The 'Disappearance' of Popular OTC Drugs…

I thought that I watched the news a lot… Aren’t the news shows, talking heads and the weather the primary programs that retired people watch on television?  Still, despite my heavy daily dose of the news, I somehow missed the stories around some very popular ‘missing’ over-the-counter drugs. 

So…you might ask yourself, what drugs or OTC remedies have disappeared from the shelves of your local drug store or mass merchant…and why?  More important to me is just where was I when this happened…?  Perhaps retirement has made me complacent…

When is the last time that you saw a bottle of Rolaids?  I much prefer them to Tums but this bottle may be one of the last of its kind in the USA.  There are just a few Rolaids left in this container, (expiration 5/2005), so I guess I’ll have to resort to Tums in the near future.  Laurie has already made the switch.  So what happened to Rolaids?

As a result of multiple recalls, production was suspended by McNeil – PPC Inc., the manufacturer of Rolaids in 2010. The brand is now owned by a French company, Sanofi.  I had asked our pharmacist what had happened to Rolaids and he told me that quality control problems and filthy manufacturing conditions had led to a shutdown of production.  Indeed, there were multiple recalls of Rolaids in 2010.  If you check on the Internet, you will find a website that is specifically designed for American customers…but you still can’t buy any Rolaids.  Check it out at   http://www.rolaids.com/.

Our pharmacist also mentioned a couple other widely known OTC brands that have been taken off the market… How about Liquid Mylanta for heartburn relief?  This product is also a McNeil staple, but it too has been withdrawn from the marketplace. (Tablets are still available) Again the issue was quality control in the manufacturing process.  For more information regarding this product go to http://www.mylanta.com/product-availability and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylanta.

The biggest stunner to me was Tylenol!  The same recall that impacted Rolaids and Liquid Mylanta in 2010, also affected Tylenol.  Some types of Tylenol still aren’t available to the consumer.  In that recall, 53,000,000 bottles of McNeil – PPC Inc. products were involved!   Tylenol, Motrin, Rolaids, Benadryl, St. Joseph's Aspirin and later Zyrtec were all involved in these recalls.  For further information, just go to http://www.tylenol.com/ and/or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol.

Wow!  I guess I’d better spend more time watching the news on TV or via the Internet!  How’d we miss this story?

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my failure to ensure that I'm fully informed at all times…

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

More Visitors Plus a Thai Restaurant!

Soon after Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill departed for St. Louis Missouri, 2 other house guests arrived.  This time it was a former high school classmate of Laurie’s that she hadn’t seen for 42 years! 

Here is Laurie and her friend Linda… They were photographed by Linda’s husband Jon while they were perusing Maplewood Missouri high school yearbooks and reminiscing about the ‘good old days’.  They were like good friends that had actually been with each other many times over the intervening years…

Linda and Jon currently live in the San Francisco Bay area of California.  One reason for this trip was to check out what the retirement possibilities are like in East Tennessee.  They learned that we have low housing costs, a low cost of living, low taxes, low gasoline prices, quality health care, a minimal chance for natural disasters and plenty of natural beauty as evidenced by the lakes and rivers, forests and mountains.   

So...it was dinner time.  Jon and Linda wanted to take us out to eat and we all agreed that we would try a Thai restaurant that Laurie and I had never eaten at before.  This is Little Bangkok Thai Bistro.

Our friends Joel and Holly had recommended this restaurant…and when they talk about food, we listen!  They’ve lived all over the world with their last residence prior to retiring to East Tennessee being in the Washington D.C. area… D.C. is of course loaded with restaurants serving quality ethnic foods.

As Joel and Holly had told us, the interior of Little Bangkok is nothing fancy… Its décor is straightforward and simple.

Our waitress was thoughtful enough to offer to take our group photo… This is one of the few photos that included both Laurie and myself.  She’s usually on the business end of the camera!  It was a great visit as Linda and Jon are both great house guests…

We started out with a couple of appetizers.  These are the Crab Rangoon…deep fried ‘pastries’ filled with crab and cream cheese. ($5.99) The filling was quite good and that is the key to quality Crab Rangoon…

These are Fried Pork Pot Stickers. ($5.99) They were very nice…one of my favorite Thai/Chinese appetizers.

Among other items, the list of appetizers includes Shrimp or Vegetable Basil Rolls; Bangkok Stuffed Wings; Satay Chicken; Bangkok Lettuce Wrap, and Tom Ka Kai, a coconut milk based soup with chicken and mushrooms simmered in lemon grass, lime juice and fresh Kaffir leaves.

To learn about Kaffir leaves and Kaffir limes, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_lime.

OK… Here’s the problem.  I didn’t pay for dinner and I didn’t take notes.  In addition, 3+ weeks have passed and my short term memory has failed me.  Consequently, I don’t know what most of our dinners were called and I haven’t been able to match our photos up to the items listed in Little Bangkok’s on-line menu.  We are pretty sure that this is Laurie’s entrée, Yellow Curry with Chicken. ($8.99)

FYI… Yellow curry is Khaeng Ka-Ree, red curry is Khaeng Phed and green curry is Khaeng Keaw-Warn.

Either Jon or I ordered the Pa-Naeng…a thick version of red curry with beef, potatoes and broccoli. ($8.99)  I think that this was probably my entrée as it looks and sounds like something that I’d enjoy.  I do remember that I ordered brown rice with my entrée and everyone else went with the white rice.

If you are in or close to Knoxville’s Turkey Creek and it happens to be close to the lunch hour, Little Bangkok is located just across North Campbell Station Road at the west end of the shopping area.  The reason that I mentioned this fact is that this restaurant has a 24 item Luncheon menu…and 23 of the items listed only cost $6.99 each!  

We believe that this was Linda’s entrée… As I recall, it was some type of dinner salad with veggies and chicken. 

If anyone would like to show off their knowledge of Thai and Chinese food, feel free to try to match the food to Little Bangkok’s menu, just click on the following: http://littlebangkokknoxville.com/?page_id=8.

This is obviously either orange or honey glazed chicken…with some red pepper flakes for a little heat.  The Honey Glazed Chicken on the menu is $8.99. 

I have to admit that I failed to gather the data I really needed in order to adequately review this restaurant. However, since we all really liked everything that we ordered for dinner, I wanted to put this restaurant out there for others to consider!  Joel and Holly were right… Little Bangkok/Thai Bistro is a good restaurant with good food and reasonable prices… Laurie and I will return for another meal and I will provide more complete feedback! 

Little Bangkok – Thai Bistro is located at 603 North Campbell Station Road in Knoxville Tennessee.  It’s just off of I-75 at the Campbell Station exit.  Phone: 865-675-3688.  Website: http://littlebangkokknoxville.com/.

One final note… Linda and Jon LOVED East Tennessee!  They even did a bit of house hunting when they were here… This is a great place to retire!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Feast at Our House…

When Laurie’s sister and brother-in-law, Bonnie and Bill made plans to come and visit us, we thought that we should have some friends over for dinner party at our place.  Laurie and Bonnie spent quite a bit of time planning this event… Two couples that were going to be in town signed on for our little gathering.

I hung up my tongs and turned the grilling over to Bill.  I just slap meat on the grill at full heat and cook fast… On the other hand, Bill is a master, basting, coaxing and coddling the meat to near perfection.

Bill and Bonnie brought these 10 thick pork steaks with them from St. Louis Missouri.  They are beautiful hunks of meat!  Bonnie mixed up a special marinade and Bill slowly basted the pork steaks.  When they were almost cooked, he finished some of them with spicy BBQ sauce, some with a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce…and some he just put a little more marinade on…

Bonnie and Laurie put a lot of work into planning and preparing for this little dinner party.  They made BLT appetizers, as well as a great pasta dish served at room temperature that included spinach, pesto and peas. (I really liked this pasta dish as a leftover…heated up with some extra parmesan sprinkled on it) I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Laurie’s great deviled eggs as well… The ladies didn’t forget the vegetables either.  In addition to the cherry tomato/BLT appetizers, we enjoyed a large quantity of very thin and tender steamed asparagus.

Joel and Holly were two of our dinner guests… They're retired but Joel operates a business that trains people like me, (who are a bit slow), to use various software systems.  He also fixes software issues for his clients.  If you live in East Tennessee, you can check Joel’s services out at https://sites.google.com/site/elderduznotcompute/home.

This is Larry aka ‘Big Dude’ with his better half, Beverly.  Larry is a fellow blogger and he can really produce some extra fine BBQ.  Check his blog out at http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/.

Bill took this photo of Larry, myself and Joel…as we sipped our refreshments and watched him grill those great pork steaks.  It was a tough job…but hey!...we were up to the task…

Here’s a photo of part of our banquet ‘spread’ on one of our kitchen counters… Nothing like a little corn on the cob just to top off those pork steaks!

This was another  critical ingredient for our feast.  Bev makes the best yeast rolls ever!  I ‘controlled’ myself on this occasion and I only had 3 of them… Beverly can bake and cook!

Laurie took this photo of our group around the dinner table… From the left: Holly, Joel, Larry, Bonnie, Bill, Bev and me…

As if we hadn’t had enough to eat, Holly and Joel brought this fabulous fruit topped patriotic 4th of July cheesecake to the party!  The food was great and the company was even better… Life is good, even if the aging process can be a real pain!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave  

1950’s Diner – 3rd Visit!

Another day another meal… When Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill visited us from Missouri, we ate out a few times.  When we discovered that we’d never taken them to Hot Rod 50’s, a diner in Maryville Tennessee, I had an opportunity to try a few more items on the menu…and write about the place for the 3^rd time!

This photo of Bill and I has been inserted just to prove that we were there… I was planning to use a previous photo of the outside of Hot Rod 50’s with this blog but, as it turns out, I’d already blown it away and I couldn’t capture it from my earlier blog on the diner.  To view the outside of the restaurant and food items not covered in this blog, you can go to an earlier blog to learn more about this place. http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/08/hot-rods-50s-diner-tennessee.html.

Two appetizers were ordered…and the plate pictured above shows a sampling of both of them.  Bill ordered the Crispy Chicken Livers, ($4.99), and I ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes. ($5.99) I’m not into Chicken Livers but Bonnie and Bill reported that they were OK…but maybe a bit too crispy.  However, we all agreed that the Fried Green Tomatoes were terrific!  In truth, they were the best I’ve ever had… It’s just ranch dressing on them so the flavor that makes these pop comes from something in the batter.   

Laurie ordered Bacon Cheese Burger. ($6.99) This is a 1/3 pound steak burger topped with Swiss cheese, (her choice), onion, pickles and mayonnaise.  Instead of the usual French fries, she opted for Tater Tots.  There was more than enough to eat, the burger was cooked medium rare as requested and the Tater Tots were a nice change of pace.

Bonnie opted for the 1/3 lb. Blue Cheese Burger, ($6.99), accompanied by these beautiful looking fried onion rings.  According to everyone who tried them, they tasted great too! 

The steak burgers are hand shaped daily using only 100% fresh ground Angus chuck steak.  The meat is never frozen and no fillers are used.  Another positive for the burgers at Hot Rod 50’s is that they grill the buns…

For his ‘light’ lunch, Bill ordered the 2/3 lb. Egg Burger with Swiss cheese added on. ($10.98) This big steak burger patty is topped with an easy-over fried egg and plenty of bacon.  Bill chose the baked beans from among the twenty (20) side dish options.  The baked beans were OK and the burger was perfect!

NOTE: There are no less than 45 different burger options on the menu at Hot Rod 50’s!  Believe it or not, there are also classic sandwiches, specialty sandwiches, ‘huge’ hoagies, entrees, casseroles and an Italian corner, in addition to desserts, shakes and smoothies.

I just couldn’t resist.  This is “The Hog”! (It’s only $7.99!) This is Hot Rods signature sandwich, a huge cut of ‘pork chop thick’ pork tenderloin breaded in their homemade bread crumb mixture and pan fried to perfection.  Believe me, it is perfection.  I have never had a better pork tenderloin sandwich and I’m from the upper Midwest where pork is king!  This sandwich is almost as big as my head…  I had to skip almost all of the French fries…

If this isn’t a big enough sandwich for you, how about going for Hot Rod 50’s ‘Chubby Challenge!?’ ($16.99) The Chubby Challenge is a giant 30 oz., (almost 2 lb.), triple decker steak burger, smothered with American cheese.  It’s garnished with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles...and by the way, it’s served with a pound of French fries.

If you eat it all, (including French fries), within 30 minutes of its arrival at your table, you get a FREE Chubby T-Shirt and they post your picture.  What stuns me are the amazing number of people who have their photos on the wall!

This is a fun place…a nifty diner…with lots of good food at a good price.  Hot Rod 50’s is open 7 days a week.  It’s located at 323 Hannum Street in Alcoa Tennessee.  Phone: i65-984-7171.  Website: http://www.hotrods50sdiner.com/.  Note: There are lots of photos on their website.

Just click on any of the photo to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to check out our ‘little’ meal!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Flaherty’s – An Irish Pub

Laurie and I are always looking for somewhere new to eat…a new dining experience!  Ideally, we’d like to find a couple of restaurants that aren’t too far from where we live that we really like, and then we’d become ‘regulars”.  Alternatively, we’re on the lookout for fun restaurants with good food where we can go with friends and family…

This is Flaherty’s Irish Pub on the south side of Maryville Tennessee.  We’ve been here twice now…once for an early dinner and once with houseguests/family members for an afternoon ‘snack’.

This is a view of the bar at Flaherty’s… Nearly everything in the bar was crafted in Ireland…and then installed in Maryville under the direction of Irish craftsmen.  The bar is well stocked with a wide selection of Irish and Scotch whiskeys as well as a nice variety of ales, stouts and domestic beers.   

The owner of Flaherty’s Irish Pub is a descendant of the Flaherty clan from Ireland.  The name ‘Flaherty’ first appeared in Ireland in the 10^th Century.  It was derived from the name “Flathbertaig” which means “Bright Ruler” in Gaelic. 

The décor is warm and welcoming and it’s obvious that the owner has invested heavily in this new venture.  The only physical item that I found a little ‘off’ for a pub were the wrap around windows.  I guess that’s what happens when you take over an available property… You just can’t change everything!

On our first visit, Laurie and I started out by ordering an appetizer.  These luscious little balls of goodness are Katie’s Taters. ($7.99) This dish consists of whipped potatoes with Benton’s bacon and crisp fresh cabbage blended with Irish cheeses and then breaded and quickly fried.  These 'Taters' are served with a terrific roasted garlic aioli.  The combination of the taters and the aioli is extremely good…and this is a very filling appetizer.

I ordered Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy. ($9.99) However, since I’m not a big onion fan, I substituted Colcannon for the Mash. (In addition to the onion gravy, mash is mashed potatoes with spring onions) Colcannon is mashed potatoes blended with tender cabbage.  With a little spicy mustard on the side, the bangers were quite good.  While the colcannon was good, I had some in Rugby Tennessee…in a fried potato patty format with some brown gravy…that I liked much better.   

This may not look like a traditional Irish entrée…but it is!  Over the years, curry dishes have become part of the Irish dining scene.  Laurie ordered the Madras Curry Chicken. ($12.99) The chicken is cooked with Indian spices and fresh vegetables and then simmered in a savory curry sauce.  It’s served with rice and Irish-style chutney.  Laurie enjoyed her dinner and said that she’d order it again.

OK…So Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her Husband Bill were in town for a visit.  We’d been running around one day and we had a big dinner planned, but we decided that since we’d missed lunch, we would stop at Flaherty’s for a bit of Irish beer and a couple of appetizers…

 

We definitely over ordered!  In addition to our beers, we started with an order of perfectly seasoned and breaded Fried Dill Pickle Chips with a very nice dipping sauce. ($6.99)

In addition, we ordered some of Flaherty’s French Fries (chips) and homemade potato chips (crisps) with a Guinness and sharp cheddar cheese dip. ($7.99) While these 2 appetizers were probably all we should have had for our mid-afternoon ‘snack’, I wanted Bonnie and Bill to try a couple other items too!

There are a variety of Irish food items and entrees on the menu.  These include Fish and Chips; Guinness braised Steak and Mushroom Pie; a Full Irish Breakfast including black and white ‘pudding’; Corned Beef and Cabbage; Guinness Cheddar Mushroom Burger and; the Dublin Burger…corned beef and Swiss cheese with a beef patty. 

Don’t forget the “Boxtys”!  There are 4 varieties available.  These are sort of a wrap…with the wrap being a form of potato pancake.  To learn more about boxtys, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxty. The menu at Flaherty’s also includes trout, chicken and steaks.

Now back to the other appetizers... These may look like Katie’s Taters…but they’re not!  These balls of delectability are Corned Beef Bites. ($8.99) These treats consist of corned beef, Swiss cheese, cream cheese and sauerkraut rolled in panko then deep fried and served with a spicy mustard sauce. (These were great!)

Did I mention that I also requested 2 orders of Katie’s Taters and oh yes…2 orders of the Corned Beef Bites as well… Yikes!  We definitely overate but the good news was that I brought home 2 leftover Katie’s Taters which I subsequently turned into a very nice breakfast! 

Flaherty’s Irish Pub is about 30 minutes from our home here in East Tennessee, not exactly around the corner but close enough that it’s convenient.  This restaurant and pub is located at 1720 West Broadway Avenue (US Hwy 411) in Maryville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-724-1300.  Their website is found at http://www.flahertysirishpub.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to check out what was on the menu!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Family Visit = A Busy Week!

We do love having company!  It gives us a chance to explore East Tennessee even more thoroughly and it gives us a way to share this beautiful area with others.  I do know that we sure are lucky to have found this place and to be able to retire here!  

Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill drove over from Maplewood Missouri to spend a week with us.  There is nothing like a little golf, this time at the Toqua Golf Course in Tellico Village. (Loudon County) It was a beautiful day. 

Then, the next day we were off to the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville Tennessee. 

We were there to see a matinee performance of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5 – The Musical”.  It was lots of fun and very professional.

We’ve been to several plays at the Cumberland County Playhouse…and they’ve all been quite enjoyable.  For the price and quality, performances at this theatre are hard to beat.  For information on current and upcoming shows, just go to http://www.ccplayhouse.com/. 

We also drove around the area south of Knoxville quite a bit…spotting a few of our many neighbors along the way.

This is Bill and I at a restaurant called “Hot Rod 50’s” in Maryville Tennessee.  It’s a 1950s style diner with large quantities of reasonably priced diner food. (There will be an upcoming blog on the food we enjoyed on our trip to this restaurant)

Here’s a bit more scenery from one of our various drives… You can see the Smoky Mountains in the distance across a cove on Tellico Lake.

Another day…another restaurant!  This time it’s Flaherty’s Irish Pub in Maryville Tennessee.  Bill and Bonnie are enjoying a spot of Irish brew… (I will publish a blog about Flaherty’s, but for the moment suffice it to say, we enjoyed our food!) 

Note: The reason Laurie isn’t in any of these photos is that she’s operating the camera…and I didn’t take any timely photos.  Another demerit for me!

One morning Bill and I went fishing!  He had fun catching this bass on a lure but most of our success came from using minnows.

Larry, aka ‘Big Dude’, let us use his party dock which is located in a secluded cove on the lake.  FYI…Big Dude is another dedicated fellow blogger.  Check out his blog at http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/.

Other activities during Bonnie and Bill’s visit included a movie as well as a dinner party…and you’re right!  I’ll definitely be blogging about the dinner party before very long.

In addition to the bass in the first photo, Bill also caught this nice ‘pan size’ catfish.  The fish I caught were all too small to publish pictures of… The fact is that Bill approaches fishing like a job…relentless!  I’m retired and they either bite or they just don’t…

That’s about it for now.  I know that Laurie and I had a lot of fun with Bonnie and Bill… It was a great week and we’re hoping that they come back and pay us a visit next year as well!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave