Coke Zero (Sugar)

Sometime in the mid to late 1990s, I discovered a new form of Coca-Cola, called "Coke Zero."  It was in a white container with the familiar Coke logo. I thought it interesting, and when Sandra went up to Canada to open the summer home, I packed it away for her, thinking she'd like it.

When she got back, she still had most of the Coke Zero. She told me that perhaps I would like it; it was too sweet for her.

I tried it, and to me, it tasted just like regular Coca Cola. The idea of a sugar-free drink that I would actually drink intrigued me; I could do without all that sugar in my diet.

From that point on, I avoided the sugary drink and preferred the "Zero" version of the drink. Soon afterward, Sprite Zero appeared, although it didn't taste much different (if at all) from "Diet Sprite" that preceded it. (I actually liked both Diet Sprite and Sprite Zero.)

I cannot really describe the taste of Coke Zero except to say that it tastes more like Coca Cola to me than Diet Coke ever did (I never learned to like that bitter aftertaste of Diet Coke). I've talked to others about it, and found something quite interesting: people either loved it or hated it.

I'm not sure why there were such black and white opinions about the formula, but since other people's opinions regarding the taste of soft drinks weren't about to change my own, it never bothered me.

Recently, my youngest daughter informed me that Coke Zero was soon going to be changing its formula—perhaps just slightly. There would be a new name as well: Coke Zero Sugar.

At the time, I figured the name change was for marketing purposes. Pepsi had their own "Pepsi Zero" and I guess you really cannot trademark a number, so Coke wanted to differentiate from their competitor.

Yesterday, I tasted the new formula for the first time.

My initial thought was that it was too sweet.

That struck me as funny. That was Sandra's first opinion of Coke Zero. However, I realized that the taste wasn't all that different from Coke Zero, so I finished the bottle and decided it wasn't particularly bad.

Perhaps the new formula will appeal more widely to the people that absolutely hated the old Coke Zero. If that's true, then I hope they give it at last a chance.

Flawed Execution

Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the greatest. From the simplest bit of inspiration can come an idea whose time has come, especially with the advent of smart phones.

This past Wednesday evening, I was a LaLacheur Park, the home of the Lowell Spinners, a minor league affiliate for the Boston Red Sox. (They proudly announce that Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youklis, and others got their start at this park, and rightly so!). My wife and kids were also there, and we had some nice seats in right field.

On my way to my seats, there was a table set up that had people handing out flyers announcing a new smartphone app, that lets you check in, and then play some games, with prizes given away. Having an iPhone, I went to the App Store and downloaded Bozuko. The idea of being able to kill time waiting for the game to start playing a few games appealed to me, as did the idea that I might win a prize of some sort. Alas, the game requires you to have a Facebook login in order to check in. Why? Damned if I know. Since I do not have a Facebook account, and don't want one either, for what it's worth, the app had very little appeal to me. I could not use it, so it got promptly deleted. Nice try, but FAIL.

Once we were seated, I was tasked to get some pizzas for the family.

On my way to the concession stand, I noticed there was a bit of a line (not too long, since the park just opened). Still, there was a QR code on a sign saying that I could order my food from my seat. Geek that I am, I decided to try it. The QR code led me to a web site called Munchly.com. It asked for my venue (perhaps they should use Location Services to figure this out for themselves), and then asked for my credit card information. I am usually leery about entering financial data over the web, and since I was using the built-in web browser within the QR app, I couldn't really verify that I was using a secure (https) session. Since I had very little money on a particular debit card, I decided to enter the information for that card. The app sent me a verification SMS, and there was a bit of a hassle of reading the SMS, going back to the QR app, and where it was supposed to be waiting for a verification code, it simply asked me for my order. I figured they needed to work out the kinks in their system; a dedicated iPhone app using Location Services, a secure connection, etc. would be much better. But I decided to press on.

I ordered my pizzas, a chicken sandwich for myself, and was surprised to see they offered beer as well (since all the concessions at LaLacheur Park require positive ID before purchasing alcohol). I placed my order and went back to my seat.

"Where's the food?" my wife asked.

"It should arrive soon." (Indeed, I was sent another verification SMS that said my food would arrive "soon."

I'm not sure about your definition of the word "soon," but after AN HOUR of waiting with nothing delivered (nor did I see anybody wearing any kind of outfit indicating "Munchly" in the park), I sent an email with the subject line "Where's the food?" to greg@munchly.com--the only address that I could find on the Munchly site.

If you wander the site, you will notice there is NO feedback system. No way to query the status of your order. No way to find out if there was a question (did you enter your seat number correctly?) on their end. No way to find out if they decided to empty your credit card account and laugh hysterically for idiots that relied on them to actually do what they said they would do.

Irritated no end, I went back to the concession stand, and waited on a line that was now twice as long as it was earlier. I finally made it to the end, and ordered my pizzas, and was told that there was a wait for pizzas. Since my wife and kids were starving at this time, and I was given no alternative to the pizzas, I decided to wait. TWENTY MINUTES LATER, I managed to get my four pizzas. My family waited over an hour and a half for their food.

I have to say that this experience has left me feeling angry at Munchly.com. They promised a service, and did not deliver. I got an email from Greg Pelly (apparently the "Greg" at Munchly.com), that asked if my food arrived. Hello? If this is YOUR company, wouldn't you know if you delivered an order? Further, the email stated:

If not we will get in touch with the Spinners and find out what went wrong. I'm very sorry to hear that you were having problems. We will straighten this out for you.

That was the last I heard from them. In my response, I said that if I saw a charge on my card, I would dispute it because they never even attempted to deliver anything. To date, I haven't seen the charge, but I'm still watching it daily. I have no warm-fuzzy feeling that these people are on the level.

Here's some free advice: If you offer a service, you should make sure you deliver on that service. Don't look like a complete imbecile that doesn't know anything about the service, and don't give a vaguely worded message that you'll "get in touch with the Spinners" as if to palm off the responsibility to anybody else. Also, a vague suggestion that they will straighten things out (how? when? where?) without any details, and a lack of follow up (it's been two days now), doesn't seem to indicate that this Greg fellow, or anybody else at Munchly.com for that matter, understands the meaning of the word "service."

Broken promises are not a way to run a company. Making your customers feel like idiots because they trusted you to do what you said you would do does not make them happy that they used your so-called service.

Anyway, it's quite clear that these two attempts of using The New Media at LaLacheur Park show a lack of understanding of the basics of business. Let's hope this situation improves, because it's difficult to imagine how this could get any worse. A check-in site that doesn't allow you to login without a Facebook account (not everybody does/likes Facebook, what about Google+?), and a food delivery site that hasn't figured out how to deliver food isn't impressive to me at all.

Flatbread Company - North Conway

I've already explained my thoughts about pizza a couple of times, but the Flatbread Company up in scenic North Conway Village has me rethinking things.

I've seen the place many times during visits to the mountains. After all, it's right across the street from one of my favorite drinking holes (Houlihan's) and Sandra's and the kids' shops (The Penguin, Zeb's, Beggar's Pouch).

One of our family's "August Trips" this summer was up to North Conway, and with my iPhone, I was able to prepare for the trip using Yelp, a comprehensive "members review" web site, I got a listing of restaurants in the area to see if there were any hidden gems or new hot spots around.

To my surprise, a very favorably-rated place was the Flatbread Company of North Conway. As I said, I've seen the place a few times, nestled in the parking lot of a hotel, but the word "flat bread" seemed to be analogous to "pizza," which wasn't very impressive to me in the least. However, the favorable reviews got me intrigued, and when I read them, I found some more words, aside from pizza, that got me worried: "organic," "vegetarian," and a warning from one review "Very limited menu. (Basically, just pizza and salad.)." I decided that despite the favorable reviews, the place may not be for me.

However, on that trip, I decided to give everybody a chance to pick out a restaurant that weekend. Harmony borrowed my iPhone, which has the free Yelp application on it, and she also saw the reviews for the Flatbread Company. She, apparently, was unintimidated by those words, and was impressed by the number of favorable reviews. I told her where it was, and she absolutely LOVED to have all those shops in close proximity in addition. So, guess where we were going?

When we got there, I found a Homemade Sausage pizza that Harmony also favored. Meanwhile, Chardonnay and Sandra found another pie of their own. They do slice the pies weirdly; using parallel cuts and another perpendicular half-cut, but aside from that, the pizzas weren't bad. I considered doing a review of the place from that first visit, but that is against my policy--I don't want to review what may or may not be a fluke. I've found that service and/or taste at a restaurant can vary widely if either isn't considered important to the management.

So, this weekend, when Sandra and I went away for a long weekend slightly north of North Conway in Jackson, we knew that the Flatbread Company would be one of our lunch stops. This time, Sandra and I did the Homemade Sausage pizza, but without the mushrooms (Sandra doesn't like them). This second time, the pizza was just as good, and the service was still pretty attentive.

The place has a stone oven that they use to make their pizzas. The smell of burning wood surrounds the place, and it is tempting. The sausages are made by hand and there are signs all around the place touting environmentalist slogans (I guess being organic and using local ingredients makes them "green," which isn't a turn-off for me; if it makes them feel good, more power to them!)

The menu, as the Yelp reviewer pointed out, is basically pizzas and salads. If you want more, you should find another place. They do have a full bar and some good beers as well. (I can at least vouch for the beers!)

Anyway, I give the place a big "thumbs up," and that should mean something coming from a person that isn't particularly impressed by pizza in the first place!

Loaf and Ladle

For Mother's Day, Chardonnay and I went with Sandra to Ordiorne Point, which used to be a gunnery emplacement (Fort Dearborn) protecting Portsmouth Harbor during World War II. Before that, it was private land and marsh and today remains the largest strip of undeveloped seacoast on the NH coastline. Ordiorne Point has a few hiking trails and most of them have negligible elevation gain (in other words, you're hiking as opposed to climbing). The WW II era bunkers are still there, although the munitions are long gone. The land was considered surplus and was sold to the state of New Hampshire for $91,000 in 1962. Anyway, enough with the history lesson. The weather at Ordiorne this Sunday was lovely; not too warm and not too cold, with a nice breeze coming off the ocean surf.

We drove around to find a place to have a quick lunch, preferring to have a nice lobster dinner at home to needing to make reservations and wait, wait, wait for a table at a less-than-decent restaurant. I suggested the Loaf and Ladle, a lunch spot in Exeter that Sandra likes, and we drove there on the way home.

The Loaf and Ladle specializes in sandwiches, soup, and salad. There are fresh baked goods for desserts as well. There's a tavern section of the restaurant, but it has never been staffed when I visit the place (the bar is definitely active--it just seems to not be staffed when I'm there!).

The restaurant is located on the banks of the Exeter river on Rt. 111 in downtown Exeter. There is no table service. Instead, you come in, order at the counter, and then bring your meal to one of the tables. There was an outdoor patio in use yesterday, although the three of us ended up sitting in the tavern section of the dining area (again, the bar was vacant).

The menu is rarely static. The sandwiches include roast beef, chicken salad, hummus, liverwurst, and other standard fare. You get your choice of bread. Yesterday, there was Sourdough Rye, Oatmeal, Sesame Seed Wheat, Loaf and Ladle Wheat, and a few others. I chose the "whitest" bread they had, which was the oatmeal. The soups that day included Strawberry Rhubarb, Spicy Black Bean, Chili, Boiled Dinner (you know you're in New England!), and others. Soups and sandwiches are each served with an extra slice of bread, cut about the size of Texas Toast--around two inches thick.

One thing that I don't like about this place is the layout of the order counter. It is set so that if there are more than a couple people waiting to order a sandwich or soup, the line will cross over the doorway. This can lead to some confusion as people attempt to leave or enter the place. The service behind the counter isn't speedy--this isn't fast food by any means--and this only seems to exacerbate the "pile up by the door" situation.

As the name implies, it's the soups and bread that are Loaf and Ladle's specialties. Everything is served fresh and even though I'm not really a "classic soup" (I prefer Asian styles) or a bread person, I've always been able to find something I like.

The place takes cash and credit cards, and it appears that they have alcohol (although, as I've already mentioned, I've never been able to sample any of it). The prices are reasonable for the fare they offer. I'd consider this a hidden gem of a place, and it's easy to see why Sandra likes it so much.

Bon Appetit!

Brookstone Grille

Not too far away from the Salem / Derry line on Rt. 111 is what I would normally call a country club. The place is called Brookstone Park, which encompasses a golf course, practice range, miniature golf, an "ice cream shoppe," and the subject of this blog entry: The Brookstone Grille. (Apparently, the owners just love those quaint silent-e endings).

I knew about the Brookstone Grille for a while, but its location was a bit out of the way. My youngest daughter had pizza there a couple of times with a few friends from school, and all of a sudden, I started getting email from the Grille sent to my email address, but addressed to Sandra. What was even stranger is that every November, I get a special offer from the place for my birthday (Sandra's birthday is in November, not mine... whoever signed us up for this email must have gotten a wire crossed; the email doesn't appear in any way to be SPAM).

Last summer, Sandra and I decided to give the place a try.

Like most golf courses, the landscaping of the place is very nice. There's ample parking, although the spots closest to the restaurant always seem to be full. There is an enclosed full service bar area, a dining area, and a special area on the other side of the bar for a pizza and raw bar.

The place settings in the dining room look expensive, and the menu seems to specialize in grilled steak, chicken, and pork chops. There's also a section of the menu for pasta, fish, and other entrees as well. The prices are moderately high, but not abnormally so for a restaurant of this type. If the dining room is too fancy for you, you can always opt for the more casual atmosphere of the bar, or perhaps the raw bar (I've never eaten in the raw bar area, though). The full menu is available in the bar, which makes it very attractive for Sandra and me.

For appetizers, Sandra and I love the Pot Stickers, which are prepared in a large bowl with the dumplings sitting on top of the tip, and service with an interesting and spicy vegetable slaw. I've also had the Buffalo wings, although I believe that this is only served occasionally as an appetizer special.

The raw bar selections are amazing. Neither Salem nor Derry are on the seacoast, but the selections are always fresh. They offer tasty oysters, Cherrystone clams, seared tuna, and beef carpaccio. My favorite from the raw bar is what the Grille modestly calls their Colossal Shrimp Cocktail. At $3.50 per shrimp, and $18 for a half dozen, this seems to be expensive, but you won't believe the size of the shrimp you get! Those half dozen shrimp can be a main course in and of itself—and I've made them my meal on more than one occasion. They arrive perfectly chilled, and are presented with every two shrimp intertwined together and service with a deliciously wonderful cocktail sauce.

Sandra loves the creamy chowder at the Grille as well as the salads, and has had soup and salad for her meal many times. She has also had the pizza there, which is made fresh in-house. Sandra's favorite pizza here is the four-cheese pizza.

When I ordered a steak at the Grille, it was done exactly the way I ordered it (Medium-Well), and it was delicious.

Sandra and I visit the Grille once every month or two, mostly sitting in the bar and watching the local sports teams on the wide screen televisions there.

If I had to rate this restaurant, I'd probably give it three and a half to four stars (out of five). The food is always fresh and plated well. The atmosphere is relaxed and inviting—even the bar isn't too loud.

Perhaps this summer, Sandra and I will try out the miniature golf there, and perhaps end up at the Ice Cream Shoppe...!

A Couple of Good Southern Maine Eateries

Sandra and I took a trip out to Maine yesterday. Actually, our original goal was to visit Strawbery Banke's annual Candlelight Stroll after paying a visit to the factory outlets across the Piscataqua River in Kittery, Maine, but we got sidetracked.

First, the factory outlets are fun. Despite the fact that there is no sales tax in New Hampshire, people still cross the border into Maine for the nice prices on items in Kittery.

Up until a couple of years ago, finding good eats wasn't easy in Kittery. Of course, there was the Weathervane, which is a chain of seafood restaurants with its original location right in the middle of the Kittery outlet mall. However, ever since Weathervane opened up a location in Salem, NH (where I live), neither Sandra nor I ever had the desire to visit the one in Kittery. After all, why visit someplace that has the same food that you can get at home? Right?

A few years ago, however, Bob's Clam Shack, which is an aptly named tiny seafood shack near the Kittery Trading Post, purchased the old Quarterdeck restaurant, remodeled it extensively, and reopened it as Robert's Maine Grill. The place is bright and airy, and it now has a larger bar on the main floor (the Quarterdeck had a tiny bar that was difficult to find on the second floor).

Since Robert's opened, it quickly became a favorite of the family. The menu isn't large, but the food they offer is delicious and the prices aren't too expensive.

This weekend, Sandra and I decided to just do appetizers. Sandra ordered the clam chowder, and I ordered Howard's Mussels, which the menu describes as "our interpretation of a famous chef from Provincetown's great recipe—made with sausage, fennel, and cream." The mussels came with a couple of slightly toasted pieces of french bread, which was useful for sopping up the wonderful cream broth. Even Sandra, who generally doesn't like mussels, thought the taste was fantastic. Sandra's chowder was, as usual, creamy and very good.

For dinner, we headed further north to Cape Neddick where we went to another family favorite, the Cape Neddick Lobster Pound Harbourside Restaurant. Actually, we decided on this restaurant the evening before we left, and I went so far as to check the restaurant's web site for their hours (I knew they were open year round, unlike a lot of lobster pounds). Interestingly, this restaurant doesn't post their hours on their web site. Instead, I copied the phone number to my cell phone, and Sandra called them up during the afternoon to find out that they are open continuously from noon until they close at nine PM. (Why can't they put that on their web site?)

I've already written about Cape Neddick last September, and it really hasn't changed all that much. The place wasn't crowded at all when we arrived at about 5:30. We were seated close to a roaring fire, which made for a nice atmosphere for the chilly day—there was a light dusting of snow on the ground from a few days prior, and the temperature on Saturday dove into the teens. For our meals, Sandra ordered twin one pound lobsters, and I noticed that they had prime rib on their specials list, so I ordered that.

Our meals were wonderful, as usual. The waitress was prompt and attentive, and apologized profusely when her serving tray fell over, spilling our side dishes to the floor (they were promptly replaced!).

After a full day in Maine, both Sandra and I were beat, so we drove straight home from Cape Neddick, skipping the Candlelight Stroll at Strawbery Banke. I guess we'll have to take the stroll next weekend (or the weekend after that... ).

Bon Appetit!

Dynamite Sushi is an Explosion in Taste

When I was working in Nashua, I would regularly go out for lunch. A lot of times, my friend Al would come along with me. The two of us had similar tastes in food, and there was always a new place for us to explore.

I saw a review of a place called "Dynamite 1" in the Nashua Telegraph. The place was on Lowell Road in Hudson, and I had never heard of the place before seeing the review. Since it was Asian food, I decided to give it a try.

The place, now apparently renamed Dynamite Sushi, is a fusion of Japanese and Korean cuisines, with a bit of Thai thrown in for good measure.

Let's start with their lunch menu. Most of the menu items for lunch are lunch boxes, with the main course, white rice, a salad, and some side items. The choices for the main courses are Bulgoki, Spicy Box, Ginger and Garlic Box, Katsu, and a Curry Box. Most items have varieties of meat from chicken, pork, beef, and tofu for the vegetarians. There are also Sushi, Sashi, and Maki boxes as well, for those that like the Sushi-style foods. The food and presentation is excellent, and it shouldn't be difficult to find something you like.

With your meal come your choice of Miso or Hot and Sour soups. The Miso soup is pretty good, and the Hot and Sour soup is fantastic—a sweet and spicy red soup with chicken, plenty of crisp vegetables, and a lovely spicy kick that satisfies immensely.

The Sushi at this place is superb. The owner, Ho, is usually behind the Sushi counter, and there is usually a special or two on a handwritten sign. Ho's meticulous preparation of the various Sushi, Maki, and Sashimi combinations makes for an excellent meal or starter. My favorites are the various special Makis that they make (spicy or not) that you cannot get anywhere else.

At dinner, the menu gets more involved. There are lots of appetizers (Gyoza, Shumai, Satay, and more), soups (you can make a meal of the larger choices), a full Sushi/Sashima/Maki list, and numerous entrées. My favorite entrée has to be the "Hot Stone Bowl" that is, as you would guess, a hot stone bowl... filled with rice, and topped with vegetables, mushrooms, and either Bulgoki, or Ginger and Garlic with your choice of meat. The bowl is indeed hot, and it tends to cook the rice on the bottom very crisp while you are eating (keeping the meal nice and hot for a while). The crispy rice makes a wonderful final touch to end of the meal.

Sandra likes the Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura for dinner, whereas Harmony and Chardonnay go for the Hot Stone Bowl like their dad.

Dynamite Sushi has alcohol available for those so inclined (including Sapporo beer in 22 ounce cans!), as well as iced tea (Asian or regular style) and soft drinks.

Prices on the menu are quite reasonable—the lunch menu values are outstanding. The place is small with only a couple of dozen tables, so you may have to wait for a table during popular dining periods (after 6pm on a weekend, for instance).

I definitely recommend the place for lunch or a semi-romantic dinner... or just to have some good Japanese/Korean cuisine for a reasonable price.

Bon Appetit!

La Carreta: A Good Mexican Restaurant

Mexican in New Hampsha is more or less hit or miss, with less "hit" and more "miss." The exception to this is La Carreta, a restaurant that's been in around for about ten years.

Now, I've eaten Mexican in a lot of places (including Sydney, Australia!), and northern New England isn't a place where you would expect to find good Latin food, but La Carreta seems to have broken the mold up here. I first encountered the restaurant about ten years or so ago when it opened in a tiny strip mall on Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua. It quickly became a favorite lunch spot of mine (I was working in Nashua at the time) and is, to this day, one of my family's favorite restaurants.

The margaritas taste great--sweet, sour, and no too heavily laden with tequila. The beers are served in huge mugs (if you order the large drafts), although they will try to stick a lime on your Mexican draft if you don't tell them otherwise—I don't like fruit in my beer! The tortilla chips are freshly made and served warm, and they are usually refilled before you reach the bottom of the basket. The salsa is one of the best in the area with bits of onion and cilantro to give it a very fresh taste.

Unlike a lot of Mexican restaurants, La Carreta doesn't do the standard Mexican appetizers. No hot wings or taquitos (although they do serve taquitos as a entreé) to be found here, but they have a Queso Fundido (white cheese dip with ground chorizo sausage mixed in) that my wife and kids always insist on having with a couple of side orders of flour tortillas.

La Carreta really shines with its entreés, though. There's the usual combinations of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and other standard Mexican fair, but there are a lot of specials as well. The Grande Burrito, for instance, contains chunks of seasoned steak to make it an unforgettable dish... and the "Grande" part of the name is no lie—you may find it difficult to finish it! The Chile Verde (green chile sauce with chunks of pork or steak) is done very nicely, as is the Chori Pollo (chicken breast, queso fundido, and flour tortillas). There are also lunch specials consisting of special combinations at a reduced price, lower prices on some of their regular menu items (same portion, lower price), and a couple of lunch-only items, like the Huevos Rancheros.

The food is quite authentic—considering that we are deep within Gringo Country up here. While it may not rival a typical Mexican restaurant deep in the heart of Texas, it's quite good and easily the best in the state.

I've rarely had disappointing service at La Carreta. Meals come out quickly, and water and soft drinks are refilled automatically.

Parking can be tricky at the Nashua location, since it's in a tiny strip mall. The location in Derry has a larger parking area, and the restaurant in Manchester is the largest. They've recently opened a location in Keene, which is where Chardonnay will be attending college in a few weeks, so I know she's looking forward to some good Mexican chow during the school year.

I heartily recommend La Carreta to anybody with a hankering for Mexican food. The food is great, the drinks are wonderful, and the service is prompt. What more can you expect?

Rating: Recommended

Bon Appetit

Macho Dip

A recipe and an informal review
When Sandra and I first moved to New Hampsha in 1982, we were delighted to find a Mexican restaurant in the town. The restaurant was called "Little Mexico" and had a cute little white-plaster building on Rt. 28.

The building is still there, but alas, the restaurant has gone. They opened an additional location in East Hampstead, NH which isn't that far away, but that place doesn't have the immediacy that the Salem location had for us ("Hey! I don't feel like cooking tonight. How about getting a couple of bowls of chili from Little Mexico?"). Be that as it may, we've continued patronizing the place in East Hampstead. The place has changed in a few ways over the years, and the service has been hit or miss from time to time, but the one constant thing that we can usually count on is the food.

The chili con carne there is outstanding. It's probably my favorite chili "with beans" that I've had anywhere, and that's saying quite a lot. It's thin, soupy style is a personal favorite of mine, and it consists of ground meat, kidney beans, and a perfect selection of spices.

There is another dish at Little Mexico that Sandra and the kids love, which is called "Macho Dip," which is the subject of today's blog entry. The dip is described as melted cheese dip with enchilada sauce and onions, and from the description, it's not that difficult to try to come up with a way to reproduce it at home.

My wife is going to be the matron-of-honor for one of her best friends in a few months, and this past weekend, there was a "Jack and Jill" party for the happy couple. The party was held at a Knights of Columbus hall nearby, and when my wife was picking up food for the party, I asked her if a "Macho Dip" appetizer would be appreciated. She thought it would be a good idea, so I put myself into "chef" mode, and tried to figure out what I would need to make something for a party.

Let me make a confession. I was told there would be seventy people at the party, and I had no idea what kind of quantities would be needed. I figured a cheese dip would need a Crock Pot to keep it warm, and we have two large ones (6 quarts?).

I went to the supermarket and picked up eight cans of Campbell's "Cheese Soup" (basically, cheddar cheese in a soup form). It's a common recipe starter, and I figured that eight cans would easily feed seventy people. At home, I had everything else I'd need for the dip.

At 10am in the morning of the day of the party, I got out the Crock Pot, and put the contents of the eight soup cans into it, filling the pot about halfway. To that, I added a small can of enchilada sauce (I'm not sure about the brand... sorry!). Sandra suggested I add a can of "Tomatoes and Green Chilis" (available in the Mexican section of the International aisle in the supermarket), and I had Chardonnay chop up a medium-sized Vidalia onion (the best onions for ANYTHING!). I sauteéd the chopped onion in about two tablespoons of butter with some olive oil until it was transparent and added it to the Crock Pot.

At this point, it was important to stir the pot. The cheese is thick, the enchilada sauce and vegetables are thin, and stirring combined everything. The cheese went from a bright yellow to a light brown color mostly due to the enchilada sauce. After it was all mixed together, it was necessary to correct the seasoning. I added about two tablespoons of cumin, and another tablespoon of Chili Seasoning, and then I added about a tablespoon each of onion powder and garlic powder. I had my youngest daughter, Chardonnay, taste the mixture, and it was a bit "raw" to her (the powdered seasonings needed time to "marry" into the dip). I didn't modify anything, but had her taste it again after ten minutes (it was better), and another ten minutes (it was great).

After a couple of hours with the Crock Pot at its highest setting, the dip was ready. I suggest lowering the temperature (or shutting it off) after that period, and checking every half hour or so after you set it out to ensure that the dip is at the right consistency. Serve with tortilla chips, preferably unseasoned like Tostitos™ rather than Doritos™.

I ended up with about four to five quarts of dip, which was way more than enough for the party. There was some leftover afterward, but Chardonnay quickly claimed it for herself (she just loves the dip).

The dip has some useful applications:

• Little Mexico uses it as a sauce for their enchiladas and the burritos (their Verde Burrito is another one of my favorites at the restaurant!)
  
• Ladle over tortilla chips and add vegetables for nachos.
  
• Serve as an accompaniment with taquitos.
  
• Heat and serve over enchiladas as a cheesy sauce.
  
• Substitute for cheese with fajitas

Bon Appetit!

Review: Dinner and a Show

People that know me know that I have a passion for movies. Since I was a kid, I loved everything about movies. My parents would take me in the car to one of the local drive-ins, and I'd be hooked from the very start, from the dancing food beckoning me to purchase some popcorn, to the animated shorts and previews, all the way through to the end of the movie. It's one of my fondest memories of childhood.

Here in Southern New Hampsha, we have a interesting "dinner theater" experience called "Chunky's Cinema Pub" which combines watching a movie in huge, comfortable seats with dinner with wait service. The idea is that you show up about an hour before your movie starts, order dinner or snacks, and then relax while you wait for the movie to start. It's not a drive-in, but you don't really have to worry about inclement weather or driving off with those cast iron speakers still attached to your window.

I've been a long time fan of the Chunky's movie experience, ever since the first one opened in Plaistow, NH. That venue was fun; it had tables of four and six that could be grouped together for larger parties, and little "pagers" on the table to tell your waitress that you needed attention during the show.

The Plaistow location is long gone, but I'm happy to report that after it closed, they opened two locations close by: one in Haverhill, MA, and the other in Pelham, NH. Recently, another Chunky's opened nearby in Nashua (although my daughter has been there, I've never gone to the one in Nashua). There used to be a location in central NH (now apparently called "Smitty's Cinema Pub") and one or two in Maine near Portland, which I've never visited. My review will be on the Pelham restaurant, since it's closest to my house, and the one I frequent the most.

The food at Chunky's can be best described as Classic American. There are appetizers ("pub grub"), salads, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and a small selection of entreés. All the menu items have names related to the movie theme of the place. For instance, "Love Me Tenders" is the name given to the chicken tenders entreé, and there is a "Kevin Bacon Burger" (bacon cheeseburger) and "Robert DeNiro Burger" ("Cheeseburger with an attitude") as well. Side dish selections include potato chips, pub fries, cole slaw, pasta salad, baked beans. For an additional charge, you can order waffle fries, onion rings, or a side salad instead. Desserts aren't forgotten, and most have a "Harry Potter" theme ("Gryffindor House Special" is a brownie sundae, for instance). For those over twenty-one, there is a limited cocktail menu as well.

The food is very good, and although it would never be considered gourmet fair, it's quite a bit better than the food I remember from the concession stands at the old drive-ins. The prices are quite reasonable as well. Service is usually pretty good, but when the place is crowded, the wait staff can get overwhelmed. A recent "re-innovation" is that the restaurant now offers a "coaster" that works as a reverse-pager; turn it on and it will let your wait-person know that you need something, which can be very useful in the darkened room when the movie is playing. This is similar to the "pagers" that the original venue had, and is a welcome return.

Although there is a full menu, you are not obligated to have a complete meal. You could just order munchies and drinks, have a bag or two of popcorn, or even pass on the food and/or drinks altogether (although that would miss a lot of the fun of the place to my mind).

The seating is very comfortable, unlike a lot of movie theaters. The seats are converted bucket seats from Lincoln Town Cars and are very roomy, and some of them have arm rests (it seems to depend on the model year of the car from which a particular seat was taken). Unlike the original Chunky's in Plaistow, the theaters in Pelham have long tables mounted together, meaning that your party might be sitting immediately next to another party if the movie you are watching is popular, like the first day of a new Harry Potter release.

Admission to the theater is reasonable, considering the prices at other "normal" theaters, at $7.00 (with a matineés being $5.50), but they have ladies' nights (discounted admission for members of the fairer sex) and other weekly promotions.

My rating: Recommended!

Bon Appetit!

Chain Restaurants

Yesterdays "mission" posting brings up an interesting situation with me. I like (some) chain restaurants.

There. I said it.

I know that some people think that a true Chow Hound would eschew the chains, but in reality, they have their place. If the chain is one that I'm familiar with, then I usually know before I set foot in the door of any new incarnation more or less what my experience will be. There's something to be said about this predictability as opposed to walking into a "mom and pop" restaurant for the first time.

Yeah, your typical wait staff at the chains will be the high schooler or kid working through college who has been indoctrinated into the chain's overriding philosophy, but that isn't much different anywhere else. After all, everywhere has its own way of doing things; it's just that at the chains, this is more pronounced.

Near my house, the city of Methuen, MA seems to be a haven for the chains. In an area of about five square miles, you can find an Outback, Texas Roadhouse, Bugaboo Creek, Friday's, Macaroni Grill, Not Your Average Joes, and an Appleby's (not to mention the various fast food places as well). The last five on that list are all within a half mile of each other (in and around The Loop off Rt. 213).

My family tends to go to a chain restaurant about once or twice a month. I'll give a rundown of the places near where I live and a few thoughts on each. (Note that these are merely my own observations and opinions.) In the future, I'll do "full scale" reviews of these restaurants.

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Chili's (Salem, NH)

I used to go here with my family more than I do nowadays. They changed their chili from their meaty "bowl of red" to a mixture that adds beans and vegetables, most likely as a way of keeping the cost down. The result: I won't eat it anymore, and it used to be my favorite thing to order! My wife likes the Lettuce Wraps, and the kids have their own favorites here as well. Down side is service; it seems to be a given that if you are sitting at a table, you will be sitting for a while with an empty drink or wondering where the wait person has gone to. (This has happened so often that my wife now associates that place with poor service. Too bad.)

Texas Roadhouse (Methuen, MA)

Good food, and good barbecue. My youngest daughter simply LOVES the Country Fried Sirloin, and the side dishes (most entrees offer two) are the best of any chain around. Service is usually pretty good. Down side is the fact that tables (as opposed to booths) are very rare and usually taken up by larger parties. Since my family prefers tables, we usually avoid the place unless we know we are coming in at an off-time when seats are available.

Friday's (Methuen, MA)

Probably the best all-around menu of the chains. Instead of specializing in a particular cuisine, it's mostly American fair at this place. The food ranges from fair to very good; most people should find something they like. Seating is plentiful, and service is usually quick and attentive. My favorites: Pot Stickers (they now have two varieties) and the recently-added Bruschetta Chicken Parmesan.

Macaroni Grill (Methuen, MA)

Italian Food and a nice atmosphere. This is a family favorite, and I only avoid going there TOO often is so I don't get to the point where I get sick of going too often...! They have a Create Your Own Pasta feature where you can choose your pasta, type of sauce, and up to three additional ingredients plus extras like meatballs, sausage, or shrimp (without a doubt, my favorite!).

The Chateau (Andover, MA)

With only five restaurants, this is just at my definition of "chain," but it's a local chain in Massachusetts. There's a large lounge, which is convenient for watching sporting events, and a pretty large dining area as well. The food here is mostly Italian, although they have American steak and seafood menu items as well. My favorite: Prime Rib (Fridays and Saturday evenings while it lasts). My wife and kids like the Toasted Ravioli, and my wife simple loves the Eggplant Milano (an appetizer, but she orders it as an entree). Their Buffalo Wings are different than most; the spice is in the batter, not a buttery coating, which makes them less messy to eat.

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I'll add my thoughts on other chain restaurants in a future posting. Until then... take care and bon appetit!