Latest Blog Posts
A Damn Good Pizza
Driving back from the netherworlds of rural Nebraska today, I stopped in Mama D’s Pizzeria on 27th ave this evening to pick up a few slices for dinner. They had a sign on the door advertising 2 slices and can of soda for $3.25.
Pizza is a very personal thing. Everyone has their own conception of what is and what is not a good pizza. I am not a huge stickler on types of crusts, sauces or toppings. There are so many good pizzas and different styles that I have found myself liking all sorts and all sizes. Case in point: one of the best pizzas I have ever had in my life was made by a Swede, in Thailand, and the toppings were curry powder and bananas.... One thing that I really like however, is that feel of home made freshness...and that is rare.
When I walked into Mama D’s tonight, I asked “mama” if the $3.25 deal was still on, and she said yes. I asked what slices were available - assuming that they would have pre-made slices in an heater like most places - and she informed me that they make the slices fresh, AND you get to choose 3 toppings for your slices! I was pleasantly surprised to hear this, and looking at their menu of over 40 toppings, chose the burger, tomatoes and artichoke hearts. About the $3.25 deal, she remarked “its the only thing I can do so people can taste the best pizza in Lincoln.”
The kitchen is well lighted and in full view of the customer. I watched as Mama, literally rolled out the dough for my pizza, and prepared it with the toppings I ordered. About 10 minutes later, the pizza was done, and I took it home.
The pizza was excellent. Far far superior to the slag that is offered at that over-rated dungheap Valentinos. The dough and sauce tasted as if it was freshly made, not canned like what you get at chains. The topping portions were very generous. The tomato I ordered were literally slices of
whole tomato. The cheese was thick. And it wasn’t oversalted or greasy.
In conclusion, Mama D’s MAY be the best pizza in Lincoln (that I have tasted). Hands down, it is better than any chain. Although its not really comparable to Yia-yia’s, I would say that it is at least as good.
I give Mama D’s 4.5 stars out of 5.
The Power of Pennies
What do you get when you combine boredom, small change, and a degree in civil engineering? Penny power.
The Countdown Begins
Only five more days of work remaining at my current job. It’s going to be a long, busy week. As I look over the mess on my desk I am realizing: not only do I have a lot of substantive work to do, I have a lot of miscellaneous stuff to do as well. For example, I have to file a ton of stuff that I took out of various filing cabinets long ago. As if I’m going to remember where everything belongs.
Had this not been my last week at this job, I would not be here today. Yesterday’s fantastic weather helped me to realize it’s practically a crime to sit in an office on a day like today. Oh well, at least I got to spend much of yesterday outside. We took Daisy for a long walk at Pioneers Park in the morning, and we watched my niece play outside for part of the afternoon.
My parents left for a Caribbean cruise this morning. It’s their first cruise, but not their first vacation on the ocean—they went to Tahiti years ago. They decided to go on a cruise in part because the Missus and I so enjoyed our honeymoon Alaskan cruise. It will be interesting to see how they like it. They should arrive in Florida around Noon today.
Another Nauseating Mexican Food Experience in Lincoln
I was hungry as hell for some good, fast Mexican food today. I was also running a bit late as I found it hard to find a hardware store open today (Easter) because I needed to buy some things for my vacuum. First, I drove past the new De Leon’s on 27th street, dissapointed to find that it still hadn’t opened yet (although it did seem close to being on the verge of final remodeling). After finally going to an Ace Hardware up on vine and 48th that was open and purchasing what I needed to get, I turned back south and headed for chipotle, which is usually open on Sundays, only to find it closed due to the holiday. There were also several other people milling about outside, dissapointed and a bit surprised it was closed.
Knowing that Oso is closed on Sunday, I headed south on 13th, thinking that Taco John’s was probably open. Taco John’s is pretty crappy, but Taco John’s also has super hot salsa verde available on request only (a discovery I made in Iowa), and with enough of that stuff on, their horrible tacos are actually suitable for human consumption. I drove into the driveway at the Taco John’s on south street, to find a policeman standing at the door asking me if I worked there! I said no, and he remarked that it was closed, but someone had left the door open. In anycase, I quickly left TJ’s and headed south on 9th directly for Taco Inn, the nearest Mexican place I knew of. I was really late already and very irritable because I was missing basketball. Within minutes I came to the Inn, only to find that it, too, was closed.
OK, as a last resort, I knew there was an Amigos on Nebraska Highway and Pioneers another moment down the road. Yes I was truly desperate. I swung in, to find it open. Although I was really late and could have brought it home with me, I decided to eat i
t quickly there so I could make use of the salsa bar and cheese and eat my meal while it was hot and pour a ton of condiments on it to make the food edible. I ordered the “combo burrito” and “crispy pinto burrito” and used a lot of cheese sauce, pico, and a salsa with a sign on it saying something like “limited time only fire-cooked salsa” or something like that. Both burritos were stomach churning. The combo burrito tasted like it was made from rat meat. The so-called “fire-cooked” salsa ("fire" connoting a message that it was supposed to be spicy) was about as hot as ketchup. I could not finish either the combo burrito or the pinto burrito, even though I was hungry as hell. Ironically, this particular Amigos faces a prison across the road, where I could watch inmates from afar exercising in the yard (what a wonderful view to complement your equally wonderful food...not). It made me wonder whether the food I was eating was any better than the grub served at the prison.
Most shocking of the entire experience was that there were several people, including couples and families, who were also at Amigos and apparently seemed as if they were actually enjoying their meals! This included one family, who I could tell from their dress had obviously just come back from Easter service. WTF?! Why in God’s name would a family celebrating a religious holiday spoil their day with a meal at Amigos?!?! That’s like having Christmas dinner at a Runza (another horrible Nebraska chain).
Lincoln truly dissapoints me. Not only have Lincolnites, collectively, allowed the cancer called Amigos actually spread as a franchise, but they keep this tumor alive by continuing to frequent this hellish establishment because they apparently like the “food” it serves. And some twisted and perverted souls like it so much that they bring the family there on holiday weekends!
I am counting the days until De Leon’s opens its 27th street branch. Please....let it be soon.
Tom DeLay…..damn….
Interesting article here. One wonders if he would have liked to have had his dad’s tragic death turned into a political circus and international headline news?
Teppanyaki?
I swung by the old Vien Dong restaurant across from UNL’s city campus earlier this afternoon. As some of you may know, Vien Dong recently and quietly gave up (or moved on). They served a damn good beef pho, which I use to eat religiously once a week last summer. Anyway, walking by there was a very small sign with a photo indicating that the old Vien Dong will now become “Dat Nguyen’s Restaurant” and there was a small photo of a guy standing behing a teppanyaki grill and holding a plate of sushi.
This should be an interesting development. In my experience, teppanyaki places actually make very good fast food joints. A typical place will have several teppanyaki grills surrounded by chairs, with a chef who will cook up an entree on the flat iron grill (so hot it takes a minute or so to cook the food) in front of you, and comes as a set meal with say, a small vegetable salad, white rice, and some miso soup, which is served to you separately.
Here is a photo I googled depicting a teppanyaki type of experience. Notice that all the customers have smiles on their faces, communicating a message that they are happy and pleased with the meal. I have never been to a restaurant where the patrons all have similar such smiles plastered onto their faces, but I would be happy if there was a quality, inexpensive teppanyaki place to replace Vien Dong.
Americans Aren’t As Dumb As I Thought
A new ABC poll shows that a whopping 70% of Americans think congressional intervention in the Terry Schiavo case is inappropriate. That is a HUGE number. Seventy percent of Americans don’t agree on anything. Ironically, 67% of Americans think that politicians are getting involved for political gain rather than for principles. If it is true that congressional Republicans are getting involved for political gain, they really ought to rethink their actions.
Complete Trash Reading
Actually, I decided against finishing the da vinci code by Dan Brown this weekend. I’ve already wasted 10+ hours reading up to where I am now. Enough is enough. This book is so bad I’m actually angry at myself for spending 10+ hours reading it so far. It is truly trash. The only reason I don’t throw this away now is because I borrowed it from my mom last fall and should return it. (by the way my mom’s taste in reading truly sucks...sorry mom) Otherwise, I would use this book for toilet paper.
Anyway, if you want a quality historical thriller about religion in medieval Europe pick up The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. This was actually made into a movie of the same name starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater that was actually quite good, despite being a very superficial treatment of the novel. Eco also wrote Foucault’s Pendulum, about the Knights Templar, which I believe must have served as the inspiration for Dan Brown to write the da vinci code. At least when Tarantino rips off Hong Kong films he usually comes up with a quality production, but the end product of Brown’s ripping off of Eco is what I would call “negligence per se” - i.e. so bad that it doesn’t even have to be proven that its bad - its very existence is negligent.
Oh yeah, oddly enough, this horrible
work of fiction is evolving into an international cultural monstrosity with its release next year as a film starring Tom Hanks, Jean Reno and Audrey Taotou (star of one of my favorite films of recent times Dirty Pretty Things)
By the way, if you’re looking for a one-stop review site of books, movies, and music, check out meta-critic.
You Know What Goes Well With Pom-Poms? A Burka.
Texas may ban “sexy” cheerleading. You know, the kind where “they’re shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down.” That’s according to Texas Rep. Al Edwards. Not one to disguise his paternalism, Edwards notes that the bill is designed to benefit “mostly dads and boyfriends.”
I, for one, can’t wait to read Edwards’ bill. It ought to be hillarious to read how an uptight twit defines “those kind of gyrations” involved in “sexually oriented” cheerleading.
Don’t Give Me Any of that Juris-My-Diction Crap
Republicans continue to assume that they can micro-manage America just because they have won an election or two. So much for federalism and small government. Principles be damned, eh Republicans?
17 Tacos
I just ate 17 tacos at Knickerbockers, breaking the previous record of 16 here at my workplace.
I am very, very full.
Woo. Freaking. Hoo!
Please pardon my exuberance. I just learned some very good news. Some very, very good news.
Very good news.
I’ll tell you more sometime in the next few days. Meanwhile, I’m off to do a happy dance.
Hot Pants
On the way into work this morning I saw a van. On each of the van’s two back windows were the words “Do it.” On one of the van’s side windows were the words “Hot Pants.”
I’m stumped.
Downtown “Skymart” Changes Hands
For those six of you out there who read this blog, if you happen to work in downtown Lincoln, you no doubt are familiar with the “Skymart” on the 3rd floor of the Energy Square building. The Skymart is one of a few other skywalk eateries available in downtown, the others being “Norm’s” and also the “Plump Tomato.” Well, it appears that the Skymart has just changed owners.
I went their today. Instead of that charisma-challenged zombie guy/owner normally there, there were actually two people - a different guy making the food in the back and a younger woman up front decked out in a sweatsuit and “hoe” make-up. The place was also set up a bit different, and I remarked about this to the young woman. She said that they were new owners and that “there will be a lot of changes shortly.”
Well I did buy a taco from them and noticed that it was completely different from the ones I had purchased from them before. Overall, the menu looked the same, but the woman seemed to insinuate that it will be changing very soon. I’m not expecting smoked salmon crepes or crab stuffed shrimp or anything, but it would be nice to have someplace in the skyway that would give Norm’s a run for their money for all us downtown employee drones who are too busy (or lazy/obese) to walk outside for lunch.
The Blogs
-
The blog that covers everything Lincoln
-
The home of the Wilsons
-
In which Mr. T mutters and muses
-
Local and national sports chatter
The Blogroll
The Archives
- September 2008
- August 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004