Random Reviews

When some of you hear the word zinfandel you are going to think of a dreadful pink “wine” which is pretty much unfit for drinking. Zinfandel is a grape variety grown in California, in fact it might be “the american grape” in my book. Zinfandel can be bastardized into the white zinfandel fruit punch that used to be so popular a few years back. However, when made into red wine zinfandel produces a wonderfully spicy and bold red which goes fantastically with grilled foods. Read more »

With the advent of grilling season I thought I’d try something I’m typically somewhat opposed to, applying some heavy seasoning to a couple of steaks before throwing them on the grill. I tend to be somewhat of a purist when it comes to cooking red meat and like to stick with salt and pepper with a pan sauce if I’m looking for flavor beyond what the meat itself and cooking method provide. More about preparation after the jump Read more »

Picked up a 6 of this last night and broke one out this afternoon. I am a huge fan of IPAs in general and I have to say I was somewhat disappointed here. Read more »

I picked up this stapler to attach some plastic to the supports in my attic for the purpose of reducing the amount of swearing I do every time I pull down the stairs to go up into the attic. You see, we have blow insulation in our attic so when you pull down the attic stairs a lot of insulation usually falls down and you have to vacuum it up. Being your typical lazy American, this infuriates me. I do have an air stapler (I really love pneumatic tools) but I couldn’t find staples that were as short as I really wanted for this project and I didn’t feel like lugging the air compressor up the stairs. Enough back-story, on to the review. Read more »

  The Tivoli Audio Model 1 is a fantastic table radio, I received mine as a Christmas present a few years back and I couldn’t be more happy with it. The audio is really very good for a radio of this size, I’d say compared to a bose wave radio it’s head and shoulders better. The tuner is also fantastic the knob allows for very fine tuning of stations and even simply using its built in antenna I can pull in pretty much any station I want to without too much trouble. Tuning is assisted by a small yellow LED that glows brighter as you get the signal dialed-in well.

Appearance-wise I think the radio is very classy looking, it fits in well with most decor and doesn’t scream “electronic thing” like the bose other radios in it’s class do. No argument from the wife  Read more »

  Random Reviews is going to be my outlet for products that I use throughout my day to day life. Absolutely anything is potentially subject to being reviewed. Wine, beer, liquor, cleaning products, recipes, cookware, tools, audio gear, video gear, computer stuff, software, movies, television shows, cities, etc. absolutely anything could be reviewed. I’ll target one a week at the least and we’ll see how it goes.I’m still trying to find a wordpress theme I really like so you’ll have to deal with frequent theme changes until I do (feel free to suggest one if you are so inclined). 

  I can’t recommend this stuff highly enough. I use it on just about anything that is kind of hard to clean. It’s great for cookware (don’t be a moron and use it on teflon), if you have any all-clad pans (and you should) this stuff is absolutely unbeatable for cleaning it. I cook a fair amount of red meat by first pan-searing it and then moving the pan into the oven. By the time I’m done with the process and we have eaten our meal (and likely waited until the next day), getting the pan clean with a soap and sponge or even a brillo pad is exceedingly difficult. A little of this stuff and a sponge and you can get damn near anything off a stainless pan.Things I use bar keepers friend on:

•  All-clad copper core pans (or any stainless steel pan)
• Sinks (porcelain or stainless steel)
• Copper cookware
• Aluminum cookware
• Tools that have a little rust on them (wipe them off with oil afterwards)
• Kittens (only cute ones)