Restaurant.com

Apr9

Restaurant.com claims that you can get the best deals on the web by using their website. Having used their website, sometimes I got good deals and other times, it was a different story.

The normal cost of the certificates I have seen range from $5 – $40. The value may be $15 – $200. The way it works is that you pay a price for value at that restaurant. For example, I saw a “$25 off of $35 purchase” certificate that cost $10. At first glance this is a great deal. But you have to read the small print to see what is not included from the menu. Also, tax and 18% gratuity is added before deducting the certificate value.

Even if you only purchase $35 worth of food, your out of pocket costs at the restaurant will still be about $20. Add that to what you paid for the certificate, and your total out of pocket cost is $30. In essence, you only saved $5 by going through Restaurant.com. It is true that you still saved some money, but what the time and effort worth it? It depends on what you wanted.

When I went to San Francisco, I planned my dinners around what certificates I had. Since I did not know where I wanted to eat, I checked Restaurant.com, looked over the restaurant menus, and other websites for restaurant reviews. When I go to Atlanta, I check to see what is available also. If I have a taste for a certain cuisine, I might check to see what restaurants they have. Since I am not saving an extreme amount of money, I look at the certificate value also.

The bottom line is that if I am going to a restaurant with a coupon (which is what this essentially is), I want to feel as if I am getting some savings. If I have to pay a lot (yes, this is arbitrary and can mean different things to different people) in my opinion, the whole certificate purchasing process is not worth it. The way that I try to maximize my deal is to buy the certificates on sale. They regularly have 70% and 80% off certificates prices. Instead of paying $10, I would pay $2 or $3 for a certificate with $25 value. However, for many of the fancier restaurants, the promo codes do not apply.

I recommend using Restaurant.com but do the math first to make sure you are mentally prepared for what you will have to pay at the restaurant. Using their certificates does not slash your restaurant cost drastically, but it will reduce them.

Farmer’s Shed – Lexington SC

Feb8

Farmer’s Shed is another triple D (Diners Drive-Ins and Dives) pick located in Lexington, SC

This is a Southern food joint with different meats and sides for each day Monday through Friday. The allure of this place is that it is located next to their farm where a lot of the vegetables are grown. I was fortunate to have a vacation day on a Wednesday and was able to visit. The food was so good!!!!

I ordered the cranberry pork chop because I like all things pork. I was served a thick cut pork chop with cranberry/meat broth drippings. I do not even think that is the proper way to describe it. The cranberries were not too sweet or too tart. In any case, the pork-cranberry flavors worked very well together. After I finished my plate, I wanted more. The collard greens were some of the best that I have tasted in a restaurant. I think they might even have rivaled Daddy Dz (Atlanta, GA) and that is saying a lot. Their cornbread has a little sugar on top before they bake it and so there is a little crunch on the top. It went very well with the collards. The hint of salt from the collards paired with the hint of sweet from the cornbread had my taste buds performing gymnastic flips of

joy in my mouth. At one point, I had to close my eyes to fully enjoy the experience.

If you have read any of my other posts featuring restaurants that have been featured on TV, you know that I hold the restaurants to a higher standard than normal. If a place is rumored to be so good that it is on TV, the food quality has to be perfect. Sometimes Southern food restaurants fall short because the food is not as flavorful as it appears to be on TV. I can say that is NOT the case with Farmer’s Shed. This restaurant is worth all the accolades they have received. I wished that I lived closer so that I could go there every day. I am already trying to figure out how I can get there on a Friday. There Friday menu

looks really good too.

Overall: Farmer’s Shed is definitely worth a trip! Check out their menu beforehand so that you can decide what you want to eat. Otherwise, you
might to order one of everything 😀

Xbox with Kinect

Feb5

I only bought my Xbox because of the Kinect. I was intrigued by the next level of advancement of motion sensor gaming. In contrast to the Wii, with the Kinect there are no batteries are needed because your body is the controller. I was able to buy Xbox 4GB console and Kinect on sale for around $250. There are several memory options of the Xbox console, but if you are not a real serious gamer like me, the 4GB is fine. However if, you want to play games like Halo, Call of Duty, or Far Cry, you might be better off splurging for the 250GB console (which is going to be about $100 more expensive). If you don’t, you might end up running out of memory and have to buying the larger memory console later. Save yourself the time and money and buy what you need the first time around.

When using the Kinect, you need a lot of room. A good playing area is about 6-8 feet away from the sensor. They recommend at least 10 feet if there are 2 players. I play in an area less than 6 feet, so my head is a little cut off on the projection image. This means that on some games I am lose points because the sensor does not full recognize my movements. But for the most part, the sensor does a pretty good job of knowing where I am and what movements I am trying to make.

If you buy the Kinect new, you will probably have the Kinect Adventures game to come with it. Since the Kinect is fairly new, most of the Kinect games are going to be the most expensive. From what I have seen, the average prices start at about $40. Most of the games that I want are $50, so I am waiting for sales and specials. During the Christmas holidays, there were Amazon specials and I was able to get Dance Central 2 for $30 (regular price $50) and The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout for $20 (regular price $40).

I can rent games from Blockbuster, but since the Kinect games are newer, it cost $2-3 a day unless I buy the gaming subscription. I have Blockbuster Online which allows me to put games in my queue. As of yet, I have not received any games because there is a long wait for all the Kinect games.

Overall, I love my Xbox with Kinect. It is worth the money spent. I am able to exercise without feeling like I am doing a workout. So far, I have lost 5 pounds. I am motivated to keep on playing my games and burning off the pounds.

Bodies exhibition

Jan27

If you are fascinated by the human body, YOU have to check out this exhibit. If you are studying to be in the medical field, YOU need to see
this exhibit.
You will have a whole new appreciation for bodily functions and motions that you took for granted. Examine the body from the inside out-circulatory, digestive, muscular, and all the other systems. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Although, it was difficult to go through the section about unborn bodies. It is sad to know that a life ended before it really got a chance to start.

I was inspired to exercise after seeing this. I heart my body and I want to take care of myself the best way I know how.
And in other thoughts, I do not know how someone can study the body in detail and not be convinced there is a Creator. The intelligence that was needed to make our body is definitely out of this world!

John’s Water Ice – Philly PA

Jan4

I did not know about water ice until I was in Philadelphia, PA (maybe I knew but didn’t pay attention). On this particular summer day, I was hot and wanted something sweet and cold to eat. I took a chance by going to John’s Water Ice. I think in the backof my mind I thought that I might have heard of water ice before from one of the many travelling food show that I watch (but I could not be sure). I was so glad that I tried it.

This is the ultimate icee. I love this shaved ice that has the texture of ice cream even though it is small ice pieces. I chose Cherry because
that is my favorite summertime flavor. The flavor was sweet like fruit punch or HiC without the syrupy aftertaste.

It was so good, I am hesitant to try any other water ice. I don’t know how anyone could make a water ice any better. I would rather revel in
this memory instead of spoiling it by eating a mediocre water ice. And the next time I am in Philly, I know where to go for a delicious cool treat.