What did you think of Charlie's Off Main in Belleville, IL?

Charlie's Off Main is a historic restaurant and bar in downtown Belleville, IL that recently reopened its doors after a pretty extensive renovation, and being from Wisconsin, where we love our fish fries, ever since moving to southern Illinois, finding a proper fish fry is impossible. So, when I heard that Charlie's was serving up a Stag beer battered haddock, I was sold on the idea that very soon I'd be giving them a try.

And last night we did exactly as my wife and I met up with my sister and brother-in-law for a couple's night out for some dinner and drinks.

It was a Saturday night and when we walked in, the place was full of people and bustling. We told the hostess we'd have a party of four, and were told it would be about a 25-minute wait since we wanted a table.

Our wait time was what we were promised, give or take a few minutes.

Meanwhile we sat at the bar and service was attentive and good, although when my sister and brother-in-law arrived and were conversing behind us, standing, I did have to flag down the bartender who had walked past several times not acknowledging them for them to order some drinks.

Granted, the place was very busy.

My wife and I ordered the fish and chips, which was the Stag beer battered haddock with a side of fries and a small sauce container of cole slaw. 

Overall, I thought the fish was a bit overcooked, and for $20 I expected more than one filet. But it was still good, even if the portion size and being overcooked a bit missed the mark. They could have spared more than a couple of tablespoons of cole slaw as well, although there were plenty of fries.

It was no Wisconsin beer battered fish fry, but not something I won't have again. Perhaps it's something to order on a less busy night when the cook has more time to tend the fryer.

My only other complaint was being served our fish on metal platters lined with paper. I'd have preferred it served on a plate, as the paper is thin and cutting into the fish, the paper was tearing, and I am sure I probably ate some bits of paper with some of my fish.

Overall, our experience was good, and I thought the place had a nice atmosphere even if it was rather loud. They also have plenty of other menu items, and so on our next visit there we may certainly try other offerings.

If I were to rate them, it would be as follows:

Service: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Prices: 3 stars
Quality of our platters: 3 stars
Portion size: 2 stars

Despite our minor issues we had, I think Charlie's Off Main is a fantastic place for a night out and I would recommend giving them a try.

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© 2024 Jim Bauer

It's the Low Information Voter and Idiots Who Are Scared

There are what we like to call low information voters and then there are idiots, and some people are a little combination of both.

Hey, I am not trying to be mean. I am just trying to keep it real.

I am referring to a recent post I saw on Facebook following the very real realization that our 47th president would be Donald J. Trump. The post simply read, "We are fucked," followed by "the economy is about to be messed up."

First of all, what economy are you referring to? The one where median income has been whittled down to nothing due to 40-year high inflation? That economy? The economy littered with myriad retail and fast-food jobs because someone decided we didn't need good manufacturing ones, or oil and pipeline jobs that pay at minimum $70,000-$120,000 a year? The economy where housing is practically unaffordable at any income level and people have racked up credit card debt in record trillions of dollars just to pay bills and buy groceries? 

Look, the reality is that there are two people who have not really been touched all that much in this economy. The rich who have the money to deal with it, and the poor who are given the money to deal with it.

And that's not to disparage the rich or the poor. It's simply to make a point. Some people won't feel the economy in the way that say, the blue-collar middle-class working families will, who bear the full brunt of everything.

If you are living on rental assistance and food stamps, not only are you less impacted by the economy, but you are also insulated from it as well because, of course, it's not your money.

The post had other comments of course, as well, citing a wide range of things. But come on, how it is a bad thing that we will once again have a secure border? What's so bad about declaring energy independence and using our natural resources as a source for fueling a better economy that we can all benefit from?

We can't kill inflation. It already happened. But we can stall it dramatically if we can bring the cost of things down by bringing down the cost of energy which is baked into higher prices in a very big way. Trump's going to do that. Harris had no interest in it. They wanted more solar and more windmills, while at the same time denying adding to grids to produce all the power we need to fuel the electric everything technology they want to curb fake climate change initiatives.

Look, I could comment all day on all the benefits of a Trump administration. But I know my audience. I'd just be preaching to the choir. We know what they are. All I will say is that people who think we would have been better off with Kamala Harris in office clearly have their heads buried deeply in the sand and either are beneficiaries of government subsidy in one form or another, or like I alluded to before, are simply stupid.

Open borders. High crime and looting. Appointment of soft on crime prosecutors and judges. 40-year high inflation. Gas and energy prices straddling hardworking Americans. Poverty at all-time highs. Men competing in women's sports. Boys in girl's locker rooms, bathrooms and showers. Median income decimated. Businesses struggling to survive due to ridiculous minimum wage laws.

I could go on and on.

That is what we voted against. That's why Harris lost. Because nobody wants any of those things. We are not fucked. That already happened over the past four years. If Harris had won is when we'd have really been fucked.

As for people now wanting to say they want to move to Canada, I say pack your bags and go. Canada is already there when it comes to liberal policy. They are way ahead of us. If that's what you wanted, they have already done it. If you need an Amazon link for some nice luggage, let me know. I'd be happy to provide it.

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© 2024 Jim Bauer

Has Dawn changed its formula?

My wife and I tend not to be brand loyal people, although there are a few things we do tend to stick with. Rain-X windshield washer fluid, for example. It works great and I like the way it beads rain on the windshield. We also prefer Cottonelle brand toilet paper.

Years ago, we also stuck with Dawn dishwashing detergent. We had used several brands before it, and nothing would last as long in the sink or bust down grease better than Dawn, hands down.

But I think over the years they must have changed the formula, because I have not been impressed. The soap doesn't last as long through a round of dishes and barely cuts grease like it used to. In fact, it is quite noticeable how much less effective Dawn is at cutting grease than it used to be.

It can't just be my imagination. It is quite a noticeable difference. I should note that I started seeing this difference before inflation, so I don't necessarily think "shrinkflation" in the sense that they have watered down the product to increase margins is the cause.

This was an intentional effort to change the product but still sell it and market it as the same product. But I don't think it is.

As a result, Dawn dishwashing detergent has pretty much lost our business, and we will switch to a cheaper value brand from now on. We were willing to pay the premium for the brand name because it worked. But if the product no longer works, it's not worth the added cost. Plain and simple.

Businesses do these things and have this idea that customers will not notice the changes. But we do. And when we are sure changes were made, we make changes as well to our buying habits, and it seems to me that businesses should be aware of this.

It takes years to build a loyal customer but only seconds to lose one.

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© Jim Bauer