Monday, March 21, 2005

Burlingame, CA: Chicken! Chicken!

Jerk Chicken Breast Sandwich - 1 star
$6.95 with one side

[photo coming - don't have the right software on my laptop to upload ]

The most fascinating thing about the Toyota Prius is not the gas mileage itself; it's the way it constantly reminds you of the gas mileage, by means of a visual display that shows you, at each instant, how power is flowing between the internal combustion, the engine, and the wheels. According to Jerry Brenner, who was driving Allen, John Seybold, and me to lunch, it even changes the way you drive, because you're always trying to maximize your mileage - even to the point of trying to avoid going up steep hills.

Chicken! Chicken!'s "Caribbean wood roasted" chicken probably would have cracked the two-star barrier, but apparently it was uncharacteristically dry today. The sliced chicken was rolled up in a thick, nicely chewy pita, but it needed a dash of hot sauce (which comes in three varieties) to give it kick. The Cayman Garden Salad, made with ripe, sweet tomatoes, won the contest over several otfher attractive side dishes.

Which made for an interesting discussion on the car ride back of whether to give it one or two stars. Although I am trying to hold to a reasonably strict grading system - bad = 0 stars, OK = 1 star, good = 2 stars, excellent = 3 stars - John pointed out that so far I've only given 0 or 1 stars, which doesn't make for much differentiation, and actually argued in favor of negative stars. The underlying problem is basically that I don't go to good enough restaurants, because all of our prospects are in places like Lincoln, RI and Marietta, PA. (And I'm going to Hastings in a couple weeks ...) So the bottom line is someone needs to find me a prospect in Manhattan.

No comments: