The last time I was in Albemarle, NC, I noted that the old Pontiac automobile dealership location, near downtown, had been converted into a “trendy” restaurant. I thought I might try it sometime. I got online and found the website for Pontiac Pointe Restaurant. I stopped by for lunch this past Sunday, shortly before noon. It was dark inside, but the “Open” sign was on, and as I entered, I saw one waitress and no guests inside. I asked, “Do you serve lunch,” to which she replied, “yes.” I sat at a table toward the back of the restaurant.

I opened the menu and almost immediately noted that it was basically appetizers, sandwiches and soup. I didn’t recall what I had seen on the online menu, but began to guess that I might have decided that the place wasn’t worth a try, and had just forgotten to “mark the place off” more strongly. I ordered a Pimento Cheese sandwich and the Tomato Bisque soup. I asked the waitress if they made their own Pimento cheese, to which she affirmed that they did.

As the waitress left to turn in my order, I took my iPad and headed to the bathroom. The toilet paper was out, although there were two rolls still in their paper wrappers. The toilet seat however, was a little less than pristine. Not quite feces, but something that didn’t look clean, so I walked out of the stall and got several paper towels, one of which I wet. Took them back in and wiped the seat with the wet towel and then dried with the others.

Unfortunately, when the sandwich arrived, I found that it had been grilled. Hmmm… a hot, pimento cheese sandwich. I liked the flavor and texture of the pimento cheese, but I just do not like it as a hot sandwich. I don’t recall, I may have had a hot, pimento cheese sandwich somewhere before, but I can definitely say now, ” I do not like a hot, pimento cheese sandwich!” The slice of dill pickle was good, and the iced tea was very sweet, the way I like it.

The tomato bisque soup was nothing special. It wasn’t flavorless, or bad. It just wasn’t special, but it was hot.

I had noted a sign outside that said they had WIFI, so I brought in my iPad so that I could look at some maps of where I was and what might be fun to go see. I didn’t get a connection signal. I asked the waitress if their WIFI was running and she thought it was, but checked with a young man, whom I guessed was the manager. He went upstairs and came back down letting me know he had reset the WIFI, and that was about all he knew how to do. *Hey, I’m a tech, and quite often, that is all you need to do or can do to get some equipment or application running again. But, it didn’t work. No signal, and apparently the building gave me “no bars” for my Hero.

As I was leaving, I kept my iPad running to see if I could get a signal, as I headed out the door. No go… until. I had parked in the back, which was almost a building length from the actual building. A few feet from my truck, viola… a “Pontiac Pointe” WIFI signal appeared. After I got into the truck, I connected and proceeded to pull up a map of the area and look for other things. My experience inside would have been a little better if I hadn’t sat in “the dead zone.”

I went on their web site again this morning and looked at the menu. Apparently, all the good stuff must be prepared only for dinner. Way more than just sandwiches and soup. Still, I don’t think I will try it again.

I normally go to MiCasita on Saturday for dinner. I had not been for almost two months until today. Cosme is a waiter and friend.

MiCasita is a chain of Mexican restaurants. This is the one on Grove Street in Fayetteville, NC.

I bring homemade salsa (chipotle peppers, onion, honey, & coriander) to add to their house salsa, some chopped onion and a half of a lime.

Mixing my homemade salsa with their house salsa.

Lunch Special #7 with chicken (burrito), guacamole, rice, refried beans and a small salad. The chopped onions are mine.

I started buying a good set of knives. I decided upon the Classic Wüsthof design. I probably should have bought a “starter” set to begin with and then added other knives to it, but basically it was one or two at a time.

The best knife of these is probably the 7 inch Santoku. The blade is thinner (and sharper) than a standard Chef’s knife. This is the right size for chopping vegetables and then scooping them up on the blade and into the pot or pan. The smaller 5 inch Santoku seemed to be “too small” for most of what I would do. If I were to only have two knives, it would be the 7 in. Santoku and the 5″ tomato knife.  I changed from the 3.5 in. pairing knife.

But, when I first got the tomato knife I cut myself severely/deeply.  I don’t recall if it was the forked tip, or the serrated edge, but I was just mindlessly using it.  Since I have been much more careful and it works well for many things.

NOTE:  I moved my portable kitchen island and have not used the magnetic knife holder (attached to it) for several years.  I do not have a place to put the holder on my kitchen wall.  Another one of the three best items was a magnetic knife holder for the wall. The knives stand there waiting for you to choose them. I have only had one knife, a boning knife whose shape and handle weight does not work well with the magnetic holder. It has a tendency to slip and has even fallen from the holder a couple of times.

I upgraded my hand blender/chopper to the Braun MultiQuick 7 Smart-Speed Hand Blender.  I’m not sure of the size of the cup-chopper.  What I have appears to be larger than the one I see in their current ad that shows a 1.5 cup size.  But, I limped along for years with my MR430HC and its lack of power and small chopper cup.  When I was making alot of hummus at home, the less powerful motor and the small cup meant that I couldn’t quite blend a whole can of Garbanzo beans at one time.  The new larger chopper cup accommodates a whole can of beans, and it also works well when making salsa, with a whole can of diced tomatoes and the other ingredients.

NOTE [ 05/05/22 ]:  I hadn’t made any Curried Apple Soup in a very long time, although I only have two recipes on my refrigerator door, and that is one of them.  *The other recipe being for the Tarragon, Garden Pea & Leek soup, which I also made a couple of days ago.  I used the stick blender for both soups to blend in the cooking pot, while still very hot.

NOTE:  What I had bought/used previously:  I bought a Braun MR430HC Multiquick Deluxe Hand Blender & Chopper (I think the one I purchased had slightly less horsepower) a stick blender that came with additional attachments which included a whisk and a chopper. I got it at a good price from Linens-n-Things (which is no more). The whisk fits easily in a large mouth jar and I can actually make my “curried mayo” in the jar without causing a mess. The stick blender works well on my “Curried Apple Soup” which allows me to blend the apple, carrot and onion chunks in the hot pot (carefully). And the chopper attachment works well when I want to make some Chipotle & Honey salsa or a garlic & Italian parsley paste for a steak.

ADDENDUM: (05/04/12) Here is another kitchen item that I have been reasonably happy with… with the following exception:  I have a homemade pepper corn blend that includes black, white, green and pink peppercorns in varying amounts and my OXO pepper grinder does not grind these reasonably well.  I’m not sure if it is the difference in peppercorn sizes, but sometimes the grinder just doesn’t grind this mixture.  *Yes, I have tried the various grind settings from small to large and back again.  However, I have two other OXO grinders that I use for cumin and coriander and it does an excellent job on both of those seeds.  I do not use this grinder for salt.  [09/24/12]  I bought a slightly cheaper version of this OXO grinder (about $16 at WalMart or maybe it was K-Mart) and find it to be better at grinding than this version.

NOTE:  I still use the OXO pepper grinders (for both pepper and cumin) but they never grinded quite as nice as they looked.

— THE DORM KITCHEN

When it comes time to send a child away to school, I would give them a good plastic chopping board and an electric wok. Sit these on top of a mini-fridge and you’re in business to keep a growing boy (or girl) well fed.

Rubber spatulas for the non-stick surface of the wok.

Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid 24-piece Set at Walmart for $10

I purchased a couple, each of Pyrex mixing bowls (not as colorful lids – I think navy blue & red.) many years ago, and still have the bowls & a few of the plastic lids.  Quite useful through the years.