KITCHEN AND BARS
By Duncan
The end of the year is close at hand. You know, I roll my eyes when people say the obvious. Just like I did. “The end of the year is close at hand.” Duh!!! Who doesn’t know the end of the year is close at hand. Yes, just call me “Mr. Obvious.”
However, I do have a few things you might find interesting. Let's start with the most obvious. You wake, get out of bed. At some point, you head for the kitchen. I and you need a cup of coffee to start the day. You see how I slid over the other obvious morning activities, but let’s not dwell on the obvious.
Needs to be more obvious? Okay, I need to make my bed and tidy up the bedroom.
Okay, I start a pot of coffee, and while that’s brewing, I look for something to eat. I was thinking about an omelet and remembered I made one yesterday. What was in my omelet? Tomato, onion, ham, and cheese. No, I don’t have a picture of my omelet. But it was good. So today, I’ll go with a bagel.
Toasted Bagel, Cream Cheese, Salmon
Oh, and by the way, I learned something I did not know about kitchen equipment. It’s about the trusty toaster. Yes, the toaster. A simple everyday piece of equipment, always on the counter waiting for your bread or bagel.
I slide my bread into the slots and adjust the control knob on the toaster to number four and push the lever down, and the bread or bagel will fall down into the toaster. Now I wait for it to toast.
I’ve been known to stick a knife in the toaster to get my English muffin or bagel out of the toaster before it’s finished. I don’t want it to burn. Shazam, I learned if I turn the control knob from position number four to the off position, it will turn off the toaster, and the toast will pop up automatically. My toaster may be more sophisticated than yours, but I bet not. This old dog just learned a new trick.
The picture above was an omelet I ordered at Daddy Jack's in Indianapolis. I was having lunch with Beth Blake, a very attractive female friend and business associate from my years in the mortgage lending game. Beth was one of the hardest-working celebrities in Real Estate. I believe our working relationships go back to the early 70’s.
Beth has just returned to Indiana from an extended sabbatical in South Florida's warm and tropical breezes. I was blessed to be invited to her Cabana in a gated community overlooking her real estate holdings in South Florida a couple of times. She had a magnificent home with a swimming pool in the back. As we sat on the Lanai overlooking the pool one afternoon, enjoying our cocktails, a young, half-naked pool boy came around the corner. I remember her mumbling over her cocktail, “Oh My God!” Beth is a lover of nature in all forms.
As Jeff, our tall and very professional waiter approached our corner table at Daddy Jacks. I noticed his uniform. Bermuda shorts, baseball hat, sneakers and of course, all the savoir‘oir faire that Daddy Jack's atmosphere affords, after considerable thought, Beth and I decided to kick start lunch on a couple of glasses of wine.
“Beth, Red or White?”
“Red.”
(The truth is I put on a full court press on Beth. “Oh come on Beth, have a glass of wine with me.”)
“Jeff, what would you suggest in the way of a full bodied red wine?“
Jeff offered his opinion on what he believed was an exquisite choice for a big spender like myself. As in the movies, I tossed my hand in the air, as if to say, “That selection sounds perfect. Two glasses, please.”
I enjoy a meal at Daddy Jack's two to three times a year. I always enjoy the leather booths, the dark mahogany paneled walls which offer the feeling of being in a rich stately estate. The food is always tasty. It’s as close to the old King Cole restaurant as it gets. As I was looking at the menu, I noticed Daddy Jacks offers an omelet. I was thinking, wow, I didn’t know Daddy Jacks did omelets.
While sipping a really tasty glass of red, and who knows what it’s really called? Or how much I’m being charged for this crushed grape. I later found out it was twelve dollars a glass. I was thinking a Mimosa might have been a better choice with an omelet, or maybe, coffee?
I kept looking at the omelet on the menu. I have a glass of wine, do I really want to pair an omelet with red wine? To hell with it, I’am going with the omelet. I kept thinking, wine and an omelet? Jeff has got to be in the kitchen talking with the cook. I got a customer who is drinking expensive red wine and wants an omelet. And Jeff and the cook look at each other and laugh and laugh.
Beth and I were talking about all the changes that have occurred in Indianapolis in the last 30-40 years. Beth said, “You know the story of Daddy Jacks, right?”
Photo: Courtesy of the Daddy Jacks Website.
I knew they had a 30th Anniversary a year or so back. I also know Daddy Jack's has a slogan that they like to use.
Live life fully, play to win, share the spoils of victory, and have lots of laughs. And always, always remember your friends.
What is it that I don’t know, Beth?
Jack Thompson was the father of Jim Thompson. Jim Thompson owns the place now. Jack (the father) treated people as if they were the most important person in the world. Jack was also the life of the party. He was a beautiful human. In 1981, Jack had a tragic accident. There are lots of rumors about his death.
Jim Thompson, in 1991 (Ten years after Jack’s death), bought a restaurant that needed some positive vibes. Jim wanted to celebrate his father. He called the new restaurant “Daddy Jack’s.” It’s Jim’s tribute to his father, and it's been doing business for over 32 years now. And that’s where we are today. We sat and talked, and the place was busy as usual. We needed to surrender our table to other customers. So we had to call it a day.
I found myself in a bar a night or two ago. I have a neighbor who lives behind me by the name of Joe. Joe likes to drink and invites me to share an adult beverage with him. We talk about almost everything. We are known to have many laughs and enjoy each other's company. We started talking about the Legion in Fishers, Indiana.
“Have you ever been there, Duncan?”
“The Legion? No, I can’t say I have.”
“You were in the Air Force for four years; they will let you in; you need to go over there and try it.”
I’ve been putting off going to the Legion for several reasons. None of the reasons are any good, it's just me not wanting to go, I guess. So, the other night, I walked into the Legion. I sat down at the bar, and the bartender came up to me, offered her hand, and said,
“Welcome. What’s your name?”
“Duncan, and yours?”
“Ronda?. R O N D A?”
“Rhonda, with an “H." What will you have to drink, Duncan?”
“Do you have Scotch?”
“Huh, (She turned and looked at her shelf.) Dewar’s and … McAllister.”
(That was my first clue that this is a beer-drinking crowd.)
“Okay, what do you have in Rum?”
“Bacardi.”
“Okay, Rum and Coke with a lime.”
(That went down a little easier. It could be more popular in this place.)
Rhonda, with an H, makes a very generous pour. Wow, this is one “stiff” rum and coke.
My drink reminds me of the line in It’s A Wonderful Life when Nick, the bartender says,
Nick: Hey, look, mister. We serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast, and we don't need any characters around to give the joint "atmosphere."
So now that we know where we are, I asked Rhonda if the kitchen was still open, and she said it was open till 9:00 PM. I then asked what was the most ordered item on the menu? She said, after a second, “The Tenderloin.” So I ordered the Tenderloin with lettuce, Onion, Tomato, and Mayonnaise. Hold the pickle.
I’ve got to give it to the guy in the kitchen; this was an excellent sandwich. So, as I was eating my sandwich. There were three gals to my left having a grand old time. I looked over and said hello.
They hello-ed me back. I happened to notice Rhonda making a drink I had never seen before. She had seven shot glasses in a row. I asked her what she was making. The gals on my left at the bar yelled out. “It’s called a Duck Fart.”
“A Duck Fart?”
I watched Rhonda begin to make the drinks. I went around the corner of the bar to take a closer look and a picture. First, Rhonda carefully pours Kahlua into the bottom of the seven-shot glasses. Then she pours Bailey's Irish Cream on top of the Kahlua very carefully; on top of that, she pours Crown Royal Whisky. And there you have a “Duck Fart.” I asked Rhonda what the “bar” charges for that drink. She said, $5.50.
Rhonda asked, “You want me to make you one?”
I decided my Rum and Coke (Heavy on the Rum) would likely be my only drink for the night. I got to talking with the three gals, and they asked if I take a lot of pictures. I said, yes, I try to document everywhere I go, or almost everywhere I go. I called Rhonda over and handed her my cell phone,
“Rhonda, take a picture of the four of us if you will.” I got up and went behind the gals. The picture was taken, and then they said, “Don’t be putting that picture on Social Media.” So, I had to block out their faces.
I finished my Rum and Coke and decided it was time for me to head down the line. I have finally been to the Legion, and I will have to report to Joe about my experience. It was an interesting evening. Who knows, maybe I’ll go back sometime.
On the way home, I took a few pictures of the homes in my neighborhood.
