Florida

I don’t know about you, but I use my grill for grilling, as opposed to barbecuing. Grilling is fast, barbecuing is slow. And that’s why I shy away from chicken on the grill … it takes too long. This recipe gets around that by using chicken thighs. Sounds great for dinner tonight, if you can get home now and get it in the marinade. Makes some Asian slaw (use vinaigrette and peanuts) … Speaking of grilling, my colleague Laura Reiley has been knocking herself out putting together and testing "starter" grills for Father’s Day. She’s found some good ones under $200. Look for the story at food.tampabay.com about June 10. Have a great weekend!!! (Read the full post about ‘Quick chicken on the grill’…)

I’m working on a story. For Father’s Day, I’m testing out gas and charcoal grills under $250, very Consumer Reports. Last Friday I spent the day assembling a whole bunch of them and I’m sure my neighbors are still recovering from the cuss words lobbed from over the fence. Anyway, one of the contenders is The Big Green Egg, only I got the mini Big Green Egg, oxymoron or not. Essentially, my conclusion is: WHAT CAN’T IT DO? I’m grilling and smoking obsessively. Last night, smoked scallops and shrimp, followed by grilled pizza (ricotta, Italian sausage, caramelized onion, moz and a little gorgonzola). Then I finished up the evening smoking a whole chicken for today. A couple nights before that it was brisket. (Read the full post about ‘My current preoccupation’…)

A new Dunkin’ Donuts ad featuring Rachael Ray has been pulled. While Dunkin’ reps insist she was wearing a demure paisley pattern print scarf, other observers allege that she was wearing a traditional Arabic keffiyeh headdress. Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin wrote in a syndicated column: "The keffiyeh…is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant and not-so-ignorant fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons." Ah, so the scarf indicates that Rachael Ray is a terrorist sympathizer? (Read the full post about ‘Rachael Ray’s murky values’…)

James Walton opened the Wild Shrimp Company six weeks ago in the parking lot of Haslams Bookstore at 2005 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. It’s a quick-meal concept, offering a short New Orleans-style menu at fast-food prices. Think gumbo and jambalaya, or breaded shrimp with red beans and rice and a cornbread muffin. As the name implies, Walton serves only wild Gulf shrimp bought from Bama Sea Products, believing they taste better than farm-raised shrimp. (Read the full post about ‘More Big Easy cuisine in St. Petersburg’…)

Here’s the new Coldplay single, “Violet Hill.” The new album, “Viva la Vida,” comes out June 17. My enthusiasm for Chris Martin & Co. has diminished over the years. But I heard “Yellow” on my walk this morning, and I was kinda digging it. Anyway, “Violet Hill” isn’t awful, but it’s not too thrilling, either. Whattaya think?

My two favorite Steves — Persall and Spears — have already offered up nice eulogies to Harvey Korman, 81, who died yesterday from an abdominal aortic aneurysm. But the Forever Fiancee and I would like to say a little something about the great comedian, too. We were huge, silly, unabashed fans. To this day, we snort at Hedley Lamarr and Count de Monet far more than any other nut in Blazing Saddles and History of the World Part I. And we sass each other with "Don’t get saucy with me, Bernaise!" at least once a week.Plus a few months ago, five days after our daughter Mai-Mai was born, I did a bleary-eyed guest spot on Fox 13’s morning show. The segment was a blur, as I hadn’t slept in awhile. (Read the full post about ‘We’ll Miss You, Harvey’…)

I just cheated on Steve Spears. I tried to resist, but in the end, my robust vaingloriosity was too lusty to overcome. You see, I was invited by the dudes at Ante Up! to be a guest on their hugely popular poker podcast. The theme was poker music (what to play at your weekly sausage hang game, what to play on your iPod when you’re taking the house in Vegas…) I wasn’t as hyper as usual — on the Red Bull Scale, I was a 6. It was hella fun. Here’s a LINK to their page and the podcast. Thanks to Chris and Scott for having me. Finally in my podcast career, I was treated with respect, like a valuable part of a show, like something more than a pesky Funyun in the game of life. (Read the full post about ‘The Poker Playlist…and Podcast?’…)

Last Saturday, those reborn Tampa Bay Rays — America’s team! — drew more than 30,000 fans to Tropicana Field for a night game against the Baltimore Orioles. For a notoriously haunted building (that still continues to draw miserably), that crowd was downright Cecil B. DeMille-an. But the reason for this newsworthy surge in attendance was more than just wins and losses. For the first time in their history, the Rays are one of the best teams in the major leagues. But more than that, they have a crafty, cool marketing department. Saturday’s victory was punctuated with a free show by none other than…the Commodores! "She’s mighty mighty!" Lionel Richie’s former crew was the first in a string of po (Read the full post about ‘Go see a Rays game. It’s fun. I promise.’…)

Keystone Consulting Services (Shaun Keck) is fighting Soneet Kapila’s suit claiming it received $635,470 in  fraudulently transfers from Lou Pearlman and his companies during the two year’s before the bankruptcy filing. Here is Keystone’s motion to dismiss the suit.

*Another group of creditors, those represented by lawyer Donald Gaffney, has filed a claim, asking for fees and expenses, in this case $125,449. The banks previously asked for their legal fees and expenses to be paid.

*Tyler Gray, who has a book on the Lou Pearlman scam coming out in November, has a new gig. He moved from Radar magazine to Blender magazine, which focuses on music and celebrities.

(Read the full post about ‘Keystone fights back and other news’…)

• Country singer Chris Cagle (left) and his girlfriend got into a “drunken brawl” Wednesday morning and were arrested for domestic assault, according to TMZ. Allegedly, Jennifer Tant hit Cagle with an umbrella, and he hit her with a purse; a police affidavit says the couple were intoxicated before getting into it phyiscally. • Dwayne McKenzie, a member of 50 Cent’s posse, was arrested for allegedly choking and hitting a woman with a belt at Fiddy’s mansion in Farmington, Conn. on Tuesday. He was charged with strangulation, assault, breach of peace and unlawful restraint, TMZ says, and released on $10,000 bail. Fiddy had no comment on the arrest. (Read the full post about ‘This week in savage beatings’…)