Kid Rock - Only God Knows Why [Official Music Video]

A Kid Rock Masterpiece

In Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York, there are geographical locations named Podunk. The very popular Bluegrass Festival was founded in East Hartford, CT, in the mid-1990s, and now takes place every year in Goshen, Connecticut.

Recently, I was turned-on to the one and only Kid Rock's musical definition of "Podunk," and it is one wild place! As time has gone on, I've increasingly grown to appreciate Kid Rock's music, and the subtle humor his songs often contain.

The band playing on the porch is too cool, especially the single snare drum. Check it out!

The one song that I instantly think of when Kid Rock is referenced is "Only God Knows Why" from 1998. It's the first KR song I heard, and it's still my favorite. 

Hank Williams Jr - If You Don't Like Hank Williams

Sometimes, this fast-paced, challenging world can bum people out. There are times when an upbeat country song by Bocephus can help anyone to have a positive attitude adjustment.

The CVS Store on Farmington Avenue in Hartford was Once a Thriving, Community-Oriented Business. Now, it's Just a Memory

 On May 1, 2023, the CVS Pharmacy at the intersection of Farmington Avenue and Whitney Street in Hartford, CT, permanently closed its doors.

While the West End CVS store may  have appeared to be just another one of the thousands of cookie-cutter stores the chain operates, it represented much more to those of us who live in the neighborhood.

In a food desert such as the West End, the Farmington Avenue CVS served as a grocery store of-sorts for many people of all ages. 

Even though pharmacy hours had recently been reduced, local residents of all ages have been able to get their prescriptions filled there seven days a week. In conversations with the pharmacists at that CVS, I was informed more than once that well over 1,000 prescriptions were filled there every week.

In the past few years, security guards were stationed in the front of the store, and an increasing number of items were being kept under lock and key at the West End CVS. Whether you were seeking air freshener, toothpaste, an anti-perspirant/deodorant, cologe/perfume, allergy pills or a host of other items, you would have to ask an employee if someone could open the locked display case.

Many times, employees of our neighborhood CVS told me about people coming in the store, grabbing multiple items, then walking out the door, seemingly oblivious to activated alarm systems. Staff members at the store also told me that the shoplifting issue there was a factor in the store's closing.

If you discovered that you needed a ruler, Sharpie marker or notebook, you knew that CVS would probably have something to fit the bill. When some thumbtacks, packaging tape, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, children's toys and games, greeting cards, stuffed animals, over-the-counter medicines, beauty and grooming products and even small hand tools were needed, CVS was often the place where these items could be purchased.

For years, I purchased at least two 2-liter bottles of A & W Zero Sugar root beer every week at the Farmington/South Whitney CVS store. Even though I could get most of the items at supermarkets or other CVS stores, the convenience of being able to walk across the street to get some ice cream or a loaf of Pepperidge Farm bread will be sorely missed.

The former CVS property is situated diagonally across from the apartment complex where I've lived for more than 20 years. That store was a  regular destination-point for people of all ages, and in my opinion, brought a sense of positive action and stability to an area that can definitely use both attributes.

If you take a look at Farmington Avenue between South Whitney Street and Sisson Avenue now, in May 2023, you will see a lot of empty storefronts. The clothing store next to Amigo's Market, at least two businesses in the building that houses West End Pizza, the bar and store next door at Farmington and Sisson, the former Cinerama/Braza property and now, CVS are all empty.

Hopefully, a small grocery store, dollar store or restaurant will occupy the former CVS property before too long. The South Whitney location would be ideal for a Dollar Tree, C-Town or 7-11 outpost, or as a new location for the Family Dollar that now sits at the intersection of Farmington Avenue and Sigourney Street.

As with other West End residents, I grew to value the importance of a business like CVS in an urban environment, and I got to meet lots of employees who were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.

At the New IHOP Restaurant in West Hartford, CT, the Chocolate Chip Pancakes Save the Day!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Back in the mid-to-late 1970s, my first real job was that of busboy and dishwasher at the former West Hartford, Connecticut, International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant.

For several decades, a traditional, Swiss-chalet-style IHOP was situated at the corner of New Britain Avenue and South Main Street in West Hartford.

Getting hired at that IHOP was almost a rite of passage for many West Hartford teenagers and young adults, especially residents of the Elmwood section of town. Working there was actually a lot of fun, and I went back to work there again, after completing a chef-apprentice program.

Earlier this year, when I read that IHOP was opening a new restaurant in West Hartford in 2022, I was thrilled. Countless times, I had wondered if the chain would reopen in West Hartford, and I looked forward to ordering chocolate chip pancakes, French toast, blueberry pancakes and boysenberry syrup. 

Not Your 1970's and 1980's IHOP 

                                        

Located on Kane Street in West Hartford, Connecticut, the new IHOP is housed in the former home of the Gold Roc Diner. The exterior has a modern look, and the interior is bright and fairly large.

When I visited, the new restaurant had only been open for a couple of weeks, so it hadn't really formed a personal atmosphere yet. There were lots of uniformed employees running around, and the manager was clearly overseeing the operation, from the cash register area.

This definitely wasn't the old West Hartford IHOP, where I had my 1968 Triumph 650 chopper motorcycle parked in the back room, next to the ice machine. At the old restaurant, plenty of partying was going on, and some of the waitresses and cooks were romantically involved with each other.

Most of the time, I worked on the night shift at the old West Hartford IHOP. At night, the assistant managers were usually in charge, and the atmosphere was more relaxed than during the daytime.

On the night shift, at least one of the cooks would make a regular run to the package store across the street. The cooks and dishwashers would give their beer order and money to the designated runner. After he returned with the alcohol, most of us kitchen workers would then put some of our beers inside of the restaurant's ice machine. It was very common for us kitchen workers to be partying throughout our entire work shifts.

When I visited the new West Hartford IHOP, my intention was to try several different dishes. It was my hope that everything was going to be great, and I'd be able write a very positive review.

2x2x2=A Disappointing Breakfast 

When I looked for breakfast-combination plates that contained pancakes, eggs, choice of protein and potatoes, I decided on the "2x2x2" plate

The two scrambled eggs were decent enough, but the bacon was a definite let-down. Even though I specifically asked for well-done slices, what I received were two slices of limp, under-cooked bacon.

As a former restaurant cook, I can't help but wonder why more restaurants don't bake their bacon instead of frying it. When you bake bacon in a conventional oven, the meat cooks evenly every time.

When it comes to rating the flavor of different brands of bacon, I generally compare them to the flavor and texture of Oscar Mayer bacon. The flavor of the bacon slices I received yesterday was nowhere near as good as the pleasant, reliable flavor of Oscar Mayer.

The two buttermilk pancakes that were served with the 2x2x2 plate were the best part of the meal. The IHOP flapjacks were good-sized, and were cooked to a deep, golden color.

While the IHOP menu does offer a choice of regular or crispy hash browns, I decided to go with the regular variety. The basic flavor of the potatoes was okay, but they were very loose, and decidely not crispy.

A strange, Twilight Zone-thing happened after I began eating the pancakes. After I had eaten three or four bites out of each pancake, they suddenly separated, from top to bottom.

With decades of experience eating and cooking pancakes, I'd never seen the entire top half of one separate from the bottom before. As for the boysenberry syrup, it appears that it's no longer on the menu at the pancake house.

                                                              

                  

The Classic Burger

When I worked at the old West Hartford IHOP many years ago, their burgers were actually very good, and I enjoyed cooking them as much as I liked eating them.

The Classic Burger that I ordered at the new West Hartford, CT, IHOP looked great in its plastic to-go container. The good-sized burger was served on a Brioche roll, with fresh lettuce, tomato and red onion slices and a pickle slice adorning the top. 

After taking one bite of the Classic Burger, however, I was unhappy with the flavor. For months, I'd been looking forward to eating a burger and fries from IHOP, and I was pretty disappointed.

The French fries served with the burger were okay, but I ate less than half of the Classic Burger. My favorite parts of the meal were the Brioche roll and the pickle slice. Ha.

                                        

Chocolate Chip Pancakes Save the Day (Almost)

Being the International House of Pancakes, it's only fitting that the best of the three meals was a pancake dish. If you're a fan of chocolate, IHOP's Chocolate Chip pancakes are a truly decadent breakfast treat. If you're familiar with them, then you already know just how good these flapjacks are.

Sweet, but not too sweet, IHOP's chocolate chip pancakes have been a popular menu item there for decades. The flapjacks are served with a small ramekin of a very tasty chocolate syrup, as well as another small container of extra chocolate chips.

When I saw the menu price of $11.49 for four chocolate chip pancakes, I was quite surprised. That works-out to roughly $2.87 per pancake. Since I was already getting two pancakes with the 2x2x2 breakfast, I asked the manager if I could order a half-portion. Fortunately, the manager said it was no problem.

IHOP's chocolate chip pancakes are not only delicious, but they're also pretty large. Large enough to eat one at a time, and still be mostly satisfied. On a flavor and texture scale of one through ten, I'd definitely assign these treats a solid rating of 9.5.

Checking my receipt, I notice that the charge for the chocolate chip pancakes was only $3.19. Not sure why the price is so low, but I'm not complaining.

There was supposed to be a points program bar code on the bottom of the receipt that could be used for validating free, future food orders. For some reason, no bar code was on my receipt. When I called the restaurant to see if I could still receive the free pancakes without the bar code, I was told there was nothing the restaurant could do.

Somewhat of a Letdown

After waiting years for IHOP to return to West Hartford, I'm pretty disappointed with the food and overall service provided by their new restaurant there. Having previously worked at IHOP, I think the overall dining experience at the new eatery could certainly be improved. 

The prices are high, the portions are so-so, and, unfortunately, the flavors of the different foods are not as good as they used to be. If the restaurant's management at least honored the advertised points program, that could somewhat offset the negative aspects of the situation.

It was also surprising to see that the various to-go dishes in my order were packaged in very large, difficult-to-open, platic containers. From environmental and cost perspectives, the packaging seemed excessive.

To be fair, the new West Hartford, Connecticut IHOP had opened for business shortly before I visited. It takes time to get new businesses in-shape. If the menu items were tastier and less-expensive, I'd give this new spot a higher rating. For now, however, I have to give this restaurant a rating of 7 out of 10.

Product Review: "Nostalgia" brand MyMini One- Slice Toaster

                                        

Have you ever seen a single-slice toaster? There are plenty of traditional-style, two-slice toasters available today, as well as a good number of four-slice models.

 Until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never seen a single-slice toaster before. While shopping on the amazon.com site, I noticed a photo of a small, aqua-colored, single-slice toaster. The name brand of the retro-looking toaster is Nostalgia, and they have quite a few other kitchen/household small appliances listed on Amazon.       

For months, I'd been putting off purchasing a new toaster, and was looking for a small, but efficient model. After thinking about it for a couple of days, I decided to buy one of these retro-looking toasters.

Toast is such an under-rated food. With its pleasing texture, toast is quick and easy to prepare at any time of the day or night. With a single-slice, retro-style toaster, it can be fun to toast a slice of bread or a muffin.

Here is a quick and honest consumer review of the Nostalgia Single-Slice Toaster.

Appearance

As soon as I saw the Nostalgia Single-Slice Toaster, I thought I would probably end up buying it. The pastel acqua color of the product has a real 1950s vibe, and it would probably look good in any environment.

Size

The Nostalgia MyMini Single Slice Toaster measures-in at nine inches long, six inches high and three inches wide. Because my apartment is pretty small, I was looking for a small, dependable toaster.

Being a single-slice toaster, this appliance features an extra-wide toasting slot. The larger slot is particularly great for toasting English muffins, big slices of bread and half-bagels.

The small size of this toaster makes it easy to store it in either a vertical or horizontal position. The Amazon website lists the weight of the Nostalgia toaster as 1.69 pounds,

Price

The price that I recently paid for one Nostalgia MyMini Single Slice Toaster on the Amazon website was $19.95. For about three weeks now, I've been utilizing the toaster almost-daily, and it seems to be an excellent product.

                                                         

 Functionality/Effectiveness

Since the first time I plugged it in, the Nostalgia MyMini Single Slice Toaster has worked very well. Sometimes, when you plug-in a new toaster for the first time, the appliance might emit an electrical odor, or even smoke a little. Not the case with this nifty, little machine. Every time I've used it, it's done what it's supposed to do, with no electrical flavors or smells.

On one end of the toaster, there is a round, dark/light knob, as well as the lever that pushes the bread down for toasting. Being analytical, I've noticed that when smaller pieces of bread are being toasted, the dark/light knob needs to be set at a darker adjustment in order for the lever to stay down  

Availability

When I looked-up the Nostalgia MyMini Single Slice Toaster on Google, I quickly learned that in addition to amazon.com this small appliance is sold at numerous retailers.

These retailers include Walmart, eBay, Target, Mercari, Office Depot, Home Depot and more.

Overall Rating

All things considered, the Nostalgia MyMini Single Slice Toaster is an attractive and functional product that's fun to look at and utilize. Befitting its name, this toaster also provides a sense of nostalgia when it's used.

The whole idea of a single slice toaster is pretty excellent, for lots of reasons. Sometimes, the idea of eating one piece of toast is simply more appealing than eating two.

Because of its small size, the Nostalgia MyMini Single Slice Toaster can fit just about anywhere there's an electrical connection. Not only can this lightweight toaster be used at home, but it can easily be stored and used in the workplace.

On a scale of one to ten, I would assign the Nostalgia MyMini Single Slice Toaster a rating of 9.25

Campbell's Clam & Corn Chowder Successfully Combines Two Classic Soups Into One

                                       

A Tale of Two Clam and Corn Chowders

Some of the best recipes are created inadvertently, or from necessity. Tonight, I was starting to heat a can of Progresso Clam Chowder, when I noticed a half-full can of corn remaining from the previous night's supper, sitting in the refrigerator.

Since I'm also a fan of corn chowder, I figured 'why not add the corn to the clam chowder?' I'd never heard of clam-corn chowder before, but why not try it?

After adding a good amount of corn to the clam chowder, I took a taste, and it was awesome! This soup was one of the best of many clam chowders I've eaten. For a second or two, I thought maybe there was a great new soup idea being born.

     Approximately an hour after I ate the delicious clam-corn chowder, I clicked on an online banner ad for Chunky Soups, from Target. Being a fan of these soups, I was perusing the selection that was available, and what did I see being advertised? Chunky Clam and Corn Chowder. Ha

                                                               

While at the supermarket a few days later, I saw that they had the Campbell's Chunky Clam and Corn Chowder in-stock, and I decided to buy a can. After eating the chowder a few days later, I decided it was one of the best soups I've ever eaten. Since then, I've purchased two additional cans online. Here's a quick review of Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder.

Size

The standard-sized can of Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder weighs-in at 18.8 ounces. The label says it contains about two servings, but one can is just the right-sized serving for myself. When served with egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes, with bread and butter, you can really have an "Mmm mmm good" meal.

                                                          

Price

At Hartford, Connecticut-area supermarkets, the regular retail price for one 18.8 ounce can of Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder is approximately $2.99.

Appearance

This clam and corn chowder looks quite appetizing, right out of the can. The off-white broth is accented with good-sized pieces of clams and vegetables, creating a culinary image that's easy on the eyes.

Consistency

The consistency, or texture of Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder is, as the name suggests, chunky. The clean-tasting pieces of clams are appropriately chewy, but not rubbery. Bite-sized chunks of potatoes and yellow corn kernels co-mingle with small pieces of celery and red pepper in a creamy broth that's not too thick and not too thin. 

Nutritional Facts

The 18.8 ounce can of Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder contains two servings, and one serving contains 180 calories. Each serving contains 2 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 10 grams total fat, 10 mg of cholesterol, 890 mg of sodium, 18 grams total carbs, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 3 grams total sugars and 5 grams of protein, per one-cup serving.

                                      

Flavor

On several occasions now, I've eaten Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder. Every time I've eaten it, the soup has tasted great, and I've been very satisfied. The clams and corn kernels in the soup are plentiful and tasty, the potatoes are cooked just right and the creamy broth has a pleasing, New England-style flavor.

On the can's front label, it says this soup is flavored with bacon, and a subtle, yet effective amont of bacon flavor can be detected. 

Overall Rating

All things considered, Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder is an excellent product that essentially combines two classic soups into one. When served atop some white rice, it makes for a mighty satisfying dinner.

On a flavor scale of one through ten, I would assign Campbell's Chunky Clam & Corn Chowder a rating of 9.5. Highly recommended.