Why I Oughta...

Those of you who have been following along on the blog know a few things about me:  I'm pretty passionate about pizza and gardening.  But also about Club Cheese.  Yeah...Club Cheese.  You might call it Cold Pack Cheese.  Or Cheese spread.  Or a 'tub of cheese'.  Here in Illinois, Merkt's rules the grocery store, but Trader Joe's sells something that is a bit more whipped than Club Cheese that they market under the label "Pub Cheese".  It is all good stuff.  And I'll eat a lot of any variety of the stuff that I come across at parties and social gatherings.  Also, I'll eat a lot of the stuff inside my very own house. Pretzels, tortilla chips, pita chips.  I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to the vessel that I use to scoop up the club cheese and deliver it to my mouth. But, I've had a few Club Cheese experiences that have allowed me to demonstrate a strong preference for a particular variety. Sure, I still stay true to Merkts....

Have you had these pretzels yet?  They're a fast-emerging ' favorite thing ' of mine this Holiday season that I'm certain will make this year's list .  And, unfortunately, they quickly disappeared once they arrived in our pantry.  The peppermint and almond one?  Awesome.  The sprinkles one?  Fine, but always the last tray to empty.  I've mentioned to Natalie like four times that the 'next time you go to TJ's, can you buy more of these ???', but it appears that they might be sold out already because our rations haven't been restocked.  Or perhaps it was the fact that I/we devoured these in four days that she's purposely not rebuying?

Add this beauty of a mug to the collection from the Bavarian Lodge in Lisle.  But, before we talk more about the mug/glassware, can we say a word about this place?  We had never been there before.  But, we took the three savages with us and decided to try an early dinner one night.  And... I... Loved... It! Loved the place.  Loved the food. We ordered the pretzels and they might have been the highlight.  Also went with the schnitzel and a knockwurst along with a side of kraut.  All-in, German-style.  Loved the schnitzel, didn't have room to take on much of the knockwurst. And when we were there, Nat's brother's favorite brewery - Stone Brewing - was doing a takeover of the lodge's taps , so we both enjoyed a few of those, which was nice. Here's a few pics of the Stone takeover menu front and back: And here's my beautiful partner in life hoisting one of those tasty beers in the gorgeous mug that's part of the 'pinched collectio...