Retail sales rise sharply in September (AP)

AP - Shoppers, encouraged by cooler temperatures and falling gasoline prices, went on a shopping spree in September, giving many retailers better-than-expected gains and lifting the industry’s spirits two months before the holiday season. A notable exception was Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Of course you all have read that I have on a number of occasions I visited Walmart to find that they were out of jalapeños but this last weekend’s trip was the kicker. I couldn’t find any celery!?!? WTF Walmart? You had plenty of fresh dill (what????), but no celery. Maybe the "Superstore" idea wasn’t your best.

The wife and I live at Walmart.  We are there at least four to five days out of the week for odds and ends.  Being a seasoned Walmart shopper, I know that one should shop early on weekends because by mid-afternoon the shelves can become quite empty.  What I don’t understand is when specific things aren’t stocked.  In New Mexico there are a couple of things that need to be stocked at all times.  Pinto beans, jalapenos, salsa, tortilla chips, re-fried beans, and tortillas are mandatory in stock, on the shelves items for any grocery store in New Mexico.  Hell I think even most convenience stores keep all these items in stock as well including limes for all the Corona purchases.

Yesterday I stopped to get a few things, milk, salsa, chips, mac and cheese, and cereal.  We are very picky about salsa and only buy the "Not so hot" Sadies brand.  No big surprise, they were sold out.  Ok, well hell let’s just make our own.  Onions, check!  Diced tomatoes, check!  Tomato puree, check!  Garlic, check!  All we need now is some Jalapenos.  I get over in the produce section and there are no jalapeno peppers to be found.  Now I am just damn furious.  I love to cook and one gripe I have with Albuquerque is that it is almost impossible to find certain ingredients.  I am not talking about exotic ingredients, I’m talking about things like pancetta, cannelini beans, and imported Italian tomatoes.  I know these are Italian and I’m living in a Hispanic influenced state so I just let these things slide, but now no jalapenos?  When will the madness end?  I live in New Mexico and I can’t buy the ingredients needed to make salsa.  Does anyone else see a problem here??

I guess my only option is to shop at a real grocery store and to ditch Walmart.  Walmart may suck but I have done tests and shopping there saves me around $80 every visit compared to shopping at Smiths, so I guess I’m screwed either way.

Kids are going to be pissed, or maybe not.

Tens of millions of students will no longer be able to buy non-diet sodas in the nation’s public schools under an agreement announced Wednesday between major beverage distributors and anti-obesity advocates.

I for one think this is a good idea but I don’t think it will stop kids from becoming obese.  I personally don’t think that the public school system is to blame for our children being fatter than ever.  It’s the parents fault and I see it all the time while shopping in Walmart.  It’s become the norm to shut a kid up with food.  Next time you are grocery shopping look at the kids that are in the child seats of shopping baskets.  I guarantee you that over 80% of them will be eating something and it won’t be anything nutritious.  Parents don’t discipline their children anymore, they distract them with treats instead.   When I was a kid  you received treats for behaving, but now kids receive treats to keep them distracted.

The article also says that it will only sell water, juice and low-fat milks to elementary and middle schools.  What exactly do they classify as juice?   How about a Sobe Black & Blue Berry Brew?
 

In my kids elementary school they don’t sell any sodas, but they do have a Sobe "juice" machine in the cafeteria.  I don’t know if any of you have ever tried a Sobe Black and Blue Berry Brew before but I can tell you that its just as sweet as any soda.  Hell, the second ingredient is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP and the fourth is SUGAR.  Is this any better for our children?  The argument of course being that it has juice in it so at least there is something that gives it nutritional value right?  Sure, but not until you get to the sixth ingredient do you see any kind of juice.  Also, you should note that a serving size is 8 oz. but the bottle is 20 oz.  Kids do not look at serving sizes on labels.  To a kid this bottle is one serving and I will bet that every kid given one of these will drink the whole thing in one sitting which equates to a whopping 310 calories and 78g of sugar.  This is certainly no better then the average soda.

While I think that the public schools are moving in the right direction, I think that parents are ultimately responsible for what their children are eating and drinking.  Besides, ever notice that fat kids normally have fat parents?  Come on people, get a damn clue and stop killing your own children.  The government won’t save them, that job is up to you.

Read the whole story here and check out some nutritional info on Sobe drinks on their website.

Ok, so the wife and I are on quite the sushi kick since our great birthday dinner out at Azuma.  We have made it a point to go for sushi at least once a week.  The frequency has helped improve Tanya’s chopsticks skills tremendously.

We have been going to I Love Sushi for lunch.  Our first visit didn’t impress me much, mainly because of poor service and only average seafood. Our subsequent visits have been nothing but wonderful.  I don’t recommend going on a Monday, only because I believe they are still working off the weekend delivery of fish.  We have noticed that on Thursday and Friday the fish is the freshest.  With any sushi restaurant, it is best to know when their deliveries are so you get the freshest fish possible.  This will only make your experience much more enjoyable.

The restaurant is located in a strip mall and doesn’t really have enough parking, especially on a Friday.  The restaurant is very nice and clean with minimal decorations.  Nothing is over done and overall it’s very comfortable.  The sushi side of the place (they also have a teppan grill) is very small with only a few tables as well as the sushi bar itself.  Regardless of the size we have never had to wait more than five minutes to be seated. This is because the service is so incredibly fast.  From our experiences, even at it’s busiest time from the time you put your order in it will be prepared and delivered to your table in under 15 minutes.

We started out with the gyoza.  They were much closer to the gyoza I remember from Japan then the ones at Azuma.  They still didn’t steam them enough, but they were definitely tasty and I prefer them all around over the ones we had at Azuma.  We normally order nigiri sushi with salmon, tuna, and of course the eel.  We also have ordered several rolls, our favorites so far being the shrimp tempura roll (which is far from raw fish but holy shit is it ever good) and the rainbow roll.  Other than the first visit, where the fish was just so-so, the fish every other time has been wonderful and the rice is flavored just right.  They aren’t big on presentation but any sushi plate is by itself a work of art.

The only real gripe was the inconsistent service.  The main problem is getting your check.  During lunch this should be a no brainer.  The food comes out with a quickness but paying for your meal by far takes the most time out of the lunch hour.  My advice if pressed for time is to ask for your check before you are done eating.  If really pressed have your payment ready when the server brings your check because they take their sweet time picking it back up again.

Here’s my ratings for I Love Sushi on a scale from 0 to 10:

• Seating Time:  9
• Cleanliness:  8
• Friendliness:  7
• Atmosphere:  8
• Overall Service:  7
• Taste:  8 (if excluding our first visit would have been a 9)
• Timeliness:  9
• Presentation:  7
• Overall:  8

Wow, now this one hits close to home.  This "Jesus Cheeto" was found by a lady from Rio Rancho New Mexico.  Dorothy Dursley who has tried everything in her power to lose weight finally got a sign from God when reaching for her favorite snack.  "Praise Jesus - His Cheetoh Saved Me."  I must admit it is pretty obvious and even I might have paused for a second and said, "hey that looks a little like… " CRUNCH!

Since that wonderful day she has not eaten a single "Cheetoh".  Cheetoh?  Maybe God should send her another sign telling her how to spell.  What the website doesn’t state is how much weight she has lost after receiving this heavenly sign.  I hope some progress has been made and she didn’t just give up Cheetos and pick up a bag of Funyuns.  This is serious business.  I mean when God takes the time to twist a Cheeto into the shape of his beloved son, you better get your ass in gear.

Read the whole story here.  Thanks for the link John!

Side note:  A "Cheetoh" is actually a breed of cat.

The Cheetoh is the newest hybrid wild/domestic cross, utilizing the Bengal and the Ocicat breeds.  This cat incorporates the distinctive characteristics of both the Ocicat and the Bengal, but has its own unique attributes.  These include extremely large size, unsurpassed gentleness of character, and the wild look that can otherwise only be found in the jungles.

Looks like a lawsuit just waiting to happen.

Turns out James Bond wasn’t as much "the man" as first thought.

Disclaimer:  I am not responsible for any adverse reactions to this post.  If you have a weak stomach and have had a bad experience with gin, it is advised you discontinue reading immediately.  I am not responsible for nausea associated with the smell of gin or that of green olives.  You know who you are, consider yourself warned.  That means you Greg!

It has come to my attention that the famous line from all James Bond movies, "…martini, shaken not stirred.", really was a way to tell everyone that good ole Mr. Bond couldn’t handle a stiff drink.  When you shake a martini the ice melts more then if it is stirred.  Thus a shaken martini is more watered down.  Also, when shaken it becomes cloudy and has small ice chips floating in the glass.  One of the great things about a martini, is how clear and clean it looks.  When shaken it takes away some of the elegance that defines this drink. 

What is worse is that in newer Bond movies he orders a "Vodka" martini.  Vodka?  My God, were the writers insane?  Nothing like taking one of the coolest guys and turning him into a wuss.  I know that you vodka martini drinkers think you are of the same caliber, but considering that premium gin is 96 proof and vodka is only 80 pretty much sums it up.  Plus, vodka has no taste so all you are drinking is watered down grain alcohol.  The Russians would be so disappointed!

And if you are one of those dirty or filthy people, just go ahead and get yourself another drink.  Stop insulting the gin by putting olive brine in your drink to mask the taste.  Besides you are paying top money for the gin so why replace it with something that is essentially free for the bar.  Nothing looks worse then a pale, cloudy, puke green martini.

My ordering recommendation:  extra dry Sapphire martini (stirred not shaken) with a single olive, two being the absolute maximum.  Bartenders please take note, "extra dry" does not mean no olives!!  I wish I knew which idiot started that rumor.

I am always looking for new energy drinks.  Even after my first post on them I have tried a few dozen different kinds, but I still find the Sobe drinks the best tasting on the market.

I was in the store the other day and I spied a can on the shelves that I have never noticed before labeled Kronik Energy.  The packaging was pretty cool and the name, while a little dated, was pretty "rad".  I said what the hell and grabbed a can of the low carb version.

The drink was a very cool neon blue.  Best looking energy drink to date.  The smell was interesting and what I can almost describe as "green", if you get my drift.  Now came the taste test, and it has got to be one of the worst tasting things in history.  I’m pretty sure even "ball sweat" would taste better then this drink. There are no real comparisons that I can make but please take my word for it, this drink tastes like shit.

I have read a few reviews on the web that state the regular version tastes pretty good.  My experience was so bad that I don’t think I will be giving it a try anytime soon.  But by all means be my guest, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Spending four years in Japan I am no stranger to sushi and sashimi.  While in Japan I would have sushi at least once a week.  I have only eaten sushi a few times since returning to Albuquerque.  My experiences were not bad, but left something to be desired being so spoiled on the authentic stuff.

My wife Tanya and I have birthdays that are one day apart.  Mine is on the 8th of March while Tanya’s falls on the 7th.  We decided to celebrate both our birthdays by going out for dinner at Azuma Teppan and Sushi.  I called early Friday afternoon to make reservations for 7 p.m. that night.  We showed up at 6:50 and had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated.  Not too bad considering it was a Friday night.  The atmosphere was nice, not over done with lots of oriental decor.  Just enough to let you know you were in a Japanese restaurant.  The noise level was nominal, and we were able to have a conversation without having to raise our voices.

The dinner started out with problems.  We sat there for over 10 minutes without being asked for our drink order.  I ordered a Kirin Ichiban (Japanese beer) and Tanya ordered a glass of chardonnay.  When our waiter returned he had forgotten my beer but had kindly added a glass of water to Tanya’s order.  I finally got my drink and we proceeded to order an appetizer of gyoza and the "Love Boat" for our main course.  The Love Boat is a sushi and sashimi sampler prepared for two.  It is a good choice for people not familiar with sushi and you will not walk away hungry.  Tanya has only had sushi once before so I thought it was a safe bet for our first trip to Azuma.

Our gyoza arrived in a timely fashion but turned out a little different then what I was accustomed to in Japan.  Gyoza’s are similar to dumplings / pot stickers.  At Azuma they serve them deep fried.  Normally in Japan they are prepared by frying them in a pan then at the last minute steaming them.  This creates a very unique taste and texture.  I prefer them prepared this way over deep frying.  All that aside both Tanya and I thought they tasted great.

By the time we had finished our gyoza, I was ready for another beer.  When the waiter returned with my drink he proceeded to tell me that from then on I was only allowed to order water.  I thought at first it was a joke but turns out he wasn’t kidding.  While I wouldn’t have ordered another beer, it did leave a bad taste in my mouth.  I’m 33 years old and I don’t think that I need to be told, for no good reason, that two beers is my limit.

Our main order took its sweet time, but that was expected because of how much food had to be prepared.  It arrived in a huge wooden boat with about five different cuts of fish and eight traditional California roll pieces.  The fish was served both sushi and sashimi style.  The sashimi was sliced a little thicker then I would have liked but all in all it tasted great.  The fish itself was very fresh and there were no real surprises.  Tanya’s first bite, which was sashimi she didn’t like at all but that ended up being the only fish she didn’t enjoy.  The only real problem with ordering the "Love Boat" is that they play it very safe.  All the fish varieties were the most popular, ie, salmon, tuna, white fish, etc…  This was fine for our first trip but I think next time we will take a couple more risks and try some not so mainstream options.

In conclusion, the food was above average and the atmosphere was pleasant, but the service was pretty mediocre.  They didn’t seem to take the time to find out if we needed any help or suggestions.  This is a big deal if you have never been to a sushi restaurant before and could be very overwhelming for a first timer.  Here is how I ranked them on a scale from 0 to 10:

• Seating Time:  8
• Cleanliness:  9
• Friendliness:  7
• Atmosphere:  8
• Overall Service: 4
• Taste:  8
• Timeliness:  6
• Presentation:  7
• Overall:  7

Oh my God!! You actually eat that??

Oh hell yeah we do!!  Anyone from Rochester, NY knows that there is nothing like a Garbage Plate from Nick Tahou Hots.  I make it a point to have one every time a go back for a visit.  The one shown is a hot dog plate with everything.  My order was always the cheese burger plate with everything, in addition I would add ketchup and Redhot.  A big hunk of bread is also included to help sop up the grease left on the plate after consumption.  It’s a taste of heaven. Or maybe it’s a quick way "to" heaven with the fat grams I’m sure well over a hundred and the calories pushing a thousand.  Oh, and the carbs you ask?  I’m not even going there.  Regardless, it’s just damn good!!

I was 16 when I lost my Garbage Plate virginity.  By the time I was 18 I was a regular, so much so the girl behind the counter knew my order and would push it ahead of other people waiting.  You might be saying, "Come on, how many people could be waiting?"  Well, on a weekend, at two in the morning, it wasn’t unusual to see the line out the door and having to wait 30 plus minutes for your order.  It became a regular after-hour hang-out, both with high school kids and college students.  

If it’s your first time make sure you don’t settle for one of the impostors that started showing up after Nick Tahou Hots became so popular.  Nick Tahou’s has two locations, one being downtown on Main St. and the other located on Lyell Avenue in the Gates (a suburb of Rochester).   The Main St. location closes at 8:00pm but the one in Gates is open 24 hours.  I would recommend going after a good night of drinking.  You might gain five pounds but you will wake up the next day feeling great!

While blogging about White Hots, I thought about some other great tastes from my hometown.  There are quite a few famous Rochester native restaurants.  One such place is Country Sweet Chicken and Ribs.

My first experience with Country Sweet came at the age of 14.  My best friend and I made a trip one night to the most ghetto and I believe the original location on Lake Avenue.  I remember feeling a little scared but still very eager to try the infamous sweet and spicy, finger lickin’ good chicken wings.

UPDATE: I was wrong about the original location being on Lake Ave.  Thanks Dave for pointing out that the original Country Sweet location was on Monroe Ave.

As we walked in I spied some shady looking characters, but they paid us no attention for they were too busy partaking in their own Country Sweet goodness.  We walked up to the counter, and this nasty, fat, sweaty, greasy, hairnet wearing guy looks at us and says "Yeah?" not "What can I get you?" or  even "What’s it going to be?" just "Yeah?" and not in a very nice way.  We were determined that nothing get in our way even this bitter bastard.  As my best friend started to order I observed something about our sweaty friend that would be burned into my mind forever.  While he was wearing a hairnet, clearly to prevent any foreign hairs from getting into our order, he had stuffed his spatula under his armpit so he could take our order.  A little disgusted but still determined, I pressed on with my order.

Seven minutes later I was sitting in front of a dozen wings, an order of fries, and a large Coke.  What happens next is only blur.  When I come to, I’m staring at only chicken bones, and licking my fingers one by one trying to savor every last drop of that sweet and spicy sauce. 

There will be many more trips to Country Sweet during my teenage years.  Never venturing back to the location of my first encounter.  Why, I’m not sure.  It could have been the rough neighborhood.  Or maybe because the guy put the spatula under his armpit. I think it was because I wanted to always remember my first Country Sweet experience, going down as one of my most disturbing yet wonderful teenage moments.