The original Dreamland Café is located about two miles from the intersection of Hwy 82 and Interstate 59 just south of Tuscaloosa . In the beginning, it wasn’t just ribs and white bread. Big Daddy cooked a lot of different things, but what made the customers keep coming back was not only the warmth they felt every time they passed through the door, but Big Daddy’s ribs and secret recipe bar-b-que sauce.

Dreamland is still eminently known for bar-b-que ribs. The décor inside the original café is warm and inviting with a big bar, a few tables and booths and a pot bellied stove. It feels like you are attending a family picnic indoors and the ribs are delicious, cooked the same way for the last 50 years. Inside you will meet customers whose family has been coming to Dreamland for generations. Big Daddy always said, “You should be good to the grandparents” and his own children would help customers to their cars and open the door for them. The point is that John Bishop didn’t just open a café- he made a place that was home to his children and his family and extended that feeling of love to everyone that came by.

RIBS & PORK THRU MAIL ORDER? HELLS YEAH!!!

If you are unable to visit one of their 8 Alabama restaurants, you can still enjoy the legendary taste of Dreamland Bar-B-Que ribs, pulled pork, bar-b-qued chicken, hickory smoked sausage, and baked beans delivered right to your door. They ship their USDA inspected ribs and sauce most anywhere. Order online or call them 1-800-752-0544 for more shipping information.

Check This Out…

50th Anniversary Package!
Celebrate Fifty Years of BBQ greatness with asampling of all their products! You’ll get 1 slab of ribs, 1 lb of pork, 1 lb of hickory smoked sausage, 1 quart of our legendary sauce and 1 bottle of dressing. Also included are wet naps, bibs, a loaf of Sunbeam bread and heating instructions.

Good god, I’m ordering five of these. Now what is everybody else gonna eat?

Visit www.dreamlandbbq.com and get some of your own, dammit!

Okay, So I Gathered a Few Photos, Below…

To call Denise Milani sexy is to say that Michelangelo was just some local guy who painted ceilings for a few extra bucks. Guys, this woman is the pinnacle in “stinkin” hot” and while I am an avid fan of cougars of the elder variety, I would gladly spend an evening or ten hanging with the woman who puts the B into buxom – and bossoms and breasts, boobs, bongos, and behemoth boulders.

Denise was born in the Czech Republic and now resides in sunny California, where at 5’ 4’’ her whopping 32 triple DDD’s can be confused for various mountains that protrude from the Golden State. Her bra is like the world’s largest piñata, filled with enough sweet candy to satisfy a party in Yankee Stadium. (I’d like to crack my stick at that.) At 29 years old it may have taken a while for her to gain recognition, but the gal is popping up (and out) all over, and we at Planet Zman just thought it was the right thing to do by sharing a few photos of this titanic topped bombshell.

Not only is Denise known for her sweater bombs, but that gorgeous face, sultry eyes, and alluring smile can cast a spell on men that no mere Siren could accomplish. Put the whole package together and this girl is stunning and will no doubt become a known name in modeling. I really don’t know why I’m writing this drivel as there is no doubt that you are glomming at the photos and have actually forgotten how to talk for a few brief moments.

Hey Denise… careful over there, you’re gonna put somebody’s eye out.

- ZMAN

Shwing! What more can a guy really say?

Follow Us on Twitter for All Your Testosterone Filled Updates > www.twitter.com/planetZman

A Couple of Asian American Meltdowns

In a horrible economy where new cars aren’t selling at all, it’s un-fathomable that a leading automaker like Toyota could f@#k up so severely. To this date they have recalled 8 million cars with severe accelerator problems, a load of Prius green-mobiles with brake problems, Tacoma pick-ups, and now a potential recall of half a million Camry’s. Somebody break out the Saki cause there’s a meltdown going on in the land of the rising sun.

But hold on to your bandannas, Tojo, because today a little bombshell came down the Tokyo expressway amidst the already massive heap of collateral damage. In an article on today’s AOL’s Daily Finance page, the following has been reported…

Several media sources report that an internal Toyota document from July 2009 entitled, “Wins for Toyota Safety Group,” says the firm saved $100 million by convincing the NHTSA to limit an accelerator recall to 55,000 Lexus and Camry models. The Wall Street Journal reports that, “The Toyota document, by linking safety issues to corporate profits, could prompt difficult questions for company executives, including President Akio Toyoda, who is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Oversight Panel.”

And while we’re on the subject of f@#k-ups…

Tiger Woods, you lying, sack of shit. Your apology was calculated and crafted, and written by professional spin masters you paid dearly to save you beaver-toothed ass. And please tell me this… why are you apologizing to me? What the hell do I give a rat’s 5-iron about your pathetic ego trip and sexual escapades. Okay, so you’re getting it a lot more than me. You’re worth a hundred million bucks, bro, and you could get anyone you wanted (can’t figure out that fat, haggy-ass waitress, though. I mean you have a Swedish super model for a wife… God, men are such idiots.)

Read the rest of my story by clicking right here at@ www.jrcigarblogs.com

Action Comics Number One, featuring Superman was released in June of 1938 and sold for 10 cents. Yesterday, in a private  internet auction sale, a copy of the comic in Very Fine condition sold for a whopping one million dollars! For all of you whose mom threw away your boxes of comics when you went to college, it’s okay to feel incredibly pissed off.

Comicconnet.com orchestrated the record deal between an anonymous buyer and seller. No one before has even paid half that price, but the condition is excellent and there are only about 100 known copies left in the world, making it extremely rare.

“It is still a little stunning to see ‘a comic book’ and ‘$1m’ in the same sentence,” said Stephen Fishler, the co-owner of the site. “There’s only one time a collectible hits the $1m threshold.”

Good God, talk about return on investment. I personally collected comics for a number of years and always dreamed of some old broad at a garage sale unloading Fantastic Four or Spiderman number one, while I haggle her down from 50 cents to a quarter. Back in the early 80’s I owned a copy of Marvel Comics Avengers #1 in Near Mint condition – with both penciler, Jack Kirby and inker Dick Ayers signature on the cover. Sold it back then for $125. I think it’s in the $10,000 range about now.

Dayum.

-ZMan

Miami, Fla., February 22, 2010 – Camacho Cigars has been chosen as the official cigar for the Academy Awards Style Lounge, in honor of The 82^nd Annual Academy Awards. The Academy Awards Style Lounge produced by Secret Room Events, in conjunction with City of Hope^TM, will be held at the luxurious Intercontinental Hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday, March 6^th, 2010.

Camacho Cigars will be presenting an assortment of their ultra-premium cigars to talent and executives. “Camacho Cigars is proud to be a part of the Academy Awards Style Lounge,” said Dylan Austin, Director of Marketing for Camacho Cigars. “We are excited to be aligning Camacho Cigars with the Oscars, and to be part of this grand celebration in honor of the 82^nd Annual Academy Awards.

For more information about Camacho Cigars, please visit www.camachocigars.com.

About Camacho Cigars:

Founded in 1961 by Simon Camacho, Camacho Cigars® was acquired by the Eiroa family in 1995. Now part of the Oettinger Davidoff Group, Camacho Cigars® is one of the key players in the international cigar market. The flagship Camacho brand, made at Rancho Jamastran in Danli, Honduras, is comprised of 11 premium and super-premium line extensions: (Super-Premium: Diploma, 10th Anniversary Corojo, Liberty Series, Triple Maduro™, Select)(Premium: Corojo, Connecticut, Coyolar, Havana, SLR and Room101). Camacho Cigars also has 7 core brands, including Baccarat The Game, America’s #1 selling premium cigar. www.camachocigars.com

By Larry Winget

Best selling author Larry Winget has a new book and it’s not only his best work to date – it’s the most important book you might ever read. Yeah, those are some pretty strong words and rightfully so. But today, his message is very black & white.

Some of you have really had your blood pressure soar about my black and white approach to self-improvement, finances, parenting and life in general. You have pointed out that there are several areas that really are gray when it comes to life. No kidding? Thanks for pointing that out to me. I had NO IDEA that was the case. How could I know that? I have never had a problem or faced with a challenge. I have never raised teenagers, had money issues, been married or divorced, held a job, managed people, driven down the street, eaten out, bought anything, had a bill, or had to make a tough decision. Never. None of those things. I have lived a completely sheltered life in a cave blessed with only positive thoughts and outcomes. I have attracted all of my success through The Secret and The Law Of Attraction. I have never had a real life facing all of the things real people face and I honestly had no idea that life had any gray areas.

Come on folks, I know life if full of gray areas. It’s just that I think we have all become way too comfortable living in those gray areas. Gray areas used to be little tiny corners we could escape to in order to justify our stupid actions and results. Now the gray areas are everywhere! Our homes, our businesses, our government, our society, our grocery stores, in our books, and all over our televisions. Our leaders spew gray and drape it red, white and blue. Things are so gray that when someone actually draws a line and paints one side black and the other side white, it bothers the hell out of people! We have become comfortable and embraced the gray areas way too much and shied away from the uncomfortable realities of black and white. I want people to begin to think more in terms of black and white. Right or wrong. Good or bad. People need to understand they are either doing enough or they aren’t doing enough. We need to recognize we are either giving our best or we aren’t. You are either on the way, or you are in the way. You are either living within your means or you aren’t.  It’s either the truth or it’s a lie.

It’s easier to live in the black and white world. That’s why I am so confused by those who love the gray area so much. When faced with a decision, you just make it quickly based on whether it is the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do. You don’t have to wallow in it, meditate on it, study it, consider it, hold a focus group, or take a vote. You DO the right thing.

Why? Because you can. All it takes is some guts. A backbone. A pair.

You will be criticized for it. Trust me, I know. Who cares? You will be given grief at work for kissing up by doing your job when others are slacking. Tell them to kiss off. Your friends will give you crap about being too tough on your kids. They will laugh at you for saying no to spending money when you know you can’t afford it. They will ridicule you for not taking the easy road when you know you should take the right road. Those people are not your friends, dump them. Now. And never look back.

Do the right thing in your life every time to the best of your ability. You won’t be perfect at it. I’m certainly not. I mess up every day and slip and slide around in the gray area, just like everyone else. But every day, I remind myself I can do a little better; take more of a stand for what I know is right and take action on it. That’s all it takes: a decision to do it, a willingness to take action, the humility to admit you aren’t doing your best, the honestly to confront yourself for it, and the willingness to keep on doing what you know is right regardless of the consequences.

Yep, that’s it: it’s black or white.

Visit Larry’s website @ www.larrywinget.com

Larry’s new book is available at all the major bookstores and online retailers.

“Dad, I’m hungry”, says my son as we drive past Giants Stadium on route 17, in New Jersey.

“I already had lunch, Tommy, what do you want?”

“I don’t know, whats around here, pops.”

And then it happened. We ascended upon the shiny white fortress of hamburger bliss: The one, the only White Castle. “Jeez, I don’t really want to stop here because…”

“Yeah dad…I want Slyders! Oh please pop, I need them – oh my God, I crave them…oh please, oh please!”

Now I didn’t want to stop there because I knew that I would fall to the temptation of the beefy and oniony goodness of a succulent White Castle cheeseburger – or ten. If you love these burgers then you are well aware of the addiction that grabs you by the taste buds and drags you before the Castle’s pearly gates. You could have just eaten Thanksgiving dinner but there will always be room for a sack of those evil Slyders of beefdom.

If you’ve never eaten a White Castle burger, it’s almost hard to explain what it is about them that grips the common man and brings him to his knees. If you were asked why you loved the sunset, you might have no other explanation other than it is so beautiful. And maybe that’s all one can say is that these burgers possess a beauty that can be found in nothing else on this planet. The problem is that if you begin to think about these burgers ahead of time, the Pavlovian response is uncanny and your mind will not clear or function properly. The saliva glands will overflow and brain cells will fire, but they will mimic the sound of small onion bits crackling on the grill in a heap of greasy madness.

Ever see the movie Harold and Kumar go to White Castle? Two college guys spend an entire night trying to get to this place of nirvana, facing one obstacle after another. The more they think about the burgers, the more they lose their minds as they froth with delirious anticipation. Finally upon arrival they order enough for 40 people and devour each and every last one – Of course followed by the obligatory howling belch.

If you have or haven’t ever had a White Castle Burger, the question is basically the same: What the hell are they made of and what makes them so addictive? Maybe a little background information first. White Castle is 87 years-old and is America’s oldest fast food burger restaurant chain. In 1921, two dudes from Wichita, Kansas had a kick-ass recipe and wanted to share it with the world. The problem was that several years earlier the meat packing industry had been exposed for horrendous health and safety violations in the 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle. People were hesitant to eat meat prepared outside of the home, but the two men were determined to change public perception. They built pristine white, pre-fab little buildings with stainless steel interiors and dressed all employees in sparkling white uniforms. But the unique cooking process and the amazing flavor of the burgers is what drove the company’s success.

But the question remains – what the hell is a White Castle burger and what makes it so god damned good – goddammit?! First off, the burgers patties are tiny, wafer thin squares maybe 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” and they have five holes punched through them. They are cooked on a grill covered in a bed of chopped onion bits while the steam and grease rises through the holes. The equally small, square buns are placed on top of the burger as it cooks, allowing the steam and the juices to permeate the bread, creating one consistent flavor throughout. And I still don’t know if I’ve answered what the hell they are because they simply don’t taste like any other burger in the world. They almost resemble particleboard lined in vast rows upon the monstrous grease laden cooking surface. The texture and consistency is like nothing else – steamy, juicy, melty, almost buttery mouth-watery, and mega-greasy. As I said, the flavors of the meat, onion, cheese, pickle, ketchup and bun kind of marries and creates a unique burger eating flavor experience.

Now along with that unique burger eating flavor experience goes a unique bathroom going experience. I know here in New Jersey we also refer to the place as Fart Castle because the gas that is produced by these burgers is also unique to anything else you may have experienced. When that greasy, fat laden mixture hits your colon, alarms sound as the rumbling can be heard from more than 50 feet away. There simply are no farts that carry the deadly, molten stench of a White Castle meal – and that can be verified by those who have suffered the aftershock of late night Slyder run. Offically trademarked as “Slyders” because of the ease one can slide it down the gullet, no mere mortal orders only one or two of these beastly stink producers. The average daytime order is around six, but the gig has always been to see what idiot in the group can eat the most at 3am after a night of drinking and cavorting. My personal record back in the day is 16 but I have seen numbskulls polish off 30 or more and spend the entire next morning spray-painting the porcelain Castle catcher.

Yes, a meal at the WC can cause bouts of sharting that will be long remembered. Not long ago I ingested ten cheeseburgers and my Jeep smelled like a sewerage treatment plant for two weeks. The air quality in the auto was definitely unsafe for human occupancy and the once tan colored seats are now a cavalcade of rustic earth tones. Just as the burgers are unique, the smell and sheer heat of the flatulance produced by these meat squares are patented as well. When the digestive juices mix with the ingredients of a Slyder – the same evil methane is created that took out the ancient city of Pompei. Rumor has it that White Castle corporate is working with the Division of Homeland Security on a combatant for regional terror. My guess is that the ammo produced by a triple cheeseburger and a side of rings could take out an entire gaggle of goat jockeys. Lemme at ‘em – I’ll show those f@#kers a true-blue patriot! (Or a true brown one.)

The nearest Castle to me is 25 minutes away and right now I’m jonesing like a mutha! Lesson to the writer: Never do an article on the beefy goodness of White Castle while scribing on an empty stomach.

- Z

By Izzy Jaecks

For those of you guys who love the loaf but don’t cook, Izzy Jaecks brings us a recipe that even a primate could make…

Because everything’s better with bacon, a recipe to put a smile on that grizzly face…

I don’t cook beyond heating things.  I don’t even have a grill (or anywhere to use one) so if something is easy enough to ME to make, it’s easy enough for just about anyone to make.  There is almost no measuring to this, and I came up with the recipe just walking around the grocery store trying to think what would be good in meatloaf…. I call it “whole meal” because adding spinach and oatmeal make this a pretty balanced meal all in itself (I like one dish meals).  So I present my Stupid-Proof, Whole Meal Meatloaf:

2 lbs ground beef

1 can chopped tomatoes, mostly drained

8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped

10 oz package of frozen spinach (thawed…)

3 raw eggs

1 packet soup mix

2 cups “old fashioned” oatmeal

And of course, the very best part of all… one entire package of delicious bacony flavored bacon!

The proportions are what you can find pre-packaged, and even the oatmeal you can just toss in a couple handfuls instead of measuring exactly. Mix it all together in no particular order, stuff it into a bread pan, weave bacon strips across the top and bake it for about an hour and a half at 375.  If there is any leftover mix that didn’t fit into the bread pan, just fry it up like a burger patty.

Variations:   use different kinds of ground meat – turkey, veal, pork… add cheese…

Trust me, you won’t need ketchup, it’s awesome all by itself—and DAMN it’s great as leftovers and sandwiches with some melted cheddar. After I make it I cut it up, chuck it into the freezer, and take pieces to work for lunch. Hey, I’d share some with your guys, but the Zman just devoured the whole pan full!

- Izzy

By Tommy Z.

Our very own Tommy Z reminisces about the plight of the Man’s Man. A while back, our fearless leader sat with tough-guy actor and Sopranos star Frank Vincent for his views on the subject.

I remember way back to when I was a very young child, my dad used the term “Man’s Man.” He spoke of guys like Sinatra, Bogart and Charlton Heston, Unitas, YA Tittle, Dimaggio, Mantle, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull. They were “real” men – guys with character who exuded masculinity and had a certain edge about them. Back then it was definitely cool and you were looked up to if you embodied these qualities. But over the years, the politically correct do-gooders of society have almost forcefully eradicated this term and category of the male species. The great fear is that groups of people who do not fit that type of image such as effeminate men or homosexuals, geeks, nerds, and pocket calculator carrying brainiacs will feel excluded and take great offense – God knows, we just can’t have that. And one of the newest terms in our society coined by British journalist, Mark Simpsom is the much talked about metrosexual. On salon.com in July of 2002, Simpson was quoted as saying, “The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis — because that’s where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference.”

Wow… this is the new cool? WTF happened to “Ah’ll be bock?”

The near extinction of the Man’s Man is a direct result of the agenda ridden crusaders of P.C. If it offends just one person, let’s give it the broad-brush treatment so that everyone can be happy and gay! I for one am sick of this mentality and was driven by an inner calling to stand up in the name of Men’s Men everywhere (kind of like when your sack is ready to bust because you have to pee really bad in the middle of the night). With all this talk of metrosexuals and the Queer Eye perspective, Men’s Men have become relegated to fourth-class citizenship facing certain extinction – that is, if we don’t stand up and make ourselves be heard.

One bona fide “real” man who whole-heartedly agrees with me wrote a book on the subject. Tough guy actor Frank Vincent, (the infamous Billy Batts in Goodfellas who told Joe Pesci to go home and get his fuckin’ shinebox, Casino, Raging Bull, and most recently psycho bastard, Phil Leotardo, Johnny Sack’s #2 man in the Sopranos) released a literary classic that should be owned by every living, breathing fan of this blog. ‘A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man’ is a fun, informative, and often times tongue-in-cheek look at what it takes for a guy to be a part of this esteemed classification. A while back I sat down with Frank for lunch and cigars and we talked about his theories behind the book.

I asked Frank point blank, what is the definition of the quintessential man’s man: “It’s a man who has dignity and respect – especially respect for women,” he noted, “And, he also displays the qualities of honor and loyalty. He must have self-respect and respect for others. Those are the assets that make up a real man’s man.”

One thing that Frank and I agree upon is that you don’t have to smoke cigars, drink, curse, surf porn sites or participate in dwarf-tossing competitions in order to be considered a real man (although, those activities do tend to heighten the testosterone levels significantly). There’s no requirement to know the lyrics to the Monty Python Lumberjack Song, and you need not physically transform yourself from the 98-pound weakling into the Charles Atlas prototype, as in the old comic book advertisements. So what then? Quite simply, it is more about an attitude – the way you think and the way you carry yourself. It’s really about who you are inside.

Guys – I say it’s time we show an outward pride in being real men. I really mean it. I say enough is enough, to the suffocating stranglehold of political correctness and those who perpetuate its inherent dangers. We have the constitutional right to speak our minds freely without persecution. If you don’t believe in same sex marriage that does not instantly qualify you as a queer hating homophobe. It makes you a person who has his own set of beliefs and choices. If you want to hunt, fish or wear a fur hat, it does not make you a murderer. If you want to surf the internet for porno sites, well, just make sure your history cache is deleted afterwards. (Those pop-up windows certainly do get a little hairy at times.) And if you choose to sit around all day Sunday in your underwear, watching football, scratching your boys, and sucking down Busch Light in cans… well, your wife is right – you are a lazy goddamned bastard. But gently remind her that it still doesn’t make you a homophobe.

Being Men’s Men doesn’t mean acting like sex-crazed, beer-swilling, Homer Simpson-esque Barbarians. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Like Frank Vincent says, it’s about self-respect, honor and loyalty. And I’d say those are some pretty admirable qualities. I asked Frank, what final words he had for all the politically correct zealots who demand that we conform to their mediocre, metrosexual, smoke free, low-carb, un-opinionated, off-white, milquetoast world? He just smiled and said, “Very simple; do YOUR thing – but PLEASE show some tolerance and let other people do THEIR thing. Mind your own business and whatever you do; don’t infringe on my space.”

Well put my friend. I’ll light up a Hoyo Excaliber on that note.

And remember… If guns kill people, then spoons made Rosie O’donnell fat.

- ZMAN

Part One of this Outstanding Video Interview

Michael Gladis plays the pipe smoking copywriter, “Paul Kinsey” on AMC TV’s, Award Winning, Mad Men. Not only does his character Paul smoke a pipe on screen, but Mr. Gladis smokes a pipe in real life.

PipesMagazine.com Editor & Publisher, Kevin Godbee sat down with Michael Gladis in the private smoking lounge at Davidoff of Geneva in midtown Manhattan on November 14, 2009. They talked about pipe smoking, his role on Mad Men, and his acting career in general. Michael is charming, friendly, and witty while he enjoys smoking his pipe and giving us the inside scoop on Mad Men and telling us how he is similar to Paul Kinsey. See Part I of our video interview with Michael Gladis here and see if you can get the trivia question right at the end.

Watch Part One of Kevin Godbee’s Interview by CLICKING HERE