Showing posts with label MISCB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MISCB. Show all posts

11/19/2008

Tamarack Rest Stop – West Virginia - Pizza And Meatballs

tamarack-west-virginia-pizza
Tamarack West Virginia Pizza
Being on the road yet again traveling to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, we stopped at the Tamarack Rest Area in West (By God) Virginia. Tamarack is 315 miles from Youngstown, a little more than halfway of our 575 mile journey.

Tamarack is an advantageous rest stop. It keeps you on the Turnpike, has plenty of fueling stations, clean restrooms, and of course places to eat.

I selected Sbarro Pizza. The order was one slice of plain pizza, one meatball, and a small diet coke. (They don't carry Coke zero which really sucks.)

The pizza wasn't hot, just lukewarm and tasted OK for cardboard style pizza. (Cardboard Style pizza is very thin crust pizza that is ready made.) It was edible, and filled me up. The meatball was hot, and surprisingly had a good taste to it. The sauce was hot and mildly zesty. The diet coke quenched my thirst.

The cost was $6.75 which given the choices while traveling on the Turnpike, was reasonable.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3 out of 5 shots and recommends Tamarack Rest Area, West Virginia, for lunch and dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL


Responses to “Tamarack Rest Stop – West Virginia”


  1. Anti-Christ said

    Tamarack is on the fringe of the gates of hell.

  2. Chica said

    That does look pretty bland.

  3. Contessa Confessa said

    I can’t believe you actually stopped at the Tamarack! You know, it’s really a secret alien station…
    (that roof is a dead give away!… then again, i guess that’s why so many people are drawn to it)

  4. Augusto said

    Please don’t blame WV or Tamarack for the mediocre lunch.
    Sbarro is part of the Marriott’s mormon empire. Blame them.
    WV and Tamarack are innocent I tell you. Innocent!

  5. Gumby said

    One meatball? WTF? No spaghetti with that?

11/16/2008

Hoss’s Steakhouse - Final Dinner Bell

Now Closed
We have been going to Hoss's Steakhouse for years and years. Just a little while ago we received an email stating they were closing their doors and Sunday would be their last day open. Being that Hoss's is one of our favorite spots, we decided to go one more time.
The Salad Bar One More Time
This is where the meal begins. The salad bar. As you can see, it has a center island with two side platforms for breads, soups, cookies, pudding, ice cream, brownies, and much more. As for the salad bar side, lettuce, cheese, olives, carrots, diced hard boiled eggs, ham chunks, bacon bits, and more. The salad bar is a meal in itself, and comes with every entree.
Filet And Baked Potato
I ordered filet mignon and a baked potato. I was told it was the last filet they had. I was a little leery upon hearing this. Nevertheless, I stuck to my order.

And a wise choice indeed. The filet was tender, well cooked, and delicious. It was one of the best steaks I ever had there. And the baked potato was well cooked and very good as well.
Dessert Time
All that was left was dessert. I went for some ice cream and a little piece of apple strudel. My son decided on ice cream as well with sprinkles on top. I should say, he went with sprinkles with ice cream. He accidentally spilled them all over the table.

Lastly, the waitress, one that we had several times, came over, and as a reversal of fortunes, asked if she could take our picture. Of course we said yes. We said goodbye and left a larger tip than usual. Goodbye Hoss's Steakhouse.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4.75 out of 5 shots and recommends Hoss's Steakhouse for dinner. Well, I would if it were still open.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL


Responses to “Hoss’s Steakhouse Final Dinner Bell”


  1. Ulla said

    hungry. dammit.

  2. Tralvernon said

    Why did it go under, lost lease, economy, or moved.

8/08/2008

Jays Restaurant - Fairfax, Virginia - Chicken Perhaps


Ain't No Body In The Joint
Spending the evening in Fairfax, Virginia, is not that exciting. Being tired from the day's travel, I opted for the Best Western hotel house restaurant, Jay's Place. As you can see, there were plenty Of Seats Still Available. In fact, all the seats were available. I was the only customer. My spider sense let me down on this choice.
Chicken Strips Appetizer
After I sat down, I looked around to see if the joint was even opened. It was deserted. No hostess, no waiter, no cook, bus buy, no one. Just as I was about to get up, the waiter came out and welcomed me to Jay's. He presented me the menu and asked what I wanted to drink.

Several minutes later, he returned with my Coke and asked if I was ready to order. I ordered the chicken wedges as an appetizer and stuffed chicken as my main course with mashed potatoes.

So far, so good. I noticed that there was still no one in the restaurant. The waiter went into the kitchen and I believe he was also the cook for the evening. In about 10 minutes, he returned with my chicken wedges and a refill of Coke. (He was the cook, I could smell the kitchen grease on him)
Mystery Dish - I Think It Was Chicken
And then the main course came out. WTF was this? It certainly didn't look like stuffed chicken breast to me. And why was there cheese sauce covering the chicken? I asked if perhaps he had brought me the wrong dish. But how could he, I was the only patron in the place.

He explained that it was Jay's way of making stuffed chicken breast. I asked where was the breast for all I see are chicken parts and pieces. He said the breast was chopped up and mixed in with the stuffing. (And the fucking cheese sauce)

Some things don't go together. One example is cranberries and cold milk. Jay's stuffed chicken breast ingredients is another. From what I could make of it, there were chicken parts, cheese sauce, broccoli, stuffing, some type of brown chips, (Could have been bacon) and gravy. Broccoli and mashed potatoes were on the side.

I told the waiter, server, cook, cashier, whatever, that this was unacceptable and that it was not stuffed chicken breast and snapped this photo as I spoke to him. I told him I was dissatisfied with the meal and said I would pay only for the Coke and the chicken wedges I had ordered.

The waiter said he would make me anything else on the menu on the house. I declined and promptly paid for the portion of my bill and did leave a 15% tip. I usually leave much more for good service and good food, but this was substandard.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 0 out of 5 shots and does not recommend Jay's Place in Fairfax, Virginia for dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL


Responses to “Jays Restaurant Fairfax, Virginia”


  1. Bitzky said

    Hmm… In Europe we would have slapped an Italian or French name on it and make it a new trend!

  2. Augusto said

    Hotel restaurant’s expectations are very low to begin with but I have a strong inclination to avoid unknown restaurants with no patrons if there is anything else at all available.
    Otherwise, I’m sure it was perfectly fine, bless their hearts.

  3. Ulla said

    ok let’s not go there for lunch jeeps. let’s go to one of those places with the yummy BIG food.

2/15/2008

Waffles For Breakfast - Philadelphia Style

Liberty Bell Waffles
In August, we spent a couple of days in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We stayed at the Downtown Philadelphia Marriott hotel. we had a very busy evening seeing the sites of the city and turned in for bed late. The next morning, we decided to eat at the hotel restaurant. (Mistake!)

We were seated quickly and soon the waitress took our order. I ordered a waffle with maple syrup and turkey sausages. After about 10 minutes wait, my waffle arrived, and as you can see, was as big as the plate. And being in Philly, it had the Liberty Bell icon embedded in the waffle. A nice touch.

The waffle was as waffles go, but it was good, cooked well, and filling. The turkey sausage was surprisingly good as well.

The cost however was where the good feelings ended. What you see here, a waffle, and several links of turkey sausage,  cost 18 bucks. Even for Manhattan, 18 bucks would be extremely high.

For the cost reason alone, the Grassy Knoll Institute does not recommend the downtown Philadelphia Marriott hotel restaurant for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and awards 1.5 shots out of 5.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL




11/28/2007

Kalik Beer Of The Bahama's


Grassy Knoll Institute scientist Jungle Jim, while on a mission to the Bahama's to uncover the real story of Anna Nicole Smith's death, took some time out to enjoy a cold brew. Here is Jim's critique of a beer he happened upon.

As I sit in the Bahamas gazing out my window, my contact at the Bahama National Police suggested I try the local beer called Kalik,,the EXTRA STRENGTH one! Holy Cow. After only 2 beers I caught a strong buzz that is still with me. My ears are warm and my head is woozy. At $2.50 per beer it packs the same punch as a 6 pack of ANY American beer. All hail Kalik beer! I rate it 4.8 shots out of 5.Thank GOD for spell check, it worked overtime on this submission.

PS: Grassy Knoll Institute special scientist Jimmy hard at work.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

11/27/2007

Hoss's Steak House


Hoss's Steak House, New castle, Pennsylvania, is a Ponderosa style restaurant where you order your steak or other selection when you walk you and then you choose your seats. The meal begins with the salad bar. The selections were plentiful, fresh, and clean. You select what you want, and as much as you want.

I also spied some Chicken pasta soup. I was surprised at how good it was. Nice big pieces of chicken. I filled the bowl with shell pasta, chicken, large carrots and celery. I went back for another bowl.

I ordered the 6oz filet, medium well done and baked potato. The steak was sizzling hot and was cooked to my liking. It had absolutely no fat and was very delicious. The baked potato was hot and very tasty as well.

The service was excellent, the food fantastic, and the price, about $15.00 plus tip, was very reasonable. The Grassy Knoll Institute score Hoss's 4.25 Shots out of 5 and recommends Hoss's for dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

11/06/2007

Omaha Porterhouse Steak

Fellow Grassy Knoll Institute scientist Jungle Jim, (Arnold) offers his own Blue Plate Special critique of an Omaha Porterhouse steak ordered from room service.

Since I am a practicing Catholic ; } and my lovely wife reminded me that we were in Lent now and could not have meat tomorrow I indulged myself. Since I am on the road traveling in Omaha Nebraska AND my hotel offers room service, I ordered a 16 oz porterhouse supplied by Omaha Steaks (but of course). I really wanted to see what a $40.00 steak tasted like and since I am using the company charge card I ordered it. I also ordered a cup or Nebraska Corn Chowder. The meal arrived in my room VERY hot. The chowder was to say the least to die for. Plaintiff Number 2's (ex-wife number two) father who was from this area always used to talk about this concoction. He was right. Think of creamed corn; add some cre'me and chunks of potatoes. Excellent!

The steak followed. It was cooked to perfection, med well with a slight tinge of pink in the center. The presentation was colorful. When I looked through the utensils, I didn't see a steak knife. I was going to call down to have one delivered bit decided to go it with just a butter knife. I didn't even need that. It was fork tender. It was accompanied by mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. The total bill with tip was $50.00. I rate this 4.5 out of 5 shots. While in Omaha Nebraska I recommend this steak which is served at Rain, the restaurant inside the Embassy Suites on South 10th street.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

11/02/2007

Summitville Turkey Dinner


There's a little old church in the small town of Summitville, Ohio that every October hold a fund raising turkey dinner. The Grassy Knoll Institute usually makes it to this event. The dinner is held in the church basement and after you bought the dinner ticket (Which was $7.00) you could spend your time playing dollar bingo with the townsfolk. Or take a stroll around the grounds.

As you can see from the photo above, there was plenty of juicy oven baked turkey, home made stuffing, whipped mashed potatoes with home style gravy, fresh corn, fresh warm rolls with butter, and a home made piece of pumpkin pie. There was no limit to how many servings you could have. I had three go arounds with the turkey plate and a double dip with the stuffing and potatoes. Right to the score. Grassy Knoll Institute ranks Summitville 5 out of 5 shots.

PS: The pumpkin pie was still warm and was a very generous portion. There was a selection of cherry, apple, pumpkin, and several other desserts to choose from, but being that it was October, the pumpkin seemed the logical choice.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL