New Horizons Diner, R.I.P.

Just noticed yesterday that the New Horizons Diner on Vets Highway in Islandia, is no longer there. There is only a big hole where the diner once was. So, either there was a horrific kitchen accident, or it has been demolished.

I can't remember if I ever ate there. I think maybe once, for breakfast, before heading off somewhere. In any event, there were always cars in the parking lot. I wonder what happened?

More troubling was the closing of the 1700 Deli, just down the road on Vets Highway a few years ago, now. They had some of the best sandwiches around. But they always had a lot of people behind the counter. This was good for the customer but may have been bad for profitability.

Review: Charlie Brown's

Yes, this is yet another chain-restaurant review. But what can I tell you? It was the wife’s choice. We recently checked out the one in Holtsville, next to the Island 16 movie theater, just off the L.I.E.

This place is not good. It is dreadful, in fact.

We ordered the appetizer sampler (chicken fingers, chicken toquitos or rolled-up quesadillas [or something], mozzarella sticks, and wings). Everything was obviously frozen and just heated up for service. The wings were decent, but everything else was godawful.

I was in the mood for a ribeye. This is a steakhouse, yet they don’t have a ribeye on the menu. What they do have is lots and lots of prime rib, which I don’t generally care for. Yes, it’s the same cut as a ribeye steak, but I like it cooked as a steak. Big difference.

The menu says something called the “Cowboy Steak” prime rib is seared. I thought that was my best chance to have something steak-like—sear a piece of rare or medium-rare prime rib, and I’ve got a steak. I was wrong. The seasoning did not work at all, and I guess their idea of searing is having some burnt patches on the meat.

The wife had a sirloin. She ordered it medium rare, and it came well done (mine was overcooked as well, BTW). And it had no flavor to speak of.

The meal came with a trip to the salad bar. It was nothing different than you’d see at a lot of supermarkets or other places with salad bars. The stuff was fresh, at least.

We didn’t stick around for dessert. This is perhaps the worst chain restaurant we’ve been to. We will not be going back.

1 out of 5 stars

Great American Bake Sale

I got a request to pass along info. about Share our Strength's Great American Bake Sale, which is running through August. So, I'm doing it. IMO, fighting hunger and poverty is best done through private efforts like this. So, check it out.

Whole Foods in Jericho

Well, it's July, so time for another post... Wow, who has time for these things?

This weekend we checked out the new-ish Whole Foods in Jericho--just a hop, skip, and jump off of Exit 41 N on the L.I.E. I remember my first experience with a Whole Foods, about 10 years ago (sheesh) in Charlottesville, Virginia. There was some abhorrent stench in there, about what you'd expect wafting from the people-into-food factory in Soylent Green. I eventually went back, but not for many months, and not without some severe pressuring.

Anyhoo, the Jericho Whole Foods is nothing like that. It's probably the largest and nicest one I've seen. Lots of good and fresh seafood and meats. Also some interesting "bar" items, including a hot bar with probably 7 or 8 kinds of Indian food (at least on Sunday).

The downside? It ain't cheap. A 7 oz. container of pesto (not much) was $9. I think the tuna steaks and porterhouse steaks were both $22 per pound. Ouch.

But not everything was so outrageous. Some of the packaged products were the same price you'd find at a Trader Joe's, for instance. And the Ribeyes were on sale for $10 per pound.

So for those of you who like fruity organic crap, check it out if you can afford it. But the wife is sticking to Trader Joe's.

429 North Broadway
Jericho, NY 11753-2106