Derek "DJ" A.'s Profile
DateBarre, VT 05641
(802) 479-7002
Quarry Grill and Tavern
Categories:
American (New),
Seafood
1 Previous Review:
-
8/20/2011
Still new, and apparently still working out the kinks... but a lot of potential here and I look forward to writing a follow up review that will be better. As of right now, some of those kinks do get in the way of a good experience.
Three of us went for lunch and sat outside on a beautiful summer day. A quick look around inside shows a very nice looking, cozy restaurant with a ton of flat screen TVs. I'm looking forward to watching a game there with some good beer and some appetizers in the winter.
We were attended to right away, and were brought our drinks quickly. Unfortunately, our food took a while, and when it did come out, our main meals came out before the appetizers did. The waitress was apologetic, but it was disappointing. Luckily we were perfectly happy to have our appetizers basically as side dishes with our meals, but if it had been dinner, it would have been far less acceptable, and overall, if they had come out when we were expected, it would have made the long wait for food more tolerable.
The beer selection is what you would expect in Vermont - a nice selection of local and national craft brews with the expected national big players. With a several IPAs to choose from, as a true-blue hophead, I was especially impressed and struggled to make my choice.
For our appetizers (side dishes...) we ordered buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks. The mozzarella sticks were standard issue, but were cooked plenty enough so that the cheese was all melted and the outside nice and crispy, something that doesn't happen all to often.
The buffalo wings left something to be desired. The sauce ('hot" flavor) was good - nice spice level, good flavor. The half pound of wings basically means six wings, which for $4 is a pretty good deal. My issue with the wings is that they are billed as "crispy wings" which they are not, not by any stretch of the imagination. They are of the breaded variety and as soon as that sauce is added, the breading gets soggy and falls off. As a wing connoisseur (I do have my own wing review blog after all), this is something that drives me bonkers. They should either go with un-breaded wings or serve the sauce on the side. They have potential, but not there yet.
As for main meals, there were two cheeseburgers and a BLT. The BLT was good, with plenty of crispy bacon. The burgers were both good, though more done than the medium we had requested, but were very tasty and still juicy, with a nice charbroil flavor and a nice layer of cheese on them.
One complaint related to the burger is that we got the 5oz size, and clearly they use the same bun for both the 5oz and 8oz burgers (you have your choice). This means that the 5oz burger has about a half inch of too much bun around it, which throws off the all-important meant-to-bun ratio.
For sides, the onion rings and french fries were good, especially the fries.
I wish this place the best, as it has a ton of potential as it continues to work out the kinks. If the mis-hap with the appetizers hadn't happened and the wings didn't have that silly breading on them, my rating would have easily gone up to 4 stars.
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 385-4000
Seaport Boston Hotel
Category:
Hotels
Neighborhoods: Waterfront, South Boston
I was only there for one night, and didn't spend a lot of time in the room, but for the time I was there, I was happy to find free wi-fi, free printing from your room to s central printer in the business center, and plenty of outlets in the room, including several that made it easy to keep my phone charged while leaving it on all night. The Bose radio with MP3 player input was a nice touch as well.
If I found myself in Boston for business or leisure travel, I would definitely stay here again.
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 421-0286
Nick's On Broadway
Category:
American (New)
Neighborhood: Federal Hill
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 751-9164
CAV
Category:
American (New)
Neighborhood: DownCity
We tried three entrees: French toast CAV-style, Eggs Supreme, and Scrambled Eggs with Maine Lobster. The french toast is a big dish, with three thick slices and the plate loaded with apples, raisins and nuts. It is Filling and good.
The Eggs Supreme were received well, with lots of savory notes. I personally had the Scrambled eggs with Maine Lobster Toasted Sweet Bread and Thai Chile cream sauce, which was really delicious and very interesting. It had the right level of richness, spiciness, and crunch from the bread.
I have to complaints about CAV: one, the restaurant is really crowded. I find it interesting that it considered one of the most romantic restaurants in the city when the entire place is all tables (no booths) and there is no way you could whisper sweet nothings without your table neighbors hearing you.
The second complaints is one I have seen in some of the other reviews: slow - PAINFULLY slow - service. It took about 10 minutes for us to be greeted by a server after being sat at our table, and after eating, we sat for at least 15 minutes waiting for the check. The actual service was fine (though the wait did reek of cigarette smoke), but was not attentive.
Good food, cool atmosphere, slow service. Good restaurant, possibly great, but not the best I've had in Providence.
First of all, the service was flat at best - it felt a little like we were bothering her being there. Overall, her she had about as much personality as the box our cupcakes were put in.
We got two muffins and two cupcakes. The muffins - one lemon, one chocolate chip - were good, but not amazing. Both could have used just about a minute or so more in the oven - they weren't undercooked, but just didn't have as much flavor as they could have.
The cupcakes... let's start off with the better of the two. The "death by chocolate" cupcake is a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream on top and dipped in chocolate, with a chocolate pudding filling. Overall, it was hardly deadly. Maybe more like "bad cut by chocolate" or "badly bruised by chocolate." The cake was average - not too moist, but not dry. The chocolate buttercream and chocolate coating (maybe ganache, but if it was, it wasn't great) were passable. But then, between the cake and the buttercream was this chocolate pudding, which was pretty much a cheap imitation Jell-O pudding type of thing that had gotten congealed and kinda spongy. I ended up not eating the pudding because of the texture and it sat there on the plate afterwards, in all its gelatinous glory.
The other cupcake was a tiramisu cupcake, which my wife chose because she loves tiramisu. She got two bites in and stopped, declaring that the frosting tasted like cheap donut creme filling. I tried a bite and she was being generous - I would say that the cupcake tasted like how the inside of a donut shop smells - stale coffee and slightly greasy and sweet.
Good bakeries are hard to find, and if you're looking for one, this Blackberry may be a place to start, but it isn't the end, that's for sure.
Newton, MA 02458
(617) 969-3010
Crowne Plaza Hotel Boston - Newton
Categories:
Hotels,
Venues & Event Spaces
We were on the 11th floor and the only time we were ever bothered by the traffic was when a truck downshifted in just the right spot, but it was so loud, anyone within half a mile would have heard it.
So don't expect greatness, but I wouldn't call it a dump by any means.
The food was quite good, and probably the average consumer would give it 4 stars. I did find the ribs a little fatty (probably because the membrane on the underside hadn't been taken off) but they were well cooked - not overcooked like many restaurant ribs. The brisket was extremely tender and still moist - might be some of the best I've had from a restaurant. The pulled pork was tender and flavorful. We also got some pulled chicken, and the white meat was still moist, which is quite the feat.
Sides were good - hush puppies were really, really great, and the mac & cheese was very cheesy and gooey. Not the best I've had, but good.
Their sauces are also interesting - their regular is pretty standard, but tasty. The mustard has more depth of flavor than most mustard based sauces, but my favorite was the Carolina style vinegar sauce. It was very, very spicy, but had more than just heat and vinegar in it, and was good on everything, which is unusual for a vinegar sauce.
Rosemont, IL 60018
(866) 242-1055
Crowne Plaza Ohare
Categories:
Hotels,
Restaurants
However, the theme doesn't carry over into the bathroom which is very modern (and clean!). And they don't skimp on the modern luxuries - a nice flat screen TV, plenty of power outlets, and reading lights built into the headboard.
I ate lunch at the Chicago Fire Grill and had a very good hamburger with home made chips. That's all I can say about it really.
It offers complementary shuttle service to and from O'Hare, which is nice, but kind of expected given the location.
Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 365-0065
The Westin Buckhead
Category:
Hotels
Neighborhood: Buckhead
I didn't eat in the restaurant, but I got room service breakfast, and it was good, but it cost $20. I'd say that it isn't worth it, but rarely is room service ever a good value.
The bathroom was nice and spacious, but also had a lot of wasted space - you could have put a dozen people in there (not sure why you would, but you could if you wanted to), but the toilet, sink and shower were all pretty close to each other.
A colleague also staying in the hotel said that his bathroom seemed like it had been half renovated - it was clean, but there was an odd mix of hardware, ranging from gold to polished silver to matte nickel.
The hotel had one of my pet peeves - a lack of power outlets. I actually did some ironing in the bathroom, since there wasn't a convenient place in the entire room to plug in the iron. Leaving my cell phone (also my alarm) plugged in overnight required moving furniture and unplugging lamps. People now have cell phones, laptops and ipods.. every modern hotel room should have plenty of outlets, including some convenient to the bed.
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Barre, VT
Yelping SinceNovember 2007
Things I Loveblogging, buffalo wings, Yelp, music, BBQ, New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, Writing, Reading, Cooking, Barbecue, The White Stripes, The Eels, Ryan Adams, Aerosmith
Find Me InFiguring out this Vermont thing
My HometownWoonsocket, RI
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I enjoy cooking, listen to music, and doing my marketing gig
Why You Should Read My ReviewsEnjoy writing and want to contribute to the Yelp community
My Second Favorite Website The Last Great Book I ReadGood Omens
My First ConcertPeter Paul & Mary when I was, like, 7, then it was Aerosmith
My Favorite MoviePulp Fiction
My Last Meal On EarthMy Barbecue
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...Bay City Rollers' greatest hits is on my iPod
Most Recent DiscoveryThe Alchemist brewpub
Current Crushthe Green Mountains
For appetizers, we tried the cheesy fries with bacon and some buffalo wings. the wings were better than the last time I had them, perfectly cooked, and the sauce was spicy and buttery. The cheese fries were good - especially the fries, and the super crispy bacon. The cheese sauce was basically cheese wiz - which isn't bad, but it would be easy to elevate it with a few chopped chives for a fresh bite, and the fries could have used some salt.
We both had burgers, and once again the fries were excellent, as were my onion rings. Both burgers tasted good, but were cooked past the medium that we asked for - my wife's more than mine. If the burger had been cooked properly, it would have been a much better meal.
Another stumbling point was the time it takes for the food to come out - it took a very long time for our appetizers to come out. The service is good however - I think it continues to be an issue of timing with the kitchen.