Arbitrary, Incidental, and Accidental Musings...

I first had Boston Market back in college. Of course, back then, Boston Market was called Boston Chicken and it was the closest thing to healthy food a young college kid could actually put in his body. It was as close to "going out for dinner" as someone could manage on a modest, mostly beer drinking diet. Well, 10 years and several bankruptcies later (Boston Market, not me), things have changed quite a bit. Well, not everything...

Boston Market practically invented the idea of fast food rotisserie chicken. (Although I suppose Kenny Rogers' Roasters might disagree with that statement.) Boston Market offers chicken, meatloaf, salads, sides, etc... served up in a new "more modern" environment.

What to order: I have no idea. Not because I haven't eaten there before, because I have. Not because you can't see the food in front of you, because you can. I have no idea what to order because their recent rebranding of their product includes impossible to read menus in small type that don't explain what you are getting with your combo or meal. Your guess as to what comes with your meal is as good as mine. Good luck to you. However, for those of you willing to take the plunge, I would suggest their Carver sandwiches. They're not half bad and are served on a substantial, freshly baked bread.

Of course, there are always the chicken (good) and meatloaf (dry and not very tasty) options, which aren't terrible, but rather fill you up more than satisfy you. The chicken salads are solid and probably your best bet if you really want to eat healthy.

As for the sides, there are much better places to get mashed potatoes and the macaroni and cheese is just terrible. In fact, their sides and soups generally define the word "disappointing".

The bottom line: Every now and then I want to try and eat healthy as well as fast. I should realize that particular philosophy isn't really possible. However, I always look at Boston Market and I somehow forget that I always walk away disappointed. Personally, I just want to know what makes me forget that Boston Market sucks. Can someone please explain that to me?
Please?!

Now this is a little more like it. I managed to have a Saturday where I had good New York bagels and good New York Pizza in one day. What were the odds of that happening? Well, I guess if I spend the day in New York state, pretty good. ...shut up.

Dante's is located up in Southern Putnam county (practically Westchester county) which is just close enough to New York City to get good pizza. It's in the NYC sphere of pizza influence. What am I talking about? Well, after talking this whole pizza/bagel issue I have over with some friends, we decided that it's not as simple as New York pizza and non-New York pizza. There are other forms of pizza that either originated at the same time and are of the same style or there are other types of pizza that originated in different parts of the country, but just aren't our style. We came up with a couple of different zones. The zones are centralized in one location and pizza quality slowly declines the farther out you go mileage wise.

Zone #1 (New York City) - This zone includes all of New York City, Long Island, Northern New Jersey, and Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties in New York. In this zone, you will find the best pizza and the style that I grew up on. For some reason, this zone cannot penetrate Connecticut or the Jersey shore.

Zone #2 (Chicago) - This zone is home to the deep dish style of pizza which I despise. However, I know there are quite a few people who do enjoy this style of "pie", so it would be silly of me to leave it off the list.

Zone #3: (New Haven, CT) - Although I really haven't had too much pizza in New Haven, CT, I know that the pizza I have had there is wonderful. From what I understand, some of the original pizza in the Western Hemisphere started in New Haven (this is disputed by the NYC folks) and the quality of some of the local pizza places reflects that. Unfortunately, this zone doesn't extend in more than a five mile radius in any direction from the New Haven city limits making it's impact on Connecticut pizza very small.

Zone #4 (California) - Crap that is sometimes called "flatbreads" usually topped with "gourmet" ingredients that should never top a pizza. You know what? Let's just move on here.

The bottom line: What does any of this have to do with Dante's? Well, nothing. But another pizza review of your average New York style take-out pie isn't all that interesting, so I thought I'd go with this entry instead. The bottom line is Dante's is a quality New York style pie. If you happen to be in Mahopac, NY, this is a good option to go to.

Cobble Stone can best be described as the Bradford's of Purchase, NY. For those of you not familiar with Bradford's, it is the Regal Beagle of Stamford, CT. For those of you who haven't seen Three's Company, go sit down in front of a Nick at Nite marathon now. Trust me, hilarity will ensue.

Cobble Stone is a small tavern nestled in between Manhattanville and SUNY Purchase colleges. You get the impression that many a college student has had a drunken hamburger in this place. On this particular weekend, I just wanted the hamburger.

What to order: The bacon cheeseburger was delicious, juicy, and messy. A half pound of beef, served rare with mayo, ketchup, red onion, lettuce, and tomato is the only way to have a burger. In fact, it tasted very much like Bardford's burger except Cobble Stone serves their burgers with steak fries which is much better in my opinion. Rachel ended up ordering the Taco Salad which she said was good, but "nothing crazy". ...I don't know what that means.

The bottom line: The service was good and the atmosphere slightly cramped. The food was quality bar food with enough greasy/fried options to nurse the heaviest of hangovers or late night cravings. Cobble Stone would be almost identical to Bradford's except there is much less of a sports bar feel to it. In fact, the only TV to watch sports was in the bar area which is generally separated from the rest of the restaurant. While a good and tasty lunch/snack place, I wouldn't go out of your way to eat here.

I have referenced P.F. Chang's so many times on this blog, you were probably wondering one of two things. 1) When the hell are you going to write about it? or 2) What the hell is P.F. Chang's? Today, the answers to those questions will be revealed.

P.F. Chang's is hands down my favorite Chinese restaurant. Although, calling P.F. Chang's a Chinese restaurant is somewhat of a misnomer. It is really (as the name on the sign says) a "China Bistro". What's the difference? Well, it certainly isn't French cooking techniques. P.F. Chang's approaches Chinese cooking from a different angle than your regular "General Tso's take-out variety" neighborhood store. You see, P.F. Chang's knows that what they are serving to you is not authentic Chinese cuisine. They don't try to fool you like other places. They just make it as Americanized as possible while still tasting tremendous. In fact, they're so Americanized that I don't think I've ever seen a Chinese person in the place.

As I've described many times before in this blog, P.F. Chang's is the Cheesecake Factory of Chinese food. What does that mean? It means that they deal in tons of food, tons of volume, tremendous atmosphere, and exceptionally affordable prices.

What to order: For a drink, try a Mandarin Martini or anything else on their creative cocktail menu. They have Yuengling on tap which is great for when you need to have a business lunch as it looks like an appetizer on the bill instead of a beer. It prints as 14 "Yueng Lings". P.F. Chang's also offers a large wine menu with knowledgeable servers who will help pair your wine to your meal.

On to the food. Must have starters have to include the signature Chang's Soothing Chicken Lettuce Wraps (available in vegetarian as well). Chopped chicken is served up with water chestnuts, mushrooms (yes, I eat mushrooms in this dish, it's that good), egg, rice noodles, and scallions. This is then paired with iceberg lettuce and your server will mix you up some Chang's sauce to put on it (mild, medium, or spicy... no, not really spicy). Chang's sauce is some secret blend of hot mustard and mystery sauce. I may not know exactly what it is, but it tastes amazing. Mix all of these ingredients together and you will be jonesing for this lettuce wrap for months to come. I find this wrap to be way better than any other wrap I've ever had. Many try to duplicate this dish, but none come close. Also, you feel somewhat healthy after eating it. ...somewhat.

Moving along with the appetizers, you can't miss with my other favorite, the Salt and Pepper Calamari. Calamari rings are straightened out, lightly fried and served with a salt and pepper mixture and another special sauce which I can't quite place. You dip the calamari in the sauce, then lightly in the salt/pepper, and then enjoy. Other tremendous appetizers include... You know what? EVERYTHING is great here. I've never had a bad dish. But I'll give you a couple more things that qualify as my favorites. The Seared Ahi Tuna, Chang's Spare Ribs, Shrimp Dumplings (real, whole shrimp, not mashed bits or a paste), and the Crab Wontons are all fantastic. Take your pick. You'll find something you'll like.

The soups and salads are good, but please keep in mind that they are enormous. This won't leave you a lot of room for your dinner. And believe me, you'll want to save room for your dinner.

Main courses are large and tasty and come with either brown or white rice (I'm a white rice man as I find their brown rice too chewy). My favorites include the Kung Pao Shrimp (available in chicken or scallop forms as well) and the Dan Dan Noodles. However, as I mentioned before, EVERYTHING is great here. Feel free to experiment. If you need more suggestions, try Chang's Spicy Chicken (their version of General Tso's), the Cantonese Roasted Duck (their version of Peking Duck), or the Mongolian Beef (their version of... Mongolian... Beef).

Do you like noodles? Then you've come to the right place. In addition to the Dan Dan Noodles that I mentioned before (creamy chicken with yakisoba noodles), they have a full noodle, rice, and mein menu which includes their amazing Shrimp Lo Mein. This Lo Mein is lightly fried so that some of the noodles come out slightly crispy. It is truly the best Lo Mein I have ever had.

The dessert menu is very limited, but if you're still hungry after a full meal here, you have problems. However, for the gluttons among you, P.F. Chang's offers a New York Cheesecake, Banana Spring Rolls, and the Great Wall of Chocolate. Actually, that's the whole dessert menu. The cheesecake is "eh" and the Great Wall of Chocolate is a triple layer chocolate cake that isn't all that interesting or good. The Banana Spring Rolls aren't bad, but they do not approach a good fried cheesecake chimichanga. Let's just say that desserts aren't P.F. Chang's specialty, but go with the Banana Rolls if you have to.

The bottom line: Operating a ton of restaurants in almost every state, there's a good chance that there just may be a P.F. Chang's near you. Service is generally very good, but I have had a few incidents where restaurant volume takes the service down several notches. You certainly won't leave hungry and more than likely you will be craving the dishes days to weeks later. The bottom line is if you haven't been to a P.F. Chang's already, you are doing yourself a disservice. You can't even claim that it's too expensive, because it's not. In fact, go now. I'll wait.

Maybe I just stayed in a bad Radisson, but this hotel really seems to be stuck in the 90's. It is rather obvious that they went through a complete re-branding, but it looks like this re-branding happened in 1990. That's a shame, because other hotels seem to have responded properly to the Westin revolution (comfy beds, nice bathrooms, free breakfast, etc...) leaving Radisson in their wake.

What went wrong? Well, first of all, they gave me two double beds instead of a King size bed. Not the end of the world, but little things like that tend to pile up. The bathroom was just okay and there really weren't any amenities to speak of. The elevator was slow and ancient and even their suites didn't look all that great. The worst part though? The smell.

Now granted, I was in the heart of tobacco country. When I walked into that room, my first thought was, "oh man, they gave us a smoking room." After a few minutes, we realized that the smell wasn't smoke, but rather just old mustiness. Just awful and it didn't make any sense. If this hotel was renovated (as it appeared on the outside), they did a terrible job.

The bottom line: Not a lot of good things to talk about here except for the price. You can't beat $79 these days. I'm sure there are a ton of good Radissons around the world (especially in resort towns... I remember staying in a couple back in the day), but this was certainly not one of them. However, it did appear to be one of the nicest hotels in a town that looks like it is trapped in the 1960's. So take that into consideration. If you're looking for a somewhat decent place to stay while shopping in the "Furniture Capital of the World", then this is your place. If not, order your end table from a catalog instead.

>Hangover Alert! Hangover Alert!<
That was a test of the emergency Hangover Alert system. Had this been an actual hangover, I wouldn't be writing this column right now. ...actually, I have decided that I am going to preface any reviews where I am hung over as not exactly "real" reviews. In fact, we'll put an asterisk there (I've been reading too much Barry Bonds coverage on the news lately) Why? Because I usually don't order enough food when I'm hung over to get a decent read on a place or I only order foods that will likely nurse me back to health.

In the case of Champps, I only ordered one bowl of soup. But it was a pretty darned good bowl of soup. I ordered the Chunky Baked Potato Soup which was creamy, included garlic croutons, and was topped with sour cream and cheese. Certainly not bad, but I was in too much pain to properly enjoy it. That's a shame because Champps looked like my kind of place.

A high quality sports bar through and through, Champps sports more flat screen TVs than I've probably ever seen outside of a Circuit City in my life. They also had this enormous screen that was showing four picture in pictures at once. Also, most of these TVs are high definition which you don't see in a lot of sports bars near me. I hear this place gets packed in March.

The menu had tons of options including everything a hungry sports fan would need. Their great location in the middle of an outdoor mall ensures a steady stream of business (although we had no problems getting a table). If I ever find myself near another location, I'm trying the ribs. They looked awesome. Rachel did not have my gastronomical issues and ordered a soup and sandwich combo. The turkey sandwich was heavily stuffed with meat and looked very deli-like. It was even served with kettle chips. Rachel enjoyed it very much but couldn't even finish the half she had because it was that much food.

The bottom line: This place reminded me of a place that used to exist in Stamford called Coach's. That is, if Coach's was ultramodern and did everything right. I will definitely need to stop into a Champps again and try some real food. In fact, I might even find out why they need a second 'P' in their name. Score? I'm guessing a '54' for now.

It always surprises me when I run into a fast food restaurant I've never seen before. I figure I would have heard of most of the obscure ones outside of the Northeast by now (Sonic, Del Taco, In-N-Out Burger, etc...) and that's why I am still a bit surprised when I see a new one. Biscuitville falls into that category.

Biscuitville is a small, McDonald's type place that specializes in, guess what, biscuits. And you know what? They're pretty darned good biscuits. Tender and flaky, but not tremendously greasy, these biscuits hit the spot. On this particular morning, I ordered a Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit with Grits. That's right, you can get grits in a Biscuitville value meal. How cool is that? Well, I suppose it would have been cooler if I actually got grits. Half way down the highway, I noticed that I had hash browns in my bag instead. While the hash browns weren't bad for hash browns (very McDonald's like in shape but not too greasy... more like you would buy in a 10-pack in your freezer section), I was very disappointed in the sudden lack of grits. I feel like I didn't get the whole Southern experience without the grits. (and don't even get me started about how I didn't see one Waffle House) I guess Joe Pesci was right. The F you at the Drive Thru!

Other than that, the sandwich was pretty darned good. I would definitely order one again. The star of the meal was the bacon. It was very smoky (hickory style) and not very fatty. Oh, and they had pretty solid coffee too.

The bottom line: It was only an on the run breakfast, so take this review for what it is. The drive thru service was exceptionally polite and the Southern drawl on the woman taking our order was adorable. I wouldn't put Biscuitville in the upper tier of hangover food, but it was still a solid choice. Overall, Biscuitville garners middle of the road marks. Not too shabby for fast food.

The smell! It's so intoxicating! Seriously, are there really many better smells out there than freshly baked bread? ...I didn't think so. I've been waiting to try Panera Bread ever since I first heard of the place several months ago. I must tell you, it was pretty much exactly as I thought it would be.

Panera Bread looks like a Starbucks... only it's a bakery with decent food. There are tons of menu choices (which is a shame because I live nowhere near one to try them all) and the staff is exceptionally friendly.

What to order: This was difficult and I had trouble deciding. Bread bowl? Sandwich? Soup? Salad? Luckily, Panera offers a "Pick Two" option which allows you to combine a couple of their lunch options. Rachel and I both decided to go with a soup and salad option which comes with a side of bread. I ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad and Boston Clam Chowder soup combo with sourdough bread. I figured I would make my own "dippin' style" bread bowl with the sourdough. It was quite good, but not spectacular. The sourdough didn't taste sour enough (I guess not everyone has a tremendous sourdough starter like they do in San Francisco. But then again, I don't think they have the environment for it in North Carolina anyway) but the consistency was great. The chicken caesar salad had a heavy dressing and was just okay. In fact, the whole meal tasted like it could have used a little more salt. You got the impression that it looked better than it tasted. The soup was just okay as well, but nowhere near the best clam chowder I've ever had. Rachel ordered the Fuji Apple Chicken salad and Chicken Soup combo with multigrain bread. Her thoughts were pretty much the same as mine. That is to say; equally disappointing.

While the lunch experience was just okay, the dessert was definitely the memorable moment. We ordered a double chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts to go. This cookie was amazing. It was slightly crispy on the outside and somewhere between chewy and soft on the inside. It was almost a cross between a cookie and a brownie. For some reason, the chips and nuts worked perfectly with the other ingredients. In fact, I can still taste it now. Mmmm...

The good: They give you real silverware and make the experience feel more "home cooking" and less "Boston Market".

The bad: After eating a large meal like that with a couple of different oddly-shaped plates on your tray, busing your own dishes is a little messy and cumbersome. They should really hire someone to take the trays away and clean up the tables.

The bottom line: As I mentioned previously, this was exactly what I expected for some reason. I may have to stop in there for a loaf of bread or a bagel one day just to see what they're like. I must say, they certainly all look interesting and there is tons of variety. The bottom line is that Panera Bread ranks a solid choice for lunch or a snack. I just don't know if I would do dinner there.

Being a rather large Sci-Fi fan, I've always wanted to read this book. However, since they made a large budget Hollywood film starring Will Smith out of it, let's just say I had a lot of bad thoughts coming into this book. Luckily, none of these thoughts ended up coming true. Although I've never seen the movie (but now I want to... expect a review on that soon), I can almost guarantee that the movie had nothing to do with the book (much like Starship Troopers). That is most likely a very good thing because I don't think the book would translate well into a movie.

Why? Well, because I, Robot is really a collection of short stories (almost problem solving mysteries, actually) that center around the three laws of robotics:

1) A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Without ruining any of the book for you, I, Robot is a very fast read that traces the history of robotics in Asimov's fantasy world and begins the robot chronicles series. Each story examines "loopholes" in the laws of robotics as humans struggle to find out why each new robot is not "obeying" the law. Well written and quite insightful into human nature, I, Robot entertains on many levels.

The bottom line: Good, fast read. I enjoyed it thouroughly and strongly suggest it to even a casual Sci-Fi fan. I will definitely be reading more Asimov in the future.

Could it be? Two airline reviews in a row without a horror story? As a matter of fact, yes. Delta treated me very well on my way to North Carolina. As you can see by the price, not only did they have the route I was looking for (New York to Greensboro), but they also came in with the cheapest fare by far. Add that to the fact that LaGuardia is a hub of Delta's which is only 40 minutes from my apartment (not as close as White Plains, but LGA has many more destinations) and Delta really has something going for it.

Delta is one of the largest carriers in the world and has struggled mightily to stay relevant in the ever changing post 9/11 world of airline travel. After declaring bankruptcy a couple of times, it appears that Delta has finally worked the proper restructuring magic. Gone are the days of the expensive 42" flat screens everywhere to tell you what seats might be available for upgrade. (...okay, they're really not gone, but the cost of those screens has at least depreciated over the years since they bought them.) Welcome instead are the days where Delta is finally fiscally conscious and has entered into an alliance with Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines (NWA! I never get tired of writing it!).

What else? Well, Delta gives me yet another business club to visit on my trips. They arrive on time. Delta has service to Orlando that I travel to often on business (there's a club there too). Finally, Delta has service to Las Vegas (okay, it's from JFK, but still). I just may be in love.

La Guardia may not be the nicest airport in the world, but Delta has done a very nice job in revamping the terminal there. While still a very small place, the Delta terminal allows for easy check-in, a breeze through security, and enough restaurants and shops to get you fed/read ($28 for a hardcover book?! What was I thinking?!). I may not be a huge Burger King or Chili's Too fan, but it certainly does the job in an airport.

The bottom line: Let's see... nice, courteous staff... smooth flights... close proximity to my house... alliance with airlines I have a ton of miles with... We may just have a new "go to" airline for Jimmy Valentino.com. Delta may not be the best or nicest airline in the world, but they have the two most important things that an airline really needs to have. 1) Flights to where I want/need to go. 2) Cheap. You know what? I can live with that. Now if only LGA was a nicer airport. Oh well, not Delta's fault.