Jeff "Sushi Snob" D.'s Profile

Houses like this make you realize that when you are fabulously wealthy and the term "income tax" hasn't even been coined yet, you can do an awful lot with that money.  Like build The Elms, a mansion that got used at best 10 weeks out of the year.  

In modern dollars it would cost $22 million to build a similar house (let alone by the land in Newport on which to build it) and the interior artwork would cost you many times that, I'm certain.  

The audio tour was great and gives you tons of details about the artwork, building materials, furnishings and the grounds.  You also learn a lot about what life was like in the Gilded Age and the proper etiquette for dinner parties (first course, talk to the person on your left, second course to your right, etc) that my wife really enjoyed.  

The Elms and its grounds have been magnificently preserved and are a must-see if you visit Newport.

My wife and I had to visit this place, because it ties into one of our pet battles.  She insists that the little candies one puts on ice cream are called sprinkles, I insist they are jimmies.  She considered the name of this establishment a victory in and of itself; I'm not yet ready to concede defeat.

Good ice cream in a very convenient location.  The wife loved her hot fudge sunday, I just stuck with a cone of Deer Tracks which was vanilla, peanut butter and caramel.  Good stuff all around.

My wife and I met one of my college roommates and his wife in Newport for dinner and I chose Fluke mostly based on the Yelp reviews and its general convenient location.  We weren't disappointed.

They had an almost overwhelming selection of drinks so I chose a caipirinha to start then moved over to Guinness.  Note to the otherwise great waitress, when you tell me you have Guinness my assumption is that it's on tap.  If it's not on tap, let me know.  And for Heaven's sake don't serve it to me in a pilsner glass!

OK, that mistake aside the food was great.  My wife and friend got the crab cakes.  My wife said they weren't quite as good as Legal Seafood's version (which she feels is the benchmark) but were good nonetheless.  My friends wife had the grilled swordfish which came with spinach and butternut squash and I had a seafood paella which was fantastic.  

We would have had a nice harbor view if the fog hadn't rolled in so aggressively at dusk, but I can't blame Fluke for that.  Overall it was a great experience.

I give them three for the food (I got three pork tacos, they were good, the guacamole was fresh taste and it was not too expensive.

I give them five stars for not being dicks when they could have been.  I just got a new debit card that SHOULD have activated when they ran it.  It did not so I had to call in to the 800 number for Citizens Bank.  As I prepared to do this the manager insisted I sit down and enjoy my meal, make the call and pay when I was done.  He turned what could have been an uncomfortable moment for me into a positive customer service experience and he deserves to be commended for it.  

So three stars food, five stars for taking care of your customers and having a clean, neat establishment.

We got drinks here a couple of nights with friends when we were in town for the weekend.  Nothing spectacular, but we got good service and they did not skimp on the mixed drinks (always a good sign.)

I was in Arlington for a wedding and we stopped here for brunch on Sunday morning on the way out of town.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that they were the Arlington home of Red Sox Nation.  

Brunch was good, especially the omelette station.  Drink service was quick (we stuck to coffee and juices) and the place looked clean and well maintained.  Next time we are in VA we'll stop by for a pint of Guinness.

Some friends and I met up here for a cookout and had a great time.  The park was well maintained, had plenty of trash cans available and is right on the Charles River.  There are also bathroom facilities near the playgrounds, which is great.  

They say you can't use charcoal grills there but just about everyone was doing so and no one was complaining.  

If you do plan an event here be warned that the parking lot seemed to fill up at around 2:30 or so.

Flippello Park is one of the nicer softball fields around, mainly because the infield is decently maintained and not full of little rocks that send the ball off in unpredictable ways.  There are also a few public grills available for use, some basketball courts and a small water park that is turned on in the summer.  

This is also the location where you can drop off hazardous materials if you're a Watertown resident.  News flash:  When you put a computer monitor or TV out in the trash and the trash guys don't take it, there is a reason for that.  Take it down to Flippelo on Friday or Saturday for it to be disposed of properly.

I love Erin H's review, because she brings up the non-food things that make Cafe Mami the quintessential Japanese restaurant.  It's tiny, the seating is very crowded and you'd better bring cash or it's no go.

While I like the hamburger sets, I almost always end up getting katsu-kari with a pork cutlet.  The cutlet is always juicy and while I tend to like my curries a bit more rich and spicy than they do it here, it's very good and they always serve fukuzinzuke (the red daikon pickles) with their curry.  

I do wish they offered a curry udon set, I might suggest that to them next time I am there.

Kotobukiya is a great place to pick up Japanese staples.  In addition to all kinds of ramen, udon and frozen yakidons, they sell onigiri made in the store as well as a large selection of sushi grade fish (from uni right up to chu-toro.)  

If I'm in Porter I generally can't resist running in to grab some onigiri for tomorrow's breakfast and some Men's Pocky if I need a chocolate fix.