James "amishjim" S.'s Profile

Ahhh The Rusty Dory! I started going there a year or so ago. I stop in once or twice a week. It's a pretty big bar split across 2 rooms with a bar and tables in each. They have plenty of beers and quite a few on tap. It has a dive bar atmosphere. They have a kitchen, too. All I've had are the wings and tater skins and they are always good. I can't think of an reason to take stars away.

It was a Sunday afternoon in April. Walking into Culpeppers, you are greeted by a Fridays/Cheers theme, unrelated crap all up on the walls to look cool.  The patrons were casual, tshirts and jeans types. The employees were indistinguishable in their casual attire.There's a couple bars and a couple dining rooms and I think a pool table upstairs. There was 4 of us and we sat ourselves, and then waited. ...

...and waited...

Even as plenty of staff wandered about no one seemed to want to wait on us. They would look at us out of the corners of their eyes as they moved about.(-1) We finally pretty much forced a server to get our drink order at least. She said Domestic pitchers were $5 and change and Imported Pitchers were $7 and change. Not a bad deal, for $5 I'm getting  a pitcher of Dogfish Head 60 Minute and was informed after I ordered that Dogfish was an Import. I said, well actually the brewery was in Delaware, a state connected to Pennsylvania. She said Culpeppers considers all craft brews "Imported", which in our fair Commonwealth is ILLEGAL.! (-1) Just call it "Premium" pitchers, easy fix. She passed off our drink orders to someone else and then we waited some more. For the amount of staff milling about and the fact that there was only 3 tables seated when we got there, it was pretty pathetic.(-1)

A 6 top sat down at the next table after us and somehow ordered before us?(-1)

Wake me when it's time to order.....

Oh we can order now? Do you have any suggestions, Miss Server? Yeah, just get a burger. We asked if they were big and she demonstrated a burger the size of a cookie with her hands. We all laughed. I ordered the Buffalo Bill Chicken sandwich for $8 that came with no sides. Then guess what we did?

Now the place is getting a little busier, still no food and the other guys can't get drink refills. Thats money lost, right there. The 6 tops food came, so we were hopeful ours was soon and it was about another 10 minutes. I mean we are talking over an hour now without food and the others only one drink..

Oh, here's your 8 dollar Buffalo chicken sandwich. 1 frozen chicken breast, some Buffalo sauce on a roll.(-1)hahahahaahahahahaha I guess they think a plate of their frozen seasoned fries are a feature worth paying extra for. Nah.

If you want premium prices, I want premium product. All in all I don't think I'd eat here again, but I would drink here when the pitcher sale was on. $7 for a pitcher of  Dogfish Head is a go.

I was on my way to another BBQ joint out past Century III mall when I spied Rowdy, so I stopped. They have your basic roadside BBQ faire and I tried the Buffalo Pulled Chicken sandwich and Mac & Cheese. After a short wait in the cold, the lady tapped on the glass to let me know I could begin. The Buffalo Pulled Chicken was tasty, it would have been out of this world if not for the cold, untoasted roll(-1). Cold sandwich, cold bread, hot sandwich, hot bread. I hate when this basic tenant is broken. It's like putting a meal on a cold plate, boooo. The Mac & Cheese was a spicy one, with some peppers in it for zing, very tasty. Drinks are refillable. Everything was really good and I will certainly be back.

All Clad makes some of the best professional cookware there is. Go into any restaurant and there will be All Clad pots and pans. The great thing about living close to the factory is the big sale they have once a year in the parking lot. Good times. I had a set at home until my Mom opened her diner and I donated them to the cause.

It was a Thursday afternoon around 2 and I was on my way to Smokey Bones in Cranberry. I caught the Blue Water Tavern sign out of the corner of my eye and decided to give it a try. My visions of a tavern lunch were soon quashed as I walked in and there was absolutely nothing "Tavern" about it. "Grille", perhaps. Tavern? Hardly.(-1)
There was a couple good beers and I had a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, which I had to ask for a glass for. Bartenders need to start paying attention to their craft, bottled beer should always come with a glass(-1). There seemed to be plenty of wines, tho, another mark towards the Grille moniker opposed to Tavern. The menu had no real standouts or appetizers, well I think they were camouflaged as "Tapas".. But, at $10 each I really didn't want a $20 lunch. I ended up going with the Buffalo Chicken sandwich and "Fresh, Handcut" fries. After I ordered, I sat and checked in on FourSquare and yelp on my phone and started reading the reviews. For a second I thought about just paying for the beer and leaving, the reviews were making me think I had made a mistake. This made me dread my decision staying(-1 negative publicity).
My meal came promptly and I got a good laugh at the 9, yes nine, French Fries in all their Fresh glory. The sandwich was a good size and for as cheap as potatoes are, they really wasted a chance to fill out the plate a little for next to nothing and send the customer home full for less than 18 cents.(-1) It was a heavy hand that dealt the seasoned salt onto the fried potato, but they did taste good.The Buffalo Chicken sandwich tasted good,(+1) but the roll was fresh and soft and the sauce soaked in and made it soggy. If the bun was toasted, it would have been perfect.(-1)  I feel sandwiches that are "hot" should come with toasted bread, anyways.
I laid a 20 up and the bartender gave me back 3 dollars and change. And I thought, wait, a sandwich, 9 fries and a beer. 6 dollars for the Dogfish Head. Now I know its not Bud or Miller Lite, but I drink it all the time and it's usually between 4 and 5 bucks. There is nothing there that makes this beer worth 6 dollars, that I had to beg for a glass for.(-1)
I left a faux tavern hungry and disappointed, o wait, I knew it was going to be bad..I would give them No Stars and suggest eating at Sheetz across the street.

**Update 06MAR11- I have stopped up there twice this week and there was a handwritten note "Closed". I hope this is not permanent.**

Yum Yum Dim Sum! I must say, initially the reason I ate here was because they own the Laundry place next door and that's where I did my Laundry when I lived in Oakdale.
What struck me as odd compared to most Chinese restaurants was that Chinese people actually ate there. In fact, most times I go, I'm the only non Chinese. Their Savory Dumplings are very tasty. I like when I ask for my Spicy Chicken or General Tso's to be very spicy and they laugh at me. Reassuring, haha. The waitresses there are very attentive and fun, always smiles. You will feel very welcome here. They have a Sushi bar, that I've never seen used, a liquor/beer bar, a sadly, unused karaoke machine and a couple huge family style tables with lazy susans in the middle to eat family style.

Kaya, a really nice spot in the Strip District. One of my favorites to go to. They have a great selection of beer and super friendly staff. The appetizers are pretty tasty, too. Not your usual cheese sticks and tater skins. We had Jerk Chicken and something fishy that I didn't eat.

Off and on through out my life I've been crafty, like a fox mostly, but crafty. Pat Catan's is one of the few places that you can get almost, almost everything you need to make some pretty cool stuff. I usually leave missing something, like every time(-1). Now if all I did was stamping or collage, maybe they'd have it. The other good thing is that on a Saturday morning it's packed with girls, ladies, women, you know what I mean :D

As you may have noticed in other reviews, I am not a Pizza Hut fan.  The Pizza Hut that the website assigns to me is a Wing Street version of Pizza Hut. Which, I love. ha. 162 flavors, Wing Street touts. I get the Blazing Hot. So Hot, that I get the hiccups every time I eat one. I like the Pan Pizza that Pizza Hut made famous. My only real beef with Pizza Hut is exactly that: where's the beef? Topping portion is lacking. For the 2 bux a topping you should get nice coating. The Pepperoni Lovers barely has any, in fact you can usually see the cheese on top of the crust.(-1)

I had to stop a second and think: What is my major complaint with Doughboy's?. hmmmm. None. I love their pie. It's not a traditional fluffy crust type. It's a little heavier, but that matches their toppings. They have a 2 topping 12 incher that is 2 meals for me. It's 8 bucks, not too bad. The sausage is ground and they heap it on, m m m m yummy. They also have some great wings