Happy 250th Blog Post! Pickles, Cats, Trader Joe's, Mermaid Zombie Killers and Me

Hello LilyOnTheLam.com Readers:

This is my 250th blog post.  I haven't written since May because I wanted my 250th blog post to be on something amazing and awesome.  But since I wasn't the Floridian who won the big Powerball jackpot, my day to day life seems pretty pale in comparison.  Finally I decided I am just going to write about a melange of regular LilyOnTheLam.com topics ... so buckle up and here we go ...

1)  More evidence that Lily is crazy ...

I was at the store the other day and for some unknown reason, I thought it was truly necessary to buy a half-gallon jar of pickles.  I like pickles but this jar is like 15 times bigger than any jar of pickles I have ever purchased in my entire life. (And if you're a regular reader of LilyOnTheLam you may remember that I am 976 years old, so that's a long time of buying appropriately sized jars of pickles.)

All I can say is obviously I am going through a manic phase.  A manic pickle phase.  Is that in the DSM-5?  

I like pickles and most of my friends like pickles, but seriously this jar of pickles is bigger than my head.  Who needs that many pickles?  Evidently I do.  

I really feel like I should just head out to the beach and just give a pickle chip to every person I see.  Kind of like Johnny Appleseed, except my name is Lily and I have pickles.  Lily Picklechips?  That could totally be my drag queen name if I were a drag queen ... except I am lacking a penis.  Lily Picklechips NoPenis ... Lily Picklechips NoPenis the Third.  Yes, that is absolutely my new drag queen name.  See me at a Hamburger Mary's or gas station near you!

I tried to make this picture more colorful by putting a polka dotted washcloth
as a backdrop, but I think it just makes it look more weird -
like I am a clown or something.  A clown with a ridiculous amount of pickles.

I would like to say that in trying to understand why I felt it necessary to buy such a large jar of pickles that I grew closer to truly understand the mysteries of life and in turn embraced the inner workings of my complicated psyche.  But um I haven't ... all I know is that whenever I open my refrigerator I think "Bloody hell, that's one big ass jar of pickles.  WTF?"  It's like I am a split personality and one of my alternate personalities went whacko pickle shopping.  

Settle down Sybil, I don't need any more pickles.

2)  Yeah cats ...

What would a LilyOnTheLam.com post be without some cat-related news?  My friend Miss Cindy Lou-Who bought me this cat bed which coincidentally matched the kick ass "Morticia Addams boudoir" themed tea nook that I created in my condo.  Some would call it a dining area, but I'm going with "tea nook."  It's all about seeing things differently, people.  This picture is the baby Chibby giving Oshi the stink eye.  Which is pretty much a daily occurrence in this home.  I really don't have much more of a story than that, but pointless cat tales are kind of my thing ... so there ya go.  Happy 250th blog post!

3)  Trader Joe's

My blog posts about Trader Joe's products tend to be the most highly read, so a 250th blog post would not be complete without a Trader Joe's product review.

There is a strong rumor that Trader Joe's is coming to South Tampa (read the Tampa Bay Times article here.)  If the rumor is true, construction will break ground around the time of my birthday ... I am hoping the rumor is true because it would be a pretty crappy birthday present if it was not!  In honor of the possible new Trader Joe's, here is a review of Trader Joe's Lemongrass Chicken Stix.  (Yes - stix.  I believe that is the traditional Viking spelling.)

Product after baking

I would love to say for my 250th blog post that I loved the Trader Joe's Lemongrass Chicken Stix appetizers.  Unfortunately I am not a big fan of food with floral tastes.  Ingredients like rosewater make me feel like I am eating perfume.  I adore lemongrass in EvilShenanigans.com 's Thai coconut curry braised short ribs (read about my making them here) but the Trader Joe's Lemongrass Chicken Stix appetizers were very heavy on the Lemongrass.  For me, it was like spraying an egg roll with old lady perfume.  But if you're a big fan of lemongrass then I think you'd really enjoy these.  So Lemongrass fans, check these out.  But for me, I will pass.

4)  And last but not least for my 250th blog post ... a restaurant review.

The Mermaid Tavern in Seminole Heights had posted on their Facebook page that they had Crispin's Prepare to Die Hard Cider on tap, so I knew I needed to get there ASAP.  I first had the "Prepare to Die" cider at the American Beer Classic in Chicago.  It has blood orange and killer bee honey and it is ridiculously delicious.  However when I arrived at the Mermaid Tavern the bartender told me they did not have this cider and she really wished that they would start getting it.  Oh Mermaid Tavern, you lured me in with a bait and switch!  The bartender did recommend the "Zombie Killer" - a cherry cider that was crazy delicious.  It is not as good as Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider, but it was a close second.  

Mermaid Tavern also now has a nice dinner menu.  My friend AF had the portobello flatbread which looked gorgeous.  ZE had the blue cheese burger and I went with just a side of truffle fries.  I like the Mermaid Tavern because it reminds me of my misspent youth, where I would hang out with my fellow elementary friend Kevin inhaling copious amounts of secondhand smoke at the local "Elks' Club" while Kevin's dad drank himself into oblivion.  Oh youth!   

Truffle Fries!

The truffle fries did not taste like truffle oil at all ... just regular fries, but they were still pretty darn tasty.  I would like to try more menu items from Mermaid Tavern.

Thank you readers - to those who have just discovered LilyOnTheLam.com and to those who have been with me since the beginning.  It has been a wacky 250 blog posts and here's to future blog posts.  As always, thank you for reading!