Sunday, May 18, 2014

Chez Yasu (Topeka, Kansas): Good, Overpriced French Cuisine With A Japanese Flare

'15 Member) And TripAdvisor ("Top Contributor") Where You Can Read His Latest Reviews, Try His Favorite Recipes, And More!

Potato-Leek Soup

Fresh, French Bread Baguette
Copyright 2011-2014 - CombatCritic and 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC - All Rights Reserved

Key Words: 66604, beef, burgundy, chez, Chez Yasu, CombatCritic, eat, food, France, French, Kansas, restaurant, Topeka, travel, TravelValue, value, yasu

Monday, May 12, 2014

The Basil Leaf Cafe ... Still LEAFs Me Unimpressed

Basil Leaf Cafe

616 W 9th St

Lawrence, KS 66044

When I was told by a Lawrence Bohemian acquaintance of mine that "the Basil Leaf Cafe has the best Italian food in Lawrence", I was intrigued because we have yet to find a great restaurant of ANY kind since moving here in August. Paisano's (reviewed in August 2013) is "OK", but nothing to write home about, so our quest to add a new Italian restaurant to our arsenal continues.

Enter ... The Basil Leaf Cafe. Yelp reviews are mostly positive with people raving about the food, but slamming the "gas station" decor of the previous location (it really was in a gas station). The new building sits in a row of shops on 9th Street not far from downtown and the University of Kansas campus. The decor is modern with a smattering of tables (about 8) in a room that could easily handle 12 or more. The arrangement of tables, bar, kitchen window and cash register is inefficient, appearing as though there really was not a plan in the first place.

Tortellini Cordon Bleu, Side of Meatballs

On our first visit, we sat at a table uncomfortably close to the front door and were quickly greeted and given menus. I ordered a glass of the house wine, a "primativo" that was aptly named being primitive and obviously cheap. At $6.00 a glass, I would not be surprised if the mark-up was in the 600% to 700% range. The glass was small and filled a little more than halfway, leaving four, maybe five, ounces ...

I ordered the New England (the white variety) clam chowder, the tortellini cordon bleu, and a side of meatballs. After asking for water three times, my wife finally received hers, but I had to ask yet again to get mine, coming in a mason jar for some odd reason. This restaurant is apparently trying to find an identity with its' eclectic menu, modern decor, and new location, but they obviously have not figured it out yet. The soup finally arrived just seconds before our

Having lived in Italy for three years and traveling there extensively over the years, I found that Italians would NEVER think of eating meat and pasta together. Basil Leaf's menu is not even close to authentic Italian. Meat loaf? Yes, Italians actually eat meat loaf, calling it "polpetone", literally "big meatball" (meatballs are called polpette in Italy). They eat meatballs too, but NEVER WITH SPAGHETTI! Spaghetti and other pasta dishes are called "primo piatto" or "first plate" and are also referred to as "primi" for short. Meat dishes fall into the "secondo piatto" or "second plate", aka "secondi" and are not brought to the table until the antipasto (appetizer) and primo have been consumed.

Anyway, the New England clam chowder came in the smallest soup cup I had ever seen and was filled a little more than halfway. I asked the server if I could get some bread with my soup, but she said "the bread sticks come with your entree". Translation: "No, you cannot". Fortunately, the entrees arrived just seconds after I got my soup, so it did not take long to consume it and prepare for my oversize entree.

I had heard good things about Basil Leaf's tortellini cordon bleu on Yelp, so I had to try it. The presentation was well done, being served in an oversize bowl (see photo). I love veal and schnitzel (pork cutlet) cordon bleu and this dish actually came close in terms of taste. Nontraditionally covered with a chicken cutlet (something you would never see in a classic Italian restaurant), the dish reminds me of a carbonara with ham and cheese added. It was delicious, but would have been better had it been served fresh from the pan and hot (warm). I finished half of the pasta, the lone bread stick (cut loose folks), and one of the three meatballs, leaving me a hearty dinner for the following night. The meatballs were excellent, having the correct consistency and seasoning and obviously homemade. Kudos to the chef!

Mac and Cheese

My wife ordered the "mac and cheese", another heaping helping of handmade pasta reminiscent of my Aunt Gina's chicatielli from Ariano, Irpino (Italy). The sauce was creamy and rich, but not overwhelmingly so. Being a native Italian born in Sicily, her palate is well honed when it comes to pasta, an Italian staple. She liked the mac and cheese even though there is no such recipe in her homeland.

Basil Leaf Cafe left us unimpressed on our first visit. Maybe it was because of the hype, maybe a bad night, so we decided to return.

On our second visit, seven months later, we skipped the appetizers, soup, and salad as they are overpriced and unnecessary based on the size of the entrees. A Thursday night, we were surprised to see only one free table and were quickly seated although the hostess seemed confused after I asked for a table for two as my wife had not yet entered the building. Before she had the menus, my wife had arrived and we were seated.

Our server was very nice, but a bit pushy when it came time to order as she seemed in a hurry to get things rolling and ensure our tab was of sufficient size. When we were finally ready to order, I decided on the Penne Abruzzi and my wife, not a pioneer by any stretch, went with the Mac and Cheese ... again.

The Penne Abruzzi has penne, obviously, with onion, bell peppers, sun dried tomato, and bacon in a three cheese sauce. I have no idea which three cheeses they use in the sauce, but it was tasty enough although a bit too salty for my taste, possibly a result of the sun dried tomatoes as they are normally sprinkled with salt prior to being dried. There was too much sauce for the amount of pasta, giving it the consistency of a thick soup, appropriate for pasta fagioli, but not a standard pasta dish where a light coating would suffice. The bacon added just enough flavor to the dish and the three large meatballs sitting atop the penne, something you WOULD NEVER SEE in Italy, were decent.

I asked a server if I could have a menu as we left, but was told "we only have them available online". That was fine with me as I am not interested in killing trees, but when I went "online" to check the menu to complete this review, I had great difficulty finding a current menu and never did find a website. How a business can succeed without a website these days is beyond me, but Basil Leaf apparently believes they only need a Facebook page. I never did find a current menu after an exhaustive search (MenuPix had a menu with prices several dollars less than we paid) and the Facebook menu never did load. That is what you get when you trust your "free" business webpage to Mark Zuckerberg!

The pasta dishes, "starters", and salads are overpriced ($9 for a house salad? - up from $8 last October) as was the wine ($7 for 4 ounces of cheap wine - up from $6). The decor still needs some warming up, and the tables could be rearranged to seat more customers or create a much needed waiting area (waiting customers now hover over tables of seated customers). The service was sketchy on our first visit and a bit too intense this time. The menu and food remain underwhelming. I spotted only two or three dishes on the limited menu that I would bother ordering, so our options for return visits are already limited.

There are enough "classic" Italian pasta sauce recipes to fill the menu twice over (carbonara, amatriciana, ragu, bolagnese, boscaiola, marinara, alfredo to name a few) and some classic meat dishes (veal marsala or saltimbocca) would be nice, so embrace something ... anything ... and create an identity of your own in your decor, servers, and menu fit for a town that still does not have an Italian restaurant worthy of our custom.

CombatCritic Gives Basil Leaf Cafe 6 out of 10 Bombs (Previously 5 Bombs) ... Bombs are Good!

Review Updated May 12th, 2014

Key Words: Basil Leaf Cafe, basil, leaf, cafe, Italian, restaurant, Lawrence, Kansas, pasta, soup, salad, wine, vino, meatball, marinara, penne, spaghetti, macaroni, cheese, CombatCritic, 66044

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Arlington National Cemetary (ANC) Could Do A MUCH Better Job When It Comes To America's Heroes

Arlington National Cemetary has a hallowed and illustrious past and is the final resting place of thousands of American heroes, including John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby, Chappie James, George Patton, and John Pershing among many others.

When a family loses a loved one, the very least that can be expected is for the people making the funeral arrangements to treat the mourners with dignity, respect, and compassion ... AT THE VERY LEAST. A recent experience with Arlington, while making funeral arrangements for my father, a World War II Veteran and my hero, leaves me extremely concerned that the loved ones of American heroes are being ignored, neglected, and instead of making a very difficult period easier and more stress free, Arlington is only contributing to their stress.

It is not as if Arlington does not have enough data available, having existed since 1860 with over 300,000 inhabitants, so how is it that they can virtually ignore us when we contact them to make funeral arrangements, stating "we can neither tell you when a funeral can be scheduled nor when we will even contact you to schedule it"?

We had a funeral scheduled for my father last August, but had to postpone it when our house sitter backed-out just two weeks before the service. Rather than wait until the last minute to let Arlington know, we decided that we would cancel two weeks out and reschedule at a later date so that some other grieving family could utilize the time and resources allotted for my father. It seemed like the right thing to do.

But when I contacted Arlington by email on March 20th, 2014, two months before our proposed funeral date and my father's 89th birthday (May 22nd, 2014), I did not hear a word for five days, so I called their toll free number.

I was told that my request had in-fact been received and that we were in the "scheduling que". I asked the woman when we might expect to be contacted, telling her that we and other family members needed to make travel arrangements and that the date of the funeral would affect when my wife could travel to Italy to visit her ailing parents, but she told me "you'll just have to wait". Asking her how it was possible that they could have no idea how long it would take to contact us, she told me that all I could do is "call back and inquire from time to time".

I called back a few weeks later, but was told the same thing, "you will have to wait" and "we cannot provide any more information". That was when I became not only insulted, but incensed about not only the way we were being treated, but the treatment everyone else in "the que" is also experiencing. So I sent the following email to Arlington:

Case #xxxx16 - RE: PFC J. SORRENTINO, USA

We have been attempting to schedule my father's funeral for his birthday, May 22nd, this year, but your schedulers refuse to provide any information regarding when we might expect a burial. We have numerous obligations which cannot be finalized, totaling several thousands of dollars, until we have a funeral date, including travel plans for several people to attend the funeral, house sitting, my wife's travel plans to visit her elderly and ailing parents in Naples, Italy among others.

ANC is not new to this endeavor and should have historical information which could provide an estimate of how long it will take to be contacted by a scheduler and how far out burials can be scheduled based on those currently in the system. Keeping loved-ones waiting unnecessarily, unable to make plans only because your employees refuse to take the needs of others into consideration is unprofessional.
I realize that it is an honor to be buried at ANC and that your staff are overburdened by the number of funerals they are required to schedule, but a small amount of dignity, consideration, and foresight could eliminate any additional hardship on families already affected by the loss of a loved one.

Respectfully,

Chris T. Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret) Next-of-Kin

Here is the reply I received:

From: <DoNotReply@us.army.mil>Date: Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 1:34 PMTo: Chris Sorrentino <rospo2356@gmail.com>

Subject: Arlington National Cemetery - Feedback Confirmation

We appreciate your feedback correspondence, which prompted this automatic e-mail response. Someone will be contacting you shortly with a tracking number. Given the varying nature and types of inquiries we receive, we cannot comment on how long each specific type of inquiry should take. However, we are acting on your inquiry. Should you like to check its status, please feel free to call 1-877-907-8585 and provide your tracking number.

Thank you for contacting Arlington National Cemetery. Honor - Remember - Explore.

With over 300,000 data points, you would think that Arlington could extrapolate based on the number of requests, funerals in "the que", and employees available, and give mourners a rough idea when their loved ones might be buried OR at least when they might be contacted to make final arrangements.

Three weeks out from our desired funeral date and 13 days since I was told I would be contacted with a "tracking number" regarding my email, I had still not been contacted. We had to cancel our plans for the May 22nd funeral because travel costs were skyrocketing and my wife needed to make plans to travel to Italy to see her ailing parents. We not only wasted weeks of preparations for the event, we also had to pay an additional $400 in airfare due to waiting until the last minute to make airline reservations thanks to Arlington's lack of professionalism, concern, respect, and compassion.

The implications in terms of our lives are minimal compared to the grieving families of those who have recently lost a loved one and are stuck in the que waiting for a funeral date without hope for even a clue as to when they might be contacted. What happens to the remains of those waiting weeks or months while Arlington pencil pushers and bureaucrats sit on the paperwork, deciding when they might grace us with their presence and alleviate the suffering they have unduly caused to the grieving families of America's heroes?

There is more than enough data for Arlington to figure out what their schedule looks like and how many requests they have in the que, providing at least a rough idea when families might be contacted and a ballpark figure as to how far out funerals are being scheduled so that loved ones can make appropriate plans, inviting family and friends to travel to Virginia and honor the deceased with the dignity and respect they deserve. Currently, they are failing miserably and whomever is in charge of our Nation's most respected military cemetery should be ashamed, very ashamed.

"Honor - Remember - Explore" ... Yeah, right!

UPDATE: MAY 11, 2014

It has now been nearly two months since I contacted ANC to schedule a funeral for my father and over 3 weeks since I was promised contact and a "tracking number". It appears at this point that one of three things is happening:

ANC leaders and staff, US Army employees, are incompetent
ANC staff could care less about the grieving families of US military personnel
ANC is actively retaliating against me, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and future ANC resident, for having to cancel my fathers funeral last August through no fault of our own

In either case, the result is unacceptable. Again, we have only been inconvenienced in terms of plans and money lost as my father's cremated remains have not deteriorated or putrefied during the two months we have been waiting for Arlington National Cemetary to contact us with a date for his funeral. Yes, my wife has to curtail her visit to Italy to see her family so we can possibly have his funeral in August before she returns to work at KU and maybe ANC staff will contact me in time ... MAYBE?

In any event, I have experienced enough indignity and disrespect from the people we, American taxpayers, pay to manage the final disposition of our Nation's heroes and will contact my US Senator, Pat Roberts (R - KS), asking him to intervene on our behalf and on behalf of other families whom may be experiencing much more than inconvenience as a result of Arlington National Cemetery's complete lack of competence and professionalism.

Here is the email I sent to Arlington on May 11th, 2014:

As confirmed on March 25, 2014, you received my request for a funeral for my father, PFC Joseph Sorrentino, on May 22nd, 2014 (Case #150016). I have called and emailed several times since, but here it is nearly two months later and your staff refuses to contact me. We had to cancel plans for the funeral and have incurred added expenses because your employees refuse to let us know when we can expect to schedule my father's funeral. This is unacceptable!
I was promised a response and case number after I contacted you on April 17, 2014:

From: <DoNotReply@us.army.mil>Date: Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 1:34 PMTo: Chris Sorrentino <rospo2356@gmail.com>

Subject: Arlington National Cemetery - Feedback Confirmation

We appreciate your feedback correspondence, which prompted this automatic e-mail response. Someone will be contacting you shortly with a tracking number. Given the varying nature and types of inquiries we receive, we cannot comment on how long each specific type of inquiry should take. However, we are acting on your inquiry. Should you like to check its status, please feel free to call 1-877-907-8585 and provide your tracking number.

Thank you for contacting Arlington National Cemetery. Honor - Remember - Explore

If I do not hear from your staff by Monday, May 12th, 2014, I will file a Congressional Complaint with my US Senator, Pat Roberts (R-KS). You can read the whole story on my blog: http://www.combatcounselor.com/2014/04/arlington-national-cemetary-anc-could.html

Sincerely,

Chris Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret) - Next-Of-Kin

This is not the first problem experienced because of incompetence at Arlington as has been reported in the Washington Post, NBC News, and various blogs, with hundreds of remains being unaccounted for, misplaced, or otherwise disrespected. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND SENATOR ROBERTS SHOULD ACT WITHOUT DELAY IN CORRECTING THESE GRAVE DEFICIENCIES AND THE LEADER RESPONSIBLE FOR ARLINGTON SHOULD BE ADMONISHED, REPRIMANDED, OR FIRED.

Key Words: Air Force, Arlington, Arlington National Cemetary, Army, cemetery, combatcounselor, funeral, grave, military, national, Pat, Roberts, senator, Senator Pat Roberts, soldier, unknown, unknown soldier, veteran

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Kansas City Handyman Takes Advantage Of Disabled Veteran

Dominick Campos
5022 NW Woody Creek Lane
Kansas City, MO 64151
(816) 824-1799

Dominick Campos is a handyman from Kansas City, Missouri. I paid him over $6000 in cash (IRS), a very fair wage, but he DID NOT COMPLETE the work he promised and was paid to perform.

He promised to reroute water, which had been causing damage to our roof, into a planter, but failed to complete the work as agreed. He also failed to complete replacement of the wood trim on the top portion of our chimney we had agreed on because "it was too high" and was afraid he would get hurt. He also failed to repair and paint window trim as promised.

Because I trusted him, a self-proclaimed "devout Christian", I made the mistake of paying him in advance. When we finally met, he promised to complete the repairs and I even gave him an additional $30 for supplies, but he later backed-out, promising to return the $30, but never did. It will cost me an additional $1,000 to finish the work he failed to complete.

Dominick Campos, a Kansas City Handyman, did poor to average work, took advantage of me, I feel he cannot be trusted, and his integrity is very questionable.

CombatActivist Gives Dominick Campos, Handyman, 1 Out of 10 Bombs ... More Bombs Are Good!

I CANNOT RECOMMEND DOMINICK CAMPOS FOR HANDYMAN SERVICES IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI OR ANYWHERE FOR THAT MATTER

Key Words: Dominick Campos, Dominick, Campos, Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas, handyman, service, services, plumbing, electrical, construction, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, 66044, KS, IRS, Internal Revenue Service

Lawrence, KS: Fast, Affordable, Friendly ... FUZZY'S!

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop

1115 Massachusetts Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone number: (785) 841-8226
Website: fuzzystacoshop.com
Prices: $$$$

Great tacos ... CHECK!

Tex-Mex style enchiladas ... CHECK!

Fresh guacamole ... CHECK!

Tasty chili con queso ... CHECK!

Good margaritas ... CHECK!

Get in line to order ... CHECK!

Reasonable prices ... CHECK!

Rowdy, friendly employees ... CHECK!

Other than the fact that I have ordered guacamole on two occasions and was told "sorry, we are out of guacamole", Fuzzy's is great! How can a Mexican restaurant be out of guacamole? Anyway, the tacos are excellent and at $2 a pop, A LAWRENCE BEST VALUE. They come crispy or soft, regular or Habañero, and with ground beef, shredded beef, chicken, or pork, so you can mix and match with other tacos, enchiladas, burritos, tort as (sandwiches), fajitas, and more. Beside the meat of your choice, lettuce, tomato, and crumbled feta cheese are added. I prefer the shredded beef tacos.

The guacamole is pretty good although resting on a bed of shredded lettuce, the size is deceiving. At $3.99, including chips, the price is comparable to other Lawrence Mexican restaurants. The chili con queso ($3.49 including chips) is also good and like the guacamole can be ordered ala carte (no chips).

The fajitas are "OK", nothing great. The enchiladas come with a white (cheese) sauce, so you have to ask if you want the more familiar red sauce. They are well done, not the best I have had, but better than most Lawrence enchiladas I have tried.

For a self-service, fast food restaurant, Fuzzy's puts out good Mexican fare at a reasonable price. Their margaritas are not cheap ($6), but are decent and reasonably fortified. There are drink and beer specials daily, but do not expect anything close to those you can find at El Mezcal (23rd Street) in size or price. In all, Fuzzy's is an outstanding value and a neighborhood gem ... BUT MAKE SURE YOU ARRIVE BEFORE THE SORORITIES AND FRATERNITIES THAT FREQUENT FUZZY'S!

CombatCritic Gives Fuzzy's Tacos A Solid 9 Bombs Out Of 10 for solid, fast, affordable Mexican food ... BOMBS ARE GOOD!

Read Chris S.'s review of Fuzzy's Taco Shop on Yelp

Title: Lawrence, KS: Fast, Affordable, Friendly ... FUZZY'S!

Key Words: Fuzzy's Tacos, Fuzzy's, tacos, taco, fuzzy, fuzzie, enchilada, burrito, guacamole, queso, cheese, margarita, Lawrence, Kansas, Massachusetts, street, 66044, CombatCritic, TravelValue

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Vietnam Cafe ... Serious, Affordable, Quality Vietnamese Cuisine in KC

Vietnam Cafe
522 Campbell Street
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 472-4888
Price: $$$$$

Vietnam Cafe is hands-down the BEST VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT IN KANSAS CITY! A small, clean, unassuming diner-type building in the old Little Italy section near River Market, they have great, authentic Vietnamese food at very reasonable prices.

We started with the Vietnamese egg rolls (4 - $5, you have to ask for them specifically) which are only different from regular egg rolls in that you get lettuce leaves to wrap them in and cilantro, mint leaves (if available), and sliced carrots to add inside the lettuce as well as a spicy rice vinegar dipping sauce ... YUM!

I had the beef curry and my wife had the vegetarian pho. Both were excellent although the curry was not of the variety of Vietnamese curry that I am used to (a thick red curry with mostly beef). The pho, my wife's favorite, was chock full of veggies and as tasty as we have had.

The staff are very friendly and helpful and the restaurant is extremely clean. It is not a huge place, but we had no difficulty getting a table. The neighborhood looks a bit dodgy, but we have never had any problems either at Vietnam Cafe or Garrozo's which is not far away.

CombatCritic Gives Vietnam Cafe 8 Out Of 10 Bombs for good food and service at a GREAT VALUE ... BOMBS ARE GOOD!

Follow CombatCritic On Yelp (An Elite '14/'15 Member) And TripAdvisor ("Top Contributor") Where You Can Read His Latest Reviews, Try His Favorite Recipes, And More!

Key Words: Vietnam Cafe, Vietnam, cafe, Vietnamese, pho, curry, noodles, egg roll, egg, roll, Kansas City, Missouri, MO, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, Yelp, Urbanspoon, TripAdvisor

TravelValue: England

Sunday, May 18, 2014