Tag Archive for: A Review

Pommes Frites is the place to eat!

Go to Pommes Frites on Second Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Street and order some Frites and be happy. Just don’t go every day – because – if you don’t know what “Frites” are – then you wouldn’t know that you would only be eating Fries every time that you go . . . wow – that thought got convoluted . . . Let me try to get back on track – here – for one of my favorite restaurants in the whole world – that I have been going to for as long as I can remember – actually longer than I remember – because I have the memory span of a moth.

Alright – according to the Pommes Frites website (found here) “Pommes Frites means premium fresh fried potatoes, crunchy on the outside, and soft inside: self-indulgent and pleasurable.”
 Seriously – have you ever heard a better explanation of food? It is definitely better than any description that I could have come up with . . .

Basically – you go inside this little tiny dimly lit place – usually having to push through the crowd – and on your left is a carved dark wood counter. Behind the counter is a line of pumps holding their selection of thirty (30) some odd sauces – which they are nice enough to offer samples of (the samples consists of a napkin with a couple of “Frites” on top drenched with the sauce of your choice). The next step back is this large vat of cut potatoes and two fryers – bubbling and ready to go.

Also – for the record – I just read (again – on their site) that the potatoes are actually double fried. If all of the goodness in the world of food comes from frying – then imaging the exponential amount of worldly goodness that comes from the magic of “double-frying” !!!!!!!

On this trip – I ended up with a regular order (they also have Large and Double) – which comes in a paper cone with three sauces (Parmesan Peppercorn, Peanut Satay Sauce and the Rosemary Garlic Mayo). And I ate and I ate and I ate until all of the “Frites” were gone. My only niggling complaint is that they only have drinks in cans – and drinks in cans are for suckers – suckers at the beach or any other place where I can’t get to the yummy goodness of a fountain soda . . . sorry about that – can lovers – that was not necessary.

I highly recommend hopping on a plane, getting on a boat, diving into a car or just plain running as quickly as you can straight to Pommes Frites – where you can sit and eat a mountain of fries – and know that you have just eaten the best Frite meal that you have ever had the luck to have. Go with a friend and eat some Frites!

Oh Kati Roll – Oh Kati Roll . . .

What in the world is a “Kati Roll” – and why should you be ambling over to get one? Well – pals-of-mine . . . let me first let you know that Kati Roll Company used to live on 46th street – right close to a tasty Cuban spot by the name of Margon . . . and oh the decisions that I would have to make – this or that – that or this . . . but they have recently decided to pull up the stakes of their merry food tent – and move to the strange confines of 39th street (between 5/6) – and the decision has been made simple. Do I go on that block only for the purpose of swinging by ye olde Kati Roll Company – or do I avoid the otherwise bland block altogether . . . Well – I went down the block – and so now – we are all caught up.

Ooh – except – we aren’t really caught up – because I forgot to tell you what a Kati Roll even is . . . ready? It is Indian food wrapped up in a piece of paratha bread (which is a flat bread that is pan fried to crispy goodness) . . . yeah – it is basically like a burrito stuffed with Indian food . . . I always get the chicken tikka masala and the – the – the – oh shoot – I forget it’s proper name – so we’ll just call it the one with the potato stuff . . . and they are usually so so so good.

Alright – one of the main complaints that I have always heard about the Kati Roll Company – and which I agree with 100 times – is that it takes forever to get your food. For something that seems to be so quick and easy . . . it is shockingly slow. Well at this new location – they had things pretty streamlined – and I got out in about 10 minutes – which – compared to how it used to be was a definite improvement. The only problem – that I found – when I opened the little bag that they come in – which is strangely marked as “BARBEQUE” – was that they weren’t as delectable delight-ish as they had been before . . . and I am looking at you chicken tikka masala – potato stuff was just fine.

They are greasy – they tend to be both ooey and gooey – and for the most part – they are really good bad for you fast Indian food – where two make plenty of a meal – and I will positively go back and give them another shot – maybe they were just jittery in their new confines – or something . . . Just make sure to use some napkins and wash your hands before touching your keyboard – because – the grease – oh – the grease will get you . . .

I babble – from cold medicine – the medicine makes me babble . . . but Kati Rolls make me happy – so there is that . . .

Oreo (Pizza) Pie – you are just too much.

So there was a big hoe-down at the office the other day and Wilerkerson was swell enough to pull me out of the potato pit to let me slap some fancy fixens’ on the table for all to enjoy.

For the record – a potato pit is a big hole full of potatoes that I am dropped into every day with only a cheese sandwich and a peeler. My day is done when all of the potatoes are peeled and all of the peelings are disposed of properly . . . and when I can convince someone to drop the rope down into the pit – so that I can scurry home to ready myself for the next days haul of potatoes . . .

Anyway – since it was such a spectacular occasion – a pal and I opted to do the only logical thing in the world – and went about to the local (Domino’s) pizzeria to pick up a scrumptious pie. But not just any pie was bought – friends – no – indeed . . . we came back with the tasty cargo of two Oreo pies.

Yes – you read what you just read . . . two pizzas with questionable cardboard bottoms – some sort of marshmallow-type fluff (maybe) – a crushed up Oreo cookie layer that was brimming to the brim and then oodles of drizzles of sweet sweet white goo all over that. They were almost too pretty to eat.

But not pretty enough – the first “pizza” was gobbled up before I could even blink – mostly by the really intrepid – gung-ho people in the office . . . the ones that really grab the slightly frightening “will this hurt me if I eat it” types of people. The reaction that people have to the Oreo pizza seems like it could be a great experiment . . . an interesting social barometer for what exactly the limits that people are willing to go to with their snack time treats. I mean – an Oreo Blizzard (from Dairy Queen) – no problem . . . an Oreo pizza from Domino’s – a whole bunch more questionable – yeah – yeah – a whole bunch . . .

Alright then – back to peeling for me . . . but before I go . . . I have to let you know that I had one piece. It was crunchy – gooey – and had a very slight taste of being burnt to it (like it was in the oven a tiny bit too long). I barely – outside of the visual – got the feeling like I was eating a real Oreo – maybe more of a cousin of an Oreo – or something like that. The real kick in the chin was the swimmy too much sugar from one food item that overtook my brain after finishing my little piece of conundrum – but that was dealt with by confusing my body more – by just going full bore and shoveling even more sugar in as the night progressed . . . sugar of the dog that sweetened me . . .

All in all – I would say that everyone was (more or less) a winner – all the way around – the Oreo pizza – that is . . . ugh.

A Book Review?!

I was so excited when a little bird told me that “The Children of Hurin” a new book by J.R.R. Tolkien was out that I ran out and bought it for her dad – who is a moderate to large fan of adventures in Middle Earth. He seemed genuinely surprised and happy at this newfound story to read and then he put it away – he hid it away – possibly never to be seen again – and I got antsy. The story is only 236 pages long – so I figured that he would read it and then I would be able to get my grubby hands on it – I am also quite the fan of stories of hobbits – and whatnot. I waited for a couple of weeks and then – when I couldn’t stand the pressure (from myself), I snuck in to his lair, grabbed it and ran for the train where I knew I would have ample time to zip through the pages – possibly before anyone was the wiser.

The book is edited by Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien, and is the end result of a story that appeared in various forms – most notably in Tolkien’s “The Silmarillion” – another book about Middle Earth (originally published in 1977) that was edited/published by Christopher Tolkien – which incidentally – I haven’t quite gotten around to reading – yet – mostly because I have heard that it is dense and a tough read . . . I mean I enjoy dragons and dwarves – but it has to be – at least – kind of entertaining. History for the sake of history is for stones and pebbles.

To the story!

First off – a warning. Unless you have some crazy condition that forces you to read every single page – I would advise you to skip both the preface and the introduction – because they embody everything that I am afraid “The Simarillon” may be – dry – and boring talk about the various histories of the story. And – seriously – you are going to need your stamina – because the first 15 (fifteen) pages – or so – of the actual story are pretty rough reading as well . . . a lot of he begat him – who – in turn begat this – who was in that battle with which-er-ma-roo . . . and stuff.

Once you get through that opening salvo of gruel . . . the adventure begins in earnest. It is the story of the family of Hurin the leader of the House of Hador in the land of Dor-lomin – don’t get too lost there – I am trying to keep it as simple as possible. Basically – after the “Battle of Unnumbered Tears” (against this big not-so-good-guy, Morgoth – of whom – Sauron (the main bad guy in “The Lord of the Rings”) was only a lieutenant) – which ends poorly – Hurin goes away – and the rest of the book follows the tragic and meandering life of his son Turin. There are elves, dwarves, bands of thieves, damsels in distress and even a dragon (named Glaurung) for good measure.
I enjoyed the book ten times – and really appreciated it re-opening the door to Middle Earth for me . . . and that is pretty much all that I can say. It is so short that if I give away (the part about the robots) then it might ruin (the part where gorillas come in and take all of the babies to the fair to eat candied apples and ride the Ferris wheel) the whole book – and I would never want to do that. One of my favorite parts was the map (all of these books have maps so that I can follow along with the story) and also the genealogical charts of all of the characters – including some that even show up in “The Lord of the Rings.”

I suppose that my next step is going to be reading “The Simarillon” . . . but my brain is going to have to be in the right place for that – a place where I will be able to enjoy “a complex work that explores a wide array of themes inspired by many ancient, medieval, and modern sources.”

Okay – now I have to go and sneak this book back under the pillow of a sleeping giant . . . shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Last weekend was a busy times ten type of weekend. I made so much food for a shindig up around these parts – in the land where I am. I suppose that you could go so far as to say that I quasi-catered the event – which was fun – but tiring (more recipes are on the way – so hold onto your jets for that).

Then Sunday came around – and my little bird asked what we were going to be up to. My simple response was that I wanted to go and see Matt Damon blow some stuff up. It even worked out pretty well where the movie was starting in 50 (fifty) minutes – so we just kind of got up and left for the movie – perfect timing.

Alright – so here is your movie review. It was so so so so good that I kind of wanted to call people during it to let them know how much I was enjoying it. It was a “sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my nails and clapping with glee” sort of movie and it was definitely my favorite movie of the summer (which isn’t saying a ton this summer). The word just officially came down that it has moved from being a “favorite movie of the summer” to being my “favorite movie in awhile.” So there is that.

And now – I will tell you my favorite part. This big “bad” guy in the movie is in a meeting and he yells “You just can’t make this stuff up.” Well – even though that is a pretty normal phrase in society . . . it is also something that Doodle Poodle said at one point – so I immediately imagined Doodle Poodle playing the part of the “bad” guy for the next few minutes of the movie – which was fun to me. There were other – more accessible to normal people great parts throughout the movie as well – so don’t worry that my view is skewed by the whole poodle thing.
Alrighty then – there is my big movie review. Go see this movie. Mostly that is going to anyone that has seen the other movies and enjoyed them. If you haven’t seen the other ones – then go and do that – and then go and see this one – and let me know what you think.

I will look to hear from you in the next 12 (twelve) hours or so.