Archive for the 'Review' Category

JP’s Eatery

Published
by
Chalupa
on November 20, 2008
in Food and Review
. 0 Comments

Today I walked downtown and got some lunch at JPs.  They serve burgers, sandwiches, and subs.  As we walked in there was a “Wall of Shame” for those attempting to down the Slapshot, which consists of 15 sliders, 1 large fry, and a milk shake.  I was tempted, but only slightly tempted.  I don’t eat 4x the daily recommended amount of food anymore.  I was thinking maybe a burger, but I instead went with my gut instinct and decided on a sub.

The combo sub looked interesting.  The guy at the register wasn’t sure what was on it, but I soon found out it was piled high with turkey, ham, and roast beef.  I opted for all the veggies, cause that how I role.  Options included tomatoes, pickles, black olives, lettuce and onions.  The pickles were cubed and at first I thought they were green peppers.  They really worked well on the sandwich.  Subs come in three available sizes: 8″, 12″ and 16″.  I decided on a 12″ and it came out all wrapped up in butcher paper.

My only complaint would be there was so much stuff on my sandwich that it was hard not to let some of it fall out.  Luckily I had washed my hands before going over there so I just grabbed the first 6″ piece and dug in.  The meat was definitely high quality, the dining area had old-school bar stools and counters, and I didn’t have to deal with the 16 yr old attitudes that most Subway restaurants seem to acquire.  All in all, I give JPs two thumbs up.

Warren’s Lobster House

Published
by
Chalupa
on November 12, 2008
in Food and Review
. 1 Comment

Since Liz and I both had Veteran’s Day off from work, we decided to go check out Warren’s Lobster House in Kittery, ME.  Yes, we went to Maine.  Even though the state has turned into our de facto scapegoat on most issues, we do occassionally cross the border.  I had originally heard about this from a guy at work.  They have fresh seafood, a great salad bar, and it’s close.

Liz is really into all things that swim or live under water so this was a no-brainer for her.  We checked out their web site and printed off a coupon for the whole-lobster dinner.  This turned out to be a good plan because lobster is priced by market value and I think we save 6 or 7 bucks off the meal.

I ended up getting the Potato Crusted Haddock.  It wasn’t too awesome, but it wasn’t bad either.  The crust on top was supposed to contain a special horseraddish something, but I couldn’t really taste it.  The salad bar couldn’t hold a candle to any of the mega-salad-bar buffet restaurants, however, it definitely holds its own in the realm of salad bars.  All of the ingredients were very fresh and there were several things I’ve never seen on a salad bar before.  The bleu cheese dressing even had large, noticeable chunks of cheese in it.  Along with the salad bar as an option of soup with cheese and crackers.

We also decided to go all out and try an appetizer.  We chose one of the day’s specials - loaded potato skins.  They were pretty greasy and just bland.  I think it was just missing salt.  I guess we should have salted them.

All in all, I’d say this was an enjoyable experience.  We went during lunch when prices were a bit cheaper and we also had that coupon.  I don’t think we’d randomly go there for dinner or anything.  The bill would be kind of pricey.

Chalupa is a mother-faker

Published
by
Chalupa
on September 16, 2008
in Asthma and Review
. 2 Comments

So after my recent visit to the ER last month I found myself a pulmonologist out here to get some sound lung-advice from.  I met with Dr. Ray yesterday and found out the following:

  • I probably don’t have asthma…..maybe mildly at best
  • I need to stop taking steroids
  • There’s no reason I should have a nebulizer
  • I should be able to control my “undefined lung issues” with maxair and singulair

This was all backed up with, “Your lungs sound clear today.”

…

Guess what doctor just lost a new patient.  I’ll give you 3 tries.

Searching for a good lunch

Published
by
Chalupa
on September 11, 2008
in Food and Review
. 0 Comments

Mmm-mmmm. That is a tasty burger. Vincent, ever have a Ramon’s Burger?

In my quest for good, cheap food, I’ve been taking my lunch to work every day in what my co-workers have deemed “the working man’s lunch box.”  It’s one of the smaller Igloo coolers that are sometimes associated with working men.  You know the types - construction workers, carpenters, plumbers, etc.

Today I did not bring my favorite lunch pail so I asked the guys for any lunch suggestions.  They listed off a few and I decided I needed to go get something from Ramon.  Ramon runs a lunch-wagon here on UNH’s campus.  He and his wife have to be some of the friendliest people on this campus.  They’ve given me free snacks on several occasions and today is the first time I’ve actually ever bought anything from them.

I decided to go with the bacon cheeseburger and fries.  The burgers are cooked on a George Foreman grill so they are dripping in grease.  That’s good for my arteries and the burger it rests upon.  Everything came in one of those large styrofoam food containers and the whole thing was bulging with fries.  This is one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time.  It reminded me of something I’d make at home.

For the modest price of…

Bacon Cheeseburger - $3.50
Fries - $2.00
Total: $5.50

…I was able to stuff myself, not feel sick, and enjoy an amazing lunch.  If you haven’t been to Ramon’s, you need to check it out.

Texas Roadhouse New Hampshire style

Published
by
Chalupa
on September 4, 2008
in Food, Life and Review
. 0 Comments

Last night Liz and I checked out the local Texas Roadhouse.  This one happened to be located at the Newington mall.  The other day at work, some employees came in and gave Liz, and her co-workers, some bread and envelopes to be opened at the restaurant on a particular week.  So this gave Liz and I an excuse to go.

If you’re not already familiar with where it’s located, it’s easy to miss.  It’s tucked away on a hill in the corner of the parking lot.  Depending on which way you’re coming, it’s not hard to drive right on by - especially if the sun is in your eyes.

The food was standard and the service was pretty good.  The manager came by to see how everything was, as usual, but he wasn’t creepy, weird, or overbearing.  For a few years I used to frequent this establishment in Muncie with a group of friends from college and our server/waitress always tried to sit on my lap…totally unwelcomed.  At least I never had an incident like at the Applebee’s in Marion.

So at the end of our meal the manager came by to open our special envelope.  He kind of made a big deal out of it and I gave him my best “I care” attitude.  So he rips open the thing and plops down a free admission to the local roller skating place.  I said, “oh, ok.”  He then told me that prize kinda sucks and then gave me a coupon for a free entree next time we come back.  Not too shabby.

Netflix cleaning up its act

Published
by
Chalupa
on August 14, 2008
in Review
. 0 Comments

You might remember me ranting a few years ago about Netflix and their shady tactics and keeping down the common-movie-watching-man.  Even though I had lots of complaints, I never quit Netflix.  It’s just so handy and enjoyable.

Lately, I’ve been waiting quite a few days for some new DVDs to appear and just received an email stating they are having problems with their shipping system, are sorry for the delay, and will be applying a credit to my account.

Now that’s the way to take care of problems and keep customers happy.

Pizza Review: Hot N Fast

Published
by
Chalupa
on August 7, 2008
in Review
. 0 Comments

Since moving to New Hampshire, we’ve been trying to find some delicious local pizza places to frequent.  The First one we tried out was Hot N Fast on Market Street in Somersworth.  It’s just before you get to Berwick, Maine.

This is a smaller restaurant, but it does have several dine-in tables available.  The staff was very friendly and the pizza did come out hot and fast.  We ordered up a large pepperoni.  This is usually a good litmus test for a pizza joint.  If they can’t do the simple well, I usually don’t even give their specialties the time of day.  I wasn’t sure what to think of the pizza when it first came out.  It just looked a little weird, but I sure did enjoy it once I gave it a try.

The slices were large - New York style, and it had an amazing crust.  It was hard and crunchy, but not burnt.  I don’t remember ever having something of this texture and consistency before and having it taste good.  Two thumbs up to Hot N Fast.  I’m hoping to return at some point in the future.

Indy Burger ties for movie reviews

Published
by
Chalupa
on June 11, 2008
in Food and Review
. 5 Comments

I’m a big fan of the television and have been seeing these commercials for the new Indy Whopper at Burger King.  I’m always a fan of trying out new, big burgers so I got one today for lunch.  As always, the sandwich didn’t really resemble the picture.  At first I thought they gave me the wrong thing because all I could see on my sandwich was two meat patties, some lettuce and BBQ sauce.  Supposedly this sandwich also came with bacon, cheese and tomatoes (currently on hold because of the salmonella outbreak).  After some excavation, I found two pathetic slices of bacon hiding in the sauce.  Now there wasn’t that much sauce on there so that tells you how small this bacon was.  I’m also guessing I was supposed to request the cheese for a nominal fee.

The burger wasn’t too bad with the exception that all I could taste was crappy BBQ mixed with mayo.  I know there’s supposed to be cajun blackened mayo, but either it was super nasty, or I got BBQ, or a wrong sandwich or something.  Since I didn’t have the tomatoes to help soak up the sauce and there wasn’t any cheese to help the flavor, it wasn’t exactly an enjoyable meal.  Overall, I’d have to say that I’m, once again, disappointed with a new Whopper.  It’s also interesting to note that my review of this burger pretty much matches 95% of the reviews I’ve heard/read of the new Indiana Jones movie.

Lee Ziegler - Lame Photographer at large

Published
by
Chalupa
on February 13, 2008
in Advice and Review
. 8 Comments

I’ve always heard horror stories about wedding photographers, but never actually experienced it until last summer. I was at two weddings in Muncie, IN where Lee Ziegler was used. The guy seemed nice and I heard he was supposed to be “one of the best” in the area. I also heard he charged a lot of money, but he also offered a lot of services like being around all day and setting up slide shows at the reception, etc.

I’m not going to give out names, because I’ve been told there may be lawsuits involved so I’ll called them wedding1 and wedding2. Things seemed to go ok at both weddings until it actually came time to get the pictures. Ziegler promised them 800 or 900 pictures. Both got maybe half of those. A ton of standard shots were missing like pictures of the bride and groom, pictures of the groomsmen, pictures of the family, etc. There were, however, no lack of shots for the “hot” bridesmaids and one mother while she was getting dressed. Creepy? I think Walter Sobchak would call this guy a nihilist.

After seeing these pictures, wedding1 and wedding2 both tried to talk to Ziegler about the issues and he just turned into a total jerkface about it. Refused to answer emails, yanked their chains by “giving them the pictures” with things purposefully messed up and in thumbnail sizes*. Another thing he does is to take some of the money you pay him and give you a credit on a photo printing site. The problem is that Ziegler won’t tell wedding1 and wedding2 how to use the credit. He also won’t post any of the pictures they want printed on said site.

At one point both wedding1 and wedding2 asked for a refund, as stated in the contract. Ziegler told them, “I’m not in a position right now to offer a refund.” So the guy spent all their money I guess. I wish I had better words to describe him other than profanities and “he’s a bad business man.” This is the kind of behavior that gets you beat down on the playground or in jail. So what do I really have to say about Lee Ziegler, the wedding photographer from Muncie, IN? Stay away from this guy. He overcharges his customers. He doesn’t fulfill his contracts. He screws people over and he makes brides cry.

If you’d like to read some more, check out what Lij has to say.

* After writing this I was informed some of those thumbnail pictures turned out to be ok, they were just in a Photoshop-only format. I guess I forgot that most people, who have no expertise in photography or the photo industry, spend hundreds of dollars to own Adobe Photoshop. Man, I’m such an idiot.

BK Stacker

Published
by
Chalupa
on August 4, 2006
in Cheese, Food, Review, Sad and Story
. 0 Comments

If you know much about Burger King, you know they have a new manly sandwich. It’s called THE STACKER. They say if you like meat, cheese and bacon then you’re bound to love their sandwich. You can get double, triple, and quadruple layers of meat on cheese on these puppies. So yesterday for lunch I decided to go all out with a TRIPPLE STACKER. I got my sandwich and first thought I was missing a layer. I was already back at work though so I decided to not worry about it. However, after several bites in, I realized meat patty number 3 was just pressed into the bottom bun.

I wish I had pictures to show you their advertisement and what I actually got. Their ads make the sandwiches look like there’s no way you could fit your mouth around it. My sandwich was 1.5-2″ thick. That included the bun.

I got one word for BK Stackers - LAME. Give me a Hardee’s Thick Burger any day.