True Blood : Since when did Merlotte's become self- serve ??

I got thinking about this week's episode and wondered who is minding the store ?
One of the things that grounds the Sookie books in normalcy or reality is that Sookie is always worrying about money and trying to make ends meet and Sam like all small business owners has trouble ever taking time off even for family emergencies ...man,  the True Blood writers DO NOT live in that world.

Lets go down the list of Merlotte's employees and where they are for the 2 nights and one day that the last episode covered.

Sam - owner just picks up and decides to go camping is gone one day and one night - he takes the first night off for a date with Luna )
Lafayette- Cook is inhabited by the ghost of Mavis and spends 2 night and one day helping her search for the skeleton baby
Terry - Cook is gone one day and one night trying to get back Baby Mikey from LaMavis (Lala/Mavis)
Arlene - Waitress is also gone one day and one night trying to get back Baby Mikey from LaMavis
Holly - Waitress is gone one day and two nights imprisoned in MoonGoddess Emporium by MarAntonia ( Marnie and Antonia )
Tommy - does work part of one day at Merlotte's and gone for sure one night pretending to be Sam and getting his ass kicked by Marcus.
Jessica - waitress she also does not work during the time span at Merlotte's and spends one night with Nan   and the second night with Jason.
Sookie - waitress she also does not work any of those nights or days at Merlotte's

So who's minding the store ???
Who's managing, cooking and waiting tables ????  Just wonderin' ?

What’s on tap at Merlotte’s and Lou Pine’s ?

What’s on tap at Merlotte’s and Lou Pine’s

The tap offerings have changed fron S1 to S3 - what have I missed ?

Season 1

Bare knuckle

Budweiser

Amber Bock

Dos Equis

Season 3

Budweiser

Dos Equis

Turbodog

Amber Bock

Bare Knuckle

Lou Pine’s Bar

Coor’s Light

Shiner Bock

Tecate

Howl

Shiner Black Nugget

True Blood : 4A GOOD TIME CALL PEANUT

Ok, what the hell ?
I had a question today " who do you think peanut is ?"

My answer: 'Damned if I know'

We know the number is scrawled next to the payphone in Merlottes. The number is 555-0168, Jane Bodehouse calls the number in Ep 10 and a man's voice answers.
She later asks Sam if he knows anyone one named Peanut Birch and says she can't remember but there is something she is supposed to do.

Of course we already have a Twitter character ...
Who do you think it is ?

http://twitter.com/PeanutBurch

True Blood: Merlotte's new waitress Daphne (Ashley Jones ) speaks

Part 2 here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AMQ8SLAgXM

And from SciFi Wire
If Ashley Jones joined True Blood as a waitress, why'd she taste blood?
http://scifiwire.com/2009/06/if-ashley-jones-joined-tr.php

True Blood Recipe: Merlotte's Fried Dill PIckles

FRIED DILL PICKLES

1 egg, beaten
1 c. milk
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
6 drops hot sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3 1/2 c. flour
1 qt. sliced dill pickles

Wesson oil for deep frying

Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring well. Set aside. Combine 3 1/2 cups flour, salt and pepper, stirring well. Dip pickles in milk mixture and dredge in flour mixture, repeat process. Deep fry in hot oil, 350 degrees until pickles float to surface and are golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

True Blood behind the scenes: Merlotte's on the backlot

The lovely FangsNRoses Warner Brothers tour last week in Los Angeles did go by the Merlotte's building !

She shares her photos with us ..thanks Fang!

True Blood behind the scenes : Merlotte's Bar and Grill

The Perspective magazine article talks about how they just 'found' Merlotte's on the Warner's Brother lot in an area called the jungle ...

Here's what it looks like when you see it on the back lot tour ..

Ask Dallas: What is that big star on the wall in Merlotte's ?

I love getting email and some of the most fun I've had has been trying to solve mysteries proposed by readers ...you might remember one of my favorites. Someone asked " Who is the Canine actor that plays Dean ( Sam's alter ego ) ?'

If you missed it the answer is HERE

OD has been on me to solve another question -it's the big star on the wall at one end of Merlotte's bar - you can see it behind Bill in the big "Bill walks back into the bar scene" but we could never make it out...

It is of course, a John Deere sign now the big stamped metal star makes me think it may have once been from a Texas John Deere Tractor dealership but you can see it clearly in this shot ...

Email: True Blood in Dallas

True Blood behind the scene: Merlotte's sign

The Merlotte's Bar and Grill sign

Here is a a couple of shots of how we see it on the show and a shot of it being constructed ...more tomorrow