Epinions Recent Reviews for Chuq

Do people still actually drink this stuff?

Fri, 23 May 2003 17:42:08 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - I wish I could remember who it was that coined the following phrase. It wasn't me (although I wish it had been), but it'd make a perfect tag line for a truly truthful Zima commercial:

"Zima. Tastes like zhit."

I don't know a...

Don't think red

Fri, 13 Oct 2000 21:11:29 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - To learn to appreciate this wonderful liqueur, first ... forget everything you think you know about the word "maraschino". Inevitably, you're going to think of those very sweet, artificially-colored-red cherries that you get out of a jar to...

Skip it

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 21:12:46 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - Look elsewhere if you want good Louisiana food. Here you'll find yourself pining for the "alfalfa sprouts and mashed yeast" of The Source's days.

When the venerable old health-food restaurant at this location closed (disappointing...

Ah, my love-hate relationship

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 20:36:55 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - Some of the food here is excellent, some of it's lousy. You've got to be very selective at this place. Add a half-star to the two above, since Epinions' system doesn't let you give 2.5 star ratings.

I've been eating at The Gumbo Pot on and...

It's as if I were at home, only it's better

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 20:01:05 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - It'd be hard to pick my single favorite place to eat in Los Angeles, but if you twisted my arm, I'd have to say John O'Groats.

My reasons for saying so are myriad and complex, and take into account every detail of the experience offered there...

Gin haters, repent!

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 23:46:23 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - I hate gin.

Okay, scratch that. I used to hate gin. I suppose it's because I hadn't ever had truly good gin, and I went for years and years without having any gin cocktails at all. When I thought of gin, my mind would bring back...

Vile.

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 21:41:47 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - I was recently invited to a friend's housewarming party, to which I was particularly looking forward because I heard the food would be very good. Indeed it was, and while I was on the patio nibbling on Black Forest ham on pumpernickel I saw someone...

The basis for a fine Sazerac

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 16:14:02 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - If you want to make the King of Cocktails, you need to start with Old Overholt.

Actually, any good rye whiskey will do, the better the whiskey the better the drink (obviously). But Old Overholt seems to be the rye of choice in bars throughout...

I'd rather have Robitussin on the rocks

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 15:48:43 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - I'm quite a cocktail aficionado, as well as being quite a fan of black currants. In fact, despite my well-known loathing for any type of flavored iced tea (particularly that vile Paradise swill), I was surprised to have actually enjoyed a black currant...

"Malcolm in the Middle": Lois rules!

Tue, 30 May 2000 16:47:16 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - You're not the boss of me now. And you're not so big.

And life is definitely unfair, but that's all part of being a kid.

"Malcolm in the Middle" is by far the funniest program on TV right now, and adds to my constant...

It pleases me

Thu, 3 Feb 2000 01:10:11 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - Is Mi Piace THE most popular restaurant in Pasadena? Sure seems so, particularly on a Saturday night.

It's gotten to be rather difficult to get a table here due to the restaurant's enormous popularity, which is both a blessing and a curse...

Knives-Wusthof: Wusthof: For serious cooks

Fri, 5 Nov 1999 05:48:19 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - If you're serious about cooking, you need good-quality knives. They might cost more than the ones you get at the grocery or the awful ones they sell on late night TV commercials, but hey ... you get what you pay for.

When I was in the...

AOL (America Online): Why I can't stand AOL

Fri, 5 Nov 1999 03:17:07 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - I tried AOL.

I finally succumbed to one of those ubiquitous and innumerable free trial CDs, half because I was curious and half because I had enough AOL discs to provide all the drink coasters I could ever need. So I popped it in,...

Inner Hebrides: Skye: Hebridean magic

Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:30:20 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - An t-Eilean Sgitheanach -- the Isle of Skye, that is -- has got to be one of the most magical places I've ever visited. I went there several years ago, and every year I keep thinking about going back. The island is quiet, stunningly beautiful, with...

The Wine Country: The French Laundry: Meal of a lifetime

Fri, 1 Oct 1999 03:36:09 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - Last year I had the pleasure to dine at The French Laundry in Yountville. It was without a doubt one of the most breathtaking meals I've ever had, if not the most.

It's been about a year and a half since that memorable meal (and I still...

Los Angeles: Sanamluang: Best (and cheapest) Thai in L.A.

Thu, 30 Sep 1999 21:03:58 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - I love Thai food.

There are so many great Thai places in L.A. that I can hardly name them all -- Kruang Tedd, Jitlada, Thailand Plaza, Natalee, Rosalynn, even Chan Dara ... but the one I keep going back to, over and over and over again, is...

Albuquerque: Taming the wild Frontier

Thu, 30 Sep 1999 20:32:33 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - Actually, you can't really tame the Frontier ... just have one of those cinnamon buns and the Frontier will tame YOU.

The Frontier is a venerable, beloved restaurant on Central, right across the street from the main entrance to the University...

New Orleans: Liuzza's: Big beers and Creole-Italian abbondanza

Thu, 30 Sep 1999 19:53:13 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - "Jeez, you guys will batter and deep-fry anything that isn't nailed down!"

That's the infamous quote from a friend when I described some of my favorite appetizers at Liuzza's Restaurant and Bar, a venerable Mid-City neighborhood...

1999 Volkswagen Beetle: Fun fun fun!

Thu, 30 Sep 1999 16:32:07 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - Lemme tell ya... this is one hell of a fun car to drive. It's fun to drive it alone, it's fun to drive your friends around in it, and it's just fun to be seen in.

But it's not only the looks. Granted, the looks are what grabbed me from the...

New Orleans: Clover Grill: They love to fry, and it shows

Thu, 30 Sep 1999 15:40:20 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - There's been Bud's Broiler. There's been the Camellia Grill. Both have great burgers. But there's been a consensus of late amongst myself and my friends that the best burger to be had in the City of New Orleans is at the Clover Grill, at 900 Bourbon...

New Orleans: Christian's: Mid-City's "holy place" of Creole food

Wed, 29 Sep 1999 21:05:20 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - In New Orleans, people are just as serious about their food as they are about things like religion. At Christian's, you can actually go to church and eat.

Well, not really, but sort of. Christian's is owned by Christian Ansel, the grandson of...

New Orleans: Peristyle: The phoenix arises (and makes fantastic food)

Wed, 29 Sep 1999 20:52:25 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - Peristyle made its name as an excellent French-American bistro on the edge of the French Quarter, but its future was in question after the death of founding chef/owner John Neal. Neal's family approached Anne Kearney (who was Neal's sous-chef when he...

New Orleans: The Palace Café: Music to your tongue

Wed, 29 Sep 1999 19:58:39 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - The historic Werlein's for Music building on Canal Street is home to The Palace Café, one of several fine, world-class restaurants in the Brennan family empire, and dishes out not sheet music and band instruments these days but some of the most...

New Orleans: Mandina's: The ultimate neighborhood restaurant

Wed, 29 Sep 1999 19:06:57 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - In a city renowned for its small, funky neighborhood joints as well as its fine dining establishments, dis is da ultimate neighbahood New Awlins restaurant.

Tommy Mandina's family has owned and operated this restaurant and bar since the late...

New Orleans: Brigtsen's: New Orleans' best bistro

Wed, 29 Sep 1999 18:59:53 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Chuq - In a setting both elegant and homey, Chef Frank Brigtsen offers you some of the city's best contemporary Creole cuisine. Nestled in a converted 19th Century house at the Riverbend, Brigtsen's is a warm, intimate, romantic dining experience where the...