Athletes are idiots, sports writers can't write, houses are overpriced and other amusing observations!
Antonio Bryant, a wide receiver for the 49ers was cited for drunk driving and speeding at speeds in excess of 100 mph while driving his Lamboughini. Idiot!
A writer for the Fresno Bee, in an article about the Fresno State Men's Basketball team made the brilliant observation that the team is off to its best start since the 2004-2005 season, wow, a whole one season in between. Good work!
CNN released a list of the top 10 overpriced major metroploitan housing markets in the country. 8 of the 10 markets were in California including the 9th ranked Fresno are where only 7% of people can actually afford the houses they are purchasing. I liked the top 10 affordable list personally, which ranged from between 80% - 90% affordability, houses averaged $80,000 - $140,000. Can you say, "I am ready to move."
I ordered a textbook for my Economics course I am currently taking, paid for overnight shipping. Should have recieved it today. Didn't. I am pissed because I paid $17.00 for overnight shipping and now with the holiday I will not recieve the text until Friday. They better refund my overnight shipping charges.
I find it kind of funny, although I know I would be upset if it happened at my house, however there are reports of people playing the new Nintendo Wii who have thrown their controller by accident and it has broken their television screen.
Matt Hughes got his butt kicked this weekend in UFC action. Finally about time the cocky ass lost. I don't think I have ever seen a fight where so many people cheered when the champion got knocked out.
In a related note Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko will defend his title against Mark Hunt at Pride’s Shockwave show on New Year's Eve.
Madison said, "Hi Da Da" when I got home today. It is the first time she has strung toghether words that were recognizable, she has really been chatting alot lately in her own language, so I hope she begins talking soon. I really think Austin was already talking when he was her age.
Oh well, class is about out. I guess it is time to go and put the children to bed. Everyone have a good Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Nearly 50 foster kids died in 2005
Advocacy group tallies the children who have died under state's care.
The tally by the Children's Advocacy Institute is the first measurement of how many of California's most vulnerable children die while under the state's guardianship.
The institute, based at the University of San Diego School of Law, also found that more than 60 children in foster care died in 2004. California has about 75,000 foster children, 25% of the nation's foster-care population.
Some of the children died accidentally or of natural causes. But others were neglected or abused by caregivers. The causes of death were not included in the study.
The death count includes children such as Dylan James George, 2, whose foster parents have been charged with fatally beating him in their Fremont home in 2004. Anthony Cortez, 15, was choked to death by another child in a Stockton group home in 2003. Four-month-old Christopher Battie died of sudden infant death syndrome in a Fresno foster home in 2003.
Data comparing the death rate for children in foster care with the death rate for children overall were not available because the state has not compiled updated mortality statistics for the general population.
The California Department of Social Services collects data on how many children in foster care statewide are injured, but not on how many die.
Advocates said a failure to monitor deaths in foster care could hamper efforts to improve the system. The state failed a federal review three years ago in part because children were not being kept safe enough after being removed from their homes.
"It just makes common sense that the state should be tracking and aware of how and when their children are dying, and if there's anything they can do to stop that," said Christina Riehl, an attorney at the Children's Advocacy Institute.
Riehl said the institute started its count after a state law went into effect requiring counties to release the name and date of death of each child who dies while in foster care.
Mary Ault, California's deputy director of children and family services, said the state reviews individual death reports and has monitored fatality trends through the Child Death Review Council.
"I believe the more facts we have, the more information we have, the better we're able to manage for better outcomes," Ault said.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Movie Review: Hollywoodland
This weekend I was able to break away from my hectic schedule to go to lunch and a movie. Lunch was fair, we went to Yoshino's which for anyone not familiar with Fresno is a Japanese Restauant which does traditional dining, Teppanyaki, and has a Sushi Bar. It is only the second time I can recall having gone to Yoshino's, we typically frequent a crosstown rival by the name of Edo-Ya. After dining at Yoshino's it was easy to see why we have favored its competition, while the salmon and cream cheese sushi was appetizing the main course lacked the taste of Edo-Ya's food.
Enough with the food, let's move on to the entertainment. Being that there are a couple of films either in the theater or opening soon that I want to see Jamie was kind enough to allow me to select the movie we would watch. I feel bad for her when this happens because she usually doesn't enjoy alot of the same movies that I do but she was sweet enough to let me select Hollywoodland. For anyone that doesn't know, Hollywoodland is the film that just opened this weekend in which Ben Affleck (who I can't stand) plays George Reeve's, famous for his role as television's Superman. In 1959 George Reeve's committed suicide, this movie was the story of a private investigator (played by Oscar deserving Adrien Brody) hired by Reeve's mother to look into his suicide to see if possibly it was a murder case. The movie switches back and forth regulary between Adrien Brody's investigation and scenes of Georges Reeves life. Diane Lane also does an excellent job in the film portraying Toni Maddox, a woman married to a hollywood executive which George Reeves has a long-lasting affair with. Although I am far from a fan of Ben Affleck I will say he does a decent job in this role, I almost forgot I was watching him, which is definitely a good thing. Adrien Brody shines throughout. This is definitely a slower moving, more involved viewing and if you are not a fan of films such as LA Confidential and Memento I would strongly recommend staying away from this film, otherwise I highly recommend it.
This weekend I was able to break away from my hectic schedule to go to lunch and a movie. Lunch was fair, we went to Yoshino's which for anyone not familiar with Fresno is a Japanese Restauant which does traditional dining, Teppanyaki, and has a Sushi Bar. It is only the second time I can recall having gone to Yoshino's, we typically frequent a crosstown rival by the name of Edo-Ya. After dining at Yoshino's it was easy to see why we have favored its competition, while the salmon and cream cheese sushi was appetizing the main course lacked the taste of Edo-Ya's food.
Enough with the food, let's move on to the entertainment. Being that there are a couple of films either in the theater or opening soon that I want to see Jamie was kind enough to allow me to select the movie we would watch. I feel bad for her when this happens because she usually doesn't enjoy alot of the same movies that I do but she was sweet enough to let me select Hollywoodland. For anyone that doesn't know, Hollywoodland is the film that just opened this weekend in which Ben Affleck (who I can't stand) plays George Reeve's, famous for his role as television's Superman. In 1959 George Reeve's committed suicide, this movie was the story of a private investigator (played by Oscar deserving Adrien Brody) hired by Reeve's mother to look into his suicide to see if possibly it was a murder case. The movie switches back and forth regulary between Adrien Brody's investigation and scenes of Georges Reeves life. Diane Lane also does an excellent job in the film portraying Toni Maddox, a woman married to a hollywood executive which George Reeves has a long-lasting affair with. Although I am far from a fan of Ben Affleck I will say he does a decent job in this role, I almost forgot I was watching him, which is definitely a good thing. Adrien Brody shines throughout. This is definitely a slower moving, more involved viewing and if you are not a fan of films such as LA Confidential and Memento I would strongly recommend staying away from this film, otherwise I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Movie Reviews...
So in the last 10 days I have seen five movies in the theater: Superman Returns, Click, Nacho Libre, The Breakup and Cars. I only have definite plans to see two more during the summer season: You, Me and Dupree and Pirates, but things can always change.
So what did I think of the movies that I have seen so far? (all ratings are out of five)
Superman Returns (****) - This was easily the best of the movies I have seen so far this summer, however since I have huge expectations for You, Me and Dupree I need to leave room at the top of the scale. Brandon Routh plays Superman and it is almost eiry how similar he looks to the character as played by Christopher Reaves. Having seen all four of Reaves films during my childhood I must say that Superman Returns topped all of his efforts. I didn't like the lighting, cartoonish feel they gave Superman when he was in costume for the space shuttle scene at the beginning of the movie. Kate Bosworth wasn't done justice with the dark hair color as she is normally an attractive woman but I guess they had to keep with tradition for Lois Lane, my question is, why not just cast someone with darker hair? Kevin Spacey is an excellent actor, easily the best of the cast, that being said I think they should have used that to their advantage and somehow used him a little more, I felt like he was underused. So with the exception of the things I juts mentioned this film was excellent, I don't want to give anything away so that is the extent of what I plan to say about Superman.
Click (***) - While Click recieved a terrible review in the Fresno Bee I completely expected to like the film since the Fresno Bee allows idiots to review movies. Click was a brilliant blend of Adam Sandler Comedy (Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore, 50 First Dates, Water Boy) with Adam Sandler Drama (Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish). Personally I am glad to see Sandler expand beyond the usual comedic performance and try to do films with deeper meaning and click was excellent in that regard. Jamie and my friends that I saw the movie with felt that it dragged a little in the middle, and while I agree it did slow down a little, I typically enjoy slower movies, while she doesn't. I will admit that the duck or platypus gig gets a little old towards the end of the film but overall I liked the movie. Definitely worth the price of my matinee admission.
The Breakup (***) - What else can I say Vince Vaughn is awesome. He made this a movie. Jennifer Anniston was okay in the film but I am finding myself getting annoyed with her as an actress as the years pass. I was never a fan of Friends and the only movies I have ever seen her in that I appreciated were Edward Burn's She's The One, and Someting About Polly, however she didn't make either of those movies and I even found her annoying in Something About Polly at times. While the Breakup was thrashed by many because of its ending I thought the ending was appropriate, I don't have that Jennifer Anniston infatuation that our society has with the Brad Pitt Breakup.
Cars (**) - I thoroughly enjoyed this fil which I saw with Austin, however I would have to say that it is probably towards the bottom of the Pixar collection, that doesn't make it a bad movie, it just means Pixar has made some great films. Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy were both perfectly cast for their roles. Definitely worth seeing if you are taking the kids.
Nacho Libre (**) - Take Napolean Dynamite, add Jack Black in Speedo's and you have a movie. Funny if you enjoy body humor, Jack Black plays the role like no one else could. Let me repeat Napolean Dynamite, if you hated Napolean Dynamite, you will hate this. If you liked Napolean Dynamite, give it a try.
So in the last 10 days I have seen five movies in the theater: Superman Returns, Click, Nacho Libre, The Breakup and Cars. I only have definite plans to see two more during the summer season: You, Me and Dupree and Pirates, but things can always change.
So what did I think of the movies that I have seen so far? (all ratings are out of five)
Superman Returns (****) - This was easily the best of the movies I have seen so far this summer, however since I have huge expectations for You, Me and Dupree I need to leave room at the top of the scale. Brandon Routh plays Superman and it is almost eiry how similar he looks to the character as played by Christopher Reaves. Having seen all four of Reaves films during my childhood I must say that Superman Returns topped all of his efforts. I didn't like the lighting, cartoonish feel they gave Superman when he was in costume for the space shuttle scene at the beginning of the movie. Kate Bosworth wasn't done justice with the dark hair color as she is normally an attractive woman but I guess they had to keep with tradition for Lois Lane, my question is, why not just cast someone with darker hair? Kevin Spacey is an excellent actor, easily the best of the cast, that being said I think they should have used that to their advantage and somehow used him a little more, I felt like he was underused. So with the exception of the things I juts mentioned this film was excellent, I don't want to give anything away so that is the extent of what I plan to say about Superman.
Click (***) - While Click recieved a terrible review in the Fresno Bee I completely expected to like the film since the Fresno Bee allows idiots to review movies. Click was a brilliant blend of Adam Sandler Comedy (Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore, 50 First Dates, Water Boy) with Adam Sandler Drama (Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish). Personally I am glad to see Sandler expand beyond the usual comedic performance and try to do films with deeper meaning and click was excellent in that regard. Jamie and my friends that I saw the movie with felt that it dragged a little in the middle, and while I agree it did slow down a little, I typically enjoy slower movies, while she doesn't. I will admit that the duck or platypus gig gets a little old towards the end of the film but overall I liked the movie. Definitely worth the price of my matinee admission.
The Breakup (***) - What else can I say Vince Vaughn is awesome. He made this a movie. Jennifer Anniston was okay in the film but I am finding myself getting annoyed with her as an actress as the years pass. I was never a fan of Friends and the only movies I have ever seen her in that I appreciated were Edward Burn's She's The One, and Someting About Polly, however she didn't make either of those movies and I even found her annoying in Something About Polly at times. While the Breakup was thrashed by many because of its ending I thought the ending was appropriate, I don't have that Jennifer Anniston infatuation that our society has with the Brad Pitt Breakup.
Cars (**) - I thoroughly enjoyed this fil which I saw with Austin, however I would have to say that it is probably towards the bottom of the Pixar collection, that doesn't make it a bad movie, it just means Pixar has made some great films. Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy were both perfectly cast for their roles. Definitely worth seeing if you are taking the kids.
Nacho Libre (**) - Take Napolean Dynamite, add Jack Black in Speedo's and you have a movie. Funny if you enjoy body humor, Jack Black plays the role like no one else could. Let me repeat Napolean Dynamite, if you hated Napolean Dynamite, you will hate this. If you liked Napolean Dynamite, give it a try.
Friday, June 30, 2006
So two posts in the same week...
Well after neglecting this for six months, I have decided to once again try and keep this up to date. What a long day today turned out to be. I should have known when I tried to Watch Argentina and Germany this morning and it went to overtime and penalty kicks that the match would foreshadow the rest of the day to come. Where do we start...
Today was June 30 and with interest rates rising, it was the last day to consolidate staudent loans to lock in the lower rate. Being that I am going back to school and knew I could take an inschool deferment I really didn't consider consolidating until a couple of weeks ago when I saw what the new rates were going to be. I must say that consolidating my loans took calls to four different companies and visiting three different web sites before finally being able to get the task completed. The first company told I spoke with was full of shit, the telephone agent had to speak to his supervisor regarding my question about returning to school and then came back and told me that I missed my deadline by 90 minutes for in school consolidations, when in reality they didn't want to take my loan because they realized after the consolidation I would be eligible for an in-school deferment and they wouldn't see any money for 18 months. So after two hours of phone calls, web searches and penalty kicks it was out the door to complete my tasks for the day.
What should have been an easy day rapidly turned into a difficult frustrating one all within a 15 minute time frame. I recieved a call from a partner stating that we recieved a letter from licensing regarding our Lemoore Group Home which directly contradicted information we had previously been given, I recieved a phone call from my son's mother regarding him needing x-rays on his thumb because of an injury from riding his bike, and I got two additional calls regarding group home business. Needless to say with it being Friday afternoon before what is of course a Holiday weekend where many people with vacation won't be returning to work until Wednesday I was unable to resolve the Lemoore Group Home issue and now I have to sit on it until Wednesday which is very frustrating. For some reason somebody doesn't want it to open up this second group home because everytime I turn around there is another issue, when for our first home we breezed through the licensing process. The problems with the second home started with City Planning being unknowledgeable of state code and evolved into there being issues with the same exact program that was licensed for our first house. Now there is another facility within 300 feet of our facility even though we did a web search that turned up no such facilities and planning also did a search which showed no such facilities and provided us a letter stating so. I am confused, the director of Community Care Licensing seemed somewhat interested in our complaints when I spoke with him today however, we have to first attempt to get it straightened out with our reviewing analyst and her supervisor who of course are both out of the office.
So anyways, that is what has made for a long day if any of that makes sense. I also recieved my $160 text book for my first class in the MBA program. Yeah you read that right, $160, what a joke, you would think that the paper had gold ink on it. But it doesn't. In fact there aren't even any pictures in the damn thing, just all diagrams. Who wants to look at diagrams, I don't even like diagrams, but I guess I better get used to them.
Until next time...
Well after neglecting this for six months, I have decided to once again try and keep this up to date. What a long day today turned out to be. I should have known when I tried to Watch Argentina and Germany this morning and it went to overtime and penalty kicks that the match would foreshadow the rest of the day to come. Where do we start...
Today was June 30 and with interest rates rising, it was the last day to consolidate staudent loans to lock in the lower rate. Being that I am going back to school and knew I could take an inschool deferment I really didn't consider consolidating until a couple of weeks ago when I saw what the new rates were going to be. I must say that consolidating my loans took calls to four different companies and visiting three different web sites before finally being able to get the task completed. The first company told I spoke with was full of shit, the telephone agent had to speak to his supervisor regarding my question about returning to school and then came back and told me that I missed my deadline by 90 minutes for in school consolidations, when in reality they didn't want to take my loan because they realized after the consolidation I would be eligible for an in-school deferment and they wouldn't see any money for 18 months. So after two hours of phone calls, web searches and penalty kicks it was out the door to complete my tasks for the day.
What should have been an easy day rapidly turned into a difficult frustrating one all within a 15 minute time frame. I recieved a call from a partner stating that we recieved a letter from licensing regarding our Lemoore Group Home which directly contradicted information we had previously been given, I recieved a phone call from my son's mother regarding him needing x-rays on his thumb because of an injury from riding his bike, and I got two additional calls regarding group home business. Needless to say with it being Friday afternoon before what is of course a Holiday weekend where many people with vacation won't be returning to work until Wednesday I was unable to resolve the Lemoore Group Home issue and now I have to sit on it until Wednesday which is very frustrating. For some reason somebody doesn't want it to open up this second group home because everytime I turn around there is another issue, when for our first home we breezed through the licensing process. The problems with the second home started with City Planning being unknowledgeable of state code and evolved into there being issues with the same exact program that was licensed for our first house. Now there is another facility within 300 feet of our facility even though we did a web search that turned up no such facilities and planning also did a search which showed no such facilities and provided us a letter stating so. I am confused, the director of Community Care Licensing seemed somewhat interested in our complaints when I spoke with him today however, we have to first attempt to get it straightened out with our reviewing analyst and her supervisor who of course are both out of the office.
So anyways, that is what has made for a long day if any of that makes sense. I also recieved my $160 text book for my first class in the MBA program. Yeah you read that right, $160, what a joke, you would think that the paper had gold ink on it. But it doesn't. In fact there aren't even any pictures in the damn thing, just all diagrams. Who wants to look at diagrams, I don't even like diagrams, but I guess I better get used to them.
Until next time...
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Haven't Been Around in a While!
So what is new you may ask, well let's see. Where to start. I am currently on vacation from West Park however, when you have two jobs, being on vacation from one doesn't mean you are on vacation. We are in the process of trying to get our second group home licensed and opened. It is a long process that includes a packet of over 500 pages that has to be submitted to Community Care Licensing, a branch of the California Department of Social Services. Needless to say getting the house ready for innspection takes some time and I am currently working on that while CCL is reviewing our packet.
I took Jamie and the Boys to Disneyland a few weeks ago. Neither Christian nor Austin had even been to Disneyland and I must say they both had excellent times. Austin even commented "This is the Best Day of My Life!" He had a blast on Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters, I will post a pic of him a little later. We went to Downtown Disney and ate at Rainforest Cafe while we were there. Personally, I felt that the food was not worth the price they charged, and to top it off we ended up on the patio because that was the only way to get immediate seating.
I enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration Program at National University this week and I begin my first class next week. I was completelt flabbergasted when I saw the price of my first textbook, $140, I hope not all of the books are that expensive. They really need to look at the price of textbooks, no book should cost $140, I am sure the book store marked it up about 75%.
Jamie cut her hair yesterday and donated it to Locks of Love. She looks really good with her short hair.
Well I guess I should get back to work. Until next time, hopefully it won't be 6 months again.
So what is new you may ask, well let's see. Where to start. I am currently on vacation from West Park however, when you have two jobs, being on vacation from one doesn't mean you are on vacation. We are in the process of trying to get our second group home licensed and opened. It is a long process that includes a packet of over 500 pages that has to be submitted to Community Care Licensing, a branch of the California Department of Social Services. Needless to say getting the house ready for innspection takes some time and I am currently working on that while CCL is reviewing our packet.
I took Jamie and the Boys to Disneyland a few weeks ago. Neither Christian nor Austin had even been to Disneyland and I must say they both had excellent times. Austin even commented "This is the Best Day of My Life!" He had a blast on Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters, I will post a pic of him a little later. We went to Downtown Disney and ate at Rainforest Cafe while we were there. Personally, I felt that the food was not worth the price they charged, and to top it off we ended up on the patio because that was the only way to get immediate seating.
I enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration Program at National University this week and I begin my first class next week. I was completelt flabbergasted when I saw the price of my first textbook, $140, I hope not all of the books are that expensive. They really need to look at the price of textbooks, no book should cost $140, I am sure the book store marked it up about 75%.
Jamie cut her hair yesterday and donated it to Locks of Love. She looks really good with her short hair.
Well I guess I should get back to work. Until next time, hopefully it won't be 6 months again.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Booked A Cruise...
After much consideration and debate Jamie and I decided that we wanted to take a cruise for our 5 year anniversary so I went ahead and booked us a Mexican Riviera cruise, sailing on March 18th. The cruise is 7 nights and visits the ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatllan, and Puerta Vallarta. It was sad because anyone else who saw Primetime Live last night would immediately want to cancel a cruise after several instances of people disappearing, or going overboard and the cruise lines just covering it up and continuing the cruise. Thankfully we have selected Princess Cruises and they were not one of the companies that were featured for incidents, however Royal Carribean was and that is the company we almost booked with.
Well after booking we had serious second thoughts so I called the cruise line to find out about cancelling, less than 24 hours after the fact and was told that our cruise could be cancelled for a small fee of 50% of the cost. What a joke, and then I was told that our travel agent would have to contact them to do so, since it was booked through an agent. So I figure we will probably still go, although we are worried about being away from the kids fo so long, it is amazing how you tell yourself prior to booking that yes this is a good idea, it will be fun, then the moment you book everything changes in less than 12 hours. I just hope Madison still remembers me when we get home.
After much consideration and debate Jamie and I decided that we wanted to take a cruise for our 5 year anniversary so I went ahead and booked us a Mexican Riviera cruise, sailing on March 18th. The cruise is 7 nights and visits the ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatllan, and Puerta Vallarta. It was sad because anyone else who saw Primetime Live last night would immediately want to cancel a cruise after several instances of people disappearing, or going overboard and the cruise lines just covering it up and continuing the cruise. Thankfully we have selected Princess Cruises and they were not one of the companies that were featured for incidents, however Royal Carribean was and that is the company we almost booked with.
Well after booking we had serious second thoughts so I called the cruise line to find out about cancelling, less than 24 hours after the fact and was told that our cruise could be cancelled for a small fee of 50% of the cost. What a joke, and then I was told that our travel agent would have to contact them to do so, since it was booked through an agent. So I figure we will probably still go, although we are worried about being away from the kids fo so long, it is amazing how you tell yourself prior to booking that yes this is a good idea, it will be fun, then the moment you book everything changes in less than 12 hours. I just hope Madison still remembers me when we get home.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Restaurant Reviews
Since Fresno has recently opened three new big name national restaurant chains in town I thought I would take a few minutes to review each.
First was Claim Jumper which opened a couple of months ago. Claim Jumper has a decent sized menu and fair prices. We visited their establishment on New Years Eve at about Noon and were able to be seated immediately upon entering the restaurant. (Probably, thanks to the Fresno State Liberty Bowl game which they played terribly in.) The menu provided several choices and we had a hard time deciding what to order. We started things off with the Nachos with the Steak Beans. These were excellent and had really big pieces of steak on them, they also had good amounts of sour cream and guacomole and at under $8 were one of the more reasonably priced appetizers on the menu. Finally after some time mulling over all of the selections we decided on sandwhiches, Jamie choosing the Cobb Sandwhich and myself the Tri Tip Dip with Au Jus. We were both very pleased with our selections and they were large sandwhiches, maybe just a little pricey though coming in at $10 and $12 repectaviely. Our waiter was very friendly and very patient with us as we took a while to make our selections. Overall, I would recommend Claim Jumper and plan on dining there again.
Since Fresno has recently opened three new big name national restaurant chains in town I thought I would take a few minutes to review each.
First was Claim Jumper which opened a couple of months ago. Claim Jumper has a decent sized menu and fair prices. We visited their establishment on New Years Eve at about Noon and were able to be seated immediately upon entering the restaurant. (Probably, thanks to the Fresno State Liberty Bowl game which they played terribly in.) The menu provided several choices and we had a hard time deciding what to order. We started things off with the Nachos with the Steak Beans. These were excellent and had really big pieces of steak on them, they also had good amounts of sour cream and guacomole and at under $8 were one of the more reasonably priced appetizers on the menu. Finally after some time mulling over all of the selections we decided on sandwhiches, Jamie choosing the Cobb Sandwhich and myself the Tri Tip Dip with Au Jus. We were both very pleased with our selections and they were large sandwhiches, maybe just a little pricey though coming in at $10 and $12 repectaviely. Our waiter was very friendly and very patient with us as we took a while to make our selections. Overall, I would recommend Claim Jumper and plan on dining there again.
Claim Jumper - Overall Rating
Menu - 8/10
Price/Value - 7/10
Service - 9/10
Total - 24/30
During Christmas shopping one day we decided to stop by the Cheesecake Factory, Jamie and I had viseted their restaurant in Honolulu, where we both had dessert only and I had been to their Sacramento location for dinner but this was our first time dining there together and our first time at the Fresno location. We arrived around 11:30 and were told that there was a wait of 35 to 50 minutes. We took our pager and went over to the mall for a short time. Upon returning to the restaurant we checked back in and were told it would be 5 to 15 minutes. As soon as I turned around our pager went off which really makes me wonder where they get their time frames at because it was neither 5 nor 15 minutes. We were seated and Jamie ordered Ice Tea and I just got a glass of water. She was not impressed by their Ice Tea and stated she would not order it again. We were also given some really good bread which we ate while we reviewed the large menu. Finally, decisions were made and I ordered the Cajun Jambalaya while Jamie chose a Club Sandwhich both ow which were very tasty. Finally, after finishing our lunch we ordered a slice of Choclate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cheesecake to share which was excellent but at the same time also very rich. I would have to recommend trying the Cheesecake Factory to anyone who has never been.
Cheesecake Factory - Overall Rating
Menu - 9/10
Price/Value - 8/10
Service - 9/10
Total - 26/30
Menu - 9/10
Price/Value - 8/10
Service - 9/10
Total - 26/30
Finally, is P.F. Changs, located right next to the new Gottschalks at River Park. We arriver there at 11:45 AM on New Years day. The parking lot did not look very busy but right as we walked in they informed us that they had just sat their last table and that we would be looking at a wait of 35 minutes or we could sit in the bar and order from there. Not wanting to wait we chose the later. Their overall menu was very small not leaving us with as many options as either the Cheesecake Factory or Claim Jumpers. We quickly decided to go with the Chinese Chicken Salad and Chow Mein our traditional faire at our local Chinese Favorites Shanghai and East West Cuisine and for Austin we chose the Crunchy Honey Chicken. The Chinese Chicken Salad was adequate in size however it wasn't nearly as tasty as it is at either of the two restauants I mentioned earlier, and there was only a small amount of canned shredded chicken on the salad. Next to the Chow Mein, I was not a big fan of the noodles they used and for a restauant that claims the serve family style the portion was sure small for the price. The same Chow Mein would have been two to three times larger at Shanghai and East West for $3 cheaper. Austin thankfully was pleased with his chicken which was good but nothing that I would force myself to go back and have again, leaving P.F. Changs easily as the worst of the three new restauants.
P.F. Changs - Overall Rating
Menu - 5/10
Price/Value - 5/10
Service - 5/10
Total - 15/30
Well I hope everyone enjoys my insight into the new restauants as much as I enjoyed the dining (of course with the exception of P.F. Changs.)
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