Tag Archive | review

Scotch paper cutter review

I have scissors, but I bought into the hype when I saw the Scotch paper cutter on the scrap-booking aisle in Wal-mart. This would be great for all kinds of projects. The instructions said that all I have to do is insert the paper at the point that I wanted to cut and it slides through, cutting the paper.
I thought that this paper cutter would be very useful for cutting coupons. It was not as easy as anticipated. I soon found out that their ingenious design does not ensure straight cut. It can be awkward to try to cut the paper while trying to hold the edges steady. If you do not do that, you will not have a straight cut. My first few attempts at freehand cutting resulted in coupons missing their expiration dates. After I began my cut, I had to hold both edges of the paper steady. Then the cuts were straight and clean.
However, when I used the cutter to trim up some invitations, the cutter was quick and easy to use. I did not have to hold the paper steady. It says on the package that it is not for intricate cutting or heavy weight applications. I agree. It is best to only use this cutter for cutting that does not need to be precise. It is very easy to make a mistake and cut off what you did not want to cut. And when I tried to cut heavy cardstock paper and it did not work too well either. The cutter would catch on the paper and cut a jagged edge.
The best type of paper to cut with this cutter is a light cardstock. Something that is stiff enough that you do not have to hold it, but not too stiff that it jams the cutter, will have straight clean cuts using the Scotch paper cutter. If your paper is lightweight, like coupons or regular paper, you need to hold the paper to ensure a straight cut. If your paper is light like tissue paper, do not use the paper cutter. It will tear the paper to shreds.
If you do not have this tool when you are cutting paper for
scrapbooking, you will not miss it. But if you find in the store and it is on sale, you might as well buy it.

Pro: helps ensure a straight cut
Con: Only for straight cuts. You still need scissors for detailed cutting
Bottom line: nice to have but not worth a special purchase.

La Torta

Sep8

<> Hola mi gente!
When I was in Mexico City in 2009, my friends took me to this wonderful little restaurant called La Torta.
These days I am not sure about the safety of trying to find this restaurant on your own if you are not already living in Mexico City. I think that it is well known since they have been around since the 60’s. I do not have a very good idea where this place is in relation to anything in the city. I know we were walking in the looking for something to eat. We passed China town and probably a few blocks later we found La Torta.

If you by any chance can get to this restaurant, you will not regret it. The food was delicious. I had the torta al pastor (small pork cuts with chili and spice seasoning torta). Tortas are sandwiches on thick bread usually with some type of meat, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, salsa. The meat at La Torta was seasoned and cooked to perfection. Even the guacamole was good.

To drink, my friends and I shared a jarra of agua de piña (pitcher of pineapple water). I think the recipe for this is pineapple juice, sugar, water. I do not know the measurements to replicate. But I do know that this is very refreshing. I know that some people will probable gasp that I drank the water, but this place used purified water. So my weak tourist stomach did not get sick.

If you are ever in downtown Mexico City, have your local friends take you to La Torta. You won’t regret the food or the experience. YUM!

Atlanta restaurant review – Veni Vidi Veci

Sep6

I was in Atlanta November 2010 and wanted some really good Italian food. I did not want to go to a chain restaurant but wanted to visit a place with a little more personality. My friend recommended going downtown to Veni Vedi Veci. I checked the website and saw they recommended making reservations. They use Open Table reservation system so it was easy and quick to reserve a table. Unfortunately for me, Atlanta traffic was going to make me late for my original reservation time. I called the restaurant and changed the time with no problem. The person that answered the phone was polite and courteous. At one point on my way to the restaurant I was lost, I called the restaurant again and the person gave me directions. Once I finally arrived, the valet parked my car and I went inside.

The hostess took my name and seated me almost immediately. I wanted to taste everything on their menu because it looked so delicious. I decided to go for the three course menu for $29.

For my Antipasti, I chose shrimp polenta. I thought this was a fitting dish for an Italian restaurant located in the South since people love to eat shrimp and grits. The shrimp were very tasty and not overcooked. The texture was firm but not tough. The polenta was creamy and cheesy. I am not a big fan of polenta, but I can say this was probably some of the best tasting that I have ever tried.

For my Primi, I chose rigatoni with sweet peppers. Only one word to describe this dish: SUPERB. It was really good. It was not spicy for those people who cannot handle

For my Secondi, I chose Trota Salmonata. This was Idaho Red Trout cooked with olive oil and parsley, served with potatoes. The skin on the trout was crispy, while the fish flaked apart without much effort. It tasted very fresh.

For dessert, I decided to try their strawberry with marscapone pizza. The server did not describe this dish very well and I was disappointed. It was a pizza (dough was not sweet) with strawberries (that were not sweet) and marscapone cheese (that was not really sweet). And it was served hot. So after the light delicious flavors from dinner, I had this warm not quite sweet, not quite savory pizza. I tried to eat just the strawberries, but eventually gave up on that. Since I love my desserts, this was a disappointment. If they had added more sugar, I think that it might have tasted better. The overall concept had promise, but there was a lot missing in the execution.

Overall, I would go here again. Next time, I would probably not experiment on the desserts and just go with cheesecake. It is hard to screw up cheesecake.

ADDRESS:

Veni Vidi Vici

41 Fourteenth Street Atlanta, GA 30309

Cross Street:

(404) 875-8424

Crave big breakfast

Sep5

After finishing my corn muffin, I turned my attention to my Big Breakfast. The pancake was the size of the plate, I ended eating that for 2 days! So much food! The potatoes were seasoned with some herbs and were very tasty. The bacon was crispy perfection also.

Everything about this meal was awesome. Coupled with the fast, friendly service and this brunch was a good experience.
Crave was my plan B for brunch this day, but next time they will be the first choice.

http://www.cravemtp.com

Crave corn muffin

Sep5

Crave in Mt Pleasant, SC has the most delicious little corn muffins that they serve with their brunch items on Sunday. It was moist but held together well. It was a little sweet but not overly so that it tasted like cake. I thought it was perfect. I would go back just to have another corn muffin.