One of the cooler Christmas gifts I got this year was a Groupon for a class in proper BBQ from my wife. I signed up for a Saturday class this past Saturday at Rub BBQ in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood and couldn’t recommend it more. Even if you’re not in a place like Chicago, cooking classes can be cool, especially if centered around dadcentric stuff like BBQ.

Now, I’m a pretty decent BBQ chef. I have one signature sauce and rub and tried a habanero sauce this past summer, which rocked. The ribs fall off the bone which of course is not the “proper” way to do it but that’s how my wife likes them and if she’s giving the green light for a ribs weekend.

The class focused a lot of time on Brisket which I don’t BBQ because it takes so long but after this class I think I’ll give it a try. There were also a few tips for pork shoulder aka pulled pork that will be applied next time we make some sandwiches.

But the class itself was really cool. There were about a dozen other folks there, it was BYOB – I brought Hinterland Amber Ale – and it took three hours. We all had a chance for hands on duties prepping meat and then at the end had a huge tasting of brisket, ribs, pulled pork, corn bread and mac n’ cheese.

Then you’re sent home with recipes and three of their sauces. I also confirmed how to pack my own sauce to keep, store and give as gifts, which I think, will be the way to go for Holiday Season 2012.

If you have a birthday coming up you might want to forward this post to your better half as a subtle hint.

I might also have to get a smoker…maybe the wife didn’t make such a wise gift purchase after all.

First off, I didn’t see the new Underworld movie yet. I probably won’t see it until it hits cable or Blu Ray. But I’ve seen the rest of the series and I think I have a good idea why it was number one at the box office this weekend.

See above image.

I’m actually not a big Kate Beckinsale fan but put her in a skintight black outfit, sword, gun, vampire teeth and above average action movie making and you have a recipe for success.

Put Scott Speedman in the movie and you have a sci-fi/fantasy movie my wife will actually watch. I’m sad to see he’s not in this one or I might have been able to convince her to go to see Underworld Awakening in the theater.

Every year my wife and I try to take the week between Christmas and New Years off to visit family or recover from visiting family and the holidays. This year we ended up with the entire week between the holiday with nothing to do and a week of daycare already paid for. What are two burnt-out parents to do?

You probably guessed it. We sent the kids to daycare all week and took the four workdays to ourselves. This involved a few projects around the house like taking down all the holiday decorations, laundry as well as some errands like returning some gifts, grocery shopping, dry cleaner. Routine stuff.

The wife and I also got to see a movie together — Young Adult with Charlize Theron, highly recommended — had lunch together four times and breakfast once, and even took a nap one afternoon. It was an extremely relaxing week but there’s a tinge of guilt because we still dropped the kids off all-day when they could’ve been home with us. However, all the places you’d take kids for the day like the Children’s Museum are packed this week. We saw a line at LegoLand out the door that probably equaled an hour wait.

Our kids at daycare basically play and do arts and crafts all day with their best friends. They love it there. It’s probably a better week for them there rather than spending it with us. Plus we have two long weekends on either end of the week to spend extra time with them.

OK, I’m done rationalizing, I’m ready for the stream of chastising from other parents in the comments…

I’m sure a lot of blogs are quiet this time of year and I apologize for not updating more after the burger-palooza of reviews.

In my house like many others we’re recovering from Christmas/Hanukah and the kids are back in school while the wife and I are taking a few days “off.”

The one thing I will say with my two kids at the ages they are it is amazing to see a bit of wonder at Christmas and all it entails. They obviously know Santa Claus brings them gifts and we did the mall Santa and asked and asked them over and over again what they wanted Santa to bring them.

Luckily, neither of these toys, or any others required ridiculous amounts of assembly by Santa’s top elf in our house, Daddy. A Thomas the Train set and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse set were pretty easy.

There weren’t even many gifts that required a screwdriver to remove form the package or to insert batteries. Crazy talk I know.

As for Hanukkah, it was interesting to see how the kids took to it. The first night I came home from work late and the kids came running up the steps to see me shouting “let’s light the candles!”

Christmas is pretty easy to get toddlers excited for. Hanukkah candles? That’s another story.

As another year winds down and the kids get older I hope we get this kind of excitement, unadulterated cuteness and just a hint of wonder for at least a few more years. Since I became too old for Santa myself, this truly was the best Christmas]]>Five Guys: Burger Joint Review for Dadshttp://dadtherapy.com/blog/2011/12/15/five-guys-burger-joint-review-for-dads.htmlDavid Thomas2011-12-15T19:39:34ZBurgers Food and Drink

By far, the burger joint we’re most familiar with – and likely our readers – is Five Guys. Heck, the President eats there.

I’ve blogged about how many calories I’ve consumed before at Five Guys but the one thing I learned from my “research” into the other burger joints is that despite the greasy feeling of Five Guys’ food, can actually be better in terms of calorie count, but only on certain items.

When I used to go I would get the regular burger, or double patty, but now I get the single patty “Little Burger” with bacon and cheese. It’s just too filling to get a double, plus it’s harder to pick up in your hands and eat without making a complete mess of yourself. That’s also when you realize how thin the napkins are. But it’s a good burger even though it tastes greasy and the fries are probably the best of the three and always piping hot obviously.

The double will cost you 920 calories and 29.5 saturated grams of fat, much more than what you find at the other two places. Step down to a Little Bacon Cheeseburger and it’ll run you 630 calories and 18 grams of saturated fat or right in the ballpark of the other two joints.

There aren’t any special burgers either with fancy or spicy toppings. It’s a basic burger with 15 possible toppings all free with the order. I do like getting grilled onions though.

The fries are made fresh so that’s why it seems to take so long to get your order. They come in a huge cup and one order can easily feed two or three people. Which is good because half an order has 310 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat calories, but that far surpasses Meatheads and SmashBurger’s fries in terms of calories.

There isn’t a kids burger per se, they’ll have to get a Little Cheeseburger which has 550 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat, much more than Lil’ Meathead but on par with Smashburger’s Kids Smashburger. Plus they won’t be fighting over fries, there will be plenty of them to go around.

There are also no kid’s meals or meal options for parents, which impacts the wallet.

A dad-only visit will cost $11.70 and you’re stuck with way too many fries. A family of four with two Little Cheeseburgers and two regular cheeseburgers and two orders of regular fries and four drinks (no kids drinks available) will run you around $35 the most expensive of the three with Smashburger winning on price.

The Winner?
It’s a tough call to say which of the three is the best but I think because of the options for the kids and the menu variety I’d go with either Meatheads or Smashburger with the family. And if it’s just me, I’m going to Meatheads because I leave the place not feeling like I just finished an episode of Man Vs. Food.

I’ve only been to Smashburger once with my beautiful wife for lunch on Black Saturday (if that's a day) when we got to run out sans kids to do some holiday shopping.

Smashburger's atmosphere was completely different from Meatheads and Five Guys. It was stark and modern, not homey or retro diner inspired like the other two respectively.

The food was good but the "Smash" burgers were huge and we didn’t even get the Big Smash. These are the size burgers you make at home, not the thin patties that most places are putting out now and doubling or tripling like Meatheads and Five Guys.

I got the BBQ Cheddar burger to stay consistent for the reviews while Courtney got the Spicy Baja. Mine unfortunately came with just those toppings, cheese, bacon and a thin layer of bbq sauce. Oh, and onion rings. Win.

While it was tasty I could barely tell there was any sauce at first and missed fresh fixins.

Courtney's on the other hand looked awesome with plenty of toppings.

We ordered a side of Smash Fries and a side of onion rings. It's the only place of the three to offer onion rings, or straws to be accurate. And they were very good. I'd highly recommend them. The Smash Fries are very different too. They're thin and fried in olive oil and sprinkled with rosemary and garlic. Great idea. They taste light…of course the calories tell a different story. They also offer traditional fries.

The BBQ burger rang in at 950 calories and 27 grams of saturated fat. That's 110 calories and 9 grams of fat more than the Texas Ranch burger I had at Meatheads. The Smashfries will set you back 520 calories and 7 grams of saturated fat, less calories but more fat than Meatheads' spuds. The Haystack Onions are 560 calories and 17 grams of fat. But the dipping sauce — which is yummy — will cost another 240 calories and 3.5 grams of saturate fat.

The kids meals are a great deal at $3.99 for a burger, fries and drink. Total for two adults and two kids would be $27.52, $5 less than Meatheads.

We'd take the kids there for sure to try another burger or one of the chicken sandwiches. A kid's Smashburger is 520 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat just slightly worse than Meatheads. Kids fries are 270 calories and 4 grams of saturated fat also slightly more than Meatheads.

Afterwards I definitely felt full. The bloat was there and I don't think I ate much dinner that night.

Editor's Note: All burgers reviewed were paid for by me. All calories consumed went to my gut.

I'm beginning a three part series that takes a look at the new crop of fast-casual burger joints popping up around America's suburbs. It was a tough task hitting these new establishments, tasting their greasified goodness, evaluating their kid menus and then, unfortunately looking up their nutritional information.

I'll be taking on newcomers like Meatheads. Smashburger which is a bit more widespread and then the big daddy of grease, Five Guys.

While all offered remarkably good food, they come at a price in terms of actual cash and of course calories. Is there a clear winner?

This is actually the only "joint" of the three I’ve taken the kids to. Why? Because when we're out as a family we're usually eating somewhere special like a Choo-Choo restaurant or CPK, which remains a must for Carter.

My first trip to Meatheads though just happened to be a family day and we were in the area so we checked it out. The kids enjoyed the food, but really, are kids going to complain about any cheeseburger and fries?

Since then I've been back two more times and gotten two different. Special burgers the Texas Ranch and the Cajun Sunrise.

Both were tasty with the different flavors — fried egg, blue cheese sauce, jalapenos — of the Cajun Sunrise being really unique. I would have it again. The patties aren't humongous so there's plenty of room for toppings, even of the egg and bacon kind. The buns are nice and soft and it's relatively easy to pick up and eat the burgers.

The fries are pretty good. You can get them regular or cajun and there is a heaping when you get them added as part of your meal. If you eat them all and the burger you will be very full, but even after a Cajun Sunrise burger and fries I didn't feel as bloated as I did at either Smashburger or Five Guys. I could eat a full dinner later in the day for example.

The kids meals cost $6. Your kids will be consuming 510 calories and 8 grams of saturated fat for a Lil Meathead sans cheese (an additional 70 calories and 4 grams of saturated fat) with kids fries adding another 460 calories and 8 grams saturated fat. A cheeseburger from McDonalds has 300 calories and 6 grams of saturated fat. Small fries have 230 calories and 1.5 grams of saturated fat. A 4-8 year old active boy is recommended to have 1600-2500 calories a day. Not as few as I thought actually.

And you? You sir will be taking in 690 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat for simple Meathead burger. The Texas Ranch I liked is 840 calories with 18 grams of saturated fat. An order of fries is 780 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat. I generally get a Diet Coke as not to really go overboard. But they serve root beer which is tempting. That means I'm taking in 1620 calories and 21 grams of saturated fat. Using the Mayo Clinic's website to maintain my current weight I need to take in just 2,500 calories a day. Meaning my kids are burning calories a lot faster than me. There is a small ray of sunshine though. The Cajun Sunrise is 80 calories less than the Texas Ranch, even with that fried egg. Win.

Total cost for dad's meal $10.25. Two adults and two kids will run you $33 before taxes. Almost what we pay at a California Pizza Kitchen.

The atmosphere is nice and there were plenty of booths and tables for a family. Open fountain drinks too and lemons for the Diet Coke.

I'd definitely go back to Meatheads — with or without the kids — because of the variety and the non-bloat factor.

Editor's Note: All burgers reviewed were paid for by me. All calories consumed went to my gut.

Sunday I took the kids to the grocery store in the morning to check an errand off the family’s to-do list as Courtney hit the gym for a spinning class. I had a light list thankfully because Evie (2) wanted to push the little carts they have for kids while Carter was content to sit in the racing car cart that would fit two kids had Evie been so accommodating.

So there I am with one kid sitting in the cart in front of me and the other behind me pushing a little cart that routinely bangs me in the ankles and often runs into other shoppers. As we turned one corner around an aisle Evie almost bumps into a woman and her cart.

The 60-something woman then made the remark “future bad woman driver!” with a big smile, like it was cute. I didn’t know what to say and I think my face showed part disbelief and part anger.

My daughter is going to be an awesome driver thank you very much.

Not only do I spend time driving cars as part of my job with some track and hazard avoidance courses thrown in over the years, but the girl’s mother is a pretty good driver too. I never have to hold onto the grab handle in fear and she routinely corrects me on routes and traffic.

Evie is going to get relentless instruction on how to drive and hopefully both of my kids will be excited about cars by the time they’re 16. I read stories all the time how the current generation of teenagers isn’t as excited about driving as we were. But we’ve already taught Carter that he has to be 16 to drive and we get a kick when he reminds us of that fact. He’s long known every automaker by logo too.

I retold the story about the grocery store to Courtney and she didn’t quite understand my level of angst.

Later that day, we hit the mall for Santa photos and the kids were attracted to two outdated driving video games that were in the middle of a row of shops. Daddy worked the pedals and the kids steered. Evie loved it and wrenched the wheel from me whenever I touched it.

OK, maybe she won’t be so easy to teach... but she’s not going to fit into some outdated stereotype either.

I didn’t realize Fugazi was releasing every one of its concerts as a live recording until my wife forwarded me this blog post by Ted Leo.

As many of my friends/readers know I am an avid music fan, former writer and chronicler of concerts.

When I was covering music, everyone asked me what my favorite band was. Kind of like how people ask me what my favorite car is now. I would always answer Pearl Jam…and Fugazi.

I still remember the first time I saw a Fugazi CD. My friend Dan Yuter pulled out a copy of Repeater + 3 Songs. This was more than 20 years ago and I still remember that stark white CD popping out of that blue metal locker at our high school like it was yesterday. Actually, I probably remember it better than anything that happened yesterday.

It took me seven more years before I got to see the band play live. Over those years I devoured the rest of Fugazi’s catalog on CD and vinyl and when they toured on End Hits I got to see them twice when I was in college.

The first show was in Columbus, Ohio: May, 6 1998. I was actually attending Indiana University at the time and my buddy Jonathan Cohen came along for the ride. We set up in the front of the balcony at the Newport Music Hall. Cohen and I were tapers and I had my DAT rig running the entire show, which sounded amazing. I still remember seeing the girl below us scream out “Reclamation!” as a request and the band playing it seamlessly…you can hear it on my tape.

Two days later, another buddy Rob Bola and I headed to Cincinnati to see Fugazi play Bogarts. The club didn’t have the same great acoustics of Newport, but the tape still came out pretty stellar. I don’t remember that show as vividly as the first obviously, but it was still one of the better musical performance I’ve ever witnessed.

I saw Fugazi the final two times after graduating college and moving back home to South Florida.

The first show was at The Edge…or The Chili Pepper or whatever they were calling the 1,000 capacity venue in downtown Fort Lauderdale. As a local music columnist I had gotten to know the promoters in the area and one who I still call a friend, Jim Hayward, told me to come down early and meet the band. It was a pretty surreal day. I had met lots of musicians, many much more “famous” than Fugazi, but none I held on such a pedestal.

When I met Ian and Guy for the first time I reverted to the nervous teenage music geek I thought I had left behind after breaking stories on big artists. But Guy and I sat on the curb behind the club talking about the headlines in the Washington Post, which he had a copy of. I forget what the news was about, but it was some political quagmire you would think Guy would talk about if you met him on the street, which I kind of just did…literally.

Then I went and had coffee with the whole band for twenty or so minutes before soundcheck, which I also got to watch. Watching soundchecks is still one of my favorite things ever as a music aficionado. Although watching Fugazi, Queens of the Stone Age and Brad soundcheck unfairly shaped that fondness I’m sure.

During the show I stood at the soundboard with that same DAT and mic rig from Columbus rolling. Fugazi’s soundguy was taping the show from the board to an identical DAT machine as mine. Actually, I think he had an older model. I loved the sound of that tape because the room was so loud. It was geared for heavy metal acts like Rollins Band – that I taped around the same time at the same venue.

It was such an unusual show because of this epicly loud sound. Imagine Fugazi at Anthrax levels of amplitude.

I’ve bought a few of Fugazi’s live releases and actually prefer the Columbus and Laduerdale tapes to the stark soundboard sound of the official releases. But I still plan on picking up the four shows I was at for history’s sake.

The final time I saw the band was in Orlando two nights later. Like in 1998, it wasn’t as good as the first show and there were knuckleheads in the crowd causing trouble. It was still a good show, but I remember Fort Lauderdale and Columbus as two of my favorite concerts of my show-going career.

It’s a bit sad that Fugazi isn’t still touring and making new music together as a band. I’ve spent the last year celebrating my love of Pearl Jam on their big anniversary, but I still have just as strong a love for Fugazi as I’ve always had. Hopefully this post gets shared with others who have similar memories.