My good man, ElPadrino, touched on this subject on his blog. But I have decided to go further into this topic.
I am not a full-blooded Italian, but I do have Italian blood in my veins. I also grew up in my grandmother's house who made a kick ass meatball. So Italian food is an area I know a little something about.
The debate is whether or not a chain restaurant can deliver good Italian food.
My stance on this is yes and no.
When it comes to Italian cooking, I believe it is an art form. To do it properly, you need to have a desire to do it well and right. Now, I do not believe this is a difficult art form. I think anyone with a desire to succeed at it can do it well.
But here is a problem I see with these Italian chains. Their own popularity does them in.
You see, a lot of people when they want to go out for Italian food get lazy about it. They don't want to search out a good local hole in the wall somewhere. No, they'd rather go to the mall and get Olive Garden. It's an easy choice that doesn't require thought. And what that does is cause a logjam where you have an hour wait for a table at places like that, because a lot of people think like they do.
So what does the staff do? Being influenced by the corporate climate, they shoot for high turnover to get more business in. They have easy corporate recipies which the cooks follow to the letter without their own creativity (notice I call them cooks, not chefs). This allows them to get dishes out quicker than a lot of local Italian places can pull off. In some cases, this rush job creates a dish that is passable to most people who don't demand a little more.
By the way... the above opinion is not really based on any study. It's just my observation. And it may be full of crap. But I defy you to prove me wrong.
Now this isn't to say that local Italian places don't have a wait. They most certainly do. But in their cases, you're most likely to need a reservation to get in. I think that means that they know ahead of time what their business is going to be, so they don't shoot for the highest amount of turnover possible. So the chefs can prepare ahead a little better, and it helps that they themselves created the recipes they serve in a lot of cases. It makes for a more unique experience, and a much better one in my opinion.
Basically, what I see is that chains are less likely to take reservations, which means they go for highest amount of tunrover possible, and that leads to food that comes off of an assembly line. While local places take reservations, know a little more in advance what they're going to get business-wise, and plan ahead and staff properly which gives the chef a little room to do what they need to do.
Once again, my opinion based on no facts I know of whatsoever.
A couple of chains do pull this off in my mind. I have always been a fan of Maggiano's Little Italy. Maybe it's because they behave like a higher class restaurant. I think for an Italian chain you need to behave like a high class place on the ground level to succeed. I've always had a good meal there.
Now call me crazy, but I also like Bertucci's. But I don't go to Bertucci's for high class Italian. I go there for a good calzone and hot rolls. I don't have high expectations there. I tend not to order anything else. But I can see how that rushed atmosphere can hurt them. Case in point... I was at a Bertucci's this past Good Friday. Of course the rest of the world seemed to be there too since we couldn't get a really good parking spot and they had a 30 minute wait. People eat a lot of pizza on Good Friday of course, being the last Friday of Lent. (Consequently, the nearby Charlie Brown's Steakhouse was begging for customers that evening. You could park next to their salad bar for all they cared.) So I ordered a grilled chicken calzone. I got a sausage calzone. Apparently the cook couldn't read too well. When I asked how long it would take to make a new calzone, they said 15 minutes. Thank goodness I like sausage.
My official opinion on the Olive Garden is incomplete. Reason is that I tend to not go there. I've only been to one Olive Garden, and I only ordered a grilled chicken caesar salad which didn't taste too bad. But it's kinda hard to screw that up. I've had many people tell me that Olive Garden isn't really worth it, so I believe them. They do seem to reek of corporateness.
I have liked Carabba's in the past, but they have suffered from inconsistency. I have had a meal there where the cook was a little too in love with the pepper that day and had a heavy hand. It almost made the meal uneatable.
Now for a chain to really fail my test, they need to fail one of my two cardinal rules for a good Italian restaurant. (I got friggin rules for everything, don't I?)
1. They gotta make a good meatball.
2. They gotta make a good chicken parmigana.
Those two foods are essential to Italian food in my world. If you can't do those well, you can't do anything well.
One that failed... Vinny Testa's. I guarantee you haven't heard of them, unless you lived in Boston. They are a Boston based Italian chain with one outpost near Philadelphia and about 10 locations in Mass.
When I lived in Boston, I did enjoy the occasional trip to Vinny T's. I thought they were a quality place. So much so that I would brag to my Philly friends about it that they should go to the Philly location.
One night I recommended going with the woman that would eventually be my wife when we were dating. Anxious to show off my knowledge of good restaurants, I recommended we try Vinny Testa's out.
We both ordered the chicken parmigana. And they broke Rev's Cardinal Rule #2 on Italian Restaurants. It sucked. Not only was it burnt, the sauce had little flavor to it. Here I am trying to impress the lady, and they let me down... on one of the easiest dishes in Italian food to make too. Either I picked the wrong night, or they are slipping.
I have not forgiven them for it, and I have not been back since.
When it comes to local Italian places, I have more than a few recommendations in Philly or Boston. I may share those in the future. When it comes to chain places, proceed at your own risk.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Chapter 4: Barbecue
I'm becoming a barbecue snob. At least that is what my wife thinks.
Why does she think this? Because I had the gall to diss on Famous Dave's over the weekend.
Have any of you ever been to Famous Dave's? It's a chain restaurant that does barbecue type food. Perhaps you have one near you.
Now, do not get me wrong. Famous Dave's isn't a bad meal at all. In fact, I do enjoy their food. But it ain't real barbecue in my mind.
Why do I believe that? Because if you go to any Famous Dave's in America, you will get the same food each time. Now while there is something to be said about consistency, that doesn't mean real barbecue to me. That's corporate barbecue.
You see, one of the joys of going to a real barbecue place, and I'm talking one that is owned by some old geezer named Duke or some old mama named Koko, is that you get a different experience at each one you visit. Because people like that put a little extra into the food. And their individual recipes all have something that another place does not.
I'm becoming more and more of a fan of real barbecue as I go along. And I'm saying this while realizing that I probably haven't had the true real thing. You see, Philadelphia doesn't have a lot of real barbecue joints. Not like a place such as Memphis would have or Kansas City or Austin. You have to search them out around here.
When you find one around here though, it is a special thing.
Two rules I have about barbecue joints...
1. I need to see the smoker outside the place. A good barbecue place has a really big smoker, either on a trailer or in a house, outisde the joint. If I can't see the smoker that makes the meat, then it's no damn good. Then I tend to believe that it might be a corporate type joint that slathers Kraft sauce on meat and serves it with a Pillsbury biscuit. I will allow for any smoker that is located inside the restaurant, as long as I can get a good view of it from the front of the counter. If you're hiding where you're meat is coming from, then I believe you're hiding something for a reason.
2. The meat needs to taste good without sauce on it. Now don't get me wrong. I like me some barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauce doesn't suck at all. But real good barbecue doesn't need the sauce. I believe this with every fiber of my being. Now, real barbecue with the added zing of a real good barbecue sauce can be a truly beautiful thing. And if you don't know what I mean, then you haven't had real barbecue.
Some have passed this test, some have not. One that passed this test in my book but is no longer in business is a place called Zeke's, which used to be in the Overbrook section of Philly. Poor Zeke just couldn't keep himself in business. But he had the best damn food I ever tasted.
In fact, I'm doing something to immortalize Zeke. Somehow, his famous wing rub leaked out to the internet. Maybe he leaked it out there, I don't know. But I'm posting it here just in case the recipe gets taken off the net for some reason. It must live on.
Here it is. I have used it myself, and it works like a charm.
ZEKE'S BBQ WINGS
4 Servings
Ingredients
1/2 C kosher salt
1/2 C paprika
2 oz garlic powder
2 oz granulated onion
2 oz black pepper
1 1/2 lb whole fresh chicken wings
Note
It is important to use Kosher salt because table salt will dissolve into the meat but kosher salt will draw out fat
Method
- Salt and pepper the chicken wings before applying the rub; it makes a difference.
- Toss wings with rub until they turn bright orange.
- Add more rub, a little at a time until they become slightly red.
- Let wings sit overnight.
- Heat coals until glowing in charcoal grill. Cook over medium heat. You should be able to hold your hand over the coals for 4 seconds.
- Arrange wings on a hinged grill basket so that you can turn the wings every two minutes or so until they become dark orange. Be careful not to burn the wings. The flavor will be very different.
Now maybe this isn't true barbecue because you're not smoking the wings for hours. But how many of us have that much time to do that? I use the rub on wings over a gas grill and they never let me down.
In Philadelphia, if you can search out a place called Sweet Lucy's on State Road near Cottman Ave, do it. They pass my two part test with flying colors. They are now my new favorite Philly joint.
And one more tip... every year the Phillies have a barbecue contest before a game, usually in August. You don't need a ticket to the game to go there and try some damn good ribs. And who has the best ribs at the contest? Former centerfielder Garry Maddox, that's who. One of my baseball idols growing up also makes some of the best damn ribs I have eaten. I went there last year, and I think I went back to his stand about 5 times.
I should have gotten him to autograph a bone.
Why does she think this? Because I had the gall to diss on Famous Dave's over the weekend.
Have any of you ever been to Famous Dave's? It's a chain restaurant that does barbecue type food. Perhaps you have one near you.
Now, do not get me wrong. Famous Dave's isn't a bad meal at all. In fact, I do enjoy their food. But it ain't real barbecue in my mind.
Why do I believe that? Because if you go to any Famous Dave's in America, you will get the same food each time. Now while there is something to be said about consistency, that doesn't mean real barbecue to me. That's corporate barbecue.
You see, one of the joys of going to a real barbecue place, and I'm talking one that is owned by some old geezer named Duke or some old mama named Koko, is that you get a different experience at each one you visit. Because people like that put a little extra into the food. And their individual recipes all have something that another place does not.
I'm becoming more and more of a fan of real barbecue as I go along. And I'm saying this while realizing that I probably haven't had the true real thing. You see, Philadelphia doesn't have a lot of real barbecue joints. Not like a place such as Memphis would have or Kansas City or Austin. You have to search them out around here.
When you find one around here though, it is a special thing.
Two rules I have about barbecue joints...
1. I need to see the smoker outside the place. A good barbecue place has a really big smoker, either on a trailer or in a house, outisde the joint. If I can't see the smoker that makes the meat, then it's no damn good. Then I tend to believe that it might be a corporate type joint that slathers Kraft sauce on meat and serves it with a Pillsbury biscuit. I will allow for any smoker that is located inside the restaurant, as long as I can get a good view of it from the front of the counter. If you're hiding where you're meat is coming from, then I believe you're hiding something for a reason.
2. The meat needs to taste good without sauce on it. Now don't get me wrong. I like me some barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauce doesn't suck at all. But real good barbecue doesn't need the sauce. I believe this with every fiber of my being. Now, real barbecue with the added zing of a real good barbecue sauce can be a truly beautiful thing. And if you don't know what I mean, then you haven't had real barbecue.
Some have passed this test, some have not. One that passed this test in my book but is no longer in business is a place called Zeke's, which used to be in the Overbrook section of Philly. Poor Zeke just couldn't keep himself in business. But he had the best damn food I ever tasted.
In fact, I'm doing something to immortalize Zeke. Somehow, his famous wing rub leaked out to the internet. Maybe he leaked it out there, I don't know. But I'm posting it here just in case the recipe gets taken off the net for some reason. It must live on.
Here it is. I have used it myself, and it works like a charm.
ZEKE'S BBQ WINGS
4 Servings
Ingredients
1/2 C kosher salt
1/2 C paprika
2 oz garlic powder
2 oz granulated onion
2 oz black pepper
1 1/2 lb whole fresh chicken wings
Note
It is important to use Kosher salt because table salt will dissolve into the meat but kosher salt will draw out fat
Method
- Salt and pepper the chicken wings before applying the rub; it makes a difference.
- Toss wings with rub until they turn bright orange.
- Add more rub, a little at a time until they become slightly red.
- Let wings sit overnight.
- Heat coals until glowing in charcoal grill. Cook over medium heat. You should be able to hold your hand over the coals for 4 seconds.
- Arrange wings on a hinged grill basket so that you can turn the wings every two minutes or so until they become dark orange. Be careful not to burn the wings. The flavor will be very different.
Now maybe this isn't true barbecue because you're not smoking the wings for hours. But how many of us have that much time to do that? I use the rub on wings over a gas grill and they never let me down.
In Philadelphia, if you can search out a place called Sweet Lucy's on State Road near Cottman Ave, do it. They pass my two part test with flying colors. They are now my new favorite Philly joint.
And one more tip... every year the Phillies have a barbecue contest before a game, usually in August. You don't need a ticket to the game to go there and try some damn good ribs. And who has the best ribs at the contest? Former centerfielder Garry Maddox, that's who. One of my baseball idols growing up also makes some of the best damn ribs I have eaten. I went there last year, and I think I went back to his stand about 5 times.
I should have gotten him to autograph a bone.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Chapter 3: Irish Whiskey
So I did have my lesson on Irish whiskey on Thursday night.
And I did promise to report on what I had, so here I am to report.
Now, I'm not reporting to you as any kind of Irish whiskey expert. Far from it. I'm reporting to you as someone who tried a lot of this stuff for the first time.
I tend to be more of a scotch drinker when it comes to the hard stuff. And I don't drink it everyday. I consider it a special occasion kind of drink. But then again, scotch is just a form of whiskey with a different name. So I wasn't out of my element here.
The night consisted of tasting 4 different Irish whiskeys, and smoking good cigars. The cigars that were handed out were called Cuban Stock. These were the darker full bodied Cuban Stock cigars in this case. I actually didn't smoke them, since I had brought along a nice Dominican Cohiba to enjoy. So I kept the Cuban Stock to take home for the humidor. I wasn't in the mood for a full bodied cigar on Thursday, and the Cohiba I picked was just the right flavor for me.
For the record... Cuban Stock is made by a company called Crown David. Interesting company in my book. You don't find them everywhere. They can only be found at certain cigar stores. I'm not sure why that is. The one I frequent occasionally near where I live sells a boatload of them, but that's the only store I see them in. I usually bypass them for other brands. They're not like Montecristos or Partagas which every cigar store seems to sell. I'm looking forward to actually trying one soon.
Anyway, let me get to the 4 brands we tried, and my thoughts on each.
The first whiskey of the night was Tullamore Dew. The gentleman who was giving us the whiskey lecture started telling us about it, and then gave us tips on how to truly taste the whiskey, such as examining the color, swirling it in the glass, smelling the bouquet, and adding a couple drops of water to really bring out the flavor. He suggested that we let the whiskey roll across our whole tongue to get the full flavors.
Well, I did all that, and then I drank making sure to get it all across my whole tongue as he said. Problem is, the front part of my tongue didn't like that idea. It started burning like crazy as if to say to me, "What the hell are you doing? Just drink the damn stuff!"
It turns out the Tullamore Dew was probably the least smooth whiskey of the 4. He started with the cheaper stuff. It was not the type of whiskey that was aged over 10 years. The best was yet to come.
Second was the Bushmills 10 Year Single Malt. Now we are upgrading. I was told that while the Tullamore went for about $20 a bottle, this stuff was just under $40 a bottle. First thing I noticed, as well as the guy next to me who took a sniff, was that this whiskey had a much stronger aroma. It was so strong, we both backed off the glass and went "Whoa!" at the same time. It wasn't a bad aroma, it was just so much stronger than the Tullamore. We figured this stuff might go down like rusty nails based on the smell alone.
Then we sipped... and it was so much smoother than the last one. That was a very pleasant surprise. To have that strong of an aroma yet go down nice and smooth, that's quite the success. Of course they say the longer a whiskey is aged, the smoother it gets. Thumbs up to the Bushmills.
Thirdly, we moved to the Jameson 12 Year Old. Conventional wisdom says this would be even smoother than the Bushmills 10 year old. But I agreed with the gentleman sitting next to me. We both thought the Bushmills was actually a bit smoother. But definitely a step up from the Tullamore. No question.
Lastly, it was the Redbreast 12 Year Old Pure Pot Still Whiskey. I figured the best was for last. This bottle apparently costs in the $45 per bottle range and was the most expensive of the whole night. Of the 4 whiskeys, it had the most bold and distinct pure whiskey flavor. No question.
But surprisingly, I thought the Bushmills 10 Year got the prize for being the smoothest. I enjoyed drinking that the most.
And if you want everyone else's opinion that night, lust look at the raffle they had. You got to buy tickets and put them into a pot for each of the 4 whiskeys to be given away. You got to put them into the pot matching the whiskey you wanted to win. By far, the least amount of tickets was in the Tullamore Dew pot. I think that said it all.
And how do you like this... the guy I was speaking with the whole night and sharing the thoughts on the whiskey with that I mentioned before... he won the grand prize of the night. That was a bottle of Midleton Very Rare Irish Whiskey. Whiskey that is so rare, each bottle has a serial number and is actually signed by the distiller. Regular price on that bottle... $140.
That stuff is so exclusive, there's an invitation inside the box that says if you bought the whiskey, you're invited to come to the distillery in Ireland to sign a special guest book dedicated to owners of the whiskey.
No, the trip isn't free. You gotta pay for the plane to Ireland. But that's still quite an invite.
And I was this close to winning it too. His winning ticket had 03 on it. Mine had 04.
Oh well, maybe I'll meet up with him again and he'll let me taste a glass. I do wonder what whiskey signed and numbered by the distiller tastes like.
And I did promise to report on what I had, so here I am to report.
Now, I'm not reporting to you as any kind of Irish whiskey expert. Far from it. I'm reporting to you as someone who tried a lot of this stuff for the first time.
I tend to be more of a scotch drinker when it comes to the hard stuff. And I don't drink it everyday. I consider it a special occasion kind of drink. But then again, scotch is just a form of whiskey with a different name. So I wasn't out of my element here.
The night consisted of tasting 4 different Irish whiskeys, and smoking good cigars. The cigars that were handed out were called Cuban Stock. These were the darker full bodied Cuban Stock cigars in this case. I actually didn't smoke them, since I had brought along a nice Dominican Cohiba to enjoy. So I kept the Cuban Stock to take home for the humidor. I wasn't in the mood for a full bodied cigar on Thursday, and the Cohiba I picked was just the right flavor for me.
For the record... Cuban Stock is made by a company called Crown David. Interesting company in my book. You don't find them everywhere. They can only be found at certain cigar stores. I'm not sure why that is. The one I frequent occasionally near where I live sells a boatload of them, but that's the only store I see them in. I usually bypass them for other brands. They're not like Montecristos or Partagas which every cigar store seems to sell. I'm looking forward to actually trying one soon.
Anyway, let me get to the 4 brands we tried, and my thoughts on each.
The first whiskey of the night was Tullamore Dew. The gentleman who was giving us the whiskey lecture started telling us about it, and then gave us tips on how to truly taste the whiskey, such as examining the color, swirling it in the glass, smelling the bouquet, and adding a couple drops of water to really bring out the flavor. He suggested that we let the whiskey roll across our whole tongue to get the full flavors.
Well, I did all that, and then I drank making sure to get it all across my whole tongue as he said. Problem is, the front part of my tongue didn't like that idea. It started burning like crazy as if to say to me, "What the hell are you doing? Just drink the damn stuff!"
It turns out the Tullamore Dew was probably the least smooth whiskey of the 4. He started with the cheaper stuff. It was not the type of whiskey that was aged over 10 years. The best was yet to come.
Second was the Bushmills 10 Year Single Malt. Now we are upgrading. I was told that while the Tullamore went for about $20 a bottle, this stuff was just under $40 a bottle. First thing I noticed, as well as the guy next to me who took a sniff, was that this whiskey had a much stronger aroma. It was so strong, we both backed off the glass and went "Whoa!" at the same time. It wasn't a bad aroma, it was just so much stronger than the Tullamore. We figured this stuff might go down like rusty nails based on the smell alone.
Then we sipped... and it was so much smoother than the last one. That was a very pleasant surprise. To have that strong of an aroma yet go down nice and smooth, that's quite the success. Of course they say the longer a whiskey is aged, the smoother it gets. Thumbs up to the Bushmills.
Thirdly, we moved to the Jameson 12 Year Old. Conventional wisdom says this would be even smoother than the Bushmills 10 year old. But I agreed with the gentleman sitting next to me. We both thought the Bushmills was actually a bit smoother. But definitely a step up from the Tullamore. No question.
Lastly, it was the Redbreast 12 Year Old Pure Pot Still Whiskey. I figured the best was for last. This bottle apparently costs in the $45 per bottle range and was the most expensive of the whole night. Of the 4 whiskeys, it had the most bold and distinct pure whiskey flavor. No question.
But surprisingly, I thought the Bushmills 10 Year got the prize for being the smoothest. I enjoyed drinking that the most.
And if you want everyone else's opinion that night, lust look at the raffle they had. You got to buy tickets and put them into a pot for each of the 4 whiskeys to be given away. You got to put them into the pot matching the whiskey you wanted to win. By far, the least amount of tickets was in the Tullamore Dew pot. I think that said it all.
And how do you like this... the guy I was speaking with the whole night and sharing the thoughts on the whiskey with that I mentioned before... he won the grand prize of the night. That was a bottle of Midleton Very Rare Irish Whiskey. Whiskey that is so rare, each bottle has a serial number and is actually signed by the distiller. Regular price on that bottle... $140.
That stuff is so exclusive, there's an invitation inside the box that says if you bought the whiskey, you're invited to come to the distillery in Ireland to sign a special guest book dedicated to owners of the whiskey.
No, the trip isn't free. You gotta pay for the plane to Ireland. But that's still quite an invite.
And I was this close to winning it too. His winning ticket had 03 on it. Mine had 04.
Oh well, maybe I'll meet up with him again and he'll let me taste a glass. I do wonder what whiskey signed and numbered by the distiller tastes like.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Yet to come...
Tomorrow night, I will be attending an Irish Whiskey tasting as well as a cigar tasting.
25 bucks... gets you food, whiskey samples, cigars, etc. It's a good deal.
Not sure what types of whiskey or cigars will be featured. We shall see.
I will report back on my findings.
25 bucks... gets you food, whiskey samples, cigars, etc. It's a good deal.
Not sure what types of whiskey or cigars will be featured. We shall see.
I will report back on my findings.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Chapter 2: Cigar notes
Someone at the LOV blog recently said "I can't believe it took Rev this long to have a blog entirely devoted to food."
How wrong you are. This blog is devoted to so much more than food.
What, you think my life is one eating fest after another? That I live my life longing for the next opportunity I get to take a bite out of something else?
OK... bad choice of words. My life is actually pretty close to that. But in between bites, I tend to enjoy other pleasures of life.
I'm learning more and more about cigars every week. It's becoming quite the passion.
Now don't get me wrong. I am far from an expert. I'm not really good enough to tell you little intricacies about cigars such as "the cigar had a predominately creamy almond and coffee flavor" unless it's an actual almond and coffee flavored cigar. Basically, either a cigar is good or it ain't good to me.
So what makes a good cigar in my world?
Know one thing about me. I'm not a rich man. I'm not going out and smuggling $40 Cuban cigars into the country on a regualr basis. I need a pretty inexpensive smoke. My budget in life pretty much demands that.
But know another thing about me. I'm not smoking cheap cigars. I'm not going around with an ElProducto in my mouth.
What I've found is that it is really possible to get a really good cigar between $2 and $5 that smokes just as good as one that is $15. We're talking real imported handmade cigars, not the cheap machine made ones like the Phillies blunts. And some of these particular inexpensive cigars have earned high ratings in well respected cigar publications right up there with the high end smokes.
Now, every now and then, I will splurge for one of the higher end smokes. I've never gone wrong with a good Cohiba, which you can't get one for less than $12 anymore. But most of the time, I pick out a nice smoke in that $2 to $5 range.
For the first cigar post, I'll throw out my top 5 cigars at the moment. And in future cigar postings, I'll review something new. If you're looking for something to try, you can't go wrong with one of these 5 choices in my world.
1. Padron 1964 Anniversary Series
I'm a big Padron fan. Often I go for a Padron Londres for $2.50 a smoke, or a Padron Palmas for $3.50. These are higher end. You can get a decent size 1964 series cigar for 9 dollars. Some of the bigger ones are more. Padron also makes a 1926 Anniversary Series cigar that is even higher end, but I haven't partaken one yet. Judging on how smooth the 1964 series are, I can only imagine the 1926 must be heaven.
2. Partagas Black Label
The previous Padron's are medium bodied. This particular Partagas series is definitely on the stronger side and more full bodied. This may be the strongest cigar I smoke. The first time I had one though, I was so impressed. Problem was, later on the cigar actually caught up to me and I felt a little ill. A strong cigar doesn't usually affect me like that, but this one kicked my ass a bit. The cigar was so good though, it was worth getting a little sick over. I've had more since then, and I'm happy to report I'm much better now.
3. Rocky Patel 1990 Vintage Series
Rocky has put out many different lines of cigars. This one is by far his best. There's a 1990 series, and a 1992 series. The 1990 is a little smoother than the 1992 in my opinion. There are different sizes, but you can actually get a tin of 5 mini cigars of this line for $12. That to me is the best deal. Those mini smokes last you a good 20 minutes or so.
4. Onyx Reserve
When you can grab a cigar that the experts are rating in the 90's up there with the good stuff, and get one for $4-$6 a smoke, you gotta try at least one. I've tried more than one, and they definitely smoke as well as anything more expensive.
5. Perdomo Reserve Champagne
This is probably the mildest cigar on my list. I bought a few as part of a package deal with about 8 other brands one time. I knew nothing about them. Decided to smoke one on a whim. And I loved every damn minute of it. I'm glad I have two more in the humidor waiting for me.
I'm sure the next blog posting will be about food. Maybe.
How wrong you are. This blog is devoted to so much more than food.
What, you think my life is one eating fest after another? That I live my life longing for the next opportunity I get to take a bite out of something else?
OK... bad choice of words. My life is actually pretty close to that. But in between bites, I tend to enjoy other pleasures of life.
I'm learning more and more about cigars every week. It's becoming quite the passion.
Now don't get me wrong. I am far from an expert. I'm not really good enough to tell you little intricacies about cigars such as "the cigar had a predominately creamy almond and coffee flavor" unless it's an actual almond and coffee flavored cigar. Basically, either a cigar is good or it ain't good to me.
So what makes a good cigar in my world?
Know one thing about me. I'm not a rich man. I'm not going out and smuggling $40 Cuban cigars into the country on a regualr basis. I need a pretty inexpensive smoke. My budget in life pretty much demands that.
But know another thing about me. I'm not smoking cheap cigars. I'm not going around with an ElProducto in my mouth.
What I've found is that it is really possible to get a really good cigar between $2 and $5 that smokes just as good as one that is $15. We're talking real imported handmade cigars, not the cheap machine made ones like the Phillies blunts. And some of these particular inexpensive cigars have earned high ratings in well respected cigar publications right up there with the high end smokes.
Now, every now and then, I will splurge for one of the higher end smokes. I've never gone wrong with a good Cohiba, which you can't get one for less than $12 anymore. But most of the time, I pick out a nice smoke in that $2 to $5 range.
For the first cigar post, I'll throw out my top 5 cigars at the moment. And in future cigar postings, I'll review something new. If you're looking for something to try, you can't go wrong with one of these 5 choices in my world.
1. Padron 1964 Anniversary Series
I'm a big Padron fan. Often I go for a Padron Londres for $2.50 a smoke, or a Padron Palmas for $3.50. These are higher end. You can get a decent size 1964 series cigar for 9 dollars. Some of the bigger ones are more. Padron also makes a 1926 Anniversary Series cigar that is even higher end, but I haven't partaken one yet. Judging on how smooth the 1964 series are, I can only imagine the 1926 must be heaven.
2. Partagas Black Label
The previous Padron's are medium bodied. This particular Partagas series is definitely on the stronger side and more full bodied. This may be the strongest cigar I smoke. The first time I had one though, I was so impressed. Problem was, later on the cigar actually caught up to me and I felt a little ill. A strong cigar doesn't usually affect me like that, but this one kicked my ass a bit. The cigar was so good though, it was worth getting a little sick over. I've had more since then, and I'm happy to report I'm much better now.
3. Rocky Patel 1990 Vintage Series
Rocky has put out many different lines of cigars. This one is by far his best. There's a 1990 series, and a 1992 series. The 1990 is a little smoother than the 1992 in my opinion. There are different sizes, but you can actually get a tin of 5 mini cigars of this line for $12. That to me is the best deal. Those mini smokes last you a good 20 minutes or so.
4. Onyx Reserve
When you can grab a cigar that the experts are rating in the 90's up there with the good stuff, and get one for $4-$6 a smoke, you gotta try at least one. I've tried more than one, and they definitely smoke as well as anything more expensive.
5. Perdomo Reserve Champagne
This is probably the mildest cigar on my list. I bought a few as part of a package deal with about 8 other brands one time. I knew nothing about them. Decided to smoke one on a whim. And I loved every damn minute of it. I'm glad I have two more in the humidor waiting for me.
I'm sure the next blog posting will be about food. Maybe.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Chapter 1: Traveling
The first topic I would like to touch on is traveling to a new city.
This is inspired by a comment made on the old blog. I had mentioned that on my upcoming trip out west in a couple of months, my biggest goal so far was to find an In-N-Out burger. Apparently that surprised some people, and didn't surprise others.
I'm happy to report that since I wrote that, I came up with a few more goals. But interestingly enough, most of them involve eating. For instance, I'm pretty sure I will be eating here at least once in Vegas. And chances are in San Francisco, I will visit here at least once.
To me, the most important thing about visiting a new city is finding good food. And I have some personal rules about that which I try to follow.
First rule... I will always attempt to find out what food item the city is most well known for, and I will try to go to a place that is most well known for making that particular item.
Just like if you ever come to Philadelphia, you need to try a cheesesteak. When I go to Boston, I will find a good bowl of clam chowder. When I go to Chicago, I will have some deep dish pizza. When I go to New York, I will get a good bagel or a pastrami sandwich or a piece of cheesecake (NYC has a lot of signature food items). When I go to Baltimore, I will get some crabcakes.
But I won't go just anywhere for these things. You see, when I get clam chowder in Boston, I won't just go to any Tom Dick and Harry joint to get it. I will go to the Warren Tavern or the Union Oyster House. When I get bagels in NYC, I'm going to Bergen's in Brooklyn. When I get cheesecake in NYC, I'm going to Junior's. When I get that pastrami sandwich, I'll go to Katz's or the Carnegie Deli. For pizza in Chicago, I'm looking for a Lou Malnati's or Gino's. You get the point. You have to find a place that is most well known for it and get it there.
This is why I'm going to get me some sourdough bread in San Francisco. Hell, I might kill a couple of birds with one stone and get some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. I hear the chowder in San Fran is as good as Boston's. I'll be the judge of that.
Second rule... if you go to a new city, eating at a place that you could get at home is forbidden. My opinion is that if you go to Vegas, and you hit up an Applebee's, you are an idiot.
Now, the exception to this rule is that if you happen to live in an area where there are no Applebee's for hundred's of miles around, and this would be the first opportunity you had to try an Applebee's in Vegas, then I say go for it. But only go for it once. If you're going back to Applebee's the next day, you're back to being an idiot. This is not to say that Applebee's isn't good. But you don't travel thousands of miles to go to one more than once.
And may I add... if you live in an area where there are no Applebees, then you are in a pretty desolate area. They have an Applebees in Beirut, Lebanon for cryin' out loud.
Third rule... fast food joints in new cities should never be frequented. You really should be trying to find local cuisine in my book. This goes back to eating things that you can get in your home city. Why go thousands of miles to eat at a McDonalds? Of course, there are exceptions to this rule.
One exception is my In-N-Out burger rule. And this goes back to the previous Applebee's example. We don't have any In-N-Out burgers in Philly. They are apparently legendary on the West Coast. So I say that In-N-Out burgers qualify as local cuisine and should be searched out even though it is fast food. Because that is a unique experience to someone like me.
Another exception is a foreign country. Le's say you're halfway around the world in India, and you happen to find a McDonalds. I say it is perfectly acceptable to go into a McDonalds in India to see what it tastes like. From what I hear they are radically different. Just like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction speaking about the Royale With Cheese. This is encouraged, unless you're in Canada. I don't think a McDonalds in Canada is going to be any different than here.
I think three rules is enough for now. And for the record, I do have my reservation for Emeril's in Las Vegas ready to go. There will be an update on that in May, I assure you.
This is inspired by a comment made on the old blog. I had mentioned that on my upcoming trip out west in a couple of months, my biggest goal so far was to find an In-N-Out burger. Apparently that surprised some people, and didn't surprise others.
I'm happy to report that since I wrote that, I came up with a few more goals. But interestingly enough, most of them involve eating. For instance, I'm pretty sure I will be eating here at least once in Vegas. And chances are in San Francisco, I will visit here at least once.
To me, the most important thing about visiting a new city is finding good food. And I have some personal rules about that which I try to follow.
First rule... I will always attempt to find out what food item the city is most well known for, and I will try to go to a place that is most well known for making that particular item.
Just like if you ever come to Philadelphia, you need to try a cheesesteak. When I go to Boston, I will find a good bowl of clam chowder. When I go to Chicago, I will have some deep dish pizza. When I go to New York, I will get a good bagel or a pastrami sandwich or a piece of cheesecake (NYC has a lot of signature food items). When I go to Baltimore, I will get some crabcakes.
But I won't go just anywhere for these things. You see, when I get clam chowder in Boston, I won't just go to any Tom Dick and Harry joint to get it. I will go to the Warren Tavern or the Union Oyster House. When I get bagels in NYC, I'm going to Bergen's in Brooklyn. When I get cheesecake in NYC, I'm going to Junior's. When I get that pastrami sandwich, I'll go to Katz's or the Carnegie Deli. For pizza in Chicago, I'm looking for a Lou Malnati's or Gino's. You get the point. You have to find a place that is most well known for it and get it there.
This is why I'm going to get me some sourdough bread in San Francisco. Hell, I might kill a couple of birds with one stone and get some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. I hear the chowder in San Fran is as good as Boston's. I'll be the judge of that.
Second rule... if you go to a new city, eating at a place that you could get at home is forbidden. My opinion is that if you go to Vegas, and you hit up an Applebee's, you are an idiot.
Now, the exception to this rule is that if you happen to live in an area where there are no Applebee's for hundred's of miles around, and this would be the first opportunity you had to try an Applebee's in Vegas, then I say go for it. But only go for it once. If you're going back to Applebee's the next day, you're back to being an idiot. This is not to say that Applebee's isn't good. But you don't travel thousands of miles to go to one more than once.
And may I add... if you live in an area where there are no Applebees, then you are in a pretty desolate area. They have an Applebees in Beirut, Lebanon for cryin' out loud.
Third rule... fast food joints in new cities should never be frequented. You really should be trying to find local cuisine in my book. This goes back to eating things that you can get in your home city. Why go thousands of miles to eat at a McDonalds? Of course, there are exceptions to this rule.
One exception is my In-N-Out burger rule. And this goes back to the previous Applebee's example. We don't have any In-N-Out burgers in Philly. They are apparently legendary on the West Coast. So I say that In-N-Out burgers qualify as local cuisine and should be searched out even though it is fast food. Because that is a unique experience to someone like me.
Another exception is a foreign country. Le's say you're halfway around the world in India, and you happen to find a McDonalds. I say it is perfectly acceptable to go into a McDonalds in India to see what it tastes like. From what I hear they are radically different. Just like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction speaking about the Royale With Cheese. This is encouraged, unless you're in Canada. I don't think a McDonalds in Canada is going to be any different than here.
I think three rules is enough for now. And for the record, I do have my reservation for Emeril's in Las Vegas ready to go. There will be an update on that in May, I assure you.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Prologue: The road to not sucking
I came up with a great idea yesterday.
Well, maybe great is a harsh word. A great idea would be something more along the line of writing a whole best selling novel. That would be truly great.
No, this idea is maybe more along the lines of moderately decent, or somewhat palpable.
Let's just say I'm shooting for one or two percentage points above mediocrity with this one.
So yesterday, I'm sitting in Center City Philadelphia all by my lonesome. I'm at Holt's Cigar Company enjoying a nice Padron Palmas. I got a whole big leather couch all to myself in their smoking lounge around 4pm (just including the links so you can get a visual of what I speak of). Life was pretty good. I was pretty mellow, and enjoying every second of it.
It hit me while I was in the middle of my tobacco induced haze. It's stuff like this I should be writing about from now on.
I should be writing reviews of places. I should be writing reviews of food. I should be writing reviews of goods I've used. I should be writing about my opinions on how the good life should be led.
Now, I'm not suggesting that I should be telling you all how to live your lives. I'm not a qualified life coach. Hell, you're all free to foul up your lives however you wish as far as I am concerned. Far be it from me to judge or to tell you you're doing it wrong. I'm not that smart.
I'm also not suggesting that I am any sort of expert on this stuff. I'm not a professional reviewer of stuff by any means. I haven't been to a lot of places in my life. Hell, I haven't even been off this continent yet. So I'm not overly worldly here.
But I have done a few things in my life. I have opinions on places I've been. I have opinions on things I've done. I have opinions on restaurants, lounges, wine, cigars, products, cities, etc.
This idea was based on a few things. One of the main things is that way back in the day I had a different kind of website before I did this blog stuff. And on that website of mine, which is now defunct, I used to have a restaurant review page. (I've been to more than one restaurant in my life... big shock to those who know me well.)
Why did I do it? No real reason other than curing boredom. But what I noticed is that besides all the other crap I had on my page, that particular page got the most views of anything I had. I must have been doing something right.
I'll be doing stuff like that here. But I'll also throw in other things. I'll try to appeal to everyone, which is damn near impossible to do. And I won't limit myself to reviews of particular places or things. Every now and then, you might get my take on things we all do in life, like traveling.
This blog just might not suck. Then again, it could. But I'll try to keep it out of the suck.
I had trouble coming up with ideas on my old blog. But I have a better feeling that more ideas will come to me here. Maybe.
And feel free to disagree with me or tell me I'm a moron here. Hell, you might have a different opinion on the stuff I talk about. Share it, please.
Come with me, and let's not suck together.
Well, maybe great is a harsh word. A great idea would be something more along the line of writing a whole best selling novel. That would be truly great.
No, this idea is maybe more along the lines of moderately decent, or somewhat palpable.
Let's just say I'm shooting for one or two percentage points above mediocrity with this one.
So yesterday, I'm sitting in Center City Philadelphia all by my lonesome. I'm at Holt's Cigar Company enjoying a nice Padron Palmas. I got a whole big leather couch all to myself in their smoking lounge around 4pm (just including the links so you can get a visual of what I speak of). Life was pretty good. I was pretty mellow, and enjoying every second of it.
It hit me while I was in the middle of my tobacco induced haze. It's stuff like this I should be writing about from now on.
I should be writing reviews of places. I should be writing reviews of food. I should be writing reviews of goods I've used. I should be writing about my opinions on how the good life should be led.
Now, I'm not suggesting that I should be telling you all how to live your lives. I'm not a qualified life coach. Hell, you're all free to foul up your lives however you wish as far as I am concerned. Far be it from me to judge or to tell you you're doing it wrong. I'm not that smart.
I'm also not suggesting that I am any sort of expert on this stuff. I'm not a professional reviewer of stuff by any means. I haven't been to a lot of places in my life. Hell, I haven't even been off this continent yet. So I'm not overly worldly here.
But I have done a few things in my life. I have opinions on places I've been. I have opinions on things I've done. I have opinions on restaurants, lounges, wine, cigars, products, cities, etc.
This idea was based on a few things. One of the main things is that way back in the day I had a different kind of website before I did this blog stuff. And on that website of mine, which is now defunct, I used to have a restaurant review page. (I've been to more than one restaurant in my life... big shock to those who know me well.)
Why did I do it? No real reason other than curing boredom. But what I noticed is that besides all the other crap I had on my page, that particular page got the most views of anything I had. I must have been doing something right.
I'll be doing stuff like that here. But I'll also throw in other things. I'll try to appeal to everyone, which is damn near impossible to do. And I won't limit myself to reviews of particular places or things. Every now and then, you might get my take on things we all do in life, like traveling.
This blog just might not suck. Then again, it could. But I'll try to keep it out of the suck.
I had trouble coming up with ideas on my old blog. But I have a better feeling that more ideas will come to me here. Maybe.
And feel free to disagree with me or tell me I'm a moron here. Hell, you might have a different opinion on the stuff I talk about. Share it, please.
Come with me, and let's not suck together.
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