Mothers, lock up your children, the cougars are on the loose!  When I entered the underground bar at Hill Country, little did I know I was walking into a den of lascivious ladies 40+, bedazzled in beads and boas, and rocking out to a live-band playing their favorite 90’s classics.   We listened to Counting Crows covers and picklebacked all night.  Get your mind out of the gutter; a pickleback is the shot of Jameson followed by a shot of pickle juice…zing!  The perfect thing to get your old lady in the mood…

The restaurant at Hill Country also has a Man vs Food-esque Challenge, where one has to consume 3 pounds of meat (including moist brisket, lean brisket, beef shoulder, prime rib), a medium hot side, a medium cold side, a 32 oz. drink and a cupcake, all in less than an hour.  If you finish, you get it for free and your picture on the wall, and if not you have to pay $85.  A ReBlog is definitely in order if I can find an Olympic meat-eater who wants to go for the beef.  Volunteers?

Remember when “Snow Day” used to mean- hot cocoa, sledding and snow-ball fights? Now that we’re all growed up we know the real meaning- start drinking earlier.  Last week’s blizzard was the perfect chance to hit up happy hours that normally you’d “flake” out on. I had the margarita, knowing well that the tequila would keep me toasty in the wet/bitter/cold that was last Wednesday.  It was great for $2, although a little sickeningly sweet by the bottom.  The appetizers were deep-fried delights; I tried the frickles (fried pickles with horseradish sauce) and onion straws (pictured above), which were both about $4 at the half-off bar price.  Brother Jimmy’s also has a load of other deals, including all-you-can-eat bbq, ladies night, and Southern ID discounts depending on which night you saddle up!  Hit it up today, or wait for the next snow day (tomorrow?)

The name of this restaurant sounds more like somewhere you’d walk your dog, or the title of a DVD that you would stash under the loose panel in your bedroom. But, in fact, is another all-you-can-drink brunch destination. Our meal began with a basket of freshly-baked mini-muffins. Mmm. The sign out front said ‘Brunch with unlimited drinks $13.95.’ Only partially accurate. The drinks had a 60-minute limit, which is lame, because everyone knows that the best brunches last three to four hours. (The waiter was nice though, and didn’t mind that we overstayed our welcome by a few hours.) Also, most of the entrée options on the menu said ‘plus two dollars’ or ‘plus three dollars’ next to the listing, making them NOT $13.95. So I had one of the three actual $13.95 plates, and my recent breakfast favorite, the huevos rancheros. It tasted fine, but the egg was a little rubbery, and in perfectly round patty form (a la Egg McMuffin), which made me question it’s integrity. The time limit, the higher price, and the below average food knock this down to a three hot-dog rating, but the frozen margaritas bring it back up to four. They are a perfect brunch drink that you seldom see on the menu. And who doesn’t love tequila in the morning? Not me!