So last Tuesday on my main blog, Nerd Family Blog, I wrote about older kids moving back in with their parents and the parents bailing them out of their financial desperation. It was based on AP article that Dr. Helen had read. Well, that article was in the Fresno Bee yesterday (Sunday). Either I am really good or.... You draw your own conclusions.
So I got to out to lunch (without kids!) with a friend on Good Friday. Since we were doing some other things in North Fresno we decided to give Bentley's Bistro a shot. It was pretty good. The only real issue I had was environment regulation. It has a great patio area but the inside is just open to the patio. It was rather chilly that day in the shade so both my friend and I were a bit cold. I don't know if it is set up that way in the winter but in early spring it is still a bit risky.
The food was good and just a touch pricey (better than I expected). Lunch ranges between $9 and $26 (for a rib eye steak) and dinner is between $23 and $36 with a variety of steaks to choose from. I got Bentley's Turkey Club and my friend got the Ruben Sandwich. Both started with salads and they were fresh and crisp. The Turkey Club was quite large and very good. It was served on a fresh croissant and came with fries. I had half that day for lunch and 2 days later ate the rest and it was still good. The bacon was great and cooked perfectly. Since it was thick cut bacon it wasn't so crispy that it broke with your first bite. The tomato was one of the best I have had this year. I will be returning to their market to buy those. My friend really enjoyed her Ruben. She said that the rye bread was really great. The service was good. The waitress wasn't thrown at all by a special order and our sodas were always filled. She even took our plates away to box up our food.
I will be returning to Bentley's Bistro for the good food and great service!
Technorati Tags: Bentley's Bistro, Fresno Resturants
Maybe that is putting it a little strongly;). The Fresno Bee had an article in today's paper about how the city is going to deal with those who panhandle on medians. It appears that the City Council intends to make it illegal for people to panhandle on the medians.
Calhoun said he hopes that City Attorney James Sanchez will write an ordinance that gives police officers authority to ask people to leave median islands on city streets, and to cite those who don't.
Calhoun also said that citing drivers who give money to panhandlers would further discourage the practice.
Sanchez said he would look at ordinances in other cities and what exemptions they allow before drafting new rules for Fresno to consider. Sanchez will present his recommendations to the council within 60 days.
So now Stacy Johnson-Klein's lawyers have been awarded $2.5 million. There are some very interesting parts in the article in the Fresno Bee such as,
In a four-page ruling, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald S. Black said Johnson-Klein lawyers Warren Paboojian, Dan Siegel and Jason Bell should be paid a total of about $1.25 million. Black then doubled the amount, as permitted by law in cases that are particularly time-consuming and complicated.
Black paid particular attention to the importance that the law attaches to the concept of public value in justifying a multiplier. He said the law frowns on a multiplier for cases that lack such value.
I saw an ad that advertised a new location for the Meat Market. It is on Fowler and Shepherd. A much cooler development is that they now have Sunday hours! They are open 10am-5pm on Sundays!
So there was an article in the Fresno Bee yesterday on the canceled contract between the Blue Cross Healthy Families program and Valley Children's Hospital. I had a huge issue with the fact that the article was more than half way through before they mentioned that Blue Cross only canceled the Healthy Families and Medi-Cal programs, not the private insurance contracts.
The real crux of the issue is that everyone seems to feel that Valley Children's has done something wrong. This article (and other things I have seen) points out the fact that kids will have to get care from a lesser provider now. How is that Valley Children's fault? If they are so much better than any other provider perhaps they deserve compensation? Maybe all the fault lies with Blue Cross? They are other Healthy Family/Medi-Cal companies that Valley Children's does accept. Maybe the other companies realize the value of a hospital of Valley Children's stature.
I also look at this as a community issue. I value Valley Children's. I like knowing that a hospital with this expertise is available to my kids. It won't be if we demand they take substandard compensation. If they don't make enough money to stay open they will close or worse charge the rest of us twice as much. So maybe we should back the hospital in this case? And maybe The Bee and other media outlets should put out such biased reports. This is still a free market society, lets act like it.
Technorati Tags: Valley Children's Hospital, Healthy Families, Blue Cross, Fresno Bee
On March 29, 2008 Fresno City College will be holding a forum for candidates running for office. The forums will be held in the faculty dining room on campus. Candidates for City Council districts 2, 4, and 6 will speak from 10-11:45am. Then candidates for judicial race #10 will be speaking from 11:45 - noon. Candidates for mayor will speak from 12-1:45 pm. Then finally the candidates for Board of Supervisors Districts 2 and 5 will speak 1:40-2:55pm. If you need more details you can call 559-355-7040.
Lucky Magazine is on a national tour at Walmarts and is giving away swag bags that include some cute earrings. It looks like you will have to do a "spin and win" game to get them. You can pop over to the site to get dates and times in other areas. But here is the local details!
Wal Mart Supercenter
2761 Jensen Ave
Sanger, CA 93657
Date: 03/22/2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Wal Mart Store
7065 North Ingram Avenue
Fresno (N), CA 93650
Date: 03/29/2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
According to a Fresno Bee article, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West is trying to unionized Community Med Centers technicians, nursing assistants, clerks and housekeepers. To begin with I don't like unions. Usually they are just lining their own pockets and protecting bad workers. Let us be honest, a good worker is worth what ever the market will pay but incompetents shouldn't be shielded, but I digress. What is the evidence that they have to be making money? The fact that the union is spending money buying 2 billboard ads and numerous print ads. There has to be money in it for the union.
It always surprises me when people assume unions are just here to protect workers. When it comes to wage and benefit controls the solution is simple. If no one will work for a certain amount the employer will pay more. Unions cause prices to go up with no benefit to anyone.
The Friends of the Fresno County Library is doing a screening of The Human Comedy with an appearance by Mickey Rooney. To go to the movie screening is $20 but to see the movie and to go to a dessert reception with Mickey Rooney is $50. It will be Friday, April 25, 2008 at the Tower Theatre. You can order tickets online or mail in a check and form.
Usually I avoid going to CPK because I had yet to be impressed by the meals. However a friend gave me a CPK gift card for my birthday so my husband and I decided to give it another try (can't complain about free food!).
FOOD
My husband (D) ordered the Thai Linguini and I chose the Grilled Sausage & Pepper Penne. You have to understand that D loves anything that is spicy and covered in peanut sauce, so naturally he loved his meal. I took a few bites and was pleasantly surprised by the taste of chicken, veggies, and spaghetti mixed together in peanut sauce. It was definitely spicy, but good!
The waiter gave me Spaghetti Bolognese. I poked at it thinking it didn't look like sausage OR penne. It was pretty much plain spaghetti. Very boring. Not something I would pay twelve bucks for. So when the waiter came back around I pointed it out and he quickly took care of the situation. He was apologetic and offered to box up the spaghetti for us to take home...free! Of course we said, "yes" (Hello! It's free! Not great tasting, but free!).
When the Grilled Sausage & Pepper Penne finally made its way to the table I decided it was worth the wait! The sausage was delicious and the sauce was flavorful! It tasted like they used basil. Plus there were large pieces of bell peppers mixed in (I love bell peppers!). I took back all the bad things I said about CPK as I continued to enjoy my meal.
ATMOSPHERE
Simple and clean. My husband commented on how clean and new the inside looked even though it has been around for a few years. Not much in the way of decoration. The lighting was low for the dinner hour. We were seated close to the kitchen but it didn't seem to impede our conversation in anyway. The waiter was friendly and he came by the table just enough times.
COST
Expect to pay $18 to $20 per person (including drink, tax, and tip)
Dessert will cost you another 6 bucks.
CONCLUSION
Would I eat there again? Sure, if I receive another gift card. But I would probably go to the Spaghetti Factory before I went to CPK again. (SF gives you spumoni with your meal!!!)
Would I send a friend there? I wouldn't inhibit them from going, but I wouldn't tell them they HAD to go either. (Okay, I have not quite made it past my previous view of CPK)
There's a Sports Illustrated article about "an obscure junior college coach from Fresno named Vance Walberg" and
his quirky creation, a high-scoring scheme featuring four perimeter players and a host of innovations. Unlike Knight's classic motion offense (which is based on screens) or Pete Carril's Princeton-style offense (which is based on cuts), Walberg's attack was founded on dribble penetration.His innovative ideas are being compared with those of "Tark, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello", and even legendary coach John Wooden.
As I am blogging away is dawns on me...What are you guys looking for in a local blog?
Two Blonde Boys has had a great dining experience at Vini Vidi Vici. He has even provided pictures! Go check it out.
Yesterday my friend, Sara, and I decided to go out to lunch (without kids!) and try a new place. We decided to go down to Tico's Place at the corner of Perrin and Sommerville. The idea of a Columbian/Mexican restaurant piqued both of our curiosities. I admit up front that I am hard on a restaurant's food/money value. I cook fairly well so I want something better than mine when I go out. So there is my disclaimer;).
On the whole the food was ok and the service sub-par. If I lived in the neighborhood and was going to eat out and didn't want fast food, Tico's would be an option. It has a casual atmosphere and I would feel fairly comfortable with kids there, if the service get better. But I wouldn't drive across town for it. In reality, I might return to try their appetizers or breakfast but probably not for dinner. If you want more details than that just keep reading;).
First let's look at the food, since that is the biggest part of the restaurant experience. You automatically get chips and salsa. I do have to say that the salsa was quite good. It wasn’t very spicy and that really allowed the other flavors to develop and be tasted. Sara got her fish tacos and on the whole she was satisfied but not overly impressed. The sauce she received with her fish tacos wowed. It was a creamy, lemony sauce with a definite bite. We were going to ask our server what it was called but we never saw her again (I will get to that more later). The fish tacos were based on grilled fish and well seasoned but they were pretty small. They were, what I consider, a great appetizer size. Overall there was plenty of food but I think some of the beans and rice could have been given up for a bit more taco. Sara said her beans were watery but both the beans and rice tasted like the norm.
I ordered the Mixed Chicken Fried Rice based on a great description.
Mixed Chicken Fried Rice—Chicken fried rice with fresh chopped green beans, carrots, and peas and your choice of sweet or green plantains
