17Feb/10Off
A Snowstorm’s Payoff
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This is why I like the snow so much. I deal with the shoveling and slow driving for this. The morning after a heavy snow is easily one of my favorites. The plows haven't had a chance to dump their ugly brown sand all over. The snow is still clinging to tree branches before the sun melts it.
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Other nice mornings:
- First brisk morning of the fall
- The sunny morning immediately following a bad thunderstorm in the summer
- The deafening silence of a blizzard at 5 or 6 am
- One with coffee that is strong
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13Feb/10Off
Little Italy Gourmet Market & Pizza
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Last night we had takeout from Little Italy Gourmet Market & Pizza and as always it was great. They seem to do a great business over there considering how busy it was at 7:30 pm on a Friday. I had the italian cold cut combination sub and my wife got the veal parm sub. How can you go wrong with capicola, I ask? My favorite part about their sandwiches is their bread. A little sign behind the counter says that it's freshly made everyday, maybe that's why I like it so much. Their sub and hard rolls have a good crust on them that I'm crazy for.
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Although I didn't have it last night, Little Italy's pizza is also wonderful. It is nice and thin with a crispy crust like a real pizza should be. Don't get me started on thick crust or greasy pan cooked pizza. That stuff in Chicago is rightly called "pie" because it is in now way pizza. Little Italy's pizza is cooked in a brick oven right on the stone, no pans for these folks.
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Over the few years they've been open I've sampled many of their menu items. The stuffed bread is good and is so big, it makes for a nice breakfast the next day. I've never had them before trying them at Little Italy but their arancini (rice balls) and potato croquets are delightful. They also bottle their own sauce that it quite good. I'm partial to the one with little bits of prosciutto in it. I could probably eat it with spoon right out of the jar.
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In doing my "research" for this post (simply googling their name) I stumbled upon their website. They offer online ordering! I've never seen a local business do that, so that's cool. I may try it next time.
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Why Little Italy is good:
- Good bread
- Thin crust brick oven pizza
- Tasty sides (arancini)
- Pasta fagioli
- Nice staff
- Foxon park sodas
- Around the corner from my house
- Pizza by the slice
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Find them in Wallingford CT on rt 150 in Yalesville
7Feb/10Off
Taking Chance Movie Review
Keith Malley of the Keith and the Girl Show hates almost every movie he sees. He didn't even like Avatar! But, we're not here to have a laugh at his expense. He mentioned that he saw "Taking Chance" with Kevin Bacon and that it was a very good movie. I checked it out on Netflix and figured it would be a movie Wife and I could watch. We typically have differing tastes in films but "Taking Chance" looked like a drama we would both be able to sit through. So, in it came from Netflix and watch it we did. "Taking Chance" is a true story about a soldier named Chance Phelps killed in action and the journey of his body to its final resting place. Kevin Bacon seems to feel guilty about not being in Iraq with his unit because he is working stateside doing troop level reports and stuff like that. He tends to read the casualty reports every night while his guilt is keeping him up. Kevin Bacon notices the death of a soldier from his hometown. He feels it's his duty to deliver the soldier to his final resting place.
The movie follows the departed soldier through every step of the process:
Getting out of Iraq.
Being delivered to a facility in the US.
Being cleaned. Being loaded on planes.
So on and so on.
A soldier is by his, and every body's, side through every step of the process. The biggest thing you can take away from it is the enormous level of respect that is payed to each and every casualty of war. The fact that loads and loads of these kids are coming home that way is incredibly moving. The movie does a good job of not pushing an anti-war or pro-war message. It is simply the story of the soldier's trip home. I can't stress how moving it is. I can understand some people may think it's a bit slow moving, but it has to be. So uhhh....its good. Check it out.
Thanks to HBO for the movie poster.
- Chris
15Jan/10Off
Panda Garden Chinese Restaurant, Wallingford CT
Last night, Wife and I went to Panda Garden in Wallingford, CT for some Chinese food. We used to get takeout from Gold Star next to our house but haven't been back since last April due to a bad experience. Anyway, someone at work told Wife that Panda Garden was good. I hopped on yelp.com to see if there were any reviews. There was only one review but it was 5 out of 5 stars. The commenter said they had been going there for 20 some odd years and said it was invariably good. I'm not sure its been open that long, at least under that management, but it has certainly been open a long time. Plus, they had a dining room where you could actually sit and order your food like at a real restaurant. That was enough for us, we figured we'd try it out.
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Panda Garden was great. The food was excellent and tasted fresh. The staff was nothing but courteous and helpful. The meal began with some fried noodles, duck sauce, hot mustard, and tea. I got the hot and sour soup and crispy orange beef. Wife got pork lo-mien and chicken and broccoli. Everything was very good. The only thing I can criticize was the decor. It looks like it was decorated in 1989 and left that way. It's really not a big deal, the food, prices, and staff totally make up for it. I just thought it was a little funny.
I must say, eating Chinese food at a "sit down" establishment is way better than ordering from a counter and bringing it home. I didn't realize how filling the food was, I couldn't finish my plate (which is a rarity for me) and now have lunch for today. At any rate, we'll be back. I grabbed a menu on the way out so we can order takeout. I'm pretty sure they deliver too, so that's nice.
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Regarding Delivery; I never have any cash on me so delivery is usually more of a pain in the butt than anything. I don't like giving a debit card over the phone and my only other option is to run to the ATM and grab cash before the delivery guy shows up. If I'm already out at the bank, I might as well go right to the place to pick it up. Bah! Stupid paper currency! Also, what the hell is it with places that force a minimum on debit/credit card purchases. Visa prohibits such practices in their merchant agreements but at the same time charges them a minimum fee per transaction.I know...I understand why they do. I always want to report them but its only small "mom & pop" local businesses that do it. I would never throw them under the bus like that, but still, it bugs me.
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8Jan/10Off
Keith Malley’s Take on Social Media
I think this is funny.
KATGtv 29: Keith Malley from KeithandTheGirl on Vimeo.
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