Feb 7, 2007

A Sinful Place To Eat



Hell's Kitchen
North Broad Street - West Hazleton, PA
We ordered pizza from Hell's Kitchen for my grandfather's birthday last night.  It's just a few blocks down from their house, so it's a pretty convenient place to pick up dinner.  They also have one of the best pizzas that I've ever had, and I've had a hell of a lot of pizza in my life (no pun intended).



This restaurant has gone under a few different names over the years.  When my dad was a kid, it was Brehm's Restaurant which was owned and operated by Georgie Brehm.  He was my great-great grandmother Christianna Brehm's brother, and he may be the most interesting branch of my family tree.  I'd like to research his life and write more about him at some point, but for now, let's just say that Hazleton wasn't known as Mob City for nothing.
 
Standard Speaker - Hazleton, PA (May 31, 1975)
Standard Speaker - Hazleton, PA
top left: February 17, 1972 / bottom left: July 19, 1974 / right: July 18, 1979

Brehm's Restaurant remained in business for over 50 years.  From the little bit of research I've done, it seems like Georgie Brehm retired and sold his restaurant on December 14th, 1970 to a company called Ro-Sch Inc.  They kept the original name for a few years, but the restaurant went by several different names throughout the 70's, including The Hut, Gina's Pizza Villa, and The Roman & Greek Warrior's Restaurant & Pizzeria.  Unfortunately, none of the new owners could were able to keep the business going, and the restaurant sat vacant throughout most of the 80's.
 
Standard Speaker - Hazleton, PA (July 22, 1989)
Standard Speaker - Hazleton, PA
top left: August 9, 1989 / bottom left: November 20, 1989 / top right: October 3, 1990  bottom right: July 3, 1991

The restaurant reopened its doors on July 22, 1989 as J&B Diner, and they operated as a sit-down restaurant.  However, in just over one year, the diner closed and the restaurant became a pizza parlor called Andre's.  I wasn't born when Georgie Brehm ran his restaurant, so I've always thought of this building as the old Andre's Pizzeria.  It's the place where my grandparents would order pizza from when I was in middle school, and it's the place that my friends and I would stop for a slice and a Farmer's Iced Tea when I was a teenager.

Andre's stayed in business throughout the 90's and into the early 2000's, but they closed shortly after someone sued them after slipping on some ice on the stairs that led up to their front door.
 
Standard Speaker - Hazleton, PA (October 9, 2005)

The building was vacant again for a couple of years before it was purchased by its current owners, who bought the business in 2005 and reopened the following year as Hell's Kitchen.  They haven't gone so far as to include the devil in the restaurant or in any of its advertisements, but they're tiptoeing right up to the line.
 


My only complaint about this special is the price.  Come on, guys!  Do you really need the extra 33 cents?  If you're going to have a coupon for something called the 666 Special, you've got to commit to the bit and charge $6.66.  What would the dark lord say?
 





Everything that I've tried here has been outstanding.  Their Hell's All Pizza with the secret Hot Hell Sauce is my favorite, but there's no way in hell that my grandparents were going to go for that (pun fully intended this time).  So, for my grandfather's 70th birthday, we ordered a couple of regular cheese pizzas. 



There's nothing fancy about their regular pizza.  It's just a damn good pie with fresh crust, a flavorful seasoned sauce and lots of cheese, and it's sold at a very reasonable price.  They don't even ask for your soul.  If you're ever in the area, give 'em a shot.

Feb 6, 2007

Grandpa's 70th Birthday


Happy 70th birthday to the best grandfather in the world.


Feb 4, 2007

Coffee At Wegmans


Market Cafe
Wegmans - Wilkes Barre, PA
My grandparents and I stopped for drinks on the way to the mall.

Jan 28, 2007

Battle Of The Icons


ROH: Battle Of The Icons
Inman Sports Club - Edison, NJ
Ring Of Honor doesn't typically announce the name of their shows ahead of time unless it's one of their annual events, such as Glory By Honor, Death Before Dishonor or Final Battle.  However, this is the second time in recent memory that the Edison show was given a name before the date of the show.  Last year, the August 5th show headlined by a championship match between Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe was billed as the Fight Of The Century.  This time around, the show has been called Battle Of The Icons, and Samoa Joe is once again in a main event title match, but this time he will be challenging Homicide for the ROH World Championship.



This was a hell of a good night of professional wrestling, featuring probably the best Jimmy Rave performance I have ever seen, a classic three way dance between the Christopher Daniels and the recently split Kings Of Wrestling, an incredible six man tag featuring Generation Next, and one of the hardest hitting ROH World Championship matches of all time.  Most of the past twelve months have consisted of one massive star-making match after another for Homicide.  ROH seems to be going all in on building him up as the face of the franchise.

Results:

Jan 27, 2007

Giant Hamburger


Atlas Cheeseburger
Clinton Station Diner - Clinton, NJ
This cheeseburger is made with three pounds of beef and a hell of a lot of cheese on a delicious, buttery bun.  If you can eat it in 45 minutes, it's free.  There's no way on earth that is happening, but it's reasonably priced for the size, and it's very tasty.



The Atlas isn't their only cheeseburger of unusual size that you can order at the Clinton Station Diner.  The biggest one on the menu is called Mt. Olympus.  It's weighs 50 pounds total with 25 pounds of beef.  The next largest is the Zeus, which is a 12 ½ pound cheeseburger with 7 pounds of beef.  Next up is the Atlas, which is the one that I had (5 pounds total, 3 pounds of beef).  There's also the Hercules (3 pounds total, 2 pounds of beef) and the Achilles (1 ½ pounds total, 1 pound of beef).

If you want to go in the other direction, they make something called Nano Bites, which they claim are the world's smallest burgers (to the best of their knowledge) at 0.4 oz.

Jan 25, 2007

The Team To Beat


Jimmy Rollins
Shortstop - Philadelphia Phillies
At a media luncheon, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins named the Phillies as the team to beat in the division.  It seems to have ruffled the feathers of Mets fans, who seem to believe that winning the 2006 NL East makes them the automatic favorite in 2007.

With a rotation of Freddy Garcia, Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Adam Eaton and Jamie Moyer, and a potent lineup that includes Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell and Aaron Rowand, I think our shortstop is right.  The time is now for the Philadelphia Phillies (photo source: Philadelphia Inquirer - 1/24/2007).

Source: Lancaster New Era - 1/24/2007

Jan 21, 2007

Cuffed And Caged



Pro Wrestling Unplugged: Cuffed & Caged
ECW Arena - Philadelphia, PA
Pro Wrestling Unplugged is the current project of former ECW owner, Tod Gordon.  They've been having shows at ECW Arena for a few years now, and in an attempt to build off of the success of last year's ROH vs CZW inter-promotional feud, PWU have been in their own war with the Insane Clown Posse led Juggalo Championship Wrestling.  I haven't been to a JCW match since the 2004 Gathering Of The Juggalos so this show was a good opportunity to catch up on what they're up to while at the same time checking out a local indy promotion for the first time.


The show had a good mix of East Coast indy wrestling talent with members of the JCW roster and ECW veterans.  The main event was a 5-on-5 inter-promotional cage match between PWU and JCW, with each team had their leader handcuffed together.  Tod Gordon was leading Team PWU while Shaggy 2 Dope was representing JCW.

The cage match was fought under modified War Games rules.  Nosawa (JCW) and Trent Acid (PWU) started the match, and a new wrestler was introduced every two minutes, starting with a member of JCW because they won the coin toss.  Unlike a traditional War Games match, the main event was held under elimination rules that were similar to a Survivor Series match.  Wrestlers who were pinned or tapped out were eliminated until only one team remained.

The order of entry was:
Hardcore isn't my favorite style of professional wrestling, but this match was pretty damn entertaining.  I was especially impressed with Violent J's performance in the ring.  There have been quite a few celebrities from other entertainment industries to cross over into the world of professional wrestling, but I can't think of anyone who has put the work into it that Violent J has.  He's not going to be mistaken for the Dynamite Kid in the ring, but the dude can work and doesn't look the least bit out of place.

Nosawa, Trent Acid, Johnny Kashmere, Mad Man Pondo, Pete Hunter and Gary Wolfe were each eliminated from the match, which left Corporal Robinson in a 2-on-1 situation against 2 Tuff Tony and Violent J.  At this point in the match, Come Out And Play was played for the second time (Raven's original ECW entrance music) and out he came.  However, instead of giving JCW a 3-on-1 advantage, he attacked his teammates and knocked them both out with an Evenflow DDT.  It looked as if he was siding with PWU, but he then attacked Corporal Robinson as well before grabbing a microphone to declare that he was the biggest star in the building and not a member of either team.  Raven then attempted to walk out, but Shaggy 2 Dope and Tod Gordon put their differences aside to attack him and drag him back to the ring.  The two sides then took turns beating up Raven until he crawled away in defeat to the united PWU and JCW teams. 

It definitely wasn't the finish I was expecting, but I'm guessing that it was done to put an end to the inter-promotional feud without one side having to lose to the other while, at the same time, transitioning to the main event storyline that will follow.  You can never go wrong booking Raven in the main event in Philly, so I'm interested in seeing where it goes from here.


Results:

Jan 7, 2007

Gendo In The Yard


We rescued Gendo from the pound.  At the time, he was all skin and bones and he had difficulty breathing.  The vet put him on prednisone which helps him to breathe without coughing, but he's gained a lot of weight as a side-effect. He's a very happy cat who likes to run and play and lay out in the sun.  He's the only cat I've ever seen who can be let outside in the back yard and he stays right there.

Dec 31, 2006

Ghosts Of New Years Past


New Years Eve - 1956
Times Square - New York, NY
Happy New Year from fifty years in the past.

Dec 25, 2006

Christmas Traditions


My family always has seafood for dinner on Christmas Eve.  For most of my childhood, my Grandpa and I would pick it up at Long John Silvers, but in recent years, Grandma made her own.  This year, she tried to do the Feast Of The Seven Fishes, complete with homemade crabcakes.



For Christmas Day, Grandma makes a lasagna that's packed full of mozzarella and rigot cheese.  I'm pretty sure the rigot (which she pronounces "row-goo-t") is ricotta, but she swears that it's different.  Whatever you call the cheese, the lasagna is delicious!

Dec 24, 2006

Christmas Manger


My grandmother has been putting out this manger every December since the 1960's.  In recent years, she has put an old Christmas tree skirt over the orange hassock in the parlor and set it up there.  She and my grandfather always go overboard with presents, so they're laid out in piles around the parlor until Christmas Eve.

Dec 23, 2006

Tetrabrachius Santa's Got His Hands Full


Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine
January, 1956
Cover artwork by Ed Emshwiller.  I especially love the book "How To Manage Reindeer In Space".

Dec 22, 2006

Interstellar Stop For Cookies And Milk


Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine
December, 1951
Cover artwork by Ed Emshwiller.  Check out that tentacle-like Christmas tree!

Dec 21, 2006

Community Bulletin


This channel has been broadcasting on Service Electric Cablevision in for as long as I've been alive.  The screen changes every ten seconds or so and has announcements about church fundraisers and other community events with the occasional advertisement about what pay-per-view movies and shows are available to purchase.  Local radio plays on audio, and because it's all Christmas music this time of year, it's not uncommon to see a home in Hazleton that has this channel on in the background just for the music.

Dec 20, 2006

Space Carols


Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine
December, 1953
Cover artwork by Ed Emshwiller.  I'd like to believe that they're singing "What Can You Get A Wookiee For Christmas".

Dec 7, 2006

Big Kitty


Gendo is a pretty husky cat.  He's also one of the sweetest animals I have ever known.  When we rescued him from the animal shelter, he was very thin and had a persistent cough like he was trying to get a hairball up.  The vet put him on prednisone which cleared up his breathing problems, but also caused him to gain a lot of weight.  Today, he's a healthy, happy cat who likes to lay on my grandmother's kitchen table.

Nov 26, 2006

The Rise Of The Fallen Angel


ROH: November 25, 2006
Inman Sports Club - Edison, NJ
This is the first time that I was in attendance to see one of the ROH titles change hands.  The Kings Of Wrestling were defeated for the Tag Team Championship by "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal in the eighth match of the night.  This is the first time Matt Sydal has held an ROH title, but it's Christopher Daniels' second time with the belts.  He was one half of of the first tag team champions in company history as a member of The Prophecy in 2002.  There have been rumors for the past few weeks that Claudio Castagnoli is in talks with WWE, so I'm not too surprised to see The Kings Of Wrestling drop the titles, but I was pretty shocked that it happened at this show.  I thought that they would end up losing to as established team like The Rottweilers or The Briscoe Brothers.

Speaking of the Briscoes, they had an intense tag team match in the main event against Samoa Joe and Homicide.  It was advertised as a Street Fight Rematch, which ended up being a Falls Count Anywhere match that was held under elimination rules.  This meant that a single pinfall or submission wouldn't end the match - it would just eliminates the person who was pinned or submitted, and leave the remaining member of the team in a 2-on-1 situation.  It ended up being a moot point, because Joe and Homicide both hit their finishers and pinned Jay and Mark Briscoe at the same time - odd finish to a wild match.

Results:
  • BJ Whitmer vs Jimmy Jacobs ended in a no-contest
    The referee was attacked and there was no opening bell, so this was not an official match

UPDATE: This show was released on DVD under the name "Dethroned".  It's available for sale on ROHWrestling.com.

UPDATE #2: Mitch Franklin would continue with ROH under the name Grizzly Redwood.  His opponent on this show, Jagged, went on to sign with AEW where he wrestles as Angelo Parker.

Nov 24, 2006

Grandma's Pumpkin Pie


This is the recipe that my grandmother based her pumpkin pie off of.  It's from the inside of a Carnation Evaporated Milk can label from the 1960's.

Nov 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving

Nov 19, 2006

Kicking Off The Holiday Season


Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Wachovia Arena - Wilkes Barre, PA
I've listened to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for a few years now, but I feel like I haven't experienced them at all until we got to see them in concert last night.  Definitely one of the best concerts I've ever been to!

Nov 10, 2006

Pac Lottery


Pac-Man Instant Ticket
Pennsylvania Lottery (2006)
If you get this ticket, you really should scratch it off with a quarter, preferably in an arcade.  It's good luck.

Nov 5, 2006

A Fight Without Honor



ROH: November 4, 2006
PA National Guard Armory - Philadelphia, PA
After a show in Edison a few months ago, the crew were asking for volunteers to help clear out the arena and pack up the truck.  It wasn't difficult work - mostly just carrying boxes of merchandise, chairs and pieces of the ring to the truck as the ROH students were taking everything apart.  They gave us a couple of shirts and DVDs to thank us for helping out and they let us know that if we showed up a few hours early to help them set up at future shows, we would be given free tickets to stay for the show.  It's a pretty sweet deal and we've done it a few times since then, including last night in Philadelphia.

My two favorite wrestlers on the roster are Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson.  I was able to meet Joe and take a photo with him after Final Battle last year, but I never saw Bryan after any of the shows I've been to... until yesterday.  We had finished setting everything up and were just kind of hanging out in the building before the doors opened to let people in when I saw Bryan walking past the ring on the way to the backstage area.  I was a little hesitant because I didn't want to bug the guy the second he got to work, but I figured that it may be now or never, so I went ahead and approached him, and I'm very glad that I did.



He could not possibly have been a nicer dude!  I apologized for bugging him, and he was super nice about it and joked with me.  He asked me to make the ugliest, meanest face that I could for the picture.  I did, but then I busted up laughing, and that's when my girlfriend managed to snap the picture, so if I look like an especially big goober in this pic, that's part of the reason why.

This totally made my night, and the show hadn't even started yet!
 

The first of Homicide's three wishes that were granted by Jim Cornette at Death Before Dishonor IV came true in last night's main event.  Homicide took on "The King of Old School" Steve Corino in a Fight Without Honor, which is what ROH calls a match in which there must be a winner, with no countouts or disqualifications.  This is a fairly rare occurrence in ROH.  There have been a total of eight Fight Without Honor matches in company history before this weekend, and two of them have involved Homicide.  Both of those matches took place in 2003 and both had Homicide taking on Trent Acid.
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