May 13, 2008
Grouper and More
4932 New Broad Street, Orlando
Baldwin Park
For those of you that live in or around Baldwin Park, you have probably been waiting patiently for the many promised restaurants to open, only to find that many of the “Coming Soon” signs have been replaced with “Available.” One of the first to open at the newer water area, Grouper and Chips was a casual walk-up Fish-n-Chips style place that promised fresh fish and seafood at reasonable prices. It was a casual place with various Marilyn Monroe memorabilia on the wall and plenty of outside patio eating. They soon switched to a slightly different format, changing their name to Groupers and More, slightly expanding their menu and “upgrading” their decor. What is unfortunate is that despite the new (rather generic) look, they did not change the one thing they needed too–the quality of their food.
I grew up in a coastal city–Jacksonville, where hole-in-the-wall fish places thrive. You may be eat on vinyl tablecloths and out of plastic baskets, but the one thing you can always count on from most of these places is fresh fish and seafood, and reasonable prices. There is nothing like this in Orlando. To get really good seafood, you have to pay the price and eat at Fishbones or Beluga or some of the higher end seafood places, or just buy it from Lobardi’s Seafood Market and make it yourself. There are no places to get good fresh “baskets” of fried fish and seafood. And if you are thinking of Shells or Boston Fish house neither of them come close.
So you can imagine my excitement at the possibility of a decent casual fish place opening! But every time we go there it is a disappointment and instead of improving they have only gotten worse. We ate their a few times when it was Grouper and Chips and the food was OK. The batter they use on their fried fish was quite heavy (think Captain D’s), so their fried food was quite greasy, and their broiled and blackened food was quite bland. They had a pretty good bouillabaisse, but at $20, not really worth the price.
The nail hit the coffin for us the last time we found ourselves eating there. It was 11:30a.m. on a Sunday and we were in the Baldwin Park area with our 2 1/2 year old son. Our favorite pizza place (Pizzeria Valdiano’s) is closed on Sunday and we didn’t want to wait for Seito Sushi or Calibri’s Mexican Restaurant to open so we thought we would give one last go at Grouper and More.
We started off with the hush puppies, which were brought out to us not by our waitress, but by someone who worked in the kitchen. I took one look at them and brought them back to the counter–they were burnt–a nice blackish-brown. My waitress who was there apologized and put in another order which soon came out a nice golden color like you would expect them to be. Unfortunately, they were doughy from not being cooked all the way through. Yuck.
Since neither my husband or I was up for the grease, we both decided to get something that wasn’t fried. I ordered the blackened grouper salad and he ordered the crab cakes. My son got a grilled cheese from the kids menu. I wish I would’ve taken a picture of my salad when it came out. It was pathetic. It looks like some bagged salad was thrown on a plate with an obviously frozen piece of fish covered in blackened seasoning that I had a hard time believing it was actually grouper. It was small with small flakes and very thin, like a smaller fish similar to tilapia. It was definitely not the large, thick white flesh that I expect from grouper. And the taste? Well, I’ve had better meals that I have heated up in boxes that came from my freezer. It was bland, mushy, and the salad was lettuce with some boxed croutons. All for the low, low price of $12.95! My husband crab cakes looked a little better if you ignored their char on the outside. They could have easily been frozen too. In fact, the ones I get in the grocery freezer actually have more, lumpier crab in them and taste better and they don’t cost $18.95 for 2! Both my husband and I picked at our food, and started eye-balling our sons grilled cheese when he decided he didn’t want to eat it. It was actually pretty good. My husband and I ate part of that. So we managed to pay over $40 for a grilled cheese and fries. Oh yeah.
I’m actually looking forward to this place finally closing, so maybe a better restaurant will replace it. What is scary to me is the amount of people I still see eating there. Now, I know downtown Baldwin Park still has many a restaurant to open, but there are quite a few other much better alternatives out there. In fact, Subway makes a great tuna sandwich, and you will be much happier with the bill.
Posted in Restaurant Reviews 
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November 12, 2007
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November 9, 2007
Stay at home moms. Sometimes you have to admit that although you wouldn’t change it for the world…..you do become bored at times. My mommy boredom has manifested itself in different ways such as: moving furniture; changing window draperies; moving plants; switching wall pictures; cutting my children’s hair….oh, yes, and hair coloring – from blonde to midnight black. I’ve been them all. All out of sheer mental boredom – but at the same time, being very busy taking care of little ones.
So when my husband wins a hairdresser prize package worth $300, I found it thrilling. The prize was two haircuts and eyebrows. I call for the eyebrow waxing and quickly learn it is for permanent eyebrows. Investigating on the web, I find out permanent makeup seems to be the new rage. One less thing to do in the morning in a busy mommy’s life. Then I start noticing on television how many actresses had such wonderful, distinct eyebrows. That’s it.
Early Saturday morning, I set off to receive my FREE permanent eyebrows. However, my resolve wavers when I enter the tiny salon. Time has stopped here somewhere in the mid 1950’s. Old hairdressers and even older customers sit in chairs while wheelchairs converge in the corners. No one under the age of 60 seems to be here, except me. Once the eyebrow technician sees me she says, “my, my, you have eyebrows.” And I think, ‘that’s a strange statement.’ But then I look around and see a whole room filled with either no eyebrows, thin-penciled eyebrows or little hyphen brows. My inner alarm goes off, ‘maybe this isn’t a good idea.’
Nevertheless, I allow myself to be led back to a small room. Really, the room is a cluttered closet with old Christmas decorations flowing out of a large dresser pressed right up against the eyebrow chair. Dust sits on one of the low step stools where I set my pocketbook. And the technician puts on thick bi-focals as she chats away about permanent makeup and her half price sale coming up. All she needed was a cigarette hanging out of her mouth to complete the picture. As I lie there, I wonder if she is certified. I don’t see a certificate anywhere in all the clutter; but at this point, I don’t really want to know.
When it is all done, she hands me a cracked hand mirror and apologizes for the crack. I take my first look, and I wonder if my reflection might have cracked it? Oh my goodness, what have I done? My hair was reddish brown with blonde highlights (another bored moment decision), and now I had two very large, very black eyebrows. I looked like Joe Pesci as the transsexual in the movie JFK. Next, I start to notice a resemblance to Grumpy in Snow White. Two very large, very black eyebrows kept staring back at me. The technician said that 50% of the color would wash away in a week or so. I was hoping in the next 24 hours or so. I refused to leave the salon until they colored my hair black.
I returned home to my husband’s laughter and his teasing “why do you have that surprised look on your face, ha ha”– in between, “I’m just kidding — 50% of it will fade.” That night and the next morning I scrub and scrub my eyebrows and say many prayers.
Thank the good Lord!!!! In a day or two, my eyebrows are on par with Brook Shields !!!! I hadn’t realized how much eyebrows did for a face. Although the rest of my body hadn’t dropped an ounce, my eyebrows made my face look thinner, my cheekbones higher. Permanent eyebrows – one bored mommy moment changed my whole perspective. My husband said my face even seems more lively. Now if that “liveliness” could just travel down to my belly, we’ll be in business.
Posted in igotmyhandsfull 2 Comments »
November 9, 2007
It is tough being a stay-at-home mommy and friendless. You probably did have friends at one time during your life. Single friends at work or friends married with no children yet. Now a mommy and friendless, you hit the parks to find a mommy friend or two. Meeting mommy friends at parks is a hit or miss proposition. It is almost like the single bars scene (which put you in this predicament in the first place). You have a limited amount of time to talk to this person and judge whether you’ll talk again. If your kids strike up a friendship, they’ve made it easier. But 1 or 2 year olds rarely have developed those social skills.
So there you are one sunny morning in a local park, and you know one woman — the one with the white hat. She’s the calendar coordinator for a local moms group. And 20 or so mommys stand there like a group of kindergartners. No one having a close friendship yet. Everyone talking about mundane mommy topics – where do you go for your baby photos? How often do you make it to the gym? Is your baby sleeping through the night yet?
You look around watching your own toddler, half listening to the conversations and wondering if one mom standing there will eventually become your friend? Someone once told me all friendships occur because three things are in place: location; likability and pure luck. I would have to add one more ingredient: one person really desires to connect and makes that play date apart from the larger group. Once that occurs and the other person is even “half sane,” a real lasting friendship could develop.
Since becoming a stay-at-home mommy almost six years ago and moving every other year, I’ve had many mommy friendships come and go. You could say I’m almost an expert in the “Making of Mommy Friendships.” I’ve already told you what it usually takes to ignite a friendship. But what could kill a potential friendship? Of course, there is a long list of social do’s and don’t. But in the interest of brevity here are some definite no-no’s that sound like jokes – but have actually happened to me:
- Letting your toddler run around during a playdate naked with drink or food, or just obnoxious screaming. Any of these activities is just plain annoying and can show that your friendship will end up being just another anxiety-producing relationship as well. And since we all have extended families, who needs more stressful relationships?
- Revealing personal family issues too soon: (i.e. husband’s addiction to porn or alcohol or food or yelling – similar to the previous toddler example just the adult version);
- And, this is a no-brainer, but should be mentioned: Casually mentioning that your first marriage broke-up because you had an affair with your best friend’s husband. This information would definitely destroy a budding friendship.
- Telling your new friend you are just so busy and only have time to meet every other Thursday. And that you really don’t enjoy talking on the phone or emailing.
- However, the epitome of friendship killers is being in too much need of a friend. “Being your own best friend” is an important mantra to recite to yourself. If you like yourself and are friendly to others, you’ll end up having not enough time for all of your mommy friends.
The real clincher is to choose your mommy friends wisely – a friend should lift you up and make you look at things a little differently. Good friends make you grow – laugh – and eventually, hold you up when life tosses you down.
(igotmyhandsfull)
Posted in igotmyhandsfull 2 Comments »
November 9, 2007
Every mom has a labor story for every child they had. It may get foggy with time, but something that monumental must be remembered and told…over and over. It is important that your child know where you were when you went into labor, how long you were in labor, how long you pushed, what time he/she was born, and any and all complications. Your child was there, but by no means remembers the event, and that is just not fair! So they must be told how difficult (or easy) it was bringing them into the world. I have one child born two years ago today, and I too will be guilty of telling him his birth story over and over. But you reader, who really does not care about my son’s birth story, will be spared those gory details, for the most part.
As a first time parent and card-carrying Geek, I of course made sure that I was prepared for parenthood. Yes, I actually fooled myself into believing this by reading every book under the sun about taking care of infants, we bought everything that was on everyone’s must have list for a new parent along with every baby gadget that got a Consumer’s Guide high rating. We were informed and well prepared, what more could there be? You non-parents are probably all agreeing, but all you parents are all laughing, because there is not enough reading you can do or things you can buy that prepares you for meeting and taking care of your first child. No matter what, things will happen on a daily basis, that you are just not prepared for.
I met Nate around 6:30am in the morning after they cut him out of me. Oh, no worries, we were in a hospital, there was no pain (at least during the procedure) and it was nice and quick. I was actually disappointed because there was no climatic build like you see when women give birth on TV or film– just me lying on a bed with my husband at my head. All we could see was a perfectly placed curtain that the doctor and nurses were working behind like they were doing some elaborate magic trick. “Watch me pull a baby out of this belly… ”
My husband probably remembers it different, but again, I felt no pain: there were drugs involved here. So I was almost taken off guard when I heard my doctor’s voice from behind the magic curtain confirm his sex, and I heard his first cry. My chest immediately swelled so much that it overflowed into my head and out of my eyes, it was an immediate and overwhelming response. I was actually beside myself with emotions–something up until that point of my adult life that I had gained complete control over. And the funny thing is, I’ve never gotten back the reigns completely– a Pandora’s box that I still can’t completely close . Sure, I’ve gotten some control over them, but now I get weepy watching the silliest of movies or TV programs that are purely designed to pull your heart strings. Whereas before, I would laugh out loud at these feeble and obvious attempts to make me cry, now I get sucked in and find my chest welling and eyes filling. Sometimes the feeling is enormous, but the situation is not ideal–so I end up excusing myself under the guise of going to the bathroom to stop myself from balling right there.
Sometime while in the recovery room, I finally got to meet and hold my son. It seemed like an eternity had gone by of being pregnant and preparing for his arrival, but there he was,–all 6lbs. and 12 oz. of him, and I had this overwhelming desire not to let him go. I have to admit that not bonding with him was a huge fear for me during my pregnancy. I’ve never been a baby person. You know the type…they are drawn to and attracted to babies and will go out of their ways to hold and cuddle them. When they hold a baby, it just looks so natural, like they are some professional baby handler. I, on the other hand, would go out of my way to no hold babies, and when I did find myself on the rare occasion with an infant in my arms, I felt quite awkward and uncomfortable (but of course, tried to portray just the opposite) and was eager to pass the little peanut off to someone else.
I didn’t have an overwhelmingly bonding experience while I was pregnant either. I mean, he was there and made me quite aware of that, first with the massive morning sickness and then the last few month when he was carrying on with various sporting events like kick mommy’s bladder and poke mommy’s ribs, but it was more of a co-existence where we both had our agendas and needs (most of which consisted of being comfortable and subsiding hunger). It was this limbo situation with the anticipation of meeting each other on his arrival. I know you are supposed to read, talk to, and play music for your babies while pregnant, but every time I attempted this, I felt quite silly. And I apologize Nate, if this causes you not to appreciate Mozart like you should. But you did get your fill of Modest Mouse and the Shins, so I hope that helped with something…
So there I was, new Geek mom, baby in hand, and he felt like he was an extension of myself–the bond was immediate, and like super glue, there would take some prying for me to let him go. The nurses, and even my husband, would need to take him from me for various reasons, including for the fact that we both needed some sleep-and my heart would slightly tear each time. I just didn’t want to let him go.
Of course, for both of our sakes, this attachment has gradually weened as he as become more independent (heck, he’s two right now so he things he runs the world), and with each step away from me, I become more of a proud parent. “Oh look, he’s sleeping in his crib, feeding himself, taking his first steps, using my ipod, trying to play daddy’s Xbox,” and with each of these moments my heart swells with pride over his accomplishments, but it still tears a little too…
(Geek Mom)
Posted in Geek Mom 4 Comments »
November 9, 2007
It doesn’t happen over night you know, and you are by no means born that way: becoming a Geek mom is a process. If I look back I can remember scraping up 25 pennies so I could cash it in for a quarter to play Pac Man at the Jiffy Mart, just one more time. Whoops, does that allude to how old I am? I was a late bloomer when it came to parenthood, so yeah, I could be considered an older mom, but then again, that’s all about the Geek, isn’t it? No need to start a family or get married early young! There are technical careers to be had and video games to be played. Books to be read, and many many movies to be seen and discussed at length, and how can my music collection grow when I’ve got to buy diapers? Kids? No way! So many many things to do and gadgets to buy before children enter the picture–if they ever enter the picture that is. But I digress….
In High School, my geekdome was masked by other various social activities, but it was still there. I may have ran with that ultra-cool drama crowd, but underneath it all, I was still a Geek. I still snuck off to arcades to play whatever new game was out (hello Dragonslayer!) and saved my hard earned cash for the new Nintendo system (or was that in college?). I remember closing my eyes at night and seeing visions of Mario and mushrooms still tattooed on the back of my eyelids.
My college years were spent fine-tuning the inner Geek, and it was so much easier since the Geek/non-Geek ratio was so much higher there. Not only where there many more male Geeks, but some females to boot–and get this, there were cute boys that actually wanted to date Geek girls. So I could put on my Chuck Taylors with a beat up Beatles t-shirt, some torn jeans and my hair color D’jour and guys would still hit on me–amazing!
Post college meant getting a job, and though my heart and degree where in creative writing, it was the 90’s– so being a Geek with the ability to understand other Geeks and write about it was a job I could get paid at. It was called technical writing and I was able to stick my tongue out at everyone that said, “You are an English major?–Are you going to teach High School?”
So, no I wasn’t writing the great American novel, nor a screenplay for the next box office hit, but I was writing, and I was getting paid for it to boot! And I was getting to know even more Geeks, oh joy! This was the time when I was introduced to some serious Geek fun, like CCGs (Collectible Card Games). I started with the mac daddy of them all Magic: the Gathering. I would actually go with people from work to lunch and we would play during our lunch break! making sure the tables were clean and dry so our cards would not get damaged. Oh yes, all true. I still have the many boxes of cards to prove it.
And then there was the after-work LAN parties! Lots of demons and aliens to kill. Yes, the inner-Geek had truly taken over, and it was all good!
But there comes an actual time in a woman’s life where she looks at her age and where she is at and has to decide whether or not she wants to have children. It’s just a fact, that eventually she won’t be able to have kids. At 25, kids were far from a thought for me, but at 30? Wow, not only could I hear that clock, but I was ready to start on the path to make that all happen. Marriage and children were still a far off scary though, but the thought of never doing it was even scarier.
Three years later, I married my husband, a fellow Geek like myself who also wanted kids. Less than a year we talked about trying to start a family and within the blink of an eye, I was holding a positive pregnancy test. Little did I know that my life would completely change. But I refused to put the laptop away and start baking cookies. I still wanted video games for Christmas and a subscription to PC magazine, I was about to become Geek Mom.
….To be Continued
(Geek Mom)
Posted in Geek Mom 2 Comments »
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