Nippon (Montrose) - REVIEW

Nippon

4464 Montrose

Houston

Friday Jan 23 6:30pm

(Japanese & Sushi)

We met up with some friends for drinks & sushi. I had a Montrose Roll (I think it had

avocado, jalapeno & crab), a Cajun handroll (fried oyster) and a crunchy, spicy tuna

roll. We also had shrimp tempura. Everything was extremely fresh. The tempura

was the best I've had anywhere. We sat outside on the patio & enjoyed the ambiance

of Montrose. This was an extremely satisfying experience, in terms of good friends,

good view, good drinks and really, really great food.

Nippon @ Montrose gets an EYEBALL UP from JudgedByJody!

Jumbo Deal @ Jack-in-the-Box - REVIEW

Jumbo Deal

Jack-in-the-Box

FM 2100

Crosby, TX

Monday, Jan 26 6:30pm

I was feeling like a slug today and didn't feel much like cooking. So I stopped into Jack for the Jumbo Deal. It consists of a Jumbo Jack, 2 tacos & fries. The meal itself is a great value. However, if you are watching your carbs, fats, this or thats...then you definately want to steer clear of this lard fest. I think the calories & fat in this meal is enough to feed a small Pakistani village for a month.

So I don't have any complaints...BUT...yes, there is a but...I ordered 2 burgers with no onions & extra mayo. What I got were 2 burgers with no onions & MUSTARD.

People, extra mayo does not equal MUSTARD.

(plus, I think mustard burgers taste like shit)

Jumbo Deal from Jack-in-the-Box gets an EYEBALL UP

from JudgedByJody!

Monsoon (Downtown Houston) - REVIEW

Monsoon

1200 McKinney

(Downtown Houston)

January 10, 2009 6pm

Monsoon seemed to be a good choice as a meeting place with our friends who work in Downtown Houston.

We had tried to eat here once before, unfortunately it was a Saturday & this restaurant is only open during the week.

I actually had a $50 off coupon for Monsoon, so figured this would be a great experience.
Well, let me tell ya...WRONG.

First of all, this is an ASIAN themed restaurant, but for some reason they had a DJ on hand who played Raggae/New Wave/Martian music WAY TOO LOUD. (A genuine Asian person would hire a ninja assasin to terminate this guy & then play some tinkle-clink-clink tunes.) We couldn't hear each other across the table. We were forced to SHOUT. This DJ was set up against the wall with his raggedy-assed equipment. He played super crappity crap crap that I can't even describe because I never heard it before. Lots of screeching and high pitched keening. The whole musical experience made me seek my "happy place"...which unfortunately, I could not locate at Monsoon.

The four of us shared, sushi & fried edamame. We were also slurping down the fruity drinks at $7 a pop. The General Mo chicken was good. The scallops needed a bit of seasoning. My friend ordered Sesame Chicken & ended up with teriyaki.
The food was just ok. Not exceptionally fresh. Nothing to rave about. I guess I expected a bit more quality for the price.
The service was slow & the waiter kept leaving empty dishes on the table. This was a problem because the table was really small & we were jostling for surface space.
The 3 of us girls, as I said were drinking the expensive alcoholic beverages. Our lone male companion enjoyed Coke. He enjoyed it until the 2nd glass was served to him with an approximately 6 inch blonde hair sticking up out of it like a party decoration. How the hell do you get a hair in a SODA? Of course we all then felt icky & tried NOT to look too closely at our food (since we had already started eating it).

We used the $50 coupon which made the experience bearable. If you like drinking Coke & Stranger's DNA, then head on over to Monsoon. But from my experience, there are many, many better restaurants in the downtown area.

(My favorite memory of my Monsoon experience, was watching my friend try to eat the edamame husk)

Monsoon (Downtown) gets an Eyeball Down from JudgedByJody!

Pizza Hut / Wallisville @ Beltway 8 - REVIEW

Pizza Hut

Wallisville & Beltway 8

Saturday 17, 2009 6pm

The restaurant was very crowded. Almost every table was full. The drinks came quickly.We placed our order. We got the 2 salads, breadsticks & medium pizza for $14.99.This is a great deal. The pizza was fresh with a crispy crust. The breadsticks were perfect, crunchy outside & soft, tender inside. The salad was simple: lettuce & tomato.

The wait staff at this Pizza Hut were really hustling. There were plenty of workers on hand and they all seemed to be multi-tasking. Service was great. The dining room was clean.

All in all & would have to say that I HIGHLY & STRONGLY recommend this Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut @ Wallisville gets an EYEBALL UP from JudgedByJody!

Pho King Vietnamese Noodle

Pho King Vietnamese Noodle

7110 FM1960

Humble TX

This mom & pop Vietnamese noodle house serves the basics...and its all good. The waitress (Gee) always greets everyone upon arrival and caters to your every whim. The food is excellent. The fare is basic to the noodle house (soup, egg rolls, vermicelli, French roll sandwiches). The prices are very low. So I would say this is really a WIN WIN situation.

We had the fried eggroll appetizer. Eggrolls arrives sizzling from the fryer. The beauties are accompanied by a plate of bean sprouts, lettuce, cilantro & shredded pickled carrots. The diner eats them with a dipping sauce made right at the table (fish sauce & red pepper paste)

The bbq pork w/shrimp vermicelli soup is always satisfying.

The peanuty pork noodle bowl is enough to make you bust if you eat it all. The meat is very tasty & tender.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the CROSBY/HUMBLE area.

Pho King gets an EYEBALL UP from JudgedByJody.

FRENCH QUARTER CAFE, Huffman TX

FRENCH QUARTER CAFE

7PM Wed Jan 14, 2009

24501 FM2100

HUFFMAN TX

We happened upon this cafe by accident. We were planning on visiting a neighboring eatery, but changed our minds when the clientele of said eatery looked like rejects from the cast of DELIVERANCE. I'm happy to report that this was a pleasant substitute.

We had the appetizer of Boudain Balls. This consisted of 6 large breaded & fried balls (bigger than golf balls) served with roumulade sauce. They were excellent. The best I've had in a good, long while. My friend ordered the hamburger (as usual). I ordered spicy catfish. My dinner came with a salad (the house dressing was exceptional), fries & hushpuppies. Since I'm not a french fry fan, I opted for extra hushpuppies instead. The price seemed a bit steep at $11. Especially since I thought I was getting a catfish & what I actually got were catfish STRIPS.

The fish was good, so I won't complain. But I will say that the prices are really high considering the location and decor of the cafe. This place was clean & tidy. Service was good. But the atmosphere in the dining area was rather slummy. I don't mind paying premium prices for a premium eating experience. But in this case, my suggestion is to scale down the price list to match the "down home" decor.

My friend liked the burger.

French Quarter Cafe in Huffman TX gets an EYEBALL UP from JudgedByJody.

KFC & Taco Bell, Crosby TX - REVIEW

KFC
Tuesday 6PM Jan 13, 2009
13727 FM2100 CROSBY TX

So how can anybody make KFC a bad experience? I mean, the chicken is superb. The colonel knew how to mix those secret ingredients. But some how, some way...somebody F'd it up. Let me introduce you to KFC & Taco Bell of Crosby TX.

My first bitch is the PRICE. Since when does a thigh/leg meal = $6.50? That's outrageous.I'm no skinflint...but dammit, I want a fair price. I have no complaints about the food. I'm sure it all comes pre-processed and idiot-proof. But I do have a problem with the fact that this place is just downright FILTHY. There is an accumulation of muck on the tile floors that creeps all the way up the walls and onto the sides of the retaining walls of the tables. It was difficult to find a table (though all were "clean") that didn't have a 50-year accumulation of crud all over it. Fingerprints, grease, DNA. This place is just nasty. I gave them the benefit of the doubt & asked if Hurricane Ike had caused any damage. But the register clerk informed me that absolutely no damage was done & they were only closed for 2 days after the storm but only because everything in Crosby was closed & KFC didn't have any customers.

KFC (in Crosby) doesn't need to have any customers. KFC needs the health department to shut this shit-hole down.

KFC & Taco Bell in Crosby, TX gets an EYEBALL DOWN from JudgedByJody.

Rain-X Latitude Wiper Blades - REVIEW

RAIN-X WIPER BLADE REFILLS

December 2008

My Ford F-150 is 11-years-old. In all that time, I don't think I've ever changed the wiper blades. Needless to say, they were pretty worthless. The rubber was split from the blade & drooping. When the wipers were turned on, they moved back & forth, but there wasn't actually any rubber on the blade that was making a flat contact with the windshield.

One day while watching TV, I saw an ad for Rain-X Latitude Wiper Blades. Well, THAT would be the answer to all my problems. I called around & found out that I could buy & have them installed for approximately $40. Fair enough. Then I went to the website & saw the installation instructions. Looked easy enough. So the next time I was at WalMart, I picked them up (approx $8 each). Installation was a snap...took about a minute.

Let me just tell you right now. I LOVE these things. They wipe EVERYTHING off the windshield. Driving in hard Texas rain is painless. These thing are so good, that I actually think they could squeegee the rain off the glass on Tuesday, when it doesn't actually start raining till Wednesday. Now THAT's good.

Totally recommend this product. I'm so happy I might actually propose to my wiper blades.

Rain-X Wiper Blades get an EYEBALL UP for JudgedByJody.

Star Cafe, Crosby TX - REVIEW

Star Cafe

Sunday 1/11/09 1pm

21522 FM2100

Crosby, TX 77532

Star Cafe (and Country Club) has a reputation for serving "old fart" food. Everything is bland and soft and can be eaten with a spoon. If you are over 100-years-old, then this is THE place for you to eat. Or if you are periodontically challenged. No teeth required. Everything is under seasoned, runny, gooey & the over-riding color of most entrees is BEIGE. The decor is old school, with vinyl booths and black & white pictures of 50's movies stars gracing the walls.
The restaurant was packed. Every table was taken & there were people queued up at the front door.I guess everybody loves comfort food on a Sunday afternoon. (And I MUST interject at this time that MOST of the clientele were of the toothless and/or decrepit variety). We had the special. Chopped sirloin, with mashed potatoes and broccoli soup (no substitutions). The service was a bit hectic due to the crowd. The iced tea tasted like it had been sitting in the dispenser since 1983. Nothing tastes worse than stank tea. The meat was a plain & simple hamburger patty. There were "grilled" onions which looked more SWEATED than grilled. The mashed potatoes had the consistency of potato soup.The entire plate was covered in a thick, dark, shiny, gelatinous veil of brown gravy. Perched atop it all like a special delicacy was a small right-from-the-package dinner roll that certainly came in a pack of 100 for $1.06 at the day-old bakery. The broccoli-cheese soup was actually quite tasty, my only complaint being that the cheese (product) left a greasy, globby film on the roof of my mouth.

As far as this GENRE of food goes, this meal was satisfactory. By choosing STAR CAFE, I knew ahead of time that I wasn't going to stumble upon Wolfgang Puck slumming behind the grill. Star Cafe is old skool food, for old skool people. Since I was in an old skool mood. Star Cafe hit the spot.

Star Cafe in Crosby TX gets an EYEBALL UP from JudgedByJody!

East Houston Regional Medical Center - REVIEW

East Houston Regional Medical Center

13111 East Freeway
Houston TX 77015


My dad was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia & I went to visit. He was alone in his room,because my mom had been up all night & day and had finally gone home to get some rest. I stayed at the hospital with my dad from 6:30pm until 9:30pm. I spent 3 hours observing the workings of EHRMC. Here is my opinion of the hell hole.

Upon entering my dad's room, I found him furiously pushing the call button to summon the nurse.He had a completely full urine jug & needed it emptied (he was bedridden & could not access the restroom). No one ever answered or came to see what he needed, so I emptied it myself. Then, he began having problems breathing & needed a nebulizer treatment. I went to the nurses desk & advised that my father was in distress & needed treatment immediately. The nurse called the respiratory therapist & I could tell from listening to his end of the phone call that the answer was pretty much "I'll get there when I get there". I went back & monitored my father. Approximately an hour later, I went back to the desk & requested a status update on the therapy (now remember...this whole time, my dad COULD NOT BREATHE). The nurse called on the phone again with the same result. Finally, after talking to the charge nurse & also the hospital doctor by phone, the breathing treatment finally arrived. Its not a very difficult process. Unhook the air hose & stick on the apparatus. Drop in the medication. The entire process took less than a minute. My poor dad had to suffer for 2 hours because the hospital personnel could not find 1 minute of time to attend to him. Also, during the time when he couldn't breathe sufficiently, he called the nurse's desk from him bed phone & was hung up on. My father is 72-years-old & deserves to be treated with dignity & respect.

I for one do not understand the practice of having medical personnel work 12+ hour shifts. The greeter at the WalMart is tired after his/her shift & can't wait to get home. After 8 hours doing anything, its time to GO. So how come it is that with MEDICINE, its ok to be overworked and tired? Shouldn't medical personnel be at their MOST alert? Isn't it easier to make a mistake when you're tired? Well, in this case, my dad's male nurse had been on duty since my dad came in around 2am. His eyes were red and irritated. It was obvious that he was exhausted. In this state, he was absolutely worthless as a caregiver.

Also, my dad had an issue with medication & blood spurting out of his IV. His sheets were soaked with liquid. The male nurse brought in the supplies to change the IV. But he forgot about the problem & never came back to fix the IV. Then the nurses had a shift change. The second nurse was advised. She placed a piece of tape across the IV. (UM, ok...now what about the spurting medication?...isn't this something that should be going INTO his body instead of onto the sheets?) A third nurse arrived & was advised. She said she would tell the second nurse. But at least she turned off the IV machine. Now the only problem was...my dad needs the meds. So about an hour later the second nurse comes back. She says theres no problem with the IV. Well, Sherlock Holmes...you might wanna check that again. The machine is NOT ON. The tubing is NOT IN THE ARM. Where the hell did you go to nursing school? So then the second nurse gets the charge nurse. Luckily she was quite capable and competent. Finally...what should never have been a problem was finally resolved.

The hospital seemed very clean. Most of the complex is still closed and/or under repair due to damage from Hurricane Ike. But the patient care is horrible. There were plenty of nurses on duty (I know because I spent a lot of time at the nurse's desk trying unsuccessfully to get prompt help for my dad). So it wasn't the quantity of nursing staff, just the quality. If my experience at East Houston Regional Medical Center is the norm, then Hurricane Ike was doing us a favor by closing this place down.

http://www.easthoustonrmc.com/

East Houston Regional Medical Center gets an

EYEBALL DOWN from JudgedByJody!

The Yellow Rose Cabin (Lake Livingston)

The Yellow Rose Cabin

620 Marceau Lane

Goodrich TX 77335

After a stressful holiday season, what I really needed was some good old rest & relaxation.On the spur-of-the-moment, my partner & I decided to get out of town for the weekend. So we GOOGLED the situation & came up with a few options. We wanted something close to home(Crosby), so the best place around is Lake Livingston. We found The Yellow Rose Cabin online. A quick call verified availability. All set then. We arrived Friday night around 7pm. We took a short trip into town to get groceries. The rest of the weekend we hibernated.

The cabin is beautiful. Decorated in apples, fish & flowers. Quaint & kitschy is the decoration style. This place feels like a home away from home. The cabin has one bedroom with a king bed. The living area consists of a couch & recliner. (So if you have a 3rd guest, the couch is the place to put him). The kitchen is small, but serviceable. The place was clean and I have no complaints whatsoever regarding the housekeeping. Breakfast foods are included in in rental price. But be prepared...this is a B&B style cabin. You have to cook your own grub. But all utensils, pots,pans, etc are provided. (Its like staying at someone's house when they are not home).

The cabin backs up onto the water. There is a fishing pier leading down to the lake. We didn't fish, but there were plenty of pics on the fridge of 30+ lb catfish. Jon boat & paddle boat usage is also included with the price of rental. This place has trees & water & tranquility. A great place for major relaxation. There is also a swimming pool, but over the weekend, the outside thermometer showed -50 degrees. Needless to say, we did NOT swim.

Small dogs are allowed, but be prepared for JASPER. He's the camp "mascot", an ultra-large yellow lab with the friendliest lick in Texas. The owners Laurence & Sandy McAllister are helpful & courteous. They also rent other cabins, so there's sure to be something for everyone. I totally enjoyed my stay at The Yellow Rose & highly recommend this vacation spot.

http://www.theyellowrosecabin.com/

The Yellow Rose Cabin gets an EYEBALL UP from JudgedbyJody!

Baytown Seafood, Crosby TX

Baytown Seafood
14226 FM 2100, Crosby TX



Review by "JUDGED BY JODY"



Tuesday night, I stopped into Baytown Seafood to get my feed on. For those keeping score, there were two in our party. It was approximately 6pm.



Upon entering, the restaurant appeared clean and uncluttered. There was a moderate crowd eating at that time. We seated ourselves & were presented a menu and drinks quickly. Our waitress (from the looks of it, the average age of the wait-staff is 16-years-old) took the order promptly, but neglected to write down the order. What is it with waiters these day who try to appear ultra competent, don't write anything down and turn out to have the attention span of a goldfish (identified by Wiki.Answers as 4-7 seconds)? Just write the crap down. You don't have to impress me. Or if you want to impress me...write down my damn order.



My companion ordered the burger & fries. I ordered 1 fish & oysters. The order came out after a normal amount of time. Alas...what do you think? My order was incorrect. Sitting on my beige plastic plate, right where my oysters should have been roosting, were 6 fried shrimp. Now I do not claim to be a marine biologist, I am just a simple critic from Crosby Tx. But a waitress in a SEAFOOD restaurant should be able to differentiate between a lobster and an oyster. Hey, Hannah Montana...the shrimp is the one with the fricking TAIL. Well, once she dumped the plates on the table, our waitress scrammed (she was probably in the back drinking from her sippy cup). So I flagged down another waiter. His answer was (I quote...notice the " marks) "I did not take y0ur order, so I don't know what you wanted or what you got. What do you want me to do?" Well, dumb ass...how about getting MY waitress so she can fix the problem? OK...he went back to the kitchen & the girl started over. Some other customer flagged her down & she went back behind the counter for what seemed like 2 or 3 years. She finally came over & I told her the problem...she stared at me. Then she reached in her pocket & grabbed the order pad. She flipped it over and started looking. Hey, Alberta Einstein...you didn't write it down. She went to the kitchen, then came back & said..."I'll bring the oysters out to you on a separate plate". So I began to eat my fish. Then she came back. She had a plate & asked me to GIVE THE SHRIMP BACK! WTF? I took my plate & tilted it trying to keep the fish & hushpuppies ON while knocking the offending shrimp OFF. After 5 minutes of maneuvering, I got them off. She then took the shrimp back to the kitchen. Here is the $1,000 question....what the hell did she do with them? Did she drop them back in the shrimp basket? So that the next customer ordering shrimp gets my backwash? I didn't touch them, but I was sitting over them breathing. She doesn't know I didn't touch them. The idea that those shrimp were recycled has been haunting me ever since. That is just nasty. I like to hope she trashed them. But why take them back? I didn't object to the shrimp. I just wanted oysters. She could have left them. Maybe I would have eaten them. Maybe not. But wouldn't leaving them have been preferable to giving the entire dining clientele the impression that one man's trash is another man's treasure?





Oh yeah, the fish & oysters were soggy. My friend liked the burger.






Baytown Seafood in Crosby gets an EYEBALL DOWN from
JudgedByJody

Wendy Colonna @ Chances Houston Tx - REVIEW

Wendy Colonna

Review from “Judged by Jody”

Chances, January 3, 2009 10pm

1102-1/2 Westheimer Houston TX

Wendy Colonna, the soulful, sultry songstress from Austin, dazzled at Chances on Saturday night. If you aren’t familiar with Wendy’s music, then do yourself a favor and check it out ASAP. Whether a ballad or the blues or her signature “spiritual” music, this chick is exceptional in all genres. Her voice is smoky and envelopes the listener totally. Her music is magic.

But in the humble opinion of this fan, her forte is her ability to weave emotions into words and touch the soul. She is an amazing wordsmith. Wendy Colonna is an experience impossible to describe completely.

Wendy & her band (Chad, Brandon & Leslie) pumped out two exceptionally enthusiastic sets. Ordinarily, I prefer the acoustic Wendy Colonna, but in this venue, on a weekend night, a band is a must to get the crowd motivated. This band did not disappoint. Even though there were obvious issues with the promotion of this gig, the band pulled out all the stops and rocked the crowd late into the night. Although the crowd was small in size, the band made up the difference with sheer moving, grooving music. Wendy’s voice can make you want to dance or make you want to cry. She can touch you and inspire you with her amazing vocals. Wendy Colonna is a MUST on every iPod playlist.

http://www.wendycolonna.com/

WENDY COLONNA gets an EYEBALL UP from JudgedByJody!