Google+ / Zagat Contains Fake Reviews?

Tonight, I was poking around Google+.. checking out reviews. I was surprised to see what I saw on Google+ (or was it Zagat)?

I was checking on a restaurant and noticed a several reviews from last week. And then it drops off in frequency dramatically. I kept reading and then reviews started to sound familiar so I scrolled back up to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.

If you paid attention in my photo of an example dupe, you will see that the duper is a lazy ass. Too lazy to shift for CAPS! Wouldn’t it be easier to just cut and paste anyways!? I suppose you can’t fix punctuations on the fly that way.. lol

I have no idea why Zagat or Google+ would dupe reviews? I did go to Zagat.com and looked at the reviews. The most recent reviews are from 2010, no duping on the main Zagat website.

To say the least, I’m not trusting Google+ for reviews at the moment. Going directly to review websites is more reliable. I did send a comment to Google+ of what I noticed in case there is a bug or error. Curious to see if it submits to a black hole.

The Burger Shack

As I ventured in the URI area, I stumbled upon a plaza of eateries. After walking through, the verdict was to try The Burger Shack down in Kingston, Rhode Island.

Neat little self service burger joint with Chalk Board style menu above the ordering counter. Besides burgers, there are other options such as wrap and salad. They have a soda fountain and bottled water as beverage choices. All their burgers comes with fries.

This joint is rather pricey for self serve. $6.99 for a hamburger. They use shredded lettuce for the burgers which I thought was weird. At least, it tasted good from the grill. Since the price included fries, does that justify that fries doesn’t have to be fresh? The french fries was basically room temperature. I ate one piece and that was the end of that.

Finished my food and tossed out the trash to end my journey in Kingston, RI. The Burger Shack is a tad cheaper and better than Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

The Little Depot Diner

A FAN of Food Network? In November of 2009, Guy Fieri of the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” featured The Little Depot Diner, focusing on such items as mulligatawny soup and Boston baked beans. If you’re making a trip to Salem, Ma this Halloween season, you should definitely stop by The Little Depot Diner in Peabody Square.

The Little Depot is a 1929 Worcester Lunch Car with 13 stools. This cute lunch car is only open on weekends from 7am-1am. Be sure to bring cash and use the restroom prior or else…

 

I thought about ordering the Train Wreck to see the Little Depot Train go around the diner, but I don’t do poached eggs. I opted for Hungry Hobo Hash. Man O man, was I glad to have order it! The corned beef hash is to die for.

Along with the wonderful breakfast was the hospitality. Judy was very hospitable and gave a few tips on our journey into Salem. It was certainly a delight with the warm welcome by everyone on both sides of the counter.

Benefits of Grapes

After a sleepless night, I decided to go get a massage this afternoon to rid of my trigger points. I also noticed that I was mildly inflamed as well so tonight, I grabbed a bunch of grapes and decided to blog about how awesome grapes are!

Aside from being loaded with nutrients and antioxidants, grapes are anti-inflammatory. I figured that should get a few doses of grapes in within the next few days so maybe I wont need to pop a Motrin later on.

I have the tendency to buy red grapes (if the skin is not too tannic) because it is healthier than white grapes and the best in preventing heart disease and cancer prevention.

I am trying to eat grapes more regularly to ward off illnesses, diseases and to slow down the process of aging since I’m trying to cut down my consumption of wine (and other alcoholic beverages). I don’t have high blood pressure so I don’t need the high concentration of resveratrol in red wine.

Since I must eat my fatty foods like prime rib and bacon, I got to balance it out by eating healthy foods like grapes! It’s proven by the French!

The Commons 1854

I came to Boston’s North Shore wedding venue for an intimate wedding. It was a nice evening so the ceremony was held outdoors at Topsfield Common. Very nice green scenery as a back drop for the wedding ceremony.

Following the wedding ceremony was the cocktail hour on the ground floor of The Commons 1854. Cocktails by selection of the newly weds as we mingled and made our way upstairs to the ballroom for the banquet.

For the first course, we were served the October Salad wrapped in thin English Cucumber. Wild field greens tossed with sugared walnuts, creamy goat cheese and dried blueberries drizzled with homemade cider vinaigrette. Very light and refreshing salad to start off the dinner.

There was a break between the first and second course. Great pause for more cocktails, cake cutting and photos.

As for the second course, apparently my choice of chicken wasn’t part of the menu!? I chose Sole since the prime rib was at least medium. Maryland Blue Crab Stuffed Filet of Sole was stuffed with Maryland lump blue crab meat and buttery crumbs, combined with white wine, aged cheddar and fresh lemon juice. The sole is then baked and served with a pure cream and sherry sauce along with asparagus and mashed potatoes. Very powerful entree, bold in texture and flavor. I was more in love with the crab meat stuffing than the fish itself.

After dinner, the wedding cake was served to all the guests. There was also a coffee station for self service or you can wait for a server to come along. Either way, you still would have to go to the coffee station for cream and sugar. Cookies were passed around during dancing time.

The meal here at Topsfield Common was definitely one of the better venue meals I had in recent memory. The event was nicely managed, as the evening went smoothly and everyone had a grand time with the newly weds.

 

 

Wasabi Modern Japanese Cuisine

If you like a unique environment, maybe, Wasabi Modern Japanese Cuisine will captivate you. As I was shopping at South Shore Plaza in Braintree Ma, I noticed Wasabi underneath the escalator. I stopped by for a bite and to check out the quality and prices.

The service was spotty. I sat down for 5 minutes and no server came to me so I turned around and asked for a Coke. I read thru the menu which mentioned that I can place an order with the server if I don’t see what I want on the conveyor belt.

The sushi conveyor belt basically had the same 5 nigiri and maki going around and around so not that interesting. For value, the salmon avocado maki was definitely better than salmon nigiri. The maki costs fifty cents more and felt like more salmon. The fish on nigiri is thinly sliced over a ball of rice. I also had an eel and avocado maki. The eel was not meaty at all. After having two makimonos and one nigiri, my conclusion is that the texture at Wasabi Modern Japanese Cuisine is too mooshy.

For the price, I wasn’t expecting superb quality. I can’t think of anywhere else I can get an eel avocado maki for $3.50! In that aspect, if I want to have mouth watering sushi, I should dine else where. For bargain maki, this is the place to be.

North 26 at Millennium Hotel Faneuil Hall

North 26 at Millennium Hotel, Faneuil Hall is one of Boston’s finest restaurants. I was mesmerized by the stunning interior design, captivated by the tones of hickory and dark walnut woodwork. Plenty of natural light to embrace nature in the atmosphere. I particularly could not get my eyes off diagonal lines of the table setting, totally eccentric!

Lemonade

I came into this naturalistic Boston restaurant for lunch during Restaurant Week 2012. I decided to skip dessert and order the light lunch version. For appetizers, the choices are: Summer Peach and Tomato Gazpacho, Cape Cod Clam Chowder or Grilled Caesar Wedge. For entree, the choices are: Grass Fed Burger, Pan Seared Cod or Eggplant Stack. I opted for the Cape Cod Clam Chowder and Grass Fed Burger.

The Cape Cod Clam Chowder was savory rich, drizzled with minced chives. With the pepper shaker, I cracked some pepper over the chowder using the coarse grind (There was a choice of coarse or fine). With each spoonful, you can taste the flavor of bacon along with plentiful bits of little neck clams. Definitely the best chowder I’ve had recently.

Grass Fed Burger

I opted for the grass fed burger because I was curious about the “grass fed” part of the burger. There were a choice a cheese but I skipped it because I am not a fan of cheeseburgers. I am a hamburger kind of gal! I was delighted to see the bun grilled to nice toastiness when the burger arrived before my eyes. The patty was six ounces which was perfect for my petite appetite. The grass fed burger was definitely juicy and tasty from the grill. Next to the burger was seasoned French Fries. The fries were crunchy and flavorful with the seasoning and ketchup.

Glass mini jar Condiments

Speaking of ketchup, the condiments were in cutie containers. If I didn’t need to use them, I would have took them with me!

Next time I’m near by, I will swing by North 26 to try the Kobe Beef Hot Dog.  It is served in my favorite bun – brioche!