Sails is a great new spot in an old location, previously the River Cat Grille on Rowayaton Avenue.  The scene is a good one with a main dining room and  a fabulous bar area with seating for lunch, brunch and dinner.  The menu has many options from seafood to steaks and meatball sliders in between.  The Skirt Steak and Truffle Fries is a hit and the Meatball Sliders are a great way to start a delicious mean. Just don’t follow up your starter with the Philly Burger..Skip this one folks.  However, don’t skip the Sails experience because its a great one and will be around for a long time unlike it’s preceding owner.

“The Philly Burger”

(Mozzarella Cheese, Sauteed Onions, Mushrooms and Hot Cherry Peppers)

Ratings:

Beef Flavor: 5.6  - No flavor whatsoever…what happened to a little salt, pepper and some Worcestershire Sauce?

Beef Temperature: 8.0- It was cooked nicely with a pink center but on the verge of medium.

Bun: 7.0 – I can’t quite figure this bun out.  It was a cross between a potato bun and a brioche. Sounds awesome, no? Not quite…I like the fact it says “different” but was too airy and a bit dry.  Didn’t help the lack of flavor from the beef.

Toppings: 4.6 – Weak, if those are hot cherry peppers then they should rename this kind to MILD and emphasis in the capital “M”.  If it hadn’t said on the menu I wouldn’t have known they were even there.

Originality: 6.0 – Not everybody has a Philly Burger…

Fries: 5.5- Maybe they were out of salt today???

Overall: 6.1

Go and Enjoy Sails!  I will keep going back for sure, just not for the burger

Coastweekend.com

2795 South Roosevelt Drive  Seaside, OR

Bar food is rarely as good as it is at the Relief Pitcher, a roadhouse in south Seaside. I’d been hearing about the food for years, but had somehow never been.

Oyster shooters got things off to a great start.

The small oysters are extremely fresh, and the house cocktail sauce –boldly spiced with more horseradish than I usually encounter – is among the best I’ve come across. At $1.25 each or three for $3, the price is right. Most places charge at least $1.50, but I’ve actually seen $2 shooters before.

Crab cakes are also of great value. Just $6.75 for a pair. A dollop of chipotle mayonnaise is there for dipping, but I found the cakes great on their own, possessing enough spice to make the sauce a redundancy.

The main draws for the Relief Pitcher are the sandwiches and burgers. They don’t have any pastas, salads or steaks on their menu because they don’t need them.

(image source: coastweekend.com)

I love this place.  The bar area is a great place to gather with friends, grab a casual but VERY good meal with your girlfriend/wife or to watch a game with the gang.  The food is more bistro than bar food and keeps you going back for friendly service and a wide variety on the menu.  Some of my favorites; Pasta Fagioli, Osso Bucco, Fish n’ Chips, Lobster & Corn Chowder, Pistachio Crusted Tuna and Steak Frites.  However, the Burger is NOT one of my favorites and thats disappointing.  Here it goes….

Ratings:

Beef Flavor: 5.9  - Not seasoned very well.

Beef Temperature: 9.0- Now that’s how you cook a burger. When you order it medium-rare it should look medium rare.  You get what you order here and that’s hard to find these days.

Bun: 7.0 – The bun didn’t hold very well.  With a juicy burger I like a bun that can hold up and not become too messy…This was a mess!

Toppings: 5.0 – Not much to choose from here AT ALL.

Originality: 5.0 – BORING

Fries: 5.5- I make better fries and my fries aren’t that good.  Not crispy whatsoever and poorly seasoned.

Overall: 7.0

For the folks that want to disagree, I’ve tried The Goose Burger and that isn’t much to write home about either…

(image source: roadfood.com)

Not hungry?  Play Crazy Over Goo or Upbot Goes Up over on our friends website.

800 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820

This new spot on the Post Road in the center of Darien is creating some buzz and there is good reason why.  Easy access of off I-95 and a menu that is not hard to find thinks you lie….Burgers, Shakes and Fries.  You can order singles, doubles, veggies and customize the toppings to your liking with “little fixings” and big “fixings.  This is worth a trip to see for youself.

Ratings:

Beef Flavor: 7.2  - There is some flavor but not a ton.  The patty is thin so might have something to do with it.

Beef Temperature: 9.0- There aren’t many places that say they will cook it medium rare and actually do it (cowards). Just how I like it medium RARE

Bun-: 7.6 – I am a purist and prefer the traditional bun, however, the grilled cheese type toast is pretty damn good.

Toppings: 8.1 – Good choices but could add some creativity.  Any place that offers hot peppers in my book is a good one.  However they need to be REAL hot peps and not banana peppers.  Close!

Originality: 6.9 – Pretty standard but then again its Burgers, Shakes and Fries.

Fries: 8.9 – Traditional cut fries that are well seasoned with a crispy casing.  That works for me!

Overall: 7.9

Menu

(image source: foodbeast.com)

Suntimes.com-At one time, I lived close enough to the original Boston Blackie’s on East Grand Avenue to be a regular customer. If I wanted a good hamburger fix, “Blackie’s” came to mind. In recent years a plethora of restaurants, including some top steakhouses, have jumped on the hamburger bun, so getting a terrific hamburger is not such a big deal anymore.

As much as I loved Boston Blackie’s burgers, I hated their steak fries. Why waste calories on planks of tasteless mush? Blackie’s steak fries are still not all that great, but I am bowled over by the “homestyle fries.” The mini-fry basket holds enough potatoes — thinly sliced, stacked, texturally perfect, incredibly delicious — to handle at least two people, but I nearly finished the whole basket on my own. Probably the best $2.39 I have paid for any side dish anywhere.

Getoutnorthidaho.blogspot.com

Grumpy’s Restaurant
726 N. 4th Street,
Coeur d’Alene.
(208) 667-1717.

It was kind of like the good old days, at least closer than I’d thought I’d ever get again. When my mother asked me a few weeks ago where I’d like her and my stepdad to take me for my birthday dinner, I absolutely had to go with Grumpy’s, a new restaurant located in midtown Coeur d’Alene. It was the perfect choice not only because birthdays do tend to make me grumpy, but also because long ago, every family birthday and special occasion meant getting together for a meal and celebratory drink or two (or five) at Henry’s, a now-defunct eatery once owned by Grumpy’s co-owner Joe Chapman.

(image source: flickr.com)

(image source: thisiswhyyourefat.com)

(image source legitbeef.com)