Evil Penevil

Damn Tapatalk! It changed "pulled" to "pull," but I've corrected it now. Pulled pork had its origin as slave cooking on southern farms and plantations. Before the Civil War, pigs were much leaner animals than today and meat was tougher. The toughest parts of the carcass were given to slaves who slow-cooked them until the meat could be "pulled" from the bone. Since tough cuts of meat have a lot of flavor, that style of cooking became popular in later years. You can see more about American signature dishes and comfort food in posts #96 and #101 in an old thread: http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/topic/61460-best-place-to-get-american-food-in-bangkok/page-4?do=findComment&comment=1034130 Evil

Ahh, Jackie Gleason. He was a big man noted for his big appetite, so it's understandable a sandwich named after him would be large. But perhaps the most famous sandwich associated with Gleason is the Diablo sandwich from the movie Smokey and the Bandit. That sandwich is generally considered to be [EDIT IN to correct spelling] pulled pork with extra hot BBQ sauce on a hamburger bun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yysmhxd2qP0 Evil

Speaking of celebrity sandwiches, one restaurant had on its menu the Hugh Hefner: tube steak with white gravy in a bun-ny. Evil

Did you have your Jackie Mason sandwich at the Stage Deli or Carnegie Deli? It's common in the U.S. - and especially in NYC and Los Angeles - for restaurants to name sandwiches after celebrities. I've never heard of a Jackie Mason sandwich, but I imagine it's a minor variation on a corned beef or pastrami sandwich. In terms of a basic sandwich, Pastrami on Rye has hot roast beef; beef and cheddar; and hot ham and Swiss cheese. But as MM says, Philly cheese steak is a good choice. Evil

Very funny! Evil Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Delivery from Pastrami on Rye of their "Rachel" sandwich seems your best option. As far as I know, there isn't a Jewish deli in Pattaya and not many places that serve corned beef sandwiches. I'll try to get out to P on R to take some pics. Thing is, some foods don't photograph well. I normally have the P on R stuff delivered and I haven't bothered to take any photos. but if you enjoy North American style sandwiches, P on R is probably your best choice. Also, if you like deep-dish Chicago style pizza, it's to my knowledge the only place in Pattaya you can get it. I'm not a fan of deep-dish or thick crust pizza, but Americans who have tried it say it's very good. Reuben sandwiches are a favorite of mine, but once you've had one from Katz Deli in NYC, it's hard to settle for less. Some pro pics from the Internet of the Reuben and other corned beef sandwiches at Katz. Theye aren't cheap; a Reuben from Katz costs US $20.25 (660 baht). At least they show what a Reuben SHOULD look like. Evil

The Valley View Restaurant is located in the countryside on the way to Ban Chang (more about its location later). The surroundings are quite pleasant: My "standard lunch" with four kinds of meat (beef, lamb, chicken and pork); four Yorkshire puddings; roast and mashed potatoes; vegetables and gravy: At 295 baht, it's huge value for money in terms of the quality and QUANTITY of food. The Yorkshires were perfect, very light and just the right texture: For once, a British restaurant that didn't overcook the vegetables. The meats were good and of high quality. However, the group I was with (five people) arrived at Valley View at 4.00 p.m. and got the last plates of the day. It would have been better to have arrived earlier. There is also a jumbo version for 450 baht, but you'd have to be a trencherman of heroic proportions to put away that meal. There was one Thai lady in our party who had the beef stew rather than Sunday lunch. It looked excellent and she was pleased with the taste. - My rhubarb pie with warm custard sauce. The sweetness of the custard complemented the tartness of the rhubarb very well, but I have to say, I prefer the fruit pies you get in the U.S. Total cost for a very enjoyable and filling meal was 565 baht ( dinner 295; pie 115 baht and a can of Abbot's Ale 165 baht). However, the location, about 45 minutes' drive from central Pattaya, means I won't be going back on a regular basis. A shame, really, as I'd like to try some of the other dishes on Valley view's menu. I couldn't begin to describe how to drive there, but you can find directions on the restaurant's Web site: http://valleyview-restaurant.com. Some interior and exterior shots of Valley View: Attached Images

In the 1950's, there was a TV series in the U.S. called Tombstone Territory that ran for two seasons. The sheriff in the series carried a sawed-off shotgun as his main weapon, which was historically accurate for many town sheriffs in the West. I was seven when I watched it. One line of dialogue has stuck with me through the years: "This riot gun will open you up like a ripe watermelon." Tombstone was a very interesting town. The reputation of lawlessness in the Old West was very exaggerated, largely the creation of fiction writers and later cemented by radio, movies and TV. Historians have said there was a lot less crime in the West 1850-1900 than in New York, London or Paris. But Tombstone was indeed a wile-open boom town. Prostitution and gambling were big "industries." One famous madam, Dutch Annie, was called the "queen of the red light district. When she died, about 1,000 buggies were said to have followed her hearse to Boothill Cemetery. ... Evil

Some humorous epitaphs found on tombstones and grave markers in the U.S. The most famous inscription isn't on the headstone of a well-known entertainment or historical figure, but an unknown Wells Fargo agent killed in a shoot-out over a battered package. Customer complaints were made and handled a bit differently in those days. The grave is located in Boothill Cemetery in Tucson, Arizona. Unfortunately, the epitaph may have been added in the 1940s when Boothill Cemetery was restored. The cemetery had fallen into total disrepair by the late 1920s and most of the original grave markers (wooden crosses) haqd long since disappeared. Records exist for only about 200 of the 300 graves and some of the markers or headstones after 1940 are believed to be jokes as they name fictional characters who were well-known in the early 1900s but forgotten today. Another from Boothil Cemeery; Some assorted gravestones. The pics are all lifted from the Internet.

Yup, dodgy Internet connection as well. Anyway, Dicey Reilly's is between The Avenue (mall) and the Royal Garden on 2nd Road. I believe it is between Soi 13/1 and 13/2. Evil

If it turn out to be me, it's a fat-finger error. I wasn't intending to vote at all, but had my screen split in two for surfing while playing a game on the other half. May have clicked on the wrong part of the screen. If so, I'll give you a green on another post to make up for it. Sorry if it's me. Evil

It's on the stretch of Soi Bukhao between LK Metro and Soi Diana, just a few doors down from Sugar Sugar. Evil

It used to be one of Harris Black's favorites. As I wrote in the OP, I discovered The Balcony because one of the TGs with me refused to set foot into the "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant. She wouldn't say why, but I got the impression it wasn't related to the quality of the food. I thought maybe there was someone in the place she didn't want to encounter. I later heard the former owner had died one night in the restaurant some years back and some girls were worried about his ghost. Evil

During the "non-BBQ" hours, the King's Table offers the standard "international" farang food found all over Pattaya. Its mostly European- and U.S.-inspired "comfort food," dishes that will be famiilar to most visitors to Pattaya. A few months ago, I tried one of the daily specials, soup and main dish for a fixed price. I believe it was 189 baht, but my memory has faded a bit on that point. I wasn't very impressed with that meal and didn't go back until the BBQ last night. I had cream of mushroom soup and lamb braised in red wine sauce. The mushroom soup had a good consistency and "mouth feel," but not much taste. The mishrooms had been chopped very finely, more slivers than real pieces. The sauce covering the lamb had curdled and was kind of gritty, not good at all. The lamb itself was rather tasteless. If I'd eaten it blindfolded I wouldn't have known what meat it had been on the plate. Inconsistency is the hobgoblin of small restaurants in Pattaya, so I may have visited the King's Castle on on an off day for the special. But I didn't feel inspired to give it another try. In the future, I'll probably stick to the weekend BBQ if I go back to the King's Castle. Evil

The King's Table on Soi 13, about halfway between Beach Road and 2nd Road, is mostly noted for its "big BBQ nights" on Fridays and Saturdays, but also serves "international cuisine" the rest of the week. We tried the barbecue buffet last night and for the money, 395 baht, it was a decent meal. Total cost for two, including two SMLs and two bottles of water, was 1,010 baht. The emphasis is on the proteins - beef file, pork, chicken breasts, ribs, sausages, skewered kebabs, tuna steak, mussels and prawns. The BBQ cook steadily grills the more popular items like beef file and prawns so customers aren't kept waiting, but you can have them "grilled to order" if you prefer. The Thai beef was a bit chewy but had a lot of flavor. The other grilled items were all good as well. There are side dishes - mainly salads, as well as a few warm Thai dishes, but the choice is limited. Sliced watermelon and pineapple are the only "dessert items." If you favor a BBQ with decent quality at a modest price and aren't too worried about a big selection of side dishes, then the King's Table offers good value for money. There are certainly more extensive (and expensive) buffet in Pattaya, but the King's Table BBQ does well in its price range. Evil

I have a business suit I occasionally wear and has to be dry cleaned. I solved the problem by dropping it off at a hotel that offers dry cleaning services. I pay the standard hotel dry cleaning rate, which is probably double the walk-in rate, but it saves me the hassle of going to the shop myself. As far as I know, there isn't a convenient dry cleaner for anyone in central Pattaya. But I could be wrong about that. Evil

I wonder if we'll be seeing him soon with one flip-flop and torn pants. Evil

No doubt the tour groups sometimes look at Thai boxing, but that wasn't the issue under discussion. As MM wrote (my emphasis): Whether "behind-the-flag" groups visit beer bars is irrelevant; the crucial point is that they don't follow a tour guide into gogos. Those small groups are mostly businessmen visiting Thailand for job-related reasons. They have no connection with the "behind-the-flag" group tours. Evil

You have to distinguish between "behind-the-flag" tour groups led by a guide (an employee of a travel and tour company) and informal groups of individuals who know each other. I've never seen a "behind-the-flag" group enter a mainstream go go bar on WS or elsewhere in Pattaya, but it's an everyday occurrence for informal groups of Japanese and other Asian men to hit the bars together. Same-same as with farang. It's not uncommon for people to bar crawl together. The tour guides may take their groups to the "bells-and-whistles" bars, but usually to establishments away from WS (what was it called, Big Eye?). Organized tour groups that follow flags aren't a factor for mainstream go go bars, even the ones that cater to Japanese. Evil

Very good pics, professional quality. They illustrate very well the many sides of Suvarnabhumi Airport. Evil

Official Thai tourist stats are out for 2014. Total international tourist arrivals were down by 6.6% from 2013, which isn't a disastrous fall considering the coup, martial law and state of emergency. And tourism bounced back sharply in the fourth quarter, which posted a record-high number of arrivals. The first three quarters of 2014 had been worse than 2013. Total arrivals from Russia were down 8.17% from a year earlier, which is roughly in line with the overall decline. However, the drop in tourist arrivals from Russia accelerated sharply in the fourth quarter of 2014. In the last three months of the year, Russian arrivals were down over 20%, culminating in a 27.35% slide in December from a year earlier. Arrivals from China were up sharply in December, with Chinese visitors offsetting he decline from other countries. Evil

I won't be back in the States until June, but I have a friend who's heading over in a couple of weeks and I'll ask him to try to get them. Just one thing - Altoids weren't easy to find in stores in the NYC area, ditto Orlando, Florida. It might be easiest to order them via the Net. Evil

A simple meal but a good one: minced beef over mashed potatoes at Every Day is Fry Day at New Plaza. It cost a very modest 130 baht. The mashed potatoes were good and to my taste buds, freshly made. The mince was a bit bland, but that's the way some people like it and it was certainly no problem to give it a few splashes of Worcestershire Sauce to liven it up. The could have been improved by browning the onions slightly and frying them together with the beef before the liquid was added, but it was nevertheless an Ok dish. I'll be back to have it again, as mince over mash is a nostalgic favorite of mine, taking me back to elementary school cafeteria meals as well as lunches made by both my grandmothers. Evil

Most travelers from the U.S. arrive in BKK close to midnight after a journey of about 24 hours, so they get to Pattaya at 1.30 or 2.00 am. That's not the best time or circumstances to start looking for a hotel. Better to book a night or two if you're uncertain in which hotel you want to stay. But if you can book a hotel on line without paying for the full stay, what do you lose by doing it? Very possibly what you gain is a room that otherwise might be rented to someone else. Evil