Jacksonville and a Tomato Box

This past weekend, Brian and I had the pleasure of traversing to Jacksonville, FL for the Oasis Youth Conference. We had a great time hanging out with the teens and Comedian Bob Smiley (www.bobsmiley.com). We performed on Friday night and then again on Saturday. At the end of our Saturday performance, we had a short question and answer period. There were some very insightful and thought provoking questions. Unfortunately, the answers were neither insightful nor thought provoking unless the thought being provoked was, "What does that have to do with anything?"

We had 2 brothers driving us from the airport and between the church and hotel. We learned quite a bit from them about hunting and discussed whether or not it would be difficult to build a plane. Late the first night, we went out for food to a beautiful establishment called Steak N Shake.

We had a waitress whom we'll call Sara, who didn't say much. That is until she overheard me asking if the werewolves in "New Moon" were actual werewolves or wolfmen. Sara was awakened from her slumber and bombarded me with a whole history of "Twilight" and it's author, Stephenie Meyer. When she finished, which I believe was at the moment she remembered the necessity of breathing, I asked her if she was a fan of the series. Even though it's usually customary to do in the kitchen, I'm pretty sure she was close to spitting in my food right in front of me. She assured me that she is a fan of all things Vampire. I promptly asked her opinion then of the film, "Little Vampire" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192255/). She looked at me funny, and I said, "The movie with that "Jerry Mcguire" kid." The college kid next to me quickly stepped in and said, "His name is Jonathan Lipnicki." I'm not sure what creeped me out more. Sara's enthusiasm for sickly looking vampires or this 21 year old male's knowledge of Lipnicki.

This next part is a warning for those flying in the next few weeks. If you plan on carrying on a Tomato box, there is a flight attendant on Southwest who may have some questions. I usually carry on a box of our CD's to sell at shows so they don't get damaged under the plane. Lately, I have been putting them in a Tomato box because it is the perfect size and has handles. I have done this quite a few times and normally get that hilarious, "Can I have a tomato?" question. This past trip I ran into a woman who seems to have some sort of intolerance towards boxes.

As I was boarding the plane the flight attendant quickly asked what was in the box. I assured her that it was CDs. She then asked if it would fit in the overhead. I told her it would and it was actually smaller then most of the suitcases people were trying to pass off as "Carry-Ons." She then pointed out that this was a box and not a suitcase as if this were news to me. Since we were disclosing obvious information Brian pointed out to her that boxes and suitcases serve the same purposes in that they both contain things. This was said in jest, and usually Southwest attendants have a sense of humor. She looked at us a little miffed and firmly said, "But this is a box, not a suitcase," as if suitcases had more rights then my lowly box. I then asked if she would be more comfortable if I put a handle on it. It was at this point we were moving up the aisle and she asked that we not "get smart." I guess my last comment was kind of sarcastic, but I had never seen anyone let the power of explaining how to buckle a seatbelt go to their head so strongly.

Old Town Buffet, Inc.

1495 Old York Rd.

Abington, PA 19001

This is actually the closest Chinese Buffet to my house. When I first heard the name of this place I was reminded of another eating establishment that my grandparents always had a hankering for. When I walked in I totally expected to see some Chinese grandparents with some Chinese hankerings.

This buffet has a really cool layout. You walk through a long hall which builds on your anticipation of gorging yourself. It's also nice because it adds to the walk to your car and after this place any extra exercise is encouraged. The "showroom" as I like to call it was huge. There was plenty of seating, a wide selection of food, and a huge grill section to create your own entree that you can tell your friends about later.

The service was very good beyond the normal clearing of plates and filling your drink. I had my 8 month old son with me and the waitresses stopped to entertain him every time they passed. One even sat at the table to play a riveting game of Peek a Boo in which my son was victorious.

We recommend this buffet especially since it's located below a Target. Get your fill of Chinese enjoyment and then purchase some Target brand paper towels. Life fulfilled.

4 Stars

Planning and Apology

Let me begin with the apology. In my last Chinese Buffet review, I committed an act that may be unforgivable. I spelled General Tso's incorrectly. There, I said it. I spelled it with a "Z" instead of an "S."

There are 2 categories of people when it comes to General Tso's: The Casual Fan & The Loyal Soldier. Now the casual fan may not have notice. They may have stepped back and said, "Oh that's how you spell that." If they did notice, they probably chortled at my "stupidity" and boasted to all of their friends how they are always writing "General Tso's" and have never spelled it wrong. I have lost all credibility with the casual fan when it comes to my Chinese Buffet Reviews. I can live with that. These reviews aren't for the casual fan. They are for you people with your own table at the buffet. All of you people who don't have to order a drink, because the waiters and waitresses already have poured it when they saw you pull in.

Now for the Loyal Soldier. They weren't as upset by this as you might imagine. Yes, they are displeased with my hasty error, but they surely understand. It's easy to mistakenly put a "Z" in there since we all now that General Tso's Chicken derives its name from Zuo Zongtang , a Qing Dynasty general and statesman from Hunan. How many of us get to talking about the General's chicken and find our mind wondering off to the exploits of Zuo Zongtang, only to be enamored by the alliteration of Z's? We're lucky I didn't type "General Zuo's Chicken."

In Dave and Brian news, we are in the planning stages of making the first Dave and Brian Music Video. We are shooting the first weekend of December in Tennessee and it will be for "The Dork Anthem." We are very excited because it's really coming together and is going to be very professional looking. This isn't my Mom walking around with a Flip Camera pushing record when she thinks she's turning it off and then turning it off when she thinks she's recording. We have a director, cameras, a gib, and scooters. We'll post pictures and keep you all updated. Once we get this thing out we'll need your help to pass it around the Internet!

Panda Chinese Restaurant

3519 US Highway 84

Blackshear, GA 31516

On a trip from Jacksonville, Fl to Baxley, GA, Brian and I figured we'd stop somewhere for food on the road. There was nothing on the road. For 2 hours we drove and finally stumbled into the small town of Blackshear where there were the first signs of civilization. It is here we thought it might be a good idea to try out the lunch buffet being offered at the Panda Chinese Restaurant.

Presentation was not so great. There were no pictures of The Great Wall or a light up picture of a river that makes it look like it is actually flowing. There wasn't a wide selection, but your standards were available. They did have a variety of fried vegetables including cauliflower and whatever else fell into the deep-fryer.

As we were leaving to get in our car, a truck pulled up containing 2 locals who had been in the restaurant with us. The gentleman rolled down his window and what came out of his mouth can only be imagined if you saw the movie "The Waterboy" and you remember the assistant coach. I am by no means exaggerating. It was exactly the same. We think he was saying that they had good food. I'm not sure about that, but I do know that the Panda fulfilled our whole trip. The first part we were looking for food and found it. The second part sent us looking for bathrooms because of it.

1 Star

That's our time. . .in Jail

This past weekend was an eventful one in Ohio. On Friday we performed at the Juvenile Detention Center in Springfield, OH and then in the evening performed at The Salvation Army there (in Springfield, they don't have Salvation Army's in jail). Saturday night we were in Cincinnati, OH for the National Youth Workers Conference. A lot of people ask what it's like traveling all over the place. Here's something that might give you an idea: Friday night we slept in bunkbeds in a child's play room. Saturday night we slept at the Hyatt with a view of downtown Cincy. That's what it's like.

We had the pleasure of having comedian Rich Jones (www.richjonescomedy.com) perform with us in Springfield. He's an up and coming, very funny comedian. Check out his stuff on his website and YouTube.

So, about this juvenile detention center. It's interesting, whenever we perform and I mention that we perform in juvenile detention centers, there are always people who laugh at that. When I mentioned it in the juvenile detention center, they didn't laugh. I guess it's the opposite of the concept, "You had to be there."

On a serious note, we really enjoyed being able to perform there. There were about 25 teens there and we were set up in a common room right outside a block of cells. There was one kid who got in trouble before the show. They put him in his cell, so during the whole show there was a kid peeking through a small window from a jail cell. The teens really got into the show and it was very fun. The Assistant guy who ran the place was very pleased and said it was the first time he had seen them open up like that.

The show at The Salvation Army was fun. They had a chili cook-off beforehand, so during the show there was new meaning brought to the term laughing gas (I really really apologize for the fart joke. It's a bad one too, but no matter how hard I fought myself I had to do it. Do I need to quit comedy now?)

NYWC (www.nywc.com) was awesome. We performed in the Late Night Comedy Club with Darren Streblow (www.darenstreblow.com) and Ryan and Friends (www.ryanandfriends.com). The audience was made up of Youth Pastors and Youth Workers from all over the country. We went on last, so they were all warmed up and ready to go by the time we hit the stage. It was awesome!

Golden Bowl Buffet

1781 N. Bechtle St.

Springfield, OH 45504

Captain Steve Carroll was kind enough to take us to Golden Bowl Buffet, so that we could share with the world of this great restaurant. Presentation at a Chinese Buffet is very important and Golden Bowl did not disappoint. As you walk in you cross a bridge over top of a small Coy Pond. There are see-through portals in the bridge so you can see the Coy swim beneath your feet. It is much like experiencing something out of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" except much shorter.

The service was good, but our friend Rich Jones had a negative experience with one of the waitresses. When he asked if she was our waitress, she stared at him for a little bit and then left with no response. I'm not sure but judging by the look on her face, I think he may have somehow showed dishonor to her and her family just by talking to her.

The food was great at Golden Bowl. There was a wide variety of seafood selections and I partook of all of them. The highlight of the buffet though was by far the General Tzos Chicken. It had a rich flavor with a soft kick. The texture was perfect for your tongue to participate in the enjoyment of consuming as well. Let's just say that if this chicken is a fair representation of the actual General Tzo, then we would join the Chinese army and follow him to the death.

4 Stars