my humble restaurant reviews

If you get a chance to visit downtown Brooklyn NY, you must go to Celestine. Walk right past those long lines at the river cafe and vinegar hill house, and check out this terrific Mediterranean restaurant. It is right next to the bridge on the river, so the view is fabulous. The food is almost as good I promise. I got the mezze platter and wild mushroom gnocchi. I don’t even like mushrooms and I licked that bowl clean. But the mezze, oh my god, it tastes like an amazing home-cooked meal. Every single sauce was wonderful. Order it, I promise you won’t regret it. 11/10

Modern Pizza feels like a New Haven staple. If you’re having pizza for the first time on the east coast, chances are that it’ll be at the famous Modern Pizza. The good news is, you have a lot of delicious options! I’d opt for their Margarita, but I’m also a huge fan of their white spinach, which is crazy because I love tomato sauce. If you have the chance, try the calzones or bruschetta if it’s in season. These are two fantastic appetizers that present a couple of unique flavors.

Cafe Boku is my mom’s favorite restaurant. I’m no expert on their health club superfood stuff but I am an acai bowl connoisseur. I’ve been to every acai restaurant in America, but Ojai’s very own Cafe Boku is the definitive best. It’s what all the cute vegan spots in Manhattan think they are. First of all, their bowls are huge. They’re like $14 and you’re getting triple what that would get you anywhere else (that usually charge like $16). I recommend ordering their plain BoKU bowl and asking for some honey. When it comes to texture and granola: smoothie proportions, Boku does it best. Even if there was no flavor, just eating the bowls would be a pleasure. Also, their blue sky parfaits are incredible, but a little pricey.

(This is Celestine, it is a total dream at night)

pc https://www.nycgo.com/images/venues/84812/all-in-nyc_celestine__large.jpg

I’m Obsessed With Opossums

Everyone be quiet because I’m here to talk about opossums again. I’m not taking any criticisms at this time or any time.

Photo credit: whis_kurrs on Instagram

LOOK AT HIM. HE GRABS THE PIZZA. I’M IN LOVE.

My mom reads these posts so I’m not allowed to curse on them but HECKING LOOK AT HIM. HE IS PERFECT. HE HAS NEVER DONE A SINGLE THING WRONG IN HIS LIFE.

His name is Pep and I want to cuddle him so badly. Literally, I’m in love.

Anyways yeah. I saw an opossum and needed to post about him. That’s all.

I’m screaming and sobbing and passing away currently. I love opossums so much.

What House Arrest does to you

So my dad is basically on house arrest because of his recent heart attack. Because of this house arrest that he has been sentenced to by his doctors and my mother, he has decided to take up and master the art of cooking.

His goal: to cook a new dish, EVERY SINGLE day.

Now this is coming from a man who usually NEVER cooks and when he does, we usually end up calling for a pizza late at night.

My dad has many great talents, unfortunately cooking is not one of them.

So far he has made the following dishes:

  • Cauliflower soup with WAY too much pepper, ( I think he missed the “taste as you go” memo).
  • Spaghetti squash pasta with a spinach sauce; lets just say he loves his food processor and we ended up having spaghetti squash with baby formula.
  • Fisherman’s Pie; coincidentally while he was cooking the power in our house went out and it was only half cooked, he still decided to serve it.

On top of all his glorious attempts of these new recipes, he’s sent my mom to the store every single day to get ingredients, not quite realizing that the ingredients we already have at the house could be used for cooking as well.

While throwing in his own changes to the recipes, he also likes to add some humor. He makes constant reference to the cooking TV show  Chopped. Every time one of his new “creations” doesn’t go as planned he says, ” Well I think the judges would have chopped me for that one!” or if it is a success( I’ve yet to taste one) he says, ” That one would have gotten me to the next round!”

While he is still going strong on his cooking binge, and I applaud his efforts, I wouldn’t mind having a pizza for dinner anytime soon.

 

Nine One One

It was just a regular sunday night until it wasn’t.

I was sitting at home with a friend enjoying some pizza after playing Madden 13 when all of a sudden my sister bursts in the door yelling.

I was sitting at the table and she rushed in telling me that there is a huge fire right behind a property that we rent out.

She said that she drove by and called 9-1-1 and told them that there was a very large fire and told them the location.

After finishing dinner my Dad and I decided we should probably make sure our property was not on fire and that our storage was ok.

After we had determined our stuff was in no imminent danger and had a talk with our renters we wanted to check it out.

We walked down a long stretch of driveway to see a house engulfed in flames, making loud popping noises like something was exploding, and a firetruck parked right in the middle of two trees.

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Herman Cain, You Make Me Laugh

Herman Cain might know something about business and the economy from his time owning a pizza chain. But when it comes to foreign policy he is lost.

Just take a look at this map in which he displays his thoughts on the world.

Now I’m sorry, but I know some kids in middle school that could tell me as much. And yet, this is the most we have heard out of Cain as far as foreign policy goes.

But this is fantastic news. I will personally endorse Herman Cain for the GOP nomination because he is so clueless and such a mess that Obama could laugh his way to a second term.

On top of his ignorance of the world around us, Cain also is a hypocrite…big time. While many politicians often do not practice what they preach, Cain has taken it to drastic levels. He has had an affair with a woman for 13 years, and his wife just found out about it.

Now he has denied these allegations, stating that he was just helping the woman in question financially. Odd that he would be texting her at 4 in the morning and made over 61 calls to her.

Now this would not be such a big deal (it seems like almost all politicians are getting some on the side these days) but the fact that one of his largest points has been the strength of family. Every politician is a hypocrite but Cain has gotten to the point of being a joke.

The whole Republican lineup has gotten to the point of just being a laughing stock and for that I thank them. Every night I can turn on the TV and laugh as I watch them struggle to give coherent answers with the small amounts of knowledge they have.

If you want to laugh some more go read this article.

a no hitter and a good anecdote

Hello one and all! It’s October, and that means three things, Halloween, Spudfest, and most of all, Major League Baseball’s fall classic. The postseason is here, and needless to say it is my favorite time of the year. Today, October 6th, the major league playoffs kicked off in grand fashion. Two Game 1 contests took place today and one (featuring my beloved Yankees) is in progress. Now, I have to mention something, even though I as a sportsman and fan hate Philadelphia sports teams, I have to tip my cap to Phillies Game 1 starting pitcher, Roy Halladay.

What did this 13 year veteran do in his first playoff start of his career? Oh nothing, except throw the second post season no hitter in MLB history. He walked one, struck out 8, and surrendered no hits. That’s pretty impressive and being that it’s in the playoffs is no exception. Today also marked the first time I rooted for Philadelphia in anything since Rocky Balboa fought Mason Dixon, but that’s another story. Any Phillie fan will tell you game 1 meant on the first day of “Doctober,” it was a Halladay in Philly.

This no hitter also meant something special for an OVS student. Sophomore John Olivo, a.k.a “the situation,” is a Phillie fan. I watched the game with him, and my friends Cameron Cuthbert, Rory Campbell, Grant Spencer, and Kyle Stephenson. Now, Kyle and John have a history. Yesterday during a dodgeball game, John tackled Kyle, and Kyle saw John coming. He straight up decked him, “lights out.” For all the trash Kyle was talking, it was pretty worth while to watch. It was both funny and unpredictable. We ordered Domino’s Pizza and were coming up with a decision as to how we were going to pay, so I make a bet. “If Halladay throws a no hitter, Kyle has to cover it all.” This meant 3 large pizzas and 3 sides. We’re boys, come on, we’re hungry. Watching Brandon Phillips ground out to Carlos Ruiz meant Kyle was paying, history was made, and the Phillies won game 1.

Plus my lady friend in Boston Stephanie is a huge Phillie fan as well. I called her after the game and she said she loved me. SCORE!