Winner of 2010 NBA Finals .... Los Angeles Lakers

No, I'm not talking out of both sides of my mouth.  Predicting the future is risky business.  Many turns and missteps lead to a untold number of possible outcomes.  What I'm attempting to do is sort through the clutter of possibilities and clear the fog for the future.  Make no mistake, the Lakers are favored by every legal betting service outside of New England. 

However, here's how their championship parade could get cancelled.

The Lakers will loose if these things happen:

1 - Kobe gets seriously hurt.  No brainer.  He is the best player on court and it's money time.

2 - The bigs (Odom, Gasol and Bynum) average less than 15 points or 15 rebounds - COMBINED!

3 - Ron Artest has a Pacer flashback and goes gangster for the series - underperforming and being a team distraction.

The Winner of 2010 NBA Finals ... Boston Celtics:

Of course no one know's who is going to win this game.  If  you do several fellows who call Las Vegas home would love to speak to you ... privately. 

When you look back at this post, here's who will win:

If Boston Celtics win, this will happen:

• Rajon Rondo - will lead the team in assist all games
• Kevin Garnet - will average 15+ points per game
• Kendrick Perkins - will have not foul out of any game

In Search of Soul Food in Houston

Soul Food - What is it? Country cooking with a twist of love.  Primal.  All about the taste giving no consideration of fat, calories, carbs, etc.  Remember, life for the average person eating this incredible style of cooking at the time of it's creation.  They were hard working manual laborers.  They needed something filling, that tasted good, made from food others didn't want or they could easily grow. 

The Houston metro area of 4+ million folks.  There must be an impressive lineup of potential hall of fame Soul Food Restaurants out there.  I want to find them all.  The art, the craft, the tradition must be supported.  Here's a starter list that will be reviewed in more detail in the weeks to come.  Help me add to the list.  Let's keep hope alive!

 

1. This is It - 207 Gray Street.  Of course this institution belongs on any 'best of list'. 
2. Yo Mama's Soul Food - 5332 Arizona Dr.
3. Just Oxtails - 4207 Reed Rd
4. The Kitchen - 9381 Richmond Ave
5. Esther's Cajun Cafe and Soul Food - 5204 Yale St
6. Alfreda's Cafeteria 5101 Almeda Rd
   
   
   
   
   

My favorite fried foods

Food Network has a regular series called "The Best Food I Ever Ate" where various FTV personalities discuss their personal guilty pleasures. One of the episodes discussed best fried foods.  Given that this is an area of particular fondness I would like to humbly offer some of my favorites.

1. Pork rinds (not the air filled pillow filling you find in mainstream, but the fried skin that's slighty crunchy and chewy ... magical)
2. Chicken (dusted with a little flour and not that thickly coating that some offer as a substitute for flavor)
3. Pork chops (definitely with bone-in and a little marbling. Lean is NOT the operative word.)
4. Crab fingers (strips wonderfully from the small bone, flavorable and delicate.  I could eat several hundred without pause.)
5. Buffalo wings (Boneless is not a wing, it's an abomination!  Hotter the better.  The best wing I have yet to eat will cause be to uncontrollably convulse until I pass out.)  Note: Hooters wings have way too much breading.  But of course, you don't really go to Hooters for the wings ... do you?

What's yours?

American Shrimp Industry Going Down for the Count

First there was the foreign imports of shrimp, oysters and a vile fish called talapia.  Then came the MBA-inspired shrimp farms who are prolific in their production of tasteless prawn.  The industry managed to co-exist with these imitations until Hurricane Katrina turned their breeding grounds into washed out marshlands and deposted their boats miles inland.  The industry was weakened for sure as the majority of shrimpers choose not to come back. Still one could fairly reliably find "Wild Caught in Gulf" shrimp in the supermarkets.  Now this! The BP spill will not only shut down the industry but will do so for a generation which quite possibly might mean US Gulf Coast shrimp industry will go the way of US consumer electronics and textile industries.  Let's pray a miracle will happen.

Country Cooking in Humble, Texas

Humble City Cafe in Humble Texas is a dying bread of American cooking.  It's unpretenious if not downright rundown.  The food has plenty of catfish, steaks, pork chops and lots of homemade veggies.  You know the kind - the ones you grew up eating - turnip greens, black eye peas, mashed potatoes, etc. Yea those.  Priced around $10 per person, it's a great place to take the family and fill up.  200 E Main St, Humble, TX 77338

Telephone:  (281) 319-0200

Best Place on Earth for Golf

Mrytle Beach, SC - http://www.mbn.com/courses/ Assuming your name is not Nicklaus, Palmer, Gates or Bush and you love golf, Mrytle Beach is the best golf destination on earth. With over 100 golf course, most costs between $40 to $80 a round you can play year round on all types of tracks - long, short, heavily bunkered or a lot of water, tree lined or links style. It's all here. No course recommendations because if you're like me any golf that better than a cow pasture is good enough. Bonus: Great all you can eat seafood just north of town. The combination of low costs, lots of hotels, great selection of courses and good food make this, well, the best place on earth for golf.