I went through a Burger King drive-thru recently on my way to a customer office to get a drink. It being relatively early in the day, I thought getting a coffee would be a Good Idea™. It was not. It was bad. Really bad. It was coffee-colored and -scented hot water. I cannot recall the …
Continue reading burger king “coffee” isn’t
char steakhouse, raritan nj
I got taken out (along with several other people) recently to Char Steakhouse in Raritan NJ. The food was nice, and the service was decent – but for $50+ per person, it should be AMAZING. And it wasn’t. There was nothing wrong with the food, and indeed the sides were several steps above a Logan’s or …
Continue reading char steakhouse, raritan nj
gardening efficiently – for fun and profit
I have gardened off and on for most of my life. Back in the 1980s, there was a show called “Square Foot Gardening” on PBS hosted by Mel Bartholomew. Now there is a website. When we lived in Albany, we purchased the book {{Square Foot Gardening}} (which has been updated and simplified even further by …
Continue reading gardening efficiently – for fun and profit
replace the restaturant buzzer
Somebody needs to replace the ubiquitous restaurant buzzer with either an SMS- or smartphone-based tool: when you put your name on the waiting list, you give them your phone number. When your table is ready, they can buzz your phone. Fewer moving parts for the restaurant. Fewer chances to lose stuff. Less crap to carry …
Continue reading replace the restaturant buzzer
bagel [thin] burgers
Several years ago I had the good fortune to have a burger paired with cream cheese on a rye bun. And a few years later I had a burger on a bagel. I’ve also enjoyed bagels on Arnold sandwich thins. Combining the best of both of these ideas, try bagel burgers (or on bagel thins) …
Continue reading bagel [thin] burgers
creamy, cheesy baked potatoes
I don’t like sour cream (not when I know it’s there, at least). However, I do like creamy baked potatoes. And I like cheesy baked potatoes. My solution? Cream cheese instead of sour cream! Directions: bake potato(es) to desired doneness split in “Wendy’s” fashion (perforate with a fork, and squeeze the ends perpendicular to the …
Continue reading creamy, cheesy baked potatoes
1401 argentinean bistro
Wow. It’s truly that good. This week I was working in Fort Lauderdale. It’s been over 4 years since I was last in the area, and I’ve always wanted to visit Miami – at least once. As I am wont to do, I checked-out OpenTable to see what interesting food places were available. One of them was …
Continue reading 1401 argentinean bistro
melting pot – but better-er :)
Earlier this week my wife decided to surprise me with a dinner she thought-of more-or-less on-the-spot. We are both big fans of The Melting Pot. Tuesday she popped out to Kroger and bought a small package of potatoes, some various broths, and an absolutely AMAZING meat rub spice mix. Also she found some strawberries (on sale – …
Continue reading melting pot – but better-er 🙂
restaurants
I’ve been a bit lax lately on reviewing places I’ve been to eat. Since March, I’ve traveled a few times for both work and pleasure, and have gotten to enjoy several local establishments: Foundry Grille Verve Seasons Patrick O’Shea’s Bensi Roots Steakhouse The Cheese Shop Thai Kitchen Food For Thought Captain George’s Tucano’s Hopefully over …
Continue reading restaurants
square foot gardening by mel bartholomew
Years ago, my mom and I would routinely try to catch episodes of {{Square Foot Gardening}} (SFG) on PBS. Hosted by {{Mel Bartholomew}}, a retired civil engineer, SFG was a program whose aim was to enable gardening by the masses in confined spaces (though, naturally, if can be implemented in larger settings as well). Mr Bartholomew’s …
Continue reading square foot gardening by mel bartholomew
menu analysis – burger king
Burger King has a new series of sandwiches called “stackers“. It’s a cheeseburger with bacon (and fairly tasty, as fast-food burger go). They come in three sizes: single, double, and triple. The single is $1, the double $2, and the triple $3. What do you get on the sandwich? A bun, patty, cheese, sauce, and …
Continue reading menu analysis – burger king
quick coffee
Last year for my birthday, my lovely wife bought me a Keurig coffee machine. I have used several at different places of work, and had been wanting one for almost a year when she got me one – she’s pretty awesome 🙂 I had had a traditional drip coffee maker for years, but only broke …
Continue reading quick coffee
melting pot
Normally I don’t like reviewing chains, but The Melting Pot is different. It’s a fondue place, and is a blast to eat at. The first time I went was with my wife and parents-in-law the weekend before Thanksgiving. We were looking for a “fun” place to eat, and had been thinking about trying a fondue …
Continue reading melting pot
the julep cup
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a restaurant worth writing about. Last night I finally found one again. To celebrate the two monthiversary of marrying my wife (since I had to miss the one month one with work travel), I decided to take her out to a nice place that wasn’t a chain …
Continue reading the julep cup
ninja service
Saturday evening I took my fiancee to Cumberland Falls Park just a little way from where she grew up outside Corbin KY. We decided to have a light dinner at the DuPont Lodge to enjoy the gorgeous view of the river on a picture-perfect spring evening. The food was good – nothing amazing, but that’s …
Continue reading ninja service
chips
I like [some] Pringles potato crisps. For years I wondered why it is that when you remove the lining inside the cover it often likes to rip the inner lining of the cardboard case off with it, but it was a minor inconvenience (especially in the era [many moons ago] when I’d eat a whole …
Continue reading chips
sriracha
How ironic. My favorite condiment at Vietnamese restaurants in the US is actually a Thai sauce. A sauce, may I add, that I have never seen in a Thai restaurant – anywhere. Sriracha is awesome – heat but not an astounding amount. And it still carries a lot of flavor, so it’s not just heat.
little vietnam
I’ve been enjoying a small restaurant near my apartment in Singapore. It’s a cash-only operation called Little Vietnam. They’re located at 511 Guillemard Road S. They open at 1700, and close at 0100 Tuesday through Sunday. I’ve now been there several times, trying different pho options, the spring rolls, and some other specialties that jump …
Continue reading little vietnam
moonwinks
We’re driving down I-86. Where? Near the town of Cuba New York. Time? About 1945. Date? 25 July. Due to some unavoidable delays earlier, we got a later start to our trip to Oshkosh for the EAA AirVenture week. As the sun is getting lower in the sky, we realize that we haven’t eaten in …
Continue reading moonwinks
the one hundred ninety-nine dollar.. what?
I arrived in Singapore during the Great Singapore Sale, or GSS. It’s advertised everywhere. It’s the one time of year when [nearly] every store, restaurant, service provider, etc offers big discounts for shoppers. In Plaza Singapura, the mall next to where I work, they’ve been having different vendors taking-over the concourse area on the first …
Continue reading the one hundred ninety-nine dollar.. what?
too hot
Today for perhaps only the third time in my adult life, I had something that was too hot. I love Thai food. Being in Singapore has showed me beyond a doubt that Thai food is one of the few ethnic foods that is done the same everywhere – it’s the same in Durham, Sunnyvale, London, …
Continue reading too hot
tanner’s pub
As I write this post, I’m surrounded with the sounds of a live musician and dozens of patrons. The wooden floors, open-frame ceiling, bus lights, and comfortable chairs surrounding glass-topped tables adds to the ambiance. Chanda just refilled my dad’s iced tea. And my dessert (my favorite drink) is en route shortly. Last night who …
Continue reading tanner’s pub
kielty’s emerald isle restaurant and pub
I love good pubs. Recently I discovered yet another Irish pub in Waterford NY. Kielty’s sits on the north side of Broad St a couple blocks from the Hudson River – number 41. My sister and I had been planning to grab a light lunch at Don and Paul’s (a coffee/sandwich shop she likes), but …
Continue reading kielty’s emerald isle restaurant and pub
the pub and grille
My family moved into Cohoes in 1993. Shortly after moving in, we noticed a small pub up the road and have threatened to go eat there ever since. Monday night we finally did. Admittedly, it wasn’t our first choice – we had been planning to hit-up another local place in Cohoes recommended to us by …
Continue reading the pub and grille
peak city grille & bar
This evening I moseyed to Apex NC with a coworker for dinner. We parked on N Salem St, and perused the available options, settling on Peak City Grille & Bar. Peak City is a former general store converted to a restaurant just a few years ago. 126 N Salem St is an unassuming store front, …
Continue reading peak city grille & bar