I Want to Live in the Vintage Toys R Us Replica

I can’t say that I was frequenting the local Toys R Us at the time it was announced that all of the stores closed down. But, I can say that I can distinctly remember how I felt when I saw the news that Toys R Us was going under. That was a feeling of disappointment…like the inevitable passing of time had claimed another victim…like a small piece of my childhood had died that day. When I was growing up, nothing beat a Friday night at Sir Pizza in Antioch followed up by a trip through Hickory Hollow, and if I was good, maybe a stop at Toys R Us before they closed. So, yeah – any kind of Toys R Us nostalgia is going to get me right square in my feels. That’s why this clip from Historic Vids stopped me dead in my tracks when I saw it the other day, and I felt compelled to share these feelings with you all today.

The multi-colored letters. The old toys. The goofy looking giraffe on the front of the building. The stripes on the front of the building. Man, this was the life back in the day on a Friday night. I know I’m not alone in this given how we glamorize Toys R Us today. There’s a lot of memories there for a lot of people. I don’t know any context behind this replica existing – it’s a 23-second video on Twitter and that’s all I know about it. But, if there’s an actual journalist in me, I swear I’m going to find this thing, figure out what it was used for, and if it still exists. Why? Because if it still exists, I want to find it and live in it. I feel safe in the replica Toys R Us because it brings back those safe feelings of being a kid. Sorry – I didn’t mean for this to take such a dark turn. My point is this thing is pretty cool. Historic Vids has been on one lately. I don’t know where Toys R Us fits into the grand scheme of history, but I’m not complaining.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

SoBros Network and Stacking The Inbox have teamed up for the greatest premium content collaboration in the history of Nashville. Get all of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft coverage you need on top of premium SoBros Network content such as The Movie Review Rewind Podcast, Sports Punch, and much more! Only $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers! Sign up on Substack today!

Nashville Food Truck Reviews: Taste of Aloha

It’s been quite some time since I’ve reviewed a food truck…since September of 2023, to be exact. That’s one thing I do miss about the covid quarantine. With restaurants closed, we had to get creative for date nights…or, well…really any time we wanted to break up the routine of sitting on the couch all day. It became a veritable ritual in our household to open up the MacBook every morning and see what was popping on BestFoodTrucks and StreetFoodFinder. I was thinking about those days last week on a Wednesday that didn’t have any dinner plans lined up. So, I poked around and saw that Taste of Aloha was going to be over on our side of town. I found their Instagram profile some time ago and after scrolling the feed, knew it was a spot I had to try. Thankfully, the stars aligned last week and I got to cross this one off my list.

Pics

Ratings

Food: 7.89/10 – I had the spam bowl (with an ice cold Dr. Pepper), and while I’d like to try some stuff from the rest of the menu, it’s hard to imagine I’m ever going to veer off course from this thing. It was fantastic. Just from the variation in texture alone, it was a pleasurable experience between the soft, fluffy rice with the crunch of the onion in it. But, the combination of flavors is what really set this dish apart. The spam supplies it with a hefty dose of saltiness, but it’s balanced out nicely by the pineapple chunks that burst with juice in every bite and the tangy sauce (that I can’t remember the name of for the life of me). The onions provide the slightest bit of bite, yet it’s all grounded in the white rice. Without the rice, I’d imagine this would be a pretty powerful, overpowering taste. But, it’s like the flavor from each ingredient spreads throughout the grains and mellows it out a bit. A fine work of craftsmanship, this dish is.

Value: 5.12/10 – Fair is fair. Right down the middle, my spam bowl and my mother’s kid’s menu chicken tenders cost $26. You can’t eat at too many places these days for that amount for two people. It’s certainly not a trip through the McDonald’s drive-thru, but I will happily spend that amount for such a quality meal. Very fair given today’s economic climate.

Overall: 6.51/10 – I was ecstatic to find Taste of Aloha after scoping out the Instagram profile months ago and thinking it looked like something I had to try. Food trucks and restaurants don’t always live up to the hype, but I can safely say that Tase of Aloha does. It’s a truck you should definitely seek out.

CURRENT NASHVILLE FOOD TRUCK RANKINGS

  1. The Rolling Recipe – 7.67/10
  2. Red’s 615 Kitchen – 7/10
  3. Califarmia – 6.93/10
  4. Tennessee Tatercakes – 6.85/10
  5. Hurt’s Hot Chicken – 6.67/10

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

SoBros Network and Stacking The Inbox have teamed up for the greatest premium content collaboration in the history of Nashville. Get all of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft coverage you need on top of premium SoBros Network content such as The Movie Review Rewind Podcast, Sports Punch, and much more! Only $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers! Sign up on Substack today!

Voodoo Ranger and Tombstone Pizza Are Teaming up for a Pizza-flavored IPA

I don’t know what has gotten into the minds of the fine folks at New Belgium Brewing. I’m a big fan of the bulk of their work – Voodoo Ranger has become a staple of my IPA rotation after trying it for the first time at a friend’s wedding. You can’t beat a good old fashioned Fat Tire. 1554 is a good ‘en. Accumulation is one of my favorite holiday beers. And, when I went to the tap room in Asheville, they had some sort of cayenne pumpkin beer that was off the charts. But, while their recent endeavor alongside Tombstone Pizza has piqued my curiosity, I don’t know that I can chart this course alongside them.

Courtesy of the Voodoo Ranger website:

Tombstone Pizza and Voodoo Ranger are joining forces to take pizza and beer to the next level with I(Pizza)A. Inspired by Tombstone Pizza’s born-in-a-bar heritage, this limited release Pizza IPA is for the boldest of beer and pizza lovers.

This 7% ABV slice of heaven delivers the flavors of Tombstone’s crispy crust, tangy tomato sauce, and savory herbs and spices into an ice-cold beer. The finishing pepperoni kick of heat that will make you reach for another slice… or another pint.

If I could offer up some advice, ‘I Pizza A’ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. There…I said it. I couldn’t help myself. Maybe that’s just the editor in me coming out, but maybe we could’ve workshopped that a little bit more.

I can appreciate striving for efficiency. It’s no secret that if you go to any brewery in America, you’re likely going to eat a pizza while you’re there. I’m not sure what it is, but breweries and pizza seem to go hand in hand. If you can eliminate that expense for your patrons, then you’re doing an admirable job. Why buy BOTH beer and pizza when you can just have a pizza beer?!?! I respect that. I’m just not sure how these flavors are going to combine.

Will I try this beer? Yes…assuming I can ever get my hands on it. It’s so distinct and unusual that I’ll probably have no choice but to film myself drinking it for the first time. But, am I necessarily looking forward to it? I don’t know that I can go that far, and I’m willing to go a lot of places. Check out the SoBros Beer Journal for all of our team’s beer reviews if you’re looking for something new to try this weekend!

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

SoBros Network and Stacking The Inbox have teamed up for the greatest premium content collaboration in the history of Nashville. Get all of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft coverage you need on top of premium SoBros Network content such as The Movie Review Rewind Podcast, Sports Punch, and much more! Only $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers! Sign up on Substack today!

Podcast: Charles Dickens and The Ghost Club

The pursuit of the truth has been a motivating factor for folks throughout history. 1860s London is no different – that’s where the story that Rooster and I covered on the latest episode of Phone It In begins. “The Ghost Club” is a paranormal investigation and research organization, founded in London in 1862 to investigate sightings of ghosts and hauntings.

Of all people, Charles Dickens is thought to have been one of its founding members, open to the idea of having an encounter but also interested in exposing frauds. This was an era of spiritualism…it was super easy for con men to pull one over on people who believed in such things. So, that’s where we start. The founding of The Ghost Club, how Arthur Conan Doyle fell for some really dumb shit back in the day, and what this group is up to today. Ultimately, this show had us asking what he had to do to get our own version of The Ghost Club up and running.

If you haven’t already, subscribe to Phone It In on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, or you can simply smash that play button on the embed below to fire up our latest episode on which we dive into what is believed to be London’s oldest paranormal investigation and research organization, The Ghost Club:

Listen to “Ep. 56: The Ghost Club” on Spreaker.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Subscribe to the SoBros Network Patreon here – $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers!

Podcast: Draft Season Is In Full Swing!

It’s been a minute since we’ve been able to catch up with Outspoken Owen Reed, but that’s exactly what I was able to do on the most recent episode of The Unofficial Titans Podcast. I got his opinions on the signing of Lloyd Cushenberry, Tony Pollard, Chidobe Awuzie, and Calvin Ridley before we dug into some various draft scenarios. I’m playing devil’s advocate in mentioning the possibility of Dallas Turner at 7th overall. But, we also talk about what I would say is the more likely scenario: offensive tackle or wide receiver. Joe Alt, Taliese Fuaga, JC Latham, Olu Fashanu – all could be in play.

We touch on the subject of Titans leaving the organization, including Kristian Fulton getting a deal with the Chargers, how weird it is that there’s been virtually no market for Ryan Tannehill, and the sacrilege that is Derrick Henry in a Ravens uniform. Heads up, this was recorded before the Titans made the blockbuster trade for L’Jarius Sneed, so we didn’t get to break down the news, but we do mention Sneed, and as you’ll hear, I was very pro “sign the dude.”

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to The Unofficial Titans Podcast on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, or wherever you take in your podcasts!

Listen to “Ep. 164: Tackles and Corners and Edge Rushers, Oh My!” on Spreaker.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

SoBros Network and Stacking The Inbox have teamed up for the greatest premium content collaboration in the history of Nashville. Get all of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft coverage you need on top of premium SoBros Network content such as The Movie Review Rewind Podcast, Sports Punch, and much more! Only $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers! Sign up on Substack today!

Trending Posts

I Want to Live in the Vintage Toys R Us Replica
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Voodoo Ranger and Tombstone Pizza Are Teaming up for a Pizza-flavored IPA
Podcast: Charles Dickens and The Ghost Club