All About Well-Sweep

We visited Well-Sweep Herb Farm in Warren County last week.  It is owned and operated by the Hyde family, who started buying property for the farm back in the 1960s.  Mr. Hyde is a renowned expert on herbs and has some pretty cool looking Japanese chickens too.  I always enjoy trips there because it's fun to taste plants, learn stories about parts they played in history, and find out how to use them as medicine.

Talk about your experience on the trip.  It could be about something interesting you learned, a plant that intrigued you, a story Mr. Hyde told that you liked, etc.

Overnight Hike 2015

We successfully cooked meals for 50+ people, two nights in a row, up at Munsee.  Some of the damage included 10 lb. of bacon, 15 lb. of ground beef for Alaska burgers, over 125 eggs, and way too many onions for our liking.  We cried.

What was the biggest challenge you experienced in our task to cook for so many?  Why do you think it might be difficult to make food in large quantities that pleases everyone?  How do you think we did?

Clumsy Clowns

Today I spent the day with the Downtown Clowns. My morning started at 8:30 in the morning and the first lesson of the day would be how to design a blazer to tell a story. The story that had to be told with the blazer was a homeless guy who has been living underneath a bridge near train tracks. First we started to frey the sleeves and the bottom of it. Next we started to create cigarette holes by cutting tiny circles. Last but not least Mr. Gallerani taught the class how to stich patches onto jackets. The patches represent the amount of time that the clown has been homeless. The less patches the less damage there was on the blazer. I also learned that having a lot of patches is good because in the show it will catch the eyes attention.

Food is Pain

We just finished reading the first part of Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, in which one of the sections was entitled Food is Pain.  This is extremely true if you get food poisoning.  Check out the comments below for information on some different types of food poisoning and how to prevent them from happening to you.

Chipotle: A Messy Taste of Heaven

 In the downtown area of Newark, you can smell the scent of cigarettes, muslim incense, & different cultural foods. As you make your way down Market St. you'll find yourself at everyone's favorite mainstream Mexican fast food restaurant, & no, it is not Taco Bell. It's Chipotle. The Chipotle in Newark has a modern feel to it. The Chipotle was not too hard to find since everything else around it is torn down or abandoned.  I walked in there to find a short line. Which is a blessing since this chain of tasty Mexican pleasantries are a popular crave in this day and age. You may find people of different ages and backgrounds sitting down to eat at Chipotle. As I made my way up the line I ordered a chicken buttito with brown rice and some black beans. I have had a couple negative experiences at the same fast food restaurant, but this one has been the best so far. I got my burrito made in less than 5 minutes and the workers had been friendly. As I came back to school to unwrap the aluminum foil of my burrito, things changed for the worse. My perfectly wrapped burrito(or so I thought) had transformed into a tortilla filled disaster. After every bite a glop of sour cream would be left somewhere on my face. At first I thought, maybe it was just the way I was eating. I later found out that my chicken burrito had been left unwrapped at the bottom. I had to look for a different route to maneuver my way around this food dilemma. As I found a spoon to dig my way out of this burrito, I decided to take another bite. Once again..sour cream all over my face. Overall I enjoyed the trip to Chipotle. I'd give my experience a 3 out of 5.

My Chipotle Review

When I entered the dimly lit restaurant, I thought about the one word that could describe the energy in the room, exuberant. When I ordered my dish, the waiters were well mannered and kind; but they were talking faster than Speedy Gonzalez which made it difficult to understand what they were saying. But when I sat down and took the first spoon full of the dish, all of those gripes melted away like the cheese in my mouth.
    The food tasted amazing, almost as good as my mother's cooking. The flavors of the spices and vegetables mixed perfectly with the chicken meat, rice and cheese like a harmonizing chord in a Mozart concerto. As soon as I finished, instantly wanted more, which, in my opinion, is rare to find nowadays. Overall, despite the lack of color in the room,  the service was swift and orderly, the food well prepared and most importantly, it was absolutely delicious. I give Chipotle 4/5 stars.

Chipotle Customer Review

During my visit to Chipotle, I noticed a number of both negatives and positives. A positive about the visit was that the interior of the fast food restaurant was very decorative and had a nice glow to it. From the menu to the welcome signs, the whole inside of the place was eye catching and something to remember. Although the inside made the experience that much better, not everything was on point. The music in the restaurant made it extremely difficult to hear what anyone was saying. Having to lean over the counter and speak louder is not so pleasing. I ordered a chicken burrito with white rice, black beans, guacamole, etc. After watching the way the burrito was wrapped, I had no doubt that it would fall apart, which it eventually did! Having to turn my burrito into a bowl was a shame. Im going 50/50 on my visit to Chipotle. Don't get me wrong the food was amazing and packed with flavor, but it's hard to enjoy when you can't eat it properly. They're going to have to do a lot more than have a nice interior to make me a loyal customer. (Chipotle Rating:6.5/10)

The Guacamole *Is* Worth It

On our way to Chipotle for lunch on Monday, I was cautioned that the extra charge for the guacamole is not worth it; I was told that I wouldn't be able to even taste it with everything else.  Not only was I pleased with the guacamole, it was applied liberally to my rice bowl and enhanced the entire meal.

The storefront was busy with a largely corporate lunchtime crowd when we arrived, but there was luckily a lull in the line when we walked in the door.  We decided to take our orders to-go due to the lack of table space to eat.  I'm sure that the small size of the restaurant helps reduce overhead costs, but such a popular eatery in a busy location could certainly use more dining space.

The staff preparing our meals was fast and efficient, although it was hard to hear them asking us what we wanted due to the noise in the restaurant.  We checked out quickly.

I chose a rice bowl with brown rice, steak, black beans, lettuce, salsa, corn, cheese, and guacamole.  It was packaged securely in a takeout container without napkins or utensils; I assumed takeout orders would be thus prepared and didn't get utensils (luckily, Maria's cafeteria at school came in clutch).  The rice was well prepared - not sticky nor too hard - and the steak was tender and nicely flavored.  Again, I felt that I was given my money's worth with the amount of guacamole added to my plate.  More corn would have been nice; I wonder if staff is trained to only give a certain amount.

All in all, I was pleased with my lunch from Chipotle.  In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the restaurant posted its guacamole recipe online - check it out here.

chipotle review

I have no complaints about the trip to Chipotle.  The servers were fast and efficient.  I am not a real fan of Chipotle but the food was better than I expected.  My main complaint with Chipotle is that the food doesn't have that much flavor and their menu only offers about four meal choices and they don't offer many flavor options either. Surprisingly my bowl had a lot of flavor and I was satisfied with it.  I still prefer Qdoba because of their amazing queso sauce.

Chipotle Review

When we first got to Chipotle I noticed how clean everything was. The service there was also really good.  The workers took orders quickly to keep the line moving and we were in and out in no time.  The only downside was the girl who rolled my burrito did a horrible job. As soon as she put the burrito in the foil I coukd tell it was just going to fall apart.  I wound up eating my burrito with a fork. So I know next time I go to that Chipotle to get a bowl. I would give it 3/5 stars.

Chipotle review

On Monday the class walked a few blocks down to Chipotle and enjoyed tasty Mexican food. From the outside, the restaurant did catch my eye and the same went for the inside. The inside and outside had a hipster, lounge type of feeling to it. Making it seem like a comfortable place to socialze and have a good time is another reason why I would go back. The overall food was good. I ordered a bowl with white rice, chicken, lettuce, and sour cream. As a sour cream fan it was great to have the option of putting extra. I am someone who does not like to get dirty so the fact that a bowl is an option allows for more people to enjoy it. The staff was extremely kind and had a very upbeat mood. If I had to rate it from a scale of 1-10 the score would be an 8.

Chipotle Post

We went to Chipotle on monday and it was a great trip. There was a lot of people in there but the workers behind the counter made a good effort to project their voices. The burrito they wrapped was tight too. It didn't fall apart and the extra sour cream that was put on there made it taste even better. All in all the trip was fantastic.

Spring Phase 2015 Begins

We had our first trip to Pathmark and our first (and last!) trip to Chipotle.  I know you all enjoyed that  part.  So, I have two questions:
1.  What did you learn to do at Pathmark that you didn't know before?
2.  What do you hope to learn in this project?