Arbitrary, Incidental, and Accidental Musings...

Q is a small and cheap BBQ joint located in a largely ethnic section of Port Chester. The first thing that will strike you about Q is how crowded it is. While some of that might have to do with decent food, I think the largest motivational factor is price. You certainly don't go to Q for the atmosphere, I'll tell you that. Sparse tables adorned with paper coverings tell your senses that good BBQ is on the way. Of course, so does the open kitchen just dripping with charcoal and sauce.

What to order: The menu is a little limited with only one type of rib (St. Louis style). Okay, let's stop here for a moment. One type of rib?! Come on! Now, don't get me wrong... these were good St. Louis style ribs. However, you need a little variety in the BBQ arena. Having a ton of choices to make your own BBQ sampler is the whole point of going to BBQ joints!

Okay, I'm done with that particular rant (more to come in the bar section). Q actually did end up having a sampler plate, but it was very limited in the amount of choices. I started with the Texas No-Bean Chili (the way it should be) which was very much like the chili at Blue Moon Mexican Cafe. However, there were two small differences. It wasn't even remotely spicy (bad thing), but it was smothered with cheese (good thing). It was served in a small casserole dish and there was a huge amount of chili. It wasn't really appetizer size in retrospect even though it was appetizer price ($7).

For our entrees, Rachel and I ended up splitting a bunch of items with the rest of her family. That gave us a pretty good basis for a lot of Q's food. Our Q Sampler Platter included the aforementioned St. Louis style ribs, a brisket that was not at all gamey (which is really the true hallmark of good brisket), BBQ chicken, and pulled pork. The real standout among the sampler options was the pulled pork. It was perfectly tender and wasn't too greasy. The two sides we ordered were the Cheesy Corn (too soupy, but it had a slight kick to it) and the Mac & Cheese (shells with a tasteless cheese sauce topped with small amounts of bread crumbs). Q gets a C+ on the sides and a B on the sampler.

The bad: Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad here. First of all, the place has a terrible set up. It is small and cramped. This makes movement nearly impossible when the place is packed. In addition, Q was hands down the worst place I have ever tried to get a beer at. Unfortunately, I ended up ordering from a rookie bartender (read: first day on the job) who didn't understand simple things like the computer system, making change, or even something like pouring a beer without an enormous amount of head. Seriously, she wasted about five beers to pour each one. Even after the experienced bartender showed her what she was doing wrong, it didn't help. Very frustrating. However... Q has Yuengling on tap (one of my favorites) and more importantly, Brooklyn Pennant '55 Ale. Now, I love Brooklyn Lager and Brooklyn Ale. Seeing something named for the famous baseball team certainly piqued my interested. Unfortunately, the beer was very unmemorable. Sorry for the small build up on that one folks. I still think the name is cool.

The bottom line: Surprisingly, the wait staff was fast and courteous. I suppose this shouldn't surprise me because they must have to deal with enormous turnover, much like they do at a place like the Cheesecake Factory. The food was also quite cheap (even for BBQ) and you can even bring some Q merchandise home for the kids (I wouldn't... looked cheap... that and I don't have kids). The bottom line is if you are a BBQ fan, happen to be in Port Chester, and need lunch, this might be your place. Otherwise, I would look elsewhere for good BBQ.

Wendy's was started by the late and loveable Dave Thomas. A former Kentucky Colonel (yes, that's a real title in the fast food world... look it up... no seriously, I'll wait), Dave decided to leave KFC and try to strike out on his own. He formed the good ole fashioned hamburger chain and named it after his daughter.

What to order: Okay, the burgers aren't really cheap just like the chicken isn't really spicy. Actually, the burgers are some of the most expensive in the industry. That is, of course, unless you order the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger from the value menu. That's how Wendy's sucked me in. Back in high school, when I had no money, I could pull into a Wendy's, order a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, five nuggets, a Biggie fry, a Caesar side salad, and a drink for less than five bucks. It was the make your own variety combo meal! You couldn't beat it for the price.

While the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger is a cheap deal, the regular burgers are where it's at. They are cooked fresh to order and taste more like a burger than at most fast food places. Now please, take that last sentence with a grain of salt. We've all been to Wendy's here and you know that the burgers really don't taste like real burgers. My point is, they taste closer to real burgers than McDonald's or Burger King. Maybe that's not saying much (I mean the burgers are square after all), but it's still true. The best part about Wendy's burgers is that they try to differentiate themselves from the other burger chains by offering different specialty burgers every month and options that have tons of meat (no, not like Hardee's, but close). If you're really hungry, get a Wendy's Classic Triple value meal. You will not be hungry for the rest of the day.

What also separates Wendy's from the other burger boys is the little touches. For example, their produce always tastes fresh. They add mustard as well as ketchup to some of their burgers; mayo as well as ketchup to others. You can get a side salad, baked potato, chili, or even mandarin oranges for the kids. In line with the move toward more health conscious food, they have even started a line of Frescata sandwiches. These are basically paninis that don't look grilled. I'll admit, I was too afraid to try one. Why? Because the ad looked too good to be true. I just looked at it and knew I would be disappointed so I stayed away. Maybe someday. I hear the commercials for those sandwiches are good.

On this particular drive through day, I picked myself up some chicken nuggets with a biggie fry. Two bucks. You can't go wrong there. Also, Wendy's nuggets happen to be my favorite because they did the whole "white meat" thing before it was popular (actually, it's kind of gross to think about it when you realize how long it took some places to get over the whole pressed, processed, "whatever" parts of the chicken... You know what? I'll stop now). I love the Biggie fries too. They may be my favorite fast food fries short of In-N-Out Burger.

The bottom line: I find I never walk away from Wendy's disappointed. Sure, it's still fast food, but it's better than most of the fast food places out there.

Sorry folks, but I don't have any horror flight stories this time. Of course, that's a good thing. I've been flying Continental for quite some time. This was even before they set up camp at Newark International Airport. Originally hailing from New Jersey, I've been around to watch their renovation of Terminal C and the great work they did in modernizing the airport. Things like the AirTrain, extra parking decks, and yeah, even a little place called Gallagher's steak house would not have been possible at Newark Airport without Continental's deep pockets and constant commitment to their hub in the New York area.

Continental flies one of the newest fleets around and sports some of the cheapest fares out there. With plenty of destinations and polite, courteous crew members, there are very few flights that I have had with Continental that have not been enjoyable. Their recent collaboration with Northwest Airlines (NWA... who the hell thought that acronym up or even worse, painted it in huge letters on the side of their planes?) and Delta, opens up one of the largest networks in the country. This easily allows me to use any of these airlines' nicely appointed business lounges. Hey, free drinks! You can't beat that.

The bad: The Continental OnePass program, which used to be one of the best programs around, is now just as bad as every other frequent flyer program out there. That is to say, you need eight million miles for an upgrade and they're only available on Sundays in March where a full moon might present itself (I don't care what Capital One says, good luck getting upgrades on any airline these days if you don't fly at least 10 times a year). There was a time I could get an upgrade on Continental for 10,000 miles each way. Now, you have to find the right fare (hint: Vegas is NEVER available for upgrade), wait for them to open up a seat for upgrade (this takes multiple calls on your part), and then you spend upwards of 20,000 miles each way. These days it makes sense just to buy the upgraded ticket outright with your miles (which could be up to 90,000 miles). Let's just say my American Express Membership Rewards points will now be used elsewhere thank you very much.

The bottom line: Continental appears to be one of the few airlines that spends their money wisely. They spend it on their people, their planes, and their terminals. They don't waste money on huge flat panels TVs or flashy in-flight magazines or stupid things. They do have some of those things, but they give you just enough to be comfortable and enjoy your flight. In a lot of ways, I miss flying out of Newark (LaGuardia is really my airport of choice now just because it is much closer) because Continental Airlines just plain worked. However, there's also something to be said about a cross country flight on JetBlue.

Plaza St. Bernard is actually two hotel/condo properties spanning several buildings in the pedestrian village of Tremblant (Le Johannsen and Des Lauriers). Within walking distance of the Telecabine gondola, St. Bernard is really located more in the village than at the base of the mountain. This makes the property centrally located to all Mont Tremblant has to offer in the way of restaurants, clubs, and shopping.

Plaza St. Bernard lines the upstairs of the main Tremblant thoroughfare ensuring that there is always something to watch. Most rooms come with a balcony and well appointed bathrooms. Fireplaces are standard as are full kitchens. While the ski lockers aren't quite as convenient at other hotels, the price definitely makes up for that. Add in some internet access and great maid service and you have something here.

The bottom line: Realistically, the only differences between Plaza St. Bernard and Le Sommet des Neiges are the age and the price. The location of St. Bernard is actually better if you don't mind the extra 2 minute walk to the gondola, so it's generally worth it if you're bringing a lot of people. If you book far enough ahead, you could end up with a enormous room like we did last year. It was two bedrooms with a huge loft and two balconies. Not too shabby. Of course, if you're unlucky, you could end up with a two bedroom, one bathroom, corner lot. Not too great for five guys. Make sure you book properly. I recommend room 417. Definitely the second best option in Tremblant if you don't count the super pricey Westin and Fairmont.

Bally's is my choice for inexpensive Vegas travel. Notice I didn't write "cheap". Why? Because it's not. Bally's can best be described as "the second tier option". What do I mean? Well, you have your first tier. That includes really nice hotels like Bellagio, The Venetian, and Wynn Las Vegas (where I tripled my money, but that's another story for another time). There's nice hotels that aren't quite the top tier, but aren't quite second tier either (Caesar's, Mandalay Bay, and MGM Grand). There's nice hotels that are affordable but definitely a step behind (Bally's, Paris, and Aladdin). And then there's the stuff I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole (third tier names including Harrah's, Imperial Palace, and the most horrible of them all... Excalibur).

Now that's not to say that there aren't nicer, smaller hotels in Vegas. There are actually plenty of them. However, they are becoming an endangered species on The Strip. Bally's has been around a long time and has invested just enough money to stay viable on a Vegas Strip that is ever more catering to the more sophisticated high roller. My friends and I on a bachelor party trip certainly do not fall into that category. We just want a clean, comfortable place to sleep where we can find blackjack tables open for affordable prices until the wee hours of the morning. That's where Bally's shines.

Of course, one of the best sellers for Bally's is that it is located right in the middle of The Strip. Across from Bellagio and adjacent to Caesar's Palace and Paris Las Vegas, there are always nicer places to eat and gamble right next door. If you're the walking type, pretty much everything on The Strip is equidistant.

If you're looking for big name restaurants or shows, look elsewhere. The restaurants have boring, generic names like Bally's Steakhouse and Chang's Chinese food. The only show is "Jubilee" which is a topless Vegas review if I'm not mistaken. Bally's is your Las Vegas of the 1980's with a slightly updated charm. Maybe that's why I like it so much.

The bottom line: Bally's is a dying breed and that's a shame. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Harrah's Entertainment decided to either put a ton of money into renovating it or knocking it down for something else. If it's the latter, I will definitely be upset. While I love all the new hotels with the gourmet restaurants and posh accommodations, there's a certain charm and ease that comes with Bally's. From the airport check-in to the football lover's sportsbook, if you want affordable and right in the middle of it all, then Bally's is your place.

It just dawned on me that I've missed a couple of airlines and hotels (again). Sorry about that. I guess this blog is really more about the food and books than it is about the actual travel. Seeing as though we are now officially at the end of our weekend-long, Vegas adventure, I'll blog about a couple of things I missed before we move on to the beautiful state of North Carolina. Sound good? Well, you really don't have a choice in the matter, do you?

I've only flown America West once before. It was February of 2001 and I was taking a cheap flight from JFK to Las Vegas (surprise there, huh?). I remember at the time thinking, "Man, this is a beautiful new Airbus plane... the flight was great... good airline". In fact, they even let me change flights on the way home to avoid a snowstorm in New York without charging me a fee. I thought that was very cool. Oh, how this airline has fallen.

While not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, the airline has fallen on hard times. I don't know if it was the airline industry problems after 9/11 or what, but these planes now feel very old. It's the same Airbus 320, but it now feels dirty. Kind of like what the MGM Grand felt like before they invested a ton of money to clean it up. It just feels dirty and smoky. The seats were still comfortable, but it just didn't feel right.

Enter U.S. Airways. Sensing a possible disaster, America West was smart enough to enter into a merger with U.S. Airways. The actual merger of equipment and personnel has not yet been completed and you certainly get the sense that there are growing pains ahead. Not fun.

While the flight out to Vegas was largely uneventful (and long, did I mention long?), the flight back had an entire host of problems. Knowing my travel history by now, this should not surprise you in the slightest. What happened? Glad you asked.

My flight was supposed to leave at 4 PM on a Sunday afternoon. Feeling like death, I arrived at the airport in plenty of time to beat the non-existent crowds and lines at security. Things did not start off well when the check-in kiosks would not accept my credit card. Luckily, we found a free Skycap and we were on our way. After an uneventful trip through the security checkpoint (the man with the rubber glove was surprisingly gentle), we went to terminal A and gate 3. Now, A3 wasn't your normal gate. They've been doing a lot of construction in and around McCarran International Airport these days. A3 was no exception. Bathed in a Hefty bag, this gate sat behind a people mover (for some reason) with no sign of whether or not this flight would be the return one to Newark. Thinking this was odd, but not concerned as we had plenty of time until the flight left, we checked the board. Oh crap. The flight was moved to terminal B, gate 17 and (due to a delay) it was not leaving until 7:30! This couldn't be right. We moved ahead to the new terminal to check this out.

Once at B17, we found that this would not be the gate to go to Newark. Way to go again, big board! We then found out that our flight would (supposedly) be at gate B23 (you sunk my battleship!) on the other side of the terminal. Once again, we trekked over to the gate and found out that there was a possible weather delay, but we would likely be leaving on time.

The moral of this story? Don't trust the gate people. Not only did we wait an hour for the weather delay, but we waited yet another hour for "mechanical problems". Translation: windshield fell off. Not good times.

Once in the air, our flight was only slightly over four hours long. Four hours long with TONS of turbulence. But you know what? I didn't care. I just wanted to be home at that point. And once I settled into my bed at 3:15 AM, it was all worth it. Let's just say I'm not going to go out of my way to fly America West again.

The bottom line: With aging planes, an ongoing merger, bad check-in kiosks, and food only available for purchase, America West isn't exactly one of your premier airlines anymore. If you need the cheap flight to Vegas, this is definitely an option, but I would recommend spending a few extra dollars for comfort. Can we say Jet Blue? I think we can.

Every bachelor party needs a big steakhouse dinner. Seeing that Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse was suddenly unavailable (don't ask, long story), the best man decided that we should dine at the largest Smith & Wollensky in the country.

Located on the Vegas strip between the Aladdin and MGM Grand (across the street from the Monte Carlo), this particular Smith & Wollensky occupies its own building and could possibly be the largest steakhouse I've ever been to. I came in with an interesting conflict as I had not yet been to a Smith & Wollensky. Rachel had loved her one experience there while my parents had hated theirs. Who was right? Well, neither really. It wasn't tremendous and it wasn't terrible. I'll skip the reasons why and just go straight to breaking this down STEAKHOUSE STYLE! (oh, come on. You knew it was coming. That's why you read the blog.)

Martini: The Ketel One straight up was large and delicious. Solid martini. I don't know if it was the fact that it was a very large martini or the fact that I was already half in the bag, but this martini managed to last me all the way until dessert. You know, probably a little bit of both.

Appetizers: Okay, this was a bachelor party. Any time you get 13 guys at one table, you have to make some sacrifices. The appetizers would end up being the first casualty. We ended up ordering three Seafood Towers (which, ironically is what Rachel ended up loving so much about S&W to begin with). The towers were generous portions of jumbo lump crab meat, crab claws, lobster, mussels, and who knows what else. The crab meat wasn't as good as Morton's, but it certainly wasn't bad. The best part? The spicy cocktail sauce that was served with it. Not only did it have a ton of horseradish in there (I think this might have been Beaver cocktail sauce. It's the only sauce I know of with that much spice), but they also served extra horseradish on the side. Combine the two and it's quite simply rocket fuel. Good stuff.

Salad: No salad this time. Sorry. As mentioned, this was a bachelor party. We were being men. And as we all know, you don't win friends with salad.

Soup: This was the shining star for S&W. While Tom said that he thoroughly enjoyed his split-pea soup, that fact is irrelevant. The key soup at S&W is the lobster bisque. I have never had better in my life. I'll repeat that last sentence for dramatic effect: I have NEVER had better lobster bisque in my LIFE. Not only was this soup exceptionally creamy and tasted like lobster (believe it or not, they don't all taste like lobster), but there was a lot of lobster in it (once again, kind of rare). The lobster was minced fine, but not too fine and covered with a healthy dollop of sour cream. This allowed you to grab a piece of lobster, some cream, and the soup all at once. Most lobster bisques MAYBE have a piece or two of lobster in there and you're done. This soup allowed you to enjoy the lobster from start to finish. Add a little hint of what I believe was bacon and you have something special there. Just tremendous and a rare treat. I couldn't stop talking about it.

Steak: I only wish I could say the steak was as good as the soup, but it wasn't. However, it certainly wasn't bad. For reasons that I can't thoroughly explain after the fact, I decided to order the 14oz. filet mignon. That's right; 14oz.! That's even larger than Shula's monster 12oz. filet. Maybe I didn't want to struggle with my food in my current state. More likely, I just wanted an au poivre sauce. Whatever the case, the steak was quite good and perfectly cooked. However, it was nothing remarkable. The peppercorns were on the steak itself (not too much like Gibson's) and the au poivre sauce tasted more red wine based than cognac based. The more I think about it, I'm going to need to go again in NY or some other city and get a different cut of meat.

Sides: I... really don't remember. I think I might have had an okay hash brown or something. Oh well. Couldn't have been that good.

Dessert: We didn't have any dessert. We were in a rush to get to some more interesting "entertainment". The Remy Martin would have to wait for another day.

Service: This is a tough one to judge when you have two waitresses handling a 13 person party. It seemed attentive enough, but the tip was already factored in, so you never know how different it would be if it were only a party of two. I do remember that they seemed a little humorless, like they were just trying to get us out of there. Considering how late it was and that we were... well... us, I guess I don't blame them. I'll reserve judgment for another time.

The bad: I didn't dig the atmosphere. Too "old" for me. Even for a steakhouse. Also, the menu seemed a bit limited. I like variety in my steakhouses because it makes you want to go back and try something else. Whether it's a different appetizer or just a different cut of meat, variety always makes me want to go back to good restaurants. Makes me wonder what I've been missing.

The bottom line: Not as good as Rachel remembered and not as bad as my parents said it would be. It was somewhere in the middle, but very good nonetheless. I've decided there will be a return trip, but I'm not expecting to up this rating much if at all. Smith and Wollensky is a solid steakhouse, but it's just not in the upper echelon with the other greats. Considering how many wonderful new steakhouses seem to come out each year, they may find themselves with some catching up to do one of these days.

I'll bet you think that I must have felt like death warmed over by the time breakfast came around on Saturday. Wrong! I was still drunk! And what better way to keep that going than some corned beef hash and eggs coupled with a bloody mary. Luckily, I had a two man scouting party (they passed out early the night before) find us the Sidewalk Cafe downstairs from our hotel room. And the Sidewalk Cafe delivers.

If you've ever been to a casino that has a 24 hour restaurant that caters to families, degenerates, and chain smoking keno players alike, then you know what the Sidewalk Cafe is all about. After being seated by a rather large man whose purpose at this establishment still eludes me, we proceeded to order some very spicy bloody marys and try to figure out what would best continue to settle our stomachs. Corned beef hash and eggs with a side of sourdough bread it was.

What to order: Well, I already mentioned that. The corned beef hash was excellent. Not the best I've had, but still excellent. Why? Because it was different. Instead of having chopped up corned beef, they instead shaved small slices of smoked meat and mixed it with potato hash browns. The eggs were perfectly cooked (i.e. runny yolk, but not runny whites) and the sourdough was a nice touch. It's very rare that you can get sourdough for breakfast these days.

What really stood out was the spicy bloody mary. Now, I know this really has nothing to do with the restaurant because they have to go out to the casino floor to get bar drinks, but this was something special for a casino. And we realized exactly how special it was on Sunday when we ordered our bloody mary's not spicy. Mistake.

On Sunday, I ordered something I have never had before. It was called Joe's Frittata which was basically a drier, skillet-served omelete with potatoes and chorizo sausage baked in (now you see why I ordered it) and topped with green onions. A little dry for my taste and I was now officially so hung over that even sourdough toast wasn't going to save me. Oh well, I did this to myself.

The bottom line: Decent service, no wait, open 24 hours, and yeah, Keno. I would rate Sidewalk Cafe in the upper echelon of 24 hour casino restaurants. While it is no Cafe Lago at Caesar's, it still served up consistently good food at a decent price (for a casino that is). I would go again.

After drinking for 10 consecutive hours, we thought it might be a good idea to get something to eat. Okay, maybe I didn't think it was a good idea. I wanted to gamble. However, it did turn out to be a very good idea.

The Pink Taco is located in the Hard Rock Hotel near my favorite restaurant Nobu. Believe me, it was hard not to go to Nobu instead, but I was drunk enough where I wouldn't have enjoyed it and wouldn't have been able to write properly about it. Does that mean I won't be able to write properly about the Pink Taco? You bet it does!

Let's see, what do I remember? Well, I remember that the Pink Taco had a lot of wooden everything. Benches, tables, bar, walls, you name it. I also remember that I really wasn't the least bit offended by the crass concept of the name, because they really didn't play it up with absurd double entendres. What I really remember was that this was the perfect drunken food. It was a like a New Jersey diner at 4 AM on crack... and Mexican. Perfect choice for the perfect time.

What to order: The thing that stuck out for me was how "mushy" the food was. Whether we ordered nachos or tacos or what, it didn't seem to matter. Everything had a soft quality to it which wasn't entirely unwelcome in our current state. We ordered the chicken nachos that were mushy and served with some sort of green stuff that I think was guacamole. Not positive, because it tasted a bit like spinach dip. Maybe it was spinach dip. Who knows? Anyway, it was decent. For my main course, I ordered the Carne Asada platter which was marinated skirt steak served with a chicken and cheese enchilada. Once again, it was mushy, but good. The skirt steak was very tender and almost had a teriyaki taste to it. Washed down with a large beer and this meal saved me from going home early. It's the only way to fly if you want to last until four in the morning.

The bottom line: Would I eat here again if I came to Vegas? No. Would I stop by if at the Hard Rock and hammered to get a decent, stomach settling meal? You bet. Service was unmemorable (duh) and they let us be loud and obnoxious. What more could you ask for?

Vegas, baby! Vegas! Well, it's been eight long months since I last set foot on Nevada soil and for you blog readers out there, it's about time I did. Why? Because Vegas has the most great restaurants in the smallest area possible and I can bring them all to you. Well, as many restaurants as I can fit into a drunken weekend anyway.

We start at the Mesa Grill in Caesar's Palace. Famed TV chef Bobby Flay opened this trendy Southwest eatery a little over a year ago directly on the casino floor (opposite the Coliseum running those Celine Dion shows... ewww). This establishment mirrors his New York Mesa Grill in menu. Now, normally I don't like going to restaurants in Vegas that I can easily go to in NYC, but if that restaurant happens to be far downtown in the recesses of New York, well, it's just easier to eat there in Vegas.

I know a lot of people can't stand Bobby Flay. He just has this aura about him that rubs (no pun intended) you the wrong way. Whether it's standing on the cutting board in Iron Chef or just making a Quesadilla at a tailgate party, I see it. However, I really don't care that much. To me, it's all about the food and Mesa Grill delivers on enough levels for it to be a solid lunch option in one of my favorite Vegas hotels.

The drinks: Mesa Grill has a menu of margheritas that you won't want to miss. Served in stemless glasses, you can get anything from a classic margherita to one served with cactus pear juice (my favorite). The drinks are a bit pricey, but any good drinks at a restaurant these days are.

What to order: There are a bunch of great choices here, most of which are best suited as lunch fare instead of dinner fare. The can't miss appetizer is the Tiger Shrimp and Roasted Corn Tamale. While the shrimp could be a little larger, they are moist and succulent and are complemented perfectly by the versatility of the corn meal and the savoriness of the sauces. Other great appetizers include the Romaine Salad with Spicy Caesar Dressing and Hominy Croutons, the Spicy Tuna Tartare (nothing's really that spicy here, it's all mild heat), and of course, the Blue Corn Pancake with Barbecue Duck. It's basically make your own BBQ duck tacos and has a sweet BBQ sauce that you won't forget.

Main courses include the Yucatan Chicken Taco which is an "assemble your own" taco with chicken grilled on skewers, served with grilled red onions and a red chile peanut sauce. Delicious. My favorite might just be the Pressed Roasted Pork Tenderloin Sandwich which is served cold with red onion, arugula, chipotle mayo, and adobe fries. The arugula gives just the right crunch and pepper flavor to the sandwich while the mayo adds a bit of kick. Great stuff.

The Bottom Line: This was my third trip to Mesa Grill and I obviously wouldn't keep going there if I didn't like it. While not something I would do in Vegas for dinner (there are so many other wonderful places to try), it remains a great upscale lunch option close to where I like to play blackjack. It is a tad on the expensive side and on this particular day the service was horrendous. However, that service problem only happened once, so I'm willing to cut them some slack. Overall, it's a good slice of the American Southwest. Just don't call it Mexican food.

John Battelle is a co-founder of Wired and founder of The Industry Standard.I think that means he knows just a little bit about technology. Knowing that he founded a failed internet startup, I did come into this book with a bit of skepticism. However, after just a few pages I realized that I was reading a book authored by a leading authority in the field.

The Search is a fast read that you don't really want to put down. It explains the origins of search, what market factors propelled it, what worked and what failed, and finally, it gives a glimpse into what might be the future of search. Using his journalistic background, Battelle does a great job of explaining the who, what, where, why, and when. However, he also does a good job of going beyond the standard five reporter questions and explains how things happened the way they did.

I think the most fascinating thing about this book is that you tend to go into it with a lot of preconceived notions about Google (at least if you're in the technology field you do). There's the notion that Google is a revolutionary search engine. There's also the notion that Google is a pioneer in certain types of technology. This book dispels those myths. By the end of the book, you begin to realize that Google is more like Microsoft than you would think. While not the giant, copying behemoth that Microsoft is, Google does have a bit of a copying streak in them. In fact, Google settled a huge lawsuit for patent infringement with Overture just before their IPO. It began to dawn on me that some of their success has come from leveraging their brand name in association with some of those same preconceptions I had. Make sense? Maybe not, but this book will explain that.

Tucked into this book are also some other interesting tidbits that you would never normally know. For example, I found it particularly fascinating that Google doesn't even own the patent for their PageRank algorithm. It is licensed to Stanford University until the beginning of next decade.

The bottom line:I find it interesting that I finished this book the day after Google released their new "Google Calendar". (although Google usually releases new products right around April 1st for some reason) I remember looking at Google Calendar in a completely different way. My reaction was no longer, "Cool! A new calendar application!" It was actually more along the lines of, "Here's how Google is going to take market share away from Microsoft Office, Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail while grabbing as much information about my personal life and indexing it at the same time."

Am I more distrustful of Google now? You bet! They index everything we do on the web if it passes through their servers. Everything. Think about it. How much stuff do you keep in Google? Even if you don't have a GMail account, I bet you you either consciously or subconsciously search Google several times a day for information. That information is being religiously tracked and compiled, my friend. Sure, they have stringent terms of use and a company motto of "Don't Be Evil", but do you really trust something like that? I don't.

In fact, I'm now terrified of their upcoming GDrive application that allows you to keep your files in Google's online hard drive. Are they Big Brother? No, but it's not a gigantic leap to get there. Especially with all of these government demands recently to turn over Google records. Okay, let's step back here for a second: I'm not paranoid, but let's just say I'm exuding a healthy skepticism of Google now when I maybe didn't have that same skepticism before. The funny part is, this book is not about bashing Google. It just made me think about things more. You'll have to read it and form your own opinion.

If you're in the technology field, are interested in business history and concepts, or if you just happen to use the internet everyday, this is a fascinating read. You will learn a lot about the industry and be able to put a solid timeline to events from the 1990's until today. This book isn't about advocating Google or being a company biography. It's about search in general and how Google ended up dominating the market. Like everything, it's part innovation, part hard work, and part luck.

I have to tell you that I am a bit upset that I only found out about Baang now. This restaurant couldn't be more than a mile from my apartment (between Cos Cob and Old Greenwich) and as you can probably tell by the rating, it's pretty darned good. Why? Let's break it down, shall we?

Baang is a trendy and modern eatery located about 50 yards from a McDonald's. The two could not be further apart in terms of cuisine. Baang celebrates an odd combination of Chinese cuisine with French cooking styles. While their drink menu is somewhat limited, the service is very good and the wine list has enough choices to make for an interesting experience.

What to order: Baang serves all of their dishes family style, so be careful how much you order. Luckily, I made the trip with five other people, so three appetizers and five entrees were the perfect amount for the table of very hungry guests. For my drink, I ordered a Baangherita, which was an orange looking margherita with lime. Honestly, it wasn't any different from a regular margherita, except that it lacked salt, and packed more of a punch. Definitely no lack of tequila in there. So... good start.

For appetizers, we started with the Tempura Tuna Sashimi in a champagne uni sauce. Basically, this was a thick, spicy tuna roll, deep fried to perfection and was almost identical to the "Fire" part of the "Fire & Ice" combo at F.I.S.H. It was simply tremendous and something I would order from a sushi place if they carried it. Moving on, we ordered the Firecracker Spring Rolls that contained peanut chicken and were served with a mustard honey sauce. Notice I didn't write honey mustard sauce. There's a reason for that. This wasn't a sweet sauce. It was Chinese hot mustard with only a hint of honey. Spicy and delicious. Our final appetizer was Pork and Shrimp Dumplings in a spicy soy-type sauce. It was very good and potsticker like. Served with black sesame seeds (at least I hope they were black sesame seeds), this dumpling held together well and was easy to dip. Speaking of which, Baang has very cool two tone chopsticks that actually hold onto food. I know this sounds like a simple concept, but you wouldn't believe how many places these days would rather just throw away a pair of wooden chopsticks instead of taking the time and energy on washing a pair of real chopsticks. Sometimes it's the little things that make a restaurant great.

For the entrees, we ordered a lot of food, starting with the Ginger Glazed Jumbo Shrimp with roasted mushroom salad. No, I didn't eat the mushroom salad, but the shrimp were large and tender. Quite tasty. We also had the Slow Cooked Peking Duck with Asian Pear and Wasabi Pancakes. I honestly couldn't taste any wasabi in the pancakes, but it did turn them a pleasant green color (although I suppose green food coloring would have accomplished the same desired outcome). The pear was a good contrast and it's always fun to assemble your food, especially when it's little green Asian tacos you're making. Moving along, we ordered the Five Spice Chicken Breast which ended up being more of a Pad Thai dish with caramelized red onions. Well, it was Pad Thai except for the eight million ingredients one needs to make Pad Thai. Instead, this was just the chicken, rice noodles, red onion, and a slightly Pad Thaish sauce. Quite frankly, it held up quite well without those other extra ingredients. I always feel that Pad Thai is usually too complicated to begin with. Why not narrow it down to the core elements and make those ingredients sing? Baang managed to do this. I would definitely order it again.

Speaking of things I would order again, the Grilled Shanghai Beef in hot oil with cilantro shallots and soy was definitely the type of dish that gets me back into a restaurant. Served with shoestring potatoes covered in a wasabi cream sauce, this dish definitely gets two thumbs up. The beef was a tender and perfectly sliced New York Strip and (as with every other dish there) enough to feed an army. Rounding out our meal, we ordered something off of the "Wok Menu" (read: fried side dishes) and went for the Five Vegetable Fried Brown Rice. Now, I don't like brown rice a lot. I know it's supposedly better for you, but if it's not prepared correctly, it's rather chewy. I don't like my rice chewy unless it's a Rice Krispy Treat. However, Baang didn't have that problem because this was some of the best brown rice I've ever had. It was a short grain with a tangy sauce. They even diced all of the vegetables to make for an even and thorough mix.

For dessert, Rachel and I shared a Chocolate Pagoda Cake which was chocolate tuilles layered with a praline mousse, a dab of vanilla ice cream, and topped with chocolate sauce. While not the best chocolate brownie sundae I've ever had, it certainly was one of the most creative. It actually looked like a little three layer pagoda. Not bad, but not enough ice cream. Add a decent pour to my Remy Martin and Baang really has something going on here.

The "not so great": The waiter got one of our dishes wrong but he was very cool about it and fixed it quickly. Actually, it worked out for the best because we wouldn't have had any more room on the table anyway. Also, as mentioned before, there's not a ton to the drink menu.

The bottom line: Nice atmosphere, great service, and a close location make Baang appealing. However, it's the great food makes Baang downright irresistible. I might go so far as to say it's almost P.F. Chang's in Connecticut. ...okay, maybe not that far, but they are a decent close-range substitute and I would take it over Thai food any day. Unfortunately, they don't deliver to your house, but they will cater if you throw a big enough shindig (did I just write "shindig"?). This place makes me want to try their sister seafood restaurant in Westport, Splash. In fact, I'm sure you'll be reading about that soon.

I first discovered Sundown Saloon in early 2000. It was across the street from my current job in Greenwich and turned out to be the perfect place to get some beers, have some bar type appetizers, and unwind after a long day at work. Trying to capture a Texas/Southwest theme, Sundown Saloon has a large bar area and small restaurant area with tables covered in brown paper (with crayons!). While I don't feel like I'm eating at a Southwest eatery when I go there, I have to tell you that the appetizers are better than just about any you will find.

What to order: So many choices here, especially in the appetizer realm. First, there's Popeye's spinach dip served with green Texas toast points. This is very cheesy and really hits the spot. In fact, this could very well be my favorite spinach dip because the spinach is subtle and there is no artichoke involved. The toast points are really more tortilla in nature and hold up to the heaviness of the dip. Next, we have the nachos which normally aren't that great, but on this particular day, they were pretty darned tasty. They put the right amount of cheese on there and they were covered with their spicy jail house chili. Now this chili is really more sweet than spicy (Rachel didn't seem to think so), but it adds a nice contrast to the savory nachos. Thumbs up.

Moving on to the fried appetizer selections, we have the chicken tenders. Available in buffalo (my favorite and one of the best buffalo sauces out there), buttermilk, and honey BBQ, there is a chicken tender type for everyone. All of these are served in a little cast iron frying pan (cute) and you get a good portion. They are juicy and delicious. Best of all, you can get them in "buffalo chicken wrap" form which creates one of my favorite sandwiches. In fact, it's one of those sandwiches I end up craving. The wrap is of tremendous quality, the blue cheese dressing is tangy (and more of a sauce than a chunky dressing), and it is served with shoestring fries which are just the right amount of greasy and seasoned. Speaking of greasy, if you really want to go all out, you can get the popcorn shrimp (served buffalo style or just plain with a spicy remoulade) or the fried calamari (available also in Thai style which is quite tangy). Both are excellent and artery clogging.

On this Saturday, Rachel and I opted for the all appetizer strategy. We ordered Sadie's Sampler (buffalo chicken tenders, nachos, and ribs), the spinach dip, and a side of fries. Everything was amazing as usual except for the ribs. They were dry rubbed, overcooked and ended up being very dry and chewy. Also, there was a ton of fat on there and there were bone chips in weird places. Didn't exactly make for easy eating. The BBQ sauce was very good though and worked well for French fry dipping.

If you're not into the whole "appetizer" concept and want a real meal (who are you and why are you reading my blog?!), Sundown offers decent burgers served up on English muffins. They also have creative and large salads.

The beer: Sundown offers a very good selection of beers on tap. You can get a Blue Moon or a Sierra Nevada if you want. In bottle form, Sundown offers rarities these days like Red Stripe (Hooray! Beer!) and Pacifico. The only problem? It's expensive. Beers start at $4.75 and pitchers start at $16 and head northward. The bar area though is very well laid out in a "U" shape with plenty of high tables and TV screens. It creates a semi-private feeling that is very conducive to talking and having a good time.

Stay away from: The Texas gunpowder steak sandwich. While decent, it's one of those "miss" cheesesteaks I talked about earlier. You can order it rare, but there's a lot of fat on there. They serve it on a garlic roll, but it misses the mark. Also, as I mentioned above, I would stay clear of the ribs.

The bottom line: As you can probably tell, I've spent quite a few hours in this place. I miss it a lot and try to get back there for an all appetizer lunch whenever I can. The only real problems with this place are that the service is just okay and the experience is generally expensive. But hey, this is Greenwich after all. The most annoying thing on this visit is that the kitchen staff kept opening the door to the dining room to get outside and use the ice maker/refrigerator. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but it was sleeting outside and it made the room very cold. Not a great setup there. Bottom Line? If you need to do happy hour or a quick lunch in Greenwich, this is the place to be.

You know how this works by now... I have a somewhat bad experience in an otherwise promising restaurant and I want to try it a second time. So, how did Rye Ridge Deli rate the second time? Much better. While I'm still not a huge fan of the matzo ball soup (it's all about the packaged stuff for me... more oil... hey, I like Stove Top stuffing too... sue me), I had a much better sandwich. Rachel and I shared a "Rye Brook" which is chicken salad with bacon, lettuce, and tomato (and extra mayo which is entirely unnecessary). It was pretty darned good. We also had a very good baked knish.

But here's the greatest part... our sandwich was on a H&H Bagel! That's right! They sell H&H bagels. Now, I don't know if they import them from the city or if they bake them on premises (which would be rather disappointing because as I'm sure you know you need real NYC water for a good bagel), but it was pretty decen t. Finally, a decent bagel in Connecticut. Combine that with the fact that I can make my own decent/homemade pizza now and we're making progress this year. :-)

Adjusted rating: 55

Do I visit too many microbreweries? I don't know. Is that even possible? Uh, we'll shelve that question for a another day. Anyway, I'd like to start this post with a disclaimer. There will be no April fools pranks in here despite the rather obvious date at the top. This will be a serious review about curling tournaments in the Andes Mountains.

On this particular Saturday, I found myself walking into the Heartland Brewery with my good friend Robert DeNiro. Now, Bobby isn't the type of guy who likes to frequent packed Manhattan eateries at dinner time on a Saturday night (you know, too many "little people" mulling about), but considering we were attending a benefit to save large amounts of the Nebraskan rainforest afterwards, he was willing to make an exception.

Heartland is situated next to the lobby of the UBS building on the corner of 51st street and 6th avenue. If you don't know where that is, it's right across the street from Radio City Music Hall. Heartland unfortunately finds itself in the middle of what I like to call the "steak district" (the name owing to the huge amount of quality steak houses in the area). While that's not a problem per se, it does get overshadowed as I would generally rather go to a good steak place than to a more traditional microbrewery (but of course there are obvious exceptions). Bobby wasn't in the mood for steak on this particular night (plus, he thought it was "wrong" considering the Nebraskan rainforests are generally clearcut for the exact reason of slaughtering cattle to create succulent, succulent rib eye steaks), so we went for burgers instead. ...or at least he did.

What to order: Ahh, the beer. They have many kinds. I went with the Red Rooster Ale while Bobby went with the Oatmeal Stout. Both were delicious. They certainly know how to brew beer there. As for the food, we started with an order of chicken fingers with chipotle honey mustard sauce. A little greasy, but quite tasty and yeah, it had a little bit of spice to it. Never a bad thing. I was most impressed though by my main course. I ordered the cheesesteak.

Now, I find that a cheesesteak is normally a risky proposition. For every Pat's or Gino's that is lovingly made with sliced, lean meat (and sometimes Cheez-Wiz), there is a horrendous abomination that tries to be too fancy by slapping an entire steak on a roll with some cheese. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that concept, but I think that chefs tend to forget one thing about steaks: There's a lot of fat on a cut of meat like that. You need to trim it well or you just get hunks of chewy fat. While small amounts of fat are good (and even tasty), large amounts just don't work. So, let's just say I got a little nervous when my waitress asked me how I wanted my steak cooked. It sounded like it was going to go the way of the latter scenario. I, of course, responded with "rare" and braced myself for impact.

What did I get? Quite frankly, I got a pretty decent cheesesteak. It was, as I had thought, a full steak thrown on a roll. However, the chef trimmed every last ounce of fat off of this steak and cooked it perfectly. He then threw it on an onion roll and served it up with sauteed onions and cheddar cheese. Personally, I don't think there were enough onions or cheese on this sandwich, but the quality of the steak more than made up for it. While I still prefer the old sliced steak/Cheez-Wiz version, this made for a very good, high class alternative.

The bottom line: With five locations in the New York City area, chances are there is a Heartland Brewery close to you. With decent beers and good selection, Heartland is a good place to feed a healthy appetite. Definitely a good middle of the road option. Plus, it's Robert DeNiro approved. Not rainforest approved, however.

What is it about mall pretzels that attracts so many people? They're not all that great but there's always a huge line to get them. They're greasy and overpriced and you always leave a little disappointed. Come to think of it, I think I know what it is. It's the smell. It's intoxicating. You feel that you are going to get a tasty snack. The problem is, these places rarely deliver.

Wetzel's Pretzels is really no exception to that statement. They offer the same pretzels, pretzel nuggets, and pretzel dogs as the other pretzel places, but they offer a couple of interesting variations. Variations such as a pepperoni pretzel or a garlic pretzel. Intriguing, yes, but I was in a rush that day and didn't want to wait on a garlic pretzel (maybe some other time). Instead, I ordered the pretzel nuggets which would give me a good basis versus the other pretzel boys. It was also convenient and shareable.

The bottom line: Not bad. Definitely better than Pretzel Time. The nuggets weren't covered with grease and they weren't heavily salted. I did find it interesting that they were served in a clear Solo cup with no corporate branding, but maybe they just ran out of regular cups. All in all, it's still just a pretzel and it's not terribly good. However, it does seem to be better than what I've had in the past. Next stop will have to be Auntie Anne's.