It.s yellow, it's spreadable, we all love MUSTARD

Hello everyone - we're here to announce the winner in this week's Highlowaha.com Super Bowl Snack Competition. This week's secret ingredient was MUSTARD. Who doesn't love mustard. There's so much you can do with it.

Struble Suds opened it's doors to some special attendees this week. The annual Haack Christmas party was this weekend. We allowed Chris, the MN Viking fan, to come visit. For a Minnesota guy he's really nice - too bad he likes the wrong team. Also sharing in the fun today were the Tourlas, Laskowski, and Poole families.

This week we had two competitors - Lori and Cheryl.

First up was Cheryl's pig in a blanket with mustard. Cheryl sent us some East Island mustard. A very popular item from WISCONSIN. Well known by this cheesehead crowd. During football season who can't resist those little wienies. A sure fire hit.

Second up was Lori with her mustard dip. This multi-purpose dip ingredients included mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch dip, horseradish and, of course, MUSTARD. Lori provided pretzels to use for dipping, but we found you could dip anything in this mustard creation - chips, crackers, even Cheryl's pig in a blanket, you name it. Also, it was all agreed that it would make a good sandwich spread.

In the end, if everyone had to pick a mustard winner - it was.... Lori. Congrats Lori on your win.
Also, thanks to Lori for her Arizona trivia that was included in her box. We now know several facts about AZ State University, Saguaros, and the state of Arizona. Also, just to make Lori feel guilty - the high today in Chicago is going to be 24 (not even close to the AZ temps).


Thanks again to all our Highlowaha.com Super Bowl Competition entrants. Today ended the fir round. Check back on Dec 30 for round #2. What will the secret ingredient be??? Send us a notest with your suggestions.

On a side note - the maple truffles have not arrived - the Struble boys have been keeping a diligent vigil for them.

Maple Syrup had a hands down winner

While the Packers suffered a sad end to the game today ( a gut wrenching loss to Carolina in the final minutes), the Super Bowl battle had an unanimous winner - Susan. *


Susan's entry was a Packer Granola. It had slivered almonds, walnuts, raisins, pecans, oats, and of course MAPLE SYRUP. It even came in a green container - good job pandering to the Packer crowd.

One of our regulars, Andy, labeled this Super Bowl entry as his personal favorite of all time.

Matt commented that this granola would also be good for breakfast (with a little milk in the bowl). I think that Matt might have some tomorrow morning after he does snow removal (an expected 3-8 inches in the Chicagoland area).

Congrats to Susan, our Maple Syrup victor.

Until next time and the next super bowl battle....

*unfortunately Heather's entry for the Maple Syrup Super Bowl did not arrive in time for Sunday's game. We'll provide additional updates as they become available.

And... The Strubles successfully put up 4 Christmas trees this weekend. While they aren't all decorated, they are up (below, the 10ft tree)

With the secret ingredient peanut, great chefs think alike

It was another successful day at Struble Suds. Not only did the Green Bay Packers pummel the Chicago Bears (37-3), we had to fantastic entries to our Super Bowl competition. While both competitors entered chex mix creations, one bowl reigned supreme.



First up was Treye's dish. His chex mix inspired creation was sticky and sweet. The subtle hint of cinnamon and honey was to die for. The salty and sweet combo is always a hit with this crowd.

Second up was Melanie's Packers Chex Mix. This version was her grandfather's recipe. The spicy kick to her mix was great. Not to mention the yellow & green m&ms were very festive. Go Packers - yes we're suckers for the green & gold, beer, and cheese. What Packer fan wouldn't be.

So super Packer fan Kevin announces that the winner of secret ingredient peanut is MELANIE. You're Struble Suds koozie is on it's way.

So until next time .... up, up and away

The verdict's in...

Congrats to Maureen. She is our winner of battle nutmeg.

Yet another super close battle. We're all so impressed by every week's entrants. Again, only a few votes separated the two. It's so difficult for us to determine a winner when we win with all the great snacks that you generously send us.

This was a very busy weekend for Struble Suds. We would like to congratulate Sara & Anand. Saturday we celebrated their wedding. On Sunday we had a large gathering with Haack family and their out of town family, the Tourlas', the Finn family and Packer super fan Pat. While we all were a little slow (thanks to the father of the bride, Russ, who was a wonderful host on Saturday), the entrants for battle nutmeg were just what the doctor ordered.



Our two contestants supplied us with cookies.
First up was Katie's football cookies, which were decorated in Packer green and shaped like little footballs. Perfect for our football fanatics. Big Matt and William chose these cookies as their favorite. These were a good blend of spice and sweet. Good job Katie. All your effort was greatly appreciated.

Second up was Maureen's cookies, which came in two varieties - nut and non-nut. While there are no allergy issues in the crowd, my friend Liz is partial to non-nut cookies. Thanks for both bags. These cookies were full of chocolate chips - perfect compliment to the Italian beef dinner. I think that the chocolate chips and the super large size swayed a few voters.



Also a special thanks to Maureen who sent a Halloween treat for the kids. All of them enjoyed making the Halloween necklaces. It was very much appreciated. (no this didn't influence the vote - only Matt & I know the entrants)

Thanks again Katie & Maureen. You're prizes will be in the mail this week.
And to all the highlowaha readers out there, we are so grateful for your kindness and willingness to join our football craziness. Anytime you would like to stop by we'll have a barstool open and a glass ready for you.

Looking forward to our next battle.

Stadium Bars take battle Vanilla

Hello Struble Suds patrons. Sorry that this post is a little late today.
Yesterday we had another successful Super Bowl Battle. It was Julie's Orange Bruise vs. Nicole's Stadium Bars. Both used vanilla very well and actually paired well with each other. The Haacks, Finns, Laskowskis, and Strubles were in attendance.
First up was Julie's Orange Bruise. It is a drink made of dark soda (we used Coke), orange vodka and vanilla. A very good combination. Plus, there was a good story with this "bowl" item. Julie learned that you can't send liquor in the mail. No worries, Matt stopped by our local store and we were good to go. Personally, I really liked the Orange Bruise - maybe that's why this post is a little late today.


The second competitor was Nicole and her Stadium Bars. These were made of brownie, popcorn, peanuts and chocolate chips. All of the ingredients were soaked in vanilla. Super yummy. Kevin had a plate to himself.

So by a narrow margin... Nicole was the winner. We'll be sending you the official Struble Suds/Super Bowl competition weekly prize in the next couple of days.

Thanks again to Julie & Nicole. We all were very impressed with your entries. It made the Packer loss a little more tolerable by having your special treats.

And if your in the neighborhood, stop by on Nov 9 for the Second annual Struble Suds Chili cook-off.

Mattoberfest 2008

Mattoberfest 2008 was a huge success. Lots of sausage, beer and Strublehosen.

We had lots of fun with the Cornhole tournament too - Troy Wilson was the winner.

Check back at www.strublesuds.com for more pictures of the event.

Prizes, Mattoberfest and more

First - the official weekly prize for the Super Bowl Competition in conjunction with www.highlowaha.com has arrived.

Richard & Tera your prizes were mailed today. So keep a look-out for them. Thanks for your great entries.

Also, tomorrow is the annual Mattoberfest and first annual Struble Suds Cornhole Tournament. Get ready everyone. What does Matt have in store for this big bash. Check back with us for all the pictures and action. We'll put some pictures here and more on www.strublesuds.com.

And finally, today was the day to vote for the next Super Bowl Competition secret ingredient - mustard or vanilla. Did you vote?

And the winner is....

So the votes are in - it was a very, very close battle. But by a slight margin ... Tera is the winner of battle garlic.

Tera submitted a garlic pretzel bits & dip dish. The pretzels were very flavorful and super crunchy. Many women were going back for seconds and thirds - no worries about garlic breath in the crowd. Everyone wondered how Tera got her pretzels so crunchy - Tera what is your secret?

Stacie's snack was garlic oyster crackers. These were great too - especially when eaten by the handful, as many loyalists did. The lemon & dill flavors really added a special touch. Matthew & Sophie were big fans of the oyster crackers. Stacie provided extra seasoning packets too - Matthew's excited to have a new afternoon snack this week.

Also - a special thanks to Tera - who had a very creative box. Matthew & William were very excited to see the Packer/Struble Suds decorated box. Although the decoration did not influence the judges - it was very thoughtful and greatly appreciated by the Struble household.

Did I mention that today was the first Struble Suds tailgate of the season!!!
Yes, we gathered outside on a beautiful afternoon before the start of the Packer game. Besides our delicious garlic snacks, we had brats, sausage, beans, pasta salad - and beverages too. Some even practiced cornhole for next week's Struble Suds Cornhole tournament.

Thanks everyone for a great football day. And a special thanks to Tera and Stacie. Job well done Super Bowl Contestants. You can feed us anytime.

Battle GARLIC

It's week two of the Super Bowl Challenge. This week's ingredient is GARIC.

The competition will be during the first Struble Suds tailgate. We'll be outside praticing our cornhole - preparing for next week's competition.

Check in on Sunday to see who won the battle.

AND GO PACKERS!!!!!

PACKERS Win!!!

Yesterday was a wonderful day for the patrons of Struble Suds. The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions. Yeah Packers. In other news - the Bears and Vikings lost - a great football day.

Also, Pomeroy Pub hosted the Struble Suds loyalist who braved the rain & floods to make trek up north.

Thanks Pomeroys - we all had a great time!

And... Sunday is week 2 of the Super Bowl Competition - it's battle garlic. Who's dish will reign supreme?

Got any thoughts on the Packer win, the fun at Pomeroy Pub or anything else - Post a comment - we would love to hear from you.

And the Battle Bacon Winner Is....

As you probably have read at highlowaha.com, the battle bacon winner was Richard.

We had 12 judges in attendance last night during the Green Bay Packer WIN. Judges included the Strubles, the Haack family, the Tourlas family, Kevin, Katelyn, Tom & Nicole.

The two dishes were bacon sauce over pasta and Cheesy Bacon Party Mix 'n Dip.

When the votes were counted, Richard's dish received a slight edge. Maybe the cold rainy weather helped put him over the top. Kevin asked for the leftovers to be sent home with him.

Matthew was a big fan of the Party Mix by Brian. He really liked the cheesy crackers and ate half a bowl by himself.

The Struble Suds patrons were very excited about the first Super Bowl event. Some of the regulars, who were not in attendance, called the Suds hotline, 630-cld-beer, to get the low down on the bacon dishes.

During the next battle, I'll have more pictures to upload. Unfortunately, mid-battle swimming lessons and first day of preschool prep over took photography duty.

Remember to vote on Friday, Sept 12 at www.highlowaha.com for our next secret ingredient.

We're all looking forward to the next battle and of course, the next Packer WIN.

Let the Battle Bacon BEGIN

Welcome everyone to the first week of the Super Bowl Competition. We will officially start the tasting around 6 pm (CST).
I have in my possession Brian's entry. Richard's will be arriving this afternoon.
Who will have the superior Bacon snack? The loyal patrons of Struble Suds will vote. The winner will be announced on Tuesday. Hopefully there will be many pictures and comments too, check here and at www.strublesuds.com.
Also, as stated in Claudia's blog today (www.highlowaha.com), she will be giving away an official highlowaha patch to the person who can most closely predict tonight's final score in the Packer v. Viking game.
Good luck Richard and Brian - may the best man win.
And of course - GO Packers.

Week One - the Super Bowl Competition

The Super Bowl competition is set to begin. The official kick-off will be on Sept 8 during the Packers - Vikings game.
This week's combatants are Richard & Brian. The secret ingredient is BACON.
Who's snack will reign supreme? Check back to find out.
And remember.... Go Pack Go!

Here comes the SUPER BOWL COMPETITION

Welcome Highlowaha.com.
Are you ready for the Super Bowl competition? Vote for your secret ingredient and get your favorite recipe ready. The patrons of Struble Suds are hungry for your snack. Check back for updates and brackets for the competition.
Here's a picture an official Struble Suds t-shirt, going to the winner of the Super Bowl competition. Matthew was kind enough to help. Plus, each weekly Super Bowl winner will receive a special Struble Suds prize.
Good luck competitors.

Welcome

Struble Suds opened its door in April of 2005.
Ever since that eventful night, the bar has become a favorite hang-out. While we're strong Packer supporters, we welcome all fans and foes alike.
So whether your a Suds Bud or an occasional visitor, we'll have a barstool ready and cold one on tap for when you stop in.