I thought these were excellent donuts as long as you eat them the same day you purchase them. The advertisement states that potatoes are in the ingredients to these donuts. I am figuring that these would be heavy donuts with no taste, but to my surprise, they were excellent. The only problem was I like to refrigerate things and these didn't do well in the refrigerator after a day. I still found them tasty enough to enjoy from purchase through day one.
I rated them an 8.
Trish: 9.5
Me: 8.5
Trish had the lamb chops and I had the pan seared sea bass with Brussels Sprouts for a side. The Brussels were not grilled or sauteed like I am used to . These were steamed with bacon and a cheese sauce. I thought it was going to be a disaster because Brussels Sprouts can taste like a fart if you don't prepare them properly. These were seasoned well. Trish and I shared the calamari appetizer.
Generally, I do my FOODIE events with one of four people:
Chloe: One of my closest friends
E: Good friend who got me into being a foodie
Trish: My cousin
Joker: My cousin
All three people are good to do FOODIE events with, though Joker is a little more ....animated.
The previous time I went to Carmines, I went with Chloe. This time around, I went with Trish. I won't rate this visit, but the lasagna was baked to near perfection. I wasn't fond of the cheesy garlic bread, but that was a personal choice. It was still a great meal.
NOTE: I am not a health practitioner. I am not a nutritionist. I am not in the health field. I'm not even recommending that you do this. I am simply sharing foods I enjoy eating as well as some of the benefits I have experienced. You may like some of these foods and/or supplements, but as always, check with your physician first.
Okra-Prepared boiled or steamed and not fried. For me, it helps keep me regular. Frying okra only enables you to admit to yourself that you ate okra without the health benefits.
Beets- I prefer fresh beets, cooked with vinegar and a little sugar. My research told me beets are good in helping regulate blood pressure. And I enjoy them cold.
Zucchini squash-I just like boiling them. I enjoy vegetable that hold water.
Yellow Squash-Same as zucchini
Asparagus-Grill them with either olive oil or butter and add some garlic. Boil them if you are a ghoul lol. And I actually don't mind how my urine smells after I eat them.
Plantains-I am part Caribbean so plantains are a part of my culture. I occasionally fry them, but I actually prefer them boiled. This is another food that helps with the blood pressure due to the potassium.
Bananas-Just like plantains, bananas help with blood pressure.
Spinach-Funny thing about spinach is that if you boil it, you think you have a lot. I sauté fresh spinach and it looks like someone robbed me. I still prefer it sauteed with added salt, pepper and garlic. Green vegetables are great.
String beans-Prepared anyway. This also keeps me regular.
Greens-I lose Black points for the way I cook my greens. I only eat them fresh and with vinegar, salt and pepper. I refuse to add meat to my greens.
Butternut squash-Don't judge me. Boil and add butter.
Turnips-Same as butternut squash.
Brussel Sprouts-I slice them in half, then grill or saute. Boil at your own risk, because boiled Brussel sprouts taste like a burp. I did have them at Coral restaurant in White Plains and they appeared to be boiled and had bacon and a cheese sauce on them. Those were delicious.
Ground turkey-I go with 85-15 over 93-7 because I don't like eating paper. I do mostly burgers but you can make an excellent meat loaf using ground turkey.
Vitamin D3-Excellent for bones and immune system. A friend got me taking D3 with K2 (the vitamin, and not the illegal drug).
Zinc-
Vitamin C-At least 2000 mg a day. Even more if you have sinus issues like me. And I am p*ssy. I take the chewable. Seriously, I prefer vitamins and medications to be chewable or liquid. They absorb quicker.
Magnesium Glycinate-Liquid. Read up on magnesium and you will see how deficiency can cause muscle issues and more.
I suffer from allergies and occasional bad sinus congestion. I use NeilMed Sinus Rinse (salt water solution)and it has helped GREATLY. I used to rhinitis and sinusitis two or three times a year. Now, maybe once a year. I do take my Zyrtec and occasionally Fluconase. I will rinse once a week (but you can do more)
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has endorsed Zorhan Mamdani is his quest to become the mayor of New York City. Interesting.
Barring a miracle, I think Mamdani will win the election in November. And I see trouble ahead, following that.
I still don't think he is the right choice.
Today, I saw an older Caucasian man walk onto the back of an M55 bus and not pay.
I see things like this often now. I see people of every race, religion and gender hopping the turnstile. I always thought this was the case though. I always felt that fare-beaters came in different flavors. But you would see cops patrolling stations where people of color were.
And I have always felt that white police don't want to arrest white people.
Statistics kinda prove that .
It just tickled me to see an old Caucasian man evade the fare.
Hulk Hogan died this past July and Charlie Kirk was just recently murdered.
Publicaly and privately I am indifferent.
Kirk reportedly made horrific statements while rallying young conservatives, while Hogan lived the life of a king until he was caught on tape making racist comments. See below:
“I mean, I’d rather if she was going to f–k some n—-r, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n—-r worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player…I guess we’re all a little racist. F–king n—-r.”
https://www.kron4.com/news/hulk-hogan-racist-comments/
https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2015/7/28/hogan_jail_calls_
I won't even list Kirk's offenses.
I also won't waste my time with insults and nasty memes on either of them, though I am not angry at those who created or share them.
It took me a long time to comment on this, which is why you see both names in the same blog.
I wasn't comfortable saying anything until I saw some remarks, reportedly written by the Rock's daughter Simone "Ava" Johnson. She said "If you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind words when you're alive" (from Instagram).
The top video is my breakfast at the Portland Regency. I have been coming here since 2020 and the waiter has been here from day one. One of the nicest and most professional people I have ever met. And this is the first place I ever had maple syrup. To hell with Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin.
I finally got to see Fantastic Four. Traveling to Detroit and Toronto made it difficult to go see the movie. I felt bad for the film. FF arrived in the theaters less than three weeks after the highly acclaimed SUPERMAN, so there had to be high expectations. For the most part Fantastic Four did not disappoint.
Best cast members: Venessa Kirby as Susan Storm and Ebon Che Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm
The story for FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is basic and it seems like we finally have a decent Fantastic Four movie to enjoy.
I gave it an 8.4. Yeah, there were a few plot holes, but you can still watch and enjoy.
I found a laundromat within a mile of the hostel and I washed my own clothes. It was actually fun, using a coin machine and purchasing soap powder. I haven't done that in years. In New York, most of the automated machines use cards.
Below, is a video from my visit to SWISS CHALET. On one of my two stations on television, I kept seeing this commercial advertising their chicken and ribs combination. I was sick of eating fried chicken in Detroit, so rotisserie chicken was welcome. I actually ate their August 2 after the parade. It is actually a less chaotic DALLAS BBQ restaurant (if you are familiar with the chain in NYC)
Going to the library is not really the ideal way to spend a vacation, but, the main reason I came here was to check out Caribana one last time. The library came up because I didn't trust the hostel I was staying at. I will say that Toronto's library is beautiful with an enormous amount of space. People eat while web surfing. The environment is cool
The hostel situation is bad, but not awful. The bathroom sink backs up and my television doesn't work. I only have two and a half stations (two Canadian stations and one that is constantly frozen). The remote doesn't work well either as I have to almost stand on my head to change a station. Thankfully, I haven't seen any bed bugs or roaches. Because the place seemed run down, I didn't trust it to use their wi-fi. So I had to find the closest public library, which was about a mile away. As I learned the city, I found bus lines and light rails that covered the distance. And I found out today that the laundry facilities weren't what I thought. ACCORDING TO THE WEBSITE, they have laundry facilities. I didn't get to wash my clothes in Detroit, so I counted on washing them in Toronto. The manager (or assistant manager) told me first, that the customers don't have access to the laundry room. I give them $10 and they wash my clothes. Later, I was told that the machine is broken. They expected it to be fixed soon.
Anyways, I did manage to see some of Toronto.
Sidenote: I have never seen so many fast food restaurants in one area in my life. Toronto must have hundreds of restaurants and fast food chains in the entire city. In the area I guess is downtown, Subways, McDonald's, Tim Horton and various Indian food restaurants seem to be on every two blocks.
Last year, I took AMTRAK from New York City to Detroit, stayed a few days, then went back to New York. A few days later, I took another train from New York and went to Toronto. Nice train rides, however, it was nearly the same exact trip, From NYC to Toronto, the train stops at Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, then goes into Canada. For Detroit, the train goes the same route until Buffalo, then heads along the lake to Cleveland. Nice ride, but tedious. This year I stayed in Detroit a little longer, then made my way to Windsor Ontario and took VIA RAIL from Windsor to Toronto.
Traveling in Canada is a different experience. There are similar things there Canadians share with us, but they are more polite and friendly. I got to their bus depot and needed to verify the information I had in getting to the train station. I knew their local bus went there, but I wanted to verify walking directions, fare, etc. Come to find out that I could not use my debit card on the bus in Windsor. I needed change. The agent GAVE me $3.50 in Canadian money to ride the bus.
The employees at the VIA RAIL station were equally polite and professional. They checked tickets and gave information and were friendly about it. They sell snacks and food, just like AMTRAK. Their commuter rail is a little old, but everything else about them is on point.
That was the best part of my day.
These were the pictures of the hostel I stayed at for five days. I wasn't expecting the Holiday Inn when I arrived...not at the money I was paying, but somehow I expected something different. I expected the room to be bigger than the bathroom. I expected the bed sheets that looked like they were clean. The only reason I knew the sheets were clean was because of the faint smell of bleach on them.
