The ups and downs of Tequila’s, Niskayuna

I’m not going to lie, I was ready to absolutely SHRED Tequila’s Mexican Bar & Grill. We decided to finally try the relatively newly opened Mexican spot (in the old LT’s Grill space in the Shop Rite Plaza – which we never did try) recently, placing an order through their website. That process was generally painless and I headed off to pick up our order at the time indicated. Well, after waiting a half hour or so for my pickup time (not unreasonable for a Saturday night), I arrived and stood around waiting for my order for very nearly AN HOUR. I wasn’t happy at this new restaurant, owned by the same people that own the well-regarded, but parking deficient, La Mexicana in Schenectady. There were two other people there waiting for takeout when I arrived that waited an awfully long time, also, not including however long they had already been there.

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Cheez-It Loaded Popcorn!

What’s this? Must be new, I count on The Impusive Buy for my new grub tipoffs but I don’t see it there, yet. Saw this at Price Chopper this evening and grabbed both flavors of Cheez-It Loaded Popcorn Cheddar and White Cheddar, both made with real cheese. I like cheese popcorn and Cheez-Its, so why not? Looks like they’ve been around for a short time as there are a few reviews online, but they just came out in February.

So far I’ve tried the Cheddar and been underwhelmed. The popcorn itself is quite decent – uniformly large, round kernels. Unfortunately a lot of husk still attached to each, so have a drink handy and look forward to making a lot of awkward noises trying to free them from parts of your mouth. The cheese coating is ubiquitous and strong without leaving much of a cheesy glove on your hand, which is nice. I get pretty much zero “Cheez-It” flavor from the cheddar, though, which is disappointing. I guess I can finish the bag, but I’m hoping for better from the White Cheddar and comparing it to Smartfood.

Take out from Innovo Kitchen in Latham

We waited a LONG time before finally trying Innovo Kitchen on Route 7 in Latham. Shortcut review: We won’t wait so long before going back! It was their Twitter post on Saturday touting their Saturday special that finally drew me in. I had my eye on a couple of new places to try (currently at least 3 on my list – hopefully test drives and reviews soon), but when I ran the special by my wife she jumped on board.

Christmas at Universal Orlando Resort

Imagine the usual disclaimers about skipping this post if you’re not interested in reading about UOR…AGAIN! I know, I know, it’s not local, but I’ve got some great pictures and food talk from a short visit paid to UOR during their holidays celebration.

Order wisely at Tesoros Cafe for big rewards

I don’t know why I never published this…it’s pretty old.

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We’ve really been making an effort to try out places that have been on our ‘to try’ list for way too long.  A little hit or miss, but with wise ordering, I think you’ll be pretty happy with a visit to Tesoros Cafe on upper Union St. in Schenectady.

napaJapan, a few of my favorite things

My post about my first order from napaJapan is my most consistently “popular”. Week in and week out, it is the post that continually gets hits. Maybe people want to see what I ordered, maybe they want to know if they can trust ordering from Jason at napaJapan. Well, let me set your mind at ease if that’s the case, they are incredibly reliable and 100% on the level. I just checked my account (they conveniently save your old orders so you can remember what you’ve ordered!), and I’ve placed over 40 orders from there over the past couple of years. I was going to post how much I’ve spent, but after doing the math…uh…I’d rather not. 🙂

Anyway, given the obvious interest out there, and the number of items I’ve purchased, I thought maybe I would put together a list of some of my favorite things from past napaJapan orders – things I buy over and over again and some of the limited edition stuff. So if you’re thinking of placing an order but aren’t sure about spending the money on stuff you might not like, maybe this will help you go for it and at least have some security that you can get some recommended items! A while back I did start to keep a spreadsheet of things I’d ordered and how they were…Jason carries so many items, and so many come in and out of stock due to seasonal manufacturing or whatever, that I had trouble keeping track of what I’d tried and what I want to keep ordering.

Also, in these less than comfortable financial times, I hope everyone keeps supporting small businesses if they can, even ones on the other side of the world that sell candy and snacks. Import and postal restrictions have started to have an impact on napaJapan. The slow (and least expensive) shipping option that I always pick is not currently available as the Japanese post office won’t accept these packages due to flight shortages. And some countries will not accept shipments. Plus deliveries are slower. For now the USA is OK, but depending on what country you live in, check with the site to be sure they can ship to you for the immediate future.

One more quick note – sign up for their mailing list at the bottom of the page. About once a month you’ll get an email with some new items and whatever deal Jason is running – a percentage off with a certain $ purchase and/or some free stuff, etc. If you have any interest, sign up. So let’s get to it!

New Celadon Thai, Same as the old Celadon Thai

And that’s a GOOD thing!

I was pretty excited when I saw Steve Barnes twittering that Celadon Thai’s new location, in the space that used to be Cella Bistro on Rosa Rd in Schenectady, was opening as this location is much more accessible for us than Latham. We were looking for something quick on Saturday and that never would have been Celedon before, but this time it was a good choice.

Please be aware that there are definitely some opening kinks to be worked out. Among them, they’re looking for more servers, so if you’re looking, stop by and see them! We’ve been to the Latham location maybe a dozen times and had chatted with the owner a few times, very casually and briefly. Nevertheless, she recognized us when she brought out our fried dumpling appetizer. Trust me, restaurateurs, this goes a long way to bringing back customers. She was so sweet and appreciative of our congratulations on the new location.

As for the food, it seemed pretty much the same. I didn’t recognize any of the servers I saw, but don’t know who is doing the cooking. My only qualm was that my ‘2’ spice level Duck Basil stir fry wasn’t spicy at all, but I’m going to chalk that up to harried server error. Otherwise it tasted like the dish I usually got in Latham.

We never went to Cella Bistro (menu not our thing), but the space is nice enough, although parking isn’t abundant. There were too many people put off by a short wait for their online order, which is ridiculous. They JUST OPENED and you’re ticked about an extra 5 to 10 minute wait for an order you conveniently placed from your computer or phone?

Please support these great people and their delicious food.