Her perspective: D-
We hadn't been back here in a while and wanted a good meal. We couldn't have been more wrong.
There was not another customer in the restaurant, but plenty in the bar. They were all dressed very casually in what is supposed to be a fine dining restaurant. After standing at the host stand for several minutes, we were finally greeted and seated in a booth as we had requested in our reservation.
We were not given a wine list, but asked if we wanted something from the bar. I had happened to see a wine list up front, so I ordered a glass of Riesling and William ordered a coke.
We noticed that the menu was severely limited from the last time we were there. Apparently, they have cut back the menu quite a bit. William asked about it and was told that this was the menu each day. We thought it might have been a weekday menu as we could still see other menus up front.
Our server didn't seem to want to stay when we wanted her to. We were going to order crab cakes as an appetizer, when she abruptly stated that she was going to get our bread and walked away before we could say anything.
When we were mostly ready to order, she stopped by and I ordered the appetizer and my steak. William wasn't quite ready, but instead of asking if she should give him a minute, she said that she would order the appetizer so he would have a couple of minutes to decide and left. However, even though he had set his menu down, she proceeded to cloth and set another table.
William ordered a small caesar salad with chicken and we both ordered the NY Strip steak done medium.
My wine glass had stuff stuck to the outside. I had to scrape it off twice. After I had drunk several sips, I noticed some sort of sediment at the bottom. When the server came back, I requested another glass of wine. When she brought a new one, she said that the bottle was frosted, so it was difficult to tell if there was any sort of sediment in that one. However, both glasses of wine were warm and I had to put ice in them to cool them, which made them diluted.
I was surprised when the server brought out the appetizer and William's salad at the same time. She just assumed that we wanted both courses together. The appetizer was for both of us.
The chicken on William's salad was grilled, sliced and... brown and crispy? When I spoke with the server later about it, she said that she thought they might have finished cooking it in the deep fryer. That would explain the color. The chicken was also extremely hot and they had put it on a cold salad. He also said the croutons were stale.
The crab cakes were decent, but a little overcooked and black on top.
Both steaks were undercooked. William sent his back to be cooked longer, and when it finally came back, it was charred and burnt on the outside and still medium rare to rare on the inside. Mine was medium rare, but I ate a little bit and took the rest home.
The mashed potatoes looked old, perhaps cooked, then stored, then recooked. They were very bland. The asparagus was quite overcooked and wilted besides.
William visited the rest room and stood for a full minute trying to decide between the two stalls. One of them, the seat was cracked and broken. The other was very dirty and had toilet paper all over. He finally chose to clean off the dirty seat and use that one. He was appalled at the condition, though.
They did take the salad and William's steak off the bill, but we were severely disappointed and will think twice before trying this place again.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
TGIFriday's, Rosedale
Her perspective: B-
We decided to go to Friday's because we had a coupon for a free appetizer from a screw-up at our last visit to the Maplewood location.
This visit started out really well. We arrived after the lunch rush. The hosts were right on top of opening the door, being friendly and making us feel welcome. However, we waited quite a while before we were greeted at the table. Our server was friendly - whenever he was at our table, but that wasn't much.
We ordered Fried Mac & Cheese for an appetizer and gave him our coupon. He took the coupon and we received our appetizer several minutes later. I noticed that it looked different than when I had worked at Friday's and when we started eating, we noticed that they were passably warm on the outside, but room temperature to cold in the middle.
I ordered the Jack Daniel's pork sandwich and William ordered the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron Steak, medium. My sandwich was what I expected - no more, no less - and pretty tasty. The best part, was that William's steak was cooked perfectly. I don't remember the last time that has happened in all the restaurants we have gone to in the last few months. When the food arrived, the server asked William to cut into his steak to make sure it was cooked properly (a Friday's service standard). William took his steak knife and stabbed the steak with it so that the knife stayed up when he removed his hand from the knife. The server commented that this was a different way than he'd seen to check the temperature of a steak. He never checked back on how everything was as we were eating and we didn't see him again for a long time.
After having empty plates for quite a while, the server finally came back and took William's credit card to run through. When he came back, I noticed that he had not taken the appetizer off the bill. The server claimed that he could not redo the credit card, but I know that's not true. I'm not sure if he didn't know that the system could do that or if he was just lying to us. William asked him to give us our coupon back. We'll have to go back if we want to use it. Perhaps we need to try yet another location.
Overall, we were disappointed, but the saving grace was that perfectly cooked steak.
We decided to go to Friday's because we had a coupon for a free appetizer from a screw-up at our last visit to the Maplewood location.
This visit started out really well. We arrived after the lunch rush. The hosts were right on top of opening the door, being friendly and making us feel welcome. However, we waited quite a while before we were greeted at the table. Our server was friendly - whenever he was at our table, but that wasn't much.
We ordered Fried Mac & Cheese for an appetizer and gave him our coupon. He took the coupon and we received our appetizer several minutes later. I noticed that it looked different than when I had worked at Friday's and when we started eating, we noticed that they were passably warm on the outside, but room temperature to cold in the middle.
I ordered the Jack Daniel's pork sandwich and William ordered the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron Steak, medium. My sandwich was what I expected - no more, no less - and pretty tasty. The best part, was that William's steak was cooked perfectly. I don't remember the last time that has happened in all the restaurants we have gone to in the last few months. When the food arrived, the server asked William to cut into his steak to make sure it was cooked properly (a Friday's service standard). William took his steak knife and stabbed the steak with it so that the knife stayed up when he removed his hand from the knife. The server commented that this was a different way than he'd seen to check the temperature of a steak. He never checked back on how everything was as we were eating and we didn't see him again for a long time.
After having empty plates for quite a while, the server finally came back and took William's credit card to run through. When he came back, I noticed that he had not taken the appetizer off the bill. The server claimed that he could not redo the credit card, but I know that's not true. I'm not sure if he didn't know that the system could do that or if he was just lying to us. William asked him to give us our coupon back. We'll have to go back if we want to use it. Perhaps we need to try yet another location.
Overall, we were disappointed, but the saving grace was that perfectly cooked steak.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Rent - June 21
Her Perspective: B+
I went to see this with a couple of girlfriends of mine. I have seen this show before at the same venue and neither of my friends really knew anything about it. The last time I saw Rent, they were having horrible sound issues and I couldn't hear a word, much less be able to hear how good (or bad) the performers were.
If you don't know anything about this show, I'd advise you to at least read the story line before you go. The way it's written, there are times when several people are singing at once and you can't distinguish what each one is saying, so the story line gets a little lost. That comment came directly from one of my friends, so it's not just me. Add in the adrenaline of the performers and the band and it can really take off so fast that the audience may be left confused.
However, the Ordway usually does shows very well and they were able to keep the pace down for the most part. The stage was set up very well and allowed the action to flow well between scenes. This is very important for this particular show since it moves very fast. The lighting was great. Good effects and we had no trouble seeing anything.
The actors were fantastic! Anwar Robinson was in the role of Tom Collins. You may remember Anwar from the 5th season of American Idol (I know I remembered him). Although he was technically flawless in his singing, he wasn't very believable as a gay man. His body language kept giving him away. The actor playing Angel was awesome! He had extremely high energy, as did the rest of the cast. The actors playing Mark and Roger (the main characters) have exceptional voices that blended perfectly.
Angel's death scene was quite odd. They had him standing on a table with people sitting around him that had a white parachute over their heads and were moving their arms and heads around, making the parachute move. I suppose they were supposed to be clouds, but it all looked very weird. Honestly, that is the only criticism I have of the director.
One note: Usually I get lost in shows like this and I feel like I'm a character in the show, just watching. However, for some reason, I wasn't drawn into this show. I'm not sure why. There was nothing really wrong with it. Perhaps it's just my state of mind and stress level right now.
Overall, I would highly recommend this show. The Ordway does shows very well and it is a good choice for venue if you like the theater.
I went to see this with a couple of girlfriends of mine. I have seen this show before at the same venue and neither of my friends really knew anything about it. The last time I saw Rent, they were having horrible sound issues and I couldn't hear a word, much less be able to hear how good (or bad) the performers were.
If you don't know anything about this show, I'd advise you to at least read the story line before you go. The way it's written, there are times when several people are singing at once and you can't distinguish what each one is saying, so the story line gets a little lost. That comment came directly from one of my friends, so it's not just me. Add in the adrenaline of the performers and the band and it can really take off so fast that the audience may be left confused.
However, the Ordway usually does shows very well and they were able to keep the pace down for the most part. The stage was set up very well and allowed the action to flow well between scenes. This is very important for this particular show since it moves very fast. The lighting was great. Good effects and we had no trouble seeing anything.
The actors were fantastic! Anwar Robinson was in the role of Tom Collins. You may remember Anwar from the 5th season of American Idol (I know I remembered him). Although he was technically flawless in his singing, he wasn't very believable as a gay man. His body language kept giving him away. The actor playing Angel was awesome! He had extremely high energy, as did the rest of the cast. The actors playing Mark and Roger (the main characters) have exceptional voices that blended perfectly.
Angel's death scene was quite odd. They had him standing on a table with people sitting around him that had a white parachute over their heads and were moving their arms and heads around, making the parachute move. I suppose they were supposed to be clouds, but it all looked very weird. Honestly, that is the only criticism I have of the director.
One note: Usually I get lost in shows like this and I feel like I'm a character in the show, just watching. However, for some reason, I wasn't drawn into this show. I'm not sure why. There was nothing really wrong with it. Perhaps it's just my state of mind and stress level right now.
Overall, I would highly recommend this show. The Ordway does shows very well and it is a good choice for venue if you like the theater.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Ichiban - Minneapolis
Rating: B
We went to Ichiban just for the heck of it last Sunday (6/29/08). Wanted to do something different for a change. Ichiban is located in Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall next to the Millenium Hotel (which we've stayed at before and determined that it's an overpriced roadside motel; don't stay there). DON'T PARK IN THE MILLENIUM RAMP! Ichiban will validate parking, but there are only two or three parking ramps they do this for, and the one right next to them isn't one of them. Still, it was only $7 for a the couple hours we were there.
We were seated around one of the cooktop's after just a few minutes wait (they wait for the whole party for a seating are to arrive before they seat anyone). We were sitting with a group of six over people, which wasted bad until they started getting loud (and they didn't seem to care about it either).
Our host/server was very polite and prompt, and took his time to explain the items on the menu and possible up-charge for substitutions and other items. He took our intial drink and appetizer orders and departed only to come back a few minutes later with our drinks in hand. Quite prompt actually, though we were all sitting around for what seemed a long time before our chef arrived and started her show. Appetizers arrived shortly after that.
From that point on, there was no end of food coming at us. Maryanne ordered the Imperial Dinner (steak, chicken and shrimp) and I ordered the Ichiban Dinner (steak, chicken and lobster). I substituted pot stickers for the chicken liver appetizer (which is an extra charge), Maryanne did not though we both opted for fried rice (also an extra charge).
We were served our apps, a cucumber salad, then the fried rice, then our lobster/shrimp, then the steak, then the chicken. for about 40 minutes or so the food just kept coming and the whole time our chef is prepping the next part of our meal as we ate the last, entertaining us the whole time.
After the chef was done, she asked if there was anything anyone else needed, and then she departed.
Shortly after she left, the cleaning crew stopped in to start cleaning the grill while we were still all eating. If it wasn't for the liquids splashing up from the grill onto our plates I really wouldn't have cared that they were cleaning as we were eating. Regardless it took just about 10 minutes for all the cleaning and they were done.
I did note that it was somewhat difficult to get the attention of our server to order a second drink. The other party of 6 didn't seem to have a problem getting more (though I suspect it was because they were both quite loud and ordering expensive drinks, while we were doing neither). Still, it didn't take too much extra effort to get a second beverage for the both us, just time.
Overall, the food was quite good with one small problem: the steak was undercooked. Everyone at the table ordered Medium and one guy ordered Medium-Rare. We all ended up with Medium-Rare. Slightly annoying, but that was the only problem with the food.
We were generally pleased with our visit, and plan to go again in the future and bring some friends with as well. If you go, make sure you bring some money. Dinner for two was just over $100.
I've found out from some co-workers that there are a few other places in the Cities that do this same style of cooking and service for less money, and we plan to try them out in the near future.
I'd recommend Ichiban to anyone that's looking for a good Japanese-style food and cooking. I'd call them first to find out where to park so you can get the reduced (or free) parking rate, and you should definately make reservations.
We went to Ichiban just for the heck of it last Sunday (6/29/08). Wanted to do something different for a change. Ichiban is located in Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall next to the Millenium Hotel (which we've stayed at before and determined that it's an overpriced roadside motel; don't stay there). DON'T PARK IN THE MILLENIUM RAMP! Ichiban will validate parking, but there are only two or three parking ramps they do this for, and the one right next to them isn't one of them. Still, it was only $7 for a the couple hours we were there.
We were seated around one of the cooktop's after just a few minutes wait (they wait for the whole party for a seating are to arrive before they seat anyone). We were sitting with a group of six over people, which wasted bad until they started getting loud (and they didn't seem to care about it either).
Our host/server was very polite and prompt, and took his time to explain the items on the menu and possible up-charge for substitutions and other items. He took our intial drink and appetizer orders and departed only to come back a few minutes later with our drinks in hand. Quite prompt actually, though we were all sitting around for what seemed a long time before our chef arrived and started her show. Appetizers arrived shortly after that.
From that point on, there was no end of food coming at us. Maryanne ordered the Imperial Dinner (steak, chicken and shrimp) and I ordered the Ichiban Dinner (steak, chicken and lobster). I substituted pot stickers for the chicken liver appetizer (which is an extra charge), Maryanne did not though we both opted for fried rice (also an extra charge).
We were served our apps, a cucumber salad, then the fried rice, then our lobster/shrimp, then the steak, then the chicken. for about 40 minutes or so the food just kept coming and the whole time our chef is prepping the next part of our meal as we ate the last, entertaining us the whole time.
After the chef was done, she asked if there was anything anyone else needed, and then she departed.
Shortly after she left, the cleaning crew stopped in to start cleaning the grill while we were still all eating. If it wasn't for the liquids splashing up from the grill onto our plates I really wouldn't have cared that they were cleaning as we were eating. Regardless it took just about 10 minutes for all the cleaning and they were done.
I did note that it was somewhat difficult to get the attention of our server to order a second drink. The other party of 6 didn't seem to have a problem getting more (though I suspect it was because they were both quite loud and ordering expensive drinks, while we were doing neither). Still, it didn't take too much extra effort to get a second beverage for the both us, just time.
Overall, the food was quite good with one small problem: the steak was undercooked. Everyone at the table ordered Medium and one guy ordered Medium-Rare. We all ended up with Medium-Rare. Slightly annoying, but that was the only problem with the food.
We were generally pleased with our visit, and plan to go again in the future and bring some friends with as well. If you go, make sure you bring some money. Dinner for two was just over $100.
I've found out from some co-workers that there are a few other places in the Cities that do this same style of cooking and service for less money, and we plan to try them out in the near future.
I'd recommend Ichiban to anyone that's looking for a good Japanese-style food and cooking. I'd call them first to find out where to park so you can get the reduced (or free) parking rate, and you should definately make reservations.
Friday, June 13, 2008
TGIFriday's - Maplewood
Her perspective: C-
I always find it very interesting to review a place where I have previously worked. Usually unfortunately for the servers and staff, I know what the standards are and when they are not being met. Just for background: I opened this store as a server, became a shift lead, trainer, and key employee (which is a server/bartender that does managerial shifts). There is a four table per section maximum and I knew immediately by where we were seated, which tables were in our server's section. I had helped divide the dining room into the sections that they now use.
The door was held open for us by the host and she was very upbeat and happy. Perfect. The host that was behind the podium seemed to be concentrating very hard on the seating chart and never looked up at us or the other host. She also was not in a recognizable uniform. I saw other employees as well that it was hard to tell they were employees by the way they were dressed. It's possible that this standard could have changed since I worked there, but I think guests should at least be able to tell who the staff is. We were seated immediately in a half booth.
On the way to our table, I waved to a guy that had opened the store with me (Justin) and he waved back and came over and sat down with us. We had just started to catch up when our server came over to greet us. He excused himself and went back to taking care of his tables. He always was a good guy.
Our server was pleasant enough, but extremely inattentive. William ordered a Jack & Coke and I ordered a Cherry Coke. He said his drink tasted funny when it arrived and it seemed to me like the syrup on the Coke was low or out. Later, at one of the incredibly few times that our server actually checked on us, she asked him if he wanted another Jack & Diet. Maybe that's why it tasted funny.
Lisa, our server, gave us a couple of minutes to look over the menus, but when she asked if we wanted an appetizer, she didn't really wait for an answer, but went to the table next to us three times before she came back to us. At that point she had two tables including us. The other table left shortly after we got there.
When we were finally able to order, I oredered the Fried Mac & Cheese appetizer and the Sizzling Chicken & Shrimp. William ordered the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron Steak, medium, and a side caesar salad to start. His salad came out quick enough, but the breadstick was deep fried ( I know how to tell) and he said the salad wasn't very good. He only ate about half of it, then put it on the edge of the table. The standard is that whenever anyone walks by a table and there is a dish or empty glassware on the edge, they are supposed to take it back to the dishroom. Servers and hosts walked by about 15 times and noone even looked at it. It was the same when William finished his drink.
Our server was nowhere to be found at this point and we were her only table. We started wondering where our appetizer was, and I was thinking that if Justin walked by, I'd ask him to check on it for us. However, he never did and during the 20 minutes we were waiting for our entrees, I started to look around and noticed that they hadn't done any dusting of the artifacts, much less our lampshade, lately.
Lisa brought out our entrees and asked us if we needed anything else. I told her that she could just forget the appetizer as we had never gotten it. She seemed surprised and insisted that she rang it in, but that they would take it off the bill and we would get a card for a free appetizer on our next visit, too. The manager that dropped off the appetizer card informed us that the appetizer was never rung in, so someone was lying to us, but I'll bet it wasn't the manager. She was very sincere and apologetic.
Getting back to our entrees, William's steak was cooked perfectly in the middle, but overdone on the outside, which seems to indicate that the grill temperature was set too high. The mashed potatoes on both our plates were mushy, but I seem to remember that was how the consistency was when I worked there. My entree came out sizzling all right. Too much. It was spattering everywhere, which I know was a problem when I worked there, but I would never put it directly in front of someone, rather off to the side so they wouldn't get burned. It was also steaming and smoking so much that I couldn't see. This is unusual. By the time I was able to finally start eating, the bottom of the mashed potatoes and part of the bottom of the chicken were burnt, stuck to the skillet, and smelling horrible. I usually order this dish with a request to put the cheese on top of the chicken and shrimp, but I decided not to do any special instructions with this one because it's rare that I order something as is. The inherent problem with this dish is that the cheese gets put on a very hot skillet first, then the onions/peppers, then the chicken/bruschetta shrimp, then the mashed potatoes. The cheese ends up getting burnt to the skillet every time, so you don't get to eat much of it. That's why I usually order it with the cheese on top.
Meanwhile, another table had been seated in Lisa's section and, again, she was nowhere to be found. We were wishing we had gotten the server in the section next to Lisa's. She was very attentive to all her tables and even looked over at us a couple of times. I think her name was Ashley. Although, I think the next time we go, we'll ask who's working and request a server that I worked with.
Another thing I want to mention (and this could be a change in standards, too) is that our receipt had a Guest Satisfaction Survey on it. These were a big deal when I worked there and we had to present them to the table and explain how the survey works. At one point, the managers were the only ones that were allowed to present them to the table. This is used at many different restaurants and is how they measure performance: how they know where they are doing well and where they need to improve. Perhaps it's not a big deal anymore and if that's the case, that's sad because that means that they don't care how they're doing anymore. Actually, this is one of the reasons I left. Our opening team was great, cohesive, excited, team-oriented and fun. Once we started losing that original team and hiring new people, all that went downhill very quickly. People just didn't care like that opening team did. As a trainer, shift lead and key employee, I tried to coach them and make changes within the system, but you just can't make people care. So I left.
Unfortunately, I believe this happens with every restaurant. There's something special about a restaurant opening. Everyone wants to be there and is excited to make it the best. Once others come in, it's hard to transfer that excitement to them. A lot of times, it's just a job to them and that shows in the entire hospitality industry.
I always find it very interesting to review a place where I have previously worked. Usually unfortunately for the servers and staff, I know what the standards are and when they are not being met. Just for background: I opened this store as a server, became a shift lead, trainer, and key employee (which is a server/bartender that does managerial shifts). There is a four table per section maximum and I knew immediately by where we were seated, which tables were in our server's section. I had helped divide the dining room into the sections that they now use.
The door was held open for us by the host and she was very upbeat and happy. Perfect. The host that was behind the podium seemed to be concentrating very hard on the seating chart and never looked up at us or the other host. She also was not in a recognizable uniform. I saw other employees as well that it was hard to tell they were employees by the way they were dressed. It's possible that this standard could have changed since I worked there, but I think guests should at least be able to tell who the staff is. We were seated immediately in a half booth.
On the way to our table, I waved to a guy that had opened the store with me (Justin) and he waved back and came over and sat down with us. We had just started to catch up when our server came over to greet us. He excused himself and went back to taking care of his tables. He always was a good guy.
Our server was pleasant enough, but extremely inattentive. William ordered a Jack & Coke and I ordered a Cherry Coke. He said his drink tasted funny when it arrived and it seemed to me like the syrup on the Coke was low or out. Later, at one of the incredibly few times that our server actually checked on us, she asked him if he wanted another Jack & Diet. Maybe that's why it tasted funny.
Lisa, our server, gave us a couple of minutes to look over the menus, but when she asked if we wanted an appetizer, she didn't really wait for an answer, but went to the table next to us three times before she came back to us. At that point she had two tables including us. The other table left shortly after we got there.
When we were finally able to order, I oredered the Fried Mac & Cheese appetizer and the Sizzling Chicken & Shrimp. William ordered the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron Steak, medium, and a side caesar salad to start. His salad came out quick enough, but the breadstick was deep fried ( I know how to tell) and he said the salad wasn't very good. He only ate about half of it, then put it on the edge of the table. The standard is that whenever anyone walks by a table and there is a dish or empty glassware on the edge, they are supposed to take it back to the dishroom. Servers and hosts walked by about 15 times and noone even looked at it. It was the same when William finished his drink.
Our server was nowhere to be found at this point and we were her only table. We started wondering where our appetizer was, and I was thinking that if Justin walked by, I'd ask him to check on it for us. However, he never did and during the 20 minutes we were waiting for our entrees, I started to look around and noticed that they hadn't done any dusting of the artifacts, much less our lampshade, lately.
Lisa brought out our entrees and asked us if we needed anything else. I told her that she could just forget the appetizer as we had never gotten it. She seemed surprised and insisted that she rang it in, but that they would take it off the bill and we would get a card for a free appetizer on our next visit, too. The manager that dropped off the appetizer card informed us that the appetizer was never rung in, so someone was lying to us, but I'll bet it wasn't the manager. She was very sincere and apologetic.
Getting back to our entrees, William's steak was cooked perfectly in the middle, but overdone on the outside, which seems to indicate that the grill temperature was set too high. The mashed potatoes on both our plates were mushy, but I seem to remember that was how the consistency was when I worked there. My entree came out sizzling all right. Too much. It was spattering everywhere, which I know was a problem when I worked there, but I would never put it directly in front of someone, rather off to the side so they wouldn't get burned. It was also steaming and smoking so much that I couldn't see. This is unusual. By the time I was able to finally start eating, the bottom of the mashed potatoes and part of the bottom of the chicken were burnt, stuck to the skillet, and smelling horrible. I usually order this dish with a request to put the cheese on top of the chicken and shrimp, but I decided not to do any special instructions with this one because it's rare that I order something as is. The inherent problem with this dish is that the cheese gets put on a very hot skillet first, then the onions/peppers, then the chicken/bruschetta shrimp, then the mashed potatoes. The cheese ends up getting burnt to the skillet every time, so you don't get to eat much of it. That's why I usually order it with the cheese on top.
Meanwhile, another table had been seated in Lisa's section and, again, she was nowhere to be found. We were wishing we had gotten the server in the section next to Lisa's. She was very attentive to all her tables and even looked over at us a couple of times. I think her name was Ashley. Although, I think the next time we go, we'll ask who's working and request a server that I worked with.
Another thing I want to mention (and this could be a change in standards, too) is that our receipt had a Guest Satisfaction Survey on it. These were a big deal when I worked there and we had to present them to the table and explain how the survey works. At one point, the managers were the only ones that were allowed to present them to the table. This is used at many different restaurants and is how they measure performance: how they know where they are doing well and where they need to improve. Perhaps it's not a big deal anymore and if that's the case, that's sad because that means that they don't care how they're doing anymore. Actually, this is one of the reasons I left. Our opening team was great, cohesive, excited, team-oriented and fun. Once we started losing that original team and hiring new people, all that went downhill very quickly. People just didn't care like that opening team did. As a trainer, shift lead and key employee, I tried to coach them and make changes within the system, but you just can't make people care. So I left.
Unfortunately, I believe this happens with every restaurant. There's something special about a restaurant opening. Everyone wants to be there and is excited to make it the best. Once others come in, it's hard to transfer that excitement to them. A lot of times, it's just a job to them and that shows in the entire hospitality industry.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Grand Casino Mille Lacs, Onamia, MN
Actually, it's not in Onamia but it's the closest real postal address I guess. I give this place a low D (would've been higher if they at least made an effort).
Because Maryanne's treatments haven't been going so good for the last couple weeks, and there is a real possibility of her having to take some time off work for sets of more intensive treatments each week, I thought I would take her for at least one night somewhere out-of-town, out of the way maybe, where she can just relax and enjoy herself.
I decided on Grand Casino Mille Lacs. I would've gone to Hinckley instead but two things stopped me: 1) we've had two previous bad experiences at Hinckley, 2) The MS 150 was going through there the same weekend, and they were very booked.
I also decided that I didn't care what it cost, so I went for the biggest suite available and some extras. What I had reserved was the Arrowhead suite (4-person hot tub!) that has a nice view of the lake with the Romance Package add-on (price was about $350 with the package). The Romance package adds two $50 gift certificates (food and gift shop respectively), free valet parking, a whirlpool or fireplace suite, a gift basket full of 'goodies' and a later checkout time.
We arrived at around 2:30pm. I had deliberately kept Maryanne in the dark as much as I could about where we were going so as to surprise her. I was expecting a nice big room with a bunch of extras that would just make her happy.
What I got was a Northwoods Suite (jetted bath-tub for two but only big enough for one) with a nice view of the rear parking lot and street. The Romance Package actually gave us a wicker basket full of popcorn, chocolate covered peanuts, yogurt covered pretzels, a box of crackers and a couple of small tubs of cheese spread (no utensils of any kind were provided for the cheese spread). We did also get the gift certificates and we mostly used them (I'll get to that in a sec). I called the front desk right away about this screw up, and they right away transferred me to the general reservation line.
Turns out they had a different confirmation code than the one I was given (very different, not just one letter off) and said I was booked for exactly what I had. This was just the start of my disappointment for the weekend as it turns out.
Valet parking is free for all hotel guests I was told at the front desk, and I was a bit annoyed since the Package description made it sound as though Valet was free with a Package, not otherwise. The other thing was that I expected to pull up, get our bags from the car and have a valet come out, take the keys and park the car. Instead, I had to go to the front desk, and after checking in they called for a valet attendant (the little valet booth just inside the door was dark and empty) to come get my car.
After all that we went to the casino for a couple hours.
We had dinner Saturday night at the Woodlands, which is their fine dining establishment. The only entry is through the middle of the casino area, and I'd thought that it would be noisy and smelly in the restaurant because of that. I was happy to find that it was quiet and comfortable. Good thing since the food was not very good at all.
We ordered crab cakes for an app, she had french onion soup and I had a Cesar salad for starters. the cheese cover on her soup has burned in a couple spots, but she said it really was very good. My salad had about 2-cups too much vinegar in the dressing, so I only ate a portion of it and set it aside (good thing too). We both order the fillet Mignon; hers with Bearnaise (instead of bordelaise) and mashed potato, mine with mushrooms, bordelaise and baked potato. She had soda to drink and I had a glass of alcohol free wine (they serve no alcohol anywhere at this casino/hotel).
Her steak was bare on the plate, the sauce on the side as she requested. Mushrooms on the plate around it. Bordelaise on her mash potato like a gravy, though she said she didn't want bordelaise. She said her steak was a little undercooked but good. Everything was a bit cold for her taste.
My steak was also undercooked and quite tough. It *looked* as though it had been cooked quite well though on the outside. Lots of charred bits and burned patches. Inside was slightly warm and rare. My baked potato was plain (butter and sour cream provided) and uncut, and nicely warmed to the touch though it was also undercooked (it was almost crunchy in the center like a raw potato or apple).
I ended up eating less than half the steak, all of the potato and finishing with my salad. Our server asked us shortly after delivering the food how things were. I hadn't cut my steak yet (was still working on getting my potato set to eat) so I said I don't yet, haven't had a chance to try my steak yet. She said she'd come back in a few minutes and check again. She didn't.
When our server did come back it was to offer refills, clear our plates and ask about dessert. It was at this point that I became quite offended instead of just annoyed. She asked us what we would like, mentioned a couple things not on the menu and we were discussing options. I was going to get a plain cheesecake (not a fan of any berry sauces) and Maryanne ended up getting the Tiramisu that wasn't on the menu. The funny part is that after Maryanne ordered her dessert, our server walked away. She didn't ask me if I wanted anything, and didn't wait for me to say what I wanted. So, no dessert for me.
The Tiramisu was almost completely frozen anyway, and Maryanne only had a little bit of it.
I left a small tip. Maryanne took what was left of her steak back to our room (we had a mini fridge).
We also had a little incident with the host that seated us. He came by after we had been mostly finished eating our meal to check on us. He asked if I needed a refill on anything, and I said no. He then turned to my wife and asked if she needed anything to which she said she would like a box for her steak. He then waved his hand as if to dismiss her and walked away (he didn't say anything, just waved). She thought this was very rude behavior, and it was.
We spent a few hours in the casino before dinner, and I went back again after we'd spent a bit of time in the pool area (had to stop and get suits first, so we used our Gift Shop certificate for those). The air in the pool area was so full of chlorine and that chemical smell that we didn't stay long, maybe 30 minutes. She was feeling a bit tired after that and went to bed early. I went back to the casino for awhile, returning to the room around 1am and went to bed.
The bed mattress was so hard, I wouldn't have noticed if I accidentally ended up on the floor. I'm not kidding, it was almost rock hard. Maryanne commented on the exact same thing that next morning when I ran into her again. It was so terribly uncomfortable that I only got a couple hours sleep in the bed. I ended up napping on the couch in the sitting area for an hour.
I ended up waking a few hours before Maryanne (which has been the norm for the last few months) so I went back to the casino for a couple hours (not much else to do here as it turns out). I went back to the room at 9am only to find that she wasn't there. I found her in the casino near where I had been playing for the last hour, and we went to the Grand Northern Grill for breakfast. We'd forgotten to use our $50food gift certificate for dinner, so used it on breakfast instead.
I ordered the Ranch Breakfast - 2 eggs (over medium), hashbrowns, toast and sausage. She had eggs Benedict with hashbrowns, toast and bacon. I also ordered some pancakes, and (forgive me) CHEESE CURDS! I love those things, and there's were pretty good with ranch or seasoned sour cream.
The rest of the food was less than good. Her eggs were undercooked, both of our hashbrowns were burned on one side (the bottom, go figure) as were parts of my pancakes. My eggs were nicely cooked on one side and almost burned on the other, so they ended up being very tough. The toast was also quite tough and chewy, almost like old (not dried) bread.
I ate half the pancakes, the eggs, the toast and part of the hashbrowns. My sausage was almost raw so I didn't touch it. She ate the eggs, ham and one piece of toast. Most of our food was cool or cold when it was brought to the table anyway.
We paid with the food gift certificate, and ended up getting the whole meal free since the price was less than the certificate (about $34).
We went back to the casino for another couple hours after that (we had a later than normal checkout time as part of our Romance Package). Right about noon we decided to go back to the room, pack up and relax for a bit before checking out.
We couldn't get back into our room. Someone had turned off our key cards, and housekeeping had to let us in (after the housekeeping people harangued us about letting them know when we had left so they could clean our room). When the hell did it become the guests job to tell Housekeeping when they were checking out? Didn't the Front Desk do that??
That was it for me, and I told her to pack it all in cause we're leaving right now.
About 15 minutes later we were at the front desk being told that we had additional charges to pay for our room and the Grand Northern Grill.
After a few minutes speaking with the girl (same girl that checked us in as I recall) she went and got a guy who looked at things a couple minutes, said we didn't owe anything other than the room and package charge, and apologized for locking us out of our room before our checkout time (she was calling Valet to get my car during this exchange). He said something about how the front desk clerks are supposed to change the checkout time in the computer when people with a Package check in and that they've been having a lot of problems with that lately. I didn't care, and I still don't. It shouldn't have happened in the first place, and what angered me is that they made attempt to remedy the problem. Actually, NO ONE ANYWHERE attempted to remedy any problem that we experienced anywhere in the hotel.
We had to wait outside for another 10 minutes for my car to show up (after spending between 12 and 15 minutes at the Front Desk). I think the Valet guy was waiting for a tip, and I didn't care. I was quite angry by this point and didn't give him a thing.
We left, driving back to the Cities hours earlier than I had planned to. We were going to stay and play in the casino for another couple hours after checking out, and maybe get a late lunch before leaving. Instead, we got fast food on the way home.
Grand Casino (either of them!) at this point is one of the last places I want to go for an evening or a weekend. We've had bad experiences now at both locations (overnight stays) and I won't be giving them anymore of my money. We haven't been back to Hinckley since the giant screw up they had on 7/7/07 and our weekend stay last year (which we've previously commented on), and I still have no intention of going back there. Now Mille Lacs is on my no-fly list too. The Mille Lacs casino was kinda tight anyway. We were up a few hundred at one point, but ended up down overall as Maryanne had no luck at all.
I'm beginning to think that the only way to get a real casino experience is to go to a real casino, like in Vegas. Either way, we're done with Grand Casino. We are players club members, but other than cashing in our session points for money I doubt we'll be back anytime this year.
One other thing I noticed here is that the casino employees, especially those involved with cleaning the casino, quite simply do not look where they are going. I lost count of how many times one of these people bumped me, backed into me, turned into me or just got right in my way as I was walking at the last possible second. Not once was any of them actually watching where they were going or looking to see if someone was coming or anything, and at no time did anyone of them apologize, ask to me excused or pardoned (most never even looked up or said anything). What happened to simple common sense and common courtesy?
Maryanne was not involved with the planning of this trip in anyway. I specifically wanted to surprise her with our destination, and I didn't want her to stress over any part or detail that ended up not meeting expectations. This resulted in my being extremely stressed and annoyed at check in, upon seeing our 'suite' (I hate calling it that cause it wasn't), upon seeing the extras the Romance Package gave us (room was just $172, package made it $350!!!) and at how poorly we were treated overall and at how poorly run the hotel and casino in general are.
Basically, I was very disappointed in the whole thing. Not remotely close to being worth what I spent; the room, the food, the extras are simply just very over-priced for what you actually get.
Maryanne was happy though. She wasn't happy about me being upset over everything that had gone wrong, but she was still happy to be away from the Cities with me for a couple days.
Next time we feel the need for a weekend get-away, we won't be doing it at Grand Casino (either of them).
UPDATE
June 10, 2008 0640:
Just got done looking at my credit card and bank statments (all online). I just found out that Grand Casino charged me twice for the room and package. So, our weekend at Grand Casino Mille Lacs wasn't just $350 but instead was $700! I've already called them and they '...don't understand why it would be charged twice." Gee, human error? They're going to call back at some point and let me know when they've taken care of it.
Because Maryanne's treatments haven't been going so good for the last couple weeks, and there is a real possibility of her having to take some time off work for sets of more intensive treatments each week, I thought I would take her for at least one night somewhere out-of-town, out of the way maybe, where she can just relax and enjoy herself.
I decided on Grand Casino Mille Lacs. I would've gone to Hinckley instead but two things stopped me: 1) we've had two previous bad experiences at Hinckley, 2) The MS 150 was going through there the same weekend, and they were very booked.
I also decided that I didn't care what it cost, so I went for the biggest suite available and some extras. What I had reserved was the Arrowhead suite (4-person hot tub!) that has a nice view of the lake with the Romance Package add-on (price was about $350 with the package). The Romance package adds two $50 gift certificates (food and gift shop respectively), free valet parking, a whirlpool or fireplace suite, a gift basket full of 'goodies' and a later checkout time.
We arrived at around 2:30pm. I had deliberately kept Maryanne in the dark as much as I could about where we were going so as to surprise her. I was expecting a nice big room with a bunch of extras that would just make her happy.
What I got was a Northwoods Suite (jetted bath-tub for two but only big enough for one) with a nice view of the rear parking lot and street. The Romance Package actually gave us a wicker basket full of popcorn, chocolate covered peanuts, yogurt covered pretzels, a box of crackers and a couple of small tubs of cheese spread (no utensils of any kind were provided for the cheese spread). We did also get the gift certificates and we mostly used them (I'll get to that in a sec). I called the front desk right away about this screw up, and they right away transferred me to the general reservation line.
Turns out they had a different confirmation code than the one I was given (very different, not just one letter off) and said I was booked for exactly what I had. This was just the start of my disappointment for the weekend as it turns out.
Valet parking is free for all hotel guests I was told at the front desk, and I was a bit annoyed since the Package description made it sound as though Valet was free with a Package, not otherwise. The other thing was that I expected to pull up, get our bags from the car and have a valet come out, take the keys and park the car. Instead, I had to go to the front desk, and after checking in they called for a valet attendant (the little valet booth just inside the door was dark and empty) to come get my car.
After all that we went to the casino for a couple hours.
We had dinner Saturday night at the Woodlands, which is their fine dining establishment. The only entry is through the middle of the casino area, and I'd thought that it would be noisy and smelly in the restaurant because of that. I was happy to find that it was quiet and comfortable. Good thing since the food was not very good at all.
We ordered crab cakes for an app, she had french onion soup and I had a Cesar salad for starters. the cheese cover on her soup has burned in a couple spots, but she said it really was very good. My salad had about 2-cups too much vinegar in the dressing, so I only ate a portion of it and set it aside (good thing too). We both order the fillet Mignon; hers with Bearnaise (instead of bordelaise) and mashed potato, mine with mushrooms, bordelaise and baked potato. She had soda to drink and I had a glass of alcohol free wine (they serve no alcohol anywhere at this casino/hotel).
Her steak was bare on the plate, the sauce on the side as she requested. Mushrooms on the plate around it. Bordelaise on her mash potato like a gravy, though she said she didn't want bordelaise. She said her steak was a little undercooked but good. Everything was a bit cold for her taste.
My steak was also undercooked and quite tough. It *looked* as though it had been cooked quite well though on the outside. Lots of charred bits and burned patches. Inside was slightly warm and rare. My baked potato was plain (butter and sour cream provided) and uncut, and nicely warmed to the touch though it was also undercooked (it was almost crunchy in the center like a raw potato or apple).
I ended up eating less than half the steak, all of the potato and finishing with my salad. Our server asked us shortly after delivering the food how things were. I hadn't cut my steak yet (was still working on getting my potato set to eat) so I said I don't yet, haven't had a chance to try my steak yet. She said she'd come back in a few minutes and check again. She didn't.
When our server did come back it was to offer refills, clear our plates and ask about dessert. It was at this point that I became quite offended instead of just annoyed. She asked us what we would like, mentioned a couple things not on the menu and we were discussing options. I was going to get a plain cheesecake (not a fan of any berry sauces) and Maryanne ended up getting the Tiramisu that wasn't on the menu. The funny part is that after Maryanne ordered her dessert, our server walked away. She didn't ask me if I wanted anything, and didn't wait for me to say what I wanted. So, no dessert for me.
The Tiramisu was almost completely frozen anyway, and Maryanne only had a little bit of it.
I left a small tip. Maryanne took what was left of her steak back to our room (we had a mini fridge).
We also had a little incident with the host that seated us. He came by after we had been mostly finished eating our meal to check on us. He asked if I needed a refill on anything, and I said no. He then turned to my wife and asked if she needed anything to which she said she would like a box for her steak. He then waved his hand as if to dismiss her and walked away (he didn't say anything, just waved). She thought this was very rude behavior, and it was.
We spent a few hours in the casino before dinner, and I went back again after we'd spent a bit of time in the pool area (had to stop and get suits first, so we used our Gift Shop certificate for those). The air in the pool area was so full of chlorine and that chemical smell that we didn't stay long, maybe 30 minutes. She was feeling a bit tired after that and went to bed early. I went back to the casino for awhile, returning to the room around 1am and went to bed.
The bed mattress was so hard, I wouldn't have noticed if I accidentally ended up on the floor. I'm not kidding, it was almost rock hard. Maryanne commented on the exact same thing that next morning when I ran into her again. It was so terribly uncomfortable that I only got a couple hours sleep in the bed. I ended up napping on the couch in the sitting area for an hour.
I ended up waking a few hours before Maryanne (which has been the norm for the last few months) so I went back to the casino for a couple hours (not much else to do here as it turns out). I went back to the room at 9am only to find that she wasn't there. I found her in the casino near where I had been playing for the last hour, and we went to the Grand Northern Grill for breakfast. We'd forgotten to use our $50food gift certificate for dinner, so used it on breakfast instead.
I ordered the Ranch Breakfast - 2 eggs (over medium), hashbrowns, toast and sausage. She had eggs Benedict with hashbrowns, toast and bacon. I also ordered some pancakes, and (forgive me) CHEESE CURDS! I love those things, and there's were pretty good with ranch or seasoned sour cream.
The rest of the food was less than good. Her eggs were undercooked, both of our hashbrowns were burned on one side (the bottom, go figure) as were parts of my pancakes. My eggs were nicely cooked on one side and almost burned on the other, so they ended up being very tough. The toast was also quite tough and chewy, almost like old (not dried) bread.
I ate half the pancakes, the eggs, the toast and part of the hashbrowns. My sausage was almost raw so I didn't touch it. She ate the eggs, ham and one piece of toast. Most of our food was cool or cold when it was brought to the table anyway.
We paid with the food gift certificate, and ended up getting the whole meal free since the price was less than the certificate (about $34).
We went back to the casino for another couple hours after that (we had a later than normal checkout time as part of our Romance Package). Right about noon we decided to go back to the room, pack up and relax for a bit before checking out.
We couldn't get back into our room. Someone had turned off our key cards, and housekeeping had to let us in (after the housekeeping people harangued us about letting them know when we had left so they could clean our room). When the hell did it become the guests job to tell Housekeeping when they were checking out? Didn't the Front Desk do that??
That was it for me, and I told her to pack it all in cause we're leaving right now.
About 15 minutes later we were at the front desk being told that we had additional charges to pay for our room and the Grand Northern Grill.
After a few minutes speaking with the girl (same girl that checked us in as I recall) she went and got a guy who looked at things a couple minutes, said we didn't owe anything other than the room and package charge, and apologized for locking us out of our room before our checkout time (she was calling Valet to get my car during this exchange). He said something about how the front desk clerks are supposed to change the checkout time in the computer when people with a Package check in and that they've been having a lot of problems with that lately. I didn't care, and I still don't. It shouldn't have happened in the first place, and what angered me is that they made attempt to remedy the problem. Actually, NO ONE ANYWHERE attempted to remedy any problem that we experienced anywhere in the hotel.
We had to wait outside for another 10 minutes for my car to show up (after spending between 12 and 15 minutes at the Front Desk). I think the Valet guy was waiting for a tip, and I didn't care. I was quite angry by this point and didn't give him a thing.
We left, driving back to the Cities hours earlier than I had planned to. We were going to stay and play in the casino for another couple hours after checking out, and maybe get a late lunch before leaving. Instead, we got fast food on the way home.
Grand Casino (either of them!) at this point is one of the last places I want to go for an evening or a weekend. We've had bad experiences now at both locations (overnight stays) and I won't be giving them anymore of my money. We haven't been back to Hinckley since the giant screw up they had on 7/7/07 and our weekend stay last year (which we've previously commented on), and I still have no intention of going back there. Now Mille Lacs is on my no-fly list too. The Mille Lacs casino was kinda tight anyway. We were up a few hundred at one point, but ended up down overall as Maryanne had no luck at all.
I'm beginning to think that the only way to get a real casino experience is to go to a real casino, like in Vegas. Either way, we're done with Grand Casino. We are players club members, but other than cashing in our session points for money I doubt we'll be back anytime this year.
One other thing I noticed here is that the casino employees, especially those involved with cleaning the casino, quite simply do not look where they are going. I lost count of how many times one of these people bumped me, backed into me, turned into me or just got right in my way as I was walking at the last possible second. Not once was any of them actually watching where they were going or looking to see if someone was coming or anything, and at no time did anyone of them apologize, ask to me excused or pardoned (most never even looked up or said anything). What happened to simple common sense and common courtesy?
Maryanne was not involved with the planning of this trip in anyway. I specifically wanted to surprise her with our destination, and I didn't want her to stress over any part or detail that ended up not meeting expectations. This resulted in my being extremely stressed and annoyed at check in, upon seeing our 'suite' (I hate calling it that cause it wasn't), upon seeing the extras the Romance Package gave us (room was just $172, package made it $350!!!) and at how poorly we were treated overall and at how poorly run the hotel and casino in general are.
Basically, I was very disappointed in the whole thing. Not remotely close to being worth what I spent; the room, the food, the extras are simply just very over-priced for what you actually get.
Maryanne was happy though. She wasn't happy about me being upset over everything that had gone wrong, but she was still happy to be away from the Cities with me for a couple days.
Next time we feel the need for a weekend get-away, we won't be doing it at Grand Casino (either of them).
UPDATE
June 10, 2008 0640:
Just got done looking at my credit card and bank statments (all online). I just found out that Grand Casino charged me twice for the room and package. So, our weekend at Grand Casino Mille Lacs wasn't just $350 but instead was $700! I've already called them and they '...don't understand why it would be charged twice." Gee, human error? They're going to call back at some point and let me know when they've taken care of it.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Other than being a predictable rehash of two of the first movie, this was alright until about the last 20 minutes for me. Then they just lost me entirely with such a sudden and extremely unlikely plot twist that I completely lost interest after that.
Dead aliens? From another dimension? That are STILL ALIVE somehow? OK, sure, have a nice day....
Wait for video unless you really feel a need to see this on the big screen.
...and I'm sure Maryanne will burn me for my comments...
Dead aliens? From another dimension? That are STILL ALIVE somehow? OK, sure, have a nice day....
Wait for video unless you really feel a need to see this on the big screen.
...and I'm sure Maryanne will burn me for my comments...
Narnia: Prince Caspian
Eh. It was enjoyable, but hard to follow for me (having never read any of the books). Maryanne thought maybe they were reworking it to try and reintroduce Narnia to people again, though it relied heavily on the previous movie to push the story and contradicted itself in a few spots, it was still enjoyable to watch though entirely predictable.
Maryanne enjoyed it more than I did from the sound of it, but I was just disappointed with the whole thing. Nothing else I can say, though Maryanne may have a number of additional comments on this.
Maryanne enjoyed it more than I did from the sound of it, but I was just disappointed with the whole thing. Nothing else I can say, though Maryanne may have a number of additional comments on this.
Friday, May 09, 2008
IRONMAN
If you haven't seen this yet, what the heck are you waiting for????? First really, truly good movie I've seen in a couple years. We're planning on seeing it again tomorrow!
When I heard that Robert Downey Jr. was playing Tony Stark, I was a bit worried. I've seen Downey in a couple other action-type movies (like US Marshalls for example) and was not impressed. He did ok in those, but that's about the best I could say.
He was PERFECT for Tony Stark. His style of humor delivery fit perfect, and he was believable as Stark. I was quite surprised, and happy to be.
I was a slight bit annoyed with the way Pepper was written, but it still works with this movie.
YOu have to understand that I'm a Marvel fan and I'm quite familiar with the backstory for Ironman. This script changed a few things here and there, and took a few liberties with established history of Ironman, but again for this movie it works quite well, and I found myself very engrossed throughout the entire movie (first time in years too).
Oh, if you haven't seen the movie yet, please do yourself a favor and STAY SEATED UNTIL THE CREDITS ARE DONE. Little bonus for you after the credits, which also points the way to a couple more movies in the future.
I really, really enjoyed this movie. Maryanne really enjoyed this movie (which was a bit surprising as well). All of our friends and their kids that we saw this with really enjoyed the movie. The special effects were quite good, though noticable in a few places. The story was well done, and we even get introduced to a few 'future' characters like War Machine.
This is a must see. It's also a must own. For me, it's a must see again. I really hope they get the DVD out later this year.
Go see this movie. Unless you don't like Ironman, or don't like comics, or don't like action movies, or don't like fight scenes, or don't like real character developement, then don't.
But trust me, you'll like this movie anyway. GO! Do yourself a favor and catch it in a theater before it ends its run.
When I heard that Robert Downey Jr. was playing Tony Stark, I was a bit worried. I've seen Downey in a couple other action-type movies (like US Marshalls for example) and was not impressed. He did ok in those, but that's about the best I could say.
He was PERFECT for Tony Stark. His style of humor delivery fit perfect, and he was believable as Stark. I was quite surprised, and happy to be.
I was a slight bit annoyed with the way Pepper was written, but it still works with this movie.
YOu have to understand that I'm a Marvel fan and I'm quite familiar with the backstory for Ironman. This script changed a few things here and there, and took a few liberties with established history of Ironman, but again for this movie it works quite well, and I found myself very engrossed throughout the entire movie (first time in years too).
Oh, if you haven't seen the movie yet, please do yourself a favor and STAY SEATED UNTIL THE CREDITS ARE DONE. Little bonus for you after the credits, which also points the way to a couple more movies in the future.
I really, really enjoyed this movie. Maryanne really enjoyed this movie (which was a bit surprising as well). All of our friends and their kids that we saw this with really enjoyed the movie. The special effects were quite good, though noticable in a few places. The story was well done, and we even get introduced to a few 'future' characters like War Machine.
This is a must see. It's also a must own. For me, it's a must see again. I really hope they get the DVD out later this year.
Go see this movie. Unless you don't like Ironman, or don't like comics, or don't like action movies, or don't like fight scenes, or don't like real character developement, then don't.
But trust me, you'll like this movie anyway. GO! Do yourself a favor and catch it in a theater before it ends its run.
A few things we need to catch up on...
We've both recently had visits to the hospital. Mine was uneventful and not terribly informative. Hers was to get her gall bladder removed (fun!).
So, we've been quite busy with other things. But never fear, the reviews are here!
La Casita restaurant; Roseville
The food was fine, but our server needs work. He was on a strict 10 minute rotation. I know this because I had my stop watch running. It was so strict that my drink refills came 9 or 10 minutes after I asked for them. Not cool.
Bennett's; St. Paul
Umm... yeah. Bennett's has the look of fine dining with cloth on the tables, cloth napkins, etc. BUT it's a bar and restaurant. The bar patrons are generally loud, and the TV's placed all around are generally loud (even afer they get turned down cause someone asks to have it turned up again). The food was ok, and our server was attentive, but she forgot a few things when the food was first brought to the table. Maryanne asked for bearnaise for her steak, but got hollandaise instead for example. The mushrooms for her steak were brought on a seperate plate with the hollandaise, and were as cold as the hollandaise was. We ordered the same steak cooked the same way. Mine was over cooked on one end, undercooked on the other. Hers was just generally overcooked. My after dinner drink of choice, Irish Coffee, was in my estimate 90% whiskey and 10% coffee. Very very strong, which made it very very not pleasent to drink.
Sorry. It seems we're forgetting one review. We got so busy with life threatening issues that we've forgotten it. Regeardless, we're both mostly healthy again so we can get back to work now.
So, we've been quite busy with other things. But never fear, the reviews are here!
La Casita restaurant; Roseville
The food was fine, but our server needs work. He was on a strict 10 minute rotation. I know this because I had my stop watch running. It was so strict that my drink refills came 9 or 10 minutes after I asked for them. Not cool.
Bennett's; St. Paul
Umm... yeah. Bennett's has the look of fine dining with cloth on the tables, cloth napkins, etc. BUT it's a bar and restaurant. The bar patrons are generally loud, and the TV's placed all around are generally loud (even afer they get turned down cause someone asks to have it turned up again). The food was ok, and our server was attentive, but she forgot a few things when the food was first brought to the table. Maryanne asked for bearnaise for her steak, but got hollandaise instead for example. The mushrooms for her steak were brought on a seperate plate with the hollandaise, and were as cold as the hollandaise was. We ordered the same steak cooked the same way. Mine was over cooked on one end, undercooked on the other. Hers was just generally overcooked. My after dinner drink of choice, Irish Coffee, was in my estimate 90% whiskey and 10% coffee. Very very strong, which made it very very not pleasent to drink.
Sorry. It seems we're forgetting one review. We got so busy with life threatening issues that we've forgotten it. Regeardless, we're both mostly healthy again so we can get back to work now.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Shamrock's aka The Irish Nook
My god man, can it get any worse.
We went to The Nook previously, and had a very poor experience. Unfortunately, this time round at the second location wasn't any better.
If you read the previous review, we had food problems (under cooked meet, over cooked fries) that were EXACTLY the same here. Further that with this: after being seated by the hostess, we waited while three other tables seated after us were visited by servers, orders taken, drinks delivered before we were greeted by our server. I thought the unwritten rule was first come, first served. In this case, they went to the tables with more people first, then came to the two of us.
The short of it:
Burgers were undercooked
Fries were actually burnt (tasted that way anyway) and chewy
cheese curds here were actually well cooked and tasty
Oh, if the menu says Coke, I expect a Coke when I order one. I don't know what soda they were actually serving, but it doesn't taste at all like Coke. Maybe the syrup was low or the dispenser is mixing it wrong with the water or something, but it was definitely off.
Based on this visit to their second location, we won't be coming back to either one. That decision was made in part by comments from my co-workers. I told them we went there, and two of them referred to this place as a 'dive'.
I think that says it all.
We went to The Nook previously, and had a very poor experience. Unfortunately, this time round at the second location wasn't any better.
If you read the previous review, we had food problems (under cooked meet, over cooked fries) that were EXACTLY the same here. Further that with this: after being seated by the hostess, we waited while three other tables seated after us were visited by servers, orders taken, drinks delivered before we were greeted by our server. I thought the unwritten rule was first come, first served. In this case, they went to the tables with more people first, then came to the two of us.
The short of it:
Burgers were undercooked
Fries were actually burnt (tasted that way anyway) and chewy
cheese curds here were actually well cooked and tasty
Oh, if the menu says Coke, I expect a Coke when I order one. I don't know what soda they were actually serving, but it doesn't taste at all like Coke. Maybe the syrup was low or the dispenser is mixing it wrong with the water or something, but it was definitely off.
Based on this visit to their second location, we won't be coming back to either one. That decision was made in part by comments from my co-workers. I told them we went there, and two of them referred to this place as a 'dive'.
I think that says it all.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Landmarc Cafe
Her perspective: C-
I go to fine dining restaurants on my own for lunch for two reasons. 1. To treat myself once in a while. 2. To see if service is different for a party of one rather than two or more. Usually, service suffers when there is only one person at the table. Given the proper motivation, I will order 2-3 courses and tip generously. In this case, I was not impressed.
Let me start with a positive. The decor was beautiful. It was a fine dining restaurant in the sense that it was decorated like the traditional fine dining restaurants of the 60's. Gorgeous dark wood surrounds you and it has an air of class. There is even a white baby grand piano by the host stand.
I entered through the bar and there were a couple of tables occupied there. As I walked through the bar and restaurant to the host stand, I noticed there was only one table of businessmen seated in the restaurant. Since there was no host, it gave me a chance to look around and I was surprised to see that, with as empty as the restaurant was, there was still a dirty table in the middle of the room. I noticed the bartender come out from behind the bar and he seated me in the dining room without a word. I even had to ask if I could get a table for one. He showed me to a very private table, which I was grateful for, but the businessmen were on the opposite side of the partition wall that I was sitting next to.
The bartender left, again without a word, to give me time to look at the menu. I decided quickly and waited for him to come back. He did ask me if I was ready to order, but that was the first time he spoke to me. I ordered fried calamari as a starter, Steak Frites for my entree and a side of steamed seasonal vegetables. Up to this point, I was not given an opportunity to order anything to drink besides my water. Even after I finished ordering my food, he took my menu and silently walked away. When he brought my bread, I asked for some hot tea, then had to ask for sugar when he brought the tea set out. At least he gave me a spoon that I didn't have to ask for.
I could hear the kitchen calling for service when my food came up, which kind of ruins the "experience" or "show" of fine dining.
My calamari was served with marinara and garlic mayo, which is a very good thing because it was so bland. It had only been dredged in flour and fried with no other seasonings and it was more chewy and tough than I have ever had. I was not given any indication that the bartender was going to give me a new fork for my entree, so to ensure that I would get one, I left my fork on the appetizer plate and pushed it to the end of the table.
The bartender came out a couple of minutes before he served my entree and side to set my fork and steak knife. The steak came with a bearnaise sauce, which was way too heavy on the vinegar. That was almost all I could taste, but the meat was so flavorless that I kept using the sauce. I had ordered the meat medium, and, although it looked like it was cooked perfectly, it wasn't very warm and ended up downright cold by the time I was halfway through eating it. The steak was served with frenchfries, which were honestly the best part of the meal. Nothing special, just fries seasoned with regular salt, but the best taste and texture of the entire meal.
My vegetable side was much smaller than I expected for $4: eight green beans and 3 carrots. They were steamed and crisp, but not very warm and not seasoned in any way.
I was very disappointed in this meal and the bartender said less than 15 words to me the entire time I was there. I'm not sure I even want to try this place again. If it were just the service, I would definitely try again, but with the food and service being poor, it gives me pause.
I go to fine dining restaurants on my own for lunch for two reasons. 1. To treat myself once in a while. 2. To see if service is different for a party of one rather than two or more. Usually, service suffers when there is only one person at the table. Given the proper motivation, I will order 2-3 courses and tip generously. In this case, I was not impressed.
Let me start with a positive. The decor was beautiful. It was a fine dining restaurant in the sense that it was decorated like the traditional fine dining restaurants of the 60's. Gorgeous dark wood surrounds you and it has an air of class. There is even a white baby grand piano by the host stand.
I entered through the bar and there were a couple of tables occupied there. As I walked through the bar and restaurant to the host stand, I noticed there was only one table of businessmen seated in the restaurant. Since there was no host, it gave me a chance to look around and I was surprised to see that, with as empty as the restaurant was, there was still a dirty table in the middle of the room. I noticed the bartender come out from behind the bar and he seated me in the dining room without a word. I even had to ask if I could get a table for one. He showed me to a very private table, which I was grateful for, but the businessmen were on the opposite side of the partition wall that I was sitting next to.
The bartender left, again without a word, to give me time to look at the menu. I decided quickly and waited for him to come back. He did ask me if I was ready to order, but that was the first time he spoke to me. I ordered fried calamari as a starter, Steak Frites for my entree and a side of steamed seasonal vegetables. Up to this point, I was not given an opportunity to order anything to drink besides my water. Even after I finished ordering my food, he took my menu and silently walked away. When he brought my bread, I asked for some hot tea, then had to ask for sugar when he brought the tea set out. At least he gave me a spoon that I didn't have to ask for.
I could hear the kitchen calling for service when my food came up, which kind of ruins the "experience" or "show" of fine dining.
My calamari was served with marinara and garlic mayo, which is a very good thing because it was so bland. It had only been dredged in flour and fried with no other seasonings and it was more chewy and tough than I have ever had. I was not given any indication that the bartender was going to give me a new fork for my entree, so to ensure that I would get one, I left my fork on the appetizer plate and pushed it to the end of the table.
The bartender came out a couple of minutes before he served my entree and side to set my fork and steak knife. The steak came with a bearnaise sauce, which was way too heavy on the vinegar. That was almost all I could taste, but the meat was so flavorless that I kept using the sauce. I had ordered the meat medium, and, although it looked like it was cooked perfectly, it wasn't very warm and ended up downright cold by the time I was halfway through eating it. The steak was served with frenchfries, which were honestly the best part of the meal. Nothing special, just fries seasoned with regular salt, but the best taste and texture of the entire meal.
My vegetable side was much smaller than I expected for $4: eight green beans and 3 carrots. They were steamed and crisp, but not very warm and not seasoned in any way.
I was very disappointed in this meal and the bartender said less than 15 words to me the entire time I was there. I'm not sure I even want to try this place again. If it were just the service, I would definitely try again, but with the food and service being poor, it gives me pause.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Keys Cafe
Her perspective: B-
I went to the Keys downtown for lunch since I had been to other locations and wanted to try it out. I was seated in the bar area with a good view of the bakery counter.
My server was very pleasant and mostly attentive and observant. I did wait for a few minutes for her to take my order, but to be fair, it was pretty busy and she did apologize. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the side of the table where people had to walk quite close to me to get behind the bakery counter (which was also a wait stand).
I ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich with fries. I was not informed that the fries were more than $2 extra. Not that I would not have gotten them if I had known, I just would have liked to have been informed since that was not listed on the menu as far as I could see.
The food was quite tasty and the server checked back in an appropriate amount of time. I was given the extra sides I had ordered with my sandwich without me having to ask again when the food arrived. I know that may seem picky, but I would rather not have to ask for things twice.
Since it was so busy, and there was so much openness to the space, it was quite loud and the sound tended to ring around the walls to make it louder.
The bakery counter had cakes, brownies, cookies and bars. The rice krispy bars were so big, that they would better be described as a brick rather than a bar. I didn't try any of the bakery goodies -- I had to take half my sandwich home as it was.
I would probably go back with friends, perhaps more for happy hour than for lunch, though.
I went to the Keys downtown for lunch since I had been to other locations and wanted to try it out. I was seated in the bar area with a good view of the bakery counter.
My server was very pleasant and mostly attentive and observant. I did wait for a few minutes for her to take my order, but to be fair, it was pretty busy and she did apologize. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the side of the table where people had to walk quite close to me to get behind the bakery counter (which was also a wait stand).
I ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich with fries. I was not informed that the fries were more than $2 extra. Not that I would not have gotten them if I had known, I just would have liked to have been informed since that was not listed on the menu as far as I could see.
The food was quite tasty and the server checked back in an appropriate amount of time. I was given the extra sides I had ordered with my sandwich without me having to ask again when the food arrived. I know that may seem picky, but I would rather not have to ask for things twice.
Since it was so busy, and there was so much openness to the space, it was quite loud and the sound tended to ring around the walls to make it louder.
The bakery counter had cakes, brownies, cookies and bars. The rice krispy bars were so big, that they would better be described as a brick rather than a bar. I didn't try any of the bakery goodies -- I had to take half my sandwich home as it was.
I would probably go back with friends, perhaps more for happy hour than for lunch, though.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Red Lobster, Maplewood
Her Perspective: B+
The first thing I want to say is that this restaurant was a pleasure to visit. Carol was our server and she was very attentive and personable. She even talked to the table behind me since the little boy was kicking the booth seat and she had noticed that it bothered me. She also made sure that if he started doing it again that I would tell her and she would talk to them again.
This is service as it should be in a family-style dining restaurant. We were both impressed. The food was great, all of it was the correct temperature and they even accommodated my request to have my crab legs served a few minutes after the rest of my entree to make sure they didn't get cold while I was working on the rest.
I honestly don't have any complaints and we were both very pleased. We will definitely be back and may even ask for the same server. She attemped upsells without being pushy, she was knowledgable about the menu and she was observant. That's all that we have been looking for. I would recommend this location.
The first thing I want to say is that this restaurant was a pleasure to visit. Carol was our server and she was very attentive and personable. She even talked to the table behind me since the little boy was kicking the booth seat and she had noticed that it bothered me. She also made sure that if he started doing it again that I would tell her and she would talk to them again.
This is service as it should be in a family-style dining restaurant. We were both impressed. The food was great, all of it was the correct temperature and they even accommodated my request to have my crab legs served a few minutes after the rest of my entree to make sure they didn't get cold while I was working on the rest.
I honestly don't have any complaints and we were both very pleased. We will definitely be back and may even ask for the same server. She attemped upsells without being pushy, she was knowledgable about the menu and she was observant. That's all that we have been looking for. I would recommend this location.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Chili's Maplewood
Her perspective: D
This is the third bad experience we've had at this location, so we will not be returning. We will be trying other locations.
We were seated almost immediately, but it took quite a while for the server to greet us. So long, in fact, that we were both ready to order. I ordered a Cherry Coke, Classic Nachos appetizer and the chicken fajitas. William ordered a Presidente margarita and the Honey BBQ Sirloin with mashed potatoes/gravy and seasonal vegetables.
My Cherry Coke tasted like the syrup was running out on their pop machine, so I had to ask her to check it and get me another one. When we got our nachos, we were given appetizer plates, but no napkins or sliverware. We had to ask for them, and it was extremely hard to get anyone's attention when we needed things our entire visit. William's margarita was pretty tasty apparently, and the only thing they got right in this visit.
When we got our food, my side plate with the fajita fixings on it had hard, crusty cheese and very little of it, and the sour cream was spongy, like it was old. I finally got our server's attention and asked her to replace it. She did so promptly, and it did look better, but she never once asked how our meals were, much less check on William for anything other than another drink.
William's steak was very over-done, which wasn't hard because it was so very thin. His mashed potatoes were crusty, like they were the dried out remains of the pan. By the time the server checked with us to see if we wanted dessert or anything else, I was mostly done eating and William was just so frustrated that he didn't even want to wait for them to cook another steak. Like I said, it was very difficult to get anyone's attention (we were back in a corner) and our server didn't bother to even look our way if she had gone to another table in her section. The server asked if he wanted another steak or if we wanted it taken off the bill or if we wanted her to have the manager stop by and William told her that taking it off the bill would be fine. She went to go do that and we saw her go to another table twice before the manager came over. He offered to buy the steak, another drink, the appetizer... William just told him to take the steak off. The manager came back with our bill and told us that he had taken the nachos off. We were confused since it was the steak that was the problem. The manager tried to make small talk asking us if we had been there before, which steak William usually likes, etc. It was rather annoying. After he left the table, I looked at the receipt to find out that he had taken both the steak and the nachos off the bill.
I appreciate the effort the manager made to try to get us to come back, but, like I said before, after three bad visits in a row, we won't be back to that location.
One more note: William had planned on staying there for a while after we were done eating to continue to drink, so they not only lost the money from the comps on the bill, but the other sales they would have had. We are generous tippers where we get even at least decent service, so the server lost quite a bit of money on her tip, too, much less the additional tip on the additional sales we would have given them had we stayed. This tends to be the case when we are disappointed in the service and/or food.
I hope you stay away from Chili's in Maplewood. We'll update our review with other locations, I'm sure.
This is the third bad experience we've had at this location, so we will not be returning. We will be trying other locations.
We were seated almost immediately, but it took quite a while for the server to greet us. So long, in fact, that we were both ready to order. I ordered a Cherry Coke, Classic Nachos appetizer and the chicken fajitas. William ordered a Presidente margarita and the Honey BBQ Sirloin with mashed potatoes/gravy and seasonal vegetables.
My Cherry Coke tasted like the syrup was running out on their pop machine, so I had to ask her to check it and get me another one. When we got our nachos, we were given appetizer plates, but no napkins or sliverware. We had to ask for them, and it was extremely hard to get anyone's attention when we needed things our entire visit. William's margarita was pretty tasty apparently, and the only thing they got right in this visit.
When we got our food, my side plate with the fajita fixings on it had hard, crusty cheese and very little of it, and the sour cream was spongy, like it was old. I finally got our server's attention and asked her to replace it. She did so promptly, and it did look better, but she never once asked how our meals were, much less check on William for anything other than another drink.
William's steak was very over-done, which wasn't hard because it was so very thin. His mashed potatoes were crusty, like they were the dried out remains of the pan. By the time the server checked with us to see if we wanted dessert or anything else, I was mostly done eating and William was just so frustrated that he didn't even want to wait for them to cook another steak. Like I said, it was very difficult to get anyone's attention (we were back in a corner) and our server didn't bother to even look our way if she had gone to another table in her section. The server asked if he wanted another steak or if we wanted it taken off the bill or if we wanted her to have the manager stop by and William told her that taking it off the bill would be fine. She went to go do that and we saw her go to another table twice before the manager came over. He offered to buy the steak, another drink, the appetizer... William just told him to take the steak off. The manager came back with our bill and told us that he had taken the nachos off. We were confused since it was the steak that was the problem. The manager tried to make small talk asking us if we had been there before, which steak William usually likes, etc. It was rather annoying. After he left the table, I looked at the receipt to find out that he had taken both the steak and the nachos off the bill.
I appreciate the effort the manager made to try to get us to come back, but, like I said before, after three bad visits in a row, we won't be back to that location.
One more note: William had planned on staying there for a while after we were done eating to continue to drink, so they not only lost the money from the comps on the bill, but the other sales they would have had. We are generous tippers where we get even at least decent service, so the server lost quite a bit of money on her tip, too, much less the additional tip on the additional sales we would have given them had we stayed. This tends to be the case when we are disappointed in the service and/or food.
I hope you stay away from Chili's in Maplewood. We'll update our review with other locations, I'm sure.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
The Nook
Her perspective: C-
After seeing a special on this place on the Food Network, we decided to head out and see if it's as good as Matt's Juicy Lucy that we love.
This is a very small restaurant with barely any waiting room. We had to hear from someone in line that the bartender was taking care of the waiting list. I was hoping that the long line meant the food was worth the wait. It was completely packed. We waited about a little less than an hour and ended up sitting at the end of the bar, in perfect view of the kitchen. Bill ordered a Coke and I ordered a Cherry Coke (Coke and grenadine). They both tasted a bit odd.
For an appetizer, we decided on cheese curds. They seemed undercooked and didn't have much flavor. The Ranch dressing they were served with it was really tasty, though.
We both ordered their signature burger: "Juicy Nookie". It mentioned in the menu that they are all cooked to medium and all are served with their fries which we had learned from the Food Network were "marinated" in vinegar. When we got our burgers (which have the cheese in the middle of the burger, in case you're unfamiliar with a Juicy Lucy), we noticed that they weren't very hot, especially the cheese in the middle. The meat tasted better than the burgers we get at Matt's, but not by much, and my burger was cooked Medium Rare to Rare, rather than the Medium it said in the menu. My stomach is very delicate right now due to my medical issues, so this was not good news. Also, both our orders of fries were very overcooked. We had noticed that the cook had cooked some fries, left them sitting over the fryer (which makes them soggy), then popped them back into the grease when he got an order for them, just to heat them and crisp them up a bit. That explains why ours were overdone.
We heard the bartender talking to the party next to us at the bar and she was saying that they were busy before they appeared on the Food Network, but were even busier afterwards. There is a second location about a mile away, but neither of us remember them saying anything about a second location on the show. So all the extra business is going to this location, which can't handle it. It just seemed like they were so busy, that the cooks were just trying to get the food out to the guests, but not making sure it was properly cooked.
The bartender had mentioned that the other location (which in the menu was called "The Irish Nook") was on Randolph and West 7th St. We looked for it and couldn't find it. The only pub that was there was a place called Shamrock's. When we got home, I looked on line and found out that the actual name of the second location is Shamrock's Irish Nook. The words irish nook were nowhere to be found on the sign outside, so there was no way for us to know that it was the right place.
Overall, we were very disappointed. It is definitely not worth the wait. I might go back for appetizers if I want to go someplace that's packed - and that will never happen... We will probably give the other location a try at some point, but most likely not soon. We would much rather get our Juicy Lucy's from Matt's at 35th and Cedar on Minneapolis.
After seeing a special on this place on the Food Network, we decided to head out and see if it's as good as Matt's Juicy Lucy that we love.
This is a very small restaurant with barely any waiting room. We had to hear from someone in line that the bartender was taking care of the waiting list. I was hoping that the long line meant the food was worth the wait. It was completely packed. We waited about a little less than an hour and ended up sitting at the end of the bar, in perfect view of the kitchen. Bill ordered a Coke and I ordered a Cherry Coke (Coke and grenadine). They both tasted a bit odd.
For an appetizer, we decided on cheese curds. They seemed undercooked and didn't have much flavor. The Ranch dressing they were served with it was really tasty, though.
We both ordered their signature burger: "Juicy Nookie". It mentioned in the menu that they are all cooked to medium and all are served with their fries which we had learned from the Food Network were "marinated" in vinegar. When we got our burgers (which have the cheese in the middle of the burger, in case you're unfamiliar with a Juicy Lucy), we noticed that they weren't very hot, especially the cheese in the middle. The meat tasted better than the burgers we get at Matt's, but not by much, and my burger was cooked Medium Rare to Rare, rather than the Medium it said in the menu. My stomach is very delicate right now due to my medical issues, so this was not good news. Also, both our orders of fries were very overcooked. We had noticed that the cook had cooked some fries, left them sitting over the fryer (which makes them soggy), then popped them back into the grease when he got an order for them, just to heat them and crisp them up a bit. That explains why ours were overdone.
We heard the bartender talking to the party next to us at the bar and she was saying that they were busy before they appeared on the Food Network, but were even busier afterwards. There is a second location about a mile away, but neither of us remember them saying anything about a second location on the show. So all the extra business is going to this location, which can't handle it. It just seemed like they were so busy, that the cooks were just trying to get the food out to the guests, but not making sure it was properly cooked.
The bartender had mentioned that the other location (which in the menu was called "The Irish Nook") was on Randolph and West 7th St. We looked for it and couldn't find it. The only pub that was there was a place called Shamrock's. When we got home, I looked on line and found out that the actual name of the second location is Shamrock's Irish Nook. The words irish nook were nowhere to be found on the sign outside, so there was no way for us to know that it was the right place.
Overall, we were very disappointed. It is definitely not worth the wait. I might go back for appetizers if I want to go someplace that's packed - and that will never happen... We will probably give the other location a try at some point, but most likely not soon. We would much rather get our Juicy Lucy's from Matt's at 35th and Cedar on Minneapolis.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
I Am Legend...
Ever seen Resident Evil?
If you have, then you've seen this movie. Couple changes - One actor and dog to carry most of the movie (couple more people show up later). Still, it was creative and well thought out, but I felt like I'd seen it before (Resident Evil again) so I kinda knew what to expect. After awhile of watching, I started predicting things and was right more than half the time.
I don't like predictable movies, especially when they are supposed to be action-adventure-sci-fi-drama flicks.
Will Smith did well, and really does carry the movie for the first hour or so. The CGI (computer graphics) work and special effects were pretty good, though I've noted in the last couple years that its getting easier to spot and pick out the CGI work in movies. It still looks artificial and almost out of place to me. Maybe that's my color blindness making it stand out more, or maybe its just getting that noticeable again.
Either way, we'll probably end up buying this one after it's been out on DVD for a bit and the price drops. It was mostly enjoyable with a predictable ending (for me anyway).
Still, were trying to find another theater to see Michael Clayton in so we can catch it on the big screen and review it. Also working on Spiderwick, Golden Compass, Jumper and Vantage Point before we miss them entirely. Also looking forward to the next Narnia movie (coming soon!).
We saw I Am Legend at the GTI 4 in Roseville....
If you have, then you've seen this movie. Couple changes - One actor and dog to carry most of the movie (couple more people show up later). Still, it was creative and well thought out, but I felt like I'd seen it before (Resident Evil again) so I kinda knew what to expect. After awhile of watching, I started predicting things and was right more than half the time.
I don't like predictable movies, especially when they are supposed to be action-adventure-sci-fi-drama flicks.
Will Smith did well, and really does carry the movie for the first hour or so. The CGI (computer graphics) work and special effects were pretty good, though I've noted in the last couple years that its getting easier to spot and pick out the CGI work in movies. It still looks artificial and almost out of place to me. Maybe that's my color blindness making it stand out more, or maybe its just getting that noticeable again.
Either way, we'll probably end up buying this one after it's been out on DVD for a bit and the price drops. It was mostly enjoyable with a predictable ending (for me anyway).
Still, were trying to find another theater to see Michael Clayton in so we can catch it on the big screen and review it. Also working on Spiderwick, Golden Compass, Jumper and Vantage Point before we miss them entirely. Also looking forward to the next Narnia movie (coming soon!).
We saw I Am Legend at the GTI 4 in Roseville....
GTI 4 Theater - Roseville, MN
This is one of those $2 theaters ($1 on Tuesdays) were you can find first run movies that have left the main theaters.
That's the best part. Problems with this place include the mold and mildew smell in each of the theaters (Maryanne smelled urine and bleach at one point during our movie), broken seats, dirty floors and ceilings (water spots on most of the ceiling tiles, big ones).
This place is past run down and is heading towards decrepit. I used to hit this theater a few times a month just a few years back. It wasn't this bad back then but still had a few issues. Currently Maryanne needs to avoid moldy environments (lung issues right now) and we didn't even think about that until after we sat down and the smells started rolling in.
Unless we are desperate to see a movie in a theater, and we missed it in the main-line theaters, we don't plan on going back here anytime soon.
That's the best part. Problems with this place include the mold and mildew smell in each of the theaters (Maryanne smelled urine and bleach at one point during our movie), broken seats, dirty floors and ceilings (water spots on most of the ceiling tiles, big ones).
This place is past run down and is heading towards decrepit. I used to hit this theater a few times a month just a few years back. It wasn't this bad back then but still had a few issues. Currently Maryanne needs to avoid moldy environments (lung issues right now) and we didn't even think about that until after we sat down and the smells started rolling in.
Unless we are desperate to see a movie in a theater, and we missed it in the main-line theaters, we don't plan on going back here anytime soon.
Snuffy's Malt Shop - Roseville, MN
I've been driving by this place for years. After the movie, we thought it'd be nice to stop in for a malt (shake for her) and a bite after seeing I Am Legend.
Long story short:
I cut my thumb on my malt spoon. It had a flat spot on the handle rubbing against or getting flattened by another piece of metal, and it had a nicely sharp edge. Went through my thumb like an x-acto knife blade.
My chocolate malt (and her shake) were apparently chocolate ice-cream and milk. Looked like a little too much milk was used (kinda runny) but still fine by themselves. Could've used an extra shot of chocolate though.
She got a chicken sandwich, and wasn't very happy with it. It looked like it wasn't cooked on the outside, but she kept cutting into it and checking and it was fully cooked. She said it felt slimy.
I got a cup of instant heart burn, also known as over-cooked (tasted, but did not look, burned) chili. Other than the slight burned taste, it was good and hot. Got me later when the diarrhea hit and I was burping it up all night. I hate to be so blunt like that, but this deserves it.
There is another Snuffy's place in St. Paul, and I've eaten there a few times before and liked it. So, I was expecting better of this location. I was disappointed instead.
We won't be back.
Long story short:
I cut my thumb on my malt spoon. It had a flat spot on the handle rubbing against or getting flattened by another piece of metal, and it had a nicely sharp edge. Went through my thumb like an x-acto knife blade.
My chocolate malt (and her shake) were apparently chocolate ice-cream and milk. Looked like a little too much milk was used (kinda runny) but still fine by themselves. Could've used an extra shot of chocolate though.
She got a chicken sandwich, and wasn't very happy with it. It looked like it wasn't cooked on the outside, but she kept cutting into it and checking and it was fully cooked. She said it felt slimy.
I got a cup of instant heart burn, also known as over-cooked (tasted, but did not look, burned) chili. Other than the slight burned taste, it was good and hot. Got me later when the diarrhea hit and I was burping it up all night. I hate to be so blunt like that, but this deserves it.
There is another Snuffy's place in St. Paul, and I've eaten there a few times before and liked it. So, I was expecting better of this location. I was disappointed instead.
We won't be back.
Monday, February 25, 2008
IHOP
Maplewood Mall area
His thoughts:
Things went fine until we got our food. Her crepe was fine, and she had to force herself to stop eating it so she wouldn't get too full.
I got an old staple: eggs, hashbrowns, ham, bacon, sausage and cakes, side of toast. Sausage, ham (on one side) and bacon were all over cooked (blackened or charred for now good reason) but still quite edible. Hashbrowns were fine. I can't speak for the eggs since I didn't eat them until they were good and cold.
The reason? My toast had cream cheese on it (besides the butter). After our waitress decided to check back to on us, I asked her for some fresh toast because of the cheese.
I got a prompt replacement, which of course also had cream cheese on it.l I know this because in both cases, I decided to taste this odd 'gunk' on my toast and it was unmistakably cheese of the cream type (which I do like, just not on toast). I made mention of this again when our waitress came back to ask if we wanted anything else. After saying no, and her taking away the second toast, she came back with the bill and then told us that it wasn't cheese but old butter and it gets that way when its too old, but its fine.
Well.
I've never seen or heard of butter spontaneously turning into cheese, nor has Maryanne. We have both however heard of cross-contamination resulting in using the same utensils in multiple food items during preparation (such as the same knife in the butter and cream cheese).
So, either our waitress was lying to cover the truth (which seems apparent) or the cooks are not keeping things properly clean and separated during food prep (which also seems apparent). I'm thinking a health inspection is in order for this location especially since cross-contamination of foods is something that cooks and line workers are trained to avoid.
That being said, I'm not eating here for awhile. I'm giving this place a C for food taste, and I'd like to give an F for everything else but I'd think they'll clean up their act so I'll make it a D.
I mean, really, who in their right-mind is going to go out and tell a customer that they were just served old food?
Seriously?
His thoughts:
Things went fine until we got our food. Her crepe was fine, and she had to force herself to stop eating it so she wouldn't get too full.
I got an old staple: eggs, hashbrowns, ham, bacon, sausage and cakes, side of toast. Sausage, ham (on one side) and bacon were all over cooked (blackened or charred for now good reason) but still quite edible. Hashbrowns were fine. I can't speak for the eggs since I didn't eat them until they were good and cold.
The reason? My toast had cream cheese on it (besides the butter). After our waitress decided to check back to on us, I asked her for some fresh toast because of the cheese.
I got a prompt replacement, which of course also had cream cheese on it.l I know this because in both cases, I decided to taste this odd 'gunk' on my toast and it was unmistakably cheese of the cream type (which I do like, just not on toast). I made mention of this again when our waitress came back to ask if we wanted anything else. After saying no, and her taking away the second toast, she came back with the bill and then told us that it wasn't cheese but old butter and it gets that way when its too old, but its fine.
Well.
I've never seen or heard of butter spontaneously turning into cheese, nor has Maryanne. We have both however heard of cross-contamination resulting in using the same utensils in multiple food items during preparation (such as the same knife in the butter and cream cheese).
So, either our waitress was lying to cover the truth (which seems apparent) or the cooks are not keeping things properly clean and separated during food prep (which also seems apparent). I'm thinking a health inspection is in order for this location especially since cross-contamination of foods is something that cooks and line workers are trained to avoid.
That being said, I'm not eating here for awhile. I'm giving this place a C for food taste, and I'd like to give an F for everything else but I'd think they'll clean up their act so I'll make it a D.
I mean, really, who in their right-mind is going to go out and tell a customer that they were just served old food?
Seriously?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Quick note...
I had posted previously about us having less time to do things. That isn't the case anymore. I'm not going into details, but we'll have more time available very soon to do our regular evening and weekend routines, and in turn eat out and see more movies and other entertainment.
So, you'll be seeing more reviews real soon.
So, you'll be seeing more reviews real soon.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets - Jan. 20, 2008
His perspective: Wait
Don't get me wrong, the movie was pretty good. But...
It feels like they were rushing the plot along, pushing to get to the end. Some of the things they had happen in the movie are just plain not possible (the scene with the President when they discover the tunnel is an obvious one). The whole thing (compared with the first one) just seemed too easy.
Speaking of the first one; if you've seen that one, then you've already seen this one. Good guy and bad guy are both after the treasure. Bad guy does bad things to good people to get the good guy to fail. When that doesn't work, then bad guy does bad things to the good guy directly (like taking his girl hostage while they search for the treasure underground).
Sound familiar? It should since this movie is just a retelling of the first one. Replace the Templar treasure with an Aztec treasure and your all set. That and a bit more international travel should just about cover it.
Also, I recall certain scenes from the trailers for this movie that weren't actually in the movie. That really annoys me.
It is worth seeing, just don't spend full price on it. Wait for a dollar theater or a rental, or at the very least go to a matinee showing and save a couple bucks.
I hope the third one is better (not to spoil it, but they do leave an interesting tidbit hanging at the end of this that could easily spawn a third movie).
Don't get me wrong, the movie was pretty good. But...
It feels like they were rushing the plot along, pushing to get to the end. Some of the things they had happen in the movie are just plain not possible (the scene with the President when they discover the tunnel is an obvious one). The whole thing (compared with the first one) just seemed too easy.
Speaking of the first one; if you've seen that one, then you've already seen this one. Good guy and bad guy are both after the treasure. Bad guy does bad things to good people to get the good guy to fail. When that doesn't work, then bad guy does bad things to the good guy directly (like taking his girl hostage while they search for the treasure underground).
Sound familiar? It should since this movie is just a retelling of the first one. Replace the Templar treasure with an Aztec treasure and your all set. That and a bit more international travel should just about cover it.
Also, I recall certain scenes from the trailers for this movie that weren't actually in the movie. That really annoys me.
It is worth seeing, just don't spend full price on it. Wait for a dollar theater or a rental, or at the very least go to a matinee showing and save a couple bucks.
I hope the third one is better (not to spoil it, but they do leave an interesting tidbit hanging at the end of this that could easily spawn a third movie).
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