Aww yeah, going to Puerto Vallarta on the 24th of February!
It should be fun. Erin was looking at all-inclusive, but that really wasn’t what I was looking for. So, instead, I found this nice bed and breakfast that is about 3 blocks from the beach (and the tourists) that we both thought would be fun. I can’t wait! :cheese:
Online purchasing has really changed the way people do their buying. However, there are definitely a few quirks that need to be ironed out. Case in point:
On Friday, I decided I wanted to get a book. So, first off I go and find out who has it, what the prices are, etc, online. Of course, I hit up amazon.com to begin with. It turns out they have the book for $35.99 with free shipping (and no tax). Then I remembered that there’s a Borders just down the street from my office. Not remember who Amazon was parnered with, I do a search for Borders, and turns out they were the large B&M store with the Amazon partnership. As you can see, it’s the same price at Borders as it is at Amazon.
I head down after work, not even sure if they’ll have the book, to find out that at the B&M store, it’s $59.99. I ask if they pricematch their own online store. They do not. So I leave with no book in hand. As soon as I got home, I went and ordered it online. The instore experience wasn’t that great either, with overcrowded aisles and unhelpful staff.
How can a store not keep the same price throughout? Is instant-gratification worth a 50% (including tax) markup to people? What, other than being able to thumb-through a book which wasn’t necissary in my purchase, do people think justifies this 50% markup?
Yesterday was the big game. It wasn’t bad, but then again, I couldn’t care less about the teams. So, instead lets talk about the other things surrounding the game. For those of you that don’t know, I’ve got HD TV at home, connected to a 50” plasma and a receiver for 5.1 surround sound. Watching any football game in HD is pretty cool, as the audio is mixed so that it actually utilizes all the speakers. This was the case for the SuperBowl, except for the half time show. Talk about udder crap. The music was very muted and sounded like it was coming out of a single speaker. The crowd noise was coming out of all speakers, but not the actual music. It’s like they piped the direct feed of the instruments and singing straight out to the nation without any mixing. It was lifeless and dull to say the least. I guess I shouldn’t complain, since the audio wasn’t even working at the beginning of the performance. It took a few lines before we even heard Mick singing.
Oh, and I also loved how in the song “Rough Justice”, ABC decided to censor the word “cocks.”
One time you were my baby chicken
Now you’ve grown into a fox
Once upon a time I was your little rooster
But am I just one of your cocks
Now on to the commercials. There were some that I enjoyed, and actually the only ones I remember. The rest weren’t that great at all. And for shame to the advertisers out there that are still not shooting and airing their commercials in HD.
FedEx Cavemen
Sprint Crime Prevention Phone
Bud Light Revolving Wall
Ameriquest
It seems like I haven’t been eating out all that much, or at least not talking about it here. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, it just seems as though nothing has been noteworthy enough to put here, or I’ve been going to the same place over and over (ala lunch). I mean, I could talk about Chipotle or Potbellys, but those are prevalent enough that I’m sure someone can just go.
Anyways, I’ve got a couple of reviews that I want to throw up here. Hopefully I’ll get two up today. Can you tell I don’t want to study? 🙂
Much like La Scorola, Amelia’s is a place that I go by quite a bit. Being that it’s just down the street from my apartment may have something to do with that, though. Anyways, what really got our attention was that we were at a movie a month or so ago, and there was actually an advertisement for Amelia’s while we were waiting. What further added to the story was that we weren’t at a theater in the city, but instead out in the suburbs. It seems like an odd crowd to be advertising to, but it seemed to work in our case.
Anyways, Erin and I headed there two nights ago. Everytime we’ve walked by the place has looked quite large, probably because it’s on the corner. However, upon going in and being seated, it wasn’t very big at all. In fact, there were probably only 10 tables in the dining room area. Granted, there was a bar, but that was quite secluded from everything. The inside was cozy though. The walls were painted a warm yellowish color, and the interior seemed inviting. In the warmer months, they have an outdoor eating area, which would be nice to visit and just sip margaritas . However, the location doesn’t really aid to the outdoor eating: on the corner of Grand and Ogden.
We were asked which seat we would like, which I’m not that comfortable with. Both Erin and I have a hard enough time trying to decide on where we’re going to eat, more decisions just aren’t a good thing. Chips, salsa, and water were brought out promptly. The chips were good, but for those of you that know ElTorro in Champaign, these weren’t as good. They reminde d me of whole grain chips, but they had a good crunch to them. We were brought out two types of salsa, a hot, red salsa, and a mild, green one. When I say mild, that’s not a stretch. I don’t think there was any heat to it at all. The red one on the other hand was probably a little more hot than a store bought medium salsa, which is what I like.
Meals on the menu ranged from typical Ameri-Mexican fare (tacos, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, etc), to more seafood entrees. Erin decided to play it safe with the chicken tacos, while I went with the steak fajitas with corn tortillas. Our meals didn’t take very long to arrive, but it gave us enough time to talk and enjoy the chips. Unfortunately, we finished our chips, and weren’t asked if we wanted a refill of them or not.
The meals looked quite well done when they came out, but I was disappointed in the amount of steak I saw on my fajita platter. I was hoping that the vegetables were just heaped on top of a bounty of steak below. Unfortunately, that was not the case as everything was mixed together. The grilled vegetables consisted of green and red peppers, onions, and cucumber, the latter of which I had never had in this combination before, but it added great flavor. The pico de gallo (sp) was fresh, and the guacamole was quite tasty also. I do wish they would’ve given me a 3rd plate, though, to assembly my fajitas on, instead of relying on the condiment plate.
Erin’s tacos were hidden under a bed of lettuce topping, but were also tasty. In my opinion, the chicken had been marinated or cooked in too much cilantro, but I’m not much of a fan of cilantro to begin with. Good thing that Erin wasn’t feeling top notch and couldn’t taste it, because she’s not that much a fan either.
Again, as with most Mexican restaurants, the proportions were huge, especially after having the chips. Erin really wanted to get fried ice cream, but just couldn’t stomach anything else.
The margaritas were excellent, though, and I would definitely go back just to sit outside and sip one. You could just taste the bite of the tequilla, which is how I like it. The only downside was the size for the price.
Atmosphere:..9/10
Staff:…………7/10
Food:…………11/20
Total………….27/40
Price:…………$10-25 per plate excluding beverages
Amelia’s Mexican Grill
1235 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 606622
Phone: (312) 421-2000