Johnnie Maccracken's

Sweet Potato Corn Bread

This morning this was my breakfast.

No lie, this cheap brand from Food Depot is one of the best brands of grits and corn meal I have ever cooked with.

I do not favor "dry" corn bread so when I saw this recipe for Sweet potato corned bread I knew it would naturally sweeten and moisten up the mix and it did not disappoint.

Sweet potato in the proper amount can be a secret ingredient in bread also and I used to make a sweet potato sour dough in my Deli that people raved about!

If anyone wants this recipe, just ask.

Could this be true?

Today's Barroom Topic:

Can we vote ourselves out of this potential crises?

U.S. Banks Sitting on $750 billion In Losses On Real Estate Debt Related Securities-Which Sectors Are Most Exposed?

This is raising concerns for many reasons. First, the estimated $750 billion is roughly seven times more than banks held in 2008. Second, many unrealized losses are concentrated in portfolios that are crucial to bank profits.

One deeply troubling aspect of the potential $750 billion in losses is that so much is tied to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Banks loaded up on these when interest rates were lower.

If that wasn't enough, banks have more potential for major losses in other areas, specifically in treasury and corporate bonds.

From Brother Craig...

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/yn23fLW6qiGVHM79/?mibextid=WC7FNe

When Parents die 💔, nothing is the same anymore. We can no longer be children, we will no longer feel carried away by their hugs, kisses and words of encouragement. It seems like life is getting harder because their protective love is no longer there.

When parents are no longer with us, we are orphans and that is hard regardless of age. Even though you created your family, the face of your parents is ingrained in you for eternity.

All people, even if we are adults, have this living child inside us who wants to be protected all the time by his parents. Turning to their unconditional love whenever necessary, but when they are gone, that option is no longer possible...!!! 😭

******
Love Our Angels
******

Tonight

Some Irish tunes on vinyl and The Classic Laddie which is made from 100% Scottish barley, trickle distilled, then matured for its entire life in premium American oak.

If someone comes in on my shift and asks for a peated Single Malt, this is where I might start them, but interesting enough this is not considered a peated whiskey even though your taste buds will tell you otherwise!

This is the entry level whiskey from Bruichladdich, coming in at 50% ABV, non-chill filtered, and in this gorgeous and iconic colored bottle which was picked because it matched the color of the ocean where this distillery is found.

In 2020, they were the first Scotch whisky and gin distillery in Europe to receive B Corp certification - meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance.

Note: Bruichladdich's iconic Victorian-era stills, with their tall and narrow necks, play a vital role in shaping the distillery's signature character. The stills promote greater reflux, resulting in a lighter, more elegant spirit. The spirit is distilled twice, first in the wash still and then in the spirit still, before being collected and prepared for maturation.

Lying By Statistics

When Jimmy Carter was floundering in several fronts during his administration he forever changed how economic indicators were to be reported to hide inflation.

Today I heard a statement which if you Google it you will find most of the mainstream media reporting the opposite, it's up to you to interpret;

Jobs report is a boom for migrants, slump for Americans

Data released by the Department of Labor shows native-born Americans lost more than 1.3 million jobs over the last 12 months.

The new October jobs report shows employment numbers of U.S.-born workers and foreign-born workers going on two very different trajectories.

Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an arm of the Department of Labor, shows native-born Americans lost more than 1.3 million jobs over the last 12 months, while foreign-born workers gained more than 1.2 million jobs.

The figures do not differentiate between foreign-born workers who entered the country with authorization, i.e. Green Card holders and those with working visas, and those who entered without prior authorization.

The U.S. has witnessed a surge of immigrants under the Biden-Harris administration, with figures from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showing a net gain of more than 9 million immigrants since the end of 2020.

Now, these are arbitrary statistics...

Makes no sense whatsoever

We sell more domestic beer than anyone in our market. Generally speaking this beer is non distinguishable from one brand to the other, however it endures even though these iconic brands are no longer American Companies.

Something even stranger happened 2 years ago after InBev as it will be written, committed one of the biggest marketing blunders in Marketing History. It should be noted that many experts feel that supporting transgender rights was not the blunder, it was how they handled the aftermath. In its wake, a Mexican produced lackluster lager replaced Bud Light as the number one selling beer in America.

Even stranger, the producers of all this beer have virtually no desire to develop a presence in the "on premise" channel of distribution which is counterintuitive of good marketing.

From time to time I will experiment with how strong these brands really are. About 6 months ago we decided to resource our 16 ounce can of PBR with Narragansett 16 ounce cans. Our customers mostly transitioned to the Narragansett brand without a fight. It shall be noted that we still offer PBR in 12 ounce bottles.

The reason we supported Narragansett?

It was simple, the Owner of the Company was brought in by Atlanta Beverage, he was charming and our PBR distributor had just missed another Friday delivery which was the 5 time in 3 months.

So, at MacCracken's we still believe in good old fashioned salesmanship and we reward it with our business.

By the way, without a doubt, we are still the best place to drink a good beer in Cobb County.

Thought this worthy of sharing...

It is considered one of the most notable last stands in history...next of course to Saban's famous rein as Alabama's Head Football Coach;

2009 Crimson Tide set a school record for single-season victories with 14. The win secured Saban's second national championship and Alabama's 13th, and its first in the BCS era. At the on-campus celebration, Saban famously stated "I want everybody here to know, this is not the end. This is the beginning."

William Barret "Buck" Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. He is known for helping set the Texas Revolution in motion during the Anahuac disturbances and commanding the Misión San Antonio de Valero (aka "The Alamo") as a lieutenant colonel in the Texian Army.

Travis was born on Aug. 9, 1809, in present Saluda County, S.C. When he was 9, his family moved to a farm in Alabama.

Just saw this on Marketplace! Any wife's on here want to to sell husbands taxidermy cheap?

I'm interested.

Pizza

It might not be the best pizza in town, but it's homemade flatbread style and cheap as Hell which makes MacCracken's the best place to drink a good beer in Cobb.

Some say it's legendary for its unique flavor.

Note: Plain Cheese Pizza is $5!

I sent this to my Staff today while telling them about a special;

"Not to be rude, but most of you are disinterested in my background on how MacCrackens got here. I will explain it through a sandwich special we are doing today.

Special availability Up till 6:00 pm only because it has to be cut correctly to taste good and I only taught Stephanie.

Tri Tip is a California thing, instead of brisket they use Tri Tip which is the bottom of the Sirloin and it's kidney shaped.

Unless it is cut properly it sucks because it's hard to cut as this meat goes in 2 separate directions and requires skill to cut across the grain.

Think of this as a cheesesteak with homemade beef and it has grilled onions and peppers with gravy.

In New Orlean's they might call this roast beef with cosmic debris and to pull this off you have to roll the sandwich in butcher paper. When this is done the bread forms perfectly around the meat and nothing falls out.

Note:

My grandfather, and folks ran a Grocery Store for collectively 65 years and my mom ran a hot deli sandwich shop in the back of their last location where she sold her homemade pastrami, peppers and eggs, and other delicacies. During lunch they would have a line out the door of construction workers.

My Dad was born in Tennessee and raised in Alabama and was Baptist, my mom was born in the north and was Catholic. The store they ran sold southern foods and my mom contributed with a northern style Italian deli.

My first restaurant on the Square was a Deli where Sweet Treats currently is and we did well until the landlord kicked us out (John Mozley's Uncle). I waited until I could buy a building before I would do it again."

Tri Tip Cheese Steak Looks inch Special

This was smoked yesterday and I am offering this as a special as such as shown in photos.

This Is What The Kids Today Call “Sus AF”

A Barroom Story of Getting The Lowest Price For Irish Whiskey

Everyone in our business knows how shady and the reputation the Liquor business has. It's the closest thing to organized crime we have in our State.

I hired a guy once who worked in the kitchen and he was a very large man. I’m not saying he was Andre the Giant, but he was definitely bigger than the average bear. He was also blessed with a swarthy complexion, a hook nose, and RBF (Resting B**** Face).

He would not be considered a law-abiding person and suffered from Bi-Polar Disorder, he simply looked like someone NOBODY wanted to meet in a dark alley. We never exactly knew which one was going to show up for work.

(He was useful for removing bad customers, among other things.). His nickname was "Shrek".

Back years ago when The Sopranos was airing on HBO (right after a famous mob figure vanished without a trace from a parking lot in the northern suburbs), The unpredictable "Shrek" showed up for his shift one day. As he stood there, quietly prepping some wings, I asked him if he would like to make a quick twenty-five bucks.

Shrek: “What do I have to do?”

Me: “There’s two Salesmen who are gonna come in here in a few minutes, see? And they will walk over to that table, and we’re gonna have a talk, see? I want you to lean on the Bar, keep an eye on us, and when I point to you, I want you to look at the one with glasses. and nod your head.”

Shrek: “That’s it?”

Me: "That’s it.”

I went back to my table. The two salesmen walked in, we talked for a bit, and then they looked at Shrek who was leaning on the Bar, who nodded at the one with glasses. They suddenly pushed themselves away from the table and rapidly left the bar.

Shrek said it was the easiest twenty-five bucks he ever made. And the next few years I had the best price in Atlanta for a "certain" brand of Irish Whiskey...that Salesman got promoted shortly after, we were made a House Account, and he was scared to call on us after that.

Chelsea and Ashley tonight!

Perhaps the best group of Bartenders assembled under The House of MacCracken!

My People
Langston Hughes

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.

Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

The Stall

Wrapping the brisket will prevent what's called "the stall" — when evaporation from the surface of the brisket halts the cooking process. It also gives you more control over the final appearance of the bark, and can help lock in moisture that would otherwise be lost as the brisket cooks.

Wrapping a brisket in butcher paper and aluminum foil will speed up the cooking process, but their are two different schools if thought. The Butcher paper will stop the bark from forming further, but won't turn it to mush like foil does, the aluminum over it insulates the meat and helps keep a steady temperature.

On this go round I did a double wrap and maybe practically speaking since I do not have a separate fire box and I am "banking", I'm making sure the paper won't catch on fire if I get a flare up that reaches the meat side.

I made Sean Brock's Crust Burger for lunch today. Basically you flatten the bun with a spatula and toast both sides and use the outside for the inside!

This is a 1/4 lb Smash technique and it was pretty darn good because of the bun technique and Brock's "Come Back Sauce".

I want to try a technique I heard about where you start the burger off on the flat top and finished off on the Char Grill.

Our burger meat is a blend of sirloin and chuck.

Another fine load of Scott's Paulding County Oak for cooking and creating an unparalleled atmosphere.

We have had to ration it because some of our neighbors and customers were borrowing it for home use so now it's delivered to a secret location.

We will try to get ahead of our usage so it can season up when we burn it.

Tri Tip

This will be served tomorrow.

We are not a BBQ Restaurant, but when I search out an item for our menu I look at something not copied in our market. For instance, my brisket is totally unique to Georgia and once you taste it you could understand why it is such a huge thing in Montreal.

Tri Tip is another one of those delicacies not readily found in our market so I throw it on the menu from time to time.

The Mexican's call it "Bistec de empuje (Picaña),
tri-tip is also known as the Santa Maria Steak (Bavette) or the Newport Steak (when cut into individual steaks).

Tri-tip is the 1.5-2.5 pounds of meat that comes from the bottom (“tip”) of the sirloin. Its name comes from its triangle shape and the fact that it is the at the very tip of the sirloin. It's rich in meaty flavor and lower in fat than other cuts.

Shown in the photo is my Tri Tip smoking right now, first is was rubbed and seared, it will smoke for 2 hours, I will wrap in butcher paper and aluminum foil for another hour or 2.

MacCracken's: Cobb County's House Brand

'A Higher Order of Pizza'

There is a new commercial being shown for Mellow Mushroom where 2 college kids obviously stoned (to me anyway), are eating pizza. One is eating a pizza from MM as he says; "What do you call a fake pizza, a pepra-phoney."

My take is that Mellow Miellow Mushroom has hired the right Advertising firm (cultural marketing agency 160/90), who convinced them to go back to their roots of being counter culture. We ate MM in the old days because they were independent and non conventional, then they rushed to be mainstream it became not as cool.

Another local brand that dominated was Sweetwater with the same undercurrent of being a Stoner Beer. People would flock to the Brewery for the biggest weekend party in Atlanta for years to be part of being cool.

Sweetwater is now 100% owned by an out of state company and they are losing their identity in my opinion...another local company is replacing them as Georgia's House Brand. Terrapin was also up there as the Frat Boy's choice in Athen's and when they cashed out to Molson Coors, they promptly ran the brand into the ground.

I have said this before, if you want to see a trend happen before it becomes a trend, go to your local Dive Bar. We just noticed that hardly anyone is ordering Sweetwater anymore, Terrapin demand is non existent, and now an out of state brand called Narragansett is on the radar.

Note:

“From disruptive, scripted scenes that are laced with humour to the hero product-focused shorts, we saw the assets as a primary vehicle to reinforce Mellow Mushroom’s unique points of differentiation and establish a growth path for their brand’s narrative,” said Anderson Bradshaw, senior vice president of video production at 160/90. “Above all, we wanted the campaign to remind the audience that pizza is – and should be – fun, and no brand understands that better than Mellow Mushroom.”

We agree Mr. Bradshaw, you are a smart person.

The Great Locomotive Chase: Differing Perspectives

The rest of the story...

On June 18, 1862, seven men from Ohio were hanged just steps south of Oakland Cemetery. The leader of these men had been executed earlier, and several more waited in jail. In the Confederate states, these men were decried as spies, thieves, and “Lincolnites.” The people of the North would come to view them as heroes for their actions, and most of them have since been awarded the Medal of Honor.

On March 25, 1863, raider Private Joseph Parrott received the very first Medal of Honor.

The Cleveland Ohio Daily Ledger described the hanging near Oakland Cemetery, saying the men “were executed with the expedition that people would execute a dog with hydrophobia… the inhuman agents of this infernal order were inexorable.” The Vermont Watchman and State Journal stated, “all of the survivors were treated with great brutality during their imprisonment.”

Andrew's himself survived the initial hanging when his feet were able to touch the ground to the horror of the onlookers as he gasped for air! The executioners rapidly dug under his feet as he eventually died of strangulation.

Today, the locomotive General can be found at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw. The Texas is housed at the Atlanta History Center.

On July 3, of 2024, President Biden at the White House bestowed Medals of Honor to descendants of two Union soldiers who had participated in the daring Andrews’ Railroad Raid.

During 1863-64 the U.S. War Department awarded Medals of Honor to nineteen Andrews Raiders. (Andrews and Campbell, civilians, were ineligible.) For some reason two raiders, Pvts. George Wilson and Philip Shadrach, were overlooked.

This rankled Private Shadrach’s great-great-great nephew, Ron Shadrach, who a few years ago enlisted the help of Bradley Quinlin, a Civil War authority in Suwanee, Ga. Shadrach had been trying since 2008 to secure a Medal for his ancestor, but apathy and bureaucratic hoops got in the way.

Quinlin enlisted the aid of a Georgia congressman, and after twelve years of bureaucratic delays, with Shadrach he pushed the project through the Pentagon.

Finally, the Medal ceremony was planned for the White House. On July 3, Biden presented Medals to descendants of two Union veterans of the Civil War.

The President explained that all of the Andrews Raiders had received the award, except for two, George Wilson and Philip Shadrach. “Today, we right that wrong,” he continued; “Today, they finally receive the recognition they deserve.”

Marietta serves as an integral part of "The Great Locomotive Chase,” six members of Andrews’ Raiders were awarded the first Medals of Honor in our country’s history on March 25, 1863. These First Medals are why Chattanooga is recognized and known as the birthplace of the Medal of Honor.

United States Army privates Philip Shadrach's last words before being hung are recorded in a book about the Great Locomotive Chase:

"I'm not yet ready to meet my Jesus".

He went and said he didn't regret to die for his country and that they would regret the part they had taken in this rebellion, and they would see the flag of our country wave in triumph."

What can I say! Still great as usual and all my respect to the owner Matt Harper for creating a great Joint.

Snuck down today and my car automatically turned into the parking lot.