De-Loused in the Comatorium
Name: De-Loused in the Comatorium
Artist: The Mars Volta
Type: CD
Rating: 78
Cost: $13.98
Who is this for?: For the person who wonders what Led Zeppelin would be like if they started a band in the year 2000.
Amazon LinkYou put your Coheed in my Zeppelin!! You put your Led in my Cambria!!! That's about the only way I can describe this band. For months now (as usual), Raffi has been trying to introduce me to a new band. Knowing that he couldn't just throw me into the world of The Mars Volta without getting me used to the idea of high pitched vocals combined with massive amounts of volume and tempo changes first, Raffi got me to listen to Coheed and Cambria on a massive scale. I think I now understand where music is and should be heading over the next few years and I must say I like it. It beats the hell out of grunge.
As mentioned before, The Mars Volta combines the progressive influences of Coheed with the bombastic drumming and time phrasings of Zeppelin. I could even imagine Robert Plant and John Bonham standing in for some of these musicians. This music is infectious and gets into your head readily. It is also difficult to discern one song from another because it has an almost concept album feel and the songs are not named by any "normal" naming convention. Seriously, these must be weird dudes.
Highlights: Almost every song.
Lowlights: I wouldn't want to really blast the volume on this band because the songs vary so much. Then again, I might just be getting old. Also, as Raffi pointed out, this isn't music to listen to when you're hung over.
The Bottom Line: A solid progressive meets metal meets classic rock meets jazz effort that makes me look forward to their new album Frances The Mute.
Rawley's
Name: Rawley's
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: American (Hot Dogs)
Location: Fairfield, CT
Price: $8
Rating: 90
Who is this for?: For the person who wants the very best in hot dogs.
A perennial favorite of felon Martha Stewart, Rawley's hot dogs have also been a favorite of mine ever since I was introduced to them in college. Conveniently located only a few blocks away from Fairfield University, Rawley's soon became a staple of my college diet as many times as my stomach would allow. These hot dogs are so good that I have yet to find their equal. Many people have told me they know where better dogs are, but each time I find myself disappointed. The one exception I might possibly believe is a place called Rutt's Hut in Nutley, NJ, but I have yet to venture out there to try them. One day, folks. One day.
What to order: I think the better question here is what not to order. Everything is good. You like shakes and malts? They got good ones. Burgers and dogs? Good ones. Fries? Yep. Grilled Cheese? Check. Grease? You betcha.
However, all that is really irrelevant because if you're not going to Rawley's for the hot dogs, you are missing out. The Rawley dog story starts with imported Roessler hot dogs that are grilled and then flash-fried to produce an unmistakable crispness and snap when you bite into them. The buns are buttered and grilled to toast them ever so slightly. Crisp, but not overdone bacon is crumbled and bean-less chili is produced to make one hell of a hot dog. My classic order:
Hot dog with Mustard and Onion
Hot dog with Bacon and Cheese
Hot dog with Chili and Cheese*
Fries
There are many variations on this order where the fries can be smothered with something, but most of the time I stick with the top two dogs, only adding the third if I am extremely hungry. Don't try to eat more than 3 dogs. Even if you can, which I doubt, you will be in severe pain later.
Another great part about Rawley's (other than the cheap prices) is that the dogs will keep refrigerated for 24 hours. In fact, I have been known to take them on airplanes and to casinos all over the country when necessary.
The Bottom Line: This is the king of hot dog places. Yes, it's a shack on the side of the road, but aren't most great grease palaces? If you haven't had a hot dog here, make sure you do so before you die. If you eat enough of them, that time will come soon.
Domino's Update
Finally had the Steak Fanatic Pizza that we were so jonesing for in the
Domino's review. I have to tell you, it wasn't half bad. Once again, I think the key was going light on the sauce. In this case, this pizza has no tomato sauce. In fact, it only has different types of cheeses (including what I think was a cheese sauce) and different types of steak. It is about the closest thing I have ever had to having a cheesesteak on a pizza. Quite tasty, but make sure you eat it hot before the cheeses congeal and you realize what you're eating.
Warning: This pizza did weigh heavily on my stomach later. Keep the slice intake to a minimum if you can. Also, keep plenty of dental floss on hand. While not particularly fatty pieces of steak, they are small enough to lodge in your teeth easily.
And finally, remember free delivery? Not anymore. I noticed that Domino's is charging a $1.50 for delivery these days. I understand this from a business practice, but I feel it should be mentioned when you order or on any of their materials.
Cold Stone Creamery
Name: Cold Stone Creamery
Type: Creamery
Cuisine: Ice Cream
Location: Westwood, NJ
Price: $5
Rating: 85
Who is this for?: The person who likes lots of mix-ins with their ice cream. Creative control of your ice cream without having to get a Blizzard. At last!
After some good sushi, you need some good ice cream. Okay, maybe not, that's what we did tonight. Cold Stone Creamery is a fantastic place because it's not an ice cream parlor; it's a creamery. The difference? They make their ice cream on site and don't have it shipped to them. In fact, almost everything is made onsite including the waffle cones and bowls.
What to order: The yellow cake batter ice cream is one of the greatest ideas ever. Not only is it delicious, but it lends itself very well to lots of ingredients, just like a yellow cake. You can choose from a plethora of candies, cookies, crumbles, etc... They scoop the ice cream right from their containers and onto a cold stone (hence the name) that keeps the ice cream cold, yet pliable and soft so that many ingredients can be folded in. On thi particular day, they were out of yellow cake batter ice cream (across the entire country they tell me - big mistake) so I went with coffee ice cream (made with fresh brewed espresso), Heath bar pieces, chocolate syrup, and marshmallow. Great stuff.
The only bad things about Cold Stone are the prices (it's expensive for ice cream) and the amount of mix-ins you get. I feel that they skimp on the candy bar pieces sometimes. Otherwise, this could be my new favorite ice cream place. Word of advice: go for the "like it" size in most cases. Anything else is a TON of ice cream.
Finally, for added entertainment, make sure to tip your server. Tips require the servers to sing and if you are being particularly cruel, you can have certain servers do a solo. Not sure if they take requests, but with enough tip money, I'm sure you could make that happen.
The Bottom Line: With great ice cream and friendly, informative service, Cold Stone is the ice cream place of the future. They must be doing well too as I see new ones popping up all over the place.
Bamboo Sushi
Name: Bamboo Sushi
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: Westwood, NJ
Price: $28
Rating: 68
Who is this for?: The sushi eater looking for a quiet little sushi bar that is willing to experiment.
The more I think about it, I think a place where New Jersey tends to be a little weak on the culinary scale is in the area of sushi. They have great pizza and bagels, but sushi doesn't seem to be able to make it accross the Hudson quite as easily. Bamboo Sushi tries to dispell that theory and does an admirable job. An almost "hole in the wall" place, Bamboo Sushi is very small with the sushi bar taking up almost the entire restaurant. In true "small business" fashion, the place is run very "hands-on" by the owner and the service was impeccable.
What to order: Experimentation is the name of the game at Bamboo Sushi as the chefs are more than willing to concoct a new creation. Tonight's idea? Tempura inside out salmon roll with avocado with a custom dipping sauce. Tremendous. I think more sushi places should roll out specials on a daily basis. I would be up to try them most of the time unless it was a little too crazy. For example, Nobu usually has several fish specials depending upon what was fresh and the waiter will explain what it is and what it will most likely taste like. Very cool.
In addition to the roll, we had some green tea (some of the best I've had), edamame, and some assorted sushi pieces and rolls. Nothing could top the salmon roll, so we probably should have had that last. However, the sushi was quite good and I would definitely order from there again when I'm in NJ.
The Bottom Line: We weren't too hungry and were saving ourselves a bit for dessert, so we didn't eat a ton. However, that was more than enough to get the feeling of the place. Definitely a keeper.
Hooters
Name: Hooters
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: American
Location: Paramus, NJ
Price: $10
Rating: 35
Who is this for?: On this particular night? Local New Jersians showing off their
Too Fast Too Furious rides for awful looking trophies.
I really don't like the food at Hooters. I don't know why I keep going back. In fact, I can't think of a single reason that you would ever want to... Oh, wait a minute. I thought of two.
Anyway, you're probably wondering what brings me to a Hooters in Paramus, NJ on a Tuesday night. You guessed it... grilled cheese. Raffi had claimed to me (and anyone else that would listen) that the grilled cheese at Hooters is quite possibly the greatest grilled cheese on the face of this planet. Instead of laughing him off, my curiosity was piqued.
Wading past the trucks with 8 DVD players in the back seat and pimped out cars with spinners, we saddled up at an uncomfortably high table on stools that had no backs. Honestly, I can't imagine how anyone sits through a whole football game on these things. I'm assuming massive amounts of alcohol must numb the lower back area.
Hooters is, as the motto says, "Delightfully Tacky, yet Unrefined". One would think that phrase is about the service and atmosphere, however, it's really the food that is unrefined. The wings are one of the few decent things on the menu, but you better get them hot. The mild and medium wings taste like they are only covered with butter and if you go on the very spicy end of the spectrum you will get a hot wing that has no taste. (Imagine a wing coated with red dye and pepper spray. Sure it's really spicy, but who wants to eat that? They make wings and fingers that way at the ESPN restaurants as well. I would suggest you stay away from spicy food there too. Oh, and before any of you call me a pansy, my father is the king of eating spicy food and I have definitely continued in that vein. More on that later when I review spicy food.)
Other things to stay away from include anything with steak. The curly fries are okay and I've heard decent things about the clams. However, I'm sorry, I'm not eating seafood there if I can help it (or at White Castle). The exception: Clam chowder. I figure by then, the clams are cooked well enough where I'm not getting sick. And you know what? The clam chowder wasn't half bad. A little too creamy, but not terrible.
So how was the grilled cheese? Like anything else at Hooter's (and I do mean "anything else at Hooters"), disappointing. There was only maybe two or three slices of cheese in there and it wasn't very big. Don't get me wrong, I glimpsed the greatness that Raffi had spoke about. The bread was almost a french toast consistency and was grilled perfectly, but the lack of cheese was what killed it. Quite frankly, you should never have to utter the words, "grilled cheese with extra cheese, please". That last part should be implied.
The Bottom Line: I could see where Raffi was coming from, but as usual, Hooters misses the mark. Certainly not the best grilled cheese I have had, but it had potential. In all, a decent place for lunch during a bachelor party, but not much else.
Taiwan Noodle House
Name: Taiwan Noodle House
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese
Location: Westwood, NJ
Price: $12
Rating: 61
Who is this for?: For the person looking for a Taiwanese alternative to Chinese take out. That is to say, heavy stresses on dumplings and noodles.
One of the wonderful things about babysitting my parents' dogs is that there are so many new places to eat in NJ. Granted, I have been to a lot of these places before, but some of them just feel new again because I haven't been there in a while. An old/new favorite is the Taiwan Noodle House. Primarily a great place to go for dumplings and noodles, the Taiwan Noodle House also offers standard Chinese fare at decent prices.
While the interior and service are nothing to blog about, the dumplings and noodles are superb. At one point, they offered 10 different types of dumplings (they have since scaled back to 6) with about everything you could imagine and the kitchen sink. My personal favorites are the shrimp dumplings where the key is whole shrimp instead of a shrimp paste. (I know I probably mention P.F. Chang's too much in this blog, but they have perfected the shrimp dumpling art. Even better than Taiwan Noodle House)
On this evening, I ordered the special which was "Chinese Spaghetti". Seriously, how could I pass something named "Chinese Spaghetti" up? Especially when I found out it was served sizzling? Pair the spaghetti and dumplings with a Coke (usually, I prefer Pepsi, but for some reason you
need a Coke with Chinese food. I really don't understand this.) and you have one tasty combination.
The meal was good, but a little disappointing because I remember the place so fondly. The main course was a tad too sweet and I found myself digging into Rachel's beef with snow peas a lot (which was excellent, BTW). Also of note was the terrible service staff that appeared to speak almost no English. I don't know about you, but I find that odd in suburban restaurants in this day and age.
The Bottom Line: It's your standard Chinese restaurant, but instead of Cantonese or Szechwan, it's Taiwanese. If you're looking for dumplings or noodles, this is your place.
The Aviator
Name: The Aviator
Type: Movie
Director: Martin Scorcese
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin
Year: 2004
Rating: 75
Who is this for?: Anyone who is interested in the early life of an only semi-crazy and recluse Howard Hughes.
IMDB LinkLeonard DiCaprio is a good actor. There, I said it! I'll say it again for dramatic effect, "Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor." Done laughing yet? No, go ahead. Get it out of your system. I'll wait. All done? You sure? Good.
Don't get me wrong. Leonardo DiCaprio is not a great actor. He's a good actor. His roles in The Quick and the Dead, Gangs of New York, and now The Aviator prove this point. He not only looked like Howard Hughes, but you got the sense that this was how Howard Hughes acted. This was how Howard Hughes was. Now, some of that may be attributed to some of the great direction DiCaprio has been able to receive throughout his career (Sam Raimi and Martin Scorcese respectively in the cases mentioned above), but some of it also has to be him. At some point, you have to give the guy credit, so I'm doing it here. If you're expecting a validation of Brad Pitt's career next, well, please look elsewhere. On with the review.
As mentioned above, The Aviator is a bio-pic about the early life of aviation legend and Las Vegas eccentric recluse, Howard Hughes. With so much being made about Hughes' later Las Vegas life, there isn't too much that you hear about his early days as a Hollywood pioneer and aviator. This movie tries to tell this early story of his life.
Having not read much about Hughes' early life, I can tell you that I don't know how much of this movie is true and how much is creative license. All I know is that this movie was remarkably well done to the point where I was wondering who directed. When I saw Scorcese's name, that explained everything. Man, he's good. (Note: I try not to find out much about any movie before watching it. Makes everything more of a surprise. So when I don't know someone like Scorcese directed ahead of time, it makes me happy at the end.)
Well shot and brilliantly acted,
The Aviator is a compelling story about a man who wanted perfection and was willing to risk everything for it. Hughes sought to have everything his way and for the most part gets it through clever use of his money and charisma. It chronicles the story of his life from early movie producer to the flight of the
Spruce Goose (Hercules) and everything in between. It also shows and sets up the bouts of OCD and craziness that would plague Hughes his entire life and ultimately lead to his death.
The Bottom Line: I'm not buying this movie on DVD, but it was close. Great movie, just not purchase worthy. Maybe it's because it was too long, maybe it wasn't the type of movie I buy. I just can't tell. However, definitely worth a rent or a TiVo if you can catch it.
Blue Moon
Name: Blue Moon Mexican Cafe
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Mexican
Location: Old Tappan, NJ
Price: $15
Rating: 76
Who is this for?: The person who loves good, hearty mexican and lots of it.
Web LinkAre you hungry? You'll have to be to eat at Blue Moon. Opened in Wyckoff, NJ, this restaurant has blossomed into a mini-chain with locations all over NJ and a couple in NY. Quite possibly my favorite, easily-accessible (read: within driving distance) Mexican place to date, Blue Moon offers plenty of options and plentiful portions. The place is small, so come early for dinner as they don't take reservations. Wait times can exceed an hour, but it isn't so bad now that they have more locations. Service is friendly and executed at a decent speed.
What to order: From Giant World-Wide Burritos to the Quesadilla Gigante, there isn't much on this menu that will leave you hungry at all. Don't miss the sirloin chili served anywhere from mild to "full moon" style which packs a bit of a heat punch (it's manageable though). Real chunks of sirloin are coupled with jalapenos and just enough sour cream and a flour tortilla. Today, I ordered the crab enchilada and quite frankly, I don't think I have ever had so much crab in one sitting in my life. Truly delicious. Actually, it doesn't matter whether you order beef, chicken, seafood, or what. They're all awesome and you have plenty to take home to the dogs. For dessert, don't miss the cheesecake chimichanga. It's cheesecake, deep fried, coated with powdered sugar, and drizzled with caramel and cinnamon. Hot and crispy on the outside, cold and creamy on the inside. You'll be tasting this one and craving it days later. I'm serious.
Appetizers are also good. Don't forget the salsa and chips. I think a good salsa is the testing point of any Mexican place and Blue Moon has the right ratio of chunk to runny to spice. Solid margheritas as well.
Bottom Line: If you like Mexican, this is the place to try. About the only thing that is disappointing is their guacamole. There are better places to get fresh guac. As I mentioned eight million times, come hungry.
Dry Dock
Name: Dry Dock
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: American
Location: Norwalk, CT
Price: $12
Rating: 52
Who is this for?: The person looking for an inexpensive lunch where they can grab a draft beer and just relax.
Talk about bribing me with grease... The Dry Dock is a neighborhood restaurant that is great for a solid, cheap lunch. Although they only have a couple of beers on tap and the specials don't seem to ever change, it is a very consistent and tasty lunch experience. The interior is a bar-type atmosphere with high tables and stool-like chairs. Not for those of us with a bad back. Service is decent and you tend to get in and out of there very quickly. If you're going on a Friday, I would suggest getting there before noon as it tends to fill up rather quickly.
What to order: They have great burgers (which can be had rare) and any of their sandwiches can be ordered on a toasted garlic roll. However, the toasting seems to be a bit hit or miss because they always seem to toast it too much or not enough. This particular day I was lucky and my roll was toasted perfectly. All appetizers are greasy and delicious. The loaded potato skins and nachos (with generous amounts of chili) would be a tremendous example.
Bottom Line: Not a ton to talk about here because it is your typical bar with typical bar food. However, the Dry Dock delivers when it comes to a casual lunch experience (I don't know if I would have dinner here, but I suppose it's possible). The salads and pastas are really nothing spectacular, so stick to the sandwiches and appetizers and you'll have a good meal.
Joel on Software
Title: Joel on Software
Author: Joel Spolsky
Type: Book
Price: $16.49
Rating: 85
Who is this for?: For
anyone interested in Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity. Oh wait, that's the title of the book. Nevermind.Web LinkI am a software engineer by profession. However, I generally don't like reading books on the subject. Sure, I read magazines, trade journals and even blogs these days, but usually reading a book on the subject of software engineering is a bit dull. This book is not dull. Quite the opposite. I think part of the reason for that is this book is really a collection of Joel Spolsky's blog entries over the years, pieced together, and framed nicely in a coherent sequence. Joel is a witty and funny "get to the point" sort of writer that makes a book like this go very fast. Yes, there are some sections about programming languages and operating systems that I had never heard of, but it still doesn't lose your interest.
In addition to the wealth of technical knowledge Joel has acquired over the years working at Microsoft, Juno, and now his own company Fog Creek Software, Joel also has an incredible business acumen learned from a life of experiences both good and bad. This book is for people who are programmers, programming managers, or people who want to be programming managers. The real life examples in the book are interesting and applicable in real life. Especially fascinating are his articles on builds, testing, and creating software schedules.
Bottom Line: Any review of this book won't do it justice. If you are in the software industry at all, pick up this book. You will learn a lot and end up looking at things in different ways.
Wolfgang Puck's Cafe
Name: Wolfgang Puck's Cafe
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: American
Location: Chicago, IL
Price: $20
Rating: 67
Who is this for?: The traveler who wants near-gourmet food on the go.
Web LinkThere's few things that I enjoy more than arriving at an airport very early before my flight. Besides the fact that I don't have to worry about making it through security and onto the flight, I get a chance to relax and just have some quiet, "me time". Fortunately for me, airports have been trying to make departure terminals more like malls these days. In some cases, malls with good restaurants. Chicago's O'Hare airport is a good example with their Wolfgang Puck's Cafe.
I love Wolfgang Puck's food. I've been to a bunch of his restaurants in many different cities over the year and I've never been disappointed with the food. Whether it's a quick bite to eat at a Wolfgang Puck Express or a full-length, fancy dinner at Spago, the Puck never fails to impress. The dining experience is always a high-quality endeavor. Need to get something right before your flight? Enter Wolfgang Puck's Cafe. Quality sit-down food and a full bar in a normally rushed and crowded setting.
I was very pleased to find out I wouldn't have to wait for a table. I sat, relaxed, read the paper, and ordered a drink. Seeing as though my flight was delayed several hours, this would truly turn out to be the highlight of my day.
What to order: I went with the Fettuccini Wolfredo (his own take on the classic with garlic, herbs, and bacon) and a Caesar's salad. The fettuccini is one of my favorites ever since I first tried it at Spago. I didn't get to have it when I was there in July, so it was truly a treat to have it on the menu. In fact, the Cafe menu is almost a cross-section of all of Wolfgang's best dishes from his different restaurants. You can't go wrong. Even his take on classic hamburgers are tremendous. Now, I don't think I ever have a "culinary experience" when eating at his restaurants, but everything is usually a solid 8 or 9 out of 10.
So you're probably wondering then why I only gave this restaurant a 67 rating. It certainly wasn't the service. My waiter was fantastic. I think the problem is that it still felt like an airport and there were still elements of airport food. Sure, the plastic knife isn't their fault (seriously, do we need plastic knives in an airport? I mean, we have regular forks. I'm not saying you should give me a dagger or some serrated weapon that I can put in my carry-on bag, but at least give me something that can cut through meat... yet another reason to get pasta), but it just wasn't as good as it could be. There was no "cooked to order" quality to anything. It felt mass produced. Sure, it was good, but if I got the same dishes in any of his other restaurants, it would have been just plain better. I don't know if I can properly describe it. Was I disappointed? No. Why? Because I had low expectations of this being "airport food" going in. Score another one for the Puck.
Bottom Line: Wolfgang Puck's Cafe is the best airport food I've tasted yet. Granted, that isn't saying much at all, but it's a start and hopefully the beginning of a wonderful trend in travel food. I strongly recommend any Puck restaurant in any city. Always a good meal.
Caribou Coffee
Name: Caribou Coffee
Type: Coffee Shop
Location: Chicago, IL
Price: $4
Rating: 51
Who is this for?: For the person who is a little tired of Starbucks market saturation and would like to try their latte in a different, but all too familiar place.
Web LinkI hear they're opening
Starbucks stores across the street from other Starbucks stores these days. I guess if the demand is there, why not? Caribou Coffee proves that there is more demand than even Starbucks can fill. They are just the sort of visionary company that sees an overcrowded marketplace and says, "hey, me too!"
Seriously though, this place is very similar to Starbucks. Not close enough that I would sue if I were them, but very close. The setup of the shop is almost identical and they have the whole Pacific Northwest theme going for them (hence the Caribou). However, there were two small differences other than the hardwood decor that I could notice in the short time I spent ordering and waiting for my breakfast coffee.
1. They had more interesting and innovative drinks than Starbucks.
2. They had a trivia question of the day that would give you 10 cents off your coffee.
Now don't get me wrong, I feel that Starbucks started the whole innovative coffee thing and I don't know where I'd be without a Grande Caramel Macchiato or any flavor Frappuccino at all. However, they really haven't come up with a lot of great ideas in years. Since the Gingerbread Latte and the Java Chip Frappuccino, they really haven't done much. Caribou Coffee takes innovation to the next step. Not a new level mind you, just the next step. They have everything from traditional "Starbucks style" drinks to caffeine laden treats to coffee with ice cream style mix-ins in them. And that's when it all went wrong...
I'll say this once: Coffee has no business having ice cream style mix-ins. It's truly disgusting. I ordered a Turtle Mocha. Unbeknownst to me, the description is, "It's coffee, it's dessert, it's multitasking". Yeah... that just doesn't work. I started drinking this coffee and it was actually pretty good. It had chocolate. It had caramel. It had espresso. It was almost like sipping a Rolo. Almost. Then I got closer to the bottom and debris started flying into my mouth. This was most unexpected. The debris was small and gritty. Some sort of chopped nuts. Add this debris to the regular bottom of a coffee cup that is mostly sugar and you have a most unwelcome combination. So, I almost enjoyed this, but it was a bit too "extreme" for my taste. I guess no one likes coffee flavored coffee anymore.
Bottom Line: I'd give this place another chance to taste their coffee flavored coffee, but I'd rather get my morning brew from Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks.
Heaven on Seven
Name: Heaven on Seven
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Cajun
Location: Chicago, IL
Price: $25
Rating: 65
Who is this for?: For a taste of Cajun in Chicago because New Orleans won't be a viable option for a while. :-(
Web LinkMy companion on this latest business trip was over from the U.K. Being a typical American host, I wanted to make sure that he was able to "experience" the American culinary and cultural scene as much as possible in his few days here. Knowing that I couldn't possibly top the experience of Nine Steakhouse without taking him to Charlie Trotter's (and completely emptying my wallet at the same time), I decided to go with something significantly cheaper and significantly American. The answer: Cajun.
Unfortunately, good cajun is tough to come by unless you are actually down on the Bayou or happen to be in a large city with displaced cajuns (read: Emeril's and Commander's Palace). And even more horribly, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has made this even more difficult. Luckily, there's Heaven on Seven.
Heaven on Seven is an affordable chain of cajun restaurants that started as a coffee shop on the seventh floor of an office building in Chicago. The decor is almost a cajun version of TGI Friday's flair. But most importantly, they have more hot sauce than any other restaurant on this planet. They even have their own line of sauces ranging from garlicky and tasty to blow your mind hot. I truly appreciate this because I love spicy food (my father was known as the first white man to eat the entire thing... but that's a story for another blog entry).
What to order: The gumbo. For the love of God, try the gumbo. It's not okra based (sorry Raffi) and has tons of andouille sausage in it. Truly the best gumbo I've had that Emeril didn't make. Really sticks to your ribs. Also fantastic is the jalapeno cornbread muffin (the heat sneaks up on you). They also have good shrimp based dishes. Appetizers are generally standard bar food fare, but they make some good margaritas served in martini glasses.
Everything has a decent amount of spice to it and you can always add more with your favorite hot sauce (or experimental ones). They also offer seven course tasting menus of various degress of spicyness and cooking classes once a week as well. I hear they even cater these days. This place has lots to offer.
Bottom Line: For a taste of cajun in the windy city, this is the place to go. Makes a better weekend lunch spot than a dinner spot, but you can't lose either way. It's a safe bet I'll be there again sometime soon.
Westin
Name: Westin
Type: Hotel
Location: Chicago, IL
Price: $200
Rating: 88
Who is this for?: The weary traveler looking for a great place to stay with a bed so comfortable, they'll never want to get up.
Web LinkI don't think I knew about Westins until a few years ago. When it came to quality hotels, I pretty much thought there was the Hyatt Regency, The Four Seasons, and things so expensive they have their own butler and I would never be able to afford to stay there. The Westin, however, fits into the quality category quite well without the need for Jeeves.
Westin has a modern stylish feel without the modern trendiness of their cousin outfit "W". The rooms are well appointed and the bathrooms are quite nice (which is a key feature of the hotel room - I know some people who judge hotels solely based upon the condition of the bathroom). However, the first thing you will notice in these hotels is the "Heavenly Bed". Basically a 600 thread-count, pillow-top bed on crack, the layers and softness of this bed are unreal. Try getting out of this thing on a weekend with blackout shades. You just can't do it. It's too comfortable. I am convinced this is why Las Vegas beds aren't this comfortable (If you're sleeping, you're not gambling). The scariest part is I don't even like a soft mattress. I like a firm bed; always have. However, there's just something to this bed, the pillows, etc... This bed has revolutionized the hotel industry because I notice more chains are adding pillow top beds every day.
The comforts don't end at the bed. They have dual showerheads in the bathroom and any of the things you get in the hotel room can be ordered in their catalog. Brilliant marketing. About the only thing I don't like about this hotel is the room service. It's not very tasty (room service generally isn't) and it is waaay overpriced (room service generally is).
Bottom Line: With plenty of central locations to
everything and gourmet restaurants in most lobbys, Westins are a great place to stay. I highly recommend it if you have never stayed there and I especially recommend it if work is paying for it.
Nine Steakhouse
Name: Nine Steakhouse
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Location: Chicago, IL
Price: $140 (full meal with tip)
Rating: 91
Who is this for?: For the discerning steak eater who wants a trendy alternative to the old boys club of traditional steakhouses.
Web LinkThree words: Lobster Mashed Potatoes. Now, on to the review...
Wow. Just a great dinner. Nine has everything that a steakhouse should have. Great food, excellent service, good atmosphere, and a great selection of food. Let's break this down "steakhouse style", shall we?
Martini: Ketel One, straight up. Large, powerful, and delicious. 10 out of 10.
Appetizers: I had fried rock shrimp that came in a box that almost looked like the KFC popcorn chicken container. One spicy dipping sauce (yes, it was spicy) and one more mayonnaise based sauce that was also quite good. My companion had the grilled calamari which was also excellent and worked well with my sauces. Solid 10 out of 10. If I didn't know any better, this place may be trying to bribe me with grease.
Salad: Caesar Salad "the way it should be". No really, it said that on the menu. And it was pretty darned good. Although I wouldn't go so far as to say it was made "the way it should be", it had all the proper elements. Proper seasoning, the right amount of dressing, fresh ingredients. It was served with French bread slivers masquerading as croutons with melted cheese and pepper on top. I enjoy this for some reason in a salad. I can't tell you why. The real treat of this salad was that nothing overpowered the salad. You had hints and overtones of egg and anchovies, but not the real thing. Hard to do and impressive. My companion had a chopped salad that he enjoyed very much (actually, he enjoyed everything so much that I don't think he could have said a bad word about anything).
Steak: Bone-in filet mignon. Yes, I wrote that. After foiling my own previous attempt to get a bone-in filet at Boa Steakhouse in Las Vegas (July), I decided this must be done. Basically, it's a thick cut filet with a piece of the T-bone hanging on. Highly unecessary, but since this was the specialty of the house, I thought I'd go for it. And it was good. Melt in your mouth good in fact. The pan sauce that it came with was also excellent. However, not the best filet I've ever had and for $48 you have to impress me a bit more than that without the word "Kobe" in front of you. So, maybe an 8.5 out of 10.
Sides: I already wrote it. Lobster mashed potatoes. Generous pieces of lobster mixed in with creamy garlic potatoes and melted cheese. One of the best sides I've ever had. I think one of the few things I will regret about this place and the thing that will make me come back is the fact that they had so many great looking sides that I couldn't order because they serve so much food. The portions are exceptionally generous. Look for me to go back and order the shoestring potatoes (very thin) and anything else with "potato" or "onion" in the title. They all looked great. No wait, I'm certain of it. This place is trying to bribe me with grease.
Dessert: I first saw this restaurant on the Travel Channel and I had been waiting almost two years now to try it. I kept missing my opportunity in both Las Vegas (The Palms) and Chicago. The reason I was drawn to this restaurant in the first place? The house famous dessert. S'mores. Yes, for $9, you too can recreate your youth with some graham crackers, chocolate sorbet, marshmallows, sticks, and a roaring pupu platter Sterno engine that I was positive was going to set the waiter on fire. Good? Yes. Nine dollars? No. But I had to try it so that you, the reader, could enjoy along with me.
The bad: They lost my reservation, it's too trendy for my tast, and the cognac was watery. Hey, I'll live if the food is this good.
Bottom Line: Definitely in the top ten steakhouses I've ever been to. Very possibly in the top five. I would say it definitely rivals Morton's but the prices definitely surpass Morton's. I will definitely be back as soon as I can because there is so much on the menu that I still need to try.
American Airlines
Name: American Airlines
Type: Airline
Location: Dallas, TX
Price: $440
Rating: 80
Who is this for?: For the traveler who needs to go just about anywhere in the world from just about anywhere in the world. They are the number one carrier in the U.S.
Web LinkBefore I continue with my ratings of the Windy City, I'd like to take a second to rate the horse I rode in on. I flew American Airlines a lot as a kid until Continental Airlines decided to set up shop 40 minutes from my house with a major hub in Newark, NJ. I have so many miles with Continental that it's almost silly for me to fly anyone else. However, there are a few exceptions and my recent business in Chicago is one of them.
Realizing that it would be much quicker and easier for me to fly from Westchester County Airport (20 minutes from my apartment) to O'Hare, I looked into what carriers had non-stop flights from HPN to ORD. Unfortunately there is no Continental direct flight, but American and United both make the trips several times a day. Having had a bad experience with United in March (I don't know where some of these airlines get their pilots, but someone should explain to Iceman and Slider there in the cockpit that just because they work for a "carrier" doesn't mean they have to slam the plane down on the runway as hard as they can), I decided to go back with American.
Other than being an hour late, my trip in August was rather uneventful. They even got me home on time. The crew was polite and helpful and even gave cool cheddar party mix snacks out (I love those).
This most recent trip was a bit worse. Once again, we were delayed almost an hour and once again, we were the only flight delayed in the entire airport. The flight was good, not turbulent, and the crew was once again polite and friendly. The way back however, just plain sucked.
I arrived at the airport early to get a decent meal (they've been doing great things with restaurants these days in airports) and then proceeded to wait for my flight. Boarding time was 5 PM and the flight seemed to be running late. At 5:07, I became suspicious and checked the board. Yep, my flight had been moved to the next terminal with no announcement. Luckily, the terminals in O'Hare are very close to each other and I made it in plenty of time (sprint not necessary, but I did it anyway). Then, we sat. And sat. And sat. Just as we were pulling away and 5th in line for departure, the pilot said that we would have to sit here a while as thunderstorms in the area passed. And then, it rained. And rained. And, well, you get the idea.
After the flight attendant handed out all the free food and drinks on the plane, the pilot came on and told us that HPN was only open until 11:15 PM and if we didn't take off soon, we would have to stay here for the night. "Yeah, sure." I thought to myself as I have never had to stay in a city after a flight delay. However, as time passed, I realized that we may indeed miss our 50 minute window of opportunity to take off. As time went on, I found myself getting upset about this situation. I may actually have to stay in Chicago another night at the airport or even worse, sleep in the terminal. With no updates from the pilot, this was starting to get disturbing.
Finally, the pilot came on and told us that the airport manager at HPN was gracious enough to keep the airport open until 12:15 AM. However, he still didn't know if we'd be able to make our window. More time passed and then, it happened. The pilot broke us out of the current line of planes, traversed the entire airport to the one runway that was allowing traffic off the ground, and we were finally in the air. Just in time.
It was not long before I realized EXACTLY why planes were being grounded. The turbulence flying through these thunderstorms had to be some of the most violent I have experienced. It made for some breathtaking views of lightning strikes over the Detroit area though. It seemed at one point as if there were about three strikes per second and all of them looked HUGE.
Bottom Line: American Airlines is the McDonald's of the airline industry. The most locations, you know what you're getting, and you leave with that, "eh, I just had a Big Mac" feeling. You may not be thinking about that meal 15 seconds after you finished it, but you're full and it did the job.
The Grillroom
Name: The Grillroom
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: American/Steakhouse
Location: Chicago, IL
Price: $18
Rating: 64
Who is this for?: For the person looking to have a nice business lunch in downtown Chicago.
On Tuesday, I returned to Chicago for the third time this year. I'm starting to know my way around town and I must say, I like what I see. More on that in a later posting.
I arrived shortly before lunchtime and I wanted a quick bite before stopping in the office. Since it was already 12:30 PM my time, I headed across the street to The Grillroom.
The Grillroom could easily be confused with an upscale microbrewery/restaurant. I wanted something quick (as I mentioned) and ordered a 10oz. angus burger (rare). Come to think of it, I should probably cut down on the red meat a little... Anyway, the burger was good, not spectacular, properly cooked, and came with crispy fries and provolone cheese. Not too expensive, but not too cheap either. Previously, I have had the cajun chicken sandwich (same rating as the burger really) and looked on as my companions have enjoyed some good looking salads.
Bottom Line: All in all, The Grillroom isn't half bad. It is a perfect place for informally entertaining clients or grabbing a BizCasFri (Business Casual Friday... don't ask) lunch. They have an extensive menu with something for everyone and like any big city restaurant, it has to be pretty good or else it would close down pretty quick. It's the type of place I would like to try for dinner if it was in Stamford. However since it's in Chicago, there are waaay too many tempting options instead. More on that in the next posting.
The Man with the Screaming Brain
Title: The Man with the Screaming Brain
Type: Movie
Director: Bruce Campbell
Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Stacy Keach
Rating: 12
Who is this for?: For the rabid Bruce Campbell fan who absolutely, positively must see anything he is in regardless of how much it may suck (see: Navy, McHale's).
IMDB PageWow. I don't even know where to start here. Oh wait, I know... I apologize for everything I may have said about
The Terminal and
Sideways. This is by far one of the worst movies I have ever seen and it would probably make "The List" of the Top 5 worst movies of all time if it weren't for the fact that it wasn't large budget and didn't have a lot of stars (we have standards for "worst"; I'll get into that in a future post).
This movie starts out with potential. Bruce Campbell invokes the mannerisms of his Ash character from
Army of Darkness, but it then spirals out of control as he plays an ignorant, elitist, American CEO of a drug company trapped in a loveless marriage while on a business trip to Bulgaria. In the first hour and 15 minutes, the plot moves around and gets complicated to set up the massive twist... you ready for it? No really, here it is!
Bruce gets massively injured, his wife gets killed and he now has to share his body with both his brain and the brain of his deceased cab driver while trying to hunt down his wife's killer with his wife's new cyborg body. Yeah... You just read that. Don't try to read it again or you will start to hemorrhage.
I spent the last half hour of this movie waiting for it to end. And it did. With about as absurd an ending as possible as well.
Bottom line: Please don't watch this. Not even in jest. Even Raffi as a die hard Bruce Campbell fan hated this one.
Domino's
Name: Domino’s Pizza
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Pizza
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $16
Rating: 36
Who is this for?: For the tortured pizza orderer who has no choice but to settle for mass produced, cheese covered bread.
Web LinkWow. I never thought I’d have to write this review. However, after a night of discussing the wisdom of Wittgenstein over a few brandies with fellow socialites at Beamers Café (at least, I think that’s what happened at Ken’s bachelor party), I must admit that I was a tad hung over to say the least. When the proverbial “hair of the dog that bit you” in the form of Bloody Marys didn’t exactly do the trick, Raffi and I had to resort to some more “unorthodox” measures. Unable to muster the strength to venture out the front door, I did summon up the courage to find the phone book. Letting my tired fingers do the walking, I masterfully flipped to the “pizza” pages and found the only thing that would satisfy this burning desire within us… Steak pizza!
Alas, the steak pizza was not to be. In what must have been an orgy of testosterone filled fury the night prior, the Domino’s Pizza of Stamford, CT had been left bereft of all remnants of bovine flesh. Stunned, Raffi and I could not even believe the words we conjured up next, “large meatball and onion, an order of cheezy bread, and some buffalo chicken kickers.”
Buffalo chicken kickers? Pray tell, was this some sort of Texan, barnyard shoe? No! It was a quite tasty, lightly fried and spiced version of boneless chicken tenders. And there, stunned, I hung up the phone and anxiously counted the 35 minutes until arrival. (Domino’s doesn’t want employees getting killed anymore for a $2 tip… it’s just bad business).
"You sunk my Battleship!", Raffi exclaimed as a deft move by yours truly finished off his royal armada. (did he really think leaving his submarine on C-3 would throw my mighty gunners off? I think not Lord Nelson!) Then, when all hope was lost... the doorbell. The neatly uniformed Domino's delivery person (being PC here) had somehow bypassed all security at my home by not buzzing in. I shall have the doorman flogged! Regardless, a quick thank you and $27 later, we had our Pizza and free Diet Coke for putting up with their steak shortage.
Normally, here is the part of the review where I lambast a pizza for not being of "New York Quality". Well folks, I hate to disappoint you, but I enjoyed this meal. Sure, it was no Lombardi's pie, but Raffi explained the secret to Domino's Pizza which my brother Dave passed onto him before he went to Iraq (I think he learned it from a Shaolin Monk somewhere).
The secret: Go light on the sauce
I say in the words of those cartoony Guinness characters... Brilliant! So simple, yet why didn't I think of that?! Basically, the weak link in the Domino's equation is the sauce. Remove that link and you have a topped cheezy bread.
Bottom Line: The pizza, cheezy bread, and kickers hit the spot. Skip the buffalo sauce and buy yourself a bottle of Tabasco Chipotle flavor and some light sour cream. Much better for you than the chemicals. And as much as I hate to say it, I will be ordering Domino's again before this steak pizza promotion is over because now I have a morbid curiosity.
The Merritt Parkway
Editor's Note: Every now and then I will have a guest reviewer take over who will review something important to him or her. Today's guest review is written by Constantino Tobio Jr. The views of Constantino Tobio Jr. in no way reflect the views of Jim, Jimmyvalentino.com, or Jimmyvalentino.com's parent corporation, Halliburton. Any similarity or reference to person's or parkways living or dead is completely coincidental. Now... on with the review:
Name: Merritt Parkway
Type: Limited Access Parkway
Location: Greenwich, CT to Shelton, CT (37.5 miles)
Price: Free
Rating: 40 (during rush hours, peak direction) 85 (all other times)
Who is this for?: People who need to get from one location to another from Shelton, Trumbull, Fairfield, Wilton, Norwalk, New Canaan, Stamford, or Greenwich
The Merritt Parkway. Anyone who drives this every day as a commuter will have a hard time appreciating this scenic route for what it is. Lost in the frustration of crawling along at 10 mph is the ornate overpasses- despite the fact that each overpass has its own unique architecture, they were all designed by the same architect. There's a certain serenety of this highway that, oddly enough, can only be appreciated at speeds in excess of 60mph. The road itself is a bit of a throwback- there have been marginal improvements in widening since it was completed in the late 30s, but the frequent twists, the poor acceleration/deceleration lanes for exits (driving a manual transmission car helps a bunch), give this road a certain dangerous charm.
The other charm of this road is the landscaping- one really gets the sense driving this road that there's nothing else but you, the road, and the other cars- and late enough at night, it feels like it's just you driving in outer space. The use of trees effectively hides you from the towns that straddle the road (and vice versa. The roadway itself is on a 300' right-of-way, of which only 150' is built up on the north half, the south half is another 150' of woods, berms, etc.). The real treat is in the fall, when all the foliage of this parkway turns brilliant red and orange.
Highlights: Exit 48 (CT111) Main St in Trumbull- site of the first and only
SPUI interchange in all of New England. James Farm Road bridge. Lake Avenue bridge. The new Sikorsky Bridge over the Housatonic river at the end of the highway (becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway east of here.)
Lowlights: Traffic westbound from 7:00am-8:30am, traffic eastbound from 4:30pm-7:00pm. Stop signs on parkway entrances.
The Bottom Line: Learn to appreciate this road when you're not pissed about how bad the traffic is.
Editor's Note: Hey! Only I get to write "The Bottom Line"!
Beamer's Cafe
Name: Beamer’s Café
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: American
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $300
Rating: 90
Who is this for?: The single guy who wants to sit back, relax, and grab a nice piece of fish.
I’ve been going to Beamer’s Café since long before I moved to Stamford and I must tell you, it keeps getting better each time I visit. From the moment you walk in, you can tell you’re in a quality establishment. The décor is simple, but elegant. The pool table is always available and for some reason, you feel very safe with their friendly security staff. The entertainment changes nightly and is always very anxious to keep everyone happy. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but it’s worth the trip.
The bottom line: Sure it’s a bit pricey, but the quality of the staff, good food and fine drinks will keep you coming back for more. If you want to go out for a night on the town with some buddies and watch a ballgame, this is the place to go. They even have a private room in the back for parties!
Tigin's
Name: Tigin’s
Type: Restaurant/Bar
Cuisine: Irish
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $15
Rating: 38
Who is this for?: The person looking not for food, but an Irish Car Bomb.
So many times I have been to this bar only a couple of blocks from my old apartment. …so many times I have wanted to go somewhere else once getting there. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of Tigin’s or even it’s larger corporate parent Fado. I don’t find Irish food generally interesting or appealing. It’s generally too bland or fried or both for my taste. However, if you are looking for a place to drink English/Irish beers, get loud and rowdy without watching any sport but football (soccer), then this bar is for you. In general, the quarters are too cramped which makes lines for the bar difficult and food service even more difficult.
Highlights: Guinness, Harp, and Boddingtons are on tap. Red Bull is also in abundance. If you insist on getting bar food, go for the fried potatoes or the fish and chips. They also have limited outdoor seating if you can get there early enough.
Lowlights: Space, bartenders, prices for drinks, the bathrooms, pretty much everything else.
The bottom line: This is your classic Irish beer drinkin’ bar. Treat it as such.
Bennett's
Name: Bennett’s
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $42
Rating: 82
Who is this for?: For the southern CT resident who doesn’t want to travel to get old world steakhouse charm and oh yeah, good steak.
Finally… the restaurant that I had been putting off for years. I’ve always been interested in Bennett’s since I lived about a block and a half away some three years ago. What stopped me from going? Well, I’d like to give you a simple answer and just say, “well Morton’s moved into Stamford, so why would I go anywhere else?” But that’s simply not the truth. I think in retrospect, I was just afraid that I would have a substandard experience and always chose the safer bet with the king of Chicago steakhouses.
Well, I must tell you that there was a little bit of hop in my step when I finally had the reason to commit to the dining experience that was Bennett’s. A bachelor party had come up and one of the organizing parties wrote over e-mail, “We should go to Bennett’s if we want steak. I’ve heard nothing but bad things about Morton’s.”
Excuse me? Did I just read that? Bad things about Morton’s? I couldn’t believe it. After reassuring the writer of that comment that Morton’s was indeed a wonderful place to get a steak dinner, I started thinking about the context of this remark. Could Bennett’s really be a superior steakhouse to the Mighty Mort? I just had to find out. I’ll break this dinner down item by item:
Martini: A solid 7 out of 10. Not too much vermouth, decent size, but nothing to write home about. (unless you’re reading this blog Mom, in which case, go elsewhere for the martini).
Seafood appetizer: I’ll be honest, we arrived a solid hour late for the dinner due to hurricane Ophelia remnants, so we missed most of the appetizer. I had some decent lump crab meat that probably would have been a lot better if it was chilled properly when they ordered it 45 minutes prior.
Salad: Decent Caesar salad, properly dressed, with the right amount of pepper and croutons. Like the martini, a solid 7 out of 10, but nothing to write home about. (Mom, you don’t even like Caesar salads, so stop reading)
Steak: The specialty of the house at Bennett’s is the Porterhouse, so of course, I ordered that (rare). And I must admit, it was one of the most properly cooked steaks temperature wise I have ever had. The pinkness was consistent the entire way through and there was only the slightest bit of proper char on the outside. I also tried Raffi’s filet mignon and I must say that both steaks were quite tasty. This restaurant knows what they’re there for and it’s the steak.
Dessert: Okay, this is probably the first post where I will have to admit to you that I am not much of a dessert person. I tend to go for the savory much more than the sweet. There are rare exceptions, but you probably won’t read about desserts often from me. So, I went with my only standard steakhouse dessert of choice… Cognac. Remy Martin V.S.O.P. to be exact. Very good and a decent pour.
Service, décor, and intangibles: We sat in the upstairs private room, so I didn’t get to see a ton of the restaurant, but it was very old school. Very refreshing these days with trendy steakhouses popping up all over the place. The service was okay, but unremarkable.
The bottom line: I should have been to Bennett’s before now. I definitely want to visit again and bring Rachel. While not the greatest steakhouse in the world, or even in Stamford for that matter (sorry, Morton’s still holds the crown in my opinion), Bennett’s had a ton to offer for every steak eater.
J&D's
Name: J&D's
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Greek Pizza and Sandwiches
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $8
Rating: 60
Who is this for?: For the person who wants a good, fast breakfast "Duchess Style" but doesn't live near a Duchess.
When I moved into my most recent apartment, I was dismayed by the fact that there weren't many places around to eat. Sure there was a diner or two, but if I wanted a good breakfast, I generally was going to have to travel. That is however, except for J&Ds. J&Ds is decent Greek/deli/breakfast/pizza food served up fast. They deliver and make a suitable replacement for Duchess breakfast (
note: before I get 12 million comments saying, "how dare I say that about Duchess", please understand that their breakfast sandwiches are remarkably similar).
What to order: Sausage, Egg, and Cheese; Bacon, Egg, and cheese, anything with egg and cheese. They have good egg platters and a solid French Toast. They also make a killer italian roast beef sandwich and a decent cheesesteak. As for the pizza... let's just say that I don't dig greek pizza that much. Maybe it's because it's split into squares, maybe it's the crust, I don't know... It's just not how I was brought up to view pizza.
The bottom line: There's nothing too remarkable about J&Ds, but it gets the job done for breakfast lunch and dinner. Coffee's not too bad either. Everybody needs their own neighborhood restaurant where they can get food fast, good, and greasy. For me, that's J&Ds.
Quiznos
Name: Quiznos
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Fast food Sandwiches
Location: Norwalk, CT
Price: $8
Rating: 62
Who is this for?: For the person who likes a good, hot sandwich and is sick of Subway's quality.
Web LinkWe love de subs! Man, I love and miss those commercials. Quiznos has always had a knack for creating a truly disturbing and sometimes disgusting commercial. However, they can get away with it because their food is just so damn good.
I first had Quiznos in Whistler Village a few years ago. It was a treat and an eye opener. I soon became infatuated with the concept of a hot toasted fast food sub. Every time I went out west, I tried to make a stop at a Quiznos and every time I did, my love for this chain has grown. When a restaurant opened by my parent's house, I was overjoyed. When a restaurant opened down the street from my office, well, let's just say I didn't eat many other places for lunch.
Now that the new cafeteria has opened in my office, I don't get to Quiznos more than twice a month, but I still enjoy it just as much. It's still the same treat that it was when I first started going. Even more scarily, I still revel in the chance to recommend Quiznos to other friends who have not yet experienced this marvel. Sadly, I find that about half of my friends do not enjoy Quiznos while the other half are as crazy about it as I am. I guess they're just loyal to other sub chains. I don't know.
What to order: The specialty sandwiches that Quiznos corporate comes up with each month are always worth a try. Standards on the menu include the Mesquite Chicken with bacon, the Steakhouse Beef Dip, and the Cheesesteak. If you are looking for healthier fare, go with the Raspberry Chipotle Turkey sandwich. Quiznos also offers a good array of standard and cheaper subs that you would find at any other chain.
Bottom Line: Quality meats, cheeses, and veggies, fresh toasted, good bread selection, creative sandwiches, good snack selection, and yes... THEY HAVE A PEPPER BAR!!! What's not to like? Well, sometimes the employees aren't exactly "sandwich artists" and they do rely on sauces to a large degree which can make a sandwich very messy. Also, they replaced their awesome clam chowder with a substandard chicken and corn soup. Very disappointing. Overall though, I feel that Quiznos has replaced Taco Bell as my fast food of choice these days. It also makes me feel like I've made a healthier choice sometimes. ...sometimes.
Taco Bell
Name: Taco Bell
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Fast food Mexican
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $6
Rating: 55
Who is this for?: For the person who is addicted to crunchy, cheesy goodness in the chemical laden format that only Taco Bell could provide.
Web LinkBefore I ate dinner last night, Rachel asked me what it was going to be like to blog about Taco Bell. I had to think about it for a minute. There's so much history there. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
In 1990, my neighbor Laura introduced me to Taco Bell. She had recently returned from living in Colorado where Taco Bell was in abundance. In the New York/New Jersey area, it was practically unheard of at the time. There was one Taco Bell that had recently opened up in the area and it was 15 minutes away at the Nanuet Mall. That one fateful day, Laura introduced me to what would become a staple of my diet in the high school years and beyond... the soft taco.
I have many fond memories of those years including:The new Taco Bell opening 6 minutes from my house
The two times I contracted Taco Bell poisoning
Smoking my first cigarette while eating Taco Bell
Being introduced to the crunchy taco, the Chilito, the Zesty Steak Melt (they come in pints?!?!)
Raffi stealing
Demolition Man displays
Raffi making friends with the assistant manager
As time has gone by, I have moved from casual Taco Bell eater to Taco Bell Connoisseur. Taco Bell ordering has become serious business. I'm not alone in this thinking. In fact, ordering is so serious that my friend Tom will actually become physically upset if he does not order correctly and will spend the rest of the day sulking about it. Now that's dedication to the Bell! Last night, the pressure was on as my friend from England was over and had only had Taco Bell twice. He put the ordering in my hands in hopes that I would "order correctly".
What do I mean about "ordering correctly"? Well, basically you are looking at proper variety and ordering just enough food to straddle that bloated/still hungry line. For example, let's take last night's order. Not my best by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly more than passable:
My Order:Chicken Cheezy Gordita Crunch
Crunchy Taco w/Fire sauce
Beef Meximelt w/o Pico sauce
Carne Asada Steak Taco
Cheezy Fiesta Potatoes
With this order, I have successfully combined all the meat elements of chicken, steak, and beef. I have also ordered some cheese and sour cream, but not too much. There are three different sauces represented in this order. Now, the real key to this order comes with knowing the finer details. For example, Rachel purchased this meal and brought it home. Therefore, I knew that it would be a while before I ate it. Usually in that time frame, the crunchy taco will become soggy, but you have to take that chance. Unfortunately it was soggy, but the fiesta potatoes were my backup. See the method to my madness? I have a backup plan. YOU NEED A BACKUP PLAN FOR TACO BELL!
Now, I know a lot of you are sitting there thinking, "What's wrong with this guy? It's just Taco Bell." You couldn't be any more hopelessly wrong. Taco Bell is more an experience than it is a fast food restaurant. You don't go into McDonald's thinking, "hey, maybe if I combine six McNuggets, a double cheeseburger, and mozzarella sticks I'll be full but not too full and have good variety". No! You order a super-size #2 and hope you get the right change back. Only at Taco Bell do you put this much effort into an order because you can't afford to mess it up.
What to order: Almost everything is good, but not tremendous. There are a couple of transcendent items on the menu, but they mostly come and go. Most of my favorites over the years (Zesty Steak Melt, Texas Taco Sandwich, Chilito, and Bacon Cheeseburger burrito) have long since died and gone to Taco Heaven (at least that's where Quinn told me they went). You're pretty much safe with anything on the menu, just stay away from the border bowls. They shouldn't exist.
Bottom Line: I'll admit even with the proper order, last night's dinner was very sub par. I blame the Taco Bell in Stamford and it's declining quality. This place used to be a teaching Taco Bell and now it is one of the worst around. Go to the one in Old Greenwich if you can. They have steadily gotten better over the years. I'm giving Taco Bell a 55 overall because despite all the history, it's still fast food. However, it doesn't get lower than that because it has that history and I know I could walk across the street and get an order that was twice the meal last night's was. I hope the British readers understand that last night was an aberration.
Chopstick King
Name: Chopstick King
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $10
Rating: 68
Who is this for?: For regular old chinese take out.
(203) 348-9999
This is my cheap chinese food place of choice in Stamford. Chinese food is very much like pizza where people have their personal preferences about what specific type of Chinese they like. But unlike pizza, you can get decent Chinese away from New York. (in fact, the best Chinese I ever had was an hour outside of Montreal if you can believe it) I like my Chinese food with lots of MSG which you can't get anymore. In lieu of that, I go for salt. I hate bland Chinese food. I think that's what makes P.F. Chang's so remarkable. They don't need to over do it on the salt to make things delicious. Well, that and nothing is overly fried. Anyway, back to Chopstick King...
What to order: Egg drop soup and Egg Drop/Wonton mix are both great when they put in the extra scallions. Steamed dumplings and BBQ spare ribs (hit or miss) are usually good options. The shrimp toast, as with most chinese places, is a bit greasy. Good entrees include chicken or beef with broccoli, General Tso's chicken or shrimp, or sesame chicken.
Bottom line: They really don't have a signature dish or anything special on the menu, but if you're looking for decent Chinese take out in Stamford that delivers very quickly, this is a good bet. I very rarely have a bad experience.
Sideways
Title: Sideways
Type: Movie
Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, Virgina Madsen, Sandra Oh
Released: 2004
Rating: 59
Who is this for?: A winerd in their 40s or 50s who is too old to get
SwingersIMDB PageI think in general, you should always avoid a movie marketed as a "comical romp through wine country". I had heard a lot of good things about this movie from some people (and the Academy) as well as a lot of
bad things about this movie. I can tell you right now that both opinions are way overstated. This was neither an Oscar winning movie nor a horrible thing to watch. I think I described it to Rachel as "eh".
Here's the problem: you don't feel sympathy for any of the characters. Same problem as with
The Terminal. At any point in the movie, these people could do something better with their life; they could make a change for the better. The problem is, they choose not to.
The movie had a bunch of "chuckle" moments, but I never really found myself laughing out loud. Also, the wine references are so over most people's heads that I learned one thing from watching this movie: I am not blogging about wine. Even if I could do it correctly, I will bore people to death (as if I'm not doing that already).
Once again, the movie was way too long for the subject matter and for some inexplicable reason, everything works out in the end? (yes, that question mark was there on purpose)
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a date movie and don't want to stab yourself in the eyes after watching another standard "chick flick" then this movie is for you. However, I would strongly suggest watching
Raiders of the Lost Ark afterward to cleanse the palette.
Plateau
Name: Plateau
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Thai/Chinese fusion
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $19
Rating: 74
Who is this for?: For a person who wants pad thai but misses the fact that there's no longer a Trader Vic's in New York City.
Web LinkQuick note on prices/ratings: Price is the average price of an entree I would eat. This does not include drinks because all drinks are different prices and it does not include appetizers because different people are different levels of hungry on different days. I figure this gives you a decent starting point because you should know how much an appetizer costs and what you like to drink. From there, you can do the math.
As for the ratings, they are relative to other items in the same category. For example, Plateau can be rated against Kotobuki, but you cannot rate Plateau against the new Fear Factory CD. Make sense? Good. Now, onto the review:
My parents came to visit on Saturday, so I took them out to Plateau for lunch. Rachel and I have eaten Plateau food several times, but usually it's take out. After yesterday, I think we may stick to the take out/delivery version.
What to order: They have all sorts of Satay that are wonderful without being overly spicy (chicken, beef, shrimp, scallop, etc...). Pineapple fried rice, Shrimp Pad Thai, chicken lettuce wraps, and the fried calamari remain favorite appetizers. The fried calamari would actually be very P.F. Chang's like if it had a better dipping sauce and some salt and pepper.
Main course recommendations include the steak cubes (in an semi-oyster sauce and the closest I've seen to Trader Vic's Cho Cho beef. Man, I miss Trader Vic's), curry chicken, mango chicken, and anything involving tiger shrimp. Portions are large enough to eat family style.
Everything is very basic with no bread, condiments, or even salt and pepper to be found. The service yesterday was horrible. We had to ask five times for some hot sauce (I was expecting a bottle of Frank's Red Hot by the end) and the waiter took away my drink before I finished it (I HATE when they do that). Other than that, nice atmosphere and you can dine outside. However, I would suggest you stick to delivery. It may take a while, but it is generally well worth it in comparison.
Bottom line: It's the closest you can get to P.F. Chang's style China Bistro food in Stamford (and it's still pretty far away from that). It involves elements of Thai, Chinese, and Indian cooking in a very interesting and tasty way. I eat here about once every other month, especially when I have someone in from out of town. Definitely worth the try if you have never been and definitely worth the return trip if you have been.
Kotobuki
Name: Kotobuki
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: Stamford, CT
Price: $25
Rating: 85
Who is this for?: For the person who needs the best sushi available in Connecticut.
Web LinkI'm surprised it took me this many days to review Kotobuki. I guess I haven't been eating that much sushi lately. That's a shame, but I digress.
Most of the time, we have Kotobuki delivered and they always do a great job of seperating the hot food from the raw food. Sometimes we eat at the restaurant, but there's not much difference. The only reasons to go there are if you want a night out or you really want a 22oz. Sapporo. The decor is nothing special and deals in simplicity. If you've been in a sushi bar before that has a few tables, you know what this place looks like.
What to order: The Gyoza soup (w/ dumplings), chicken with string beans (the string bean is inside the fried chicken), and shrimp shumai are my favorite appetizers, while Rachel is big on the Edamame and Udon dishes. They have a standard teriyaki menu, but no teppanyaki cooking with flying knives (sorry, but there's better places to get that anyway).
So, onto the sushi. Specialties of the house include their white tuna, blue tuna, and the Gene San roll (named after Gene Wilder) who frequents the restaurant. The salmon, tuna, yellow tail, shrimp, tempura, eel, and spicy rolls (available both in spicy soy and spicy mayo varieties) are always fresh and delicious. And I shouldn't have to tell you that fresh is really the biggest key to sushi. All of Kotobuki's fish is frozen fresh and taken directly from South Street Seaport every morning from what I understand. (Sorry to disappoint you again, but all sushi in the U.S. is frozen these days. It's a fact of life you'll have to get over. Plus, it kills more bacteria.) The size of the nigiri and sashimi pieces are not extremely large, but the cut of the fish is almost always perfect which makes for an experience that is never chewy or stringy. About the only thing I don't like about this place is that they package the ginger and the wasabi together in saran wrap when you order take out. That makes for a messy experience.
Bottom line: This is the only place I eat sushi in Connecticut if I can help it. Sushi is very much like wine. Eat enough of it and you'll know the good stuff from the bad stuff. I've had enough these days where I can definitely say that this is the good stuff. It may not be New York quality, but very few things are.
Final Tip: Be very wary of sushi places that are nowhere near an ocean. You can get away with it in places like Las Vegas where sushi is flown in fresh every day, but I wouldn't buy a tekka maki roll in Vermont. To many questions there.
The Terminal
Title: The Terminal
Type: Movie
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones-Douglass, the chief of staff from "24"
Released: 2004
Rating: 24
Who is this for?: For someone who worships the ground Spielberg walks on but doesn't realize that he hasn't made a good movie in 20 years.
IMDB PageOh God why?! Why did Rachel make me watch this travesty?!
Oh, hello. Welcome to the first edition of movies randomly thrown on Jim's ReplayTV. Okay, here's the problem. Steven Spielberg has spent all of the last 20 years making socially reflective movies; socially redeeming movies. He fails terribly here and hasn't been good at this since E.T.
I'm going to ruin the movie for you here so if you actually want to watch this piece of crap, please stop reading now.
Plot: A man from an imaginary former soviet bloc country spends the greater part of a year in the international lounge of JFK to get an autograph for his dead father from an old jazz musician because he's too stupid to leave.Read that last paragraph again. Ready to run to the video store yet? Oh, and let's not forget to mention that it was so formulaic that Rachel and I spent the second half of the movie successfully calling "unexpected" plot twists.
Seriously, what the hell is wrong with Hollywood these days? Apparently there are only four choices for movies these days. Comic Book adaptations, Movie versions of moderately successful TV shows, sequels, and "artsy" films that are so ridiculous that they have the plot outline above. Sometimes you can put the first three all together like
Batman Begins and have a great movie. However, those elements by themselves are what we used to call "straight to video". I don't want to sound like a movie snob here, but does anyone make
original movies anymore besides Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez? Anyone?
Bottom line: If you haven't guessed already, please don't watch this movie. It will be 2 hours and 15 minutes of your life wasted. However, it isn't in my top worst movies of all time, so at least it has that going for it... which is nice.
Black Bear Saloon
Name: Black Bear Saloon
Type: Restaurant/Bar
Location: South Norwalk, CT
Price: $10
Rating: 54
Who is this for?:Web LinkWent out Thursday night to the Black Bear Saloon in South Norwalk (or as the people who live in Connecticut but want to pretend that they're trendy New Yorkers like to refer to as "SoNo"). Black Bear Saloon always seemed like an interesting place (in that sports bar kind of way) as I drove by it on the way home from Softball. However, it already had a strike against it when I found out it was owned by the same people who own
The Thirsty Turtle and
Hula Hanks. (Not that I have anything against Hula Hanks per se, but the Turtle... well, let's just say that's a story for another day)
Anyway, seeing as though this was a farewell party for a coworker and the possibility of free drinks existed, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to blog my first restaurant
* for you.
* -
Disclaimer: "Restaurant" in these blogs may refer to a place Jim got drunk at and ate some nachos. Most of the time it won't. But hey, It's a heck of a lot more interesting when it does and I can remember what happened, so just try and enjoy the ride.
Moving on... the first thing you notice is that this place is your standard sports bar, except slightly more classy. Not quite as classy as those new FoxSports restaurants, but much more classy than an ESPNZone. Nice wood paneling adorns the walls and brand new flat panel TVs are everywhere. They managed to play the Yankess/Devil Rays game on YES, the Red Sox/Angels game on NESN, and the Patriots/Raiders all on huge screens while playing other assorted games on smaller screens.
On tap... your standard array of beers and microbrews. I went with the Harpoon I.P.A. (Mmmm... Harpoon). And yes, it was free because of the party. They run the same happy hour deals as their Thirsty Turtle brethren.
At the plate... well, this was a free cocktail hour so we only had chicken fingers, buffalo wings, and nachos. Everything was pretty middle of the road bar food. Nothing special to report here. Having guacamole on the side of the nachos without asking was nice (I love my guac, however this guac was nothing special either), but that was about it.
So overall, great decor, great place to watch sports, and they also had a fast, friendly staff. Definitely a place I would visit for the occasional beer and wing night, but this isn't really a nice enough place to bring a date. Good attempt at a sports bar in a place that really needs more of them. I give it a 50 overall because it takes the sports bar theme up a notch.
Transgression
Title: Transgression
Artist: Fear Factory
Type: CD
Rating: 68
Cost: $14.99
Who is this for?: For anyone who needs agressive metal to drive to work with and enjoys a good U2 cover better than actually listening to U2.
Amazon LinkI first heard Fear Factory back in 1995 when they released "Demanufacture" (ahhh, 89.5 WSOU). They haven't changed too much over the years. Incredibly heavy riffs, impossible, machine like drumming, and melodic synth overtones creating harmony from chaos. "Transgression" is no different. Sure, the bassist is now the guitarist. Sure, Burton C. Bell may be losing his larynx in a way only Henry Rollins could understand. But you know what? You really can't tell. The skinny:
Highlights: Covers of U2's "I Will Follow" and Killing Joke's "Millennium" (awesome, another album I don't have to buy because a cover of a song I like is better than the original).
Lowlights: The production quality and some of the song writing. Yes, it's classic Fear Factory. However, it feels rushed. This album was released only a year after the last one ("Archetype") and you can tell. It's almost like they threw in the covers because they needed to get this album out on a deadline. The drum production quality is mediocre at best (and those of you who know me know how I like a drum kit to sound).
Overall: Generally speaking though, this is another solid Fear Factory album, but not really one of their bests. If you want Fear Factory at it's best, I would suggest "Demanufacture" or "Obsolete".
Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
Title: Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
Author: Alton Brown
Type: Book
Rating: 82
Cost: $18.15
Who is this for?: For anyone who spends a lot of time in the Kitchen or likes to have the right gadget/tool for the job.
Amazon LinkOkay, so I forgot that I'm going to review books and video games as well. In fact, I'm going to be doing a lot of random things, so just bear with me.
Anyway, I just finished this book today after a prolonged read. It is an informative tome for anyone who cooks a lot or just likes to know gadgets and the science behind them. It has sections on sanitation, first aid, and getting rid of kitchen clutter as well. (I found the first aid section particularly interesting after my run in with that vicious poodle) And oh yeah, there's some recipes in there as well, but not many.
Although this book was a fairly quick read, I did put it down for two other books and an atlas (don't ask). I guess I can only take so much reading about kitchen tools at once. However, I will constantly be looking at this book in the future for reference. In fact, I have actually used it several times to influence purchasing decisions on kitchen items. The most notable? My new burr coffee grinder. I don't know how I used to make coffee without it. Bottom line, this book makes you think about your kitchen and your tools differently and you will be consulting it before you go to the store.
Need a new coffee maker? This book is for you. Need to know the difference between a spatula and a turner? This book is for you. Want to know how thermos technology works? You get the idea...
Overall, I would strongly suggest this book for even the casual cook and I look forward to reading the other two Alton Brown books that I have. Stay tuned for reviews on those as well.
A New Beginning...
Hello and welcome to the all new and improved
Jimmyvalentino.com.
I know what you're thinking. New and improved? What's so new and improved? Are you actually going to update it this time? What will you talk about? What won't you talk about?
Excellent questions, all of them. Let's take them one at a time:
1. What's new and improved?After getting bored with every single one of my attempts at a website (Interests,
pqskiteam.com, "blogging" links/Fark, and finally just blogging for the sake of blogging) I have decided to take on a much different style. Each one of those attempts was made not only for my sake, but also to entertain the reader as much as possible. I will still try to entertain the reader, but I will mainly be keeping this "blog" (for lack of a better word) as a historical repository of what I've done. Something that I can look back on years from now and say, "Hey, I remember doing that or going there, etc...". Now that I've turned 30 years old, I feel that this gives me a unique starting point to log my experiences.
2. Are you actually going to update it this time?Most people make New Year's resolutions. I don't. Why? Well, usually because I'm really hung over the next day and I'm so uncomfortable that I end up blowing them in two seconds. You want to resolve to eat healthier? Well, nothing fixes a hang over better than greasy cheeseburger. That's one example, but hopefully you get the idea.
Where am I going with this? I don't see anything special about New Year's Day. People can make resolutions at any time and mine usually come on Labor Day for some reason. Maybe it's that I'm happy the summer will be over (I'm more of a winter person), maybe it's something else. Who cares? The point is, my resolution is to keep this blog updated because I want it to be a complete record of some of the things I've done. Only time will tell if I will stick to this resolution, but I'm hoping I will in this case.
3. What will you talk about?I've decided to start with the things that I enjoy doing the most and talk about them. Not just talk about them, but actually rate them as well. This way, I can look back at this blog and find a great Thai restaurant or a decent hotel in Chicago. So for starters:
A.
Restaurants - If you know me at all, you know this is one of my greatest pleasures.
B.
Hotels - I don't travel a ton, but it's often enough where this could come in handy.
C.
Music - I'll be honest, 90% of you out there are going to hate the music I listen to. That's
fine, you don't have to read these entries.
D.
Movies - Unlike the music, I generally have good taste in movies and have a general love for really, really bad movies. (See: "Served, You Got")
4. What won't you talk about?The obvious applies and some other stuff that won't get me into trouble:
A. Religion
B. Sex
C. Politics - No, really. I won't do it.
D. Work or my industry
E. Anything else that will be offensive to people that I care about. That list is TBA.
I'll work on a standard disclaimer later, but this is good for starters. Hope you enjoy the show.
