Let's hear it for Wal-Mart!

[jmfryar]

Ahhh...you haven't been there in a while...Roo bar is no more...

I've been through the center of West Hartford if for no other reason than to explore it (No Wal-Mart I am happy to report) and have eaten at Butterfly, sang Karoke in the bar behind it (whose name escapes me), so I kinda know my way around, but am always looking for suggestions! One thing...and this will sound odd...I am NOT a fan of Italian...and no, please no one give me the "Then you haven't had good italian." I've had the best...doesn't do anything for me...I'm a Tex-Mex boy and Italian is just neither spicy nor flavorful enough for me...


Of course, downtown Hartford has its attractions too. It really is a great city for those who have never been here before! Then again, it's a great state to visit! Look, it even has Beethoven.com!!

[Serenity]

Do you like Thai? Is there a good Thai place?
I haven't found a decent place for Tex-Mex or Mexican food.

[jmfryar]

Lemon Grass in West Hartford is Thai...although the best Thai restaraunt in Connecticut is reportedly in Middletown...I haven't been able to locate it.

I go to either Jalepeno Heaven in Branford (the staff is entirely Central American and if you ask, they will make it authentic) or Viva Zapatas in New Haven (the Chicken Nachos are amazing...and with a Raspberry Margarita, can't beat 'em...been doing that combination at least once a month for over 10 years...

Now that I'm moving more toward Hartford, I need to find a few places up that way. The mexican in West Hartford is not the best I've ever had, so I'm still looking.

Meanwhile Springfield has a Cajun restaraunt that is supposedly unbelieveable...but I can't seem to locate anyone that knows where it is!

You can't get decent Thai, Cajun or Tex-Mex in a Wal-Mart!

[Serenity]

I searched in Mapquest and came up with "Thai Gardens", 300 Plaza Middlesex, Middletown, CT.

Is the Cajun place in Springfield, MA? Cajun food is pretty tasty.

Thanks for the tips. I've never been to CT but I'm starting to feel this pull toward it ever since I discovered Beethoven.com.

[jmfryar]

Could be Thai Gardens. The friend of mine who is supposed to take me has been very secretive about it. We're waiting until the end of the semester (next Monday for both of us) and then we'll head there for the works.

Supposedly the Cajun restaraunt, in Springfield, is SOOO popular that there is a 2 to 3 hour wait some nights...

Hartford is not that far from Springfield and has a lot to offer. But then again, my exposure to Springfield is the Big E (which is an annual guilty pleasure), the pool hall in the mall downtown, and the fact that I have to drive through it to get to the Mass Turnpike to get to Albany.

I understand the pull...no matter how many times I've left the state, I always end up coming back...It must be the minimal number of Walmarts. After all, how many can you fit in a state that you can cross in a little over one hour?

[Shapley]

Why would you want to cross it in little over one hour with so much to see?

Here in the midwest, there are Wal-Marts every fifteen minutes. They are as common here as 7-11's are in Virginia and Takee-Outee's in Chicago. But not quite as numerous as Waffle Hut's on the East Coast.

V/R
Shapley

[jmfryar]

Waffle house? What's a waffle house? I don't think we have those in Connecticut...not that I've seen.

My mom teaches at the University of Arkansas and I go down occaionally to see her...talk about a Wal-Mart on every corner!!

And you only want to cross it in an hour if you're coming from Rhode Island and have tickets to see something in New York of course!

[barfle]

I can't be sure, but Waffle House seems to be mostly a suthun' thang. I believe I saw one near the PA pike, but they are easier to find than Denny's in Virginia.

[Shapley]

Waffle House may be a southern thing (I guess that would be thang). I remember seeing lots of them in Virginia and North Carolina, and I seem to recall them being common in Northern Florida, but don't recall seeing them in the Orlando area quite so often. They are quite popular in Tennessee, too.

I recall some politician making a big deal out of eating at one, calling attention to his opponents "waffling" on the issues. I think it was President George H. W. Bush, but I could be wrong. I guess that means they have them in D.C.

Do they still have Takee-Outee's? That was my first taste of Chinese take-out, in Chicago. I would think that the name, being politically incorrect, would have been protested out of existence.

Nowadays, there seems to be Chinese restaurants in every small town, right next to the Wal-Mart. That wasn't the case a few years back. I think it's part of large Chinese conspiracy, probably led by General Tso, to polute our precious bodily fluids, and destroy the purity of our essence. Beware!

V/R
Shapley

[treebeau]

Who is/was General Tso, and why do people think he was chicken?

Regards,
Tim B.

[OperaTenor]

Oops.

<small>[ 06-26-2003, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: operatenor ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

MSG is a Chinese plot? Makes sense to me. :p

Do they stock Dr. Strangelove at Wal-Mart?

[jmfryar]

Didn't Trudeau represent Clinton in Doonesbury as a waffle? With butter and syrup? And Wal-Mart was involved...

(Never thought that a discussion on Wal-Mart could lead to fine cuisine or politics...

And he had that whole scandal with the Chinese..
So does that mean that Clinton is involved in the Wal-Mart/Waffle/Chinese conspiracy?

And, if I've figured it out, does this mean I should avoid walking through parks in Washington while holding a revolver to my head?

[Shapley]

Yes, you can get "Dr. Strangelove" at Wal-Mart, but not "The Manchurian Candidate". It's part of the cover-up.

V/R
Shapley

[Shapley]

RE:<<And he had that whole scandal with the Chinese..
So does that mean that Clinton is involved in the Wal-Mart/Waffle/Chinese conspiracy?>>

I'm not sure, I'll have to check with the good folks over at the Keepers Of Odd Knowledge Society and check with the scandal sheet to see which scandals Clinton is in. Would that be Bill or Hillary. I do know Bill is up to his neck in the McDonald's Conspiracy, but that's another thread...

V/R
Shap

[OperaTenor]

"Would you like fries with that?".....Oops.....Wrong thread.

[jmfryar]

Are fries now part of the conspiracy? They are French...and we know that they are SUCH the traditional allies of the United States...hmmm

[Shapley]

As near as I can figure this out, Wal-Mart comes to a small town and puts Mom & Pop's general merchandise store out of town, but they won't sell Cosmo or Playboy, so Mom & Pop are forced to open a porno store in order to feed their family. Next, General Tso opens a Chinese restaurant, forcing Uncle Fred to close the "Greasy Spoon" and go on welfare, or take a job as a short order cook at the "All American Burger" joint (which serves french fries) inside the Wal-Mart. Next comes the strip mall with a One-Hour Photo shop and a shoe store selling more chinese import shoes than Wal-Mart can stock. The Chinese shoes never fit properly, so a podiatrist, usually an oriental-born doctor educated in America, opens a shop to treat the foot problems caused by wearing them.

Have I missed anything? Where do the black helicopters and Nazi scientists smuggled into this country fit in? I'll have another glass of that rainwater and try to figure it all out.

V/R
Shap

[jmfryar]

And Clinton is really a chinese leader in a mask...

it would explain why Taco bells have suddenly started replacing the beans with rice...

It would also explain the man who has been calling my phone and offering free language lessons...

but it would not explain the Chinese family who showed up on my doorstep and told me that they were converting my condo complex into a new "Chinese Embassy/restaraunt/shoe store" I don't see how that fits in...

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by Shapley:
Have I missed anything? Where do the black helicopters and Nazi scientists smuggled into this country fit in? I'll have another glass of that rainwater and try to figure it all out.

V/R
Shap

After what I've been through the last few months, I feel like a failed Nazi medical experiment. Can't say about the helicopters, though....