Category Archives: Friday Fodder for Filibustering

Friday Fodder for Foodies: Fish Fry

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Came across this last week for inspiration:

I don’t know about Southern, but maybe you’re just not going to the right place. For me, I love a good fish fry, and I love some catfish. Off the top of my head, my favorites are:

Ezell’s – Columbus, Georgia – If I up and die of a heart attack, I’ll blame it on the geographically convenient location of my great grandmother’s Columbus home, which was nestled in Ezell’s backyard. Practically. You could see the neon fish sign from her back yard. Catfish was great and hush puppies that can’t be beat. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, but I went back recently and it was still just as good.

All, Hail, the Neon Catfish! Your aromas and bright lights beckon me to eat like a fatass like moths to a lightbulb.

    Riverbend Restaurant – Thomaston, Georgia – I don’t know if it’s that good, or if it’s something about waiting an hour and staring at the Flint River for a table. First they bring out Captain’s Wafers, then onions and tomatoes, and then cole slaw. After an hour of waiting for a table and another thirty minutes waiting for the entree, you might actually be stuffed. You’ll get the all-you-can eat, but you ate everything you could from starvation before it arrives. The catfish is good, though, and the home-made french fries are *chef’s kiss*.

      This is the view of the Flint River from the back porch of Riverbend. While you’re waiting for a table, and pondering your life’s decisions that brought you to this point. If the rule you followed brought you to this, then what good was the rule?

      Williams Seafood – Savannah, Georgia – For all the same reasons as Riverbend, except you’re at Tybee and possibly sunburned and/or drunk. I still remember their seafood platter, and a delicious crab cake in a metal crab shell. Good stuff. I remember they opened a couple of Atlanta locations, but something about doing a beach thing in Windy Hill lacked some charm.

      To hell with captain’s wheels and fish nets. It’s cinder blocks and food, and you’ll like it, dammit.

      That’s the best I can do outside of chains and I don’t do fancy Atlanta dining. How’s about you…where do you go for a good fish fry or good catfish?

      Discuss.

      Friday Fodder for Foodies: Best Fried Chicken

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      Given the amount of comments in the off-season around your favorite pizza place, I figured I’d shift the Fodder for Filibustering to an off-season Foodie post, and see where it takes us. I noted several places from the comments that I’ll need to start visiting on weekends to come, so thanks for the comments, memories, and suggestions for next stops.

      Editor’s note – given my last post about modern sports media, please know this is not for engagement farming, but just for good conversation. I see the irony…and it’s not intentional!

      Today’s topic – the tailgate staple, fried chicken.

      Publix, you had me at your higher than normal prices but very clean store. And your chicken is worth the price, too.

      Personally, I have a few favorites, but some are currently active and some I haven’t tried in many, many year. The key to great fried chicken, I’m sure, is the temperature of the cooking agent and that agent should likely not be vegetable oil, but lard. Delicious, artery-clogging lard. As such, here’s my quick picks for great fried chicken:

      1. Publix – though it seems it may have been better in years past, but still a go-to staple whenever I need to go to a tailgate and don’t have much time, or if I need to sit in the parking lot and cry and eat. Either way, chef’s kiss.
      2. Buckner’s Family Restaurant – Jackson, Georgia – Served on lazy Susans, family style, it’s what I like in a fried chicken – all you can damn well eat. Plus the chicken is good, too.
      3. Po Folks – I don’t even know if they exist anymore, but Po Folks (I think now Folks, because we’re all poor nowadays, aren’t we?) fried chicken served next to a Chicken Fried Steak was a staple for me in my youth. Not sure if it’s still as good, but it serves my memory as freaking great.
      4. Bulloch House – Warm Springs, Georgia – last I checked, the place burned down, probably because it was already floating in grease from the fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, fried pies, fried beans, fried souvenir socks, and fried ice tea. Still, if it was all fried together, maybe the symphony of various fried foods made the chicken a culinary masterpiece.
      5. The Dillard House – Dillard, Georgia – maybe it was because I had to wait so long to eat whenever we drove up there, but I recall their fried chicken being divine.

      How about you…it’s not very comprehensive, and for some reason I’m realizing I don’t eat a lot of fried chicken outside of Georgia. Maybe some of the chicken at the Beau Rivage was good, but like all good casino trips, I don’t rightly recall.

      Have at it in the comments.

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: Conspiracy Theories

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      Not sure if you’ve seen this floating around, but there’s a theory gaining steam on the socials that the series of unfortunate events in San Francisco with injured 49ers has a lot to do with their proximity to electrical substations.

      Which warrants the question…where are the electrical substations in Athens, Georgia? I did a little (read: less than ten minutes) investigation into the matter, and was able to discover some disturbing details.

      Key Locations & Providers:

      I also discovered there’s one nearby at the intersection of East Campus and Cedar Streets. These are all conspicuously close to both our practice fields and Sanford Stadium. Could electronic substations be responsible for every sports injury we have on our football team?

      Then, I began to investigate further, based on my experience as an undergrad in the early 90s, and have located the sources of further substations that could explain why I had unusual experiences around Athens, Georgia. Allow me to share:

      1. Secret Substation Area 1 – The Intramural Fields – East Campus and College Station Road – This is where I suffered a non-contact torn ACL in 1996. I was in such peak athletic form, nothing other than a substation’s radio waves could’ve done me in. It definitely wasn’t the case of beer we split in the parking lot throughout the course of the game. No.
      2. Secret Substation Area 2 – The Georgia Theater – Lumpkin, Broad, and Washington Street – Between The Georgia Theater and Nowhere Bar, there must’ve been something unusual going on there. How else can I explain how I magically teleported between the Theater and Nowhere Bar on weekends, with little memory or explanation of how I got there or got home. I think I once fought Mike Bobo by the pool tables, or maybe it was on the darts platform. Wait, that was Sky’s Bar.
      We’ve all met yellow trash can, right? Better than fighting for the bathroom.

      3. Secret Substation 3 – College Station Kroger – College Station Road and Barnett Shoals – There was definitely something going on under foot. Between the quickly rotting produce and the meat department that most definitely never, ever, wrapped up narcotics in the butcher’s shop and sold it across the counter (with a receipt!), all the way to the cashier that I fell in love with who wore different name badges every day. She told me it was a collection of different people she was friends with. Turned out it was actually the names of her many colorful personalities. Dating was fun, like I was dating seven different people at once, all which were bat-shit crazy but could do elite things no matter what night it was. Less said about that, the better. I should look her up…wait, I think she’s in jail.

      4. Secret Substation 4 – Georgia Square Mall – If you ever went there, you wondered if the construction had ever started. They started demolishing it last year, but in my opinion, it was never finished. Empty stores, a very empty yet still Stranger Things kind of vibe, and generally a real dud when it came to matching the Athens vibe in general. I never got injured there, but there was definitely a magnetic energy field there that propelled me back out into the parking lot every time I tried to go in.

      We’re closed for business, even when we’re open.

      So, fellow tin-hat wearer…where are the other mysterious substations in Athens that could explain your misgivings/misfortunes while there?

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: What Could’ve Been

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      So there was some waxing poetic at the end of last nights game about poor Ole Carson and how he was treated in Athens:

      I mean, he reportedly had the biggest NIL deal of any Georgia player to date, a Lambo SUV, and had his run of success at UGA. I’d say he had a good time in Athens, but what do I know?

      What do you think…did Carson get a raw deal? Would he have been the difference maker in Athens this year had he stayed?

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: Short Timers

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      Something to ponder here, but consider this:

      Who’s the most impactful short-timer in Georgia football history? There’s no parameters here, could be a two-transfer or a one-year transfer…but who tops your list? Branch is certainly one, and Chris Smith (correction: Mo Smith) comes to mind, as well.

      Who you got?

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: Friday Night Lights

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      I see in the comments from time to time that some of yall are big Georgia high school football fans. So I’ll throw this out for debate:

      Following Buford’s victory over Carrollton, they’re proclaiming Buford to be a National HS Champion, though the debate in socials is raging that it should be Thomas County Central.

      Do you have dog in this fight? Who should it be…or, which high school program do you still follow that means a lot to you?

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: CFP Hate Post

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      Okay, here’s a Friday Fodder subject for you all:

      Obviously, we all want Georgia to win it all…but who do you hope loses more than anyone else.

      Easy for me:

      Who you got as the one you want to exit early the most?

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: Kirby’s Mount Rushmore

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      We’ve discussed this before, but Kirby weighs in.

      “Stetson Bennett because he won the national championships and he was a quarterback,” Smart said.

      Bennett won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.

      “Let’s go Travon Walker,” Smart said. “He was picked No. 1 overall.”

      The defensive end was the No. 1 pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.

      “OK, alright, let’s go with Nakobe Dean because was one of the best leaders to ever do it,” Smart said of the 2021 Butkus Award winner for nation’s top linebacker.

      Kirby goes on to list a few more:

      • Scott Woerner
      • Jake Scott
      • Nick Chubb
      • Sony Michel
      • Ben Smith
      • Champ Bailey

      That’s a mighty big mountain, Kirby…but I can’t disagree too much with his choices. Of course, there’s a glaring omission in there somewhere, but I can’t quite put my finger on it:

      If it were just the Kirby era, I would have to go with Stetson, Bowers, Roquan, and the Chubb/Michel split that Kirby mentions in the article.

      Just a reminder that the final chapter of the Gunner era hasn’t been written yet, so let’s not start chipping away on the rock quite yet.

      Who you got?

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: No Love Lost

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      I’ll let Kirby kick this one off:

      If memory serves me correctly, Muschamp grew up a Gator fan, and I’d imagine there are some current coaches and players that were fans of the team at some point. Jordan Hall talked a lot this week about how much he enjoyed his visits to Gainesville during his recruitment.

      Is there a current Georgia rival you’ve ever been warm to? This is a safe space, you can tell the group if you need to. Say it with me and believe it “we love each other and don’t judge”.

      I begrudgingly admit there was time I was an Alabama fan, solely because they offered me a music scholarship back in 1992 and I thought it was mighty kind of them. That love doesn’t exist today.

      How about you?

      Friday Fodder for Filibustering: CFP Locks

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      Today’s question – who do you see (currently) as locks for the College Football Playoffs? Here’s a hint:

      Hard to see how any of these three are not going to make it…but who are the other nine? Some initial thoughts:

      Strong likelihood:

      • Oregon – likely runs the table and doesn’t play in the B1G championship game, but is Oregon and a B1G team that will likely get in.
      • Alabama – still some questionable games but are undefeated in the SEC and playing at a pretty high level. If they keep at the current pace it’s easy to see how the FSU debacle can be forgiven even if they lose in the SECCG.
      • Texas Tech – well, they paid for it, didn’t they? Only one ranked team on the remainder of the schedule, and it’s BYU, in Lubbock.

      Contenders:

      • Georgia Tech or Virginia – Tech has an easy run of games to end the season and Virginia has been the upstart surprise ACC team this year. One of these two will appear in the ACC championship game and until Crystalballs can prove that he can get out of his own way to coach a full season of competent games, anything is possible.
      • BYU or Utah – the Holy War this weekend is big in determining this their fate. The CFP will shove in as many B1G teams in, so these guys control their own destiny in what will likely be just one CFP Big XII rep.
      • Georgia, Tennessee, TAMU, Oklahoma, LSU, Vanderbilt – why isn’t A&M a likely? Show me a complete season in College Station first and I’ll believe it. I don’t see Texas leaving Athens with a win and a loss to Florida is hard to overlook, too. Several teams have one conference loss but still carry strong records to vie for a seat at the table.
      • Memphis or South Florida – Did you know these two play next weekend? Did you know they were both ranked? Both have the strongest resumes of the G5 group, though Dan Mullen has a case for the Running Rebels of UNLV, too.

      Shouldn’t be in, but probably will…

      Notre Dame – if they beat USC, that’s all the committee will need to justify cramming the Irish unjustifiably into another playoff.

      Won’t be in, but the fan base will bitch that they were robbed:

      Probably the same group of SEC teams listed above, for the very reasons listed above. Someone was hurt, the refs screwed us, and so on, will be the pain point for any team from this group that doesn’t get in.

      Auburn – hypothetically only has one loss. Also hypothetically has nine national championships. Hypothetically won one the right way with Cam Newton. And so on.

      Nebraska or USC – both play each other and USC has the strongest argument, but it’s hard to see Riley’s team beating both Notre Dame and Oregon. If they beat the Huskers, and win one of those two it’s hard to see them being left out, but if they drop two they’ll make the case for having the “quality losses” that got Indiana last year.

      What’re your thoughts?