before auditions and Mandi was stung on the hand right after. There are angry insects down here.

Phew! What a post! Thanks for reading all, time to prep for tomorrow's teachings!

The Adventure Continues - ML

Big Sky BBQ

Missoula, MT

Hello Friends!
Two posts in one day! Just got back from the Big Sky Brewery Summer BBQ. You may know them for their Moose Drool beers. Well they are all made in Missoula! Here are great pics of Kepler and Erin being cute and photographic evidence of me drinking a beer and eating delicious pork BBQ! (I strongly dislike the taste of beer, but enjoyed one in the sun for fun... or maybe two...)




Finally the one of the most amazing parts of the gathering were two locals known as the "dancers" while they seem like laid back hippies they have a dance style all their own that has been described as "Folksy, artsy, and bat shtuff crazy". And lucky you we got some video of it...





The Adventure Continues - ML

Daring Dining! ~ Paul's Pancake Parlor

*So spell check is not working, this entry is riddeled with bad spelling and grammar, my apologies*

Missoula, MT

Hello Friends!
Welcome to the first of many entires in a series I like to call "Daring Dining!" It's easy on the road to eat nothing but Subways or Applebees, but I liek to be daring and eat at local hot spots in towns all across the USA. From greasy spoons to fine dining, if it is NOT a chain retaurant I want to epxerince it! So today we start our ingural Daring Dining post from a Missoula staple - Paul's Pancake Parlor.

My good friend Kepler and I arrived at the Parlor at 9:15 and the place was packed - always a good sign. The restaurant was decorated with all things University of Montana Grizzlies and the staff wore tye-dyed t-shirts, it was very Missoula and made for a very laid back atmosphere, we were greated by great smiles and friendly staff and were able to get a seat right away even though the place was bopping.

The menu contained many of the stadard breakfast options from eggs to french toast. The mian draw of the menu, of course, was the panckaes, which a whole half page of the menu was devoted to. They ranged from the typical buttermilk to international favorites such as German Swedish. If you were really daring (or have the worlds biggest sweet tooth) you could even opt for the Carmel Chocolate Chip. We played it safe and I ordered eggs and ham which it came with Paul's own buscuit and gravy, Kepler ordered a western omlete which was served with a small stack of Buttermilk pancakes so we would be able to try the namesake of the establishment.

The service was pleasant, the coffee good, and the table clean so the wait for the good was enjoyable. Our food arrived hot and smelling wonderful, though presentation is not a huge priorty. My scrambled eggs with ham and hashbrowns were average, not horrible by any strech merely ok. Sadly my "Paul's own recipe" buiscuit and gravy was bland and tasted very Food Services of America, I was dissappointed... I am happy to report that Kepler enjoyed his omlete "It was delicoius and filled with bacony goodness." His words, not mine.

Now the hard words to type. The pancakes were bland. The syrup helped, however they were not amazing and as the main billing of the restauraunt I hoped for more. I am sure if we had ordered more of the exotic pancakes we would have had a better experince.

So all in all Paul's Pancake Parlor (I must admit that I love a restaurant that embraces alliteration) is an above average Mom and Pa greasy spoon. Prices are good for the amount of food you recieve and the atmosphere is very Missoula as Hippie and Grizzlies meet. If you are in the mood for crazy and unquie pancakes then stop on by!

The Adventure Continues - ML

Summer Plans

Missoula, MT
Hello Friends!

Here we are at the end of day nine of training at the home office of MCT. While I am not part the main training it has been fun to help train new TAD's (that's Tour Actor/Director) and see their excitement and terror at the prospects of this new endeavor.

Speaking of summer travels, we FINALLY have a tour schedule for this summer. They are all Navy bases and just recently booked. Our wonderful marketing office was really stressing about getting us a tour and now we have one! Just six weeks (out of ten) but we will take it! If you have any suggestions of cool places to see or do on our South-Eastern travels please leave a comment!

June 14-19 - Unbooked
June 21-26 - Mid-South, TN (near Memphis)
June 28- July 3 - New Orleans, LA
July 5-10 - Tallahasse, FL
July 12-17 - OFF for Erin and Kepler's Wedding in Missoula. It is also unbookeded...
July 19-23 - Jacksonville, FL (I will be at the Naval Base I was born on!!!)
July 26-31 - Pensacola, FL
August 2-7 - Unbooked, but we may get an Army base this week
August 9-13 - Dahlgren, VA
August 16-21 - Unbooked and probably will stay that way so we can start our 2,300 mile drive back.

Things in Missoula have been grand. They really do a great job of taking care of us while we are in town. All of our meals are provided and dorm living has been novel and fun, though I am looking forward to some sweat military hotels (seriously, they are nice). We all watched the Little Red Truck movie tonight (Documentary about our job, info can be found here) it got me excited to get on the road again, and it's a great feel good movie for anyone who works in the arts. If you haven't seen it yet, Netflix it! I'm not in it and I was touring when it was filmed and most of the TAD's in the movie are some of my dearest friends.

Slowly getting "Beauty Lou and the Country Beast" under my belt. It will be fun to do a western for the summer, now I just got to get this lines down! Well there is that drive to Memphis.

The Adventure Continues - ML

Teaching Teachers

Missoula, MT
Hello Friends-

Here we are at the end of day two of training in rainy and very Oregon like Montana. It's like I brought the Portland grey with me. It has been an exciting two days I have been seeing old friends and meeting many new. It has also been great to teach new TAD's the job and see their excitement for the job grow.

I (ironically) am writing this post from one of the dorms on the University of Montana campus. The same University that turned me down for Grad school last year. It's funny how the universe plays fun tricks on you like that. We also get to experience dinners at the UM cafeteria. I must confess I really enjoy cafeteria food. Reminds me of good times during my college years of sitting round and with great company. And the food isn't bad either!

Right now we are getting bookings in the SE from New Orleans to Florida and up to Virgina. More are coming in everyday and it is a nice feeling to know we actually will be doing the job for a bit this summer. They are all Navy bases which is a bit crazy but I am ready for it.

The Adventure Continues - ML