Buffa's Buffet: How pesto chicken changed my Caesar salad's life

If Major League Baseball had their way, the St. Louis Cardinals would play at 9am on Game 1 of the playoffs, right before everybody got to work. Every postseason St. Louis climbs in, and the league figures out a way to screw them over. 

Example: Friday's game is at 1:07 pm, which puts it around four hours before I leave my day job. Along with the thousands (millions?) of other fans who will be stalking their office clocks until the day is over, I'd like to point out that the Birds have, and this isn't even arguable, the best corner infielders in the game. 

The best third baseman of all time. The best first baseman of the year. Two franchise legends in Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina playing in their final postseason. Adam Wainwright, another franchise legend, will show up at some point. Alas, a 1pm start time for Friday's Wildcard Round. Thankfully, Games 2 and 3 are at 7:30 at night. 

WHAT CARDINALS FANS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROUND ONE

Since I am getting burnt out (happens every October) on baseball talk, I will keep it simple and straight-forward. The Phillies aren't a good road team, and their once promising second half took a swan dive in September. They can hit very well, but will find their easygoing power found in Philly less so at Busch. 

The Cardinals are a great home team, and that speaks to their starting pitchers' performance. Unlike every previous postseason round, there is no break or day off between the games. This Wildcard round plays out like a normal weekend series, which is the best scheduling move MLB has made in quite some time. 

It's lined up for the Cards to win and move on, but the other team's record and past performance doesn't matter to a Cards team that had problems beating the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates this last month. My prediction: No true clue, but I'd bet on STL taking the series in three games. 

JAMES BOND DAY PARTICULARS 

I know what you're thinking. What's my favorite Bond film and actor? Daniel Craig and "Skyfall," which is the most complete JB cinematic experience. I can't record George Lazenby's take on the character, really applaud Sean Connery's work, found Pierce Brosnan to be okay, and got a nice kick out of Timothy Dalton. 

Look, it all comes down to preference--what a viewer wants to get out of a Bond film. I liked Craig's physicality and grit, and appreciated that he didn't skimp on the charisma and acting depth. He could do it all in the role, and his body of work as Bond is the most riveting in my semi-humble opinion. Let's not waste more time going into why I like or dislike the others; I already did on my Revue-Twitter-powered newsletter, "Diary of St. Louis's Stupidest Man." If you're on Twitter, you know. If not, scroll on.

Full confession: JB DAY was yesterday. What's special about this particular James Bond Day? 25 "James Bond" movies are now available on Amazon Prime Video. Go revisit the flicks and find your preferred human martini. Craig shook and stirred me. 

IS THE BUFFET BACK?

Yes indeed, it is. I started this baby over at KSDK News back in 2018. Jordan Palmer and I had the wild idea of taking my greatest trait as a writer-being able to dish takes on just about anything-and turn it into a weekly article. It traveled with JP and me over to St. Louis Jewish Light, and then it followed me here. 

The rules are simple. No set order of topics, so no 5 THINGS on my mind. It could be 3, 4, 7, or 10 things. It's whatever is on my mind, and the buffet just allows me to brand it better. Let's keep moving. 

MAKING A CAESAR SALAD BETTER

In case you didn't already know this, the Caesar salad is my favorite among the rabbit food variety of green leaf consumption. It's the most naughty, least nutritious, and can easily deliver if a few direct orders are followed: don't overdress the leaves, lean into the croutons, and don't skimp on the parmesan cheese flakes. 

But making it better is a higher level of mastery. Sauce on the Side conquered this beast by not just presenting the same old, tired grilled chicken slices add-on option; they took it up a notch. They offer PESTO CHICKEN on the Caesar, and it's not delivered in ordered chunks on top of the dish. Here, it's shredded and doused in the pesto sauce. Don't sleep on pesto. When made right, it's heavenly, making salads and pastas better across the world. Buffa Food Digest parlor has closed. 

THE KEY TO A GOOD WORKPLACE

Everybody acts like they're on the same level playing field. Certain people make more money than others, but the task at hand remains the same for everybody on deck. Get the job done, get paid, and go the heck home. That's it. As my mom eloquently said, anyone starting a job can look around and see several other souls who once started that same job. It's like starting school, where you learn new things and discover new abilities. 

If I know one thing, Drive Social is driving the digital marketing era forward, so I'm in a good spot. 

THE RUNDOWN

~When you can wake up and go outside without sweating, it's nice. We're entering that mode of the Fall season. 

~Attention mosquitoes: You can die now. Thanks.

~Never trust a fart or pass up a compliment. For a guy who has tasted the brunt of people's anger for sports and movie takes, soak up the good things people say to you. 

~Zac Efron is more than a handsome face who can carry a frat boy comedy. "The Greatest Beer Run Ever" sounds like a nice progressive step in the meatier role category. Jimmy Carlin agrees. 

~Fried ribs are better than ordinary ribs. 

~The Blues are playing preseason games and all I care about is players not getting injured. That's a big fail so far. Bubble wrap those high priced fellas, please. 

Final words from the buffet desk: Be kind or don't be a dick. Your choice.