Monday, January 03, 2011
Private Dining
I was down in Virginia for the New Year's weekend, visiting with the wife's side of the family. My father-in-law took the clan out to dinner Saturday night to one of the local buffet restaurants, a wise option with hungry teenagers in tow.
As is my habit, I went to the men's room to wash my hands before queuing up at the troughs. As I was washing up, an older gentleman entered, a fork and plate full of food in his hands, who proceeded to one of the stalls, entered, and locked the door.
Perhaps he wanted to eat in solitude?
Labels: food, randomness, weird stuff
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
I Have No Words
Wow.
A New Jersey woman who hopes to become the fattest woman in the world got 30,000 calories closer to her 1,000lb goal with a festive feast that could have fed dozens of revellers.
46-stone Donna Simpson, sitting in a reinforced metal chair, chowed down on the world's biggest Christmas dinner as she ate for two straight hours on Saturday.
The single mother-of-two tucked into two 25lb turkeys, two maple-glazed hams, 15lbs of potatoes (10lbs roast, 5lbs mashed), five loaves of bread, five pounds of herb stuffing, four pints of gravy, four pints of cranberry dressing and an astonishing 20lbs of vegetables.
After polishing off her enormous main course, she still had room for dessert and ate a 'salad' made of marshmallow, cream cheese, whipped cream and cookies.
Sorta hoping this is an Onion piece, but it ain't. I guess its good to have goals, but sheesh!
Via Spork.
A New Jersey woman who hopes to become the fattest woman in the world got 30,000 calories closer to her 1,000lb goal with a festive feast that could have fed dozens of revellers.
46-stone Donna Simpson, sitting in a reinforced metal chair, chowed down on the world's biggest Christmas dinner as she ate for two straight hours on Saturday.
The single mother-of-two tucked into two 25lb turkeys, two maple-glazed hams, 15lbs of potatoes (10lbs roast, 5lbs mashed), five loaves of bread, five pounds of herb stuffing, four pints of gravy, four pints of cranberry dressing and an astonishing 20lbs of vegetables.
After polishing off her enormous main course, she still had room for dessert and ate a 'salad' made of marshmallow, cream cheese, whipped cream and cookies.
Sorta hoping this is an Onion piece, but it ain't. I guess its good to have goals, but sheesh!
Via Spork.
Labels: food, the end of western civilization, weird stuff
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Stock
A cool, lazy Saturday. What better thing to do than make homemade beef stock?Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Froth Eats At Calico Jack's
I had some tome to kill before last night's Pirates game (a disappointing 6-2 loss where former Pirate Josh Fogg looked like Bob Gibson), so I decided to check out Calico Jack's Cantina, hard by the ballpark. This eatery/bar is owned by the same company that owns the awful McFadden's, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
The place wasn't terribly busy, and the decor isn't anything eye catching, but the service was fast and friendly. They started me out with chips and salsa, which is typical for such a place. The salsa had quite a bit of cilantro in it, boarding on the overkill region where it starts tasting like soap, and unfortunatly, the chips were a bit stale.
I started off with a bowl of the roasted chicken and cheese tortilla soup, and this is a meal unto inself. There must have been two cups of soup in the freakin' tureen the waitress brought out, way too much for me to finish and still have room for the entree, so I only had about a cup's worth. It was very good, but again, maybe a bit too much cilantro for most people.
My entree was the chipolte BBQ chicken breasts. For $15 dollars I got two grilled chiken breasts over rice and veggies slathered with the BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce wasn't bad, but I really couldn't taste any chipolte in it. The chicken was a bit overdone, and looked like it had been cooked in an industrial sized George Forman grill.
Overall, it wasn't that bad, you get a heck of a lot of food for your money, and while it wasn't great, it wasn't bad either. The service was quite good. My soup, entree, and two beers came to just under $25.00. I was also pleased to see they have a very extensive tequila list, although my favorite, Chinaco Anejo was missing, so I did not partake.
Overall, I give the place a C+, not bad for meeting friends before or after a baseball or football game, but I wouldn't go out of my to eat here either. So, of the places I've been to that have sprung up between PNC Park and Hienz Field, I rate the Bettis Grille a B+, Calico Jack's a C+ and McFadden's an F. Still have to try the Hyde Park Steakhouse, that one just might be next.
The place wasn't terribly busy, and the decor isn't anything eye catching, but the service was fast and friendly. They started me out with chips and salsa, which is typical for such a place. The salsa had quite a bit of cilantro in it, boarding on the overkill region where it starts tasting like soap, and unfortunatly, the chips were a bit stale.
I started off with a bowl of the roasted chicken and cheese tortilla soup, and this is a meal unto inself. There must have been two cups of soup in the freakin' tureen the waitress brought out, way too much for me to finish and still have room for the entree, so I only had about a cup's worth. It was very good, but again, maybe a bit too much cilantro for most people.
My entree was the chipolte BBQ chicken breasts. For $15 dollars I got two grilled chiken breasts over rice and veggies slathered with the BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce wasn't bad, but I really couldn't taste any chipolte in it. The chicken was a bit overdone, and looked like it had been cooked in an industrial sized George Forman grill.
Overall, it wasn't that bad, you get a heck of a lot of food for your money, and while it wasn't great, it wasn't bad either. The service was quite good. My soup, entree, and two beers came to just under $25.00. I was also pleased to see they have a very extensive tequila list, although my favorite, Chinaco Anejo was missing, so I did not partake.
Overall, I give the place a C+, not bad for meeting friends before or after a baseball or football game, but I wouldn't go out of my to eat here either. So, of the places I've been to that have sprung up between PNC Park and Hienz Field, I rate the Bettis Grille a B+, Calico Jack's a C+ and McFadden's an F. Still have to try the Hyde Park Steakhouse, that one just might be next.
Labels: food, froth eats, north shore, restaurants, reviews
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Faux Irish
I went to the ball game early today, because I noticed there's a new Irish Pub on the North Shore! McFadden's! Authentically festooned with shamrocks, Celtic knots, and Guinness posters on the wall!
Unfortunately, the disappointment sets in the moment you open the menu. Not ONE Irish dish listed (Rueben sandwiches and Shepherd's pie doesn't count, you can get that just about anywhere). Just the same old boring bar food that you can find at TGIFriday's or Applebees.
On tap, with the exception of Guinness, everything is domestic. I suspect the owner is an English twit named Gervase Brooks-Hamster.
Foodwise, I got the Rueben. It came on a plate heaped with frenchfries, probably to detract from the fact that the Rueben was the size of two silver dollars. Smallest sandwich I've ever been served at a restaurant. Heck, I've had grilled cheese at the Murphy's lunch counter that were bigger than that Rueben. $14.50 for that and a beer. Know what a huge fish sandwich, fries, and a beer runs you at PNC Park?? $13.00. Pretty damn sad when you cannot compete with stadium food. I liked this place better when it was called Houlihans. Trust me, unless you're looking for a place to get plastered, put this dog of a restaurant to sleep. Unfortunatly, due to its location between PNC Park and Heinz Field, this turd will thrive on the GET DRUNK GO STILLERS GO BUCS! crowd.
If you want chain Irish, you're far better off walking a couple of blocks to Finnigan's Wake, or hitting Molly Brannigan's in Mt Lebanon, or Claddagh's on the South Side.
Better yet, why not drop in at the Pour House or the Harp and Fiddle?
Unfortunately, the disappointment sets in the moment you open the menu. Not ONE Irish dish listed (Rueben sandwiches and Shepherd's pie doesn't count, you can get that just about anywhere). Just the same old boring bar food that you can find at TGIFriday's or Applebees.
On tap, with the exception of Guinness, everything is domestic. I suspect the owner is an English twit named Gervase Brooks-Hamster.
Foodwise, I got the Rueben. It came on a plate heaped with frenchfries, probably to detract from the fact that the Rueben was the size of two silver dollars. Smallest sandwich I've ever been served at a restaurant. Heck, I've had grilled cheese at the Murphy's lunch counter that were bigger than that Rueben. $14.50 for that and a beer. Know what a huge fish sandwich, fries, and a beer runs you at PNC Park?? $13.00. Pretty damn sad when you cannot compete with stadium food. I liked this place better when it was called Houlihans. Trust me, unless you're looking for a place to get plastered, put this dog of a restaurant to sleep. Unfortunatly, due to its location between PNC Park and Heinz Field, this turd will thrive on the GET DRUNK GO STILLERS GO BUCS! crowd.
If you want chain Irish, you're far better off walking a couple of blocks to Finnigan's Wake, or hitting Molly Brannigan's in Mt Lebanon, or Claddagh's on the South Side.
Better yet, why not drop in at the Pour House or the Harp and Fiddle?
Labels: bars, food, Irish, pittsburgh, restaurants, reviews
