by Debbi | Mar 27, 2010 | Around the World, Jukebox
What does the Sandbar have to do with a giant steak?
Earlier this month on March 5, Dave’s friend Bret called to tell him that members of their favorite band, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, were on the road in Texas. Before their show that night, they planned to stop at the Big Texan Steak Ranch.
The Big Texan is home to the 72 ounce steak challenge. Basically, if you can eat the entire meal in one hour, it’s free. There’s a list on their website of everyone who’s completed the dinner since 1991- they’ve been doing this since 1962, but their records were destroyed in 1976 by fire and again in 1991 by a sprinkler system accident. The list is long. And it looks like it’s all men.
The other interesting thing about this challenge: it’s broadcast live on the internet through webcams aimed at the tables.
Anyway. Roger, the band’s guitar player, and Mikey, one of their crew, were up for the challenge. According to Bret, Roger also planned to wear a Sandbar shirt that Dave gave him the last time they played in Lawrence.
Here’s a picture of them filling out their disclaimer forms (courtesy of the band’s Twitter feed). Although it’s hidden by his jacket, you can see that Roger’s wearing a blue Sandbar shirt:
Dave watched part of the challenge online, and indeed he got a glimpse of the Sandbar shirt. Roger completed the meal in 57:40 according to the Big Texan’s record list. Mike didn’t- but he’s probably better off.
Roger and the rest of the Stragglers are in Lawrence again tonight. If you like good, traditional country music don’t miss this show. It’s at The Granada, and the opening band- the John D. Hale Band from Missouri- is good too. The guys from Kansas City Limits, a radio program in Kansas City, will be at the Sandbar early this evening to give away some tickets.
by Debbi | Feb 26, 2010 | Around the World
While I was loading up my popcorn basket the other day, I spied a new addition to the Sandbar shirts Wall of Fame.
This lovely woman is Janie, Sandbar art director Brother Pants' oldest sister. She vacationed in Alaska with her husband for ten days last summer and took one our shirts along! (It must not have been very cold that day.)
I love it when random pictures secretly appear on the wall! But, I hope she didn't notice her picture missing already and think that someone stole it. Speaking of…I noticed a very obvious space on the corkboard where another picture used to be. I haven't figured out which one is missing yet.
Be sure to email us your Sandbar shirt pictures and we'll add them to the wall! Or, you can bring one in and tack it on the corkboard and wait for us to discover it.
by Debbi | Feb 4, 2010 | Around the World
Our recent call for Sandbar shirt pictures produced one from the exotic city 30 miles to the west of us- Topeka.
Our friends at the Dutch Goose, a neighborhood bar and grill, sent this picture to us via their Twitter account.
It's a little fuzzy, that's okay! We love to see where our shirts show up, whether it's halfway across the world or just down the road.
If you've got a picture to share, email it to us (sandbar{at}thesandbar{dot}com), or tweet it to us @thesandbar!
by Debbi | Jan 27, 2010 | Around the World
We might not be able to get Lone Star Beer in Kansas, but that didn't stop Dave from posing in his Sandbar shirt with the giant sign at Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas. He drank lots of Lone Star Beer there, too.
Where has your Sandbar shirt been? Send us your pictures of you or your friends sporting a Sandbar shirt in someplace cool! We'll feature you on our blog and put your picture on our wall of fame!
by Debbi | Jan 18, 2010 | Around the World
We've talked about our thoughts on Sixth Street vs. Mass Street and shared some fun pictures from our evening there, but Sixth Street isn't the only place we went in Austin.
Before the trip, I searched online for tropical bars and restaurants we could visit for ideas about drinks and decor. We've borrowed lots of ideas from other places, like the Shark Attack and the Dirty Banana, and we're always on the lookout for another great idea.
We met up with friends at Kahuna's Tiki Bar & Grill. It was about a 10-15 minute drive from our hotel downtown and easy to find.
For a restaurant in a strip mall, this place was tiki-d out! Bamboo poles criss-crossed the ceiling, surfboards and tiki heads were everywhere, and there was a full menu of tropical drinks. The waitress kindly let us "borrow" a drink menu. I was in no mood for alcohol, but Dave ordered the girliest sounding drink on the menu: the Wiki Waki Woo.
Now, that name might sound familiar if you've been in the Sandbar recently. He loved the name so much he wanted to use it- but we didn't love the actual drink so much. He made up his own recipe for our drink machine.
The food was good, and the decor was outstanding and fun to look at. If you're in Austin and love all things tropical, it's worth checking out.
by Debbi | Jan 10, 2010 | Around the World, Cool Stuff, Stories
Yesterday I wrote a little bit about our visit to Sixth Street in Austin, Texas. Today, some fun stories and pictures.
First up, Daddy's Grill and Bar. We didn't actually go inside this place, but we had to take a picture of the sign. Ken, long time bartender at The Sandbar who fills in occasionally these days, was nicknamed "Daddy" by the guys. There's a story there, but I won't go into it here.
On to the Thirsty Nickel. We stumbled into this place with some other KU football fans from Lawrence that we ran into at another bar. The place was pretty empty- it was late afternoon, after all- but we enjoyed a few drinks and shots with the bartender.
We were delighted to see this little sign hanging behind the bar:
Of course that sparked a conversation. Their bar is much longer and much wider than ours. The bartender said they don't love for people to dance on their bar, because there's nothing for wobbly dancers to grab onto. Dave described the metal awning that he built over our bar, and explained how it's great for dancers to lean against or grab if they need a helping hand. The ceilings in the Thirsty Nickel were way high, but it could still be done.
We also found this sign in the Thirsty Nickel. Perhaps we'll hang a similar one underneath our bar?!? Of course we posed with it, but the picture's on someone else's camera and I don't have a copy.
Check THIS out! I can't remember the name of this bar, and I can't find it online, but it was something tropical-like. However, when we went inside, this was about the closest thing to tropical about the place. Look familiar?
These were some of our favorite sights on Sixth Street. I've still got a few more things to share about Austin and the bars and restaurants and other interesting things we encountered there. Stay tuned.
