I think its only fair to give a breakdown of my rating scale. Every one is different when it comes to numbers, especially when it comes to grading. I grade on a scale of 61-100:
96-100: I will not eat this particular dish ANY WHERE but here.
91-95: One of the top 3 places I have ever eaten this item
86-90: Top 10%- Will recommend this dish to any one
81-85: Quality food, would give it a secondary recommendation to friends
76-80: Ate it, kept it down, would order it again
71-75: Finished it, but wouldn't order it again
66-70: Slop, I was hungover and had to put something in my stomach
61-65: Not able to eat more than 2 bites
Of course, this can chagne when I feel like it, or if I become a more descriptive writer. Until then, this is a very, very ,very, very, very good ratings scale.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Summer Shack
Place: Jasper Whites Summer Shack
Date: 1/23/2010
Meal: Bowl of New England Clam Chowder ($9.00)
Drink: Jack Daniels and Coke
Saturday night I went out with my friend Steve an his special lady friend Meaghan. They had some friends in from out of town who wanted seafood, so I suggested we head over to B&G Oysters in the South End. When we called for reservations, they only had 4:30pm and 10:30pm times available. Steve and Meaghan wanted to go for drinks later in the night, so 10:30 was out, and due to the fact that I am not a 79 year old living in Florida, we decided that 4:30 was too early and we would have to go some where else. I allowed them to make the choice and they settled on Jasper Whites Summer Shack near Massachusetts Ave.
Being from Rhode Island and living/college in Boston for the past 8 years of my life, I consider my self to be an expert on a few things:
Due to the fact that I had a fully cooked ham at home, I wasn't in the mood to have a huge meal, so I decided to go with a bowl of new England Clam Chowder. When it comes to chowder, I'm definitely a white kind of guy, tomato based chowder never really did it for me.
Every one else had their appetizers while I had some complimentary corn bread and a Jack Daniels and Coke. HGTV was in town filming a reality show about some lady who builds houses. I spent most of the night trying to get my face in some of the shots.
My chowder came out with every one else's main course.
When grading a clam chowder I consider four things:
So in reverse order here's how the chowder broke down.
The crackers were large oyster crackers, but were very hard and tough to chew, and not in a good way. No extra taste to them, just dry, hard, cardboard. (Grade D+)
The broth was OK. Not very thick, but not watery like some places. It was serviceable. (Grade C+)
Clams were fine, enough of them that I could find them, but not overpowering. (Grade C)
The problem I had with the potatoes was the inconsistency. Some were hard as a rock, some were firm, and some were mushy. Some were gigantic sized, and some were quartered. (Grade C-)
The total volume of chowder was fine, they said it was a bowl, it was a bowl, no complaints about serving size from me (Grade B)
The fact that I was eating in Boston allowed the $9.00 price tag for a bowl of chowder to be reasonable. I won't take off any points. (Value Grade: Understandable)
So I ate the chowder, I kept it down, and i didn't get sick, over all i don't think I would eat this again. Grade out of a hundred for Jasper Whites Summer Shack: 72/100
Date: 1/23/2010
Meal: Bowl of New England Clam Chowder ($9.00)
Drink: Jack Daniels and Coke
Saturday night I went out with my friend Steve an his special lady friend Meaghan. They had some friends in from out of town who wanted seafood, so I suggested we head over to B&G Oysters in the South End. When we called for reservations, they only had 4:30pm and 10:30pm times available. Steve and Meaghan wanted to go for drinks later in the night, so 10:30 was out, and due to the fact that I am not a 79 year old living in Florida, we decided that 4:30 was too early and we would have to go some where else. I allowed them to make the choice and they settled on Jasper Whites Summer Shack near Massachusetts Ave.
Being from Rhode Island and living/college in Boston for the past 8 years of my life, I consider my self to be an expert on a few things:
- Sneaky ways to get free food
- Best time and place to scalp tickets to sporting events and concerts
- Mass-holes
- Sea Food; and in particular New England Clam Chowder
Due to the fact that I had a fully cooked ham at home, I wasn't in the mood to have a huge meal, so I decided to go with a bowl of new England Clam Chowder. When it comes to chowder, I'm definitely a white kind of guy, tomato based chowder never really did it for me.
Every one else had their appetizers while I had some complimentary corn bread and a Jack Daniels and Coke. HGTV was in town filming a reality show about some lady who builds houses. I spent most of the night trying to get my face in some of the shots.
My chowder came out with every one else's main course.
When grading a clam chowder I consider four things:
- Potato size/texture
- amount and feel of clams
- Broth.
- type of crackers/croutons that accompany the soup.
So in reverse order here's how the chowder broke down.
The crackers were large oyster crackers, but were very hard and tough to chew, and not in a good way. No extra taste to them, just dry, hard, cardboard. (Grade D+)
The broth was OK. Not very thick, but not watery like some places. It was serviceable. (Grade C+)
Clams were fine, enough of them that I could find them, but not overpowering. (Grade C)
The problem I had with the potatoes was the inconsistency. Some were hard as a rock, some were firm, and some were mushy. Some were gigantic sized, and some were quartered. (Grade C-)
The total volume of chowder was fine, they said it was a bowl, it was a bowl, no complaints about serving size from me (Grade B)
The fact that I was eating in Boston allowed the $9.00 price tag for a bowl of chowder to be reasonable. I won't take off any points. (Value Grade: Understandable)
So I ate the chowder, I kept it down, and i didn't get sick, over all i don't think I would eat this again. Grade out of a hundred for Jasper Whites Summer Shack: 72/100
The Penny Test
One thing I forgot to mention in the last post, when ever I cook something at home, or bring some food back from a restaurant, I put it to the 'Penny Test'.
I give some to my English Bulldog Money-Penny (She's a big fan of 007) and see if she will eat it. The Ham and the Potatoes passed the Penny test. Here is a quick video of her getting restless and wanting some ham.
-Henri
I give some to my English Bulldog Money-Penny (She's a big fan of 007) and see if she will eat it. The Ham and the Potatoes passed the Penny test. Here is a quick video of her getting restless and wanting some ham.
-Henri
Friday, January 22, 2010
My first food post. It's Ham-centric
I’ve subsisted on food for the better part of my 26 years on this planet. I started with Gerber's baby food, and have since graduated to solids, which is a blessing, because if I had to eat one more can of mashed green beans, I might have gone on a nationwide killing spree.
The first meal I am going to post about is what I had for dinner tonight. Glazed HAM. That's right. Though raised Jewish, I love a good ham. How can you not? Why would God give us this amazing animal that provides so much for us, asks for nothing but slop, and not want us to butcher it, drain its blood, and consume its meat?
My all time Favorite Simpson's episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" puts it succinctly:
Homer: Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute. Lisa honey, are you
saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about
bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad! Those all come from the same animal!
Homer: Yeah right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thing I ate: Glazed Ham
Side item thing I ate: Mashed Sweet Potato
After getting out of Work around 4:30, I got home and through the ham in the oven (2hrs at 280*), and about one hour later I quartered the sweet potatoes and dropped them in a boiling pot of water. About 1:45 after throwing the ham into the oven I glazed it with the little pouch of glaze they give you.
Verdict:
Ham 87/100
Sweet Potatoes: 89/100
The ham was pre-sliced and came out nice, I saved the run off juices and have been eating the rest of the carcass over the week. Ham in omelets, Ham sandwiches, ham steak and eggs, so the overall grade for the ham goes up becuase of its versatility.
The Sweet potatoes were so good they got finished that night so the ham has been lonely in the fridge.
Hello inter-web!
(ummm. Is this thing on?)
Well any way, before I start and get right into food; healthy and processed, organic, non-organic, meat based, fish based, human based (mmm…..soilent green)- I think it’s only fair to give you a little back ground information, about myself, about my eating habits, and anything else I want to tell you.
First, I was born a poor black child in Mississippi, but after thinking about it, I decided that career wise, it wasn’t the smartest decision, so as of November 12th 1983, I decided that I should be a nice Jewish boy.
And so it happened.
I am now a 26 year old resident of Boston. Below is a picture of my self, along with a picture of my stomach, so you can see that I enjoy eating.
(What's that crazy hole above my belly button? That's from the 7 month period when I couldn't swallow and had to "eat" through a tube! More on that later.)
(ummm. Is this thing on?)
Well any way, before I start and get right into food; healthy and processed, organic, non-organic, meat based, fish based, human based (mmm…..soilent green)- I think it’s only fair to give you a little back ground information, about myself, about my eating habits, and anything else I want to tell you.
First, I was born a poor black child in Mississippi, but after thinking about it, I decided that career wise, it wasn’t the smartest decision, so as of November 12th 1983, I decided that I should be a nice Jewish boy.
And so it happened.
I am now a 26 year old resident of Boston. Below is a picture of my self, along with a picture of my stomach, so you can see that I enjoy eating.
(What's that crazy hole above my belly button? That's from the 7 month period when I couldn't swallow and had to "eat" through a tube! More on that later.)
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