Bobby's Burger Palace - College Park, MD

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What a storm! I hope everyone is safe because Sandy was quite destructive, but thankfully our part of Rockville wasn't affected much. Just a few hours without power.

So we haven't started our 'wedding' diet yet, so I'll just continue to write about fattie places like Bobby's Burger Palace. The Fi (I guess that's his new name? Let's test it out.) visited the University of Maryland location. We met at UMCP, and things have changed. We never had nice buildings and restaurants like this when we were there! I'm not that bitter though...

The name is self-explanatory - they serve burgers. Gourmet ones created by Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay to be exact. The interior is bright with warm lighting. It's filled with bar seating/communal tables and very comfortable chairs that spin! It's a casual place where you order/pay at a register, they give you a number, and they bring food out to wherever you are sitting. 

Many of the burgers are named after cities and characterized by a food that represents them. For example: The Fi ordered The Philadelphia Burger is topped with Provolone Cheese, Griddled Onions and Hot Peppers ($7.75). He thought it was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

If you're not in the mood for a burger, they offer sandwiches, salads, sides, milkshakes and other beverages. Also, if you don't eat beef, you can substitute the beef patty with turkey or chicken breast.

I wanted a flavor explosion so I ordered the Bobby Blue Burger with Blue Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato $7.75), and it wasn't as pungent as I was hoping. Again, it was an ok burger, but nothing particularly special. Ray's Hell Burger's equivalent is much better.

I love Sweet Potato Fries ($3) and these came with a Honey Mustard Horseradish Sauce which was awesome.


If you like dipping sauces, they have a variety including Jalapeño Hot Sauce, Chipotle Ketchup, Burger Sauce, and Barbecue. Sadly none of them really stuck out for me.Overall, we weren't wowed. So if we were visiting our Alma Matar again, we'd probably stop by Cluck U. However, I will say their service was impressive. We weren't there for long, but 3 different times someone would check on us. Pretty nice!

8150 Baltimore Avenue
College Park, MD 20740
240-542-4702
www.bobbysburgerpalace.com

Mark's Duck House - Falls Church, VA

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Ah dim sum. I don't get to have it often because the bf doesn't like small dishes...pshhh! Well that's what friends are for! One of my friends took me to Mark's Duck House - her favorite spot for Sunday dim sum. The restaurant has been around for over 20 years serving Hong Kong-style cuisine. As their name suggests, they are known for their Peking Duck. However, we didn't get a chance to try it.
Located in a shopping center, there is plenty of free parking, but it can get crowded.

This place is smaller than other restaurants that offer dim sum, so it was PACKED! We took a number when we got through the crowd waiting by the door.

They offered many of the same dishes I'm used to seeing as well as some different items. Sorry guys, but I don't have prices for any of these items because they were in Chinese. All dishes are between $2.50 - $7.50 though.

1. Pan-Fried Chives Dumpling - Out of all the dumplings, this was my favorite.
2. Shrimp and Pork Dumpling (Shiu Mai)
3. Shrimp and Pork Dumpling
4. Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gao)

5. Fried Taro Dumpling - One of my favorite dishes when I have dim sum.
6. Shrimp Noodle Crepe - Best noodle crepe I've tried.
7. Lemongrass and Ginger Oyster - Oyster by itself was the size of my palm.
8. Stuffed Crab Claw - I broke my chopstick trying to cut this. It was massive!
Service was very fast with the carts, they constantly filled our water glasses, replaced my broken chopstick and reminded me that I forgot my leftovers. I thought they were great! Food was on point. Now I just need more dim sum buddies!

6184 Arlington Blvd
Falls Church, VA 22044
(703) 532-2125
marksduckhouse.com

Trotter - now it's his "job"

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The spin is on, and Trotter's story is about to take off.

Trotter was arrested at O'Hare Airport, after a small handgun and bullets were found in his carry-on luggage.

First news reports said the gun was the one that Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter carried as an armed security guard.

Now, it's that he carried it as part of his job.

The Chicago Tribune delves into it, but a link on the online site goes to an article involving Cook County Board Chairman Toni Preckwinkle, not Trotter. Watch the headline "Gun arrest raises questions on Trotter's job at security firm ..." on www.chicagotribune.com for a corrected link.

What do you think Trotter's real job at Allpoints Security & Detective, Inc. is? If he really is an armed security guard, he'd better get himself a "real" gun with some stopping power and save his peashooter for a back-up. Not sure a .25 cal. Beretta is even good for a back-up weapon, although Beretta is a fine weapon.

If you read this morning's Northwest Herald article with a jaundiced eye, you can how fast the story is heading south by reading carefully the comment attributed to a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, who said, “He did not realize it was still in his bag.” Since when is it up to the prosecutor to let the defendant off the hook.

Thanks to Lorraine Scaduto, I think we can see where the case is headed. Right down the drain.

Well, maybe he never should have been charged in the first place. If he didn't realize the gun was still in his bag, then he didn't "knowingly" try to board.

And isn't it a Federal law, rather than a State law, to try to board an aircraft with a gun?

Red Kettle time

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Now is the time to dig down deep into your pockets and toss those crumpled up dollar and five-dollar bills in the Salvation Army red kettles that you'll see around town.

Don't just toss in your loose change (although that is appreciated, too), but open that wallet and pull out a $5 or a $10 (or a $50 or a $100 bill) and toss it in.

Think about putting your gift in before you go into the store. Don't just put in what's left over.

Red kettles have been a part of the Salvation Army tradition since 1891. The bellringers are volunteers; they aren't paid to stand out in the wind and the cold to ring the bell and wish you a Merry Christmas.

Give with a happy heart....

Taking back the war zone

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No, not in Syria. Not in Afghanistan or Iraq. But right here in Illinois. In Chicago. Maybe even in parts of McHenry County.

Recently I was directed to David Kennedy's 2011 book, Don't Shoot - One Man, a Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America.

I hate books like this.

I picked it up at the Woodstock Public Library, and I haven't even finished the Introduction and this is a book that I want to own!

Kennedy lined up a pretty impressive list of people to praise his book: Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink); a former police chief of LAPD; a couple of guys from Harvard and Yale; mayor of Cincinnati; Garry McCarthy (you recognize this name; right?), Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department; and Rev. Kenneth Copeland, New Zion Baptist Church, Rockford, Ill.

We're lucky out here in McHenry County. We don't have to live behind wndow bars and locked doors with grills on them. We can walk out streets at night (not so sure about the Square in Woodstock or Benton Street).

But the problem on the streets of Chicago had better get solved and not just get pushed out because, if police pressure gets too great in Chicago (without solving the problem), guess where the problems will show up?

I urge you to buy Kennedy's book and read it. Woodstock's Read Between the Lynes Bookstore will be glad to get it for you.

Monuments In Illinois

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What does MCSD do?

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Is the public interested in the activities and results of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department?

Does it have time to go to the County Board meetings or wade through the ton of information generated for the County Board reports?

One would think he could read some of the press releases and get a pretty good idea of what the deputies are doing. It doesn't do much good to "think" that because, when you go to the Sheriff's Department website (www.mchenrysheriff.org) and look under "About Us" in the Media Releases, you won't find much.

For example, what's there right now?

11/21/2012 - Crime Prevention Tips for the Holiday Season 

11/21/2012 - Arrest for Animal Neglect

11/21/2012 - McHenry County Sheriff's Office Along With United States Marshal Service Conduct Sex Offender Compliance Check 
11/20/2012 - Two Men Arrested for Delivery of Cannabis
11/16/2012 - Wonder Lake Resident Arrested for Sex Offender Violations

If that all we got from 400+ employees, over 100 take-car homes, and what may be an absentee sheriff?

What does CALEA call for in terms of press releases? My guess is that there should be a standardized system of issuing statements to the press. The press releases ought to be posted online, where media reporters and county residents (and anyone else) can read them.

Instead, what seems to happen is that information is handed out to selected reporters and media, and it may or may not ever reach the public.

It would be an easy task to post the daily blotter on the Sheriff's Department website. Right now it collects dust in the Administration Office of the Sheriff's Department. You can go and read it, if you want to make a trip to the Courthouse, park, pass through security and go to the second floor during normal business hours.

A summary of statistics could also be easily published on the Sheriff's website. How about traffic activity? Accidents? Tickets? Warrants served? Jail numbers (in/out)?

Maybe add a special column to indicate the days when the Sheriff actually showed up in the o0ffice for a full day's work.