Bars and clubs are a lot different than they used to be, in some areas anyway. A lot of places no longer allow smoking and you can usually find light beer on tap.
Sometimes a guy just needs a night out on the town, even if he does everything he can all week to stay fit and healthy. Going out for drinks with the guys doesn’t have to be an unhealthy adventure, as long as you keep a few things in mind.
There’s nothing more epic or more iconic than the great American road trip. Road trips are embedded into the very fabric of the American male soul. America created car culture, and there’s nothing better than a road trip with the boys. With a country as big as ours, you can’t do it all at once, so you better pick an awesome destination.
California. The Golden State. Just the name is enough to conjure up images of splendor, fun, sun, surf and snow. If you are trying to decide on where your next boys’ trip should be, California needs to be on the very top of that list. Even if you already live in California there are places yet to be discovered, and still more places that deserve another look.
The state has one of the longest coastlines in the country and unfettered access to beautiful beaches sitting on the edge of the great blue pacific ocean. California hosts world class mountain ranges, redwood forests, deserts, cosmopolitan cities, and enough attractions to satiate even the most adventurous of travelers.
Here’s an ultimate guide for planning a road trip to California with the boys.
Just a couple years ago, around 24.6 million Americans, from age 12 and up, were believed to have used some sort of illicit drug. That is 9.4 percent of the American population, and it was a 1.1 percent increase over the last study done in 2002.
They say that blondes have more fun, and we were given a chance to test that theory when Guinness sent over some samples of the latest addition to their beer family – Guinness Blonde American Lager – and challenged us to come up with the best summer barbeque dish to pair alongside it. After taking just a few sips of the crisp, savory beer, which “blends floral and citrus notes with a unique biscuit malt flavor,” we quickly realized that, unlike their heavier stouts, this would go well with just about any summertime dish.
So we decided to keep it simple and make a classic burger-and-fries combo, because Guinness Blonde – which is produced in Latrobe, Pennsylvania – is described as an American lager, and what’s more American than that? It’s something that anyone with a grill and basic cooking skills can make, and it tastes even better with gourmet burgers from Omaha Steaks, who graciously provided the meat for the challenge.
Granted, our finished dish probably won’t be winning any awards for originality, but we tried to get a little creative with our all-beef burger, which was topped with Guinness Blonde-infused BBQ sauce (yeah, we went there), Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese and crispy onion straws on a brioche bun. We paired our BBQ burger with grilled corn on the cob, roasted red potatoes and, of course, a bottle of Guinness Blonde American Lager, and it was every bit as delicious as it looks in the picture below.
For more about Guinness Blonde American Lager, be sure to follow Guinness on Twitter at @GuinnessUS and use #BlondeBBQChallenge to show off your own food pairings. And for other Guinness-inspired dish ideas, check out GuinnessHooley.com.
Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.
WHAT: After being sworn in as President of the United States following his predecessor’s resignation, Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) fights battles domestically (both in his marriage at home and with his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill) and internationally as he tries to form a peace coalition with bullheaded Russian president Viktor Petrov (Lars Mikkelsen). Meanwhile, Claire (Robin Wright) is no longer content with her role as First Lady and seeks some power of her own as the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
WHY: The first two seasons of “House of Cards” delivered such top-notch storytelling that it was never going to be easy replicating it a third time, but while Season Three isn’t without its problems, it’s still an incredibly well-acted and sharply written drama that ranks as one of the best shows on TV. Though it certainly makes sense why creator Beau Willimon would want to take the series in a slightly different direction – with Frank no longer several steps ahead in his scheming, but rather struggling just to keep his head above water – the story feels a little stretched creatively. For starters, the rock-solid relationship between Frank and Claire is fractured far too easily for a couple that supposedly makes each other stronger (and Claire, in particular, is even pettier than usual), while the whole Doug subplot isn’t engaging enough to warrant spending an entire season on. Some stories work better than others, but the cast continues to fire on all cylinders, including newcomers like Kim Dickens and Paul Sparks, as well as Mahershala Ali and Molly Parker, who are given more to do this season. Still, “House of Cards” is Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright’s show, and they never let you forget it, because even when they’re saddled with mediocre material, the two actors command the screen like no other couple on television.
EXTRAS: In addition to a making-of featurette, the Blu-ray edition includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at filming a key scene from the season finale.
FINAL VERDICT: RENT
WHAT: Set in 1870, a young Scottish man named Jay (Kodi Smit-McPhee) travels across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves, escorted by a quiet drifter (Michael Fassbender) he’s hired for the journey. But what Jay doesn’t realize is that he’s being used by his traveling companion to lead him straight to Rose (Caren Pistorius) and her father (Rory McCann) in order to collect the sizable bounty placed on their heads.
WHY: Though he’s not the first musician to make the transition over to filmmaking, former Beta Band keyboardist John Maclean’s “Slow West” is an incredibly confident directorial debut that breathes new life into the Western without abandoning its roots. Gorgeously shot and remarkably vibrant for the genre, the movie is a well-paced, character-driven piece that boasts a pair of great performances from Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as a wry sense of humor that will have you laughing at some pretty morbid stuff. (The literal “salt on the wound” gag is probably the best of the bunch, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as Maclean’s darkly comical script is concerned.) While it’s disappointing to see a fantastic character actor like Ben Mendelsohn wasted in such a small role, he makes the most of his limited screen time, especially considering his rascally outlaw doesn’t even enter the story until the final act. “Slow West” is an odd but amusing little movie, and though it’s not above having fun with certain genre tropes, it’s still very much a Western in style and spirit, which is to say that the American frontier is a pretty nasty place to go chasing your dreams.
EXTRAS: There’s a making-of featurette and some deleted scenes.
FINAL VERDICT: RENT
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