B.o.B. tha Trap Star

Submitted by cobwebsandstrange on 12/24/08 3:55am

I probably wouldn’t be hip to this track right here if not for Ill Roots – who actually just posted a good Doom compilation as well. But B.o.B. is almost as good in a drastically different way. Not to take anything away from Doom, but he’s been dealing with some issues lately.

The best music, hip hop or not, has an innate ability to draw from a great deal of variegated influences and find some commonality to unify all of them. B.o.B. already knows that and because of this very fact, he puts out some good tracks. The live version of “I’ll Be in the Sky” is posted all over the blogosphere now – for good reason of course.

So, if you happened to get into that track, good. Now you, you internet savvy reader and head, can be a part of it. B.o.B. is trying to cast a video for “I’ll Be in the Sky” – and he wants you. Well, maybe. He has some stipulations and requirements, but they shouldn’t be too difficult to fulfill.

If you’re not convinced that you’d like to work with B.o.B. – I guess I understand. But you can check out his website for some more streaming tracks and a boat load of videos. I guess this is only valid if you live in or around Atlanta, unless you’re planning on traveling down there to begin your video career. But if you decide to take part in the filming and it works out, let me know. I’ll totally be your manager.

The Funkdoobiest

Submitted by cobwebsandstrange on 12/24/08 2:45am

One of the most amusing and consistent rappers in the game at this point is Del the Funkee Homosapien (aka Teren Delvon Jones). The Bay area based rapper has taken the Heiro name and spread it world wide. Oh yeah, he’s Ice Cube’s cousin too. And most recently he worked with El-P, a NYC based supa-producer and emcee, to release 2008’s Eleventh Hour. It was his first disc in nearly eight years and perhaps because of that, there was a great deal of built up pressure to release a classic. So, that disc wasn’t as well received as some may have expected – myself included – but Del still has the Gorillaz, right? Right.

Itâ??s a good thing that he does to, because of a rather interesting statistic. As the world moves further towards a complete reliance upon digital technology, social networking sites (a fancy way to say Myspace or Facebook) play an increasingly important role in the marketing of new music, film and media in a broad and general sense.

Thatâ??s not a new idea or statement, but the fact that the Gorillaz are the most popular band on Myspace is a pretty grand idea. They have almost seven hundred thousand friends and even though that doesnâ??t necessarily translate to concert attendance or record sales, itâ??s still pretty impressive considering that basically every band on the face of the earth has a Myspace account.

After the Gorillaz impressive numbers, thereâ??s a pretty steep drop off in the friend count and by the time one gets to Coldplay, weâ??re only talking about five hundred and twenty five thousand friends. It seems a bizarre contrast â?? these two bands. It is.

Coldplay probably can boast higher concert revenues and considering the fact that they released an album earlier this year and the Gorillaz have been relatively silent, it almost doesnâ??t make sense. Or perhaps the universe is just trying to balance itself out by relegating Coldplay to second tier friendsters. After all, in addition to grossing a ridiculous amount of money, theyâ??re still one of the most maligned groups in world. And for good reason.

40 Years Ago Today: Apollo 8

Submitted by lisala on 12/24/08 1:55am

40 years ago tonight, on Christmas Eve, 1968, Lunar Module Pilot William Anders, in a live television broadcast, announced that they were approaching lunar sunrise, and that he had a message for "all the people back on Earth." He then began to read from Genesis 1:1–10:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." . . .

Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell took up the reading, and read through the creation story in Genesis, until he was relieved by Commander Frank Borman, who finished the creation story, and wished the entire world a merry Christmas. You can see a video of the live telecast here. Lovell, Anders and Borman were the first humans to leave Earth orbit, entering lunar orbit on Christmas Eve. It was Apollo 8 that took the famous "Earth rise" image linked above, showing Earth as it looks from space, something none of us had ever seen before— in a photograph that was an unplanned act of serendipity.

Forty years ago, we were racing to beat the Russians to the moon; now we jointly operate the International Space Station. All three astronauts reminisce about the experience here, and in this official NASA video. Although historically, we were, very much, in a rush to space to "beat" the Russians, when the time came, the successful lunar orbit was treated as a triumph for all of humanity, everywhere, in the true spirit of Christmas, and science.

Merry Christmas, to everyone, everywhere.

A Bit Scroog-y

Submitted by msarko on 12/24/08 1:23am
I'll admit it, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas. It wasn't a part of my life growing up and by the age of 7 I was glad for it. I never liked Christmas songs, Christmas decorations or even most Christmas food. When you don't care about something but it's ubiquitous anyway, it can really start to grate. All the same, I'm not a total Grinch when it comes to the yuletide holiday, even if I have no idea what a yuletide is and must be kind of a jerk to point out that all bells jingle year-round. Of course, Christmas also means that our otherwise reliable televisions catch a bug that makes them stop showing our favorite programs and start showing holiday-themed specials. Most of these I can't stand, but some I might even be encouraged to enjoy. Here are two overt Christmas specials I can say, without cringing, that I honestly like. A Muppet Family Christmas Jim Henson's iconic creations have had numerous holiday season outings, first with John Denver in the 70's and later with an early-90's retelling of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol". I don't give a hoot about any of those, but I do like 1987's "A Muppet Family Christmas". Mostly, I blame nostalgia. When I was just a little latke-eater, I loved the Muppets more than anything. They've always been reliably fun and heartfelt. I guess what I love about "Family Christmas" is that it feels so very 80's, but not in that cheesy, over-the-top sort of way. I mean in the sense of busy, kind of dark sets that still have a hint of live theater in them and a comforting rinky-dinkness that comes from a hand-crafted project. "Family Christmas" involves every bit of the Muppet world, from the classic Kermit gang to the cartoon "babies", some Sesame Street and, for the street cred, some Fraggles. I don't care of it's about Christmas, this Muppet program is quintessential winter. Frosty the Snowman This 1969 cartoon was a favorite of mine in childhood and my parents didn't mind because there's nothing all that Christian about it, so they wouldn't have to try to explain the details of a different religion to their 3-year-old. It's just the plain-old fantasy of a snowman coming to life. The animation is good a fairly timeless, Frosty's personality is fun and the moral about friendship is inoffensive. We get some classic comedians with the package, including Jimmy Durante and Jackie Vernon. Interestingly enough, "Frosty" was one of the first times a major company used the cel animation technique. Sure, the plot eventually involves Santa, but that can't really be avoided. The guy shows up for a few seconds at the end and that's that. "Frosty" is really more about childhood whimsy than any particular point of culture. Ultimately, "Frosty the Snowman" is about helping a friend find a place where he can live freely. I can get behind that, even if it is connected to a song that gets pretty old after repeat listenings.

Love Actually: British or American?

Submitted by msarko on 12/24/08 1:21am
Love Actually is a strange beast of a film. It straddles various definitions in such a way that it falls into multiple categories without necessarily fitting into any of them. Is it a Christmas movie or just a movie that takes place on and around Christmas? Is it a comedy or a drama? Does it feature an ensemble cast or is it really more a series of small-cast vignettes? And, for our purposes today, is it a British film or an American film? Written and directed by Richard Curtis, Love Actually has a cast and production team that causes it to lean toward the British end of the spectrum. Aside from the overwhelmingly British cast, Curtis himself has been behind more than a few projects that are more easily classified. His hand was in the script for The Girl in the Cafe and even some of Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder series. Then again, Curtis also penned much of Notting Hill and both movies in the Bridget Jones series. In the case of those latter two, we get the basis for the argument that Love Actually is, ahem, actually an American film. Both Notting Hill and the Bridget Jones outings were basically American-style movies with British accents. They followed standard American rom-com structures using actors that are extremely familiar to American audiences. In the case of Bridget Jones the lead role even went to an American actress, Renee Zellweger. The cast of Love Actually is also full of familiar faces, at least mostly. American audiences have known Alan Rickman since Die Hard and have spent plenty of time with Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson. At the time, Keira Knightley was pretty much unknown to US audiences, at least those who hadn't gone to little indie theaters to see Bend It Like Beckham, but there's no doubt that Knightley was selected for her Hollywood-level star potential. The same could be said for the then-underexposed Chiwetal Ejiofor. Still, others in the cast had essentially zero exposure in the States with no prospect outside of Love Actually to remedy that. Kris Marshall, who plays the goofy Colin Frissell, is a sitcom standard in England but nobody west of Ireland is going to see much of him without a subscription to BBC America. In this straddler of a movie, there are even some straddling actors. Colin Firth, Bill Nighy and Martin Freeman have all become well-known State-side, even if they began as quintessentially English actors. But what really makes me question whether or not we can call Love Actually a British film is its structure. A collaboration between the very European Studio Canal and the very American Universal Studios, Love Actually has all the high-budget gloss of an American blockbuster. It goes to great lengths, however shiny, to subvert the predictable storytelling of American romantic comedies. Its genius is in the fact that Love Actually is composed of the plots of about a dozen insufferable movies, the scraps of which have been sewn together to make one fairly stunning movie. Multiple gushy romances, dire heartbreakers, sappy family stories and one goofy sex comedy (just for good measure) make up the tapestry-style screenplay. Some of those plots, like the father-son thread with Liam Neeson and precocious cupid-victim Thomas Sangster, are obviously American in approach. Others, most notably the painful infidelity drama with Rickman and Thompson, could only be British films were they drawn out to feature-length. So, what is Love Actually? Is it British enough to call it a foreign film? Sort of. The key, I believe, is in Curtis's opening monologue. In it, he references September 11th and how it changed the world. While I'm not cynical enough to think that nobody outside the United States cared about 9/11, I do think the majority of its cultural impact took place in America. By referring to our most prominent national tragedy, Richard Curtis is directly addressing us, his American audience. Love Actually isn't exactly an American movie. Or rather, it isn't an American movie made by Americans. Love Actually is a British movie made by British people as a sort of gift to American audiences. However subversive it is with its rearrangement of American movie archetypes, it does so lovingly, not bitterly. This is a present in film form designed by Richard Curtis to bring smiles back to a downtrodden American audience, using modes that audience knows and loves. I honestly don't believe Love Actually could have been done by an American writer or a predominantly American cast. it's foreign, but it's in our language.

Craigslist Wednesday: Ho ho... oh...

Submitted by msarko on 12/23/08 11:43pm

Merry Christmas, cretins. While the lot of you are probably sitting next to a roaring fire in your ridiculous sweaters, drinking your ridiculous eggy concoctions and eating a bunch of food my people were forbidden to eat thousands of years ago, I'm sitting here, in the cold, a stomach full of bargain frozen pizza and a hard drive full of unspeakable dreck from the godless Internet. But no matter how loathsome my life becomes because of YOU and your endless appetite for stupid pseudo-culture, at least I know my life isn't as absurd as the people who posted the following ads on that bastion of all that is wrong in the world, craigslist.  

light contact sparring wrestling boxing martial arts free  

Not a school but my personal training area i put together in my garage but has padded floor, heavy bags, speed bag etc. and a group of training partners here to help you with your self defense or fight training needs. Free means totaly free but occasional help with heating cost or a couple extra drinks even cold beer would be nice. Sparing is always as light as you want it or hard but I prefer no face shots but your call. Leave name with response please. Randy

If there's one thing I'd like to do with my free time, it'd definitely be bringing alcohol to some dude named Randy who hangs out with his friends in his garage and beat the crap out of each other (but not in the face). Craigslist is full of people failing to even thinly veil their ulterior motives, but this guy is good. Pull up a chair, class, and be sure to take thorough notes. This will be on the test. The test is life and if you fail you may end up on the wrong end of a sweaty, hairy drunk whose name is a synonym for "sexually aroused" while his friends watch. Randall here may just be a guy looking for some sparring partners. Maybe. Of course, he could just be looking for a source of free booze. Then there's the bit about "heating costs". This snags for me. How does one determine the heating costs for just a garage? Is he using a space heater? Has he done the calculations of the wattage per hour and how it is likely to impact his electric bill? Most importantly, do you have faith enough in humanity to believe a stranger wouldn't go out of his way to swindle you out of $20 while he and his buddies talk about Ultimate Fighting and the new Whitesnake album?

 

NEED A MALE ESCORT 60 (anywhere)

Need an escort for the evening or important function Have the ability to carry on a conversation, adjust to circumstances and actually find humor in just about everything Clean up well, love to dress up and always dance with the gal i'm with Paul (phone number omitted)

Oh, vagueness. You are a humorist's best friend. This (presumably) man is 60 years old and wants a male escort, or possibly is of an indeterminate age and wants a male escort who is exactly 60 years old. Why? Well, that depends. It may be for the evening of the post, or it could be for an as-yet-undetermined function that, while still mysterious or unknown, is most assuredly important. This escort, or possibly the person who posted the ad, must be or is an adept conversationist. He must be/is capable of adjusting to circumstances... any circumstances. Somebody spills wine on white cloth? He must be/is knowledgable about the wonders of club soda. An army of rabid squirrels rushes into the important function and starts attacking guests/ruining the mayor's speech/causing the yacht to sink? He must be/is capable of confronting any of those possibilities while also seeing the inherent humor of it all, or possibly just anything about it that is Clean. Somewhere in there, dancing will be involved, maybe with a gal who hasn't yet become involved or possibly this fellow Paul with whom the poster has some kind of relationship.

 

Rave, I didn't buy anyone gifts this year

They will all receive an email and a card from www.Heifer.org telling them what kind of animals were given in their name. I happen to be an Atheist so I really don't celebrate Christmas. Screw the commercialization and the bigoted religious aspects. Maybe if their were more Atheists we could make the world a better place. For anyone who is interested here is a link to the gift catalog. http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/ They also help people here in The USA too. Check it out. http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/ Happy Holidays everyone. Merry Christmas to all you Christians and a happy what ever else people celebrate.

Bravo. I mean, there are cheap jerks everywhere, but so few manage to throw in a dash of militant guilting and smug atheism. At any rate, this poster wants all of craigslist and his/her relations to know just how much he/she hates the commercialization of that holiday he/she doesn't even celebrate or care about, even though the original religious aspects of that holiday are bigoted to begin with. I know that as a Jew I feel oppressed every single year when Christians espouse joy about the foundation of their faith by emphasizing the importance of family and universal kindness. Those soup kitchens are about a half step above Jim Crow laws. If only there were more atheists like this poster, the world would be a much better place. After all, nothing is less selfish and materialistic than the belief that nothing more profound than the body even exists and the basis of morality is pure bunk. But Merry Christmas anyway.

Washington Ice Wine

Submitted by lisala on 12/23/08 11:19pm

Washington is blessed with the rare climate conditions needed to produce ice wines, particularly in the vineyards in the Eastern half of the state. This week's cold snap, with temperatures at night falling in the low teens, has allowed a number of Washington wineries to gather the frozen and very ripe grapes required to make ice wine.

A German tradition, ice wine (eiswein to the Germans) is made when the frost hits the vines at just the right time to freeze the ripe, fully mature grapes. Because water remains frozen longer than the sweet, intensely flavorful juice of the mature grapes, gentle, careful pressing releases a few drops of concentrated juice. That concentration also means that it takes more grapes to make a single bottle of wine, which means the wine is more expensive— one reason the sweet dessert style wines are traditionally sold in half-size bottles. The harvest usually takes place in the pre-dawn hours, once the very ripe grapes have frozen, but before they have time to thaw. The marble-like grapes are pressed while still frozen.

Ice wine is always a bit of a gamble for winemakers; they don't know when, or even if, the ripe grapes will freeze, but they must leave them on the vine in case they are lucky enough to be blessed with temperature drop in the 14 to 19 degrees F. range required to completely freeze the grapes. And they must protect the grapes from legions of hungry birds, which usually necessitates covering the fruited vines with bird netting; all in aid of a gamble which might not pay off. If you click the image above of ice-covered grapes clinging to frosted vines, you can see a video from Covey Run about ice wine.

Ice wine is by no means a modern invention. There are references in Latin texts that suggest some grapes were deliberately harvested after the frost; it isn't clear whether the grapes were merely a late-harvest, or truly frozen. Certainly by the nineteenth century, ice wine was known to German vintners.

Although Canada is the largest producer of ice swine, there are a number of Washington wineries with successful ice wines in their repertoire. Chateau Ste. Michelle produced a 2006 Riesling ice wine. Columbia Winery also makes a Riesling ice wine. Although Riesling is the traditional varietal favorite for ice wine, other grape varieties are also used. Brian Carter, of Apex Cellars, uses Gewürztraminer as the base for his ice wine. Covey Run, producing occasional ice wines since 1986, has made ice wines from Semillon as well as Riesling and Chenin Blanc grapes. Kiona has a 2006 Chenin Blanc ice wine. Amavi produces ice wine from Semillon grapes. Terra Blanc produces Chenin blanc and Riesling ice wines. A few Canadian wineries are experimenting with very non-traditional red ice wines, using Cabernet Franc, Merlot, or Pinot Noir grapes. Lake Crest Winery makes a Syrah ice wine.

This year, early in the 2 F. morning chill on December 16, workers at Horse Heaven Hills vineyard began harvesting about seven tons of frozen Riesling grapes, according to Kevin Corliss, director of operations for Chateau Ste. Michelle winery. The particular vines are from the same block used to produce Chateau Ste. Michelle's highly rated Single Berry Select wine. Winemaker Wendy Stuckey said that "the grapes sounded like bullets when they hit the hopper." The grapes produced about 200 gallons of the extremely sweet, rich juice. This year's harvest was the seventh successful ice wine harvest for Chateau Ste. Michelle. With luck, we should be able to purchase the wine in 2010.

After a week of being snow-bound, I'm looking forward to a bottle as my reward. In fact, given the way that past vintages have increased in price, and improved with age, this may well be a wine worth buying and storing for very special occasions.

Wednesday Hebrew: Chanukah Edition

Submitted by msarko on 12/23/08 9:46pm
Shalom, everyone and Chag Chanukah Sameyach! Welcome to Wednesday Hebrew at Judeo Talk. Today's lesson is going to revolve around terms and phrases relating to the holiday of Chanukah. Tonight is the fourth night of the Festival of Lights. Word has it there's this other holiday happening sometime soon, though I can't seem to recall the name... Let's jump into the first part of the lesson. In my greeting, I used the phrase "Chag Chanukah Sameyach" which translates as "Happy Chanukah Holiday". ?? The word "Chag" (seen above) means "Holiday". It is a shortening of an older, now mostly unused word, ??? "Chagag". "Chagag" is an ancient word denoting a pilgrimage to the Temple of Jerusalem or even the celebration of that pilgrimage. In Arabic, there is a cognate of this word that is still used today. It is "Hajj" (??), the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are very strongly encouraged to experience at least once in their lives. After the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire 2000 years ago, Jews no longer had any place to perform their rituals. This ended the Jewish practice of animal sacrifice and formally began the Rabbinic age in which we still live. Today, there is some debate about whether or not we should call "Chanukah" a "Chag" because in more conservative traditions, the term is reserved for Holy Days mentioned specifically in the Torah. The other part of the phrase "Chag Chanukah Sameyach" is the word that means "Happy". "Sameyach" is one of several Hebrew words that means "Happy". The many ways to say "Happy" in Hebrew each mean something more specific than the general term of the translation. The word "Sameyach" refers to a giddy, celebratory happiness. A Hebrew teacher of mine in college described "Sameyach" by waving her hands in the air and saying "Yay!" In the holiday greeting phrase, the connotation is that the speaker wishes the listener a carefree celebration and true jubilation. The other Hebrew phrase we're going to learn today is "Nes Gadol Haya Sham", meaning "A Great Miracle Happened There". This phrase refers to the liberation of Judea I described in my last update. The first letter of each word in this phrase can be found on the four faces of the dreidel. However, it should be noted that the world "dreidel" isn't Hebrew, it's Yiddish. The Hebrew word for dreidel is "Sivivon", which just means "Spinning Thing". The first word "Nes" means "Miracle" and it is represented by the letter Nun. The next word "Gadol" means "Great" or "Big", represented by the letter Gimel. Notice that in Hebrew the adjective comes after the noun it is describing. We say "Great Miracle" by literally saying "Miracle Great". The next word "Haya" is translated as "Happened" but it really just means "Was". This is represented by the letter "Hay". Finally, there is the word "Sham" meaning "There". This refers to the city of Jerusalem where the Temple used to stand. Today, all that remains of the Temple is the Western Wall and a portion of the Northern Wall around the Temple Mount. The word "Sham" is represented by the letter "Shin". But if you are in Jerusalem the phrase and the letters on the dreidel are different. Instead of "Sham" they use the word "Po" meaning "Here". Many students of Hebrew learn this word on their first day during roll call. The teacher calls a student's name and if he or she is present, the student uses the phrase "Ani po", meaning "I am here". The word "Po" is represented by the letter Peh. I hope everyone continues to have a Happy Chanukah. See you Friday.

RA Sushi Restaurant in Chandler, AZ - Offers Luxurious Interior, Divine Fishy Eats

Submitted by Michael Jon Lazar on 12/23/08 8:49pm
If you are a big fan of sushi, like my wife and I are, then you will always be on the prowl for the next great sushi joint. I frequently will try and find some great sushi restaurants to eat at, and unfortunately, they happen to be, in my experience, few and very far between. However, once in a while I have the distinct pleasure of dining at a sushi restaurant that truly sets itself apart from all of the rest of them. That notion rings entirely true when it comes to eating fish at RA Sushi Restaurant and Bar in Chandler, Arizona. The Interior is Truly Amazing The interior is really a sight for the eyes. Decadent booths made from satin and high-grade leather make a very comfortable seating arrangement, and the same is true for their tables, which feature normal chairs with the same materials. The sushi bar wraps around the entire interior and you can watch as master sushi chefs hand prepare the meal that you just ordered; and you can see the different fresh cuts of sushi in the bar through the bar glass. The interior is dimly lit and features a custom radio broadcast that is non-stop and commercial-free music created just for RA; the atmosphere is delightful and fun. The Service is Quick and Friendly The place is very large inside, and once a friendly hostess seats you, you will not have to wait very long for your drink order to be placed and the specials to be explained to you. They have a lot of employees, and the service is quick, reliable and friendly. They definitely earn their tips at RA sushi.  Their Fish is Delivered Fresh Daily, in Water Their fish is of the very finest and freshest cuts available, and you can tell this by how good that it tastes. Their sushi cuts are delivered fresh in water every day, some of the fish is still alive when it arrives at RA (like Toro). Basically, you will be eating the very highest quality and freshest fish as possible when dining here. You Will not Find Better Sushi or Selection Their menu is rather large. They always have something or another on special, and they have ample amounts of sushi rolls that they make, nearly one hundred. You can also request specialty rolls that they will make to order, for the right price of course. And they have all of the classics like Las Vegas Rolls, and Tootsie Rolls, or my favorite, Lava Rolls. My Rating: **** Four Stars for: Menu selection, atmosphere, service and friendliness, presentation of the sushi, freshness of the fish, location, prices and beer selection. My Opinion: This is a great sushi house for those of you who love these fishy treats. However, if you are not dining here during happy hour, be prepared to pay for it. I ate there with my wife and spent about $120 with tip, we order six items, plus one appetizer and we each had a few drinks. Go during happy hour and you can easily slice the price of dining here in half.

Fleming’s Steakhouse in Chandler, AZ - Serves up the Very Best Cuts

Submitted by Michael Jon Lazar on 12/23/08 8:34pm
If you are looking for the finest steak house in the state of Arizona, then look no further than Fleming’s Steak House in Chandler, Arizona. Located just off the 1-10 freeway and Ray Road, in central Chandler, about twenty minutes from anywhere in the central Phoenix Metropolitan area. When you first roll up on this place, you will notice that it is situated in a brand spanking new complex that features several other fine establishments and that screams luxury—which is exactly what you will be in for when dining at Fleming’s. The Service is the Finest First and foremost, the service is the best I have ever gotten in my life. No questions there. The servers are well trained, polite, and they even decant your wine for your and will basically cater to your every whim and desire. You will not find better service anywhere else. Interior is Decadent A luxurious and extravagant mahogany interior will greet you, dimly lit and romantic, not too loud, yet not too quiet. A really nice bar is to the right, featuring mahogany stools and a fine bartender who knows how to make a shaken martini right the first time around. Once seated at your table, you will notice fine porcelain dishware and all of the gourmet settings; two sets of everything basically. The menus are even encased in leather and wood, no flimsy paper menus for the guys at Fleming’s. The Steaks are What it’s All About! If you ask, they will happily escort you to the meat humidifier, which has hundreds of the finest hand selected cuts of dry aged beef that you have ever seen—delivered fresh daily from local organic and free range beef ranches. I ordered the filet mignon, in a 16-ounce cut, and it was the most tender and perfectly cooked piece of steak I have ever enjoyed in my life. The menu is Al la Carte, meaning that you order your main dish, the steak etc, and then add the sides. I recommend the garlic grilled asparagus and blue cheese garlic mashed potatoes for sides. You get What you Pay For A rather old saying I am sure, but sometimes it rings entirely true, and especially when it comes to fine, gourmet dining: you do indeed get what you pay for, and that’s that. So if you are prepared to spend in order to be pampered to highest levels, then grab your charge card and your semi-formal outfit, and head out the door to Fleming’s. That is if you enjoy steak or grilled chicken and seafood of course. I promise you will not be disappointed, and you will get what you paid for and then some. But you will pay handsomely for what you get at the same time! My Rating: *****Five stars: For customer service and friendliness, food presentation, quality and taste, time from order placed to food being served on the table, menu selection and chef specialties, wine and beer selection, atmosphere, location, and an overall amazing dining experience that is truly second to none. In my opinion: Fleming’s Steak House in Chandler, Arizona, is one of the finest steak houses in the entire state, hands down. But you will pay for such excellence. My meal, which consisted of my mother and I (I took her there for her birthday) was $168 with gratuity – this included two main dishes, one appetizer, four premium drinks and no dessert.

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