Recommendend Products

My most recent addition to my website is a page on Recommended Products. It is a short review of 5 products which i find particularly useful. Check the link out here, http://blonorestaurantreview.webs.com/recommendedproducts.htm

In this article I review and recommend Stride Spearmint Gum, Lawry’s Black Pepper Season Salt, a Garmin Nuvi GPS, Frank’s Red Hot, and a Bloomington Wall Map. The Stride is my favorite gum. I like the Spearmint because it is not over powering but provides just enough mintiness. The Black Pepper Season Salt is also a favorite of mine. It is great on just about every food imaginable. If you are interested in the whole reviews and the other products click the link above and read some more. If you like what you read then click the product link and purchase for great values on Amazon.

P.S.

The pumpkin seeds turned out excellent. They were the perfect amount of savory and crunchy. They were so good that I wish that I had another pumpkin so I can cook up another batch. I am going to go out and get another pumpkin and try another flavor of seeds. I read some recipes about other ways to season them. The one I really want to try next is worcestershire sauce, garlic, and butter. There is also a recipe for cinnamon brown sugar. I will let you know how these turn out. Thanks for reading.

Pumpkin Seeds

So today I started a new cooking project that I have never done on my own before. I am making toasted pumpkin seeds. This started when I went home to my parent’s house earlier in the day to pick up some things for the upcoming winter season. I saw that my mother had made some seeds of her own. They were slightly burnt but I still had a bunch of them. Even though they were a little extra toasted the seeds still had a great flavor and that distinct pumpkin taste.

So when I got back today I picked up my girlfriend we got a medium sized pumpkin. I went to work cutting of the top and, for lack of a better word, gutting the insides out. This is a messy job and my apartment still smells like a pumpkin. After I gutted it my girlfriend started carving it up. She is the artistic one so I let her do her thing on that. While she was carving I went into the kitchen and started separating the pulp and stingy matter from the seeds. This was not easy task folks. I am sure that I missed some bits and pieces but I can live with that. I got most of the big pieces and ran the rest of the seeds under water until most of the goop and other pulpy stuff. When I was satisfied I put them in a bowl with salt and water and I am going to let them soak over night. Tomorrow afternoon I am going to oil them and salt them. I will toast them and let you know how it turns out. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments please leave them below and have a great Halloween!

Ramen Experiment

Today I will be discussing a staple of college life. No not beer, but that is a favorite of mine, and everyone I know. No, today I will be talking about Ramen Noodles. These bricks of noodles have been feeding college students for decades. I know that this not the best food in the world but it is super cheap. At only about 20 cents these little bricks of noodles are incredibly affordable. But how can you put a good spin on this boring staple?

Recently I have been experimenting with ways to improve this simple food. My first experiment was to add onions to the mix. I cut up a bunch of red onions and put them in with the boiling broth. By the time that the noodles were ready the onions were cooked to perfection. They were soft and tasty and added to the soup quite nicely.

The next thing I tried was adding some chicken meat. I cooked a small breast on my George Foreman grill and seasoned it to my liking. When it was done I diced the chicken and put it in with the soup. This turned out ok but it wasn’t great. So instead I tried to combine the onions and chicken and this turned out great.

I am going to keep trying new things and I will keep you up to date on this idea. I also want to hear what ideas you have for this new experiment. Just leave me a comment on the blog post below. Thanks and keep on reading!

How to Save Money

Are you like me these days? Broke but still hungry? In this post I will be going over a few money saving tips about eating out. I will have written on this topic before (http://blonorestaurantreview.blogspot.com/2009/08/staying-full-without-going-broke.html ) so this post is going to be a brief overview of a few of these tips, tricks, and suggestions.

1. Look for specials

I know that this sounds fairly obvious but a lot of times restaurants offer daily specials. This can be a great way to save some cash but still get a good meal. I know that Garden of Paradise offers daily specials for all days of the week except Sunday. I have gotten a few of these in the past and it is a great deal. You get a full meal for a few dollars off regular price. Not too shabby.

2. Split a Meal

Going on a date but afraid you can’t afford it? Well one solution you can try is splitting a meal. I know several restaurants like Chili’s and Applebee’s are offering deal were you can split an appetizer and have two entrees for $20. If you think about it this can be a great deal. If you were to get an appetizer for $5 or $6, and entrees for around $8 to $12 you would end up spending a lot more than $20.

3. Make Yourself Dinner

I know that cooking is not everyone’s favorite past time and that some people are just plain bad at it. But this is a great way to spend less and get more. I suggest buying items that can be made in large portions. I like to make spaghetti and when I do I make a LOT of spaghetti. I find that I spend about $10 or so and end up eating the spaghetti several times over the next week or so. This is, in my opinion, the easiest and most efficient way to save money while still eating well.

Americana

Today I am on my way to St Louis with my parents and my girlfriend for the Rams and Colts football game. We stopped in a little town of Litchfield about 30 minutes south of Springfield on Interstate 55. This is only significant because we stopped for lunch/breakfast and it was amazing. We stopped at a small bakery/diner called Jubelt’s Bakery. It was what my Grandpa would refer to as Americana. We walked in and passed the bakery that was full of Halloween cookies, pies, and other assorted pastries. But I wasn’t there for dessert. I was on a mission to have some good home town cooking. Everyone else ordered breakfast but I could not turn away from the home made pork tenderloin.

The sandwich was not like any other tenderloin I had ever had before. Usually when I think tenderloin I think of the large flat pressed meat patty that sticks out 3 inches from the bun in all directions. But not this tenderloin. This sandwich was the loin in its natural form. It was all the same size as a normal tenderloin but this was thick and about the size of the bun. It was served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and honey mustard with a side of steak fries. The fries were very good but I wasted no time and energy on these when that tenderloin was just waiting for me. I took the first bite and the juices rushed out and down my chin. This was amazing except for the fact that it was fresh out of the deep fryer and now I have a small burn on my bottom lip. But this was only a minor setback I attacked that sandwich full heartedly and as I write this post I am in the backseat of the car, stuffed to the brim.

Well its time for the game. Have a great day and thanks for reading.

McAllister's Deli

Today I went to lunch with my girlfriend at McAllister’s in the Bone Student Center. She works there so we get a pretty good discount on days that she works. Other ways I would not go to McAllister’s because I think that it is too pricy for what it is. This being said I do like their food. The menu consists mainly of sandwiches but there are few other options besides a simple sandwich. And there are a lot of sandwich choices. In this post I will talk about of few of my McAllister’s favorites in hopes that it will someday help you with their HUGE menu.
On the sandwich side there is ton of variety. There are options for everyone. Today, and every day, my girlfriend get The Big Cheese with her own additions including lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, honey mustard, and some others, I had a bite and it was far superior to other cheese sandwiches. There’s also a sandwich called The Big Nasty. The Big Nasty is roast beef, McAllister’s famous “come back” gravy, and cheddar cheese served on a piece of open face 12” Italian bread that is toasted. There are also many many more options that I do not have time to go into here.
There are also choices beyond sandwiches. For instance McAllister’s offers a wide variety of “Spuds” or baked potatoes. Today I had the Spud Ole, it is two potatoes with chili, melted cheddar cheese, and jalapenos. They also offer several soups each day including a great chicken tortilla soup. For those of you looking to count calories there are also some healthier options like salads. Whatever you choose to have I think that you will like it. Whether you like the price tag or not is another story.

The Economy and Tipping

Recently I have noticed a trend in the service I have been receiving at restaurants. Let me start by saying that I have noticed this at many restaurants but not all. I am not going to say were or when I have been noticing it but poor service has been on the rise around Bloomington-Normal. I do not necessarily blame the wait staff for this poor performance, I think there is a larger issue.

With the economy the way it has been in past year or so everyone is looking to cut out a bit of spending. This means that fewer and fewer people are eating out as often as they used to. This can lead to poor sales at restaurant. These restaurants then have to turn around and look to pinch pennies themselves. This often times means cutting hours for servers. When a restaurant cuts hours they put more pressure on the waiters and waitresses who are scheduled. They are required to cover more tables over a longer period of time. This would get to anyone and you cannot blame them for being frazzled at times.

I think it is important for all of us to remember that they are doing there jobs as best as they can. Waiters and waitresses earn below minimum wage and are dependent on tips to make up the lack of wage. So remember even if your dining experience isn’t the stellar outing you had hoped for always tip your staff. It is the most basic rule of dining out.

Fat Tire

Fat Tire is an amber ale brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company. This is one of my favorite beers and has been for a long time. New Belgium is a microbrewery based out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Fat Tire is a malty beer that is big on taste. I remember the first time I had it the person who gave it to me described it as tasting like burnt toast. I know that sounds kind of strange but it is true. Burnt toast has that very distinct bread taste that has been roasted and is robust and pungent. Well Fat tire has this taste as well as hints of caramel and biscuit.

The really cool thing about New Belgium is not only the fact that they make great beer but that they are just and all around cool company. The brewery is run completely by wind and solar polar and the water used is filtered on site by this alternative energy source. The company is also good to their employees. Every Friday every employee receives a free six pack of a New Belgium beer. Also on the employees work anniversary they receive one of the iconic bikes on the label of Fat Tire, of which I am extremely jealous.

Beningo's Restaurant

My family went out to eat at Beningo’s Restaurant in Bloomington for my Mother’s birthday. Located on the corner of Mason street and Chestnut Street Beningo’s is an authentic Italian restaurant that is run by a family. Many restaurants these days claim to be authentic this or authentic that but few can actually live up to this distinction. Beningo’s is one of these few.

The atmosphere was homely and intimate. We all order our meals and began our conversation for the night. When the food was brought out all of our jaws dropped. I ordered the Authentic Italian Sausage. It came with a side of any pasta and sauce combination on the menu. I choose mostacolli with tomato sauce. It came with a side salad and my choice of dressing, ranch. The salad itself could have been a meal it was so large. The main course came with two large homemade sausages, sautéed onions and peppers, and the pasta side. The sausages were a mix of sweet and spicy. They were some of the best sausage I have ever had in my life. The sautéed vegetables went into my pasta, they were originally served with the sausage but I mixed thins up a bit. The pasta was simply amazing. The noodles were cooked to the perfect al dente texture and were obviously homemade as well. The sauce was rich and flavorful. The portion was extremely large, especially for the small price tag that accompanied it. The meal which includes the salad and the pasta was only $11.75, which is a steal for how good the food was.

I strongly suggest that anyone who reads this blog get up from their chair and head directly to Beningo’s. It was the best authentic Italian food I have ever had.

Soup

So it’s been getting colder out lately and we don’t have too much time before winter is here. But don’t fret there are some perks to this time of year. The leaves are changing and the Constitution Trail has never looked more beautiful. It is time is wear hoodies all day. It is time to make soup.

Being in the mood of this season I decided it was time to break out the crock pot. My girlfriend has a bit of a cold so to make her feel better I decided to make my world famous, or at least it should be, cheesy potato soup. I have only made this soup a handful of times but it has been outstanding. I have never made this soup the same way twice because I don’t use a recipe. I usually go to the store and grab some cream of mushroom, cream of celery, chicken broth, potatoes, onions, and Velveeta cheese. I throw it all in the crock pot and let it sit all day. My girlfriend, my roommate, and I all had two bowlfuls and as I write this post we are all sitting on the couch completely stuffed. We still have leftovers and I am sure we will enjoy it again and again over the next few days.

I was inspired to make soup not only by the season but also by an amazing soup I had the other day at Garden of Paradise. If you have never heard of Garden of Paradise check out my post about it at http://blonorestaurantreview.blogspot.com/2009/09/garden-of-paradise.html or my review of it on my website at http://blonorestaurantreview.webs.com/gardenofparadise.htm . The soup I had at GOP was a wild rice and chicken vegetable. It was the soup of the day and it was amazing. Normally I am not a fan of wild rice but this was the exception. The rice added an amazing texture and flavor to this already delicious creamy soup. Check it out!

Favorite Posts

Today I am going to write a little bit about all of my work and the network that is bringing you Bloomington Normal Restaurant Review. I have been working on this project for about 2 months now and I am starting to see my dream com to fruition. It has been a lot of hard work but it is very rewarding. Thanks to everyone for the patronage and don’t forget to check out my sponsors.

Here are a few of my favorite things I have done in the past few months.

http://blonorestaurantreview.webs.com/lospotrillos.htm

This is my very first review. I was nervous about what I was doing and wanted it to sound as professional as possible. I ended spending a lot of time on this review. It is for Los Potrillos in Normal. It was very weird for me to go into a restaurant with a pencil and paper. I felt self conscious and thought the waiter might start asking questions. It only got worse when I started taking pictures of the food. But I got through and wrote one of the best reviews I have done to date. Check it out and learn about a great Mexican restaurant.

http://blonorestaurantreview.blogspot.com/2009/09/garden-of-paradise.html

This is a link to my favorite blog post. It was a mini-review of Garden of Paradise in Bloomington. I call it a mini-review because it was a condensed version of the one I posted on my website. The blog post is a little more bare boned than the full review, which you can find on my website at http://blonorestaurantreview.webs.com/gardenofparadise.htm. The blog post is just as good as the full review on the website but the website contains a bit more about each dish, the atmosphere, and even color pictures. It is definitely worth checking out.

Well those are just a few of my favorite posts. If you have a favorite let me know and leave a comment below. Thanks for reading.