After waiting over 40 minutes for a table, we were taken to our table where we preceded to order drinks and appetizers from inexperienced, high school aged server. After a review of the menu, we chose the Primo Appetizer priced at $18.95, which offered a taste of all their featured appetizers. The Shrimp Marconi was served cold even though the sauce consisted of butter, wine, and garlic. It say it was unappetizing would be an understatement, considering the congealed butter which lay at the bottom of this cold dish.

The next appetizer item was the Maryland Crab Cakes. It would have been nice to have some crab mixed into the bread mixture presented as the Crab Cake but this diner believes that would have been asking for too much.

The final appetizer of this appetizer trio call Primo Appetizer was the Bruschetta, which was served on what could only be described as a store bought cracker. The only positive thing this diner can say of this appetizer trio was that the tomato mixture on the Bruschetta was freshly made.

Prior getting our salad course, we waited for our server to clear off the table. After a long interval we decided that it would behoove us to make use of the nearby busboy's cart and deposit our dished there ourselves. When the harried server finally came back to our table, she did not even realize that the table had been cleared off. We even had to ask multiple times for refills on our wine and ice tea. At one point, after asking for water a third time we were able to get the attention of a busboy who was able to fill our request for water. In addition to having to clean off our own dishes, our salads were very unremarkable and the House Cesar Dressing was a poor quality bottled dressing.

Disorganization seemed to be the theme of the evening, which was very surprising for a restaurant that has been in business for the last 45 years. Once our entrees came, our disappointment with our dinning experience was complete. The Pasta Marinara, priced at $9.75, had a sauce that was watery and tasteless. Now for those of you who do not cook Italian food let this diner say that Marinara is one of the easiest Italian sauces to make.

Marinara sauce is very easy to create, the ingredients to make a good sauce consist of tomatoes, garlic, sugar, and fresh basil. The only way the Marinara sauce can become watery and flavorless is when it has not simmered long enough to reduce the water shed by the tomatoes during cooking or when hot water is added to provide more sauce for extra servings. Either way any restaurant serving such a sauce should be ashamed. This diner has eaten better quality Marinara sauce from the mall restaurant Sbarro and for much cheaper!

We also ordered the Veal Piccata, priced at $18.50, which made us wish that we had chosen to eat somewhere else. Marconi's presented an overly breaded, priced, and soggy veal patty with a greasy sauce lacking the signature caper/lemon flavor that Veal Piccata should have. It was accompanied by vegetables that were over cooked and with out any tang.

We ended the meal with a traditional Italian dessert, Connoli; this diner must say this was the highlight of the meal. The coffee offered was well done and the Connoli served was freshly made. A secret to creating a good Connoli is filling this pastry just prior to serving so that the pastry doesn't become soggy from the filling. Maroni's Connoli filling was simply made without chocolate chips or nuts, so it was hard to make a mistake in putting it together. The pastry shell itself was not made in house.

Though this evening meal was poorly made, presented, served; this writer would have restrained from giving this review until such time another night of dining was made, however, due to the poor service and the prices attached to an evening at this restaurant, this diner believes that future patrons of Marconi's should be warned. Marconi's, at one time, may have been very good Italian restaurant, but this diner's meal did not reflect the implied quality a restaurant that has been around for 45 years. When in Cleveland try another restaurant.

Marconi's Restaurant

424 Berlin Road

Huron, OH 44839

419-433-4341

Although Japanese food is mainly raw fish, crude vegetables and rice, there are many ways of combining them into different forms of sushi, and each combination has a name and special preparation. This list shows the most popular sushi types among the occidental people.

Hashi

Those are the wooden chopsticks used to eat Japanese food. It is said that the contact with metal from fork and knife may corrupt the sushi taste.

Nori

Algae sheet used to bind the rice with the raw fish.

Gari

It's sliced ginger. Japanese eat it between one sushi and the next to clean the taste, so the first sushi doesn't interfere with the taste of the next one.

Wasabi

It's a condiment made from the powder of the root of the plant above. This spicy condiment usually is mixed in the shoyu sauce and enhances the fish taste.

Sashimi

Mainly, raw fish slices. The popular ones are salmon and tuna, and the noble part is the fish's belly. For someone who is just beginning to appreciate Japanese Food, the taste of sashimi may need some getting used to.

Nigiri-Zushi

It is a slice of raw fish over a little amount of pressed rice seasoned with vinegar. It may or may not be tied by a nori stripe.

Temaki

A tiny piece of raw fish wrapped in seasoned rice and enrolled in a nori cone. In Japan it is sold in cigar shape, but there are many places where it is a cone sushi.

Oshizushi

Oshizushi is very much like a Nigiri-Zushi, but the whole piece of fish and rice is pressed inside that wooden box.

The final result is this:

It doesn't need algae stripes to be firm.

Gunkanmaki

A strong tasted maki. It is a small amount of salmon eggs enrolled in nori. Its taste also demands some getting used to.

Uramaki

It is a kind of inverted Sushi. The rice goes out and the fish and vegetables inside. The most popular Uramaki was invented in USA, with the name of California. It takes crab, cucumber, mayonnaise and avocado. I'm not a fan; it tastes like rotten fruit salad.

Hosomaki

It's a small sushi roll. Usually, it has only one ingredient inside the rice and the nori (not the case of that one up here). The most popular ingredients are cucumber, tuna and pickles.

Futomaki

It's a huge hosomaki with much more ingredients inside, as vegetables, fish slices and eggs. The rice portion is larger.

Chirashi

It's a kind of meal with raw fish, sea-food and fish eggs; all of it over a layer of vinegar seasoned rice.

That is it. I hope I was of any help.

Boston offers some of the most expensive and fancy dinning in the country even in the world. Boston also offers many lower priced foods. Not all the food establishments in Boston are sit down Boston has many vendors not only during the summer but year round you can find different foods being sold by vendors. During the summer the typical big city vendor fair is available such as hot dogs, falafels, pretzels, cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream, and snocones among other things. The best place to find food vendors is by the Boston Common. You should not just buy the first thing you find but look around not all vendors offer the same price. Another thing to look for is lines locals know which carts offer the best food and these carts will have lines while a vendor selling hotdogs a nickel cheaper with no line might look like the place to spend you money instead of the slightly more expensive one with a line you will probably be happy you took the time and money to get the hot dog from the other vendor.

Fenway is a great place to find good food at good prices. When a Sox games is going on before the game there are plenty of vendors around offering all kinds of foods some of the more popular vendors include Chili, Clam Chowder, and Cuban sandwiches. If you are lucky enough to get into a Sox game then a Fenway Frank is a must. Again the same rule applies to Fenway vendors as applies to vendors near the Boston Common if there is a line it's a good sign that is where you want to get your food.

Two more locations that you can find some great greasy spoons in Boston that you might not expect are at the mall, and at Farenuel Hall. The Boston Mall offers many food establishments that a typical mall does not offer, of course the mall offers the typical fair such as Sbarro but it also offers food most malls do not offer including Greek, and Sushi. Farenuel Hall also offers many different food locations to eat at and many are at reasonable prices and offer you a good value for your money.

Boston is not the only good greasy spoon in the area. Just across the river in Cambridge you can find plenty of good eats just ask any college kids. Pinocchio's is a great pizza place that Harvard kids love to hang out at. If you go down from the Alewife station head south a couple of blocks tell you hit a T-intersection then head left about half a block you will find a great little sub shop that's a ma and pa place. The subs are great and the price is too if you have the choice of Subway or this little known ma and pa sub shop take the sub shop it will be cheaper get you more food and better tasting food.

Just because you are short on cash doesn't mean you have to go hungry in Boston. You also can get great food at good prices in Boston. Always remember follow the crowds they have been here longer then you and they know where the best food places are.

I Carusi

Drive along Holmes Street in Brunswick East looking for a sophisticated, restaurant with obvious signage and you will miss this treat. You have to know the address is 46a Holmes St and even then, you may drive right past.

At last you realise that the small shop front with a bicycle leaned against the window and a couple of rather rattly looking tables and chairs, is I Carusi. It might have been one of those old gathering places for European men, where they sit in dark corners and play board games.

Inside is a different story, narrow alleys allow for as many tables as possible to be jammed into this rustic restaurant. It is always noisy. Always. That is part of the dining experience.

Aromas

The first thing you notice is that it is warm and welcoming and casual but yes, it does have sophistication. This is the kind of sophistication that can throw you, like when the waiter serves your wine in traditional country style by pouring your NZ red into tumblers.

Then the aromas of fresh baking thin pizza crusts, topped with garlic and good oil and a range of flavours starts to send your taste buds crazy. For me, favourites are the Bianca pizzas, like potato and leek or the four cheese with hints of Gorgonzola threaded through the cheesy wash. Edible artistry is the only description I can give these pizzas.

The Best

Why is this pizza restaurant the best in my opinion? Because the flavours are never ostentatious, but are delicious to the last bite, even when we have ordered more pizza than is wise for our stomachs.

Other favourite pizza restaurants would have to be pizza Espresso in LowerTemplestowe and Woodfire in Ivanhoe. Excellent, but if I was to impress a friend, I would book I Carusi. And bookings are essential.

Somehow, pizza connoisseurs discover this eatery in large numbers. It is a pizza legend, at least amongst foodies and that is enough for me.

In London kids are usually allowed in pubs until 9pm, and in some bars they're not allowed. In restaurants, there's no law. Teens over 16 and under 18, accompanied by a responsible, can drink one pint of beer with a whole meal, not more than that. If not in these conditions, it's extremely prohibited to sell any kind of alcohol to under 18. Bartenders are going to ask for ID.

Pubs usually close at 11pm, 10:30 on Sundays. These hours apply for almost every pub in London. The last orders happen at 10 to 11pm, and after 11pm, you'll have half an hour to drink up. After that, please, go away because the bartenders and the manager have to clean up and go home. Thank you!

Bars close later, from 12am or around 3am.

Restaurants close at 11pm or 12pm most of the time. Only a few stay open after this time, most of them very posh and expensive. Others turn to be a night club and stop serving food after a stipulated time.

Depending on the quantity of people dining or having drinks, some of these places have license for after the time they usually close, which means that, if it's too busy, the manager can decide to let the place open until later. On the other hand, if it's too quite, like on special dates as Christmas and Easter, or that rainy winter day, they can choose to close it earlier. So, don't be surprised if your favourite pub closes before or stays open later.

Here goes a list of the most common drinks that we sell in London restaurants, bars and pubs, with tips of how to ask for them.

Beers

There are types of beers: Lager, Bitter or Ales, Wheat beer, Dark beer, Fruity and blond beer.

To know exactly what do you want to ask at the bar, you need to taste each of them, and choose your “best one”.

The most common beers are shown below:

Lagers

Dark Beer

Wheat Beer

Fruity (Strawberry Flavour)

Most Famous Bitter

Blond Beer

You can ask or be asked to serve a “shandy” which consists of half pint of lemonade and half pint of lager; or a lager top, which is the pint of lager with a dash of lemonade.

They can be on draft or keg (in the case of Ales), but also in bottles. In busy pubs and bars, what usually can happen is that there's no place in the fridges for so much sale, what can make the bottles be warm, because they were just put in the fridge before you buy. Beers on draft and keg can have the same problem, either if the glass is hot or even the draft system is not working properly. You can always argue about the temperature of your beer, but do if the bar is not busy, if it's extremely busy, you'll probably wait a long time and can be ignored by the bartenders. You can also call the manager, but, come on, a warm beer is not worthy such a fuzz.

Spirits

The most common measures are 25ml for single shot and 50ml for double. Some generous pubs have measures of 35ml and 70ml instead.

Whiskey

You can drink them with: Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, Bitter Lemon, Lemonade, Tap water, on ice, as shots, or alone in a rock's glass.

Famous whiskeys and whiskies of London entertainment places:

Vodka

It's usually asked with tonic water, slim tonic, soda and lime cordial, juices, coke and diet coke or lemonade.

There're vodkas with flavours as the Absolute Collection:

 

Gin & Tonic

Nothing else to say. This is the English drink. Have it with lime or cucumber.

Rum

Most common served with Coke, on the rocks or as shots.

Brandy

They can be served alone, or on the rocks. It can be asked with Coke as well, if you don't want to get drunk easily. It's better in very cold days, to warm:

Shots

Some places do a mix of spirits in a shot glass, usually 3 different ones. Thought the most common “single” shots are:

Tequila, Served with Lemon and Salt

Sambuca, Black or White

Others

Served on ice, as shots or with soft drinks:

The summer's favourite: Pimm's with fruits, mint and lemonade:

Wines

There's a huge variety of wines to sell. They're usually from Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Italy and Argentina.

Most common grapes:

Red: Rioja, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz/Syrah.

White: Grenache, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Rioja Blanco.

Prices

Average prices for London most touristic pubs, bars and restaurants:

• Pint of beer: £3,30
• Single spirit mix: £3,20
• Shots: £2,40
• Small glass of wine (house): £3,50

Fran's Burgers is one of the best places to go in Austin for a reasonably low cost and great food. They have juicy burgers that come in three choices of large, larger, and huge. There's no place that offers such large burgers like Fran's. The atmosphere is also very old fashioned since it used to be a drive in. The interior and exterior is not polished up at all and looks like they just moved into a building that was falling apart. However, the food tastes great and it is not expensive which is what counts.

Stubb's BBQ is another nice little restaurant that offers good food for reasonable prices and they have live entertainment. The type of food at this restaurant is Texas barbecue food and it has been around since the mid 80's. The one thing I enjoy about this place is that you can listen to a live band while you eat.

If you like Japanese food then there is a restaurant that I would recommend as a place with good food and good prices. The place is called Zen and they offer very big portions that you could share with another person. It also serves chicken, steak and shrimp.
Galloways Sandwich Shop is located off of East 12th Street. They don't have sandwiches but they offer other types of foods including fried chicken and pork chops. They also have breakfasts available with pancakes and fried eggs. Galloways is a very small place but good food with good prices.

A couple of other restaurants to check out are Hoovers which specializes in Southern food and Eddie V's which is located near the arboretum downtown. You may pay a little more at these restaurants since they are near everything but you have to think about the convenience as well. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in Austin that have good food for an economical price.

The sound of the seashore is brought to your attention as you are greeted by the host. Near the waiting area is a staircase leading downstairs. There is a private eating room located at the bottom of the steps before the long hallway leading to the bathrooms. The secluded room is softly lit for the one large round table.

The bathrooms accentuate the restaurant. The light wooden bathroom stalls complement the stone floor and sleek constructed sink. The hand dryers are hidden inside the walls. Dark stones are placed below the dryers. Black and white curved seats, green glass tables, and clear seating dividers change colors throughout the restaurant.

Classical music is softly played in the dining area. The wooden floors match the ceiling; which is curved like an ocean's wave. The restaurant's great service makes up for its limited space. Every employee is dedicated to serving the customers. The tan walls glow from the wavy light fixtures.

There were many dishes to choose from. The menu is a bit pricey, but it is worth every penny. The sushi I ordered tasted very fresh; lightly fried shrimp tempura with avocado was flavorsome. I ordered the lobster salad for the main course. It is reasonable for an appetizer. Compared to the dishes my family ordered, it ranked last. The salad was lightly seasoned in oil with fried and broiled lobster, thin sliced tomatoes and basil all covering a bed of greens.

For dessert, I ordered the sorbet. One scoop of three different flavors: chocolate chipotle, coconut and white grapefruit. The chocolate had a hint of spice, which was very unique. The white grapefruit was not my favorite; with a distinctive taste.

Reservations recommended, I will definitely return. I advise anyone visiting the city of Philadelphia to stop by and enjoy this dining experience for their selves.

A few weeks ago, my friends and I went to try out Four. It's a new restaurant in the heart of corporate Toronto and it boasts healthy dishes only: all dishes are less than 650 calories.

I wasn't going to write about it because it was a huge disappointment. But after I read this article in the Globe & Mail, I decided that some truth needed to be shared.

I deliberately waited three weeks after opening to go. Although my dinner at Two Rosehill (this was many years ago; it's now called Rosehill Venue Lounge) on opening night was spectacular, I don't expect every restaurant to be like that. Some places have a lot of glitches to work out. Unfortunately, even after three weeks, Four still had several.

The reason everything is less than 650 calories is because it's just expensive, oversized tapas. The dishes are too big to be considered tapas, but too small to be considered full-sized main courses. Just because something is all natural and fresh doesn't mean that it's automatically good. If I took a fresh orange and squeezed it on a piece of fresh chicken, rolled it in organic cocoa powder and then steamed it, I doubt it'll taste fantastic. It might not taste horrible (though I suspect it will), but it certainly won't be the epitome of "yum."

The other thing I couldn't stand was the fact that the wait staff didn't know anything about the dishes. A fish dish was served up and there was a large pitcher with some sort of broth in it. When I said, "Wow. This is an elaborate set up. How do we eat this?" The response was, "I don't know." Oh great. So if the staff doesn't know, how the heck are customers supposed to know. Sheesh.

The desserts, though not special, were probably the best thing we got. The four of us (yes, four of us went to dinner at Four) all agreed that in future we'd come back just to have drinks and dessert, but the food was definitely overrated.

The Meal

The waiters quickly seat you and give you plenty of time to choose your food. First, they get you your drinks and then shortly after (1 or 2 min.) they bring you your appetizers (if you ordered them). Then in about a 15 min. wait they bring you your main course! Finally, to top that off when you are done you can order a dessert. My favorite of course would have to be the bacon cheeseburger. It has eight slices of bacon in between a burger with cheese on the outside of that. Then it comes with pickles lettuce mayonnaise, mustard (optional), and a side order of fries. That is one of the most mouth watering meals I have ever had in my life

Conclusion

This is going to be one of the best restaurants you'll ever going to! The cost (about $15 per person) on top of the atmosphere, service, and taste of the meal make this one of the best places to be! So next time you go on a drive and need to get dinner or your whole family does remember Shoney's. and have one of the best dinners of your life.

Appetizer and Lunch

A waiter swiftly comes with a mouth-watering salad; you pick up a fork and dig in. The lettuce crunches in your mouth as you bite down on them. You look around and see other people eating many different things. The enriching smell over takes you as you look at your plate. You see an enchilada overflowing with seasoned meat. You take a bite and the taste almost makes you drool. The chefs must have taken forever preparing this for you. Then you realize the main course came to you in about fifteen minutes. You just shrug it off and continue your meal. Only half way done with your main course and you are stuffed like never before. After you finish with the enchilada, you notice a taco to the side. You take a several bites, and before you know it, the taco is gone. You yawn and slouch in you chair. You breathe in the aromas of the different spices. You realize that you cannot manage one more bite only to discover you have ordered dessert.

Dessert

Your eyes virtually pop out of your head. Your thoughts of being full vanish. You smell chocolate and ice cream blending together. You see a chocolate taco with ice cream and whip cream piled on top of each other. You grab your spoon and start shoveling the desert down your throat. You pick up the chocolate taco and bite into it: ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate melt into your mouth. The mouth-watering dessert is gone in a snap. Then you slouch back into your chair feeling sleepy. Then you hear a waiter saying that the bill is ready.

Bill

You slowly, oh so very slowly reach across the table. You grab a little black book. Then you open it slowly. You wish you had not eaten so much. Based on the quality of the food and the speed at which it arrived, this is probably going to be an expensive restaurant. Sweat rolls down your cheeks. The numbers on the check blur in your excitement. Then you come back to your senses. You look at the total and sigh. By some miracle, your appetizers, main course, and dessert were only twelve dollars!

Waiters

Like many restaurants, this could be one of the most enjoyable moments of your day with the atmosphere and delicious food. An additional benefit to eating here would be the ability to converse in Spanish with your waiter. It is not often you get this opportunity and, as the entire staff is Hispanic, they can cheerfully brush you up on your Spanish speaking skills.

Conclusion

At Don Jose, you get distinctly quality food at an amazingly affordable price. The tables are against the wall giving the restaurant a spacious feeling. If you wanted to, you could even eat outside on a patio. The waiters there are very friendly and provide fast service. The only down fall would be that the waiters can be hard to understand at times. They speak fluent English. What makes them hard to understand is their accent. This can cause confusion and sometimes mixed up orders.