Want Andy Reid fired?

It's all about the bottom line. If fans do not watch, go to the games or purchase merchandise, that will create change. Going to games and booing does nothing; they will already have your ticket and concession money.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a tasty and relaxing holiday. We are starting the long weekend with a trip to Vetri's Amis tonight. It is definitely a long overdue destination; hopefully it lives up to the Vetri name.

Also, don't forget to brine the turkey today, it will be totally worth it!

Best Coffee in Town

If you're in need of some caffeinated deliciousness, I strongly recommend stopping by the new coffee truck located in Love Park.

Rival Bros. Coffee Roasters is run by Damien Pileggi, who roasts the beans locally in small batches. He's a long-time La Colombe guy and knows his stuff.
Check out their website at Rivalbros.com or stop by their facebook page. They sell whole or ground-to-order beans for your at-home drinking pleasure.

Football is back!!!!!!!!!!

I, for one, am so excited that the greedy players and greedier owners finally resolved their differences. This week is going to be like christmas in July. We essentially have 3-4 months of off-season moves being compressed into one week. I hope your work doesn't track how many times you log onto ESPN or other sports-related sites in a day.

Phils

I was in Vegas last week and noticed at the Sportsbooks that the Phillies were 2-1 favorites to win the World Series, and even money to win the National League. Basically, the betting world is saying that the Phillies are heavy, heavy favorites to win it all. I really hope they are right....

More Nutrition bars....

Nu-Go Bars

The claim is 100% natural ingredients. Reading the list of ingredients doesn't give me the same warm and fuzzies as those from Bora Bora or Goodonya, but that is unfair. It's like comparing apples and oranges. These Nugo Bars are similar to traditional protein bars in that they have a soy protein/nugget center, with different flavorings, corn syrup, and such. They have a coating on the outside, which is either yogurt or chocolate. They don’t have the same appeal to me as the more organic and fresh tasting bars by Bora-Bora or Goodonya, but they were very good in comparison to the traditional protein bars, especially the chocolate ones. The protein count is in the 10-15 gram range.

Also, they are from Pittsburgh, so you can reduce your carbon footprint if you are reading this from within the Commonwealth. You can find out more information at nugonutrition.com.

Overall, I would give the bars a 7/10.

Restaurant Review: Barbuzzo

Marcie Turney and Valerie Saffron have taken over 13th Street as if they were playing Monopoly. They now have 7 restaurants/stores on the the formerly dingy block between Chestnut and Sansom. What I can say for certain is that Barbuzzo is their crowning achievement. Their Boardwalk or Park Place, to continue a below-average analogy.

Barbuzzo labels itself as a Mediterrean kitchen, and the food is a mash-up of Mediterrean flavors and Italian staples with a twist. The atmosphere can be described as upscale rustic, with a long bar and counter-top seats over-looking the kitchen. The editor-in-chief and I got lucky and snagged two seats at the counter-top without a reservation on a Saturday night. Chalk it up to a combination of luck and willingness to eat with the early-bird crowd.

The food, from start to finish, was fantastic. We started with the Mediterrean olives, roasted squash and parsnip salad, and sauteed greens. The squash and parsnip salad was outstanding, with argula, fresh parsnip and shaved grana padano (cheese) over warm, mashed heirloom squash. For main dishes, we ordered the Branzino, the meatballs and then the butternut squash and ricotta ravioli. Each dish was amazing, with the ravioli being so melt-in-your mouth delicious you would have thought Vetri was in the house. The meatballs, one of their signature dishes, stood out for the tenderness of the meat, as well as the cheese melting out from the center. The pizza also looked fantastic, but we decided to save that for the next go-round.

Lastly, we finished with the salted, caramel budino. Easily one of the top 5 best desserts the editor-in-chief and I have ever has the pleasure of devouring. It exceeded all expectations, which were already high given the myriad accolades it has received. From the dark chocolate crust (think Oreos for foodies), to the thick whipped cream, then the vanilla bean caramel and sea salt on top--it's worth every damn calorie and then some. Overall, one of the better restaurant experiences we have had recently, and for the most part, well priced for the portion size. The editor-in-chief and I would both highly recommend.

Health/Nutrition Bars, Round 1

I have had a chance to try some organic nutrition bars from two companies so far.
First up, Bora Bora, which makes organic, all-natural bars with no refined sugar (and gluten free). Overall, I have been impressed with their bars, which are chunky in texture, and have, for the most part, excellent ingredient lists. In the realm of organic bars, they also seem reasonably priced. Bora Bora is not shooting for high-protein, with most in the 3-5 gram range.
The editor-in-chief and I have tried several varieties:

Tiki Blueberry Flax- Not quite enough blueberry coming through, but decent chewiness and the right amount of sweetness- 7.5/10

Tropical Sesame Cranberry- You taste actually what you are supposed to, and has a great chewiness. 8/10

Paradise Walnut Pistachio- My favorite Bora Bora bar in the initial line-up, with a good amount of raisins. It's a touch oily, but I think it's just from the natural oil in the nuts. It's like a nutty mass-market granola bar, only it's delicious and good for you...so, on second thought...not really the same. 8.5/10

Exotic Coconut Almond- The coconut is really fresh tasting, but overall, the bar is a little dry. 6.5/10

Next up, I tried "the Good On Ya bar"s. Much like Bora, Bora, they are organic, whole foods, gluten free bars. You can find out more info yourself at http://www.thegoodonyabar.com/, or on facebook or twitter. These bars have a peanut butter base, for the most part, so the texture is less crunchy then others. The remind me of a Clif bars, only with less sweeteners and higher fiber. These are higher in protein then the Bora Bora bars, with most being in the 10 gram range. The main ingredients in the bars seem to be peanut butter, honey, milled flax, sesame seeds and hemp seeds.

The two bars I tried from the company where the Breakfast Bar and Peanut Butter Chocolate. I really like both bars, with similar taste between the two. The Peanut Butter Chocolate had some more dark chocolate favor, but they both had the peanut butter and honey flavor come through. Ultimately, it's a fairly plain taste, but you really feel like you are eating something good for you. I give them both a 8/10.

More to come.....

Nutrition Bar Research

While sitting in my office researching healthy nutrtion/protein bars the other day, I realized something: There is not much out there in terms of reviews of these products (Cliffbar, Bora Bora, Kind, Nugo, etc.). As a result, I have decided to sample a few varieties from each company and let everyone know what I think.

24 hours of football highs and lows

So much for the Eagles being a team of destiny. Turns out that, in reality, they were a team full of below average linemen, and a lot of 7th round picks playing on defense because of injury. Some guy named James Starks ran for over 100 yards against them. Ouch. I was not ready for the Birds season to be over. It will be interesting to see what they do with the Vick/Kolb situation.

Fortunately, Auburn made the pain from Sunday go away quickly, winning their 2nd National Championship (and third undefeated season in the past 17 years). War Eagle!