I came home to a fridge full of excellent vegetables but slabs of chicken that were still frozen solid. I was definitely fearful that something like that might occur and that’s why I have some quick and easy meals on hand in case I have to deal with it. Problem is, I have a wife who was not so much interested in any of my quick and easy meals and suggested that we go to Bucky’s Diner instead before returning the terrible movie (Semi-Pro) and getting a card for my father because I’m a moron and thought Father’s Day was two weeks away — it’s not so if *you* forgot, I suggest getting out there today.

I went digging through the recent coupon fliers that we had in the kitchen and eventually found the Bucky’s $2-off dinner coupon and we headed out the door. I should have stopped to return the movie beforehand but I didn’t and it came back to bite me in the ass later… As soon as we parked in front of Bucky’s we noticed something odd — were they painting the front windows? Where was the “OPEN” sign that MSPD wasn’t terrible fond of? Ah, another one bites the dust. Even though I didn’t care for the place when it first opened, Kim and I had been back several times since it moved over to a “diner” and enjoyed it for breakfast and dinner. At least they were taking the constructive criticism that their customers offered and were really trying to make it in this ever-worsening market. I’m sad to see them go.

After Bucky’s, because I was now starving, we went next door to Jade Island Chinese Cuisine which, in the past while dining at Bucky’s, noted just how many people would come in through the shared main door and choose the left door instead of the right. I figured if that place continued its life beyond Bucky’s, it must be giving away great food or drugs.

Kim and I looked at the nasty menus (they looked yellowed from years of this restaurant having a “smoking section” which just meant one half of the restaurant) and I particularly enjoyed the crossed out, but still fully readable, menu items and the menu items that had cardboard and tape over them to give new prices or different ingredients. After much hemming and hawing, we came up with egg drop soup, cream cheese wontons, sweet and sour chicken and Hunan pork (extra, extra spicy) which both came with sides of rice (we chose fried — they don’t include meat in their fried rice).

The egg drop soup and wontons came out first and the egg drop soup was almost puke green instead of yellowish. It tasted pretty much like ass and I didn’t particularly care for the crunchy vegetables that were inside. While I don’t know what authentic egg drop soup is (is there such a thing?) this wasn’t like any I have ever had before and nothing like I ever wish to have again. The wontons were served with hot mustard (it was watered down like you couldn’t believe) and sweet/sour sauce. They were pretty much what you would expect from frozen “Chinese” food that you could get at the grocery store and while they were cheap, you got what you paid for.

Our entrees arrived a bit later, to the apologies of the waitress, who said that my Hunan pork takes just a bit longer to make than anything else. I didn’t think that the wait time was at all unreasonable so I just shrugged. I had asked for it to be “extra, extra spicy” which was what the waitress said their hottest option was (Hunan items should be hot) but mentioned if I didn’t think it was hot enough that she could offer me some red pepper flakes to add. Well, even though I’m into spicy shit and pretty much nothing is hot enough for me, this was beyond lame. I seriously couldn’t taste the spiciness at all and even Kim said it was quite mild. Don’t fucking tell me it’s going to be “extra, extra spicy” when you’re just going to make it the same as you always do. Kim’s meal was pretty much blah and she summed up her experience later with something about World Buffet in Apple Valley being better than Jade Island Chinese Cuisine — if you happen to read her comments on World Buffet, you’ll understand just how fucking god awful terrible tonight’s dinner was.

It doesn’t seem like they use MSG although I didn’t ask but I haven’t had any complications yet. The place is pretty dirty and I just don’t understand why people chose it over Bucky’s. I guess they really wanted “Chinese” food and couldn’t bring themselves to go just about anywhere else… Fuck, even the fortune cookies were nasty. My fortune couldn’t have been more wrong, “You will be hungry soon, get a takeout.”

After our disappointment with Bucky’s and Jade Island Chinese Cuisine, we were on our way home and I noticed that Two Guys from Italy was closed and had a small typed note in the window. Hoping that the day had finally come, I drove in excited only to find that they are remodeling and will be reopening with some sort of different Italian themed restaurant. Now, the entire reason that Danny opened this version of Two Guys from Italy was to try something new (after he failed at Viva Italia) but I guess the customer confusion over that stupid fucking ordering system he had finally took its toll. I hope that whatever reincarnation Danny comes up with for Two Guys from Italy is better than what it has been since it first opened — because we certainly haven’t been back to sample any more of the terrible food we were served the night we tried it out.

Address:
Jade Island Chinese Cuisine
7534 149th St W
Apple Valley, MN 55124

Phone:
(952) 891-3333

See all the pictures from Jade Island Chinese Cuisine on Flickr here (mobile).

Last night I hosted my first WeekNIGHT Caching get together since May 10th, 2006 and suggested that everyone come down to the South Metro to do bflentje’s cache Shrinky Dinks along the shores of Burnsville’s Crystal Lake Park.

I had found this cache with Kevin last week and while I didn’t enjoy myself all that much, I figured I would eliminate my displeasure by fucking with everyone else. While I had an idea of what this cache entailed before going for it, I was totally unprepared for the “adventure” so I at least gave everyone the warning that they should come stocked with gear that will help them do this cache. Two people came somewhat prepared and the rest did not. Two people weren’t going to go through with the find but I harped on one of them enough that they eventually did.

Afterwards I had suggested we go to Panino Brothers in Apple Valley for beer (it’s part of the WeekNIGHT Caching tradition for those of you that don’t know). There’s a nice selection on tap and the food is decent. There have been some complaints recently about slow service and Kim, who joined up with Chris and Laura there ahead of time, said she experienced just about everything people had been complaining about such as slow service which apparently hasn’t yet been resolved.

I arrived with Lucid and MN_Cavepeople and knowing that the service might be poky, ordered my beer at the bar. They had a PBR special last night — $2/glass. Woot! I did notice that even though I was ordering my beer at the bar, I still had to wait at one point while no one was directly manning the bar.

After most people left, we half talked, half forced, firstbass (that’s “first base”) into agreeing to do Sir_Zman’s Twin Cities Geocaching Podcast interview. Z had prepared some new and never before heard questions for firstbass and was pretty adamant that he would stick around and that his wife would definitely understand if he took a little longer getting home as long as he got the interview.

We moved over to the sitting area at Panino Brothers and Sir_Zman fired up his recording device and I used my camera to record the interview in its entirety, unedited, for everyone to see later. Sir_Zman’s podcast is family friendly and there was some discussion about how my site generally is not. He said he will be happy to link back to here so people can check out firstbass’ forced interview.

I originally planned on uploading this video to YouTube but it was over 16 minutes long and they only permit 10 minutes of video — they really need to raise that limit. So instead I uploaded it to blip.tv which has a much better interface, better video quality, and takes video that is much larger.

Be aware that this video does include less profanity that I’m used to writing but is still NSFW, has been taken in an area with poor acoustics for audio, and was done with my point and shoot camera. That said, I was fairly impressed with the quality of the video/audio but not necessarily my own added content ;) Enjoy:

Thanks to everyone who showed up tonight! I didn’t find any ticks although I wasn’t tromping around off the trail at all and also didn’t find any leeches — did anyone else ;-) I was disappointed to hear that Panino Brothers’ service was slow for Kim (it wasn’t crowded) but it was great to see everyone again and was especially awesome to watch firstbass squirm under the pressure of not only a mic but a camera pointed in his face.

See all the pictures from tonight on Flickr here (camera).

From the Star Tribune’s South Metro Police Blotter:

Free beer in Apple Valley:

May 21st, theft. Someone took several cases of beer as a truck was making a delivery to a business in the 15200 block of Galaxie Avenue.

May 25th, theft. Someone stole three cases of beer from an open garage in the 13500 block of Gossamer Way.

Take that you little asshole!

Indecent exposure. As an officer was sitting at County Road 42 and Gardenview Drive, she saw a local boy she recognized walk by. He continued walking, then stopped, dropped his pants and “mooned’ passing vehicles. He then ran. He was issued a summons.

Must be all those horses in Shakopee!

Smell. A person in the 200 block of 4th Avenue W. reported smelling something hot in the area.