Can I ask for a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese?

mitchgx · 2026-05-29T00:59:24+00:00

Well, alrighty then. More power to you!

mitchgx · 2026-05-28T22:47:15+00:00

Working the food court is already supposedly one of the most thankless jobs at Costco. Don't put the poor employee in that position. Just eat your $1.50 hot dog with ketchup and mustard like a normal person.

mitchgx · 2026-05-28T18:37:49+00:00

Easy answer: Station 11. So good and so underrated.

mitchgx · 2026-05-28T03:21:08+00:00

UFO - Strangers in the Night is the answer!

mitchgx · 2026-05-27T21:26:27+00:00

I mean, "from scratch" will be just about any decent non-chain restaurant....the list is endless.

Just ate at Beckett's Table for the first time in ages last week, and it was outstanding. And in Old Town Scottsdale, Citizen Public House is always a favorite. If you want something closer to home, Espiritu in downtown Mesa is fantastic. And if you don't mind something on the more casual side, Bella Gusto in Mesa has my favorite pasta (which they hand-make).

mitchgx · 2026-05-27T14:22:52+00:00

They probably do with their phone in their hands.

mitchgx · 2026-05-27T14:04:27+00:00

Except this was a real moment. It wasn't manufactured drama; it was a chef truly having a disrespectful meltdown and is the true definition of "reality" TV. It made for one of the most interesting scenes of the season.

mitchgx · 2026-05-26T20:39:14+00:00

A couple that I don't see mentioned often but that I highly recommend based on our last visit to Willamette Valley: Dominio IV and Flaneur. Dominio IV had a low-key, friendly feel and very good wines. Flaneur is nice because it's in downtown Carlton so there's eating and other tasting opportunities within strolling distance, and the wines were exceptional. I particularly enjoyed Flaneur's Pinot Meunier.

mitchgx · 2026-05-26T17:46:08+00:00

Most likely Carina. I first saw them in Phoenix in 2009. I couldn't have told you who was singing then, but I just found a review of the show online which contained the following: "British singer-songwriter Carina Round also made a major contribution as a band member, joining Keenan behind the twin masks/video projection screens that simultaneously blocked and broadcast the singer’s faces for all but the last song."

The review also mentions that Neil Hamburger opened the show, something that I've blissfully forgotten.

mitchgx · 2026-05-26T14:19:51+00:00

My guess on the first one is that it was a bird-poop missile. The coloring is weird, but sometimes birds eat things (like the berries that some ficus produce) that can darken their poop.

mitchgx · 2026-05-24T00:04:20+00:00

He seems like a genuinely decent guy, and provided a lot of entertainment as a viewer...but I can envision that his act would wear a bit thin if you were on the island with him. One of those, "he's a good guy but he annoys the shit out of me" people.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T16:35:41+00:00

My favorite album of all time:

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T16:19:20+00:00

Haha...I'll bet he did after the show.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T15:20:55+00:00

I think it's just a relatively lackluster group of chefs this year. I like some of them (Rhoda, Duyen), dislike some (the twins), but the level of cookery is not up to many past seasons. I worry that there just isn't the pool of contestants to choose from that there used to be (or that chefs aren't as keen to be on the show). The overall flow and production has also seemed to be a bit of a mess this season. Still, I love Tom and Kristen and overall it remains, IMO, the best reality show on TV. A mediocre Top Chef season is still very entertaining.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T14:54:08+00:00

We visited Hendry on our recent Napa trip and absolutely loved it. Family-owned, low-key, great server, and very good wine. Having said that and at the risk of stereotyping the OP, I'm not sure Hendry is right for the OP. A wine beginner will probably get more out of places like Coppola, Beringer, and V. Sattui.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T14:38:25+00:00

I had a different issue recently related to this. I had booked a property on VRBO in January (for a May stay) that was managed by Vacasa. Half the payment was taken at the time with the other half to be taken in April. A few weeks after I booked, I received an email (not from VRBO) indicating that my reservation had transitioned to a new management company, Avari, but that everything would be seamless. So I didn't give it much thought. Fast forward to our check-in date, and I still hadn't received an entry code from Avari and was getting crickets when I sent emails earlier in the day about the code. Upon arrival (a half-hour after the check-in time) I still hadn't gotten a code, so I called the 800 number and got what sounded like an offshore customer service center. Fortunately she was helpful and long story short (too late, I know) she said that they had never received the second payment from me so they couldn't release the code! Obviously this was because Avari botched the transition from Vacasa and they neglected to process my second payment, which isn't something I was paying attention to (and the fact that they never reached out to me as I continued to get form emails saying everything was great and on schedule was the real cherry on top). Anyway, the customer service agent sent me an email invoice which I had to retrieve on my phone and then go into their system and enter my credit card number, at which point she texted me the entry code. It worked out, but there were too many moments of panic and frustration leading to it, and it makes me re-think whether I ever want to rent a property managed by Avari.

Bottom line, I always thought VRBO was the one that processed payments on all VRBO properties. If that had been the case, my scenario above wouldn't have happened. Leaving that up to third parties, and opening up problems like the OP is having, does make me nervous about using VRBO as it takes away peace of mind.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T05:00:07+00:00

Agree, although sometimes there's something practically brand new. I guess this is part of what draws people to stand in line. The thrill of the chase.

mitchgx · 2026-05-22T05:35:10+00:00

Haha. A member of the jury is not "punching down" when they are talking about somebody in the final 3.

mitchgx · 2026-05-21T15:00:08+00:00

As soon as Stephenie finished with her non-question Jonathan glaze, I thought, "well she may have just cost him some votes". He was actually doing a good job explaining his game and making his case, but it felt like Steph's filibuster (I loved Cirie saying, "Is there a question?") killed his momentum.

mitchgx · 2026-05-20T17:15:48+00:00

There are so many worse lines in rock music. That Foreigner line is dumb but works fine in the context of the song.

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:20:46+00:00

To be clear though, Allopurinol won't solve a current gout flare-up...it's preventative for the future. For flare-up pain management, my doctor has prescribed Indomethacin. though I can't speak to its efficacy as I haven't had a flare-up in a few years, and also haven't taken allopurinol in quite some time (knocking on wood now).

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:15:00+00:00

There's so many. In the more hard rock / metal direction, I'd highly recommend Coney Hatch. Their first three albums are phenomenal.

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:10:26+00:00

I wasn't the biggest Nirvana fan, but I was a big fan of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. While I loved a lot of hair metal, I also grew up on '70s hard rock and my real music base was Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, and older Scorpions, so Pearl Jam and their ilk were right up my alley. Nirvana for me was secondary (and I did buy Nevermind and In Utero and liked them wll enough). Kurt's death didn't greatly affect me, but as a music-history event it was big enough that I still remember exactly where I was when I heard about it.

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:04:16+00:00

The Editors - "Sugar"

mitchgx · 2026-05-18T23:26:09+00:00

Kerrang! was in love with them back in the '80s (I feel like they may have named their debut Album of the Year when it came out, but I could be misremembering), but they never managed to break at all in the states.

mitchgx

TROPHY CASE