* No Limit Hold’em Tournament.

I don’t know about you, but every so often Jeff Eats finds him watching tv-“poker” programs.

With that in mind, I’m gonna use $360 of my bar mitzvah money- and on June 27, 2015 see if my-tv-watching taught me anything!

I’m in…

If you are interested in getting beat…

* My Vegan Heart: How Changing My Diet Changed My Life.

Jeff Eats just read the “below” story on everydayhealth.com.

Got two questions for “its” author:

If what you say is so…Then why did GOD create all of these freaking cows, pigs and chickens not to mention the George Foreman Grill?

If you are as healthy as you claim to be…Why do you look like death warmed over?
_______

My Vegan Heart: How Changing My Diet Changed My Life

By Everyday Health Guest Contributor

Published Jan 15, 2014

Thomas Larson

By Thomas Larson, Special to Everyday Health

After my third heart attack in five years, I became a vegan, or a plant-based eater. Then I wrote about it in my book, The Sanctuary of Illness: A Memoir of Heart Disease, which tells the journey of my having gone from a non-recovery recovery to healing after those near-fatal trials,which finally forced me to change my diet.

I was already a vegetarian, a “right” eater — or so I thought. That earlier journey began thirty years ago, while reading Francis Moore Lappe’s ground-breaking book Diet for a Small Planet. I was shaken to the core by the scale of factory farming and clear-cutting of Central American rain forests by McDonalds and other fast-food corporations.

Back then, like tens of thousands of my fellow climate-conscious, meat-is-murder, animal-sparing Californians (I wish I could say Americans), I renounced all sides of beef, bird, and goat. But not their edible byproducts — those tasty commodities like chicken eggs, whole milk, Swiss cheese, vanilla yogurt, and deep-dish pizza.

Yes, I ate right for the sake of the animal’s corporeal life but not for the sake of the planet’s: animal waste is the number one source of methane, scourge of global-warming. I was also not eating right for the sake of my arteries.

But by becoming vegan, I underwent a metamorphosis. I gave up every quarter of the cow for one simple–albeit less-than-obvious–reason: dairy is the devil.

How do I know?

Consider how my traumas and treatments unraveled.

Heart attack #1 — angioplasty, three stents, and a statin drug save me.

Heart attack #2 — angioplasty, one stent, increased exercise, more drugs and higher doses save me.

Heart attack #3 — angioplasty, two stents, more drugs . . . save — no. Stop! Why do my arteries keep occluding? Why do I keep getting saved but not getting better?

I renewed my study. I found books and a couple movies on plant diets for heart patients. I consulted two lipidologists who ordered detailed blood panels and targeted with supplements the bad strains of cholesterol that continually clogged me.

And, finally, I learned this truth: my arteries inflame at those passageways where lipid deposits jelly-up as vulnerable plaque, that is, plaque likely to burst and block — because of two things. First is my dairy-rich diet and my inability (not that I’d ever really tried) to quit eating eggs and cheese. Second is the spongy cast of my arteries. These are gene-bred from my father, which for him, my older brother, and me guaranteed that we Larsons accrue sludgy pustules of cholesterol in our coronaries, just as Tim Russert and James Gandolfini did (to name two spectacular falls). Thereby, we were more susceptible to cardiac arrest (a.k.a., sudden death) than most Americans.

So, could it be any clearer that the only thing left for me to do, in addition to interventional treatment, exercise, and drugs, was to give up dairy and eat plants? No animal protein. Just plants. Which I did.

What do plants offer?
1.No cholesterol and no casein, artery-closers extraordinaire
2.Easily assimilated nitrous oxide, key to arterial self-repair
3.Plenty of protein that’s nutritionally more beneficial than protein from animals
4.Soluble fiber for bowel regularity
5.A stomach-pleasing ban on hard-to-metabolize fat
6.Enhanced sexual potency in males and females
7.Less end-of-life disability
8.Prevention of some cancers

I did ride a rough road from veggie to vegan. In addition to their initial canyon-ledge terror, my heart attacks were confusingly mild and harsh. Mild because each attack, for which I rushed myself to the nearest hospital (it’s smarter to call 911), was less grave than the preceding one, which made me think I was getting better. The statin drug, post-number-one, helped defuse the severity as well. Harsh because the infarctions came three times — carpet-bagging relatives who wouldn’t leave — which meant I was not getting better and my healing regimen was not rooting out the cause. This further said that at the rate I was going, I was never going to improve.

However, I did improve — but only after I discovered that what went in my mouth made me sick and kept me sick. I improved, dramatically, after I cut out the cow.

A plant-based diet is a friend with many benefits — I rarely have angina or other chest pains. I dropped thirty-five pounds; I don’t count calories; I don’t diet. I seldom suffer heartburn, so I don’t think it’s masked angina (I used to). I can drink red wine; my LDL is super low (46) as is my total cholesterol (106) and my arteries are less inflamed than they were. My sex life has been reborn with a fit, desirous partner. And while I do have the occasional fatigue-ridden day, it’s probably my old plaques, packed in during my dairy days, still seeping into, and gumming up, my stented coronaries.

I’ll trade that last misfortune for all the other post-vegan advantages.

THOMAS LARSON: Journalist, critic, and memoirist, Thomas Larson has been a staff writer for the San Diego Reader for fifteen years. His books include The Memoir and the Memoirist and The Saddest Music Ever Written: The Story of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.” He is also a creative nonfiction instructor at Ashland

***** Tanzy Restaurant, 301 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 922-6699.

For our purposes let’s call Tanzy Restaurant an Italian restaurant/with plenty of American stuff. The joint is located in Mizner Park in Boca Raton and is owned/operated by iPic Entertainment which operates the 11 screen movie theater at the same location.

Real simple tale on this one…

Last Tuesday night (6/9)-Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats were invited to attend a Media Dinner…first things first, everything that we ate/drank was “comped”…also in attendance- give or take 25-of South Florida’s most influential food bloggers and various reporters/critics. Jeff Eats didn’t do a full name check, but I did see the Sun Sentinel’s food critic- Susan Bryant- so be on the lookout for a Tanzy story probably sometime next week. Also spotted, a number of writers who work for those- free glossy magazines (that you never ordered) that you get in the mail-and that you read (well, at least in Jeff Eats’ case) in the toilet -usually concentrating on the back-pages’ charity event photos-seeing if you know anyone!

As for the outing,

Tanzy is an absolutely gorgeous restaurant…full bar area, flat screen tvs (do they still make fat screen ones?) The joint kinda looks upscale, but trust Jeff Eats, it’s cool enough to easily handle your tee shirt/shorts/flip flops. In the 3-hours (7pm-10pm) that us-Eats were there- the restaurant was very busy and the crowd was all-ages wearing all types of garb! By the way, Mrs. Jeff Eats said to tell you guys- actually I guess it’s you gals, that Tanzy’s ladies room is one of the best looking that she has ever been in! So, Caitlyn Jenner- take note!

Printed down below is the Media Dinner Menu…tons of different dishes to try. No bs-here, Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats “sampled” every food-item and I gotta tell you that other than the braised angus beef short ribs the food was right on the money…just so you know those short ribs, reminded Jeff Eats of my late mother-in-law’s pot roast, shall we say, not a good situation!- Mrs. Jeff Eats kinda begrudgingly agreed!

Like I said before, Media Dinner…so you’ll have to decide for yourself if Tanzy’s menu/prices work for you! Jeff Eats’ “menu review” (tanzyrestaurant.com)- says everyone in your party will find what to eat at a reasonable price!

Let me wrap this up for you, unless Tanzy’s GM pulled off some massive scam, like “getting” the-delicious food and super attentive wait-staff from another restaurant… Tanzy is definitely a winner.

Tanzy Restaurant is open Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10pm, Friday 11:30am-11pm, Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 11am-10pm.

* Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor to Announce the Winner of the Broward 100 Ice Cream Flavor Contest- The “Scoop of the Century.”

The Broward County Office of Public Communications “asked” for some help-to spread the word about this event…so in the interest of doing its fair share of public service, Jeff Eats is printing the “below” pr-release! Between you guys and Jeff Eats, the whole thing seems a bit lame to me- but hey- what do I know? Personally, I’m thinking- 100th Anniversary, that at the least, the contest-winner should be getting 25 Kitchen Sinks for-4 over the next year!- and for all those who show up to sample Broward 100 ice cream- a $100 credit for psychiatric care -for running to Jaxson’s for a-sample in the first place!-unless the sample being handed out is-shall we say 100 gallons!

Lame or not-lame, you guys do know that Jeff Eats is a big Jaxson’s fan (check reviews) and that I am just fooling with you- about the need for psychiatric care…sure I am!

MEDIA ADVISORY
What:
Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor to Announce the Winner of the Broward 100 Ice Cream Flavor Contest. The “Scoop of the Century” will make its debut.

When:
Tuesday, June 16th
10AM

Where:
Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor and Restaurant
128 S. Federal Highway
Dania Beach

Details:
Broward County is celebrating its 100th birthday. For the last several weeks, Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor has conducted a contest on Facebook asking followers to tell them what the new Centennial ice cream flavor, Broward 100, should taste like. More than 200 ideas were submitted and evaluated by a team of reviewers at Jaxson’s.

The winner will receive an infamous Jaxson’s Kitchen Sink dessert for 4. Broward 100 ice cream will be available at Jaxson’s and during Duende, the Broward 100 grand finale weekend October 2-4, 2015.

Next Steps:
Tuesday evening, June 16th, between 5-8PM the public is invited to come to Jaxson’s for a free sample of Broward 100 ice cream. Please help us communicate this invite to the community.

Media Contacts:
Jerry Smith, Jaxson’s General Manager, 954-923-4445, jerryjaxson@hotmail.com
Shelly Turetzky, Broward County Office of Public Communications, 954-357-6994, sturetzky@broward.org

***** Jack and Rita’s Homemade Ice Cream, 2378 Immokalee Road, Naples, Florida 34110, (239) 260-1407.

The truth be told, Jeff Eats has never met an ice cream cone that I didn’t like…In all my years, I can’t ever remember saying even once- “Boy! This ice cream cone stinks, let me throw it in the garbage.” Now, for sure some ice cream cones were/are better than others- but like I kinda just said, they all work!

Anyway,

Jeff Eats recently came across Jack and Rita’s Homemade Ice Cream in Naples and I gotta tell you that the joint’s HOMEMADE chocolate, pistachio, vanilla and strawberry ice cream in HOMEMADE waffle cones -were absolute dynamite!

I know that you guys are sophisticated-cats, so I’m not gonna waste your time or mine describing Jack and Rita’s Homemade Ice Cream…you know- plenty of free tastes, tons of ice cream flavors, handful of sugar frees, ice cream pies/cakes, shakes/floats, sorbet, sundaes, order/pickup at the counter, handful of tables inside/outside. What I will tell you, is that this “mom & pop” is pumping out stuff- that runs circles around most of the ice cream joints down here in Florida!

You can check menu/prices/info at jackandritashomemadeicecream.com.

Jack and Rita’s Homemade Ice Cream is open 7-days a week noon-9pm.

* Happy Together Tour 2015.

Jeff Eats has seen the “current lineups”…no bs-here, all of the acts- put on a surprisingly good show!

Call Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats “wild & crazy”…we’ll be at the Immokalee concert!

If the Seminole Casino Hotel in Immokalee doesn’t work for you…Jacksonville (6/16/15), Melbourne 6/17/15), Daytona Beach (6/19/15)- you can catch tickets/info at happytogethertour.net.

***** Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Real simple story here…

Last week Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats were “comped” a night in a mini-suite at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Holywood. Just so you know, the “comp” was based solely on CASINO PLAY and not because I am Jeff Eats of jeffeats.com.

Long story short, even though this hotel is literally in most of “our” backyards- you might want to consider spending a night or two or three…the rooms are gorgeous, the hotel service terrific…the pool area absolute dynamite, free parking and there are enough restaurants, stores and entertainment in the complex- so everyone will find what to do!-and there is also a casino, if that’s your game!

To wrap it up, one day away from Boca Raton- and it was like being away for a week…think about it!

Printed down below is an e-mail advertisement Jeff Eats just received. If interested in checking “this” out- seminolehardrockhollywood.com. If this “deal” doesn’t work for you, the bet here (pun intended) is that the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino will have one that will work!

* You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks, Then Again Maybe You Can!

Politics aside, this dog is a real fast learner!

* Blue Starlite Urban Drive-In, 3500 Main Highway, Miami, Florida 33133, (512) 850-6127.

Jeff Eats is hearing some real-nice things about Blue Starlite Urban Drive-in…which is sorta-like a drive-in-movie theater.

Sounds like it could be a real-fun outing…

For those of you interested- “research” at miamiurbandrivein.com.

From miamiurbandrivein.com.

JUST THE FAQS MAA’M

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q: Where are you located?
A: Our Main location is located at 3500 Main Hwy (Directly BEHIND the Coconut Grove Playhouse.) Our Satellite Location open during the Winter is at Virginia Key beach on the RIckenbacker causeway.
so be sure to always check your ticket to confirm your films location for those select nights!

Q: Are you a drive-in movie theater?
A: Yes We are! BUT WE ARE the FIRST AND ONLY MINI-URBAN DRIVE-IN. So we are not located in a giant field with 300 car spots. We are right in the middle of the city and have created a very Austin, very intimate drive-in movie watching experience. Currently we have 30 car slots available per showing.

Q: Do I HAVE to have a reservation?​
A: FOR A CAR SLOT, We highly recommend it! We have limited car slots and they will go fast! Car slot tickets should be purchased in advance right here on our website! If our car slots are sold out- you can always park outside the gates and sit in our walk in area, walk in and watch the movie in our Pedestrian seating area around our pedestrian Drive-in speaker set-up. ​You do NOT have to have a reservation for walk-in/bike-in however we recommend getting those in advance as well to speed up your entry!
Gates open 1 hour before showtime for first feature and 45 minutes before showtime for second feature of night. Reservation Or not YOU must show up no later that 15 minutes
before showtime.
You can walk-in with chairs and blankets for $7 by paying at the gate or in advance on line or reserve our TABLE SEATING by purchasing a Walk-in package!

Q: Can I reserve a specific SPOT or ROW?
A: No. It’s all based on CAR SIZE and WHEN YOU
ARRIVE.

Q: What is the “Entry Ticket”” and what is a “Car Slot?”
A: Ok, so when you go to our Now Playing/Buy Tickets page and select the movie night you want to come to, If you want to DRIVE-IN and watch IN or AROUND your actual CAR, you WILL purchase a CAR SLOT ticket . If you have more than 2 people in your car you will pay for the additional number of people in your car over the 2 that come with the package when you arrive.

Q: can I bring my own food and drink?
A: Yes. We don’t like to limit our customers options and enjoyment. As well as their creativity. However we do ask that you patronize our concession stand as well at least for your popcorn, candy and soda’s if you do not buy a concession package in advance. It really does help support our ability to keep bringing you quality nights of entertainment as only the drive-in can.
Visit our concession stand HERE!!

​Q: How much is it?
$25-$45 for drive-in with 2 people (depending on package) / $5 per additional passenger and $7 for walk-in
COMMENT: “That seems pricey? I have to get a car slot and also extra entry tickets per person?
Our response: FIrst off we are happy to say that most people don’t make this comment, especially after they have their first blue starlite night. But here’s the deal. We have very limited space. Unlike most drive-in’s that service hundreds of cars, we service less than 30, so you get what you pay for, a very intimate and full service experience. Also we don’t make our money on concessions like most movie theaters. We actually encourage you to bring your own meal creations to compliment the movie of the night, so we have to make at least enough to stay in business and the prices we have set make that possible. Our public nights in fact are not what keeps us in business, it’s our private rentals that do. So really it’s other people’s private parties that in part sponsor our ability to be open to the public.
“But really? How can it cost so much to run a little movie theater showing old movies?” Well the truth is, older “vintage” and “classic” movie license fees (that we do pay to the studios) often cost more to show than new films. and most theaters have space for many more people to pay to see them!
But most important is the breakdown of the value…
See, depending on how many people you bring- the cost really breaks down to about $10-$15 per person for a full night of entertainement at a one of a kind venue.
Yes, it ends up costing more per person the fewer people you bring but again, we are very very small, so if everyone came in a car to the drive-in alone, and we didn’t acount for that, we would not be here very long, and we would like to be here for a long time.
We hope that helps you understand our pricing and shows you that we have tried to create a ticketing system that can be affordable while making it possible for us to offer this intimiate setting for your night out with friends, family outing, or one of a kind date night for the long haul!

Q: So what are your concession “Packages?”
A: Food packages to add to your car slot for One stop shopping!
SMORES PACKAGE- Get smores for your money with our signature drive-in dessert- Smores Kit for 2, a fire to cook it on, plus a box of movie theater candy!
The Family Plan: includes popcorn, Candy/soda and Smores for 4!​
How the smores works: you get a smores kit with everything you need to build a smores sandwich. We give you a little tiny fire to cook your marshmallows with on skewers and then you put them all together like at a summer camp- camp out, but instead, at a drive-in movie!

Q: Do you have VINTAGE WINDOW SPEAKERS?
A: In a word! YES! But they are set up for our Walk-in pedestrians to hear the film, cars at our new grove location listen with their cars FM Radios!

Q: Can I walk in, or Bike In
A: Yes . We have plenty of space ALWAYS for Bikers and walkers! BRING YOUR OWN blanket or chairs ! WE DO NOT GUARANTEE SEATING as we have a limited number of seats for EARLY ARRIVALS! We have vintage drive-in speakers for you to hear the movie with!
Buy your TIX for walk up/Bike-in at gate- $8 A PERSON or on our website “General Admission or if you’d like the walk-in food package with reserved seating we got a limited number of those!

Q: What happens if it rains?
A: If it is raining before the film we will not call the film off until 15 minutes after the shows START TIME. IF IT IS STILL RAINING HARD ENOUGH TO MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO RUN OUR EQUIPMENT SAFELY THEN AT THAT TIME WE WILL CALL it a RAIN OUT. if it starts raining during a film we will only call it a RAIN OUT if it begins RAINING HARD ENOUGH TO MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO RUN OUR EQUIPMENT SAFELY.
If there is a LIGHTING OR DANGEROUS WIND STORM before film we reserve the right to cancel /CLOSE up to 30 minutes before showtime without warning.
If we do call it a RAIN OUT, we will either reschedule the screening or give out RAIN CHECKS and you will be able to reserve a new space for a different film later in the month. We do not offer REFUNDS, just Rain Checks for make up dates or other future showings.

Q: Can I bring my own food and drinks.
A: Yes. But we would appreciate you buying some of our Tasty Treats as it is what keeps us in business. But you are WELCOME to BYOB!

Q: Do my kids need tickets?
A: Can they walk and Talk? If so then yes. If they can’t, then no!

Q: Can I bring my Dog?
A: Does it bark at cars, people, the moon, you, or at movies? Then no. If it doesn’t and is small, on a leash, stays in your vehicle at all times, and is the friendliest dog in the world then yes!

​Q: Can we sit in the back of our truck?A: Hells yea! Just tell your Drive-in attendant you wanna park with your cab out. BUT you MUST FOLLOW THE NO TALKING OUT OF YOUR CAR RULE !

Q: Can we leave our car on some of the time for air or heat?
A: ALL ENGINES MUST BE OFF DURING MOVIE!

Q: Can I bring my really really big SUV:
A: You can, we have a few Big SUV spaces, but the experience will be better for you and the other guests around you if you can come in a smaller car. We are a Mini-Urban Drive-in as you know, but it does happen to be in a city with really BIG CARS! SO IT MIGHT EFFECT WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO PLACE YOU IF YOU HAVE A LARGE CAR!

​Q: What time should we show up?
A: Gatess for first feature of night open 60 minutes(Check Your Ticket for Gate Time) before show time, the earlier you show up the more time youll have to enjoy the drive in, our vintage pre-show and for those with vouchers and no reservations, better chance you’ll shurly get a space!
And a space you are most happy with! *see above note on 2nd feature of night – (9pm or later movies entry time is 30 minutes before feature.)
WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BRING YOUR CAR IN AFTER THE MOVIE HAS STARTED and WE WILL NOT GIVE A REFUND. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO USE YOUR TICKETS TO WALK-IN if you arrive after the movie has started!

Q: What kind of movies do you show?
A: We are kinda like BOB FM, we play anything WE WANT. Our main rule is it has to be something that was made during the days of drive-ins. 1940s to 2000s. We also show Cult Classic Indie movies, and anything that was meant to be seen in a drive-in setting.

Q: Do you have CAPTIONS?
A: Our public night films are not captioned. But we are always open to doing special discounted private nights for small or large groups who want to see a movie with subtitles on the screen. We have done a number of English Captioned nights over the years.

Q: What is your format?
A: We screen Hi-Def Digital projection on a 22 by 11ft. widescreen!

Q: Can I reserve the drive-in for just me and my friends? Or for a party or corporate event, And what can we show?
A: Yes. And we make it quite affordable, you will be surprised. See our Rental section. We want anyone that wants a private drive-in night, to be able to have one! We also have very reasonable rates for larger parties anywhere from 10 to over 100! You bring the DVD of your choice and we will do the rest! See our rental menu HERE!

* Couple Gets Married In Garden Section Of Home Depot.

Just read this “story” on aol.com.

DO WE REALLY NEED TO KNOW THIS STUFF?

Just curious, was the- hot dog cart guy the caterer?

_______

Couple gets married in garden section of Home Depot

Jun 8th 2015 11:49AM

Couple Gets Married in Garden Section of The Home Depot

Of all the places people choose to tie the knot, one couple in Arizona decided to have their ceremony right where they work — Home Depot.

The ceremony took place in the garden section of the store, so talk about the perfect backdrop. KPHO was there to witness Marty Tetrault and Kelly Olsen’s vows:

“In copper pipes and elbows,” said Marty Tetrault.

“And in lumber and in concrete,” replied Kelly Olsen.

To top it off, the bride’s bouquet was made out of the tools she works with every day.

“She works in the plumbing department. Her bouquet was made of plumbing supplies. That’s one way to save money on your nuptials,” said HLN host Robin Meade.

Marty works in the lumber and building department and says they don’t get to see each other as often as one might think.

“There are a couple departments within the store here that separate us, so we don’t really get to share a lot of time together within the store.”

All of the people in the wedding party were co-workers who the couple considers family.