We live here in the Twin Cities (as should be obvious), and we would just like to say that our thoughts, our prayers and our hopes go out to all those working on and affected by this terrible event. We hope that everyone will be able to find some peace and solace after these events.
Our prayers to you, and to the safety of the rescuers, workers and recovery personnel in the aftermath.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Chili's, Maplewood - July 21, 2007
Her Perspective: C
His perspective: C
We went to Chili's at 2:30 pm on a Saturday for drinks and appetizers. We went to the rail of the bar, but there was no one behind the bar and we had to wait several minutes until the bartender came back. She seemed friendly enough at first and we ordered two Presidente margaritas, which is one of our favorite drinks. She made them right away, and we were trying to watch her make them so we could figure out what is in them. It was hard to see because there was a partition in the way, but we did notice that she used four different bottles. When she brought us the drinks, we asked her what was in them. Her reply was that she wasn't sure! Considering that she had just made the drinks, it's disturbing that she didn't know what is in them and had to look it up in the drink menu. Not to mention that when she started to read the names of the liquors off the drink menu, she couldn't pronounce any of them. She handed the drink menu to me to read for myself. There are three liquors and we had watched her use four.
William's drink tasted different than mine. His had a distinct whiskey flavor in addition to what was supposed to be in it and mine did not. I think she grabbed a bottle of whiskey by mistake and made his drink with it and mine without.
We ordered two appetizers: Queso and Southwest Eggrolls. The queso came out right away, but didn't taste very good. It tasted a bit burnt like it had been sitting for a while. When the eggrolls came out, I noticed that they looked very light in color like they had just changed the oil in the fryer. When I tasted them, I confirmed that they were cooked in new oil. They were very tasty. We put aside the queso and when the bartender came to take it, she asked if we were done with it since we didn't finish it. She did not ask if we were unhappy with it. We told her that it tasted burnt and she rushed off while saying that she would see if the manager would take it off the bill, which they did.
She made one more margarita for William, this time with three liquors, but then gave us our check. We might have stayed longer and had more drinks, but since we already had our check it seemed like we were being asked to leave. We did not feel inclined to stay in light of that, so we paid our check and left.
The bartender was very inattentive during our visit and seemed stressed and busy even though there were only three groups in the bar area including us. Overall, we were quite disappointed.
His perspective: C
We went to Chili's at 2:30 pm on a Saturday for drinks and appetizers. We went to the rail of the bar, but there was no one behind the bar and we had to wait several minutes until the bartender came back. She seemed friendly enough at first and we ordered two Presidente margaritas, which is one of our favorite drinks. She made them right away, and we were trying to watch her make them so we could figure out what is in them. It was hard to see because there was a partition in the way, but we did notice that she used four different bottles. When she brought us the drinks, we asked her what was in them. Her reply was that she wasn't sure! Considering that she had just made the drinks, it's disturbing that she didn't know what is in them and had to look it up in the drink menu. Not to mention that when she started to read the names of the liquors off the drink menu, she couldn't pronounce any of them. She handed the drink menu to me to read for myself. There are three liquors and we had watched her use four.
William's drink tasted different than mine. His had a distinct whiskey flavor in addition to what was supposed to be in it and mine did not. I think she grabbed a bottle of whiskey by mistake and made his drink with it and mine without.
We ordered two appetizers: Queso and Southwest Eggrolls. The queso came out right away, but didn't taste very good. It tasted a bit burnt like it had been sitting for a while. When the eggrolls came out, I noticed that they looked very light in color like they had just changed the oil in the fryer. When I tasted them, I confirmed that they were cooked in new oil. They were very tasty. We put aside the queso and when the bartender came to take it, she asked if we were done with it since we didn't finish it. She did not ask if we were unhappy with it. We told her that it tasted burnt and she rushed off while saying that she would see if the manager would take it off the bill, which they did.
She made one more margarita for William, this time with three liquors, but then gave us our check. We might have stayed longer and had more drinks, but since we already had our check it seemed like we were being asked to leave. We did not feel inclined to stay in light of that, so we paid our check and left.
The bartender was very inattentive during our visit and seemed stressed and busy even though there were only three groups in the bar area including us. Overall, we were quite disappointed.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Chicago, The Musical, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts - July 15, 2007
Synopsis: In 1920's Chicago, Velma Kelly, a vaudeville singer is arrested for the murder of her husband and sister. Roxie Hart, her biggest fan, who is having an affair, shoots and kills her lover when he threatens to leave her. In jail, she meets up with Velma and figures out that she needs not only a lawyer, but the lawyer, Billy Flynn. She convinces her husband to come up with the $5,000 fee for Billy and, for a while, she is the biggest celebrity murderess on the cell block, taking the spotlight from Velma. Velma, in desperation, tries (unsuccessfully) to convince Roxie to join her act once they both get out. Suddenly, an heiress is brought into jail for killing her husband who was cheating on her. Billy turns his attention to her and, desperate to get the attention back, Roxie faints. Upon awakening, she falsely claims she's pregnant. In an effort to garner sympathy with the jury, Billy convinces Roxie's husband to divorce her since the baby is not his. At the trial, Billy uses his "razzle-dazzle" to convince the jury that the murder was in self-defense and just before the verdict is read, there is a shooting/murder on the courthouse steps. Roxie is free to go, but rushes after the cameras and reporters, trying to get more publicity. They are more concerned with the "next big thing". Finally, Velma and Roxie get together to form a double vaudeville act.
Her perspective: B-
First, let me say, I love musicals. I missed this one the first run at the Ordway, but when I heard it was going to run for another week, I made sure not to miss it this time. However, I think watching the movie first somewhat ruined this one for me.
Don't get me wrong, the acting and singing was phenomenal. Gregory Harrison starred as Billy Flynn, and I think that was the highlight of the show for me. The orchestra was up on the stage in full view of the audience and the conductor played a part in the show. That was fun.
However, being that this was a Fosse show and a Broadway tour, I expected more. The choreography was bland and uninteresting; not nearly as "sexy" as I was expecting. It was very repetitive. The costumes were unimaginative and most of them didn't fit the actors or the character they were playing. There were also precious few costume changes. The chorus never changed their costumes and the leads/supporting actors had maybe one or two changes. The actress playing Velma should have been made to look "prettier". Her hair was tied back in a very severe bun and she looked old.
I was rather disappointed with the show as a whole and wished I had paid less for my ticket. It seemed that the sound people were having trouble getting the right mikes on at the right times as well. However, the novelty of live theater, especially with a couple of well-known actors, was not lost on me. I still had a good time.
Her perspective: B-
First, let me say, I love musicals. I missed this one the first run at the Ordway, but when I heard it was going to run for another week, I made sure not to miss it this time. However, I think watching the movie first somewhat ruined this one for me.
Don't get me wrong, the acting and singing was phenomenal. Gregory Harrison starred as Billy Flynn, and I think that was the highlight of the show for me. The orchestra was up on the stage in full view of the audience and the conductor played a part in the show. That was fun.
However, being that this was a Fosse show and a Broadway tour, I expected more. The choreography was bland and uninteresting; not nearly as "sexy" as I was expecting. It was very repetitive. The costumes were unimaginative and most of them didn't fit the actors or the character they were playing. There were also precious few costume changes. The chorus never changed their costumes and the leads/supporting actors had maybe one or two changes. The actress playing Velma should have been made to look "prettier". Her hair was tied back in a very severe bun and she looked old.
I was rather disappointed with the show as a whole and wished I had paid less for my ticket. It seemed that the sound people were having trouble getting the right mikes on at the right times as well. However, the novelty of live theater, especially with a couple of well-known actors, was not lost on me. I still had a good time.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Synopsis: Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort is a lie, putting Harry's integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Delores Umbridge. But Professor Umbridge's "Ministry-approved" course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark forces threatening them, so at the prompting of his friends, Hermione and Ron, Harry is convinced to take matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore's Army," Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.
Her perspective: Must See
His perspective: Must See or Wait depending on how much you like this movie series.
If you are a true Harry Potter fan, you need to see this in the theater. It's worth it to see the special effects on the big screen. If not, you can wait until dollar theaters or video.
I thought the movie was quite well done, although this is the first HP movie I've seen without reading the book first. I guess I had expected a little more, though. The final battle seemed a little short and lacked variety in the use of spells and the demonstration of power. The previous films in this series kept their momentum and, I thought, were very good. While this one didn't measure up to those, I still thought it was very good. The photography was very effective in creating a very "dark" movie. I think they could have used other methods to show the struggle going on inside Harry, though. It's one of those movies that seems more to forward the story line than stand alone. The actors, as always, were phenomenal.
I saw quite a bit of character development in this film. Some of the "bit" characters from the previous films stepped up and played a bigger role in the story line. It was also easy to see that Harry, Hermione and Ron have gotten a lot closer and are more comfortable standing up for each other. Another thing I thought was interesting, was how much power little Ginny Weasley found within herself. There were a couple of spots where she showed how much farther ahead she was than even some of the 5th year students. I'll be interested to see how that develops in the next two films.
Overall, well done. I will be sure to own this one.
Her perspective: Must See
His perspective: Must See or Wait depending on how much you like this movie series.
If you are a true Harry Potter fan, you need to see this in the theater. It's worth it to see the special effects on the big screen. If not, you can wait until dollar theaters or video.
I thought the movie was quite well done, although this is the first HP movie I've seen without reading the book first. I guess I had expected a little more, though. The final battle seemed a little short and lacked variety in the use of spells and the demonstration of power. The previous films in this series kept their momentum and, I thought, were very good. While this one didn't measure up to those, I still thought it was very good. The photography was very effective in creating a very "dark" movie. I think they could have used other methods to show the struggle going on inside Harry, though. It's one of those movies that seems more to forward the story line than stand alone. The actors, as always, were phenomenal.
I saw quite a bit of character development in this film. Some of the "bit" characters from the previous films stepped up and played a bigger role in the story line. It was also easy to see that Harry, Hermione and Ron have gotten a lot closer and are more comfortable standing up for each other. Another thing I thought was interesting, was how much power little Ginny Weasley found within herself. There were a couple of spots where she showed how much farther ahead she was than even some of the 5th year students. I'll be interested to see how that develops in the next two films.
Overall, well done. I will be sure to own this one.
Mickey's Diner - July 14, 2007
1950 7th St W
St Paul, MN 55116
Her perspective: A
I always love going to Mickey's. It is the ultimate greasy spoon/diner. The food is always excellent. Just like all good greasy spoons, it's basically a hole in the wall, but the food more than makes up for it. Open 24 hours and two locations with a very casual, unpretentious atmosphere. The one in downtown St. Paul is always crowded and hard to get a seat, but there's a novelty about eating in a railway car. There is another one just a few miles down the road that I think is St. Paul's best kept secret. There is always at least one open booth and space at the counter - at least when I've been there.
William and I both ordered a light breakfast called Fry 2: 2 eggs, choice of bacon, sausage or ham and toast. It all came out very quickly and cooked perfectly. There were two waitresses working and both worked together to make sure all the guests were taken care of. In the entry-way, there are papers such as City Pages and, my favorite, The Onion. I usually read the Onion to William while we're waiting and while we eat.
It's very quick; you can be in and out within a half hour. It's also one of the few places that serves breakfast all day, which is perfect for weekends. Also, because it's open 24 hours, it's great for those after-bar hunger pangs.
St Paul, MN 55116
Her perspective: A
I always love going to Mickey's. It is the ultimate greasy spoon/diner. The food is always excellent. Just like all good greasy spoons, it's basically a hole in the wall, but the food more than makes up for it. Open 24 hours and two locations with a very casual, unpretentious atmosphere. The one in downtown St. Paul is always crowded and hard to get a seat, but there's a novelty about eating in a railway car. There is another one just a few miles down the road that I think is St. Paul's best kept secret. There is always at least one open booth and space at the counter - at least when I've been there.
William and I both ordered a light breakfast called Fry 2: 2 eggs, choice of bacon, sausage or ham and toast. It all came out very quickly and cooked perfectly. There were two waitresses working and both worked together to make sure all the guests were taken care of. In the entry-way, there are papers such as City Pages and, my favorite, The Onion. I usually read the Onion to William while we're waiting and while we eat.
It's very quick; you can be in and out within a half hour. It's also one of the few places that serves breakfast all day, which is perfect for weekends. Also, because it's open 24 hours, it's great for those after-bar hunger pangs.
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