When The Humans Are Away - Storm Cat Parties

I often wondered what my pet cat does all day while Patty and I are hard at work making money so we could buy him even more cat toys and treats. Every morning as Patty and I backed the car out of the drive way, we would see Storm (Our 20 plus pound male cat) looking out the kitchen window at us. It was almost like he was waving goodbye to us. Or so we thought.

One day, on a whim, I turned on the living room computer web cam and set the camera for motion detection. I positioned the lens to display the entire living room area. I wanted to track his movement during the day to see exactly what he did, or didn't do. Every time he would walk into the living room, the webcam would snap a shot. Below is the startling photographic evidence that Storm had invited guests over after we left. The damn cat was hosting parties all day.

No wonder the damn cat sleeps all night.

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Conneaut Lake Park - Corn Dog And Fries

Conneaut Corn Dog And Fry Shack

Conneaut Lake Park, old time amusement park, home of the Blue Streak roller coaster and one of only two left Tumble Bug rides left in existence, still draws a small crowd. Located in Conneaut, Pennsylvania, is just an hour ride from home. After a long day at the park, we stopped for some amusement park food.

Conneaut Corn Dog

I ordered a corn dog and an order of french fries. The corn dog was quite small in size. Pathetic actually. The taste was standard fare, but I believed they were recently microwaved. Any corn dog fan knows a microwave destroys the corn dog. This cost $3 dollars. Clearly not worth it.

Conneaut Fries

The saving grace was the fresh cut french fries. The portion was adequate for $3 dollars. The fries were hot, well cooked, in relatively fresh grease and the portion was good. The taste was very good.

A corn dog and an order of fries cost $6 dollars. There were other food stands with more choices and better prices which I will post in a future update. However, I am going to barely recommend the shack for several reasons. One: It's amusement park food, there are no five stars ratings on the marque. Two: Perhaps I received the runt of the corn dogs. The next one could have been regular size. Three: The fries were hot, and very good.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 2 out of 5 shots and recommends Conneaut Lake Park French Fry Stand  for dinner.

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1. 
   

   Rich said

   September 10, 2010 at 5:29 pm e
   Way too much for the corn dog but than I don’t know what corn dogs are going for in the State Fair in Dallas this year.
   Reply
   • 
     

     LOTGK said

     September 19, 2010 at 8:24 pm e
     Agreed! It was way to much money for the small corn dog.
     Reply
2. 
   

   Moominboy said

   September 13, 2010 at 2:35 pm e
   A simple meal but still good 
   Reply
   • 
     

     LOTGK said

     September 19, 2010 at 8:32 pm e
     Yes, very simple meal. A staple food for all fairs and amusement parks.
     Reply
3. 
   

   Now See Here said

   September 14, 2010 at 10:46 pm e
   you can buy a six pack of corn dogs for five bucks at the store. what a rip.
   Reply
   • 
     

     LOTGK said

     September 19, 2010 at 8:35 pm e
     Absolutely you can. But what is the fun in that?
     Reply
4. 
   

   Gumby said

   September 16, 2010 at 2:08 am e
   How is Vegas Pat? when do you return?
   Reply
   • 
     

     LOTGK said

     September 19, 2010 at 8:36 pm e
     Las vegas was great. Very hot. And San Francisco was awesome.
     Reply
   • 
     

Harrah's Cafe - Breakfast Platter

Harrash' Casino Big Breakfast

Harrah's Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas has plenty of gaming area but when you are hungry, where are you going to eat? One option is Harrah's Cafe. Our flight arrived late and we checked in late and I was very hungry. (They don't feed you on the plane) After we checked in and settled into our room, we went down to the Cafe. The cafe was busy but not packed. We waited a few minutes in line and then were seated.

Being that it was late, I asked if breakfast was available. It was. Breakfast is always available in the Cafe. Delighted in this knowledge, I ordered the sausage, egg, and home fries platter. Toast and jam came with the order.

The eggs were cooked OK, not runny, not burnt, the sausage links were well cooked, and the home fries were well cooked. All in all, a good breakfast. Throw in the toast and jam and it was a great dinner, err, breakfast.

The service was good, the food good, and the price was nice, under $15 dollars not including orange juice and tip. 

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.75 out of 5 shots and recommends Harrah's Cafe for breakfast and dinner.

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Alliance Texas Roadhouse - BBQ Chicken And Ribs

Texas Roadhouse - Alliance Ohio

I was introduced to the Texas Roadhouse years ago in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The food was great and became one of my favorite places in Gatlinburg. To my surprise I found a Texas Roadhouse in Alliance, Ohio, just a mere 35 or so miles from my home. We had to go.

The Special Rolls

We got there around 4pm and it was crowded but not to bad and we were seated right away. The building interior was exactly the same layout as the one in Gatlinburg. I was pleased to see that the famous cinnamon rolls were also the same. Fresh baked, hot, and with a cinnamon butter spread to die for.

Coke Zero

I was also impressed that Texas Roadhouse carried Coke Zero, the best tasting diet cola on the planet. The waitress refilled my glass twice. Did I mention that Coke Zero really tastes good...

BBQ Chicken - Ribs - Bacon Cheese Fries

The Texas Roadhouse offers a combo platter of BBQ chicken and BBQ ribs plus two side dishes. The chicken was tender and with the tangy BBQ sauce, it was fantastic tasting. I couldn't wait to get to the ribs. Let me tell you, the ribs were worth the weight. They were fall off the bone tender and bursting with flavor. The BBQ sauce as I said before was a perfect blend of flavor that complimented the ribs, not over powered them. They were excellent.

Mac And Cheese

The side dishes selections were bacon cheese fries and macaroni and cheese. The fries were plentiful, the cheese melted perfectly over them with plenty of bacon pieces. (Not bacon bits the fake kind, but real bacon) The fries were well cooked, not soggy, not crunchy, but a good blend in between. The macaroni and cheese dish was very generic. I'm thinking Kraft right out of the box. A little pepper sprinkled on top and they were adequate.

The service was very good, the food excellent, and the price was nice, under $20 for the entire meal with bottomless Coke Zero, rolls, and roasted peanuts. 

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends the Alliance Texas Roadhouse  for dinner.

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Side Walk Cafe - Ober Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg Sidewalk Cafe

The city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee is nestled at the foothills of the great Smoky Mountains. There are an endless number of restaurants to tempt your appetite. But there's more. Take a right hand turn on Ski Mountain road and it will twist you through the mountains and take you to the top where Ober Gatlinburg stands.

At the top of the mountain sits of course many elaborate ski slopes but also a small amusement park, an ice rink, carnival games, a black bear habitat, and several food stands and restaurants.


The Side Walk Cafe over looks the ice skating rink with several retail shops dotting it's surroundings. We had just spent several hours at the amusement park and came inside for a quick bite.

Ober Fries And Corn Dog

Since we were there in the off season, it was not very crowded so there was no line and placed our order. I ordered the corn dog and fries. You are looking at $6 dollars of food here. The corn dog was readily available but the fries were cooking in the fryer. My order was called out in a matter of minutes.

The corn dog was standard fare as corn dogs go. Well cooked, fresh, hot, and good taste. The fries were of fresh cut variety but as you can see, not to plentiful. However, they were fresh, well cooked, and hot and tasted good. It was a good fast food meal that filled me up and got us on our way to our next Ober Gatlinburg adventure.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.25 out of 5 shots and recommends the Side Walk Cafe in Ober Gatlinburg for lunch and dinner.

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1. 
   

   LOTGK said

   September 23, 2011 at 3:34 pm e
   Moominboy
   One of those days I’ll taste a corn dog 
   LOTGK in reply to Moominboy
   If you like hot dogs, you will love corn dogs. Trust me….
   Reply

Belleria Restaurant - Fried Haddock Dinner

Belleria Italian Bread

Belleria is a very nice and friendly restaurant in Youngstown. They have the standard fare entrees but with their own special touch. Patty and I decided on fried haddock dinners. At Belleria, you seat yourselves and we were lucky enough to find an open booth. The waitress dropped off some menu's and took our drink order. A few minutes later fresh Italian bread was delivered to our table. The bread was fresh, still warm, and very delicious.

A Little Sparse Salad

As I said previously, we were hankering for haddock and the waitress took our order and I added fried cheese sticks for an appetizer. In less than five minutes our salads were at our table. As you can see, it wasn't a big salad, but it was fresh and it did the job.

Cheese Logs

As soon as we finished our salads, our fried cheese with sauce arrived. There were five pieces and a zesty spaghetti sauce. However, notice the smallness in size of the sauce container. It was not enough for all five pieces. The cheese was well breaded and cooked and with the sauce was very good tasting.

Belleria Fried Haddock Dinner

Like clock work our fish dinners were brought to our table as soon as the appetizer was finished. I must say, it was very good service. And friendly. The haddock was a generous portion and breaded nicely. It wasn't as thick as other haddock planks but good nonetheless. It wasn't greasy or smelly but light and flaky. A little lemon and pepper and it was ready to go. The fries were fresh cut and well cooked. A packet of tartar sauce was also present on the plate which I completely ignored.

The price was reasonable, around $10 dollars for the dinner. The cheese sticks were around $4.50 which wasn't bad, except for to less of sauce. Soft drink added and this could all be yours for around $16 dollars not including tip.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.75 out of 5 shots and recommends Belleria's Fried Haddock Dinner for dinner.

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Quattro Restaurant - Houston Texas

Quattro Of Houston

This year the Halloween Trade show took me to Houston, Texas for five fun filled days. After a hard days work we stopped at Quattro restaurant housed inside the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston.

Quattro Fresh Bread

We were tired and as we were going to our room we spied Quattro so we decided to stop and eat. The restaurant was dark, I don't mean closed, but very dimly lit. We were seated quickly and as my eyes focused to the cave like lighting, I noticed that there were not many people in the joint. No matter, we waited for the waiter to take our order. Twenty minutes later he arrived at our table. (Perhaps the dim lighting prevented him from finding us) Anyway, about ten minutes later, hot fresh rolls were delivered to our table.

9 Inch Pizza

Wanting to just get a quick bite, I ordered a personal pizza. Just plain cheese. It was another half hour before it was delivered to our table. The cost was $15 dollars for a 9 inch pizza.

As mentioned earlier, the service was glacier like. I walked in clean shaven and left with a beard.

The pizza itself was OK. It was hot, but apparently the cook forgot to cut the pizza in slices. All I had was one of those butter knives. I didn't want to ask the waiter for a knife, it might have taken another 20-30 minutes for him to return.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 1.5 out of 5 shots and does not recommend Quattro Restaurant for dinner.

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Scarsella's Italian Restaurant - Fried Cod Dinner

Scarsella Restaurant Italian Bread

Scarcella’s Restaurant in Youngstown has been a classic Italian Restaurant for decades and is one that we often frequent especially during the Lent season.

Scarcella’s has the feel of an authentic Italian restaurant. The seating is sparse but just enough. We were seated right away and bread and butter were brought right out. The bread was Italian of course and was fresh and tasted good.

Scarsella's Restaurant Youngstown Ohio Salad

A salad comes With every dinner at Scarsella’s. It is standard fare, a little cheese, lettuce, carrots, tomato. It was good.

Youngstown Scarsellas Home Made Fried Cheese

As an appetizer, I ordered Scarsella’s fried cheese with sauce. In the Youngstown area, all fried cheese is compared to the original Antone’s restaurant fried cheese. Scarsella’s fried cheese holds its own as the taste was very good, the portion adequate, and the sauce zesty and plentiful.

Youngstown Scarsellas Fried Fish Dinner

Fried Cod And Shell Dinner To the main course. In less than 15 minutes, our fish dinners were delivered to our table. The order was fried cod with a side of shells and sauce. The breading was well cooked and crunchy, not soggy like many other fish dinners. The cod was fresh and not greasy. The shells well cooked and plentiful with the same zesty sauce from the fried cheese.
The cost without tip was right around $10 dollars which was a fair deal considering the portion size and quality cooking.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.5 out of 5 shots and recommends Scarsella’s Italian Restaurant for dinner. Especially during Lent.

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