Petey’s, Rye Beach, NH
April 3, 2008
Friends told us they enjoyed eating at Petey’s when they were in Rye. Yesterday we were feeling rather cooped up from the record snowfall this winter, and decided to take a ride to the beach. We decided supper at Petey’s would be in order.
We first did a drive-by, since we love to ride up Route 1A for sightseeing and since we had arrived a little too early for supper. The parking lot was packed. We decided to continue up the coast and take a walk around Odiorne Point State Park in Rye , which is about 3 miles from Portsmouth. There were only 4 other people there – it was great. The temperature was 54 degrees and the shining sun felt wonderful. Only a zip-up sweatshirt was necessary. It was not exactly sun bathing weather, but nice enough for a short walk near the beach.
Back to Petey’s…From the outside, you can tell it’s a “paper plate” type of place. My baked stuff shrimp even arrived in what appeared to be a paper casserole. I did not allow the presentation to disappoint me before tasting and yes, it was delicious! I’ve always rated a restaurant by its baked stuffed shrimp. There was actually a restaurant in Manchester I tried once. They did not have baked stuffed shrimp on their menu and I never went back. The way I see it is, if a restaurant serves good baked stuffed shrimp, they probably excel at everything else on their menu . That theory has worked for me so far.
The rolls were hot and yummy, and I enjoyed a baked potato and coleslaw with my baked stuffed shrimp. I think it is extremely rare to find good coleslaw, when dining out. I would usually rather just make it myself. It was not the case at Petey’s – it was the best I’ve had in a long, long time (well aside from KFC’s of course).
My husband’s meal was fried clams, scallops, French fries and coleslaw. I keep telling my husband the correct New Hampshire way to pronounce "scallops" is that the “scall” portion of the word is pronounced like the word “wall” not like the word “pal”.) The clams and scallops were also delicious! I did not try the French fries until they were reheated this morning so I won’t comment since they were not fresh.
Petey’s also has a full bar. I ordered a rum and coke and I think there may have been more rum than coke. I ordered a second one and after a few sips I realized I needed to add more coke or I would not be walking out when we were finished eating.
My only complaint - “no substitutions” on the menu. Your meal comes with coleslaw and your choice of French fries, baked potato or rice. Those were the only choices. I asked, just in case, if onion rings could be substituted and the waitress said, “onion rings are only available as a side order”. I knew that ordering a side of them would be way too much food. We both took home portions of our meals. They were very large portions -- it is highly unusual for my husband to EVER have leftovers.
54 degrees and the sun was shining...that was yesterday. This morning it is 36 degrees and snowing.
I rate this place an "A-". It would have received an A+ if they allowed onion ring substitutions for the French fries (I'm not a big fan of French fries).
HerbAffair.com
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Paul Blart Mall Cop
I am a big fan of Kevin James; loved his show, "King of Queens". I probably enjoyed this movie more than other movies I've seen at the theatre because my friend and I had the only seats. Yes really the only ones! We were able to talk during the movie, which I've never done before. I have to say it felt a little weird to be able to just say something out loud and not worry about disturbing anyone else. Anyway...I really liked it. We laughed a lot and didn't have to worry about how loud we laughed. It was a little on the dumb side, but very, very funny. It wasn't Night at the Roxbury dumb/funny...this is hard to explain. I would definitely recommend it and would watch it again.
I'd give this an A-
I'd give this an A-
Monday, February 16, 2009
Shogun, Hooksett, New Hampshire
SHOGUN Hooksett, NH
February 16, 2008 was the 47th birthday of a friend of mine. We decided to be different and try the Shogun in Hooksett, NH. They had never been there…my husband and I had both been there a very, very long time ago.
It starts out with the birthday girl….since we hadn’t been there in so long, my friend’s husband decided to make reservations. We really couldn't remember if reservations were required. He made reservations for 5:15 PM. We agreed they would pick us up. When they had not arrived at our house by 5:15 PM, we called their cell phone. They were still about 10 minutes from our house. They had called and changed the reservations to a later time. Even that time still wouldn’t work -- they would still be making us late, but we didn't mind.
We arrived at Shogun a little before 6:00 PM. After telling the hostess we had reservations, she checked their list and promptly seated us (there was no waiting line). Ok, so if you’ve ever been there before, you already know you don’t need reservations, they probably don’t even take reservations and reservations wouldn't even make any difference. They just seat you at the next available table. It was quite obvious once we were seated and the whole time we were there, there were available seats.
Ok…so we arrive just in time (bear in mind our friend is having a birthday) to hear the staff helping with a birthday celebration. The head birthday singer, sounded like, well, ok…a cat that had it’s tail stepped on…..no, maybe a chicken …no…I’m not sure…it was a sound I’ve never heard before. Hmmmm…how would we describe it? …. a be-headed chicken??? A screech owl? I’ve never heard a be-headed chicken, so I’m not quite sure., but that would be the closest, I think. It would have been fun to embarrass my friend, but I didn’t even want to put MYSELF through that noise again. So we kept the birthday thing quiet. I looked over and there was a child who looked to be about 4 years old . He actually had his hands over his ears! I wanted to do the same, but at my age, it would have been VERY inappropriate!
Our salads were served; bagged iceberg. You know the one, yes that one, with shredded carrots. It was very interesting….it was served with some sort of teriyaki salad dressing. I have to say I liked the dressing but would not want to eat it every day.
It was very confusing to know what to order. There seemed to be a communication problem between the languages when we asked questions. We felt very lost and didn’t know what to ask or what to order. I ordered the Sukiyaki steak and my birthday friend ordered the Terriyaki steak so we split a $19.95 dinner for two (yes to make it more confusing, we had a coupon). Service was very poor. I had a Love Potion – brandy, amaretto, and passion fruits -- it was GREAT!! Our waitress didn’t come back to the table to ask if we wanted another drink, but we finally waved her down for another one.
Of course our cook was very talented. The shrimp tails went in his shirt pocket, the lobster tails in his hat. It was a lot of fun to watch everything cooked in front of us. But! BEWARE!
If you are allergic to seafood, be careful. The steak was cooked in the same area on the grill as the seafood. I’m so glad my daughter was not with us. We just found out that she is allergic to scallops.
The Japanese sauces they used were great…but again, if you have any allergies, beware. We didn’t really know what sauces were being added. Also, if you are a little germophobic, you might just have a couple of issues.
Dessert – I remembered having a “fried ice cream” many, many years ago. Since I saw it on the menu, I thought, “maybe it was here”. I remember loving it. I quickly searched my memory bank. It was this big scoop of ice cream with a slight coating around it. How did they do that, I remember asking myself? How do you fry ice cream without it melting? It always looked like it had not melted at all. Ok, when they brought our desert, I knew something was wrong. This dessert had a very thick cooey coating, and the ice-cream measured about a tablespoon. Disappointed, this was NOT the “fried ice cream” that I remembered.
My friend pretty much begged us not to mention it was her birthday. I think if she knew she would get a whole year of free dinners, she STILL would NOT have wanted us to mention it was her birthday….was it the dying chicken voice?
We went back to our house and discussed the reservations. Ok, we all admitted they were a joke. They did seat us in the next available spot (they did not hold any table for us), but that was ok. We had a really good laugh over it. It was pretty funny that he made reservations, then actually called to change them when we were going to be late. They probably were laughing at us, too.
February 16, 2008 was the 47th birthday of a friend of mine. We decided to be different and try the Shogun in Hooksett, NH. They had never been there…my husband and I had both been there a very, very long time ago.
It starts out with the birthday girl….since we hadn’t been there in so long, my friend’s husband decided to make reservations. We really couldn't remember if reservations were required. He made reservations for 5:15 PM. We agreed they would pick us up. When they had not arrived at our house by 5:15 PM, we called their cell phone. They were still about 10 minutes from our house. They had called and changed the reservations to a later time. Even that time still wouldn’t work -- they would still be making us late, but we didn't mind.
We arrived at Shogun a little before 6:00 PM. After telling the hostess we had reservations, she checked their list and promptly seated us (there was no waiting line). Ok, so if you’ve ever been there before, you already know you don’t need reservations, they probably don’t even take reservations and reservations wouldn't even make any difference. They just seat you at the next available table. It was quite obvious once we were seated and the whole time we were there, there were available seats.
Ok…so we arrive just in time (bear in mind our friend is having a birthday) to hear the staff helping with a birthday celebration. The head birthday singer, sounded like, well, ok…a cat that had it’s tail stepped on…..no, maybe a chicken …no…I’m not sure…it was a sound I’ve never heard before. Hmmmm…how would we describe it? …. a be-headed chicken??? A screech owl? I’ve never heard a be-headed chicken, so I’m not quite sure., but that would be the closest, I think. It would have been fun to embarrass my friend, but I didn’t even want to put MYSELF through that noise again. So we kept the birthday thing quiet. I looked over and there was a child who looked to be about 4 years old . He actually had his hands over his ears! I wanted to do the same, but at my age, it would have been VERY inappropriate!
Our salads were served; bagged iceberg. You know the one, yes that one, with shredded carrots. It was very interesting….it was served with some sort of teriyaki salad dressing. I have to say I liked the dressing but would not want to eat it every day.
It was very confusing to know what to order. There seemed to be a communication problem between the languages when we asked questions. We felt very lost and didn’t know what to ask or what to order. I ordered the Sukiyaki steak and my birthday friend ordered the Terriyaki steak so we split a $19.95 dinner for two (yes to make it more confusing, we had a coupon). Service was very poor. I had a Love Potion – brandy, amaretto, and passion fruits -- it was GREAT!! Our waitress didn’t come back to the table to ask if we wanted another drink, but we finally waved her down for another one.
Of course our cook was very talented. The shrimp tails went in his shirt pocket, the lobster tails in his hat. It was a lot of fun to watch everything cooked in front of us. But! BEWARE!
If you are allergic to seafood, be careful. The steak was cooked in the same area on the grill as the seafood. I’m so glad my daughter was not with us. We just found out that she is allergic to scallops.
The Japanese sauces they used were great…but again, if you have any allergies, beware. We didn’t really know what sauces were being added. Also, if you are a little germophobic, you might just have a couple of issues.
Dessert – I remembered having a “fried ice cream” many, many years ago. Since I saw it on the menu, I thought, “maybe it was here”. I remember loving it. I quickly searched my memory bank. It was this big scoop of ice cream with a slight coating around it. How did they do that, I remember asking myself? How do you fry ice cream without it melting? It always looked like it had not melted at all. Ok, when they brought our desert, I knew something was wrong. This dessert had a very thick cooey coating, and the ice-cream measured about a tablespoon. Disappointed, this was NOT the “fried ice cream” that I remembered.
My friend pretty much begged us not to mention it was her birthday. I think if she knew she would get a whole year of free dinners, she STILL would NOT have wanted us to mention it was her birthday….was it the dying chicken voice?
We went back to our house and discussed the reservations. Ok, we all admitted they were a joke. They did seat us in the next available spot (they did not hold any table for us), but that was ok. We had a really good laugh over it. It was pretty funny that he made reservations, then actually called to change them when we were going to be late. They probably were laughing at us, too.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Silo's Steakhouse, Merrimack, New Hampshire
SILO’S STEAKHOUSE, Merrimack, New Hampshire
January 26, 2008
I had driven past Silo’s Steakhouse a million times (well it seemed like a million anyway) but never stopped for lunch or dinner. A friend asked if we wanted to go there for dinner with her and her husband. They had really enjoyed dinner there about a month before. It sounded good to me. I was really looking forward to going out to dinner, since we had not been out for dinner in quite some time.
We called ahead at 5:15 PM to be put on the waiting list and were quite surprised to hear that it would be at least an hour to be seated on this Saturday night. We thought for sure we would be the only people looking to go out to dinner so early.
When we arrived, we decided to wait at the bar and enjoy a cocktail. Ever notice how a cocktail seems to make time fly by so much faster? My husband spotted oysters on the half shell. I, of course, was thinking, “YUCK!”. I try to stay away from anything uncooked unless it’s in the vegetable or fruit department. Of course, my husband enjoyed the oysters. My friend and I decided to split a cocktail shrimp, since we were both starving. That too, was delicious.
I decided to have the special - a strip steak smothered with scallops, shrimp (and I think it was) a mornay sauce. It was unbelievable! I ordered the Silo’s own stuffing to go with it -- the stuffing was good. Although the salad was fresh, I’m not a big fan of vinegar-type dressings. Next time I’ll have to remember to ask if I can get it without the dressing. The steak was very good other than my second bite included gristle, which was stuck in my back molars until I made it to the ladies room to discreetly remove it. Speaking of gristle….
About halfway into our enjoyable dinner, my friend stood up and moved toward her husband. I could tell, looking at her, that something was seriously wrong. I realized she was choking. The two husbands were engrossed in conversation. I said to her husband, “She’s choking!” He reached up and gave her the Heimlich and she began to breath. I quickly looked around at our neighboring diners and it looked like absolutely no one noticed what had just transpired. I was very relieved, as I know my friend would have been very embarrassed to think people had watched. Choking in a restaurant, I’m sure, would be a little embarrassing for anyone. It made me think about how lucky I was. I could have lost one of my best friends in an instant. We spoke on the phone the day after and agreed on a few of things:
1. No one should ever worry about spitting food out in a restaurant or anywhere in front of other people.
2. Restaurants should always have paper napkins on the table to go with their cloth napkins (personally I prefer paper anytime to cloth). It seems it would be more polite to spit food into a paper napkin if necessary, rather than a cloth napkin.
3. Every restaurant should have a Heimlich dummy in the lobby. All customers should have to pass the test of dislodging the food stuck in its throat before they are allowed to order any food. Okay, maybe this one is a little far-fetched, but you get the picture.
I think the intensity of the moment caused us all to want to cry, but we continued our evening as if nothing had happened. Even though we had this terrible event, I would highly recommend this restaurant.
This was a real first for me …well I must say my first in a restaurant/public place. I have had two episodes at home with my husband. Maybe I’ll save that for a later blog. But I will just say, never let your husband fall asleep with a throat lozenge in his mouth and never let him watch Two and a Half Men while eating hard candy or anything else.
Speaking of Two and a Half Men….it has to be, by far, the best sitcom on TV right now. For me, it replaced Everybody Loves Raymond, when it went off the air.
This place get an "A-". I would have given it a higher grade if not for the vinegar dressing on the salad.
January 26, 2008
I had driven past Silo’s Steakhouse a million times (well it seemed like a million anyway) but never stopped for lunch or dinner. A friend asked if we wanted to go there for dinner with her and her husband. They had really enjoyed dinner there about a month before. It sounded good to me. I was really looking forward to going out to dinner, since we had not been out for dinner in quite some time.
We called ahead at 5:15 PM to be put on the waiting list and were quite surprised to hear that it would be at least an hour to be seated on this Saturday night. We thought for sure we would be the only people looking to go out to dinner so early.
When we arrived, we decided to wait at the bar and enjoy a cocktail. Ever notice how a cocktail seems to make time fly by so much faster? My husband spotted oysters on the half shell. I, of course, was thinking, “YUCK!”. I try to stay away from anything uncooked unless it’s in the vegetable or fruit department. Of course, my husband enjoyed the oysters. My friend and I decided to split a cocktail shrimp, since we were both starving. That too, was delicious.
I decided to have the special - a strip steak smothered with scallops, shrimp (and I think it was) a mornay sauce. It was unbelievable! I ordered the Silo’s own stuffing to go with it -- the stuffing was good. Although the salad was fresh, I’m not a big fan of vinegar-type dressings. Next time I’ll have to remember to ask if I can get it without the dressing. The steak was very good other than my second bite included gristle, which was stuck in my back molars until I made it to the ladies room to discreetly remove it. Speaking of gristle….
About halfway into our enjoyable dinner, my friend stood up and moved toward her husband. I could tell, looking at her, that something was seriously wrong. I realized she was choking. The two husbands were engrossed in conversation. I said to her husband, “She’s choking!” He reached up and gave her the Heimlich and she began to breath. I quickly looked around at our neighboring diners and it looked like absolutely no one noticed what had just transpired. I was very relieved, as I know my friend would have been very embarrassed to think people had watched. Choking in a restaurant, I’m sure, would be a little embarrassing for anyone. It made me think about how lucky I was. I could have lost one of my best friends in an instant. We spoke on the phone the day after and agreed on a few of things:
1. No one should ever worry about spitting food out in a restaurant or anywhere in front of other people.
2. Restaurants should always have paper napkins on the table to go with their cloth napkins (personally I prefer paper anytime to cloth). It seems it would be more polite to spit food into a paper napkin if necessary, rather than a cloth napkin.
3. Every restaurant should have a Heimlich dummy in the lobby. All customers should have to pass the test of dislodging the food stuck in its throat before they are allowed to order any food. Okay, maybe this one is a little far-fetched, but you get the picture.
I think the intensity of the moment caused us all to want to cry, but we continued our evening as if nothing had happened. Even though we had this terrible event, I would highly recommend this restaurant.
This was a real first for me …well I must say my first in a restaurant/public place. I have had two episodes at home with my husband. Maybe I’ll save that for a later blog. But I will just say, never let your husband fall asleep with a throat lozenge in his mouth and never let him watch Two and a Half Men while eating hard candy or anything else.
Speaking of Two and a Half Men….it has to be, by far, the best sitcom on TV right now. For me, it replaced Everybody Loves Raymond, when it went off the air.
This place get an "A-". I would have given it a higher grade if not for the vinegar dressing on the salad.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
House of Blues and Better Than Ezra, New Orleans, Louisiana
HOUSE OF BLUES, December 20 and 21, 2007
We ate dinner here 2 nights of our trip and had no complaints. Of course the main reason for our New Orleans trip was two Better Than Ezra concerts at the House of Blues.
BETTER THAN EZRA
House of Blues, New Orleans, December 20 and 21, 2007
I have attended numerous Better Than Ezra concerts (at least 15 maybe even 20 – I’ve lost count). I have not yet attended a bad one. These 2 concerts were not any different -- they were both great. It was my first time hearing Merry Christmas Eve (which btw is one of my all-time favorite songs) live. I have to say, though, I was a little disappointed that I only heard it the first night, not the second. I especially felt badly for those who had not been there the night before and missed it.
I’ve met Kevin, Tom, Travis and Jim several times. They are a great group of men who seem to truly appreciate their fans. When they’ve been promoting their CDs, they have held several “Meet and Greets” for their fans and have always seemed happy to sign any memorabilia presented to them.
I’ve heard the BTE Christmas shows are always sold out so if you want to attend, make sure you get your tickets early. Check them out at BETTER THAN EZRA.
By the way, who is this “English Dave” who Kevin always says “hi” to?
We ate dinner here 2 nights of our trip and had no complaints. Of course the main reason for our New Orleans trip was two Better Than Ezra concerts at the House of Blues.
BETTER THAN EZRA
House of Blues, New Orleans, December 20 and 21, 2007
I have attended numerous Better Than Ezra concerts (at least 15 maybe even 20 – I’ve lost count). I have not yet attended a bad one. These 2 concerts were not any different -- they were both great. It was my first time hearing Merry Christmas Eve (which btw is one of my all-time favorite songs) live. I have to say, though, I was a little disappointed that I only heard it the first night, not the second. I especially felt badly for those who had not been there the night before and missed it.
I’ve met Kevin, Tom, Travis and Jim several times. They are a great group of men who seem to truly appreciate their fans. When they’ve been promoting their CDs, they have held several “Meet and Greets” for their fans and have always seemed happy to sign any memorabilia presented to them.
I’ve heard the BTE Christmas shows are always sold out so if you want to attend, make sure you get your tickets early. Check them out at BETTER THAN EZRA.
By the way, who is this “English Dave” who Kevin always says “hi” to?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Lydia
- Lydia Blogg is a decorator/designer who specializes in designing and fabricating custom window treatments. When Lydia realized she loved her weekend remodeling jobs more than her office job, she made a career change. Through years of hands-on experience, she has become expert in decorating, custom window treatments, interior/exterior painting, tiling, sewing, refinishing furniture, flower arrangements, home and office efficiency solutions, home repairs. She has years of experience in accounting and the list goes on.... Lydia loves to write and is currently working on a weight-loss book. If you have a blog you think Lydia might like to follow, please email her at lydiablogg@gmail.com. Lydia's motto: "It's just as easy to be nice as it is to be mean and rotten!" PLEASE NOTE: The artist has a copyright on all art work on this blog - Thank you for not copying them.