NFL Week 12: Haussner's

Haussner's! Yes, it's going to be another Baltimore-centric blog post. Haussner's was a Baltimore
landmark restaurant in the 20th century known for its seafood and, more importantly, its art  - especially kitchy art. It was one of those places where you went to once a year for big celebrations - and could get anything you wanted. And I mean it - see below.

Haussner's opened in 1925 and quickly became known for its seafood, especially its crab cakes. For those that don't know, Baltimore is the culinary capital for crab cakes- there are none better in the US. It turned into more of a touristy place starting after World War II - with busloads of people coming in to the east side of Baltimore to enjoy the crab cakes and comfort food. The Washington Post did not comment favorably on the food with "thick gravy"; "order a piece of meat and try to find it with sonar" and the people with "heavy Baltimore accents that can drive any refined person to madness".

Starting in the 30s, the wife of the owner started collecting art - all kinds, some fine, some kitchy. She filled up the whole restaurant with art. At the end, there were 780 pieces in the dining room, which of course was huge. At its peak, 1500 meals were served each day - so that gives you an idea of the size of the place.

And the menu - holy hell! One full page dedicated to seafood, and one page dedicated to other meats. It was like a smorgasbord, but to order. And the sides - how many sides does one restaurant need? At one point they served 37 vegetable dishes. It takes a while to read through everything to see just what the options are.

Why does Haussner's have a special place in my heart? I think it as the first restaurant I went to where I had a real "adult" restaurant experience. We only went there once or twice (maybe just once) in my time in Baltimore. We went there - and it was time to order off the adult menu. I was 12, and felt like Mike Gundy. "I'm a MAN! I'm orde
ring off the adult menu!"

But what to get? I hated seafood at the time - like any middle schooler - so let's look at the meat part of the menu. Veal? no. Liver? Of course not. Fried chicken? Well, maybe....

and then I saw it. Hamburger steak. Of course! It's steak, right? It's refined? Don't adults get this?

So my first real, adult meal was here at Hausser's and the Hamburger steak. It was delicious. Did you expect anything different from me?

The restaurant closed in 1999 - I never tried their crab cakes - and the art was sold at auction for over $10 million. The building remains vacant at this time.

Here's a commercial I found from 1998 - combing the art and showing off their vast menu. Maybe they needed a new creative director for their ads......

This blog post is up early this week since I will be in Vegas starting Friday to watch the games, among other things. I am legitimately scared of losing to Miami - especially with the distractions of the Garrett suspension this week.

On to the games:

Hou 31, Ind 20 (Thu).  The Texans have the formula to beat the Colts - good running game, potent passing offense, good run D and the Colts miss Hilton.

Atl 33, TB 27. I'm done trying to figure out the Falcons. Is this a mirage? Tampa has had 8 overs in a row - so they can score against anyone, including this new Atlanta team.

Buf 20, Den 17. should be a close game - Lindsey will have a good day vs. the poor Buf run D, and Buffalo may need Josh Allen to make plays. Yikes!

Chi 20, NYG 16. Bears O vs Giants D? It's like an 80s Indians intersquad game! I think Daniel Jones will keep this close.

Pit 24, Cin 20.  Mason Rudolph is not good. If Cincinnati just plays basic vanilla D, they can hold the Steelers to 17 points.

NO 27, Car 13.  I think Carolina is starting to fall off the map - Kyle Allen is regressing, and the Saints can't afford another slip up.

Oak 27, NYJ 24.  Just don't see the Jets keeping up with Oakland. Yes, the Jets have a great run D - but Carr should be able to move the ball ok through the air, and I don't think Darnold and the Jets will keep up.

Was 23, Det 16. This is it! Maybe Haskins can rally the team - Sunday's evidence notwithstanding. I can't support Driskell on the road as a favorite.

Sea 31, Phi 27. Just too many questions in the Eagles secondary to trust them. Russell magic will be in full force, especially after a bye.

Ten 23, Jax 16. The Titans are the same type of team the Colts are (without TY Hilton) - run first, pass when necessary - and they were just dominated. I see the same thing here.

NE 27, Dal 26. Elliott should get 30+ carries in this game. There will be points scored -either by Cowboys mistakes or the Pats passing game...expect this to be close.

SF 23, GB 20. Boy, I wanted to take the Packers here, but the lack of a run D by GB and the coaching advantage of Mike Shanahan makes this a pass. Should be a great game.

Bal 24, LAR 20. How can you trust this Rams offense right now? What a mess. Are the receivers back? And how do they stop the Ravens? Lamar will have to pass to win here.

Best bets: 15 of them this week. Last week: 6-7-1; overall: 73-75-3
ATS: last week: 3-5-1; overall: 38-51-2
O/U: last week: 3-2; overall: 35-24-1

Hou -3.5
Hou/Ind over 45.5
TB/Atl over 51.5
Cin +6.5
Cin/Pit over 39
NO -9.5
NO/Car under 47
Oak/NYJ over 46.5
Was +3.5
Sea +1.5
Sea/Phi over 48
Ten -3
Dal +6.5
Dal/NE over 45
GB/SF under 47.5

Supercontest picks: last week: 2-3; overall: 22-33
Hou -4
Was +3.5
Sea +2
Ten -3
Dal +6.5