Cocktail Confessions

I can’t take credit for this article, though I’d be more than happy to participate in the research if my fellow country men called for it.  I’m actually ‘borrowing’ this from FoxNews online, more specifically from author Richard Goldmsith, so if anyone has a problem with these choices, go write him.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s what Mr. Goldsmith has to say:

In addition to being an occasion to recognize the sacrifice made by so many to keep America enjoying the liberty its known for, Memorial Day also serves as the unofficial beginning of summer. That means one thing – there’s going to be a whole lot of grilling going on this weekend.

Backyard barbecues and beer are a match made in heaven, and it’s rare to find a bag of charcoal that doesn’t have a cooler full of frosty beer sitting alongside it just waiting for friends and family to arrive and crack open a few bottles and cans. The trick for a good host is to make sure you’ve got the right stuff in there, and the right stuff is completely dependent on what’s tossed on the grill.

Typically, traditional American grub – burgers, hot dogs, brats, steak, and even ribs coated in sticky sweet barbecue sauce – calls for lighter beers like lagers and wheat beers. But if you start breaking out some of the more intense international flavors that have hit the flames more often in recent summers, the bulgogis, carne asadas and other heavily spiced cuts of meat, then beers that can bite back make an appearance. IPAs, porters and even heartily-hopped ales are tailor made to cut the spice and clear the palate for the next tantalizing bite. But the best beers to drop in the cooler straddle a fine line between these categories, switch-hitting with the same skill as Mickey Mantle and making every bite better, no matter what it may consist of.

Here are a few that manage to hit it out of the park every time.

North Coast Brewing Co. Red Seal Ale – An American Amber Ale brewed in California, Red Seal breaks out subtly sweet caramel flavors nicely balanced by earthy aromas and a hefty, though not too soda-like dose of carbonation. It pours a gorgeous deep amber red, and drinking it straight from the bottle is all sorts of satisfying, concentrating the citrus and bitter hops that come through on each swallow. The clean flavors pair up just fine with a hot dog or three, but there’s enough body to balance out some fairly significant heat. Just don’t break out the habaneros. That sort of fire will turn most beers, including this one, into a unique form of penance.

Oskar Blues Gubna – Conveniently packaged in a can for easy access, not to mention providing protection for the beer against the sun’s rays and premature skunking, Gubna is an Imperial IPA, a style known for some serious hop-borne bitterness, and Gubna is no exception. Brewed in the craft beer wonderland known as Colorado, Oskar Blues imparted some intense hops flavor into this can. But with surprisingly gentle carbonation and a finish that seems almost oak-aged, featuring a light vanilla note, Gubna is surprisingly easy drinking. It’s a heavy beer, but some spice and citrus do a nice job of breaking it up and balancing out what is an extremely complex brew. It stands up to the heaviest spice you can throw at it and hits back with a punch of its own: a 10 percent alcohol content. A few of these and even the most charred hunk of mystery meat will taste absolutely amazing.

Two Brothers Dog Days Dortmunder Style Lager – The closest beer in the lineup to a traditional summer thirst quencher, Dog Days is Two Brothers’ summer seasonal and combines a light golden body with satisfying yeast and wheat and just enough bitterness stemming from the addition of noble hops to make the mix interesting. It’s straight-up pure unadulterated beer in the grand German tradition. That doesn’t happen nearly often enough with American craft brews. It’s refreshing, with a touch of orange sweetness that sneaks up on you similar to the way a six pack of this stuff will disappear like a ninja without anyone noticing.

Victory Sunrise Weissbier – A well-executed Bavarian wheat beer, Victory replaces a heft dose of malted barley with malted wheat, resulting in a tasty summer concoction with heavy banana and clove flavors. It’s an unfiltered beer, so it pours cloudy and the texture can be a bit off-putting if it’s not a familiar style. But the tangy fruit and clean lemony citrus, offset with just a touch of spicy pepper, are a spectacular counterpoint for heavily spiced sausages and marinated skirt steak. Despite this, it still pairs up nicely with a simple burger or drinks nicely on its own. It has a unique fizzy texture to the carbonation as well, likely from the particulates still floating around in the bottle. It’s the most refreshing beer of the bunch by far but the banana notes can be a bit polarizing, as can the lack of filtering, so it’s wise to keep a few backup bottles handy for those who aren’t into it – leaving that much more for you as you man the flames at the grill.

This rings true for me more times than not.

A cleverly crafted letter, or a direct phone call to the people that matter (without losing your cool), that spells out logical points and is based on a solid argument generally works out in your favor more often than you’d think.

Over the years I’ve been able to get out of a myriad of CC late fees, fraudulent billing statemnts, and other similar infractions that had any semblance of being in a ‘gray’ area. 

When it comes to actual product mishaps, disappointments in performance, design flaws, or whatever, the same principal also applies.  I have gotten my share of free meals, charges reversed, complimentary samples, upgrades, shipping credits, etc. based on solely on my confidence and persistence.

Like your mama may have told you as a life lesson:  ”It’s easier to catch flies with honey than shit.”  Well, on second thought, that’s probably a bad analogy, because I can never recall a time where a fly turns down a nice fresh pile of steaming shit, BUT, the principal is there:  Striking while the iron is hot and fresh and doing it in a calm and rational way will generally give you the results you want.

I could launch into a plethora of examples for you, but let me combine my most recent one with a product review at the same time.

About 6 or 7 months ago, possibly longer, I purchased a set a ‘cheap’ headphones from Best Buy by a company called Skullcandy.  I spent all of $19.95 on a pair of Ink’d earbuds for my Zune player as the default pair that Microsoft includes with their players are cheap and very uncomfortable in their own right.

Anyway, as it turns out, Skullcandy earbuds are pretty much like all other earbuds out there other than the fact with a few jazzy color schemes, some slick marketing and a creative name, they seem to command a slightly higher price.  That doesn’t mean they are actually any better than other OTC earbuds under $50, but they make the consumer ‘believe’ their product is superior through an above average presentation.  Another selling point is that they supposedly have a good warranty program in placeas well.  But let’s be honest, we aren’t talking about a personal computer or new plasma television set.  How many people actually fill out the warranty card or even take the time to register $19 earbuds with any company?  I’d wager to say less than 10% and I even think that’s being generous.  Most people don’t register hardware products under a certain value as it just seems easier to replace them by buying new ones.

Now before I get into the meat of what I’m dropping here today, let me do a quick review of the Ink’d earbuds themselves:

I read an article not to long ago that led the reader to believe that all OTC earbuds and portable earphones are pretty much supplied and manufactured by one company in China.  That’s right, in the end it doesn’t matter if you buy “ABC” brand’s metallic glow-in-the-dark, or “XYZ’s” Shiny Sound 2000′s….they are all made by the same company, they just get fancy names and pretty paint jobs by those that sell them domestically.

I’m not sure if that also rings true for mid-level and high-end earphones, but all the ‘low-ends’ are pretty much the same.

My experience with my Ink’d's are as such: they sound a little ‘tinny’ or hollow to me.  Don’t expect deep bass sounds (there’s no huge magnet driving these puppies).  They come with three different size silicon ear inserts, and by default the mediums are installed.  I did find these a bit uncomfortable after long periods of wearing them.  I’m a tad lazy in swapping them out for the smaller inserts, and for all I know the smaller ones may fit my inner ear better and be more comfortable in the long run.  But I give Skullcandy credit for including three different sizes….most brands don’t, so they must figure everyone has the same size ear and thus just accepts the feel.

The wires themselves are coated in a silicon like rubber that aren’t smooth and give the earphones a feel that they may be a bit more rugged and weighty; an impression that they may be more durable.  It’s my experience there really is no added protection to the internal wiring underneath this sheathing.  I noted that after a few months, something exposed a little piece of copper wire and they get just as tangled up, if not more so than all other brands.

The biggest problem with all these damn earphones is where the wire meets the RCA jack itself.  I’d say 90% of all earphone failures all happen here.  No one has been able to design a rugged enough ‘sleeve’ around the RCA plug itself and the internal wiring.  Overtime this thing just gets bent and disconnected somehow.  You’ll sit there like a dolt wiggling the wire back and forth, trying to tape it in place for a few weeks, but eventually they’ll give out.  This happened to me and to just about every other headset I’ve ever owned in my life. 

What Skullcandy does have for it, as I mentioned earlier, is a vast array of color schemes that go beyond the standard black or white ones that we’ve all seen 1000 times. 

So my final take? Eh, you end up buying them for their color schemes first, and maybe the ear insert second, but I see no real difference in sound quality themselves, which makes sense, if they are indeed all made by the same Chinese company.

Now back to my initial issue.  My headphones broke at the common point of failure where the wire meets the jack.  I can’t even remember when I bought the damn things and the simple thing to do is just to buy another pair.  But since I wanted to try my hand at the warranty and see if I could get a free replacement, I went ahead to the Skullcandy website.

While the website itself may look ‘cool’ and relatively simple in design (less is more), all the darn pictures take a bit longer than I’d like to load.  Doesn’t matter what PC I use (work vs home), or what browser (IE vs Firefox)…it just takes longer than you expect to load, but no big deal, unless you use the forward and backward buttons to check out individual products…then the page refresh gets old fast.

First I had to create an account, validate my email, blah, blah, blah.  Then I had to register my product, but since I can’t remember when or did I keep the receipt, I made one up in the probable time frame.  So far so good.

The problem starts when you have to get an RMA number.  They pretty much discourage a calling at this point  and request you fill out a warranty claim and get an RMA number via email.  You then have two choices for a claim: 1) aggressive enjoyment (?) -or- 2) manufacturer defect.  I didn’t know what to select and since there was no guidelines I chose #1 (mistake – more on this later).

Once you get your RMA, your instructed to place your damaged earphones in a padded envelope and mail to them along with a tracking number.  Thank goodness the tracking number is optional, because if I had to pay for Fed Ex to give me a tracking number, it’s already too much work and additional investment for $20 headphones.

I press on.  I mail my earphones and am instructed to wait for an email upon their receipt.  Should take 3-4 business days, but for me it took at least 6 – 7 business days (not weekends either).  My email said it would take 4-6 weeks processing.  Stop right there.  4-6 weeks to process a request for a replacement of $20 ear phones….after waiting for over a week just to get confirmation they received them?  Buying a new pair seems highly plausible as this point.

I call them up and am put on hold for a good 10 minutes until I get an actual person.  To Skullcandy’s credit, I will say that everyone I spoke to was both nice and spoke English, and for those two facts alone, I hung in there.  I told the first guy I spoke with that this 4-6 week processing seems unreasonable.  You look at the earphones, you plug them in to see if the work or not, and you make a determination on the spot.  There are no moving parts here, nothing radioactive or needs DNA screening to my knowledge.  He said it’ll probably be faster just hang out a few more days, so I agree.

Sure enough a few days later I get an email stating that my claims was processed and I’ll get 50% value credit to their online store.  Okay, that’s ‘cool’ I guess, but why not 100%?  Not my fault that the internal wiring breaks.  I call up again, wait another long period of time and this time get a young lady who is equally nice.

Now here’s the moral of the story folks….this is where persistance pays off (note: the first time)……I remainded very cordial and made my case and she agreed.  In realtime right then and there, she credited my not only 100% ($20) but gave me free shipping as well.  When I asked her why I only got 50% the first time, she said because I chose ‘aggressive enjoyment’.  If I would have chose ‘manufacturer’ defect, I would have most likely got 100% credit the first time around (read: they don’t check or test their claims…probably not worth the time and effort for a quick cheap replacement).

Armed with online store credit, I chose a new pair, but then here’s where I ran into issue #2.  Again, whether I tried either IE or Firefox, their website rejected my home address and asked me to ‘try again later’.  Well, I tried off and on multiple times over the course of two days, each time double checking my own address which I lived at for the past 7 years, and each time my address was rejected.  Screw this, I’m calling back.

And yet again, I get the nicest guy on the phone.  I tell him the issue, and he says he’ll be happy to fix it and push it himself…which he does and even before I hand up the phone with him, I get an email confirming my address and….get this….an additional 20% off my next purchase.  How awesome is that?

So while I may have had to jump through a few extra hoops, and do the leg work myself, in the end I got a full replacement plus a 20% coupon to boot.

In the future, I probably wouldn’t buy a new headset unless it was in the mid-tier ($60+), but Skullcandy customer service was a positive experience.

by Richard Goldsmith

The craft brewing explosion of the last decade has created a thirst for beer with much more character. This has opened the door for over the top flavor profiles – from high gravity beers that are more like liquor to thick and hearty triple stouts. But one of the most popular styles right now wears an overdose of hops as a badge of honor. These intensely bitter and bracing beers feature a pronounced bite that stays in your mouth all the way to the bottom of the glass…and beyond.

These brews tend to be India Pale Ales, a traditionally hoppy-flavored beer that measures high on the international bittering unit (IBU) scale, which is used to measure hop bitterness in beer. While they’re not necessarily the beer you want to down to quench a thirst worked up raking leaves or shoveling snow, they can be a great match for many rich and hearty foods that fit the season. At their best, hoppy brews work similarly to an acidic wine, clearing the palate for another taste of heavy, cold-weather grub. So cook up on something your cardiologist would disapprove of and settle in for a leisurely autumn evening with some of the hoppiest beers in the world – like the ones listed below.

Bell‘s Hopslam – A seasonal Imperial IPA that generally hits shelves in the dark of Winter, Hopslam can be found on some shelves and ordered online year round if you look hard enough. It’s a hazy gold in the glass, with hops absolutely dominating the aroma and flavor. The flavor is bitter to the point of being brutal, but balanced out by a hint of citrus. The more you drink, the more grapefruit and pineapple notes come through, but that may have something to do with the beer being bottled at a relatively high 10 percent ABV.

Founders Devil Dancer – This triple IPA does an impressive job of skirting the edge without dropping off the cliff of good taste. It’s a hop-bomb, no doubt about it. Ten hop varieties are mixed and its dry-hopped for 26 days, coming out on the other side astonishingly complex. The hops dominate the creamy mouth feel but still leave room for some citrus and a barleywine-like caramel and toffee overtone. Judicious use of malt enters the picture too, counteracting some of the bite. Even so, the brew just shouldn’t hang together in a cohesive whole, but somehow Founders found the secret formula.

Moylan’s Hopsickle – Another Imperial IPA, this one pours a nearly luminous orange and the hops don’t cover up the characteristic citrus and spice as much as other beers in our tasting. The bitter aftertaste mixes in an almost piney resin and just a little caramel malt. Much easier drinking than many Imperial IPAs, the dry finish and more forward fruit flavors make this the standout of the tasting to pair with a meal. Those relatively easy-drinking characteristics can catch up with you though. At 9.2 percent ABV, and disguising the heat of the alcohol under the intense hops, Hopsickle will sneak up on you.

Victory Brewing Hop Wallop – Dominated by hops from aroma to flavor, even the mildly sweet fruit, citrus and creamy smooth malt forming a backdrop can’t clear the lingering bitterness off the palate. It’s unapologetically bitter, but with a full body and enough alcohol at 8.5 percent ABV the effect becomes muted as the bottles go by. Paired up with strongly-flavored food that can cut through the intense hops, it’s a refreshing draught. On its own, it’s a beer to savor, coating your mouth with a strangely addictive citrus and hops combo that could overwhelm more delicate palates.

I can’t take credit for this list.  The author is actually Richard Goldsmith and I found this article online.  Try some of his suggestions and report back.

Football season is upon us, and while that certainly means lazy Saturdays and Sundays on the couch relaxing with beer in hand and pizza on speed dial, it also means early mornings firing up the grill with like minded fans in crowded parking lots. This time of year is for tailgating more than any other, and no exhaust pipe party is complete without cooler full of brews to wash down the nicely charred brats, burgers, wings, and pots full of chili.

You could, of course, buy a case of Bud and call it a day. But when there are so many spectacular brews to choose from it seems almost sad to pair an awesome day with the Bears, Vikings, Giants, etc. with anything but a beer perfectly suited to a crisp Fall day with good friends and greasily delicious food cooked over hot coals. And if you end up shirtless and painted in team colors along the way, that’s the mark of a day well spent.

Here are a few bottles worth packing in the cooler alongside the face paint:

Great Lakes Brewing Dortmunder Gold – Brewed in Cleveland, a town with a proud football tradition and a contract out on Art Modell, Dortmunder was originally called The Heisman, making it just about the perfect beer to pack up for a productive Saturday of college football. A nicely balanced lager with an easy drinking malt and hops combo, it pours a rich gold – though it’s unlikely to make it into a glass before a game. What’s especially impressive is how much hoppy aroma and flavor is packed in without making it a bitter hop-bomb, as so many beers of late seem to be. It’s toasty and warming, despite having a relatively light-body, with a crisp finish and almost creamy texture.

Penn Oktoberfest – Just across the border in Pennsylvania, Cleveland’s arch-rival Pittsburgh brews up beer fit for a day of food and football at the Pennsylvania Brewing Company. In this case, it’s a traditional German marzen that’s just heavy enough to fortify against the cold without being so heavy you have to go easy on it in order to pack in a couple of more burgers. Nice yeasty aromas abound, with dry malt on the aftertaste and some interesting fruit up front. It has a little citrus to it with just enough carbonation to cut the grease from nachos and the massive quantities of grilled meats customary before taking in a game.

Narragansett Porter – The Patriots are still among the class of the NFL, so, with any luck, drinking like one might help out your team of choice. Narragansett Brewery is located on the cusp of Patriots country in Providence, Rhode Island and, not surprisingly, puts out cans that are right at home packed into a pregame cooler. The company’s porter in particular is a nice change of pace. The nearly black brew is complex and heavy on the malt with an appealing tartness that seems almost out of place in a porter. It’s not as heavy as many other porters, with fairly gentle carbonation and an easy sweetness that doesn’t get cloying after three or four, thanks to a touch of bitterness from the hops. Plus, the brewery’s “Gansett Girl” blog makes for some solid conversation around the grill.

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager – No tailgating brew list would be complete without a beer from the heart of Texas. Located west of the Texans and south of the Cowboys, Spoetzl Brewery has been in business since 1914 and the brewery’s flagship, Shiner Bock, is a common sight at college and pro football tailgating all over the state and country. But the company also brews up a black lager called schwarzbier. With far more body and lip-smackingly bitter hops flavor than the average lager, it pours a deep black with some ruby highlights. Roasted malt flavors come through clearly, bringing out some coffee and sweetness, but even with the complexity and fairly bold flavors it’s easy drinking. There’s some unfortunate graininess to the texture, but if there’s spicy foods at the party, this is the beer to bring. Though there’s some heavy carbonation to the beer, so watch out for some impressively fiery brew-inspired belching.

Well, anyone up for another foodie review?  Good.  This past weekend I had the pleasure of getting out of the house with my buddy Jon, and we decided to head just slightly out of our geographical comfort zone and head up to the city of Orange.  There’s a lot of interesting restaurants of all ethnic varieties scattered throughout Orange and some really interesting digs in Old Town Orange.

Well, I had a hankering for some BBQ this summer evening, so I suggested to Jon that we open the sunroof up on my Ford Edge, crank up the tunes, drive up HWY 241 and head into Orange the back way and mosey into old Johnny Rebs’.  I’ve been to Johnny Reb’s a handful of times now and it is an interesting place to say the least, and I’d suggest it to anyone who wants a little something different in the barbeque experience.

There are 4 Johnny Rebs’ locations in CA and you can visit their main page and click on the ‘locations’ link to see them all in case you ever make it out to the Golden State.  Personally, I think the one located in Orange is the nicest looking of the bunch.  It has a very unique street facade, that while looking slightly out of place in a somewhat modern city, brings a down south charm to the neighborhood.  It often reminds me of a themed ride you may find at Knott’s Berry Farm or some other Californian ghost town like Bodie.

Red Trolley Ale served here.

Rebs’ was established in 1984 and tries to bring in the influences of Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina to the forefront in it’s aesthetic style, food choice, and hospitality.  According to their own website, it was Zagat rated as the Best BBQ Restaurants in Southern California (2004), although its not clear which location.  To be blunt and honest though, a lot of BBQ joint have sprung up in the last few years and I daresay I think I’ve had some better BBQ in 2010 such as Bad to the Bone in San Juan Capistrano, CA amongst a few others as well.

Speaking of hospitality though, Johnny Rebs’ does excel.  Everyone there is extremely nice and helpful and I find the staff generally chatty and pleasant, often coming around the table more than a few times to check on your meal, your satisfaction, or if you need anything else.

Johnny Reb's, Orange

The place itself is a site to behold, both inside and out.  As I mentioned earlier, it has a really nice ‘rustic’ vibe, both inside and out, and the setting and decor itself transports your mind back in time.  I think older folks and kids alike will enjoy the ‘log-cabin’ feeling on the inside, the swamp inspired waiting area outside, and of course the covered patio room located on one side of the building.  It was packed this particular night with a waiting list outside.  They also cater to parties as well and we witnessed the ritual “pig-kissing” and dancing for some old coot’s birthday that the whole place gets involved in as well.

There’s a small bar located centrally within the restaurant, which allows standing or seating for a good 6-8 people and they serve various beers on tap, some common and some uncommon ones as well.  This day, Jon and I both had a large schooner of Red Trolley Ale and it just seemed perfect for the setting.  While the beers are nice and cold and the staff friendly, I was discouraged to hear that the lemonade was actually from concentrate.  WTF?  Concentrated lemonade at a BBQ joint?  That just seems sacrilege and wrong and not an area a fine BBQ joint should be cutting corners on.

There’s tons of peanuts on the floor as well.  It’s one of those places you can get your own roasted peanuts, shell ‘em, and then toss them on the floor.  It’s fun and adds to the charm as well.  But the one bone I have to pick here is that the peanuts aren’t always fresh.  Sorry, but I’ve seen them toss new peanuts on top of the older ones in the barrels there, meaning the older ones never get rotated enough and thus just get older.  Not just this time, but other times my party has commented that we’ve always gotten more than a few stale peanuts, and there just really isn’t an excuse for that either.

For openers, Rebs’ has a really nice lineup of down south appetizers.  I’m not going to list them all here, but you can’t go wrong with their cornmeal dipped fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, sweet potato french fries, fried okra, or my personal favorite: fried dill pickles.  Yup, everyone looks at me sideways at least twice when I order them, but I think I have converted quite a few.  These dill pickles are sliced like a quarter, then breaded in cornmeal, deep fried, and served with a side of ranch dressing.  Yum!  Oh, and I may as well mention here they make their own biscuits and cornbread as well.

Between us, we split an order of the fried dill pickles and an order of sausage.  The pickles were as ever good as I recall, and ths sausage was moist and peppery.  Although when I think BBQ sausage, I think we were expecting more of a traditional hand made sausage, and this was more like a kielbasa link served with BBQ sauce.

Okay, so now onto the main fare: Like most BBQ joints you won’t be surprised to find both beef and pork ribs, fried or BBQ chicken, tri-tip and brisket in various forms, and catfish.  They also have pork chops & gravy, Cajun sausage, and blackened prime rib or sirloin steak.  Now since we are going to a BBQ joint, we are going for the ribs.  But give the menu a good looking over, there are plenty of bbq inspired sandwiches, a few salads and fish dishes as well.  Prices are average to slightly below average from what you’d expect in a BBQ joint.  Expect a dinner meal for two with drinks and appetizers to run about $65, and of course it’d be less for the smaller dishes or lunch.  They also serve a pretty exciting country breakfast as well.

I had a 1/2 rack of St. Louis ribs along with a side of mac-n-cheese, Cajun rice, and biscuit.  Jon had a 2 meat sampler of sausage and ribs along with mashed potatoes, biscuit, and something else I can’t recall right now, maybe baked beans.  The one thing you need to know about the sides is that you can request a second helping of any of your ordered sides, at no additional cost when your server comes back on by to check on you.  For me, I had a second helping of mac-n-cheese, although it wasn’t the best mac I’ve ever had.  Many places make gourmet mac with a combination of 2-3 cheeses, or a creamier texture by adding Velveeta.  Personally, Rebs’ came up a bit short in my book as their mac-n-cheese only uses one type, cheddar, and it was a little one-note and dry.  Same for my Cajun rice….it was a bit dry and bland and not what I was expecting or hoped for.  I did enjoy my ribs however, eating every last one and was happy with the amount of meat and taste I got for St’ Louis style (I usually get baby back pork).

Jon didn’t finish his whole meal, opting to take a portion home, but he seemed to enjoy it none-the-less.

At this point we were pretty full from our meal, opting not to have any desert, but here’s the quick rundown on the sweets: drop biscuit peach or chocolate cobbler, southern pecan pie, key lime pie, fried Mississippi mud pie, apple pie and vanilla ice cream.  I did note one special addition I hadn’t seen on the menu: a banana and nilla wafer pudding parfait I imagine was served in a mason jar that I would have liked to have tried but skipped out on it.

This place was tougher than I thought it was going to be to score.  There are some pretty definitive pro’s, yet a few things that after thinking about it a bit more make me want to hold back.  Overall: 3.

Ambiance: 4 – The nostalgic decor, peanuts in the floor, rustic look, and picnic style seating make for a fun and cozy atmosphere for most.  Bathroom could use a little extra love.

Hospitality: 4 – Very friendly and attentive staff who seem to be cheerful and chatty with the customers.  Something you’d expect from the South.

Food: 3 – Decent prices.  Great appetizers and desserts really open and close the show nice.  Main fare was ‘okay’, missing a bit of that smokey element one looks for in BBQ.  Some of the sides were one note and sub standard in some cases, but at least you can get an extra helping if need be.

Freshness: 2.5 – Rice was dry, mac-n-cheese a bit dry, lemonade from concentrate (?), stale peanuts, and ribs missing that ‘it’ factor kinda bummed me out.

Value: 3 – Extensive menu, extra sides, prices are good for the portion size you get

There’s been a lot of buzz lately for Five Guys Burgers and Fries establishments. With President Obama proclaiming this one of his favorite burger chains, their positive reviews in the esteemed Zagat guide (since 2001), and it’s 2010 trumping of previous champion In ‘N Out Burger in California (Los Angeles) as the best and freshest burger in the state, it was time I checked this out myself.

As luck would have it, my friend Brian mentioned that he and his business partner were going to try it out today for lunch and there was an open invitation for anyone in the area. Thankfully Google Maps pins the Orange location as only 6.9 miles from my job, so I agreed to meet them there at 11:30am.

Wow! The line was huge. It was out the door and down the sidewalk at least 60 people deep and then some. It took us almost 25 minutes just to get to the ordering counter, and the line never let up the whole time we were there. Another friend of mine chimed in that the line is like that starting at around 7:30pm every night!

Well, once we placed our order, it only took about 5 minutes for us to hear our number called out. We also lucked out in that we procured an inside table as the current outside temperature was in the 90’s, and the outdoor tables were metal to boot with no real shade!

Like In ‘N Out burgers, I think the key to 5 Guys success is pretty self-evident….keep the menu simple. It’s one of those cases where ‘less is more’, and when you keep the menu limited to only a few choice items, this allows for a greater concentration of quality on your product.

They serve burgers, hot-dogs, and a few select sandwiches (such as grilled cheese or veggie) and fries. The burgers are $4.99 and by default are two-patties. If you want a smaller burger, order the ‘junior’ for a buck less, and you get 1 patty. You can also add cheese and bacon.

All the condiments are free. They include the traditional ketchup, mustard, lettuce, pickles, mayo, relish, and grilled onions. Premium additions include jalapeños, mushrooms, green peppers (not Ortega), hot sauce, bbq sauce, and A-1 sauce. All of these are free, and according to their website this allows for 250K unique combinations. I’ll take their word for it.

Regular & Cajun Fries

Fries are just as simple: Large or regular sized, plain or Cajun. These are fresh cut fries cooked in peanut oil and guaranteed no trans-fat. We opted for the Cajun style fries and we all agreed the spice was perfect. It may not have been the crispest fry out there, but for sure they use something akin to a sea salt, and when lightly dusted with the combined garlic, paprika, and other spices, it makes for a pretty damn good fry.

Five Guys doesn’t use any freezers. All their meat is fresh and stored in coolers prior to cooking. They cook them one way: well-done, and no one seems to complain. All the other ingredients are just as fresh.

My burger with green peppers

I myself ordered a cheeseburger with the following: grilled onions, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and green peppers. It was wrapped in foil upon arrival and gorgeous. The green peppers were crisp and bright, bun was fresh, the onions grilled to caramelized perfection, however, my cheese wasn’t as melted as those of my peers. In the end, though, it was great and I can now understand all the hype surrounding this joint.

Inside, the place has stark white walls with red accents, very similar to In N Out as a matter of fact. I noticed the place was pretty clean, actually surprising clean for the amount of foot traffic inside. While we were there I noted employee’s just dedicated to cleaning tables and doors, sweeping floors, and taking care of the trash. Despite the cleanliness, it is pretty plain and non-descript and seems somewhat loud and chaotic inside. It doesn’t help that the line weaves right next to the tables in which you eat as well.

Despite the ridiculous line at the time we went, I give my experience at Five Guys a solid 4 out of 5 (breakdown):

Ambiance: 2.5

Food: 4

Freshness: 5

Value: 4

Continued from Part I…

Amongst our party this is what we ordered: 2 orders of paella (to be split amongst 4 of us, me included since I love paella), 2 pork tenderloins, 1 chipotle short ribs, and I think 1 order of Camarones (sautéed jumbo shrimp).  Other than the paella, all the dishes were pretty much served with whipped potatoes and spears of asparagus.  The main dishes themselves were a mixed bag of reviews amongst us.

Michelle said the short ribs were good but a little spicy for her.  They looked good yet the side of potatoes and asparagus seemed a bit paltry for all the dishes that received them.  The good news is that the girls all ordered the single dishes and felt fine afterwards, but for the four of us guys, these potatoes and asparagus wouldn’t be enough.

Monica had the chili citrus glazed pork tenderloin and was satisfied with it.  It was tender, (as I had a taste of it myself) and pleasant, but nothing special as far as pork dishes go.

Monica's Pork Tenderloin Medallions

Alicia had the Camarones (shrimp) served on a bed of red rice and ratatouille, but again, while good, wasn’t anything exceptional or noteworthy.

Finally the four of us guys split two orders of paella amongst ourselves.  This dish was the biggest letdown.  While the platters themselves were indeed very large, hot, and filling, they were very inconsistent.  The one Sam and I shared had a lot of clams and very little chorizo (I could only find one piece myself) whereas Brian’s and Chris’s platter had practically no clams at all.  We all noted that the bacon was undercooked as well, as if the chef actually forgot it until the last possible second and thought the carry over heat from the dish would cook it.  The spices themselves seemed mild and I requested that our waitress bring us some hot sauce (they had Tabasco) to liven it up. 

In the end, we all thought that while the paella portion size was good, we had all had better paella experiences elsewhere.

Paella - El Cid style

Desert was not included, but you can choose either flan or chocolate mousse cake.

The dinner show itself was good, but not great.  On stage were two female Flamenco dancers, one guitarist, and one singer.  The show itself lasts for about an hour and the two female dancers have a pretty good workout there up on stage.  Personally I enjoyed the guitarist and singer, but in other shows I’ve been too at other establishments the men were a bit more active and even danced whereas they didn’t here.  Even though the stage lighting was a bit on the low end, I was able to record some pretty good excerpts using my Kodak Playsport.  I shot unobstructed video at 720p and feel they came out fairly well, especially the sound. Overall, I shot about 22 minutes of raw video which I broke up into 3 separate YouTube video segments that I have edited and uploaded.  I’ve embedded one video here, but you can see the third one on YouTube via this link if interested.

After the show we all made our way outside to the patio once again for a final drink under the stars as the staff then converts the entire restaurant into a Hip-Hop club that open at 10pm.  No, I’m not making this up.  They seriously remove all the floor tables leaving only the booths and make way for a dance club.  I thought it very strange that a Hip-Hop club shows up at a Spanish restaurant later in the evening, but we didn’t stick around to see the clientele.

So overall, I rate El Cid a solid ‘3’ on a scale of 5 (breakdown):

Ambiance: 3.5

Food: 3

Dinner show: 3

Value: 3

This past weekend Monica and I were able to join our friends for a Flamenco dance and dinner show at the historic El Cid theatre located on the sunset strip near downtown Los Angeles.

The initial incentive was that our friend Brian was able to score some heavily discounted tickets for the show via an offering from groupon.com.  Personally, I have yet to use groupon myself, but I understand that have killer deals daily for various group activities at all kinds of different locals.  I need to check it soon for some additional outings.

In attendance would be Brian and his fiancé, Shea, their friends Chris and his wife, Michelle, my old college buddy Sam and his wife, Alicia, and finally my wife, Monica, and myself. 

We all decided to meet at the El Cid just prior to 7pm, so we took 3 sets of vehicles.  Our own drive wasn’t so bad until we transitioned from the 5 fwy to the 101 north.  The last 15 miles or so seemed to drag on as our average speed was about 15-20mph.  But that is pretty much Los Angeles traffic at any time these days, and we finally pulled up to valet parking at 6:50pm.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was expecting to think the El Cid to look like.  The building itself was built around 1900 by D.W. Griffith and was used to screen the now famous movie, “Birth of a Nation” back in 1915.  In 1950 the building was converted into a mini theater and was know to be a local hangout for stars at the time.

In 1961, the building was converted once again, this time as the ‘El Cid’ restaurant, and made to look like a replica of a 16^th century Spanish tavern.  There have been a few ‘minor’ cosmetic changes over the years I imagine, but for the most part the building itself looks somewhat dated.  That’s not necessarily bad, mind you; it has an intimate and somewhat charming setting and retains a certain Spanish aesthetic one might recognize from a 1970’s Spanish villa.

The walls are a faded white adobe stucco with dated cracks here and there accented with faded red brick and large wood beams.  As you make your way through the sidewalk main entrance you immediately wind down a steep concrete and brick path surrounded by greenery and flowers with irregular steps, (ladies be careful with high heels) until you arrive at a lower patio veranda. 

The patio area has both a few booths lining the outside walls and free standing tables located in the center.  There are free standing space heaters strewn about and a small outside bar that serves various domestic and imported (mainly Mexican) beers and of course cocktails.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Monica and I located our party in a booth at the far end of the patio and enjoyed a couple of cocktails with everyone.  We also posed for a few pictures prior to be seated inside and enjoyed the last remnants of the western setting sun in the open air.  Prices for drinks were a tad hefty.  My Jack on the rocks was $9, and Monica’s Crown on the rock was $10, and these weren’t huge glasses.  Perhaps just a shot, maybe slightly more, poured over ice into a lowball glass.  The girls said the mojito’s were pretty good and Shea was enjoying some fruity looking martini.

At approximately 7:00pm we were asked to line up to be seated at our dinner table.  After a brief wait outside we were led inside down a short and low ceiling hallway to the main dinner floor.  Luckily we scored a nice table right up front next to the raised stage.

Looking about the room, everyone is seated at long tables and surrounded by typical Spanish decorations including the obligatory velvet bull-fighting poster and faux balcony windows lined in ornate rod iron fixtures.  It was a tad dim in the room with stage lighting fixtures overhead.  With everyone seated inside, (I’d guestimate about 75 people or more are here for the show) it was a bit cozy, but the aesthetics lent an air of authenticity.  Restrooms are located in the back and are small.  Despite it’s charm the restaurant does feel a bit dated and could use a fresh coat of paint, a little dusting here and there, and a few minor repairs.

Our tickets included a three course meal (soup, salad, & main dish).  The soup was delicious and reminded me of a Spanish interpretation of Miso soup.  It was a thicker, creamy broth with a light mixture of fresh vegetables.  I really enjoyed it as it had a rich, yet light flavor.  It had the texture of a bisque and a very unique flavor.  Following the soup, the second course consisted of a garden side salad with raspberry vinaigrette.  All in all, it was a typical salad, nothing special but at least it was fresh. 

Since we all considered this evening a treat and we all arrived on an empty stomach, of course we opted to purchase some additional appetizers, or ‘tapas’, as they are known in Spanish.

The Tapas were very good.  In addition to standard chips and a hearty and spicy salsa our table also ordered the following: fried calamari rings (served with lemon wedges), crab stuffed mushroom caps (with a lobster cream sauce), fresh ceviche, and fried manchego cheese (served with pesto sauce).  I can tell you everything was good, but the stand out item was the manchego cheese, well, more so the fresh pesto sauce.  That pesto was da bomb!  Everyone really enjoyed that, but we all agreed that all of our selections were good.  On average, the tapas range between $8 – $11, except the chips and salsa ($4), although I’ve been to other Spanish restaurants where the tapas were a bit more unique and felt more original than the offerings here at El Cid.

The actual main dish was next and as stand alone items they range from $15 to $20, unless you get the paella, (made for two) and has a price $35.  The one thing I didn’t understand is that if you chose to have a single serving of the Paella, they charge an additional $10!!  That seems pretty extreme since paella is just a rice dish to begin with, so why the need to charge $10 more for half a portion makes no sense to me.

Flamenco Exceprt: Part I

To be continued…..

This morning when I first got up I decided I was going to be somewhat proactive today and do some ‘Jayson’ chores about the house.  In addition to do some laundry, watering plants, sweeping the garage, taking the car in for an oil change, I decided I’d take the time to build the free smoker my wife graciously gave me as her 10 year work anniversary present.

Armed with a bloody Mary in one hand, screw driver in the other, and a mix CD of dance trax pumping from my garage stereo, I finally broke out the ‘smoker’ box that has been sitting in my garage for the last few weeks and decided to assemble it.  It turns out that the time we got was in-fact NOT the Brinkmann Gourmet Smoker we thought was listed in the catalog, but the lower-end Brinkmann 810-5301-6 Smoke ‘N Grill charcoal smoker.  It actually retails for about $69 and is made in China, which is quite apparent when you start your initial assembly.  The issue straight out if the box is that you can tell that quality control is a low priority with Brinkmann, or at least this model.  But then again, it was free to us, so it all depends on how much you really want to complain.

Straight out of the box, here are some of the issues I came across:

1. Main kettle drum was slightly damaged on bottom rim.  Not a deal breaker, but a minor dent was disheartening for a brand new grill.
2. Top kettle paint job was badly scuffed.  Yeah, right out of the box there was some major scuff and scratch marks to the black enamel paint job.
3. Weld points on the actual chrome-plated grill surface were loose.  On one of the 2 enclosed grill surfaces, I noticed that a few weld points were in fact not secured properly.
4. Drill holes were off-kilter.  On some, (not all), of the pre drilled holes where the handles are to be attached, the holes were not aligned properly.  After some minor bending of the handles, I was able to secure the handles as instructed, but they should not have been as difficult as they were.
5. Kettle was not perfectly round.  This is an issue if you want the top kettle drum to fit on body correctly.  Since the body was ‘slightly’ oval instead of round, (as it should have been), it took some additional bending and compression my end to get it to the proper shape.
6. Finally, the sheet metal door that allows access to the front of smoker to add additional charcoal was also bent.  Thankfully, it is thin enough where I could bend this back into shape by hand, but overall, very dissapointing construction for an out of the box product. 

All these items could be fixed easily and shouldn’t affect the overall process of grilling and smoking, but that’s not really the point.  Free or not, when I buy a factory sealed product, I expect it to be as close to 100% mint as possible.  In this case, this ‘freebie’ felt as if it were perhaps a clearance item and no wonder it was given away free to my wife.  I’d say it was closer to 75%-80% condition out of box.

Assembly was fairly easy, even with the re-bending of some of the sheet metal I had to do.  The few other issues I noted are as such: A) The legs are a bit short.  I wish they were slightly sturdier and longer.  B) Thermometer is a very cheap model that indicates ‘warm, ideal, hot’ as opposed to actual degrees.  When cooking a brisket, pork, or chicken, you may definitely want to invest in a separate meat thermometer as the included one will be hard for anyone to tell what the actual maintained temperature is.  C) The included charcoal and water basin plates could fit a tad better as well.  They are exactly the same parts used internally, but how they rest on the internal clips is a little shaky.  A handy person with a drill and some engineering or shop experience may want to employ a little additional efforts and modifications to help secure these items prior to use as this may be a recipe for errors down the line.

Speaking of modification, I came across the following website in which this gentleman vastly improves his own Brinkmann smoker.  Using just a few of his ideas may vastly improve your own cooking experience, and over time I think I will introduce his mods on a more accurate thermometer, gasket, and internal grills surface security.  Check it out here.

So my initial score would be a 2.5 on a scale of 5.  Could be much better, could be much worse, so I guess I gave it a half point for being ‘free’ in my case, otherwise the construction seems a bit subpar for a $70 product…and that’s Amazon’s price mind you.  It may actually be more at BBQ shops or other online grill stores, so this is for sure a ‘budget’ item.  There are higher qulaity smokers out there, but of course expect to start shelling out $100+ at that point.

So once completed, according to the instructions, you should initially cure your smoker to help burn off any excess factory paint inside and help resist and prevent future rusting.  I did this by removing the internal charcoal pan and grill grates and spraying the inside with PAM grill spray.  After a liberal coating inside, I began to start a few pounds of regular Kingsford charcoal in a standard chimney starter.  You can find generic versions of these as low as $10 bucks at most hardware stores.  Anything more than $17 maybe a rip off and I don’t think the higher end ones are all that much better than the $10 ones.

Once I had the charcoal started, I let it burn for approx 15-20 minutes within the starter before pouring it directly into the smokers charcoal pan.  Allowing the 15-20 minute burn allows for any fuel on the charcoal to dissipate for an overall cleaner tastes in your food (no gas taste).  Also, it allows for all the charcoal to get started evenly and reach a more consistent temperature.  When the charcoal turns from black to an ash gray, its ready.

Now that the charcoal is in the smoker, go ahead and put the lid on top.  Within 5 – 7 minutes or so, you should see the thermometer reach  the ‘ideal’ reading.  Go ahead and let the smoker cure for a minimum of two hours.  If you note that the dial begins to dip in the first 45 minutes to an hour, go ahead, open the door, and add some more charcoal briquettes.  But after 1.5 hours, no need to add anything else.  Let it burn through as is and make sure it cools q100% before removing spent charcoal.  At this point your initial curing should be complete and your ready to start your real first smoked effort.

During the curing stage, I went to Lowe’s and bought myself a bag of hardwood hickory charcoal.  It’s not that expensive, about $7.50 for a regular size bag.  Just remember that it takes less hardwood charcoal than standard coal briquettes to maintain the same temperature and they also burn longer.  Follow instructions on the bag and you should be able to make it last longer than standard OTC charcoal everyone else uses at their beach BBQ’s.   Not to mention you’re getting these because the idea is that you actually want to ‘smoke’ your meat.  Smoking is all about low temperatures, maintaining that temperature, and long times.  We aren’t grilling hamburgers of chicken breasts here.  No we are smoking for generally 8 or more hours depending on the cut of meat.  A 10 lb brisket will smoke easily for 10-12 hours, so we’re in it for the long haul.

Not to long ago I had the opportunity to revisit a long forgotten dining treasure in south San Clemente, CA.  My good friend Brett came down from Idaho a few weeks back to visit for a few days, and one of his goals was to check off a few of his favorite eateries that he doesn’t get to enjoy anymore since moving away from the area years ago. 

In addition to the mandatory stop at In ‘N Out Burgers, he also wanted to hit up the original Pedro’s Tacos for a carne asada burrito, cheese quesadilla and taco and take it down to the San Clemente pier for a surf side picnic lunch.  It was a perfect day to do so and we made our way with our to-go bag and got a beach side table and watched the waves roll in late afternoon surrounded by local surfers and other beach goers.

I totally forgot how deliciously good Pedro’s is for a small hole-in-the-wall joint, and once again proves that sometimes simplicity often makes for the best meals. 

The original Pedro’s opened in south San Clement back in 1986 and became a hit with the local surf community and high school students for being the first fish taco stand in the area and having a relatively inexpensive menu.  Like wildfire, it gained in popularity mostly by word of mouth, a no frills menu, and accessibility to the community.  It’s one of those local legend stories that people outside of Orange County may not have heard of, but everyone else in the area will make a pilgrimage to Pedro’s sooner or later.  Over the years they’ve been able to open sites in north San Clemente, Fallbrook and more recently Oceanside.

Simple Menu = Simply Great

This past weekend as Monica and I were coming back to from a day down in Del Mar, I decided to take her to the original for her very first Pedro’s experience.  The place has a lot of charm as it is appears to once have been an actual home there on PCH built in the 50’s that was converted to a restaurant in the mid 80’s.  What was once the front yard is now adorned with a handful of small picnic tables, the backyard a parking lot, and a bedroom now a drive-thru.  There is no indoor seating, just a walk up order and pick-up window.  It’s fun to sit down at one of these tables and in the distance see the Pacific Ocean, especially at sunset in the summer.

Like I said, it’s a no-frills menu.  You can get items a-la-carte or a simple combo plate which includes rice and beans.  The beans and rice aren’t much to shout about, the rice is just traditional Spanish rice.  It’s not good, but it’s not bad either.  It’s what you’d expect fast food Spanish rice to taste like.  Same for the refried beans, although I tend to think they are a bit soupy at times.  But that’s not why you go.  Most people go for the simple fried fish taco’s, or their famous rolled taco’s topped with guacamole.

The quesadillas are old school.  Just cheddar cheese in a large flour tortilla, grilled and folded up in the shape of a square.  You can also get chicken and carne asada quesadillas as well, but I’d wager that the plain cheddar is the gold standard there.

Additionally, they serve traditional tacos and burritos as well, along with veggie, potato, and shrimp variations (although sometimes the carne tacos need to be drained a little better before being placed in the tortilla).  Pedro’s also boasts about a dozen breakfast burritos including steak & egg, chorizo, ham, beans, bacon, etc., and all the combinations thereof all served up to 10:00am.

But by far, if you are going to stop by you cannot go wrong with carne asada burrito.  For just under $4, you cannot get a more satisfying and savory burrito to tide you over at any time.  I don’t know what they marinate their steak in, but it has the very addictive slightly, yet noticeable salty component to it that just makes you salivate for just one more bite.  It’s a flour tortilla stuffed with meat, beans, cheese, guacamole and you must have the jalapeño salsa.  I cannot tell you how many people ask for extra jalapeno salsa.  Sure, it’s just in small clear packets, the kind most people tear open with their teeth and forefinger, but it is just perfect with just about anything on the menu.

So for a total of just under $15 we both had our own combo plates, a cheese quesadilla, and drinks.  You can’t go wrong at Pedro’s, it a little slice of hometown goodness that just can’t be replicated anywhere else.  While it is far from a 5 star experience, you need to keep in the mind it is just a hole-in-the-wall, cheap, and limited….but it always has a steady stream of foodies either lined up at the window or waiting in the drive-thru, so that has to tell you something.  Oh, and don’t forget the salsa packets!