ON THE ROAD

College Park:

Three bars off Route 1. Nothing special.

I know it's a chain, but Chevy's in Greenbelt has great Mexican food. Probably your best bet. It's only about a 10-minute drive from campus off Route 193.

Also, there is this really great pizza place in a mall off Route 193 a few miles off campus. Can't recall the name of the place, but I'll be there later this week.

Greene Turtle in Laurel isn't bad. Decent bar, real cheap food. Liked the BBQ.

Students there friggin love Chipotle, which tells you how much the food scene sucks. There are a ton of sub shops open on Route 1 now.

Unless you're drunk and it's 3 a.m. DO NOT eat at Danny's under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Just don't fucking do it.

 

Leave it to the turtle to know what's up in College Park.

Chipotle uses quality ingredients, but I find it bland nex-Mex food. It'll work in a pinch if there's not an authentic taqueria around. Just make sure you combine all the salsas, which are mediocre on their own, for an above average mix.

 

Sirs, Madames,

Anyone who can help with Muskogee County, Oklahoma? Not a joke. Any advice in Tulsa?

Your Humble Servant, etc.

 

Not sure why you're going to Muskogee, but I'll tell you what I know.

Barbecue is the best bet in Muskogee and there's a couple solid options. Mahylon's and Smokehouse Bob's are the two best, in my opinion. There's also a pretty good Mexican food place there, El Charro.

As for drinking, there's really not much. Mulligan's is a decent little hole-in-the-wall, but that's about it, unless something else has opened recently.

 

This is interesting.

Is there any town without a Mexican place called El Charro?

There are at least two around me that I know of. I don't think it's a chain.

 

Nobody saw fit to help me plan my Alabama adventure, but I'll still pass along some advice to SEC beat writers.

When in Auburn, have burgers at Niffers, not Cheeburger Cheeburger. Also, if you can round up four friends, splurge on a fishbowl.

Also be sure to check out The Supper Club, especially if the Velcro Pygmies are playing.

There ain't much else 'round that way, except Little Mo's and Cold Stone Creamery. But that's just this Yankee's opinion.

;D


P.S. Thanks to all who made my trip so much fun!

 

Not to be a dick, guys, but I was dumbfounded by the lack of a bar scene in College Park. Three bars, are you kidding me? However, I got good and schnockered in TD's Filling Station, or whatever it was called. And saw a fantastic fight outside the joint late Saturday night. Santa Fe seemed like it had potential, but it was about to close when I got there. Also, we went to some all-night BBQ joint down in that area after drinking heavily. Can't say if the food was great or not, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Still, thanks for the advice. A good time was had by all.

 

There's a El Charro in Flagstaff. Mom and Pop type place.

 

Too late to help anybody now, but in Oklahoma City, steer clear of Earl's Ribs in Bricktown unless your idea of barbecue is flavorless meats with bland sauces.

Too bad, too. The place is nice, and agood location. And they had great looking t-shirts that would have made qa nice souvenir. But I can't bring myself to wear a shirt from a place that if anyone asked I would have to say "the food was boring but the shirt was cool."

I heard raves about the ribs at Coaches, located at the AAA ballpark. Didn't get there myself.

Also have to say, I was not all that impressed by Bricktown, or the rest of the city. Hard to imagine they built the Ford Center dreaming of an NBA or NHL franchise. OKC is def. not big league.

 

I ducked into Amherst, Mass., this weekend for the NCAA hockey regionals. Didn't get to check out much, but had dinner at the Amherst Brewing Company (sweet potato fries and southwest burger were yummy, and split an order of dragon fries and deep-fried dill pickle spears), then went to Bart's for coffee and bagels the next day.

Regardless of the time limitations, I'll put Amherst on my top 20 list of college towns.

Also, if anyone's going to be in Hartford for the national writing workshop Apr. 15-16, PM me.