Reviewing Whatever

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeGame nights are fun.  Ken Jennings is really smart.  So when Ken and his family play-test a new board game, I pay attention to his response.

Split decision looks like a lot of fun, and an Apples-to-Apples style good time for adults who want to kick back and goof off as they compete.  I'd be willing to play it, and you should read the review and see if you'd like to, too.

Image via WikipediaGranted, the authors of the Muppet Mindset blog are coming to this graphic novel with pro-Muppet bias, but it looks like an entertaining read.

So check out their reviews of the multiple issues of The Muppet Show.  I for one am holding out for the trade.

Issue one

Issue two

Issue three

Issue four

Cover via AmazonI guess I'm just a sucker for reviews where the reviewer claims a book changed his or her life.

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson is about God's calling for our lives, and Mary at (In)Courage really took this book to heart.  It doesn't sound like my thing at the surface (though Mary said the same thing...) but her review makes me really curious about the book, which is of course a sign of an effective review.  Check out her review!

Image via CrunchBaseI got my mother a copy of Mark Bitman's How to Cook Everything cookbook for Christmas a few years back, and she uses it all the time.  I'm waiting for the latest edition to come out in paperback, then I'm buying it myself.

Bitman has a blog on the New York Times website, and has contributing and guest bloggers appear regularly.  At one point, the contributor was Luca Marzorati, a high school student and street-cart food connoisseur.

Marzorati's writing is excellent -- you wouldn't guess he was in high school when this was written if the article hadn't made mention of it.  And his praise of Sammy's Halal Cart is glowing.  I'm tempted to track the cart down for lunch one of these days.

Check out the review for yourself.


 

Dave Loveless at the Prodigal reviews his local supermarket, Winco, here. He speaks very highly of the low prices, high quality, and impressive ideals.  Later, he revisits the store and the review, still enjoying the shopping experience, but becoming less impressed by the prices, here.

Go, check them out.

The Situation

I've written about burgers in the past. I like burgers. But... where are the fries?

Your Mission

So, folks, tell me: where are the absolute best french fries in Manhattan, Queens, or Nassau County, NY; Philadelphia, Montgomery County, or Chester County, PA; South Jersey; or Dover, DE?

Leave a recommendation int he comments below -- I'll try as many as I can in the weeks ahead, and give you a round-up with the results.

Thanks!

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Chris and I are settling nicely into our new place and new routines. Who knows how long this will last?  We may be moving again soon.  But when things are calm, I have time to read!

Frugal Duchess at Wise Bread notes that the book Small Change was life-changing. Her review definitely makes me want to read the book -- so go ahead and read her review!

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I usually don't have a lot of time on weekends, but as of writing this I'm coming off of two wedding showers in a row (three if you count the one at work) and a meet-up and ballgame with Chris, Brian, and Paul, so I'm setting this up in case I need to skip a week.

Dave Loveless at The Prodigal reviewed the Nicholas Cage movie Knowing.  When I originally saw the ads, I was not impressed, but Dave's review makes me reconsider: He gives it 3.5 out of 4 stars (assuming you like thrillers).  Dave's blog is one of my must-reads, so go ahead and browse around while you're there.

I've tried doing an update of Awesome Sites, but that didn't quite work.  It was a noble experiment, don't get me wrong, but... these things happen.

Let's try another experiment.  Periodically -- I don't know how often, just whenever it comes up -- I'll link you to a review that someone else wrote that caught my attention.  It may be a review of a video game, which I don't really play, or a review of a movie that I haven't seen yet but, thanks to the reviewer, I now want to. 

First up: Alex at Super Dudes Power Squad! reviewed the new Ghostbusters video game. Again, I'm not really a gamer, but I've heard that the video game is a worthy sequel/successor to the movies, and may yet stand in for Ghostbusters III, which might or might not exist someday. Go check it out.

(Disclosure: my brother is one of the head Super Dudes, and I've been known to contribute to them on occassion as well.)