The Best Websites for Bargain Hunters.

 
This is not me -->

I'm not a big shopper. One of the side benefits of the internet is that I no longer have to set foot in a shopping mall, which to me, is a kind of hell with sky-lights. Nowadays, everything I need that malls have can be purchased on-line.

Nor can I say that I am a committed bargain hunter, I don't remember ever using a coupon, though I understand why people do. I think I'm more of a loyalty shopper, but like everyone, I like to find a good deal -- which includes a low price.

The Kiplinger Newsletter people had a very helpful summary of "Best Deal" websites that I spent a good deal of time looking at yesterday.

Sites on lowest price, like Dealio.com, which compares prices on 30 million products from 100,000 merchants. And coupon sites, like RetailMeNot who offers coupons from more than 40,000 stores and a community where you can get tips and deal info from others. Then there were the "hot deals" sites like DealsOfAmerica, which updates deals every hour. The Kiplinger article also listed gift card sites, rebate sites, and of course iphone and Droid app suggestions.

Anyway, if you are interested in bargain hunting, I enjoyed the information and found it useful: Kiplinger.com

Food related -- I thought this hand espresso maker looked pretty cool for $18. Found here: http://bit.ly/c9JdcL

(Maybe I should add that I do not have any connection, financial or otherwise, with any of the websites or products.)

A Brownstone Review.

Guest post by Sunni R.

I arrived at Brownstone before my dinner companions so I headed over to ask the bartender what sort of fun, new drinks they were serving. He recommended a Dark and Stormy, but I don't do rum, so I chose the Ginger Collins.  I love fresh ginger and lemon, but the Ginger Collins was too strongly flavored for my taste. Full disclosure:  I'm not much of a mixed drink aficionado so take my cocktail reviews with a grain of salt.

The Brownstone dinner menu has several categories and I'm sure the specific items will change frequently due to the restaurant's commitment to use local, seasonal ingredients as much as possible.  My two friends and I began our meal with a house salad.  Two of us chose the Buttermilk Dill Vinaigrette and I chose the Bacon Red Onion Vinaigrette.  We were all pleased and agreed that the little cornbread squares mixed in the salad like croutons were the best part.  For dinner we wanted to sample multiple menu items so we ordered three of the "Plates to Share" and one entree. Here is what we ordered:

• Kobe Beef Cheeks over spoonbread:  picture the best pot roast you have ever had over the fluffiest hybrid of mashed potatoes and cornbread.  Highly Recommend
• Chicken Livers with Pepper Sauce:  Heavy but good if you like chicken livers.  Not my favorite
• Pork and Peppers: Very rich (pork belly) but great.  The little stuffed peppers combined with the pork belly made a good bite. Recommend
• Quail Ravioli: Large ravioli stuffed with a fairly flavorful quail mixture but it fell flat to me.  Not my favorite

I wish we had selected the Biscuits, Preserves and Venison Sausage. I spied another table enjoying it and it looked great. One of the sides available was Waffle Fries with Mayonnaise.  First, gross.  Second, the Gorgonzola Waffle Fries thing is being done (and well) on Magnolia at Lili's right? 

Service: Prompt, pretty good if a little "familiar" in tone which bugged me a bit. Brownstone is new and has kinks to work out and that is understandable. 

Scene:  tastefully decorated, comfortable, kind of loud even while not super crowded, bathrooms on the verge of being too dark  It has occurred to me that it would be funny for people to guess my age based on this portion of the review, but another "old person" comment from someone in their '30's. Can we all please agree to try something besides jeans every once in a while?  I love jeans but I miss getting dressed up for dinner and it bugs me to feel overdressed so I need a group effort here.  Thanks in advance for your assistance in this matter.

We came away from this experience with mixed feelings. The plates to share are similar to tapas -- it's a fun concept and they are priced well.  The entrees are reasonably priced but the selection was beef heavy with only one fish option (no vegetarian options either).  As I said earlier in the review, the menu is bound to change frequently so it remains to be seen if the concept will fly and if they can build a following with all the competition in town.  Would we return?  Tough question.  My gut instinct says that Ellerbe's is doing the same thing with better food, but I have only been there once.  I would love for someone else who has visited both Ellerbe's and Brownstone to weigh in with an opinion. Thanks.

Brownstone Restaurants

840 Currie St.
Ft. Worth, TX 76107
817.332.1555

Brownstone Restaurants 

Patrizio's. Finally.

Here's the deal.

I can be kind of picky about Italian food, at least, the pasta, spaghetti sauce, pizza variety of Italian food. I can't help it. I grew up with grand-pop's home-made spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli, and sauce, so it's hard for me to eat-out Italian and walk away happy.

But I had heard good things about Patrizio's and the good wife wanted to try it. So we did last night.

The good news. The pizza was very good. For people who like thin, crispy pizza, I think only Cavalli's in Irving is better.* Patrizio's is better than Rocco's, in my opinion. It is very good. I had the cheese pizza with pepperoni.

Marian ordered the meat-layered lasagna. I'd put the lasagna in the not very good category. First, it was served warm-to-hot, but lasagna needs to be served very hot. The tomato sauce is very ordinary, but to be fair there wasn't much sauce added, and the pasta was over-cooked to an almost texture-less like quality. I can forgive differences in taste but a lukewarm plate and over-cooked pasta is just bad planning or execution. Sorry.

Service: great. We did go early to beat the crowd (and no it wasn't Mr.Seinfeld early) .

Atmosphere: I liked it. New building, clean lines, not ornate, but not just four walls, either.

Buzz at the bar: Good. Busy, but not packed

My only other complaint. If you serve a basket of complimentary bread to the table, make sure it's fresh. Our first basket was down right stale and the second basket, brought without our requesting it, wasn't much better. I have a suggestion and a promise. Serve me a basket of fresh, warm rolls when I am seated and I will be happy no matter what is served after that. Seriously. At an Italian restaurant, I want to smell the bread.

Conclusion: I will go back for the pizza. That is a good pizza-pie.

Patrizio's has five locations and is moderately priced.

Patrizio's
2932 Crockett St., Fort Worth
871-698-0003
http://www.patrizios.net/ 

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* Footnote: Even though I'm mad at Cavalli's for putting their second store in McKinney, not Fort Worth, it's still the best pie in DFW. But McKinney, why the hell would you choose that nothing Dallas suburb over Fort Worth?